Soy Sauce Chicken Wings

 Soy sauce chicken wings is one of my favourite dishes and this blog shows a few ways of preparing this dish.

Fry and Braise chicken wings

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 pounds chicken wings 4 slices ginger 2 scallions 1 tablespoon Canola or vegetable oil Marinate: 2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine 3 tablespoons light soy sauce 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce 1 teaspoon sugar

Video shows how to cook this dish

Braised Chicken Wings

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 pounds chicken wings 3 and 1/2 cup of water 2 star anise 2 bay leaves 2 pieces of rock sugar or 1 tsp regular sugar 4 ginger slices 1/2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns 2 tbsp light soy sauce 2 tbsp dark soy sauce (substitute with light soy if not available) 2 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine (substitute with chicken stock if you can't have alcohol) 1/2 tsp salt

Video shows how to prepare dish

Bake, Air Fried and Pan Fried chicken wings

Ingredients

2kg chicken wings 3 tablespoons light soy sauce 3 tablespoons oyster sauce 1 teaspoon sugar 1 teaspoon salt 4 cloves garlic 2 stalks spring onion A few dashes of white pepper

Video shows the 3 ways of cooking the dishes

How To Open A Jar Without Straining Your Wrist

I recently bought a jar of honey and to my surprise, I could not open it. It is not big, just 400 gm of honey.

I had to ask Google for help and I am glad I found this video.

Just use a small spoon and pry open the lid gently. Its done when you hear the lid pop.


Enjoy this short video.

How To Make Belacan or Shrimp Paste

I use belacan (or belachan) quite often in my cooking. It is nice to know how the belacan is made.

The main ingredient for making belacan is tiny shrimps, also known as krill.

Short video on how to make shrimp paste.

Sweet Potato Leaves Health Benefits

Sweet potato  leaves contain nutrients such as dietary fiber, niacin, thiamine, beta-carotene, vitamins A, B, C, D, E, and K. It also contains minerals such as sodium, potassium, aluminum, boron, copper, calcium, zinc, magnesium, phosphorus, manganese, and sulfur.





A 2 minute video on the health benefits of sweet potato leaves.


 



A 5 minute video on harvesting and cooking sweet potato leaves. In this video, Wendi stir fry the leaves with soya bean paste.






My favourite is to stir fry the sweet potato leaves with sambal belachan. In this video the chef uses kang kong (water spinach) instead of sweet potato leaves.

Recipe - Sea Salt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Young or old, the chocolate chip cookies are always a treat. You can enjoy these delicious cookies as a snack between meals or have them after meals as a dessert. These chocolate cookies are great for parties. Best of all, you can make them yourselves.



Ingredients

113 g butter
25g granulated sugar
25g raw sugar
120g brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
220 g plain flour
200 g chocolate chunk
Sea salt Flakes

Method

Preheat oven 180c

In a mixing bowl
Cream sugars and butter for 5 min on medium speed
Add egg and vanilla, mix on medium speed
Add salt and baking soda, mix on medium speed
Add flour, mix on low speed
Add chocolate, mix by hand
Scoop into balls
Sprinkle on sea salt
Bake for 12 min (for soft cookie) or 14 min (for crunchier cookie); add 1 more min if baking from frozen dough

Enjoy !

  


A 7 minute video on making the perfect chocolate chip cookies




A 7 minute video on making the chocolate chip cookies without the electric mixer.




This 4 minute video explains how to make the cookies soft and chewy or thin and crisp.

Recipe - Taiwanese Papaya Milk Shake

The papaya milk shake is one of my favourite drinks. It is healthy and delicious.

Ingredients are ripe papaya, milk and ice. Sugar is optional.

Recipe - Cooking Clay Pot Rice In A Rice Cooker

Traditionally, the clay pot rice is cooked in a clay pot over a charcoal fire to give it a distinctive flavour. That was in the good old days before the electric rice cooker was invented.  A variety of ingredients, such as dried meat or sausage, pork, spare ribs or chicken can be used to give different flavours.

Typically the rice is rinsed and cooked in a clay pot until half done. The rest of the ingredients are then added and cooked over a low heat until done.

In this recipe I used the rice cooker instead of the clay pot.

Chinese sausage or lup cheong and slice pork are the main ingredients. Shitake mushrooms are added for extra flavour.


This dish goes very well with a soup.

For a complete meal, you can always add some green vegetables as a topping.

Ingredients (serves 2)

125 gms lean pork, sliced thinly.
Marinate the pork with a tsp each of dark soy, light soy, oyster sauce, sesame oil, chopped ginger and garlic, a dash of pepper and corn flour.

1 cup rice (rinsed)                                            

lup cheong

2 pcs lup cheong, slice thinly.
3 shitake mushrooms, sliced.
1 slice of ginger, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped.
1 tsp each of oyster sauce, light soy, dark soy and sesame oil.
A dash of pepper.

