CRIZ BON APPETITE

Sometimes we have leftovers of roasted duck or chicken in our chiller and we do not know what to do with them. Most Asian families I know would just stir fry those pieces of meat with some chopped garlic, soy sauce, dark sauce with a pinch of sugar. For me, it got sort of boring now. Instead of that, I always love to apply the East Meets West concept in my cooking. Thus, I came out with my own recipe for my ORIENTAL STYLE ROASTED DUCK FETTUCCINE. It’s another great way to enjoy your pasta too. 🙂

INGREDIENTS:
1 pkt fettuccine pasta (or any pasta weighing about 500g)
1/2 roasted duck/chicken (remove bones & tear to bite sizes. Roast them a bit if required. Leave some for garnishing)
1 cup meat stock (boiling 3 cups of water with the duck bones and 300gm chopped jicama until left about 2 cup)
1” ginger (finely julienne)
1 tbsp garlic (finely chop)
300g young spinach (use leaves only)
30-40 cherry tomatoes (slit a bit and roast for 5-6 minutes or you can use sundried tomatoes if available)
5-6 tbsp oyster/mushroom sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp Shao Xing wine/red wine
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt & black pepper to taste

GARNISHES:
Chinese parsley (optional)
Roasted duck (optional)

PREPARATIONS:
• Heat up a pot of water with one tablespoon of salt and cook the pasta to the al dente required. It would take about 10-12 minutes. Drain well and fold in some extra virgin oil to avoid the pasta sticking together.
• Heat up the extra virgin olive oil and sesame oil. Sauté the chopped garlic and julienned ginger until fragrant.
• Add in the meat stock and oyster/mushroom sauce. Cook until thickened like gravy.
• Add in the wine and stir evenly.
• Add salt and black pepper to taste.
• Pour in the pasta and spinach leaves. Stir evenly with a pair of chopsticks.
• Pour in the shredded roasted duck meat and roasted cherry tomatoes. Mix thoroughly.
• Scoop out onto a serving plate and garnish with some roasted duck meat and chopped Chinese parsley.
• Serve hot.

(Serves: 5-6)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

The Northeastern Style Dumplings, more commonly known as DONGBEI JIAOZI (東北餃子), are the staple food of the capital city of Beijing, China. The ravioli textured and size like dumplings can be stuffed with just anything you like. Since Dongbei cuisine are often quite heavy in the usages of meat, garlic, vinegar and thick sauces, you would expect the stuffing to contain meat of any sort combined with different types of vegetables as well as different versions of vinegar content condiments. Instead of the normal white flour skins, let me show you a basic recipe with the usage of natural fruit or vegetable juices to make the dumplings more colorful. I would also be sharing a basic filling recipe here.

SKIN INGREDIENTS:
300g bread flour
150ml fruit/vegetable juice
1 tsp of salt
Water (add some if too dry)
Note: You can substitute the juice with water for plain ones

FILLING INGREDIENTS: (SPICY FRAGRANT CHICKEN)
300g minced chicken (any meat of your choice)
300g cabbage (finely chop)
3 stalks spring onion (finely chop)
1-2 red chilies (remove seeds, finely chop)
1/2 tsp 5-spice powder
2-3 tbsp chili oil (from the dipping sauce recipe below)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp of sesame oil
1 tbsp cornstarch
Pinch of salt
Sprinkle of grounded pepper

DIPPING CONDIMENTS:

Option 1: Ginger & Black Vinegar
200g young ginger (remove skin, finely julienne)
1/4 cup black rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Preparation: Mix all the liquid. Add in the julienned ginger when serve.

Option 2: Spicy Chili Oil
60g-80g chili flakes
3/4 cup oil (any type)
2 star anise
2” cinnamon
1 tbsp sesame oil (optional)
1tsp salt
3 cloves garlic (remove skin, finely chop)
10-15 bird’s eye chilies (slice, optional)
Preparation: Heat up the oil, sauté the star anise and cinnamon for 1-2 minutes. Add in the chili flakes and sauté until fragrant under LOW FIRE. Add in the salt, stir evenly and scoop out. Add in the chopped raw garlic and sliced chilies when serve.

