No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

  This Cordycep flower and shredded chicken porridge is smooth, rich in flavour and comforting.  To me, this is the ultimate one-pot meal which is most welcoming for lunch or dinner especially in this hot and humid weather. The  crunchy Cordycep flowers lend a hand into bringing this porridge up to the next level. Cordycep Flowers and shredded Chicken Porridge ~  虫草花鸡丝粥 Ingredients 360 gm free range chicken (or a quarter chicken) 125 gm Jasmine rice 8 gm dried cordycep flowers 8 dried scallops, rinsed a handful of goji berries 2 tsp Shaoxing wine 1/2 cube of chicken bouillon 8 cups of water or more according to your desired consistency 3 slices of ginger Salt to taste A dash of sesame oil Method To poach the cordycep flowers -  soak the dried cordycep flowers to expand for about 10 mins.  Drain.   Then boil them with just enough water to cover, once cooked, add some salt and 2 tsp Shaoxing wine.  Set aside. Boil the jasmine rice and slices of...

  These Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds muffins, soft and light are so easy to whip up to enjoy with a hot cup of coffee or tea.  They are very versatile as you can have them as a light breakfast or snack as and when you feel like it.  I topped them with more seeds and with a sprinkling of Rapadura sugar to give the extra crunch and coupled with the frgrance of the latter, they certainly brought the muffin to a new level. Sunflower and Pumpkin Seeds Muffin  ~    向日葵和南瓜籽玛芬  Ingredients  150 gm plain flour 70 gm light brown sugar 130 gm pupkin puree (from fresh pumpkin) 1 'L' egg 1/4 cup milk 60 ml oil 1 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp baking soda 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp vanilla 1/4 tsp salt 45 gm lightly roasted sunflower seeds 45 gm lightly roasted pumpkin seeds Rapadura or Turbinado sugar to sprinkle on top (optional) Method Sift the plain flour with the baking powder and baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Set aside In a mixing bowl, whisk sugar, oil, egg ...

A simple stir-fry dish of Fish Bladder (魚鰾) with carrot, celery, shitake mushrooms and not forgetting my favourite soy bean chip/dao bao ( 豆包).  The dao bao tends to be very absorbent and hence I had to add in more water to the dish after I added them in, and I added them in last.  This dish goes very well with white rice and is quite popular during Chinese New Year. Stir-fry Fish Bladder  ~ 翻炒魚鰾 Ingredients 20 gm fish bladder 100 gm celery 50 gm carrot 4 Shitake mushrooms 3 pieces soy bean chip/Dao Bao  2 pips of garlic, sliced 3 slices of ginger Spring onions 2 Tbsp oyster sauce 1 Tbsp light soya sauce 1 Tbsp cornstarch and 1.5  Tbsp water to mix 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine Salt to taste Method Soak the fish bladder till soft, then blanch in hot boiling water.  Remove, rinse and squeeze dry.  Cut up. Soak the Shitake mushrooms till soft, stem and cut. Shallow fry the dao bao and cut into smaller pieces. Saute the sliced garlic, ginger and mushrooms til...

  These chocolate chip cookies made with melted butter are delightfully dense on the inside and crisp on the edges.  As melted butter is being used, the cookies have a softer inside.  No mixer is required to make these cookies and I only used a ball whisk throughout the whole process.  Can give this a try and add on to your CNY cookies list! Chocolate Chip Cookies  ~  巧克力曲奇饼 Ingredients 115 unsalted butter (melted) 70 gm brown sugar 30 gm caster sugar 1 'L' egg 210 gm plain flour 1/2 tsp baking soda a pinch of salt 1/2 tsp vanilla essence 150 gm chocolate chip Extra chocolate chips to place on top of the cookies (optional) Method Heat up the butter in the microwave until JUST melted, not bubbly.  Stir with a spoon till soft and smooth.  Let cool for about 5 mins. Sift the flour with the baking soda and salt.  Set aside. Pour the melted butter into a mixing bowl.  With a ball whisk, mix in the egg and sugars.  Mix till well inco...

  It's year end again, will be saying áuld lang syne' to 2024' in relatively 2 weeks and soon will be ushering in the new year, 2025.  This Pistachio muffin will be great to greet you on the morning of Christmas, a light breakfast after all the gourmet food at X'mas eve dinner.  Pistachio Muffins ~ 开心果玛芬                               Ingredients 100 gm caster sugar 1/2 cup oil 3/4 cup milk 2 'L' eggs 250 gm self-raising flour 1 tsp vanilla 100 gm pistachio, chopped Icing sugar to dust Method In a large mixing bowl, whisk oil and sugar till well incorporated.  Add in the milk, vanilla mix well and break in the eggs.  Whisk till well combined. Sift in the self-raising flour and fold till just combined. Mix in the chopped pistacho. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the muffin cups, about 3/4 full. Bake in a preheated oven @ 200 deg.C for about 20 mins. till muffins are bro...

  I tried making these chocolate chip cookies with oil as I ran out of butter.  Always curious to try out any new ingredients I gave it a go.  I wasn't disappointed at all as the cookies turned out delicious and tasted good, except that I should have added in some brown sugar to give them a better darker colour. Butterless Chocolate Chip Cookies  (Made with oil) ~  用油制成的巧克力曲奇 Ingredients 3/4 cup oil 2 eggs 180 gm caster sugar (or half caster and half light brown sugar) 270 gm plain flour 1 teasp baking soda 1/4 teasp salt 1 teasp vanilla 250 gm semi sweet chocolate chips Method Sift the plain flour, baking soda, salt, set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat oil, sugar and eggs till creamy. Fold in the sifted flour, mix till well incorporated. Add in the chocolate chips and mix well.  (Dough is a bit wet). Cover the mixing bowl with cling wrap and refridgerate for about 30 mins. Using an ice cream scoop, scoop up the dough and place about 2 inches apart on a parch...

  This is an extremely delicious dish to go with white rice or even plain porridge.  You don't have to add in big spoonfuls of shrimp paste for it is salty but some sugar is needed to enhance the taste.  Adding in Shaoxing wine will definitely bring the taste up to the next level.  You'll definitely need more rice to go with this dish..... trust me! Steamed Pork Belly with Shrimp Paste  ~   蝦醬蒸五花腩 Ingredients 300 gm pork belly, cut thinly (with or without skin) 1.5 Tsp Shrimp paste  2 Tsp sugar 1 Tbsp Shaosing wine 3 slices of ginger, chopped  1 Tbsp cornstarch and 1.5 to 2 Tbsp water 1 tsp oil (so that the meat will not stick to each other) a bit of pepper Chillies and spring onions, chopped for garnishing Method Cut up the pork belly thinly. Mix in the chopped ginger. Mix the shrimp paste with wine to dilute it. Pour the shrimp paste mixture into the pork belly. Add in some pepper, sugar, cornstarch, oil and water.  Mix till well ...