Plantain Chips

Plantain are a member of the banana family. They are longer with thicker skins, and are typically eaten cooked instead of raw. They are highly nutritious with good source of potassium, vitamin A and C, and dietary fiber. And not to mention, they are full of carbohydrates too! I use green plantain for making the chips. It is easy to make and all you need is a sharp mandoline with hot oil. Deep fried until they are crispy. Top them with some sea salt and it's done!

Dumplings

I'm actually laughing at myself! What have I got into? Trying to make dumplings?? Well, I have seen my late grandmother make them a long time ago. I can remember the ingredients but not the measurements! So, it took me about two hours to come up with the perfect recipes, and I'm glad I did! It was an instant hit! They were all gone, all gobbled up!

Make the dough first, add about 480 to 500g of all-purpose flour with 300ml of water. Knead the dough and let it rest. You should be able to make 40 dumplings with the dough. Meanwhile, prepare the filling for the dumplings. Click here for the dumpling wrappers video.

UPDATED: November 26th 2013
This is an updated post with a new photo and video cooking guide.







Dumplings

Ingredients

200g Ground Pork
100g Prawns, finely chopped
200g Napa Cabbage, finely shredded
1 stalk Scallions, finely minced
80g Chives, finely chopped
20g Ginger, finely minced
2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
1 1/2 Tbsp Sesame Oil
1 1/2 Tbsp Shaoxing Wine or Sake
1/2 Tbsp Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper
1/2 Tbsp Corn Starch
3/4 tsp Sea Salt

Method

Mix the cabbage with 1 tsp of sea salt and let it rest for 10 minutes. Then, drain and squeeze out all the excess water.

Prepare the filling by combining all the above ingredients and marinate for about an hour or overnight.

Place 2 tsp of the filling in the center of dough, fold and shape.

Steam the dumplings for about 8 to 10 minutes on high heat.

Pan fry the dumplings with 1 Tbsp of oil over a medium heat. Then add 3 Tbsp of water and simmer for another 3 minutes.

Serve the dumplings with mixture of 4 Tbsp Soy Sauce, 2 Tbsp Vinegar, 1 Tbsp Roasted Sesame Oil and some chopped Scallions.

How To Make Guacamole

This simple guacamole is a great dip for tortilla chips, etc.



How To Make Guacamole

Ingredients

3 large ripe Avocados
1/4 of White Onion, finely chopped
1 to 2 Serrano/Jalapeno Peppers, seeded
1 Ripe Tomato, seeded, diced
3 Tbsp fresh Cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2 of a Lime, juiced
Sea Salt to taste
Freshly Ground Black Pepper, optional

Method

Halve all the avocados, and scoop the flesh into a mixing bowl. Then add tomato, onion, serrano chilies, coriander, and season with sea salt, and black pepper, if desired.

Lightly mash with a potato masher or a fork. Mix in additional lime juice, chopped cilantro and sea salt. Mix well and serve immediately.

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Roasted Tomato Salsa

Ingredients

10 Roma Tomatoes, halved
3 cloves Garlic
1/2 White Onion, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Chipotle Pepper (from canned chipotle in adobo sauce)finely chopped
1/2 tsp Ground Coriander
1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
3/4 Lime, juiced
3 Tbsp Fresh Cilantro
Sea Salt to taste

Method

Combine the roma tomatoes, garlic, onions and olive oil in a large baking pan. Sprinkle some sea salt and roast it in the oven at 200 degrees C for about 15 minutes or until all the vegetables are slightly charred.When all the vegetables are cool enough to handle, coarsely chop the tomatoes and onions. Finely chop the garlic and chipotle pepper. Then add the ground coriander, cumin, lime juice, fresh cilantro and some sea salt to taste. Serve the roasted tomato salsa at room temperature.

Grilled Potatoes

It has been a pretty busy day for me. My son is having 2 of his friends for a sleep over today. They can be a nightmare sometimes! Especially boys! Thankfully, they are not fussy over their food. Well, they wanted some snacks before dinner. So, I grilled some Jamie Oliver inspired potatoes for them. Kids love it and I'm happy:-)

Grilled Potatoes

Ingredients

8 Yellow Potatoes

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 cloves Garlic, chopped

2 Tbsp Italian Parsley, chopped

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Sea Salt to taste

Method

Clean the potatoes and boil it with some sea salt. Cook the potatoes until they are half cooked.

Drain the potatoes and cut them into quarters. Combine the olive oil, chopped garlic, parsley, ground black pepper and sea salt.

Brush all the potatoes with the olive oil mixtures. Turn the grill on high and grill the potatoes until they are cooked and crispy!

