Chop 400g of boneless chicken into squarish chunks. Make some pandan juice by blending a bunch of pandan leaves with some water. Strain the mixture to get the pandan juice.
Then marinate the chicken with the pandan juice, 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp coriander powder, 1/2 tsp Sarawak white pepper, 1/2 tbsp fish sauce, 1/2 tbsp light soya, 1.5 tbsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp sesame oil. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
Start with blitzing 3 shallots, 2 cloves garlic and 6 or 8 slices ginger, basically equal portions of everything into a rempah paste. This is the key to getting your rice fragrant. Then lightly fry in oil in a pan for a few minutes until they are golden and aromatic. Trust me, your kitchen will smell like an old school Hainanese chicken rice stall.Next take 240g or 2 fillets of boneless chicken leg with skin on and marinate them with 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp chinese wine, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tbsp corn flour and a dash of white pepper. Mix them well and let it rest for half an hour.
Take a cup of chicken stock or plain water, and season it with 1/2 tsp salt, or less if you prefer less salty rice. Note if you are using packet stocks, they are already salted so skip the salt here.
Add 1 cup of Japanese rice and 1/2 cup of glutinous rice. Make sure you wash and rinse the rice thoroughly before adding them to the rice cooker pot.
Hainanese chicken rice may be very common, but chicken rice balls are definitely not.
We used to frequent the ones at Braddell and Jalan Besar, but the former has closed and the latter was supposed to return again. We haven’t been back since the pandemic so we can’t confirm. There’s another one at Jurong which was alright but somehow the ones we had at Malacca Jonker still reigned supreme.
The Malacca ones were smaller in size, golf ball sized as opposed to the tennis ball or larger ones found here. And they had a more sticky ketupat texture with a zesty calamansi hit as well. Hence, we made ours using a mixture of different rice grains to get that texture and making ours smaller too.
Marinate 300g chopped salmon (into square chunks) with 2 tsp udon/soba sauce and 1 tsp mirin. Mix well with your hands and set aside or refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.
In a saucepan over low heat, make a sushi vinegar by adding 2 tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tbsp brown sugar and 1/2 tsp salt. Stir until all everything is dissolved and you get a sushi vinegar solution. Set aside.
Cook 1 rice cup of Japanese rice in a rice cooker. Slowly drizzle the sushi vinegar into the cooked rice and use a spatula to stir and fold the rice lightly to mix the sushi vinegar into the rice.
Marinate 200g of sliced toman or batang fish with 1 tbsp light soya, white pepper, 1 tbsp Chinese wine and 1 tbsp corn flour. Refrigerate for 1 hour.
In a wok with some oil, fry 2 persons worth of hor fun or kway teow. Season with 1 tsp light soya. Fry for a few minutes until the noodles are evenly coated and glossy.
Then set aside on the serving plate. This is the first toss, though you can also blanch the noodles, but frying this way is more delicious.
Marinate 8 chicken wings with 2 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp light soya sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 2 tbsp plum sauce, Sarawak white pepper and 1 tbsp corn flour.
Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes. In the meantime, remove the strings of from 1/2 cup worth of sugar snap peas. Rinse and wash thoroughly.
After 30 minutes, add the sugar snap peas to 1 rice cup of rinsed rice. Followed by 1 chopped tomato. Pour in 220ml water that has been seasoned with 1 tsp light soya sauce.
Make the stock by frying 50 prawn heads in a wok with some oil and a handful of white peppercorns. Fry until you get a nice aroma and the prawn heads turn bright red.
Transfer the prawn heads and the accompanying oil into a slow cooker. You may wish to add chicken bones or chicken carcass for more chicken flavour as well. Fill the slow cooker with hot water and let it slow cook for 6 hours.
After 6 hours, strain the stock and add 8 ladles of the stock to a pot. Bring the stock to a boil. Add 150g chicken breast and poach for 20 minutes. Remove the chicken breast after 20 minutes and shred the chicken into thin strips.
