Steamed Clams with Dark Rum Recipe

"It's absolutely my favourite clam dish, for meals or one fo the dishes that complements your drinking session in the cold weather."

Clam is one of the seafood I love most. Easy to prepare and it goes well with any kind of cooking method. The simplest way, to steam it!

Choose medium to large shells for more fleshy meat inside. How to choose good clams? I do not really have the best method to choose them, but at least sniff the clams from a short distance to determine if they are still good to eat or going bad, if they smelt fishy. it is better to get clams early in the morning at the wet markets as the clams are likely to be alive, still. So, don't be afraid if you see it moves! The price of clams is low, too. With less than S$5, you may be able to get more than a bucket-full of clams.

This dish is not really suitable for young children as it contains dark rum liquor. I chose dark rum for its great scent. It remains fragrant, with a hint of mild sweet alcohol taste pretty much in evidence in the palate, even after much evaporation from the steam. However, its overall taste was subtle, and it's best to serve while piping hot. For the rainy or cold season!

This recipe is easy to follow. With just 15 minutes of your time, you may get the dish up and serve!

Serves 4
Ingredients
1 large plate of medium to large hard-shelled clams, well scrubbed (about 500 - 600 grams)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
3 thick slices of ginger, lightle mashed
2 - 3 tablespoons of dark rum (Myers's Rum)
1 - 2 teaspoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of Italian herbs
Sprinkle of salt and ground white pepper

Method
1) Soak clams in salted water for at least an hour.

2) Place clams on a large deep serving dish. Sprinkle chopped garlic, and scatter ginger slices among the clams. Now, sprinkle sugar, salt and pepper, followed by dark rum. Lastly, sprinkle Italian herbs, all evenly on the plate.

3) Heat up 1 inch water in wok with a lid, place clams on a steam rack in wok and steam for 10 minutes (or until almost all shells open) over high heat, with lid on. When done, serve immediately.

For spicy flavour, add some chilli padi (bird's eye chilli) julienne.

1 portion of medium-large clams (about 10 - 12 shells with sauce intake) counts about 180kcal from this recipe.

Tips: If you do not have dark rum, use rice wine or sherry to replace it. To serve young children, omit the alcohol. You might want to add just some lemon juice instead of wine/ liquor.
* Amount of dark rum is adjustable, depends on your liking.
* Add up to 2 teaspoons of brown sugar, if you prefer sweeter rather than pungent alcohol scented sauce.
* Anyway, this dish is not really saucey. If more sauce/ stock is desired, add 2-3 tablespoons of water in it, before steaming. It is nice to drink it as clear soup.

Kai-lan Vegetables with Oyster Sauce (蚝油芥兰)

"Famous Oyster Sauced Kai-lan vegetable dish now you can cook it at home, easily and deliciously, without any bitter taste!"

Kailan, also named Chinese broccoli or Chinese kale. Many people like the crunchy texture of this leavy vegetable with thick stem, but often complain its mild bitter taste, too. Some readers asked me if I have a better to cook Kailan. Seriously, unless is baby kailan, I will not use stir-frying method as it does not sound appetizing to have the thick kailan stir-fried. I think, this is probably the best way to cook and taste Kailan without its inherited bitterness.

Yeah, you might find it hard to believe that these 'raw-looking' greens with just little sauce will not taste bitter. But I can assure you, yes, it wasn't bitter at all. In fact, not even any mild greeny taste. It was, in fact, crunchy and delicious with a hint of natural sweetness! You may need to spend about S$10 to get this dish, from dining out. But now, you will be able to keep your bucks and have this tasted at home. With less than S$2 cost, this Kailan dish will be presented on your dining table, in just 10 minutes!

Serves 4
Ingredients
200 grams of medium sized Kai-lan

Sauce:
1 small shallot, thinly slices (best to remain in rings for better presentation)
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
Small pinch of salt and pepper

1 teaspoon of sesame oil
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce

Method
1) Wash and soak whole leavy Kailan vegetables in lightly salted water for 15 minutes. Boil a medium pot of water over high flame. Add 1 teaspoon of sugar (add more if your pot is large). Blanch Kailan in the boiling water for 1 - 2 minute, or once the leaves appear darker green in colour. Drain on a strainer and place nicely on a serving dish.

2) Heat wok with vegetable oil on medium heat, stir-fry shallot and garlic till fragrant and browned. Reduce heat to low fire when shallot and garlic are lightly browned to allow standing time. Sprinkle salt and pepper, followed by light soy sauce (beware of its sizzling effect by the mixture of hot oil and light soy sauce). Heat off and immediately pour onto the vegetables. Top sesame oil and oyster sauce. Serve.

1 portion of oyster sauced kailan counts about 120kcal.

Variations: Change the choice of vegetables to lettuce or bok choy. Similar cooking method can be adopted on Fish dish or tofu dish.

Tips: Choose medium sized Kailan (length of the Kailan should be around the length from the tip of spreaded middle finger to thumb). About 6" long each.

Abalone Beehoon Soup (鲍鱼米粉汤)

"Express & light, but luxury lunch deal at home!"

Not sure what to have for lunch? I had plenty of Szechuan vegetable soup cooked in excessive portion for dinner on a weekend yesterweek. But the pork ribs in the soup were all finished up the same night, left only the vegetables with soup. Plenty of soup! It would be a waste to discard the soup, I used it to cook bee hoon soup for my lunch the next day. Yes, since there was a can of abalone in my storage bought during CNY, it would be good to enjoy it with my plain bee hoon (rice stick or rice vermicelli) soup!

Yeah, just the Szechuan vegetable slices and abolone slies in bee hoon soup. It's a simple but luxury lunch meal!

