Spiral Pasta with Corned Beef

All in one pan meal. This would also make a wonderful dish for a potluck.

Spiral Pasta with Corned beef

Ingredients

1 packet (500gm) Spirals pasta (I prefer San Remo Brand)

1 can (340gm) corned beef (I prefer Highway Brand)

10 pieces Shiitake mushroom – sliced thinly

4 chicken sausage – sliced thinly

3 tbsp olive oil

½ Holland / yellow onion – peeled and diced

3 cloves garlic - minced

¼ cup chopped fresh Chinese parsley

½ cup chili sauce

¼ cup tomato sauce

1 tsp mixed herb

1 beef stock cube

¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

Fill a large pot about 2/3 full of water because pasta needs plenty of room to move around as it cooks. Cover the pot with a lid to help bring the water up to the boil more quickly, on high heat. Once it is boiling, remove the lid and add ½ tbsp of salt. Add the pasta to the water. Turn the heat to medium and stir the pasta occasionally as they boil to prevent it from sticking together. Cook it according to its packet instructions. (This is how I normally cook my pasta -- carefully scoop a pasta out of the water and bite into it to see if it’s 'al-dente' or cooked soft enough for my liking. If it is still too hard then boil it for another minute before checking it again.) Turn off the heat. Set a colander in the sink and pour the pasta into the colander and shake it gently back and forth so excess water drips into the sink.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, saute the onion and garlic over medium heat until aromatic.

Add the sausages and stir until it is cooked, for about 1 minute. Stir in the mushroom and cook until it tender and cooked thoroughly.

Add the corned beef, break it up with a spatula and stir.

Add the sauces and beef stock cube. Stir, taste and adjust seasonings. Turn off the heat.

Add the pasta to the sauce and stir to coat. Toss in the chopped parsley. Stir.

Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Pakistani Biryani Rice

Everyone in my family loves biryani rice and here is how I normally cook it. To make a healthier meal, I always use organic free-range chicken instead of a high fat lamb. The chicken and spices will flavour the rice to give it a fabulous aroma and taste.

Easy biryani, no marinating or overnight prep required. 

Pakistani Biryani Rice

Ingredients

4 cup bashmati rice – wash, rinsed and drained

1 whole chicken – cut into 12 pieces / 1kg lamb shoulder – cut into 2½-inch pieces

1 stick cinnamon

4 cardamom pods

4 star anise

10 cloves

2 bay leaves

1 bulb of garlic - peeled

3 yellow onion – peeled and diced

4 green chilies – chopped

2 bunches of coriander leaves – chopped

2 bunches of mint leaves – chopped

¼ cup tomato puree

5 tomatoes - diced

1 tbsp fennel powder

1 tbsp cumin powder

2 tbsp coriander powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

3” ginger – peeled and blended

1 cup plain yogurt

½ cup water

4 small potatoes – peeled and diced

3 drops of Orange food colouring

1 1/3 tbsp salt

4 pcs hard boiled eggs - peeled

¼ cup evaporated milk

½ cup of olive oil

¼ cup raisin

Directions

Add about ¾ water in a medium-sized pot and toss in the bay leaves, 1 star anise and 2 cardamom pods. Bring to a boil. Add in the rice and cook until the rice is ¾ cooked. Drain.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat, sauté the cinnamon stick, 3 star anise, 2 cardamom pods, cloves and garlic until the garlic is soft and golden.

Stir in the yellow onion and sauté until aromatic.

Add in the green chilies and continue to sauté for 1 minute or so.

Add in half of the chopped mint and half of the chopped coriander leaves then stir for another 1 minute.

Stir in the tomato puree and the diced tomatoes. Add in the fennel powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder and blended ginger. Stir to mix well until the oil separates.

Add in the chicken / lamb then stir for another 1 minute or so until the chicken / lamb is nicely coated. Add in the water, yogurt and potatoes.

