皮蛋瘦肉粥 My comfort food--Pork porridge with thousand century egg

 

新年快乐！！ 某些国家已经迈入新的一年。我还得等多7个小时才步入2012年。时间过得飞快，又过了一年。来到美国已经2年了。我可要好好珍惜在这里的最后一年，好好继续当个煮饭婆，尝试煮新的菜色。不然，回国后我想没有太多机会下厨了。

“消失”了一小阵子。可能你已猜到，我又跑到别的地方去渡假。反正圣诞节和新年有很长的假期，索性又“出走”到别的地方开开眼界。这次我们跑到迪斯尼乐园尝试找回童年和到环球影城寻找刺激。走了好几天真的蛮累的。回到家本来想出去吃（因为太累了不想煮），可是想到又要吃西餐就觉得很腻！翻了翻冰箱，刚好可以煮皮蛋瘦肉粥！太棒了即简单又好吃！在冷冷的天气吃有妈妈味道的粥，是人生一大享受！吃皮蛋瘦肉粥让我想起妈妈。因为每次天气开始炎热，妈妈就会煮这个粥。她说吃了这个粥能降火。会不会降火我就不知道了，我只知道我最爱吃妈妈煮的这个粥！

食材：（2－3人份）

1）里肌肉 大概200g（pork loin）切薄片

2）干蚝8－10颗切大丁

3）干贝5－6颗，泡水至软然后捏成丝

4）皮蛋一粒，切大丁

5）生菜 几片切条 （我家里有所以就用了。你也可以选择不放）

6）米3／4杯（量米的杯子）

7）水或高汤大概4－5杯

步骤：

1）用蚝油、酱油、绍兴酒、胡椒粉和太白粉腌制肉片大概半小时。

2）把米洗干净然后，把米倒入锅中，加入水煮到水滚开。

3）加入干贝和干蚝，转小火煮到米“开花”。

4）加入肉片，转中火煮到肉片熟透。

5）加入生菜、皮蛋和盐调味，煮2分钟。

6）吃粥之前，可以撒点葱花或芫荽和胡椒粉。

京都排骨

这是新加坡煮炒摊位经常看到的一道菜。我先生不是肉食主义者，但是除了鸡翅膀，就是排骨了。所以我总要学学几道排骨菜肴。因为我不喜欢需要炸的排骨，以前一买排骨就只会做豆豆支蒸排骨。现在总算有另一个选择。京都排骨不需要炸，很简单！我是在http://ellenaguan.blogspot.com/2007/10/jing-du-pai-gu.html 找到的食谱。我就跟着里面的步骤做，所以我就不把食谱放在这了。我先生还很喜欢这道菜哦！

Or Nee 芋泥

This is one of my favourite desserts---Or Nee! Will definitely order this if it is on the menu. Whenever I attend wedding dinners, I will hope that the last dish for the day is Or Nee (keeping my fingers crossed it will  be good!). And for my own wedding I have this for the last dish hehe! 

I  have made this specially for a farewell gathering for a friend who is going back to Singapore with her 2 girls. I hope they like it.  It is really fate which bring us SIngaporeans together in a foreign country. I have never seen her though we attended the same JC and same course in uni. We joked that we were too low profile (which is very true) ;p  Anyway I will still meet her again soon, this time round in Singapore when I go back during CNY.

Before I made this dish, I have always heard many people saying it is difficult to make cos you have to cook it on a wok and keep stirring so that I will not get burnt. And to make it taste good, it is better to cook it with lard. Since I am a lazy cook, I have search the net for a easy recipe. And to my surprise, I found one which does not need to cook in the wok and taste wonderfully good too!  The 2 secrets to a good or nee i think is  the shallots oil (to replace lard if you want a healthier version) for the fragrance and a good blender for a smooth texture. My cheapo blender died on me when I tried to blend my first batch of yam that's why my or nee was not as smooth as I wanted it to be. In the end I had to use a fork to mash it up than use my blender for cake to mix the oil and sugar with it and hopefully will help to mash my yam even smoother. Phew, luckily I make it in time for the gathering! Oh and I have left out the pumpkin paste as I can't find any near my place. I think it will taste good if there was some. 

