Browsing Category: "Chinese"
Stir-Fried Spinach with Wolfberries
Chinese, Dinner, Lunch, Vegetable January 16th, 2007
My wife cooked this after having it at a local “mixed rice” stall and it’s quite nice, I must say. It is simple and nutritious especially with the wolfberries (aka kei chee / goji) around. Moreover, cooking took us less than 2 minutes. The preparation time, which is essentially, washing and rinsing of the vegetables took longer. Do ensure that you rinse the vegetable well as it is known to have lots of sand around the stems and leaves.
This is my wife’s recipe for Stir-Fried Spinach with Wolfberries
Ingredients
- 400 grammes of spinach (washed and rinsed thoroughly, plucked at the stems and leaves)
- 10 grammes of wolfberries (approximately 20 to 30 pieces)
- 3 cloves garlic (chopped)
- 1 tablespoon palm oil
Seasoning
- 2 teaspoons of light soya sauce
- salt to taste
Method
Heat wok till smoky. Add oil and garlic and stir-fry garlic till beginning to brown.
Add spinach, wolfberries and seasoning. If you feel like it, add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water. Stir-fry till spinach is limp.
Dish out and serve.
Bovril Chicken
Chicken, Chinese, Dinner, Lunch January 8th, 2007
Bovril Chicken
Marmite Chicken is probably more famous than Bovril Chicken. But since I only have Bovril at home, Bovril Chicken it shall be then. It is also my very first try and I am quite pleased with how it turned out.
There are two steps in this recipe. The first step is to fry the chicken and the second is to cook the bovril sauce before coating the chicken with it prior to serving. You will need to have fast hands with cooking the sauce because the sauce can dry out pretty fast. However, if you add too much water (to prevent drying out), it would be too runny and not as nice. Anyway, don’t let that fear you into trying this dish. It’s actually an experiment on my part and it works!
This is my recipe for Bovril Chicken
Ingredients
- 6 chicken supremes (the tender piece of the chicken breast, cut into cubes)
- 1 large onion (quartered)
- 5 cloves garlic (chopped finely)
- about 30 to 50 ml warm water
- Oil for deep frying
Marinade for chicken
- 2 teaspoons light soya sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons chinese cooking wine
- a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
- 1/2 teaspoon of worcestershire sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon of oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon corn flour
Seasoning
- 2 heaped teaspoons of bovril
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar or to taste
Method
Marinade chicken for 30 minutes or longer and deep fry till golden brown. Set aside.
Leave approximately 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in wok and saute garlic and onions till fragrant. Add seasoning and water and bring to boil. Return fried chicken pieces to wok and stir well to coat the sauce over the chicken.
Remove and serve hot with rice.
Sitiawan Noodle ala PabloPabla
This must be one of the discoveries from Sitiawan. I was there for a trip recently and chanced upon these instant noodles being sold at a famous Kong Pia shop. Read about my review on the kong pia. Anyway, I’ve always known that the Foochows have great tasting noodles called “Kan Pua”. And I believe these are the dried and instant type.
Seng Huat Hand-Made Instant Noodles
Having brought it home, I went to the wet market the next day, bought some char siew (with sauce), cucumbers and carrots and had a lip-smacking lunch ala PabloPabla. Almost like cold soba styled, it’s simple, light, healthy and definitely, delicious! These noodles are different because of the texture and it does not break easily. It also does not clump up. Try it if you can get your hands on these noodles. Otherwise, just try it with any other types of instant noodles though I can’t guarantee it will be as nice.
This is Sitiawan Noodle ala PabloPabla
Ingredients
- 5 pieces Sitiawan instant noodles
- 200 grammes of char siew (sliced thinly)
- 1 medium sized cucumber (remove core, cut to strips)
- 1 medium sized carrot (cut to strips)
- 5 shallots (sliced thinly)
- 5 tablespoons palm oil
- Water for boiling
Seasoning
- 50 ml char siew gravy / sauce
- 3 teaspoons light soya sauce
- a couple of dashes of white pepper powder
Method
Fry shallots in oil till golden brown. Remove fried shallots. Save up 2 tablespoons of shallot oil.
Boil instant noodles till al-dente. Remove, run through cold tap water and return to boiling water to heat it just a little. Drain and let the noodles cool down.
In a large mixing bowl, mix noodles with seasoning and shallot oil till even.
Place an amount of noodles on serving plate, garnish with generous amounts of cucumber, carrots and char siew. Mix well before eating. Gives about 4 servings.
Spinach is a fast-cooking vegetable and packed with nutrients. That’s why Popeye loves ‘em. It can be stir-fried and it can be cooked in soup. Recently, my dear wife told me that she wanted to try cooking spinach soup with wolfberries (a.k.a. kei chee / goji).
Imagine all the goodness from the spinach doubled up with the circulatory benefits of wolfberries (get the good quality berries which are slightly plummer and sweeter in taste). It is definitely a power-packed soup. Oh yes, the stock is made from ikan bilis soup. So, there you go. My daughter of 3 1/2 years old loved it. I think you will too!
This is my wife’s recipe for Spinach Soup with Wolfberries
Ingredients
- 300 grammes of spinach (rinsed and plucked at the stems. Discard old or thick stems)
- 10 grammes of wolfberries (about 20 to 30 pieces)
- 100 grammes of minced meat (we use pork)
- 50 grammes of ikan bilis
- 3 soup bowls
Marinade (for minced meat)
- 2 teaspoons light soya sauce
- a dash of white pepper powder
Seasoning
- Salt to taste
- 2 teaspoons light soya sauce
Method
Boil ikan bilis in water for 30 minutes to make stock. Remove ikan bilis when done. Meanwhile, marinade minced meat.
Bring stock to boil again after removing ikan bilis. Scoop minced meat into meat balls using a teaspoon and add into the stock. Cook till all meat balls float to surface. Add spinach and wolfberries and bring back soup to boil. Add seasoning to taste and serve immediately.
