Hochiak! Delicious Asian Food

New Here?

2007-12-17T13:00:00.001+08:00

In case you are new over here, Hochiak! Delicious Asian Food has now moved to its own domain at http://deliciousasianfood.com. Head on over for the latest mouth watering recipes.

Slow Cooked Pork Ribs in Plum Sauce

2007-12-17T12:36:00.000+08:00

The slow cooker is a useful cooking assistant for the kitchen. You can just leave it to cook for hours without fearing that the food inside will dry up quickly. Cooking pork ribs in a slow cooker is an excellent way to ensure that the meat on the ribs are stewed well and have that "melt in the mouth" feeling. By the way, there is no fear of the slow cooker (also known as Crockpot) cracking even though no water is added to the cooker prior to or during cooking. The meat and vegetables will provide the necessary juices to make the dish moist. Since no water is added, you can bet that the gravy will turn out really flavourful! And the meat is so tender that it just slips off the bone. Yummy!

This is my recipe for Pork Ribs in Plum Sauce

Ingredients

300 to 400 grammes of pork ribs (cut to desired size)
1 to 2 large onions (cut into chunks)
1 large carrot (cut into chunks)

Marinade

4 teaspoons of plum sauce
1/2 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce
a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of sugar
a pinch of salt
1 heaped teaspoon of corn flour

Method

Marinate the pork ribs for at least 1 hour. The longer the better.

Lay onions and carrots on bottom of slow cooker. Then, lay pork ribs on top of the onions and carrots. Turn on slow cooker to high for 3 hours. If you have left over marinade, baste the ribs halfway through cooking.

Announcing Dot.Com

2007-01-15T17:50:00.000+08:00

The secret is out! After much work and time, I've completed the recipe which is at least, okay to be revealed. Still need to be perfected though.

I've gone dot.com and this blog is now migrated to its own home at

http://deliciousasianfood.com

There is still much to do as wordpress is a different fish altogether. I'm still trying to get my fellow blogger's links up there. Friends, do remember to link up or bookmark to my new site, ya? I will be updating over there from now on.

As for current wordpress users, give me some tips and comments on the site and how I can improve it. I need to put up links to my fellow foodies ;) as well as recent posts.

See ya there!

Something's Cooking

2007-01-10T10:38:00.000+08:00

Sorry I have not shared any recipes recently. I am cooking something up but it's not ready yet. The recipe is rather complex and it is the first time I am doing it. I'm currently marinating the food and have to consider what kind of seasoning would be appropriate so that it will turn out well. If it doesn't turn out well, I will not reveal it.

You and I will know in due course.

Bovril Chicken

2007-01-08T11:18:00.000+08:00

Bovril Chicken

Marmite Chicken is probably more famous than Bovril Chicken. But since I only have Bovril at home, Bovril Chicken it shall be then. It is also my very first try and I am quite pleased with how it turned out.

Fried Chicken

There are two steps in this recipe. The first step is to fry the chicken and the second is to cook the bovril sauce before coating the chicken with it prior to serving. You will need to have fast hands with cooking the sauce because the sauce can dry out pretty fast. However, if you add too much water (to prevent drying out), it would be too runny and not as nice. Anyway, don't let that fear you into trying this dish. It's actually an experiment on my part and it works!

This is my recipe for Bovril Chicken

Ingredients

6 chicken supremes (the tender piece of the chicken breast, cut into cubes)
1 large onion (quartered)
5 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
about 30 to 50 ml warm water
Oil for deep frying

Marinade for chicken

2 teaspoons light soya sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons chinese cooking wine
a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon of oyster sauce
1 teaspoon corn flour

Seasoning

2 heaped teaspoons of bovril
salt to taste
1 teaspoon sugar or to taste

Method

Marinade chicken for 30 minutes or longer and deep fry till golden brown. Set aside.

Leave approximately 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in wok and saute garlic and onions till fragrant. Add seasoning and water and bring to boil. Return fried chicken pieces to wok and stir well to coat the sauce over the chicken.

Remove and serve hot with rice.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Chicken , Bovril , Marmite , Chinese Food

Stir-Fried Sotong with Sarawak Laksa Paste

2007-01-05T14:02:00.000+08:00

Stir-Fried Sotong with Sarawak Laksa Paste

Care for squids? Squids, also known as sotong in Malay (and Hokkien), is great when cooked in sambal. It cooks pretty fast and usually, it is best not too cook it for too long or it might become chewy. To prepare it for cooking, push the "head" apart and reach into the "body / cavity" for a plastic-like strip. Remove that and wash the sotong clean.

Squid aka Sotong

I had been wanting to get rid of the leftover Sarawak Laksa paste which was lying in the fridge and last Saturday's trip to the wet market gave me an opportunity when the fishmonger had some really fresh sotongs on sale. So, I bought 300 grammes worth of sotong and was drooling in anticipation of what I was going to cook that night. I also bought some lime to give this dish a slight tangy and refreshing taste to it. Otherwise, it would be too much of a plain sambal taste.