If you have a blender at home, you should try to make or nee if you are a fan of this dessert. It is really not difficult!

(adapted from : http://www.chinese-food-delight.com/yam-paste.html)

Ingredients: (Serves around 15 pax)

1)  1.8kg of yam

2)  A handful of gingko nuts (I use the fresh with shells still intact)

3) 15-20 tablespoons of shallots oil

4) 10 tablespoons of sugar (you can adjust according to your taste)

Steps:

1) Remove the shell, skin and shoots from the gingko nuts. Add the nuts in a small pot of water with some sugar and bring it to boil. Lower the heat and simmer for around 30 min for it to soften and sweeten.

2) Remove the skin of the yam and cut it into cubes. Steam for about 30 minutes or until they turn soft. Mash the yam using a fork, a masher or a blender into a fine paste while it is still hot. Add the sugar and oil to the paste and blend well. (As i am making a lot, I have mash them in 3 batches.)

3) Place the gingko nuts and yam paste (if you are adding pumpkin paste add now too) into a steam tray and steam it on high heat for 30 minutes.

4) Enjoy your or nee when hot!

PS: If you like, you can add in coconut milk when serving the or nee. Or you can add in the coconut milk when blending the paste with the sugar and oil.

想念婆婆的私房菜－－－客家酿豆腐

我先生和他的婆婆的感情很好。可惜，他婆婆很早就过世了。我也没有机会见过她。但是，我们每次清明和新年前夕，一定会去祭拜她。我先生总是说他婆婆做的酿豆腐很好吃。可是我家婆却没有“继承”这个食谱。好可惜啊！

我就“接受挑战”，想做出先生想念的酿豆腐。我问他婆婆的酿豆腐有些什么。他说只记得有酿肉。我问他是什么味道，他却说不出一个所以然。唉。。。我看只能在网上寻找别人家的做法了。找到了几个。有些是猪肉和鱼浆做馅，有些是猪肉和虾泥做馅。我问先生喜欢吃哪一种，他说前者。我就不用伤脑筋想了。我觉得好吃的馅，应该还加了些什么秘密材料。我想可能是咸鱼或扁鱼干（那种有时吃肉脞面会加的炸的鱼干）。果然，没有让我猜错，其中一个食谱就是加了咸鱼。我第一次做的时候（我写这文章时是做了第二次了），不是很成功。首先，我先生说馅料不够多，吃不出味道。我自己觉得我买的咸鱼不好。我还把咸鱼拿去炸加入馅里，但是就是没有味道。这次我决定用扁鱼做。我还“翻山越岭”找遍很多超市才找到的。做出来的味道会比上次香，更能带出肉的鲜味。

做了这么多次，我先生还是觉得不太象他婆婆做的酿豆腐。我说我已经尽力了。下次，我再想想怎么改进吧！

馅料食材：（5 人份）
1） 450克猪肉末
2）300克鱼浆
3）扁鱼片5片
4）2 汤匙酱油
5）1汤匙蚝油
6）1茶匙麻油
7）1茶匙胡椒粉
8）1汤匙太白粉

馅料做法：
1）将扁鱼冲洗一下，然后用餐巾纸擦干。用少许油涂在扁鱼上，然后放在烤盘上。将烤盘放入烤箱（烤箱用200度预热）烤至稍微变金黄色（大概10－15分钟）。你也可以拿去炸。但是我懒惰，用烤箱烤厨房比较干净 ;p
2）将烤好的扁鱼磨成碎片或碎粉。
3）把所有材料倒入大碗里，搅拌均匀。然后把馅料用力摔打在碗里（大概10次）。摔打越久，馅料就会更Q。
4）让馅料腌制大概半小时。

