April 20 Budget Meal Seaweed and Minced Pork Soup Fried Bitter Gourd Omelette and Ma Po Tofu

I have being craving for those Cze Char style Seaweed Soup recently and after asking around for a quick and easy recipe. I managed to settle on Alices version where she is very patience to guide me through  the steps during one of our chat on MSN. Her method was pretty good with boiling of  fresh ikan bilis stock and she also share on how to "clean" the seaweed by frying it dry in a non-stick pan which will enhance its fragrance and at the same time removes any dirt that is trapped in between the seaweed.

This set of Budget Meal cost about S$6.60 which is good enough for 2 - 3 servings.

SEAWEED SOUP

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
1/4 Portion of Dried Seaweed, cut from a 20cm round
60g Minced Pork
2 Garlic Cloves, lightly pound
1 - 2 Slices of Ginger
1 Stalk of Spring Onion, cut into sections
1 Medium Tomato, cut into wedges
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1 Litre Hot Water
1/2 Cube or Knorr Ikan Bilis Stock

Method:-

1. Marinate minced pork with light soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and corn starch for about 5 minutes.

2. Heat up 1/2 Tablespoon of oil in a soup pot, saute ginger, garlic and spring onion till fragrant then add in minced pork and continue to stir-fry for a few minutes till cooked through.

3. Pour in hot water and bring to boil, add stock cube, let it simmer for 2 - 3 minutes. Remove the garlic, ginger and spring onion before adding in the tomato and seaweed.

4. Turn off the heat, slowly swirl in the beaten egg and serve.


Total cost for this dish is about S$1.80 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Seaweed = S$0.40
~ Egg = S$0.20
~ Tomato = $0.20
~ Minced Pork = S$1.00

Whenever we visit any Cze Char(煮炒) stalls, we will always order either their "Bitter Gourd Omelette" or "Egg Foo Yong(芙蓉蛋)". Here we can also prepare a simple version of this delicious omelette dish at home according to personal preference. If you are not sure on how to choose the bitter gourd, you can always ask the stall owner for help. But if you are getting it from supermarket, just try to get those with bright jade green colour and wider pattern lines so that they are not on the extreme bitter taste.

BITTER GOURD OMELETTE

Ingredients: (serves 2 - 3)
2 Large Eggs
100g (1/3 Portion of a Medium) Bitter Gourd, thinly sliced
2 Garlic Cloves, finely minced
1 Teaspoon of Light Soy Sauce
Dash of Pepper and Sesame Oil
1.5 Tablespoon Oil for frying Omelette

Method:-

1. Before cooking the bitter gourd, add 1 teaspoon of salt and marinate for 5 minutes, wash and squeeze dry to reduce the bitter taste.

2. Heat up oil in frying pan, saute garlic until fragrant. Add in bitter gourd and mix well.

3. Stir-fry the bitter gourd until soft, slowly swirl in the beaten egg (beat egg, light soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper together till combined) .

4. Pan-fry at medium heat until set, turn it over and continue to fry until golden brown.

5. Dish up and serve.


Total cost for this dish is about S$0.90 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Bitter Gourd = S$0.50
~ 2 Eggs = S$0.40

It has being long since I last set my wok with this popular Chinese dish which is known as Mo Po Tofu(麻婆豆腐). It has a combination of tofu (beancurd) and minced meat that cooks in a spicy chili and bean based sauce. For this home version of Mo Po Tofu, I used the instant Lee Kum Kee Mo Po Tofu sauce which is slightly mild compare to the original "spicy" taste that we ate from Chinese Restaurants.

MA PO TOFU

Ingredients: (Serves 2 - 4)
90g Minced Pork
250g Soft Tofu, dice in 1" cubes
2 Garlic Cloves, finely chopped
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar, optional
1 Packet of Lee Kum Kees Ma Po Tofu Sauce

Method:-

1. Preheat frying pan with 1.5 tablespoon of oil and saute minced garlic till fragrance before adding in the minced pork.

