Category Archives: Recipes

Cream of Carrot Soup

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#4 cream of carrot soup

cream of carrot soup

was doing a 10-course vegetarian dinner for my niece’s birthday recently.

one of the dishes i prepared was a cream of carrot soup.

carrot coconut soup @ amsterdam

carrot coconut soup @ amsterdam

one of the best carrot soup i had was in amsterdam, a super tasty carrot coconut soup, on our way back after cycling the waterland route.

i am yet to try that. it is a bit adventurous with the coconut milk. i will try it one day before i serve it to my friends at dinner. 🙂

cream of carrot soup

cream of carrot soup

i have done-

this was the very first time i did cream of carrot soup.

& it was excellent!^^

it was silky smooth & tasty, among the best soup i made.

cream of carrot soup

cream of carrot soup

i added a lot of sliced/cut vegetables – 1 onion, 1 stalk leek, 1 red pepper, 2 carrots (plus some leftover stems from spinach). i fried them in butter till soft, added 2-3 cups of vegetable stock for vegetarian (or chicken stock) & boiled for further 20mins. then i used a blender to blend & added salt & pepper to taste.

when about to serve, i added 3 tablespoon thick cream, and i have some chopped basil from my garden.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 2 carrots cut to small pieces
  • 1 stalk leek (or celery) chopped
  • 1 yellow onion chopped
  • 1 red pepper
  • (i used some leftover spinach stems)
  • 2-3 cups vegetable stock for vegetarian (or chicken stock)
  • 3 tbsp heavy cream
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • basil chopped

Directions:

  1. add a lot of sliced/cut vegetables – 1 onion, 1 stalk leek, 1 red pepper, 2 carrots (plus some leftover stems from spinach). fry them in butter till soft, added 2-3 cups of vegetable stock for vegetarian (or chicken stock) & boiled for further 20mins. then i used a blender to blend & added salt & pepper to taste.
  2. when about to serve, add 3 tablespoon thick cream, and some chopped basil from my garden.

Cook Vegetarian – Shallow Fried Silken Tofu in Spinach Veloute

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#3 shallow fried silken tofu in spinach veloute

shallow-fried silken tofu in spinach veloute

my niece & her hubby are vegetarian, so i planned a 10-course vegetarian dinner for 8pax for her recently. this the very first time i tried serious vegetable dishes, like not just frying a garlic kang kong or something..haha!^^

#6 flamed squid in spinach veloute

flamed squid in spinach veloute

one of the dishes was a vegetarian version of flamed squid in spinach veloute.

what i did was replaced the flamed squid with a crispy shallow-fried silken tofu. ^^

i chose silken tofu as i wanted a very soft tofu texture inside while the outside is crispy.

#3 spinach sauce

spinach veloute

for the spinach veloute, i used spinach sauce recipe i self-created for the flame squid dish. i used lots of vegetable to make the veloute so very tasty.

green pepper onions spinach sauce

green pepper onions spinach veloute

i fried in butter 1/2 onion, 1/2 stalk leek, 1 green pepper & a bunch of spinach leafs. then i placed them in a blender & added  2 tablespoon vegetable stock (since this is a vegetarian dish i prepared the vegetable stock beforehand instead of chicken stock) & 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil & salt & pepper to taste.

such a wonderful & tasty veloute complementing the shallow-fried silken tofu. 🙂

#3 shallow fried silken tofu in spinach veloute

#3 shallow fried silken tofu in spinach veloute

for the silken tofu, i used one packet of silken tofu & cut into 8 slices of 1cm+ thickness.

then i heat up enough olive oil in a non-stick pan, added the tofu & lowered the fire. i added sea salt from the grinder dispenser liberally & covered the pan. when it was browned, i turned over & cooked till the other side was browned.

when serving i heat up the veloute, plated the sauce, added the crispy silken tofu & topped with a coriander branch. 🙂

tofu is not squid of course, but nice also, & the veloute is marvellous & the whole dish presentation just very charming. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

17 Courses of Delectable Dishes for 16pax Homecooked Dinner on 26Aug2015

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#1 friend's 清汤牛腩 - my favourite

#1 friend’s 清汤牛腩 – my favourite

had an exciting evening with my friends on 26.8.2015. ^^

we had 16pax. i planned to serve asian dishes mainly buffet style, and a pasta, beef & lamb dish during the course of dinner. 🙂

a friend brought 清汤牛腩. it was my favourite for the evening. i had a good beef brisket noodles at imperial treasure nanbei few days back on 23.8.2015, one of the few authentic ones. still, that was a bit more beefy. i personally prefer this 清汤牛腩 style. sometimes homecook is the best! ^^

my wife could not join dinner this evening. she organised the quinoa pumpkin tofu salad for me & i mixed in the rockets when serving (so that rockets would not be soggy).

everyone loved the salad. 🙂

i did the spanish omelette. did not do this a the longest time & recently revived it when i served a 10-course vegetarian dinner for 8px for my niece’s birthday.

this was a very popular dish among my diners.

i recently tried out a new preparation for cooking char siew & maybe found the right combination to reproduce easily very flavourful & tender, moist char siew. it is also easy to do, just put on a rack in a preheated oven for 20mins.

& it worked well, very tasty, well charred & quite tender inside. the ends were a bit harder than what i made previously because this roll of pork collar was thinner, so need to adjust the timing say to 18mins for thinner rolls.

i made a  ter kar tan 猪脚冻. it was a bit meaty & not as good as my head cheese terrine 猪头冻, but still a friend who cooked this also thought it was very good. i think the taste was good, i should use either pig’s head meat or a lot of pig skin as pig’s trotter is overly meaty & heavy. & the colour should be lighter, means less or no dark sauce.

my chicken ballotine was very good today, mostly finished.

the thai yellow curry grilled chicken thighs were very good.

there was a bit left though, and when i heat the curry sauce in the microwave & applied it to the cold chicken the next day, for me it was still excellent. 🙂

the thai red curry sotong (squid) was just as lovely. it’s a bit spicier & very good with the rice.

i did the vietnamese chargrilled pork collar w/o the beehoon, just with pickled carrots & peanuts. i tried it after cooking. it was very tasty. i think it was just as good as what i had at mrs pho recently. i think better actually.

but for this evening, maybe there were too much food, it was only 1/2 taken.

#10 braised belly pork & bits of some unused trotter

#10 braised belly pork & bits of some unused trotter

the braised belly pork was done together with the ter kar tan 猪脚冻, so it was just a small portion. the braise was very tasty & the texture of the belly pork was superb by those who take belly pork. nothing was left.

