My style of Okonomiyaki

Ingredients:

Cabbage (sliced)

Mozarella cheese/ cheddar cheese

Japanese Mayonnaise

Okonomiyaki sauce

Light soya sauce

Pepper

2 small eggs

Oil

Yellow mee

 

Method:

1. Heat oil and fried cabbage, add in yellow mee.
2. Add in dash of light soya sauce and pepper.
3. Dish out.
4. Add oil and fried omelette, add in noodles/ cabbage and wrap it up.
5. Pour okonomiyaki sauce over and mayonnaise on it.
    

 



Grilled Dory fish

Ingredients:

1 dory fish

1/2 tsp dash chilli powder/ paprika

Lee perin sauce

Black pepper

1/2 tsp oregano

Basil leaves

2 tbs cheddar cheese

 

Method:

1. Apply on fish for 5 mins.
2. Preheat up oven 180 degree.
3. Grilled for 15mins

Salad:

1. Sliced cabbage thinly and keep in freezer for 10-15mins (I like to eat very cold salad)
2. Pour on some mayonnaise on it and serve.
 

 



Butterscotch Cookies Crunch

 

Ingredients (yields 45 cookies):

 

250g butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 egg

1.5 cup plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

3 cup cornflakes

300g butterscotch chips

0.5 tsp salt

 

Method:



1. Preheat overn to 170 degree
2. Place a baking sheet on tray.
3. Beat butter and sugar till creamy.
4. Add in eggs.
5. Add in flour, baking powder, salt, mix on low speed.
6. Stir in butterscotch, cornflakes.
7. Drop dough by spoonful onto baking sheet.
8. Bake for 12-15mins.
9. Cool for 10-15mins before keep in containers.

 



Bacon and Cheese Quiche

 

Ingredients:

(Served 6)

 

(a) tart crust

40g butter

30g castor sugar

1 tbs egg

100g flour

 

(b)

4 eggs

1 cup mozarella cheese

1/2 onions

5 streaky bacon chopped

1/2 cup milk

dash of salt

dash of pepper

1 tbs oil

 

 

Method (a):

1. Add all ingredients and knead into a ball and leave it in fridge for 1-2 hours.
2. Roll the ball flat and place it in the pie tray.
3. Preheat oven and bake at 180 degree for 15mins. 
 

Method (b):

1. Heat oil in a pan.
2. Add in bacon and onions.
3. Remove from fire once bacon is browned.
4. Mix eggs, milk, salt, pepper together in a mixing bowl.
5. Place bacon mixture on top of the pie crust.
6. Add on cheese, then add in the egg mixture.
7. Bake 180degree for another 30mins.
8.  

 

 



Irish Beef Stewed

 

Ingredients:

(served 2)

 

(a)

Beef chunk 200g (Beef brisket optional)

1 big onion, sliced

1 carrot, cut into cube

1/2 raddish, cut into cube

1 tsp dry thymes

1/2 tsp dry oregano

1 bay leaf

dash of salt

dash of pepper

1 can guiness stout

1/2 cup red wine

 

(b)

4 russel potatoes

1 cup whipped cream

50g butter

salt

pepper

 

 

 Method for (a):

1. Apply dash of salt on beef.
2. Brown the beef both sides.
3. Put all ingredients in (a) to a pressure pot. Cook for 25mins. If normal pot, let it simmer for more than 1.5 hour. Timing varies depends how tender you want the beef to be.
4. I like to leave it in fridge overnight, heat up and eat it next day will taste better!
*If prefer the gravy to be thicker, add in corn flour mixture (1tbs corn flour + 1 tbs tap water) when boiled.

Method for (b):

1. Skinned potatoes and boiled it in a pot of water for 20mins.
2. Mashed the potatoes, add in butter, whipped cream, salt and pepper.
3. Mixed well and served.

