Showing posts with label Signature Dish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Signature Dish. Show all posts

Thursday 13 May 2010

Teochew Ngoh Hiang

In the past, making "Ngoh Hiang - 五香" is always one of my Dad specialty dish. During festive occasion such as Chinese New Year he and mum would make a huge quantity to distribute to our relatives or served it to those who visit us during New Year. But now when he is no long around, we don’t really get to eat this special treat as often as we do.

Friday 15 January 2010

Steam Salmon Fillet With Herbs

Here is another Chinese New Year auspicious dish from Cuisine Paradise Kitchen. Despite of the Cod Fish that I always used, Salmon is another type of fish that is always on my shopping list. And since now is near to the Chinese New Year festive season, I think having something which is "BRIGHT" and "RED" will be a great presentation to impress our guests during Chinese New Year gathering...... So let me share with you my 2nd Chinese New Year "Fish" dish which I called it "鸿运当头" due to the colour of the salmon slices and herbs like red dates and wolfberries.

The idea of steaming salmon with Chinese Herbs came into my mind because I wanted to prepare something different using the salmon fillet that I bought. Instead of the usual pan-fry, bake with herbs or poaching.... I think maybe I can in-cooperate some Chinese Herbs to it and turn the Salmon into a Auspicious Chinese New Year dish.......... There are a few types of Salmon available in the supermarket or Japanese seafood stall, but usually those that we get from the local supermarket are the Norwegian Salmon which is sold in pre-packed of different parts of the salmon fillet from head to tail. No matter how you like to consume your salmon in a way from RAW to grill or poach, I am sure every different methods will brings up another level of taste in the salmon.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
1 Pieces of Boneless Salmon Fillet, abt 400g
10g Shredded Ginger
1 Stall of Spring Onion, cut into long section
4 Red Dates, soften and cut into halves
1/2 Teaspoon of Wolfberries
2 Slices of Dang Gui, break into smaller portion
Drizzle of Sesame Oil, optional

Method:
1. Rinse the Salmon fillet, pat dry and cut into slices and set aside.
2. Place some spring onion on a steaming plate, top with some Dang Gui slices and arrange the salmon slices on top of it.
3. Scatter the red dates and wolfberries evenly on the salmon slices then get ready a pot of boiling water for steaming.
4. While waiting for the water to boil, pre-heat a small frying pan with about 1 tablespoon of oil, sauté the shredded ginger till fragrant and golden brown, removed and set aside for garnish.
5. When the pot of water boils, place some saute ginger on top of the salmon slices, drizzle some ginger oil and scatter some extra chopped spring onion and steam it over medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes depend on the thickness of the salmon slices.
6. Before severing, top with the remaining saute ginger and oil and try to scoop a few teaspoons of the fish gravy(after steaming the fish, there will be some water/sauce appears below the fish) over the fish in order to make it look more glossy and presentable.

Note:-
~ This dish is best to serve warm, just right after steaming or else the texture of the salmon slices will be tough and not smooth.

Finally, this is the end product of my "Steam Salmon Fillet with Herbs - 鸿运当头" which I hope those who consume this will have great Prosperity and luck in the coming year. If you are going to try out this dish, do let me know your feedback irregardless of good/bad :) Till then I will leave you with the two Chinese New Year Fish Dish that I have shared with you..... Will update more if I have any new ideas to share...... Posted by Picasa


Friday 8 January 2010

Steam Osmanthus Cod Fish

In about a month's time, there will be two great occasions that falls on the same day of 14th February 2010. And I am sure most of us is aware of this Special day which marks the 1st day of the Chinese New Year as well as the Western Valentine's Day. So on this day, most or maybe all the restaurants will be fully packed with people celebrating this double occasions. In this case, why not try to whip up something special for your family or love one at the comfort of your home.

