Steam Fermented soya sauce chicken

Every Friday is the day I plan for my whole week's meal and I will go for my groceries shopping at Chinatown on Saturday. It can be pretty tough deciding what to cook for dinner 6 days a week. Now I can relate to what my mum always tell me , "Very sianz don't know what to cook!"

Whenever I tell my husband the same thing he will always says "It's ok I can eat the same thing every week." But the problem is I am the one who will get sianz cooking and eating the same thing haha! Of course, I also hope that my husband can eat something new each week since he is working hard and I am the one who is not working.

I am more lucky than my mum because I have the help of the internet! Thanks to food bloggers who are willing to share their recipes on their food blog. I get inspiration from their recipes. I have shared a few of my favourite food blogs on my blog. Please do check them out. Their blogs have easy recipes and slightly difficult ones.

This recipe which I share is from food blogger Nasi Lemak Lover. Being a lazy cook at times and also I have to keep a healthy diet, I look for simple recipes which do not require deep frying. When I see this recipe it just fit into what I like. The original recipe use drumstick meat but I have decided to change it into breast meat as it has less fat. I thought breast meat would turn out tough but surprisingly maybe due to the cornstarch and the cooking time, it turns out pretty good. I just love food with gravy, and as you have seen in the photo, it has quite some gravy which I love to eat it with my rice :)

Ingredients:

1) 400g chicken breast meat, cut into small bite size

2) 1tbsp tauchu /fermented soy bean

3) 1tsp light soy sauce

4) 1/2tsp salt

5) 1tsp sugar

6) A dash of pepper

7) 1tsp Chinese cooking wine

8) 1tbsp tapioca starch/ corn starch

9) 2tbsp chicken stock

10) 1tbsp chopped garlic

11) 1tbsp shredded ginger

12) fresh red chili, chopped

13) sprig spring onion, chopped

Method

1. Mix chicken meat with ingredients 2 to 11 in a steaming plate, marinate for 1hour or more. Leave some garlic and ginger aside and sprinkle them onto the chicken before you steam it.

2. Add half of the red chili and spring onion, and mix well with chicken.

3. Steam over high flame for about 8mins or till cooked.

4. Garnish with the other half red chili and spring onion.

焗烤蘑菇三文鱼

从小除了每一餐都有汤，妈妈一定也准备一条鱼。多吃鱼对身体好。我老爸有高血压及胆固醇所以妈妈就为爸爸烹煮一条鱼。以前家境不是很富裕，所以都吃一些价钱还可以的鱼。现在，手头宽裕些，也好像最近这两种鱼类才比较普遍，妈妈也就开始买鳕鱼及三文鱼给大家吃。众所周知，这两种鱼类的脂肪对身体好，特别是针对胆固醇高的人。所以，这三文鱼和鳕鱼在我家的餐桌上是必不可少的一道菜。

我遗传了老爸的高胆固醇，所以我也延续了家里的习惯，每一个星期至少三天都要吃鱼。一般我都是清蒸比较多。课室吃多了就想换换口味。最近，我又在“吃饭黄帝大”的节目中看到一位厨师介绍一种非常简单看起来很美味煮三文鱼的方法。他是把酱汁淋在鱼上把它包裹在纸里用微波炉把它煮熟。很简单吧！我不太喜欢用微波炉因为用它煮的食物吃多了怕对身体不好。既然家里有一个大烤箱，我就用烤箱做这道菜！我用铝铂纸包裹着鱼，煮好后不用倒在盘上，这样还可以少洗一个盘。哈哈我够懒吧！

这道菜有点日式风味，正好合我的口味。蘑菇的甜味融入那些酱汁，整道菜实在是非常鲜甜。那些酱汁刚好可以配饭，真是太棒了！

食材：

1）三文鱼

2）金针菇

3）鸿喜菇

4）新鲜冬菇 切片

5）牛油一小片

6）日式柴鱼酱油 2 汤匙 （Bonito flavoured soya sauce）

7）味淋 1汤匙 (Mirin)

8）日式烧酒 1 汤匙 (Sake)

