Christine's Recipes Printable Version: Asian Recipes

Showing posts with label Asian Recipes. Show all posts

Asian Baked Lamb Ribs

Lamb ribs are inexpensive cuts, available at supermarkets. If it’s not handy to you, you can replace it with lamb racks or cutlets, but adjust the baking time without covering with foil.

Prep time: 10mins + marinate 3 hrs
Cook time: 60 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

700 gm lamb ribs

Marinade:

1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp oil
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 spring onion
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes, optional
Sauce:
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp fish sauce
2½ tsp brown sugar
1 red chilli, finely chopped, optional
1 tsp minced garlic

Method:

Rinse the lamb ribs and pat dry with kitchen papers. Mix with marinade well and put into a plastic bag or container with cover. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours, or over night for the best results.
Remove the lamb ribs from the fridge and leave it at room temperature for about 20 minutes before cooking.
Preheat oven to 160C / 320F, about 10 minutes.
Transfer the lamb ribs with the marinade into a baking tray, with downside up. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 45 minutes. Remove the foil. Flip the lamb rib to the other side up and continue to bake for 15 minutes, or until the surface turns brown. While baking, blast the ribs with the juice in the baking tray in order to keep the meat moist.
Mix all the ingredients of sauce. Drizzle on top of the baked lamb ribs. Serve immediately.

Tips on making moist baked ribs：To get the best results, use ceramic baking dish instead of metal tray. The ribs are moist and the juice in the dish won’t dry up too quickly. I tried using Pyrex glass baking dish and found the results were equally good. If using metal tray, it would be better if you add some water with the marinade for baking.

Malaysian Curry Fish

The dish goes really well with a bowl of steamed rice. You can substitute with any kinds of fish fillet you like. This brand of curry paste, available at Asian grocers, is quite hot, great for spicy food lovers. If you like less hot, you can add more water or coconut milk to adjust to your liking.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

200 gm white fish fillet (cod or snapper), chopped in pieces
salt, to taste
white pepper, to taste
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
1 potato, roughly chopped
1 carrot, roughly chopped
250 ml Ayam curry paste, 1 can
200 ml water
6 tofu puffs
150 gm green beans
300 ml coconut milk
5 medium prawns / shrimps, optional
2 tsp sugar
salt, to taste
coriander, for garnish

Method:

Rinse the fish fillet and wipe dry with paper towels. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Heat oil in a pot over medium heat. Saute onion until slightly softened. Add garlic and cook until aromatic. Make sure not to burn the garlic. Toss in the potato and carrot. Stir to combine.
Pour the curry paste and water. Increase the heat and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until the vegetables turn soft, about 10 minutes.
In the meantime, rinse the prawns. Remove the head, devein and shell, keeping the tails intact. Use a pot of salted boiling water to briefly cook the green beans for about 2 minutes. Drain out and soak the beans in cold water. Drain well again. Set aside. Toss the tofu puffs in the boiling water in order to remove the excess oil. Drain up and set aside.
Add the tofu puffs and green beans in the curry sauce. Cook over high heat. When it boils again, add coconut milk. Bring it to boil. Add the fish and shrimp. Cook until their colours changed into opaque. Season with salt and sugar. Transfer into a serving bowl and garnish with coriander. Serve immediately.

Japanese Ginger Pork

If you have little kids at home, feel free to reduce the amount of ginger. If you’re a spicy food lover, I strongly recommend you generously garnish with more freshly grated ginger on top of the fried pork.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: 3 to 4 serves

Ingredients:

320 gm pork (fillet, pork neck or collar butt)
baby bok choy, to taste
3 tsp freshly grated ginger, plus more for garnish
spring onion, finely chopped, for garnish

Seasonings:

3 Tbsp salt-reduced light soy sauce
2 Tbsp mirin
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp white rice wine

Method:

Mix all the ingredients of seasonings and grated ginger in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
Rinse and cut the baby bok choy lengthways. Briefly cook them in salted boiling water until softened. Drain out and soak in cold water in order to help keep its green colour. Drain well again. Place on a serving plate.
Slice the pork, each about 5mm in thickness. Wrap the slices in plastic wrap and tenderize by pounding flat with a rolling pin.
Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan or a skillet over medium-high heat. Dip the pork slices into the seasonings. Quickly brown in the hot pan. You might like to proceed in batches. Immediately serve with the bok choy. Garnish with spring onion and freshly grated ginger. It goes really well with steamed rice.

Notes：

You can cook the remaining seasonings in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil. Drizzle over the cooked bok choy. It’s very delicious.
As the pork is pounded to be very thin, it will absorb the seasonings and cooked through very quickly. Make sure not to over cook the pork, lest the pork turns tough.
Mirin is a Japanese condiment, available at supermarkets or Asian grocers.

