Recipe - sweet and sour fish

My favorite dish whenever eating in tze char stall. Finally I made up my mind to try cooking it. My 1st try turn out to be great.

Depending on your likeness, you can always add more vinegar, sugar or some chilli. I didn't add chilli since my boys will be eating it as well.

Ingredients:
1 whole fish
Cucumber
Capsicum
Honey pineapple
Big onion
Spring onion
Ginger
Tomato
Garlic
Corn starch
Salt

Sauce:
3 tbsp of tomato sauce
1 tbsp or chinese rice wine
3 tbsp of rice vinegar.
2 to 3 tbsp of white sugar
1 tbsp corn starch mix with 2 tbsp water
1 tbsp light soy sauce

Methods:
1. Smear corn starch and salt onto fish. Deep fry.
2. Take out the oil used to fry fish and leave about 2 tbsp oil for making sauce.
3. Heat the remaining oil. Start frying with ginger, onion, garlic,  tomato, pineapple,  capsicum,  cucumber & spring onion. 
4. Pour sauce over it. If too dry, can add some water. Cook for 2 min & pour on top of whole fish.
5. Enjoy.

Happy cooking!

Recipe - Steamed beef with preserved vegetable

Tired of being sick for the past 1 week. I've decide to cook healthier dish tonight. I've had this recipe book of "steaming" by not too sure who the author is since I cant read chinese.

Since this is 1st try, I gave disclaimer to my family before start cooking... "if its turn out bad, it won't be my fault since I follow recipe."

Very easy to prepare. Taste wise ok.. sweet & sour with sesame oil fragrance. Definitely not as nice as prawn paste fried chicken, just that it definitely healthier. Time to prepare & cook: less than 20 minutes.

Ingredients:
300g sliced beef and 1 small piece preserved vegetable (szechuan vegetable)
Light soy sauce
Corn starch
Sugar
Sesame oil

Method:
1. Cut preserved vegetable into thin slice and wash. Marinade with 1tsp sugar and 1tsp sesame oil.
2. Wash beef and drain. Marinade witg 2 tsps light soy sauce, 1tsp corn starch and 1/2 tsp sugar.  After 5 min, add 1 tbsp water and wait for another 5 min.
3. Place preserved vegetable and beef alternately on dish.
4. Place dish on steam rack when water boiled.  Cook over high heat for 5 min. Ready to serve.

Tips: soak preserved vegetable for at least 10 minutes to remove saltiness.

Ps: sorry for posting picturw not in sequence. 1st time uploading via smart phone.

Coca Steamboat in International Building

Usually we will go to my in law house for sunday lunch. But since recently she has problem in standing too long due to her weak leg, we decided to bring her out for lunch. So we decided to come to Coca for Steamboat buffet.

Their fish glue, fortune fish ball and house special shrimp all are one of their so many good & fresh varieties. Plus I felt that their chilli is the best.

Lunch cost $23++ for adult, while children and senior citizen at S$17++. Same price for weekday or weekend.

If I remembered correctly, they have October weekday lunch promotion for 2 pax at S$30++.

Recipe - Assam Fish

Ingredients:
1. Ready made Assam Fish Sauce from Spices of the Orient
2. 1 whole fish... I used Seabass here
3. Lady Fingers
4. Tomato
5. Big Onion
6. 2 stalk of Lemon Grass

Methods:
1. Mix the ready made sauce with water & lemongrass. Followed instructions on the packet.
2. When boiling, place the whole fish in it. Cook with slow to medium fire.
3. Put lady fingers, tomato & Onion in it.
4. Slowly cook for around 15 - 20 minutes.
5. Serve.

 

 

Recipe - Chap Chye

Ingredients:
1. All types of Vegetables: Chay Sim, Tomato, Brocolli, Chinese Lettuce, Cabbage, carrot, any type of mushroom etc
2. Ginger, thin slice
3. 1-2 cloves of garlic
4. Minced chicken or chicken fillet
5,. 100ml chicken stock, mix with 1 tbsp of oyster sauce, 1 tbsp of ang ciu, 1 tsp of dark soya sauce & 1 tsp of sweet soya sauce.

Methods:
1. Boil water. Add brocolli and carrot. Boil till half soft.
2. Heat the oil in the wok. Stir fry Ginger and Garlic till fragrant. Add the chicken fillet or minced chicken.
3. Pour in the hard vegetable first like Cabbage, followed by Chinese Lettuce or Wong Bok, Carrot & Brocolli, Tomato & Chay Sim.
4. Add in all the sauces.
5. Serve while it hot.

Recipe - Crabmeat with Corn & Asparagus Soup

Ingredients:
1. Chicken Bone
2. Chicken Fillet -- shred thinly
3. Canned Cream Corn - 1 can
4. Canned Fresh Kernel Corn - 1/2 to 1 can
5. Shredded Crab meat
6. 2 tsp corn flour mixed with 3 tbsp cold water
7. 1-2 eggs, stir

Method:
1. Boil around 4 bowl of waters or 800 - 1000ml of water. When boiling, place the chicken bone in it.