 

 

 
 

 



Chicken Chop Noodle Soup

Soup base ingredients:
(2 servings)

1. 2 tbs Ikan Bilis
2. 1 tbs Soya bean
3. 2 stalk of spring onion
4. 1/2 tsp sugar

Method:

• Boil Ikan Bilis and Soya bean for 20mins.
• Add in Spring onion and boil for another 5mins.
• Add in sugar.
• Turn off fire and remove all ingredients.
• Soup base is ready for use.

Meringue

Ingredients:
served approx. 20 meringues

2 egg white
50g caster sugar
60g icing sugar

Method:

1.      Preheat the oven to fan 100C/ conventional 110C/gas 1⁄4. Line 2 baking sheets with Bake-O-Glide non-stick liner or parchment paper (meringue can stick on greaseproof paper and foil).

2.      Tip the 2 large egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (not plastic). Beat them on medium speed with an electric hand whisk until the mixture resembles a fluffy cloud and stands up in stiff peaks when the blades are lifted.

3.      Now turn the speed up and start to add 50g caster sugar, a dessertspoonful at a time. Continue beating for 3-4 seconds between each addition. It's important to add the sugar slowly at this stage as it helps prevent the meringue from weeping later. However, don't over-beat. When ready, the mixture should be thick and glossy.

4.      Sift one third of the 60g icing sugar over the mixture, then gently fold it in with a big metal spoon or rubber spatula. Continue to sift and fold in the remaining icing sugar a third at a time. Again, don't over-mix. The mixture should now look smooth and billowy, almost like a snow drift.

5.      Scoop up a heaped dessertspoonful of the mixture. Using another dessertspoon, ease it on to the baking sheet to make an oval shape. Or just drop them in rough rounds, if you prefer. Bake for 1 3⁄4- 2 hours in a fan oven, 1 1⁄4 hours in a conventional or gas oven, until the meringues sound crisp when tapped underneath and are a pale coffee colour. Leave to cool on the trays or a cooling rack. (The meringues will now keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for a month.) Serve two meringues sandwiched together with a generous dollop of softly whipped double cream.

Pan fried Salmon

Ingredients:
Salmon
Fresh dill
1 russell potatoes
20g butter
3 tbs whipped cream
Steak tomatoes
Salt
Pepper

Method:

1. Marinate Salmon with dill, salt and pepper for 10mins.
2. Peeled potatoes, boiled potatoes in a pot of water for 10-15mins.
3. Drain water, mashed potatoes.
4. Add in salt, pepper, butter, whipped cream, stirred evenly.
5. Pan fried the Salmon, timing depends on the thickness of the fish. Try not to turn the fish too many times.
6. Dish up and served with mashed potatoes.

Glutinous Rice

Ingredients:
300g pork belly sliced
300g glutinous rice
Chinese parsley
150g dried shrimps
100g shallots
Pepper
2-3 tbs Light Soy sauce
Oil


Method:

1. Fried Pork belly, dished out.
2. Fried shallot till golden brown. dished out.
3. Fried dried shrimps, add in the rice, light soy sauce, pepper.
4. Add in the Pork belly, shallots, stirred evenly.
5. Pour all ingredients to rice cooker, add in some water (200ml). start to cook .
6. When cooked, if the rice is too hard, add in abit of hot water stirred, covered again for 5mins.

Wanton Soup

Ingredients 1:

150g minced pork
3 chopped water chestnut
Dash of pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
Pound- 2 small sole fish (place it in oven for 7-8mins OR microwave for 1min on high)
Wanton skin

Ingredients 2:

1 handful ikan bilis
1 handful dried soy bean


Method:

1. Add ingredient 1 together and placed it in fridge for an hour .
2. Bring out and put it in wanton skin. approx, 1cm mixture in 1pcs wanton skin.
3. Wrap it all up.
4. Boil a pot of water, when boiled add in wanton.
5. It is done when the wanton floated up. Dish up.
6. Boil ingredient 2 for 20mins.
7. Add in 1/2 tsp sugar.
8.  Drain away the ikan bilis.
9. Add in the wanton into the soup and is done!

