Baked Mushroom Risotto
my first risotto – a baked mushroom risotto
cook my first risotto last evening!
It was just so satisfying but also spoke volumes of Foodwishes.com Chef John’s baked mushroom risotto recipe that I could reproduce such a great dish with ease even though this was my very first risotto. 🙂
I have the bulk of a 2.5kg bag of USA 松鹤 (no english name but I guess it is matsutsuru in literal translation?) Shakaku premium rice – which I think is a medium grain rice – lying around. I bought these in Giant hypermarket when I was trying out a paella mixta for a homecooked (kind of Spanish theme) dinner for friends as I didn’t know where to get aborio rice (still don’t!). Though the paella turned out kind of ok taste-wise (quite good tasting) based on the recipe I used, the texture was really quite far out. Anyhow I have not found other use for the rice and I don’t quite fancy cooking paella mixta that often when it is not quite ideal in the visual & texture departments & also it takes a bit of effort to prepare (when c/w this mushroom risotto which requires almost no effort!).
So I actually decided only at very last-minute to cook this & it was done like in 35minutes (only because you needed to put it in the oven for 16minutes).
I cut and washed the only mushrooms I had in the fridge (a packet of 150g shimeji mushrooms and another packet of 100g enoki mushrooms). I put these in an oven-proof skillet with 1 chunk of butter (20g) and a large pinch of salt on high heat and cooked/sweated for 10 minutes on medium heat OR until the liquids evaporated off, then I added chopped yellow onions and cooked for a few minutes until softened. Next I added a cup of the Shakaku rice, stirred to coat the rice completely and then added 1 cup of chicken stock, brought it to boil and dropped to low heat and stirred. When the liquids were evaporated, I added another cup of chicken stock and when it started to simmer, I placed the skillet in a 205degC preheated oven for exactly 16minutes (following Chef John’s instructions to the dot..it had been kind of fool-proof which explained my relative success thus far..no secrets haha!) 🙂
my first risotto – a baked mushroom risotto
I then returned the skillet to the stove, added another cup of chicken stock, brought to boil and stirred on low heat. At this point, as Chef John said, you needed to be your own boss & decide how you wanted the risotto to turn out. I tasted the rice, flavour was great (quite super really!) 🙂 very slightly not cooked-through the centre, so I added another cup of chicken stock and stirred. Last I added 2 tablespoon of heavy cream and sea salt to taste. The result was a truly marvellous dish – creamy but not overly, with very nice infused mushroom flavour, just like any good funghi risotto I would have gotten in a good restaurant. 🙂
It was far better than I expected as I was also not certain whether my Shakaku rice would do for this recipe. So yes it really made my day!
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 150g shimeji mushrooms
- 100g enoki mushrooms
- 1/2 yellow onion
- 20g butter
- sea salt & pepper to taste
- 4 cups chicken stock
Directions:
- cut and wash the mushrooms, put these in an oven-proof skillet with 1 chunk of butter (20g) and a large pinch of salt on high heat and cook/sweat for 10minutes on medium heat OR until the liquids evaporated off. add chopped yellow onions and cooked for a few minutes until soften. add a cup of washed Shakaku rice, stir to coat the rice completely and then add 1 cup of chicken stock, bring to boil and drop to low heat and stir. When the liquids evaporate off, add another cup of chicken stock and when it started to simmer, place skillet in a 205degC preheated oven for exactly 16minutes.
- return skillet to stove, add another cup of chicken stock, bring to boil and stir on low heat. taste the rice for texture & flavour to see if it is cooked to your preference, add another cup of chicken stock (if required) and stir. add 2 tablespoon of heavy cream and sea salt to taste. Serve.
Beef Meatballs Arrabiata Spaghetti
beef meatballs arrabiata spaghetti
I like arrabiata (spicy tomato) sauce though second to alio olio with white wine. So this is an easy variation from the pork rib & belly pork arrabiata but require a decent meatball recipe. I very quickly found a simple one for my use on the internet.
I mix 400g of minced beef, 2 eggs, parmesan cheese, parsley, minced garlic, breadcrumbs in a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper to taste. I heat some oil in large pan over medium-high heat. I roll the mix in 2.5cm balls and fry until golden brown, but not cooked through completely, then remove to a plate lined with paper towels.
For the arrabiata sauce, I fry to soften some chopped yellow onions in a medium saucepan, then add 1 can of diced tomatoes and sauce & add some sugar. I the put in the meatballs and add light soy sauce, and let it slow-cook in low fire for 1/2 hour.
The spaghetti is done in the usual way according to timing instructions. As with my other pasta dishes, I then heat up the browned garlic cloves & olive oil (set aside earlier) in a pan, add 1 cut chilli padi and fry a little, add in the meatballs with the tomato sauce, bring to boil, turn off the fire, mix in the spaghetti and toss, and then add sea salt to taste.
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 400g minced beef
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1/4 cup chopped parsley
- 1/4 cup breadcrumbs
- 1 can (400g) diced tomatoes with sauce
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 chopped yellow onion
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
Directions:
- Prepare the garlic olive oil – stir-fry whole garlic cloves on low heat to brown the garlic & flavour the oil.
- Prepare the spaghetti – add some salt & oil to water and boil the spaghetti according to timing instructions & drain in a colander.
- Cook – mix 400g of minced beef, 2 eggs, parmesan cheese, parsley, minced garlic, breadcrumbs in a large bowl, and season with salt and pepper to taste. heat some oil in large pan over medium-high heat. roll the mix in 2.5cm balls and fry until golden brown, but not cooked through completely, then remove to a plate lined with paper towels. fry to soften some chopped yellow onions in a medium saucepan, then add 1 can of diced tomatoes and sauce & add some sugar. put in the meatballs and add light soy sauce, and let it slow-cook in low fire for 1/2 hour. heat up the browned garlic cloves & olive oil (set aside earlier) in a pan, add 1 cut chilli padi and fry a little, add in the meatballs with the tomato sauce, bring to boil, turn off the fire, mix in the spaghetti and toss, and then add sea salt to taste.
