Courgette Loaf with Lime-Ricotta Frosting. I have memories of my Dad making Zucchini Bread a lot when I was a kid. It pretty much is like Carrot Cake, a bit like Banana Bread, maybe a bit more moist and less sweet. Dad worked with a lot of Italians from whom he got the recipe and we grew zucchini in our garden, often having an abundance of them. He’d never make just that basic Chocolate Cake I always wanted, but luckily my Grandpa would do it for me when I visited him and Grandma. I would watch cooking shows on TV with Grandpa like Wok With Yan and The Price is Right, and that was often my March Breaks and Summer Vacations. Looking back, I miss Zucchini Bread, and decided to make my own version of it finally, but with my own little razzle dazzle. I’ve even tried this with 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut folded-in too and it’s great! 🥒
Ingredients:
2 cups of zucchini, chopped
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 egg
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried fig, mulberry, cherry, apricot mixture
1/4 cup chopped almonds
Ricotta Frosting:
300g of Ricotta
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
Zest of one lime
1/4 cup chopped pistachios, toasted
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven at 350°F.
2. Sift flour, salt, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into mixing bowl. Add-in raisins and dried fruit.
3. Cream butter, sugar, egg and vanilla in a separate bowl.
4. Add butter mixture into flour mixture and mix till combined. Do not over-mix.
5. Grease and flour loaf pan. Pour thick batter into pan. Sprinkle almonds on-top.
6. Bake 45 minutes or till toothpick comes out clean.
7. Let loaf cool for one hour. Prepare frosting.
8. In mixing bowl combine all frosting ingredients and mix with handmixer till smooth. Chill till ready to use.
9. Frost loaf with icing using spatula. Top with a few threads of zucchini spirals and complete with toasted pistachio bits.
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Creamy Baked Lobster x Cheese. Cheese and Seafood I’ve been told are a big no-no, but rules were meant to be broken, especially when they taste this spectacular! Enjoy this decadent dinner, which is a lot more simple to prepare than you’d think.
Ingredients:
2 lb lobster, cleaned and sectioned (reserve a tablespoon of Tomalley)
450g package spaghetti
4 cups Baby Spinach
1/2 cup shredded Old Cheddar
1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella
1/2 cup 5% cream
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 stalk green onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 strip bacon, diced
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons flour
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Cilantro, chopped to garnish
Instructions:
1. Prepare spaghetti, cooking till al dente. Strain in colander. Place spaghetti in a deep 13×9″ tray.
2. Boil water and cook spinach till it wilts, drain and gently squeeze out water. Place aside.
3. Preheat oven at 375°F.
4. In sauce pan, melt butter and sautée garlic. Add bacon and green onion, salt and pepper. Cook till bacon is done.
5. Add spinach, cook one minute and add-in cream. Bring to a slight boil. Add tablespoon of reserved Tomalley (fatty goop) into sauce and stir throughout.
6. Mix 2 tablespoons of flour and mix with equal parts water to form a thick, smooth paste.
7. Add a bit of paste into cream sauce, stirring till sauce reaches a thick consistency. Remove from heat.
8. Arrange lobster pieces on-top of spaghetti. Sprinkle sea salt, to taste.
9. Pour cream sauce over lobster pieces.
10. Combine both cheeses together and sprinkle over lobster. Then sprinkle some grated Parmesan.
11. Bake for 25 minutes, till cheese turns golden. Remove from oven, garnish with cilantro and let sit for 15 minutes before serving
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Meatless Lasagna. Growing-up I had Lasagna maybe twice. Being from a Chinese family, we rarely ever ate Italian other than my Dad’s take on Spaghetti, which though not bad, was Tomato Paste and Ketchup-based with ground pork, peas and carrots. You can imagine the shock of my classmates who got introduced to Hong Kong-style Spaghetti at my sixth birthday party!
My Mom was excited that I asked her to help assemble my Meatless Lasagna and I’m glad I got to show them a proper Lasagna. No processed cheese, LOL. 🧀
You cannot tell this is meatless. It’s got the same heartiness and flavour a Meat Lasagna has. Everyone should be pitching-in their part and reducing our carbon footprint. Eat meatless once a week. This is an easy way to do it!