Ipoh Hor Fun

Gravy for Hor Fun:
(Serve 2)

Ingredients:
5 big dried chinese mushroom
2 cup water
1 tbs oyster sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
dash of sesame oil
Starch (1tbs corn flour + 1 tbs water)


Method:

1. Boil the ingredients (dried mushroom, water, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sugar) together for 30mins on slow fire.
2. After 30mins, add in starch and stirred evenly.
3. Once boiled, turn off fire and add in dash of sesame oil.

For the Deep fried Dumpling, use the same recipe for Wanton.
Instead of boiling the wanton, deep fried it.

Hamburger beef patties

Ingredients:
(serve 4 patties)

500g Minced beef
1 tbs Corriander powder
1 tbs Lee & Perrins sauce
1 tsp Black pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 egg
1.5 tbs plain flour
1 big onion chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tbs honey mustard (optional)

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients together and marinade for 2 hours.
2. Make into 4 patties, each about 1 inch thick.
3. Unused patties can be stored in the freezer. Separated each pattied with a plastic layer.

Lu Rou Fan (braised pork rice)

Ingredients:

500g pork belly
1/2 cup garlic
1/2 cup shallots
2 stalk spring onions
1-2 tbs rock sugar
1tsp five spice podwer
1/2 cup shaoxing wine
1/3 cup light soy sauce
2tbs caramelised sugar(糖色) (instructions in 'Comments' section)
1 tbs peanut butter (optional if you prefer more thick texture and robust flavor)
Water just enough to cover the meat

Directions:

§ Sauté garlic and shallots with oil in a pot until slightly brown.
§ Add in ginger and continue frying until fragrant.
§ Add in meat and five spice powder, fry for a bit.
§ Add in caramelised sugar and mix to coat the meat.
§ Mix in mushrooms, eggs, spring onions, Shaoxing wine, soya sauce, rock sugar, peanut butter and enough water to cover all ingredients.
§ Bring to boil and leave to cook under low heat for 1-2 hrs until meat is tender.
§ Add more soya sauce if not salty enough.
§ Fish out spring onions if you don't want to eat them.


Comments:

The caramelised sugar gives the dish a reddish brown colour instead of the normal dark brown colour you see when light/ dark soya sauce is used.

Can use the same amount of oil to 'fry' more sugar. This can be kept for future use.Do not attempt to lick or try the caramelised sugar once removed from heat, the boiling point of oil is very high and will burn you!

The caramelised sugar will start to harden when it cools, so use it straightaway. 

Ingredients:

1-2 tbs white sugar/ rock sugar
1 tbs oil

Directions:

1. Heat up oil under medium heat. Add in sugar and leave it to melt.
2. Reduce to low heat when sugars start to melt. Will be a bit clumpy for rock sugar at first.
3. Keep stirring when sugar is fully melted.
4. Cook until dark brown/ brownish red. At this point, large bubbles will form. Remove from heat.

Seafood Sang Mee

Ingredients:

• Prawns
• Fish fillets
• Chye sim/ Baby kailan
• Garlic chopped
• 1 egg
• Mee kia (wanton mee)
• Hua diao wine (chinese wine)
• 1 tsp Oyster sauce
• 1/4 tsp Sugar
• Light soy sauce
• Starch (1tsp corn four + 1 tsp water)

Method:

1. Pour in sufficient oil to deep fried the mee.
2. Dish out when Mee turn brown.
3. Fried garlic
4. Add in fish, prawn, dash of hua diao wine.
5. Add water, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sugar, pepper.
6. Pour in the starch.
7. Turn of the fire.
8. Stir the egg and pour it in.

Egg Benedict

Poached Egg:
Tips: Must be fresh eggs

1. Prepare a pot of water, water must be deep enough to poach the eggs.
2. Bring it to simmer and turn to slow fire.
3. Break the egg and place it in a bowl.
4. Use chopstick to stir the water.
5. Slowly pour the egg one at each time into the centre of the whirlpool.
6. Stop stirring and let the egg rest to the bottom of the pot.
7. Bring the egg up slowly after 1-2 mins, depends on the egg size.
8. Soaked into a bowl of tap water, to prevent the eggs overcooking (this is important).

