House Warming Potluck... Savoury Cups

I think everyone has this fascination with Pot Luck since the last time we had one when Lee Shean, Kum Tak and I moved into our new place. Fortunately, this time around nearing the end of the year, we had another one to celebrate Livee and Fui Kiat moving into their new place, it's really quite a nice place I think, but frankly speaking, Pot Lucks are seriously more about the food! HaHaHa! We actually had a lot of dish that night, thanks to people who cooked and Fui Kiat who took away some orders from one of the Chinese restaurants around. Well, I wish I had the pictures that we took that night, but they are all with Livee and Fui Kiat, hence as much as I want to post about that night's event, I could only talk about the dish I made, as those are the only pictures I have...



So let's turn to the dish I made, this time around I made Pi-Tee, if I remembered the name correctly, this dish is actually available at the Chicken Rice Shop back in Malaysia, my aunt made it once as well, but obviously I made some serious amount of changes to it, HaHa. The ingredients used for this dish is also frequently used for San Choy Bao (Lettuce Wrap) as well, so feel free to use Iceberg Lettuce if you don't feel like making those cups, but they're not any hard anyway...

Ingredients: (makes..A LOT)
2 pack Wanton Wraps (about 120pc)
500g Minced Pork
450g Fresh Bean Sprouts (finely chopped)
1 bunch Chives (finely chopped)
2 Red Carrots (finely sliced/shredded)
1kg Button Mushroom (rinsed and diced)
5pc Thai Small Chili
3pc Lump Sugar
3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
3 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Sea Salt (add more to suit own taste)
5 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
2 tbsp Brown Sugar
2 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
3 slices Ginger (finely chopped)
4 tbsp Vegetable Oil
4 pc Khaffir Lime Leafs (finely chopped)
100g Skinned Peanuts (crushed and toasted)

Method:
I've always tried to make the 'methods' section more formal so that is easily readable, but recently I like to give the informal 'paragraphing' method a try....To make the cups, simply fit the wanton wraps into a muffin tray, u can use two wraps to make a cup if you wish to, then you will get 60 cups, or if you really want to make a lot of it, just one wrap for each muffin hole will do.

Just fit one wrap into each hole on the muffin tray, there is actually a special mould that would make the cups a lot nicer, but obviously I do not have it here, so I used what I had... Bake each tray in a preheated oven for 8-10 minutes at 200 degrees Celsius. This baking time might vary with different ovens, adjust accordingly...

These baked cups are made of two wanton wraps each, it would be a lot small and cuter if only one wrap was used, but I like them this way...

As for the ingredients, it is just a matter of frying them altogether, but the procedure is important, make sure those fast-cooked ingredients are stirred in towards the end, so that they do not loose the texture... Start of by heating the oil in a wok, stir fry the chopped garlic and ginger until fragrant, add in pork mince and followed by black pepper powder, stir fry until all turns meat-white and thoroughly cooked. Add diced mushroom at this point, followed by brown sugar, stir fry for 3 minutes. Add in chopped chives and chili, mix well, add light and dark soy sauce, salt and lump sugar, there should be quite a lot of sauce in the wok by now, add some water if there isn't. Cover with lid, braise over low heat until boiling point. Remove lid, stir in carrots, leave to cook for 2 minutes before adding chopped bean sprouts, braise for another 2 minutes and repeat the same with the chopped Khaffir lime leafs for 1 minute. Done. Stir in crushed peanuts at the end before serving. Done. Serve ingredients on baked cups prepared earlier.

Close up of the savoury cups

The Flower Cups Arrangement

Double Cooked Chicken... Derrick's Farewell Gift

Derrick's farewell party was celebrated by a series of homemade dishes rather than a generous dining out at some restaurant. Partly due to the fact that other housemates of his still have a few papers to sit for during this exam period. Well, another reason I think, is probably because his housemates do not want to celebrate his leaving as he was leaving too early, you should stay longer in Sydney Derrick! HaHaHa. Just joking, do not take it too serious!

As per Derrick's request for something more generous and/or luxurious for his departing dinner, I agreed to make this poultry dish, while he took care of the other dishes, partly as a sign of gratitude to his housemates. Nevertheless, this one dish was worth the effort of all the other dishes, it took me a whole day preparing it, well I think it was partly due to the fact that it was my first time making it as well, I only came out with the idea of making this dish 2 days ago. Luckily it turned out as expected, or it would have ruined the party!

