Homemade Char Siew

Ingredients: (Serves 2 adults and 3 kids) 
1.5kg Pork shoulder Flap/ Plane meat (飞机肉) 
* You can also buy 五花肉. The pork you used for char siew has to have some fats so that it will not be dry. 

Seasonings: 

• 2 tbsp light soya sauce
• 2 tbsp dark soya sauce
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce 
• 2 tbsp honey 
• 2 tbsp shaoxing wine
• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• * For brushing on char siew when browning in oven, prepare 2 tbsp maltose, mixed with 1 tbsp water and dissolve. You can replace by honey if maltose is unavailable. Dissolve one tbsp of honey with 1 tbsp of water. 

Method: 

1. Mix seasonings in a bowl. Placed pork in ziplock bag and pour seasonings. Zipped and ensure that pork is well coated with seasonings. Marinate in the fridge for two days (if not at least overnight). 
2. Bring pork out to room temperature 30 minutes before cooking. 
3. Heat up non-stick pan with medium heat. Place meat inside and pour all the marinate together. Let it boil and then simmer. Flipped the pork in-between to let it coat with the marinate evenly. Remove when it's almost done. Once you see the marinate becoming lesser and thicker, you can remove it and set it on cooking paper. 
4. Transfer char siew to preheated oven of 180deg to brown it further and crisp on the outside. Remove and brush some maltose/honey over pork to glaze it and pop back oven for about two mins. Sliced and serve. 

** Special thanks to Ms Alice Lau as recipe is adapted and modified from hers. 

Chicken Baked Rice

Ingredients: (Serving for 4)

• 1.5 cups uncooked rice
• 2 boneless chicken thigh 
• 1 cup frozen mixed vegetables 
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 big onion, diced 
• 1 packet cooking cream
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon salt (adjust according to taste)
• some black pepper
• some grated mozzarella cheese
• dried parsley

Method:

1. Wash and cook rice with rice cooker. 
2. Diced chicken thigh. Marinate with a tsp of salt and dash of pepper. Marinate for about 15mins. 
3. Heat up a pan, with 2 tbsp butter. Add diced onion and minced garlic, sauté till fragrant. Add in the marinated diced chicken. Stir fry till no longer pink. Add mixed vegetables and mix well. 
4. Add in the cream, stir well. Add in chicken stock. Bring to a gentle simmer for few minutes. Season with black pepper and salt. 
5. Add in the cooked rice. Stir and mix rice with sauce. Let rice coat with sauce and absorb the sauce. Off heat after 2 minutes. 
6. Transfer rice into a heatproof baking dish. Cover top with grated cheese. 
7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degC, till the cheese turns golden brown. Sprinkle with some dried parsley. Serve immediately.  

Revised recipe (dated 19 July 2019): 

Made some modifications to my previous recipe and it works wonders! 😁😁😁 

Modifications to recipe: 

• During cooking of rice in rice cooker, add about 1.5 tbsps of garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder and 1 tsp of salt. Add 1.5 tbsp of butter into rice when it’s cooked mixed well. You can choose to use water/chicken stock for the rice.  I tried using pearl rice to cook for this time and it tasted great! 
• If you have overnight rice to clear, you can fry rice with butter and add  garlic powder and salt also. 

Method: 

1. Rinsed and pat dry chicken thighs. Marinate chicken thighs, both sides with some salt and black pepper.  
2. Heat pan st medium heat. Place chicken thighs, skin-down and let it fry for about 5mins, till it’s brown and crispy. This is to render the oil from the chicken skin. Flip over to the other side and panfry for 3mins. Remove and set aside. Sliced into bite size when it cooler. 
3. Using the same pan with the chicken oil, add diced onions and garlic. Sauté till fragrant. (You can add some butter if there is little chicken oil. Add 5 pieces of Swiss mushrooms (sliced), mixed vegetables and chopped chicken. Fry for few mins. Add a packet of cooking cream, half cup of milk and chicken stock. Simmer for 5mins. Seasoned with dashes of salt and pepper (adjust taste accordingly). Sprinkle a tbsp of plain flour over sauce and mix well to thicken the sauce slightly. Off heat. 
4. Transfer rice to heat-proof baking dish. Pour cream sauce onto rice. Topped with grated mozzarella cheese over rice. I added some Parmesan cheese too. 
5. Drizzle a little olive oil before baking in preheated oven about 190 degrees for about 15-20mins or till cheese melts and and turns golden brown. Garnish with chopped fresh coriander or dry parsley. Serve hot. 