Egg Muffins (yields 6 muffins):

1. 1 cup milk
2. 1 tbsp butter
3. 1 tbsp sugar or honey
4. 1 packet (2¼ tsp) dry yeast
5. 2 cups flour
6. 1/2 tsp salt

Heat the milk to simmering, then drop in the butter and the sugar or honey. Stir so they melt and combine, and let the mixture cool. When it’s lukewarm, sprinkle in the yeast, stir, and let it sit for 10 minutes until bubbly. Don’t use an aluminum bowl because that can interfere with the yeast. Glass is best.

While that’s happening, measure out the flour and salt and mix together well. When the yeast mixture is bubbly, add the flour and beat vigorously for a couple minutes. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it sit on the counter (not in the refrigerator) overnight. It will overproof – rise and collapse.
This is what creates the English muffin’s characteristic sourdough taste and large bubbles.

In the morning, scrape the sides of the bowl with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula and remix a little. Then use a spatula and spoon to drop muffin-size globs into a small bowl of cornmeal, as pictured in the previous section. Don’t try to handle the dough – it’s too sticky. Lift each muffin glob from the cornmeal with a slotted spatula, shake off the excess, and place in an ungreased skillet.

When the skillet is full, cover it (with a glass top, if you have one), and let the muffins rise for 30 minutes. They won’t rise much at this point because all the sugar has been eaten by the yeast, but they’ll puff up a little more when they start to cook. Remove the lid before cooking!

Set your stove’s burner to medium-low. If it’s electric, let the burner preheat. If you have an electric skillet, you’ll have to let the muffins rise somewhere else so you can preheat it. I’ve read that electric skillets should be set to 300°F, but I don’t have one so I can’t verify that. I used a cast iron pan and set the burner to medium-low.

Warning: don’t set the temperature too high. The muffins have to cook slowly or the inside will be doughy while the outside is burned. Don’t crank up the heat because it’s not sizzling. It’s not supposed to sizzle. Just because it’s not making any noise doesn’t mean it’s not doing anything. It’s cooking.

The muffins can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes per side, depending on how high you set the skillet temperature. Turn them over when the first side is browned.

When the second side is browned, remove the muffins to a cooling rack and let them cool completely. If you don’t let them cool, they will be doughy inside. Also, they taste best if they are fully cooled and then toasted. Split them for toasting by pulling them apart with your fingers, rather than cutting with a knife. This maximizes the nooks and crannies that are so great for holding butter and jam.

Check the original english muffin recipe link here.

Fried Sze Chwan veg with minced pork (四川菜猪肉)

Ingredients:

• 100-120g minced pork
• 1 Sze chwan vegetable
• Garlic
• Oil
• 1 tsp Corn flour
• 100ml water

Method:

1. Wash the sze chwan veg and trim the tougher layer of the veg.
2. Soak the sze chwan veg in water for 1 hr.
3. Sliced the veg into thin slice.
4. Add corn flour to minced pork.
5. Chopped garlic
6. Heat up wok till smoke coming out from the wok.
7. Throw in the Sze chwan veg and fry without oil, it will turns out to be roasting the veg.
8. When almost roasted, bring it out.
9. Add oil to the wok.
10. Add in garlic, then the minced pork.
11. After stirring, add in the sze chwan veg.
12. Lastly add water, once boil is done. turn the fire off. 

