recipes

Garlic Mushroom Pasta

| San

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A fast and simple pasta dish that I make pretty often, as I always have fresh shimeji and shitake mushrooms in my fridge.  To avoid using too much oil in this single serving dish, I only used the minimal amount of butter to fry the garlic, herbs and mushrooms at first, then top with olive oil before serving.  I also stir in the grated cheese while the penne is hot to make it more creamy.

GARLIC MUSHROOM PASTA
ADAPTED FROM : FOOD.COM
INGREDIENTS

1 serving penne pasta, al dente, keep warm
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 packet of fresh shimeji mushrooms
6 fresh shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 teaspoon dried sweet basil herb
Salt and pepper, to taste
grated old cheddar cheese, to taste

METHOD

01. In a heated pan, melt the butter and cook garlic till fragrant and turns slight brown.

02. Stir in sweet basil and chilli flakes to mix.

03. Add both mushrooms and cook until they soften.

04. Season with salt and pepper.  Remove from heat.

05. Add cooked penne  and grated cheese into the pan of cooked mushrooms and toss well.

06. Transfer to plate, drizzle extra virgin olive oil before serving.

Fresh Spinach Frittata

| San

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As I cook more often, the faster and easier it becomes.

The grocery shopping trip has also become more efficient, as I know the quantity and types of food that I can handle well.  I allow myself to buy only one “exotic” or unfamiliar ingredient per trip and cook it before my next shopping trip.  Plus, I always keep in mind that it is the size of the crisper drawer, not the entire fridge, that determines the maximum quantity of purchase.

Back to fast and easy cooking, this 16cm frittata gets done really quick, only 15 minutes, as cooking time is solely for frying the eggs and blanched spinach mixture till set, plus another 2-3 minutes under the broiler to cook the top.  Since eggs get cooked really fast, they make a fulfilling breakfast even on a school day morning rush.

My Tiger wide tray toaster oven is big enough for my skillet, but I fear that it might not be able to handle the cast iron weight, so I left the lever door open, hold the skillet (wearing oven mitt) under the heating element to broil the frittata.  This method takes away the need to preheat the oven, saving time and electricity, as I only need the broiler for less than 5 minutes.

Served these with sauteed button mushrooms, perfect way to start the day!

FRESH SPINACH MUSHROOM FRITTATA
INGREDIENTS

3 eggs
4 stalks spinach, wash and cut away roots
dash of black pepper
1 tablespoon salted butter
2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
red chilli flakes, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

01. In a pot of boiling water, blanch spinach till cooked, emerge immediately in a bowl of room temperature water. Remove from water and chop roughly. Set aside.

02. In a bowl, whisk spinach, eggs and black pepper together.

03. Heat up the skillet over medium heat.  Melt butter and pour in egg mixture. Sprinkle chilli flakes on top.

05. Cook till frittata is almost done, around 3-4 minutes, but top remains slightly moist.

06. Place skillet in oven and broil till eggs are fully set, about 3 minutes.

07. Remove from oven, sprinkle grated cheese.  Serve immediately.

Homemade Matcha Latte

| San

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A very quick homemade matcha latte (matcha powder + milk + sugar) and bread to start the first morning of a week long school holiday.

I use this recipe and a french press make milk froth at home.  Simply heat up the milk till it start to steam (do not let it boil) , then pour it into the french press and pump the plunger a few times to froth the milk.  The froth with this method is smooth and good enough to even make latte art.

HOMEMADE MATCHA LATTE
SOURCE
INGREDIENTS

1.5 teaspoon matcha powder
1 tablespoon hot water
1 cup of full cream milk
1 teaspoon raw sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

01. In a serving cup, dissolve matcha powder in hot water.

02. Heat up milk and sugar in a saucepan over small fire till it starts to steam.  Do not let the milk boil.

03. Pour the milk into a french press, cover, and press the plunger for about 20 to 30 times to aerate the milk.*

04. Remove the plunger, swirl the french press to mix up the froth a bit, bang the french press on the tabletop 1 to 2 times to remove the bubbles.

