Golden Flapjack Recipe

"Low in fat and sugar, high in crunch factor and flavour. Make your own flapjack aka baked oat bar easily at home, for a relatively healthy tea time, anytime. "

Flapjack, is a sweet baked bar mainly made from rolled oats, brown sugar and golden syrup in British cuisine. Some added with nuts, raisins or dried fruits. I made the most basic flapjacks, with reduced fat and sugar amount, for a more healthy version.

The taste of my flapjack reminds me of the popcorn we ate in the movie, when I first tasted it. It was so crispy to munch, leaving with hint of buttery aroma in the palate. The flapjack was to be made as an alternative to those high fat, high sugar or high calories cookies. Bake this in bars, for my breakfast, or in squares, as the bite-size snacks and munches during tea time.

It's so easy and quick to make, but remember, do not let the golden syrup mixture boil, or th flapjacks will be tacky and harden instead of crisped, when baked and cooled.

And, store the unfinished portions in a food container to indulge in anytime, up to a week or two.

Yields 10 - 12
Ingredients
70 grams of butter
2 tablespoons of Golden Syrup (about 60ml)
60 grams of brown sugar
170g rolled oats

Method
1) Grease a 8" square baking tin with olive oil or butter.

2) Preheat oven to 180°C.

3) In a large sauce pan, heat and melt butter, brown sugar and golden syrup on very low fire. When butter is melted (not boiled), stir in rolled oats until well combined. Heat off.

4) Turn the oat mixture into greased baking tin and press it out evenly with fingers or the back of the metal spoon. Then, bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until browned and crisped.

5) Divide the baked flapjacks into squares or fingers while still warm, then leave to cool slightly, before turning out to a wire rack to finish cooling. Serve or store in a food container for later.

A square of my flapjack counts about 110kcal.

Tips: Heat syrup mixture, and not boil till bubbly, to remain cripsed, and not tacky or hard to chew.
* Use light butter and sugar, for even more healthy and low-fat making, for having it more regularly without 'guilt', if desired.

Moonlight Treasure Box 月光宝盒

"Easy Making Mouth-Watering Steamed Minced Pork Cube with Dong Cai and Salted Egg Scopes"

This dish is similar to my previous steamed minced pork with salted eggs recipe, but this one tastes fuller than the other due to the addition of Tianjin preserved vegetables (aka 'Dong Cai' 冬菜) in it. And I think this looks better in terms of presentation as I tried making it like the mini treasure boxes on the plate.

This minced pork dish goes well with both steamed rice or rice porridge. I liked it with the rice porridge as its slightly excessive briny taste complements the bland rice porridge so well. My girl loved this pork dish very much, too, as it looks delicate and tastes tenderly soft and smooth.

See my recipe:

Pork Saigon

"Try this recipe which I've learned from cooking demo in Bali. And I'll show you the perfect way to prevent heating butter on stove"

It has been more than a week from my last post. I apologise with no further excuse (busy at work really~).

This dish was learned during my last holiday to Bali. One of the activities from the resort was cooking demonstration. And this was the dish they showed. Actually, they cooked this with beef, but due to personal diet restriction, I used pork slices instead.

I liked this dish for it's sweetness with a hint of refreshing sourish flavour, it resembles the taste of sweet & sour pork dish, but this Pork Saigon tastes more delicate as the texture of the pork meat here was tender and not deep fried.

Choose steamed rice to go along with this dish. For healthier and more refreshing bites, eat it with wraps of fresh lettuce leafs. Simply scoop over 1 tablespoon of pork dish on a large lettuce leaf. Wrap and roll it up! Lettuce adds crunch to the biting and it does make a great accompaniment with Pork Saigon.

Homemade Lemon Fish

"Delicious lemon fish cooked from scratch, with my homemade lemon sauce."

Suddenly had this craving for sweet and sourish flavoured dish for dinner. I missed lemon fish, but find that the lemon fish from outside stores was tasted too sweet. So, I yearned to cook my own lemon fish! To curb my craving for it. A very satisfying one, I had it, for my family who loved this dish as well.

Lemon fish is an adaption of the popular Asian style lemon chicken. Cooking lemon fish dish is not a difficult chore. We can always get instant lemon sauce packets off the shelves, but it won't really save your bucks by using these pre packs.

