Braised Pork Belly With Rice - 卤肉饭

Both Pork Belly and Pork Trotter are my favourite parts of meat which I love to use them for either Braised Pork Belly In Soy Sauce (卤肉) or Ginger Vinegar Trotter (猪脚醋). To be frank, I love the soft and jelly like "fats and skin" on them which makes it a good source of collagen in some sinful ways.

There are many ways to braised pork belly depending on what other ingredients you prefer to add on to it like; hard boiled eggs, firm tofu, mushrooms or beancurd sticks. And also in order to braised a good pot of pork belly in soy sauce, you have to take note on the amount of water added plus amount of the seasonings and spices used.

BRAISED PORK BELLY IN SOY SAUCE

(Serves: 4  | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 60 minutes)

Ingredients:
500g Pork Belly (三层肉), cut into thick strips
4 Hardboiled Egg, shelled
2 Pieces of Firm Beancurd (豆干), cut into quarters
6 Shiitake Mushrooms, soak till soften
Some Dried Beancurd Stick (腐竹), optional
500ml Hot Water
2 Star Anise (八角)
3 Cloves (丁香)
1 Cinnamon Stick (肉桂棒)
5 Cloves Garlic, crashed
3 Shallot
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 Tablespoon Cooking Wine
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar

Method:-
1. Marinate the pork belly with 1/2 Tablespoon each of oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of cooking wine and 1 teaspoon grated ginger for at least an hour.

2. Preheat frying pan with some oil and fry the firm beancurd till slightly golden brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.

3. Using the same frying pan, add in another tablespoon of oil. Saute garlic and shallots till fragrant, add star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick and marinated meat (without the sauce) and fry till slightly golden brown in colour on both side.

4. Add in mushrooms and continue to fry for another 30 seconds. Next stir in oyster sauce, light and dark soya sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil and sugar and give it a quick stir till well mixed.

5. Pour in hot water, bring it to boil and let it simmer for about 30 minutes or more till the meat is tender, add in hard boiled eggs, beancurd and soaked beancurd stick. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes till all ingredients are flavoured by the soy sauce. 

6. Remove from heat and serve with steamed white rice.

Tip:
~ Soak the dried beancurd in warm water till soften, rinse a few time and drained well, set aside.

~ Fresh Shiitake mushrooms can be used to replaced the dry ones too.

~ If Cooking Spices like Star Anise, Cinnamon Stick and etc are not available in your area, replace it with 1 teaspoon or more of five spice powder for taste.

~ For extra flavour, add in 2 - 3 dried chilli in step 3, and remove it on step 5 before adding hard boiled eggs and etc.

{Braising Spices} Five Spice Powder (五香粉) and Cooking Spices

Above are my two cents worth on Braised Pork Belly In Soy Sauce which I hope you would have a rough idea on how to make your very own braised pork. For a start you could just try the pork belly with hard boiled egg combines perhaps with a few shiitake mushrooms too. Alternatively, you could also modify the recipe above with some Chicken Mid-joints instead of pork belly.

Rise And Shine Carnival @ The Lawn

Photo Credit: Rise And Shine

This coming 03 March 2013, Rise And Shine is organizing a Singapore's largest breakfast fiesta known as Rise And Shine Carnival at The Lawn, Marina Bay. Every family can register and come together with babies or young children and have a fun Sunday morning as well as be part of it to set a new record for the highest breakfast picnic turnout.

At the carnival, little ones would be enthralled by lot of fun games such as gigantic bouncy castles, engaging crafts including balloon sculpting, face-painting and stellar stage performances. The Rise and Shine Carnival also aim to prepare you and your children to bond as a happier and healthier family,

Sample:- Rise And Shine Carnival Registration Form

FOR EARLY BIRD SPECIAL!

Register over at http://carnival.riseandshine-expo.com/event-registration/  for a fee of S$8.00 per adult (plus 7% GST) where children aged 12 and below entitled FREE admission. Also every paid participant will receive a set of game coupons worth S$10.00 to be used at the carnival.

Furthermore, for the first 1,000 sign up, there would be a goodie bag worth S$100.00 out for grab too! And you will receive a unique Goodie Bag ID in a separate email, which must be presented for you to redeem your goodie bag.

Photo Credit: Rise And Shine

For more information on the Terms and Conditions plus Registration Details, please refer to their event registration page shown on the link here.

As one of the Ambassadors of Rise And Shine Campaign, Cuisine Paradise is partnering with Rise And Shine to giveaway some Complimentary Rise And Shine Carnival Admission Ticket (2 Adults Ticket) to TWO lucky readers. Upon winning you could join us with your kids at the Rise And Shine Carnival on 03 March 2013.

