Ginseng Chicken Soup

I happened to be reading this recipe on Ginseng Chicken Soup. And I was wondering how on earth can I get fresh ginseng... Then, I saw it in the supermarket near my place. I was so happy upon finding this treasure. It was quite cheap, 3 for 25 HKD only. So, I immediately bought it and asked how long I can keep it. The auntie told me I can keep it for as long as I like, as long as they are stored in the refrigerator.

It also happened that my brother-in-law, Tim, was coming to visit us for the weekend. Hence, I made the soup for both him and Vin.

Oyakodon

After the try with Katsudon, I had to try making Oyakodon :p I found out that Oyako means a parent and child in Japanese, as it is made of chicken and egg!

The Katsudon turned out to be a bit disappointing as I think we need to buy more expensive pork cutlets to bring out the tenderness of the meat. Iberico pork is very expensive... Maybe I should splurge on it one day!

For the Oyakodon, I followed this recipe. It turned out great and really authentic and it is so simple to make.

Katsudon

The other day, Ah 蘇 was on TV, showing us how to make pork cutlets. I was so inspired to give it a try. Hence, I decided to make Japanese pork cutlet rice - Katsudon.

To make this pork cutlet, first, we need to buy boneless 猪栁. Make small cuts in the fats around the rim. Then, use the back of knife to hit on one side, and then use the flat of the knife to hit on both sides. Marinate the pork with salt on one side and with pepper on both sides.

Lightly floured the pork - do not dip the whole piece into the flour, just take some flour and lightly coat it. Dip it in egg mixture and then bread crumbs. Deep fry the pork and ensure that the meat is fully cooked. Then cut the pork into strips when slightly cooled.

After that, to make the katsudon, I followed the instructions from here. I made 2 versions.

This is the first version, when I followed the instructions for katsudon and put the pork cutlet to cook with the sauce.

This is the second version, where I just put the sauce on top of the pork cutlet. Of course, the more authentic one would be the first version but I think you can taste the crispiness of the pork cutlet in the second version.

Mee Hoon Kway

Really missed Mee Hoon Kway! I happened to see this recipe and decided to give it a try myself. I tried the recipe for the dough but it appears a bit too wet, no matter how I knead... It could be because I used extra large eggs, so I added more flour.

It was also quite difficult for me to find good ikan bilis. Searched through a few supermarkets for them, before chancing upon them at the supermarket near my place. Instead of using the microwave to "fry" the ikan bilis, I used my wok to fry them.

I used minced pork and threw them bit by bit into the soup, instead of sliced meat.

The dough turned out to be quite thick and tough... :( However, I had some leftovers and when I made them hot the next day, the dough pieces have turned soft and nice! So, I think I will keep them overnight for my next try. I also wanted to try ban mian instead, as my hubby prefers it. I saw some instant ban mian in the supermarket. Will post the pics when we try it :)

Char Siew

Char Siew is one of the first few things that I learned how to cook, and able to cook it well :) The important point is to add a lot of sugar, and not be afraid to “burn” the char siew. Before I owned an oven, I actually used aluminium foil to line my wok and to “bake” the char siew in it.

Ingredients

Pork (Pork shoulder or pork collar with a bit of fat)

Marinate

Sesame oil

Sugar

Corn flour

Soy sauce

Minced garlic

Oyster Sauce

Chinese Wine

Glaze

1 tablespoon of sesame oil

1 tablespoon of honey

1 tablespoon of black soya sauce

1 tsp stock or water

Steps:

1. Marinade the pork with marinate for at least 3 hours, preferable overnight.

2. Turn the pork after a few hours to evenly marinade it.

3. Set the oven temperature to 220 degrees and bake with the foil for 15 mins.

4. Open the foil and bake till the top layer is almost cooked and then turn the meat to the other side.

5. When the meat is almost cooked, spread the glaze on both sides and continue baking until it is almost charred, but not burnt. Keep on turning the meat, glaze and bake for 10 mins.

As I didn't put in any red colourings, the char siew appears more black...

Made some cabbage soup to go with the char siew rice :) Ingredients include pork ribs, cabbage and carrots.

Loh Mai Kai

I suddenly have a craving for Singapore's Loh Mai Kai. Haha... When I told my SG friends I'm going to try making it, they are quite surprised as normally you can find this everywhere in SG!

I adapted the recipe from Lily Wai. Hers is more like the Malaysian version, and I wanted to make the SG version, which is white in colour, instead of black. Also, in terms of ingredients, it is normally just chicken. I added mushrooms and chinese sausages to mine.

