Homemade Meatballs in Tomato & Baked Beans Sauce

Back after such a long long disappearance act from this space with a simple and quick dish and I will be off again.

Yes, my hubby and I will be expecting our little one in some 2 months' time. Third trimester has been kind to me thus far, just experiencing bad backaches but I guess that's normal as the belly grows.  Last lap now, jiayou!

Leaving you with the recipe of this Homemade Meatballs in Tomato & Baked Beans Sauce. Yeah I finally like got myself off the couch to cook again. Not that I haven't been cooking, but were just simple stir fry dishes or quick steam fish or egg, tofu and meat.

Anyway, hope to be back soon :)

Homemade Meatballs in Tomato & Baked Beans Sauce

Serves 2 to 3

250g minced meat
1 tbsp onion, chopped
2 tbsp water chestnuts, chopped
5 medium sized prawns, minced

2 tsp cornflour
2 tsp light soy sauce
Pinch of salt
Pepper, more if preferred

1 can of baked beans
1 tbsp tomato sauce
1.5 tbsp chilli sauce
1.5 tbsp oil
1 onion, cubed
2 tbsp mixed peas

1. Place minced meat, minced onions, minced water chestnut and minced prawns in a mixing bowl. Add in cornflour, light soy sauce, salt and pepper and mix the meat mixture well.
2. Pick up the meat mixture and slap it down into the mixing bowl for about 10 to 15 times. This will let the meat have a "Q" feel.
3. Shape the meat into equal round balls.
4. Heat oil in a pan.
5. Place in meatballs and pan-fry medium brown. Add in cubed onions and stir fry well. Place in mixed peas and stir fry a little.
6. Pour in baked beans, tomato sauce and chilli sauce. Stir to mix well.
7. Let sauce cook and simmer for 2 minutes. Dish and serve immediately.

Spicy Basil Minced Pork with Fried Egg & Rice

On days when the cooking mood kicks in, my hubby will take over a lunch or dinner slot and cook me a yummy meal. Some weeks back, he cooked me a plate of spicy basil minced pork with fried egg over a plate of hot plain rice. It was fantastically yummy! The minced pork was juicy, tender  (and sooo spicy!) and fragrant! Oh and the egg was fried till just right, the way I like it, not too fry yet crispy on the sides of the whites and yolk still runny when pricked.

I thought this gotta be put down in my blog to share with all, and so here it is.  I am gonna request for Hubby to cook me this again!  He's gonna feel real flattered :P

Recipe by Eating Thai Food 
(Slight changes were made to suit our preference)

For the egg

• 1 egg (we used 2 eggs)
• 2 tablespoons of oil for frying

Basil chicken

• 1 chicken breast (or any other cut of boneless chicken, about 200 grams) - we used minced pork instead
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 4 Thai chilies (we used chilli padi)
• 1 tablespoon oil for frying
• 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
• ½ teaspoon light soy sauce
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 splash of dark soy sauce
• 1 handful of Thai holy basil leaves

(Hubby marinated the minced pork a night before with half tsp sesame, light sauce sauce 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce, a dash of pepper and threw in some basil leaves) - marinating the meat made it tastier but of course you may skip this marinate step if preferred but and just stir fry your meat with the above condiments.)

First, fry the egg

1. Heat about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a wok or frying pan on high-medium heat.
2. When the oil is hot and sizzling, drop in the egg. Let it sizzle and bubble up, and at the same time, splash some of the hot oil onto the top of the egg (don't flip the egg, unless you really want to).
3. After the egg looks about right to your cooked likeness (I like mine runny), take it out, drain the excess oil, and put it on a plate for later.

