Recipe Archive
Cooking Tips:
| If you're stir-frying chicken
meat (any style eg. szechuan style, with ginger or plain stirfry), make sure
you marinade the meat and briefly do one round of stirfrying in hot oil
(half cook). Remove it and set aside until you do a second stir-frying with
other ingredients and sauces. This is to seal the juice in the meat
keeping it juicy and tender, not rough. Your gravy will also not turn
watery. When stirfrying beef or pork (or any other red meat), basic marinade will be some soy sauce, ginger juice, 1-2 tbsp water and a bit cornstarch. Make sure that the oil is really hot before you put in the meat for first round stir-frying. Once you put the meat in, do not touch it or stir it. Let it cook for a few seconds first before turning it. This also seals in the juice and keeps the meat tender. Set aside meat for stirfrying with other ingredients. Salt water fish/sea water fish must be washed with salt water to preserve its freshness. Deepfried fish - Mix one egg white (no egg yolk) with 1-2 tbsp tapioca flour. Rub the mixture evenly onto the salt marinated fish (wiped dry first). Heat wok (without oil) until smoky. Turn heat to medium and add in oil for deep-frying. Briefly coat fish with more flour (rice flour) and shake off excess flour. Carefully place the fish into the oil and deepfry until brown and crispy. It will be better if you butterfly the fish first (carve it unto a butterfly shape). Would you throw away the soy bean crust after making your homemade soy bean milk? Soy crust is full of rich nutrients so why throw it away. Blended soy crust can be dried up and made into a substitute for breadcrumbs which is tastier, more nutritious and absorbs less fat than breadcrumbs. Just dry it up in a dry wok (no oil) under low heat and "chow" constantly until dry and golden in color. Season with a bit of salt and keep it in an airtight container until you need it. The fried product will be crispy, tasty, yet not oily. Try it with fresh abalone mushroom ...yummy! To cook a nice, crispy pan-fried fish with all its natural flavours sealed in, rub the cleaned fish with some coarse salt and set it aside on a layers of absoorbent paper or cleaned towels to drain off excess water. When panfrying, heat oil with a small amount of oil until it smokes. Turn to medium fire and discard the oil. Add in some new oil enough for panfrying. Place the fish in and cook. This way, you get the flavours sealed in and the skin won't stick at the bottom of the wok. Once brown and crispy, turn the fish to panfry the other side until golden brown and crispy. For panfrying and deepfrying, good cooking oil that can withstand high temperature is needed. Otherwise, the oil can get oxidized easily at high heat and will not be able to fry nicely. Unstable oil like polyunsaturated oils are not recommended for high heat cooking. |
Deepfried Potato Balls
Ingredients:
3 nos Medium sized potato, peeled
1 nos Brown onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Italian Herbs
To taste Salt & Pepper
2 nos eggs, beaten
excess flour
excess breadcrumb
Method:
Simple Onions Rings
Ingredients:
1 no Brown onion rings
2 tbsp Butter
1 tsp Nutmeg powder (optional)
To taste Salt & Pepper
2 nos eggs, beaten
excess flour
excess breadcrumbs
Method:
Mini Arancini Balls
Ingredients:
200 gm Short Grain Rice – washed and drained
2 nos Brown Onions, finely chopped
2 tbspq Garlic, finely chopped
To taste Salt & Pepper
2 tbsp Italian Herbs
4 tbsp Butter
600 ml Chicken Stock
1 cup Grated Parmessan
1 cup mozzarella cubes (1/2 cm x ˝ cm)
2 nos eggs, beaten
excess flour
excess breadcrumb
Method:
Barbeque checklist:
1. Barbeque set with coal and fire starter, matches
2. Butter and brush, steel skewers, small bamboo skewers, alluminium foil
3. Paper plates, cups, fork, spoons, disposable chopsticks
4. Sauces - Cili sauce, Tomato Sauce, Sambal, BBQ Sauce etc.
5. Accompaniments - sweet potatoes wrapped in foil thrown directly onto coal, sweetcorns for barbeque, sate skewers and otak-otak from supermarkets
6. Spices - salt and pepper, honey for brushing (optional), rosemary, oregano, tarragon, Chilli Flakes, lime wedges
Flavoured Butter for brushing
Ingredients:
250 gm Butter or margerine at room temperature (soften)
1 clove Choppeed garlic
1 no Finely chopped capsicum
2-3 tbsp Chopped chinese parsley (optional)
Method:
Blend herbs with butter. Scoop into a container and place it back into the fridge until you need it.
