Chinese TeaLeaves Eggs_茶叶蛋

Like my friend, fellow blogger (BHH), I love the smell & taste of Chinese tea leaves egg (茶叶蛋 Cha Ye Dan). And when she posted a recipe on how to homemade, I grabbed the chance to try it out. However, since she mentioned that d herbs smell is not strong enough for her, I triple all the herb ingredients.
And d result - Thumbs up!

Miso Clam Soup

After d 1st try-out using clam as soup base, I starting searching d web for more clam broth recipe & decided to try this recipe out. Hubby & Hayden loves it!

• 2 dozen clams, scrubbed
• 1½ tbsp Miso paste
• 2 tube egg tofu, cut into 1/2 -inch cubes
• 1 med scallions, thinly sliced crosswise

1. Rinse d clams at least 3 times to rid d sand/grit. Fill a pot with just enough water to cover d clams be4 bringing it to boil. Off d heat & remove d meat for later usage, discard d shells.
2. Pour d clam broth through a strainer into a bigger pot. Add more water to make up 1.8l & whisk in d miso until smooth. Bring soup to a simmer over moderate heat. Add tofu & cook for 4mins.
3. Return clams to soup to heat through. Sprinkle the scallions on top and serve immediately.

Sneaky Chef's Fried Rice

Was trying to lower the utility cost for d household so am trying not to use the slow cooker too often. And with my recent new part-time job, am running out of new ideas/recipe for dinner. So for tonite, I was browsing through my recipe ‘book’ (actually it’s the notes that I have on my iphone), I saw this recipe from Sneaky Chef’s book that I have never try be4. Even though I don’t have some of the ingredients, I decided to go ahead & substitute with whatever I have in d fridge. Hayden helped with the scrambled egg & because he helped, he actually mgd to finished his bowl of rice. Guess that shd give this recipe a thumbs up???

• 1 large egg
• ¼ cup white puree (subs w/green puree)
• *whisk to2g be4 scrambling it with ½ tbsp oil
• ½ small onion, minced/puree
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
• 1 cup cooked ckn/ham/beef/pork/shrimp (subs w/3ckn hotdogs)
• 2 cups cooked rice, cold
• ½ tbsp soy sauce
• ½ cup peas (subs w/thawed mixed veg)

Heat 1 tbsp oil & stir-fry minced onion/garlic/ginger for abt 2mins
Add meat & stir-fry another 2mins
Add rice & soy sauce. Toss to combine well
Add scrambled egg & veg only 1 min be4 finish cooking.

Green Puree – Serve 2 cup (I usually freeze them in batches of ¼ cup)
2 cup raw baby spinach leaves
2 cup broccoli florets + 1 cup sweet green peas
* steam broccoli for abt 10mins; add peas @ d last 2mins
** or microwave broccoli in a bowl covered with water on high for 8-10mins; add peas @ d last 2mins

Pulse spinach 1st, then add broccoli/peas & puree with 1-2tbsp water till smooth.
Can be freeze for up to 3mths
Can be added into beefy soups or stew

Waterchestnut Carrot Soup

I have tried quite a few water chestnut soup recipes & this is just another simplified version. Very suitable for d recent weird weather.

• 10 cups water
• 12 water chestnut
• 8 red dates, stoned
• 1 big or 2 med carrots
• 500g lean pork (subs with black ckn)

Simmer for 2-3hrs

Light Mac & Cheese pasta

This is another Sneaky Chef’s recipe. Very easy & fun to prepare. In fact, it’s so easy, Hayden help made this dish.
End result – a very cheesy dish, definitely a kid’s fav!

• 1½cup evaporated skim milk
• ¼cup white puree
• 113g white cheddar
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• ½tsp honey mustard (I omitted this)

*Cook all over low heat.
Then add 4 cups of cooked elbows/small pasta & stir to combine well. Serve hot.

Teriyaki Veg/Mushroom

Another lazy day, didn’t really want to try anything new so I used a tested recipe with new ingredients.

End result – a very tasty veg dish served on top of rice. Very nice..

