Wasabi and Vinegar Pickled Cucumbers 芥末酸黄瓜片

Cucumbers are refreshing for our tropical weather. I like them raw and love it to bits when I can add a little flavours to make them more interesting. However, in order to enjoy the refreshing feel from this cooling fruit, I personally prefer versions that are not overly seasoned and still remain crunchy. This Wasabi and Vinegar Pickled Cucumbers 芥末酸黄瓜片 recipe is one of the few variations that I like. It is a simple classic that has a dash of wasabi paste added to instil a very subtle heat to the otherwise cooling side dish. Very easy to make and readily available when we need them.

Ingredients (enough for 1 jam sized jar) :

• 6 baby cucumbers (I personally find baby cucumbers more suitable and crunchy for pickling)
• 2-3 tbsp apple cider vinegar (to taste)
• 1 tbsp sour plum paste (optional)(I used Lee Kum Kee bottled sour plum paste)
• 1-2 tsp wasabi paste (to taste)
• 1-2 tsp sugar (to taste)
• 3-4 tbsp mirin (to taste)
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (can mix with a little room temperature boiled water)
• 1.5 tsp salt
• toasted sesame seeds (optional)(to be sprinkled when served)

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon) 

Method :

1. Wash and clean surface of cucumber and pat dry. Set aside to further chill dry.
2. Thinly slice cucumbers.
3. Combine vinegar, sour plum paste, wasabi, sugar, mirin, lime juice into a bowl and mix well.
4. In a separate bowl, evenly toss cucumber slices with salt.
5. Fold in seasoning mixture to cucumber slices and toss well.
6. Store in sterilised air tight jar and chill in refrigerator. Pickled cucumbers can be served anytime. 
7. Sprinkle a little toasted sesame before served.

I always find chilled pickles handy when I am rushing for time as they can be served as a presentable and palatable side dish anytime. To me, this Wasabi and Vinegar Pickled Cucumbers 芥末酸黄瓜片 is no exception. Well loved by my family and myself.

Fusion Spicy Chicken Stew 辣豆酱炆鸡

I must confess. This Fusion Spicy Chicken Stew 辣豆酱炆鸡 was an accidental dish. I meant to cook Dakdoritang (Korean Spicy Chicken Stew for dinner today but realised that I ran out of the essential gochujang. Being a home-maker, though not a superb one, I knew it was my responsibility to troubleshoot in my own kitchen. Browsing through my refrigerator again, I found the Korean bean paste. I decided to give the gochujang a local twist by adding some South East Asian flavours. Yes...I did my own concoction by combining the Korean bean paste with sambal dry shrimps, paprika and grind nuts. Click here for the Fusion Spicy Bean Paste recipe. 

My husband and I had split opinions about this Fusion Spicy Chicken Stew 辣豆酱炆鸡 dish. He felt it's more of a local flavour whereas I thought the Korean bean paste being very prevalent and tasted more Korean. Despite our differences, we both agreed that it was actually a delicious dish! A nice change from the conventional styles.

Ingredients (enough for 2-4 pax with steamed rice) :

• 12 pieces chicken mid wings (cleaned and pre-marinated with a little salt and sesame oil)
• 2 medium to large sized potatoes (cut potatoes into quarters or wedges)
• 2 carrots (chopped into thick slices or chunks)
• 1 large onion (chopped into chunks)
• 6 cloves of garlic (pressed)
• 4 slices ginger
• 2 stalks of spring onions (chopped) 
• 1 tbsp dry shrimps (pre-soaked in water)
• water to boil

Seasonings :

• 2-3 tsp sugar (to taste)
• 3 tbsp rice wine or mirin
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp grounded black pepper
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp home-made fusion bean paste (click here for fusion bean paste recipe)
• chili powder (optional, add only if you want it more spicy)
• 1-2 cup water (subject to your pot size, use a little more water if pot size is large)
• cooking oil

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon)    

Method :

1. Heat cooking oil in non-sticking pot or pan. 
2. Fry potato wedges till slight golden colour. Set aside pan fried potatoes. 
3. In a separate pot, heat cooking oil and toss in aromatic ingredients (i.e. ginger, onions, garlic. Lightly sauté at low-medium heat.
4. Toss in pre-soaked dried shrimps and give it a quick stir fry till aromatic.
5. Add home-made fusion spicy bean paste. Give a quick stir.
6. Add 1-2 cups water (subject to your pot size, the bigger the pot, the more water)
7. Turn to medium heat. Stir till mixture are all even in the pot.
8. Add chicken wings into pot.
9. Cover lid and allow to simmer for 10 minutes
10. Toss in potatoes and carrots after 10 minutes. Cover with lid and further simmer for another 10-15 minutes at low-medium heat. Give it a stir every now and then. 
11. Remove lid after 10-15 minutes and allow cooking for another 10 minutes at medium-high heat. 
12. Stir to check that all ingredients are thoroughly cooked and add a dash of sesame oil for the fragrance before transferring to serving bowl.
13. Garnish with spring onions and serve hot with steamed rice.

Tip : Do not cover with lid during last 10 minutes of cooking so that the sauce can be cooked down.

In terms of ingredients and cooking methods, this Fusion Spicy Chicken Stew 辣豆酱炆鸡 is almost identical to my previous Dakdoritang (Korean Spicy Chicken Stew recipe. I document it as a different recipe because it is not exactly Korean, plus I made some minor changes in the cooking sequence and method. All in all, it's still a great one pot dish!

