Archive for 2017

Rice rolls with bacon and meat floss

Saturday, December 30, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-

rice roll
I crave for carbo, particularly rice. While I was thinking of making some kimbap to satisfy my cravings, I realized that I was running out of seaweed wrap or kim (seaweed in Korean). With outdoor temperature firmly below 0 degree, I was too lazy to step out from my cozy cave to 'hunt' for seaweeds from the nearby supermarket. I was totally fine to go without seaweed for my kimbap. So, instead of making kimbap, I created rice rolls.
Rice is plain in taste, so we usually wrap a layer of seaweed to further flavor the kimbap. Since I will go without the seaweed wrap for my rice rolls, I am selective with the filling. Tamago (egg roll) can be a little bit mild in taste, so, I opted for bacon strips as they paired perfectly with plain rice. I added other ingredients to my rice rolls too. Let's check out the recipe.


 Ingredients
cooked plain rice
bacon strips
cucumber slices
sweet chili sauce
mayonnaise
sesame seeds
meat floss with seaweed flakes (optional)

 Directions
1. Pan fried the bacon strips and set a side.
2. Spread a layer of cooked rice on a cling film, 15x15cm.
3. Place the filling (pan-fried bacon strips, chicken floss, cucumber slices) in the middle of the rice spread.
4. Sprinkle some sesame seeds on top of the filling.
5. Top generous amount of sweet chili sauce and mayonnaise.
6. Roll the rice together with the fillings and sauce to form a rice roll.

 For healthier version, you may oven baked the bacon strips. Meat floss is not a must for this recipe, but it does help to enhance the overall flavor of your rice roll as they match perfectly well with mayonnaise.

Baked Gochujang Chicken Drumsticks

Wednesday, November 29, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-

Baked chicken drumsticks
I do run out of ideas sometimes on what to cook or there are times that I am too lazy too cook and I just want something quick and easy to prepare. The roasted gochujang chicken drumsticks have been a safe bet for days like these. They are so simple to prepare and they taste super good. If you like spicy and salty food, this will be the dish for you.

I have some potatoes cut into cubes to bake along with the chicken drumsticks, so they can suck-up the juices and marinates that released from the chicken drumsticks during the baking process. The potato cubes turned out to be flavorful, packed with the great spices and umami taste of gochujang. The chicken drumsticks paired very well with fluffy white rice too.

Let's check out the recipe. Do feel free to adjust the measurement according to your taste.

Ingredients
5 chicken drumsticks
1 tbsp of gochujang
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of sugar
salt and pepper to taste
pan spray or cooking oil

Optional
1 medium size potato (cut into cubes)

Directions
1. Marinate the chicken drumsticks with gochujang, soy sauce, sugar. Set aside for 1 hour.
2. Coat the baking pan with some cooking spray.
3. Arrange the chicken drumsticks in the middle of the baking pan and potato cubes at the side.
4. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the potato cubes.
5. Bake at 185C for 30 min. Turn the drumsticks over and continue to bake with another 15min or until the drumsticks are cooked.

 For better taste, you may marinate the chicken drumsticks overnight.
Gochujang chicken drumsticks

A Pot of Homemade Dal

Monday, October 30, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-


It does not cross my mind to try cooking Indian cuisine regardless on how much I adore Indian food. I am in fact intimidated by the number of spices used in Indian cuisine. There is no surprise that a bowl of Indian curry comprises of more than 5 different types of spices.

Ms. M from Germany who loves Indian food convinced me that there are simple Indian dishes that do not required a lot of species and dal is one of it. So, I challenge myself to make my first pot of dal today.

 The dal served in Indian restaurants are normally the channa dal. But in my recipe here, I am using the split mung beans from Asian supermarket. Split mung beans is also known as moong dal which is slightly smaller that chana dal, but with the same texture. 

