Classic Spaghetti Carbonara

A good plate of Spaghetti Carbonara is not as easy as it seems. Lest you think that it's simply just adding cream to it, the actual version uses only egg and cheese to create that much-loved creaminess. The important point to note when cooking the sauce is to ALWAYS remove your pan from the heat before you stir in the eggs and cheese. Trust me, you do not want scrambled egg pasta instead! If you are using the heat retaining induction pan, it's always safer to cool it off for at least half a minute. Ciao!
Serves 1
Ingredients:

100gm                   dried spaghetti
2 pieces                 streaky bacon, cut into smaller pieces
1 clove                   garlic, minced
1/2 tablespoon       olive oil
1                           egg, beaten
1/2 cup                  parmesan cheese, grated
1 teaspoon            parsley leaves, chopped
                             ground black pepper
                             salt

Method:

Cook the spaghetti in salted boiling water according to the packet instructions. Reserve 1/3 cup of the cooked pasta water.

Heat a saucepan with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil and add in the chopped bacon. Fry until the bacon is cripsy and its oil released.

Add in 1 clove of minced garlic and fry till fragrant. Switch off the heat, add in the cooked spaghetti and mix well.

Pour in the beaten egg and grated parmesan cheese and mix rapidly, adding some of the reserved pasta water to create the sauce.

Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and garnish with chopped parsley leaves.

Deonbokjuk (Abalone Porridge)

Commonly seen in Korean drama series, Deonbokjuk (abalone porridge) is a famous dish using freshly-shucked abalone from Jeju island. It is highly nourishing and is an ideal nutritional supplement for those recovering from sickness or simply when you are lacking in appetite. Short-grain rice is preferred but the usual Jasmine long-grain will do as well. This recipe calls for fresh abalone but since that's hardly available in Singapore, I've cooked mine using canned ones instead. I was being a little extravagant by using those gigantic Mexican canned abalone but you can easily replace it with half a can of mini abalone, you just got to ensure that you sliced them thinly as chunks of abalone flesh can be quite taxing on your jaw muscles.

Ingredients:

1 cup                  white rice
2 small                fresh abalone, chopped (or half can of abalone)
1 small                carrot, chopped finely
2 cloves              garlic, minced
2 tablespoons      sesame oil
1 stalk                 scallion, chopped
1 sheet                toasted seaweed, shredded
1/2 teaspoon       salt


Method:

Soak the rice in water for 3 hours or a minimum of 30 minutes. The longer you soak the rice, the finer the porridge. Strain and keep aside.

Heat a pot on medium heat with 2 tablespoons of sesame oil. Add in the minced garlic and chopped carrot and stir-fry for a minute. Add in the abalone and stir-fry for another minute.

Mix in the pre-soaked rice and fry for another 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in 5 cups of water and bring to boil.

Lower heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Season with salt and serve with the chopped scallion and seaweed.

Happy Call Pan Recipe - Grilled Rosemary-Thyme Chicken with Broccoli

I've recently acquired the much acclaimed double-sided Happy Call Pan from Korea and couldn't wait to try it out. The verdict: I loved it! The skin was crispy and the meat tender and succulent. The best part of it all, it's oil splatter free! At the end of the meal, all I needed to wash was just one pan and a plate. I used dried herbs in this recipe but if you are fortunate enough to possess the fresh stuff, do increase the amount to 1 tablespoon instead.

Serves 1
Ingredients:

1                        boneless chicken leg with skin
2 cloves              garlic, minced
2 tablespoons     olive oil
1/2 teaspoon       dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon       dried thyme
1 tablespoon       lemon juice
1 teaspoon          sea salt
1/2 teaspoon       black pepper
5                         broccoli floret stalks

Method:

Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a resealable bag. Add in 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme, 1/2 teaspoon of dried rosemary, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1 teaspoon of sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper, 2 cloves of minced garlic and mix well.

