Scallops with Broccoli & Chinese mushrooms (under 5 min!)

This is definitely another one of those impress-your-mother-in-law dishes. First of all, it's got all those round, juicy, white scallops that all old folks know just how much you've spent to buy them. That makes them feel worthy of your honouring them with such money, and hence, important. Secondly, it's simply a tradional Chinese delicacy. Afterall, it's eaten at Chinese wedding dinners, Chinese reunion dinners and so on, so you can't go wrong with preparing scallops for your in-laws. You can easily get them off NTUC or Cold Storage (might be fresher, bigger and juicier in Cold Storage). Have fun with this one and impress your mother-in-law!


Equipment:

1. Chopping board
2. Chopper or chef knife
3. Non-stick frying pan
4. Wooden spatula
   

Ingredients:

1. Juicy, white Scallops --- a pack
   
2. Brocolli --- 1 big floret
3. Carrot --- either half a big carrot or a half a pack of baby carrots (the type that's washed and ready to eat)
4. Chinese mushrooms --- about 8 big ones
5. Garlic --- 6 cloves
6. Oil --- a dash or 1 tablespoon
   
7. Oyster sauce --- 3 tablespoons
8. Cornflour --- 1 tablespoon
9. Water --- half a cup

Method:
First, since Chinese mushrooms take some time to soften, soak them first--- 20 minutes for hot water; one hour for cold water. Meanwhile, you can get to work dicing the garlic, washing and slicing the broccoli into pretty little florets and rinsing the scallops in cold running water to get rid of any loose stones. For the carrots, if you're using a big carrot, you can slice it into thin, round or oval slices. You can even make little stars out of the carrots if you wish. Some people say you need to peel them, but I'm not really bothered. I think as long as you wash it properly, giving it a good rub under running water, it'll be fine. And if you use the ready to eat baby carrots in a pack, you don't even have to do anything!

Once the Chinese mushrooms are softened, you're ready to stir-fry!

Throw in the garlic first with a dash of oil. Once fragrant, dump in the scallops, broccoli and Chinese mushrooms (whole). Pour in the water you used to soak the mushrooms and cover the pan with a lid. Let all the ingredients simmer for about 2 minutes, until all their individual juices have oozed out and fused together in the liquid. Their combined aroma will rise up when you open the lid...Mmmmm! I can almost smell it even as I write about it.

Finally, add your oyster sauce and do up the thickening.

Final result: Steaming scallops with fresh green broccoli, bright orange carrots and fragrant Chinese Mushrooms, all under 5 minutes of cooking time! (Can it get any easier than that!?!)

Triplet Mushrooms (Must Try!)

I first heard of this recipe from Fang Tai off the television. She did it with oyster sauce and sprinkled it with crispy fried, bits of bacon. But Don and I experimented with this dish for a while and we modified it to our taste. It was one of the life savers that helped us shed more than 15 kg each about 5 years ago! And certainly everyone who had tasted it gave it the thumbs up. All the mushrooms used in this dish can be bought in NTUC. You can choose any 3 types. In fact, if you like mushrooms, you can even use more than 3 kinds, although I think the taste of too many might spoil the broth!

If you love mushrooms, this will dazzle you to bits!

Equipment:

1. Wok or non-stick saucepan with lid
   
2. Wooden spatula to fry ingredients in your non-stick saucepan
3. Chopping Board
4. Chopper or chef knife
5. Big presenting plate or mega-sized porcelain bowl

Ingredients:

You can choose any 3 of the following types of mushrooms to use, but personally, I like to use the oyster mushrooms in all my dishes as it has such a distinctive taste.

1. Oyster Mushrooms --- 1 pack
   
2. White button mushrooms --- 1 box
3. Brown button mushrooms --- 1 box
4. Portobello mushrooms --- 1 box
5. Shi-itake mushrooms --- 1 pack
   
6. Chinese mushrooms --- about 8 large
   

Note for cleaning mushrooms:

• For mushroom types (1) and (5), I'll give them a quick rinse under running water.
  
• For mushrooms types (2), (3) and (4), use a damp cloth to wipe the mushrooms clean. Washing these with water will affect their texture.
• For mushroom type (6), dip them in a bowl full of water, wash off the dirt from their caps and throw away the first rinse. Then soak them in the same bowl with a fresh lot of water for at least 20 minutes. This way, you can use the water you've soaked these mushrooms to add to your dish later.
  

