Green Risotto - Hong Kong Style

Meals of more vegetables and less meat are highly recommended nowadays. If you’ve been following my blog, you may know that I’m a health conscious individual who eats generally one meal a day. Green Risotto is how I blend in lots of vegetable and little meat into a very delicious dish. Let me share with you my Hong Kong Chinese style Green Risotto.

If you have the experience cooking risotto, I won’t repeat here. Unlike traditional Italian risotto, I used water instead of stock. I then chopped some green vegetables and Chinese Kam Wah Ham. Kam Wah Ham is a famous produce from Yunnan, China and is widely available in Hong Kong. You may use any other ham or bacon as you wish. As Kam Wah Ham is very rich in taste, I don’t have to use any other seasoning at all.

When you add the last round of water to the risotto, add the chopped ham and keep stirring. When the risotto is cooked, cover for 3 minutes before serving. Now, make use of these 3 minutes, get ready a hot saucepan and heat a little bit of EVO. Stir fry the sliced green vegetables. No need to add salt as the risotto is going to be very tasteful with the Kam Wah Ham. Add the green vegetables to the risotto, mix well and dish up.

Green Risotto

Chopped Vegetables

Chopped Kam Wah Ham

Message from Anna

Warning: Do NOT Use These Cooking Oils

Hong Kong Food Blog - Green Risotto

Mocha Mousse Ice Cream Recipe

Photo source

This Mocha Mousse Ice Cream is super smooth and delicious. It was originally a recipe for chocolate mousse ice cream with a generous 3/4 C chocolate sauce, but added the instant coffee (mocha flavor) instead to intensify the flavor.

Mocha Mousse Ice Cream Recipe
Yield: 5 cups

2 Cups heavy cream, whipped stiff
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 Cups chocolate syrup
1 whole fresh egg
1 individual serving International Coffee instant powder

Preparation

• To the heavy cream whipped with the salt, add the slightly beaten whole fresh egg and beat until well dissolve.
• Add, folding gently, but thoroughly, the chocolate and instant coffee.
• Pack freezer with additional ice and rock salt, and let stand 1 hour. Serve ice cream with cookies, if desired.

Notes: Add salt only after the cream has been whipped stiff.

More Ice Cream Recipes

KFC Potato Salad Recipe?

KFC Potato Salad Recipe? This simple delicious potato salad has plenty of flavor with pickle relish, mayonnaise, and chunks of cherry pepper, celery, shredded carrot, and firm fingerling potatoes. Photo used with the kind permission from Martha's All-American Potato Salad - "What's On My Plate".

KFC Potato Salad:

• 2 pounds russet potatoes
• 3/4 to 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
• 4 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons white onion chopped fine
• 2 teaspoons prepared mustard
• 1 teaspoon vinegar
• 1 teaspoon diced celery
• 1 teaspoon diced cherry pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon shredded carrot
• 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt (Boiling potatoes)
• salt to taste (mixture)

Method:

• Scrub potatoes, peel, trim bruises and other imperfections and cut into 1-inch pieces.
• Put potatoes in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt, bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, or until potatoes are fork-tender.
• When the potatoes are done, drain and let cool completely. 
• Place potatoes in a large bowl along with the dressing by mixing the mayonnaise, pickle relish, sugar, white onion, mustard, vinegar, celery, cherry pepper, carrot, parsley, pepper, and salt. 
• Combine and chill for 30 minutes before serving 
• For best flavor, refrigerate Potato Salad overnight.

Easy Goreng Pisang Recipe (Thai Fried Bananas)

Simple and really delicious. Easy Goreng Pisang or Thai fried banana dessert topped with chocolate sauce and cream recipe. Related Recipe - How To Make Jemput-Jemput Pisang.

Thai Fried Banana Ingredients

For this recipe, you will need:

• Frozen spring roll pastry wrappers (6 inch square)
• 2 bananas
• cooking oil for frying

Prepare the Spring Roll Wrappers

Thaw the wrappers  for 5 to 10 minutes before opening the packet. Open the packet and carefully separate 4 of the wrappers from the pile. Start with the first wrapper by turning it 45 degrees, so it looks like a diamond.

Add Bananas to the Wrappers

Peel a banana and break it in half. Place the banana half in the middle of the wrapper. Grasp either side of wrapper and bring toward the center. Hold the wrapper in place on top of the banana with one finger.
Roll the Wrappers

With your other hand and thumb, bring the bottom end of the wrapper up over the banana. Tuck in the end and roll the banana over until it is completely wrapped. Secure the top corner of the wrapper by dipping your fingers in a little water and wetting the end to seal it like an envelope. Now the banana is ready to be fried.

Repeat the steps for the other banana half.