#1 friend's 清汤牛腩 - my favourite

#1 friend’s 清汤牛腩 – my favourite

the friend made 3kg of beef briskets & tendons. so i guess we did have a lot of food.

i am not complaining as this was my favourite dish for the evening. 🙂

#1 friend's 清汤牛腩 - my favourite

#1 friend’s 清汤牛腩 – my favourite

there was some leftover, so i ate the next day & enjoyed it just as much.

#11 helper's spicy black bean sauce pork ribs

#11 helper’s spicy black bean sauce pork ribs

my helper made the spicy black beans pork ribs. it was braised in the pan & then steamed in the steam oven. very tender & great sauce & flavours. it’s one of my perennial favourites. not much left afterwards.

#12 helper's sambal sauce seabass - this everyone's favourite

#12 helper’s sambal sauce seabass – this everyone’s favourite

my helper’s sambal sauce seabass was another dish that was everyone’s favourite. seabass has a slight mud taste & powdery texture, but with the sambal sauce, it was a very appetizing dish. nothing left.

#13 helper's blanched hk kailan with shitake

#13 helper’s blanched hk kailan with shitake

likewise the blanched hk kailan with shitake.

it was time for the pasta, beef & lamb dishes. my friends were all very full so we decided to forgo the pink sauce prawn pasta dish.

my tagliata was just simply fabulous. it was sooooo much better than the ones we had the other evening at the zafferano wine dinner, and haha i will say it again!^^ all my friends at zafferano were here this evening anyway. 🙂

& the pistachio crusted rack of lamb. everyone just loved it! those who eat lamb anyway.

actually we had the lamb at foc the next, and that lamb was a bit more tender than mine, but my lamb was a lot tastier. 🙂 also my pistachio crust was so good it was all mobbed up!

#16 queenie brought chempedak cake from singapore swimming club - very nice

#16 another friend brought chempedak cake from singapore swimming club – very nice

another friend brought a chempedak cake. i like the intense chempedak flavour. it’s a cake i like but won’t take often.

the banoffee (banana toffee) cake was a bit of a failure. the whipping cream was frozen & i heat it up just so lightly, a cardinal sin of laziness. should have just waited for it to get back to room temperature. it did not whipped well & caked up when set.

fortunately the cake itself was quite excellent & many friends liked it. it is indeed a very good combination of texture & taste, banana & toffee. i used very small amount of caramel so it was not too sweet.

it was a very fun get-together. i enjoyed doing all the dishes, and i also had my friend’s excellent beef briskets & my helper’s nice dishes.

c.h.e.f andy

Thai Red Curry Sotong (Squid)

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thai red curry sotong

thai red curry sotong – 25.7.2015

when i was looking for the right curries to make my thai yellow curry grilled chicken thighs & bought the “dancing chef yellow curry”, i also bought the thai red curry.

thai red curry sotong

thai red curry sotong 25.7.2015

i did that for my daughter’s recent party on 25.7.2015 for 30pax. it was an excellent dish! ^^

i used 3 large sotongs (squids), cross-cut them, & fried them in butter.

for the curry, i fried 1 sliced yellow onions with 2tbsp red curry powder & 100ml coconut milk. when the onions softened, i added a cut red pepper & added about 300ml of chicken stock. i added cherry tomatoes last.

#8 thai red curry sotong

thai red curry sotong – 26.8.2015

when serving, i heat up the red curry, and added the cooked sotong.

this is a really nice lemak, tasty dish, which i enjoyed thoroughly.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients-

  • 3 large squids cross cut

sauce-

  • 1 sliced yellow onions
  • 1 cut red pepper
  • 12 cherry tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp red curry powder
  • 100ml coconut milk
  • 300ml chicken stock

Directions-

  • cross-cut the sotongs (squids) & fried them in butter. 
  • fried 1 sliced yellow onions with 2tbsp red curry powder & 100ml coconut milk. when the onions softened, add a cut red pepper & add about 300ml of chicken stock. i add cherry tomatoes last.
  • when serving, heat up the red curry, and add the cooked sotong.

Quinoa Pumpkin Tofu Salad

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wife's quinoa pumpkin tofu

wife’s quinoa pumpkin tofu

wife’s quinoa pumpkin tofu salad is always a great accompaniment for my dinners. the pumpkin & tofu with rockets made a very good salad on its own (wife made this after a lunch at marmalade pantry some years back), and addition of quinoa gave it more texture & some savoury touch.

wife's pumpkin tofu salad

wife’s pumpkin tofu salad

we bought the red quinoa (pronounced “keen-wah”) in london (son ordered it on amazon.com).

wash the quinoa & sieve in a fine strainer, boil in water with some salt (2cups water to 1 cup quinoa) for about 15mins, drain & then let in sit in the hot saucepan for 15mins to dry it out.

add some sea salt afterwards to taste.

wife's pumpkin tofu salad

wife’s pumpkin tofu salad

sprinkle sea salt & 1 tbsp olive oil & roast a 1/4 pumpkin in a preheated 205degC for about 20mins.

pumpkin tofu rockets salad

pumpkin tofu rockets salad

fry the tofu in olive oil all round till slight brown. set aside to cool & cut to small 1 cm cubes.

wife's quinoa pumpkin tofu

wife’s quinoa pumpkin tofu

wife's quinoa pumpkin tofu

wife’s quinoa pumpkin tofu

i season the quinoa, pumpkin, tofu mixture with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic, sea salt & honey (or agave nectar) mix, and toss the rockets separately also with extra virgin olive oil, balsamic, sea salt to taste before adding to the salad when serving the meal.

c.h.e.f andy

Head Cheese Terrine (猪头冻)

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#4 headcheese terrine

headcheese terrine on 5.8.2015

i tried a ter kar tan (pork trotters jelly) 猪脚冻once. it did not turned out too good.

what are important-

  1. the flavour of the sauce that makes up the gelatine jelly
  2. the taste & texture of the meat
  3. the jelly holds together & don’t melt too quickly.

at the first try, the pig trotters meat texture was ok. the flavour of the sauce was not tasty enough, and the jelly melts rather quickly.

