Thursday, October 31, 2013

Spicy Chicken Tomato Soup




a healthy and hearty dish for a cold autumn night....delish!

recipe adapted from here and here
 Ingredients
1 cup chicken broth or more

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2  medium yellow onion - chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small orange bell pepper - diced
10 baby carrots - diced
1 stalk celery - diced
1/4  teaspoon chili powder
1/4  teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 bay leaf
sea salt to taste
sprinkle of black pepper
1 cup whole peeled tomatoes
3/4 cup cooked and diced or shredded chicken

2 tbsp frozen corn
2 tbsp canned black beans
handful of crispy tortilla strips
Optional toppings: finely chopped onions, shredded cheese, sour cream, avocado and corn chips


Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Banana Walnut Bread/Cake


recipe adapted from here

Ingredients
1 cup granulated sugar 
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature 
2 large eggs 
3 ripe bananas 
2 tablespoon milk 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 teaspoon baking soda 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 cup toasted walnuts
1 tsp sugar + 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon for sprinkling


Sunday, October 27, 2013

Thai Chicken Pizza





Ingredients
For making the dough
1 packet active dry yeast
3/4 cup warm water(about 100 to 110 degrees F)
2 cups all purpose flour or bread flour
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp olive oil

Braised Pork Rib with Sea Cucumber and Fish Maw


Ingredients
1 lb pork rib - blanched
1 pkt sea cucumber (frozen fresh) - cleaned and blanched
3 pcs dried fish maw  - blanched
2 shitake mushrooms - soaked, drained and trimmed
1 carrot - cut into thick slices
2 slices ginger
2 cloves garlic - lightly smashed
1 shallot - peeled and sliced into halves
1 tbsp oil for frying
1 to 2 cups water

Sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce

Method
  1. Heat up oil in a pan.  Saute ginger, garlic and shallot till lightly aromatic.
  2. Fry pork ribs and mushrooms for 1 to 2 minutes.  Drizzle sauce and do a quick stir fry.  Add water and bring to a boil.  Simmer for another 30 minutes.
  3. Add carrot, sea cucumber and fish maw and simmer for another 30 minutes.
  4. Drizzle sesame oil and transfer to a serving plate.  Serve warm with rice. 

Wednesday, October 23, 2013

Stir Fried Pork Belly with Soy sauce (Tau Yew Bak)

Ingredients
300g pork belly
3 clove garlic - chopped
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
 pinch of five-spice powder
1 tsp vegetable oil

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Ipoh Hor Fun


Ingredients (for 2 pax)
1 boneless chicken breast - shredded (leftover from cooking hainanese chicken rice)
2 dried mushrooms - soaked, drained and trimmed or sliced if preferred
2 bundles fresh ipoh noodles - i substituted with dried version
6 prawns - deshelled
2 stalks green vegetables - xiao bai cai, gai lan, chye sim etc 
1 cup chicken stock
cornstarch solution
fried shallot 

Saturday, October 19, 2013

Japanese Kinpira Gobo (Burdock Root) Salad with Lotus Root

recipe adapted from here
Ingredients 
1.5-2 foot section of Organic gobo (burdock root) or several pieces to match equivalent length, cut into matchsticks/julienned
1 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks/julienned
1 fresh red chili - sliced thinly
1/4 of one lotus root - peeled and sliced and soaked in water
1-2 tbsp toasted black sesame seeds
1.5 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp coconut syrup/sugar or equivalent sweetener
2 tbsp mirin
1-2 tbsp tamari or shoyu soy sauce
2 tbsp dashi

Saturday, October 12, 2013

Smoked Salmon Pasta







Ingredients
fettucinne pasta
smoked salmon
cherry tomatoes
dried basil leaves
toasted pine nuts
shredded cheese blend
extra virgin olive oil
 
Method 

  1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.
  2. Drain and set aside on a serving plate.
  3. Drizzle olive oil and add shredded cheese.  Toss to mix.
  4. Add cherry tomatoes, smoked salmon, pine nuts and sprinkle basil leaves.  Toss to mix well and serve warm.