In pot with 1 tsp of oil, add 2 cloves of minced garlic and white parts of 3 stalks of scallion. Sauté for a few minutes until fragrant.
Add 100g of minced pork and cook for a few minutes until the pork has turned a brown colour. Season with 1 tbsp fish sauce, Sarawak white pepper and 1/2 tbsp light soya sauce.
Add enough bee tai mak noodles enough for 2 persons. Mix well and add 400ml water. Next add 6 to 8 pieces of packet yong tau foo. We are using fish paste and stuffed tofu yong tau foo here.
Marinate 200g of minced pork with 1 tsp light soya sauce, 1 tsp dark soya sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce and a dash of Sarawak white pepper. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Add 1 tsp dark soya sauce to 220ml water and stir to mix well. Slice 2 medium sized potatoes thinly. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and white parts from 1 stalk of scallion to 1 cup of rinsed rice.
Add the potatoes, followed by the soya water. Add the marinated minced pork. Set the rice cooker to cook at normal mode and let it cook all the way.
Marinate 300g of chopped pork belly with 1 tbsp dark soya, 1 tbsp Chinese wine, 1 tsp sesame oil, white pepper and 1 tbsp corn flour. Mix well with hands and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Soak a packet of sweet preserved mustard in water for an hour. Then strain and wash the vegetables to remove excess salt and dirt. Slice the mustard into smaller pieces.
Start to make the dish by frying 2 sticks of cinnamon and a few shards of star anise in a wok with 1 tsp lard oil. Add 1 finely diced shallot and sweat the aromatics for a few minutes.
This is our Japanese inspired take on pao fan. This is so easy to prepare and make as well, and should prove highly comforting on this cold nights.
Start by cutting short slits around the edges of 1 piece of konbu. Add the konbu to a claypot and pour about 700ml water into it. Boil the konbu for about 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, remove the konbu. Add 1 cup of bonito flakes and 1 cup of Bunashimeiji mushrooms. You can replace with shiitake mushrooms also. Simmer the mixture for around 30 minutes. This will form the dashi broth.
Make the stock by frying 50 to 60 prawn heads in a wok with some oil. Fry until you get a nice aroma and the prawn heads turn bright red.
Transfer the prawn heads and the accompanying oil into a slow cooker. You may wish to add a handful of ikan bilis as well. Fill the slow cooker with hot water and let it slow cook for 6 hours.
After 6 hours, strain the stock and add 8 ladles of the prawn stock to a pot. Bring the stock to a boil. Add a slab of 100g pork belly and braise for 15 minutes. Remove the pork belly from the pot after 15 minutes.
This is one of the easiest yet most tasty rice cooker recipes around. Very simple and easily accessible ingredients too.
Marinate 8 chicken wings (using the mid-joints) with 2 cloves of minced garlic, minced ginger, 1 tbsp light soya sauce (we are using The Golden Swan brand), 2 tbsp dark soya sauce, 1 tbsp Chinese wine, 1 tbsp sesame oil, Sarawak white pepper and 1 tbsp corn flour.
Mix well and cover with a cling wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
This is our first in our Barilla one pot series. Using their tomato basil basilico sauce and their linguine pasta.
Start by adding 1 tbsp of lard oil and a handful of crispy lard into a pot. Cook at low heat until the lard oil has melted and is sizzling.
After a few minutes, add 1/2 sliced onion and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Sauté until onion and garlic are aromatic.
Add 150g diced pork shoulder or pork meat, followed by 6 tbsp of Barilla basilico sauce. Add 300ml water. Stir and mix everything well.
Start by marinating 200g minced pork with 2 tsp red fermented bean curd, 1 tsp sesame oil, white parts of 1 stalk of scallion, 3 cloves of minced garlic, Sarawak white pepper and 1 tbsp corn flour. Mix well and refrigerate for 1 hour.
In a rice cooker, add 220ml water to 1 cup of rinsed and washed rice. Add the marinated minced pork followed by 1 tube of sliced egg tofu. Set the rice cooker to cook at normal mode and let it cook all the way.