2. Stir-fry minced pork till cook through, pour in Lee Kum Kee Sauce For Ma Po Tofu and simmer for 10 seconds.

3. Slowly add in the drained tofu and give it a quick stir to absorb the flavour from the Ma Po sauce and slightly thickened. (You can add in some sugar to balance the spicy and salty taste from the sauce)

4. Dish up on serving plate, sprinkle with some chopped spring onion and serve immediately with warm steamed rice.


Total cost for this dish is about S$3.90 with breakdown shown below:-
Cost of Ingredients:
~ Silken Tofu = S$1.50
~ Lee Kum Kee Sauce = S$1.40
~ Minced Pork = S$1.00

Using simple ingredients like EGG and TOFU you can also whipped up something delicious like what we had for dinner. And I am sure most of you can also come out with some other delicious dishes using these simple ingredients too. Most important you know what is good for your family and  I am sure you will try to incorporate as many healthy ingredients as you can in your daily cooking.

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Pork Shrimp and Shiitake Mushroom Potstickers

Dumpling making was a frequent weekend family activity when I was young. First, my dad would mix the filling, adding a splash of this and and a dash of that. Then we would start the assembly line. My brothers job was to separate any wrappers that were stuck together, lay them out, and, the most important part, place them flour side down so when we pick up the wrappers, the flour side would end up on the outside of the dumplings. My mom and I would wrap the dumplings, using up the wrappers as fast as my brother could separate them. Dad would help with the wrapping sometimes but his other job besides making the filling was boiling the dumplings. Of course, my mom would always get on his case about how he would boil them too long.

The way Chinese people boil dumplings has always puzzled me. Here’s how my family did it:
1. Bring a large pot of water up to a boil
2. Add your dumplings, bring it up to a boil again
3. Add a cup of cold water, boil again,
4. Add another cup of cold water, and after it comes up to a boil again, they are ready to be served.

Every Chinese person I’ve asked about this says the same thing: add water, boil, add water, boil. Even all of my Chinese cookbooks say to boil this way. Nowhere does it specify how much water you start out with or how much is a “cup” of cold water, sometimes my dad used a mug, sometimes a bowl. Because Im a food science nerd, I wonder, what is the science behind the principle of adding the cold water? I could BS something and say that the cold water solidifies the gluten in the wrappers making the dumplings chewier but honestly, I don’t think a cupful of cold tap water in a stockpot of boiling hot water is going to make a difference. Whats the difference is between doing this versus a steady gentle simmer? Anyone want to hazard a guess? Anyways, since I like to be precise, or at least try to, I gave time frames for boiling, steaming, and panfrying the dumplings. You can always cut open a sacrificial dumpling to check if the inside is cooked through.

My family always used storebought wrappers for their convenience so I thought these were the way to go. The last time I tried to make homemade wrappers, I ended up with some painful and diastrous results (I won’t go into details). So I went back to buying my wrappers, thinking that they would solve my problems. But... they don’t! Now I find that the storebought wrappers are too dry and rigid. Having to wet the wrappers with water is an extra step and its especially annoying when the wrappers dont seal properly. Homemade wrappers definitely taste better and have a much better chew but is it worth the trouble? I’ll have to try again.

With so many possible fillings and three different ways of cooking them, Ill never get tired of making and eating dumplings. Dumpling or jiao zi are filled with a combination of protein and veggie. They are usually filled with ground pork because that is the most common meat eaten in China, but they can also be filled with shrimp, beef, pressed tofu, or even scrambled egg. Theres even greater variety of vegetables you can use: napa cabbage, salted mustard greens, Chinese chives, etc. Then you can either boil the dumplings (shui jiao) or steam them (zheng jiao) or panfry them (guo tie/potstickers).

Pork, Shrimp, and Mushroom Potstickers

1 lb ground pork
1/2 lb shrimp, finely chopped or briefly pulsed in a food processor
1/2 C chopped shiitake mushrooms
1 tsp grated ginger
2 Tbsp Shao Hsing rice wine
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
1 egg
1 Tbsp cornstarch

1 pack of potsticker wrappers or fresh wrappers
And a bowl of water

or

Fresh potsticker wrappers
3 C all purpose flour
2/3 C boiling water
1/3 C cold water
1 tsp salt

Makes about 32 to 36 potstickers

Make the wrapper (optional)
Mix flour, salt, and hot water. Stir together with a spoon or pair of chopsticks until the dough comes together. Add the cold water and stir. Knead until smooth. The dough should not be sticky. Let the dough rest at least 30 minutes. You can make the filling at this time.

