Home-style Korean Bibimubahu

Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with sauteed and seasoned vegetables, beef, a fried egg, and gochujang (chile pepper paste). The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. Vegetables commonly used in bibimbap include julienned cucumber, zucchini, carrot, mu (white radish), mushrooms, doraji (bellflower root), and laver, as well as spinach, soybean sprouts, and gosari (bracken fern stems).


Dubu (doufu), either plain or sauteed, or a leaf of lettuce may be added, or beef may be substituted with chicken or seafood. Although what had I prepare is not the traditional or authenticate koran bibimbap, but it really taste good and suits our family. We all agreed that this is a very healthy dish which contains alot of different vegetables and less meat.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
2 Cups Of Cooked White Rice
1/2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
200g Chicken Fillet, cut into strips
1 Cup Bean Sprout, remove tails
1 Small Carrot, Shredded
1 - 2 Japanese Cucumber, Shredded
1/2 Small Cabbage(150g), Shredded
8-10 Small Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms
4 Cloves Garlic
100ml Chicken Stock/Water
2 Eggs

Marinade:
1 1/2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Chilli Powder
1 Teaspoon Sugar
1 Teaspoon Cornstarch

Toppings:
1 Tablespoon Dried Shredded Seaweeds
1 Tablespoon Of White Sesame Seeds, pan-fry till fragrant
1 Teaspoon Assorted Chili Pepper(Nanami Togarashi)
Some Gochujang(Korean chili paste)



Methods:
1. Marinate the chicken strips and set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
2. Remove the tails of the bean sprouts then rinse in water, drain and set aside.
3. Place the cooked rice in the middle of a big plate. Preheat 1 Tablespoon of Sesame oil in a pan and drizzle on top of it.
4. Next add some oil in the pan, break in the eggs, fry into sunny-side-up egg and place it on top of the rice.
5. Add in shredded carrots and stir for a few seconds then remove and arrange it on the side of the rice together with the shredded cucumber.
6. Add in abit more oil, saute two minced garlic then add in bean sprout and stir for a 1 - 2 minutes, add in some salt and season to taste. Remove and arrange on place.
7. Clean the pan, saute another 2 minced garlic with some oil and stir-fry the shredded cabbage and mushroom for 1 - 2 minutes then add in the chicken stock and simmer for 3 minutes, drain the mixture and arrange the cabbage and mushroom separately on the place.
8. Lastly, preheat the washed pan with some sesame oil and stir-fry the chicken strips till half done then add in some sesame seeds and stir till fragrant and cooked.
9. Remove and arrange on plate. Sprinkle some extra sesame seeds, shredded seaweeds and Korean chili paste.

Notes:
You can use any vegetables such as spinach, bean sprouts, or mushrooms (oyster, enoki).
Blanch mushrooms, squeeze, add some sesame oil, salt and sesame seeds.

For those who are looking for korean food ingredients, you can go to this shop:

Shine Korea

175 Bencoolen Street

#01-10/11

Burlington Square

Tel: 6238 8897

Pork Ribs Curry With Egg Wrap Rice

Curry... all sort of different types of curry in Singapore... You have Indian Curry, Malay Curry, Nonya Curry, Japanese Curry, Thai Curry and etc.... Each of these curry had their own special and unique taste and fragrant. Since my dear son is in curry mood.... I decided to whip up a special curry dish for him.

We used Pork Ribs instead of Chicken, Mutton or Fish for the usual curry. Since it's a kid's meal, I decided to add in Cherry Tomato, Baby Potato and some Carrot to tone down the hot and spicy curry taste.

To make this dish more kid's friendly, I also wrap the cooked white rice with egg wrapper to make it just like those Japanese Egg Wrap Rice with curry.... and our dear friend here, is enjoying himself with his mini portion of curry rice.