Since it is near towards the Chinese New Year season, I am sure whatever you have or going to prepare, you would want to give it some auspicious name. Today, we are going to prepare this "Osmanthus Cod Fish" with a translated name of "桂花蒸鳕鱼" which sounds like prosperous fish/become more prosperous every day(蒸蒸日上). For readers who has being following my post, you will have read about this Osmanthus flower which I have used it quite a number of time in making dessert or herbal drinks.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
1 Large Cod Cutlet
1/2 Tablespoon of Osmanthus Flower
1 Teaspoon of Wolfberries
3 Red Dates, halves
Some Broccoli Florets, blanched
1/2 Tablespoon Mirin/Glutinous Rice Rice, optional

Method:
1. Clean and pat dry the fish, lightly marinate it with some light soy sauce and corn flour.
2. Next arrange the fish cutlet on a plate together with the red date, wolfberries and 1/2 of the Osmanthus Flower.
3. Prepare a steaming pot with metal rack, when the water boils, put the plate of fish on the rack and steam on medium high heat for about 5 minutes.
4. Remove the pot cover, drizzle mirin/glutinous rice wine on it, scatter the remaining Osmanthus Flower and continue to steam for another 2 to 3 minutes till the fish is cooked through.
5. Remove and serve with warm rice.


Note:
~ You can choose any type of fish fillet/cutlet that is suitable for steaming or to your liking.
~ The timing for steaming the fish will depend on the thickness, you can test it after 5 minutes of steaming time, using a chopstick/fork to test the center of the meat.


Osmanthus is a highly perfumed flower, and it is well known that you can smell it nine miles away! It is a deliciously fragrant flowers which carry the scent of ripe peaches or apricots. Other than its refreshing fragrant, in the Chinese Medical terms, it is also used to reduce phlegm if you have a bad cough. Posted by Picasa


Thursday 26 November 2009

Baked Prawn With Lemon & Cheese

These baked Lemon & Cheese Prawns are from the Fresh Live Prawn that we caught during our Prawning Trip last weekend at Bottle Tree Park. It is indeed an enjoyable experience on the prawning trip and most of thrilling part is I get to use these prawns for my new dish.

This is a very simple dish that most of you will be able to grab the ingredients right from your fridge at any moment. All you need are some butter, 1 lemon, 2 slices of sandwich cheese if you are run out of shredded cheese. Don't worry if you don't have Fresh live prawn, you can always get any type of prawns from the supermarket or you can even replace it with fish fillet like salmon or any white fish.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
8 Medium Size Prawn
2 Slices of Sandwich Cheese, cut into thin strips
1 Lemon, cut into thin slices
10g of Butter
2 Tablespoon of RUM or Brandy, optional

Method:
1. Wash, trim and slit the back of the prawn into half, becareful not to cut too deep or else the prawn will break into halves.
2. Cut the butter into small cubes and stuff it into cuts of the prawn.
3. Arrange some lemon slices in a baking dish (or you can use disposal foil baking tray), place the stuffs prawn on top of the lemon.
4. Top the shredded cheese on top of the prawns, drizzle the liquor evenly on top of the prawn.
5. If you want that extra citric fragrance on the baked prawn, you can top with some extra strips of lemon rind.
6. Bake in the toaster oven for about 10 - 15 minutes or until the prawn is cook through.
6. You can serve this dish directly from the baking tray or you can re-arrange them in serving plate and serve as finger food for party.


Note:
~ Above is the sample photo of the toaster oven which you might have it in kitchen, it is usually used to reheat bread, pizza or small items.

The gravy of this dish is so fragrance and sweet due to the sweetness that comes from the fresh prawn. Look at the prawns, some of it still comes with prawn roes. The combination of Lemon, Cheese, Prawn and Liquor will definitely stimulate your tastebuds to another level of food tasting. Posted by Picasa


Monday 2 November 2009

Double-Boiled LingZhi Soup

It has being a long time since the last time I made this "Ling Zhi - 灵芝" Soup. We used to have this at least once a month which is recommend by the Chinese physician. You can even make this soup in different version by manipulate with the ingredients as per your preference.

Lingzhi (Ganoderma lucidum) is a woody mushroom highly regarded in traditional medicine and is widely consumed in the belief that it promotes health and longevity, lowers the risk of cancer and heart disease and boosts the immune system. So in the double-boiled version of mine, I used the above ingredients such as Red Dates, Dried Longan, Wolfberries, Honey Dates, Hard-boiled Egg and Ling Zhi Slices.

