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

My son cooked this delicious soup for us during our recent holiday and I told myself that I must replicate this when I'm home.   I substituted the ingredients and made this refreshing soup with only three key ingredients, which are Shitake mushrooms, pork ribs, nappa cabbage and of course, water. Pork ribs with nappa cabbage soup ~  白菜排骨汤 Ingredients   500 gm spare ribs 600 gm Nappa cabbage, sliced 8 Shitake mushrooms, soaked till soft and stemmed 2.1/2 lt water Salt to taste Method Wash and blanch the ribs in a pot of boiling water.  Drain, rinse, set aside. Boil the 2.1/2 lt water, once boiling, add the Shitake mushrooms followed by the blanched ribs.  Cover, and reduce heat to simmer for 1/2 an hour, add in the cabbage and cook for another 2 hrs on low heat.  Add salt to taste. Serve with rice or noodles.  

I have seen quite a number of Oreo cookies recipes on the internet and was curious about the taste and texture of crushed Oreo cookies in a cake.  So the only way to satisfy my curiosity is therefore to give it a try.   It wasn't a disappointment at all as the cake turned out soft and moist and I'm sure that it will be a favourite amongst kids and adults alike! Oreo marble butter cake ~奥利奥牛油蛋糕            (adapted from   'here' ) Ingredients (A) 4 egg yolks 80 gm caster sugar 1/3 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla (I used vanilla paste) 200 gmm unsalted butter, cut into cubes 160 gm plain flour (sifted) 100 ml milk 1 pack Oreo cookies (137 gm) (B)     4 egg whites            90 gm caster sugar (original 100 gm) Method Remove cream from Oreo cookies, blend till fine, set aside. Using a handheld whisk, beat egg yolks, salt and sugar till thick and creamy. Beat in butter cubes and vanilla paste till well combined. Sift in flour, alt

These lip smacking good ribs are rubbed with  Balsamic vinegar and mixed herbs and allowed to sit for some time to absorb the rub.   I cooked them  in the pressure cooker and finished off  with a Balsamic and brown sugar glaze on the grill for a few minutes till the edges are caramelized and served with a salad on the side. Balsamic vinegar pork ribs   ~  香醋排骨 Ingredients    -  800 gm pork ribs Seasoning   - 1.1/2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar   - 1.1/2 tsp mixed herbs   - 1 Tbsp brown sugar   - 1 tsp salt Sauce   - 2 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar   - 2 tsp brown sugar   - 1 tsp cornflour   - 1 Tbsp chilli sauce Method Marinate the pork ribs with the seasoning for 4 hours or overnight. Cook the pork ribs together with the marinade in a pressure cooker. Cook the sauce.  Grill the ribs and baste the ribs with the sauce for a few minutes. Serve with some salad on the side.

After making the   Okinawan black sugar steamed cakes , I  made these and this time  added in some sweet potatoes.  These are moist, not overly sweet and can be enjoyed as a healthy breakfast or served with  a hot pot of brewed tea to snack on. Sweet potato steamed cakes ~  红薯蒸蛋糕 Ingredients 1 egg 60 gm caster sugar a pinch of salt 100 ml milk 150 gm plain flour 2 tsp baking powder 2 Tbsp vegetable oil 150 gm sweet potato Method Peel and cut the sweet potatoes into 1 cm cubes, soak in water, drain. Mix the plain flour with baking powder and salt, sift. Whisk egg and mix in sugar. Add in milk, mix well, followed by oil, mix till well incorporated. Mix in the sifted flour and drained sweet potatoes. Mix well and scoop into paper and silicon cups. Steam  in medium boiling water for about 20 mins. Remove from steamer and let stand for 10 mins. before unmoulding. Yield :  6 steamed cakes

