Archives for October 2012

October 31, 2012

Cook For Family Day

A couple of weeks back, I set about to organise a “Cook For Your Family” Day, an initiative to encourage more people to cook for their families by pledging to cook on 25 November. I found out through a fellow food blogger that Daniel from DanielFoodDiary had organised a similar initiative for food bloggers in July. I contacted Daniel and we have set up a facebook page – Cook For Family.

The event, Cook For Family Day is set to be on 25 November 2012 (Sunday), and we encourage everyone to pledge to cook for their family on that day by joining the event. It does not have to be an elaborate meal; a simple meal cooked from the heart goes a long way. It can be any meal of the day – breakfast, lunch, dinner maybe even supper! Thereafter, share on the facebook page your photos and experiences and encourage others to do likewise for their families!

A family that eats together, stays together.

Help us to spread the word by liking the facebook page – Cook For Family and joining the event Cook For Family Day! Anyone can join in!

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October 26, 2012

Cooking Competition (Teachers’ Entries)

And here’s a continuation of the cooking competition entries – teachers’ category. We are still on the chicken theme. One look and you can tell that teachers and students have very different concepts of plating. The plating done by students is of a modern flair, but the most of the ones done by teachers are of a more traditional flair. The food was tasty though, no doubt. Hopefully next year, we can have the competition again!

Here are the photos of the entries. Which entry do you think won the competition? Which is your favourite? Let us know!

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October 25, 2012

Cooking competition (Students’ Entries)

My school held a cooking competition after the examinations for the teachers and the staff. Each team had two members, either two students or two teachers. There were four student teams and four teacher teams, each representing their house. The theme of the cooking competition was “chicken”. Participants were judged based on their presentation, creativity, taste and hygiene. I had the privilege of being one of the judges for the event and I must say I was very impressed with the effort put in. The students (15 year olds) plated their food absolutely beautifully. Have a look at the photos below of the food prepared, cooked and plated by the students. Which one impresses you?

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October 22, 2012

Cereal Chicken

I’ve tried making cereal prawns several times, but I’ve never attempted using chicken in place of prawns. My cousin was coming over for dinner, and since she was allergic to prawns, I decided to tweak my usual cereal prawn recipe. The result was surprisingly delicious – the chicken was juicy and the cereal and curry leaves added flavour and fragrance. Though I personally prefer cereal prawns to cereal chicken still, this would make for a good alternative. If you prefer, you can use thinly sliced chicken strips instead, though the chicken may be less tender.

Cereal Chicken
Serves 4 (as a side)

Ingredients:
2 large piece of chicken breast meat, lightly tenderised
1 tsp corn flour
2 tsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp sesame oil
oil for frying

1 tbsp unsalted butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves of garlic, chopped finely
6 sprigs of curry leaves, rinsed and dried, stalks removed
1 chilli padi, thinly sliced (remove seeds if preferred)
3/4 cup Nestum cereal
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Method:

  1. Tenderise chicken with a tenderiser.
  2. Marinate chicken breast with corn flour, soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil. Cover and set aside in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
  3. In a skillet, heat oil over a medium flame.
  4. Fry chicken breast till light brown on both sides. Chicken should be just cooked through.
  5. Allow to cool slightly before cutting into slices. Set aside.
  6. In a clean skillet or wok, heat butter and oil.
  7. When butter has melted, add garlic, curry leaves and chilli and fry till fragrant.
  8. Add in sliced chicken and mix well.
  9. Add in sugar, salt and cereal and mix well. Do not overdo this step or cereal will not be crispy.
  10. Serve hot with steamed white rice.

 

Filed Under: Asian Dishes, Baking and Cooking, Vegetables and Fruit Tagged With: , Leave a Comment
October 18, 2012

Zucchini and Mushroom Pasta

I found a packet of Lemon Pepper Pappardelle sitting in my cupboard, and decided to do something with it. Rummaging through my fridge, I found a zucchini and a pack of swiss brown button mushrooms. I decided to combine the ingredients, and the result is a simple, healthy and delicious pasta. I bought my pappardelle from Euraco. They have a retail shop at ToTT called Torque. You can however, choose to replace the pappardelle with your favourite spaghetti, linguine or fettucine.

