Memories in the Cooking

This is an coincidental dish (aka anyhow-cook-dish). However, the family likes it so much that they want me to post in the blog so that I will remember to cook again in future. So, here it is - Anyhow Stir-fried Maggi Mee. Ingredients: - 650g of Koka ezy-cook instant noodles - 4 cloves of garlic, minced - 6 eggs - 1 carrot, shredded - 50g of chinese parsley, chopped - 200g of beanspouts - 500g pork collar, sliced - 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce - 1 teaspoon of sugar - 1 teaspoon of sesame oil - pepper Procedures: 1) Pour boiling water over the instant noodles. Let it soak for 2-3 minutes until it turns slightly soft. 2) In a frying pan, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add 6 beaten eggs to make an omelette.  Cut into thin slices and set it aside. 3) Stir-fry minced garlic until fragrant. Add carrot shreds, pork collar and fry for 5 minutes. 4) Add instant noodles and mix well. 5) Add oyster sauce, light soya sauce, sugar...

As scallop is an expensive ingredient, this dish is often served on special occasions such as wedding or Chinese New Year. With some scallops leftover from the Chinese New Year steamboat, I decided to make this dish while it is still February with some lingering CNY ambience. Ingredients: - 2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets - 500g of scallops - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce  - 1 teaspoon of light soya sauce  - 1 teaspoon of dark soya sauce  - 1 teaspoon of sugar  - pepper  - 1 handful of wolfberries  Procedures:  1) Blench broccoli in boiling water. Arrange it on a serving plate.  2) Blench scallops in boiling water. Arrange them in the centre of the serving plate.  3) In a frying pan, add 2 cups of boiling water. Add oyster sauce, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, sugar, pepper and wolfberries.  4) When the sauce boils and thickens, drizzle it on the broccoli and scallops. Serve. 

I was feeling a bit under the weather and felt like eating porridge. What dish is simple to make and goes well with porridge? Ginger Spring Onion Fish. I only took 15 minutes to prepare it. The heat from the ginger made me feel a bit better after eating it. Ingredients: - 4 pieces of red snapper fillet, cut into desired size - spring onions, cut into 3cm length - ginger, cut into thin slices - plain flour - baking powder - oyster sauce - white pepper powder - shaoxing wine - sesame oil Procedures: 1) Mix 3 tablespoons of plain flour with 1 teaspoon of baking powder. Coat the red snapper pieces. 2) Fry the red snapper pieces until brown. Set aside. 3) Add sesame oil in pan and fry ginger slices until fragrant. 4) Add 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce, half a cup of water and white pepper. The sauce should be thick (if not thickens it with corn starch). 5) Add fried fish pieces and spring onions. Stir fry. 6) Add a dash of shaoxing wine. Serve. Another version to...

Every first day of Chinese New Year, we will have Nian Gao for breakfast. The kids will prepare coffee and tea for us (the parents) and they will then greet us with Chinese oranges. Hopefully, these traditions will form part of their childhood memories. Ingredients (5 slices): - stored-bought nian gao, cut into thin slices  - spring roll skin  - white sesame seeds  Procedures: 1) Lay thin slices of nian gao between 2 sheets of spring roll skin.  2) Pan-fry the nian gao with spring roll skin until the skin is crispy and the nian gao is soft.  3) Sprinkle white sesame seeds on the nian gao pancakes. Serve.

My husband loves Bak Kwa but hates to queue for Bak Kwa during the Chinese New Year season. Solution? We decided to make our own Bak Kwa this year. Ingredients (for 12 pieces of Bak Kwa, 3 oven trays); - 500g of minced pork - 250g of pork belly, minced - 1 cup of sugar - 3 tablespoons of fish sauce - 1 tablespoons of light soya sauce - 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder - 1/2 teaspoon of five spice powder - 1 teaspoon of white pepper powder - 4 tablespoons of huatiao wine - 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce - honey Procedures: 1) Place minced meat in a large mixing bowl. Add sugar, fish sauce, light soya sauce, cinnamon powder, five spice powder, white pepper powder, huatiao wine and dark soya sauce. Mix well and marinate for 1 hour. 2) Line the baking tray with baking paper. Place 1/3 of the minced meat on the baking paper. Lay another sheet of baking powder on the minced meat. Use a rolling pin to spread the minced meat thinly. 3) Bake at 180 degree celsius for 20 mi...

