Caramel Popcorn

Pin It

Popcorn or popping corn is corn (maize) which expands from the kernel and puffs up when heated. There are many techniques for popping corn from either normal kitchen pan/pot, microwave to large scale popcorn machines. Usually Popcorn is eaten in movie theatres that served in choices such as salted or sweetened. But now instead of having it only in the cinema, we could also easily make them at home or purchase in major supermarkets.

About a year ago "Garrett Popcorn" which is a chain of popcorn outlets open it's first outlet in Resort World Sentosa and now they have many other outlets located in Singapore too. (detail HERE). I love their Caramel Flavour with Macadamia Nuts where I could enjoy my favourite nuts and popcorn coated with delicious caramel.

CARAMEL POPCORN

My boy prefers popcorn which is sweeten like those sold in the "cinema" compared to those available in the commercial shops (either nuts, chocolate,  cheese, colouring and etc). And since it is pretty easier to make "popcorn" at home using minimum ingredients and a cooking pot (or home type popcorn machine), we always "pop" some whenever we crave for them.

(serves: 4 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1/2 Cup Corn Kernel

Caramel Sauce:
1/4 Cup Honey
1/4 Cup Golden Syrup
3/4 Cup Caster Sugar
100g Butter Chopped

Method:-

1. Line a big baking tray with baking papers, allowing 2cm overhang at long ends.

2. Heat oil in HCP(or any cooking pan) over medium heat. Add 2 - 3 corn kernels to test the heat. (Oil is hot enough when corn turns slowly in a circle)

3. Add remaining corn, cover and lock the pan(if using HCP). Shake pan gently when corn starts popping.

4. Remove from heat when corn stops popping. Transfer to a bowl and discard un-popped corn.

5. To make Caramel Sauce:- Clean the pan using kitchen paper towel after removing the popcorn. Place honey, golden syrup, sugar and butter in the pan. Stir and cook over very low heat for about 6 minutes or until sugar dissolved.

6. Next bring the mixture to boil without stirring for another 5 minutes or until light golden.

7. Work quickly, pour mixture over popcorn and stir to combine. Rest caramel popcorn in prepared lined baking tray to cool completely.

8. Break into pieces and served or stored in air-tight containers.

Although this recipe is done using Happy Call Pan (HCP) but you still can apply the same method using any heavy duty pan/pot to achieve the similar results. Have a lovely weekend everyone!!! Cheers!

Stir-fry Fu Gui Cai and Stuffed Mushrooms with Black Moss, Glutinous Rice Wine Chicken

Pin It

Time flies, today is the 3rd day of Chinese Lunar New Year and I am sure most of you have being busying with the house to house visiting plus feasting on the delicious New Year goodies and food. Even though nowadays we could easily ordered or enjoy a hassle free reunion dinner in restaurants but I believe there are still many housewives, mothers, grandparents and etc busying with the preparation of their signature dishes for reunion dinner.

I remember when I was a kid, I always look forward to Chinese New Year to feast on those "special" dishes that my dad would only cook during New Year. And although I am not a very good cook like my dad, every Chinese New Year I would still try to cook up one or two of my self concoct dishes for my family.

STIR-FRY FU GUI CAI AND STUFFED MUSHROOM WITH BLACK MOSS
富贵花开

For this year reunion dinner, I have prepared this quick and easy stuffed mushrooms with minced meat and black moss dish to serve together the auspicious greens known as Fu Gui Cai(富贵菜). To make it more colourful and appetising, I have also added gingko nuts and wolfberries to enhance the presentation.

I would be submitting this Stir-fry Fu Gui Cai and Stuffed Mushrooms with Black Moss dish to this month Aspiring Baker #15 - Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012) that is hosted by Wen of Wen's Delight.

(serves: 3-4 | Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
6 - 8 Dried Medium Chinese Mushrooms, soaked in hot water till soften
150g Minced Meat
10g Black Moss(发菜), pre-soaked in water
10 Gingko Nuts
1 Floret of Fu Gui Cai(富贵菜)
Some Wolfberries
1 Red Chilli, sliced
3 Slices Ginger
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Teaspoon Cooking Wine
1 Teaspoon Cornflour + 1 Tablespoon Water, mixed well

Seasoning:
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 Teaspoon Cornflour
1/2 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1/2 Cooking Wine
Dash of Pepper

Sauce:
100ml Water
3 tablespoons Oyster Sauce
1 Teaspoon Sugar

Method:-

1. Mix minced meat, black moss and seasonings together and set aside to marinate for at least 10 minutes if time permit.

2. Stuff about 1 tablespoon of the minced meat mixture into the pre-soaked mushrooms.

3. Preheat Happy Call pan with about 1 tablespoon of oil and fry the stuffed mushrooms for about 1 minutes each side or until cooked. (HCP close but don't lock) Remove and set aside.

