Chicken and Red Date Casserole

Another yumminess from 'The Chinese Kitchen'. The recipe used a whole chicken but I made do with two drumsticks and halved the seasonings as well (except ehem for the rice wine!).

1. Blanch the chicken in boiling water for 3-4 minutes. Remove and drain. You may also choose to deep fry the chicken in hot oil.

2. Place the parboiled chicken in a pot. Add three big bowls of water (or stock), spring onions, ginger, 1Tbsp Sichuan peppercorns (I replaced it with black peppers), salt and 3Tbsp rice wine. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently, covered for one hour.

3. Add about a small bowl of red dates (I added dried longans as well) with about 3Tbsp light soy sauce. Stir a little and continue simmering covered for another 50-55 minutes.

4. Enjoy!!

I used more dried longans than red dates..

This really makes a delicious soup!

Winter Melon and Ham Soup

'The Chinese Kitchen' has got to be the gem of all chinese cookbooks (the same goes for 'The Indian Kitchen'). These are birthday gifts from Karen and Kor *big grin* Not only does it provide recipes but also descriptions on the ingredients.

I officiated 'The Chinese Kitchen' yesterday with a simple dish of winter melon and ham soup. This is a fast and simple soup recipe: Drop a square of chicken cube into a pot of water (one big chinese bowl) and bring it to a rolling boil. Add dried shrimps and slices of ham and winter melon. Bring it to a boil and cook for another 2-3 minutes. I was true to the recipe except that I 'cheated' and replaced the soup stock with chicken cube. And so I didn't season the soup with salt and pepper.

Looks like a typical HK dish.. thanks to the ham!

Refreshing Lemongrass Soup

Soupylicious and simple to prepare - mommy's way. Hubby loves it and so does the little girl, "Mommy I want soup!" All you need are chicken (I used 4 drumsticks), 6 stalks lemongrass (bruised), 1" ginger, one big onion, one chicken cube. For the health conscious, you may omit the chicken cube and add a pinch of salt instead. Simmer for about an hour. Enjoy!

Fish in tom yum soup

Another one of my self-modified recipe. The original recipe 'fish in tamarind soup' was taken from an issue of the malaysian women's weekly magazine. When I first tried this recipe, I thought to myself that it tasted a little like tomyum, minus the spiciness and the aroma of kaffir lime leaves. That gave me an idea.

2-4 slices spanish mackerel *ikan tenggiri*
1 Tbsp tamarind pulp paste *assam jawa*
2 tomatoes (cut into wedges)
2 stalks lemongrass *serai* (crushed and use only the white parts)
kaffir lime leaves *daun limau purut*
some bird's eye cili *cili padi* (depending on how spicy you want it)
1 Knorr tomyum cube
salt and sugar to taste

1. In a pot, mix the tamarind pulp paste with a large bowl of water and drop in the Knorr tomyum cube. Bring to a boil.
2. Add the tomatoes, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and cili padi, and cook over medium fire for 2-3 minutes.
3. Put in the fish and continue cooking for another 5 minutes.
4. Season with salt and sugar according to taste.
5. This sour-spicy blend of soup is ready to be served. A good dish to whet your appetite.