This is my recipe for Stir-Fried Sotong with Sarawak Laksa Paste

Ingredients

300 grammes squid / sotong (washed and cleaned and cut across into 2 cm tubes)
1 1/2 tablespoons sarawak laksa paste
6 lime (squeezed for the juice)
3 to 5 pieces kaffir lime leaves
2 medium sized onions (chopped roughly)
1 tablespoon cooking oil (preferably palm oil)
30 to 50 ml warm water

Seasoning

2 teaspoon sugar
Salt to taste

Method

Heat oil in wok and saute onions till fragrant. Add sarawak laksa paste and stir well for 30 seconds. Add sotong, lime juice, kaffir lime leaves, water and seasoning whilst stirring. Sotong is cooked when it curls up.

Serve with plain white rice or coconut rice.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Sotong , Squid , Sarawak Laksa , Seafood

Sitiawan Noodle ala PabloPabla

2007-01-04T10:29:00.000+08:00

Sitiawan Noodle ala PabloPabla

This must be one of the discoveries from Sitiawan. I was there for a trip recently and chanced upon these instant noodles being sold at a famous Kong Pia shop. Read about my review on the kong pia. Anyway, I've always known that the Foochows have great tasting noodles called "Kan Pua". And I believe these are the dried and instant type.

Seng Huat Hand-Made Instant Noodles

Having brought it home, I went to the wet market the next day, bought some char siew (with sauce), cucumbers and carrots and had a lip-smacking lunch ala PabloPabla. Almost like cold soba styled, it's simple, light, healthy and definitely, delicious! These noodles are different because of the texture and it does not break easily. It also does not clump up. Try it if you can get your hands on these noodles. Otherwise, just try it with any other types of instant noodles though I can't guarantee it will be as nice.

This is Sitiawan Noodle ala PabloPabla

Ingredients

5 pieces Sitiawan instant noodles
200 grammes of char siew (sliced thinly)
1 medium sized cucumber (remove core, cut to strips)
1 medium sized carrot (cut to strips)
5 shallots (sliced thinly)
5 tablespoons palm oil
Water for boiling

Seasoning

50 ml char siew gravy / sauce
3 teaspoons light soya sauce
a couple of dashes of white pepper powder

Method

Fry shallots in oil till golden brown. Remove fried shallots. Save up 2 tablespoons of shallot oil.

Boil instant noodles till al-dente. Remove, run through cold tap water and return to boiling water to heat it just a little. Drain and let the noodles cool down.

In a large mixing bowl, mix noodles with seasoning and shallot oil till even.

Place an amount of noodles on serving plate, garnish with generous amounts of cucumber, carrots and char siew. Mix well before eating. Gives about 4 servings.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Noodle , Pork , Chinese Food , Char Siew

Spinach Soup with Hawthorn Berries

2007-01-03T11:08:00.000+08:00

Spinach Soup with Hawthorn Berries

*Urgent correction!! Oh dear! It is not supposed to be hawthorn berries! It's wolfberries! Where in the world did I get hawthorn berries from? I hope no one has used hawthorn berries and had stomach upset or the like after trying out this recipe. I can't possibly change the title above without getting this post topsy-turvy in the search engines. So, from here onwards, it's wolfberries, ya? Not hawthorn berries. Thanks to Jessie for raising enough suspicion in me that my original post is dodgy*

Spinach is a fast-cooking vegetable and packed with nutrients. That's why Popeye loves 'em. It can be stir-fried and it can be cooked in soup. Recently, my dear wife told me that she wanted to try cooking spinach soup with hawthorn berries (a.k.a. kei chee).

Imagine all the goodness from the spinach doubled up with the circulatory benefits of hawthorn berries (get the good quality berries which are slightly plummer and sweeter in taste). It is definitely a power-packed soup. Oh yes, the stock is made from ikan bilis soup. So, there you go. My daughter of 3 1/2 years old loved it. I think you will too!

This is my wife's recipe for Spinach Soup with Hawthorn Berries

Ingredients

300 grammes of spinach (rinsed and plucked at the stems. Discard old or thick stems)
10 grammes of hawthorn berries (about 20 to 30 pieces)
100 grammes of minced meat (we use pork)
50 grammes of ikan bilis
3 soup bowls

Marinade (for minced meat)

2 teaspoons light soya sauce
a dash of white pepper powder

Seasoning

Salt to taste
2 teaspoons light soya sauce

Method

Boil ikan bilis in water for 30 minutes to make stock. Remove ikan bilis when done. Meanwhile, marinade minced meat.