Ingredients
200g dal (any type of dal)
2 medium size tomatoes (diced)
2 potatoes (cubed)
1 carrot (sliced - 1cm thick)
3-4 stalks dried chilies
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
3 shallots (diced)
2 pieces curry leaf
1/2 tbsp turmeric powder
125ml of water
cooking oil
salt and sugar to taste
chopped coriander leave (optional)

Directions
1. Wash and soak the dal overnight to soften the dal.
2. Heat up generous amount of cooking oil in a pot.
3. Add in the minced garlic, diced shallots, dried chilies, and curry leaf and stir fry till they turn aroma.
4. Add in the tomatoes cubes, cover the lid and let the tomatoes to soften.
5. Once the tomatoes are soften, add in the rest of the ingredients (turmeric powder, dal, potatoes, carrot and water) and bring to boil.
6. Constantly stir the dal, so they will not stick to the bottom of the pot. Add in more water if required.
7. Once the dal turn soft and smushy, add in salt and sugar according to personal preference.
8. Garnish the dal with some chopped coriander.

This Dal dish is worth a try as it is simple to prepare with basic ingredients from the pantry. You can eat it on its own as soup or you can pair it with rice and poppadom.

Korean Potato Pancake, Gamjajeon

Saturday, September 30, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-

Gamjajeon

I am a big fan of pancakes, especially the savory version. I usually make kimchi pancakes at home as they are so simple to make. However for this time round, I am making the Korean potato pancake, also known as gamjajeon in Korean.

I have the wrong impression that I need to boil the potatoes first, mash it before I mix it with the flour. In fact, for this recipe, we not not need to boil the potatoes, instead we just need to blend them to puree form before mixing them with the flour.

If you like savory pancakes and have high tolerance to onions or shallots, these gamjajeon will be perfect for you. The shallot has indeed added extra umami to the pancakes. These pancakes can be pretty addictive ... so be prepared to make extra batches.
Korean Potato Pancake, Gamjajeon

Let's check out the recipe now.

Ingredients
5 medium size potatoes
3/4 cup of all purpose flour
2 stalks of green onion
1 shallot
a pinch of salt
sufficient cooking oil for pan frying
Korean Potato Pancake

Directions
1. Cut potatoes, green onion and shallot to blend-able size that fit into your blender
2. Blend potatoes, green onion and shallot into puree form.
3. In a mixing bowl, mix the flour, salt and blended puree together to form pancake batter.
4. Heat up some cooking oil in a frying pan.
5. Scoop the batter and place in the pan and pan-fry under medium high heat.
6. Pan fry the pancake til both sides turned golden brown and dish out.

The potato pancake taste as good as it is. However if you want something extra, you can make your own dipping sauce to go with the pancake. You just need soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, honey and mix everything together in a bowl.

Simple Tofu Dish with Mori-Nu Silken Tofu

Wednesday, August 30, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-

I was super excited when I first 'discovered' these Tetra Pac packaged Mori-Nu silken tofu. Masako got me these lovely tofu packets from Germany. I have not seen silken tofu in such packaging before i.e. in Tetra Pac form. The tofu which I normally purchase from the Asian grocers here are in plastic casing, with easy to tear off plastic seal.

I am curious about the tofu and did some online search. To my surprise, the manufacturer, Morinaga Nutritional Foods Inc. is actually an America based company who produced and distributed Mori-Nu tofu using the quality KAPI’s in-house developed soybeans. These packaged silken tofu was first introduced in USA in 1985 and later expanded to Europe in year 2003.

The selling point of the Mori-Nu silken tofu is its ingenious packaging.  The airtight and shelf-stable box allows the tofu to be stored longer without refrigeration. The freshness and texture of the tofu is well preserved, although no preservatives is added.

For these who are residing in EU, you may purchase the Mori-Nu silken tofu from Amazon.uk. Check out the link here
Morinaga Nutritional Foods Inc.
  
Mori-Nu Silken Tofu

Mori-Nu Silken Tofu
Check out the texture of the tofu out from the tetra-pac. It looks indifferent from the normal silky tofu. Taste wise, as good as the normal silky tofu. Love it.
 
Mori-Nu Silken Tofu

Sharing in the post is the simple recipe to make healthy tofu dish.

