Sour Creamed Bowtie Pasta

"Light and refreshing sour creamed pasta. Good as mains or eat as sides"

It’s beautiful in appearance with the choice of bowtie shaped pasta, and light savoury taste for the palate as a side dish with the use of sour cream instead of full cream or butter. Spice the pasta dish up with some chili flakes or paprika, this pasta is imaginably delicious and appetizing.

There was this old male friend of mine, asked me, where to get the sour cream, as he wanted to get one for his baked potatoes the other time. He tried looking for it in the supermarket at dry goods section (where you find bottled mayonnaise and other dressing), but in vain. So, now you know you won’t be able to find it at the dry goods area, of course. Fresh sour cream has to be refrigerated! Find sour cream in small tubs from the chilled compartment where you find butter, margarine, yogurt and whipped cream (smile).

Serves 2
Ingredients
1 regular cup of bowtie pasta (dried)
1 small cup of chicken broth
2 - 3 heaping tablespoons of sour cream
1 teaspoon of dried chili flakes
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
Sprinkle of salt
1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 pot of water
Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Method
1) Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add salt to dissolve in the boiling water. Reduce heat to medium fire, add in bowtie pasta to cook till almost al-dente (Not too hard, but not too soft, too). Drain well and place in a large bowl. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of olive oil and coat well with the pasta, to avoid sticking when cooled. Set aside for later.

2) Heat large skillet with olive oil over high heat. Add garlic and stir-fry constantly till fragrant. Reduce heat to medium fire, return pasta to the skillet and add chicken broth. Cover skillet with lid and simmer for about 10 minutes, or until chicken broth almost dries up.

3) Combine sour cream with the pasta, and further simmer for another 5 minutes till chicken broth completely absorbed by the pasta, and leave only the whitish layer of sour cream well coated on every bowtie. Sprinkle salt and add chili flakes, stir fry to combine well. Divide into plates and serve.

Sour cream might be melted into tiny lump-like appearance, when heated. It does not affect the taste though, but if you really do mind, you may actually add and dissolve the sour cream into chicken broth in the pan using a hand whisk before adding the pasta to simmer. It should help to improve the emergence of cream and broth.

Variation: If some days, you wish to cook this pasta as the only mains for the meal, add some sautéed chicken fillet strips and button mushroom slices. Simply add the fillet and mushroom, after adding the chicken broth, to simmer them altogether.

A decent portion of sour creamed pasta (as sides) counts about 300kcal. Reduce calorie intake by using Light sour cream and fat free chicken broth instead of full fat versions.

This is the savoury 4-course Western cuisine made at home. A serving of this full set may load you with about 900kcal. Well, it's the day! Last day of the year. And, I will 'see' you next year in 2010..

Wish all a Happy and Prosperous Year ahead, full with gastronomic home cooking!

Tips: The wrinkled part in the middle of the bowtie pasta is the hardest to be cooked and softened. Take note and texture-check, if possible.

Fusion-style Chicken Chop

"When 'East meets the West' Chicken Chop... Check it out!"

It was unexpectedly tasty.. I seldom cook Western food, and was pretty head cracking for how to make my cooking much more impressive than usual, just for the special occassion like Christmas celebration.

I was just trying out casually, without any firmer clue in mind, I used 'common sense' to do the seasoning on my chicken chop, and hoped it will not taste too far out from imagining. To play even safer, and also worried the taste of my Western dishes wouldn't be good enough for the meal, I even bought an instant mushroom and white wine sauce packet from the store, thought this savoury sauce (which I have tried before) could go along with my chicken chop, just in case the chop tasted too bland :p..

So, what was the end result? Fortunately, my adventurous Western meal cooking didn't ruin my reputation! Instead, the chop was delicious and perfectly done. Hubby well complimented this chicken chop dish as he loved it alot.

This chicken chop was kinda Fusion-style since it was seasoned with both the Chinese and Western condiments (laughing). No worries at all, such combination was compatible and the chop tasted so flavourful and fragrant in the palate.

Hubby liked my chicken chop both ways, with and without the dipping sauce.

This recipe is simply easy on both the ingredients used and method to cook. Perhaps, you can try this for the up-coming New Year celebration dinner (smile)? Let the seasoning does the job!

Serves 2
Ingredients
2 large boneless chicken thighs with skin
1 small cup of sliced button mushrooms

Seasoning for chicken chop:
2 tablespoons of Steak Seasoning (Mild) spice powder (*I used Masterfoods brand)
1 - 2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of light soy sauce

For sautéing use:
4 tablespoons of olive oil

Gravy/ Dipping sauce for the chicken chop:
1 packet of ready made Mushroom & White Wine Sauce from the stores

Method
1) Marination: Do the marinating the night before, for maximum flavour. Wash boneless chicken thighs. Then, pat dry with kitchen towel.

