My Cooking Journal 23 - Spinach Soup with Meat Ball and Silver Fish

One afternoon, I was at an eating house along Joo Chiat Road enjoying their famous delicacy that is the curry fish head with two others dishes to accomplish a satisfying lunch. One of the side dish that we ordered was this spinach soup with silver fish. I really fell in love with this spinach soup because of its refreshing and flavourful taste. It is a simple soup comprises of spinach, silver fish, mince pork and some shallots to enhance the flavour of the soup. I think it would be easy to cook and decided to copy their version using my own cooking instinct.

 

Well, the result was satisfying and I started to cook this soup for my family occasionally. It is a simple, hearty and nutritious soup embrace with high volume of calcium as I used ingredients like ikan bilis, spinach and silver fish which contain significant amount of calcium for our body. You may refer to My Cooking Journal 9 to find out more on the benefits of spinach and I hope you will enjoy this soup as much as I do.   

My Ingredients:

1.      1 pack (200g) Spinach – Wash and trim (Refer to my Cooking Journal 9 for preparing spinach)

2.      200g Ikan Bilis - (Stock) Wash and rinse

3.      100g to 200g minced pork – Rinse, marinate and roll into balls

4.      50g – Dry Silver fish - Rinse

5.      3 slices Ginger

6.      2 - 3 cloves Garlic – Deskin and cut into slice

7.      3 cloves shallot – Deskin and cut into slice

8.      1 teaspoon sesame oil – for marinate

9.      1 teaspoon fish sauce  - for marinate

10.  Pinch of corn flour – for marinate

11.  pinch of pepper, salt and sugar – for marinate and to taste 

12.  1 tablespoon olive oil

13.  1.6 litre Water (enough to serve 2-3 person)

14.  Fried shallot and diced spring onions (for garnish)

My Cooking Journal 22 - Herbal Chicken Slow Cook Soup

Oh my God! My "part-time lover" (laptop) really give me lots of problem lately, kind of frustrating coz I have difficulty browsing internet and my lover just “hang” himself whenever he likes it.  

Oh no! I gonna need some Chicken herbals soup to strengthen and tonify my brain and body. To me, its kind of painful and irritable when comes to tackle computer problem. My hubby had helped me to reformat the entire system but problems still occur inevitably.

Talking about Chinese Chicken herbals soup, it is one of the best soups that will help those with weak body constitution to strengthen and tonify their body system. Of course it must be used with right proportion of herbs and ingredients. Otherwise, overdosing or under dosing of the herbs will not benefit your health and the former will cause harm to you. It is also crucial on the type of pots that you use to brew the soup. Claypots or ceramic pots are best for brewing soups. Stainless steel pot can be used but not on metal or aluminium pots. Some herbs might react with the metal pot therefore; reduce the effectiveness of the herbs and your effort will be wasted.

My Ingredients:

The dry ingredients that I used can be easily obtained from any Chinese Medical hall and some common one like red dates, dry mushroom, wolfberries can be easily purchased at any supermarket.  Here are some basic introductions of the ingredients/herbs that are used for my Chicken Soup:

Chicken meats are rich in proteins, fats, Vitamin A, B, C and D. However, it is important to remove any excess skin before cooking to reduce the fats and cholesterol contents will give you a clear and less oily soup base. It is preferably to use kampong chicken as it is less fatty and using whole chicken will also retain its rich flavour and moisture at tip top quality.

Dry Scallops (乾瑤柱):  contains vitamin B12, Magnesium, Selenium, Protein, Fat, Calories. It is often use to add flavour and sweetness to the soup and is good for improving your immunity.   

Dry Chinese Mushrooms (Shiitake): High in protein, low in fat, Vitamin B2, help to treat cold, flu, stimulate immune system, fight against infection and suppress cancer cells spreading. It is also good for adding flavour to your soup. 

Dry Huai Shan (淮山) also known as Chinese Wild Yam or Shan Yao (山药):  Has neutral property. It helps to nourish the spleen and stomach and strengthen the kidneys and lung. It has the ability to lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels, promote fluid secretion and clear urine protein, stops diarrhea, cure cough and reduce phlegm and thirst and can be used to strengthen those with weak body constitution.

