Spicy Pad Thai

Commonly found in most Thai restaurants or eateries, Pad Thai is definitely a no-fail when it comes to authentic Thai food. Know what? It was listed as number 5 on World's 50 Most Delicious Foods reader's poll compiled by CNN Go in 2011.

It's the ultimate street food with an exotic fish sauce flavour, hints of lime zest and
mild spiciness to it. For a vegetarian version, you can substitute the shrimps and chicken with fried firm tofu.

Ingredients:

   1/2 package Thai Flat Rice Noodles (pre-soaked in water or boiled according to instructions)
   1/2 cup Chicken Breast (sliced)
   6-8 Shrimps (de-shelled with tail attached)
   1 Egg
   2 tbsp Tamarind paste (mixed well in water)
   3 tbsp Fish sauce
   1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
   2 tsp Lime juice
   2 tsp Sugar
   1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
   Garlic (minced)
   Scallions (chopped into 2 inch strips)
   Bean Sprouts
   Crushed Roasted Peanuts

Instructions:

Heat the pan or wok with cooking oil and stir fry the minced garlic for a while before adding in the chicken strips and shrimps. Continue for about 15 more seconds with high heat and then add in the flat rice noodles and begin to add in the fish sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar and mix everything well. Continue to stir and add in the sugar and tamarind paste juice.

After that, just toss in the bean sprouts and scallions and stir fry again under high heat. Push the noodles aside on the other half of the pan and crack an egg on the wok surface. When the egg is still runny, mix in everything together and finally add in the crushed red pepper flakes according to how spicy you want it to be.

Serve immediately with crushed peanuts and drizzle with lime juice!

Peanut Rice Porridge with Assorted Eggs

Rainy days, wilting leaves, chilly temperatures... ol' Autumn is here again. A bowl of hot rice porridge is the best way to stay warm, with spicy ginger, tiny bits of salty eggs and crunchy-to-every-single-bite peanuts for added texture. My fingers are already freezing now as I type, so I'll just cut the crap and get right into the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 cup of Normal White Rice
1 Salted Egg (chopped into small pieces)
1 Century Egg (chopped into small pieces)
1/2 cup of Peanuts (with the skin intact for the precious nutrients!)
Ginger (thinly sliced)
Scallions (finely chopped)
Cilantro (finely chopped)
White Pepper Powder
Salt
Chicken Bouillon/Powder/Soup Stock

Instructions:

Wash and cook 1 cup of rice with 6 cups of water together with the peanuts in a pot (non-stick preferred) under high heat until it slowly becomes starchy. Stir occasionally to prevent it from getting a burned bottom. Turn down the heat and cook for another 30 minutes with low heat. Remember to add water occasionally to maintain a watery consistency and not dried out.

Then, add in the Chicken Bouillon and salt for added flavour and then followed by the Salted egg and Century egg. Mix everything throughly and continue to cook under low heat until a desired porridge consistency is reached.

Serve with chopped cilantro, scallions, ginger, soy sauce and a few dashes of white pepper powder.

Black Pepper Beef and Tripe

As a student staying away so far from home for so long, sometimes by listening to Home by Michael Bublé won't help much. One of the best ways to ease homesickness is still by eating home comfort food. Hotplate Black Pepper Beef and Tripe is a popular dish that my family would order in a restaurant we frequent once a fortnight back at my hometown. The succulent beef combined with crunchy tripe taste so good in hot black pepper sauce especially when the tripe soaks up all the flavourful gravy, making it the perfect combination!

You can find the pre-washed beef tripe from Asian food stores and if you are not a big fan of offal, just with the beef alone taste very good as well.

Ingredients:

Tripe (pre-washed and soaked in cold water)
Beef (sliced across the grain)
Scallions (chopped finely)
Ginger (chopped finely)
Parsley (chopped finely)
2 tbsp of Oyster sauce
2 tbsp of Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp of Cracked Black Pepper (ground black pepper is fine)
White Pepper Powder (according to taste)
Sea Salt (according to taste)
Corn starch (to thicken the gravy)


Instructions:

First, stir-fry the ginger with high heat to bring out the flavour, then add in the beef slices and spread it evenly on pan and wait until you can see it's slightly burned and caramelized. Flip it over to another side and repeat the process.

After that, add in all the oyster sauce, soy sauce, black and white pepper and continue to stir-fry under high heat for a few seconds before adding half a cup of water and then followed by the tripe, chopped parsley and scallions. Cook until the gravy is slightly reduced and then add in the corn starch (dissolved in cold water) to thicken the gravy. Bring it to a quick simmer it's ready to be served.

Serve over steamed white rice with a drizzle of red chili oil for an extra zing of spiciness!

Peking Potstickers

Similar to Japanese Gyoza, Potstickers are actually the pan-fried version of Chinese Dumplings, Jiao Zi (boiled and served with clear soup). It's pretty easy to make and the process of wrapping it is part of the fun! It is definitely a good activity for gathering family or friends together in a dumpling-wrapping session and have a Dumpling Night!

I would recommend that you wrap as many dumplings as you can and simply freeze the remaining of them for the next meals. Just arrange each one of them on a flat tray or plate and freeze it for an hour until it hardens, then toss everything into a Ziplock bag and seal tight. It can be stored for up to a month in the freezer. To cook, you just have to boil the water and cook without thawing the dumplings beforehand.