Ingredients:(serves 2)
300 - 350g Of Pork Ribs
1/2 Brown Onion, roughly chopped
8-10 Baby Potato, peel the skin
6 Cherry Tomato, cut into halves
1 Medium Carrot, peel and cut into bitesize

Curry Sauce:
1 Packet Asian Home Gourmet Singapore Chicken Curry SpicePaste
100ml Coconut Milk
200ml - 250ml Water
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon Balchan Chilli(optional)

Methods:
1. Wash the pork ribs, and blanch in boiling water, rinse well and set aside.
2. Mix the 100ml of coconut milk with 100ml of water and 1/4 teaspoon of salt together and stir well, then set aside.
3. Preheat the pan with about 1.5 Tablespoons of oil and saute the onion until fragrant and soft, then add in the curry paste and stir till fragrant.
4. Add in the pork ribs and stir until well coated with curry paste, then add in the potato, carrot and half of the tomato.
5. Slowly stir till well mix then pour in half of the coconut milk mixture and and remaining 100ml of water.
6. Stir well then simmer on medium heat until the mixture come to boil then low the heat and add in the other half of the coconut milk and let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes until the pork is tender.
7. Add in the remaining half of the tomato 5 minutes before switch the heat off.

Notes: You can experiment with different type of curry paste to suit your own taste. Or you can mix up this curry paste mixture:

Curry Mixture:
3 Tablespoons Meat Curry Powder
1 Tablespoon Cooking Wine
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Tablespoon Sugar
3 Cups Water

Methods:
1. Preheat the pan with 2 tablespoons of oil and saute the onion tillfragrantt and soft then add in curry powder and stir till well combine.
2. Next add in the pork ribs, vegetables and other sauce ingredients and simmer on low heat until ribs are tender and sauce had thicken.

Egg Wrap Rice:
3 Eggs
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
Some Pepper
30ml Water
2 Bowls of Cooked White Rice

Methods:
1. Break the egg in a bowl, add in salt, pepper and water then beat well.
2. Preheat the pan with some oil then pour it half of the egg mixture and swirl the mixture around the pan to form a round circle.
3. Cook over medium low heat until both side is slightly golden brown then remove from pan and wrap 1 bowl of rice with the egg sheet.
4. Repeat cooking the other half of the egg and wrap the rice then serve with pork ribs curry.

Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak is not only the name for rice steamed in coconut milk, but is also the name for a whole range of dishes. Though Malay in origin, the Nonyas added more dishes to the menu. Besides the rice, the meal would include Sambal Ikan Bilis, Fried Chicken Wing, Kuning Fish, Otah, sliced cucumber and omelette triangles and etc.

If you are a Nasi Lemak lover, you should have heard or eaten the famous Changi Nasi Lemak call the International Food Stall. They had a great varieties of side dishes to go with the fragrant coconut rice. In Singapore it's very easy to get hold of Nasi Lemak at anytime of the day and from either the China or Malay stalk. So it's a very common dish like Chicken Rice that most Singaporean loves to eat.


This version of Homemade Nasi Lemak that I tried is using the ideas from one of the TCS drama called "Holland V". Since I am those people who loves to experiment with my food. I decided to follow the show to cok the Coconut Rice with Cream Soda and Fresh Coconut Milk and see how it taste like. To our surprised, it really taste good and it's any kind of experience from eating the usual Nasi Lemak rice. So if you are a food explore like me, maybe you will want to give this dish a try........

Ingredients: (serves 2)
1 Cup Rice (200g)
125ml Pandan Water
100ml F & N Ice-Cream Soda
150ml Fresh Coconut Milk
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Stalk Lemon Grass, cut into 2 section & lightly pound
6-8 Pandan Leaves, wash & cut into small pieces
3 Pandan Leaves(extra), wash & knotted together

Methods:
1. Place the small pieces of pandan leaves and 125ml of water in a blender and blend it into pandan juice.
2. Sift it and collect 125ml of pandan water.
3. Wash and rinse the rice then soak it in the pandan water for about 2 hours.
4. Add coconut milk, cream soda, panda leaves, lemon grass and some extra 1/4 Teaspoon of pandan paste to the rice if you want a more jade colour on the cooked rice.
5. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer until cooked about 12 minutes(or you can cook in the rice cooker).
6. After the rice is cooked, let it stand for about 20 minutes or more so that the rice will be much fragrant and tastier.
7. Serve it with any dish dishes that you prefer like: Whitebaits, Fried Egg, Fried Chicken or etc.

Fresh Coconut Milk:
1/2 Fresh Grated Coconut
150ml of Water

Methods:
1. Add water to the grated coconut then mix well, squeeze out the coconut juice over a sieve and collect about 150ml of Fresh Coconut Milk.