These pancakes are soft, light and fluffy using buttermilk rather than milk.  They taste lovely with a drizzle of maple syrup while the addition of fresh passion fruit gives it a nice tropical flavour. Passion fruit pancake ~  百香果煎饼 Ingredients 113 gm self-raising four 1 Tbsp sugar 155 ml buttermilk Pulp from 2.1/2 passion fruit (leave pulp from 1/2 passion fruit to serve) 1 'L' egg Maple syrup or honey to serve Method Sift in flour into a mixing bowl, add in sugar, mix well.  Make a well in the centre, whisk in buttermilk, passion fruit and egg.  Whisk till smooth. Lightly grease a non-stick pan, add in 1.1/2 Tbsp of batter for each pancake, allow it to  spread. Cook for 2 mins. till bubbles appear and begin to pop, flip over to cook for 1 min. till golden brown.  Repeat with remaining batter. Serve immediately with maple syrup or honey with some fresh passion fruit pulp. Yield :  13 pancakes Note :  To make buttermilk, I added 1/2 Tbsp lemo

A quickie noodle dish that can be whipped up in a jiffy and which can be served as a side or  main. Noodles are tossed in a creamy peanut butter sauce, topped with some pork fillet and garnished with some blanched vegetables.   These delicious noodles can be served chilled, warm or at room temperature. Noodles with peanut butter sauce ~   花生酱面条   Ingredients 100 gm pork fillet, cut into cubes 2 servings of dried noodles Romaine lettuce or any other vegetable 1 Tbsp peanut butter + 2 Tbsp hot water or more + sugar to taste Sesame oil 2 pips of garlic, chopped Seasoning for pork fillet :  1 tsp light soya sauce, , 1/4 tsp each of sugar, cornflour.  Salt & Pepper Method Saute the chopped garlic and toss in the seasoned pork fillet.  Stir-fry and cook till the meat is tender and cooked through.  Set aside. Blanch the some lettuce in boiling water, drain and set aside. Cook the noodles in boiling water, drain and place on a serving plate.  Drizzle on

I made this Thai milk tea chiffon using the recipe for my   Peppermint tea chiffon ,  adjusted the tea and this time I omitted the tea leaves in the cake.  This chiffon is incredibly light and fluffy and the Thai milk tea flavour lingers on after each bite.  The tea is indeed very fragrant and the sweet aroma filled the air when the cake was baking in the oven! Thai Milk Tea Chiffon Cake  ~  泰国奶茶戚风蛋糕    Ingredients (A) 10 gm Thai milk tea leaves 200 gm plain flour, sifted twice 3 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 6 egg yolks 70 gm caster sugar 100 ml canola oil 150 ml Thai milk tea  (200 ml warm milk, steep in the Thai milk tea leaves for 10 mins. strain to get 150 ml) (B) 6 egg whites 70 gm caster sugar Method Prepare the milk tea and set aside. Sift the plain flour twice with baking powder and salt.  Beat the egg yolks with sugar till creamy, add in oil and continue beating till thoroughly mixed. Add in the strained milk tea, mix well. A

Ayam (Chicken) rica-rica is a speciality from Manado, the capital city of North Sulawesi province of Indonesia.   Rica means 'chilli' in North Sulawesi language, therefore Ayam rica-rica literally translates to mean chicken with chilli sauce or fresh chillies.   In Manado cuisine, almost all kinds of meat, poultry, seafood can be prepared into rica-rica dish but the most popular among them is Ayam rica-rica.  I tired cooking this dish and undoubtedly it  was well recieved by my family members and they requested that I make this again in the near future. Ayam Rica-Rica  ~   印尼香辣鸡  (Adapated from   'here' ) Ingredients 1 whole chicken, cut into 8 pieces 2 lemon grass, crushed 3 kaffir lime juice 5 kaffir lime leaves 1 tomato cut into wedges 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp sugar To blend into paste 10 red chillies 10 bird eye chillies 10 shalltos 6 pips of garlic 2 inches ginger Method Marinate the chicken with some salt, set aside. Stir-fry th