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

There are many sweet and sour dishes in Chinese cuisine and many of them calls for deep-frying of the meat, be it chicken, pork, pork ribs or fish.  I do not encourage deep-frying in my kitchen and this dish only requires some sauteing and pan-frying and hence not much of oily mess to clean up. The sweet and sour sauce helps to 'open' up your appetite and pairs very well with white rice or bread. Sour Plum Chicken  ~  酸梅鸡     Ingredients 700 gm free-range chicken, cut into bite size 1 tomato, cut in wedges 2 sour plums, lightly mashed 4 pips garlic, chopped a small knob of ginger, chopped 2 red birdeye chillies, chopped 1 tsp taucheong, bean paste 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce Seasalt to taste Sugar to taste 2 tsp Cornflour + 1 Tbsp water to thicken Method Marinate the chicken with some seasalt In a non-stick pan, heat up some oil and saute the chopped garlic, ginger, chillies and bean paste till fragrant Add in

This soft and moist chiffon cake has a combination of orange and chocolate flavour and the texture is light and cottony.  To give it a facelift, I dusted it with chocolate powder over a template.  Fresh orange juice and zest do pair very well with the chocolate and they complement each other. Great to pair with a cup of perfectly brewed tea! Orange chocolate chiffon cake ~  鮮橙巧克力戚风蛋糕     (adapted from 'here' ) Ingredients (A)  6 egg yolks         22 gm caster sugar         75 ml canola oil         105 ml orange juice         135 gm plain flour         15 gm cornflour         1.1/2 Tbsp chocolate powder         Zest from 1.1/2 orange   (B)   6 egg whites         97 gm caster sugar Method Sift plain flour and cornflour, set aside. With a ball whisk, beat yolk eggs with sugar till pale, add in oil, orange juice.  Mix well. Sift the flour and cornflour mixture into the egg yolk mixture, mix well till smooth. In a clean bowl, beat egg whites till fr

These Pumpkin Angku Kuih were made using the same recipe as my  Pandan Angku Kuih but I substituted sweet potatoes with pumpkin.  Another minor adjustment that I made was  I used water in this recipe instead of green pandan juice.  Also, I made the mung bean filling a little bit savoury by adding in finely chopped shallots and some salt.  So these Pumpkin Angku Kuih tasted a bit sweet and salty and they were soft and chewy..... Yum! Pumpkin Angku Kuih ~ 南瓜龟糕 Ingredients for Pre-prepard dough 150 gm glutinous rice flour 125 ml water Mix these two ingredients to form a dough, cover and refrigerate overnight. Ingredients for Filling 150 gm split mung beans, soaked overnight 80 gm granulated sugar 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste) 2  Tbsp oil 4 small shallots, finely chopped Method Rinse, drain and rinse the mung beans, steam for about 30mins. or till soft.  While hot, blend them with about 3/4 cup of water till it forms into a

Steamed minced pork with salted fish is quite a common dish in Chinese households.  The salted fish is an acquired taste and it can be sweet smelling to some while others may simply detest it.  There are variations to this dish, some people may use minced pork and others may use thinly sliced pork belly. Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Fish ~  咸鱼蒸肉饼 Ingredients 300 gm minced pork (with some slightly fatty pork) 2 tsp Shaoxing wine 2 Tbsp water 2 tsp cornflour 1/2 tsp ground ginger 30 gm salted fish, sliced 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp sugar some finely julienned ginger sesame oil to drizzle Method With a pair of chopsticks mix the minced pork with the wine, water,  cornflour, salt, sugar and ground ginger to form a paste Let rest for half an hour Transfer the mixture to a heat-proof plate and level with the back of the spoon Place sliced salted fish on top  Sprinkle with the julienned ginger Steam under rapidly boiling water for

