Easy pancakes

Ingredients

1 cup self-raising flour ( 4 pancakes)

1/2 cup milk +2 eggs

or ( 1 cup milk +1 egg)

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp castor sugar

2 tbsp olive oil (or butter)

pinch of salt

Preparation

1. Put all the ingredients into a container and mix well.

2. Lightly grease a non-stick frying pan with butter or olive oil.

3. Cook a small ladleful of batter in the centre of pan. Leave it to cook without swirling the pan.

4. Cook until bubbles burst on the surface and the edges begin to dry up.

5. Turn to cook the other side of the pancake until golden brown.

6. Serve with syrup, jam, ice cream ...... or anything you like.

Grandma's Kaya( coconut egg jam)

Ingredients

This recipe is easy to remember as we use equal amount of eggs, concentrated coconut milk and brown sugar. Just measure by bowl or cup will do.

In addition, we require 1/4 cup of sugar(for caramel) and some pandan leaves.

Preparation

1. Beat the eggs slightly in a bowl and strain it through a piece of cloth. Make sure it is properly strained(not lumpy).

2. Put the brown sugar and the egg mixture in a pot and beat to mix well.

3. Add in the coconut milk and stir the mixture for a while to make sure that it is well blended before putting in the pandan leaves.

4. Put the pot on the stove and continue to stir the mixture slowly over very low flame. It is necessary to keep on stirring so as to ensure nothing sticks at the bottom of the pot.

5. Melt 1/4 cup of sugar in another pot.

6. Stir lightly until the sugar melts and is turning brown.

7. Add the caramel into the coconut mixture and continue stirring for about 1 to 1.5 hours until the mixture thickens.

8. Remember to keep the flame low so that the texture of kaya would be fine and smooth.

9. Discard the pandan leaves when kaya is cooked.

Bitter gourd braised chicken

Ingredients

1 bitter gourd about 300g

1 pc chicken thigh ( cut into big pieces )

2 shallots ( cut into thin slices)

5 slices of ginger

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tsp black bean sauce

1/2 tsp dark soya sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

some salt

some oil

Preparation

1. Cut the bitter gourd into rectangular shapes. Rub it with some salt and leave it for 5 minutes ( to remove bitterness). Wash away the salt.
2. Marinate the chicken with 2 tbsp light soya sauce and pinch of salt for 30 minutes.

3. Heat up some oil in the saucepan and shallow fry the bitter guord for about 5 minutes until it is half-cooked. Dish up and set aside.

4. Pour out the oil and leave about 2 tbsp oil in saucepan.

5. Stir fry the shallot until fragrant. Add in the ginger and chicken.

6. Stir fry chicken for a while over high heat.

7. Return the bitter gourd to the saucepan. Put in oyster sauce, black bean paste, sugar, dark soya sauce and stir fry to mix well.

8. Add in 60ml water and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.

9. Dish up to serve.

Bitter gourd and lean meat soup

Ingredients

150g bitter gourd ( cut into thin slices)

50 g carrot ( cut into slices)

100g pork fillet ( cut into thin slices)

1 tbsp corn flour

1 tbsp light soya sauce

some salt

Preparation

1. Add some salt to bitter gourd. Rub it evenly and leave it for about 5 minutes to remove bitterness. Wash away the salt.

2. Marinate the meat with 1 tbsp corn flour and 1 tsp light soya sauce.

3. Boil about 1 litre water in pot. 

4. Add bitter gourd and carrot into the pot and cover to boil over lower flame for 30 minutes.

5. Put in the meat and bring to boil. Do not stir after adding the meat.

6. Add salt to taste when the meat is cooked.

7. Serve the soup hot.

*This soup taste a bit bitter, but it seems that it is good for "cooling" when one feels "heaty".

Black pepper chicken

Ingredients

300g boneless chicken ( cut into slices )

1 green pepper ( cut into thin slices)

1/2 red chilli ( cut into thin slices)

1 big onion ( cut into thin slices)

1 shallot ( cut into thin slices)

1 tbsp oyster sauce

2-3  tbsp black pepper sauce

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp corn flour

pinch of salt

some oil

Preparation

1. Add corn flour and light soya sauce to the chicken. Marinate for 30 minutes.

2. Heat up 2 tbsp oil in saucepan and stir fry the shallot until fragrant. Put in the chicken and stir fry over high flame for a while.

3. Add in onion, green pepper, red chilli, oyster sauce, black pepper sauce and pinch of salt.

4. Stir fry for about 1/2 minute or until the ingredients are cooked.

5. Dish out to serve.

Steamed fish in banana leaves

Ingredients

250g grouper fish ( boneless, cut into chunks of 1.5" x 2")

1 banana leaf ( cut into 4.5" square pieces )

1 red chilli ( cut into thin strips)

3 slices ginger ( cut into thin strips)

2 slices cabbage ( cut into the size of fish chunks)

2 tbsp curry paste

1 tbsp fish sauce

1 tbsp oyter sauce

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp santan ( coconut cream)

Preparation

1. Add to the fish chunks curry paste, fish sauce, oyster sauce, light soya sauce and santan. Marinate for 30 minutes.

2. Place a piece of cabbage on the banana leaf. Put a piece of fish chunk, with a few strips of chilli and ginger on top of it. 

3. Wrap up and seal the two ends with toothpick or simply use a stapler if you are lazy.

4. Steam for 10 minutes.

5. Serve with white rice.

Five colours vegetable soup (牛蒡五行疏菜汤）

Ingredients

400g white radish 

200g white radish leaves

200g carrot

200g burdock(牛蒡）

3 mushrooms

Preparation

1. Clean and cut all the ingredients into big pieces.

2. Boil 2.5 litre water in pot and add in all the ingredients.

3. Cover and simmer over low flame for 2 hours.

Note : It is called " five colours soup" because of the colours of the vegetables i.e white radish ( white), carrot ( red), radish leaves( green), burdock( yellow), mushroom( black). This soup is claimed to be for boosting  our immunity system.

Fried eggs with prawn in oyster sauce

Ingredients

150g prawn ( shelled and deveined)

2 eggs

1 shallot ( sliced)

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp light soya sauce

1 stalk spring onion ( cut into small pieces)

pinch of salt 

dash of pepper

some oil 

Preparation

1. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add in the prawn, light soya sauce, salt and pepper. Stir lightly to mix well.

2. Heat up 3 tbsp oil in the saucepan and stir fry the shallot until fragrant.

3. Swirl the saucepan so that it is evenly covered with oil. Pour the egg mixture into the saucepan.

4. When one side is done (slightly brown), turn it over to cook the other side.

5. Add 50ml water mixed with 1 tbsp oyster sauce into the saucepan, when both sides of the omelette are cooked (not too brown).

6. Cover to simmer for 1/2 minute over low flame.

7. Put in the spring onion and stir fry lightly.

8. Dish out to serve.

Simple fried oyster mushrooms

Ingredients

200g oyster mushrooms

2 medium size eggs

1 tbs light soya sauce

pinch of salt

dash of pepper

Oil for frying 

Preparation

1. Wash and cut away the stems of the oyster mushrooms. Drain dry and season with the soya sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Beat the eggs in a bowl.

3. Heat up some oil in a saucepan. 

4. Dip the mushrooms one by one in the beaten eggs and put it into the saucepan to fry. Make sure that every mushroom is well-coated with egg mixture.

5. Fry the mushrooms over high heat until golden brown. Turn them over to fry the other side.

6. Dish out and put on kitchen tissue to absorb away the excess oil.

7. Garnish and serve with chilli sauce.