Kid's Fun Skewer
Ingredients:
20 nos Pigeon eggs, hard boild and shells removed
20 nos Cocktail sausages
20 nos Big Fish balls
Method:
Pierce one of each through a skewer. Brush with some butter and skew.
Takes only a short time to warm up the skewers as its already cooked. Be careful not to burn it.
Vegetarian Skewer
Ingredients:
20 nos Fresh Button /Chinese /Shiitake Mushroom (Stalk removed) - do not clean mushroom by soaking it, just briefly wash
20 slices Capsicum - 1 inch by 1 inch size
20 slices Leek stalks - 1.5 inch lenght
20 nos Whole Baby Tomatoes
Method:
Pierce one of each through a skewer. Brush with some butter and barbeque. Season with some salt & pepper
Takes only a short time to cook. Be careful not to burn it.
Enoki Mushroom Beef Rolls
Ingredients:
800 gm Fresh Enoki Mushrooms
20-30 pcs Thinly sliced beef, lightly beaten and flatten ith mannual meat tenderizer
2 tbsp Wine
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Ginger Juice
To taste Salt & pepper
Method:
1. Clean & trim the base of the fresh enoki mushrooms. Meanwhile, marinade beef with the rest of ingredients for at least 3 hours.
2. Divide the enoki mushrooms into 20-30 bunches.
3. Place one bunch of enoki mushrooms into the centre of the beef slice and roll it up. Arrange nicely onto a platter.
4. Place rolls directly on the grill and brush with some butter. Grill for a while before turning it to the other side. Brush with butter. Grill untill the meat softend up, slightly charred and juicy.
Grilled/BBQ Salmon Fish with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients:
20-30 pcs Salmon Fillet slices (bones removed) - 0.5 cm thick
˝ tsp Thick Soya Sauce
3 tbsp Soya Sauce
2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp Honey
2 tbsp Wine (red) or Shao Xing Wine
4 tbsp Ginger Juice
2 tsp Pepper powder
Method:
Mix all ingredients. Marinade and chill salmon for at least 3 hours in the mixture.
In a frying pan, heat 2 tbsp oil under medium heat.
Place fillets directly on the grill and brush with some butter. Grill for a while before turning it to the other side. Brush with butter. Grill untill the meat softend up, slightly charred and juicy.
Squeeze some lemon juice or lime juice on it prior to serving
BBQ Lamb Shoulder - Highly recommended !
Ingredients:
10-15 pcs Lamb Shoulder
5 tbsp Soya Sauce
2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
4 tbsp Red wine
5 tbsp Ginger Juice
2 tsp Oregano powder
2 tsp Rosemary
2 tsp Grinded black pepper
Method:
Mix all ingredients. Marinade and chill lamb shoulder for at least 3 hours in the mixture.
In a frying pan, heat 2 tbsp oil under medium heat.
Place directly on the grill and brush with some butter. Grill for a while before turning it to the other side. Brush with butter. Grill untill the meat softend up, slightly charred and juicy.
BBQ Marinated Chicken Skewer
Ingredients:
800 gm Chicken Drumstick Meat, cut into size of "pigeon eggs"
1 tbsp Turmeric powder
1 tbsp Garlic powder
2 tbsp Ginger juice
2 tbsp Sesame oil
To taste Salt & pepper
20 slices Leek stalk - 1.5 inch lenght
Method:
Marinade chicken meat with all ingredients for about 3 hours.
Pierce 4 pieces of chicken meat and 4 slices of leek onto one bamboo skewer (alternate). Brush with flavoured butter and barbeque.