Method

In a pan, on medium heat, fry the lup cheong till fragrant. No oil is needed as the lup cheong is oily.

Set aside the lup cheong.

Using the leftover oil in the pan, fry the ginger, garlic and mushroom.
Toss in the rice and mixed well.
Add in the sauces (oyster sauce, light soy, dark soy and sesame oil).
Mix well and transfer the mixture into a rice cooker.

Add 3/4 cup of chicken stock to the rice mixture.
Mix well and turn on the cooker.

When the rice is cooked halfway (about 5 minutes),
Add in the marinated pork and fried lup cheong.
Add some chopped spring onions for extra flavour.

[As this stage, you can also add some green vegeatbles, like shanghai green or kai lan]

After the rice cooker turns "warm" for 10 minutes, dish and serve.

Enjoy

 


Enjoy some videos on cooking clay pot rice.

This one is from Jaden Hair (link)
She used the rice cooker.




One more video



This video shows how to cook clay pot chicken rice.





The clay pot rice is very popular in Hong Kong.

Recipe - Soya Sauce Chicken Wings

This soya sauce chicken wing recipe is a simple and delicious meal. Chicken wings are easily the the nicest part of the chicken. They are moist and juicy.


Ginger, garlic and star anise are used to add flavour to the dish.



Spring onion, sesame oil and pandan leaf add fragrance to the dish.


Ingredients (serves 2)

4 chicken wings (or 8 mid joints)
6 cloves garlic
1 thumb size ginger, chopped
1 star anise
2 stalks spring onion
1 tsp sichuan pepper corn
1 piece pandan leaf

2 tbs light soya sauce
2 tbs dark soya sauce (1 tbs normal dark and 1 tbs chicken rice dark soya sauce)

1 tsp sugar (add at last minute)

Method

Put all the ingredients in a small pot (except sugar) and mix well.

Put on lid and heat on low heat for 7 minutes.

Add 1/2 cup water, stir, bring to a boil.
Cover the pot and heat on low heat for a further 7 minutes.

Add in the sugar, give the mixture a stir and serve.

Enjoy

 


Get some tips from these videos













The soya sauce chicken is popularly known as adobo chicken in the Philippines.

Here is one video on adobo chicken

Recipe - Tropical Fruit Salad

Fruits are refreshing and very healthy. They are rich in anti-oxidants. They can be eaten anytime but it is best to eat them in-between meals for the body to fully absorb the nutrients. They also taste better when served chilled.

In this fruit salad, the Thai honey mangoes are mixed with strawberries and blueberries to give a refreshing sweet and tangy mix. You can always pick your favourite fruits and mix them for taste and for colour.

Ripe and plump Thai honey mangoes give the salad a sweet base while a sprinkling of blueberries and strawberries provides a bust of tangy flavour to the mix.

In this salad, I am using 2 portions of mangoes to 1 portion of  berries. It is really up to you.




Ingredients

2 ripe Thai honey mangoes, cut into cubes
1 punnet blueberries (125 gm)
1/2 punnet strawberries (125 gm), cut into bite size

Method

Mix them together in a large bowl and serve.

Alternatively, keep in plastic tubs and keep in the fridge for serving later.

     


Enjoy

 


Laura Vitale mixes mango, kiwi, pineapple and watermelon.
Note: Honey mango and honey pineapple are sweet. No sugar needed if these are used.





ChineseHomeCooking mixes pineapple, mango and papaya.

Recipe - Blueberry Muffins

The muffin is typically a quick bread sized for an individual and shaped like a cup. Baking soda or other leavening agents are used to leaven the bread instead of yeast.

The key to making great muffins is not over mixing the batter. Once the wet ingredients are added to the dry ingredients, gently mix them until they combine nicely. Too much mixing can cause the muffins to be dry instead being moist.

Blueberry is a fruit that is often used to make muffins. The blueberry is small and has plenty of anti-oxidants. It adds colour and flavour. Other ingredients like orange zest and cinnamon powder can be added to spruce up your muffins.

Ingredients (Makes 10 muffins)

1 large egg
1/2 cup milk                                                                            

muffin pan

140 g nonfat plain yogurt
3 tablespoons cooking oil
115 g sugar
220 g plain flour -- unsifted
1 tablespoon baking powder plus 1 teaspoon
1/8 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup fresh blueberries (about 2 punnets, each 125 g)

Method

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 200 deg C. Coat muffin tins with COOKING spray or line with muffin paper.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, yogurt, oil and sugar. Sift in flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Fold the dry ingredients onto the egg mixture. Don't over stir. Fold in the berries.

Divide batter among 10 muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops of the muffins are well risen and golden brown, and a cake tester inserted in a muffin comes out clean.

Plate and serve.