Ingredients
1 packet of Mori-Nu silken tofu
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
some chopped scallions
some fried onion

 Directions
1. Steam the tofu in a steamer for 5-7 minutes.
2. Drain the liquid collected during the steaming process.
3. Pour in the sauce - oyster sauce, light soy sauce and sesame oil.
4. Garnish the tofu with chopped scallions and fried onion.

Broccoli Sesame Chicken

Tuesday, July 18, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-



It was love at first sight when I first saw Ryen shared this dish in his vlog. Simple reason - these three are my favourite ingredients. As an amateur cook, Ryen recommended the viewers to check out the full recipe from Epicurious website http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/quick-sesame-chicken-with-broccoli

So I did and had attempted the dish as well. First bite, BOOM ... love at first sight turns to complete love. The sauce which is made of honey, soy sauce, vinegar, Sriracha, garlic, ginger and sesame oil is the soul to this stir fry dish. The measurement stated in the recipe is for reference and of course you may feel free to adjust the taste according to your own preference.

I enjoy the dish very much and had made it many times with little twists. Every time it is getting better and better. Here are some cooking tips I would like to share:-
  • Be generous with sesame seeds as they adds the extra aroma and nutty flavor to the dish.
  • Never skip the step to boil or steam the broccoli before hand. There are 2 possibilities of adding uncooked broccoli to the pan together with the sauce and chicken - (a) broccoli may under cook or (b) chicken pieces will turn dry and hard due to over stir fry in the wok or pan
  • Instead of adding the minced garlic directly into the sauce, you can stir fry them with the cooked chicken pieces first. Once the garlic aroma is released, you can then pour in the sauce. This helps to create extra umami taste to the dish.
This quick and simple to make broccoli sesame chicken dish may beat the one served at your Chinese take-away joints. A well worth trying recipe!

Mentaiko Onigiri aka Flavored Rice Balls

Saturday, June 10, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-


Outdoor picnic has always been my favorite pastime in the summer. Sandwiches and cakes are some of the common snacks to be enjoyed during the picnics. Much inspired by the hanami  picnics in Japan, I made these mentaiko onigiri as my picnic snack.
(Hanami refers to sakura viewing, a traditional custom in Japan to enjoy the transient beauty of sakura)

These flavored rice balls are so simple to make. Basically you just need two main ingredients - cooked rice and kelp & mentaiko seasoning. No extra seasoning i.e. salt or soy sauce is required as the hydrated mentaiko (pollock roe) is salty in taste. You can adjust the saltiness of the rice balls according to your preference - more kelp & mentaiko seasoning for saltier version.
Wakame maze gohan Mentaiko konbu

Ingredients
A bowl of warm cooked rice
kelp & mentaiko seasoning (intake according to preference)
seaweed (optional)

Directions
1. Sprinkles kelp & mentaiko seasoning and seaweed on the warm rice. Mix well.
2. Wet your hands with some water. Scoop some rice onto your hand and shape the rice into ball shape or triangle shape.

I highly recommend the kelp & mentaiko seasoning by Hagoromo. The mentaiko are a bit spicy in taste, which added another layer of flavor to the plain rice. The seasoning can be purchased from Amazon. Just look for Wakame maze gohan Mentaiko konbu 30gx10.

Here is my little picnic's bento with onigiri, chicken nuggets and fried tempura shrimps. Let's picnic!
 Onigiri
 

Baked Chicken Balls

Monday, May 29, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-


Even since the breaking news of horse meat meatball scandal 3 years ago, I stopped buying any forms of frozen meatballs. I reckon it is 'safer' and healthier to make my own meatballs at home. The ingredients for meatballs can be very basic: minced meat plus some basic seasonings. Nevertheless you can always 'add-on' and 'size-up' for the elaborate version by adding your favorite ingredients to the chicken paste.

I like greens, hence I added some finely chopped scallion, chili and diced carrot to the chicken paste. The greens have indeed added some extra crunch and natural sweetness to the meatballs. Not to mention, the colors are very appealing too. To hold the chicken paste better, it is always a good idea to add in an egg and some flour to the meat mixture. This will help to prevent the meatballs from falling apart in the cooking process. Also, the meatballs will be firmer in texture too.

