Swiss Pepper Steak

Jean started off her Gilmore Park Church community kitchen with two meat dishes. She made Swiss Pepper Steak and Oven-fried Parmesan Chicken.

Jean is a good leader by showing a good example in leading the cooking class. I noticed that many of the members of the cooking clubs are very humble and quite shy to show off their cooking skills. It is always a challenging task to fill up the schedule of who to demonstrate in the coming cooking class in the beginning of every session. Nevertheless, the schedule has been filled up to April and its a good start.

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Well, back to Jean’s dishes. The Swiss Pepper Steak is a great one pot dish which is even better when eaten the next day for the flavour to mellow. It uses the less expensive cut of meat as the long and slow simmering will break down the tissue of the tougher cut of meat.

Ingredients

  • 2 to 3 lbs of large round steak or sirloin steak, cut into chunks
  • 1 large yellow onion, sliced
  • 1 large red pepper, sliced
  • 3 celery sticks, sliced
  • 8 white button mushrooms, sliced
  • flour for dredging

Sauce

  • 1 cup ketchup
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • pinch of sugar
  • 3 heaping teaspoons of chopped garlic

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Stir-fried Pork with Bamboo Shoots and Dried Oysters

Winnie’s second dish is a very versatile dish which is a very Chinese homey dish. Winnie’s Stir-fried Pork with Bamboo Shoots can be substituted with many other ingredients like sweet peppers, wood-ears, green onions, ‘Shiitake mushrooms, etc. This is another dish which goes well with steam rice.

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Ingredients

  • 1 cup or more boiled bamboo shoots
  • 1/2 lb pork, cut into thin slices
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 2 tablespoons soysauce
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 shallots, thinly slice
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 6 pieces of dried oyster, soaked and boiled to soften
  • 1/4 cup water

Click on the link below for the instructions.

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Stewed Pork in Brown Sauce

Winnie kicked off the South Arm Community Kitchen cooking class for the year 2007 with two pork dishes. She made Stewed Pork in Brown Sauce and Stir-fried Pork with Bamboo Shoots.

These pork dishes are very common dishes cook in the home of Chinese families. The gravy from these dishes goes really well with steam rice. Kids can just gobble up the rice with the gravy alone. Make sure you cook extra rice when you make such dishes.

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Winnie also treated us with some abalone to celebrate the start of a new year. Abalone is a kind of shellfish which is served during auspicious celebration like Chinese New Year, Wedding and Birthday. It is an expensive delicacy. Winnie, thank you for your generosity.

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Besides that, Winnie also shared with us some Pizza Pretzels while waiting for the dishes to be cooked.

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Here is the recipe for the Stewed Pork in Brown Sauce.

Ingredients

  • 2 lbs pork (butt or bacon with skin on), cut into 1 1/2 inches pieces
  • 1/4 cup pork rind (optional)
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup garlic cloves
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
  • 2 cups water
  • salt to taste

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Click on the link below for the instructions.

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Spicy Sesame Chicken

Heidy shared two dishes in the South Arm Community Kitchen at the last cooking class in 2006. She made Spicy Sesame Chicken and Avocado/Papaya Salad.

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The Spicy Sesame Chicken is marinated with lots of flavourful spices and sauces and deep fried until golden brown and crispy. Kids will love this for sure. Making this is easy but I guess the most challenging part is gathering all the required ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs chicken thigh meat (deboned)

For marinating:

  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon chicken powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon spicy bake mix
  • 1 tablespoon Vietnamese chili sauce
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 tablespoon wine
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon egg white
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • 2 tablespoon sesame seeds

For coating:

  • 5 tablespoons flour
  • 5 tablespoons cornstarch

Click on the link below for the instructions.

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Green Curry Lamb

Tanni is a another talented cook of the South Arm Community Kitchen. This week, she prepared a set menu (printed out nicely and put on display) for the cooking class. Her initial plan is to make a salad and garlic toast as the appetizers, Green Curry Lamb as the main entree and finally a sweet rice soup/congee as dessert. But unfortunately, with the boiling water advisory still on, she decided to drop off the salad as a safety precaution.

I’ll start off with the main entree. Green Curry Lamb. It was a great dish to be served with steam rice. The Green Curry Lamb is loaded with rich flavour from lemon grass, coconut milk and palm sugar.

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Ingredients

  • 2 lbs lamb shoulder, chopped into bite size
  • 2 pcs garlic, minced
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 2 tablespoons green curry paste (add more if you like it spicy)
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1 lbs potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size
  • 2 shallots, sliced
  • 2 sticks of lemon grass, cut into 1 inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons palm sugar
  • 1 can (400g) coconut milk

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Lemon Chicken

It’s Florence turn to share with us in the Gilmore Park Church community kitchen. She made Lemon Chicken, chicken corn egg soup and stir fried some sweet peppers. The dishes go well with steam rice.

Florence told us that this is the first time she’s making the Lemon Chicken. Nevertheless, the Lemon Chicken turned out great.

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The Lemon Chicken dish is colourful and appetizing.

Ingredients

  • 4 whole chicken breasts, cut into 2″ pieces and pounded lightly.
  • 1/2 cup corn flour
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 4 egg yolks
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 6 spring onions
  • oil for deep frying

Lemon sauce

  • 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 3/4 cups chicken stock (or 2 chicken stock cubes dissolve in 1 3/4 cups water)
  • 2 tablespoons corn flour
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger

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Celery Chicken Fingers

The other chicken dish which Angela made was Celery Chicken Fingers. The crispy fried chicken fingers are served with a sweet dipping sauce.

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The chicken fingers were made from thinly butterflied chicken breast (which has been seasoned with salt and peppers) wrapping around a celery stick and fastened by tooth picks. The chicken fingers are floured, dipped in egg wash and then rolled in breadcrumbs.

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Suey Choy (Napa Cabbage) Pork Dumpling

Betty made Suey Choy Pork Dumpling in the Caring Place Community Kitchen a couple weeks ago.

This is the pan fried version which I find is more tasty than the boiled version. The boiled version is best served in hot broth to keep it warm. You can check out the technique of making the boiled version at this link.

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Ingredients

  • 1 package of fresh dumpling skin (about 50 pieces)
  • 1 lb lean ground pork
  • 1 1 small suey choy (napa cabbage), finely chopped
  • 3 green onions, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon of minced ginger
  • 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt

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Middle Eastern Flavour Pork, Chickpea and Couscous Casserole

Andrea made this Middle Eastern Pork, Chickpea and Couscous Casserole as her second dish in the South Arm Community Kitchen.

This is a one-pot party dish which features easy-to-use couscous and nutrient-packed chickpeas. This dish is highlighted by the rich flavours of cumin, coriander and zesty orange.

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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 1/4 lb lean boneless pork loin or pork tenderloin, cut in thin strips
  • 2 cups sliced carrots
  • 1 large sweet green or red pepper, diced
  • 1 large onion, cut in wedges
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 can (19oz/540ml) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 cups chicken or vegetable stock
  • 1 tablespoon grated orange rind
  • 1 cup orange juice
  • 1/2 dried cranberries or raisins
  • 1 piece of leek, cut in thin strips
  • 1 1/2 cup couscous
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander or parsley

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Click on the link below for the instructions.

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