excellent bakuteh

made one of the best bakuteh using frozen prime ribs from sheng shiong on 29.5.2018. ^^

I chose the fatty ribs…it was really tasty & perfect texture & bite..better than all the bkt i had outside! almost la! lol! 🙂

these are prime ribs, with very good layer of fat in between the meat. though it was not the full length 龙骨 (dragon rib), it was the part near the bone, not so chunky with lean meat & having the fat layer. quite perfect actually..

bkt spices 

i use the 30g ilc spice packet. i think this the most common & cheap spice packet that all my friends used.  added 1 whole bulb of garlic cloves…

excellent bakuteh 

it’s good for 1kg ribs. i had 700g+ ribs. soup was perfect too..it all came together very nicely.

excellent bakuteh

soup etc always good. today’s bkt was exquisite, especially good because of the perfect texture & bite, of course that because of the ribs & the timing (which is my usual 50mins to 1hr..decide by taste).

when you bite into the meat, it was bouncy, moist, no need to tear, good bite, no fray, just the texture i wanted.

c.h.e.f andy

4pax tapas dinner

made a tapas dinner for 4pax for wife’s friend couple MC & H on 26.5.2018. ^^

4pax tapas dinner

i made –

1. miso belly pork
2. dubrovnik orange jam chicken
3. chorizo prawns
4. grilled vegetables &
5. seafood tagliatelle

orange jam chicken & miso belly pork

miso belly pork was my usual.

i put in 95degC oven for 7hrs. then i flamed & cut. the texture just slightly over. if texture were perfect, the cut would be clean slice (no fraying)…or maybe my knife not sharp? lol! 🙂

miso belly pork

it was nice anyway & looked great flamed…can always be better la..

orange jam chicken

the dubrovnik orange jam chicken turned out perfect!

wife’s friend said “chicken was exquisite”. taste was great & texture perfect, moist, tender, wonderful bite…almost crystalline..

H asked how it was done?…actually quite simple –

• just marinate with fish sauce & pepper, drown in orange juice (i use only 1 orange for 1/2 chicken – deboned thigh & breast.
• fry skin down high fire little oil to charred the skin (3mins) then turn over & add the orange juice…i did not have the korean yuzu jelly so added 1tbsp jam. cover & cook chicken while reduce sauce (5mins). remove chicken & reduced sauce & serve as a dip.

chorizo prawns

chorizo prawns my usual recipe.

brown a whole garlic cloves, add cut chilli padi & basil leaves. then add sliced chorizo. & some red & yellow peppers.

key is adding very intense tasty chicken stock, and some white wine, and reduced the whole thing.

when serving, boil, add prawns & cover. important tip is prawns should be just right & not overcooked.

grilled vegetables

i pangrilled the vegetables – red & yellow pepper, zucchini, and portobello mushrooms.

grilled sweetcorn (flamed)

wife oven grilled the sweet corn, which i flamed. it was very good.

seafood tagliatelle 

seafood tagliatelle was good today. prawns, squid all cooked just right. pasta was al dente (could be more al dente actually), and stock was great (intense chicken stock & white wine reduced) so very tasty.

parfait dessert

parfait dessert

H made some parfait dessert. i heard she wanted to do pavlova initially but anyhow this parfait was excellent especially with the passionfruit, very tasty. love it!

seafood tagliatelle

was a simple & quite wonderful dinner.

after dinner we went to their place (3+1 bedroom with own swimming pool)…very nice place, sat and chat for a while.

c.h.e.f andy

croatian brodet – fish stew (like french bouillabaise)

Made a 6pax Croatian dinner for my RI friends & spouses this evening on 14.5.2018.^^

1. croatian grilled fish (sailfish steak, treadfin tail, tiger garoupa)
2. croatian brodet (Croatian style bouillabaisse) fish stew (treadfin head, whole seabream, prawns, littleneck clams aka la la)
3. 16th century Dubrovnik honey orange capon (castrated rooster) – i used the sheng shiong variety😜
4. grilled veg (red & yellow peppers, zucchini, pumpkin, jap sweet potatoes)
5. seafood tagliatelle

grilled fish – tiger garoupa, treadfin tail, sailfish loin

i used tiger garoupa, treadfin tail, & sailfish loin for the grilled fish dish. 🙂

sailfish akin to tuna & swordfish in texture (firm), and lighter in flavour. bought it from phoon huat delicatessen. for the sailfish steak, i seasoned with sea salt & pepper & charred over high heat on all sides first before over grill.

stuffed with sliced ginger, chopped scallions & garlic, a bit of salt and some coriander, oven grilled at 250degC for 9mins with 2-3tbsp light soy sauce & 2 tbsp olive oil. then drizzle 1 tbsp lemon juice.