Sticking back to the making of this dish, let's first look at the ingredients needed, this dish serves about 4 to 5 person:

1 big Roasting Chicken (about 1.5kg)

100g Glutinous Rice (soaked overnight pre-use)

25g Sliced Chinese Shitake Mushroom (soaked with sugared water pre-use)

50g Chestnuts (rinsed and toasted pre-use)

10g Chinese Red Dates (soaked re-use)

1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

1 tbsp Sea Salt

1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Water

3 pc Lump Sugar

Marinate

5 tbsp Sea Salt

2 tbsp Five Spice Powder

2 tbsp Black Pepper Powder

3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

Now, in terms of preparing the dish, rinse the chicken thoroughly, especially the inside of the chicken, pat dry with kitchen towel, apply sea salt thoroughly to the entire chicken, giving it a good massage at the same time. Leave aside for 15 minutes. Mix five spice powder, black pepper powder, light and dark soy sauce in a bowl, apply mixture thoroughly onto chicken, with the remaining sauce being poured into the chicken from the backside. Leave aside for 1 to 2 hours or more. I did mine for 3 hours.

Heat vegetable oil in a wok, add sliced mushroom and stir fry for 1 minute, add some brown sugar and salt to brown. Stir in Chinese red dates and chestnuts, mix well. Add in the glutinous rice soaked earlier, stir fry and mix well for 3 minutes. Add in all the remaining seasonings (except for the lump sugars), add water to half the level of the ingredients. Mix well and cover with lid, braise for 3 minutes. Remove lid and continue to stir fry for another 2 minutes, add some water if necessary...

Scoop all the stir-fried ingredients into the chicken, throw in the lump sugars before hand, use a spoon to make sure all the ingredients are packed tightly. Seal the opening behind the chicken with toothpicks. Done. Move chicken to a steamer, steam continuously for at least 1 hour over high heat. Add water to steamer when necessary.

After an hour, remove chicken from steamer and place it on a roasting pan, pour all the remaining sauces onto chicken. Roast in pre-heated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes, with the chicken turned sides at 15 minutes interval. Done. Serve hot or warm.

Sweet Chili Pumpkin and Spinach Salad

Ingredients: (serves 3)
450g Pumpkin (Skinned and roughly chopped)
1 bundle English Spinach (about 6 bunch, rinsed and finely chopped)
15g Anchovy (fried pre-use)
3 tbsp Sweet Chili
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
1 tbsp Salt
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
2 slice Ginger (finely chopped)
2 cup water

Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok, stir fry ginger and garlic until aromatic. Add in pumpkin cutlets, stir fry for 2 minutes, add 1 cup water to cover pumpkin pieces, close lid and leave to braise for about 5 minutes.
2. Remove lid, add salt, pepper and 2tbsp sweet chili sauce, mix well, Stir in chopped spinach, stir well, add light soy sauce and another cup of water, cover with lid again and braise over low heat for 5 minutes.
3. Remove lid, turn to high heat, bring to boil. Done. Top with fried anchovies and remaining sweet chili sauce, mix well before eating.

Chinese Style Vegetarian Chicken Salad

Ingredients: (serves 3)
325g Vegetarian Chicken (Thinly sliced, available at Asian stores)
250g Fresh Bean Sprouts
500g Chives (soaked and chopped into 1cm lengths)

1 tbsp Black and White Sesame (toasted, for garnishing)

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

2 tbsp Sea Salt

1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder

Sauce:

2 tbsp Crunchy Peanut Butter

3 Small Spicy Chili (seeded and finely chopped)

2 tbsp Brown Sugar

1 tbsp Sea Salt

1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce

1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

1 tsp Black Pepper Powder

1 tbsp Vegetable Oil

3 tbsp Water

Method:
1. Braise beansprouts in a pot of boiling water for 2 minutes, remove from hot water and soak in ice cold water. Repeat with chopped chives.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a wok, stir fry sliced vegetarian chicken for 5 minutes, adding sea salt and black pepper powder in the process. Remove from wok and leave aside to cool.
3. On a plate, set base of bean sprouts, top with chives and the top most with the vegetarian chicken.
4. As for the sauce, heat oil in a saucepan, saute chopped chili for 1 minute, stir in the rest of the ingredients, with the water added at the last, turn to low heat and bring to boil. Done. Pour over the vegetarian chicken, chives and beansprouts platter prepared earlier. Serve hot or cold.

