Whole Steamed Fish With Ginger And Shallots

Ingredients

500g silver perch or barramundi
3 shallots, finely shredded
4 whole shallots
1½ tablespoons light soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 large knob of ginger finely julienned
a few sprigs of coriander (optional)
3 tablespoons peanut oil

Method

1. Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper and put it onto a chopping board. With a sharp knife, make three diagonal slits into the meatiest part of the fish, then turn the fish and repeat the process on the other side.
2. Place the whole shallots  on the bottom of a heatproof plate that will fit into the steamer and take the fish comfortably. Add the sesame oil to the shallots. Place fish on top of the shallots. Pour the soy sauce over the fish then top with the ginger.
3. Put the plate in the steamer over rapidly boiling water and steam for 10-15 minutes (the time will vary, depending on the circulation of the steam and size of the fish).
4. The fish should be just setting on the bone, which will be exposed by the diagonal cuts.
5. Be careful not to overcook the fish, as it will cook a little more when it is covered with hot oil.
6. Remove the plate from the steamer and scatter the shredded shallots over the fish.
7. Heat the peanut oil in a small pan until it is smoking, then douse the fish with the oil – be careful, it will spit!
8. Serve immediately 

Chow Mein

Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Kid's Cooking book, page46

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
500g lean beef mince
1 medium brown onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 cup frozen carrot, pea & corn mix
150g rehydrated shitake mushrooms
1 cup (250ml) chicken stock
⅓ cup (80ml) oyster sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
450g fresh thin egg noodles
½ small Chinese cabbage, shredded coarsely

Method

1. Heat oil in wok or large frying pan; stir fry mince, onion and garlic until mince is browned. Add curry powder; stir-fry about 1 minute or until fragrant. Add frozen carrot, pea & corn mix, mushrooms; stir fry until vegetables soften.
2. Add stock, sauces and noodles, stir-fry until combined; bring to a boil. Add cabbage, reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, tossing occasionally for about 5 minutes or until vegetables are just soft.

Fruity Nutty Chicken

The following is an adaptation of a recipe I saw from the T.V. show Poh's Kitchen. It's a Malaysian Chinese chicken stir fry dish with interestingly enough some fruits like honeydew added in. I like the bright colours of this dish as well as the different textures, flavours and the sweetness that comes from the fruits and sauce.

Ingredients

600g chicken breast, cubed
2 small capsicum (green/red/yellow), cubed
1 medium sized carrot, cubed
300g honeydew, cubed
150g toasted cashew nuts
225g tinned pineapple pieces, syrup juice drained
4 tbsp cooking oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed

Marinate (A)

2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp oyster sauce
2 tsp chicken stock powder
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp pepper (powder)
½  tsp sugar

Seasoning (B)

6 tbsp tomato sauce
6 tbsp plum sauce
1 tbsp vinegar
2 ½  tbsp sugar
8 tbsp water
2 tsp cornflour
Salt (optional)

Method

1. Marinate the chicken meat with the baking soda for 20 minutes and then rinse the chicken thoroughly (make sure that the chicken is properly rinsed clean of the baking soda). Pat the chicken meat dry with paper towels and then marinate with the rest of the ingredients for 10 minutes.
2. Heat up the oil in a wok over medium heat and sauté garlic till fragrant.
3. Add chicken and stir fry till almost cooked through.
4. Add in carrots and capsicums.
5. Pour in (B) and bring to boil.
6. Add honeydew and pineapple pieces.
7. Lastly, mix in cashew nuts.
8. Dish up and serve hot with rice.

Mango Sago Dessert

This is a nice and refreshing dessert to have on a hot summer's day!

Ingredients

2 mangoes
400ml mango juice
mango essence (optional)
125ml evaporated milk
100g sago pearls (approx. 1/2 cup)
250ml water
6 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp tapioca flour 
1 tbsp cold water
extra 50ml water

Preparation of sago pearls

1. Soak sago pearls in cold water till they turn translucent (about an hour or two).
2. Boil the pearls in 3 cups water until it turns totally transparent, about 10 minutes.
3. Pour the cooked pearls into a sieve and wash it with cold tap water to remove the starch.

