{ Breakfast : Ham and Cheese Sandwich }

The kids made their own breakfast today.  They had Pizza Bread and had some ingredients left.

I stir-fried the leftover button mushroom with a little butter and seasoned it with a pinch of salt.  In the same pan, I did some Caramelised Onion.  I added those two items to my ham and cheese sandwich while it's hot so they could melt the cheese a little. ^_^

I did a Crabstick and Corn Salad with the remaining kanimi surimi and corn to go with my sandwich.  I topped the salad with the tobiko left from dinner two days ago.

This got to be one of my favourite breakfasts 'cos it has got everything that I love; even though they were made from leftovers.

{ Dinner : Kani Maki with Wakame Eggroll }

Made this simple dinner for the kids last night. 

It was inspired by a post I saw on Instagram. I stacked up reverse Kani Maki supposedly to make it looked like a Xmas Tree. :P

The eggroll has wakame and the balance kani surimi I used for the maki and lightly seasoned with vegetarian oyster sauce.

I'll be away on a trip with my family on Saturday and will be back only on 22 December. I'm trying to clear what ever housework I have, as well as to get the kids' stuff ready for school next year before the trip. Hence, the lack of recipe posts. I'll be sharing more recipes when I'm back, that is, after clearing the after trip laundry. (Already beginning to hate at thoughts of it. :P)

Meanwhile, have a good week everyone!

{ Breakfast : Pancakes }

As mentioned in my last post, I don't have a habit of taking heavy breakfast and won't be able to finish what I prepared for the kids.  I'm having mini bite-size pancake. It's about 2 palm size pancakes here. I have it with a small bowl of salad with shredded ham and a glass of juice.

I'm using Morinaga Pancake Mix but a added a tablespoon sugar, half teaspoon yeast and baking powder to the batter and let it rest while I make the kids' breakfast.

The pancake turnout really airy and fluffy. I drizzled my pancake with a little maple syrup and chocolate sauce and served it with some fruits.

{ Breakfast: Pancake with Egg, Sausage and Bacon }

This morning's breakfast was Pancakes with whatever I'm trying to clear in the fridge. :P

I bought 2 boxes of button mushroom a few days ago but did not store them properly and they were all bruised and turning brown. So my daughter was happy that she's having her favourite mushroom soup again.

The bacon was expiring soon, so I had to clear that too. I added an egg (with a runny yolk) and a couple of sausages too.

This was the kids' breakfast. I can't eat this much for breakfast. I'm just having some simple fluffy pancakes.

Churros with Chocolate Sauce 切洛斯

I made one of my favourite snacks, Churro, today.  I wished it was commonly available. 

I don't really enjoy making it because it's so difficult to squeeze out hot dough. :( Always remember to wrap a cloth around the piping bag when you are doing it to avoid being burned.

I used some remaining dough that was too difficult to pipe out and make them into balls. We all love those as it's was a lot more easier to eat. One ball each mouth!

These churros  are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Can't stop at one!

Ingredients:

• 250ml Water
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 125g All-Purpose Flour, sifted
• 2 tablespoon Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Oil
• Oil for frying

How to do it:

1. Put flour in a heatproof bowl and set aside.
2. Combine water, sugar, salt and oil in a saucepan.
3. Bring it to a boil.
4. Pour it over the flour.
5. Stir till a smooth dough is formed and it separates from the sides of the bowl.
6. Spoon the dough into a pastry bag with a large star tip.
7. Pipe into hot oil.
8. Alternatively, pipe on baking paper.
9. Drop the piped dough with the baking paper into the oil then remove the paper.
10. Deep fry till they float up on the oil and turns golden brown.
11. Drain on paper towels.
12. Coat with Cinnamon sugar or serve with melted chocolate.

Notes:

• I melt some semi-bitter chocolate bits with some fresh milk using steam bath method. I didn't weigh the chocolate chips as I just used what I thought is enough. It's about 5 tablespoon of chocolate bit and 1 tablespoon milk to thin it.
• The mixing of Cinnamon Sugar as based on estimation too. More sugar and less Cinnamon powder. Adjust according to your taste.

