Preserved Radish Omelette

Preserved pickles radish can be found easily at the local Asian grocers, however the good quality ones are hard to find. I once thought I had a great bargain, where I bought a big packet of Chinese preserved radish for less than an Euro, and later being put off by its awful smell (after opened the packaging). I ended up threw the whole packet away. Since then, I am very particular when buying preserved radish pickles.


I recently discover this preserved radish, by a Hong Kong's brand, names Yummy House. A packet Yummy House's preserved radish comes in 3 individual packed preserved radish, with each weights around 21g.


You can tell how fresh the pickles are by judging the colour of the pickles. They are crunchy in taste and are not overly salty. Most importantly there is no preservative added. That is why I like it very much and strongly recommend to all.

Sharing in this post is the simple to prepared dish, preserved radish omelette.
 
Ingredients
5 eggs (beaten)
21g preserved radish (1 packet of Yummy House preserved radish)
pepper to taste
cooking oil

Directions
1. Add some pepper into the egg mixture (beaten). Set aside for later use.
2. Heat up generous amount of cooking oil in the pan and stir fry the preserved radish till fragrant.
3. Pour in the egg mixture and cook for 3-5 min or until the egg mixture is set.
4. Flip the omelet and pan fry till both sides are cooked.

Maggi's Ayam Masak Merah (Red Sauce Chicken)

I used to have a male ex-colleague who loves cooking. Every weekend he would try out different recipe and shared the outcome with us the next day (Monday) when he came to work. His signature dish was Ayam Masak Merah (AMM) aka red sauce chicken, which he was super proud of.

It sounded a bit complicated to prepare the dish based on his explanation, so I dropped the idea to attempt the dish even-though he shared the recipe with us. I later discovered that there are pre-mixed pack of AMM sold in the supermarket. There are a few brands to opt for, but I choose the Maggi brand. The pre-mix is in powder form.

Besides chicken pieces and pre-mix pack, you will need other seasonings and ingredients such as ketchup (tomato sauce), turmeric powder, green peas, sliced onions and tomato. I am not a big fan of green pea, so I skip it.

Personally I think, the overall dish tastes decent but not something to be wild about. Perhaps I have not try the authentic Ayam Masak Merah dish before, so I wouldn't comment much on it. For those who are curious (like me) on how AMM tastes like, may consider to give the Maggi pre-mixed pack a try. However please be prepared for trial-and-error and adjust the taste based on your liking. In order to suit my taste, I have added 2 tsp of curry powder and 1 tbsp sugar to my dish. I found the dish is a bit dry, so I added some water too to reach the gravy consistency.

Ingredients
500g of chicken
1 packet of Maggi's Masak Merah pre-mixed sauce
1 onion (sliced)
2 tomato (cut into cubes)
2 tbs turmeric powder
3 tbsp ketchup (tomato sauce)
2 tbsp cooking oil
100ml water

Optional
1/3 cup green pea
1 tsp curry powder
1 tbsp sugar

Directions
1. Marinate the chicken pieces with turmeric powder.
2. Heat up oil in the pan. Pan-fry chicken pieces till golden brown. Dish out and set a side for later use.
3. Mix the Maggi's Masak Merah powder with 100ml of water. Stir well.
4. In the same pan, pour in the sauce mixture and bring to boil.
5. Add in the chicken pieces, sliced onions, tomato cubes and ketchup (tomato sauce). Stir well and cook for 5 min.
6. Dish out and serve your Ayam Masak Merah with fluffy white rice.

Coconut Rice by Asian Home Gourmet

It does not cross my mind to buy a pre-mixed pack for coconut rice (nasi lemak) because I think it is a pretty simple dish to prepare. What you basically need are rice, a can of coconut milk, right measurement of water and a pint of salt. You may add 1 tbsp of oil as desired but I skip the oil, because the coconut milk is good enough to provide the moist and grease to the rice.

