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!!

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!

Fried Cauliflower

Vegetables are the quickest and simplest things to cook!  Other then chopping them up into appropriate sizes, my favourite way of cooking them is with garlic.  As a rule of thumb, get a nice mix of colours both for presentation as well as a good mix of vitamins and minerals!

Ingredients:
Cailiflower, cut into small florets
Snow peas, cut on the diagonal
Red pepper, cut into small pieces
Garlic, minced
Light soya sauce
Cooking Oil

1. Heat up frying pan and add some oil to the pan.
2. When oil is hot, add in garlic and fry until fragrant on low-medium heat, taking care not to burn the garlic. (Note: burnt garlic tastes bitter... urggh)
3. Add in all the other vegetables and season with some light soya sauce.
4. Add a little water, mix well in the pan and cover with lid for a few minutes until cauliflower is cooked.  Serve warm with rice.

Fried Cauliflower

Steamed Egg with Minced Pork

Steamed egg with minced pork

This is a dish that screams: "Home-cooked comfort food!!!"  Simple, unpretentious, nutritious food that reminds me of Mummy dearest.

Ingredients:
Eggs, beaten
Minced pork
Light soya sauce
white pepper

1. Mix eggs and minced pork together in a shallow plate.  Mix in some light soya sauce and pepper to taste and spread it out evenly.
2. Steam for about 5-10 minutes or until meat is fully cooked.  Best eaten warm with rice or porridge.

Now, isn't this super simple??

Rice Cooker Fried Rice

When the kids came, it was always a mad rush to do anything.  There were laundry to be done, floors to be cleaned, dishes to be washed, on top of having to keep an eye on the kids to make sure they were not hurting themselves or each other.  Gone were the days where I could leisurely cook in the kitchen, so I improvised and came up with food that could be pre-prepared (in some way or another).  This rice cooker fried rice is one such improvisation.

Ingredients:

oil

garlic, chopped

onions, chopped

carrots, diced

celery, chopped

cabbage, chopped

chicken/pork, cut in small pieces

eggs, beaten

light soya sauce

dark soya sauce

pepper

rice

1. Start cooking rice as per your rice cooker's instructions and proceed to chop/prepare all other ingredients
2. Heat up some oil in a frying pan, add beaten eggs seasoned with light soya sauce and pepper.  Cook until mostly cooked (about 80% cooked) with some parts still runny.  Remove from pan and set aside
3. Using the same pan, add garlic and onions and fry until fragrant.  Then add in the meat (seasoned with dark soya sauce and pepper).  Then add in the carrots, celery, cabbage and the eggs fried in (2).  Mix well and season with light soya sauce and pepper.  Remove from heat and set aside
4. Check the rice cooker, you would want to see the water inside bubbling vigorously.  Pour in all the contents of the frying pan, give it a good mix, close the lid and leave the rice cooker to complete its cooking cycle.

Fry ingredients in a pan

Rice cooker fried rice

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 :)

Onion Omelette

Years ago, when I was overseas for a course, this simple, humble dish brought me straight home - onion omelette.  This gave me the taste of home while I was thousands of kilometres away, it reminded me of Mum cooking in the kitchen each day, making sure we kids had the best food ever...

Onion Omelette

Ingredients:
Eggs, beated
Red onions, sliced
Cooking oil

1. Heat up a little cooking oil in a pan, then add onions and fry until slightly translucent and fragrant.
2. Pour cooked onions into beaten egg and mix well.
3. Pour egg mixture into pan and cook for a while, flip over and cook a little while more and the omelette is ready to be served!

Honey Cinnamon Popcorn

Honey Cinnamon Popcorn

I love sweet popcorn!  Whenever I go to the movies, it has to be SWEET popcorn, not the salty ones.  This is a really quick snack which is really fun for kids, and they get to eat it too :)

To make the popcorn, I heated up some oil in a pot, then added about 1/4 cup of popcorn kernels.  How do you know when the oil is hot enough? Try adding 1 or 2 kernels to test first before adding the whole load in.  Remember to cover the pot with a lid, leaving a tiny gap for hot air to escape.  In a few minutes, you should have a whole pot of freshly popped popcorn!

