Honey Orange Roast Ribs 蜜汁烤排骨

Althought I'm not a big fan of BBQ food, I have always like barbecue ribs; juicy, aromatic pork ribs... I could never resist. As I was craving for it badly last night (and I've no idea why), I decided to make some roast ribs for lunch, plus some drumsticks which are the kiddos' absolute favorite.

So we had double roast for lunch today - honey garlic roast drumsticks and orange honey roast pork ribs, served with a big plate of mixed fruit salad.

My juicy rib... nom-nom

Paired with tangy fruit salad, less guilt.. ;-)

Ingredients:

Serving size: for 2-4 person

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Roasting time: 45 minutes

• 1/2 dozen pork ribs, cleaned

For Marinate

• a pinch of salt  

• a dash of pepper 

• a pinch of brown sugar 

• 2 tablespoon of premium soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon Shao Xin wine

• 1/4 Orange, squeezed.

• a tablespoon of honey for brushing

• extra basil leaves for garnishing

The Making:

1. Rub the ribs with salt and pepper, add in the rest of the marinate and mix well. Keep refrigerated for at least 30 minutes, turn the ribs occasionally to make sure they absorb the marinate thoroughly.

2. Preheat oven to 180°c, roast the ribs in a non-stick tray for 25 minutes.

3. Remove ribs from oven, turn to the other side and brush generously with honey, then pour the orange juice all over the ribs.

  

4. Continue roasting for another 15-20 minutes until the ribs turn golden brown. Your kitchen will be filled with such irresistible aroma by now. 

That's it, your juicy roast ribs are done. When serving, don't forget to pour the remaining gravy in the tray over the ribs, they are absolutely delicious. 

Enjoy!

Double Style Sesame Chicken Nuggets

This is a fast and easy dish that is crunchlicious and suitable for any occasion, be it family dinner, friends gathering or even picnic. The white sesame coating over the nuggets adds a subtle aroma and adds to the crunchiness. 

Why double style? I made a non spicy version (sesame) and a spicy version (sesame + paprika), everyone can just pick their favorites, or have both. ;)

Served the Sesame Chicken Nuggets with 3 different sauces, so there's at least a flavor that suits everyone :- hot Sambal, Sesame sauce and mayonnaise.

I had it served as part of our family's CNY luncheon. The whole big plate was emptied before the lunch was over.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Serving for: approximate 40-50 nuggets

Ingredients:

• 800gm chicken fillets, cut into cubes

For Seasoning:

• salt and pepper  

• few drops of sesame oil

• 1 tablespoon of Shao Xin wine (skip if serving for young kids)

For Coating:

• 4 tablespoon of flour + 1 tablespoon of cornflour

• 2 egg whites

• 1/2 cup of white sesame seeds

For Hot version:

• few dash of paprika powder 

 

The Making:

1. Marinate the chicken nuggets with the salt, sesame oil and Shao Xin wine. Set aside for about 30minutes.

2. Coat the chicken nuggets with the following in sequence: 1) mixed flour 2) egg white 3) white sesame seeds. 

For the hot version, add few dash of Paprika powder into the flour and mix well.

3. Heat up few spoonful of cooking oil in a frying pan. Once the oil in heated, using a pair of long chopsticks or thong, slowly place the chicken nuggets into the pan; you may cook few nuggets at the same time, just make sure they do not overlap.

4. Cook each nuggets for about 1 minute on each side or until golden brown. Dish out and put over a piece of kitchen towel to absorb the excess oil.

Serve alongside your favorite sauce (tomato ketchup, chili sauce, Sambal chili, mayonnaise, peanut sauce, sesame sauce). Enjoy!

{CNY Special} Prosperous Abalone dish with Mushrooms 鲍螺万象迎新年

It's the 7th day of Chinese New Year, which also coincide with the Valentine's Day. We had a simple family gathering where my siblings and dad came over for a family luncheon. It's potluck style and as the hostess, I decided to make an auspicious dish to celebrate the Lunar new year.   

Managed to cook this dish in under 30 minutes and it's emptied almost immediately when we started dining. 

The topshell was arranged into a rose shape, it was spontaneous but I though their appearance was rather beautiful. *smile* My late mom would approved this if she's around.

The platter of food.. Recipe for the sesame chicken cubes (the center piece) will be shared separately.