4. Add in another 1 tablespoon of oil to saute ginger and garlic till fragrant before adding in the Fu Gui Cai (remove the leaves from the floret, reserved 1/4 of the last portion to act as flower), chilli and gingko nuts. Close the pan and let it cook for another 1 minute before giving it a quick stir and close the pan for another 30 seconds.

5. Next add in the cooked stuffed mushrooms together with the sauce mixture and give the mixture a quick sit-fry and simmer on low heat for another 30 seconds before removing the vegetables.(arrange the vegetables in the middle of the plate)

6. Lastly with the mushrooms and gingko nuts still remains in the pan, add in corn star mixture and cooking wine and wolfberries, mix well with all the ingredients.

7. Remove and arrange mushrooms on serving plate around the fu gui cai. You can also decorate the mushroom with the wolfberries shown above.

Note:-

~ If you prefer you could replaced the dried mushroom with fresh shiitake mushrooms.

~ Pick up other greens such as broccoli, xiao ba cai or etc according to your preference if fu gui cai is not available.

~ For more varieties you could also add in fish or prawn paste to the minced meat mixture.

GLUTINOUS RICE WINE CHICKEN
黄酒鸡

This Glutinous Rice Wine Chicken(黄酒鸡) is one of the traditional Hakka dish eaten during confinement or Chinese New Year. To cook this dish usually they would buy kampong chicken instead of the normal chicken and simmer it together with their homemade Glutinous Rice Wine. According to the Hakka this dish is good to replenish lack of blood due to fatigue, malnutrition, cold chills, irregular menstruation, anemia, postpartum weakness and etc.

(serves: 2-3 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:
1/2 Chicken(about 600g), cut into bite sizes
1 Tablespoons of Sesame Oil
6 Slices of Ginger, cut into thin strips
200ml - 250ml of Glutinous Rice Wine
6 Red Dates, cut into thick slices
1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Marinade:
1 Teaspoon Cornflour
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1 Teaspoon Light Soy sauce
1 Teaspoon Cooking Wine

Method:-

1. Marinate the chicken with cornflour, sesame oil, light soya sauce and cooking wine for at least 10 minutes.

2. Preheat Happy Call Pan on low heat with sesame oil and saute gingers till fragrance(close but don't lock).

3. Add in marinated chicken and cook on low heat for 1 minute (closed and locked), flip the pan over and cook for another 1 minute.

4. Next flip the pan back, add in rice wine and red dates, locked the pan and simmer over low heat for about 8 - 10 minutes till the chicken is tender and cooked through.

5. Lastly add in salt to taste and serve hot.

Emmm perhaps you could also share with us which is your favourite Chinese New Year dish too :)

Sweet and Savoury Longevity Noodles ~ 长寿面

Pin It

3 More days to Chinese Lunar New Year and everyone is busying with some last minutes shopping on clothing or groceries. Here in order to usher in wealth and good luck for the year of the dragon, I have prepared two auspicious "Longevity" noodles recipes to share with you.

And with these two noodle dishes I wish everyone a Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year that comes with many folds of blessing, health and wealth.

SWEET LONGEVITY NOODLES

Pin It

Longevity Noodles(长寿面) is often eaten during Birthday or festive season such as Chinese New Year. And it is eaten to symbolise longevity together with a pair of hard-boiled eggs which representing fertility or life. There are many ways on preparing longevity noodles based on individual dialect groups and culture. Some might also use "Mee Suah/Mian Xian" ( 面线), Ee-Fu(伊面) noodles together with meat and etc to cook a sweet or savoury version.

(serves: 2 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 20 minutes)

Ingredients: 
Half Packet (150g) of Handmade Red Noodle
4 Eggs
1 Knot of Pandan Leave
3 Slices of Ginger
Red/Brown Sugar to Taste

Method:-

1. To make hard-boiled eggs, bring fresh eggs and water to boil then simmer over medium low heat for about 8 - 10 minutes depending on your preference.

2. Using another pot, bring 1.2 litres of water to boil, add in ginger slices and pandan leave then let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

3. Meantime spread out the handmade red noodles and put it in boiling water for 1 minutes, stir occasionally. When soften, remove, rinse with water and drained well and divide into serving bowls.