2 tbsp olive oil + 200g fresh veg + 200g fresh Shiitake
1/3 cup teriyaki sauce + 1/3 cup white puree + 1 tbsp honey (whisk to2g)
4 green onions, sliced
Heat oil over med heat & sauté shiitake/onion for abt 3mins.
Add sauce mixture & veg, cook for abt 2mns or till onion is cooked.
Serve over rice.

Chayote, Corn, Mushroom in Clam broth

Chayote, Corn, Mushroom in Clam broth (佛手瓜, 玉米, 蘑菇, 蛤肉汤)
I saw this recipe from BH’s blog & went ahead to give it a try. It’s actually quite a mild flavor soup. MIL likes it but hubby finds it too plain. So on my next try, I actually added fresh clams & what a big diff it made! Hubby loves it! In fact, his words were “ yr soup had definitely improved by a GAINT step!” Wow!

So here’s my modified version.

• 20-25 fresh clams (soak them in salt water 2-3hrs be4 use)
• 500 pork ribs
• 200g agrocybe aegerita (茶树菇)
• 1 large chayote
• 2 fresh corns (I normally used only d kernels)
• 1.5 - 2 litre of water

1. Trim away the ends of d agrocybe aegerita be4 washing & soaking them in water.
2. Wash & cut d chayotes into cubes, pluck out d kernels from d corn after washing.
3. Blanch pork ribs/lean meat.
4. Rinse d clams at least 3 times to rid d sand/grit. Fill a pot with just enough water to cover d clams be4 bringing it to boil. Off d heat & remove d meat for later usage, discard d shells.
5. Pour d clam broth through a strainer into a bigger pot.Add more water to make up 1.8l.
6. Add all ingredients in it & bring to boil. Once boil, switch to med heat & continue boiling for 30 min. Then reduce to small flame & simmer for 2 hrs.
7. No salt is needed as d clam broth is tasty enough.

Sweet & Tangy Ckn

I can’t remember where I got this recipe from, so, if any of u can remember, do advise me so that I can credit it back to d originator.
Hubby finds it bit too sweet for him but both MIL & Hayden likes it.

Ingredients (serve 4)

• 1 ½ cup barbeque sauce
• ½ can pineapple chunks + juices
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 skinless, chicken thighs

In a large bowl, mix barbecue sauce, pineapple with juice, green bell pepper, onion, & garlic. Arrange 2 of d ckn thighs in d bottom of a slow cooker. Pour half of the barbecue sauce over it. Place remaining ckn into slow cooker, & pour remaining sauce over d top. Cover & cook on Low for 8-9 hrs

Clever Ckn Teriyaki_Sneaky Chef's

As mentioned in my earlier post that am into Sneaky Chef’s cookbook recently. Most of Sneaky Chef’s recipes r all quite easy, except that, u will need to pre-prepare 1 of the ingredients 1st. It is d ‘secret (healthy)’ ingredient that usually requires pre-preparation using d blender. But since they can be freeze up to 3mths, it’s ideal to prepare lots of it @ 1 go & pop it into d freeze till requires. For this recipe, I used d white puree which was prepared ytd.

End result – a very tasty & healthy dish.

White puree

• 2 cups cauliflower florets – steam abt 10mins
• 2 small zucchini – peeled & chopped
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Pulse zucchini & lemon juice 1st, while steaming d cauliflower. Then add d cooked cauliflower & puree till smooth. Add 1-2 tbsp of water if required.
U can also add raw yellow squash along with d cauliflower to be pureed. Just peel & remove d seeds of d squash.

• Clever Ckn Teriyaki
• 2 tbsp olive oil + 450g ckn tenders
• 1/3 cup teriyaki sauce + 1/3 cup white puree + 1 tbsp honey (whisk to2g)
• 4 green onions, sliced

1. Heat oil over med heat & sauté ckn for abt 5mins.
2. Add sauce mixture & onions, cook for abt 2mns or till onion is cooked.
3. Serve over rice.