Note: I did not serve the abalone nor top shells to my little ones (I prefer serving them unprocessed food), however they enjoyed the broccoli and other dishes to the max.

 

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes 

Ingredients:

• 1 can of abalone in brine 高汤炖鲍鱼一罐*

• 1 can of sliced topshell 鲍鱼汁螺片一罐*

• 300gm of broccoli, cut into florets 西兰花一颗约三百克

• 3 cloves garlic, crushed 蒜头三颗，切细

• 8 King Eryngii Mushroom, roughly shredded 杏鲍菇八颗，捌段

• 100g Enoki mushroom, washed, 金针菇一百克，洗净

*Note: I used the Soon Thye Hang (顺泰行海味） canned abalone and topshell, you can choose other brand or flavor too but their brine sauce is my favorite.

The Making 做法:

1. Blanch the broccoli florets with hot water, drain the excess water and place aside. 用热水把西兰花烫熟，让多余的水流掉，西兰花放一旁待用。

2. Heat up 2 tablespoon of cooking oil in the wok, toss in the garlic and sautée for a minute till turns golden color. 在热锅烧热两汤匙油，加入蒜头炒至金黄色。

3. Add the mushrooms and broccoli, quick fry on high heat for about 2 minutes, add a tablespoon of the abalone sauce to flavor. Scope out and put into the serving dish. 

* you may add some sliced ham too for richer flavor

把杏鲍菇，金针菇加入锅中混入两汤匙的红烧鲍鱼菇汁快炒，再加入烫熟的西兰花大火炒约两分钟即可离锅，放在一个空碟上。

* 也可加入切片火腿添味

4. In the same wok, heat up the abalone with sauce, once the sauce starts to boil (should be around a min) turn off the heat. Arrange the abalone nicely over the broccoli and pour the sauce all over them. Repeat the same for the topshell but only add few spoonful of sauce over the topshell will do. 把罐头鲍鱼连汁倒入锅中，滚后即可熄火（约一分钟左右）把鲍鱼排在西兰花上方，然后把剩余的汁倒入碟中。罐头螺片也如法炮制，但只需要加几汤匙的螺汁在螺片上，不用太多。

That's it, your CNY dish is ready to serve. it's really just that simple! *wink* 

一道”鲍螺万象”轻轻松松上桌啦，趁热吃吧！

祝各位，新年快乐，心想事成！

Easy Japanese Tamago Sushi (Sweetened Egg Rolls)

It's been a while since we last had any Japanese meal at home, I decided to surprise the little ones by making some of their favorite sushi - sweet beancurds, Tamago and teriyaki salmon, serve with a pot of home brewed mint tea - mix of spearmint, peppermint, Indian borage and lemon.

I bought the sweet beancurd from Aeon mall @ RM7.90 for 6 pieces, but for the Tamago, a kind of sweetened Japanese egg rolls, I decided to make it myself as I often find the store made too sweet.

My grill pan is my best companion now. Cook all these with just 1 pan (and rice cooker for the sushi rice), washing is minimal and save me so much time!

Simple Jappy lunch, for the 3 of us.

While I was preparing the tea, E decided to surprise me with his food art. Lol, what a cute old man!

Making of the Tamago sushi is easy...

Preparation: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serving for: approximate 10-12 Tamago sushi 

Ingredients:

Tamago

• 4 eggs

• 1 teaspoon mirin (Japanese vinegar)

• 1 teaspoon soyu (sushi sauce)

• 1 teaspoon sugar (can add more up to 1 tablespoon)

Sushi Rice

• 1 cup Pearl rice (short grain rice)

• 2 cups water

• 1 tablespoon mirin 

The Making:

1. Wash the rice and cook as usual (1 cup rice to 2 cups water). Once done, let the rice rest for about 10 min in the pot then scope out to let cold down.

2. While the rice is cooking, beat the eggs lightly. Add the rest of the ingredients, beat lightly to mix well.

3. Using a square pan (I used my grill pan), pour the egg mixture, slowly fold inward using a spatula until it forms a roll.

4. Let it cook for about a minute, move the egg roll to a clean cutting board and cut into equal slices of about 1" thick each.

5. Mix the mirin into the rice, mix well using a spatula then shape them into rolls of equal size using your palms.

Serve the egg rolls on sushi rolled rice (wrap with some cut seaweed sheet if you have any, I forgot to buy them!) or with sliced cucumbers, prepare some Japanese soya sauce for dipping. That's it, you are done!