Red Date (红枣): It is a blood tonic, that can be widely used with other ingredients to nourish the body.

Dried Longan (桂圆肉): It influences the heart and spleen channels. Calms the spirit, nourishes the blood and strengthens the spleen. Commonly used to treat heart palpitations, insomnia, forgetfulness, worrisome tendencies and overwork.

Wolfberries (枸杞子): It strengthens body and bones, supplements kidneys and energy, nurses liver and clarifies eyes. It also cultivates energy and aids yang bodies moistness lungs and stops coughing. Other than use it as a soup ingredient, it can be used as a condiment in frying dishes or used to make tea. Choose Qizi which are full and with bright colour.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
5g Ling Zhi Slices
10g Dried Longan
5g Wolfberries
8 - 10 Big Red Dates
Honey Dates (金丝蜜枣)
2 Hard-boiled Egg, removed shell
800ml Water
1 Knot of Pandan Leave, optional

Method:
1. Place the uncooked eggs in a small saucepan and bring to boil, then simmer for about 5 -7 minutes, remove from pan, rinse and peel off the shell then set aside.
2. Rinse all the herbs ingredients then place them (except the wolfberries) in the pot of boiling water (800ml) and simmer together with the pandan leave for about 3 minutes.
3. Add in the eggs and bring to boil again then transfer the mixture to a ceramic pot.
4. As usual, I always place the ceramic pot into the slow-cooker and cook on Auto for about 2 hours. (you can take a look a the sample HERE)
3. Add in the wolfberries at the very last 30 minutes of cooking time.

Note:
~ You can replace the hard-boiled eggs to a few quail eggs if you prefer a small portion.
~ If you find the taste a bit too bitter for your linking, you can add some rock sugar to sweet it.


Nothing is more heartwarming then a bowl of homemade soup after a long day of work. And during this flu bugs season, it good that you can whip up something simple and yet good for your healthy. You can consume this soup either before bedtime or in the morning and serve it as breakfast. The nature of this soup will taste a bit bitter due to the adding of Ling Zhi so do not overdose it in the ingredients portion. The adding of the hard-boiled egg also add extra protein to this soup. Posted by Picasa


Sunday 18 October 2009

Curry Chicken With Longan & Pineapple

Since this is the Deepavali week holiday and last week I have being invited for a Curry Sampling at CURRY ON! I think maybe I can share a simple and healthy Curry Recipe with everyone here. So what come in your mind when you read the heading of the post and see the photo. LONGAN + PINEAPPLE + CURRY ? ? ? ? ? ? = NICE?

From the ingredients here, you can see that it doesn't required any coconut milk or cream. All you need to get is these simple and healthy stuff which can satisfy your taste buds on curry and also help you to watch your waistline. The main ingredient that provide the fragrance is the Kaffir Lime Leaves which makes give this dish a very refreshing taste and fragrant. I have use this leaf to cook another Chicken Dish a few years back. You can click on this link for more details.

The Longan used in this recipe is from can which contain syrup, you can easily grab a can of this Longan in syrup in any supermarket or convenient store.

You will be surprised with the taste of this dish, it is something like a cross taste between Sambal and Tom Yum Chicken. It is very easy to prepared without much hassle. All you need is to cut the chicken breast meat into cubes, marinate with instant curry paste. Furthermore you can even use canned pineapple to replace the fresh type. Overall, this is a very refreshing dish because the gravy is infuse with Kaffir Lime leave aroma and Longan. It is an very appetising dish that goes well with steam rice.Posted by Picasa

Ingredients: (serves 2)
2 Tablespoons of Thai Red Curry Paste
1 Chicken Breast Meat, cut into cubes
1 Slice of Fresh Pineapple, cut into cubes
15 Longan In Syrup
2 Tablespoons of Sryup, from the longan can
1 Tomato, cut into wedges
2 Small Red Onion, cut into wedges
1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
4 Small Kaffir Lime Leaves, shredded

