Basil Baked Polenta | 香焗九層塔玉米糕

Polenta is made of cornmeal and is in porridge form when cooked.  Once it cools, it will solidify and it can be used for frying, grilling and baking.

If you want a change from roasted potato for a side dish, a light baked polenta is a good choice. My family likes polenta that is baked until very crispy outside and still soft inside.  Sometimes we serve it with a dash of sweet paprika, and sometimes we eat them with ketchup as if you are eating French fries.  Today, I bought a big bunch of fresh basil at the Farmers' market. So I decided to use it to flavour the polenta.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tube Polenta (I used Aurora Polenta)

1/2 cup Basil, Fresh

1/4 cup Vegetable Oil

Salt to taste

材料：

1 條  玉米糕

1/2 杯  九層塔，新鮮

1/4 杯  菜油

鹽  調味

DIRECTION 做法:

1. Roughly chop the basil leaves; add them into the vegetable oil. Add salt; mix well.

1. 九層塔切碎，加入菜油和鹽；拌勻。

2. Cut the polenta into 2 cm rounds.

2. 玉米糕切成2厘米厚塊

3. Coat the polenta with the basil oil mixture.  Line them on parchment paper without over lapping them.

3. 把每塊玉米糕沾上九層塔油，把其排在已舖好焗紙的盤上。

4. Bake at 400F for about 25 minutes, or until the outer layers are crispy.

4. 用400F焗若25分鐘，或至外層香脆。

Portuguese Chicken | 簡易葡國雞

Portuguese chicken is a common dish you can find in many cha chan teng (the fast food style restaurant) in Hong Kong.  The dish can be served with steamed rice, spaghetti, or udon.

I always thought Portuguese chicken originated from Portugal, until one day my husband asked me, "Do Portuguese really use coconut milk and turmeric? I thought these are Asian ingredients."  It is so true.  Portugal wouldn't have coconut trees and turmeric roots hundreds of years ago.  So I looked up the history about it and realized this Portuguese chicken is a signature dish that originates from Macau and it won't be found in Portugal.

A long time ago when Portuguese sailors set off to explore the seas, they did lots of spice trades with Africa and Asia before setting foot on Macau.  Many of them married and had children with the locals there.  And this Portuguese chicken was created by their descendants who combined the spices they had collected with their own cooking style.  This dish signifies the history of Macau.

This recipe contains the healthy balance of vegetables and meat. The extra bonus of it is that it is a one-pot-meal so it makes the clean up pretty easy.

Thanks for stopping by. I hope you enjoy this recipe.

INGREDIENTS：

5 Chicken Legs, deboned and cut into bite size

2 Carrot, peeled and cut into small chunks

2 Potatoes, cut into bite size

1 Red Onion, cut into large chunks

7-8 Garlic Cloves, sliced

1 cup Corn (I used frozen)

1 Yellow Pepper, deseeded, cut into sticks

1/3 cup Coconut Cream

2 tablespoons Cumin Powder

1 teaspoon Turmeric Powder

Cornstarch Slurry (1/3 cup Water + 1 tablespoon Cornstarch)

4 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

1 teaspoon Salt

材料：

5 隻  雞腿，去骨，肉切小塊

2 條  甘筍，去皮，切小件

2 隻  薯仔，切小塊

1 個  紅洋蔥，切大塊

7-8 瓣  蒜頭，切粒

1 杯  粟米粒 (我這兒用上急凍)

1 個  黃燈籠椒，去籽，切條

1/3 杯  椰漿

2 湯匙  小茴香粉

1 茶匙  黃薑粉

粟粉水 (1/3 杯水＋1 湯匙粟粉)

4 湯匙  菜油

1 茶匙  鹽

DIRECTION 做法：

1. Heat up vegetable oil in a non-stick pan over high heat.  Add garlic and onion and sauté until it is fragrant; about 5 minutes.