Ingredients:
9 Lasagne noodles
2 packages of Yves Original Veggie Ground Round
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 can of tomato paste
2 cups of shredded Mozzarella
1/2 tub of Ricotta
1 pint of mushrooms, sliced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1 white onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon organic raw sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions:
1. Boil noodles till al dente. Place aside in a tray and drizzle a bit of oil on them to prevent from sticking.
2. In medium-sized sauce pan, sauteé garlic and onion. Add-in peppers and mushrooms, cook till mushrooms wilt. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Add-in Veggie Ground Round.
4. Cook about 5 minutes on medium heat.
5. Add-in crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Add 1/4 tomato paste can of water.
6. Bring to boil and add sugar.
7. Reduce to low heat and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Pre-heat oven at 375°F.
9. Prepare a 13 x 9″ tray, ladle some of the tomato mixture in, covering bottom.
10. Layer 3 Lasagne noodles on-top.
11. Add layer of Mozzarella, followed by dollops of Ricotta, covering surface.
12. Add 3 more noodles. Ladle some tomato mixture on-top, then Mozzarella and Ricotta.
13. Repeat steps 10 to 12 again.
14. Add 3 final noodles on-top. Ladle tomato mixture on-top. Cover with Mozzarella.
15. Cover tray with foil and bake 35 minutes.
16. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes.
17. Cool 20 minutes and serve.
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(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Hainanese Chicken Rice. Adapted from Tasty. You don’t ever forget having Hainanese Chicken Rice in Singapore at a Hawkers Market like Newton Circus. Though we do have some great hole-in-the-wall type restaurants in the GTA that serve the dish as well, venturing-out during isolation hasn’t been easy.
What I love about this national dish of Singapore is that the chicken is so incredibly juicy, while the rice is incredibly fragrant. You get THREE dipping sauces!!! I get that boiling chicken is a weird concept for some, but I tell you there is nothing worse than dry chicken to me.
This is my dad’s favourite dish so I thought I’d gave it a try. Even in his early Dementia, he was aware enough to ask, “Who taught you to make this?”. I adapted this recipe from Tasty whom did a fine job explaining this complex recipe. I did my own spin on the essential dipping sauces.
Full disclosure, once a chicken is frozen, thawed, boiled and cooked fully as it is here, it is impossible to avoid that red colour at the bone. If you can get over that bit and be reassured that it’s cooked, you will come to love this comforting dish.
Hainanese Chicken
5 lb whole chicken
4 slices of ginger (1/4″ thick)
1 bunch green onions
1/4 cup sea salt
2 tablespoons sesame oil
Instructions:
1. Clean chicken well and pat dry with paper towels. Trim fatty bits off for later use.
2. Season chicken inside and out with sea salt.
3. Stuff cavity of chicken with green onions and ginger.
4. Cover chicken about 1″ in water in large stock pot and bring to boil on high heat.
5. Reduce to medium-low heat and simmer about 50 minutes.
6. Remove chicken from pot, reserving stock. Discard onion and ginger.
7. Immerse chicken in large bowl of ice cold water for 5 minutes.
8. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and rub chicken in sesame oil to keep moist.
Hainanese Rice
2 cups long grain rice
2 cups of reserved chicken stock
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons reserved chicken fat
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions:
1. In large skillet, oil, fry garlic, ginger, chicken fat and salt for about 10 minutes.
2. Scoop-out one quarter of this mixture for later use. Add-in rice. Cook for 3 minutes.
3. Transfer rice to rice cooker (discard fat), add 2 cups reserved stock and cook.
While rice is cooking, cut chicken and place on platter. Prepare three sauces.
Sweet Chili Sauce:
2 tablespoons Sambal Sauce
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 chili pepper, seeds removed and chopped finely
2 teaspoons organic raw sugar
2 tablespoons reserved chicken broth
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon oil
In skillet, sautée garlic, ginger, onion and chili in oil. Stir-in sugar, vinegar, Sriracha and Sambal Sauce. Add lime juice and remove from heat.
Ginger-Garlic-Green Onion Sauce:
2 tablespoons garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, minced
1 stalk green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons oil
Sea salt, to taste
In skillet, sautée garlic, ginger and green onions in oil. Add salt and vinegar. Cook for about a minute and remove from heat.
