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. 

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.

Shrimp Paste Chicken (Har Cheong Gai)

Shrimp Paste Chicken is one of the most popular dishes ordered in Tze Char stalls or Cantonese restaurants. I was invited for a potluck session recently and couldn't think of a better food to bring than a box of crispy fried chicken.  I've made 25 of them in total but only managed to bring 20 over (my sister couldn't keep her hands off them!). The trick to achieving that awesome crispiness is to fry the wings a second time on a super high heat before serving.

Ingredients:

20                           chicken mid wings
1 tablespoon           fermented red bean curd sauce (nan ru)
2 tablespoons         shrimp paste
1/2 tablespoon        sugar
2 tablespoons         Chinese wine
1 tablespoon           oyster sauce
1 tablespoon           ginger juice
3                             shallots, sliced
1/2 teaspoon           ground white pepper
                               corn flour or tapioca flour
                               Oil for frying

Method:

Mix all the ingredients ogether except for the flour. Set aside in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Heat the oil to a frying temperature. I will usually test the oil with a wooden chopstick. If bubbles are formed on the chopstick when you dip it in, the oil is ready to be used. Switch to medium heat.

Coat the marinated wings with corn or tapioca flour, pat off the excess and fry till light golden brown. Remove and set aside. Reheat the oil on high heat for another 1 to 2 minutes. Re fry the chicken wings on high heat for another minute or so to achieve that ultra cripsy texture.

Mixed Cabbage Rice with Pork Belly, Dried Oyster and Chinese Mushroom

A much-loved family favourite, my mum often served this rice dish together with a pot of bitterguord or radish soup. This, for many years, has been my family's favourite dinner combination. A one pot/wok meal, you don't really need much condiments to this as the ingredients used are super flavoursome. For those who are not confident of cooking rice on a stove top, you can transfer all the ingredients into the rice cooker after frying them, adding the cabbage only when the rice is fully cooked.

Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients:

1 cup                          rice, rinsed and drained
1/2 head                     cabbage, rinsed and tore into bite sizes
1 slab                         pork belly, sliced
6                                dried Chinese mushroom, soaked and sliced thinly
2 tablespoons             dried shrimp, soaked in 1 cup of water
5 large                        dried oyster, soaked and chopped
3 cloves                      garlic, minced
3                                shallot, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon              cooking oil
1 tablespoon              dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon              ground white pepper

Method:

Heat a wok with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil on high heat. Drain the dried shrimp and add into the wok, setting aside the water for usage later.

Fry the dried shrimp until fragrant and add in the minced garlic and sliced shallots. Fry for another 2 minutes.

Add in the sliced pork belly, sliced Chinese mushroom and chopped dried oyster. Stir them on high heat until the pork belly is almost fully cooked.

Mix in 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon of ground white pepper and fry for another minute or until you can smell the caramelization of the soy sauce. Mix in the rice and fry for another minute.

Add in the water used for soaking the dried shrimp. Lower the heat to the lowest and cover the wok with a lid. Remove the lid after 5 minutes and place the cabbage on top of the rice.

Cover with lid for another 5 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked, adding more water if required.

Mix well and serve.

Happy Call Pan Recipe - Omelette Galore

If you are a porridge fan just like me, I'm sure you will be pretty familiar with those wonderful variations of omelette that goes divinely with it.  I wanted to experiment cooking omelette using the Happy call pan since no oil are used. It turned out to be surprisingly moist and fluffy as the omelette was in a way 'steamed' when the pan is closed (locked). For those omelette lovers out there, I've listed my favourite combinations here in this post for your reference. Enjoy.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

4                    eggs, beaten
1 tablespoon   light soy sauce
1 dash             white ground pepper

Mix all ingredients together. This is the base for the omelette.

Omelette Combinations:

Chai poh omelette
- 1 clove of minced garlic, 2 tablespoons of chai poh, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar

Prawn & onion omelette
- 1/2 sliced yellow onion, 6 shrimp sliced half lengthwise

Onion omelette
- 1 sliced yellow onion

Long beans omelette
- 1 clove of minced garlic, 1 cup of thinly sliced long beans

Oriental omelette
- 2 chinese mushrooms thinly sliced, 1/2 lup cheong thinly sliced, 1/2 sliced yellow onion

Minced meat omelette
- 100g minced pork

Foo yong omelette
- 1 tablespoon of chopped char siew, 1/4 cup of beansprouts, 1 stalk of sliced scallion, 1/4 sliced yellow onion, 1 tablespoon of chopped shrimp, 1/2 sliced chilli

Method:

Heat the Happy Call Pan on medium-high heat for a minute. Add in the ingredients and lock the pan for two minutes. Lock for 4 minutes if you are cooking the long beans and 6 minutes if you are cooking the minced meat.

Open the pan and pour in the prepared egg mixture. Close and lock for two minutes.

Flip over and cook for another minute. Open and serve.

Stir Fried Petai with Anchovies

A common dish found in grilled seafood or Nasi Padang stalls, petai is usually a little more expensive as compared to the other vegetable dishes. It is not an expensive ingredient to begin with but the process of cutting the beans up into half one by one (to ensure that there are no hidden pests), is pretty exhausting and hence the price tag. Often fried with sambal, I've created another version with chilli padi instead (simply because I ran out of sambal). Don't worry, I promised that the taste hasn't in anyway been compromised.

Ingredients:

1 packet                  petai, cut into halves lengthwise
1 medium                 red onion, sliced thinly
2 tablespoons          dried anchovies (ikan billis), washed and drained
5 stalk                     chilli padi, sliced
1 tablespoon            cooking oil
1 teaspoon               sugar
1/4 teaspoon            salt
2 tablespoons           water

Method:

Heat a frying pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil on medium-high heat. Add in the dried anchovies and fry till the anchovies are crispy and golden brown in colour.

Add in the sliced red onion and sliced chilli padi and give it a quick stir.

Stir in the prepared petai beans, 2 tablespoons of water, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stir fry for another minute and serve with steamed rice.

Fiery Sambal Udang

Sambal Udang (Prawns with Sambal) is one of my favourite 5-minute dish when I need a quick fix or when I'm super hungry. All you need really, is a good bottle of sambal belachan. The bottled ones are a little lacking in flavour as compared to the homemade version but nonetheless still deliver the heat required. It is also a lot more convenient as its shelf life of a year ensures that you'll always have sambal belachan in the fridge whenever you need it.

One key ingredient in this dish is the usage of tamarind (also known as assam) that gives it a little tangy sour taste. This is often soaked in advance to obtain tamarind water but since we have only got 5 minutes to spare, I have opted to include the tamarind into the dish itself. A reminder though, to always remove it before serving.

Ingredients:

8             large prawns, deveined with head and tail in tact
1             garlic clove, minced
2             shallots, sliced
1 tbsp     sambal belachan
1 slice     dried tamarind (assam)
1 tbsp     vegetable oil
1/4 cup   water

Method:

Heat pan with 1 tablespoon of oil. Add in minced garlic and sliced shallots and fry till fragrant.

Add in 1 tablespoon of sambal belachan, fry slightly and add in the tamarind slice and water.

Add in the prawns and cook till they are pink and the sauce reduced. Remove the slice of tamarind from the pan and serve with a bowl of hot steaming rice.