Braised Chicken and potato in soya bean paste aka Ayam Ponteh

Ingredients

1/2 Chicken cut into smaller pieces

4 potatoes peeled and cut into smaller pieces

1 carrot peeled and cut into smaller pieces

1 1/2 tablespoon of soya bean paste or "Tau cho"

1/2 tablespoon black soya sauce

1 tablespoon of cooking oil

sugar to taste ( I used brown sugar for a deeper colour and aroma)

One clove of garlic peeled and minced

A dash of Chinese wine

Water

Methods

1) Heat oil in pot and add garlic to sauteed.

2) Add chicken to pot and stir fry in high heat until browned. Add Chinese wine and continue to saute the chicken for about 1 minute.

3) Add soya bean paste, potato and carrot and continue to saute for another 5 minutes.

4) Add water which is just enough to cover the chicken and let it come to boil before turn the fire to low.

5) Let the simmer for 20 minutes before adding sugar for taste. Continue to simmer for another 5 minutes.

6) Serve with white rice or bread.

Chicken and pork soup

I gave up since I tried to take the photo for the nth times and just could not get a clear picture. However, the soup was super duper delicious which kinda made up for my lousy photography skills.


Ingredients

200g of pork fillet
200g of chicken fillet
3 stalk of celery cut into about the same size
1 piece of carrot slice skin and cut into about the same size
4 spoons of Mirin
3 spoons of soya sauce
1 egg beaten
add water to 1/4 teaspoon of corn starch to made a diluted paste

Methods
1) Bring water to boil and put pork and chicken fillet in and boil for 2 minutes.
2) Pour away water and run pork and chicken fillet under the tap briefly.
3) Bring water to boil and put back the pork and chicken fillet.
4) Add carrot and celery and continue to boil at small heat for 30 minutes.
5) Add mirin and soya sauce and continue to boil for 5 minutes. Taste the soup and add mirin or soya sauce to your taste.
6) Take out the pork and chicken and put into bite size. Return both to the pot.
7) Add corn starch solution into soup and continue to boil for another 2 minutes.
8) Turn off the heat. Gently pour in the beaten egg and stir to create a swirl of egg flower. Serve hot.

Five Spices Chicken

Ingredients A
Chicken ½
Five Spice Powder 4 teaspoons
Cooking oil

Ingredients B
Coarse grained Salt ½ cup
Ground Black Pepper
½ cup Star Anise

Method for salt and pepper seasoning
1)Combine ingredients B into a wok.
2)Saute on medium heat for 10 minute or until salt turn into beige colour and fragrant.
3)Remove from wok and let it cool.
4)Mixed salt and pepper seasoning with five spice powder.
5)Store in a container.

Method for five spice chicken
1)Marinate inside and skin of chicken with seasoning. Let it rest for 2 hours. The longer you leave it the better.
2)Fill up the baking tray with water. Put up the roasting tray on top of the baking tray. Do not let the chicken touch the water.
3)Roast the chicken at 180 degree for 40 minutes. Turn the chicken over periodically.
4)Remove the chicken and let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes.
5)Hot the wok and coking oil. Bath the chicken with hot oil for 5 minutes.
6)Let the chicken rest for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Note :

1)You can skip step 5 and 6 if you think step 5 is too oily.

2) Cook the bone side up first then turn to skin side later to avoid burning the skin too much.

This is a side dish consists of zucchini, olive oil, salt and thyme leaves. Bake it for 100 degree for 15 minutes.

Nothing bit a hearty soup that warm the stomach

It's seem like the raining season has finally arrived. Gone were those hazy days.Yes... clear sky once more.

What to eat in this kind of weather?

We only have this dish during special occasion and I kind of miss it, so here goes. Chicken cooked in Chinese wine soup. My recipe is slightly different from my mum. I used sake and mirin instead of Chinese wine cause I ran out of it.

Ingredients
1/2 chicken
4 knob of ginger (If you don't like the taste too strong, then 2 should be OK.)
some dried mushroom soaked in water
some "wan yee" and "mok yee" (Black fungus)
4 spoons of sake
4 spoons of mirin (this will give you some sweetness to the soup)
water
Salt to taste

Method
1) Boil water in a pot and put in chicken.
2) Boil for 3 minutes then drain the hot water and set aside the chicken.
3) Bring to boil 4 bowl of water, ginger, sake and mirin.
4) Add the chicken into the pot and boil for 20 min in slow heat.
5) Add mushroom, "wan yee", "mok yee" and boil for another 10 minutes.
6) Add salt to taste.
7) You can add more sake or mirin if you like your soup to have that extra kick or a bit more sweetness. Leave it to boil for another 5 minutes.
8) Serve hot with rice.

This is my first time trying the soup and it came out delicious and the aroma of the wine is heaven. Do try it.