Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Cold water, from the tap (you might consider filtering it if it is too hard or
chlorinated)
Soak the dried kombu seaweed piece in 3-4 cups of cold water for about 20 minutes. Bring
the water to the boil, then add the handful of bonito flakes. Immediately switch off the heat
and let it sit for at least 5 minutes. Strain through a sieve, pressing out all the goodness.
For the last couple of years, I’ve been using the _mizudashi_ method much more. This is the
method I’ve described for making vegetarian dashi, except that I add some bonito flakes. I
put a piece of kombu seaweed and a big handful of bonito flakes in a jug of cold water, and
let it steep for at least a few hours or overnight. To use the dashi I simply strain it out. The
dashi keeps in the fridge for a few days, and if I don’t use it up during that time (which is
rare) I just freeze it. Aside from having to remember to fill up a jug, this method couldn’t be
easier.
No Fail Bolognaise Sauce
1 portion only
½ onion
1 clove garlic
½ rib celery
1 tbsp oil
1 bay leaf
1 – 2 tsp sugar
1. Chop the first six ingredients listed above ( You can ut the whole lot in an
electric chopper and whizz it up, not too finely)
2. Heat the oil and sauté the chopped vegetables until soft and wilted. Add the
beef and cook until browned. Add the tomatoes and herbs and simmer for
15 – 20 minutes. If mixture looks dry, add a little water.
3. Add the tomato paste, and season to taste with a little sugar (to counter the
sour ness of the tomatoes) salt and pepper. Simmer for a few more minutes
before taking the pan off the heat.
Sneaky Burgers (makes 2 burgers)
1 egg
¼ tsp salt
A shake of pepper
Sneaky Meatloaf
Double the recipe and pat the mixture into a buttered loaf tin. Bake in
preheated oven 200°C/ 400°F for about 40 minutes or until well-cooked
Serve in slices with boiled potatoes or pasta
Chicken Corn Soup
Ingredients:
150g chicken breast meat
1000ml chicken stocks (I used 3 tbsp of concentrated chicken stock to mix with
1 liter water)
1 packet sweet corn cream style (380g) – De Monte or any other brand
1 packet enoki mushrooms * (cut away the tough part of the stems; if you
think it is too long, then cut into halve, rinse with running water)
4 pcs fresh shitake mushrooms * (blanch over hot water and slice them thinly)
4 stocks of baby sweetcorns * (slice thinly)
1-2 eggs (lightly beaten and mix with 2-3 tsp water)
1-2 slices of ginger *
Spring onions for ganishing – chopped
Corn flour mixture (dilute some cornflour with water, adjust the consistency
according to your personal preference)
Seasonings:
Salt (I had omitted it because the chicken stocks is tasty enough on its own)
Pepper
Methods:
1) Rinse and pat dry chicken breast meat. Cut into small & long strips. Marinate
with light soya sauce, sugar and cornflour for about 15-30 minutes.
2) Bring the chicken stocks/ water in a pot to boil. Add in chicken concentrated
stock if used.
3) Add in ginger slice, baby sweetcorns and mushrooms. Simmer for 10
minutes.
4) Add in cream corn and stir well.
5) Add in chicken strips and stir well until it is fully cooked.
6) Add in cornflour mixture and stir gently to thicken.
7) Pour the egg mixture slowly into the soup, stir until it forms thin egg shreds
on the surface. Turn off the heat.
Season with salt, pepper and sprinkle some spring onions before serving.
Source: Adapted and modified from Hunger Management (by Tan Hsueh Yun) @ The
Sunday Times
Serve: 4
Ingredients:
2 large yellow skinned Chinese round shaped or teardrop shaped pears (I used Korean pears)
25g dried white fungus (雪耳)
3 tbsp dried osmanthus flowers (桂花)
10g dried red dates
20g sweet almonds/ sweet apricot kernels or seeds (南杏) – refer to note 9
10g bitter almonds/ bitter apricot kernels or seeds (北杏) – refer to note 10
75g rock sugar/ cane sugar
2 candied dates – optional
1.5 litres water
Methods:
A) Preparation
1. Rinse the white fungus under running water, followed by soaking in a bowl of
water for an hour. Using a pair of kitchen scissors, trim out the hard yellow
orange parts at the bottom and separate the frilly head of fungus into bite-sized
pieces. Rinse, drain and set aside.
