Braised chicken with mushrooms and pork tendons

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

Preparing the Pork Tendon

Soak about 250-300g of pork tendons in clean water. Leave in the refrigerator overnight until they are plumped up.

Put the tendons into a pot. Add a stalk of spring onion, two slices ginger and a litre of water. Add a tablespoon of Shao Hsing wine (if preferred).

Bring to a boil then remove and rinse with water to cool. Drain in a colander before use.

Try this recipe.

400g free range chicken, chopped

5 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked to soften

200g pre-soaked pork tendons

Spice (A)

2 slices liquorice (kam choe)

4 cloves

5 cm cinnamon stick

1 star anise

4 slices ginger

1.5 litres water

Seasoning

4 Tbsp light soy sauce

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp thick soy sauce

1 tsp chicken stock granules

Thickening

1 Tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 Tbsp water

Cook the spices and water in a pot. Bring to a boil. Add chicken and mushrooms. Bring to a boil then add combined seasoning. Reduce the heat and simmer (with pot covered) for 20 minutes.

Add pork tendons and continue to simmer until chicken meat is tender. Thicken with cornflour mixture.

Deep-fried chicken wingettes

Original recipe by Amy Beh

12 chicken wingettes

Oil for deep-frying

1 egg, lightly beaten

Combine

1 cup cornflour

1 Tbsp rice flour

Marinade

1 Tbsp ginger juice

2 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp Shao Hsing wine (optional)

¼ tsp salt

½ tsp sugar

Season chicken with marinade for at least 2-3 hours, or preferably overnight, in the refrigerator.

Just before deep-frying, add in the egg then drain the chicken wingettes on a plastic colander. Dip the pieces in the cornflour and rice flour mixture. Shake off excess flour and coat again.

Deep-fry the wingettes a second time in hot oil until golden brown and crispy.

Dish out and drain the oil. Serve immediately.

Potato salad

400g baby potatoes, cleaned

¼ cup mayonnaise

2 Tbsp sour cream

1-2 stalks chives, chopped

1 Tbsp chopped parsley

1-2 Tbsp chilled water

Pinch of salt

Dash of freshly cracked black pepper

Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil. Add the potatoes. Cook for 8-10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Test to see if they are done with a long satay stick.

Drain the potatoes in a large sieve or colander, then rinse them under running tap water until they are cool. Skin them.

For the dressing:

Mix mayonnaise, sour cream, chives and parsley in a small bowl. Add salt and black pepper to taste.

Stir until well combined. Drizzle the salad dressing over the potatoes.

Serve at once.

Stir-fried French beans

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

200g baby French beans, with both ends trimmed
20g chicken fillet, diced
¼ tsp light soy sauce
A few drops of oil
30g bamboo shoot
30g carrot, julienned
1 tsp chopped ginger
½ tsp chopped garlic
1 Tbsp hot bean paste
1 tsp preserved bean paste, minced
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp sesame oil
1 chilli, sliced
1 Tbsp chopped spring onion, use white portion only

Sauce

1 tsp oyster sauce
¼ tsp chicken stock granules
1/8 tsp pepper
½ tsp sugar or to taste
½ tsp sesame oil
½ tsp Shao Hsing wine (optional)
1 tsp cornflour
3 Tbsp water

Lightly marinate diced chicken with light soy sauce and oil.

Blanch bamboo shoots in boiling water, then dice. Heat enough oil in a wok and scald French beans briefly. Remove and drain oil.

Heat oil and sesame oil in a wok, fry ginger, garlic, hot bean paste and preserved bean paste until fragrant.

Add marinated chicken, followed by combined sauce ingredients. Stir-fry briefly.

Add bamboo shoots, carrot and French beans and stir-fry to mix well. Dish out and garnish with chilli and spring onion.

Braised herbal chicken with mushrooms and peanuts

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

300g chicken, remove the skin and fat
3 pre-fried chicken feet, chopped into halves 60g peanuts, soaked overnight
8 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked
4 slices young ginger
½ tsp chopped garlic
1 shallot, minced
5g tong kwai
1 piece liquorice
500ml fresh chicken stock
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp oil

Marinade (A)
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
Dash of pepper
½ tsp cornflour

Sauce(B)
2 Tbsp light soy sauce
2 Tbsp abalone sauce
¼ tsp thick soy sauce
½ tsp sugar
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp Shao Hsing wine (optional)

Thickening
1 tsp sweetpotato flour
1 Tbsp water

Chop chicken into bite-sized pieces and season with marinade (A) for at least 20-30 minutes.

Heat wok with sesame oil and oil and fry ginger, garlic, tong kwai and liquorice until fragrant.

Add peanuts, chicken feet, mushrooms and combined sauce (B). Pour in fresh chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add marinated chicken and continue to cook for another 20 minutes or until meat and peanuts are tender.

Thicken with sweet potato flour mixture.