Add 3 drops of orange food colouring. Season generously with salt and give it a quick stir. Cook for another 10 minutes or so until the chicken / lamb is fully cooked, the potatoes is tender and the gravy has thickened.

Add in the eggs and spread the rice over it. Turn the heat to low.

Sprinkle the evaporated milk. Scatter the raisin and the remaining mint leaves and coriander leave on top. Cook with lid on for half an hour until the rice is fully cooked.

Place the rice on a large serving dish. Serve with a fresh mixed salad or achar. Enjoy!

Mom's Sticky Rice Dumplings

I just learnt to wrap choong from my mother. She is the choong making pro in my family. I have been eating choong since I was able to eat them. Every year my mother will prepare choong to be shared among family and close friends during Christmas or Chinese New Year. My daughter is a huge fan of choong.

This is my 1^st attempt and I must say that making choong is actually quite simple and easy. But I did some modification to suit my daughter’s preference. (Will post the recipe here once I am done writing it). 

My mother wrap choong with pandan leaves instead of the bamboo leaves.  

Khabsa Arabian Rice

Simple and flavourful rice dish. It can be made with many variations. I use lamb and olive oil instead of ghee or vegetable oil for this recipe. If you want a fluffy and dry texture rice then go for the long grain bhasmati rice. Rinse away all of the starch by rinsing the rice until the water runs clear. Don't be alarmed, rinsing the rice does not rinse the nutrients out as the nutrients are inside of the grain and not on the outside. Then dress up the rice a little. 

Khabsa Arabian Rice

Ingredients

4 cup bashmati rice – wash, rinsed and drained

2 yellow onion – peeled and diced

10 cloves garlic - peeled

2 bay leaves

2 tbsp Khabsa Spices (See below for homemade mix)

4 green chilies – chopped

1 stick cinnamon

4 cardamom pods

2 star anise

500gm lamb – cut into medium large pieces

½ cup tomato puree

2 bunches of coriander leaves – chopped

2 bunches of mint leaves – chopped

1 carrot – peeled and sliced

1/2 cup water

½ cup of olive oil

4 tbsp evaporated milk

Orange food colouring

¼ cup raisin

1 tbsp salt / to taste

Directions

Add water in a medium-sized pot and toss in the bay leaves, 1 star anise and 2 cardamom pods. Bring to a boil. Add in the rice and cook until the rice is ¾ cooked. Drain.

In a heavy-bottomed pot, sauté the cinnamon stick, 1 star anise, 2 cardamom pods and garlic until the garlic is soft and golden.

Stir in the yellow onion and sauté until aromatic.

Add in the green chili and continue to sauté for 1 minute or so.

Add in half of the chopped mint and half of the chopped coriander leaves then stir for another 1 minute.

Add in the tomato puree and stir.  Add in the Khabsa spices and stir to mix well.

Add in the lamb and carrot then stir for another 1 minute or so until the lamb is nicely coated and the oil separates. Add in ½ cup of hot water.

Add 3 drops of orange food colouring. Season generously with salt. Lower the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes or so until the lamb is fully cooked.

Add rice to the pot and lower the heat to low.

Scatter the raisin and the remaining mint leaves and coriander leave on top. Sprinkle the evaporated milk. Cook with lid on for half an hour until the rice is fully cooked.

Place the rice on a large serving dish. Serve with a fresh mixed salad or pickled cucumber.  

Khabsa Spice Mix

1 tbsp cloves

1 tbsp black pepper corn

1 tbsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp coriander seeds

1 tbsp cardamom pods

1 tbsp chili powder

1 tbsp ginger powder

1 tsp turmeric powder

Directions

Heat a skillet over low heat. When the skillet is hot, add the cloves, black pepper corns, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and cardamom pods. Stir continuously to make sure it doesn’t burn.  

Cook them until aromatic and start to pop. Let it cool.

Grind the spices until you have a fine powder. Add the chili powder, turmeric powder and ginger powder. Keep in an airtight jar. 

