Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and sour pork is one of my favourite dish because of its sweet yet sour tangy taste. It has been my favourite since young and it is one of most Singaporean's favourite. It is widely available at coffee shops, and Chinese restaurants as well.

It is a relatively very easy dish to do. It just takes more time to prepare and that one must bear with the oily kitchen and stove. (which I dislike!) I must say I am surprised that I can master this on my first attempt. All thanks to my dear friend who shared with me her tried and tested recipe which made my attempt much easier.

It is a slightly varied recipe from the one she shared but most of the items and steps remain the same. These are based on my own guestimation on the quantity. You may adjust accordingly where necessary.

Enjoy.

All you need:

About 2-300g lean meat / tenderloin cut into cubes - approx for 4 pax
1/4 each of green, yellow and red green pepper cut into cubes
(You may also add pineapple cubes, tomatos or lychees for the added zing!)
Oil for frying
Some chopped garlic and onions

Marinate
1/2 tsp corn flour
1/2 tsp of Hua Diao wine
1 tsp soy sauce

1. Marinate pork with the marinate seasoning and leave aside for 15min

Batter
1/3 cup water
60g all-purpose flour
30g corn starch
1/2 egg
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 small pinch of salt

1. Mix batter together well and add pork cubes into batter

The key to good sweet and sour pork is the sauce! Here's the recipe which I like alot and have slightly modified because I lack certain ingredients. But the absence of those ingredients didn't affect the taste too much.


Sweet and Sour Sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1 tbsp plum sauce
1 teaspoon Heinz Worcestershire Sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon corn starch
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons water
(Mix sauce well)

1. Deep fry the pork cubes coated in the batter
2. When golden brown, put it aside and drain on paper towels
3. Fry some chopped garlic and onion
4. After lightly browned, fry the cut bell peppers till fragrant - you should smell the aroma after a while
5. Transfer the pork cubes into the wok and fry for a while before adding in the sauce
6.  Stir fry for a while to ensure everything is well stirred and it's done!

Serve hot with steamed rice.

Minced Pork with Pumpkin

A friend of mine recommended this dish to me as it was hassle-free and suitable for people like me who can't find enough time for cooking.

I have never tried my mom's pumpkin dishes so I would never expect to try this dish myself. After wrecking my brain on what to cook for my family for the weekend and recommendation from my friend, I decided to just give this a shot. It's really easy without taking too much of my time. Most importantly, pumpkin contains loads of nutrition so you can't go wrong with this. It is loaded with beta carotene, which can help reduce the risk of certain types of cancers as well as protect against heart disease. This humble backyard vegetable is also very low in calories, high in dietary fibre, vitamins and minerals. What more can you ask for?

As this is a self-made self-tested and improvised recipe from my friend, I don't have the exact measurements but I hope the estimates provided below are good enough for 4 pax.

What you need:

A

1/2 tsp of chopped garlic

1 tsp of chopped onions

A little oil

B

Pumpkin cubes (approx 1-1.5 cup)
2 Chinese mushrooms (rinsed, soaked and thinly cut)

2 tbsp water

C

About 200 g minced pork (pre-marinated with some corn starch, soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil)

D

1 tbsp oyster sauce

3 tbsp water

2 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp soy sauce

Pepper

1. Heat oil in wok then throw in A

2. Fry till fragrant then place B in the wok

3. Stir fry for a few min then add about 2 tbsp of water

4. Cover wok and let it simmer for a few min to soften the pumpkin (but not too soft)

5. Incorporate C and stir

6. Add in D and stir fry for another 2-3 min
7. Cover wok and let it simmer for 3 min

Dish is ready to be served with pumpkin is slightly soft.

Roland crabs

Chilli crabs are touted to be every Singaporean's favourite, one of the Uniquely Singaporean dish. It is also believed to have started as early as 1950s! I'm not sure of this and I can't verify  that. But what I can be sure of is my trip to Roland wasn't a wasted one. In fact, it is a well worth trip!

I first patronised the restaurant during the CNY period with my family and grand mother-in-law who loves crab, and had cravings for crab. I went without a high expectation, and I was pleasantly surprised on the taste and quality of their chilli crabs. What I like about their crabs is the rich texture and taste of the gravy. Many chilli crabs that I've eaten are either too dry, too spicy, or too diluted/watery. The crabs at Roland gave me a whole new perspective on chili crabs. The gravy was very tasty and I couldn't get enough of the fried man tou (Chinese buns) dipped in the delicious and generous portion of the gravy. The gravy is thick and yummy.

Just some weeks back when one of my colleague was leaving the company, a few of us decided to buy her a farewell dinner at Roland. It was everyone's maiden trip to Roland except for myself. Of course the chilli crab order was a must. Good that everyone loved it. Apart from the other dishes of vegetables and crispy fried squid (which is also good by the way), we ordered another crab - Salted Egg Yolk with Yam. My impression of a salted egg yolk crab is it is sticky, thick and something that I will not clamour for more because of the flavourful and rich gravy. You will get tired after the first or second bite.

However to our surprise, the dish was prepared dry. It is a tad too oily, but the taste of the salted egg yolk isn't too overpowering and makes you want to have more! What's interesting is the yam sticks are deep fried to make it very crispy like a snack. It is thinly cut, so you don't get too tired of eating them. It also goes well with the flavoured crab that is not too rich in flavour. The taste of the whole dish is very well balanced. But be warned. It can get quite addictive!

For the kind of calories, fats and cholesterol that we had to put up for that night, I must say it is well worth it!

