Glutinuous Rice Roll

Glutinuous Rice Roll
My mum normally made these rice rolls on the last day of the lunar month as an offering for the prayer to the Kitchen God. This item can be whipped up anytime as the ingredients are non-perishable.
The steamed rice is placed on the beancurd sheets and made into rolls when it is still hot.

Ingredients
4 cups glutinuous rice
50g dried shrimps
8 chinese dry mushrooms soaked in warm water
1 beancurd sheet cut into 12 pieces 18cmx10cm
3 tbsp light soya sauce

Dash of pepper
10 shallots- peeled, sliced and fried till crisp
4 tbsp cooking oil

Method
Wash the glutinuous rice.  Drain the mushrooms, remove stem and cut into thin slices. Dice the dried shrimps. In a hot wok, add cooking oil and fry the dried shrimps and mushrooms for 5 minutes. Add  the glutinuous rice, water and seasoning. Stir until the water evaporates and transfer mixture to a steaming tray.
Steam for 20 minutes over high heat. Remove, add the fried shallots and mix well.
Place 2 tbsp heapful of rice on the edge of each beancurd sheet and roll tight. Seal by stuffing inwards both ends of the sheet.
Pan fry lightly the rolls in a non stick wok. Best served with chilli sauce and sweet soya sauce.

Konnyaku Jelly With Aloe Vera

Konnyaku Jelly With Aloe Vera
These jellies are easy to make. To add variety, different colours and fillings can be used. I find adding aloe vera gives a refreshing taste to this dessert. Alternatively, fresh fruits or canned fruit cocktail may be used.

Ingredients

Konnyaku jelly powder - 1 packet
250g sugar
950ml water
Aloe vera - 1 bottle
Colouring

Method
Mix the jelly powder with sugar. Drain the aloe vera and cut into desirable sizes before distributing them in the moulds. Bring water to a boil and add the jelly mixture slowly and stirring continuously. When boiled, divide into 4 portions for 4 different colours. Pour into mould, cool and refrigerate. Best served chilled.

Braised Pork Knuckles

Braised Pork Knuckles
This is definitely one of my father's favourite dishes. He simply loved the tender meat and fatty chewy skin. It is a must item whenever we dined at any teochew porridge stall. My mum would prepare this dish with hard boiled eggs, firm beancurd(taukwa) and fried beancurd (taupok). Though this is a high cholesterol food item, it is also rich in natural collagen.

Ingredient
1 pork knuckle cut into bite sizes
4 hard boiled eggs, shelled
2 taukwa, cut into 4 pieces each and shallow fried
4 taupok cut into 3 pieces each
800ml water
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
5 cloves garlic
3 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce

1tbsp rice wine
1 tsp sugar

Method
Blanch the pork knuckles in boiling water and drain. In a pot, add 200 ml water, star anise, cinnamon stick, garlic and sauces. Bring to a boil and add the pork knuckles. Simmer over low flame, stirring occasionally. Add in the remaining portion of the water slowly. About half an hour later, add the eggs, taukwa and taupok. Cook over low flame for another half an hour. This dish is best served with steamed rice or porridge.   

Steamed Yam Cake

Steamed Yam Cake
Yam cake was one of my parents favourite kueh. I remembered during my childhood days, there was an elderly lady selling this on a pushcart and serving it on a leaf. The process of making it is time consuming due to the steaming process and it is more worthwhile to make a bigger portion each time. It is best eaten the next day by pan frying and dipping in sweet soya sauce.

Ingredients
500g yam, peeled and diced
50g dried shrimps slightly diced

dried chinese mushrooms cut into slices
500g rice flour
2 tbsp tapioca flour
1tbsp salt
1tbsp light soya sauce
1tsp pepper powder
2.25 litres water
4 tbsp cooking oil

Ingredients for Garnishing
2 red chillies
2 tbsp fried shallots
1 tbsp seasame seeds

Method
Mix the rice and tapioca flour  with water. Add salt, pepper powder and soya sauce and stir well.
Heat up a wok, add the cooking oil and then fry the mushrooms and dried shrimps till fragrant. Add in the flour mixture and lower the flame. Stir continously until the mixture thickens, approximately 15 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a steaming tray and steam for 45 minutes. Garnish with seasame seeds, fried shallots and sliced chillies.

