Chicken Mushroom Fettuccine Alfredo

My sister recently gifted me a packet of dried fettuccine pasta which she lugged back all the way from Italy. Instead of turning to my usual bolognese sauce (which I make by the gazillion and store in the freezer), I thought of making something new for the hub instead. I tried making an alfredo once, it was too creamy and heavy that the hub didn't enjoy it at all. This time round, I cut down on the portion of the diary products and it turned out absolutely delicious! I ain't sure if this is even an authentic alfredo recipe but it sure taste good. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 portions of fettuccine, penne or spaghetti 

1 packet chicken fillet or chicken breast 

1 packet button mushroom, sliced 

1 small onion, diced 

2 cloves garlic, minced 

1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded 

1/2 cup milk

1/2 tablespoon flour 

3 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon butter 

Salt

Pepper

Parsley 

Method:

- Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to packet instructions. Drain and set aside, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water. 

- Season the chicken fillet or breast with salt and pepper. Heat a skillet with 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium high heat. Pan fry the chicken until fully cooked. Slice into bite size and set aside. 

- Using the same skillet, add in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. Add in the minced onion and cook until the onion turn transparent. Add in 2 cloves of garlic and stir for a minute or so. 

- Add in the sliced mushroom and fry for another 3 - 4 minutes until mushrooms are soft. Add in 1/2 tablespoon of flour and stir for another minute or so. 

- Add in the sliced chicken and milk. Season with salt and pepper. The sauce will be rather thick which you can thin by adding the reserved pasta water. 

- Mix in the cooked pasta and parmesan cheese. Garnish with parsley and serve with more parmesan cheese if desired. 

Air Fryer Recipe - Lemongrass Chicken Wings

I love air frying my chicken wings because the skin always turned out crispy and the meat tender and juicy. I don't know how the hot air circulating in the machine did this but this beats deep frying chicken wings anytime, in my own opinion that is. 

Drawing inspiration from some nice Thai food I had a week ago, I decided to experiment using some common ingredients found in Thai cuisine - lemongrass and fish sauce. I was pleasantly surprised by the results given the little ingredients this dish requires! The hubs loved it so much that he requested that I marinate a kilogram of these in the fridge so that he can air fry it himself whenever he wants. 

Serves 2, or 3 

Ingredients:

6                       chicken wings 

3 stalks             lemon grass

3 cloves            garlic

2 tablespoon     fish sauce

1 tablespoon     honey 

                         ground white pepper 

Method: 

- Remove the outer skin of the lemongrass. Bruise it using the back of a knife or a pestle. Chop the lemongrass and garlic roughly. 

- Place all ingredients together in a ziplock bag and marinate overnight. 

- Take the chicken wings out from the bag, removing any excess aromatics that may be stuck on it. 

- Air fry for 15 - 20 minutes at 160 degree celsius, turning the wings once half way. 

- Serve with some Thai chilli sauce, if preferred. 

New Layout for 2016

Happy New Year Everyone! This came a little late but then again we are only a few days into the brand new year!

As you would have noticed, littlecookerybook has been looking rather different these days. That's because we have a totally NEW LAYOUT!

Thanks to my super enthusiastic tech geek husband and my ever talented web guru sis-in-law, they have decided to adopt my blog as their 'free-time' pet project! My heartfelt gratitude to them for making the blog so much more user friendly and presentable (I may be good at cooking but I am an absolute noob when it comes to web design or IT). They have even created a Facebook page and an instagram account to garner more traffic flow into the site!!! As many of you will know, I started this blog wanting to simply share some of my recipes. I didn't intend for it to escalate into something 'bigger' or 'popular', so please bear with me if I am a little lacking on my social media updates.

They have put in hard work for this site and I hope that you will like this new layout. Happy cooking everyone and here's to more great recipes and good food for the new year!

Steamed Cod with Chinese Wine and Wolfberries

I've cooked this dish several times and posted the picture more than once on my social media platforms. What I've not done is to provide the recipe to my friends and followers until a friend asked for it repeatedly. Sorry peeps, it's been a crazy period at work (well I also went on a long holiday which explains the lack of time). 

Anyway, this simple recipe came about when I wanted a super easy steamed fish for dinner one evening. Here are the conditions for the recipe I set: 

1) It must be easily prepared and cooked within 10 minutes. 

2) All the accompanying ingredients must be readily available at home, at all times. 