#4 headcheese terrine 猪头冻

headcheese terrine on 5.8.2015

i am not particularly motivated to do ter kar tan (pork trotters jelly) 猪脚冻.

but for a recent very enjoyable 12pax 12-course dinner for my friends on 5.8.2015, i was going to try out the ragout of pig’s ears on toast inspired dinner by heston blumenthal, so i bought 1/2 a pig’s head which came with 1 ear for S$4 at sheng shiong.

i varied my usual kueh chap braising sauce recipe & added 1 cup of red wine. i used the slow crockpot roast method (starting from cold on low heat) for the 1/2head+ear i bought from sheng shiong, and texture for the pig’s head was perfect in about 6 hrs, very tender & gelatinous.

i cut the pig’s head into small chunks about 5cm pieces & lay the bottom of a long plastic container. i mixed & dissolved 2 tsp gelatine powder in the braising sauce while it was still hot, and added to the container when cool. i left it in the fridge overnight. when the pig’s head terrine 猪头冻 was set. i scrapped away the top layer of fat. cut into slices to serve.

ter kar tan 猪脚冻 on 26.8.2015

ter kar tan 猪脚冻 on 26.8.2015

i tried the same recipe on pig trotters to the same effect. however there was too much meat so the overall effect of the terrine was not as good as the pig’s head terrine 猪头冻。

looking at the photos of ter kar tan (pork trotters jelly) 猪脚冻 in restaurants like say-

i see theirs’ a lighter colour & had more pig’s skin than meat, more like a 猪皮冻.

so what i will do if i cook this dish again (not too often), i will –

  1. reduce the dark sauce or 1 tbsp or not at all (replaced by light soy sauce to taste)
  2. add pig’s skin if using pig trotters

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 500g pig head meat
  • 100g pig ear

OR

  • pig trotters + pig skin or belly pork (use the skin)

braising sauce

  • 0 -1 tbsp dark sauce
  • 5-6 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp zhengjiang black vinegar
  • 1 tbsp heap sugar
  • 1 cinnamon bark
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 bulb peeled garlic
  • 3cm sliced ginger
  • 1 tsp 5-spice powder
  • water to cover meat

Directions:

  1. mix the braising sauce.
  2. scald the pig head after cleaning (use a large kitchen knife to scrap off hair from the belly & face) to remove the scums. place pig head & ear in the crockpot, add the braising sauce to cover the meat completely, then turn on low & braise for about 6hrs. you can also use a meat thermometer. set it at 83degC. the mild low temperature braising results in a gentler, moist & tender meat.
  3. cut the pig’s head into small chunks about 5cm pieces & lay the bottom of a long plastic container. mix & dissolve 2 tsp gelatine powder in the braising sauce while it was still hot, and add to the container when cool.
  4. leave in the fridge overnight. when the pig’s head terrine 猪头冻 is set,scrap away the top layer of fat. cut into slices to serve.

Whole Eggplant with Minced Meat Onion Sauce

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whole eggplant with meat onion sauce

whole eggplant with meat onion sauce

i first came across this interesting preparation at 富记大排档tai wai in hong kong.

eggplant with minced pork (1 look) HK$68

富记大排档’s eggplant with minced pork (1 look) HK$68

it was an impressive presentation.

whole eggplant with meat onion sauce

whole eggplant with meat onion sauce

i washed & steamed the whole eggplant first, about 10mins.

whole eggplant with meat onion sauce

whole eggplant with meat onion sauce

i used about 120g minced pork and cut 1 small red onion & 1/2 large tomato.

whole eggplant with meat onion sauce3

whole eggplant with meat onion sauce

when serving, i browned some garlic in 1tbsp oil, added onions & minced pork then tomato, mixed 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp tomato sauce, 1tsp fish sauce (to taste) & 1 tsp cornflour in 2/3 cup water. i added to the pan & reduced. then i drenched them over the steamed whole egg plant.

this really an excellent dish!^^ eggplant was firm not mushy yet sweet & tender when cut, & combined perfectly with the sauce.

i basically had the inspiration & was recreating the dish from 富记大排档tai wai.

but seriously i think my dish tasted much better. 富记’s meat sauce was purely tomato sauce. by adding oyster sauce, the taste was very much better, at least for my palate haha!^^

c.h.e.f andy

Ragout of Pig’s Ears on Toast

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#5 pig's ear ragout served on toast

pig’s ear ragout served on toast

first came across this dish (this preparation) at the fabulous lunch at dinner by heston bluemnthal in london on 15.5.2015.

ragout of pigs ear

ragout of pig’s ear @ dinner by heston blumenthal

& it was an outstanding dish. the pigs ear gelatinous texture was exquisite & the sauce & flavours in this preparation was simply special. 🙂

it was robust but very tasty & also not satiating as expected. 🙂

pig’s ear of course is a fairly common chinese & teochew dish, and i have done braised pig’s ears couple times eg a very good kueh chap lunch for my friends on 4.8.2014.

#5 pig's ear ragout served on toast

pig’s ear ragout served on toast

i did not have heston blumenthal’s recipe, so i basically used my kueh chap braised pig’s ears recipe & added 1 cup of red wine. ^^

#5 pig's ear ragout served on toast3

pig’s ear ragout served on toast

my dish looks nothing like the very fine dining dish at dinner by heston blumenthal of course.

still, it was a very tasty dish & excellent as a tapas or served as a appetizer platter for a course dinner, which i did recently at a very enjoyable 12pax 12-course homecooked dinner for my friends on 5.8.2015.

i varied my usual kueh chap braising sauce recipe & added 1 cup of red wine. i used the slow crockpot roast method (starting from cold on low heat) for the 1/2head+ear i bought from sheng shiong, and texture was perfect in about 6 hrs.

for the pig’s ear ragout, i took out the ear & minced/chopped it, took out some sauce & heat the minced pig’s ear & reduced the sauce.

flavour was excellent & the gelatinous texture was just wonderful!

i do not really see this dish though as a full appetizer dish though for my dinners, so it is not worthwhile to be more elaborate. instead i was already making the head cheese terrine with the same preparation, and the pig’s ear ragout was part of the appetizer platter & i used ordinary plain bread toasted in a desktop oven & cut into tiny 6cmx6cm pieces so diners can scoop just small amount of pig’s ears ragout & try a very small tasting portion. my friends though ended up making more toasted bread for themselves & finished up the ragout.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 500g pig head meat
  • 100g pig ear

braising sauce

  • 2 – 3 tbsp dark sauce
  • 4 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp zhengjiang black vinegar
  • 1 tbsp heap sugar
  • 1 cinnamon bark
  • 2 star anise
  • 1 bulb peeled garlic
  • 3cm sliced ginger
  • 1 tsp 5-pice powder
  • water to cover meat

Directions:

  1. mix the braising sauce.
  2.  scalding the pig head after cleaning (use a large kitchen knife to scrap off hair from the belly & face) to remove the scums. place pig head & ear in the crockpot, add the braising sauce to cover the meat completely, then turn on low & braise for about 6hrs. you can also use a meat thermometer. set it at 83degC. the mild low temperature braising results in a gentler, moist & tender meat.
  3. take out the pig’s ear & minced/chopped it, take out some sauce & heat the minced pig’s ear & reduced the sauce.
  4. put the pig’s ear ragout in a ramekin. when serving, cover with kitchen towel & heat for 30s in microwave.
  5. toast 2 white bread in a toaster, cut away the ends & cut each slice into 4 pieces. serve the ragout on the bread.

