Bibimbap

INGREDIENTS

3 cups short grain rice - I used Sushi rice
500g beef - I used fillet - ribeye/sirloin would be a good choice, too
250g shitake mushrooms - if using dried ones soak for 2 hours
500g soybean or mung bean sprouts
100g Chinese Spinach - I chopped this coursely
1 cucumber - sliced thickly
2 med carrots - julienned
2 sm zucchinis - I didnt add this in this instant
2 cups boiled gosan (fernbrake) - I ommitted this as unavailable
5 tsp garlic, minced
2/3 scallions, diced
soy sauce
sesame oil
roasted sesame seeds
salt & pepper
canola oil
2 - 4 eggs - allocate 1 egg per serving

**other ingredients that may be added to Bibimbap are : kimchi; sauté sliced onion; Chinese wood-ear fungus (soakes, shreeded & sauté)

BIBIMBAP SAUCE

Bibimbap Sauce …. 2 Tbsp gochujang + 1 Tbsp sesame oil + 1 Tbsp sugar + 1 Tbsp water + 1 Tbsp roasted sesame seeds + 1 tsp Vinegar + 1 tsp minced garlic …. mix everything together and set aside

Mise-en-Place of ingredients required to assemble Bibimbap bowl … from top, clockwise …Shitake Mushrooms; Mung Bean Sprouts; Julienned Carrots; Minced Garlic; Cucumber; Chinese Spinach (Bayam) …& in middle : Bibimbap Sauce

METHODS :

1. Cook the rice in a rice cooker … use a little less water than per package instructions as rice for Bibimbap should be a little drier than normal for best results.

2.  Beef – sliced into 2″ strips and marinate with … 1 Tbsp soy sauce + 2 tsp sugar + 2 tsp sesame oil + 2tsp rice wine + 1 Tbsp chopped scallion + 1 tsp minced garlic + 1/2 tsp sesame seeds + pinch pepper …for 30 minutes

3.  Sauté marinaded beef in a heated pan with 1 tsp sesame oil for 2 – 3 minutes over high heat

4.  I added dried Shitake Mushrooms since fernbrake is unavailable here …which I soaked and then sliced thickly and then sauté it in pan heated with 1 tsp sesame oil + some minced garlic

5.  I used Mung Bean Sprouts here but ideally, Soy Bean Sprouts is the choice … blanch it in a pot of boiling water with 1 tsp salt added … drain quickly then shock in cold water to stop cooking process …drain then toss in mixture of 1 tsp minced garlic + 2 tsp sesame oil + 1/2 tsp sesame seeds + salt & pepper to taste

6.  Chinese Spinach (bayam) is best for Korean recipes but if unavailable, you may use the regular Spinach … I chopped it coursely then sauté it in pan heated up with 1 tsp sesame oil + 1 tsp minced garlic then dish out and toss in 1/2 tsp sesame seeds + some pepper & salt to taste

7.  Slice cucumber in half lengthwise and then thickly slice crosswise …sprinkle with some salt and sed aside for 10 minutes …squeeze out excess liquid then toss with mixture of 1 tsp sesame oil + 1/2 tsp minced garlic + 1/2 tsp sesame seeds + 1 Tbsp scallion

8.  Blanched julienned carrots in salted water then toss in mixture of 1tsp sesame oil + 1/2 tsp sesame seeds + 1/2 tsp minced garlic + salt & pepper to taste

9.  Allocate 1 sunny side up egg per serving/bowl

10.  Normally, in a Korean Restaurant, Bibimbap is served in individual bowl – traditionally would be in a stone bowl, heated until very hot then add 1 Tbsp sesame oil and rice and cook rice for several minutes until rice sizzles – but here, you see that I served up in a medium sized ceramic caserole dish which I heated in oven till very hot, laced hot dish with sesame oil then scooped in the rice and allow it to sizzle for a while in the oven and then nicely arrange each of the ingredients in circular direction atop the rice then drizzle a little sesame oil over, top with the sunny side up egg(s) and i drizzled the Bibimbap sauce around and serve up!

