Memories in the Cooking

This is a cheat-version of Cantonese Roast Duck or Peking Duck. The marinate is asian but the cooking method is not.  Ingredients: - 1 duck breast (cut into 2 halves) - 2 tablespoons of light soya sauce  - 2 tablespoons of huatiao wine  - 1 teaspoon of five spice powder  Procedures: 1) Marinate duck breast with light soya sauce, huatiao wine and five spice powder overnight. 2) Pat dry the duck breast. Score the skin.  3) Place the duck breast, skin-side down, on a frying pan. Let it cook for 5 minutes until the duck fat is rendered and the duck skin is brown and crispy.  4) Turn it over to the other side and pan-fry for 5 minutes.  5) Let the duck breast rest and then slice it.  6) Eat the duck with wrap, hoisin sauce, shredded cucumber, carrots and spring onions. 

I love Dang Gui. I like the Dang Gui Roasted Duck from Dian Xiao Er. However, I am not very keen to make roasted duck after my last attempt which made the oven really oily. So, I decided to make a stew version instead - Dang Gui Black Fungus Duck. Ingredients:  - duck pieces  - 10 pieces of black fungus - 10 pieces of dried mushrooms  - 1 handful of wolfberries  - 1 handful of red dates  - 4 pieces of Dang Gui  - 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce  - 1 tablespoon of Chinese wine  - 1 tabelspoon of light soya sauce  Procedures: 1) Soak black fungus and dried mushrooms and cut them into smaller pieces.  2) Place the 2 duck pieces in a frying pan, skin-side down. Let it cook for about 5 to 10 minutes until the duck fat is rendered and the skin is brown.  3) Drain the duck fat away.  4) Add oyster sauce, light soya sauce and 1 cup of water to the duck.  4) Add red dates, wolfberries, fungus, mushro...

Saba is an oily fish that gives a creamy texture. This recipe is so easy that you can serve dinner in less than 30 mins.  Ingredients: - 5 halves of Saba  - 1 stalk of spring onions, shred lengthwise  - half a tablespoon of miso paste, dissolve in one cup of water  Procedures: 1) Add a little vegetable oil in a frying pan. Pan fry the saba fish, skin down first. Then flip it over to fry the other side.  2) Add miso paste dissolved in water. Let it simmer for a while.  3) Serve and garnish with spring onions. 

This is a 10-minute yummy dish that one can cook during the weekday.  Ingredients: - 400g of Iberico Pork Shabu  - 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced  - 1 tablespoon of minced beanpaste  - 1 teaspoon of chinese cooking wine  - 1 teaspoon of dark soya sauce - 2 teaspoons of sugar - pepper  - 1 bunch of parsley, chopped Procedures: 1) In a frying pan, add beanpaste, sugar, garlic, chinese cooking wine, dark soya sauce and half a bowl of water. Let it cook until it thickens.  2) Add Iberico Pork and cook until brown.  3) Add parsley and mix well. Serve. 

Beef Rendang is one of my husband's favourite dishes. So, it is important that I include it into my repertoire of dishes. However, this dish needs a lot of time and patience to reduce the rendang sauce to the deep brown colour and desired consistency.  Ingredients: - 4kg of beef shin, cut into chunks (2kg) - 1 packet of assam paste (2/3 packet) - 3 coconuts, grated (2 coconut)  - 6 inches of ginger, sliced (4 inches) - 6 inches of galangal, sliced (4 inches) - 40-50 dried chilies  (40 dried chilies) - 10 stalks of lemon grass (8 stalks)  - 18 shallots (12 shallots)  - 8 cloves of garlic (6 cloves)  - 5 tablespoons of coriander powder (4 tablespoons)  - 1.5 teaspoons of cumin powder (1 teaspoon)  - 5 pieces kunyit leaves (4 leaves)  - 30 pieces of Kaffir lime leaves (20 leaves)  - 30 pieces of salam leaves/bay leaves (20 leaves)  - 3 teaspoons of salt (2 teaspoon)  - 4.5 teaspoons of sugar (or gula melak...