Flamed Squid in Spinach Veloute

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#6 flamed squid in spinach veloute

#6 flamed squid in spinach veloute

wife & i had a really good holiday in cornwall in may this year 2015. ^^

we had many good eats & 1 of them was at porthminster cafe at st ives.

st ives porthminster chef michael smith's flamed squid

st ives porthminster chef michael smith’s flamed squid

i saw the photos of flamed squid (above) at michael smith’s porthminster cafe at st ives. did not try the dish & cannot find the recipe on google. i guess the chef is not that famous. so i tried to recreate the dish w/o the recipe. 🙂

torch - present from a friend diner

torch – present from a friend diner

my wife’s friend who came for dinner twice bought me a kitchen torch. that was more than a year ago. and i have never used it yet.

i tested it, pretty easy to use. 🙂

my first attempt was on 20.5.2015, experimenting some dishes for my anniversary dinner. ^^

i followed that up with the actual anniversary dinner & then the best one yet at a really fun 12pax homegourmet 12-course dinner this month on 5.8.2015.

flamed squid - learned to use the torch very first time

flamed squid – learned to use the torch very first time

i cross cut (very closely) a large squid into 4 pieces (about 9cmx6cm), i flamed it on a frying pan. quite smooth going. i knew it was not sufficiently cooked. so i fried in butter over high heat. the key was not to overcook the squid or it would become tough & chewy.

#3 spinach sauce

#3 spinach veloute

for the sauce, again i created my own spinach sauce recipe. i used lots of vegetable to make it so very tasty.

#6 flamed squid in spinach veloute

flamed squid & spinach veloute

i fried in butter 1/2 onion, 1/2 stalk leek, 1 green pepper & a bunch of spinach leafs. then i placed them in a blender & added  2 tablespoon chicken stock & 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil & salt & pepper to taste.

flamed squid in spinach veloute

flamed squid in spinach veloute

such a wonderful & tasty veloute complementing the flamed squid.

#6 flamed squid in spinach veloute

#6 flamed squid in spinach veloute

when serving i heat up the veloute, plated the sauce, added the flamed squid & topped with a coriander branch. 🙂

flamed squid in spinach veloute

flamed squid in spinach veloute

flamed squid had excellent bbq flavours & looks, and was done just nice, not rubbery.

the veloute was really good. first class!

flamed squid in spinach veloute

flamed squid in spinach veloute

i subsequently did a vegetarian version for my niece’s birthday dinner by replacing the flamed squid with a shallow fried silken tofu, which was crispy outside & soft inside.

tofu is not squid of course, but nice also, & the veloute is marvellous & the whole dish presentation just very charming. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Thai Yellow Curry Grilled Chicken Thighs

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thai yellow curry grilled chicken thighs

thai yellow curry grilled chicken thighs

i was motivated to try this thai dry yellow curry grilled chicken after my son introduced me to the excellent busaba grilled chicken green curry fried rice.

it was so lemak, intense & flavourful.

dancing chef thai red & yellow readymix curries

dancing chef thai red & yellow readymix curries

i went to look for thai readymix curries & bought the “dancing chef” at sheng shiong.

son was back for summer break & asked why i used yellow instead of green curry.

i tried green but it was more suited for the usual thai green curry chicken, the soupy dish. red curry was spicy & excellent. i used it for my thai red curry sotong, more of a drinkable gravy.

i find the yellow curry most suited for dry curry, like a sauce dip. it was excellent with the grilled chicken especially with sweet yellow onions, very intense, sweet & lemak.

thai yellow curry grilled chicken thighs

thai yellow curry grilled chicken thighs

for the grilled chicken, i cut & deboned chicken thighs. i seasoned with fish sauce & white pepper. then i placed the chicken skin down on a non-stick pan with just a little butter on medium heat (more fat will render out of the chicken). then i covered & turned heat down. it would take a while to cook the chicken, turned over when brown (maybe about 5 mins on each side).

#7 thai yellow curry chicken

thai yellow curry chicken (on 25.7.2015)

for my daughter’s recent party for 30pax+, i made 6 thighs & they disappeared in no time.^^

#7 thai yellow curry chicken

thai yellow curry chicken (on 25.7.2015)

for the curry, i cut 1/2 large onions, fried in the pan with just bit of chicken oil & added 2 tsp thai yellow curry powder & 3 tbsp coconut milk. i added 3 tbsp chicken stock & reduced.

i must say this is such a wonderful dish, very flavourful curry especially with the onions & tasty chicken.

c.h.e.f andy

Recipe = Japanese Miso Salmon

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jap miso salmon

jap miso salmon

i do a very good nobu miso cod.

after some experimenting, i came up with a good recipe also for oven grilled miso salmon belly.

some months back, wife bought japanese miso salmon (some with mentaiko) at isetan hokkaido fair. at the time i decided to try to replicate the japanese styled miso salmon.

& so i made a miso salmon, the best i have made..after a few tries, it’s now nearly perfected. wife said same as those bought from japan & from isetan..almost, i guess..^^

the key about the japanese marinated salmon (which i really like) & are often included in bentos at railway stations in japan, is that it is dry, texture is firm & very flavourful! 🙂

miso salmon

miso salmon

to recreate this, i marinated 300g salmon with 1 tbsp (heap) miso, 1tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake, 1 tbsp brown sugar. then put on a rack in the fridge (or chiller compartment) for 2days. then i put in 55degC oven for 3hrs.  then 20mins in aluminium foil tabletop oven 250degC (include 5mins open foil to grill skin),

the idea was to dry out the salmon & marinade. this is only major difference from my usual miso salmon preparation. because i see the miso salmon or mentaiko salmon in Japan were all dryer preparation.

with this preparation, my miso salmon was almost same as those we bought in Japan. a lot cheaper, haha!^^

lunch

lunch

we had this for a simple family lunch at the time (apr2015).

and also at a 19pax homecooked dinner for my RI friends on 24.4.2015.

it is different style from the miso salmon belly which is also very good. i like both, and both can be taken with japanese gohan (rice).

c.h.e.f andy

Very Nice Char Siew

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char siew

char siew

i have tried char siew quite a few times using different meats & preparations.

a rather successful one was almost 2 years ago using belly pork & an oven “sous vide” method at 60degC or 70degC over 4 hrs to 6hrs.

i used the same method for miso belly pork which was very nice too.

i must say while the miso belly pork is a more unique dish the char siew by the “sous vide” method is a bit more tedious & not really my favourite as one can buy cheap & good char siew easily outside.

char siew

char siew

but now i think now i found the right combination to reproduce easily very flavourful & tender, moist char siew, like so. a really excellent char siew. ^^

char siew

char siew

the key is (a) the marinade to produce the right flavour (b) the meat & preparation to produce a tasty, tender, moist meat.

so far, pork collar is the best choice. i tried the same recipe on belly pork but it was quite inferior by comparison.

char siew

char siew

i marinated the meat for 3 days in the chiller.

then i placed the meat on a rack in a preheated 250degC oven for 20mins.

it was as easy as that.

char siew

char siew

& the result was just perfect!