Make your own lemon sauce can be very easy, too. And I guaranteed you'll be this very much! See my recipe:

Express Cheesy Mashed Potato

"Silky mashed potato, expressly made from home. A good accompaniment for your Western meal, or to simply enjoy it as a snack when all you want is just smooth, creamy & mild cheesy feeling in the palate!"

This mashed potato was just so fabulous, even without the instant mushroom sauce. It's simply smooth and exceedingly moist enough for the palate.

Yes, if you are looking for a slightly different mashed potato recipe, try this simple and quick to fix mashed potato dish at home. Good for an express lunch with greens salad, or to pair with nice juicy chop for a romantic dinner.

I cooked this as one of the sides for my Western dinner meal the other day. Since I was preparing this together with a complete meal, I saved time by having the instant mushroom sauce instead of making my own one. I got this packet of mushroom sauce off the shelf, which was not specifically meant for mashed potato, but it's good as the sauce for grilled chicken or beef steak. Try to find it in NTUC Fairprice or Cold Storage supermarket.

Serves 3 - 4
Ingredients
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks (Russet potato)
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium egg yolk
50 grams of cheddar cheese, grated

Topping:
1 packet of instant mushroom gravy, get it off the shelves

Method
1) In a pot cover potatoes with water by 1 inch, and simmer over high heat, until very tender, for about 15 minutes.

2) Drain the potatoes and transfer to a bowl. Add in butter and cheese, mix and mash with a large metal fork. Do this quick while it's still pipping hot.

3) When potatoes are mashed until almost smooth, fold in lightly scrambled egg yolk. Continue mashing the potato till smooth, creamy and well combined. Set aside.

4) Empty the content of the instant mushroom sauce packet into a small saucepan. Heat sauce over low fire, for 2 minutes, or according to the directions indicated on the packet.

5) Final stage, scoope mashed potato onto a serving dish with the ice cream scooper. Make a shallow well in the middle of the mashed potato by pressing it lightly with the rounded back off the scooper. Pour heated mushroom sauce into the potato well. Serve immediately.

A portion of my mashed potato counts about 260kcal, with instant mushroom sauce which counted about 40kcal more to the mashed potato meal.

Simple Stir-Fried Clams

"Simple way to stir fry, even with the most basic ingredients in your refrigerator, you may easily turn fresh clams into delicious dish in a flash!"

Found these fresh large clams which comes in thin shells instead of usual thick shells type. This flower-patterned thin shelled clam is not as common to be found in Singapore market than in Malaysia, especially such large ones. Hence, I had to just grab some even though I had no clue how to deal with these shells.

Till the very last minute, I was still not inspired how to cook it, and due to lack of other ingredients to spice up my cooking for this, I decided to simply stir fry with ginger and bird eye chili which found in my refrigerator. Well, it turned out good!

Simple, but aromatic dish. The addition of bird eye chili had enhanced the fresh seafood flavour of these clams to it's fullest.

See recipe below:

Double boiled Snow Pear Soup with Fritillaria Bulbs and Sweet Almond (川贝母南杏炖雪梨)

“Another lung nourishing soup for your healthy diets”

If you need something to cool your body down or just to nourish your skin, throat and lung, try this simple and delicious soup.
It shows off the mild tangy and refreshing taste with a hint of mild natural sweetness in the soup on the finish.



Drink this nourishing soup in meals or as dessert. This is definitely one of the great soup dishes for the summer days.

See recipe:



Serves 2 – 3
Ingredients
1 large snow pear, peeled (or with skin) and cored with whole pear should remains in shape (or halved)
1 tablespoon of sweet almond/ southern almond (南杏 ‘Nan Xing’)
1 tablespoon of Fritillaria bulbs (川贝母 Chuan Bei Mu’)
½ piece of whole (flattened) preserved tangerine (柑橘饼 ‘Gan Ju Bing’)
3 stripes of dried tangerine peels (干橙皮 ‘Gan Chen Pi’)
5 - 10 gram of Glehniae Root (沙参 ‘Sha Shen’)
3 – 5 dried figs (无花果 ‘Wu Hua Guo’)

About 1000ml of water (*depends on the size of the stew pot, it should be about 90% full in the pot with contents)

Optional:
Small lump of rock sugar
OR
1 teaspoon of salt

Method
1) Place whole pear into the Chinese traditional-style porcelain stew pot (炖盅). Stuff sweet almonds and into the cored part of the pear till it’s filled (It’s ok if can’t fit in all, leave it outside the pear in the pot). Then, place the rest of the ingredients in the pot. Fill the pot with water till 90% full.

