Recipes
The following are some of my all time favourite recipes.
1. CHEESE ON TOAST
You will need:
2 slices of bread (prefably white)
one large tomato, sliced
one small dutch edam cheese/mild cheddar/strong cheddar cheese, according to your preference, sliced thinly
dried mixed herbs
tobasco sauce
Method:
1.Warm up the grill.
2. Place the sliced cheese, sliced tomatoes and mixed herbs on the bread slices. Distribute evenly.
3. Place in the grill and grill for about 5-10 minutes, more if you have a thick layer of cheese. When the cheese is sizzling and turns golden brown, turn the grill off.
4. Serve with tobasco sauce.
Beef Stew
This is one of my favourite comfort foods...it gives you that warm feeling.
What you'll need:
A.
2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter
500g of beef, diced
5 large potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
3 onions, diced
3 shallots, shredded
2 large tomatoes, diced
1 can of button mushrooms, halfed
1 piece of ginger, crushed
B.Marinade for the beef:
1. 2 heaped tablespoons of cornflour
2. 5 tablespoons of light soya sauce
3. few drops of sesame oil
4. a dash of black pepper
C. For the soup
2 beef stock cubes, any brand ( I prefer Knorr)
black and white pepper
salt, to taste
dried herbs
Method:
Marinate the beef in the ingredients B for at least 2 hours beforehand.
In a non stick pot, fry the shallots until they are slightly brown. Add in the ginger and fry until fragrant.
Add the marinated beef and fry until half done.
Add 1 litre of water. Add in the potatoes, mushrooms, onions and bring to a boil.
Add in beef stock and cook under low fire for at least one hour.
When the beef is almost done, add in the tomatoes and finally add the black and white pepper and mixed herbs.
Serve with toasted French loaf or fragrant rice.
Spaghetti Carbonara -Thanks to James for this recipe!
Cooking Time = 20 minutes
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1. 1 bottle of carbonara sauce (I don't make my own sauces)
2. 400g packet of freshly made egg pasta (I prefer freshly made than solid pasta, faster to cook)
3. 400g Mince beef (marinate it with soya sauce or teriyaki sauce)
4. Basil
5. Crushed sea salt & various peppers
6. Tomato
Cooking instructions:
1. Start cooking the pasta according to instructions
2. Heat up a little (very little because the mince beef will make its own juice) oil and brown the mince beef on high heat.
3. Pour in the carbonara sauce and mix well.
4. Chop the tomatoes and mix well.
5. Drain pasta well and distribute on plate.
6. Once cooked, pour the mince beef all over the pasta.
7. Top it with basil and crushed sea salt and pepper.
8. Serve
Spaghetti Carbonara ala Italia (ok, I got his recipe from Noel, the real one)
Cooking time = 25 minutes
Serves 2
Cooking ingredients:
1. A few stripes of bacon (up to you how much to put)
2. 4 eggs
3. 300ml double cream (replace with single cream if you scared of getting fat!)
4. 200g of grated parmesan cheese
5. Spaghetti enough for two (he always uses solid spaghetti)
Cooking instructions:
1. Cook the spaghetti in boiling water for about 20 minutes (or until it is ready)
2. Cut the bacon to small pieces and try them.
3. Once bacon is cooked, pour in all the double cream let it simmer.
4. Break the eggs and take only the egg yolks
5. Mix the egg yolk in with the parmesan cheese together with the bacon & cream.
6. Mix well (this is the original carbonara sauce)
7. Distribute the pasta and pour the sauce all over it.
Rich Butter Cake
A very simple recipe, easy to prepare and great for afternoon tea!
You will need:
200 grams of butter
300 grams of self raising flour, sifted
6 large eggs
2 tablespoons of baking powder
a few drops of vanilla essence
30 grams of sugar
100ml of full cream milk
zest of a lemon
mild cheddar cheese, grated
Preparation
1. Melt the butter in a non-stick pan over a pot of hot water. Gently stir the butter. An alternative would be to put the butter in a microwaveable bowl and microwave on "high" for 20 seconds. Be careful when using the microwave. I recommend that you cover the bowl with a saucer.
2. Beat the eggs in a separate bowl using either a fork or chopsticks. (the idea is to use what you already have in the kitchen). Beat it until it forms a light yellow creamy texture.Pour the milk in, mix thoroughly and set aside.
3. In the melted butter, slowly put in the sifted flour, stirring the butter mixture in a clockwise direction. Make sure the flour has dissolved into the butter mixture before you add in another spoon of flour. If not,lumps may occur.
4. After all the flour has been mixed in the butter, pour the egg mixture in, again, slowly stirring the mixture until all the ingredients have been mixed thoroughly.
5. In a separate bowl, prepare the sugar syrup. Put approximately 50ml of hot boiling water into the sugar, stirring it until it has dissolved.Do not put in too much water.
6. Pour in the syrup and stir the mixture.
7. Add in the vanilla essence.
8. Finally add in the baking powder.
9. Pour the mixture into a greased baking tin. You can use greaseproof paper but I prefer to use a greased baking tin. Any size is ok, depending on your preference. Sprinkle half of the zest of lemon and grated cheese on top.
10. Preheat your oven to 250'C.
11. Bake the cake for 20 minutes.
12. Take the cake out and sprinkle the remaining lemon zest and cheese.
13. Place the cake back in the oven for 5 minutes/until the cheese is golden.
14. Let the cake cool on a rack and serve with tea.
Enjoy!
Steamed Chicken With Mushroom
You will need:
500 grams of chicken thighs and drumsticks (get the butcher to cut it up in small pieces for you)
one large ginger, washed and sliced
dried chinese mushrooms (black ones, not those with patterns on top), soaked and sliced thinly
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 tablespoons of sesame oil
5 tablespoons of light soya sauce
dash of white pepper
Shao Tsing wine
salt, if desired
Method:
1. Clean the chicken pieces and marinate in soya sauce for 1 hour beforehand.
2.Arrange the chicken in a plate, Make sure the chicken pieces are not piled on top of each other.
3.Using olive oil,fry the mushrooms until golden. Set aside.
4.Fry the ginger slices until golden brown.Set aside.
5. Add in sesame oil and pepper to the chicken pieces.
6. Steam on high heat for 20 minutes or until done.(dont steam too long though)
7. Add in Shao Tsing wine and cover the chicken for 3 minutes.
8. Remove the chicken from the stove and garnish with the fried ginger and mushrooms.
Enjoy!
Tuna Fish Porridge
What you need:
1. One can of tuna flakes in brine, drained
2. Leftover rice (kept in the fridge to ensure freshness)
3. 3 shallots, shredded
4. 2 stalks of spring onion, shredded
5. dash of pepper and salt, to taste
6. dash of sesame oil
Method:
1. Pour all the leftover rice into a pot. Fill with water just covering the rice. Bring to the boil.
2. In a frying pan, heat up some olice oil and fry the shallots until golden brown. Set aside.
3. Once the porridge has reached the desired consistency, add the tuna fish flakes and salt. Boil for 5 minutes.
4. Remove from the heat and serve the porridge with spring onion, pepper and sesame oil.
Enjoy!