I usually pan fried my meatballs, but for this time round, I attempted to bake them instead. They turned out perfectly and tasted as good as the fried version. I first fill the baking tray with a thin layer of cooking oil. This is follow by arranging the meatballs on the baking tray. Bake for 15 minutes under 175c. Turn the meatballs and bake for another 5-8 minutes until the whole meatballs turn golden brown.

Ingredients
350g chicken mince (or minced pork)
1 stalk of scallion (finely chopped)
1 medium size carrot (diced)
1 chili (finely chopped)
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of sugar
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 egg
salt & pepper to taste
cooking oil

Directions
1. In a big mixing bowl, mix all the ingredients together except for the all purpose flour.
2. Stir the mixture in clockwise direction (stir in one direction only) till it turned to paste form. You may stop the stir process once the meat paste turn slightly gluey.
3. Now, add in the all purpose flour and mix well.
4. Use both your palms to shape the meat paste into ball size.
5. Place the meatballs on the baking tray with a thin layer of cooking oil and bake for 15 minutes under 175c.
6. Turn the meatballs and bake for another 5-8 minutes until the whole meatballs turn golden brown.

You can enjoy the baked meatballs as it is or with some dipping sauce. I prefer to enjoy mine with the Thai sweet chili sauce. Usually I will make a few batches extra which I store in the freezer for later use. I use them for my favorite sweet-sour meatball dish. Check out the recipe Here.

Bakehouse Chicken & Bacon Pie

Friday, April 21, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-

Bakehouse Chicken & Bacon Pie

I am totally aware that ready made food is packed with sodium and preservatives, and it is best to cut down the intake if possible. However, I can be easily tempted to secretly stock-up on a few packets in my freezer especially when there are new items on the shelve.

Ya, check out this Bakehouse Chicken & Bacon Pie from Green Isle. They look absolutely tempting from the packaging itself. In this post, let's review how the pies tasted. 
Green Isle

There are 2 pies in a box. The unbaked frozen pies are flat and pale in look. The pie rose and doubled the size after baking in the oven for 30-35 minutes at 175c.

Overall, the pies tasted pretty good especially the puff. I like the baked fluffy crust and not overly buttery in taste. The cream sauce chicken and bacon filling is slightly creamier than I expected but can be overcome with some chili sauce. Unlike what is shown on the packaging photo, the pie is packed with chunky chicken and bacon pieces. It is not the case in reality. 70% of the filling is cream sauce and chicken and bacon pieces just submerge underneath. To me, it is more like having chicken and bacon cream soup. So guys, images can be deceiving.
Chicken & Bacon Pie

A pie is not entirely filling, so I have other side dishes i.e. pan fried potatoes and sweet corn to pair with the dish.

Not a bad try and I do recommend it to those who love pies as the pastry puff scores.
Bakehouse Chicken & Bacon Pie

Stir-Fry Tomato Egg

Friday, April 07, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-


This stir-fry tomato egg dish has indeed brought back great memories to me.

I was assigned to a China project years back and had to travel to China frequently. Being stationed in a small town (about 1 hour away from Shanghai), dinner options are very limited. Lunch was not a problem as there was cafeteria in the factory. Occasionally I did have invitations from local colleague for dinners, but it was not an everyday. My stays could stretch to weeks long and I needed 'to settle' my own dinners most of the time.

The most memorable dining experience at the hotel restaurant was with this dish. I did not order the dish but someone else did, a complete stranger who seated at the next table. Since we were the only 2 diners in the restaurant, we decided to dine together. We had our orders taken before we even decided to share the same table. I ended shifted to his table and we shared each others dishes. I love the stir-fry tomato egg dish he ordered. I was informed that it is a common dish in China. Knowing that I like the dish so much, he generously shared his recipe with me.

Well, I will make the dish when I miss my stay in the little quite town in China. Here is the recipe.