Grilled Lobster Tails

Okay, as promised, the second seafood recipe! And yes, I'm still grilling outdoor at this time of the year. In fact, it's nice and cooling for outdoor cooking.

Grilled Lobster Tails

Ingredients

8 Lobster Tail, halved

3 cloves Garlic, chopped

3 Tbsp Cilantro, chopped

3 stalk scallions, chopped

1 tsp Ancho Chili Powder

1 Red Chili, chopped

5 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

Sea Salt to taste

Method

Mix all the ingredients with the lobster tails. Marinate in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes or up to 1 hour.

When ready to cook, heat the grill on a high heat and place the lobster tails on it. Cook for about 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until the lobster tails are just cooked. Serve immediately.

Steamed Clams and Mussels

More seafood? Why not? I'm going to post two seafood recipes in a separate posts. This one's my other half's favorite, Steamed Clams and Mussels. Enjoy!

Steamed Clams And Mussels

Ingredients

2 lbs Clams

1 lb Mussels

3 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

2 cloves of Garlic, chopped

3 Roma Tomatoes, blanch, seeded and chopped

2 Birds Eye Chili(small chili), chopped

1 cup White Wine

2 Tbsp Italian Parsley, chopped

1 Tbsp lemon Juice

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Sea Salt to taste

Method

Place the cleaned clams and mussels in a large pan. Add in the butter, garlic, tomatoes, chilies and white wine. Cover the pan and cook over a high heat for about, 5 to 10 minutes or until all the clams and mussels swing open. To serve, mix in the lemon juice, some black pepper and season with sea salt. Then sprinkle some chopped parsley.

Seafood Cocktail

Seafood cocktail for supper? Why not? Just cook the prawns and chill them in the refrigerator until ready to serve. As for the King Crab legs, steam and serve them slightly warm. Some of you might like it cold instead. Whichever way you like, make sure you have a nice and tangy cocktail sauce to go with the seafood. Here is the recipe for the cocktail sauce.


Seafood Cocktail-Sauce

Ingredients

3/4 cup Ketchup

1/4 cup Chili Sauce

2 Tbsp fresh grated Horseradish or prepared Horseradish

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

2 Tsp Hot Sauce

a few drops of Worcestershire Sauce

Method

Combine all the ingredients and mixed well. Serve cocktail sauce with the seafood.

Pasta with Mixed Mushrooms

The minute I saw those fresh mushrooms in the supermarket and I knew, that I definitely had to have those mushrooms with Fettucini! Have a glass of white wine and some cheese after that? Sounds like a good plan, no? A good plan indeed!

Pasta With Mixed Mushrooms

Ingredients

2 lbs mixed mushrooms, Chanterelle, Portobello and Cepe

3 Shallots, chopped

3 Garlic Cloves, chopped

2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 Cup White Wine

1 packet Fresh Fettucini (350 g)

1/2 cup Fresh Chervil Leaves

1/2 cup Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved

1/2 Lemon, squeezed

Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Sea Salt to Taste

Method

Clean the mushrooms and slice them thinly.

Heat the butter and the olive oil in a large pan, add the chopped shallots and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add the chopped garlic and saute until the mixture are lightly brown.

Stir in the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes. Add the white wine and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes. Season the mushroom mixture with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Toss the hot fettucini with the mushroom mixture. Top with some shaved Parmigiano Reggiano, chervil leaves and some lemon juice. Serve immediately!

New England Clam Chowder

So today, I was pretty much craving for a nice hot bowl of clam chowder. There are two types of clam chowder, the Manhattan style with tomato base and the New England style with cream base. This chowder is creamy and pretty sinful!!

New England Clam Chowder

Ingredients

2 lbs Clams, washed

5 strip Bacon, cut into small dice

1 large White Onion, finely chopped

2 large Potatoes, cut into small dice

2 Tomatoes, blanch, seeded , cut into small dice

1 Carrot, cut into small dice

2 stalk Celery, cut into small dice

1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

5 cups Water

2 Tbsp Flour

550 ml Half & Half

2 Tbsp Chive, finely chopped

Freshly Ground Pepper

Sea Salt to taste

Method

Place the clams with 5 cups of water in a large pot. Cover the pot and cook over a high heat until the clams are cooked. Remove from the heat and take all the clams that have opened. Let the clams cool down and chop them into smaller pieces. Strain the clam broth and set it aside.

Place a large stainless steel pot over moderate heat, sauté the bacon until brown. Remove the bacon and pour off excess fat and leave about 3 1/2 Tbsp of fat in the pot.

Add the butter, chopped onions and sauté until translucent.