the sailfish steak was excellent in falvour & texture!.

dish was very tasty, fish was fresh ok, treadfin was good, though tiger garoupa not quite comparable to the seabass & seabream we had in croatia.

honey orange chicken

we had a nice capon dish at kapun in dubrovnik during our recent croatia tour.

capon is a castrated rooster, the use seemed to date back to as early as 162BC. apparently castrated rooster double in size, have small crown & tender meat. the honey orange capon we had in dubrovnik claimed a 16th century recipe.

anyway i used the sheng shion variety & fashioned my own sauce.

basically just deboned 1/2 chicken, cut into 2 – breast & thigh pieces, seasoned with fish sauce & white pepper & fried skin down to brown the skin for 3-4mins, then turned over added fresh orange juice & honey, covered, cooked chicken while reducing to a thickened sauce. chicken must not be overcooked, so i thickened the sauce further separately.

i think my chicken was more tender, moist & tasty standalone than what we had in dubrovnik actually, the sauce though could not replicate the unique taste & of course the kapun dish was served with barley risotto, and overall experience was quite different.

grilled vege-red pepper,yellow pepper,zucchini, portobello mushrooms

grilled vege – pumpkin, sweet corn, jap sweet potatoes

the grilled vegetables were very good this evening. ^^

i pan seared the red pepper,yellow pepper,zucchini, portobello mushrooms in little oil, sprinkling sea salt.

for the pumpkin (drizzle of honey), jap sweet potato & sweet corn (coated with gourmet butter), i added olive oil & sea salt & roasted 20mins in 250degC oven…pumpkin & sweet corn were especially tasty.

seafood tagliatelle

for the seafood tagliatelle, i browned garlic cloves in olive oil, added red & yellow pepper, then white wine & a tasty chicken stock, and reduced to a very tasty stock.

when serving i added the prawns & littleneck clams, then squid & covered, the added tagliatelle & tossed. wife felt that the tagliatelle was not al dente enough. otherwise the pasta was tasty & prawns & squid & clams were just right, not overcooked..

fishes for brodet & croatian grilled fish

only 6pax, so i used only 1 small seabream, 1 small garoupa, 1 large treadfin cut in 2 for the 2 dishes – brodet & grilled fish.

sailfish loin

sailfish loin

the sailfish loin was my first try, and it was quite excellent!

grilled fish – tiger garoupa, treadfin tail, sailfish loin

grilled fish – tiger garoupa, treadfin tail, sailfish loin

the grilled fish was pretty good, not as good as the seabass & seabream in croatia, and not as good as the brodet dish this evening, which was quite perfect…

deboned half chicken

i used 1/2 deboned chicken, seasoned with fish sauce & pepper & pan-grilled.

honey orange chicken

then cooked with orange juice & honey, and thickened to a drizzle sauce.

grilled vege-red pepper,yellow pepper,zucchini, portobello mushrroms

the grilled vegetables were in fact the second favourite dish for this evening after brodet.

prawns

squid

i prepared fresh prawns (for both brodet & pasta) & squid.

seafood tagliatelle

seafood tagliatelle

made a nice pasta.

fruits – cut pineapples, rock melons, cherries & blueberries

fruits – cut pineapples, rock melons, cherries & blueberries

CH brought very sweet cherries & cut pineapples & rock melons..& KF brought a red wine.

we viewed our recent crotian photos after dinner..the sceneries & food…haha!

a great evening with good friends & nice food.

c.h.e.f andy

bakuteh

my OPS buddies came for 5pax homecooked bakuteh & chicken rice lunch on 3.4.2018. ^^

bkt about the easiest dish to cook. just used “ilc” spice sachet, added whole bulb garlic. today i added about 800g pork ribs, fresh indonesian ribs from sheng shiong…not the best ribs i gotten…

but a good enough bkt, both tender ribs & very tasty soup. 🙂

chicken rice chicken, chilli, & poached brocoli

chicken rice chicken

i made chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡. also made chilli.

chicken rice was very tasty & chicken was tender & sweet, though not near my best today.

M did not want to take chicken rice, so she made do with bkt, 2 ribs.

brocoli

brocoli was the usual.

i poached first & then added the hot oil with oyster sauce & cornflour.

ah seng D13 durians

i also bought some D13 durians from ah seng. nearing the end of this short season. MSW was selling $22/kg so i picked only 4 D13 durians, about $33.

ah seng D13 durians

D13 was pretty good.