Fusion Spicy Bean Paste 炒辣豆酱

How did this Fusion Spicy Bean Paste 炒辣豆酱 come about? Like I'll be explaining in my next post, this unique concoction was created because I realised that I ran out of the essential Gochujang when I was about to cook the Korean Spicy Chicken Stew (Dakdoritang). I needed a paste to cook the stew. It would not make economical sense for me to drive a distance to buy a bottle and I was running out of time. Furthermore, there's no way for me to make my own Gochujang as the authentic Gochujang has to undergo a fermenting process over a period of time. With much deliberation, I thought it would be easier to troubleshoot with whatever ingredients I had on hand. 

Having dug through my refrigerator and pantry, I found the Korean bean paste. I knew I had mostly South East Asian or Chinese spices at home. Since the dish was meant to be spicy, I thought I could give the Korean bean paste a local twist by combining it with local finds such as sambal shrimps and chili powder or paprika. As I'd like to have a nutty feel in this comfort dish, crushed nuts were included.

Ingredients (enough for a jam sized jar) :

• 3-4 tbsp  of Koren bean paste
• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar 
• 3 tbsp crispy sambal shrimps
• 2-3 tbsp chili powder or paprika powder (subject to how spicy you want your paste to be)
• 2-3 tbsp rice wine
• 2 tbsp crushed nuts
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon) 

Method :

1. Combine all ingredients (except cooking oil) into a bowl and blend well with chopsticks.
2. Heat pot/saucepan with cooking oil. 
3. At low heat, fold in the bean paste and spice mix.
4. Give mixture a quick stir fry. Take note not to burn the paste.
5. Turn off heat when paste thickens and emits aroma. 
6. Allow paste to cool down completely before storage into sterilised jars. 

In comparison to authentic Gochujang, my Fusion Spicy Bean Paste 炒辣豆酱粉 was drier and had a more coarse texture due to the inclusion of crushed nuts. The bean paste fragrance was still prevalent and nobody would doubt it being a spicy bean paste. Maybe this time it deviated just a little with some local twists.

Mushroom Mac & Cheese 蘑菇奶酪通心粉

This was what happened when I happily went out for shopping this afternoon. I forgot to thaw anything for dinner. I also forgot to tell husband to settle his own dinner. Err...actually I'd totally forgotten about him for half a day.  I did not want a disgruntled man after his hard day at work. So, meatless one dish meal that's it! Initially, I thought he'd be unhappy that I serve him Mushroom Mac & Cheese 蘑菇奶酪通心粉 as I had most of the ingredients readily available. But was pleasantly surprised to see him really enjoying it and gobbled everything down!

Ingredients (enough for 2 pax) :

• 150 gm of macaroni (or enough for 2 pax)
• 150 gm fresh shiitake mushrooms (rinsed and stems removed)(thinly sliced)
• a few cherry tomatoes (cut to halves)
• a handful of salad greens (i used wild rockets)
• bacon bits (optional)
• 1 cup cooking cream
• 1 cup grated/shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 onion (finely chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1/4 pc chicken or ikan bills stock cube 
• 3 cups water (for stock)
• 2 tbsp potato starch flour (mix with 3 tbsp water)
• salt (to taste)
• grounded black pepper (to taste)
• olive oil or cooking oil

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon) 

Method :

1. Boil water in saucepan and add macaroni. Remember to also add 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tbsp cooking oil so that macaroni would have a little flavour and would not stick together when boil.
2. Macaroni has the tendency to stick together. Stir and check constantly. Drain and set macaroni aside when ready. 
3. Heat cooking oil in a separate pot. Saute finely chopped onions and garlic at low-medium heat.
4. Turn to medium heat. Fold in shitake mushrooms and give it a quick stir fry.
5. Add 3 cups of water into pot.
6. Add the 1/4 pc stock cube.
7. When stock boils, it'll be filled with mushroom aroma.
8. Slowly fold in potato flour mixture.
9. Stir till stock thickens.
10. Fold in macaroni that were set aside earlier.
11. Turn to low heat and add cooking cream.
12. Give it a quick stir till macaronis are coated with cream.
13. Add 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese into the pot.
14. Gently stir till cheese melted and macaronis evenly coated with cheese too.
15. Add salt and pepper to taste.
16. Scoop macaroni into serving bowls
17. Top up the other 1/2 cup grated cheese onto serving bowls together with cherry tomatoes.
18. Send serving bowls into oven to bake at 220 degrees celsius for 6-8 minutes (I did not preheat my oven).
19. Remove from oven when time's up. By then, the top layer cheese would be melted and slightly burnt. 
20. Top with fresh salad greens, bacon bits and serve whilst hot. Do be careful that the serving bowls would be piping hot too.

I know Mac & Cheese is an all time classic. Do not ask me if it's the correct or traditional way to cook Mac & Cheese. I could only tell you this was how I figured out myself without referring to any other recipes and by using whatever ingredients I had off hand. The real masters would probably faint if they they see my unconventional method. What's more important to me was that the dish tasted good. This Mushroom Mac & Cheese 蘑菇奶酪通心粉 might be a meatless dish (not exactly meatless as I added a little bacon bits), but definitely a comfort dish. Who says comfort dish needs to be meaty?