Chicken Stew

INGREDIENTS:-

6 boneless & skinless chicken thigh, cut into chunks
3 carrots, cut into chunks
3 potatoes, cut into chunks
2 tomatoes
1 can button mushroom

4-5 slices of ginger
4-5 tbsp tomato sauce
extra oyster sauce

Marinate:
4 tbsp oyster sauce
Sesame oil
2 tbsp corn flour
White pepper


INSTRUCTIONS:-

1) Marinate chicken with marinate ingredients. Set aside till ready to be used.
2) Add about 1 tbsp oil in a heated pot, saute ginger till fragrant. Add in chicken and fry till partially cooked.
3) All in carrots, potatoes and tomatoes. Give it a good stir. Add tomato sauce and oyster sauce followed by water, enough to cover the ingredients.
4) Cook till chicken is done and vegetables soften.


NOTES:-

1) I added tomato paste to give it a stronger tomato taste.


[adapted recipe by Serene Ng from the Singapore Home Cooks on Facebook.]

Beef Stew

INGREDIENTS:-

2kg beef, cut into chunks
3 carrots, cut into chunks
6 potatoes, cut into chunks
1 - 2 cups beef stock
3 tbsp tomato paste
Salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp flour

Canned button mushrooms (optional)


INSTRUCTIONS:-

1) Heat oil in a pan. Add beef in to brown it. Sprinkle with some salt and pepper. Give it a quick stir to brown all sides. Set aside together with the juice.
2) Heat oil in a pan before adding carrots and potatoes. Stir fry for a few minutes. Add in flour to coat and continue to stir fry til flour is cooked.
3) Add in browned beef and juices. Mix well.
4) Transfer everything into a pot, add tomato paste and beef stock. Add enough stock to cover the ingredients. Bring to boil then lower heat and simmer till meat is soft. Stir once in awhile.
5) Season with salt and pepper if necessary. Lastly add in button mushrooms, stir well and serve.


NOTES:-

1) I used 1/2 portion of beef and adjusted the carrots and potatoes accordingly. Gravy remained the same as I prefer to have more sauce.


[adapted recipe from the Internet which I'd forgotten the link]

Tomato Fish

INGREDIENTS:-

150g white fish (boneless)

1 tbsp rice wine
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cornflour
Dash of salt and pepper

1 tomato, cut into wedges

Water
Oil for frying


INSTRUCTIONS:-

1) Cut the fish into thick slices. Marinate with seasoning for 20 mins.
2) Heat some oil in a pan and pan fry fish till slightly browned.
3) Leave about 1 tbsp of oil in pan and remove excess. Add tomato and cook over high heat for 3 mins or till tomato softens. Add fish to tomato. Stir to coat fish and add a little water, enough to moisten the fish.


NOTES:-

1) Alternative way to make tomato gravy. My boys prefer tomato sauce made this way. Heat oil in pan, then add tomato and cook over high heat till tomato softens. Add tomato sauce and dilute slighty with water. Add fried fish into sauce. Stir around to coat fish.

[adapted recipe from 爱心便当 (Assorted Lunch Boxes)]

Pasta n Cheese Gratin

INGREDIENTS:-
1 portion

60g pasta
50g ham
1-2tbsp parmesan cheese

Sauce
15g butter
100ml cooking cream
120ml water
1 tbsp flour
40g cheddar cheese
20g regular cheese


INSTRUCTIONS:-

1) Cook pasta in salted water according to the package or till just done. Pour them in a oven proof dish and set aside.
2) Melt butter in a pan on low heat. Gradually add in the flour and whisk till smooth.
3) Turn up the heat to medium low and gradually add in the cooking cream and water while whisking.
4) Next, add in the ham and cheese. Stir till cheese all blended in.
5) Pour the sauce over the cooked macaroni. Mix them if you like.
6) Top it with Parmesan Cheese. Baked in a preheated oven at 220c for 10 mins.


[recipe from Let's Get Wokking!]