How To Win:-
1. Click LIKE and SHARE the above photo over at Cuisine Paradise Facebook Page (here); AND
br />2. Leaving a comment (on facebook) sharing with us one of your breakfast idea for your kid(s), example: egg mayo with wholemeal bread.

Closing Date: 22 February 2013 (Friday), 5.00PM
*Giveaway is open to those reside in SINGAPORE only and with a valid mailing address.

[Updated on 25 February 2013]

Homemade Crystal Yam Cake - 水晶芋头糕

I have seen many friends in my facebook list making either Radish Cake (萝卜糕) or Yam Cake (芋头糕) before and during Chinese Lunar New Year period. And usually these are the auspicious steamed cakes to be served to the visiting guests as compared those western cakes.  This year, my mum made a new version of Yam Cake using different types of flour combination which is different from what she always did.

From the photo above, you realize that the colour of this yam cake is slightly more translucent and Springy (QQ) texture which is similar to Agar Agar (a kind of Asian jelly).

[Sponsored Post] Instagram Magnets By StickyGram!

Recently I received an email to try out one of the new online printout service known as "StickyGrams" which makes magnets out of your Instagrams photos (cuisine paradise's Instagram). All you need to do is "login" into your instagram account, pick "nine" of your favouriate photos ($14.99/sheet of 9 magnets) and send in the "printing request".

And within roughly a week or more, you would be able to receive your very own amazing picture magnets on your walls or as a lovely momentos for relatives or friends.

To try out the printing services, you could hope over to their website @ http://stickygram.com/

~ Click on GET START;
~ Connect With Instagram and log in with your instagram userid and password.

~ Browse through the images on the left side of the screen and "Click" on the image to add the photo to your "9 square magnet box".
~ When done, click on Add To Basket to checkout your orders.

~ At BASKET menu, you can choose to add another magnet sheet, edit and input the mailing and payment details.

Instagram Photo Magnet from StickyGram

And about a week after your order has been confirmed, you would be able to receive your beautiful 9 square Instagram Photo Magnets (each magnet is about 5cm x 5cm in size) which you could share it with your friends or readers as souvenir for them to stick on! Isn't that cool...... Furthermore, the quality and resolution of the printouts were also up to satisfaction which appears better to what I expected.

For more information, you could refer to StickyGram website @ http://stickygram.com/

[With Recipes] Lunar New Year Lunch Gathering With Relatives

This year mum and I decided to do a combined New Year lunch gathering to invite our relatives over for a festive lunch. We hope to take this opportunity to get touch and mingle with everyone since we seldom get a chance to eat together as a big group during normal days of the year.

Our 2013 Lunar New Year Reunion Dinners

Today is the 4th day of Chinese Lunar New Year and it seems like just last Wednesday we were all busy preparing to welcome new year and yet now it's already 3 days (out of the 15 days) past the new year celebrations. I find this year seems to be quieter as compared to previous years also you don't really find crowds around doing house visiting and etc. Perhaps due to the long weekends or raining weathers, most of the people rather choose to stay dry in doors or go for a short holiday trip too.

Rise & Shine Breakfast Campaign

Not long ago, I received an email from the Rise And Shine team regarding a Breakfast Campaign for children age between 4 to 12 years. For your information Rise And Shine is a community initiative started by a group of mothers and Nanyang Technological University students. The mission of this initiative is to provide parents and educators alike an opportunity to learn, share and identify holistic approaches in raising healthier and happier children.

Just like other parents, sometime I am also headache on what kind of breakfast to prepare for my boy who is nine this year. As a child in primary 3, my boy is still quite picky with his food especially breakfast. And most of the weekdays morning he only drinks a glass of milk rather than having bread or cereal before heading to school.

Photo Credit: Rise And Shine

From the info-graphic statistic table shown above, we could roughly have an idea of the "Breakfast Habit of Kids in Singapore". Like what mentioned above, most of the kids do not have enough time for breakfast which I personally agreed to it. With most of the primary school starts between 7.15 - 7.30am, kids tends to skip breakfast due to the morning rush (traveling or wake up late). Unless schools start late around  8.00 or 8.30am like most of the foreign countries or they enforces a "breakfast" together campaign where all the school kids get together to have breakfast in the class before lesson.

As one of the Rise And Shine Ambassadors, we received a Breakfast Kit which contains some useful information about this Breakfast Campaign as well as how to prepare healthier breakfast for the kids. In it there was also a trial pack of Granola made by Sherie from Maameemoomoo where we could use it to make some yummy breakfast for the kid(s).

Below are two different breakfast ideas that we have tired using the granola.