Methods:
1. Clean and trim the fat from the chicken breast, cut it into about 2" cubes.
2. Marinate the chicken with about 1 teaspoon of Thai red chilli paste and 1/2 teaspoon of light soy sauce for about 10 minutes.
3. Heat up a small saucepan with olive oil, saute the onion till fragrant.
4. Next add in half of the tomato wedges and some shredded kaffir lime leave then continue to stir-fry for another 15 second or so.
5. Spoon in the remaining chilli paste and continue to saute until fragrance then add in the marinated chicken cubes and fry till the meat is cooked through.
6. Next add in the pineapple cubes, longan, remaining tomato wedges and give it a good stir till combined.
7. Lastly stir in 2 tablespoons of syrup juice from the longan can and bring the mixture to boil for about 10 seconds.
8. Dish up and served with some balanced broccoli and steam rice.



Note:
~ You can get those instant Thai Red Chilli Paste by "Asian Home Gourmet" in most supermarket.

You can served this as a side dish or as a individual Main Course like those in the restaurant with steam rice. This is the 2nd time I tried using Longan as a ingredient in the dish. The other dish which I used Longan is "Stir-fry Pork Fillet with Longan" which you might be interested to take a look too :)


Saturday 25 July 2009

Savory Oatmeal Porridge - 麥片粥

Oatmeal is usually used to make porridge or act as an one of the ingredient in oatmeal cookies or oat cakes. Sometime it is use as a topping on many oat bran breads. Research shows that Daily consumption of a bowl of oatmeal can lower blood cholesterol, due to its soluble fiber content.

This is my very 1st attempt in cooking Savoury Oatmeal which really worried me before the final end product being served. But to my surprised these really turn out well and it taste just as similar as to those "Cantonese Porridge - 广东粥" texture. To further enhance the fragrant of the porridge, I even prepared some pan-fried shredded ginger to use as garnish.

As for this recipe, I use this "Quaker - Quick Cook Oatmeal" which you can purchase in most supermarket. You can add your preference amount of Oatmeal to the thicken the porridge to the consistency that you want the it to be.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
5 - 6 Tablespoons of Quick Cook Oatmeal
3 Imitation Crab Meat, diced
100g Of Mince Pork
1 Egg, lightly beaten
600ml of Water/Stock
Chopped Spring Onion & Coriander
Pan-fried Shredded Ginger, optional

Methods:
1. Marinate the mince meat with some light soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil and set aside.
2. Preheat a saucepan with some oil, lightly fry the diced crab meat until done, then add in the marinated mince meat.
3. Give it a quick stir until the meat are well separated and cook through.
4. Add in the water and bring it to almost boiling point then add in the quick cook oatmeal.
5. When the mixture come to boil again, low the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes then season to taste.
6. Switch off the heat, remove the pot from the stove, then drizzle in the beaten egg and give it a quick stir.
7. Serve in the bowl with extra topping of chopped coriander, spring onion and shredded ginger.

Notes:
a) To make the pan-fried shredded ginger:-
~ Preheat a small pan with about 1 tablespoon or more of oil, then add in 1 tablespoon of shredded ginger, saute it over medium low heat.
~ Stir consistency until the ginger turns almost golden in colour, switch off the heat, remove the shredded ginger and set aside in a small saucer.
~ Pour some of the oil over it so as to drizzle on the porridge or noodle.

At a glance of it, you will definitely mistaken it as the usual "Mince Pork Porridge" that we used to have in the Asian way of cooking. So do give this a try to serve Oatmeal in a new taste compare to the sweet flavour varieties that we used to have for breakfast.Posted by Picasa

Wednesday 15 July 2009

Herbal Fish Mee Suah

After a day of hectic work in the office, what would you prefer to have as a comfort food for dinner? Some home cooked soup or simple home cooked dishes? Or what about having a bowl of hearty Herbal Fish Mee Suah that top with some fish slices, soft-boiled Egg and fried shredded ginger to go with?