Bring stock to boil again after removing ikan bilis. Scoop minced meat into meat balls using a teaspoon and add into the stock. Cook till all meat balls float to surface. Add spinach and hawthorn berries and bring back soup to boil. Add seasoning to taste and serve immediately.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Spinach , Pork , Chinese Food , Soup

Deep Fried Tofu Meat Patties

2006-12-28T12:01:00.000+08:00

Deep Fried Tofu Meat Patties

This was an experimental dish recently and I was quite pleased with the outcome. What I had in my fridge that day were 2 pieces of firm tofu (beancurd), about 200 grammes of lean pork, some oyster mushrooms and other vegetables. This time, rather than cooking another "usual" tofu dish, I decided to make patties out of it, not unlike burgers.

After steaming

The main ingredients here are tofu and pork whilst the rests adds to the colour and gives its distinctive taste. The end result is a tofu meat patty which is crispy on the outside and yet, juicy and semi-firm on the inside. My daughter liked it very much. It is tasty eaten with rice and also great for tea time snack or parties. I think it will taste even better if it is dipped into some freshly pounded red chilli and garlic with a squeeze of lime. I intend to continue modifying this recipe and will add them in this blog in due course. Nevertheless, I hope you will try this recipe as I loved it!

This is my recipe for Deep Fried Tofu Meat Patties

Ingredients

2 pieces firm tofu
200 grammes of lean pork mince
1/4 piece of carrot (diced as finely as possible)
An equivalent amount of spring onions (chopped finely)
An equivalent amount of oyster mushroom or any other type of mushrooms (chopped finely)
An equivalent amount of dried prawns (chopped / pounded finely)
1 large egg
2 cloves of garlic (chopped finely)
3 tablespoons of corn flour
Oil for deep frying

Seasoning

2 teaspoons of oyster sauce
1 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of light soya sauce
1/4 teaspoon of white pepper powder
1/4 teaspoon of black pepper powder

Method

In a mixing bowl, combine and mash up the tofu, pork, carrot, spring onions, mushrooms, dried prawns, garlic, corn flour and seasoning and mix well in one circular motion. Set aside for 30 minutes.

Place mixture in a stainless steel bowl or deep plate and steam it for 10 minutes. The mixture, especially the meat, should be at least 70% cooked after steaming. Remove from steam and place bowl over cold water (to cool it rapidly).

When mixture has sufficiently cooled down, break the egg onto mixture and stir it in one circular motion till egg is evenly distributed. Add some corn flour if mixture is runny.

Heat oil in wok for deep frying. To fry, scoop one heaped tablespoon of mixture and using another spoon held on another hand, push / slide the mixture into the oil. Fry till patty becomes golden brown. Place fried patties on absorbent kitchen napkins to absorb excess oil prior to serving.

For more recipes on tofu / beancurd, click on Beancurd below.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Tofu , Pork , Chinese Food

Claypot Chicken with Bitter Gourd

2006-12-26T11:32:00.000+08:00

Claypot Chicken with Bitter Gourd

This is my mother's recipe. I've never acquired the taste for bitter gourd all these years though I know it is packed with nutrients and goodness. I am informed that this dish - Chicken with Bitter Gourd is a favourite amongst many who like bitter gourd. I am also informed that the bigger and older the bitter gourd, the less bitter it is.

So, I thought why not I post it up here on this blog for those who like to eat chicken with bitter gourd but do not know how to cook it. My mum used the claypot to retain the warmth of the dish as well as to ensure that the chicken and bitter gourd continue to simmer slowly though it has been removed from the cooker. If you don't have a claypot, it doesn't really matter. Just serve it on a plate.

This is my mother's recipe for Claypot Chicken with Bitter Gourd.

Ingredients

1 large bitter gourd (wash, remove seeds, cut halved across the bitter gourd and then, cut to chunk bite sizes)
2 whole chicken legs (remove skin and cut to chunky bite sizes. You can keep the skin if you don't mind the dish slightly oily)
5 pieces dried chinese mushrooms (pre-soaked till soft and cut to two with stems discarded)
1 1/2 tablespoons tau cheo
4 cloves garlic (chopped)
2 tablespoons cooking oil (preferably palm oil)
1 cup warm water

Seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoons dark soya sauce
Salt to taste
a pinch of sugar

Method

Heat oil in wok and stir-fry garlic and tau cheo for 30 seconds. Add chinese mushrooms, chicken and bitter gourd and continue stir-frying till outer layer of chicken meat is cooked.

Add seasoning and water enough to cover the ingredients. Bring to boil. Meanwhile, if you have a claypot, heat it up whilst waiting for the gravy to boil in the wok.

Once the gravy is boiling, transfer contents into claypot and simmer for 15 minutes on medium heat till gravy reduced to your liking. If you do not have a claypot, simmer likewise.

