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

  This seafood prawn dish can be whipped up with some herbs that are easily available in any Chinese household.  The key ingredients are fresh prawns, some herbs and not forgetting the Shaoxing Huatiao  wine that will 'drunk' the prawns, hence the name 'Herbal Drunken Prawns'.  You can go easy on the wine for a slightly milder taste if this is also served to kids.  A super easy dish to prepare, just cook the broth, dump in the prawns but remember not to overcook them. Herbal Drunken Prawns ~   药材醉虾 Ingredients for seasoning prawns 300 gm large prawns 1 Tbsp sugar 1 to 2 Tbsp Shaoxing Huatiao wine Ingredients for herbal broth 10 gm yu zhu (fragrant solomon's seal) 5 gm angelica root (tung kwai) 5 slices ginger 4 gm dong shen 1 seedless red date 1 stalk of spring onion (white stem) 50 ml Shaoxing Huatiao wine 1/2 Tbsp goji berries (to add just before serving) 500 ml water Salt and sugar to taste Method Trim and devein the prawns.  Marinate with sugar and wine, set as

Here I am taking or rather using a very popular cookie to put inside a cookie.  Believe me, this cookie was a crowd pleaser amongst kids at a recent small gathering.  This cookie is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside and ready to tuck in after about 10 mins. baking time but of course needs a bit of patience to wait a little while longer for the cookie to cool further.  Can give this a try for the coming Chinese New Year which falls on 10th February 2024! Oreo Cookies ~  奥利奥曲奇                                        Ingredients 115 gm vegetable oil OR melted butter (I used oil) 80 gm caster sugar 1 egg 185 gm plain flour 1/2 teasp baking soda 1/4 teasp salt 9 Oreo cookies, with cream, crushed (110 gm) 1/4 teasp vanilla Method Sift flour with baking soda, salt, set aside. In a mixing bowl, with a hand whisk, beat oil and caster sugar till creamy. Break in an egg, beat till well incorporated. Fold in sifted flour, mix well with a spatula. Mix in the crushed Oreos thoroughly. Cov