Pumpkin and mince stew 南瓜焖肉

I'm so far behind on blogging... Was sick for 3 weeks and only beginning to feel better this week. this extremely cold and wet winter really hit me hard... low motivation, carbo cravings, mental sluggishness just to name a few. >__<

I've a few recipes lining up, just no time to blog yet. Will play catch-up soon... ^__^

Up next is pumpkin and mince stew!

Updated recipe

Ingredients
1 quarter pumpkin, cut into pieces
200g minced pork, marinated with soy sauce and corn flour
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small piece ginger, grated
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
Cooking oil
Water

Method
Heat oil in pan, sauté ginger and garlic till fragrant. Add minced pork and stir fry till brown. Gently break the mince up with spatula. Add soy sauce, wine and oyster sauce, mix them well.

Add the pumpkin pieces and some water, stir fry for a minute. Cover pan with lid and gently simmer for 10 minutes. Add more water if it gets too dry. Season with salt and pepper.

Dish and serve with steam rice.

Stir-fried mixed vegetables with glass noodles 雜菜粉絲

I love anything with glass noodles, like the springy texture and that they readily pick up and absorb the flavours. This dish is versatile as you can choose from a wide array of vegetables like cabbage, mushrooms, snap peas, carrots, zucchini to go with the glass noodles, mix and match them to your liking.

You can have it an all vegetarian dish if you like, or add some mince or sliced pork for the meat lovers at home. Cooking is fun as you mix and match ingredients, combine seasonings to achieve a harmonious flavour and taste.

Will update the recipe soon. Good night everyone.

* Updated - recipe *

Ingredients
1 cup cabbage, coarsely shredded
1 small carrot, julienned
2 small packets glass noodles, soaked in water till soft (I prefer Thai brands than Chinese)
200g pork mince
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked in water and retained liquid
Handful of black fungus, soaked in water till soft
Corn starch water (optional)

Seasonings
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

Method
Heat oil in wok and saute garlic till fragrant. Add pork minced and stir fry till brown. Push mince aside, stir fry carrots and cabbages for 5 minutes till wilted. Add sliced mushrooms, black fungus and water used to soak the mushrooms, followed by the seasonings. Mix to combine and cook for another 3 minutes.

Add the glass noodles and toss to blend well. The water will soon dried up as the noodles absorb the flavour. If you like to have a thicker sauce, add some corn starch water.

Dish and serve.

Scrambled Egg with Tomato 蕃茄炒蛋/西红柿炒蛋

This is another simple and homely Chinese dish that takes little time to prepare and cook. Tomato and egg may sound like a strange combination but this is a common Pekinese dish and one of the first that children learn to make at an early age.

It's inexpensive yet nutritious, my comfort food during my postgraduate days when I was still a poor overseas student. I am not from China, but being brought up in a multi-cultural environment has exposed us to food from different regions. This was one of my favorite dishes growing up as a kid. I have always known that it's Chinese but I only came to know about its origin last year during the Beijing Olympics.

As a busy working mum having to balance the time between so many commitments, this dish is my dinner saviour when I come home late or at times when I get all stressed up with a cranky naughty boy.

So there you go, another simple dinner meal of the B's family. What's your dinner saviour? Do you have one? Please feel free to share any tips and cooking ideas... I would love to know. :)

Ingredients
2 riped tomatoes, sliced
3 eggs, beaten
2 stalks spring onion, chopped (separate white from green)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Pinch of salt
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sasame oil
Cooking oil

Method
Crack eggs in a bowl, add a tiny pinch of salt and sesame oil and beat eggs with a pair of chopsticks. Heat three tablespoons of oil in a wok or a deep frying pan till medium hot, pour in beaten egg and stir fry for 5 seconds. The egg will be a bit wobbly and runny. Remove egg and set aside.