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients:

  • 400g pork collar (i used frozen pork collar from sheng shiong S$9.90/kg)

marinade

  • 2 tbsp dark sauce
  • 3 tbsp light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tbsp heap sugar
  • 1 cinnamon bark
  • 2 star anise
  • 2 cloves chopped garlic
  • 2 chopped shallots

Directions:

  1. scald the pork collar & wash under slow running water to remove scum.
  2. add the marinade & transfer to a ziploc bag & place in the chiller for 2 or 3 days.
  3. bring out of chiller for 1/2 to bring to room temperature.
  4. place on a rack over a aluminium foil lined tray & place in a preheated 250degC oven for 20mins.

Spanish Omelette – simple & great tapas!

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#1 spanish omelette

spanish omelette

first made spanish omelette more than 2 years ago when i was doing the slow-braised spanish beef ribs, spanish seafood paella & a spanish seafood broth. ^^

it was pretty good, but i have not done it for a rather long time since.

recently i was doing a 10-course vegetarian dinner for 8pax at home my niece’s birthday, and decided to include spanish omelette when i was planning the 10 dishes. 🙂

#1 spanish omelette

spanish omelette

when i first made it, i looked at some internet recipes at the time, like the one here.

in any case it was just egg, onions & potatoes.

i sliced the 1/2 yellow onion & 1 .5 large potatoes. i fried in olive oil over medium to low heat the onions till softened & just starting to caramelise, and the potatoes till it breaks easily when pressed with the spatula (then it won’t be overcooked & mushy but still have the bite). i sprinkled sea salt on the pan. 🙂

i beat 2 eggs & added 2 teaspoon fish sauce (or light soy sauce if making vegetarian) & white pepper. then i added the potato & onions.

6" omelette pan

6″ omelette pan

i used a small 6″ omelette pan & added 1.5 tablespoon oil, & added in the the egg mixture when hot, & lowered fire to medium. i then flipped over a flat plate & eased the other side of the omelette back to the pan.

#1 spanish omelette4

spanish omelette

it is really a very simple dish to make. ^^

and nice & tasty! one omelette was good for serving 8pax as a tapas item, and it’s easy to make another omelette if required. 🙂

#1 spanish omelette

spanish omelette

it was crispy outside, and very important, the potatoes were not mushy & had a good bite, & tasty with the onions & egg.

#1 spanish omelette

spanish omelette

a very easy to do dish that delivers great satisfaction! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

10-course Homecooked Vegetarian Dinner for 8pax on 17Aug2015

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made a 10-course vegetarian dinner for 8pax on 17.8.2015. ^^

it was a belated birthday for my niece who is a buddhist & vegetarian. it’s also the first time i planned & executed vegetarian dishes. 🙂

my niece & her husband are ovo-lacto vegetarians, which means they can take eggs & dairy products like milk, butter & cheese. they are also not strict vegetarians, but they will abstain & avoid meats if they can, and take only the vegetables if it comes with the meat. i like the practical, unassuming, unimposing approach.

but i wanted to do a all-vegtarian course dinner for them. for me that was quite exciting & fun to do. 🙂

for me, my interest was not about mock meats or fusion, just to make something that taste good & look good. & if they are not the usual run-of-the-mill chinese stir-fried vegetables and incorporates some non-chinese styles or good matching of taste, texture or presentation, then so much the better! 🙂

#1 first course was a spanish omelette. it’s a really simple dish.  just 2 eggs, 1.5 sliced large potatoes & 1/2 sliced yellow onions. the ingredients were already vegetarian. i just have to light soy sauce instead of fish sauce for the egg. this dish is also perfect as a tapas, a small bite, for a multi-course meal, so quite nicely each had a good slice of omelette.

#2 wife’s quinoa pumpkin tofu salad is always a great accompaniment for my dinners. the pumpkin & tofu with rockets made a very good salad on its own (wife made this after a lunch at marmalade some years back), and addition of quinoa gave it more texture & some savoury touch. 🙂

#3 shallow fried silken tofu in spinach veloute.

i created this dish (flamed squid in spinach veloute) from looking at a photo (w/o the chance to taste the dish) at porthminster cafe at st ives in cornwall, england. it was an excellent dish & i served it at 12-course dinner for 12pax 2 weeks ago.

this time for vegetarian dish i replaced the squid by a shallow fried silken tofu, so that the texture was crispy outside & soft inside. not a flamed (torched) squid but still very nice! 🙂

#4 for soup, i made a cream of carrot soup. this was tasty & smooth & very popular & everyone had a second helping & finished all the soup.

i used 1.5 large carrots, but also 1 red pepper, 1 stalk leek, 1 small yellow onions & vegetable stock which i prepared the night before. & about 4 tablespoon of cream. its a similar recipe for all my creamy soup.

#5 this the first time i attempted spaghetti alla nerano (zucchini pasta). we first tried this in fresco & cummino in milan & this was 1 of the best vegetarian pasta i had, though i like funghi pasta equally. 🙂

i followed an internet recipe, & blended 1/2 yellow zucchini with some onions after softening them in olive oil. i added some butter when tossing the pasta to give it more body.

it was a very good pasta, al dente & tasty. everyone liked it. son said more parmesan shavings would be good. i think overall it can be improved. for now i would prefer my fungi pasta over this, maybe just slightly.

#6 steamed egg plant with peas & onion sauce

my sis & i had a nice daipaidong 大排档 dinner at 富记大排档tai wai where they served an entire steamed eggplant in minced meat & onion sauce. i had recreated this & made a much better tasting one by adding oyster sauce to balance off the tomato sauce.

for the vegetarian take, i cannot use oyster sauce so only light soy sauce + tsuyu sauce, and i replaced the minced meat with frozen peas i bought from sheng shiong.

the presentation can be improved. the key to this dish is the texture of the eggplant, which has to be just cooked & not mushy. i cut it with kitchen sears (scissors) & if it were mushy it would not hold up. 🙂 the pea onions sauce with corn flour was pretty tasty too.

