Wholesome Classic Chicken Soup

A favourite during my uni days in the autumn. It was my comfort food during examinations. It is easy to prepare, convenient to eat and very good for the soul.

Serves 5

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (large chunks)
4 stalks carrots
1 bunch celery
1 can Champignons (button mushrooms)

Method:

• Chop carrots and celery into large chunks
• Boil chicken pieces in a pot of boiling water on high heat for 5 minutes
• Pour half of the water away and add in fresh boiling water until it covers the chicken is fully
• Cover pot with lid and cook chicken on medium heat for 30 minutes
• Add carrots and celery and boil on low heat for 30 minutes
• Add Champignons and salt to taste
• Cook for another 15 minutes and serve with steamed rice and freshly cut chilli (optional)

Alternatively, macaroni can be added to the soup if it is preferred over rice.

Deli Roast Chicken Sandwich

Ingredients:

Sandwhich slices
Roast chicken *leftover (shredded)
Cheese slices
Rocket leaves
Tomato (sliced)
Mayonaise
Black pepper


Method:

• Squeeze mayonaise onto a slice of bread
• Spread ingredients layer by layer - cheese -> tomato -> chicken -> rocket
  
• Secure layers with drizzle of mayonaise in between layers
• Dash of pepper and squeeze mayonaise over rocket
• Cover with another slice of bread and serve

Crispy Fried Chicken

Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 or 2 drumstick or thigh meat (boneless)
5 tablespoons canola oil

Seasonings:
KFC flour or Asian style fried flavouring flour
Dash of salt

Cooking:

• Heat oil in a thick-based metal pan.
• Sprinkle chicken with salt.
• Coat chicken thoroughly with Asian flour.
• Shallow pan fried chicken until golden brown.
• Serve whole or cut into strips.

Stir-fried Sweet and Spicy Tapioca Noodles

I made this for bento one winter. Bad choice, the cold weather solidified the oil and sauce which made the noodles texture rubbery.. It is better to eat this when it is pipping hot or reheating with microwave before consumption is highly recommended.


Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 serving Vietnamese tapioca noodles
2 bundles Choy Sum (cut into 3cm)
2 chinese dried mushrooms (soaked till al dente and shredded)
2 stalks spring onions (cut into 3cm)
10 slices of fish cake
1 garlic (chopped finely)
1 chicken breast fillet (cut into 1.5cm strips)
2 tablespoons canola oil

Garnish:
Chopped spring onions
1 egg (fried into omelette and shredded finely)

Seasonings:
1 tablespoon sambal chilli sauce
2 tablespoon Kecap Manis
1 tablespoon dark soy
1 tablespoon light soy
Dash of salt and pepper

Preparation:
Combine amd mix seasonings in a small bowl with 2 tablespoons of water. Set aside.


Cooking:

• Heat oil in a thick-based metal pan.
• Add fish cake and fry till fragrant.
• Add garlic, spring onions and chicken.
• Fry for about 3 minutes, add Choy Sum and mushrooms.
• Fry for about 2 minutes, add noodles and combined seasonings.
• Mix thoroughly until contents are evenly coated.
• Lower heat to medium and fry for about 5 minutes.
• Garnish and serve.

Glutinous Chicken Rice （糯米鸡） Bento

We can easily over-indulge in this if we're not careful. Our digestive systems take longer to break down the starch for this than the normal rice, so do take note not to overeat.

I didn't cooked the glutinous rice using the conventional method of steaming it in a steamer for that takes too long and I don't have the patience for fussy cooking. It was my first time making this and I was already using the rice cooker to cut corners. The texture of the rice turned out very well, so cheers to modern technology.. hehe..

Caution: Do not consume this bento in an enclosed space (for example - inside a train carriage), as the aroma is quite intense and those who are not eating it may not appreciate smelling it.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 cups glutinous rice (washed and soaked with just enough water in rice cooker for at least 5 hours)
2 cups chicken stock
2 chicken breast fillets
6 slices ginger (julienned finely)
1 garlic (chopped finely)
4 dried chinese mushrooms (soaked till al dente and shredded)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy
1 teaspoon dark soy
1 teaspoon cornstarch
salt and pepper to taste
chopped spring onions for garnish
sweet sambal chilli sauce and drizzle of Kecap Manis for serving

Preparation:
Cut chicken fillets into strips of 1.5cm each.
Marinate chicken with wine, oyster sauce, light soy, dark soy, cornstarch, salt and pepper.