Doubled Boiled Pear with Almond and Snow Fungus Dessert (杏仁银耳雪梨汤)

Ingredients
1 asian pear - cut into quarters and core and seeds
1 tsp sweet chinese almond
1 tsp bitter chinese almond
1 small piece snow fungus - soaked, drained and trimmed into small pieces
rock sugar to taste

Braised Pork Belly and Potato with Red Fermented Beancurd (南乳薯仔炆腩肉)


recipe adapted from sunflower-recipes.blogspot
Ingredients
350g pork belly, cut into chunks
8 small organic yukon potato, peeled and cut into chunks
1 square cube red fermented beancurd (nam yee 南乳) - mashed
1 tbsp of the red pickling juice from the fermented beancurd
3 cloves garlic - chopped

3 slices ginger
2 dried chilies
1/4 tsp five spice powder
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
2 star anise
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp sugar
some ground pepper

vegetable oil

Salad with Smoked Salmon

Ingredients
rotini pasta
smoked salmon - cut into pieces
spring mix vegetables
extra virgin olive oil
toasted pine nuts
shredded cheese blend

Method
  1. Cook pasta according to package instructions.  Drain and transfer to a bowl.
  2. Add olive oil, cheese, pine nuts and salmon.  Toss to mix well.
  3. Place vegetables onto a serving plate.  Add pasta salmon mix to the plate and it is ready to be eaten.

Friday, October 11, 2013

Vietnamese Grilled Pork Sandwich (Banh Mi Thit Nuong)




Ingredients
1 lb pork butt - sliced into thick strips
1 baguette roll - sliced
mayonnaise
jalapeno chilies or fresh red chilies
pickled cucumber
pickled carrots
pickled daikon
handful of cilantro leaves

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Salad with vegetables and ham

Ingredients
mix of organic green vegetables
1/2 cup rotini pasta 
2 slices canadian bacon ham
extra virgin olive oil
shredded mixed cheese
handful of toasted walnuts

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Chow Mien with Sweet Soy Sauce (甜酱油炒面)




Ingredients
for 2 servings
1 bunch of fresh yellow noodles 
2 eggs - lightly beaten
1 pc of fried fish cake - sliced into strips
1 small carrot - sliced into strips
2 fresh red chilli - remove seeds and sliced
 handful of chye sim or other greens
1 pc lean meat - sliced into strips
8 cloves garlic - peeled and chopped
1/4 yellow onion - peeled and sliced
1 1/2 tbsp dark sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
few tbsp chicken stock or water
pork lard oil
vegetable oil 

Sunday, October 6, 2013

Mixed Vegetable Salad


Ingredients
organic mixed green vegetables
sliced cucumber
cherry tomatoes
organic apple cider vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
roasted cashew nuts - lightly crushed

Method
Toss and mix all ingredients together.

Pan Fried Pork Patty with Sesame Seeds



Ingredients
1 lb pork butt - slice into 1cm thick
flour for coating
1 egg - beaten 
white sesame seeds
vegetable oil

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Dehydrating Fresh Jujube (Red Dates)

Ingredients
fresh jujubes (red dates) - washed

Equipment
Dehydrator

Method
  1. Place washed jujube onto a plate lined with paper towel and let them dry for two days so that the size would be reduced to better fit into the dehydrator.
  2. Place the jujube onto each tray, leaving space in between them.
  3. Cover and set the temperature at 145 degrees F.
  4. Dehydrate for 22 to 24 hours or till the jujubes are dried.
  5. Store the dried jujubed into air-tight containers..

Steamed Chicken with Fresh Jujube


Ingredients
1 chicken thigh - deboned and cut into small pieces
3 jujube (red dates) - cut into pcs
1 shitake mushroom - soaked, drained and cut into pieces
2 slices ginger
1 clove chopped garlic
1 pc dang gui

Blanched Gailan with Propeller Clam



Ingredients
1 small bunch gailan - trimmed and separate stalks and leaves
handful of northern propeller clams
2 cloves garlic - chopped
2 slices ginger
1 tbsp oyster sauce
4 tbsp chicken stock
cornstarch solution
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
pinch of pepper
water