Heat up another tablespoon of oil and saute garlic and the spring onion (the white parts) till fragrant. Add the tomato slices and stir fry for about 2 minutes and the tomato juice will start to flow. Stir in soy sauce and sugar. Reduce the heat and return the egg. Gently mix the egg with the tomatoes. Garnish with green onion before serving.

Cheesy Pumpkin Bake 芝士培根烤南瓜

This is one of my favourite recipes and one of the best ways I like my pumpkin cooked. You can replace bacon crumbs with chicken dices as a healthy substitute.

Ingredients
1 quarter pumpkin, cut into small pieces
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
5 slices bacon
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Some olive oil


Method
Take the bacon slices cold from the refrigerator and start with a cold pan. (This will prevent bacon from burning and help to render out the fat). Fry bacon till crisp. Remove and crumble bacon. Set aside.

Heat oil in a pan over medium high heat and saute garlic. Add pumpkin and stir fry for about 8-10 minutes till slightly soft.

Arrange pumpkin on a casserole dish, sprinkle bacon all over it. Top with shredded cheese.

Bake in oven at 180°C for about 15-20 minutes till cheese melted and turn golden.

Stewed Pork Ribs with Pumpkin 南瓜炆排骨

Dinner last night was stewed pork ribs with pumpkin. We love pumpkins and I cook it at least once a week. Pumpkins are nutritious, firstly they are low in fat and calories, perfect for people on diet. They are also rich in antioxidants and beta-carotene, and good source of potassium.

Ingredients
350g pork ribs
Quarter pumpkin, cut into pieces
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tsbp cooking oil
Water

Marinade
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp corn flour
Dash of white pepper

Method
Combine pork ribs with marinade and mix well. Set aside and refrigerate for several hours.

Heat oil in pan and saute garlic for about 1 minute. Add pork ribs and stir fry for 3-4 minutes till brown. Stir in some water and allow to simmer covered over a gentle low heat until ribs turn tender, about 20 minutes.

Add pumpkin and continue to simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Dish and serve.

Stir-fried loofah squash 絲瓜木耳炒粉絲

Loofah, also known as silk squash, chinese okra, angled luffa or loofa, is a delectable vegetable with a supple texture and mildly sweet taste. Like a sponge, it soaks up flavour easily and is commonly used in stir-fried and soup dishes.

I usually stir-fry loofah squash with scrambled eggs but decided to go for a change by adding glass noodles and black fungus strips. This dish is light and refreshing, and can be cooked as a vegetarian version without the dried shrimps and garlic.


Ingredients
1 loofah, peeled and cut into pieces
1 packet glass noodles (pre-soaked)
Handful shredded black fungus (pre-soaked)
Handful dried shrimps (pre-soaked)
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
Dash of pepper
Oil for cooking
Water

Method
Heat oil in wok and sauté dried shrimps and garlic till fragrant. Add the black fungus and loofah squashes, stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes till squashes are slightly cooked.

Add some water and seasonings, cover and simmer for about 2 minutes. Add glass noodles and let them soak up the gravy. Mix well with all ingredients.

Dish and serve.

Home-cooked Goodness

Today I'm going to share with you my journey to cooking, how I started it and my passion towards home-cooked food.

I'm lucky to be blessed with a wonderful mother, who is a full-time homemaker and a good chef. Even though she feels she's not as good a cook as her friends and relatives, I have always think she cooks really well.

Since my mum is a great cook, I never had the need to learn to cook. I spent time with her in the kitchen watching her cook and be the kitchen hand once in a while chopping up stuff and did the washing. But have never got around to really cook a proper meal for the family.

I left home at 16 for studies and missed my mum's cooking terribly. When I was still living at home, mum always had dinner ready when we came back from school and work. Nothing fancy though, just simple home-cooked dishes with the company of my family and the the news broadcasted on TV. The 20 to 30 minutes at the dinning table has a remedial effect and was enough to make me forget the tiredness and stress I had from school.