Poh Piah with shredded chicken and ham （鸡丝春卷）

Ingredients and marinate all together (3hours):

• 250g Shredded chicken leg
• 4 pcs shoulder/ pinic ham, sliced thinly
• shredded carrot (optional)
• Frozen poh piah skin (defrost)= small
• 1 tbs Oyster sauce
• 1tbs Light soy sauce
• dash Pepper
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp corn flour

Corn flour mixture:

• 1 tbs corn flour
• 2 tbs water

Method: 

1. One spoonful of the ingredients for each Poh piah skin.
2. Fold it up and seal the poh piah with corn flour mixture. Cover with all the filled poh piah with clean towel.
3. Heat up wok with oil.
4. Once the oil is heated, deep fried the filled poh piah.

Snow Lotus Soup (冰山雪莲汤)

Ingredients:

• Pork bone broth
• Snow Lotus
• Sweet potatoes
• 1 tbs north south almonds (南北杏)

Method: 

1. Boil the pork bone broth
2. Add in all other ingredients and boil for 1 hour.
3. Ready to serve.

Irish Beef stew

Ingredients:

Beef brisket/ shanks 600g (cut into cubes of 1-1.5 inch)
3 Carrot (cut into cubes)
7 mini washed potatoes
2 big onions sliced
1.5 tbs flour
1 cup beef broth
1 can tomatoes puree
1 can guinness stout
1 tsp dried thymes
0.5 tsp basil
3 bay leaves
Pepper
Sea salt

Method:

1. Sprinker salt and pepper on the beef, leave for 5mins
2. Sprinker flour onto the beef.
3. Heat up the pan with oil and brown the beef.
4. Dish up and fried onions till slight cameralised.
5. Fried the carrot and potatoes with left over oil.
6. Boil 1 cup of beef broth in a pot, add in puree and guinness stout.
7. Add in thymes, bay leaves, basil.
8. Add in carrot, potatoes, onions and beef on the top.
9. Add in salt, pepper and sugar to taste.
10.Boil for 15mins (slow fire) and move to magic pot and let it simmer for another 5-6 hours.
*** taste better after overnight ***

Hakka Abacus Seeds

Spicy version with sambal chilli

Ingredients:
(serve 4)

400g yam (peeled and washed)
80g tapioca starch
20g spring onions, sliced
50g flat parsley, coarsely chopped
2 tbs dried cuttlefish (shredded)
50g dried shrimps
4 shitake mushroom
150g minced meat/ pork belly
6 peeled shrimp (optional)
5 water chestnut sliced(optional)
2tbs dried silver fish (fried till golden brown)- optional for toppings
3 cloves garlic
5 shallots
Vegetable oil

Marinade for Pork
1 tbs sesame oil
2 tsp oyster sauce
Dash of pepper

Seasoning
1 tbs fish sauce
Dash of pepper


Method:
Soak dried cuttlefish until softened and keep the water for later use.
Marinate pork in leave in fridge



Preparing the dough:


1. Peel and slice the yam into rounds, then quarter each piece.

2. Steam the yam for 30-35mins until it gives easily when poked with a chopstick.

3. Mash the yam.

4. Transfer the mashed yam into a large mixing bowl. Allow the yam to cool slightly then gradually add the tapioca starch to the mashed yam and knead.

5. Continue kneading unitl the yam is completely amalgamated with the starch.

6. The dough is ready when it no longer feels sticky to the touch.

7. Dust your working surface with tapioca starch. Taking a piong pong ball sized piece of dough, shape it into a roll about 2cm thick, Cut with a knife into 2cm thick slice.

8. Roll each slice into a ball, gently press on the centre of the ball.



Boiling:1. Fill the wok with water and bring to a boil.

2. Place the dough pieces in the boiling water and stir to ensure they don’t stick to the bottom of the wok.

3. Meanwhile, fill a basin with water and some ice.

4. The dough pieces are cooked once they float to the surface.

5. Use a metal sieve to scoop them up and transfer to the basin of water.



Stir Frying:

1. Heat 5-6 tbs vegetable oil. Fry the garlic and shallots.

2. Add the cuttlefish and fry for 2 mins.

3. Add the dried shrimp and fry for another 1 min.

4. Add the mushroom and fry for another 1 min.

5. Add the pork and fry for 2 mins until is nearly opaque.

6. Add the yam abacus seeds, prawns, water chestnut and stir fry for 1-2 mins.

7. Add the seasoning, cuttefish water and mix well.

8. Add the sliced parsley and spring onions.

9. Served hot and top with silver fish.

Household Tips

No more Ants

Tie a rubber band around the container for sugar and there will be no ants crawling around it!

