Chicken Rice And Steamed Chicken -

I have always had this homemade chicken rice up my sleeves. Whenever I make this dish, my family would always gobble it up, finishing the last grain of rice and the last strand of meat. However, I have never chronicled this recipe for the record and have always put it off for another day. Today, finally, I am determined to write it all down to the last detail. This is in part due to me thinking back a few weeks ago during Chinese New Year. I made this dish for my mother-in-law and the rest of the extended family and everyone sang its praises. I have now a record for my children to refer to, to continue this legacy and have more people enjoy this fabulous dish!

Recipe: 

Ingredients for steamed chicken:

1 kampong chicken about 1.5kg

2 thin slices ginger/spring onion

1 tsp salt

2 pandan leaves

Method:

1)Wash and clean the chicken, keep 2 to 3 pieces of chicken fat for cooking the chicken rice.  Rub all over the body of the chicken with salt . Place gingers or spring onions inside the body. Throw pandan leaves into the steamer. When the water is boiling , steam chicken (onto a plate) over high heat for 15 - 20 minutes. Turn off fire and leave the lid closed to stand for 15- 20 minutes. Transfer chicken onto a big plate and let it cool before cutting.

3) Pour the chicken stock into a pot for making soup to your preference or you can use it for cooking chicken rice. 

Ingredients for chicken rice: (serves 4-5 persons)

3 cups of  rice

2-3 pieces of chicken fat 

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 to 1 tbsp cooking oil ( depends on how much chicken fat you use)

1/2 cube of chicken cube (Knorr)

1,5 tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1 light soya sauce

1/2 tsp sesame oil

3 cups  water or more, adjust to your liking

2  pips garlic

2 shallots

10 g ginger

4 pandan leaves

Method:

1) Wash and drain the rice.

2)  Chop garlics, onions and ginger till very fine.

3)  Heat up a dry wok, place chicken fat into wok, stir fry until the fat has melted, add in cooking oil, saute the chopped ingredients until fragrant.  Add in rice to stir-fry for a while, then add in the remaining ingredients  except water and stir fry for 1 minute or until fragrant.

4) Transfer (3) into an  electrical rice cooker, add pandan leaves and enough water  to cook. 

5)  While waiting for the rice to cook. Now you can cut the chicken into pieces, and arrange on a serving plate. Garnish with spring onions and coriander leaves.

Coffee Chicken-咖啡鸡

Recipe: Adapted from Hawker Secret Recipes

Ingredients:
500 g chicken, cut into pieces

 Marinade:
1/2 egg
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp tapioca flour

Sauce: (mix well)
1 tsp instant coffee
2 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tsp  tomato sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
50ml water

Some roasted sesame seeds

Method:
1)   Marinate the chicken  for 20 minutes.
2)  Deep- fry the chicken until crispy and golden brown. Dish up.
3)  Bring chicken sauce to a boil over medium heat, Add in (2) and stir-fry over high heat  till  chicken is coated with the sauce. Dish up on a serving plate and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Enjoy.

Fried Chicken in Chilli Sauce - 辣椒酱炒鸡

Do not get misled by the name and the colour of the dish. You may think it must be very spicy.
The red color comes from the chilli sauce and tomato sauce so that it is not spicy at all, instead it is sweet.

Recipe: Adapted from Quick & Easy HAWKERS' FAIR by Chef Alan Kok

Ingredients:
2 chicken whole legs,cut into pieces
3 cups oil for deep frying
1 big onion,  diced

Marinade:
1 tsp salt
dash  of sesame oil and pepper
1 tsp corn flour

Sauce:
3 tbsp chilli sauce (sweet chilli sauce)
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp water

Method:
1)  Marinate chicken with marinade for 30 minutes. Deep fry until golden brown. Dish and drain.

2)  Heat up 1 tbsp oil, saute onion until fragrant..Add in sauce and bring to boil till the sauce has thickened. Add in fried chicken and toss well.  Dish up and serve.

Steamed Bean curd with Golden Eggs - 金银蛋蒸豆腐

With simple ingredients yet it can turn out to be a delicious dish! This dish is suitable for toddlers and old age ah ma and ah kong because it is savoury and melts in your mouth (except the meat). To add on, it is rich in protein (good for muscles and growth)!