Serve hot with white rice.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Bitter Gourd , Claypot , Chinese

Stir-Fried Instant Noodles

2006-12-21T16:01:00.000+08:00

Stir-Fried Instant Noodles

Whilst instant noodles can be REALLY EASY to cook, you can actually make a slightly more elaborate dish out of it by adding some ingredients which blend nicely with the springy texture of the instant noodles. For this recipe, I use bean sprouts, carrots and capsicum to give it a bit of crunch and fibre and I also add sliced fish cake for added flavour.

Ingredients

There are actually two parts to cooking this dish. The first part would be to cook the instant noodles in boiling water till al-dente (which is cooked but not soggy or soft). After cooking the noodles in boiling water, drain it and run it under cold / tap water to stop the noodles from cooking further. Running it through the cold / tap water also makes the noodles springy in texture.

Close-Up of a piece of Fish Cake

The second part involves the stir-frying of the ingredients together with the noodles. You will need a cooker which gives you really high heat or else, the noodles might stick to your wok. And if you used the wok to boil the noodles, I would recommend that you fry some sliced shallots in that wok, remove the oil and shallots and wash the wok before proceeding to stir-fry the instant noodles. Frying the shallots or even an egg for that matter will somehow "recondition" the wok to be less sticky.

This is my recipe for Stir-Fried Instant Noodles

Ingredients

4 pieces of instant noodles (cooked by boiling as per above paragraph)
1 piece or more of fish cake (sliced) (substitute with whatever meat you want)
1/2 piece of capsicum (sliced thinly)
An equal amount of carrots or more (julienned)
300 grammes of bean sprouts (rinsed and root removed)
2 stalks of spring onions (cut to 3 inch lengths)
4 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 eggs
3 tablespoons of cooking oil (preferably palm oil)

Seasoning

1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1/2 tablespoon of light soya sauce
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of white pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon of dark soya sauce

Method

Heat oil in wok and saute garlic together with sliced fish cake till garlic begin to brown. Break the eggs over the sliced fish cake and gently stir till egg is thoroughly cooked. Add carrots and capcisum and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Add cooked noodles and seasoning and stir-fry for 1 minute to ensure that seasoning is evenly distributed. Sprinkle some warm water if the noodles are drying out or burning. Sprinkle the spring onions onto the noodles and stir evenly.

Dish out and serve hot with cut chillis.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Noodles , Stir-Fry , Chinese

Stewed Pork Belly in Dark Soya Sauce

2006-12-18T12:14:00.000+08:00

Stewed Pork Belly in Dark Soya Sauce (before slicing)

This recipe is VERY EASY and DELICIOUS. You have no reasons why you should not try it (unless you do not eat pork), even if you are a beginner. The ingredients are simple and can be obtained almost everywhere. In fact, I used to cook this dish during my university days in England and it was really nice to have it with steaming hot rice on a cold winter's night!

This is my recipe for Stewed Pork Belly in Dark Soya Sauce

Ingredients

300 grammes pork belly (whole)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 whole bulbs garlic (separate into individual cloves)
Approximately 15 - 20 white peppercorns
Warm water
1 piece star-anise (optional)

Seasoning

3 to 4 tablespoons dark soya sauce
1/2 teaspoon of salt

Method

Add sugar into a wok / saucepan which has been heated up. Let the sugar caramelise (turn liquid and brown).

Once sugar fully caramelised, add pork belly and let it "sear" for 1 minute on each side. Add water to cover the ~~chicken~~ pork belly (*thanks to Tummythoz for identifying my error) by 1 to 2 cm. Add the rest of the ingredients and seasoning. Once water begins to boil, reduce to medium low heat, cover lid and let it simmer for 30 minutes to an hour.

To serve, separate gravy from the rest of the ingredients. Slice the pork belly to desired thinness.

Technorati Tags : Pork , Recipe , Food

Laminated Kitchen Flooring

2006-12-18T11:55:00.000+08:00

I've always been fascinated with laminated flooring especially those with nice teakwood grain. It always lends a touch of nature and class to the house, especially the kitchen. Currently, my kitchen has the common foot-long tiles with geomatric patterns. Due to financial constraints, we did not change the floor tiles of our kitchen when we moved in.

Recently, I chanced upon www.LaminateFlooringCo.com and had my interest in laminated flooring aroused again. Perhaps I will have a rethink whether to get the kitchen floor laminated in future. After all, the kitchen it is one of my favourite places at home!

This is a sponsored post.

Mui Choy Bak (Mui Choy with Pork Belly)

2006-12-15T16:02:00.000+08:00

Mui Choy Bak

Mui Choy, which is preserved mustard cabbage, comes in two variants - salty type as well as the sweet type. It is normally sold in sundry shops and wet market grocers (unsealed) or in sealed bags in supermarkets. In Malaysia, it is usually sold in wet market grocers. Whichever type you use, make sure you wash and soak them (especially the salty type).