Cooking:

• Heat sesame oil in pan and stir-fry the marinated chicken with mushrooms for about 2 minutes.
• Add chopped garlic, fry until chicken slices turn whitish.
• Remove chicken and mushrooms from pan and add to glutinous rice.
• Add the julienned ginger, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and dash of pepper.
• Mix chicken and seasonings with rice thoroughly.
• Add chicken stock and cook rice as per normal.
• Garnish with spring onions and serve with drizzle of Kecap Manis and sweet sambal chilli.

Handmade Noodle (pasta) Soup - Mee Hoon Kueh （面粉果）

This is one of my favourite comfort food which I may never have to cook for myself. The technique of pulling and stretching the noodle dough is crucial for creating a smooth yet bouncy texture for the noodles and I have no patience for it. So all I need to do is to place the order with my sous chef and it will be served. However I must take note to order it at least an hour in advance so that the chef can prepare this at a comfortable pace, in less cranky mood.. LOL...


Serves 2 or 3

Dough Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup water
*Proportion - 2 flour : 1 water

Making the dough:

• Pour flour into a big bowl.
• Make a well in the middle of flour and gradually add water until loose crumbs are formed.
• Press crumbs together to form a dough. Knead until smooth.
• Sprinkle flour over dough and set aside.

Soup Ingredients:
1/2 cup of ikan bilis (dried anchovies)
100g chicken breast (sliced)
2 stalks Bak Choy or Choy Sum (chopped)
2 slices ginger
5 cups chicken stock
2 eggs (optional)
10 prawns (optional)
salt and white pepper to taste
spring onions or coriander and fried shallots or garlic to garnish


Cooking:

• Bring chicken stock to boil, add ikan bilis and ginger.
• Lower heat to medium.
• Rub fingers with flour and tear off a crumb of dough.
• Pull and stretch the dough until it resembles a rough piece of pasta, drop into soup.
• Continue with adding as much dough to soup as desired.
• Turn heat to high and add chicken and prawns when pieces of noodles begin to float to surface.
• Cook for about 3 minutes, add vegetables and eggs (if desired).
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Garnish and serve with fried ikan bilis and freshly cut red chilli padi in light soy.

**Notes:

• Remaining dough can be kept in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. It has to be dusted with flour for reuse.
• Adjust thickness and texture of the noodles according to preference by stretching and pulling the dough.
• Chicken can be replaced by seasoned pork meatballs or fish slices if desired.
  

Cream of Chicken

I'm not a soup fan but I'm always making soups because my kiddo loves to drink soups. I have to admit that they are very convenient whenever I needed a break from preparing elaborate or creative meals. They can last for days and they complement simple meals.


Serves 6
2 cups leftover roast chicken (shredded)
1 litre chicken stock
1 brown onion (chopped finely)
1 cup carrot (cubed)
1 cup corn
1 cup thickened cream
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons parsley (chopped finely)

Cooking:

• Sweat onions with butter in soup pan for about 5 minutes.
• Add chicken stock and bring to boil.
• Add carrot, corn and thickened cream, lower heat to medium and boil for 3 minutes.
• Add chicken and thickened cream, thickened broth with flour (mixed with 1/2 cup of water), stirring constantly.
  
• Garnish with parsley and serve with bread.

Bibimbap Rice Bento - Ginger Wine Chicken

I think Singaporeans are very lucky and pampered where dining options is concerned. Good meals are always available within minutes of walking and it can cost as cheap as from $2.00 onwards. I have never felt the necessity to add bulk to my bags by bringing my own bentos or lunchboxes to work or school. However, the story is different when I was studying overseas. The most economical meals I could get were from fast food joints in the city and I was pretty sure that I couldn't find anything below $4.00 (unless during clearance sale prior to stall closing).. Let's not even talk about the quality of food and the distance you need to travel to get them if you work or study in the suburbs.

I used to plan my timetable in such a way that my lectures and tutorials either end by noon or they start in the afternoon. That way, I can avoid having lunch in the uni. However, occasionally I did give in to the "luxury" of eating in the uni's Asian cafeteria - $8.00 for 1 serving of meat + 3 strands of fibre (sometimes they will give vegetable stems when they are out of leaves) + steamed rice. (FYI, no subsidies or cheaper rates even though these are campus vendors targeting students, if you compare to the food vendors in Singapore unis or polytechnics). So I "try" to cook extra for dinners, so that I can pack a bento for the next day.

