Tofu with Baby Anchovies

Another super easy snack inspired by the Japanese graphic novel series which can be prepared in 2 minutes.

Avocado Tomato Salad

I have been reading this graphic novel series with a theme of Japanese home cooking and learnt a lot of simple yet healthy Japanese home-style dishes. Here is one inspired by the novel.

Triple Shrimp Pasta

The original dinner plan was to serve a white creamy pasta dish with shavings of the newly bought truffle cheese, until I spotted the yet to be used dried baby shrimp resting beside a box of masago in my almost empty Friday night freezer.

Banana Blueberry (or Choco Chip) Muffins (age 3+ baking)

This is so far my favourite and least guilt muffin recipe. Found this from the Looneyspoons collection. Twelve muffins contain 1/2 cup of oats, 1/4 cup of flex seeds, and only 1/4 cup of butter. I reduced the sugar portion as usual, and rewrote the recipe for my kids to follow independently. Fool-proof for a 3-year-old.

5 Minute Okra Salad

One of my favourite no oil salads and is super easy to make. A 3-year-old can master this.

Green Tea Red Bean Crepe Cake

The best part of this recipe is that no baking is required and certain steps can be done few days in advance. However, lots of patience is required.

Scalloped Potatoes

I have tried and failed making this dish a lot of times. Although I made a perfect cheese topping, the potatoes just didn't come out fluffy enough. Recently I finally figured out the trick - the potatoes need to be cooked in the water before baking.

Quick Open Face Sandwich

Made this quick dinner for my little man in a lazy evening. A perfect clean-up-the-fridge dish.

Homemade Chili Sauce (and XO Sauce)

I avoided having spicy foods until I was around 20, and I felt like I missed out a lot. Sometimes I believe it was just in my mind that I couldn't handle spicy foods. 

Chicken Liver and Oyster Pate

The other day hubby and I revisited a seafood restaurant that has changed its name and menu. He wasn't a big fan of pate, but he tried one of their hit appetizers with me, the chicken liver and oyster pate, and kept raving about it throughout the meal.

Grilled Steaks

It took me a while to get a hang of grilling steaks. I prefer rib eyes and tenderloins, for they are more tender than striploin or sirloin so even my younger son can enjoy the steaks better. Rib eye has more fat and marble while tenterloin is more lean but it costs more.

Mentaiko Spaghetti

I had Mentaiko in Japan over 10 years ago and I still remember the taste. It is basically a clump of marinated fish roe, kind of like caviar. I always see it frozen and as well freshly made Mentaiko in some local Japanese supermarkets and have been wanting to try it then, but was a bit hesitant. It is raw fish roe after all and there was a recent news saying that some people got sick by eating Korean raw marinaded crabs...

Pan Fried Chicken Steaks

When I told my husband that I will be home late and he has to prepare the chicken for dinner tonight, I saw a green face. I knew right away that I have to post this one urgently. Steps on how to turn a piece of chicken thigh into steak, how to marinade and pictures will follow.

Ingredients

Chicken thighs, bones removed skin on

Marinated

How

If possible, let the chicken sit on the kitchen countertop for 15 minutes before cooking. This will warm the meat up a bit and allow it to be cooked quicker and more even. The estimated cooking time noted below is for chicken that are not completely at room temperature.

Preheat a non stick pan on high and add just a small dash of oil into it. A lot of oil will come out of the chicken so you don't need to add a lot. Use a paper towel to spread the oil evenly on the pan. When you put your hand an inch over the pan and you feel the heat, that means the pan is ready.

Put the chicken steak skin side down and do not overlap them. You can probably cook 2 to 3 pieces at a time.

As soon as you put the chicken into the pan, turn the heat down to medium or medium low. Put a lid over the pan and leave about an inch of gap. Cook like this for about 5-6 minutes, until the top of the chicken starts turning white. Do not leave your chicken unattended. Pay attention to it. If you see smoke, quickly remove the pan from the heat to cool the pan down and turn down the heat. When the pan is no longer smoking, return the pan back to the heat and continue cooking.

If you cannot hear a lot of sizzling, that means the temperature is not high enough. Turn up the heat to bring up the temperature. When the sizzling is back, turn the heat back down and continue cooking.

When you see the top of the chicken starts to turn white (the color of cooked chicken), that's the time to flip the chicken. Flip them and put the lid on with an inch gap again. Cook on low for another 3 minutes.

Remove the chicken from the pan and place it on a serving plate. Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving hot to let the juice inside get settled.