Basil chicken

1. Cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces.
2. Rinse and peel the garlic and chilies, and pound them in a mortar and pestle (alternatively you can just mince them with a knife). They don't need to be super fine, you just want to bring out the oils and flavors from the garlic and chilies.
3. Pluck a good sized handful of holy basil leaves off the stems.
4. Now it's time to start cooking. Heat your wok on high heat, and add about 1 tablespoon of oil to the pan.
5. When the oil is hot, add the chilies and garlic. Stir fry them for about 20 seconds or so until they get really fragrant, but don't let them burn or get too dry.
6. Toss in your chicken. Keep stir frying continuously. At this stage you want to continue to stir and cook your chicken until it's just about fully cooked all the way through (depending on the size pieces of chicken and how hot your fire is, it should take about 2 - 3 minutes). If it starts to get dry, add just a tiny splash of water.
7. Add 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce, ½ teaspoon light soy sauce, ½ teaspoon sugar, and finally a splash of dark soy sauce. Keep stir frying for about another 30 seconds.
8. Grab a handful of holy basil, toss it into the pan, fold it into the chicken, and then immediately turn off the heat (if you're using an electric stove, you'll want to remove the pan from the burner). The holy basil really only needs to cook for about 5 seconds, and it will continue to wilt and cook from the existing heat of the chicken. This step is important because if you cook the basil for too long, it loses some of its glorious flavor and gets slightly chewy.

Korean Spicy Pork BBQ (Jeyuk Bokkeum / Dweji Bulgogi)

Another item that turned up at our family BBQ. We bought butterhead and lettuce vege and had the meat eaten in wrap paired with garlic and seasoned seaweeds. 

It was Mum and Dad's first experience eating wraps and gave thumbs' up. Tiring prepping the food but definitely worth it when family and people who appreciates your food show you that gratifying good and yummy sign, plus a thank you so much for the food!!! It is all these that push one on to make more yummy dishes.

Korean Spicy Pork BBQ (Jeyuk Bokkeum / Dweji Bulgogi)
Recipe by Korean Bapsang

2 pounds thinly sliced pork shoulder (900g)
1 small onion thinly sliced
3 scallions cut into 2-inch pieces

Marinade:
6 tablespoons Korean chili pepper paste (gochujang)
1 tablespoon Korean chili pepper flakes (gochugaru) (I left this out)

3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice wine (or mirin)
2 tablespoons sugar (or brown sugar)

1 tablespoon corn syrup (or honey)
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1/2 small apple grated (about 4 tablespoons) – optional (I left out the grated apple)

Mix all marinade ingredients well. Combine the meat, onion, and scallions with the marinade and mix well.

Marinate for about an hour. (I left it in the freezer to do its job for 2 days, brought it down the night before BBQ to let it defrost.) Grill over charcoal or pan fry in a skillet over medium high heat until slightly caramelized. (Preheat and lightly oil with sesame oil before adding the meat. If pan frying, do not crowd the skillet. Adjust the heat as necessary.)

Sharp leaves Spinach Pork Ribs Soup

I miss cooking soup because they are just so simple, and the benefits we get from consuming soup are too many to be mentioned.

Hubby and I do not eat lavishly. Simple meals work better for us. So, one soup one dish is more than enough for us 2. Good for me too hehe! I need not rack brain to cook up a feast.

Short posts nowadays. With the new job coming, I hope I will get time to blog still!

Be right back!

Sharp leaves Spinach Pork Ribs Soup

280g pork rib or lean pork

2 dried scallops (big) or a handful of small dried scallops, rinsed

2 dried fig, rinsed

1 honey date

1 medium sized carrot, peeled and cut into 3 big chunks

1 bunch of sharp leaves spinach, picked and washed

Salt to taste

1.Rinse pork ribs or lean meat. Blanch in a pot of boiling water to remove scums and oil. Rinse well and leave aside.

2. Put all ingredients (except spinach and salt) into boiling water.  Bring to a boil. Simmer over low heat for 1 hour. 

3. When ready to consume, bring soup base to boil, add in spinach, add salt to taste.  Serve.

Pork, Chives & Mushroom Dumplings 猪肉韭菜香菇饺子

Was doing our weekly marketing at the supermarket when I saw chives at the vegetable section. It then came upon me that I have not made dumplings for a long long time! So let's do it!

I just wanted simple fillings for my dumplings. No prawns or shrimps. Save the shells peeling and chopping. I am lazy.

Used 3 simple mains for the dumpling. Pork and chives are the must have, and I added chinese mushrooms this time. Yummy!

Lazy me used store bought dumpling flour for the dumpling wrapper. Simply pour in water, mix, knead, rest and ready to use!