Serves 4
Ingredients
Half package of rice vermicelli aka bee hoon (about 250 grams), soaked till soften
1 medium-sized lumpy Szechuan preserved vegetable, steeped for at least 2 hours and sliced
1 can of Abalone, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Sprinkle of white ground pepper
Drops of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of cooking oil

A pot of water, 50% filled (abt 1000ml)

Garnish:
Red chilli, julienned
Fried shallot (Optional)

Method:
1) Heat large pot with oil over high fire. Place garlic and stir fry till fragrant and lightly browned. Pour in water and liquid from canned abalone. Bring it to a boil.

2) Add in steeped and sliced Szechuan vegetables, reduce heat to small fire and simmer for at least 1 hour (*You may even add some meaty pork ribs or chicken meat with bones into the boiling to enhance soup taste). Add pepper ans sesame oil to add fragrance. Then, place sliced abalone in a strainer, blanch abalone in the strainer in the soup for just 1 minute. Remove and set aside.

3) Blanch bee hoon in another pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Drain and divide into bowls. Top with desired amount of sliced abalone on the bee hoon. Laddle soup and pour over bee hoon and abalone slices. Garnish ans serve hot.

I used overnight soup base. Otherwise, follow the above listed steps.

Calorie in this luxury light lunch meal counts about 300kcal. And, that was the simple quickie light lunch meal over my wonderful weekend!

Tips: Steep Szechuan vegetable long enough to extract the excessive salt in it. Taste the soup constantly while boiling to make sure it does not taste overly saltish. To reduce its saltiness, you may slice it first before steeping. Remember, the abalone stock from the can is also briny taste.
* Just a quick blanch of canned abalone thin slices will do. Do not slice it too thick pieces, and also, avoid over-cooking it as it might turn rubbery texture. I bought New Zealand Abalone in Brine by New Moon Brand.
* Choice of bee hoon type good for soup: You may choose brands that come with thinner strands.

Silky Steamed Tofu with Dried Shrimps Sauce

"Silky smooth steamed tofu, easy to make, healthy to eat, happy to enjoy it!"

This is a very delicous tofu dish which so likeable by my girl. She kept the whole dish, and wanted to finsih up all by her own. We just got to taste 1 - 2 mouthful, last night when I cooked it (sobbing). Yes, she finsihed up almost whole block, and yet, commented no enough!

The tofu itself tastes bland with just plain steaming, of course. The real flavour comes from thre sauce. Pleasant briny taste with fragrant dried shrimp and shallot that yield super aromatic taste! Overall taste is subtle, and yet, flavourful. I loved the smooth and silky quick-steamed tofu contrasting with crisped and fragrant dried shrimp and shallot which created an interesting bites in the palate. Yummy..

And happy to see your child having tofu, try this simple to make, and healthy to eat tofu dish!

Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients
1 block of beancurd aka tofu (**choose type good for steaming or soup)
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce

Sauce:
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 heaping teaspoon of tiny dried shrimp, rinsed
1 small shallot, thinly slices in rings
1 clove of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons of light soy sauce
A small pinch of salt

Garnish: (Optional)
Sprinkle of red chilli and scallion, julienned

Method
1) Steam block of tofu on a serving dish in wok filled with water over high heat (or in steamer), for 2 minutes, with lid on. Heat off. Top oyster sauce on top of tofu. Reserve for later.

2) Clean the wok. Add vegetable oil into wok, stir-fry dried shrimp, shallot and garlic over medium heat, until fragrant and light brown. Sprinkle some salt. You have to keep stirring it to avoid burning. When it is almost brown, reduce heat to low fire. Add in sesame oil, followed by light soy sauce (beware of its sizzling effect by the mixture of hot oil and light soy sauce). Heat off and immediately pour onto the steamed tofu with oyster sauce. Garnish with red chilli and scallion juliennes to add more colours for better presentation, as desired. Serve.

Garnishing was not done on my tofu dish as my girl does not take scallions. Since it is for my home consumption, less pretty looking (dish) was fine to us. Frankly, it looks fine and appetizing to me, even without the greens and reds. However, apologize here, if my tofu picture does not look as attractive as it should be presented (smile).

A portion of this tofu dish counts about 60kcal per decent amount.

Tips: Use super tiny type of fine dried shrimps. If you dried shrimps are bigger pieces, coarsely chop it before use. Need not to soak, just rinse twice. If really want, just a few minutes will do.

Aromatic Pan-Fried Fice Spice Meat Cake Recipe (香煎五香肉饼)

"The very own homemade meat cake to be marked 100% by your kids!"

Just like what my reader, Anne, told me that her son rated her cooking with 100 marks, for some pork dishes cooked with my recipes. I created this pork meat cake,and hope Anne (and any of you) could try and receive compliments from her loved ones again (winking smile)! My little one did praise me for making this meat cake for her.. As for her who does not really like pork, she loved this meat cake so much! This meat cake creates aromas in the bites. And I loved it with a touch of five spice flavour, not too strong but enough to taste its fragrance. However, not many children like five spice flavour, if your kid doesn't, omit the five spice powder and substitute with some ground white pepper. Yeah, just call it a pan-fried meat cake dish will do (smile).

This meat cake can be served with rice during meals. Or, cook it as the filling to make a burger lunch box for your child to bring it to school! Hope you like it.

Yields 8 - 10 pieces
Ingredients
300 grams of minced pork meat

Sprinkle of ground black pepper
1 stalk of scallion aka spring onion, julienned

5 tablespoons of cooking oil (to use for pan frying)

Seasoning:
1 chilled Chicken stock cube without MSG (鸡精块)，mashed
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of five spice powder
1 teaspoon of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of corn starch

Method:
1) Season minced meat with the listed seasoning ingredients. Mix well and marinate for at least 10 minutes. Shape marinated minced meat into circular flat cakes (about the size of disgestive biscuit).

2) Heat large frying pan with oil over high heat. Sprinkle some salt when oil heated. Reduce fire to medium. Place meat cakes on the pan, but avoid over-crowding.

