Chicken with Tomato Alfredo Sauce on Rice

If you are tired of curry, try this tangy and creamy tomato Alfredo.  As we often say, everything tastes better with a little ketchup on it.  It is proof again in this tangy chicken.

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs Whole Chicken Wings, cut into three segments

3 Carrots, cut into bite size

1 Red Onion, chunks

5 Garlic Cloves, peeled and mashed

1 can Chickpea, drained and rinsed the chickpeas

2 tablespoons Flour

1/4 cup Butter

3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine (optional)

1 cup Milk, 2%

1/3 cup Ketchup

3 tablespoons Worcester Sauce

2 tablespoons Sugar

Salt

DIRECTION:

1. Combine garlic, carrot, butter and vegetable oil in a deep pot.  Heat them up over medium heat until the garlic is fragrant and the carrots are nicely browned.

2. Turn the heat to high; add chicken.  Stir fry until the chicken starts to turn colour, about 10 minutes.  Add cooking wine and allow it to be absorbed.

3. Sprinkle the flour onto the chicken while stirring.  Then quickly add in milk.  Reduce the heat a little if the sauce thickens too quickly, and add more milk if needed.

4. When the sauce comes to a boil, add chickpea and onion.  Continuously cook until they heat through and the onion is slightly softened, about 10 minutes.  Season with Sugar, salt and Worcester sauce to taste.  It is delicious to serve with brown rice, pasta or naan bread.

Stir fried Squid with Celery

This is a classic dish in Hong Kong that you can find in a "cha chaan teng" or in homes. The celery should be bright green and crunchy, and the squid should be fresh and al dente.  Some people like to add cornstarch slurry to create some gloss and moistness for the dish.  My mom likes it simple as it is so I also adopted her version.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Celery, hard fibre removed and cut into 2 inches long

10 Baby squids

6 Garlic Cloves

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine

4 Ginger Slices

pinch of sugar

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. To clean the squid, remove the head from the body by pulling the tentacles.  Remove the ink sac, beak and the transparent bone.  Rinse the squids.

2. Bring a small pot of water to a rolling boil with the ginger slices.  Add squid.  Blanch until they just turn colour and the tentacles curl up.  Quickly remove them to a cold bath.  Set aside.

3. In a clean pan, add oil and garlic cloves.  Let them fry over high heat until fragrant.  Add celery; sauté for about 5 minutes or until it turns bright green.  Drizzle the cooking wine and add a pinch of sugar to flavour.  When the celery just starts to give, add the blanched squid and cook until the squid heats throughly.  Quickly transfer them onto a serving plate.

Lemony Beetroot and Lentil Salad

It is a very simple and also substantial salad that can be prepared in almost no time.  The lentils make this salad substantial and you can enjoy it just as a whole course meal.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Beet Roots, Peeled and cut into sticks

1/2 cup Lentils

1 cup Water

1 handful of Italian Parsley, roughly chopped

1/2 Lemon of juice

1 tablespoon Agave Syrup

pinch of Salt

DIRECTION:

1. To cook the lentils, combine the rinsed lentils and 1 cup of water in a pot.  Bring them to a boil over high heat.  When the water starts to boil, reduce the heat to low.  Cover the lid; cook it for 20 minutes or until the lentils are soft to bite.  Allow them to cool.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients including the cooked lentils.  Mix well; allow it to sit for 10 minutes for the taste to develop before serving.

Seafood Stew

Although the list of ingredients look a bit long, the soup is actually simple to make.  It requires a quick sauté of the garlic and onion and then put the rest of the ingredients into the soup pot together.  I personally found this soup tastes much better the day after, when the potatoes break down more and create a creamier texture.  Enjoy this wonderful soup and stay warm!

INGREDIENTS:

3 pcs White Fish Fillets, cut into big chunks

10 Baby Squids

6 Oysters

1 small pc Smoked Salmon

4 Small Potatoes, cubed

1 Onion, peeled and cubed

1 Canned Tomatoes, halved

1/2 head Garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

2 Scallions, cut into sticks (optional)

2 cups Seafood Broth ( I used Campbell)

2 cups Water

3 tablespoons White Vinegar

2 Bay Leaves, dried

1/2 teaspoon White Pepper, ground

2 tablespoons of Vegetable Oil

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. To clean the squid, pull the tentacles away from the tube.  Remove the transparent soft bone inside the tube.  Remove the eye balls and ink bag.  Also, remove the teeth that are hidden under the tentacles.  Cut the tubes into thick rounds. Set aside.