11.  Mix the ingredients well in the bowl and Bon Appetite! 🍴🍷

Marsala Chicken Florentine

Ok, normally Chicken Florentine is on a bed of creamy white sauce with spinach & mushrooms… and cheese maybe …but hubby & I don’t normally favour creamy sauce that much so I  made Marsala Chicken Florentine instead  … very tasty 🍴

Ingredients : ¼ cup julienned sun-dried tomatoes + 1 cup Marsala wine + 1 Tbsp dried oregano + ¼ cup plain flour + about 100g button mushrooms (you may use other types of mushrooms like brown or portobello as you desire); 150g spinach

Depending on how many you are serving and whether you are allocating 1 or 2 chicken breast halves per person …. I started with 4 chicken breast halves …

… but finally decided to make only 3 breast halves … place the breasts in between cling film and use a mallet to pound the meat to about ½” or less thick

Sprinkle some salt & freshly ground pepper on both sides of the flattened chicken breasts

Mix the oregano with the plain flour …

…coat the chicken breasts with the flour … if you are ahead of time like I was, wrap it with cling film and chill in the fridge until you are ready to cook …

 

Heat a frying pan with 2 Tbsp olive oil and pan fry the chicken until all breasts are cooked through … turning it now and again so that breasts are evenly browned … lift cooked breasts out of pan and keep warm …

Whilst chicken breasts is cooking in the pan … sliced up the mushrooms …

In the same pan you cooked the chicken breasts in, melt the butter in the heated pan then toss in the mushrooms & julienned sun-dried tomatoes … stir and cook for about a minute …

…pour in the Marsala …

…allow to simmer, stirring now and again, for about 10 minutes …

….stir in the spinach and mix to cook for about 2 – 3 minutes …

Serve up by spooning the Marsala spinach & mushroom sauce over the chicken … bon appetite 🍷

Roast Crown of Pork with Apple & Sage Stuffing

An awesome Roast … made this to celebrate hubby’s birthday … the apple & sage stuffing is awesome and wrapping the crown of pork with bacon keeps the chops succulently moist ….I served up with some pan-roasted asparagus ❤

I bought a very small crown of pork …the butcher here had left the ribs very long …I’d much prefer it to be short …I used about 6 slices of bacon … you will need more slices if you are roasting a bigger crown

I used only 2 slices of bread, cut into 1″ squares (partly because the crown of roast I bought is very small and partly … spread evenly on a baking pan … you can more slices if the crown you are stuffing is bigger …please note that recipe below is for a small crown of pork with about 10 chops so please increase recipe accordingly if your crown of pork is bigger

Bake the bread squares in a 180° C pre-heated oven for about 10 minutes until slightly toasted … set aside

..other ingredients needed for the stuffing : finely chopped onion, finely chopped celery and wedges of Granny Smith apples

Fresh herbs you will need … fresh parsley, fresh chives, fresh thyme and fresh sage

…all fresh herbs all chopped + sugar, grated nutmeg, pepper, ground cinnamon ..

Cook onion & celery in heated skillet with butter over moderate heat, stirring, for about 5 mins, until soften …

Stir in apples, sugar, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, nutmeg, and cinnamon …

Stir to mix well …

Reduce heat to low, then cook covered, stirring now and again, until apples are tender… about 15 minutes

Stir in bread squares, parsley, and chives …remove from flame and set aside …

Wrap tips of rib bones with foil to prevent burning …sprinkle roast inside and out with salt and pepper and put in a large flameproof roasting pan….

…then wrap meat below bones with overlapping bacon strips… securing with toothpicks if necessary …

…Mound stuffing in cavity….

