Hassle-free lunch: Bibb Salad with Baked Chicken Nugggets and Cauliflower Soup

The month of November is coming to an end. All I can say is that time flies. I'm looking foward to Christmas this year. Though my family doesn't have the tradition to celebrate is festive season, I personally can't wait for Christmas every single year. The gaily decorated shopping malls as well as the red and white themed ornaments indeed lift up my spirit to usher this festival. For me, Christmas is never a season simply for one's personal religious belief, it in fact brings one family closer. I do looking foward for the day where I can hold a Chirstmas party or more of a feast to celebrate the joy and happiness with my family and friends beside sharing the wholesomeness of good food. Last year's December or the month of celebration was unforgettable. As a Leo, I seized the chance to attend two Christmas parties which both are with the orphans. In my lifetime, I have never witnessed any Christmas celeration. Those experience means much more to me, which is an eye-opening experience for me and also for a good cause! Best of all, my family had a Christmas eve dinner in our favourite Japanese restaurant back in Johor. We had the usual Japanese food such as sushi, grilled Saba, spinach salad with bacon and garlic etc. How ironic this is!

The following recipe will be lighter and healthier lunch.

Bibb Salad (reference: Jamie's America Book)

Serve 3-4

• Bibb lettuce/ butterhead lettuce - 2
• Tomato - 1
• Croutons (refer the following recipe)

French dressing:

• Extra virgin olive oil - 9 tbsp
• White wine vinegar - 3 tbsp
• Dijon mustard- - 3 tsp
• Sea salt and freshly grounded black pepper

1. Get rid any tatty outer layers on the lettuces and gently wash the rest. Dry the lettuces properly so that the dressing will stick to the lettuces.
2. Slice the tomato and set aside. (optional: you may vegetables of your choice such as pan-fried mushrooms as shown in the original recipe)
3. Mix the oil, vinegar, mustard and a good pinch of salt and pepper. 
4. Assemble the lettuces, mushrooms, croutons and the dressing. Add the croutons last so it won't turns soggy from the dressings.

Homemade croutons (reference: Noobcook)
Make 2 cups
Ingredients:

• 3 slices bread
• 50 grams butter
• ½ tbsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tbsp favourite herbs (either fresh, dried or combination of both)

1. Using kitchen scissors, first cut bread to strips, then to even-sized cubes. Optional: You may trim away the bread edges if preferred (I left them on).
2. In a heated saucepan, melt butter, garlic powder and salt, stirring to mix well. Add croutons to the melted butter mixture and toss to coat evenly. Season with freshly cracked black pepper. (I replaced garlic powder with chopped fresh garlic) 
3. Finely snip fresh herbs of choice (I am using Italian parsley here) directly onto the croutons, and toss to mix well. Alternatively, you may use dried herbs. Suitable herbs include parsley, oregano, rosemary and Italian herbs
4. Transfer croutons, one layer, onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake at pre-heated oven of 180°C (356°F) for 15 minutes, or until the croutons are golden and crispy. Add them as topping for your salads and creamy soups.

Baked Chicken Nuggets Recipe (reference: Rasa Malaysia)
Serves 4 | Prep Time: 20 minutes | Bake Time: 12-14 minutes
Ingredients:

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, (approximately 1 pound) 
• 1 1/4 cup panko (bread crumbs)
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 
• cooking spray (cooking oil will do too)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut the chicken into 1.5-2 inches pieces. Set on a dish. 
2. Spread panko in a thin layer on rimmed baking sheet and bake for 5-7 minutes, until golden brown (watch out for the panko closely, my first batch of panko was burnt)
3.  Transfer the panko to a shallow dish and mix in the Parmesan and coarse salt. Drizzle the oil and mix well. 
4. Set out the flour and eggs in separate dishes. Increase the oven temperature to 450°F. 
5. Place a wire rack on the baking sheet, lightly coat with cooking spray.
6.  In small batches, coat the chicken in flour, shaking off any excess, dip in egg, and lastly coat well with panko. Transfer to the rack. 
7. Bake the chicken until desired tenderness, about 12-14 minutes, turning when halfway through. Serve nuggets with any dippings of your choice. (I prefer tomato sauce)

The cauliflower soup isn't to my liking but no harm giving it a try.

Creamy cauliflower soup
Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp unbleached flour (all purpose is fine too)
• 1 medium head cauliflower - chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped onions
• 4 cups fat free chicken broth (vegetarians can use vegetable broth)
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a medium saucepan, make a roux by melting the butter on low heat. Add the flour and stir about 2 minutes. 
2. Add the chicken broth, onions and cauliflower and set heat to medium. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium-low heat until vegetables are tender (about 20 minutes.) Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

Korean Feast: Bimbimbap with Dak Bulgogi

Bibimbap? It's a must to order in a Korean restaurant. It's usually served in a hot stone pot as the ingredients with raw egg sizzle so temptingly. Basically, there's rice and several types of vegetable and a meat of your choice. The aroma of the sesame oil is so indulging that I can't stop finishing the whole bowl of mixed rice which comes with an array of side dishes in a Korean restaurant. However, most Korean restaurants here in Malaysia serve Bibimbap in a ceramic bowl or even a steel bowl for convenience, that's why raw egg can't be served but replaced with a sunny side-up egg.

According to Korean Bapsang, "Bibim means mixing, bap means rice and the mixing usually happens at the table right before eating."

Bibimbap with Sunny Side-up Egg

Bibimbap (Korean Rice Bowl with Vegetables and Meat) (reference: Korean Bapsang)
Serve 4-5
Ingredients:

• Rice for 4 servings
• Soy bean sprouts/ mung bean sprouts - 400g
• Cucumber - 1
• Zucchini - 1
• Carrots - 2
• Broccoli - 1
• Garlic cloves - 4 to 5
• Eggs - 4 to 5
• Soy sauce 
• Sesame oil 
• Roasted sesame seeds 
• Salt and pepper 
• Vegetable or canola oil

1.  Soybean sprouts: Bring a pot of water to boil. Add the bean sprouts and boil for 3 minutes. Drain quickly and shock in cold water. Toss with 1 tsp of minced garlic, 1 tsp of seasame oil and 1/2 tsp of seasame seeds. Add salt and pepper to taste.
2. Cucumber:  Cut the cucumbers in half lengthwise and then thinly slice crosswise. Generously sprinkle salt over sliced cucumbers and set aside for 10 - 15 minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid. Toss with 1 tsp of minced garlic, 1 tsp sesame oil and 1/2 tsp of sesame seeds.
3. Zucchinis: Cut the zucchinis in half lengthwise and then thinly slice crosswise. Generously sprinkle salt over sliced zucchinis and set aside for 10 - 15 minutes. Squeeze out excess liquid from salted zucchini by hand. Add 1 tsp of minced garlic. Sauté in a lightly oiled skillet for 1 - 2 minutes over medium high heat.
4. Carrots: Shred the carrots. Sauté in a lightly oiled skillet for 1 - 2 minutes over medium high heat, sprinkling salt and pepper to taste.
5.  Broccoli: Cut the broccoli head from the stem. Cut the head into small florets. Peel the stems and cut into small pieces. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add the salt and broccoli, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, or until it reaches the desired tenderness. Drain well.
   Combine the broccoli with the 1 tsp of sesame oil, 1/2 tsp of sesame seed and toss well. Add salt to taste. (reference: Seasame Broccoli from Korean Bapsang) 
6. To Assemble: Place a serving of rice in a big bowl. (If using a stone bowl, heat it on medium heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of the sesame oil and rice and cook the rice for several minutes until the rice sizzles.) Nicely arrange a small amount of each prepared vegetable and meat over the rice. Drizzle a little sesame oil over. (optional: sprinkle some roasted sesame seed on the rice) Top with an egg fried sunny-side up and serve with the sauce.

Yangnyeomjang sauce: (reference: Maangchi)

Chop 4 green onions and put them in a small bowl. Pour half cup of soy sauce in there (I replaced with Japanese soy sauce and dark caramel soy sauce of ratio 1:1), and add 1 tbs of sesame seeds, 2 tsp of sugar, 1 tbs of sesame oil and mix it up.

Dak Bulgogi (Korean BBQ Chicken) (reference: Korean Bapsang)
Serves 4-5
Ingredients:

• Boneless chicken thigh - 2
• Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
• Lemon juice - 1tbsp 
• Brown sugar - 1 tbsp
• Honey - 1 tbsp (or 1-1/3 more tablespoons brown sugar)
• Rice wine (or mirin) - 1 tbsp
• Minced garlic - 1 tbsp
• Grated ginger - 1 tsp 
• Sesame oil - 1 tbsp 
• A pinch of black pepper 
• Sesame seeds - 1 tsp

1. Rinse chicken pieces. Trim off excess fat. Cut each of the chicken pieces into small sizes (about 2-inch long and 1-inch wide).
2. Mix the marinade ingredients in a bowl until the sugar has dissolved.
3. Coat the chicken pieces with the marinade. Marinate for about 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
4. Preheat a skillet over medium high heat. Add the chicken pieces, reserving the marinade. Cook until cooked through and slightly caramelized, about 2 minutes each side. (The sugar and honey in the marinade will burn easily, so watch it carefully and add the reserved marinade by tablespoon when the pan gets dry. You can slightly reduce the heat to avoid burning, if needed.) 

* I did not wait till the marinade on the chicken caramelized, that's why my chicken is paler.



I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #37: Korean - Feast of Hansik (November 2013) hosted by Grace of Life can be simple

Burning flame on the taste buds: Kung Po Chicken with Maggie Mee

Something Asian, finally! Though living in a scorching hot country all year long with seasonal rain, I'm loving more of Western food when I'm into cooking, all because it's simple. I am so used to the non-stick pan than when it comes to using the wok, I have to surrender. It's just need much more of practising but I really hate it when my food starts to stick to the wok and I don't usually put much oil into any dish I cooked. That's why cooking Asian food especially Chinese food is a no no to me. Guess what, at first I 'was using' the wok to stir fry the chicken and I got so fared up with it so I left the wok aside to settle my dish with a pan istead (typical me) However, the hot and spicy maggie mee turns out really great for my mum, but for my brother and I the spiciness level has be slightly lower.

The original recipe calls for spaghetti as a fusion of both cusine. I will prefer maggie mee/instant noodle.

Kung Po Chicken Pasta ( reference: Min's Blog )

• Spaghetti 4 servings (I used four servings of maggie mee/ instant noodle)
• Chicken sliced into cubes 150g
• Cabbage cut into small pieces
• Garlic, chopped
• Ginger, sliced into pieces
• Dried chilli, 5, soak in hot water and cut into pieces ( I will use lesser of this )

Marinade:

• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• 1Tbsp soya sauce
• 1/2tsp sesame oil
• 1/2tsp rice wine

Sauce:

• 1 1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 Tbsp dark caramel sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1tsp sesame oil
• 2 1/2 Tbsp vinegar
• 1tsp honey
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp rice wine
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tsp cornflour ( thicken with 1 Tbsp of water) 

1. Cook the spaghetti according to the package instruction. 
2. Marinade the chicken for 30 minutes. Heat about 2 Tbsp of oil in a wok, stir fry the chicken till 70% cooked and remove from wok.
3. Heat another 2 Tbsp of oil, fry the garlic and ginger for a minute, add in dried chilli pieces. Fry for another minute then add in cabbage and chicken.
4. Stir fry a bit, add in the seasoning. 
5. Add in the thickened cornflour and let simmer for about 1 minute.
6. Add in the prepared spaghetti into the sauce and stir the noodles till evenly coated.

Mushroom Chicken Burger with Mock Caesar Salad

I have been so tempted to try out some burger recipes. The juiciness of the patties and the mouth-watering mushrooms are heavenly a perfect combination! To me, any dish with mushrooms is perfect. As for a healthier side dish, I opted for a mock Caesar salad.

Mushroom Chicken Burger 

• Chicken breasts -- 2
• Onions 
• Bread ( I have used half of a burger bun )
• Egg -- 1
• Parmesan cheese
• Salt
• Pepper
• Cayenne pepper
• Olive oil

For spicy mayo:

• Mayonnaise
• Tomato sauce (ketchup)
• Cayenne pepper ( Paprika will do too )
• Juice of lemon ( I left this out )
• Yoghurt

 For cheesy mayo:

• Cheesy Kewpie Mayonnaise
• Yoghurt

For mushroom toppings:

•  Portobello Mushrooms (any button mushrooms will do)
• Worcestershire sauce
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Butter

 > Heat the pan with some butter. Stir fry the mushrooms. You may add some water to softened them. Set the mushrooms aside in a bowl.

1. Drizzle some olive oil on a pan. Add the chopped onion and fry till they have softened. Let aside to cool completely.
2. Next, blitz the bread in a food processor.
3. Add the chickens and blend till you they are minced thoroughly.
4. Put the cool onion with the rest of the burger ingredients. Use your hand to scrunch the mixture together really well.
5. Divide evenly into five patties and freeze for at least one hour, or till the patties are firm.
6. Meanwhile, mix the ingredients well for both types of mayonnaise.
7. When the patties have firmed, grill the patties over some olive in batches in a non-stick pan.
8. Flip them over when the side which is grilled is half-cooked or have turned white with some crispy golden touch.
9. After cooking the patties, dry the oil on the patties with a kitchen towel.
10.  Slice an onion or more.
11. Halve your burger buns and butter them slightly, you may heat them up slightly.
12. Assemble the patty, mushrooms, onion, mayo (spicy or cheesy) or any ingredients of your liking such as cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon etc on the burger buns.

Mock Caesar Salad

• Plain yoghurt
• Mayonnaise
• Worcestershire sauce
• Pepper
• Parmesan cheese
• Vinegar
•  Lettuce

>  Mix the first six ingredients in a bowl.
> Drizzle the dressings onto the lettuce and serve.
* The original recipe calls for Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, garlic powder and croutons, however I have made some slight changes to it and added some tomatoes as well as diced apples.

Surprisingly, yoghurt makes a good combination with mayo. It's a lighter version of mayo as you can try making 1:1 portion of mayo and yoghurt as a healthier substitute.

And...this book makes wonder for an amateur like me. Grab it home if you have found any bookstores selling it at such a great deal. You can find any ingredients which you know nothing about, eg herbs and the author gives a thorough explanation of the hint of flavour of each herbs, esp what dish it matches with.

Recipe reference:
- Hamlyn Quick Cook Family Meals
- Taste of Home Mom's Best Made Easy
- Jamie's America ( http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/burgers-sliders )

Second Attempt Mac n Cheese with Stir Fry Chicken

Mac n Cheese was yesterday's lunch. I was actually craving for a creamy and cheesy one, however this do not turn out right. I have added too much flour so it was pretty starchy like mash potatoes, my brother even thought that I added potatoes in the sauce. I will definitely give it another try some other day :) Mac n cheese is definitely a classic comfort food.

Mac n Cheese ( reference: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Homemade-Mac-and-Cheese/Detail.aspx?evt19=1 )

• Cheddar cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Milk 
• Butter
• All purpose flour
• Paprika powder
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper

1. Boil the macaroni until it's al-dente and drain.
2. Saute the garlic with drizzle of olive oil till it's golden brown.
3. Pour some milk into the non-stick pan. Stir till the mixture is bubbling.
4.  Stir in some flour and you will get a slightly thick mixture. ( add bit by bit as the cheese will thicken the mixture too )
5. Then, stir in the cheddar cheese and cheddar cheese constantly until the cheese are melted.
6. To flavour, you may add some salt, pepper and paprika pepper. ( you can omit the salt because the parmesan cheese brings a salty touch to the sauce.
7. Lastly, put the macaroni into the sauce and and stir well.
8. It's optional for you to bake them. Otherwise serve without baking!


This stir fry chicken is pretty similar with there previous one but without parsley.
Basic Stir-fry Chicken
- Chicken breast
- Japanese soy sauce
- Pepper
- Dry basil

1. Slice the chicken breast to your desired size.
2. Marinate the chicken with all the other ingredients
3. Heat the pan with olive oil.
4 Stir fry the chicken till it's just tender and cooked.

Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti and Parsley Garlic Chicken

I was craving for some creamy oh-so-delicious spaghetti so back to what I used to cook, creamy spaghetti sauce! It's pretty similar with carbonara but it's eggless instead. The wholesome-ness comes from the whipping cream. Though it's fattening with the cream and cheese but good food can't wait :)

This is the recipe I come out with:

Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti

- Spaghetti

- Wild sliced button mushroom

- Onion

- Whipping cream

- Cheddar cheese

- Chicken stock cubes ( don't try to omit this! - you will regret :p )

- Mustard powder

- Olive oil

( the quantity of the ingredients are to your liking )

1. Saute the sliced onion with some drizzle of olive oil in a pan.

2. Mix the chicken stock with hot water and pour it into the pan.

3. Stir well till the chicken stock has completely dissolved.

4. Add in the mushrooms and simmer in the pan.

5. Pour the whipping cream into the pan and stir well.

6. Taste the creamy sauce, if it's way too salty for you, add in more water.

7. Add a pinch of mustard powder and cheddar cheese. 

8. If you prefer a thicker sauce, you may add some corn starch but I did not do so.

Parsley Garlic Chicken

- Chicken breast

- Parsley

- Garlic

- Salt

- Ground black pepper

- Cayenne pepper

- Dry basil

1. Slice the chicken and set aside in a container.

2. Chop the parsley till it's fine.

3. Marinate the chicken with the salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, dry basil and olive oil.

4. Mince the garlic and saute it over the olive oil.

5. Add in the chicken and basil.

6. Stir fry till the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

7. The chicken is perfectly done if it's tender and juicy!

Serve the spaghtti with the parsley garlic chicken and enjoy your meal!

Dinner

Sometimes, invading my mum's kitchen can be very interesting. This where I start to experiment all sorts of recipes, where I experience total failure, where I hook on to baking :) kitchen is my "getaway" from the always-busy study life and so I enjoy baking very much. Once in a while, cooking can be really fun to try out my very own recipe. Cooking brightens me that it is not necessary to follow blindly with any recipes when I finally gain the confident to try out something new.

Last night's meal:

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes

Teriyaki Sauce Chicken with Mixed Vegetables

I have used my new kitchenware which I have bought from Parkson for RM 28. Look pretty vintage :)

Aglio Olio Pasta

Just to show what's cayenne pepper and paprika powder. I have gotten these from Tesco Extra, Mutiara Damansara for RM 5.99 each.

Parmesan Roasted Potatoes (credits to Min's blog)

• Medium potatoes, medium 4
• Olive oil 2Tbsp
• Garlic powder 1/4tsp
• Salt 1/2tsp
• Paprika powder 1tsp
• Black pepper 1/4tsp
• Shredded Parmesan cheese 3Tbsp

1. Cube the potatoes.
2. Add in olive oil. 
3. Sprinkle the other ingredients over the potatoes.
4. Mix everything together with a spoon.
5. Bake in preheated oven at 200‘C for 45 minutes. During the baking time, remove the potatoes from the oven 2-3 times to toss them a little thus preventing them from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

* I made a slight change to the recipe by boiling the potato until it's just tender and toss it with the seasonings. Bake this for 20 minutes or until it turns golden brown.  For spicier version, I opt to garnish it with cayenne pepper when served.
*I also added a pinch of dried basil

My own discovery:
Teriyaki Sauce Chicken with Mixed Vegetable

• 2 chicken thigh
• 2 tablespoon honey teriyaki sauce
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soya sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil ( optional )
• 3 small carrots
• 5 mini capsicums 

1.  Chop the chicken into desired size or slice it thickly.
2. Marinate the chicken with all the seasonings and keep aside for at least 30 minutes.
3. Slice the carrots into flower shapes and cut the capsicums into small slices.
4. Line your kitchenware/pan ( anything which is suitable ) with aluminium foil.
5. Put the vegetables at the base and top it with the chicken. 
6. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil and bake for 30-40 minutes until the chicken turns slightly brown.

*You may use green or yellow capsicum to make the dish more colourful. The capsicums are necessary to put as it gives the dish a tangy smell and makes you growl with hunger immediately
*It is advisable to omit the olive oil as chicken thigh will leave a layer of chicken oil in the sauce after baking.
*Mix some teriyake sauce and water. Pour it on the chicken for a more flavourable dish and bake for 10 more minutes..

Aglio Olio Pasta

• 4 cloves of garlic
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• One pinch of salt
• Pasta ( Portion of four )

1. Chop the garlic finely.
2. Fry the garlic with olive oil until slightly brown. Add in the salt.
3. Toss the pasta with the garlic and oil and serve!
4. Garnish with oregano. ( optional )

Cosy evening

The breezy wind, drizzling sky and a light ray of sun added to the cloudy weather. The inviting chill creeps into me, unwillingly I woke up. Finally, I have a day off the long long weeks of school. All the subjects were cramped in my mighty brain for July test and few months later ( or I could say in a wink ) year end test will be approaching and that ends my incredibly insane, memorable sail of my form four year. At one point, I had hatred towards my class, all the shouting and immature act of my classmates  nearly drive me nuts. Never you can imagine what my classmates did whenever there's teacher around or even when teachers are sitting right in front of the class. So yeah, on the past two days, our test was over, the guys ( only 7 of them in my class ) had a limbo session, sound "interesting" right? That's not the end, they even had butt-hitting session, singing session etc at the alley. They may seem really childish at times and inconsiderate when teacher is teaching but in a positive way, they had brought laughter and joy to us. Although our teacher put high hope on us to shine academically and behave maturely as one of the top class, we did not live up to that expectation but I believe if one thinks on a bright side, my class in unique in its own way.

As today is a public holiday, needless to say I prepared a meal for my family. This is a very first experience for me to venture in kitchen all by my own and I could say it was a success for a first-timer like me. The dishes may not look attractive but at least it's satisfying! At least my brother did not complain *chuckles*

Today's dinner:

1. Garlic Rice

2. Tofu with Century Eggs ( Cold dish )

3. Oven-fried Chicken in Papilotte ( 纸包鸡 ）

4. Tomato and Egg Soup

Garlic Rice ( credits to Table for 2 )
Serves 2-4

• 1 cup basmathi rice *I used the normal type 
• 2 cups water
• 2 large cloves of garlic, grated (Use more if you like) 
• 1 heaped Tbsp grated carrots
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp butter
• Small pinch of turmeric powder for colour

1. Wash the rice. Drain well.
2. Put everything together and cook. (I steam mine for 30 minutes) * I chuck everything into the rice cooker
3. Fluff rice with chopsticks before serving.
* I topped the rice with fried shallots ( not the ready made ones ) , yummy!

Tofu with Century Egg

* I invented the recipe!

Serves 3-4

2 tubes of tofu

2 century eggs

3 teaspoons of oyster sauce

Ground white pepper

1. Slice the tofu.

2. Cut the century eggs into tiny pieces.

3. Top the tofu the century eggs. 

4. Add some hot water into a bowl and mix well with the oyster sauce, along with a pinch of white pepper.

5. Scoop the sauce with a spoon and drip it on the tofu.

6. Steam the tofu for 5 minutes.

7. Serve chill!

Oven Fried Chicken Wings In Papilotte  ( Credits to Min's Blog )

• 4 large chicken wings - cut one wing into 3 parts * I used chicken thigh

Marinade sauce:

• 1/2 cup of chopped onions

• 1/4 cup of chopped ginger

• 2 cloves of garlic- chopped 

• 1/4 cup of chinese cooking wine

• 3 tbsp of oyster sauce

• 1 tbsp of thick soy sauce

• 1/2 tbsp of sugar

• a dash of white pepper

• 4 tbsp of canola oil

• 4 pieces of 8" X 8" parchment papers

• a few pieces of mini  bamboo skewers

1. Stir together the marinade ingredients in a bowl till well mixed .  Pour the sauce over the cut wings and marinate for 3 hours or overnight in the fridge.
2. Wrap the chicken wings pieces (3 pieces) with a piece of 8" X 8" parchment paper.  Use bamboo skewers to seal the edges.
3. Pour a few tbsp of canola oil in a baking pan, deep enough to prevent the splattering of oil , heat it in preheated oven at 200'C for 20 minutes, when the oil is smoking hot , slowly put the parcels into the baking pan and oven fried the parcels for 25 minutes and flip over and continue to oven fried for another 15 minutes or till the paper is browned on the outside.
4. Take the parcels out of the baking pan and drain off excess oil before serving

Tomato and Egg Soup 番茄蛋汤 ( Credits to Table for 2 )

• 2 large tomatoes, cut into chunks. 

• 2 large eggs

• 1L water

• 2 Tbsp cooking oil

• Salt to taste

• Good dash of pepper

• Handful of Chopped spring onions

1. Heat wok/pot and put in oil. Put in tomatoes. Stir fry until slightly soft and put in eggs. Scramble and let the eggs cook until fragrant.
2. Put in water and bring to a boil. Let it simmer for 1 minute, season with salt and pepper. Put chopped spring onions into serving bowls and ladle soup onto the spring onions. Serve hot with rice :)