Itadakimasu!

Need more idea for sushi? Refer to my previous post here. The kiddos love any kind of sushi as long as they are mommy made.

Psss... This is also ideal to be packed for their school lunch box ;-)

Super Easy Grilled Chicken & Veggie Platter

I bought a new grill pan during our recent visit to Langkawi, it was so much cheaper than the price in town and I could not help but ask myself... why did I not bought this earlier?? It is light, nice to hold, non stick and the food cooks evenly. I should have gotten this loooong ago.

Anyway, I made this Full Platter Grilled Chickens and Veggie for our dinner in just 30 minutes, everyone loved it and the kiddos enjoyed assembling their own burgers - I just served them the buns, grilled chicken fillet and veggie. With the ease of preparing and cleaning, this will definitely be one of our usual meals. ;)

My portion, with a glass of chilled Chardonay.... Heavenly.

The next morning, I made a big breakfast with the leftover ingredients.  

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes

Serving for: 4 persons

Ingredients:

Ingredient A

• 600gm chicken fillet, washed

• 8-10 brown mushrooms, thinly sliced

• 2 clove garlic, roughly sliced

• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced

• 1 carrot, cut cubes

• some broccoli, cut into bite size 

• some asparagus, use only the spears (stems are too fibrous)

• 4-6 dinner rolls, cut half 

• butter 

• Salt & black pepper 

• olive oil

Ingredient B (Chicken Marinate)

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 2 table spoon teriyaki sauce*

• 1 tablespoon Shao Xin wine

• dash of black pepper 

• 2 pricks of fresh rosemary or dried rosemary leaves (and extra for garnishing)

Note: *you may replace teriyaki sauce with equal amount of soya sauce and a tablespoon of honey.

The Making:

 

1. Rub the chicken fillets with salt and marinate with ingredients B evenly. Set aside in fridge for about 30 minutes before cooking. 

2. Heat up the grill pan, drizzle with some olive oil. Toss in the garlic and follow by the chicken fillet and mushrooms, grill each side for about 2-3 minutes or until it turns golden brown. Drizzle some teriyaki sauce if the fillets are getting too dry. Scoop aside.

3. Toss the broccoli and carrots into the grill pan, let cook for about 2 minutes on each side then add the asparagus and bell peppers, cook for another 1-2 minutes (check to make sure carrots and broccoli are soft enough to your liking). Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and black pepper onto the veggies, shake the grill pan to mix well. Once done, scope the veggies aside.

4. Cut dinner rolls into half, melt a small lump of butter on the grill pan and lightly grill the dinner rolls for about 45 seconds to get the golden crunch.  

Arrange all grilled goodies in a plate, garnish with some Rosemary and serve hot, best to go with a glass of wine or cold juice. 

Enjoy!

Xoxo,

PH

Basil & Spinach Chicken Fettucini 罗勒鸡块菠菜意面

Bilingual | 中英对照

My organic basil is growing so well that it is turning into a small bush, so I have been using them for cooking more frequently than ever. The fresh basil leaves add a very delightful scent to the meal that is somehow lacking in the dried basil.

I have tried the 3 Cups Chicken (三杯鸡) in Taiwan, one of the spices used is the sweet basil leaves, so I decided to make a basil chicken fillet to go with the Fettucini, and they tasted so good! You really ought to give this a try if you or your little ones are pasta lovers like us. :) 

Just so you know, my little ones ate up every bits from their plates, including all the greens. 

Ingredients:

Serving size: for 2-4 person

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

For the Chicken Fillets:

• 8-10 chicken fillet, cleaned 

• a pinch of salt

• a dash of pepper

• 1 tablespoon of honey teriyaki sauce*

• 4-5 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped (I used a scissors)

• 2 clove garlic, finely chopped 

• 2 tablespoon of corn flour

* can substitute with teriyaki sauce / soy sauce and add a tablespoon of honey.

 

For the Pasta:

• 1/2 packet or 250gm Fettucini pasta

• 12 stalks baby spinach, washed and roughly chopped

•  2 tablespoon of olive oil

• 1 carrot, cut into thin slices

• 2 shallots, chopped finely

• few drops of Worchester sauce

• 2-3 teaspoon of salt

• 2 egg, mixed

• 2 slices cheddar cheese

• few dash of mixed spices

• extra basil leaves for gardenia hung

*Optional: you can add some broccoli too. My kiddos love broccoli so I added them.