Mee Suah, which is usually sold in dried form, is made from rice flour and is very brittle in uncooked form as the strands are really thin. We hardly have Mee Suah at home as I always thought that it is more for confinement food cooking or elder people. But on request today, I prepared this light herbal pork ribs soup to serve with the Fish Mee Suah with an additional Soft-boiled egg.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
150g of ShengYu Slices (生鱼片)
3 Bundles of Mee Suah (面线)
4 Pieces of Spare Ribs
2 Big Red Dates (红枣)
2 Slices of Dried Huai Shan(淮山)
5 Slices of Yuzhu (玉竹)
3 – 4 Slices of Dang Gui(当归)
1 Tablespoon Wolfberries (枸杞子)
600ml - 750ml Water
2 Soft Boiled Eggs
10g of Shredded Ginger
Chopped Coriander & Spring Onion for garnish

Method:
1. Clean and wash the spare ribs then blanched in boiling water for about 5 minutes, rinse, clean and set aside for later use.
2. Marinate the fish slices with some shredded ginger and a few drops of sesame oil and light soy sauce then set aside in the fridge.
3. Bring water to boil in a stockpot, add in spare ribs, rinse herbs and half of the wolfberries.
4. Lower the heat and let it simmer over low heat for about 20 – 30 minutes until the spare ribs are tender.
5. While boiling the soup base, pre-heat a small frying pan with about 1 tablespoon of boil, sauté the shredded ginger till fragrant and golden brown, removed and set aside for garnish.
6. Blanched the marinated fish slices in boiling water for about 1 minutes till cooked, remove and set aside.
7. Using the same saucepan, bring some fresh water to boil then cooked about 1½ bundle of the mee suah for about 30 seconds or so, stir occasionally.
8. Remove and place it in a big soup bowl top with some of the remaining wolfberries, 2 spare ribs and some blanched fish slices.
9. Scoop the hot herbal soup over it and serves with some extra garnish of shredded ginger, coriander, spring onion and soft-boiled egg.
10. If you prefer, you can drizzle a few drops of sesame oil over it for extra fragrant.


Methods For Soft-Boiled Egg:
1. To prepare a soft-boiled egg, bring egg and water to boil in a saucepan then low the heat to medium low and continue to boil for about 4 minutes(for runny egg yolk) or 6 minutes(for soft and moist yolk).
2. Remove the heat from heat, peel the shell and set aside.


Em... in order to get that brownish effect for my soft-boiled egg. I actually soaked the cooked egg without shell in a bowl of dark soy sauce water for about 30 minutes or so, but the effect is still not as good as cooking it in dark soy water. And even though this soft-boiled egg is to one of my preference, I still prefer to have it under cooked for maybe another 1 minutes or so less in order to achieve that slightly runny yolk effect. I will try cooking this soft-boiled egg again for 4 minutes instead of the 6 minutes that I have done.Posted by Picasa

Thursday 25 June 2009

Durian Fried Rice

I have heard about this Durian Fried Rice from one of the Hong Kong style cafe called "Central" where they have a few branches in Singapore, one of it located at the basement of Takashimaya. I guess not many of us will dare to take the risk on trying this dish on the combination of seafood fried rice with Durian. But to me, this is always an interesting dish to try on since from young I always love the combination of white rice serve with durian flesh.

As now is the Durian peak seasoning, I decided to grab a few from the fruit stall to test out some interesting recipe which I have keep in view for a long time. So based on the food review from some of the blogger who have tried this dish, I came out with my own version of Durian Fried Rice. Since I always fancy the idea of mixing rice with durian, I found this combination of fried rice is very special and the taste do blend in well with the fried, rice and egg. I didn't add any seasoning to this dish, and not even to the prawn as well. Posted by Picasa

Ingredients: (serve 1)
1 Small Rice Bowl Of Cooked Rice
3 Seeds Of Durian Flesh, 80g
5 Medium Prawns, devein
1 Egg, optional
1 Teaspoon Wolfberries
2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1/2 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Chopped Spring Onion

Method:
1. Pre-heat a frying pan with oil and saute the chopped garlic until fragrant then stir in the prawn and fry until cooked through.
2. Next stir in the cooked rice and give it a quick stir to separate each of the grain from sticking together.
3. Push the rice mixture to aside(refer to the picture above) then crack an egg into the pan and stir-it through to the rice mixture until combine then add in the wolfberries.
4. Lastly, push the rice mixture aside again and add in the Durian flesh and give it a quick stir to loosen the paste then stir it into the rice mixture till well combined.
5. Remove the pan from heat, and sprinkle chopped spring onion into rice mixture, dish up and serve warm with extra seeds of durian.