D13 durians

everyone enjoyed the durians.

tai cheung egg tarts

2 friends bought 2 boxes of tai cheung egg tarts..quite nice!

c.h.e.f andy

海底捞hotpot

my OPS sakura gang came for 5pax 海底捞hotpot on 22.3.2018. ^^

this really the easiest of all makan, no cooking required, just buy beef & pork & vege etc, AND eat & enjoy! ^^

海底捞hotpot

i had all 4 types of mushrooms – enoki, shimeji, shitaka & also abalone mushroom. i like the texture of the abalone mushroom. really good! 🙂

海底捞hotpot

for vege, i just use chinese cabbage, both for the soup base together with ikan bilis & yellow beans.

& also to add in the course of the hotpot meal..

海底捞hotpot

海底捞hotpot

& i bought fish balls, teochew fish cake, and also beef balls.

海底捞hotpot

i was at donki at orchard central basement 2 few days back when i had lunch with sis & bil at tanuki.

so i bought both the kurobuta (thin cut) & also the white pork (thick cut).

quite surprising the slightly cheaper white pork was a lot tastier than the kurobuta…odd!

i had also some good beef from phoon huat delicatessen, i think short ribs. it was very nice indeed.

bamboo pith

when i was in shanghai with WM last sep2017, WT & GY got me to buy some bamboo pit. i was quite clueless on the preparation..

anyway it was quite easy, just soaked in water, drained & then add to soup or hotpot..

it was pretty good actually, but i guess just the texture, not much of a taste to talk about.

beancurd skin

& i always like to rolled dry bean curd skin.

WM brought ice jelly

WM brought ice jelly made by J, very nice & refreshing…

FM made blueberry cake

& FM made a nice blueberry cake…

we had a fun lunch & fellowship & talked about the upcoming trip to kyoto, nara, osaka.

c.h.e.f andy

tapas

had a wonderful homecooked 8pax tapas+pasta+steak dinner on 21.3.2018. ^^

i made 10 dishes, 6 cold tapas, 2 hot tapas, 1 pasta & 1 steak –

1. pumpkin salad
2. nobu miso cod
3. teriyaki salmon belly
4. flamed miso belly pork
5. ika sugatayaki (flamed while squid)
6. grilled vegetables
7. chorizo prawns
8. herb crusted rack of lamb
9. seafood fiduea (proxy by broken angelhair)
10. tagliata di manzo (sliced beef steak)

i have not invited this group of friends (introduced by NCL some years back) for maybe 2 years now. recently JK had invited me like 4 times, after she renovated her flat, and she made wonderful dinners/lunches…the most recently one i could not attend.

so i say about time i invited this group. wife also joined dinner so we had 8pax.

pumpkin salad

i started with pumpkin salad. roasted pumpkin last evening, overdid it, so roasted a second batch 20mins, quite perfect.

went very well as usual with arugula (rockets) & cherry tomatoes with olive oil, balsamic, sea salt & some honey (did not have agave nectar).

teriyaki salmon belly

did my usual teriyaki salmon belly. & as usual everyone loved this! ^^

i did this 25odegC(max) 15mins, if i were using the other oven, it would be 280degC & 12 mins. looked & tasted wonderful with dill from my garden…

nobu miso cod & teriyaki salmon belly

& i did nobu miso cod..this a dish equally favourite for my friends & family though perhaps more would line up for the salmon.

nobu miso cod

firm, flaky, oily texture, sweet & wonderfully miso flavoured.

nobu miso cod & miso belly pork

i did also miso belly pork.

miso belly pork

cut away skin, boiled in boiling water to remove scum, then coated with miso marinade & placed in 95degC oven for 6hrs.

nicely flavoured & firm crystalline texture. perfect for flaming to give the bbq flavours.

ika sugatayaki

ika sugatayaki

same for ika sugatayaki.

i bought this from donki at orchard central the day before.

steamed about 90%-95% done, then dry on rack in fridge, then added olive oil, sea salt, coarse black pepper & honey, and flamed when serving…

this really quite jap restaurant standard, done quite perfectly. ^^

roasted vege

i had roasted vege…just put together some red, yellow, green peppers, egg plant, corn, onons & garlic, added olive oil, sea salt black pepper, butter & roasted for 30mins.

roasted vege

it was a welcome complement to the meats, and it was so easy, no skills required to put it together. 🙂

chorizo prawns

i had 2 tapas to be served hot.

first was chorizo prawns…

chorizo prawns

the key here was really a very good chicken stock. i did not add or used prawns stock as wife preferred chicken stock.

i added the prawns (seasoned with fish sauce & white pepper) when serving. prawns were cooked just right & it was a really excellent dish, fresh, sweet, bouncy prawns & excellent chorizo flavours.

herb crusted rack of lamb

the other hot “tapas” was a rack of lamb.

