Tom Yum Hot Pot

First of all, I would like to wish my family, friends and readers a very "Happy New Year"!

I can't believe it! Another year has gone by so quickly! Is it a good thing? Who knows, right?

Well, this evening we had Hot pot or Steamboat for dinner. It's rather cold today, so I have decided to cook Tom Yum soup for the hot pot. You can get the soup recipes from my previous posts here. I have doubled up the recipes and added an extra cup of chicken stock. I cooked some rice noodles, so everyone can have them with the soup. Let's see, I have Big Dungeness Crabs, River Prawns, fish dumplings, fish balls, tofu, Enoki mushrooms and some vegetables. Guess, my ingredients were pretty simple but that's how my family likes their hot pot :)

So, have a good feast everyone! Don't forget the Champagne! Cheers!!!

Pineapple Jelly

I'm sure every kid or even adult would love to have some jelly or jello. You can serve this pineapple jelly as a dessert or starters. Of course, you can use any kinds of fruits for this jelly. I'm making some for this New Year Eve's!

Pineapple Jelly

Ingredients

1 tin 540 ml Pineapple Chunks, reserved the juice

2 tsp Agar Agar Powder

2 to 3 Tbsp of Sugar

2 cups of Water 

2 Pandanus Leaves, knotted

Method

In a saucepan, combine the reserved pineapple juice (you should have about 1 cup, if not top it up with some water to reach 1 cup), water and pandanus leaves.

Bring it to a boil and add the agar agar powder and sugar. Simmer until the agar agar powder dissolves. Then let the mixture cool slightly.

Strain the mixture and fill them up with jelly mould and top it with pineapple chunks. Then set it a side and keep it chilled. Serve cold.

Top Hats (Kuih Pie Tee)

First of all, I want to say Yay! This is my 100th posting in exactly 3 months!

Osso Buco

Hey! Merry Christmas everybody and have Happy Holidays to all my friends and family :)
Okay, this is what we had for our Christmas Eve's dinner. This year, I'm staying away from the old tradition, turkey and stuffs. I'm not a big fan of turkey anyway! As a matter of fact, this month alone, we went to quite a number of parties and turkey's were always served, right on the table! Can you imagine having turkey since Canadian and American Thanksgiving and now? I really can't take it anymore! LOL!!

Well, since it's so cold and snowy out there, I have decided to make Osso Buco for tonight's dinner. It's a comfort food to me. I made some mashed potatoes and risotto Milanese to go with it. Dinner was perfect and everyone enjoyed the meal.

This recipe was adapted and slightly tweaked from the Dean and Deluca Cookbook, which is one of my favorite cookbooks. Enjoy!

Osso Buco

Ingredients

1/2 cup Flour

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

5 Tbsp Olive Oil

4 center cut slices Veal Shank (each about 1 1/2 inches thick and tied around with string)

1 cup Diced Yellow Onion

1 cup Diced Carrot

1 cup Diced Celery

2 1/2 tsp finely minced Garlic

2 Bay Leaves

3/4 cup White Wine

2 tsp grated Lemon Zest

3/4 cup Beef Stock

28 oz can Plum Tomatoes, drained

1 tsp chopped Fresh Thyme

1 tsp chopped Fresh Rosemary

1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp chopped Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley

Method

Preheat oven to 350˚F (180˚C).

Mix flour with 1/2 tsp of the salt and the pepper and put on a plate. Over high heat, heat 3 Tbsp of the oil in a deep, heavy, straight-sided, ovenproof skillet with a tight-fitting lid, large enough to hold the veal shanks in a single layer. When the oil is hot but not smoking, dredge veal shanks in flour, coating each side well. Brush off any excess flour. Place in oil and sear until well browned, about 3 minutes on each side. Remove and set aside.

Add the remaining oil, and when oil is hot add onion, carrot, celery, 2 tsp of garlic, bay leaves, and another 1/2 tsp of salt. Cook until golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. (Make sure that the vegetables don't burn). Add the white wine and 1 tsp of the lemon zest. Stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to deglaze it. Cook until wine is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the beef stock and cook until liquid is reduced by half, another 5 minutes.

Put drained plum tomatoes into the skillet along with thyme, rosemary, and the remaining 1/2 tsp salt. Break up the tomatoes with back of a wooden spoon. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Return the veal shanks to the skillet. (The tomato mixture should come about two thirds of the way up the shanks. If it does not, add some more beef stock or water.)

