Chinese 1-2-3-4-5 Spareribs

This is a dish every chinese should know how to make and it's super easy to make too. Best to go with rice!

Ingredients:
Spareribs cut into 1.5" each
1tbsp - wine
2tbsp light soy sauce
2tbsp dark soy sauce
3tbsp brown vinegar
4tbsp sugar
5tbsp water

* depending on how many spareribs you have, if after placing all the above ingredients into a pot, it is not sufficient to cover all your spareribs, either add water to make sure all spareribs are just covered or double the above ingredients.

How to Make:

1. Wash the spareribs, drain and then blanch in hot water for 10 min. Remove from pot.

2. Add the spareribs to a new pot, then add the above ingredients and bring to a boil. Then turn to medium heat and braised for approx 30-45min. checking it from time to time to ensure nothing sticks to the bottom.

3. after approx 30-45min, check is spareribs are soft enough by poking a chopstick inside the meat. If sounds tender to you, then check taste of sauce and adjust to your likings (eg. if not sweet enough, then add a bit more sugarm if not sour enough, then add some vinegar, etc). 

3. When the meat and taste of sauce all ok, then check if sauce is thick enough to your likings. If not, then turn on the fire a bit more until sauce thickens.

Serve with hot rice and enjoy!

Pavlova with summer berries

* this receipe is adopted from Michel Roux "Eggs"

Ingredients:
4 eggs whites
125g caster sugar
125g icing sugar (sifted)
Whipping Cream (with 1 tbsp spoon of icing sugar and 1 tsp of vanilla essence)
Summer Berries or fruits of your choice (with some icing sugar to decorate)

How to make:
1. Preheat oven to 150'C.

2. Line a baking tray with a baking sheet and set aside.

3. Beat egg whites in a bowl until they form soft peaks.

4. Still whisking continuously, shower in the caster sugar, a little at a time, and continue to whisk until mixture is smooth and shiny and holds firm points on the whisk when you lift out of the mixture.

5. Shower in the sifted icing sugar and mix well with your electric mixer.

6. If you prefer 1 round shape as shown in photo, just gently pour the mixture to the baking tray with the help of a spatula, somehow it will be circular in shape. If you prefer to serve in single portions, then use a big spoon and spoon 4 - 6 round discs on the baking tray.

7. Cook in oven at 150'C for 30 min, then lower temperature to 120'C and cook for another 45 min. You can turn the tray (eg. the outer side turns towards the oven) when you lower the temperature so the whole meringue will be cooked more evenly.

8. Switch off oven and leave the pavlova inside the oven to cool down (around 6--8 hrs) or overnight. It should be soft in the centre and crispy on the outside, with the edges slightly cracked.

9. Clean and dry your fruits. Whish the cream with icing sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl until you see ribbons trails. Gently spoon the cream on top of the pavlova, then place the fruits on top, then sprinkle with icing sugar (via a sieve) to decorate.

Ready to serve!! perhaps with a moscato!

Enjoy~~

Pistachio Souffle

* i had this souffle at Koffman's in London and was in love with it. When i returned to HK, i tried to search for the receipe and at the end found one at "The Renaissance Epicurrean Cooks..." Give it a try. You wont succeed in the first attempt but when you do or when you did it in the next few rounds, it is a wonderful feeling!

Ingredients:
500ml milk
1/2 vanilla pod (slice it up lengthway)
4 egg yolks (or 120g)
100g caster sugar
50g plain flour
3 tbsp (40g) pistachio paste
25g butter, softened
25g dark chocolate, grated
4 egg whites (or 120g)
1 tbsp caster sugar
icing sugar, to serve

How to Make it:

1. Grate the chocolate and store in fridge first.

2. Preheat oven to 230'C

3. Boil milk with the vanilla pod. Once boiled, turn off heat and let the vanilla pod sits in the milk.

4. Whisk egg yolks with caster sugar until the mixture slightly thickens and turns light in color.

5. Sieve the flour and add into the egg yolk misture, continuing whisking until all smooth.

6. Add half of the milk, continuing whisking, until there are no lumps.

7. Remove the vanilla pod from the rest of the milk in the pot and sieve the egg yolk and egg mixture into the milk pot. Turn on the heat again (but dont boil it), keep whisking at simmering point for say approx 5 mintues.

8. Turn off heat and add the pistachio paste and keeo whisking untill all is well combined. Then pour it to a shallow tray or bowl and let it cool down. (you can make your own pistachio paste but i think it is not as creamy, smooth and consistent as the one i ordered online from amazon)

9. Generously butter 5 individual souffle bowls and coat the inside of the bowls with the grated chocolate.

10. Beat the egg whites until firm, then add 1 tbsp of caster sugar and whisk until stiff (eg. when you hold the bowl upside down, the egg whites do not fall down).