Option 3: Pickled Peanuts & Garlic (14 days required to be eaten)
300g raw peanuts with skin (wash, soak in hot water 20 minutes, drain well)
3 bulbs garlic (cut off roots, remove skin)
1 cup black vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
1/4 cup lime juice
Preparation: Mix all in a large bowl and pour into a tall jar. Marinate in the chiller for at least 2 weeks. Serve the pickled peanuts and garlic without the liquid.

PREPARATIONS:
• Mix all the filling ingredients thoroughly and leave it to marinate in the chiller for at least 30 minutes.
• To make the dough for the skin, sift the bread flour into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the middle of the sifted flour and slowly add in the juice and salt mixture slowly. Knead until the dough stay clean from the mixing bowl. Add a bit of water if the juice is not enough. Let it rest in the bowl covered for about 20-30 minutes.
• Dust your table with some flour, slightly flatten the dough and cut into 4 strips.
• Dust more flour on the table and roll them into long sausage like rolls.
• Cut all up to evenly sized small balls (about 40-50 pieces). Dust more flour to avoid them sticking on the table.
• Take one piece of the dough and slightly flatten it with your palm.
• Use a small rolling pin with your right hand and slowly flatten the dough while your left hand slowly rotating the dough.
• When the dough is flattened to your preferred size, fill it up with about 1 tablespoon of the meat filling.
• Fold it up and crimp the side as shown in the diagram below, starting from the left side and do the same for the right side.
• Dust a tray with more flour and place your done dumplings on it.
• The cooking of the dumplings is quite crucial as you would want to maintain the al dente of the skin. So take note of the method to boil them. You could steam them but the skin tends to get dry faster.
• Heat up 3/4 pot of water. When boils, pour in the dumplings. When the water boils again, add in a glass of room temperature water. Let the water boils again and do the same step by adding another glass of water. When the water boils this time and you can see the dumplings floating up, they are cooked. The whole process would take about 6-8 minutes.
• Scoop out the dumplings and apply some oil on them to prevent them from sticking.
• Serve hot with your preferred dipping sauce.

(Makes: 40-50 pieces)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Alternatively, you can also serve these dumplings with some noodles as how I did it. This noodle dish was simply irresistible!

For those who would love to savor these delicious dumplings but reluctant to stay in the kitchen to produce them, you are in luck! You can soothe your dumpling craving by just calling up the supplier at the link here.

At one time of our lives, we might have taken instant noodles in whatever form, whether they were in packet form or in a cup. Why don’t we make it a bit more interesting by adding in some ingredients to make it more appetizing? Let me share with you my STIR FRY CHICKEN & MUSHROOMS NOODLES WITH TOMATO SWIRLS recipe. This dish has balanced fragrant flavors with a tad of sourness from the tomato swirls to boost up any appetite.

INGREDIENTS:
6 pcs instant noodles
250gms chicken breast meat (thinly slice, marinate with a bit soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil)
10 dried Shitake mushrooms (soaked, drain, slice thinly & marinate with ginger juice, a bit soy sauce, a pinch of sugar, pepper and sesame oil)
1 thumb size young ginger (grate & juice)
1 carrot (fine julienne)
1 stalk spring onions (cut into 1” length, leave some finely chopped ones for garnishing)
1 clove garlic (finely chop)
2 eggs
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 tbsp oyster sauce
Soy sauce
Sesame Oil
Oil
Sugar
Salt & pepper to taste
Sambal belacan (optional)

SAMBAL BELACAN RECIPE:
3 fresh red chilies (remove seeds & cut into chunks)
2 tsp belacan (shrimp paste) granules
1-2 limes (juice)
Pound the red chilies until small bits, add in the belacan granules. Add in lime juice when serve.

