Scrambled Eggs with Tomato 番茄炒蛋

Whenever I was in China, Scrambled Eggs with Tomato 番茄炒蛋 is always on the menu.   Some areas cooked it pretty well but some are not that nice.   

Today, I shall replicate this dish and see my son's response to this dish.

What you need:

4 large tomatoes

5 eggs

1/2 cup of corn starch slurry

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vinegar

2 tsp minced garlic

1 tbsp tomato sauce

1 tsp soy sauce (adjust to taste)

Method:

Freeze tomatoes and then pour hot water over them.  Rest a while and then peel off the skins.  Cut into cubes.  Leave one to cut into chunks.

Beat 5 eggs with cornstarch slurry, salt and vinegar.  

Add a few tbsp of oil to the wok and fry the eggs until solidify.  Break into chunks.  Remove.

Add a tsp of oil and sautee minced garlic until fragrant.

Add in the tomato cubes and saute.  Cook until tomato juice is thick.

Add in the tomato chunks, tomato sauce and soy sauce.

Add in egg chunks and mix well.

Garnish with spring onion.

Serve with jasmine rice.

Enjoy!

Stir fry Yu Mak with Fermented Beancurd 腐乳油麦

Hubby chose a strange type of vegetable that I don't know how to cook so I suggested this Yu Mak Veggie.  At least I know how to turn it into Stir fry Yu Mak with Fermented Beancurd  腐乳油麦.

What you need:

2 pkt of Yu Mak (Chinese romaine lettuce)

2 tbsp minced garlic

3 cubes of fermented beancurd

3 slices of ginger

Method:

Wash the yum ai and cut it into 3” lengths.

Heat oil in a wok and saute the ginger, garlic and fermented beancurd until fragrant.

Add in the yum ai and stir fry with a dash of shao xing wine.

Season with salt if necessary as fermented bean curd is salty.

Enjoy!

Cha Om Omelette

Finally, I put my Cha Om tree to good use.  Have not been really active in the garden and monitoring my plants.  

Since I am giving away one pot to my friend, I harvested the leaves so that it is easier to transport.

I love the taste of Cha Om Omelette.

What you need:

Cha Om leaves

Eggs

Salt and pepper

Method:

Wash the Cha Om, remove leaves from the steam of the Cha Om.

Whisk egg and season with salt and pepper.

Add in the Cha Om and mix well.

Heat the pan with a little oil. 

Pour in the eggs and cook until brown on both sides.

Note: if you like stronger taste, add more cha om.

Enjoy!

Stir fry long bean

In the restaurant, I always wonder why the long bean or French bean always has this lush green look.  It is so appealing.  Now I know why, it has to be deep fried first before stir fry.

Long bean is son's favourite and today I added in dried shrimp to enhance the taste.

What you need:

300g long bean, cut into 4 cm long

1 tbsp soy sauce

½ tbsp oyster sauce

½ bowl oil

1 tbsp garlic

4 tbsp dried shrimp (soak and clean)

Slurry

1 tbsp corn starch

1 tbsp water

Garnish 

1 red chilli, cut into small rounds

Method:

Heat up enough oil to deep fry the long bean.  Add the drained dry long bean into the oil.  Cover and let it cook until deep green.  Remove and wash with tap water.

Remove the excess oil and leave about 1 tbsp oil.  

Heat up the oil again and then sautee the dried shrimp and minced garlic and mince ginger until fragrant.

Add in the long bean and stir fry until 

Add in soy sauce and oyster sauce and splash some water.  Mixed well.

Add in the slurry and mix well.

Stir in the cut chilli.

Serve.

Enjoy!

Stir fry aubergine

Aubergine aka eggplants aka brinjal is rich in fibre and antioxidants.  

A serving of this can provide at least 5% of a person's daily requirement of fibre, copper, manganese, B6, and thiamine.  It also contains other vitamins and minerals.  

Unfortunately, my kids do not like this as it often has a mashable mouth feel.  So let's see if this method of cooking will be more acceptable.

This is the first time I have cooked Stir Fry Aubergine this way.  

Learning: This recipe is definitely a keeper.  

