KCC: Releno - Stuffed Red Chili

When I was younger, my Mom used to stuff red bell peppers with pork mince, and I never liked them. I found the bell pepper too thick and too strong tasting even with dashings of ketchup.  Whilst shopping today, I wondered if I could recreate the dish I despise with something of sweeter taste, like the long sweet red chillies.  The size of the chilli didn't scare me, because heat and size are inversely related to each other. 

So, I tried it with the recipe that follows below, and I surprised myself that I enjoyed it very much. The chillies weren't hot and gave a hint of sweetness. Because the chillies were flat, it was very easy to pan fry them (actually burnt the bottom but that gave more flavour) and meat to red chilli ratio was just right.

STUFFED RED CHILLIES

2 long red chillies
200 g lean pork mince
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 small tomato
1 tsp soy sauce
black pepper and salt
1 egg, beaten

Saute the garlic and tomatoes. Add the pork and seasonings, and brown until cooked. Take off from heat. Split the two chillies lengthwise, and remove seeds.  Add the beaten egg to cooled meat filling.  Spread a quarter of the meat mixture on one chilli half.  Just before pan frying, dust the meat filling with cornflour.  Place a lid over the frying pan to assist cooking the chillies. Flip carefully to cook the meat side.

Chinese New Year dinner

Celebrated Chinese New Year with M's sister C's family in Sydney.

C prepared a scrumptuous yee sang, a salad of raw fish, thinly cut vegetables and crispy wonton with a sweet and sour dressing. It's believed to be a Chinese Malaysian/Singaporean traditional Chinese New Year dish, and it symbolizes togetherness when everyone at the table joins in the fun of tossing the salad.

A duck, a symbol of fidelity, was served in many ways: peking duck pancakes, fried rice and in soup! Too busy eating, hence no pictures of the other dishes. For pancake recipe, see below.

And last but not the least, a whole steamed (barramundi)fish. This is apparently a symbol of prosperity, for the chinese word for fish "yu" sounds like the word for richness or abundance. It's also believed to make your wishes come true for this year.

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Pancake Recipe:

1/2 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons cornflour
1 cup water
1 egg
2 tablespoons oil
1 Peking duck (see note)
6 green onions, washed
1/2 cup hoisin sauce

Method:
Combine and whisk flour, cornflour, water, egg and oil.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Brush with little oil. Pour batter into frying pan and quickly swirl pan to spread the thin pancake to about 15cm. Cook for 2 minutes. Turn and cook for a further 1 minute.

How to enjoy:
Remove skin and meat from duck. Thinly slice both skin and meat. Cut onions and cucumber into 10cm lengths.
Place some duck skin and meat, 1 onion and cucumber and 1 teaspoon of hoisin sauce onto each pancake. Roll up. Serve.

Adapted from Taste.com.au

Satay

The smoke of barbequed food is one that doesn't turn me away as fast as how a mosquito does from a burning coil. It lures to me it and whets my appetite, and whatever is being barbequed it always smells delicious. In addition, anything skewered is just as attractive as it looks and smell. When its on a stick its appears easier to eat - just pick it up and bite - no utensils required. When I was younger, we used to eat barbequed (skewered) pork in sweet & sour-tasting, tomato-based marinade. You'll find this in most childrens' parties or other family gatherings, and now easily found too cooked by streetside vendors. Another skewered delight I now have is Malaysian's Satay. You can use beef or chicken or maybe even lamb(?) and its MUST accompaniment is the Peanut Sauce. I've seen it also served with chunks of cucumber, red onion and ketupat (pressed rice).

Satay Ingredients:

500 beef or chicken, sliced into thin long strips
10 shallots or 1 medium brown onion
5 cloves garlic
2 slices ginger
2 stalks lemon grass, sliced (or 1 tsp lemon rind)
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp salt
3 T sugar
3 T oil


Place onion, garlic, lemon grass, ginger in a food processor and finely grind. Add to beef and rest of the ingredients. Marinate meat for 1 hour and thread seasoned meat on sticks. Grill over hot barbeque or grill plate (i.e on stovetop) and baste with oil or marinade to keep it moist.
Serve with peanut sauce, cucumber and red onion wedges.