Recipe: Adapted from hoho jiak! Hawkers' Fair

Ingredients:

2 salted egg yolks (I used one only)
1 block soft bean curd
1 egg
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp chopped garlic
200g minced meat

Seasoning A:
1/4 tsp salt
Dash of pepper and sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon corn flour
150 ml water (Note: I used 120 ml)

Seasoning B:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar (Note: I did not add)
Dash of pepper

Spring onion
fried shallot

Method:

1) Steam salted egg yolk till cooked.  Mash it while still hot.
2) Beat the egg with seasoning A, add in (1) and mix well.
3) Place beancurd into a dish and pour (2). Steam for 8 minutes over high heat.
4) Saute chopped garlic till fragrant, add minced meat and stir-fry until the meat is cooked.  Add in seasoning B and mix well.
5) Pour over the steamed beancurd. Garnish with fried shallots and spring onion.

Braised Trotter with Radish and Tamarind

 
Recipe:

Ingredients:
1 pig trotter, cut into pieces
2 medium size radish about 1.5 kg, peeled and cut into diamond shapes
20 g dried chillies
30g tamarind slices
2 whole garlic
800 - 1000ml water

Seasoning:
2 tablespoon sugar (adjust to your taste)
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt

Method:
1)  Blanch pig trotter in the boiling water for few minutes. Rinse under running tap water (cool),  drain.
2)  Put all the ingredients and seasoning in a deep big pot, bring to a boil.
3)  Turn to low heat (cover with lid) simmer for 50 minutes and the meat is tendered .  Keep stirring occasionally.
4)  Serve hot with rice.

Sweet Potato and Cheese Muffins - 番薯乳酪马芬

It is moist and soft. The combination of cheese and sweet potato is very good. And as you can see, I like to have my muffins together with flower tea. :)

Recipe:

Ingredients: makes 10
110 g unsalted butter
100 Castor sugar
1.5 egg (1 + 1/2)
40 ml milk

*150g plain flour
*5 g baking powder
*20 g Parmesan cheese powder
*sieved together

120 g (with skin) sweet potato
2 tbsp fine sugar

Some cheddar cheese, shredded

Method:
1)  Cut sweet potato into 1.5 cm cube, steam till cooked.  Add sugar and mix till sugar has dissolved.
 2)  In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar till creamy.  Add in egg in 3 - 4 batches. Pour in milk and mix well.
3) Fold in sifted flour till well combined.  Add in (1) and mix well.
4)  Spoon batter into muffins cups till 3/4 full. Sprinkle shredded cheese on top (optional).  Bake at 175 deg C for 20 minutes.

Osmanthus Chiffon Cake - 桂花戚风蛋糕

秋词

桂花飘又来到这小小的园里，
苦的心肠，死的灵魂也有沉醉意
谁的青春谁不怜惜，苦恼又谁人替
往日的欢乐，甜蜜的笑语都永远没有归期.........



The video embedded above has the lyrics of the main ingredient of this recipe - Osmanthus flower. It is alright if you have never heard of this song before... in fact you should feel glad because if the tune doesn't sound familiar to you, you are probably born 20-30 years after me... haha. This song was one of the top hits of my time.

Well, back to the cake. The texture is soft and fluffy, with a slight hint of the taste of the flowers. The osmanthus is not a common ingredient and I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the fragrance of your chiffon cake.

Recipe:  Adapted from famous cuisine issue no.83 (2014)

Ingredients A:
2 tbsp of dried Osmanthus
80 ml hot water
1 tbsp oligose  (I replaced with brown sugar)
120 g egg yolk
35 g cane sugar
1/3 tsp salt
160g low protein flour
1 tsp baking powder
70g grapeseed oil ( I replaced with sunflower seed oil)

Ingredients B:
240g egg white
150g cane sugar
1 tsp fruit vinegar ( I replaced with lemon juice)

Method:

1) Add hot water into osmantus.  Leave to cool.
2) Combine sugar and egg yolk, beat till foamy.  Add osmanthus tea (with flower), flour and baking powder, salt , mix till well combined.  Pour in oil and mix well.
3) In a grease free mixing bowl, beat egg white and sugar, lemon juice till stiff peaks form but not dry.  Add in mixture (2) in 2 to 3 batches.
4) Pour batter into an 8" chiffon cake pan and bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 50 minutes until cooked. Remove from the oven and invert baking pan immediately. Let it cools completely, use a plastic knife to run  around the side of the baking pan. Take out the cake and place on a plate, Cut and serve.