Fried Luffa with Prawns

Prepared 2 simple and delicious dishes "copied" from mum, which are also my favourites since young :) Mum's version uses fried egg tofu slices too, but I decided to save the trouble...haha.

Fried Luffa with Prawns

Ingredients: (serves 2)
1 medium sized luffa (cut into 1cm thick slices)
8 frozen cooked prawns (defrost)
20g dongfen (soaked in water for 30min)
1 egg (lghtly beaten)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tbsp oyster sauce
a dash of pepper
some oil

Directions:
1. Add a few drops of oil to non-stick  frying pan, add garlic and stir fry till brown and fragrant.
2. Add luffa and prawns, stir fry for about 5min till luffa changes colour and soften. Add oyster sauce and pepper (more if necessary to suit your taste).
3. Add the dongfen, mix well, then swirl in the egg. Remove from heat and serve.

Chicken stir fried with Shitake Mushrooms

Chicken stir fried with Shitake Mushrooms

Ingredients: (serves 2)
2 deboned chicken thigh (cut into bite size)
8 pieces fresh shitake mushrooms (sliced)
2 cloves of garlic (minced)
1tbsp light soy sauce
1tbsp hua diao wine
1/2tsp sesame oil
a dash of pepper
1-2tbsp oyster sauce
some oil

Directions:
1. Marinate chicken with light soy sauce, sesame oil, hua diao wine and pepper. Set aside for at least 30min.
2. Add a few drops of oil to a non-stick frying pan, stir fry minced garlic till brown and fragrant.
3. Add the chicken, stir fry for about 5min or till chicken is cooked.
4. Add shitake mushrooms, stir fry for a min and add oyster sauce. Remove from heat and serve.

Bibimbap

Bibimbap... it's colourful, delicious and healthy. The preparation work is rather tedious but the cooking part is easy. We've definitely enjoyed this first Korean meal at our new place! :)

the ingredients used...

isn't it colourful? :)

Bibimbap
Adapted from: Cuisine Paradise

Ingredients: (Serves 2)
2 serving portions of cooked white rice
4 medium fresh shitake mushrooms (cut into thin slices)
1 small carrot (julienne)
1 small japanese cucumber (julienne)
100g baby spinach (blanched)
150g beef (sliced)
2 tbsp Korean BBQ sauce
2 eggs
3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
kimchi (optional)

Drizzling Sauce:
1 tbsp sesame oil, 1/2tbsp sesame seeds, pinch of salt
Sauce for Serving:
Gochujang/Bibimbap Paste, 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds, some sesame oil

Directions:
1. Fill a medium saucepan or pot with water and bring to boil. Blanch the spinach for about 1 minute, drain, rinse with cold water and squeeze out any excess liquid.
2. Roughly cut spinach into section and add in half of the drizzling sauce and mix well. Set aside.
3. Add 1 tsp of sesame oil in a frying pan, saute the carrot with some chopped garlic till carrot soften. Remove and set aside.
4. Repeat the step with the cucumber and mushroom, keeping them separate.
5. Add a few drops of oil to the frying pan, fry eggs to achieve sunny-side up. Remove and set aside.
6. Add beef to the frying pan, stir-fry for a min, then add Korean BBQ sauce. Remove from heat when cooked.

To Serve:
Place the fried egg in the middle of the bowl, then arrange the 5 ingredients and 1 tbsp of the sauce in 6 sections surrounding the egg yolk.

Mini Meat Patties with Sour Plum Sauce

Dinner today....a colourful one dish meal with rice, prepared with my Happycall double-sided pan :) I simply love this pan as it doesn't need much oil (or even no oil at all) to cook, and I can just cover the pan to lock the food inside, then heat up during dinnertime before eating, fast and easy!

lots of vege used...

simple n yummy :)

Mini Meat Patties with Sour Plum Sauce
Adapted from: Munch Ministry

Ingredients: (Serves 4)
200g minced pork
1/2 japanese cucumber (diced)
1/2 small red, yellow and green capsicum each (diced)
1/2 yellow onion (diced)
2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1/2tbsp hua diao wine

Sauce:
3tbsp sour plum paste (I used Woh Hup)
1/8tsp salt
1/2 tbsp water
Marinade for minced pork:
1tbsp corn flour, 1/8tsp salt, dash of pepper

Directions:
1. Marinade the minced pork with the above ingredients, mix well, set aside in the fridge for at least half an hour.
2. Mix ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and set aside
3. Scoop a tsp of marinated minced pork, slightly round it then press the ball into meat patty shape, put it in the happy call pan (no preheat, no oil needed). Complete the rest of minced pork as follow.

meat patties nicely arranged in the pan...

4. Fill the happy call pan with mini patties, heat the pan with medium small flame, close the pan. Flip the patties when one side is done. Remove patties from pan when both sides are done, set aside.

both sides of the patties fried till golden brown

5. Do not need to wash the pan, use the oil from the meat to saute the garlic until fragrant, add in all the vege and stir fry. Then add in the meat patties, continue to stir fry.
6. Pour the sauce mixture in, mix well to coat the patties evenly.

this is how it looks before serving...

7. Pour in hua diao wine, quickly stir fry. Remove from heat and serve.

Baking butter cakes with Happycall double-sided pan

Have read so much about the miracles that Happycall double-sided pan can create, and yes, baking a cake as well! Finally went ahead and did 3 experiments within 2 weeks. Preparation was not a problem, the tricky part is controlling the flame and also making sure that heat is evenly applied to the pan at all times by shifting the pan  left and right once a while.

First experiment: cake tasted great! but the bottom was slightly burnt and I had to scrap off the burnt parts. :(

not good....must try again!

Orange Butter Cake with raisins (using happycall pan)
Adapted from: Munch Ministry

Ingredients:
250g butter, softened
150g fine sugar
250g self raising flour
3 eggs
Zest from 2 medium size orange
100ml freshly squeezed orange juice (without pulp)
1 tsp vanilla essence

Directions:
1. Whisk butter and sugar till pale and creamy
2. Add in eggs one at a time (ensure one egg completely incorporated into mixture before adding another one). Scrap the sides to ensure mixture is evenly mixed.
3. Add in Vanilla essence. Mix well.
4. Fold in self raising flour and orange juice, alternating in 3 or 4 batches till well incorporated.
5. Add in Zests of orange. Mix well.
6. Grease HCP with vegetable oil or butter, scoop in the mixture. When done,  use the ladle or back of the spoon to ensure the mixture spread out evenly in the pan.
7. On low heat medium stove head, bake for 20 mins shifting the pan from side to side, flip and bake for another 5 mins, shifting the pan to create an even brown top.

Second experiment: Used the same recipe, but added a layer of fresh banana slices in the middle. This time I experimented at mum's place and used her jumbo grill pan. It was almost perfect with nice grill lines created on the cake!

love the bananas and the nice "lines"! :)

Third experiment: This time just made plain butter cake, replaced the orange juice with milk, added dried raisins and cranberries. Baked with my Ocher deeper pan at home, much better result than the first one. As the saying goes... Practice makes perfect! so... never give up!  :)

nice, moist and fluffy