Friday 10 December 2010

CP Food's Latest "Chicky" Products

Recently I have shared post on how to use some CP Thai Shrimp Cake to prepare 4 quick and easy finger food and one dish meal recipes. If you are interested to read more about this releated post, you can the link HERE. As for this post I would once again loves to share with you some simple ways of preparing different type of CP Chicken Products in less than 30 minutes.

These are the colleage photos of the ingredients and steps to prepare the "Claypot Chicken Rice".

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
6 - 8 Pieces of CP Charcoal-Grilled Chicken
160g (1 Rice Cooker Cup) Uncook Rice
320ml Water
Some Baby Bok Choy
1 Egg, optional
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
Dried Shallot and Chopped Spring Onion for Garnishing

Method:
1.Rinse the uncooked rice with tap water for a few rounds, drained well and add in suitable amount of water to cook the rice.
2. Place the claypot with rice over the stove, bring it to boil and low the heat to simmer the mixture till the water is half way dried off.
3. Next place the frozen CP Charcoal-Grilled Chicken starts from the middle and some baby bok choy along  the side.
4. Use can use two leaves from the bok choy to act as a base to support the egg before cracking it onto the rice.
5. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of sesame oil over the top of the vegetable and egg then cover and let it continue to simmer on very low heat for about 5 - 7 minutes till the chicken is heat through and egg is half way cooked.
6. Serve warm with dried shallot, chopped spring onion and drizzle of dark soy sauce according to your preference.

Note:-
~ You can also cook this dish using rice cooker. Just cook the rice as per usual then place the ingredient on top of the half-way cooked through mixture and let it cook and keep warm the the chicken is warm through.


This soft and tender CP Charcoal-Grilled Chicken is marinated in a distinctive Japanese-style sauce and slowly grilled over real charcoal fire. These pieces of charcoal grilled chicken is made using quality chicken leg meat that contins 0 Trans Fat and most important fact it contain no preservatives which most parents like us concern of.

This is one of our quick and easy one-dish meal for lunch busy busy weekends where my kid needs to rush for enrichment classes or when I am too lazy to cook 2 - 3 courses meal. So with a pack of these delicious and charcoal-grilled chicken you can either use it for making claypot rice like me or, microwave it till done and served with blanched noodles will be a great deal too.

This small bite-size CP Chicken Cake makes a great finger food for parties or gatherings which is easier for the guest to pick up and go. The ingredients of these chicken cakes consists of minced chicken meat and corn bits as well as some stands of vermicelli for extra crunch. You can either deep-fried, oven toast or microwave it but for me I prefer pan-fried which used lesser oil but it would give it a nice golden coating.

To have something refreshing to go with the Chicken Cake I came out with some "Century Egg Salad" which goes pretty well with it.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
1 Century Egg, cut into small cubes
2 Small Shallot, thinly sliced
1 Small Red Chilli, roughly chopped
1 Medium Tomato, cut into small cubes
1/4 Japanese Cucumber, cut into small cubes
1/2 Tablespoon Frozen/Fresh Corn Kernels, optional
1 Teaspoon of Oil

Method:
1. Preheat a small saucepan with 1 teaspoon of oil and sauté the sliced shallot and chopped chilli till fragrant.
2. Toss in all the rest of the ingredients and give it a quick stir to heat them through.
3. Remove from heat and serve warm together with the Chicken Cakes.


Do you like fried chicken? I am sure most of you would rise up your hands and say yes. There are so many fried chicken fast food outlets around such as "KFC", "Wendy", "Popeye Chicken" and etc. But what about those frozen Fried Chicken that available in the local supermarkets, have you ever tried them before? Here, I have use the CP Fried Chicken (Original Flavour) to prepare this cute little "Chicky Bento" which I personally think that these fried chicken pieces taste just as good as those selling in the fast food outlets. For more details about this Chicky Bento, do check back for the upcoming recipe soon.


Thursday 9 December 2010

Fat Boy's The Burger Bar

FATBOY'S - The Burger Bar is a burger place in town that serves appetizers, sandwiches, burgers, milkshakes, floats, beers and etc. It has two branches which one located at Upper Thomson and the other at Mohamed Sultan. The outlet at Thomson normally opens from late afternoon till midnight during weekdays and noon onwards on Friday till Sunday. With its visible location along Upper Thomson Road this outlet do draws quite a number of crowds during evening time where patrons gets to enjoy the meal and some chill out with their wide range of beverages.

The concept of the outlet is design with black and white layout that pairs with high bar tables and chairs on right side and picnic benches on the left.

  And like most of the burger restaurants in Singapore, you can always find a "Giant" menu near the entrance showcasing some of their speciality items. 