2) Place chicken in a large deep plate, and rub seasoning with following sequence: light soy sauce, oyster sauce and steak seasoning powder. Rub both sides of the meat to coat well. Cover and place in the refrigerator to marinate overnight.

3) When ready to cook: Pat dry sliced button mushrooms. Heat large frying pan/ skillet with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Scatter button mushrooms slices on the entire frying pan and brown both sides of the mushrooms using medium low fire. Note: Do not crowd the mushrooms! It's true.. Otherwise, it will not browned.

5) When mushrooms are browned, dish up. Divide into two portions and set them aside for later (*one portion will be kept for gravy making).

6) Now, add more olive oil in the pan and heat it up over medium-high fire. Place chicken thighs, one by one with skin-side-down on the pan. Reduce heat to medium-low fire, after 10 - 20 seconds of pan-frying. Then, sauté chicken on lower heat till golden browned and lightly crisped. Same thing, flip over to another side to sauté till lightly browned. *It's OK, if the browning is uneven on the skinless side, as long as the chop's cooked thoroughly inside.

7) Place about 1 tablespoon of mushroom slices on a large flat serving dish. Then, lay a piece of chicken chop on top. If desired, sprinkle some mushrooms on top of the chicken chop, too. Then, serve the gravy separately by the side (my preference as I wanted the chicken skin to remain cripsed). Alternatively, pour the gravy on top of the chicken chop.

8) For instant gravy/ sauce making: Simply heat up the instant packet of mushroom & white wine sauce over low heat. Add the half portion of sautéed mushroom slices into the gravy.

You may find these types of western sauce packages at major supermarkets (confectionery/ dry goods/ pasta/ canned food section). I already couldn't remember which brand (will check it out again later.. [Post note: It's MasterFoods brand]), but I got this packet of Mushroom & White Wine sauce from Carrerfour Hypermarket @ Plaza Singapura.
For convenience sake, I did not make my own mushroom gravy for the chicken chop, but I hope I will do it one casual day soon... (smile).

A serving of the chicken chop with button mushrooms counts about 170kcal (sauce counts separately).

Tips: Make sure the fire is not too strong when pan-frying the chicken chops, especially if the piece is large and thick. Keep an eye on the heat while sautéing, check its doneness constantly.
* If prefer more crispy skin, pan-fry the skin-side one more time on high heat for few more seconds, after both sides of the chicken are cooked and browned, before dish up.
* Use Steak Seasoning powder is alright, even if you are non beef-taker, like us. In fact, it uses chicken extract and spices, e.g. paprika, in the ingredients.
* If you do not wish to make the instant mushroom gravy, dip with other condiments, such as, sweet chili sauce, ketchup, Tobasco sauce or honey mustard will make good taste, too. Otherwise, like me, eat just the aromatic and flavoursome chicken chop by itself.

Sautéed Potatoes with Italian Herbs

"Flavourful sautéed potatoes made at home"

One of the sides I have prepared was this potato dish. I tasted a similar dish in a gathering at one of our buddies' house some time back. This friend of ours is good at cooking Western cuisine, and he cooked this dish for us to pair with our wine drinking.

This dish looked appealing and elegant when first served, and I thought it was good to serve for an occasion, too. Taste of it was, of course, flavourful and aromatic (smile).

I chose to sauté than roasting the potatoes to create crisped surface (with soft consistency inside). And, there was another reason for sauté as I can 'save' some work on making the meal. See, instead of needing to take care of the oven altogether, I could use only the pan frying method for both the potatoes and chicken chop! Just added a little more olive oil when came to the chicken chops. Yeah, it helps to save a little here (winking smile).

I used red potato (washed type) as it has more crunchy texture. The washed ones (pre-wash before packed, it will indicate clearly on the packaging) are better since I cooked with its skin. The skin make it even more crunchy to bite. Moreover, it saved my time from peeling it one by one, especially the tiny ones.

It's easy to prepare. See the recipe:

Serves 2
Ingredients
4 medium (about size of an egg) or 8 small (size of a 50 cents coin) washed red potatoes with skin intact, cut into bite-size or halved (for small ones)
Pinch of salt and grounded black pepper
Dash of Italian herbs (about ½ teaspoon)

For blanching use:
1 pot of water
Pinch of salt

For sautéing use:
3 tablespoons of olive oil

Method
1) Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add salt to dissolve in the boiling water.

