Steamed Chicken WIth Garlic and Pandan Leaves

Remember last week I have shared a post with you our Yuan Xiao Jie(元宵节) dinner and here is the second dish that we had apart from that “Stir-Fry Leek with Firm Beancurd”. I got the idea of this “Steamed Chicken With Garlic and Pandan Leaves” from my 3rd Aunt who cooked this during one of Chinese New Year gathering over at her place (her version HERE).

After chit chatting with her in the kitchen while she was preparing the food, I managed to note down some of the key ingredients and steps on making this dish. So here is how I managed to get my favourite dish done from her descriptions.

Depending on the number of people you have, you can choose different sizes of chicken range from small (800g) to big(1.8kg) but the cooking time will have to be adjusted accordingly too.

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 4)

1 Kampong Chicken, about 1kg
6 Slices of Ginger
4 Small Garlic Bulbs, lightly pound
1 Stalk of Spring Onion, cut into half
2 Bundles of Pandan Leaves

Seasonings:
Salt and Sesame Oil

Notes:

~ To further enhance the chicken with garlic fragrant, lightly pound the garlic bulbs before stuffing into the cavity.

~ You can also use the chicken broth collected from the plate use for steamed chicken to cook chicken rice or throw in some shredded cabbage leaves to make soup.

~ Remember, do not over cooked the chicken or else the meat will be tough.

According to the chicken stall owner,s either Kampong or Sakura Chicken will be great to use in any steaming recipes as their taste much sweeter and fragrant compare to the rest.

Method:

1. Clean, trim and rinse the chicken thoroughly, pat dry with kitchen paper towels.
2. Place chicken(breast side facing up) on deep steaming plate and rub ½ teaspoon of salt all over the chicken.
3. Stuff cavity with garlic bulbs, 3-4 ginger slices, 1 bundle of pandan leaves and half portion of spring onion and scatter the rest of the ingredients on the sides and bottom of the chicken..
4. Steam in a covered pot/wok over medium high heat for 10 minutes, flip the chicken over on another side and continue to steam for another 15 – 20 minutes. (Remember to take note of the water in the pot and add in more hot water if necessary to avoid it from evaporating)
5. To test if the chicken is cooked, insert a chopstick into the thigh area if the liquid run out clear, it is cooked.
6. Remove the chicken from pot to another plate(refer to Notes on chicken broth), quickly rub 1 teaspoon of sesame oil all over it and let it rest for 5 – 10 minutes before cutting the chicken into bite size pieces and serve.

After resting the steamed chicken for about 5 minutes, I managed to cut it nicely into bite size portions and serve with some tomato wedges. This steamed chicken dish is infused with the aroma and fragrant from the Pandan Leaves and garlics that makes you crave for more. As for dipping sauce we prefer to have dark soya sauce with cut chilies instead of the usual Hainanese Chinese Rice Chilies.

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Eggless Dark Chocolate Ice-Cream

I have never thought of one day I could also churn up my very own Homemade Ice-cream even without using an ice-cream maker. In the past even though I have read up some really yummy ice-cream recipes, but yet still not a single one has lift up my motivation as I always thought it is a must to have an ice-cream maker before I could achieve those commercial like ice-cream texture.

I am sure most of us would like to have something sweet for after meal dessert or some frozen dessert to quench thirst during hot summer afternoon. No matter which is your choice I am sure either the refreshing Orange Sorbet or creamy Chocolate Ice-Cream will make some good rewards.

If you look at most of the ice-cream recipes, they usually called for "egg yolks" which are something that I always try to avoid while making dessert for my kid. But "Jess's" version( HERE) of recipe is definitely a keeper as it does not require any egg yolks in the ingredients. And to our surprised the end result taste just as rich and good as commerical ice-cream.

Ingredients (serves 4 - 6)

20g Dutch Process Cocoa Powder, sieved
90g Valrhona 70% Dark Chocolate
* 50g - 70g of Caster Sugar
1 Cup(200ml) Whipping Cream
125ml Fresh Milk
1 Tablespoon Kahlua / Tia Maria, optional

Note:

~ The amount of sugar added will depend on the type of chocolate used and your sweetness preference. (I used 50g for my 70% Dark Chocolate which can be purchased from either SunLik or Shermay Cooking School)

~ For creamy texture, you can replace whipping cream with thick cream.

~ To make chocolate sauce: Melt 30g Chocolate in microwave safe bowl on High Powder for 2 minutes with 30 second interval, stir the mixture between each interval to have a sauce like consistency.

