Radish Cake (Lo Pak Ko)

Radish Cake or Lo Pak Ko can be easily found in wet markets and in dim sum shops. Those sold are usually very plan with just julienne radish and seasonings. A few sellers add some tiny pieces of char siew in their Lo Pak Ko. Usually when we make it ourselves, we will add ingredients like Chinese sausages, dried prawns, Shiitake mushrooms and dried scallops to greatly improve the flavour of the Lo Pak Ko.

The way of making Radish Cake is similar to that of making Yam Cake. The difference is that while we top up the Yam Cake with fried shallots, dried prawns, cut chilies and green onion, we will usually pan fry the Radish Cake.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg daikon
• 75 g dried prawns
• 3 pieces Shiitake mushrooms
• 5 pieces dried scallops
• 150 g rice flour
• 2 tbsp tapioca flour
• 1 cup of water (from soaked dried prawns, mushrooms and dried scallops)
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder

Method:

• Wash dried prawns, mushroom and scallop. Soak them with clean water overnight to soften the dried prawns and scallops and to plump up the Shiitake mushrooms. (We will be using the water to mix with the flour later.)

• Remove skin of the daikon and julienne it. (You may use a grater to grate it length-wise about 2 inches long.)

• Chop up the dried prawns and Shiitake mushrooms.

• Shred the dried scallops 

• Heat up wok with cooking oil.

• Saute the mushrooms, dried prawns and dried scallops till they are fragrant.

• Remove the sauteed ingredients from the wok.

• Add the julienne daikon to the same wok. Stir and let the daikon simmer till it is soft.

• Remove the daikon from the wok into a sieve. Press the daikon to remove the water from the daikon.

• Pour the daikon back into the wok.

• Add the sauteed ingredients to the daikon. Stir to combine them well. Then turn off the fire.

• Prepare a steamer with water. Boil the water.

• Weigh and sieve rice flour and tapioca flour into a bowl.

• Add the water to the flours and stir well until there are no lumps.

• Add salt, sugar and pepper to the flour mixture. Stir to combine.

• Pour the flour mixture into the wok with daikon and the sauteed ingredients. Stir to mix them up.

• Turn on the fire. Stir until the batter in the wok become drier.

• Grease a 7-inch pan.

• Pour the batter into the pan.

• Steam the batter for an hour over medium heat or until a wooden skewer poke into the centre of the pan comes out clean.

• Remove the pan from the steamer and let the Lo Pak Ko cool down completely before cutting.

• Cut the Lo Pak Ko into whatever shape that you desire.

• Heat up a non-stick pan.

• You may fry the Lo Pak Ko as it is or you may coat it with a thin layer of corn flour before frying it.

• Serve with chili sauce.

Baked Garlic-Paprika-Rosemary Chicken Drumsticks

Chicken is really the most common poultry in the world compared to the turkey, the goose or the duck. And due to the low cost in rearing chicken as compared to rearing other animals like cattle, pig, goat or lamb, chicken has become widely available in menus around the world. And as far as I know there is no religion that forbids eating chicken unlike the pig.

There are so many ways of cooking the chicken - deep fry, braise, stew, stir fry, casserole, curry, slow-cook, soup, pie, grill, roast, barbeque or bake. Thus, by being creative and by using the various herbs and spices available to us we can put endless chicken dishes on our dining table.


Ingredients:

• 4 pcs of drumstick or thigh
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp rosemary
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped

Method:

• Wash and pat dry the chicken drumstick or thigh with kitchen towel.

• Poke holes throughout the chicken pieces and put them into a bowl.

• Rub the chicken with salt.

• Sprinkle the chicken with black pepper powder.

• Add 2 tbsp (or more) of paprika to the chicken. Ensure that the chicken is fully covered with the paprika.

• Add rosemary to the chicken.

• Sprinkle the chopped garlic over the chicken

• Cover the bowl with a cling wrap.

• Leave the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

• Heat up oven to 180 deg C.

• Bake the chicken pieces for 40 minutes, turning them half-way into baking.

• Can serve the chicken with rice and vegetable or with mash potato and salad.

Steamed Buns or Pau with Purple Sweet Potato Filling

The steamed buns or pau that we buy are usually filled with egg custard (kaya), black bean paste, red bean paste, lotus paste or char siew. So far I have not come across any stall selling steamed buns with sweet potato paste. Thus, to enjoy these I have to make them myself.

I made the fillings one day earlier and kept them in the fridge. In this way, I do not have to rush in making the buns. My Purple Sweet Potato Buns are luscious; the dough is filled to the brim with the potato paste. You may cut down if you do not wish to have so much paste in the buns.

Making the Fillings

Ingredients:

• 350 g purple sweet potatoes (already skinned and cut into cubes)
• 4 pandan leaves, cut into 6 inches long
• 85 g of castor sugar (may add more)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp glutinous rice flour
• 200 ml water
• 3 1/2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

• Put the purple sweet potatoes onto a metal plate with the pandan leaves. Put the plate into a steamer and steam until the sweet potatoes are soft. It will take about 30 minutes or shorter depending on the cut-size of the sweet potatoes.