I saw the Asian Home Gourmet's Coconut Rice pre-mixed pack in the Asian grocer. Out of curiosity, I bought a packet to try. I would like to find out how different the coconut rice would taste (cooked from the pre-mixed pack) as compared to the home-cooked version.

To my surprise, the nasi lemak tastes good especially in terms of the saltiness and coconut-y level (lemak). I was first put-off a bit by the ‘candy smell’ released during the cooking process. I therefore added 1 tbsp of pandan powder to suppress the smell, at the same time, enhance the fragrant and color (mild green) of the coconut rice. It is totally fine to skip the pandan juice/powder as the conventional coconut rice is normally plain in color.

(3-4 serving)
Ingredients
1 packet of Asian Home Gourmet Coconut Rice powder mix
2 1/4 cups uncooked rice
1 tbsp of vegetable oil (any type of oil)
1 tbsp of pandan powder for coloring (optional)
water (varies by cooking methods)

Directions (using Rice Cooker)
1. Wash the rice and pour in right amount of water according to the rice cooker’s water measurement.
2. Pour in the spice mix and a tbsp of oil. Stir to mix everything and start cooking.

Direction (using normal pot)
1. Wash the rice. In a pot, pour in the washed rice, spice mix, water (3 cups) and oil.
2. Bring to boil and stir once. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 20 min or until cooked.
3. Leave to stand for 5 minutes. Stir to mix and the rice is ready to be served.

The pack is perfect for those who are interested to make coconut rice but not sure about the right measurement of water/coconut milk or seasoning. The pre-mixed pack has it all. It is truly convenient as you do not need to decide between light or full coconut milk. 

Singapore Laksa by Asian Home Gourmet

Laksa again? That's right, I am making laksa again (^_^). It has been raining for the past few days and temperature hit as low as 6c. Unbelievably chill weather for the month of September. Perhaps we are expecting an early and super chill winter this year. To spice up the gloomy mood, I made myself a bowl of steaming hot laksa.

For those who have followed my blog know I like Prima Taste laksa paste. But for this time round, I am giving the Asian Home Gourmet's laksa paste a try. I like how the laksa gravy turns out to be, not over powered by the santan taste i.e. coconut milk taste. Coconut milk is not included in the packet, so you will need to prepare it before hand. Perhaps that's the beauty of it, where you can adjust the 'coconut-y' taste of your laksa gravy by adding the amount of coconut milk, based on your preference. The suggested 330ml is just right for me.

The Prima Taste laksa gravy, on the other hand, is slightly heavier for me. Perhaps I should just add half a packet of the coconut milk powder, which is included in the noodle pack. Or some lime juice may help to cut through the santan taste. You may read my previous post here: Singapore Laksa by Prima Taste

Fried bean curds and hard-boiled egg are essential for my bowl of laksa. I added some fish balls (source of protein) to my laksa gravy too. Since I ran out of rice vermicelli, I use pho noodle instead. You may use any type of noodles for your laksa, but rice vermicelli is still the better choice.

 
Ingredients
1 packet Singapore Laksa Spice Paste
2 tbsp vegetable oil
330ml coconut milk
220ml water    
125g noodles
fish balls
hard boiled egg
fried bean curds
cucumber (julienne cut)
fried onion as garnish

Directions
1. Cook noodles according to pack instructions. Set aside for later use.
2. Heat-up oil in a pot and add spice paste. Stir-fry for 3 min.
3. Add in coconut milk, water, fish balls and fried bean curds. Simmer on low heat for 5 min.
4. Ladle laksa gravy over noodles.
5. Garnish with hard boiled egg, cucumber strips and fried onion.

Stir-fry Egg, Sausages & Black Fungus

Here comes another egg recipe - Stir-fry egg, sausages and black fungus.
It does not cross my mind to prepare such a simple dish with ingredients I can find in the pantry. Sharon made the dish for dinner and I was blown away by how tasty the dish was. Not to mention, it is so easy to prepare.

