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

I am not an ardent fan of 'Nam Yue', '  南乳 ' b ut after seeing some recipes using this ingredient, I half heartedly gave it a try and I was amazed that this dish tasted so good.  'Nam Yue' is fermented beancurd made with a concoction of red  yeast ' 紅麴 '', hence the red colour. It can be an acquired taste and like I said before, I wasn't keen initially.  Let the flavours of the sauce infuse into the trotters and the dish will taste much better the next day.  You can serve this with plain rice or  noodles which I think will be just as satisfying. Braised pig trotters with nam yue  ~ 南乳焖猪手  Ingredients 600 gm pig trotter, chopped into chunks 1 piece nam yue (fermented beancurd) 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine 1 Tbsp oyster sauce 2 Tbsp light soy sauce 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce 10 gm piece sugar 2 Bay leaves 2 star anise 3 slices ginger 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 onion, sliced white part of spring onion Method Wa

Finally, yes finally I managed to see the 'Huat Kueh', 'huat' or smile beautifully at me.  I can't believe my eyes and was elated because this is my first attempt at this recipe and I'm so glad I succeeded and achieved what I wanted.  I had tried to make Huat Kueh a few times during the MCO (Movement Control Order) but none of them 'huat' so much as this one and some of the recipes I tried, left a weird after taste perhaps due to the amount of baking powder.  This kueh is soft and nice and remained soft the next day, kept in an airtight container.   But you can always steam them again for a short while if you prefer piping hot ones.  I'm very grateful to Marvellina of  'What to Cook Today' and I'm glad I found you.  Thank you! Steamed Cocoa Huat Kueh aka Fatt Koh  ~   蒸可可发糕  Ingredients 250 gm plain flour 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp baking powder 65 gm brown sugar ) reduced from  65 gm caster sugar  ) 150 gm sugar

If you are a fan of Bittergourd  苦瓜 like me, you will relish this dish. This is a nutritious, easy to cook Chinese dish which you can easily prepare at home using 'sections of bittergourd stuffed with seasoned minced pork. The gourd will be soft after steaming but it is still firm in texture and there's the juicy broth for you to go with rice. Steamed Stuffed Bittergourd with Minced Pork  ~  酿苦瓜  Ingredients 160 gm minced pork 40 gm shitake mushrooms, hydrated, stemmed and diced 1 shallot, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped 1 medium size bittergourd Seasoning for the minced pork 2 tsp oyster sauce 2 tsp Shaoxing wine 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp light soy sauce 1/4 tsp salt 3 tsp cornflour 1/4 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp salt Dash of pepper Method Cut the bittergourd into 3/4 inch sections.  Scoop out the seeds, place the bittergourds in a bowl rub with some salt and set aside for about 20 mins.  (This is to extract some bitterness from gourds.)

This is a quickie dish that only involves two steps ~  pan-fry the seasoned chicken and add in the sauce.  I used chicken thigh because it is more juicy and tender than chicken breast meat.  Lemongrass has a pleasant and refreshing, slightly citrusy smell which can infuse well into the chicken while the fish sauce, although a bit stinky, enhances the flavour.  This can be served with rice or noodles with a salad or blanched veggie on the side. Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken  ~   越南柠檬鸡 Ingredients 3 deboned drumsticks, about 300 gm, cut into bite size 1 lemon grass, white part, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 2 birdseye chillies, finely chopped 1 onion, sliced 1 tsp lime juice 1 Tbsp fish oil 1 Tbsp sugar Method Season the chicken with a bit of salt, set aside. Lightly pan-fry the chicken till cooked, dish out. In a bowl, mix the fish oil and sugar, set aside. Saute the garlic and lemon grass till fragrant. Add in the sliced onion, mix well.

These Matcha or Green Tea Almond Muffins are soft and moist made with vegetable oil instead of melted butter.  My preference for oil is just vegetable oil but not olive oil as I find the flavour of olive oil too over-powering.   The sliced almonds are a good match with Matcha and these muffins can be enjoyed any time or over an afternoon cuppa. Matcha Almond Muffins  ~     抹茶 杏仁玛芬                       Ingredients 140 gm plain flour 1 'L' egg 1 Tbsp green tea powder 2 tsp baking powder 70 gm caster sugar 120 ml or 1/2 cup milk 70 gm vegetable oil 14 whole almonds with skin, sliced Method Mix flour, green tea powder and baking powder, set aside. In a mixing bowl, whisk egg and sugar till creamy. Add in milk to mix, followed by oil. Sieve the flour mixture into the egg mixture, stir well to incorporate. Use an ice-cream scoop to scoop mixture into the prepared muffin pan. Sprinkle some almonds on top. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C f

This is a quick fix for dinner.   It takes only about 3 minutes to cook the pork chops but again if your chops are quite thick, you will need to add more minutes.  I blanched some cabbage and carrot and cooked the onions before pan-frying the chops.  Drizzle on some honey and it's ready to eat! Garam masala pork chop  ~   印度香辛料猪排 Ingredients 4 pieces about 400 gm boneless pork chop 1 tsp garam masala 3/4 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp smoked paprika A dash of pepper Honey to drizzle Vegetables of your choice Method Lightly tenderise the meat with a meat mallet. Marinate the meat with the above ingredients for about an hour. Heat up some oil in a non-stick pan.  Pan sear on one side for about 1 minute, flip, then cover with lid and turn to low heat to cook the other side for another minute or two.    Drizzle some honey over the chops and serve with a salad of your choice.

This is a flavourful dish of chicken drumsticks soaked in an Asian marinade of Teriyaki sauce.   I will normally order this whenever I dine in a Japanese restaurant but if you make it at home, it  will definitely cost you much less money.  For an easy meal, I served this with plain rice and a veggie on the side. Honey Garlicky Teriyaki Chicken  ~   蜂蜜大蒜照烧鸡 Ingredients 4 drumsticks 1.1/2 Tbsp terikayi sauce 1.1/2 tsp honey 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1.1/2 tsp cornflour + 1 Tbsp water to mix Lightly toasted sesame seeds (optional) Method Make slits on the drumsticks, season with a bit of salt, set aside or overnight. Heat up a pan with some oil and lightly pan-fry the chicken till lightly seared. Remove the chicken.  Mix the teriyaki sauce with honey and cornflour mixture. Saute the chopped garlic and add in the sauce mixture. Put in the semi-cooked chicken and let it simmer till cooked.  Lace the chicken with the sauce to let the flavour of the sauce infused