Method:

1. In a medium saucepan combine cream, cocoa powder, sugar and whisk it over medium heat till combined and sugar melts.
2. Bring mixture to a gentle boil, stirring often, remove from heat and immediately whisk in chocolate until completely melted.
3. Next whisk in milk till mixture is glossy and well mixed before adding liquor if using.
4. Sieved the mixture through fine strainer into the loaf pan/tray, cool to room temperature.
5. Churn above mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions or alternatively, if you don't have an ice cream maker, freeze it for at least 2 hours or until firm.
6. Use a fork/spoon break out mixture and process it in blender (or whisk it using hand-held beater) for a few second till creamy. You might need to repeat the process at least twice if you prefer a smoother texture.
7. Return mixture to pan, freeze for another 3 hours or until firm. (I freeze it overnight)
8. Serve scoops of ice-cream with extra chocolate sauce and topping in cones or cups.


Are you ready for a scoop or two of this Homemade Dark Chocolate Ice-Cream.


Finally after a day of whisking, freezing and waiting..... here is our very first Homemade Chocolate Ice-cream. Each scoop is filled with rich and creamy texture that melts our heart with its semi-bittersweet chocolate taste.  And most importantly we get to choose the quality of ingredients used such as low fat milk/cream ad etc. So which is your choice? Cone or Cup?

For better presentation and finishing taste, you can drizzle some melt chocolate sauce(see notes above) together with your flavour chopped nuts or sprinkles topping on it. Enjoy!!! Have a great weekend everyone.





Eggless Dark Chocolate Ice-Cream

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Orange Cinnamon Sorbet

It has being ages since my last post on Sorbet which was around May 2006 where Tracy shared with me her encounter on making "Mango Kaffir Lime Sorbet". (you can check out the recipe HERE) And from there I also modify a similar recipe to make some "Durian Sorbet" which my family loves.

To beat the recent heat craze and hot waves, let's take a step to prepare some really cold and refreshing dessert for the family to cool down the heat.........

But for this post I will be sharing the recipe on Orange Cinnamon Sorbet instead of Durian because now it is the peak season where you can get really huge and sweet oranges to make yummy dessert.

Some of us might tends to get confuse with Sorbet and Granita which somehow or rather look similar in a way. But if you notice carefully sorbet has a smoother texture and it is make with fresh fruit comparing to Granita, which has a coarser and crystalline texture that often makes from flavouring water and sugar.

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

300ml Freshly Squeeze Orange Juice, about 3 1/2 Oranges
30ml Water
2cm Cinnamon Stick
*30 - 50g Caster Sugar
*Shredded Rind of 1 Orange
1/2 Orange, sliced into Segments

Note:-

~ The amount of sugar use will depend on the taste of the fresh orange juice and individual preference.
~ You can refer to the read-up on "How to shred and grate orange rind" at this link HERE.

Method:

1. In a small saucepan bring sugar, 30ml of water, cinnamon stick and shredded orange rind to boil over medium heat.
2. When the mixture comes to boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 3 - 5 minutes by stirring occasionally to avoid burning.
3. Next remove the pan away from heat and leave the mixture to cool to room temperature.
4. Before mixing the orange juice with the sugar syrup till combined, remove the cooked orange rind and reserved it as garnish together with 1 teaspoon of sugar syrup in a small container.
5. Pour the orange juice mixture into a loaf pan, freeze for 3 hours or until firm.
6. Working quickly, use a metal spoon to break up sorbet and blend it until changed in colour and smooth.
7. Return mixture to pan, freeze it for another 2 hours or till firm.
8. Serve scoops of sorbet with some fresh orange segments and reserved candied orange peels.

Don't worry about whether this sorbet is being strongly infused with cinnamon taste. I can guarantee you that it’s only a very mild fragrant that act as a finishing touch to balance the citrus taste. But by all means if you just want a pure orange sorbet you can always omit the cinnamon stick.

ATTENTION!!! 

More Heat Cooler Coming Up!

For ice-cream lovers do look out for this space on the next upcoming recipe which I will  feature the "Eggless Homemade Dark Chocolate Ice Cream". If you are interested, do stay tune!!!!!




Orange Cinnamon Sorbet

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Stir-Fry Leek with Firm Beancurd

Time flies fast as February is coming to an end in about less than 10 days time. And the last day of the 15 Days of Lunar Chinese New Year (CNY) has just past on the 17th February where everyone grab the last opportunity to enjoy the CNY feast and atmosphere. For our family I just prepared two simple home cooked dishes that my dad used to cook during CNY.

First I cook this “Stir-Fry Leek with Firm Beancurd” which is one of our family dishes that my dad often prepared during CNY where he will stock up a lot LEEKS either to stir-fry with white spotted rabbitfish(recipe HERE) or beancurd. Below is the recipe of our quick and easy way of eating Leek during Chinese New Year.