So how do you like your dumplings to be cooked?

I steam it.

And also boiling it.

Love lots of ginger and black vinegar with it.

You can also pan fry the dumplings and eat them as guo tie (pot stickers). 

Come, let's dig in! :)

Pork, Chives & Mushroom Dumplings

Wrapper
600g store bought dumpling flour
300g water

Filling
600g minced pork
300g chives, washed 3x, remove soggy and yellow parts, cut and remove stem parts
8 pcs dried chinese mushrooms, soaked till softened, remove stems and steam for 6 min on high heat till cooked, then cube into small cubes

Seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp oil
1 tbsp cornflour
dash of pepper

1. Mix dumpling flour and water to form a dough, knead well till dough does not stick to hands and is soft. Cover with a clean moist cloth and set aside to rest for 30 min. This allows the dough to become smooth and stretchy, ready for use.

2. Place minced pork, chopped chives and mushroom cubes into a mixing bowl.

Add in all seasonings and mix well with a pair of chopsticks till filling mixture turns into a sticky paste. Cover with clingwrap and set in fridge for 30 min.

3. Punch down dough cut out dough into small pieces for use. I weigh each pc to be 12g round and roll them flat. Place a teaspoon heap of filling on centre of dough wrapper and wrap up. Pinch a side of dough and press tight to seal opening. Repeat till use up fillings.

Place wrapped dumplings on a plate or tray, taking care not to let them be too close and stick together. When one plate or tray is fully filled with dumplings, cover with cling wrap and leave in freezer and let dumplings freeze before removing each frozen dumpling and storing in ziplock bags. Freeze dumplings.

4. No need to thaw dumplings when you want to eat it. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add enough jiaozi to cover the base of the pot about one and a half times, stirring to make sure no dumplings stick to the base of the pot. Cover.

When it comes to a boil, add 250ml water. Cover and repeat 2 more times. When the water comes to a boil for the third time, the dumplings are ready. Scoop dumplings onto a plate and serve immediately with vinegar and shredded young ginger.


NOTE: The theory behind adding cups of water is that if you stop it before the third boil, the meat will not be cooked through. Also, if you don’t add cold water each time, the jiaozi will fill up with air and explode.

For steaming, put steamer pot filled with water and let it come to boil on high heat, place frozen dumplings into bamboo steamer basket and set in steamer pot to steam for 15min, or till done. Serve immediately.

Spicy Pork Bulgogi 韩式辣炒猪肉 돼지 불고기

As you can see, I am already back from Korea for quite some weeks, but am still (very!) much bitten by the Korean food bug. I have always enjoyed eating Korean food, and this trip brought my love for Korean food to a next level. I just had to cook it at home. Hubby gave compliments during the meal and commented that "I thought I am back in Korea leh!" 

My first time at preparing and cooking Korean style marinated meat. A wonderful experience and I am looking forward to cooking beef bulgogi, chicken bulgogi.... anything Korean food soon! 

With the few stuff I bought from our grocery shopping at Seoul Lotte Mart, Hubby can expect more Korean food. I have pre-empt him on that and he was game for it.

I love my wonderful and supportive hubby lor! :P

Thank you all for dropping by.

Kamsahamnida. 

Spicy Pork Bulgogi  돼지 불고기
Recipe and notes from Crazy Korean Cooking

9 oz Sliced Pork (Belly or Neck)  (thinly sliced) – I used about 250g of twee bak because I wanted leaner meat

3 tbsp Hot Pepper Paste (Gochujang) (spiciness and saltiness may vary depending on the brand)

2¼ tsp Sugar

1 tsp Soy Sauce for Soup (Gukganjang)   (or regular soy sauce)

½ Onion (Medium)

1½ Green Onion (Spring onion as we call it)

1 tsp Garlic (minced)

1 tsp Ginger (minced) – I did not have ginger on hand, hence I left it out

A pinch of Black pepper

1 tsp Sesame oil

1 tbsp Cheongju, Korean Rice Wine  (I used Japanese Sake cooking wine)

½ tsp Sesame Seeds  (optional)

2 Green Chili Pepper  (optional) – I did not use this

1½ tsp Vegetable Oil

1 tsp Gochugaru, Red Chili Flakes 고추가루(optional, add to make it super spicy) – I did not use this

Optional Ingredients and Substitutions 
Pork: You can use chicken or beef instead. Make sure to thinly slice the meat for the best result.
Sesame seeds: can be omitted.
Green chili peppers: Green chili peppers add a very nice spicy kick. Red chili peppers are ok too but they are usually less spicy. You can omit chili peppers if you want a mild version.
Sugar: can be replaced with honey.