Lunch @ Sarang Restaurant at Orchard Central on 20Mar2013
korean banchan (side dishes) comprising kimchi, peanuts & another veg kimchi
had lunch with my sister today. I had 2 xS$30=S$60 deal.com Sarang vouchers (which I paid S$30 for) expiring soon so we decided to lunch there.
I don’t frequent korean restaurants much these days. My family are mostly carnivores aka meat-eaters and for barbeque beef we generally prefer the Japanese-style korean barbeque yakiniku restaurants. One of my wife Lisa’s favourite yakiniku place is Aburiya. We used also to go to Chang & Hyangtogol but find them rather expensive. Though we all like banchan, those very nice free & refillabe korean side dishes, but they cannot be our sole motivation for having korean.
Sarang at Orchard Central served a very small banchan, comprising just peanuts (which was very nice & we duly had our free refill of peanuts), and the usual cabbage kimchi & another vegetable kimchi.
kimchi belly pork with tofu stew – S$15.80
We ordered the kimchi belly pork. Though I would have liked it with a lot more soup (like the kimchi chigae which I always like and order at Aburiya & Watami), this belly pork was differently done (not just boiled like in kimchi chigae to add base to the soup) & very much better, had very good “mouth-feel”(口感) in texture and taste.
spicy sotong (squid) – S$11.80
We also had the spicy sotong (squid) which was a generous helping. It might be too spicy for some but was perfect for me.
galbi (korean beef ribs) – S$24.80
We also added the usual galbi – korean beef ribs. It did have a bit of fat & tendons but it was a very nice dish which I liked a lot and was as good as that served at Chang (though I would need to confess that was many years ago). I guess the chef was a bit modern in his approach so his banchan was not quite the traditional big spread of side dishes, his sotong (squid) was accompanied by thin white noodles & this galbi dish also came with a cup of smooth potato mash (not in picture).
The meal comprising 3 very good dishes & banchan came to just S$34nett (about S$26++) using the vouchers. I think the prices were actually quite fair for the quality of food offered even though I am unlikely to frequent soon without the discounts.
c.h.e.f andy
Restaurant Week $35nett Lunch @ Kumo Kaiseki Restaurant on 19Mar2013
Menu-Restaurant Week $35nett set lunch at Kumo Kaiseki Restaurant
A friend bought lunch today. We had great time chatting about the charity he was actively leading last 25years, travel & food.
As it was DiningCity Restaurant Week (18-24mar2013), I suggested the $35nett lunch set at Kumo Kaiseki Restaurant. There was just a little confusion as many restaurants were awarded DiningCity Star (and Kumo Kaiseki was 1 of them), and this meant they charged additional S$15 & S$20 respectively on top of the standardised S$25++ lunches & S$35++ dinners. Most if not all ‘Star’ restaurants would simply indicate lunches as S$40++ & dinners as S$55++ to avoid confusion but Kumo did not. So we called up to make sure that we would be paying S$35nett and NOT S$50++ & that was indeed the case (good to be certain than have wrong expectations and be disappointed..haha..). 🙂
I have stopped going for Restaurant Week these days as there is nothing much on offer. S$40 lunches & S$55 dinners at the ‘Star’ restaurants like Oso, Gaia, Absinthe etc are not cheap and also usually restrictive on the menu items especially mains c/w their daily lunches. Last year for example, UOB had very good 1 for 1 Young Chef Creation Menu in many restaurants and you get a 4-course S$68 1 for 1 menu at Gaia vs a S$40 3-course Restaurant Week menu at the same restaurant! Even at La Cicala Gastrobar (which has no Star), the usual S$25 set lunch menu is to me better than the same-priced Restaurant Week menu.
This Kumo S$35nett menu looks good though.
I had a kaiseki dinner only once at Kumo using a $50 Kitchen Language (which owns Kumo, Salta, Ochre, Saltwater cafe) voucher. Kumo’s food is good but not great for the price c/w say Hachi, and if you are not overly enameled with kaiseki presentation, I think Kuriya Dining’s monthly sets offer better value. For me, none of them can compare with Mikuni using the Feed@Raffles card with 50% discount for 2pax, so I usually frequent Mikuni, but it is good to have a change once a while.
The first course, tai (sea bream) sashimi topped with ikura (salmon roe), was truly delightful in all departments – taste, colour, presentation! the jelly (can’t remember what it is) went really well with the tai sashimi. every item (broadbean, petals & all) was edible. This dish was very impressive even for a full course kaiseki! 🙂
tai sashimi topped with ikura – so pretty (every item edible!)
The lotus & prawn dumpling were ok & tasty, nothing to wow about. the bonito soup was also ok with a nice after taste.
lotus & prawn dumpling in bonito soup
The main course comprised a braised saga wagyu shank & some vegetable items in batter & the usual gohan set of rice, pickles & miso soup. This really was quite so-so, very average taste wise. As a braised item, one could not tell much between wagyu (& Japanese wagyu at that!) & normal beef.
braised saga wagyu shank & yasai furai
also done this way it is more commonly served as an appertiser item (eg Dozo serves a japanese braised beef as an appertiser item in their 6-course lunches which maybe tastes same or better), and is no comparison with the modern european braised lamb shanks served in many restaurants here.
braised saga wagyu shank in miso
The yasai (野菜) furai (not a tempura batter) was a good complement to the braised beef.
yasai furai
Well at S$35nett (S$30++ just for comparison though Kumo actually does not charge 10% service) for such a lunch, I guess there was little to complain about except for the parking costing S$10 at neighbouring Amara Hotel. 🙂
sakura mochi with Japanese strawberries
The dessert was a nice red bean mochi which I liked & 1/2 a strawberry.
