Memories in the Cooking

Here is an easy side dish that goes well with any mains.  Ingredients:  - 6-7 assorted potatoes  - 1 cup of Greek yogurt - 1 cup of mayonnaise  - juice of 1 lemon  - 1 teaspoon of salt - some capers  - some black olives  - some pickled cucumbers - some fresh parsley  - some fresh mint  - 100g of spinach  - 1 red onion, sliced  Procedures: 1) Cut potatoes into bite-size. Place them into a pot with tap water enough to cover it. Let it boil until it is cooked. Place the potatoes in a mixing bowl.  2) In the pot of hot water, blanch the spinach and red onions for about 1 minutes. Place them into the mixing bowl with the potatoes.  3) Add yogurt, mayonnaise, salt, lemon juice, fresh parsley, fresh mint, chopped capers, chopped picked cucumbers, chopped olives and salt. Mix well. Serve. 

This is an economical way to make truffle sauce and Truffle Spaghetti.  Ingredients: - a pack of spaghetti - 3 packets of brown mushrooms (can include some shitake mushrooms too), blended - 2 chicken cubes - 1 clove of garlic, minced  - 2 tablespoons of truffle oil - parmesan cheese  - olive oil  - 1 can of nestle cream  Procedures: 1) Cook spaghetti as the packet instructions.  2) In a frying pan, add oil and fry gralic until fragrant.  3) Add blended mushrooms and fry until the mushroom juice dries up.  4) Add chicken cube, cream and truffle oil.  5) Add cooked spaghetti. Mix well. 6) Serve the spaghetti with parmesan cheese. 

Lu Rou Fan is a classic Taiwanese dish. The gluey and melt-in-your mouth pork serve on with rice epitomises comfort food. This is a hassel-free recipe because I am using the slow-cooker to do the magic. Ingredients: - 500g of pork skin - 500g of pork belly - 2 bulbs of garlic, remove the skin - 80g of Chinese parsley, chopped - 80g of ginger, sliced - 1/2 cup of dark soya sauce - 1/2 cup of light soya sauce - 2 tablespoons of sesame oil - 1 teaspoon of five-spice powder - 1/2 cup of huatiao wine - 3 tablespoons of sugar - 2 cinnamon sticks - 3 anistars - 10 pieces of cloves - 50g of fried shallots Procedures: 1) Blench pork skin and pork belly in boiling water for 10 minutes. Cool it and cut it into small pieces. 2) Place the pork skin and pork belly into a slow-cooker. 3) Add dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, sesame oil, five-spice powder, huatiao wine, sugar, cinnamon sticks, anistars and cloves to the meat.  Mix well. 4) Add water just enough to cover the...

Today, we are having Sunday Roast for Sunday lunch.  Ingredients: - 2kg Beef Chuck Roll - 3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs  - 1 bulb of garlic, minced  - 3 tablespoons of soya sauce  - 1 teaspoon of salt - 1 tablespoon of mixed herbs  - 3 tablespoons of mustard sauce  - 2 onions  - 3 carrots  Procedures: 1) Make a half-way cut into the beef roll. Marinate it for 24 hours in soya sauce and half of the minced garlic.  2) In a pan, fry the minced garlic with salt, mixed herbs and breadcrumbs until fragrant.  3) Stuff this breadcrumb mix into the cut of the beef roll. Tie it up with twine.  4) Coat the outside of the beef roll with mustard sauce.  5) Place the onions and carrots on the baking tray. Place roasted beef roll on the vegetables.  6) Roast it at 180 degree celsius until the inner temperature is 60 degree celsius. This will take around 2 hours. Let the beef roll rest.  7) Deglaze the vegetable and beef drippings to ...