Divide the dough in 4 pieces and keep 3 pieces under cover so it doesn’t dry out. Take one portion and roll it out into a long snake. Cut off a piece of the snake to and roll it into a 3 in wrapper. Ideally it should be thinner around the edges and thicker in the middle.

Repeat for the other half of the dough. Keep the dough covered when you work with out to prevent it from drying out.

Make the filling
Mix all of the ingredients for the filling together in a bowl.

If youre using storebought wrappers, make sure you place the filling on the side with less flour. Place a tablespoon of the filling on a wrapper. You can pleat the edges or fold them in half. If I’m boiling them, I get lazy and fold them in half. If I’m panfrying them for potstickers, then I like to pleat them so they can sit neatly on their flat bottoms in the pan. When using storebought wrappers, make sure to have a bowl of water to moisten the entire perimeter of the wrapper in order to tightly seal the dumpling. You won’t need the water for fresh wrappers since the dough is soft enough to seal together nicely. If you’re looking for how to pleat the dumplings, the very best folding guide Ive come across is Jen’s dumpling guide. I didn’t even bother taking my own pictures especially with my dirty hands because Jen’s guide is an A+. There was a good one on Epicurious a while back but I can’t find it anymore. Place the wrapped potstickers on a lightly floured tray and keep them covered until you are ready to cook them.

Boil:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the dumplings and stir so they don’t stick to each other or to the bottom of the pan. Cover and lower the heat to a simmer. Simmer for 7 – 9 minutes, or until the filling is cooked through. Frozen dumplings will take an additional 1 – 2 minutes. Drain and serve with dipping sauce.

Steam:
Bring the water in the steamer up to a boil. Place some cabbage leaves or a layer of cheesecloth in the steamer. Arrange the dumplings so they are not touching. When the water in the steamer comes to a boil, steam the dumplings for 10 - 12 minutes. Frozen dumplings will take an additional 1 – 2 minutes.

Pan fry:
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Arrange the dumplings in a circular ring around the pan and squeeze some into the middle, making sure that they do not touch. Pan fry until the bottoms are light golden, about 1 minute. Add 1/2 C of water and immediately cover. Turn the heat down to low or medium low and steam the dumplings in the skillet for 10 minutes (12 minutes for frozen). After 10 minutes, remove the lid and turn the heat up to medium high to evaporate any remaining water and crisp the bottoms, about 2 – 3 more minutes. Place a plate over the potstickers and invert the pan to serve the potstickers crispy side up.

Freeze:
Freeze the dumplings on a lightly floured tray, making sure they are not touching. When they are frozen solid, transfer them to a freezer bag.


Dipping sauce

2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp rice vinegar
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil
Thinly sliced scallions (optional)
Minced ginger (optional)
Minced garlic (optional)
Chili oil or chili sauce/paste (optional)

Mix everything in a bowl and serve with dumplings. Double if needed.

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Coke Pork Ribs New Version!

This is one of the few dishes I have learnt through a parenting forum (Mum4Mum) when I first started blogging in 2005. At that time this Coke Pork Ribs and Coke Chicken Wings are one of the famous dishes among the forum members and related food bloggers. And if you have follow most of my posts from that time you might have tried this Coke Pork Ribs recipe which used "Char Siew Sauce" as one of the ingredients.

Recently, Derrick from sgfoodonfoot has cooked the Coke Chicken Wings using Happy Call Pan (HCP) and it definitely brings back my memories and inspired me to cook this Coke Pork Ribs again which shown in this post.

