Minced Beef and Peas with Rice

Minced Beef and Peas with Rice

This is an extremely easy recipe - almost zero skill required, since it's mostly "throw everything in at one go" and cook.

Ingredients:

225g of minced beef

40ml sake

30ml light soy sauce

30ml dashi or water

0.5 tablespoon sugar

0.25 cup frozen peas

0.5 tablespoon grated ginger

2.5 cups cooked rice

Instructions:

1) Mix the minced beef, sake, light soy sauce, dashi/water and sugar in a small skillet. Cook it for around 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring and breaking up the beef.

2) Add the peas and ginger in and cook for around 3 to 4 more minutes. The liquid should have mostly evaporated.

3) Serve over hot rice.

Miso Glazed Eggplant

Miso Glazed Eggplant

Referenced from pickledplum.

Ingredients:

2 small to medium eggplants

0.2 cup miso paste

2 tablespoons of mirin

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 tablespoon of sake

Sesame seeds (optional)

Spring onion (optional)

Instructions:

1) Add the miso, sake, mirin and sugar into a small bowl. Mix it well until it is smooth.

2) Pre-heat the oven to 230 degrees Celcium at grill.

3) Cut each eggplant to half lengthwise. Score the flesh in a criss-cross pattern.

4) Coat a pan with oil at high heat, then place the eggplants in, skin side down. It should take a few minutes for the skin to turn brown.

5) Flip the eggplants over and cover the pan for around 3 to 4 minutes. 

6) Flip the eggplants back (skin-side down) and add the miso mixture evenly on the eggplants.

7) Place the pan (if it is oven-proof) into an oven and grill it for 4 minutes.

8) Add some sesame seeds and spring onion, and serve.

Braised Beef Brisket/Shin

Braised Beef Brisket/Shin

Ingredients:

600g beef brisket or beef shin, cut into 5cm chunks

4cm ginger, sliced

2 star anise pods

1 cinnamon stick, halved

1 garlic clove

30ml of cooking wine

0.5 tablespoon of dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon of light soy sauce

0.5 tablespoon of oyster sauce

0.5 tablespoon of sugar

80ml of blanching liquid

Spring onion

Instructions:

1) Add the beef into a pot and half the ginger, half a cinnamon stick, and 1 star anise pod. Fill the pot with enough water to cover the beef, and bring it to a boil. As it boils, remove all the scum and impurities that rise to the surface.

2) After around 10 minutes, keep around 80ml of the blanching liquid and set the beef aside.

3) Heat up a bit of oil in a skillet, and saute the garlic and the remaining ginger, cinnamon stick and star anise pod. This should take around 1 to 2 minutes.

4) Add the cooking wine, mix it well, then pour the entire mixture into a slow cooker. 

5) Add the beef in, then the dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and blanching liquid. Set the slow cooker to low power for 8 hours.

6) Before serving, remove as much of the surface oil as possible. Add some spring onion on top, and serve.

Pan Fried Tom Yum Chicken Breasts

Pan Fried Tom Yum Chicken Breasts

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts

Salt

2 tsp olive oil

1.5 tbsp clarified butter OR olive oil

2 Knorr Tom Yum stock cubes

Instructions:

1) Pound the chicken breasts with a meat pounder until they are roughly of the same thickness. 

2) Break up the stock cubes as much as possible, and mix it with 2 tsp olive oil and 1 tsp salt.

3) Use the mixture to season the chicken breasts, and leave it in the refrigerator for 4 hours.

4) Let the chicken rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before cooking.

5) Heat up a skillet over medium heat, then add the clarified butter or olive oil. 

6) Add the chicken breasts and cook for 1 minute, then flip them over.

7) Reduce the heat to low, cover the skillet and leave it for 10 minutes.

8) Turn off the heat and leave it for another 10 minutes.

9) Serve.

Garlic Butter Pork Chops

Garlic Butter Pork Chops

The best part of this recipe is that the meat does not need to be marinated in advance. So it can be prepared on short notice.

Ingredients:

4 pork chops

2 tbsp clarified butter

3 tsp minced garlic

3 sprigs fresh thyme OR 2 tsp dried thyme

1 small lemon wedge (optional)

Sea salt

Black pepper

Instructions:

1) Season both sides of the pork chops with salt and black pepper.

2) Heat up a skillet on medium heat, then add some cooking oil and the clarified butter in. If you are using fresh thyme, you can add the sprigs in now.

3) Add the pork chops and cook for around 2.5 to 3 minutes per side. 

4) Add the minced garlic and mix it with the pork chops while frying it at the same time. If you are using the dried thyme, you can add it in now.

5) Once the garlic is slightly browned (should be less than a minute), remove from skillet. 

6) Squeeze some lemon on the pork chops and serve.

Pasta with Bacon and Asparagus

Pasta with Bacon and Asparagus (serves 2)

Ingredients:

150g pasta

75g to 100g bacon

350g asparagus

60ml creme fraiche

1 egg

50g to 75g parmesan cheese

Black pepper

Instructions:

1) Dice the bacon, separating the fat and meat as much as possible. 

2) Cut the asparagus into bite-sized pieces, separating the tips and the stems.

3) Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.

4) In a bowl, mix the creme fraiche, egg, cheese and some black pepper.

5) Heat up a frying pan, and add the bacon fat in first. When some of the bacon fat has been extracted, add the rest of the bacon in and cook until it starts to brown.

6) Add the asparagus stems and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, then add the asparagus tips and cook for another 2 minutes. Set the bacon and asparagus aside on a separate plate.

7) Drain the pasta, keeping a bit of the pasta water. Add the pasta to the frying pan, then add in the creme fraiche mixture. Add it slowly and mix it with the pasta at the same time. 

8) Now add some pasta water to help coat the pasta with the sauce. 

9) Add the bacon and asparagus back into the pan and mix well, then serve.

Steamed Duck Legs

Steamed duck legs

This is easy to make, and the process actually extracts most of the fat from the duck legs. 

Ingredients:

2 duck legs

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp five spice powder

2 tbsp cooking wine

1 tbsp light soy sauce 

1 tsp salt

Instructions:

1) Wash and dry the duck legs, and try to remove as much fat as possible. 

2) Marinate it with the minced ginger, five spice powder, cooking wine, light soy sauce and salt. Let it sit for 4 hours or overnight.

3) Steam the duck legs for 35 to 40 minutes. There should still be a thick layer of oil on top of the gravy, so try to remove as much as possible before serving.

Roasted Chicken with Root Vegetables

Roasted chicken with root vegetables (serves 3 to 4)

This is again, another recipe from Thomas Keller's masterclass. I used two lemons instead of five though.

Ingredients:

For the brine

2 lemons, halved

6 bay leaves

100g parsley

28g thyme

0.25 cup honey

1 head garlic, halved through its equator

0.125 cup black peppercorns

3.8 litres water

300g salt

For the mains

1 whole chicken

Root vegetables in the amount and type that you desire (e.g. potatoes, carrots, turnips, onions, parsnips, leeks, rutabagas)

Clarified butter (optional, can be substituted with canola oil)

Salt

Instructions:

1) Add all the brine ingredients into a big pot and bring it to a boil, then let it cool.

2) Submerge the chicken in the cold brine for 12 to 24 hours.

3) Remove the chicken, truss it, and discard the brine.

4) Dry the surface of the chicken as much as possible, then leave it in the refrigerator, uncovered, for 2 to 3 days.

5) Leave the chicken at room temperature for 30 to 45 minutes.

6) Prepare the root vegetables and spread it over the roasting pan. Season with salt, drizzle clarified butter or canola oil, and mix it well.

7) Preheat the oven to 250 degrees Celcius, and brush the chicken with clarified butter (or canola oil). Season all sides with salt.

8) Place the chicken on the centre of the vegetables (make a nest), and roast it for 20 to 25 minutes.

9) Reduce the heat to 200 degrees Celcius, and roast for another 30 to 45 minutes, depending on how big your chicken is.

10) Let it rest for 20 minutes. Squeeze a bit of lemon over the vegetables, sprinkle some gravy sea salt or finishing salt on the chicken, and serve.

Oven-roasted Lamb Rack #2

Oven-roasted lamb rack (serves 2 to 3)

This is slightly different from a previous entry, as it utilises dijon mustard and has a different cooking time.

Ingredients:

1 lamb rack (typically around 7 to 8 ribs)

3 tbsp of Dijon mustard

2 tsp of rosemary

2 tsp of thyme

4 tsp of garlic, coarsely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1.25 tsp salt

Pepper

Instructions:

1) Score the top side of the lamb rack with criss-cross cuts.

2) Mix the rosemary, thyme, garlic, salt, and olive oil, then rub it over the lamb rack. Leave it in the refrigerator overnight or for around 4 hours.

3) Let the lamb rack rest at room temperature for around 20 minutes.

4) Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius, then add the lamb rack in for around 40 to 45 minutes.

5) Remove the rack from the oven, cover with aluminum foil and let it rest for 15 minutes, then serve.

Roasted Zucchini

Roasted zucchini (serves 2 to 3)

Taken and summarised from Thomas Keller's Masterclass. My pan wasn't large enough to fry the zucchini in its full length, so I had to cut it to smaller pieces.

This turned out amazing - wonderfully creamy and way better than how I have been preparing zucchini previously. 

Ingredients:

2 zucchini

Salt

Garlic (optional)

Herbs (optional)

Instructions:

1) Cut the zucchini length-wise and score it.

2) Add a light coating of salt on the zucchini and let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes. This will help remove some of the moisture from the zucchini, which will help in the cooking and caramelisation process.

3) Use some kitchen towels to absorb more of the moisture.

4) Add a layer of oil to a pan. Once it is hot, add the zucchini in, skin-side upwards. Cook it for around 5 minutes; the zucchini should be brown and caramelised by then.

5) Flip the zucchini. Add some herbs or garlic to the pan now if you wish, then put the pan into the oven at 230 degrees Celcius for 25 to 30 minutes.

6) Place the zucchini on some kitchen towels to absorb the excess oil, then plate it. Add some finishing salt, and serve.

Confit of Eggplant and Garlic

Confit of eggplant and garlic (serves 2 to 3)

Modified from Thomas Keller's Masterclass.

Ingredients:

2 eggplants

1 whole garlic, in cloves

2 teaspoons of thyme (optional)

2 teaspoons of parsley (optional)

Oregano leaves (optional)

Balsamic vinegar

Canola oil

Salt

Instructions:

1) Remove the ends of the eggplant (they tend to be bitter), then slice it to half length-wise.

2) Score it, then salt them liberally to help extract the water and remove the bitterness. Place them (skin-side up) on some kitchen towels, and let it rest for 20 to 25 minutes.

3) Place them (skin-side up) on a baking tray, add the garlic in and herbs in.

4) Heat up some oil (to around 120 degrees Celcius), then drizzle them over the baking tray, ensuring that you almost cover the eggplant.

5) Place the baking tray into the oven at 150 degrees Celcius for 1 hour.

6) Halve the eggplant pieces and place them on a plate. Add some of the garlic back, drizzle some balsamic vinegar, add some finishing salt, and some oregano leaves. 

Note that since the oil has not reached its flash point, it can be reused. 

Glazed Carrots

Glazed carrots (serves 2 to 3)

Taken and summarised from Thomas Keller's Masterclass. It is slightly different because he recommends using bunch carrots, which are quite difficult to find in Singapore. So I modified it using our normal carrots, which are much larger.

Ingredients:

3 carrots

1.5 teaspoon sugar

4 to 5 small cubes of butter

2 teaspoons white vinegar

Parsley

Finishing salt

Instructions:

1) Cut the carrots in an oblique shape by rolling the carrot and cutting it. It is crucial to keep every piece as similar in size as possible, so it will cook uniformly.

2) Place the carrots in a pan uniformly. Add the sugar in, add some water to barely cover the carrots, and finally the butter.

3) Turn on the fire to high and stir the carrots occasionally. After around 7 minutes, turn the heat down and monitor the carrots closely. Once there is little resistance in the carrots (use a knife), the carrots should almost be done. 

4) Now add the white vinegar in and cook it for just a short while more. You can add a bit more water if the carrots seem a bit dry.

5) Add some parsley, mix it well, then add some finishing salt. Serve.

Sautéed Salmon with Long Beans and Mushrooms

Sautéed salmon with long beans and mushrooms (serves 3)

Ingredients:

2 slabs of salmon fillets, cut into cubes

200g of long beans, cut into 2cm pieces

400g of button mushrooms

2 tsp minced ginger

3 tsp minced garlic

4 tsp sesame oil

4 tbsp light soy sauce

Cooking wine

Instructions:

1) Marinate the salmon with 2 tbsp of light soy sauce and 2 tsp of sesame oil. Leave it for half an hour or more.

2) Heat up some oil in a skillet, then fry 1 tsp of garlic and 1.5 tsp of minced ginger. Once it is fragrant, add the salmon cubes in and sauté for another 7 to 10 minutes. You can cover the skillet to let it cook faster.

3) Remove the salmon cubes. Now fry 1 tsp of garlic and 1.5 tsp of minced ginger again, then add the long beans and mushrooms, together with 2 tbsp of light soy sauce, 2 tsp of sesame oil, and a splash of cooking wine.

4) Saute for another 7 minutes or so, and similarly you can cover the skillet to let it cook faster.

5) Add the salmon cubes back, and serve.

Pan-fried Milkfish Belly

Pan-fried milkfish belly (serves 2)

I was a bit hesitant to prepare this again, because the first attempt resulted in a huge amount of oil splattering all around my kitchen. This time, I tried another method - putting zero oil. And it worked 

Ingredients:

1 milkfish belly

Salt

Instructions:

1) Clean the fish and dry it as much as possible. Salt both sides and leave it for a few minutes. Don't be too generous with the salt as the fish is quite thin.

2) Place a non-stick skillet on the stove and turn on the fire. Once it is hot, place the milkfish belly in, belly-side (with the fat) down. 

3) Leave it for 3 to 4 minutes, then flip it and leave it for another 3 to 4 minutes. 

Lu Rou Fan

Lu Rou Fan (serves 2)

I actually saw this from ieatishootispot, but it used a pressure cooker which I was unwilling to invest in (mainly due to space constraints). So I decided to modify it for a slow cooker instead.

Ingredients:

350g pork belly, sliced into strips

200g radish, sliced into small cubes

80ml cooking wine

50ml thick dark soy sauce

20ml light soy sauce

0.5 tbsp rock sugar

70g of shallot sauce, or 0.3 cup of fried shallots

2.5 tsps cornflour

2 bowls of cooked rice

Spring onion

Instructions:

1) Heat up some oil in a skillet, then add the pork belly. 

2) Saute it for a few minutes until it starts to brown, then add the cooking wine. 

3) Saute it again for a while, then add 70ml water in together with the dark soy sauce, rock sugar, light soy sauce, shallots and radish.

4) Mix it well, then add to a slow cooker. Turn it on low for 6 to 8 hours.

5) Remove some of the excess oil, then add the cornflour in bit by bit while stirring. Turn the slow cooker on high for just a few more minutes.

6) Pour it on your rice, garnish with spring onion, and serve.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Cream of mushroom soup (serves 2 to 3)

Ingredients:

1.5 tbsp of butter

300g of button mushrooms, chopped roughly

200g shiitake mushrooms, chopped roughly

1 tsp minced garlic

400ml chicken stock or vegetable stock

50ml heavy cream

Salt

Black pepper

Olive oil

Instructions:

1) Heat up some olive oil in a skillet and fry the garlic for a short while. 

2) Add the butter. Once it has melted, add the mushrooms in and stir it evenly for around 7 to 10 minutes.

3) Add around 0.5 tsp of salt and the vegetable/chicken stock, then let it simmer (uncovered) for around 7 to 10 minutes.

4) Let the mixture cool, then blend it until it is smooth.

5) Add it back into the pot, whisk the cream in, and add some salt and black pepper to taste.

Spicy Carrot Salad

Spicy carrot salad (serves 2 to 3)

Ingredients:

2 large carrots, chopped to thin slices

2 tsps of minced garlic

1 tsp of paprika

0.5 tsp of cayenne pepper

Parsley

0.5 tsp of salt

Black pepper

Olive oil

Instructions:

1) Heat up some olive oil in a skillet, then add the garlic in. Fry it until it is fragrant, then add the carrots, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper in.

2) After a while, add some water such that most of the carrots are immersed. Let it simmer at low heat for 20 minutes. If the water dries up halfway, just add more.

3) Remove the carrots (there should be very little water left), garnish with parsley, and serve.

Oven-roasted Lamb Rack #1

Oven-roasted lamb rack (serves 2 to 3)

Quite an easy dish to prepare, especially since it can be marinated beforehand, and the rest is handled entirely by the oven. Taken from Simply Recipes. 

Ingredients:

1 lamb rack (typically around 7 to 8 ribs)

2 tsps of rosemary

2 tsps of thyme

3 tsps of minced garlic

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Instructions:

1) Mix the rosemary, thyme, garlic and 0.5 tsp of salt. Rub the rack all over with it, and add some black pepper. 

2) Place the rack into a ziploc bag, and pour some olive oil into the bag. Leave it in the refrigerator overnight or for around 4 hours.

3) Leave the lamb rack at room temperature for around 20 minutes. Score the fat with criss-cross cuts, then add a bit more salt. 

4) Switch the oven to fan/grill mode, then preheat it to 230 degrees Celsius.

5) Place the lamb rack into the oven for 10 minutes. This first stage helps to char and sear the fat, making it crisp and delicious. 

6) Turn the temperature down to 150 degrees Celsius for around 18 to 20 more minutes.

7) Remove the rack from the oven, cover with aluminum foil and let it rest for 15 minutes, then serve.

Slow-cooked Lamb Shanks

Slow-cooked lamb shanks (serves 3 to 4)

Modified slightly from recipetineats. It used celery too, but being a big hater of celery I didn't use it. Also, remember to get the cheapest red wine you can for this. Mine was some obscure brand purchased from NTUC Fairprice for around $15 or so.

Ingredients:

2 lamb shanks

1 whole white onion, finely chopped

3 tsps of minced garlic

2 whole carrots, chopped into small pieces

0.5 bottle of red wine

1 can of crushed tomatoes

3 sprigs of thyme

2 dried bay leaves

250ml of chicken stock

Olive oil

Sea salt

Black pepper

Instructions:

1) Dry the lamb shanks as much as possible, then sprinkle it with salt and pepper.

2) Heat up some olive oil on a skillet, then sear the lamb shanks all over. It should take 5 minutes or so.

3) Remove the lamb shanks from the skillet, add a bit more olive oil, and fry the garlic and onion for around 2 minutes.

4) Add the carrots and cook for another 3 to 5 minutes, depending on how large your carrot pieces are.

5) Add the red wine, crushed tomatoes, thyme, bay leaves, and chicken stock. Mix well and let it simmer for a while.

6) Now place the lamb shanks in the slow cooker and add the mixture from step 5). Put it on low mode for 8 hours.

7) Now remove the shanks and carrots, and place them on a large tray. Transfer the sauce to a pot and reduce it over the stove until your desired thickness preference. 

8) Pour the sauce over the tray, and serve.

Oven-baked whole sea bass

Oven-baked whole sea bass (serves 2)

Sea bass is a great fish - cheap, and yet it tastes wonderful. 

Ingredients:

Whole sea bass

4 to 6 sprigs of thyme

0.25 lemon

Olive oil

1 tbsp of parsley

Salt

Black pepper

Instructions:

1) After the fish is cleaned, make two to three diagonal cuts across it. Rub the fish with some olive oil, and season with salt. 

2) Separate the thyme leaves from the stalks. Stuff the stalks into the fish's cavity, and the leaves into the cuts made on the body. Squeeze some lemon over the fish. You can leave the remaining lemon pieces inside the fish cavity.

3) Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celcius, and bake the fish for 25 to 30 minutes. 

4) Sprinkle some parsley on the fish, and serve.