Chicken Broth - Jamie Oliver's

Have been making my own ckn broth & this time, I decided to give Jamie Oliver’s version a try.
End result – so much tastier than my old version. I cant believe adding herbs & a rasher of bacon can made so much diff!

• 1.5kg ckn
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks celery
• 1 rasher of smoked bacon
• 2-3 sprigs of fresh Rosemary
• Handful of shitake mushrooms
• Port of sea salt
• Olive oil

Put ckn, carrot, celery & bacon in a pot cover with water. Bring to boil. Low heat & simmer 1¼ hr, skimming white residue off top now & then.
Add Rosemary & mushroom only in d last 10 mins.
Season with salt if desired

Poached Ckn - Jamie Oliver's

At 1st, I don’t quite understand what ‘poaching’ really meant. Then when I saw this recipe in Jamie Oliver’s book, I went online to have a better understanding of ‘poaching’.
Turn out ‘poaching’ is a process where food is gently simmering in liquid. To me, isn’t this just like cooking in d slow-cooker? So does this means that I have been ‘poaching’ all this while whenever I used d slow-cooker?
End result – very tasty soup esp with d nice smelling fennel.

• 2kg ckn
• Handfull of flat-leaf parsley
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 handful new potatoes
• 2 handful baby carrots
• 2 handful baby turnips/radishes
• 1 blub fennel
• 2 handful peas
• 2 handful broad beans
• 1 handful of spinach
• 1 tsp salt

*stuff herbs into ckn, cover ckn with enough water by abt 1inch. Scatter in potatoes & bring to boil. Cover & simmer 20mins.
Then add carrots, turnips/radishes, & fennel (herby top remove & reserve). Simmer another 30-40mins.
Remove ckn & add peas, beans &spinach. Cook 1 min & serve with ckn, sprinkle fennel top & olive oil.

Coconut Stewed Ckn

Weather is really heating up! Really need something to cool down! Coconuts! Yes! Had this recipe for d longest time & cant really remember where I got it from. I think it might have be from a Chinese mag.
End result - tasty enough for Hayden to asked for 2nd helping!

• 1 young coconut
• 1kg ckn
• 1 stalk lemongress (cut into section)
• 6 bowls water
• 5 slices ginger
• 1 stalk spring onion
• rice wine for taste

cut upper part of young coconut, pour out juice & scoop out flesh
Rinse ckn. scald Ginger, spring onion & rice wine in boiling water. put in ckn, scald for a while. remove & drain.
Put ckn, lemongrass & coconut flesh into coconut, pour in juice & water, bring to boil.
Switch to low heat & stew 3hrs. add seasoning be4 serving.

Stir-fry Corn - Jamie Oliver's

Another super easy recipe from Jamie Oliver – Stir-fry corn.
End result – a very, very tasty dish! Thumbs up!

• 400-500g corn kernels (abt 3 corn)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp chopped Ginger
• 1 tsp chopped chili (optional)
• Handful chopped parsley
• 1-2 tbsp soy sauce

Stir-fry them together till cooked, abt 8-10mins

Beef Stew - Jamies Oliver's

This recipe is from 1 of Jamie Oliver’s cookbook. Need I say more, super easy, simple & fuss-free recipe for working mums. Ingredients list might look long but most items can easily be found in any-one’s kitchen, with d only exception of d parsnip. As I was not able to find parsnips this rd, I replace it with corn kennels (which gives a better color to d dish).


Ingredients

• Olive oil
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 onion, peeled & chopped
• Handful of fresh sage leaves
• 800g stewing beef
• Some flour to dust
• 2 parsnips + 4 carrots + 1/2 butternut squash
• 500g small potatoes
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• ½ btl red wine
• 285ml veg stock
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Handful Rosemary, leaves picked
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Fry onion & sage w/ butter 3-4mins.
Toss meat in flr, add to d pan w/ all veg, purée, wine & stock. Stir together & season. Bring to boil, covered & simmer 3-4hrs till meat is done.
Mix zest, Rosemary & garlic together & sprinkle be4 serving

Asparagus Omelette

Was @ d local library browsing through some recipes books when I came across this v simple asparagus omelette recipe & decide to give it a try. Problem is – I copied down d recipe but forgotten to incld chef’s name! Thus, if any of u remember or have seen this be4, pls do drop me a comment so that I can credit this back to d correct chef.