Bread Pudding

You'll never be stumped with what to do with your leftovers bread again. You can transform them to dessert without much work. This is one of our family’s favorite recipes and is perfect served with a big scoop of ice cream, warm vanilla sauce or just top it with a drizzle of condensed milk. But honestly, it’s delicious just by itself. I do have a recipe for a vanilla sauce but I don’t have a picture of it yet so I’ll be sure to add it to this post when I do.

You can make it ahead of time even a day before then refrigerate it. Just reheat slices in the microwave or if you want to reheat the whole dish in the oven, you could cover it with foil and put it in the oven at 175°C for 10-15 minutes or until it’s warm.

This pudding is cook in a bain marie or water bath, to help the pudding to cook slowly and evenly to avoid rubbery edges or a dry surface. Hope you enjoy the bread pudding!

Bread Pudding

Ingredients

9 slices bread – break into small pieces

2 cup fresh / full cream milk

½ cup sugar

1 tbsp unsalted butter - melted

Pinch salt

3 whole eggs – lightly beaten

½ tsp vanilla extract

¼ cup prune - chopped

Directions

Preheat oven to 180⁰C and grease an 8” non-stick square baking pan.

In a small sauce pan, heat milk over medium heat just until bubbles form around the edge and steam begins to rise from the milk.  

Add in the bread cubes. Stir well, then set aside for 5 mins to soak. Stir in the butter, salt and sugar to combine well. Allow to cool before stirring in the eggs, vanilla extract and chopped prune.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Put the baking pan in a roasting pan and place it in the preheated oven. Carefully pour hot water into the roasting pan around the baking pan until about halfway up the sides of the baking pan. Avoid splashing water into the nicely filled pudding. If the water evaporates before the pudding is done cooking then add more hot water.

Bake uncovered for 45 to 1 hour until firm and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.  

Claypot Chicken Rice without Claypot

Hub is out of town again. So every time he’s not around, I will whip up a one-dish meal for the 3 of us. Around here my kids eat what I make. Sometimes I make something new and the rule is they have to try a bite (chew and swallow) before they are allowed to declare they don't like it. If they don't eat dinner because they truly don't like it then they can have fruit afterwards but that's it. They either eat it or they don't, no crying about it. I don't have time for that. If they're "not hungry" then I'll save their plate for later. 

A satisfying chicken and rice one-pot that makes a great family dinner. You don't need a clay pot to whip up a fragrant clay pot chicken rice. This tasty dish is one-pot cooking at its best. 

Claypot Chicken Rice without Claypot

Adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Ingredients

2 cups rice
2 skinless chicken breast
1 stalk scallion - chopped
3 inches ginger - peel the skin and chop into thin strips
6 shitake mushrooms - soak in hot water for 30 minutes and cut into halves
1 small piece salted fish - cut into small pieces
½ bunch of Bok choy – remove the lower part, rinse and drained

Seasoning for chicken

2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
¼ tsp chicken boullion powder
½ tsp corn starch
½ tsp sesame oil
5 dashes white pepper powder
¼ tsp sugar

Seasoning for rice

2 tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp cooking oil
1 pinch of salt

 

Directions

Chop the chicken breast into 2-inch pieces.

Add the chicken seasoning and mix well. Marinate for an hour in the fridge.

Rinse and clean the rice in a rice cooker as if you are making steamed rice after the chicken is marinated for an hour.

Add the rice seasoning and cooking oil into the rice and start cooking the rice.

At the same time, heat up a wok with some cooking oil then sauté the ginger until fragrant. Add the marinated chicken and shitake mushrooms. Stir for a minute to mix well.

Stir-fry the chicken until fully cooked. Add in the chopped scallions. Dish out and set aside.

Deep fry the salted fish and blanched the bok choy. Set aside.

Add the chicken into the rice cooker when the rice is almost dry (about 7-8 minutes) and continue to cook till rice is completely cooked.

Leave the rice cooker on “Stay Warm” for 15 – 20 minutes before serving.

Top the chicken rice with fried salted fish and blanched bok choy. Serve immediately.