Stir-Fry Asparagus and Gluten Mix

Ingredients: (serves 3-4)
3 bunch fresh Asparagus (roughly chopped into 1.5 inch pieces)
75g Fried Gluten (soaked until soft pre-use)
3 tbsp Woberry Fruit (soaked pre-use)
20g Salted Fish (toasted and crushed)
2 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
2 slices Ginger (finely chopped)
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tsp Black Pepper Powder
Pinch of Salt and Sugar

Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok, stir in chopped ginger and garlic, followed by asparagus, stir fry for 1 minute. Add pinch of salt and sugar. Continue to stir fry for 2 minutes.
2. Add soaked gluten, followed by wolberry fruit, continue to stir fry while adding oyster sauce and light soy sauce. Stir fry for another 3 to 5 minutes. Add water if necessary.
3. Give a good dash of black pepper powder and sesame oil before turning off heat, mix well. Top with toasted crush salted fish before serving. Mix well when serving.

Fried Pasta with Mushroom and Bean Sauce

I have a lot of friends who always admire how good the smell of those noodles from the university's restaurants' are, they then often end up buying into those costly meals. But seriously, it does not cost that much, especially when they buy their ingredients in bulk. So I would like to reveal how to make one of those very aromatic fried noodles in this post. Despite the fact that I used pasta, it can be easily substituted with other noodles, so go for what you like!





Ingredients: (serves 1)
50g Pasta (cooked until desired tenderness in hot water)
25g Large White Button Mushrooms(thoroughly rinsed and sliced thinly)
25g Diced Pork (sliced thinly)
3 tbsp Fermented Black Bean (Soaked in water pre-use)
1 tbsp Black Bean Sauce
1 tbsp Soy Bean Paste
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
1 tbsp Brown Sugar
2 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
2 slices Ginger (finely chopped)
4 petals Lettuce (any type, or use Choy Sum)
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Method:
1. Heat oil in wok and stir fry garlic and ginger until aromatic. Stir in pork slices first. Stir fry for 2 minutes before adding 1 tbsp light soy sauce. Stir-fry for another 1 minute.
2. Add in mushroom slices, stir fry for another 2 minutes before adding fermented black beans, soy bean paste, fermented bean paste, sugar and a splash of water. Stir fry for 2 minutes.
3. Stir in pasta at this point, add the remaining black pepper powder, light and dark soy sauce. Continue to stir fry for another 3 minutes over high heat, adding splashes of water if necessary. Stir in lettuce before serving. Done. Serve hot when it is aromatic.

Sesame Oil Grilled Aubergine

Ingredients: (serves 3-4)
500g Aubergine (pick those small and long ones)
4 tbsp Sesame Oil
25g Bean curd Skin (Fu Chok, rinsed pre-use)
1 bunch Coriander (finely chopped)
5 cloves Garlic (diced)
2 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Salt
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Sweet Chili
1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Method:
1. Wash the aubergines thoroughly, half them lengthwise. On a plate, mix 3 tbsp sesame oil with 1 tbsp sugar and salt. Coat halved aubergines thoroughly with sesame oil. Put to grill for about 30-40 minutes.
2. Slice the bean curd skin finely. Heat the vegetable oil in saucepan, lightly fry the diced garlic until golden brown, remove garlic. Throw in sliced bean curd skin, stir-fry for 2 minutes before adding dark and light soy sauce, sweet chili, sugar and black pepper powder. Continue to stir-fry for another 2 minutes. Add some water if necessary.
3. Add the remaining sesame oil into the saucepan before turning off heat, mix well.
4. Remove aubergine from grill, top with bean curd skin sauce, chopped coriander and fried garlic earlier. Done. Serve hot or cold.

Sweet Vinegar Ribs

This is quite a effort taxing dish to make, but I think the outcome is really worth the effort. For those who like sweet and sour food, this is definitely a must try!


