Noob Cook

French Beans with Spicy Dried Shrimps

May 11, 2008 – 3:04 pm by wiffy

I am just recovering from some sort of horrible strange flu/food poisoning (will spare u the gross details, since this is a food blog, haa) so there was no cooking this week! My taste buds seem all messed up too, as I think that most things taste really bland and different (in a weird way) :P. So I shall talk less today … & on to my post!

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This is a tasty and easy to whip up stir fry dish - perfect for busy nights where I decided to cook, yet there isn’t much time to do anything too elaborate. This goes really well with fluffy white warm rice!

French Beans with Spicy Dried Shrimps (”Hei Bi Hiam”)

Ingredients
(Serves 2)

- 200g French Beans
- 1 to 2 chilli padi, de-seeded, sliced
- 2 tbsp dried shrimps (aka ‘Hei Bi’), soaked in a small bowl of water till slightly softened, then drain the water
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- 1 tbsp olive oil

Directions

1. Using either a grinder or just a kitchen knife & chopping board, chop the chilli and dried shrimps until fine (see photo above).
2. Align the french beans vertically on the chopping board so that their ends stand on the same height & trim the ends. Ditto for the other side. Then cut the beans to approx. 1-2cm lengths.
3. Heat oil in wok and stir fry the chopped dried shrimps & chilli, as well as garlic, till dried shrimps are light brown.
4. Add the french beans in the wok and stir fry over medium high fire for approximately 5 minutes till the beans are cooked and the dried shrimps turn a dark brownish hue. Serve with fluffy warm rice.

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I’m sending this dish over to Laurie from Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska (where you can find photos of good food AND gorgeous Alaska scenery) for this week’s Weekend Herb Blogging.

My Other French Bean Stir-Fry Dishes:

- French Beans with Egg
- French Beans in Pine Nuts & Mangoes

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Tags: french beans, garlic, hei bi hiam, olive oil, spicy dried shrimps, Stir Fry

Posted in Blog Events, Recipes, Stir Fry, Veggies, WHB

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7 Comments » Feed me with words of encouragement, honest feedback & suggestions ^_^

Stir-Fry Udon

May 7, 2008 – 4:44 pm by wiffy

A medley of ingredients make this simple and satisfying one-dish stir fry udon meal. Great for clearing out the stuff in the fridge too ^^

Stir-Fry Kimchi Udon
(with seafood, pork, spring onions and pine nuts)

Stir Fry Udon
(with seafood, pork, broccoli, corn, enoki mushrooms, button mushrooms, spring onions and pine nuts)

Ingredients
(Serves 2)
1 tbsp pine nuts
2 stalks spring onions, cut to 2-inch lengths
100g pork slices (marinate in 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce, 1/2 tbsp sesame oil and white pepper)
1 tbsp corn nibblets
50g brocolli
2 packets of instant udon (about 200g x 2)
4 button mushrooms, sliced thickly
1 packet enoki mushrooms (about 100g), ends trimmed
1 tbsp kimchi and 1 tsp of the kimchi liquid (optional)
1/2 squid, cut to rings
6 prawns, shells and veins removed
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1-2 chilli padi, seeds removed and sliced

Seasonings
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp mirin
1 tsp sugar

Directions

1. Heat wok and dry fry pine nuts for a few minutes till lightly toasted. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in wok, stir fry spring onions (bottom thick stalks), garlic and chilli till fragrant.
3. Add pork slices, squid rings, prawns, broccoli and button mushrooms. Stir fry for about 2 minutes till pork is cooked on surface.
4. Add udon noodles and try to separate them gently using a ladle/wok turner.
5. Add the rest of the spring onions, corn nibblets, enoki mushrooms and kimchi (if using) and the seasonings. Mix well and stir fry for about 3 minutes, or till it it becomes drier.
6. Topped with the previously toasted pine nuts and serve.

I’m sending this dish over to Ruth @ Presto Pasta Nights

More One-Dish-Meal Recipes

- Aglio Olio
- Cabbage Rice
- Pumpkin Porridge
- Pumpkin Rice
- Steamed Vegetable Rice
- Tomato Rice

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Tags: kimchi, One-Dish Meals, pork, seafood, Stir Fry, udon, yaki udon

Posted in Blog Events, Food Collage, Illustrated Recipes, Japanese, Meat, Mushrooms, One-Dish Meals, Pasta, Presto Pasta Nights, Seafood, Stir Fry

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11 Comments » Feed me with words of encouragement, honest feedback & suggestions ^_^

Chrysanthemum Tea

May 4, 2008 – 4:52 pm by wiffy

The weather is sooo hot right now in Singapore that it is becoming unbearable for me I really miss the rainy days so much. I feel like an ice cube being left out under the sun to melt, or a person trapped in a gigantic suana, the heatwave is just horrible. How does one cope when things get too hot to handle? Herbal cooling tea (凉茶), in this case, the no-fuss Chrysanthemum Tea - comes to the rescue!