This dish is great eaten with mantou (a type of bun) or with plain white rice. In fact, it even tastes better overnight as the meat would have soaked all the exquisite sweet-salty taste from the cabbage.

This is my recipe for Mui Choy Bak (Mui Choy with Pork Belly)

Ingredients

1/3 piece salty mui choy (washed thoroughly, soaked for 30 minutes and chop to small pieces)
2/3 pieces sweet mui choy (washed thoroughly, soaked for 15 minutes and chop to small pieces)
500 grammes pork belly without skin (also known as three-layered pork, cut to small cubes)
2 whole garlic (smash it a bit with the side of a cleaver / chopper)
1/2 tablespoon cooking oil (preferably palm oil)
Warm water

Seasoning

2 to 3 tablespoons of dark soya sauce (or more if you prefer)
Sugar and salt to taste (if necessary)

Method

Heat oil in pot and stir-fry pork belly till beginning to brown. Add mui choy and garlic and continue stir frying for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add water to cover all the ingredients by at least 1 cm and seasoning.

Simmer for at least 1 hour or more till meat is flavourful and slightly soft, checking that the dish does not dry out occasionally. You can also add dried chillis at the stir-frying stage if you want a little spiciness to this dish.

For picture of mui choy and a quite similar method of cooking, click here.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Chinese Food , Mui Choy , Pork

Mee Hoon Kueh (Flour Cake Soup)

2006-12-13T11:48:00.000+08:00

Mee Hoon Kueh (Flour Cake Soup)

Contrary to the word Mee Hoon being rice vermicelli, the Mee Hoon here is actually a Hokkien word which means flour. This is a soupy dish made using flour dough which has been flatten pancaked-style to small pieces. Some may even identify it as Pan Mee, but this is a home-cooked version and the flour cake is torn into pieces rather than machine-rolled to noodle form.

It is actually quite a healthy dish combining carbohydrates (flour), protein (pork) and fat (little oil is used), fibre (vegetables) and calcium (ikan bilis / dried anchovies). The most important part of this dish is the ikan bilis stock as it gives much flavour to the overall dish. I like to have this for lunch.

This is my recipe for Mee Hoon Kueh (Flour Cake Soup)

Ingredients

200 grammes of flour (add some water and knead into a dough, allow dough to stand for 30 minutes and then separate them into balls about half the size of an egg)
3/4 bowls of ikan bilis (boil in 5 soup bowls of water for 30 minutes to make ikan bilis stock. Discard ikan bilis thereafter)
1/2 bowls of ikan bilis (rinsed)
50 to 100 grammes of sliced pork tenderloin (marinate with 2 teaspoons light soya sauce)
200 grammes or more of chinese mustard leaves (choy sum / sawi) (washed and cut to bite sizes)
5 pieces dried chinese mushrooms (pre-soaked in 1 bowl of water till soft and cut into strips discarding the stalk / stem. Retain water for cooking)
5 cloves of shallots (sliced thinly)
Oil for frying (preferably palm oil)
2 pinches of chinese salted vegetable (tung choy)

Seasoning

Light soya sauce
Salt to taste

Method

Fry the 1/2 bowls of rinsed ikan bilis in sufficient oil till crispy. Remove and set aside. Discard oil.

Heat up wok and fry the shallots in about 3 tablespoons of oil till golden brown. Remove fried shallots and set aside. With remaining oil, saute pre-soaked mushrooms for 1 minute (add 1 teaspoon of light soya sauce whilst you saute the mushrooms). Add sliced pork tenderloins and stir-fry till almost cooked.

Add ikan bilis stock and water (used to soak mushrooms) and bring to boil. Meanwhile, using a rolling pin or bare hands, flatten the balls of dough invidually to make flour cake.

When soup is boiling (and keep it boiling throughout), tear flour cake to bite sizes (say approximately 5cm x 3cm) and throw them into the soup. Stir occasionally. Once you've finished with the flour cakes and with soup boiling, chuck in the chinese mustard leaves and stir for about 30 seconds whilst adding seasoning and salted chinese vegetables to taste.

Dish up in bowls (you'll get about 4 bowls here) and sprinkle fried shallots and fried ikan bilis over the soup prior to serving.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Chinese Food , Flour , Soup , Pan Mee

Search Marketing Solutions the Apogee Way

2006-12-12T15:02:00.000+08:00

Apogee Search, a division of Leads Customer Growths LLC is a Search Engine Marketing Company founded in 2001 whose corporate headquarters is in Austin, Texas. Apogee Search claims that using proven techniques, powerful Web analytics tools, and a deep expertise in statistical evaluation helps generate solid, measurable results at every stage of the search engine marketing process.

On 24th October, 2006, Apogee Search announced that it has decided to endorse and support the Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO). Founded in 2002, SEMPO's purpose is to educate, and foster awareness of SEM and its role in marketing. Key sponsors include search engine giants like Google and Yahoo!.

