Pear Tonic

ingredients:

2 nashi pear, cut into wedges
900ml water
rock sugar to taste (i used a piece the size of a baby's fist)

all these optional:
4 red dates
6 huai shan (dried burdock root)
1/2 tbsp wolf berries
1 tsp sweet n bitter almonds

method:
1. Rinse chinese herbs if using.
2. Put everything (except sugar) in a slow cooker and cook on high for 2 hours.
3. Add sugar and serve hot or cold.

serves 4-6

comments: this is supposedly excellent stuff for the throat and cooling for the body, especially nourishing when you have to pull an all-nighter...and i reckon...good for the complexion too??? :)

try us!!

there r four dishes in this picture obviously...but i m just gonna post the recipes for the chicken (in white bowl) and tofu on the blue flower plate...they rank very highly on my favourites list and i will cook (or at least consider cooking) them whenever i invite friends over for chinese food.
picture quality is not that good..but they taste fabulous...especially the 3 cup chicken...quite foolproof too!!! If there is any maincourse recipe that you wanna try from our blog, pick this one ok!! :D

3 cups chicken (San Bei Ji)

Ingredients

1 kg chicken thigh, bone in, chopped into pieces (bone = more flavour)
few slices old ginger
4 cloves of garlic
4 tablespoon sugar
3/4 cup Hua Tiao wine
1/2 cup bowl sesame oil
1/2 cup bowl oyster sauce
few stalks spring onion
1 tbsp oil

Method

Heat oil, fry the ginger, garlic til fragrant.
Add chicken and fry for a few more minutes til it is slightly browned.
Throw all 3 'cups' in, add sugar and lower heat to a simmer. Cook for 20mins.
Garnish with sping onion and serve hot with jasmine rice.

Comments:the original proportions were 1:1:1 wine, sesame oil and oyster sauce but i found it to be too oily and salty, hence the reduced quantities. You can keep any leftover sauce and stir it through rice (for another meal of course)...
Very delish!

Tofu with Coridander and Shallots

Ingredients

1 pack Japanese silken tofu
4 tbsp anise star infused light soy sauce*
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp oil, preferably canola or peanut.
1 shallot
a small bunch of coriander, chopped.

Method

Cut tofu into cubes.
Heat soy sauce and water in sauce pan.
Pour over tofu.
Slice shallot thinly n pan fry until light brown.
Pour oil and shallots over tofu.
Sprinkle coriander on top.
Serve with jasmine rice.

comments: very simple right...but oh so good...especially with rice..!! I learnt this from a dear friend and she HAS TO cook it for me whenever i visit her house...hehe...

*I couldn't find the special anise star soy sauce in adelaide so i grinded some anise stars and added the powder to my light soy sauce...if you don't have a food processor, just crush the anise slightly and pop it into the bottle, that'll work too....but perhaps wait a week or two for the flavour to infuse thoroughly..

bim bim ba!

hum there isnt any recepi i followed i used my instinct ha!! oh well cooking is all abt experimenting!


Bim Bim Ba sauce
Chili bean sauce also known as ToBanJan (Lee Kum Kee )
Sugar
Miso
Kecep Manis (ABC sweet sauce)


i added abt 1 tbsp of chili bean with 1.5tbsp of miso, a tbsp of of miri n 1 tbsp of sugar.. hum mix it n added more ingredients here n there.. it was more of making the sauce suitable to my taste.

so i arrange chicken, wakame(seaweed), egg, carrots, bean sprout, pour the paste on top and mix it! it was pretty easy and i was very satisfied with the taste! it was a successful attempt! ->

Potato Leek Apricot Couscous!!

ingredients:
250 g couscous
250 g bacon (rind removed, diced, separate the fats and flesh)
1 leek, sliced finely
4 potatos, chopped
1/2 cup dried apricot, chopped

seasoning:
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs light soy sauce
3 tbs water
1 tsp sesame oil
0.5 tsp black pepper
0.5 tsp parprika
dash of chilli powder (more if u like it spicy!)

method:
1. Add 250ml of boiling water to couscous. Allow to stand for 5 minutes. Fluff up with fork and add more water if too dry.
2. microwave potato with 2 tbsp water for 10 minutes or til soft.
3. Add the fatty bits of the bacon into a pan. Turn on heat and allow the oils to melt before adding the not-so-fatty bits of the bacon. Fry til crispy and remove from pan.
4. Add leeks to pan and fry til soft. Add potato and fry for a couple minutes.
5. Turn off fire and mix in couscous and seasonings. Sprinkle with bacon bits.
Can be served hot or chilled.

comments: Potato, leek and bacon= very good friends!!! Why the addition of apricot?? Cos this will be served chilled, so i hope the slight crunch n tangy flavour of the dried fruit will add texture and contrast...if serving hot, omit the apricots..and the dish will taste more 'comforting', i guess...
hee..this is actually a random (read: what i can find in the kitchen) recipe that i came up with for tomorrow's visit to the pear orchard... :)

Pizza..

