Memories in the Cooking

This is my version of 乱棍打死猪八戒。 My family thinks that it is a very yummy one-dish fast meal.  Ingredients: - 250g of pork belly, cut into strips  - 3 Russet potatoes, cut into strips  - 3 carrots, cut into strips  - 4 stalks of celery, cut into strips - 4 cloves of garlic, minced  - 2 tablespoons of light soya sauce  - 1 tablespoon of mirin - 1 tablespoon of sesame oil  Procedures: - Marinate pork belly in light soya sauce, mirin, sesame oil and minced garlic overnight.  - In a frying pan, place the pork belly. Dry fry it in low fire untill the pork belly oil are rendered from the pork belly.  - Add carrots, potatoes and celery strips. Fry and mix well.  - Add any leftover marinate and a bit of water. Simmer until the vegetables are soft. Serve. 

I just got an air-fryer and I am excited to try many recipes with it. First in the line is BBQ chicken wings.  Ingredients: - 1kg of chicken wings  - 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce  - 1 tablespoon of sesame oil  - 2 tablespoons of sugar - 2 tablespoons of fish sauce - 2 tablespoons of light soya sauce  - 1 bulb of garlic, minced - lime  Procedures: 1) Marinate chicken wings overnight with oyster sauce, sesame oil, sugar, fish sauce, light soya sauce and minced garlic overnight.  2) Place the chicken wings in the air fryer. Keep it to 1 layer. Spray some vegetable oil on the surface.  3) Roast it at 200 degree celsius for 10 minutes each side. Adjust the temperature or time to get some char brown bits. Serve with lime.  I used the same recipe for Roasted Chicken rice. 

I never knew the secret ingredients to Pad Thai is tamarind! Thai Food always impressed me with the wide range of spices and flavours.  Ingredients: - 300g of dried Pad Thai noodles, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes.  - 2 boneless chicken thigh meat, cut into small pieces  - 2 pieces of tau kwa, cut into small pieces - 4 cloves of garlic, minced - 3 tablespoons of fish sauce  - 2 tablespoons of sugar  - 1 teaspoon of dark soya sauce  - 1 packet of beansprouts (and any other cabbages)  - crushed peanuts  - lime  - 2 tablespoons of tamarind pulp and mix with water - salt and pepper  Procedures: 1) In a frying pan, add some vegetable oil. Pan-fry the tofu until it because golden brown.  2) Add chicken meat and pan fry until brown.  3) Add minced garlic. Fry until fragrant.  4) Add soften noodles and vegetables. Mix well.  5) Add tamarind water, fish sauce, sugar, dark soya sauce. Stir well.  6) Adjust taste with s...

I first had this dish at my husband nanny's place. The dish is so elegant. The chicken has to be poached just right so that the meat is smooth and tender. The rose wine raises the dish to an another level of grace. This is like the ballerina of braised dishes.  Ingredients:  - 1 chicken (you can use boneless chicken leg or chicken wings)  - thumb-size of ginger, sliced  - few stalks of spring onions  - 2 tablespoons of light soya sauce  - 2 tablespoons of dark soya sauce  - 2 tablespoons of rose cooking wine  - 2 tablespoons of sesame oil  - 2 tablespoons of sugar  - pepper  Procedures: 1) Marinate the chicken with light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, sesame oil.  2) In a deep pot, place sliced ginger and spring onions into a pot. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and enough water to cover the chicken later. Bring it to boil.  2) Place the chicken and the seasoning in the pot. Bring it up to a boil once again. Add 2 tablespoons of rose...

I first had this dish at a cafe. It is served with sour dough to soak up the flavourful sauce.  Ingredients: - 1kg of mussels  - 1 carrot, chopped into small pieces  - 1 pack of french beans, chopped into small pieces  - 1 pack of mushrooms, chopped into small pieces - 4 stalks of lemon grass, chopped  - 1 thumbsize ginger, chopped  - 4 cloves of garlic, chopped  - a few chili, chopped  - a bunch of curry leaves  - 2 tablespoons of huatiao wine  - 1 pack of coconut milk  - 1 cup of fresh milk - 1 stock cube - 2 tablespoons of fish sauce  - 1 teaspoon of sugar  Procedures: 1) In a frying pan, add vegetable oil. Fry garlic, ginger, lemon grass, chili and curry leaves until fragrant.  2) Add carrots, french beans and mushrooms. Fry until soft.  3) Add 1 cup of water. Let the mixture simmer.  4) Add mussels. Let it cook until all mussels are cooked. 5) Add coconut milk, fresh milk, stock cube, fish sauce and sug...