The Making:

1. Marinate the chicken fillets with ingredient A (except garlic and basil leaves), coat wih a thin layer of flour and keep refrigerated for at least 30 minutes.

2. Heat up 2 tablespoon of cooking oil in a pan, sauté the garlic till fragrance then pan fry the chicken fillet for about 2-3 minutes on each side until cook, add the basil leaves and stir to mix well. Once cooked, Set aside.

3. In a clean wok or deep pan, add the cooking oil and sautéed the shallots, carrots for about a minute, add salt, pepper, Worchester sauce and mixed herbs to taste.

4. Toss in the pasta. Add cold water or chicken stock into the pan (just enough to cover the pasta) then close the lid to let it simmer on medium heat for 12 minutes (or according to the recommended cooking time on the pasta packaging).

5. Add the baby spinach, eggs and cheese, stir to mix and let it simmer for another 2-3 minutes to soften. Add a bit more water if the pasta is too dry now.

6. Serve your pasta right away with the chicken fillet on top. 

Another easy least yet delicious meal for the whole family... Don't forget to add some basil leaves for garnishing! *smile*

Bon appetite! 

In case you wonder, this is how the sweet basil plant looks like. Photo was taken 2 weeks ago.

中文版

供2-4人份量

准备时间：约15分钟

烹饪时间：约25分钟

鸡柳材料：

•8-10片鸡柳，清洗

•少许盐

•胡椒粉少许

•1汤匙蜂蜜日式照烧酱*

•4-5鲜罗勒叶，切碎（我用剪刀）

•2瓣大蒜，切碎

•2汤匙粟米粉

*可以普通日式照烧酱或酱油代替，并添加一汤匙蜂蜜即可。

意面材料：

•半包或250克Fettucini意面

•12颗菠菜，洗净，切大片

•2汤匙橄榄油

•1根胡萝卜，切成幼条

•2小葱头，剁碎

•几滴Worchester伍斯特酱

•2-3茶匙盐

•2个鸡蛋，搅拌

•2片切 达干酪

•混合香料少几许

•额外的罗勒叶供装饰用

*您也可以添加一些西兰花。我的小瓜喜欢西兰花，所以我加入少许。

做法：

1.用材料A腌制鸡肉（除了大蒜，罗勒叶），再裹上一层薄薄的粟粉。保持冷藏至少30分钟备用。

2，在一个平底锅里，烧热2-3汤匙橄榄油，爆香大蒜后放入鸡柳，双面煎大约二分钟或直到熟透，加入罗勒叶搅拌均匀，取出备用。

3. 用一个锅子或深的平底锅，烧热橄榄油，加入小葱头，胡萝卜，盐，胡椒，伍斯特酱和混合香草翻炒约一分钟。

4.加入意面，灌入冷水或鸡汤（刚够覆盖面条即可），然后盖上盖子用中火煨约12分钟（或根据面条包装上的建议烹调时间）。

5.加入菠菜，鸡蛋和奶酪，搅拌均匀，再煨2-3分钟直到软化。如果面太干了可加入一点水。

好好吃的罗勒菠菜意大利面煮好咯，快上桌享用吧！别忘了放上罗勒叶来装饰！

Kids Friendly Beef & Mushroom Pie

I have a sudden craving for pie, hot piping meat pie like the ones we had in London, paired with a pint of cold ale. Perhaps it's the raining weather, or just the desire to travel.

So I searched for some best pie recipes and decided to stick with Jamie Oliver's  Aussie Humble Pie, I used to watch his cooking show in late night and he's still one of my favorite hosts. 

I made some minor adjustments to the recipe to make it kids friendly -- replacing  ale with non-alcohol malt drink and added some green peas which the kids like. 

The duo absolutely love these pies, they ate 2 slices each and finished everything on the plate, including mushrooms which they usually picked and chucked aside. So I must say this recipe is a keeper!

Hot Beef & Mushroom pie....

The thick gravy is just oh-so-nice!

Ready to bake (before applying egg wash..)

Ta-da.... The pies are served.

I made 2 medium size pies with this recipe, or you may use a larger pan too. It's more than sufficient for 4 persons sharing.

