Chinese Recipes | Cooking Tips | Good Eats

Tag:cooking tips, dried shrimp, easy chinese recipe, seared scallops, shellfish, Shrimp, stir fried kailan

I have blogged about how I like to use dried shrimp (’hei bi’ in Teochew) in my soup base as well as other dishes like stir fried mung bean sprouts and cabbage.

Since it’s a hassle to stir fry them as and when I want to use them, I prepare them in advance - wash, pat dry and stir fry with oil, garlic and ginger. Then I store them in the freezer for future use.

Today I ran out of my supply, so it’s time again to prep the whole packet of dried shrimp.

But I did not want the flavor of the wok to go to waste! So I planned the sequence of events like so:
1. Stir fry dried shrimp,
2. Sear scallops,
3. Stir fry the bigger shrimp.
4. With each step, the wok gets MORE and MORE flavor, then finally I add the kailan and shrimp stock to get all the flavor into the gravy.

Here are the ingredients (serves 2) for each step:

A. Dried shrimp, 2 cloves garlic (smashed), 2 slices of ginger (julienned), vegetable oil.

Using medium heat, stir fry the whole packet of dried shrimp (medium sized ones) with garlic, ginger and as much vegetable oil as necessary to coat all the dried shrimp. Set aside everything to cool and store in freezer.

B. 5 scallops, 1/4 tsp salt, a few dashes white pepper

Note: Pat scallops dry so that you can sear properly or moisture will cause scallops to steam.

Season scallops with salt and white pepper. (White pepper is used versus black pepper, for aesthetic reasons - you do not want the scallops to have black specks on them.)

Add more oil to the wok if necessary. Medium heat. Now with the dried shrimp flavor on the wok, I go on to sear my scallops. Sear each side for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Set aside.

After the scallops are seared, there will be brown bits left on the wok. DO NOT wipe the wok! These brown bits are very tasty!

C. Shrimp stock: heads, shells, 1 stalk green onion, 1 slice ginger, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 cup water

Note: I only used 3 medium-sized shrimp for this dish.

Remove heads and shells from shrimp to make shrimp stock. Devein shrimp. Add shrimp stock ingredients to boiling water and allow to boil for about 10 minutes. Switch to low heat to simmer, while you cook the rest of the ingredients for this dish.

D. 3 medium shrimp, 1 clove garlic (smashed), 1/4 tsp salt, a few dashes white pepper, 1/4 tsp corn flour

Season shrimp with salt, white pepper and corn flour. (Mom says corn flour makes the shrimp texture smoother.)

Add shrimp to wok. Add oil if necessary. Use spatula to remove the brown bits left by the scallops. Stir fry shrimp and let the shrimp pick up the brown bits. When cooked, set shrimp aside (same plate as scallops) and leave garlic in wok.

E. 6 stalks kailan (outer “skin” lightly scraped off, stems cut on the bias), shrimp stock from (C), 1 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp rice wine, corn flour solution (1/2 tsp corn flour dissolved in water)

Add stems to wok and stir fry for a minute or so, then add the leaves. Stir fry for another minute or so until leaves wilt, then add shrimp stock, oyster sauce, and rice wine. Mix well.

Create some space in the center of wok. Slowly add corn flour solution to thicken gravy to desired thickness. Stir gravy well to see the consistency.

F. To serve

Plate kailan, then arrange scallops and shrimp. Best eaten with plain white rice.

Do remember to always utilize the flavor in the wok. This really adds a lot of zing to the final dish!

Note: Since I am eating shellfish in moderation, I ate 2 scallops and 1 shrimp and most of the kailan.

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Tag:cooking tips, George Foreman grill

I meant the George Foreman Grill, not the person.

The George Foreman Grill gave my sardine sandwich beautiful grill marks on the bread.

Remember my Sardine Experience? This time round, I followed Keropok Man’s suggestion to add some lime juice to the sardine mix. It tasted pretty nice. Thanks Keropok Man!

The George Foreman Grill is also good for making panini sandwiches, heating up (very quickly!) plain old peanut butter and jam sandwiches, ham and cheese sandwich and even making fajitas!

I use the George Foreman Grill quite often (I bought the smallest one). It has served me well, heating up my breakfast PBJ or ham and cheese sandwich and leaving behind very pretty grill marks. The George Foreman Grill just takes about 3 minutes to heat up. Since there are top and bottom grill plates, the food is “grilled” on both sides… that means the food is heated up / cooked in HALF the time as compared to if I were using a grill pan over the stove.

I had grilled chicken wings on my George Foreman Grill before. Because the plates tilt slightly towards you, the oil drips out onto a little holder (provided). Healthy living? Yes. Checked.

Although the grill plates for this model are non-removable, the plates being stainless steel makes cleaning a breeze. Just wipe the plates down with a dry paper towel, then again with a damp paper with some soap. And again with the last damp paper towel. No fuss no muss cleaning? Yes. Checked.

Price? Only US$19.99 from amazon.com. Cheap? Yes. Checked.

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Tag:Alton Brown, chicken fettucine, cooking tips

I was given a pasta education recently by my blog readers on how to make Chicken with Pasta:
1) The Military Pasta way - am still not sure what that is?
2) The Pomodoro way - pasta with olive oil and fresh tomatoes
3) The Marinara way - pasta with olive oil, tomatoes plus some other herbs like basil
4) The Asian way - Teriyaki Chicken with Linguine
5) The No way - Spaghetti with Chicken does not exist.

Below is the simcooks’ way : Chicken Fettucine. I have a few cooking tips to make the chicken and pasta very tasty.