If you have a web site and would like to generate more traffic to your site, visit Apogee Search today.

This is a sponsored post.

Technorati Tags : Apogee Search , PayPerPost , Advertising

Luncheon Meat Fried Rice

2006-12-12T14:39:00.000+08:00

Luncheon Meat Fried Rice

Got left over rice in the fridge? Got luncheon meat in the kitchen cabinet? Why not fry them together for a delicious plate of Luncheon Meat Fried Rice? Throw in some carrots for added taste and colour and a couple of slices of cucumber as garnish and you will have a beautiful plate of fried rice to dig in.

This is my recipe for Luncheon Meat Fried Rice.

Ingredients

3 bowls of cooked rice (preferably overnight cooked rice) [bowl denoting rice bowl]
1/2 to 1 tin of luncheon meat (diced)
1/2 bowl of carrots (diced)
1 large onion (chopped)
5 shallots (sliced thinly)
1 stalk spring onions (chopped)
2 eggs
2 tablespoons cooking oil (preferably palm oil)

Seasoning

3 teaspoons of salt or to taste
White pepper powder to taste
teaspoon light soya sauce
1 pinch of msg (optional)

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry shallots till golden brown. Remove fried shallots and set aside.

With remaining oil in wok and at high heat, fry luncheon meat till beginning to brown. Set aside.

Stir-fry onion till aromatic, add carrots and stir fry for 1 minute. Add salt and pepper. Mix well.

Add rice and fried luncheon meat and stir-fry for 2 minutes.

Make a "well" in the wok by pushing the rice mixture aside. Break eggs into the "well" and fry it till semi-cooked. Cover with rice mixture and continue frying whilst adding light soya sauce. If wish to, add a pinch of msg. Fry for another minute and add chopped spring onions.

Dish up and sprinkle fried shallots over the fried rice before serving.

Other fried rice recipes on this site:-

Egg Fried Rice

Char Siew Fried Rice

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Fried Rice , Luncheon Meat

PayPerPost Blog

2006-12-11T12:08:00.000+08:00

The PayPerPost team blogs! Yes, they do. There are many important news and updates, interesting articles and hilarious videos posted on their blog.

I do check out the PayPerPost blog on a regular basis in case some changes have happened recently. One of the recent news which got me comforted was the deployment of new servers at PayPerPost which gives a more consistent performance and reliability, not to mention more bandwidth as well.

As I have mentioned, the blog has some utterly hilarious videos where the staffers take a go at each other. It shows how sporting these people are and it gives people like us a a good way to destress.

If you aren’t a postie yet, visit PayPerPost and check out the cool stuffs offered there, including the cool people behind the scenes.

This is a sponsored post.

Technorati Tags : PayPerPost , Advertising

Stir-Fried Pork Liver and Kidney with Ginger

2006-12-11T11:23:00.000+08:00

Stir-Fried Pork Liver and Kidney with Ginger

Stir-fried Pork Liver and Kidney with Ginger is a fear-factor dish for some, confinement food for many chinese mothers and delicacy for some like me. This dish is supposedly "heaty" in nature and helps to expel "wind" after mothers have gone through labour. The liberal use of ginger helps in this cause and the liver and kidney provides much needed nutrients.

Pork Kidneys being soaked

Preparation of the kidneys can be a trying task for those who are inexperienced (including me!). If your butcher can help, so much the better. If not, you will need to slice the kidney into half across the middle part, which will give you two equal looking kidney. Using a sharp knife, slice and remove the whitish middle part of the kidney. Then, cut the kidney into smaller portions, cut criss-cross patterns on the outer side of the kidney and then, soak it in water (add ginger slices if you want). My mum will, prior to the actual cooking, further give the kidney "treatment" by frying the kidney in a wok without any oil. It is quite a process because the smell can be offensive to some. After the kidneys have been thoroughly cooked through this process (when it becomes dry and no more juice / water oozes out of the kidney), it will be removed from the wok. Then, wash the wok thoroughly and begin cooking proper.

Ingredients (clockwise from top) : Kidney, sliced pork,
egg, spring onions, ginger, garlic, liver

This is my recipe for Stir-Fried Pork Liver and Kidney with Ginger

Ingredients

2 pork kidneys (prepared as per paragraph above)
Equal amount or less of pork liver (sliced)
50 grammes of sliced pork (marinate with 2 teaspoons light soya sauce and 1 teaspoon corn flour)
1 or 2 eggs
3 cm of ginger (julienned finely)
1 1/2 whole bulbs of garlic (chopped)
2 to 3 stalks of spring onions (cut to 6 cm lengths or so)
1 tablespoons cooking oil (preferably palm oil)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Warm water

Seasoning

1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons dark soya sauce
1 teaspoon light soya sauce
White pepper powder (to taste)
2 teaspoons brandy

Method

Heat cooking oil and sesame oil in wok on high heat and saute garlic and ginger till aromatic. Push garlic and ginger slices aside and fry an egg till semi-done. Add sliced pork and mix well with egg, garlic and ginger till pork is cooked.