For something a little special, melt a little butter in a pan, add honey and a little cinnamon powder and mix well.  Spread popcorn on an aluminium foil lined tray, pour honey sauce over the popcorn and mix well.  Spread the popcorn into a single layer and bake for a few minutes in the oven at about 180 degrees Celsius.

Turmeric Chicken Drumlets

Want something easy to cook yet unique enough for the guests to talk about over dinner?  Try these exotic Tumeric Chicken Drumlets!

Tumeric Chicken Drumlets

Ingredients:
Chicken drumlets
Turmeric powder, a dash or two
Light soya sauce
Black pepper

1. Marinate chicken drumlets with turmeric powder (not too much or it'll end up bitter!), light soya sauce and some black pepper for at least 30 minutes.  I like to marinate the chicken for a few hours or even overnight.
2. Bake them in the oven at 160°C for about 45 minutes (or until cooked), turning them every 15 minutes or so.
3. Serve immediately!  Now wasn't that easy? ;)

Healthy Seafood Soup

There's something warm and fuzzy about drinking a warm bowl of soup when it's cold and rainy, or when you are feeling under the weather.  All it takes is some boiling over the stove and you can practically dump in anything that you like.  For today, I have Seafood Soup!

Healthy Seafood Soup

Ingredients:
Garlic, a few cloves
Chicken bones
Carrots, cut into 1-inch long wedges
Tomato, cut into wedges
Fish, sliced (I used Mackerel here)
Prawns, shelled and cleaned
Lettuce, a bunch of leaves washed
Light soya sauce
White pepper

1. For the soup, bring a pot of water to a boil and add in the garlic, chicken bones, and carrots.  Scoop out scum as necessary.  Remember to lower the fire once it gets to a furious boil at the start.  I like to boil my soup base for about 20-30 mins.
2. While boiling the soup base, prepare all other ingredients.
3. When soup base is ready, remove chicken bones and garlic.
4. Turn the fire up and add in tomato, fish and prawns and boil until fish and prawn are just cooked.
5. Throw in lettuce and give a quick stir.  Add light soya sauce and a dash of white pepper to taste.  The healthy seafood soup is now ready to be served!

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.

Chicken & Carrot Congee

I've been blogging about food for some time but have never thought of blogging about baby food.  That is until someone asked me to share some baby food recipes too.  Here's my very first baby food recipe.

One of the most common food for babies in this part of the world, is porridge.  I prefer cooking congee (a thicker, less watery version of porridge).  Cooking congee the traditional way on the stove is very time consuming and needs lots of attention, especially when the congee reaches a rather thick consistency.  Once you let the congee burn, even if it's just a little at the bottom of the pot, the whole pot of congee will have a burnt taste.  Not good.....

However, in our modern world, cooking congee is a breeze.  I use a rice cooker which has a "Congee" setting!  Here's how easily healthy, nutritious homemade congee can be cooked for your precious baby:

Chicken & carrot congee for baby

Ingredients:
Rice (I use mixed unpolished rice)
1 clove of garlic, whole and with skin on
1 piece of carrot, cut into thin strips
1 piece of chicken, minced
light soya sauce
white pepper

1. Wash the rice and add it to the rice cooker pot.  Add water as specified by your rice cooker instructions in order to cook congee.  Add garlic and carrot strips to the rice cooker pot and start the rice cooker on "Congee" setting.
2. Season the minced chicken with a little light soya sauce and white pepper.
3. When the "Congee" cooking cycle has completed, add the minced chicken to the rice cooker pot and give the congee a quick stir.  Start the "Congee" again.  Once the 2nd "Congee" cooking cycle has completed, add a little light soya sauce to the congee.
4. Remove the clove of garlic and serve warm.  Be very careful to cool it sufficiently so as not to burn baby while feeding.

**NOTE**

I like to run the "Congee" setting twice in order to get a thicker, more mushed up congee as my little one doesn't have any back teeth yet.