Overall, it was a very pleasant meal and also nice way of keeping up with a friend.
c.h.e.f andy
Crabmeat Spaghetti in Pink Sauce (Creamy Tomatoes)
crabmeat spaghetti with prawns & scallops in pink sauce (creamy tomatoes)
N.B. = did an excellent crab linguine in pink sauce with medium prawns & pan-seared scallops using this recipe on 11.1.2014. 🙂
One of my favourite pasta is the crab meat linguine in pink sauce. Many moons ago, when Chef Valentino was still working (I guess he was a partner) in Cantina which was a short stone-throw from my place, we dined there a few times and also “da bao” (take-out) his crab meat linguine in pink sauce.
The good Chef left & set up his own Ristorante da Valentino at Jalan Binga and later shifted to the much larger premises it is currently located at Turf City. Some months back, a friend & his wife invited me for a lunch there, and I enjoyed immensely the burrata cheese and also relished my old-time favourite – but this time a squid-ink seafood linguine in pink sauce.
I thought I would give it a go myself, so I googled and assembled this recipe, tried it and was ok the first time, and I was able to repeat the dish w/o difficulty. The result is in the picture above, which I made for my friends at one of my homecooked dinners. It is nothing even close to what Valentino serves, but still it is a pretty nice pasta. 🙂
To make the sauce, I saute minced garlic and 1 small onion (diced) in olive oil on medium heat. I then add chopped basil (I have fresh basil from the garden), 1 can of diced tomatoes with sauce, sugar, dried oregano, sea salt & coarse black pepper, boil for about 5 minutes. I then turn off the fire and mix in the heavy cream & butter.
pink sauce (creamy tomatoes)
The spaghetti is cooked in the usual way following the timing instructions. For the scallops (optional), I pan sear them first (see recipe); and likewise for the prawns I stir-fry them in olive oil first to almost cooked. All these can be set aside first and toss together when ready to serve the dish. I heat up the pink sauce, add the prawns & drained crabmeat, cook for few minutes, then turn off the fire, add the spaghetti & toss, and then add the seared scallop, and serve.
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 250g crabmeat drained (I use frozen crab claws from NTUC Fairprice)
- 12 Hokkaido scallops (I use frozen scallops from Sheng Shiong)
- 15 pieces of medium prawns (shelled)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove minced garlic
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon butter
- sea salt & coarse black pepper to taste
Directions:
- Prepare the pink sauce – saute minced garlic and diced onion in olive oil on medium heat. add chopped fresh basil, 1 can of diced tomatoes with sauce, sugar, dried oregano, sea salt & coarse black pepper, boil for about 5 minutes. turn off the fire and mix in the heavy cream & butter.
- Prepare the scallops (optional) – see pan-seared scallop recipe.
- Cook the dish – stir-fry the prawns (shelled) in olive oil first to almost cooked. cook the spaghetti in the usual way following the timing instructions. heat up the pink sauce, add the prawns & drained crabmeat, cook for few minutes, then turn off the fire, add the spaghetti & toss, and then add the seared scallop, and serve.
Steamed Razor Clams with Garlic Oil
steamed razor clams with garlic oil – beautiful pic taken by Jeanette at 6.10.2012 homecooked dinner
See also Chef=cookhangouteatfun.
Steamed razor clams is a common dish served in many seafood restaurants. I had many times very good ones at Ah Yat Turf City and couple times at Long Beach Dempsey. These days, cooking methods & processes are quite precise and I seldom come across a live fish that is not steamed just right (in older times we get undercooked & overcooked fish). The same with razor clams.
No recipe is needed to cook this dish really. It is just a matter of getting the razor clams, cleaning them (which is a big hassle) and then steaming PLUS doing the lightly browned garlic oil to drench over them.
I get my IQF (Individual Quick Freeze) razor clams from Giant hypermarket & Shop n Save (these days you get IQF everything – mussels, scallops, fish fillets etc). Normal price is S$11.95 for one 500g packet containing 8 to 11 large razor clams. Sometimes I get them during sales and it can be S$8.95, so just about $1 per clam. At the restaurants, you get live ones & will on average pay S$8++ (about $9.40) per clam.
Cleaning as I said is a hassle. I use kitchen scissors to cut away the blackish sag of innards & clean each clam thoroughly in slow running water (there will be a lot of soil & you will feel like you are eating sand if you don’t clean them). For the garlic oil, I just fry minced garlic on low heat with oil to brown them & then set aside the lightly browned garlic with oil in a bowl.
To steam the clams, you can use the usual steamer for about 6 minutes (just make sure you are able to remove the plate holding the clams out of the steamer when it is very hot). I find it easier to just poach the clams (w/o the shell) with the garlic oil & add 1 tablespoon light soy sauce in a covered saucepan for a few (about 4) minutes. Then I remove the steamed clams, place each on an individual cleaned 1/2 shell on a serving dish, and then spoon the garlic oil over the clams.
The result is the beautiful dish above. I would say it is 95% as good as the restaurants that do them well, and better than those that can’t do them properly.
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 1x500g packet IQF (Instant Quick Freeze) razor clams – OR if you can get fresh ones that are not too costly
- 3 tbsp minced garlic
- 5 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
Directions:
- Prepare the clams – defrost, cut/remove from shell, cut away the blackish sags of innards & clean thoroughly, airdry in fridge. clean enough 1/2 shells to place the clams on.
- Cook the clams – lightly brown the minced garlic so you have the garlic oil ready in a large saucepan. add the clams & drizzle 1 tablespoon light soy sauce over it. Turn the fire to high to heat up & then quick lower to medium & cover for 4 minutes until the clams turned a white opaque colour (as in above picture). Turn off the fire, remove the clams & place each on cleaned individual 1/2shells on a large serving dish. spoon the garlic oil over each clam & serve.