这是两人份的酿豆腐。食谱是5人份。第3份送给我的美国邻居。这是他最喜欢我煮的食物之一 ;) 第4和5份就成了我和先生明天的午餐！

其他材料
1）新鲜冬菇10朵（你也可以用干的冬菇）
2）新鲜豆腐半盒切成厚片
3）豆包10个
4）茄子一个，切成20片（我买的茄子很大所以可以切成20片）
5）腐竹1－2片，用热水泡软后，切成10片
（这些主要材料，你可以随你喜欢更换。我很喜欢吃秋葵，每一次做酿豆腐它一定是“常客”可惜那天刚好没有买到）

调味料：
1）1 1／2 汤匙豆瓣酱 （tau cheong sauce ）
2）1 汤匙豆豆支酱
3）1 汤匙蒜茸
4）1汤匙蚝油
5）1汤匙糖
6）水少许
7）太白粉水

步骤：
1）将肉馅酿在豆腐（一定要把豆腐抹干）、豆腐皮、茄子、豆包（先用刀切一个小口）和冬菇里。在酿豆腐、豆腐皮、冬菇之前，在材料上面放一点太白粉，这样肉馅在煎的时候才不会脱落。
2）用少许油煎好所有酿好的材料（除了豆包）。
3）在锅里热少许油，将蒜茸爆香。
4）然后加入豆瓣酱、豆豆支酱、蚝油和糖炒香。
5）加入水。等水煮开后，加入煎好的材料和豆包焖一下，让材料吸收一些酱汁。
6）水再次煮开后，加入太白粉水勾芡。
7）上桌前可以撒上一些葱。

配上sambal chilli 更是一绝！

PS：“无汤不欢” 的我也用黄豆和江鱼仔熬了少许汤。汤很鲜甜，因为黄豆的关系。yummy!

Prawn and Scallop Linguine

Maybe you have noticed by now I seldom cook western dishes at home. Staying in a western country now, you really don't feel like eating anymore western food at home. If we have craving for it , we can just go to any restaurants nearby. But than, whenever I watch cooking shows at food network it is really tempting to try cooking some of these dishes. In my recent post on okra and tomatoes stew, I mentioned it is Paula's recipe. In the same programme that day, this pasta dish makes me have a craving for pasta. The pasta sauce is so creamy and there is no heavy cream added! But she has added can soup and cheese. In the original recipe she has used crawfish. But it is not in season now and I don't want to buy a big packet of frozen crawfish that's why I have used prawns and some leftover scallops in my fridge. I have made some minor changes in the ingredients. I just use what I have at home. It turn out pretty good! In fact this is one of my most successful creamy pasta hehe.

Ingredients

1) 1 stick butter

2) 1/4 onion, chopped

3) 1 green bell pepper, chopped (I omitted this)

4) 1/2 cup diced celery

5) 3 cloves garlic, minced

6) 1 tablespoons all-purpose flour

7) 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (I omitted this)

8)  3/4 cups milk

9) 1/2 can cream of mushroom soup (I have used cream of chicken)

10) 115g processed cheese with jalapenos, cubed (I just use any shredded cheese I have at home)

11) 450g of prawns, shelled

12) 1/2 package fettuccini, cooked (I used linguine)

13) 200g scallops

14) 1/2 cup of white wine

15) Black pepper

Directions

1)In a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and garlic. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. 
2) Add the flour and Cajun seasoning(if you are using) and cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. 
3) Stir in the milk and white wine.cook until slightly thickened, stirring constantly, 5 to 6 minutes. 
4) Add the soup and cheese, stirring until the cheese is melted.  Add the prawns and scallops, and cook until warmed through. 
5) Pour the linguine in the sauce and mix well.  
6) You can add a dash of black pepper before serving.