Turn skewer and brush with butter again and barbeque until nicely cooked (leeks soften and drumstick nicely browned)
BBQ Chicken wings - local style
Ingredients:
50 pcs Chicken wings, cleaned
2.5 tbsp Turmeric powder
4 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1.5 tbsp Salt
3 tbsp Ginger juice
To taste Pepper
Method:
Marinade chicken wings with all ingredients for about 3 hours.
Pierce chicken wing from the tip to the drummette so that you get a nice piece of stretched wing along the skewer. This is to get the wing evenly cooked and shorten the time. Brush chicken with butter and grill. Turn every now and then and brush the chicken with butter) until it gets nice and evenly browned.
BBQ Chicken wings - Garlic powder
Ingredients:
50- 60 pcs Chicken wings, cleaned
4-5 tbsp Unsalted garlic powder
6 tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 tsp Salt
1 tbsp Ginger juice
1 tbsp Pepper
3 tbsp Chopped parsley
Method:
Marinade chicken wings with all ingredients for about 3 hours.
Pierce chicken wing from the tip to the drummette so that you get a nice piece of stretched wing along the skewer. This is to get the wing evenly cooked and shorten the time. Brush chicken with butter and grill. Turn every now and then and brush the chicken with butter) until it gets nice and evenly browned.
BBQ Chicken wings - Herbed
Ingredients:
50-60 pcs Chicken wings, cleaned
1 tbsp Unsalted garlic powder
1 tbsp Oregano powder
5 tbsp Tomato Sauce
1 tbsp Rosemary
1 tbsp Chopped parsley
1 tbsp Ginger juice
5 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp Salt
1.5 tbsp Grinded black pepper
Method:
Marinade chicken wings with all ingredients for about 3 hours.
Pierce chicken wing from the tip to the drummette so that you get a nice piece of stretched wing along the skewer. This is to get the wing evenly cooked and shorten the time. Brush chicken with butter and grill. Turn every now and then and brush the chicken with butter) until it gets nice and evenly browned.
BBQ Chicken wings - Honey
Ingredients:
50 - 60 pcs Chicken wings, cleaned
2 tsp Unsalted garlic powder
7 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Ginger juice
3 tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Salt
Method:
Marinade chicken wings with all ingredients for about 3 hours.
Pierce chicken wing from the tip to the drummette so that you get a nice piece of stretched wing along the skewer. This is to get the wing evenly cooked and shorten the time. Brush chicken with butter and grill. Turn every now and then and brush the chicken with butter) until it gets nice and evenly browned.
You may brush more honey during the BBQ. However, with honey, the chicken wings get burnt easily. So you'll have to turn it more often and check it more often. Try not to grill the wings directly obove flames. BBQ it where the coal is just nicely burning hot (without flames).
Prawns, Cuttlefish & Fish (Stingray)
Prawn:
Its best to choose fresh tiger prawns. Trim the prawns (do not remove shells) and wash it briefly. Add a bit of sugar to marinade it before placing it back into the fridge. Brush with a bit of butter before grilling it.
Cuttlefish:
Remove the bones and trim off the ink part. Peel off the purple coloured skin. Wash and briefly score the meat with the back of the knife. (Do not cut). Place cuttlefish on alluminium foil and top with 1 tbsp of sambal belachan*. Wrap it up nicely. During BBQ, just place it on the grill to cook. It takes a while to cook so wait for a few minutes before turning it. Squeeze in a bit of lime juice before serving.
Stingray:
Cut into smaller pieces (ideally about 4 inch by 2 inch length). After cleaning, briefly marinade with a bit of salt. Place a piece of banana leave (Opt) on foil. Put the fish on banana leave and top with sambal/sambal belachan. Wrap it up nicely. During BBQ, just place it on the grill to cook. It takes a while to cook so wait for a few minutes before turning it. Squeeze in a bit of lime juice before serving.
On the grilling pan (Place pan on grill) - Recipe by an ex-Uni friend from Korea (Really Yummy !)
IIn this dish, the beef absorbs all the flavours of the spices and vegetables and wine while the vegetables absorbs the flavours of the beef.