Dark Soy Dipping Sauce:
Reserved ginger and garlic
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
3 tablespoons dark sweet soy sauce* (recipe below)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons reserved chicken broth
Combine all in a bowl, mix well.
Serve chicken on rice with cucumber slices and dipping sauces. Garnish with cilantro.
*Dark Sweet Soy Sauce:
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
1/4 cup soy sauce
2-3 tablespoons water
Instructions:
1. Boil water and sugar, stirring constantly over medium heat.
2. When liquid thickens, reduce heat to medium-low, stirring constantly. Scrape sugar off sides of pan.
3. Once liquid is darkened, add in soy sauce, stirring constantly.
4. Once liquid is thick, remove from heat.
5. Transfer to a heatproof bottle for storage. Refrigerate. Sauce may crystallize but will dissolve when heated.
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(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Meatless Miso Mac & Cheese. Take your Kraft Dinner and elevate it with this amplified take on a comforting favourite! The combination of cheese and miso you’d think would be too salty, but this is a perfect marriage. KD has a bad rap but it has a healthy serving of protein, aids in iron absorption and contains minerals that help with boosting metabolism, your immune system and brain function. 🧀
Ingredients:
1 box Kraft Dinner
2 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup milk
1 tablespoon Miso paste
1/2 package Yves Original Veggie Ground Round
6-8 large white mushrooms, sliced thin
8 grape tomatoes
1/2 white onion, chopped
1 cup Arugula
1 stalk green onion, chopped
1/4 cup old white cheddar, grated
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
1. Prepare Kraft Dinner, cooking noodles. Strain in colander.
2. In skillet, sautée mushrooms, onions and tomatoes in oil. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.
3. Stir-in 1/2 tablespoon of Miso paste, continue to fry until vegetables wilt.
4. Add-in meatless Ground Round and stir-fry for about two to three minutes on medium heat.
5. Prepare cheese sauce in a medium-sized sauce pan that is oven-safe. Melt butter and 1/2 tablespoon Miso paste in sauce pan. Add packet of cheese powder and milk. Once sauce just is about to bubble, turn heat off. Fold-in macaroni and vegetable/ground round mixture. Mix evenly till sauce is dispersed.
6. Stir-in Arugula gently till dispersed. Grate old cheddar over the top.
7. Broil mixture 5 minutes in oven. Allow to cool and serve.
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(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Strawberry-Cherry Blossom Mochi. This is a perfect Springtime delight. Mochi are the one treat that the Koreans, Japanese and Chinese all can agree is a favourite. These chewy rice cakes are a bit quirky to Western palates, but have a pleasing chewy texture that leaves you reminiscing. Its filling, Azuki Red Bean Paste is dense and rich, a bit like chocolate and a bit like a sweet potato mash. 🍓🌸
Mochi:
3/4 cup glutinous rice flour
2 tablespoons organic raw sugar
150 ml or more water
1 tablespoon Sakura Latte powder
4 drops red food colouring
Potato starch
Azuki Red Bean Paste:
1 cup dried Azuki red beans
1/2 cup (or more) organic raw sugar
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
6 large ripe strawberries
Instructions:
1. Soak Azuki beans overnight in water.
2. On medium heat, cook beans and water in saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer for 75 minutes.
3. Drain beans in colander and place back in sauce pan. Add sugar and salt. Mash with hand mixer.
4. On very low heat, stir paste occasionally. Cook uncovered till water evaporates and beans become a thick paste. You can tell you’re done when you take a chopstick, draw a line through it and can see the bottom of the pan.
5. Cool paste at room temperature and roll into six even balls.
6. Cut tops off strawberries and roll into red bean balls, covering them evenly. Wash hands after forming each ball and dry hands. Let stand.
7. Prepare steamer or a large deep skillet, adding water.
8. In large mixing bowl, prepare Mochi. Mix all ingredients till smooth.
9. Pour Mochi batter into a square/rectangular dish. Place dish into steamer/skillet and steam Mochi, stirring 2-3 times. Cook 10 minutes.
10. Remove Mochi from heat. Cool at room temperature a few minutes.
11. On large flat surface, sprinkle generously some potato starch.
12. Take spatula and scoop six equal clumps of Mochi. With hand and potato starch, meld each Mochi into a flat 3-4 inch portion.
