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！

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

Simplest Mango Mousse (2 Ingredients only!)

This is one of the easiest desserts I have ever made, just require 2 ingredients and it taste great. Besides, the recipe is so easy that you would never forget, just 1 part whipping cream to 1.5 part of mango purée. Almost dummy-proof huh? *laugh*

Ready to make some? Here we go..

Preparation time: 30 minutes

Chilling time: 30-60 minutes

Serving for: 4-6 pax

Ingredients:

• 1 cup whipping / heavy cream

• 1.5 cup mango purée

• additional mango cubes for topping

Note: I used 1 1/2 mango of the above size (as in picture), you may add 1-3 teaspoon of sugar if you like, but since the mango i got is ripe and sweet, I opted to go without extra sugar.

The Making:

1. Cut mango into small cubes, blend on high speed for about 15 seconds until it turns purée.

2. Using a mixer, whisk the whipping cream on high speed until it is stiff (no longer in liquid form, takes about 1 minute of whisking if using machine, probably a lot longer if using hand). Add in the mango purée and whisk to mix well.

3. Pour into a clear container, refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before serving.

When serving, add additional mango purée and mango cubes on top the mango mousse, it's simply delicious that even my in law approved it! *wink*

Devil's Chicken Wings

During my little girl's recent birthday party, I made this roast chicken wings which was a big hit. All 24 pieces were grabbed up while the box of KFC was still more than half full. Many of the friends asked for the recipe after the party, so I thought just to make it available to all.

Be warn, you may not be able to stop eating... There's a reason why I named it the Devil's Chicken Wings. ;-)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes 

Marination Time: at least 2 hours

Roasting Time: 45 minutes

Serving: 1 dozen chicken wings

Ingredients:

• 12 pieces chicken wings, chop half

• 2 teaspoon salt

• a dash of pepper 

• 2 tablespoon soya sauce

• 2 teaspoon brown sugar  

• 1 tablespoon Shao Xin wine

• a dash of paprika powder (optional if you prefer non spicy)

• 1 teaspoon Italian spice** 

• 1 tablespoon dark soya sauce

• few drops of sesame oil

* all measurement above are in estimate (agak-agak), as I was adding them by instinct without using a measurement spoon.  

** if you do not have the Italian spices, just add mixture of basil, rosemary and oregano leaves.

The Making:

1. Wash the chicken wings and rub them all over with salt. Season the wings with all the ingredient except the dark soya sauce, sesame oil & brown sugar. Keep refrigerated for at least 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 180°c, cover the roasting tray with a piece of aluminum foil and spray / brush some cooking oil over it to avoid sticking.

3. Remove chicken wings from fridge, add the brown sugar, sesame oil and dark soya sauce, mix well.

4. Place all chicken pieces on the tray and avoid overlapping. Roast in middle tray for 30 minutes, remove from oven and turn the wings to the other side; roast for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Voila! Your mouth watering chicken wings are ready.. Just let cold and serve them right away. 

I reserved the drummets for the little ones so they can enjoy more meat instead of skin. My kiddos absolutely loved it! *smile*

Enjoy...

Xoxo,

PH

A Note to Parents with Young Toddlers..

As I used more spices for this recipe, I would not recommend serving this to kids under 4yo. I tried to avoid using salt, sugar and processed food / sauces when preparing food for my kiddos when they were under 2yo.

Jade & Golden Jelly Mooncakes

It's a tradition that our family members will meet up in our hometown to celebrate Mid Autumn festival every lunar 8th month of the year. This yes is no different.

On top of the catered food, I thought of making some cooling desserts since weather has been so fuming hot. After a visit to the nearby supermarket, I've made my choice - Aloe Vera and Peach flavor mooncakes!

I especially love this flower shape mould, an old fashion Tupperware mould given by my mom in law.

Aloe Vera jelly mooncake in different shades of greens to give them the jade-like appearance.