05. Once the milk froth is ready, pour it into the serving cup with the dissolved matcha.

06. Serve hot, with a sprinkle of more matcha powder on the top.

NOTES :

* When pressing the plunger, do it gently, Otherwise big bubbles will form instead of smooth creamy froth.

 

Finish Up The Pineapple Jam, Make Cookies

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After making enough pineapple tarts before the new year, I used up the remaining pineapple jam to make cookies instead of storing them at the back of the fridge and forget all about it.  The crunchy butter cookie recipe comes from here, released at the right timing for me.  Instead of the fig and pumpkin seeds, I cut my  pineapple jams (easier to handled when chilled) into raisin size pellets and mixed in them into the cookie dough.  I also switch the type of flour used to self raising flour instead of mixing 125g cake flour with 1/2 teaspoon baking powder and 1/8 teaspoon baking soda.  Lastly, I added a tablespoon of almond grounds to add a hint of nutty flavor.

I like the end result of a crunchy cookie with sticky sweet and sour pineapple jam in every bite.

PINEAPPLE COOKIES
INGREDIENTS

80g salted butter, softened
40g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
125g self raising flour, sifted
1 tablespoon ground almond
40g chilled pineapple jam

METHOD

01. Cream softened butter and icing sugar at medium high speed for about 3 minutes till light and fluffy.

02. Add egg yolk and continue to mix till fully incorporated

03. Add self raising flour and mix into a soft dough.  Mix in almond grounds.

04. Prep chilled pineapple jams into small pellets, resembling raisins or smaller. Set aside.

05. Mix about 3 to 4 jam pellets with 8g of dough, flatten and arrange on lined baking tray.*

06. Bake in a preheated oven at 170C for 15 to 20 minutes till golden brown.

07. Allow cookies to cool completely before storing in airtight container.

NOTES

* Flatter and thinner dough will bake into crunchier cookies.  I prefer irregular shape cookies and create dents with fingers to make them look handmade.  If you prefer uniform shaped ones, you can roll the dough into balls and flatten them into cookies of same diameter.

Mandarin Orange Chicken

| San

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Mandarin oranges are in abundance at home after the Chinese New Year holiday, so if you have 2 medium ones to spare, they make great base for a sweet and sour sauce.  Team it with fried pork, chicken, fish fillet, or even firm tofu.  I had some leftover fried chicken fillet that I diced up to make Mandarin Orange Chicken.

To make mandarin orange sauce, let’s make the jam in a quick and easy way first.  This jam will replace the tomato ketchup used in a sweet and sour sauce.

I only use the orange pulp removed from the membrane for this recipe and discard the pith, seeds and peel, which are otherwise important if making mandarin orange marmalade, a different process altogether.

First remove the peel, pith and seeds from two mandarin oranges, and place the roughly chopped orange pulp in a small pot.

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Stir and cook over medium fire, for about 5 minutes to let most of the liquid evaporates, at the same time pressing juices out from the pulp with the back of the spoon.
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After most of the liquid has evaporated, turn off the fire and let the jam cools slightly, ready to be used.

MANDARIN ORANGE CHICKEN
INGREDIENTS

4-6 strips of fried chicken fillet, diced
1 tablespoon oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Mandarin orange jam made from 2 oranges
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoon of water
2 teaspoon sugar
Dash of pepper
Garnish : chopped scallions, sesame seeds

METHOD

01. Mix together orange jam, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and water in a bowl and set aside.

02. In a heated wok, fry garlic in oil till fragrant.

03. Pour in the sauce from step 1, and cook till it boils.

04. Add sugar and a dash of pepper to the boiling sauce.

05. Add diced cooked chicken, and stir around to coat with sauce.

06. Transfer to place, garnish with scallions and sesame seeds, serve immediately

Tofu Meat Patties

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tofu meat patties

Helping my family to cut down on meat intake after the first week of CNY festive binge eating, and adding firm tofu to meat dishes is definitely one of the best way.

A family favorite is pan fried tofu with minced pork in oyster sauce.  This time, I crush the firm tofu into crumbles and mix it with mince meat to form patties for pan frying.  Then I cook them in this korean barbeque sauce left over from the steamboat dinner, which you can also easily prepare at home like this.

This recipe is adapted roughly from here, here and here.