2. To clean the oysters, add about two teaspoons of cornstarch on top of the oysters.  Very gently rub clean the black lines off the oysters to remove all the dirt.  Rinse the oyster with water.  Set aside.

3. In a soup pot, add vegetable oil, onion and garlic.  Sauté them over medium heat until the onion is translucent and the mixture is fragrant.  About 10 minutes. 

4. Turn up the heat to medium-high.  Pour in seafood broth and water.  Add tomatoes, potatoes, and bay leaves.  Cover the lid; boil the soup for about 15 minutes.

5. Add fish fillet, oysters, squids, and smoked salmon into the soup.  Continuously cook it over high heat until the soup reboils.  Season the soup with salt to taste.

Simplest Crunchy Pan-fried Sardine

Fried fish is one of the simplest but the most satisfying recipes I love to have over a bowl of hot rice.  The lemony juice is optional, but it brings tremendous difference in the flavour of sardines.  I enjoy these little fishes with bones, fins and tails everything except the head part.  What about you?

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 Sardine (I used frozen)

1-2 teaspoons Cornstarch

3 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1/3 Lemon

DIRECTION:

1. To clean the sardines, slit open the belly with a knife and remove the guts.  Remove the gills and descale the sardines.  Rinse them well under running water and then pat them dry with paper towel.  If you are using frozen ones, let them thaw at room temperature until they become soft again before cleaning them.

2. In a non-stick frying pan, add vegetable oil.  Heat it up over medium heat.  Meanwhile, coat each sardine with a thin layer of cornstarch.  When the oil is ready, carefully lay them into the pan.  Fry until they are crispy and slightly brown; about 5 minutes.  Flip the sardines onto the other side; fry for another 5 minutes.  Remove them from the heat.

3. To serve, squeeze the lemon juice over sardines before eating.

Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Mushroom Sauce and Sausage

Although spaghetti squash has the word "spaghetti" in its name, its texture is nothing spaghetti like.  Instead, the texture is rather like grated carrot.  The first time when I cooked it, I was so hoping it would taste like spaghetti in someway.  However, neither the texture or flavour.  I was quite disappointed.

Years later when I tried this squash again, I told myself to consider it as a squash and it will certainly taste like one.  Then, I focused on the roasting part to make it rather crunchy and not something called "al dente".  The flavour starts to make sense in this delicate squash. I hope this experience will give you some inspiration to create your own healthy plate of spaghetti squash.

The longer the squash is roasted, the softer the texture will become.  My family and I like it more crunchy so I roast the squash for 20 to 25 minutes.

The seeds in the squash are edible.  I generally like to roast them along with the squash and then add them back to the dish.  It may sound unusual for some, but I like the extra crunch and nutty flavour they bring.

INGREDIENTS:

1 Spaghetti Squash

5 Italian Sausages, cut into bite size

10 White Button Mushrooms, slices

1 sprig Sage, fresh

1/2 head Garlic, peeled and chopped finely

1.5 cups Milk

2 tablespoon All Purpose Flour

Black Pepper and Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F.  Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeds.  Sprinkle the squash with salt.  Place them on a roasting pan with cut side up.  Roast them until the tops start to turn golden brown; about 25 minutes.  If you are using the seeds, wash the seeds and place them on the roasting pan around the squash when roasting.

2. Once the squash is ready and cool enough to handle, with a fork, remove the strands of squash from the skin.  Set aside.

3. To cook the sauce, heat up about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.  Add garlic and sage; fry until fragrant.  Add sausages; continuously fry until they are nearly cooked.

4. Add mushrooms and fry for a couple of minutes.  Reduce the heat to medium.  Dust the flour evenly over the pan.  Slowly add in the milk; stirring constantly.  The mushrooms will release water, so the sauce will initially look thin.  Continue to cook until the sauce reaches the desired consistency. Season with salt to taste.  Remove the sauce from the heat.

5. Ladle some sauce over the spaghetti squash and serve.  

Kid-friendly Chickpea Hummus

The traditional hummus contains tahini, but tahini has a slightly bitter aftertaste that not all people like.  My son doesn't really like tahini so I use mayonnaise here.  It is not a super healthy recipe since I admit it calls for mayonnaise.  However, the kids are really going to enjoy this chickpea packed snack.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Canned Chickpea, rinsed and drained

2 Garlic Cloves, peeled

1/4 cup Mayonnaise

1/3 Lemon of Juice

3 tablespoons Water

4 tablespoons Olive Oil

1/4 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTION:

1. In a food processor, add all ingredients.  Process until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy.

2. Before serving, sprinkle some sweet paprika and extra olive oil if desired.  Serve it with pita, naan, cucumber, carrot, or blanched beans.

