Healthy Black Glutinous Rice Chicken Soup

The black glutinous rice is named as the "black pearl (黑珍珠)" in chinese medical terms. It is known for its many health benefits because of high protein, iron, calcium, vitamins B1, B2 and many other minerals. Chinese physicians claim that black glutinous rice is great to be eaten during summer as it is good for the gastric and stomach. Also it can replenish stamina 养气. Isn't black glutinous rice wonderful?

How did I chance upon the dish? My hubby and I was at East Ocean restaurant located at Scotts for dim sum. Well, I love soups so I asked what was their soup of the day. "Why not try our black glutinous rice chicken soup. It is good for your stamina and health." recommended by the manager. So we tried it and I was indeed impressed.
The inquisitive mind took over and I did an online search. It was not a common dish. However, with some luck, I managed to pin some references from some Chinese website. I made some changes to recipe and give it a try.

Recipe (6 servings)

Ingredients

• Half a Fresh Chicken, cut into pieces
• 1/2 cup of Black Glutinous Rice
• 4 litres of water
• 1 small handful of 玉竹 yu zhu, approximately 6 pieces
• 1 tbsp heapful of Wolfberries 枸杞子
• Salt, sugar and pepper

Steps

1. Soak the black glutinous rice in water for 30 minutes.
2. Boil the water in a pot.
3. Using 250ml of boiling water to scald the chicken pieces in a bowl.
4. Add scalded chicken pieces, black glutinous rice and yu zhu into the pot of boiling water. Slow boil with low heat for 2 hours.
5. Add wolberries and boil for another 30 minutes.
6. Add salt, sugar and pepper to taste.

This soup is best taken hot. Enjoy!

Surprisingly Good Classic Brownies

Two of my old ex-classmates came over for dinner. One of my friends, www, loves western food especially American food. Hence I made a 4 course American themed dinner for them.

These may looked ordinary. But if eaten a day after it is baked, you will slave for it. My husband and I felt that brownies should never eaten on it's own as it is rather rich for the palate and best served warm with vanilla ice-cream. It is really addictive. Although, I am a non-chocolate fan, I was totally won over by this recipe.

Recipe for a 9 inch x 9 inch tray

Base
100g Butter
80g Sugar
1 Egg
200g Plain flour
50g Cocoa powder
1/2 tsp Baking powder

Steps

1. Beat butter and sugar till creamy.
2. Add in egg and mix well.
3. Add in flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Mix well.
4. Line tray with baking sheet, grease it.
5. Put the dough into the tin. Pat the dough evenly.
6. Bake for 8 minutes in 150 degree celsius pre-heated oven.

Cake
4 Eggs
250g Sugar
200g Plain flour
50g Cocoa Powder
1 tsp baking powder
200g Mixed nuts (chopped)
50g Chocolate Chips
180g Butter
300g Chocolate

Steps:

1. Using a double-boiler, melt chocolate and butter into liquid state. Remove from heat.
2. Beat sugar and eggs till thick, white and foamy.
3. Add in flour, baking powder and cocoa powder. Mix well.
4. Add in cooled melted chocolate mixture.
5. Stir well.
6. Add in chopped nuts and chocolate chips. Mix well.
7. Add to the baked 1st layer. Sprinkle some nuts and chocolate chips on the top of the brownies.
8. Bake for 45 minutes in a 160 degree celsius pre-heated oven.
9. Best eaten a day after.

Brownies lovers, this is a recipe to keep in your safe.

Singapore Laksa from scratch!

What is the dish you would name it uniquely Singaporean? There has been a long lasting debate on this. I would say that it is largely subjective and personal. Well, for me... I would personally crown LAKSA as an iconic representation of Singapore Food.

I love the nice blend of taste from the tropical spices and the fresh coconut milk. The rice noodles gives a tender and smooth touch to the exotic gravy. And what I like most is that the gravy goes well with most accompanying ingredients such as cockles (awww...), prawns, fish cakes, fishballs, crayfish, shellfish, cuttlefish, yong tau foo and many more..

However there is something you cannot miss out in this dish. Yes, Laksa leaves. I simply love smelling the plant. Each individual leaf is pumped with fragrance waiting to fill your nose and trigger your appetite. If you have green fingers, you may want to try growing the plant and somehow it seems thirsty all the time.