Add kidneys, seasoning and warm water enough to cover the ingredients and bring to boil with lid closed. Add liver and break another egg on top of ingredients. Stir gently and add spring onions.

Once liver is cooked (no more blood oozing out), dish up and serve.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Chinese Food , Confinement Food , Liver , Kidney , Pork

PayPerPost Affiliate

2006-12-11T10:54:00.000+08:00

I really love PayPerPost! Why? Well, after 6 posts, I have been informed that I will be paid in excess of USD$60.00, that's why. There good thing about PayPerPost is that you get to choose a topic which interests you and just blog away. For this site, I usually blog about food related stuffs eg., coupons for online purchases of food stuffs and organic food web site. That way, I keep the contents relevant to this site.

The blog money I earn will go towards the purchase of a dedicated domain for this web site, which hopefully, will be up and running by February 2007. Recently, PayPerPost has a new affiliate programme wherein bloggers registered with PayPerPost like me who are successful in referring bloggers to sign up with PayPerPost and who eventually earn their first income through PayPerPost will earn me USD15.00 per referral. Do remember to type my email as your referral when you register especially if you feel strongly about crediting me for convincing you about PayPerPost.

If you have not signed up with PayPerPost, you don't know what you are missing out especially if you are a regular blogger. Just click on the PayPerPost badge which appears on the right hand side column of this site and you will be taken to the registration form for PayPerPost.

Signing up is simple and fast, not to mention getting paid to blog!

This is a sponsored post.

Technorati Tags : PayPerPost , Advertising , Money

Tofu with Minced Pork

2006-12-08T10:40:00.000+08:00

Tofu with Minced Pork

This is a healthy dish to eat and fairly simple to cook. The ingredients are kept to a minimum for simple cooking and it is delicious eaten with plain white rice or porridge. As I have mentioned before, tofu (beancurd) comes in many textures and for this recipe, I use the firm white tofu which comes in a size of 6cm x 6cm x 2 cm (W x L x H) blocks.

You can whip up this dish in 30 minutes wherein the majority of the time spent is actually towards marinating the minced pork. You can substitute the pork with chicken. I have not tried minced beef or minced lamb though. If you wish to spice up the dish a bit, you can add a little (perhaps 1 teaspoon) of chilli oil when you start frying the minced pork for that added kick.

This is my recipe for Tofu with Minced Pork

Ingredients

3 pieces firm tofu (quartered)
100 to 150 grammes of minced pork
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
Spring onions (cut to 6cm lengths or thereabouts for garnishing)
2 tablespoons of cooking oil (palm oil preferred)
50 ml water or more
Cornstarch (mix 1 tablespoon corn flour with 4 tablespoons water)

Marinade for minced pork

2 teaspoons light soya sauce
a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
1 teaspoon of corn flour

Seasoning

1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 tablespoon dark soya sauce
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon of white pepper powder

Method

Marinade minced pork for about 30 minutes.

Heat oil in wok and stir-fry garlic till beginning to brown. Add minced pork and stir-fry till cooked. Add tofu, water and seasoning and lightly stir to mix well. Close lid and let it cook for another 2 minutes (add more water if gravy drying out).

Before serving, and sprinkle spring onions evenly and add cornstarch bit by bit if gravy too runny for your liking.

For other tofu dishes, click on the label "Beancurd" below.

Technorati Tags : Recipe , Chinese Food , Tofu , Beancurd

Organic BabyVillage.Com

2006-12-08T09:48:00.000+08:00

Organic BabyVillage.Com is an online organic baby shop with a difference. Rather than being just a commercial site, it is also a place where parents share organic style living. This informative site gives organic product reviews, parents' choice of organic baby products, news articles on organic baby food amongst others as well as a big choice of organic baby food, resources and organic baby gifts available for purchase. The site has a nice simple layout and is easy to navigate to find the information or product you are looking for.

I find the product review quite useful and informative especially since I have 2 children at home aged 3 years old and 9 months old respectively. These reviews give me an informed choice of organic baby products which I can purchase for my children. I never even know there existed an organic baby shower or eco-baby shower before I visited organicbabyvillage.com!

Another helpful advise I got through organicbabyvillage.com was information on how to avoid toxins in mother's milk. This is especially helpful because my wife still breastfeeds our younger child and it is good to know how to keep toxins away from the breast milk.