11. Add 1/4 of the egg whites to the pistachio/milk mixture with the whisk to soften it, then mix well quickly.

12. Fold in the rest of the egg white to the pistachio/milk mixture with a spatular smoothly but as quick as possible,

13. Then quickly spoon the mixture into the souffle bowls (right to the top of the bowls) and bake in oven at 240'C for 15 min on until well risen. (dont place it too high up in the oven, otherwise, when it rises, the top will get burn easily.)

14. Once you notice the soufle has risen well and the top is brown, remove it from oven quickly but carefully as each bowls are REALLY HOT!!

15. To serve, dust the top with icing sugar and serve with ice cream of your choice!



Enjoy!!

Roast Saddle of Lamb

* the way to cook this part of the lamb is in fact quite similar with rack of lamb. But meat from saddle is much more tender and juicy. Very difficult to find this part in shops. I order through a meat importer from Wales.

Ingredients:
Lamb Saddle x 1 (usually the lamb saddle consists of 2 pc, right side and left side. just use 1 side. If it's a frozen one, make sure you give enough time to defrost in fidge. Then the centre of the saddle is still very frozen, you cannot cook this well)
rosemary - minced
garlic - minced
Potato

Mint Sauce
a few bunches of fresh mint leaves - remove stems, just keep the leaves
olive oil
red wine vinegar
golden caster sugar
pinch of salt


How to Make the Mint Sauce:
just put all the mint leaves, 1-2 ttbsp of red wine vinegar, 1-2tbsp of golden caster sugar and a pinch of salt to the blender with a good drizzle of olive oil, Blend to the consistency you like and the taste you like.

How to Make the Lamb Saddle: 
1. Preheat oven to 230'C.

2. Wash and wipe dry the lamb saddle.

3. Marinate with salt, pepper, minced rosemary, minced garlic, paprika and olive oil - massage the saddle with this marinate mix thoroughly.

4. Wash and drain the potatoes and cut into wedges.

5. Heat up a frying pan with olive oil and brown all sides of the lamb.

6. Place the sddle on the oven tray, skin side up. Then add all marinate left on the fyring pan back to the top of the saddle. Sprinkle some more paprika and drizzle a bit more olive oil and place some extra rosemary leaves on top. Add the cut potatoes on the sides of the tray.

7. Roast for 15min, then turn down heat to 200'C and cook for another hour. Test with a meat thermometer.

8. Take out from oven and rest for 5-10 mintues before cut into slices.

Serve with the roast potatoes with the lamb and marinate juice left on the naking tray and the mint sauce!

Enjoy!

Seafood Pasta

* a very easy to make seafood pasta. All is required is fresh seafood and your loving heart, hahaha!

Ingredients:
Fresh Scallops (choose those which you big in size and firm to touch)
Prawns
Squids
Garlic - slicese
Basil
Italian Minced Chilli
Pasta of your choice

How to Make:
1. Cook your pasta as per package instructions. (remember to add salt to the water and add and mix olive oil to the pasta after draining)

2. Clean and wipe dry all seafood and season wtih salt and pepper.

3. Heat up a wide frying pan with olive oil, then pan fried the scallops until both sides are golden, then remove them to a plate. Then pan fried the squids and prawnsm until done and remove them to a plate. Then add all sliced garlic to the oil until they are golden, (adding more olive oil if not enough to cover them).

4. Once sliced garlic are also golden, add all seafood back to the frying pan, then add a few pinches of the italian minced chilli. Turn off heat and add all pasta to the pan (with some of the pasta water is fine) and mix everything thoroughly together with the basil leaves.

5. Place on serving dish and drizzle a bit olive oil on top before serving.

Enjoy!  

Sous Vide Ox Tongue and Beef's Cheeks

* using sous vide to prepare the tongue and cheek is real good - nothing much you have to do and they are just so tender and juicy! Unlike braising when the meat will loose flavour to the braising liquid, in slow cook, all the juice of the meat are retained inside the meat. All you need to do is to find a good sauce to go with it. The braising sauce from the oxtail recipe has a lot of the oxtail flavour, so the best to go with the tongue and cheeks!


Ingredients:
Ox Tongue x 1
Beef Cheeks x 2
Oxtail sauce (see Braised Ox Tail recipe)
Butter, salt and pepper

How to make:
1. Clean tongue and cheeks and wipe dry with kitchen towel.