Ingredients

Glutinous Rice (250g)

2 Chicken thighs

1/2 Chinese sausage

3 Mushrooms, soaked and cut into thin slices

Marinate (for chicken thighs):

Light soy sauce

Pepper

Oyster sauce

Ginger juice

Sugar

Sesame oil

Chinese wine

Stock:

2 cups water or chicken stock (I combined some water leftover from soaking the mushrooms too)

Light soy sauce

Pepper

Sugar

Salt

2 Tbsp oil

Sesame oil

Steps:

1. Soak washed glutinous rice for 2 to 3 hours.

2. Drain and steam for 30 mins.

3. Marinade chicken for at least an hour.

4. I then proceed to fry the chinese sausages, mushrooms and chicken. However, I realised that I should have just steam them for 10 mins. The meat will be softer and more tender. If we fry the ingredients, the chicken will be more dry.

5. Arrange the chicken, mushrooms and sausages into bowls.

6. Scoop the glutinous rice over them.

7. Cover the rice with the stock (just level will do).

8. Steam for another 30 mins.

Black Pepper Chicken Spaghetti

I seldom prepare Western food, unless for special occasions or simple pasta meals. I have always heard that tomatoes go well with black pepper sauce. Hence, this time, I decided to cook this dish to try out and it turned out great!

Ingredients

Butter

1 small potato cut into cubes

Salt

Black Pepper

Chicken thighs (My hubby prefers boneless)

Lee Kum Kee Black Pepper Sauce

Sugar

Water

Cornflour mixture (Water and cornflour)

Tomato (diced)

Spaghetti

Olive Oil

Steps:

Potato:

1. If you are not cooking the potatoes immediately, soak the potato cubes in salt water to prevent it from turning black before cooking.

2. Add olive oil then butter into the frying pan. This will prevent the butter from turning black quickly.

3. Add in the drained potato cubes and stir fry till golden brown.

4. Sprinkle some salt and black pepper.

Chicken:

1. Add olive oil then butter into the frying pan.

2. Add in the chicken thighs and brown them on both sides.

Sauce:

1. Keep a bit of the butter left over from cooking the chicken.

2. Add in the LKK black pepper sauce and water.

3. Add a bit of sugar if it is too spicy.

4. Adjust the consistency by adding in the cornflour mixture.

5. Add in the diced potato and stir for a few minutes.

Spaghetti:

1. Boil a pot of water.

2. Add in a pinch of salt and olive oil.

3. Add in the spaghetti and boil for 15 minutes. I finally found the perfect texture of the spaghetti by boiling for 15 mins. Feel free to boil them till the consistency that you like.

Drain the spaghetti and combine all to serve.

滷肉飯

In Taiwan, they have very big bookshops and there are books everywhere. It is amazing that the Taiwanese love reading and will hang out in the bookstores for hours. There was this bookstore that has more than 4 storeys of books and I was busy selecting the cookbooks.

滷肉飯 is one of the popular Taiwan dishes and I found this recipe in one of the cookbooks that I bought. it is really yummy! :)

Ingredients

600g pork (Preferably 五花肉)

5 shallots

Salt

Sugar

Dark Soya Sauce

Soy Sauce

1.5 litres Water

2 八角

Steps:

1. Diced the pork into 1cm cubes.

2. Add oil into wok, brown the shallots.

3. Add in pork and stir till the pork is almost cooked.
4. Add in the salt, sugar, dark soya sauce, soy sauce, water and 八角.

5. Simmer using low heat for 2 hours.

Cream of Chicken Soup

I'm finally back from all my travelling - Taiwan and Singapore. One of the first recipes I tried when I'm back in HK is this Cream of Chicken Soup. In general, I don't trust recipe books, it is more practical to learn from all the housewives' blogs since they are tried and tested and relatively simpler. However, I do buy those mini cookbooks. One of them is the "Chicken Favourites" and I decided to try this soup.

Ingredients

50g Butter

1/2 onion, finely dices

1 garlic cloves, crushed

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

100g chicken breast, diced into 1 cm cubes

1.5 tablespoons of plain flour

0.5 litres of chicken stock (If you are using the off the shelf chicken stock, do add water if you think it will be too salty and strong)

60ml cream plus 1 tablespoons to serve

Steps:

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add onions, then garlic, then celery over low heat. Stir frequently so the vegetables don't brown for 15 mins.

2. Add chicken and stir frequently for 5 mins.

3. Add the flour and stir for another 5 mins.
4. Add the chicken stock, a little at a time, stirring well so that lumps don't form.
5. Bring to simmering point, then cook uncovered for 30 mins.

6. Allow to cool then put them into the blender.

7. Pour the soup back into the saucepan and add the cream, simmer and season to taste.

8. Pour into bowls and add the extra cream to serve.