  The soup of the day was "Cream of Carrot" during our visit. After about  5- 8 minutes of waiting time, the soup is served in a quite decent size of portion for one for its' price. But the taste of it was kind of dilute and we think this can be better compared to the current quality.
Price: S$5.00 per bowl

From the menu we ordered two different types of burger which is the B.O.D (Burger of the Day) that happens to be "Bolly Wooly".  This burger is made up with juicy lamb patty that served with lots of  lettuce and tomato together with smooth layer of homemade curry remoulade and topped with mango chutney.
Price: S$11.50 per plate

All these yummy fillings are sandwiched together with homemade Honey Oat Bun and some thick slabs of French Fries. The lamb patty taste pretty good with its' right texture and seasoning and it goes well with the curry remoulade too.

Next we have "Salmon Says" where the grilled salamon patty was topped with guacamole (avocado-based dip) and cheddar cheese on whole wheat bun.
Price: S$12.00 per plate

As usual each set of burger serves with extra lettuce and thick slabs of fries as sides. Compared to the lamb patty, the salmon patty was kind of sad to be say as on the downside as we felt that the guacamole was rather a bit sour and it does not blend well with the salmon patty.


So next round when your drop by along Upper Thomson Road, instead of having Chicken Rice or Char Kway Tiao at the Longhouse Coffee Shop perhaps you can consider this for a chance. I am sure the huge portion will be able to fill your hungry appetite.

FATBOY's The Burger Bar
187 Upper Thomson Road
Singapore 574335
Telephone: +65 6252 8787
Website: http://www.fatboys.sg/

Opening Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 4.00pm - 12.00am
Friday, Satursday, Sunday and Public Holiday: 12.00pm - 12.00am


Wednesday 8 December 2010

Gingerbread Men

If you love food and cooking as much as I do, then I bet you enjoy Christmas time, too. What could be better than spending time with loved ones over delicious meals and bakes. This year I have invited a few blogger friends to guest post some lovely Christmas dishes together with what I prepared in order to bring up some excitement atmosphere for coming Christmas season.

How could Christmas do without these lovely Gingerbread Men. I am sure most of us are familiar with the popular nursery rhyme where the story mentioned about an old couple whom baked a "Gingerbread Man" that became alive. So whenever during Christmas season while we are baking these lovely cookies, my boy would always asked me whether those "gingerbread men" that he made would be jumping out of the oven?

These are some collage photos of the ingredients and steps on making these lovely bakes.

Ingredients (makes 8)
60g Butter, soften
65g (1/3 Cup) Brown Sugar
30ml Maple Syrup
1/2 Egg, lightly beaten
155g (1 1/4 Cups) Plain Flour
1/4 Teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
1/2 Tablespoon Mixed Spices

For Icing:
150g (1 Cup) White Chocolate Melts
Silver Cachous, to decorate
Christmas Sprinkes, to decorate
Food Colouring, optional


Note:-
~ You can omit adding of mixed spices to this recipe if you/your kids do not like the aroma/taste of it.

~ Replacement of Maple Syrup with Honey can be done in this recipe too.



These lovely bakes are pretty easy to be made except you would need to put the soft dough into the refrigerate for at least an hour or until firm to cut. And remember you have to work fast on the dough during hot/humid weather as it tends to be soften easily and the cutout shapes would be effected. (If dough starts to get sticky, put back to the fridge for another 5 - 8 minutes before continue with it for easier cutout of shapes)

Method:
1. Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add maple syrup and egg then continue to beat till combined.
2. Sift flour, bicarbonate of soda and mixed spices over butter mixture. Using a wooden spoon, stir until just combined to form a soft dough.
3. Place dough on a lightly floured surface, knead gentle until smooth.
4. Flatten it slightly between two sheet of baking paper and keep it in the fridge for about 1 hour or till firm.
5. Preheat oven to 170 degree and line baking tray(s) with baking paper, roll dough between 2 sheets of baking paper until 0.5cm thick.
6. Using a 6.5cm wide and 7.5cm long (or any medium size) gingerbread man cutter, cut shapes from dough.
7. Re-roll dough scraps and continue to cut shapes till dough is used up. Place the cut dough about 2 cm apart, on prepared tray(s).
8. Bake 1 tray at a time for 20 minutes or until firm to tough. Stand on tray(s) for 5 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack to cool completely.

For Decoration:
1. Place white chocolate melts in a heatproof microwave-safe bowl, microwave it on MEDIUM-HIGH for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds till smooth.
2. Spoon 1/2 tablespoon each time into small plastic bag, snip off 1 corner and pipe faces and buttons onto gingerbread men.
3. Decorate the buttons with cachous and or other Christmas decoration sprinkes.
4. For colour icing, you can mixed a drop or two of the desire colour(s) into small amount of melted chocolate, stir till combined and use accordingly.
5. Set aside the completed gingerbread men to set before storing them in air-tight container.

So if you are looking for some quick and easy FUN bake to do with your kid(s) during this festive season perhaps you can consider this “Gingerbread Men”. I am sure your kid(s) would like the process of stirring, rolling, cutting as much as the finally decoration touch up. Have fun everyone!