2. Season with salt and pepper and place each of them in a vaccum bag with a dab of butter. (*if the tongue is a salted tongue, then you can omit with salt seasonings).








3. Set the temperature of the water bath machine to 80'C. Once temperature is reached, place the vacuum sealed tongue and cheek to the water bath. for the tongue, cook for 26 hrs while the cheek, 20 hrs will be enough. Check water level from time to time and add water if necessary.

4. After the cooking time is up, take out and remove tongue and cheeks from their bags.

5. Peel off the hard skin of the tongue gently, then slice up the tongue and cheeks to the thickness you desired and arrange on serving plate. Or you can pan fried each on a frying pan to give a more smoky flavour!

6. Bring the oxtail sauce to a boil and pour sauce on top of tongue and cheek on serving plate.

Enjoy!

Braised Ox Tail

Ingredients:
Oxtail x 5 pc
Tomato x 3pc - remove skins and pups as shown below, then cut into medium chunks
Onion x 2 pc - cut into medium chunks
Carrot x 2pc - cut into medium chunks
Garlic - presssed by 1/2 cup
Shallots - coarsely cut x 1/2 cup
Ginger - 2 slices

Sauce:
1/2 cup Chinese wine (shiu hing wine)
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/2 cup worchester sauce (lee & perins)
1/2 cup ketchup
2tbsp dark soy sauce
Rock sugar

How to do this:

1. Wash and dry the ox tail and marinate with light soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, chinese wine, white pepper and corn flour - use hands to mix them up and coat the oxtail evenly.

2. Remove skins and pups of the tomatoes in this way:
     (a) gently cut a cross on the tomatoes
   (b) boil water in a pan which can cover the tomatoes
   (c) once water is boiled, swtich off fire, then drop the tomatoes into the hot water for 1 minute
   (d) take out tomato and drop them to a bowl of ice water
   (e) the skin will be peeled off easily
   (f) after removing the skins, cut them up and remove the seeds inside,
   (g) retain all the tomato juice on your chopping board with the board tomatoes.

3. Use a big pot to start the sauce - add all chopped tomatoes with the juice, the cut carrots, then the SAUCE above and start boiling it.

4. Heat up another frying pan and add corn oil, then stir fried the garlic, onion, shallots and ginger until fragrant.

5. Once the above is fragrant, removed them to a plate lined with kitchen towel - to remove some of the oil. Then add all these to the sauce pot.

6.  In the same frying pan, brown the oxtail on all sides - do it in 2 batches as the frying pan might not be able to hold all oxtail on one go.

7. Remove the browned oxtail to a plate lined with kitchen towel.

8. Once all oxtail are browned and oil gently removed through absorption on kitchen towel, add all oxtail to the sauce pot.

9. Top up with hot water in the sauce pot until all oxtail are covered under the braising liquid., then add rock sugar.

10. Once the sauce pot with the oxtail and the rest of the ingredients are boiled, turn down to medium heat and braised the oxtail for 2 to 2.5 hrs. Check every 30 min to ensure nothing sticked to the bottom of the pot. Check taste from time to time.

11. Once braising is finished (oxtail is tender enough for your tasting), remove all oxtail to a new pot.

12. For the braising sauce remaining, use Japanese Oil Paper (for cooking) to remove the oil on top of the braising sauce. You will need to use quite a number of these oil paper to completely removed the oil retained in the sauce.

13. Once the above is finished and you can see sauce is not oily, then see if the sauce is thick enough for your liking. If not, then mix 2 tbsp of cornflour with cold water until all cornflour are dissolved, then add to the braising sauce and boil the sauce until it is thickened and adjust seasonings to your likings.

14. When you are ready to serve, place the oxtail nicely on the serving plate/bowl, top up with the braising sauce.

Best served with noodles or rice!

** you should have quite a lot of braising sauce left behind. Dont throw it away!! once cool, pour them in ziplock bags and put to freezer. You can use this sauce for a lot of other things.

Sauteed Portebello Mushrooms

-> simpliest dish of all but tasty and welcomed by most!Ingredients:
Fresh Portebello Mushrooms x 8pc
Italian Parsley - minced
Garlic - sliced

How to Make:

1. use a damp cloth to wipe off dirt on the mushrooms, then cut them into slices.

2. Heat up a frying pan and add olive oil (if you prefer to be more fragrant but less healthy, then add some butter too).

3. Add the sliced garlic to the frying pan until starting to become golden.

4. Add the slices portebello mushroom slices and stir fried with the sliced garlic until mushrooms become dark in color and softened.

