No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

This is a homey dish of preserved red bean curd (腐乳) braised with chicken and cloud ear fungus.  The preserved bean curd adds flavour to the dish while the cloud ear fungus (雲耳) absorbs all the flavours.  This dish pairs very well with plain white rice and all you need is to just add a dish of vegetables. Braised nam yue chicken with cloud ear fungus  ~  腐乳雲耳燜雞   Ingredients 480 gm whole chicken leg, cut into bite size 20 cloud ears, dried  1 pc nam yue, mashed 2 star anise 2 garlic, chopped 2 slices ginger white part of scallion 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine 1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 Tbsp light soy sauce 1/4 tsp dark soy sauce Method Soak the cloud ears till soft, stemmed and cut into smaller pieces.  Rinse to get rid of impurities. Heat oil in a wok and panfry the ginger, garlic, star anise and the white part of the scallion. Mash up the beancurd, add wine to mix. Add in the chicken and beancurd mixture and the sauces.  Add enough water to cover the chicken, let it simmer, cover with lid and co

I have posted many chiffon cake recipes in my blog and now at a loss of what other 'creations' that I should concoct to share.  Fortunately, for chiffon cakes, one can mix and match the ingredients and most of the time, the end result is acceptable and not disappointing.  So, today I'm going to share with you a Banana Cocoa Chiffon Cake with some 'dots' of chocolate chips.  As usual, chiffon cakes are light, soft, moist and will readily be enjoyed with a hot cuppa. Banana Cocoa Chiffon Cake  ~  香蕉可可雪纺蛋糕 (adapted from 'here' with adjustments) Ingredients (A) 5 'L'egg yolks 80 gm plain flour 1.1/4 Tbsp cornflour 44 gm caster sugar 50 gm vegetable oil 14 gm cocoa powder 144 gm mashed over-ripe bananas 25 gm choc chips (B) 5 'L'egg whites 1 tsp lemon juice or white vinegar 80 gm caster sugar Method Sift together plain flour, cornflour and cocoa powder.  Set aside. Whisk egg yolks with sugar till creamy and

Pig's trotters refer to the pig's hoofs and calves.   In  Chinese cuisine, trotters are one of the most frequently eaten parts and there are many ways of cooking them.  The trotters and pig's skin are rich in collagen, have a lower fat content and can be converted into gelatine during cooking.  It can help to prevent skin wrinkling and delays the aging process of the skin.  These braised pig trotters are moist, tender and flavourful being braised in a slightly sweet and savoury sauce.  This dish pairs very well with plain white rice. Braised Pig Trotters ~  紅燒豬手 Ingredients 800 gm pig trotters, cut into bite size 6 star anise 4 cloves of garlic with skin  3 to 4 dried chillies (soaked in hot water to hydrate) 2 ginger slices 20 gm rock sugar or piece sugar 2 Tbsp light soy sauce 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce 2 Tbsp oyster sauce 2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine (I used rose wine) 1 small cinnamon bark white part of spring onion Method Wash the pig trotters.  P

I have never made banana bread before and when I chanced upon a video on Youtube  by Apron demonstrating how this bread is made, I was game to give it a go.  What was the deciding factor that urged me to try this recipe?   Yes, it's the oval shaped cheesecake moulds.  A friend gave me two of these cheesecake moulds and I've hardly had the opportunity to make use of them.  This Banana Bread Loaf do look very pretty baked in this mould and not only that, the bread loaf itself is soft and delicious with a hint of banana fragrance. Banana Bread Loaf  ~   香蕉面包   Ingredients 350 gm high protein flour 4 Tbsp caster sugar 1 tsp salt 2 Tbsp milk powder 1 egg about 55 gm without shell 70 ml milk 1/2 Tbsp instant dried yeast 40 gm unsalted butter, cut into cubes 100 gm mashed banana Oil or butter to brush on the loaf after baked  (I used oil) Method Sieve flour  into mixing bowl.  Add milk powder, salt, sugar, mix well with ball whisk. Add mashed b

This is a tasty, simple comfort dish that can be easily prepared at home.  The chicken is tender and the mushrooms meaty and juicy for they have been infused with the flavour of the sauce and the chicken. The same goes for the beancurd skin for by itself, they are somewhat bland in taste.   Braised Chicken with Mushrooms   ~     冬菇腐竹焖鸡       Ingredients 4 drumsticks, cut into bite size, about 400 gm 8 shitake mushrooms, soaked and stemmed 12 pieces of beancurd sticks 2 slices ginger 1 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 tsp light soya sauce 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce 1/8 tsp sugar 1 tsp cornflour + 1 Tbsp water to mix 1 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp Shaoxing wine Salt to taste Method Heat up a wok with some oil and saute the ginger till fragrant. Add in the mushrooms, followed by the chicken.  Stir-fry. Add in the oyster sauce, light and dark soya sauce and enough water to cover the chicken and mushrooms.  Let it simmer.  Cover with lid, turn on medium heat and let the chicken cook till tender

  These Pumpkin Steamed Cakes are soft and moist and they can be served for breakfast or as a snack at any time of the day.  The amazing fragrance is due to the nice blend of coconut milk with brown sugar, not forgetting the wonderful taste of the slightly dense cake. Pumpkin Steamed Cake  ~   蒸南瓜蛋糕   (adapted from  'here' ) Ingredients 250 gm mashed pumpkin 1 large egg 130 ml coconut milk 110 gm light or dark brown sugar 250 gm plain flour 1.1/8 tsp yeast Method Steam the pumpkin till soft, mash it while still hot, set aside, let cool. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, add in the egg, coconut milk, mashed pumpkin, sugar and yeast.  Whisk till well incorporated.  The batter is quite thick at this juncture. Cover with cling wrap or a damp muslin cloth, leave it in a warm place to prove till double in size, approximately 1 hour.   STIR THE DOUGH TO MIX IT WELL.  (This is an important step). Heat up the steamer and line the cups with cupcake liners.  Fill up the cup to 3/4 full a

I was curious when I spotted this Noodle dish on the menu when I dined at  Ee Chinese Cuisine at Eastin Hotel in Kuala Lumpur, recently.  So, to kill everyone's curiosity, why not give this dish a try.  It was delicious and having some egg plants to go with noodles, that's a bit unique to me.  So I attempted to give this a try and well, it was not as good as the one that was whipped up by a chef, but certainly it's good enough to add this to my family's list of homecooked comfort dish.  Braised Noodles with minced pork & egg plant   ~    茄子肉碎焖生麵 Ingredients  100 gm minced pork 170 gm egg plant, sliced and cut Noodles 2 tsp oyster sauce 1 tsp chopped garlic 1 tsp light soya sauce 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce 2 tsp cornflour and 2 tsp water to thicken sesame oil vegetables of your choice Method Marinate the minced pork with a bit of salt, sugar, pepper and light soya sauce.  Set aside. Lightly pan-fry the egg plant, dish out. Saute the chopped garlic, then stir-fry the sea