#7 the egg fried rice was basic, no “wow” dish, but it was good accompaniment for the last 3 dishes – steamed egg plant, thai red curry & the brocoli with cauliflower.

it had good “wok hae”, individually rice grains “tioc tioc” we say in teochew, quite good la. 🙂

#8 the thai red curry vegetables was a variation of my thai red curry sotong (squid) which i served for the 30+pax lunch party for my daughter last month.

i just replaced the sotong by vegetables. i had potato, egg plant, onions, yellow pepper, tomato. for me, a non vegetarian, it was no comparison with the red curry sotong of course but still an excellenty flavoured curry dish.

#9 brocoli with cauliflower

#9 brocoli with cauliflower

#9 the 3rd dish to be eaten with the egg fried rice was brocoli with cauliflower. i actually asked if the guys wanted eat or they were full..haha! ^^

#9 brocoli with cauliflower

#9 brocoli with cauliflower

my wife, daughter, everyone wanted it. my son said there is no discussion. 🙂

#10 i made a banoffee (banana toffee) cake for dessert. we have been having tiramisu & tofu cheese cake so i wanted a change from usual.

it was a really nice cake. a great combination of flavours – very nice biscuit base, a thin tasty layer of caramel so not too sweet & nice whipped cream topped with chocolate shavings.

D-24 durian...also had 2x maoshanwang durians (forgot to take photo)

D-24 durian…also had 2x maoshanwang durians (forgot to take photo)

and we had D-24 & maoshanwang 猫山王 durians!

D-24 durian...also had 2x maoshanwang durians (forgot to take photo)

D-24 durian…also had 2x maoshanwang durians (forgot to take photo)

an excellent finish to the 10-course vegetarian dinner. i forgot to take photos of the maoshanwang durians though. ate too fast! haha! ^^

c.h.e.f andy

Really Fun 12pax Homegourmet Dinner on 5Aug2015

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had a very enjoyable dinner last evening. ^^

i prepared a 12-course dinner for my friends. every dish was good…

this mostly the pulau ubin durian picking group.
https://chefquak.com/2015/07/19/durian-picking-adventure-pulau-ubin-on-21jun2015/

wife & youngest daughter (who just finished her last paper in the morning) joined the dinner. 🙂

#1 wife prepared a nice quinoa pumpkin tofu salad for me. ^^

quinoa gave it a bit of texture & also savoury, some sweetnes from the agave nectar. a very nice salad.

#2 made a nice chicken ballotine. this time i steamed for 11mins, so not overcooked. maybe even 10mins will do. nice tender chicken, & the bacon & onions, spinach made it quite tasty. 🙂

#3 oven roasted kurobuta medium rare

#3 oven roasted kurobuta medium rare

#3 was experimenting on the kurobuta.

used the vietnamese pork collar marinade. 2days in chiller. browned over high heat in butter then 18mins in a preheated 250degC oven!

texture was marvelous. the marinade flavours pretty good. & the colour a very pretty pink medium rare. it is pork though so some friends might be a little worried, but restaurants like salta parilla also served kurobuta steak medium rare.

#4 my headcheese terrine was just superb.

i varied my usual pig trotters braising sauce recipe & added 1 cup of red wine. i used the slow crockpot roast method (starting from cold on low heat) for the 1/2head+hear i bought from sheng shiong, and texture was perfect in about 6 hrs.

#5 pig's ear ragout served on toast3 #5 pig's ear ragout served on toast

#5 for the pig’s ear ragout, i took out the ear & minced/chopped it, took out some sauce & heat the minced pig’s ear & reduced the sauce.

this was an excellent dish we had at dinner by heston blumenthal in london. i did not have the recipe so this is my very own concoction!^^

#6 one of my most impressive dish this evening was the flamed squid in spinach veloute.^^

i softened yellow onions, green pepper, leek & lastly spinach leaves in a pan & blend it with olive oil, chicken (or veg) stock & salt & pepper to taste. i added 1 teaspoon of tsuyu sauce.

i first did this for my anniversary dinner after our recent cornwall trip. we had a great lunch at porthminster cafe in st ives & saw a photo of the dish. i did not have the recipe so i concocted my own.

#7 shellfish bisque

#7 shellfish bisque

#7 shellfish bisque was excellent too! ^^ very intense, smooth & flavourful & excellent brandy flavours.

it’s similar to my lobster bisque. i had a vegetable base to balance the intense stock from prawn shells & heads. i used carrots, onion, leek, red pepper, & the leftover spinach stems.

#8 tagliata di manzo is my regular dish. i had 100D grain-fed black angus striploin this time.

i had ribeye recently for my daughter’s 30pax home party which was better, but striploin done medium rare was still very good. 🙂

#9 for the second main, i did a pistachio crusted lamb.

i don’t do this often. lamb rack is very expensive. i bought the cheaper ones which were still frenched but with caps on. the denuded ones were too expensive. so i had to cut away like a ton of fat, a bit tedious.

anyway, the pistachio rack of lamb was really excellent, no strong gamey taste, nicely medium rare to medium & excellent with the pistachios.^^

#10 for the pastas, i made a funghi linguine. it was good but my wife & daughter told me it was not as good as the one i did for my daughter’s recent party.

#11 prawn spaghetti in pinck sauce (creamy tomatoes)

#11 prawn spaghetti in pinck sauce (creamy tomatoes)

#11 they thought the prawn spaghetti in pink sauce was the best. and yes, it was very tasty & flavourful.

crayfish pasta was a dish which my wife does very well. and i am just trying to model after, using small prawns instead of crayfish.

#12 for dessert, i did a banoffee (banana toffee) cake.

it was very good. i put about 1/3 of the caramel i made after heating a can on condensed milk for 4hrs, and lots of bananas. so it was not too sweet & an excellent combination of flavours & texture. 🙂

very expensive

very expensive “black gold”durians – 2x price of maoshanwang!

a friend brought very expensive “black gold” durians.

it’s like 2x maoshanwang 猫山王 prices, so the 3 durians he brought probably cost $200!

very expensive

very expensive “black gold”durians – 2x price of maoshanwang!

it was super nice, very creamy, small seeds & bitter. better be! at such astronomical prices…

mangoesteen

mangoesteen

& mangosteens too, very good ones. 🙂

another friend brought an entire box 15kg of mangoesteens! i managed to get the guys to bring back so i probably kept about 3 to 4 kg.

my very good friend who took the nice photos brought a sparkling wine. and some friends brought fruits.

konyaku jelly

konyaku jelly

another friend brought konyaku jelly.

oat shortbread - it was really good!

oat shortbread – it was really good!