Ingredients: (serves 3-4)
1kg Chinese Spare Ribs
9 tbsp Dark Vinegar
5 tbsp Brown Sugar
3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Black Sesame (lightly toasted)
1 tbsp White Sesame (lightly toasted)
1 to 2 tbsp Corn Flour
2-4 tbsp Water
Water
1 egg
Oil for frying
3 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
3 slice Ginger (finely chopped)

Marinate:
3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Five Spice Powder
2 tbsp Chinese Shao Xing Cooking Wine
1 tbsp Sea Salt.

Method:
1. Chop the spare ribs into preferred sizes. Marinate with mentioned ingredients for at least 1 hour.
2. Heat oil in a wok, dissolve 2 tbsp corn flour with 4 tbsp water (can add more as long as the proportion is 1:2, make sure the batter is not too thick) and 1 egg. Coat ribs in batter and deep fry until they turn golden brown. Leave on kitchen towel to soak excess oil.
3. Dip all the ribs into hot oil again after all ribs are fried once, this is to release excess oil trapped in the ribs. remove from oil and leave aside.
4. Meanwhile, heat 3 tbsp of oil in a wok, stir in chopped ginger and garlic and fry until fragrant. Throw in the fried spare ribs and stir-fry for 2 minutes.
5. Add into the wok 6 tbsp dark vinegar, 3 tbsp brown sugar, dark and light soy sauce, mix all ingredients well, add water to cover ribs and cover with lid, braise over medium heat for about 30 minutes or until the water has reduced to less than 1/4 of the initial water level.
6. Remove lid, stir the ingredients a thoroughly, add in the remaining brown sugar and vinegar, mix well, add one small bowl of water, cover with lid and braise over high heat until the ingredients start to boil.
7. Remove lid, give the ingredients a good stir, turn off heat, done. Sprinkle with toasted black and white sesame before serving.

Cold Mixed Kuay Teow

Ingredients: (serves 1)
50g Dried Kuay Teow (can opt for fresh ones)
10 g Skinned Peanuts (coarsely chopped and lightly toasted) 3 pc Small Thai Chili (seeded and finely chopped)
2 slices Ginger (finely chopped)
2 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
3 tbsp Sesame Oil
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 small Cucumber (finely chopped or grated, leave in ice cold water) Toasted Black and White Sesame to garnish













Method:
1. If using dried Kuay Teow, boil in hot water until turns white and tender, drain water, soak in ice cold water and leave in fridge.
2. Lightly toast ginger slices in hot pat, add 2 tbsp sesame oil, stir in chopped Thai chili and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
3. Add light and dark soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper, stir over low heat until everything is well dissolved. Turn off heat.
4. Drain water from Kuay Teow, mix with sauce evenly, add in toasted peanuts, followed by last splash of sesame oil. Top with chilled cucumber. Done, sprinkle with black and white sesame before serving.

Chinese Sausage Salad

This is another very simple dish for those who do not like to spend much time on cooking. I particularly recommend this dish to those Chinese Sausage fans, the correct taste should have a mild scent of chinese sausage's sweetness in every bite, hope everyone likes it. Enjoy!





Ingredients: (serves 2-3)
2 pc Chinese Sausage (sliced thinly diagonally accross)
1 pc Cucumber (skinned, diced and keep in iced water)
2 pc Fresh Tofu (diced)
1 tsp White Sesame
1 tsp Black Sesame
1 tbsp Lemon/ Lime Juice

Method:
1. In a sasucepan or a small pot, lightly toast the black and white sesame until fragrant. Put aside.
2. Similarly, toast the sliced sausages without adding any oil or ingredients. The sausages will turn brown and release its oil. Retain this oil at the end of toasting process.
3. Lightly fry the diced tofu with the oil from the Chinese Sausage earlier until they turn brownish.
4. Mix all ingredients together, pour the last bit of oil from the Chinese Sausage onto the mixture. Give the dish a splash of lemon juice and sweet chili, sprinkle with toasted sesame. Done. Serve hot or cold.