As I grow older, started working and eventually get married, I still didn't have my own kitchen and we dined out everyday. My dream then was to be able to cook a decent meal for my husband when he comes back from work, and it didn't happen until we moved to Sydney last year when I started serious cooking. Since then, there's no turning back. Cooking became a daily affair, an affair I am sure B doesn't mind me having.

Here are some home-cooked goodness we had last weekend.

Steamed cod fish (Teochew style) with tomatoes, mushrooms, ginger and fried shallots. 潮式蒸鳕鱼. Check out my previous post and recipe on steamed ocean perch.

Stir-fried garlic shoots. 清炒蒜芯

Stir-fried French Beans with Sambal Dried Shrimps 參巴虾米炒四季豆

Ingredients
150g French beans, ends trimmed
1 tbsp dried shrimps
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp Sambal Balado
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Method
Bring a pot of water to boil, add some salt and oil into the water. Blanch French beans in boiling water for about a minute. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in pan/wok and saute dried shrimps, garlic and Sambal Balado till fragrant. Put in the beans and stir-fry beans thoroughly for about 3 minutes or to your desired crunchiness. Add sugar and salt to taste.

Dish and serve.

Caesar Salad 恺撒沙拉

Love Caesar salad, absolutely love it. Made this for dinner last Sunday and we each had a big bowl of salad and shared some soup. I used Cardini's salad dressing, which is good but a tad too salty. My colleague Yvonne suggested to add some mayonnaise to the dressing to sweeten it.

B and I have always thought Caesar salad has something to do with Julius Caesar, the emperor of Rome. ~The silly bees~. It's actually named after Caesar Cardini, an Italian-born Mexican who first made the salad and dressing in his restaurant in 1924. Read more about Cardini here.

This is my bowl of Caesar salad.


Ingredients
1 cos lettuce, washed and coarsely cut
1/2 cup caesar salad dressing
BBQ turkey/chicken, shredded
2 hard-boiled eggs, quartered
2 strips bacon
Croutons - 2 slices bread, cubed
Butter
Parmesen cheese

Method
Separate lettuce leaves and wash in cold water, gently dry them with kitchen towel. Refrigerate till serving time.

To make croutons, preheat oven to 200°C. Spread butter on bread cubes and bake in oven for 5-8 minutes or until golden.

Fry bacon in frying pan till crispy. Remove and drain on paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Arrange lettuce, chicken, bacon, croutons and eggs in individual serving bowls. Drizzle with dressing and sprinkle parmesen cheese on top.

Serve immediately.

Vegetable Curry 咖哩鮮蔬

Ingredients
1 medium onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small piece ginger, finely chopped
1 packet vegetable curry paste
1 bunch green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch length
Half head cabbage, cut into 3-inch slices
3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
4 small chili, cut and remove seeds
1 packet tofu puff
1 tbsp oil
600ml water
Coconut milk (optional)
Salt to taste.

Method
Heat oil in wok and saute garlic, ginger, chili and onion. Add curry paste and saute for 3 minutes or until fragrant.

Add cabbage, tomatoes and water. Stir until coated with curry mixture. Cook and lower heat to a simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add green beans and tofu puffs and cook for another 5 minutes until all vegetables are tender. Add salt to taste, and stir in coconut milk to thicken gravy if desired. I usually omit coconut milk.

Serve with steamed rice.

Bitter Gourds 苦瓜

Dinner last night was bitter gourd and pork ribs stew. While shopping for groceries at Hay market last Saturday, the Aussie next to me pointed at the bitter melons and asked what exactly they are. He looked kinda amused when I told him what it is. I have to admit bitter gourd is an acquired taste, you either love it or hate it. Needless to say, we are big fans of bitter gourds.

The best bitter gourd dish we had was in Taipei, it was plainly stir-fried with some salted-egg and the bitter gourd was not bitter at all! The natives grow their own bitter gourds on the highlands and they looked quite different from the ones we seen back home.