Preparation Time: 45min

Waiting Time: 2-3h

Cooking & Baking Time: 2h

  

The Ingredients:

For the filling:

• 500gm beef, cut into chunks (Jamie's recipe uses 1kg)

• approx 2 dash of ground pepper

• approx 6 dash of nutmeg powder

• 8 fresh brown mushrooms, sliced 

• 2 whole carrots, cut into small chunks

• 2 palmful of frozen green peas

• 2 clove garlic, diced 

• 2 shallots, diced

• 2 sprigs rosemary (add more dried rosemary if you wish) 

• 250ml Malta drink (replacement for pale ale)

• 1 tablespoon tomato purée 

• 1 tablespoon plain flour

For the dough:

• 600gm plain flour

• 150gm unsalted butter, cut cubes 

• 150gm shredded cheddar cheese (I reduced to 100gm)

• 1L cold water

• 1 egg yolk, beaten

• spray cooking oil / extra butter for brushing 

The Making:

Little E snapped a shot of mommy preparing the pie base.

1.  Heat up 2 table spoons of olive oil, sautée the onion, garlic, and follow by carrots. Add salt and rosemary, cook for about 10 minutes then set aside. 

2. Season the beef with salt, nutmeg powder, pepper and 2 tablespoon of olive oil, mix well. Heat up a pot and cook the beef on high heat until turns brown.

3. Pour malt (or ale if you prefer the authentic taste) into the pot, follow by flour and tomato purée. Add 1L of water and let the liquid boils. Stir occasionally to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pot.

4. Add the sliced mushrooms, cooked vegetables and green peas. Then close the lid and let it simmers on medium heat for about 1.5 hours or until the gravy is thicken. Let the stew beef cold down completely before using (I transferred it to a pot and keep it in the fridge) 

Preparing the dough - you can make this a day earlier and store it in the freezer compartment (covered in cling film)

5. In a clean mixer bowl, add shredded cheese into the flour, follow by butter cubes. Rub to mix with your hands then gradually add in water. Continue mixing until you get a smooth dough. Cut half, half to be used for dough base and the other for the pie top. 

6. Using a rolling pin, spread out the dough on a clean surface to form a large square, then lay over the baking pan (coat with a layer of cooking oil or melted butter to avoid sticking). Cut off the excess edges (refer to picture above), then wrap the dough base with cling film and let it sits in the fridge for 2-3 hours or overnight.

Wrap the excess dough in a cling film to be used for pie top later.

7. Pour the stewed beef into the hardened dough base until full. Spread out the remaining dough with a rolling pin then cover the top completely. Cut off the excess dough at the edges and press the edges with a fork to form a neat lines pattern. Cut 2 or more small holes on the center top of the dough with a knife.

8. Preheat oven to 180°c. Brush the pie top with some egg yolk and bake for 15-20 minutes until it turns golden brown. 

Your kitchen will be filled with nice aroma of the pie once you open the oven door. Let it cool down then dig in and enjoy your piping hot pie... It's really mouth watering and my duo were actually fighting for more. :)

Need More?

You may want to hop over to Jamie's food tube and check out his video guide (click here to watch). This aussie beef pie is so delicious that it's worth the time to prepare it.

Abalone Soup Noodle with Bean Curds 鲍鱼汁捞面，好好吃

bilingual | 双语版

I found a leftover can of NZ Wild abalone which I bought during Chinese New Year, we were not exactly in the mood to celebrate when my late mom departed us during CNY, so it had been left idle in the kitchen shelf for months.

Anyway, I decided to make a quick but luxury meal - canned abalone soup noodle, with broccoli and bean curds, and the kiddos absolutely loved them. E finished his bowl of noodle in record fast time (like 3 minutes?!) and instantly asked for a second bowl. So I quickly cooked another fresh batch of noodle, which only took me 3 minutes, topped with some soup and wa-lah, he finished it within minutes. If only he eats this fast everyday. :)

Our serving. Kids have theirs without the abalone slices, as its too chewy for their liking. You can try to cut the abalone into small dice and the kids may be able to enjoy it.  

The wild abalone I used, slightly smaller than a palm size. Got this from Soon Thye Hang during their CNY promo, you may checkout their website for a branch near you.

