Foodarrific

This year, for our CNY reunion dinner, I decided to slave in the kitchen this year instead of subjecting ourselves to those rip-off festive restaurant prices. My dishes are very simple so it’s not too hard to whip up something pretty quickly.

Stirfried Kailan with Crispy Scallop Bits

Stir-fried Kai-lan (Chinese kale) is a common everyday dish. I merely funky-ed it up with a topping of crispy dried scallop bits. Surprisingly my say-no-to-veggie brood loved this .

Claypot Pork Ribs and Tofu

We’re big fans of Claypot Tofu (recipe here) and I cook this quite often for regular meals. Here I used pork ribs with carrot flowers and wolfberries and turned it into something special.

Spicy Thai-style Crispy Chicken

I topped my easy-peasy and very popular Thai-style Crispy Chicken (recipe here) with shredded carrots, cucumbers and onions.

Braised Mushrooms with Phoenix Claws

Don’t jump now. Phoenix claws are actually just plain old chicken feet.

Lotus Root Soup with Japanese Baby Scallops

This turned out so sweet and flavorful I surprised even myself .

You’ll agree there’s nothing very fattening here so no need for us to start reading phentermine reviews ! In fact, I cooked everything here with fresh ingredients and very little sodium, practically no sugar or added MSG.

Filed under: AsianMeatPoultrySeafoodSoupsSpecial OccasionsSpicyTofuVegetables by chili queen - No Comments →

Twas one night when my brain went into overdrive and kept me awake long enough to plan out my Chinese New Year reunion dinner menu. Last year, we dined out on Chinese New Year’s eve.

This year, I’ve decided to go back to my usual practice of cooking reunion dinner at home. I’m planning a simple menu of gourmet, restaurant-style dishes which can easily be whipped up at home.

• Claypot Tofu with Pork Ribs and Veggie Medley
• Fish Fillet with Ginger and Spring Onions
• Roast Chicken, Thai Style
• Stir-fried Kailan with Dried Scallop and Wolfberries
• Lotus Root Soup

Of course, this menu may change. It’s only the first draft. I might be tempted to tinker with it as CNY draws nearer, or if I let my kids have their say. Hopefully the final menu won’t make us so guilty that we’ll all go jump on an elliptical the next morning!

Filed under: AsianPoultrySeafoodSoupsSpecial OccasionsTofuVegetables by chili queen - No Comments →

Many years, when I worked in the city, my colleagues and I would drive out for lunch to Ampang which is famous for their yeong tow foo, or stuffed tofu. Well, that was years ago and although Ampang Yong Tow Foo franchises and copycats have sprung up everywhere, I haven’t eaten any in a long time.

Recently I bought fresh yeong tow foo at the market. They are fresh and sold loose so I get to make my own selection. They’re usually sold at the grocery stores in prepacked trays but they cost a bit more and you don’t get to pick what you want.

I bought lots of different shaped fishballs at the market the other day. The big fried ones and the white comma-shaped ones are a hit with my kids. I only bought 3 stuffed chillies for myself .

The long dark brown ones are foo pay, or soy sheets wrapped around fish and meat paste. I like those too. And of course, I must have my hot chilly dipping sauce. We typically eat yeong tow foo on its own without rice or noodles, so this is absolutely a no-carb meal!

You might not find me driving into town to buy a Sony Vaio but I might for a taste of yong tow foo once in a while. In this case, I don’t even have to drive into the city, I can have them in the comfort of home.

If you have time, you can actually make your own fish paste at home for fish balls and to stuff the soy pockets yourself. Yeong tow foo is great for parties and potlucks because everyone loves ‘em, kids and adults. Just be sure you have different dipping sauces for kids (tomato sauce) and adults (chilly sauce).

Filed under: AsianHealthy EatingKid-friendlyLunchbox IdeasNo Cooking RequiredSeafoodStreet FoodTofuVegetables by chili queen - No Comments →

Isn’t Friday just great! I’ve got a whole weekend to figure out next week’s menu. Not that I ever do that. Still .

#1. Are your Kitchen utensils nylon, silicone, wood or other?

I have all sorts.

#2. Do you prefer dishes washed in a dishwasher or by hand?

Definitely a dishwasher, I hate doing dishes.

#3. How many sets of dishes do you have?

I’ve got two sets of Corelle and a bunch of odd ones that I’ve collected from redemptions and giveaways, and some that I couldn’t resist buying because they were either too cute or too cheap.

#4. Share a recipe that calls for only one pot or pan.

The first recipe that comes to mind whenever anyone says one pot is my all-time favorite Claypot Tofu with Mushroom and Shrimp. It’s easy to make, healthy, very yummy and you sure won’t have to jump on any fitness equipment afterwards .

If you’d like to play Four Foods on Friday, we’d be thrilled to have you. Just go over to valmg’s blog at Fun, Crafts and Recipes for details.

Filed under: KitchenwareMemesTags & AwardsOne-dish MealsTofu by chili queen - 8 Comments →

I bought some taupok, or tofu puffs from the market because I was thinking of trying my hand at making my own vegetarian curry. But I changed my mind when my neighbor said she’d get me a tub of vegetarian curry from the temple.

So I decided to stuff the taupok with some meat and fry it. I think some restaurants serve this as an appetizer or hors d’oeuvres. Taupok is a roughly 2-inch square tofu puff that’s hollow inside.

So what you need is:

• 10-15 taupok, cut into half
• 100 grams of ground pork
• 2 cups of cooking oil
• salt and pepper to taste

The first thing I do is to season the ground pork with some salt and pepper, and leave aside while I cut the tofu puffs into halves.

Using a teaspoon, I stuff the ground pork into the hollow of each taupok half. Then I heat up the cooking oil on high heat and drop the taupok in, one by one.

I kept my stuffed taupok very basic as I was in a bit of a rush. But if you’re planning to serve these as hors d’oeuvres, you can pretty up the stuffing with shredded carrots and green (spring) onions.

I serve these hot from the wok with chilli sauce and ketchup right out of the bottle, provided there’s still any left after the kids are done pinching .

Filed under: Appetizers & Hor d'oeuvresAsianMeatRecipesTofu by chili queen - 2 Comments →