Braised Honey Pork Ribs

Simply put all the ingredients in a deep pot or a slow cooker. Then you’ll enjoy succulent and juicy rib meat nearly fallen off the bones after a few hours of simmering. The meat is coated with wonderfully tasty sauce. It goes really well with steamed rice.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 3 hours
Yield: 3 to 4 serves

Ingredients:

780 gm American ribs
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
2 tsp grated ginger root
2 cloves minced garlic

Sauce:

3 Tbsp hoisin sauce (海鮮醬)
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 Tbsp mirin
2 strips orange rind, each 2cm x 3cm
1½ Tbsp honey
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp Tabasco sauce, optional
1½ cup water

Method:

Cut the pork ribs into pieces. Blanch in boiling water to remove blood and any impurities, for about 3 minutes. Drain well. Wipe dry with kitchen papers. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook the ribs over high-medium heat until lightly brown. Push ribs to the sides of the pan. Add some oil. Saute the ginger and garlic until aromatic. Stir to combine with the ribs well. Transfer into a deep pot or a slow cooker.
Pour sauce over the ribs. Place a piece of baking paper on top and cover with a pot lib. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 3 hours, or until the ribs are softened, sauce reduced to 1/5 and thickened. Along the way of cooking, occasionally stir the ribs to get them heated evenly. Serve hot with sauce.

Notes：

To place a piece of baking paper on top of the ribs while cooking, it helps to keep the surface of ribs moist and glossy.
The secret ingredient to make this tasty dish is Lee Kum Kee’s hoisin sauce and honey.
Mirin is a Japanese condiment, available at supermarkets.
To get the best results, use heavy based pot or a slow cooker if you have.
As the power of every stove and the material of every cooking utensil is very different, the amount of water used will be different too. Top up with some boiling water along the way of cooking if needed.

Baked Eggplant with Miso Sauce

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 40 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

1 large eggplant (aubergine), about 375 gm
oil, to taste
sea salt, to taste
sesame seeds, roasted for garnish
chopped spring onion, for garnish

Sauce:

100 ml mirin
1½ Tbsp white miso paste
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp Japanese soy sauce
2 tsp Japanese cooking wine

Method:

Preheat oven to 180C / 356F.
Rinse the eggplant. Cut it in half lengthwise. Score the flesh deeply, yet not cut through to the skin, with the tip of a sharp knife in a cross-hatch pattern (as shown in picture above). Spray the cut side or brush with oil and season with salt.
Transfer the eggplant to a lined baking tray. Cover with a foil and bake in the preheated oven for about 40 minutes, until the eggplant is softened.
In the meantime, combine all the ingredients of sauce in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium heat and stir occasionally. When it starts to boil and the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from the heat.
Remove the eggplant from the oven. Discard the excess water. Drizzle the sauce over the top. Sprinkle sesame seeds and spring onion for garnish. Serve immediately.

Notes：

Eggplant can soak up a lot of oil. If using oil spray, you can control the amount of fat used without making the dish too heavy.
Mirin is an essential condiment used in Japanese cuisine, available at Asian grocers.
When preparing the sauce, you can use a large spoon to press the miso paste and help it dissolve thoroughly.
It’s better not to over cook the miso paste, or else you’ll lose much of its nutrition.
When the sauce starts to boil, remove the pan from the heat as quickly as possible.
The eggplant I used was quite large and thick. This recipe also works for small narrow ones. The baking time needs to be shortened accordingly.

Spicy Lemongrass Chicken Wings

These chicken wings are perfect for any meals, Super Bowl, or as nibbles at party.

Prep time: 10 mins + chilling time
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 3 to 4 serves

Ingredients:

450 gm chicken wings
coriander, for garnish

Marinade:

1 onion, roughly chopped
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1½ Tbsp palm sugar, grated
1 Tbsp oil
2 garlic
1 lemongrass, only the white part, roughly chopped
1 red Bird's eye chili, or to taste
2 Tbsp lemon juice

Method:

Cut the chicken wings into two parts at the joint. Blanch in boiling water to remove the blood. Drain well.
Use a food processor, process all the ingredients of the marinade into a paste.
Mix the chicken wings with the marinade paste well. Place in a plastic bag or a container. Transfer into fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Remove the chicken wings from fridge and place at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
Heat oil in a frying pan or a grill pan. Cook both sides over medium heat until lightly brown and cooked through, about 7 minutes for each side. Dish up and garnish with coriander. Served hot.

Notes：

I used the Three Crabs Brand fish sauce, available at Asian grocers.
When cooking the chicken wings, don’t use too high heat, otherwise the chicken wings are easily burnt before being cooked through as sugar is added. You might like to cook with a lid on when cooking the other side in order to get the wings cooked through thoroughly. After a while, remove the lid and continue to cook until the water dries up.

Singaporean Chilli Crab Recipe (with Lemongrass and Ginger Book Review)

Adapted from Lemongrass and Ginger, p.109
by Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Yield: 4 serves

Ingredients:

1.5kg / 3lb 5oz uncooked brown or blue swimmer crabs, or crab claws, scrubbed (I used mud crab.)
3 Tbsp sunflower oil
1 recipe quantity chilli crab spice paste (see below)
2 Tbsp tomato ketchup
2 Tbsp chilli sauce
2 Tbsp clear honey
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
boiled long-grain rice, to serve

Method:

To prepare each crab, pull off the triangular bony tail flap and discard. Press your thumb under the rear end of the crab and lift the body away from the back shell. Discard the shell and remove and discard the stomach bag and the gills at the sides of the body. Rinse the crab flesh and claws under running cold water and pat dry with kitchen paper. Pull the 2 front claws from the bodies and then, using the back of a knife or a mallet, slightly crack the shell of each claw. Cut the crabs into quarters with a large-bladed knife. If using crab claws only, rinse under running cold water and crack the claws slightly using a large-bladed knife.
Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan over a high heat. Add the spice paste and cook gently, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes until fragrant and the oil starts to rise to the surface.
Meanwhile, combine the tomato ketchup, chilli sauce, honey and soy sauce in a small bowl. Add the sauce mixture to the wok or pan, then pour in 9-ml/3fl oz/generous 1/3 cup water and bring to the boil.
Tip in the crab pieces and push around the wok or pan until well coated with the sauce. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the crab pieces turn bright orange and are cooked through. Serve immediately with boiled rice.