Once the rice is fully cooked, open the lid and sprinkle green scallion. Give everything a good stir and scoop onto bowls to serve.
This is another pao fan recipe that we absolutely adore and it is so easy to do at the same time.
Start by pouring 700ml of chicken stock into a claypot. Add 1/2 cup of dried scallops. Cut 1 large piece of dried cuttlefish or octopus into smaller pieces and add to the claypot.
Bring the water to a boil and reduce to low heat. Add 200ml of the water or juices from an opened can of abalone. Cut 1 or 2 pieces of dried fish maw into smaller square pieces. Add to the broth.
Marinate 300g of thinly sliced stir fry beef with 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tbsp honey, some white pepper, 3 cloves of minced garlic and some white sesame oil. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Boil a pot of water. When the water boils, add 1 cup of penne. Let it cook for 9 minutes or as per the cooking time stated in the box. There will be a bit more cooking in a pot later. So, you can cook a minute lesser if you want it to be more al dente. Once cooked, strain and set aside.
Chop 3 to 4 stalks of spring onion. Chop finely for the white part and cut into lengths of about 5cm for the green part.
Our next pao fan is dedicated to our love of Korean dramas. A simple yet comforting stew mixed with warm rice is so heartwarming, and given a spicy kick from the kimchi.
Start by sautéing 3 chopped shallots in a claypot with some oil for a few minutes. Add white parts from 1 stalk of leek. When the shallots and leeks have turned slightly soft, add 2 sliced sausages.
Add 1/2 cup of kimchi and 550ml of water or enough water to fill up the claypot. Simmer at low heat for 15 to 20 minutes. After which, the broth should be flavourful.
Marinate 200g chopped chicken leg with 1 tsp light soya sauce, 1 tsp dark soya sauce, 1 tsp Chinese wine, 2 tsp sesame oil, Sarawak white pepper and 1 tbsp corn flour.
Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes. The soya sauces we are using and recommending are naturally brewed from https://www.nanyangsauce.com/
Make the rice water by adding 1/4 tsp salt to 220ml water and stirring well to dissolve the salt. Add the rice water to 1 cup of rinsed rice in a rice cooker.
Wild Honey has been our go to place for classic breakfast meals for some time, and yesterday’s crowd proves they still have loyal and regular customers lapping up their many variations of breakfast plates.
Add We found a new favourite in the Delancey as well, generous strips of black peppered pastrami on their world class house baked bagels.
Perfectly poached eggs in a specially concocted mustard grain hollandaise sauce that provides the usual tang to the creamy eggy buttery richness.
In our latest professional series entry, Chef Felix Chong from Monti shows us how to make a true Roman carbonara dish.
Guanciale, or at least pancetta should be use for that alluring smoky cured aroma and flavour. Pecorino Romano, and not any other cheese should be used. And for each portion, 2 whole egg yolks are required to make the cream sauce. And no actual cooking cream should be added at all.
In a hot pan, add 100g of chopped guanciale and fry for a few minutes to render the fat. Season with some black pepper. At the same time, cook your pasta for in boiling water until 80 percent cooked next to the pan of guanciale.
This is most certainly the most nourishing and nutritious pao fan that you can have, and we doubt you can find this sold commercially.
Rinse a handful of angelica root, yu zhu, red dates, dried scallops, dried longan and goji berries in water for a few seconds. Strain the herbs and set aside.
In a claypot filled with some oil, sear 2 chicken legs for a few minutes. Add the rinsed herbs, followed by enough water to cover and submerge the chicken legs.
This soya chicken rice cooker should prove popular with the family. We highly recommend using the premium virgin brew soya sauces from Nanyang Sauce though you can easily use other brands as well.
The Nanyang sauces are naturally brewed and gives a marvellous umami to the chicken and rice. We believe the secret to a good soya chicken lies in the use of a good quality soya sauce. We also recommend using the chicken from Benja Chicken.
