Memories in the Cooking

I always thought that this dessert will be very difficult to make. After researching on a few recipes, I came out with a short-cut way to make it within 30 minutes.  Ingredients (for one portion): - 2 mangos  - 1 cup of glutinous rice, soaked for 5-6 hours  - 150g of coconut milk  - 2 tablespoons of sugar  - a pinch of salt  - pandan leaves or pandan extract or blue pea water  - sesame seeds  Procedures: 1) Place the glutinous rice in a small pot. Add either pandan leaves or pandan extract or blue pea water (1:1 ratio for liquid to rice). Cook until the rice absorb all liquid.  2) Place the cook rice in a mixing bowl.  3) In a pot, add coconut milk, sugar and salt. Heat it until all sugar dissolves.  4) Pour the coconut milk in the rice. Save a few tablespoons for later. Mix the coconut milk and rice well. Let it sit for a while.  5) Place the rice, mango on a serving plate. Drizzle the leftover coconut milk. Sprinkle some sesame seeds. Serve. 

Today, I did chicken wings with 4 flavours. One of them is a newly experimented flavour - Parmesan Herbs Chicken Wings  Ingredients: - 1kg of chicken mid wings  - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce  - 3 cloves of garlic, minced  - 1 egg, beatened - breadcrumbs  - 1 cup of Parmesan Cheese  - 1 teaspoon of mixed Italian Herbs - salt Procedures: 1) Marinate chicken wings with light soya sauce and garlic, overnight.  2) Add 1 beaten egg to it. Coat it evenly. Coat it with breadcrumbs.  3) Arrange them on a baking tray, spray some vegetable oil on it.  4) Bake at 180 degree celsius for 20 minutes and 225 degree celsius for 15 minutes.  5) In a mixing bowl, add Parmesan Cheese, salt and Herbs. Toss chicken wings in the mixture. Serve. 

The dish that I cooked for my first Food and Nutrition practical examination was Honey Lemon Chicken Wings. It was more than 2 decades ago. But I remember scoring high marks for it. I also remember savouring the wings with my friends at the staircase just outside the F&N lab. What lovely memories. Ingredients:  - 1kg of chicken mid-wings (around 25), wash and pat-dry - 1 egg, beaten - breadcrumbs - lemon juice from 2 lemons - 3 tablespoons of honey - 1 tablespoon of cornflour - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce  - 3 cloves of garlic, minced.  Procedures: 1) Marinate the chicken wings with light soya sauce and garlic overnight. 2) Add a beaten eggs to the chicken wings and coat it evenly.  3) Coat the chicken wings with breadcrumbs.  4) Place the chicken wings on a baking tray. Bake at 180 degree celsius for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken wings over and bake it at 225 degree celsius for another 15 minutes.  4) In a pan, heat up lemon juice and honey. Thicken the sauce

I always rely on my husband, the craftsman of the house to help me with dishes that are like craftwork. However, even he finds making Bak Chang very tedious. So, this year, we improvised this Giant No-Wrap Bak Chang. Just one is enough to feed the family of four.  Ingredients (for 2 Giant Bak Chang): - 3 cups of glutinous rice  - 500g of pork belly, cut into bite-size - 10 mushrooms, hydrated, cut into bite-size - 5 pork sausages, cut into bite-size  - 8 salted egg yokes - 100g of chestnuts  - 1/3 of light soya sauce  - 1/3 of dark soya sauce  - 1/3 of sesame oil - 2 tablespoons of sugar  - 1 tablespoon of five spice powder  - 2 cinnamon sticks  - 5 anistars  - 1 cup of water  - 20 pieces of bamboo leaves  Procedures: 1) Soak bamboo leaves and glutinous rice overnight. 2) In a slow-cooker, place pork belly, sausages, chestnuts, mushrooms and all seasonings. Mix well. Let it cook at 'auto' setting for 5-6 hours.  3) Drain the meat ingredients from the sauce.  4) Place the glutin

This is an anyhow cooked dish that turned out very well. It is a simple alternative to the simple white rice or more complex fried rice.  Ingredients: - cooked rice from 2 cups of rice  - 2 eggs  - 100g of fried shallots (stored bought)  - 3 cloves of garlic, minced  - 2 tablespoons of fish sauce  - pepper  Procedures:  1) In a frying pan, add some vegetable oil and stir-fry the garlic until fragrant.  2) Mix cooked rice with 2 beatened eggs. Add it to the frying pan and stir-fry it.  3) Add fish sauce and pepper.  4) Add fried shallots and mix well. Serve. 