1. 菜油在不黏鍋內以大火燒熱。下蒜頭和洋蔥，炒至香氣四溢；若5分鐘。

2. Add chicken pieces until they start to turn colour.

2. 下雞件，炒至其開始轉色。

3. Add potatoes and carrots.  Continue to stir fry until potatoes become soft; about 8-10 minutes.

3. 下薯仔和甘筍，繼續炒至薯仔開始變軟；若10分鐘。

4. Add cumin, turmeric, salt; stir well.

4. 下小茴香、黃薑粉，和鹽；拌勻。

5. Reduce the heat to medium-high.  Add coconut milk and the cornstarch slurry; stirring constantly.

5. 把火調低至中大火。下椰子和拌入粟粉水；其間不斷攪拌。

6. Add bell pepper and corn.  Cook until it is heated through.  Remove the pan from the heat.

6. 下燈籠椒和粟米粒，繼續煮至其熱透便可離火。

7. Serve the chicken on rice or pasta.

7. 可配白飯或意粉食用。

Asian Moon Scallop, dried Yam and Bone Soup | 日月魚准山排骨湯

In Hong Kong, Asian Moon Scallop is a common ingredient in our cuisine.  It is a type of bivalve which is gutted and dried before being sold to the market for making soup.

The fish-like appearance is the result of the cut when fishermen shuck the scallop and remove the guts.  After the fishermen collect a number of the scallop, they will tie them into a small bundle and dry them in the sun to strengthen the flavour and to preserve them.

Photo by: http://www.sealifebase.org/summary/Amusium-pleuronectes.html

 People in Hong Kong call these scallops "Yat-Yuet Fish".  "Yat" means "daytime 日" and "Yuet" means "moon 月".  The name probably comes from the red and white colour shell.

Asian Moon Scallop has a very similar taste to dried scallop.  It is a great substitute when you are looking for some inexpensive ingredients to make healthy soup.

Asian Moon Scallop, Fresh Yam and Bone Soup 日月魚准山排骨湯

INGREDIENTS:

10 Asian Moon Scallop, about 2 bundles

8 pcs Chinese Yam, dried

6 Pork Bones

4 Carrot, cut into big pieces

3 tablespoons Wolfberries, dried

2 tablespoons Bitter Apricot Kernels

Water

Salt to taste

材料：

10 日月魚乾，約2束

8 片  乾准山

6 塊  豬骨

4 條  紅蘿蔔，切大塊

3 湯匙  杞子乾

2 湯匙  南北杏

水

鹽  調味

DIRECTION:

1. Rinse the pork bones.  In a deep pot, add all ingredients together.  Fill the water enough to cover the ingredients.

2. Bring it to a boil, and then reduce the heat to medium-high and boil for another 45 minutes.  Season it with salt to taste.

做法：

1. 洗淨豬骨。在一只深鍋中，加入所有材料。加水； 水應蓋過湯料。

2. 把水和湯料煮滾，然後把火調低至中大火。繼續煮45分鐘，最後下鹽調味。

How to make simple crepe

Crepes are something that look very elegant on the plate and always gives an impression to people that it's difficult to make.  In fact, making crepes are as easy as making pancakes.

There are so many different recipes out there which claim to make the softest and best crepes.  I will not say mine is one of those, but my crepes are soft and delicate, and still retain the softness after keeping them in fridge for a few days.

The ratio to make my style of crepe is 1:2:1 for 1 cup of flour: 2 cups of milk: 1 egg.  The melted butter is for greasing, so don't need to measure it too carefully.

Thanks for stopping by.  I hope you will try this recipe.

Simple Crepe Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Flour

2 cups Whole Milk

1 Egg

4 tablespoons Butter, melted

1 teaspoon Vinilla Extract (optional)

a pinch of fine sea salt (optional)

DIRECTION:

1. In a bowl, whisk the egg.  Add the milk, butter, and vanilla extract and whisk again until it is well combined.

2. Add flour and salt.  Gently mix until it becomes a thin batter.  The batter should resemble to the texture of melted ice cream.

