Memories in the Cooking

I always love Chinese Roasted Duck. My favourite part is the crispy duck skin. I once tried roasting a whole duck and almost set my whole oven on fire and smoked the whole home! Here is my attempt at a smaller scale with some easy steps.  Ingredients: - 2 tablespoons of honey  - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce  - 1/2 teaspoon of five-spice powder  - 1/2 teaspoon of white pepper powder  - 1 tablespoon of white vinegar  - 2 duck legs (can replace with 2 duck breasts) Procedures: 1) Mix 1 tablespoon of honey, oyster sauce, five-spice powder and white pepper powder to form a paste. 2) Rub it on the meat-side of the duck.  3) Pat dry the skin side of the duck. Place it on a tray, uncovered. Let it marinate in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.  4) Roast the duck in oven or air-fryer at 160 degree celsius for 20 minutes.  5) Mix 1 tablespoon of honey with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.  6) Brush it on the duck skin. 7) Roast it for another ...

Durian Pengat is a crowd-pleaser at the National Day dinner party. It is not surprising considering how much Singaporeans love the fruit. Ingredients: - durian flesh of 2 Mao Shan Wang  - 200g of whipped cream  - 250g of coconut milk  - 50g of gula melaka  - half a cup of pandan juice/1 teaspoon of pandan paste  Procedures:  1) Heat up coconut milk and pandan juice. Melt shaved gula melaka. Mix well.  2) Whip cream until firm. Add durian flesh and coconut milk mixture. Mix well.  3) Chill mixture in a fridge. Serve. 

One perk of being a teacher is that I learn new things all the time. Last week, I brought my students to learn kaya-making. Even though, every student's kaya looked different from each other, they were all successful attempts. Just like even though everyone is different, we can all be successful in their own way. Today, I tried making kaya at home. With 25 minutes of continuous stirring, I must say kaya-making definitely develops one's patience.  Ingredients: - 3 egg yokes  - 120g gula melaka  - 200 ml of coconut milk  - 50 ml of pandan juice (blended from 100g of pandan leaves)  - pandan paste  Procedures: - Blend 100g of pandan leaves with half a cup of water to get about 50g of pandan juice. Add a little pandan paste for a brighter colour.  - Chop gula melaka into small pieces.  - Add pandan juice, coconut milk amd gula melaka into a sauce pan. Heat the mixture to melt the gula melaka.  - Beat the egg yokes. Po...

I use air-fryer and the steps for Tonkatsu for the chicken cutlet.  Ingredients: - 3 boneless chicken thighs - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce  - 1 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine  - pepper  - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce  - half a teaspoon of five-spice powder  - 3 tablespoons of salted egg powder  - half a cup of milk  - salt and sugar  - 1 egg  - bread crumbs  - 2 cloves of garlic, minced - curry leaves  - 2 chili padi  Procedures: 1) Marinate chicken thighs in light soya sauce, Chinese cooking wine, pepper, oyster sauce and five-spice powder. Leave it overnight.  2) Add a beaten egg to the chicken thighs.  3) Coat the chicken thighs with bread crumbs  4) Let it air-fry at 180 degree for 30 minutes. Spray some cooking oil on it first. Flip it at the 15 minutes mark.  5) In a frying pan, add minced garlic and vegetable oil. Fry until fragrant. Add curry leaves, chili padi and salted egg yolk powde...

This is another Hakka heirloom dish which I had not got the chance to cook. Recently, my sister gifted me a bottle of wine lees. So, I am so happy to cook this dish for the first time!  Ingredients: - 1 chicken, chopped into parts  - a handful of black fungus, soaked in water  - 1 old ginger, cut into shreds  - 1 bottle of wine lees  - 2 tablespoon of Chinese cooking wine  - sesame oil - chicken cube - 1 tablespoon of sugar  Procedures: 1) Marinate chicken parts in half a bottle of wine lees for 1 hour.  2) In a frying pan, fry half the ginger shreds in vegetable oil until brown and crispy.  3) Set aside the ginger shreds.  4) In the same oil and some sesame oil, fry the rest of the ginger shreds. Add the rest of the wine lees and fry until well-mix.  5) Add chicken parts and fry until brown. Add black fungus. Fry for a while.  6) Add 2 cups of water. Simmer for 20 minutes.  7) Add chicken cube and sugar. Stir well.  ...

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 sesa...

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...

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 t...

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.