Preparation time: 10 min 十分钟准备

Cooking time: 10 min 十分钟烹煮

Serving for: approximate 4 pax 越四人份

Ingredients 材料：

• 1 canned abalone in clear stock 清汤鲍鱼一罐 （红烧也可）

• 1 stalk broccoli, cut small 西兰花一棵，切小段

• 1 carrot, cut flora / round shape 红萝卜一个，切片/花状

• 12 slices bean curd 豆腐皮数片

• 12 flat noodles 扁面条12个左右

• Water half cup 水半杯

We like this organic flat soya noodle, has a nice scent and not too soft to bite. 
我家爱吃这有机黄豆面条，有淡淡的豆香又不会太软。

The Making 做法：

1. Boil a pot of water (just enough to cover the broccoli), cook the broccoli and carrots for about 2 minutes, scope aside.

用中型锅煮滚水后，放入西兰花和红萝卜烫熟 （越两分钟），捞起待用。

2. Toss the noodles into the boiling water, cook for 3 minutes, or as per the time indicated on the packaging. Scoop the noodles, lightly soak in a bowl of cold water, then equally distribute them in the dinner plates. 

用同一个锅把面条煮熟（三分钟左右），捞起，过冷河，适量分布在碟子里。

3. When the noodle is cooking, use a wok, heat up the abalone sauce (DONT cook the abalone!), add half cup of water as the sauce is quite salty. Once bubbles are forming, toss in the broccoli, carrots and beancurd. Let it simmer for about 1-2 minutes. 

在煮面条同时，烧热锅，把鲍鱼汁加小半杯水煮滚后，置入红萝卜，西兰花和豆腐皮，滚越一至二分钟，熄火。

4. Scoop the soup and cooked veggies over the noodles, top with abalone slices, serve hot and enjoy!

把热鲍鱼汁和料倒在面条上，把切好的鲍鱼片摆在面上，热腾腾的鲍鱼捞面即可上桌！

IMPORTANT: Abalone is a type of Mollusca which falls under the shellfish family (like clams, scallops), so there is a risk of allergy reaction. Please be cautious when introducing to young toddler for the first time and do avoid introducing to little ones below 2yo if possible. Afterall canned abalone is a processed food and contains preservative.

注意事项： 鲍鱼属于贝壳类（像蚵，扇贝），部分人可能会有过敏反应，小朋友如果是第一次尝试的话要注意是否有过敏反应。我个人不建议给两岁以下的孩童食用， 而且罐头食品始终难免有防腐剂和较重的调味料。

Useful Tips 小提示…

• The abalone sauce is very rich in taste and I find it rather salty, so I added some water to dilute it. Adjust it according to your personal liking. 

我个人觉得鲍鱼汁太重味了，所以加入少许水调稀，你可依照你的味蕾来调整。

• You may serve this dish as a main dish without the noodle but add on some mushrooms, it is actually one of the favorite CNY dishes during Chinese family's reunion dinner which signifies a wealthy life ("Bao" in the abalone means full or filled)

在汤汁里加入几颗冬菇，省略面条，这也是道很道地的新年佳肴之一。鲍鱼鲍鱼，让你年年饱满哦…

Kids-Friendly Curry Chicken

My little boy had been asking me for curry chicken recently, somehow he needed to prove that he is one brave kid (he relates eating hot & spicy food to being brave, LOL, bad influence from the mommy who loves all thing spicy). Since I'm back from work early today, I decided to stop by the supermarket and get some fresh ingredients to make him a not-so-spicy, kids friendly curry chicken. 

Surprisingly, both him and the little sister loved their curry, they even requested for more rice and insisted to top their rice with curry! *happy*

The potatoes tasted exceptionally good, scroll down and I will share with you the secret..  

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 30 minutes 

Serving for: approximate 4 pax

Ingredients:

• 8 shallots, 4 clove garlic, 1 small thumb ginger; finely chopped (you may use a food processor)

• 25gm curry powder for meat

• 1 stalk fresh curry leaves

• 300gm fresh coconut milk / evaporated milk

• 1 cup water (or more if you find the curry too thick)

• 4 medium potatoes, peel and cut into wedges

• 500gm/4 whole chicken legs, chopped and rub evenly  with salt

• 1 medium tomato, cut 8 

• 12 stalks long beans, cut strips 

• Few fried bean curds (tou pok), cut halves

• Salt to taste

If you like your curry hot, add 1-2 table spoon of chili paste.. But since I'm making this for the kids I have skipped the chili paste altogether, added extra potatoes instead.

The Making:

1. Heat up 2 large spoon of cooking oil in a large wok, deep fry the potatoes for about 3 minutes until golden, scope aside to drip off the excess oil.