Chilli Crab spice paste
Ingredients:

2 dried chillies
5 red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
6 shallots, roughly chopped
5cm/2in piece of root ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tsp roasted shrimp paste (I used bottled smooth shrimp paste)

Method:

Soak the dried chillies in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain, deseed and roughly chop.
Put all the ingredients in a food processor and blend a smooth paste. (I used a pestle and mortar to ground all ingredients into paste.)

Japanese Salmon Soba Noodles

This noodle dish is very versatile, suitable for lunch or dinner, throughout the year.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 2 serves

Ingredients:

2 x 140 gm salmon steaks
a pinch salt
pepper, to taste
180 gm soba noodles
baby bok choy, to serve
wakame / seaweed salad, to sever

Sauce ingredients:

3 Tbsp mirin
3 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
1 tsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp vegetable oil

Method:

Rinse salmon and wipe dry. Use tweezers or pliers to remove the pin bones. Season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook the salmon steaks over medium high heat with skin side first, until both sides are brown or cooked to your liking.
In the meantime, heat a large pot of boiling water. Cook the noodles in boiling water according to the packet instructions, adding the bok choy for the last 2 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil in a small sauce pan. Saute garlic and ginger until aromatic. Place the rest of the sauce ingredients and cook until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat.
Divide the noodles among two serving plates, with salmon steaks, drizzle sauce on surface, topped with wakam. Serve with bok choy.
Notes：
Wakame / seaweed salad is available from Asian grocers.
Mirin is a kind of rice wine similar to sake, available from Asian grocery stores.

Tangzhong Wholemeal Loaf

Please refer to the instructions for making the Tangzhong. Just measure out the quantity you need.
As wholemeal flour is added, it’s very hard to knead the dough until it passes windowpane test. Just knead it until it’s very elastic. When you try to stretch the dough into a thin translucent membrane (i.e. a windowpane), it’d be broken into an irregular hole. It’s done. Don’t ever over-knead it.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 170 mins
Yield: 1 loaf（one loaf tin sized 20.5cmx10.5cmx9.5cm）

Ingredients:

110 gm milk
45 gm whisked egg
100 gm Tangzhong (refer to this recipe)
40 gm sugar
5 gm salt
200 gm bread flour
150 gm wholemeal / whole wheat flour
6 gm instant dry yeast
40 gm unsalted butter, softened at room temperature

Method:

Add all ingredients (except butter) into a breadmaker, first the wet ingredients (milk, egg, tangzhong), then followed by the dry ingredients (sugar, salt, bread flour, wholemeal flour, yeast). (Note: I used to make a small well in the flour, then add the yeast into it.)
Select the “dough” mode (refer to the manual of your breadmaker to select the kneading dough programme). When all ingredients come together, add the butter (see picture 1). Knead until the dough becomes elastic.
Let the dough complete the 1st round of proofing, until doubled in size, about 40 minutes.
Transfer the dough to a clean floured surface. Deflate and divide into 3 equal portions. Knead into ball shapes (see picture 2). Cover with plastic wrap, let rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
Roll out each dough ball with a rolling pin into an oval shape. Roll up the dough and seal tightly (see picture 3 & 4). Seal faces downward. Roll out each portion to 30cm in length with your rolling pin (picture 5). Seal faces upward and roll into a cylinder shape (see picture 6 & 7). The seal faces down (see picture 8). Arrange the rolled-up dough in a greased or non-stick loaf tin. Repeat this step for the other two portions. Leave it for the 2nd round of proofing, about 40 minutes, or until the dough rises up to 4/5 of the height of the tin inside (see picture 9). Close the loaf lid. (Remark: If your tin doesn’t have a lid, just brush a bit of whisked egg on surface.)
Bake in a pre-heated 170C / 335F oven for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the loaf from the oven and tin. Transfer onto a wire rack and let cool completely. Slice to serve or place in an airtight plastic bag or container once it's thoroughly cooled.