Peanut Sauce:

15 shallots
8 cloves garlic
2 stalks lemon grass, thinly sliced
20-30 dried chillies, deseeded or 4-5 T chilli paste
4 thin slices galangal
2 T salt
8-10 T sugar
4 T lime juice or thick tamarind juice
455 g freshly roasted ground peanuts
225 ml oil

Pound the first 5 ingredients to a fine paste.
Boil peanuts with 900 ml water over low heat until thick. Stir constantly for 30 minutes. Heat oil in wok and fry pounded paste until fragrant and oil seeps through paste. Add paste to peanut mixture. Season with salt, sugar, lime/tamarind juice. Simmer over low heat for 7 minutes until sugar is dissolved.

Easy Quiche

4 eggs
3/4 c self-raising flour
3/4 c bacon, chopped (or cooked chicken, ham)
1.5 c milk (low-fat)
1 small onion, chopped
200g cheese, grated
1 T fresh oregano, chopped
1 T fresh parsley, chopped
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 180C. Beat the eggs with milk. To this add rest of the ingredients. Pour in a greased loose-bottom pan or the TupperChef Flan Silicon form (30.5cm). Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and set.

Chicken Katsu - Baked!

Here's a simple twist to chicken katsu - baking it instead of frying it. Baking it reduces the oil in the food, because the panko crumbs absorb oil like a sponge when you pan/deep fry it. I like using the panko crumbs because it stays crunchy even when baked.

Verdict: It's not as moist as the pan/deep fried version, but most importantly it has lower fat content and it's still crunchy and yum. And your house won't smell too greasy from the frying! Alternatively, you can quickly dip the chicken pieces on both sides in oil, and baked for 20 minutes at 200C. This results in a more moist chicken than the sprayed ones.

Ingredients:

• chicken thigh fillet (remove extra fat outside and fat imbedded) or use chicken breast
• plain flour
• beaten egg (thinned w/ a tablespoon of water)
• japanese breadcrumbs (panko - avail in oriental stores)

Preheat oven to 200C or 180C (fan-forced).

Rub salt on the chicken pieces. Coat in flour, followed by egg, and lastly with the breadcrumbs. Spray with canola oil on both sides.
Lay pieces on racks on a baking tray. The racks raise the chicken pieces and prevent them from getting soggy. I just improvised and used whatever ovensafe racks (trivets/a wok rack). Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden.

Serve with tonkatsu sauce (50:50 ketchup:worcestershire sauce) or with ketchup or with barbeque sauce. Oh, and if you like don't forget the wasabi or hot mustard too to mix in the sauce!

Chicken Rice

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Chicken:
1.3 kg chicken
2 L water
2 T soy sauce
1 T sesame oil

Soup:
1 inch ginger, sliced
1/2 brown onion
3 T fish sauce
chinese mustard leaves, cut into small pieces (or choy sam, bok choy, lettuce)


Rice:
3 cups long grain rice
4 cups chicken stock (from above)
4 slices ginger
1/4 tsp salt
5 cloves garlic
2 T oil

Chilli Sauce:
40 grams ginger
40 grams cloves garlic
40 grams long red chillies
3 T vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1 T sugar
1/2 T sesame oil

Methods:

Chicken -
1. Wash chicken and cut off excess skin around neck.
2. Bring water to boil in stockpot. Dip the chicken in boiling water, and carefully lift the chicken to drain the water. Do this 6 times. Leave the chicken in the boiling water (with heat on) for 10 minutes. Turn over and boil for another 10 minutes (total of 20min). Turn off heat. Leave the chicken in the pot for 30 minutes. Turn chicken over and leave for another 30 minutes (total 60min).

[Note: If using a 700g chicken (spring chicken), place in boiling water (heat on) for a total of 10 minutes. Leave in pot (heat turned off) for a total of 30 minutes]

3. Remove chicken from pot. Debone and chop into small pieces.
4. Mix 1 cup of chicken stock with 2 T soy sauce and 1 T sesame oil, and pour this mixture on chopped chicken.


Rice-
1. Wash rice. Cook rice with an equivalent amount of chicken stock (plus 1 cup stock). Cook this together with ginger and salt.
2. Fry chopped garlic in oil until golden brown.
3. Gently toss this mixture in the pot of cooked rice.


Soup-
1. Skim off the excess oil on top of the stock. Place the ginger and onion slices and bring the stock to boil. Season with fish sauce and white pepper. Throw in the chinese vegetables and serve immediately.