Sharon used the premium sausage with chunky fillings for her dish. She recommended the spiced premium sausage for some spicy kick. Chunky sausage is a bit heavy for me, so I replaced it with the ordinary hotdog. For spicy taste, I added some sliced red chili to my dish. The vibrant red chili helped to enhance the visual profile of the dish too.

Black fungus
As for the black fungus, you may get it from the Asian grocers. The black fungus sold in the grocers here come in 2 types - loose form or the whole-piece form. I rarely use black fungus in my cooking, so I bought the loose form (lesser in weight). These fungus are in dehydrated form, therefore you will need to sock them in hot water for about 30 minutes before you can use it. It is more convenience to use loose fungus as you can skip the cutting process as they are already in strips form. If you are using the whole-piece black fungus, do cut them into strips once they are soften in hot water.

Let's look at what are the ingredients we need for the dish.

Ingredients
3 eggs (beaten)
5 stalks of hotdog (sliced)
15g black fungus (washed, socked, stripped)
1 glove garlic (minced)
1 red chili (sliced)
coriander for garnish
sugar
soy sauce
cooking oil
salt and pepper

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 and set aside the omelette for later use.
3. Brown the sliced hotdog in the same pan for 5 min. Set aside for later use.
4. Heat up some oil in the pan. Add in black fungus and garlic minced. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes till the black fungus are cooked.
5. Add in omelette, sliced hotdog, sliced chili and stir fry together with the black fungus.
6. Add in seasoning (sugar, soy sauce and pepper). Stir fry for 3-5 min.
7. Dish out and garnish the dish with coriander.

Chives Omelette

Singapore Laksa by Prima Taste

I have been looking for the premix Laksa sauce by Prima Taste from the local Asian grocers but my effort was in vain. Mei bought me a pack of Laksa premix by Prima Taste when she was here several years ago. I like it very much. Unfortunately they are hard to find. The closest match I could find here is the Singapore Laksa La Mian by Prima Taste.

I did have high expectation, since it is produced by Prima Taste. However, I was let down a bit as it did not taste as good as the premix Laksa sauce bought by Mei. Perhaps it is the la mian version aka instant noodle version, so the taste is a bit lacking. In addition, unlike the full pack premix Laksa sauce, it does not come with additional sambal sauce (shrimp paste chili sauce) and lime juice.

The overall taste is not too great but acceptable. The laksa gravy is mild, diluted and less spicy. It lacked the oomph for spicy lovers. Perhaps some extra sambal and lime juice may do wonders. But, if you prefer milder version of laksa, it will suit you.

There are basically 3 main ingredients in the pack - la mian (think, round noodles), laksa paste and coconut milk powder. The way to prepare the laksa is very simple, pretty similar to the standard steps for instant noodles prep.
(Note: The laksa paste is labelled as (A) Laksa Paste and the coconut milk powder and other ingredient is labelled as (B) Laksa Premix.)

Ingredients
1 packet of Prima Taste Singapore Laksa La Mian
1/2 hard boiled egg
500ml water
fried bean curd
cucumber (julienne cut)
fried onion as garnish

Directions
1. In 500ml water, add premix packet (A) and (B). Mix well and bring to boil.
2. Add in the noodles and cook for 5 mins under low heat.
3. Add in the fried bean curd and cook for another 2 mins.
4. Transfer the noodles and soup into the serving bowl.
5. Add your favorite side dishes - hard-boiled egg, cucumber.
6. Garnish your laksa with fried onion.

Tips
If you prefer your laksa with prawns, do add in the prawns at step 3.
Bean sprouts goes well with laksa. You may substitute the cucumber with bean sprouts. You may add in the bean sprouts at step 3, but reduce the cooking time to 1 min. Alternatively, you may cook the bean sprouts separately (1 min in boiling water) to avoid over cook. Garnish it on top of the laksa before serving.

Coleslaw with Hellmann's Mayonnaise

I have never been picky with mayonnaise until recently after Ms. J introduced me to Hellmann's Real Mayonnaise. I like the overall taste of Hellmann's mayo - creamy, sour and not overly salty. It goes perfectly with any types of fried food especially fries and nuggets.


