Mini Chive Pancakes with creme fraiche and red onion confit

As we are having a get-together on friday, i really wanted to make some nibbles, but something not very complicated and easy to make within a hour, so that i dont get stuck in the kitchen.
So my hand reached out for my favourite canape book, and i was not disappointed for something new.... quick mini chive pancake with creme fraiche and red onions.
It is what canape should be -  something you can eat with fingers, but just in one mouthful, not too filling but just keep whet your appetite for more.

Makes 20

Ingredients:

Mini Chive pancakes
60g Plain Flour
1/4tspn Baking Powder
1/4tspn Salt
1 egg, beaten
3Tbspn Milk
1Tbspn finely chopped Chives
1Tbspn Sunflower Oil

Creme fraiche and Red Onion Confit
2Tbspn Caster Sugar
1Tbspn Water
1Tbspn Red Wine Vinegar
1 medium Red Onion, finely sliced
Salt
Black Pepper
1Tbspn finely chopped Chives


Method:
Mini Chive Pancakes
1) Sift flour, baking powder and salt together.
2)Make a well in the centre. Add egg and milk to well. Gradually draw in flour and mix to a smooth batter.
3) Stir in chives in the batter
4)Brush a frying pan or griddle with oil. Preheat oveer medium heat.
5)Working in batches, drop heaped teaspoonfuls of mixture into the hot pan. Cook until bubbles appear and underside is golden, 3 minutes.
6)Turn and brown other side, 2 minutes.
7) Brush pan with more oil between each batch of pancakes. Cool pancakes. Serve at room temperature.

Creme Fraiche and Red Onion Confit Topping
1)Put sugar and water in a small pan and stir to dissolve. Bring to boil over medium-low heat and cook to a dark caramel.
2) Remove from heat and add vinegar and onions.
3) Return to medium heat and stir-fry until onions soften, 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cool to warm.
4) Top each pancake with 1 teaspoonful each creme fraiche and onions. Garnish with chives. Serve at room temperature.

Tips:
I didnt have any red wine vinegar, so i subsituted with red wine and balsamic vineagar... and worked great!

Can prepare the mini pancakes 2 days in advance, when serve, crisp in the oven at 200C for 3mins.

Happy Cooking!

Griddled Scallops with Sweet Chilli sauce N creme fraiche on Croutes

I saw this fancy little canapes recipe book,  and happen to have some scallops in my freezer, so alongside the mini chive pancakes with red onion confit, i decided to also make this.
I think this is the easiest recipe i have followed, and require minimum amount of cooking, but impress your guest, and one biteful of delight. 

Recipe taken from Canapes by Eric Treuille & Victoria Blashford-Snell.

 Makes 20

Ingredients:

Croutes
5 Medium slices of white/wholemeal bread

Topping
10 Sea Scallops
Salt
Black Pepper
4Tbspn Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce
6Tbspn Creme fraiche
Coriander leaves or Chopped Chives to garnish



Method

Croute
1)Preheat oven to 150C/300F
2) With a fluted pastry cutter, stamp out each slice of bread into 4 rounds.
3) Place on a bakign sheet and abke unti crisp for approx 20-25mins. Cool.

Topping
4) Cut each scallop in half.
5) Preheat grill pan over a high heat. Sear scallops 1 minute per side.
6)Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste and toss with chilli sauce.
7)Place 1 scallop half on to each croute.
8)Top with 1 teaspoon creme fraiche.
9)Garnish with coriander leaves or chopped chives. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Happy Cooking!

Healing Chinese Chicken Soup

Have you had a cold/flu and you tried everything.... paracetomol, oranges for vitC, hot honey & lemon with ginger, blackcurrant strepsils, white congee, and even chicken soup..... and although you not feel worse but you dont feel any better?

Well, that was me from christmas day - striken by the bug, then boxing day onwards - it was a great mission to get myself better, but at the same time you think, why is my body not better yet? why is it soo slow?  soo frustrating!

Luckily these days you can turn to the world wide web for answers - to which i found this recipe
'A Healing Soup to Ward off Cold & Flu', which was a very interesting article - and giving the mythical remedy of chicken soup bit of a boost with some scientific backing based on Chinese medici.