Ingredients:
600-800 gm Thin beef slice
1/2 to 3/4 cup Red wine
1 no Red capsicum, thin strips
1 no Yellow capsicum, thin strips
1 no Green capsicum, thin strips
1 stalk Leek, thinly sliced
2 stalks Spring onions, thinly sliced (1.5 inches in lenght)
1 whole Brown onions strips
3-4 tbsp Garlic, Finely chopped
6-8 tbsp Ginger Juice
1/2 tbsp Salt
3 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Black Pepper Powder
1-2 tbsp Roasted sesame seeds
Method:
1. Marinade Beef withh all ingredients and chill overnight.
2. During BBQ, just add some butter in pan and panfry the beef and vegetables. One or two shakes of Chilli flakes would be nice before scooping it off the pan to the plate.
Suggestions of side dishes with BBQ
1. Coleslaw with cashewnuts and raisin, fruit salad, potato salad
2. Onion Rings, Simple maki-sushi, Celery-carrots-cucumber with various dips.
3. Fried noodles and fried rice
4. Jellies and fruits
5. Drinks - Hmmm..Iced lemon tea, Chilled rose syrup with milk and ice-cream soda, plum juice...
Fried Spicy Eel with Beanpaste
Ingredients:
3 nos Fresh Eel, deboned (cut into 2 inch length)
2 tbsp Shao Xing Wine (optional)
2 tbsp Ginger Juice
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 tbsp Tapioca flour
1 tbsp Fermented beanpaste (Taucu)
1 tbsp Cili Giling (grounded chilli)
1.5 tbsp Black Vinegar
2 tsp Sesame Oil
1/2 tsp Thick Black Soy Sauce
1 tsp Sugar
A handful Yim Sai/ Chinese Parsley
3-4 tbsp Oil
Extra Oil for frying
Method:
Marinade clenaed eel with wine, ginger juice, soy sauce and tapioca flour.
Meanwhile, mix sugar, beanpaste, vinegar, black soy, sesame oil in a small bowl.
Heat some oil for frying in a frying pan. Once heated, fry eel piece by piece for about 1 minute. Remove from oil and drain.
In wok, heat up 4 tbsp oil and add in chilli giling. Fry until oil turns red.
Add in the mixed sauce and finally the eel.
Stir-fry until the sauce coats the pieces of eel evenly.
Turn off fire and stir in chopped chinese parsley.
Don't throw the eel bones. Use it for stock and add it into the mixed sauce for a tastier dish.
Fast & Easy
Deepfried "lam Yu" marinated pork ribs
Ingredients:
12 pcs Pork ribs
1 cube Fermented beancurd "Lam YU"
1 tsp Lam Yu sauce (bottled together with lam yu)
2 tsp Sesame Oil
2 tbsp Ginger Juice
2 tbsp Shao Xing wine / red wine
extra flour for coating (preferably rice flour)
extra Oil for deep-frying
1 no Lime (cut into wedges of 4)
Method:
Marinade ribs with all ingredients (preferably at least one hour or a a whole day in the chiller)
Heat oil in wok. Coat ribs with a thin layer of flour and shake off excess flour.
Deepfry ribs until golden in colour.
Arrange ribs into a platter and squeeze some lime juice over.
Fast & Easy
Deepfried Onion Rings
Ingredients:
2 nos Large brown onion rings (big rings only)
3 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp Italian herb (optional)
2 nos Eggs, beaten
Extra Flour
Extra Breadcrumbs
Extra Oil for deepfrying
Method:
Mix melted butter with Italian herb. Pour onto the onion rings and mix briefly to coat the rings.
Heat oil for deep-frying.
Dip one ring into flour. shake off excess flour and then dip it into egg-wash. Finally coat it with a layer of breadcrumbs.
Deepfry until golden brown. Repeat process for the rest of the onion rings.
IMO, the onion rings goes best with Japanese mayonnaise, tartare sauce or tomato sauce.
Pan-fried Salmon or Cod Fish Fillet with Homemade Teriyaki Sauce
Ingredients:
2 pcs Salmon Fillet/Cod Fillet (1.5 cm thick)
˝ tsp Thick Soya Sauce
2 tbsp Soya Sauce
1 tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 tsp Honey
1 tbsp Wine (red) or Shao Xing Wine
2 tbsp Ginger Juice
1 tsp Pepper powder
Method:
Mix all ingredients. Marinade and chill salmon for at least an hour in the mixture.