Can you spot the “好” wording on the top? Four of these little jelly mooncakes form a “花好月圆”, which means bountiful blooms under the full moon.

The making is so easy, takes only about 20 minutes (excluding waiting time) and can be kept refrigerated for days.

What you need:

• 2 packets agar-agar powder 

• 1 liter Aloe Vera juice 

• 1 can sliced peaches + extra water to make up to 1 liter

• few drops of green food coloring 

• about 50gm sugar

The Making:

1. Add 1L aloe Vera juice / peach juice (with extra water) into a pot. Add the jelly powder and turn on the heat, continue stirring occasionally. Add the sugar now if you like it sweeter. Once the liquid starts to bubble, switch to low heat but don't forget to stir occasionally.

Note: if you use a different jelly brand, the water requirements may differ so do adjust accordingly.

2. For the Peach flower pattern, arrange the peach slices around the mould to form a ring, make 2-3 layers of ring.

3. Pour the jelly water into the mould until full. For the gradient jade green effect, I created 3 layers of greens:

1st layer: add 2-3 drops of green food coloring into the jelly liquid (I used avocado green), mix well and pour into the mould up to 1/3 full; keep in freezer for about 3 minutes till slightly hardened.

2nd & 3rd layer: using a knife, lightly poke few holes on the first layer (this will help the adjacent layers to stick together). Add another 2 drops of green (or blue) food coloring, then pour into the mould till 2/3 filled. Keep in freezer for another 3-5 minutes then repeat same step for last layer.

4. Let it cold for about 30 minutes before transferring to the fridge (not freezer). Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before consuming.

Enjoy!

 

Super Easy Chocolate Banana Ice Cream

This is one recipe too easy not to make, absolutely no additive and preservative! With our kind of hot climate that can melt you without the air-condition turned on, your kiddos will love you for this sweet treat.. ;)

Ingredients:

• 4 ripe banana, cut small cubes (don't use the overriped)

• 2-3 tablespoon fresh milk

• 2-3 tablespoon chocolate chips

Makes about 8 scopes of ice creams.

The Making:

1. Freeze the banana chunks overnight or at least 3-4 hours.

2. Blend the frozen banana using a food processor. I used a hand blender so need to add some milk to soften it, otherwise the milk could be optional.

3. Once the banana turns to a creamy texture, add the chocolate chips and blend on high speed for a few seconds. 

4. Freeze the ice cream for at least 2 hours before eating. I added some Hershey's chocolate syrup with rice sprinkles and this really made the duo's day!

Few days later the duo asking for some sweet treat after school, since we had some leftover Choco banana ice cream, I decided to let them have Se ice cream crackers instead and they loved it!

Hope you enjoy this simple but healthilicious snack as much as we did...

Just a note: this ice cream melts kind of fast compare to the normal ice cream, so do serve one scope at a time of little one is a slow eater.. 

Mini Mooncakes for the Little Ones

Little ones loved the piglet mooncakes I bought for them last week, these are the traditional mooncakes that I used to eat when I was little. They certainly bring back beautiful childhood memory, those days when my neighbor kids and I carried our handmade paper lanterns and paraded the street. Nowadays they have battery powered lanterns making funny music. Ewk.

Anyway. I happened to drive pass a bakery supplies store one morning and I decided to take a peek inside the store.. and I saw there are tons of mooncake ingredients and supplies...

I.just.could.not.resist.the.temptation.

We made these mini mooncakes.

With red bean paste filling.

The ingredients. 

 

I got the duo to assist in making the mini mooncakes. They were so excited to "help up" as usual.

The making was simple, as we used premixed red bean paste for filling. You may substitute with lotus paste or mungbean paste too. Since mooncake festival is coming soon, this is one sweet delicacy that can really wow your guests during the festive season. 

Original recipe is adopted from Christine's Kitchen, you may want to refer to her recipe for traditional mooncakes (it's written in Chinese). She even shared the steps to making your own golden syrup and mooncake fillings so you really ought to visit her site if you are leaving abroad. She is one of the few bloggers who inspired me to bake and cook as she made everything look so easy.