Anyway, I didnt want to sit around and mope, and looked at the recipe i had most of the ingredients, and it didnt look too complicated, so i thought i give it a go.... but i made adaptation in adding egg noodles, so it become our evening meal.  We both really enjoyed it, and i certainly felt the heat after gulping down the soup, which works great when the day have been wintery cold!

Afterwards - hmm.... i dont think alone it had magically healed me, but with the combination of all my preventative measure i did feel better the next day - so will bookmark it for future - just one thing left to heal - the damn tickly cough! lol

Serves 4
Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp sesame oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-2 red chilies, finely sliced, OR substitute 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. dried crushed chili
• 2 ” of ginger root, finely chopped
• 1/2 lb of boneless, skinless chicken, chopped into 1/2″ slices
• 5 cups chicken stock
• 3 Tbsp soy sauce
• A pinch of Tumeric
• 1/2 cup of sweet potato, cut into 1/4″ dice
• A head of broccoli, separated into florets
• 3 green onions, chopped finely
• Any of the Chinese herbs - Ju hua (Chrysanthamum Flowers), Yu Jin (Tumeric), Huang qi (Astragalus)

Method:

1)Heat the sesame oil in a pan and fry the garlic, chili peppers and ginger over a low heat until they become soft and fragrant. Be careful not to burn them.
2) Add the chicken pieces and stir as you seal the outside of the meat.
3) Add in the stock, soy sauce, tumeric and sweet potato and bring to the boil. Add any Chinese herbs if you are using them.
4) Reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5)Add broccoli and simmer for a further 5 minutes.
6)Add chopped green onions and serve.

Get well soon and happy cooking!

Nutella Cupcakes with Chocolate Chip

 If you are a lover of Nutella like me, then this cupcake would be worthy to go with your Cappucino. For me i would choose a Hazelnut flavoured caffe latte.  I was very proud of what i have baked that i was pleased to put on my cake stand and welcome some friends  to help me sample it. 

 This Nutella cupcake recipe taken from Cuisine Paradise. I have double up the ingredients so can make 12, and added some chopped hazelnuts, and instead of buying choc chip, i had a bar of milk chocolate, so its like chunky choc inside the cake.  

Makes 12
Preparations 10-15mins
Cooking 20mins

Ingredients

140g Plain Flour
60g Self-Raising Flour
140g Unsalted Butter, soften
140g Caster Sugar
4 eggs, 60g each
1/2tspn Vanilla Extract
1 tspn Baking Powder
1/2 cup Mini Choc Chip
Pinch of Salt
Some Nutella Spread

Method:

1)Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes on medium speed)
2)Add egg one at a time and beat till no trace of egg mixture
3)Next add vanilla and stire inflour mixutre until flours are fully mixed together before toss in the chocolate chips and mix well.
4)Fill each cup with 1/4 batter, add in 1 teaspoon of Nutella each, scatter a pinch of hazelnuts, add 3/4 of batter to cover up the nutella.
5)Give the mixture a quick swirl using a toothpick and bake in preheated oven at 180C/160C fan for approx 20 mins or until skewer/toothpick insert and comes out clean.
6) Leave to cool at wire rack before storing in a airtight container.

Happy Baking!

Gingerbread Cupcakes with Toffee Cream Frosting

I have been itching to bake for a while, and this was meant to be my early December bake for the festive season, but as always, the christmas rush, parties..... so its left to today where i dont need to go to work and happy to bake for a family gathering we are hosting on friday.

This recipe is taken for the Goodfoodchannel.co.uk, with the smell of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg its very hard not to think of warm comfy christmas,  then to finish the cupcake with toffee cream frosting it makes it absolutely irresistable to reach out to taste this little morsel.

For me it was really fun to play in my kitchen, then see happy faces around the coffee table.