Start by marinating 200g chicken leg fillet with 1 tsp light soya sauce, 2 tsp dark soya sauce, 1 tsp sweet dark sauce, 1 tsp rose essence wine, Sarawak white pepper and 1 tbsp corn flour. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Start by toasting 1 espresso cup of risotto grains for 1 portion in a sauce pan for a few minutes. Add the strained porcini and cook for a minute or so,
After the grains and porcini have been lightly toasted, add 3 ladles of boiling stock. Use hot stock so as not to bring down the temperature of the cooking process. Cook for exactly 13 minutes.
The joy of claypot rice lies in the use of Chinese sausages and duck livers and the fat that is infused into basmati rice.
The bread notes of basmati combined with cured meat fat, finished with a soya drizzle is just too good, and surprisingly so easy to do at home.
Soak 1 cup basmati rice for 1 hour, you can use short grain rice too but basmati is best for this. Then thoroughly oil your claypot to reduce sticking later.
Uncle has been making this delicious plate of mee siam since the 80s, and continues to diligently churn out this comforting and appetising breakfast classic daily.
A seemingly modest looking mee siam plate, but one spoonful is enough to convince. A perfect balance of sweet and savoury and spicy, it’s that delectable Assam broth that will have you coming back for more.
Good to see him finally getting a proper shiny signboard instead of handwritten signs. And despite a slight increase in pricing to $3.50, it’s worth forking out for this full of depth mee siam.
This is the brother of the well known Maxwell market curry rice, and he is currently operating at Redhill market.
While the Maxwell version has modernise it’s curry, this one still adheres to an old school taste. The curry is lighter and is not mixed with a soya gravy. Yet, it is still flavourful with an alluring curry fragrance.
His kong ba and pork chops are what we enjoy the most. The former is braised until tender and meat that can be easily pulled. The pork chops are dusted with soda crackers crumbs for that almost buttery tasting crust, and crispy too.
Our next lunchbox recipe is a simple and very healthy one. This recipe for 2 persons.
Start by steaming 300g of chopped salmon for 15 minutes. Boil 1 chopped potato in water for around 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Strain the potatoes.
Add the potatoes into your lunchbox. Add the steamed salmon. Squeeze half a lime for each portion into the salmon and potatoes. Season with 1/2 tsp salt and black pepper.
One of the very best when it comes to wanton noodles. Despite the long queues, aunty here cooks each plate swiftly and plates it beautifully too, with uncle diligently taking orders.
Everything is excellently done here, from the well caramelised char siew, to the plump wantons with well seasoned and tasty fillings.
Though they use the more regular alkaline noodles, the dark soya sauce is well balanced with a nice savoury profile that goes well with the alkaline noodles and removes most of the “kee” taste.
Tenderloin is our favorite cut of steak these days due to its thickness and tender texture. But you need to get a good quality beef to be able to enjoy to it’s fullest.
We are using a superb tenderloin from Five Founders that is grain fed and has a superb flavour and texture. Also we are using a special soy salt from Nanyang Soy Salt to season the beef.
Make sure your tenderloin steak is at room temperature before you cook it, and pat dry on both sides so that there is no excess moisture. Then, season liberally with sea salt or course salt, or in our case, the excellent soy salt. Do likewise with black pepper.
This combines our love for pao fan with one of our local classic dishes. We figured since we always have rice to go with a bowl of Bak Kut Teh soup, to mix the two in a pao fan format.
First, toast 1 tsp of Sarawak white peppercorn seeds in a claypot for a few minutes. Until the seeds start to dance and jump about, and they will smell aromatic.
Add 3 to 4 prime ribs and sear them for a few minutes on all sides. Once they have been properly seared, add enough water to fully cover the ribs.
Marinate 300g of chopped salmon with 1 tbsp light soya from Nanyang Sauce, 1 tsp dark soya sauce and 1 tsp sweet caramel sauce Golden Swan Brand. Add 3 cloves of minced garlic. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Make the rice water by adding 1 tsp light soya sauce and 1 tsp mirin to 220ml water. Stir well to dissolve everything.
