Stir-fry Cabbage With Golden Mushroom & Woodear

Woodear is a type of mushroom that resembles a large ear when it is fresh and grows as large as half a foot. The surface of the mushroom is purplish-gray in color and the flesh is a dark purplish gray to almost black in color. They have a slightly crunchy texture and delicate, almost bland flavor that more often than not absorbs the taste of any strongly flavored ingredients with which they are cooked. They have both fresh and dried wood ears sold in the supermarket, the dried one usually look like brownish-black, dried chips. Upon soaking in water it might increase 5 to 6 times in size and resemble the shape of an ear. Wood ears are mainly popular in stir-fries and soups.


Saw a few kinds of mushrooms on sales from the local supermarket. So I decided to grab hold of 1 packet of Fresh Woodear and 1 packet of Korean Golden Mushroom. I found that the Golden Mushroom was very special, it's kind of like the normal Enokitake(金针菇), but in shorter and brown in colour. My son said it looks like little matchsticks.

Ingredients:
1/2 Small Beijing Cabbage(北京包菜)
1 Packet Korean Golden Mushroom
2 Pieces of Fresh Woodear(黑木耳), cut into thin strips
1 Small Carrot, cut into thin slices
2 Slices Of Fresh Ginger
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce

Methods:
1. Cut the cabbage into bite size then soak in water for about 5 minutes, rinse and set aside.
2. Cut the stalk off from the golden mushroom, rinse in water, drain and set aside.
3. Preheat the pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, saute the ginger until fragrant then add in the cabbage and carrot.
4. Stir-fry for a few minutes then add in the woodear and oyster sauce, stir for another few second then add 100ml water.
5. Cover and let it simmer on medium low heat for 5 minutes then add in all the mushroom and cover, continue to simmer for another 3 minutes.
6. Slowly add in some cornstarch water to thicken the sauce then dish and serve.(you might not need all the water, just add till the sauce is thicken)

Notes:
a) You can also used dried woodear if you prefer.
b) Cornstarch mixture = 1/2 Tablespoon Potato/Cornstarch mix with 2 Tablespoons Of water.

Bread Fritter Stuffed With Banana & Chocolate

Saw this interesting recipe from one of the Food Magazine which I bought recently. It actually wrapped banana with chocolate with bread then deep-frying it.


To my surprised it doesn't really taste as sweet as I thought maybe because I used dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. My son and I love the combination of banana with chocolate it's really another new way to serve bread as breakfast or afternoon tea snack.

Ingredients:
4 Slices Of White Bread
1 or 2 Banana
40g Chocolate Of Your Choice
2 Eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence, optional
Cornstarch for Dusting
Oil For Deep-frying

Methods:
1. Trim away sides of each sliced bread and flatten slightly with a rolling pin.
2. Peel and halve banana lengthwise to suit the size of the bread slice.
3. Roughly chop chocolate into fine pieces and set aside.
4. In a bowl, mix eggs with vanilla essence.
5. Dip each bread into egg mixture, ad place a slice of banana on one end then sprinkle some chopped chocolate on the banana.
6. Roll up the bread into a tight roll.
7. Dust with cornstarch and deep-fry till golden.
8. Drain on paper towel and cut it into half before serving.

Notes:
a) You can used any choice of bread that you prefer.
b) I used Dark Chocolate with almond.
c) You can serve the bread fritter with cut fruit or dust with some icing sugar.

Ginseng Black Chicken Soup

Feel like having some nutrition soup for this week as so happen Tracy was visiting me so I thought maybe can double boiled this soup and spilt half with her. Since only the adult prefer the Ginseng taste rather than the kid, I guess it's a good way to share in order to finish the soup :)


The Main ingredients used are small Ginseng Root and Black Chicken together with some other herbs to improve and strengthen the lungs and blood circulation. If you want to know more on what's the function and usage of each herbs, you can refer to the Basic Chinese Herbs I and Basic Chinese Herbs II links.