4 Next add in shelled hard-boiled eggs and sugar to sweeten the soup(you can add in slightly more sugar as the noodles would balance the taste when added).

5. Lastly ladle the soup and eggs over the noodles and served immediately.

This quick and simple "Sweet Longevity Noodles" is something that my dad would prepared for me and my brother's Birthday during our childhood time. We have not eaten this for so long ever since we grown up and my dad passed away.

But today, suddenly I have this urge to replicate this dish which bought back many of my childhood memories. I guess nowadays the younger generation would find it hard to appreciate this traditional dish which might one day become extinct.

BRAISED EE FU NOODLES
(Cantonese-style Longevity Noodles)

Ee-Fu/Yi Mein(伊面) is one of the flat Cantonese egg noodles that is made from wheat flour and I am sure most of you are familiar with this noodle dish as it is a very common noodle dish served in most Chinese restaurant during special occasions such as wedding or birthday dinners. So in a way, this Cantonese-style noodle is also known as "Longevity" noodles too.

(serves: 4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:
1 Packet Dried Hong Kong Ee-Fu Noodles, about 350g
250ml Chicken Stock
4 Tablespoons Oyster Sauce
4 Tablespoons Dark Soy Sauce
2 Teaspoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
100g Small Dried Chinese Mushrooms, soaked till soften
200g Bean Sprouts, root removed
1 Bundle Yellow Chives, cut into sections
Splash of Cooking Wine(Hua Tiao Wine)
Dash of Pepper

Method:-

1. Bring a big pot of water to the boil and cook the noodles for about 5 minutes or until softened. Drained and set aside.

2. In a wok/frying pan, heat up 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and saute the mushrooms(squeeze dry) over low heat for about 3 minutes till fragrance.

3. Next add in the mixture of chicken stock, oyster sauce, sugar and dark soy sauce into the mushrooms and bring the mixture to boil.

4. Tip in the noodles and toss to coat with the sauce before tossing in the bean sprouts and yellow chives.

5. Give the mixture a good stir and if it dries up, add in another 50ml of chicken stock/hot water and simmer over low heat until most of the liquid has evaporated (about 5 minutes).

6. Lastly adjust the seasoning to taste, add in splash of cooking wine and pepper, serve immediately.

Note:-

~ You can replace dried Chinese mushrooms with fresh shiitake mushrooms.

~ Replace Abalone/Scallop Sauce with Oyster Sauce for better taste.

Lastly I am submitting this Braised Ee Fu Noodles dish to this month Aspiring Baker #15 - Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012) that is hosted by Wen of Wen's Delight.

For more Chinese New Year recipes do hope over to my previous post HERE.

Magic Of BOSCH MCM4100 Food Processor - Part I

I love to experiment with new Kitchen Gadget and this set of "lemon" pastry plus juice is whipped up using my new toy - BOSCH MCM4100 Food Processor(more detail of this product HERE). This food processor comes with multiple functions such as; juice blender, meat grinder, dough maker, making meringue, sorbet, mayonnaise and etc.

In this post I would be sharing 2 recipes using this food processor such as ABC Detox Juice and Lemon Berry Tarts. And as for part 2 post, I would be sharing a recipe on Baked Lemon Cheesecake.

Crystal Jade Chinese New Year Specialties 2012

Chinese New Year is around the corner and I am sure everyone is busying with sending auspicious gifts and hampers to business partners, relatives, friends and etc. And last week while at the mist of our spring cleaning, I received a big surprised from Crystal Jade. I was quite shock when the deliveryman hand over a big bag to me as I was not inform before hand on this "surprised".

At first I thought the big box might be "Yu Sheng - 鱼生" since the packaging is more or less quite similar but after removing the cover we are all excited about the assorted flavour of the steamed cakes inside the "Eternal Bliss Gift Set". As you can see above, isn't it look gorgeous as a gift set for Chinese New Year!

Inside the bag there is also this Fortune Bo Lo Pineapple Tart  - 旺上旺菠箩黄梨挞 that comes in a floral design rectangle box with 2 individual sealed packets contain 8 tarts each. To be honest this is our first time trying Bo Lo Pineapple Tarts which is a signature pastry from Crystal Jade My Bread that comes with a combination inspired from the famous Hong Kong "Bo Lo Bao(菠蘿包)". Each bite you would be surprised by it's hint of sweet crispy crust on top which follows by generous amount of tasty pineapple jam fillings. Indeed our family finds it very special compared to the usual buttery taste pineapple tarts that we used to eat.

