My Wok Life

Homemade Achar (Asian Pickled Vegetables)

2012-05-15T15:38:00.001+08:00

"Achar, the best side dish for me!"

Helloooooo... Long time no post and hope you miss me (chuckles). I promised one of my readers who requested Achar recipe on my FaceBook to post the recipe for her soon. And, I hope this doesn't come too late for her liking. :) Achar is known to be a Nyonya dish, but well-liked by many other Asian dialects, too. This is an Asian-style pickled vegetables dish which tastes sweet and sourish with a little bit of spicy flavour in it. Achar goes so well with plain porridge, rice, nasi lemak, fried bee hoon, or even to be eaten on its own!

Blanch and Squeeze dry the vegetables till really dry. Simply pat dry the pineapples.

Cooking Achar is simple, but the preparation is not so. It involves many steps, from making the seasoning paste (rempah) till cooking the dish... Preparation usually takes up to 1 hour while cooking the dish takes only 5 minutes to complete. As for my version of Achar, I've added my open-secret trick to this recipe, the blanching of vegetables including cucumber. Many recipes used just the raw vegetables and they find it taste equally great, but I prefer the additional blanching step (but of course a MUST to squeeze-dry them after that). To me (taught by my mum), the blanching is an important step to retain the crunchiness of the vegetables for even longer time! The standing procedure of the dish is also essential in making the Achar. It is best to store the Achar for more than a day (in the refrigerator) before consumption. This is to ensure the spice flavouring has been fully sponge-in by the vegetables.

Sound complicated? But seriously, it's worth all the effort!

Leave the freshly cooked Achar to cool and fully sponge-in all its flavour

Yields 1 container of Achar (about 500 grams)
Ingredients
1 large cucumber, halved and trimmed the seeds portion, sliced into form of small (thick) sticks (do not peel the skin)
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into form of small sticks
½ small cabbage, cut into pieces
½ sweet pineapple, peeled and sliced into small pieces

Blend all the spices into paste

Seasoning/ Spice paste:
5 shallots, peeled
5 cloves of garlic, peeled
½ thumbsize of blue ginger aka galangal (南姜), thinly sliced
5 candlenuts aka buah keras
1 stick of lemon grass, sliced, lengthwise
5-8 dried chilis (amount adjustable to your spicy taste)
10 gram of belacan, toasted (or pan-fried on a low-heated dry pan without oil)

1 tablespoon of tumeric powder
½ cup lemon juice (freshly squeezed from 1 lemon)
100 gram of white rice vinegar (About ½ cup)
7-8 heaping tablespoons of sugar
½ teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of cooking oil

Garnishing
2 tablespoons of white sesame, toasted (on dry pan with low heat)
3 tablespoons of coarsely grounded peanut

Tools/ Equipments needed
1 large clean kitchen cloth Electric blender

Method
1) Wash and rinse the vegetables. Heat a large pot of water to blanch all the vegetables (Cucumber, carrot and cabbage, but not the fruit - pineapple) for 3 minutes. Remove and drain the blanched vegetables.

2) Use a large cloth, place the vegetables on it. Wrap and squeeze-dry the vegetables till really dry. Do in batches till all complete. Set aside for later.

3) As for the pineapple slices, use a clean kitchen towel to gently pat dry will do. Set aside together with the vegetables.

4) Get ready the electric blender, gather the seasoning ingredients (shallot, garlic, blue ginger, candlenuts, lemon grass, dried chili, toasted belacan), add and blend into paste. This will be the rempah paste we need.

5) Heat wok with oil on medium-low fire. Add rempah paste and tumeric powder. Stir to combine till fragrant. Return blanched and dried vegetables as well as the pineapple. Add in lemon juice, vinegar and sugar. Stir to combine.

* To best suit your liking, add only half the amount of vinegar/ lemon juice and sugar. Taste it, and gradually add more until your desired flavour.

6) Add salt and stir to combine well. Heat off and leave it to cool for about 1 hour. Before transferring into storage container, sprinkle sesame seed and peanut. Stir gently to combine well. Now, transfer to an air-tight container and store in the refrigerator overnight before consumption. May also sprinkle more ground peanut on top, when serve.

1 tablespoon of Achar counts about 30kcal.

Tips: Blue ginger (galangal) is not blue in color. It resembles the usual young ginger with mild pinkish appearance in its flesh.

* Candlenuts (buah keras) are easily available in most Asian supermarket, wet markets and provision shops. It is usually sold in packets. A packet of 150gram costs less than S$2.

* If desired, add also long beans (about 5 - 6), same procedure applies.

Stir-fried Cabbage with bottled Teatree Mushrooms

2012-02-20T17:05:00.002+08:00

"Low fat healthy cabbage dish, cooked with bottled mushrooms."

For busy working adults and parents, they have most of their precious time occupied with work and children, so much so that they left very little or no time for themselves. However, they are still willing to sacrifice it so that they could prepare delicious homecooked meals for their loved ones. They do not mind at all, as long as their loved ones are happily eating the nice warm food after a long day out…. but having said that, it would be grateful, if there are more healthy yet instantly ready food products available in the market cater to these groups of people to make their cooking less hassle, I guess more individuals will not hesitate to cook at home, just like me. I changed my job from nearby my house to the CBD area, I have to spend 2 hours more in commuting to and back from work every day. Cooking dinner on daily basis has become a chore, in that sense. However, I never thought of giving up, but strive to find more ways to make my cooking easier and convenient. And, I have added these bottled mushrooms to my ‘convenient food list’ recently. Through an email introduction as well as the sample tasting of these mushroom offered by the marketing team of Yifon, I was able to experience the greatness in these healthy and convenient bottled mushrooms. They did not set any conditions on promoting these products, but on my own accord, I thought why not just share my tasting experience with my readers here since it is genuinely a product that worth trying, in my opinion. Anyway, I used it in my recipe.

The first dish I cooked using one of the mushrooms was a simple one, the Stir-fried cabbage with Teatree mushrooms. I was contemplating between the Teatree mushrooms or Golden Needle mushrooms, initially, and decided to go with Teatree mushrooms for a change since Golden Needle mushrooms have already been commonly used in vegetable dishes. Moreover, the Golden Needle is spicy flavored and spicy vegetable dish wasn’t my desire at that point of consideration. Otherwise, the Spicy Golden Needle or Spicy Nameko mushrooms would have been a good choice. Well, I knew I have made a great choice. Indeed, the Teatree mushrooms complement well with the cabbage stir fry, and its supplementary flavour did not fail to elevate the taste of my cabbage cooking. Actually, this was not the first cabbage dish I have cooked with mushrooms. In my previous Stir-fried Cabbage recipe, I used Shiitake mushrooms. However, without these flavoured mushrooms, I have to season the dish with more condiments. In another word, I do not have to remember to add many seasoning in my cooking now to make my cabbage dish taste wonderful.

Yeah, just for sharing. :)

Serves 3 – 4
Ingredients
1 bottle of Teatree mushrooms
500 gram of cabbage, cut
1 teaspoon of dried shrimps, rinsed and pat dry
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
Slightly less than 1 tablespoon of oil

Method
1) Heat wok with oil over medium-high fire. Add in dried shrimps, followed by minced garlic and stir fry till fragrant.

2) Add cabbage and stir fry till soften. Add in oyster sauce and stir fry to mix well.

3) Then, empty (or use half of) the bottle of Teatree mushrooms into the cooking, and stir fry for a few seconds. Reduce heat to low-medium fire and cover wok with lid to simmer for another few seconds before heat off. Dish up and serve.

A serving of my Stir-Fried Cabbage with Teatree Mushrooms counts about 100kcal. Remember, it’s low fat!

Like I said, these are ready-to-eat products. These mushrooms do not require cooking, actually. As the mushrooms are nicely flavoured, they can be consumed straight from the bottle, on their own, or to complement with rice, porridge or noodles. As for me, I like to use it as sides to my cooking. Good thing about it, it can be eaten as vegetarian, and for Muslim friends, it’s Halal-certified. Just FYI, Yifon brand bottled mushrooms come with six interesting flavours and mushroom types i.e. three assorted mushrooms (Button mushroom slices 蘑菇片, Poku mushrooms slices 香菇片, Golden Needle mushrooms aka Enokitake 金针菇), Bailing mushrooms 百灵菇, spicy Bailing mushrooms, spicy Golden Needle Mushrooms, spicy Nameko mushrooms 滑子蘑 and Teatree mushrooms 茶树菇...:) To check out the photos of each mushroom bottle, log in to my FaceBook Fan Club.

Tips: These bottled mushrooms are available in major supermarkets e.g. NTUC Fairprice, Shop n Save, Giant Hypermarket, Carrerfour Hypermarket, and etc, if keen to try it. Each bottle is sold at S$1.95 for 170g/bottle.

Easy Peach Konnyaku Jelly

2012-02-14T13:53:00.002+08:00

"Happy Valentine's Day"

I did not prepare much for the Valentine's Day this year. How about you?

I am happy for those who received flowers and gifts from your boy/ girl friend, hubby/ wife, lover, suitors, friends, children and even siblings.

If you haven’t prepared or bought anything in return, I guess there are always places and gifts available for last minutes purchase. However, if you wish to do something handmade, you better take leave from work and start preparing it now, or do it really quick and simple one, like what I have posted here!