Great Family Lunch @ Imperial Treasure Teochew Restaurant Ngee Ann City on 17Mar2013
har gau (蝦饺)
See also my review on imperial treasure teochew on 1.9.2013. 🙂
had a really nice family dimsum lunch today @ Imperial Treasure Teochew Restaurant at Ngee Ann City today.
They are really packed. We managed to book 11.30am and supposed to clear out before 12.30pm. The food came really fast, and though we did not feel rushed at all still we did not have any problem leaving before 12.30pm after a very satisfying lunch indeed. 🙂
We ordered Su Min’s favourite har gau & fun cheung with prawns (or har cheung), pork neck char siew, braised duck, steam pork ribs, a teochew dumpling, and 2 deepfried dumplings. The entire lunch came to $79 for 4pax – a really great lunch, good food, good friendly if speedy service, and very enjoyable meal. 🙂
The har gau was very good, skin not soft or soggy, prawns fresh & firm. The steamed pork ribs were very tasty & have good pieces of meat, not too fatty.
steamed pork ribs
The har cheung was one of the better ones, though still could not compare with the very good smooth ones we had in Hong Kong.
har cheung (虾肠粉)
The hum sio gok was also very good, fillings were tasty & the dough nice & little sticky too (as it should be).
hum sio gok (咸水饺)
And the teochew dumplings were actually better than I expected. I had some not so great ones previously.
teochew dumplings (潮州粉果)
The pork neck char siu was slightly sweet but overall very good, portion was small but it was only S$8. I have tried cooking this before & I know pork neck is really the best part for char siu, much better than the loin or belly. 🙂
pork neck char siu (炭燒猪项肉) – S$8
I could not remember the name of this crispy dumpling, it was something I used to like much before but did not take often lately. It was still good.
crispy dumplings
The braised duck here & in Crystal Jade were always good. The portion (partially eaten already in the poorly focused photo below) was good for the price – just S$14.
teochew braised duck – S$14
We ended with the salted egg buns which we all liked. This was very good here. The salted egg taste was strong but not overpowering & it was not too sweet. One of the best I had – I liked this a lot.
salted egg buns (咸蛋流沙包)
salted egg buns (咸蛋流沙包)
I think Crystal Jade & Imperial Treasure have really improve Singapore’s dimsum & restaurant food quality at affordable price over the last 10 years, and now we have really good eats at prices that do not burn a hole in the pocket. 🙂
Imperial Treasure Teochew Restaurant @ Ngee Ann City
c.h.e.f andy
Oven Slow-roast Pork Belly
oven slow-roast pork belly
I have NOT been too successful when it comes to cooking belly pork. First, it is really not so healthy to be eating belly pork often & my family members are not really crazy over it. The more successful pork belly dish I have made is kakuni – Japanese slow-braised pork belly.
Anyhow I wanted a wider selection of dishes for my homecooked makan (meal) gatherings, so I still somewhat doggedly try out different cooking methods for pork belly. I find GR (Gordon Ramsay)’s crackling skin pressed pork belly too difficult to make, so I try out various slow-roast to get a dish that is good enough for my purpose.
The best version I have created is in the top picture. I did that when my youngest 19-year old daughter invited 14 friends to the house for lunch on the 3rd day of the recent Chinese New Year, 2013.
I use a square-cut block of belly pork, place it in boiling water for like 10seconds, then place it in cold water, wipe it clean & dry with kitchen towel or airdry in fridge. I then rub the belly pork with white sugar (but not the skin), place it in a baking dish skin-side up, drizzle Chinese old shaoxing wine (陈年绍兴酒) & then olive oil over it. I cover the baking dish with aluminium foil & place it in a preheated 175degC oven for 1/2 hr. I remove the dish from the oven, turn over the belly pork so it is skin-side down & drizzle 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, & letting the oven cool. I then preset the oven to 90degC on the low heat function and leave it for 3/4hr, turnover once again for another 3/4hr. So the total time is 2hrs.
The end result is the picture above, though the belly pork is looking pretty with a nice pink, it is fully cooked. That is my best production with this method so far.
oven slow-roast pork belly
I tried it again for my recent gathering of friends, with a slight variation. Instead of the low heat function, I use the normal function still set to 90degC. The result is the one below. The texture of the fat & meat is still as good & soft, the skin is just very little bit tougher. One addition I made is the Spanish spicy mustard sauce. This is a really nice concoction & together with the original sauce from the belly pork (after passing through a sieve) made 2 very nice dipping sauce for the belly pork. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 1 block square cut belly pork (about 350g)
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp Chinese old shaoxing wine (陈年绍兴酒)
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
For spicy Spanish mustard sauce:
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 cut chilli padi
- 2 tsp olive oil
Directions:
- Prepare the belly pork – place it in boiling water for like 10seconds, then place it in cold water, wipe it clean & dry with kitchen towel or airdry in fridge. rub the belly pork with white sugar (but not the skin), place it in a baking dish skin-side up, drizzle Chinese old shaoxing wine (陈年绍兴酒) & then olive oil over it.
- Cook the belly pork – cover the baking dish with aluminium foil & place it in a preheated 175degC oven for 1/2 hr. remove the dish from the oven, turn over the belly pork so it is skin-side down & drizzle 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, & letting the oven cool. preset the oven to 90degC on the low heat function and leave it for 3/4hr, turnover once again for another 3/4hr. total time is 2hrs. remove from oven, rest & serve.
- Make spicy Spanish mustard sauce – put a teaspoon of dijon mustard in a small bowl, add 1 cut chilli padi, 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar, and 2 teaspoon olive oil. mix well.
Oven Roast Chicken
oven roast chicken
Before I discovered the brining technique (& now use often) for pan-roasted brined chicken breast, I was doing a rather good oven roast chicken. 🙂
It is really easy to do & require very little preparation effort.
First, I cut away the head & feet, wash clean thoroughly & fold in the wings. I usually leave the chicken on a rack to airdry in the fridge but you can dry it with kitchen towels.