Ingredients
4 beaten eggs
2 large tomato (wedged)
3 tbsp tomato sauce (Heinz tomato sauce)
2 tbsp sugar
50ml water
cooking oil
corn starch solution
salt and pepper to taste
chopped scallion (garnish)

Directions
1. Season the egg mixture with some salt and pepper.
2. Heat up generous amount of cooking oil in the pan and pour in the egg mixture. Dish out the omelet for later use.
3. In the same pan, add in the cut tomato and stir-fry for a couple of minutes till the tomato turn soft.
4. Add in the sugar, tomato sauce, water, corn starch solution and simmer for about 1 minute.
5. Add in the omelet. Stir well till the omelet is well coated with the tomato sauce.
6. Garnish the dish with chopped scallion and serve.

Another great dish to enjoy with either rice or noodles. It is indeed a simple dish to prepare with easy to obtain ingredients.

I had the fresh tomato pieces dissolved (integrated) 90% into the sauce for greater sourness and tomato taste. If you prefer the crunchy texture of the fresh tomato, do reduce the cooking time for the tomato. Just a quick stir follow by adding the sauces and omelet.

Hard-Boiled Eggs with Spicy Soy Sauce Dressing

Friday, March 03, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-


I struggled to find a suitable name for my new recipe, a hard boiled egg dish. It is inspired by a dish I tried in a Thai buffet restaurant. I later found out that the egg dish is known as son-in-law egg in Thai, which is fried hard-boiled egg with tamarind sauce and topped with fried onion and dried red chili.

I had not figure out the tamarind taste when I sampled the dish. Perhaps the yellow curry sauce which I drizzle on my rice had over powered the tamarind sauce. With no trace of sour taste, I confidently assured myself that the sauce is non other then soy sauce, judging from the deep colour of the sauce.

With no doubt at all, I had the dish 'replicated' with a twist where I had added the sauteed ginger strips for extra aroma and spiciness. The beautiful mistake has indeed turned out to be a great success. I like the dish so much and I am sharing the recipe here.  

Ingredients
4 hard-boiled egg
2 stalks of dried chili
1 medium size onion (thinly sliced)
5-10g of ginger (julienne)
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of water
sugar and pepper to taste
some cooking oil

Directions
1. Heat up the cooking oil in the pan and stir fry the ginger strips, dried chili and onion till fragrant
2. Add in the soy sauce, sugar, pepper and water.
3. Cook under medium heat for a few minute till the sauce thicken
4. Halved the hard boiled egg and drizzle the sauce on the eggs

The dish is best to enjoy with fragrant plain rice. The sauce instantly elevated the creamy egg yolk to a higher level. Worth to mention here that the well cooked spices added extra body to the overall dish. It is indeed a comfort food which I will definitely make again.

If you prefer a spicer version, you can add in more ginger and dried red chili too. You may skip de-seeding the dried red chili if you like extra spiciness.

I choose not to deep fry the hard-boiled eggs to avoid excess intake of oil. I also dislike the rubbery layer formed at the outer layer of the hard-boiled eggs after being deep fried. 

Japanese Curry Katsu Don aka Japanese Curry Chicken Rice

Sunday, February 26, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-

Japanese Curry Chicken Rice

It was my idea to 'trade-off' the Japanese curry katsu don for the legendary Nandos Peri-peri Chicken during our recent trip to the UK. Totally no regret for the decision as Nandos in UK is satisfaction guarantee.

In order to show my upmost gratitude to the one who has sacrificed his beloved Japanese curry katsu don for the peri-peri meal, I then made this home-made Japanese curry chicken especially for him. It is not a complex dish to make but it took me 2 attempts to reach the right flavour and ideal consistency. Sharing in this post is the recipe for the dish, the 'certified version' by the Japanese curry katsu connoisseur.

 Ingredients
350g chicken breast (cut into cubes)
2 carrots (cut into cubes)
1 large onion (sliced)
2 cubes of Japanese curry cube
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
400ml water
cooking oil
pepper and salt to taste

Directions
1. Heat up some cooking oil in a pot or shallow pan.
2. Add in onion slices and carrot cubes and stir fry for 5min.
3. Add in the chicken pieces and water and simmer for 2-3 min.
4. Add in the curry cubes and cover the lid and bring to boil under medium high heat for 10min
5. Add in ketchup, oyster, soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Cover the lid and boil for another 5-10min until the gravy is lightly thicken.
6. Ladder the curry to a plate of fragrant white rice.