Steamed Tofu and Mushroom with Fermented Tofu Sauce

Ingredients: (serves 4)
450g Fresh Tofu (about 5 pieces, sliced lengthwise)
40g Chinese Black Shitake Mushroom (get those with long stems/legs, pre-soaked with 2 pc lump sugar for at least 3 hours)
25g Skinned Peanuts (diced and toasted pre-use)
1 pc Fermented Tofu
2 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
2 slices Ginger (finely chopped)
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Brow Sugar
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Method:

1. Cut the stems of the mushrooms and keep for use, do not throw them away; slice the mushrooms horizontally to get 2 or 3 slices from each mushroom. Arrange tofu slices and mushroom on a plate. (preferably, mix the tofu and mushroom slices with some extra salt and sugar before arranging on plate.)

2. Steam the tofu and mushroom for 20-25 minutes over high heat.

3. Meanwhile, brown the mushroom stems with 1 tbsp brown sugar in a small sauce pan. Add garlic, ginger and vegetable oil and stir-fry until fragrant.

4. Mix fermented tofu, light soy sauce and sugar in a bowl with some water, add in the sauce pan, simmer over low to medium heat to bring to boil. Keep stirring for the meantime.

5. Upon boiling, stir in toasted peanuts, turn off heat immediately, mix well and pour on top of steamed tofu and mushroom. Done, serve hot or warm.

Who says Spinach is only for stir-frying?

Some days back when I was buying some vegetables for dinner I overheard this old lady asking a younger miss how to cook those english spinach that the young lady was going to buy. She answered without hesitating: "Stir-fry". I was a bit let down actually as I was hoping that she would recommend something special or new. Later when I went back home, I decided to make this dish and post it, so that anyone who reads this post would know that, hey spinach can be used for other dishes too.

Long story cut short, there are actually a lot ways to use spinach in cooking, especially in western cuisine. But let's not go there, just stick to the Chinese style cooking, what would you do with a bunch of englih spinach in you refrigerator besides the most fundamental stir-frying? Check this out...

Ingredients: (serves 1 to 2)
2 bunches English Spinach (cleaned and seperate stem and leafs)
10g Dried Anchovies (soaked preuse)
50g Diced Pork meat (cut into thin strips)
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 slice Ginger (thinly sliced)
2 cloves Garlic (finely chopped)
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Black Pepper Powder
1 Egg
3 bowls Water

Marinate:
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Shao Xing Rice Wine
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Pepper



Method:
1. Marinade the pork slices with the marinate ingredients for at least 15 minutes.
2. Lightly toast anchovies in a small pot, add garlic and ginger, stir until fragrant, add oil to fry. Stir in marinated pork slices and stir fry for about 2 minutes, add the spinach stems, followed by 1 tbsp light soy sauce and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
3. Add water to cover ingredients, cover with lid and ring to boil on low to medium heat.
4. Remove lid upon boiling, add in spinach leafs and the remaining seasonings. Cover with lid and bring to boil again on high heat.
5. Upon boiling, beat the egg with some hot soup and pour back into the pot quickly. Done. Serve hot with rice.

Back Again... FINALLY!!! (Tomato Soup)

It has been really some time since I last posted any new dish, all thanks to my Design! Well, lucky thing is, everything is finally over now, I will be posting more actively this month as other mates drown themselves in mountains of books and texts trying to finish all their syllabus for their exams. ^^ EVIL! Nevertheless, to celebrate the end of my semester, I will first post 6 dishes that I made over this busy period, followed by other new dishes everyday! Hope that everyone enjoys reading and trying out the dishes. =)





Well, let's start with soups, who does not like soups? =)

This is a simple soup to make which I think is especially suitable for those lone cooks, so don't feel bad if you are cooking and dining alone, I have had many similar sessions as well. =)

Ingredients: (serves 1)

2 medium size Tomato (diced)

2 pc Fresh Tofu (diced, or cut into 9 cubes each)

1/2 Spanish Red Onion (diced)

2 tbsp Tomato Paste (use tomato ketchup if you don't have it)

1 tbsp Dried Basil

1 tbsp Salt

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Sugar

1 tsp Pepper

2 bowls Water

Method:

1. Brown red on ion in a small pot together with olive oil and sugar, stir in diced tomato and tomato Paste. Add basil and stir fry until fragrant. Add water, cover with lid and bring to boil.

2. Remove lid, add pepper and salt, throw in the diced tofu, cover with lid again and simmer with low heat until boil. Done. Serve hot.