Potato Croquettes

INGREDIENTS:-

500g U.S Potatoes, peeled
50g Frozen mixed vegetables, defrosted

200g Minced pork
1tbs Soy sauce
2tbs Sugar
1tbs Sake / Mirin

Butter

Plain flour
2 Eggs, beaten with 1tbs of vegetable oil, mixed very well
Japanese bread crumbs / Panko
Oil for deep frying


INSTRUCTIONS:-

1) To make croquettes. Cooked peeled potatoes in a pot of water till soft. Drained and mashed finely. Set aside.
2) Season mince pork with all the seasoning and set aside.
3) Melt a little butter in a pan and add vegetables. Give the vegetables a quick stir and simmer till it absorbs all the butter.
4) Add seasoned minced pork. Break up the pieces as much as possible while cooking. Cook until all liquids are dried up.
5) Add cooked meat to mashed potatoes and mix well.
6) Prepare a square / rectangle tray, lined with cling wrap. Placed mashed potato mix in and mould according to thickness you prefer or tray per size.
7) Using a butter knife to cut in the equal rectangle shapes. Cover up with remaining portion of the cling wrap or just use another piece so it does not get dry. Put it in the fridge for 15-20 mins or until it is completely cooled down.
8) Once it is cooled down, cover each piece in flour, then dip it into the egg mixture and lastly, coat it with bread crumbs.
9) Heat up a pot of oil at medium heat and when oil is hot enough, add in croquettes one at a time. Serve it with mayonnaise or tomato ketchup or just eat it on its own.


NOTE:-

1) If too much to finish, can freeze unused portion at point no. 8. I used cling wrap to wrap the croquettes up in pairs before putting them in a freezer bag to be placed in the freezer. You can pack the croquettes according to your meal size.

2) To make DOMO monster using the croquette.
- Stain a piece of cheese with red food coloring, put it back in the fridge to dry.
- Take another piece of cheese, using a decoration knife or straw to cut out teeth.
- Cut the red cheese into squares to form the mouth and place teeth on it to form DOMO's mouth.
- Using a hold puncher, punch eyes out using seaweeds.
- Assemble parts on croquettes after croquettes are cooled down.


[adapted recipe from Anna The Red's Bento Factory]

Mushroom Bruschetta

INGREDIENTS:-

Mushrooms of your choice (my preference would be Swiss brown or portabella mushrooms)
Mix shredded cheese (cheddar and mozzarella)
Baguette

Butter
A dash of salt
A dash of pepper
A dash of Italian seasoning
Truffle Oil (optional)


INSTURCTIONS:-

1) Slice mushroom into bite size and set aside.
2) Melt butter in a pan. Add in mushroom when butter is melted and heated up. Give mushroom a quick stir and let it simmer for 1 - 2 mins.
3) Add in salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Simmer mushroom again till all the juice dries up. Lastly add in a dash of truffle oil.
4) Slice baguette and top it with mushrooms. Sprinkle cheese on top and bake in oven at 230C till cheese melt and browned. Serve hot.

Rice Cubes

Ingredients:-

3/4 cup short grain rice (Japanese rice)

70 - 80g chicken breast meat
1 - 2 tbsp mirin
A dash of salt
A dash of sugar

Assorted vegetables (amount to your liking)
Cooking oil
Chicken stock / Water


Method:-

1) Wash and soak rice for about 20 minutes. Drained and set aside.
2) Minced chicked and season with seasoning.
3) Minced up your choice of vegetables.
4) Heat up cooking oil in a pan then add in vegetables. Add chicken stock (or water) and simmer vegetables till soft.
5) Add in mince chicken and give it a quick fry till chicken is browned. Set aside.
6) Cook rice with recommended amount of water. Add in chicken vegetable mix in to the rice just before it is cooked. Mix well and continue to let rice cook till it is ready.
7) Use moulds to shape up rice while it is still warm.


Notes:-

1) Moulds to shape up the rice are readily available at Daiso. Other bento decoration items are also available. Let your imagination run wild.

2) Made 2 different batch of rice cubes.

1st batch - Chicken + Carrot + Cabbage + Tamago.
2nd batch - Chicken + Cabbage + Brown Mushrooms + Tamago.

For the 2nd batch, since mushrooms are used, I've used butter to cook the ingredients. End result, the rice have a buttery taste.

3) What to add into the rice with chicken is entirely up to you.