Cover with the lid and braise in the preheated oven, turning shanks every 30 minutes, for 2 hours. (Add extra stock or water if liquid is getting too thick or too low. When shanks are done, they should be extremely tender and the meat should be starting to pull away from the bone.) Place the shanks on a large platter and cover with foil until ready to serve. Cook the sauce over moderate high heat until it is reduced to the desired consistency, about another 10 minutes, and adjust seasoning.

Make the gremolata by mixing the remaining lemon zest, garlic, and parsley in a small bowl. Stir well.

To serve, remove the strings from the shanks and cover the shanks generously with the sauce. Sprinkle with the gremolata.

Care for some "fatty" marrow??

Pineapple Fried Rice

I know everyone has their own unique way of cooking fried rice. I guess, the most important is to have a "quick" hands on cooking on a very high heat. Well, you may noticed my cooking style might be a little bit different from the others. But, I bet you will succeed using my method! It works all the time, perfect bowl of fried rice. Have a go!

Pineapple Fried Rice

Ingredients

5 cups of Cooked Cold Rice, preferably overnight

1 1/2 cups of tin Pineapple Chunks, drained

150 g Prawns, shelled and deveined

1/3 cup Sweet Corn Kernel

1/3 cup Frozen Sweet Peas, thawed and drained

1/3 cup Roasted Cashew Nuts

30 g Raisins

2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce

2 cloves Garlic, chopped

2 Thai Birds Eye Chili, chopped

2 stalks Scallions, chopped

2 Tbsp Peanut Oil

Ground White Pepper

Sea salt to taste

Method

In a medium pan, heat 1/2 Tbsp of Peanut Oil, and cook the egg. When cooled slightly, finely shred the eggs. Set aside.

In a large wok with a low heat. Add 1/2 Tbsp of Peanut Oil and saute the garlic until they are golden in color. Set aside.

With moderate heat, saute the prawns until they are pink and then set aside.

Stir in the remaining oil and turn the heat on high. Add the rice and stir briefly. Then add the chili, corn kernel, peas, pineapple and garlic. Stir quickly for about 5 minutes.

Then add in the cooked prawns, cashew nuts and eggs. Followed by the soy sauce and some grounded white pepper and sea salt to taste. To serve, top it with some chopped scallions. Serve immediately.

Lemon Curd Tartlets

This lemony tartlet recipes came from one of my favorite cookbooks, Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros. I have used some her recipes for my cooking and so far, they are pretty good. In fact, I am gonna try a couple more recipes from her book. Btw, I have reduced the sugar slightly for the lemon curd. (Not much of a sweet tooth family here!) Also, you may want to double up the recipes. They are really good!

Lemon Curd Tartlets

Ingredients

Pastry

70 g (2 ½ oz) Butter, slightly softened

30 g (1 oz) Sugar

70 g (2 ½ oz) Plain (All-Purpose) Flour

25 g (1 oz) Ground Almond

A Pinch of Salt

Lemon Curd

75 g (2 ½ oz) Butter

3 Eggs, lightly beaten

230 g (1 cup) Sugar

Juice and Finely Grated Rind Of 2 Lemons

Method

To make the pastry, cream together the butter and sugar with a wooden spoon. Add the flour, ground almonds and a pinch of salt and mix well, using your hands when it becomes a little stiff, until the pastry comes together. Flatten slightly, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour before using.

Now make the curd. Melt the butter in a metal bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Whisk in the eggs. Add the sugar and whisk until thoroughly combined. Whisking continuously, gradually add the lemon juice and zest. Cook over the simmering water for about 20 minutes, stirring often, until thickened. Cool at room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 180˚C (350˚F). Roll out the pastry thinly on a lightly floured work surface and cut out circles of pastry to line about 12 shallow tartlet tins. Line with baking paper, fill with baking beans or weights and blind bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the visible pastry is golden and cooked. Remove the paper and beans and cook for another couple of minutes to dry the bases. Remove from the oven and leave to cool before gently removing from the tartlet tins. When completely cooled, fill with lemon curd.

Eggplant With Chili Bean Sauce

I like eggplants a lot but, they do need quite a bit of oil to cook. They absorb oils like sponge!! So, instead of chopping and sauteing them in oil, I have decided to roast the whole eggplant with only a few drizzles of oil. It's much more healthier to cook this way.