GARNISHES:
Spring onions (finely chop)
Red chilies (optional)
Deep fried shallots (optional)
Tomato swirls

PREPARATIONS:
• Beat up the eggs with the tomato ketchup, some sprinkles of pepper, a dash of soy sauce and sesame oil.
• Heat up your pan (18-20cm pan) and fry the beaten eggs in 2 batches.
• Roll the cooked eggs up tightly and leave aside.
• Heat up a pot of water and cook the instant noodles until you get the al dente required. Drain well.
• In a wok, heat up 4 tablespoons of oil and sauté the chopped garlic until brown.
• Put 3/4 of the sauteed garlic and oil onto the cooked noodles, together with the oyster sauce, one tablespoon of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and some sprinkles of pepper. Mix thoroughly.
• Heat up the remaining oil in the wok and sauté the marinated mushroom, slices until brown. Scoop out.
• Add in some more oil and sauté the chicken until cook. Add in the cooked mushroom and mix well. Scoop out.
• Add some oil and saute the carrots for about 2 minutes.
• Add in the seasoned noodles and mix well.
• Pour in the mixed chicken and mushrooms and mix thoroughly. Add in pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
• Add in the 1” cut spring onions and give it a stir or two.
• Scoop up the noodles onto a serving plate and garnish with some chopped spring onions, sliced chilies and some thinly sliced tomato swirls.
• Serve hot.

(Serves: 3-4)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

My friend recently presented me with a frozen Boston lobster and I thought why not I cook it the Oriental way instead of the normal Western cheesy bake. The dish turned out to be amazingly tasty with a mild tad of spiciness. It’s not hard at all to pep up a noodle dish with the lobster. Let me share with you my STIR FRY SPICY LOBSTER NOODLES recipe.

Since lobsters do not have much flesh for the consumption of more than a pax, I have added in some prawns, meat and fish cakes to make the bulk. Each individual added items gave the noodles superb flavors.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Boston lobster (about 800gms – brush to clean it well)
1.5L water
300gms young morning glory/kangkung (pluck the leaves only)
200gms bean sprouts (remove roots if possible)
200gms lean meat (thinly slice, marinate with a bit soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil)
300gms medium sized prawns (peel and remove vein, marinate with a bit soy sauce, pepper and a pinch of sugar)
1 cup lobster stock
1 cup meat stock
2-3 pieces of fish cake (slice thinly)
3 shallots (slice)
1 clove garlic (finely chop)
7-8 tsp chili boh (refer below for recipe)
600gms yellow noodles (wash away the lye water in running water)
Soy sauce
Sesame Oil
Oil
Salt & pepper to taste

INGREDIENTS FOR CHILI BOH:
In case you can’t get the ready blended chili paste, just blend all the ingredients below with a bit of water. Freeze the balance until needed.
20gms dried chilies (remove seed, soak in hot water for 10minutes, drain)
4 fresh red chilies (remove seed & cut into chunks)
1/2 tsp salt

GARNISHES:
4 sticks crabsticks (cut into strips, deep fried until crispy)
1 stalk spring onions (finely chop)
Iceberg lettuce (optional)
Lobster shell (brush some oil on the hot boiled lobster to maintain the shiny shell)

PREPARATIONS:
• Heat up the 1.5L water in a wok on MEDIUM-HIGH heat and add in 1 tsp of salt.
• When the water boils, put in the lobster and cook for about 12-15 minutes.
• Remove the lobster and apply some oil on the shell to maintain the shining red color.
• Take out the lobster flesh and cut into bite chunks.
• Sift the boiled stock to be used later.
• Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil, add in the chopped garlic and stir fry until fragrant.
• Add in 1 teaspoon of chili boh and fry until fragrant.
• Pour in the prawns and stir fry until curl. Do not overcook it. Scoop up and cut the prawns into halves. Stir fry again until they are in twisted curls. Add in the boiled lobster flesh and sliced fish cakes. Stir evenly. Scoop up and leave aside.
• Add in another 2 tablespoons of oil, 1 teaspoon of chili boh, the sliced meat and stir fry until cook.
• In the same wok, add in some more oil and saute the sliced shallot until golden brown.
• Add in 4-5 teaspoons of chili boh (depends on your spicy level) and stir fry until fragrant.
• Pour in the cups of lobster and meat stock and let it boil.
• Add in 2 tablespoons of soy sauce, a pinch of salt and a light sprinkle of pepper to taste.
• When the soup boils, add in the morning glory, noodles and stir thoroughly until the soup almost dry.
• Add in the bean sprouts and stir until translucent.
• Add in the cooked items such as the lobster flesh, prawns, meat and fish cake. Stir mix thoroughly.
• Scoop up the noodles onto a serving plate. Garnish with some deep fried crabsticks and chopped spring onions.
• Serve hot.