Besides using mayo a dip, I also use it mainly for my homemade coleslaw. Coleslaw is a best side dish  or condiment for almost anything especially BBQ ribs. Yum! Best of everything is, it is very simple to prepare. Of course many will prefer to buy off-the-shelf coleslaw. But is is definitely healthier with the homemade version where you have control over the amount of mayo or salt into your coleslaw. 

Ingredients
Hellmann's mayo
shredded cabbage
shredded carrot
lemon juice
pepper
salt
* Stated above are the key ingredients to coleslaw. The amount of source and seasoning used is entirely based on you preferences.

Directions
1. Sprinkle some salt onto the shredded cabbage. Set a side for 15 min to dehydrate the cabbage.
2. Squeeze out the extra water and place the shredded cabbage in a big mixing bowl.
3. Add in the shredded cabbage and carrot, follow by a good amount of mayo, lemon juice
and pepper.
4. Mixed well till the the cabbage and carrot is well coated with mayo.

Tips
Dehydrating the cabbage (step 1) is a crucial step for a crunchier cabbage texture. Of  course you may skip the step if you prefer the softer and moister texture.Coleslaw is best to enjoy cold. So do place the coleslaw in the fridge for at least 30min before servicing to the guests.

Homemade Matcha Red Bean Cake

The benefits of drinking green tea have been  widely discussed in recent years and green tea is known as the "anti-aging beverage" due to its high content of antioxidants.

Green tea vs. matcha
Have you ever confused yourself between green tea and matcha? I was previously too :p. I used to think both are the same, but later found out that actually- green tea are in loose tea leave form, while matcha is the the finely ground powder form.

I am a green tea lover and in this post, I would like to share with all a simple recipe of homemade matcha red bean cake. Red beans and matcha matches each other perfectly. The sweetness from the red beans harmonizes the bitter taste of matcha and elevate the overall taste of your desserts ie. cakes, ice cream, shaved-ice to the next level.

For this recipe, I am using the canned Japanese azuki red bean paste. You may get it from the Asian grocers, alternatively you can also buy it from Amazon. Check out the link here

Ingredients
Matcha powder 8-10g
Cake flour          120g
Icing sugar           50g
Sugar                    50g
Butter                 120g (in room temperature)
Egg                     3 (egg yolks and egg white separate)

Directions
1. Mixture 1: Mix cake flour, matcha powder in a mixing bowl (sieve and set aside)
2. Mixture 2: Add butter, sugar and egg yolks into another mixing bowl and mix well.
3. Mixture 3: Use electronic mixer to beat the egg white and icing sugar till they turn into meringue. (Add the icing sugar into the mixer by batches - 3 batches.)
4. Combine mixture 1, 2 and 3 together. No over mixing.
5. Pour the combined mixture into the baking tray.
6. In preheated oven 170C, bake for 30-40 minutes.

The matcha red bean cake is prefect for afternoon tea, best to enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. Sieve some icing sugar on top of your cake for better presentation when serving to your guests. You may store the cake in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Steamed-egg Kimchi Jjigae aka Kimchi Stew

My Hainanese chicken rice was a great hit and I slowly gained confidence with Asian Home Gourmet's products. My 'food experiment' continue further and this time round I was making the Korean Kimchi stew with spice paste by AHG. Kimchi stew a.k.a kimchi jjigae in Korean is tangy and spicy in taste. The sourness and spiciness are mainly derived from the kimchi and fermented chili peppers.

You can create your own version of kimchi jjigae with the spice paste, by adding your favorite ingredients i.e. beef, seafood, vegetables, tofu. I wanted a lighter version of kimchi jjigae, so I added chinese cabbage, kimchi and steamed egg to my stew. My initial plan is to make a bowl of tofu kimchi jjigae. Since only bottled tofu is sold here (which I am highly skeptical to), I then substituted the tofu with homemade steamed egg. The steamed egg was rather soft in texture, so it can break easily. I would suggest you to reduce the quantity of water and steam the egg longer, so it gets harden.

