Roasted Pork Ribs

This slab of marinated pork ribs have been sitting in my freezer for quite some time.  It was only on Friday that I had the opportunity to roast it for dinner. A nod  from my daughter meant it was quite good though I could have used less honey on it.  Marinated the ribs with garlic paste, tomato sauce, cilli sauce , soya sauce, juice of one lemon, sugar, oyster sauce, pepper. Put them in a tray and add  maybe half cup of water to prevent  burning of the sauce. Bake them for an hour.  Take the ribs out, brush the top with honey and roast them another 10 minutes and they are ready.

Red Lady's Fingers

Bet a lot of you have not seen red lady's fingers before.  Planted this one from a packet of seeds bought from a supermarket.

Steamed Chicken with Mince Pork

This is one dish I made during the Chinese New Year. It was delicious especially the soup and the minced meat inside the chicken.   A recipe from a friend's mum-in-law who is a Hakka. Though  it takes some time to prepare , it was well worth the effort.   No exact measurements of ingredients.  Every thing is estimated.

This is how I do it if I want to make half a chicken only.  To take out the oil from the chicken soup, put
the whole plate in the fridge for an hour or so.  The oil will harden and can be taken out with a spoon easily.

Here is the recipe.

Steamed Chicken with Mince Pork

1 whole chicken

2 Chinese Mushrooms - soaked and cut into small pieces
Tong Kwai (Angelica) - 3 slices or more depending how strong the taste you want. Soak for a while to
                                     soften.
Some green peas
Some Kei Chi (medlar, wolfberries)  - optional

Mince Pork - marinate with a bit soya sauce, Shao Shing wine, oyster sauce, pepper, pince of sugar,
                     sesame oil and half tsp of cornflour.

Method.

1)   Clean the chicken and pat dry with towel. Rub some salt, Shao Shing wine and a little bit of dark soya
       sauce all over the chicken.  Set aside.

2)   Chop the tong kwai pieces and add  into the mince pork.  Add in the mushrooms and green peas.  I
       added in kei chi  instead.
      
3)   Stuff the mince meat into the chicken and seal the opening with a wooden skewer.

4)   Heat 3/4 cup of oil in a wok.  Put in the whole chicken to brown the skin. Cover the wok to prevent
      the splattering  oil.  Turn the chicken to brown the other side. Take chicken out and put into a deep plate.
      Discard the oil.     

5)   Steam the chicken  for 2 hours.  I  put the cooked chicken into the fridge for the oil to  
      harden on top.  It is easier to take away the oil in this way.  Steam the chicken again for a while and
      enjoy.

Double Boiled Egg

Made this  popular sweet dessert . We used to have it for supper during our younger days when my sister would make a big pot as we are a big family.  Never seen my sister measuring the ingredients though.   You can always steam it in small individual bowls. My youngest daughter  likes it so much that she has learnt how to make it.  The estimation would be 110 ml of liquid to 1 egg.  Use evaporated milk. Here is the recipe.

Sweet Double Boiled Egg

5  eggs -  Whisk together
120 gm rock sugar (more or less occording to individual taste)
450 gm water
100 gm evaporated milk
1 tabsp. of ginger juice (optional)

1)  Melt the rock sugar in the water.  Set aside and let it cool.
2)  Mix the whisked eggs, sugar water, evaporated milk and ginger juice.
3) Sieve the mixture and pour into small bowls.  Cover the bowls and steam under LOW heat for about 20 
    mins. or until firm.

Note:  (a)  To get ginger juice, pound the ginger and squeeze out the juice.  Use old ginger.
           (b)  You can vary the texture or firmness of the double boiled egg by reducing or increasing
                 the water.

Chocolate Cupcakes with toppings

A Very Happy New Year 2011 to everyone!  What a great and sweet  way to start my  2011 blog and welcome the New Year with these delicious  looking  chocolate cupcakes that I learnt  at the  cake decorating class.  The doggies are cute, aren't they? I am sure with a bit of practice they would look better.  The chocolate fudge frosting and the ganache are yummy as they are made from good quality chocolate. Children will love it.

Swarovski Pearl Necklace

Continuing  the documentation of  my beading pieces, I found this  swarovski pearl necklace, bracelet and earrings set  I made for my daughter.  The photo does not justify the beauty of this swarovski set as it does not show the sparkling effect of the swarovski and pearls.  Great to wear to dinner occasions.

I also gave a set of these to Yuen May who is the daughter of Susan for her birthday when I visited them earlier in the year in Melbourne.  She was very pleased with it and I can still remember that she wore them to a dinner date with her boyfriend.

Banana Walnut Muffins

Left with 6 ripes bananas, I decided to make some banana muffins.  This time I used a recipe which I have never tested before though it is written down in my cookbook.  I have no idea where I got this recipe from.  It could be from one of those TV cooking shows.  They turned out delicious and very easy to make.  I added in some chocolate chips.

Here is the recipe if you want to try.

Banana Walnut Muffin  (Makes 12 big muffins)

6 ripe bananas (mashed)
240 gm self-raising flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
100 gm brown sugar
100 gm walnut
180 ml milk  or 180ml orange juice
2 eggs (A)
120 melted butter
1/4 tsp salt

1)     Add cinnamon powder, salt and sugar to flour
2)     Add eggs, milk, melted butter and mix
3)     Add in mashed bananas
4)     Mix the above together but do not overmix.
5)    Spoon into muffin pan.  Add walnut on top and bake 20-25 mins and check  with a skewer.  If the
          skewer comes out clean, then it is done.