What you need:

300g aubergine (cut into chunks)

4 tbsp corn flour

1 tsp salt

3 tbsp oil

2 tbsp minced garlic

1 med onion, slice

1 tbsp chilli flakes

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

Method:

Coat the aubergine with corn flour and salt.

In a pot of hot oil, fry the aubergine until golden brown.  Set aside.

In a frying pan, saute onion and then garlic.

Add in the fried aubergine.  

Add in chili flakes.  Stir well.

Add in soy sauce, sesame oil and stir well.

Add in coriander leaves and stir well.

Enjoy!

Sambal Long Beans

My son loves this Sambal Long Beans

Thanks for sharing such a nice recipe.

Source

What you need:

1 tbsp cooking oil

2 tbsp sambal belachan 

2 tbsp water

200g long bean, trimmed the ends, and cut to 2” long

salt to taste

(A) Dried shrimp paste

1 tbsp dried shrimp soaked in water until softened

5 shallots peeled

5 garlic cloves peeled

Method:

Put ingredients (A) into a grinder and grind for a few sec.

Heat oil in a wok. Combine ingredient (A) and sambal belacan. Stir fry until fragrant.

Add long beans and water. Stir fry for a few minutes and mix well, until the water has evaporated and the long beans are well mixed with the sambal.

Season with salt (optional)

Enjoy!

Potato Salad

Been thinking about Potato Salad so make some to bring to a party.  This is a good choice if you are tight on time as this recipe you are pre-prepare a day before.

What you need:

10 med-sized potatoes

2 cucumber

4 eggs

1 tbsp Dijon Mustard

Salt 

Pepper

1/4 cup Mayonnaise

Parsley (I forgotten to buy), chopped finely

Method:

Cooked the potatoes with skin on till soft.  Peel skin and cut into cubes.

Peel the cucumber and cut into small cubes.  Add 2 tsp salt and mix well.  Let it sit for 10 mins.  Squeeze dry.  Set aside.

Boil eggs until fully cooked.  Mashed roughly so that some still have bites.

Mix in the dijon mustard and parsley to the eggs until well distributed.

In a big bowl, combine potatoes, eggs, cucumber, mayonnaise, salt and pepper.  

Toss well. 

Adjust salt and pepper to your liking or add more mayonnaise to make it creamier.

Enjoy!

Homemade Egg Tofu

Was making soy milk for the family and since I have not tried making Homemade Egg Tofu before.  I removed some of the milk to do it.

Turned out not bad and for sure no preservatives.

Forgotten to cover the pan resulted in a rough surface.

Learning: Next time, instead of slabs, I shall do cubes to make it more presentable.

What you need:

350ml unsweetened soy milk

4 eggs

1 tsp cornstarch

1 tsp salt

Method:

Oil a loaf pan.

Whisk egg with cornstarch and salt.  

Add soy milk and whisk till combined.  

Sieve mixture into pan.  Cover with foil.

Bring water to boil and place pan in.  Cover and steam on high heat for 20 mins.  

Once cooled, remove, cut, and pan-fry.

Enjoy!

Stir fry bitter gourd with black bean dace fish

I ate this dish at my cousin's place while visiting him last month.  So today I shall replicate it.  

The perception of bitter gourd is bitter and my hubby used to not liking it.  But these days, he is slowly taking into it.

I tried this method of removing the bitterness and it works perfectly.  Not even a hint of this bitter taste.  Perfect.

This Stir-fried bitter gourd with black bean dace fish will be our favourite from now on.

What you need:

1 bitter gourd

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp sugar

1 can of black bean dace fish

2 tsp minced garlic

½ red capsicum, cut into bite-size

1 tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp cornstarch

6 tbsp water

Method:

Cut bitter gourd lengthwise and remove piths and seeds.  Slice.

Add some salt and rub them thoroughly.  Set aside for 10 mins.  Rinse.

Open the can of black bean dace fish.  Remove bones and cut them into small bite sizes.  Set aside.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, add oil and sugar.

Add in the bitter gourd and blanch for a few mins.  Drain.

In a wok, add oil and fry the garlic until fragrant.

Add in the bitter gourd, dace fish, red capsicum and stir fry until fragrant.

