Stir-fried Chicken

Stir-fried Chicken

Nowadays, kids can be really picky with food.  Gone were the days where kids ate anything they were given or not have anything at all (other hungry siblings would gladly eat up extra portions).  There was a stage where Big One got so picky that he refused to eat what I had already cooked, insisting on going to a particular food store for a particular dish.  After some ranting from an angry Mummy, and some crying from a stubborn kid, Big One reluctantly ate his meal at home.

This went on for quite some time and I got so tired of forcing Big One, it was like forcing him to eat poison that I personally cooked.  Enough was enough!  I embarked on a new plan - getting Big One to cook his own meals!  I figured out that

1. Big One would know what exactly goes into cooking a meal
2. Big One would also learn some life skills

This was one of the first dishes that Big One helped to cook.  From not knowing how to keep garlic pieces in the wok, he can now help to stir-fry stuff while I wash up some dishes without tossing the food everywhere.  If a little kid can cook this, anyone can too!

Ingredients:

Onion, cut into wedges

Red pepper, cut into pieces

Chicken thigh, deboned and cut into pieces

Tomato sauce

Light Soya sauce

Dark soya sauce

Black pepper

Oil

Cornstarch + water

1. Season chicken pieces with tomato sauce, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce, black pepper for at least 30mins.
2. Heat up wok and add some oil.  When oil is hot, add in onions and fry until fragrant.
3. Add in chicken and stir-fry until almost cooked, then add red pepper to the wok.
4. Mix cornstarch with a little water and add to the wok while stirring its contents.  This helps to thicken the gravy.
5. Once the gravy is thickened (thick enough to coat the chicken pieces just so slightly), its ready to serve!

Fried Cabbage

Fried Cabbage

This dish is one of those that remind me of home, something that is often cooked by my Mum.  Once again, all it takes is a few simple ingredients, a few minutes of cooking and you are done!

Ingredients:
Cabbage, cut finely
Carrot, cut into thin strips
Garlic, minced
Light soya sauce
Cooking oil

1. Heat up a little oil in a wok, then stir fry garlic until fragrant.
2. Add in cabbage and carrot and stir fry for a few minutes.  (Add a little water to the wok and cover for quicker cooking)
3. Add some light soya sauce and stir fry to mix in evenly and it's ready to serve!

Chicken Chop with Cashew Rice

I love a good chicken chop with a simple salad, but sometimes I need to have some rice.  Instead of the usual plain rice, I added in some butter and some cashew nuts to the rice cooker and cooked it exactly the same way.  I was feeling a little fancy too, so some fresh mushrooms for the chicken chop and some sliced onions (for a little kick) and green pepper for the salad.  Yummy!!

Healthy Sandwich

Healthy Sandwich

Healthy homemade meals don't have to be time consuming.  All you need is a few simple ingredients, a tiny bit of cooking and you are done!  For this sandwich,  I used 2 slices of my homemade Chocolate Walnut Bread, fried an egg, sliced some tomatoes and avocado and washed a few leaves of lettuce.  It takes just a few minutes to assemble and you have a very healthy meal :)

Chicken Chop

Chicken Chop

I love food that can be cooked in the oven!  You just dump them in the oven, and all the work that you need to do is to flip it over a few times while it cooks.  While waiting, you can cosy up with a good book or watch some television.  No slaving in the kitchen :p

Ingredients:
chicken thigh, deboned, skin on
garlic, minced
plum sauce
light soya sauce
black pepper

1. Season the chicken thigh with garlic, plum sauce, light soya sauce and black pepper for at least 1 hour.
2. Place chicken thigh in pre-heated oven (160 degrees Celsius) and let cook for about 45 minutes.  Flip the chicken thighs every 15 minutes or so.
3. Add some vegetables to complete the meal!

Simple Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Spaghetti

When I have some time, I like to style my food a little, play with my food.  Visually aesthetic food make s for very good eye candy and it also sets the stage for a fantastic meal ahead.  Most importantly, it also shows that the cook cares, that it wasn't just a mish mash of ingredients thrown together.