Ingredients:

1 pack of Dumpling wrapper skins (can be easily found in most Asian Food Stores)
1/2 pound Ground Pork (or Beef/Chicken/Shrimp)
Garlic Chives (chopped finely)
Parsley (chopped finely)
Ginger (chopped finely)
3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Chinese Cooking Wine (optional)
1 tbsp Fish Sauce
1 tbsp Sesame Oil
1 tbsp Corn Starch


Instructions:

Mix everything up with the meat including the sauces in a big bowl and wrap the filling with the dumpling wrapper skins.

Step-by-Step on how to wrap the dumplings

• Fill the center the dumpling wrapper skin with about half a tablespoon of meat filling.
• Dip a finger into a small bowl of water and wet the edges of the wrapper skin to make it stick when you do the folding.
• Fold the pleats as show in the picture above and then press firmly on the edges to ensure that it is sealed nicely. (you can wet the edges a little bit more if needed.)

Then, coat the non-stick pan with a thin layer of oil and pan fry the dumplings on medium-high heat, when the bottom begins to turn golden brown, pour some water into the pan just enough to form a thin layer of boiling water. This is to steam the dumplings and not boil it. 

Cover with a pan lid for about half a minute and remove. When the water has all evaporated, add in a gentle amount of oil to pan-fry it again until it turns golden brown. Turn over each of the dumplings to the pleated side facing down to fry evenly. 

Serve with chili oil or chinese vinegar. 

Chinese Glutinous Rice with Egg Strips

Glutinous rice, also known as sticky rice, is commonly found in many Asian cuisines. It has a soft but distinctive chewy texture allowing it to retain the flavours of ingredients cooked together with it. It does not contain gluten, making it a safe and perfect option for gluten-free diets.

I would normally make a huge portion and keep the rest in a tightly-sealed container in the refrigerator for reheat later. It stores pretty well and does not turn bad like normal rice do, thus making it perfect for takeaway to school or office eaten either piping hot or in room temperature.

So when you feel like having a quick meal or snack, it's readily available for you anytime, but trust me, it taste so good that you would've finished chowing down everything before it goes into the fridge!

Ingredients:

   2 cups of Glutinous Rice (Pre-soaked overnight or according to package directions)
   Minced pork (optional, can also substitute with ground chicken or turkey)
   3 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (thinly sliced)
   1 tbsp of Dried Small Shrimps
   5 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
   3 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
   2 tbsp Oyster Sauce
   2 tsp Sesame Oil
   1 Egg (optional, thinly sliced pre-made omelette)

Instructions:

Heat the pan or wok with a gentle amount of cooking oil and stir-fry the dried shrimps until it turns golden brown before adding in the minced pork. Continue to stir-fry under medium heat and then add in the Shiitake mushrooms and finally the pre-soaked glutinous rice. Add all the sauces, combine everything well and 1/4 cup of water to prevent it from getting too dry.

Transfer everything into a metal plate and spread evenly. Steam for about 30 minutes. Garnish with red pepper flakes, omelette strips chopped cilantro and scallions before serving.

Spicy Thai Basil Beef with Pandan Rice

Coming back home late in the afternoon after a series of morning classes would sometimes make me feel dreaded to cook, but we still got to eat no matter what. So here's a simple foolproof recipe if you feel like having something flavourful but not time consuming. If you do not consume beef, you can substitute it with pork, chicken or turkey. With the ingredients readily available, you would be enjoying your meal already by the time your take out Chinese or greasy pizza arrive!

Preparation & Cooking time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

   20  x Basil Leaves (depends how strong you want the flavour)
   2    x Red Bird's Eye Chillies (chopped finely)
   3 cloves of Garlic (chopped finely)
   1/2 a bulb of Onion (chopped into fine strips)
   1 pound Choice of Meat (ground or cut into small slices)  *I used Sirloin Steak for its tender texture

For the sauce:

   1 tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
   2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
   3 tbsp Fish Sauce
   1 tsp   Cane Sugar

Instructions:

   Stir-fry the chopped onions on high heat and then followed by the garlic and chillies until golden brown but make sure the garlic is not burned. Add in the beef and spread evenly without stirring constantly to get a 'caramelized' coating on the meat.

   Start to add in all the sauces (you can pre-mix it in a small bowl but not really necessary) and stir fry for another one minute on high heat. Finally toss in the basil leaves and continue for another 1 minute until you see all the leaves have wilted.

   Serve over hot white rice for a lazy laid-back late lunch.

Chunky Guacamole with Tortilla Chips

Once a while, I’ll love to have this Mexican delight. Reasons are that it’s very simple, easy, fast, cheap, healthy and yummy! You can basically find everything you need in the refrigerator, good for a quick healthy snack or appetizer or even party food. Plus you get the benefits of healthy avocado fats too.

So just mix all the ingredients below, and you are all set!

Ingredients:

• 1 x Hass Avocado (diced)
• 1 x Tomato (diced)
• Fresh Coriander
• Serrano Pepper (finely chopped)
• Ground White Pepper
• Lemon juice
• Salt

Serve with your favorite tortilla or on whole-grain crisps!