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

Chee Cheong Fun or steamed Rice Noodles are a Cantonese dish and commonly served either as a snack, breakfast or as a variety of dim sum.  It's a thin crepe made with rice flour and rolled into a long noodle.  You can add filling into the rice noodle, like dried shrimps, prawns, or char siew (BBQ pork) or even with vegetables for a meatless option.  As they are flavourless, a sweetened soy sauce usually accompanies the dish. Chee Cheong Fun (Rice Noodles) with dried shrimps  ~  虾米肠粉 Ingredients 100 gm rice flour 20 gm cornflour 20 gm tapioca flour 400 ml water 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp oil 1 Tbsp dried shrimps Spring onions, chopped Ingredients for sauce 2 tsp light soy sauce )   1 tsp sesame oil        )  Mix well and bring to a light boil. 1 Tbsp sugar             ) 3 Tbsp water             ) Method Wash, rinse and soak the dried shrimps for about 1/2 hour.  Chop them up and lightly pan-fry.  Dish out. In a mixing bowl, measure out al

This is my first attempt at making a French omelette.  A French omelette is rolled up into an oval or cylindrical shape before serving.  I've surfed the internet for many versions of how some chefs whipped up this omelette with ease.  I managed to pick up some tips here and there and came up with my Bak Kwa Onion French Omelette. Bak Kwa Onion French Omelette  ~  肉干洋葱煎蛋卷    Ingredients 3 eggs + 1/2 tsp water 30 gm bak kwa bits 1 medium onion, diced Salt and Pepper Method Using a fork, whisk up the eggs with 1/2 tsp water.  (Adding water will help to break up the protein and fluff up the eggs a little).  Whisk till no egg whites are visible.  Add in a bit of salt and a dash of pepper. Heat up some oil and lightly pan-fry the onions and bak kwa bits. Dish up and set aside. Heat up a non-stick pan on medium heat, lightly pour the beaten eggs onto the pan.  Stir the eggs in circular movement and shake the mixture to cook evenly on low heat. Lightly pat th

The Dragon Boat festival (which falls on 25th June) is approaching and it is this time of the year that a lot of dumplings, savoury and  sweet will be on sale.  There are a few legends linking to this festival and if you are keen to know more about the festival, just take a look 'here'. My mum used to make delicious dumplings and when she was making them, my siblings and I would hover around her requesting her to make special ones for us, with more filling, and we would make our markings on them. It's a pity that I wasn't able to learn the art of wrapping  dumplings with bamboo leaves from her but now through watching videos and surfing the internet, somehow managed to make a mock dumpling with lotus leaves.  I tried to replicate the Cantonese dumpling by using the ingredients that my  mum used to wrap the dumplings. Steamed Savoury Dumplings in Lotus leaf    ~   荷叶肉粽 Ingredients 400 gm glutinous rice, washed, rinsed and soaked overnight 70

This stir-fry dish has no sauce, but tender meat and it's fragrant due to the combination of lemon grass and turmeric.  It's also an appropriate nutritious dish for mothers on confinement too. Stir-fried Turmeric Pork  ~   黄 姜 猪肉 Ingredients 500 gm pork fillet 1 tsp turmeric powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp light soya sauce 1/2 tsp sugar 1 Tbsp oil 2 red onions 3/4 tsp sugar light soya sauce to taste 1 lemon grass, sliced Birdeye chillies (optional) Method Marinate the pork slices with the turmeric powder, salt, sugar, soya sauce.  Mix in the oil. Heat up a pan and lightly fry the pork fillet.  Push the pork fillet aside, add in the lemon grass and onions. Sprinkle some sugar and light soya sauce to taste. Dish up and serve.