Good to Know 
The amount of gochujang (red chili paste) and sugar can vary depending on your preference. If you use less gochujang, you may want to increase the amount of soy sauce or use salt to season.

For medium spiciness, reduce the amount of red chili paste to 4 tablespoons (for default serving size - 4 servings).

To make it extra spicy, add 1 to 3 teaspoons of gochugaru (red chili flakes) (for default serving size - 4 servings)

1.        Cut pork
If the pork is not sliced, slice as thinly (⅛”) as possible. If pork is slightly frozen, it’s easier to cut into thin slices. If the slices are too big, cut into roughly 3” squares. They don’t have to be square shaped as long as the area is about that size.

2.        Prepare vegetables
Peel and slice a medium onion (or ½ large onion). Wash and cut 3 green onions into 2 inches. Mince garlic and ginger. Wash and Slice 4 green chili peppers (optional).

3.        Make marinade
Mix 6 tablespoons of gochujang (red chili paste), 1½ tablespoons of sugar, 2 teaspoons of minced garlic, 2 teaspoons of minced ginger, chopped green onions, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper, 2 teaspoons of sesame oil, sliced onions, chopped green chili peppers (optional), 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds (optional) and 2 tablespoons of cheongju (korean rice wine) (optional). *For medium spiciness, add 4 tablespoon of gochujang instead of 6. To make it extra spicy, add 1-3 teaspoons of gochugaru (red chili flakes) on top of gochujang (red chili paste).

4.        Marinate meat
Place the meat in a large bowl. Separate the meat slices so they are not stuck together. Add the marinade. Using your hand (use plastic gloves to protect your hand from hot paste), mix everything thoroughly and work in the marinade for 3-5 minutes. Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour (6 hours is ideal). If your meat is thicker than ⅛”, marinate overnight.

5.        Cook meat
Coat a frying pan with vegetable oil. Cook the marinated meat on high heat for 10-15 min or until the meat is fully cooked and the surface is nicely browned. *If the meat is thick, you must cook on medium heat so the meat is cooked through. Then, cook on high heat to brown the surface.

6.        Serve
Serve on a plate and sprinkle sesame seeds to garnish (optional). You can enjoy it with a bowl of rice or make “ssam” (wrapping a piece of meat with a dab of ssamjang (lettuce wrap sauce) in leafy lettuce).

I made some ssamjang sauce by mixing 1 tsp gochujang with 2 tsp doenjang (fermented soy bean paste). 

I personally feel that spicy pork bulgogi does not go too well with ssamjang as ssamjang tends to cover the spicy bulgogi taste with its strong bean sauce smell and taste.

Ssamjang goes better with beef bulgogi wraps :)

Hainanese Pork Chop

Christmas eve this year was spent in JB. We stayed there for a night - ate, shopped, went for a good long massage and caught a late night movie. Nothing extraordinary but we enjoyed ourselves alot!

Oh I need to mention that I had another 4 new recipe books added to my collection! Hubby sponsored and I was a happy girl! Hehe... so few days later, I tried out one of the yummy recipe (credits to my reliable airfryer!). Hubby loved this dish and so did I.