Ingredients:
1 Small Black Chicken,黑鸡
3-4 Gingseng Roots, 小人参
4 Slices Of Dang Gui, 当归片
4 Slices Of Huai Shan, 淮山片
1 Slices Of BeiQi, 北耆
1-2 Piece of Dang Shen(当参), cut into smaller pieces
6 Red Dates, 红枣
1 Tablespoon Gou Qizi, 枸杞子
10-12 Dried Lotus Seeds, 莲子
5g Dried Longan, 龙眼干

Methods:
1. Wash, trim and remove the skin and fats from the chicken. Cut the chicken into 3 - 4 large sections and blanch in boiling water then rinse and set aside.
2. Rinse all the dried herbs and set aside.
3. Soak the dried lotus seeds in hot water for a few minutes or till soft then remove all the pits in in to prevent it from bitter.
4. Bring a pot of 1.2 Litres of Water to boil then add in all the ingredients and bring to boil again.
5. Transfer all to a slow cooker and simmer on Auto for about 3 Hours.
6. Season the soup with salt if you prefer and serve warm.

Notes:
a) You can used normal free range chicken instead of black chicken if you prefer.

Chocolate Mint Cake With Fudge Topping

The 1st time I saw this Chocolate Mint Cake was in Taste Goblet blogsite. I was capture by the wonderful jade green colour and chocolate swirl design. The original recipe was from Aunty Yochana's blogsite where you can find the recipe.


I made this cake in smaller muffin size version instead of the 8" cake tin size used in the original recipe because I found it easier to do the fudge topping and it's kid's friendly to. I just need to give one serving portion to whoever that want to eat without cutting it into slices.... :) Lazy way of serving........

Reyon really enjoys every of our baking session. He loves to help me whip and beat up those necessary ingredients or help up in the stirring part when i pour in the Cocoa Powder or Milk. Guess very soon I can sit and relax while waiting for him to whip me some nice cookies or cake....... :)

I can't find any decent looking strawberries around in the supermarket so I melt some white chocolate to decorate the Chocolate Fudge Topping. As for the mini muffin, I sprinkle some colourful stars for my little Darling Reyon.

Sushi Chee Cheong Fun

This Sushi Chee Cheong Fun recipe had being sitting in my list to-make for a very long time. Then only till today I had the chance to grab hold the ingredients to make this light and health snack. But actually I also tried this snack in one of the Food Court vegetarian stall but the ingredients used was different from what mention below.


The main ingredients will be the Fresh Chee Cheong Fun which you can get hold from the supermarket or any bean sprout stall in the wet market. You can wrap it with any ingredients you prefer to suit your preference.

Ingredients:
2 Fresh Chee Cheong Fun Roll
2 Nori Sheet(use for sushi)
1 Japanese Cucumber, cut into long strips
1 Medium Carrot, shredded into long strips
2 Hard Boiled Egg, mashed into crumbs
4 - 5 Tablespoons Of Pork Floss
Some Mayonnaise Cream

Methods:
1) Slowly un-wrap the fresh chee cheong fun into a flat sheet.
2) Top it with a Nori Sheet then place the shredded carrot at the end towards you.
3) Add the cucumber strips, scatter the egg crumbs and pork floss evenly then drizzle with mayonnaise cream.(i use the Japanese style mayonnaise cream)
4) Slowly fold up the end that is towards you and hold on it firmly and roll it forward like making swiss roll.
5) Secure it tightly then cut it into serving size like sushi and serve with extra mayonnaise cream if prefer.

Note:
a) You can reheat the chee cheong fun by steaming it for a few minutes then un-wrap to use if you bought it a day before or you prefer to the sushi warm.
b) You can used any ingredients you prefer like: Shredded cooked chicken meat, tuna, prawn, crab meat or etc.

Sticky Glutinous Rice With Mango

Sticky Glutinous Rice With Fresh Mango(Kha Neo Ma Muang) is a marketplace favorite that is not to be missed when you visit any of the Thailand restaurant or food stall. The rice which is fragrant and soft taste sweet together with the aroma of coconut milk and fresh Mango slices.


Ingredients:
200g Glutinous Rice
150ml Fresh Or Can Coconut
2 Tablespoons Of Sugar
1 Ripe Sweet Mango

Serving Sauce:
125ml Coconut Milk
1/4 Teaspoon Of Salt

Methods:
1) Rinse the rice and soak at least 6 hours or overnight.
2) Drain the rice and steam for about 20 minutes, stir in the coconut milk with sugar and continue to steam for another 25 minutes or until rice is soft.
3) Cover and set the rice aside for 5 minutes then mould it into individual ramekins or mousse ring then cool it to room temperature.
4) Un-mould it on plate and serve it with Fresh Mango Slices and Coconut Sauce.