2) Boil potatoes till almost cooked, for about 10 – 15 minutes (check its doneness with inserting a skewer or using the tip of small knife. It should be able to go through the potato flesh smoothly but not too soft). Drain well, pat dry with kitchen towel, and leave to cool a little.

3) Heat olive oil in a large frying pan/ skillet over medium fire. Place potatoes in pan and sauté till lightly crisped and golden brown. Try not to crowd the potatoes in the same pan to ease the sautéing. Then, flip them over to sauté another sides.

4) Sprinkle salt and black pepper, followed by Italian herbs. Stir-fry a little to combine well. Dish up and serve.

A serving of sautéed potatoes counts about 300kcal.

Tips: For more fragrant result, sauté potatoes with butter on medium-low fire instead of using olive oil. Melt the butter on pan with low fire first before increasing heat to brown the potatoes further in order to prevent butter from burning. If using butter, gte unsalted type of reduce the amount of salt adding.

Chilled Prawns Salad with Cheesy Vegetables

"Something easy and healthy you will like to cook at home"

I promised, to share my recipes for the delicious homecooked western cuisine.

I will start with the appetizer first. This considers a cold dish as I've served the prawns chilled, and this idea was adapted from the first dish, the cold platter, which commonly served in some occasions/ events e.g wedding banquet dinner or something like that.. And this chilled prawns are usually served with fruits salad. So, I was inspired to came out with the vegetable version, hoping to create a slightly more balanced diet.

You may also add more types of vegetables, for instances, peas, asparagus, Cauliflower and etc, to make a vegetable medley. Sound good (winking smile)?

Serves 2
Ingredients
8 medium prawns, shelled with or without tail intact, deveined, and halved or just cut a deep slit lengthwise
1 small cup of broccoli florets, washed and trimmed
1 small cup of carrots, peeled and diced in chunks
1 tablespoon of Parmesan or Edam cheese, finely grated
Just sprinkle of salt and grounded black pepper
1 teaspoon of olive oil

Toppings:
Mayonnaise as dressing
1 - 2 teaspoons of finely grated Parmesan or Edem cheese as toppings

For blanching use:
1 pot of water
Pinch of salt and sugar
1 pot of iced water

Method
1) Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add salt and sugar to dissolve in the boiling water.

2) Blanch broccoli florets and carrots till 90% cooked. Use a strainer to transfer the vegetables out from the boiling water, and plunge into iced water for 10 seconds. Then, return the same to the boiling water for another few seconds. Dish up the vegetables and place on a serving dish. Set aside for later.

3) Use the same pot of boiling water, now, blanch the prawns till pinked. Drain, and place the prawns in the refrigerator to chill for about 20 minutes. For fast chilled, place into the iced water for few minutes.

4) Heat frying skillet/ pan with olive oil over high heat. Return the broccoli and carrots into the pan for a quick stir-fry, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle salt and black pepper and stir fry to mix well, before heat off. Then, sprinkle and melt grated cheese on top of the vegetables. Dish up onto a nice serving dish.

5) Before serve, top vegetable with more grated cheese. Then, arrange chilled prawns on top of the cheesy vegetables, and top with mayonnaise dressing. Serve.

A portion of cold salad prawn with cheesy vegetables dish counts about 230kcal.

Tips: Use Dutch Edam cheese for milder and nutty cheese taste while Italian Parmesan yields more cheesy with slight buttery taste which is good as topping.
*Remove broccoli first from the blanching, once it is almost done as carrots take longer time to get soften. Do not over-boiled the vegetables. The broccoli should not appear too soft and too dark in its greenish colour. Plunge into iced water is to retain its crunchiness.
* If you like, toss to coat the prawns with mayonnaise instead of topping it, before placing on the vegetables.

Homemade Candlelit Western Dinner for this Christmas

"Candlelit dinner at home for a special occasion, your heart and effort will surely be especially appreciated."

Stay-home celebration was to avoid the crowd... and spending on costly meal outside, just for the festive..

Western Christmas dinner? You, too, could prepare it by your own at home.. It was never too difficult or tedious to do it. It's for the festive, and your heart to make your own Christmas meal for the loved ones, isn't it (smile)?

Hubby was never liked to join the crowd for any occasion, at anytime. And, seriously, we are not Christian or needed to holistically celebrate this festive. We just wanted to join in for the festive joy and atmosphere here in Singapore. Besides the office celebration, I, too, wanted to have a small romantic session with my honey (my girl is on overseas vacation with the grands). That was the reason for this 'candle-lit dinner' on the eve, at home.. (chuckling).

The cold dish (chilled prawns salad) was my favourite.. In order to save the washing, I served all 4-course in a single large serving dish (laughing).