Eggplant With Chili Bean Sauce

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1 Medium Eggplant

2 Tbsp Toban Chili Bean Sauce

200g Prawns, shelled, deveined and chopped

2 Shallots, sliced

2 Cloves Garlic, chopped

1 tsp Oyster Sauce

2 tsp Chinese Cooking Wine

2 tsp Light Soy Sauce

2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce

2 tsp Sesame Oil

2 tsp Corn Flour

1 Tbsp Peanut Oil

2 stalk Scallions, chopped

1 Tbsp Sugar

1/2 cup Water

Ground White Pepper

Tin Foil

Method

Preheat the oven at 205˚C (400˚F). Drizzle the eggplant with some peanut oil and wrap in a tin foil. Roast the eggplant for about 20 minutes. Then open the tin foil and roast the eggplant for another 5 to 10 minutes until they are soft.

Meanwhile, marinate the prawns with light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, chinese cooking wine, oyster sauce, sesame oil and corn flour for about 10 minutes.

In a wok and a moderate heat, saute shallots until they are lightly brown. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Then add the marinate prawns.

Cook the prawns until they are pink in color. Then add the chili sauce, some ground white pepper and stir quickly. Add the water and bring the sauce to a boil.

To serve, slit the eggplant open and spoon over the sauce and top it with some chopped scallions. Serve immediately.

Agadeshi Tofu

How can I have a Japanese meal without the good old Agadeshi tofu, right? Simple and refreshing.

Anyway, as I'm typing out this post, my daughter said to me, "Wow! I have been hearing so much about dashi, soy sauce and mirin this week!" Ha! I guess a little bit too much Japanese cooking for this week. Well, at least my family enjoyed the meal.

Agadeshi Tofu

(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

2 Packet Soft Tofu

Corn Flour

Some Grated Ginger

1 Red Chili, minced

1 Egg, Lightly beaten

Some Bonito Flakes

1 cup Dashi Stock

1 tsp Mirin

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Sake

Method

Cut the tofu into 6 or 8 squares for each packet. Drain the tofu well on a paper towel.

Prepare the sauce. Combine the dashi stock, mirin, soy sauce and sake. Bring it to a boil and set it aside.

Heat the oil over a moderate heat. Dip the tofu into the lightly beaten egg, then coat with corn flour and shake off any excess flour. Deep fry the tofu until light golden in color. Make sure to fry in small batches. Dish out and drain on paper towel.

To serve, arrange 3 or 4 pieces of fried tofu in a bowl. Ladle the soup into the bowl and top it with some grated ginger and minced red chili. If you like, top it with some bonito flakes. Serve immediately.

Baked Scallops

I bought some nice looking scallops in their shells, and for the first time I forgot to ask the fishmonger to remove and clean them up properly for me! Hey, turns out it's even better to do it yourself! Well, the scallops might not look perfect but, they are really, really fresh and tasty after cooking.

Can you imagine? I can still see and feel the scallops moving while trying cleaning them? I did startle a little bit at first, but it was all okay when I got the hang of it after removing few more scallops from their shells. And the thinking of gobble them up too! LOL!

The shells are so pretty, so I have decided to bake the scallops in them. Another thing, I noticed the color of the roe are different too. I wonder why? I like the darker color ones, they are tastier.

Baked Scallops

Ingredients

8 Scallops in their shells, cleaned

2 Tbsp Japanese Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Mirin

1 Tbsp grated Ginger

3 Tbsp Peanut Oil

Method

Preheat the oven at 180˚C (350˚F).

Arrange the scallops in their shells in a baking tray.

Divide the ginger, soy sauce and mirin equally onto the scallops. Drizzle with some peanut oil.

Close the scallops with the other half of the shells.

Bake them for about 10 to 12 minutes. Serve immediately!

Japanese Beef Rolls

These beef rolls are so delicious! You can serve them as starters or even as a main course. This dish is definitely on my list for my next party. It's so easy to prepare and cook in less than 20 minutes!

Japanese Beef Rolls

Ingredients

8 thinly slices of Beef (sirloin)

8 stalks of Asparagus, trimmed

3 stalks of Scallions, halved

100g Enoki Mushrooms, trimmed

3 Tbsp Japanese Soy Sauce

3 Tbsp Mirin

1 Tbsp Cooking Oil

Toothpicks or small skewers

Method

Preheat the oven to 400˚F (205˚C). Oil a baking tray.

Prepare the basting sauce. Mix the soy and mirin. Set aside.

Lay the beef slices, place the asparagus, scallions and mushrooms. Roll them tightly, and secure with toothpicks.

Bake in the oven for 5 minutes and baste the beef rolls with the sauce. Repeat the basting every 5 minutes until the beef rolls are cooked.

Boil the remaining sauce lightly and brush the beef rolls again. To serve, remove the toothpicks. Top it with some chopped scallions! DELISH!

Cha Soba With Tempura

We love having cold buckwheat noodles, especially the green tea type. I find them very refreshing especially with some wasabi.