COKE PORK RIBS

(using Happy Call Pan)

This is a very quick and easy finger liking dish where you can use either spare ribs or chicken wings as one of the main ingredients. But for us, we prefer spare ribs compared to chicken because of its texture and taste which is similar to Pai Gu Wang(排骨王). And if you prefer a darker brown colour spare ribs, you can add an additional 1/2 tablespoon of dark soy sauce while simmering with the coke and its sugars content would give a deep glossy coating and caramelized flavor to the end products.

(Serves: 2-3 | Preparation: 30 minutes | Cooking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
500g - 600g Prime Pork Ribs, cut smaller pieces
1 Teaspoon Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/2 Tablespoon Honey
1/2 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1 Tablespoon Cooking Wine
1/2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1/2 Tablespoon Cornflour
1/2 Can Of Coke(Coca-Cola)

Method:-

1. Rinse and pat dry spare ribs. Add in all the above ingredients except Coke and marinate it for at least 30 minutes or overnight in the fridge.

2. Arrange marinated spare ribs on HCP, cover and cook for about 2 minutes on each side before adding in half can of Coke.

3. When the mixture comes to boil, cover and lock the pan. Simmer the spare ribs on the lowest heat for about 30 minutes or till sauce thicken and meat is tender.

4. Half way through the cooking time, you could add extra 1/2 tablespoon of dark soy sauce to darken the colour of the spare ribs. (remember to flip the HCP a few times during cooking in order to give the spare ribs an evenly colour coating)

5. When done, remove spare ribs from pan and garnish it with some chopped spring onion and sesame seeds. Serve hot with steamed rice.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

NOTE:-

~ You can also use any Non-stick Pan for this recipe instead of Happy call Pan.

Till then have a great weekend everyone! Catch up again with more NEW recipes next week. Cheers!

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Crispy Pork Cutlets with Creamy Jalapeno Green Onion Gravy – Say Auf Wiedersehen to the 3 Pan Breading Station!

This is what happens when you have two food wishes in your head at the same time. I’ve wanted to do a schnitzel video für immer, but thanks to another recent food wish, I was also craving biscuits with cream gravy. So, I sort of did both, and it worked out well. Very well.

The crispy pork cutlet part of the presentation is very simple and straightforward, but it did afford the opportunity to share my new breading system. With all the time you’ll save, you can hit the gym to burn off this less than light, but extremely satisfying meal.

I’ve never been a big fan of the 3-pan breading system. Once you dredge meat in the prescribed dish of seasoned flour, you have to toss the rest. The whole idea is to simply coat the meat with flour, so why not just sprinkle on already seasoned meat? We use much less flour that way, and with zero waste.

From there, we’re not dipping these in a bowl of beaten eggs. Why do that, when we can just dump one egg on to the same plate and toss to coat. Faster, easier, and one egg is plenty for four cutlets.

As far as the cream gravy goes, the jalapenos and green onion probably seem logical, but some may raise an eyebrow over the diced dill pickle. I’m not sure exactly why I added them, but I just had one of those feelings. Pickles and pork, dill and cream sauce, it felt right, and it tasted even righter.

By the way, you can substitute veal, beef, turkey or chicken for the pork without missing a beat. Anyway, I hope you give this easy pork cutlet, delicious cream gravy, and/or new breading system a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 8 Cutlets (makes four entrée size portions of 2 cutlets each):

2 fully trimmed pork tenderloins, cut into 8 pieces, pounded flat

salt and pepper to taste

flour as needed

2 eggs

about 3 cups panko breadcrumbs

For the gravy:

2 tbsp melted butter

1/3 cup diced dill pickles

1 or 2 jalapeños, small dice

1 bunch green onions, chopped

salt and cayenne to taste

1 1/2 tablespoon flour

1 1/2 cup cold milk, plus more to adjust thickness if needed

View the complete recipe

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Porridge with Prawn and Pork Meatballs 虾与肉圆粥

My daughter wasnt well in school yesterday and returned home earlier.



I changed the dinner menu and made some meatballs to go with porridge instead. The meatballs were springy and the kids like it so much, they kept asking for more.



I told them I will make meatball soup for them today.