3) It must be delicious enough for my husband to want to finish a bowl of rice (a wife's greatest joy if you ask me).  

Needless to say, it was all well accomplished. I made this again last evening and I am glad to report that the hub finished every single grain of rice that I've cooked. :) 

Ingredients:

1 piece - Cod steak 

3 slices - Old ginger, julienned 

1 tablespoon - Light soy sauce 

1 tablespoon - Chinese wine 

1 tablespoon - Wolfberries, rinsed  

1 teaspoon - Sesame oil 

Method:

Place the cod fish on a steaming plate. Drizzle over a teaspoon of sesame oil, and one tablespoon of light soy sauce and Chinese wine. Top with julienned ginger and wolfberries. Steam over high heat for about 7 minutes or when the fish is fully cooked.  Serve hot and enjoy. 

Air Fryer Recipes - Fried Meat with Fermented Bean Curd

Fried Meat with Fermented Bean Curd

Air Fry 南乳肉

This has got to be one of the man's favourite dishes these days. Relatively easy to cook and yet packed with such good flavours. A little salty on its own if you ask me, this is best served with a bowl of white rice or porridge. Although like the man at home, you may wish to pair this with a mug of cold beer instead. The key to this dish to air fry the pork long enough so as to achieve that crispy texture instead of a piece of mushy fatty meat. 

Ingredients:
2 pieces - Pork belly, sliced thinly
2 cube - Fermented red bean curd
1 teaspoon - Sesame oil
2 tablespoons -  Chinese wine
2 tablespoons - Corn flour
Cooking oil (If you are not using an Air Fryer)

Method:
Mix all ingredients together and marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Air Fry until the pork has turned light brown in colour.
Turn Philip Air Fryer to 160 Degree for another 30min.

Pan-Fried Salmon with Cucumber Dill Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:
1                        salmon fillet
1/2                     lemon, juice
1                        Japanese cucumber
1 teaspoon         dried dill or 1 tablespoon fresh dill
2 tablespoons    plain yoghurt
1 pinch              cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon      olive oil
                          salt and black pepper

Method: 

Season salmon fillet with lemon juice, salt and pepper. 

Heat up the olive oil in a frying pan on high heat. When the pan is hot, place the salmon skin side down. Lower heat to medium high and fry for 5 minutes. Turn the salmon over and fry for another 4 minutes. The salmon should be still slightly raw in the middle. 

Peel off the skin of the Japanese cucumber. Chop the cucumber finely and add in 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Leave aside for 10 minutes.  Squeeze off excess water.

Mix the yoghurt, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, dill, cayenne pepper and cucumber together. Serve with the pan-fried salmon. 

Chicken Salad with Grapes and Walnut

I chanced upon this highly raved recipe online and thought that I could give it a try (with some slight modifications to the recipe) since I have all the ingredients available. I was initially skeptical about how good this can taste given its simple ingredients, and was proven so wrong. I'll be straightforward here. This has gotta be one of the best chicken salads I've tasted! The addition of celery made this salad so refreshing despite the huge amount of mayonnaise used. The worchestershire sauce also gave this otherwise heavy taste an extra kick. So good that I'll sure be remaking this very often!


Ingredients:

1 piece - chicken breast, poached and cubed
20 - seedless grapes, halved
2 tablespoons - mayonnaise
1 teaspoon - worchestershire sauce
3 stalks - celery, chopped finely
1 small - red onion, minced
1 handful - walnut, broken into smaller pieces

Method:

Mix the chicken breast, grapes, celery, onion, mayonnaise and worchestershire sauce. Place in the fridge for 2 hours or overnight for the flavours to blend together.

Top with walnuts when ready to serve. Best served with a loaf of nicely toasted baguette.

Sesame Oil Chicken Mee Sua

I am an absolute fan of sesame oil chicken. A popular dish during the confinement period, this dish
contains a lot of ginger which warms the body and drives out wind. As for me, this is pure comfort food, especially with a bowl of plain porridge. I love this so much that I've decided to create a mee sua soup dish out of it. Here's sharing with you that recipe:

Serves 2
Ingredients:

1/2                      chicken, cut into pieces
2 thumbsize       old ginger, julienned
2 tablespoons     sesame oil
1 tablespoon      light soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon   dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons     chinese cooking wine
3 cups                water (add in only 1/2 cup of water if you are making sesame oil chicken)

Method:

Heat a pot on high heat with 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Add in the julienned ginger and stir fry till the ginger turns golden brown and fragrant.

