Air Fried Pork Ribs 空气炸锅排骨

Main Ingredients :

• 4 to 6 pcs fresh bone-in pork ribs 

Marinade/Seasonings :

• 100ml coconut milk or coconut cream (to keep the meat moist and tenderised)
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
• salt (to taste)
• pepper (to taste)

Glaze :

• 1 tbsp coconut milk or coconut cream
• a few drops hoisin sauce
• a few drops honey

Method : 

1. Rub a little salt on pork ribs, rinse and pat dry.
2. Combine marinade/seasonings in a plate/tray and mix well. Dip pork ribs into marinade mixture and leave to refrigerate overnight or at least half a day in the same plate/tray.
3. When ready to cook, arrange marinated pork ribs on a lined baking tray.
4. Air fry at 250C (or highest temp of your air fryer) for 5 mins. 
5. Adjust air fryer temperature to 150C for 20 to 25 mins (subject to size and thickness of meat). 
6. When done, brush glaze mixture onto all sides of pork ribs. Continue to air fry at 250C (or highest temp of your air fryer) for another 5 mins to 10 mins (subject to highest temp of your air fryer). 
7. Pork ribs should be slightly charred on the outside and still tender and succulent on the inside. Serve whilst hot!

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Easy Deep Fried Soft Shell Crabs 简易油炸软壳蟹

*in collaboration with Dancing Chef for Thai Seafood Sauce

We Chinese consume various foods for different symbolic and auspicious meanings. This' especially so during the Chinese New Year (CNY) period. Now that we're fast approaching this year's CNY, I've cooked this Easy Deep Fried Soft Shell Crabs 简易油炸软壳蟹 to wish all my friends and loved ones 事业, 人气, 运气都像蟹一样, 一煮就红! 气势如虹 in the new year! 

To make the dish more flavourful, I've used Dancing Chef™’s Thai Seafood Sauce to make an easy gravy/dipping sauce to go with the deep fried soft shell crabs. We like it!

Dancing Chef™ Chinese New Year Promotion

Dancing Chef™ Paste 100g and Suki Sauce 230g : 3 for S$7.85 (UP: S$2.85) are available at all major supermarkets from 1 January 2018 to 28 February 2018. 

Ingredients :

• 5 pcs mid-sized soft shell crabs
• 1 tbsp Dancing Chef Thai Seafood Sauce
• 70 gm bread crumbs 
• 6 tbsp tapioca flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 beaten egg
• cooking oil for deep frying
• spring onions (for garnishing)(optional)
• sliced green chili (for garnishing)(optional)
• sliced chili padi (for garnishing)(optional)

Gravy / Dipping Sauce :

• 1 packet Dancing Chef Thai Seafood Sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 80ml water

(tsp = teaspoon; tbsp = tablespoon) 

Method :

1. Pat dry soft shell crabs with paper towels.
2. Prep 3 trays to coat/dip soft shell crabs for deep frying. Tray 1 - Tapioca flour, baking soda, salt, sugar. Mix well. Tray 2 - Beaten egg, 1 tbsp Dancing Chef Thai Seafood Sauce. Mix well. Tray 3 - Bread crumbs
3. When ready to cook, heat cooking oil in saucepan/wok at medium heat.
4. Coat/dip soft shell crabs in the sequence of Tray 1, Tray 2 and Tray 3.
5. Deep fry at medium heat till coated soft shell crabs turn golden brown. 
6. Remove ingredients from hot cooking oil and leave to rest on a plate lined with paper towel.
7. Meanwhile, combine all gravy/dipping sauce ingredients in a pan and bring to boil. 
8. Plate, garnish and drizzle gravy/sauce over soft shell crabs when served.

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Chicken Gyoza in Creamy Thai Stock 泰式椰香金元宝

*in collaboration with CP and Emporium Shokuhin

Gyoza looks exactly like Chinese Ingots (元宝). Who doesn't want lots of 元宝 in the New Year? I want lots and lots of gold ingots!! This Chicken Gyoza in Creamy Thai Stock 泰式椰香金元宝 is so easy to make that it requires only Step 1-2-3 to create the symbolic meaning for our New Year! I air fried the gyoza first for the fragrance and crispiness. And dip them into the Thai coconut cream stock for the flavours. New approach but the texture and flavours work well for my family!

CP Jumbo Shrimp Wonton and CP Chicken Gyoza are available at Emporium Shokuhin. Enjoy 50% OFF CP Jumbo Shrimp Wonton and Chicken Broth when you shop online at cpshopz.sg. Promotion starts from 1st Feb 2018.