Ingredients:

• 100g Minced Pork


• 130g Prawns Meat


• 1 Egg White


• 1/2 tablespoon Cooking Wine


• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder


• 1 teaspoon Corn Flour


• 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce


• a pinch of salt


• a dash of pepper

How to do it:

1. Smash prawn and mince with knife till fine.


2. Mix minced prawn with minced pork.


3. Add in the rest of the ingredients.


4. Mix well with hands till mixture is sticky and paste-like.


5. Scoop some paste and drop into porridge or soup.


6. Cook till the float up to the surface.


7. Cook for another minute and they are done.

Note:

• Adjust the proportion of the meat on your preference.


• I prefer to just smash and mince the prawn so its not too paste like. Then you will still be able to bite into bits of the prawns. Use a blender instead if you like.

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Cheese Stuffed Pork Cutlet 芝士炸猪扒

This is the second dish that I prepared last Friday that I will be sharing the recipe.



In fact this, like the Pork and Vegetable Stew, is my old recipe which Im trying to improve. Now the pork tasted better and you can fry it on its own without cheese stuffed in it.

Ingredients:

• 250g Lean Pork, about 6 slices


• 3 slices Cheese, 1 for each Cutlet


• 1 Egg, beaten


• Plain Flour for dusting


• Breadcrumbs for coating


• Oil for deep frying

Seasonings:

• 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder


• 2 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce


• 1/2 tablespoon Mirin


• 1/2 tablespoon Sake or Chinese Cooking Wine


• 1/2 teaspoon Ginger Juice


• a dash of Ground Black Pepper

How to do it:

1. Pat meat dry with paper towel.


2. Tenderise and flatten the meat on both side with a meat mallet till the meat expand and thin.


3. Marinate the meat with seasonings for at least half an hour.


4. Cut cheese into half or to size to fit inside the meat. Keep the cheese away from the
   side as it will melt and sip through the meat when you fry.


5. Cover with another piece of meat.


6. Dust with flour.


7. Dip in beaten egg.


8. Coat well with breadcrumbs.


9. Deep fry till it turn golden brown.


10. Serve immediately, here with BBQ sauce.

Note:

• If you prefer more cheese, you can add another half a slice. I use 1 1/2 slices for my cutlet.


• Although we want to get the meat thin, try to be careful not to over do it till its too thin as it may tear during frying causing the cheese to oozes out.


• If you would like to make plain pork cutlet without the cheese, just skip steps 4 and 5.

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Pork Picadillo

A year’s worth of Everyday Food has been piling up on my bookcase. When I received my first issue, most of the recipes in the magazine didnt suit my tastes. So every subsequent month, I would simply stick the latest issue on a shelf not bothering to look inside. But over the last year my tastes have definitely changed and the range of foods and dishes that appeal to me have widened greatly. Recently I needed something to read on the bus so I I brought the June issue with me. I was casually flipping through the pages expecting nothing to interest me but to my surprise I liked quite a few recipe and dog eared a few pages. Now Im slowly working my way back, reading all the magazines that I had previously ignored. In this latest edition, I saw a recipe for pork picadillo that looked pretty good. It was really tasty over rice and I used the fillings in some empanadas that I made for Meetas Birthday Bash Monthly Mingle.

Notes:
- Since I didn’t have ancho chili powder, I used 1 tsp of regular chili powder + 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
- I made a few changes to the recipe but in the end I felt like it could use a bit more spice. Next time I will up the chili powder to 2 teaspoons. In retrospect, a teaspoon of chili powder hardly seems enough to flavor 3 pounds of meat. But perhaps high quality ancho chili powder would have done the job.
- The recipe makes a lot, about 6 - 8 cups, but it freezes well.
- Other uses include: in burritos, nachos, tacos, on baked potatoes, and empanadas

Pork (or Beef) Picadillo
Adapted from Everyday Food

3 lb ground pork (or lean ground beef)
1 medium onion, diced
1 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes
2 chiptole chilies (in adobo sauce), minced
1 tsp of the adobo sauce from the chiptole peppers
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 tsp ancho chili power (or regular chili powder + smoked paprika)
1/2 tsp ground cumin (I used 1 tsp whole cumin and ground it)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 - 2 bay leaves (depending on the size and potency)
1/2 tsp black pepper (or more to taste)
1/2 C raisins
Olive oil
Salt to taste

Optional: chopped green olives
Toppings: chopped cilantro and/or toasted almonds

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a dutch oven and brown half of the ground meat, remove, add more oil to the pan, and brown the second half. Drain the fat if you’re using ground beef, pork is pretty lean so draining is unnecessary.