5. Season with salt and pepper to your tasting.

6. Place on dish and sprinkle with the minced Italian Parsley.

Enjoy~

Mushroom Soup

* receipe adapted from Heston Blumenthal's "at Home"

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6 persons):

For the mushroom powder:
10g dried shitake mushrooms
10g dried porcini mushrooms

For the Soup:
1.5kg Chicken stock **
160g unsalted butter
2 onions - finely sliced
1 small potato - soften then cut into small cubes
2 leeks - white part only, finely sliced
800g buttom mushrooms, finely sliced
50g dry white vermouth (optional)
80g whipping cream
40g milk

** For Vegetarian version, replace chicken stock with vegetable stock

How to Make:

1. Mushroom Powder: you can make this one day ahead. Preheat oven to 150'C . Roast the dried mushrooms on a baking tray for 5 min. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Blitz them in a spice grinder or food processor until very fine. Keep in airtight container until ready to use.
** if you want to clean the dried mushrooms with water before roasting, i will suggest you to allow a long enough time for them to dry up again before roasting. 

2.  Make your stock one day ahead: Boil old chicken (without skin) together with carrots, celery, onion for 3-4 hours. Drain soup to a pot and after cool down, chill in fridge. On the day you make the soup, take it out from the fridge and remove the fat that will be gathered at the top layer. Reheat the soup.

3. Melt butter in a large saucepan and sweat onion and potato without letting them color (approx 10min).

4. Add leeks and mushrooms and cook until they soften (around 15 min)

5. Turn the heat to high and add the vermouth. Allow it to redice until almost all the liquid has disappeared.

6. Pour the mushroom mixture to the chicken stock (which was already boiled), then add the milk and cream. Bring to boil again and reduce toa simmer. Cook for another 10 min.

7. Remove from heat and blitz in blender in several batches until completely smooth.

8. After each batch, sieve the blended mixture to a clean pot.

9. Season with salt and pepper. With a hand blender, aerate the soup for 60 sec to make it lighter or frothy.

10. Ladle the soup to bowls and sprinkle with the mushroom powder on top before serving.

Enjoy!!

Chicken & Chorizo Casserole

* receipe adapted from Janet Hornby's "What to Cook and How to Cook it"

Ingredients:
500g boneless chicken thighs (around 5-6pc) - cut into cubes and season them with salt and pepper and a little bit of cornflour
150g chorizo (or 1 piece) - sliced
1 onion - sliced
2 garlic cloves - sliced
1 red pepper - sliced
1tsp ground cinnamon
2tsp paprika
1tsp thyme
3 tbsp dry white wine
1 can tomato - chopped with its sauce
1 can chick peas - drain water in can
200ml chicken stock
handful pf parsley or basil (whichever you prefer)

How to make:

1. Heat some olive oil on pan and add chorizo until the red oil has been released. Remove chorizo to a bowl for later use.

2. Fried chicken in the same pan until done and remove to bowl for later use.

3. Add some more olive oil to the pan and stir fried the onion, garlic and red pepper until softened. Keep stirring.

4. Splash in the wine until all evaporated, then add the tomatoes and stock and let it simmer for around 15 min until the sauce has thickened.

5. Add the chicken, chorizo and chick peas back to the pan, then the cinnamon and paprika and simmer for around 5-10min.

6. Check seasoning and add sea salt and black pepper to your tasting. Lastly, break the basil or parsley leaves by your hand and add to pot and remove all to a serving casserole pot or dish. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and serve piping hot!

Enjoy! Best serve with pasta and bread!

Vanilla Creme Brulee

* receipe adapted from Michael Roux's "Eggs"

Ingredients (for serving 6-8 portions)
500ml milk
500ml whipping cream
1 vanilla pod - slice in the midway and scrape all seeds for later use
150g caster sugar
200g egg yolks (about 10)
70g demerara sugar

How to make:
1. Preheat oven to 120'C.

2. Make the custard by heating the milk, the cream with the vanilla pods and the seeds and 90g caster sugar. Once boil, turn off the fire and let the vanilla pod kept immersed at the milk for a while more.

3. Whisk the egg yolks with the remaining sugar (60g) lightly.

4. Remove vanilla pod from the milk and pour the milk mixture to the eggs and keep whisking lightly until all combined.

5. Ladle the mixture into gratin dishes and place on a baking tray and cook in oven for 30 mins or until just set. (if you notice bubbles from the mixture, remember to remove them with a sieve before spooning them to the gratin dishes.

