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

This is a very refreshing soup to serve during this 'lock down' period and when  the weather is so hot and humid.  It also helps to cool down one's  temperament when some people can be so frustrated and highly strung when the Government ordered us to 'Stay At Home'.  You can serve this at your meals or just enjoy it on its own.  Don't be intimidated by the word 'Bittergourd'... it only has a slight hint of bitter but cool taste. Bittergourd Pork Tail Bone Soup  ~    苦瓜猪尾骨汤 Ingredients 500 gm Pork tail bones 170 gm Bittergourd                              1 burnt garlic 3 dried oysters (soaked for a while) 50 gm seedless red dates 2 lt water Sea salt to taste Method Blanch the pork bones in hot water for a few minutes, take out and rinse in water, drain and set aside. Remove the seeds from the bittergourd, cut into quarters. Bring 2 l...

These steamed banana cupcakes are very delicious, not only are they soft, but very aromatic.  You can serve them for breakfast or for afternoon tea and they still maintain their soft texture.  If you prefer them a bit warm just steam them for a few minutes and they are ready to go! Banana Steamed Cake ~  蒸香蕉蛋糕  (adapted from 'here' ') Ingredients 225 gm cake flour or plain flour 1 Tbsp baking powder 1/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda 3 'L' eggs 135 gm caster sugar 1/2 tsp vanilla 3 very ripe bananas (mashed) 112 ml vegetable oil a pinch of salt Method Sift together the cake flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda, salt, mix well. Beat eggs til foamy at low speed, then slowly add in sugar to combine.  Increase speed to medium for about 5 mins. until mixture is pale and reaches ribbon stage. Add in the mashed bananas and vanilla. Fold in the the flour mixture OR you can sift the flour mixture into the egg mixture, in 3 batches, till j...

During this MCO or Movement Control Order 'lock down' period, my friends and I have been sharing pictures of what we cook daily.   Well, we inspire each other and at least I picked up some tips on how to cook certain dishes which I had never thought of trying.  I was inspired by a friend who showed a picture of her 'Salted egg yolk Seafood Tofu'!  Since I have some seafood tofu stocked up, and since no deepfrying is required, I gave this a shot.  This dish is quick to prepare and very tasty.  I guess whatever is cooked with salted egg yolk is yummy and delicious. Salted Egg Yolk Seafood Tofu  ~   咸蛋黄海鲜豆腐 Ingredients 10 pieces seafood tofu 1 salted egg yolk 1 tsp sugar a drizzle of sesame oil Curry leaves Birdeye Chillies/Chilli Padi Method Steam the salted egg yolk for about 5 mins. Mash it Pat dry the seafood tofu and lightly panfry.  Dish out Add some oil into the pan and fry the mashed egg yolk Toss i...

Loh Mai Kai is the transliteration of  糯米雞 in Cantonese, meaning glutinous rice steamed with chicken.  It is a common dish in any dim sum restaurant and you can't miss it. Some of them are served in  small steel bowls while some are steamed in alluminium foil cups.  The glutinous rice is steamed with chicken, mushroom and Chinese sausage, but in my recipe today, I had to omit Chinese sausage as I wasn't able to get it during this 'lock down' period.  Hence, I substituted with some dried shrimps and dried scallops.  The taste of the glutinous rice is just wonderful as it has been infused with these flavours.  It's best to use drumsticks, deboned or with bones, absolutely your personal preference.  You can enjoy Loh Mai Kai for breakfast or brunch or whenever you feel like it.                                Loh Mai Kai  ~  糯米雞  (Glutinous rice ste...

A very easy one-pot meal for working mothers who are bogged down with other household chores.    Other than bak kwa, you may opt to use chinese sausages or even ham or fried bacon.  And the rice will taste just as delicious. Bak Kwa Tomato Rice ~  肉干番茄饭  (recipe adapted from 'here' ) Ingredients 1.1/4 rice cup of Basmati rice  1 cup water 1 medium size tomato about 160 gm 60 gm Bak Kwa pieces, diced 1/2 cup Broccoli, blanched and cut into tiny floret Salt to taste Method Wash and rinse rice, pour into rice cooker, add water accordingly.  (A little less water than the ordinary measurement because there will be some juice from the tomato). Mix in the bak kwa bit and a bit of salt.  Make a criss-cross cut on the bottom of the tomato and place it on the rice.  Select 'cook' function. When the rice is cooked, smash the tomato, toss in the blanched broccoli, Mix well. Drizzle on some sesame oil, mix well. Serve

This is a very simple stir-fry dish yet tasty to go with rice.  As the pork belly are thinly sliced, they are quick to shallow fry, not much time is required in preparing this dish. Pork Belly Slice Stir-Fry  ~    炒 五 花肉片 Ingredients 18 gm Pork Belly slice 100 gm French beans, sliced Salt, light soya sauce and a dash of sugar to taste Method In a pot with a bit of oil, shallow fry the pork belly slice.  Dish out In a wok, lightly saute the French beans and then toss in the pork belly slices Add a dash of salt, light soya sauce and sugar to taste Dish out and serve.

In this hot, humid weather and more so during this 'lock down' period, it's good to have your meals with a refreshing and light soup.  Here, I'm sharing with you a Fun Kot/Arrowroot Carrot Soup with some pig tail bones.  Arrowroot is a type of root vegetable which is free from gluten, low in calories and high in protein.  I shared another Fun Kot soup in my blog, long time ago and you can check it 'here' if you want a variation. Fun Kot/Arrowroot Carrot Soup ~  粉葛猪尾骨胡萝卜汤 Ingredients 350 gm Fun Kot 300 gm pig tail bones 2 medium size carrots 10 seedless red dates 2 lt water Salt to taste Method Bring some water to a boil and blanch the tail bones to remove any impurities.  Drain, rinse and set aside. Remove the skin from the Fun Kot, cut into chunks. Peel the skin of the carrot, and cut into chunks. Boil 2 lt or a bit more water in a stock pot, add in the red dates, tail bones, fun kot and carrots.  Bring to a simmer. Cover pot...

I used the Marble Butter Cake recipe to make these cupcakes and added in some Kahlua liqueur.  There's no distinctive colour of the Kahlua liqueur in these cupcakes but it lends added flavour to the cake while the almond paste keeps the cake moist.  The coffee taste of the liqueur does blend well with the almond paste filling. Kahlua Almond Cupcakes  ~   咖啡力娇酒杏仁蛋糕 Ingredients (A) 230 gm butter 200 gm self-raising flour 150 gm vanilla sugar 4 egg yolks 60 ml milk 3 Tsp Kahlua liqueur Almond paste for filling Pinch of salt Icing sugar to decorate (B) 4 egg whites 30 gm caster sugar Method Separate the eggs. Beat butter and sugar till light and creamy, add in the egg yolks.  Beat till incorporated. Beat till well incorporated and mix in the Kahlua. Sift in the self-raising flour and salt, alternating with milk.   In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites till foamy, then gradually add in the sugar and continue ...