Then I prepare a rub comprising seasalt, coarse black pepper and a dry herb mix (rosemary, basil, parsley flake etc). Of course you can use fresh herbs if you have them. Next I rub all over the chicken & the inside cavity. I then lift the skin (carefully w/o tearing) & rub below the skin. I also inserted peeled garlic cloves under the skin. You can skip this if you like a nice skin as the garlic will made dark patches on the skin after roast as in above picture. Finally I rub oyster sauce on the chicken & then drizzle/rub olive oil over the skin (olive oil helps the skin not to get burnt). 🙂
I place the chicken breast-side up on a aluminium foil-lined baking tray in a preheated 175degC oven using the grill function for 25minustes. I then turn over the chicken and grill for another 20minutes.
I have been able to consistently reproduce very moist, tender & sweet roast chicken. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 1.1kg chicken from Giant hypermarket (if you sue a 1.4kg chicken or other size you will have to try out the ove timing or I guess use a meat thermometer which I have not yet learned to use!)
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 bulb of peeled garlic cloves
make a rub comprising:
- 1.5 tbsp seasalt
- 1 tbsp coarse black pepper
- 2 tsp rosemary flakes
- 2 tsp basil flakes
- 2 tsp parsley flakes
Directions:
- Prepare the chicken – cut away the head & feet, wash clean thoroughly & fold in the wings. leave the chicken on a rack to airdry in the fridge (or you can dry it with kitchen towels). Apply the rub all over the chicken skin & inside. lift the skin (careful not to tear) and rub under the skin. Insert the peeled garlic cloves under the skin (or you can skip this if you don’t want to have dark patches on the skin).
- Cook the chicken – place the chicken breast-side up on a aluminium foil-lined baking tray in a preheated 175degC oven using the grill function for 25minustes. turn over the chicken and grill for another 20minutes. remove from oven & let the chicken rests, and then debone or carve & serve.
Beef Hotpot @ Budaoweng(不倒翁) at iSquare, Tsimshatsui Hong Kong on 9Mar2013
handcut US angus marbled beef (肥牛)
The beef hotpot at Budaoweng(不倒翁) is favourite with my wife Lisa (& with me too!). Everytime she is in Hong Kong. she will go for a late supper (宵夜-there is a 40% discount after 9.30pm during weekdays & after 9.45pm during weekends), sometimes twice during her stay. This time is no exception.
During our recent trip to Hong Kong, we arrived & checked-in to Marco Polo Prince Hotel about 8.15pm, so timing was quite perfect. 不倒翁 was just a short walk to iSquare and there was no need to pre-book. We did this again on the evening of 11.3.2013, before flying back Singapore the next day.
We ordered the usual large portion of specially selected handcut US angus marbled beef (特选手切肥牛)- HK$168 after 40% discount. You can see the marbling, and this is really flavourful & tender, melting in the mouth. I thoroughly enjoyed this even though we ate exactly the same thing the second visit. Both times we were greedy and ordered another small portion of beef – HK$138 after 40% discount. Our daughter Su Lin was with us, so there were 3 of us. I could just eat the beef & vegetables and nothing else.
very nice prawn dumplings, each with 3 very fresh big prawns
We also ordered a plate of prawn dumplings – 8 for HK$58. You could also order a 1/2plate – 4 dumplings for HK$30. This was really good too. Each dumpling had 3 very fresh large prawns, the skin was smooth, and it’s super tasty.
脆鲩鱼骨腩 (grass carp bones & belly)
I also added a 脆鲩鱼骨腩 (grass carp bones & belly) – HK$38. I like fish so I quite enjoyed it, but though 脆 means crunchy, it can mean tough & also several pieces have bones, so not everyone will like. We did not order that the second time we visited.
prawn paste (虾滑)
Lisa also ordered a prawn paste (虾滑) – HK$58 – which is nice too, though we don’t really need to have that, and we did not order it the second time we visited.
vegetable basket
We also had the vegetable basket. I cannot remember the price but it should be like HK$88 of HK$108. You must have vegetables for balance for a meat steamboat and Hong Kong vegetables are fresh & nice. On the second visit though we ordered just the Chinese lettuce for HK$48 & that was really quite sufficient.
hotpot soup base (汤底) – we had the HK$88 clear vegetable soup
There was a wide range of hotpot soup base, but since we went there primarily to take the beef, we opted for the cheapest HK$88 clear vegetable soup. There was also a HK$20pax charge for the condiments (调料) – haebeehiam, garlic, spring onions, chilli, chilli oil, wasabi, soy sauce etc (most hotpot restaurants in Hong Kong charged this also).
condiments platter – haebeehiam, chilli, chilli oil, wasabi, spring onions, sesame sauce, garlic etc
The entire meal, if you were to say order for 2pax 1 plate of beef, 1 plate dumpling & 1 Chinese lettuce + the plain soup base, it will set you back by HK$442 (inclusive of HK$20pax for the condiments & 10% service on top), and if you add a bottle of 350ml sake, that will be another HK$300+, so it is not really that cheap even after 40% discount. But to me the food quality & the enjoyment of it is well worth the price! Service is efficient, and they will bring hot water & ice, which are free (they don’t serve cold water only mineral water, I did not check the price but it should be ok to order it if you need to have mineral water..), we don’t really have any complaint about that.
c.h.e.f andy
Drunken Mussels with Orange Zest
drunken mussels with wine & orange zest
This is another very easy dish to make.
I bought shelled mussels from Sheng Shiong previously but they were not as good, plump and big as the ones sold at QB Food.
For this dish, you just need to add 20g butter in a soup pot, throw in chopped spring onions (I used the white parts and reserve the green portion for garnishing) & orange zest from 1/2 an orange and stir-fry for <1minute, add 1 cup of wine and 1 cup of chicken stock and bring to boil, and then add 200g mussels & cook for 1-2 minutes, then garnish with chopped parsley (if you have) – I only use spring onions here.
drunken mussels with wine & orange zest
It’s easy, delicious & all comfy goodness!
c.h.e.f andy
Pan-seared Hokkaido Scallops
pan-seared Hokkaido scallops
Hokkaido scallops are plump, juicy & sweet.
