Chinese Minced Chicken Bowl

 

Ingredients: (serves 2)

3 dried shiitake mushrooms (washed, soaked, squeezed and minced)

250 g. minced chicken (mixture of thighs and breasts)

1/2 tbsp. minced ginger

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbsp. cooking oil

1 tsp. cornstarch/cornflour + 1 tbsp. water

1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Sauce: (mix in a small bowl)

1/2 cup water

1/2 tsp. chicken stock granules

1 tbsp. light soy sauce

1/2 tbsp. Shaoxing wine

1/2 tsp. dark soy sauce

1 tsp. sugar (to taste)

2 pinches Chinese five spice powder

Methods:

1. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat until hot.  Add ginger and garlic.  Stir a few times until fragrant.
2. Add minced chicken and let sear without moving for 2 minutes.  Then stir and cut the chicken into small pieces with a frying spatula.  Stir and cook until the chicken is cooked through.  Add the shiitake mushrooms and stir to cook for another minute.
3. Pour in the mixed sauce and mix well.  Simmer until the sauce is mostly absorbed.
4. Stir the cornstarch/cornflour mixture and pour into the pan.  Stir immediately to thicken the sauce.
5. Drizzle with sesame oil.  Taste and adjust seasoning by adding chicken stock granules if needed.
6. Serve warm over steamed rice or noodles, with steamed vegetables and a fried egg.  I sprinkled some fried shallots and garlic over the meat.

This recipe is adapted from 'omnivore's cookbook' with some adjustments to suit my cooking preference.

Sweet Potatoes, Sweet Potato Leaves and Prawns In Coconut Milk

This deliciously-spicy dish, commonly known as Masak Lemak in Malay, is popular to most Malaysians, if not all.

Ingredients:

Sweet potato leaves (pluck out the good leaves, washed and drained)

1-2 pieces orange sweet potato (peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces, steamed and set aside)

8-10 pieces of prawns (remove shells with tail intact and deveined - you can use whole prawns with head)

1/2 bowl water (add more if needed)

Coconut milk (amount depending on your preference)

Ingredients to blend/pound:

1/2 tbsp. shrimp paste/belacan

1/2 tbsp. ground tumeric

4 pcs. shallots (peeled and roughly cut)

3 cloves garlic (peeled and roughly cut)

3 chili padi (remove some of the seeds)

1/2 tbsp. dried prawns (washed, soaked and drained)

Seasoning:

1/2 tsp. chicken stock granules - to taste

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. fish sauce

Methods:

1. In a heated wok, add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, saute the pounded ingredients till fragrant.
2. Add in steamed sweet potato, stir for a minute.  Add in prawns, lightly stir, then add in water, seasoning and potato leaves, and stir to mix.
3. Once it comes to a boil, taste for correct seasoning.  Add in coconut milk and stir to mix.  Switch off the heat once it comes to another boil.  
4. Do not close the lid so that the potato leaves will continue to stay green.
5. Dish into a large bowl.
6. Enjoy with freshly cooked white rice.

This recipe is adapted from 'Mom's Cuisine' with some adjustments to suit my cooking preference.

Teriyaki Chicken served over rice

Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 pieces chicken thighs (skin-on and boneless)

Dash of salt

Dash of ground white pepper

1 1/2 tbsp. light soy sauce

1 1/2 tbsp. mirin

1 1/2 tbsp. Shaoxing Wine

1 1/2 tbsp. water

1/2 tbsp. sugar (to taste, add more if needed)

1/4 tsp. ginger (peeled and minced)

1/2 tbsp. cooking oil

Methods:

1. To prepare the chicken thighs, remove extra fat.  Place the chicken skin side down on the chopping board, slice the chicken meat about 1 inch apart, without cutting all the way through, so the chicken will absorb more flavors and cook faster.  
2. Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. In a small bowl, add light soy sauce, mirin, Shaoxing Wine, water, sugar and ginger; mix well and set aside.
4. In a pan over medium heat, add cooking oil, place the chicken, skin side down, and cook for 3 minutes until golden brown.  Flip the chicken and cook for 3 minutes until golden brown.  Remove any excess oil in the pan.
5. Again, flip the chicken over, pour in the sauce; cover the lid, turn to low heat and cook for about 4 minutes.  Flip the chicken over, cover and cook for another 4 minutes.
6. Remove the lid, over medium heat, cook until the sauce is reduced, for about 3 minutes; during this time, spoon the sauce and drizzle over the top of the chicken.
7. Remove the chicken and cut it into small pieces.
8. Place the chicken over a bowl of freshly cooked rice; with any of your favorite sides.  
9. Serve immediately...

I adapted this Simple Yet Yummylicious recipe from 'cicili.tv' with a slight adjustments to suit my cooking preference.

Chicken and Egg Donburi

 

Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 portions cooked rice

1/3 cup chicken stock

1 tbsp. mirin

1 tbsp. light soy sauce

2 tbsp. oil

1/2 onion (sliced)

200 g. chicken thighs (thinly sliced)

3 eggs (lightly whisked)

1 tbsp. spring onion (finely sliced)

Chili flakes (to sprinkle over the top) - optional

Methods:

1. Divide warm rice into 2 serving bowls, set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine chicken stock, mirin and light soy sauce.
3. In a small frying pan (best with the same size of the bowl), heat half of the oil over medium-high heat.  Add half of the onions and stir-fry 2 minutes.  Add half of the chicken and stir-fry 3-4 minutes or until just cooked.  Pour half of the chicken stock stock mixture in (2), into the pan and simmer about a minute.  Drizzle half of the eggs over the contents of the pan.  Cook until the egg is just set.
4. Remove pan from heat and slide the contents onto a bowl of rice.  Repeat with the remaining portion.
5. Sprinkle with spring onions and chili flakes, if using.
6. Serve immediately...

This recipe is adapted from 'Marion's Kitchen' with slight adjustment to suit my cooking preference.

Xiamen Minced Meat Rice

I am intending to cook something simple for last night's dinner, such as a one-pot, one-plate or one-bowl meal. As I was thinking.... Diana Gale's recent post of 'Xiamen Minced Meat Rice' triggers me. Taking a quick search into my fridge I manage to get all the ingredients needed. There goes my 'One-bowl' dinner for myself and hubby....

Ingredients: (Serves: 2)
200g minced pork
100g frozen vegetables
1 potato (peeled and cubed)
1 cup water
3 shallots (peeled and thinly sliced)
1/2 onion (peeled and diced)
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 eggs (fried, sunny side up)
1 cup rice (washed and cooked)
3/4 tbsp oyster sauce
3/4 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp fried shallots
Salt (to taste)

Marinade for minced meat:
1/2 tsp 5-spice powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp light soy sauce

Garnish:
Bok Choy (washed, lightly boiled and drained)

Methods:

1. Marinate minced meat with the marinade ingredients, mix well to combine and set aside.
2. Deep fry potatoes until golden brown and drain on kitchen paper. Remove excess oil, leaving about 2 tbsp in the wok.
3. In the same heated wok, fry shallots and onions until translucent and soft, add minced garlic and quick stir until fragrant, then add in minced pork.  
4. Stir-fry the meat until about 75% cooked, then add potato cubes, oyster sauce, shaoxing wine and water.  Stir to mix and let it simmer for 1 minute.
5. Add frozen vegetables, dark soy sauce and fried shallots.
6. Continue stirring until liquid reduces.  Season with salt and taste for correct seasoning.
7. Turn off heat, dish onto a bowl and set aside.
8. To assemble: Place some rice in a bowl, top with meat and sauce, garnish with some bok choy at the side and a fried egg.

Thanks to Diana Gale for another fabulous yummy dish to cook and enjoy in the comfort of our home. Once a while it is always fun to opt for something unique and different other than our normal Chinese home-cooked food.

Recipe adapted from The Domestic Goddess Wannabe with slight amendment.