Seriously, nothing fanciful I have specially prepared for this Valentine's celebration (In fact, I did not quite remember it until my colleague came to greet me this morning). So well, happened to have this peach jelly dessert made a while ago, and it is nice and I have decided to post it today, just in case one needs a 'lazy' idea for the occasion (smile). And best thing is, you are free to turn this smooth & transparent peach jelly into a platform where you could write your love notes or decorate creatively on its smooth surface.

Let's show our creativity. Assemble this simple and lovely gelatin dessert in just 5 minutes!

Serves 2 – 6
Ingredients
60g Konnyaku jelly instant-mix (sweetened type) + ¼ teaspoon of malic acid (usually comes with the jelly mix packet), store-bought
260ml of water
6 – 7 halved peaches

Method
1) Add Konnyaku jelly mix in the pot of water and bring it to a boil over low heat. Keep stirring the mixture while simmering for about 3 minutes. Dissolve malic acid before heat off. Alternatively, follow the directions stated on the jelly mix package.

2) Arrange peach halves (may cut the peaches into heart shapes) in the large beautiful deep dish or any desired mould. Pour the boiled jelly mixture into the dish/ mould and leave it to cool for 30 minutes at room temperature before chilling it in the refrigerator.

3) Decorate or write your love messages using edible materials e.g. cut fruits, cream, chocolate syrup, jam, cooked beans and etc, on the smooth surface when the jelly is set firmly.

Alternatively,

a) Create layers of jelly with different colors scheme or shapes and patterns. Just have to set the jelly separately, do it layer by layers, shape by shape.

b) If you are using unsweetened Konnyaku jelly powder, you may even add your desired flavoured or sweet juice to replace plain water for cooking the jelly.

The good thing to make this hassle-free dessert jelly is that you do not want something too full to have as dessert after feasting on a lavish V-day meal. So... Peaches, the fruits encased in delicious & low-fat jelly would be just great to suprise your loved ones!

Tips: Various types and brands of Konnyaku jelly mix are available in major supermarkets and minimarts. The jelly mix is usually in 250grams. So, use only about a quarter of the packet.
* Use peaches, or strawberries.

For V-day beverage and food, take a reference from my previous posts under Festive Gourmet:
V-Day Beverage
V-Day Baked Scallops

Char Siu Noodle (Dry Noodle with Sliced BBQ Pork) 叉烧捞面

2012-02-10T12:41:00.003+08:00

"Char Siu, Char Siew, Char Shao, BBQ Pork... etc, whatever you called it... Today's the simple and delicious homecooked Char Siu Noodle. So, make it simple. 叉烧.. :)"

Feeling dreadful to cook elaborately, yet, have no idea what to pack for lunch over the lazy weekend? It has always been my ‘problem’, especially if I already am prepared to cook a lavish dinner meal. I will surely feel reluctant to have to cook for lunch the same day. However, what to eat, what to eat? It would be easier, if you are someone who doesn’t mind eating salad, or simply drink some cereal or milk as lunch, but for those who must have staple food for meals…..

Oh well, I think I could help to solve the issue, at least for this weekend! Yes, of course you have to cook at home, but it is a very simple lunch dish which could be assembled easily in a flash (minus the char siu making at home). As I mentioned in my Face Book Fan Club, I got my new supply of the nice chewy wanton noodle from Kwong Cheong Thye, and recommended it to my fans and friends. I wanted, too, to post this simple Char Siu Noodle recipe using this wanton noodle pack. *See my FB under Notes

Posted similar Wanton Noodle recipe before, I have adapted it for the sauce portion in this dry Char Siu noodle dish, too.

Serves 1
Ingredients
1 dried wanton mee (off the shelves)
100 gram of BBQ pork slices (aka Char Siu 叉烧), homemade in advance or store-bought

Condiments for sauce (for tossing):
1 tablespoon of fried shallot oil (with the chopped shallot)
1 teaspoon of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of sambal chili paste (optional)

Gravy:
Char Siu Sauce (from homemade Char Siu or usually complimentary with purchase of char siu from stores)

For blanching:
1 pot of boiling water
1 pot of iced water

Method
1) Prepare the Char Siu with my recipe posted previously. Or, get the store-bought cooked Char Siu from Chinese roasted meat stalls. Slice it lengthwise and set aside.

2) Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add dried form wanton noodle in the boiling water. When noodle becomes loosen, use chopsticks to stir occasionally while blanching till soften, for about 30 seconds. Then, quickly transfer the blanched noodle to a large pot of iced water using a wire strainer, plunge it for 10 seconds. Thereafter, return the noodle to the hot water again for another 30 seconds or so. Remove noodle from pot with the strainer and place on the serving dish filled with the listed condiments. Toss the noodle with condiments till well combined.

3) Arrange generous portion of Char Siu slices on the side and drizzle Char Siu sauce on top of the Char Siu. Serve.

A plate of my Char Siu noodle counts about 380kcal.

Tips: It is very convenient to get ready-cooked Char Siu meat in Singapore. Not limited to just the roasted meat (food) stall in the hawker centre or coffee shop, it is also available at the roasted meat stall in the wet market, and even minimart. Ask for an amount worth around $3 will be sufficient to make 2 - 3 serving of this Char Siu noodle dish. *Take note, it usually costs more to purchase from the food stall from hawker centre or coffee shop as their main business is to sell as meal, complimenting with the rice or noodle, and not just the meat on its own.
* Since the noodle comes in dried form, it needs to be cooked longer than using the fresh soft type. Pick up a strand of the blanced noodle from the cooking pot to test if the texture is ideal to you. Log in to my Facebook Fan Club to check out the details of the store of the recommended wanton noodle.

Alluring Claypot Chicken & Eggplant Stew (惹味茄子鸡煲)

2012-01-16T16:48:00.002+08:00

"It might sound familiar to you, but this is my new dish."

I was so excited when had the first taste of it as I was unsure how the taste would be, actually. This is an entirely new dish which I have created and cooked just last night, I considered it as a success by the fact that the entire dish including the gravy was wipe up by my girl with extra serving of rice which she usually doesn’t need! She kept praising and describing to me how flavorful the dish was, and even gave me idea to adapt the same recipe for tofu stew. Not just my girl, I had extra rice to go with this dish, too. :)

As usual, this is simple and fuss free to cook. If you need a flavorful dish to whet your appetite, cook this. :)

2 – 3 Servings
Ingredients
½ chicken, chopped into pieces
1 eggplant aka brinjal, arm-length, chopped into (chunky) pieces

2 tablespoons of spicy whole bean paste (辣豆酱)
1 small cube of fermented beancurd (豆腐乳)
1 heaping teaspoon of sugar
10 – 15 curry leaves, rinsed and pat dry
1 tablespoon of dried shrimps (虾米干), rinsed and pat dry
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Chili Padi, chopped
50ml of water

1 tablespoon of cooking oil

1 teaspoon of corn starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon of water to make into slurry

Method
(1) Heat claypot with oil over medium-high fire. Add garlic, dried shrimps, chili Padi and curry leave and stir fry till fragrant. Then, add spicy bean paste and fermented bean curd, and stir fry a little.

(2) Add chicken and water. Stir fry to mix all ingredients well. Add eggplant and continue to stir fry for few seconds. Then, add in sugar and stir fry to combine. Let it cook till bubbling, and then, reduce heat to low fire. Stir fry a little to reduce then heat in the pot, and cover pot with lid. Let it simmer for an hour.

(3) Before heat off, increase heat to high fire and stir in corn starch slurry to thicken the gravy. Serve hot with a big bowl of rice.

Put your diet on hold for the moment. A portion of this chicken and eggplant stew counts at least 350kcal! :p

Tips: The eggplant will turn mushy and its flesh will be disintegrated after long simmering. So, you may want to cut into chunky pieces.
* Add spicy bean paste together with some of its chili oil in the bottle to cook this dish.

Chinese (Napa) Cabbage Roll (如意白菜卷)

2012-01-12T15:20:00.003+08:00

"Simple 3-in-1 Festive Dish, as simple as 1.2.3"

Fish, shrimps, crabs, pork knuckle and poultry are important food symbols during the Spring Festival. However, we cannot omit the importance of having greens during such festive celebrations, especially in this modern society. Having too much meaty and seafood stuff, in addition to sweet beverages and alcohol, it might not be as abundant as we think we would received in the end of the day, if we do not take the right balance in our diet. :) Besides, vegetables do play an important role in symbolizing closeness (in relationship) and vitality to life. ‘Closeness’ (亲 'qing') has the similar pronunciation as ‘Green’ (青 'qing') in Mandarin. Lettuce, as 生菜 'sheng cai', in Chinese，the first character, '生', has often been related with the character '生' in 生气, the flow of vitality to life. It also symbolizes money making, 生财 'sheng cai'. So, how can we omit having vegetables here?

Well, I have used Napa cabbage in my recipe. Napa cabbage, be a symbol of gratifying and satisfactory. The auspiciousness has been elevated to its fullness, with the stuffed filling in these Napa cabbage rolls. This way, you won't end up eating solely vegetables or meat. You'll have the best of both worlds, three indeed (plus the prawn meat in the stuffing, too). Don't forget, it's steamed!: D

Having said so, I just hope you like my recipe.