Before cooking another batch, use a paper towel to wipe off the black bits and extra fat first. Do not add any more oil as the remaining fat in the pan will do.

Note: the reason for cooking with the lid on is to reduce the oil splashing everywhere. But never leave the lid on completely, as it will trap all the moisture and the chicken be steamed and not crispy.

Salmon Poached in Champagne with Honey Mustard Sauce

I guess we are one of the very few families that will have leftover champagne in the house. I mean, who wouldn't finish a bottle of champagne? Well, unless we have guests coming over, we are not big fans of alcohol and we don't usually have alcohol for consecutive nights. So we always have leftover bottles of wine or champagne in the fridge, and they are always good for cooking seafood dishes.

Soy Sauce Chicken Wings

Who doesn't like chicken wings? I cook chicken wings at least once a month because they are usually dishes that can be prepared during the weekends. Aside from the fish sauce chicken wings, these soy sauce chicken wings are another hit in my house. There was time when I used to make the sauce from scratch, but I have been lazy and using the store bought sauce. The taste is good so I haven't gone back. 

Taiwanese Style Beef Stew

Adding some dark soy sauce will make it look more like it, but I prefer it this way.

Taiwanese makes some of my favorite food- actually, there is no cuisine that I don't really like. Anyway, the Taiwanese beef stew is one of their popular dishes. It is usually soupy and served with noodles. I have read and tried so many different versions of recipes for this dish and have been twisting the recipes to make it easier and more fit to the taste for my family.

Korean Style Pasta

So there was another night that I didn't know what to cook for dinner again. I was planning to make chicken and pasta, but we always eat that and the kids are bored of it. Then I tried this flavorful pasta dish. It would have been even better if I had some kimchi. My kids have enjoyed Korean dishes lately and they like the spiciness. I believe this new dish will appear in my kitchen quite often from now on. 

Leftover Chicken

In my house, no one likes the chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken, not to mention leftovers. Last weekend we attended a Chinese banquet dinner and brought home some chicken. It would've been such a waste if I just threw it away. So I decided to give it a twist and turn it into something that everyone likes.

Sous Vide Egg (at the Office!)

Working at the downtown core, I have easy access to all sorts of food and restaurants anytime. But occasionally I crave a soothing snack, and that's when I invented this interesting egg recipe. I experimented this last week at the office and it tasted great with my instant ramen noodles! 

Savory Custard (翠塘豆腐)

I made this dish the other night when some friends came over for dinner, and we called this an "adult dish", because all the adults enjoyed it but the kids didn't. I assume the taste of this dish is not as exciting as some others to the kids; however, I find this dish is so soothing and delicious. It is also a good hosting dish, because the steamed custard helps to retain the temperature of the dish through out the meal.

This super easy dish has two parts: the bottom steamed custard and the toppings. I used a recipe from a popular celebrity chef for the custard which never fails. The toppings need a very thick cornstarch water to finish, as the tofu will keep sweating. 

Here is the Savory Custard from my kitchen:

Ingredients

For the steamed custard:

4 eggs

1 can of chicken broth 412 ml

For the toppings:
1/2 cup of each of the following ingredients all diced into about 1cm cubes:

silk tofu

Zucchini, about one small one

mushroom, any kind

about 6 shrimp, shelled
1 tbs. of cornstarch
2 tsp. of cold water
salt to taste

How

1. Use paper towel to dry the shrimp completely before dicing it. Place the diced shrimp in a small bowl and marinade it with a dash of salt and sesame oil. Let it marinade while getting the steamed custard ready.
2. Mix the cornstarch and cold water together and set aside.
3. To make the steamed custard, beat the eggs until it is just mixed. Add in the chicken broth and beat again until it is just combined. Do not over beat the mixture.
4. Pour the egg mixture into a wide dish that can fit into your steamer. Cover the dish tight with plastic wrap. Add the dish into the steamer when the water boils and steam it for 6-7 minutes on medium high heat. At the end, check the custard by gently shake the dish. If the middle is still runny, steam for another minute. When done, remove it from the steamer, set aside and keep it warm.
   
5. To make the topping, heat up a pan and stir fry the shrimp on medium high heat until the shrimp is semi-cooked. Remove the shrimp from the pan and set aside. 
6. In the same pan, stir fry the mushroom with some oil for one minutes. Add in the zucchini and stir fry for another minute. Add salt to taste.
7. Add shrimp and tofu then gently stir everything together and slowly add the cornstarch water while continue stirring.
8. To serve, remove the plastic wrap from the steamed custard and pour the hot toppings over the custard. Serve hot.