Simple Spring Vegetable Stir Fry

I love spring. You get to eat lots of nice spring vegetables and fruits. I love stone fruits and mangoes. Anyone else sick of the boring apples and oranges? I cooked this to show case the fresh asparagus I bought.

Ingredients

1 bunch of asparagus, chopped into 4 cm lengths

5 leaves of Wombok, cut into 2 cm slices

1 carrot, thinly sliced

½ red capsicum, thinly sliced

A small handful of dried shrimp (optional)

2 tbsp of oyster sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp of cooking oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1.          Heat the cooking oil in the wok/saucepan.

2.          Saute the garlic and the dried shrimp.

3.          Add the vegetables in this sequence, carrots, capsicum, wombok, then the asparagus.

4.          Add in the oyster sauce, sesame oil and ¼ cup of water, it only takes less than 10 minutes to cook.

5.          Add salt and pepper to taste.

Easy One Pot Rice

This meal is dead easy, and only one pot to wash up later on, and it only takes 20-30 minutes especially if you own a rice cooker. I like Chinese mustard green, it does have a bitter taste, my husband said why would anyone want to eat this vege? It is an acquired taste I must admit. You can substitute it with green beans, other greens, diced pumpkin, or omit the vegetables altogether if you’re a bad boy/girl. If you don't have any roast pork on hand, simply substitute it with diced chicken (raw is OK as long as it's cut small or it won't cook completely) or any other leftover meat in the fridge.

Ingredients

2 cups of jasmine rice

2 cups of chicken stock

2 cm of ginger, finely sliced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 chinese sausages, sliced

200g of readymade roast pork 

4 dried shitake mushrooms, rehydrate in water for 15 minutes, cut into quarters

5 pieces of wood ears (dried black fungus), rehydrate in water, then thinly sliced

50g of dried shrimp, washed

3 bunches of Gai Choy (Chinese mustard greens), roughly chopped

2 tbsp of light soy sauce (substitute with gluten free soy sauce if you need)

1 tsp of sesame oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1.          You’ll need a rice cooker, if you cook it on the stove you run the risk of burning the bottom.

2.          Pretty much dump all the ingredients into the rice cooker, leaving the vegetables last to sit on top of the rice.

3.          Press the cook button and wait for it!

Kedgeree

Kedgeree is an Anglo-Indian breakfast dish.  I was inspired to try cooking it after I had the best kedgeree at The Chelsea Bistro at The Barracks, Brisbane. I didn’t go to the trouble of home-smoking any fish of course. It is actually quite easy to make, a bit like an Indian fried rice.

Ingredients (serves 5)

250g of smoked trout/cod (I used hot smoked salmon in mine)

4 hard boiled egg, cut into quarters

1 ½ cups of cooked basmati rice

1 carrot, diced

4 stalks of celery, diced

2 tomatoes, diced

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tsp of black mustard seeds

1 tsp of crushed cardamom

2 tsp of curry powder

1 tsp of tumeric powder

1 tsp of cumin powder

½ cup fish/vegetable stock

2 tsbp cooking oil

Few sprigs of parsley, finely chopped

Salt to taste

Method

1.          Heat the oil in a large pan.

2.          Sauté onion and garlic.

3.          Add the mustard seeds and cardamom until the mustard seeds “pop”.

4.          Add all the spice powders.

5.          Add carrots and celery next.

6.          Add a bit of stock if too dry.

7.          Add in the rice, make sure you break up any lumps.

8.          Add the stock and stir well.

9.          Next, add the tomatoes and salt to taste.

10.      Turn the heat off and sitr in the fish, eggs and parsley.

Sesame Oil, Ginger and Chinese Wine Chicken Braise 麻油鸡/姜酒鸡

This is a dish that is usually served to women in the post childbirth period to provide “heat” to the womb for healing. It doesn’t stop me eating this anytime I feel like it though. I used Shao Xing wine for this, but I’ve used sweet sherry, a touch of brandy, or Chinese rose wine as substitute.

Ingredients

5 cm chunk of ginger, skinned, smashed with the back of the knife

5 cloves of garlic, smashed

600g of chicken thigh fillet, cut into 3cm cubes

1 can of button mushrooms

5 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked and cut in half

1 cup of Shao Xing wine

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp of sesame oil

1 tbsp of light soy sauce (substitute with gluten free soy sauce for coeliacs)

2 tbsp cooking oil

1 tbsp tapioca starch, mixed with 1 tbsp of water to make a paste

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1.          Heat cooking oil in a deep saucepan.

2.          Sauté the ginger and garlic.

3.          Add the chicken and sauté.

4.          Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce, wine and sesame oil.