Other ingredients:

1. Garlic --- 6 cloves
2. Dash of oil for frying the garlic
   
3. Oyster sauce --- 3 tablesoons
4. Cornflour --- 1 tablespoon
5. Water --- half to 1 cup (depending on how thick or thin you like your gravy)
   
6. Basil herb --- as much as you like
7. Oregano herb --- as much as you like
8. Rosemary herb --- none or as much as you like (some people don't like its distintive taste, so you might want to go easy on it if it's your first time using it)
   

Optional:

1. Flat-leaf Parsley or coriander for garnishing

Method:

Chop up the garlic and throw it into the pan to stir fry with a dash of oil till fragrant. Then throw in your 3 choices of mushrooms and pour in the oyster sauce. After coating the mushrooms with the sauce, put on the lid and let the fungi (yeah, mushrooms are fungi!) cook till they let out their own juices. You can add a little water to help the process if you think the heat is too high and the mushrooms are burning too fast at the bottom of the pot. Once the mushrooms have all caramelized and their juices have been given out, you'll see their flesh soften and the fragrance is absolutely heavenly!

When you think they're soft enough, add the cornflour and water for thickening. Finally, sprinkle generous amounts of the basil and oregano herb, or any other herbs you fancy. In traditional Chinese cooking, you probably wouldn't use such Italian herbs. But the fusion of Italian herbs with Chinese Oyster sauce was such a succesful experiment that everyone loved it. Just give it a try if you can't imagine it. You really must try this to give your taste buds a whole new experience. That's what I love about being a Singaporean. We have no qualms about mixing cultural foods! As a finishing touch, garnish the dish with parsley.

Final result: Triplet Mushrooms (the ultimate sensation!)

Poached Whole Big Fishes (So easy!)

This dish, my father-in-law absolutely adore! When Don and I were just married, and I heard that my father-in-law loved to eat fish, I always made sure there was a fish dish on the table, whenever we had them over for dinner. But this particular recipe was special!

When I first presented it on the table, I could see from their scrutinising faces that they didn't believe their daughter-in-law----who came from a rather snobbish family and had been waited upon hand and foot through generations of maids!----could cook fish. And not just fish, but a whole one, complete with garnishing on the sides and the top. I pretended not to see them scrutinising the dish for failures to cook it through and strutted back to the kitchen with my chin held high. The last scene I saw before I was out of sight from the dining table was my mother-in-law relentlessly picking at the flesh with her chopsticks to see if anything would fall apart. Well, they would be wrong of their lowly opinion of my cookery skills. Ha! Did they not know that I had even received a culinery award for this dish?

Actually, the account of the award was really quite funny. It happened when I was in Manchester (where else?) and staying in a catered hall. On the weekends, there was no food catering, so the students had to make their own meals. My room-mate, a fellow Singaporean, and I shared food money, and I had prepared to cook this fish dish for our dinner. The way to cook the whole fish is to submerge it completely in hot water. So I had this whole fish submerged in a covered wok of hot water perged on a chair as theren't enough space in the kitchen. Then I left the kitchen to relax in my own room whilst waiting for the fish to cook. Suddenly, I heard this bloodcurdling scream coupled with clanking, rolling metal sounds outside the room and rushed out to see what had happened.

My wok lid rolled to a stop at my foot in a resounding clang. I looked at my fish and saw that it had remained unharmed. Except for the slight undulating movements of the water in the wok, there were no signs of the upheaval that just took place. You see, the British were terrified of seeing any food with the head still on. And my whole fish had frightened the poor soul, whoever it was, who had walked by and probably opened the wok lid nonchalantly in speculation of what it could be since it was perched suspiciously on a chair.

And how does all this tie in with my culinery award? Well, it was tradition for the halls of residence to dish out awards in the name of fun and laughter annually. There were those who received 'the cleanest room' award, 'the poorest dressed in the halls' award and so on. As for me, I received my 'Best Culinery Skills" award for the moment when I had scared the wits out of a hall mate with my submerged, glazed-looking fish. Apparently, the story had traveled throughout the halls saying how the fish had looked at the unsuspecting girl with its ghoulish eyes and tore her heart with fear. Anyway, I gained instant fame and was nominated the award six months later without any contention. I must say I had cleanly forgotton the incident until the award was presented to me complete with its justifications vociferously explained by the announcer, to my chagrin.

Enough said, here goes---the infamous poached whole fish dish!