Here's the recipe for this simple dish:

Ingredients:
dried spaghetti
garlic, minced
onion, chopped
celery, chopped (reserve a few celery leaves for garnishing)
tomatoes, chopped
salt
black pepper
chicken thigh with skin on, deboned

1. Cook spaghetti as per instructions on packaging.  Drain spaghetti, reserving some of the cooking water.
2. Heat up frying pan.  Season chicken thigh with salt and pepper then place skin side down into the pan.  Let it cook for a few minutes until the skin is crispy and golden brown.  Flip over and cook till the chicken is cooked through.
3. Remove chicken from pan and set aside, keeping the oil (from the chicken) in the pan
4. Add garlic and onion to the chicken oil in the pan and fry till fragrant.  Then, add the tomatoes and celery and a ladle or two of the spaghetti cooking water reserved in (1).  Cook for about 5 minutes, and season with salt and pepper.
5. Add spaghetti to the pan and stir until well mixed
6. Presentation time!!  Serve spaghetti in a plate, arrange the pan-fried chicken on top and garnish with celery leaves.  Viola!!

Of course, all this styling is reserved for special days.  When in a hurry, which is most of the time, you could use chicken pieces instead and just mix everything together :)

Pumpkin Rice

Pumpkin Rice

One-dish meals are busy Mums' (or any other busy person's) best friends.  Pumpkin rice is one such meal.  I love this dish for a number of reasons:

1. It's healthy and nutritious
2. It is easy to prepare
3. It can be cooked ahead of time and kept warm till it's time to eat
4. Ingredients can be easily substituted with anything you have in the fridge

Without further ado, let's proceed to the recipe:

Ingredients:

Uncooked rice, washed and placed in water as per rice cooker's instructions

Lean pork, cut into strips

Pumpkin, washed and cut into cubes leaving skin on

Dried mushroom, soaked and rehydrated, stem removed and sliced

Garlic, chopped

Onion, diced

Cooking oil

Dark soy sauce

Black pepper

White pepper

1. Start cooking rice in a rice cooker
2. Wash and/or prepare all other ingredients
3. Season the pork with some dark soy sauce and black pepper
4. Heat up frying pan and add a little cooking oil.  Add garlic and onions and fry until fragrant.
5. Squeeze water out of prepared mushrooms and add to the frying pan.
6. Add seasoned pork, then pumpkin to the frying pan.  Add a little water and cook for a few minutes.
7. Add dark soy sauce to the pan with a little water and mix.  Turn off the fire.
8. Once the water in the rice cooker has started to boil, add all of the frying pan's contents into the rice cooker and give it a good mix.
9. Now, wait for the rice cooker to inform you when it's done.
10. Serve with a little white pepper.

Garlic Bread

What's better than baking your own bread?  It's making your own garlic bread!  When I was a kid, we used garlic spread from the bottle and that was the only way I knew how to make garlic bread.  Actually, it's really simple..... all you need is: bread, butter and garlic!

Mince up some garlic and give it a good mix with some butter.  Spread this mixture on some bread and toast it.  That's it!

Garlic Bread

Stir-fried Beansprouts

Stir-fried Beansprouts

Stir-fried vegetables are a quick and easy way to add some fibre to your diet.  As we get more affluent, simple and cheap dishes like stir-fried beansprouts bring us back to the basics...

Ingredients:
Beansprouts, with roots plucked off
Carrots, cut into strips
Green pepper, cut into strips
Garlic, minced
Vegetable oil,
Mushroom sauce
Light soya sauce

1. Heat up a little vegetable oil in a wok.  Add garlic and fry until fragrant.
2. Add beansprouts, carrots, and green pepper to the wok.  Season with mushroom sauce and light soya sauce.
3. Add a small amount of water to the wok, turn up the fire and quickly stir-fry for a minute or less and it's ready to be served!

Note: Small pieces of salted fish can be added to this dish to give it a different twist