I like food with tomato based sauce, hubby likes to eat pork chop so I could say this Hainanese Pork Chop made a good dish along with a bowl of rice. I will gladly cook this again, anytime :)

I am submitting this post to Cook-Your-Books #19 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours

Hainanese Pork Chop
Recipe by Sunny Sia of Memorable Local Treats

500g lean pork (sliced thickly into chops)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
5 tbsp plain flour (mixed with 1 tbsp cornflour)
1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup  oil


Marinate
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp chinese cooking wine

Sauce
1 large onion (sliced)
1/2 tso cornflour (mixed together with 1/2 cup water)
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp bottled tomato sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tomato (diced)
1 handful green pea (I used mixed peas)

1. Marinate the pork and set aside for an hour in the fridge.

2. Beat the eggs in a bowl, pour flour and salt in a plate and put breadcrumbs in another plate.
3. Heat up the wok with oil, coat the pork slices with flour,  them coat with eggs and finally the breadcrumbs.
4. Fry the coated pork in the hot oil till golden brown and crispy. Remove and drain on paper towel. Cut into thick strips when cool.
5. For sauce, retain 2 tbsp of oil in the wok and fry the sliced onion, the add in the tomato and green pea, followed by the corn flour mixture, season with salt, dark soy sauce and tomato sauce, allow it to boil and thicken.

6. Pour the sauce over the pork and serve.

My note:
1) I air-fried the pork chop instead of deepfrying the pork chop.
2) I added 1.5 tbsp oil to the breadcrumbs and mixed well with a fork, pressing down the breadcrumbs to allow breadcrumbs to turn fine again, easier for coating.
3) I preheated airfryer at 180deg C for 5min, place coated pork chops in airfryer and airfry at 180deg C for 8min, and flip pork chops over before airfrying for another 7min.

Papaya Soup with Dried Figs

I cannot stress how much I love soup, can I? I am always on the lookout for yummy soup recipes. Was flipping through one of my recipe book and saw this soup that looked healthy and good enough to give it a try.

Have you drank Papaya soup with dried fig before? This is a refreshing soup that nourishes the lungs and relieves phlegm, great for the humid weather here in Singapore where we get bad nose and throat so often. Okay, maybe that's just me. I get nose and throat inflammation quite often!

You gotta buy unripe papaya to make this soup. I love eating papaya, the fruit itself, but was not too sure if I could accept it when cooked in soup. I had doubts about whether the papaya will cause the soup to have that strong milky papaya smell, but fortunately no, the smell of papaya wasn't too overbearing. The soup will get to appear on my dining table again :)

Gonna keep this post short and sweet this time. Be back soon :)

 This post is linked to Cook-Your-Books #19 @ kitchen flavours

Papaya Soup with Dried Figs
Recipe by Patsie Cheong (Recipe book title - One Day One Dish | 365 Selected Home-Cooked Recipes)

Ingredients A
7 pieces dried fig (cut into pieces)
1/4 piece tangerine peel
2 tbp sweet almond
2 tbsp bitter almond

Ingredients B
500g spare rib
400g unripe papaya (peeled and remove seeds)

Seasoning
Sea salt

1. Put 3 1/2 litres of water in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Add in Ingredients A. When it boils, turn to low heat and cook for 1 hour.
3. Add in Ingredients B to cook for 3 hours, stir in sea salt. Serve hot. (I blanched the pork ribs in a separate pot of boiling water to remove excess oil before adding it into main soup pot.)

Simple Lean Pork Soup with Huai Shan and Qi Zi

A simple and healthy soup recipe I came across in Chef Eric Teo's soup recipe book.  I used the double boiling method for this using my thermal pot and got 2 yummy pot of healthy soup for dinner. Quantities of ingredients were kinda halved to cater to 2 pax.

According to Chef Eric's recipe, this soup is supposed to cure chronic eye problems caused by asthemia, like blurry vision and for eyes that get tired easily.

Simple Lean Pork Soup with Huai Shan and Qi Zi
Recipe By Chef Eric Teo - Simply Soup recipe book (汤滋味)

50g huai shan (I used 10 pieces, 5 in each deep stew pot)
20g qi zi (2 tbsp, 1 tbsp in each deep stew pot)
500g lean pork, rinsed and cut into pieces (I used 300g pork ribs instead)
2.5 litres water (I just filled my stew pot to the brim)
Salt
I added 2 dried figs

Note: My individual stew pot size is just enough for 1 pax.

1. Rinse huai shan and qi zi, set aside.
2. Add 2.5 litres of water and all ingredients in a soup pot. Boil over high heat for 15 minutes. Switch to medium heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with salt.