6. Leave the custard to cool down before chilling them at fridge.

7. Upon serving, take them out from fridge, sprinkle demerara sugar on top and brown it with a torch until golden brown and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Salmon Miso Hotpot 石狩鍋

Ingredients:

Soup Base:
Konby Kelp 昆布 x 2 pc
dried bonito flakes - around 25g
4 cups water

Hotpot:
Raw Salmon x 2-3pc - washed and dried and cut into pieces
Japanese Turnip - your desired portion and cut into chewable size
Carrots - your desired portion and cut into chewable size
Cabbage - your desired portion and cut into stripes
japanese tofu - cut into pieces
田舍 miso paste - approx 6 tbsp
白 miso paste - approx 3 tbsp
soya sauce - approx 2 tbsp
mirin - approx 2 tbsp
cooking sake - approx 2 tbsp


How to Make:

Soup Base:
1. Wipe Konebu Kelp with a clean cloth.

2. Pour 4 cups of water to a clay pot and add the kelp. Let stand for 20min.

3. Heat the claypot with water and kelp over medium heat. Once small bubbles appear near pot bottom, remove kelp immediately,

4. When liquid begins to boil, add all dried bonito flakes all at once. Turn down heat a little and simmer the liquid for a few minutes.

5. Turn off heat. Wait until all bonito flakes sink to pot bottom. Remove the bonito flakes from the soup.

Miso Hotpot with Salmon:
1. Add cut turnips and carrots to soup base and cook for around 15 min until softer.

2. Add soya sauce, mirin, sake and the 2 miso paste to the soup and stir to ensure all melted and mixed thoroughly in the soup. Taste and adjust which ingredients you need more.

3. Once soup is boiled, add cabbage, tofu, then the salmon pieces on top and cook for around 2 mintues in a medium heat.

4. Best served by presenting the clay pot on a bed/tray of candles to keep warm, but not to further boil the miso soup.

-> u can keep adding salmon, tofu and cabbage once the claypot is served!

Enjoy this hearty and healthy dish in this winter season~~

Water Chestnut Cake

Ingredients:

Water Chestnuts x 10 to 15 big pc

Water chestnut powder 250g 

Rock Sugar (1/2 a box or approx 300g)

How to make:
1. Brush a round tin with some corn oil. Leave aside.

2. Mix the 250 g water chestnut powder with 750ml water using the fingers. Ensure no lumps.

3. Clean and peel the water chestnuts and using the back of a chinese knife, break the water chestnuts into small pieces. Never "cut" them with the knife.

4. Boil 750ml water with almost 1/2 of a box of the Taikoo Rock Sugar until sugar all dissolved. To speed up the process, you can break the rock sugar into smaller pc by covering them in a cloth and use a hammer to break them on the kitchen floor!

5. Once boiled, taste if it's sweet enough. Remember that you will have to add starch solution into this sugar water afterwards. So it should be sufficiently sweet enough.

6. Then add the water chestnut pieces and cook until it change from white to beige color (only a few mins).

7. Add the starch solution to the pot and quickly mix well and stir all ingredients together in 1 direction, until all mix well.

8. Pour the mixture to the greased tin. Using a disposable glove, use your palms to press down the mixture and even the top. But don't press too hard though.

9. Cover tin with microwave cling wrap and steam for 30 min.

10. Cool down and cover with plastic and store in fridge.

* when you cut them into pieces for pan fry, pls remember to coat them with corn starch in a thin layer and shake off excess starch before frying.

Enjoy~

Turnip Cake 羅白糕

Ingredients:

Grated turnip (after draining the water from turnip) - approx 1300g (will most likely take 1 to 2 big turnips)
Thick sliced turnip - around 400-500g

李祥和 powder - 300 g (half a bag)

2 pc of canada sausage **

5 pc of dried scallops **

ginger and garlic

chicken powder **

fresh sesame

a round tin, brush with "ginger garlic" oil. See below

Big steamer (if possible)

** For Vegetarian version, just skip these ingredients.

How to make:
1. On the night before you cook this turnip cake, wash 5 pc of dried scallops and soak them in 2 cups of water overnight.

2. On the day you cook this turnip cake, drain the dried scallops and keep the water for later use. Steam the dried scallops for approx 60 min (or till soft). Then tear them into thread like pieces, discarding the hard bits. Keep aside.

4. Peel turnip skin, then grate the turnip until it reaches 1300g discarding the turnip water. Then cut some thick turnip slices around 400-500g. Then blanch in boiling water for around 10 minutes to make these thick slices softer first.