Add in the chicken pieces and stir fry till the chicken pieces are browned on the outside. Add in 2 tablespoons of Chinese cooking wine and let it sizzle for about 20 seconds.

Add in the dark, light soy sauce and stir to mix well. Add in the water and bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Serve with mee sua which has been blanched in boiling water for 30 seconds.

Steamed Chicken with D.O.M and Red Dates

I've been receiving comments recently about my rosy cheeks. I used to look pretty pale, if not for my superb make up skills. These days, I've gained a hint of pink on my face that I actually look ok without having any make up on. This new found glow, I have to credit all the tonic soups and nourishing food that I've been feeding the Hub and myself these recent months. I know that they say that certain food are meant for women only but I guess a little won't harm the man either. I've done extensive research and found out that certain supposedly 'women herbs' are actually beneficial to men too. I am still a little cautious and only fed the man a third of my portion instead. (It is a relatively good excuse to look better than him). Here is one of these recipes which uses D.O.M. benedictine, a herbal liqueur which is known for its nourishing properties. You can also drink this straight up, after mixing with a little warm water.


Ingredients:

1/2                          Chicken, chopped into pieces (I actually used 3 chicken wings instead)
5 large                    Red dates, pitted and cut into pieces
1 tablespoon           Wolfberries, rinsed
3                             Chinese mushroom, soaked and cut into small pieces
1/2 teaspoon           Salt
1 tablespoon           Sesame oil
3 tablespoons          D.O.M. Benedictine

Method:

Mix chicken with salt and arrange on a steaming plate. Scatter red dates, wolfberries and Chinese mushroom on top. Drizzle a tablespoon of sesame oil and 3 tablespoons of D.O.M over the dish. Steamed over medium heat for 20 minutes.

Braised Duck in Ginger and Dark Soy Sauce

This is one of the many recipes that is passed down from the Wonderwoman mum. This is also the dish that will have my sister and I fighting over the dinner table for the last piece. Super easy to make and yet full of flavours. Good things goes to those who wait. So, be patient and you will be rewarded with a tender and flavoursome duck after an hour or two of braising.

Ingredients:

1 duck                     chopped into pieces
1 whole piece          ginger, julienned
3 tablespoons          thick dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons          light soy sauce
4 cups                     water
1 tablespoon           sugar
1 tablespoon           cooking oil

Method:

Heat cooking oil in big pot or wok. Fry ginger till golden brown.

Add in 4 cups of water, duck, dark and light soy sauce. Bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for about 1.5 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Turn off the heat when the duck is tender, sprinkle a tablespoon of sugar over it and mix well.

Guacamole Dip

There was an offer at the supermarket for avocados and that's exactly what I came home with. I was craving some mid-day snack that day and since avocados are supposedly healthy, having a guacamole dip would be considered totally guilt free! Another plus factor to this recipe is its incredibly easy steps: mash and mix and Tadah! a nice serving of healthy, fresh dip, all ready for you to enjoy!

Just a note to remember to always use avocados that are ripe and that means when the skin has turned all black. Don't be put off by its colour, what you will get is some nice creamy butter underneath that skin.

Ingredients:
1                    ripe avocado, peeled and pitted
1                    small red onion, chopped
1                    tomato, chopped
1 bunch         cilantro, chopped
1 clove          garlic, minced
1                    lime, juiced  
                      cayenne pepper
                      salt

Method:

Mash avocado with a pinch of salt, cayenne pepper, and lime juice. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, keep it in the fridge for a hour for the flavours to blend together, and serve with your favourite tortilla chips.

Back as a Mrs!

I know I have been missing for a while now, quite a long while to be exact. The news is, I got married. I was SO busy preparing for the wedding that I have absolutely no time to blog about anything. I was cooking but ain't got the time to sit down and write about it. Well now that the wedding is over and done with, I promise I'll be back more often to share those delicious recipes with those who are waiting. That's what they say, good things are worth waiting for and those recipes that I have lined up are sure gonna be worth it! See you soon!

Spicy Top Shell Salad

The perfect accompaniment to a glass of chilled beer, this top shell salad (I'm not even sure if this can be considered a salad, since no vegetables are being used! Haha) is always on our top list of favourites whenever we feel like drinking at home! I used two chilli padi in my recipe so it is VERY spicy. For those who can't bear with that kind of heat, please do reduce it to one instead. Enjoy! Please also feel free to invite me over for a mug of beer if you want to!  

