Oyster Sauce Chicken

Oyster sauce is a good source of seasoning in many ways, I have to admit it... and I'm running out of ideas in cooking at times, I need to admit it... haha... so this recipe is "on the spot" mix and match recipe which not bad though... So, let's see what is for dinner tonight!

Ingredients:
4 chicken wings & drumsticks, cut into pieces
1 big red onion, cut into slices
2 cloves garlic, minced

Marinate:
2 tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
Dash of pepper
Corn flour for coating

Seasonings:
2 tbsp Oyster sauce
1 tsp Lee & Perrin sauce
Dash of pepper
Corn flour solution (1 tsp corn flour + 3 tbsp water)
1 tsp Shio Xing rice wine
10ml water

Methods:
1. Marinade chicken with marinate in the fridge for 2 hours.
2. Deep fry chicken till golden brown. Set aside.
3. Heat oil, saute onion and garlic till fragrant.
4. Add seasonings. Bring to boil.
5. Add in chicken. Simmer for 2 mins till sauce thicken.
6. Dish up and garnish with coriander leaves. Serve.

My bits of recommended recipes:
Braised Chicken with Shallots
Teriyaki Chicken Skews
Pan Fried Salmon with Oyster Sauce

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Steamed Chicken with Arrowhead & Chinese Sausages

Another arrowhead recipe to be shared with you! I can't resist to buy more arrowhead during CNY period, it can only be consume once a year, so why not take the opportunity? I love arrowhead to bits, simply because it is sweet and crunchy to bite on. It can be used in variety of ways in cooking.

This is indeed my mum's version of steamed chicken with arrowhead & chinese sausages. When I first consume this dish at my mum's house, I fell in love with it... haha... the chicken is so sweet & tender, including the gravy too. Arrowhead is sweet and crunchy as well... even my little Sean loves the gravy with rice alone.

Simple arrange all the ingredients plus the seasonings in a bowl and steam it. Within minutes, you can have a savoury dish for the whole family. Isn't it easy? especially during festive season. Steaming also healthier and preserve the goodness of all ingredients in it.
Yum Yum... I think I would be putting more extra pounds after CNY.

Ingredients:
4 chicken thigh & drumsticks, cut into chunks
1 chinese sausages, sliced diagonally
3 big-sized arrowhead, sliced thinly
2 tbsp oil
3 cloves garlic

Seasonings:
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp Shio Xing rice wine
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tsp white pepper
Dash of sesame oil


Methods:
1. Washed chicken, removed skin and chopped into chunks.
2. Sliced arrowhead and chinese sausages.
3. Arrange coarsely in a steaming bowl or plate.
4. Add in seasonings, stir and mix well.
5. Boil water for steaming. Once boiled, put in the bowl.
6. Steam for 30 mins or until chicken is cooked.
7. Serve with hot steaming rice.

My bits of recommended recipes:
Vegetables Chicken Meatball
Steamed Herbal Chicken

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Yee Mee Noodle Cantonese Style

Noodle symbolizes "long life" or "longevity" for Chinese, we will indeed have a noodle dish during Chinese New Year's eve, birthday or wedding. Noodle symbolizes "long life" mainly because it is lengthy. We usually fry longevity noodle - a flat type of egg noodle similar to Western linguine. You can have any type of noodles, have it fried, soup or with gravy during these events.

I went to the market and saw this crispy Yee Mee selling in 5 cakes in a packet. I bought it on the spot and thought of making Yee Mee in Cantonese-style, my hubby all time favourite. Got some "choy sam", carrots, prawns & fish cakes to go with it, what a simple dish for dinner, isn't it? It could be a nice noodle dish for re-union dinner too.

Till then, wishing all of you “long life"
& Prosperous Chinese New year!