This is a yummy starter. The sauce goes well with freshly baked bread too!  Ingredients: 1) Potatoes or sweet potatoes (mashed or cube)  2) 4 Chorizos, sliced  3) 1 tablespoon of paprika  4) 1 teaspoon of salt 5) 1 chili, chopped  6) 1 bulb of garlic, minced 7) olive oil Procedures: 1) In a frying pan, fry potatoes until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Set aside.  2) Add about 2 tablespoon of olive oil to frying pan. Heat it up. Add minced garlic, chopped chili, paprika and salt. Fry until fragrant.  3) Add chorizo slices and fry until cooked.  4) Add potatoes. Mix well and serve.  

Crispy Fish Skin. Tangy and sweet sauce. This dish is quite a winner, considering how simple and fast it takes to prepare it.  Ingredients: - 2 halves of Saba Fish  - 3 small tomatoes and some cherry tomatoes, chopped - 2 tablespoons of ketchup - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce  - 2 teaspoons of sugar  - a bunch of parsley, chopped Procedures: 1) Add oil to a non-stick pan. Fry Saba Fish skin-side down until crispy. Turn it over to cook the other side.  2) Add tomatoes and let it sit with the fish into soft.  3) Add ketchup, light soya sauce and sugar. Mix the sauce well with the fish. 4) Add chopped parsley. Serve. 

Another porridge for the husband who is recovering from wisdom tooth extraction. Our family does not like chicken breast meat because of the dryness. So, we are using chicken drumsticks!  Ingredients:  - 2 cups of rice - 2 chicken drumsticks - a quarter of a pumpkin  - spring onions, chopped - fried shallots  - 1 tablespoon of minced garlic - 1 tablespoon of fish sauce  - 1 tablespoon of sesame oil  - 4 eggs - salt and pepper Procedures: 1) In a rice cooker, cook the rice into porridge. Place the pumpkin and chicken drumsticks to cook together.  2) When cooked, remove the chicken drumsticks and shred them.  3) In a pan, add minced garlic with some vegetable oil and fry until fragrant. Add the shredded chicken, chopped spring onions, sesame oil and fish sauce.  4) Set aside one of it. Add the porridge into the pan. Sieve it for a smoother porridge.  5) Add salt and pepper to taste.  6) Crack 4 eggs on the porridge.  7) Scoop the...

A few years ago, I visited the hometown of Mapo Tofu (Si Chuan, Chengdu) and enjoyed the food tremendously. I ate like a local as I savoured the 口水鸡，水煮鱼，麻辣火锅，braised rabbit heads etc. With my little ones at home, it is hard to cook any Si Chuan dishes. Today, I decided to push the boundaries a little with a not-so-spicy Mapo Tofu. My elder son loves it! I think I can up my game in future.  Ingredients: - 4 cloves of garlic, minced  - 250g minced pork  - 1 block of tofu, cut into cubes - corn flour  - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce  - 1 teaspoon of fermented soya beanpaste  - 1 tablespoon of Lao Gan Ma's chili oil  - spring onions for garnishing Procedures: 1) Add 1 tablespoon of corn flour and light soya sauce to minced pork. Mix well and let it marinate.  2) Soak the tofu cubes in hot water.  3) To a frying pan, add a little vegetable oil. Add garlic and fry until fragrant. Add minced pork and fry until bro...

I have been keeping a look out for superfood (aka nutrients dense food) and sweet potato is one of them. This is a change to our usual mashed potato.  Ingredients:  - 4 sweet potatoes - half a cup of milk  - salt, pepper, mixed herbs (according to preference)  - parsley, chopped Procedures: 1) Cook sweet potatoes until soft. Mash it.  2) Add milk, salt and mixed herbs according to taste. Mix well.  3) Garnish by sprinkling with chopped parsley.