Ingredients: (Serves 2)

3 Stalks of Leeks
1 - 2 Pieces of Firm Beancurd
3 Cloves of Garlic
1 Red Chili, optional, cut into thin slices
1/2 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
50ml Hot Water

Method:

1. Rinse and remove any soil that trapped in between the green leaves of the leek, pat dry and sliced the leek diagonally into sections and set aside. (refer to the photo above)
2. Heat up frying pan with 1/2 tablespoon of oil to pan-fry the beancurd till slightly golden brown on each side. Remove, cool and cut into bite-sized portions.
3. Using the same frying pan, saute garlic till fragrant before adding in leek, chili slices. Continue to fry for another 1 minute until leek leaves are cooked, stir in oyster sauce and give it a quick stir.
4. Add in beancurd and hot water, mix well and simmer the mixture on low heat for about 3 - 4 minutes till the leek turn soft and beancurd absorb the flavour from the sauce.
5. Dish up and serve with steamed rice.


If prefer something more meaty for this dish perhaps you could add in some minced meat, roasted pork belly, preserved pork(腊肉) or even firm fish slices instead of beancurd. This leek can also be used for making soup broth together with potato and carrot which will produce a great stock for cooking noodles or etc.

Will share more about the 2nd dish of "Steamed Chicken with Pandan Leaves and Garlic" on the next post. Stay tune and have a great weekend.

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[Featured @] Foodbuzz ~ Today's Top 9

Hi friends and readers from Foodbuzz, thanks for your all your "BUZZ" that makes "[Valentine's Dessert] Melt Your Heart ~ Strawberries Yoghurt Cubes" and "Orange Cinnamon Sorbet" being featured on Foodbuzz Top 9 on 12 February 2011 and 26 February 2011 respectively! And out of the 4,163 posts from the Foodbuzz Community, this Strawberries Yoghurt Cubes has make it way up to Top #3 as choosen by the Foodbuzz editors and users.

You can also take a look at the rest of the 8 entries from this link HERE. Once again thanks for all the supports as it's all your BUZZ that makes this happen.

"Orange Cinnamon Sorbet" being featured on Foodbuzz Top 9 on 26 February 2011.

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[Valentine's Dessert] Heart Poppers ~ Assorted Mini Donuts

There is a period of time where I used to bake mini donuts for gatherings or upon special orders from readers and friends about 2 years back. I still remember during that time getting "Donuts" is a very popular trend among youngster and working adults. And as an interest I have also come out with about 30 over different flavours of mini donuts where you can read up more on these posts HERE.

These are some of the assorted design heart shape donuts baked using the mini heart shape pan. For this recipe I have used Meiji, Mixed Berrries Yoghurt as one of the ingredients, but you can always replace it with either plain or any of your favurite yoghurt flavour.

Ingredients: (makes around 20)

1 1/4 Cups Top Flour, sifted
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
Pinch of Salt
150ml Mixed Berries Yoghurt
1/4 Cup Castor Sugar
1 Large Egg
3 Tablespoons of Melted Unsalted Butter, cool
Zest of 1 Lemon
1 Disposal Pipping Bag, optional

Method:

1. Grease mini heart shape/donut pan with cooking spray or melted butter and set aside.

2. In a medium mixing bowl whisk sugar and lemon zest until moist and fragrant.

3. Crack in the egg and give it a quick whisk till combined before adding the yoghurt and mixed well.

4. Next sieved in flour, baking powder, salt and whisk together with melted butter till the mixture resemble paste like texture.

5. Spoon mixture into disposal pipping bag, snap off the tip and pipe into prepared trays at about 3/4 full.

6. Bake in preheated 180 degree oven for about 8 - 10 minutes or until donuts spring back when touched.

7. Cool donuts in pan for another 2 - 3 minutes before removing it from tray.

8. Decorate the donuts with melted chocolate, sprinkles, fresh fruits or etc.

Tips:-

* With this recipe above, you can mix and match with different key ingredients such as cocoa powder/green tea powder to make different flavour.

* Adding in shredded cheese and ham for savory version and etc.

These are the mini rose scented "Heart Poppers" which is great to be served during Valentine's Day. Due to the sticky chocolate glazing, I use some heart shapes design food picks to act as a server for easy consuming as well as vision effect.

These "Rose Scented Donuts" which coated with White Chocolate Glaze are one of the popular choices among those donuts order that I received years back(read more HERE). I think for ladies who prefer the light and fragrant aroma of rose, this is definitely a great choice for afternoon tea snacks.

If you are cracking your head for ideas on sweet treat for kiddy's Birthday Party or Tea-Session with a few besties for some cozy afternoon girls talk. Here are some mini donuts(about 4cm in diameter) to satisfy those sugar rush.

