Lo Mai Fun

INGREDIENTS

1kg glutinous rice
30ml olive oil
100g shallots, thinly sliced
100g dried shrimp, soaked till soft then drained
100g dried mushroom, soaked till soft, drained and thinly sliced
50g dried scallops, soaked till soft then drained
15ml light soya sauce
15ml sesame oil
15ml oyster sauce
15g sugar
salt to taste
pepper to taste
400ml water
100g roasted peanuts
2 stalks scallion, chopped
2 red chilli, chopped

METHOD
1. Soak the glutinous rice in water for one hour. Drain and set aside.
2. To a heated wok, add olive oil and fry the shallots until golden brown.
3. Add shrimp, mushroom and scallops and stir-fry for five minutes.
4. Add light soya sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix well.
5. Add glutinous rice and stir-fry for five minutes (above right).
6. Add water, mix well and cook the rice for two minutes.
7. Transfer the rice into a container and place in a steamer for 30 minutes or until the rice is cooked.
8. Remove the rice from the steamer and top with roasted peanuts, scallions and chilli.

Serves 10
The Straits Times 13/09/2009

Roast Pork

INGREDIENTS

1.5kg pork belly, tell the butcher it is for roasting to get a sufficiently fatty cut

4 tsp coarse sea salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven, set on roast, to 230 deg C.

2. Score the skin of the pork belly length-wise. The cuts should be about 0.5cm deep and about 1- to 2cm apart.

3. Rub 1 tsp of salt and black pepper on the underside of the pork belly, then turn it over and rub the remaining salt over the skin (right). Ensure that salt is rubbed between each slit in the skin, and if necessary, use more salt.

4. Place the pork belly on a grill rack and roast on the middle tray in the oven for 30 minutes or until the skin starts to brown.

5. Reduce the temperature to 180 deg C and roast for another 45 minutes to an hour until the skin is golden brown.

6. Switch to grill mode and raise the temperature to 230 deg C for seven minutes. Check freq- uently to ensure that the crackling does not burn.

7. Lower to 220 deg C and leave the oven door partially open. Roast for seven more minutes. Tap the back of a metal spoon against the crackling; if it produces a hollow sound, the pork belly is done.

Serves eight


CHILLI SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

10 red chillies

2 bird's eye chilli (optional)

2cm piece ginger

3 cloves garlic

60ml rice vinegar

1 small cube red fermented beancurd, or nan ru in Mandarin

2 tsp sauce from the jar of red fermented beancurd

2 tsp sugar

4 small Calamansi limes, juiced

2 tsp mirin (sweet Japanese rice wine)

2 tsp soya sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

METHOD

1. Blend chillies, ginger, garlic and rice vinegar in a food processor on high speed until a fine paste forms. Set aside 4 tsp and keep the remaining chilli paste as a condiment for flavouring other dishes.

2. Mix 4 tsp of the chilli paste with the red fermented beancurd, sugar, lime juice, mirin, soya sauce and sesame oil until well incorporated.

Char Siew Bao

CHAR SIEW FILLING

Ingredients

350g pork shoulder

3/4 tsp salt

2 Tbs sugar

3/4 Tbs vegetable oil

3/4 Tbs hoisin sauce

2 Tbs light soya sauce

3/4 Tbs shaoxing wine

110g honey

2 small shallots, finely chopped

1 tsp corn flour

2 Tbs water

1 tsp roasted white sesame seeds

Method

1. Cut pork shoulder lengthwise into 4cm-wide strips. Rinse under running water, pat dry and set aside.

2. Put salt, sugar, vegetable oil, hoisin sauce, light soya sauce, shaoxing wine, 85g honey and shallots together. Microwave mixture on high for 20 seconds. Remove and whisk to mix well.

3. Put pork in a re-sealable plastic bag and pour marinade over the meat, coating the meat evenly. Press out the air, seal the bag and refrigerate overnight.

4. Pre-heat oven to 230 deg C for at least 30 minutes before baking. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and place a metal rack in the tray.

5. Remove pork from bag, pat dry with paper towels and place it on the rack. Reserve the marinade.

6. Roast the pork for 15 minutes before turning it over. Roast another 15 minutes, then remove the tray from oven.

7. Flip the pork over, brush it with honey and put it back in the oven for three minutes. Remove the tray again, turn the meat over, glaze with honey and roast for two more minutes in the oven.

8. Remove the pork from the oven and leave it to rest for 20 minutes before dicing into small cubes. Set aside.

9. Dissolve cornflour in water and set aside.

10. Pour marinade into a non-stick pan and bring it to a boil.

11. Add diced char siew to the boiling marinade and cook on medium heat for 2 minutes.

12. Add sesame seeds and cook for another minute. Add cornflour mixture to thicken the sauce. Stir well, remove from the heat and leave to cool. Set aside.