3) When the frying side is almost done, sprinkle black pepper, followed by scallion on the surface of each meat cake before over-turning the meat cake. OK now to flip the meat cake to the other side and pan-fry till golden browned. Serve meat cakes with the side having black pepper and scallions on top.

A slice of meat cake counts about 120kcal.

Tips: Use your clean palms to make a ball of minced meat, and then, place it on a clean table top. Flatten it with your whole palm to just about 0.5cm thick. Or, make your kids do it for you! Do not make the meat cake too thick to avoid under-cooking inside it.

Chocolate Peach Torte

"Be spoilt by this true ~ sweet indulgence"

When this torte was first made, it looked deceptively dense and overly rich. I thought this might be a failure to my first torte baking. But guess what? It was a big hit by my family and friends! As for me, I had it for my tea session over the weekend, reading my favourite lifestyle magazine while enjoying this own-baked savoury treat~ Yes.. and "No" (smile), it wasn't overly rich for the taste bud. Instead, the taste was just right to bring out the true sensation! True creamy chocolaty taste, and pleasantly sweet without being overpowering. Texture of the cake is dense (that's why it is called "torte"), but it is perfectly matched with the soft and smooth mousse cream in between the layers (Yes, torte is supposed to make in layers). Its density complements the silky mousse cream and chocolate topping, creating an overall taste of perfection!

Yeah, chocolate topping and mousse cream at the centre have to be in thick layers with just thin layer(s) of sponge cake (that makes a torte! And my first 'spongy' layer was a little too thick..:p). And, yes, torte has to have fruits (dry fruits, especially) and/ or nuts. Ha! Now you know what is "torte" (winking smile)?!

Hey, this is not difficult to make, but it will be a little time consuming with extended effort needed. You have to make this in stages. However, it's definitely worth the effort and time! My hubby was the no. 1 fan of this chocolate peach torte! He loved it alot! Tell you what, your loved one will be very impressed by you, if you present this torte cake during his birthday. Don't be frightened by my super lengthy recipe write-up, I was just being very clear in the steps (laughing).. Baking can actually be done within 2 hours time.

That's the perfect chocolate peach torte!

Yields 8 big slices of sweet treats
Ingredients A:
70 grams of Couverture chocolate, coarsely chopped and double boiled to melt
70 grams of hard butter (need NOT to thaw)
50 grams of sugar
70 grams of plain flour, sieved
5 grams of cocoa powder, sieved together with plain flour
4 egg yolks
Optional: 1 teaspoon of rum essence

Ingredients B:
50 grams of sugar
⅛ teaspoon of cream of tartar
4 egg whites

Ingredients for chocolate mousse cream:
100 grams of Couverture chocolate, coarsely chopped and double boiled to melt
100 grams of fresh cream (non-dairy), whipped
30 grams of sugar
10 grams of gelatin powder, dissolved in 3 tablespoons of boiling/ hot water
3 egg yolks
1 can of peaches (about 10 - 12 pcs)

Ingredients for chocolate topping:
200 grams of Couverture chocolate, coarsely chopped
200 grams of fresh cream (non-dairy) - Do NOT whip
50 grams of fresh cream (non-dairy), whipped

Decoration/ Garnish:
Almond flakes, toasted at 160°C for 15 minutes (abt 150 grams)

Utensil:
9" of round baking tin with removable base or retractable ring, greased and lines with baking sheet

Method for sponge cake:
1) Double boil chocolate over low heat until melted. Leave it to cool.

2) Cream hard butter, sugar and melted chocolate with eletrical mixer at medium speed, for 10 minutes, or longer till fluffy. Then Add in egg yolks and mix well, at same speed. (You may also add 1 teaspoon of rum essence to enhance flavour, it's optional. However, not anymore chocolate essence or emulco.)

3) Turn mixer to low speed, add in sieved flour and cocoa powder, mix well. Leave aside. Transfer flour mixture to another large bowl, if you only have one mixing bowl.

4) In clean mixing bowl, beat ingredients B at medium-high speed, for about 10 minutes or until stiff meringue adhered to upturned spoon). Combine flour mixture with the meringue to flour mixture, fold it in to mix well.

5) Preheat oven to 170°C. Pour mixture into baking tin and bake at centre rack, for about 30 minutes. When baked, remove from cake tin and leave it to cool. Cut the cake into 2 layers, when cooled.

Method to make chocolate mousse:
1) While baking the sponge cake, double boil the Couverture chocolate over low heat until melted. Leave aside to cool. Or, you may boil the chocolate altogether, with the amount needed for the sponge cake in "Ingredient A" (total 170 grams), then separate the required amount by weighing.

2) Whish egg yolks and sugar with hand whisk or electrical mixer, till creamy (about 8 minutes). Add in warm melted chocolate and mix well.

3) Whip fresh cream with mixer at any speed (I used high speed), till stiff (yes, it has to be adhered to an upturned spoon). Add whipped cream into chocolate mixture. Add melted gelatin and mix well.

4) Now return 1 layer of sponge cake to the cake tin (with removable base or retractable ring). Need not to grease or line cake tin.

5) Spread chocolate mousse evenly on top of the layer. Then, place peaches into the mousse. Arrange peaches in circular manner. Cover another layer of sponge cake on top of the mousse. Freeze to set the mousse (in the freezer).

Method to make thick chocolate topping:
1) Boil the 200g of (non-whip) fresh cream on stove with low frame until hot, and remove from heat. Add in Couverture chocolate and stir continously until melted. Leave it to cool before adding in the 50g of whipped cream (*this 50 gram of whipped cream may be whipped together with the first 100g of cream needed in chocolate mousse. Just separately the required amount by weighing).

2) Remove set mousse cake from freezer, spread the chocolate topping evenly on the cake. Place the completed torte cake in the refrigerator to set the chocolate topping.

3) When torte is set firmly. Lift the base up or remove the side ring. Decorate the sides and even top the torte with almond flakes. Cut into slices and serve chilled.

