Candied Ginger

Ben made some candied ginger for snacking in the wintery cold weather.

Ginger is a common kitchen spice which has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. It is commonly used to treat nausea and morning sickness.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds ginger (We started off with 2 pounds of ginger, but after removing skins and small pieces that is not usable, we were left with 1 1/2 pounds)
  • pinch of salt
  • 3 cups white caned sugar
  • extra sugar for coating

Yield: 1 pound candied ginger

Source: Kimberly Killebrew, www.daringgourmet.com

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Horchata

We had a batch of rice that does not yield good steam rice. So, Ben decided to use it to make Horchata.

Horchata is a Mexican drink made out of rice, milk, vanilla and cinnamon.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup uncooked white long grain rice
  • 5 cups water
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 2/3 cup sugar

This recipe is from Lola.

As for me, I would prefer to use cinnamon stick instead of cinnamon powder as I do not like the cinnamon powder to float in the Horchata. The drink in the glass is made with cinnamon stick while the drink in the bottles behind the glass is made with cinnamon powder.

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Homemade Sambal Chili with Dried Shrimps

Ben found a pack of belachan in the store room. I must have bought it a while ago but reluctant to cook it as it will stink up the apartment.

Ben decided to use it to make some Sambal Belachan with Dried Shrimps as a condiment for rice or noodle dishes. We love sambal belachan but making it at home will require me to burn a lot of scented candles to get rid of the smell.

Ingredients

  • 50g dried shrimps (soaked in 1 cup of water, reserved soaking liquid)
  • 200g shallots
  • 30g garlic
  • 20g ginger
  • 1/4 cooking oil
  • 25g dried chili – hydrated (deseeded if you do not want it to be too spicy)
  • 150g fresh chili (deseeded if you do not want it to be too spicy)
  • 4 stalks of lemongrass (use white part only)
  • 50g dried toasted belacan
  • 1/2 cup cooking oil
  • 2 teaspoons sugar

Another reason Ben is able to make the sambal belachan is we managed to find fresh red chilies in the groceries stores like T&T.

Source: Spice N’ Pans

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Korean Egg Bread (Gyeran-ppang)

Ben made this Korean Egg Bread for me to bring for lunch at work.

We used a muffin tin to make four with egg filing. Since I am not a fan of egg, I asked him to made me a couple with cheese only.

We used a rectangular aluminium foil pan to make mine so that I get a bigger portion.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 7 tablespoons sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1 cup milk
  • 2 eggs for the cake batter, extra eggs for filing
  • cooking oil for coating the pan
  • Mozzarella cheese, optional

Source: this recipe is adapted from https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/gyeran-ppang

Yields: 4 rectangular bread or 8 muffin size bread

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Korean Spicy Garlic Fried Chicken (Kkanpunggi)

Ben made this Korean snack food for the family. The recipe is adapted from one of his favourite youtube food blogger, Maangchi.

Our boys simply love this crunchy boneless chicken nugget with a sweet and spicy sauce.

Ingredients

Chicken marinate:

  • 3 chicken breasts (about 1 1/2 pounds), cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
  • 3 teaspoons light soy sauce
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1 whole egg plus 1 egg white

Spicy garlic and leek-infused oil:

  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 1/2 cups thinly shredded leek (1 whole leek)
  • 12 garlic cloves, cut into halves
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons red chili flakes

Vegetables and seasonings:

  • a small bunch of green onions (about 6 to 8), chopped
  • 1 large sized onion, chopped
  • 10 dried chili peppers

Sweet and sour sauce (combine in a measuring cup, stir and mix well):

  • 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 6 tablespoons water
  • 4 to 6 tablespoons syrup (or sugar)
  • 3 tablespoons white vinegar
  • 3 teaspoons potato starch

Oil:

  • 1 cup vegetable oil for frying
  • a few drops of sesame oil

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Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly

Ben made this Taiwanese Braised Pork Belly for dinner.

Everyone at home loves it. It is saucy and the pork belly has the right amount of fat and lean meat which gives it the great texture.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pork belly, cut into small strips
  • 1 tablespoon cooking oil, optional
  • 4 to 5 medium shallots, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 8 pieces of dried shiitake mushroom, re-hydrated (reserved soaking liquid), diced
  • 1 teaspoon five spice powder
  • a few dashes of ground white pepper
  • 1/2 cup of white rice wine (Chinese cooking wine)
  • 1/3 cup light soy sauce
  • 1/3 cup dark soy sauce
  • 15g rock sugar
  • 1 can (395ml) chicken stock
  • 300ml mushroom soaking water
  • 4 hard boil eggs – as complement
  • blanched green vegetable – as complement

This recipe is adapted from spicenpans.com

Serves: 5 to 6

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Homemade Seremban Siew Bao

Ben made the Seremban Siew Bao from scratch at home because he misses it. The last time he had it was probably six years ago when he went back to Malaysia.

The Siew Bao was a success and Ben was very satisfied. He got the recipe from this youtube. We made some adjustments to the recipe to our preference like:

  • darker colour filings
  • darker glaze by just using egg yolk
  • more liquid in the seasonings to add moisture to the filings

Ingredients

Pork Filing:

  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 4 slices ginger
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 pound ground pork

Pork Seasoning:

  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
  • 3 tablespoons all purpose flour dissolved in 3/4 cup chicken broth

Water Dough:

  • 400g all purpose flour
  • 100g butter in room temperature
  • 3 tablespoons sugar
  • 180ml water
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Oil Dough:

  • 200g all purpose flour
  • 140g butter in room temperature

Glazing and Garnishing:

  • 2 to 3 egg yolks, beaten
  • toasted sesame seeds

Yield: 24

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Chinese Five Spice Chicken

Ben loves dishes with a lot of sauce. He can just eat steamed rice with sauce.

Ben made this Chinese Five Spice Chicken with Hard Boiled Eggs and Tofu Puff on Thanksgiving weekend. We avoid going out to eat thinking that restaurants will be packed.

Ingredients

  • 3 chicken legs, trimmed fat and cut into drum sticks and thighs (about 2 pounds), sprinkled with 2 tablespoons Chinese Five Spice Blend and rub gently
  • 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons minced garlic
  • 3 to 4 cups of water
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
  • 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
  • 5 hard-boiled eggs
  • 6 pieces tofu puff, cut into halves
  • Coriander leaves for garnishing

 

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Korean Glazed Potatoes (Gamja Jorim)

I like the sweetish Korean potato banchan whenever I dined at a Korean restaurant.

Ben noticed that I like Gamja Jorim and he searched for the recipe to make this side dish for me. He is sweet, just like this dish.

Ingredients

  • 4 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, rinsed well to remove starch
  • 1 large onion, cut into 1 cm chunks
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 4 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 4 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons corn syrup
  • 1 teaspoon sesame oil
  • toasted sesame seeds, optional
  • chopped green onion, optional
  • 3/4 cup water

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