Makes 12
Prep time: 35mins
Cook time: 25mins

Ingredients

Cupcake:
150g Butter, room temp
150g Soft Brown sugar
3 eggs
150g Self-raising flour
1tspn Ground ginger
1/2tspn Ground Cinnamon
Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
1Tbspn Milk


Frosting:
200g Butter, room temp
50g soft Brown sugar
3Tbspn Milk
200g Icing Sugar
Pinch of ground cinnamon

Method:


1) Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan
2) Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3)Sift flour toghether with the spices.
4)Gradually mix the eggs into the creamed butter and sugar alternating he flour to stop the mix from curdling. Finally, stir throught the milk. 
5) Place 12 paper cupcakes cases into a tin and divid the mixture between them
6)Bake for 15-20mins until golden and springy to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Frosting
7) While the cupcakes are cooking place 50grams of the butter in a pan with the brown sugar and cook over a low heat until melted. Add 2 tablespoons of the milk and stir to form a thick glossy toffee sauce. Leave to one side to cool to room temperature. 
8)In a large mixing bowl beat the butter until smooth, then start to sift in the icing sugar, stirring regularly. Add the toffee sauce and stir until thoroughly incorporated. Add a splash more of milk if the mixture seems too thick - the frosting should be light and creamy. 
9) Put the frosting in a piping bag and pipe onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon before serving. 


Note:
My frosting seem abit too sloppy to hold the creamy swirl, i put the frosting in the fridge for 30mins. 
Instead sprinkling cinnamon - i used crushed gingerbread biscuit crumbs from one of my gingerbread man. 
 
Happy Baking!

Gingerbread Man

Gingerbread man is one fun little biscuit, an all time classic, easy to make and bring alot of fun especially with the children.  I recollect that my first experience in making gingerbread man was at primary school.... i would be sooo proud of myself to show my mummy MY gingerbread man.

So for this jolly festive season, even though munching away with my colleague on some ginger nut, i decided i bake some long-forgotten gingerbread men. 
After i baked it, me & mr C have started a little debate - what makes a good gingerbread men?  the one thats crumbly or one thats crispy?  I like the crispy, and he like the soft crumbly lol.


Here the easy to make recipe taken from Cookie Magic by Kate Shirazi.

Makes 1 batch

Ingredients

350g/12oz Plain Flour
1tspn Bicarbonate of Soda
2tspn Ground ginger
100g/4oz Butter
175g/6oz Soft Brown Sugar
1 Large free range egg
4Tbspn Golden Syrup

Method:

1) Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ginger into a large bowl.  Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until you have a mixture resembling fine breadcrumbs. Add the sugar and give it a good mix.
2)In another bowl, beat the egg and golden syrup together. I find a whisk works wonders here. Tip it over the flour mix and stir well. You may find it easier to get your hands in at this point. Sometimes the dough cab be a bit on the sticky side. Keep sprinkling over flour and working it in until you have a lovely smooth dough.
3)Wrap the dough in clingfilm and leave to chill in the fridge for at least 30mins, but an hour would be better.
4) Preheat the oven to 190C/375F and line 2 baking sheets with silicone liners (or grease the baking sheets with some butter.)
5) Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 4mm/1/4inch. Cut out the required shapes, place them slightly apart on your lined baking sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden. Leave to cool slightly on the baking sheets before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Note:
After cool down, you can be a little more creative and get all your icing out to decorate the gingerbread man... why stop the fun, when its only just the start.

Happy Baking!

Merry Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas!!  Its that time of year again where i love having my family over at our home, and prepare a good dinner for everyone to share.
This year, despite a developing cold, it was a fantastic day! I was well stocked in my fridge this year. This year i made roast pork and roast duck again with seafood stir-fry with mangetout & choi sum,  However, my uncle & auntie were very generous and brought food over so had a roast chicken and a chinese style roast duck, and Mr C mum also brought rice ball tofu sweet soup for dessert, so it was plenty with lots of leftovers.   I really enjoyed seeing my family chatting, laughing, fighting to share the food.... and seeing that make me love Christmas even more :) Make all my planning and effort more worthwhile.

Hope everyone had a great christmas like i have!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! May everyone in this jolly festive season be filled with lots of happiness, good health & lots of love and laughter.

