Sweet Corn with Carrot and Tomato Soup (Variation of ABC Soup)

This pot is only half full. A3 drank 3 cups and had her rice with the soup. Forgot to take photo before the soup were being attacked ... 

Ingredient

2 sweet corns, chopped to 4 chunks each

2 carrots, cut diagonally into big chunks

1 large tomato, quartered

4 pieces of lean pork meat with bone

3-4 litre water

Some seedless red dates & wolf berries 

1 tablespoon soya sauce (I like to use soya sauce to make the soup a little darker. I don't like clear soup)

Salt to tast

Another pot of water for cleaning the pork

*Remove corn, add in yellow onion and potato and it will be the original ABC soup.

Method

1) Heat water in a small pot just enough to cover the pork. Once boiling, put in pork meat and continue boiling for 5min. Run the pork through cold water. Drain and set aside.

*This step is to clean up the gunk and any excess oil to make the soup cleaner and less oily.

2) Heat 3-4 litre water in a stockpot. Put in sweet corns, carrots, tomatoes, red dates and wolf berries. Bring to boil.

3) Add in pork and let boil at high heat for another 15min. 

4) After 15min, cover stockpot and lower heat to low. Continue to boil for 1.5 - 2 hours.

5) Add soya sauce and salt to taste.

Minced Meat In Salted Black Bean Sauce

First tasted Din Tai Fung's "zha jiang mian" (炸酱面) many years ago when we were still in KL. It absolutely caught my taste bud by surprise. I am not a noodle fan but that 炸酱面 was really delicious, with lots of meat. But recently I've tried the same noodle at different Ding Tai Fung, even the one in Taipei and it does not taste the same anymore. The 炸酱面 from Din Tai Fung nowadays has more chopped bean curd than meat. And so I am making my own version of 炸酱面.

I replaced bean curd with string beans since I don't really like bean curd. I am planning to use celery next round when i make it again. This time I serve the meat with steamed rice instead. So it's called 炸酱饭 ... hahah. 

I made extra gravy as the girls like to eat their rice and noodle with lots of gravy 

Ingredient

250gm minced pork meat

50gm string beans, chopped

1 small red or yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 tablespoon salted black bean sauce

2 tablespoon oil

1 1/2 cup water (Less if want less gravy. Add cornstarch if want gravy to be thicken)

Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Sprinkle salt and pepper on minced meat. 

2. Heat oil till hot. Put in onion and fry in medium high heat till soft and fragrance.

2. Add garlic. Fry till lightly brown and fragrance.

3. Add meat. Break it up further as you stir fry in the pan for 3-4min.

4. Add salted black bean sauce. Continue to stir fry for another 3-4min.

5. Add water. Let it simmer in medium low heat for 5min.

6. Add in string bean last. Continue to simmer for 2-3min for the beans to soak in some of the gravy.

7. Dish out and serve with steamed rice or noodle.

Oven Roasted Broccoli and Capsicum

Rabbit food for dinner ... LOL

Ingredient

1 medium head cauliflower (about 2-1/4 pounds), trimmed and cut into florets
3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese (I omitted this)

Method
1. Heat oven to 180 degree C.
2. Steam or boil broccoli in boiling water to soften it.
3. After broccoli is soften, combine with garlic in a large bowl.
4. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. 
5. Transfer, in a single layer, to a large rimmed baking sheet. 
6. Cover the baking sheet with baking paper to prevent it from burning too fast. 
7. Roast at 180 degrees C for about 25 minutes, stirring once. 
8. Sprinkle with cheese. Serve immediately. (I omitted this)

*Different oven have different temperature behaviour. Mine is quite hot and burnt quite quickly. Therefore I usually reduce the heat and bake 10min more than whatever the original recipe instructed.

Adapted from: Crockpot Recipe

Braised Chicken In Tomato and Herbs

As usual, presentation is out. Oh well, I am the practical non-creative one. After all, everything will end up in the tummy, why bother decorating it? LOL ...

Ingredient

4 chicken drumsticks (will use chicken breast meat next time)Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, sliced thin or diced
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed, minced, or sliced thin
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon of dried rosemary 

(Can use other herbs of your choice: sprig of rosemary; a few sprigs of thyme; tablespoon dried rosemary or thyme; fresh chopped parsley)
1/2 can of diced tomatoes (14oz can)
1 cup of chicken broth

Method

1. Generously salt and pepper the chicken drumsticks. 

2. Heat the oil on medium high until shimmering. 

3. In a deep, heavy sauté pan place the chicken skin side down and brown for about 10 minutes. Turn and cook for 4 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and set aside. 

4. Discard some of the oil and fat from the pan if you want a lighter dish leaving just enough to sauté onions. Cook until soft. 

5. Add garlic and herbs (except parsley which should be added at end) and cook until fragrant, scraping up any brown bits. 

6. Add tomatoes and stir. 

7. Arrange chicken in pan and pour in accumulated juices and broth. 

8. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a low simmer. 

9. Cover and cook gently for about 45 minutes. Remove bay leaf and fresh herb sprigs.

10. Sprinkle with chopped Italian parsley if using. 

11. Serve with a starch of your choice: pasta, rice, couscous or even just a crusty loaf of bread.

Original recipe: Chicken Braised in Tomato

Chocolate Chip Soft Cookie

Ingredient

125g butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 caster sugar (or white sugar)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence (I omitted this)
1 cup self-raising flour
3/4 cup plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.

2. Melt butter in the microwave and set aside to cool slightly.

3. Pour butter into a large bowl and stir in brown sugar and caster sugar until smooth and sugar is mostly dissolved.

4. Lightly beat the egg with a whisk or fork and stir into the sugar mixture along with the vanilla.

5. Sift flours and baking powder together into a small bowl and then gradually mix into sugar mixture until combined.

6. Stir through chocolate chips.

7. Drop rounded tablespoons of the cookie mixture onto lined baking trays. 

8. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden then remove from oven and allow to cool on trays for 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. 

Original recipe: http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/8897/amazing-soft-and-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.aspx