Ingredients

400g of Dried Green Tea Noodles

3 stalks Scallions, chopped

Toasted Japanese Seaweeds, shredded

Wasabi

Sauce

250ml Dashi Stock

350ml Water

4 Tbsp Mirin

3 Tbsp Japanese Soy Sauce

Tempura

Assorted Vegetables, such as Okra, Aubergine, Sweet Potato, Bell Peppers and Fresh Shiitake Mushrooms

Prawns

250g Tempura Flour

400 ml Cold Water

Some grated Ginger and Daikon

Oil for frying

Method

In a large pot of boiling water, add the noodles and cook until al dente. Drain and rinse the noodles with cold water. Then drain well.

Prepare the sauce by combining the dashi stock,mirin, soy sauce and water. Bring it to a boil and set aside to cool.

Mix the tempura batter and deep fry the vegetables and prawns in a hot oil. Make sure to cook it in small batches. Deep fry until crispy. Drain on a paper towel.

To serve the cha soba, top it with toasted seaweed, dipping sauce with some scallions and wasabi.

Serve the tempura with some grated ginger and daikon.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Recipe adapted from the Dean & Deluca cookbook.

Buffalo Chicken Wings

Ingredients

24 Chicken Wings (about 4 pounds), tips removed

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 quart Vegetable Oil

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) Unsalted Butter

1/4 cup Louisiana Hot Sauce, or more to taste

1 Tbsp White Vinegar

Celery Sticks as an accompaniment

Blue Cheese Dressing as accompaniment

Method

Cut the wings in half, and season them well with salt and pepper.

Heat oil to 375˚. Fry the wings, in 2 batches, until crisp and golden brown, about 10 minutes for each batch. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Melt the butter in a saucepan, and add the hot sauce and vinegar. Stir to blend. Dip the wings into the sauce, and place wings on a serving plate. Pour any extra sauce over wings. Serve with celery sticks and blue cheese dressing.

Nachos

Fancy some Nachos for a little afternoon snack? Try this easy Nachos recipe. The Nachos were layered with kidney beans, salsa, pickled Jalapeno peppers, and with lots of Monterey Jack cheese. Do serve the Nachos with some guacamole. Enjoy!


Nachos
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

1 Bag (about 350-380g) Tortilla Chips
200 ml Prepared Tomato Salsa or 3 Roma Tomatoes, seeded and diced
1 Cup of tin Kidney Beans, drained
½ Cup of sliced Pickled Jalapeno Peppers, drained
350 g of Monterey Jack Cheese (or Jalapeno Jack Cheese), shredded
Guacamole
Chopped Fresh Coriander

Method

Preheat the oven at 190˚C (375˚F).

In a large pizza pan, assemble a layer of the tortilla chips. Toss some cheese on top of the tortilla chips. Then scattered some salsa or tomatoes, kidney beans, and Jalapeno peppers. Repeat until all the ingredients are used up.

Bake in the oven for about 12 to 12 minutes. Serve immediately with additional salsa, guacamole and top with some chopped fresh coriander, if desired.

Apple Cake

The idea of baking this cake came from Tessa Kiros cookbook. I made a few adjustments to the measurements to suit my smaller Bundt pan and added some cinnamon to the apple cake. Who doesn't like apple with cinnamon, right?

To make it easier, instead of slicing and arranging the apples, I cut them into smaller chunks. Just fit the apples into the Bundt pan and when you invert the pan, the apples will be on top. I am very happy with the result. The apple cake was moist and yummy!

Apple Cake

Ingredients

4 Apples, skinned, core and cut into small chunks

2 tsp Cinnamon

3 Tbsp Fine Granulated Sugar

1 stick (1/2 cup) Unsalted Butter, softened

160g of Fine Granulated Sugar

4 Large Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Sea Salt

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

250g Cake Flour, sift

1/2 cup of Milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 180˚C (350˚F). Grease and flour the baking pan.

Combine the apple chunks with cinnamon and sugar. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder until well blended.

Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until pale in color and creamy. Add the eggs, beating well after each one. Then, mix in the dry ingredients and follow by the milk and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides.

Put half of the apple chunks into the pan. Make sure to press down the apples down. Then, pour half the batter, followed by the remaining apples. Then scrape the rest of the batter into the pan and smooth the surface with a spatula.

Bake for about 45 to 55 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for about 10 minutes. Loosen the sides with a small metal spatula and invert onto a wire rack. Serve the cake warm.