I bought once from Isetan Orchard during a Japanese Fair and a 1kg box cost S$90 and they were really sweet. I bought also from QB Food frozen USA scallops at S$17 for 500g but these were not so great. Recently I bought 1 box 900g from Sheng Shiong on promotion at S$24.80, and these were quite ok.
I previously had difficulty searing scallop because the technique was wrong. So again after I check out Foodwishes.com Chef John’s seared scallop recipe, I can now reproduce quite easily scallops with a nice sear (as in above picture).
As mentioned in the video, the trick is simply (1)a superhot pan & (2)bone dry scallops. Scallops, like fish, retain a lot of moisture and if they are not totally dry, the temperature of the pan will drop sharply and you will be boiling/poaching the scallop rather than searing it, and the burnt layer will come off & stick to the pan.
With the right technique then it is really simple. I dry the scallops on a rack in the fridge so that both top & bottom are dry & the water drip on to a bowl or tray below the rack. I bring out the scallops from the fridge for at least 1/2 hour to get it to room temperature. I lightly season the scallop with sea salt & coarse black pepper and place them in a superhot pan with olive oil & sear for 3minutes, watching the side cook to opaque white colour 1/3 to 1/2 way up & then flip the scallops. I cook for another 2-3minutes and then serve. It is that simple.
I have tried also Chef John’s orange supreme sauce, however I don’t really find much there as I don’t feel the sauce add anything to the scallop & maybe reduce the seared flavour & texture. I would rather have my seared scallops with rockets and cherry tomatoes dressed with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sea salt.
c.h.e.f andy
Creamy Mushroom Soup
creamy mushroom soup
soup. auntie Bes, my Filipino help who has been with us for 24 years, makes very good Chinese soup. They could be pork ribs with peanuts or lotus root soup, chicken bones & feet with old cucumbers or carrots or watercress or even green papaya, largely in the vein of Cantonese 例汤 – soup of the day. auntie Bes doesn’t do soup using pork (she only used pork ribs) though this is also common with Chinese soups and these days we don’t use much of Chinese ham (京华火腿) though in the early days when I travel to Beijing & Shanghai more, I did cart some of these back for soup. when I started doing homecooked dinners for friends, if I were doing dishes like braised duck, curry chicken and kakuni (Japaense braised belly pork), auntie Bes’ soup was a perfect fit. But then I also started doing western dinners, and soon afterwards after several visits to and enjoyable meals at La Cicala Spanish Gastrobar, I learned to cook a Basque seafood bisque, using prawn shells with white wine & brandy to create the bisque, with leek, yellow onions & carrots to add vegetable sweetness to the soup. It was quite successful & I used it for several of my homecooked dinners. But that was the only soup I knew how to cook, that is until yesterday. I had another 8-course lunch for 9pax yesterday so I thought I would test out another soup, and I kind of thought mushroom soup would be the most common, easiest to do and acceptable to most. So who do I turn to? you guess it right – Foodwishes.com Chef John’s creamy mushroom soup recipe. It went really well at first try, and all my friends enjoyed the soup very much.
caramelising 3 different mushrooms + leek + yellow onions
I bought 250g of cut brown button mushrooms, 200g of oyster mushrooms & 150g of shimeji mushrooms from Sheng Shiong. I added a teasppon of salt & caramelised them in a soup pot according to the video instructions, then added the diced yellow onions & leek. I cooked them further & then fished out a few caramelised mushrooms as toppings for the soup later. I then added the flour and stirred them to thicken a little. 
Next I added the white wine, reduced and then added the chicken stock (made in a crockpot with chicken bones). I then put it on an induction cooker & put to the lowest at 100W & let it cooked for 1.5hrs. I let the soup cooled down, and then blended it in a blender in small batches. Then I brought it to boil in the pot, turned to low fire and added 2 tablespoon of heavy cream and mixed in the soup, and added sea salt & pepper to taste. To serve, I added a dash of extra virgin olive oil & placed couple caramelised mushrooms I reserved earlier as toppings. c.h.e.f andy Ingredients:
- 600g mushrooms (button mushrooms or with other combinations) – served 8
- 1/2 large yellow onion diced
- 1 leek diced
- 1 tbsp flour
- 1 cup white wine
- 5 cups of chicken stock
- 1 tsp salt (to sweat the mushrooms)
- 2-3 tbsp heavy cream
- sea salt & coarse black pepper to taste
Directions:
- slice the button mushrooms, and diced the yellow onion & leek.
- caramelise the mushrooms in a soup pot with 1 teaspoon salt in high then medium heat. add the yellow onion and leek & cook until they soften. take out some caramelised mushrooms for toppings if you like. add a tablespoon of flour to thicken. add 1 cup of white wine and reduce, and add 3 cups of chicken stock. bring to boil & then turn fire to low & cook for 1.5hrs. let the soup cool or add more cold chicken stock or water, then blend it in a blender in batches. bring the blended soup to boil adding stock or water as necessary to taste according to your own preference. turn fire to low and add 2 tablespoon of heavy cream and mix well. serve with dash of extra virgin olive oil & caramelised mushroom toppings.
Recipe = Pistachio Crusted Rack of Lamb
pistachio crusted rack of lamb
never cook lamb before. always had the impression that it was terribly hard! unlike a beef steak which you can just throw in the pan, lamb is like “who can cook lamb?” – unknown, undoable..
in fact, when eating out, I hardly ever order beef, since I can make a rather good steak myself with no effort & at fraction of the cost (just like I will only order squid-ink pasta since it is about the only pasta I don’t make myself); so its lamb or fish everytime (dining out) except at some famous grills, Japanese or fine dining restaurants..
