Whenever I know I am going to have a busy week, I'll take some short cuts to help cut down my preparation time: -
1) Plan your menu and buy a week worth of meat. e.g. Monday - Chicken, Tuesday - Beef, Wednesday - Pork....etc.
2) Once you have purchased the meat, marinade the various meat accordingly, indivisually packed them to the portion you'll usually use per meal and freeze it.
The preparation may take few hours of your time, but you'll have more time for the rest of the week!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Quick and Easy Stir Fried Celery Beef
This is a easy and quick dish to prepare if you are short of time.
Ingredience: -
Tender Beef 300g (sliced)
Celery 2 to 4 stalk (cut to small pieces)
Marinate for beef: -
Chinese cooking wine / Dry sherry 2 tblspn
Vegetarian oyster sauce 2 tblspn
Soy sauce 1 tblspn
Salt 1/2 tspn
Sugar 1/2 tspn
Corn flour 2 tspn
Pepper
Method: -
Marinate Beef for at least 30 minutes. You can also choose to marinate beef a day before.
Heat wok frying pan with 2 tablespoons of oil. Stir fry beef until 80% cooked.
Add Celery stir fy and mix well, add pepper to taste.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Honey Soy Chicken
I tried this recipe for my kid's school lunch orders and it turn out that the children like it!
Ingredients: -
Chicken thigh fillet 1 kg
Ginger paste 1 tblspn
Minced Garlic 2 tspn
Light soy sauce 2 tblspn
Dark soy sauce 1 tblspn
Honey 2 tblspn
Salt
Pepper
Methods: -
Cut chicken fillet into small bite-size pieces and marinate with salt & pepper.
Heat two tablespoon of oil in a wok, add ginger and garlic to sizzle till till slightly brown and fragrant.
With medium heat add chicken to stir-fry till 80% cooked, add honey and stir-fry till cooked.
Add light and dark soy sauce, mix well and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.
Before serving, add pepper and salt to taste.
Best served with steam rice.
Ingredients: -
Chicken thigh fillet 1 kg
Ginger paste 1 tblspn
Minced Garlic 2 tspn
Light soy sauce 2 tblspn
Dark soy sauce 1 tblspn
Honey 2 tblspn
Salt
Pepper
Methods: -
Cut chicken fillet into small bite-size pieces and marinate with salt & pepper.
Heat two tablespoon of oil in a wok, add ginger and garlic to sizzle till till slightly brown and fragrant.
With medium heat add chicken to stir-fry till 80% cooked, add honey and stir-fry till cooked.
Add light and dark soy sauce, mix well and simmer for 5 minutes on low heat.
Before serving, add pepper and salt to taste.
Best served with steam rice.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Detoxifying Black Soup
This is a simple soup which my mum used to cook for the family at least once a month to help ‘cleanse’ our body. This soup has a very good balance hence it is good for all seasons.
Ingredients: -
Lean Pork 500g (alternatively you can use one free range chicken)
Sheng Di Pian (Rehmannia Rhizome)* 50g
Tu Fu Ling (Smilacis Glabrae)* 35g
Water 3-4 litres
Salt
Quickly and gently rinse the herbs to wash off any dust.
Place meat, herbs and water in a pot to boil for at least 2 hours on medium-low heat. When ready, it's black in colour, look allot like black coffee.
Add salt to taste before serving.
Ingredients: -
Lean Pork 500g (alternatively you can use one free range chicken)
Sheng Di Pian (Rehmannia Rhizome)* 50g
Tu Fu Ling (Smilacis Glabrae)* 35g
Water 3-4 litres
Salt
Note*: -You can buy this easily from most Asian supermarket.
Method: -Quickly and gently rinse the herbs to wash off any dust.
Place meat, herbs and water in a pot to boil for at least 2 hours on medium-low heat. When ready, it's black in colour, look allot like black coffee.
Add salt to taste before serving.
Tender Hoi Xin Pork
Ingredients: - 
Sliced Pork Shoulder 500g
Cooking oil 2 tblspn
Onion 1 large (cut in to 4)
Spring onion 2 stalks (cut to 2cm long)
Ginger 2 tspn (finely diced)
Hoi Xin Sauce 3tblspn
Chinese cooking wine / Dry Sherry 1 tblspn
Marinate for pork: -
Salt ½ tspn
Soy sauce ½ tblspn
Vegetarian Oyster Sauce 1 tblspn
Pepper
Cooking wine or dry sherry 1 tblspn
Sesame Oil 1 tblspn
Corn flour 2 tspn
Method: -
Marinate sliced pork and let it sit in the fridge at least 30 minutes.
Heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a non-stick wok / frying pan. Add marinated sliced pork and stir fry till 80% cooked.
Push the pork to one side of the wok, on high heat, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add ginger, onion and spring onion, gently stir fry till aromatic, mix with the pork.
Add Chinese cooking wine and Hoi Xin stir fry till pork is completely cooked.
Note: To achieve a tender texture for the meat, add 1 tablespoon of water on high heat and mix quickly before serving on plate.
Sliced Pork Shoulder 500g
Cooking oil 2 tblspn
Onion 1 large (cut in to 4)
Spring onion 2 stalks (cut to 2cm long)
Ginger 2 tspn (finely diced)
Hoi Xin Sauce 3tblspn
Chinese cooking wine / Dry Sherry 1 tblspn
Marinate for pork: -
Salt ½ tspn
Soy sauce ½ tblspn
Vegetarian Oyster Sauce 1 tblspn
Pepper
Cooking wine or dry sherry 1 tblspn
Sesame Oil 1 tblspn
Corn flour 2 tspn
Method: -
Marinate sliced pork and let it sit in the fridge at least 30 minutes.
Heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil in a non-stick wok / frying pan. Add marinated sliced pork and stir fry till 80% cooked.
Push the pork to one side of the wok, on high heat, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Add ginger, onion and spring onion, gently stir fry till aromatic, mix with the pork.
Add Chinese cooking wine and Hoi Xin stir fry till pork is completely cooked.
Note: To achieve a tender texture for the meat, add 1 tablespoon of water on high heat and mix quickly before serving on plate.
Seasoning for Grill Lamb Cutlets / Loin Chops
Thanks to Lily for sharing this fabulous recipe. It is so yummy!
Ingredients:-
Parsley
Dill Tips
Pealed Garlic 3 cloves
Lemon Juice }1 lemon
Lemon Zest }
Lemon Thyme
Sage
Rosemary
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil 3 tblspn
Method:-
Blend all the ingredients in a electric food processor until it becomes a herb paste.
Season lamb with salt and pepper and brush herb paste to marinade lamb for at least an hour.
Ingredients:-
Parsley
Dill Tips
Pealed Garlic 3 cloves
Lemon Juice }1 lemon
Lemon Zest }
Lemon Thyme
Sage
Rosemary
Salt & Pepper
Olive Oil 3 tblspn
Method:-
Blend all the ingredients in a electric food processor until it becomes a herb paste.
Season lamb with salt and pepper and brush herb paste to marinade lamb for at least an hour.
Baked Sweetcorn Cob
I discover this side dish simply because I have extra herbs and trying ways to finish them.
Ingredients:-
Sweet Corn Cob
Thyme
Rosemary
Garlic 1 clove (minced)
Butter
Method:-
Pre-heat oven at 160 degree.
On the baking tray, place some rosemary and thyme. Place corn cob in the baking tray.
Scattered rosemary and thyme on top of corn cob, cut butter in to small pieces and scattered on top of the corn.Bake the corn at 160 degree covered with foil for 30 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes.
Best served with butter, salt and pepper.
Ingredients:-
Sweet Corn Cob
Thyme
Rosemary
Garlic 1 clove (minced)
Butter
Method:-
Pre-heat oven at 160 degree.
On the baking tray, place some rosemary and thyme. Place corn cob in the baking tray.
Scattered rosemary and thyme on top of corn cob, cut butter in to small pieces and scattered on top of the corn.Bake the corn at 160 degree covered with foil for 30 minutes and then remove the foil and bake for another 30 minutes.
Best served with butter, salt and pepper.
Chrisy Mum’s Kaya (Egg & Coconut Jam)
Nothing like a good homemade Kaya! I remember how I used to complain when I have to stand in front of the stove and continuously stirring the pot of Kaya for 2 hours. And having to use a sieve to break down the lumpy Kaya into a smoother paste….. A lot of hard work! Nevertheless the end result is always sweet and tasty - especially when I get to lick the spoon.
Kaya is best eaten with a piece of soft white bread or on toast; crispy toast with caramelised custard-like jam with salty butter / margarine…and a cup of coffee……. That is just heavenly!
Ingredients:-
Eggs 5 (approx 70g each)
Castor Sugar 150g
Brown Sugar 50g
Coconut Milk* 400ml
Pandan Leaves 3 knotted (optional)
*I will usually use KARA brand Coconut cream and dilute it with a little bit of water. The next best option is the Ayam brand coconut milk.