From left: stir-fried Ginger Wine Chicken, blanched Kai Lan, poached egg, shredded omelette with ham and mixed veggie (covered over rice)

Recipe for stir-fried Ginger Wine Chicken - Serves 2

Ingredients:
2 fillets skinless chicken breasts (cut into 2cm strips)
5 slices ginger (julienned finely)
1 small garlic (chopped finely)
canola oil
spring onions

Seasonings:
2 tablespoons Shaoxing Chinese wine
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon dark soy
dash of sesame oil and salt

Preparation:
Combine seasonings in a bowl and marinate chicken strips for 10 minutes.

Cooking:

• Fry ginger in hot oil for 2 minutes until lightly browned.
• Add garlic and chicken, fry until fragrant.
• Add 1/4 cup water and simmer on medium heat for about 8 minutes until the water is reduced to 1/2, stirring occasionally.
• Garnish with chopped spring onions and serve.

Spicy Korean Ramen Stir-fry

The Nong Shim instant ramen was an all-time favourite amongst Asian students in Wollongong. It was so popular that it could be out-of-stock ever so often. Although I was pretty sure that the Asian Grocery in Gong was ripping us off by selling them at $0.90 AU individually, I remember that I had bought 5 to 8 packets in a single purchase, from time to time.. until I read "Manufactured in China" in very fineprint at the back of its packaging.


I know that these days, even iMac can be "Made in China", but I felt "cheated".. nonetheless... I realised only much later that a competitor brand - Paldo, was indeed manufactured in Korea even though the words "Korean Noodles" were scrawled explicitly (in Chinese) on its packaging. Talk about successful marketing.. I had been fooled by Nong Shim's packaging for a long time.. :p

Anyway, I got tired of eating the typical soupy version of Ramen and decided to stir-fry the noodles with some leftover roast chicken for a change.


Serves 1

Ingredients:
1 packet Nong Shim instant noodles - spicy mushroom flavour
1 large egg
1 cup roast chicken (shredded)
1 small garlic (chopped finely)
spring onions (chopped finely)
canola oil


Cooking:

• Bring 1 1/2 bowl of water to boil in a soup pan.
• Add noodles and cook for 2 minutes so that it is softened but slightly under-cooked. Drain water.
• In a non-stick pan, fry shredded chicken and dried vegetables (included in the Ramen package) with oil for about 1 minute.
• Add garlic and fry for another minute before adding the noodles and spring onions.
• Stir about 1/2 packet of powdered soup base (included in the Ramen package) evenly into the noodles.
• Fry for another minute and serve with a sunshine egg.
• Hot water can be added to the remaining half of the soup base to make a bowl of soup to go with the noodles.
  

Basically this can only serve as a quick-fix snack or supper. The serving is not big and it has HIGH carbo, HIGH salt and HIGH fat content.. BUT it certainly helps to satisfy the craving for spicy junk food during examination blues. Alternatively, leafy greens can be added to increase nutritional value and lessen consumption guilt.. lol

Chicken and Prawns Wonton Soup

This is a variation from the "original" pork version as I am not particularly fond of pork due to some post-childhood trauma :p. Pork lovers can substitute the chicken with Mr Porky. This can be quick 10-minute meal once you have gotten the hang of wrapping wontons and have a ready batch of marinated meat.



Makes about 60-100 wontons (depending on amount of filling you use for each, I can make 100+ if minus the prawns)

Ingredients
Wonton skins (thin, yellowish, eggy type)

For filling:
500g minced chicken
2 large stalks of spring onions (chopped finely)
4 chinese dried mushrooms (diced finely) *optional
30 medium-size prawns (halved lengthwise)

Seasonings:
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon light soy
1 1/2 tablespoon conflour

For soup base:
1 handful of ikan bilis (dried anchovies, available at Asian grocery)
1 bunch Choy Sum (chopped into lengths of 4cm)
2 slices ginger
salt and white pepper to taste
sprinkle of spring onions and fried shallots for garnish

Preparation:
Combine chicken and seasonings thoroughly in a large bowl. Cover with a cling-firm or keep in the plastic container, set aside in the fridge for an hour.

Wrapping:

• Place approximately 1 heaped teaspoon of filling with a piece of prawn in the centre of wonton skin, fold skin diagonally into half, resulting in a triangular shape.
• Seal edges with water.
• Grab the diagonal ends of the folded skin, twist in a circular motion so that they criscross each other. Dab water to stick the ends at where they cross so that the wonton resembles an ingot. (Think tortellini)

OR

• Place approximately 1 heaped teaspoon of filling with a piece of prawn in the centre of wonton skin.
• Dab finger with water and wet the skin area surrounding the filling (cirular shape)
• Seal package by pushing and lightly twisting the skin to resemble a small sack.