Note:
a) If you want it to be a bit savoury, you can add 1/4 teaspoon of salt or seasoning to stir-fry the fried before adding the durian.

Thursday 21 May 2009

Scramble Egg With Tomato

Are you one of those tomato lover who eats any kind of tomato that is on the shelf of the supermarket? Or you will just pick your choice of those that you love like cherry tomatoes or vineyard tomatoes or ?

Tomato fruit is classified as a berry. As a true fruit, it develops from the ovary of the plant after fertilization, its flesh comprising the pericarp walls. Tomato is also an excellent source of Vitamin C and a good source of Vitamin A. So if you are trying to get one of your kids or love one to incorporate some tomato into their dish. You can try one of this Scramble Egg With Tomato serve in tomato cup as party food breakfast side dish.Posted by Picasa

Ingredients: (serve 2)
2 Medium Size Red Tomato
1 Medium Egg, lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon Milk/Water
1/2 Tablespoon of Chopped Tomato
1 Tablespoon of Chopped Spring Onion
1/2 Tablespoon of Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

Method:
1. Cut the tomatoes, horizontal into halve and carefully scoop out the seeds in it. Pat the inside dry with kitchen paper towel and set them aside.
2. Take 1 of the tomato cup and chopped them into cubes.
3. Whisk the egg with either water or milk until well combined.
4. Drizzle some Olive oil onto a small preheat non-stick pan and add in the chopped tomatoes, give it a few stir until fragrant then scatter in the chopped spring onion.
5. Next pour in the egg mixture and cook the scramble egg accordingly, using a spoon to stir the mixture occasionally.
6. Lastly stir in the Thai chili sauce mixture and give it a quick stir until it combined, fill the egg mixture into the prepared tomato cups and serve as together with some cut fruits as side dish.

Note:
a) You can replace the Thai Sweet Chili Sauce with Tomato Sauce for kid's version.
b) You can also scatter some extra shredded cheese onto the egg tomato cups and put it into the toaster oven of about 3 minutes or so until the cheese started to melt.

Tuesday 12 May 2009

Avocado ~ Egg ~ Tomato

This is my combination of appetiser meal, Avocado Vs Egg Vs Tomato. I simply just love the taste of Avocado, when this is in season I'll always have it in my fruit basket. I love to eat it with plain yogurt, or blend it with some fresh milk and honey and serve it as a health afternoon snack or after meal refreshment with a few ice cubes.

There are so many ways and ideas that you can eat your avocado with. And also high avocado intake has been shown to have an effect on blood serum cholesterol levels and it is also rich in B vitamins, as well as vitamin E.

In this appetiser, I used 1 avocado, 1 hard boiled egg and 2 ripe medium size tomato to come out with 3 different taste and texture of the combination.

Mashed Avocado & Egg Salad
~ Mashed half of the hard-boiled egg with about 2 to 3 slices of avocado and serve it in a tomato cup.

Avocado Slices With Plain Yogurt
~ Arrange some avocado slices on plate and top with a dollar of plain Greek yogurt(or you can choose yogurt of your favour).

This is great to serve as a an presentable appetiser when you have guest around the house. You can top with with other fresh fruits of your choice or you can use tomato or cucumber or any combination that you prefer.Posted by Picasa

~ Cut the avocado into half, carefully scoop out the fruit and leave the shell in shape.
~ Place half of the hard-boiled egg in the middle and filled the space of the shelf with avocado & tomato cubes.
~ Drizzle with some BBQ or Thai Chilli sauce before serving.


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