{ Lunch : Pot Stickers }

Last night I fell asleep on the sofa. Woke up at 6.30am this morning. I didn't know what came over me but I just had this thought of making dumplings. I'm not craving for it. I just want to make it. Strange but I went to the wet market to get the ingredients anyway and it was raining!

I made the kids their breakfast and started making the dumplings. THEN I thought to myself, why not have pot stickers as lunch instead of dinner? So pot stickers it is for lunch. :P

It's a strange day for me.

Braised Noodle aka Lor Mee 卤面

Lor Mee is my daughter's favourite local food. I love it to, especially with raw garlic, pickled green chilli and lots of black vinegar!

During the olden days, it has shark's meat it in. Nowadays, to make is simple, beaten egg white is used instead. The recipe I'm sharing is not authentic but it's good enough for my family.

I added crispy fried bean curd skin and ready made Ngoh Hiang to it too.

Ingredients:

• 600g Yellow (flatten) Noodles
• 300g Pork Belly
• 2 Hard Boiled Eggs
• 2 Egg White or 2 Whole Egg, beaten
• Some Bean Sprout

Braising Sauce:

• 500ml Water
• 3 clove Garlic, smashed with skin intact
• 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce

Soup Sauce:

• 1.5 litre Pork Bone Stock
• 1 Star Anise
• 1/2 tablespoon Chinese 5-spice Powder
• 1/2 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Sugar or to taste
• Salt to taste
• Cornflour Mixture (thickener)

How to do it:

1. Combine ingredients for braising sauce together in a pot enough to cover the pork.
2. Add in pork belly and hard boiled eggs.
3. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.
4. Braise for an hour till the pork is tender.
5. Remove the pork and cut into smaller pieces.
6. Remove the eggs and half them.
7. Retain the braising sauce.
8. Bring the bone stock to  a boil.
9. Add in the braising sauce, star anise and 5-spice powder.
10. Season with sugar and salt.
11. Thicken with cornflour mixture.
12. Turn off the heat and gently stir in the beaten egg white.
13. The soup sauce is ready to be used.
14. Blanch some noodles and bean sprout.
15. Drain and pour into a serving bowl.
16. Pour hot soup sauce over and top with pork belly, egg and other ingredients.
17. Serve immediately.

Note：

• You can use chicken stock instead of pork bone stock.

Pan Roasted Char Siew 叉烧

Last week I made Char Siew Rice during one dinner.  The kids are not fans of Char Siew so I make them something else.

The Char Siew was done using my Happy Call grill pan. However you can use any non-stick pan with a lid on. It's relatively quite easy to make but you have watch over it to prevent the char siew from burning.

I'm using the lowest heat I can get on my burner so I can roast the meat longer to make it tender without burning it. Have hot water on hand and if you find the sauce drying up, thin it by adding some hot water to continue cooking it.

This works well with ribs too. You don't really need an oven to do it. If you love to have ribs for this coming Christmas but do not have an oven, you might want to try this pan roasting method.

Ingredients:

• 500g Shoulder Butt Pork (pork with a bit more fats is preferred)
• 2 tablespoon Maltose
• 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 1 tablespoon Hoisin Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Cooking Wine
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 100ml + additional 50ml Water

How to do it:

1. Combine all ingredients, except water, together.
2. Marinate for at least an hour.
3. Pour the marinate into the pan and add 100ml water.
4. Bring the sauce to a boil.
5. Add in the meat and cook on all sides first.
6. Reduce heat to low.
7. Cover the pan and continue cooking for 45 mins.
8. Turn the meat every 10 mins to coat it well with sauce as well as to prevent it from burning at the bottom.
9. Turn it more often when sauce reduced and starts to thickened. Add a bit more water if necessary to prevent the sauce from burning which will makes it bitter.
10. Remove the meat and set aside to let it cool before slicing it.
11. Add in the remanding water to thin the sauce.
12. You can use the sauce to drizzle over the char siew or rice.

Note:

• Do not replace maltose with sugar as sugar will turn hard when it's cooled, which in turn, makes the meat hard. If you do not have maltose, you can use honey instead.
• Amount of water added depends on how fast your sauce thickens. Every stove is different. Hence, the low heat/fire might be different. I have lower the fire on my stove to the lowest I can get.
• Happy Call Pan has a wider cooking area hence the sauce will dries and thicken faster. If you are using a smaller pot or pan, you might need to reduce the amount of water added at first. Please adjust accordingly.