3. Heat up a small non-stick pan over medium heat.  Add a small ladle of batter in the pan while swirling the pan.  Continuously swirl the pan until the whole surface is covered. 

If you don't swirl the pan, most of the batter likely will just sit in the middle and the crepe ends up becoming uneven, with thin edges but thick centre.

4. Wait for about 1 minute and then shake the pan.  If the crepe is loose it means that it's ready to be flipped over. 

The freshly made crepe
5. Toss the pan to quickly flip the crepe over and then cook the other side for another 30-45 seconds. 

6. Transfer the crepe to a plate and loosely cover it with plastic wrap.  Repeat this process until finishing the batter.

You can make strawberry crepe by adding whip cream, halved strawberries, and icing sugar.  Or, you can add sliced banana and Nutella.

Sometimes I serve it with ham and cheese for brunch.  This crepe is wonderful to pair with both sweet and salty.  I hope you will enjoy it.

My son was excited to have crepe for breakfast, especially with the fresh strawberry he picked the day before. 

Rilakkuma Banana Pancake | 鬆弛熊香蕉熱香餅

Do you have any overly ripe bananas sitting on the countertop? If so, you can turn them into banana pancakes.  My son loves banana pancakes, so we always purposely buy extra bananas and wait for them to be "spotty".

Two bananas are sufficient enough to make a stack of pancakes of ten.  If you want to give your bear a little more "honey skin tone", you can add a little sugar in the batter.

Rilakkuma Banana Pancake

鬆弛熊香蕉熱香餅  

INGREGIENTS:

1 1/4 cups Plain Flour

2 Eggs

1 Banana, soft or ripen

1 cup Milk

1/3 cup Butter, melted

DECORATION:

1 Banana

Chocolate Chips

Strawberries (optional)

材料：

1 1/4 杯   麵粉

2 隻   雞蛋

1 條   香蕉，半熟或熟透

1 杯   牛奶

1/3 杯   溶牛油

裝飾：

1 條   香蕉

巧克力粒

草莓 (隨意)

DIRECTION:

Japanese Knotweed Oatmeal Squares ｜日本虎杖麥皮方塊

Japanese knotweed comes out from late April to early May.  The freshly sprouted stems are tender and juicy.  However, the stems will soon become too fibery and woody, and no longer suitable for consumption.  Look for knotweed that is less than a foot long when picking.  They generally like to grow near water, but I have seen them growing at roadsides.  

Knotweed has a tangy flavour, and it break down easily after boiling.  It makes a very pleasant sweet and sour sauce with chocolate.  To give it some texture, I thickened the sauce with some cornstarch.  However, it can be omitted if you are using more chocolate instead.

Japanese Knotweed Oatmeal Squares

日本虎杖麥皮方塊

Knotweed Filling Ingredients:

5-6 pcs Japanese Knotweed, about 1.5 cups

100 gram Chocolate Bar, semi-sweet

1 cup Brown Sugar

1 cup Water

pinch of Sea Salt

Cornstarch Slurry (2 tablespoons Cornstarch + 2 tablespoons Water)

Oatmeal Ingredients:

3 cups Whole Oats

1.5 cups All Purpose Flour

2 cups Butter

1.5 cups Brown Sugar

pinch of Salt

虎杖餡材料：

5-6 支  虎杖，若1.5杯

100 克  巧克力，半甜

1 杯  啡糖

1 杯  水

少撮  海鹽

粟米粉 (2湯匙 粟米粉 ＋2 湯匙 水) 

麥皮材料：

3 杯  麥皮

1.5 杯  麵粉

2 杯  牛油

1.5 杯 啡糖

少撮  鹽

DIRECTION 做法:

1. Cut the knotweed into small rounds and add them into a small pot.  Add brown sugar, water, and salt from the filling ingredients.  Bring it to a boil, and continue to boil until the knotweed has totally softened and can be broken apart easily.

