Simple Chicken & Vegetables Dish

It is quick to prepare and one can use any kind of vegetables which are available at hand. The recipe is simple (campak-campak version) and it tastes great when served with hot rice and any kind of sambal.

Ingredients (serves 4):
4 chicken legs, to be cut at joints
1 red bell pepper, to be deseeded and cut into strips
1 bunch spring onions, to be cleaned and cut into 5 cm strips
2 medium-sized carrots, to be peeled and diagonally thinly sliced
1 medium-sized onion, to be peeled and cut into wedges
2 pips garlic, to be peeled and thinly sliced
2 large potatoes, to be peeled and cut into cubes
6 cherry tomatoes, to be left whole
some parsley, to be plucked
2 tsp instant vegetable stock granules
salt & pepper to taste
cooking oil

Method:
Season chicken pieces with salt and pepper.  Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large heavy pan over medium high heat.  Fry chicken until slightly browned on all sides.  Remove from pan.

Add in potatoes into pan and stir-fry for about 5 minutes.  Then, add onion wedges, spring onions and carrots.  Stir-fry for another 5 minutes before returning the chicken pieces to the pan.  Cover pan and cook until chicken is tender.  This will takes another 15 minutes.

Remove lid and add vegetable stock granules, salt and pepper to taste.  Lastly, add in the cherry tomatoes and parsley.  Add a little hot water if the gravy is too dry.  Serve with rice and any kind of sambal.

Bon Appetit!

Grilled Salmon Filet

Salmon is a great fish to grill and its taste is full of flavour.  It is simple to prepare but the biggest challenge is to flip it on the grill.  Best way is to cut the salmon filet into serving portions.

Ingredients (serves 4):
4 salmon filets with skin (readily portioned)
coarse sea salt
chilli flakes
a little lime juice (optional)
olive oil

Method:
Season salmon filets with salt and crumbled chilli flakes.  Then, sprinkle lime juice if using and olive oil over salmon.  Place salmon with skin side up on the grill.  Grill for about 6 to 8 minutes over high heat.  It all depends on the thickness of the filet - the thinner the filet or steaks, the higher is the heat.  Once a crust has been formed, turn over salmon and grill until the required preference is attained i.e. medium rare or well done.  It is advisable to turn the salmon once only or else it will break into pieces.

Serve hot with any kind of salad.  This time, I served them with a simple Tomato & Cucumber Salad and Boiled Potatoes or Buttered Potatoes.


Tomato & Cucumber Salad
Ingredients:
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeds to be removed and finely diced
6 large tomatoes, seeds to be removed and finely diced
a few stalks of dill
salt & pepper to taste
olive oil

Method:
In a large bowl, add diced cucumbers and tomatoes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add a little olive oil and the dill.  Mix well and serve.

Bon Appetit!

Chwee Kueh

One of Singapore's most popular breakfast dish.  These rice cakes are made of rice flour, tapioca starch & water and steamed in small saucers.  They are topped with diced preserved radish - I added minced beef to the radish for an extra twist - and served with chilli sauce.

Batter Ingredients (yields 21 pieces):
180 g rice flour
2 tbsp tapioca flour
250 ml water

2 tbsp sunflower or maize oil
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
450 ml water

Filling Ingredients:
1 pkt chai poh (diced preserved radish)
100 g minced beef
4 pips garlic, to be peeled and finely minced
2 tsp sugar or to taste
ground white pepper to taste
1 - 2 tsp sweet soy sauce
4 tbsp cooking oil

Method:
Add chai poh to a sieve and rinse under running water twice to get rid of the salty taste. Drain well over a bowl.  In a saucepan, heat cooking oil over medium heat.  Add minced garlic and stir-fry until slightly yellow in colour.  Add minced beef and stir-fry until it changes colour.  Then, add chai poh, sweet soy sauce and season to taste.  Cook until mixture is dry.  Leave aside to cool down completely.

In a bowl, mix rice flour, tapioca flour and 250 ml water together.  In a saucepan, add 450 ml water, salt, oil and bring to boil.  Add immediately to bowl and mix well until there are no lumps.

Prepare steamer.  Steam the chwee kueh moulds without batter for about 5 minutes. Remove from steamer and fill batter to the brim of each mould.  Steam for 10 minutes.

Leave to cool down a little before removing them from the moulds by using a toothpick.

Before serving, add a teaspoon of filling as topping and serve with chilli sauce.

Bon Appetit!

Crab Claws with Minced Prawn Stuffing

Shelled & stuffed with minced prawn, dipped in beaten egg & rolled in breadcrumbs and lastly, deep-fried until golden.  A tasty appetizer which is served in most chinese restaurants.  Best eaten with chilli sauce.

Ingredients:
16 crab claws, to be thawed
1 egg, to be lightly beaten
a bowl of breadcrumbs
cooking oil for deep-frying

Stuffing Ingredients:
600 g fresh prawns, to be shelled, deveined and finely minced
1/2 egg white, to be lightly beaten
1 tbsp oil
1 - 2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
a few drops of sesame oil
ground white pepper

Method;
In a bowl, add stuffing ingredients together and mix well.

Pat dry crab claws with kitchen paper.

With wet hands, wrap minced prawn mixture onto each crab claw.  Repeat procedure until mixture is used up.

In a small bowl, beat eggs lightly with a fork.  In another bowl, add breadcrumbs.  Dip each claw into egg mixture first before coating it with breadcrumbs.

Heat cooking oil in a wok and deep-fry until golden brown.  Drain on a tray lined with paper.

Serve hot with chilli sauce.

Bon Appetit!

Mango Ice Cream

Fruit ice cream consists of pureed fruits with cream or yoghurt, sugar and a little egg white. To attain a smooth fruit ice cream, it has to be stirred during freezing - this is achieved best in an ice cream maker.

Note:  Home-made fruit ice cream does not contain any conserving agents, thus it is suitable for immediate consumption.  If you want to store in the freezer for a few days, I suggest that you add fruit ice cream stabilizer i.e. Fruchteisbasis (from Hobbybäcker) or Ice Cream Stabilizer (note:  there seems to be no Fruit Ice Cream Stabilizer available) in order to avoid ice crystals from forming.  Only use ripe fruits and fresh eggs!

Basic Fruit Ice Cream Recipe
Ingredients;
1 medium-sized ripe mango, to be cut into pieces and pureed (yields about 350 g)
100 g fine sugar
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
150 ml fresh cream
2 tbsp egg white
20 g fruit ice cream stabilizer

Method:
In a bowl, mix pureed mango, sugar and lemon juice together.  Whisk egg white and fresh cream separately until stiff.  Mix all ingredients together and prepare ice cream in the ice cream maker.  Set timer to 50 minutes.

Once done, remove tub from ice cream maker and transfer to a container.  Freeze for a few hours before serving.

Note:  If canned fruits are used, reduce amount of sugar to half.

Bon Appetit!