9）黑胡椒少许

步骤

1）将三文鱼抹干，放在铝铂纸上。

2）金针菇及鸿喜菇要拨开，然后将所有菇类铺在鱼上。

3）将酱油、味淋及烧酒淋在鱼上。

4）将牛油放在上面然后撒上黑胡椒粉。

5）把铝铂纸卷好，包好所有材料。

6）放入预热（大概200度）的烤箱烤大概15分钟。

Sugar cane and water chestnut drink

It is so hot in Houston and it is only the beginning of summer! Jun temperatures are soaring to as high as 100 degree F! And it will be even worse during July and August! Though it is not as humid as Singapore, but you can feel your skin like burning if you are outdoors. I think I have never been so dark before in my whole life!

Must really cook some cooling stuff like 凉茶. That day I saw Ranch supermart selling sugar cane. I was so happy! This is because you can hardly find sugar cane here. The sweetness of sugar cane juice immediately came into my mind. I quickly grab 2 sticks though it is not cheap. One stick slightly longer than a long ruler cost 2.99 US dollar! Don't care just grab it since I have not had sugar cane juice for ages! And sugar cane drink is one of my fav cooling tea for summer! It also reminds me of my mum cos she likes to cook this for us when the weather gets hot in Singapore.

The sugar cane and water chestnut drink taste so heavenly! And I have stored it in the fridge which makes it even more yummy in a hot sunny day. My mouth is watering even when I am writing this blog. Too bad I don't find the supermart selling anymore :( Praying hard I will find it again soon. This time I will grab more hehe!

Ingredients:

1) 2 sticks of sugar cane

2) 10 water chestnuts

3) 10 sugared melon (糖冬瓜)

4) 6 to 10 bowls of water

Directions:

1) Chop off the skin of the sugar cane and cut it into smaller pieces horizontally. The skin is pretty tough so you may need a chopper. Must be careful of your hands when chopping.

2) Peel off the skin of the water chestnut.

3) Bring the water to boil and add in all the ingredients. Boil it under medium heat until the water chestnut and the sugar cane become slightly transparent. I boil it for around 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

4) If you like it more sweet can add in sugar.

PS: My mum says that can add in some cilantro if you want it to be more "cooling". That is if you don't mind the taste of cilantro in your drink.

Braised Fish Slices with Garlic

I love garlic! I add in garlic to almost every dish which I cook. When I see this dish featured in my favourite Taiwan cooking show "吃饭皇帝大", I immediately remember all the ingredients and steps in cooking this dish. The original recipe uses fish head, but my husband don't like to eat that because there are too many bones. Therefore I decided to use frozen swai fillets which I can find in the supermart here. I think I will experiment with other types of fish like fresh snapper when I cook next time. At least it is not frozen so should be fresher and sweeter.

If you like garlic like me, you should add more. I regretted not adding more if not it will have a more fragrant garlic taste. One thing to note is that you cannot heat up the oil too hot when frying the garlic if not it gets burnt easily. So a bit of patience is needed in frying the garlic. I am basically an "aga aga" cook. That means the amount of seasoning and ingredients I used is all based on estimation. Therefore do feel free to change to your liking ;)

Ingredients:

1) Fish Slices (around 10 to 15 small slices)

2) 10 cloves of garlic (you can add or reduce according to your liking of garlic)

3) 3 mushrooms cut into strips (do not throw away the water for soaking the mushrooms)

4) Half big onion cut into strips

5) 1 tablespoon of Dark soya sauce

6) 1 tablespoon of Oyster sauce

7) 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine

8) Pepper

9) Sesames seed oil

10) Half a tablespoon of sugar

11) Flour

Direction:

1) Season the fish slices with some salt and pepper. Coat the fish slices with some flour. Pour some oil into the pan and shallow fry (煎) the fish slices. You can also deep fry if you want. But shallow fry is more healthy since we do not need to add a lot of oil for shallow fry. When it is slightly golden brown we can scoop it up and set aside.

2) Pour some oil into the wok and slowly fry the garlic till golden brown. The oil cannot be too hot if not the garlic will be burnt. When it is done set it aside.

3) Using some of the oil used for frying the garlic, add in the big onion slices and ginger slices. Stir fry it until the onion sweats. Than add in the mushrooms and stir fry until the fragrant of the mushrooms come out.