Ingredients:

1 can                       top shell, cut into smaller bite sizes

3 tablespoons         sauce from the canned top shell

2                             chilli padi, sliced

1 medium               onion, sliced thinly

1/2 tablespoon        sugar

3 to 4                      calamansi lime, juiced

Method:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside in fridge for at least 15 minutes. Serve chilled. 

Steamed Cod with Fried Garlic and Scallion

The man has hinted me enough times that he's craving for cod and so I granted his wish by placing this on the dinner table last night. He was won over instantly when he took the first bite, but what he didn't know was how simple this recipe actually is. This is my kind of food, easy to make but fulfilling nonetheless. 

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 medium slice or 2 small slices     cod 

3 slices                                            old ginger 

3 cloves                                           garlic, minced

1                                                      scallion, chopped thinly

1 tablespoon                                    light soy sauce

1 tablespoon                                    water

1 tablespoon                                    chinese cooking wine

1 teaspoon                                       sugar 

3 tablespoons                                  cooking oil

Method:

Place the fish on top of the ginger slices and steam on high heat for approx. 7 minutes. 

Mix the light soy sauce, sugar, water and chinese cooking wine in a bowl, making sure to dissolve the sugar granules. Set aside. 

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil and fry the minced garlic until golden brown. 

Remove the steamed fish from the steamer, drain away the water from the plate and pour the soy sauce mixture on it. Place the fried garlic on top of the fish, garnish with scallion and pour the hot garlic oil over. Serve hot.                     

Cobb Salad, my way.

It's not exactly fair to call this a salad. At least to me, salads are supposed to be healthy and light and all. A cobb salad, despite its name, is made using ingredients that are technically, WAY too delicious to be included in a bland and boring healthy salad. Then again, who says all salads are supposed to be bland and healthy anyway? Healthy or not, I for one, don't really care and just adore this sinful and fulfilling recipe of mine. 

Serves 2 

Ingredients:

Salad: 

1 head                       romaine lettuce, chopped roughly 

1                               tomato, diced

2                               hard boiled egg, shelled and chopped 

1                               avocado, diced 

100gm                      blue cheese, diced 

6 strips                     bacon, fried till crisp and cut into smaller pieces 

1                               roasted chicken breast, diced 

Method: Arrange everything on a salad bowl or plate and serve with the dressing below or your favourite dressing. 

Dressing: 

1/2 cup                      extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons            white wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon              dijon mustard 

1/2 teaspoon              worcestershire sauce 

1/2 tablespoon           lemon juice 

                                   salt & pepper 

Method:

Whisk all the ingredients together and serve with the salad.

Chinese Tea Egg (茶叶蛋）

Tea egg is a Chinese savoury snack commonly found in a Chinese medicine shop or in a local Singaporean pasar malam. It is relatively easy to make although a little patience is needed for the eggs to be infused with the flavours. My favourite part in making this, is the enticing aroma that fills the house when it is simmering away. Can't wait to sink my teeth into these prettily marbled eggs, don't you?

Ingredients:

6                     eggs

1                     cinammon stick

2                     star anise 

1                     tangerine peel

2 tbsp             dark soy sauce

1 tbsp             light soy sauce 

1 tbsp             sugar

2 tbsp             chinese tea leaf 

500ml             water 

Method:

1. Boil the eggs in a pot of water for about 7 minutes. Cool the eggs and tap the egg shell lightly with a teaspoon until the eggs are fully cracked.
2. Heat the rest of the ingredients in a pot until it boils. Add in the eggs and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Steep the eggs in the marinade for 4 hours and reheat before serving.

Easy Chicken Rice (Cheat's Method)

My sincerest apologies for the long hiatus. Work has been crazy hectic, I do not even wish to start talking about it here now. Let's divert our attention instead, to the awesome recipe that I'm about to share with you.

Throughout my life, I have been blessed to have met many food critics (I meant like, the professional kind), mainly due to my previous job as a hotel PR. I am even luckier to be able to consider some of them as my friends. They are the ones who will bring me along for media tasting, feed me with the latest happening on the restaurant scene and of course, share wonderful recipes.

Today's recipe is one that was shared by one of them. The fact that she tries this out at home, I'm pretty sure it must be quite a gem. Lest the misconception that chicken rice are usually heavily loaded with fats and calories, this recipe is a much healthier version and even better, much much simpler as well. I've cooked it several times now and if the picky bf of mine is satisfied with this, then it must be a good to go!


