Garlic soy meatballs

Menu planning may sound boring to some but I've found it to be an opportunity to get creative with ingredients on hand. I bought a variety of meats on Saturday and decided to use the portion of minced pork on meatballs. I remember the deep fried meatballs grandmother always served at her dinner parties and mom would also make them as treats once in a while.

Here's a recipe that's first pan fried, then simmered with garlicky soy sauce for glaze. I made it into a fusion meal on salad greens.

Summary of recipe:

1. Prepare the mince:

Mix the below ingredients in a bowl:

• 200gm minced pork or chicken
• 50gm chopped shrimps
• 1/4 cup chopped water chestnuts
• 1 spring onion (white parts only), minced
• 1/2 tsp grated ginger
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 Tbsp light soy
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• dash of white pepper
• dash of Chinese cooking wine
• 1/2 an egg, lightly beaten*
• about 2 or 3 Tbsp corn flour*

2. Prepare the sauce:

Mix the below in a bowl:

• 1/2 cup of chicken stock
• 1 1/2 Tbsp light soy
• 1 Tbsp dark soy
• 3 Tbsp sugar or honey
• dash of sesame oil

Separately:

- 1 garlic, chopped

Cook:

1. Shape the mince into meatballs or patties**.
2. Pan fry the meatballs or patties with just enough oil for meat to not stick on pan. Remove from pan when golden on both sides.
3. With remaining oil in pan, sauté chopped garlic for a minute.
4. Add the sauce and cook for another minute.
5. Return the meatballs or patties to the pan and simmer until sauce is reduced; turn meatballs or patties to glaze.
   
   Optional:
6. Arrange a bed of salad greens and place the meatballs or patties on top.
7. Garnish with toasted almond flakes.

*I used 1 egg and 4 Tbsp of corn flour.

**I spooned the mince mix directly into the pan.

Adapted from recipe source: http://3hungrytummies.blogspot.co.nz/2011/12/sticky-soy-and-garlic-meatballs.html

Chawanmushi

C always likes to order chawanmushi when dining at Japanese restaurants. So I thought, what's so difficult to make steam eggs? After a few failed attempts earlier (read: rough surface on egg), I was very happy to have found a chawanmushi recipe written by a Japanese. I tell ya, the art of Japanese cooking is ever so delicate. The trick to smooth steamed egg is to cover the bowl and steam in very low simmer; and of course, precise preparations in ingredients.

Summary of recipe:

Prepare ingredients:

1. Soak 2 dried Shitake mushrooms. Slice into thin strips or quarters.
2. Marinate 4 shrimps (deveined and shelled) with some sake or rice wine for 10 minutes.
3. Marinate 1 chicken tender (cut into strips) with some sake or rice wine for 10 minutes.
4. Prepare any other ingredients you'd like to include in the chawanmushi, e.g., surimi, Japanese fish cake, gingko nuts, shimeji mushrooms, etc.
5. Divide everything into 2 chawanmushi cups or small bowls*.

Meanwhile, boil some water in a large pot. The water should reach half the height of your chawanmushi cups. No wire rack is needed for inside the pot. Once the water is rolling boiled, turn the heat to the lowest so it's just a very slow simmer. 

Prepare egg liquid:

1. Beat 2 eggs in a bowl. 
2. Add 1 cup of chicken or dashi stock.
3. Season with 1 tsp mirin, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp soy sauce.
4. Strain this mixture into another bowl.
5. Pour egg liquid slowly into the prepared chawanmushi cups and ensure there are no bubbles.
6. Cover the chawanmushi cups with its cover or use alluminium foils.
7. Gently place the chawanmushi cups into the pot of hot water. Place pot cover and steam for 25 minutes**.

*I used two tumbler wine glasses and one of it cracked! So I wouldn't recommend using them. This recipe may yield 2 or 3 cups depending on the size.

** If you're not using any shrimp or chicken, you'd need to steam it for only 15-20 minutes.

It was really smooth and tasted just like the ones in good Japanese restaurants! Didn't take a picture (!) but it is close to the one shown at recipe source except I didn't put any of the roe or sea urchin toppings. 

Picture update - 3 perfect 1 fail:

Recipe source: http://justonecookbook.com/blog/recipes/chawanmushi-with-shrimp/

Hot & sour soup

T'was another cold winter night. What better than to have something hot, sour, spicy and soupy?