 



Get some tips from the videos on making muffins.


Blueberry muffins by Laura Vitale.




Blueberry muffins from Food Wishes





Blueberry muffins from Allrecipes.





Tips on baking muffins from eHow.

Recipe - Twice Cooked Pork Belly (Huí Guō Ròu)

Twice cooked pork belly (Huí Guō Ròu) is essentially a stir fried dish using slices of pork belly that have already been boiled for about 30 minutes. The dish has its roots in Sichuan, China known for spicy food. The dish is sweet and spicy but it is really up to you to choose what spices to add.

The pork belly is first boiled for 30 minutes to get rid of some fat and to tenderize the meat before they are sliced thinly.  The thinner the slices the nicer they taste.

Slices of spring onions and ginger are added to flavour the dish. Vegetables can be added for colour and health.

Ingredients
500 grams of pork belly (serves 5)

Spices
1 tablespoon chilli bean paste
1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn

chilli bean paste

1 tablespoon dark soy
1 teaspoon sugar
(hoisin sauce can substitute for sugar or sweet bean paste)

1 tablespoon oil for frying
1 teaspoon of slice ginger
2 sprigs of spring onion cut into inch length.

Method

(A)Bring a pot of water to the boil, add in the pork belly.
Lower the heat to medium low and let the pork belly simmer for about 30 minutes.

Let the pork cool and cut into thin slices.
(Note: It is easier to cut the pork belly if it is chilled for about an hour)


(B) Heat the oil in a wok or pan till hot
Toss in the sliced pork and fry for a minute.
Drain any excess oil.

(C) Add the chilli bean paste, dark soy and sugar.
Stir fry for another minute and serve.

Enjoy.

   


Some videos on twice cook pork belly.





This dish is also a Taiwanese favourite.




Tom Lin uses lean pork and lots of vegetables.




Chef Eric adds long beans and leek to the pork belly.

Recipe - How To Make Tom Yum Soup

The clear tom yum soup with prawns is my favourite Thai recipe. Somehow, the combination of the tom yum trio of herbs lemongrass, galangal and kaffir lime leaves gives this dish a unique flavour like no other.

When I think of prawns, I will think of this Thai tom yum soup. This tom yum soup also goes very well with other seafood, like squid, clams and mussels.

Typically, fish sauce (or light soy) and lime juices are added to give the exquisite sour and salty taste. Chillies can be added to spice up the dish.

This tom yum soup is relatively easy to prepare. It is also very healthy. The best part is you cannot go wrong preparing this dish. There are many ways to prepare this dish. You can either cook all the ingredients in one go or you can prepare the stock separately.

In this recipe, I prepare the stock separately. It is easier for eating.

Ingredients (serves 4)

16 prawns (shelled and de-vein with tails on)
Keep the shells and head to make stock.
2 squids, clean and cut into rings (optional)
1 can of straw mushrooms, cut into halves to drain off the salt.

2 tbs fish sauce or light soy (to taste)
Juices from 3 limes (to taste)
1 tomato, slice (optional, for taste and health)
1 sprig of coriander leaf (chopped) for garnishing.

Herbs

2 stalks lemon grass, bruised and cut into inch length
5 pcs kaffir lime leaves, bruised
1 pc galangal, cut into slices
1 large onion, sliced (for extra flavour and health)

Method

In a pot, bring 1.5 litre of water to the boil
Add lemon grass, lime leaves, galangal and onion.
Add prawn shells.
Bring to a boil and let mixture simmer for about 20 minutes.
You should be able to smell the fragrance.
Drain the stock.

Use the same pot or another pot, heat the stock and bring to boil.

Toss in the prawns, tomato, mushrooms and squid.
Add fish sauce to taste
Bring to a boil and soup is ready.
Add lime juice and taste.

Serve and garnish with coriander leaves.

Yummy

 


Get some yips from the videos.

Mark Weins cooks everything together.




Another delightful way. Hot Thai Kitchen cooks the prawn stock separately.



Here is how she cooks the prawn stock




This chef uses ready made Thai tom yum paste which can be bought from the suprmarket

Recipe - Pan Fry White Snapper Fillet With Thai Chilli Sauce

The white snapper fish is native to the Pacific and Indian oceans. It lives among the reefs in schools (link).  It is a lean fish with mild flavour.

In this recipe, I use the white snapper fillet which I bought frozen.

It is quite easy to pan fry the fish fillet. In normal pan fry, I would just season the fillet with a bit of salt and pepper and flavour with lemon juice after it is pan fried. It is tasty and delicious on its own.

In this recipe, I make a Thai chilli sauce as a topping for the fish. This will give the fish a sweet, sour and salty taste.

For this recipe, I thaw the fish, pat dry and season lightly with pepper. No salt is added as I am making a sauce for topping.