(I placed a steam rack in my thermal pot, placed in 2 of my stew pots. Blanch the washed pork ribs in a small pot of boiling water, rinsed briefly with water and divide the ribs into the 2 stew pots. Place in dried figs, huai shan and qi zi, top with boiling water to brim.

Pour boiling water into thermal pot, put on thermal pot lid and put on high heat for 15 minutes. Turn off heat and place thermal pot into thermal pot holder. When ready to drink, put pot back to heat up and season with salt. Serve.)

Pork & Shrimp Siu Mai Dumplings

Siu mai dumplings and har gao prawn dumplings are the usual suspects that will appear on our order list when we are out for yum cha.  It has been quite awhile since we had dim sum so I decided to make siu mai for yum cha at the comfort of our own home!

I did not wanna waste time on making the yellow wanton wrappers and got ready made ones from the supermart.

It was a great treat for hubby as he loves siu mai.  These are easy food that everyone can make at home, so try it!  It will not be too long before I make them again :)

Siu Mai Dumplings

250g minced pork
8 medium sized tiger prawns
4 chinese mushrooms
3 water chestnuts
1 packet of wonton wrappers (round)

Seasonings
1.5 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp chinese cooking wine
a dash of pepper
1.5 tsp sesame oil
a dash of salt
1 tsp cornstarch

Garnishing
Gouji

1. Soak chinese mushrooms in warm water till soft. Lightly squeeze out mushroom water, remove stalk and cut into little cubes. Set aside.
2. Remove water chestnuts skins and cut into small cubes.
3.. Deshell and devein prawns. Wash and pat dry with kitchen towel.  Roughly chop up prawns into coarse texture.
4. Place minced pork, prawns, chinese mushrooms and water chestnuts into a mixing bowl. Add in all seasonings. Mix with chopsticks till well blended. Set aside for 15 minutes.

5. Carefully separate each pieces of wonton wrappers and cover with a damp cloth.
6. Rinse a tablespoon of gouji, drain and set aside.
7. Place a piece of wonton wrapper into middle of palm. Using a butter knife or teaspoon, place about 1 tbsp of filling onto centre of wrapper.

8. Smooth sides of filling, dap sides of wrapper with some water and carefully gather the sides of wonton wrappers up around filling, with the top filling exposed.
9. Place siu mai on flat tabletop to flatten the base.  Smooth top exposed fillings. Trim off excess wrapper at the top sides to level with filling, if required. Repeat the same for all other siu mai.
10. Place 1 or 2 gouji on centre of siu mai as garnishing.
11. Put a big pot of water (for steaming siu mai) to boil. While waiting for water to boil, line a piece of baking paper in a chinese bamboo steamer and oil lightly with a brush.

12. Place siu mai into bamboo steamer, cover and place it into the steamer pot. Steam on high for about 6 to 8 minutes.

13. Remove and serve immediately.

Note:
- If you do not have a chinese bamboo steamer, you may place siu mai on a plate suitable for steaming too.

Wanton Mee with Cha Siew & Choy Sum

Singapore is a food paradise and there are just so many local delights to eat and try here.  Hainanese chicken rice, char kway tiao, Laksa, Wanton Mee and so many more that are yummy.

Hubby loves eating Wanton Mee.  Since I have tried my hands at making my own cha siew the last round (and it wasn't all too bad for a 1st timer!), I thought why not make cha siew again, then wrap some wantons and... cook Wanton Mee for dinner, for him - my hubby :)

I used the same cha siew meat recipe that Mum has always used.  This time round I added some maple syrup to the marinate so that the meat could be sweeter (which I like!), hehe~

I was a tad lazy to make my own wanton skins, so I bought ready-made ones from the supermart.

It was my first time making wanton.  I have seen my Mum make them before and had tried helping her with the wrapping part, so it was not all too difficult.  Afterall, with the wide amount of info we can get from the internet and with youtube, anyone can more or less self-learn cooking and baking easily.

Anyway... long post ahead.  Beware.