Ingredients of tangzhong (湯種 The amount is enough to make two loafs):

50gm/ 1/3 cup bread flour
250ml/ 1cup water (could be replaced by milk, or 50/50 water and milk)

Method of making tangzhong:

Mix flour in water well without any lumps. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring consistently with a wooden spoon, whisk or spatula to prevent burning and sticking while you cook along the way.
The mixture becomes thicker and thicker. Once you notice some “lines” appear in the mixture for every stir you make with the spoon. It’s done. You get the tangzhong. (Some people might like to use a thermometer to check the temperature. After a few trials, I found this simple method works every time.) Remove from heat.
Transfer into a clean bowl. Cover with a cling wrap sticking onto the surface of tangzhong to prevent from drying up. Let cool. The tangzhong can be used straight away once it cools down to room temperature. Just measure out the amount you need. The leftover tangzhong can be stored in fridge up to a few days as long as it doesn't turn grey. If so, you need to discard and cook some more. (Note: The chilled tangzhong should return to room temperature before adding into other ingredients. )

Butter Buns (with Tips on making fresh buns for breakfast)

To make these butter buns, it’s pretty straight forward and simple. Just knead all ingredients into a dough. The trick to get soft and fluffy texture you’re after is that make sure your dough passes the membrane test (aka windowpane test).

Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Yield: 8 buns (Prepare an 8-inch round baking tin)

Ingredients:

250 gm bread flour
25 gm cake flour
5 gm instant dry yeast
15 gm milk powder
40 gm caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
100 ml water, about 36C/97F
80 ml milk, about 36C/97F
40 gm butter, softened at room temperature
whisked egg, for egg wash

Method:

Mix all ingredients (except butter) in a breadmaker or knead by hand. I used my stand mixer this time. When all the ingredients come together, knead in butter until the dough passes the thin membrane test. (The dough could be stretched to a thin membrane, as shown in the above picture). Roll it into a ball. Place into a lightly greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Let it proof untill it's doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Transfer to a clean floured surface. Deflate and divide the dough into 8 equal portions. Knead each into a ball shape. Place them evenly in a lightly greased baking tin (shown as above picture). Cover with plastic wrap and let it proof until doubled in size, crowded together, almost reaching the rim, about 1 to 1½ hours.
About 5 to 10 minutes towards the end of proofing time, preheat oven to 170C/ 335F. Lightly brush whisked egg on each dough portion. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the buns from the oven and let it stand for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn them out from the tin onto a wire rack. Serve warm with butter if you like. The leftovers can be kept in an air-tight plastic bag or container, at room temperature.

Notes：

The texture of these butter buns is wonderfully soft and fluffy. The leftovers can be kept soft overnight. Just reheat them with your oven and they taste like those fresh from oven.
Don’t have time to knead the dough but you still want fresh buns for breakfast? Here’s a workaround. Make the buns the night before, up to the point where they're shaped and put in the tin for the 2nd round of proofing. Wait until the dough has risen halfway, almost touching one another. Yet don’t wait until they are fully risen. Cover with lightly greased plastic wrap, and refrigerate. The next morning, remove the buns from the fridge, and let warm and rise, keeping them covered, for an hour or so. Remove the plastic wrap and bake the buns as instructed in step 3.

Roast Pork Belly with Apple Puree and Cider Vinegar Vinaigrette

This recipe is adapted from Audra Morrice, contestant of MasterChef Australia, season 4.

Prep time: 40 mins
Cook time: 60 mins
Yield: 4 serves

Ingredients:

600 gm roast pork belly (refer to this previous recipe)
Apple puree:
2 granny smith apples, cored, peeled and chopped
Juice of half a lime
1 tsp sugar
1 to 2 Tbsp water
Honey cider vinegar glaze:
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup cider vinegar
Cider vinaigrette:
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp sugar
Pinch salt
2 Tbsp water
1½ tsp cider vinegar
100ml grapeseed oil
Watercress and baby mache, to serve

Method:

To make the roast pork belly, I used my previous recipe. (Note: For those who are interested in Audra Morrice’s original recipe, please hop over to MasterChef Australia’s official site.) You have to half all the ingredients and skip the five spices powder or just sprinkle a pinch of it if you like an extra fragrance.
For apple puree, place apples in a saucepan with lime juice, sugar and 1 to 2 tablespoons of water. Cover and simmer until tender. Blend in a thermomix or blender until smooth. Check for seasoning.
For glaze, bring both the honey and cider vinegar to a boil over medium heat, simmer until syrup thickens.
For vinaigrette, mix all ingredients and whisk well until emulsified.
To serve, place pork on a serving plate and drizzle with glaze. Add a dollop of apple puree next to pork. Add watercress, top with baby mache and lightly dress with vinaigrette.

Japanese Enoki Beef Rolls

When making this dish, you might like to use the already thinly sliced beef for hotpot. It's very handy. You can get them from Korean or Japanese stores. The texture is really tender.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

20 thin slices (about 100 gm) beef fillet
120 gm enoki mushrooms

Seasonings:

2 Tbsp Japanese cooking wine
2½ Tbsp light soy sauce
2½ Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp sugar

Method:

Trim away the roots of the mushrooms and remove any dirts. Rinse and wipe dry with kitchen pappers. Divide them into 10 equal portions.
Roll and wrap each portion of the mushrooms with 2 slices of beef.
Heat up some oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Place the beef rolls into the pan in a single layer with seams facing down. Pan fry for about 1 minute. Carefully turn to another side. Pour in the seasonings. Increase heat to high and cook until the mushrooms become soft. Serve immediately.