Ingredients (serves 3)

pan fry snapper

3 white snapper fillet, about 100 gms each
Dash of pepper
3 tbs of cooking oil

Thai Chilli Sauce

Half cup water
2 tbs lime juice (vinegar or tamarind juice)
1 tsp sugar
1 tbs light soy or fish sauce
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 small red chillis (chilli padi), chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 sprig of coriander leaves for garnishing

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Method

Pat dry the snapper fillet with paper towel
Season with a dash of pepper on the flesh side.
Sprinkle with corn flour on both sides and shake off excess.

In a pan or skillet, heat the oil till hot but not smoking.
Place the fillet in the pan flesh side side down.
(A good practice is to place the presentation side down first)
Cook until golden, about 3 minutes.

Turn the fish over and cooked for 3 more minutes.
The fish should be done.

Plate the fish and put aside.

In the same pan, pour in the thai chilli sauce ingredients and cooked until mixture boils.
Reduce heat and let simmer for a minute to release flavour.
Add more water if necessary.

Pour sauce over the fish or on the side as you wish.

Serve and enjoy !

 



A nice 15 minute video on pan fry fish fillet with sweet and sour sauce




This 5 minute video shows a whole fried fish with Thai chilli sauce, in Thai





Another way of pan fry fish fillet with dijon mustard and ginger and other condiments.

How To Avoid Alzheimer Disease

No More Alzheimers:

Prevention is the Cure

Would you like to know how to recognise and prevent Alzheimer's disease?

Neal Barnard MD can tell you this and much more about Alzheimers and dementia, right now, in a special, fantastic 1-hour video presentation.

Seafood Pyramid

Recipe - Braised Pork Trotters Bee Hoon

The canned pork trotter or pork leg combines very well with the bee hoon (rice vermicelli) to make this a flavourful and tasty one dish meal. By itself the canned pork trotter has an aromatic flavour so there is no need to add other flavours.


Vegetables are added for colour and vitamins and also to make this a healthy meal. I add cai xin (chye sim) and bean sprouts. Other vegetables that go well with bee hoon would include cabbage, broccoli, xiao pai chye and carrots.


The can of pork leg comes with mushroom and chestnut.
You can add more mushrooms or black fungus (soaked in water) for variety.



Ingredients (serves 3)

1 can pork leg (397 gm)
200 gms bee hoon (half a packet)
200 gms cai xin (washed and cut)

narcissus pork leg

100 gms bean sprouts
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tbs oil

Sauce
1 tbs oyster sauce
1 tbs light soy
a dash of pepper

Method

Soak the bee hoon in water for 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Mix the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a wok or pan and toss in the garlic.
Fry till fragrant.

Toss in the vegetables (except bean sprout), pork trotters and fry for a minute.

Toss in the bee hoon and the sauce. Mix well and make sure the bee hoon is covered with the braising liquid. Add more water if necessary. Cover the wok and let the bee hoon braised for about 5 minutes.

Toss in the bean sprouts at the last minute. Stir well for a minute and serve.

Enjoy

 

How To Peel A Hard Boiled Egg

Put the eggs in  water, bring to a boil. Once water is boiling, remove from heat and let stand for 15 to 17 minutes.........Place in a water bath. Let stand for a couple of hours, if not the day before and they should peel real easy.


Video show how.

Recipe - How To Clean A Squid

Sydney Fish Market takes you through the different kinds of Squid available at the market and how to prepare one for cooking.






A nice way to cook squid - stir fry with garlic, black peppercorns, shrimp paste and spring onions.

Recipe - Pumpkin Rice

Pumpkin and rice go very well together. The pumpkin gives a cheery bright colour to the rice and add natural sweetness and flavour as well. This is a very nice and easy way to add essential vitamins and minerals to your daily diet.

The vivid orange flesh hints of the rich antioxidants found in the pumpkin. It is loaded with vitamin A and alpha and beta-carotenes, while also being a good source of vitamins C, K, and E and minerals which include magnesium, potassium and iron.

Antioxidants play a role in cancer prevention while magnesium and potassium help keep muscles functioning at their best.

In this recipe, I just added some pumpkin to the rice and it is good on its own. I had side dishes to go with it. But if you like, some meat can also be added for protein and it can be a one dish meal.

I cook the rice in a rice cooker  and just add the cubed pumpkin.

Ingredients (serves 4)

2 cups of rice
3 cups of water
About 150 grams of pumpkins (2 cm cube) and without skin.
Note: some people left the skin on.

Method

Place all ingredients into rice cooker pot and let the rice cooker do the cooking.
Serve when the rice is done.

 


In this 3 minute video, the pumpkin rice is cooked in a pot.
Good idea to garnish with spring onion.





This next video (11 minutes) is in Taiwanese, a mixture of hokkien and mandarin, pork ribs are cooked together with the pumpkin rice.