Chicken midwings with potatoes

Ingredients:

• 1 kg chicken midwings 
• 3 medium size potatoes 
• 4-5 slices of ginger 
• 5 cloves of minced garlic 

Seasonings:

• 1 bowl of water 
• 2 tbsps dark soya sauce (KCT brand) 
• 2 tbsp light soya sauce 
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce 
• 1 tbsp sesame oil 
• 1 tsp of sugar 
• 1 tbsp cooking wine 
• A dash of white pepper 

Method:

1. Add 2 tbsps of salt to chicken midwings and rub onto wings. This is to remove smell and any dirt on chicken. Washed and drain dry chicken midwings. Add a tbsp of light soya sauce and sesame oil to wings. Mix well. 
2. Peeled and cut potatoes into chunks. Heat oil in wok, lightly fry potatoes. Remove, drain oil and set aside. 
3. Leave some oil in wok. Add ginger and minced garlic. Fry till fragrant. Add chicken midwings. Stirfry till half-cooked. Add potatoes and all the seasonings. Stir well and bring to a boil. Then lower heat and simmer for about 10-15mins or till chicken is cooked. Prepare cornflour water and thickened gravy. Served hot with rice ☺️

*Pls adjust seasonings according to your taste. I tend to add more water as my kids loved the gravy with rice. You can adjust the taste before you thickened the gravy.

Simple Panfry Chicken Legs (香煎去骨鸡腿肉)

One of the simplest dish my mother taught me! Only chicken legs and 4 sauce condiments! ✌️ And it’s so flavorful! ☺️

Ingredients:

• 5 chicken boneless legs (bought fresh from market) 

Marination:

• 1.5 tbsp light soya sauce 
• 2 tbsp dark soya sauce (Guang Xiang tai brand) 
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce 
• 1 tbsp sesame oil 

Method:

1. Add 3 tbsp of salt on chicken legs. Rub all over chicken legs. Rinsed off salt and pat dry. 
2. Add marination onto chicken legs. Use hand to massage and ensure chicken legs are well coated with sauce. Alternatively, you can place chicken legs into a ziplock bag. Add marination and zip bag. Massage chicken legs to ensure that it’s well-coated with marinate. Marinate overnight or at least 4 hours. 
3. Bring chicken legs 30minutes out of fridge before frying. 
4. Heat non-stick pan, medium-heat. When pan is hot, place two pieces of marinated chicken legs, skin-down on pan. Cover with lid and let it cook for about 4-5 minutes. Flipped to the other side and cooked for 4minutes, then flip back to skin-side again to Char the skin. If you like the chicken more char, fry it for longer period of time. Do the same for the rest of the chicken legs. Serve chicken with hot steamed rice. 

Note: Do not need to oil pan as chicken skin will emit oil upon frying.

Fish Fillet with ginger and spring onion (姜葱鱼片)

Ingredients:

• 300g   Fish fillet, sliced 
• 50g     ginger , sliced thinly 
• 3/4      stalks spring onion, cut into 3 cm long, separate white and green parts 
• 2 tbsp minced garlic 

Marinate for fish slices:

• 1    egg white 
• 1/4 tsp salt 
• 1    tsp sugar
• 1    tbsp light soya sauce 
• 1    tsp corn flour 
• 1    tbsp ginger juice 
• Dash of pepper and sesame oil 

Seasonings:

• 2    tbsp oyster sauce 
• 1    tbsp light soya sauce 
• 1/4 tsp dark soya sauce (optional: for colour) 
• 1/2 sesame oil 
• 1/2 Chinese cooking wine 
• 3     tbsps hot water 

Method:

1. Mix fish fillet with marinate and season for 30monites. Heat oil in wok and fry fish slices about 30 seconds on each sides, taking care not to break fish into small pieces. Drained and set aside. 
2. Mixed seasonings in a bowl and set aside. 
3. Remove oil, leaving approximately 1 tbsp of oil in wok. Sauté ginger till fragrant. Add mixed garlic and white part of spring onion and fry for 1/2 minute. 
4. Add in fish slices, rest of the seasonings and green part of spring onion. Stirfry at high heat till well-mixed. Thickened with corn flour water and served hot with white rice. 

Today’s bento 🍱: Simple stirfry macaroni

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup elbow macaroni
• 2 tbsp mixed vegetables
• 1 tbsp imitation crab meat  
• 1 piece of ham, diced 
• 1 beaten egg 
• 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tbsp ketchup
• 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce 
• 1/2 tsp light soya sauce 
• A dash of white pepper and sesame oil

Method:

1. Boil water in a pot with some salt.  Boil elbow macaroni till al dente. Set aside. 
2. Reserved 1 tbsp of water from boiling macaroni in a bowl. Add in the seasonings, ketchup, oyster sauce, light soya sauce, sesame oil and pepper. Mix well and set aside.
3. Heat a saucepan with a tbsp of oil. Scrambled beaten egg into smaller pieces and set aside. 
4. Add another tbsp of oil in the pan. Saute minced garlic till fragrant. 
5. Add mixed vegetables and stirfry for half a minute. Add imitation crab meat and ham. 
6. Add elbow macaroni and mix well. 
7. Drizzle in the prepared sauce and stirfry quickly to combine with macaroni.  
8. Lastly, add in scrambled egg, mix well and off heat. 
9. Transfer into thermal lunchbox immediately or pack into lunchbox when it cooled slightly. 