Grilled Sanma (Japanese Style)

Whenever we have fish on our dinner table, I’d feel it’s a very satisfying and rich supper, no matter what kind of fish we have. This dish is a super easy and quick one, yet delicious enough. Sanma is commonly used in Japanese cuisine. To make this dish, all you need is an oven/grill. I used my toaster oven that is pretty quick to grill a small amount of meat. If you don’t have an oven at home, you can pan fry it oven medium-high heat. Both of the fish skin and bones are very crispy. You can eat the whole fish literally, given that you’re skillful and experienced in eating small fish with bones.

Grilled Sanma (Printable recipe)
By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 20 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

The S&B assorted chili pepper contains 7 flavours:　
chili pepper, orange peel, black sesame seed, white sesame seed, Japanese pepper, ginger, seaweed.

Ingredients:

300 gm sanma (サンマ / 秋刀魚)
sea salt, to taste
freshly grated black pepper, to taste
S&B assorted chili pepper, to taste

Method:

Gut the sanma and clean well. Rinse, then wipe dry with kitchen papers. Generously sprinkle and rub with sea salt and pepper on both sides and inside. Season with assorted chili pepper.
Preheat a toaster oven at 160C/320F. Line a baking tray with aluminum foil or baking paper, greased with a bit of oil.
Place the fish on the lined baking tray. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked through and the fish skin becomes lightly brown. Serve immediately. Sprinkle more assorted chili pepper if you like. The fish goes very well with soy sauce, or Worcestershire sauce. Enjoy!

Notes:

You can grill the fish in a conventional oven at 200C/395F.
Or fry the fish in a frying pan.
Needless to add too much oil, as the fish would release oil while baking/grilling.

Sweet Potato Glutinous Rice Balls

You can impress your family and friends with this easy-to-make dessert in any occasion. The leftover glutinous rice balls can be kept in an air-tight container in fridge for up to a few days. When needed, remove from the fridge and place in room temperature for about an hour, the balls would return soft.

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Yield: 10 to 12

Ingredients:

200 gm red sweet potato
100 gm glutinous rice flour
10 to 12 cubes (each about fingertip sized) palm sugar
desiccated coconut , for coating

Method:

Steam the sweet potato over medium-high heat in a wok, until it's softened. If it’s easily poked through with a chopstick or skewer, it’s cooked through. Cut into two halves. Spoon out the sweet potato flesh and place in a large bowl. Let it cool until warm.
Mix in the glutinous rice flour and knead into a dough. If it’s too dry, add water bit by bit. If it’s too wet, add a bit of glutinous rice flour.
Cut the dough into 10 to 12 equal portions. Wrap a small cube of palm sugar with each dough portion. Knead into a small ball. Repeat this step with the remaining dough.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Carefully place the balls into the pot. (Note: If your pot is not big enough, cook in two batches.) Immediately stir the water, make sure each ball doesn’t stick to the bottom. Cook over medium-high heat, until the balls float onto the surface of water. Reduce heat and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. Drain out the balls onto a lightly greased plate. Make sure they are not stacked together.
Roll each ball with desiccated coconut and coat evenly. Enjoy!

Tips:

As every sweet potato contains different amount of water, add some water if the dough is too dry, or vice versa, add some flour if it’s too wet. No matter whether you add water or flour, it has to be added by a small amount at a time.
To shorten the cooking time of sweet potato: Peel and cut the sweet potato into small cubes before steaming. Smash the flesh with a large spoon, a potato masher or potato ricer.

Steamed Golden Fish Cakes with Oyster Sauce + Hong Kong Trip Snapshot

Steamed Golden Fish Cakes with Oyster Sauce01

Lee Kum Kee held a cooking competition for bloggers in April. To my knowledge, it’s the first one ever run in Hong Kong before. I felt honoured to be invited and created a demo recipe for their official site. Healthy, creative and fusion were the requirements and themes for every entry. So here you go, I translated my demo recipe into English to share the joy of participating something significant in food blogging.

What else could be more healthier than a steamed fish dish? Believed that this dish had nailed the competition themes, off I went to submit my recipe and posted on my chinese food blog. By adding a bit of vietnamese condiment, fish sauce, into the fish paste, I planned to bring in a kind of cross-over-taste in Chinese traditional seasoning. Besides all the cooking, I was able to know and connect more Hong Kong food bloggers through this event, as well as expand my blogging horizon a bit.

As a side note, I was invited to visit the LKK headquarter during my trip back to Hong Kong last month.

Amazed by their warm welcome message！

Very impressed by their giant, modern kitchen. I could imagine how excited the contestants would have felt while cooking their invention dishes in this splendid kitchen.

A peek view of LKK giant kitchen - taken by my ipad2

Prepare 8 chinese tablespoons or cook in batches.
Steamed Golden Fish Cakes with Oyster Sauce (Printable recipe)

By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 20 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: Makes 8 golden fish cakes

Ingredients:

200 gm white fish meat (e.g. mackerel)
1 shiitake mushroom, soaked until soft, finely diced
8 thin strips of carrot
8 leaves of baby bok choy

Marinade:

1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp freshly grated carrot juice

Sauce:

3 tsp Lee Kum Kee premium oyster sauce
1 tsp Lee Kum Kee light soy sauce
1/4 tsp Lee Kum Kee dark soy sauce
Lee Kum Kee sesame oil, to taste
2½ Tbsp water

Thickening:

1 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp corn flour

Method:

