Roasted chicken mushrooms spaghetti 🍝

Ingredients: 

• 1/3- 1/2 packet spaghetti 
• 1 packet cooking cream 
• 1 medium onion, sliced 
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 8-10 pieces fresh Swiss Brown mushrooms, sliced 
• 1/2 roasted chicken breast, chopped into smaller pieces 
• 2-3 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil 
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• Salt and black pepper to taste 

Directions: 

1. Boil the spaghetti with salt. Cook until al dente. Remove and drain. Reserve one cup of pasta water. 
2. Whilst pasta is cooking, prepare ingredients like mushrooms, chicken, onion and garlic. 
3. Heat pan, add olive oil and melt butter. Fry sliced onions, followed by mushrooms and fry till they turn soft. Add minced garlic and fry for a minute. Add plain flour and mix. You will see the flour becoming lumpy. 
4. Add half cup of pasta water and stirring constantly to dissolve the flour. Once flour dissolve, add cooking cream and stir constantly to combine to become a smooth texture. If sauce is thick, continue to add more pasta water to dilute it. 
5. Once sauce slightly thickened, Add in chopped roasted chicken. Add drained spaghetti and mix well. 
6. Season with salt and black pepper and parmesan cheese to taste. I garnished with some dry parsley leaves. Serve hot. ☺️ 

Note: 

• This is not carbonara as I didn’t used the traditional way of cooking Carbonara to cook this dish since I didn’t have the ingredients at home. 

Stirfry Prawns in garlic, ginger sauce 🦐

{Collaboration}
A dish that can be cooked in less than 10 minutes! Using Borges extra light olive oil to do a stir fry prawns with lots of garlic and ginger and added some chili padi for that extra kick! 😊😊
#BorgesRecipes

Ingredients:

• 12 pieces fresh big-size sea prawns 
• 4 tbsp minced garlic
• 1 1/2 tbsp minced ginger  
• 2 tbsp chopped spring onion
• 1 chili padi, chopped 
• 2 tbsp Borges extra light olive oil 
• 1/2 cup hot chicken stock/ hot water 
• 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce 
• A dash of cooking wine 

Method: 

1. Clean prawns by trimming away the legs and sharp edges. Use a toothpick to remove the intestines. Wash and drain. 
2. Heat pan/ wok with olive oil at middle-high heat. Add 2 1/2 tbsp of minced garlic and minced ginger. Stirfry till fragrant (about a minute).  Add 1 tbsp of chopped spring onion and mix well. 
3. Add prawns and stir fry quickly to mix well for about a minute. Add hot chicken stock / hot water, then cover with lid for about a minute. 
4. Remove cover and add remaining minced garlic, chili padi and oyster sauce. Adjust taste accordingly and add a little salt if needed. (If you use store-bought chicken stock, do not add oyster sauce or salt as it already contain salt.) 
5. Add remaining spring onion. Off heat, garnish with coriander and served hot. 

Tip:

• Prawns cooked very fast so have to be fast in cooking! I used about 7 minutes plus for this dish. Try not too overcook the prawns as it’ll becomes tough. 
• Add more chopped chili padi if you prefer it to be more spicy. 

Crispy Chicken in Lemon sauce 🐔🍋

{Collaboration} 

Anyone loves fried chicken ? And drizzle with lemon sauce? It has been at least two years since I last cooked this! 😜😂 This is my first try on using Borges Grapeseed oil to deep fry chicken!  #BorgesRecipes

Ingredients: 

4 Chicken legs (boneless) 

Seasoned flour - 2 cups corn flour, 1 tbsp plain flour , 2 tsp salt and dash of pepper. 