I have a friend though always posting lamb pictures & obsessed with meat thermometers (which I now have 2 thanks to this friend for one, and still have not used any!) Well, I only started cooking much since March2012, so thermometers will have a future with me, I think..
so I gotten myself this packet of lamb, which contained 2 frenched lamb racks, and on the first occasion when enough guinea pigs volunteered to dine at my place, I gave it a go and cooked my first ever lamb rack. I always like Foodwishes.com Chef John’s cooking videos, and this pistachio crusted rack of lamb recipe is no exception. It is really very easy to make, much easier than the 2-hr slow-cooked Spanish beef ribs which requires preparations & cooking for the vegetable ratatouille for sauce & garnishing.
So I seasoned & browned the lamb rack, prepared the pistachio & the mix (add breadcrumbs, olive oil, melted butter) for the crust, rubbed dijon mustard on the lamb rack so that the pistachio crust sticked, and when my friends were here, while we were devouring the other dishes, I just put the lamb rack into a 210degC oven for 23minutes; and voila, I had a very impressive-looking & tasty pistachio crusted lamb which everyone really enjoyed! actually it was medium & I would have preferred medium rare, will try 21-22minutes next time.
pistachio crusted rack of lamb
pistachio crusted 1/2rack of lamb updated on 22.1.2015
Looks like I won’t be eating lamb anytime soon when dining out.
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 1 frenched lamb rack (standard 8 ribs, about 600g, good for 4)
- 1 cup of pistachios
- 2 tbsp breadcrumbs
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- sea salt & coarse black pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp dijon mustard
Directions:
- Prepare the lamb rack – cut/trim away the fat (to reduce the strong gamey taste/smell), cut about 2cm every 2 ribs w/o cutting into the loin (this for easy serving of the lamb rack afterwards), season with sea salt & coarse black pepper & pan seared including the ends over a very hot pan. put aside on an aluminium lined baking tray & reserve.
- Prepare the pistachio crust mix – cut about 1 cup of toasted pistachios into small bits. in a large bowl add 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs, 1 tablespoon olive oil & 1 tablespoon melted butter, & mix.
- Cook the lamb – coat the lamb loin with 2 tablespoon of dijon mustard. This will enable the pistachio crust to stick. now coat the pistachio mix on the lamb to form a crust. Preheat oven to 210degC and place the lamb in the oven for 22minutes (or longer if you like it more done). serve
Korean Spicy Sotong (Squid) Salad
Korean spicy sotong (squid) salad
was rummaging through my fridge one day and saw this bottle of gojuchang (a savoury and pungent Korean fermented red pepper paste) – see picture below. I must have bought that months ago from a Korean provision shop. It is supposedly such an indispensable universal seasoning condiment – and I do often take it at Korean restaurants eg for bibimbap (a signature Korean dish-a bowl of warm rice topped with seasoned sauteed mixed vegetables usually with a raw egg & beef) – but it seems that I have found no use for it.
gojuchang – Korean fermented red pepper paste
I googled the internet and chanced on this Korean Spicy Squid Salad Recipe. I tried it, and it was easy to do & good. I didn’t have watercress & cucumbers so I used what I had in the fridge – kang kong, celery and bean sprouts, and it turned out rather well, as seen in the above picture – my first & only attempt so far! 🙂
The bean sprouts & kang kong were just blanched, with the latter squeezed dry on a sieve to remove excess water as shown in the video. The celery & yellow onions I thought needed some sautee-ing, which I did to soften, and they turned out very well indeed.
After that it was just a matter of adding & mixing gojuchang & other seasoning. It made for a very refreshing & nice salad, a pleasant addition to dinner. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
Ingredients:
- 1 large squid (250g) skin, wings & head removed
- 1 stalk of celery cut 2cm size
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 1/2 a bunch of kang kong
- a handful of bean sprouts
Seasoning mix:
- 2.5 tbsp gojuchang Korean red pepper paste
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- sea salt to taste
Directions:
- Prepare the squid – remove the head, wings & red skin. cut open the squid length-wise. for the chequered pattern cut, slice length-wise along squid 1/4in apart, careful not to cut through. then cut the squid in 1/2 length-wise. now slice across & cut through the squid every 4th cut – that will produce a 1in width cut with square-cut patterns.
- Make the salad – blanched the bean sprouts & the kang kong & squeeze out excess water from the kang kong by placing on a sieve. sauteed the celery & yellow onions. Cooked the squid in boiling water for 4minutes until cooked. In a large bowl, mix everything together – the squid, vegetables & the seasoning mix. serve.
What’s Cooking?
Couple of my friends cannot take certain food. One cannot take beef, another has intolerance to animal fat.
When I invite them for home makans (meals), I will plan before hand – like replaced the beef with GR (Gordon Ramsay) crispy salmon once previously, which I then proceeded to dish out an undercooked version no thanks to another friend buzzing in my ears offering unsolicited coaching. 🙂 Another time I replaced the beef with 3 pan-seared hokkaido scallops, this rather successfully. And in place of belly pork spaghetti or crab linguine in pink sauce (creamy tomatoes), I had a specially made single portion of seafood alio olio for the friend.
All my friends are by nature very “kek ki” (客气) & “automatic” – easy-going & accepting/non-demanding and not wanting to trouble others. 🙂 I am mostly of the same disposition, I might add, hahaha…
For myself as the person cooking, the perspective though is somewhat different. I understand now that I cook, that it is not about the thing you cook but about what makes your guests (family or friends) enjoy the food & relax & make that a memorable experience for everyone, that is important. So the person cooking will naturally want to find out what the guests need, and to plan the meal accordingly. It would not make sense for someone to cook (however special he might think the food to be) which did not suit the guests’ palette – the whole exercise would be quite meaningless. So it is no trouble at all to find out, and to plan accordingly!
