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.

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.

Braised Chinese Mushroom with Spinach

I was in the mood of cooking up a Chinese banquet feast for myself. It was just one of those days that I wanted to feel a little special by having a table of full of dishes and I get to pretend that I've been invited to a banquet dinner. LOL. The dish would have been perfect if sea cucumber were included but unfortunately I didn't get to prepare that in time. As some of you may know, preparing sea cucumber is a tedious and time-consuming affair. Nah, don't think I can hold out that long.

Serves 3 - 4

Ingredients:

1 packet                 spinach, washed and drained
8 - 12 pieces          dried chinese mushroom, soaked, squeezed dry and stemmed
1 cup                      liquid from soaking the mushroom
1 tablespoon          chinese wine
1 tablespoon          oyster sauce
1 tablespoon           light soy sauce
1 teaspoon             sesame oil
1 teaspoon             sugar
1 teaspoon             cornstarch
1 tablespoon          cooking oil

Method:

Heat a pot with a tablespoon of cooking oil on medium high heat. Add in the prepared mushroom and give it a quick stir for about 2 to 3 minutes.

Mix all the seasoning excluding the cornstarch together. Pour the sauce mixture into the pot and bring to boil.

Lower heat and simmer covered for about 20 to 25 minutes. If using sea cucumber, add more water and increase the time to 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring a big pot of water to boil. Blanch the spinach for about a minute and drain. Arrange neatly on a plate.

Mix 1 teaspoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Pour into the pot of mushroom when done. Stir rapidly and turn off the heat.

Pour the mushroom and sauce onto the blanched spinach and serve.

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.

Braised Pork Trotters in Vinegar 猪脚醋

My mum has been super zealous about my blog these days. She's been buying home tons of fresh ingredients from the wet market and have been urging me to learn new recipes from her to post them on the blog. At times, she will even comment on how I can improve the presentation of my dishes so that it will look more appealing to the readers! Today's recipe was of course her idea and was done under strict supervision. After all, she does have a reputation of being a good cook in the family.

Serves 5

Ingredients:

2                            whole pork trotters, chopped into smaller pieces
2                            whole old ginger, smashed
1                            whole young ginger, smashed
2 tablespoons        sesame oil
500ml                    sweet dark rice vinegar
2 large                   rock sugar
2 cups                    water
5                            hard boiled eggs (optional)


Method:

Heat a huge stock pot of water to boil. Add in the pork trotters and boil for 5 minutes. Drain away the water and rinse the pork trotters with cold running water for about a minute. Strain and set aside.

In another pot, heat up 2 tablespoons of sesame oil on medium high heat. Add in the smashed ginger and fry till fragrant.

Add in the pork trotters and stir them for about 5 minutes.

Pour in the vinegar and water and bring to boil. Lower heat and add in 2 large pieces of rock sugar. Simmer for about 1 hour or until the pork trotters. Add in some peeled hard boiled eggs, if desired.

Braised Duck with Ginger

Packed with robust flavours and unbelievably simple, this slow braised duck with ginger is recipe from my dearest Mum. As with all other braised dishes, the duck tastes better when it is braised for a longer period of time, and especially so when it is left overnight and reheated again the next day. Unfortunately most supermarkets in Singapore only sell duck as a whole. If a whole duck is too much food for your family, packed half of it into the freezer after it cools. Good to keep for a good 3 months!

Ingredients:

1                            duck, chopped
2                            old ginger, julienned
2 tablespoons         cooking oil
3 tablespoons         sesame oil
4 tablespoons         light soya sauce
4 tablespoons         dark soya sauce
11/2 cup                     water

Method:

Heat a wok on medium high with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil and 3 tablespoons of sesame oil. Add in the ginger and fry till golden brown.

Add in the duck and fry for another 5 minutes.

Add in the light and dark soy sauce and stir fry for a minute or so.

Add in 1 1/2 cup of water and bring to boil. Lower heat to simmer for at least 40 minutes.

Taiwan Braised Pork Rice 台式卤肉饭

When in Rome, do as the Romans do. So when in Taiwan, do remember to eat their fatty, cholesterol-packed but super delicious Braised Pork Rice. I had such a craving for it that I couldn't wait till my next trip to that land of fantabulous food. Some recipes I found include ingredients such as Chinese mushroom or dried shrimp but mine is just a basic, simple recipe that serves me pretty well.

Serves 2
Ingredients:

2 pieces                    pork belly, blanched and cut into small cubes
2 medium                  red onion, sliced thinly
3 cloves                    garlic, minced
1 thumbsized             ginger, minced
2                              eggs, boiled and peeled
2 tablespoons           rice wine
2 tablespoons           dark soya sauce
1 tablespoon             light soya sauce
1 tablespoon             rock sugar
1/2 teaspoon            ground white pepper
1/2 teaspoon            five-spiced powder
2 tablespoons           cooking oil
2 cups                      water


Method:

Fry the sliced onion in cooking oil in a saucepan till they are golden brown. Strain the onion and set aside, keeping the oil in the pan.

Reheat the saucepan with oil and add in the minced garlic and ginger. Fry till fragrant.

Add in pork belly which has been blanched in boiling water and cubed. Fry until the pork is thoroughly cooked and its oil released.

Add in 2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce and 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce. Fry for a minute and add in the rice wine. Stir in the ground white pepper, five-spiced powder and rock sugar. Mix well and add in 2 cups or more water, ensuring that the water is 2cm above the meat. Bring to boil.

Lower the heat, add in the pre-fried onions, boiled eggs and simmer for 1 to 2 hours.

Serve with steamed rice and poached green vegetables.

扣肉包 (Kong Ba Pau)

My philosophy for food: The higher the cholesterol, the better it tastes. This was until I started gaining that extra few pounds a year ago. Then again, indulgence once in a while is more than reasonable. I have no idea how to make the 馒头(steamed bun) so I've happily bought mine ready-made from the supermarkets. All you need to do is to pop them into the steamer for a quick couple of minutes and they will be (to me at least!)as good as the freshly-made ones. If you find adding the spices a little cumbersome, you can easily replace it with a packet of herbal Bak Kut Teh bag from A1.

Serves 3
Ingredients:

2 pieces         pork belly
5 cloves        garlic, unpeeled
1 piece          cinnamon
1 piece          star anise
2 pieces         cloves
1/2 tsp           5-spice powder
3 tbsp            thick dark soy sauce
2 tbsp            light soy sauce
1 tbsp            vegetable oil
2 cups           water

Method:

Heat a saucepan and add in 1 tablespoon of oil. Add in the garlic cloves and pork belly. Brown the pork belly slightly, about 2 minutes.

Add in 3 tablespoons of dark soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce and 2 cups of water. Add in the spices and 5-spice powder. Bring to boil and lower to simmer for about 50 minutes or until the pork belly soften.

Cut each pork belly into 3 equal sizes and serve with steamed bun.