Then add the diced potatoes, carrots, celery and bacon. Cook for about 5 minutes and stir in the flour. Continue stirring for another 2 minutes and add the reserved clam broth and half & half. Bring it to a boil and lower the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes and add the chopped clams. Seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve the chowder with some chopped chives.

Chicken with Ginger and Rice Wine

Have you tried Chicken with Ginger and Rice Wine? Well, this is one of my family's favorite dish. Got loads of ginger and chinese rice wine. Just make sure you have plenty of rice to go with it!

Chicken With Ginger And Rice Wine

Ingredients

600g Organic Chicken Breast, cut into bite sized

450g Ginger, peeled

2 cups Ginger Juice

2 cups Chinese Rice Wine

5 Tbsp Sesame Oil

3 Tbsp Light Soya Sauce

Sea Salt to taste

Method

Grind the ginger with some water and drain. Sieve the ginger and reserve the juice. Add some water until you have 2 cups of ginger juice.

Marinate the chicken with 1 Tbsp of light soy sauce and 2 Tbsp of the ginger juice.

Heat up a medium pot, add the sesame oil and ground ginger. Saute until they are lightly brown and fragrant.

Turn the heat on high and add the chicken with light soy sauce. Saute until the chicken is almost cooked.

Then, add the ginger juice and let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

Add in the chinese rice wine. Bring it to a boil and lower the heat. Let it simmer again for another 20 minutes. Season with sea salt and serve immediately.

Chicken Curry

Hey there everybody! So yes, it was raining again today, so I decided to just make a simple dish to warm things up. So here's a step by step guide to cook a pot of Chicken Curry! You can serve the curry with steamed rice, rice vermicelli or even with bread.

Ingredients

600 g Chicken Breast

8 Tbsp Curry Powder

3 Tbsp Chili Powder

1 Yellow Onion, Chopped

1 Tbsp Curry Leaves

400 g Yellow Potatoes

8 Large Eggs

1 can Coconut Milk

4 Tbsp Oil

Sea Salt to taste

3 to 4 cups of Water

Method

Cut the chicken breast into smaller pieces. Marinate them with 1 Tbsp each of Curry and Chili Powder. Boil the eggs and potatoes until they are cooked. Then, shell the eggs and peel the potatoes. Mix the rest of the curry and chili powder with some water, to form a paste. Set aside together with the eggs, potatoes and the chopped onion.

In a heavy pot, heat the oil and add the chopped yellow onion, together with the curry leaves. Saute until the onions are lightly brown.

Then, add the curry and chili paste. Saute until they are fragrant.

Add in the chicken breast and saute for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is almost cooked.

Then, add the coconut milk with 3 cups of water. You can add more water if the curry sauce is too thick. Bring it to a boil and then lower the heat and continue cooking for 20 minutes.

Add the eggs and potatoes and cook further, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Season with sea salt and..

Tada! Here is the end result! Doesn't the Chicken Curry look delish?

Pork Ribs Soup (Bah Kut Teh)

What a gloomy and rainy day! Rain, rain goes away? Well, I knew today was going to be a busy day for me. So, I decided to use my slow cooker to cook the Pork Ribs Soup (Bah Kut Teh). At least, I can let it cook for a few hours while I am out.

There are many types brands of pre pack herbal for the Pork Ribs Soup. I heard most of them are quite good too! But I am lucky to have mine, especially prepared for me, by a relative. It's a secret recipe. You can either use pork or chicken for the soup. I also added some tofu puffs; deep-fried dried bean curd, button mushrooms, and some lettuce leaves. Serve the soup with steamed rice and deep fried shallot. Delicious!

Seafood Pasta

It's pasta night again or shall I say, seafood night again? Well, whatever it is, all we need to do is eat right? I was just plain happy, when my son requested for Seafood Pasta for dinner. At least, I don't have to think, "what's for dinner?" today. This seems like a everyday question for everybody that I know. The good thing is, I am residing in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. Where, seafood, meat or shall I say, everything is abundance!! Lucky me:)

Seafood Pasta

Ingredients

600 to 700 g of Fresh Linguine

3 cloves Garlic, coarsely chopped

2 Roma Tomatoes, blanched, seeded and julienne

600 g Clams, scrubbed and rinsed

300 g Prawns, shelled

200 g Scallops

1 glass Dry White Wine

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

2 Tbsp Unsalted Butter

1 Lemon, squeezed

2 tsp Dried Chili Flakes

Flat Italian Parsley, chopped

Sweet Basil, chopped

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Sea Salt to taste

Method

In a heavy pot, add the clams and white wine. Turn the heat onto high and close the lid. Cook the clams for about 5 minutes. Drained and shelled the clams and reserved the juice.