Marinade for chicken 

• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar 
• 1 egg 
• 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1/2 tsp custard powder
• 1 tbsp corn flour 
• 1 tbsp plain flour 

Sauce: 

• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1/2 cup water 
• 1 tsp lemon zest 
• Corn starch slurry (1/2 tbsp corn starch mixed with 1 tbsp water) 

Method: 

1. Marinate chicken legs with marinade for an hour. 
2. Coat chicken legs with seasoned flour and shallow-fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain oil and set aside. Leave it to cool and cut into pieces. 
3. Combine sauce ingredients into wok and bring it to a boil. Adjust accordingly to your taste. Add corn flour slurry and cook till thickened. Pour over chopped chicken and serve. 

Tip: If you like spicy flavor, you can add chopped chili padi into sauce. 

Ngoh Hiang

Ingredients:

• 500g minced pork with some fats 
• $2 fish paste (bought from wet market) 
• 10 prawns (deveined, deshelled and minced) 
• 1/2 carrot, minced
• 8 water chestnuts, minced 
• 5 small onions, minced 
• 1/2 cup spring onion, chopped 
• 2 tbsps fried shallots 
• 1 tbsp of sole fish powder (optional) 
• 1 egg 
• 1 piece of bean curd skin
• Corn flour water (1 tsp corn flour mix with 1 tbsp water) 

Seasonings:

• 1/2 tbsp light soya sauce 
• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tbsp sesame oil 
• 1 tsp five spice powder 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp corn flour 
• A dash of pepper 

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients in a big bowl (except for bean curd skin and corn flour water). Add all the seasonings into the bowl. Incorporate the ingredients and seasonings. Mix in one direction til all becomes sticky. (I used hand to mix). Set aside for 30 minutes. 
2. Cut bean curd skin into smaller pieces. Use a damp cloth to wipe the surface gently to remove salt. 
3. Place enough meat fillings on bean curd skin and roll it up tightly. Use corn flour water to seal the sides and ends. You can wrap in any sizes you like. 
4. Heat up steamer over big fire. Place ngoh hiang on steaming cloth or cooking paper. Steam for 10mins. Remove and let ngoh hiang cool down and dry completely on a wire rack. 
5. Sliced into pieces and deep fry till golden brown. You can also panfry or airfry till crispy. 
6. You can freeze the steamed ngoh hiang when it’s cooled down. Coat with some flour and can keep up to a month. 

Prawn Noodle Soup 虾面汤 🦐

Ingredients:

• 500g Pork ribs, blanched to remove blood
• 500g prawns, remove shells and deveined 
• 300g yellow noodles
• 300g beehoon 
• 100g of pork belly, blanched
• 2 pieces of fishcake, sliced
• A handful of beansprouts

Method:

• First, cook the pork ribs soup base. I accumulated about 1 kg prawn shells and heads in the freezer. Rinsed and drained of water. 
• Heat pot/wok with 3 tbsp oil. Add thumb-size smashed ginger and 7-8 cloves of smashed garlic.  Sauté till fragrant. Add prawn heads and shells and fry over high heat till shells turn bright red.  Drizzle 2 tbsps of Chinese cooking wine around the wok.
• Add about 1.5 liters of hot water or enough water to cover the shells. Bring it to a boil. Add few stalks of spring onion and coriander roots. Sieve away the scums and simmee for about 45minutes.
• When it’s done, sieved to remove prawn shells and set aside. (You can prepare the stock in advance and freeze for later use.) 
• When prawn stock ready, topped up about 500ml of water and boil pork ribs and pork belly. Add in 1 tbsp of white peppercorns, 1 tbsp rock sugar. 1 tbsp fish sauce, 1/4 tsp white pepper and 1 tbsp dark soya sauce. Simmer for about 30minues. Remove pork belly to cool when it’s cooked though. 
• Continue to boil pork ribs till it’s cooked and soft. Remove and set aside. 
• Blanch prawns in soup stock for 2minutes and set aside (don’t overcook prawns so that they stay crunchy). 
• Blanch fishcake in soup stock and set aside. 
• Blanch noodles and bean sprouts in hot water and portioned in bowls. Pour hot soup to warm the noodles and drain soup back into pot. Repeat again. Add a tbsp of shallot oil and toss well.  
• Assembled prawns, fish cakes, pork ribs, pork belly on noodles. 
• Add salt and pepper to soup stock (pls adjust according to your taste). 
• Pour hot soup over the assembled noodles and topped with a tsp of fried shallots oil and fried shallots. Serve hot with sliced chili padi. 

