Braised Lamb Shanks with mashed potatoes 🥔

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 2 pieces of lamb shanks
• 1 large white onion (diced)
• 5 cloves of garlic (minced)
• 2 carrots (cut into small chunks)
• 2cups of chicken stock (either store-bought or homemade)
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/3 cup of red wine (I replace with cooking sake)
• 3 tbsps of tomato paste
• 2 tbsps of ketchup
• 3 stalks of fresh rosemary
• 3 stalks of fresh thyme
• 1 tbsp of dry parsley (preferably finely chopped fresh parsley if have)
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt and freshly cracked black pepper (to season)

Method:

1. Wash and pat dry lamb shanks with kitchen towels. 
2. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy-based pot. 
3. Pan seat lamb shanks until browned on all sides. Remove the transfer to plate and cover with foil to keep warm. 
4. Add another tbsp of oil. Sauté diced onions and carrots for about 3 mins. Add minced garlic and cook for a minute. 
5. Return the lamb shanks into the pot. Season with a tap of salt and some freshly cracked black pepper. 
6. Sprinkle flour and toss well and cook for about 4 minutes. 
7. Add chicken stock, wine, tomato paste, ketchup and herbs. Mix well. 
8. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally and flipping lamb shanks to ensure even cooking. Simmer till meat is tender and falling apart. 
9. Adjust taste accordingly. Serve hot with mashed potatoes or rice. 

Note:

• As I like my sauce with a thickened texture, I used corn flour slurry to thicken sauce. 
• Keep leftover sauce and lamb for next day’s meal by adding pasta! 
• You can also use pressure cooker or slow cooker to cook this dish. 

Crispy Mini Fish Bites 🐟

With 3 kids at home the full day, mama is almost staying in the kitchen and nowhere else! 🙈🤪😝 A challenge to feed them 3 meals and also tea or supper! 😅😅 🤦🏼‍♀️ Before they ask for supper, mama already prepared these finger food for them! Made these mini fish bites using the cream dory fillet bought from SHC groupbuy on Wednesday.
#SHCGroupBuy

Ingredients:

• One packet of cream dory fillet (500-600g)
• 1.5 cup of self-raising flour
• 1/4 cup of corn flour
• 1 small beaten egg
• 1 tbsp of oil
• 1 tsp of sugar
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp of shaoxing wine
• A dash of pepper
• Iced water (estimated about 1.5 cups)

Method:

1. Rinsed and pat dry fish. Sliced fish into 1 inch by 1 inch cube size. Marinate with salt, sugar, a dash of pepper and cooking wine. Set aside.
2. Prepare batter. Mix self-raising flour with corn flour. Add iced water slowly into flour till combined. Add oil, salt and dash of pepper and mix well till batter forms a paste. The consistency should be slightly thick and not watery. You can test if the oil is ready by placing your chopsticks into the oil. 
3. Heat oil in a pot. Deep fry a few pieces at a time for even cooking and better heat control. Increased heat to do a double-fry in order to make the fish bites crisp. Served hot with chili sauce or mayonnaise.

Chicken Tenders

Using Growth Hormone-free Premium Chicken breasts from Huber’s to make these! As the name said it all, the breast meat is very tender! 😄 Huber’s premium chickens are raised cage-free and growth hormone-free, so It’s healthier.

Huber’s meats are available for purchase online. Order now at http://bit.ly/2mLD3Wp!

Get them delivered to your doorstep – they provide free delivery islandwide for orders above $100. #happybutcher #wearepure

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 beaten egg  
• 1 tbsp of water 
• 1.5 cups Japanese panko (breadcrumbs) 
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese 
• 1 tbsp of dry parsley leaves 
• 500g chicken breasts 

Seasonings:

• 1/2 tbsp salt 
• 1/2 tbsp cracked black pepper 
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tbsp olive oil 

Method:

1. Sliced chicken breasts into long stripes and place in a dish. 
2. Marinate with seasonings evenly and set aside for 30mins. 
3. Prepare 3 shallow dishes. One dish to place flour. One dish to mix beaten eggs and water. For the third dish, place panko, cheese and dry parsley leaves. Mix well to combine. 
4. Coat chicken with flour, then egg mixture and lastly panko-cheese mixture. Gently press onto chicken  to ensure chicken is well coated with panko. 
5. Heat up a pot with enough oil to cover chicken. Shallow fry chicken till it’s cooked. Drain and serve hot. 