Dry Yu Zhu (玉竹): With cooling effect that helps to tonify yin, boost internal fluids level, balance heatiness, contains Vitamin A which is good for skin as it helps to moisten skin dryness, ability to nourish your dry lung and strengthen your stomach, relieve dry cough, dry throat and thirst. But people who have loose stools, spleen deficiency, stomach deficiency, phlegm stagnation is not suitable and is best to consult your physician before consume.

American Ginseng (西洋参) : It tastes bitter and has cooling effect that is capable to promote production of body fluids, reduce heat in the body, moisten the lung and boost the body’s collagen levels. It also can reduce dry and thirsty mouth and throat, boost energy (reduce fatigue) and boost immune system, relieve menopause symptom for woman, regulates blood sugar level and effective for treating diabetes, calm the brain, boost the heart. It helps to harmonize your entire body system and maintain healthy function of spleen, stomach, heart, brain and nervous system. Avoid taking carrot, radish and tea if you are taking American Ginseng. This will reduce the effectiveness of the herb.

Chinese Almonds (杏仁) : They are two types often known as Southern (南杏) and Northern (北杏) Chinese almonds.  The former is larger in size and sweeter whereas the latter is more aromatic and bitter.  Northern is more beneficial than southern and is often used in soup to smooth inflammation in lungs, treat cough, calm wheezing, moisten intestines and unblocks bowels. It is effective for clearing the airways in lung and smooth breathing.  

Red dates (红枣) : It is rich in Vitamin A, B2, C and E, minerals such as phosphorus, calcium and iron. It helps to reinforce the blood-building function of heart, strengthen body immune system and is often use as a sweetener in the soup.

Wolfberries (枸杞子) : It contains essential amino acids, vitamin C and B2, iron, potassium, zinc, selenium, phosphorous, calcium and germanium and also with small amount of vitamin E, dietary fiber and proteins. Is good for curing giddiness, cough, thirst and reduce heat in the body. It can tonify your kidney and liver, nourish your lung and improve vision. With the sweet taste, it is often use as a sweetener in the soup.

Ingredients:

1. 1 Kampong Chicken (whole)
2. 4 pieces Medium Dry Scallop
3. 3 pieces Dry Mushroom
4. 4 slices Dry Huai Shan
5. 20g Dry Yu Zhu
6. 2 slices Ginger
7. 2 tablespoon American Ginseng
8. 1 tablespoon Wolfberries
9. 6 pieces Red Dates
10. 1.6 litres of water

Hong Guo (红锅) @ Nex Mall

I was hungry and desperately looking for a place to settle my dinner at Nex mall. Most of the eatery in Nex mall seem crowded and worst, some with queue. We happened to pass by this Chinese restaurant in oriental style with red and white decorations. It appeared to be less crowded and a female waitress approached us politely to see if we want to dine in Hong Guo (红锅). So, we decided to try out.

I have not heard of this restaurant and no idea what their specialty was. Then I saw the white wall and menu written with a story of "Cross bridge vermicelli" (过桥米线 ).  The legend of this noodle was originated from Yunnan.

This "Cross bridge vermicelli" comes with an old history about a devoted wife preparing daily meal for her husband, a scholar who always forget his meal when he study hard. One day she accidentally discovered that the top layer of oil from the chicken soup could prolong the soup warmness. She soon adopted this method and improvises a combo-style meal with other ingredients such as vermicelli, vegetables and meat added into the soup. It then becomes very popular in Yunnan and others began to name the dish as “Cross bridge vermicelli” because of her devotion crossing the bridge daily to deliver this heart warming dish for her husband.  

I decided to order their specialty – Zhuang Yuan Mi Xian (状元过桥米线) and share with my kids. The dish is served in a tray contains 15 different kinds of ingredients dished in a sauce plate and with a bowl of hot soup and vermicelli served seperately. The waitress will provide assistant to pour in the ingredients starting from egg and raw and lastly, vermicelli. You can also DIY yourself if you do not requires any assistant. To my surprise, the soup was good and appetizing. 