I am sure it must be true though it still sounds corny to me that great dishes only come with love in the heart (from Korean soap operas) 🙂 but I know for sure that cooking is most fun when you turn out a nice dish according to plan (which is itself most pleasurable) or be it pleasantly surprised; and those sharing it truly enjoy it!
One thing I realised after I started cooking (which is not so long ago) is the importance of planning – I guess like all things else! And if you plan & get the things together & the sequences right, everything come together “magically” and you won’t be stressed, distressed & dis-oriented!
Here’s for more stressless, fun cooking, eating & hanging out!
c.h.e.f andy
Incredible Value Dinner @ Taoheung Carnavorn Road Tsimshatsui on 11Mar2013
Taoheung group is my favourite restaurant group in Hong Kong. I specially like the set meals at Ying (迎) at Nathan Road and at Chung Cuisine (锺菜) at Times Square Causeway Bay.
They have ongoing promotions, and we managed to book a table for 3pax at Taohueng @ Carnavorn Road Tsimshatsui during our recent visit (they will NOT accept table booking on the same day but you can go at 6pm OR 9pm to queue up for the dinner OR supper promotions – they even have an electronic colour-coded queue system for 2pax, 3-4pax, 5-6pax, 7-8pax etc, more sophisticated than the banks..lol..). 🙂
There was NO service to talk about here (well at least for the 1/2hr starting from 6pm where there seemed to be orderly mayhem!). I had tried previously another of their restaurants Pier 88 (稻香超級漁港) during the promotion hour and to their credit service there was ok despite the mad rush at 6pm.
We had the incredible value promotion in the picture above=HK$99 for a steamed live garoupa (I estimated about 700g-800g) PLUS a platter comprising suckling pig, roast duck, char siew & soy chicken! 🙂 The normal price for the tiger garoupa alone (w/o promotion) was HK$238!
The steamed garoupa was very good, which was like “routine” in Hong Kong.
steamed live tiger garoupa
The suckling pig platter – what can I say? every item was very good even including the black fungus, which was crunchy with a touch of sesame oil. Not sure the normal price for such a platter, but I would gladly pay HK$99 or more for the platter alone.
platter=suckling pig, roast duck, char siew, soy chicken
You kind of “have to” order 例汤 (soup of the day) when in a cantonese restaurant in Hong Kong, so we dutifully ordered one on the menu=chicken & fish maw (花膠) soup. It was a big pot costing HK$108. It was good but NOT great! Auntie Bes can make just as good soup at home. The one we had at Lei Garden (利苑) Time Square – which is famous for its soup – the day before, a smaller pot at HK$88 was by far the better.
& when in Hong Kong, you “have to” order vegetables. We had choy sum with moi choy (梅菜菜心). It was wonderful! 🙂
choy sum with moi choy (梅菜菜心)
The very satisfying dinner for 3 of us came to HK$331 (which already included 10% service charge), like S$53 nett! I can certainly do this every time. 🙂
c.h.e.f. andy
The Clan Restaurant @ Bukit Pasoh Singapore on 8Mar2013
had a great lunch with my daughter at The Clan Restaurant at Bukit Pasoh. We had the 5-course set lunch.
This my second time here – I was here with wife 3 weeks back. We both liked the food. The Chef, Ken Teo, was formerly the Executive Chef of Dozo, and we have always liked Dozo’s food. The price of the 5-course lunch, S$42.80 (6-course dinner S$63.80), is slightly higher than Dozo (& w/0 the cooler drink), but I think overall the food quality is better. There are 5 choices of appetizer & dessert, 4 choices of soup & 6 choices of main course.
I suppose the name has got to do with its location at the premises of The Gan Clan Association. Bukit Pasoh locale is home to a good few top restaurants like Majestic, Oso and nearby at Kiong Siak Street – Ember, Nicolas Le & Bistro Soori. The food is I guess nothing “Clanish”, being in the modern european genre similar to Dozo with touch of Japanese fusion – perhaps there is a new “Clan” there slowly in the making. 🙂
just like Dozo, we started with a nice thirst quencher.
The Chef Starter is a trio comprising duck rillette, pan-seared scallop with lots of foam (this is very good & definitely better than Dozo) and a salmon mouche cone (Dozo serves a smoked salmon, tiny pan-seared piece of foie gras & pan-seared scallop).
duck rillette, salmon mouche cone, pan-seared scallope with foam, thirst quencher
Next we had a choice of appetizer. I had the bamboo clam. This was really very good. the clam was very sweet & bouncy fresh, and the ikura (salmon roe) flavour & saltiness combined very well with the shellfish texture indeed. daughter had the deep-fried foie gras, which was not a common preparation. I stole a bite. It was different & quite good, not sure it would become popular enough to be avant garde but unlikely to displace the all-time favourite pan-seared caramelised foie gras anytime soon. In terms of quality, quantity & presentation, both these appetizer choices certainly qualified as appetizers in a 3-course lunch in a fine-dining restaurant, nevermind a 5-course lunch priced at S$35++pax after 15% discount.
bamboo clam with ikura, deepfried foie gras
Next up is the soup. I had the cepes mushroom bisque. It was very good, maybe slightly more quantity-wise but not much different from Dozo. daughter had the crab bisque which came with a prawn twister. I think this had a lot more foam than that served at Dozo & was overall better.
cepes mushroom soup, crab bisque with prawn twister
Next came the 48hr beef short ribs served on hoba leaf on a lava stone. I really, really loved this dish. The quality of the beef was much superior to that at Dozo. The meat was just so sweet & flavourful & the texture was just super.
48hrs beef short ribs
For the dessert choice, daughter had the chocolate lava cake. It was good but daughter thought it was no better than the one I made at home and perhaps my 70% cocoa chocolate flavour was indeed better. I had the 4-cheese platter-good stuff!
chocolate lava cake, 4-cheese platter
Overall, it made for an extremely satisfying meal. 🙂
c.h.e.f andy
c.h.e.f 