Let's see what I had.. Chilled prawns salad on cheesy broccoli and carrots as cold dish appetizer, Sautéed red potatoes with Italian herbs as side dish, Sour-creamed bowtie pasta and Chicken chop with Mustroom & White wine sauce as mains.

Make the sides first...

..then here come the mains..

The chicken chop was marinated over-night for maximum flavour, and it turned out very flavourful, and well-liked by hubby! So, making of mushroom sauce has become secondary.

Hence, I served the mushroom sauce separately, as a choice for dipping.

Dinner was a hearty one. Compact and satisfying meal, yet, never leave the wallet anyway lighter. We paired our food with some Rosé sparkling wine, too. It costs only S$20, bought from NTUC Fairprice. Its light and slightly sweet taste makes it very easy for the palate. The delicate pale pinkish colour in the wine adds more romantic ambience to our festive dinner. I have also ordered a durian flavoured ice cream log cake from Swensen's to complete this romantic stay-home festive celebration.. It was great... and it's all worth the spending!

This Western meal is good for any occasion, actually. If you are keen, I'll share my recipes..

In the meantime, log on to my Facebook Fan Club to enjoy more photo viewing that are not shown here. :)

Stir-Fried Okra (Ladyfingers) with Chili (辣炒羊角豆)

"Spice up your meal with this spicy ladyfingers dish"

Not many people like this vegetable, ladyfingers aka Okra, simply due to its slimey texture inside, when cooked. However, this vegetable has been one of my favourite, not just because it is low in saturated fat, and cholesterol, but high in fiber, vitamins and very rich in various minerals, I heard this vegetables may help in weight loss (chuckling)! I mean.. I liked it, too, of course, especially when it's cooked with chili paste or in curry gravy.

Spicy flavoured okra whets my appetite much more than usual. It complements steamed rice so well.

So, here I am going to share this simple chillied okra recipe:

Ingredients
8 stalks of ladyfingers aka okra, thinly sliced at diagonal angle
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of dried shrimps, rinsed and soaked for 2 minutes, and then, drained and finely minced (干虾米)
1 tablespoon of sambal chili paste
Pinch of salt to taste
Just small pinch of sugar
3 - 4 tablespoons of water
1 - 2 tablespoons of cooking oil

Method
1) Heat wok with oil over high heat. Place dried shrimps and garlic into wok and stir fry till fragrant and lightly browned.

2) Add in Okra slices and stir fry in wok for 1 minutes. Reduce heat to medium fire. Add water and sugar, stir a little to combine well. Then, cover wok with lid to simmer for  3 - 4 minutes, or until water dries up. By now, Okra should be cooked and softened.

3) Shift Okra to one side of the wok to clear the centre space of wok. Add sambal chili paste and sauté until fragrant. Return Okra to mix with chili paste, add salt to taste. Then, stir-fry to combine well.  Heat off and dish up. Serve with steamed rice.

Cut it thinly to reduce cooking time, you may not even need to pre-blanch it.

A generous portion of the stir-fried chillied Okra counts about 90kcal.

Tips: Use normal sambal chili paste or sambal shrimps chili paste. If use sambal shrimps chili paste, you may omit the addition of dried shrimps.

Glutinous Rice Balls (Tang Yuan) and Sweet Potatoes Dessert Soup (冬至送甜蜜)

"Happy Dongzhi, with hearty Tang Yuan, for a Treat of Sweetness"

Tomorrow is Tuesday (22nd Dec), it's also the Chinese Dōngzhì Festival (冬至), or you called it in more proper English term as Winter Solstice Festival. This festival is important to most Chinese, as it represents the growth of another year of wisdom with bountiful harvest.

Last year, we made our own rice balls and cooked it into dessert soup dish for the festive. And this year, I am not going to make my own rice balls, but to get the readily types of rice balls in the market. In fact, these kinds of convenient packs are available to most major supermarkets in Singapore all-year-long. You can simply buy and cook it anytime you want. Well, this is the Chinese ritual to have rice balls (pronouced as: Tang Yuan, 汤圆) in Dongzhi Festival, not just celebarating the growth, but to also symbolise the reunion of family (团圆) and the round shaped rice balls refers to the hope of having a perfect result in anything we do (圆满).

I yearned for a difference in making this traditional festive food. There are already many different delicious ways of having the rice balls desserts done interestingly in the market. They are no longer just having the rice balls in ginger soup, but have it in peanut soup, in "Dou Hua" (sweet beancurd dessert), with grassjelly and even go with chocolate dippings! So, how can I not be a little more adventurous this time since I was on my 'own time, own pace' basis (chuckling). As you know, I am a big fan of sweet potatoes, and in fact, I was having this soup the other night as my 'dinner meal'. So, I created this sweetness treat and hoping to cook it again for this upcoming Dongzhi festive, if the combination works well!