5. Prepare a 8-10 pc of ginger and a bunch of pressed garlic.

6. Steam the chinese sausage for 30 min, then cut into into small pieces but not too minced.

7. Mix the powder with 300ml water and use your fingers to mix them, making sure no lumps inside. Keep aside this starch solution.

8. When you are ready to cook, drain water from turnip slices. Check if there are 2 to 2.5 cups of water from the soaked scallops and if not, add the turnip water to make them to 2 to 2.5 cups together.

9. Heat up a big wok and add oil, then add ginger and garlic, till they are golden in color. Remove the ginger and garlic. Pour away most of this ginger garlic oil to a bowl and save just a little on the ok.

10. Add chinese sausage to the wok and stirred fried a bit, then remove to a bowl.

11. Add back a little bit of the ginger garlic oil to the wok, then add the dried scallops, stir fried a bit, then removed the dried scallops to a bowl.

12. Add some more ginger garlic oil to the wok and add the turnip thick slices, then the shredded slices (some at a time until) and stir fried until all is soft and evenly soaked with the oil, then add back all the chinese sausages and dried scallops and mix well.

13. Then add the 2 to 2.5 cups of the scallops/turnip water and mix well with all ingredients, then add 3 tsp of chicken powder and check taste. Cover the pan and let it boil for 2-3 minutes. Once boiled, remove cover, then add the powder solution and mix quickly with the turnip mixture in a one-direction quick movement, until all are mixed well. At first, you still need the big fire, after stirring a bit, you can reduce fire to medium. Ensure the whole mixture is evenly cooked and mixed well.

14. Pour the mixture to a round tin, then wear a disposable glove and use your palm to mix them well into the tin so that the top is flat and nice. But don't press too hard.

15. Cover the tin with microwave cling wrap and steam for 45 min (preferably in a big steamer as they are better to avoid the water condensation which will make the turnip cake too moist).

16. Once turnip cake is steamed, take out and cooled down. In the meantime, toast the fresh sesame seeds in a pan until golden, then sprinkle on top of turnip cake, wrap with plastic and store in fridge.

Best served with XO sauce and soy sauce with cooked oil!

* reason why ginger garlic oil is used to stir fried to grated turnip is to reduce the "coolness" of the turnip. But by so doing, it will reduce the fragrance or taste of the turnip itself as ginger/garlic taste is much stronger. If if you prefer stronger taste of turnip, you can opt out the garlic/ginger oil and just use normal corn oil.

* when you cut the turnip cake into small pieces for pan fry, pls remember to coat them with corn starch in a thin layer and shake off excess starch before frying.

Enjoy~

XO Sauce

Ingredients:

Dried Scallops x 1 catty (see preparation below)

Garlic x 1 catty - minced

Shallots x 1 catty - minced

Chinese Ham x 1 catty - minced (see preparation below)

Chilli x 400g approx.
3 bottles of corn oil (approx 900ml x 3)

Preparation of the Dried Scallops:
1. The night before you plan to make XO sauce, wash the dried scallops a few times, drain the water and then soak in a big bowl of filtered water and cover the bowl.

2. On the day you are cooking the XO sauce, drain the water from the scallops and put all scallops in a big plate and steam with some ginger sauce and chinese wine for 2 hours. 

3. After steaming, tear all the dried scallops into thread-like pieces, and discarding any hard parts. (this step takes at least 30 to 45 min. So better ask someone to help in this process to save time and back bone pain!)

* the water you drain from scallops can be used to make turnip cake, fried vegetables, etc. So, dont throw it away.
* the ginger sauce and chinese wine can eliminate some "seafood" smell of the dried scallop.

Preparation of the Chinese Ham:
1. On the day you make the XO sauce or the night before, wash the chinese ham, then boil in hot water with some puer tea leaves for 10 min. Then drain the water.

2. Cut the ham into smaller pieces, then minced in a food processor.

3. Put the minced ham into a bowl.

How to make the XO Sauce:
1. Peel all garlic and minced them in a food processor, then place them in  a bowl.

2. Peel all shallots and minced them in a food processor, then place them in a bowl (discard all juice from the food processor).

3. For the chilli, wash and pat dry and minced them. As the chilli is hot,remember not to use your finger to rub your eyes or face afterwards (even if you have washed your hands afterwards!). Better to wear gloves during cutting! Depending on how spicy you would like the XO sauce to be, for mild spiciness, I suggest mincing 2/3 of the chilli without seeds and 1/2 with seeds. 

4. Heat up a big wok. Add oil, then stir fried all the minced shallots using high heat. When the shallots are pretty fragrant, then add the minced garlic. Mix and stir-fried them until all soft and fragrant using high to medium heat. Please add enough oil from time to time to keep the garlic and shallots moist.