14. Take each strawberry-red bean ball and place onto Mochi flat and roll gently into a ball. Bring together at bottom and pinch to seal. Place on flat sheet. Rinse and dry hands if they are sticky, before proceeding to the next. Serve. Stores 1 day.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Fried Fish in Cream Corn Sauce and Vegetable Fried Rice. This fish dish is one of my favourite things and if you haven’t ever had it, you need to get on-board!
Fried Fish:
600g of meaty white fish fillets (Monkfish, Basa are perfect for this), cut into chunks
1 cup of flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
Canola oil for frying
1 stalk green onion, chopped
Cream Corn Sauce:
1 egg
1 can Cream Corn
Sea Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
1. Brine fillets in salt water overnight.
2. In a larger skillet, heat oil on medium-high.
3. Combine flour, cornstarch, sea salt and black pepper
3. Pat dry fillets with paper towel. Dip fillet pieces in egg wash and then flour mixture till coated fully and place into oil, 4-5 pieces at a time.
4. Once golden on each side, remove fish pieces and line on paper towels to absorb excess oil.
5. Prepare Cream Corn Sauce. Heat corn on medium heat, add in 1/3 can of water, add-in salt and pepper.
6. When sauce comes to a slight boil, add in beaten egg, stirring gently till egg clouds form in the sauce.
7. Remove from heat.
8. Transfer fish pieces to a platter and pour corn sauce over. Garnish with green onion. Serve with fried rice or white rice.
Vegetable Fried Rice:
4 cups of cooked white rice, chilled overnight
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 sweet red pepper, diced
3 stalks of Chinese Broccoli, sliced thin
1/2 carrot, diced
1/4 cup green peas
1 stalk green onion, chopped
Sea salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons oil
Instructions:
1. Heat oil in large skillet in medium-high heat.
2. Toss-in all carrots, peas, Chinese Broccoli, green onion and red peppers. Sautée for 1-2 minutes.
3. Add-in beaten egg and salt and pepper. Stir with spatula gently till combined with vegetables.
4. Once egg is almost cooked, add-in rice. Stir with spatula till rice, eggs and vegetables are evenly dispersed.
5. Fry for about 5 minutes or until rice is about to caramelize. Remove from heat and serve.
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Portugese Chicken | 葡國雞. The odd thing about Portugese Chicken is that none of my Portugese friends have never heard of it. The name often conjures-up thoughts of roasted chicken, Churrasqueira-style. This actual dish hails from Macau, a formerly Portugese region across the river from Hong Kong, where my mom and dad had their honeymoon. It is a mild, rich, coconut milk-based curry with pronounced turmeric notes. A comforting family fave of ours for many years and a staple at any Hong Kong-style diner.
Ingredients:
8 chicken drumsticks
1 200 ml jar of Lee Kum Kee Coconut Curry Sauce (Trust me! If you don’t have it, combine 1/2 can coconut milk, 1 tbsp turmeric, 1 tbsp curry powder, 1 tbsp organic raw sugar, 1 tbsp grated ginger)
1/2 can of coconut milk
1 white potato, chopped into chunks
1/2 onion, chopped into chunks
1 pint of mushrooms, stems chopped off and halved
1 carrot, sliced into cylinders
1/2 red pepper, chopped into chunks
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Sea Salt to taste
Optional:
3 teaspoons tapioca starch
Instructions:
1. Sautée garlic, onions, potatoes on medium heat in a large skillet till caramelized.
2. Add-in red peppers, carrots and mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes.
3. Add drumsticks and cook till just browned.
4. Add coconut milk and stir.
5. Add in Coconut Curry Sauce and one equal part water, stir evenly.
6. Bring to boil and and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes or till chicken is just cooked. If sauce is runny, in a bowl mix three teaspoons of tapioca starch and just enough water to form a runny paste, and mix into sauce to thicken it.
7. Preheat oven on broil.
8. Place pan in oven and high broil for about 7-10 minutes till sauce is a bit, but not overly-charred.
9. Remove from oven and allow to cool 15 minutes before serving on rice.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Pork Belly Bao. This was an ambitious challenge! The Bao came out light and fluffy with a pleasing bounce. The pork belly required a long, slow simmer and melted in my mouth. Mom wanted thirds!
