Winter Melon Soup

One of the things I picked up during my recent trip to Singapore is to brew soups. As I grow older, I'm realised the nutritional value of having a bowl of slow cooked chinese soup for dinner.  It nourishes and is packed full of antioxidants.

In Singapore, my grandmother and mum cooked up a mean winter melon soup. The used a longish melon and would shred the fruit till it becomes "noodle" like- perhaps it is also called a winter squash. Here though, all i can find is the round version of winter melon. Hence I tend to chop it up in cubes.

I love the sweetness of this soup. The addition of dried oysters and scallops just brings it to another notch. Best of all, I'm sure this gets the nod from my family and in laws as a asian housewife.

Winter Melon Soup
300 grams winter melon in cubes
Reserved melon skin (Just 1-2 slices)
300 grams pork ribs
5 red dates
2 dried oysters
2 dried scallops
1 dried fig

Scald pork ribs. Place all ingredients in the slow cooker or thermal cooker. Slow cook for 5 hours or so. Enjoy!

Pulled Pork with Mashed Cauliflower and "BBQ sauce"

I have only recently discovered the beauty of pulled pork. Slow cooked melt in your mouth shredded pork served in a sandwich or by itself. The best thing about this dish is that it's simple to cook, and all it need is a good slow cooker or the use of the oven.

You can choose to cook the pork in the sauce but because I am oven roasting it, I chose to make my own sauce, simmering it for 30 minutes or so. It is definitely a Sunday "weekend" kinda of meal as the meat took 4-6 hours to cook! Nonetheless, I squeal in delight when the pork pulled away.

The other dish that I love was mashed cauliflower. No one told me that mashed cauliflower could taste so good!! I blitz it up in the food processor and had it with the pulled pork and "bbq" sauce. It's nearly like mashed potato-only better.

Pulled Pork with Mashed Cauliflower and "BBQ sauce" (Serves 6-8)
1.8kg of pork shoulder
1/2 cup of stock
2 tsp of salt, pepper and olive oil

Preheat Oven 230C.
Pat dry the pork shoulder. Season with oil, salt and pepper. Place on baking tray. Pour stock into the base of the pan. Roast on high for 2 hours. Then change it to 150C and slow cook for another 2-3 hours preferably as long as you can till the meat tears away.

"BBQ sauce"
2 cans of tomato sauce
2 tsp of grainy mustard
1 tsp of honey
1/2 cup of white wine
1 cup of stock

Simmer everything for 30 minutes till it thickens.

Mashed Cauliflower
2 heads of cauliflower
salt pepper
olive oil

Cook cauliflower in boiling water till done. Drain and blitz it with salt and olive oil. Serve with the above.

Bubur Pulut Hitam (Black Sticky Rice Dessert)

Black food is good food. Growing up in humid Singapore, I was a tad confused on why people like having warm and hot desserts on a hot day? Well, it's abit like having ice-cream on a cold and raining day isn't it? They just seem to complement each other.

Bubur Pulut Hitam is a favourite dessert for many- including my hubby. It's really like a black rice pudding. Thick and creamy with a dash of coconut cream. What not to love? I am a fan of the texture of it once it is slow cooked for many hours. Part of the Nonya Cuisine, it seems to always warm our hearts and soul when I have this bowl of sweet dessert.

I found out that it is rich in fibre- hence the reason why it takes so long to be broken down and cooked. More reason for me to have it, even though it is probably very high in carbs. I can argue, however, that it does not consist of that much sugar or other nasty stuff like butter.

And so the little argument in my head continues...

Bubur Pulut Hitam (Black Sticky Rice Dessert)
3 cups of black glutinous rice
10 cups of water
2-3 stalks of pandan leaves if you have it. Tied in a bunch
10 grams of dried logans washed
around 50-100grams of rock sugar

wash and soak rice overnight or 3-4 hours. Then bring it to boil with the quantity of water and panda leaves. After around 10-15 mins, bring it to a simmer and add the logans. Add sugar after another 15 minutes. If you have a thermal pot, use it at this point and cook it for another 4-5 hours if you can. If you are using the stove top, remember to give it a good stir once every 15 minutes. Simmer it using low fire/heat. Taste and adjust accordingly. Some people have cooked it in 2-3 hours but I never found mine creamy enough with that amount of time. in fact, if I used my thermal cooker to leave it overnight, or slow cooker, that tends to work even better.

Serve with a dash of coconut cream.

Slow Cooked Lamb Shank Soup

Spring is here!!!

But it hasn't stopped me from making soups.

I know. It's slightly weird. But that's how we describe Perth's weather too. It's weird. Like last Sunday, we had a hail storm at 6am in the morning. I mean, that really doesn't describe spring is it?

So I think I can get away with my soup fascination.

Having found some really fresh lamb shanks and I thought, why not make it a slow cooked lamb shank soup. It's hearty and a one pot dish altogether. Slow cooked, it's really full of flavour and better even on the next day or two.