Salmon Spaghetti

While Mummies look after little ones, they have to be sure that they are eating well too, especially if they are still breastfeeding.  Here's a dish that's quick, simple yet nutritious too!

Ingredients:
Spaghetti, cooked as per instructions
Salmon, cut into big chunks
Garlic, minced
Tomatoes, cut
Red pepper, chopped
Celery, chopped
Oil
Milk
Salt
Black pepper

1. After cooking spaghetti as per instructions on the packet, drain and keep some of the water.  Portion spaghetti into serving plates.
2. Heat up some oil in a frying pan.  When oil is hot, add garlic and fry until fragrant, then add salmon chunks to the frying pan, spacing them out so that they can cook evenly.  After a few minutes, turn the salmon chunks over to cook the other side.
3. Add tomatoes, red pepper, celery and some milk to the frying pan.  Season with salt and pepper and fry for a few minutes.  Add a little of the water retained from (1) if it is too dry.
4. Place some of the fried ingredients from (3) on top of spaghetti to serve.  best eaten when hot!

Salmon Spaghetti

Tuna Potato Patties

Ever since the kids came along, most of my cooking has been of the quick and easy kind, but once in a while, I like to experiment with new things that could be more time consuming to prepare as well as to wash up.  Here's one such experiment -- tuna potato patties!

Ingredients:

1 can of tuna (I chose tuna in water)

red onions, chopped

red pepper, chopped

potatoes (I chose Russet)

salt

pepper

corn flour

1 egg

oil

1. Boil potatoes in water until cooked through.  Peel and mash.
2. Place tuna, red onions, red pepper, mashed potatoes, egg, some corn flour, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix well.  Mixture should be able to hold it's shape and not be too wet.

   

   Tuna, potato, red onions, red pepper mixture

3. Heat up some oil in a frying pan.  Shape patties using the mixture, coat the exterior with corn flour and place them in the frying pan.  Let one side brown slightly before turning over and browning the other side.

   

   Frying tuna potato patties

4. Best served hot with salad and sour plum dipping sauce!

   

   Tuna potato patties with salad

Omelette

I use eggs all the time.  Whether as an addition to oats or instant noodles, it's something that is cheap, nutritious and easy to use.  This time, instead of my all-time favourite -- onion omelette, I cooked a more hearty version:

This omelette reminds me of Mummy... and cooking it myself reminds me that Mummy spends lots of time preparing good food for us regardless of how much time or effort it takes.  Something seemingly simple like this requires lots of time shelling small prawns.  Thank you Mummy!

Ingredients:

Eggs, lightly beaten

Small prawns, shelled

Minced pork

Spring onions, cut into 2cm sections

Light soya sauce

White pepper

Cooking oil

1. Heat up a little oil in a pan.  Add minced pork and prawns and fry until just cooked.
2. Pour cooked minced pork and prawns into beaten egg, season with light soya sauce and white pepper, and mix.
3. Add mixture to hot pan and stir while egg has not set.  Leave to cook for a few minutes, sprinkle spring onions over the half-cooked omelette, then flip the omelette over to finish cooking.  Best eaten when piping hot!

Sweet Sour Pork

According to Asian culture, a new mother has to stay indoors and adhere to a strict diet for 1 month after her child is born.  During this period, also called 'confinement', one of my favourite dishes was pig's trotters stewed in black vinegar.  This is cooked with lots of vinegar and ginger.  After confinement, I was left with half a bottle of black vinegar... something I seldom use in my cooking. Not wanting to waste it, I tried cooking sweet sour pork!  This is a really tasty dish that goes very well with rice.  Enjoy!

Sweet Sour Pork

Ingredients:
lean pork, sliced
red onion, cut into wedges
red pepper, cut into small pieces
corn flour
oil

Seasoning:
tomato sauce
chili sauce (optional)
black vinegar
sugar
light soya sauce
dark soya sauce
black pepper

1. While heating up oil in wok, toss pork slices in cornflour to coat lightly.  Fry coated pork slices in oil until slightly browned and remove from wok.
2. Using the remaining oil in the wok, fry red onion until fragrant.  Add in red pepper and the fried pork into the wok and stir fry.
3. Prepare the sauce by mixing all the seasoning ingredients and add to the wok.  Stir fry until pork is coated with sauce.  Serve with rice while hot!

