Stir-fry French Bean with King Oyster Mushroom & Chicken with Ginger

Stir-fry French Bean with King Oyster Mushroom:

Blanch king oyster mushroom and set aside. Heat up some oil and cook garlic until fragrant. Add french beans and cook for a few mins. Add mushrooms and stir-fry for a few mins. Mix a little scallop sauce with water and pour it in. Cover with hood and let it simmer for 2 mins. Remove from wok and serve.

Stir-fry Chicken with Ginger:

Marinade chicken with some oyster sauce and dark soya sauce for a few hours. Heat up some oil and cook ginger until fragrant. Add marinated chicken and stir-fry for a few mins. Pour some water if you prefer to have more sauce. Cook for another 2 – 3 mins. Remove from wok and serve.

Stir-fried Broccoli, King Oyster Mushroom with Prawns and Fried Curry Powdered Chicken

Stir-fried Broccoli, King Oyster Mushroom with Prawns:

Blanch both broccoli and mushroom first. Drain it. Heat up oil and add garlic, fry until fragrant. Add marinated prawns (with salt and pepper) and stir-fry until almost cook. Add broccoli and mushroom. Mix some oyster sauce with water and pour it in. Cover with hood and let it simmer for a few minutes. Remove hood and serve immediately.

Fried Curry Powdered Chicken:

Marinate chicken with meat curry powder. Leave it aside for a few hours. Heat up oil. Add marinated chicken. Fry until cook. Serve immediately.

Home-made Chicken Nuggets by Samantha Thiessen

Preparation: 10 mins
Bake: 25 mins
Serves: 6

2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp dried oregano or your favourite dried herb
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
2 tbsps grated Parmesan cheese (optional)
1 cup low-fat milk
3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into 3 cm chunks

Method:
1. Combine flour, herbs, salt and pepper in a bowl. In a second bowl, combine crumbs and cheese, if using. Pour milk into a third bowl
2. Dip each chicken chunk into milk; moisten all sides. Place into flour mixture, make sure chunk is coated. Dip into milk again then coat with breadcrumb mixture
3. Once all chicken chunks have been coated, arrange on a greased baking sheet, leaving space between pieces
4. Bake in the centre of a 220'C oven for 25 mins or until chicken nuggets are light golden. Serve immediately

Guilt-free Chocolate Mousse by Samantha Thiessen

Preparation: 15 mins
Serves: 6

1/2 cup cocoa powder
3 tbsps cornstarch
1/2 cup white sugar
Pinch of salt
3 cups low-fat milk
2 egg yolks, whisked
1 tsp vanilla essence
Chopped nuts

Method:
1. Combine cocoa powder with cornstarch, white sugar and salt in a pan. Gradually whisk in low-fat milk until evenly mixed. Place pan over medium-high fire, stirring constantly for 4 to 5 mins until mixture starts to bubble and thicken. Remove from stove
2. Whisk 1/2 cup of warm cocoa mixture into whisked egg yolks. Slowly, whisk this into remaining warm cocoa mixture in pan
3. Place pan over medium-low fire and stir constantly for 1 min. Remove from fire and add vanilla essence. Pour mixture into a serving bowl or individual cups to set. Refrigerate for at least 2 hrs. Serve chilled and topped with nuts, if desired

Love Bites by F&N Evaporated Milk

500 gm white cooking chocolate, roughly chopped
150 ml F&N Evaporated Milk
200 gm butter
100 gm roasted hazelnuts
200 gm dark cooking chocolate, roughly chopped

Method:
1. Combine white chocolate, F&N Evaporated Milk and butter in a mixing bowl. Microwave or put over a Bain Marie to melt the chocolate and butter. When mixture is well combined, leave it in the fridge and chill to set
2. When white chocolate mixture has hardened, scoop a teaspoonful, quickly roll it into a ball then flatten it to wrap a whole hazelnut. Roll it up into a ball again and place on a foil-lined tray. Repeat process until mixture and nuts are used up
3. Return the white chocolate balls to the fridge to chill for about 20 mins
4. Melt the dark chocolate and coat the white chocolate balls with it. Arrange them in a mini foil cups and serve after dinner