TOFU MEAT PATTIES
INGREDIENTS

150g minced pork
1/2 a package firm tofu
1/2 cup oatmeal
1 egg
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon corn starch
Dash of salt and white pepper
Oil to fry patties and cook sauce
1/4 medium yellow onion, chopped roughly
3 tablespoons of Korean bbq sauce
1/2 cup water

METHOD

01. Marinate minced pork in soy sauce, corn starch, salt and pepper for about 10 minutes.

02. Crush firm tofu into crumbs with clean bare hand.

03. Mix tofu crumbles, marinated minced pork and oatmeal together in a large bowl.

04. Add egg to the mixture and stir to combine.

05. The patty will be wet, but not runny, and will firm up after pan frying.  Otherwise, you may add a tablespoon of oatmeal if you find the patty mixture too wet for handling.

06. Scoop a heap tablespoon of patty mixture, and place it gently in a heat pan with 4 tablespoon of oil.  Flatten with the back of the spoon to loosely form a round patty.*

07. Repeat with the remaining patty mixture.

08. Flip over to cook the other side of the patty when one side is cooked and turns golden brown.

09.  Transfer to plate and set aside.

10. In the same frying pan, if there is no oil remaining after cooking the patties, heat up 1 tablespoon of oil, and cook onion pieces till soft.

11. Mix the Korean bbq sauce with 1/2 cup of water and add into the softened onions.

12. Once the sauce starts to bubble and boil, add in the cooked patties, stir around to coat patties with sauce.  Continue to cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.

13. Tranfer to plate and serve immediately.

NOTES

++ * I am able to handle the patty mixture to shape it into bigger patties, if I wet my hands with water.  Adding more oatmeal also helps to make the mixture more manageable.

Homemade Popiah Filling – Meatless Version

| San

homemade popiah filling

Is there any difference between Spring Rolls 春卷 and Popiah 薄饼?  I tend to call the deep fried type commonly available on the Dim Sum menu as Spring Rolls, whereas the kind that you have to wrap the ingredients yourself in handmade “pancake style” skin, and eat immediately before the skin gets soaked through with gravy are known as Popiah to me.  I hope I am right.

I prefer the latter, as it is less greasy to cook without the deep frying part.

Plus, Popiah feels like a healthy dish when you top up on the filling with more greens like fresh crispy lettuce, cilantro leaves or chinese celery, and blanched bean sprouts.

Plus, it is real fun to have everyone gather around the dining table and chat while wrapping your own popiah.  DIY Popiah makes a great party food item.

Plus, the ingredients for Popiah can be prepared way ahead, and be reheated when ready to eat.  Somehow, the filling tastes even better after reheating.

Plus, it’s a complete meal on its own.  With the vegetables covering most of the vitamins and fiber requirement, I simply add fried bean curd, peanut grounds, chopped hard boiled eggs to top up on the protein level.

Most of the preparation job lies in julienning jicama and carrot.  I have been looking at a chopper set to make the grating and collecting job easier.  But my $2 grater from you-know-where does not look like it is wearing out anytime soon.

I am amazed that it did not bend under my rough handling, turn rusty or blunt after so long!  And I have found the right pot and the perfect position to anchor the grater, so that the vegetable julienne ends up nicely inside the vessel.

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With the julienning job easier, let’s get the Popiah party rolling with the filling recipe!

This recipe size serves well for my family of four with 2 young children.  The ingredients cooks in and fills up a 20cm pot nicely.  May want to double the recipe for 4-6 adults.

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MEATLESS POPIAH FILLING
INGREDIENTS

1 large turnip / jicama, julienned
1 medium carrot, julienned
8 dried shitake mushrooms, softened and sliced thinly
2 red chillies, julienned
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoon oil
2 teaspoons fermented soy bean paste (tau cheo)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce or date syrup*
Salt and white pepper, to taste

METHOD

01. In a heated pot/ wok, add oil till it warms up.

02. Fry fermented soy bean paste and garlic together till fragrant.

03. Add red chillies and mushrooms, stir to cook.

04. Add carrots, mix well, then add turnip/jicama, stir fry for few minutes till vegetables are cooked.

05. Add sugar, and date syrup*.

06. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

07. Allow filling to simmer for a few minutes without getting burnt**.  Turn off fire.  Ready to serve.

NOTE

++ * I use date syrup instead of dark say sauce as I prefer my filling looking less dark in colour.

