More cooking stories

Ah got some cooking stories to share here.

Wonton noodles

We would crave for wonton noodles every now and again. Sometimes when we go to the Asian supermarket, I would grab a packet of fresh egg noodles, fresh wonton skin, and some Chinese choi sum (vegetables).

I learnt to make wontons from scratch, learning this what I term lifeskill from my grandma since young.  In fact I hosted a wonton night with my girl friends here many years ago and we all had a good laugh that night.  Passing on life skills hey ;)

I don't have an exact amount of minced pork in my recipe (it's usually guesswork), but I usually marinate it with some light soy sauce, sesame oil, a dash of pepper and a bit of oyster sauce.  I also like to add some finely chopped spring onions.  You can add in some prawns too, but do chop them up into small pieces. To make the wonton ends stick together, you need a dab of water on the fresh skin on the point where the ends meet.

Wontons made, ready to go into the soup

Fresh egg noodles (one portion)

Seasoning sauce for noodles

1 tablespoon of thick dark soy sauce (sweet)

1/2 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1/8 teaspoon salt (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 teaspoons prepared garlic oil (chop fresh garlic and mix it in olive oil is what I did)

Chilli (optional, to taste)

For the soup, I had used shop bought chicken stock and threw in the wontons when the water started boiling.  I add in the vegetables when the wontons are about cooked so they still retain some crunchiness when done.

Happiness :)

Chicken kuay teow noodles

This was cooked on a whim one day.  We have both been feeling under the weather since Boxing Day and in times like this, you do feel like some comfort food.  A bowl of hot noodles soup would be so nice.  

There was a packet of fresh kuay teow noodles in our fridge and so I made some chicken and mushroom noodle soup for us for lunch the other day.  Again I had used chicken stock and threw in some Chinese mushrooms, chicken drumsticks and the thicker vegetable stems.  I boiled the noodles separately and when it was done, I dished them into separate bowls.  When the soup was about done, I threw in the leafy greens so they don't get overcooked.  

Once cooked, I poured in the soup and its contents into the bowls with noodles.  Simple comfort food.  Healthy too!

"Bak Chang (Pork) Filling"

For a lack of a better name, this one lol.  Very random I know.  This last dish, seriously I don't know what to call it.  It all started when I came over to London and I was craving for bak chang (Chinese dumplings).  Back home how my grandma cooked is this: cook the pork filling and then dish it onto a plate of hot steaming glutinous rice - the open style.  Ha, who has time to wrap them up in pyramids?  We like to be efficient!  I know, it's less authentic having it the open style but hey, the taste is still there!  So tonight I thought I'd cook it for dinner, just like how grandma does it.  Although I know it is a bit too early on in the year for some bak chang.

I decided to blog about this dish because sometimes I forget the recipe.  Yup, this blog is a good way for me to store recipes too.  The dish turned out so well that K was all raving about it (yay) and he finished up his dinner in no time.  I was taking a few photos of the food so I can blog about it, and when I looked up he was about halfway through his dinner.  Eh, wait for me!  (Of course we didn't just have this for dinner; we had another dish too in case you were thinking.)

Looks a bit meh here I know, but how good can bak chang filling look? lol

Pork ~200g cut into small cubes

One small onion (or shallots) chopped finely

Preserved sugared winter melon sliced thinly (I used about 5 small pieces)

Chinese mushrooms (they were quite small so I used 7-8) cut into small pieces

Coriander powder (this to me is the secret ingredient that gives it that authentic taste)

Light soy sauce

Sugar (I used 4 teaspoons)

Fry the finely chopped onion (or shallots) in some olive oil on medium heat

Add in mushrooms and fry till fragrant

Add in the pork cubes and fry (add more oil if needed)

Add the sugared winter melon slices

Add in the coriander powder (I had used quite a generous amount).  Mix well.

Add in light soy sauce and sugar to taste.

I know the picture above doesn't look very appetising but I assure you it tastes better than it looks.  Try it!

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Since this post is all about food, I thought I'd end off with this picture… today was a rainy and cold Saturday.  A cup of hot tea and some biscuits were much needed for.  Oh yes, and all Christmas decor have been taken down today too :(