1. 虎杖切小粒並放入小鍋內。鍋內加入餡料材料的啡糖、水和鹽。把虎杖煮至完全軟身。

2. Reduce the heat to medium.  Add the chocolate and stir until it is totally melted.  Add cornstarch slurry; consistently stir until the filling thickens.  It will take only about 10 seconds.  Quickly remove the pan from the heat; set it aside.

2. 把火調低至中火。加入巧克力並攪拌至完全溶掉。下粟粉水，不停攪動直至餡料變杰身；若10秒。迅速離火。

3. In a large bowl, combine all the oatmeal ingredients.  Mix together by hand until the mixture becomes crumbly.

3. 在一只大碗內，加入所有麥皮材料；用手拌勻。

4. Line a deep baking tray with parchment paper.  Add half the amount of the oatmeal and spread it evenly.  Then, add and spread the knotweed filling.  Cover the filling with the rest of the oatmeal filling.  Gently press down the top with hand.

4. 焗盤內舖上焗紙，倒入一半麥皮材料，填平。平均倒入虎杖餡料，再舖上剩餘麥皮材料。用手把其稍為壓平。

5. Bake it in the pre-heated oven at 360F for 25 minutes and until the oatmeal is golden.

5. 放入已預熱至360F焗爐，焗若25分鐘和至麥皮表面至金黃。

6. Remove it from the oven.  Cut it into equal portions when hot. 

6. 從焗爐取出，趁熱分件。

Tomato Beef Egg Drop Soup with Rice | 蕃茄牛肉蛋花湯飯

Almost every family has its own recipe for egg drop soup.  Although the basic ingredients are around tomatoes, beef, and egg, there are so many ways to play around with them to make the soup suit your taste buds and the weather.

The soup my mom made when I was little had very little red meat because red meat was a luxury throughout my childhood.  Mom then would add lots of tomatoes and eggs to enhance the flavour and nutrition.  The tangy flavour always brought up our appetite especially on some hot days.

Thankfully now that meat is no long a luxury for us we are able to add as much beef as we like.  This soup is a quick and healthy recipe that is great to make on a weekday.  Hope you will enjoy it.

INGREDIENTS: (4 servings)

3 Tomatoes, large, cut into wedges

150 gram Beef

4 Eggs, beaten

1 bunch Cilantro, leaves only, rinsed

1 stalk Scallion, cut into around

4 cups Water

2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil

4 bowls Cooked Steamed Rice, Link

Seasoning:

4 tablespoons Light Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Sugar

1/3 teaspoon White Pepper, ground

1 teaspoon Sesame Oil

1/3 teaspoon Salt

材料：(4人份)

3 個。蕃茄，切瓣狀

150 克  牛肉

4 隻  雞蛋，打勻

1 束  莞茜，葉部份，洗淨

1 條  青蔥，切粒

4 杯  水

2 湯匙  菜油

4 碗  白飯，連結

調味料：

4 湯匙  豉油

1 湯匙  糖

1/3 茶匙  白胡椒粉

1 茶匙  麻油

1/3 茶匙  鹽

DIRECTION :

1. Slice the beef against the grain into 1/2 cm thick stripes.  Combine them with the seasoning; mix well.  Set it aside.

2. In a soup pot, add vegetable oil and heat it up over high heat.  Add tomato slices.  Fry them until they start to become soft; about 2 minutes.

3. Add beef and fry until it starts to turn colour.  Add water, cilantro, and scallion.  Continue to cook until the soup comes back to boil again.  Slowly add in the egg in a ribbon style.  Turn off the heat and serve it with cooked steamed rice.

做法：

1. 牛肉逆紋切成半厘米薄片。下調味料；拌勻。

2. 在湯鍋內下菜油，用大火燒熱。下蕃茄，炒至開始變軟；若2分鐘。

3. 下牛肉片，快炒至其開始變色。下水、莞茜和蔥。繼續煮至湯翻滾。將蛋慢慢倒入鍋內形成蛋花狀；離火。 配以白飯食用。