Vanilla Swirled Brownies

It have been a while since i last baked anything.... so decided to bake these Vanilla swirled brownies to welcome Mr C home from business.
It was really fun doing what i love doing in the kitchen... and most important.... got someone to share it with :)

These little cakes are very rich and chocolatey - with a good cuppa tea its a perfect treat ;)

Recipe taken from Mini Cakes by Joanna Farrow - if you want to make fairy cupcake size i would double the measurement listed on the recipe. if not... the teeny-weeny size cake would be very cute and a not-so sinful treat ;)


Makes 12
Prep 20 mins plus cooling

Cook: 12-15 mins

Ingredients:

Brownie mixture
85g/3oz Lightly salted butter,
100g/3.5oz Plain chocolate, roughly chopped
1 egg
1 egg yolk
100g/3.5oz Light Muscovado sugar
40g/1.5oz Self-raising flour
1/4tspn Baking Powder
85g/3oz milk chocolate, roughly chopped

Frosting:

150g/5.5oz Mascarpone cheese
4Tbspn Icing Sugar
1tspn Vanilla Extract
milk/plain chocolate - grated/curls - to sprinkle


1) Preheat the ovn to 190C/375F.  Grease and base-line a 12 section mini muffin tin. (or line it with some paper cases)
2) Put the butter and plain chocolate on a heatproof bowl, set a the bowl over a saucepan of gently simmering water and heat until melted. Leave the mixture to cool slightly.
3)Put the egg, egg yolk and light muscovado sughar in a mixing bowl and beat together with an electric handheld whisk until the mixture begins to turn frothy. Stir in the melted chocolate. Sift the flour and baking powder into the bowl, scatter in the milk chocolate and stir together. Using a tea-spoon, spoon the mixture into the tray sections.
4)Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15mins, or until the crust feels dry but gives a little when gently pressed. (If you're unsure, it's better to slightly under-cook brownies as they lose their gooey-ness when over-baked.) Leave in the tray for 10mins, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5)For the frosting, put the mascarpone cheese, icing sugar and vanilla in a small bowl and beat it with an electric handheld whisk until smooth and creamy. Put the mixture in a piping bag fitted witha 1cm star nozzle and pipe swirls over the cakes. Sprinkle with chocolate curls.

Happy Baking!

Home-made Wholewheat Bread

Decided to make us of my own breadmaker, and bake my own wholemeal loaf. I love the smell of fresh bread... make the house smell soo homey! 

This is recipe from my Cookworks Signature Stainless Steel Breadmaker.

2.0lb loaf
Program: Whole-wheat.

260g Bread flour
260g Whole-wheat flour
1.25tspn Dry Yeast
320ml Water
2Tbspn Margarine/Butter
2tspn Salt
2Tbspn Sugar

3.5hrs and u get the result!

Happy Baking!

 

The Wyvern - Midland Hotel Manchester

Tonight we went to dine at The Wyvern in Midland Hotel Manchester to celebrate a good friend's birthday as well wishing her good luck to her new job ashore.

I had a really good night out, and cant help but to share some foodie pics of the night.

Starters - Calamari for everyone

Main - Pan-roasted Salmon Fillet with Smoked Bacon Potato Cake
& Petit Pois a la Française

Pan-fried Goosnargh Chicken Breast with Chorizo Lentils

Midland Burger with Gorgonzola Cheese, Maple-glazed Bacon
& Hand-cut Chips

Lamb Shank, Spring Onion Mash & Roasted Root Vegetables

Desserts: Baileys Cheesecake with a Dark Chocolate Ganache & Vanilla Anglaise

Sticky Toffee Pudding with Toffee Sauce & Vanilla Ice Cream

HK style - Macaroni Soup with Ham & Egg

When growing up,  my mum always make marcaroni in soup with meat and all sorts for lunch.  But whenever we go back to HK and go into a Cha-chan-tengs (traditional HK cafes), my parents always order marcaroni soup with ham and egg which me & sister would share. This is a cha-chann teng popular dish, quick and comforting, more famous for breakfast, but also served anytime of the day.