Notes:a) For the Coconut sauce, mix everything in a heat proof bowl and microwave on Medium Heat for 30 second or until just warm.

Stir-Fry Doufu With Egg

I saw a similar dish on TV show recently while they fry egg with doufu. So I decided to give it a try with whatever ingredients I can find in my fridge.


Other than the Main Ingredients like Doufu and Eggs, I added in shredded carrot, chopped spring onion and pork minced. Guess I am too greedy with the doufu as I used up the whole box with only two egg so it doesn't bind everything together like a omelet. But overall I still like this Doufu with Egg dish as it's light and simple with all the nutrition in it..... :)
Ingredients:
1/2 - 1 Box Of Silken Doufu
2 - 3 Eggs, beaten
100g Pork Mince
1 Small Carrot, shredded
1 Sprig Of Spring Onion, finely chopped

Methods:
1. Marinate the pork mince with some pepper, sesame oil and light soya sauce for about 5 - 10 minutes.
2. Cut the doufu into small or large cubes depend on your preference. (i cut mine into small cubes)
3. Add about 1 tablespoon of oil in a preheat pan, stir-fry the pork mince till almost done then add in the shredded carrot and spring onion.
4. Fry till fragrant then add in the doufu and stir till combine.
5. Slowly pour in the beaten egg and swirl around the pan to form an omelet.
6. Fry till egg and meat is cooked thru, dish up and serve.

Notes:
a) You can used those egg doufu in tube form instead of the box.
b) The number of eggs used depend on the amount of doufu used.

Colourful Minature Tang Yuan

Wow! When you look at these I am sure you will be wondering what is these? Can these be eaten? This is actually our traditional no filling Tang Yuan which came in White and Pink in colour. But then my dear friend Tracy was telling that to make it more colourful for kids. So I also decided to make some colourful dough and do it with my dear reyon.


The dough is pretty easy to prepare as you only need to add colour water to the glutinous rice flour and stir well to become a dough. I made very little tang yuan which sort of like the size of a marble or slightly bigger so that you will feel like eating more of the wonderful colours.

I also pre-boiled a pot of Red Date Longan Water with extra Ginkgo Nuts to go with the boiled tang yuan. These are really an easy to made dessert with kids and I am sure they will enjoy both making and eating it.....

Ingredients:
50g Glutinous Rice Flour, 糯米粉
1 Teaspoon Potato Starch, 生粉
45-50ml Water + Food Colouring

Methods:
1. Place the flour and potato starch in a mixing bowl, slowly add in colouring water.
2. Stir with a chopstick and knead into a smooth dough.
3. Pinch a bit of the dough and roll it into round shape according to the size that you prefer.

Note:
a) You just repeat with the above steps with different colour or favour water to make the colour dough.

Assorted Favour Jellies

First of all I would like to thank one of my good blogger friend Tracy for contributing two of her new creations to this blog. She is someone who loves all kinds of dessert and she is very innovative in creating her very own dessert using whatever ingredients she can find in her kitchen pantry. Like from those Assorted Agar Agar you can see she actually takes the time to boil the Dried Longan with Peng Da Hai to make the Ching Teng Favour. I can said, when comes to dessert Tracy really gives me a lot of wonderful ideas. Thank Pal for all the ideas and support.

The word agar comes from the Malay word agar-agar (meaning jelly). Agar is usually sold as packaged strips of washed and dried seaweed, or in powdered form. Raw agar is white and semi-translucent. For making jelly, it is boiled in water at until the solids dissolve, after which sweeteners, flavoring, coloring, and pieces of fruit may be added. The agar-agar may then be poured into molds or incorporated into other desserts, such as a jelly layer on a cake.



Japanese konnyaku jelly is made by mixing konnyaku flour with water and limewater. Without additives for color, konnyaku is pale white. It is then boiled and cooled to solidify. Konnyaku has almost no calories but is very high in fiber. Thus, it is often used as a diet food.

This Dried Fruits Konnyaku Jelly is something that is interesting from her. Because usually we add can mixed fruits or fresh fruit in it, I had never eaten this type of jellies with dried fruits added. So I am actually very keen on trying out the Sour Plum Favour type. So I am going to look for a suitable Sour Plum from Umeya to test this out. According to her, you just need to cut the dried fruits into smaller pieces then put into the jelly mould and cook the konnyaku according to packet instruction and pour into the mould set it in the fridge when cool over night or for a few hours to let the favour developed.

