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

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 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...

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 sa...

This is a very simple chicken recipe for working mothers.  All you need to do is just marinate the chicken with some seasoning, add on honey and lemon, then pan-fry.  But for better flavour, it's best to marinate it longer, preferably overnight.  I just pan-fry the chicken keeping aside the marinade to make a gravy to go with the chicken and mushrooms and a greens on the side. Honey Lemon Drumettes ~  蜂蜜柠檬鸡翅根 Ingredients 1.2 kg Drumettes 2 tsp McCormick chicken seasoning 1/4 tsp salt 1.1/2 tsp honey 1 tsp lemon juice 1 Tbsp oil a dash of pepper 200 gm mushrooms 3 cloves chopped garlic 3 shallots, chopped Cornstarch + water to thicken the sauce Brocolli or any other greens Method Season the drumettes with chicken seasoning, salt, oil, honey and lemon for a few hours or preferably, overnight. Keeping aside the marinade, pan fry the drumettes flipping from side to side till cooked and tender.  Dish out. Saute the mushrooms with ...

Loh Mai Kai is the transliteration of  糯米雞 in Cantonese, meaning glutinous rice steamed with chicken.  It is a common dish in any dim sum restaurant and you can't miss it. Some of them are served in  small steel bowls while some are steamed in alluminium foil cups.  The glutinous rice is steamed with chicken, mushroom and Chinese sausage, but in my recipe today, I had to omit Chinese sausage as I wasn't able to get it during this 'lock down' period.  Hence, I substituted with some dried shrimps and dried scallops.  The taste of the glutinous rice is just wonderful as it has been infused with these flavours.  It's best to use drumsticks, deboned or with bones, absolutely your personal preference.  You can enjoy Loh Mai Kai for breakfast or brunch or whenever you feel like it.                                Loh Mai Kai  ~  糯米雞  (Glutinous rice ste...

The lady boss of a restaurant recommended this dish to me.  She said it's something different, the chicken is steamed for a while and then lightly panfried to give it a crispy effect, so the skin is crispy and the meat is tender.  It has become a popular dish in the restaurant and because it's rather time consuming to prepare this dish, it's only available during weekends.  True to what she said, this dish is tasty and delicious. Steamed  & Panfried Chicken  ~  蒸炸鸡 Ingredients 2 whole leg of chicken, about 450 gm 1 tsp salt Method Cut the leg of chicken into 4 pieces each Season with salt, set aside (preferably overnight) Steam the chicken under high heat for about 8 mins.   Remove the chicken but keep the juice Panfry the chicken with some oil, turning them from side to side Add in the juice  Dish out onto a plate with fresh greens  Serve immediately 

I cooked this simple Herbal Chicken Rice during one of the days of the Lock Down.  I have a penchant for Chinese herbal food, be it herbal soup or herbal chicken.  This is a very simple recipe and doesn't call for a lot of ingredients and I'm sure most of you will be able to prepare this for your family. Herbal Chicken Rice  ~  药材鸡饭  Ingredients 450 gm whole chicken leg, chopped 1/2 cup rice Chinese cooking wine Light soya sauce Seasoning for chicken  3 pieces Tong Kwai (Chinese Angelica Root) 3 pieces Pak Kei (Astragalus Root) Salt Light soya sauce Method Season the chicken for about a few hours or preferably overnight. Wash rice, add a little less water than normal for the 1/2 cup rice. Place seasoned chicken on top of the rice.  Press the 'cook rice' function. Once rice is cooked, remove the chicken, fluff up the rice. Add a dash of cooking wine, light soya sauce to taste. Dish out and serve with the chicken.

This is a copycat dish from Old Kingdom Chinese restaurant in Surrey Hills, Melbourne.  When we saw 'Fantastic Chicken' dish on the menu, all of us were curious and yes, we agreed to give it a shot.  When the dish was served, there's nothing 'fantastic' about it, it's just chicken fillet fried with black bean sauce.  Nonetheless, it was a delicious and tasty dish to pair with a plate of steaming hot white rice. Fantastic Chicken/Chicken in black bean sauce ~   豆豉鸡 Ingredients 270 gm chicken leg, deboned 2 onions, sliced or cut into wedges 1 medium size capsicum, sliced 1.1/2 tsp black bean  Salt and a bit of sugar to taste 1 tsp cornflour + 3 tsp water Method Slice up the chicken and season with some pepper, pinch of salt and a bit of sugar.  Set aside. Heat up a wok or pan with some oil, add in the black bean , saute till fragrant, add in the seasoned chicken and stir-fry till cooked.  Add in some water if  it'...

