Banana Nut Muffins

Ingredients
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (toasted or raw)

Method
No need for a mixer with this recipe.

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl.

2 Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla.

3 Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in.

4 Add the flour, mix until it is just incorporated. Fold in the chopped walnuts.

5 Pour mixture into a prepared muffin tin. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Check for doneness with a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin. If it comes out clean, it's done. Cool on a rack.

Makes 12 muffins.

Black Bean Peanut Pork Ribs Soup

Ingredients (Serves 2):

- 1/2 lb Pork Ribs
- 1/4 cup Dried Black Beans
- 1/4 cup Dried Peanuts
- 1 tsp Dried Mini Shrimp
- 1 tsp Dried Mini Scallops
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- a few slices of ginger
- 5 cups water
- salt
- white pepper

Method:

1. Pre-soak the black beans and dried peanuts in seperate bowls of water for about half and hour. Drain.

2. Heat a saucepan with 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. Medium heat.

3. During this time, boil about 5 cups of water in the kettle.

4. Season the pork ribs with salt and semi-cook them in the saucepan with garlic, ginger, mini dried shrimp and mini dried scallops, until you can smell the fragrance of the pork. (The pork is saying “I am ready!”)

5. Pour the boiled water into the saucepan.

6. Add the black beans and peanuts.

7. Allow to boil and then bring to a simmer for 1.5 - 2 hours.

8. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cooking Tips:

The black beans and peanuts are pre-soaked for half and hour so that they can cook faster.

Black Pepper Chicken with Green Pepper

Hehe... Had the inspiration today to come up with my own dish as there were 2 chicken thighs that were sitting in the freezer for some time!

My very own black pepper chicken with green pepper!
How should I name this very simple dish of mine??? Sigh no creative juices flowing at the moment so we are stuck with black pepper chicken with green pepper!


So here goes.

Ingredients
-2 Chicken Thighs or breastmeat cut into cubes
- Half Green Capsicum cut into cubes
- 1 Tbsp of oil

Marinate
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 tbsp of Oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp of soya sauce
- 1 tbsp of shao xing wine
- 1 tbsp of ground black pepper
- 1 tsp of sesame oil

Direction
1. Marinate Chicken overnight or 1 to 2 hours in the fridge, I marinate mine for about 5hrs.
2. Heat oil in pan, add meat, fry for about 2mins, add green capsicum.
3. Cover pan and let simmer for about 3mins.
4. Serve hot!

Bird's Nest with Honey Rock Sugar

Thanks to my darling mummy for buying the bird's nest and sharing the recipes with her sweet daughter! Haha...




Ingredients
: A handful of Bird's nest
: 2 x 50cents piece of rock sugar (according to mummy-but if you prefer less sugar or more, adjust accordingly)

Directions
: Rinse Bird's nest
: Soak Bird's nest in the ceraemic pot for 1 -2 hours
: Do not pour away the water that you use to soak the Bird's nest instead add more water if desire into the pot
: Add rock sugar into the Bird's nest mixture
: Prepare a bigger pot of boiling water, place ceraemic pot into the big pot of boiling water and under low fire, boil for 2hours

Braised Duck

Braised Duck



Recipe from my mum to Jason... Super yummy! Had made it about 3 times and the 3rd time I accidentally "overbraised" it! Just braised for about 45mins to 1 hr and it will be perfect! Enjoy... Not a lot of work... Just the chopping up of the duck!

Ingredients:
-1 Duck
-1/2 Tbsp of Five Spice Powder
-1/2 Tbsp of White Ground Pepper
-2 Tbsp of cooking oil
-1 Tbsp of Soya Bean Paste (Tow Cheo)
-1 Big Clove of Garlic Peeled
-5 to 6 slices of Galangal (Lengkuas)
-4 to 5 Tbsp of Dark Soya Sauce
-1 Tbsp of Sugar
-Salt where required
-Water enough to cover 2/3 of the duck
-3 Star Anise
-3 Cinnamon Stick
-4 Hard Boiled Eggs
-2 Blocks of Tau Kwa(Firm Bean Curd)

Directions:
*Remove the duck head and feet...
1. Rub Duck with Five Spice Powder and Ground Pepper, leave in for about 15mins
2. Heat the cooking oil under small fire
3. Fry Garlic and Galangal till fragrant
4. Add in Tow Cheo, stir fry for about a minute
5. Add in Dark Soya Soy Sauce. You can add more according to your own desire.
6. Add in sugar
7. Add salt as required
8. Put in the duck
9. Add in water till it covers 2/3 of the duck
10. Add in the Star Anise and Cinammon Sticks
11. Increase to Medium fire
12. Bring down to low fire when gravy boils
13. Braised for about 45mins to an hour depending on your flame of fire
14. Flip the duck a few times during the hour

If you wish to add tau kwa and hard-boiled eggs, removed the duck and some of the gravy when cooked. With enough gravy to cover the Tau Kwa and eggs, just leave these whole to simmer until gravy is well soaked and tau kwa and eggs are brown.

Bak Chor Mee

Well as all of you know, I'm not really a pork lover because of my previous Australia experience. But now over here in USA, I'm trying out pork a little... I'm sure mummy will be really proud of me! Haha... And today, I made our own bak chor mee! Jason kept saying its yummy so I must share the recipe... Hehe...