Preparation time: 60 minutes

Banking time: 12 minutes

Serving size: 12 mini mooncakes

Ingredients:

A) For the mooncake skin

• 100gm plain flour

• 60gm golden syrup 

• 28gm pure peanut oil

• 1/2 teaspoon alkaline water

B) For the paste

• 300gm red bean / lotus paste (original recipe used 420gm)

C) For egg wash

• 1 egg yolk

• 2 tablespoon egg white

Steps:

1) Mix

Mix all ingredient A in a mixer / bowl and roll them into a smooth dough using a spatula. Set aside for 40 minutes and covers with a cling form. There's no need for an electric mixer. 

2) Shape

Shape the mooncake mixtures into equal ball of 15gm each, and the lotus / red bean paste to 25gm each (Christine made hers at 35gm). Flatten the mooncake mixture with a rolling pin then then wrap it around the paste. Roll into small balls with your palms. Little ones can handle this step very well.

3) Mold

Using the mooncake mold, press each mooncake firmly but not super strength as you won't want them to crack... My boy sure learnt the hard way as he had to redo a few times before he managed to have smiling Mickey without cracks.

4) Admire

Yeah, just take a moment to admire your hard work.. Ours are kind of uneven, that's the price to pay when letting little ones be involved.

5) Bake

Preheat oven to 180°c, place the mooncakes onto a baking tray (with a layer of baking sheet or sprinkles with some flour to avoid sticking), bake them for 10 minutes; remove from oven, apply the egg wash (ingredient C) with a soft brush, then continue baking for another 2-3 minutes until golden brown. 

6) Wait

The mooncakes are done! However, you should let the mooncakes rest for 2-3 days before eating and you will notice the surface turns to a smooth golden layer.

Or you may be like us, just eat them right away.. LOL. I told you my little ones and I love traditional mooncakes, didn't I? 

Enjoy... Next I may challenge some cute piglet mooncakes. That looks too cute to resist.

All 6 steps in one picture collage for your easy reference. Feel free to share the picture of your mooncakes! ;)

Rolled Eggs & Ham

This is one easy breakfast and it's even suitable for lunch box, you shall try this if your kids love cheese or ham, or both. :)

I wish I have better pictures to share, but the kids started grabbing and eating before I could snap any picture... 

 

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 8 minutes

Make 3 egg rolls of 7" long each

Ingredients:

• 100gm hams of your choice, cut to about 2mm each

• 1 slice cheddar cheese, cut into 3 strips of equal size

• 4 medium eggs, beaten

• few fresh basil leaves, chopped  

• 1 tablespoon fresh milk

• a dash of pepper

The Making:

1. Heat up pan, add a slice a bacon to lightly cook on both side for about 10 seconds then set aside. The bacon will coat the pan with oil so there is no need for additional cooking oil.

2. Add milk, basil leaves and pepper into the egg, beat to mix well and add one large scope into the hot pan. Spread out to form a perfect circle.

3. Place the bacon over the egg omelette, and a slice of cheese in the middle. Using the spatula and a spoon/chopsticks, slowly roll the omelette from one end to the other. In the half way while rolling up, I added half a scope of egg omelette to make it into an oblong shape instead of circle, this makes a bigger egg roll.

4. Cook the remaining egg omelette rolls using step 1-3 and cut into thick slices of about 1.5" each only when they have cold down (it will crack easily if cut when hot)

Serve with your favourite sauce or just eat directly, either way they are delicious.. 

Meat Free Version

Not a meat lover? Just replaced ham with carrots, potatoes and raisins, and you have one healthy vegetarian meal. You can even add a seaweed sheet. Seen here, I used purple carrots so the rolls looked kind of mouldy. LOL.

Sweat free breakfast that anyone can make.. Enjoy!

