Steam Pork Ribs with Bean Paste

Cooking Time: 60 mins

Preparation and Marinating Time: 40 mins

Serving for 4

Ingredients

500 g Pork Ribs

5 slices Ginger

4 Tbsp Bean Paste

1 Tbsp Sesame oil

A dash of pepper

A pinch of salt

Marinating the Pork Ribs:

1. Wash the pork ribs and add the pinch of salt and pepper.

2. Add the bean paste and coat them over the ribs.

3. Marinate the ribs for 30 minutes.

Steam the Pork Ribs:

1. Add sesame oil on the marinated ribs.

2. Heat the steamer or wok with water for steaming the ribs.

3. Add ginger on the ribs before steaming.

4. Put the ribs on the steamer or wok and steam for at least 1 hour.

Alternative:

You can replace bean paste with salted black beans. Wash the salted black beans and crushed before marinating with the pork ribs.

Sinful French Chocolate Cake

Preparation and baking: 60 mins

Serving for 10 – 15

Ingredients

9 ounces Bittersweet/Semi-sweet Chocolate Chip (Recommend to use Hershey)

8 ounces Unsalted Butter

100g Fine Sugar

2 Tbsp Brandy

5 Eggs

1 Tbsp Plain Flour

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180 and put a tin of hot water. This tin has to be larger than the spring form tin.

2. Grease a 23 X 5 cm spring form tim.

3. Line bottom with non-stick baking paper and grease the paper.

4. Wrap bottom and side of tin in foil to prevent water seeping into cake.

Preparation of Chocolate mixture

1. In a saucepan, over a low fire, melt chocolate, butter and sugar. Stir frequently until smooth. Cool slightly and stir in the brandy.

Preparation of Cake mixture

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs lightly for 1 min.

2. Fold in flour and then the chocolate mixture.

3. Pour it into spring form tin.

4. Put it into the tin filled with boiling water.

5. Bake for 40 mins.

This is best serve every time warm and with vanilla/chocolate ice cream.

Heavenly Almond

Preparation and baking time….hours )

This is 1 portion, increase portion if you intend to make more…don’t ask me how many you could make. This is because it depends on the size you are making. Enjoy!

Ingredients

16 ounces flour

6 ounce icing sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

3 tsp bicarbonate soda

3 ounces grounded almonds

2 ounces chopped almonds for decorating

1½ bowl corn/maize oil (diameter 4.5″ or 11.5 cm)

1 egg

Preparation of Grounded Almonds

1. Ground the Almonds till fairly fine.

2. Heat oven and bake the almond till you smell the aroma, be careful not to over cooked the almonds. Leave it to cool.

Method

1. Sieve flour, baking powder, bicarbonate soda, salt and icing sugar.

2. Add almond (grounded) into flour mixture.

3. Make a ‘bird nest’ and add 1 bowl of corn oil and mix. Now followed by another ¼ bowl of corn oil. Mix till flour with the oil till it becomes a dough.

Important: Check the texture of the dough to ensure it is not too wet. If still dry, add the last ¼ bowl of corn oil.

4. Knead well and mould out spherical (round balls) shape. Line them up on the baking tray (apply lightly corn oil on baking tray).

5. Place the chopped almonds on the spherical dough and spread egg fluid over the biscuit.

6. Bake at 250 for approximately 20 minutes.

Yam Rice

Preparation and cooking time: 30 mins

Serving for 2 – 3 persons

Ingredients

2 cups of rice

3 shallots

1 clove of garlic

100 g dried shrimp

100 g prawns

200 g lean pork (optional)

1 yam about 200 g (taste excellent if u could get it imported from Thailand)

50 g dried shitake mushroom

10 g fried peanuts (optional)

1 dried scallop

1 tsp salt

Cooking oil

2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp 5 spice powder

1 Tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

Method

1. Cut the yam in cubes and marinate the yam with the 5 spice powder for 10 minutes. Deep fried the yam.

2. Wash the rice and cook it in a rice cooker. Once cooked, transfer the rice in a container to let it cool.

3. Fry the shallots with the garlic till brown. Remove the fried shallot and garlic for garnishing later. Leave the oil in the wok to fry the dried shrimp, mushroom and scallop.

