Beef Bourguignon

In the mood for comfort food, I made beef bourguignon the other day – a wonderfully rich stew of beef braised in red wine, with garlic, mushrooms, potatoes and pearl onions. This bistro favourite is adapted from Delia Smith.

Ingredients serves 4-6

1. 250g streaky bacon, cut into lardons
2. 1 kg chuck steak, cut into 2″ squares
3. 1 medium onion, sliced
4. 1 heaped tbl plain flour
5. 425ml red Burgundy
6. 2 cloves garlic, chopped
7. 2 sprigs fresh thyme
8. 1 bay leaf
9. 3 large potatoes, quartered
10. 100g mushrooms quartered
11. 350g shallots, whole, peeled
12. Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Fry the lardons over high heat in a large, heavy-based casserole dish. Remove bacon and set aside
2. Brown the chuck steak in batches in the rendered bacon fat. Remove from pan as they brown
3. Add the onion to the pan and fry for a few minutes
4. Add the flour to the onions and stir well
5. Add the beef back to the pot, along with the Burgundy, garlic, thyme, bay leaf and bring to boil
6. Reduce heat to a slow simmer, cover and cook on low heat for 2 hours, until beef is tender
7. Add the bacon, potatoes, mushrooms, shallots to the pan, season to taste and simmer for a further hour
8. Serve with steamed green beans

Katong Laksa

Why has it taken me so long to finally eat at, and have my visiting parents introduce me to Katong laksa ??

Apparently there are several stalls who claim to be “the original Katong laksa”.  The one my parents found was tucked away in the basement of Roxy Square in a small coffee shop. There are other stalls selling food but I honestly could not tell you what they were after having my first bowl of laksa.

Katong laksa serves Peranakan-style laksa, so the noodles are cut short which means you only need to eat it with a spoon. Great for people like me who don’t have the best chopstick skills and usually end up wearing half my soup from the noodles slipping back into the broth with a splash. And doubly great because it guarantees that every mouthful is a true combination of all those amazing flavours.

The broth is what makes it so special. It’s a complex broth of coconut milk, stock, homemade chilli paste. The coconut milk is made from squeezing freshly grated coconut, which keeps the broth from being too rich and cloying. Each spoonful packs a creamy, spicy punch, yet the flavour still manages to be delicate at the same time and you’re not left with an overwhelming thirst from overseasoning.

In the broth is a combination of the noodles, fresh prawns, cockles, fish cake and the bowl is topped with fresh curry leaves and a smear of extra chilli paste for those who want a bit more spice.

This has got to be one of the best comfort foods Singapore has to offer.

Thanks mum and dad for the introduction !

Roxy Laksa
48 East Coast Lagoon Food Village
Tel: 9630 2321

Mon-Fri: 10.30am to 9pm
Weekends and PH: 8.30am to 9pm

Hoorah – I’ve found the best dim sum in Singapore!

Roasted belly pork

I have been on an ongoing quest to find the best dim sum in Singapore since I arrived here five years ago. And for sure, there are plenty that I haven’t visited, but I don’t think I need to look much farther than Lei Garden on Orchard Road.

Prawn rice rolls 

The quality of the food there is exceptional. With dim sum, there always has been a few things which showcase the true skill of the chef. One is the dumpling skin/rice rolls. These are made by hand – I’ve watched chefs do this and the speed in which they roll out individual dumpling skins (and if you think that they can serve up to 700 of just one type of dumpling in one seating) is a delight to watch. So to be fair, anything they can produce like that is amazing, but we are spoiled creatures of choice, so thick, doughy dumplings are indicative of a lack of true skill. The rice rolls at Lei Garden are thin and smooth and so slippery you could almost swallow each mouthful without chewing.

In fact, everything they do with flour – be it rice or wheat, is light and airy and just makes you want to order more (which is exactly what we did).

Their char siu buns were fluffy pillows of soft, steamed buns filled with sweet barbequed pork. And they really select the best pork – their roast pork is probably the best I’ve had in Singapore. The belly pork has the fat thinly and evenly layered and the skin is divinely crisp.

Pan-fried radish cake

Their radish cake – finely shredded radish and rice flour, cut into squares and pan-fried was not oily, but crispy on the outside and melt-in-your-mouth soft inside.

I’d suggest making a reservation because it was full by midday on a Saturday and it’s not a huge restaurant. The quest is never over, but for now, I’m absolutely thrilled that I can get the same quality of dim sum that I have missed so much from Sydney.