Stir-fried stingray with salted mustard

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

200g stingray, cut into small cubes

1 clove garlic, chopped

150g salted mustard, long leaf type (ham choy), soaked and finely shredded

15g young ginger, shredded

1 stalk spring onion, cut into 4cm lengths

1 Tbsp sliced fresh red chilli

2 Tbsp sesame oil

Sauce

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp light soy sauce

¼ tsp pepper

1 Tbsp sugar or to taste

½ tsp chicken stock granules

200ml fresh chicken stock

Heat sesame oil in a wok to sauté garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add salted mustard and stir-fry until fragrant. Add sauce ingredients and bring the stock to the boil for 8-10 minutes.

Add in the stingray and stir until cooked. Toss well before adding the spring onion and chilli.

Dish out and serve immediately.

Shak Kei Ma (Egg biscuits)

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

400g high protein flour, sifted

1 tsp double action baking powder

1 tbsp milk powder

5 eggs

For the syrup

400ml water

250g malt sugar (mak nga tong)

1 tbsp white vinegar

800g castor sugar

Put sifted flour, double action baking powder, milk powder and eggs in an electric mixer. Beat until a soft and pliable dough is formed. Leave aside to rest for 30 minutes.

Roll out the dough and cut into thin strips. Loosen the strips and deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown. Remove and drain.

Bring the syrup ingredients to a simmer until the syrup thickens. To test it, drop a little syrup into a bowl of cold water. If it forms a small ball, it is ready.

Put the ready fried strips of dough into the syrup and stir well to mix, with a pair of wooden chopsticks. Pour the well-coated syrupy strips into a shallow baking tray. Press down firmly and leave aside to cool. Cut into squares and store in an airtight container.

Fried Tom Yam Crab Meehoon

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

2 large meaty crabs, chopped into pieces

450g rice vermicelli (meehoon), soaked for 10-15 minutes or until just soft, and drained

1 tsp chopped garlic

1 tsp chopped shallots

3 leaves white cabbage (wong nga pak), shredded

Sauce ingredients

250ml chicken stock

1 chicken stock cube

2 tbsp tom yam paste

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp sugar or to taste

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp thick soy sauce

Garnish

1 tbsp chopped spring onions and coriander leaves

Heat oil in a wok and fry chopped shallots and garlic until lightly golden and fragrant. Add crabs and combined sauce ingredients. Cook until it boils.

Add rice vermicelli and white cabbage. Do not stir but cover the wok and cook for 6-8 minutes. Remove the wok cover and toss lightly until well mixed. Dish out and serve with garnishing.

Almond Suji Cookies

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

100g butter
40g soft brown sugar
20g castor sugar
¼ tsp vanilla essence
1 Tbsp milk
100g superfine flour
1 Tbsp rice flour
40g suji
30g coarsely chopped almonds
¼ tsp salt
½ cup whole almonds, rinsed and roasted, for decoration

Line baking trays with non-stick baking paper Sift together flour and rice flour.

Cream butter, brown sugar, castor sugar and essence. Add the milk and beat until light.

Thoroughly fold in the sifted dry ingredients and salt, along with the suji and chopped almonds.

Remove dough out onto a lightly floured tabletop. Roll out the dough between two lightly floured plastic sheets. Cut into any desired patterns and transfer to the prepared trays.

Dip the almond in milk and press onto the centre of each cookie. Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for 15 minutes or until golden. Cool on wire racks.

Coffee Rice Bubble Cookies

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

120g butter
1 Tbsp honey
75g castor sugar
½ tsp vanilla essence
¾ tsp instant coffee granules
75g plain flour
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp salt
30g rice bubbles
25g chopped macadamia nuts

Lightly grease baking trays with corn oil and preheat oven to 180°C.

Sift together flour with bicarbonate of soda. Cream butter, honey, sugar, essence and instant coffee granules until light.

Fold in sifted dry ingredients and salt, and stir in rice bubbles and chopped macadamia nuts to mix. Make small balls of dough and arrange them on prepared trays. Press down to flatten with a fork.

Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden. Leave the cookies on the trays for 4-5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Ginger Cookies

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

200g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
¾ tsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp ground ginger powder
¼ tsp salt
120g butter
80g castor sugar
30g golden syrup
25g grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp demerara sugar

Sift flour, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a mixing bowl. Add ground ginger, cinnamon powder and salt to mix.

Cream butter and sugar until light, then beat in the golden syrup and grated ginger.

Stir in the sifted dry ingredients to mix. Lightly form the mixture into a ball of dough.

Roll out between two plastic sheets. Stamp out into rounds. Place on lightly greased trays and sprinkle over with demerara sugar. Bake in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 13-15 minutes.

Leave the cookies on the trays for 1-2 minutes before transferring them to wire racks to cool.

Cuttlefish Salad

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

1 soaked cuttlefish
400g fresh large squid, score the inner body and cut into thick slices
4 kaffir lime leaves, finely shredded
30g dried prawns, rinsed and coarsely ground
2 tbsp oil
1 Bombay onion, sliced
1 red chilli, seeded and chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
3cm knob ginger, finely chopped
5-6 bird’s eye chillies, chopped

Sauce ingredients (combined)
3 tbsp Thai sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp fish sauce
1½ - 2 tbsp sugar or to taste
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tsp pepper

Garnishing
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Wash cuttlefish and make shallow slant cuts across the inside surface in a criss-cross pattern. Cut into thick slices. Lightly season cuttlefish with a little sugar and pepper for 10-15 minutes. Bring water to the boil in a saucepan and scald the cuttlefish slices for 20-30 seconds. Drain well and immerse in a basin of ice-cold water for 10 minutes. Remove and drain well.