• While waiting for the sweet potatoes to soften, combine the sugar, salt, glutinous rice flour and water in a bowl. Stir to melt the sugar and to mix all the ingredients.

• When the sweet potatoes have softened, mashed them as fine as possible.

• Add the mashed sweet potatoes into the sugar mixture. Mix to combine them well. (Taste a bit of the mixture. Add more sugar if you want it to be sweeter.)

• Pour the mixture into a sieve and using a spatula press the mixture through the sieve. This will ensure that all the fibers from the sweet potatoes and any impurities are removed and that we obtain the smoothest paste possible.

• Transfer the paste into a non-stick pan. Add cooking oil into it.

• Cook the paste. Keep on stirring and turning until we have a smooth and shiny surface.

• Remove the paste from the pan and let it cool down completely.

• Divide the paste into 12 portions.

• Roll each portion up into a ball and put it onto an oiled plate.

• Repeat until all the paste has been done.

• Cover the plate with a cling wrap until they are needed.

• Note: You can make the paste not just one day but very much in advance. Wrap them up in the cling wrap and freeze them. When you need to use them, bring it out to thaw to room temperature.

Making the Pau Dough

Ingredients:

• 300 g pau flour
• 100 ml warm water
• 1 1/2 tbsp castor sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp yeast
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 150 ml water at room temperature

Method:

• Activate the yeast:
• Put the warm water into a cup.
• Add the castor sugar into the cup.
• Add the yeast into the cup.
• Give the liquid a quick stir.
• Once bubbles have been formed, the yeast has been activated and is ready for use.

• Add the pau flour into a big bowl.

• Add the yeast mixture into the bowl.

• Add the salt.

• Add the oil.

• Add the water slowly, stirring all the while using a pair of chopsticks. If the dough is too dry, add more water, teaspoon by teaspoon.

• Then knead by hand until you have a smooth dough. (I find that kneading by hand will produce a finer crumb than kneading by machine.)

• Knead the dough into a ball.

• Rest the dough ball for 10 minutes, covered.

• Divide the dough into 12 pieces.

• Roll each piece into a ball and place it onto a slightly floured counter-top. Cover it with a cling wrap or towel to prevent it from drying up.

• Repeat until all the dough has been rolled up.

Assembly

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp milk
• 12 pieces of parchment paper 8 cm x 8 cm.

Method:

• Take a dough ball. Flatten it into a circle with a roller pin.

• Cup your left hand if you are a right-hand person.

• Put the flatten dough in the hole between your thumb and pointer.

• Take 1 piece of purple sweet potato ball and put it on the flattened dough.

• Slowly cover up the sweet potato ball with the dough.

• Then roll the dough, seam-side down, into a ball on the counter-top with your palm until the ball is very smooth.

• Put the ball onto the parchment paper.

• Dip your finger (pointer) into the milk and gently dab the surface of the dough to smoothen the surface.

• Cover the dough with a towel to ensure that it does not dry up while you work with the other dough.

• Repeat until all the dough has been done.

• Let the dough rise to at least 50% more than the original. It will take approximately 15-20 minutes.

• Bring the water in your steamer to boil.

• Wrap the cover of your steamer, if necessary.

• Steam your dough on low heat for about 5-8 minutes.

• When done, do not open the cover. Instead let the buns rest in the steamer for 5 minutes to prevent wrinkling of the surface.

• Take out the buns.

• Serve them hot immediately or let them cool down completely on a metal rack before storing them.

Paprika Chicken on Rice

Our family needs a change at the dining table once in a while either by having vegetables, meat or seafood that they seldom eat or by having dishes which are cooked in a new style, for example, cooking Indian or Malay dishes in a Chinese family or by adding herbs which are seldom used in our normal cooking, for example, Italian herbs, mixed herbs, paprika, thyme, rosemary and so on.

So, I surprised my family with a new meal - Paprika Chicken on Rice instead of having white rice with a few accompanying dishes. This one-pot meal is easy to make. The best thing is that there is little washing after cooking as everything is cooked in that one pot/pan.


Ingredients:

• 4 pcs chicken thigh or drumstick or chicken breast
• 1 tbsp paprika (or more if you like)
• 2 tsp ground black peppercorn (or more)
• 2 tsp salt 
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 1/2 cups rice
• Oil for pan-frying
• Salt & pepper (to taste)
• 1 big stalk of coriander

Method:

Marinade the chicken pieces with paprika, ground black peppercorn and salt for at least 30 minutes.

Add oil into a non-stick pan. Swirl the pan so that the oil covers the surface of the pan totally. Pour out excess oil (as we do not want the rice to be too oily).

Place the chicken pieces on the pan, skin-side down. When the bottom has browned, turn the chicken pieces to brown the other side.Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and set them aside.

Chop up the yellow onion into small pieces.

Chop the garlic finely.

Put the onion and garlic into the pan which was used to fry the chicken. Saute them till they are fragrant and soft.

