japanese yakisoba

today singapore national day = 8.9.2019.

wife traveling and children busy own programs.

sis, bil, and niece brought 2 grandnephews came visiting and stayed for dinner and watched national day parade..

niece & her 2 sons are vegetarian..

made claypot chicken rice, vegetarian yakisoba with shitake and shimeji mushrooms and mirin and tsuyu (soba sauce) 👍

also tofu & shitake mushrooms dish.

japanese yakisoba

niece keen to learn to cook some vegetarian dishes.

so i showed her how to make yakisoba, so easy right and delicious! 🙂

japanese yakisoba

just fry chopped garlic, some shitake and shimeji mushrooms.

i used 1/2 packet shimeji and 1/2 packet shitake.

add about 200g yellow noodles. add 1tbsp tsuyu and 1 tbsp mirin and taste.

i added less first, let niece taste herself so she decide how much she like.

garnished with coriander. and it’s done! voila! like 5 mins.

japanese yakisoba

noodles texture was perfect…

everyone loved the very tasty noodles. the 2 young ones had a great time too.

c.h.e.f andy

tea smoked chicken with barley risotto

my RI bro CCG came for lunch on 5.8.2019.

2pax lunch -t ea smoked chicken with barley risotto

we had tea smoked chicken served on barley risotto. ^^

today i experimented on –

1 barley risotto – with browned garlic cloves, olive oil, butter, milk, stock, added shimeji mushrooms and green peas…

barley risotto was quite excellent wonderful taste…al dente, maybe can be softer a bit.

2 tea smoked 1/2 kampung chicken – smoked 10mins over stove, 45mins in 130degC oven..then drizzle more honey and flame with torch

Chicken
i salted chicken in fridge overnight, coated chicken with 1tbsp mustard, 1tbsp honey, sprinkled ginger powder, parsley powder, chopped garlic.

Smoke
added cut banana leaves, hay, 1/2 cup rice, 2 packets chinese tea, 2tbsp brown sugar, 1 twig thai basil..high heat to generate smoke then place 1/2 chicken, cover, low heat then transfer to 130degC oven

hay and tea smoking pot

had excellent hay smoked pigeon at esora recently.

that was the best i had, a truly special dining experience!

hay and tea smoking pot

i decided to try out smoking myself, using kampung chicken.

added cut banana leaves, hay, 1/2 cup rice, 2 packets chinese tea, 2tbsp brown sugar, 1 twig thai basil..high heat to generate smoke then place 1/2 chicken, cover, somked low heat 10mins over stove, then transferred to 130degC oven 45mins.

chicken for smoking

for chicken, i salted 1/2 chicken in fridge 2hrs, coated chicken with 1tbsp mustard, 1tbsp honey, sprinkled ginger powder, parsley powder, chopped garlic.

smoked chicken

tested with chopstick went clean through. chicken was cooked, only slightly browned.

flamed chicken

flamed chicken

decided to flame chicken.

alternative can reduce sealed smoking to 30mins at 130degC then browned 15mins 250degC

barley risotto

barley risotto

barley risotto also my first time experiment. turned out superbly!

i browned garlic cloves in olive oil, added basil, then chopped garlic.

then added stock, white wine, 100g barley and reduced stock while cooking barley for 30mins.

added shimeji mushrooms and green peas when almost done, and milk and butter.

barley risotto was quite excellent wonderful taste…al dente,

tea smoked chicken with barley risotto

smoked chicken was wonderful!

very tender and with excellent smoked flavours…really delicious.

tea smoked chicken with barley risotto

tea smoked chicken with barley risotto

tea smoked chicken with barley risotto

barley risotto was a bit large portion for 2 of us, not fine dining portion lol!

it was delicious, very tasty from the stock.

an excellent lunch, great experiment!

c.h.e.f andy

Oven Grilled Saba Shioyaki (鯖の塩焼き)

had 1pax all protein all omega 3 lunch zero carbs! lol! 😂 on 20.7.2019. ^^

oven grilled saba shioyaki (鯖の塩焼き)!

i bought 2 fish = S$6.90 at sheng shiong, and they were quite large fish, frozen thawed but very fresh.

just clean, apply sea salt, grill 15mins in 250degC oven

ate 60%, left 40% for lighter dinner with some vegetables.

saba

Oven Grilled Saba Shioyaki (鯖の塩焼き)

Oven Grilled Saba Shioyaki (鯖の塩焼き)

Oven Grilled Saba Shioyaki (鯖の塩焼き)

Oven Grilled Saba Shioyaki (鯖の塩焼き)

it’s an oily fish, so very flavourable and tasty.

and anything from S$18 to S$25, amd maybe not such a large fish.

anyway it was delicious!

c.h.e.f andy

onsen egg

made onsen egg on 25.8.2019. ^^

always take this wonderful egg dish at japanese buffet breakfast when staying in a ryokan in japan. they served with ponzu sauce and you just drink the whole cup. i would take 2 helpings.

for today as i was making the fish confit, i optimise the use of the oven and energy by making the onsen egg as well.

so i placed 4 eggs in water in a covered pot and placed in the 85degC oven for 1 hr..the water i added about 40% boiling water to tap water so hopefully about 60dedgC water temperature from the start.

onsen egg

when serving, crack egg and add 2tsp ponzu sauce. garnish with some chopped scallions.

needless to say, onsen egg was delicious!

c.h.e.f andy

fish confit and squid kamameshi

decided to experiment fish confit for the first time for my kamameshi on 25.8.2019. ^^

i experimented on a cheap nose ray fish from sheng shiong.

many fishes are a bit fishy for my wife. i figure if i use olive oil confit to “sous vide” the fish (sous = below or under like sous chef, an assistant chef, and vide = temp…so simply means cooking a low temperature)…then firstly fish will be consistent in texture and secondly olive oil will kind of cure the fish so it’s more flavourful and less fishy.