{ Breakfast : Waffles with Ice Cream }

This morning's breakfast is a very sinful Waffles with Ice Cream.

Who eat Ice Cream for breakfast?!  I'm a bad parent. :P  But ... I only serve this as breakfast only once is a very very blue moon.  Other time, it's just waffles with syrup and fruits.

I have this cute penguin waffle maker for a long time. I doubt you can still find it. The brand is "Morries" if you still want to try hunting for it.

The tummy of penguin is made to hold a small scoop of ice-cream. Perfect for holding whipping cream with fruits too or butter and maple syrup!

I served the waffles with ice-cream and a dollop of whipping cream with fruits.

Hor Fun 河粉

Hor Fun is one of the common local zichar food. My husband tried cooking for me once many years ago but the hor fun ended up in the trash bin.  LOL Shhhh .... don't tell him I told you. :P He hasn't cook anything since except maybe instant noodle and only once in a blue moon. :/

Too be fair to him, I did struggle with the frying of the kway tiow (hor fun) at first. You need to add enough oil and have to work fast otherwise it doesn't brown evenly and may get burn on some parts where other parts are still white.

Honestly, I think cooking Hor Fun is a lot harder than it looks especially at home with a small wok and fire. My tip for first timers, fry in small portion. If you can get thru frying the kway tiow, the rest is easy peasy. 

Ingredients:

• 300g Hor Fun aka Thick Flat Rice Noodles, separated
• 1/2 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• a few drop Dark Soy Sauce

Other Ingredients:

• 5 slices Loin Pork
• 4 Prawns, shelled and sliced on the back
• 1 Squid, cleaned and cut into smaller pieces
• 3 stalk Young Choy Sum
• 1 teaspoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Cooking Wine
• 1 teaspoon Corn Flour
• 1/2 tablespoon Minced Garlic

Sauce:

• 500ml Chicken Stock
• 1 teaspoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Fish Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 Egg White or 1 Whole Egg, beaten
• Cornflour Mixture as thickener

How to do it:

1. Heat wok with a tablespoon oil.
2. Stir-fry Hor Fun tossed with light and dark soy sauce.
3. Continue frying till the hor fun are well blended with the sauces. The hor fun should be brown and a little charred at the sides.
4. Dish out and place in a serving plate to be used later.
5. Meanwhile, marinate the pork with light soy sauce, wine and corn flour. This is to make the pork velvety.
6. At the same time, blanch the choy sum in a pot of water with 1 teaspoon oil. This is to give the choy sum some shine.
7. Drain and place the choy sum with hor fun.
8. In the same wok used to stir-fry the hor fun, add 1 teaspoon oil.
9. Stir-fry garlic till fragrant but not brown.
10. Add in the pork and stir-fry till they are just done.
11. Dish and place on top of hor fun.
12. Pour stock in the wok and bring to a boil.
13. Add in the prawn and squid.
14. Add in all the seasoning for the sauce except for egg and cornflour mixture.
15. Gradually stir in the cornflour mixture to thicken the sauce to your desire consistency.
16. Turn off the heat then gently stir in the beaten egg. Stirring vigorously will break up the beaten egg and make the sauce cloudy.
17. Pour the sauce over the hor fun and serve.

Note:

• The use of "toppings" depends on your preference. You can use fish slices, fish cake, etc instead.
• Hor Fun is usually served with pickled green chilli.

{ Dinner: Pan Grilled Chicken Chop with Ham and Cheese } 火腿芝士鸡扒

I had to run some errands yesterday and didn't plan for dinner.

Before I headed home, I dropped by Cold Storage and bought a tray of (4pcs) boneless chicken thighs for under $10.

I went home and dug into my fridge for other ingredients and decided to make this for dinner. It was a rush job, all done under an hour for 4 servings. As I didn't have enough time to marinate the chicken well, I used honey baked ham and cheese to further enhance the taste.