Stir Fried Barley with Salmon and Tofu

Barley is a staple in our household.  We love both pot barley or pearl barley.  We like to add it to salad greens, add it into soup, or make flavoured rice.  This salmon and tofu stir fry is the recipe my 6 year old son loves best that he said he wants to pack for lunch everyday.  It's composed of pressed tofu, salmon and Brussel sprouts.  Feel free to substitute other ingredients that you enjoy.

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups Pot Barley

3.5 cups Water

1 Salmon, deboned (I keep the skin)

3 squares Pressed Tofu

10 pcs Brussel Sprouts

4 Stalks Green Onion

SEASONING:

4 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

1-2 tablespoons Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

1 tablespoon Sugar (option)

3 tablespoons Ketchup

Salt to taste

DIRECTION:

1. To cook the barley, rinse it with two changes of water; drain.  Combine the barley with the 3.5 cups of water.  Bring it to a boil over high heat and boil until the water is half absorbed.  Cover the pot with the lid and turn the heat to low.  Continuously boil for another 20 minutes and the water is totally absorbed, remove the pot from the heat.  Let it stand for 10 minutes before fluffing it.

2. In a non-stick frying pan, add some oil.  Lay the salmon in it with its skin side down.  Fry it over medium-high heat until the salmon is fully cooked.  Break apart the salmon with a spatula.

3. Add cooked barley, tofu, and brussel sprout. Stir fry until it heats up and then add the seasoning.  Stir fried for another 10 minutes and remove it from the heat.  Serve immediately.

Strawberry Poppy Waffle

The waffle machine is my new addition in the kitchen and I love it.  I like that it doesn't require so much attention like pancakes and no more flipping.  All I need to do is to add the batter in the centre, close the lid and allow it to cook until the light comes on to tell me it is ready.  Every Saturday I will make a large batch of waffles that is enough to last for the week.  This week, we added some freshly mashed strawberries and they were delicious!  My husband said he couldn't believe how strong of a strawberry flavour that little piece of waffle could contain.  To serve, we always use maple syrup, but feel free to use other substitute.

INGREDIENTS:

6 Strawberries, mashed

2 Eggs, beaten

1/3 cup Butter, melted

2 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

1/3 cup Milk

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1 cup Pastry Flour

1 tablespoon Poppy Seeds

small pinch of salt

DIRECTION:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together butter, eggs, vanilla extract, milk, and mashed strawberries until they are incorporated.

2.  Add the rest of the ingredients; mix well.  The batter should be very thick and gluey.

3. Heat up the waffle machine to medium heat.  Add two big spoonfuls of batter in the centre, and cook according to the machine indication.  Serve with maple syrup.

Lemon Brown Rice Salad

Do you often have extra brown rice in the fridge? I do because I tend to cook a larger pot for multiple recipes that call for day old rice, just like this one.  It is still delicious to use freshly cooked rice, but the day old one will give you a more al dente texture.  Adjust the lemon juice amount to suit your tastebuds.  This substantial salad is good to serve with pan fried fish.

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups Indian Brown Basmati Rice, cooked

1 cucumber, seeded and cubed

Red Bell Pepper, seeded and cubed

1 handful Parsley, leaves and stems, finely chopped

DRESSING:

1/3 Lemon of juice

1 Lemon of zest

5 tablespoons Olive Oil

2 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

1/3 teaspoon Salt

2 flat tablespoons Brown Sugar

DIRECTION:

1. In a large bowl, combine all dressing ingredients and whisk well.

2. Add the remaining ingredients and then stir until they are well coated with the dressing.

Apple Waffles

In the previous post I mentioned that I make waffles every weekend for the upcoming week as breakfast.  And this week, I used the apples that we freshly picked from the orchard yesterday.  They were delicious!

INGREDIENTS:

1 Apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped

3 Large Eggs, beaten

1/3 cup Butter, melted

1/4 cup Sunflower Seed Oil

1 cup Milk, 2%

3 tablespoons Vanilla Extract

1 cup Pastry Flour

2 cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 tablespoons Cinnamon Powder

1 teaspoon Pumpkin Spice Powder

handful of Flaxseed (optional)

1/3 teaspoon Salt

DIRECTION:

1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk eggs, butter, vanilla extract, milk, and the oils together.