Stirfry Vermicelli with Pork Belly and Prawns

Ingredients: 

• 8-10 prawns (with shells on) 
• 5 garlic cloves (peeled and cut half)  
• 1 Thumb-sized ginger (sliced into 4 long slices)  
• 4 pcs Coriander roots (about 3cm) 
• 300 grams dry vermicelli (soaked in water for 5 minutes and drain) 
• 2-3 sprigs chinese parsley (cut into sections) 
• 50 grams pork belly (sliced into stripes) 
• 200 ml homemade prawn broth

Sauce Mixture: 

• 2 tbsp Oyster sauce 
• 1 tbsp fish sauce 
• 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine 
• 1.5 tbsp sugar 
• 3 tsp thick dark sauce (I used Guangxiang tai brand) 
• 1 tsp light soya sauce 

Directions: 

1. In an claypot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium heat.
2. When oil is hot, add pork belly. Saute for 1-2 minutes or until slightly browned.
3. Add garlic, ginger and coriander roots. Increase heat to medium high and stir fry until fragrant.
4. Top with vermicelli and the sauce mixture. Pour in prawn broth and cover for 1-2 minutes.
5. Remove cover of pot and stir the ingredients to ensure vermicelli is evenly coated with mixture. Add a little more stock if you find it dry. 
6. Then lay the prawns on top of vermicelli. Top with chinese celery and coriander.
7. Drizzle some sesame oil and cover. Cook at medium heat until prawn and vermicelli are cooked. Serve hot. 

Note: You can add more stock/hot water if it dries up too fast before the ingredients are cooked. Check that the noodle is not overcooked or too soft that it breaks up, but absorbs all the sauce mixture when done.  

Ginger Scallions Chicken

Ingredients: 

• 2 boneless chicken legs (sliced into smaller pieces) 
• 8-10 slices of ginger 
• A tbsp of minced garlic 
• A handful of spring onion (sliced into sections of 2 inches long, separate white and green parts) 

Method: 

1. Marinate chicken with 1 tbsp light soya sauce, 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp ginger juice and a dash of pepper. Set aside for at least 15 minutes. 
2. Heat wok with a tbsp of oil. Sauté ginger till fragrant. Add minced garlic and sauté till garlic starts to brown. 
3. Add marinated chicken and Stir fry chicken till it’s no longer pink. Add a cup of hot water and bring to a boil. Cover and lower heat to a simmer for 5 mins. 
4. Add the white portion of spring onion. 
5. Increase heat to medium hot. 
6. Add 1/2 tbsp of dark soya sauce. Adjust taste accordingly. Drizzle a tbsp of cooking wine at the sides of wok. 
7. Add the green part of the spring onion. Thicken sauce with corn flour slurry. Serve hot. 

Note: Adjust water and seasonings accordingly to your taste. Add more water if you need more gravy to go with rice. 

Stew Chicken with potatoes and carrots 🥔 🥕

Ingredients:

15 pieces of chicken mid-wings

3 to 4 potatoes (slice into small chunks) 

1 big carrot (slice into small chunks) 

1 onion cut into wedges

4 slices ginger 

Marinate for chicken: 

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1.5 teaspoon dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon sugar 

2 teaspoon chinese wine 

2 teaspoon cornflour

Method: 

1. Marinate chicken wings with the seasoning for at least half an hour. 
2. Heat a tsp of oil over medium heat. Sauté ginger and onion until fragrant. 
3. Add marinated chicken wing and pan-fry until lightly brown. Deglazed with some chinese wine (this step optional). 
4. Add in carrot and potato* and cook for two minutes. 
5. Add in the remaining marinate for chicken. 
6. Add in 150-200ml of hot water (amount of water adjusted according to your preferences for how much gravy you want). Taste will be better if you replace by chicken broth. If you use store-bought chicken stock, do adjust the other seasoning for taste. 
7. When it comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until chicken is cooked. (Try not to overcook it. I didn’t cook too long as I prepared this earlier in the afternoon for dinner and heat up again before serving and also to thicken gravy). 
8. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. 
9. Lastly, drizzle in cornflour mixture slowly to thicken gravy till it reaches the consistency you like. Drizzle some sesame oil for fragrance. 

*Note: You can either fry the potato first or just add during the cooking. As I was using Happycall pot, I lightly pan-fried the potatoes first and set aside to add it later. 

Osmanthus Scrambled Eggs (桂花炒蛋)

Ingredients: 

• ½ red onion (thinly sliced)
• ½ red chilli (deseeded and cut into thin long strips)
• 1 small carrot (finely julienned) 
• 1 handful of wood ears fungus, soaked, washed and thinly sliced)
• ½ cup of fresh crab meat OR replaced by 6 pcs imitation crabsticks (tear into stripes) 
• Mung bean vermicelli (soaked, about 1/3 cup, cut into about 2 inches
• 2 sprigs of spring onion, thinly sliced lengthwise
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 cup homemade chicken stock 
• About ½ tsp salt 
• 1 tsp chicken powder 
• A dash of pepper to taste 

Method: 

1. Heat wok on high heat and put in 3 Tbsp oil. 
2. Put in onions, stir for 10 seconds
3. Then add sliced chilli and fry for another 5 seconds.
4. Then add carrots, wood ear fungus and crab meat/crabsticks. Stir fry for 15 seconds. 
5. Add in chicken stock and bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper. Taste it and adjust.
6. Add in vermicelli and let it absorb the chicken stock until 1/3 of original liquid is still visible.
7. Add in eggs and spring onions and toss everything until it dries up. 

Note: 

• The timing of when you put in the eggs is crucial. The end product should taste moist, but look dry.
• You can replace homemade chicken stock with store-bought chicken stock or water but need to adjust seasonings to taste.