5. Then add the minced ham and mix them well with the minced garlic and shallots, then add the dried scallops using high to medium heat. Remember to top up with oil from time to time.

6. At first the scallops' color in the wok is beige-like, you need to keep mixing and stir-frying at medium to medium high heat with the rest of the ingredients until deeper in color. The total stir-fried time for the whole thing is approx 60-90 min! Ensure the fire is not too big to prevent the scallops becoming overcooked and dried but at the same time ensure the heat is not too low or else the flavour will not come out...

7. When the dried scallops and the rest of the ingredients are pretty well mixed and color getting nice, then add the minced chilli (those without seeds) and continue stir-fry for 5-10 min. The longer the time you cook the chilli, the hotter the sauce will become. So beware! So check taste and adjust cooking time depending on how spicy you prefer. Usually if just chilli without seeds, cooking them for 5-10 minutes will give a mild spiciness already. You can scoop up some of these mild spicy XO to certain jars first. Then you can add those minced chillis with seeds and cook for another 5-10 minutes. This is for sure hot and spicy!

8. Scoop them into various glass bottles (which has been disinfected in advance) and once cool down, then put them into fridge.

Enjoy~

Alaska Crab Salad

This is really easy to do as long as you are willing to devote some time and stand in the kitchen for quite a while and are willing to pay for the expensive cost for a fresh Alaska Crab!!

Ingredients: (for 12 persons)

Fresh Alaska Crab x 1 (steamed or boiled, with the crab meat all removed from shells)

Avocado (please choose the ripe ones) - around 7pc - cut into cubes

Tomatoes (please choose the italian ones or the ones which you think are sweet and tasty) - remove skin using method stated below, then cut into
cubes and drain the tomato juice

Fresh Chives - minced

lemon/ mayo/ sesame dressing/ lemon olive oil


How to make:

1. If you are not arranging directly on plate but is preparing in advance, cover the bottom of each stainless steel cylinder with plastic wrap and place the 12 cyliners in a tray.

2. Mix the avocado cubes with mayo to a consistency you desired and spoon them into the base of the cylinder.

3. Mix the tomatoes cubes with sesame dressing to a consistency you desired and spoon them above the avocadoes layer. Try avoid spooning the juice into the cylinder though.

4. Use your hand to tear the crab meat to bite size and mix with a splash of lemon juice, then mayo to a consistency you desired and spoon them above the tomatoes layer.

5. Wrap the whole tray with the 12 cylinders arranged in the fridge.

6. When you are ready to serve, place one cylinder on one plate and remove the plastic wrap at the bottom of the cylinder bu sliding it carefully away from the plate, then remove the cylinder.

7. Add some a few drops of lemon olive oil on top of the crab layer then sprinkle with the minced chives and serve!!

This presentation looks professional but is so easy to make anyone can do this. Enjoy!!

Removing Tomatoes Skin:
a. lightly cut a cross around the tomato skin.
b. place them in boiling water for 30 seconds and immediately place them in a ice water bath.
-> the skin tear off itself easily.

Beef Wellington

* this receipe is modified from the one from "Christmas with Gordon Ramsay"

Ingredients:
(serves 4-6 paersons)

900g beef fillet (perferably the centre cut with even thickness)
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
English mustard, to brush meat

Mushroom Duxelles:
700g chestnut mushrooms or just brown mushrooms, cleaned, and stalks removed
a handful of cooked chestnuts
1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped
2 thyme sprigs, leaves only

To assemble:
8 slices of parma ham (choose those with less salty flavour)
500g ready-made-all-butter-puff pastry
plain flour, to dust
2 egg yolks, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp water (eggwash)

How to make:

One night before cooking:
1. Wash and dry beef with kitchen towel, season with salt and pepper.

2. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over high hear, quickly sear outside of beef until evenly browned, about 5 mins, turning as necessary.

3. Transfer beef to a plate and brush all over with mustard and allow to cool.

4. For the duxelles,out the cleaned mushrooms, cooked chestnuts and garlic in a food processor, add a little bit of salt and pepper and blend to a fine paste, stopping to scrape down the sides a few times.

5. Heat a fry large frying pan and scarpe the mushroom paste to the pan and add the thyme leaves, mix well and cook over high heat until dry, sitriing occassionally. The duxelles must be sufficiently dry to avoid making the pastry too soggy. Spread out on a tray to cool down.

6. On a clean working top, line a large piece of cling film, then lay the parma ham on top, overlapping each other so as to form a rough rectangule large enough to wrap the whole beef fillet.

