Chicken With Red Glutinous Rice Wine Lees (Hong Zao Ji - 红槽鸡)

Hong Zao Ji (红槽鸡) is one of the common dishes that most confinement lady would cook for the new mum to consume during the first 30 days after childbirth. Usually Old Ginger, Wine and Black Vinegar are the main ingredients used during confinement period. But nowadays you can easily purchase or cook similar confinement dishes with access of those ingredients.

A few days back, I happen to view on "Noob Cook" site that she had whipped up this lovely Hong Zao Ji dish using her homemade wine lees, which makes me drooling over the luxury gravy. And since I have a bottled of this Red Glutinous Rice Lees in the fridge, I decided to try out her recipe and it turns out wonder.

Ginger is to enhance the fragrance of this dish as well it posses warm and healthy properties which can “expel winds” in the body. Whereas wine is helpful in warming and nourishing the body, which promotes blood circulation.

(Recipe adapted from Noobcook, HERE)
Ingredients: (serves 2)
½ Chicken, chopped to smaller pieces
* 250ml Glutinous Rice Wine (红槽酒)
1½ Tablespoon Red Glutinous Wine Lees (红槽)
4 Slices Ginger, cut to thin strips
2 Slices Ginger
I Packet of Shimeiji Mushroom
2 Tablespoons Sesame Oil
½ Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
¼ Teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce
2 Small Cubes Rock Sugar (about 3 - 5g)

Garnish:
1 Tablespoon of Hua Diao Jiu (花雕酒 )
Splash of Sesame Oil
Some Coriander

Note:-

* I replace Red Glutinous Rice Wine with normal glutinous rice wine since I have some leftover in the fridge.

Method:-

1. Heat up a wok or claypot with 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Add ginger strips and fry them until crisp and set aside the ginger strips for garnishing.

2. Using the remaining sesame oil in the wok, add ginger slices, chicken pieces and stir-fry until the chicken is cooked on the surface.

3. Add in glutinous wine, wine less, mushrooms, light and dark soy sauce. Stir well. Cover with lid and let it simmer on low heat for about 5 minutes.

4. Using spatula to flip the chicken pieces over so that they can absorb the sauce evenly.

5. Next add rock sugar for sweetness as well as enhance a beautiful glazed finish. Simmer with lid closed for another 5 - 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

6. Turn off heat, drizzle one tablespoons of Hua Diao Jiu and splash of sesame oil for extra fragrance and taste.

7. Garnish with fried ginger, coriander and serve with steamed white rice.


Chicken With Red Glutinous Rice Wine Lees (Hong Zao Ji - 红槽鸡)



Although there are many different way of methods in preparing this confinement dish but like what "Noob Cook" has shared the key factors still lies on that good quality of wine leer which makes a great different in taste for this dish. But if you can’t get hold these homemade red glutinous wine lees, you can easily purchase those bottled wine lees in any leading supermarkets or Asian grocery stalls. You can take a look at another simple recipe of mine with a photo of the bottled wine lees shown, HERE.

[April $20 Budget Meal] Luo Han Guo and Watercress Soup plus Hainanese Pork Chop Rice and Pork Katsudon

For the month of April we are having an "Easter April" them for our $20 Budget Meal event by using "EGG" as one of the main ingredient in either one of the two dishes or soup prepared. In this post I have prepared 3 different set meal using "Deep-fried Pork Chop" as the key ingredient. As you can see from the photo, they are:- Deep-fried Pork Chop with Hard-boiled Egg, Pork Katsudon (omelette in it) and Hainanese Pork Chop served with Sunny Side Up Eggs which fulfill this month Egg theme.

Before we start off with the recipes, let's congrats Wai Fong of Fong's Kitchen Journal (Singapore) for getting the most readers vote on her "Shark's Fins Melon Soup 《鱼翅瓜排骨汤》, Stir-Fried Beef with Celery 《西芹炒牛肉》, Fried Fish with Crispy Garlic 《蒜香鱼片》" with a total spending of S$19.50; Serves 6 on our "March - $20 Budget Meal Round-up". The related recipes can be found HERE.

"Luo Han Guo - 罗汉果" is a dried fruits that are ellipse or round with a yellow-brownish or green-brownish colour that is covered by fine hairs. It has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for colds, coughs, sore throats, gastrointestinal disorder, as well as a blood purifier. And in Asian country, this fruit is usually used to boil herbal tea or soup.