My husband disapproves of processed food. This fish fingers are made from fresh Seabass fillets. I used Chinese marinates for this recipe.  Ingredients: - 2 Seabass fillets (about 250g each), cut into strips - 1 teaspoon of light soya sauce  - 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce  - 1 teaspoon of huatiao wine  - pepper  - 1 beaten egg - breadcrumbs  Procedures: 1) Marinate the fish strips with light soya sauce, oyster sauce, huatiao wine and pepper overnight.  2) Coat each strip with beaten eggs followed by breadcrumbs.  3) Cook the fish strips in 2 batches. Place them in an air-fryer. Spray vegetable oil on them. Air-fry them at 180 degree celsius for 15 minutes (turn over at halftime). 

The first time I tried this dish is at my sister's place. I immediately liked the refreshing taste from the lemon and fresh basil. This dish is so simple to prepare but so yummy.  Ingredients: - 3 large lemons, extract the juice and grate the zest  - 125g of grated parmesan cheese  - 100g of fresh basil  - 250g of spaghetti - a handful of rocket vegetable  - olive oil  - 1 teaspoon of sea salt  - 1 teaspoon of black pepper  Procedures: 1) Cook the spaghetti according to the package instruction.  2) To the drained spaghetti, stir in lemon juice and zest, olive oil, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, some basil. 3) Place them on a serving plate and top up with more fresh basil and rocket leaves. 

This is a super refreshing salad which you can taste the natural flavours. It tastes like a dessert due to the sweet watermelon. What a way to sneak in desserts in between courses.  Ingredients: - watermelon, cut into cubes  - 150g Feta cheese, crumbled - mint leaves  - spinach leaves and rocket leaves, mixed  - sticky balsamic vinegar  Procedures: 1) Place the spinach leaves and rocket leaves in a large salad plate/bowl.  2) Add a layer of watermelon. 3) Add another layer of Feta cheese  4) Add mint leaves  5) Drizzle with sticky balsamic vinegar. 

I often do not know what to do with the leftover crushed peanuts after cooking the store-bought Tang Yuan. This is one good use for it - peanut dipping sauce for steamboat. Ingredients: - 2 packets of crushed peanuts (about 100g)  - 2 tablespoons of peanut oil  - 2 teaspoons of sugar  - juice from 5 limes  - 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce  - salt  Procedures: 1) Place crushed peanuts, peanut oil, sugar, lime juice and oyster sauce in a blender. Blend it until smooth.  2) Add water to get the consistency you desire. 3) Add salt to taste. 

Today's is the 12th day of Chinese New Year. Let's have a Fish-shaped Osmanthus Jelly to remember it will always be 年年有余 with God because He gives us an abundance life.  Ingredients: - one packet of Konnyaku Jelly  - 1 tablespoon of osmanthus flowers - 250g of rock sugar  - 1000ml of water - 1 tablespoon of wolfberries - 1 can of longan, chopped  Procedures: 1) Add the jelly powder, sugar, water, osmanthus flowers, wolfberries into a pot.  2) Bring it to boil and make sure all sugar and jelly powder dissolved.  3) Pour the jelly liquid into a fish-shaped jelly mould. Let it cool to room temperature and then chill it in a fridge. 

Chinese New Year is here. Waxed Meat Glutinous Rice is one classic CNY dish. Ingredients:  - 3 cups of glutinous rice - 6 large dried mushrooms - 6 Chinese sausages - 1 waxed duck leg - 1 waxed pork belly - 1 tablespoon of light soya sauce - 1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce - 1 tablespoons of oyster sauce - 1 tablespoon of sesame oil - 1 teaspoon of salt - 1 can of Guinness Stout or few tablespoons of Whiskey  Procedures: 1) Place washed glutinous rice in rice cooker. Add 5 cups of water, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil and salt. Mix well.  2) Add mushrooms, waxed pork belly, Chinese sausages and waxed duck leg on the rice. Let the rice soak for about 1 hour.  3) Cook the rice and ingredients using the rice-cooker setting.  4) Slice the waxed pork belly, Chinese sausages, mushrooms and waxed duck leg. Arrange the ingredients beautifully on the rice. You can add some baby abalones too.