Premium Pot

Premium Pot

My good friend and her hubby bought abalones and scallops for me when returning from their trip to Melbourne. I decided to use these pricey ingredients to make a braised premium hot pot that we will normally cook only during the Chinese New Year.

Ingredients
400g pork belly cut into desirable size
800g sea cucumber cut into big pieces
8 dried chinese mushrooms

8 pieces scallops
1 abalone
200g instant sharks fins
6 medium sized prawns
8 pieces dried oysters
3 cloves garlic

Seasoning
50ml light soya sauce
50ml dark soya sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup water

Ingredients for Blanching
3 slices ginger
4 stalks spring onions
4 cloves garlic

50 ml chinese cooking wine

Method

Combine the ingredients for blanching and add in the sea cucumbers to boil. Drain, add the abalone and cook it over slow fire for half an hour.
Put the pork belly in boiling water for half a minute. Drain and set aside.

In a pot, add the seasoning and garlic, bring it to boil. Add the pork belly and simmer over low flame for half an hour. Put in the sea cucumbers, mushrooms, abalone, dried oysters and continue to cook for an hour. Lastly, add the prawns, scallops and sharks fins. Stir well and bring it to boil.

Dried Prawn Sambal

Dried Prawn Sambal

This sambal that my mum made probably started my palate for spicy food. It tastes good if used as a filling for sandwiches. Whenever I make this sambal, I will buy the traditional white bread loaf as it gives a nostalgic taste from my childhood memories.

Ingredients
300g dried prawns
10 shallots
5 clove garlic
20 dried chillies
Salt to taste
10 tablespoon cooking oil

Method

Soak the dried prawns in water for 10 minutes and drain. Soak the dried chillies in warm water for half hour and drain.
Peel the shallot and garlic. Combine the chillies, dried prawns, shallot and garlic and blend in a food processor.
Heat a frying pan and add oil. Lower the heat and fry the blended ingredients till fragrant.

Transfer to an air-tight glass bottle when cool. Keep refrigerated.

Durian Pudding

The strong smell of durians brings back sweet memories. When we were young, my father would buy durians by the basket. We would then sit earnestly watching him open the fruits on a hard board which he laid over the linoleum flooring. Subsequently, he became more selective with the quality and would not hesitate to buy the highest grade at a pricey sum. This is one of his many indulgences in us.

This durian pudding recipe is a simple and short cut method as I use durian ready mix and add in durian pulp.

Ingredients
Hollyfarm durian pudding mix - 1box
100g durian pulp
450ml water

Method

Boil 450ml water. Add in the ready mix. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from flame. Add in the durian pulp. Mix well. Pour mixture into moulds. Chill and serve.

Mango Pudding

In my childhood house, there were 2 large mango trees in the front garden. They were planted by my father in the mid 1970s and had grown from a metre height to more than 10 metres within a decade. Approximately 100 fruits could be harvested during each season. My father would use a self-made net to harvest and my nephew, Benjamin would follow closely, picking up the fruits. Thereafter, he would do his stock taking and beamed proudly at his fruits of labour.
This mango pudding requires the use of fresh mangoes. It is a short cut method as I use mango pudding ready mix.

Ingredients

Signwin ready mix -1box

1mango- peeled and diced finely

450ml water

Method

Boil 450ml water. Add in the ready mix. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from flame. Add in the diced mangoes. Mix well. Pour mixture into moulds. Chill and serve.

Sayur Lodeh

This is a simple and easy to cook curry vegetable dish. I choose to use evaporated milk instead of coconut cream as it is healthier. The rempah can be prepared in larger quantity and the excess to be stored in air-tight bottles in the freezer for future use.