this lamb bought from qbfoods already denuded (frenched & caps off). i religiously removed the remaining fat (very little of it, would have been a mountain of fat if not denuded) & some membrane. i decided to simplify the effort so no chopped pistachio, just herb crusted.

herb crusted rack of lamb(before roasting 23mins)

roasted at 210egC for 210degC for about 22-23mins.

seafood fiduea

for tapsa, i decided on fiduea instead of paella. fiduea & preparation was new, whereas paella misture i made often enough!

again everything rest with a good stock! i had intense chicken stock & white wine added to browned garlic, chilli padi & olive oil, and reduced further.

when serving, i added the broken angel hair (proxy to fiduea which i could not get at the supermarkets), covered & braised (only 2 mins to cook angel hair), then added prawns & sotongs.

the key was in the stock & estimation of the amount, enough just to cook & infuse the pasta, and to reduce so the “foduea” came out just al dente, prawns & sotongs were just cooked & not overcooked, and the gravy was sufficiently reduced…

tagliata di manzo – usda prime ribeye

the last dish was tagliata di manzo…this always good & the usda prime was simply wonderful – tender, moist, properly browned. doneness was slight over so medium well instead of medium rare. still excellent steak!^^

grapes

thanks CH & J who brought the grapes, CP for cakes, choon for sorbet, JeK  for making me 2 kg heavier (kong bak pao) and ourselves for a jolly good time👍

CL & all have a safe & wonderful memorable trip to iceland/france/spain & Jeanette to machupichu!

cakes

CP brought nice cakes.

macha cake

chocolate mousse cake

cake

strawberry cake

most like the macha cake. myself, i like the chocolate mousse cake. 🙂

wei’s lemon sorbet

chicken laksa

my RI bro CM bought 2 packts of pong’s katong laksa paste for me last week.

so we decided to have a 6pax RI bro chicken laksa lunch on 16.3.2018. ^^

chicken rice chicken白斩鸡

i made my usual chicken rice chicken白斩鸡. all my friends loved this & said the chicken was so tender, moist & tasty, even the chicken breast, and indeed it was….

pong’s katong laksa

i have never tried pong’s laksa before, and never used the paste before of course.

i read the instructions. it said it was good for 4-5pax (we had 6pax, i decided to just keep it at 1 packet), and to add 400ml (2packets) coconut milk & 100ml evaporated milk.

pong’s katong laksa

anyhow, my gazak results was immensely ok la…

i used intense chicken stock using the bones from the whole chicken which i made chicken rice chicken白斩鸡,

added taupok first & let it boiled to soften & infuse the laksa flavours for 1 hr. then i added coconut milk. 400ml is really a lot, so i decided to use 1.5packets or 300ml. and really that was more than enough, banyak lemak lagi…

pong’s katong laksa

lastly aded fish cake & teochew fish cake, just like ah heng curry chicken noodles at hong lim food centre.

laksa was very flavourful, and of course the chicken stock was very important, made the gravy so very, very tasty.

kk said didn’t t have such good laksa for so long..

i did not want to dilute the taste, so kept gravy at a small amount. still it was enough for 6 bowls.

& after that there were still ingredients & some gravy left, enough for another 3 bowls for CL, KK & CM. i had to add just a little water not to dilute too much.

pong’s katong laksa

i served the 6 bowls of laksa with the taupok, fish cake & teochew fish cake, for my bowl i added the chicken rice chicken白斩鸡 & took photo (top photo).

my friends topped their bowls themselves with chicken.

chicken rice chicken白斩鸡

chicken rice chicken白斩鸡

my chicken rice chicken白斩鸡 was excellent as mentioned, chicken as good as ah heng curry chicken noodles’ (though i am partial to curry chicken noodles & for me laksa can never match)

& better than most chicken rice chicken白斩鸡 places outside (many are smooth but quite tasteless like tian shui chicken rice, the one next to weiyi laksa!)

another great makan session with my RI bros. ^^

after lunch we went to tiong hoe for a good cuppa, my piccolo latter heaven 香浓咖啡!^^

c.h.e.f andy

5pax dinner

wife’s brother bought something for us & coming by our place, so wife decided we have a simple homecooked family dinner on 13.3.2018. ^^

youngest daughter joined for 5pax dinner.

chicken rice & other dinner dishes

today i cooked chicken rice for them.

rice was very “pang”, just like the farewell lunch for AC i did for teban gardens staff & volunteers last week on 7.3.2018. 🙂

my bil & his wife loved it a lot.

chicken rice chicken白斩鸡

chicken was smooth, tender & most importantly moist & tasty, even the breast meat, and that really tells a good 白斩鸡 from a mediocre one…

chicken rice chicken白斩鸡

chicken rice chicken白斩鸡

such a beauty!