Serves about 4 pax

Bak Chor Ingredients
-Fresh Shallots, Sliced Thinly
-1 Tbsp of Cooking Oil
-1 pound Minced Pork
-Dark soy sauce, to taste
-10 - 15 caps Shiitake mushrooms, cut julienne
-Chinese black rice vinegar, to taste
-1 - 2 tablespoons water

Bak Chor Directions
-Heat the oil over medium heat in a large frying pan. Fry the shallots until they are light brown
-Remove shallots from the pan, leaving oil in the pan.
-Add minced meat, fry for 3-4 mins, add dark soy sauce, stirring and breaking up the meat until it is browned and fragrant.
-Add the shitake mushrooms, lightly fry for 1-2 minutes.
-Add the vinegar.
-If the mixture looks dry, add a small amount of water.
-When cooked, transfer to a bowl

Sauce for Noodles
-1 teaspoon red vinegar
-1 teaspoon oyster sauce
-1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
-1 teaspoon light soy sauce
-1 teaspoon shallots oil
-Sambal, depending on how spicy you like it to be
-1 tablespoon of hot water

Directions for sauce
-Mix all together

Noodles
-Mee Pok or You Mee
-Water (Boiling/Tepid)
-Salt

Directions for noodles
Place noodles in boiling water keep stiring to prevent them from sticking together
Rinse in Tepid water
Place noodles back into boiling water again
Serve

Serving
10.When serving noodles, mix together with sauce, garnish with shallots and top noodles with portions of meat and mushroom. Garnish with some chinese lettuce too for that extra fibre!

Butter Cake

1.5cup all purpose flour
0.5tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
0.5cup butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
0.75 cup milk(i use evaporate milk)

Steps:
1. Preheat oven to 175degress C, grease 9 inch sq baking pan. Line bottom with wax paper and dust lightly with flour.
2. Sift together flour, salt and powder.
3. Cream butter and blend in sugar, egg and vanilla. Beat until light and fluffy. Add sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture alternatively with milk.
4. Baked for 50-55mins.

Beef Brisket Noodles

Ingredients
-1lb stewing beef
-1lb beef tendon
-1 full garlic bulb, halved
-2 thumb size pc of ginger root, minced
-2 tsp 5-spice powder
-soya sauce
-oyster sauce
-ketchup manis
-1 cup water

To do:
Blanche tendons
Add ginger and garlic to already hot oil, fry till fragrant
Add beef and tendon
Add 5-spice powder, condiments and water
Bring to a boil
Put into slow cooker overnight

When it's time to serve, cook noodles and garnish with scallions.

Bagged Salmon with Capsicums and Olives

Quite savory... I didn't really like olives and so decided to take it out.

Ingredients
1) 4 Salmon fillets
2) Olive oil
3) 2 tsp honey
4) 2 cloves garlic, chopped
5) Sprinkling of dried herbs of your choice(Oregano, fennel, rosemary, etc)
6) Salt and Pepper to taste
7) 1 Red Capsicum, chopped
8) 1 Red yellow Capsicum, chopped
9) 12-15 cherry or honeyed tomatoes, halved
10) 12-15 black olives, pitted and halved
11) Large squares of grease-proof paper for wrapping fish

Cooking Method
1. Rub Salmon fillets with salt and pepper, honey, olive oil, chopped garlic, and if using, about 1 tsp of herbs of your choice.
2. Place one piece of fish in the centre of each sheet of grease-proof paper.
3. Divide capsicums, olives and tomatoes among the fish. Place them on top and around the fish
4. Wrap each fish in grease-proof paper and scrunch the top to secure
5. Place them in a baking tray so that the juices will not run out.
6. Baked in an oven at 200 deg C for 10 minutes until cooked

Bacon and Sweetcorn Tarts

This makes 12 tarts, using moulds measuring 7cm across the base and 9cm on top.

INGREDIENTS:
-Some Butter
-1 loaf wholemeal bread, preferably at least a day old
-200g streaky bacon
-1 to 2 onions
-3/4 can of corn kernels
-6 to 7 eggs, depending on size
-pepper
-1 teaspoon mustard powder (optional)
-parsley for garnishing (optional)

DIRECTIONS:
1) Lightly grease base of tart moulds with butter.
2) Cut bread into round shape using cutter/rice bowl.
3) Press bread firmly into moulds.
4) Slice bacon and dice onions.
5) Fry together until bacon is nearly cooked.
6) Remove from heat and allow to cool.
7) Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl and add corn, followed by cooled bacon/onion mixture.
8) Add pepper and mustard powder, mix well.
9) Scoop into moulds and bake for 10 min at 160 deg C (preheated oven).
10) Add 2 minutes if you like really brown tarts.
11) Remove tarts from mould and allow to cool on a wire rack.
12) Don't let tarts cool in the mould as the bread crust will turn soggy.

Review:: The tarts taste alright but I am thinking with salt would be better. Cause it tasted a bit bland. And I think my bacon a little bit too chewy... It might be better if it is just corn and tomato I think.