Bao:
2 cups + 2 tbsp flour
25 ml milk
1 1/2 tbsp organic raw sugar
1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp yeast
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp oil
1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions:
1. Mix flour, salt and 1 tbsp sugar together in mixing bowl.
2. Dissolve yeast and 1/2 tbsp sugar into 1 tbsp warm (not hot) water.
3. Add into flour, milk, oil, rice vinegar and 100 ml water. Mix till dough forms.
4. Turn onto floured surface and knead 10 minutes. If dough is too try, wet hands with warm water till dough is pliable and not sticky. Roll into ball and transfer to greased bowl, roll around till covered. Cover bowl with damp cloth and place somewhere warm (laundry room while drying/preheated oven that is warm, not hot). Allow to rise 2 hours.
5. Transfer dough to surface and flatten dough. Dust with baking powder. Knead 5 minutes.
6. Roll dough into a log. Cut into 9 even pieces (about 3 cm wide).
7. Roll balls into ovals at about 3 mm thick. Brush with oil. Dip chopstick in oil, place chopstick onto oval and fold over.
8. Cut 9 squares of parchment paper and place dough on each. Transfer to a flat sheet. Cover with greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise somewhere warm for 1.5 hours.
10. Steam buns on medium-high heat in batches for 8 minutes.
11. Serve with pork belly, pickled carrots, coriander, Kimchi, green onion and Hoisin Sauce.
Braised Pork Belly:
2 lbs pork belly
5 cloves garlic, minced
3 cubes ginger
2 tbsp oil
2 tbsp white wine
2 star anise
1/2 tsp 5 Spice Powder/ allspice or cinnamon
Marinade:
1 tsp chilli paste
1 tbsp organic raw sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp oyster sauce
4 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions:
1. Cut pork into 1-inch thick pieces. Place in marinate overnight.
2. Heat oil in wok on medium-high heat. Sautée ginger, garlic, star anise and cinnamon. Add-in pork belly and remaining marinade. Fry till cooked. Add wine, stir.
3. Add just enough water to cover surface. Bring to boil and simmer on low heat 2 hours.
Gallery:
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(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
Matcha-Cherry Blossom Shortbread. Nothing says Spring like the fragrant, fresh notes of blooming Cherry Blossoms in High Park and harvested Matcha in May. We’re saddened at the thought that High Park won’t be even be open this Spring for Cherry Blossom viewing. Combining these flavours into a Tea Time favourite allows us to savour the season, even if we will be doing it in isolation this year. Enjoy the perfume-like aroma that fills the air as these bake! 🌸🍵
Ingredients:
1 cup + 2 tablespoons of flour
Two pinches sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened (not melted)
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
1/2 tablespoon (or more) Matcha powder
1 tablespoon (or more) Sakura Latte powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Three drops of red food colouring
Instructions:
1. Prepare two mixing bowls. Divide half of butter into each bowl. Cream with sugar and vanilla.
2. Prepare two more bowls. In Bowl #1, mix evenly half of the flour with Matcha powder and a pinch of sea salt. In Bowl #2, mix evenly the other half of flour with Sakura powder and pinch of salt. Put-in a couple drops of red food colouring into Bowl #2.
3. Mix Matcha and flour into creamed butter and sugar in Bowl #1. Mix Sakura powder and flour into Bowl #2. Form each bowl’s contents into dough, handling gently.
4. Turn each dough into floured surface and form into a rectangle. The green and pink doughs should be equal in size. Cover each rectangle in plastic wrap and freeze for an hour.
5. Remove doughs from freezer and place one above the other on cutting board. If dough splits, wet hand with a bit of water and gently piece back together. Press doughs together firmly and cut into 16 pieces.
6. Place slices onto parchment paper and freeze for another hour.
7. Preheat oven to 350°F.
8. Line baking sheet with parchment paper and space each cookie 1-2 inches apart.
9. Sprinkle with a bit of organic raw cane sugar.
10. Bake 15-17 minutes till slightly golden. Remove from oven and cool about 30 minutes. Serve. Store in air-tight container.
Gallery:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
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