(Serves: 3-4)

Enjoy your appetizing noodles~ Good Luck!

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Most people would love to have sweet desserts for tea. For my case, savory items would suit me better as it’s another way to control my blood sugar level. Nobody would believe that I created these yummy snacks for tea mostly with leftovers~ Haha! Well, I have some puff dough left in my freezer as well as some mushroom gravy I have in stock from my previous grilled meat dishes. I just added some finely cut chicken slices to the mushroom gravy and that became my filling for my CHICKEN & MUSHROOM PUFF BOAT.

I learned the puff pastry from Gordan Ramsey’s Rough Puff Pastry recipe. Let me show you my mushroom gravy recipe instead which would serve as a great sauce for any grilled, batter coated or breadcrumb coated meat dishes. As for the balance of the cut dough, I simply wrap around some boiled cocktail sausages to come out with another snack I called COCKTAIL PUFF. Another bonus snack~ 😛

INGREDIENTS FOR MUSHROOM GRAVY: (Make about 4 cups)
250gms dried Shitake mushrooms (soak in hot water & slice thinly) or 400gms fresh mushrooms (slice thinly)
60gms butter (about 1/8 of a 454gms block of butter)
1/3 cup flour (sift)
900ml meat or vegetable stock
1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp brandy/whiskey
Salt & freshly grounded black pepper to taste

INGREDIENTS FOR CHICKEN & MUSHROOM FILLING:
300gms chicken breast meat (slice & coarsely cut into bits)

GARNISHES:
Cherry tomatoes & micro greens

PREPARATIONS:
• Melt the butter in a large saucepan/wok on MEDIUM-HIGH heat.
• When the butter sizzle, add the mushrooms and sauté until dry with golden brown color for about 10 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to MEDIUM and stir in the sifted flour. Cook for about 5 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to LOW and slowly whisk in the meat/vegetables stock.
• Add in the mixed herbs and let it simmer for 25-30 minutes (or until your preferred thickness) while stirring occasionally to avoid the base being burnt.
• Add in the brandy/whiskey, salt and freshly grounded black pepper to taste. Now you have your sauce to serve with any meat dishes.
• As for the chicken & mushroom filling, just leave about 1/4 of the gravy (about a cup with mushrooms) and pour in the chicken meat. Slowly saute until cook. If the gravy is too thick or salty, just add a bit of hot water to dilute it. Roughly drain the gravy into any existing gravy stock you have left.
• As for the puff pastry (based on my displayed photo), cut the rolled dough into 2″ x 4″ rectangular. For every 2 pieces, cut a hole in one and lay it on another whole pastry. The remaining cut piece you can use it to wrap around a boiled cocktail sausage to avoid wastage.
• Glaze your baking tray with some butter.
• Place your puff pastries on it and brush evenly with some butter.
• Preheat your oven on 210°C-220°C for 10 minutes.
• Place your baking tray inside and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

• When the puff pastries are done, use a butter knife to flatten the inner layer.