This Fortune Bo Lo Pineapple Tarts comes is 4 different packaging ranging from S$14.80 - S$30.80. The twin packet shown above is known as "Double Happiness Pack" priced at S$16.80. (more details HERE)

If you still can't decide on what to get during Chinese New Year gathering for your Potluck dishes or tea-snack to impressive your guest especially the elderly. I suggest you could consider getting this Eternal Bliss Gift Set - 五福临门(S$37.80). This set consists of both sweet(water chestnut cake, pandan aloe vera cake, glutinous rice cake) and savoury cake (carrot cake, yam cake) which represent auspicious meaning during Chinese New Year.

And if you ever tried their Dim Sum served at Crystal Jade Kitchen, I am sure you would love these delicious carrot/yam cake which is so soft, flavorsome and made with generous amount of ingredients.

Other than pastries and cakes from Crystal Jade My Bread, there are other Chinese New Year proudcts such as "Peng Cai - 盆菜", "Yu Sheng - 鱼生", "Pagoda of Eight Treasures - 开运八宝塔", "Buddha Jumps over the Wall - 佛跳墙" and etc which is available at different Crystal Jade outlet. (Detail HERE)

Above shows the "Golden Abalone Treasure Pot - 金装鲍鱼盆菜" at a promotion price of S$408.80(10 pax) or S$248.80(6 pax) available from now till 06 Feb 2012.

Glutinous Rice is another auspicious dish to have during Chinese New Year and this year Crystal Jade has come out with this NEW "Pagoda of Eight Treasures - 开运八宝塔" for S$88.80. There are 8 "treasures" arranged neatly on bamboo basket such as:- Fried Glutinous Rice, Preserved Sausage, Preserved Liver Sausage, Deep-fried Chicken Fillet, Fried Quail Egg, Marinated Octopus, Sauteed French Bean and Sauteed Shrimp with Mushroom.

All the Chinese New Year goodies are available for Promotion Price from 05 Jan - 22 January, 25 Jan - 06 February at selected Crystal Jade Outlets. More details and full promotion booklet can be found HERE.

Lastly I would like to thanks Crystal Jade and Linea Communications for the Fortune Bo Lo Pineapple Tarts and Eternal Bliss Gift Set.

Happy Call Pan Recipes - Baked Sweet Potato, Sizzling Tofu and Claypot Rice

It's Happy Call Pan(HCP) recipes again! As I have mentioned before this is an "IN" kitchen gadget which is it one of the hot discussion topic in forum and Facebook. With it's quick and easy pressure cooking method, this pan has won the hearts of many people especially homemakers who aim to cook healthier dishes for the family.

In this post I would be sharing another 3 recipes using this HCP to Bake Sweet Potato, cook Sizzling Tofu and our favourite Claypot Rice (without using claypot).

Usher In the Lunar New Year with PrimaDeli

This year we excited to be able to try out different types of Pineapple Tarts/Cakes from well-known bakeries in Singapore and Taiwan(read more HERE). Despite of their origin each product has it's own unique taste and packaging which are eye catching for consumers.

Here we have PrimaDeli which is a Singapore’s first home-grown bakery franchise and the longest-running Singapore food franchise since it was launched in 1992. They have many bakery outlets located in major business, shopping and residential areas serving a wide range of top quality pastries, buns, breads and cakes.

Fortune Pineapple Tarts are specially shaped like a pineapple to symbolise prosperity and good luck which you could purchase as gift sets or add on accessories for Chinese New Year decorations. These "Fortune Pineapples" are individually wrapped to retain its freshness before packed in auspicious gorgeous red organza bag priced at S$1.60 each.

And after consuming you could still recycle the organza bag by filling it with some dried scented flowers to act as decorative item or air refresher in the toilet or car.

Since Pineapple Tarts are the most auspicious gift due to it's name ("Ong Lai - 旺来" which mean luck come) and taste which is well received by most of the people. So for a more presentable gift set perhaps you could consider either this Divine Pineapple Tarts at S$14.80 per tin(16 pieces) or Pillow Pineapple Tarts with the same price.

Personally I preferred their Divine Pineapple Tart which has a melt in mouth buttery pastry plus generous amount of their sweet and sour pineapple fillings which are just to hard to resists from popping them one by one. And other than these pineapple tarts, PrimaDeli also have others Chinese New Year goodies available at their outlets which you could take a look at their on-line leaflet HERE.