This is  an easy recipe for the weekend especially during this lock down period when it's not advisable to go out unnecessarily.   My first encounter was a bittergourd fried kway teow (rice noodles) dish in a Chinese restaurant and since I like bittergourd, I tried to replicate it with rice vermicelli instead.  You can opt to use yellow noodles and for a vegetarian dish, substitute the meat and seafood with more greens and perhaps some mushrooms. Rice Vermicelli with Bittergourd and Black Beans ~   苦瓜黑豆炒米粉 Ingredients 100 gm rice vermicelli (for 2 servings) 2.1/2 tsp black beans 3 cloves of garlic, chopped 180 gm bittergourd, sliced thinly 150 gm boneless chicken leg, sliced 250 gm prawns 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce light soya sauce, bit of sugar to taste Method Season the chicken with 1/4 tsp cornflour, some pepper, salt and a bit of sugar. Wash and devein the prawns, season with salt, sugar and pepper. Slice up the bittergourd, mix in some salt,

What is nestum?  It's a kind of cereal made from a delicious recipe of nutrient rich multi-grains, such as wholewheat, corn, rice and milk, packed with vitamins and minerals. I adapted the recipe for this Nestum Chiffon Cake  from my Black Sesame Chiffon Cake which I posted to share, some time ago.  This chiffon cake is very soft, it can literally 'dance' when you jiggle it! Nestum Chiffon Cake ~  麦片戚风蛋糕 Ingredients (A) 5 egg yolks 30 gm caster sugar 50 ml vegetable oil 80 ml milk 80 gm superfine flour 1/8 tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 25 gm nestum (B) 6 egg whites 60 gm caster sugar 1 tsp lemon juice or 1/2 tsp cream of tartar Method Sift flour with the baking powder, salt and mix well.  Stir in the nestum cereal.  Mix thoroughly. Using a ball whisk, whisk the egg yolks with 30 gm sugar till sugar has dissolved.  Stir in the oil little by little till mixture is completely combined.  Add in milk and stir well to mix. Stir the fl

If you like pork belly which is savoury and a bit spicy, this is the recipe for you.  This is a Hunan cuisine and as the name implies, it was Chairman Mao's favourite dish.  This is indeed a very flavourful dish and my family members enjoyed it very much.  Will definitely make this again. Chairman Mao's Red Braised Pork Belly  ~   毛主席红烧猪肉 (recipe from 'here' ) Ingredients 600 gm pork belly, cut into bite size 3 slices ginger 20 gm piece sugar (or you can use sugar) 1 Tbsp oil 1 spring onion (white part) 1 Tbsp light soy sauce 1/2 Tbsp dark soy sauce 2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine 1 piece cinnamon 2 star anise 2 bay leaves 2 dried chillies (hydrated) 3 cups water or more to submerge the pork belly 1/2 tsp sugar to add once the pork is cooked Method Blanch the pork  belly in hot water, drain and rinse, set aside. Add oil in a wok and caramalise the piece sugar till melted. Add the ginger, pork and the white part of spring onion, stir fry. A

This is a speedy, nutritious, healthy dish to serve your family during this 'lock down' period.  All that is required is to cook the prawns with the pumpkin sauce and lace it on the tofu after steamed.  Suitable for the elderly and kids too.  Do give this a try! Seafood Pumpkin Tofu  ~  海鲜南瓜豆腐 Ingredients 4 pieces fried tofu 120 gm prawns  3 Tbsp pumpkin puree 3/4 cup water Salt to taste Method Season the prawns with some salt. Lightly panfry the fried tofu Cook the pumpkin puree with some water and salt, add in the prawns. Arrange the fried tofu on a serving plate and pour the pumpkin sauce over it. Garnish and serve.

This is a very simple chicken recipe for working mothers.  All you need to do is just marinate the chicken with some seasoning, add on honey and lemon, then pan-fry.  But for better flavour, it's best to marinate it longer, preferably overnight.  I just pan-fry the chicken keeping aside the marinade to make a gravy to go with the chicken and mushrooms and a greens on the side. Honey Lemon Drumettes ~  蜂蜜柠檬鸡翅根 Ingredients 1.2 kg Drumettes 2 tsp McCormick chicken seasoning 1/4 tsp salt 1.1/2 tsp honey 1 tsp lemon juice 1 Tbsp oil a dash of pepper 200 gm mushrooms 3 cloves chopped garlic 3 shallots, chopped Cornstarch + water to thicken the sauce Brocolli or any other greens Method Season the drumettes with chicken seasoning, salt, oil, honey and lemon for a few hours or preferably, overnight. Keeping aside the marinade, pan fry the drumettes flipping from side to side till cooked and tender.  Dish out. Saute the mushrooms with the chopped garlic a