Cook the pasta in a large pot with 3 tablespoons of salt for about 2 to 3 minutes or until the pasta is al dente! Drain and reserve some water for the sauce.

With a large saucepan on high heat, add the olive oil. Saute the prawns and scallops and it will only take a couple minutes to cook. Then set them aside together with the clams.

Lower the heat and add the chopped garlic. Saute the garlic until golden brown, add the julienne tomatoes and dried chili flakes. Then, add the reserved clam juice, lemon juice and some reserved boiled pasta water. Bring it to boil, add the seafood, chopped parsley, basil and the unsalted butter. Season with sea salt.

To serve, divide the pasta among four plates and spoon the Seafood Sauce over the pasta. Sprinkle some chopped parsley and freshly ground black pepper. Enjoy!

Chocolate Swirl Shortbread

This shortbread is so buttery and the texture is very crumbly. The original recipe is from Green & Black's Chocolate Recipe Cookbook. In order to have a softer texture, I reduced the all purpose flour from 1 cup to 3/4 cup. To avoid browning, bake the shortbread at a low temperature.

Chocolate Swirl Shortbread

Ingredients

Shortbread 1

1 cup All-Purpose Flour

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Granulated Sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter or Vegan Margarine

Shortbread 2

1 cup All-purpose flour

1/4 cup Organic Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 cup Sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) Unsalted Butter or Vegan Margarine

one 3.5 oz bar Dark Chocolate, finely chopped

Method

Preheat the oven to 300 degree F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper.

To make the first shortbread, sift the flour, salt and sugar into a bowl. Rub the butter until the mixture combines. Knead lightly, then place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling out.

Follow the same step for the second shortbread, but include the cocoa with the flour.

Roll out each dough on a lightly floured surface into equal-sized rectangles about 1/2 inch thick. Place the plain shortbread on a sheet of waxed paper, place the chocolate shortbread on top of the plain one and then scatter the chocolate all over.

Carefully roll the shortbread, as tightly as possible, using the waxed paper to support it. Once rolled, pinch both ends together to prevent the chocolate falling out, then using both hands, squeeze until it is about 8 inches long.

Using a very sharp knife, slice the roll into 1/2 inch slices. Lay the cookies on the cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 25 minutes, until the plain shortbread is light golden in color. Cool on a wire rack.

Seafood Noodles

Oodles of Noodles! One can never get enough of them! This type of noodles, are usually served in a claypot and its called Claypot Seafood Noodles. I don't have any claypots at home so, I will just name them Seafood Noodles. I am using the deep fried noodles, also known as "Yee Mee". If you can't get hold of this noodles, you can always substitute them with deep fried chow mein noodles or, the instant noodles would be good too. Just leave the seasoning out.

Seafood Noodles

Ingredients

1 packet Deep Fried Noodles

2 cups Cabbage, julienne

2 cups Carrot, julienne

200g Prawns, shelled

500g Clams

3 stalk Scallions, chopped

12 cups Chicken Stock

4 Eggs

Deep Fried Dried Beancurd

Roasted Sesame Oil

Sea Salt to taste

Ground White Pepper

Method

Bring the chicken stock to a boil and season it with sea salt. Add the julienne cabbage and carrots. Let the vegetables cook for about 10 seconds. Then add the clams, prawns, noodles, cracked 1 egg and top it with few pieces of deep fried dried beancurd.

Cook for about 4 to 5 minutes and add a few drops of sesame oil. Ladle the noodles into a soup bowl and top it with chopped scallions, deep fried shallots and some ground white pepper.

Note: This recipe is for 4 servings. Make sure you cook 1 serving at a time.

Steamed Roast Pork Buns

This is my first attempt to make Steamed Roast Pork Buns. (Char Siu Bao). I had some left over roast pork (char siu) and thought why not give it a go. The result was good; but, not fantastic. The filling was superb; but, the dough needs further improvement. That shall be my next objective. Try to perfect the dough! So, I will just post the recipe for the filling.

Steamed Roast Pork Buns

Ingredients

300 g Roasted Pork (Char Siu), diced

1/2 Yellow Onion, diced

1 1/2 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Shaoxing Rice Wine

2 Tbsp Oyster Sauce

1 Tbsp Light Soya Sauce

1/4 cup Water

2 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp Oil

2 tsp Cornstarch with 1 Tbsp Water

Method

Heat the oil in a saute pan, add the diced onion and saute until cooked. Add the roasted pork, rice wine, oyster sauce, light soya sauce, sesame oil, sugar and water. Bring it to a boil.

Then add the cornstarch mixture and cook for a couple more minutes until the sauce is thicken. Let the mixture cool down. Now, the filling is ready for the dough.