Many of my dishes came about because there were leftovers or unused ingredients. Today, I have a carton of soya bean milk which is not popular with the kids. So, I decided to make this dish of Homemade Tofu.  Ingredients: - 700ml of soya bean milk, unsweetened - 8 eggs - 500g of minced pork  - 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce  - 1 teaspoon of salt  - a bunch of parsley  - fried shallots  - corn flour  Procedures: 1) In a mixing bowl, add soya bean milk, eggs and salt. Mix well. Pass it through a sieve into a round baking tray.  2) Steam it for 30 minutes. Let it cool.  3) Coat the egg tofu with corn starch. Deep fry it until brown. Set it aside on a serving plate.  4) Fry minced pork and chopped parsley. Add oyster sauce and pepper to taste. Add a cup of water. Thicken the sauce with corn starch.  5) Pour the meat sauce over the tofu. Sprinkle some fried shallots. Serve. 

It is wonderful to be able to source for fresh seafood. Recently, I have been ordering from Ah Hua Kelong and I am always very happy with the quality of the seafood. Today, we have some clams for Clams Linguine! Ingredients: - 1kg of fresh clams, soaked in water for a few hours  - 1 bulb of garlic, chopped  - 1 bunch of parsley, chopped  - 200g of streaky bacon, cut into small pieces - 1 packet of any type of mushroom, finely chopped  - 1 chili, chopped  - 1 stock cube  - 2 tablespoons of whiskey - half a packet of linguine  Procedures:  1) Cook the linguine as per the packet instruction.  2) In a frying pan, fry the bacon until brown with the fats rendered.  3) Add chopped garlic, chopped chili, parsley, mushrooms and fry a little.  4) Add some pasta water and let it simmer.  5) Add clams and fry until the clams are opened up.  6) Add whiskey and stock cube.  7) Add cooked linguine. Stir well and serve. 

The Husband bought 1kg of salmon sashimi from Fassler for a small family of four! After using 2/3 of it to make Salmon Pokebowl, we are still left with a stab of it. So, we decided to make Salmon Ceviche with Asian Lemon Olive Oil Dressing.  Ingredients: - 350g of sashimi-grade salmon, sliced  - lemon juice from 1 lemon  - 2 teaspoons of sugar  - 1 tablespoon of fish sauce  - 1 tablespoon of olive oil  - parsley, finely chopped  - a handful of raisins, chopped Procedures:  1) Arrange the sliced salmon on a plate. Place it back to the fridge.  2) In a mixing bowl, add lemon juice, sugar, olive oil, fish sauce and raisins. Mix well. Leave it for 1 hour.  3) Drizzle the dressing over the salmon slices. Serve. 

This is my invention! I believe many of us are familiar with Thai Basil Pork and Snail Sausages separately. This recipe combines both together!  Ingredients:  - 500g of minced pork  - thai basil, chopped  - 2 chili padi, chopped  - 3 cloves of garlic, minced  - 3 tablespoons of fish sauce  - 1 tablespoon of sesame oil  - about 10 sheets of large spring roll skin  Procedures: 1) In a mixing bowl, add minced pork, thai basil, chili, garlic, fish sauce and sesame oil. Mix well.  2) Line up the 10 sheets of large spring roll skin side by side and overlapping with each other. (see below)  3) Line the minced pork in a cylindrical shape across all sheets of spring roll. Roll them up and swirl it into a snail shape. Use a long satay stick to pierce through the sausage and hold the shape.  4) Pan-fry the snail sausage such that both sides are golden brown.  5) Bake it in the oven at 180 degree celsius for another 15 minutes. Serve....

We brought this starter to a New Year Eve Dinner Party tonight. We prepared the cream cheese spread and assembled it at the party. So here you are, last dish of the Year 2020. A starter dish recipe to end the year.  Ingredients: - 1 box of cracker  - 150g of cream cheese  - 2 tablespoons of pickled cucumber  - lemon juice from half a lemon  - 1 clove of garlic, minced  - 100g of smoked salmon with dill  Procedures: 1) Mix cream cheese with pickled cucumber, lemon juice and minced garlic.  2) Spread the cream cheese mix on a piece of cracker and top up with a piece of smoked salmon.