Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup - 参鸡汤

Ginseng Chicken Soup(参鸡汤) or Samgyetang in Korea translation is a traditional soup served in the summer to replace nutrients lost through excessive sweating and physical exertion during the hot summers in Korea. And the main ingredients of this soup is using whole young chicken, glutinous rice, Korean ginseng, red dates, garlic, ginseng and perhaps some herbs like wolfberries and dang gui.

  But here I am sharing with you another light and simple version using only whole chicken, ginseng, glutinous rice and red dates which is good enough to produce a pot of delicious and nutritious ginseng chicken soup.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 4)

1 Medium Size Chicken, about 1 – 1.2kg
¼ Cup of Glutinous Rice
4 – 5 Soup Ginseng Roots
4 – 6 Red Dates
1.2 Litre of Boiling Water
1 Stalk of Spring Onion, sliced
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Method:

1. Soak 1/4 cup of sweet rice for 1 hour.

2. Wash and rinse your chicken in cold running water, trim the extra fats, emptied and cleaned the cavity, removed the head, neck and feet.

3. Bring a big pot of water to boil, blanched the whole clean chicken in boiling water for about 3 – 5 minutes. (flipped at least once)

4. Removed and rinse over cold running water for 20 seconds and set aside.

5. Next stuff the chicken with the soaked glutinous rice, 2 – 3 ginseng root and half of the red dates then place the chicken in the empty soup pot. (I used a big claypot for this)

6. Slowly add in boiling water on the side of the chicken till it cover almost ¾ or more more of the chicken and let soup comes to bring over medium heat.

7. When the soup starts boiling, skim off any foam and fat that rises to the surface. Add in the rest of the Ginseng Root and red dates, low the heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. (I simmer mine for about 1½ hours on very low heat)

8. Serve it with salt, freshly ground pepper and chopped spring onion.

Note:-

~ Depending on the size of the chicken you might even need to simmer the soup for more than an hour in order for the chicken to cooked through.

~ If you do not have any Korean Ginseng, you could always used any soup ginseng root that can be easily purchased from any Chinese Medical Shop. I bought mine from ZTP at around S$6.00 for 5 stalks of dried ginseng.

This is what we have for dinner after 1.5 hours of simmering over very hot heat on the stove. The minute you opened the cover the room would be filled with the fragrant aroma of the ginseng and each mouthful of soup is infuse with the sweet flavour that is disperse from the ingredients used. Do give this a try during cold and rainy days and it will definitely makes a great dish.

Poached Prawns in Young Coconut Juice

Prawns are very versatile ingredients that could be used in different way of cooking methods such as deep-fried, steamed, grilled and etc. In Singapore the common way of eating live prawns would be steaming it with minced garlic or poached in cooking wine or herbs. But In Vietnam culinary this Poached Prawns in Coconut Juice (Tom Hap Nuoc Dua) is one of their common way of cooking live prawn which you could easily find in their ordering menu.

In Vietnam they usually used live river prawns for this dish and it is steamed in young coconut juice which is very simple and easy to be prepared.  And by soaking the prawns into the coconut juice it would also increases the sweet and delicious flavour of the dish. But for this recipe I trying using frozen prawns instead of fresh live prawns and it taste just as good as it is too.

Ingredients: (Serves 2 - 3)

1 Young Coconut
10 - 12 Medium Prawns

Dipping Sauces:
1 - 2 Small Red/Green Chilies, sliced
1 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
1 Tablespoon Fresh Thai Lime Juice
1/2 Tablespoon of Drinking Water

Method:

1. Mix all the dipping sauce ingredients together and set aside for use.


These are some of the collage photos of the ingredients and preparation steps for this dish.

Method:
1. Slowly cut and remove the lid of the young coconut and pour the juice into a small saucepan. Set aside.
2. Next use a spoon carefully scrap down the flesh from the side of the shell and leave the flesh in it.
3. Bring the pot of coconut juice to boil on low heat while trimming get ready the prawns for cooking.
4. When the coconut juice comes to boil, add  in half of the prawns and let it simmer on medium heat for about 2 minutes or so till the prawns are cooked through.
5. Removed prawns on plate and repeat the 2nd batch of prawns.
6. After all the prawns are done, pour the coconut juice back into the shell and place the cooked prawns hanging around the top of the shell. (refer to the photo above)
7. Served immediately with dipping sauce.


With Chinese New Year around the corner and the increasing of seafood prices during pre-festive season perhaps you can consider getting a box of this new CP Frozen Raw Head-On Shell-On Shrimp. It is packed using only the fresh and superior quality of live shrimps that are flash-frozen to a temperature lower than -18 degree for safety consuming.
Retail Price: S$6.95 per box (about 20 - 25 Size L Prawns)


Even though I used frozen prawns for this recipe but surprisingly the end-result still turns out well too. The prawns are crunchy when bites and the sweetness and aroma of the young coconut juice definitely brings up the taste of this dish. Just to share in  Vietnam culture they only dipped the prawns in the coconut juice without drinking the soup but for me I think the juice itself is rather fragrant and with that extra sweetness from the cooked prawns. I think perhaps by adding some cooked rice vermicelli this could turn out to be a great one dish meal too.