If you do not wish to use cocoa powder in the sponge cake, just skip it and substitute the same amount with plain flour. Which means instead of 70 grams of plain flour, use 75 grams now, if without cocoa powder. What will be the end result? Less dark in colour of sponge cake you'll get.

A large slice of chocolate peach torte counts about 495kcal.

Variation: Add canned pears instead of peaches.

Tips: Whatever similar ingredient used in the recipe may be done together instead of separating the same jobs, to save time and avoid redundancy. Beat all the amount together, and later, use a weighing machine to differentiate the required amount of each process.
* If the Couverture chocolate is bought in a large bar or blocks, you have to chop it to pieces for easy melting. Otherwise, get those in form of chips which usually used for make chocolate fondue. Couverture chocolate is easily available at major supermarkets (baking supplies section). To create smooth and higer quality of chocolate topping and mousse, use of Couverture chocolate (semi-sweet) is recommended.
* If you do not have any removable base cake tin, use the normal cake tin, but you have to line a large sheet of grease proof paper with excess paper till outside the cake tin, before returning the layer of sponge cake it in. When the whole torte is done and set, simply lift up the entire baking sheet to remove whole torte from the cake tin.
* Definition of Torte: requires to use large amount of eggs and less flour. Torte is made in layers, and cake's texture should be dense.

Milky Papaya Soup with Hor Fun Noodle (木瓜牛奶汤)

"Healthy and Tasty Papaya Noodle Soup"

The inspiration of cooking papaya soup came from the famous payaya bee hoon soup served in Xin Wang Hong Kong café, when visited their café and ordered this papaya soup (chose instant noodles to go with it) for my late dinner, after the NDP preview on the 1st Aug. I was wondering if this papaya soup could be cooked at home and taste as nice. Yes, you can definitely do it.. I tried (laughing)!

Maybe, it is not as professionally done (presentation wise?) as the famous Hong Kong cafe, but it's certainly delicious and very healthy for a homecooked soup dish. Not shy to say that, I think it is as tasty as theirs (winking smile)!

I loved papaya soup, even though the nutrient of papaya would have destroyed by the high temperatured long-boiling method. The natural sweetness in the soup yielded from the papaya makes this soup extra yummy and smooth for the throat. The aroma of papaya flavour carries through and mingles in the palate for a long while. It's sweet, fragrant, and delicious. Enjoy just the soup and perks in it, you may even forget about adding bee hoon or noodles in it.

Or, like us. We added Ipoh (Ipoh: one of the state town in Malaysia) hor fun (Hor-fun: Chinese noodle made from rice) instead of bee hoon. What's the difference between normal hor fun and Ipoh hor fun? Ipoh hor fun has thinner and smoother strands as it won't affect the taste of your papaya soup. Thin hor fun might not come from Ipoh, but Ipoh hor fun is not just thin, it's especially well-known for its silky smooth texture. So, try looking for Ipoh hor fun at many Chinese wet market store or supermarkets.

It is also easier to chew together with the papaya soup. Texture of this Ipoh hor fun is so soft and smooth for the palate. And, it is just so perfect to be added to this papaya soup. You'll like it to add this strands to complement your papaya soup. I got the packet of Ipoh hor fun from Sheng Siong supermarket (升松超市).

See recipe:
Serves 4
Ingredients
500g Ipoh hor fun (in Chinese: 怡保河粉)
200 gram of medium prawns, deveined and shelled with tail intact
4 crabsticks, halves lengthwise
1 packet of beancurd/ tofu, cut into bite sizes

For soup base:
50 grams of dried ikan bilis aka dried anchovies (put into a disposable soup bag)
200 gram of boney pork ribs
1 small not-too-ripe papaya, peeled with seeds removed and cut into chunk pieces
1 ear of sweet corn, husked and sliced lengthwise
1 tomato, quartered
2 tablespoons of fish sauce (鱼露)
Slabs of salt and pepper
Sprinkle of sesame oil

200-400ml of low-fat evaporated milk or skimmed milk (amount adjustable as desired)

1 pot of water, 50% filled (about 1800ml)

Method:
1) Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the bag of dried anchovies and pork ribs into the boiling water. Bring it to another boil. Scoop away any scum floating on the surface of the soup. Reduce heat to low fire, and simmer for 20 minutes, with lid tilted on the pot.

2) Add papaya and corn, and continue simmering for another 30 minutes, with lid on. Add salt, pepper and fish sauce. Then, add tomato and other ingredients of prawns and crabsticks. Allow the soup stock to bring to a boil again. When boiling, stir in evaporated milk, and boil for another 30 seconds (if adding skimmed milk, reduce heat to medium-low fire first). Heat off. Add in tofu.

3) Blanch the hor fun (or your choice of noodles). Divide hor fun into bowls. Laddle soup with ingredients into each bowl. Serve hot.

If you are not a fan of noodles, just enjoy the soup and papaya as well as other side ingredients in it! Add some fish balls and any preferred ingredients for more varieties.

And for me, personally, I prefered very milky soup. So, I've added almost 400ml of UHT skimmed milk (Paul's Trim UHT Milk was used) into the pot of soup. Using skimmed milk instead of evaporated was because it gives alot more 'milky' flavour, and it contains lower fat. But mainly was was because that was what I had in my refrigerator at that point of time, just wanted to finish it up (laughing). Be it skimmed or evaporated milk, you may add the milk little by little to taste the right amount to be added.

A bowl milky papaya noodle soup yields about 350kcal.

Tips: Blanch the Ipoh hor fun in salted boiling water for a quick plunge as this hor fun is too soft and "flimsy", which might get disintegrated if over-cooked. Just blanch it for less than a minute will do. Other noodle types may required longer blanching to have it cooked.
* If can't get any thin Ipoh hor fun, use any thin hor fun or kway teow (粿條).
* Get Paul's Trim UHT milk at any NTUC Fairprice supermarkets. The soup should be kept with medium-low heat when adding skimmed milk.

