Aglio Olio

 Ingredients
100g of preferred pasta
2 tablespoons of minced garlic
5 tablespoons of olive oil
1 teaspoon of chopped small red chilies
Parsley flakes

Preparation
Cook pasta according to the instructions at the back of the packaging.
Set aside and drain.
Heat 5 tablespoons of oil in a pan and stir fry the minced garlic under low heat till golden brown.
Add in the chopped chilies and stir well.
Return the cooked pasta to the pan and sprinkle a generous amount of parsley flakes.
Toss well and serve immediately.

Gyoza AKA 锅贴

Ingredients

1 packet of gyoza wrappers

250g of minced pork

1/3 cup of chopped napa cabbage

1 teaspoon of minced garlic

1 teaspoon of grated ginger 

2 tablespoons of chopped spring onions

1 teaspoon of sesame oil

1 teaspoon of sugar

2 tablespoons of soya sauce

Pinch of salt

Preparation

Cook the napa cabbage in a pot of boiling water. 

Drain and remove excess water by squeezing the cooked cabbage with hands or paper towel.

Combine all the ingredients together and mix well. 

Place a spoonful of the filling in the middle of a gyoza wrapper and put water along the edge to seal up the wrapper, forming a semi-circle. 

Gather the sides of the wrapper or do so using a gyoza maker(dumpling mould).

Heat up 1 tablespoon of oil in a pan and fry the gyoza until the bottom part turns brown and crispy over medium high heat. 

Turn heat down to low and add in 60ml of water. 

Steam cook the gyoza with lid covered. 

Remove lid when water has greatly reduced(approximately 10ml left).

Continue cooking until all water has evaporated. 

Serve with dipping sauce(black vinegar with shredded ginger).

Missing In Action

Apologies!! I know I haven't been updating my blog. And my last post was like nearly a year ago. It's been a rough year for me. Alot has happened. One can even make a 粤语残片 out of it. But I believe every cloud has a silver lining. 

I promise to blog soon!

'When life puts you in tough situations, don't say "Why me", say "Try me". You're tougher than you think.'

Bittergourd with Spareribs Soup AKA 苦瓜排骨汤

Ingredients
300g of bittergourd
300g of spareribs
3-5 pitted chinese red dates
3-5 dried oysters

Preparation
Cut bittergourd into half and remove the pulp and seeds.
Cut it again into large chunks.
Parboil spareribs and set aside to drain.
Add bittergourd, red dates and dried oysters to 800ml of water.
Toss in the spareribs when the water starts to boil.
Boil for 15 minutes before switching to low heat and simmer for another 45 minutes.
Add salt to taste before serving.

Sotong Goreng Assam

Ingredients
200g of squids
1-2 small red chilies (chopped)
50g of assam paste
1 teaspoon of sugar
Dash of salt

Preparation
Dissolve assam paste with 80ml of water.
Discard the seeds.
Mix the squids to the assam sauce together with sugar and salt.
Leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
In an oiled pan, stir fry the squids briefly.
Add in the chopped chilies and toss.
Remove from heat when squids are cooked.
Ready to serve.

Squid

Hainanese Pork Chop AKA 海南猪肉扒

Hainanese, one of the Chinese dialect groups, they are rather well-known for being in the food trade. The early Hainanese immigrants in Singapore mostly work as waiters and servants in the local hotels, restaurants, bakeries and bars. Many of them also became coffee shop owners, stall holders and chefs.

Today, Hainanese cuisine is one of the most sought after cuisines in Singapore. Hainanese Chicken Rice, Hainanese Curry Rice and Hainanese Pork Chop are just some of the popular and classic dishes. (I was told that the traditional Hainanese Pork Chop is not served with tomato sauce.)

Ingredients (Adapted from a magazine cutting - by Chef Zhang Tian)
200g of pork loin
1 egg
1 tomato (diced)
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
50g of sliced onion
20g of frozen green peas
120ml
3 tablespoons of ketchup
1/2 teaspoon of dark caramel soya sauce (optional)
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
Cornstarch

Preparation
Pound pork loins with meat tenderizer. Flatten to about 1/2 inch in thickness.
Rub meat with salt and pepper.
Coat the meat with cornflour and shake off the excess.
Dip into beaten egg.
Coat well with breadcrumbs.
Deep fry till it turns golden brown.
Set aside.
Stir fry garlic and onion till slightly brown.
Add caramel soya sauce, water and ketchup.
Bring to a boil before tossing in the tomatoes and green peas.
Leave to simmer.
Thicken sauce with cornflour if necessary.
Add salt/pepper to taste.
Pour sauce over the pork chops.
Serve immediately.

Stir-fry Tofu with Shimeji Mushrooms and Dried Scallop

Ingredients
300g of silken tofu (cut into cubes)
100g of shimeiji mushrooms (cleaned)
30g of dried scallop (soaked, break into strands)
1 stalk of spring onion
2 tablespoons of oyster sauce
1/2 tablespoon of sugar
280ml of water
Cornstarch

Preparation
Stir fry the mushrooms and scallop in an oiled pan.
Add in oyster sauce, sugar and water.
Stir to mix well.
Add in the tofu.
Bring to a boil and leave to simmer for 5 minutes or so.
Thicken gravy with cornstarch.
Sprinkle with spring onions before serving.

Crispy Tofu with Sweet Chili Sauce (Thai-style) AKA 泰式豆腐

Ingredients
2 pieces of tau kwa (firm tofu)
1/2 an onion (sliced)
2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce
40ml of water

Preparation
Pat tau kwa dry with paper towel.
Deep fry the tau kwa till golden brown.
Drain away excess oil and cut into bite-size pieces.
Add the sweet chili sauce to 40ml of water.
Toss in the onions.
Bring everything to a boil.
Pour onions and sauce over the tau kwa.
Ready to serve.

* Alternatively, you can cut the tau kwa into bite-size pieces before deep frying.