Serve 4 - 5
Ingredients
6 - 8 large Napa cabbage (aka Chinese cabbage) leaves
250 grams of minced pork meat
150 grams of prawn, minced
1 egg, beaten
1 small bunch of coriander, chopped (Optional)

1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon of sesame oil

Seasoning (B):
1 tablespoon of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 teaspoon of grounded white pepper
1 teaspoon of chicken granule
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of corn starch
Pinch of salt

Ingredients for gravy:
Broth yielded from the steamed rolls
50 ml of chicken stock
1 teaspoon of premium oyster sauce (with or without dried scallop shreds)
1 teaspoon of Shao Hsing rice wine
¼ teaspoon of corn starch, mixed with 1 tablespoon of water to make slurry

1 large pot of water and 1 teaspoon of salt (to blanch the cabbage leaf)
1 large bowl of iced water

Method

(1) Mix minced pork meat and minced prawn with the listed seasoning (B). Place the meat mixture into food processor and blend with low mode for few seconds. Transfer mixture into a bowl and season for 30 minutes, or longer.

(2) Bring a pot of water to a boil. Stir in salt. Place few cabbage leaves at a time into the boiling water to blanch the leaves till soften, and then, transfer the soften leaves to iced water for few seconds and remove to drain on strainer. Then, gently pat dry each leaf with kitchen towel.

(3) Place 1 large leaf of cabbage flat on a clean table top. Do cut away the thick white part of the cabbage, if you find the greener ‘leavy’ portion is large enough for the wrap. Otherwise, the roll may appear too thick. Scope a heaping spoon of meat mixture (more or less) and place it nearer to the end of the cabbage leaf. Use the spoon or your clean bear hand, to arrange the meat filling snugly before rolling up the cabbage leaf. Handle the cabbage leaf gently to avoid tearing. Repeat step until all the ingredients are used up.

(4) Then, place the cabbage rolls seam side down on a large deep place, leaving small gap between the rolls. Steam the rolls for 10 minutes. When done, gently transfer the rolls to a nice deep serving plate. Please do keep the broth yielded from the steamed rolls aside, for later.

(5) Heat wok with sesame oil over medium fire. Add in garlic and stir fry till fragrant. Return the liquid of the steamed rolls kept aside just now to the wok. Add in also the chicken stock, oyster sauce and Shao Hsing rice wine, and simmer till bubbling. Lastly, stir in corn starch slurry to slightly thicken the gravy. Heat off. Scope and drizzle the gravy over the cabbage rolls. Serve whole rolls or cut halves.

A large Chinese cabbage roll stuffed with ground pork and prawn counts about 150kcal.

Tips: If the gravy appears too little for your liking, increase chicken stock to 100ml, and/ or add less corn starch slurry.
* Instead of adding oyster sauce, try the dried scallop sauce (or oyster sauce with dried scallop shreds). It enhances the presentation of the dish by the appearance of its shredded scallop over the cabbage rolls, making the dish look more elegant and abundant, especially for the festive.
* The whole leaf of Napa cabbage could be used for the wrap (I used whole leaf and found that the roll appeared too thick), or use only the leavy portion if it is large enough for just one round of wrapping which will be good enough. Prepare more Napa cabbage leaves to make more rolls, in this case.
* Adjust the amount of meat filling to the capacity of the cabage roll.

Salted Egg Yolk Prawns (黄金炒虾)

2012-01-09T12:14:00.004+08:00

"How can you miss the 'Laughter' during this festive season?! Eat 'Ha' (Prawn in Cantonese), and let it smother you with laugther and most of all,... the wealth."

One of my readers, was checking out salted egg yolk prawns recipe, and I couldn’t remember that I had actually posted the recipe since a while ago (laughing). Oh well, I did tell her about it, just few days back. And this time, I am going to post another version of salted egg yolk prawns, for the healthy you, and all, for this coming Lunar New Year, of course (smile)!

I've also create an auspicious dish name for this dish, in Chinese, 黄金炒虾. It simply means stir-fry prawns with 'gold'. The name emphasizes on the 'gold' this time. Chinese likes good and symbolical things or words relating to gold, wealth, happiness, laughter, good luck, and etc, during the festive. I hope you like the dish and its name. :)

Most importantly, with similar ingredients and steps from my previous recipe, it is never a chore to cook this for your reunion dinner and/ or gathering with friends and relatives. Yes, to the cook, it would not be a difficult dish to prepare. As to the diners, this dish should be great, too, as you do not have to peel the prawn shell during your meal. If that’s what you hate about eating prawns, they are all shelled in this recipe of mine!

But of course, cooking the prawns with shell intact has its advantage, too. It helps to absorb and seal the flavor and aroma to its fullest and make each prawn taste more succulent, in a way. So, for the shelled prawns, I have, in this recipe, tried to elevate the overall flavor of the dish with some adaption to the ingredients or its amount used. Perhaps, do it like me, simply place the lightly dusted (with corn starch) prawns in the hot oil to fry for just 15 - 20 seconds. The effort is to make the prawns more aromatic, bouncy and moist to the palate. I did not deep fry my prawns the usual way (dredged in thick flour batter or with more starch coating) as I did not feel like eating deep fried stuff at that moment when I cooked this. Of course, I knew crispy deep fried might taste even better, to some of you. So, you make the choice.

Serves 4 - 5
Ingredients
8 - 10 large shrimps, shelled (may use frozen shelled prawns)
4 pieces of salted duck egg yolk, cooked and chopped
2 stalks of curry leaf (remove stem, use only the leaves)
2 tablespoons of butter
½ teaspoon of chicken granule
Pinch of salt and sugar
2 cloves of garlic, minced

Seasoning:
1 teaspoon of chicken granule
1 teaspoon of grounded white pepper

2 egg yolk (chicken egg), beaten
1 tablespoon of corn starch (for dusting)
½ cup of cooking oil, or amount enough to submerge the entire prawn (for frying)

Method
1) Devein (cut a slit at the back of the prawn to remove its vein), rinse and pat dry the shelled prawns. Season with chicken granule and pepper for 30 minutes or longer.

2) Briefly chop the cooked salted egg yolk, and set aside.

3) Dip shelled prawns in beaten egg yolk. Then, dust the prawns with corn starch. Heat wok with oil over medium-high fire, and then, put the prawns in the hot oil to deep fry for 15 seconds and immediately remove from wok and drain on strainer. Return the cooked prawns into the hot oil for another few seconds and remove to drain on strainer again. Set aside.

4) Remove excessive oil in wok, leave only 1 - 2 tablespoons and reduce heat to medium fire. Add in minced garlic and curry leaves and stir fry till aroma releases. Then, further reduce heat to low fire, melt butter in wok and add in salted egg yolk. Use the spatula to mash and stir-fry the yolk (in quick circular motion) immediately. Once the ingredients appear foamy and aroma of the mashed yolk releases, return prawns to the wok and add in chicken granule, sugar and salt. Toss all the ingredients till well blended. Dish up, and serve with steamed white rice.

A serving of my Salted Egg Yolk Prawn counts about 250kcal.

Tips: Use of larger prawns is recommended as gotta take the shrinkage of the cooked prawns into account.
* Add cut some Chili Padi (Bird’s eye chili), if wish to spice up the taste a bit more. Add in the chili together with curry leaves. Beware of the pungency when cooking.
* Instead of the quick frying method I have used here, the usual deep frying method can also be done by encasing the prawns with more corn starch, or thick flour, and even tempura batter. Then, deep fry for longer time till the prawns are entirely crisped and browned.

Porky Pork Rolls filled with 'Gold and Treasures' (黄金白玉枕)

2012-01-04T16:40:00.000+08:00

"Chinese eats for symbolism, but I go for both the taste and auspiciousness!"

Happy New Year 2012 to all of you!

This is my very first post in this new year of 2012 (waited too long? :D), and am already too late for recommending this recipe for your Christmas celebration or the New Year party... but... I am sure you are still in time to learn and cook this for the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year's gathering. Otherwise, a treat to your guests, anytime!

This porky pork roll dish is definitely something you want to serve during parties and celebrations as it is easy to prepare and convenient to serve as snacks, let alone its rich flavor and aromas that mingle in the palate, simply eating it on its own!

And, I cooked this as one of my dishes for dinner, too. I liked it as it is equally good to go along with my plain porridge. So, it's up to you, to have this in any occasions.

If you cook this during Chinese Lunar New Year, retain the Chinese sausage bits in your cooking. It makes a wonderful festive dish complimenting any other festive dishes. And don't forget, great symbolical food to be eaten during Chinese Lunar New Year festival is very important in order to obtain auspiscious and good head start for the entire (Lunar) year. I have, thus, created an auspicious dish name for this, 黄金白玉枕, a great symbolism of having these 'white jade' (= pork meat) pillows filled with 'gold and treasures' (= cheese and sausages). These auspicious "pillow" food also helps you to catch a sweet dream. :D

Well, feel free to substitute the Chinese sausage with bacon, if any of these auspicious attributes ain't bothering you at all. :)

Serves 3 - 4
Ingredients
8 deli-thin slices of boneless pork chop, palm-sized
8 slices of Cheddar cheese
1 Chinese sausage, finely diced

Seasoning (B):
3 tablespoons of red cooking wine
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of chicken granule
1 teaspoon of black pepper

2 eggs, beaten

Coating (C):
2 tablespoons of plain flour
1 tablespoon of corn starch
Pinch of salt
* Combine well into flour mix.