There's something I need to highlight. You must add pepper in the soup, it really makes a great difference in taste. I choose to opt out pepper in the soup at my 2nd time dining because my kids complaint about the spicy taste when we 1st tried out in the restaurant. Well, the taste of the soup turned out to be alittle bland which is not as tasty as I have had before.



Cross Bridge Vermicelli



Vermicelli waiting to swim in the soup!

  

Ingredients all queue up for a good shower with the soup....yee pee!





All ingredients dive into the great soupy ocean waiting for me to enjoy... the soup was indeed tasty.



As for my hubby, he choose to try the spicy beef noodles which is quite satisfying. We also order two side dishes which are “Sichuan Saliver chicken” (口水鸡) and the crispy silver fish (椒盐银针鱼) . The Sichuan Saliver Chicken is a cold dish. The chicken is tender and coated with sichuan style chilli paste and bean sauce. The latter is the deep fried silver fish wrapped up with a layer of golden flour coating. It is also a spicy dish but I requested them not to sprinkler chilli power on it (For the sake of my kids). Both side dishes are indeed delicious and my kids enjoy the silver fish very much!


If you are a 1st timer tasting the Cross Bridge Vermicelli, you might find it quite cute and interesting in term of the food presentation. The food that Hong Guo's served is delicious and not too expensive, say about $8.00+ for noodles and $6.00-$7.00+ for one side dish. In overall, the sevice is good, fast and the staff is responsive and polite. It is worth giving a try! 

Yummy Beef Nooldes

Non Spicy Crispy Silver Fish

Address: 23 Serangoon Central #B1-75 S(556083)

Operating Hours: 11am - 9.30pm



My Cooking Journal 20 - Mum's Black Bean Soup

If you were thinking of improving your body overall health and maintaining youthfulness, you can try drinking black bean soup frequently.

Chinese believe black bean is a good nutrition food that is suitable for all age especially for woman before or after their pregnancy. This bean is rich in cholesterol-lowering fiber, antioxidants, protein, Vitamin B1 and contains good source of magnesium, iron and  folate. 

Black bean can helps to nourish our  blood, reduce blood viscosity, regulate menstral cycle for women, lower blood cholesterol level, strengthen kidney and prevent constipation. Others than this, it can eliminate free radicals, delay ageing and eliminate wind in stomach. It contains lot of nutrients that is essential for normal growth and maintenance of our body cells.  The beans if consume regularly can help to fight against cancer and heart disease. 

My mum told me to use pork trotters instead of pork ribs for the bean soup. The pork trotter (with bones and skins) not only provides calcium, but also contains collagen that will reduce dryness of our skin and  strengthen our ligaments and joints. Its make a fantastic thick broth base with nice sweet flavour. It is really delicious and easy to make.  

Buy and Prepare:

You can purchase black bean from local supermarkets or provision shops. It is usually sold in packet form.

My mum also taught me some basic tips to take note before cooking them. Before cooking these beans, spread them on a plate and remove any debris, spoil beans or stones. Then place the beans in a pot, wash and rinse the beans with hot boiling water. Drain the hot boiling water and then rinse the beans with cool runnng water. Discard the water and prepare to presoak for at least 2 hours. This is to shorten the cooking time.  After 2- 4 hours of soaking, discard the presoaked water and prepare for cooking.

  

Ingredients:

1. 200g Black Bean - prepare as mentioned above
2. 1 Pork Trotters - cut into small pieces and rinse
3. 1 Dried Cuttlefish - cut into small pieces and rinse
4. 6 Red Dates - rinse
5. 1.6 Litres Water

Methods:

1. Prepare a pot of boiling water and blanch the pork trotter in the pot to remove the smell of blood and scum. Remove and set aside.
2. Boil a pot of water. Pour the hot water in the slow cooker pot. Add in pork trotter pieces, cuttlefish slices, red dates and presoaked black beans into the pot.
3. Turn on to high heat and let it cook for at least 2 hours. Then reduce to low heat and simmer for another 2 hours. Add salt to taste.