Serves 4 - 5
Ingredients
12 - 15 balls of Tang Yuan aka Glutinous Rice Balls (汤圆), with choices of filling: black sesame, red bean, yam and mashed peanut. *My favourite: the mashed peanut filling.
2 medium-sized orange-flesh sweet potatoes, cut into bite size
8 seedless red dates (红枣)
2 tablespoons of tiny sago
1 lump of ginger (about thumb-sized big), lightly smashed
2 lumps of honeyed rock sugar or normal ones (each about half the palm-sized big)

1 pot of water, 50% filled (about 1500ml)

Dipping (Optional):
Ground peanut mixture (peanut, white sesame and sugar)

Method
1) Boil a pot of water over high heat. Place ginger into the boiling water. Add sweet potatoes into the pot and bring it to another boil.

2) Reduce heat to low fire. Add in ginger, red dates and sago. Simmer the soup till sweet potatoes are softened, for about 20 minutes.

3) Add in rock sugar and simmer for another 10 minutes. When rock sugar is completely dissolved, increase heat to medium-high fire to bring the soup to a boil.

4) Place frozen rice balls into the boiling broth. Then, reduce heat again to low fire and let simmer till all rice balls rise to the surface of the broth. Heat off and serve hot.

Well, you still can make your own homemade glutinous rice balls with sweetened ginger soup (see recipe), and cook it this way. Tell you something, there are also beliefs in Chinese culture that one has to take the amount of rice balls according to one's age, simply means, if you are 30 years old, please take 30 balls (laughing)!! So... if you are making your own rice ball, make it tiny!

With the ingredients used in this recipe, you may actually cook this during Chinese New Year as one of the auspicious food items.

A bowl of my sweet dessert soup with 2 chunky peanut glutinous rice balls counts about 350kcal.

Tips: Do not thaw the readily-packed frozen glutinous rice balls before cook.

Tips & Tricks to Achieve Silhouette Smooth Texture and Mouthfeel in my Homecooked Chicken Porridge

"No worries if you do not have much time, energy, and patience to do the non-stop stirring motion longer enough to make your rice congee silhouette smooth almost like the machine does, I have this legendary old-folk's method!"

How to cook the rice porridge/ congee right to achieve silky smooth and soft texture and mouthfeel, as if it was done by using the stirring machine in the restaurant for its commercial purposes? Frankly, I think nothing beats the machine. It's the machine, you see! However, this trick I have learnt from my mother, gave me the best smoothest congee result so far.

It has nothing to do with adding any chemical ingredients or needing to get additional pricy equipment to do so. What you need is just a porcelain (ceramic material) Chinese soup spoon! Yes, the porcelain Chinese soup spoon.

Seriously, I am not sure why this works. It's simply an old folk's method which believed in my family. And, guess what? It works, somehow.. What you do is simply put the porcelain/ ceramic spoon into the pot of congee while cooking. Same thing, you still have to stir the rice porridge constantly while simmering, till all the rice breaks down, but with the same time and effort, the congee will be two times smoother and softer, as compared to not adding the ceramic spoon in it.

Don't believe it? Me, either, at first. But, look at my chicken porridge. It was thick, silky smooth, and soft. The rice grain has almost all emerged and became a viscous broth. At least, it yields a great mouthfeel, to me. I compared it with those rice porridge/ congee dish I've cooked without this trick, this just amazed me with its cottony soft consistency in the palate..

Don't ask me for any scientific proof, please... And, I am not sure also if you could use other porcelain utensils to do the same. I guess you just have to try it to belive it (winking smile)!

Recipe of my simple and delicious chicken porridge here:

Serve 4 - 5
Ingredients
1.5 cup of rice grain, rinsed
1 large piece of chicken breast meat part/ fillet (about 200 gram)
1 cube of chicken stock cube

Pinch of salt (about 1 teaspoon)
Dash of ground white pepper

1 large pot with 8 cups of water (about 2000ml)

Topping and Garnish
1 pair of fried fritters (fried dough sticks 油条), cut into bite-size crosswise
Scallion, julienned
Sprinkle of light soy sauce and white pepper

Method
1) Rinse rice grain 1 to 2 times. Boil rice grain with a pot of water over high heat. When water is boiling, dissolve chicken stock cube in the pot.  When dissolved, add in whole piece of chicken breast meat/ fillet to cook for 10 min. When chicken is almost done, remove from pot, and let it cool before shredding it into small pieces or thin stripes.