When roast is done, lift it out of roasting tin and stand it aside, loosely covered with foil, for 15 – 20 minutes and …

…make the sauce …skim fat off surface .. place pan over a burner… add water, then deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits….pour through a fine sieve into a saucepan, discarding solids …

…add the apple jelly and any juices accumulated from the resting crown of pro .., then simmer sauce, whisking occasionally and skimming any fat that rises, until jelly is melted, about 4 minutes….season with salt and pepper then pour into a sauce boat to serve with the roast

Remove foil from resting roast and carve into chops by cutting between ribs … the apple & sage stuffing goes absolutely superbly with the yummy 🐷 chops 👍👍👍

RECIPE

Ingredients :  for the stuffing

•  2 slices firm white sandwich bread, cut into 1-inch squares
• 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
• ¼ cup finely chopped onion
• ¼ cup finely chopped celery including some leaves
• 2 large tart apples such as Granny Smith, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges
•  2 – 3 Tbsp sugar
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh sage or ½ Tbsp dried sage
• 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme or ¼ tea dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of cinnamon
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives

                        : for the roast

• 1 crown roast of pork (the crown I used was about 10 chops in it)
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp  black pepper
• 6 slices bacon

                         : for the sauce

• ½ cup water
• 3 Tbsp apple jelly or red-current jelly

Methods:

• Preheat oven to 180°C
• Make the Stuffing : 
• Spread bread squares in 1 layer in a shallow baking pan and bake in middle of oven until dry and lightly toasted, about 10 minutes …  leave oven on (for roast) and set toasted bread squares aside to cool
• Cook onion and celery in butter in a heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened … 4 to 5 minutes
• Stir in apples, sugar, salt, pepper, sage, thyme, nutmeg, and cinnamon …reduce heat to low then cook, covered, stirring until apples are tender, about 10 minutes…then stir in bread squares, parsley, and chives … remove from burner and set aside
• Make the Roast :
• Set oven rack in lower third of oven
• Sprinkle roast inside and out with salt and pepper and put in a large flameproof roasting pan and mound stuffing in cavity
• Wrap tips of rib bones with foil to prevent burning, then wrap meat below bones with overlapping bacon strips, securing them with wooden toothpicks, if necessary
• Roast pork in middle of oven, covering stuffing loosely with foil after 15 minutes and continue to roast until an instant-read thermometer registers 70°C when inserted 2 inches into center of meat (do not touch bones), 2 to 2¼ hours total
• Transfer roast to a carving board or platter and let stand, loosely covered with foil, 15 to 20 minutes (temperature of meat will rise to 75°C; meat will be slightly pink)
• Make Sauce :
• Skim fat from pan drippings.. place pan across a burner and add water, then deglaze pan by boiling over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits then pour through a fine sieve into a saucepan, discarding solids
• Add jelly and any juices accumulated on carving board, then simmer sauce, whisking occasionally and skimming any fat that rises, until jelly is melted, about 2-3 minutes … season with salt and pepper
• Remove all foil from roast and carve into chops by cutting between ribs … serve up with vegetables/sides of your choice 🍴🍷

 

 

Raan / North Indian Roast Leg of Lamb

I did say my hubby is a better cook than me!! Presenting his awesome Raan … an North Indian take on a Sunday Roast … seen here, served up with Onion Bhaji and crispy roasted potatoes … ❤️❤️❤️ it!!

A boneless leg of lamb was used here although a bone-in leg of lamb would normally be used … seen here with spice all rubbed allover lamb, pressing firmly into the cuts and cover, refrigerate overnight

pour water combined with curry leaves into large baking tray … place lamb on a rack in the tray …cover lamb with foil, bake in moderate oven for 1 hour ..remove foil and bake for further 30 mins or until lamb is browned and tender

For the onion bhaji … mix 2 Tbsp plain flour and 2 Tbsp hot curry powder ….

thickly sliced onion then soak in milk for 5 minutes … coat onion in flour mixture and deep fried until golden brown 😉

Ta da! what a perfect looking roast leg of lamb …awesome … the masala potatoes & onion bhaji were perfect accompaniments!! Kudos to me precious hubby 👏💞

RECIPE

Ingredients :