• Fill them up with the chicken & mushroom filling. Garnish with cherry tomato and micro greens. Note: Try not to have any gravy in the puff pastries as it would wet the base.
• Serve hot

(Makes: 12-15pcs)

Do enjoy your simple snacks~ 🙂

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Nobody could resist the #1 dish in the world as rated by CNNGo if not for the rich and balanced flavors in sweetness, saltiness, sourness and spiciness. What’s the name of that dish? It’s the infamous Thailand’s Massaman Curry~ Slurps~ You can cook the curry with beef, lamb and poultry with this curry recipe but I prefer chicken as it’s easier to tenderize the meat and faster to heal my hungry tummy! Haha! Anyway, let me share with you my version of Chicken Massaman Curry or commonly known as Gaeng Matsaman Gai (แกงมัสมั่นไก่) in Thailand. Having Thai dishes in the comfort of your home would be a reality now~ Enjoy cooking! 🙂

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 chicken drumsticks/500gms chicken breast meat (remove bones & cut into chunks)
2 big potatoes (remove skin, cut into chunks & deep fry until cook)
1 big onion (cut into wedges)
1-2 red/green chili (remove seeds & cut into 6 pieces)
15 cherry tomatoes
4 cloves garlic (smash & remove skin)
3 leaves kaffir lime leaves
1 1/2 cups tamarind juice (3” tamarind ball in hot water/3 tbsp tamarind paste in water)
1 cup thick coconut milk/cream (use evaporated milk if none)
100gms cashew nuts/peanuts (deep fry until golden brown & keep some for garnishing)
5 tbsp oil
1-2 tbsp brown/palm sugar (Gula Melaka) to taste
Fish sauce & pepper to taste
50gms massaman curry paste (use the recipe below or just buy the Mae Pranom brand aka “lady head” brand from your nearest hypermarket)
Soy sauce

OPTIONAL:
1 round aubergine (cut into bite size)
10 leaves Thai basil/3 bay leaves
5 cili padi/red chili flakes (for spicier version)

GARNISHES:
Cilantro leaves/micro cilantro
Cashew nuts
Tomatoes

PREPARATIONS:
• Marinate your cut chicken pieces with some soy sauce and a light sprinkle of pepper for 30 minutes.
• Heat up some oil and deep fry the potatoes chunks until golden brown. Scoop and leave aside.
• Pour in the cashew nuts and deep fry until golden brown. Place on a kitchen towel to drain the excess oil.
• Leave about 5 tablespoons of oil and saute the smashed garlic until fragrant.
• Add in 1/4 cup of the coconut cream and cook until the oil surface.
• Add in the massaman curry paste and saute until fragrant.
• Add in the chicken pieces, chilies and onions and stir until the onions look translucent.
• Add in the tamarind juices and cook the chicken until tender.
• Add in the kaffir lime leaves, fried potatoes and balance of the coconut cream.
• When the gravy thickens to your preference, add in fish sauce, palm sugar and pepper to taste. You may add in some hot water if it is too thick due to the starch coming from the potatoes.
• Add in the cherry tomatoes and let it simmer for another 3 minutes.
• Add in the cashew nuts and stir evenly.
• Scoop up on a serving plate. Garnish with some cashew nuts, micro cilantro/cilantro leaves and tomatoes. Serve with hot steaming rice.

(Serves: 5-6)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Massaman Curry Paste Recipe: (Make about 1 cup)

5 cloves garlic (bawang putih)
3 shallots (bawang merah)
1-2 red chilies (depending on your spicy level)
1 stalk lemongrass (serai – mince finely)
1 1/2” galangal (lengkuas – thinly slice)
1 tsp grated kaffir lime skin (kulit limau purut)
1/2 tsp fennel (pokok adas)
1 tsp ground coriander (ketumbar)
1/2 tbsp ground cumin (jintan putih)
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon (kulit kayu manis)
1/8 tsp ground cloves (bunga cengkih)
1/4 tsp ground cardamom (pelaga)
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg (buah pala)
2 tbsp fish sauce (nam pla)
1 tsp toasted/raw shrimp paste (belacan)

Method: Put all in a blender and blend everything into a paste. Put in a jar and refrigerate for future usages.

