Sitiawan Red Rice Wine Chicken Leg With Bai Ling Mushrooms

I have a bottle of red rice wine from Sitiawan and it has been sitting the fridge for a good 6 months. I remember I bought it a month before I went for my operation. Time to cook them with the chicken legs and I know how I am going to cook the chicken legs.  I opened a can of Bai Ling Mushrooms aka known as ' mock abalone ' , sliced them into thin slices. These mock abalone has a springy texture. You can guess how delicious and tasty this dish is. I remember my grandma used to cook this dish for me during my confinement and tonight , I cooked the same way she prepared it, except I added  these Bai Ling Mushroom slices to the dish.  WB loves this dish too :)

Bai Ling Mushroom

there are two pieces in one tin

Sitiawan Red Rice Wine Chicken Leg With Bai Ling Mushrooms

Ingredients :-

2 chicken legs- cut each chicken leg into four pieces
a few pieces of ear wood fungus - soaked , cleaned and cut into fine stripes
a few slices of ginger,
1/2 tbsp of sesame oil
1 pip of garlic
1/2  cup of red rice wine
3/4 cup water
a pinch of sea salt
a can of  bai ling mushroom - cut into 1/8 inch thick slices

Method:

Heat up sesame oil in a wok , when it is smoking hot, add in slices of ginger and garlic and wood fungus strips and saute all the ingredients till fragrant.  Add in the chicken leg pieces and bai ling mushrooms and continue stir frying till 3/4 cooked.  Pour in water and red rice wine and simmer till the chicken pieces are  cook through. Add in salt to taste.  Dish up and serve hot .

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Pan Seared Yellow Fin Sole Fillet With Butter

I know it is not healthy to pan sear fish with butter but somehow fish fillet taste better when pan seared with butter :p  It is something I do indulge in once in a while. Fish and butter goes well :p  Like I always say, everything in moderation.  I saw some frozen yellow fin sole fillet in Jusco and I bought a packet back for WB.  He doesnt like fish because of the bone but if fillet, he doesnt mind.  So to encourage him to eat more fish , I bought these frozen ones back and panseared  them in butter for him.  Simple and yet aromatic with black pepper and sea salt as seasoning.  I added a dash of balsamic vinegar to the fish to give it a sizzle and gosh it tasted delicious. Surprisingly, WB likes the buttery taste of the fish and of course, the balsamic vinegar gave it the special slight tangy flavor...mmmmm the taste was awesome.  Imagine the taste in your mind, buttery, peppery, sea scent and the slight tangy after taste from the balsamic vinegar...mmm I don't need to write on...this is the perfect way to cook these fillet.  

                           the fillets were surprisingly  fresh

texture - succulent and moist
taste - buttery smooth and sea scented
peppery and tangy aftertaste...
love the way this was  prepared  Yummy!

Wagyu Steak

This is my first time tasting wagyu beef :p  sounds like a greenhorn !  Thanks to Lynn for gifting four pieces of wagyu beef to us .  She said these are for your blog LOL!  Lucky Elinluv's Tidbits Corner !  :)

Sorry for only posting it today Lynn.  My piggies were blessed too, they too had their first bite into these succulent and almost melts in the mouth wagyu beef. Now I know why they are so expensive :)  Lynn taught me how to prepare them . Just sea salt when it is ready and only 3 mins on each side .   I added  a dash of black pepper to it though :p  My Piggies and I love our beef medium rare but WB loved his cooked.  Because of his IBS ( Irritable Bowel Syndrome ) he is quite picky on his food of late :(   

this is how succulent and juicy the wagyu beef looks mmmmm

this is heavenly and  Lynn , I want to thank you  for these wagyu beef

I am no longer a greenhorn ! Yea, no longer a greenhorn LOL!

Smoked Chicken

Have you ever experience brain freeze when you can stared at the chicken and do not know what or how to prepare it? I do, I will be staring at it and the mind goes blank.  But when your mind has thawed :p you would think should I roast it, deep fried with Kentucky flour or stir fry with ginger and spring onions or cook a stew with it or curry ?  Then I took out my iPod and start to googled what to do with the chicken in hand. Many chicken recipes will pop up on your screen....still don't know what to do with it . Sat down and watch a cooking show and tada....it was showing how to do smoked duck......LOL! inspiration just comes in and yea ...smoked chicken....simple and it turned out yummilicious....I shot up from the sofa and ran to the kitchen. Marinated the chicken with Chinese five spice powder and sea salt for 30 minutes ( better if half a day at least )  I added a bit of ground black pepper and pan seared the chicken on both sides till 3/4 cooked.  Then smoked it for another 20 minutes in a wok.....Wow ....it tasted so good that this simple recipe had me eating it with my hand and licking my fingers clean :)   Inspiration came just watching the idiot box...should be seated more often in front of the box so that I can think out of the box :p

finger licking good piece of smoked meat :) 

cleaver has to be sharp to give a clean cut :)

Smoked Chicken 


Half a chicken -wash , drain and leave skin on

1/2 tbsp of chinese five spice powder
1 tsp of sea salt

1 tsp of ground black pepper

for smoking the chicken :-
chinese wok
a piece of aluminium foil as base
tea leaves - I used Lipton tea leaves
sugar
steaming rack with holes  * see picture above

Method:

Lined the wok with a piece of aluminium foil big enough to take the drips during the smoking process. Spread out the tea leaves and sugar evenly over the foil.  Sit the steaming rack over the leaves and sugar and heat up the wok until you see smoke under medium high heat.  Place the chicken , which has been pan seared till 3/4 cooked, on the rack and cover the wok with the lid.  Smoked the chicken for 20 minutes.  Off heat and cool the chicken before cutting into desired pieces with a sharp cleaver. Serve with rice.