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp coriander seeds

2 tsp black mustard seeds

6 cardamom pods, bruised

½ tsp ground dinnamon

½ tsp cracked black pepper

¼ tsp ground clove

4 cloves garlic, crushed

 1 Tbsp finely grated fresh ginger

¼ cup (60ml) white vinegar

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp sambal olek

2kg leg of lamb

½ cup (125ml) boiling water

4 curry leaves, torn

5 medium (1kg) potatoes, cut into wedges

2 Tbsp ghee

2 tsp balck mustard seeds, extra

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground coriander

Methods :

• Preheat oven to 180°C
• Combine seeds, pods, cinnamon, pepper and cloves in heated large dry pan …stir fry until fragrant
• Blend or process cooled spice mixture until crushed and combine in a small bowl with garlic, ginger, vinegar, tomato paste and samba oleo …mix well
• Trim lamb, if necessary, and rub spice mixture all ver lamb, pressing firmly into cuts and place lamb in large bowl, cover with cling film and leave to marinate overnight in the fridge
• Pour combined water and curry leaves into large backing dish and place lamb on rack over the baking tray …cover lamb with foil and bake in preheated oven for 1 our … remove foil and bake for further 30 minutes or until lamb is browned and tender
• While lamb is baking, prepare the potatoes by boinging potato wedges until just tender, drain …heat ghee in a large flameproof baking dish …cook remaining spices, stirring for 1 minute …add potatoes, cook stirring until brown all over …stick potatoes in dish to bake, uncovered, for about 15 minutes or until very crisp and well-browned
• If desired, make the onion bhaji by slicing one or 2 onion into thick slices and soak in milk for 5 mins … mix 2 Tbsp plain flour with 2 Tbsp hot curry powder … drain onion slices and coat in flour mixture then deep fried until golden brown
• Place roast onto a platter, surround it with the masala potato wedges and onion bhaji and scatter a few curry leaves as garnish and bon appetite!

Coleslaw

Coleslaw .. a salad consisting primarily of finely-shredded or chopped raw cabbage and dressed most commonly with a salad dressing …. there are so many variations of it that you simply just need to find one that suites your palate best and I found the one we ❤️ most and the following recipe is it!!

Depending on the number of persons you are serving .. increase or decrease the amount I’m quoting here … I was preparing for 2 … here, I chopped 2 cups of cabbage to the size of rice …

Similarly, I chopped about ¼ cup carrots … size of rice as well …

… and about 1 – 2 Tbsp of finely chopped onion …

…now mix ¼ cup of mayonnaise …

..with about 3 Tbsp sugar …

…then add 1/8 cup milk …

…1/8 cup buttermilk …

… + 1Tsp lemon juice …

… + a pinch of salt & pepper …

….add in 3/4 Tbsp white vinegar and then whip it all together to mix well …

… toss in all the chopped ingredients … stir and mix well …

… Cover with a cling film and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving

I promise you, this will be the 👍 coleslaw you would have ever tasted and would wanna make ever … what else but to pair it with some lovely oven-fried chicken 😘

Honey Mustard Barbecued/Grilled Pork Tenderloin

It’s not always that I manage to get a good size Pork Tenderloin …. seen here, grilled to perfection, tender & moist and coated with the sticky, caramelised Honey Mustard glaze 😘

When I got home with those fat pork tenderloins, I was struggling with ideas of how I’m gonna cook it … then i thought, hmm, if we enjoyed Honey Mustard Chicken … let’s try it with pork … and because it is pork, I marinated it with the following marinade : ½ cup tomato ketchup + 2 Tbsp olive oil + ½ cup fresh orange juice + ¼ cup balsamic vinegar + 2 cloves garlic, chopped + 1 tsp dried oregano + ¼ tsp ground black pepper

..mix all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl thoroughly then pour it over the pork tenderloin … I’ve 2 pieces of pork tenderloin here … because it is not big, I allocated 1 pc per pax which had turned out to be just nice 😉