Ingredients  :

Dumplings

• 1 packet CP Chicken Gyoza (about 18 pcs)

Creamy Thai Stock

• 1 packet CP wonton soup seasoning (c/w CP Jumbo Shrimp Wonton packaging)
• 200 ml water
• 50ml coconut cream
• 1 tbsp smoked paprika
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 3 chili padi (sliced)
• 1/2 stalk coriander (finely chopped)
• 1 green chili (sliced)(optional)

Garnishing

• 1/2 carrot (peeled, thinly sliced and cut to flower shape)
• 1 baby red radish (thinly sliced)(optional)
• 1 stalk coriander

Method : 

1. Combine carrot slices and all creamy Thai stock ingredients and seasonings in a saucepan and bring to boil. Set aside.
2. Heat dumplings/Jumbo shrimp wontons as per packet instructions. Deep fry, air fry or bake (I air fried at 200C for 10 mins).
3. When ready, assemble all in serving plate, garnish and serve. 

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Jumbo Shrimp Wonton with Thai Salad & Spicy Dressing 欢乐嘻哈大团圆

*in collaboration with CP and Emporium Shokuhin

Wonton in my family denotes 团团圆圆 and we always have wontons or dumplings during Chinese New Year. This year would be no exception. Instead of the normal dumpling soup, I've attempted something more colourful, auspicious and cheerful for the CNY by accompanying with Thai vegetables salad and spicy dressing. For this Jumbo Shrimp Wonton with Thai Salad & Spicy Dressing 欢乐嘻哈大团圆, the dressing's easily prepared by using the seasonings that c/w CP Jumbo Shrimp Wonton packaging + a few other simple ingredients. It's an explosion of flavours (spicy, sour, salty, sweet) that goes very well with the dumplings! With the already cooked dumplings, the dish cannot be any easier!

CP Jumbo Shrimp Wonton and CP Chicken Gyoza are available at Emporium Shokuhin. Enjoy 50% OFF CP Jumbo Shrimp Wonton and Chicken Broth when you shop online at cpshopz.sg. Promotion starts from 1st Feb 2018.

Ingredients  :

Dumplings

• 1 box CP Jumbo Shrimp Wonton (8 pcs)

Dressing/Sauce

• 1 packet CP wonton soup seasoning (c/w CP Jumbo Shrimp Wonton packaging)
• 200 ml water
• 3 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 small onion (finely chopped)
• 2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 green chili (sliced)
• 3 chili padi (sliced)
• 1/2 stalk coriander (finely chopped)
• toasted sesame (optional)

Salad

• 2 mid-sized onions (julienned)
• 1 carrot (peeled and shredded)
• 1 Japanese cucumber (shredded)
• 1 yellow capsicum (shredded)
• 1 thumb size ginger (peeled and shredded)
• 1 stalk coriander (finely chopped)
• 5 pcs red baby radish (thinly sliced)(optional)
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts (or any other preferred nuts)(optional)
• can add shredded mangoes (which I did not have at home)

Method : 

1. Combine all dressing/sauce ingredients and seasonings in a saucepan and bring to boil. Set aside in a small bowl or ramekin.
2. Combine and toss all salad ingredients with a little dressing/sauce. Set aside.
3. Heat dumplings/Jumbo shrimp wontons as per packet instructions. Boil or steam. 
4. When ready, assemble all in serving plate, garnish and serve. 

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CNY Miso Madai (Seabream) 年年有鱼花开富贵

The symbolic 年年有鱼, 年年有余 Chinese Yu Sheng is must-have starter in our Chinese New Year's feasts, meaning we have abundance for the coming year. Besides the generous Chinese Yu Sheng (鱼生) that's more filling to the stomach, this' another auspicious alternative - a lighter, more refined and delicate version of Yu Sheng using really quality fish and ingredients. This way, you'll have more stomach room for other dishes to follow! Do my Chinese New Year Miso Madai (Seabream) 年年有鱼花开富贵 plates look like Chinese & Japanese gardens respectively? The steamed fish version echoed the Chinese cooking style, making it the Chinese Garden. The other version echoed the Japanese Garden and was served as raw sashimi.

Madai is an iconic and and one of the most prized fish in Japan. Therefore, Japanese typically serve Madai in special or important occasions such as New Year. From the sea bream family, Madai is a seasonal fish that's rare in the summers. I could not contain my happiness when I was able to obtain a portion of this precious catch from Emporium Shokuhin. I immediately prep and serve the fresh fillet upon reaching home. You can imagine the freshness and natural clean, delicate sweetness from the fish. Given such superior quality, there's seriously no necessity to add much seasonings to marinate. I was told by the counter staff that the fillet was of sashimi grade. Therefore, I decided to use half a portion for raw sashimi (Japanese style) and half a portion for steaming (Chinese style). My not-so-fantastic knife skills aside, the dish's so easy to prepare and the madai slices were indeed melt-in-the-mouth, be it raw or steamed. And it's so so so cohesive and flavourful when put together into our mouths with mentaiko chirimen, red baby radish, dill, micro greens and the simple miso dressing. 