Fried Hokkien Prawn Noodles 福建炒虾面! 🦐

Ingredients: (portion for 2 adults and 3 kids)

• 200g Blanched Pork Belly, cut into strips
• 250g Trimmed prawns , boiled
• 300 g sotong, boil and cut into rings
• 2 pieces of fish cake, sliced thinly 
• 850 ml prawn stock (estimate) 
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 400g yellow noodle
• 300g thick Laksa beehoon
• 300g Beanspouts
• 2 tbsp minced garlic
• 100g Spring onion, cut into sections
• Sambal chili and limes (optional) * chili is store-bought 

Seasoning:

• 2-3 tbsp light soya sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce 
• 1-2 tbsp fish sauce

* Note: Pls adjust accordingly to your taste.

How to prepare prawn stock:

1. I accumulated about a kg prawn shells and heads in the freezer. Rinsed prawn heads and shells and drained of water. 
2. Heat pot/wok with 3 tbsp oil. Add thumb-size smashed ginger and 7-8 cloves garlic. Sauté till fragrant. Add prawn heads and shells and fry over high heat till shells are bright red. Drizzle 2 tbsps of Chinese cooking wine around the wok. 
3. Add about 1.5litres of hot water or enough water to cover the shells. Bring it to a boil. Add few stalks of spring onion and coriander roots. Simmer on low heat for about an hour. 
4. Let it cool, sieved and set aside soup stock. You can prepare stock in advance and freeze for later use. 

Method:

1. Boil a pot of water with a thumb-size of ginger. Blanched Pork belly till cooked and set aside. Sliced into smaller pieces when cooled. Parboiled prawns and sotong for a min. Do not overboil the seafood as it'll result in overcooking it. Remove and set aside.
2. Heat wok till hot. Add 4 tbsp of oil and pour in beaten eggs. Let the eggs set and use a spatula to cut into small pieces. Add noodles and beanspouts. Stir and mix well. Pour in 1/3 of the stock , cover and cooked over moderate heat till noodle are almost dry.
3. Add another 1/3 of the stock and cover. Continue to cook till noodle is almost dry. Push noodle to one side . Add 2 tbsp of oil and chopped garlic. Saute garlic till fragrant. Add remaining stock, pork belly, prawns and squids. Give it a quick stir. Then mix noodles with the ingredients to combine and add seasonings and spring onion. Stir fry till stock is almost dried. Off heat and serve with Sambal chili and lime. 😊

Note:  I cooked in smaller portions as it is easier to manage.

Chicken Pasta Soup

Ingredients: 

• 1 medium size onion , diced
• 1 large carrot, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1.5 litres of homemade chicken stock  
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 stalk of fresh thyme 
• 1 chicken breasts, diced
• 2 cups of small macaroni pasta, uncooked
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions: 

1. Marinate chicken breasts with 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp sea salt and 1 tsp black pepper. 
2. Heat olive oil in a pot.
3. Add onions, carrots and celery. Saute on medium heat for 5-7 minutes. 
4. Add garlic, stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
5. Add diced chicken. Sauté for about 5 minutes. 
6. Add chicken stock, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20-30 minutes. 
7. Add pasta. Simmer for 5-7 minutes till pasta is cooked.
8. Add salt and pepper to taste 
9. Remove bay leaves before serving. Serve immediately. 

Note: 

• If you're not serving immediately, you can boil pasta separately and top with soup after soup is cooked. In this way, pasta will not be over cooked. 
• If you have leftover roasted chicken or chicken breasts, you can chopped into smaller pieces and add to soup instead of using fresh chicken breasts. 
• If you are using store-bought chicken stock, use 1000ml instead and top up 500ml of water. Store-bought chicken stock tends to be salty so adjust salt accordingly. 
• Recipe serves 2 adults and 2 kids. 