Method

1. In a small saucepan, boil 250ml water, add sugar and stir until sugar dissolves
2. Mix tapioca flour with 1 tbsp water and pour into the syrup and stir over low heat until mixture is smooth.
3. Take syrup and tapioca flour mixture off the heat and leave it to cool.
4. Meanwhile, cut the sides of the mango and cube them.
5. Scrape the remaining mango and put in a blender with 50ml water. Blend until pureed then put aside.
6. Add blended mango, cubed mango, mango juice and evaporated milk into the syrup solution then stir.
7. Add sago pearls and stir. If too thick, add a bit more mango juice.
8. Chill before serving.

Red Bean Glutinous Rice Ball/Lo Mai Chee

Tonight we had a prayer and praise night at our church and were asked to bring a dessert from our country to share with others afterwards. Since I'm of Chinese descent I decided to make red bean glutinous rice balls otherwise known as "lo mai chee" in Chinese. Their texture can be described as soft and chewy at the same time. Different fillings can be used like peanut butter, finely chopped peanuts and sugar, green bean paste, custard, pandan as well as fruit fillings like mango and strawberries.

For my mango glutinous rice ball recipe click here.

Makes approx. 21 pieces

Ingredients

200g glutinous rice flour
1 tbsp corn flour
1 tbsp Santan powder (coconut cream powder)
300ml hot water
½ cup - ¾ cup caster sugar
2 tbsp corn oil
red bean paste (pre-bought or homemade)
½ cup dessicated coconut, for coating
Patty cases

Method

1. Sieve glutinous rice flour, corn flour and Santan powder into a big mixing bowl.
2. Dissolve sugar in 300ml of hot water. Pour this into the flour mixture and mix till smooth and well blended.  Add the oil and mix until the mixture is free of lumps and smooth.
3. Strain batter into a greased tray/bowl and steam on high heat for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by rolling out the red bean paste into small balls- I use approx 1 tsp of red bean paste to make 1 ball.
5. Remove tray/bowl from steamer and stir the cooked dough with a flat plastic knife or a pair of chopsticks. Leave dough aside to cool. NB: the dough needs to still be warm in order for it be pliable, so don't cool it for too long, just long enough for it to be handled with your hands.
6. Wear a pair of plastic gloves and grease it with some oil. Take a 25g-30g piece of dough and flatten it into a round disc (approx the size of your palm), and wrap the red bean paste balls. Seal the edges tightly and shape it into a round ball. 
7. Coat/roll the shaped glutinous rice balls with desiccated coconut. Dust off the excess coconut and place inside a small patty case.
8. Serve glutinous rice balls chilled or at room temperature.

Notes & Tips

Add 2 tablespoons green tea powder and a few drops green food colouring to the batter to make green tea flavoured glutinous rice balls

Caesar Salad

I went to a friend's baby shower today and was asked to bring along a salad so I decided to make a Caesar salad as it's fairly simple to throw together and well liked amongst most people. You can also add chicken pieces to this salad to turn it into a chicken caesar salad. For my chicken caesar salad recipe, click here.

Ingredients

2 eggs, hard boiled, cut into slices

8 bacon rashers, rind removed, cut crossways into thin strips
a handful of croutons
2 baby cos lettuce, leaves washed, dried and coarsely chopped
300ml Caesar salad dressing

40g Parmesan cheese, shaved 

Method

1. Heat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until crisp.
2. Arrange the lettuce, eggs and croutons on a serving platter. Drizzle with the Caesar salad dressing and sprinkle with bacon and shaved Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately.

Notes & Tips

Use a salad spinner to get rid of excess water from your salad leaves

Christmas Pudding Truffles

I brought these Christmas pudding truffles along with my mini Christmas puddings to a recent women's evangelistc event at my church. These truffles are just so adorable and unbelievably quick and easy to make. Simple yet effective :)

I didn't have any spearmint leaf lollies, so I improvised and used fresh mint leaves instead which I found gave the truffles a nice minty taste and freshness. Unfortunately though, because I put together these truffles the night before, the mint leaves wilted so I would suggest that if you plan to use fresh mint leaves, serve on the same day for a nicer presentation. You could probably make these truffles a couple of hours in advance and just leave in the fridge until ready to serve.