This Chinese New Year Miso Madai (Seabream) 年年有鱼花开富贵 will be a sure winner for my family feast this new year.

Ingredients  :

Madai / Seabream

• 250 gm sashimi grade fresh madai (sea bream) fillet (cured in ice water with a little salt and vinegar for 10 mins, drained, sliced and chilled till serve or cook)(available at Emporium Shokuhin)

Sauce

• 1.5 tsp organic dashi miso paste (or to taste)(available at Emporium Shokuhin)
• 5 tbsp mirin (available at Emporium Shokuhin)
• 1 tbsp Japanese sushi vinegar
• 5 tbsp water 

Sides & Garnish

• 1 packet organic asparagus (about 10 sticks)
• a dash of salt & pepper (to season with asparagus for steaming)
• 1 mid-size onion (cut to rings)
• 2 pcs red baby radish (thinly sliced)
• mentaiko chirimen (mentaiko coated dried tiny sardines)(available at Emporium Shokuhin)
• dill (for garnishing)
• mixed edible flowers & micro greens (for garnishing)

Method : 

1. Sprinkle a dash of salt & pepper over asparagus and steam for 5 to 8 mins (subject to size of asparagus). Set aside.
2. To prepare miso sauce, combine dashi miso paste, mirin, vinegar, water in a saucepan and bring to boil. Set aside.
3. Steam a portion of sliced fish for 2 to 3 minutes (or till just cooked).
4. Arrange and assemble asparagus, fish slices (raw and steamed on separate plates), onions, red radish, mentaiko chirimen. 
5. Spoon miso sauce on steamed fish slices. For sashimi, set aside miso sauce for dipping only.
6. Garnish with dill, mixed edible flowers & micro greens before served.

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CNY Herbal Mixed Berries Cookies 药膳果子饼

I hope my photos would make you feel that Chinese New Year's near! We only have these few weeks to fulfil all our CNY home bakes! This year, I'm foregoing my favourite homemade pineapple tarts and bak kwa because husband and I are on weight management mode. My parents, however, requested that I bake some CNY cookies. I'll prefer to make some less sinful ones for them. If you have problems getting your family members to consume Chinese herbal tonic or soup because of the rich pungent smell, you may want to consider this lower sugar, lower carb (as I used more than 50% coconut flour that's supposedly extremely low carb) homemade CNY Herbal Mixed Berries Cookies 药膳果子饼. The true benefits of herbal tonic's so easily and subtly infused that it's almost non-existent in smell. The texture's somehow similar to cereal or oatmeal cookies due to the coarse texture of coconut flour. 

Some may ask why not use 100% coconut flour? You can if you don't mind your cookies having the soft, cake crumble like texture. This is because coconut flour does not create the structure that's necessary for cookies. I chose to use very little sugar as the sweetness from the dried mixed fruits were already sufficient for our palate  It's really versatile. You may adjust the ratio of flour and sugar weightage according to your personal preference. Just remember that the higher ratio of top flour used, the harder texture cookies should yield. 

Bear in mind to consume the herbal cookies sparingly (i.e. do not consume too many pieces a day) to avoid excess heat induced to the body. 

Ingredients (yields about 60 to 70 cookies) :

• 250 gm butter (room temperature, sliced or diced)
• 30 gm castor sugar (or to taste)
• 1 egg
• 40ml Huiji Waist Tonic (use 30 ml to pre-soak mixed berries 1 day beforehand and 10ml to be used for making cookies dough.)
• 3 tbsp water (use together with Huiji Waist Tonic to pre-soak mixed berries)
• 340 gm coconut flour
• 240 gm multi-purpose or top flour (both ok)(sifted beforehand)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 cups organic mixed raisins, dried cranberries, dried rasberries (you may add/reduce in accordance to your preference)

Method : 

1. Pre-soak mixed berries with 30ml Huiji Waist Tonic and 3 tbsp water in a jar one day beforehand.
2. Pre-heat oven to 170C.
3. Mix butter and sugar at high speed till light and fluffy.
4. Add egg and 10ml Huiji Waist Tonic. Mix at low speed till well combined.  
5. Let the mixer continue to run at low speed, spoon in coconut flour and top flour till well combined.
6. Add soaked mixed berries to dough till evenly spread in dough.
7. Remove bowl from mixer, lightly stir dough in bowl with a spoon to ensure ingredients are well combined. 
8. Use spoon or hands to roll and press cookie dough into flat round shapes (do not have to be perfect round shapes) of about a 4 to 5 cm diameter.  
9. Place round cookie dough onto a lined baking tray. Leave a little space in between each row.
10. Bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes. 
11. Once out of oven, allow the cookies to cool for 5 to 10 minutes  before transferring to cooling rack. 

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