2. Skin the pears, core them and cut each one into 8 wedges, set aside.
3. Put dried osmanthus flowers into a sieve. Rinse them through running water
and drain. Spoon it into a disposable tea or spice bag. Seal the bag and set
aside.
4. Wash and remove seeds for red dates.
5. Rinse candied dates and both types of the almonds.
1. Bring the water to boil in a medium-sized pot. Add tea bag (step 3 above) and
rock sugar to the pot, and turn heat down to medium. When the rock sugar has
dissolved in the tisane, have a taste and add more sugar if desired.
2. Add the white fungus, candied dates, red dates, and sweet and bitter almonds.
3. Simmer over medium low heat for 45 minutes to an hour. The pears are done
when you can pierce through them easily using a sharp knife.
4. Let it cool in the pot for 1 hour. Fish out the tea bag containing the osmanthus
flowers before serving. It can be served warm or chilled. For chilled, cool
completely then refrigerate at least four hours or overnight.
1. Arrange all the ingredients neatly in the slow cooker pot. Add water.
2. Turn on the power and set to high to bring the water to a boil (Refer to note 8
below). Immediately reduce to low heat and simmer for 1-1.5 hours.
3. Let it cool in the pot for an hour. Fish out the tea bag containing the
osmanthus flowers before serving. It can be served warm or chilled. For
chilled, cool completely then refrigerate at least four hours or overnight.
Note:
Tuna pasta
Ingredients:
200g tinned tuna in olive oil (drained and broken up into chunks)
800g tinned chopped tomatoes
275g pasta bows
2 large cloves garlic (crushed)
2 tsp tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried oregano (optional)
½ tsp sugar (optional)
salt and pepper
Methods:
1) Cook pasta according to the packet instructions, until the pasta is tender but not too soft.
2) Heat oil in a large saucepan, over a medium heat. Fry garlic for 1 min. Stir in oregano &
basil (if any), vegetables (if any), chopped tomatoes and tomato puree/ paste.
3) Bring the sauce to the boil and reduce the heat. Half cover the pan and simmer for 15 mins
or until the sauce has reduced by a third and thickened.
4) Stir the tuna into the sauce. Half-cover the pan and heat through for 2 mins, stirring
occasionally. Add some sugar to the sauce if necessary and season.
5) Drain the pasta but save 2 tbsp of the water. Return the pasta to the saucepan. Add the
water and stir in the sauce until the pasta is coated.
6) Serve with grated cheese and cooked broccoli.
Ingredients
8 ounces turkey breakfast sausage, removed from casing and crumbled into
small pieces
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup sliced scallions
1/4 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
5 eggs
3 egg whites
1 cup 1% milk
Preparation
1. Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 325°F. Coat a nonstick muffin tin
generously with cooking spray (see Tip).
2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook
until golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a bowl to cool. Add oil to the
pan. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until golden brown, 5 to 7
minutes. Transfer mushrooms to the bowl with the sausage. Let cool for 5
minutes. Stir in scallions, cheese and pepper.
3. Whisk eggs, egg whites and milk in a medium bowl. Divide the egg mixture
evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Sprinkle a heaping tablespoon of
the sausage mixture into each cup.
4. Bake until the tops are just beginning to brown, 25 minutes. Let cool on a
wire rack for 5 minutes. Place a rack on top of the pan, flip it over and turn
the quiches out onto the rack. Turn upright and let cool completely.
Make Ahead Tip: Individually wrap in plastic and refrigerate for up to 3 days
or freeze for up to 1 month. To reheat, remove plastic, wrap in a paper
towel and microwave on High for 30 to 60 seconds.
A good-quality nonstick muffin tin works best for this recipe. If you don't have
one, line a regular muffin tin with foil baking cups.