2) Reduce heat to low fire. Add a ceramic soup spoon into the pot. Now, stir the rice porridge constantly until the rice breaks down, for about 20 - 30 minutes. Briefly press the rice with the back of the soup laddle, occasionally. *Don't break the porcelain spoon in it!

4) When the rice porridge is almost done with the desired consistency, add in chicken pieces. Simmer the porridge and chicken meat for another 5 - 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

5) Remove the porcelain/ ceramic spoon from the pot. Laddle porridge into bowl(s), garnish and serve hot.

A bowl of such simple chicken porridge counts about 200kcal. This is low fat dish that benefits any dieter and weight-watcher. Or, cook this stomach-soothing food to nurse one who is recovering from a cold/ flu back to healthy stage (smile).

Tips: Use chicken broth instead of plain water to boil the porridge for more frangrant result. If chicken broth is used, omit the addition of chicken stock cube.

Chicken and Asparagus with XO Sauce

"A simple and flavoursome chicken dish that's perfect for your weeknight meals"

Look for a bottle of XO sauce from the shelves in groceries department, an easy superlicious 'chef-class' chicken dish will be at your finger tips.

XO SAUCE
XO sauce is never made of XO liqour. It is named as XO simply refers its qualitied ingredients used. This premium bottle is filled with seasoned dried scallops that made it as valuable as XO. This sauce is not spicy at all, its pleasant briny taste simply brings up the full flavour of your dish without any extra work needed.

Of course, it never costs a penny to get a bottle of this. I bought it at about S$25 per bottle. There are many different brands in the market, price ranging from $15.90 to $30. I guess it's all depends on the grade and quality of the ingredients used. Not difficult to find, it's available in most Asian supermarkets. As for Singapore residents, find this at NTUC Fairprice, Cold Storage, and even neighbourhood mini marts.

Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients
2 chicken thighs or half chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces
Handful of asparagus (蘆筍), cut into 2" long crosswise (*choose tender young shoots)
2 tablespoon of XO sauce
Sprinkle of sugar
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons of water
2 tablespoons of cooking oil

Method
1) Heat a pot of water over high heat, and add sugar when boiled. Then, add asparagus and blanch it for one minute. Remove from pot and drain. Set aside for later.

2) Heat wok with oil over high fire. Add garlic and stir-fry till fragrant and lightly browned.

3) Add chicken and water. Stir fry for one minute. Reduce heat to low fire. Cover wok with lid and simmer for 20 minutes, or until chicken is tenderly cooked.

4) Remove lid, add blanched asparagus and stir fry for one minute. Add in XO sauce, stir fry to combine all ingredients well. Sprinkle sugar and continue to stir fry for another minute.

5) Transfer chicken on a serving dish. Try to arrange in a way that asparagus is placed on top if the chicken, for better presentation. Serve hot with steamed rice.

A portion of my XO sauce chicken and asparagus counts about 250kcal.

Tips: Do not over-cook the asparagus, otherwise the greens might lost its crunchiness. Blanch with boiling water for 2 minutes, and then, add them into the wok and stir fry for no more than a minute before dishing up.

Christmas on the Snow (Strawberry Cake Recipe)

Just baked this cake for leisure indulgence, and saw its pure white creaming with bright red strawberries on it. This reminds me of the.... Christmas which is approaching!

Besides the log cakes, I think this cake makes wonder for my Christmas this year. I am gonna bake this same cake again for the Christmas and I am confident that this will be a big hit for the children of my friends over the small gathering I am going to have during the season.

It's very simple to bake and decorate. I am sure you will like to have one for your festive celebration. Yeah, how about having this "Christmas on the Snow" for the eve, and a.. chocolate log cake for the actual day? Sounds great, isn't it (chuckling)?!

Yields  12 - 14 slices
Ingredients

200 grams of sponge cake premix (I used Optima Ready Mix from Bake King brand)
3 large eggs
50 ml mixture of milk + water (about 1/4 small cup)
10 grams of butter
1 teaspoon of strawberry emulco

Filling, Creaming & Decoration:
200 ml of (non-dairy) fresh cream, whipped
4 large fresh and ripe strawberries, trimmed and diced
8 - 10 large fresh and ripe strawberries, trimmed and halved


Glazing (Optional):
50 gram of apricot gel, boiled in 50g water until dissolved, and cooled for later.

Method:
1) Mix cake premix flour, butter, milk mixture, and eggs into large mixing bowl. Use electrical mixer to beat cake mixture well at medium speed (No. 2), for 8 – 10 minutes. Add strawberry emulco and mix well.

2) Pre-heat oven for 10 minutes, set temperature to 180°C.

