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.