Fruit Yogurt With Granola Toppings

Peanut Butter Toast With Granola and Nuts

Rise and Shine is a nationwide campaign that is strongly support by major government agencies including Health Promotion Board, People's Association, Ministry of Community, Youth and Sports and the National Youth Council and many others. It is the first campaign of its kind in Singapore to drive greater attention to raising healthier and happier children. They also conduct regular activities in malls, schools, library and etc on story telling, cooking demo and many others. More details at http://breakfast.riseandshine-expo.com/ .

Furthermore, Rise And Shine Carnival 2013 is happening on Sunday, 03 March 2013 at The Lawn @ Marina Bay where they are planning to set a record  for the Largest Breakfast Picnic in Singapore. You can also read more about this event @ http://carnival.riseandshine-expo.com/ .

Chinese New Year Cooking Demo @ ToTT by Chef Eric Low

Last Sunday, I was invited by OpenRice (Singapore) to attend their first cooking demo class with ToTT (Tools of the Trade) on the Chinese New Year Workshop - Good Fortune, conducted by Chef Eric Low. Despite of the gloomy and raining weather, all participants were still very excited about the class and everyone were also eager to pick up some tips and cooking skill from Chef Eric.

The three hours cooking class was indeed a fun and fruitful one with Chef Eric whom is humorous and knowledgeable with his answers during the class. Although there was no hands-on but Chef Eric makes every little details visible thru two big TV screen in front of the class where we could get a good view of the ingredients plus steps during cooking process.

{Mobile Post} Braised Duck With Sea Cucumber

Counting down......2 more days to Chinese Lunar New Year! Everyone is so excited and today (1 day before the eve of Lunar New Year) almost all the wet markets, supermarkets and etc will be operating on 24 hours for last minutes shopping. And you would be able to see big crowds of people around grabbing for food, ingredients, beverages and etc to store up for the approaching New Year feast.

Osmanthus Chestnut Cake - 桂花马蹄糕

A few days back during our trip to Chinatown, I saw a stall selling Osmanthus Chestnut Cake (桂花马蹄糕) at a price of S$8.50 per box which gave me a shock. The price that they are selling per box is more than enough to replicate 3 similar boxes if you know how to make it at home. Although my recipe here might not be as authentic when compared to those sold outside in the shop but at least this is not a difficult dessert which you could do it at home for your guests or as a New Year gifts.

[Sponsored Post] NANA's Green Tea Week Day Set Lunch

Nanaʼs Green Tea Café is offering a special lunch set which is available on weekday from 11.00am - 2.30pm at an affordable price of S$13.90 with a whole list of choices to choose from. And each lunch set comes with a complimentary drink and a main course of your choice. Consumers gets to choose any kind of beverages below S$8.00, ranging fromHoji, Matcha, Azuki to other beverages from the menu. On top of that, their signature dishes such as Salmon Don, Locomoko Don and Mushi-Dori Goma Dare Udon will also be available too. (read more about Nana's Green Tea Cafe from my previous post here)

Thanks to NANA's Green Tea Cafe, Cuisine Paradise has 5 Lunch Set Vouchers (worth S$13.90 each) to giveaway to five lucky readers.

How To Win:-
1. Like Nana's Green Tea Cafe on facebook page HERE;

2. Click LIKE and SHARE the above photo over at Cuisine Paradise Facebook Page (here); AND

3. Leaving a comment (on facebook) that sharing with us your favourite matcha drinks/dessert .

Closing Date: 07 February 2013 (Thursday), 5.00PM
*Giveaway is open to those reside in SINGAPORE only and with a valid mailing address.

Longan And Cranberry Yogurt Cake

Chinese New Year (CNY) usually cannot go without some auspicious cakes like Kueh Lapis Legit (千层糕), Kueh Baulu ((鸡蛋糕), Walnut Cake and etc. This year, I have come up with a something new apart from the usual CNY cake using "orange zest, dried longan, cranberry, chia seeds, yogurt and Cointreau" to bake this Longan And Cranberry Yogurt Cake for Chinese New Year.

Usher In The Year Of The Snake @ PARKROYAL on Beach Road

To celebrate coming Chinese Lunar New Year, Plaza Brasserie is having the Prosperity Buffet from 28 February to 24 February 2013 as well as the Prosperity Buffet Feast Reunion Dinner on 09 February 2013 to satisfy all cravings.

In addition, Chinese New Year banquet dinner can also be celebrated at their ballroom on 09 February 2013 where guests can look forward to lion dance performance, Tea Appreciation performance by the Si Chuan Dou Hua tea master and the God of Fortune who will be making guest appearance to celebrate the Luna New Year with the guests too.