2. Add all the rest of the ingredients.  Mix until they are totally incorporated.  The batter should be very thick and sticky.

3. Heat up the waffle machine to medium heat.  Add two spoonfuls of batter in the centre and cook until it is done according to the machine indication.  Serve with maple syrup or chutney.

Crunchy Preserved Radish and Pork Belly Stir-fry | 菜脯炒豬肉

Preserved radish and pork belly stir fry is absolutely on the very top of my favourite dishes.  My dad knew how much I craved for it so he would cook it all the time.  To balance the saltiness from the preserved radish, my dad would add lots of sugar.  Mom joked with him saying that his best dishes were all composed of sugar and syrup.  Honestly speaking, the generous amount of sugar my dad put in really does the magic to the dish.  It helps thicken the sauce, balance the salt, and flavour the pork.  Our whole family just loves it the way it is.

Back in Hong Kong, we could easily find preserved radish, diced or whole.  However, where we live now, most often we can only find shredded or diced and they don't taste good.  After I tried them a few times, I just gave up and stopped buying them.  Soon, I forgot this dish that reminds me of my childhood..

Until last month when we visited a very old shop in Chinatown.  To our surprise, we found these whole preserved radish.  My husband and I were laughing with joy.

After nearly two years, I finally found some good quality preserved radish to cook this dish again.

 I actually called my dad and asked him for the recipe again so that I can duplicate the flavour.

Crunchy Preserved Radish and Pork Belly Stir-fry

菜脯炒豬肉

INGREDIENTS:

500 gram Pork Belly

4-5 pcs Preserved Radishes, whole

10 tablespoons Sugar

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

4 tablespoons Water

材料：

500 克  豬腩肉

4-5 條  菜脯，全條

10 湯匙  糖

2 湯匙  菜油

4 湯匙  水

DIRECTION 做法：

1. Rinse and pat dry the preserved radishes; cut them into small pieces.  Set aside.

1. 菜脯洗淨抹乾；切成小粒。備用。

2. Cut the pork belly into about 1cm thick pieces.

2. 腩肉切成 1cm 厚塊。

3. Heat up vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add pork belly and stir fry until it turns colour; about 3 minutes.

3. 用中火燒熱菜油。下腩肉；炒其至變色，若3分鐘。

4. Turn the heat to high.  Add preserved radish and continue to stir fry until the radish is fragrant and the pork belly is thoroughly cooked.

4. 把火調至最高。下菜脯，繼續炒至菜脯香氣四溢和腩肉全熟；若5-8分鐘。

If it is too dry, add 3-4 tablespoons of water.

若太乾，可加入3-4湯匙水。

5. Add sugar.  Stir it constantly until the sugar is totally melted and the sauce thickens.  Remove the pan from the heat.

5. 下糖；繼續炒至糖全熔掉和汁變稠。離火。

Enjoy!

Green Salad with Chinese Peach and Goat Cheese

Salad doesn't need to be complicated. A bed of salad greens with seasonal fruit is already enough.

INGREDIENTS: 2 portions

3 cups Salad Green

1 Chinese Peach, stoned, cut into wedges

3 tablespoons Goat Cheese

a handful of Pine Nut

DRESSING:

4 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 tablespoon Honey

DIRECTION:

1. Arrange the salad ingredients in a serving bowl.

2. Whisk the dressing ingredients together.  Drizzle over the salad and serve immediately.

Mashed Avocado Egg Sandwich

The avocado replaces the mayonnaise in this mashed avocado egg sandwich, making it a more healthy meal while it still tastes pillowy and smooth.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Eggs

1 ripe Avocado, pitted

1 tablespoon Mayonnaise

1/2 teaspoon Apple Cider Vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

Sandwich Bread (for serving)

DIRECTION:

1. Place the eggs in a pot of cold water.  Bring it to a boil over high heat for about 10 minutes; drain.   Fill the pot with cold water and allow the eggs to sit for about 1 minute before peeling them.

2. In a bowl, add the eggs and pitted avocado.  Mash them together with a masher or a folk until they are well incorporated.  Add the rest of the ingredients; mix well.  Serve with sandwich bread.

Boiled Green Banana with Salted Mackerel

I learnt to eat green bananas from a colleague who grew up in the Caribbean.  She told me that the people in her home island consider banana as vegetable rather than fruit.  They eat it for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert.  

