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

There are many ways of cooking this Hakka dish of  'Long Bean Rice'.   My old Hakka neighbour used to cook this one-pot meal dish and I didn't realise it is their clan's dish until recently.  From what I gather from other bloggers, the common ingredients are roast pork and Chinese sausages and of course, the star of the dish which is long beans or  '豆角'.  My version is pretty simple and I used homemade char siew instead.   So, here's my take on 'Long Bean Rice'......... Long Bean Flavourful Rice  ~  豆角有味饭 Ingredients 100 gm long beans, cut into 1 inch 100 gm char siew, cut into cubes 150 gm (1 rice cooker cup) Brown rice, washed and drained 6 pips garlic, chopped 25 gm dried shrimps 3.1/2 tsp light soya sauce 3 tsp dark soya sauce 2.1/2 cups water Sesame oil and Shaoxing wine to drizzle Method Saute half the chopped garlic with some oil till fragrant, add in the dried shrimps, stir-fry.  Add ...

This is a 'cheat' version of chicken puff as I didn't make the rough puff pastry dough from scratch.  It was store-bought, Kawan puff pastry to be exact.  Why Oriental?   Simply because the chicken filling was cooked the Chinese way with soya and oyster sauces, plus a drizzle of sesame oil with onions and frozen peas thrown in.   They were indeed delicious and was perfect to snack on. Recipe for Chicken Puff ~ Oriental  (鸡肉千层酥皮) Ingredients 350 gm chicken breast, cubed 2 onion, cubed 100 gm frozen peas 3 sheets of Kawan puff pastry Egg glaze Seasoning 1 Tbsp light soya sauce, 1/2 Tbsp each of dark soya sauce and oyster sauce, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 tsps sugar, a dash of pepper, sesame oil and 3 tsp cornflour + 2 Tbsp water to thicken. Method Season the chicken with the above seasoning.  Lightly fry the onions, then the chicken.  Once cooked, add in the frozen peas.  Mix in thickening and fine tune to taste. Th...

These Short Ribs are juicy, tender, slightly sweetish and pair very well with white rice.  It's like a Korean dish but I've changed the main ingredients, that's the short ribs from beef to pork. Recipe for Braised Short Ribs  ~     焖排骨       (adapted from 'here' with modifications)                        Ingredients 700 gm pork ribs 1 large onion pureed 6 to 8 cloves of garlic, minced 1 China gong pear, peeled and pureed 10 gm ginger, minced 2 Tbsp light soya sauce 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar 1/2 tsp ground black pepper 1 tsp sesame oil 1 Tbsp lightly toasted sesame seeds Green peas (optional) Method Wash the pork ribs, pat dry and set aside in a pot. Blend the garlic, gong pear, ginger and onion.  Pour into the pot of ribs. Add in soy sauce, brown sugar and black pepper.  Give it a stir. Cook on low heat for about 20 mins., lower heat and simmer ...

This Yam Fried Rice dish seems to be appearing in the menu of some restaurants lately, and I've savoured two versions from two different restaurants.   Here, I'm sharing with you my version of Yam fried rice, prepared with leftover cooked brown rice.  If you don't have leftover cooked rice, you can still use freshly cooked rice but air the rice to remove moisture and refrigerate it for a few hours before cooking.  This way your fried rice won't become clumpy or mushy. A very satisfying and delicious bowl of Yam Fried Rice, which I must admit is truly 'Yum'! Recipe for Yam Fried Rice ~   芋头粒炒饭 Ingredients 1 cup brown rice (rice cup) 750 ml water 200 gm yam cubes 30 gm anchovies 30 gm dried shrimps 80 gm frozen peas 2 eggs scrambled 1 Chinese sausage, cut into cubes 1 tsp light soya sauce 1/4 tsp salt Method Cook the rice in the rice cooker, set aside for a few hours.  (I used leftover cooked rice). In a...

There are many ways to prepare eggplant and to me, the most fuss free method is to just cut it up, steam and then serve with some garlic oil and a dash of pepper.   But today, I want to share with you a more 'complicated' method whereby I pan seared them, mixed in some Korean bean paste, bits of pork and added in some dried chillies to make the dish slightly spicy.   This dish pairs well with rice or plain white porridge. Recipe for Eggplant with minced pork ~  茄子炒肉碎 Ingredients 2 eggplants, 450 gm, cut into bite size 2 stalks of spring onions, cut into 2 inch lengths 150 gm minced pork 6 dried chillies, soaked to soften and cut 4 cloves of garlic, chopped 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine 3 Tbsp oil Sauce  (Combine altogether) 1.1/2 Tbsp bean paste  1 Tbsp light soya sauce 1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp fish sauce 2 tsp sugar Method Heat up some oil in a wok, sear the eggplants till brown on all sides. Dish out and set aside. Wi...

Petai (Parkia speciosa) or 'stink bean' which belongs to the legume family is harvested from tall rainforest trees that can be found in tropical countries like Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.  The name 'Petai' is Malay and it is relatively common in Malay dishes and also can be eaten raw as in a Malay salad. So, why the name 'stink bean'?  Well, after you've eaten them, you'll begin to notice some changes, like your urine and faeces which will bear the unmistakable petai smell! Barring the offensive smell, the petai has a lot of health benefits.  It helps to lower blood sugar in diabetes and reduces cholesterol.  Also helps to lower blood pressure and aids digestion.  On top of that it's also a good source of minerals, high in calcium, phosphorous, potassium and iron.  Also a good source of vitamins C and E.  In short, it is one of the most nutritional local vegetable. Recipe for Sambal Petai Prawns...

I used to get this from the economy rice stall when I had to fetch my children back and forth from school and will occasionally  prepare this at home.  It's been quite a while since I've cooked this..... Recipe for Pork Patties with Mixed Peas Ingredients 250 gm minced pork 6 shallots, chopped Watties mixed peas 1  tsp cornflour + 1.1/2 tsp water to thicken Seasoning for the minced pork 1/2 tsp each of sugar, dark soya sauce, seasalt 1 tsp each of oyster sauce, light soya sauce 4 tsps of cornlfour a dash of pepper and sesame oil Method Marinate the minced pork with the seasoning, cornflour and chopped shallots for about 2 hours or more.  Mix well.   Use hands to shape each into 1/2 inch thick and 2 inch round patties. Pan fry them in a non-stick pan, cook on each side till light golden and cooked through.  Transfer them onto a plate. Simmer 3/4 cup water, add in some salt and light soya sauce.  Fine tune to tast...