Ensure that the pork tenderloin is well coated with the marinade, cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or better still, overnight

Prepare your Honey Mustard Glaze … mix together zest of one lemon + 2 Tbsp clear honey + 2 Tbsp wholegrain mustard …set aside …

You can either grill the marinated pork tenderloin over a BBQ grill or like me, cook under the oven-grill/broiler … basting as you keep turning the pieces over … and grill until tenderloin are about 3/4 cooked, about 10 – 12 mins on each side  … then take it out of oven and brush it the Honey Mustard Glaze …  brush on one side then grill until bubbly & sticky & browned …turn and do same on other side  .. about 15 mins or so for both sides total …

Meanwhile, while pork is on it’s final 10 mins to ready, instead of serving up with Apple Sauce, I decided to served it up with caramelised apple slices … I sliced up a Granny Smith apple … heat up a pan with some butter, toss in the apples, drizzle a scant Tbsp of sugar over ….

…shake the pan to ensure the sugar is well mixed up in the butter and once the apple slices starts to brown, turn over and brown up the other sides and voila! they are ready to be plated up with your juicy pork tenderloin!

Mama Mia!!! Looking at the pic even makes me drools for it allover again 😝 … it was 👄smacking delish, served up with the caramelised apples and some steamed zucchini, cauliflower & carrots!

Sriracha Grilled Tofu

This is a light lunch dish I made up plainly because I love tofu and I love Sriracha sauce and yes, I made my own Sriracha sauce and I can also make my own tofu but in this case, I didn’t make the tofu but bought it 😉  Tofu is one food you either ❤️ it or hate it … most non-Asians normally don’t fancy it as they find it tasteless/bland but it is how you cook it that makes the difference so keep following my journey with Tofu and you’ll see the various delicious ways you can enjoy it 😜

You will need a piece of 6″ x 3″ x 6″ block of fresh, plain tofu … for this dish, a block like this is probably good to serve between 2 – 4 people, depending on how many slices tofu you serve per pax  … slice them into 1″ thick slices or into big cubes, per your own preference …

Marinade ingredients : 3 Tbsp of Sriracaha sauce (use more or less depending on your taste for spiciness) + 1 Tbsp light soy sauce + 1 Tsp dark soy sauce + 1 tsp sugar + 1 tsp sesame oil … mix all these ingredients together and marinate the sliced tofu for at least 1 hour in the refrigerator …

Heat up a skillet with some Canola oil until hot … then pan-grill the marinated tofu slices until sauce is caramelised and tofu is pan-grilled to golden on both sides

Dish tofu out onto serving plate … pour balance of marinade into pan and cook for a minute to caramelised it a little and then coat grilled tofu pieces with it and serve up with salad of your choice … this can be served as a starter/appetiser or as a light lunch …  enjoy 🍴  NOTE : this can also be served up as one of your many dishes in a Chinese-style dinner 🎎

Champagne Chicken Chop

This is a recipe I was given by one of a very good Chinese Chef I used to work with …I’ve had this recipe for years now but never every made it and yes! I finally got around to do so yesterday and guess what? I got both 👍👍 by hubby dearest so I guess it is a recipe for keeps ❤

I used boneless whole chicken legs … you may use breasts or even half a boneless chicken, according to your own preference …

…marinate the chicken with : 1 tsp salt + 1 egg + ½ tsp Shaoxing wine + dash of pepper … for at least an hour ..

For the Champagne Custard Sauce, you will need : 200 ml of lemon juice + ½ a lemon, thinly sliced … I grated the lemon rind of the lemon I’m juicing to add into the sauce as well 😉 ..