Zucchini and Mushroom Pasta
Serves 2

Ingredients:
150g lemon and pepper pappardelle

2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 zucchini, thinly sliced and cut into strips
6 swiss brown mushrooms, sliced
1/4 tsp dried oregano
salt and pepper
freshly grated parmesan cheese

Method:

  1. Cook pappardelle in a large pot of boiling salted water till al dente.
  2. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  3. Sauteed garlic till slightly soft. Add zucchini and sauteed for 3 – 4 minutes.
  4. Add in mushrooms and sauteed till vegetables are tender.
  5. Add in oregano.
  6. Turn off heat and toss pasta in vegetables.
  7. Season with salt and pepper.
  8. Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese.
Filed Under: Baking and Cooking, Rice, Noodles and Pasta, Vegetables and Fruit Tagged With: , , , , Leave a Comment
October 17, 2012

Chicken and Century Egg Porridge

Porridge is one of my comfort foods on a cold rainy day, or when I am recovery from a flu. It is simple to prepare, feeds a large number of people easily, and best of all, has a low glycemic index! Did you know that porridge has a GI index of 42-45, in comparison with steamed rice, that has a whooping GI index of 98? To find out more about the glycemic index, you can refer to my earlier post here.

There are two styles of porridge that I cook at home – Hokkien Style or Cantonese Style. Hokkien style porridge is what you usually get when you visit economic rice stalls and ask for porridge. The rice grains can still be seen, and the porridge is typically watery. Cantonese style porridge is what you get when you go to a restaurant such as Crystal Jade, or any dim sum place and ask for porridge. It is thicker and the grains are not very visible.

My mom prefers the Hokkien Style porridge with separate dishes of ingredients, while my husband prefers the Cantonese style porridge. The recipe below is for the latter.

Chicken and Century Egg porridge
Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 cups of rice, washed and drained dry
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp oil

4 cups of water
2-3 cups of chicken stock
3 dried scallops
200g chicken breast meat, sliced
3 century eggs, cubed

salt and pepper to taste
2 stalks of spring onions, chopped
sesame oil

Method:

  1. Mix salt and oil into drained rice and set aside for 20 minutes.
  2. In a large pot, bring water and chicken stock to a boil. Stir in rice and dried scallops.
  3. Allow porridge to boil over a medium high flame for 10 minutes, and add in the chicken slices.
  4. Reduce flame and allow porridge to simmer, stirring once in a while.
  5. When porridge is almost ready (approximately 20 – 30 minutes), add in century egg cubes. Porridge should be of a smooth consistency.
  6. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  7. Dish out into bowls and garnish with spring onion, pepper and sesame oil.
  8. Serve hot.
Filed Under: Asian Dishes, Baking and Cooking, Meats and Seafood, Rice, Noodles and Pasta Tagged With: , , , , Leave a Comment
October 15, 2012

Baked Asparagus and Spinach Risotto

This simple risotto is great for nights where you feel like something fast and “meatless”. Though it is almost vegetarian (just switch the chicken stock to vegetable stock), it is chock full of flavour. A risotto dish typically requires one to stand in front of the stove patiently stirring and adding ladles of hot stock. This one does not require much patience as you just need to pop it into the oven. Both my husband and 18 month old daughter loved it!

Ingredients:
Serves 4
Adapted from Patricia Well’s Trattoria

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 cup Arborio rice
2 cups low sodium chicken stock (or vegetable stock if preferred)
1 cup thawed, chopped frozen spinach, packed
10 spears fresh asparagus, cut into thin diagonal slices
salt to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 200°C.
  2. In a deep skillet, saute onion in olive oil until translucent.
  3. Add the rice, stirring to coat with the oil.
  4. Add chicken stock, spinach and asparagus and bring to simple over moderate heat.
  5. Stir in half the cheese.
  6. Add salt to taste (I don’t usually add salt)
  7. Transfer to casserole and smooth out the top.
  8. Sprinkle remaining parmesan on top.
  9. Cover the casserole
  10. Bake in the centre of the oven for 35 – 40 minutes, or until rice is cooked through.
  11. Serve immediately.
Filed Under: Baking and Cooking, Rice, Noodles and Pasta, Vegetables and Fruit Tagged With: , , , , Leave a Comment
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