Enjoy !

Ojingeo Bokkeum - Korean Spicy Stir Fry Squid

This is one of the most popular spicy  dishes in Korean cuisine.  I replaced squid with cuttlefish...my favorite seafood which I can indulge in once in a while.  I took full advantage of the chance when I saw some nice ones being sold at Tesco.  I saw this dish when I googled for nice korean dishes and straight away fell in love with it the moment I set my eyes on the photo that comes with the recipe.  It looks delicious and I knew I had to try it out or I won't be able to sleep a wink :)  I replaced not only the squid but also the zucchini with water convolvulus ( water spinach ) or local name ' kangkung ' .  The main sauce ingredients are gochujang ( fermented chili pepper paste ) and gochugaru ( chili pepper flakes ) and for an authentic dish, there simply is no substitute for them.  This recipe is hot but not fiery hot.  The red chilli sauce adds a burst of spicy flavor to the crisps carrots and tender cuttlefish.  I can eat  two bowls of rice with just this dish :)  If you love korean cuisine, you must not miss this out, definitely not ! I will cook this again for sure !

Ojingeo Bokkeum - taken from Korean Bapsang

Ingredients :

1 medium size squid ( abut 400 grms) * I  replace with cuttlefish ( blanch in boiling water and drain dry)
1/2 medium carrot
1/2 medium onion * I omit this
1/2 medium zucchini * I replace with water convolvulus/kangkung  ( blanch in boiling water and drain dry)
1 green or red chili pepper
2 scallions
1 tbsp of vegetable oil
1 tbsp of sesame oil

Sauce:
2 tbsp korean chili pepper sauce ( gochujang)
1 tbsp korean chili pepper flakes ( gochugaru )
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
pinch black pepper

Combine all of the sauce ingredients in a small bowl.

Clean the squid (see below). Slit the body open and flatten. Lightly score the inside in a small diamond pattern (about 1/4-inch squares). (You can skip the scoring, but it helps the squid pieces hold more sauce and gives them an interesting look.) Cut into about 1-inch wide and 2-inch long bite size pieces. (Do not make the pieces too small as they will shrink when cooked.) Cut the tentacles into the same lengths. Mix the squid with the sauce and marinate while preparing vegetables.

Thinly slice the onion. Juliene carrots into fine matchsticks . Cut the chili peppers diagonally into 1/2-inch thick strips. Cut the scallions 2-inches long.

Heat a large skillet over high heat and add the vegetable oil. Add the carrots, followed by the onions, zucchini ( water convolvulus ) , peppers and then the scallions. Stir fry the vegetables quickly only until they start to wilt, about 2 minutes. Push the vegetables to the sides of the skillet. Add the marinated squid ( cuttlefish) and any remaining sauce to the center of the skillet. Stir fry just until the squid pieces curl up and turn opaque (about 2 minutes). Stir to mix the vegetables and the squid( cuttlefish) well for a minute. Drizzle the sesame oil over. (Do NOT overcook, or the dish will be watery and the squid (cuttlefish) tough.)  

Serve hot with rice.

Enjoy !

Baked Pumpkin Rice

I managed to get a small pumpkin just enough for two person. I have a craving for chinese sausages and chestnuts of late and a sudden crave for this baked pumpkin rice.  So , knowing me, I put all the ingredients I love together and baked them in this cute little pumpkin :)  I lightly fried the chinese sausages so that all the fat from the chinese sausages will melt and this will make the rice less oily.  I asked WB to help diced the sausages, chestnuts and chinese mushroom...I am so lucky now I have an assistant to help me prepare this dish. Now I am very good at giving instructions and hope my assistant will continue to render his services to me at all times :p   This dish is easy to prepare once the dicing and cutting is done.  I mixed the cooked rice with the fried sausages, diced mushrooms, chestnuts and diced pumpkins and added sea salt and black pepper as seasoning.  Packed the rice mixture into the cleaned pumpkin. ( cut the top and scooped out the seeds and threads from the pumpkin ) Close the pumpkin with the top and wrapped the pumpkin with aluminium foil and bake at 200 degC for  35-40 mins.  Serve rice together with the pumpkin wedges.  Oh -so- yummy !

the rice is packed with flavors...the aroma from the sausages and mushrooms

infused into the rice while baking in wrapped foil....yummy!

If you have guests, this would be ideal to serve them

easy to prepare and yet delicious at the same time

Baked Pumpkin Rice

ingredients :

1 pumpkin - size depends on individual and how many persons you are serving 

cooked rice - amount depends on how many persons your are serving

chinese sausages - fried and diced

ready packed chestnuts - diced

a slice of pumpkin - diced

chinese mushrooms- soaked till soften - diced

sea salt to taste

black pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat oven - 200C

Cut off the top and scooped out the seeds and threads from the pumpkin. Wash and drain off water from the inside of the pumpkin.  Combined the cooked rice with the diced ingredients and season with sea salt and black pepper.  Fill and packed the pumpkin with the rice mixture. Cover with the top and wrapped the pumpkin with aluminium foil.  Baked the pumpkin for 35-40 mins.  Take out and cut the baked pumpkin into served and  served the rice together with the pumpkin wedges.

Enjoy !