Mr C have just returned from a HK business trip - and stirred my memory of this dish, so on his return, i decided to make this to go down a little trip of memory lane.

Recipe is from Christinerecipe blog - thanks to her simple and clear instructions - i was able to make a this very quickly and enjoyed a good lunch.

 

Ingredients:

250 gm macaroni
500 ml chicken stock
500 ml water
70 gm green peas, fresh or frozen
60 gm corn kernels, fresh or frozen
200 gm ham
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
boiling water, to soak the vegetables
 sesame oil, to taste, optional

Method:
1) Cook the macaroni according to the package instructions. Drain well. Set aside.
2) Soak green peas and corn kernels in boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain well.
3)Use a deep large pot, add chicken stock and water. Bring it to a boil. Add macaroni, ham, green peas and corn kernels. Continue to cook. When it boils again. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle a bit of sesame oil on top. Serve in individual bowls immediately.

4) In a non- stick pan with a little oil - make a fried egg and top it on the bowl.

Tip:

You can easily adapt this recipe with any ingredients, if you want to have sausages, you can, and if you want to and other green i.e spinach, its up to you.

Happy Cooking!

Strawberry Banana and Milk Choc Chip Muffins

I also baked these to take to the baby shower, another new recipe that i've eyed up to test out - which i very much enjoyed making.

I thought this recipe is a bit interesting, because would never even thought of combining bananas and strawberries together.  Being abit random at times, it thought the recipe reminded of me - and strawberries is my favourite fruit ever - so went ahead to try it out.

Mashed, chopped, stirred - and ready to be in the oven

First taste tester

Look on the inside

Baked and cooling off

With the hint of cinnamon, this little muffin is definitely goes well with a good coffee of your choice, mine would be a battle between a Vanilla Latte or a Caffe Mocha.. hmmm (is it time for a starbucks calling?)

Recipe taken from Joy of Baking, i have adapted it slightly by adding some milk choc chip just to balance out all the fruit :)

Make 12

Ingredients:

1 Cup/113g Unsalted butter, melted
3/4Cup/ 160g Light brown sugar
2 Large egges, lightly beaten
1tspn Pure Vanilla Extract
2 Large Ripe Bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
1Cup/240ml fresh Strawberries - cut into bite-sized pieces
2.25Cup/295g Plain Flour
1.5tspns Baking Powder
1/4tspn Bicarbonate of soda
1tspn ground cinnamon
1/2tspn Salt

Method

1)Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Position rack in centre of oven. Line your tin with paper cases, set aside.
2)In a small saucepan melt the butter. Set aside
3)In a medium-sized bowl whisk together the brown sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and mashed banana. Add the melted butter to the brown sugar mixture and stir to combine.
4)In another large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbornate of soda, cinnamon, and salt. Gently FOLD in the berries. making sure they are coated with flour. This helps to prevent the berries from sinking during baking. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are just combined. Do not overmix the batter or tough muffins will result.
5)Divide the batter evenly amon the cupcake cases, using two spoons. Place in the oven and bake until a tester inserted in the centre of a cupcake comes out clean, 20 to 25mins. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Boxed up - ready to party!

Happy Baking!

Blueberry and Lemon Polenta Cupcakes

Its been a fabulous day today, lovely sunshine, and perfect for go out meeting up with some lovelies.
I had the pleasure to go to a surprise baby shower and had such a good time chatting with everyone.

When i was asked to do some baking, i was soo delighted, because being eyeing up a couple of recipes that i want to try out.  So i was more than happy to flex my arms out and experiment in my kitchen.

I have chosen to bake Blueberry & Lemon cupcakes taken from 'Cupcakes' by Susannah Blake. It caught my eye because this cake is abit unconventional, where you use golden polenta which is corn meal powder which is very popular in Italian food.  Because i personally like cakes that are light and fluffy and not too sweet - so finding out this just stirred my curiosity to try this recipe out.