BUO LUO BAO

Ingredients

300g bread flour, sifted

71/4 tsp milk powder

3/4 tsp salt

60g sugar

2 eggs, beaten

2 tsp instant yeast

140g water

105g butter

125g cake flour, sifted

63g icing sugar, sifted

char siew filling (above)

Method

1. Use an electric stand mixer to mix together the bread flour, 6 tsp milk powder, 1/2 tsp salt, sugar, 2 Tbs beaten egg, instant yeast and water for 8 minutes on medium speed.

2. Add 30g butter, softened at room temperature, and mix for 10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

3. Roll dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and leave it in a warm place for 1 hour or until the dough doubles in size.

4. Put cake flour, icing sugar, 11/4 tsp milk powder, 1/4 tsp salt and 75g butter, cut into cubes and chilled, into a bowl. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.

5. Gradually add 21/2 Tbs beaten egg to the crumbly pastry and mix till well incorporated.

6. Roll this dough, which forms the crust of the bun, into a ball. Place it in a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let it harden slightly.

7. When the bread dough has doubled in size, punch out the air and divide the dough into 10 portions. Cover the dough with cling wrap and leave to rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.

8. Remove the dough for the crust from the refrigerator and divide it into 10 portions. Set aside.

9. Flatten one portion of the bread dough into a circle of about 12cm in diameter and scoop 1 Tbs of char siew filling into the centre. Wrap the dough around the filling and seal it. Place the sealed end face-down on a greased baking tray.

10. Flatten one portion of the pastry crust dough, place it on top of a bun and press down lightly to secure the crust. Repeat steps 9 and 10 for the remaining nine portions.

11. Use a sharp knife to score the crust of the buns with a diamond pattern (above, left). Leave at room temperature for 1 hour.

12. Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C for 15 minutes.

13. Glaze the top of each bun with beaten egg wash.

14. Bake the buns for 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave them to cool.

Makes 10.

Mushroom Soup

INGREDIENTS

800g mixed fresh mushrooms: Swiss browns, button or (right, clockwise from top left) hiratake, willow, shiitake, portobello

1 medium, brown skinned onion

120g salted butter, divided

50g flour

750ml full fat milk, divided

500ml chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

chopped chives (optional)

METHOD

1. Prepare the mushrooms: Wipe them clean with damp paper towels. Slice off the stems or root ends, dice into roughly 1cm cubes.

2. Peel the onion, chop finely, set aside.

3. In a large frying pan, heat 70g of the butter over medium heat. When it has melted, add the mushrooms and saute 3 to 4 minutes until they give off some liquid and are succulent. Turn off the heat, set aside.

4. In a medium pot, heat the remaining 50g of butter over medium heat. When it has melted, add the onions and saute quickly for 30 seconds. Turn heat down to medium low, cover the pot and let cook 8 minutes.

5. Add flour to the pot, mix well with the onions and butter and cook over medium low heat for 3 minutes. The mixture will clump up, that is fine. Just keep breaking the lumps up with a whisk and continue cooking.

6. In the meantime, heat 250ml of the milk in a saucepan until bubbles form at the edges, or in a microwave safe jug in the microwave on a high setting for 1 minute.

7. After the flour, onion and butter mixture has cooked for 3 minutes, remove pan from heat and pour in the hot milk, (above) whisking thoroughly to incorporate the milk into the roux mixture. Then add the remaining 500ml milk and the chicken stock, whisking to mix thoroughly (above).

8. Place the pot back on the stove, and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat, whisking often to prevent the soup from scorching at the bottom of the pan.

9. Add the cooked mushrooms, stir to mix well, and cook another 15 minutes on medium-low heat, stirring often. The soup will thicken up.

10. Check for seasonings – add salt if needed, and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

11. Ladle into bowls, top with chopped chives if using, and serve with warm bread.

Serves four to six

Shepherd Pie

INGREDIENTS

200g carrots (about three small)

150g parsnip (about one medium)

250g zucchini (one large)

200g onion (one large)

200g streaky bacon

1 tsp oil

500g minced beef

305g tin of tomato puree

4 Tbs Worcestershire sauce (right)

1 tsp sugar

1kg russet potatoes

125g softened butter

100g Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste


METHOD

1. Wash carrots, parsnip, zucchini under running water, pat dry with paper towels. Skin carrots and parsnip. Cut into roughly 1cm cubes. Do the same with the zucchini. Peel and chop onion finely.

2. Using a pair of kitchen shears, snip the strips of bacon crosswise into 1cm wide pieces.

3. Heat the oil over medium high heat in a large fry pan. When it is hot, add the bacon and fry 2 minutes. Add onion, fry 1 minute. Add the minced beef, break it up with a spatula and fry 5 minutes, or until the meat is not pink any more.