In a frying pan, heat 2 tbsp oil under medium heat.
Pan-fry one side of salmon fillet follow by the other side. (approx. 1-2 minutes each side until slightly charred). Be careful not to burn the salmon.
Once cooked, place salmon on a nice platter and set aside.
Deglaze the pan with the remaining of the marinating mixture and pour it onto the cooked salmon.
Garnish with Chinese parsley.
Also, if you wish to balance up the oiliness of the fish, you may squeeze some lemon juice or lime juice on the fish prior to serving.
Dip of the Month !
Fried Shallots with Soya Sauce (Best paired with Chicken Rice - Yummy !)
Ingredients:
10 nos Shallots, smashed and briefly chopped
5 tbsp Cooking oil
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Thick Soya Sauce
4-5 tbsp Soya Sauce
Method:
1. Heat up cooking oil in the wok.
2. Saute shallots in heated oil for about 1 minute under medium heat. Do not brown the shallots.
3. Sccop shallots and the oil into a sauce bowl
4. Add sesame oil, and the rest of the ingredients.
5. Just dip the steamed chicken into the sauce and enjoy!
Note: this is a very traditional sauce to serve steamed chicken. I learnt it from my grandmother and I hope you'll like it too. A different variety to chilli sauce and ginger sauce when serving Hainanese Chicken rice. It goes very well with chicken rice.
Quick Bites
Cheese – Kaya Delight
Ingredients:
4 tbsp Fresh kaya
2 slices Cheddar Slice, cut into 12 short strips
8 sheets Spring Roll Wrapper
1 nos Egg, well beaten.
Extra Oil
Method:
Place one sheet of spring roll wrapper on a flat surface. One of the corner pointing towards yourself.
Spread ˝ tbsp kaya onto the center of the spring roll and top with 1 strip of cheese
Fold the corner of the wrapper from your end to partially cover the cheese.
Then fold up both left and right hand corner of the wrapper to form an envelope shape.
Brush the last corner of the wrapper with egg and fold it over to seal the wrapper.
Heat up some oil in a frying pan to deepfry the rolls..
Fry the spring roll until crispy and golden brown. (Tips: a quick and brief deep-fry will do as the cheese will melt and may leak out)
Fast & Easy
Braised Herbal Chicken Wings
Ingredients:
12 pcs Chicken wings, cleaned and cut into sections
2 nos Star anise
2 sticks Cinnamon sticks
2 inch Blue ginger/Lengkuas/”Lan Kiong”, sliced
5 slices Ginger
5 nos Shallots
˝ tbsp Thick Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Soy Sauce
3 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1/2 tsp Five Spice Powder
2 tbsp Oil
5 tbsp Oil (extra)
Method:
In a wok, heat up 5 tbsp of oil. Briefly sauté wings until half cooked. Remove from wok and set aside.
Heat up 2 tbsp oil and sauté shallots, ginger, lengkuas, star anise and cinnamon.
Add in chicken wings and sauté for another further 2 minutes under medium heat.
Add in water just enough to cover the wings. Add in the rest of the sauces and ingredients.
Lower the heat and let it simmer (covered) for 10 -15 minutes.
Remove lid and simmer further until the stock/gravy halves and thickens.
Using a chopstick, remove chicken pieces onto a nice plate.
Scoop up the gravy separately into a bowl as gravy.
Soups...
Lotus Root with Peanut Soup
Ingredients:
1 section Lotus Root ( cleaned but do not slice)
300 gm Pork Bone
1 slice Dried cuttlefish
1 handful Peanut
1.5 ltre Water boiled water
500 ml water (extra)
To taste Salt
Method:
1. Boil 500 ml water. Pour it over the pork bones and drain.
2. Add all other ingredients (and the bones) into a a slow oooker and let it cook under high heat for at least 3 hours.
3. Prior to serving, slice the lotus root into thin slices and arrange it into a soup bowl before pouring in the soup.
Note: Only slice the lotus root prior to serving to get that "string"/"web" effect that naturally exist in lotus roots once ccoked.