Unlike the ripe ones, green bananas have a mild taste and starchy texture that is very similar to potato after cooking.  I let my son to try it without telling him what it was first, and he thought it was boiled potato.  We are so happy to discover one more new healthy food that can substitute potato in our diet.

  

INGREDIENTS:

4 Green Bananas (not Plantains)

1 Red Onion, small, sliced

4 Garlic Cloves, mashed and chopped

1/2 Red Bell Pepper, seeded and cubed

1 Salted Mackerel, deboned and cut into bite size

Salt and Pepper to taste

Vegetable Oil

DIRECTION:

1. Cut both ends of each bananas.  Slit the bananas lengthwise; set them aside.

2. Set a pot of water to a boil over high heat.  Add a tablespoon of salt and a tablespoon of oil (to prevent the banana sap sticks to the pot).  When the water comes to a rolling boil, add bananas.  Boil the bananas for 15 minutes; drain.  Remove the peels and cut the flesh to chunks; place them on serving plate.

3. In a pan, heat up three tablespoons of oil over high heat.  Add garlic and onion; stir fry until fragrant and the onion starts to soften.  About 10 minutes. 

4. Add mackerel.  Continue to cook until the fish is throughly cooked; about 10 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat and spoon the fish beside the bananas to serve.

Arrowroot Pork Bone Soup ｜赤小豆粉葛豬骨湯

Many people think all Chinese eat soup.  In fact, soup is quite unique in our Canton culture that can be found in Southern China and Hong Kong.  We use lots of ingredients to make soup, and we don't mind spending hours to make a pot of good soup.  Because we believe soup is important nourishment for our body.

The natural sweetness of the arrowroot makes this soup very flavourful and helps quench the thirst.  So I make it very often, particularly during the summer months.  To speed up the cooking process, I like to cut the arrowroot into bite size to allow the flavour to come out more easily.

INGREDIENTS:

1 pc Arrow Root, peeled, cubed

6 pcs Pork Bones

8 cups Water

1/3 cup Chixiaodou, rinsed

1/3 cup White Hyacinth Bean, rinsed

Salt to taste

材料：

1 條  粉葛，去皮，切粒

6 件  豬骨

8 杯  水

1/3 杯 赤小豆，沖淨

1/3 杯  扁豆，沖淨

鹽調味

DIRECTION 做法：

1. In a soup pot, add all the ingredients except salt .  Bring it to a boil over high heat.  Then reduce the heat to medium-high.  Continue to boil for another hour; add more water if needed.  Season the soup with salt to taste.

1. 在一只大湯鍋內，加入所有材料 (除卻鹽)。用大火燒滾，再轉中大火煮若一小時。如水太少，可中途加水。最後下鹽調味。

Matcha Latte

Although it is called matcha latte, it doesn't really contain any coffee.  It is the hot beverage composed of foamy hot milk with fragrant matcha powder.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Hot Milk, 2%

1/3 teaspoon Matcha Powder

1 tablespoon Sugar

DIRECTION:

1. Combine sugar and milk in a glass bowl.  Heat it in a microwave for about a minute; stir until the sugar is melted.

2. In a tall cup, combine matcha powder and 1/4 cup of the milk.

3. Whisk it together with an electric milk frother wand until foamy.

4. Slowly add in the rest of the milk in the cup.

5. Serve immediately.

Teriyaki Tofu ｜照燒豆腐

The tofu in this recipe can be from silken to extra firm.  It depends on your preference.

Ingredients:

1 box Firm Tofu

1/3 cup Corn Starch

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil (for frying)

Ingredients for Teriyaki Sauce:

3 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce

4 tablespoons Brown Sugar

2 tablespoons Mirin

1 tablespoon Cooking Rice Wine

3 tablespoons Water

1/2 teaspoon Corn Starch

Direction:

1. Mix the sauce ingredients together; set it aside.

2. Cut the tofu into 1 cm slices.

3. Pat dry the water from the tofu with paper towel.

4. Coat each slice of tofu with some corn starch.

5. In a non-stick pan, add vegetable oil.  Heat it up over medium heat.  Carefully add the tofu slices and fry them until they are slightly golden and crispy outside; about 5 minutes.

6. Flip the tofu over and fry the other side for about 3-4 minutes, or until they are crispy.

7. Reduce the heat to low.  Add the teriyaki sauce and allow it to cook until it is slightly thickened.  Transfer the tofu and sauce to the serving plate immediately.

8.  Sprinkle some scallion on before serving if desired.