12 Simple Party Food for Little Ones (and Big Ones too!)

The little ones love party (who doesn't?!). I often invite closed friends and family to come for gathering. Considering I only have myself and the duo, I have to resort to quick and simple party food (I am not too fancy of ordering take away).

I have combed through the party food I had prepared in the past and sharing the top 12 with you here. Most of them require only 15-30 minutes of preparation time, except some that require longer baking time.

So here's the Top 12 Party Food List, there shall at least be one that suits your little ones... 

Main Dish
Something to fill the tummy....

• Roasted Veggie & Grilled Chicken on Sticks
• Octopus Spaghetti in Homemade Tomato Sauce (Kids love this!)
• Easy Peasy Thin Crust Pizza (Various variety!)

Finger Food
Something fun and bite size...

• PH's Crispy Popcorn Chicken (Absolutely delicious...)
• Honey Sesame Chicken Cutlets
• Roasted Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes & Cheese

Cookies & Cakes
Something cute and perfect for give-away...

• Cloudette & Star Cookies
• Cupcakes in Ice Cream Cones (Super Cute!)

Dessert
Something yummilicious and keep you cool!

• Mini Non Bake Oreo Cheesecake (Must try!)
• B&W Soy Milk Pudding (Too easy not to try)
• Frozen Chocolate Banana Popsicles 
• Non Bake Mango Cheesecake

Enjoy & feel free let me know which is your favourite! ;)

Roasted Veggie & Chicken on Sticks

It's Mother's Day! 

Since we had celebrated last night with a big lobster feast, I thought we may stay home for a simple lunch today. I found some organic purple carrots and sweet potatoes given by my sister in law few days back, so I thought they will be perfect for making roasted veggie with balsamic vinegars. Added with some herbs grilled chicken, we could make some really yummy satay sticks.

So I did, and the entire family loved it!

I love mine with lots of lime and firely chili sauce from oz.

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 600gm chicken fillet, cut into cubes

• 2 fresh limes

• 1 purple carrots, cut into big chunks

• 1 carrots, cut into big chunks

• 2 sweet potatoes, cut into big chunks

• 1 Japanese cucumber, cut into big chunks

• 1 yellow onion, cut into wedges

• 1 orange bell pepper, cut into long strips

• 12-18 cherry tomatoes (i used half for roasting and the remaining served fresh)

• some fresh basil leaves

* you may replace the purple carrots with potatoes.

Marinate for the Chicken:

• a dash of pepper

• 1.5 teaspoon of salt 

• 1 table spoon of shaoxin wine

• a dash of paprika powder

• a dash of garlic powder

• a dash of dried basil & fresh basil leaves (chopped)

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Seasoning for Vegetables:

• 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil

• a dash of pepper

• a dash of salt

• a dash of black pepper

• a dash of garlic powder

• a dash of dried basil & fresh basil leaves (chopped)

* adjust all seasoning according to your preference, I did not really measure them, just drop about 4-6 dabs per seasoning.

The Making:

1. Wash and marinate the chicken cutlets at least 1 hour before cooking. Make sure you rub the salt and pepper evenly.

2. Preheat the oven at 220°c, then start preparing yor vegetables.

3. Cover the baking tray with a layer of alumnion foil (this is for easier washing later so you don't have a sticky tray!), toss the veggie into the tray and add all the seasoning. Mix them with your hands to make sure all seasoning are evenly coated.

Love the beautiful color combination...

4. Cover a layer of alumnion foil over the grill bars, poke some holes using fork and place the chicken cutlets on top (refer to pic below). 

5. Put the tray in middle section of the oven and roast for 20 minutes. On the 20th minutes, remove them from oven and turn the veggies & chicken over to the other side. You may brush some honey over the chicken for a sweet and richer taste now or just leave them as-is. Continue roasting for another 10 minutes. 

6. Once done, let the roasties cold down before arranging them onto the sticks.

7. To serve, squeez some lime juice over the sticks and serve with your favorite hot or sweet sauce... Enjoy!

Lastly, happy Mother's Day to all the great moms out there.. ❤️