Add in the starch slurry and cook until thickened.

Serve.

Enjoy!

Fried King Oyster Mushroom

I have a packet of King Oyster Mushroom calling out to me to cook it but I lack the idea until I saw this amazingly delicious recipe.

This Fried King Oyster Mushroom is definitely a keeper!   Next round, I will double the portion if I need to feed more.

Learning: Just need to be very careful when frying it as the oil will splatter but besides that, it is easy to put together.

Source

What you need:

1 pkt King Oyster Mushrooms

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

Corn starch

Sauce

A little spring onion

1 pc red chilli

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp minced garlic

1 tbsp honey

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp sugar

Batter

5 tbsp cornstarch

5 tbsp water

Method:

Cut the mushroom lengthwise.  Not too thin.  About 6mm.

Combine the soy sauce with sesame oil.  Brush onto the mushroom (both sides).  

Dust generously with cornstarch, on both sides.

Cut the spring onion and chilli into small cuts.

Mix the sauce ingredients together and add in the chilli.

Mix the batter ingredients together.

In a small pan, add oil, enough to allow the mushroom to touch the oil fully.  (not submerged).

Dip the mushroom into the batter and IMMEDIATELY into the hot oil.  Fry until the battered mushroom turned white and turns over.  

Repeat until you finish all the mushrooms.  Drain.

Increase heat and do a second round of frying.  Drain.

Remove oil and add in the sauce ingredient.  Bring it to a quick bubble.

Add in spring onion and the mushroom.  Mix until sauce coats well.

Serve.

Enjoy!

Cold Chicken Salad

Saw this video on Instagram and since it is in Japanese, I have to guess my way to create it.

This Cold Chicken Salad is simply delish on this hot weather.  Good enough for lunch or dinner.

After attempting it, I think this can be an easy dish to bring to a party.

What you need:

2 Chicken Thigh or chicken breast
½ tsp salt
2 Japanese cucumber (I only have Malaysian cucumber on hand)
Cherry Tomatoes
1 spring Spring onion
1 tbsp mirin

Seasoning
½ tsp sugar
½ tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp white pepper
½ tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp toasted white sesame

Method:

Cut the spring onion, leaving the stalk for the seasoning.

Season chicken with salt, place the spring onion on the chicken and steam until cooked.

To prepare the seasoning:

Dice finely the spring onion stalk.

Combine the rest of the seasoning together.

Once the chicken is cooked, removed 3 tbsp of the juice and add into the seasoning.

Shred the chicken up and place it back into the remaining juice.

Cut cucumber the into wedges and slice tomatoes into half.  Arrange on serving plate.

Place shredded chicken on top.

Drizzle in the seasoning.

Serve






Enjoy!

5 spice taukwa

Today, went for something simple.  Actually, my family loves tofu in any way.  So today I shall try something new.

I recalled my mom always cooked this 5 spice Taukwa.  It is easy and tastes good.

One thing I learnt, you must buy tau kwa from the wet market.  Never get it from the supermarket.  The texture is so different.  Another thing is that 5 spice powder quality is better in the medical hall than ready pack ones in the supermarket.

What you need:

2 pcs Taukwa (from wet market)
2 tsp 5 spice powder (get from medical hall), you can reduce this if you don't fancy too much spices
1 tsp salt
50g plain flour
2 egg, beaten

Method:

Pat dry tau kwa.  Cut into quarters.

Combine the plain flour, salt and 5 spice powder.  Whisk well.

Dip tau kwa into flour mixtures, then egg mixture and flour mixture.

Heat a small frying pan with 2 - 3" of oil.

Gently lower into a frying pan and fry until golden on one side.  Repeat on the other side.

Drain and serve.

Enjoy!

Moringa Egg Roll

Was down at my friend's nearly complete house the other day.   She has this moringa tree that grew outside her gate and due to the construction, they actually hard prune the tree.  I was amazed that under such harsh condition, the tree actually flourish.

To this, it reminded me to harvest the moringa from my garden.  The last harvest, I had done a delicious Moringa Soup but did not have a chance to document nor take a photo.