Those who are thinking of trying out organic food will find articles like "Seven Tips for Buying Organic Food" most useful. This first and most obvious tip was - When starting out, focus on organic alternatives to the food that your family eats most. How very true! Sometimes we go scouting around the supermarket aisles looking for some organic products without a focus and without realising that if we intend to try organic food, we might as well try an organic alternative to something which we eat most often. A good example for Asian cuisine would be organic rice since rice is a staple diet! Or even vegetables. That way, we would be able to detect a difference in our health much faster than say, if we try out something which is not in our daily diet.

This is a sponsored post.

Technorati Tags : Organic , Health , Advertising

Stir-Fried Dwarf Bok Choy with Garlic and Dried Prawns

2006-12-06T16:35:00.000+08:00

Stir-Fried Dwarf Bok Choy with Garlic and Dried Prawns

Lately, Dwarf Bok Choy is commonly sold in markets. Bok Choy or Pak Choy is a commonly cooked vegetable in chinese cuisine. Generally, the vegetable has dark green leaves and white or greenish spoon-shaped stems. Siew Pak Choy (Small Pak Choy) is a favourite to many and has greenish coloured stems whilst the Tai Pak Choy (Big Pak Choy) has a darker green leave atop white coloured stems. Dwarf Bok Choy, I believe, is a miniature version of the Tai Pak Choy, which you can see in the picture.

Dwarf Bok Choy

I find the Dwarf Bok Choy sweeter in taste rather than the more bitter Tai Pak Choy. That is not to say that it tastes sweet but rather, bitter sweet. I usually cook this vegetable with garlic and dried prawns. Somehow, I find the combination of garlic and dried prawns bring out the nice bitter sweet flavour of the vegetable. I also understand that cooking with dried prawns enable the vegetable to cook faster. You will notice that I do not use any seasoning as I prefer the original flavour from the garlic and dried prawns. The dried prawns are in itself, slightly salty.

This is my recipe for Stir-Fried Dwarf Bok Choy with Garlic and Dried Prawns

Ingredients

Approximately 200 grammes of dwarf bok choy (wash and rinse to remove dirt)
5 cloves garlic (chopped)
30 grammes of dried prawns (rinsed for a couple of seconds, pre-soaked in 50 ml water for 20 minutes - retain water for cooking)
1 tablespoon of cooking oil (palm oil preferred)

Method

Heat oil in wok and stir-fry the dried prawns for about 10 seconds. Add garlic and continue stir-frying till garlic begin to brown. Add dwarf bok choy and stir-fry for another 15 seconds or so. Add the water (previously used to soak dried prawns) and close lid.

Cook dwarf bok choy according to how soft you want the stems to be. Add a little water if you wish to have more gravy and add salt to taste (if not already salty).

Technorati Tags : Vegetable , Bok Choy , Recipe , Chinese Cooking , Stir-Fry

Shop Using Coupons from CouponCHIEF.Com

2006-12-06T09:27:00.000+08:00

Online shopping is now catching on fast and many people have started purchasing items through the internet with just a click of the mouse minus the hassles of travelling and finding a car parking space. Even so, there is a greater incentive to shop using online coupons because these coupons will enable you to obtain further discounts from the prices listed by your favourite merchants.

Let me illustrate. Say, you want to buy some coffee beans from Starbucks. Just go over to CouponCHIEF.Com and click on Food & Wine Coupons. Next, click on Starbucks.Com coupons and you will be directed to special deals offered eg. Free Standard Shipping on Orders above $49.00. The best part is, the coupons are free of charge! No hidden terms at all. You can get coupons from well-known food and wine merchants like Omaha Steaks coupons, Chocolatesource coupons and Lobster Gram coupons.

Use the coupons. You have nothing to lose!

This is a sponsored post.

Technorati Tags : Coupons , Online Shopping , Advertising

Super Fast Noodles

2006-12-05T17:49:00.000+08:00

Delicious Super Fast Noodles

Instant noodles are sold in all supermarkets nowadays. I think most people have got their favourite brands and flavour. When I first started learning how to cook, I was taught by mum to cook instant noodles without using the packet of ingredients that come with it. No MSG.

Boil the instant noodles

If you do not wish to be wasteful, you can actually buy a larger packet of instant noodles which does not come with any flavour. These noodles can be cooked in a variety of ways - in soup, stir-fried and even dried style, which I shall show you shortly.

Combination of seasoning

This recipe is a very basic recipe and there are no accompanying ingredients. You can add them on your own eg. fried egg, sausages, blanched vegetables, etc. It's all up to you. Use your creativity, ya? Tell me if you like this recipe or not. My 3 year old daughter loves it!

This is my recipe for Super Fast Noodles

Ingredients

1 piece dried instant noodles
Water to boil

Seasoning

1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
2 teaspoons light soya sauce
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Method

Place seasoning on a plate.

Boil instant noodles in water for 3 minutes till cooked. Remove and drain and mix well with the seasoning. Serve immediately.

Technorati Tags : Noodles , Recipe , Simple Cooking