5.          Add the mushrooms.

6.          Simmer with the lid on for about 15minutes until the chicken is cooked.

7.          Stir in the tapioca paste, and simmer until the sauce thickens.

8.          Add salt and pepper to taste.

9.          Serve with steamed rice.

Pumpkin Salad

We attended a friend’s housewarming BBQ on the weekend and were asked to bring a salad. This is what I made.

Ingredients

200g pumpkin, cut into 3-4 cm chunks about 1 cm thick

10 stalks of asparagus

100g baby spinach

½ red onion, thinly sliced

¼ cup of pepitas, toasted

400g canned chickpeas

Parmesan shavings

A handful of chopped parsley

10ml white wine vinegar

1 tbsp sugar

20ml extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method

1.          Soak the cut onions in the white vinegar and sugar.

2.          Grill the asparagus (takes only 1-2 minutes on each side) and the pumpkin.

3.          Drain the chickpeas and the onion, reserve the white vinegar.

4.          Toss the spinach, asparagus and pumpkin with the chickpeas and half of the toasted pepitas.

5.          Mix the olive oil, the while vinegar, balsamic vinegar and parsley until it emulsifies.

6.          Pour over salad, toss.

7.          Sprinkle the rest of the pepitas on top and the Parmesan shavings.

Assam Prawns (Tamarind Prawns)

This is another nostalgic Mum’s dish, although she never gave me the recipe, me thinks she’s reluctant to spill the secret. My version is close but not the same. Alas, until she spills, I'll just have to keep trying.

Ingredients

1 dozen large green prawns, unshelled

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

½ onion, finely sliced

2 tbsp tamarind paste

½ cup hot water

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp thick dark soy sauce (substitute GF as required)

1 tbsp sugar

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp cooking oil

Method

1.          Soak the tamarind paste in the hot water, pass through a sieve to get rid of the seeds and pulp. Add all the other seasonings. Marinate the prawns for an hour.

2.          Heat wok and oil. Make sure it is very hot.

3.          Add in the prawns (without the marinade but reserve it for later), cook until the shells are crisp.

4.          Add the onion and garlic to sauté.

5.          Then add the reserved marinate.

6.          Cook for another 5 minutes until the sauce is slightly reduced.

Assam Fish Curry

I wanted to cook fish tonight, but was not too keen to have fried or grilled fish. I thought of this appetizing dish, the tamarind (assam) gave it the sour taste and a lift, best served over fluffy white rice.

Ingredients

Spice blend

2 large onions

2 cloves garlic

2 stalks of lemon grass

3 chillies, deseeded

3 cm piece of ginger (or galangal if you can find some)

3 cm piece of tumeric

1 tsp of belacan (Malaysian dried shrimp paste)

2 tomatoes

2 skinny eggplants

6 okras

Other vegetables are all optional eg. Cabbage, pumpkin, carrots

3 pieces of white fish fillets

2 tbsp cooking oil

½ water

2 tbsp tamarind paste

Salt to taste

Method

1.          Blend all the spices and onions in a blender, add 1 tbsp of water to aid the blending process. Add or subtract chillies as per your preference.

2.          Heat oil in pan.

3.          Sauté the spice blend until the onion is soft.

4.          Mix the tamarind paste in the water and add it to the pan.

5.          Then add the vegetables in order of the time they need cooking. (Hardest vegies go in first eg. Carrots).

6.          Add the fish and okra last as you don’t want to overcook these.

7.          Add some water if it gets too dry.

Lobak/Pork in Crispy Bean Curd Rolls

In Penang we call them Lobak, in the south of Malaysia and Singapore they’re known as Ngoh Hiang. Ngoh Hiang means five fragrance, or five spices, which is the essential ingredient of this dish. You can purchase five-spice powder from Asian grocers or mix it up yourself; the 5 spices are star anise, cinnamon, clove, schezuan pepper and fennel seeds. The rolls are usually served with a sweet and sour sauce. I broke the no deep frying in my kitchen rules today. It was 2 Christmases ago that we last had any deep frying in this house. Anyway, I now regret having to clean up. Thank goodness the reward was worth the effort.

Ingredients

500g pork mince

2 tsp of five spice powder

1 tsp of ground white pepper

3 tbsp of light soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 stalk of spring onion finely chopped

200g of water chestnut finely diced
1 egg (60g)

Salt

Bean curd sheets

1 tsp of corn flour mix with 20ml of water

Oil for deep frying

Method

1.          Add all the seasonings and egg to the mince, mix well, marinate for at least 30minutes.

2.          Wet bean curd sheets with a bit of water to make it more pliable.

3.          Cut the sheets into 12x12cm squares.

4.          Wrap mince in the bean curd skin, seal with the corn flour paste. Put seal side down for it to stick while wrapping the rest of the rolls.