Equipment:

1. Wok or saucepan (at least big enough to submerge your fish in)
2. Big spoon or ladle to slide your fish out of wok when it's done
3. A frying pan or griddle to fry your garlic (you can use a non-stick saucepan too if you wish)
4. Wooden spoon to stir-fry (or metal one is you're not using non-stick pans for your stir-fry)
5. Big plate to present your fish when all is complete

Ingredients:

1. Whole fish --- 1 big or 2 small (Any type would do, I've tried it with seabass and red snappers. They work the same.)
2. Oyster sauce --- 3 tablespoons
3. Cornflour ---- 1 teaspoon (or more if you like the gravy thick)
4. Garlic ---- 6 cloves (or as much as you like)
5. Oil ---- about 1 tablespoon or less (if you're health conscious)

Optional:

1. Tomatoes ---- enough to go around the plate for garnishing
2. Flat-leaf parsley or coriander
   

Method:
Boil a wok of water enough for submerging the fish completely. Once the water has boiled, switch off the heat and gently slide the fish into the water. Now I am assuming you know that you should have descaled and cleaned out the fish by now. If you haven't, you need to do that first. Simply use an apple peeler to remove the scales. Then gently slice the fish near the gills (just below the head) parallel along the fish body to part the gills and reveal the organs. Do not use too much pressure and burst the gall bladder of the fish. Otherwise, the fish will taste of bile from it and no matter what you do, you would not be able to remove the bitter taste. Once you have located the organs in the pocket of gills you have created, you can use running water to help the organs float to the top and remove them with your fingers. Actually, if you're new to all this and want to save yourself the hassle, just buy your whole fish cleaned from the supermarkets. The fish sellers can do it for you in a matter of seconds.

Next, let the fish poach for 20 minutes. Remember to switch off the heat, otherwise, the fish would overcook. The hot water that has just boiled is of perfect temperature to poach the fish to perfection.

Meanwhile, chop up your garlic or mince them. (Most times, I'm lazy and buy ready-chopped garlic. They only cost 99 cents from NTUC and are so convenient!) Then stir-fry the garlic in your frying pan (or whatever you're using). Once they become brown and crisp, remove them from the pan. Next, put the oyster sauce into the pan, add the cornflour with some water for thickening and heat your gravy.

Once your 20 minutes is up, gently take your fish out of the wok and place it in your presenting plate. Pour the gravy over the fish and sprinkle the garlic all over the fish body.

For extra garnishing, slice the tomatoes and encircle the fish on the plate so it has a beautiful mix of colours and creates a pattern on the plate. The flat-leaf parsley or coriander is nice to go over the garlic or just sparsely strewn over the dish for extra effects!

Result: A Whole Poached Fish in Oyster Sauce (You'll love this!)

Claypot Chicken Rice (Piece of cake!)

Alright, it can't get any easier with this recipe. I first tried this when I was studying at the University of Manchester. As a student, you try to save as much money as you can, so food was normally rationed among the few of us who shared meals. And the ingredients to this dish is dirt cheap in UK. This dish is so easy to prepare, and so delicious, you'd always be ready to eat this. And it's got all the nutrition you need in a pot: mainly white meat, a bit of red meat, vegetables and carbohydrates. The aroma of all the ingredients are infused and locked in one big rice cooker....oh it's making my saliva come out just thinking about it! And no, you don't need to get a claypot, it tastes just the same with a rice cooker. I used to make it in bulk, then save it for a few days in the fridge, or freezer (depending on how long I thought I'd save it!). So here goes the legendary claypot chicken rice----made easy!

Equipment:

1. Rice cooker at least 1.8L (preferably non-stick ones)
2. Chopping board
3. Chopper or a knife able to cut meat
4. A big bowl or receptacle with a surface area big enough to soak your Chinese mushrooms
5. Chopsticks and bowls to serve your claypot chicken rice when done
   

Ingredients:

1. Chicken thighs and legs --- 4 parts or as much as you want, you can always substitute for chicken breast meat if you're health conscious
2. Chinese mushrooms --- 6 or as much as you want
   
3. Chinese sausages or lap cheong --- one
   
4. Xiao bai chai --- as much as you want
5. White long-grain or fragrant rice --- 1 cup (again, you can substitute with brown rice if you're health conscious)
6. Ginger --- 1 big piece
7. Garlic --- 6 cloves or more if you like
8. Oyster sauce --- 3 tablespoons
   
9. Dark soy sauce --- 1 tablespoon
   
10. Sugar --- 1 teaspoon or honey --- 1 tablespoon
    

Method:
Soak your Chinese mushrooms in a bowl or whatever you're using. It takes a good 2 hours if you use cold water, but only about 20 minutes if you use hot water. While waiting for the mushrooms, slice the lap cheong and cut up the chicken parts into smaller pieces. Once the mushrooms are done, you can either slice them or cook them whole. I don't generally cut up the ginger if I'm using it to cook the rice, so it's easier to remove when the food is done. The same goes for the garlic.

