Steamed Squid Oatmeal Patty | 魷魚麥皮蒸肉餅

INGREDIENTS:

1 pc Squid, dried

300 gram Ground Pork

1/4 cup Whole Oat

SEASONING:

1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Rice Wine

2 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Sugar

small pinch of White Pepper, ground

small pinch of Salt

1 tablespoon Vegetable Oil

材料：

1 塊  魷魚，乾曬

300 克  豬胶肉

1/4 杯  全粒燕麥

調味：

1 湯匙  米酒

2 湯匙  豉油

1 湯匙  糖

少撮  白胡椒粉

少撮鹽

1 湯匙  菜油

DIRECTION:

1. Soak the dried squid in water until soften; about 2-3 hours.  Dice the squid.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine ground pork, oat, diced squid, and the seasoning ingredients.  Mix everything by hand until the mixture becomes smooth and slightly sticky.

3. Add the meat mixing in a shallow dish and flatten it into about 2 cm patty.  Cover it with foil.  Place it in a pre-heated steamer; steam over high heat for about 20 minutes.  Serve when it is hot.

做法：

1. 魷魚乾用水浸軟；若2-3小時。切粒。

2. 在一只碗內，加入豬胶肉、燕麥、魷魚、和調味料；用手拌勻直至豬肉變得黏稠。

3. 把肉倒入蒸碟內，用手舖平成2厘米厚的肉餅。用錫紙蓋好碟，放入已預熱的蒸爐內，用大火蒸20分鐘。趁熱享用。

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.

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.

Oven Roasted Shrimp and Squid Kebab

A simple yet delicious seafood skewer that is wonderfully flavoured with the exotic masala spice.  The sweet and tangy pineapple enhances the freshness of the seafood and the bright red bell pepper brings the colour of the dish to life.

Here I used metal skewers.  If you are using wood skewers, always remember to soak them in water for 10 minutes prior to prevent them from burning.

INGREDIENTS:

10 Squid Tentacles

20 Shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 Red Bell Pepper, deseeded and cut into chunks

1 canned Pineapple

Marinade:

1 teaspoon Garam Masala

1/2 teaspoon Sweet Paprika

Pinch of Black Pepper and Salt

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

DIRECTION:

1. Pre heat the oven to 360F.

2. In a mixing bowl, add squid, shrimp, and bell pepper.  Add marinade; mix until the seafood and bell pepper are coated.

3. Put the ingredients on the skewers.  Roast them in the oven until the seafood turns red and is cooked through; about 20 minutes.  They are great to pair with rice.

A Purple Dinner ｜紫色的晚餐

“Let’s make a surprise dinner for Daddy. How about a purple dinner?” said my 5-year-old boy.

I’d never thought that a surprise dinner can be prepared in a colour theme. It sounded beautiful enough on a plate. Red cabbage, eggplant, and blueberries are all purple, but I wanted something more special. 

Then, I remember the purple potatoes I once cooked when I was in culinary school. These potatoes are very small, with deep purple coloured skin and violet or marble coloured flesh. They taste like normal potatoes.

Normal supermarkets or shops will not carry purple potatoes so my son and I decided to take a trip to the farmers market nearby. It’s always great to be in a farmers market — the ingredients are seasonal, fresh, and special.

My son found some mini eggplants and carrots, and I found some blood oranges, black cherry tomatoes, and squid ink pasta. Perfect, the purple mission was half completed. We have enough ingredients to make a 3 course dinner.

Pan-fried Mini Eggplant with Miso Yogurt Sauce and Scallion

Ingredients:

2 Mini Eggplants

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

a few stalk of Garlic Shoots, sliced

1 tablespoon Miso Paste

4 tablespoons Greek Plain Yogurt

Smoke Paprika (optional)

How to Make:

1. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Score the flesh with a knife without cutting through the skin.

2. In a non-stick pan, heat up the oil over medium-high heat. Add eggplants with skin side down. Let them fry until the skin is crispy and the flesh is soft; it’s about 8 minutes.

3. Flip the eggplants over with the tongs. Let them fry for another five minutes. Transfer the eggplants onto the serving plate.

We planted some garlic early this month and the shoots grow like crazy. These greens are edible and delicious. They taste just like mild flavoured garlic.

4. In the same pan, add the cut scallion. Quickly stir fry it over high heat until fragrant; about 1 minute. Remove it from the heat.

5. Mix together the miso and yogurt; add a dash of it on each eggplant. Spoon some garlic shoots on top of the yogurt. Last, finish the garnish with some smoked paprika.

Squid Ink Pasta with Calamari and Black Cherry Tomatoes

Ingredients:

1 handful of Squid Ink Pasta

I handful of Normal Egg Pasta

10 small Calamari

1 cup Black Cherry Tomatoes

1/2 head of Garlic

1/2 cup Pasley, leaves only

1 Lemon juice and zest

Salt and Pepper

How to make:

1. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half. Place them on parchment without overlapping them. Roast them in the oven at 180F for about 2–3 hours, or until the cherry tomatoes are half dried up.

    2. Meanwhile, finely chop the garlic shoots and rinse the parsley; set it aside.

3. To clean the calamaris, remove the tentacles from the body by pulling two ends. Then, remove the transparent cuttlebone from the tube.

4. Cut off and discard the beak at the root of the tentacles. Keep as much ink as possible to add extra flavour for the dish later.

5. Remove the skin from around the tube part. Cut it into slices. Set them aside.

6. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add pasta. Cook it by following the instruction on the package. Drain.

7. In a pan, heat up two tablespoons of vegetable oil over high heat. Add garlic; let it fry until it’s fragrant. Add calamari. Continuously cook until the calamari starts to shrink and then add parsley. Remove it from the heat. Add the cooked pasta. Gently mix it with the tongs. Serve it with the roasted cherry tomatoes.

Pan fried Purple Carrot and Purple Potato

Ingredients:

3 Purple Carrot, cut into 5 cm sticks, with skin on

1 cup Purple Potatoes

5 cloves Garlic, minced

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

Salt to season

How to make:

1. Heat up the vegetable oil over high heat. Add garlic; fry until it’s fragrant.

2. Add carrots and potatoes. Stir fry until they are half soften; it takes about 10 minutes. Season with salt.

Blood Orange in it’s own bowl

Ingredients:

Blood Orange

Tool:

1 small teaspoon

1 small knife

How to make:

1. With a small knife, cut the peel around the orange.

2. Carefully fit the handle of the spoon between the orange peel and the flesh.

3. With a rotate motion, separate the flesh from the peel. Twist gently to remove the cap.

4. Repeat the same action to the other side.