& a personal gift for me – a very nice oat shortbread! ^^

very fun evening with good friends, and the food turning out very well too! haha! 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Scrumptious Homecooked Lunch for 30+pax on 25Jul2015

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youngest daughter was celebrating an important occasion & invited 30 friends to the house on 25.7.2015.^^

we had a really wonderfully scrumptious family-cooked lunch for her friends.

we did 13 delectable dishes!^^

& her friend made a professional pastry chef standard 2-tier cake. 🙂

wife's PIMMS

wife’s PIMMS cocktail

wife also made a PIMMS cocktail!^^

wife's PIMMS

wife’s PIMMS cocktail

i cannot hold liquor but i liked it very much & took maybe 5 or 6 cups & a bit drunk afterwards. 🙂

#1 wife made a lovely pumpkin tofu salad, something she picked up from marmalade after dining there. 🙂

#2 i did a vietnamese chargrilled pork cold beehoon. 🙂

we recently had this dish at mrs pho. i would think that my version was just as good. 🙂

#3 & i made a chicken ballotine.

#3 i steamed the first batch of 2 for 15mins. it was slight overdone.

the second batch i reduced to 12mins. & this was quite perfect! tender, juicy, flavourful.^^

helper's chicken nuggets

#4 helper’s chicken nuggets

#4 my helper did the chicken nuggets. pretty good too. 🙂

helper's deepfried chicken wings

#5 helper’s deepfried chicken wings

#5 & her chicken wings are a perennial favourite. 🙂

#6 i did a thai red curry sotong.

this the first time i cooked this dish. i fried in butter the sotong (squid) like i did for my flamed squid in spinanch veloute, but w/o flaming it (too tedious for quantity for 30+pax!). i tasted the sotong & it was excellent. i made the red curry gravy using the dancing chef’s ready mix with some cut yellow onions. the curry was just superb, so the combination was just crazy, a clear winner!^^

#7 for the chicken thigh, i pan-grilled on a very hot stainless steel pan. it was perfect, and daughters’ friends walloped the 6 pieces of deboned thighs from 3 chicken in double quick time. 🙂

unlike the red curry dish, for this yellow curry, i made it as a sauce similar to busaba’s to-die-for grilled chicken green curry fried rice.^^

there was actually an egg fried rice dish (which was also pretty good) to accompany the thai chicken & sotong curries but i did not have a photo.

#8 wife made an excellent creamy tomato pasta. she usually use crayfish from chinatown & for me it’s the best pasta ever.

this time, we could not get crayfish at chinatown so she used large prawns as proxy. 🙂

helper's sausage pasta

#9 helper’s sausage pasta

#9 & my helper made her crowd favourite cheese sausage spaghetti.

the whole family like this & all my children’s friends who came to the house previously all enjoyed this pasta by my helper. 🙂

#10 i made an excellent squid ink spaghetti this time, no errors, no horrors, no misses, simply fabulous, par excellence!

very nicely creamy, i added butter (only when tossing with fire off! – you don’t want to boil the butter).^^

& fantastic colour, al dente pasta & irresistible squid ink flavour with wonderful chicken stock & squid.

#11 & the tagliata di manzo had my daughter’s friends swooning & asking for more.

in the end i cooked a second portion, total 4x300g = 1.2kg of 150D grain-fed black angus ribeye.

birthday cake

birthday cake

daughter’s friend made her a totally professional pastry chef standard 2-tier cake.

birthday cake

birthday cake

plus lemon tarts & also cup cakes. every cake item was just fabulous! 🙂

#12 i made my usual tiramisu.

it was as good as ever. daughter’s friends finished an entire tub. ^^ i had a spare tub though. there was too much cake already so we saved that.

& my daughter arranged a photo booth which was a lot of fun, & her friends came in all kinds of costumes.

the photo booth guy just finished national service & is going to london for further studies. that’s what young people do a lot these days, with internet & social media offering excellent reach, connectivity & empowerment! 🙂

what a simply incredible, most enjoyable & memorable occasion to be savoured.

c.h.e.f andy

Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Fish & Sliced Ginger

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steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

this a really simple dish & ever so satisfying, lagi shiok! a true comfort food. ^^

usually my helper will make this. she is away (back home) for a month, so i made it myself this evening on 25.6.2015.

i was eating alone, so i cooked small rice, & since i was at it throw in a sausage & liver sausage while rice was steaming. and also fried a broccoli for a balanced diet. haha!

salted fish though not very ideal for a healthy diet, lots of sodium, not to be take too often.

steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

i bought 2 packets of minced pork from sheng shiong.

initially i was going to do a few dishes for my friends after a movie the next day. as it turned out they decided to have tea near orchard instead & happened that i also need to settle some urgent stuff on my company at the auditor’s office. so i used a packet (about 250g) & made the dish for my own dinner.

steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

for the simple recipe, i used –

250g minced pork.

minced a slice of salted fish (the kind from a bottle, about 3 slices in a bottle).

cut a lot of sliced ginger (about 5cm piece) – i love lots of ginger.

1 tablespoon of the brine from the salted fish bottle. no fish sauce etc. it was just salty enough.

2 tablespoon of olive oil.

steaming - quick & easy preparation

steaming – quick & easy preparation

i mixed the minced pork, 1/3 of the sliced ginger & the minced salted fish & placed it in a metal dish for steaming. i used my heavy stainless steel pan & just placed the steaming dish in the water, covered & steamed for 10minutes (making sure minced pork is properly cooked).

steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

steamed minced pork with salted fish & sliced ginger

so easy to prepare & such a wonderful dish.

2 disadvantages being (a)the high sodium content (b)made me eat more rice than usual.

c.h.e.f andy

Gordon Ramsay’s Bloody Mary Linguine Recipe with Dry Wok Garlic Prawns

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linguine with dry wok prawns

linguine with dry wok prawns

making use of my leftover bloody mary linguine from yesterday’s Gordon Ramsay’s grilled lobster with bloody mary linguine. daughter ate out & we did not want to take too much carbs. 🙂

so i cooked some dry wok prawns to go with the leftovers bloody mary linguine. this was on 15.5.2015.

i had some large prawns from chinatown. these are probably 20-22 to a kg. i had cooked some jumbo & super jumbo prawns previously, 11 to a kg & 7 to a kg.

the key to dry wok prawns is high heat & dry wok. i have recently switched to a heavy stainless steel pan for high heat cooking, rather than have the non-stick coating breakdown.

so it is a thin film of veg oil & high heat. prawns must be dry. do not remove heads & shells. add chopped garlic then prawns. do not add water & do not cover. covering traps condensation & make it wet so the effect is steaming & cancel out the charred bbq smell. the charring is on the shell but gives a bbq flavour. the prawns are basically baked in the shells.

as i had only 7 prawns, i kept the pan on high heat most of the way & that was enough to cook the prawns. if i am cooking 1 kg prawns like for a big party like the recent 22pax on 6.2.2015, then after the initial high heat, i turn down the heat to cook the prawns w/o covering, to make sure the prawns are cooked.