Then, simply dump all the ingredients (except the vegetables at this point) into your rice cooker and cook as you would your normal rice. Add the oyster sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar or honey once the food is cooked and the rice cooker indicates that it's on the warm mode. Then pop the vegetables on top of the rice and let it steam for about 10 minutes under the warm mode of the cooker.

Result: Absolutely delicious claypot chicken rice --- made without claypot, ha!

Hainanese Chicken Rice (made easy)

Personally, I always thought this was one of my best impress-your-mother-in-law recipes, apart from my claypot chicken rice concoction. It is so easy, you'll have it done within 40 minutes (including cleaning up time after cooking!) and everyone will think you're an amazing cook. I got the recipe from one of the mothers in the Manchester Chinese Christian Church when I was studying in Manchester after my A-levels. A lot of my recipes are from them and other friends during my 4-year stint in England. Sigh, England*----my dream home and sanctuary away from the crazy, fast-paced, clockwork, no-nonsense, every-man-for-better-wealth-now-or-never cosmopolitan Singapore. Anyway, if you need to whip up a quick dish under S$10 to feed 4 mouths, you've got it!

Equipment:

1. Microwave oven with at least 1.5L capacity or 1.0 cubic feet
   
2. Microwave oven-safe Casserole dish
3. Coriander to wash your vegetables
4. Rice cooker
   
5. Chop-sticks and bowls to serve your rice
6. Chopping board to chop up your chicken after it's cooked to look like you're serving it at the hawker centre
7. A centre piece plate to present your chicken after it's done
   

Ingredients:

1. Whole Spring Chicken ---- 1 whole
   
2. White long-grained rice or fragrant rice ---- 1 cup
   
3. Ginger ---- 1 big piece (or as much as you like!)
4. Garlic ---- 6 cloves of garlic (or as much as you like!)
5. Salt ---- just a pinch (or as unhealthy as you want to have it!)
6. Some green leafy vegetables, eg xiao bai chai, chinese bak choy, kailan, or whatever you fancy for the day...
7. Oyster sauce ---- 3 tablespoons
8. Cornflour ---- 1 dessert spoon
9. Water ---- 1/2 cup (or 1 cup, if you like it with more gravy, might have to adjust the amount of cornflour proportionately)

Optional:

1. Cucumber ---- as much as you want (I won't talk about this vegetable in this recipe as I'm sure you'll know what to do with it...just use your imagination...and no no, nothing kinky, think straight, remember how they usually present them at the hawkers? Yes, good, yeah, just slice them into nice, flat, oval-shaped pieces and surround your chicken on the plate as the perfect garnishing)
   

Method:

For the chicken:
Rub the salt around the chicken. Put it in a microwave oven-safe casserole dish, and put it into a microwave oven. Cook uncovered, on high, for 20 minutes. Then turn over and cook for another 15 to 20 minutes, depending on how big your bird is.

Result: Bak Cham Kai -- perfecto! (English: white spring chicken -- perfect!)

There'll be oil that comes out of the chicken. Take out the chicken from the dish and leave the oil for use later with the rice.

For the vegetables:
Heat a non-stick frying pan with some EVOO (extra virgin olive oil). Start the stir-fry with sauteeing some of the garlic till fragrant, then dump in your vegetables for the day (whatever they are!) Add the oyster sauce to the vegetables when they're almost done (about 5-10 minutes). Some people would make the gravy separate from the cooking vegetables, but who cares? I'm lazy. Just lug in the oyster sauce (you can choose to put more in if you like it saltier, never mind that your kidneys have to work harder...). Add the cornflour to the water, stir it till it's just dissolved (you shouldn't get any lumps with the flour), and pour it over the oyster sauce to make the thickening.

Result: You Chai (English: vegetables with oyster-sauce)

For the rice:
Dump whatever amount of rice you want to eat into a rice cooker. I suggested one cup for 4 persons above. Throw in the ginger and garlic and leave it to cook as you would your usual rice. But the ginger and the garlic would give you that ultimate flavour of chicken rice. Some people say you need to add chicken stock, but personally, I like to eat with less fuss and cut the MSG.

Once done, add the oil from the chicken. And maybe a dash of sesame oil. If you want to be really healthy, cut the oil.

Result: you have a perfect fragrant chicken rice!