Base (more of a bread type base, can make 2 regular pizzas)

- 300 ml warm water

- 2 tsp dried yeast

- large pinch of sugar (i used 1/2 tsp)

- 4 cups plain flour

- 2 tsp salt

- olive oil

Method:

1. Combine water, yeast, and sugar in a bowl, set aside for 5 mins or until foamy.

2. Add flour, salt, and oil (i used 2 tbsp) and stir, adding a little extra water if necessary (i actually used about extra 1 cup of water to knead into dough).

3. Use your hands to bring the dough together in the bowl.

4. Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 mins or until the dough is smooth and elastic.

5. Brush a large bowl with extra oil to grease.

6. Place dough in the bowl and turn to coat in the oil.

7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm, draught-free place for an hour or until double in size (it really doubled in size!!).

8. It said in the recipe book that the doubled size dough can be baked already, but I kept it in the fridge overnight before use after it doubled in size.

Toppings (your preference)

I used...

- eggplant-based tomato sauce

- marinated chicken cubes

- ham

- pineapple

- red onion

- mozzarella cheese (for cheese lovers.. the more the better!)

- parmesan cheese (don't use too much.. as I think its saltier)

Comments:

- Bake the dough base in the oven first for like 5-10 mins before adding ingredients, to prevent the ingredients from getting "dehydrated".

- When i baked for the first time, I put the dough base and ingredients together into the oven and baked for whole 20 mins, and my ham became very "dehydrated" and crisp.. =(

- Ya! almost forgot.. baking takes 20 mins.. dough base only 10 mins, take out, put your toppings, return to oven, another 10 mins.

- Enjoy!

(adapted from Woolworths good taste, Issue: April 2007)

tau suan (mung bean dessert)

for 4-6 pax

ingredients:

3/4 pandan leaves*, washed n tied into a knot
250g tau suan (mung bean/ spilt green bean)
1.5 l water
brown and white sugar to taste
tapioca flour
pinch of salt

method:

1. soak beans overnight.
2. add pinch of salt and steam til soft (but not too crumbly, otherwise it will melt later; ard 10-12 minutes)
3. boil water with pandan leaves for around 10 minutes, add sugar to taste. (brown / white, up to u..)
4. mix tapioca flour with a little COLD water and pour slowly into the syrup. Add sufficient tapioca mixture til syrup becomes thick. (Test by dropping some beans into it; the beans should float. I think i used around 5-6 tbsp tapocia flour)
5. Add rest of the beans and serve hot.

comments: i added the pinch of salt to recreate the slighty savoury taste of tau suan back home served with fried dough fritters..this is really quite a simple dessert which is lovely during rainy days!

*for those in Adelaide, pandan leaves are available from the FROZEN department of asian grocers...i only found them after searching for ONE YEAR..and boy, was I happy when i finally bought them!! Can make pandan chiffon cakes, ondeh ondeh, a multitude of chinese soupy desserts and even braised chicken.... what a versatile ingredient..!! :D

Egg Tarts for Anzac day!!

tomorrow is Anzac day...so to commemorate the occasion, Sik Yin decided to make egg tarts!! (not really!! ha..i think she was just more relaxed so could indulge in some 'extra' baking...)

we followed Aunty Yochana's recipe...first we made 2 dozen mini egg tarts using a mini muffin tray..quite pretty no??



and then cos we still had quite a bit of egg custard left over, we made 'macau egg tarts' with puff pastry....

regular ones


and a BIG one in a pie dish!!!


verdict: the pie crust ones were really fragrant n buttery...but have to double the amount for the amount of custard in the recipe...or perhaps our tarts were too shallow...?? Puff pastry ones were nice too....it's the easier option!! hehe....half bake the puff pastry til it's slightly golden, press it down n pour egg mixture....continue baking til egg mixture puffs up. Yum!!
Thank you Sik Yin!