I first tasted this hot and sour soup when I was studying in the US. This and egg drop soup were the two standard soup starters in most Chinese restaurants. At first taste, I thought it was the weirdest soup concoction ever - who invented it anyway? Over time, I begin to appreciate the wonders this soup makes you feel, especially on cold winter nights.

Summary of recipe:

Prepare in separate bowls:

1. Soak and cut into strips:
   1-2 pieces of woodear, 2 dried Chinese/Shitake mushrooms, 6-8 strips of dried golden lily.
   Optional: pork strips, crab meat, bamboo shoots.
2. Mix 1.5 Tbsp white vinegar + 1 Tbsp Chinese black vinegar + 2 Tbsp light soy + 1/2 tsp salt + 1/2 tsp sugar + 1 tsp (or more) Korean chili flakes* + 1 tsp chili oil
3. Mix 1 Tbsp cornstarch + 1 Tbsp water.

Cook:

1. Sautè items in #1 bowl with a swirl of oil for 3 minutes.
2. Add 2 cups chicken broth and let it boil.
3. Add 1 soft tofu (pre-cut into bite size).
4. Add in #2 and #3 mixtures and stir intermittently until broth thickens.
5. Slowly drip in 1 egg (lightly beaten) while stirring the pot.
6. Season with dashes of pepper, depending on how much heat you like. 
7. Garnish with sliced spring onions (not shown in picture).

*Can be substituted with any other chili flakes or powder. 

Ginger wine chicken 黄酒薑雞

I've recently started menu planning for the entire week and found that it's a really good way to ensure produce and meats don't go to waste. In a way, this helps save money too as I optimize my cooking ingredients to make the best meals out of them. Yesterday, this effort 'rewarded' me to a nice comfort food just as I was feeling the winter blues.

This chicken dish is fragrant with ginger, rice wine and sesame oil. I think you'd either love it or hate it.

Summary of recipe:

Sautè for a few minutes after each addition:

1. Aromatics - 2 Tbsp sesame oil + sliced ginger (2") + chopped half garlic.
2. Main - Half a free range chicken (chopped into medium size pieces) + wood ear strips
3. Seasoning - 3 Tbsp oyster sauce + large splash of Chinese cooking wine + Shaoxing wine + sprinkle of sugar + dash of light soy + dark soy + pepper. 
4. Water - half to one cup (depending on how much gravy you want)

Let it simmer for 30 minutes until chicken is cooked and gravy is reduced to desired thickness.

Top with spring onions.

Source of recipe: http://3hungrytummies.blogspot.co.nz/2009/10/braised-chicken-with-ginger-and-chinese.html

Mushroom soup

It was steak night yesterday and C requested mushroom soup. Didn't take a picture but here goes.

Summary of recipe:

1. Sautè chopped half a garlic + 1 chopped shallot + 300gm sliced white mushrooms* with swirl of oil until mushroom gets fragrant.
2. Add a cup of chicken broth + 25gm butter. Let it boil for a few minutes.
3. Add 200ml of coconut milk**.
4. Blend half the mushrooms in the soup and add it back to the soup. 
5. Let the soup reduce a bit, ~10 mins, to achieve a thicker soup consistency. 

* Can be substituted with swiss brown, portabello, shitake, or a combo variety.

** Can be substituted with milk. 

Travel the world

I think I'm having a mid-life crisis. I want to just drop everything and go travel with C. Fly to London and travel overland or sea towards Singapore. Hope I win bonus bonds soon!

Countries I've visited - not enough!

Moist lemon butter cup cake

I harvested a few lemons from the garden yesterday and thought - what better than to make some lemon cup cakes? I still can't forget the lemon swiss roll I got from a tiny Asian bakery in Newmarket in Auckland. Someday I shall attempt that one but meanwhile here goes. This recipe yields really moist cup cakes and with the almond slivers, it adds a nice crunch to the zesty flavor - especially when straight out of the oven! The picture does not do it justice - I should really get my good camera out in the future.

Summary of recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degree Celcius.
2. Use a hand mixer, mixing well with each addition:
• cream 125gm butter + 100gm sugar in low speed until light color.
• add 2 eggs, one at a time
• add 125gm flour + 1 tsp baking powder (sifted together), in three additions.  
• add 1Tbsp milk + 3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon) + lemon rind from 1 lemon
3. Pipe into lined mini muffin pan, top with a sprinkle of almond slivers and bake for 15 minutes. 

Yields 36 mini muffins.

Note: If you are using a regular muffin pan, bake for 30-40 minutes.



Recipe source: http://hearty-bakes.blogspot.com.au/2010_05_01_archive.html