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.

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.

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.

Prima Taste - Hainanese Chicken Rice

This is another of Prima Taste's pastes. I like it as they have 3 different sauces - black soya sauce, ginger sauce and chilli sauce. However, the chilli sauce is not as nice as the one you can find commonly in hawker centers. Every Singaporean must have at least one favourite chicken rice stall. For me it's either Boon Tong Kee or the one at Queenstown Hawker Center. How about you?

This is my first attempt at chopping up a chicken... Not too bad for first attempt right? :)

This is the rice. Prima Taste has special fragrant oil for you to cook the rice. It is not too bad...

I find the soup a bit too oily and bland. But come to think of it, most of the chicken rice soup is quite bland.

These are the 3 different sauces... Looks nice right? :)

Steamed Chicken with Black Fungus

Now that I'm a housewife, I will take special care in preparing food for my hubby. He is very thin, however, he has slight cholestrol problems. So, all you thin guys out there, don't think that you won't have a cholestrol problem... It's better to run some tests.

I was browsing through all the food blogs and considering what to cook. I came across one of my favourite bloggers - Lily's Wai Sek Hong and found this wonderful recipe: Country-Style Steamed Chicken.

I followed her recipe, but added more shallots and garlic as garnishing. I have also added some chilli slices and chopped spring onion.

It really tastes great! However, my hubby complained that the chicken pieces have bones... So, for my next try, I will use boneless chicken thighs.

Vin’s Fav – Black Pepper Honey Grilled Wings

When I saw the white plate at a departmental store, I knew it would be perfect for chicken wings... Hee... One of the first things I tried cooking was chicken wings, as it is Vin’s favourite :) I tried frying chicken wings before but found that it will get burnt outside easily and the inside will still remain uncooked. Deep frying is too messy and unhealthy. Hence, I settled for grilled as my oven can support grill functions. Also, the chicken will be tender and juicy inside after grilling.

Ingredients

Marinade:
Soya sauce
Cornflour
Black pepper

For glazing:
Oil
Honey with Black pepper

Steps:
1. Wash the chicken wings and rub them with salt
2. Blanched them in hot water
3. Marinate them with the ingredients shown above for at least 30 mins
4. I usually cover the tray with an aluminium foil for grilling. Oil it.
5. Place the chicken wings in and grill them.
6. Every 10 mins, turn the wings over and glaze them until they are cooked (Takes about 30 to 40 mins)