This is my very first foray into stir frying beef. After taking inspiration from Simcooks, I proceeded to the supermarket, bought myself some beef flank slices, spring onions and ginger and did this. As I did not memorise her recipe, I more or less guessed the seasoning involved. There was an added bit of anxiety as we had two friends over for dinner and I was going to serve them something I am cooking for the first time. Glad they liked it

Some of the beef flank slices were a bit chewy - must be the ligaments or tendon or what-not. If you see some whitish looking “rubber” in the meat, just slice it off

This is my recipe for Stir Fried Beef with Ginger and Spring Onions

Ingredients

• 350 grammes of beef flank or tender slices
• 8 slices of old ginger (have more if you are using young ginger)
• 5 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 3 stalks spring onions (cut to 6 cm lengths)
• 30 ml warm water
• Corn starch (add 1 tablespoon corn flour to 3 tablespoons of water and mix well)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Cooking oil (palm oil)

Seasoning

• 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
• Salt to taste
• a dash of white pepper powder
• a dash of black pepper powder
• 1 teaspoon chinese cooking wine

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry ginger till aromatic. Add garlic and continue to saute till beginning to brown. Add beef and spring onions and stir fry whilst adding seasoning. Stir fry till beef changes colour like above. Finally, add about 2 tablespoons of corn starch and stir well prior to serving.

If you find it too dry, add water gradually. If you added too much water, add a bit of corn starch to thicken the gravy.

Serve warm preferably with white rice

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Beef, Stir-Fry, Chinese, Malaysia

Corn Soup cooked at home differs from family to family. Some use corn from cans. Here, I use fresh corn bought from the wet market. It imparts a natural sweetness to the soup, which I think is much better than those from tin cans. My elder daughter loves this soup very much and also enjoys having her fingers dirty eating the corn

This recipe is pretty simple and does not take much effort. It is best if cooked over a charcoal stove. I am very partial towards food cooked using a charcoal stove as the taste is usually better than those cooked using gas or electrice stove. Moreover, the slow cooking process using charcoal makes the meat tender and brings out all the natural flavours from the ingredients.

This is my recipe for Corn Soup

Ingredients

• 2 fresh corn (washed and cut into smaller pieces)
• 200 grammes of pork ribs or pork suitable for cooking soup
• 1 large carrot (cut to smaller pieces)
• a handful of red dates
• 2 1/2 soup bowls of water (approximately 800 ml)

Seasoning

• Salt to taste

Method

Bring water to boil in pot. Add pork ribs and bring back to boil. Remove scum that appears on surface of water as it reboils.

After 3 minutes of reboiling, add the rest of the ingredients, bring back to boil and allow to boil for 2 minutes before reducing heat to medium low and simmer for at least 1 hour.

Add salt to taste prior to serving.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Soup, Corn, Malaysia

I like Hong Kong Kai Lan (chinese kale). This vegetable is tender and crunchy to the bite and is not as “fibrous” as the usual Kai Lan. I do wonder whether these Hong Kong Kai Lan are genetically modified to its current size since it looks like a baby kai lan. Even the Hong Kong Choy Sum also tastes as good.

Anyway, one of the most common way of cooking this vegetable is to add fresh prawns into the dish. The prawns lend a sweetness to the dish and a contrasting texture as well. But really, even if you can’t get your hands on fresh prawns, you can also omit it altogether.

This is my recipe for Stir Fried Hong Kong Kai Lan with Prawns

Ingredients

• 200 grammes of Hong Kong Kai Lan (washed thoroughly and separate leaves from stem. Slice the stems lengthwise)
• 10 to 15 medium sized prawns (devein and shelled, you can leave the tails intact if you want)
• 6 slices of ginger (diced)
• 5 cloves of garlic (chopped)
• 30 ml warm water
• Corn starch (add 1 tablespoon corn flour to 3 tablespoons of water and mix well)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Cooking oil (palm oil)

Seasoning

• 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
• Salt to taste
• 2 teaspoons chinese cooking wine

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry ginger till aromatic. Add garlic and prawns and stir fry till prawns begin to turn colour. Add kai lan stems. Stir fry for about 20 seconds.

Add the kai lan leaves. Stir well and add seasoning. Add warm water and continue to stir fry till leaves turn dark green colour and limp. Add a little bit of corn starch if gravy too runny for your liking.

Serve warm preferably with white rice

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Vegetable, Prawns, Chinese, Malaysia

Baked Beans is not Asian. I don’t think it is. But I’ve seen some of the rice shops here in Kuala Lumpur which serve baked beans cooked with other ingredients. This is just one of the many variants and it adds a bit of difference to the usual baked beans.

You can eat this with white rice or even fried rice. I suppose you can actually eat it on its own but you may have to adjust the taste (especially the tomato) so that the taste is not too overpowering

This is my recipe for Baked Beans with Minced Pork and Potatoes

Ingredients

• 1 tin of baked beans
• 50 grammes pork mince
• 1 medium sized potato (diced)
• 1 medium sized onion (chopped)
• 1/2 tin of water (use baked beans tin to measure)
• 2 tablespoons Cooking oil (palm oil)

Seasoning

• 2 teaspoons tomato ketchup
• a pinch of salt

Method

Heat oil in wok and fry potatoes till golden brown. Remove fried potatoes and set aside. Remove oil and leave just about 1 teaspoon of oil in the wok.

Fry the onions till aromatic. Add minced pork and stir fry till cooked. Add baked beans and return the fried potatoes into the wok. Stir well.

Add water and seasoning and bring to boil prior to serving.

Technorati Tags: Recipe, Pork, Baked Beans, Malaysia