And now I am submitting this post to "Aspiring Bakers #2: Christmas! (Dec 2010)", hosted by Passionate About Baking at this link HERE.


Tuesday 7 December 2010

Scramble Egg Whites with Seafood

This stir-fried Egg Whites dish is also know as "芙蓉赛螃蟹" in Mandarin, which is a very popular dish in the Qing Dynasty. According to legend one day Empress Dowager Cixi suddenly want to eat crab but due to the long traveling journey to and from the ocean they could have get the crab in time to prepare this dish. So the chef has no choice but to use egg whites to imitate a similar “crab” dish for her. Surprisingly Empress Dowager loved this dish very much and it became a famous dish that is pass down till now.

My first experience with this dish is during my food tasting at Eastern Restaurant early this month. We have this dish called “Fu Rong Special Scramble Egg (芙蓉赛螃蟹)” which you might be interested to read more about it HERE. So after trying out this dish I am very excited to replicate it at home because I love its’ smooth and delicate texture that is great for both kids and folks.

The first trial on this "Stir-fried Egg Whites with Shrimps" is not a total success as we find the overall dish a bit too wet and the texture of the egg whites seems to be overcooked. So after some run-through I think the problem might be due to the amount of liquid used (stock and fresh milk) or the size of the eggs. So after amendment to this recipe, I came out with another modify version using salmon and the end result is much better compared to this. You can take a look of the recipe below and compare the texture of these two versions, maybe you could come out something even better than my version.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
3 Egg Whites
1 Egg Yolk
150ml Stock
150ml Fresh Milk
8 Shrimps, shelled and deveined
4 Pieces Imitation Crabstick, cut into portion
1 Tablespoon Green Peas
1.5 Tablespoons of Oil
Some lettuce leaves

. The collage photos show the ingredients and steps on preparing this "Stir-fried Egg Whites with Shrimps":-

Method:
1. Bring a pot of water to boil, add in the shelled and deveined shrimps and cook it over medium heat for about 1 minute or so till the prawn turns pink and curl up. Remove and rinse them in cold water and set aside.
2. Preheat the wok with drizzle of oil then saute the crabstick and green peas for 1 minute and removed.
3. Now whisk the egg whites with a pair of chopsticks (for the 1st recipe I have actually over beat it foamy) for a few times then whisk in the fresh milk and chicken stock till well mixed.
4. Next rinse the wok and wipe it dry with kitchen paper towel and heat it up using 1½ tablespoon of oil.
5. Slowly pour in the egg whites mixture and stir using a spatula till the mixture became to bind together like a scramble egg texture. (this method with more water mixture will cause the egg to be more watery)
6. Lastly stir in the cooked shrimps, crabsticks and green peas and give it a quick stir before dishing it up and place on top of some lettuce leaves.
7. Arrange the raw egg yolk on top of the egg whites mixture and served hot.


This is another similar version of the stir-fried scramble egg whites which is shown above. For this improved version, I used only 150ml of fresh milk and omit the chicken stock from the ingredient list. With some read up of different related recipes from the websites, I decide to try the method of not over whisking the egg whites in order to retain it’s shapes while cooking. Below are the ingredients for this “Stir-fried Egg Whites with Salmon Cubes”.

Ingredients: (serves 2)
3 Egg Whites
1 Egg Yolk
150ml Fresh Milk
100g Salmon, cut into cubes
1.5 Tablespoons of Oil
1 Bunch of Spinach, cut into sections
1 Teaspoon of Minced Garlic
2 Slices of Ginger
1/2 Tablespoon Oil

In order to bring in some colours and texture to this dish, I have added the stir-fried spinach at the bottom to serve it as a base for the egg whites mixture. Here are the steps to prepare this dish:-

Method:
1. Trim and cut the spinach into sections rinse it in a basin of water for at least 2 - 3 times to remove the dirt and soiled in it.
2. When done remove and drain well 5 minutes prior cooking time.
3. Preheat the wok with 1/2 tablespoon of oil; saute the minced garlic together with ginger slices till fragrant before adding it the drained spinach.
4. Give it a quick stir and continue to fry for about 1 minute or so until the leaves begin to wilt.
5. Lightly season it with some salt, remove arrange it in the middle of the serving plate.
6. Now lightly whisk the egg whites with a pair of chopsticks (do not over beat it until foamy) for a few times then slowly whisk in the fresh milk till well mixed.
6. Next rinse the wok and wipe it dry with kitchen paper towel before adding 1/2 tablespoon of oil to pan-fried the salmon cubes till slightly brown in colour, remove and set side to drain well.

8. Lastly stir in the cooked salmon cubes and give it a quick stir before dishing it up and place on top of the cooked spinach.
9. Arrange the raw egg yolk on top of the egg whites mixture and served hot.

Note:-
~ Remember not to over beat the egg whites mixture till foamy or else the scramble egg white will not form its' shape.
~ Before eating you have to mix in the raw egg yolk with the hot mixture and serve immediately.


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