Kowloon Hainan Chicken Rice @ Yummy Cottage

We got free vouchers from Criz Bon Appetite's 2nd anniversary. One of them was a free chicken rice meal at Kowloon Hainan Chicken Rice. The stall is located at Yummy Cottage, a cafe that directly opposite to Red Rock Hotel, Macalister Road, Penang.

A plate of "Pak Cham Kai" was ordered by me. The chicken was served on a bed of bean sprouts. I purposely ordered this to taste its original flavor. It was good, not too oily, but juicy. Their "Pak Cham Kai" is different from other place as it is topped with their home made dark sauce. The sauce has been modified to suit their customer's taste buds.

Hubby chose to have their roasted chicken. Same as the "Pak Cham Kai", it is topped with dark sauce too. It's good to go with a plate of rice.

The chicken rice is cooked with garlic, just nice. But, I can't smell the ginger fragrant. If enough ginger paste is added, the rice will be perfect! :)

Fresh Ginseng Chicken Soup 鲜人参鸡汤

I spotted fresh ginseng in a hypermarket during my weekly shopping. It's not expensive, just cost about RM5 for 50gm. Without hesitation, I bought a packet to cook fresh ginseng chicken soup.

This is not the wild ginseng, but it is planted in the rich organic soil in the forest of Changbai Mountain. According to the packaging information, the fresh ginseng is a good natural medicine for facial treatment. It can soften and refresh skin. Besides, it is the best tonic for sexual ability. :)

The soup is simmered in a double-boiler for hours. As a result, the soup base consist of clear broth. It tastes slightly sweet and bitter. The ginseng smell is mild and not over-powering. The soup can be considered as low fat and nutritious diet.

Fresh Ginseng Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

30gm of fresh ginseng
1 small-sized free range chicken, chopped into big chucks
1.5 liter of water
8 red dates, rinsed
some wolf berries
salt to taste

Method:

1. Chop the chicken into big chunks. Get it skinned and fat discarded.

2. Use double boiler, bring water to boil.

3. Add all the ingredients except salt and leave it simmering for 2 hours.

4. Skim off the scum and oil from the surface. Add salt to taste and leave the soup simmering for another 1 hour.

Minced Meat Tofu

I gained weight in just 4 days!! All is due to my failure to control my diet and munched happily too much of CNY cookies, pork jerky and sweet drinks. What to do? Now, I have to follow strictly on low carb diet. No more excuses.

So, today I have minced meat tofu. A dish that easily prepare for lunch or dinner. I minimized the ingredientes to the basic. But, this is a versatile dish. You can use Japanese tofu instead, and you can add on the meat sauce with capsicum, carrot, or even chili.

Minced Meat Tofu

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 piece of tofu
1 stalk of spring onion, chopped
2 dried mushrooms, soaked and chopped
100gm minced lean pork
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
some water
1tbsp of corn starch diluted in 3 tbsp of water

Seasoning:

1tbsp light soy sauce
1tsp sesame oil
1tsp dark soy sauce
1tsp soy bean sauce
dash of white pepper

Method:

1. Marinate the meat and mushroom with seasoning for 30 minutes.

2. Steam the tofu for about 3 minutes.

3. Heat oil in a wok, saute garlic till fragrant. Add the meat mixture and stir-fry. Continue to stir the meat so that it won't stick together. Add water and leave it simmering for few minutes. Pour in the corn starch mixture to thicken the sauce. Add the spring onion before off the fire.

4. Pour the meat sauce over the tofu. Serve hot with rice.

Chicken Salad Tortilla

After 3 days of Chinese New Year celebration, I think it's time to put  a stop on "luxurious" eating habit. To take care of our health, we are back to healthy diet :).

I prepare something light for lunch today - chicken salad tortilla. One piece for each of us, and we're filled. No messy cooking, so I believe everyone can prepare it.

Chicken Salad Tortilla

Serves 2

Ingredients:

100gm of chicken keel, deboned and cubed

4 leaves of green coral

1 tomato, seeded and cubed

1 japanese cucumber, cubed

2 tbsp of Mayonnaise

2 tbsp of Thousand Island sauce

Marinate the chicken with:

2 tbsp of black pepper sauce

1/2 tsp of sesame oil

1 tbsp of light soy sauce

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken for at least 30 minutes.

2. Bake the chicken in oven for 180 deg C for 30 minutes.

3. Mix up the tomato and cucumber with Mayonnaise. Set aside.

4. Pan-fried the tortilla in non-stick pan on both side without oil. Set aside.

5. Put a tortilla wrap on a plate, then put a layer of green corals. Fill up half of it with tomato and Japanese cucumber salad. Fill up another half with baked chicken cubes and top with Thousand Island sauce.