In a rice cooker filled with 1 cup of rinsed rice, add 1 sliced onion and 5 chopped and thinly cut okra. Add the rice water. Set the rice cooker to normal mode and let it cook.
Add 1 tbsp lard oil in a wok or pan and turn on flame. Fry 1 minced garlic and the white bits of scallion in the lard oil until fragrant . Tilt the wok one end so that the garlic can immerse deeply in oil like seen in the video.
Add 1 sliced Chinese sausage or lup cheong to add to the fragrance. Then add 1 cup of beansprouts followed by kway teow. Stir and mix well. Once it’s been fried for a few minutes, add 1 tbsp of light soya (we are using the naturally brewed soya sauce from https://www.nanyangsauce.com) and mix well. Season with Sarawak white pepper.
Once all the noodles are thoroughly coated and darkened, push the noodles up or to the side so that it will be away from the center and halt the cooking process.
We always enjoy this garlic rice at Japanese restaurants, but do you know it’s very easy to make it at home? Here’s how.
Cook some Japanese or regular short grain rice and set aside. In a pan, add 3 tbsp of oil and fry 2 cloves of finely sliced garlic.
When it turns golden brown, remove the garlic chips and retain the garlic oil in the pan. Remove excess oil if it is too much. Fry 2 cloves of finely diced garlic in the pan of garlic oil until it’s aromatic.
Start by boiling enough soba for 1 person in water for around 5 minutes. Remove the noodles once they are soft and run under tap water to stop the cooking process. Place the cooked soba into a lunchbox of your choice.
In the same pot used to boil the soba, add a packet of soft tofu that has been cut into smaller square cubes. Blanch the tofu for a few minutes. Strain the tofu and add to the soba lunchbox. Sprinkle chopped green scallion.
Wash thoroughly 150g of black glutinous rice, easily found at supermarkets. Pour the rice into a rice cooker pot, and add 6 cups or 1.32 litres of water.
Add 5 pandan leaves that have been tied into a bundle. Add 1 block of gula melaka. Set the rice cooker timer to cook for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, open the lid and you should see the glutinous rice fully cooked and the water reduced. If it is not thick enough, simply cook a bit longer or put the rice cooker to standby more to let the rice absorb more liquid. You should achieve the thick and luscious texture and consistency as seen in the video. Add more sugar if desired.
In a pot with one spoon of butter, sweat an onion that has been sliced. Add one chopped tomato. Stir until they are well mixed.
If it gets too dry, add a dash of water. Next, add one chopped squash and cook for a few minutes. Next add one chopped zucchini and cook for a few minutes as well. Season with 1/2 salt and black pepper.
Next, transfer all the pan contents to a baking dish, and sprinkle as much parmesan as you want. Bake in an oven at 200 Celsius no fan mode for 20 minutes.
We thought of combining our favourite emperor chicken recipe with a rice cooker one and came up with this easy and delicious rendition. It is also our most nutritious rice cooker recipe yet.
Marinate 4 chicken drumsticks with 1/2 tsp salt, 6 tbsp Chinese wine and 1 tbsp sesame oil. Mix well and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
Rinse a handful of angelica root, huai shan, red dates, dried scallops, dried longan and goji berries in water for 20 seconds. Strain the herbs.
Here’s another so easy to make dish that you wonder if you should be even paying for this to eat outside at a fancy Japanese restaurant next time.
Use one packet of silken tofu that has been refrigerated so that it’s served cold. Simply pour the entire tofu onto a plate.
To make the sauce, use 1 century egg. Remove the yolk and add the yolk to a blender, together with 1 tbsp mirin, 1 tsp sesame oil or paste, 1 tsp sake, 1 tsp soba/udon sauce or regular light soya, 1/2 tsp honey and 2 tbsp of water.
Our favourite jjajangmyeon that we have modified to our own liking as we have seldom like the commercial starchy ones outside. And using our one pot method!
You need non alkaline noodles, though the korean ones can only be found at korean supermarkets. We settled for a Taiwan ban mian (wheat noodles) instead. Cook according to packet instructions in your trusty pot, strain and set aside.