Recipe (5 Servings)

Ingredients

Laksa Paste

• 80g of dried chilli, soak in hot water for 1 hour
• 6 large red chilli
• 15 Shallots
• 7 Garlic
• 2 inches of Blue Ginger (Galangal)
• 2 inches of Yellow Ginger (Tumeric)
• 4 lemon grasses (just the bottom 3 inches of the stem)
• 10 Candlenuts
• 1 1/2 inches of Prawn paste (Belacan)
• 5 tbsp of Dried shrimps, soak in hot water for 1 hour and blend till fine
• 2 tbsp Coriander powder
• Cooking Oil

Steps

1. Blend all the ingredients into a paste (except prawn paste, coriander powder, dried shrimps and oil).
2. Heat the wok, fry the prawn paste till fragrant. Remove.
3. In the same wok, add 5 tbsp of cooking oil.
4. Add in the blended paste. Saute over medium fire. Add in belacan.
5. Saute till fragrant and oil separates from paste.
6. Add in coriander powder. Stir well. Remove from wok.
7. In the same wok, add 3 tbsp of cooking oil. Add in blended dried shrimps. Fry till fragrant.
8. Add in the laksa paste. stir well.
9. Remove from heat.

Ingredients

Laksa gravy and condiments

• 500ml Coconut milk
• 1 litre water
• Rice noodles
• 5 pieces of Dried beancurd, cut into slices
• 2 pieces of Fish Cakes, pan fried and cut into thin slices
• 5 Hard boiled Eggs, cut into thin slices or quadrants
• Shrimps, boiled in the above-mentioned water (keep the water as stock)
• Laksa leaves, chopped
• 1 tbsp Sugar
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps

1. In the wok with prepared laksa paste, add in water and bring it to boil.
2. Add in dried beancurd and cook it till softened.
3. Add in coconut milk. Boil at low heat. Do not use high heat as coconut milk may curdle.
4. Add in sugar and salt, then remove from heat.
5. In a separate pot, boil individual portions of rice noodles for 2 minutes. Drain the noodles well.
6. Pour the gravy over the noodles. Plate it with your favourite condiments.
7. Enjoy!

Scrumptious Pork Belly with Crispy Sesame Buns

Sometimes an idea just come and hit you right at the head! Bang! "Why didn't I think of that?" I have a strip of pork belly and a packet of buns in the fridge. Let's make some Chinese burgers and add a twist to it! Let's make it crispy and most importantly fast and easy to cook!

I make this dish within an hour. And my most loyal food critic/ fan (also known as my hubby) gave the dish TWO thumbs up and a wide grin. He said,"Why didn't you make these earlier?" Haha!

The difference between steamed buns and fried sesame buns is that the fried buns contrast the texture with the pork and gives the mouth a tantalizing experience. The sesame seeds also enhance the taste of the pork. But remember to eat the burgers when it is warm.

Recipe (5 burgers)

Ingredients

• 300g Pork Belly, cut into 1 inch strips
• 1 Big Red Onion, cut into thin slices
• 5 Buns
• 1 Egg
• 2 tbsp Sesame seeds
• 2 tbsp Oyster sauce
• 1 tsp Dark Soya Sauce
• 1 tsp Light Soya Sauce
• 1 tsp Sesame oil
• 1/4 tsp Salt
• 1/4 tsp Pepper
• Water
• 1 tsp cornstarch, mix with 50ml of water
• Cooking Oil

Steps (Meat filling):

1. Marinate the pork belly with oyster sauce, dark soya sauce, light soya sauce and sesame oil for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the wok with 1tbsp of cooking oil. Add into onions. Fry till fragrant.
3. Add in marinated pork. Stir well for 2 minutes.
4. Add in 100ml of water. Add in salt and pepper and another 1/2 tsp of dark soya sauce and a dash of sesame oil.
5. Simmer in low heat for 8 minutes.
6. When gravy is reduced and thickened, add cornstarch mix slowly. Stir well.
7. Stop adding cornstarch mix when gravy coats the meat well.
8. Remove from heat.

Steps (Buns):

1. Beat the egg in a bowl.
2. Coat the top part of the bun lightly with egg.
3. Coat the egg covered portion with sesame seeds.
4. Let it rest for 5 minutes.
5. While waiting, prepare a wok/ pan with oil for frying.
6. To test if the oil is ready for frying, use a dry chopstick and stick inside the oil. If you see bubbles sizzle from the chopstick, it means it is ready.
7. Using low-medium fire, deep fry the buns.
8. Remove when golden brown.
9. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Coriander-Lemon Crab Prawn Salad with Avocado Bits

I am sure everyone has this urge to duplicate the recipe when you chanced upon an excellent dish.

It was my hubby's birthday and we went to DB Bistro Moderne at Marina Bay Sands. The service was excellent and we were introduced to "Crab Salad" as it was the special of the day. As expected, we enjoyed it thoroughly. "I wish I could make that!" I said to myself.

I surfed the net and browsed Daniel Boulud's links. After some research, I came up with this recipe. It tastes refreshing and definitely a keep! Great for a warm day or evening appertizer!