Healthy Wonton Vegetables Soup

I have been thinking, why is it that off late I have been going for something soupy for my lunch??  Can it be due to the drastic weather change since the start of the Lunar New Year, or simply a change of my taste buds??  Well, if it is for something better, which in this case 'healthy,' why not!

Today, I am cooking myself a 'one-bowl meal' of wonton with lots of vegetables: red carrot, bok choy and bittergourd.  A satisfying, simple yet yummylicious lunch to share with all...

Few simple ingredients: (1 serving)

• red carrot (sliced)
• bittergourd (sliced)
• bok choy
• some home-made wonton (refer to my recipe posting on 30 October 2014)

• 1 red onion (peeled and sliced)
• 2 garlic cloves (peeled and chopped)
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 bowl water

Seasoning:

Chicken stock granules (to taste)

Dash grounded white pepper

Dipping sauce: (mix together)

2 chili padi (sliced)

1 small lime (obtain the juice)

2 tbsp light soy sauce

Few simple steps:

1. In a medium heated wok add cooking oil, saute the onion and garlic until fragrant, then add in the water.
2. As the water is about to boil add in red carrot, bittergourd and chicken stock granules, continue to let it boil for about 1 minute.
3. Put in the wonton, once the soup comes to a boil, taste for correct seasoning, add in bok choy and let it come to another boil.
4. Off the heat, dish into a bowl and sprinkle dash of grounded white pepper.
5. Serve hot with dipping sauce.

Lunch is served!

Chinese Dumpling - Wonton

Chinese Dumplings are of many different types, taste, shapes and even colours.  The most common of all is Wonton, which can either be cooked in soup or deep-fried.  This home-made recipe of mine is simple to prepare, and with ready purchased wonton skin it really has made easy the lives of many home-cooks ~ CHEERS ~

What you need:
1 packet of ready made wonton skin
1 tsp of light soy sauce, to seal the skin

Filling:
1/2 kg of minced pork
2 stalks spring onion (green part only), chopped
1 egg
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of ground pepper
1  1/2 tbsp of light soy sauce

What to do next?

1. In a big bowl mix all the filling ingredients together till well combined.  Cover the bowl and leave in the fridge, take out only when you intend to wrap.
2. For the wrapping, place a piece of wonton skin on your left palm (if you are a right hander, or else vice versa), use a spoon to scoop about 1 tsp of filling and put in the middle of the skin, then wrap according to your favourite style, seal with some light soy sauce and put on a plate, till all is done. 

Tip: If you are not cooking it immediately place a piece of damp cloth over the wrapped wonton to keep it moist as the wonton skin gets dry easily.

To deep-fry:

1. Heat enough oil in a deep wok for deep-frying.  When the oil is hot enough (not too hot as the wonton skin will gets brown easily), slowly put in about 8 wonton at a time (depending on the size of your wok) and flip over during the frying process to ensure that the wonton are cooked all through.
2. Drain and put on absorbent paper to remove the extra oil and serve hot on a platter with either tomato sauce or chili sauce.

What you need to cook wonton in soup:

1. Prepare broth for the soup, either use pork ribs, pig bones or chicken bones. 
2. Fried shallot and garlic to drizzle over the wonton soup.
3. Some leafy vegetables of your choice to serve together with the soup.
4. Grounded pepper (to sprinkle over the soup)
5. Spring onions (optional)

Few simple steps to cook:

1. Heat up the broth in a pot, when starts to boil season with salt and msg and taste to get the desired seasoning.
2. When the broth comes to a big boil, reduce the heat to medium and slowly put in the wrapped wonton, 
3. When the wonton floats to the surface it means that its cooked, add in the green vegetable, boil for another few seconds and off the heat.
4. Scoop the wonton into individual bowls, sprinkle some grounded pepper, put some fried shallots and garlic on the top and it's ready to serve!

Note:  I will be sharing in my next write-up on the few simple steps to fry crispy shallots and garlic, an item which is a must-have in our kitchen if we are a stay home wife, mum and grand mum, see you then.....