The Correct Way to Cook Instant Noodles

"No choice, but to eat instant noodles? Here's the correct way to cook instant noodles without harming our bodies and health (that much..)"

I have been sharing this piece of nutritional information with my readers in My Wok Life's Face Book Fan Club. I did not post it up earlier on, because these types of nutritional tips/ information were supposed to be exclusive to my readers who joined me in my FB, as promised. However, it seems to be something useful to be known, for the sake of your health, if you are one who hasn't really came across this message.

Hence, I decided to have it posted in my blog today, to share it with ALL, even if you are not in my FB.. Just this one... The rest of other interesting information, you are still invited to log on and be my FRIEND, to know it all and have the first-hand information! Yeah, the FB Fan Club already has gotten to read this since a month ago...(chuckling)!

Well, you may or may NOT know about this:
Normally, how we cook the instant noodles is to put the noodles into a pot with water, throw in the powder and let it cook for around 3 minutes and then it's ready to eat. However, that is the WRONG method of cooking the instant noodles! By doing this, when we actually boil the ingredients in the powder mixes, normally with MSG, it will change the molecular structures of the MSG causing it to be toxic, after boiling it on the heat.

The other thing that you may or may not realize is that, the noodles are coated with wax and it will take around 4 to 5 days for the body to excrete the wax after you have taken the noodles.

Hence, cook it this way, please!

CORRECT METHOD:
1. Boil the noodles in a pot with water.

2. Once the noodles is almost cooked, take out the noodles, and throw away the water which contains wax.

3. Boil another pot of water till boiling and put the noodles into the boiling water for 1 minute, and then shut the fire.

4. Only at this stage when the heat OFF, put the powder mixes into the hot water, to make noodle soup.

5. However, if you need dry noodles, take out the noodles, add the powder mixes on the serving dish, and toss it to get dry noodles.

Adopt this cooking habit for instant noodle meal, and it could be life saving! :)

Some "better" choices other than those normal instant noodles with 390-450kcal (depends on flavour) per serving:
Koka brand (Singapore) Non-fried instant noodles - *for lower calorie/ fat content;
Maggi brand (Nestlé) Low Fat instant noodles - *for lower fat content;
Koka brand instant noodles with NO MSG ADDED/ NO TRANS FAT: *for better health.

For other interesting information, YES, just log on to my FB! :D

Easy Cream Cheese Pound Cake

"Relish the homebaked light and moist cream cheese pound cake"

Pound cake simply means a pound of each ingredient or ratio of 1:1:1:1 of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. I tried, but I guess my pound cake is still not in the so-very-strict traditional pound cake making rules (Well, I just wish to accomodate the majority taste buds of the modern world..still, almost 1:1:1:1 ration..:p), but it is definitely a delicious easy cream cheese cake.. (winking smile). And my pound cake resembles more like an American pound cakes which has lighter body, but often contain an abundance of butter to offer a rich taste. My pound cake is sweet, but not too greasy to have it served even after heavy meal.

Yes, this pound cake tastes mild in the palate, but never lose its the aroma of fragrant cream cheese. So, you will not feel 'sick' for eating slices of it! Texture of this cake is, again, moist and smooth, especially when you eat it warm.

If you can't finish the bake within a day, it's OK. Refrigerate it and it may last for at least a week long. To serve it warm, just reheat with microwave at low heat for 30 seconds, to resume its soft and fluffy consistency.

Try it! This recipe is easy and delicious!

Yields 8 - 12 slices
Ingrediens
250 grams of cream cheese, softened

250 grams of butter, softened
5 small eggs (about 50 gram each)

2 cups of self raising flour, sifted
2 cups of sugar

50ml of milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

Utensil:
8” round/ long cake tin, lightly greased with olive oil

Method
1) In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar for 8 - 10 minutes, using electric mixer on medium speed. Beat in cream cheese and eggs until just blended. At low speed, gradually add flour, alternating with mlik, till well mixed. Stir in vanilla essence, using spatula.

2) Preheat oven at 150°C for 15 minutes. Pour batter into a greased 8-inch cake tin. Place cake tin at middle rack and bake for about 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.

3) Let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes, before removing it to a rack to cool further. Serve warm, or store in a food container to serve later.

A small slice of my cream cheese pound cake counts about 250kcal.

If you are intend to serve this savoury to your guests, "sweeten" your treat by a touch of icing sugar on top of the slice. It makes better presentation and different stage of mouthfeel altogether, especially to the kids. They will like it this way!

However, watch out the extra loads of calorie, if it's your concern (chuckling)..

Tips: Use measurement cup to measure the unit of "cup". Or convert using my unit convertor at the side bar of my site. Use generic metric. Apologies, I am just a beginner in baking.. forgive me, if my measurement unit written wrongly.. sob sob.

New Rainforest Kidzworld at Singapore Zoo

"New Opening of Rainforest Kidzworld and Boat Ride in Singapore Zoo"

We visited Singapore Zoo last Sunday, the actual day of Singapore National Day! Since it was a long weekend, we had to have some plan for the kid, at least an outing on the 3-day long weekend. And, as a form of celebration with the nation, we planned this outing (laughing), for a half morning visit, and to get home in time to watch the live National Day Parade on tv in the evening! There were plans in mind, whether to go Pulau Ubin for cycling or a visit to Jurong Bird Park (I have 50% discount on admission tickets), and etc, before decided on the zoo visit. But for several good reasons, I decided to have our family outing together with my good friend's family, for zoo visit and picnic, despite the fact that we had to pay full price tickets to the zoo on public holidays!

Zoo is never just about the animal exhibits anymore, another interesting reason that motivated us for our re-visiting, is to bring the little one to this newly revamped kid's wet playground, and also, the new boat ride!