Pita Pizza

Ingredients:-

Pizza base:

Pitta Bread
Tomato paste or any tomato based pasta sauce


Pizza toppings (choose any):

Canned pineapple rings, cut into bite size
Fresh button mushrooms, sliced
Shaved ham, tear into pieces

Shredded mozzarella cheese
Shredded cheddar cheese


Method:-

1) Prepare all desired toppings and set aside.
2) Spread tomato paste or pasta sauce onto pita bread.
3) Add toppings and sprinkle shredded cheese (mix both mozzarella & cheddar together) generously over the topping ingredients.
4) Place the pizzas on a baking tray and bake for 15 mins at 220 C or until the cheese melts and turns light brown.
5) Remove and serve pipping hot.


Notes:-

1) Pita bread is the best to be used as pizza base. The final product is even much better than using english muffin.

Sweet n Sour Pork

Ingredients:-

250g pork neck meat

Corn flour for coating

Oil for deep frying

Potato starch

100g Sarawak pineapple, diced
50g green capsicum, diced
50g zucchini, diced

Meat seasoning:

Five spice powder (according to taste)

Salt (according to taste)
Sugar (according to taste)

1 egg

3 tbsp corn flour

Sauce seasoning:

30ml tomato ketchup

60ml water

45ml rice vinegar

4 tbsp sugar

1 - 2 preserved plum, mashed and remove seed

Method:-

1) Cut pork into bite size pieces. Marinate with seasoning for 30 - 60 minutes.

2) Coat marinated pork evenly with corn flour before dropping into well heated oil for deep frying. Fry till pork pieces turned golden brown. Set aside.

3) Mix all ingredients for sauce in a bowl. Mix well.

4) Add a little oil to pan and give the vegetables a quick fry. Add in pineapple and pour in the well mixed sauce. Bring it to a boil.

5) Add in all the fried pork pieces. Coat all pork pieces well with gravy.

6) Slowly add in potato starch to thicken the sauce.

Note:-

1) If not sure what meat to get, just head to your regular butcher and ask for pork for this dish. They will know what to get for you.

2) Deep frying can take up quite a bit of time especially if preparing in big portions. Hence, deep frying can be done in advance.

3) When thickening the sauce, note not to add too much starch at one go. Add potato starch pinch by pinch till it reaches a consistency you prefer.

Cream of Mushroom Soup with Puff Pastry

Ingredients:-

30g butter
1 tbsp plain flour
100g white button mushrooms (chopped)
100g Swiss mushroom / brown mushrooms (chopped)
1/2 cup stock
40ml fresh cream

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 egg yolk (beaten)
1 puff pastry sheet


Method:-

1) Melt butter in a pan. Add flour and stir till it turns yellowish then add in chopped mushrooms. Fry till mushrooms softens.
2) Add in stock slowly and allow it to boil before adding fresh cream. Season with salt and pepper.
3) Pour soup into over-proof bowl. Brush the edges with a little egg then cover bowl with puff pastry. Brush the surface with some egg. Poke some holes on the pastry before baking to prevent cracking.
4) Place in preheated oven of 220C and bake for 10 - 15 minutes or till pastry turn brown.


Notes:-

1) To get a smoother soup, you can blend the soup in a blender before pouring into the bowl. Alternative, you can minced up the mushrooms instead.
2) For richer soup, add more cream. Add cream to the consistency of your liking.


[adapted recipe from Cooking for Kids by Pancy Seng]

Pineapple n Chicken

Ingredients:-

100g chicken breast meat

50g carrot

50g small cucumber

50g pineapple

1/4 tsp corn starch

A dash of salt

Method:-

1) Dice chicken mean and mash with the back of knife. Mix well with corn starchn salt.

2) Rinse and dice carrot and cucumber.

3) Soak pineapple in salt water and drain the dice.

4) Cook chicken in a pot with enough water to cover chicken.

5) Add all other ingredients and cook well. Cook for about 15 minutes or till carrots are soft.

6) Serve with rice.

Note:-

1) Chicken nourishes the vital energy and strengthens the body and bones. Regular intake boosts baby's immunity.
2) Pineapple contains enzymes, thus it must be soaked in salt water first so that it will not irritates baby's tongue.