Method 1

  



Method 2 & 3



Ps. Whenever I drink this soup, it reminds me of my beloved mum. Her black bean soup is real delicious and fantastic. She is using the traditional charcoal stove to boil this bean soup. As a result, the taste is immensely different and able to bring out the full flavours. Thanks Mum!

My Cooking Journal 17 - Homemade Radish Soup

Bakuteh (肉骨茶)  is a well known local chinese soup easily found in Singapore. It is a pork ribs soup that is in a clear and peppery style or darker soup with herbs and spices flavour depending on individual preferences. 

My homemade radish soup is a simpler modification of Buketeh soup. Instead of using one pack of Bakuteh satchet, I used half a pack and cook it with ingredients that comprises of Dry Scallops, Pork Ribs and White Radish. This homemade radish soup is a real family favourites of our and I used to cook it quite often.

Radish is added because it can enhance sweetness to the soup and incorporate with a sense of lightly spicy and peppery flavour. Radish is a low calories root vegetable that is rich in Vitamin C and B-6, anti-oxidants, folates, riboflavin, thiamin, dietary fiber and minerals such as iron, magnesium, copper and calcium. This root vegetable is a very good detoxifier and disinfectant that helps to prevent cancer, maintain good blood pressure, maintain good skin, prevent constipation and protect our liver and gall bladder from infections. And with it anti-congestive properties, it is capable in relieving respiratory congestion caused by cold, infection and allegies.

Buy and Selection:

Bakuteh's sachet and radish can be purchased at any local supermarket, grocery stores and wet market. There are many different brands of Bakuteh sachet available for selection. As for the radish, remember to choose roots that are firm and fresh in texture. Avoid choosing root that is yellowish as it indicates that the stock is old.

Just simply wrap the white radish with newspaper (to absorb moisture) and store in a plastic bag and in the refrigerator. It is sufficient to maintain its freshness for up to a week.

Since I am just using half a pack of the Bakuteh, I would usually store the other half in the refrigerator for up to a month. Below is a sample of different brands of Bakuteh Satchet. (My own preference brand would be no. 1 & 2).

Different Brands of Instant Bakuteh Satchet

 Ingredients: 

1. 4-5 pieces Pork Ribs
2. 4 medium size Dry Scallop
3. 1 medium size White Radish - de-skin, washed and sliced
4. Half pack Bakuteh satchet
5. 1.6 litre Water (Half a pot of size: 3.2 litre slow cooker)
6. Sea salt to taste

Methods:

1. Roughly distribute the spices in the Bakuteh satchet into half. Ensure that the spices are pushed to both side end of the satchet. Then use a string (we used for sewing) to tie and tighten the satchet to prevent them from leaking out when boiling in the soup pot. Tied it somewhere near the centre part (tied two sections). Then, use a scissor to cut in between the tied sections. Set a side one pack for cooking and the other half keep it in the refrigerator for future use. 
2.  Boil a pot of water. Once boiled, blanch pork ribs in the boiling water, remove and set aside. 
3.  Boil a pot of water and pour into the slow cooker soup pot. Put in dry scallops, Bakuteh sachet,  sliced white radish and blanched pork ribs into the soup pot. Turn to high heat and let it cook till boil. Then simmer to low heat for 2 hours. Season with sea salt to taste.

Method 1

My Cooking Journal 11 - Chinese Style Seafood Soup (中式海鲜汤)

This soup contains several useful vitamins and minerals that can benefit our health. It provides good source of protein, calcium and phosporous (from prawns, squids, pork, tofu and ikan bilis stock) that can helps us in maintaining healthy bones, nails, hair, muscle and skins. Apart from that, prawns and squids are good source of iodine, selenium, zinc, Vitamin B12 and iron. Iodine aid to control growth and metabolism for our body and keeps thyroid healthy. Selenium, an antioxidant assists in relieving arthritis symtoms and decrease the risk of cancer.   Zinc helps to boost your immunity where Iron and Vitamin B12 helps in production of normal red blood cell to avoid the risk in getting anemia. But, do bear in minds that both seafoods are high in cholesterol, so you should moderate your consumption if possible.