Ingredients:
4 cakes Yee Mee
200gm medium-sized prawns, removed shell & vein
1/2 carrot, cut into strips
200gm Choy Sam (green leafy vegetable), peeled and washed
4 pcs Fish cakes, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups water
4 eggs, beaten



Seasonings:
1 tbsp Shiao Xing Rice Wine
3 tsp salt
2 tsp white pepper

Thickener (adjust according to your preference):
6 tsp corn flour
10 tbsp water


One whole "Yee Mee"
Methods:
1. Heat oil, saute garlic till fragrant.
2. Add in carrot & fish cakes. Stir well for 2 mins.
3. Add in water, bring to boil.
4. Add in choy sam & prawns. Simmer till cooked.
5. Add in thickener & eggs Simmer till gravy is thicken.
6. Add in seasonings. Off fire.
7. Arrange yee mee on a plate. Pour the gravy onto it. Serve hot.

My bits of tips:
• You may also add in chicken meat, pork meat or chinese cabbage.
• The thickness of the gravy is on your own preference. Some might like thicker sauce or vice versa.

My bits of recommended recipes:
Simple Fried Mee Hoon ala Chinese
Fried Udon Noodles
Fried Linguine ala Chinese

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Stir Fry Arrowhead with Celery

恭喜發財！Chinese New Year is around the corner! Reunion dinner is one of the Chinese tradition on eve of Chinese New Year. All of the family members will travel from near or far to unite for this reunion dinner, mostly at their parent's house. It has been a tradition and cultural for Chinese to feast on this day and most of the dishes are very tradition, such as steamed chicken, stir fry Chinese sausages with vegetables, fried prawns, stir fry mushroom with fat choy & many many more. It has been our family tradition too to cook on this festive day and our family members will gather together on this day for dinner even though we do not celebrate Chinese New Year.

Arrow head has been selling in most of the wet market or supermarket a month ago and it is only seen once a year, during the CNY period. I am one of the big fans of this vegetable. Arrow head can be plants in water with some stones for CNY decoration too which I used to do it when I was a teenager. It is indeed a natural beauty plant to beautifying your house during CNY. Arrow head is sweet and tender, in fact it is also crunchy to bite on. Some even shred it and deep fry it as a snack or for selling during this festive season. This time, I stir fried some with celery & garlic. Simple yet delicious and healthy vegetable dish for everyone! Check out my next dish for CNY!


Ingredients:
6 big-sized arrow heads, peeled & sliced
2 stalks Celery, sliced
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 tbsp Olive oil
Sugar & Salt to taste

Methods:
1. Washed, peeled & sliced arrow heads. Set aside.
2. Washed & sliced celery. Set aside.
3. Heat up olive oil in a wok.
4. Saute garlic till fragrant.
5. Add in arrowhead & celery. Stir fry till fragrant & soft.
6. Add in sugar & salt to taste.
7. Sprinkle some water. Stir fry for a minute.
8. Dish up & serve.

My bits of recommended recipes:
Stir Fried Broccoli, mushroom & prawns
Bok Choy with Oyster Sauce
Stir Fried Flat Beans with Dried Shrimp
Stir Fried MIxed Vegetables with Lily Bulb

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Broccoli & Potato Soup

When comes to creamy soup or those Westerner's soup, I love it to bits. After making the Cream of Mushroom Soup. I plan to make some similar soup. As I flipped through some of the magazine, I found this recipe from an Australian Magazine, so why not give it a try! To my surprised, it is amazing and so yummilious! Even, my son managed to drink 1/2 a bowl, it is consider a consolation for me as he dislikes vegetables soup at times. Need to do more of my "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" tricks!

Broccoli and potato are a good blend in this recipe. It is indeed a vegetarian soup according to the article. It is high in fibre & low saturated fat. Isn't it good for us? Let's savor!