I'm pleased that the rushed out dinner wasn't that bad. ;)

Ingredients:

• 2 Chicken Drumstick or Breast, deboned
• 4 slices Ham Baked Ham, cut into strips
• 4 slices Cheese

Optional Ingredients:

• 10 - 15 New/Baby Potatoes or any potato of your choice, scrubbed and cleaned (skin if you prefer not to have the skin on)
• 2 Carrot, skinned and chop into smaller pieces.
• 3 medium Onion, cut into half (I'm using red onions here)

Marinade:

• 1 teaspoon Dried Thyme
• 2 teaspoon Dried Rosemary
• Rind of 1 Lemon
• 1 teaspoon Chicken Powder or Salt
• 1 teaspoon Light Soy Sauce
• 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
• Sprinkle of  Ground Black Pepper (optional)

How to do it:

1. Clean and dab chicken meat dry.
2. Add marinade to chicken meat and blend well with the meat..
3. Set aside for 1/2 hour.
4. Heat grill pan with a tablespoon olive oil.
5. Grill chicken skin down first for about 2 mins, till brown.
6. Turn over and continue to grill the other side of the chicken till it's completely cooked.
7. Place ham on top of chicken chop; skin side up and top with cheese.
8. Cover and continue grilling for a 10-15 seconds till the cheese starts to melt.
9. While pan grilling the chicken meat, prepare the vegetables, if you are serving it with the chicken chop.
10. Boil the vegetables in a pot of lightly salted water for 10-15 mins till they are tender. This is to cut down cooking time. I usually just let them roast in the oven.
11. Drain and set aside.
12. Pan fry 3 strips of diced streaky bacon till lightly brown. 
13. Pan grill the onion at the same time while pan frying the diced bacon.
14. Add in the drained vegetables and toss well in the oil.
15. Transfer the vegetables and roast at 240c for 15 mins.
16. Sprinkle with some salt and set aside to be served.
17. Serve chicken chop with roasted vegetables.

Note:

• Oil Splatter Alert! I'm using a HCP grill pan to cook it. If you do not have one, use a pan with a cover.
• If you do not have an oven to roast the vegetables, you can pan fry them lightly but it will take a longer time as you have to turn them one at a time to avoid burning them.

{ Brunch : Open Face Mushroom Sandwich }

This was what I prepared for myself for breakfast but I didn't realised that it was close to lunch when it was done. I ended up having it as my brunch.

As mentioned in my previous post, my son's tutor having trouble finishing the big bun. Hence, I only use (the bottom) half of the bun. I spread some butter and sprinkle some garlic powder and grilled the bun.

At the same time, I stir fried the sliced button mushroom with butter and sprinkle on some (truffle) salt and served it with the half bun.

I had earlier boiled some potatoes. I half them and tossed them with some bacon bits and the oil from the frying the bacon before roasting them in the oven till they are slightly brown.

Brunch done.

{ Breakfast : Bacon, Ham & Cheese Sandwich }

It's Saturday and yet another "Happy Meal" post. I will find time to write out some outstanding recipes that I planned to share soon.

I overslept this morning so today's breakfast was a simple Bacon, Ham and Cheese sandwich. It was served with Cream of Mushroom, Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary & Thyme with Bacon bits and Salad.

The bun was rather big. Even my son's tutor had problem finishing it. Hmmm ... I'll use half a bun for my own breakfast, which I ended up having as brunch (Check out the next post.)

{ Dinner : Simple Quick Fix }

I wish I could get takeaways everyday and I can just laze around and get fat. :P  Nah, I don't want to get fat though I AM getting fat from the zero exercise I have. I just hate having to think what to cook everyday.

Today, it's one of those days that my mind went blank so I just cook whatever comes in mind and with whatever is in the fridge.

So, here's dinner; Fried Chicken, Blanched Broccoli, Preserved Turnip Omelette and Cream of Mixed Vegetables.


PS. Salad is mine. I had to have it almost every dinner. ;)

{ Breakfast: Hot Dog Bun with Sausage and Bacon }

This morning's breakfast was Hot Dog Bun with Chicken Sausage with Caramelised Peppered Bacon. I served it with cabbage salad, persimmon and pink guava juice.

What did you have for breakfast this morning?