Main Ingredients

1 small round cabbage (cut into bite-sized pieces)
5 strings long beans (cut into 2.5cm length)
2 brinjals (cut into 4 pieces)
3 hard boiled eggs
5 pieces taupok (fried beancurd)
1 piece fish cake (cut into thin slices)
1 can evaporated milk
1 teaspoon salt
250ml water

Rempah Ingredients
80g dried chillies
10 cloves garlic
10 shallots
2 slices lengkuas (2cm thick)
2 stalks lemon grass (use only the white top portion)

Method
To prepare the rempah, soak the dried chillies in hot water. Peel the shallots and garlic. Blend all the rempah ingredients to a smooth paste. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok and add the rempah. Stir fry using low flame until fragrant or when the ingredients sink to to the bottom of the oil. Add the milk and water and bring it to boil. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the vegetables are soft. Serve hot with white steamed rice.

My First Blog

INTRODUCTION


This is my first blog. This will be one of many to come. The reason for setting this recipe blog is in memory of my late parents.
With heartfelt gratitude to my father for his indulgence in us through all the dining treats at restaurants, cafes, hawker centres, coffee shops and home dining with takeaways.
With deep appreciation to my mother for imparting her love for cooking and her culinary skills to me through the years.
They may be gone but certainly not forgotten.




RECIPE #01


Soya Sauce Chicken Wings


When my father bought the microwave oven in the 1980s, we were wondering what dishes to cook other than using it for re-heating food.
My mother suggested using her marinate recipe for baked chicken. To our delight, we found the chicken wings cooked using the microwave method to be soft and tender. She also added taupok (fried beancurd)  and taukwa (firm bean curd) to the gravy and it became one of our favourite side dishes.


Ingredients
10 chicken wings
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp chinese cooking wine
1 tsp sugar
Half tsp pepper powder
3 slices of ginger (1cm thickness)
5 cloves garlic


Method
Wash the chicken wings thoroughly. Pat dry and place in a microwaveable pot. Add all the ingredients and mix well to marinate. Leave it in the refrigerator for about 4 hours.
Place the pot with the cover in the oven and set on high heat for 10 minutes. Remove the pot from the oven and stir the contents before cooking it for another 5 minutes. When ready, transfer the chicken wings to a serving dish. Add the taukwa or taupok to the gravy. Cook over stove or microwave oven for 10 minutes.






Recipe #02


Chilli Sauce (Dipping Sauce)

I grew up watching my mother and 2nd sister making the chilli sauce using this mortar and pestle.

Due to our work commitment, we no longer have the luxury to spend hours preparing this chilli sauce using the laborious pounding method. However, I was told that the quality of the chilli mix will never be as good using the food processor as the ingredients are affected by the heat generated from the rotating blades.

We normally use this chilli sauce for chicken rice, steamed fish and steamboat.

Ingredients

10 fresh red chillies

15 fresh chilli padi

200g small onions

100g young ginger

50g garlic

1 tbsp white rice vinegar

1 tsp salt

Method
Peel the onions, garlic and ginger. Remove the stems of the chillies, wash and pat dry. Place the chillies, onions, garlic and ginger in the food processor. Grind to a smooth paste. Transfer to a bowl and add the rice vinegar and salt. Mix well. Keep the chilli sauce in air-tight bottles in the refrigerator for up to a week or freezer for up to 3 months. You may wish to add lime juice and light soya sauce before serving.






Recipe #03


Chicken/Shark's Bone Soup

This chicken soup gives a warm and soothing feeling especially when consumed on a cool, rainy day. The shark's bone is rich in collagen, a protein which is a major element in skin, bone, cartilage, tendon and teeth. The red dates, dry abalone and dry scallop enhance the flavouring of the soup.

Ingredients

1 chicken leg

50g shark's bone

5 red dates

2 dry scallops

2 slices of dry abalone

1 litre of water

Method

Soak the shark's bones in water overnight. Put the chicken leg (preferably with the skin removed) in a soup pot. Add just sufficient boiling water to cover the meat. Bring it to a boil and discard the water. Fill the pot with 1 litre of boiling water. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer for one hour using low flame. Alternatively, you may use the slow cooker for the simmering.