Serves 2
Ingredients

3 - 4                               chicken thigh (I removed the skin and fats for a healthier version)
1 cup                              long grain rice, washed and drained
4 cloves                          garlic, minced
5 - 6                                shallots, sliced thinly
4 slices                           ginger
1 tablespoon                   cooking oil
2                                     pandan leaves, tied into a knot
                                       sea salt
                                       water
                                       sesame oil
                                       light soy sauce

Method:

Marinate the chicken thigh with a few pinches of salt and set aside for 30 minutes.

Heat the frying pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil on medium high heat. Add in the minced garlic and sliced shallots and fry till they are both golden brown.

Add in the rice and stir evenly to coat the rice with the oil.

Dissolve 1/2 tablespoon of sea salt into 1 cup of water and pour into the frying pan.

Turn the heat to the lowest mode and top the rice with the marinated chicken thigh, ginger slices and knotted pandan leaves.

Cover and let it cook for 20 minutes. Feel free to add a little more water if it's too dry.

Drizzle the rice with a little sesame oil and light soy sauce and serve.

Salmon Fish Curry

I am not a professional cook. I'm just into quick, easy and delicious recipes. Today's recipe was taught by an Eurasian housewife years back and even after all these years, it still serves as a quick fix to my curry cravings. The salmon used in the curry are not the usual fillet but the belly strips which are sold separately. Known for its high fat content, the belly lends a creamy finish to the dish, which otherwise can only be achieved through using coconut milk. I love this dish with a bowl of rice but it actually tastes best with some prata, even if it's the frozen ready type.

Serves 2 -3

Ingredients:

3                             shallots, sliced
2 cloves                 garlic, minced
2 slices                  old ginger
2 tablespoons        cooking oil
300g                      salmon belly slices
2                            chilli padi, sliced
1/2 cube                fish bouillion cube
2 tablespoons        fish curry powder

Method:

Heat a wok with 2 tablespoons on medium heat and add in the minced garlic, sliced ginger and sliced shallots. Fry for about 2 minutes or until fragrant.

Mix the curry powder with some water until a thin paste is formed. Transfer the paste into the wok, and add in a few more tablespoons of water. Fry on low heat until a layer of oil forms on top of the paste, usually for about 5 minutes.

Pour in 500ml of water, mix well and bring the water to boil. Add in the salmon belly slices, bouillion cube and sliced chilli padi. Lower heat to low and simmer covered for about 10 minutes.

Cincalok Omelette

 

My brother has recently returned from a short getaway to Malacca, Malaysia with a bottle of cincalok - fermented small shrimp. Usually served as a condiment, the pungent salty pink little shrimps can also be fried with dishes. One of the easiest way to showcase that unique gorgeous flavour, is to fry it with an omelette. Absolutely delicious, if you ask me.

Ingredients:

2                              eggs
1/2                           white onion or 4 shallots, sliced
1                              red chilli or 2 small chilli padi (if you like it spicier), sliced
1 tablespoon            cincalok or more if you prefer
2 tablespoons          cooking oil

Method:

Heat a frying pan with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Add in the sliced onion and chilli and fry until it is fragrant.

Beat the eggs with the cincalok and add into the frying pan.

Fry each side of the omelette on high heat for about 30 seconds and serve.

Creamed Spinach

 

I've had a huge bunch of spinach left in the fridge and decided that a creamed spinach will be the ideal side to my grilled meat. Creamed spinach uses heavy cream but if you run into a situation like me where you don't keep heavy cream at home, you can always subsitute with some milk and butter. If using low fat milk, do add in 1/2 tablespoon of flour and you are all set to go.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 packet                     spinach, washed and drained

1/2 clove                    garlic, minced

3                                 shallots, minced

2 tablespoons             butter

1/4 cup                       heavy cream (or 1/4 cup milk with 1 tablespoons butter)

pinch                          nutmeg

                                   salt and pepper to season

 

Method:

 

Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Add in the spinach and cook for about 2 minutes. Drain, squeeze the water out of the spinach and chop finely.

 

In a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of butter and add in shallots and garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.

 

Add in the spinach, cream, nutmeg and salt and pepper. Stir and cook for about 4 minutes or until the liquid has reduced and reached a thickened consistency.