Ushering into the Year of Snakes, Chef Jackson has come up with a new creation of Fruity Yu Sheng which consists of fresh tropical fruits like Mandarin Oranges, Peaches, Rose Apples, Rock Melon, Dried Persimmons, Green Manago and Papaya. This new creation of Chef Jackson symbolizes an abundance of wealth and a well-rounded life which enhanced with Chef's fruit Flavoured Sauce.

Personally I love the sweet and refreshing after taste of this Fruity Yusheng which makes me craving for more after each mouthful.  But if you are not into fruits, traditional Yu Sheng will also be available too. 

Mini Pen Cai

Although the this is known as "Mini Pen Cai" but within you could find many special ingredients such as Fish Maw, Prawns, Sea Cucumber, Sliced Abalone, Roast Duck, Chicken, Pork, Cabbage, Black Moss and etc building up this pot of luxury comfort food.

Chili Crab

Crystal Pork Slices With Thai Dressing

Fish Maw Soup

Kong Ba Bao

Steamed Fried Rice With Preserved Meat with Lotus Leaf

Other than the highlight on Fruity Yu Sheng and Mini Pen Cai, there are also many other auspicious dishes like Eight Treasure Boneless Duck, Chilli Crab, Braised Pork Knuckle with Dried Oyster and Black Moss, Fish Maw Soup, Braised Sea Cucumber With Roasted Pork, Kong Ba Bao and many others.

Assorted Colourful Sushi and Sashimi

Despite of all the delicious Chinese New Year cuisine, whenever I visit Plaza Brasserie, the first station I start with is their Sushi Counter where I love to pick up some colourful sushi and salmon sashimi as starter. Sushi lover should not miss out this station where you get to enjoy some of your favourite sushi, tuna/salmon plus edamame and teriyaki chicken.

Traditional Egg Tarlets

There are quite a range of dessert at their buffet line where you could pick your choice from Pineapple Tartlets, Love Letters, Almond Cookies, Sesame Glutinous Rice Balls in Red Bean Soup, Egg Tartlets and Lapis Cake too.

Durian Nian Gao With Bak Kua

But out of all choices, my favourite is still their Durian Nian Gao with Bak Kua which I recommend you to give it a try if you like the combination of sweet nian gao with durian fragrance to pair with some savory bak kua (BBQ pork) toppings.

Plaza Brasserie @ PARKROYAL On Beach Road
7500A Beach Road
Singapore 199591
Reservation: (65) 6505 5710
Website: Prosperous Celebrations


FESTIVE BUFFET
Pre and Post Chinese New Year (28 January - 24 February 2013)
Lunch
28 Jan - 24 Feb 2013: S$45.00 (Adult); S$27.00 (Child)
09 Feb 2013: S$45.00 (Adult); S$27.00 (Child)
10 - 11 Feb 2013:  S$62.00 (Adult); S$37.00 (Child)

Dinner
28 Jan - 24 Feb 2013: S$58.00 (Adult); S$35.00 (Child)
09 Feb 2013: S$78.00 (Adult); S$47.00 (Child)
10 - 11 Feb 2013:  S$62.00 (Adult); S$37.00 (Child)

Banquet Reunion Dinner
09 Feb 2013: S$65.00 (Adult); S$39.00 (Child)


Reunion Steam Boat Buffet at Banquet (min 8 persons per table)
09 Feb 2013: S$58.00 (Adult); S$35.00 (Child)

*Child below 4 years old dines for free.
Prices are subject to service charge and government taxes.

Teochew Style Steamed Fish With MAGGI plus Lunar New Year Gift Pack Giveaway

I am sure most of you are familiar with the brand name MAGGI which carry signatures items such as Maggi chilli sauce, Maggi Instant Curry Noodles, Maggi Seasoning and etc. This year, MAGGI prepares an Exclusive Chinese New Year Gift Pack which includes a recipe booklet (with 8 auspicious recipes), Maggi Concentrated Chicken Stock, Premium Oyster Sauce, Seasoning and Dried Mushrooms that packed in a lovely new year designed gift box.

So with Chinese New Year just a few days around the corner, why not whipping up some tasty homemade meals to delight your loved ones and enjoy precious moments of happiness with your family. Here I have tried one of the recipe from the booklet which is Teochew Style Steamed Fish shown below.

TEOCHEW STYLE STEAMED FISH
年年有余潮洲蒸

Recipe extracted from Reunion delights made with MAGGI recipes booklet.

