Cook with Tefal ClipsoMinut Duo

A collaboration with Tefal Singapore!

Cooking made simpler and healthier with Tefal's latest kitchen innovation, designed and made in France. Tefal ClipsoMinut Duo is the first ever 2-in-1 pressure cooker and stewpot. Retail price at S$309.00 (comes with recipe book). Avaliable at Best Denki, Courts, Gain City, Harvey Norman, OG, Takashimaya, Tangs and Lazada.

Here's some of the key features of #TefalClipsoMinutDuo:

* Cooks up to 2 times faster

* Comes with steamer basket, can steam and stew at the same time

* Non stick surface is ideal for stir frying and slow cooking

* Titanium Extra Coating makes it easy to clean

* One handed opening that allows you to open and close the pressure cooker breezily

* Controlled steam option controls excess steam pressure

* Stainless steel lid

* Light weight, 5L pot perfect for a family of 3-5 persons

* Suitable for induction

You don't need lots of talent and lessons to be a great home cook. All you need are smart, thoughtful tools and a little practice. 

Simple Coq au Vin (French Chicken Stewed in Red Wine)

An easy and yummy French chicken dish - Coq Au Vin that I enjoy. Recipe adapted from The Batter Baker.

Chicken Chop

Easy weekend cooking!

Chicken Chop in mushroom sauce with pasta in tomato sauce and saute assorted capsicum!

Pot Roast Chicken

Pot roast chicken! Love how the Le creuset cast iron pot retained the moisture of the meat n cooked the hard veg so well! No wonder so many people crazy over them! Yummy!

Opening ceremony for my Le Creuset. A birthday gift from my aunt! Thank you for the love! 

Easter April 2011 $20 Budget Meal - Easy Hot & Spicy Meal

To whip up a nice hot and spicy meal is no longer a difficult chore nowadays with so many ready paste available in the market. I remembered my grandma used to spend a lot of times preparing rempah (chilli paste). Even my aunt who's cook very well also find it tedious to do so. So usually I will buy the rempah from the wet market where some of the stalls sell homemade type. Am submitting this easy hot and spicy menu to [Easter April 2011 $20 Budget Meal] hosted by Ellena of Cuisine Paradise.

S$20 Budget Meal Summary (Serve 4) - Total cost S$17.75

S$20 Budget Meal S$17.75 - Cost breakdown

Seah's Chicken Curry - S$10.60

Fried Egg Sambal - S$4.40

Stir Fry Bittergourd & Clam in Miso Sauce - S$2.75

Paper Wrapped Chicken

Aunt's recipe - Paper Wrapped Chicken

Ingredients:
Chicken (whole) - 1.2 kg
Spring Onion - 6 stalk (cut 2.5"L)
Young Ginger - 40g (Shredded)
Paper Packet - 20 pcs

Seasoning:
(A)
3 tbsp Light sauce
2 tsp Oyster sauce
2 tsp Vetsin
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Sugar
1 tsp Sesame oil
Pepper

(B)
1 tbsp Rice wine
1/2 tbsp Ginger juice
2 tbsp oil (add last)

Method:
1. Cut chicken into approximately 20pcs. Marinate with seasoning (A) for 2 hours. Stir occasionally. 15 mins before the the marinate time is up, add in seasoning (B), except oil mix well.

2. When the chicken is well marinated and ready to wrap, add in 2 tbsp of oil & mix well.

3. In each paper packet, place a piece of chicken, some shredded ginger & spring onion. Roll to seal opening & staple both ends.

4. Heat a deep frying pot with oil (almost 1L of oil) till hot. Place chicken packet to stand in wok & deep fry over low flame for 7-8 mins.

I didn't take a nice photo of the chicken as I was too busy eating! The chicken was really tasty and the flavour was further enhanced by the fragrant of spring onion and ginger. So yummy though a bit oily.

Seah's Spices - Salt-Roasted Chicken with Fried Rice Stuffing

6 Feb 2011

Received a gift pack from Seah's Spices just before CNY in appreciation to me for featuring one of Seah's products on my blog recently. Thank you Yunling from Seah's Spices.

Received a total of 21 types of Seah's Spice premixes. Some of them are quite new to me and will be delighted to try them out.

During the CNY holidays, I tried out the Salted Roasted Chicken spice which I been wanted to try since I saw Ellena's post. However this was always out of stock on the Supermarket shelve. Glad that I found this in the gift pack.



