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

This simple, homey egg dish surprisingly is very often listed under 'egg dishes'  on the menu of many Chinese restaurants.  It may appear to be a very easy peasy dish with only eggs, water and salt but then to be able to achieve a silky smooth texture custard do require some fine tuning.   After two attempts I deduced that attention must be given to the amount of water added to get the correct consistency, heat and timing for steaming. Silky smooth egg to go with a hot bowl of rice ! Steamed Tri-colour eggs aka Sam Wong Dan ~  蒸三皇蛋 Ingredients 1 chicken egg 1 salted egg 1 century egg Boiled and cooled water (ratio 1 : 1.5) Sesame oil & chopped spring onions to garnish **  Total volume of eggs is 100 ml so, I added in 150 ml water Method Break up the chicken egg, add the salted egg white and beat well. Break up the raw salted egg yolk. Peel and cut up the  century egg. Add boiled and cooled water into the egg mixture, whisk. Mix i

These muffins, bursting with fresh blueberries are simple and quick to make.  Moist, with a cakey crumb and perfect golden brown top, they can be enjoyed as a snack or with afternoon tea. Blueberry Muffins  ~   蓝莓玛芬 Ingredients 260 gm plain flour 100 gm caster sugar 1 large egg 125 ml plain yoghurt 125 ml milk 1/3 cup (80 ml) canola/corn oil 1 tsp vanilla  Zest from 1 orange or lemon 1.1/4 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp  baking soda a pinch of salt 1 to 1.1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries Method Whisk the plain flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, zest and salt.   Whisk the egg, yoghurt, oil and vanilla, thoroughly. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir till just combined. Fold in the blueberries gently.  (If using frozen blueberries, do not thaw them). Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the paper lined muffin pan till 3/4 full. Bake in a preheated oven at 190 deg.C for about 20 mins. till golden brow

This is a hassle free dish on a busy day.  I just mix everything together except for the sesame seeds and let it sit for a couple of hours or you can leave it overnight.  Pan-fry it and garnish with some sesame seeds and serve with some Romaine lettuce.  Simple yet delicious! Pork Belly with Bulgogi Sauce ~   韩式五花肉 Ingredients 500 gm pork belly, cut into bite size 4 Tbsp Bulgogi sauce 2 Tbsp minced garlic 1 Tbsp vinegar Sesame oil Lightly toasted sesame seeds Method Combine the pork belly with the Bulgogi sauce, garlic. vinegar and sesame oil Pan fry in a non-stick pan till cooked Sprinkle on sesame seeds Serve with Romaine lettuce

I've been hunting for a recipe of Steamed rice cake, which is eaten with palm sugar/gula melaka and garlic oil. Think it may be a Hakka kuih but I'm not quite sure.  Stumbled upon Christine's post of Steamed rice cup cakes with red beans and it came quite close to what I had in mind.  I modified the recipe a little and must admit that I'm pleased with the result.  This rice cake wasn't as chewy and 'crunchy' as those bought from the vendor as I didn't add any 'lye' water into the batter.  I had a bad experience of biting into a bitter rice cake once and had to throw it away immediately.  I reckon that the 'lye water' was not well mixed  into the batter or it was an accidental overdose, anyhow the taste was awful.

These flourless cookies made with oats and cereal topping are crispy and crunchy, more or less like cereal bars really, just that they are shaped in the form of cookies.  Healthy and nutritious for breakfast or just to snack on! Crispy Ceral Oat Cookies ~  香脆燕麦饼干 Ingredients                            140 gm cereal topping 75 gm rolled oats 70 gm vanilla sugar 90 gm salted butter 1/2 tsp baking soda 1.1/2 tsp cinnamon 1 Tbsp golden syrup 1 Tbsp milk Method Melt butter with the golden syrup, let cool, then mix in milk. Mix cereal, baking soda and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in rolled oats and sugar. Pour the milk mixture into the rolled oats mixture, mix to combine. Form into balls the size of walnuts and place 2 inches apart on a parchment lined baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven @ 10 deg.C for about 12 to 15 mins. till golden brown. Cool and transfer onto wire rack to cool completely. Store in cookie jar. Yield :  20 fairly big coo

I enjoy eating spring onion pancakes at the dim sum restaurant and also have a liking for Korean spring onion pancakes as well.  These pancakes are flaky and crispy and best eaten immediately.  Other than eating it on its on,  I reckon it will pair well with some curry just like our local roti canai.  If your hands can withstand heat, you can scrunch the pancake with your palms to make it more flaky just like how the roti canai guy does it before serving the roti :) Spring Onion Pancake  ~   葱油饼 Ingredients 300 gm plain flour 1/2 cups boiling water 1/4 cup room temperature water 2 to 3 stalks spring onions Sesame oil Salt Cooking oil Method Sift the flour into a mixing bowl, slowly add in boiling water and stir with a wooden stick (I use the handle of the wooden spoon), then slowly add in the room temperature water little by little. Mix well.  Knead till smooth and not sticky.  (You may require less water or more flour if the dough is too w

I've made BBQ pork Char Siew before but this is my first attempt at making 'Chicken Char Siew'.  I used whole deboned chicken leg to make this with only a few simple ingredients which are commonly found in any Chinese household.  The result is tender, juicy char siew with exploding flavour and sesame fragrance suitable to go with plain rice, noodles or as an add on to fried rice. Chicken Char Siew  ~     鸡肉叉烧 Ingredients 3 whole chicken leg, deboned 2.1/2 Tbsp light soya sauce 1 tsp dark soy sauce 2 Tbsp sugar 500 ml water 3 pips of garlic, chopped pinch of salt lightly toasted sesame seeds Shaoxing wine Method Marinate the chicken legs with the sugar and light and dark soya sauces, preferably overnight. Heat up the wok with some oil and lightly fry the chopped garlic. Add in the 500 ml water, bring it to a light boil. Put in the marinated chicken legs and cook till tender with gravy reduced.  Drizzle on some Shaoxing wine. Let co

To beat the heat and quench your thirst in this hot and sticky weather, try these Coconut Fruity Popiscles.  Naturally refreshing, low in fat,  coconut water is sweet and contains electrolytes which our body loses through our sweat and coconut water is more hydrating than water. Coconut Fruity Popsicles ~  椰子水果冰棒 Ingredients 1.1/2 cups fresh coconut water 1 Tbsp pandan sugar syrup  to mix with the coconut water (optional) coconut & jack fruit meat Method Divide the coconut and jackfruit meat between the ice moulds Fill with coconut water Insert the stick and freeze overnight till firm Yield :  6 Popsicles