My husband is a crab lover. For Father's Day this year, we made him this dish - Crab Bee Hoon Soup.  Ingredients:  - 1 thumb-size ginger, sliced  - a knob of butter  - 3 cloves of garlic, minced  - 1 large crab, chopped into pieces  - 1 pack of thick bee hoon  - 1 pack of leafy vegetables  - half a cup of evaporated milk  - 1 chicken cube - salt and pepper  - 1 tablespoon of sesame oil - 2 tablespoons of Chinese cooking wine  - fried shallots Procedures: 1) In a wok, add butter to melt. Stir-fry ginger and garlic until fragrant.  2) Add crab pieces and fry until pink.  3) Add water and chicken cube (or chicken stock) until it almost covers the crab. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Set aside the crab pieces to prevent overcooking.  4) Add bee hoon and vegetables.  5) Add salt, pepper, sesame oil and Chinese cooking wine to taste.  6) When the ingredients reboils, add crab pieces back. Top up with some fried shallots. Serve. 

I once had a sumptuous meal at a Japanese restaurant and then concluded that the best dish was the unassuming Garlic Fried Rice.  Ingredients: - 500g of salmon belly, cut into cubes  - 1-2 bulbs of garlic, minced  - a packet of beanspouts - a packet of spring onions, chopped  - a packet of Chinese parsley, chopped  - overnight rice from 2 cups of rice - 3 eggs  - 2 tablespoons of light soya sauce  - pepper Procedures: 1) Pan-fry the salmon belly cubes skin-down without adding oil. Fry until the salmon belly cubes are crisp and brown. Set aside the salmon belly cubes.  2) In the salmon fats, fry minced garlic until brown and fragrant.  3) In the cold rice, add the 3 eggs and light soya sauce. Mix well.  4) Add the rice to the frying pan. Fry until well mixed. Add beanspouts, spring onions and parsley. Fry until well mixed and vegetables are cooked.  5) Add more salt and pepper to taste.  6) Add the salmon cubes back and mix well. Serve. 

This is a recreation of our Por Por's Hakka Meatballs. Instead of mixing in flour, I use tofu instead to pump up the amount of protein.  Ingredients: - 450g of tofu, frozen, unfrozen and crumbled  - 750g of minced pork (use more fatty parts for more tender and juicier meatballs) - 400g of fish paste  - 3-4 pieces of salted fish, washed and cut into small pieces  - 1-2 dried cuttlefish, washed and cut into small pieces  - 3 tablespoons of light soya sauce  - 2 tablespoons of sesame oil - white pepper  - 1/4 teaspoon of salt  Procedures  1) Mix all ingredients together  2) Roll them into balls (around 45 balls) and place them on a baking tray.  3) Brush vegetable oil on the meatballs.  4) Bake at 180 degree celsius for 30 minutes. Turn it over at the half-way mark.  5) Store the meatballs. Before serving, fry or bake it again. 

This dish is so appetizing. My family licks off every single drop of the tangy and sweet sauce.  Ingredients: - 500g of pork chops - 3 cloves of garlic, minced  - 3 onions, sliced - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce - 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar  - 1 tablespoon of sugar  Procedures: 1) Marinate pork chops in minced garlic and light soya sauce overnight.  2) Pan-fry pork chops until cooked.  3) Add onions to the frying pan and fry until soft.  4) Add the light soya sauce marinate, balsamic vinegar and sugar.  5) Simmer until the sauce thickens. Serve.