(just borrowing idea from duck confit which “sous vide” in duck fat)

• so i placed the ray (on subsequently, salmon fillet and seabream fillet) in sealed oven dish covered with olive oil (i am stingy unwilling to use extra virgin olive oil just olive oil for cooking lol!) in 85degC oven for 1hr…this should give an internal temperature about 65degC

that just my own theory…

BUT it worked out in practice.

fish confit and squid kamameshi

the fish was really lovely, smooth, consistent, sweet, flavourful…quite excellent!

and this was commented by my wife, children who are all very picky lol! and also by my friends in my subsequent iterations on 29.8.2019, and on 2.9.2019. ^^

salmon confit

did the same with salmon on 25.8.2019 and 29.8.2019.

salmon confit

salmon confit

and worked perfectly for salmon as well.

wife doesn’t really like salmon fillet as it is chunky and satiating…but with this oil confit, which really achieve the sous vide curing, it was smooth, cured and tasty. just wonderful!

chicken and fish kamameshi

oil confit fish

and again i did it on seabream for my kamameshi on 2.9.2019.

and just as perfect. my friends all commented the fish was special.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients

• 300g fish fillet
• 120ml olive oil (anyway enough to cover almost)

Directions –

1. salt the fish and put in fridge for 1-2hrs not more
2. clean and rinse thoroughly and dry with kitchen towel
3. place in oven dish, cover with olive oil, and put in 85degC oven for 1hr
4. (for food safety, i steam the fish for 5mins in the kamameshi pot)

peanut butter chocolate cheese cake

first time making a peanut butter chocolate cream cake..

1. usual base – 7 mcvites digestive 105g + 60g melted butter..layer in 8” springform cake tin & fridge 1/2h
2. whisk 300g cream cheese + 30ml milk + 2.5 tbsp fine sugar
3. melt 200g 70% cacao dark chocolate & fold into cream cheese..layer in cake tin 2hrs
4. fold with spoon 150g peanut butter with 1.5tbsp fine sugar and 30ml milk..layer in cake tin

quite tasty… not too sweet..can taste the peanut butter and chocolate cheese layers and also the digest biscuit base.

a heavy cake so not really my favourite..

digestive biscuit base & chocolate cream cheese

first i made the digestive biscuit base – 7 mcvite digestive biscuits 105g. add 60g melted butter.

lay the 8″ springform cake tin lined with baking sheet. and put in fridge 1/2hr.

chocolate cream cheese layer

meanwhile made the chocolate cream cheese layer.

whisk 300g cream cheese, 30ml milk and 2.5tbsp fine sugar, and 1tsp vanilla essence.

melt 200g 70% cacao dark chocolate and fold into the cream cheese.

layer the chocolate cheese layer on top of the biscuit base.

return to the fridge for 1hr.

peanut butter and chocolate cheese

fold with a metal tablespoon 150g peanut butter with 1.5 tbsp fine sugar and 2tbsp milk.

added the peanut butter layer

lay the finer layer over the cake and place in the fridge.

that’s done!

peanut butter chocolate cheese cake

peanut butter chocolate cheese cake

when serving, remove the springform and cut the cake and serve.

the peanut taste, and also the chocolate cheese were great! and the biscuit layer gave it the usual texture.

a nice cake overall.

it’ a heavy cake and not exactly my favourite kind of cake though.

c.h.e.f andy

Ingredients-

• 7 mcvites digestive biscuit (105g)
• 60g melted butter
• 300g cream cheese
• 60ml milk
• 4tbsp fine sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 150g peanut butter

Directions –

1. make the digestive biscuit base – 7 mcvite digestive biscuits 105g. add 60g melted butter.lay the 8″ springform cake tin lined with baking sheet. and put in fridge 1/2hr.
2. whisk 300g cream cheese, 30ml milk and 2.5tbsp fine sugar, and 1tsp vanilla essence.
3. melt 200g 70% cacao dark chocolate and fold into the cream cheese.
4. layer the chocolate cheese layer on top of the biscuit base. return cake tin to the fridge for 1hr.
5. fold with a metal tablespoon 150g peanut butter with 1.5 tbsp fine sugar and 2tbsp milk. lay the finer layer over the cake and place in the fridge.

chicken cordon bleu

made chicken cordon bleu (a kind of chicken roulade) for the first time for 4pax family dinner on 29.8.2019 and again for 5pax buddies lunch on 2.9.2019. ^^

saw an excellent recipe = creamy, crispy chicken cordon bleu on tasty recipe and decided to make it.

came out very tasty, very good consistent, tender chicken texture. the pounding tenderised the chicken.

cheese, bacon, chorizo, basil

pounded 1 chicken breast.

I didn’t have sliced cheese and ham.

used what i have in the fridge – sliced some dutch pepper cheese, some chorizo, and added one slice back bacon.

chicken cordon bleu

and rolled up in cling film and placed in the chiller for one hour.

chicken cordon bleu

then coat the chicken roll with flour, beaten egg, and lastly breadcrumbs before shallow frying on a thin film and hot oil.

browned on all sides and to make sure the chicken is cooked and not burned, i reduce fire to medium low and cover the pan. total time about 10mins.

chicken cordon bleu

it came out quite well, still can make some adjustments.

chicken cordon bleu

eg for the backbacon it is better to fry it so a slightly crispy texture would add to the taste and texture of the chicken roulade.

chicken cordon bleu

chicken cordon bleu

chicken cordon bleu & chicken kamameshi

overall it was a great dish and a good appetiser or tapas to serve.

chicken cordon bleu

will be making more of this wonderful dish.

c.h.e.f andy