Heat wok with 2 tablespoons oil and fry dried prawns until fragrant. Add combined sauce ingredients. As soon as it comes to the boil, dish out onto a salad bowl. Add onion, red chilli, garlic, ginger, bird’s eye chillies and kaffir lime leaves. Stir well to mix. Put in cuttlefish and squid. Toss until well combined. Dish out and serve as an appetiser.

Fragrant Roast Duck

Original Recipe By Amy Beh

1 whole duck, about 1½ kg, cleaned

Seasoning (combined)
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp Chinese five spice powder
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
Vinegar solution
250ml white rice vinegar
600ml water
2 tbsp maltose (mak ngah tong)

Pat dry the duck with a clean tea towel, and rub the inside and outside with seasoning. Combine vinegar, water and maltose in a saucepan and bring to the boil. Bathe the duck with the mixture for 5-10 minutes. Hang the duck out in an airy place to dry for about two hours.

Place duck on a roasting pan, and roast in a preheated oven at 180°C-190°C for about 30 minutes. Turn the duck around at intervals to ensure even roasting.

Heat wok with enough oil for deep-frying until oil is just hot. Deep-fry the duck until the skin is golden brown and crisp. Remove the duck and drain. Cut the duck into serving-size pieces and serve with sour plum sauce.

Baked Cheesy Fish Fillet

From The Star

Original Recipe by Faridah Begum

Baked Cheesy Fish Fillet

Baked Cheesy Fish Fillet

Ingredients:

A packet of frozen tempura fish fillets, deep-fried and drained

A little olive oil

A variety of mushrooms, cut up into bite pieces

Some pizza cheese

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped parsley for garnishing

Method:

Heat the oven. Lightly oil an oven-safe dish and place the fish fillets at the bottom, take care not to overlap them. Sauté the mushrooms for about three minutes and pour it over the fish fillets. Sprinkle with cheese as generously as possible, season with pepper and add the parsley.

Grill the dish for about 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese bubbles and serve.

Tempura Black-pepper Fish Fillet

From The Star

Original Recipe by Faridah Begum

Tempura Black-pepper Fish Fillet with Mushroom Sauce and the Summer Medley

Tempura Black-pepper Fish Fillet with Mushroom Sauce and the Summer Medley

Ingredients:

One packet of frozen tempura black- pepper fish fillets, deep-fried and drained

1 tablespoon of brown sauce mix, mixed with a little water

Fresh thinly sliced button mushrooms

Salt and pepper to taste

Medley of vegetables – leeks, zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, cauliflower, celery and carrot

A little olive oil or butter

Method:

Sauté the button mushrooms in some butter and when browned, add the brown sauce mixture and wait till it simmers.

In another saucepan, heat up a little olive oil, toss the vegetables in and stir-fry until slightly soft.

Season to taste and place a portion on individual plates. Put a piece of the fish fillet on the plate and smother with the mushroom sauce. Serve with garlic bread.

Spicy Fish Floss

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

Spicy Fish Floss

600g mackerel, cleaned

150-200ml thick coconut milk

2 tbsp oil

Seasoning

150-200ml thick coconut milk

2 tbsp oil

Seasoning

1 tsp salt or to taste

3 tbsp castor sugar

¾ tsp pepper

2 tbsp tamarind juice

Combined ground spices

4 cloves garlic

8 shallots

2 stalks lemon grass

2cm knob ginger

3 tbsp meat curry powder

Put the fish into a pot of boiling water until the fish is cooked. Drain well and flake the fish.

Heat oil in a wok and fry the ground spice ingredients until fragrant. Put in the flaked fish meat and fry over medium low heat until the fish meat is almost dry.

Add coconut milk gradually and continue to fry until the fish is dry and golden brown. Mix in tamarind juice and seasoning. Continue to fry and stir until the fish is completely dry. Remove and spread on a baking tray. Bake in the oven over low temperature (150°C) for 15-20 minutes. Stir constantly until the fish floss is dry and crispy.

Oysters Mornay

Original Recipe by Amy Beh

Oysters Mornay

8-10 oysters in halve shell

1 tbsp chopped spring onion

½ cup white wine

½ cup whipping cream

salt and pepper to taste

Garnishing

Some grated parmesan cheese

1 tbsp chopped chives

1 tbsp chopped bird’s eye chillies (optional)

Line a baking tray with foil and arrange the oysters in it. Pour wine into a small saucepan and add spring onion. Bring to a low simmering boil for 10-15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add whipping cream and continue to simmer until the sauce is slightly thick.

Add some sauce on the oysters. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and grill in a preheated oven at 200°C for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese melts and the sauce starts to bubble. Sprinkle with chives and add a little chopped bird’s eye chillies before serving.