++ ** I do not add water/stock to cook my filling, so it is not as watery as other recipes, which makes the wrapping of popiah easier with lesser gravy.  I sometimes add a bit of the liquid reserved from soaking dried mushrooms to make the filling slightly wetter, totally optional.

Single Serving Tomato Rice

| San

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I am using cherry tomatoes to make this single serving tomato rice instead of a whole tomato like this.

I love this recipe.  It is no more difficult than making steam plain white rice.

I have also used this recipe for making cheese baked rice.  Simply put the cooked seasoned rice in an baking dish, top with grated mozzarella cheese, pop into a toaster or oven till the cheese melt.

SINGLE SERVE TOMATO RICE
INGREDIENTS :
- 1 cup rice
- 1 cup of water*
- 8 cherry tomatoes
- Pinch of salt
- Dash of black pepper
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 tablespoons grated cheddar cheese
- Pinch of teaspoon dried sweet basil

INSTRUCTIONS :

01. Wash and drain rice.

02. * Remove 1 tablespoon of water from the cup of water.  In a small pot, add rice, water, pepper, salt and olive oil. Stir to mix well.

03. Cut a cross slit on tomato base.  Arrange the tomatoes in the center of the pot.

04. Cover the pot and let the rice cook over a small-medium fire for about 8 minutes.

05. Turn off the heat when all the water has been absorbed by the rice.  Let the pot of rice sit undisturbed in the covered pot for another 10 minutes.

06. With a spatula, toss and mix the tomato and rice well.  Serve immediately.

Stir Fried Assorted Mushrooms

| San

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I am rushing off to bake my first brioche of the year before the kids are home from school.  So I won’t describe much about this savory mushroom stir fry dish that I cooked last week, except that I made them slightly saltier, as a side dish to go with my plain millet porridge.  Feel free to reduce the amount of oyster sauce to 1 tablespoon, or dilute with more of the liquid reserved from soaking the dried mushrooms, to make the dish less salty.

Mushroom lovers like me will use at least 3 kinds of mushrooms for a stir fry dish like this.  I used 2 types of meaty texture mushrooms : fresh shitake and king oyster, to add some bulk, as the tea tree mushrooms are on the scrawny side.  Also these 2 fresh mushrooms do not have too strong a fungi taste, so as to let the dish takes on only the tea tree mushroom’s aroma, the main star of this dish!

VEGETARIAN STIR FRY ASSORTED MUSHROOMS
SERVES 1
INGREDIENTS

50g dried tea tree mushrooms
2 stalks King oyster (Eryngii) mushrooms, sliced
2 fresh Shitake mushrooms, sliced
1 small knot of ginger, about 1 cm, julienned
1 tablespoon cooking oil
2 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce
1 cup of liquid reserved from soaking tea tree mushrooms
White pepper, to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

01. The night before, wash and then soak the dried tea tree mushrooms in a bowl filled with enough filtered water to submerge the mushrooms.  Leave in fridge overnight.  Before cooking, remove the mushrooms from the bowl, squeeze out the water, chop mushrooms into 2 cm lengths.  Reserve the soaking liquid for later use.

02. Heat up cooking oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add ginger slices and fry till they turn aromatic and slightly brown.

03. Add in the chopped tea tree mushrooms, stir around to cook.  The pan will be almost dry, as dried mushrooms do not release water.  Add 2 tablespoon of reserved soaking liquid to let the steam from the water cook the tea tree mushrooms faster.  Continue cooking till most of the water evaporates.

04. Add in the remaining fresh mushroom slices, mix well.  Some liquid will be released by the fresh mushroom as they get cooked.

05. Mix vegetarian oyster sauce with the remaining liquid left in the cup.

06. Pour sauce mixture over the mushrooms, stir to mix well.

07. Continue to cook and let liquid reduced to a light gravy.  Add a dash of pepper, season to taste.

08. Remove from heat and transfer to serving plate.  As usual, eat while it’s piping hot.