I have not cooked this dish for nearly a year and it's perfect for cold weather like this. Check out the recipe here. I have added some dark soy sauce this time, and no Shao Xing wine as the wine ran out.

Oh, remember to rub salt all over and inside the bitter gourds before cooking as it helps to reduce the bitterness. I usually repeat the process a few times and let it stand a while before rinsing off the salt.

Quick Chicken and Vegetable Stir-fry

Cooking dinner on a weeknight can prove to be a challenge, especially when you are hungry and tired from a day's work. As I work longer hours these days and reach home much later than B, I have to think of dishes that need minimal preparation and cooking time.

Here's sharing with you one quick stir-fry that's table-ready in minutes.

Ingredients
400g boneless chicken breast meat, sliced, marinated with soy sauce and corn flour
1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 green capsicum, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 tbsp Teriyaki sauce (or soy sauce)
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
Cooking oil

Method
Blanch broccoli in boiling water with a little oil for 3 minutes. Drain and remove.

Meanwhile, heat oil in pan and saute garlic till fragrant. Stir-fry chicken pieces for about 3 minutes. Add the seasoning, capsicum and brocolli and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes.

Dish and serve.

Note
- Use red capsicum to add some colours to the dish.
- Cut some onion and ginger for extra flavour, I like using them when I have more preparation time.
- Spice up the dish with some chopped chili if you can handle the heat and spiciness.

Brussel Sprouts and Mushrooms 冬菇椰菜仔

Ingredients
400g brussel sprouts, washed and cut into halves
8 chinese dried mushrooms, pre-soaked to soften and retain water
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 small piece ginger
Corn starch
1 tsp salt
1 tsp oil

Seasoning
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
Water used to soak mushrooms
Dash of white pepper
Rock sugar to taste
1 tbsp chinese cooking wine


Combine mushrooms, garlic, ginger, mushroom stock and seasoning in a pot and cook under low-medium fire for about half an hour. Thicken the sauce by adding some corn starch solution.

Bring a pot of water to boil and add some oil and salt into water. Blanch brussel sprouts for 2-3 minutes. Remove, drain and arrange them on a plate.

Pour mushrooms and gravy over brussel sprouts.

Dish and serve.

Stir-fried pork tenderloin and mixed vegetables 里脊片炒雜菜

Are you a meat-eater? Are you eating enough vegetables a day? Is your daily consumption coming from a variety of vegetables?

I believe a lot of us, including myself are not eating the recommended 5 servings of vegetables and fruits a day. How could we achieve this then? Besides making salads, we could stir-fry different types of vegetables, Asian style. I am going to cook this dish very often, not only because of its health benefits, it's also one easy dish to make.

This dish is so flexible, you could use any vegetables of your choice. Some other ingredients I could think of include mushrooms, cauliflowers, baby corns, bamboo shoots, snow peas, asparagus, zucchini, french beans, etc. The combination is endless. You could omit the meat and have it an all-vegetable stir-fry.

Ingredients
Pork tenderloin, marinated with soy sauce & corn flour
1 small carrot
1 red capsicum
1 head brocolli
50g sugar snap peas
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 small onion, cut into wedges
1 stalk scallion, cut into 2-inch lengths
2 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp soy sauce/Teriyaki sauce
Salt to taste

Method
Heat oil in wok and sauté scallion till fragrant. Add pork slices and stir-fry briefly. Add some rice wine. Once pork is cooked, remove and set aside.

Blanch broccolli and snap peas in boiling water for a minute. Remove and set aside.

Heat oil in wok again, sauté garlic and onion till fragrant. Toss in all vegetables and stir fry for about 3 to 5 minutes. Add rice wine and soy sauce/Teriyaki sauce, and return pork to wok. Stir and mix all ingredients well.

Dish and serve.

Stir-fried eggplant with minced pork 豆瓣肉碎炒茄子

This is a variation of my previous post on steamed eggplant with minced pork.