hk steamed sotong

i was at chinatown market yesterday to buy batang fish & prawns for the 12pax RI friends asian curry dinner tomorrow on 14.3.2018.

i saw the small sotong were fresh so i bought a plate S$5.

hk steamed sotong

i had very nice hk steamed sotong at crab at bay on 28.12.2016, so nice we decided to order another plate that day! 🙂

it was really a simple dish, and top quality fragrant light soy sauce simply makes wonders…it is like hk steamed fish, just add olive oil (or veg oil) & light soy sauce, steam & voila!

aunty B’s long beans with dried olive vegetables橄榄菜 & minced pork

aunty B’s brocoli

my helper aunty B cooked the 2 vegetable dishes. as usual, very good!

as usual, wife’s sil brought dessert, longans with jelly, an excellent refreshing dessert!

a simple & very enjoyable family dinner.

c.h.e.f andy

12pax dinner curry dishes

our RI buddy P who lives in London was visiting singapore. we arranged a 12pax makan makan group homecooked asian/curry dinner on14.3.2018.^^  👍🙂.

I did a combination of thai, nonya & indan curries, and a Jap teriyaki salmon belly.

1. jap teryaki miso salmon belly
2. nonya curry chicken & potatoes
3. nonya sambal prawns
4. chicken thighs with yellow thai curry
5. sotong with thai red curry
6. mixed veg & tofu with thai red curry 
7. fish masala
8. mutton masala

12pax dinner curry dishes

just 8 dishes, quite enough for 12pax, food all finished…

ruby champagne

white wine

many drinker in this group…i basically just had couple of sips, nice ruby champage & white wine.

teriyaki salmon belly

the distinctive dish from the curries was the teriyaki salmon belly..the others all liked it like all my other friends & family. YF said it was too sweet? actually it was not, but it was treated, so not a plain fish fillet..

teriyaki salmon belly

my usual preparation, a very popular dish…

nonya chicken curry

the nonya chicken just using heng’s curry paste & chicken thighs.

nonya chicken curry

the nonya curry was very tasty. i topped up a second portion so that it was hot, and everything was finished..

pan-grilled chicken thigh with thai yellow curry

the thai yellow curry very lemak. it was prepared as a dip. chicken thigh was pan-roasted, nice crispy skin & moist, tender meat, quite perfect with the curry.

mutton masala

mutton masala

mutton was a bit of a let down for me.

the preparation was ok so the meat was tender & the House brand mutton masala curry paste was tasty & nice. the mutton itself though i felt was not great, no much taste…

sotong thai red curry

sotong was done with “dancing chef” thai red curry..it is very similar to thai yellow curry, but red curry is spicer & good as a gravy…yellow curry is sweeter ok as a dip or gravy..

nonya sambal prawns

i use “heng’s” sambal paste for the nonya sambal prawns. prawns were done perfectly, succulent & sweet,  bouncy & not old, overcooked..

batang fillet fish masala

i bought the batang fillet from chinatown market the day before. just S$8 for a large thick i think almost 800g cut which i asked the fishmonger to cut into 4 thick slices.

i pan-fried to give it a firmer texture. this batang fillet quite perfect for pan-frying just with salt & often eaten this way.

fish masala

for fish masala, i cooked with sliced onions & “house brand” masala paste…CM said this was excellent & he had the piece i got for him, and afterwards not much was left..

vegetable thai red curry

vegetable thai red curry

everyone enjoyed the vegetable curry too.

i fried tofu & added eggplant, lady fingers, onions, some chinese cabbage & some tomatoes…friends commented the tofu were well infused with the thai red curry flavours. a simple yet wonderful dish…

curry rice dinner

HAB came late as he had to counsel some young chappie from his church.

i kept food for him, a bit of every dish with minimal rice/carbs…

HK’s giant grapefruit

HK brought giant grapefruit from malaysia. it was very sweet indeed..we were expecting 忘不了after he shared some photos on group chat, but the sweet & more forgettable grapefruit sama boleh la…

CM’s ching chow dessert

CM brought nice ching chow dessert with longans. a nice refreshing dessert. everyone had like 2 bowls…CM doing better with more practices, definitely to be encouraged.

a nice dinner with old friends…we had the cake afterwards, bought by CL & YF for the march birthday boys including P visiting from london…next week SCG is organising a makan group dinner at joe’s kitchen, a thai eat by his sis & bil…

c.h.e.f andy

dinner dishes

SL (an old childhood friend of my brother YS) and her son came for dinner this evening..

she is a very close friend of my brother. On CNY eve at my brother’s house, we arranged to have dinner on this evening with my brother but he now cannot make it..i thought dinner was canceled since brother not attending…they contacted me the evening before so we decided to go ahead with 4pax dinner. 🙂

i made-
1 claypot chicken rice
2 steamed pork soft bones
3 steamed minced pork
4 赛螃蟹 egg white with brocoli

claypot chicken rice my regular dish. this evening though not my best…

steamed pork soft bones

steamed pork soft bones a really easy dish to do. i took some from a frozen pack in the freezer. so basically with a good marinade just steam for 1.5hrs to 2hrs, and you get a very tender & tasty pork ribs like in dimsum restaurant.

steamed mined pork with light soy sauce

steamed minced pork with light soy sauce also a regular dish many liked.

