No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

This warm salad with freshly pan-fried pork fillet can be on served on its own as light lunch.  Served with some lightly toasted garlic bread, it can double up as an evening meal. There's no specific recipe for this simple warm salad but I append below what were the ingredients I put in to whip this up :- Ingredients pork fillet, cut and seasoned with some salt, pepper, sugar and light soya sauce purple cabbage, sliced Japanese cucumber, peeled and cut Cherry tomatoes Dash of sea salt Olive oil + honey, mixed  Method Pan fry the pork fillet till cooked and tender. In a warm salad bowl, mix in the cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes and a dash of salt. Toss in the pork fillet, mix well. Drizzle on the olive oil and honey mixture. Serve immediately.

These banana chocolate cupcakes are moist and delicious which are very suitable for tea or a party gathering.   Just mix the wet ingredients in a one bowl and the dry ingredients in another, mix them up and you're done.  Another plus point is that oil is used instead of butter.  Oil makes the cupcakes tender that stores well and also these cuppies can be refrigerated and still stay soft. Recipe for Banana Chocolate Cupcakes ~   香蕉巧克力蛋糕 Ingredients 150 gm plain flour 100 gm caster sugar 15 gm cocoa powder 3/4 tsp baking powder 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1/4 tsp salt 1 large egg 150 gm mashed banana, without skin 1/2 cup warm water 1/4 cup milk 1/4 cup canola oil 3/4 tsp vanilla raw sugar to sprinkle (optional) Method Whisk together plain flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, set aside. In another bowl, whisk egg, mashed banana, water, milk, oil and vanilla.  Make a well in the centre of the dry ingr

Our first meal on the first day of the Lunar Chinese New Year was dumplings at  New Shanghai restaurant in the Emporium food court, away from the traditional vegetarian meal which we used to have all along.  Must admit that the food was delicious and the service  ...... Fast! I was mesmerised with the interior decor of the restaurant, nostalgic of my younger days! Shanghai stir fried noodles with pork and vegetable New Shanghai Xiao Long Bao - Steamed pork dumplings New Shanghai Pan fried pork buns (I love these, especially  the crispy underside) Crispy tofu with salted egg yolk And we were so surprised for while strolling along China town, chanced upon this filming in progress at the Chinatown Square... guess what?  It's part of Masterchef  2016 challenge between the Red and Gold teams.   After the contestants have finished cooking their food, the food will be sold to the public and whichever team garners the most sales will be declared the winner.

Yum Tis my first time celebrating Chinese New Year away from home and although it was a short break, I enjoyed myself tremendously in the company of loved ones.  And where did I go?...... Melbourne Dragon Head in front of Eureka building, Southbank, Melbourne Fireworks at Crown casino. Our reunion dinner at Pacific Seafood BBQ House, Toorak Road, South Yarra. B raised Lobster noodles, big portion, very delicious.  The lobster was very fresh and the dish was very well done. Waiter in action! Braised pork knuckle.   Meat was tender and tasty as well. Garlicky  Kai Lan  Braised mushrooms with Broccoli, also tasty but I find that the sauce is a wee bit too thick. And to round off our reunion dinner, we headed for dessert at Stokers in South Melbourne Pancake Suzette  pancakes with orange zest, butter and orange segments, drizzled with flaming Grand Marnier. Monkey Business ~  What a co-incidence to usher in the Yea

This is a family-friendly recipe, bursting with flavour from the tangy balsamic vinegar, honey, spiked with garlic and garnished with lightly toasted almond nibs.   Serve this with plain white rice or bread to absorb the delicious sauce......Yum! Honey Balsamic Chicken 葡萄醋蜜 蜂 鸡 Ingredients 3 whole leg of chicken, approx. 700 gm 1/4 cup Balsamic vinegar 2 tsp light soya sauce 1.1/2 Tbsp honey 4 pips of minced garlic 1 tsp cornstarch to thicken Lightly toasted almond nibs (optional) Sea salt to taste Method Marinate the chicken with the Balsamic vinegar, soya sauce, honey and garlic for a few hours or preferably overnight Heat some oil in a non-stick pan Place the marinated chicken pieces on the pan, without the sauce Cook thoroughly till tender Add in the sauce that has  been mixed with the cornstarch Fine tune to taste Dish out and sprinkle on some almond nibs, serve immediately Linking this post to   Cook and Celebrate :  

Wishing You and Your Family A Very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year 恭贺新禧，万事如意。

Lemongrass tea is a soothing and comforting beverage, which can be enjoyed especially after a heavy meal.  It helps to treat indigestion, constipation, heartburn and diarrhea and its high potassium content also helps lower and regulate blood pressure.  This herbal tea is refreshing and delicious hot or cold, with or without any sweetener. Lemongrass Tea ~ 香檬草茶 Ingredients 6 stalks of lemongrass 6 cups water 6 Tbsp sugar or more Lime Honey (optional) Method Discard the green upper part of the lemongrass Smash the lemongrass using a hammer or meat tenderizer Boil the water and once boiling, throw in the lemongrass Simmer for 30 mins. on low flame Discard the lemongrass and add sugar to taste, mix well Squeeze in some lime juice, mix well Serve this tea, hot or cold. Note Omit sugar if you intend to add honey You can also add in some ginger slices and pandan leaves to boil together with the lemongrass

Salted egg yolk recipes are getting very popular these days.  There are salted egg yolk with crabs, salted egg yolk with chicken, salted egg yolk with bittergourd and salted egg yolk bun, just to name a few.  Being the inquisitive me, I tried baking the salted egg yolk cookies just to taste what's it like.   It's quite difficult to describe the taste, it's neither totally sweet nor totally savoury, it's a blend of both which makes it unique, yet delicious. I like the small bits of salted egg yolk in the dough.  I let the dough rest in the refrigerator for more than 2 hours and it was more pliable to handle. Recipe for Salted Egg Cookies  (adapted from  'here' )  ~   咸蛋黄酥饼 Ingredients 85 gm butter 40 gm caster sugar 2 salted egg yolks, steamed for 5 mins and mashed while still hot 125 gm plain flour 10 gm cornflour 1/8 tsp baking powder 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten a pinch of salt Sesame seeds to sprinkle Method Sift the flour,