5.          Heat vegetable oil/rice bran oil.

6.          Deep fry the rolls until the skin is golden and crisp.

Dry Bean Curd Sheets

Soba/Buckwheat Noodle Salad

This is a simple healthy meal perfect for summer, as the dish is often eaten cold. I bought some soba or Japanese buckwheat noodles to try, as I’ve heard of its excellent nutritional value. Have you followed any food fad recently?


Here’s what I learned while researching buckwheat. Buckwheat isn’t actually a grain; it comes from a hardy, weed-like plant related to rhubarb. Its seeds are used for centuries as staple food. Buckwheat is therefore gluten free and can be eaten by people with coeliac disease. It is high in protein, fiber, magnesium, copper, manganese, antioxidant flavonoids (especially rutin) and lignans. Diets that contain high intake of buckwheat have been linked to lower risk of developing high cholesterol, gallstones, and diabetes.

Ingredients (serves 4)

4 bundles of soba noodles

1 capsicum, julienned

1 carrot, julienned

Snow peas

4 dried shitake mushrooms

1 piece of chicken breast

2 cm piece of fresh ginger

2 stalks of spring onions

4 tbsp soba sauce (or use gluten free soy sauce)

1 tsp sesame oil

Method

1.          Poach chicken breast in a pot of simmering water.

2.          Add to it sliced ginger and the dried shitake mushrooms.

3.          When the chicken is cooked (about 15 mins), set it aside to rest.

4.          Blanch the snow peas and capsicum for about 2-3 minutes, drain.

5.          Cook the noodles in boiling water for about 10 minutes, drain.

6.          Add the soba sauce and sesame oil to the noodles, toss well to coat.

7.          Slice the chicken and mushrooms.

8.          Toss all ingredients with the noodles.

9.          Top with a sprinkle of chopped spring onions.

Polenta Crusted Fish and Celeriac Remoulade

This is a twist on the traditional battered fish. Polenta crust is a good gluten free alternative (omit the potato chips). I’ve always wanted to try making a celeriac remoulade. Imagine my delight when I came across celeriac at my local green grocer this morning.

Does anyone have a "fish and chips" night as part of their family tradition?

Ingredients

For the fish

White fish fillets x4

1 cup of polenta

Salt and Pepper

Grated zest of 1 lemon

For the remoulade

½ celeriac, julienne finely

½ granny smith apple, peel and julienne finely

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tbsp mayonnaise

A handful of chopped herbs (I used parsley here)

Salt and pepper

Method

1.          Make the remoulade by mixing all the ingredients together.

2.          Pat dry the fish fillets.

3.          Mix the salt, pepper, lemon zest into the polenta.

4.          Lightly coat the fish in the polenta.

5.          Fry until cooked.

Sushi Rolls or Californian Rolls

The boys love homemade rolls to take for school lunches, although they often have to be restrained from polishing all the rolls off when I make them the night before. They report that my rolls are way better than the $2.50 version from their school canteen.

I’m not a big fan of raw fish, so I often make Californian rolls, chicken, tuna or pork floss rolls.

For the sushi rice

2 cups of sushi rice (will make 5-6 rolls)

2 cups of water

2 tbsp caster sugar

2 tbsp sushi vinegar

Method

1.          Wash the rice until the water runs clear.

2.          Cook in electric rice cooker.

3.          Spread hot rice in a bamboo bowl (sushi-oke) or any non-metallic bowl.

4.          Sprinkle on the sugar and vinegar and mix until evenly spread.

5.          Let the rice cool before you start rolling.

Rice cooling in the bamboo bowl.

Rolling the Californian rolls.

What are your favourite ingredients in your sushi rolls?

Beef Rendang with Coconut Rice

This is another traditional Malaysian favourite dish, usually you would need to cook it for an hour or two till the beef is soft and tender. I tried it out in my trusty pressure cooker again last night, it needed 35 minutes.

Recipe
Ingredients:

For the paste

5 shallots or 1 large red onion
3 cloves of garlic
2 stalks of lemon grass
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 tsp of belacan (fermented prawn paste)
3 cm knob of fresh tumeric
3 cm knob of fresh galangal (substitute ginger if you can't find galangal)

For the spices
1 tbsp ground tumeric
2 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground cardamon
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 stick of cinnamon
3-4 cloves

1kg beef, diced into 3cm cubes (use chuck or blade)
300ml of coconut milk
2 tbsp of tamarind paste dissolved in 200ml of hot water
1/3 cup of desiccated coconut, dry toasted in a hot pan
2 tbsp cooking oil
(optional potatoes)

For the coconut rice
2 cups of basmati rice
2 cups of coconut milk
1/2 cup of water
pinch of salt
A few stalks of pandan (screw pine) leaves

Method:

1. Heat oil and saute the paste until it splits.
2. Add the spices, and a couple of tablespoons of water so it's not too dry.
3. Cook the spices for a few minutes.
4. Add the beef, and coat the spices evenly.
5. Then add the liquid and the desiccated coconut.
6. Cook covered for about 1 hour, stirring to avoid drying up and browning at the bottom if you cook it on the stove.
7. I used my pressure cooker and dial it up to 25 minutes, then add quartered peeled potatoes and cooked for a further 10 minutes.
8. I cooked the rice in a rice cooker.