4) Add in the garlic and fish slices. Stir fry for a minute.

5) Add in dark soya sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine and sugar. Stir fry until you can smell the fragrance of the sauces.

6) Add in some of the mushroom water. Stir well with the sauces. Cover the pot and let it simmer for 5 to 8 minutes.

7) Open the lid and let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the sauce thickens a bit. If it is still watery, you can add in corn starch water. If you like it to be slightly watery than you can don't add the corn starch water.

8) Add in a few dashes of pepper and sesames seed oil and it is ready to be served!

Scallop Provencal and Baked Asparagus

This is one of the few western meal which I have learnt. Thanks to Ina Garten again. It is a simple one dish meal. I will cook this whenever I feel lazy to cook a 1 soup 2 dishes chinese meal on a Sunday.

Besides being a one dish meal, I like it cos it is not meat nor prawns. Since have high cholesterol, I have restrained myself from eating prawns. I hope scallops should be ok ;p The food served in restaurants here are mostly meat dishes so I try not to cook too much meat dishes at home too. Another reason for liking this dish is it has white wine as one of the ingredients. Any food with alcohol added just has another depth of flavour. Yummy!

The original recipe of Scallop Provencal from Barefoot Contessa can be found in this website http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/scallops-provencal-recipe/index.html. I have made really minor changes to the recipe. There was once where I have no white wine and I have added the Chinese Shaoxing wine. It turn out pretty well too! Than there was another time instead of white wine I have added Sherry and Brandy cos I bought them for another of Ina's recipe. So you can be adventurous with whatever wine you have at home and try it in this recipe. Hmm.. but i think red wine might not match though, cos seafood dishes by right should match with white wine.

Ingredients:

1) 1 pound fresh bay or sea scallops

2) Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3) All-purpose flour, for dredging

4) 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, divided

5) 1/2 cup chopped shallots (2 large or 4 small)

6) 1 garlic clove, minced

7) 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

8) 1/3 cup dry white wine or Shaoxing Wine

9) 1 lemon, cut in 1/2

10) 2 Shitake Mushrooms sliced (optional)

11) Asparagus

Directions

1) If you're using bay scallops, keep them whole. If you're using sea scallops, cut each 1 in half horizontally. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, toss with flour, and shake off the excess.

2) In a very large saute pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the butter over high heat until sizzling and add the scallops in 1 layer. Lower the heat to medium and allow the scallops to brown lightly on 1 side without moving them, then turn and brown lightly on the other side. This should take 3 to 4 minutes, total.

3) Melt the rest of the butter in the pan with the scallops, then add the shallots, garlic, mushrooms and parsley and saute for 2 more minutes, tossing the seasonings with the scallops. Add the wine, cook for 1 minute, and taste for seasoning. Serve hot with a squeeze of lemon juice.

4) Preheat the oven at 375 degree F (around 200 degree C).

5) Spread the asparagus on a baking pan. Season with olive oil, salt and pepper.

6) Put it in the oven for around 10 - 15 minutes or until the veggie is tender.

I think this dish is great to eat with bowl of rice!

菠菜蟹肉羹 Spinach crab meat thick soup

前：菠菜蟹肉羹。后：杏鲍菇炒海参（下次介绍）

自从更换了一个新的卫星电视公司，家里不仅就多了几个华文电视台收费还比较便宜呢！实在太棒了！现在，我可以观看我最喜欢的TVBS华文电视台。最近，我无意间发现TVBS华文电视台有一个烹饪节目“吃饭皇帝大”，一看就迷上了！一天的节目我至少可以学习三道菜，而且还是帅哥主厨亲自下厨呢！哈哈！节目中所介绍的菜都是为新手人妻所设计，所以是蛮简单但又美味的菜色。我从节目中学会了好几道不错的菜肴。我会陆续把食谱记录下来和大家分享。

今天介绍的是其中一道即简单又健康的汤。菠菜富有高铁质对女性是很好的。我以前不爱吃菠菜总觉得有一个怪味。现在自己煮饭，为了能煮多几样菜，什么都开始尝试吃。好像以前我不喜欢吃葱、芫荽、红萝卜，现在我都吃。而且还很爱吃呢 ：）喜欢清淡口味的朋友们，不妨尝试煮煮这道汤。