Fried Curry Chicken Wings
5-6 Medium Chicken Wings
1/2 Packet of Fried Curry Chicken Spices
Some Water

Methods:
1. Mix the Curry Chicken Spices with some water to form a paste then add in the washed and clean chicken wings and let it marinate in the fridge for at least 3 hours or more.
2. Next coat the marinated chicken wings with some extra cornflour and set aside for about a about 2-3 minutes then deep-fry in medium hot oil and crisp and golden brown.
3. Drain and serve with coconut rice.

Crispy Whitebaits
1 Cup Whitebaits
1 1/2 Tablespoons Oil
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar

Methods:
1. Rinse 1 cup of whitebaits and pat dry with paper towel.
2. Preheat the pan with oil then add in the whitebaits and stir-fry until slightly brown then add in the salt and sugar and continue to fry until golden and crisp.
3. Remember to stir on and off or else it will get burnt easily.

Bake Pumpkin With Rice Stuffing

A Pumpkin is a squash fruit, most commonly orange in colour when ripe, that grows as a fruit. When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, baked and roasted, or made into various kinds of pie, alone or mixed with other fruit; while small and green it may be eaten in the same way as the vegetable marrow. They are a good source of essential fatty acids, potassium and magnesium.

Brown rice = whole grain rice. Many rice varieties come as either brown rice or white rice. Brown rice isn't milled as much as white, so it retains the bran and germ that makes brown rice more fiber-rich, nutritious, and chewy.


Usually stuffing rice in pumpkin is an a very western dish that they usually had during Halloween. But I had come across this dish from a children TV program and after souring for a suitable recipe for this dish. I invented something new which called Bake Pumpkin With Rice Stuffing using Brown Rice Mixture which is more Nutritious for my family.

Ingredients:(serves 2-3)
1 Small Pumpkin, around 1 - 1.2 kg
2 Cups Cooked Brown Rice Mixture/White Rice
2 Tablespoons Frozen Mix Vegetables
3 Tablespoons Finely Dice Taiwan Sausage
6 Fresh Chestnuts
1 Tablespoons Golden Raisin
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
1 Teaspoon Minced Ginger

Seasoning:
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1 Teaspoon Cooking Wine

Methods:
1. Boil chestnuts in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until tender.
2. Drain and remove any shell or skin then chopped in pieces.
3. Cook 1 cup of brown rice mixture or white rice accordingly and let it cool to room temperature to obtain about 2 cups of cooked rice.
4. Wash and cut a lid from the top of the pumpkin, remove seeds and fibers from it then drizzle 1/2 Tablespoon of olive oil in it and coat evenly.(remember to coat the lid as well)
5. Preheat a non-stick pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, saute the diced sausage for a few seconds then add in the mix vegetables, chestnut, raisin, ginger and garlic.
6. Stir-fry the above mixture until fragrant then add in the rice and stir through quickly.
7. At the meantime, add in seasonings(can adjust more or less according to individual taste) and stir till well mixed.
8. Scoop the fried rice into the pumpkin and press it tightly until the rice is firm then cover with the lid.
9. Place the pumpkin in a small baking dish that is slightly grease with olive oil.
10. Bake in a preheat 200 degree oven for about 30 - 45 minutes(depending on the size of the pumpkin) until cooked and tender when tested with a skewer.
11. Turn off the oven, let the pumpkin stand in the oven for another 15 minutes.
12. To serve, remove lid and cut pumpkin into wedges with some salad.(if there is still extra rice left from stuffing the pumpkin, you can also serve it beside the pumpkin wedges.)

Notes:
For the fried rice, you can also used those pre-mix fried rice seasoning.
I suggest to use Brown Rice mixture instead of White Rice for it's fragrant and chewy texture.

Salted Fish Fried Rice

Just wanted to have something simple for dinner, so I decided to make this Salted Fish Fried Rice. It's very simple and only required Salted Fish and Rice as the Main Ingredients.


Ingredients:(serve 2)
1 Cup Uncooked Rice
1 Cup Of Bean Sprout
1/2 Cup Dired Whitebaits
50g Mackerel Salted Fish
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic

Methods:
1. Wash and cook the rice accordingly then let it cool to room temperature and set aside in the fridge.(you can cook the rice previous night or early in the morning then kept in the fridge)
2. Wash and drain the bean sprout and dired whitebaites.
3. Heat the non-stick pan with 1/2 tablespoon of oil and pan-fry the whitebaits until golden brown and crisp then season with some salt and sugar, then remove and set aside.
4. Add in another 1 tablespoon of oil then pan-fry the salted fished until crisp and fragrant then add in the minced garlic and bean sprout.
5. Give a quick stir through then add in the cold rice and stir over medium heat until the rice is in separate grains.
6. Add in some cooking wine and fish sauce(light soya sauce) for seasoning then sever warm with fried whitebaits and egg.