#kidsluncbox

Steamed minced pork with salted fish (咸鱼蒸肉饼)

Ingredients: 

• 250g minced pork
• 1 thumb size ginger
• 1 piece of salted fish 
• 1/2 tbsp light soya sauce
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp corn flour 
• 2 tbsp ginger juice 
• 1 tbsp sesame oil 
• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine 
• 1 tsp sugar
• 4 tbsp of chicken/pork bone stock 
• A dash of pepper 
• 2 tbsp of shallot oil (drizzle on top of minced pork before steaming) 
• Chopped spring onion for garnishing 

Method: 

1. Placed minced pork in a bowl. Add seasonings and stir in one direction till it’s well-combined. Minced pork mixture should be soft and has a sticky texture. Set aside for about an hour. 
2. Placed minced pork in a plate for steaming. Julienne ginger and placed on top of minced pork. 
3. Rinsed and slice salted fish into smaller pieces. Heat up a small saucepan with 1 tbsp oil. Fry salted fish slices till light brown and crispy. Remove and placed on top of minced pork. 
4. Heat up steamer. Drizzle shallot oil over minced pork and steam over high heat around 18minutes till Pork is cooked. Garnished with chopped spring onion. Served hot with porridge or rice. 

Pork Donburi with Onsen egg

Ingredients (serving for 2adults, 3kids) 

• 2cups water mixed with 2 packets of dashi powder (available in certain supermarkets, Daiso or Japanese Supermarket) 
• 500g sliced pork collar (used for shabu shabu)
• 2 slices ginger 
• 1 large yellow onion, sliced 
• 1 tbsp oil 
• 1 tbsp sake
• 1 tsp sugar 
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 cups of cooked Japanese rice

Method: 

1. Mix Dashi powder with 2 cups of water till combine and set aside. (If you prefer less sauce, reduce accordingly) 
2. Heat pot with a tbsp of oil. Sauté sliced onion and ginger for a minute. Add shabu shabu Pork and use chopsticks to separate. Panfry till it’s no longer pink. 
3. Add in the seasonings sake, mirin, sugar and soy sauce. Mix and combine well. Add Dashi Stock and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer for about 15-20 minutes till shabu shabu Pork softened and sauce reduced. (Adjust taste accordingly). Serve hot with cooked Japanese rice and Blanched vegetables for a well-balanced meal! I also added an Onsen egg and miso soup to complete the meal! 😊

Onsen egg: (Learnt from Rontree Chan) 

Boil 1 litre water. Add 200ml tap water, put in cold egg, off fire, cover for 17 mins. 

Grilled Chicken Wings

Ingredients: 

• 10 chicken wings - (rub the chicken with salt to get rid of any weird smell and taste, then rinse off )
• wooden satay sticks (optional ) 

Marinate sauce:

• 1 – 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp light soya sauce 
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp ginger juice
• 1 tsp sesame seed oil
• A pinch of salt to taste (optional)
• A dash of white pepper

Method:

1. Drain and pat dry chicken wings with paper towels before marinating.
2. In a large bowl, combine marinate ingredients together, and massage well with chicken wings. 
3. Leave wings to marinate for few hours or preferably refrigerate overnight in a ziploc bag. 
4. Remove chicken wings from refrigerator 30 minutes ahead before grilling. 
5. Soak wooden satay sticks in water for 1 hour beforehand. Skewered the wings before grilling. I skewered the wings as it's easier for my kids to eat. 
6. Prepare about 1/2 cup of honey in a separate bowl for brushing later. 
7. Grill the wings in oven at 200deg till chicken wings skin is crisp and browned, turning occasionally to ensure wings are evenly cooked and brush with remaining marinating sauce. Brush liberally on both sides of wings with honey when the wings are almost ready and continue cooking for 10 minutes. 