SL & her son enjoyed both the dishes & also the claypot rice. there were enough for a second helping as wife & i took little rice… 🙂

赛螃蟹brocoli eggwhite

i gave another try on my new dish 赛螃蟹brocoli eggwhite…still not perfected. i guess tasty enough…

SL excellent dessert

sis SL made an excellent dessert. this evening even better than the one she brought to my brother’s house on CNY eve…really good!

so good i took 3 bowls la…

SL excellent dessert

SL excellent dessert

SL excellent dessert

don’t think i want to learn this, just invite sis SL for dinner ok la… :-p

it was sweet enough not too sweet…anyhow i like dessert to be sweet…and i like the dumplings though very sinful with all the carbs & sugar…

after dinner i made some 功夫茶 & we had a good chat…had not spend much time with sis SL in the past so it was very good to catch up & know more…afterwards i sent SL & son back. they were staying nearby..we plan to go out for some makan soon…

c.h.e.f andy

14pax lunch dishes

i made a 14pax lunch for teban gardens staff & volunteers today on 7.3.2018. ^^

this was a farewell lunch for AC & wife B who are taking up a 8 yr mission posting to udon thani near laos border.

KF, my close friend & jogging buddy LCH, &  WM also joined lunch.

14pax lunch dishes

i made 8 dishes-

1 claypot chicken rice
2 braised belly pork with mushrooms
3 teochew braised hock 卤元蹄
4 steamed minced pork with light soy sauce
5 claypot tanhoon prawns
6 白斩鸡, chicken rice & chilli
7 steamed angkoli fillet with taujeon lime sauce
8 fried kang kong & cuttlefish in nonya sauce

14pax lunch dishes

i can see everyone had a really enjoyable time…

#1 claypot chicken rice

claypot chicken rice has always been my most popular dish…everu friend & family loved it.

& claypot rice was good today..very flavourful & chicken was plump, tender & tasty..

#2 chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

it was upstaged & outvoted by the chicken rice though…everyone loved the chicken, and especially the rice – very flavourful, fried fragrant with chicken fat & cooked with intense chicken stock…

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

& K loved the chilli…

#2 chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡

the chicken rice chicken 白斩鸡 was very tender & moist. even the breast meat very moist & sweet…

#3 teochew 元蹄braised hock

many liked the 元蹄braised hock too. i used the teochew light braise (own braising sauce) instead of the darker tai hua braising sauce..

very “pang”, flavourful, gelatinous & even the lean meat was moist & tasty…

#4 braised belly pork & mushrooms

the braised belly pork & mushrooms was ok..R commented the belly pork was very tender…i think the mushroom taste overpowered it a bit, so i think the taste of the 元蹄braised hock braising sauce was better…

#5 steamed minced pork with light soy sauce

the steamed minced pork with light soy sauce was another popular & talked about dish, with my many friends & also with this teban gardens gang..

it is so easy to make, just 2tbsp good fragrant light soy sauce, 2 tbsp olive oil & 1tbsp cornflour…

#6 taujeon lime juice steamed angkorli

the taujeon lime juice steamed angkorli was ok…not many commented so i guess while it was ok, it was not a stand out dish..a hk steamed red garoupa would be better, but since i had the firmer, less tender texture of angkorli (seabream or white snapper), a slight sour, sweet salty taste was a good condiment to the fish…

#7 claypot tanhoon prawns

the  tanhoon prawns was another favourite dish…very fragrant, great wokhae & very tasty tanhoon from the intense chicken stock, and wonderful black pepper fragrance & coriander flavour…

#8 fried cuttlefish kang kong in nonya sauce

fried cuttlefish kang kong in nonya sauce was good too…here the nonya sauce stood out. cuttlefish was just nicely done so no overcooked & rubbery.

i admire AC couple commitment to a 8 yr missionary posting…AC said previously he did 12 yrs…or 3 4-yr posting..i guess that was harder still as children young then…

very happy to be cooking a meal for the first my friends at teban gardens..these people are doing such good works…i started cooking a friday breakfast community dish for teban gardens on 8jan2016..