I didn't follow Ellena's recipe but used her idea to roast the chicken. Instead of stuffing chestnut rice, I just used simple fried rice. This was what I did:

Ingredients:1 fresh whole chicken (1.1-1.2 kg)
1 pack Seah's Spice Salt Roasted Chicken Spices (contain 2 sachets, use 1 only)
1 small slab of butter

1 carrot
2 red skin potatoes
1 onion
Mixed herbs & chilli flakes

1 bowl of cooked calrose rice
1 egg
1 clove garlic (chopped)
some spam & green peas




Methods:
1. Cut potatoes & carrot into thick chunks and boil in water till cooked. In a frying pan, add olive oil to fry the cooked vegetables with the herbs & chilli flakes till slightly golden brown, Add salt & pepper to taste. Transfer to the base of the baking dish, toss with onion wedges. Set aside.

2. In a frying pan, heat up olive oil. Add spam and garlic, fry till fragrant. Add in beaten egg, follow by cooked rice. Stir till well mix and add green pea. Lastly salt & pepper to taste.

3. Stuff the fried rice into the chicken cavity and seal it with a stick.

4. Spread a pack of Seah's Spice all over the chicken evenly and place it on top of the cooked vegetables. Add a slab of butter on top of the chicken. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200-220 deg C for 30-35 mins till golden brown.

Really quite simple to make.


With stuffing the chicken too a longer time to cook. Usually my roast chicken takes about 20-25 mins but with the rice, it took about 35 mins.


This is how I served, blanched some broccoli and serve it with the roasted vegetables and rice stuffing. My family enjoyed the chicken though the spice was quite light but the chicken was still quite tasty.

Seah's Emperor Herb Chicken

Seah's Spices have been around in Singapore for years and specialised in premix spices. Easily available in local wet markets and supermarkets. Their products include premixes for stir fried, deep fried, broth, soup, roasted, steamed and braised dishes. They even have premix for dessert and beverage. Anyone who don't know how to cook can easily whip up some homestyle dishes without much effort, making it so convenient and fuss free. The best part is the premixes are mostly concocted rather well. One of my favourite will be the Emperor Herb Chicken Spice which I had made numerous times in the past. Since Aunt came over to stay with us, I have not been cooking much except for weekends.

I was at the supermarket thinking to cook something nice and fuss free on a Saturday evening instead of buying takeaway. Seah's spice came to my mind so decided to grab a pack and a chicken home to cook. It's so easy to prepare and the only hassel was the long hour of steaming so this can only be done on weekend. Aunt was the first time trying the Emperor chicken and I am glad she likes it.

Ingredients:
1 whole Kampong Chicken - approx 1 - 1.2kg (remove the head)
1 pack Seah's Emperor Herb Chicken Spices
HDPE wrapper and aluminium foil (incl. in packet)
Optional:
3 nos of red dates (remove the seed)
2 dried shitake mushroom (soak to soften and slice it)
1 tbsp brandy
Spring onion, coriander & red chilli for garnishing




Method:
1. Appy Seah's Emperor Herbs Chicken Spices on skin and internal of chicken.
2. Add in the mushroom, red dates & brandy.
3. Wrap chicken with HDPE wrapper and aluminium foil.
4. Steam for about 2½ hours using low fire. Garnish & serve hot.

After 2.5 hours of steaming, the chicken was ready to serve for dinner. The sauce was so flavourful and sweet tasting with the essence of chicken. The chicken was steamed till very soft and tender. It's a comfort dish to go with steaming hot rice.

Complete my dinner with a simple stir fry chinese cabbage with clams. What a wonderful homecooked meal!

Fried Chicken with Sambal

Aunt's homecooking recipe:
Fried Chicken with Sambal

Ingredients:
Chicken thigh/boneless leg - 4 nos (aprox 1kg)
Sambal sauce

Chicken seasoning:
(season chicken for at least 45 mins)
Light sauce - 4tso
Oyster sauce - 3tsp
Sugar - 1tsp
Vetsin - 1tsp
Wine - 2tsp
Sesame oil & pepper

Sambal sauce:
Chilli base - 2tbsp
Belachan - 8g
Light sauce - 1tsp
Sugar - 1/2 tsp
Stock - 4tbsp

Method:
1. Coat chicken with about 1 tbsp potato starch and deep fried till cooked & golden brown. Set aside.
2. Heat 1 tbsp oil, use low heat to fry sambal mixture till fragrant.
3. Serve fried chicken with sambal.

Chicken Stew

Aunt's homecooking recipe:
Chicken Stew
(Adapted from Mrs Lee's Cookbook, Aunt altered the recipe to cater to our taste)

Ingredients:

Chicken - 1 no approx 1.2kg, Sakura brand at NTUC (cut into big pcs & season with 1 tbsp dark sauce)

Potato - 300g } (skinned & cut into big pcs)

Carrot - 200g }

Celery - 2 sticks (cut into bite size)

Tomatoes - 2 nos (1/4 it)

Onion - 1 no (1/4 it)

Shallot - 4 nos (chopped)

Cinnamon stick - 2 nos

Sauce:
1/4 tsp Cinnamon powder
2 tsp Sugar
1.5 tsp Salt
1.5 tbsp Oyster sauce
600ml Water
200ml Stock
Thickening - Cornflour 2 tbsp + water 6 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat 3 tbsp oil in wok, add chopped shallot to fry till fragrant.