This plant was a heart pain for me, as it was sick and I had tried many ways to save it.  The trunk was in bad shape and I did not expect it to grow but surprisingly, it gave us two good harvest before I called it quits because I was afraid that it will "infest" the rest of the plants.

Anyway, for this round of harvest, I shall attempt Moringa Egg Roll.

You can read more about the benefits of this green from here.

Since I am not a fan of processed food, I rather take my nutrients direct.

Learning experience: This is really good to get your kid to eat their greens.  Especially one that is full of nutrients.

Need to work on my rolling to get a more compact egg roll.

Overall, I am glad that my family likes it.

Adapted

What you need:

6 eggs

1 tbsp plain flour

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

¼ cup of cheddar cheese

60g moringa leaves, remove stem

Butter for cooking

Method:

Heat a tsp of oil in a wok, add the moringa leaves and stir fry with a little salt until leaves turn bright green and start to wilt.  Stir fry until the dish is a little dry.  Remove from heat and leaves to cool.

Whisk eggs with flour, salt and pepper. 

Pour enough to cover a preheat well oiled frying pan.  Spread the moringa leaves and top if off with cheddar cheese.

Cover and let it cook on low heat until cheese melts.

Remove and carefully roll it into a roll.

Cut and serve.

Enjoy!

Potato Pancake

Everytime when I made potato pancake, I think about my dad.  This is his favourite and it is mine too.

In my family, my kids tend prefer potatoes and bread more than rice.  So since all are home for dinner, I shall cook this for them.

Give this a twist from the usual way I prepared them, so let's hope they will like it.

What you need:

1kg russet potatoes, peeled

¼ cup yellow onion
½ tsp salt
2 large eggs
¼ cup potato starch
¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp turmeric powder (optional)

2 tbsp sole fish powder (optional)

vegetable oil for frying

Method:

Peel and grate potatoes

Grate onion into the same bowl.

Remove excess liquid from potato mixture.

Add in salt, eggs, potato starch, baking powder, sole fish and turmeric powder.  Mix well.

Heat up oil and pan fry until golden brown on both sides.

Serve.


Enjoy!

Mom's Braised Mushroom

I love eating Mom's Braised Mushroom and I realized that I didn't have this documented here.

My family enjoys this dish a lot and it is often missed.  So today, I shall prepare some.  Since this dish keeps well, it is nice to have it on standby.

What you need  

200g mushroom (wash and remove steam, soak overnight in hot water)
20g dried oyster (soak for about 10 mins and clean)
4 X 5 inches spare ribs
2 tbsp cornflour
4 - 5 tbsp ginger juice
2 tbsp oil
750 litre of water
½ tsp light soya sauce
Oyster sauce to taste

Method 

Marinate mushrooms with cornflour, ginger juice, and oil. Set aside for 10 mins

Put mushrooms and water and boil for 1 hour.

Marinate oysters with light soya sauce and a few drops of oil.

When the mushroom has softened, add oysters and spare ribs to the mushroom stew after it has been cooked for 1/2 hour.

Turned down the heat to low and slowly simmer for an hour till the spare rib has softened.

Seasoned with oyster sauce and salt.

Note: you can put in Fatt Choy only the last 5 mins of cooking. 


Enjoy!

Braised Peanut 焖花生

Though peanut has never been my favourite nut but I do enjoy eating Braised Peanut 焖花生 whenever I dine at a Chinese restaurant.

After a disaster attempt on peanut sweet soup, I wanted to see whether braising peanut will be successful.

Findings: I braised it for 2.5 hours to get the texture that I like.  Braising with chicken broth really enhance the taste of this peanuts.

What you need:

200g shelled raw peanuts

1 star anise

1 medium size cinnamon stick

2 Tbsp of soy sauce

1 Tbsp of oyster sauce

3 tsp of dark soy sauce

3 slices of ginger

80g garlic

5 pieces of rock sugar

3g salt

Pepper to taste

2 cup water 
6 cups chicken broth

Method:

Rinsed and soak the peanut over night.  Discard water and rinse again.

In a big pot, add peanut and 2 cups of water and bring to a brisk boil.  Remove.

Dry and reheat the pot, add a little oil and sautee the ginger and star anise until fragrant.