Served hot. Option: Can squeeze some lime juice over wings for the tangy taste. ☺️ 

Chicken Cordon Bleu Wraps! 🐔

(Collaboration) : Chicken Cordon Bleu Wraps
Afternoon snacks for the kids! Growing kids screaming for food before dinner  😅😂😆 So made these quick and easy snack for them using leftover chicken breast, wrapped with slices of ham and laughing cow cheese wedges! ✌️

Ingredients (makes 2 wraps)

• 1/2 chicken breasts
• 4 slices shaved honey-baked ham
• 3 wedges laughing cow cheese (any flavour) 
• 4 tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 tbsp honey Dijon mustard (optional) 
• Few pieces lettuce
• 2 pieces wraps (Mission brand)

 Method:

1. For chicken breasts, you can either cook by poaching it or use leftover chicken breast from roasted chicken. Sliced roasted chicken breasts into thin slices and set aside. 
2. Method of poaching chicken breasts: Place chicken in a saucepan or pot. Sprinkle about 1 tbsp of salt, 4 cloves of garlic, 3 slices of ginger, a stalk of spring onion and a dash of cooking wine. Cover chicken with water and bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer, cover the pot and let chicken simmer till cooked. Check for doneness after 8 minutes (cooking time dependent on size of chicken).  Remove chicken once it’s cooked and place on clean cutting board. Sliced thinly and set aside. 
3. Mix mayonnaise and mustard till combine.
4. Spread 1 1/2 wedges of cheese on top of wrap.
5. Place ham on one side of wrap.
6. Place chicken breasts top of ham.
7. Place another piece of ham on top.
8. Spread mayonnaise mustard mixture then top with lettuce.
9. Roll and fold in the sides of the wrap like you would roll for spring roll. Wrap tightly. Then wrap with clingwrap and let the shape set before you unroll to consume. Slice half for easy consumption.

Note: This snack is great for breakfast or packed lunch too!

Cheese-stuffed Pancake Balls

[Collaboration] Today’s 🍱: Cheese-stuffed Pancake Balls 

Made these savory-sweet pancake calls as snacks for the kids’ bentos today! Using Ham-flavored laughing cow cheese wedges as filling and with Japanese pancake mix, it’s an easy snack or quick breakfast for the kids 😊  

#thelaughingcowsg #snackyourway 

Ingredients: 

• 1 small packet Japanese Pancake Premix (Morinaga brand- I packet has 4 smaller packets)  
• 6 pieces ham-flavored laughing cow cheese wedges 
• 2 eggs (about 60g) 
• 40g castor sugar 
• 1 knob of butter 
• 1 tbsp water 
• 1/4 tsp baking soda 

Method:

1. Preheat oven at 180 degC. 
2. Add eggs, water, sugar, butter and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Whisk to combine. 
3. Add in pancake premix in batches and mix well. Sliced cheese wedges into smaller cubes. 
4. Grease mini muffin pans with butter. Pour mixed batter into muffin pans. Fill to 1/3 and add cheese cubes. Pour batter to cover cheese and fill till about 80% filled. 
5. Bake in preheated oven for about 10-15mins till pancake balls puffs up and toothpick comes out clean. (** Oven temperatures vary so please adjust accordingly) 

Tofu with special sauce

Ingredients: 

• 1 box soft tofu (for steaming)
• 3 tbsp oil
• 3 shallots, sliced 
• 2 tbsp spring onion, chopped 
• 1 tbsp dry shrimps/ haebi , chopped smaller pieces 
• 1 chili padi, chopped (Optional. Omit if you prefer non-spicy version) 

Seasoning: 

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce 
• 1 tbsp light soya sauce 
• 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce 
• 110ml water 

Method: 

1. Steam tofu at high heat for 5 minutes. Remove and set aside. Pour away excess water after it is slightly cooled down. 
2. Heat up 2 tbsp oil in a saucepan. Sauté sliced shallots till brown and fragrant. Set aside fried shallots and pour oil over tofu. Heat up another tbsp of oil in pan. Fry chopped shrimps till fragrant and pour over tofu. 
3. Pour seasoning in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour over tofu. Garnish with chopped spring onion, chili padi and fried shallots. 

Thai-style steamed sea bass 🐟

Ingredients: 

• 1 sea bass 
• 2 stalks of lemongrass, sliced into sections and use a chopped to bruise lemongrass 
• 3 stalks of coriander (separate roots from leaves. Chop leaves into smaller pieces) 
• 3 slices of ginger

Sauce: 

• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 limes , extract juice
• 2 tsp sugar
• 3-4 clove garlic, minced 
• 1 chili padi, chopped 

Method:

1. Make some slits on fish. Season fish with some salt. Stuff ginger, few pieces of lemongrass and coriander roots in fish’s stomach. Place remaining lemongrass and coriander roots on steaming plate. Lay fish on top. 
2. Steam fish over high heat for 10mins (steaming time depends on how big the fish is and adjust accordingly). Keep the gravy of the steamed fish, it adds favour to the dish.
3. Prepare the sauce while steaming fish. Boil prepared sauce in a small saucepan. Pour on ready steamed fish and garnish with chopped coriander. Serve hot.