I submitting this post to "Aspiring Bakers #4: Love In The Air! (Feb 2011)", hosted by Me(Cuisine Paradise) at this link HERE.

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[Valentine's Dessert] Melt Your Heart ~ Strawberries Yoghurt Cubes

If you think having ice-cream is something sinful that you want to keep your mind off, perhaps this quick and easy frozen yoghurt pops can be a great dessert to cool you off from those heat wave. You can choose from either plain to any flavour yoghurt that suitable your preference. Since we are having this as Valentine’s Day sweet treat after our "Spice Up Your Love" meal, I choose our favorite “Strawberries Yogurt” to make these pinkish little frozen heart pops as after meal dessert.

A few days ago while getting our routine grocery from the supermarket, I notice a "Summer Strawberries Yoghurt" from Puhoi Valley. It comes in two layer(plain yoghurt below, strawberries on top) which you can refer from the photo above.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

200ml of Plain/Flavour Yogurt
Handful of Fresh Blueberries
10 Strawberries

Tool:
1 Mini Heart Shape Ice-cube Tray or moulds

Method:

1. Give the yogurt a good stir and spoon it into the mini heart shape ice-cube tray.
2. Freeze it for at least 2 hours or more till harden. (you can prepared this 1 day ahead).
3. Rinse and cut the strawberries into halves, serve with blueberries or any fruits of your choice together with a few yogurt cubes in short glass.

If you prefer something more natural and healthier, you can mix some fresh fruit puree into plain yoghurt to make your very own fruity yoghurt pops. Just blend any cut fresh fruit of your choice with some sugar syrup/honey then mix the puree into plain yoghurt before freezing them in ice-cube tray or ice-cream pop.

As for your kiddo or someone with sweet tooth, perhaps you would like to stay tune on the next upcoming recipe featuring the “Heart Poppers ~ Assorted Baked Mini Donuts” where you can mixed with of the left over yoghurt to make these healthy snacks.

I submitting this post to "Aspiring Bakers #4: Love In The Air! (Feb 2011)", hosted by Me(Cuisine Paradise) at this link HERE.

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[Chinese New Year Dish] Stir-Fry 7 Assorted Veggies

Time past so quickly that today is the 7th day of Chinese Lunar New Year(CNY) which traditionally known as “Renri (人日)” or  common man's birthday where everyone grows one year older. During this day in Asia countries like Singapore and Malaysia, people gets together to toss and eat a colouful salad called “YuSheng(鱼生)” or “LoyHey(撈起)” in Cantonese.

Besides having “YuSheng(鱼生)”, some of the families will also prepare this traditional “Stir-fry 7 Assorted Vegetables(七样菜)” dish with 7 different kinds of Auspicious vegetables to celebrate “Renri”. And some older folks believes that by eating these “Assorted Vegetables” dish all misfortune and bad luck will be eliminated and good luck will be bestowed on each family members in the New Year. While others explain that since everyone is having big feasts during the first 6 days of CNY, the 7th day shall be reserved for this “7 Assorted Vegetables” dish in order to clear our body system from those rich cuisines that we consumed.

Below are the 7 types vegetables(pre-packed) that I bought from one of the vegetable stall near my wet market.

1. Chinese Leek(大蒜)
2. Chinese Celery(芹菜)
3. Organic Choy Sum(菜心)
4. Choy Sum(菜心)
5. Chun Cai(春菜)
6. Chinese Cabbage(白菜)
7. Lettuce(生菜)

There is no fixed rules on which vegetables you must include in this "7 Assorted Vegetables" dish. You can mix and match any 7 different types of auspicious CNY vegetables to prepare this dish and the most common vegetable will be, "Chinese Leek(大蒜)", "Lettuce(生菜)", "Black Moss(发菜)" ,"Spring Onion(葱) and etc.

Ingredients: (serves 2)

1 Stalk Each of 7 Assorted Vegetables(七样菜)
1 Chinese Preserved Sausage(腊肠), sliced
1/2 Bunch of Shimeji Mushrooms, optional
3 Slices of Ginger
3 Cloves of Garlics
1 Red Chili, sliced
1 Teaspoon of Chicken Stock Powder

Method:

1. Trim and cut the assorted vegetables accordingly, rinse well and set aside.
2. Preheat frying pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, saute ginger, garlic and chili till fragrant then toss in the sliced preserved sausage and fry for another 30 seconds.
3. Toss in the sliced leeks and stir for another 1 minutes before adding in the rest of the vegetables ,give it a quick stir before seasoning it to taste.
4. Serve hot with rice.


Lastly on this "Renri(人日)" I would like to wish each and everyone of you Happy Birthday , Good Health and Prosperous in all area whole year round.

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