2 cups of oil (For deep frying)

8 toothpicks

Method
1) Lightly hit both sides of the pork chops with the back of the knife. Rinse and pat dry. Season with the listed ingredients in (B) for at least an hour or longer. Store it in the refrigerator while marinating.

2) Dust some flour mix (C) on the both sides of each pork chop. Then, dip it into the beaten egg. Lay the pork chop on a clean surface and sprinkle bits of Chinese sausage. Then, place a slice of cheese on top. Roll up the pork chop and secure the opening end with a toothpick.

3) Coat the pork chop roll with more egg solution, followed by flour mix to cover the entire roll. Repeat steps for all remaining pork chops. Let the coated pork chop rolls set in for about 5 minutes.

4) Heat wok with oil over medium high fire. Deep fry the pork rolls (in batches) till crisped and golden browned. Drain excessive oil on strainer. Remove the toothpicks and arrange the rolls on a serving dish. Serve warm with Honey Mustard or mayonaise.

A Golden Porky Pork Roll counts about 160kcal.

Tips: Pork chops have to be sliced into deli-thin sheet, just half of the usual thickness.
* Do not over fry the pork roll to retain moisture of the pork.
* Red or White cooking wine can be found in NTUC Fairprice supermarkets @ S$5.50 per bottle.
* To create brighter golden colour on the food appreance, add some tumeric powder into the flour mix (C), if you do not mind for having some mild spicy tumeric flavour.

Wasabi Prawns

2011-12-12T17:10:00.000+08:00

"Many people tried to cook this failed dismally, but it would never be you! Here's my simple and dainty prawn dish for you."

I never thought such delicious prawn dish could be assembled that simple, initially. It might not look as beautiful as what the famous restaurant presents, but you would be impressed by the taste, or the simple steps found in this recipe.

If you are interested to make this, here is the recipe.

Do feel free to cook this for the older kids. My girl liked it a lot! However, you may want to reduce the amount of wasabi paste to just 1 teaspoon or lesser. Don't intimidate the children by its pungency, especially if it is going to be their first taste of this dish. Make them like it, they will love you more. :)

Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients
500g of medium prawns, shelled completely and cut a slit at the back of the prawns to devein
2 egg white, whisked till lightly foamy
3 tablespoons of corn flour (to coat)

Ingredients (B) for Wasabi sauce:
1 - 2 teaspoon of wasabi paste
2 heaping tablespoonful of Japanese mayonnaise
2 teaspoons of condensed milk
1/2 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
* Combine the above ingredients (B) and stir to mix well.

1 cup of oil (to fry the prawns)

Method
1) Rinse prawns and pat dry. Lightly coat all prawns with corn flour in a large bowl. Then, dip the prawns in the beaten egg white. Then, coat with corn flour, again.

2) Heat oil in wok over low fire. Then, place the prawns in the medium-heated oil to deep fry till lightly crisped. Do not over-heat the oil to avoid over-browning. Remove prawns and drain on a oil strainer. Reserve prawns for later.

3) Now, to assemble all the ingredients in the dish, you may either:
Arrange the prawns nicely on a serving dish and simply drizzle the Wasabi sauce over the prawns to serve.

Or, return the prawns in a clean heated wok. Then, pour in the Wasabi sauce and perform a quick tossing in the heated wok before dishing up. This way, the sauce will be warmed up, too, if it is important to you to have the dish serves entirely hot.

Sounds too easy for a restaurant's dish? Yeah, it is. The homemade version, taste as great!

A portion of my crisped prawns with Wasabi Mayo sauce counts about 400kcal.

Tips: Of course, the mixing of Wasabi sauce has to be the key to a successful Wasabi prawns dish, but one thing good about home cook, the versatility. If you like the flavour to be more pungent, add more Wasabi paste.... If you like it to be sweeter, add more Condenses milk... If you dislike even a tinge of sourish taste in your dish, oh well, omit the lemon juice entirely! See.. always sample your sauce and work it around..
* Use any types of medium-large prawns. Frozen prawns as well.

Fried Bitter Gourd & Fish Balls Soup

2011-11-25T12:54:00.000+08:00

"Special fried bitter gourd soup. Try it and you will know how great it is."

Yeah, just the bitter gourd and fish balls, this soup relies on these ingredients for a last-minute explosion of its natural flavours. Simple, simple, simple. It's all about simplicity, just like my principal concept of managing things. Simply, but never tolerate on the essentiality in nutritional values. I thought vegetables and fish balls are good enough to make up a vegetable-and-protein dish. Moreover, it's boiled in soup.

Low-fat, healthy and, it was delicious, but.... yet, not 'so' low-fat. Why? In order to make the bitter gourd more flavourful and easy to drink in soup (to make the soup taste more robust and not-so-bitter), I pan-fried the bitter gourd. Yes, extra oil has been loaded on with the additional step here. However, these fried bitter gourds did make the soup much more flavourful, on the other hand... We really liked it alot!

So, give or take, it's up to you (smile).

Serves 4
Ingredients
½ of a 30cm long bitter gourd, lengthwise, and sliced
10 fish balls
1 chicken stock cube
1 teaspoon of fish sauce
½ teaspoon of grounded white pepper
½ teaspoon of salt

1500ml of water

2 tablespoons of oil

Garnishing
Some chopped corriander

Method
1) Heat large frying pan with 1 tablespoon of oil over medium fire. Pan fry the bitter gourd slices (in batches) till slightly softened and browned on both sides. Set aside.

2) Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Place the fried bitter gourd in the boiling water. Disolve chicken stock cube. Then, bring the water to a boil again, before lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

3) Add in fish balls to cook for 5 minutes. Season the soup with fish sauce, white peper and salt. Stir to combine. Garnish and serve hot.

A portion of my bitter gourd soup counts less than 100kcal!

Tips: Choose the China phenotype, long, lighter green in colour and less wrinkled one, if you preferred less bitter taste.

Nasi Lemak (Coconut Cream Rice - 椰浆饭)

2011-11-15T11:23:00.003+08:00

"What a great way to say hello to your overseas friends. Let your homecooked do the job!"

Nasi Lemak, a common name in the list of the local food delicacies of Asia.

Nasi Lemak, one of the top Malaysian cuisine has its great influence to Singaporean. Many local Chinese, thus, eat and cook this aromatic rice dish, for breakfast, lunch and even dinner. As such, Nasi Lemak is not limited to just the Malay food stalls, it's commonly sold in Chinese eateries everywhere in Singapore. For the Singaporean Chinese version of Nasi Lemak, it comes with even greater varities of side dish. What makes it different from the traditional Nasi Lemak which wrapped in banana leaf and comes with standard sides e.g. egg and chicken wing or fried tiny Kampung fish, the Chinese Nasi Lemak allows you to pick or choose your favourite side dishes from the pool of selections provided by the stall/ eatery, in general. Any versions, they all taste heaven..

Nasi Lemak, literally translated as "fatty rice", the fat refers to no more than the fat of coconut milk added into the rice cooking. The aroma yields from the rich coconut milk flavour in the rice, making this Nasi Lemak dish so unique and delicious.

Now you know what's about Nasi Lemak, if you weren't at first. Here's the recipe I've cooked. Easy and quick.

Ingredients for Nasi Lemak (coconut cream rice):
2 cups of rice, rinsed
350ml of coconut cream (Santan in Malay)
3 slices of young ginger
4 leaves of pandan (screwpine) leaves, tied into a knot
2 cups of water to cook rice (about 500ml)

Method:
Add all in ingredients in the rice pot to cook in electronic cooker, or steam the rice over stove till cooked.

Ideal side dishes to complete the Nasi Lemak meal:
Serving for 1 pax
1 portion of Sambal prawns
1 Fried chicken wing
1 tablespoon each of roasted/ fried peanut (kachang) and fried crispy anchovies (ikan bilis)
½ hard boil egg, sliced
Few fried tofu cubes (*Just cut and deep fry with oil)
Few slices of fresh cucumber
* Sides are optional. The above listed are my personal preference. Include all or pick your choice(s) to compliment your Nasi Lemak.

A serving of my Nasi Lemak meal (with a smal portion of sambal prawns, 1 chicken wing, few pieces of tofu cubes, some sliced cucumbers and kachang & ikan bilis) counts about 600kcal. It's a little sinful, isn't it? :p

Tips: The amount of water to cook the rice should be as usual, if you like softer texture.
* In fact, the amount and types of coconut cream/ milk used in Nasi Lemak recipe is pretty versatile. Simply add more coconut cream, if richer flavour preferred. Both the thick paste-like cream or fresh watery coconut milk versions are fine. For later option, the amount should be increased for better aromas, too (up to 500ml = 2 full cups).
* Most of the side dishes are easy to prepare. For chicken wings and sambal prawns, look at my recipes. :)
* Preparation of Kachang can be done by roasting or deep frying the peanut (usually fried with its skin remained intact).

Sambal Prawns

2011-11-14T00:19:00.004+08:00

"This Sambal prawn was cooked simply to enliven the taste of my Nasi Lemak dish."

I cooked this to complement my Nais Lemak dinner the other day. Recipe was given and taught by my mum.