Pour out any accumulated fat if using beef. Add another tbsp of olive oil and add the chili powder and cumin. Bloom the spices in the oil for a few seconds then add the onions and cook until softened. Then add the garlic, and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the browned meat, tomatoes, chopped chilies, bay leaf, cinnamon, and ground black pepper to the pan. Add some salt but leave it a little on undersalted because the flavors will concentrate as it reduces, salt to taste after it finishes cooking.

Simmer partly covered for about 45 minutes. At the halfway point if its still looking too liquidy, simmer uncovered for the rest of the time. 10 minutes before the dish is done, soak the raisins in some hot water. I did this to leech out some of the sugar, otherwise theyre too sweet for me, and to get rid of the gross sticky coating on the outside. Soak them for about 5 minutes, drain, and squeeze the excess water out. Off heat, stir in the raisins and fish out the bay leaves.

Serve over rice with some chopped cilantro and/or chopped toasted almonds on top.

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Traditional Christmas roast oven baked pork shoulder with honey mustard and rosemary

Photo by Juta Kübarsepp for the December issue of Kodu ja Aed magazine, 2012 

Whats your traditional Christmas roast (assuming youre eating meat)? Turkey? Goose? Duck?

In Estonia its definitely pork, though roast poultry has become more popular during recent years. Ive been flirting with roast goose and actually served duck leg confit on Christmas Eve this year. It was delicious.

However, for years Ive been serving pork roast - a pork shoulder (kaelakarbonaad in Estonian) in a mustard-honey-garlic-rosemary marinade, to be more precise. I love that its a pretty fool-proof recipe, simple to make, with lots of flavour. And - as an added bonus - any leftovers are excellent on top of rye bread on the days after the party, or as part of a salad. So if youre not making it for a big family feast, you can still make the same amount and simply make several meals out of it.

So here you go. Nami-Namis traditional Christmas roast. On the photo above, its accompanied by black pudding (blood sausages) - another traditional Christmas dish.

Wish you all a lovely festive season!!!

Traditional Christmas roast
(Ahjupraad karbonaadist)
Serves about 10

2 kg boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt)
3-4 Tbsp honey
3-4 Tbsp Dijon mustard or Estonian Põltsamaa mustard
2-3 fresh rosemary sprigs (leaves only)
3 large garlic cloves
2 tsp sea salt

Finely chop garlic cloves and rosemary leaves, then mix with honey and mustard until combined.
Season the meat generously with salt, then spread the mustard-honey mixture all over the pork shoulder and massage into the meat.
Place the pork shoulder into a large ovenproof dish, cover with foil and place into a fridge or cold larder for 1-2 days.
Bring back to the room temperature about an hour before you plan to cook the meat.
If you have a meat thermometer, then stick it into the thickest part of the meat (you can do this through the kitchen foil).
Roast the meat in a pre-heated 160 C / 320 F oven for about 2,5 hours or until the meat thermometer has reached 82-85 C/ 180-185 F.
If you plan to serve gravy with your meat, then pour a cup of hot water into the baking tray half-way through the cooking. 
When the meat is cooked, remove the foil, season the meat once more lightly with salt and then bake for another 10-15 minutes at about 200-220 C/ 390-425 F, just to brown the meat  a little.

Remove the roast pork from the oven, cover again with a kitchen foil and leave to rest for 20-30 minutes before carving into thin slices.

This recipe was also included in my latest cookbook, Jõulud kodus ("Christmas at Home"), published in Estonian in November 2011. 
I also included the recipe in the December 2012 issue of Kodu & Aed magazine. 

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