Here are some pics of my late night baking:

Blueberries sinking into the mixture - and ready to be in the oven

This little one is my first taste tester

Just to show everyone how fluffy it came out :)

All baked now being to cool off

And i am not disappointed, once baked because of the golden polenta, the cake have a natural golden colouring, when bite into it its crispy outside, but very moist inside. Then with the tangy juicy burst from the blueberries and the cream cheese with a hint of lemon just make you feel in heaven.  Goes well with nice cuppa tea.
 I am particular pleased when i finished it off this morning with the cream frosting, and when i add the blueberries as a topping then sprinkle whats left of my grated lemon zest - it just look soo colourful and really matching to a sunny day. 

Lemony Cream Cheese frosting &  a blueberry topper

Sprinkle of lemon zest - voila! ready for party!

 I had such good feedback from everyone, that i'm all hooked out looking for cakes that uses polenta :) and bigger nudge to look for more unusual cupcake recipes to try out in the future. 

Make approx 10

Ingredients:

Cake
50g Golden Polenta
40g Plain Flour
1tspn Baking powder
1Tbspn Creme Fraiche
1.5Tbspn Sunflower Oil
grated zest of 1 Lemon
1Tbspn Lemon Juice
1 Egg
50g Caster Sugar
60g Fresh Blueberries

Frosting
150g Light Cream Cheese
100g Icing Sugar, sifted
1/2 tspn grated lemon zest
1Tbspn Lemon Juice
60g fresh Blueberries
strip of lemon zest

Method:

1) Preheat the oven to 180F (350F), then line the cupcake tin with paper cases.
2)Combine the polenta, flour and baking powder in a bowl, then set aside.  Beat the creme fraiche, oil, lemon zest and juice together in a jug, then set aside.
3)In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and sugar together for about 4 minutes until thick and pale, then add the lemon mixture and fold in. Sift the polenta mixture over the top and fold in to combine.
4)Spoon the mixture into the paper cases, then drop about 4 blueberries on top of each one, gently pressing them into the mixture. Bake for 15-16 minutes until risen and golden and s skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
5)To decorate, beat the cream cheese in a bowl until creamy, then beat in the icing sugar, lemon zest and lemon juice. Swirl big dollops of frosting on top of the cakes and decorate with fresh blueberries and strips of lemon zest.

Tip:
I baked the cupcake buns the night before, then in the morning finished off with the cream cheese frosting, that would make it really fresh, and wont get the sticky frosting going everywhere, and looking fabulous!

Happy Baking!

Afternoon fun - cupcake decorating.

Few months back i have treated myself to a groupon voucher to cupcake decorating class. I only enrolled because when i looked at where the class is held, at a local church where my secondary school held our christmas performance and i was part of the orchestra - anyway basically 10mins walk from my parents.

I have been really looking forward to today for a couple of hours of fun.  The class is run by Virginia from Angel Cakes. It was a very relaxing afternoon, and got to see a lot different techniques in making a plain cupcake to look really pretty, as well sharing her top tips to improve our baking at home.

Here are my creations, i was pretty pleased with the results, but being ever so critical of myself, i know i need to go home and practice. Mr C - will be in danger for being my guinea pig the next few months ;p  hahaha

After class, back home to show off to my parents - but like always... they dont seem quite that impressed, only my grandma always give me good praise, and got her 100 fun (100/100 - i grew up with my grandma scoring wotever i do, and if i get 'wea-lie gud -yat bat fun' means i done really good haha)

Hope everyone had a great sunday :)

Learning how to make Tiramisu

Today, i am going for a treat! My parents have arranged to meet with an auntie mrs cheung (dad friend's wife) who is brilliant in making cakes, my mum know i like making sweets, so was very enthusiastic for me to meet her.  So having the pleasure in having some really good dimsums with my parents, then get to go to her place and  learn how to make Tiramisu.

It is definitely, one of the richest tiramisu i ever eaten, and it is a adult dessert with kahlua, amaretto as well as brandy used to soak the sponge fingers.  Unfortunately, i dont have the exact recipe, but i do remember all the ingredients used, but will need to work out whats best for a smaller scale..... this auntie made loads.... 8 packs of mascapone cheese!!

