Pasta craze

Hubby exclaimed(!!) that doesn't like tomato based pasta so I have not attempted to make pasta for dinner for the past couple of years. i guess he juz don't like noodles in ketchup.

As usual, one day i saw minced beef on sale and decided to make my own bolognese sauce using fresh tomato instead of the canned/bottled tomato pasta sauce.

He loved it and there is no turning back from there on... it has now become our friday dinners as its so easy to eat from the plate, with a fork, in front of the tv. We just shove it down our throats!

The basic ingredients are minced beef, fresh tomato (diced), garlic, onion, mixed herbs, some ketchup/chilli sauce (leftover from fast food delivery), salt & sugar to taste... takes approximately 30 - 45 mins of cooking for all the ingredients to come together.

 Bolognese & Tagliatelle

Bolognese & Linguine & packet chilli flakes & cheese (leftovers from pizza delivery!)

 Bolognese & Linguine & freshly shaved parmasan cheese

And when sliced beef is on sale, i make stir fried sliced beef with parsley and linguine in black pepper sauce

Chap Chye (Mixed vegetables)

Chap chye - this dish is good for entertaining as you can cook this way in advance and simply heat up when ready to serve. Delicious, nutritious and wholesome. Is there anyone out there who doesn't like chap chye? I love it! Maybe its a hokkien thing... but the nonyas also have chap chye so it must be a teochew thing as well. Haha.











What do i have in my chap chye?
- Cabbage
- Dried shitake mushroom (dried)
- Monkeyhead mushroom (dried)
- Black fungus (dried)
- Golden needles (dried)
- Dried scrimps
- Garlic
- Spring onion
- Chicken

Wow!!! Thats a lot of stuff for one dish huh? No wonder i end up with a HUGE plate everytime i cook chap chye. A bit of everything thrown in turns out a HUGE portion. Greedy me....

Oh yah, in case you are wondering... I am a hainanese...

Coconut soup

Coconut soup - tasted it when a friend cooked it for a gathering (i know u are reading this)

Stunned by how sweet and clean the taste is...

i have cooked it several times so far - never failed to impress me everytime

What do u need?
(Serves 1 - Intense flavour)
1 young coconut - both the juice and the white flesh
1 piece of chicken
1 bowl of water

How to do it?
Put all the ingredients into a double boiler and double boil for 45 mins

For a less intense soup for more persons to share, simply use about 2 coconuts and 1 chicken carcass..... i will also add some red dates and some dried scallops....

You must try this...

Braised Duck

Braised duck or 'Lor Ark' in hokkien, its my mum's signature dish. I have eaten this for years but this is my first time doing it.

Its an impulse decision to make it. Two simple reason:
1) Saw a lone duck lying in the NTUC chiller
2) Going to MIL place for dinner that night and a duck is just the right dish to share for 4 pax

What do u need?
1 medium sized duck
1 star anise
1 cinnamon (cracked open)
1 large piece of ginger (sliced and flatten)

4 cloves of garlic (flatten)

2 tablespoon of sugar

4/5 bowl of dark soya sauce

Water

How to do it?

Fry star anise, cinnamon, ginger, garlic in oil until fragrant and brown

Add sugar and fry until all sugar is melted

Add dark soya sauce followed by enough water to submerge the duck halfway to three thirds of the way. Duck breast side down first, bring to boil on high heat, then turn to medium low and continue to simmer. Close pot with lid. Turn every 15 mins. Can add more water mid way if there is not enough water for cooking the duck. Everytime you add water, remember to bring to boil before turning down the heat to simmer.

Cook for 1 hr or 1 hr 15 mins for really tender duck meat. At the end of the cooking, there should be about 1/3 of the gravy left to go with the duck. Remove duck and leave to cool before cutting. If the gravy is too watery, continue to cook it after removing duck to evaporate the excess water. During this time, you can 'cheat' by adjusting the taste (adding more soya sauce if too sweet, or adding more sugar if too salty).

How to prepare dried sea cucumber

Hubby bought dried sea cucumber from Dalian China. A delicacy and supposing very expensive in Singapore as this is the spiky one. Costs around $10 each, but after proper treatment, i can see why its worth the money...

His Dalian colleagues recommended this brand and they went to carrefour Dalian to buy. Buy it anywhere else, beware of fakes! They have instructions on how to prepare the cucumbers and even recipes too!
http://www.xiaoqin.com.cn/service_info.asp?SId=28

Its amazing how much it can 'grow'...

Dried form

After soaking in water (in the fridge) for 3-4 days. Water needs to be changed daily.

 

Before cooking, cut open the tummy side of the sea cucmber, remove the intestines and the sandy dirt near the 'mouth'. Fairly simple. When in doubt, simply remove any suspicious looking stuff inside.

The cooking process is pretty tedious.
Place in pot with water covering the sea cucumber for at least 10 cm.

Cook for 40 mins, off heat and simmer for 30 mins.

Cook for 30 mins, off heat and simmer for 25 mins.

Press sea cucumber to ensure its soften throughout.

Cook and simmer again if u can feel hardness. The time can be adjusted accordingly.

its 70% done now.

Place in ice water, put into the fridge for 2-3 days. Change water daily.

This is the end product. Ready to be stored in the freezer if not consuming immediately.

Isnt it amazing?! This is almost ready to eat.

i cooked it 2 ways so far. First is in a soup. Double boil 2 sea cucumber with about 5 dried scallops, 2 dried oyster, 2 dried mushroom. Cook for 30-45 mins. The soup is starchy and rich but the sea cucumber is pretty much dissolved and we cant taste the crunch.

Second time, i had some soya sauce gravy from braised duck. So i added water to the gravy, again add  dried scallops, dried oyster and dried mushroom. Braise the sauce for 20-30 mins until the dried stuff are soft and all flavours released. Add sea cucumber and cook for another 5-10 mins. The sea cucumber will remain chewy to the bite and be infused with the savory sauce. Yum!

Soup bombs

My soup 'bombs'.

Isn't this is how we create water bombs during school days?

This is my way of stocking up soup / stock in my freezer. Packing in bags makes them easier to store, saves space and most importantly, it thaws easily too (dunk the bag in a bowl of water or remove from bag and place the giant 'ice' cube into a pot, place it over fire).

Multiple V soup

Didnt they say we need to eat vegetables that are of different colours cos they will give us different vitamins?

Well, this is one of those rare days that i have a stock of vegetables in my fridge.
Potatos, capsicum, tomato, celery and watercress.

Added a slice of fish for protein.

The potato provides the carbo i need, so no need for rice or noodle.

This soup is a meal in itself. Perfect for my dieting plans.

I can only have this kind of meals when i am home alone.

The soup looks oily, think its from the chicken stock i used. 

Using water will be the healthier choice but flavour is more important!