The rainforest kidzworld offers an extended water playground with few water slides and the massive bucket filled with water gushing out to create the waterfall effect which excites the kids most. There is also other water sports and activities, such as, pony ride, carousel ride and an 'open house' featuring life of 'kampung' (village), but the highlights of this kampung house has to be those tiny creatures skulking in the cupboards, drawers and rooms of this kampung house.

My girl had so much fun with my friend's little one (aged 3), at the wet park for more than 1 hour (see more photos in my FaceBook - search 'My Wok Life' or log on from my side bar). It was kinda refreshing to submerge in the water at Kidzworld wet park, after a long half-day walk from one animal exhibit to another. So, remember to bring along extra pair of clothing for your little ones, and even yourselves! Oh yes, Rainforest Kidzworld is included in the zoo admission. However, it does not include any additional ride. Only the water playground and visit of kampung house are 'free'. Expect to pay about $6 per ride or $10 for any of the 3 rides at the Kidzworld.

There is another attraction in the zoo, the new boat ride. You'll get to take a ride on the boat for 15 - 20 minutes, fascinate the unblocked view of Seletar reservoir. However, do not expect any spectacular view or apperance of animal during the boat journey, there wasn't any. Oh yes, there was a group of kingfishers resting on the branches, that's all about the 'animal view' during the boat ride. Price? $5 for a single trip, add $1 more for return trip. Or, like us, get the 3-in-1 Zooper-saver ticket at $25 (for adult) & $19.50 (for child aged 3 - 12), which consists of admission fee to the zoo, tram ride and single trip of boat ride. Oh yes, nearly forget, if you go on normal days (I think it includes weekend), just NOT on a public holiday or eve (where you must pay full priced ticket), you should get 30% discount, with OCBC credit card (not sure promotion lasts how long, but there surely have other credit card promotions every other day, if it's not OCBC). Check with the ticket counter!

Oh well, it was very nice weather, windy and not too hot Sunday morning, for a short boat ride though.. Just for the sake of giving it a try, if you have not taken one before.

My girl enjoyed the elephant feeding during her last visit to zoo. She had the giraffe feeding this time! Price per feeding remains at $5. And, please expect a queue with only 10 places for each feeding time (usually 2 times per day). Check out the animal's feeding time, and plan for your itinerary beforehand, if you intend to do this. My girl enjoyed it very much!

Remember, if you are looking at picnic spot in the zoo, there is this nice cooling reservoir-view spacious little hut equiped with benches and fans, located just not too far after the girrafe enclosure.

If you wish to see more photos of this zoo visit, log on to My Wok Life's FaceBook Fan Club (*see side bar)! Some exclusive animal photos, and more photos at the wet play are reserved just for my truehearted readers! And, I welcome you!

The "Must-Have" Disposable Soup Bag

"Handy disposable soup bag is definitely a must-have material, for your convenient soup cooking! No washing & drying of soup bag after each use. It's the most convenient and hygienic way to keep your soup cooking day a less hassle one!"

If you are like me, always cook soup base with tiny and loose ingredients, for instance, soy bean, dried anchovies or Chinese herbs, you need this soup bag, disposable one!

I bought the cloth soup bag once before, and wanted to use it in my soup cooking. However, I did not use it at all. That was because I really could not put myself to imagine putting a "cloth" to boil for hours.. It sound gross to me, frankly. Also, I had absolutely no idea how to clean the cloth bag and get rid of the 'stain & smell' emerged in the cloth after hours of boiling with soup ingredients. To use clorine? No way! Soak in soapy hot water? Goodness, the soup bag is for boiling soup, am I going to boil the soap in my soup, too, next time round??! For god sake!!

No way, for me.. So, forget the soup bag, I boiled my soup without any soup bag, but adding all ingredients in the pot. I did that for all my soup cooking, until I found this disposable soup bag!

Perhaps, you already are using this since ages back! Yes, I have 'opened my eye', just recently (laughing)!

Where did I get this? I found this soup bag in a provision shop at neighbourhood area. This disposable soup bag comes in 3 sizes. The one I bought is smallest type as I thought it should be enough to fill in the amount of tiny soup ingredients I usually use. This 12cmx9.5cm soup bag costs about S$3.80, for a pack of 16 pcs.

It's easy to use. Just put in your desire amount of ingredient into 1 disposable soup bag. Only half of the bag was filled, with about 50gram of dried anchovies which I have put in for my papaya soup cooking.

See, there is a half-folded layer at the front of the bag.

What you need to do is just turn the folded layer over to to another side of the bag, to cover the opening of for sealing purpose, before putting into your soup pot.

Nice looking soup bag for your soup cooking, isn't it? You don't have to worry about the washing of soup bag anymore, after use! It's so cool!

Stir-Fried Romaine Lettuce with Preserve Beancurd

"Simple yet sumptious vegetable dish. Very easy to prepare!"

Today, I would like to introduce this simple yet delicious vegetable dish to you. Romaine lettuce, especially baby romaine lettuce, can be eaten raw, and is usually used in salad making. However, I am going to cook it, this time.

Just a few stirs with some simple condiments and side ingredients added, this decent baby Romaine lettuce dish can be served even in top-notch Chinese restaurants as their signature dish. Yes, it's common, and Cantonese loves this dish. I've tasted and seen this dish cooking with many different types of vegetables during my vacation in Hong Kong.

My girl loved it very much, too!

Serves 2-3
Ingredients
200 grams if baby Romaine lettuce, wash and soaked for 15 minutes
2 cubes of preserved/ fermented soy beancurd, spicy or with sesame oil flavour (豆腐乳)
1 - 2 bird eye chili (chili padi), julienned
2 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon of cooking oil

Optional:
Sprinkle of sesame oil, added only if you are using spicy preserved beancurd with sesame oil flavour.

Method
1) Trim Romaine lettuce leaves. Set aside.

2) Heat wok with oil over high heat. Add garlic, stir fry till fragrant and lightly browned. Also add chili padi when garlic is browning. Beware of pungency scent of chili added.

