Deep Fried Ikan Bilis Anchovies

Introduction:

Anchovies commonly used locally as Ikan Bilis.

A well known side dish in Asia can be found in Nasi Lemak (riced cooked with coconut milk together screwpines leaves) or savoured on its own or together with sambal chilli.

Most interestingly, I prepared this deep fried Ikan Bilis be adding a different type of chilli sauce something similar to the Korean side dish  “Spicy Myeolchi-bokkeum”.

Ingredients:

1 rice bowl Ikan Bilis (Dried Anchovies)

1 rice bowl Peanuts

3 to 4 tablespoons Thai Sauce

2 tablespoons raw sugar

1 tablespoon cooking honey (optional)

Sesame Oil

Method:

Heat up wok with cooking oil to high temperature.

Add the Ikan Bilis (Anchovies) into the wok and deep fried until golden brown.

Drain the deep fried Ikan Bilis (Anchovies) on paper hand towel to remove excess oil.

Do the same for the peanuts as well.

Heat some cooking oil in a clean sauce pot, add some minced garlic and add your desired Thai chilli sauce, raw sugar and honey and bring to a boil.

Once the sauce starts to bubbled, add the deep fried Ikan Bilis (Anchovies) together with the deep fried peanuts and mixed thoroughly.

Remove from heat, add one teaspoon of Sesame Oil before serving.

Note:

Nasi Lemak is normally served as a breakfast locally.

Recommendations:

For breakfast ideas, check out this link.

https://flofoodventure.wordpress.com/category/breakfast-delights/

 

Economical Noodles

Introduction:

A delightful breakfast for most Singaporeans.

A plate of home prepared economical fried noodles isn’t economical at all with too many side dishes.

A “must have” is the sunny side egg with crispy edges to go along.

One tend to be too greedy by adding too many side dishes.

Ingredients:

Half kilo fresh Yellow Noodles

Bean sprouts (removed roots)

One can Ham Luncheon Meat (sliced)

Few pieces of breaded fish chips ((halved)

3 fresh eggs

Minced garlic

Pickled green chillies for garnishing

Sauce preparation:

2 tablespoons Premium Oyster Sauce

3 tablespoons Tai Hua Sweet Sauce

1 tablespoon Sesame Oil

2 tablespoons Superior Light Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon Superior Dark Soy Sauce

Method:

Heat wok and drizzle some cooking oil.

Add one teaspoon minced garlic and fry till fragrant.

Add the beansprouts and dash of light soy sauce and quick fry over high heat.

Cook to your desired doneness and remove from wok and set aside.

Using the same wok, add the fresh yellow noodles and separate evenly.

Add the sauce seasoning into the wok and mix well.

Cook until the noodles are well coated with the seasonings.

Taste and adjust your seasoning.

The fresh yellow noodles are oily, therefore I do not need to add more cooking oil.

Panfry the other side dishes and set aside.

Fry each egg separately.

Just add enough oil to coat the pan.

Sunny side eggs are cooked only on one side.

To get the perfect fried eggs, you need to wait for the whites to set and the edges of the egg cooked and nicely browned to achieve the crispiness.

Divide the cooked noodles together with the cooked bean sprouts into equal portion and served with your choice of side dishes.

Garnished with a generous amount of pickled green chillies.

Recommendation:

Check out at this link for more interesting noodles dishes.

https://flofoodventure.wordpress.com/category/recipe-by-category-noodles/

Roti Prata Sardine Puffs

Introduction:

Sardines are a nutrient-rich fish commonly served in cans, but for fresh sardines these small breed of oily fish within the herring family  are often grilled, pickled or even smoked.

Singapore celebrated 50 years of Independence on Aug. 9, 2015.

Here is one of the 6 award winning designs on limited edition  Ayam Brand Sardines cans celebrating SG50.

My Singapore Memory – Ayam Brand Can Design Competition.

The design reflecting the “little red dot”  island of Singapore hawker centres with delectable variety of local dishes reflecting the culture diversity and Singaporeans.

The print in red and white representing the main colour of our National Flag.

Ingredients:

One can Sardines with Tomato Sauce

1 medium size sweet yellow onion (sliced)

2 fresh red chillies (deseeded and chopped)

2 tablespoons  Tomato Sauce

1 packet frozen Roti Paratha (Onion)

1 beaten egg

Method:

Remove a packet of Roti Paratha from the freezer.