Chilli Sauce-
1. Peel and wash ginger and garlic. Remove seeds from chilli. (Warning: Don't touch your eyes after touching hot chilli. Preferably, use kitchen gloves when handling chili).
2. Place ginger, chilli, garlic in food processor with 1 T vinegar and chop until smooth (but not liquified). Transfer to a bowl and add the remaining vinegar, salt and sugar. Extra chilli sauce can be frozen.

Source: mom-in-law

Nilagang baka (Beef soup)

I think this version of Nilagang baka must be my mom's parents', because her brother cooks it too just as nice as how my mom does it. I love it on cool nights to warm me up.

PS. After hearing from my mom's sister that Matt loved it with mushrooms, I thought I'd better add them too to make him happy!

1 kg beef bones for soup
1 bulb garlic, peeled
1 L water
1 tsp salt
1 T fish sauce
2 bunches choy sam (pechay)
100 g button mushrooms, halved

Add all ingredients together. Let the beef boil and simmer for 2 hours until the meat is very tender. Cut off available meat from the bones and throw back in the pot. Remove as much fat from the broth (or chill the soup and remove fat that solidified). Cook the vegetables for 2 minutes or until tender.

Source: Jen-at-work original

Lumpiang Shanghai (Pork spring rolls)

A Filipino dish I often found in our family gatherings and parties. We loved them when we were kids!






Lumpiang Shanghai:

500 g lean minced pork
80 g carrots, grated or finely chopped
60 g onion, finely chopped
2 eggs
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
20 spring roll wrappers (approx 20cm x 20cm)
canola oil for frying

Sweet & Sour Sauce:

1/4 c vinegar
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
2 T tomato sauce (ketchup)
chilli flakes (optional)

Mix pork, eggs, carrots, onions and seasonings together. On one edge of the wrapper, spread the filling until it is approximately as thick as a finger in width. Roll up the wrapper like a long cigar, and moisten the opposite edge to seal the lumpia.

Fry in a shallow pan with oil enough to cover about 1/2 of the thickness of the lumpia rolls. When brown, flip to cook the other side. Drain well on paper towels and cut into 6cm long pieces

Sauce:

Mix all ingredients in a saucepan and cook until it changes in colour and thickens.

Storage/Re-heating: Lumpiang Shanghai can be frozen uncooked. To reheat, simply place in an oven tray and heat under the grill.

Source: Jen-at-work original

Braised Ginger Chicken

1.3 kg chicken pieces (or 1 kg thigh fillets, cut into small pieces)
8 slices ginger
2 T dark soy sauce
1 & 1/2 T sugar
1 T light soy sauce
250 ml water
2 T sesame oil
5 chinese (shitake) mushrooms, soaked in water, halved
100 g button mushrooms
5 pieces dried wood, soaked in water, cut into pieces

Add everything exept mushrooms and let it boil until chicken is cooked. Add the mushrooms last to cook briefly.

Source: modified from Best of Singapore Cooking cookbook

Chinese-style steak & mushroom

Here's another dish that my husband's mom prepares. I think this is how it's done ;)

250 g beef fillet, sliced 1 cm thick
200 g mushroom, sliced
100 g onion, cut into wedges
1.5 c water
2 T Gravox (instant gravy powder)
1 tsp dry sherry
1 tsp soy
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1. Pan fry fillet pieces in little oil until they're lightly browned on either side. Cook a few pieces at a time or meat will water and try not to overcook. Set aside.
2. Saute onions, followed by mushrooms. Set aside.
3. Mix gravy powder in water and cook in pan. Season with sherry, soy and pepper.
4. When sauce has thickened, toss in beef, onions and mushrooms.

Chicken Nuggets & Fingers

Instead of buying commercially ready chicken nuggets/fingers, why not try making them at home. This way you know that you're serving purely lean chicken meat. They're so simple to make and taste yummy.

Ingredients:

(375 gm) chicken breast, coarsely chopped
(2) sliced white bread
(1) egg
(80 gm) onion
(2 tsp) chicken stock powder
(2 tsp) garlic salt
dry, packaged breadcrumbs
canola oil, for pan frying

Combine onion, bread, egg and chicken in the food processor until even in consistency. Place in a bowl and add the seasonings. Form into small balls, roll on breadcrumbs and shape into nuggets. To make chicken fingers, make smaller balls and roll lightly on breadcrumbs. Then shape them into fingers before rolling again on more breadcrumbs. Pan fry until well cooked and golden in colour. Drain on paper towels.

Source: Babies & Toddlers cookbook