Lei Garden Orchard
#03-00 Orchard Shopping Centre
321 Orchard Road
Singapore
Tel: 6734 3988

Open for lunch: 11.30am – 3.00pm
Dinner: 6pm – 11.00pm

Soupe au pistou

Inspired by Bliss Travel’s suggestion of using my basil pesto to make soupe au pistou, I raided my fridge for what vegetables I had on hand and et voila ! A delicious vegetable soup made even more delicious with the addition of the fragrant pesto. I spooned the pesto on top of my bowl before serving and let it slowly melt over the vegetables and into the soup to keep the flavour as fresh as possible. Alternatively you can add some to the soup and warm through before serving. Use my recipe below as a guide only – vegetable soup should be made from whatever is in season or, whatever is in your fridge.

Ingredients

1. Smoked streaky bacon, cut into lardons
2. 1 onion, roughly chopped
3. 2 sticks of celery, sliced
4. 1 carrot, roughly chopped
5. 1 large leek, trimmed, washed and sliced
6. handful of cherry tomatoes
7. 1 cup dried puy lentils
8. handful spinach leaves

Method

1. Fry bacon lardons over high heat in a large saucepan until crispy
2. Reduce heat to medium and throw in onions, celery and carrot and stir so that all the vegetables are coated with the rendered fat from the bacon
3. Gently fry for 5 minutes
4. Add leeks and tomatoes and repeat steps 2-3
5. Add lentils and repeat again
6. Add enough water (or stock if you want but remember the pesto will add flavour to the soup) to cover the vegetables.
7. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes
8. Season at this stage but again remember there will be additional salt from the pesto
9. Throw in the spinach leaves just before you are serving
10. Ladle into soup bowl and top with a generous spoon of basil pesto

Pappardelle with braised pork belly

A slight variation on my usual pork belly in red wine, this just takes a few hours on the stove. I finished the sauce with a few nobs of butter to give it a silky texture that coats the pappardelle.

Ingredients for two

1. 200g pork belly
2. 1 onion, finely diced
3. 1 small carrot, finely diced
4. 2 stalks celery, finely diced
5. 1 tomato, roughly diced
6. 2 glasses red wine
7. 2 cups chicken stock
8. fresh thyme
9. 1 bay leaf
10. couple of nobs butter
11. Pappardelle pasta

Method

1. Brown all edges of the pork belly in a hot pan. You want to get the natural sugars in the meat caramelising. Remove from pan and set aside
2. In the same pan, add some oil and gently sweat the onions, carrots and celery until they are tender
3. Add the pork belly back into the pan along with the wine, tomato, herbs and enough chicken stock to just cover the meat
4. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce the temperature to a simmer. Let lightly bubble away for 2 hours. The liquid will reduce a bit so you may need to check now and then that the pork is still covered. I started to shred the pork after about an hour so that ever bit of the pork gets to release its flavour, and also  take on the flavours in the pan. Season to taste
5. After a couple of hours the liquid in the pan should have reduced by about a half and the pork tender enough to shred into meaty chunks.
6. Cook pappardelle until just cooked in salted water. Reserve some of the cooking water before you drain the pasta – that starchy salty water helps to make the sauce loose and helps the pasta from sticking
7. While the pasta is cooking, add a few nobs of cold butter to the sauce. It really gives another dimension to the sauce, making it silky and helping to coat the pasta
8. Pop the pasta into the pan with the sauce, adding a few tablespoons of the cooking water to help the sauce really coat each ribbon of pasta
9. Serve hot with a good handful of freshly grated parmesan

Chicken quesadillas

Chicken quesadillas with jalapeno peppers and Monterey Jack cheese

Quesadillas are so quick and simple. You can even use leftover chicken or  beef for these, which makes them even easier, and of course add whatever you want or have in the fridge. I would have added in slices of red capsicum and avocado but my fridge is bare and it’s late.

Ingredients for one serving (one quesadilla)

1. 2 wraps or similar round flatbread – I use wholemeal
2. 1 single chicken breast
3. sliced jalapenos
4. Moneterey Jack cheese slices
5. salt and pepper

Method

1. Butterfly the chicken breast at the thickest part so that it’s an even thickness, season well on both sides and pan-fry till cooked through and golden brown
2. Slice and arrange on one of the wraps, along with the jalapenos and any other fillings you fancy
3. Top with a few slices of cheese
4. Cover with the second wrap
5. Heat up a skillet on high
6. Pop the wrap sandwich into the middle of the pan and cook for about 2 minutes – you want to get the cheese melting
7. Flip over with the help of a flexible spatula and toast the wrap on the other side for 1-2 minutes until the wraps are crispy and golden
8. Slice and enjoy while still warm so the cheese is still gooey

RIP Grandma Khoo 1918 – 2012

Grandma Khoo’s chilli paste in action in a beef rendang

It seems like ages since I posted anything. I was excited a few weeks ago to share some of the fab eats I managed to squeeze in while in New York for work, and then en route home to Singapore I found out the sad news that my grandmother had passed away on the first day of Chinese New Year.  Highs and lows like I’ve never experienced before.