I would like to say a big thank you to this auntie mrs cheung, and all family who keep bringing me nibbles.  ;)

Spicy Sichuan Aubergine Pork

When food shopping this week, i picked up vegetables that i dont normally have, because Mr C would and will not have.  Aubergine is one of them, and like a rebel child i was pretty excited eating it tonight.

Spicy Sichuan aubergine pork aka Yu-heng ker tsi, is a very popular dish and if you go to a chinese restaurant it is often served in a claypot.  Yu-heng mean fish fragant, but it really does not have any fish in it, i still wonder why, a question i need to ask my dad one day.   Because it is spicy, this dish is perfect in the winter... but one a grey and wet day......typical british summer, i needed some spice to perk me up. 

Recipe taken from Chinese Food Made Easy by Ching-He Huang.

I showed my dad of this blog and showed him this, and he did said although it is okay without the salty fish, but without the salty fish its not really fish fragrant - so he told me next time just add like 1-2 tspn of salty fish and let it stew abit to get that fishiness.  Thanks dad for the tip (he was in a really good mood. )

Ingredients

3 Tbspn Groundnut Oil
1 Aubergine/Eggplant, halved lengthways and then cut in cubes
2 clove of Garlic, finely chopped
1 medium red chilli, deseeded, and finely chopped
1 Tbspn freshly grated root ginger
200grm Minced Pork
1Tbspn Shaosing rice wine/dry sherry
2Tbspn Chilli Bean Sauce
200ml hot chicken stock
1Tbspn Rice Vinegar/cider vinegar
1tspn Sesame Oil
2 large spring onions, chopped
1Tbspn of cornflour blended with 2Tbspn cold water

Method:

1) Heat a wok over a high heat and add 2 tablespoons of groundnut oil. Add the aubergine and a few splashes of water to create some steam and fry until the aubergine is softend and golden on the outside. Transfer to a plate and put to one side.
2)Wipe the wok, reheat, and add 1 tablespoon of groundnut oil. Stir-fry the garlic, chilli and ginger for a few seconds, then add the minced pork. Stir-fry 1 minute, then add the rice wine or sherry. Cook until the meat is browned then add the vinegar, chilli bean sauce and stock. Return the aubergines to the wok.
3)Season with the vinegar and sesame oil and bring to boil. Stir-fry in the spring onions. Add the blended cornflour and stir to thicken. Serve immediately.


Note:
I personally cant eat too spicy food, so when i cook spicy food i lower a notch so i can handle it, which this time i add 2 pinches of brown sugar.
I also cook what i have, so this time i didnt have fresh red chilli, so sprinkle a little chilli flakes

Happy Cooking!

Sweet and Sour Fish

Recently, whenever i eat out with my parents, we often order sweet and sour fish for our grandma, soft enough for her to chew and great flavour, which is a big hit for all ages. 
I must admit sweet and sour is not my favourite choice of sauce, but now and again when its on the table... its really is tasty!
I also think its a perfect thing to have on a summery day, and something different on the menu. So asked my mum how to make it, and here i tried to recreate it.

Finally mastered and look like something you find in a chinese take-away.

2-4 cups Veg Oil for deep frying
1lb/450g Fish Fillet (cod, haddock)
1 Tbspn Ginger, finely chopped
2 Onion, chopped
1 cup Mixed Peppers, chopped
4oz Mangetout (optional - blanch in hot water for a couple mins, then plunge in cold water)
half of tin pineapple, chopped

Marinade:
1 tspn salt
1 Large egg white
1 Tbspn cornflour

Sauce:
1 Cup Chicken Stock
1Tbspn Light soy sauce
1Tbspn Chinese rice wine or dry sherry
2Tbspn Tomato paste (i used tomato ketchup)
3Tbspn Rice vinegar
3Tbspn Granulated sugar
1Tbspn Cornflour mixed with 2Tbspn water

Method:

1) Rinse the fish fillets and pat dry. Cut into 2inch sqaures. Add the fish to the marinade ingredients, using a pair of chopsticks to mix in the ingredients and adding the cornflour last. Marinate the fish for at least 15 minutes.
2) While the fish is marinating, prepare the sauce and vegetables. In a small bowl, mix together the chicken broth, soy sauce, rice wine, tomato ketchup, vinegar and sugar. In a separate small bowl, dissolve the cornflour in the water.
3) Heat the oil very hot in a wok, then gentlely add the marinated fish cubes, and let it deep-fry until they are golden brown. Repeat it a few times, if you got quite alot of fish, because dont want stick together. Remove and drain on paper towels.