Remember not to defrost.

Do not leave the paratha too long at room temperature, it becomes sticky and hard to handle.

Peel off both sides of the plastic sheet and place the Paratha on a chopping board for one or two minutes to soften.

Divide  the Roti Paratha into halves or to your desired shape.

In a mixing bowl, add the can of sardines, sliced sweet onion, chopped red chillies together with the tomato sauce and mixed thoroughly.

Put a tablespoon of mixture in the centre of the Roti Paratha and fold.

Brush the beaten egg around the sides of the Roti Paratha and secure the edges with the tip of the fork.

Place a piece of baking paper on the oven tray and bake for about 25 minutes at 220 degrees C.

This temperature may vary from oven to oven, so look out not to over bake these sardine puffs.

Recommendation:

Check out this link for more breakfast delights.

https://flofoodventure.wordpress.com/category/breakfast-delights/

Oozing and Goozing Brekkie

Introduction:

Todate,  Oldtown White Coffee has more than two hundred outlets throughout Asia.

My favourite Oldtown White Coffee Hazelnut served warm.

Another favourite is the cold served enriched chocolate.

Have breakfast at Oldtown White Coffee café wouldn’t be complete unless we include eggs and coffee toasted bread.

My favourite Omega Soft Boiled Eggs on Toast.

Soft Boiled Eggs tasty yellow yolk oozing and goozing.

Recommendation:

Here’s how I prepare eggs to a whole new level.

Click to check details.

https://flofoodventure.wordpress.com/2014/10/17/preparing-egg-to-a-whole-new-level/

Finger Licking Good – Roti Prata with Home Made Nyonya Chicken Curry

Introduction:

Roti Prata originated from southern India.

It is known as  “Paratha”.

A Singaporean  favourite breakfast and can also be eaten any time of the day.

Roti means “bread” and Prata means “flat”.

Roti Prata is closer to a pancake with a lightly flavoured and subtle sweet dough cooked over a flat grill. Served with a vegetable or meat based curry.

Finger Licking Good, the best method of eating Roti Prata is by hand and dunking the curry with our fingers.

Today, we are having Roti Prata with home prepared  Nyonya Curry Chicken.

Instead of using the whole chicken to prepare the dish, I opted for twenty pieces of fresh mid chicken wings.

Most people have their own traditional sources of  favourite blends of “Curry Chicken”.

Key pointers – paste well fried, add chicken pieces and stir until well incorporated. Add coconut milk few tablespoons at a time. The end result a rich, oily chicken curry with a thick gravy that is beautifully fragrant.

For Nyonya Chicken Curry recipe, click here.

https://flofoodventure.wordpress.com/2013/10/16/nyonya-curry-chicken-jpg/

Fry the frozen Prata in the pan for about 2 to 3 minutes or until both sides turned browned.

Divide the cooked Prata into separate plate and served together with a bowl of piping hot chicken curry to go along.

Recommendation:

For more breakfast delights, check out here.

https://flofoodventure.wordpress.com/category/breakfast-delights/

Homemade Toasted Garlic Bread

Ingredients:

1 large French loaf

Minced garlic

Unsalted Butter

MasterFoods Parsley Flakes

 

Method:

Add some quantity of unsalted butter into a mini saucepan and bring to a boil.

Slice the French loaves and spread the melted butter on every piece of the bread.

With a bread spreader add a generous amount of minced garlic over the butter and top some parsley flakes.

Toast the bread in the oven for 15 minutes until the bread slices are looked rich and browned.

Served hot with a cup of coffee or tea.

 

Black or White Chinese Carrot Cake (Chye Tow Kuay)

Ingredients:

1 packet ready made carrot cake (cut into cubes)
Half packet of chopped sweet turnips (Chai Poh)
3 tablespoons of minced garlic
1 teaspoon of XO fish sauce
1 tablespoon of dark sweet sauce
3 beaten eggs
Few stalks of spring onion stalks (diced)
2 tablespoons of Cooking Oil

Method:

Heat wok with oil and fry minced garlic and chopped sweet radish (chai poh) till fragrant.
Add diced cubes carrot cake and pan fry till both sides are lightly browned.
Drizzle the fish sauce, black sauce and stir fry thoroughly.
Spread browned carrot cake evenly apart in the wok.
Beat eggs lightly and pour mixture over carrot cake.
Flip carrot cake when the egg is almost set.
Garnish with chopped spring onions before serving.

Tips:

You can replace the black sweet sauce with chilli paste if you prefer the lighter version of preparing carrot cake.

Loh Mai Kai (Steamed Glutinous Rice with Chicken)

Serving: 4 bowls

Ingredients:

3 rice bowls Glutinous Rice
2 pieces Chinese sausages (sliced)
2 pieces fresh Chicken drumsticks (deboned)

Marinate chicken with the following:

2 tablespoon of Superior Light Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon of Superior Dark Soy Sauce
1 tablespoon of Premium Oyster Sauce
1 tablespoon of Premium Sesame Oil
1 tablespoon of Ginger Juice
Salt and pepper to taste

4 pieces of metal bowl (Korean rice bowl)

Method:

Soak the glutinous rice for an hour.
Steam the rice for about 30 minutes and set aside.

Cut the chicken drumsticks to 10 medium pieces
Sliced the Chinese sausages.
Marinate the chicken pieces for at least 2 hours and refrigerate.
Stir fry the minced garlic with cooking oil.
Add the marinated chicken and stir fry for few minutes.
No need to fully cook the chicken.
Followed by the sliced Chinese sausages.
Add a little water to fully integrate all the ingredients.

In a mixing bowl, add the steamed rice and season with 2 tablespoon of cooking oil,
light and dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, salt and pepper and five spice powder.

Blend all the seasoning with the rice.

Prepare 4 metal bowls. I use the Korean rice bowl for this preparation.
You can also use Chinese rice bowls.
Grease each bowl with some oil and put a few pieces of chicken and Chinese sausages .
Then top the rice into each bowl.

Steam for another 30 minutes till ready.

You can store the Loh Mai Kai in the refrigerator and preheat before serving.

Note:

I opted for softer rice to prevent stomach lining irritation and easy digestion.
You can cook the glutinous rice according to your texture preference.

Steamed Chinese Radish Turnip Cake

Ingredients:

750g shredded radish (equivalent to two medium radish)
500g rice flour
4 tablespoons of Wheat Starch
2 pieces of XO Chinese Sausage
2 tablespoons of minced dried shrimps
2 tablespoons of Salted Radish (optional)
2 tablespoons of Maggi Seasoning
1200 ml water (including chicken broth)

2 tablespoons minced shallots
¾ cup of homemade chicken broth
Pinch of grounded pepper

Method:

Diced Chinese sausage in strips or finely.
Peel the Daikon (radish) and grate into thick strips.
Soak and rinse dried shrimps.
In a big bowl, mix the rice flour with wheat starch well.
Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil in a non-stick wok, sauté Chinese sausages, dried shrimps and salted radish over medium heat until aromatic. Set aside.

Add another 2 tablespoons of oil, sauté minced shallots.

Add grated Daikon (white radish).
Sprinkle white grounded pepper to taste.
Pour in the homemade chicken broth, bring to a boil, cover and cook until tender and translucent.

Remove from heat.

Add rice flour and wheat starch, quickly combine all ingredients into a thick batter.
Toss in the diced sausage, dries shrimps and salted radish and mix well.
Pour the mixture into a rectangular pan.

Steam over high heat with cover for about 45 minutes to an hour.
Check the water level and replenish, if necessary, with boiling water.
Insert a chopstick into the middle part. If it comes out clean, the radish cake is cooked through.

Let it cool and refrigerate with cover for 4 hours.
Cut into pieces, fry both sides until golden brown.

Serve hot and garnished with deep fried shallots.

Radish Turnip Cake can be prepared with beaten egg for a more delicious flavour. Garnished with chopped cilantros and fresh sliced red chillies

Long Forgotten Breakfast – French Toast or Eggy Bread

A dish using bread and soaked in beaten eggs and fried.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of white bread (preferably two to three days old)
5 beaten eggs
Coarse Sugar

Method:

Trim the sides of each slice of bread.
Cut into two pieces (halved).
Beat eggs.
Dip each slice of bread into the egg mixture. Make sure the bread is soak up with some egg mixture.
Over a frying pan, add a tablespoon of cooking oil and place the coated bread slices and fry both sides until brown.

You can add as many slices of bread into the frying pan as will fit at a time.
Flip the bread when necessary.
Add additional cooking oil if the frying pan is too dry.
Coat the fried bread slices with coarse sugar and serve.