Monday, January 20, 2014

Oriental Stir Fried Spaghetti with Bacon #15MinuteSupper 熏肉炒意面

It was a busy weekend for the family. We were spring cleaning in preparation for the lunar New Year which is only 2 weeks away and I nearly forgot it's lunchtime until I saw the clock pointing to 12:30.. Oops.

So I quickly searched my fridge for what to cook and found a packet of streaky bacon and some cooked spaghetti, left over from the previous dinner. So, stir fried spaghetti it is. The baby Choy Sum in our garden is ready for harvest so extra green for the pasta, how convenient. :)

It's a hush hush meal but yummy none the less. 

Preparation Time: 5 min
Cooking Time: 10 min
Serving for: 3-4 pax

Ingredients:

1/2 packet of spaghetti 
3 eggs, beaten and flavored with some salt & pepper
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped  
1 carrot, cut into short strips
1/4 onion, roughly chopped 
4 strips of streaky Bacon, cut into short strips
8 stalks of baby Choy Sum, washed and cleaned (since our homegrown baby Choy Sum
 is pesticide-free, I only gave it a brief wash)
1 teaspoon of salt
A few drops of Worcester sauce 
2 table spoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce (optional, I added it for darker color which is more appetizing. Add more or omit as you wish)
A dash of pepper
A dash of paprika powder

The Making:

Stir Fried Spaghetti with Bacon, the oriental style


  1. In a pot of boiling water, cook the spaghetti for 10 minutes, add some salt in the water while boiling. Once cooked, drain the excess water and set the spaghetti aside.
  2. While the spaghetti is cooking, heat up a table spoon of olive oil and cook the egg omelet. Roughly cut it into small pieces using the spatula then set aside.
  3. Heat up a table spoon of olive oil on the wok and sauté the garlic till fragrance, toss in the onion and bacon strips, stir slightly then add the carrots slices. Add salt and Worcester sauce to taste.
  4. Add 1/2 cup of water, soy sauce and dark soy sauce, mix roughly then cover the wok and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
  5. Toss in the cooked pasta, follow by the  Choy Sam and eggs. Add another 1/2 cup of water, close the lid and let the pasta simmer for another 5 minutes.
  6. Turn off the stove, add a dash of pepper and paprika powder & mix well. Your pasta is ready to serve.
I love mine with few drops of freshly plugged lime (yeah, another product from our garden..), but that is really not necessary. It's just me and my exotic taste bud, Big Guy & the kiddos enjoy the spaghetti just like that.





Bon appetite!






15 Minute Suppers
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Oriental Style Stir Fried Spaghetti with Bacon from Food 4 Little Ones
Creamy Garlic Pasta from Better in Bulk
Creamy Coconut Shrimp from Around My Family Table
Quick 15 Minute Shrimp Tacos from Jen's Journey
Shrimp Fajita Rice Bowl from Turning the Clock Back
Pasta with Bacon and Brussels Sprouts from Suburbia Unwrapped

Head over to our #15MinuteSuppers Pinterest Board to see all the past recipes and more delicious goodness!

Would you like to join us at #15MinuteSuppers? We’d love to have you! Please check out the 15 Minute Suppers website or ask to join the Facebook group (for bloggers) to participate on Fridays…we’d love to have you join us.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Honey Glazed Roasted Chicken Wings 蜜糖烤鸡翼

This is a delicious dish that looks complicated but is actually really, really easy to prepare. Big Guy and I used to be big fans of a popular charcoal barbecue chicken wing store nearby to our condo, we can eat half a dozen of the chicken wings over a late night movie (those days when we were newly-wed..). However since we have moved to the new house we seldom visit this store anymore.  

For my little boy's birthday party, I had this sudden thought of serving my favorite chicken wings as finger food. But instead of barbecue method, I decided to make an oven roasted version which is healthier and easier for cleaning since less utensil involved. As a fulltime working mama of two young kiddos, I have to take the practical route. 





The honey glaze adds extra aroma to the wings and gives it the golden brown layer which look so tempting; the skin was crunchy but the meat underneath was juicy and tender. This dish was a big hit for the party and the entire plate was emptied shortly after serving!

Give it a try, your little ones (and big ones) may just like it. ;)


Preparation Time: 15 min
Cooking Time: 50 min
Serving for: 24 pieces



Ingredients:

1 dozen of chicken wings, separate drummet from the wing with a knife
A teaspoon of salt 

The marinate sauce: A dash of paprika powder 辣椒粉适量
2 tablespoon of premium soy sauce 顶级酱油两茶匙
A tablespoon of Shao Xin Wine 花雕绍兴酒一茶匙, 可免(optional if serving for young kids)
Few drops of sesame oil 麻油几滴
A dash of pepper 胡椒粉适量
2 teaspoon of pure honey, diluted with 1 tablespoon of warm water. 纯蜜糖两茶匙,混一汤匙温水

The Making:


  1. Clean the chicken wings under running water, dab off excess water with kitchen towel and rub the salt evenly over the wings. 
  2. Mix all the marinates, cover the sauce over the chicken wings and marinate them overnight (or at least an hour). 
  3. Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F, place a layer of aluminium foil over the baking tray.
  4. Place all the chicken wings over the baking tray, ensure they do not overlap onto one another, brush the honey over the wings and roast for 50 minutes.
  5. Mid way during cooking, turn the chicken wings over to other side and brush with honey again. This will give the wing an even golden brown instead of plain white skin.

Remove from oven and serve it over some hot sauce or just eat it as-is. Either way, they are hard to resist... I gave my duo a drummet each and how they enjoyed it!



Useful Tips You Need to know...
  • I used ziplock bag to store the marinated wings, it allows more even coverage of sauce over the wings. Easy to store & hassle free cleaning.
  • Sprinkle some white sesame seed over the wings for more authentic oriental style. I was out of sesame seed so will only do that the next time.




Monday, January 13, 2014

Cloudette and Star Cookies, Fit for a Junior Pilot!

First post for 2014, finally. :)

I am some what fascinated with cookies decoration these days. Not that I am good at it, nor I have sweet tooth, but I adore pretty cookies with a message underneath.

Like these Cloudette cookies with a smile. It's here to put a smile on your face.

Or these Star Cookies with Captain E's initial. It's a statement of pride for my little Captain. The little stars are for pure munching pleasure.


Or, put them on a lolli stick and you've got a cookie pop ready to shine!


I opted for plain cookie outline this time, instead of flooding them with icing, for simplicity and lesser sugar consumption.. hence less (sugar) = more (healthy).

I used these cake decorating tool and cookie containers that I bought from the local bakery store recently, cheap and handy. Easy to wash and can be reused over and over. If you bake often,do visit a trusted bakery supplies store to get all your gears and ingredients instead of super market, they are usually cheaper and more wider selections. 



That's it, easy peasy cookie decorating fit for beginner.
Cookie decoration, fit for a pilot!
Now these are great addition for my little Captain E's airplane party!

I really love the Perfect every time cookie recipe shared by Bridget from bake at 350. If you have not tried this yet, head over to her site and check this out. You will be amazed to see that cookie decoration is not that difficult after all. It's just a crafty affair.


Happy baking!