My steamed egg broke apart when I transferred it to the stew. However, it did not impact the overall taste of my kimchi jjigae but instead enhanced the flavor of the soup tremendously. You may crack an egg instead, but trust me that the steamed egg does taste better, perhaps it provided a silky tofu texture.

The soup can be a way too tangy or sour to some, at least for me. So I added some sugar and 1/2 cube of chicken stock to harmonize the tangy taste. Check out the full recipe below.


Ingredients
1 packet Korean Kimchi Soup spice paste
1 onion (cut into bite-size pieces)
2 1/4 cups (500ml) water
1/2 chicken cube
steamed egg or tofu
Chinese cabbage
kimchi
scallion
sugar to taste

Directions
1. Bring water to boil, add onion and spice space, stir to mix well
2. Add cabbage, kimchi and steamed egg*
3. Reduce heat, add scallion and simmer without lid for 2 minutes
* You may use tofu, seafood or beef for this recipe.

Hainanese Chicken Rice with Asian Home Gourmet

Ever since my 'great discovery' at the Asian grocers, I can now make a bowl of Hainanese chicken rice in 15 minutes, with just 4 simple steps.

I have been a loyal fan of Prima Taste's ready-to-cook sauce kits. I especially like their mee siam and laksa. They do have spice paste for the legendary Hainanese chicken rice, unfortunately it is not available in the Asian grocers here. The only available Hainanese chicken rice paste I can find is by Asian Home Gourmet. I gave it a try, since it is 2x cheaper than Prima Taste.
(Note: Prima Taste - Fragrant Hainanese Chicken Rice Paste 80g is EUR3.51
           Asian Home Gourmet - Spice Paste for Singapore Hainanese chicken rice 50g is EUR1.20)

I was pleasantly surprised by how delicious my chicken rice turned out to be, and most importantly, it was so easy to prepare. 4 simple steps: Wash rice -> add water and spice paste -> mixed well -> set to cook.


Getting the right water measurement is the key for a bowl of fluffy chicken rice. I managed to get the desired rice texture after my second attempt. The instructions on German is meant for stove-top cooking. If you are using the rice cooker, please reduce the quantity of water. Instead of adding 2 1/2 cups, add only 1 3/4 cups.

Ingredients
1 packet of Singapore Hainanese chicken rice spice paste
1 1/2 cups uncooked rice
1 3/4 cups water (with rice cooker) or 2 1/2 cups water (stove-top cooking)
sliced cucumber
chili sauce
 

Heart Warming and Simple Rice Porridge Recipe

The above-freezing temperature continues, snow piled up with no signs of abating soon, but there comes the snow again. Chill weather like this makes me crave for a bowl of warm porridge to keep my body and soul warm. 

My version of chicken porridge is packed with goodies - shredded chicken, seaweed, pickled vegies, scallions, sesame seeds and ginger strips. Seasoning is kept simple: a sprinkle of white pepper, a dash of sesame oil and soy sauce. I added no sugar to my porridge. The sweet flavor stems purely from the natural sweetness of sweet potatoes. 

Ingredients
150g of chicken breast
100g sweet potatoes (cut into cubes)
1 cup rice
8 cups water
1 chicken cube
salt to taste

Garnish or toppings
seaweed
scallions
pickled vegies
sesame seeds
ginger strips
white pepper
sesame oil
soy sauce

Directions
1. Wash and soak rice for over night.
2. Add rice, water and chicken cubes into the pot and bring to boil.
3. Once the rice is boiling, turn heat to medium low and add-in the chicken breast and sweet potatoes.
4. Once the chicken breast is cooked, scoop it up and set aside to room temperature.
5. Continue to boil the porridge until it becomes thick and creamy texture. Remember to stir it often.
6. Shred the chicken breast.
7. Add in the shredded chicken and salt into the porridge and mix well.
8. Serve the rice porridge with the desired garnishes and toppings.