Open bottle caps easily

Just strap a rubber band around the cap and turn anti-clockwise. That's all. It will open easily.

No more tears

Before chop or grate onions, soak them in cold or icy water, or leave them in the freezer for half an hour. This will stop your eyes from tearing.

Homemade Bak Kwa- Chef John See

Prefer not to use frozen meat, can use Twee Bak, pork belly etc...

After roll flat the meat, can either put it in fridge or use a hairdryer to cool blow it for 15-30mins before grilling it.

This is the gelatine recommended by the chef, can be bought in Sheng Shiong Supermarket.

Beef Rendang

Ingredients (serve 8):

1kg beef shin or leg (cut into cubes)
5 tablespoons cooking oil
1 cinnamon stick (about 2-inch long)
3 cloves
3 star anise
3 cardamom pods (optional)
1 lemongrass (cut into 4-inch length and smashed the white part)
400ml coconut milk (if use coconut cream, will be 200ml cream and 200ml water)
2 tbs tamarind juice (pulp soaked in some warm water and discard the seeds )
6-7 kaffir lime leaves (very finely sliced)
6 tablespoons toasted coconut, fried grated coconut in a DRY pan and stir continuously till golden brown, pound lightly (optional)
3 tablespoon sugar or to taste
1 tbs salt or to taste

Spice Paste:

5 shallots, sliced
1 inch galangal, sliced (blue ginger)
3 lemongrass, sliced (white part only)
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 inch ginger, sliced
6 red chillies,sliced
4 dried chillies (soaked in warm water and remove seeds)
5 chilli padi, sliced (optional)

Method:

1. Blend spice mixture and oil to paste in a food processor.
2. Heat the pressure cooker, add the spice paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom and stir-fry them until aromatic.
3. Add the beef and lemongrass and stir for 1-2 minute.
4. Add the coconut milk, tamarind juice, water, and simmer on medium heat, stirring frequently until the meat is almost cooked.
5. Add the kaffir lime leaves, toasted coconut, sugar, stirring to blend well with the meat.
6. Lower the heat to low, cover the lid, and simmer for 25mins. After natural release, taste the gravy. If meat not tender, add a little more water and simmer for another 10mins.
7. Add salt to taste. If not sweet enough, add more sugar to taste.
8. Serve immediately with steamed rice and save some for overnight.

Homemade Mee Hoon Kueh

Serve 4-5

Ingredients:

• Chye Sim
• Ikan bilis (bake for 5min and add in oil and bake for another 7-8mins)
• Eggs
• Shallots (fried will golden brown)
• Minced meat (marinade with light soy sauce, pepper and cornflour)

Making the Dough

• 220g plain flour
• 30g semolina flour (the dough will be more stretchy)
• 1 egg
• 1 tbs cooking oil
• 100ml water
• pinch of salt

1. Mix all ingredient and knead for 5-10 mins, add abit flour if too wet
2. Knead till it spring back a little when pressed with a finger
3. Cover dough with cling film or towel and let it rest for an hour.

Soup base

• 50g ikan bilis
• 100g dried soya bean
• 1-2 dried sole fish
• 1/2tsp sugar
• 2-3 1cm sliced raddish (optional)

1. Boil for 30mins

Method:

1. Drain away all ingredient in the soup base.
2. Roll the dough to thinner piece.
3. Pinch the dough piece by piece into the soup, let it cook for 3mins.
4. Add in chye sim, minced meat and egg.
5. Dish up and add in ikan bilis and shallots.

Tips: I found that the dough was placed in fridge overnight has better result. Dough is easier to roll and smoother.