The sweet-spicy mouthwatering Sambal, the complementing prawns, the sweet crunchy onion... This simple to cook dish was perfectly delicious!

To cook this Sambal prawn dish perfectly delicious, who say I must use expensive fresh prawns... I insist on frozen ones because I have my secret tips to keep the texture of the prawns bouncy... Simple, keep the frozen prawns unthawed and added to cook direct, that's it (smile)! What's more.. Frozen prawns with express recipe allows you to prepare your meal quick and easy, even if it's for an impromptu dinner!

Ingredients (A) for Sambal Chili Paste:
1 thumb-sized young ginger, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
4 shallots, peeled
* Blend all ingredients till paste-like consistency

Ingredients (B):
600 grams of frozen shelled large prawns (about 15 pieces)
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
100gram belacan chili
150gram uncooked chili paste (made up of dried chilies, sugar, salt)
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of salt
3 tablespoons of cooking oil

Method:
(1) Heat wok with oil over medium fire. Add ingredients (A) to stir fry till fragrant. Add in onion and stir fry a little.

(2) Then, add the frozen prawns and stir fry till almost cooked. Add in belacan chili paste and uncooked chili paste, followed by sugar and salt. Stir to combine. Let it simmer till bubbling. Heat off and dish up.

A portion of my Sambal prawns (about 5 prawns) counts about 180kcal.

Tips: Belacan chili paste and the uncooked chili paste are easily available in the supermarkets. Target the chill compartment, these ready chili paste are usually packed in small tubs.

Chinese Tonic Soup with Pork Pancreas and Radishes (青红萝卜炖豬橫脷大补汤)

2011-10-23T18:29:00.002+08:00

“It’s nourishing and flavorful. Don’t hate the idea of cooking pork pancreas in this tonic soup, try it first. Find out how amazing it could be, to help you to add an experience in your cooking journey.”

Pig Pancreas:
Offal dishes are greatly consumed and most likeable by Cantonese people. By and large, offal is widely used in Cantonese culinary. From the most common braised trotter to the popular roasted chicken livers, Cantonese people has been crowned the ethnic group that uses offal in their cooking the most, and that includes soup cooking.

Pig pancreas (pork pancreas), Cantonese people [mainly in Hong Kong] called it, 豬橫脷 (pronounced as ‘Ju Wang Lay’), and Chinese called it 豬胰 (pronounced as ‘Zhu Yi’ in Mandarin), is often used in soup dishes. Resides in Singapore, you may not be familiar with this offal as it is not commonly consumed or homecooked, but the pig pancreas is available in the butcher’s stalls in many wet markets. It's not usually displayed openly in the front counter/ chiller though. Ask the butchers for this, and most of them would be able to provide.

Just a gentle reminder. If this is the first time you heard about 豬橫脷, don’t be mistaken this term with the pig tongue. It may sound like as if you are referring to its tongue (it is because the long with pointed edges shaped pancreas resembles a tongue) when you pronounce it in Cantonese dialect, but “Ju Wang Lay” refers to the pancreas.

Anyway, I did some briefed researches on the Internet on this pig pancreas to find out what exactly it offers in term of health benefits. Oh well... It is claimed to serve the function of promoting healthy digestive system, and thus, absorption of nutrient, as well as elimination of body heat, due to its rich enzyme contents. There are also many generic findings, too... Basically, that’s the Chinese culture which believes in the phrase, 以型补型 (pronounced it as ‘Yi Xing Bu Xing'in Mandarin), simply means the same part of the human internal organ will be nourished with the consumption of the same of internal organ of the butchered animal.

“Eee…….” “Yucks…”…. Oh please, don’t give me that kind of disgusted look when you heard about cooking... The pork pancreas ain’t that awful, and in fact, it tastes better than pork liver, to me! It tastes a mild flavor of pork liver and its texture resembles chicken breast meat, more dense in it. Most importantly, the flavor isn’t over-whelming. By adding it into the soup cooking, its meaty flavor emits in the soup elevating the overall aromas further.

Some other notes on the main benefits of other ingredients/ tonic in my recipe:
* Black woody ear fungus or cloud ear fungus: has crunchy texture and almost flavorless. Usually, it is simply called black fungus. Consumption of black fungus on regular basis helps to eliminate fat deposit in the blood vessel and detoxify liver.

*Wild yam/ Huai Shan: appears slimy before cooked, but it will go off after cooked and turned soft and almost neutral in taste. It is named the ‘tonic’ for men and women in term of reproductive health. It regulates hormones and increase internal secretion. It also contains anti-inflammatory properties and many other health benefits.

*Sweet and Bitter almonds: Usually sold in mixture of both of these almonds. It helps to eliminate phlegm and reduce coughing as well as nourishing lungs. Many claimed that it helps to improve good complexion, too.

Just to summarize briefly, the overall flavor of this soup was rich, but not over-whelming. For having so many elements in this soup, it was filled with nutrients, and the taste wouldn’t go wrong for no reason. The radishes added in it, flavored the soup with plenty of natural sweetness, made it so likeable even to the children. I cooked this, more as nourishment, for the health of complexion, too.

See recipe:

Serves 4 – 5
Ingredients
1 piece of pork pancreas, thickly sliced, gently scoured with pinch of salt and slightly blanched with boiled water
200 grams of pork meat (muscle part), cut and blanched in boiling salted water for 2 minutes
1 green radish, peeled and thickly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and thickly sliced
5” long of fresh Wild Yam aka “Huai Shan” (淮山), peeled, cut lengthwise and scoured with pinch of salt and blanched in boiling water for 2 minutes
2 large pieces of Cloud Ear Fungus aka Black Woody Fungus (云耳/ 白背黑木耳)
3 tablespoons of lotus seeds
2 tablespoons of mixed Sweet Almond/ Southern Almond “Nan Xing” (南杏) and Bitter Almond/ Northern Almond or Chinese Almond “Bei Xing” (北杏)
1 candied honey date (蜜枣)
2 slices of young ginger

1 teaspoon of salt

1500ml of water

Utensil:
Large claypot (Optional)

Method
1) Boil water in a large claypot over high heat. Add in all ingredients (blanched pork meat, radishes, carrots, wild yam, cloud ear fungus, lotus seeds, almonds, honey date, young ginger), except for pork pancreas. Bring the ingredients to a boil again.

2) Reduce heat to low fire to simmer the soup for 2 – 3 hours. Add in blanched pork pancreas and continue simmering for 15 - 30 minutes. Add in salt 5 minutes before heat off. Serve hot.

Tips: Cooking time of the pork pancreas is adjustable. The longer the pancreas is cooked, the more intense flavor it emits. So, add and cook the pork pancreas for hours, if you like more intense meaty flavor. For milder flavor, simply cook it for 15 – 30 minutes. The texture of this offal may slightly vary with different cooking duration.
* Pig pancreas/ pork pancreas has mild meaty scent even when it is raw. Simply scour with salt and blanch in boiled water. Heat off before blanching it for just 10 seconds, with lid on.
* Use claypot to do the long boiling helps to retain full nutritional values and maximize the soup flavor, many old generations believed.

Reminders of MY Week

2011-10-13T10:45:00.001+08:00

"Be my friend! SIMPLY, talk to me; Comment me; Follow me; Add me; Join me, in MY FaceBook."

It's all about revamping, upgrading and changing of images, driving me into having this idea for My Face Book Fan Club... A reminder of the week, on cooking, preparation of food, daily life, anything, and everything which comes to my mind, prepared or out of the blue. Something simply pops out from my mind, to remind you on the spot (lucky I have my iPhone or iPad with me all the time.. tongue sticking out)!

I named the title as Reminder of MY Week, simply translates into a reminder of the week from MY WOK Life. Hey, it will be posted in MY FaceBook page, for your information. I thought I should "reward", or simply connect with my friends & fans & readers more regularly. I wished to engage all of you more. I share so many things with you, telling you as if you are my close friends.. You, on the other hand, tell me more about yourselves, share with us about your cooking/ life experience, leave your comments in my blog, and post the photos of your cooking/ dishes on MY wall...

Hello~ You are my FRIENDS! :)

* Search My wok life, or choose one the modes listed in the right bar of my blog, to connect with me.

Sautéed Prawns in Yuzu Sauce (柚子蜜煎大虾)

2011-10-12T14:56:00.005+08:00

"Not much an appetite to eat? I have cooked these juicy shrimps with some tantalizing citrus sauce to whet your appetite."

This recipe I saw in a TVB cooking show (created by a popular HK celebrity) represents an interesting variation on the conventional sweet & sour flavor of the prawn dishes. This recipe incorporates the rich and refreshing marmalade, and good thing is, you probably need not to purposely buy this ingredient for the dish, it might already been seating in your drink pantry all these while... What this recipe add is the Honeyed Yuzu (called it Yuja in Korean) marmalade that uses to make drinks.

Having not much an appetite recently, I was tempted to this out! The inclusion of the citrus injects the right amount of sweet sourish zesty taste to complement the dish's many savory and aromatic flavours.

In any case if you do not have the Korean Yuzu marmalade, use the Japan Yuzu paste or even the syrup. Like I mentioned before, cooking is all about versatility. So, for even more flexibility to my cooking, I am not fussy about adapting orange marmalade (or simple the zesty orange jam) and honey for this. It works as well!