Fry the Banana Rolls

Next, heat about 1 inch of cooking oil in a pot or deep frying pan. Keep the temperature at a medium high heat. The oil is hot enough when bubbles begin to rise from the bottom of pan.

Carefully place the wrapped bananas into the oil. Fry until the bananas until they are golden brown. If the oil does not cover the bananas, flip them over to fry both sides.

When they are done, turn off the burner and remove the pan from the heat. Take the bananas out from the oil and place them on a towel or absorbent paper to drain.

Serve the bananas warm. For a special dessert, top them with chocolate sauce and whipped cream.

Source

How To Cook Shoyu Chicken

I receive some enquiries recently asking me how to cook Shoyu Chicken. As I love shoyo chicken and I haven’t cooked it for some time, I’ve decided to raise this post to answer my readers enquiries as well as pleasing myself and my beloved on Valentine's Day.

My shoyu chicken is of course Hong Kong Cantonese style. We usually call it Soy Sauce Chicken. It is extremely easy to cook and very delicious. Here we go.

Since cooking a whole chicken is quite demanding, I’ll leave it to professional chefs. For home cooking, I’m going to work on chicken thighs only, which are good for kids as well as parties.

How To Cook Shoyu Chicken

Ingredients
4 boneless chicken thighs. These are all we need. To reduce the intake of fat and cholesterol, I usually remove the chicken skins. However it is your choice to keep it or not.

Shoyu Chicken Seasoning Sauce

• 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon of Huadiao wine (Shaoxing cooking wine)
• 1 tablespoon of water
• Some grinded black pepper
• Pinch of sugar
  
  Get all these into a bowl and mix well for a minute or so to make sure the sugar is melted. Marinate the chicken thighs with the seasoning solution. Turn the meat up side down at least once through out the seasoning period to ensure both sides of the meat absorb the equal amount of seasoning sauce.

Seasoning Tips

The secret to making delicious Shoyu Chicken is the seasoning sauce and the seasoning period. Allow several hours for seasoning to ensure the best taste. I usually season it in the morning if I want to cook for dinner. If I want to cook for lunch, I’ll start seasoning the night before. If you are running short of time, you should allow at least 30 minutes of seasoning before cooking.

Cooking Directions

1. Heat a pan, add 1 tablespoon of EVO.
2. Lay all chicken thighs flat into the pan to ensure they all receive even heat. (**DO NOT throw away the remaining seasoning sauce, we'll use it later on**)
3. Turn to medium heat, cover with a lid.
4. Cook for 4 minutes.
5. Turn meat up side down. You’ll see the beautifully brown colored chicken. Remember you have some leftover seasoning sauce in the plate? It’s time to add this residue solution to the pan. Cover again and cook for 2 minutes. Check if the sauce is getting too thick. If so, add a little bit of water and continue cooking for another 2 minutes with the lid on.
6. Dishing up and serve hot. Best to go with plain rice.

NOTE: The total cooking time should be between 8 and 10 minutes. This will avoid under- or over-cooking and ensure the maximum tenderness of the chicken.

Warning: Do NOT Use These Cooking Oils

Do you find cooking Shoyu Chicken simple and easy? I really love it because it is so delicious. Next time when you have friends asking you how to cook Shoyu Chicken, you may direct them to this blog post.

Shoyu Chicken (Soy Sauce Chicken)

YOUR VALENTINE BONUS: Actually Chinese has a lot of chicken cooking methods and Shoyu Chicken is just one of them. Others like Drunken Chicken, Hainanese Chicken Rice and many others are also very delicious. If you want to learn more about the Chinese way of chicken cooking, you may want to take a look at my friend Nicholas Zhou’s cookbook: Healthy Chinese Cooking. If you buy through this link and send me your ClickBank receipt, I’ll email you my Hong Kong Chinese Food Close Up eBook for FREE. Send your receipt to hkchinesefood(at)yahoo(dot)com(dot)hk Enjoy Cooking and Happy Valentine ! Anna February 14, 2011

Hong Kong Food Blog - How To Cook Shoyu Chicken

Warning: Do NOT Use These Cooking Oils

Nasi Goreng Pattaya Recipe

Without being affected by its Thai sounding name, nasi pattaya is originated from Malaysia. Nasi Pattaya  is a simple fried rice shaped like a pouch which is available at malay restaurants or hawker stalls in Singapore.  Nasi Pattaya is often served with with sliced cucumber, tomato and drizzled with ketchup or chilli sauce.

Nasi Goreng Pattaya Ingredients

2 cups cooked rice
3 shallots, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 skinless boneless chicken leg, cubed
1/2 cup of diced carrots
1/2 cup of frozen peas
1/2 cup of frozen corn seeds
1 tspn ketchup
2 tspn soy sauce
pinch of pepper
salt to taste
2 eggs, beaten for the omelette
oil for cooking

Method

1. For the pattaya fried rice:  Saute sliced shallots and garlic with a little bit of oil until light brown fragrant. Add the chicken and carrots and stir-fry until cooked.