2) Place stew pot in another large pot half-filled with water over stove (with medium heat) to create double boiling effect. Lift up the stew pot with a low rack to leave a gap between two pots. Simmer soup for at least 3 hours. Serve hot.

Variations:
If you prefer your soup to taste sweeter like dessert soup, add rock sugar.
If you prefer briny taste, add salt into the soup about 5 minutes before heat off. You can even add lean pork ribs into the soup, if not taken as vegetarian.

A regular bowl of my pear soup (without additional sugar) counts less than 100kcal. It’s low-fat, healthy and nourishing, and can drink it as vegetarian diet, too!

Tips: Place stew pot into a large steamer, if you have one. Or, choose slow cooker to do the cooking, if it’s more convenient for you.
* Use a corer to core the pear. To remain the pear in complete shape is just for better presentation purposes. It actually does not matter if your pear is still halved or in shape as it may be torn apart after long boiling till the whole pear softened. So, handle the pear whichever way you feel like it or at your best convenience.
* Soup appears in dark brownish colour due to the addition of dried tangerine peels. It's ok if you don't mind without the mild tangy flavour in the soup. Omit it, if desired. And you should get a clear soup based.

Hong Kong Style Steamed Cod Fish (港蒸鳕鱼)

"Easy making, healthy & super delicious steamed Cod for the family"

A subtly flavorful sauce makes a delicate companion to the Cod. It's simply easy and hassle free to prepare such healthy and delicious steamed fish dish.

This steamed Cod fish steak tasted so fresh, tender and smooth with a hint of natural milky flavour in the palate. My hubby loved it alot.

This Cod dish does not need excessive seasoning or garnishing. I topped some crisped fried ginger, and you may embellish further with some red chili jullienes and corriander for colorful presentation.

See recipe:

Japanese-Fusion Style Spaghetti with Fresh Shiitake, Clams and Prawns

"Spaghetti with fusion cooking style that you will surely love it"

Called this recipe by listing out it's main ingredients, I was not sure how to name this Japanese-Chinese-Western styles pasta dish. However, this recipe is rustic yet elegant.

This classic homemade dish calls for spaghetti smothered in a hearty chicken stock with a touch of Japanese Mirin. The spaghetti strands drew in the full essence of chicken stock and made it so flavourful and tasty.

It was a big hit by my family and surely mopped up the entire cooking, every time I cooked this pasta.

Simple preparation with dazzling results makes this dish ideal for own indulgence, entertaining or any occasion.

See recipe:

Serves 4
400 grams of spaghetti
500 grams of clams, washed and soaked in heavily salted water for at least 1 hour.
250 grams of medium prawns, shelled with tail intact and deveined, seasoned with chicken granule and briefly patted with corn flour
100 grams of fresh Shiitake mushroom, removed stem and sliced
600 grams of chicken stock
1 large tablespoon of Japanese Mirin
¼ teaspoon of salt
¼ teaspoon of sugar
2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 tablespoons of olive oil

A pot of water (for blancing noodle), added with ½ teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of olive oil

Garnish
Pinch of coarsely ground black pepper
Small amount if parsley, if desired

Method
1) Boil a pot of water over high heat. Add salt and olive oil. Place spaghetti strands into boiling water and half cook the strands for 3 minutes.

2) In the meantime, heat olive oil in large pan over medium fire. Add in garlic and sauté till fragrant. Transfer half-cooked spaghetti from the pot to the pan. Add in chicken stock, salt and sugar. Stir fry to combine.

3) Then, add clams. Cover pan with lid. Reduce heat to low fire and simmer for 4 minutes, or until clams are cooked till shells opened and most of chicken stock is absorbed by the strands.

4) Remove lid. Increase heat to medium fire again. Add prawns and mushroom, stir fry for 1 minute, or till prawns are pinked. Add in mirin and stir fry to combine. Chicken stock in the pan should be thicken by now. Heat off and dish up. Sprinkle some black pepper (and parsley) to serve.

A serving of my pasta dish counts about 380kcal.

Tips: You may wish to briefly blanch the clams in separate pot first, before putting together with the spaghetti cooking. Discard any unopened shells.
* Add more chicken stock to simmer the spaghetti if requires more gravy in your dish, or vice versa.