4) Drain oil through a sieve into a bowl, then add 2 tablespoon of oil into the wok. Add the ginger, onions and stir-fry for 1 minutes. Add the mixed peppers, mangetout, pineapple chunks and stir-fry for a further minute.
5) Add the bowl of mixure of sauce, and let it mix well with the vegetables. Add the fish, and mix well for a couple of minutes and ready to serve.

Tip:
Open your windows, and turn on your extractor fan, and maybe close your kitchen door so dont set the smoke alarm, when deep-fry.

This was my first attempt, practice makes perfect, and cook quicker.

Happy Cooking!

Stir-fried Pak Choy with Garlic

Went to the chinese grocers last week and treated myself to some foodie treats, and whilst there got some baby pak choy. 
This is a very basic recipe in stir-frying most chinese green veg, which been reminded by my mum, and probably be seen on most chinese families.   Its quick and easy, great as a side dish and definitely a great compliment to any meat dishes with some rice. 

350g Baby Pak Choy (half a bag)
1 Tbspn Groundnut Oil
4 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
a small piece of root ginger, deskinned, finely sliced.
1 pinch of salt
1 tspn of Sesame seeds
a few drops of Sesame oil.

Method:

1) In a wok/non-stick pan heat it over a high heat, and add the groundnut oil.
2) Add the ginger, garlic, then pak choy and stir-fry it for 2 or 3 minutes until softened and wilted.
3) Season with a pinch of salt, a few drops of sesame oil and scatter the sesame seeds. Then serve immediately.

Happy Cooking!

Pork with Green Beans in Oyster sauce

This is another  family favourite dish that reminds me of home. When i was growing up and still ate beef, my grandpa would make this, hmmm remember me standing at the doorway to the kitchen and watching him in his white overalls lifting and stir-frying the wok, and all the 'tssss'....'shaaa' noises, but at same time the fragant smell floating into my little nose and making my belly rumbling.  There would normally be at least 3 or 4 varieties of the dishes for our supper, but if green beans was one of those big bowls on table -  I would have been very happy  just to eat  bowl of rice and drown it with the sauce and enjoying the crunchiness of the green beans as well the tender meat.

My mum carried on make this, but eventually when we stopped eating beef, she substituted it with pork. It is very simple dish to make, and does not take that much time, but always a yummy dinner.
 Because it is a simple dish... whenever i cant be bothered thinking, i cook this like in autopilot mode - all thanks to my mum strict drilling when i was young.

Ingredients:

2 Pork Loin steak, sliced into small strips
300g Green Beans, washed, and cut both ends.
2 cloves of garlic, deskinned, sliced
small piece of root ginger, deskinned, sliced

1 Tbspn Veg Oil
1/2tspn of Sugar
1/4tspn of White Pepper
Drizzle of Sesame Oil
1tspn Light Soy Sauce
1tspn Chinese rice wine/cooking wine
1 Tbspn Oyster sauce
2Tbspn Water
Sprinkle of salt to taste. 
1.5tspn Cornflour - mix with a little water

Method:

1)In a pan of hot water, blanch the green beans for 1 or 2 min, then drain and plunge cold water, then set aside
2) Heat over a high heat with veg oil, stir-fry the garlic and ginger for 1-2 minute.
3)Add the pork, stir-fry it  so that it does not stick to the pork.  Add the white pepper, sugar, sesame oil, wine, and stir until mix well.
4) Add the green beans, add the light soy sauce and water, stir-fry for 1-2mins, then cover with a lid and let it cook for 2 mins.
5) mix the oyster sauce with the blended cornflour, add into the wok, give it a good stir and wait to the sauce thicken. sprinkle a little salt to taste, one last stir and ready to serve.

Happy Cooking!