For folks who might be interested, here is the contact info:


Roland Restaurant Pte Ltd, Block 89, Marine Parade Central, # 06 - 750 Singapore 440089

Email: sales@RolandRestaurant.com.sg
Tel: 6440 8205


Operation Hours :
Weekdays - Monday to Saturday
Lunch : 11:30 am to 2:30 pm Last Order
Dinner : 6:00 pm to 10:30 pm Last Order


Sundays & Public Holidays :
Lunch : 11:00 am to 2:30 pm Last Order
Dinner : 6:00 pm to 10:30 pm Last Order

Blueberry muffin for the souls

This recipe is dedicated to my friend whom I've lost touch for 17 years. We met by chance on one fine evening (good if you are reading this) and we were both overwhelmed by our emotions. She cried, I teared. We caught up with each other again. In anticipation of our meeting once again after 17 years, I decided to bake her some blueberry muffins, hoping she and her family would enjoy.

Here's what you need:

A

375g plain flour (sifted)

1 tbsp baking powder (sifted with flour)

125g soft brown sugar

B
165g melted butter

2 eggs lightly beaten

250ml fresh milk

185g fresh bluberries (about one small tray)

1. Preheat oven to 210deg C.

2. Mix A and make a well in the centre.

3. Pour in the combined B items.

4. Fold in mixture but do not overmix. Batter should be lumpy.

5. Place blueberries into mixture and mix.
6. Pour into approx 12 muffin cups. Batter should fill up to 3/4 of the cup.

7. Bake for 20min.

Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!

Soya Sauce Chicken

When time doesn't permit or I'm short of ingredients for a simple meal, I will have myself a plate of dark soya sauce chicken with plain rice. It is a relatively simple dish to prepare, which I must say only takes 20min of my time. I enjoy home cooked food, so this is a dish that I will occassionally prepare.



All I need are:

A
Few slices of ginger
4-6 chicken wings
4 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 1/2 cup of water
a clove of garlic

B

1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp corn starch
dash of salt and pepper
2 tsp sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp Hua Tiao wine


Pour A into pot and boil over small fire
Stir occassionally
Pour in B and mix well
Stir thoroughly to ensure chicken is well cooked
Cook for about 20min for all seasoning to reach the meat and dish is ready to serve

Tomato Sauce Pork Chop

Pork chop is one of my favourite dish since young. Especially those with the tomato sauce pork chop. My version here doesn't have fried potato slices. However, you may wish to add in fried sliced potato slices or strips together with the tomato gravy.

Here are the few simple steps to follow.
Have aside the following:

Meat
2 slices of pork chop, deboned
salt and pepper
2 tsp of sesame oil
2 tsp of Hua Tiao wine
1 egg
6 pieces of cream crackers/plain biscuits - crushed into fine crumbs

Sauce
5 tbsp of tomato sauce, mixed with 3 tbsp of sweet chili sauce and 3 tbsp water
1 tsp corn starch
2 small onions, cut
1 slice of canned pineapple, keeping 2 tbsp of syrup

Some oil for frying

After adding seasoning to meat, dip the meat into egg
After dipping into egg, place meat onto biscuit crumbs and ensure all parts of meat is covered


Heat oil in wok and start frying meat when oil is hot
Once meat is cooked, remove and drain away oil.
Cut into strips.
Prepare for sauce.

SAUCE PREPARATION
Mix the sauce together including pineapple syrup (except pineapple pieces)
Fry onion till lightly browned
Pour in the sauce and cook over heat
Add in pineapple pieces
After stirring for a few min, remove and pour over the meat
Dish is ready to serve

Pineapple pieces/cubes


Frying both sides to make sure meat is thoroughly cooked.



My version of pork chop is good to be eaten on its own too!

Enjoy the dish.

You may wish to add in lychee, cucumber or potato if desired.

One of my favourite cake

What's brown, yellow with swirls in it? No prize for guessing. It's Marble Cake.

Marble cake is one of my favourite cake. I've done a marble cake post before but this is an improved version with chocolate coating and strawberry decor.

We had a gathering over the National Day holiday to celebrate 4 of our friends' birthday. The folks came over to our place for a potluck session, so I thought why buy a birthday cake when I can bake one? I may not bake the most fantastic cake in the world (or Singapore), but I can attempt to do one :) Marble cake came to my mind because it is relatively simple and I guess palatable to most people.

  I like the swirls inside :)


Top it with a strawberry to make it more appetising. Chocolate + strawberry = pleasure!

Here's the recipe I got from Baking: A Commonsense Guide with slight modification.

1 tsp vanilla extract

185g unsalted butter, chopped
230g caster sugar (I had 210g)
3 eggs
280g self raising flour, sifted
185ml milk2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder mixed with 1.5 tbsp warm milk

1 Preheat oven to 200 deg C and lightly grease and line a round pan

2 Add vanilla extract to a bowl of butter and sugar, and use electric beaters to cream the mixture till light and fluffy.

3 Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition

4 Fold the flour into the mixture alternatively with the milk until combined

5 Divide the mixture into 2/3 and 1/3 (original from book is 1/2) into separate bowls

6 Combine the cocoa mixture into the smaller 1/3 portion and combine well

7 Spoon the 2 portions alternatively using a spoon into the pan

8 Use a metal skewer and cut through the mixture to create a marble effect (do not overdo it)

9 Bake for 50-60min and leave in the tin for 5 min before removing

To make the chocolate coating, double boil 125g of dark chocolate with 20g of butter

Stir well then cream the chocolate coating onto the cake when cake has cooled

Refrigerate it and it will be ready to serve after the coating has set in