Pour in 6 Cups of water and the rest of the ingredients.

Bring water to a boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer for 1 – 2 hours or until peanut is soft.

Season with soya sauce if needed.

Serve it as side dish with porridge.


Enjoy.

Grilled Mushroom with teriyaki sauce

Recently, one of the dish that I had in a vegetarian restaurant was Grilled Mushroom with teriyaki sauce.  Though my friends find it hard but I, on the contrary like the bite.

In fact, it is a very simple dish to recreate at home and I opted for a home made teriyaki sauce instead of a store bought.

I am not sure whether when I prepared this, will it be hard.  Thus I cut it thinner so that it will be acceptable for all.

Though I did not season the mushroom but the sauce make this dish really delicious. 

Do try it if you out on a no meat diet.

Sauce source

What you need

4 tbsp soy sauce

4 tbsp sake

4 tbsp mirin  

2 tbsp sugar

2 tsp corn starch

2 tbsp water

1 packet of Abalone Mushroom (if you prefer, cut off the top for nicer presentation), slice

Method:

Sauce: 

In a small saucepan, combine sugar, mirin, and soy sauce and bring to a boil.

In a small bowl, mix corn starch with water.

Whisk the cornstarch mixture in the sauce.

Stir the sauce while it's being reduced to the consistency you like. 


Mushroom

Place the sliced mushroom over a grill pan and grill on med heat until it has soften.  Turn over and repeat.  (if you want to have a more obvious grilled lines, brush a thin layer of oil)

Place on serving dish and drizzle the teriyaki sauce over.

Serve.

Mushroom in white wine sauce

I got the inspiration from a video that I saw in FB and I knew right away that this dish of Mushroom in white wine sauce, will be enjoyed by the family  as we love mushrooms.

Perfect timing too as I have balance of some white wine left from last night party, I thought this will be a wonderful idea to finish up the wine.

What you need:

1 punnet of white mushroom (250g)
1 punnet of brown mushroom (250g)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 med onion, diced
½ cup white wine
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp butter
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Clean mushroom and cut into halves.

Heat pan and add in butter and onion.  Saute until onion turn soft.

Add in garlic and saute until fragrant.

Add in mushrooms and lemon juice.  Mix well.

Add in white wine and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and let it simmer until mushroom turned soft.

Season with salt and pepper.


Enjoy!

Baked Cauliflower (Airfryer)

My kiddos love cheese, as a mom, I often want entice them with food that has cheeses in it.

One such dish is Baked Cauliflower.  If I am preparing many items as meal on that day.  This baked cauliflower I must say save me lot of time and yet taste yummy.

This time round, I omitted the cream and used an airfryer to prepare.  Surprisingly the cauliflower was baked nicely.

What you need:

1 med size head of cauliflower
Cheddar and mozzarella cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Cut cauliflower into small pieces.  Remove centre stem.

Lined a oven proof plate with baking paper.

Arrange cauliflower on it.

Sprinkle salt and pepper.

Air fried at 160 deg for 10 mins.  Remove and turn the vegetable around.

Bake for another 10 mins until it is soft.  If not, continue another 5 - 10 mins until it is cooked.

Increase to 180 deg in the air fryer.

Sprinkle generous amount of cheeses.

Bake for 5 - 8 mins or until cheeses turned golden brown.

Remove and serve.

Waldorf Salad with homemade sauce

When I was young and still in school, I work at a pizzeria and one of the item on the menu that I love was the Waldorf Salad.

I got married and was still childless, this salad I made often when my better half was travelling and I was home alone for dinner.

Come to think about it, I have not made this for a long time.  Perfect to bring to a BBQ.

This time round, I did it with homemade sauce and it is so much healthier.  Totally love it.  Next time, I will add some meat to it.

Join me for a bowl of Waldorf Salad.

Source

What you need:

Serve 1

60g plain yogurt

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

Green apple

Celery

Raisins

Walnut

Method:

Mix yogurt, lemon juice together until a smooth consistency.  Season with salt and pepper.

Mix into the greens.

Toss in raisins.

Add in walnut with ready to serve.

Serve immediately.