…+ 1 Tbsp Custard powder …

..+ 50g Caster Sugar + 50g celery, finely chopped + …

…and of course, the most important ingredient of all : the Champagne … ok, admittedly I’m a little extravagant here as I used 425ml of Bollinger champagne as this was only champagne I could find on our wine rack … you may use a 100ml bottle of baby champ mixed with a can of 7-up/sprite or use 425 ml of sparkling wine …I’d say, mostly for sauces, most likely sparkling wine is used 😝

Combine all the sauce ingredients into a saucepan …

…bring to a boil, stirring …

…continue boiling until sauce is thick … off heat and set aside …

Coat marinaded chicken with 2 Tbsp of cornflour … I find it easier to do this in a zip lock bag which enables me to coat the chicken evenly …

Heat up a wok with enough oil for deep frying … or you may use a deep-fryer …

…deep fry the chicken in the hot oil until cooked through and golden brown …lift it out and drain it on kitchen paper towels …

As we are dining Western style, I left the chicken chop whole, with the Champagne Custard Sauce drizzled over the hot chicken and served it up with some steamed vegetables + corn-on-the-cob … if you are dining Chinese style or if you so prefer, you may cut up the chicken chops into pieces and place onto serving plate and drizzle the Champagne Custard Sauce over and serve hot 🍴🍸

 

Creamy Chicken & Mushroom Wildrice

This is one meal I’d opt to prepare as it takes like 10 minutes to put it all together although it takes about 4-6 hours to cook in a Crockpot/SlowCooker or about 1¼ – 1½ in the oven …. what you see here is cooked in a Crockpot/SlowCooker 😉

… I used 1 cup of wild & whole grain brown rice which serves 2 pax …you can use a pack of 454g for between 4 – 6 pax servings …rinse rice, drain and set aside ..

…this is optional … I added 50g of button mushrooms, sliced ….

…..if not for a fact that our fur-babies would enjoy sharing this dish with us, I would have added a small chopped onions but I omitted the onions for our fur-babies’ sake and added 3 cloves of chopped garlic instead …

IMG_5826 Allocate 1 chicken breast per person … season with some salt & pepper and then brown in a heated pan of either Canola Oil or butter … lift browned chicken breasts out of pan and set aside ..

…in the same pan, toss in the sliced mushrooms & garlic and sauté for couple minutes then add in the world rice and sauté for further minute …

…..pour rice & mushroom mixture into a oven-safe casserole dish ….

….I’m using a 450 mil (500g) bottle of Rich & Creamy Mushroom Sauce (with cream & parsley) ….you may use a can of 454g Cream of Mushroom Soup or make your own cream or mushroom sauce/soup …pour this into the casserole and stir to mix the wild rice & mushroom mixture …

…I added 50ml of home-made chicken stock … remember now, this receipe serves 2 pax ….if you are cooking for 4 – 6 please remember to increase all ingredients accordingly …if you use a pack of 454g wild rice (serves 4 – 6 pax), you may still use a can or bottle of the creamy mushroom sauce/soup but increase the chicken stock to 100 to 150 ml …

…return browned chicken breast into the pot and immerse into the creamy mixture … and bake, covered, in a preheated oven of 200°C for about 1 hour or until the wild rice are tender ….longer if you are making a bigger pot serving more pax than 2

….and, dinner is served … this, I cooked in the oven … a very tasty & wholesome meal ❤

Chopped Cauliflower & Broccoli Quinoa Salad

I made this refreshing, colourful salad to be served with the Marmite BBQ Ribs I made for dinner… a very simple salad with just lemon for dressing … very suitable served with grilled meat or fish or even on it’s own by adding some salad beans

for 2 of us, I used ½ cup quinoa … I like to toast my quinoa in a heated hot pan …

…add 1½ cups water and boil until the quinoa is tender  …

…drain the quinoa and set aside to cool …

I’m preparing only for 2 of us so I merely use 2 small florets …chopped into small bits …

…likewise with broccoli …

…other ingredients I used are : 1 chopped celery; 1 small bunch chopped scallions/spring onion; ¼ cup chopped parsley; …1 used 1 seeded chopped tomato for added colours but you may use capsicums

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl, squeeze in juice of one lemon and mix thoroughly and set aside in the refrigerator for the flavours to develop