Serves 4 - 5
Ingredients
500 grams large prawns (about 10 - 12 prawns), trimmed legs and cut a slit at the back with shell remained, deveined, seasoned with pinch of salt and pepper

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red chili, chopped
1/2 stalk of lemon grass (香茅), chopped
1 teaspoon of fried shallot

3 tablespoons of Yuzu Honey (柚子蜜)
1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice
100 - 150 gram of chicken stock
Pinch of salt

2 - 3 tablespoons of cooking oil
2 - 3 knobs of butter (about ½ tablespoon/ knob)

Garnishing
Some chopped coriander

Method
1) Heat frying pan with 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-low fire. Melt 1 knob of butter. Slightly straighten the prawns before placing on the pan to sauté both sides till lightly browned. Sauté the prawns in batches. Simply replenish the fat and repeat step until all prawns are sautéed. Estimated to be done in 2 batches. Dish up and set aside.

2) Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in the pan over medium fire. Add in garlic, lemon grass and chili, stir fry till lightly browned and fragrant.

3) Reduce heat to low fire, melt the knob of butter. Then, add in Yuzu honey, followed by chicken stock. Stir to combine and simmer sauce till sizzling. Add in lemon juice. Sprinkle fried shallot and salt. Return prawns to the wok and stir fry to combine, for about 1 minute. Sauce will be thicken and reduced by then. Heat off and dish up. Garnish before serve.

1 serving of my Yuzu Saucy Prawn (2 large prawns) counts about 80kcal. To reduce calorie intake, do without the additon of butter.

Tips: Add more chicken stock, if more sauce preferred.
* There are many different forms of Yuzu product. Yuzu marmalade, paste or syrup works similarly well. Use of syrup yields wetter dish, reduce the addition of chicken stock or remain as it is, as your preference.
* Do not overcook the prawns to retain its moisture. If you are using less fat to sauté the prawns, what you could do is: When heat off, sprinkle a little bit of water on the prawns and cover pan with a lid to 'steam' a little while. The standing heat in the pan will help to cook the prawns slightly more. This way, the prawns will be pinked with moist.

Best Homemade Pineapple Fried Rice (菠萝炒饭)

2011-10-06T10:23:00.017+08:00

"Pamper your loved ones with this savoury restaurant-standard pineapple fried rice, cooked from scratch, with less than $5 cost... and my homemade recipe!"

I did not post as often lately. First, I was very tired due to my hectic work. I had becoming no mood to explore new dishes/ cooking. My family ate only those of my simple already-hands-on dishes, or worst, take-away food. Sometimes, fast food (and of course, it was something pleasing to the little one.. rolling eyes). Anyway, I do apologise to my fans and readers, if you have been missing my new posts. And, I thank you, if you are still following my blog and FB Fan club, waiting to hear from me (winking smile).

So, I wouldn't disappoint you today. And please, continue cooking, no matter how busy you are. Less often, but I was able to cook, still. I encourage, and present you my simple and quick rice dish here, so that you will be able to cook this for you and your family, still, my delicious pineapple fried rice..

This was my first time cooking the pineapple rice from scratch, and it was a big success. It really was. My girl loved it to the extend that she wipped out every single rice grain on her plate even after her second serving. So did I!

One important note, the choice of pineapple is, of course, important. Use only the ripe and sweet pineapple. I got the honey pineapple from NTUC Fairprice. Both Malaysia (costs $2.10) and Philipine (costs $3.80) products are fine. Tips: Choose pineapple with more yellowish/ golden skin. Lift up the whole fruit to smell, the riper it is, the more aroma it releases. Afterall, best to get the guaranteed honey pineapple to eliminate the possible risk (smile).

As you know, fry rice is one of the great ways to use up the leftover rice. However, it's not a must to use overnight(s) rice to cook this. I used freshly cooked rice. Reason being, I like to eat fresh rice. The texture of the fried rice may possibly be softer and mushier, but it could be avoided as long as the amount of water and the heat of the cooking are well controled. For use of freshly cooked rice the same day: Cook the rice. Switch off the power, when cooked. Leave it out to cool for hours before use. For use of frozen overnight(s) rice, defrost it at least 1 hour beforehand.

Serves 3 - 4
Ingredients:
2 cups of rice, cooked and kept cool
250 grams small shrimps, peeled (fresh or frozen will do)
200 grams chicken breast/ fillet, diced and seasoned with some oyster sauce and white pepper
6 crabsticks, diced (and/ or diced ham, if preferred)
½ portion of pineapple fruit, diced
2 tablespoons of black/ golden raisins, soaked in water for 10 minutes
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 - 3 eggs

Sauce/ Condiments:
3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed pineapple juice
2 tablespoons of turmeric powder
2 tablespoons of Thai fish sauce
1 teaspoon of salt
Dash of white pepper

3 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 tablespoon of butter (Optional)

Garnishing:
2 tablespoons of pork floss
1 tablespoon of cashew nuts, roasted
Some chopped corriander and red chilis

Methods
1) Break and beat 1 egg in a small bowl. Drizzle the beaten egg into cold rice and mix well. May also mix in 1 tablespoon of butter for better aromas. Set aside.

2) Heat wok with 2 tablespoons of oil over medium heat, add the garlic and stir fry till golden brown. Add onion, and then, the diced chicken, crabsticks (or/ and ham) and shrimps.

3) Reduce heat to medium-low fire. Add in rice, raisins and pineapples. Then, add in turmeric power and pineapple juice. Stir fry to combine. Add salt and pepper. Drizzle fish sauce. Stir fry to combine all well.

4) Scrape the fried rice to a side further from you to create some space in the wok. Tilt the wok a little towards you. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, increase heat. Break 1 - 2 eggs in the heated oil and scramble with spatula. Let the eggs cook till almost set before returning the fried rice on the eggs. Reduce heat and quick stir to mix up the rice and eggs. Heat off and dish up. Garnish and serve while warm.

To enhance your food presentation, serve your rice in an eye pleasing pineapple boat! See steps here.

1 serving of my pineapple fried rice counts about 360kcal.

Tips: For alternative ingredients, consider adding some squid rings and/or frozen mixed peas or diced carrots.
* Pat dry all ingredients after rinse. Thaw the frozen shrimps and drain the excessive water before use.
* If the shrimps and chicken are too wet in the wok, increase fire to cook till the excessive water evaporates before adding in rice. Otherwise, the fresh rice may turn mushy easily.
* If overnight(s) rice is used, some water or more pineapple juice will be needed to moist the harden rice grain, in this case.
* Choose ripe and sweet pineapple. Otherwise add sugar into your cooking, if sourish pineapple juice is used. Canned pineapple and its syrup from the can may be used, too, but it may not be as aromatic as using the fresh sweet pineapple fruit though.
* Watch out the heat and it gotta be adjusted constantly to reach the right heat.
* Use metal tablespoon for measurement.

Steps to create a Pineapple Boat to serve your rice in an eye-pleasing way

2011-10-05T15:15:00.003+08:00

"Make use of the 'unwanted' pineapple shell to create a food for your eyes"

Delicious food is meant for the stomach, but don't forget to feed our eyes, too. When come to good food, great food presentation enhances our appetite through making the dish more visually pleasing. You want your cooking to taste not just great, but look great, too. Here's a way you could create an elegant presentation just as what you get in the restaurant, without extra cost...

Steps:
1) Choose a large ripe pineapple.

2) Create an opening at the side. However, do not cut the pineapple in half as it will reduce its storage capacity. So, slice off, lengthwise, only one side of the pineapple and discard the sliced-off portion. Now, the exposed side will be the top of the pineapple boat. Also, leave the crown of the pineapple, for decorative purpose.

3) Then, carve out the pineapple flesh as close to the shell as possible with a small knife. Use a metal spoon or scrapper to scrap away the remaining flesh in the pineapple shell.

4) Rinse and pat dry the hollowed-out pineapple shell. Set aside.

It took about 20 minutes to complete this creation. Carving of pineapple flesh from its shell needed a bit of effort physically. If it is too exhausting for you to excavate it at one go, do it in batches.

As for the pineapple flesh, keep a portion for your pineapple fried rice cooking. The remaining portions may be served as after-meal fruit, or keep in the refrigerator for other cooking purposes.

*Pineapple Fried Rice recipe.

Note: 1 pineapple boat is good for 2 - 3 servings (1 cup of rice before cooked) only. Prepare 2 boats to serve 4 person.

McDonald's opens its kitchen doors to all

2011-09-10T18:54:00.004+08:00

"It's never hard to imagine how little (or zero) margin they are prepared to compromise on their food hygiene, quality, and most of all, the customer service to the patrons of McDonald's..."

Like what my header says, it's now a great chance for you to discover the truth behind your favourite food at their Open Doors Event which happens every 3rd Sunday of the month, all the way till 19 Feb 2012.

This is not an advertorial ie I don't get paid to promote this activity. It's merely my interest to share this piece of information with you guys since I have attended one. It's eye opening, it's exclusive, and it's informative!

It's never hard to imagine, McDonald's have such a strict food preparation protocol for the crews to follow, and how little (or zero) margin they are prepared to compromise on their food hygiene, quality, and most of all, their customer service to the patrons.