The highlight of this dish is the sauce. Beer with fresh seafood make such a good combination. Ingredients: - 1kg of clams - 1 can of beer - 1 bulb of garlic, minced - 1 chicken cube - 1 teaspoon of mixed Italian herbs - 1 knob of butter - salt and pepper - 1 tablespoon of sugar Procedures: 1) Wash the clams 2) In a frying pan, melt a knob of butter. Add the garlic and fry until fragrant. 3) Add chicken cube, sugar and mixed Italian herbs. Fry for a minute. Add beer to the pan. 4) Add clams. Cover the pan with a lid and let the clams simmer for 6 minutes. 5) Adjust the taste with salt and pepper. Serve.

My husband's nanny is a superb cook. Hence, it is very difficult to cook or bake her anything to please her. Fortunately, there are 2 desserts that she would accept from me - they are the Ultimate Durian Cheesecake and Christmas Fruit Cake. Ingredients (4 loaves of fruit cakes)  - 1 kg of dried mixed fruits  - 1/2 kg of chopped nuts (e.g. walnuts, almonds, macadamia) - 1 litre of grape juice   - 400g of butter  - 6 eggs  - 400g of flour  - 300g of brown sugar  - 2 teaspoon of cinnamon powder  - 2 teaspoon of baking powder - honey - whisky/rum/sherry Procedures:  1) Soak dried mixed fruits in grape juice for 24 hours.  2) In a mixing bowl, whisk soft butter until pale.  3) Add eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon powder and baking powder to the butter. Continue to whisk it.  4) Sieve flour into the mixture. Mix them well with a spatula. Add chopped nuts and mixed fruits and mix it well.  ...

Can this be counted as a home-cooked dish? Today, I suddenly got a random idea to make crossiants from store-bought roti prata pastry. Look like the real thing? Ingredients: - store-bought roti prata pastry (1 piece makes 3 tiny crossiants) - 1 beaten egg Procedures: 1) Cut 1 piece of roti prata pastry into almost 3 triangles. 2) Roll each piece from the broader end. Twist the ends to make it into the shape of crossiants. 3) Place them on a baking tray and brush them with egg wash. Bake at 180 degree celsius for 10-15 minutes. Serve.

My husband and I once squabbled over this dish. It is one of my husband's favourite dishes which he often requests to be cooked. Sometime near our first Chinese New Year as married couple, I asked him what he would like to have for reunion dinner. I was expecting a grand wishlist. But lo and behold, he replied, "potato minced beef and anything else does not matter". This was a classic example on the clashes of expectations. I was upset that he did not understand the significance of festivities as this dish is not anywhere near the 'big dishes' that we should have for a CNY reunion dinner. On the other hand, he did not understand why he could not celebrate CNY with his favourite, though humble, potato minced beef. Thankfully, the 'storm' blew over very quickly and we still laugh about this episode as it was pretty hilarious on hindsight.  Ingredients: - 3 to 4 large Russet potatos, cut into thin slices   - 300 g of minced beef  - 3-4 cl...

This is a common pub food that we often ate in UK when we stayed there a few years ago. To make the dish more substantial, I will add some leftover roasted meat to the dish. With the meat, the dish can be promoted from a side dish to a satisfying one-dish meal. Ingredients: - 1 head of cauliflower - 25g of butter - 4 cloves of garlic, crushed - 1 tablespoon of Italian mixed herbs - 80g of parmesan cheese - 125g of mozzrella cheese - 1.5 cup of milk - 2 tablespoons of plain flour - sausages/leftover roasted meat Procedures: 1) Cut the cauliflower into florets. Boil it in water unil cooked. 2) Drain the cauliflowers and arrange them on a baking tray. Spread leftover meat or cooked sausages to the cauliflowers. 3) To a fry Pan, melt some butter. Add garlic and fry until fragrant. Add flour and fry it a little. Add milk and the sauce will become thick. 4) Add the 2 cheese, salt, pepper and herbs. 5) Pour the cheese sauce on the cauliflowers. Bake in the oven at 180 degr...