Ginger Milk Custard

Those who like to have a bowl of dessert after meal might had already known this simple homemade dessert. It's a very famous HK sytle dessert which is pretty easy to make. You only require simple ingredients like Fresh Milk, Ginger Juice & Sugar.


Since today I had an early dinner, I decided to whip up a one person share portion for this dessert. You can make it into small tea cup size or small soup bowl that suits your own liking.

Ingredients:(serve 1 or 2)
140ml Full/Low Fat Fresh Milk
1/2 Tablespoon Fresh Grated Ginger Juice
1/2 Tablespoon Sugar

Methods:
1. Bring the milk to the boil, reduce to low heat, add in sugar and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.
2. Set aside for a while(about 2-3 minutes).
3. Pour the milk between 2 cups for about 10 times.
4. Put ginger juice into bowl or tea cups then pour in the milk from about 8" height over the bowl.
5. Do not jiggle the content until it set(about 5 to 10 minutes, depend on it's size).

Notes:
a) Bring the milk to the boil first before reducing to low heat. This makes it more thickened and easier to set.

Pandan Butter Cake

Saw this interesting cake from one of my blogger's friend Angie's "My Kitchen:My Laboratory" blog. I was captured by that lovely jade green of her Pandan Butter Cake.


This cake is so different from our usual Asian Pandan Cake which require Coconut Milk/Cream as one of the Main Ingredients. In her recipe, she replace the coconut milk with plain unsweetened yogurts which make it much healthier. So I suggest for those who likes pandan cake but afraid of the coconut milk content, you should give this recipe a try.

It's really something different from an afternoon tea-break. The colour of my cake is slightly darker than her because it add in a bit more pandan essence colouring to make it more greener. :)

Yam Paste With Pumpkin & Ginkgo Nuts

Or Nee(Yam Paste With Gingko Nuts) is a must dessert for Teochew People during the Chinese New Year. So this year I decided to make some of this to share with my friends who came over for New Year gathering.


I cook and mashed the yam then stir-fry it with oil and top with Mashed Pumpkin, grated water chestnut, sugar ginkgo nuts and drizzle with some coconut cream.

Ingredients:
500g Skinned Yam, cubed
50-60g Caster Sugar
30ml Vegetable/Fried Shallot Oil

Methods:
1. Steam yam for 30 minutes or until soften before mashing.
2. Heat oil in a wok, then add mashed yam and sugar.
3. Stir well and cook over low heat until not sticky.

Topping:
20-25 Vacuum Pack Gingko Nuts
1 Tablespoon Caster Sugar
2 Water Chestnuts, grated
100g - 150g Skinned Pumpkin, cubes
1 1/2 Tablespoons Coconut Cream

Methods:
1. Wash and pat dry the gingko nuts then marinate it with 1 tablespoon of caster sugar for about 10 minutes.
2. Steam the pumpkin cubes over medium heat for about 15 - 20 minutes until soft then mash it using a fork and set aside.
3. Scoop cooked yam paste into a bowl or plate with depth then arrange the sugar gingko nut around it and place the mashed pumpkin in the middle and top with grated water chestnut.
4. Steam it for 15 minutes then drizzle the coconut cream on top and steam for another 5 minutes on medium heat.
5. Serve either hot or warm.

Notes:
a) If you prefer sweet taste then add more sugar or else you can reduce the sugar amount.
b) You can either used those vacuum pack gingko nuts found in leading supermarket or you can used those dried type one.
c) You can omit the pumpkin and water chestnut if you don't prefer them.

Ikan Bilis Yong Dao Fu

Have you ever tried the "Xiu Ji Ikan Bilis Yong Tau Fu( 秀记江鱼仔酿豆腐)" which located at #02-220/1 Chinatown Complex, Blk 335 Smith Street? The food is served in two bowls , one bowl containing six pieces of niang tou fu consisting 3 pcs of fishball , 1 pc tou fu , 1 pc tow pok and a mini ngoh hiang , all freshly steamed at the stall daily except for the ngoh hiang (fried ) in a ikan billis based soup . The other bowl will be your choice of noodle , kway-teow or bee hoon served dry with deep fried ikan billis topping with minimal oil . The chilli is grinded in heavy garlic served in a dish . All these for a mere S$ 2.00 . Give it a TRY .