I wanted to share more insights with you, like their 'customer service hallmark' on the crew board, video featuring customer services on the tv in the crews' resting area as well as rewards for the crews who put it into practice, how the beef patties were cooked without oil, let alone transfat, etc... but, I think it's better to leave it to you to explore further...

Oh yes, the open doors visits are now opening to the member of the public in Singapore, for aged above 7! Which means, you are allow to bring your older kids with you to enter McDonald's kitchen, but bear in mind, it's going to be the real kitchen in its normal operation that you are visiting in any of the 25 outlets islandwide.

If you are interested to join one of these free guided kitchen tour to learn about McDonald's food from "farm to fork"... or simply wish to testify of what I have telling you here, come on in! Register yourself and your friends/ family online at: McDonald's Open Doors Invitation

I heard that the slots in September and October are fully booked though. So, you better hurry up to grab your seat now for November's and forth.. Or, you may leave your email and contacts with them for them to get back to you.

*As a fan and friend of My Wok Life FaceBook, if you have an issue to arrange for a group of you to get the tour, let me know and I shall see how I can help you! :)

Enjoy!

Simple Salad and Fruits with Honey Mustard & Thousand Island Dressing for Dinner

2011-08-22T21:03:00.003+08:00

"It's good if we could eat simple."

Before sharing more on my curry chicken dish, I would like to go healthy first. I had salad for dinner tonight because my detox diet program starts today! :)

I read an article in the Sunday newspaper which talks about 1-week detoxification. It reminds me that it's also about time for ME to go on some diet plans. Yea, I started my day with a glass of fresh lemon juice water in my empty stomach...Then, here comes my homemade salad with fruits... Oh well, I know I am not supposed to put these kinds of dressing I have added in my salad, but... Give me some allowances, alright?! I couldn't go on full force just like this. Time to warm up, please (chuckling).

Anyway, for diet, for health or whatever.... Here's my salad dish.

Serves 2 - 3
Ingredients
250grams of assorted organic leafy greens, chopped into bite size
2 golden Kiwi, peeled and sliced
1 red or green apple, peel, cored and diced
10 - 15 cherry tomato, halved
1 avocado, peeled, cored and sliced
1 mango, peeled, cored and cut
3 chicken sausages, boiled and cut

2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds

Dressing:
4 tablespoons of honey mustard
2 tablespoons of low-fat Thousand Island

Method
Divide all ingredients equally in 2 or 3 large serving bowls, by following the sequence listed, top down. Sprinkle sunflower seeds in top. Serve with salad dressing. Drizzle on top or serve separately.

A serving of my salad counts about 260kcal, based on total amount divided into 3 portions.

Tips: Leafy greens for salad include baby spinach, romaine lettuce, iceberg lettuce, and purple lettuce, etc.
* Add some melon balls e.g. watermelon, rock melon or/and honeydew.

Steamboat Dinner at Home

2011-08-06T13:36:00.001+08:00

"Steamboat dinner, to warm you up during the rainy cold night, so as to warm your hearts."

Eating steamboat aka hot pot at home is always fun... and warm, and one of the best meal options for small gathering purposes.

I liked having steamboat. It's light, savory and great for varieties. Oh... I liked varieties... (laughing).

Having said that, steamboat for dinner probably a better choice for Asian countries like Singapore, because the weather here is hot, but still tolerable during nightfall. So, steamboat dinner is, good...

I had this craving for steamboat, but limited to homemade one. So, I got my mum and my girl to go marketing with me. Chose only our preference food for this dinner! And wait, for Singaporean to have steamboat meal, the condiment/ sauce for dipping is important, just like many steamboat foodies in Hong Kong, steamboats steamboat restaurant to provide a spread of condiments and sauce, is something these patrons would expect, at least... And to me, I didn't know how to make good dipping sauce for my steamboat meal at home, sad to say the truth..

So, I have to make sure my soup base for my steamboat meal is the key we could count on... Then, come the store-bought sauce.

And so, in my post right here, I would like to share with you the recipe of my tasty and simple clear soup base.

Soup base for steamboat:

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken bone (rib cage parts)
1 can of abalone brine
1 teaspoon of wolfberries (枸杞)
1 pot of water
Pinch of salt

Method
Bring all ingredients into a boil and simmer for 30 minutes before heat off.

Main foods for steamboat:
1) Deli-thin Shabu Shabu beef or pork slices
2) Meat balls and fish balls
3) Golden needle mushrooms/ Shiitake mushrooms
4) Wanton or shrimp dumplings
5) Deep fried crispy bean curd sheets/ rolls
6) Prawns/ sliced fish
7) Hotdogs
8) Tong-O and/ or Chinese cabbage
9) Silken tofu/ egg tofu
10) Corn cobs

For more luscious choices:
1) Abalone slices!
2) Flower crabs
3) Clams
4) Scallops
5) Sea cucumber

Do you have any better choice to share? What would you like?

Well, mid-autumn festival is approaching. How about having a steamboat gathering with the family and good friends at home? Like I said, steamboat, in Chinese we called, 圍爐 (wei lu), gather around the hotpot for a symbolic meal and non-stop laughter...

Oh, before I forget.... There is this latest favourite store-bought dipping sauce of mine. I would like to recommend it to you. This is so far the best steamboat dipping sauce found on the shelves, the sesame chilli dipping sauce!

Want to know more about this dipping sauce and how to elevate the taste of this sauce in order to maximize your steamboat eating pleasure? Check out my FaceBook fan club - My Wok Life, please.

Steamed Pork Ribs with Fermented Bean Paste

2011-07-16T21:19:00.002+08:00

"Cook more rice! This dish you are about to cook surely whets your appetite.. Prepare to go for second serving with this flavourful juicy pork ribs topped on your rice!"

Finally had some time to update my site. I have still been cooking, despite busy and tiring schedule at work. However, I need to stretch a bit more of my time to share them with you here, after all the priorities like family, child, household chores come first. I know you can understand... (smile).

Oh well, if you have been as busy or even busier than I do, don't ever give up home cooking, k? I am going to share this recipe which takes you just 5 minutes of your time to prepare and 15 minutes to leave it to cook, and you will be free to do your own stuff before returning to serve!

Both ingredients and cooking method of this pork dish are simple. I am sure you will be able to buy it anywhere in the Asian supermarkets or Chinatown of your country, if you are not staying in the Asia.

Let's see...

Serves 3 - 4
Ingredients
500 grams of pork consists of a good mixture of prime ribs, meaty ribs and/or three-layered meat, chopped into bite sizes

Seasoning:
1 tablespoon of minced fermented bean paste (豆瓣酱)
1 teaspoon of light soy sauce
1 teaspoon of chili oil or sesame oil
1 teaspoon of grounded white pepper
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon of potato starch
2 red chilies, chopped

Garnishing
Chopped coriander

Method
1) Season pork ribs with listed seasoning, for about 15 - 20minutes.

2) When ready to steam the seasoned pork ribs, add in potato starch and mix well. Sprinkle red chili. Then, put it to steam for 20 minutes. Garnish and serve with hot steamed rice.

A portion of my steamed pork ribs counts about 250kcal.

Tips: Choice of pork/ ribs parts depends on your liking.
* Use Bird's eyes chili or jalapeño chili, if hotter preferred.
* If you do not have chili oil at home, don't bother to get it just for this. Get the spicy minced soy bean paste which consists of chili oil in it. Otherwise, use sesame oil yielding a less spicy flavour, but will keep your dish moist, still.

Ondeh-ondeh (Sweet Potato Balls with Malacca Palm Sugar Filling)

2011-06-25T16:27:00.004+08:00

"Healthy coconut coating sweet potato poppers with its oozing sweet sensation in your palate, it's my homemade Peranakan kueh!"

This popular Peranakan sweet treat, its traditional kueh (in Malay), looks deceptively complex to make, but in fact, it is easier than you've thought. All you need is just some quick practicing to get a hang of it.

Just remember, the dough has to be moist and pliably kneaded to avoid tearing. Look at my recipe, you will be amazed by how easy you could make it to impress your guests during your party!

And, what else? Take this opportunity to create bonding with your kids. This easy kueh making session also creates fun and joy for the young ones.

Yields 30 bite-sized balls
Ingredients
200 gram of sweet potato, peeled
150 gram of glutinous rice flour (糯米粉)
30 grams of rice flour (粘米粉)
1 tablespoon of cooking oil
A pinch of salt
150ml warm water

1/4 teaspoon of Pandan flavor essence or 2 tablespoons of Pandan leaves juice or green food coloring (Optional)

For filling:
200ml of gula Melaka, semi-melted and diced into 5-cent big

For coating:
120 gram of desiccated white coconut

Method
1) Bring a pot of water to a boil on medium heat. Boil sweet potato till soft. Drain and place in a large mixing bowl. Finely mashed.

2) Add glutinous rice flour, rice flour, salt and oil into mashed sweet potato. Add in warm water in batches. Get your child to help adding it a little at a time with a tablespoon while you knead till a dough is formed.

3) If you choose to cook this ondeh-ondeh in green, add the green essence or colouring and continue kneading till well combined with the entire dough.

4) Place a 50-cent big of dough in your palm and roll into a ball (I've gotten my girl to help un this part). Then flatten the ball and make a well in the centre with your finger tips. Fill a dice of gula Melaka in the well, pinch the opening together to seal it, and then, roll into a ball again.