End result – both Hayden & MIL had 2nd helping!

Ingredients

• 2 eggs + ½ cup milk
• 2tbsp grated Parmesan
• 200g asparagus

Mix d eggs & milk in a bowl.
Slice asparagus into small bits, leaving only d top part. Then boil them for abt 8mins, or when they turn bright green. Drain & set aside.
Heat up d non-stick pan & spoon in ½ cup egg mixture. Roll it rd d pan to spread out into a thin layer be4 adding asparagus. Sprinkle it over with parmesan & remove from pan.

FrogLeg rice w/Lily bulb

In my previous attempt on d frog legs rice, I bought d wrong ingredient. So for tonite, I mgd to get d right fresh lily bulb鲜百合for testing. However, after reading d instruction on d package, I understand that fresh lily bulb is best eaten raw for its goodness. If cooking is required, try keep at d minimum. So, for my frog leg rice, I actually only added d lily bulb 1min be4 rice cooker timing ends.
End result – d fresh lily bulb added a very nice crunch to d dish! Even Hayden took a few slices of it with d rice! MIL loves it too! Hurray!

Ingredients same as previous, just replaced d lotus seed with d fresh lily bulb.

Water Chestnut soup

Another soup therapy which is supposed to be good for soothing cough & remove phlegm. This 1 tasted more like a soup as compared to d罗汉果soup. Hayden loves it.

• 10cups water
• 12 water chestnut
• 8 red dates
• 1 big or 2 med carrots
• 500g lean pork

Put all into d slow cooker & cook over low heat for 2-3hrs.

罗汉果西洋菜汤

Hayden started coughing again so I decided to try out this soup therapy which is suppose to effective in soothing throats & removing phlegm. It has d nutritious of d watercress too.

End result - a very sweet soup! Thus, will reduce d LHG by half next time.

1 LuoHanGuo罗汉果

500g lean pork

200g watercress西洋菜

2 candied dates蜜枣

1.8l water

1. Rinse LHG, wrap in a bag & smash. Rinse pork & cut into big pieces. Separate watercress leaves from stem & rinse.


2. Pour water into slow cooker. Add stem, pork, LHG & dates & cook over low heat ½hr.


3. Lasrly, add leaves & cook further ½hr.

Left-over Veg soup

Another recipe from d Women’s Wkly mzg. This recipe is very low in fat (2.7g) & calories (275cal). It also used up whatever bal veg u have in d fridge.

• 2 cups veg stock
• 250g corn cob, trimmed
• ½cup bal veg
• 1 small carrots
• 30g snow peas
• 1 green onion, sliced thinly
• Add 500g lean meat if u preferred stronger taste.

Bring stock to boil be4 adding corn/veg/carrot. return to boil be4 reducing heat & simmer (covered) for abt 15mins. then stir in rest of ingedients & simmer (uncovered) for another 2mins.

Veg Stock

I saw this soup recipe in d Women’s Weekly mzg & decided to give it a try since it’s suppose to be part of a detox program…

End result – a very tasty soup even on its own. Hayden had 1 ½ bowls of it! Will take d pix d next rd.

Veg Stock original ingredients (I halved all of it)

• 2 med onions 300g
• 3 med carrots 360g
• 3 med parsnips 750g
• 2 med turnip 450g
• 1 small fennel bulb 200g
• 1 large red capsicum 350g
• 1 trimmed celery stalk 100g
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 black peppercorns (I omitted this)
• 4l water
• 1 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley

Put all (except d parsley) into a slow cooker & cook over low heat for 4-5hrs. Then add parsley & simmer for 1hr more be4 serving.
Stock can be kept, covered, for up to a wk in d fridge. It’s also suitable to freeze for up to 3 mths.