The below recipe is adapted and modified:
Ingredients:
1 Kg broccoli, cut into florets
4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled & chopped
1 tbsp Olive oil
1 large Brown onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 cups vegetable stock (I used plain water)
2 cups water
Salt & pepper to taste



Methods:
1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic.
2. Cook, stirring for 3 mins or until soft.
3. Add broccoli, potato, stock and 2 cups cold water. Cover.
4. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer, stirring for 10-15 mins or until potato is tender. Remove from heat.
5. Process in a food processor until smooth. Return to pan. Cook for 5 mins or until heated through.
6. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

• High fibre
• Vegetarian
• Low saturated fat

My bits of tips:
• I used the broccoli stems too.
• The thickness of the soup is on your own preference. If you find the soup is too thick, you may add more vegetable broth / stock / water after blending.

My bits of recommended recipes:
Cream of Mushroom Soup
ABC Corn in Cob Soup
Cranberry Beans Soup

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Fried Rice with Cashew nuts

My hubby & I are big fans of cashew nuts. After seeing the documentary of how cashew nuts are being processed, packed and sell in the market, you will definitely know how to appreciate them. Cashew nut has a very unique shape and it is attached with its flower. The workmanship of getting the fresh cashew nuts are very tedious, process of opening the hard shell of the nut required an experienced worker.

Picking and separating the nuts are another detail process before we can buy, eat or cook the cashew nuts. Me and my hubby were amazed by how cashew nut has been processed. Thus, we know why it is more expensive. It can be used in many ways, with variety of seasonings, herbs or spices. Isn't it great? Thailand is a great place where you can find variety of cashew nuts with many flavours, such as coating with sugar, fried with Thai basil leaves, Tom Yam, coat with sesame seeds, curry powder & many many more!

I used plenty of cashew nuts in making "Kung Poh" Chicken or just eat it on its own. Since, we loved cashew nuts so much, why not adding it into our fried rice? That is what I was thinking of when I cooked this simple and easy dish. It definitely added a lot of crunchiness to this fried rice, making it more appetizing and appealing. Do you like cashew nuts too?

Ingredients:
2 bowls of rice
200gm prawns, peeled (retain the tail)
200gm chicken breast meat, cubed
1 red onion, cut into 8 portions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 stalk of celery, sliced
2 eggs, beaten
200gm roasted cashew nuts

Seasonings (pre-mixed):
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
Dash of pepper

Methods:
1. Marinate prawns & chicken with some salt, sugar & sesame oil.
2. Heat oil, sautee half of the garlic, stir fry prawns till cooked. Set aside.
3. Heat oil again, sautee garlic & onion till fragrant.
4. Add in celery & chicken, stir fry till chicken is tender.
5. Add eggs, stir & mix well.
6. Add rice, fry till fragrant. Sprinkle some water if necessary.
7. Add seasonings, mix well. Sprinkle cashew nuts & mix well.
8. Dish up and serve.

My bits of tips:
• You may add in more ingredients as you prefer, such as slice carrot, mixed beans, chinese sausages & etc...

My bits of recommended recipes:
Pineapple Fried Rice

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Traditional Pancakes

Yesterday my son requested me to make him some pancakes, so I dug out all my recipe books and found this trusted and tested Good Old Fashioned Pancakes from this website. I have made a batch of banana pancakes last time with this recipe. It was indeed very tasty and simple to make. This recipe makes 3 big pancakes which can be cut into 8 pieces. What a simple and quick snack for the whole family. You may spread some raspberry jam, kaya, butter, maple syrup, apricot jam or peanut butter on it. Simply delicious!


Ingredients:
1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 & 1/4 cups milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Methods:
1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth. Heat a lightly oiled frying pan over medium high heat.