And so I reveal why i love soups so much- it's usually healthy, it's one pot which means less work..and it can continue to cook while I'm in the gym. OR i can make a quick soups which will be dinner on the table in 30 minutes.

Gotta love soups!

Although I do have a few salad ideas now that the weather is warming up!


Slow Cooked Lamb Shank Soup
1 lamb shank- trimmed
200 grams of lean bacon diced

1 red onion diced
2 carrots diced
1 small bunch of celery diced
1 green and red capsicum diced
1 small sweet potato diced
4 little chili padi diced

1 ltre of beef stock
1 cup of water
250 grams of mixed lentils/soup pack lentils

Wash and soak lentils overnight or the whole day. Drain.

Saute onion and chili. Brown lamb shank. Remove from pot. Saute bacon till brown. Add in all lentils. Stir till it is warm through. Add stock and boil for 20 minutes. Add in all veges and lamb shank. Simmer and cook for 3 hours till meat is tender and soup is rich and thick. Simmer for another 10 minutes with more water if needed. Lamb meat should be tender and easily fall from the bone. Slice lamb meat, remove bone and return to pot. Serve hot with some Parmesan cheese.

Remember to enter for my giveaway! ;)

Beef Rendang

 Have you caught the Masterchef fever yet? I have. Every time I watch an episode, I learn something new. According to some newspaper reports, home cook meals have increased by more than 100% following the series. They could even predict what ingredients are more in demand after the show!

Last season's winner Adam Liaw published his first cookbook "Two Asian Kitchens" not long ago. He separated recipes into "old kitchen" and "new kitchen"- concepts that I embrace immediately. Afterall, I'm always trying to learn how to create recipes that my heritage and family taught me but at the same time, love to re create new stuff in my new kitchen from experiences and life.

I picked his rendang recipe to try first. Most people who cooked rendang before would tell me that it is a tedious and long process to get it right. It's a very thick beef coconut spicy stew, cooked so long that the meat is tender and has a melt in your mouth texture.

His ingredients are easy to source in my local oriental and vegetable market- a big bonus because I often find it hard to locate items from cookbooks bought overseas. He made it easy for the Aussie Market!!

I love mixing the toasted coconut at the last 20-30 minutes. It provides the texture that only the rendang can claim king. It tasted better after the next day.

Adam Liaw's Beef Rendang (serves 4-5)
1 tsp oil
600 grams of lean beef chunks. He recommended braising steak as well.
3 stalks of lemongrass
2 kaffir lime leaves shredded
1 tsp sugar
400 ml coconut cream
100 grams grated fresh coconut or 130 grams desiccated coconut if needed.

Base Paste
1 red onion (or 8 eschalots)
6 red hot bird eyes chilies
at least 6 garlic cloves. I added 2 generous tablespoon of minced garlic
3 cm piece of galangal, ginger and tumeric. All peeled and thickly sliced.
2 tsp sea salt flakes

Place all base paste ingredients in a food processor or mortar. Grind to a paste. Heat oil in large saucepan, fry paste for 5 mins or so till fragrant.

Add beef, lemongrass,, eric, kaffir leaves, sugar and toss to coat in mixture. Add coconut cream and around 200 ml water. Simmer for 30 mins. Then uncover and cook for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, toaste coconut till slight brown. Transfer to a mortar and grind it to a paste. This will release the oils. I cheated and just use a pestle to gently press the coconut.

The beef would have been cooking for 1.5 hours. Add the coconut and cook for another 20 minutes or so. Stir often. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Serve with hot rice or coconut rice.

Slow Cooked Red Wine Beef Casserole

There is something about slow cooked food that warms the heart. The meat in your mouth meat combined with the rich taste just seem to fulfill you. There are two big reasons why I love slow cooking 1) it's usually low fat and 2) It could serve as a one pot dish.

One could even argue that this is very similar to my Red Wine Beef and Onion Pies that I posted recently. This slow cooked casserole has more liquid (ie wine) and veges. The pies are thicker and richer in its gravy and certainly not as many ingredients to it.  I love having mash potato to this dish- especially with a good squash of garlic to it.

winter love....

Slow Cooked Red Wine Beef Casserole (serves 4)
450 grams of lean beef chunks
2 onions sliced
1.5 cups of red wine (cabernet sauvignon)
3-4 carrots diced roughly
2 cups of button mushrooms stems removed
1 tablespoon of flour
500 ml beef stock 

Brown beef in batches. Remove from pot. Cook sliced onions till soft. Add in a tablespoon of flour with the beef. Throw in  wine and beef stock. Simmer for 1 hour. Add vegetables and simmer for another 30 minutes. Serve with garlic mashed potatoes.

Slow Cooked Yam and Chinese Cabbage Pork Stew

There is nothing nicer than a hot bowl of rice and stew when I come back from work. Best, if it has been slow cooked and all I needed to do is to heat my rice and stew up. This was one of the "3 meals" I make on a Sunday in preparation for the week ahead.