[adapted recipe from Nutritious Food for Baby & Toddler]

Mini Pizza

Ingredients:-

Pizza base:

English muffins

Tomato paste

Pizza toppings (choose any):

Canned pineapple rings, cut into bite size

Capsicum (Red, Yellow), cut into short strips

Cherry tomatoes, sliced

Chicken or pork franks, sliced

Fresh button mushrooms, sliced

Frozen mixed vegetables / Corn kernels

Ham, cut into short strips

Shredded mozzarella cheese (or any cheese of your choice)

Method:-

1) Prepare all desired toppings and set aside.

2) Split muffins into two and spread tomato paste onto each halved muffin.

3) Add desired toppings and sprinkle shredded cheese generously over the topping ingredients.

4) Place the pizzas on a baking tray and bake for 10 mins at 220 C until the cheese melts and turns light brown.

5) Remove and serve pipping hot.

Sweet n Sour Hawthorn Berry Pork

Ingredients:-

300g hawthorn berry snack
50g water
50g lemon juice

250g pork neck meat
2.5g five spice powder
A pinch of salt
A pinch of sugar
1 egg
150g corn flour

100g Sarawak pineapple
50g green capsicum
50g zucchini


Method:-

1) Chop hawthorn snack into small pieces. Mix with water and lemon juice and melt it in a bowl over boiling water. Stir constantly and add more water if necessary during the melting process.

2) Cut pork into bite size pieces and marinate with the spices, salt, sugar.

3) Coat marinated pork with egg and corn flour until the pork is not sticky to the fingers and deep-fry in hot oil till crispy and golden brown.

4) Cut pineapple, capsicum and zucchini into small cubes.

5) Pour sauce in the wok and bring it to a boil. Add in deep-fried pork and garnishes. Give it a quick stir and serve immediately.

Chicken Mushroom Potato Bake

Ingredients (serves 4):-

6 - 8 chicken thigh fillets, cut into 2 cm chunks
4 - 5 portabella mushrooms, sliced thickly (can use fresh button/brown mushrooms)
1 carrot, peeled and diced
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced thickly
1 tbsp olive oil
4 large or 8 medium waxy potatoes
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Black pepper to taste
Dried thyme leaves
Mozerella Cheese
Cooking spray


Method:-

1) Boil potatoes until cooked, peel the skin and roughly slice.
2) Heat up olive oil in pan and sear mushrooms over high heat. Add carrots and then chicken, stir-frying over high heat. Sprinkle black pepper and continue to fry till chicken is almost cooked.
3) Add the can of soup and turn down to medium heat. Mix until soup is melted down. Turn off heat.
4) Pour 1/2 the chicken mixture in a deep dish or pie tin. Arrange egg slices of 1 egg on top of chicken mixture. Sprinkle desired amount of moozerella cheese then spread a layer of potatoes on top of the mixture.
5) Pour the remaining 1/2 of the chicken mixture, arrange egg layer with the other egg then top with the remaining potatoes.
6) Sprinkle some dried thyme leaves over the potato surface. Evenly coat the potato surface with cooking spray.
7) Bake in a hot 220 deg C oven for 15 minutes until potatoes get a nice golden crust. Serve with crusty bread.

[adapted recipe from Cuisine Asia]

Hainanese Pork Chop

Ingredients:-

500g pork loin
Breadcrumbes for coating
Potato flour, mixed with a little water
2 tomatoes, cut into small wedges


Marinate for pork loin:
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
A dash of pepper
A dash of 5-spice powder
A few drops of sesame oil
1 tbsp cornflour
1 egg


Sauce mix:
1/2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
6 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp vinegar
Frozen mix vegetables
A few drops of sesame oil


Method:-

1) Tenderise pork loin by using a tenderiser or the back of a chopper.
2) Mix pork with marinade and set aside for at least 30 minutes.
3) Coat pork with breadcrumbs and deep fry till golden brown.
4) In a non-stick pan, give the mix vegetables a quick stir. Add in tomatoes.
5) Add in sauce ingredients and bring mixture to a boil. Thicken with potato starch.
6) Pour sauce over the crispy pork and serve immediately.


[adapted recipe from Food & Travel Magazine April 2007 issue]