To make the all important sauce, add 2 tsp oil to your trusty pot. Add about 150g or pork belly cut into square chunks like seen in the video. Fry them until they turn brown and slightly crusty.
Butadon is one of our favourite Japanese dishes to make and eat. And extremely easy and fast to do.
In a pan of oil at medium heat, sweat half a sliced onions until they are slightly charred, soft and translucent. Once they are soft, add your pork shabu into the mix. Use a pair of tongs to separate the pieces as they tend to stick together.
Once the meat is seared for about a minute or less, add 1 tbsp light soya (or 2 tbsp udon/soba sauce), 1 tbsp mirin, half tsp sugar and 2 tbsp water. Simmer for about a minute.
This is our take on soya chicken that has been simplified and condensed into a one pot dish.
Start by blanching Cantonese noodles in boiling water and strain.
Marinate 200g of chopped chicken with skin on with 1 tsp light soya sauce, 1 tsp dark soya sauce, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tsp of maltose (or honey), Sarawak white pepper, 1 tsp essence of rose essence wine and 1 tbsp of corn flour. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Our 3rd professional series recipe is a famed hawker chicken rice that has it’s roots in the legendary Chatterbox chicken rice establishment.
Sergeant Kiang was one of the original team members that worked in the Mandarin hotel kitchen team that made this signature chicken rice, and today, his children have started their own chicken rice eatery known as Jiang Ji.
This is such an easy one pot dish but it will surely please the family for sure. A Japanese Curry one pot!
Start by adding 1 tsp of oil into a pot. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic, followed by 8 halved cherry tomatoes. Stir fry for a few minutes until the tomatoes have wilted somewhat.
Add 4 scallops and cook for a minute or so. Add 6 prawns that have been deshelled and cook for about 1 minute to almost cook the prawns. Add 1/2 cup of green peas and mix well.
Since the last year when we had to go through a lockdown and stay at home entirely for almost 2 months, we have come up with so many recipes that eventually we decided we should put them up on YouTube.
Hence, at the beginning of 2021, we decided to reshoot all our favourite and most well received Instagram posts.
These new videos are shot entirely on iPhone 12 Pro Max at 4k and most importantly, at High Dynamic Range colour. This means that on screens that support this HDR format, you get to see the recipes in the best possible format.
Sergeant Kiang started as a Hainanese cook in the British army before leaving to work in various hotels, including the American Club and Goodwood Park.
Eventually, he would end up at Mandarin Orchard under the then German executive chef. Legend has it that the head chef ask Sergeant to come to with a local dish to serve in their Chatterbox cafe, and Sergeant being Hainanese suggested chicken rice.
One of our all time favourites is this classic clam pasta. You can use white wine for that extra flavour but it’s just as good without.
Start as always by boiling water for to cook the pasta. Season the water with 1 tsp salt until it tastes like salt water. We are using spaghetti today, but linguine is also good for this. Seasoning the pasta water here will also give your noodles flavour as we won’t be using salt elsewhere.
For our next professional series recipe, we have famed TV Chef Benson Tong showing us how to make an authentic sweet sour pork. No ketchup is used, and dried hawthorn berries (not haw flakes) are used to make citrusy sauce.
Begin by making boiling 300gm pineapple, 1 chopped large tomato, 1 chopped large carrot, 1 chopped large red onion, 2 coriander root, 100gm dried hawthon berries in 3 litres of water. Once it is boiling, lower the heat to simmer for 1 hour.
A Chinese New Year tradition for us, we make this delicious radish cake annually. Can be consumed steamed, pan fried or fried with egg.
Start by soaking 4 Chinese mushrooms in water for 2 hours. Soak a handful of dried shrimp and dried scallops separately in water for 1 hour. After soaking, combine all the soaking water into a container.
This is a perfect one pot dish for kdrama fans! Just a few simple ingredients and you are good to go.
Start by marinating 200g of pork shabu shabu with 2 tsp light soya sauce, black pepper and 2 tsp corn flour. Mix well and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