(update=as of today 24mar2018, i did 57 times friday breakfast dish for teban gardens…my most recent was braised pork cubes on 23mar2018)

c.h.e.f andy

wife wanted to invite my OPS primary school buddies for dinner. i arranged dinner with WM, J, HC & M & youngest daughter joined for 7pax dinner on 8.3.2018. ^^

i made –

1. claypot rice with steamed pork ribs & sausages
2. scallion baked salmon fish head
3. nonya sauce steamed tilapia
4. steamed minced pork with light soy sauce
5. tofu prawns
6. 赛螃蟹 – brocoli eggwhite

HC brought a read wine. M brought chocolates & orange…

HK claypot rice 香港腊味沙煲饭

HK claypot rice 香港腊味沙煲饭

i made HK claypot rice 香港腊味沙煲饭 this evening as i just made claypot chicken rice for the 14pax farewell lunch yesterday for AC of teban gardens who is going away for 8 years mission posting in thailand.

HK claypot rice 香港腊味沙煲饭

generally this style has fragrant taste of pork & liver sausages but not as tasty in comparison w/o chicken in it.

so today i did a very nice steamed pork ribs (like at dimsum restaurants) and added to the claypot. it was very good, almost as good as the claypot chicken rice.

scallions baked salmon fish head

i bought 3 salmon fish head S$3each at song fish when i went there to buy salmon belly. so i did another scallion baked salmon fish head this evening.

scallions baked salmon fish head

i find salmon fish head a good enough proxy for 鸦片鱼头which WT brought 2 from shanghai recently.

of course nothing’s like the real thing, but i find salmon fish head has the softbone texture similar to 鸦片鱼头 though not quite the flaky, cod like texture of the flesh..but baking made the flesh firm and also the sauce more intense (unlike steaming) so that added to the taste experience…

scallions baked salmon fish head

scallions baked salmon fish head

i made this previously both 鸦片鱼头 and  salmon fish head, and my children, son, youngest daughter, and also sil all loved the dish…& walloped the very tasty infused scallions…

this evening no exception…we finished the whole dish ….

i forgot HC does not take scallions, but he enjoyed the fish all the same, w/o the scallions…

steamed minced pork in light soy sauce

steamed minced pork in light soy sauce

the steamed minced pork in light soy sauce dish was a regular favourite for all my friends. so simple to do, and so tasty..

tilapia in nonya sauce

steamed tilapia in nonya sauce a popular dish in JB…we had that at ya wang a short walk from city square mid 2017.

also when HH, our OPS sis, hosted her birthday dinner at tunglok seafood.

tilapia in nonya sauce

tilapia in nonya sauce

tilapia not my wife’s favourite, mud taste.

but with the very tasty, tangy nonya sauce musking it, tilapia’s firm & smooth texture with few small bones is a perfect fish for this dish.

tilapia in nonya sauce

certainly a dish i enjoyed much, and at very little cost…

tofu prawns

tofu prawns

this evening’s tofu prawns stock & fried tofu were good, well infused.

the prawns though were not great…maybe the timing was out…

赛螃蟹 – brocoli eggwhite

赛螃蟹 – brocoli eggwhite

wife like the 赛螃蟹 – brocoli eggwhite from crystal jade kitchen at hollandv & ordered in recently. this my 3rd time trying this dish..improving but not quite there yet..

presentation passable, texture of brocoli ok, eggwhite i guess about all i could do..won’t be much better, so just the seasoning need to be perfected…

it was a fun evening, nice food & wonderful company of old friends..

c.h.e.f andy

海底捞hotpot dishes

did a simple 3pax home 海底捞 hotpot dinner with sis & bil on 5.3.2018. ^^

funny thing is i have never try the 海底捞  restaurants here in singapore but went to a very good one in shanghai on sep2017! lol!

with sis & bil

with sis & bil

hotpot of course is the simplest of makan, no skill no cooking required, just do it at the table yourself. 🙂

beef & mutton

so i bought some beef & mutton from sheng shiong…both not so good…better to buy iberico collar & good usda beef shabu shabu…

prawns

some prawns…

海底捞hotpot

had some leftover beef balls my brother brought back from our relatives in china..

海底捞hotpot dishes

& all the accompaniments like teochew fish cake, fish paste (not so good, better to get fish balls), beancurd rolls, shimeji & enoki mushrooms, and vegetables etc)..

a very enjoyable dinner with sis & bil, except i won’t get the beef & mutton next time, only iberico pork & usda beef…

c.h.e.f andy

usda prie ribeye steak

got back from HCK’s RI buddies afternoon chinese tea appreciation to make 3pax family dinner this evening..