2. Using the remaining oil in the wok, sauté shallots, garlic & ginger until fragrance (about 2 minutes). Add the curry powder and water; stir well to mix.

3. Toss in the chicken follow by potatoes. Cover the wok and let it simmer for 3 minutes.

4. Add the curry leaves, tomatoes and milk, mix well and add salt to taste. Let the curry simmer for another 8 minutes.

6. Add the long beans and bean curds, cook for another 2 minutes and your curry is ready.

Serve hot with white rice & enjoy!

Useful Tips...

• My late mom had taugh me a trick to making extra-yummy potatoes -- deep fry the potatoes before adding them into the curry, this gives them a crunchy crust while maintaining the softness inside. This also prevents the potatoes from falling apart when cooking in the curry. My kiddos could not resist the potatoes and had 3-5 pieces each...

• This is a very mild curry,  but do prepare some drinks for the little ones. :)

Enjoy!

Best Homemade Roast Pork Belly Char Siew! 秘制叉烧

When I first started this blog,  it was with a simple mission - to share baby friendly recipes with my friends. I did not expect it will grow to over 1000 fans on Facebook and attracted over 230,000 visitors to this site. I'm humbly thankful.

To show my appreciation, I'm sharing this Best Homemade Char Siew, a family recipe as taught by my mother in law, who is truly a great chef!  I also included the special hot sauce recipe as taught by my late mom, and they are simply perfect match..

Preparing time: 25 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

This recipe makes 3 slices of roasted pork belly. 

A) Ingredients

3 blocks of pork bellies, about 30cm each. 3层肉，中段，大概30公分

Sea salt 1/2 bs per meat 海盐 半大匙

White pepper few dashes 白糊椒 适量

Cinnamon powder few dashes桂末粉 适量匙

B) Marinate Sauce 腌酱

Dark soy sauce x 1 tablespoon 黑浆油 一大匙

Soya sauce x 2 tablespoon 生抽 两大匙

Shao yin wine x 2 tablespoon 绍兴酒 两大匙

Sesame sauce x 2 tablespoon 芝麻浆 两大匙

Sugar x 2 tablespoon 糖 两大匙

C) Chili dipping sauce 辣椒酱

5 large Red chili 红辣椒5瓣

3 small chili padi (only if like it extra spicy) 小辣椒3瓣 (不嗜辣的话，可免）

1 whole Garlic, removed skin 蒜头一棵

3 lime, juiced 酸甘3粒

1 teaspoon rice vinegar 白醋一茶匙

1 thumb young ginger  嫩姜拇指般大

1 teaspoon sugar 一茶匙糖

1 tablespoon Thai chili sauce or Maggie chili sauce 一茶匙泰国/美极辣椒酱 

The Making:

1. Rub seasoning in A) over meat evenly in listed sequence 把调味料A)依序均匀搽在猪肉上。

2. Mix ingredient B) in a sauce bowl and stir evenly. Rub all over the meat using your hand. 用一个小碗，把材料B混均，搽在猪肉上。

3. Wrap the meat with polyester foam and keep refrigerated for 3 hour.把腌好的猪肉用保鲜纸包着，放在冰箱里三小时以入味。

4. Cook in oven/broiler at 245°c / 475°f. Ensure rest the meat on a rack to let the oil drip from the meat as it cooks. Cook for 30 min on top then turn the meat over, cook for another 15 min. Place a sauce plate beneath the grill pork to collect the dripped gravy. 把炉火预热到摄氏245度，猪肉烤半个钟头后，反过来继续烤15分钟左右即可。在下方放一个盘子以收集烤肉汁。

5. To make the sauce, just add all ingredient C) together and blend till fine. Good to keep for a month as the added chili sauce contains preservative. 把辣椒酱料C)混在一起用果汁机打碎即可，可以收藏一个月左右（记得要收在冰箱！）

6. Once the meat is ready, removed from oven immediately and let it cold.

叉烧肉烤好后离开熄火，取出，要吃的时候后才切片。

7. For the Char Siew sauce, drip away all the oil and add hot water to mix to remaining of the meat gravy. Keep aside to use as meat gravy. 

把收集的肉汁加入一点烧水，混合后即可当酱汁淋在叉烧或饭上。

Char Siew is best serve with a plate of steaming white rice, simply satisfying! 

香喷喷的叉烧送 热腾腾的白饭，人生一大乐！