LUO HAN GUO AND WATERCRESS SOUP

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
300g Pork Ribs
1 Large Luo Han Guo (罗汉果)
1 Bunch of Watercress ((西洋菜)
10g Bitter Sweet Almond (南北杏)
1/2 Tablespoon Wolfberries (枸杞)
1.5 Litres of Hot Water

This is one of the great cooling soup that benefits the health of the whole family especially during hot summer weather or Durian season where the body system tends to be heated up. The taste of this soup is rather dry with a bit of bitterness rather than sweet. So if you are going to serve this to younger kids perhaps you can add in 2 - 3 candied dates (蜜枣) to tone down the dry taste.

Method:

1. Blanched pork ribs in boiling water for a few minutes, removed and rinse well.

2. Break Luo Han Guo into big pieces, rinse and set aside.

3. Cut the stalk away from the leaves portion of the watercress, soak the leaves in water with at least 2 change of water to get ride of sand and dirt. Rinse the stalk and tighten it with the attached string and set aside.

4. Next bring 1.5 litres of water to boil, add in pork ribs, luo han guo and bitter sweet almond (I put them into stock bag).

5. When the mixture comes to boil again, cover and simmer over low heat for about 30 minutes.

6. Add in drained watercress leaves and wolfberries and continue to cook for another 5 - 10 minutes.

7. Serve either before or during meal.


Total cost for this dish is about S$4.00 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Pork Ribs = S$2.50
~ 1 Bunch Watercress = S$0.70
~ 1 Luo Han Guo = $1.00
~  Wolfberries and Bitter Sweet Almond = S$.30

My boy loves this type of crispy deep-fried pork chop that you can purchase from any of those Hainanese Scissor Cut Mixed Vegetables Rice Stalls. These type of pork chop cost around S$1.00 - S$2.00 each depending on it's size. Here I use a quick method by marinating pork chop with egg and cornflour together with other seasonings, coat with instant bread crumbs and deep-fried till golden brown.


DEEP-FRIED PORK CHOP

Ingredients: (make 8 slices)
8 Pieces of Pork Loin (猪里脊肉)
1 Cup of Instant Bread Crumbs (面包屑)
Oil For Deep-frying

Seasoning:
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1 Teaspoon Cooking Wine
1/2 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Pepper
1 Teaspoon Cornflour
1 Medium Egg

Method:-

1. To tenderise the pork, flatten or lightly pat it with a meat mallet or the back of the knife for easy cooking and quick marinate.

2. Marinate prepared pork chop with seasoning for at least 15 minutes or an hour in the refrigerate.

3. Remove marinated pork chop 5 minutes before cooking. Coat each pieces of pork chop evenly with bread crumbs (refer to the step-by-step photo above).

4. Deep-fry pork in hot oil in medium heat till golden brown, remove and drain well. (it takes about less than 5 minutes, do not over fried or the crumbs will be burnt)

5. Cut the pork chop into 1" wide slices and serve with steamed rice or you can make a choice with the next two recipes on either Hainanese Pork Chop or Pork Katsudon.


Total cost for this dish is about S$5.50 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ 8 Pieces of Pork Loin = S$4.00 (included for the 2 dishes below)
~ 1 Egg = S$0.50
~ 1 Cup Instant Bread Bread = S$1.00

There are many ways of making this Traditional Hainanese Pork Chop where the ingredients will various depend on the cook and stalls. I remember vividly my favourite version of Hainanese Pork Chop do consist of Deep-fried Pork Chop, Onion, Green Peas, and Potato in a thick tomato gravy. And I always volunteer to pound cream crackers for my dad to use for coating the pork chops before deep-frying. (Nowadays the biscuit crumbs can be replaced using Instant Bread crumbs)

HAINANESE PORK CHOP

Ingredients: (serve 1)

2 Pieces of Fried Pork Chop, cut into 1" slices
1/2 Teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce
1 Medium Onion, cut into thin slices
2 Cloves Garlic, finely chopped
1 Tomato, cut into wedges
80g Frozen Green Peas
Some Fresh Pineapple Cubes, optional

Sauce:
150ml Instant Chicken Stock
1 Teaspoon Cornflour
1 Tablespoon Tomato Sauce
1 Teaspoon Caster Sugar

Method:-

1. Saute the sliced onion and garlic with 1/2 tablespoon of oil till brown, add in green peas and half of the tomato wedges and continue to cook for another 30 seconds.

2. Gradually stir in the sauce mixture (mixed all the sauce ingredients) when it comes to boil drizzle dark soy sauce and give it a quick stir.

3. Next add in remaining tomato wedges and pineapple cubes and simmer for another 10 seconds.

4. Remove from heat, pour sauce over prepared pork chop and serve immediately with steamed rice.


Total cost for this dish is about S$1.30 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
* ~ Deep-fried Pork Chop = S$1.00
~ 1 Ring of Pineapple = S$0.50
~ Tomato and Frozen Peas = $0.40
~ Onion = $0.20
~ Egg = S$0.20

Katsudon (カツ丼) is a popular Japanese food where a bowl of rice is topped with deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, and condiments. Here since I have made extra pieces of deep-fried pork chop, I decided to make a simple version of this Katsudon using only Egg, Onion and Chicken Stock.