2. Add chickem (skin side down), sear till lightly brown.

3. Add potato, carrot, celery, tomato, onion & cinnamon stick, stir fry for awhile.

4. Add in sauce, bring to boil & lower to simmer for 20 mins. (Optional, can dish out the chicken pcs and let the veg continue to simmer if you preferred chicken to be juicy instead of soft)

5. Add thickening & continue to simmer for another 40 mins or till the potatoes are softened (the last 5 mins add back the chicken pcs).

Steamed Chicken with Mushroom & Black Fungus

Aunt's recipe: Steamed Chicken with Mushroom & Black Fungus



Ingredients:
1/2 no (700g) Chicken (cut into bite size pcs)
4 nos Fresh shitake mushroom
4 pcs Black fungus (soaked & trimmed)
3 stalks Spring onion (cut lengthwise)
4 slices Ginger
1/2 tbsp Ginger juice (add lastly)

Seasoning:
1/2 chicken powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp light sauce
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tbsp wine
pepper
1 tbsp cornflour
1/2 tbsp worcestershire sauce (optional)
1 tsp dark sauce (optional - add lastly)

Method:
1. Marinate chicken & black fungus with seasoning for 1/2 hour.
2. Add dark sauce & ginger juice.
3. Transfer into steaming dish & top with mushroom & ginger.
4. Steam over high heat for 10-12 mins.
5. Garnish with spring onion.

Roast Chicken w/Rosemary & Veg

22nd Nov 09

Roast Chicken for lunch on one of the Sunday last month. We were surprised the chicken tasted so good, so juicy & tender even though it was a frozen chick. Most people has a wrong concept on frozen chicken but if it's thawed properly and thoroughly, it's taste as good as fresh one. Always immense the frozen meat in water till it's thawed. Same as thawing turkey where we usually need to soak the whole frozen turkey w/the wrapper in a pail of water overnight to thaw it. Get the marinate ideas from Chef Yong's recipe and adjust it to my liking.

The vegetables tasted so good as it's absorb the rich flavour of the chicken. Serve the chicken with the sauce from the roasting and some baked vegetables as the side. It's a perfect main course and I'm going to do it again for X'mas.

Ingredients:
Chicken - 900g to 1kg
Carrot - 1 (cut into wedges)
Onion - 1 (cut into wedges)
Leek - 2 stalks (cut into 3-4 cm length)
Potatoes - 1 (cut into wedges)
Rosemary - 2 sprigs
Whole garlic w/skin - 6 cloves (smashed)
A slab of chilled butter

Marinates:
1tsp Salt
1tsp Coarse ground black pepper
1tbsp Dijon coarse mustard
1tsp Chopped garlic
2 sprigs Chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp Extra virgin oil
1/2tbsp Smoked paprika powder
1 lemon zest

Methods:
1. Mix all the marinate together and spread it all over the chicken. Marinate for an hour. Then stuffed the smashed garlic & 2 sprigs of rosemary in the cavity and seal it with a toothpick.
2. Line the baking tray with foil. Grease with some oil.
3. Lay the carrot, onion, potatoes & leek on the base, season with 1tsp soya sauce, 1/2tbsp olive oil & pepper. Toss well.
4. Place the marinated chicken on top. Top with a slab of butter.
5. Baked at 200 degree C (preheated oven) for 20-25 mins. Turn the chicken when the top is brown and continue baking till cooked.
6. Turn the oven to grilling mode at max speed when the chicken is cooked to brown the skin till crisp. Take about another 10 mins. So total baking time should be approx 30-35 mins and also depends on the size of the bird.

Chicken w/Sesame Oil in Soya Sauce

Recipe from Aunt's cooking as requested by Elizabeth.

Ingredients:
1 kg Chicken midwings or thigh
2" knob Ginger (Shredded)

Optional for garnishing:
2 stalks Spring onion (cut 1.5" lengthwise)
2 nos Red Chillies (Shredded/sliced)

Seasoning:
200ml Stock or water
1tsp Sugar
2tsp Light soya sauce
2tsp Oyster sauce
1.5-2tbsp Dark soya sauce
2 tbsp Wine
3tbsp Sesame oil
Pepper

Method:
1. Heat up sesame oil to fry ginger till golden. Remove ginger and leave the oil in the wok.
2. Add chicken to fry for awhile, add dark soya sauce and stir fry till the chicken is well coated with the dark soya sauce.
3. Add the rest of the seasoning and simmer till chicken is cooked.
4. Dish out and garnish with spring onion, fried ginger and chilli.