Add in the chicken leg and refigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Heat the happy call pan on the stove on medium-high heat. Add in the chicken leg skin side down. Close the pan and lock it.

Flip the pan over after 4 minutes and cook on the stove for another 3 minutes.

Remove the cooked chicken, leaving the juices behind. Add in the broccoli florets and close the pan, locking it. Flip the pan over after 1 minute and cook on the stove for another half minute. Open and serve the broccoli with the chicken.

Note: You can also cook this dish using a normal frying pan. You'll probably need 4 minutes on the skin side and another 5 minutes on the other. Do use a cover though as you'll want the juices to remain in the pan for the broccoli.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

After several disappointing attempts in trying to find an ideal carrot cake in bakeries, I resorted to finding recipes instead. Many were loaded with enough sugar to kill the non-diabetic, whereas some were simply missing that creamy cream cheese frosting that I love. After merging several different recipes and tweaking them a little on my own, I think I've managed to concoct something that was satisfactory, to me at least. So, here's my version of an almost-gorgeous carrot cake.

Carrot Cake

Ingredients:

1 cup                           plain flour

3/4 cup                        sugar

1 teaspoon                   baking soda

1 teaspoon                   ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon                salt

2                                  eggs

3/4 cup                         vegetable oil

11/2 cups                     carrot, grated

1/2 cup                         walnuts, toasted and chopped

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease the baking tin with butter.

In a large bowl, sift flour, sugar, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt together. 

Add in the eggs and vegetable and whisk till combined.  

Add in the grated carrot and chopped walnuts. Pour into the baking tin and bake for about 30 minutes or until a skewer is clear when inserted into the cake. Set aside to cool before spreading on the frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 packet                cream cheese, room temperature

250g                      salted butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon          vanilla extract

200g                      icing sugar

Method:

Mix all ingredients together and spread on top of carrot cake.

Korean Japchae

Comprising of an assortment of vegetables with sweet potato noodles, Japchae is a traditional Korean dish usually served during special occasions or celebrations. Bearing similarities with our Chinese Chap Chye, this dish however, is not exactly a total stir-fry. The purists will insist that the dish tastes better when it is cooked separately and mixed together by hand thereafter. It is pretty time-consuming preparely the ingredients separately, perhaps the reason why it's only served during special occasions!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 bunch                       sweet potato noodles

1/2 medium                 carrot, shredded
1 cup                          spinach
3 stalk                         spring onion, cut into 2 inches long

5                                 dried mushrooms, soaked in water for at least 30 minutes,sliced thinly

2 cloves                       garlic, minced

200g                            thinly sliced beef

1/2 medium                  onion, sliced

1 tablespoon                toasted white sesame
                                    sesame oil

                                    light soy sauce

                                    sugar
                                    cooking oil

Method:

Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in the sweet potato noodles and cook according to packet instruction. Mine was cooked in 8 minutes. Strain and mix with 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce. Set aside in a large mixing bowl.

Cook spinach in a pot of boiling water for 1 minute. Remove and rinse through with cold running water. Squeeze out the excess water and cut into 2 inches long. Mix with 1/1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and 1/2 tablespoon of sesame oil. Transfer into the large mixing bowl with the sweet potato noodles.

Heat a pan with 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil. Stir fry the shredded carrot for a minute. Transfer into the large mixing bowl. Repeat the same procedue for the sliced onion and spring onion, but using only 10 seconds for the spring onions.

Heat the pan with another 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add in 2 cloves of minced garlic, the sliced mushroom and beef. Stir in 1/2 tablespoon of sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of light soy sauce. Stir fry for a minute or until the beef is fully cooked. Transfer into the large mixing bowl.

Mix 2 tablespoons of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of sugar and 3 tablespoons of light soy sauce. Pour into the large mixing bowl.

Mix all ingredients by hand (wearing gloves of course!) and serve warm with steamed white rice and kimchi.