Homemade Kaya

For those unfamiliar with "kaya", it is a spread made from eggs, sugar and coconut milk, also known as coconut egg jam.  In Singapore, this is often spread on bread or toast together with butter.  Kaya in the bottled form is easily available in supermarkets and, depending on the brand, ranges from green to brown in colour.

When I was younger, my Mum would make homemade kaya once in a while.  According to her, my grandmother's recipe was: 1 bunch of pandan leaves, 1 bowl of eggs, 1 bowl of sugar, and 1 bowl of fresh coconut milk.  These simple ingredients will then be mixed together in the upper tier of a double boiler.  The ONE skill you need to make perfect homemade kaya -- PATIENCE.  While the kaya cooks in the double boiler, you have to keep stirring it so that it doesn't curdle and you get the perfect texture.

I wanted to make my own kaya, but I didn't have the time to make it the traditional way.  In steps my best internet friend -- Google... I decided to make kaya using my bread machine!  I made a watered-down version:

Bread Machine Kaya

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup raw sugar

1 cup eggs (approximately 4 medium sized eggs)

1. Mix coconut milk and sugar in bread machine pan.  Add eggs to the pan through a sift.
2. Start the "Jam" function on the bread machine.
3. At the end of the "Jam" cycle, the mixture will appear lumpy.  Pour the mixture into a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into glass jars and keep refrigerated.

This is my lazy version where I used packet coconut milk instead of fresh and also skipped the pandan leaves.

Bread Machine Kaya (Coconut Egg Jam)

Stir-fried Noodles

Claypot Noodles

I like cooking with this kind of noodles.  Being dried, they can be kept for a longer period of time, and there is no need for pre-boiling before using them for fried noodles.  Stir-fried noodles can be as simple or as complicated as you want them to be.  This time, I added more ingredients:

Ingredients:
vegetable oil
red onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
sweet peas, a handful
dried mushrooms, soaked and sliced
chicken breast, sliced and seasoned with soya sauce and pepper
soya sauce
pepper
corn flour and water mixture

1) Warm up wok and add a little vegetable oil
2) Add garlic and onions when oil is warm.  Fry until fragrant.
3) Add mushrooms and chicken.  Season with some soya sauce and pepper.
4) Add water and bring to a boil, then add 1 piece (for 1 person) of the dried claypot noodles.
5) When noodles have softened, lower the fire and add in sweet peas
6) Add corn flour and water mixture while stirring to thicken the gravy.  Enjoy while hot!

Stir-fried Noodles

Fried Broccoli, Cauliflower & Chicken

Fried broccoli and cauliflower

Broccoli together with cauliflower has to be one of the vegetable dishes that I cook most often.  For this dish, I added in some chicken to make it a quick and easy one-dish-meal to be eaten with rice.

Ingredients:
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Carrot
Chicken breast
Garlic
Vegetarian oyster sauce (mushroom based)
Light soya sauce
Black pepper
Corn flour
Oil

1. Cut chicken breast into bite-sized cubes and season with light soya sauce, black pepper and a little corn flour.  Set aside while you prepare the other ingredients.  Marinate for longer if you have the time.
2. Mince garlic.  Wash and cut up broccoli, cauliflower and carrot
3. Heat up frying pan with a little oil.  On low heat, fry the garlic until fragrant and slightly golden brown.
4. Add in chicken to cook for a while.
5. Add in broccoli, cauliflower and carrot.
6. Add vegetarian oyster sauce and a little water, stirring to mix all ingredients in the pan.
7. Cover pan and bring up to high heat and let cook for a few minutes or until vegetables are cooked but not overly soft.
8. Uncover the pan and give it a final stir before dishing out onto a plate.