I have baked lemon cakes before but not one with Cognac or Brandy.  So I was eager to give this recipe a shot when I saw Zoe posted it on her blog and gave a raving review on it.  True to what she said, this cake is moist and lemony with the lemon icing and I used homegrown lemons for this recipe.  In fact I doubled the recipe and baked two loaves of this yummy cake and those who had tasted it, gave a thumbs up! Lemon Cake with Cognac ~   白兰地柠檬蛋糕 (adapted from 'here' with modification) Ingredients   200 gm unsalted butter 300 gm caster sugar 350 gm plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 4 large eggs 6 Tbsp milk 2 Tbsp Cognac/Brandy Icing  - 120 gm icing sugar + fresh juice from 4 lemons.  Mix till icing sugar has dissolved.                    Method Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder and salt into the butter mixture. Add eggs, milk and cognac/brandy. Beat till creamy. Po

This is a very simple clear soup, quick and easy to prepare with a few ingredients.   I like to serve clear soups at meals and it is most welcoming especially on a hot day.     Tomato, onion and celery soup ~   番茄洋葱和芹菜汤 Ingredients 2 tomatoes, cut into wedges 2 onions, cut into sections 3 stalks celery, cut into 2 inch lengths 2 stalks spring onions 350 gm pork ribs 3 lt water Seasalt to taste Method Scald the pork ribs in boiling water, remove and rinse in running water Bring the 3 lt of water to a light boil Add in all the ingredients Bring to a boil and simmer for 2 hours Add salt to desired taste Serve

A light sponge that resembles a chiffon cake but does not contain any solid fat, absolutely suitable for weight watchers.  You can serve this with some ice cream or fresh fruits or just enjoy it on its own. American Sponge Cake  ~   美国海绵蛋糕 (adapted from 'here' with slight modification) Ingredients (A) 6 large eggs 100 gm plain flour 1/4 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp salt 100 gm caster sugar (reduced from 200 gm) 1 tsp vanills 2 Tbsp water Lemon or orange zest (B)  6 large egg whites 65 gm sugar 3/4 tsp cream of tartar Method Beat egg yolks with sugar till thick and fluffy and the batter falls back in a ribbon pattern. Add in vanilla, water and zest. Sift flour over the egg mixture, a third at a time and gently fold into the mixture with a spatula or a ball whisk. Beat egg whites till foamy, add in cream of tartar and beat till soft peaks form. Add in sugar in two batches and beat till shiny and stiff peaks form. Fold

Essence of chicken is supposed to be beneficial to health and if you're feeling tired, taking a bottle of chicken essence will  help boost up your energy.  Unfortunately I dislike taking the essence straight from the bottle as I do not fancy the raw taste.  So, I poured in a bottle to this dish and it really helped to give some 'oomph' and value added taste to this chicken dish!   Steamed free-range chicken with chicken essence ~   鸡精蒸鸡 Ingredients 2 whole leg chicken, chopped into bite size 1.1/2 tsp seasalt 1/8 tsp sugar 1 bottle of chicken essence (any brand) 1 tsp cornflour Spring onions to garnish    Method Marinate the chicken pieces with the seasalt, sugar and cornflour for a few  hours or overnight. Steam the chicken on high heat till cooked. Pour in a bottle of chicken essence, mix well, turn off heat. Garnish with spring onions. Serve with rice.  

I made this Avocado Chocolate Cake with homegrown avocados and no butter was involved in this recipe.  Instead the recipe called for some vegetable oil and the cake turned out  moist and soft.   Together with the chocolate frosting, the cake was an instant hit with both the adults and kids. Avocado Chocolate Cake  ~  鳄梨巧克力蛋糕   (adapted from  'here'  with modification) Ingredients 384 gm plain flour 200 gm caster sugar 6 Tbsp cocoa powder 2 tsp baking powder 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 cup canola oil 1 ripe Avocado, pitted and mashed till very smooth 2 cups water 2 Tbsp white vinegar 2 tsp vanilla Frosting 2 ripe avocados, pitted and mashed 125 gm icing sugar 2 Tbsp cocoa powder Method Grease and flour an 8 inch tube pan, set aside. Sift or whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, set aside. Using a hand-held whisk, whisk the oil, mashed avocado, water, vinegar and vanilla till well