Sometimes we yearn for dishes that were served to us during our childhood years and one of the dishes that would make me crave endlessly even as an adult would be the simple meatball dish. Let me share with you my all time favorite MEATBALLS IN GRAVY recipe with lots of potatoes and carrots. It was another way my Mum managed to convince me to eat more vegetables when I was a kid. Well~ She succeeded! Haha! 😛

INGREDIENTS:

GROUP A:
300gms minced meat (chicken, pork, beef, lamb of your choice)
1 small onion (finely chop)
1 tbsp spring onion (finely chop)
1 tbsp corn flour (if chicken – half the amount)
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
Pepper

GROUP B:
1 small onion (cut in wedges)
1 cup meat stock/water
3-4 tbsp mushroom sauce/vegetarian oyster sauce/oyster sauce
1 tbsp corn flour (mix with some water)
Salt & pepper to taste
Oil

GROUP C:
2 big potatoes (remove skin, dice, deep fry until golden brown)
1 big carrot (remove skin, dice, blanch)
1 big tomato (remove seed, dice)

GARNISHES:
Spring onions

PREPARATIONS:
• Mix everything in Group A thoroughly and marinate in chiller for 30 minutes. Make into small even sized balls and place on a flat tray.
• Heat up enough oil in a wok and deep fry the diced potatoes until golden brown. Scoop and leave aside.
• With the same heated oil, deep fry the meatballs until brown. Scoop and leave aside.
• Filter the oil and leave about 1-2 tablespoons of oil in the wok.
• Saute your onion wedges until translucent.
• Add in the meat stock, mushroom sauce, salt and pepper to taste. (DO NOT make it too salty as the flavors from the meatballs would give it the adequate flavors)
• Thicken it slightly with some corn flour in water.
• Pour in everything in GROUP C (deep fried potatoes, blanched carrot dices, tomato dices) and deep fried meatballs and let it simmer in LOW fire for 2-3 minutes.
• Scoop up on a serving plate, garnish with some spring onions and serve with hot steaming rice.

(Serves: 3-4)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Not many people are aware of the benefits you would get by occasionally having Aspic in your diet. Aspic would normally consist of well cooked items such as meat, seafood, vegetables or even fruits in a jellied meat stock. It’s a healthy calcium-packed cold appetizer where the natural gelatin in the meat stock would boast stronger joints and bones. I have created a recipe here where I had infused this Russian style staple food with some twists by using some Japanese ingredients. Let’s enjoy this SEAFOOD ASPIC WITH FRUITS & VEGETABLES recipe for a healthier lifestyle. 🙂

Here’s the recipe for making the meat stock which eventually after chilled would become the aspic.

INGREDIENTS:

GELATIN MEAT STOCK:
1kg chicken feet (wash with salt and drain well)
1 big carrot (roughly chop up)
1 large onion (roughly chop up)
1 stalk celery (roughly chop up)
250gms jicama (roughly chop up)
3 small bay leaves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2L water

As each individual would have their own cooked items to add in the aspic, I would just show you what cooked items I’ve used as below:
Chuka Idako (Japanese seasoned baby octopus)
Baby shrimps
Crab Meat
Ebiko
Seedless grapes
Blanched carrot
Blanched broccoli

PREPARATIONS:
• Bring 2L of water to boil in a pressure cooker.
• Add in all the ingredients above and pressurized under MEDIUM-LOW fire for 20 minutes.
• After the pressure has been released from the cooker about 10-15 minutes later, use a cloth sieve to filter out the cooked items. You would get about 1L of meat stock.
(Alternatively, you can use a normal stove and boil the ingredients under MEDIUM-LOW fire until you get half the portion left, meaning from 2L of liquid until 1L left.)
• Get a deep bowl/plate/any container of your preference.
• Lay your cooked ingredients of your choice layer by layer in the container, leaving the heaviest last as it would prevent the lighter cooked ingredient from floating up.
• Pour the meat stock into the container slowly until it covers just at the last ingredient.
• Chill for 2-3 hours for the natural gelatin to harden.
• When the dish is ready, turn it upside down on a flat plate.
• Serve chilled.