Place the fish in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl. Mix in marinade. Use chopsticks and blend towards only one direction, either clockwise or anti-clockwise, for about 10 minutes. (Note: Beating fish meat towards only one direction will help you produce elastic fish meat.)
Damp 8 chinese tablespoon (as picture shown above) with a bit of water. Divide fish paste into the tablespoons and make 8 oval shapes. On each fish paste portion, carefully place two diced mushrooms as fish eyes, one tiny strip of carrot as fish mouth. Steam in a wok over high heat, about 5 minutes, or until cooked through. Run a sharp knife around each tablespoon and remove the fish cakes. Arrange on a large serving plate.
While steaming the fish cakes, use a small saucepan, cook the sauce over medium heat. When it boils, add the thickening and cook to preferred consistency. Set aside.
Add a dash of oil in boiling water in the wok, briefly cook the baby bok choy until soft and turns green. Don’t overcook them. Drain them, and cut away the stalks. Place each leaf next to each fish cake as its tail. Serve hot with the sauce.

Notes:

Carrot is a healthy ingredient. Utilize its natural golden orange colour to replicate the look and colour of a golden fish in order to enhance the appetite.
When it comes to making this fish cake, only use fish meat, without any fish skin, as you don’t want the fish cakes get some black spot inside.
It’s much more easier to get the colour you like if you add carrot juice bit by bit, and stir at the same time.
When shaping the fish cake, you might find the fish paste a bit sticky or messy. No worries. To make it workable, damp your hands with a bit of water, you'll find shaping a fish cake is a piece of cake.
Cook the bok choy with stalks intacted, it helps to drain out easily without tearing off the delicate leaves. The stalks can be eaten with sauce anyway, you won’t waste anything.
When serving this dish, the sauce can be transferred into a small sauce pot.
The intensity of saltiness of different brands of fish sauce is different. Adjust the amount of it accordingly.

Crab Meat with E-Fu Noodles in Oyster Sauce (蟹肉伊麵)

Crab Meat E-Fu Noodles in Oyster Sauce01

E-fu noodles (aka Yi mein in Cantonese, 伊麵), are often consumed on birthday celebrations in Hong Kong, thus they are also named as "Longevity (long) life" noodles (Sau mein 壽麵). They are flat egg-noodles, made by wheat flour. You might easily find them from any Asian stores, that are deep-fried first before packed in a plastic bag for sale. When it comes to cooking e-fu noodles, all you need is to blanch them in boiling water to get rid of any excess oil, and then cook briefly in simmering liquid. Its colour of golden yellow is very attractive, along with its chewy and elastic texture make them stand out of the crowd. Generally speaking, Chinese people categorize e-fu noodles as a kind of only-have-it-on-special occasions one.

Crab Meat with E-Fu Noodles in Oyster Sauce (Printable recipe)
By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 40 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Yield: 2 to 3serves

Ingredients:

120 grams crab meat (2 crabs, steamed and shelled)
1 pack E-Fu noodles (伊麵), about 220 gm
1 shallot, minced
2 stalks scallion, cut into sections
ginger, julienned, to taste
sesame oil, to taste, optional

Seasonings:

250 ml salt-reduced chicken stock (homemade or bought)
1½ Tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
½ tsp sugar

Sauce:

200 ml salt-reduced chicken stock
thickening (1 tsp cornflour + 1 Tbsp water), mixed well
1 egg white, lightly whisked

Method:

Cook e-fu noodles in boiling water until softened, about 3 minutes. Drain well, immediately rinse with running cold water. Drain well again. Set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or a large pan. Saute the shallot until aromatic over medium-high heat. Add the ginger and scallion. Pour in the seasonings, bring it to a boil. Add the noodles. Decrease heat and simmer until noodles absorb the flavours, for about 5 to 8 minutes. Season with sesame oil. Transfer to 2 to 3 serving plates. Cover to keep warm. Set aside.
Use the same wok. Pour in 200 ml of chicken stock. Cook until it boils over high heat. Toss in crab meat. When it boils again, stir in the thickening and cook to preferred consistency. Add the egg white and lightly stir with a fork. Once the egg white turns white, quickly dish up. Ladle over the noodles or transfer into the cooked crab shells. Serve hot.

Crab Meat E-Fu Noodles in Oyster Sauce02

Notes:

You might choose mud crabs or sand crabs, as long as they are fresh and you like them. Put a few extra slices of ginger and 1 to 2 stalks of scallion to steam with the crabs, to get rid of any fishy smell if they have any. Young kids will love this dish as they don’t have any trouble in removing the crab shells.
Or you might like to use frozen crab meat if it comes in handy to you.
You can substitute the crab meat with any other meats you like, or simply omit it. Or add more favourite vegetables. The oyster sauce goes with the noodles really well.
As e-fu noodles are highly absorbent, they tend to soak up a lot of the moisture when wet ingredients are added, so they would take on all the flavors in the sauce. When it comes to cooking this kind of noodles, don’t let the noodles sit too long before serving. They become dry and too salty otherwise.