For more starchy consistency to the curry gravy to be starchy, you may add in the corn starch solution to thicken the gravy. (1:1 tbsp corn flour and water).

The premium curry katsu don - with halve hard-boiled egg and a chicken cutlet. Delish!!
Japanese Curry Katsu Don

Stir-Fry Spicy Rotini Pasta

Tuesday, January 31, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-


It has been a great challenge to prepare a pasta dish for Chef Phoebe. Chef is very picky when it comes to pasta dish. Ready made pasta sauces are definitely a big NO-NO for the chef: White sauce is way too creamy while tomato base sauce is too sour.

I have recently discovered a pasta recipe which require no single drop of the ready made pasta sauce apart of some tomato sauce to further bring out the taste of the fresh tomatoes.

There is slightly more time spent on the prep work, but trust me that it is worth the effort as the pasta tastes amazingly good. The taste profile of the pasta surpassed any bottled pasta sauce.

Ingredients
200g boiled pasta (best with macaroni or rotini pasta)
100g of sausage (sliced)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 onion (diced)
2 tomato (diced)
1/2 yellow capsicum (diced)
1/2 green capsicum (diced)
2 stalks of red chili (finely diced)
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tbsp of tomato sauce
salt and pepper to taste
cooking oil
chili flakes (optional)
fried shallots (optional)

Directions
1. Heat the pan with some cooking oil and stir fry the garlic and onion til they turn lightly brown.
2. Add in the sausage and finely diced chili and stir fry for 1 minute.
3. Add in the diced tomato and capsicum, stir well.
4. Add in the tomato sauce, oyster sauce, pepper and salt and bring everything to boil.
5. Add in the pasta and stir well till all the pasta is well coated with the sauce.

Plate out your pasta and garnish it with some fried shallots. You may sprinkle some chili flakes on your pasta for an extra kick, if you prefer the spicier version.

Japanese Miso Soba

Friday, January 20, 2017 0 Comments A+ a-

Japanese Shinshu Shiro Miso paste

I was torn in between choosing the Japanese or the Korean miso paste. The latter deemed to be more economical. The Korean miso comes in a tube of 400g vs. the Japanese miso, in plastic packet with 250g.  Paying the same price, it will be no brainer to opt for the Korean miso. Being the only stock left on shelf and with shorter expiry date, I ended up buying the Japanese Shinshu Shiro Miso. 

Honestly, I did not have high expectation with Shinshu Shiro Miso as I felt I had paid a premium price for it. That is the typical thought of a consumer. The Shinshu Shiro Miso did not disappoint me at all as it is indeed higher in quality and definitely worth the value. The paste are compact and fine, with very pleasant fermented bean paste aroma. It dissolve easily and form a great miso taste to the soup which comparable to Japanese restaurants standard.
Hikari Miso

Sharing in the post is the miso soba I made with Shinshu Shiro Miso paste.

Ingredients
Soba noodles
1 tbsp miso paste
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 chicken cube
400ml water
sesame seed
seaweed
soft-boiled egg
scallion (chopped)

Directions
Soba
1. Cook the soba in boiling water, follow the time prescribed on the noodle package.
2. Drained the soba and transfer them into cold water.
3. Using your hand to wash off the excess starch and set the soba aside for later use.

Miso Soup
4. Heat up 400ml water in a pot and add in 1/2 of the chicken cube.
(Alternatively, you can use homemade chicken broth or dashi stock)
5. Using a strainer and a spoon, slowly dissolve the miso paste in the chicken soup.
6. Mix sesame oil, sugar and soy sauce in the serving bowl and pour in the miso soup
7. Add in the soba noodles and soft-boiled egg
8. Garnish the miso soba noodles with seaweed, chopped scallions and sesame seeds.

The miso soba tasted insanely good with all the garnishing ingredients. It is definitely a MUST to have all them in. Not to forget the magical sesame oil too as it really does a wonder to the soup with merely a few drops.

I love the creamy egg yolk of my soft-boiled egg. What a satisfying meal in the rainy and cold boxing day.

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