To enhance the taste of this soup, I added tomato to make it more flavourful. Tomatoes contain Vitamin C, A, B, folate, fiber, calcium, phosporous and is an antioxidant that found to be protective against cancer. I really love the taste of this soup as it is refreshing and gives a flavourful sweetness that will whet your appetite.

My Ingredients:

 

1. 200g Ikan Bilis - (Stock) Washed and rinsed
2. 4-6 pieces Medium Size Prawns - Deshelled & deveined (Keep the prawn head and shells for making stock)
3. 1 piece Squids - Cut into ring or slices
4. 100g Pork - Cut into thin slices
5. 1 Tomato - Cut into wedges
6. 1/2 Block Tofu - Cut into cubes
7. 100g Salted Mustard Green (Vegetable) - Cut into slices
8. 3 slices Ginger
9. 8 slices Garlic
10. 3 teaspoon sesame oil
11. 2 teaspoon fish sauce 
12. 1 teaspoon corn flour
13. pinch of pepper, salt and sugar - to taste 
14. Water (enough to serve 2-3 person)
15. Fried shallot and chopped spring onions (for garnish)

 

My Cooking Journal 10 - Simple Chinese Winter Melon Soup (冬瓜汤)

Our weather (Singapore) has been hot and humid lately. I feel so sluggish and tire and all my family members are down with sore throat, cough and running nose. I desperately need something to cool and refresh my mind and body.

Chinese winter melon soup (冬瓜汤) just came across my mind. This is one of my mum's signature dishes that she often made for us since young. I love the taste of this soup as it is light and clear with a taste of sweetness. Very delicate and simple soup to make.

 

Benefits and Buying  

Winter melon is high in Vitamin B and dietary fiber. It helps to cool, refresh and detoxify the body. It also helps in treating people with mild urinary tract problems. You can simply purchase them in any local super market or wet market. It is usually sell in slice due to their bulky size. And it is best to choose the slice that is near  top or bottom end as it gives more sweetness to the soup.  

  

In chinese, this soup is known as "Dong Gua Tang" (冬瓜汤).  "Dong Gua" means winter melon and "Tang" means soup. This soup that I am going to recommend is a typical hokkien style quick soup. It is very easy to prepare and cook (takes approx. 45 minutes).

My Ingredient:

 

Ingredients: 

1. 1 pack/slice winter melon - to serve two adult and two toddlers
2. pork ribs - 2 to 3 pieces - washed
3. 18 nos. dry scallop - small size
4. Water -  enough to cover half the pot
5. 2 eggs - beat the egg in a small bowl
6. 100g to 200g minced pork
7. 1 teaspoon sesame oil
8. 1 teaspoon fish sauce 
9. 1/2 teaspoon corn flour
10. pinch of pepper, salt and sugar - to taste 

Method: 

1. Marinate the minced pork with fish sauce, sesame oil, corn flour, sugar and pepper (quantity refer to the above). Then roll and shape the minced pork into small meat ball individually. Set aside.
2. Wash the winter melon into cubes. Remove the skin and inner seeds and cut the winter melon into cubes.
3. Prepare a pot of boiling water. This is used for cooking the winter melon soup. Put the dry scallop in the soup pot and simmer for 20 minutes in medium fire.
4. Prepare another small pot of boiling water (purpose for blanching the pork ribs). Blanch the pork ribs in this pot of boiling water. Remove pork ribs and transfer to the soup pot.
5. Simmer the soup pot (with dry scallop and pork ribs in the pot)  for another 15 minutes.
6. Then add in the winter melon. Boil the soup until winter melon turns transparent.
7. Add in the meat ball. Once the meat ball float, pour in the beaten egg into the pot and use a chopsticks to stir the soup in a circular motion until you see long thin threads are form and float in the soup.  
8. Add salt to taste and serve.

Method 1.

Method 5 & 6.

Method 7.