Chicken and Cheese Puff 鸡丝乳酪酥皮泡芙

This is a super easy finger food to make. I made this for the kids as an afternoon snack. I had to make a second batch because my son said I I ate his share. :P I use mayonnaise as the dipping sauce. You can leave it out or use other sauces such as chilli, tomato sauce or any of your preferred sauce.

Ingredients:

• 1 piece Pastry Puff, thawed and cut into 4 squares
• 2-3 pieces Cheese singles divided into 4 portions (I used Cheddar Cheese here)
• 2 pieces Chicken Fillet, cut into strips and divided into 4 portions
• 1 egg yolk for brushing

How to do it:

1. Blanch Chicken Fillet till just cooked.
2. Drain, pat dried and set aside.
3. Place half a portion of cheese on a pastry puff diagonally.
4. Place a portion of chicken strips on the cheese and top with the remain cheese.
5. Take the bottom corner of the pastry puff and roll it up.
6. Brush with egg yolk.
7. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes at 200C or as instructed on package.
8. Remove and serve with dipping sauce if desire.

Note:
You can use other ingredients other than chicken if you like. I didn't add any seasoning as the Cheddar Cheese is salty enough.

Ginseng Chicken Soup 人参鸡汤

Two months ago, after running errands for my mother-in-law, I went to Tiong Bahru market to have lunch. While there, I went to the wet market and happened to see fresh ginseng and bought a packet home.

I finally decided to use the ginseng today. Being fresh and not dried, it doesn't require a usually longer time to cook it. The taste is milder as well, which is more acceptable by the kids. Personally, I preferred the soup using fresh ginseng too.

I had been advised to use stoneware/glassware when cooking using fresh ginseng. It's said to have some reaction if cooked using metal. I had use my earthen pot to make the soup.

Ingridents:

• 900ml Water
• 2 Large Chicken Drumstick
• 2 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine
• 2 Fresh Ginseng Root
• 5 Red Dates 红枣
• A small handful Wolfberries 枸杞子 (optional)

How to do it:

1. Blanch chicken.
2. In a non-metal pot of water, add chicken, ginseng root, red dates and wolfberries.
3. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
4. Skim off any scum.
5. Continue to simmer for an hour.
6. Add in wine and salt to taste.
7. Continue to simmer for a further 30 minutes.
8. Serve hot.