only at the end turn on high heat & add fish sauce liberally. you can feel the excellent aroma wafting up. because of the shells, the prawns will not be too salty.^^

prawns were really very flavourful with bbq flavours. it’s a bit like spanish tapas Gambas al Ajillo (garlic prawns), but seriously i think mine was a whole lot better. wife thinks it’s better than the lobster. i am good with the lobster. haha!^^

bloody mary linguine

bloody mary linguine

the bloody mary linguine was actually kind of “bloody” good.

bloody mary linguine

bloody mary linguine

second time round i was eating it, and i was getting use to it, though i would not say yet that it is a favourite. after reheating on a pan, it was not as perfect al dente as the day before, but still pretty ok. 🙂

linguine with dry wok prawns

linguine with dry wok prawns

& it was really excellent together with the dry wok prawns. when no lobsters, just have good prawns & you will be fine! ^^

linguine with dry wok prawns

linguine with dry wok prawns

a very enjoyable dinner for 2 at home. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Gordon Ramsay’s Grilled Lobster with Bloody Mary Linguine

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Gordon Ramsay grilled lobster with bloody mary linguine

Gordon Ramsay grilled lobster with bloody mary linguine

saw Gordon Ramsay’s grilled lobster with bloody mary linguine a while back & wanted to try it out.

frozen cooked canadian lobster S$26.96 for 2x375g

frozen cooked canadian lobster S$26.95 for 2x375g

i bought some frozen cooked canadian lobsters from cold storage earlier, S$26.95 for 2x375g lobsters.

i used 2 lobsters recently for a 4pax 6-course anniversary dinner for my wife & daughters. & had 2 more in the freezer, so decided to try out GR’s recipe today on 14.6.2015.^^

i followed the usual method cutting the lobster in 1/2 & shelling the pincers. they just looked great with the roe & tomalley (above photo).

lobster with chilli garlic butter2

lobster with chilli garlic butter

lobster with chilli garlic butter

lobster with chilli garlic butter

i followed Gordon Ramsay’s preparation for the chilli garlic butter.

i cut 1 large chilli, added 3 cloves of chopped garlic, large pinch of sea salt, 1 tablespoon of dried parsley & ground them in a mortar, then added 40g of unsalted butter

then i spread the chilli garlic butter over the 1/2 lobsters & left in the fridge for 4hrs.

bloody mary sauce

bloody mary sauce

for the bloody mary sauce –

i chopped a large red onion & fried in 2 tablespoon of oil, added 2 cloves of chopped garlic & fried till translucent & beginning to brown.

i added 1 teaspoon of sugar & just 1 teaspoon worcester sauce, & not being certain of the taste, i added 2 tablespoon flat oyster sauce instead. then i added 1 can (14oz) of cut tomatoes, & reduced the sauce (above photo)

grilled chilli garlic butter lobster

grilled chilli garlic butter lobster

grilled chilli garlic butter lobster

grilled chilli garlic butter lobster

when ready to serve, i used a heavy stainless steel pan (i recently switched over from non-stick coated pans to stainless steel pans for high heat cooking)-

added oil to give a thin coating, and waited for oil to begin to smoke under high heat.

then placed the 4 halves lobster, chilli buttered face on the hot pan, & grilled for 30secs.

then i added 3 tablespoon brandy & flamed the lobster (turning of the hob fan) to give nice liquor & grilled flavours.

bloody mary linguine

bloody mary linguine

bloody mary linguine

bloody mary linguine

for the bloody mary linguine,

i had earlier prepared the linguine al dente, drained the pasta in a colander & stopped the cooking with water & ice.

i heat up the bloody mary sauce & tossed the linguine, & then plated it as shown in Gordon Ramsay’s youtube video.

i also prepared the breadcrumbs with just 1 teaspoon olive oil & added some dried parsley, & had them sprinkled over the top of the pasta.

Gordon Ramsay grilled lobster with bloody mary linguine

Gordon Ramsay grilled lobster with bloody mary linguine

& voila!

the lobster was very flavourful with the chilli garlic butter, brandy flaming & hot grill. 🙂

this time i made doubly sure that the lobster was not overcooked. it was very good really, quite bouncy & most importantly very tasty, of course not to be compared with live lobsters.

the bloody mary had excellent tomato taste. taste though was a bit complex, with nice stand-out, slightly tangy tomato taste. it was a very good tasting sauce. still, it was not (yet) my favourite. i was in 2 minds & decided to prepare a pink sauce (creamy tomatoes) which i knew would be very good in any case.

in the end, my wife & i decided we should try this new bloody mary sauce since i had already prepared it, rather than just stick to some old normal & comfort level with the pink sauce. haha!^^

it was a very enjoyable dinner. it was a first attempt, and i was able to reproduce the dish quite well, so it was a repeatable dish. 🙂

c.h.e.f andy

Steamed Egg with Minced Pork

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steamed egg with minced pork

steamed egg with minced pork

eating home alone this evening on 10.6.2015.

steamed egg with minced pork3

steamed egg with minced pork3

feeling lazy. decided to do a steamed egg with minced pork. it’s kind of like a chinese chawanmushi. 🙂

it’s a really simple dish.

steamed egg with minced pork3

steamed egg with minced pork3

i beat up 2 eggs.

added 1 tablespoon mirin, 1.5 tablespoon tsuyu (can also use light soy sauce). about 4 tablespoon water (60ml)

i used i think about 100g of minced pork, which i added 1 teaspoon fish sauce & a bit of white pepper to season. then i mixed the minced pork with the egg. i tasted just a little with a teaspoon & liked the taste. didn’t want it to be too salty.

i had a metal dish for steaming, put in 2 tablespoon canola oil & emptied the egg mixture in the dish & steamed.

steamed egg with minced pork HK$52

steamed egg with minced pork HK$52

i had an exciting dinner at a hong kong daipaidong 富记大排档 at tai wai recently.

one of the dishes was a HK$52 steamed eggs with minced pork. it looked (above photo) a lot prettier than my steamed egg dish. taste wise it was pretty ok, as the egg was really smooth. it was a tad too salty though.

also, even minus the salty part by taking the egg w/o too much of the sauce, for me taste wise, my steamed egg actually tasted a lot better!^^

steamed egg with minced pork+chinese sausage on rice

steamed egg with minced pork+chinese sausage on rice

since i am taking some rice, i dropped a chinese sausage & a liver sausage into the rice to steam them. & my helper fried a kang kong with garlic for me.

steamed egg with minced pork+chinese sausage on rice

steamed egg with minced pork+chinese sausage on rice

a quick simple dinner.

i quite enjoyed it actually. ^^

c.h.e.f andy