Cooking Tip # 1:
Leave the chicken skin on. The chicken skin will not only crisp up during the pan-sear process, it will also keep the chicken juices in, so that the end result is crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Cooking Tip # 2:
Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper and cajun seasoning liberally. If you don’t have cajun seasoning, then salt and pepper will do. (Cajun seasoning comprises of a variety of spices like cayenne pepper, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, chili powder, thyme, sweet basil and bay leaf. Variations may be found, depending on brand.)

Cooking Tip # 3:
Heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan. Medium-high heat. The tip here is in using a saucepan instead of a frying pan. Reason being a saucepan has a higher “side” and you can use a paper towel to cover the saucepan during the pan-fry process to prevent oil splatter.

Cooking Tip # 4:
Put the chicken skin side down, and then leave it alone for about 10 minutes. Yep, leave it alone. Nope! No excuses, no itchy fingers, no but-I-want-to-turn-it-over-to-take-a-look buts. Go make a salad for a side dish and start to cook the pasta. This is because, we want the chicken to sear. And nope! Searing does not “seal in the juices”. This myth has been busted in Alton Brown’s Good Eats. (do a search for “searing” in Wikipedia.) Searing is to allow the skin to caramelise so that the chicken will be very tasty.

After 10 minutes, use a pair of tongs to turn the chicken over. This other side will cook for a shorter amount of time. Let it cook for about 8 minutes, again, without moving the chicken around.

Cooking Tip # 5:
After this long wait (because you are starting to get hungry), check if the chicken is cooked thoroughly by using a pair of kitchen scissors to make a small but deep incision on one side of the largest chicken thigh. If no blood oozes out, that means the chicken is cooked thoroughly.

Cooking Tip # 6:
The pasta should be cooked by now. Set aside the cooked chicken. Transfer the pasta to the same saucepan. Use a spatula to scrape off the brown bits left at the bottom of the saucepan. If necessary, use a pair of tongs to mix the brown bits well with the pasta. This is because the brown bits are very tasty.

To serve:
Cut the chicken thighs into bite sized pieces. Plate the pasta and top it off with the chicken. If you wish, sprinkle some finely chopped parsley (for color). We don’t want to add cheese to this dish because we don’t want the strong flavor of parmesan cheese to mute the flavor of the crispy, salty chicken.

Enjoy!

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Tag:cooking tips, peppers, stir fried beef, vegetables

I was doing some research on the quality of fresh vegetables versus frozen ones. Reason being sometimes I just cannot finish eating all the fresh vegetables I bought and I have to throw them out, which is such a waste. Also, unlike in the wet markets or supermarkets in Singapore, I find that the Chinese vegetables here are sold in HUGE bundles here. It’s so boring to have to eat the same vegetable for a few days, my taste buds are complaining.

If you like me are wondering if frozen and canned vegetables are as nutritious as fresh vegetables, the answer to this question depends on both the time between the harvesting of the vegetable and the canning and freezing process. Frozen fruits and vegetables are blanched (cooked for a short time in boiling water or steamed) and frozen within hours of being picked and processed at their peak in terms of freshness and nutrition!

That is great news for people like me who cook in small quantities each time. Frozen vegetables fit into my weekly recipe schedule, because I don’t have to worry about using the whole packet of frozen vegetables quickly.

Unfortunately, I still have to buy my Chinese vegetables fresh. I don’t think I will ever find Kang Kong or Watercress in frozen form.

The above picture is a dish of Stir-fried Beef with Peppers, using frozen green, red and yellow peppers, pre-cut in strips. The fact that it is pre-cut makes the prep time even shorter (for lazy cooks like me).

Season beef with salt and pepper. Transfer to wok which has 1-2 tbsp of vegetable oil preheated. Add minced garlic and stir fry beef until color changes. Set aside. Transfer frozen peppers to wok. Add salt and pepper and stir fry for about 8 minutes or until they softened. Transfer beef back to the wok and add some oyster sauce. Mix well. Serve with steamed white rice.

Hooray for frozen vegetables! They last longer and saves on preparation time. What’s not to like about frozen vegetables?

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Tag:cooking tips, peel potato

Did you think I was joking about my potato peeling post?

Well, I confess that I did think the video was interesting but I had my doubts. I tried the potato peeling trick only recently, and holy canoly, it works!

Here are some summary pointers on how to peel a boiled potato:

1. Scrub the potato clean and cut a slit around the potato.

2. Put the potato in a saucepan of room temperature water with the water level covering the potato.

3. Boil for about 25-30 minutes, depending on the size of the potato. Mine was a medium sized russet potato. You don’t want to plunge the potato in a saucepan of boiling water cos then the cooking will not be even (i.e. the exterior of the potato may get overcooked by the time the interior is cooked properly)

4. Test if the potato is cooked by piercing a fork or long toothpick through it. When cooked, it’s easy to pierce.

5. When potato is cooked, transfer to a bowl of cold water.

6. When cooled (such that you won’t be tossing a hot potato) scoop it out onto a plate and let the fun begin.

7. Slowly but surely, slide the skin off with your fingers. (Refer back to Youtube video for the action)

Dr Miriam Stoppard, a well-known authority on the health of women and children, said: “Potatoes are much maligned and underrated, but they are extremely nutritious, so do include them in your diet. A potato contains about 1oz (3g) of protein, together with calcium, iron, thiamin, riboflavin, and niacin, plus seven times as much Vitamin C as an apple. If you don’t want to add a lot of calories, don’t fry the potatoes. Try to cook them in their skins, whether you are baking, boiling whole or mashing; peeling the potatoes first means you lose fiber, most of the protein, many of the vitamins and half the iron.”

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