2. Remove the chicken stock residue. You can remove the chicken bone from the pot.

3. Place all the ingredients in the boiling chicken stock, except the corn starch and eggs.
4. Slowly pour the corn starch & stir. Then slowly pour the eggs & stir to disolve.

5. Enjoy it while hot with 1/2 tsp of chinese black vinegar & some pepper. If you like Chinese Parsley, add a little bit on top.

Recipe - Steamed Live Flower Crab

The easiest among all & enjoyable by crab lovers.

Ingredients:
1. Live Flower Crab.. Wont be so tasty for died crab.
2. Chinese Parsley - 1 stalk
3. 2 cloves of Garlic
4. 1/2 tsp of Salt
5. A dash of MSG (Optional)

Method:
1. Use normal cooking wok, place the live crab in it or those that just died in <30 minutes together with all other ingredients. Covered the wok. No need to place any water.
2. When burnt smell out of the wok, wait for 45 seconds to 1 minute then off the fire.
3. Served!

Recipe - Simple Fried Noodle

Ingredients:
1. Dried Egg Noodle or any noodle of your preferred choice
2. 4 tbsp of vegetable oil, miz with 1-2 tsp of sesame oil
3. 5 - 6 cloves of minced garlic
4. Chicken fillet
5. Chicken Sausage/Frank
6. Prawn
7. Beansprout, Chay Sim or any vegetable of your choice
8. 4 eggs, stir
9. Sauce (mix together) --
     3 tbsp of salted soya sauce
     2 tbsp of oyster sauce
     3 tbsp of sweet soya sauce
     100ml of chicken stock
     Optional: 2 tbsp of red wine (ang ciu), pepper


Method:
1. Boil water & pour into dried egg noodle. Bring out the noodle when it soft
2. Heat a little bit of oil & fry the egg
3. Heat the oil in the wok, stir fry the garlic till fragrant. Pour in the chicken fillet, chicken frank, prawn into the wok. Pour in the sauce, stir fry for 30 seconds and add in the noodle & egg. Lastly add the vegetables & stir till the colour evenly spread.
4. Serve!

Verdict: 4/5 stars.

Recipe - Fried Chicken Satay

My 1st try from Indonesian Recipe book ("Seri Masak Femina - Makanan Kesukaan Anak").... ended up become one of the dish in my boys' weekly request!

Verdict: 5/5 stars
              Simple, budget & taste like KFC popcorn chicken

Ingredients:
1. Chicken fillet (around 400g - 500g)
2. Garlic (2 cloves), minced it
3. 1 tsp of white pepper
4. 1/2 tsp of salt
5. 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
6. Satay Stick
7. Vegetable oil for frying
8. 1 egg, stir with 1/2 tsp of salt
9. 50g plain flour
10. 50g bread flour

Method:
1. Cut Chicken fillet into smaller pieces. Marinate with garlic, white pepper, salt and oyster sauce for around 30 minutes or more.

 

 

 

2. Soaked the satay stick into clean water for around 30 minutes as well.

 

3. 30 minutes later..... put around 3-4 pieces of marinated chicken fillet into each satay stick.

 

4. Place in this order: plain flour, egg stiry with salt & bread flour.

    Roll the chicken satay into plain flour, then covered with egg & lastly bread flour. Repeat the steps

    for each stick.

 

 

5. Heat vegetable oil & deep fry on medium fire.

 

6. Serve chicken satay together with chilli sauce or tomato ketchup. Enjoy!

 



Recipe - Tofu and Pacific Clams

My 2nd try from "Tofu Tofu" Joy of Cooking recipe book.

This recipe is good and very healthy with many choices in 1 plate. I have my greens, hubby has his clams, boys have tofu and crab stick. Great choice!

This Recipe book worth to buy!! They have many other series like vegetables, asian cuisines etc. I will search for the other series in future.

Verdict: 4/5 stars.
Future improvements: As I use Maggi Chicken Stock, I will take note for not adding too much soy sauce in future.

Ingredients:
1. Egg Tofu
2. Green Vegetable -- Baby Bok Choy, Baby Chye Shim or Shanghai Greens. I used Shanghai Greens in my 1st try.
3. Dried Shitake Mushroom
4. Pacific Clams
5. Crabsticks
6. 2pcs Garlic
7. Seasonings: Oyster Sauce, 1 cup of chicken stock and some light soy sauce

Methods:
1. Cut Tofu into small pieces and fried it. Remove and place it on serving plate (above green vegetables). My green vegetables still in boiling stage, thus I served it on empty plate here.

2. Blanch the green vegetables with boiling water. Remove & place it on serving plate.

3. Soak Mushrooms till softened. Cut Pacific Clams into 1/2 and crab sticks into 4 pcs per stick.
4. Heat the wok, pour 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry Garlic till fragrant, add mushrooms, pacific clams and crab sticks. Stir fry. Pour in Seasonings.

 

5. When the gravy has thickened, pour over the tofu and vegetable. Serve.