Hong Kong Sun Kee Vs Dessert Story

Recently with a few newly renovated shopping malls and the new launched of NEX and Bedok Point around matured HDB area it seems that you can easily spot one or two Asian dessert stall in any of the malls. For instant the new "Hong Kong Sun Kee Dessert" has already set their foot on NEX and Bedok Point to capture the hearts of the patrons with their unique Desserts and Wanton Noodles.

HONG KONG SUN KEE DESSERT - 香港生记

  Upon Opening Promotion Sun Kee is having a great S$2.00 deal for the well-known "Mango Pomelo Sago - 杨枝甘露" dessert at their NEX and Bedok Point outlets. So if you are a fan of Mango Pomelo you must not missed out their special promotion that is valid for both dine-in and take away in these two specify outlets.

Since last week we are at the newly open Bedok Point we decided to drop by Sun Kee and try out some of their desserts which I have read some good feedback on. The first dessert to serve is "Lemongrass Jelly with Mango and Black Pearls - 柠檬草王子". The lemongrass jelly is very smooth till can  be wobble down your throat leaving a light lemongrass scent. In the bowl you could also find generous amount of chewy black pearl and fresh mango cubes that makes different texture and taste.
Price: S$3.80 per bowl

I am sure most of you have eaten black glutinous rice with coconut milk (Pulut Hitam) which is a common dessert found in Singapore. But this "Black Glutinous Rice Ball on Coconut Milk and Mango Puree - 芒椰糯米球" found in HK Sun Kee is rather different. The black glutinous rice ball is sitting on top of the mango ice together with cubes of fresh mango and good amount of coconut milk to enhance the taste. Overall this is quite an interesting combination but we feel that the glutinous rice ball was kind of too dry and the grains is more on the hard texture side rather than soft and sticky.
Price: S$5.30 per bowl

This is their S$2.00 promotion item known as "Mango Pomelo Sago - 杨枝甘露". The combination of mango puree with small sago pearl goes well with the juicy pomelo topping which makes this a great tropical dessert during hot days or after meal.
Opening Promotion: S$2.00 per bowl (Usual Price: S$4.80 per bowl)

As for snack we are caught between the choice from Osmanthus Jelly, Custard Bun and this "Water Chestnut Cake - 马蹄糕". But guess we finally settle for this pan-fried water chestnut cake which taste great with its slightly burnt and crispy outer texture.
Price: S$2.80 per plate

DESSERT STORY - 甜品物语

  Last month Dessert Story has opened a new outlet at North Point, Yishun where patrons can either dine-in at the store area or takeaway the orders. So with its' attractive menu and clean layout concept we decided to pop-by and try out some of their dessert after our Sunday service last weekend.

After making our orders we are very surprised and kind of disappointed with the presentation of their food. With the price that we are paying for, it seems that most of the food and desserts are being served on those  party type of white paper plate and bowl which makes it look so unprofessional. And for this "Mango Snow Ice - 芒果冰", the colour of the mango look rather brown instead of those bright yellow. Overall the mango taste rather sourish instead of sweet which makes this dessert a disappointment in taste.
Price: S$3.80 per bowl


  But at least their "Durian Pengat" taste quite decent with a scoop of pure durian paste sitting on top of the shaved ice and drizzle with generous amount of coconut cream and Gula Melaka syrup (Palm Sweet Syrup).
Price: S$4.80 per bowl

I was attracted to this "Triple Colour Steamed Cake" when placing the order. According to the cashier staff each colour represents a different ingredients such as "Purple - Yam Cake". "Orange - Pumpkin Cake" and "White - Carrot Cake". After tasting we find that there are actually nothing fancy about these steamed cakes or its' sweet sauce but except for the accompany dried chili sauce which was spicy, fragrant and it did extra some points to this snack.
Price: S$2.50 per plate

  Since the varieties of dim sum at this outlet was limited we do not have other choices but to pick this "Steam Glutinous Rice". But at least the glutinous rice was well seasoned and the overall texture of the rice and meat were soft and tender to taste.
Price: S$2.50 per plate


With more and more dessert outlets sprouting out from each shopping malls I guess patrons like us would have more exposure to all kinds of new creations. But sometime I realised that different outlets seems to be serving different standard of food which it rather bad in reflecting their company imagine. Perhaps in order to maintain a good quality and standard of their food they should not consider to open too many outlets unless they can standardise and guarantee the quality of their servings.

Korea Winter Discovery 2010 - Mt Sorak National Park And Nami Island

After a good night rest and hearty breakfast our itinerary of the day would be heading towards Mount Sorak National Park to witness it beauty through granite peaks, lush green valleys, dense forest, snowy scene and etc. And due to the good weather we also have the chance to ascend to the summit by cable car and get a magnificent view of the park at the top of the mountain. After lunch we proceed to the 2nd attractions; Nami Island where some scenes from Winter Sonata are being filmed there.