It makes me realised though, how small my freezer size is. I told AR that we are sooo going for a bigger freezer/fridge in our next home. Plus a dishwasher. 

It's funny how when it comes to chinese stew, I tend to cook by instinct. Or is it by my "stuff it, I need to get it done asap" thoughts? Nevertheless, it made a comfort meal. One that I can count on to make me feel more at home.

Slow Cooked Yam and Chinese Cabbage Pork Stew (serves 4)

400 grams of lean pork
200 grams of yam chopped
1/2 chinese cabbage 
1 tin of straw mushrooms-drained and rinsed
2 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of soya sauce 
1/4 cup of hua tiao jiu
1 tablespoon of garlic 
150 grams of baby corn chopped 
2 red chili chopped
1 cup of water or stock 

Saute chili and garlic. Add pork and all the seasoning. Cook till nearly done. Add all the veges and yam. Add water and boil. Either place pot back in magic pot or continue to cook for around 1 hr or so. Season with white pepper! =)

Slow Cooked Lamb and Lentil Soup

I was often told that the best meals are slowed cooked with love. Unfortunately, time is a precious commodity that I am finding it tougher and tough to make dinners. So much so that AR often finds me in the kitchen, cooking 3 meals at one go (Often an oven baked dish, a stir fry rice/noodle dish, and a stew/soup dish).

There is nothing more comforting, then to return home to a warm hug and a bowl of hearty soup to boot. As you know, I like my soups chunk with a bit of a bite, so I tend to add lentils, meat, and all sorts of veges in it.

This time round, I had some red lentils soaked and ready to cook, heart smart lamb and plenty of carrots and celery. I used our "magic cooker" again, hence the lamb is tender and moist when it is ready.

Slow Cooked Lamb and Lentil Soup  (6 servings)
300 grams of heart smart lamb
1 red onion chopped
100 grams red lentils-soaked overnight
1/2 bunch of celery roughly chopped (just the stalk) 
2 carrots sliced
1 cup of mushrooms chopped
1/2 sweet potato chopped
1 red chili chopped 
garlic
1 ltre beef stock 
2 tsp of cumin
3 tsp of tumeric 
1 tsp of garam masala
white pepper

Cook onion till soft. Add lamb and brown it. Cook it with spices. Add stock and all the veges and lentils. Simmer for 2 hours at least or put it in the slow cooker for around 4-5 hours. Serve with crusty bread.

Moroccan Style Lamb and Chickpea Stew

 So Spring is upon us.. but I still have a few hearty stews to post! LOL With my working hours recently, I have been cooking 3 or 4 meals during the weekend and freezing them away. Stews are great because I could use my "magic" or thermal pot cooker to stew it for hours. I added some chickpeas to bulk up the meal. This resulted in 3 meals for two of us and even have left overs for an additional lunch for AR.

I made some couscous to go with it- Simply follow packet instructions and add in some cut dried figs, cranberries, toasted almonds and cashews and toss through with some chili and cumin spices.



Moroccan Style Lamb and Chickpea Stew 
400 grams of heart smart lamb diced
1 can of chick peas-rinsed and rinsed to reduce salt content
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 carrot diced
1 capsicum diced
mushrooms
2 tomatoes diced
2 tablespoon of Moroccan spiced mix
1 tsp of chili powder
1 cup of beef stock
1 red onion chopped

Sauté onion in deep sauce pan.  Add in lamb and cook till brown. Add diced tomatoes and chickpeas + stock. Add in all spices. Add all veges Simmer for around 1-2 hours. Serve with couscous or bread.

Slow Cooked Caramelised Onions Lamb Shanks With Polenta

I saw my colleague eating polenta and got really curious about it. I have seen it before but never knew how to prepare it or how it taste like. So after a chat with her, i did a goggle and found out that it is made of corn!

From chatting with my colleague, I decided to pair polenta with lamb shanks. I found a recipe in the Australian Women's weekly featuring red wine and onions. I love how rich the flavours are in this dish! Next time, I would have ask the butcher to trim it as my shanks looked like huge drum sticks!!

Slow Cooked Caramelized Onions Lamb Shanks With Polenta

3 lamb shanks
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups red wine
2 cups beef stock
garlic
1 trimmed celery stalk
1 tablespoon plain flour
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon rosemary coarsely chopped


Pre heat Oven 150C

Cook lamb till all browned over. Stir in sugar, wine, stock and garlic. Bring it to boil. Place mixture in oven proof dish, bake for 4 hours, turning twice.

 Caramelized Onion

40g spread
2 medium red onions
1/4 brown sugar
1/2 cup of stock

Melt spread in saucepan, cook onion for 15 mins till brown and soft. Stir in sugar and stock till caramelized. 

Polenta 

1 cup of polenta
3 cups of water
1 tablespoon of spread
seasoning 

Bring water to boil. Add polenta and keep whisking gently. Keep stirring for 5-10 mins till mixture is soft. Remove from heat. Add in spread and seasoning. You can also add parmesan cheese.