3) Grease and line a sheet of grease-proof paper evenly on a 8” square or round baking pan. Pour in cake mixture. Place baking pan at centre rack. Bake for 30 – 35 min using 180°C (top and bottom heat on), or until toothpick inserted in the centre comes out completely clean.

4) Allow cake to cool on wire rack, for about an hour. When cake is completely cooled, slice it into 2 layers, using bread knife.

5) For filling: Use half the amount of whipped cream and mix in diced strawberries. Combine all well. Spread a thick layer of filling evenly on the bottom layer of cake. Leave some space around the edges of the cake.

6) Top another layer of cake. Then, spread a thick layer of (another half amount of cream left) whipped cream evenly covering the whole cake. Next, arrange strawberries on top nicely with flat surface down. Lastly, glaze the top of the fruits with apricot gel solution for more shiny appearance. Chill decorated cake in the refrigerator till ready to serve.


A slice of my strawberry cream cake counts about 300kcal.

Fragrant Steamed Tofu with Minced Meat (鲜香豆腐)

"Have some light and refreshing tofu dish for dinner, yet you'll never need to give up delicious taste and the healthy balanced diet"

Oyster sauce (蚝油), the perfect condiment that adds an easy burst of flavor to this tofu dish without any added work. Simple ingredients & simple cooking method, for flavourful taste & colourful appearance.

Spoon the finished tofu over hot steamed rice, your children will love it!

Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients
1 block of white beancurd aka tofu, suitable for steaming (about 200 grams)
50 grams of minced pork meat, coated well with 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of corn starch
2 tablespoons of mixed peas (consists of peas, corn kernels and diced carrots, about 20 grams)
1 small piece of young ginger, minced (about 10 grams)
1 clove of shallot, chopped
1 tablespoon of cooking oil
Pinch of salt

Garnish/ Topping
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
Chopped spring onion/ scallions

Method
1) Season minced meat with light soy sauce and corn starch. Mix well and set aside. Cut tofu block into thick slices. Arrange tofu on a steam-proof serving dish.

2) Sprinkle minced ginger on top of tofu. Top or place minced meat in between each slice of tofu. Then, top mixed peas on it and sprinkle salt.

3) Heat wok with water over high fire. Place a iron steam rack in wok. When water is boiled, place tofu dish on the steam rack. If you have a steamer, use it. Steam tofu for 5 minutes.

4) In the meantime, heat another wok or skillet with oil over high heat. Add shallot and fry till fragrant and just lightly browned. Heat off and allow few minutes to stand.

5) Remove tofu from wok or steamer, pour fried shallot oil onto tofu. Then, top oyster sauce all over tofu in zig-zag arrangement and garnish with spring onion. Serve hot.

This tofu dish has smooth and tender consistency. It's flavourful due to the varieties in the dish, yet it's never overwhelmed. My girl loved the natural aromatic taste and smooth mouthfeel of this tofu dish. Moreover, it's steamed! And it has quite a balanced diet with tofu, vegetables and meat. Hence, it's welcome by many dieters.. A portion of my tofu dish counts about 150kcal.

For dieter, you may also lighten the dish by omitting the oiling step (4). Forgo the fried shallot oil and replace with just sprinkles of sesame oil will do, if desired.

Tips: Do not over steam the tofu in order to retain better and smoother texture.

Lotus Root and Peanut Soup with Prime Ribs (莲藕花生排骨汤)

"The best home-taste Asian soup for the foreign home landers.."

This traditional Chinese soup never fails to smother you with plenty of home feeling. Many of our mothers or even ourselves cook this soup so often that it has then become one of the staple food in our households (chuckling). If you are now landing in a foreign place alone, and missing your mum's cooking or the hometown dishes, boil this soup by your own. The ingredients are simple and easily found in most Asian markets. This home-taste goodness, with a foundation of mineral-rich ingredients, will both satisfy your appetite and heart as a foreign home lander (smile).

Serves 4
Ingredient
1 small lotus root, washed and sliced into 1cm thick lengthwise
1 carrot, cut into bite size pieces
1 small cup of raw peanuts with skin intact, soaked in a pot of water overnight.
300 grams of prime pork ribs, blanched

1 teaspoon of salt

1 pot of water, 50% filled (about 1500ml)

Method:
Boil a pot of water over high heat. Place blanched pork ribs, carrots, lotus roots and peanuts into the pot. Bring it to a boil again. Reduce heat to low fire, and simmer for 3 hours. Add salt to taste. Serve hot.

If you are a working class, and wish to have a bowl of nice hot soup served in your dinner after work, use slow cooker to do the cooking!