Wash the rice and add it to the onion and garlic.

Add enough water to cook the rice.

Add salt and pepper (to taste) to the rice.

Return the chicken pieces to the pan.

Cover the pan and slowly cook the rice till it is done.

Celery Soup

Celery can be eaten raw or cooked. If raw, it can be can be eaten as celery sticks, dipped into sauce of one's preference, for example, cream cheese or peanut butter sauce. It can also be juiced or it can be combined with fruits and vegetables to be made into smoothies. If cooked, celery can be stir fried on its own with sauteed garlic or with prawns or with mushrooms or with other vegetables. It can be cooked into clear or thick soup.

Whichever way we eat celery, there are benefits to be gained from its consumption. It is an important source of antioxidants. It can reduce inflammation. It can help in digestion. It is rich in vitamins and minerals with a low glycemic index (meaning it has a slow and steady effect on our blood sugar). Finally, it has an alkalizing effect on acidic foods.


Ingredients:

• 4 big stalks of celery
• 1 yellow onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 big potato
• 3 tbsp cream (or more)
• cooking oil
• salt
• pepper
• water
• butter (optional)

Method:

• Remove the fiber from the celery stalks. Wash and slice them into 0.5 cm width.

• Remove the skin of the yellow onion and slice it thinly.

• Chop up the garlic.

• Skin the potato and cut into smaller pieces.

• Heat up 2 spoonfuls of cooking oil in a pot.

• Saute the onion till it is fragrant.

• Add the chopped garlic and continue to saute till garlic is fragrant.

• Add the sliced celery stalks and potato.

• Add water into the pot till it covers the ingredients. Let the water boil till the onion, celery stalks and potato are soft.

• Turn off the fire and let the pot of ingredients cool down.

• Once they have cooled down, blend them either with a hand-held blender or a blender. If using a blender, blend the ingredients in about 3-4 batches.

• Return the soup to the pot.

• Heat up the soup and add cream.

• (Optional) Add a dollop of butter.

• Add salt and pepper according to taste.

• Serve hot with baguette or garlic bread.

Baked Rice with Herbs

Cooked rice can be used in many ways. We can make pancake out of cooked rice by adding eggs to hold the rice together besides adding some vegetables and seasonings to make it flavourful. Rice can also be added when we are making meatballs; it acts the same way as breadcrumbs in that it can absorb the moisture in the meatballs and make them more firm. Rice can also be added with other ingredients to make casseroles. The most common use is, of course, to make fried rice of various types. Finally, we can bake the cooked rice to make it even more delicious.


Ingredients:

• 2 cups of cooked rice
• 25 g butter. If more, the rice will be very oily.
• 1 tsp Italian herbs. Can add more according to one's liking.
• Salt, according to taste

Method:

• Put the cooked rice into a bowl.

• Melt the butter and pour it into the bowl.

• Add the Italian herbs into the bowl.

• Add salt to the bowl according to taste.

• Stir the rice and all the ingredients until they are well mixed.

• Pour the rice into a greased baking pan.

• Cover the baking pan with foil.

• Bake the rice at 200 deg C for 20 minutes.

• Serve the baked rice with other dishes.

Wat Tan Hor

Wat Tan Hor is one dish which we usually have outside. It is flat noodles covered with egg gravy. The egg gravy is usually white if we were to eat in restaurants, cafes or coffee shops. We need the "wok hei" (high heat of the wok) to cook a delicious plate of Wat Tan Hor. The stainless steel wok which I am using now gives me the much needed wok hei to cook this dish.


Ingredients:

• 400 g flat noodles (kueh teow), estimated for 2-3 persons
• 3 cloves garlic, chop finely
• 100 g lean pork
• 8 pieces small prawns, remove the shells and veins
• 4 pcs medium size squids, wash and cut into rings
• 1 pc fish paste, slice thinly
• 100 g cai xin
• 2 eggs
• Light & dark soy sauce, pepper & salt.
• 1 tbsp corn or tapioca flour
• Cooking oil
• Water

Method:

• Loosen the flat noodles.

• Heat up the wok with some oil.

• Put in the flat noodles.

• Add the dark soy sauce, the amount depending on how dark you want your Wat Tan Hor.

• Stir until all the flat noodles are evenly coloured. Be careful not to break up the flat noodles.

• Dish up and set aside.

• Add some oil into the wok and saute the garlic.

• Add the lean pork and stir till they are almost cooked.

• Add the prawns, squids and fish paste.

• Add the cai xin.

• Add enough water to cover the ingredients.

• Let the water boil.

• Add the seasonings - light & dark soy sauce, pepper and salt according to taste.

• Beat the eggs and pour them into the wok while using the other hand to move the ladle in a circular motion.

• Mix the corn or tapioca flour with some water.

• Pour the flour mixture into the wok while stirring the ingredients in a circular motion till the gravy thickens.

• Once the gravy has boiled, pour it over the flat noodles.

• The Wat Tan Hor is ready to be served.