Ya Kun Handmade Kaya Cookies

Ya Kun Kaya Toast(亚坤) is a well-known "kopitiam" style kind of chain cafes established island wide in Singapore and varies part of Asia such as Indonesia, Taiwan, South Korea, Japan and Philippines. And as the name suggests, Ya Kun sells kaya toast, bottled kaya, soft boiled eggs, local Singapore-style coffee/tea plus some other varieties of toasts and beverages too.

If you are regular customers who often patrons Ya Kun I am sure you would have notice their lovely "heart shaped" Kaya cookies which is available in most of their outlet selling at S$2.50/pack (80g each).

Ya Kun Handmade Kaya cookies are the new addition to the Ya Kun merchandise line where each cookie is made using Ya Kun’s authentic specially formulated kaya. And for your information both their Kaya and cookies recipes does not contain any preservatives, artificial coloring and artificial flavoring.

We love their Kaya Butter Cookies with is soft, buttery and munching with hint of kaya fragrance which makes it unique and great for tea time among family and friends.

This new year, Ya Kun has its Chinese New Year edition to encourage family sharing time and bonding over a heartwarming tin of their kaya cookies. Each tin is priced at S$16.80 (about 45 cookies per tin) or you could get 2 tins for S$30.20 at most of their selected outlets.

Although there are 3 different flavours (kaya, cereal and pistachio) of the kaya cookies available from their usual 80g packs which are selling at most of their outlets. But the Chinese New Year version is only available Kaya Butter or Kaya Pistachio flavours.

For our family who prefer butter cookies over nuts, we tends to prefer the above more than this Kaya Pistachio Cookies. But as you could see if you are loves, especially Pistachio which is well-liked by most of the people during Chinese New Year due to it's name in Mandarin - "开心果 - Pistachio Nuts"(translate as Happy Nuts). For this pistachio version, you could taste more on the nutty flavour rather than buttery taste and it tends to be a little bit harder when bite compared the Kaya Butter Cookies above.

In addition, with minimum spending of S$8.00 in a single receipt, customers will be entitled to a limited edition of their exclusively designed Ang Pow(red packets) set (10 pieces).

Lastly I would like to thank Grace from Ya Kun Kaya Toast for these wonderful Chinese New Year Kaya Cookies. For more latest connection on Ya Kun products and promotions you could also follow them on their facebook page HERE.

Chinese New Year Market @ Chinatown, Singapore

Every year in Singapore, the Chinese New Year celebration kicks off with Street Light-up, festive bazaar stalls, street performances and etc. And these activities usually takes place in the Key streets in Chinatown such as Eu Tong Sen Street, New Bridge Road, South Bridge Road, and Garden Bridge.

This Luna New Year would be the year of the Water Dragon and there would be with traditional Chinese lanterns and colorful street lights together with street performers and acrobats like lion dancers to buzz up the lanes in Chinatown.

Make your New Year wishes come true at the Chinatown Wishing Tree this Spring Festival! You can try your hand at tossing a mandarin orange wishing charm onto a lucky banyan tree at Chinatown.

The Lunar New Year bazaar stalls occupied the lanes from the Pagoda Street, Smith Street, Sago Street, Temple Street and Trengganu Street within Chinatown. Below are some of the photos showing the auspicious New Year goodies and the bazaar stalls at Chinatown.

Pussy willow or also known as Ying Liu has fluffy white blossoms which resemble silk with the color of green jade. And majority of the Chinese enjoy such signs of growth which represent the coming of prosperity.

Cakes such as "Sticky Rice Cake - 年糕" which symbolizes a rich, sweet life plus "Pomelo - 柚子" in mandarin word "柚子" sounds like the word for "to have" and "Red Radish" symbolizes auspicious beginning and etc.

All sorts of sweets, puddings, jellies, peanuts, preserved persimmons and etc which is must to purchase during New Year.

Stalls selling waxed meat products such as sausages, waxed meat, waxed duck and etc which most of the household used it to braised delicious dishes during Chinese New Year gatherings.

All sort of Chinese auspicious handicrafts, red packets and customary New Year decorations along the bazaars area.

In conjunction with the 2012 celebrations, the festive Bazaar runs from December 31 2011, opening from 6pm to 10:30pm daily till January 22 2012.(some stalls starts around NOON time during weekends too) And during Chinese New Year Eve, the Bazaar would extends its operating hours to 1.00am.

To avoid heavy traffic around the Chinatown area, you could take public transport as such the MRT and alight at Chinatown station.