6. Fold the tortilla into half and serve.

Steamed Arrowhead with Chinese Sausage

Besides making arrowhead into crispy chips, most Chinese especially the Cantonese like to steam it with Chinese sausage. Since I have some arrowheads in the fridge, I would love to give it a try. Otherwise, I will have to wait for another year until the next season for arrowheads.

I heard from my friends that arrowhead is "windy" so I added some grated ginger and Chinese wine. Not sure if it makes the dish tastier or worse. If you like the original flavor, just omit the grated ginger, garlic and Chinese wine. Personally, I don't like the arrowhead cooking in this way. Crispy arrowhead chips tastes much more better for sure.

Ingredients:

3 medium-sized arrowhead
2 Chinese sausage
1 tbsp of Chinese wine
1tsp grated ginger
1tsp grated garlic

Method:

1. Clean the arrowhead. Peeled and thinly sliced at about 2mm thickness.

2. Cut the Chinese sausage diagonally.

3. Arrange the arrowhead on a porcelain plate. Add the grated ginger and garlic on top of it and sprinkle it with Chinese wine. Arrange the Chinese sausage on top of everything.

4. Steam over high heat for 3 to 4 minutes.

Pork Jerky Sandwich 肉干三文治

Pork jerky aka bak kwa is one of the popular Chinese New Year snack. Minced meat shaped into flat thinly  sliced or whole piece of thinly sliced flat meat sheet is marinated and barbecued to perfection. It's fragrant, tasty but heaty. It can be eaten on its own or with bread.

I twist the traditional way of consuming pork jerky into "East Meets West" sandwich. Needless to say, it tastes more flavorful with cheese, and green corals. Also, one side of the bread was pan-fried with butter  to enhance the taste. Can you smell the fragrant? Give it a try to kick start a good day!

Ingredients:

Pork Jerky

Bread

Green Corals

Cheese

Roast Chicken Thigh With McCormick Onion Gravy Mix

I bought a few packets of McCormick  gravy mix during my last trip to Australia. Instead of using it to prepare gravy for grilled or roasted chicken, I used it to marinate the chicken upon roasting. The result is not bad, but I still think that the "chicken rub" seasoning can be further enhanced to improve the taste. I'll modify a little bit in the next trial.

Ingredient:

2 chicken thigh, excess fat discarded
grapes, washed and rinsed
red cherry tomatoes, washed and rinsed

2 pink potatoes, diced

1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced

3 tbsp of olive oil

Chicken Rub:

4 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated
4 tbsp McCormick Onion Gravy Mix
pinch of salt
dash of black pepper
pinch of brown sugar
dash of mixed herbs

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients and seasoning for the chicken rub. Rub it over the chicken thighs, and marinate it for at least 4 hours.

2. Half-cook the pink potatoes in hot boiling water.

3. Arrange the chicken thighs on roast pan. Sprinkle 2 tbsp of olive oil over it. Roast it at 200 degree Celsius for 30 minutes.

4. Embed the potatoes, cherry tomatoes and onion under the chicken thighs. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of olive oil over it. Continue to roast until the chicken is lightly browned.

5. Serve the chicken with potato, cherry tomatoes and grapes.

Yam Rice with Yong Tau Foo

Once again I decided to cook my hubby's favorite Yam Rice. This time, hubby went to buy some yong tau foo to go with the "Yammy" rice. As before, the cooking task is performed by rice cooker , which results in perfectly done Yam Rice :)

Does it look gorgeous?

I wish I could have a bowl now! :)

For those who interested in my recipe, you can get it from my previous post.

Deep Fried Arrowhead Chips

Once a year when Chinese New Year is around the corner, you'll find the water chestnut "look-alike" vegetable in most of hypermarkets. It is known as arrowhead or ngaku. I've been eating deep-fried arrowhead since the past 2 years during the Chinese New Year. However, I have not hands on to make this snack. This year father in law bought few bags of arrowhead from Hypermarket. We made our arrowhead chips with the help of domestic helper.

First, the arrowheads are cleaned and skinned. Pat it dry. Then heat up a wok of oil. By using a slicer, the arrowheads are thinly sliced and go straight into the wok for deep-frying. Continue to stir the arrowhead while frying until it turned golden yellow. Remove it from the wok and leave it on kitchen tower. Leave it cooled before storing in an air-tight container.We didn't add any seasonings to the chips as it contains the perfect combination of natural sweetness and saltiness.

See the crunchy arrowhead chips? Once you a take a bite, you'll be addicted. :)