Showing posts with label Fried. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fried. Show all posts

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Pumpkin Croquette and Soupy Udon

July is over and we are well into mid of August. Mum's doing real well and our family is happy! Family support is very important indeed.

I have a thing for pumpkin croquettes and would definitely order them when Im in a Japanese restaurant.  Now with airfryer, I made them. Not too much like what we eat in the restaurants though. Would be better if they were crispier! Nevertheless, I have the never-say-die attitude and will improve on them again! Jiayou! Oh okay, and I have to admit that I used the normal pumpkins and not Japanese Kabocha. Next round then!



I cooked some udon to along with the croquettes as well.  Simple stock made from dashi stock packs I bought from NTUC.

Beware. Long read ahead. Hehe.

Quick Dashi Stock
Serves: Makes 3 Cups
Recipe by Justonecookbook

3 cups water
1 (9g) Awase (kombu & katsuobushi), Katsuo, or Iriko dashi packet


In a medium saucepan, add water and dashi packet (some brand may ask you to add the packet after boiling). Start cooking covered over medium high heat. After boiling, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 5 minutes.

Discard the packet and dashi stock is ready to use.


Udon Soup
(Serves 2)
Recipe by Justonecookbook

4 cups dashi (I used just 3 cups) 
2 packages udon
2 inariage (seasoned fried tofu pouch), cut in half (I left this out)
1 green onion/scallion, finely sliced

Seasonings
2 Tbsp soy sauce (I used only 1 tbsp)
2 Tbsp mirin (I used only 1 tbsp)
2 tsp sugar
¼ tsp salt

Toppings (optional) - I left these toppings out and made it plain
Narutomaki (fish cake), thinly sliced
Blanched spinach, cut into 2" (5 cm) pieces

1. In a medium saucepan, add dashi and the seasonings and bring to a boil.
2. Add the udon and cook for 3-5 minutes.
3. Serve udon and soup in bowls and top with inari age, green onion and additional toppings of your choice.


Kabocha Croquette (Pumpkin Croquette)
Recipe by maa1012


1/4 Kabocha squash (I used those normal pumpkins)
2tsp Honey
2 tsp Butter
a pinch of Salt
1/4 onion, minced
1 tbsp sweet corn

For coating
Flour (as needed)
1 Egg
Panko (as needed)

Tonkatsu sauce for dipping (optional) (I bought the Bull-Dog brand)


1. Peel the kabocha squash. Remove the seeds and cut into 3 cm cubes.
2. Put kabocha squash onto a heatproof dish lined with paper towels. Microwave for 5 minutes.


3. Mash the squash while it's hot. Combine with the ingredients and mix. Coat with flour, egg, and panko in this order. Deep-fry until golden brown. (If using airfryer, preheat it at 200deg for 3 to 5 min and airfry it for 7min. I turned the croquettes over after the 7min is up and airfried it further for another 1min.

Note: Add a little honey to bring out the natural sweetness of kabocha. When you microwave the kabocha over paper towels, it'll absorb the excess water, and make it fluffy. Leave the mashed kabocha aside and let cool slightly before forming patties.

Friday, July 18, 2014

Air fried Prawn Paste Chicken

Got a new kitchen toy using the Giant vouchers "generously" bestowed to us by our company.  I never like shopping at Giant. With only 6 months' validity for the vouchers, I decided to invest in an air fryer with it.

Tried deep frying once at home in my miserably small kitchenette, I swear never to do that again! And since then, I stuck myself to mostly stir-fries, steamed dishes and stews.  Hehe!

Took me a short while to make this purchase decision and well, not much cash top up required, so went for it.

My official 1st dish made by this new toy was prawn paste chicken.  I was initially quite skeptical about how the end result would be. How will the outlook of the air fried wings be? How will it taste? Will the insides be dry and all?  Verdict: my concerns were unfounded. Everything was great. Hubby and brother were tasters for the wings too and gave thumbs up.

Now that gave me quite a boost in my confidence for this new kitchen gadget! So this also meant I have got more dish varieties from now on! YEAH....!

I used the recipe by Noob Cook and marinated the wings a day before. It gave the chicken wings a fuller flavour. Crispy on the outside, tender on the insides.



Air Fried Prawn Paste Chicken
(Serves 2 to 3)
300 grams mid-joint chicken wings (or drumlettes)
2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
Marinade (A)
1 tbsp prawn/shrimp paste
3/4 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp ginger juice grate some ginger & squeeze the pulp
1/2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (Hua Tiao/Shao Hsing)

In a bowl, combine the marinade ingredients (A) until a paste is formed. Marinade chicken with the sauce for at least an hour or preferably overnight in the fridge.
Just before deep-frying, add corn flour to the marinade chicken. Stir to coat evenly, shaking off excess flour on the chicken.
Preheat air fryer at 180°C (356°F) for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, lightly brush chicken pieces with olive oil.
Arrange chicken one layer on the fryer basket and slide the basket into the airfryer. Set timer and air fry for 8 minutes. Pull out the tray, use tongs to turn chicken pieces over, and set timer for another 7 minutes. Drain cooked chicken on paper towels before serving.