Baked Chicken Wings

This afternoon my craving for chicken wings came again. I just made some baked chicken wings for lunch since we were not very hungry after having pancakes for breakfast. This was easy to make and very yummy.

Ingredients:
8nos Chicken wings (3 joint)

Seasonings:
2tbsp Oyster sauce
1tbsp Light soya sauce
1tbsp Sugar
1tbsp Sesame oil
1tbsp Huatiao wine
1tsp Maggi seasoning
Pepper

Methods:
1. Mix the seasoning with chicken wings thoroughly and season for at least 3 hours in the fridge.
2. Place the chicken wings on a tray lined with baking paper.
3. Bake at 200 degree C for 25 to 30 mins or till golden brown & cooked.

Grilled Miso Chicken Wings

Aunt cooked this yesterday (13/2/09), one of our favourite chicken dish. Recipe originated from Cuisine Asia, a slight alteration from her.


Ingredients:
15 pcs Chicken Mid Wing

Marinating mix:
2 tbsp Miso paste
100ml Hot water
1 tsp Sesame oil

Basting Sauce:
1 tbsp Melted butter
1.5 tbsp Honey

Method:
1. Marinate chicken wings with marinating mix for at least 2hrs.
2. Preheat Oven to 200 degree C & line the tray with baking paper.
3. Grill the chicken for 25mins or till golden, turn over 2 grill every 10mins glaze with basting sauce*.
*Add the remaining marinating sauce to the basting sauce and use it to baste the chicken.

Braised Chicken Feet w/Mushroom Noodle

Last night dinner was my aunt signature dish - Braised chicken feet & mushroom. We will have this at least once a month. It's commonly serve in some of our local wanton mee stall. It's quite tedious to fry the fresh chicken feet as the oil will tend to splash out of the pot.

I brought it to my office a few times to share with my colleagues, all of them give a thumb up for it. The chicken feet was braised till very soft and the sauce was so rich & fragrant that it goes so well with noodles or plain porridge.

Recipe - Braised Chicken Feet w/Mushroom Noodle
Ingredient:
18-20 pcs chicken feet
5 pcs dried mushroom (soaked & cut into half)
3 cloves garlic
3 pcs cardamon

Seasoning for chicken feet(marinate for at least 30mins):
2 tsp dark sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp wine
pepper

Gravy for braising:
600 ml Stock
1 tbsp dark sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oyster
1 litre water
1 tbsp wine
Thickening: 1/2 tbsp potato flour mix with 2 tbsp water (optional)

Method:
1. Deep fry chicken feet.
2. Place fried chicken feet into a pot.
3. Add garlic, cardamon & gravy and bring it to boil.
4. Lower heat to simmer till chicken feet almost done, add mushroom.
5. Add thickening.

For noodle - any type of egg noodles, ramen, shanghai noodle or rice noodle are suitable. Usually I like to use this type of Japanese ramen from Nissin. ($1.80 per pack available in NTUC & coldstorage - Jap Section)
Method:
1) Boil the noodles till cook & drain.
2) Blanch any type of green veg.
3) Mix noodle with some fried shallot oil, pepper, sesame oil & chicken feet gravy.
4) Serve with green veg & chicken feet w/mushroom as shown in the picture.

Nonya Curry Chicken

Friday - 31 Oct 2008
Curry Chicken - Most people will adore this dish. Nowaday with more and more ready to use paste and premix coming up, to cook curry becomes a rather easy task. The Curry that I had for today's dinner was not made from premix. My Aunt make her own rempah & use her favourite brand of Nonya curry powder to cook it. Her curry chicken definitely taste better than those uses ready paste.

Here's the recipes:

Ingredients:
1.5kg Whole Chicken (cut into big pcs)
380g Potatoes (cut into pcs)
1 medium size Onion (chopped/sliced)
10 Shallots (chopped)
200g Chilli base/Rempah (See recipe)
30g Nonya curry powder (Add water to form into paste)
2 Lemon grass (crushed)
4 seeds Cardamen
1/2 tsp Nutmeg powder
250ml Fresh coconut milk
800ml Water (300ml Stock & 500ml Water - the taste will be richer if you use stock)

Seasoning:
Salt 1 tsp
Chicken powder or vetsin 1 tsp
Sugar 1/2 tsp

Method:
1. Use 2 tbsp oil to fry shallot & onion till translucent
2. Add chilli base & curry paste fry till fragrant
3. Add cardamen, nutmeg powder, lemon grass & stir till fragrant
4. Add chicken, fry till color of chicken turn slightly white
5. Add coconut milk, water, potatoes & seasoning
6. Simmer till cooked

Nonya curry powder (get it from market)