Method with slow cooker:
Place water and all ingredients into the croak pot and place it in the slow cooker. Turn on to auto shifted/ low heat mode. Let it simmer till evening or after work. Add salt to taste before serving it.

I loved the crunch of the lotus root, even it is softened. Its contrast texture with the soft cooked peanuts complements each other so well which creates interesting bites. This soup is imaginably flavourful and filled with natural sweetness to the palate, and your heart...

And, there is nothing easier than cooking a heart warming and delicious soup, and then indulge it with for your loved ones after a long day or during some chilly nights. What do you think (smile)?

Variations: Add also a piece of dried cuttlefish (just rinse it before use) for more robust flavour, if desired. I did not add any dried cuttlefish in it as we prefered more subtle taste, and I think the addition of carrots already made wonder for the soup. :)

A bowl of lotus root and peanut soup counts about 200kcal.

Tips: Wash the lotus root very thoroughly to remove the mud on it. Then, use some salt to scrub the entire root, rinse and ready to slice. Or, you may try to get those which have already been cleaned (and/ or packed). You may find it in wet markets and many supermarkets in Singapore.
*Peanuts and lotus roots should be cooked till soften.
* Soup may present slightly opaque in colour due to the immersion of the essence of peanuts (with skin) after long simmering.

Fragrant Fried Bee Hoon with Stewed Pork Chops

"Flavourful fried bee hoon for lunch over a lazy noon"

You will feel hard-pressed to refuse seconds of this irresitible stir-fry. Chinese-style fried bee hoon (rice vermicelli or thin rice stick), with tender stewed meat mingle with its rich and flavourful stewed meat sauce coated on every strand. Crunchy bean sprouts add even more texture to it.

Wanted an express but delicious meal as lunch over a lazy weekend last week, I cooked this bee hoon to ease my cooking, at the same time, satisfy everyone's tricky taste bud. Not only 'lazy', I was tired, after a long week, so busy over preparation for the festive at office. Yes, we are going to have the yearly group-wide staff Christmas Eve party in the office. So, no choice, I have to conserve my energy to organise the party for 100 over person! Luckily, I have gotten help from my fellow RC team, too..

Anyway, back to my bee hoon lunch, to be cooked for convenience and the taste bud, of course! The ingredients are easily obtainable, you should not have an issue getting the canned stewed pork chops from Asian supermarket/ stores in Chinatown, if you are not staying in Asia coutries.

Actually, from a healthy diet point of view, even though I have vegetables and meat here, but taking canned food (the stewed meat) isn't anything good to have too often. So, cook this only if you are feeling a little 'lazy' once in a blue moon. But I still want to tell you, I liked this bee hoon dish very much though! :p

Serves 3 to 4
Ingredients
250 grams of dried bee hoon, per-soaked for an hour or till soften and drained
1 can of stewed pork chops, 256gram (Narcissus or Gulong brand)
Handful of bean spruts, trimmed and washed

4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
1 tablespoon of thick/ dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
Generous dash grounded white pepper
A touch of sugar

1 large cup of water, 250ml - 300ml
2 tablespoons of cooking oil

Method
1) Heat wok with oil over high fire. Add garlic and stir fry till fragrant and browned.

2) Reduce heat to medium fire, add bee hoon and constantly stir fry for about 1 minute, gradually add water to keep bee hoon moist. You may reduce to low fire and cover wok with lid for about 2 minutes in order to keep the moist while cooking the bee hoon till tender.

3) Add light soy sauce, pepper, oyster sauce and a touch of sugar, stir-fry to combine well. Then, add thick soy sauce. Stir-fry for another 3 minutes.

4) Add bean sprout, followed by stewed pork chops together with its gravy. Stir-fry to combine all ingredients well. Continue to stir fry till bee hoon is tender, for about 1 - 2 minutes. Serve warm.

This delicious and moist bee hoon is just so nice to be eaten... I really loved the tenderness and fragrance of this dish. It might be slightly greasy for some dieters, but you simply aren't going to resist a second and even third serving (Well, no worries, I have already minimised the oil amount with using water to cook it tender instead)!

A portion of this bee hoon with stewed pork chops counts about 350kcal.

Variation: Add sliced button mushroom for more varieties, if desired.
Replace beansprout with cabbage, if desired. However, add cabbage earlier (before adding condiments) as it takes longer to cook and soften.

Tips:Add more water if bee hoon is found too dry while cooking. If more water is added, you may also increase the amount of seasoning to taste better.
* Constantly stir fry the bee hoon to avoid sticking.
* To reduce oil intake, remove a layer of fat covered on top of the canned stewed meat, if found when openned.