1. usda prime ribeye 1” steak 375g
2. Japanese ika sugatayaki 👍👍👍
3. vegetable sides

steak & ika with veg sides include jap sweet potato

tagliata di manzo – steak & ika with veg sides include jap sweet potato

steak was in chiller had to makan soon anyway…simple dinner just 375g 1′ thick usda prime ribeye shared by 3pax plus vegetable sides.

also jap ika sugatayaki (which just means grilled whole squid)…this was supernice, will write-up a recipe separately…

roasted onions & sweet corn

i had sweet corn, onions, garlic, whatever leftover stuff in the fridge…

tagliata di manzo – usda prime ribeye steak

the tagliata, sliced usda prime ribeye steak on a bed of rockets (no cherry tomatoes ) was fabulous…

though it was medium more than medium rare, still super tender, marbled so flavourful, and melt in the mouth including the fat..

ika sugatayaki

ika sugatayaki was superb this evening, primarily because it was japanese quality squid, so big & thick, and in a way cheaper than sheng shion during CNY, where the squid price was like S$21.90/kg..

ika sugatayaki

steamed to cook 90%-95%, then dry in fridge & with kitchen towels, then added olive oi, sea salt, coarse black pepper & agave nectar (or honey) and flamed!

wonderful bbq flavours, thick, succulent sweet squid.

jap squid

squid price was just $7.80 for i estimated 400g-500g large squid! 🙂

ika sugatayaki

really good, imo standard of restaurants outside! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

CNY lisa family makan dishes

wife organised a 18pax CNY family makan & chill gathering.

I made a fun & delicious tapas+pasta+steak lunch-

1 teriyaki salmon belly
2 flamed miso belly pork
3 red wine oven slow braised fresh prime ribs
4 grilled chicken thighs with thai red curry onions dip
5 oven grilled vegetables
6 chorizo prawns
7 tagliata di manzo – pan-grilled usda prime ribeye

aunty bes made her famous dishes-
8 deepfried chicken wings
9 cheese sausage spaghetti
10 chicken & prawn alio olio

aunty bes chicken wings

wife’s nephew K has 4 teenagers & pre-teens, so aunty bes chicken wing is a regular popular item.

teriyaki miso salmon belly

i made the usual teriyaki miso salmon belly. everyone’s favourite dish today! ^^

salmon steak too chunky & satiating, so belly with oil & roasted, making it less oily & very flavourful (oil spread over) and firmer texture, is just the perfect preparation..

& nicely garnished with dill from my garden! ^^

teriyaki miso salmon belly

just light soy sauce, miso, chopped garlic & ginger marinade 2-3 days in chiller then grilled in 250degC oven for 15mins…

pan roast chicken thigh with thai red curry

i made a pan roast chicken thigh with thai red curry…no thai yellow curry so i used thai red curry, which is spicier!

pan roast chicken thigh with thai red curry 

it was just frozen boneless leg (no effort to debone & just costing S$7.95 for 2kg 8 pieces large thigh + leg). seasoned, fried skin down golden brown, perfect tender & juicy & the thai chilli with coconut milk an ideal dip/condiment…

red wine pork ribs

i made red wine pork ribs…good too..all walloped finish! ^^

red wine pork ribs

browned on non-stick pan, seasoned with mustard, red wine, coarse black pepper, korean yuzu jelly (can use honey), garlic, red onions, scallions etc, and slow braised in 95degC oven for 6hrs…

flamed miso belly pork

same slow braise 95degC oven 6hrs method for miso belly pork..just that i flamed it before serving…nice bbq/smoked flavours & more tender than pork ribs..

chorizo prawns

chorizo prawns another crowd favourite….wonderful, wonderful dish…

chorizo prawns sauce

& so easy to prepare…

fry garlic cloves, sliced onions, chilli padi, 12 pieces sliced chorizo..off fire…add white wine & intense chicken stock, then reduce…add red pepper of red chilli for colour & vegetable balance…

chorizo prawns

when serving, just add prawns (seasoned with fish sauce & white pepper & cover while pan/pan heats up. cook the prawns just right, bouncy, fresh, sweet, not overcooked.

aunty bes alio olio 

aunty bes did her 2 pastas – cheese sausage pasta (forgot to take photo),  and the alio olio..

a great round up after the tapas dishes…

usda prime ribeye

usda prime ribeye

& as the highlight & curtain closer for the great fun family makan, i had usda prime ribeye served as tagliata di manzo, on a bed of cherry tomatoes & rockets…2 servings of 350g 1′ ribeye steak. ^^

the steaks were super, tender melt in the mouth, even the fats…everyone loved this!

a memorable lunch for family..good food great time together…

c.h.e.f andy