4. Add the lean pork and prawn and fry about 5 minutes. Add light soy sauce in the mixture. Remove the dried shrimp, mushroom, scallop, lean pork and prawn.

5. Add the rice in the wok and if required add a little oil to fry the rice.

6. Add salt and dark soy sauce on the rice and fry for about 10 minutes.

7. Add the yam with the mixture of dried shrimp, mushroom, scallop, lean pork and prawn.

8. Fry till there is a nice aroma, add sesame oil to enhance the fragrance.

9. Add the fried shallot and garlic to garnish.

10. It is ready to serve, optional to add some fried peanuts if you like.

Cabbage with Tomatoes… My Favourite

This may be something really simple but it is my favourite…..

30 minutes of preparation and cooking time

3 – 4 servings

Ingredients

Half a Cabbage or one small Cabbage (Use Beijing Cabbage…the best)
2 tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
a dash Pepper
2 tsp Sesame oil
2 Tbsp of cooking oil
1 tsp light soy sauce
half a cup of water or chicken stock

Method

1. Shred the cabbage and soak in water to cleanse the vegetable.
2. Cut your tomatoes.
3. Chop the garlic.
4. Heat up the wok and stir fry the garlic together with the cabbage.
5. Add the light soy sauce and fry the cabbage for about 5 minutes.
6. Add tomatoes and water or chicken stock.
7. Cover the wok with a lid and let it simmer for another 10 minutes.
8. Add pepper to taste and sesame oil before serving.

Orange Peel & Red Bean Soup

An hour preparation and cooking but worth doing…

Serving for 2 – 3 persons

Ingredients

2 cups of red beans

5 cups of boiling water

2 pieces of dried orange peel

5 Tbsp of sugar (sweetness to personal taste)

1 cup of lotus seed

Method

1. Boil red beans and lotus seed for about 40 minutes till cooked.

2. Add sugar and orange peel and continue to cook for another 20 minutes.

This is a simple dessert to cook but the yummy part of it is the orange peel adds a special flavour to it.

Pork Chop

Pork Chop…

Preparation Time: 10 mins

Cooking Time: 20 mins

Serving for 3

Ingredients

200g Lean Pork

1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce

2 tsps cornflour

1 small egg

2 tbsp pepper

1 Tbsp sesame oil

6 pieces of cream crackers

Method

1. Cut the pork into slices of about 0.5 cm thick.

2. Marinate the pork with soy sauce, pepper, cornflour, egg. Add sesame oil last to seal the marinating.

3. Marinate it for about 1 – 2 hours depending on the size of your pork slices.

4. Pound the cream crackers into semi fine.

5. Coat the pork with the pounded crackers.

6. Heat up the wok and add cooking oil to deep fry the coated pork.

7. Serve when hot with dip of chilli and tomato sauce.

Optional

You may like to cook it with a tangy sauce with potatoes, tomatoes and onions.

Optional Ingredients

2 medium size potatoes

2 tomatoes

1 onion

Preparation of sauce

Mix 1 Tbsp Chilli sauce, 1 Tbsp Tomato sauce, 1/2 Tbsp A1 Sauce, 1 tsp cornflour, a dash of pepper and 1/2 tsp sesame oil.

Method

1. Peel the potatoes skin and cut then in strip of about 0.5 cm thickness.

2. Cut tomatoes and onion into cubes.

3. Heat the wok and add 2 Tbsp of cooking oil and fry the potatoes till light brown. Remove the potatoes and add the onion cubes and stir fry till it is soft.

