Braised Chicken

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Angeline

I was trying to replicate the braised chicken that I like to eat from the food centre stall downstairs and it was, according to my hubby, 80% alike to the one sold by the stall. Personally, I felt that I could have put less dark soy sauce (coz the colour’s much darker than the stall’s). My hubby feels that I could have made it a little sweeter and was ‘grumbling’ about how I’m always so stingy with the amount of sugar I put in my cooking. Hehe…

Braised chicken

Ingredients:

  • 3 chicken thighs (skin removed, chopped)
  • 5 shallots – sliced thinly
  • 3 cloves garlic – minced
  • 3cm ginger – peeled and smashed
  • 1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce (I put 1 tablespoon but I think 1/2 is enough)
  • sugar to taste (this is the part that my hubby said I could have done better)
  • sesame oil
  • cornflour
  • water/stock
Seasoning (for the chicken):
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons hua diao jiu
  • 1 tablespoon chicken marinade
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • a few dashes of ground black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon cornflour
Method:
  1. Clean chicken thighs and remove visible fats.
  2. Marinate the thighs with the seasoning overnight preferably.
  3. Heat some sesame oil in a wok.
  4. Stir-fry the garlic, shallots and ginger in the wok.
  5. Add in the chopped chicken thighs and fry till chicken is almost cooked.
  6. Add water/stock to the wok, almost covering the chicken pieces.
  7. Bring the water/stock to a boil on high heat then turn to low heat and simmer for 20min.
  8. Add in the dark soy sauce and sugar to taste.
  9. Add in cornflour solution to thicken gravy slightly.
  10. Serve hot.
Posted in Chicken, Chinese Food, Food for kids, Recipes | Leave a comment

Fresh Foxnut/ Euryale Seed Dessert (鮮芡實甜湯)

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Angeline

My eldest aunt gave me a packet of fresh foxnuts (also known as Euryale Seeds) the other day and I’d been putting off cooking them till yesterday. I had only decided to cook it because I noticed that the gingko nuts in my fridge were about to embark on their epic journey to the trashcan soon so I had no choice but to cook this dessert despite my busy schedule.

It was really a last minute decision to cook it so I didn’t have enough time to simmer it long enough for the flavours of the ingredients to be infused properly. Didn’t help that I was trying to multi-task and cook dinner. I’m a firm believer of food that is cooked with lots of love will taste better so I guess since my heart was in more than one place at the stove, the dessert didn’t turn out as good as it is supposed to be. So remember to cook your food with lots of love and attention ya? 🙂

Btw, you can check out the nutritional value of foxnuts here.

Fresh foxnuts!

Fresh Foxnut Dessert (鮮芡實甜湯)

Ingredients (a handful of everything unless otherwise stated):

  • fresh foxnuts 鮮芡實
  • red dates 紅棗
  • fresh lotus seeds/nuts 鮮蓮子 (remove the pith, if any, as it’s bitter)
  • gingko nuts 白果 (remove the pith as it’s bitter)
  • dried longan 元肉
  • white fungus 雪耳
  • candied wintermelon 冬瓜糖 4-5 sticks
  • rock sugar 冰糖 to taste
  • 1.5L water

Method:

  1. Bring water to a boil in a pot/saucepan.
  2. Once water boils, add in all the ingredients with the exception of the fresh lotus seeds as these cook really fast as they’re fresh. The dried ones take longer to cook.
  3. Simmer for about 20-30minutes.
  4. Add the fresh lotus seeds and boil for another 10min or so.
  5. Add more rock sugar if it’s not sweet enough.



This dessert becomes richer when you let it stand longer or if kept overnight.



Updated on 7 May: Alicia LOVES this dessert!
Posted in Chinese Food, Desserts, Food for kids, Recipes | Leave a comment