Airfried Cha Siew 
(Improved version)
150g pork butt (shoulder)
1/2 tbsp soya sauce
1 tbsp cha siew sauce
1 tbsp maple syrup (you can use honey too)
1/2 tbsp sesame oil
3 pcs garlic
A pinch of red food colouring (optional)

1. Mix all ingredients (except the meat) together and test taste to see if it is of your desired sweetness. Place in meat and coat well and let it season for 2 hours, or overnight, if possible.
2. Preheat airfryer at 200deg for 5 min.

3. Place marinated meat on baking tray and airfry 5 min.  Brush meat with sauce on both sides and continue letting it be airfried for another 5 min.

4. Brush sauce on both sides, reduce temperature to 180deg and airfry for about 15 min until charred at some areas. Same thing, brush sauce and flip at every 5 min interval till done.

5. Remove cha siew and slice when slightly cooled.


Wanton Soup

Filling
* 300g minced meat
* 4 pcs of water chestnuts (de-skin and minced)
* 3/4 tbsp of minced dried sole fish
* 3 tbsp sliced spring onions

1 packet wanton skin wrap

Marinate
1 tsp sesame oil
1.5 to 2 tbsp soy sauce (I use premium grade soy sauce by Kwong Cheong Thye and the soy sauce tastes salty sweet)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tbsp Shaoxing / hua diao wine
1/2 tbsp cornstarch

Soup base
1 small handful of anchovies (remove head, wash 2x and drain)
1 carrot (de-skin)
1 onion (de-skin, wash and leave as whole)
1200ml water
1/2 pcs of dried sole fish

1 bunch of choy sum vegetables (or any type of vegetable of your choice)
Salt to taste (after soup has been cooked)
Finely chopped spring onions (for garnishing - optional)
1/2 tbsp fried sliced onions (for garnishing - optional)


1. Combine all filling ingredients with * asterisk in a bowl.
2. Add in all marinate ingredients into meat mixture.
3. Mix meat mixture with a fork/ a pair of chopstick/ spatula till well mixed.

4. Cover with clingwrap and leave in fridge for 2 hours to 4 hours.
5. Meanwhile, cook the soup base.  Place all soup base ingredients and water into a pot and bring to boil.
6. Lower fire and let soup simmer for further 45min.
7. Turn off fire and leave till ready to be used.  Remove all soup base ingredients.
8. When ready to wrap wanton, gently tear off each piece of wanton skins and leave on a clean dry plate (with each wanton skin stacked on each other).
9. Prepare some water in a small saucer (for dapping around wanton skin to help stick the skin together)
10. Place a piece of wanton skin onto the palm and scoop a teaspoon heap of marinated filling on centre of skin.
11. Dip a finger with some water and dap it around half side of skin.
12. Bring the skin together to form a triangle shape, then bring 2 ends of the triangle to meet the centre with the help of some dab of water.
13. Apply slight pressure to to crumple up the excess skin, forming a rounded "bottom" (fillings portion).  Repeat the same for the remaining wanton.  Keep in airtight container.
14. Bring the pot of soup base to boil (add choy sum and cook, then add salt to taste), and at the same time, bring a small pot of water (for blanching of dumplings) to boil.
15. Add a few drops sesame oil/ cooking oil to the boiling water (for blanching).
16. Lower heat to medium, gently put in required amount of wanton into water and let it cook.  It will float when done, then leave for about 20 seconds more before scooping it up with a sieve.

17. Put wanton into bowl and scoop soup and choy sum over wanton.

18. Garnish with spring onions and fried onions.  Serve on its own or with wanton mee.


Wanton Mee

Sauce for each place of noodles
1 tbsp fried shallot oil or sesame oil
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sambal chilli sauce
1 tsp tomato ketchup (optional)
1 tbsp of soup base (if preferred)

1 small pack of egg noodles
Water

1. Put a small pot of water to boil (for blanching of the egg noodles).
2. While waiting for the water to boil, prepare the sauce for each plate of wanton mee. Mix well.

3. When water comes to a boil, put in loosen bunch of egg noodles and cook till al-dente.
4. Place blanched noodles into a bowl of room temperature water with strainer and do a quick blanch back at the boil water for 3 seconds, strain well and place noodles on the plate with sauce.

5. Place some pieces of wanton, sliced cha siew and choy sum on top of egg noodles and serve immediately accompanied with soup and some green chillies.