This requires just a few ingredients and takes only 10 minutes to make. It quenches your thirst and has “cooling” properties, which bring down body heat. It is suitable for all seasons & perfect especially for Singapore’s all-year-round tropical weather as well as the hot summer months. Try it! =D

Chrysanthemum Tea (菊花茶) - chilled

Ingredients
(Serves 2)

50g dried chrysanthemum flowers
10g licorice (liquorice) roots (aka gan zao) - About 8 pieces*
1 litre water
rock sugar

* skip this if you are pregnant or have high-blood pressure

Directions

In a pot, add chrysanthemum, licorice roots and water, bring to a boil. Once the water starts to boil, add rock sugar to taste and off fire (do not boil for too long). Take out the chrysanthemum flowers and licorice roots using a strainer. You may re-use the ingredients by adding water and boiling to brew a second round if you wish.

Drink chilled or at room temperature.

Tips
- You can also add 1 tsp of wolfberries if desired.
- There are some types of chrysanthemum flowers which do not require boiling; simply place the ingredients in a cup/tea pot, pour boiling water and let stand for 5 minutes. However, I prefer to bring the ingredients to a brief boil to let the flavours seep in.

This post is my entry for WHB which is hosted by Food Lover’s Journey.

Some Possible Benefits of Chrysanthemum

- quench thirst
- detoxify the body
- aid in recovery from influenza, mild sunstroke
- ‘cooling’ property which regulates the body’s ‘yin and yang’, reducing internal body heat

Some Possible Benefits of Licorice Root

- fight inflammation, infections, and allergies
- help soothe coughs and colds
- improve digestion
- ease menstrual cramps

Chrysanthemum Tea (菊花茶)

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Tags: boiling, Chinese Herbs, Chrysanthemum, cooling, herbal tea, liang teh, licorice, Liquorice, rock sugar, tea, 凉茶

Posted in Blog Events, Chinese, Chinese Herbs, Drinks, Recipes, WHB

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17 Comments » Feed me with words of encouragement, honest feedback & suggestions ^_^

Pumpkin Porridge

April 29, 2008 – 4:34 pm by wiffy

When I tried to make Pumpkin Rice again a while ago, something disastrous happen - I added too much water! And it was worsened by the fact that I did not wait for the stir-fried rice to cool b4 placing it in the rice cooker. Due to the fact that my rice cooker operates by sensing temperature, the cooking time was very much reduced, and the result was uncooked, wet and sticky rice. Yucks.

So I thought why not convert the yucky rice to porridge, since porridge is supposed to be wet! I just dump the half-cooked rice into a thermal cooker, add about 1-2 litres of water, and bravo, we had yummy pumpkin congee that day!

One Dish, Two Ways - Pumpkin Rice & Pumpkin Porridge

A Spoonful of Pumpkin Congee

When I made the porridge a second round, I increased the quantity of salted fish, lean meat, butter, and also added red dates & dried scallops to enhance the taste. With so much water, I wanted the congee to still taste as rich as the Pumpkin Rice.

This is my first entry into Project Foodie’s Leftover Tuesdays, a challenge to transform leftovers (in this case, my culinary disaster) into tasty temptations.

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I’m basically repeating almost the same ingredients & instructions for Pumpkin Rice, with slight variations highlighted in orange.

Ingredients
(Serves 4)

- A small piece of pumpkin, skin removed & cut to small cubes (about 150g without skin)
- 200g pork belly (aka sam cham bak, 3-layered pork, 3层肉), cut to thin stripes (can substitute with bacon)
- 2 portebello mushrooms (or a few shitake mushrooms) - cut to cubes (but not too thin)
- 1 tbsp chopped garlic
- Half large onion, chopped
- 1 1/4 cup of rice, washed
- 5-10 dried scallops
- 10 red dates
- 2 litres of water
- 50g butter
- 1 tbsp wolfberries
- 30g salted fish, cut to small bits

Directions

1. Fry pork slices in wok. When pork is entirely cooked on the surface, take out and set aside on a plate.
2. Heat butter in wok. Saute garlic, onions and salted fish till fragrant. Then add pumpkin, mushrooms and stir fry for a short while.
3. Add uncooked rice and fry till the onions are clear.
4. Add the stuff from the wok, wolfberries, red dates and the previously cooked pork, to a pot, add water, and bring to a boil. Stir the base of the pot frequently to prevent the rice from sticking to the base.
5. Simmer on a low heat for about 20-30 minutes (or longer if you want congee*), while leaving lid partially covered (if you cover fully, the water will spill over).
6. Garnish & serve.

* Using a thermal cooker will save you hours of gas consumption if you are making congee, soups & stews!