Note: The balance of the meat stock can be stored in the freezer and reused by adding in other ingredients as another soup.

(Serves: 1-10)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

Steamed eggs and steamed tofu dishes are quite common household dishes. What would happen when you merge two of them together? You’ll get a totally out of this world healthy dish I called STEAMED TOFU & EGGS WITH PUMPKIN PUREE. It’s simple to cook and yet nutritious to the body~ 🙂

Here’s the recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

1 box prepacked tofu
2 eggs
300gms ripe pumpkin (remove skin and blend with 1/2 cup hot water)
3 Tbsp dried shrimps (soak, drain and sauté)
3 cloves garlic (chop and sauté in oil)
1/2 cup meat/vegetables stock
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Salt
Pepper
Oil
Water

GARNISHES:
Sautéed garlic with oil
Deep fried dried shrimps
Chopped spring onions

OPTIONAL:
Sauteed bacon bits

PREPARATIONS:
• Heat up 3 tablespoon of oil and sauté the chopped garlic until brown. Scoop out and leave aside.
• Heat up 2 tablespoon of oil and sauté the 3 tablespoons soaked dried shrimps until fragrant. Take out 1 tablespoon and leave aside as garnishing.
• Pour in the blended pumpkin and 1/2 cup of meat/vegetables stock. Stir for 10 minutes. Add in some salt and a few sprinkles of pepper to taste. Leave aside.
• Beat up 2 eggs with 2 egg shells of water with 2 tablespoon soy sauce, 1 tablespoon sesame oil and a few sprinkles of pepper.
• Place your tofu in the middle of the low height steaming porcelain plate and pour the beaten egg surround it.
• Heat up your steamer and when the water boils, place the plate inside and steam for 10 minutes under MEDIUM-LOW fire.
• When the steamed tofu and egg is ready, spread the cooked pumpkin on top of the tofu.
• Garnish with garlic in oil, sauteed dried shrimps and chopped spring onions. For those who like to have an added saltiness, you can also garnish with some sauteed bacon bits.
• Serve hot.

(Serves: 3-4)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

There are many choices of canapés to bring along to parties or even to serve during your own hosted parties. Are yours the ones to impress everyone? Let me share with you a simple yet delicious canapé I created which I called the CRAB MAYONNAISE & PRAWN CANAPE WITH WASABI BALL which would surely make those diners yearning for more. These colorful cuties have the taste of Western canapés with a touch of Eastern influence. Do enjoy! 🙂

Here’s the quick and delicious canape recipe:

INGREDIENTS:

GROUP A: (crab meat mayonnaise spread)
100gm fresh crab meat (steam & drain well)
3 Tbsp mayonnaise
1 small onion (finely brunoise)
2 tsp parley stalk (finely chop)
Black pepper

GROUP B:
3-4 pcs flat bread (Pita, Focaccia, Tortilla, etc, cut into 60mm round or square)
1 box of small tomatoes (cherry or honey tomatoes, 4 cuts into blossom, remove seeds)
50gms baby prawns (steam & drain well)
Olive oil

GARNISHES:
Parsley leaves (chop & whole)
Ebiko (prawn roes)
Wasabi (make into 5mm diameter balls)

PREPARATIONS:
• Mix everything in GROUP A and put back in chiller.
• Cut the baby tomatoes 4 cuts (8 petals), Remove seeds if possible.
• Put a steamed baby prawn in between the tomato petals. Chill them.
• Cut your bread into 60mm round or square to your preferences. I use pita bread here as I like the slightly firm crust and yet soft inner texture after baking.
• Brush the surface of the cut bread with some olive oil and bake in 170°C for 3 minutes.
• To present the canape, just take a teaspoon of the crab mixture and roughly spread evenly on the toasted bread. Sprinkle with some chopped parsley. Lay the stuffed tomatoes on it. Garnish with some ebiko, wasabi ball and a whole parley leaf.
• Serve immediately

(Make: 15-20)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.