Rice Noodle Soup With Seafood

Another simple home cooked meal and yet, it was so satisfying! I am using the Hue Rice Sticks from Vietnam. I have tried several brands of thick rice sticks but this particular brand called Three Fish, is one of my favorites for now. When cooked, they are chewy and al dente! Just the way I like my noodles or pasta.

Rice Noodle Soup With Seafood

Ingredients

10 cups of Chicken Stock

300g Prawns, shelled

350g Manila Clams

200g Squid, cleaned, cut into rings

400g Spinach

400g Vietnamese Rice Sticks, washed

2 Tbsp Deep Fried Shallots

2 stalk Scallions, chopped

Sea salt to taste

Ground White Pepper

Method

In a large pot with boiling water, cook the dried rice sticks for about 10 minutes, or until they are cooked and al dente. Drain and mix the rice noodles with 1 Tbsp of oil to prevent them from sticking to each other. Set aside.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil, add the prawns, vegetables, clams and squid. Season with sea salt. To serve, ladle the soup over the rice noodles and top it with some chopped scallions, dried shallots and some white pepper. Serve immediately.

Winter Melon Soup

This is a simple bowl of winter melon soup. To me, most of the Chinese style soups are quite easy to make. The key ingredient is the broth. With good quality chicken, pork or beef stock, you can add any kind of meat, seafood or vegetable of your choice. Then you will definitely have a fantastic bowl of soup.


Winter Melon Soup
(Printable Recipe)

Ingredients

5 cups of Chicken Stock

1 Kg of Winter Melon, skinned, seeded and cut into 1 1/2 inch cube

4 good quality Dried Scallops

2 slices of Ginger

Sea salt to taste

Method

Soak the dried scallops with boiling water for about 5 minutes and drain.

Bring the chicken stock to a boil and add in the winter melon, ginger and dried scallops.

Simmer for about 20 minutes on a low heat. Season with sea salt and serve warm.

Beef Stew With Star Anise And Basil

Thats it! I am now obsessed with Vietnamese food! I am out of control! Ha ha! Just kidding:)

Anyway, according to the writer of this cookbook, in Vietnam, there are people who would travel a great distances each morning just to get a perfect bowl of beef stew. At breakfast, thit bo kho (beef stew) is served with a French baguette, but at other meals it is usually accompanied by noodles or steamed rice.

As for me, I just had it for brunch. So, I served the beef stew with baguette. It was simply delicious! Well, I strongly recommend this cookbook, "Pleasure Of The Vietnamese Table" by Mai Pham. I have tested many of her recipes and all of them turned out great each time.

Beef Stew With Star Anise And Basil

Ingredients

3 Tbsp Vegetable Oil

2 Tbsp Annatto Seeds

2 Tbsp chopped Shallots

1/2 Tbsp chopped Garlic

1 lb Beef Chuck Roast, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

3 cups fresh water, Chicken Stock or store bought low sodium chicken broth, boil

2 Lemongrass stalks, lightly crushed with flat side of a knife and cut into 3 inch pieces.

2 Tbsp Fish Sauce

1 Tbsp Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Sugar

3 Whole Star Anise

1 Tbsp Curry Powder, preferably Vietnamese Three Golden Bells brand

2 tsp chopped fresh red chilies or dried chilies, or to taste

3 Carrots, peeled and cut diagonal into 1/2 inch rounds (about 3 cups), blanched in boiling water for 3 minutes and drained

1/2 cup Asian Basil Leaves

1/4 small Yellow Onion, sliced paper thin

5 sprigs Cilantro, cut into 2 inch lengths

Method

Heat the oil in a small saucepan over a low heat. Add the annatto seeds, stir a few times and remove immediately from the heat. (The seeds should foam upon contact but not burn). Let it stand for 10 minutes, then strain the oil and discard the seeds.

Heat half the annatto oil in a medium pan over a moderate heat. Add half the shallots and half the garlic and stir until fragrant, for about 10 seconds. Add the beef and stir until lightly seared, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the boiling chicken stock, lemongrass, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook until the beef is tender, about 40 minutes, skimming the top occasionally.

While the beef is cooking, lightly toast the star anise in a dry pan over a low heat until fragrant, about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pound to a fine powder. (You can also use a spice mill)

Heat the remaining annatto oil in a small saucepan over a moderate heat. Add the remaining shallots and garlic, star anise powder, curry powder, and chilies and stir until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Set aside until ready to serve.

Fifteen minutes before the beef is done, add the carrots and cook until they are tender. Add the spice mixture and stir a few times. Stir in half the basil and transfer the stew to a serving bowl. Garnish with remaining basil, yellow onions and cilantro and serve immediately.