Ingredients
1 medium sized eggplant, cut into thin slices
150g minced pork, marinated with soy sauce and corn flour
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp bean paste
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sugar
Olive oil
Water

Method
Heat olive oil in wok/pan and fry eggplant till soft. Push eggplant aside, saute garlic and minced pork. Add bean paste, soy sauce, wine, sugar and some water. Mix all ingredients well, and stir fry for another 3-5 minutes.

Dish and serve.

Steamed Eggplant with Minced Pork 肉碎蒸茄子

Ingredients
1 medium sized eggplant, cut lengthwise into 2-inch section
150g minced pork, marinated with soy sauce and corn flour
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
a handful dried shrimps, coarsely chopped
2 stalks scallion, chopped
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
A dash of ground pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Cooking oil

Method
Cut eggplants lengthwise into 2-inch segments. Arrange eggplants on a heatproof plate, sprinkle eggplants with salt and sugar. Steam over medium-high heat for 6 to 8 minutes or until eggplants are just tender.

While the eggplants are steaming, stir-fry minced pork with garlic and dried shrimps. Add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rice wine and a dash of pepper. Stir well to blend flavor.

Once the pork is ready, pour over steamed eggplants. Garnish with chopped scallions before serving.

Stir-fried mushrooms, snow peas and pork 荷豆磨菇炒肉片

This is a simple stir-fry with just some mushrooms, snow peas and pork slices. I didn't even add any garlic as I was in a haste. B likes the gravy, which goes really well with white rice. I wanted to thicken the gravy with some corn starch but dinner was late and we were all starving. There you go, dinner's ready to be served in 5 minutes.

Ingredients
100g snow peas, stringed
100g mushrooms, sliced
150g lean pork, sliced and marinated with soy sauce and corn flour
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
Water
Cooking oil


Method
Blanch snow peas in boiling water for about 30 seconds. Remove and set aside.

Heat oil in frying pan, stir fry pork slices till slightly cooked. Add mushrooms, snow peas, seasonings and some water. Stir-fry and mix all ingredients well, about 2-3 minutes. Add some corn starch if gravy is too runny for your liking.

Dish and serve immediately.

Stir-fried Romaine Lettuce 罗蔓生菜

Ingredients
1 head romaine lettuce, cut crosswise into 2 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
Salt to taste
Cooking oil


Method
Heat wok with oil and saute garlic till fragrant, about 10 seconds. Sprinkle some salt. Add the lettuce and stir-fry for about 1 minute or until the lettuce is tender but still crisp. Stir in osyter sauce and rice wine. Stir-fry for another 30 seconds so that the leaves are coated with sauce.

Dish and serve immediately.

Stir-Fried Pork Tenderloin with Enoki Mushroom 金菇炒里脊片

Ingredients
200g pork tenderloins, marinated with soy sauce and cornflour
1 packet enoki mushrooms, cut and discard the blocky roots
1/2 carrot, julienned
1 small piece ginger, sliced
2 stalks scallion, cut into 2-inch section
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
Cooking oil
Water
Corn starch to thicken gravy


Method
Wash the enoki mushrooms, discard the blocky roots and pour hot water over it. Soak for about 3 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Heat oil in wok on high heat and stir-fry ginger and scallion. Add pork slices and carrots, stir-fry till meat turned brown, about 5 minutes. Add enoki mushrooms, oyster sauce and some water. Stir in corn starch mixture to thicken the sauce. Splash in some Shaoxing wine and stir-fry for another minute.

Dish and serve.

Stir-fried Red Spinach 清炒红苋菜

Pretty Pink
I came across this red spinach in Hay market last Sunday, B said that they used to plant this back home. I was eager to try as the colour simply intrigued me. I love everything purple, red and bright.

I stir-fried the red spinach with olive oil and minced garlic. They don't really taste like the English spinach, and the leaves have a rougher texture. The dark red splotched leaves colour everything a bright pink, I thought they look lovely and wanna share it with you.