I do understand that she was just part of a generation that I just think was made of tougher stuff than mine, but I am still in awe of who she was – growing up in the small island of Penang in Malaysia, uneducated and not that well-off, she managed to raise eight children, one of whom she “lost” in the war, and three who passed away before their time. She taught herself English enough to get by when she came to stay with us in Sydney, and looked after my sister and I with both my parents working at the time.

And of course, she cooked.

My grandmother was Nonya, so the food she cooked – Peranakan – had influences from Chinese and Malay cuisines. I have some of her recipes which she shared with me years ago, but trying to replicate when she gave measures like “a few eggshells of water” or “enough liquid to cover your first finger knuckle” (no matter how much rice was being cooked) truly tested my ability to taste but allows for true personalisation.

I’dlike to share a few recipes with you that remind me of her. Because she cooked them with love, for my family and I.

Chilli paste used to make chicken curry

Grandma Khoo’s famous sambal chilli paste blend

This is one of those chilli pastes that forms the basis of sooo many Peranakan dishes and can strangely take on different flavours if you add stock or coconut cream, additional spices, and even the type of protein you use. Make sure you have plenty of good ventilation before frying this paste up or you’re house will smell of curry for days after – it’s potent stuff. I’m going to try to give you some measurements as close as I could come by.

Ingredients

1. 2 large handfuls dried red chillies, soaked in warm water for at least an hour
2. 1 cup shallots, peeled
3. 2 thumb sized pieces of galangal
4. 6 stalks lemongrass
5. 1 head of garlic, peeled
6. good pinch of salt
7. good pinch of sugar
8. thumb-sized piece of belacan - dried shrimp paste *optional – this is pungent stuff and may put many people off but it actually adds a mellow savoury undertone similar to anchovies that makes all the difference

Method

Pull the stalks off the chillies and remove as many seeds as possible. Pop all the ingredients in a blender (grandma used to blend all of these painstakingly with a mortar and pestle before she blenders) and store in an airtight container. It should keep in the fridge for up to 10 days and in the freezer for 3 months. You can use this as a base for dishes like chicken curry with coconut cream, or assam fish curry, with tamarind stock. Experiment and let me know how you go !

Acar (pronounced a-char)

This is a nonya pickle that is great accompaniment to balance out the heaviness of a lot of nonya dishes.

Ingredients

1. 1 large carrot, 2 radishes, 1 medium cucumber (skinned and deseeded) – juliened to similar sized sticks
2. 1 red and 1 green chilli, sliced on the diagonal
3. 2 tbl white sesame seeds
4. 1 thumb sized piece of tumeric root – cut into think sticks (use ginger if you don’t have access to this and add 1/2-1 tbl tumeric powder)
5. sugar and salt to taste
6. enough white vinegar to cover the vegetables in whatever you decide to store them in
7. you can also add in cauliflower florets and pineapple to the dish

Method

1. Blanche the carrot, radish and cauliflower with boiling water. They need to stay crunchy, so I would almost cover them with boiling water, let them sit for 30 seconds then strain
2. Fry the tumeric root in some oil until fragrant. Remove and discard
3. Add the vinegar to the pan and bring to the boil
4. Add the vegetables, stirring regularly for 4-5 minutes
5. Store in a glass container (not plastic or metal) in the fridge for a few hours before serving to allow the flavours to develop

Pork sausage and puy lentil casserole

As I didn’t get to finish my main course from Latteria Mozzarella Bar, I thought I would make something from the leftovers/doggy bag the following night. I had bought some lovely puy lentils which my supermarket just started stocking, and adding them to a casserole with my sausages made perfect sense.

I also had leeks and swiss brown mushrooms in my fridge, so in to the casserole they also went, to make a good earthy, warming meal.

You can just as easily use fresh sausages for this dish, but I would then add a garlic to the casserole (see recipe below).

