Mum's Soya Chicken Wings

This is one of the first few recipes that I picked up from my Mum when I was young. Younger. Unfortunately I haven't been cooking this dish for ages until recently when my fridge was pathetically empty. I thank God that I still had a small packet of frozen chicken wings in the freezer compartment! 5 ingredients is all you need and trust me, you will start stocking up on frozen chicken wings for this.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

4                           chicken wings
6 cloves                garlic, peeled
3 tablespoons       dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons       light soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon      white sugar

Method:

Place 6 cloves of peeled whole garlic in a small pot big enough to hold the chicken wings.

Place the wings on top of the garlic and add in 3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce.

Cover with lid and place on stove on low heat. Open the lid after 5 minutes and give the wings a stir, ensuring that that the wings are evenly coated with the sauce. The wings will release some of its juices when it's cooking and if the liquid dries up slightly, pour in 1/2 cup of water and continue simmering over the stove.

Remove from heat after 7-10 minutes and mix in 1/2 tablespoons of white sugar. Remove the wings from the pot and discard the garlic. Serve hot.

Jjimdak (Korean Steamed Chicken)

Crazy me didn't had enough of Korea. I have just touched down from Seoul late last night and here I am cooking Korean food again. Well, this was my favourite dish throughout my week long holiday and have terribly regretted not going back for a 2nd round. So here I am trying my best to replicate the exact flavours in my own kitchen. Unfortunately I am not a good imitator but the dish turned out to be pretty good, according to my sister. I am not a fan of white meat and hence I chose to use only dark meat in this dish. You can use half a chicken if preferred.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

5                                    chicken wings, separated into wings and drumlets
2 tablespoons                cooking oil
6 cloves                         garlic, minced
1 tablespoon                  ginger, minced
6                                    dried chilli, cut into smaller pieces
1                                    red chilli, sliced
1                                    carrot, sliced
1 large                           yellow onions, quartered
3                                    potatoes, skinned and quartered
6                                    spring onions, cut into 2-inches long
1 tablespoon                  toasted sesame seed
200g                              cellophane noodles, soaked and drained
3 cups                            water
1 tablespoon                  sesame oil
                                      ground white pepper

Sauce:

3 tablespoons                 light soy sauce
1 tablespoons                 dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons                 oyster sauce
2 tablespoons                 sugar

Method:

Heat a skillet with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Add in the dried red chilli and fry for until fragrant, taking care not to burn the chillies. Remove the chilli and set aside.

Add in the chicken pieces and stir fry for about 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the minced garlic and ginger and fry for another 2 minutes.

Pour in the sauce mixture, 3 cups of water and the prepared potatoes. Bring to boil for 10 minutes.

Add in the carrot, onion and cover with lid. Boil for another 5 to 8 minutes.

Stir in the cellophane noodles and boil for another 3 to 5 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in the spring onions, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, a dash of ground white pepper.

Garnish with toasted sesame seeds and more spring onions, if desired.

Kimchi Chigae (Kimchi Stew)

Anyeonghasayo! All thanks to my recent obsession with the Korean culture, I found my kitchen fully stocked with a good variety of Korean ingredients. Packed with piquent, tangy flavours, this appetite-whetting kimchi stew is ideal for one of those cold rainy days or whenever the lazy side gets the better of you. Goes superbly with a bowl of steamed rice.

Ingredients:

100g                        pork belly, thinly sliced (I used the sukiyaki type)

1 packet                   silken tofu, cut into small pieces

1/2 medium              yellow onion, sliced

1 stalk                      scallion, cut into 1-inch long

1 cup                        chopped kimchi

1/2 tablespoon          gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)

1/2 tablespoon          sugar

3 cups                       water

1 teaspoon                sesame oil

Method:

Place all ingredients except the tofu and sesame oil in a pot. Bring to boil for 10 minutes. Lower heat and simmer for another 20 minutes, adding the tofu during the last 5 minutes. Drizzle the sesame oil over and serve.