Enoki Mushroom Rolls
Ingredients:
500 gm Fresh Enoki Mushrooms
8 pcs Bacon Strips
Method:
1. Clean & trim the base of the fresh enoki mushrooms.
2. Divide the enoki mushrooms into 8 bunches.
3. Place one bunch of enoki mushrooms into a strip of bacon and roll it up (make sure that at least one inch of the top of enoki mushrooms are visible.
4. Secure the ends with a toothpick
5. On a non-stick pan, heat up a small amount of oil (or butter if preferred) and pan-fry until the bacon is crispy on both sides.
6. Slice the enoki rolls into two parts and arrange the rolls upright on a platter. Serve immediately with Japanese Mayo and lemon wedge.
** Variations:
You may use thinly sliced beef strips instead of bacon. Tenderize and flatten the beef strips and marinade with salt, pepper and 2 tsp of ginger juice before step 1.
You may also use chives as a substitute to enoki mushrooms.
Dip of the Day !
Lime Flavoured Japanese Mayo- Best paired with oily food
Ingredients:
4 pcs Lime Leaves
1 tsp Grated lime rind
5 tbsp Japanese Mayo
Method:
1. Clean the lime leaves and cut it into very thin strips
2. Mix all ingredients together and chill well before serve.
** For better presentation, you may add 1/2 tsp of ebiko
Quick Bites
Deep-fried Oyster Sauce Marinated Chicken Wings
Ingredients:
8 pcs Chicken Wings, cleaned
3 tbsp Oyster Sauce
1 tbsp Ginger Juice
1 tsp Sesame oil
1/2 tsp Pepper powder
1/2 tbsp Shao Xing wine (optional)
Oil & flour for frying
Method:
1. Marinade chicken wings with oyster sauce, ginger juice, sesame oil, shao xing wine and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a deep- fryer or Wok for deep-frying.
3. Briefly coat chicken wings with flour and shake off excess flour.
4. Deepfry chicken wings (turning it constantly) until crisp and golden brown.
** Good for parties and for those who are busy. Just marinade it in the morning and leave it in the chiller. After work, just take it out and deepfry. Well marinated chicken wings do not need any sauce to serve with. However, if preferred, you may serve it with sweet chilli sauce.
Fast & Easy
Steamed Cod Fish
Ingredients:
2 pcs Cod Fish (1 inch thick), marinated with 2 tsp of salt (de-froze)
1tbsp Ginger Strips (very thin)
A handful Chinese Parsley/ Yim Sai
A Handful Spring Onions strips
1 tsp Sesame oil
1/2 tsp Thick Soya Sauce
4 tbsp Soya Sauce
2 tbsp Hot Water
2 tbsp Oil
Method:
1. Heat sufficient water in wok for steaming. Once boiled, steam fish for about 6-8 minutes.
2. Place fish on a serving plate (discard excess water from the steamed fish).
3.Heat oil in wok. Meanwhile, garnish the fish with the ginger strips, spring onion strips and Chinese parsley.
4.Pour the heated oil over the ginger stips and parsley.
5. Mix thick soya sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and hot water in a small bowl. Pour over the fish. Serve Immediately.
** You may substitute cod fish with other fish such as fresh garoupa and pomfret. Cantonese style steamed fish emphasizes on the natural flavour and sweetness of the fish and thus only FRESH fish is suitable. Some people may prefer to use fired garlic oil instead of plain oil.
Cold Dishes & Pickles
Cold Pacific Clams
Ingredients:
1 can Pacific Clam, thinly sliced (Drain off excess water)
3 nos Shallot, finely chopped
2 leaves Lime leaves, thinly sliced (very thin)
A Handful Chinese Parsely, coarsely chopped
1 nos Red Chilli/Chilli Padi (seeds removed), finely chopped
5 tbsp Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
5 btsp Lime Juice
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Sesame Oil
To Taste Salt
Method:
1. Mix all ingredients together and chill for at leas 3 hrs before serving.
** You may substitute pacific clam with sea asparagus, or even processed jellyfish. May be served as part of a cold dish platter.