3) Add Romaine lettuce and stir fry for few seconds. Then, add in preserved beancurd. Briefly mash the beancurd when added, stir fry just a few seconds more to combine well. The vegetables is ready to dish up once turn darker green in colour. Serve hot with steamed rice.

A big portion of Romaine Lettuce dish counts about 80kcal.

Cutie Bear Chinese-Style Steamed Egg (熊仔蒸水蛋)

"Cutie bear fish cakes in steamed egg, just to impress my little one."

Seriously, it wasn't easy to cook a perfect steamed egg dish, to me. It took me years to experiment this cooking. Even to-date, I had the egg steamed slightly too long at medium fire (should steam at low flame instead), caused slight imperfection on the presentation of my egg dish. The more runny (softer) texture you're trying to achieve, the more difficult to have the egg smoothly steamed.. See, the surface was a little 'uneven' and 'bubbly' along the edges (sobbing)!

Well, I should at least comfort myself that the taste of my egg dish was good and likeable by my family. Texture of the dish was perfect, too. Not too dense, yet, not too watery. It was runny in the palate, with very smooth mouthfeel, that's what my hubby said (winking smile)! Hi ya, for home eating, it's OK to accomodate this little imperfection...~~ (winking smile). And, my girls was impressed by the adding of bear fish cakes.. She praised me.. :p

Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients
2 large eggs
180 ml chicken stock/ broth (or water or mixute of both)
½ teaspoon of sesame oil
½ teaspoon of salt
½ teaspoon of sugar
Pinch of white pepper

Optional:
½ teaspoon of Chinese Shao Hsing rice wine (or sherry)
½ teaspoon of light soy sauce (if using water instead of chicken stock)

Garnish:
Scallion/ sprin onion, julienned

Method
1) Break eggs into a large bowl. Add in chicken stock (or water and light soy sauce), rice wine, salt, sugar and sesame oil. Use a fork, gently stir in only one circular direction till just well combined, and avoid creating any foam.

2) Thereafter, sieve egg mixture into a large ceramic bowl or deep serving dish. Add 4 to 5 pieces of bear-shaped Japanese fish cake slices.

3) Bring water to a boil in a steamer or a wok with steamer rack in it. Reduce heat to low flame, once boiled.

4) Place bowl of egg mixture into steamer or wok covered with lid, and steam for about 12 - 15 minutes, or until it turns smooth and firmer consistency as well as fish cake slices are set on its surface.

To double check its doneness, you may use the back of the spoon to lightly touch the egg surface. Steamed egg should be softly firmed. It might be felt a little runny, too, but not watery.

5) Remove steamed egg from steamer/ wok with gloves. Garnish with scallion. You may also sprinkle some sesame oil and white pepper, sparingly, before garnishing. Serve hot.

Be reminded not to steam the egg on high heat. And watch out the steaming time when it is about done as it is important not to over-steam the egg once the egg is set perfectly. To ensure smooth surface on the egg dish, it can't even afford 5 minutes longer (unless it is at very low flame), like what I did, accidentally!

A serving of steamed egg counts about 50 - 70kcal.

Tips: If you like firmer texture on your steamed egg, or use medium eggs, reduce chicken stock/ water to 160ml.

Wonton Soup Recipe (馄饨汤)

"Scrumptious wonton soup, good for an enjoyable meal, perfect for warming the heart of your loved ones! Check out my recipe and tips to make and cook good wonton soup!"

Wonton is a word transcribed from Cantonese. In mandarin, we called it 馄饨 (pronounced as “hoon toon”). It simple means irregularly shaped dumpling. The other more simplified name is 云吞 (pronounced as “yun toon”), which direct translated as cloud swallow. Either way, they all mean tiny dumplings!

I like to make wonton as it is simple and much likeable by my little one as it looks like cute tiny balls in the bowl.

The wonton skins or wrappers can be made at home from fresh dough. However, you might find it tedious to roll each wrapper to very thin sheet. Moreover, it is so convenient to buy the wrapper off-the-shelf, nowadays. They are typically sold in a vacuum-packed of square-shaped pre-made wrappers, with cornstarch dusted between these 7cmx7cm cubicle sheets to keep them from sticking together.

I bought a packet of wonton wrappers at supermarket, costs about $1.20 per 24 sheets. Since the size of wonton wrapper is relatively small, it could only be made to thumb-sized big. Hence, if you intend to make bigger wonton, or adding whole shrimp in it, get the dumpling wrappers which come in palm-sized circular sheet instead of the squares.

As for my wonton filling, I have added also some fresh fish paste bought from wet market. It's readily ground into paste, mainly used in making fish ball or as stuffing of beancurd aka "Yong Tau Fu" (酿豆腐). Fish paste packed in a small tub is also widely available at supermarkets, besides wet market stores. Mixture of ground pork (minced pork) with fresh fish paste created excellent combination that yields even smoother mouthfeel and greater taste! Well, this is an option for you…

Serve 4 – 5
Ingredients A for filling:
300g minced meat
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of fish sauce (鱼露)
2 teaspoon of Chinese rice wine
Dash of salt and white pepper
1 tablespoon of corn flour

1 packet of wonton wrappers
1 egg white, or just clear water (for sticking purpose)

Optional:
2 tablespoons of fresh fish paste

Garnish:
Scallion/ spring onion, julienned
Sprinkle of ground white pepper

Ingredients B for soup base:
50 gram of dried anchovies aka ikan bilis, with head and internal parts removed
100ml of chicken stock (or 1 chicken stock cube)
Sprinkle of salt and pepper to taste
1 pot of water, 50% filled (about 1000ml)

1) Seasoned mince meat with all condiments listed A (and fish paste, if opted). Combine well and set aside, or you may leave it refrigerated for 1 – 2 hour marinating time.

2) Spread a single wrapper square across the palm of one hand, heap a small clump of filling with a teaspoon and place in the center.