Makes 24

Ingredients

200g white chocolate melts

2 pkts Arnott's Royals dark chocolate biscuits

24 Jaffas

Spearmint leaves, cut into smaller leaves

Method

1. Place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate melts and is smooth.
2. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over each biscuit and allow to drip down the side to resemble custard flowing over the pudding.  
3. Place a Jaffa on top and a small spearmint leaf each side of the Jaffa and secure in the melted chocolate.

Notes & Tips

Refrigerate the biscuits prior to decorating especially if you are assembling them on a hot day. This will prevent the 'decorations' from slipping off and your chocolate biscuits from melting.

When topping puddings with 'custard', work in batches of 5 at a time so the 'custard' doesn't set before adding the Jaffas.

Try adding some vegetable oil to the white chocolate while melting, as it makes the chocolate runnier, making it easier to make the effect of custard running down the pudding. It also makes the chocolate shiny when set, so it looks nicer. I added approx. 1 tsp oil for every 100g of chocolate.

Mini Christmas Puddings

We had a women's evangelistic event at my church today- there was a short evangelistic talk about the prodigal son followed by an afternoon of decorating baubles. To keep with the Christmas mood and festivity, I brought along these mini Christmas puddings as well as some Christmas pudding truffles. They proved to be a real hit with the women at church :)

Makes approx. 35 truffles

Ingredients

800g pkt light fruit cake, coarsely chopped
100g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 tbsp brandy
200g white chocolate, coarsely chopped
Red and Green glace cherries, thinly sliced, to decorate

Method

1. Process the fruitcake in a food processor until fine crumbs form
2. Place the dark chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate melts and is smooth. Add the melted chocolate and brandy to the cake crumbs and process until well combined.
3. Line a tray with non-stick baking paper. Roll 1 tbsp of cake mixture into a ball. Place on the prepared tray. Repeat with remaining cake mixture. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm.
4. Meanwhile, place the white chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan half-filled with simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water). Stir with a metal spoon until the chocolate melts and is smooth.
5. Drizzle the melted white chocolate over each truffle. Top with the cherries.

Notes & Tips

When topping puddings with 'custard', work in batches of 5 at a time so the 'custard' doesn't set before adding the cherries

Try adding some vegetable oil to the white chocolate while melting, as it makes the chocolate runnier, making it easier to make the effect of custard running down the pudding. It also makes the chocolate shiny when set, so it looks nicer. I added approx. 1 tsp oil for every 100g of chocolate.

Pumpkin & Red Lentil Soup

 Recipe from Delicious Vegetarian Food, page 67

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 long red chilli, seeded and chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
500g butternut pumpkin, chopped
350g orange sweet potato, chopped
1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
½ cup red lentils
1 tablespoon tahini

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat, add the chilli and onion and cook for 2-3 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Reduce the heat to low, add the pumpkin and sweet potato and cook, covered, for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2. Increase the heat to high, add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the lentils and cook, covered, for 7 minutes, or until tender.
3. Blend the soup in batches in a blender, food processor or by using a stick blender. Add the tahini and blend until smooth. Return to the saucepan and gently heat until warmed through. Garnish with chilli and serve with bread.

Notes & Tips

The soup can be made up to a day ahead. Keep covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator and reheat in a saucepan or in the microwave.

Honey Soy Chicken Wings

Recipe adapted from Woolworths Fresh Magazine November 2009, issue 45 page 26 

Ingredients

1kg chicken mid wings
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup ketcap manis
1-2 tbs honey
¼ tsp Chinese five-spice powder (optional)
1-2 garlic clove, crushed

Method

1. Prick the flesh of the chicken all over with a fork to allow the marinade to penetrate.
2. Combine soy sauce, ketcap manis, honey, five-spice powder and garlic in a shallow dish.
3. Add wing pieces and turn to coat with marinade. These can be left overnight if you have time.
4. Preheat oven to 200°C. Arrange chicken pieces into a roasting pan lined with baking paper in a single layer. Bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through and golden.