Love Potion by F&N Evaporated Milk

200 gm fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and frozen
100 ml blackcurrant syrup
200 ml F&N Evaporated Milk
1 tin soda water
Extra blackcurrant syrup for drizzling

Method:
1. Put frozen strawberries, blackcurrant syrup and F&N Evaporated Milk in a blender and blend till smooth
2. To serve, pour a little blackcurrant syrup at the bottom of the serving glass, pour in the blended mixture, then top up with the soda water. Stir to mix before drinking

Lemongrass Licks by Bob Blumer (Surreal Gourmet)

12 stalks lemongrass (Makes 12 sticks)

Layer 1:

• 1 1/2 mangos, peeled and pitted
• 2 tbsps freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1 tbsp grated peeled fresh ginger

Layer 2:

• 1 cup whole strawberries, hulled
• 1 peach, peeled and pitted
• 1 tbsp sugar

Layer 3:

• 1 1/2 ripe bananas
• 1/3 cup guava juice

Method:

• Trim the outer layers of the lemongrass stalks and cut them into 4” long pcs from the bottom
• In a blender, puree the ingredients for each individual layer and reserve the mixtures in separate containers
• Set out 12 mini popsicle molds or suitable alternatives, and get your kids to help out by filling each of them a 3rd full with mango mixture. Place a small square of aluminum foil over each mold and crimp it snugly around the top of the mold. Use the tip of a paring knife to cut a 1/4” slit in the middle of each pc of foil. Slide a lemongrass skewer, thin side down. through the slit to the bottom of each mold
• Freeze molds until frozen, approximately 1 hr. Fill each mold another third of the way with strawberry mixture. Return to freezer until frozen. Top molds with banana mixture and return to freezer until frozen
• To remove pops, dip molds into a bowl of hot water for a few seconds, then twist pops out
• Short cut: to reduce the freezing time by two-thirds, limit each pop to one flavour. The popsicles also keep well in the freezer so you can make it in advance. Just seal the exposed end with plastic wrap to prevent freezer burn

Fried Egg with Chicken, Fried Fish & AB Soup by me

Fried egg with chicken:

Heat up a little oil and add onions. Stir fry until fragrant and add chicken (cut into bite sized chunks). Once chicken is almost cooked, add whisked eggs (flavoured with salt and pepper). Serve once cooked.

Fried fish:

Heat up some oil. Slide fish (patted with some salt) in and fry until cooked. After placing it in a plate, pour a little of oil over and add some light soya sauce.

AB Soup:

Wanted to cook ABC soup again but my carrots have gone to waste! See what happened to my carrots which I have left in the fridge for a week??? Geez!!! My potatoes and vegetables were still as fresh but not my carrots :-(

Anyway, I have added another potato to replace the carrot so it had become AB Soup instead ;-) You can view my previous blog for the ABC Soup recipe.

Fried Egg & Bak Kut Teh by me

Fried egg:

I used 1/2 onion and 2 eggs

The easiest to make, heat up a little oil, stir fry some onions, add whisked eggs (flavoured with some salt and pepper) and fry. Serve once cooked

Bak Kut Teh:

I used 1 pkt of A1 Bak Kut Teh Spices for the herbal soup, 1kg pork meat, 5 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp black soya sauce, 2 tsp of white soya sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, a pinch of salt and 5 bowls of water.

Boil a pot of water. Put in meat chunks (don’t slice it yet) and A1 Bak Kut Teh Spices once boiled. Cook it under medium fire for 30 mins. Once meat is cooked, add the rest of the ingredients above and let it simmer under low fire. Once done, add a dash of pepper and slice the meat before serving.