 Here it is in the pressure cooker before I added the potatoes, it thickened up a bit after.

Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls

These are traditional Vietnamese cold rolls or rice paper rolls, the filling usually consists of prawns or shredded pork, with rice noodles, various herbs and vegetables. I've added my twist with some mangoes.

Ingredients

For the rolls:
A packet of dried rice paper rounds
20 cooked prawns, peeled and sliced in half
150g of rice noodles soaked in boiling hot water for 15mins, drained
Mangoes, cut into thick batons
Cucumber, cut into long thick strips
Carrots, cut into long strips
Sprigs of coriander, garlic chives, basil

For the sauce:
2 tbsp of sweet chilli sauce
1/2 cup lemon/lime juice
1-2 tbsp of fish sauce
a handful of grated carrots
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp of chopped toasted peanuts

Method:

1. Prepare all the ingredients for the rolls.
2. Have ready a large bowl of hot water and a plate/board to do the wrapping on.
3. Soak the rice paper in the hot water for 30 seconds and place it on the board.
4. Start layering the filling. The bottom most layer (closest to the rice paper skin) is the presentation side, so lay down the pretty herbs and prawns first.
5. Then add the noodles, veges, and mango.
6. Wrap up and seal the edge with a bit of water.
7. Place seam down on plate.
8. To make the sauce, combine all ingredients, stir till the sugar is dissolved.

Chai Kueh (Chives Dumpling)菜粿

This is another of my mother's favourite snacks, it is after all a Teo Chew dish. The quality of the skin depends on the skill of the cook I think, it can be quite tricky to spread it thin enough so it's not chewy, but not too thin that it'll break when you try to wrap it.  My first attempt wasn't too bad I reckon.

Ingredients
For the skins:
200g "Teng" flour (whole wheat flour) 澄粉
150g Tapioca flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
450ml hot water

For the filling:
A big bunch of chives, finely chopped
a handful of dried shrimps, washed, dried and roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1-2 pieces of fried tofu, finely diced
Soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Heat oil in wok.
2. Stir fry the filling, starting with dried shrimps, garlic, chives, tofu and flavourings.
3. Set aside to cool while you make the skins.
4. Mix all the flours and salt in a bowl. 
5. Pour in the hot water. Stir with a wooden spoon and then use your hand to knead when the temperature becomes manageable.
6. Incorporate the oil when kneading.
7. Prepare your steamer and start boiling the water for it.
8. Clean and oil the kitchen bench/a non stick surface.
9. Divide the dough into small balls. This quantity is enough to make about 15. (Cover with wet kitchen towel to prevent it drying out).
10. Flatten the dough as much as possible with a rolling pin (traditionally a large cleaver is used).
11. Spoon the filling onto half of the skin and fold in half, wet the edges to seal.
12. Carefully lift it off the bench onto a square of non stick paper.
13. Steam for 10mins until the skin is translucent.

Glutinous Chicken Rice 糯米鸡

This is my adapted version of the famous Loh Mai Kai. I wanted to try making this in the pressure cooker.

Here's my recipe.

Ingredients:
11/2 cups glutinous rice soaked for at least 2 hours, wash and drain well
1 handful of dried shrimp (washed)
300g of chicken thigh cut into cubes
6 dried Shitake mushrooms soaked and cut in halves
2 dried chinese sausages thinly sliced
3 cloves of garlic
2 cm knob of ginger, grated
2 tbsp of cooking oil
1/2-1 cup of water


Marinate:
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp thick dark soy sauce
1 tbsp chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp sesame oil
A pinch of white pepper and salt


Method:

1. Marinate the chicken meat.
2. Heat wok and oil.
3. Sear the chicken meat, then add the shrimp, ginger, garlic and rice.
4. Stir until all the rice is coated with oil.
5. Add the mushrooms, sausages, the remaining marinate and some water.
6. Stir till the soy has evenly coated all the rice.

     

Place in a bowl and steam until the rice is cooked (about 45 minutes) or place bowl in pressure cooker on a trivet with 2 cups of water for about 12 minutes. 

This recipe makes two large bowls, you can use small rice bowls to make individual portions or wrap in lotus leaves for authenticity.