PORK KATSUDON

Ingredients: (serve 1)

1 - 2 Pieces of Fried Pork Chop, cut into 1" slices
80ml Instant Chicken Stock
1/2 Teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Caster Sugar
1/2 Medium Onion, thinly sliced
1 Medium Egg, light beaten
1 Stalk of Spring Onion, cut into 3" sections

Method:-

1. In a small bowl stir chicken stock, dark soy sauce and sugar together till combined.

2. Preheat a small frying pan, add sliced onion and stock mixture then bring it to boil and simmer over low heat for about 2 minutes till onion soften.

3. Arrange the deep-fried pork chop slices on top of the onion.

4. Slowly swirl in the beaten egg from around the pork chops, top with spring onion, cover and simmer for another 10 - 15 seconds.

5. Remove the frying pan from heat and carefully arrange the pork mixture on top of a bowl of steamed white rice. Serve immediately.


Total cost for this dish is about S$0.70 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
* ~ Deep-fried Pork Chop = S$1.00
~ Egg = S$0.20
~ Instant Chicken Stock + Spring Onion = $0.50

Pork Katsudon

With just a little twist, I managed to in-cooperate 3 different menu to cater for each individual preference. Although you might need a bit more time in preparing but I am sure all these efforts are worth for a delicious spread of homecook meal. With these I spent a total of S$11.50 to cook the soup and 3 different set meals each using "Egg" as one of the specific "Easter April - $20 Budget Meal" theme.

EASTER APRIL
Using "EGG" to make one of the dish

For April [$20 Budget Meal] event let's have a little cooking challenge by using the specific ingredient "EGG(s)" for one of the dish in your menu (eg: steam egg, fried omelette, scrambled egg and etc). And for those who wish to join us please refer to the submission details shown below. Look forward to receive your sharing of April Budget Meal menu soon.


~ Either "2 Dishes plus 1 Soup" or "1 Pot Dish" using a Maximum budget of $20.00 for 2 - 4 servings. If you are from overseas, you can also participate by converting to the appropriate currency value, (ie. US$15.00, RM$50.00, Rp $138,000 and etc)

~ If you do not have a blog, just send in the photos and recipe of your dishes and I will publish on your behalf in my blog, credited to you. (photos can be taken in any form using digital camera or hand phone)

~ All submission entries must be published in the month of April from 01 April  - 25th April 2011.

~ Please do mention in your blog that you are sharing this post to “Easter April - $20 Budget Meal” event and link it to this page HERE so as to encourage more readers to contribute.

SUBMISSION:

~ E-mail your "blog link" or "photos with recipe" to ellenaguan@hotmail.com with a subject "Easter April $20 Budget Meal" in the following format:

Your Name:
URL of your post:
Name of your dishes + soup:
Estimate amount spent for each dish:
Attachment of your photo in your email (each photo, preferably 500kb or less).

CLOSING DATE:

~ Monday, 25 April 2011, 2359 hours  and all entries will be compiled and posted on 30th April 2011.

Nestle MILO 3-in-1 Easy Cool

Making a glass of icy cold MILO is always one of the idea beverage which is refreshing and thirst-quenching in our hot and humid climate. Recently Nestle Singapore has launches a brand new product known as MILO Easy Cool where you no longer need to prepare cold MILO in the traditional way of mixing a hot cup of milo with ice cubes or cold water.

Now no matter where you are, either at home, office or school you can always enjoy cold MILO at any time of the day with little hassle. Just take a sachet of the MILO Easy Cool, add it into cold water and within a few seconds you will be able to enjoy a glass of flavourful icy beverage just like those available from  the old school days Milo truck.

Also for quick and easy way of making this icy MILO Nestle has bundled a free cooler bottle which you can freeze the core and insert it into the prepared MILO drink which will makes your beverage cool within 2 - 3 minutes. This is indeed a good thoughts rather than adding icing cubes which might dilute the taste of the MILO, but if you can't get hold of this free cooler bottle you can still make  the drinks using cold water striaght from the refrigerate. 

This new MILO Easy Cool is also endorsed by the Singpapore Health Promotuon Board's Healthier Choice Symbol with healthy goodness such as: Actigen-E, ProtoMalt, Vitamin C and Calcium etc. You can easily purchase these at all leading supermarkets such as FairPrice, Cold Storage, Shop N Save, Giant, Carrefour and Sheng Siong at a retailed price of S$5.95 per packet of 15 sachets.