(Serves: 4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 1 White Pomfret (700g), with 2 slits cut on both sides
• 2 Teaspoons MAGGI Seasoning (No Added MSG)
• 2 Dried Mushrooms (soaked and sliced)
• 1 Piece Salted Mustard (soaked and sliced)
• 2 Sour Plums, lightly crushed
• 1 Tomato, cut into wedges
• 1 Tablespoon Shredded Ginger

Seasoning Sauce(Mixed Together)
1 Tablespoon MAGGI® Concentrated Chicken Stock (healthier choice, less salt)
1 Teaspoon Sesame oil
50ml Water

Garnishing
1 Red Chilli (seeded and sliced)
Coriander Leave (cut into sections)

Method:-
1. Rub white pomfret with MAGGI Seasoning (No Added MSG) and place it on a plate.

2. Put the dried mushrooms, sour plums, salted mustard and ginger on the fish and transfer into the steamer. Steam for 7 minutes.

3. Pour seasoning sauce over the fish. Place the tomato slices on the fish and steam together for another 3 minutes.

4. Garnish with red chilli and coriander leaves. Serve hot.

For your information, this festive season MAGGI is having an Exclusive Chinese New Year Gift Pack retailing at a promotional rate of S$10.80 per pack at major supermarket and it consists of the following products:

~ MAGGI® Concentrated Chicken Stock (Healthier Choice Symbol, Less Salt, No added MSG and Halal certified);

~ MAGGI® Premium Oyster Sauce (Healthier Choice Symbol, Less Salt, No added MSG and Halal certified);

~ MAGGI® Seasoning (No added MSG);

~ 80g of premium Dried Mushroom (worth S$6.00); and

~ Eight Treasures Pot Recipe Booklet.

EIGHT TREASURES POT
吉祥如意八宝煲

Other than the steamed fish recipe above, I am also going to try out their Eight Treasures Pot (吉祥如意八宝煲) recipe which is an auspicious and symbolic dish befitting this festive occasion. And other than the 8 different gourmet ingredients, what makes this dish special is the MAGGI Concentrated Chicken Stock that not only adds flavour, but also boosts the aroma and enhances the dish with the richness of double-boiled taste.

Recipe extracted from Reunion delights made with MAGGI recipes booklet.

(Serves: 8 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 40 minutes)

Ingredients:

• 8 Canned Baby Abalone
• 8 Dried Mushrooms, soaked
• 8 Dried Scallops, washed and soaked with 200ml hot water (retain as stock for later use)
• 8 Large Dried Oysters, washed and soaked
• 60g Fish Maw, soaked and squeezed to remove excess water. Slice into 3cm pieces
• 120g Sea Cucumber (ready to use), slice into 3cm pieces
• 400g Lettuce, washed
• 6 Red Dates, soaked
• 1 Tablespoon Wolfberries (soaked)
• 5 cloves Garlic, sliced
• 5 slices Young Ginger
• 3 Tablespoons Chinese cooking wine, optional
• 3 Tablespoon Cornflour, mixed with 3 tbsp water
• 500ml Water, including 200ml of scallop stock retained after soaking the scallops

Seasoning (Mixed Together)
2 Tablespoons MAGGI® Concentrated Chicken Stock (healthier choice, less salt)
1 Tablespoon MAGGI® Premium Oyster Sauce (healthier choice, less salt)
1/2 Tablespoon MAGGI® Seasoning (No Added MSG)
2 Teaspoon Sesame oil

Garnishing
1 Stalk Coriander leaves, cut into sections

Method:-
1. Heat oil to fry garlic and young ginger till fragrant. Add mushrooms, oysters, sea cucumber, fish maw and red dates. Stir­‐fry well and add water.

2. Braise the ingredients for 20 minutes at low heat, covered. Add wolfberries and seasoning sauce, then braise for another 20 minutes.

3. Add baby abalone and cook till all ingredients are tender. Season with cooking wine and thicken the gravy with the cornflour mixture.

4. Lastly, add lettuce and garnish with coriander leaves before serving.

GIVEAWAYS!

To encourage more home cooked dishes for this festive season, Cuisine Paradise is partnering with MAGGI to giveaway Two sets of the above Exclusive Chinese New Year Gift Pack (retailing at S$10.80) to two lucky readers.

How To Win:-
1. Comment (on this post) and share with us a Chinese New Year dish that you your family enjoys ;

2. Click LIKE and SHARE the above photo over at Cuisine Paradise Facebook Page (here); AND

Leaving a comment (on facebook) that sharing with us which is your favourite MAGGI product(s) .

Closing Date: 06 February 2013 (Wednesday), 12.00 NOON
*Giveaway is open to those reside in SINGAPORE only and I would courier the items to winners with a valid delivery address.

[Giveaway result updated on 06 Feb 2013]