2. Pour or scoop the batter onto the frying pan using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

My bits of recommended recipes:
Banana Pancakes
Almond & Apple Cake
Simply Cup Cakes

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Braised Chicken with Shallots

Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs & drumsticks, chopped
10 shallots, washed & peeled
2 nos garlic, sliced
5 nos ginger, sliced
1 tsp black soy sauce

Marinate:
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp light soya sauce
4 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sesame oil
pepper to taste

Methods:
1. Marinade chicken with the marinate. Set in the fridge for 3 hours or longer.
2. Heat up olive, saute shallots, garlic & ginger till fragrant.
3. Add chicken, stir fry the chicken till tender and fragrant.
4. Add water - the water should cover the chicken.
5. Cover the wok lid. Simmer under low fire for about 10-15mins or till gravy thicken.
6. Add dash of salt.
7. Add black soy sauce, stir well & dish up. Serve hot.

My bits of recommended recipes:
Braised Chicken with Tea
Braised Ginger Chicken with Potatoes
Braised Chicken with Button Mushroom

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Eggs with Cranberry Beans

Sometimes when I am too busy or rushing for a meal. I prefer to cook "one dish meal". Simple, quick & easy! I had some cranberry beans in hand which kinda bored to make it into soup. So, I though of giving it a try for a quick stir fry omelette dish. The result is not bad though if you need to fix a quick and healthy meal. So, this is what I have made for the "rushing" dinner!

Ingredients:
300gm cranberry beans, peeled & washed
200gm chicken breast meat, sliced
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 red onion, sliced

Marinate for chicken:
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp light soya sauce
Dash of pepper
Dash of corn flour

Seasonings (mix well):
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp light soya sauce
Dash of pepper
10ml water

Methods:
1. Boil cranberry beans in a pot till soft. Drained and set aside.
2. Marinade chicken with marinate. Set aside for 10 mins.
3. Heat up 1 tbsp olive oil, saute onion till fragrant.
4. Add chicken. Stir fry until chicken is cooked.
5. Add cranberry beans. Stir fry for 1 min.
6. Add eggs, let it cook for a while before turning it to other side.
7. Add seasonings. Stir and mix the ingredients.
8. Dish up and serve with rice or noodles.

My bits of recommended recipes:
Stir fry eggs with mushroom & veggie
Special Tamago
Ridge Gourd Omelette

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Delightful Trifle

Happy 2009 everyone! I am back from a long and delightful holiday break, and also gaining some extra pounds after all the feasting and holidaying....haha... How about your holiday break? and your New Year celebration?
Trifle is my all time favourite when comes to dessert because it is indeed soothing and consists variety of ingredients in it. You can just add anything in it of your own choice, such as cakes, bread, pudding, jelly, nuts, seeds or whipped cream too. Isn't it nice? This recipe was adapted and modified from kuali.com.



This recipe can make 2 big bowl and 2 small glass of trifle:
Ingredients:
8 pieces Swiss roll slices
3–4 tbsp orange juice (I used Sunkist Brand)

Custard filling
50g custard powder
100g castor sugar
150ml water
600ml milk
1/4 tsp vanilla essence
1/8 tsp salt

Jelly layer
2 packets (90g) NONA strawberry / raspberry jelly crystals
400ml (for one packet) boiling water X 2 for 2 packets

Topping
Peaches (about 825gm), cubed / sliced




Method
1. Dissolve the custard powder in milk in a saucepan. Add in water, sugar, salt and essence. Stir over low heat until mixture thickens and bring to boil.

2. To make the trifle, line a glass dish with the Swiss roll slices. Spoon some fruit juice over them and then top with peaches pieces.

3. Pour the prepared custard over the peaches pieces then place the glass dish in the refrigerator for 20 minutes to set the custard.

4. Put peaches slices again on the custard.

5. To prepare jelly, dissolve jelly crystals in hot water.

6. Pour dissolved jelly over the custard & peaches. Chill in the refrigerator until the jelly sets.

(Note: The trifle should be well chilled before serving.)

My bits of tips:
• Simmer the custard till thicken in low heat and keep on stirring it.
• Chilled the trifle before serving to make the trifle more savouring and cold.
• Check out this website for NONA Crystal Jelly

My bits of recommended recipes:
Colourful Jelly
Dried Longan Dessert

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