Method:-
Lightly beat eggs, sieve to filter it. Mix eggs with coconut milk with a whisk.
Use a non-stick pot, gently boil the coconut and eggs mixture together with the knotted Pandan leaves at medium –low heat.
On a separate smaller non-stick pot, add castor sugar to heat over low heat till the sugar melts into a golden brown thick caramel.
Continue stirring eggs and coconut mixture with a hand whisk and slowly add the golden brown caramel into the mixture. At this point, the mixture will sizzle and become a lumpy and rough texture as the hot caramel cooked the eggs in the mixture, don’t worry about the texture.
Continue to cook and stir the Kaya for another 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the Kaya cool for 10 minutes then carefully (the mixture is very hot) use a hand blender (on low speed) to blend the Kaya into a smooth paste.
Once the Kaya texture is smooth, turn the heat back on to medium-low heat, add the brown sugar and continue stirring and cooking for another 1½ hours.
It is important to keep stirring the mixture to prevent curding…no short cuts!
Cool completely before storing in airtight containers.
Tips: -
Repeat blending with the hand blender if the texture is still lumpy. Be cautious when using the hand blender in hot food!
If you prefer the ‘Green’ Kaya, just pound 5 Pandan leaves to extract the juice and sieve into the coconut milk before mixing it with the eggs.
Kaya is best eaten with a piece of soft white bread or on toast; crispy toast with caramelised custard-like jam with salty butter / margarine…and a cup of coffee……. That is just heavenly!
Ingredients:-
Eggs 5 (approx 70g each)
Castor Sugar 150g
Brown Sugar 50g
Coconut Milk* 400ml
Pandan Leaves 3 knotted (optional)
*I will usually use KARA brand Coconut cream and dilute it with a little bit of water. The next best option is the Ayam brand coconut milk.
Method:-
Lightly beat eggs, sieve to filter it. Mix eggs with coconut milk with a whisk.
Use a non-stick pot, gently boil the coconut and eggs mixture together with the knotted Pandan leaves at medium –low heat.
On a separate smaller non-stick pot, add castor sugar to heat over low heat till the sugar melts into a golden brown thick caramel.
Continue stirring eggs and coconut mixture with a hand whisk and slowly add the golden brown caramel into the mixture. At this point, the mixture will sizzle and become a lumpy and rough texture as the hot caramel cooked the eggs in the mixture, don’t worry about the texture.
Continue to cook and stir the Kaya for another 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the Kaya cool for 10 minutes then carefully (the mixture is very hot) use a hand blender (on low speed) to blend the Kaya into a smooth paste.
Once the Kaya texture is smooth, turn the heat back on to medium-low heat, add the brown sugar and continue stirring and cooking for another 1½ hours.
It is important to keep stirring the mixture to prevent curding…no short cuts!
Cool completely before storing in airtight containers.
Tips: -
Repeat blending with the hand blender if the texture is still lumpy. Be cautious when using the hand blender in hot food!
If you prefer the ‘Green’ Kaya, just pound 5 Pandan leaves to extract the juice and sieve into the coconut milk before mixing it with the eggs.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Quick & Easy Stir Fried Mi Fen (Rice Noodle)
I often keep some ‘emergency’ ingredients at home for occasions when I need to cook a quick and simple meal and this is one of them. 
Mi Fen or Rice Noodle is an easy-to-cook, inexpensive ingredient which can be stored for a few months and easily available. Depending what I have available in the fridge, this dish provides my family with a quick, healthy and yummy dinner, a much better option to burger and fries.
Ingredients (A): - 
Carrot 1 whole
Bak Choi 2 whole stalks
Fish Cake 100g
Roast Pork* 150g
Minced garlic 1 clove / 1 tspn
Minced ginger 1 tspn
Ingredients (B): -
Rice Noodles 500g 
Stewed Pork Slice 1 can (optional)
Water 2 Cup / 500ml
Marinade (A): -
Light soy sauce 1tblspn
Pepper 
Sugar 1 tspn
Sesame Oil 1 tblspn
Marinade (B): -
Light soy sauce 1 tblspn
Dark soy sauce 1 tblspn
Salt 1 tspn
Pepper
Cooking wine or dry sherry 1 tblspn
Sesame Oil 1 tblspn
Method: -
Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable cooking oil in a wok and add ½ the portions of the minced garlic and ginger.
Add carrots and vegetable stir fry with marinade (A), mix well and add fish cake and roast pork. Continue to stir fry until the vegetables are cooked. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable cooking oil and add the balance half of minced garlic and ginger. Add Stewed pork slice (roughly break it up with spoon), water and marinade (B). Add rice noodle spreading it evenly.