Enjoy the bonding moment with your child(ren) and repeat step with the rest of the dough.

5) Bring a large pot of water to a boil on high heat. Place ondeh-ondeh balls into the boiling water, one by one. Reduce heat to medium-low fire, simmer the balls till float once they are cooked. Stir the balls occasionally to avoid sticking.

6) Remove and drain ondeh-ondeh balls from water. Place balls into a bowl of grated coconut and gently coat the entire balls. Best served warm and enjoy the oozing sweet sensation of gula Melaka filling in your bites!

This Ondeh-ondeh is a vegetarian food. 1 bite-sized ondeh-ondeh kueh counts about 20kcal.

Tips: To yield bouncy and moist dough, adding of sufficient amount of warm water during the kneading is important.
* Sauté the desiccated coconut on low heated dry pan, for better aromas and taste. Sprinkle a tinge of salt in the desiccated coconut before the coating, if desired.
* Green food coloring or pandan essence can be replaced with natural pandan leaves juice. Blend leaves to extract 2 tablespoons of its juice for use.
* Gula Melaka (Palm sugar blocks) is available in major Asian supermarkets and neighborhood provision shops.
** The Ondeh-ondehs in my photo were not added with green coloring. Its yellowish appearance was simply the natural colour of the sweet potatoes. I used Japanese sweet potatoes (purple skin with yellow flesh type).

Pumpkin Stir Fry

2011-06-19T21:03:00.003+08:00

"Plain stir fried sliced pumpkin with minced garlic, simply delish and nutritional!"

I loved pumpkin, this is a fact. Regardless it is cooked in soup, make into dessert, bake it, steam it, etc, I just love pumpkin!

If you, too, are liking pumpkin as much as I do, try this super easy and savory pumpkin dish. Simple ingredients, easy cooking method, you will get to savor it in just a flash!

Serves 4
300 gram of pumpkin, peeled, removed seeds and sliced thinly
1 teaspoon of dried shrimps, rinsed and soaked for 5 minutes
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 - 2 teaspoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of chicken granule
Pinch of salt
2 - 3 tablespoons of water

1 tablespoon of cooking oil

Method
1) Heat wok with oil over medium fire. Add garlic and dried shrimps, stir fry till fragrant.

2) Add in pumpkin slices. Drizzle water along the side of the wok. Lower heat when wok sizzles, and simmer pumpkin with lid on, for about 2 minutes or until pumpkin cubes are semi-softened. Stir fry occasionally to avoid sticking.

3) Remove lid from wok, sprinkle sugar and chicken granule. Stir fry to combine. Sprinkle a little bit more water, if find it too dry.

4) Continue simmering for 1 - 2 minutes till completely softened. Sprinkle salt and stir fry a little to combine well. Heat off and dish up.

A portion of pumpkin stir fry counts about 120kcal.

Tips: Instead of plain water, use chicken stock to simmer the pumpkin, if desired.

Delicious Homemade Chocolate Rice & Raisin Almond Cookies

2011-05-25T22:35:00.006+08:00

"Super crispy and delicious cookies! Some homemade goodies which allow you to enjoy at ease."

As usual, some baking staples were left untouched on the kitchen shelves for quite a while. I was afraid they would end up in the trash bin as expiry dates were close. I just pulled these items out and made my cookies with instant ideas (chuckles).

These cookies turned out excellent and the first batch of my bake was simply wiped out the moment they were ready to be eaten. Even for me, a conscious diet watcher, I ate quite a bit of them, too. Why so? I was not afraid because... I baked them with shortening instead of butter! All-vegetable shortening contains 50% less saturated fat than butter. Further more, I had added less sugar than what commonly uses in many recipes. It's sweet enough to my liking.

Just that, if you love strong buttery flavor in your cookies, shortening may disappoint you, in that sense. You may still taste aroma in this cookie, but never the rich buttery flavor. Oh well, for the sake of 50% less saturated fat, why not? Believe me, this cookie of mine will not fail you (laugh). And not to worry if you wouldn't like any almond flavour, the ground almond is just to fine to be noticed (smile)!

Yields 70 - 80 medium-sized cookies
Ingredients
250 gram of self raising flour, sieved
250 gram of Crisco All-Vegetable Shortening
6 teaspoons of low fat milk
200 gram of brown sugar
125 gram of extra fine ground almond
60 grams of chocolate rice
80 grams of black raisins
2 eggs

Method
1) Preheat oven to 160°C, 20 minutes in advance.

2) Place shortening and low fat milk in a large mixing bowl. Add in sugar and cream the mixture at medium-high (No.3) speed, for 5 - 6 minutes or until smooth. Use plastic spatula to scrap off the mixture along the inner sides of the mixing bowl at times.

3) Break eggs and pour into the mixture. Beat at the lower speed for 2 minutes.

4) Gradually mix in sieved flour and continue beating for another 1 - 2 minutes.

5) By now, the mixture should be stiff with mild resistance. Mix in ground almond, then turn off the mixer and fold in raisins and chocolate rice.

6) Now, store the mixture in refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour time. The mixture will be chilled into soft dough.

7) Line baking tray with baking sheet and lightly grease with olive oil. Scope dough in an amount of 20 cents sized balls and place them 1 inch apart on the greased baking sheet. Use a fork to slightly flatten the balls to shape.

8) Place baking tray on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove cookies from oven to cool on wire rack for a bit. The hot soft cookies will turn crisped almost instantly once left to cool. Store cookies in an air-tight jar and serve with a cup of nice skinny latte anytime!

A badge-sized cookie counts about 50kcal.

Tips: Crisco shortening is available in major supermarkets (Find it at the baking needs cells).
* Not necessary to use chilled shortening. Cool temperature is fine.
* If you decide to use butter, add 250gram of semi-melted butter will do.
* Omit the raisins, if you don't like the stickiness of the baked raisin in your bites of the cookies.
* Don't omit the ground almond, it's the gist of it.

Simply Mini Cheesy Pork Cutlet

2011-05-17T21:48:00.003+08:00

"Cheesy pork cutlet, Cheesy pork sandwich, or Cheesy fried pork chop, whatever you called it, this delicious savory 'cheesy in pork' dish would now be your child's all-time-favourite. So as to you, big guys!"

I was so excited to introduce to you my latest dish, the mini cheesy sandwiched pork cutlet!

I know, I know, this is not something new, nor this a new surprise to you, but I just wish to recommend you to make it (again) for you kids since it has now becoming my girl's new favourite dish, I really am certain that your kids will love it (or have it again) now!

Yes, I did not make the standard sized pork chop, and instead, the bite-sizes. I have several reason for this, as not only for the sake of the child, I wanted it to look cute, too. Most importantly, it was because I did it in a way that the pork chops were steamed beforehand. Just like my Japanese pork cutlet dish, it was easier to deep fry the crust to almost perfect golden by not worrying if the meat was cooked or not. Well, you may think this is an extra step which might not be necessary to you, do the 'raw' way may give you your better dish instead. It's your comfort choice though..

Anyway, since school is out, soon... Go ahead to fill up your picnic basket with these savory mini pork cutlet 'sandwiches'. No more ordinary bread sandwiches for picnic, this crispy sandwiched pork cutlet is aromatic, crispy, and its rich but not overwhelming cheesy content is more than savory to eat it on its own!

If you are keen to try my recipe, here you go.

Serves 3 - 4
Ingredients
8 thin slices of boneless pork chop, each about 1cm thick
2 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of grounded white pepper
4 slices of Cheddar cheese, halved each slice

1 tablespoon of corn flour
1 egg, beaten
4 tablespoons of store-bought Japanese finely blended breadcrumb
Pinch of salt

1 cup of cooking oil (for frying)

Method:
1) Use the back of the knife or a meat pounder to lightly pound on the both sides of the pork chops. Brush honey on both sides of each pork chop. Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides. Season for 15 minutes, if desired.

2) Place pork chops on a wire mesh steam rack with stands so that you can put the steam rack directly in the wok filled with 1/4 full of water to steam with placing the chops on a dish. Otherwise, use electrical steamer. Steam pork chops for 5 minutes. Remove pork chops from wok, let it cool.

3) Place a piece of steamed pork chop on a clean top surface. Roll and place half slice of cheese on the pork chop and fold the pork chop half. Then, take a toothpick and prick through the opening of the folded part so that it holds.

4) Mix pinch of salt to the cornstarch. Coat some salted cornstarch on both sides of the chops. Then, dip into beaten egg, followed by coating a thick layer of breadcrumbs on all sides. Repeat step for all the remaining chops. Place coated chops on a large dish to rest for 5 minutes before cooking.

5) Heat wok with oil over medium fire. Place pork chops in the oil and fry till golden browned. Or, use deep fryer to fry for about 1 minute. Remove from oil and drain on kitchen paper towel. Remove the toothpick pricked on each chop. Serve with mayonnaise, if desired.

Use those sliced Cheddar cheese, or get the grated ones. Both are fine to be sandwiched. If desired, mix more than one kind of cheese, how about an addition of Mozzarella?

1 piece of my mini cheesy pork cutlet counts about 180kcal.

Tips: If you are using raw pork chop without steaming it first, extend frying time to 3 - 5 minutes with low-medium heat.

PatriCa posted from iPhone