Pumpkin Chiffon Cake (Light and healthy)

Beautiful pumpkins are available throughout the year here. They are so versatile and incredible for making any dishes. I used a small amount of pumpkin puree to make a chiffon cake, that produced a very attractive, natural orange-red colour. The cake's texture is very light and fluffy. Yes, I'm a big fan of light and fluffy cakes. The recipe is adapted from a Taiwaness cookbook writer 薛妃娟. She really knows how to make good use of natural and healthy ingredients and bakes delicious chiffon cakes. The nutrients of pumpkin and pepitas are well known. Guess that I don’t need to explain.

Pumpkin Chiffon Cake (Printable recipe) Adapted from："美味糕點新主張" by 薛妃娟
By Christine's Recipes

Prep time: 40 mins
Cook time: 30 mins
Yield: two 17cm round (I used one 20cm) ungreased tube pan

Ingredients:

100 gm pumpkin, peeled, steamed and mashed
35 gm milk
35 gm vegetable oil
8 gm Cointreau
100 gm cake flour
100 gm egg yolks（I used 6 egg yolks.）
200 gm egg whites（I used 6 egg whites.）
100 gm caster sugar
70 gm pepitas

Preparation:

Diced pumpkin. Steam over high heat until cooked through. Press with a spoon or process in a small food processor into paste when it's still hot.
Sift the cake flour.
Mix milk, oil and Cointreau in a bowl.
Bake the pepitas in an oven preheated at 150C/300F for 4 to 5 minutes, until expand.

Method:

Combine pumpkin puree into milk, oil and Cointreau mixture. Mix in cake flour.
Add egg yolks in pumpkin mixture. Combine well.
Beat egg whites with an electric mixer until bubbles form. Mix in 1/3 of sugar at a time, and beat well between additions. Continue to beat until stiff peaks form. (Note: please refer to this video “How To Beat Egg Whites”.)
Spoon out 1/3 of the beaten egg whites and mix into the pumpkin batter.
Lightly fold in the rest of the beaten egg whites with a spatula, until just combined. (Note: please refer to this video "How To Fold-in Egg Whites.)
Add the pepitas into the batter. Mix well.
Pour batter into the cake pan. Level the surface with a spatula.
Use hands lift up the pan with thumbs pressing the tube in the middle. Lightly tap the pan on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles inside the batter.
Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/356F for 10 minutes, or until lightly brown. Decrease the oven temperature, 150C/300F upper, 170C/335F lower, continue to bake for about 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove cake from the oven. invert the pan immediately. Allow it to cool completely.
Use a long and fine knife to loosen the sides of the cake. Remove from the pan.

The Author’s cooking notes:

When the pumpkin is cooked, discard excess water. Otherwise, it affects the texture of your cake.
If your oven don't have separate heaters, use 170C/335F to 180C/356F to bake the cake for about 30 to 35 minutes. In the process of baking, if the surface gets brown too quickly, loosely cover with foil.

My cooking notes:

My oven doesn't have separate heaters. I baked my cake at 180C/356F for about 10 minutes. Then reduced heat to 150C/300F-160C/320F, continued to bake for another 20 minutes. I didn't cover my cake with foil. It worked well.
Mind you: the design and power of every oven is very different. Know your own oven.

Japanese Cheesecake (Fluffy & Creamy)

The velvety smooth, creamy, as well as the fluffy texture makes this kind of cheesecake stand out the crowd. The cheesecake is not too sweet, yet just enough to entertain your sweet tooth if you have one. Best served after chilling.

Prepare two baking pans, lined with baking paper (each size 11.5cmx22cmx6cm)

Ingredients:

250ml milk
250 gm cream cheese, cubed and softened at room temperature
60 gm butter, softened at room temperature
6 egg yolks
55 gm cake flour
20 gm corn flour
1 lemon zest
6 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
130 gm caster sugar

Method:

Preheat oven to 150C (302F).
Use a large bowl, pour in milk. Place the bowl over simmering water. Don’t let the bottom of the bowl touch the water. Add cream cheese, stir occasionally, until completely dissolved and the mixture turns smooth. Stir in butter, till dissolved. Remove from heat. Let cool down a bit, then add the egg yolks and combine well. (Note: Make sure the mixture is not too hot, as you don’t want to cook the egg yolks at this stage.)
Combine cake flour and corn flour. Sift in the flours into the cream cheese mixture, a small amount at a time. Mix well between every addition, and make sure there aren’t any flour lumps. Stir in freshly grated zest. Set aside.
Place egg whites in a large clean bowl. (Note: Make sure there’s no oil or water in the bowl at all.) Use an electric mixer to beat the egg whites for 3 minutes, then add cream of tartar and blend again. Pour sugar in the egg whites and blend until very stiff peaks form. (Please refer to this video: How To Beat Egg Whites.)
Fold-in the egg whites into the cream cheese mixture gently with a rubber spatula just until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not stir or beat. For a better result, fold in egg whites with a small amount at a time, at least for 3 times. (Please refer to this post with video: How To Fold-in Egg Whites).
Pour the mixture into the two baking pans. Place the pans into another larger baking tray. Add hot water in the tray up to half way. Bake for about 50 to 60 minutes. Test with a needle or skewer that comes out clean.
Turn off the oven. Leave the oven door ajar for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove from the pans. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Chill in a fridge for about 3 hours. Enjoy!