食材：

1） 菠菜一把

2）小的蟹钳肉一碗（当然如果你喜欢吃螃蟹可以加多一点）

3）豆腐半盒切成小块状

4）蛋一颗

5）盐少许

6）绍兴酒少许

7）胡椒粉少许

8）镇江醋少许

9）高汤四碗 （如果你用市售的高汤那么两碗的高汤加两碗的水）

10）太白粉水

步骤：

1）将菠菜放入一锅烧水烫熟。然后将烫熟后的菠菜放入冰水中浸泡大概5分钟。这样菠菜就会保持翠绿的颜色。

2）把菠菜从冰水中取出，挤干水分然后切成条状。

3）将高汤倒入锅中煮开。然后加入蟹钳，豆腐和菠菜。

4）等到汤再次滚开，加入盐调味。

5）加入太白粉水。太白粉水的分量要根据你喜欢的稠度慢慢加入。

6）把火关小。把鸡蛋轻轻打散然后绕圆圈式加入汤中。不要急着把搅散鸡蛋。等一会儿，才开始搅散。这样就能煮出漂亮的蛋花。

7）把汤盛在汤碗后加入少许胡椒粉。

8）如果你喜欢的话可以加入少许的醋，就像吃鱼翅那样。我个人觉得加入醋后，能使羹更鲜甜。

Curried Chicken Avocado and Celery Salad

Since I have been very free in Houston, my favourite pass time is watching cooking shows to get some inspiration for dinner. Besides watching Chinese cooking shows (cos my husband still likes to eat chinese food), foodnetwork is also one of my favourite channel. I like to watch Barefoot Contessa. Her recipes are simple and the dishes featured are flavourful. When I saw Ina Garten's Curried Chicken Salad , I decided to give it a try cos it looks so yummy! This Curried Chicken Avocado and Celery Salad is adapted from her Curried Chicken Salad. Her recipe does not have avocado and mine does not have chutney raisins and nuts. This is because I don't want to buy chutney raisins and nuts just for this salad and avocado is good for health.

Let me side track a bit here. Since I have been told by the doctor here that I have high cholesterol and high blood sugar I should watch my diet. I have been slowly adjusting my diet. I started to eat chicken breast which I have never liked as I find it too tough after being cooked. Than after searching the net, I get to know that eating celery is good in reducing cholesterol and eating avocado is good for the heart cos it has both monosaturated and polyunsaturated fat and contain potassium. Therefore these 2 I have decided to add in these 2 items in my version of the curried chicken salad.

I really love this salad ! The chicken breast turn out to be tender! The secret to the tenderness is using chicken breast with bone-in skin-on. This trick is taught by Ina. The salad is rich in flavour and most of the ingredients are good for health too. Do give it a try! PS: If you don't have time to bake your own chicken, just buy it. Or you can use your left over chicken from your previous meal.

Ingredients:

1) 2 medium chicken breast bone-in skin-on

2) 1 avocado cut into cubes

3) 2 stalks of celery cut into medium dices

4) 2 small shallots (if you like shallots can add more) cut into small dices

5) 2 chopped spring onions

6) Olive oil

7) 1 cup Olive oil mayo (normal mayo will do too. Olive mayo is more healthy )

8) 3 tablespoons of curry powder

9) Salt to taste

Directions:

A) Preparation of baked chicken breast

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F or near to 175 degree C.

2) Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. You can sprinkle salt and pepper on the meat under the skin if you are afraid that the seasoning does not get into the meat. If you want it to be more flavourful you can also add some roast chicken seasoning which you can get in the supermarket.

3) Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Wrap the chicken with aluminum foil so that the juices of the chicken will get back into the meat. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and dice the chicken into large bite-size pieces.

B) Preparation of the dressing

1) Combine the olive oil mayo, curry powder and salt. If you find it too thick you can add in some olive oil.

C) Putting the salad together

1) Combine the chicken with enough dressing to moisten well. Add the celery, scallions, onion,spring onion and avocado, and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature. You can add in a dash of black pepper if you want.