玉米鸡丁汤 Corn soup with chicken

喜欢吃玉米的朋友们，我想你们一定会喜欢这道汤。每次我妈妈煮这个汤，我就很高兴。妈妈会用猪肉末和罐头的浓汁玉米煮汤。很喜欢玉米和猪肉末鲜甜味融合在汤里的味道。没想到这么好喝的汤是用罐头的玉米煮的。你只需要用简单的食材就可以享用这么美味的汤了！

食材：
1）浓汁玉米罐头半罐 （cream corn）
2）猪肉末 200g （我这次用鸡丁因为家里还有一些鸡胸肉）
3）鸡蛋一粒
4）蒜末少许
5）水或鸡高汤5碗

步骤：
1）用酱油、太白粉、胡椒粉腌猪肉末。如果你用鸡胸肉，可以加入一些蛋液腌制，这样肉就不会这么柴。
2）用少许油爆香蒜末。然后加入加入水和浓汁玉米。
3）盖上锅盖，等水在此煮开。然后加入肉末（你可以做成肉丸）。
4）等肉末熟了，可以加入少许盐调味。
5）把火关了，倒入蛋液。等蛋液慢慢浮起，汤就好了。我喜欢加入胡椒粉和红葱酥在汤里。（哈哈！可能看太多台湾的烹饪节目了。台湾菜喜欢放这两样东西）

Steam Muffins

Alamak bread is running out. My husband will not have anything to eat in the morning. Hmm.... maybe it's time for me try making cakes again. I must admit that I am not good in baking. The first cake I have baked from scratch is banana cake. I have chosen the simplest recipe. But, being the usual blur blur me, I have mixed up the amount of flour proportions (cos the recipe measurement is in grams and I only have a measuring cup which is in cups and ml)well, the outcome is a dry cake haha! 

After the dry cake experience, I have not baked anything yet. Everytime I ask my husband if he wants to eat cake for breakfast which I will bake, he will say, "It's ok I can eat bread" I guess he don't want to eat another failed cake experiment ;p Anyway, I can't eat too much cakes too due to my high blood sugar so I have not been trying out anymore recipes on baking. 

This time round I shall try again. I have found a recipe on making muffins but using steaming method. Sounds good since it does not use butter and steaming seems a healthier method. This recipe I got it from http://justonecookbook.com/blog/recipes/steamed-cake/. But I don't know what went wrong, the muffins especially the chocolate flavour one is pretty dry (yes again!) The corn one is ok. But I think I have not added enough corn. The recipe ask for corn kennels but I have used cream corn as I was trying to finish off the can corn. I don't dare to add a lot as the cream corn is watery. 

I would consider another failed attempt hehe. It's ok. I shall stick to my cooking. I think I really can't bake not even using the steaming method haha!

Ingredients: (Makes 4 servings)

1)  ½     cup (75g) all purpose flour2)  1    tsp. baking powder

3) 1    egg

4) 2    Tbsp. milk

5) 2    Tbsp. sugar

6) 1    Tbsp. vegetable oil

7) ¼    cup corn kernels

8) ¼     cup cheese today

Double Chocolate Steamed Cake

Ingredients:

1) ½    cup (75g) all purpose flour

2) 1 ½     Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

3) 1    tsp. baking powder

4) 1    egg

5) 3    Tbsp. milk  

6) 2    Tbsp. sugar

7) 2    Tbsp. vegetable oil

8) 2-3    Tbsp. chocolate chips (I don't have this at home so i have changed this to dried blueberries)

Directions:

1)  Fill a large frying pan with water to 2/3 full and bring it to a boil (and turn off the heat if you are not ready yet).  Put a cupcake liner in glass ramekins.

2)  In a medium bowl, sift and combine flour and baking powder (and cocoa powder for Chocolate Steamed Cake).    

3) In a small bowl, combine egg, milk, sugar, and vegetable oil and whisk them all together.

4)  Pour the egg mixture into the flour mixture and mix until smooth

5)  Add toppings (chocolate chips, or corns + cheese) and mix well.

6)  Pour the mixture into the cupcake liners.

7)  Place the glass ramekins in the boiling water and cover to cook 8 minutes.  Stick a wooden toothpick or skewer into the cake.  When a skewer comes out clean (without wet batter), remove them from the pan and cool down.