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

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 ...

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....

This is a comfort dish and can be easily found in economy rice stalls.  Quick and easy to prepare, it's versatile as it marries well with either rice or plain porridge.  I ran out of ideas of what to cook and since I had the ingredients, thought of just putting them to good use. Minced Pork with Potatoes  ~  马铃薯焖肉碎 Ingredients 350 gm potatoes, sliced 100 gm minced pork 1 tsp chopped garlic 2 tsp tau cheong/bean paste 1/2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp cornflour + 1 Tbsp water Bit of light soy sauce and sugar to taste Method Season the minced pork with the sesame oil and a bit of salt. Saute the chopped garlic with a bit of oil in a pan, add in the tau cheong and fry till fragrant. Toss in the seasoned meat, stir-fry.  Add in the sliced potatoes and water.  Let it simmer for a while, close the lid and let cook till the potatotes are soft.  Consistency of sauce is as desired. Add in cornflour thickening, fine tune to taste, dish out. ...

The Mid-Autumn Mooncake Festival is here again and it falls on 1st October, a Thursday this year.  But I have seen some mooncakes already on sale, maybe they want to catch up on sales during this Recovey Movement Control Order.  I have shared quite a few mooncake recipes on my blog and this time I'm sharing with you this Purple Sweet Potato Mooncakes.  Give it a try if you prefer something different from the norm. Purple Sweet Potato Mooncake 2020  ~   紫薯月饼  (adapted from 'here' ) Ingredients 700 gm purple sweet potatoes (only 500 gm required) 5 Tbsp honey 65 ml oil 440 gm lotus paste Koh fun (fried glutinous flour) Method Steam the sweet potatoes, remove the skin and weigh out 500 gm to mash till fine.  (You can use the food processor or with a fork), I used the food chopper. Add in honey, oil and blend till fine, knead lightly. Divide into 25 gm dough, roll into a ball, wrap in cling wrap and chill in the fridge for about 30 min...

I have seen winter melon double boiled soup and I was surfing the internet looking for recipes to experiment with.  Steaming food in a pumpkin to use it as a serving bowl looks interesting and since I have some glutinous rice, why not let it mingle with pumpkin and see how it would turn out.  It's quite a straight forward dish, just like serving rice in a steamed pumpkin rather than on a plate and I do like the presentation. Steamed Pumpkin Glutinous Rice   ~    蒸南瓜糯米饭    Ingredients 1 kg Japanese pumpkin 180 gm glutinous rice (washed, soaked overnight) 80 gm pork, diced 10 gm dried shrimps 3 Shitake mushrooms, hydrated, stemmed and diced 1 tsp oyster sauce 2 tsp light soy sauce 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce 1 tsp chopped garlic 1 tsp sesame oil Salt to taste Method Wash the pumpkin, place on a plate and steam on medium heat for about 15 mins. to soften.  Then carefully cut a lid opening about 8 cm diameter around t...

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...

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 bitte...

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. A...

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 prepa...