This is a quickie and delicious chicken dish, braised in caramelised sauce.  The ingredients are not too difficult to find and if you can't find kaffir lime leaves, you can omit them altogether.  This dish serves well with white rice and a side veggie dish.  Try it! Vietnamese Caramelised Chicken  ~   越南焦糖鸡 Ingredients 3 deboned chicken leg cut into bite size 2.1/2 Tbsp brown sugar or Palm sugar 1/2 cup water 1 Tbsp fish sauce 1 Tbsp lime juice 3 pips of garlic, chopped 5 shallots, minced Some black pepper Some shredded kaffir lime leaves (optional) Method Season the chicken with some salt and pepper. Place brown sugar and water in a wok over medium heat till bubbles appear and sugar melted.  Add in the other ingredients except the chicken and lime juice. Add the chicken pieces, skin side down, flipping over now and then, cook till chicken is tender and cooked through. Add in the lime juice and fine tune to taste. Di...

This is a savoury swiss roll filled with peanut butter and chicken floss.  The airy and light sponge is delicious with this combination and it can be enjoyed for breakfast, as a snack at any time of the day. Chicken Floss Swiss Roll  ~  鸡肉松蛋糕卷 Ingredients  (A)  4 'L' egg yolks        30 gm caster sugar        30 ml vegetable oil        30 ml milk        50 gm plain flour   )  sifted        20 gm rice flour     ) (B)  4 'L' egg whites        40 gm caster sugar        1 tsp lemon/lime juice or vinegar (C)  Chicken floss and peanut butter for filling Method Line a 10 x 10 inch square pan with parchment paper. Whisk egg yolks, sugar, oil and milk till well incorporated.  Fold in sifted plain and rice flour.  Mix well. In a clean bowl, whis...

I kick start 2019 with  this  post  ....... Chicken Floss Chiffon Cake.  This is another cake with a layer of chicken floss and topped with more chicken floss and a sprinkling of lightly toasted sesame seeds.  This time I baked this with my normal chiffon cake recipe.  The recipe is slightly different from the Chicken Floss Cake which I posted not too long ago.  But if you ask me, both cakes are equally good in texture and delicious.  Yumm is the word! 鸡松戚风蛋糕 Chicken Floss Chiffon Cake Ingredients (A) 5 'L' egg yolks 50 ml canola oil 65 ml milk 40 gm caster sugar 85 gm plain flour 1 tsp vanilla Pinch of salt 2 heaped Tbsp peanut butter or mayonnaise (I used peanut butter) Chicken floss Lightly toasted sesame seeds (B) 5 'L' egg whites 40 gm caster sugar Method Beat egg yolks with sugar with a ball whisk, then add in oil followed by milk.  Whisk till well blended.  Sift in plain flour and ad...

It's normal to find buns coated with meat floss in any bakery, but yet to find a meat floss coated piece of cake.  I saw this Chicken Floss Cake on youtube and was eager to give this a shot.  The recipe is quite similar to a chiffon cake and I was curious to find out the taste which should be slightly sweetish and saltish.  Wouldn't it be weird, I wonder.  But it turned out that the taste is rather unique with a light and soft texture and my family members gave me a thumbs up and asked for more! Chicken Floss Cake ~  鸡肉松蛋糕           Ingredients (A) 4 egg yolks 40 ml oil 50 ml milk 65 gm plain flour, sifted Chicken floss White sesame seeds Chopped spring onions (optional) a pinch of salt (B)  4 egg whites        40 gm caster sugar Method In a bowl, beat egg yolks, add in oil, mix well, then add in milk. Mix in sifted flour till well combined. In another clean bowl, beat e...

Figs are high in fibre, natural sugars and minerals.  Their nutritional value increases when they're dried.  As dried figs are good for the lungs and contribute health and wellness, using them as an ingredient for making soup is benefical to our body.  Stewing figs with some pork and red dates will help to increase the flow of breast milk.  Hence it is also good for mothers in confinement. Figs, Chicken and Red Dates Soup ~ Confinement food  ~  无花果和红枣鸡汤 Ingredients 800 gm free range chicken, chopped 50 gm dried figs 40 gm seedless red dates 5 gm goji berries 2.5 lt water Seasalt to taste Method Bring the 2..5 lt in a pot, once boiling, add in the chicken, dried figs and red dates Simmer and let cook till chicken is tender, about 2 hours Add in goji berries Fine tune to taste with seasalt Serve