Ingredients for 2 servings

1. 4 good quality pork sausages
2. 1 glass dry white wine
3. 4 cloves garlic (optional, see note above)
4. 1 large onion, sliced
5. 1 cup swiss brown mushrooms, halved
6. 2 large leeks, rinsed and sliced
7. 1 cup puy lentils, rinsed
8. 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
9. 2-3 sage leaves, chopped if fresh, or 1 tsp dried sage
10. 1-2 bay leaves

Method

1. In a heavy-based saucepan, heat some oil and brown the sausages – they don’t need to be cooked through at this point if you’re using fresh sausages. Remove from pan and set aside. When cool enough to handle, cut into 1” slices
2. Deglaze the pan with the white wine, pour into a jug, set aside
3. Heat more oil in the pan and gently sweat the onions until translucent
4. Add garlic next if you are using them
5. Add leeks and mushrooms and fry until soft
6. Add the sausages and white wine
7. Add lentils and sage and bay leaves and enough stock to cover all ingredients and bring to a boil
8. Lower heat and gently simmer for 1 1/2 hours till lentils are cooked through
9. Serve with crusty bread

Hokkien soya sauce braised pork belly

I have no idea how I ended up cooking this for dinner tonight, but gosh I’m glad I did. This dish (in hokkien is called tau yew bak – literally translated, soya sauce pork) is one I haven’t had for maybe 20 years and the cool thing is eating it took me right back to when I was a little girl and my mum made it for me.

I think I just fancied some comfort food, and this dish, which is essentially pork belly that is stewed for 2 hours in a combination of soya sauce and spices like cinnamon and star anise, is warmingly melt-in-your mouth tender and is yummy served simply with rice.

Living in Singapore, I also tend not to cook Chinese food because access to top notch Chinese food is so easy here. And there is also the variety of different Chinese cuisines, from Hokkien or Peranakan (which is my heritage) to Cantonese (which is what I grew up with in Sydney), to Hakka, Peking, Hainanese…you name it.

The problem with eating out is that it’s tough to get brown rice unless it’s at some organic, vegetarian, peace-loving-type restaurant, and the most authentic food is just not served in places like this. My palate has been trained to like white rice with Chinese dishes, so my recipe below might be ridiculously simple, but it was a way for me to enjoy eating rice, with a 50% good component with the mix of brown rice. I just had to get over one of the basics of cooking rice – not to stir it around, ending up in mushy rice – and working out the logistics of different water and time ratios of cooking the two types together.

The recipe below is my rough guide on measurement – it’s a forgiving dish and doesn’t need to be precise so add more or less to taste

Ingredients makes enough to serve 4

1. 300-400g pork belly, cut into 2cm strips
2. 4-6 cloves garlic
3. 1 stick of cinnamon
4. 1 star anise
5. 1 tsp black peppercorns
6. 1 tbl Chinese five spice powder
7. 1/4 cup dark soya sauce
8. 2 tbl light soya sauce
9. 2 tbl sugar (or to taste)
10. 1-2 cups water
11.  1-2 hard boiled eggs

Method

1. Blanch pork in boiling water and cook for 5 minutes to remove any impurities. Drain well. Discard the water
2. In a claypot or a saucepan, heat up some oil and add the pork, garlic, cinnamon, star anise, peppercorns and five spice and fry until fragrant and the pork has browned
3. Add the soya sauces and sugar and bring to boil for about 5 minutes until the sauce thickens and the sugar begins to caramelise
4. Add the water, bring to boil, cover and reduce heat to a gentle simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Again the amount of sauce is personal. Some like it sticky and almost dry (me), some like it with quite a lot of sauce
5. About 30 minutes before serving, add the boiled eggs
6. Serve with rice and vegetables
7. For my mix of 50/50 white/brown rice, add 2 cups boiling water to 1/2 cup of brown rice and simmer for 25 minutes. Then add 1/2 cup of rinsed white rice, stir, cover and simmer for an additional 20 minutes

Sausage rolls – with added newness !

Sausage rolls with onion, sage and chestnut stuffing

I made two small changes to my standard sausage roll recipe today. First, I added chopped cooked chestnuts, which I can luckily find in my supermarket in vacuum-sealed packs, and used the puff pastry that comes in blocks rather than sheets. It means that there is a touch of sweetness in the sausage mix, and you can control the thickness of the pastry. I think the pastry:sausage ratio with thicker pastry = the best sausage rolls I’ve made. Our maths lesson for today is brought to you by my Mother in law’s awesome sausage rolls she always bakes loads of when we visit.

Ingredients

1. 6 good quality pork sausages (or about 350g sausage meat from the butcher)
2. 1 large onion, finely diced
3. 1 handful sage leaves, chopped
4. 150g cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped
5. 1 block puff pastry, thawed at room temperature
6. 1 egg, beaten

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200C/390F
2. Combine the sausage meat, onion, sage and chestnuts together in a large bowl
3. Roll out the pastry to about 1/4 inch thick
4. Place lines of the sausage meat along the length of the pastry, roll over and seal edges lightly
5. Cut into 2 inch thick slices and place on to a wire rack over a oven-proof tray and brush with the beaten egg
6. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown