Pan-Fried Dumpling (Guo Tie 锅贴)

Today I was planning to make guo tie. But everything went wrong! The garlic chives turns out bad, the sesame oil was out, the bean vermicelli (so hoon) that I bought turns out to be rice vermicelli (bee hoon), and to make things even worse.. the gyonza skin that I kept in the fridge got fungus...

So I asked my hungry hubby to go to the market to buy some dishes (since we already cooked the rice) and to buy some gyonza skin + sesame oil.

We went home around 8pm, and I manage to wrapped and cooked the guo tie in 15 minutes. The guo tie turned out to be just nice. Even though we had our dinner very very late, but I think it's worth it haha..

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 8-10 minutes
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients:
- 120gr mince meat
- 120gr shelled and deveined prawns
- 2 cloves of garlic finely minced
- 1 tbsp garlic chives (ku chai)
- 1 tbsp spring onion
- 1 tbsp bean vermicelli
- 0.5 yellow toufu, cut into small pieces (normally I used yunyi toufu)
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp white pepper
- 0.5 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 0.5 tbsp tapioca starch
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (Kikoman)
- 1 tbsp Chinese wine
- gyoza skin, as needed (The wrappers are round and a little thicker than wonton wrappers)
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
Sauce:
- Soy sauce
- Rice vinegar
- 3 slices ginger, sliced thinly

Directions:
1. Combine the mince meat, prawns, garlic, ku chai, spring onion, toufu and bean vermicelli with salt, pepper, sugar, sesame oil, tapioca starch, soy sauce and chinese wine



If you noticed, I didn't put the toufu coz I cannot find yunyi toufu here. So if you are in Bandung, wah.... you are lucky...

2. Fill the gyoza skin --> check here to know how to wrap it

I was very hungry and in a hurry so I couldn't check the internet on how to wrap the guo tie properly. Nevertheless, I still manage to wrap it nicely.

3. Cover the bottom of the skillet with the cooking oil
4. Arrange the guo tie in the skillet
5. Pan-fry on high heat for about 2 minutes
6. Add about 1.5cm inch of water, quickly cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium high, and let it cook for about 5 minutes until the water evaporates.
7. Serve with the dipping sauce

I didn't take a lot of pictures coz I was in a hurry and quite hungry -_-!

Lucky, the guo tie taste quite good haha! It is the first time I cooked the dish. Well.. there's always room for improvement.

Wonton Soup

Preparation Time: 40 minutes

Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 4
Difficulty: Medium

Ingredients:
For the wonton
- 300gr mince meat
- 300gr shelled and deveined prawns
- 2 tbs dried shrimp, rinsed with water
- 3 water chestnuts - (馬蹄 mǎtí)
- 1 tbs oyster sauce
- 2 tbs soy sauce
- 1 tbs Chinese rice wine
- a few drops sesame oil (2-3 drops is enough.. don't be too much)
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- wonton wrappers, as needed

For the soup
- a handful of ikan bilis, rinsed with water
- 4 bunches of baby bok choy (xiao bai cai), cut into shorter sections
- salt
- 1.5l water

Directions:
1. Finely chop the prawns
2. Rinse the water chestnut under warm water. Peel the skin (like you peel an apple) and finely chop.
3. Fried dried shrimp till it turn crispy



4. Combine the mince meat, prawns, dried shrimp and water chestnuts with oyster sauce, soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and white pepper.



Mix it well :)



5. Fill the wonton skins --> check here to know how to wrap it



Me, making the wonton..



Put in a container to keep if you are not going to cook it immediately

6. In a pot, bring 1l water to boil. Add washed ikan bilis and boil for 10 mnts
7. Using a slotted ladle, remove ikan bilis.



8. In another pot of 500ml water, bring water to boil. Add wontons.
9. When the wonton cooked (until they rise to the top and the filling is cooked through), transfer to the pot with ikan bilis stock with a slotted spoon.
10. Add xiao bai cai. Cook for another 5-8 minutes.
11. Add salt to your taste.



12. Serve hot.

Benefits of water cheastnuts :
It is a relatively cooling food and is said to help relieve coughs

Salted Radish (aka Cai Po 菜脯) Omelette

Some mom's cooking cannot be forgotten. I remember my mom used to cook omelette with something that is crunchy, sweet and a lil bit salty. It was very nice. I don't know what she put in the omelette until she told me that it was salted radish (aka Cai Po 菜脯).

She bought me 1 pack of sweet spicy Cai Po and teach me how to cook it :) When I told my hubby, he said that his mom also likes to cook this dishes and he said he will cook it for me :D

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:



40gr of Cai Po
2 eggs
salt

Directions:



1. Whisk the eggs until the yolk has been broken
2. Rinse the Cai Po and cut into smaller pieces
3. Heat up a bit of olive oil in a frying pan
4. Add Cai Po, stir fry until tender



5. Pour in eggs
6. Tilt the pan so that the egg covered all the Cai Po



7. Cook until the edges/ bottom is slightly browned
8. Flip over and do the same

Look at him... so happy :P



Yum... Yum... :)



Result : A happy wife ^^

Thanks mom! and thanks dear (hope you can cook for me more often hihihi...)

Crispy Fish Bites

I like to eat crunchy food, that's why I come out with this fried fish recipe.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
- 400 gr Tilapia Fish
- 3 tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Cut fish into half:



Place fish on its side



Cut the fish head



Cut down its length on either side of the backbone.



Use a slight - very slight - sawing motion to slice the meat from the backbone towards the tail.

Make a slight slice, and adjust the knife to make sure it's actually scraping the backbone. Keep adjusting and slicing until you've reached the tail.



2. Cut it into bite size

3. Mix the flour, ground pepper and salt



4. Coat the fish with the flour mixture



5. Fried in the hot oil until golden brown



6. Serve with soy sauce and chili padi



I like to eat the fin and tail part, because they are very crunchy :D

My husband likes this dish, but he said he would prefer if it is without bones. I said better next time buy fish fillet :P

Sambal Belacan Lady's Finger (Okra)

The first time I cooked lady's finger, I cooked it with soy bean paste. Then my husband said that it is also good if it is cooked with sambal belacan. But since I don't have the sambal, so I never cook it that way for him.

Now I have sambal belacan already, so I planned to give him a surprise. I will prepare it for his lunch :)

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp sambal belacan
(To save time, I used bottled one. I will post the recipe some other time ;P)



- 6 stalks lady's finger, sliced diagonally
- 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)

Directions:
1. Heat up oil in wok
2. Stir fried chopped garlic and saute sambal belacan until fragrant



3. Add in lady's fingers, use high heat to stir fry until the lady's finger sticky and cooked



4. Dish up and serve

Result: A satisfied hubby.

Banana Cheese Crepes

I love banana. I eat banana for snack and sometimes I have it for breakfast. Since I made banana chocolate pancake and it turned out to be very nice, I want to try other recipe.. banana cheese crepes :D

Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:
1 tbsp butter / margarine / olive oil
125 ml pancake mix
94 ml cup water
1 egg
2 bananas - cut into half
cheese
3 tbsp chocolate syrup

Directions:
1. Mix batter (pancake mix + water + egg) according to package
2. Heat butter in a pan over low heat
3. Pour in some of the batter (don't put too many, so the the layer of batter will be thin) and tilt pan until batter covers the bottom of pan
4. Cook until crepe is lightly browned and dry, turn crepe and do the same



Try to make it as thin as possible.

The crepe on the right was my 1st attempt... and it failed miserably T^T. But I manage to get it right on my 2nd attempt (on the left) :P.



This is how thin it should be..

5. On the crepe, lay 2 slices of bananas with the cheese in the middle
6. Roll up the crepe



7. Put in the plate and pour the chocolate syrup over the crepes

Benefits of banana:
- Banana is good for anemia, kidney and eyesight protection
- Banana is good for bones, because it can increase our body's ability to absorb calcium
- Banana can prevent high blood pressure and stroke.

Benefits of cheese:
- Cheese is good for bones, because it has very high calcium content
- Cheese contains substances called Conjugated Linoleic Acid and Sphingolipids that help prevent cancer

The fat in cheese depends on the quality of the milk it was made with. Full fat, cream milk, low fat or fat free milk will determine how high the fat content of the cheese is. Make sure to look for the fat content in the cheese before you buy it.

Black Pepper Salmon With Potato Wedges

Last week I wanted to surprise my hubby by making Black Pepper Salmon. It turned out to be quite easy and fast to do. So here is the recipe :)

Preparation Time; 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Medium

Salmon Fillet
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Microwave Time: 4-5 minutes

Ingredients:
250 gr salmon fillet
1 tbsp butter / margarine / olive oil

Directions:
1. Spread butter all over the salmon fillet
2. Place the salmon fillet into a microwave-safe container/plate/bowl, skin-side up
3. Set microwave temperature on high for about 4-5 minutes (You'll know it's ready when you see the butter start to crackle)
4. Check to see whether the salmon is cooked well enough to your liking

Potato Wedges
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Microwave Time: 9-11 minutes

Ingredients:
600 gr potato (4 medium potatoes)
1 tbsp butter / margarine
1/4 tsp dried and crushed basil, tarragon or oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Directions:
1. Scrub and cut the potatoes each into eight wedges and set aside
2. Melt the margarine or butter on high for about 45-60 seconds or until all the butter is melted
3. Once melted stir in the spices



4. Add the potato wedges and cover in the mixture
5. Place the dish into the microwave, cook for 4-5 minutes
6. Stir the potatoes and place back into the microwave, cook for another 4-5 minutes

Black Pepper Sauce
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 8 minutes

Ingredients:
1/2 onion
2 garlic
1 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
water

Directions:
1. Chop garlic and onion into fine pieces
2. Fry in olive oil
3. Add black pepper
4. Add some oyster sauce and stir
5. Pour some water so it becomes slightly watery
6. Add sugar

Put the potato wedges, salmon fillet and some boiled vegetables (you can pick broccoli, corn, and carrots). Pour the hot black pepper sauce on the salmon.



Dinner's ready :)



Result: A happy hubby (with a fake smile -_-!)

PS: although overall it was a good attempt, but I miscalculated the portion for my hubby. In the end, my hubby still asked me to cook instant noodle because he was not full.. Sorry hunny.. T^T


Btw, for the black pepper and the dried basil leaves, I usually use this brand. It's affordable :)

Chicken Celery Soup

My hubby caught a cold, so I cooked this soup for him :)

Preparation Time; 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:



- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 6 stalks of celery
- half chicken
- water
- salt

Directions:

1. Chop the onion, garlic and celery into small pieces
2. Cut the chicken. Get rid of all the fats if you are particular like me
3. Boil the water in the pot



4. Put all the ingredients into the pot
5. Lower the heat to a slow simmer
6. Cover the pot and cook it for around 20 minutes
7. Add salt to your taste
8. Serve hot

The soup will cause body temperature to rise, so expect some sweating, remain well covered and rest. Get well soon hunny :)

Benefits of celery:
1. Eating celery will reduce high blood pressure and give the effect of calmness.
2. Celery clears uric acid from painful joints and may help the treatment of arthritis and rheumatic problems.
3. Celery also helps the kidney an acts an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. (It helps eliminate body’s waste through the urine)

Garlic and onion help to protect against cardiovascular disease, respiratory concerns, diabetes, and a variety of cancers. Both of them are good for cold & flu.

Benefits of garlic:
1. Lowers blood pressure
2. Decrease the risk of blood clots developing that can cause strokes and heart attacks.
3. Fights a great number of bacteria and viruses and therefore helps to prevent infections and it decreases the risks of a number of different types of cancer, with an emphasis on cancers of the stomach.

Benefits of onion:
1. Increase the HDL cholesterol in the blood, especially when they are eaten in their raw state.
2. Decrease the bad cholesterol or LDL in the blood and they increase the ability of the blood to dissolve blood clots
3. Onions are excellent at decreasing the risk inherent in developing diabetes and help to fight off the bacteria that are responsible for causing many infections in the human body.
4. Decrease the risk of many different types of cancers

Watercress Pork Ribs Soup With Luóhàn Guǒ

I met 3 persons with sore throat today. One of them is my hubby. That's why I decided to cook this soup, because this soup is good and soothing for the throat. I hope that through this recipe below, more people will benefit from this simple soup.

Preparation Time; 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 2
Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:




- 200 gr pork ribs or twee bak (pork belly / shoulder) - depending on your budget :P
- 200 gr watercress (西洋菜)
- 1 medium size luohan guo (罗汉果 - luóhàn guǒ)
It is sweet and has a unique flavour. If you are uncertain about the taste, I suggest you to take half of fruit for a big pot of soup
- 1 tbsp wolfberries
- water
- salt

Directions:



1. Cut twee bak (don't cut too small). Get rid of all the fats if you are particular like me.

2. Wash the watercress thoroughly and cut into shorter sections



3. Crack open the luohan guo (if it is too hard, you can crack it with the back of your knife)



We only use the meat inside..

4. Boil the water in the pot
5. Place the raw pork into the boiled water for a few seconds, pour away the water (This is to set meat so that the blood does not make a cloudy stock)
6. Pour 1 liter water into the pot
7. Add wolfberries, luohan guo and watercress



I took the picture before I put the watercress in :)

8. Lower the heat to a slow simmer
9. Cook it for around 40 minutes
10. When you are ready to serve it, discard the luohan guo and add salt to your taste and bring it to a boil
11. Serve hot



Result: A happy hubby :D



I asked him to drink the soup.. Get well soon dear :)

Wolfberry is good for:
- Support healthy immune system
- Anti-aging
- Cancer prevention
- Liver protection
- Hemopoiesis promoter
- Vision improvement

Watercress contains high iron, which makes it blood-enriching and excellent for the treatment of anaemia. It is classified as cooling, yet blood enriching food source. It helps to strengthen the lungs, thereby preventing common cold and reduces allergic symptoms such as asthma and nasal inflammation

Luohan guo is cooling and taste sweet. It is good for:
- Dryness in mouth and nose, or throat thirst;
- Dry cough with little phlegm;
- Dryness of skin in women, even chapped or ugly skin;
- Withered
- Malnourished hair, even resulting in hair loss;
- Sometimes constipation.

Of course it will be nicer if you use pork ribs :) But for us, twee bak is still ok :P. You can also add some red dates if you like.