4. Add the carrots, parsnips (above) and zucchini, stir to combine and fry another 2 to 3 minutes.

5. Add tomato puree, Worcestershire sauce and sugar, stir well to combine with the rest of the ingredients.

6. Turn heat down to medium low and cook for 30 minutes or until the carrots and parsnips are soft. Add salt and pepper to taste. (This filling can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated, covered, overnight. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)

7. Preheat oven to 200 deg C.

8. Scrub the potatoes, place in a large pot, cover with water and boil until a knife goes through them easily.

9. Drain and peel the potatoes, return to the empty pot, add butter and cheese, mash until smooth. Add salt and pepper to taste.

10. Spread the beef mixture evenly in a deep baking dish. I use a 32cm oval dish. Top with mashed potatoes and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. Use the tines of a fork to score the top of the pie, making diagonal lines.

11. Place in oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are golden brown on top. Cool 10 minutes and serve.

Serves 6.

Chicken Pie

Rough Puff Pastry (Makes enough for one pie crust)

INGREDIENTS

125g plain flour

A pinch of salt

125g butter, at room temperature but not soft

75-100ml ice-cold water

Extra flour for rolling the pastry

METHOD

1. Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl. Chop the butter into small chunks, add them to the bowl and rub into the flour with your fingers (there should still be small lumps of butter visible in the mixture).

2. Make a well in the centre and pour in about two-thirds of the cold water, mixing until it forms a firm rough dough, adding extra water if needed. Cover with cling film and refrigerate for about 15 minutes.

3. Sprinkle some flour onto a chopping board and tip the dough on top. Lightly knead it together and press it into a smooth rectangle.

4. Roll it with a rolling pin until it is about 1cm thick. Do not worry if streaks of butter are visible.

5. Fold the top third of the dough down to the centre, then the bottom third up and over that. Give the dough a quarter turn and roll out again to 1cm thick.

6. Fold again, cover with cling film and chill again for at least 15 minutes before rolling to use.


INGREDIENTS for Chicken, Leek and Mushroom Pie

1kg boneless chicken thighs

3 tbsp plain flour

½ tsp ground black pepper

salt to taste

olive oil

1 leek, sliced thinly (use white part only)

4 rashers of bacon, chopped

250g mushrooms sliced

350-400ml chicken stock

1 tsp chopped fresh or dried thyme leave

3 tbsp chopped coriander

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry thawed (or make your own, see other recipe)

1 egg, lightly beaten

METHOD

1. Remove any skin and fat from the chicken and chop it into bite-sized pieces.

2. Place flour, pepper and salt into a large bowl and toss the chicken pieces in it until well coated.

3. Heat around 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan or a heavy bottomed saucepan, and brown the chicken pieces in batches over medium heat until they are golden brown. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside.

4. Add a little more oil to the pan followed by the sliced leeks, bacon and mushrooms. Cook over medium heat, stirring often until they soften and start to brown.

5. Return the chicken to the pan and add half the stock. Once it starts to boil, add the rest of the stock until the chicken is almost covered. Add the herbs, then turn down the heat and allow it to simmer for around 35 minutes, stirring occasionally until the chicken is cooked and the mixture is thick and creamy. Remove from the heat and allow to cool for about 20 minutes.

6. Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C.

7. Place the chicken into a pie dish (about 5cm deep) so that the filling comes almost to the top of the dish. Brush the top edges of the dish with beaten egg, then place the thawed pastry sheet (if using purchased) or rolled out pastry (if making your own) on top. Press the edges down to seal, then make slits on the top of the pastry.

7. Brush the top with the beaten egg again and bake for about 30 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and crisp.

Serves four to six.

Kong Bak for Pau

INGREDIENTS

1kg pork belly, in rectangular blocks

2 Tbs fine sugar

1/2 cup of water

5 cubes of rock sugar, to taste

FOR MARINADE

1/2 tsp five-spice powder

5 Tbs Wan Ja Shan brand soya sauce paste

1/2 tsp Tiger brand (supergrade) dark soya sauce

1 tsp fine sugar

4 cloves of garlic, smashed, skin on

One packet of 20 ready-made buns, available at supermarkets and wet markets

METHOD

1. Wash and dry the pork with paper towels.

2. Place the pork into a bowl and add all the ingredients for the marinade and mix well. Set aside.

3. Melt the sugar in the pot over low heat.

4. When the sugar has melted, add the marinated pork, meat-side down, and fry it over medium heat. It should begin to sizzle.

5. After a few minutes of frying, add the water into the bowl that was used to marinate the pork. Add this liquid into the pot and cover the pot. Simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. After 40 minutes, flip the pork so that it is now skin side down - the skin should now be submerged in the gravy. Continue to simmer for another 20 minutes or until you can poke through the meat with a fork. It should be cooked but still firm.

7. Take the pork out of the pot and let it rest for about five to 10 minutes.

8. Cut the pork into slices about 1cm thick or a thickness to your liking.

9. Put the sliced pork back into the pot of gravy and add in the rock sugar.

10. Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes, until tender.

11. Place the buns in a steamer and steam till warm and fluffy.

12. To serve, tuck slices of the pork into ready-made buns.

Makes 20 to 25 slices