2. Add the cooked rice and peas - mix well. Season with soy sauce, ketchup and salt and pepper according to taste. Stir the rice is evenly until completely mixed and heated through. Set aside.

3. For the omelette: Lightly beat the eggs and season with a pinch of salt. Heat the pan, brush evenly a little oil over (medium heat). Pour in eggs and swirl the pan by the handle to make a thin omelette. Let the omelette cook and brown at the bottom.

4. When the omelette is done, place the fried rice in the center of the omelette and spread it accordingly. Fold the edges into an envelope shape, making sure to overlap the parcel a bit. Carefully flip the omelette onto a serving plate. Drizzle ketchup or chili sauce over the top. Enjoy!

Hong Kong Chinese New Year Foods

Today is the 7th day of Chinese New Year. Chinese traditional call it 'Man's day', meaning the birthday of everybody. One of the Hong Kong Cantonese traditions is to eat congee. We've therefore decided to cook congee at home. In fact, we eat congee every year on this same day.

Congee in Cantonese is called 粥 which sounds like 足 which means 'satisfaction', meaning we are happy with what we have. Make good sense? That's why we eat congee on this everybody's birthday.

Anna eating congee at home on the 7th day of Chinese New Year

We've put lecttuce and fish balls in the congee. These are associated with good meaning as well. Fish - surplus 魚(餘), Lecttuce - create wealth 生菜(生財). See my big fish ball!!

Congee with Lecttuce and Fish Balls 生財鯪魚球粥

Here are the other foods we eat during Chinese New Year.

Assorted veggies cooked with preserved beancurd. This of course has a good meaning as well - 開齋 means 'a good start'.

Assorted Vegetables 羅漢齋

Candies Platter is what we prepare at home to welcome visiting friends and relatives. Yes, home visit is another Chinese New Year Tradition here in Hong Kong. The candies platter can be very creative. But roasted mellon seeds are among the musts.

Candies Platter 全盒

There are many kinds of roasted mellon seeds - black, red and white.

Dim Sum is a must. Here is what we had:

Puddings - growth 糕(高) - turnip pudding (see my previsou post); on the table, there were two kinds of puddings - the sticky one and the spongy one.

Pig's tongue - profit 利

Fish ball - surplus 魚(餘)

Oyster - good business 豪士(好市)

Hairy vegetable - lucky money 髮菜(發財)

Let's have a closer look.

Dumplings with pig's tongue, oyster and hairy vegetable

發財好市大利

Fish balls with hairy vegetable 髮菜鯪魚球
恭喜發財!
Happy New Year!

Hong Kong Food Blog - Hong Kong Chinese New Year Foods

How To Cook Turnip Pudding

Turnip pudding is highly popular among Cantonese families as a Chinese New Year festival food. Many of us DIY at home and it's lots of fun. Today is the CNY eve and I have been busy making turnip pudding at home.

I don't have any professional recipe, all steps were inherited from my mother which in turn was from many generations before. There are many steps but we enjoy doing it.

How To Cook Turnip Pudding - Step by Step

1. Smash 3.6kg of turnips. This is good for 3 plates of 8 inches each.
2. Get some preserved meats such as lap cheung, dry shrimps or mushrooms and cut them into small pieces.
3. Boiled the smashed turnips. Add pinches of salt, sugar, chicken powder and any other seasoning such as pepper or seasame oil to your own taste.
4. Stir fry the preserved meats briefly.
5. Mix the boiled turnips, preserved meats and add 500 grams of rice flour (粘米粉) to the mixture. Use only 粘米粉 for the making of turnip pudding. Add rice flour bit by bit and stir well while adding.
6. Divide the pudding mixture into pudding plates.
7. Steam for 1.5 hours and start eating.

Warning: Do NOT Use These Cooking Oils

Cooking Turnip Pudding To Celebrate
Chinese New Year
蒸蘿蔔糕賀新年!

Step 1 - Smash the turnips 刨蘿蔔

Step 2 - get ready the meats

Step 5 - See I'm working hard in mixing

Here is my turnip pudding mixture

My sister is dividing them into various pudding plates

Going to steam

Ready to eat

Time to eat - enjoying my hardwork.

I enjoy eating turnip pudding immediately after cooking. This is the best time and most delicious way to eat turnip pudding. When it cools down, you need to reheat by steaming, pan fried or micro-wave. Honestly I don't like any of these methods as the turnip pudding will be less delicious. If you want to eat the most yummy turnip pudding, make it yourself and eat it immediately after steaming. Try it out. I'm sure you'll agree with me.

HAPPY NEW YEAR

KUNG HEI FAT CHOI !

Hong Kong Food Blog - Turnip Pudding