Notes:

The delicate, velvety smooth texture of this cheesecake is produced by two low-protein flours, cake flour or corn flour.
The beaten egg whites generate very small air pockets in the inner structure of the cake. So, when it comes to making this cake, it’s very important to know how to beat egg whites and how to fold-in egg whites properly. I’ve uploaded two videos on youtube for those who need them, here and here.
To prevent the surface of the cheesecake from cracking: use low temperature and water-bath method during baking. The surface of the cake has a tendency to rise high to a point that breaks the structure. So, the basic principle is to keep the oven as low as the recipe suggests as 150C (302F). Mind you, every oven is so different, know your oven. And you have to keep an eye on it when baking. When the cake surface rises too high, that means the temperature of your oven is too high. Reduce the temperature accordingly.
To prevent the cheesecake from shrinking: open the oven door ajar for 10 minutes or so, and let your cheesecakes cool down gradually. But don’t keep them there too long because moist would develop at the bottom of the baking pans.
If using a loose base cake tin, cover the outside of the tin bottom with double layers of aluminium foil to prevent water from seeping in.

Luke Nguyen's Crisp Tofu in Tomato Pepper Sauce

It seems that I was born with an interest in having fried tofu with tomato, yet only realized this not long ago.

Last week, as usual I watched Luke Nguyen’s Vietnam Season 2 on SBS. A side note, Luke Nguyen’s latest released cookbook "The Songs of Sapa" was crowned amongst one of the winners of 2010 Australian Food Media Awards. In the minute I finished watching the show, that he cooked the Crisp tofu in tomato-pepper sauce on a hill top in Vietnam, my urge inside to try his dish was immediately confirmed by my daughter’s suggestion, “Would you cook this, mum? It looks tasty.” This plain, simple question uttered from a meat lover said it all. Without a second thought, I jumped on the bandwagon. The two main ingredients, tofu and tomato are always sitting in my fridge, even when the nearby supermarkets were running short of food supplies during the floods hit our state. Everything is ready and this dish is simple and easy to prepare. The end result was satisfied, fresh with lots of flavour. The crisp tofu was so good in the balanced savoury, sour and sweet sauce.

Recipe from Crisp tofu cooked in tomato-pepper sauce by Luke Nguyen (Printable recipe)

Ingredients

200ml (7 fl oz) vegetable oil
500g (1 lb 2 oz) silken tofu, drained and cut into 3cm (11/4 inch) cubes
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced red Asian shallots
1 birdseye chilli, finely sliced
4 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 spring onions (scallions), cut into 5cm (2 inch) lengths
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 coriander (cilantro) sprigs, to garnish (I didn't use.)

Method:

Pour the oil into a wok and heat to 180°C (350°F), or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds.
Add the tofu, cooking it in two batches to ensure the oil stays hot, and deep-fry until crisp. Remove the tofu with a slotted spoon and transfer to kitchen paper to drain.
Transfer the deep-frying oil into a deep bowl, leaving about 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok.
Add the garlic, Asian shallots and chilli to the wok, and stir-fry for 1 minute or until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes, salt, sugar and fish sauce. Stir and allow the tomatoes to break down.
Add 100ml (31/2 fl oz) water to the wok, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a low simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the crisp tofu, spring onions and black pepper, folding it all together, and simmer for no longer than 1 minute as you want to keep the crisp texture of the tofu.
Garnish with coriander.

Baked Miso Salmon

Salmon is on top of my favourite seafood list. It’s full of flavours and nutrients. I don’t need to worry about the calories or cholesterol intake, eat as many as I like, enjoy more frequently as I crave. The Asian flavoured salmon is my family’s choice just after salmon sashimi. As a home cook, I love to bake salmon steak, with a bit of white miso paste by adding a subtle sweet flavour. This dish is simple and easy.

Baked Miso Salmon (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

1 salmon steak with skin on, about 200 gm

Marinade:

1 Tbsp white miso paste
1 Tbsp mirin
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp freshly grated ginger sauce

Method:

Rinse the salmon and pat dry with kitchen papers. Scale and Debone. Mix with marinade well. Cover and put in fridge for at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 200C (395F).
Remove the salmon from fridge and place at room temperature for 5 minutes. Use a spoon to scrape away the marinade. Add 2 tablespoons of water to marinade and combine for later use.
Heat oil in grill pan over high heat. Place the salmon on pan, the meat side first. Cook about 3 minutes until grill marks appear. Carefully turn and cook the skin side for 2 minutes. Transfer to the oven. (Note: if your grill pan is not oven friendly, transfer the salmon into a baking tray.) Bake for about 8 minutes, or almost cooked. Open the oven door, carefully pour the marinade mixture onto the surface of the salmon, continue to cook for another 5 minutes, or to your preferred doneness.

Notes:

As the marinade contains sugar, make sure not to burn the sauce while cooking. You’d taste bitterness otherwise.
The cooking time depends on how thick your salmon is, and how well you like your salmon.
If you don’t want to use oven, you can just grill or BBQ the salmon. Cook the marinade mixture separately. When you are ready to serve the salmon, top with the sauce.

Other salmon/miso paste recipes on the web:

Grilled Miso Salmon from NoobCook
Grilled Fish Fillets with Japanese Sake and Miso Paste from Taste Hong Kong
Baked Salmon from Tasty Kitchen of The Pioneer Woman