4. Add tomatoes cube and potatoes and stir fry for about another 2 mins.

5. Add the cooked Pork Chop (cut them in slices) and the sauce. Stir fry them for another 3 mins.

Pancake

Preparation Time: 40 – 50 minutes

Serving for 3 – 4 with 2 pancakes per person

Ingredients

4 oz self raising flour

pinch of salt

1 egg

1 egg yolk

10 fluid oz milk

1 Tbsp melted butter

Method

1. Sift the flour with the salt into a bowl.

2. Make a well in the centre and add the egg and yolk.

3. Add the milk slowly and stirring all the time.

4. When half the milk has been added, stir in the melted butter and beat well until smooth.

5. Add the remaining milk and leave to stand for 30 minutes before cooking.

6. Check the batter for consistency of thin cream – if too thick add a little extra milk.

Tips – Allow the mixture to stand for about 30 mins because this has the effect of softening the starch cells, making the pancakes thinner without being tough.

Cooking Pancakes

1. Put a few drops of oil when pan is hot.

2. Take 1 Tbsp of the batter and tip this into the pan.

3. Immediately rolling it round clockwise to coat the bottom evenly.

4. Use a 6-inch diameter pan for cooking.

5. Cook until the underneath of pancake is a good brown colour.

6. Run a palette knife under the edges to loosen the pancake. Then raise it slightly with the fingers and slip the knife underneath.

7. Flip the pancake over and cook for about 10 seconds on the other side.

8. Serve with maple syrup and whipped butter for excellent taste.

Tips: A proper pancake pan is shallow about 6 inches in diameter. Alternative is an omelette pan is good too.

Rum Balls

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Serving for 4 – 5

Ingredients

12 ounces vanilla wafers, finely crushed (3 cups)

1 cup finely chopped pecans/almonds/hazelnuts

1 cup icing sugar

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

1/2 cup light corn syrup

1/3 cup rum

Method

1. In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine crushed wafers, pecans/almonds/
hazelnuts, and 1/2 cup icing sugar; set aside.

2. In a double boiler over simmering water, melt chocolate morsels with corn syrup.

3. Add rum; stir until smooth.

4. Pour chocolate mixture over wafer mixture. Stir to combine thoroughly. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls; place on waxed paper.

5. Dust each ball with cocoa powder. Alternatively, you can roll the rum balls over chopped nuts.

6. Refrigerate the rum balls for an hour before serving.

Jingle the Turkey away…HO HO HO

Preparation Time: 2½ hrs including marinating Time

Cooking Time: 3 – 4 hrs depending on size of Turkey

Serving for 6 – 8 persons

Ingredients

4 kg Turkey

For preparation of Turkey

2 tbsp salt

Boiling water

1 can of beer

Seasoning for the Turkey

2 tbsp of All season spices

1 tsp Oregano

1 tsp Tarragon Leaves

A dash of pepper

2 tsp of sesame oil

For stuffing

1 can of corned pork

½ a packet of mixed vegetables

10 large button mushrooms

10 baby corns

400 g chestnuts

Turkey Giblets ) cook and chopped
Turkey Liver )

Seasoning for stuffing

1 tbsp of All Season Spices

1 tsp of sesame oil

2 tbsp of olive oil

For baking

2 carrots

4 onions

English Parsley

3 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tbsp honey

6 strips of bacon

Method

1. Defrost the turkey overnight and remove the liver, giblets and neck (they are all
packed in the turkey stomach and neck).

2. Rub the salt over the turkey and rinse it. Scald the turkey with boiling water
and then drip dry or use the paper towel to dry it.

3. Add beer and marinate each side for half an hour. Pour the excess beer and rub
spices on it. Marinate for about 1 to 1½ hours.

4. Lay 4 bacons over the breast of the turkey and 1 each around the drumstick.

5. Bake the breast side first over a baking rack and put a tray below to collect the
drippings.

6. Use foil to wrap around the turkey with carrots, onions and parsley. Bake it for
1 hour.

7. Remove foil and apply half of the portion of the mixture of butter and honey on
the turkey and bake for another 1 hour. Cover the areas where the skin turns
brown to avoid excess burning of the turkey.

8. Turn the turkey over and apply mixture of butter and honey and back for another 1 hour.