Nikujaga - Japanese Potato Beef Stew

With the pouring rain outside my window and the need to wait for a parcel delivery, I've decided to give visiting the supermarket a miss and cook with whatever is left in the pantry. I found some leftover sukiyaki beef slices in the freezer and Nikujaga - a Japanese beef stew with potato, is what I've decided to simmer on the stove today. Commonly known as the Mom's traditional stew, this dish is a simple stew using three key condiments: soy sauce, mirin and sugar, the exact same ingredients for many Japanese dishes including the famous teriyaki and gyudon.

Ingredients:

200g                  sliced beef
1 medium           yellow onion, sliced
2 medium           potatoes, peeled and quartered
1.5 cups             dashi stock
3 tablespoons     soy sauce
2 tablespoons     mirin
1/2 tablespoon    white sugar
1 tablespoon       vegetable oil

Method:

Heat a pan with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Fry the beef slices till brown and add in the sliced onion and cut potatoes. Fry them until the onions have softened.

Pour in 1.5 cups of dashi stock and bring to boil. Add in 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of mirin and 1/2 tablespoon of white sugar. Lower heat to simmer for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are soft. Serve with steamed white rice.

Chye Buey - Hokkien Leftover Stew

Chye Buey is the ideal dish to clean out all the food in the fridge left behind from the Lunar New Year celebrations. Roasted duck, roasted meat, roasted chicken, pig trotters, prawns, shellfish, you name it. This is a classic Hokkien stew and is made using three main ingredients: mustard vegetables, tamarind (assam) and dried chilli. The rest is up to your culinary imagination.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

2 cloves           garlic, minced
2 slices             old ginger
1 tablespoon    vegetable oil
4 slices             tamarind
8 pieces           dried chilli (more if you prefer it spicier)
3 bunch            mustard vegetable, washed and cut into smaller pieces
1 litre               water
500g                combination or variation of roasted duck, roasted meat, chicken, pig trotters, prawns

Method:

Heat a pot with 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. Add in the minced garlic and sliced ginger and fry till fragrant. Add in the leftover ingredients and fry for a minute.

Add in 1 litre of water, 8 pieces of dried chilli, 4 tamarind slices and bring to boil. Add in the mustard vegetables and lower heat to simmer for 2 to 3hours. Serve with steamed rice or porridge.

Kiam Chye Ark or Itek Tim

I had a near full packet of Kiam Chye (salted mustard) left over from steaming a fish and the natural thing to do is boil a pot of soup. Kiam Chye Ark or better known as Itek Tim to the Peranakans is a simple, amazingly flavoursome soup that tastes even better the next day! So if you do have any leftovers, be sure to keep it in the fridge and heat it up again the next day. All you need is a bowl of steamed rice!

Ingredients:

1/2 whole       duck, chopped into smaller pieces
1 packet          salted mustard (kiam chye), soaked and cut into smaller pieces
2                     tomatoes, quartered
6 slices           old ginger
2 slices           tamarind
3                    preserved salted plums
2 litres           water

Method:

Place all ingredients into a stock pot and bring to a boil. Skim off any scum that floats to the surface of the soup. Lower the heat to a simmer for 90 minutes.

Korean Army Stew - Budae Jjigae

This was a result of watching way too much Korean drama. I just HAD to eat something that is commonly featured in those heart wrenching episodes. Many a times, we see instant noodles with packet cheese, or a bowl of hot piping kimchi ramen (Ramen by the way, are just another form of instant noodles in Korea). I wanted to treat myself to something a little better and chose this Korean 'stew' brimming with American ingredients (an interesting creation during the Korean war) instead.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

1/2 can            Spam, sliced
2 whole           frankfurters, sliced
1 bunch           spinach, cut into 2 inches long
1 bunch           mung bean sprouts, with ends removed
1 block            tofu, cut into small pieces
2 cups             chicken stock (or water with 1 chicken bouillon cube)
1 tbsp              sesame oil
2 cloves          garlic, minced
1 tbsp              gochujiang (Korean red pepper paste)
1 piece            Korean instant noodles (only the noodles)

Method:

Add sesame oil into a pot and add in garlic and gochujiang. Fry for about half a minute and add in chicken stock. Add in all ingredients except for the instant noodles. Bring to boil and lower to simmer for about 10 minutes. Add in the instant noodles 3 minutes prior to serving.