Cooking:

• Bring 1 1/2 bowl of water to boil in a soup pan and add the ikan bilis and ginger.
• Add about 20 wontons and cook for 5 minutes.
• Add Choy Sum and cook for another 2 minutes.
• Season with salt and white pepper.
• Garnish with fresh spring onions and fried shallots. Serve with red cut chillies and light soy.

**Notes:

1. I added the prawn during wrapping instead of mixing it together with chicken because that will ensure an even distribution of prawns and a balanced taste and texture for every wonton.
   
2. Marinated filling and remaining wonton skins can be kept in the fridge for up to about a week.
3. I normally use less sesame oil for chicken so that it does not overwhelm the subtle taste of chicken. If pork is used, more sesame oil can be used.
4. It is better to wrap the wontons just before cooking, because the wontons tend to harden or dry up if they are wrapped in advance and kept in the fridge.
5. The wontons can also be deep fried in hot oil and serve as snacks if desired.

Mushroom Noodles Soup with Chicken Karage

This is an adaption of the Singapore hawker centres' "fushion" version. I didn't use Soba or Udon and my Karage marinate was not the authentic Japanese version (which is made from scratch) but it is still quite delightful. For convenience sake, I have used the commercial pre-mixed Hot Karage powder instead. I have also used chicken drumsticks because the bones can be used for making soup base for the noodles.


Serves 1

Ingredients:
Shanghainese thin-noodles (面线)
2 large Chinese dried mushrooms (pre-soaked)
1 bunch Bak Choy
2 chicken drumsticks
canola oil
1/2 packet of pre-mixed chicken Karage powder
salt and white pepper to taste
fried garlic and spring onions for garnish

Preparation:

• Cut softened Chinese mushrooms into strips.
• Separate Bak Choy stalks and cut into small pieces.
• De-bone chicken drumsticks - use a small knife to cut around the skin near the knuckles (thin end) and scrap along the bone (separating meat) until midway, slip knife through to slit meat and continue scraping until the bone is clean, cut away the meat.
• Marinate chicken wth salt and set aside.
  
• Bring 1 1/2 bowl of water to boil in a soup pan.
• Boil the chicken bones in boiling water for 10 - 15 minutes to make a light chicken broth.

Cooking:

• Heat about 3 tablespoons of oil in a non-stick pan.
  
• Pour 1/2 a packet of Karage powder onto a clean plate and evenly coat the 2 chicken pieces.
• When the oil is hot, fry chicken skin-side first, until skin turn crisp brown.
  
• Flip chicken over and fry the other side.
• When the Karage is almost ready, use a pair of clean scissors to snip chicken pieces into 2cm strips while they are still frying. This is to ensure thorough cooking and extra crispiness.
• Remove the Karage from oil and drain on kitchen towel.

• In the soup pan, add 1 serving of noodles into the boiling chicken broth.
• Boil for 1 minute, add mushrooms and Bak Choy and continue cooking for another 2 minutes.
• Add salt and white pepper to noodles soup to taste.
• Remove chicken bones, pour noodles and soup into a bowl.
• Garnish noodles with fried garlic and green onions.
• Serve with Karage chicken and red chilli (if desired).

Honey Grilled Chicken

This is a family favourite.


Serves 2
Ingredient:
2 boneless chicken cutlets (skin-on thighs)

Seasonings (marinate):
1 teaspoon dark soy
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon honey
Dash of salt and black pepper

Preparation (marinate):
Combine and mix seasonings in a large bowl.
Add chicken cutlets, ensure an even coat of marinate on both pieces.
Cover with cling-firm and set aside for 30 minutes.


Cooking:

• Pre-heat oven grill (5 to 10 minutes in advance), set temperature to medium-high.
• Line baking tray with aluminium foil and place chicken pieces on tray, skin-side down.
• Grill for 15 minutes.
• Remove tray from grill and turn the chicken over so that the skin-sides are up.
• Grill for another 10 minutes.
• Remove tray from grill and set chicken to rest in room temperature for 7 minutes before serving.

**Notes:

1. Chicken can be marinated in a ziplock bag and kept in the freezer in advance.
2. Grilling time and temperature should be adjusted according to the specifications of different grills.