All posts by chinesetuition88

baking, blueberry, Cake, Uncategorized

Blueberry Lemon Cake

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My husband and I are not big fans of fresh blueberry. But we both like food made from blueberry, like jam or cake. So if I buy blueberries from supermarket, it means I will bake something with blueberry.

Preheat oven to 180 degree C.

Ingredients:

Butter 130g

Sugar 120g

Vanilla 1 tsp

Egg 1

Flour 190g

Baking powder 1 tsp

Salt 1/4 tsp

Zest of 1 lemon

Milk 1/2 cup

Blueberry 2 cups

Flour 1 tablespoon

Lemon juice 1 tablespoon

1. Cream butter with sugar till light and fluffy.

2. Add in vanilla. And eggs one by one.

3. Mix fry ingredients (flour, baking powder, salt and zest of lemon) together.

4. Add flour and milk into butter mixture alternately. 1/2 flour and 1/2 milk one time.

5. Add 1 tablespoon flour and lemon juice into blueberries. Toss a bit.

6. Place 1/2 batter into baking pan. Over it spread 1/2 blueberries. Then add in the rest batter. And top it with rest blueberries. Light press blueberries into the batter.

The batter is done:

After 60 mins.

Cool down for a while.

I was too lazy to make any glaze. So i just sprinkle icing sugar over the top.

Cake is very moist.

Pork, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Pork & Vegetable Pot

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My husband had dinner with a friend. Somehow they talked about Spanish Iberico Pork. His friend said this kind of pork is very delicious. And my husband told me immediately after that dinner. Then when we shopping for groceries the other day, he found that Spanish pork in the frozen counter. What a coincidence. So we bought it and I didn’t even know how to cook it. And yes, we just bought it.

Usually this thin pork slice is ideal for shabu shabu or hot pot. But my husband strongly recommended to cook it in simple way without any strong spices or condiments. He wanted to keep the original flavor of the pork. He may not know much about cooking, but he’s very good at giving me instructions. I decided to make pork & vegetable pot.

skillet is a good choice for the port.

Here are the main ingredients I used: Spanish Iberico pork, 1/4 head cabbage, Slices of 1 onion, slices of 1 medium carrot, several shiitake mushroom, brown mushroom, tofu (cut), french beans and chopped spring onion. Oh, and vermicelli in the bowl (already boiled in hot water).

  1. Heat the skillet. Brush skillet with oil. Put  2 or 3 pork slices in to sear them.

https://flic.kr/p/2cXLZeV

2. Put the rest pork in, and arrange all the vegetables in the pot.

https://flic.kr/p/2dfwdx5

3. In a bowl, add in 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp sweet cooking wine, 1 tbsp sugar and 1/2 tbsp water. Mix well.

4. Spread sauce (maybe 1 tbsp ) over all ingredients. Slightly stir them in order not to be sticky to the pot.

The pork looks so great.

5. Put the lid on for 2-3 mins. Stir gently to flip all the ingredients. Add in more sauce if needed.

https://flic.kr/p/QAgLqn

6. Lid on for another 3 mins or till pork and vegetables are fully cooked.

My husband  loved the pork so so much.

spinach, tofu

Vegan Stir-fry (Thin Tofu Sheet & Spinach)

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This kind of thin tofu sheet is called Qianzhang （千张）in Chinese. Qianzhang literally means thousands of layers, which quite matches how it looks. I guess it’s not very popular in Singapore, cos when I first cooked it, my husband was very curious what it is. There are so many kinds of tofu products, qianzhang is just one of them.

This dish is vegan. Main ingredients are Qianzhang and spinach. It’s also very simple.

  1. Cut Qianzhang into medium strips. (The original one inside the package is a very big sheet). And separate them by tossing a bit. Also wash the spinach and trim off the root and cut into medium strips.
  2. Prepare chopped ginger and chopped garlic. If you want it to taste a bit spicy, then also prepare 2 dried red chili.
  3. Boil some water. Blanch Qianzhang in hot water for about 1 min. Then soak them in cold water and drain.
  4. Heat a pan, add in 1 tbsp oil. Saute chopped garlic, ginger and red chili first. When spices are aromatic, add Qianzhang in. Stir fry evenly for about 1 min.
  5. Add in spinach strips. Stir fry for another 2 mins or till spinach becomes soft and dark green.
  6. In with 2 tsp light soy sauce and 1 tsp sugar. Quickly stir fry evenly.
  7. Season with salt.

Soup, tofu

Clam Soup With Tofu & Egg

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Ingredients:

Clam meat

1 egg

tofu cubes

water

salt

oil

  1. Heat a little oil in the pan. Add in clam meat, and stir fry till aromatic.
  2. Pour in 2 cups of hot water. Also cut in tofu cubes. Water will become milky white in color.
  3. Bring soup to boil. And simmer for 3- 5 mins.
  4. Beat 1 egg in a bowl. Add egg into the  soup. Bring to boil again.
  5. Season with salt.

You can serve with a drop of sesame oil and coriander or chopped spring onion.

My husband loves it.

Quick recipe, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Celery & Bacon Stir-fry

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I seldom buy local celery, which is the thin type. But I think this stir-fry is a good way to cook local celery.