3) Dip your clean index finger of another hand with egg white or plain water, run your finger across the wrapper’s inner side (area closer to the filling) in order to moisten and seal the wrapper.

Detailed steps:
During the sealing process, first, ligtly ‘press out’ the air inside the half-folded wrapper (if using square sheet, fold into triangle shape, from one corner diagonally to another corner), so that the filling may adhere to the wrapper completely and also to avoid rupturing the wonton from internal pressure when boiled. Then, use finger tips to simply compress the edges between the filling and excessive wrapper to seal up the opening (remember to damp it first). Lastly, ‘close’ your fist to ‘crumple’ the whole wonton a little, resulted an irregular shapping. That’s why it is called “hoon toon” in Chinese, the irregularly shapped dumpling (chuckling)! Repeat steps 2 & 3 till for all done.

4) To make soup base: Boil a large pot of water over high heat. When water boiled, make sure the heat is turned to low flame, before putting in the wonton. Boil wonton till 90% cooked (wonton skins should turn to light and almost whitish appearance when almost cooked) and all excessive flour on the wrappers are completely dissolved. Wontons will appear 'crumpled' due to slight shrinkage, and float up to the surface of the soup, when it is done. So, heat off once it shows all these signs (smile). Drain and set aside.

5) Boil another pot of water over high heat. When boiled, add in dried anchovies and chicken stock cube. Reduce heat to medium-low fire simmer for 30 minutes.

6) Add in salt and pepper to taste. Then, place 90% cooked wonton into the boiling soup 1 minute before heat off. Garnish and serve hot.

You may choose soy bean soup base (see recipe here).

A bowl of five wontons in soup counts about 200kcal. You may choose to fry the wonton instead of making into soup, but don’t, if you are managing your weight at the moment as fried stuff adds at least another 80kcal!

Wish to try making your own wanton wrapper, adopt the recipe from my potsticker recipe. The main adjustment is to have the dough rolled into very thin sheet for making wonton wrapper, one by one, gently and patiently!

Tips: The wonton wrappers are made into very thin sheets, they dry out within a few hours after opening the package, afterwhich making them brittle. So, cover with clean kitchen cloth or cling wrap even after making into wonton with filling, but not putting into boil so fast. Cover them!
* If you do not fish sauce, replace with light soy sauce.
* For express wonton filling making: simply add 1 teaspoon of chicken essence powder (or mashing a chilled chicken stock cube into powder form) into the minced meat to enhance its overall taste. Marinate minced meat mixture for 15 minutes will do.
* Do not stir the soup too vigorously when the cooked wontons are added in.
* Make sure all wontons are well-sealed before cooking. And they should be boiled at low flame till cooked so as to help to avoid rupturing.

Vegetarian Almond Cup Cakes Recipe (Eggless Cake)

"Tiny Eggless Almond Cup Cakes, good for your vegetarian diet, perfect as healthy snack for your young ones! And, it is simple to make!"

As you might know, my family and I will be on vegetarian diet on specific days i.e. 1st and 15th of every Lunar calendar month due to religious beliefs.

Even though we are not a strict vegetarian (we take eggs), but I am happy to learn an eggless cake. That way, we can have better religious vegetarian diet for totally avoiding egg intake, even for my dessert time!

Of course, I don't bake this just for my vegetarian diet. This cake is absolutely perfect for normal days, too! I had this freshly baked cup cakes served warm, and it tasted even more delicious! Even my girl and her classmate (she shared it with her classmate as a treat during school the next day) loved it! She told me that her classmate rated this bake 100% delicious (chuckling)!

Seriously, eggless cake is not as fragrant as the normal 'egged' cake. Perhaps, it is my personal preference to taste the egg in cake (winking smile).. However, as an eggless cake, this recipe is definitely a delicious and healthy one!

Texture of an eggless cake resembles a little like "Huat Kueh" (发糕), Chinese steamed cake, but no worries, this cup cake has pleasant texture. Its texture is moist, cottony soft inside and crisped on the surface. It's flavoursome with interesting bites of almund nuts, too!

Yields 45 bite-sized or 14 medium cup cakes
Ingredient A:
150 grams of fresh milk (or soy milk, unsweetened, for strict vegetarian diet)
120 grams of caster sugar
2 tablespoon of golden syrup
170 grams of vegetable oil
1 teaspoon of vanilla essence (or other great flavours e.g coffee or dark rum)

Ingredient B:
200 grams of self raising flour, sieved
100 grams of ground almond
50 grams of chopped almond, roasted at 160°C for 10 minutes

Topping: *Optional, and I did not.
100 grams of almond, chopped or flakes

Utensil:
45 small cup cake moulds each lined with paper cup/ or 12 - 14 medium cup cake moulds each lined with paper cup/ or 7"x7"x2" greased baking tin

Method
1) Mix ingredient A together in a large mixing bowl. Whisk (or beat with electric mixer) till sugar dissolve will do.

2) Mix ingredient B together, and add into mixture A. Stir well with a whisk or beat at low speed, till all ingredients well combined.

3) Preheat oven to 180°C. Line each cup cake mould with paper cup of appropriate size. Pipe or scoop cake mixture into cup cake moulds, and bake on centre rack, for 20 minutes.

1 tiny vegetarian almond cake counts about 35kcal.

If you are not serving young children, I'll recommend coffee flavoured almond cup cake. Add 1 teaspoon of coffee essence instead of vanilla together with other ingredients A and combine well. I made it before and it tasted superb! Even my girl (aged 8) loved it!

Tips: If using 7" baking tin, set oven to 170°C and bake on centre rack for 45 min to 1 hour.
* No pre-roasting required for almonds used to top on the cake mixture.
* Piping of cake mixture - if you do not have a proper cake pipe, use a food plastic bag and cut a hole at the tip.
* Golden syrup package in a small can, can be easily found at supermarkets or baking supplies stores.