Cover the wok to simmer rice noodle, stirring it occasionally to ensure that all the rice noodle is softened evenly. Depending on the brand you buy, if the texture of gthe rice noodle is a little harder, just add another half to one cup of water accordingly.
When the water is almost drying up, the rice noodle should be soft. Add the cooked ingredients (A), continue to stir fry and mix evenly.
*Roast Pork - you can easily buy A$10 worth from your local Chinese Restaurant.
Remarks:-
For this dish, I will very often use ingredients that are readily available in my fridge or whatever I can buy at the supermarket at the very last minute. So you can replace some of the ingredients according to your liking. For example, instead of Bak Choi, use Cabbage and/or Leek. You can also turn this into a vegetarian dish by using prawn, baby corn, mushroom and toufu to replace the meat.
Moist & Buttery Butter Cake
8 Inch rounds size tin or 7 Inch square / rectangular tin
Ingredients : -
Low Gluten Flour / Cake Flour / Hong Kong Flour 200g
Baking Powder 1 tspn
Baking Soda 1 tspn
Butter 200g
Castor Sugar 180g
Eggs 3
Vanilla Extract 2tspn
Milk 3 tblspn
Salt
Method: -
Preheat oven 160 degree (fan mode)
Sift the flour with baking powder and soda. Add 3 pinches of salt.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric beater. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
Fold in the shifted flour ingredients into the creamed mixture alternate with milk, starting and ending with flour.
Finally add in vanilla extract and combine well.
Pour batter into a greased cake tin and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven and let it cool completely before cutting.
Ingredients : -
Low Gluten Flour / Cake Flour / Hong Kong Flour 200g
Baking Powder 1 tspn
Baking Soda 1 tspn
Butter 200g
Castor Sugar 180g
Eggs 3
Vanilla Extract 2tspn
Milk 3 tblspn
Salt
Method: -
Preheat oven 160 degree (fan mode)
Sift the flour with baking powder and soda. Add 3 pinches of salt.
In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar with electric beater. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
Fold in the shifted flour ingredients into the creamed mixture alternate with milk, starting and ending with flour.
Finally add in vanilla extract and combine well.
Pour batter into a greased cake tin and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven and let it cool completely before cutting.
Meat Balls (Beef)
Ingredients (A): - 
Minced beef 500g
Cooking oil 2 tblspn
Plain flour 2 cups
Ingredients (B): -
Onion 1 large (finely chopped)
Spring onion 2 stalks (finely chopped)
Carrot 4 table spoon (finely chopped)
Falafel 2 table spoon (optional)
Marinate: -
Salt ½ tspn
Soy sauce 1tblspn
Pepper
Cooking wine or dry sherry 2 tblspn
Sesame Oil 2 tblspn
Egg 1 approx. 60g
Corn flour 1½ tspn
Method: -
Marinate minced beef for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. Add ingredients (B) and mixed well.
Roll meat into bite size balls. Shift flour on a plate. Thinly and evenly coat meat balls with flour.
Heat oil in a non stick frying pan and brown meat balls evenly. It doesn’t have to be completely cooked at this stage.
Placed browned meatballs in a deeper pan, add 1 cup of water and simmer meatballs on medium-low heat with lid on. The meat ball is ready when water is completely dry up.
Make about 40 to 50 meatballs. Serve with greens or potatoes, with gravy and cranberry sauce.
Minced beef 500g
Cooking oil 2 tblspn
Plain flour 2 cups
Ingredients (B): -
Onion 1 large (finely chopped)
Spring onion 2 stalks (finely chopped)
Carrot 4 table spoon (finely chopped)
Falafel 2 table spoon (optional)
Marinate: -
Salt ½ tspn
Soy sauce 1tblspn
Pepper
Cooking wine or dry sherry 2 tblspn
Sesame Oil 2 tblspn
Egg 1 approx. 60g
Corn flour 1½ tspn
Method: -
Marinate minced beef for at least 30 minutes in the fridge. Add ingredients (B) and mixed well.
Roll meat into bite size balls. Shift flour on a plate. Thinly and evenly coat meat balls with flour.
Heat oil in a non stick frying pan and brown meat balls evenly. It doesn’t have to be completely cooked at this stage.
Placed browned meatballs in a deeper pan, add 1 cup of water and simmer meatballs on medium-low heat with lid on. The meat ball is ready when water is completely dry up.
Make about 40 to 50 meatballs. Serve with greens or potatoes, with gravy and cranberry sauce.
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