  1. Cut celery and bacon into small bits.
  2. Heat a little oil in the pan. Sear bacon bits first.
  3. When bacon turns a little brownish, add in celery. Stir fry for 1 minute.
  4. Drizzle in 1/2 tsp light soy sauce and also add in 1/2 tsp sugar to taste.
  5. If you want it to be a little spicy, you can add in chopped chili.
  6. Quickly stir fry for another 2 minutes.
  7. Season with salt.

Chicken

Chicken Leg Rice

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1. Prepare chicken legs. Wash them clean. I used 3.

2. Place them in a deep pot. Add in enough water. Bring to boil. Skim the soup, remove all the floating dirt.

3. Add in 2-3 ginger slices, 3 cloves of garlic, salt to season. Cover the lid. Turn to low heat and simmer for 20-30 mins.

4. Turn off the heat. Take the chicken out.

5. Prepare 1 cup rice. Wash and drain. Turn on the rice cooker. Cut in 1 small cube of butter. When butter melts, add in 1 tsp chopped garlic and 1 tsp chopped ginger. Stir fry till aromatic. Add rice in. Stir fry a bit. Pour in 2 cups of chicken soup from the pot. Add in a pandan leaf knot. Cover the lid and cook the rice.

6. Place chicken legs in a bowl. Add in 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce, 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce and 1 tablespoon honey. Mix chicken with sauce well.

7. Into the oven 200 degree C for 20 mins. Flip over in the middle.

Serve the chicken leg with rice and chili sauce.

My husband loves it, especially chicken leg.

Chicken, Soup

ABC Soup

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My husband used to cook this soup for me.  That’s really shocking since he seldom cooks. He cooks for maybe 10 times at most and chooses to cook soup. Why? Because he just needs to put all the ingredients into a pot and let the cooker do the rest work. That’s why I cannot say he doesn’t cook at all.

According to him, this soup is full of vitamin A,  B and C, and that’s how it gets the name.

Main ingredients are chicken leg (you can even use pork instead), vegetables (tomato, potato, carrot and onion). The most complicated part is to handle vegetables. (When my husband cooked this soup last time, I cleaned and cut all the vegetable for him.) Cut vegetables into medium chunks.

Put chicken leg into a pot, add in enough water. Bring to boil with high heat first. Skim the soup and remove all the dirt to make sure soup is clear. Then add all vegetable pieces in. Tun to low heat and simmer for at least 45 mins.

Don’t forget to season with salt before serving.

https://flic.kr/p/24wE2e2

I cooked for my husband when he felt a bit sick and didn’t have appetite. He finished this whole bowl of soup. Ate up all the vegetables and chicken leg.

Pork, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Minced Pork & Eggplant

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To me, the best way to cook eggplant is to fry them. And another secret is never add in any water while cook eggplant. My mom cooks eggplant well. My sister told me how to cook eggplant in my mom’s way: fry eggplant with low heat, add in salt or soy sauce and put lid on. Let the low heat to evaporate water inside eggplant slowly. If water remains, eggplant will taste soggy. I likes the way how my mom deals with eggplant. And I found another way to do eggplant well, which is high height and short time while frying them. That’s how I cook eggplant in this dish.

  1. Cut eggplant into medium strips.
  2. Heat some oil in the pan. When oil is hot, Add eggplant in. Keep the medium high heat while frying. Fry them till color is bright and the skin wrinkled. Set eggplant aside for later use.
  3. Heat pan again. Add in 1 tsp oil.
  4. Add in chopped garlic and red chili. saute till aromatic.
  5. Add in minced pork. Stir fry till color turns white.
  6. Add eggplant back to the pan. Also add in 1 tsp light soy sauce, 1 tsp spicy bean paste and 1 tsp sugar. Stir fry evenly.
  7. Season with salt and garnish with chopped spring onion.

https://flic.kr/p/T8mF5m

Yum!

Broccoli, Chicken

Chicken Breast Broccoli Roll

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1. Place a half chicken breast on a chopping board. Cover it with plastic wrap. Use a meat hammer to hit the chicken till it becomes a flat thin disc.

2. Prepare 1/4 head of a small broccoli. Cut into small pieces. Bleach in water for 2-3 mins. Put them in a blender and blend into coarse paste.

3. Pour the broccoli paste out. Season with salt and pepper. Also drizzle in a little olive oil.

4. Sprinkle salt and pepper over both sides of flatten chicken breast.

5. Spread broccoli paste onto it. Gently roll it from one end to another.

Use toothpick to fix it.

6. Also drizzle a little olive oil over the shocker breast roll.

7. Preheat oven to 180 degree C. 15-20 mins.

ladyfinger, Quick recipe, Uncategorized, Vegetables

Long Bean Stir-fry

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I love green and crunchy long beans. And it’s a very simple dish to cook.

  1. Wash long beans clean. Cut into medium strips.
  2. Boil a pot of hot water. Add in 1 pinch salt and several drops of oil. Add long beans in and boil for 4 mins to make sure they are completely cooked. Then soak them in cold water and drain them.
  3. Heat a pan. Add in 1 tsp oil. When oil is hot, saute chopped 2 or 3 cloves of garlic and 1 red chili till aromatic.
  4. Add long beans in. Stir fry for 1 min.
  5. Add in 1/2 tsp light soy sauce and 1/2 tsp oyster sauce. Quickly stir fry evenly.
  6. Season with salt.

https://flic.kr/p/RCNKpH

You can choose not to add chili if you don’t want it to be spicy at all.

This cooking method can also be used to stir fry lady fingers.