Recipe (for 5 servings)

Ingredients

• 1 cup of Crab meat
• 8 medium-sized Prawns, boiled till cooked (turned red), cut into 1/2 cm dices
• 1/2 Cucumber, remove seeds and cut into 1/2 cm dices
• 1/2 Avocado, cut into 1/2 cm dices
• 1 small Red Onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoon of chopped Coriander leaves
• 2 tablespoon Lemon juice
• A dash of Parprika
• 1/2 tsp Grated Lemon Peel
• 4 tbsp of Mayonnaise
• 1/4 tsp salt and 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup of shredded iceberg lettuce

Steps:

1. Prepare the ingredients.

• Crab: Steam 2 live medium-sized crabs for about 7-8 minutes and deshell them to get approximately 1 cup of meat. You may opt to buy ready-deshelled crab meat available in Cold Storage.
• Prawns: Boil prawns in a pot of boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove and deshell.
• Avocado: Drizzle 1 tsp of lemon juice to avocado to prevent it from browning (Oxidize).

1. Mix crab meat, prawn, cucumber, avocado, chopped coriander and onion in a mixing bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, prepare the sauce. Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, parprika, lemon peel, salt and black pepper.
3. Mix the ingredients with the sauce well. Do not stir too vigorously as the crab meat will disintegrate. You want to 'eat' the crab meat.
4. Keep in refrigerator for at least 20 minutes.
5. Lay the plate with shredded iceberg lettuce, top with the prepared salad.
6. You may drizzle the sauce at the side of the plate.
7. Serve cold.

My Little Nyonya Dumplings

On the fifth day, fifth month of the chinese calendar, the chinese worship to a patriotic poet and stateman, Qu Yuan, (278 BC) whom ended his life by drowning himself in a river as an act to show his loyalty to the country. The legend says that the commoners were worried that the fish and sea

creatures might eat Qu Yuan's body hence made dumplings and threw them into the river to feed the fish. Boats were also sent out to retrieve Qu Yuan's body and scare away the fish.

Hence on this day, we have dumplings to enjoy and dragonboat races to watch. This festival is often called Duan Wu Festival, Dumping Festival or Dragonboat Festival. Actually, I am an ex-dragonboater. The sport is extremely addictive but I had to stop as my back was starting to hurt. I really miss those days.

So why so I make dumplings? Because my paternal grandma used to make extremely delicious Bak Chang which I could still clearly remember how it tasted. But nowadays she does not make them anymore and she turned into a health-conscious maniac. (I know I shouldn't used this word. But you know what I mean). So I went to learn from her how to make dumplings.... Results was ... Healthy...

So I went on to take up a dumpling class from CC. With the "powers" combined, I used the good practices from both worlds and created my own Nyonya Bak Chang.

Recipe (Makes 50 small dumplings)

Filling (Prepare 1 night beforehand)

• 1/2 cup Dried shrimps, soaked
• 15 Dried mushrooms, soaked and diced
• 1 cup Preserved winter melon, diced
• 15 Dried chestnuts, soaked in hot water and diced
• 1 kg Belly pork, boiled for 8 minutes. remove and diced
• 10 shallots, minced
• 5 garlic, minced
• 6 tsp Coriander powder
• 1 tsp Five spice powder
• Salt and pepper
• Oil for frying

Rice

• 2 kg of Glutinous rice (soaked for 30 mins)
• 5 shallots, minced
• 3 garlic, minced
• 4 tsp Coriander powder
• 1/2 tsp Five spice powder
• Salt and pepper
• Oil for frying

Bamboo leaves (Soaked for 2 hours, washed)

Pandan leaves

Raffia strings

A big pot

Steps (Filling):

1. To prepare the filling, heat the work with 4 tbsp of cooking oil.
2. Fry onions and garlic till fragrant and golden brown.
3. Add in dried shrimps. Fry till fragrant and add in mushrooms. Fry till fragrant.
4. Add in chestnut and pork. Stir well.
5. Add in winter melon.
6. Add the coriander powder and 5 spice powder.
7. Add in salt and pepper to taste.
8. Remove from heat. Cool and store in refrigerator.

Steps (Rice):

1. To prepare the filling, heat the work with 3 tbsp of cooking oil.
2. Fry onions and garlic till fragrant and golden brown.
3. Add in drained glutinous rice.
4. Add the coriander powder and 5 spice powder.
5. Add in salt and pepper to taste.
6. Remove from heat.

Wrapping and cooking procedures:

1. Prepare a pot of boiling water with pandan leaves.
2. Add in 1 tbsp of salt.
3. Using two bamboo leaves to wrap the dumplings and tie securely. (Sorry I do not have a video)
4. Boil the dumplings in medium-low heat for 1 hour.
5. Remove and serve.
6. Steam for 15 mins to reheat.