Mushroom & Pork Mince Rice

Had being feeling unwell for the past one week due to Fever, Diarrhea, Sore Throat and etc…. So I really don’t have much time and effort to whip up any meals. Today I decided to clear away the Button Mushroom, Japanese Cucumber, Cherry Tomatoes and some fruits that I bought last week. At first, I was thinking of cooking Spaghetti with these ingredients but later I switch my mind to a more complete rice meal serve with Mixed Fruits & Vegetables Salad.


Ingredients:
150g Pork Mince
1 Box Of Button Mushroom, thinly sliced
½ Brown Onion, finely chopped
2 Tablespoons Of Dried Whitebaits
50ml Rice Wine/Water
2 Bowl Of Cooked White Rice

Methods:
1. Marinate the pork mince with some pepper, light & dark soya sauce, cornflour and sesame oil then set aside for later use.
2. Wash the Dried Whitebaits and drained well then use some kitchen paper towel to absord the water.
3. Add about 1/2 Tablespoon of oil in a non-stick pan the stir-fry the whitebaits until golden brown. Season with some salt and suagr for taste.
4. Heat up another 1 Tablespoon of oil in the pan, add in the chopped onion and saute until it's became soft and slightly brown then add in the pork mince.
5. Stir-fry until it's fragrant and almost done then add the button mushroom and stir for another 2 minutes then pour in Rice Wine or Water and continue to simmer until sauce thicken.
6. Dish up and place ontop of the rice, top with cripsy Dried Whitebaits, egg or etc and serve.

Egg Wrap Rice

Although I had a lot of variety of cookbooks in my collection but sometime I am really too lazy to follow all the steps to whip up a meal. Just like today I decided to make something simple and delicious which called the "Egg Wrap Rice". You can wrap any kind of rice in it for eg: Curry Rice, Fried Rice or even just Plain Ric.

Here what I did is to wrap some rice and some stir-fry minced pork with onion and mushroom then serve with some tomatoes and cucumber salad. 

Claypot Chicken & Sausage Rice

Last few days, I just bought a book that consists 38 recipes on making different type of Claypot Rice. Some are really very easy to make and all you need to do is just cooked the rice and arrange the prepared ingredients on top, covered and cooked over low heat for a few minutes. After which leave it on the stove covered for 15 minutes and you can enjoy a pot of yummy homecook claypot rice within 30 minutes

Kakiage Don

This is another quick Japanese rice dish which featured deep-fried prawns and assorted veggie. It takes less than 30 minutes to prepare and get everything together before serving. The main ingredients for this dish are prawns and mixed vegetables such as carrot, asparagus, mushroom and etc.

Omelette Donburi

Japanese Food is usually the most time consuming to prepare because they often have many steps and sides dishes such as rice to the salad and main course where a lot of preparations and ingredients are needed. Today since my best friend and mum are coming over for dinner, I would like to give them a surprised by making this most simple Japanese dish that I modify from a cookbook which I borrow from library.  Omettle Donburi and Mini Potatoes Salad.

Taiwan Style Pork Cutlet

This Taiwan-style Pork Cutlet (台式炸猪排饭) is one of the famous local dish which you can find it most Taiwan restaurant. "台湾小吃之一". Even though this dish has quite a strong "ginger" and "five spices" taste, overall it still a special meat dish to go with white rice, egg and stir-fry cabbage.

Tandoori Chicken & Raisin Rice

This famous barbecue chicken is a well-known traditional dish from Northern India prepared in an underground jar-shaped clay oven that believed to have originated in Persia. The oven can be heated to very high temperatures and therefore sears the chicken and seals in the juice.

In modern days, delicious result can be obtained in a conventional oven or grill pan too. And the trick to get tender chicken is to use yogurt as one of the marinade to keep the chicken from drying out. Although the recipe is easy to follow but it was quite difficult to find "Tandoori spices" in Singapore.