7. Using a palette knife or a spatula, spread the mushroom duxelles on top of the parma ham, a thin and even layer does it.

8. Lay the beef fillet along the middle of the mushroom layer. Keeping a tight hold of the cling film from the outside edges, neatly rool the parma ham and the mushroom duxelles over the beef into a tight barrel shape. Twist the end of the cling film to secure. Refridgerate for 15 mins to firm up.

9. On a clean working surface, lightly dust with flour and roll our pastry to a thickness of roughly a HK$5 coin thickness and brush with some of the eggwash.

10. Take beef out of fridge, remove from cling film carefully and place it in the middle of the pastry.

11. Roll the pastry around the beef to envelope it and then presss the edges to seal. Pinch the pastry at the ends to seal and trim off the excess. You can use the excess pastry to make patterns on top of the wrap.  Wrap the log tightly in cling film and chill in fridge.

On the night of cooking:
1. Take the beef out from the fridge 1 hr before cooking and bring it to room temperature.

2. Preheat oven to 190'C. Remove cling film and brush the whole pastry with eggwash and bake it oven for 35 min. If pastry appears to be browning too quickly, lower the temperature slightly.

3. Leave to rest in a warm place for 10-15 min before carving.

Enjoy with your favourite gravy, mash and veggies~~

Warm Chocolate Cake

* This Receipe is a modification of the receipe at "Dessert Fourplay by Johnny Iuzzini"

Ingredients:

250g unsalted butter - cut into small pieces
250 bittersweet chocolate (preferbbly Veronha 72% cacao chocolate) - break into small pieces
5 large eggs
5 egg yolks
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (125g) caster sugar
1/3 cup + 1 tbsp (50g) all purpose floor

How to Make:

1. Butter eight 4oz ramekins or sixteen 2oz molds and dust them lightly with flour. Place them on a baking tray.

2. Boil water in a saucepan.

3. Place butter and chocolate in a heatproof bowl and place on top of the saucepan with boiling water. Turn fire to low and keep stiring the butter and chocolate mixture on the heatproof bowl above the saucepan until all melted smoothly.

4. Put eggs and egg yolks to a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with whisk. Beat at medium speed until frothy.

5. Pour in sugar and increase speed to medium high. Continue to beat until eggs have trippled in volumne.

6. Scrape the butter and chocolate mixture into the eggs. Beat until well mixed, scraping the bowl once or twice.

7. Sift the flour and fold gently into the egg and chocolate mixture.

8. Spoon the mixture into the ramekins or molds, cover each of them with plastic wraps and place in fridge.

9. 1 hour before cooking, take them out at room temperature.

10. Preheat oven at 230'C and bake them for 6-7 minutes. Centre of cake will still be soft and a bit melting. Once taken out from oven, leave them for a few seconds, then you'll be able to either invert them into plates or spoon them out of the molds and place in plates. Sprinkle with icing sugar on top.

Best serve with Vanilla Ice Cream.

Enjoy~

Roast French Poussin

Ingredients:
French Poussin (preferrably the white one instead of the yellow ones)
Lemon
Fresh Basil
Garlic
Butter
Honey
Dark Soy Sauce
Salt and Pepper

How to make:
1. Wash and dry poussin in and out. The worst job in this receipe! especially when you have to pull out all hair remaining on the skin (with care or else the skin will be torn).

2. Marinate chicken using dark soy sauce - and using your hand to coat the dark soy sauce evenly on the skin - this is my creative step on bringing some color to the skin. It does not add much to the taste really. Keep this marinate in for at least an hour.

3. Preheat oven to 230'C.

4. Stuffed 1/4 of a cleaned lemon together with a few basil leaves (cleaned and wiped dry) and a piece of garlic clove inside the tummy of the chicken. Then tie back the legs together using the string that comes with the poussin when you bought them.

5. Season the poussin top and bottom using salt and pepper and place them neatly in a baking tray lined with foil.

6. Melt some butter in a oven proof dish in the preheat oven or in microwave. Using a brush, drip the melting butter over the skin (try dripping as even as possible).

7. Put the tray with the poussin to oven for 10 minutes. Then remove from oven, change position of tray, turn oven temperature down to 190'C. Drip more melted butter all over and cook for another 30 minutes at 190'C. Then take out again and drip/brush honey all over poussin's skin and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes until skin turns golden color.

Serve with the sauce you like or with the juice coming from the chicken and the butter and honey in the tray!!

** dont put your tray too low in the oven or the skin cant get the golden color as you may wish for. But not too high to avoid burning the skin too.

Enjoy~