Sausages with potatoes 🥔

Ingredients:

• 1 packet of sausages (cut into one inch long)
• 3 or 4 potatoes (cut into cubes)
• 1 tbsp minced garlic

Sauce :
Prepare sauce in a bowl. This is a rough estimation. Pls adjust to taste accordingly.

• 4 tbsp ketchup (I used Maggi brand) 
• 2-4 tbsp water (depends on how much sauce you want)
• 2 tbsp sugar (reduce if you prefer less sweet)
• 1 tsp oyster sauce 
• 1/2 tsp salt

Method:

1. Heat up oil in wok. Fry cubed potatoes till golden brown. Remove and place on kitchen towel to remove excess oil.
2. Remove excess oil in wok and leave enough to fry sausages to brown the sausages. Remove and set aside.
3. In the same wok, heat up 1 tbsp of oil, add in minced garlic and fry till fragrant. Add in the prepared sauce, stir and cook till it slightly thickens. Taste and adjust to your taste. Add in the potatoes and sausages. Toss well to ensure potatoes and sausages are covered with sauce. Remove when sauce thickens and sausages and potatoes are well-coated. Serve hot with rice 😊

Note: You can do this dry version or mix more sauce to do the saucy version and thickened with cornflour water at the end. The saucy version is goes well with rice and popular with kids too.

Cabbage Chicken Rice (古早味阿嬷包菜鸡肉饭)

Quick and easy dinner for tonight after rushing back home from work! Another a childhood dish taught to me by my mum. She'll cook it whenever she's busy with work.  😊

Recipe for 3 adults and 3 kids
Ingredients:

• 3 boneless chicken legs
• Half a medium size cabbage 
• 2 1/2 cups of rice 
• 6 cloves of garlic, skin on, washed and smashed
• Half cup of dry shrimps/haebi (rinsed and soaked with water. reserve water)
• Dry shiitake mushrooms (*optional. soaked to rehydrate. sliced and reseve water) 

Seasoning for chicken: 

• 1 1/2 tbsp light soya sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce 
• 1 tbsp Sesame oil 
• 1 tbsp ginger juice 
• A dash of pepper and Chinese cooking wine 

Method:

1. Sliced chicken into pieces, about 2 inches big. You can use chicken boneless chicken legs with chicken breasts or fillets. Marinate chicken pieces with seasonings overnight or at least 4 hours. 
2. Rinse and soak dry shrimps. Wash and cut cabbage into smaller pieces. Rinse and smash garlic cloves. Wash rice and drained in colander and set aside. 
3. Heat oil in wok. Drained dry shrimps of water and set aside water for later use.  Stir fry garlic cloves and shrimps till fragrant. (Note: add sliced mushrooms to fry first if you're adding. I omitted this time.) 
4. Add cabbage to stirfry for two minutes. Add a tsp of salt and sugar and mix well. Add washed rice and stirfry for two mins. Add another tsp of salt, mix well and off heat. You do not have to cook the cabbage thoroughly as it will continue to cook in rice cooker. 
5. Transfer rice mixture to rice cooker. Add reserve water from dry shrimps and mushrooms to cook rice. Top up additional water if insufficient. Ratio of water to rice is 8.5:1. This means to add 85% cup of water to 1 cup of rice. The reason is that cabbage will release water when it is cooking. After adding water, place marinated chicken on top of rice and pour remaining marinate on chicken. Set rice cooker to cook. Check rice cooker after 20mins into cooking.  Give it a stir to ensure even cooking and another 1/2 tbsp of hot water if you feel that rice is dry. Off rice cooker when rice is cooked and let it sit for another 5 minutes before serving. Top with homemade fried shallots for added taste. ☺️

Note: I'm using Philips rice cooker. The cooking time for every rice cooker differs so please adjust accordingly to your own cooker. The time given is an estimation from my experience in cooking st home.