Minute Steak with Cranberry Red Wine Sauce

2 minute steaks (about 160gms each)

2 cloves garlic - minced

black pepper
salt
2 shallots - sliced
2 tbsp dried cranberries
2 tbsp frozen and thawed cranberries
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup red wine
1 tbsp butter

1. Season steaks with garlic, black pepper & salt. Sear the steaks on both sides till brown. Transfer to plate and keep warm covered with tin foil.
2. Turn off heat on the stove. Throw in shallots, both cranberries and red wine onto the pan which was used to cook the steaks. Turn on to the lowest heat and stir around the pan till shallots are browned.
3. Pour in stock and wine. Increase heat and bring to a boil, scrape the sides of pan and boil until liquid is reduced by about half.
4. Reduce heat, stir in mustard and continue to simmer until liquid is further reduced to the consistency preferred - I like mine thick.
5. Remove from heat and stir in butter.
6. Pour into a sauce jug and serve with the steaks. By now, you should have roasted new potatoes in the oven and some buttered haricot verts ready. Lovely with soft dinner rolls.

Grilled Black Pepper Lamb Shoulder with Leeks/Mango and Vegetables Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette

Grilled Black Pepper Lamb with Leeks
2 lamb shoulder steaks
1 stalk leek (prefer Australian - remove the fibrous part, cut into 4 cm lengths and then cut half, lengthwise)
4 cloves garlic (minced)
2 tsp butter
black pepper
sea salt
1. Season the lamb generously with freshly ground black pepper and garlic for 1/2 hour. Season with salt just before grilling.
2. Grill on pan till desired doneness both sides (many websites will guide you on how to grill lamb).
3. Remove onto plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
4. Add butter to pan with all the juice and bits from the lamb and add cut leek onto the pan as well. Add about 4 tbsp water and cook till leeks are soft (More water can be added, if need to). Taste and add salt and pepper if necessary.
5. Dish out and serve with the grilled lamb.

Mango and Vegetable Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette
1 just-ripe sweet mango - too ripe and it gets mushy (cubed)
1 Japanese cucumber - kyuri (remove seeds and cut into cubes)
1 red onion the size of a golf ball - love those Aussie ones (sliced into half rings and separated)
1 bell pepper (cubed)
a handful of cherry tomatoes (halve about 6 of them and leave the rest whole)

1 clove garlic (chopped finely)
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
a touch of Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar (omit if mango is very sweet)
a pinch of salt
black pepper

a. Put mango, cucumber, onion, bell pepper and tomatoes into salad bowl. Chill well.
b. Mix garlic, olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and sugar well.
c. Pour onto the mango-veg and toss just before serving.
d. Top with freshly ground black pepper.

Recipe is flexible, vary the quantity of mango and veg to your liking.

Enjoy!

Braised Soya Sauce Chicken and Mushroom

I have been craving soya sauce dishes these few days... what better way to satiate the craving than cooking them myself?

Ingredients :
1 whole chicken of about 1.2 kg approx. (halved if plan to chop into pieces or quartered if would like to serve as-is after cooking)
4 tbsp thick soya sauce (I use Elephant Brand)
4 tbsp light soya sauce (I use TST Brand/ or Pearl River Bridge)
2 inches old ginger (smashed)
2-4 tsp white pepper
8 dried Chinese mushroom (soaked in hot water for about 1/2 hour, washed and remove stem)
sesame oil
2 bulbs garlic (smashed lightly)
2 cups water approx. (or just enough to cover the chicken in the pot - so, really depends on your pot size)
1 head of broccoli the size of a fist (cut into florets) or 1 cucumber

Method :
1. Heat up about 2 tbsp sesame oil in a pot huge enough to just accomodate the chicken pieces laid flat.
2. Throw in garlic bulbs and ginger, stir till fragrant.
3. Place chicken pieces with skin side up in the pot.
4. Pour in the 2 types of soya sauce into the pot along with white pepper. Add in water to just cover the chicken pieces (amount of water really depends on the size of the pot - don't use too big a pot). Bring to boil, add in the mushroom and thereafter maintain medium heat for 15 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to lowest and braise for 45 minutes more moving the chicken pieces lightly every now and then with a spatula.
6. Turn off heat and leave the chicken in the covered pot for 2 more hours or so.
7. Remove and serve as you like (chopped or as-is) with the mushroom. The meat will be falling off its bones.
8. Meanwhile, bring braising liquid to boil and reduced to gravy thickened with some potato or corn flour (about 2 tsp) diluted with very little water. Or, you may keep the liquid in the fridge to braise next batch of chicken wings etc.

To blanch broccoli, bring water to boil in a saucepan, add a tsp of salt and 1 tbsp olive oil. Blanch sliced stem first by about 1/2 minute earlier followed by the florets for 1/2 minute. Rinse immediately under running water to stop the cooking process. Delicious dunked in the gravy.

Great with hot fluffy white rice and bird's eye chilli dip (ground or pounded bird's eye chilli/minced garlic/light soya sauce/lime juice).

Tau Yew Bak / Tau Eu Bak (Braised Soya Sauce Pork)

Below is "recipe" with 100% pork belly.

In fact, I use "gut feel" when I cook and this dish is great as one does not have to be precise with the ingredients. Add more salt or soya sauce if want it to be saltier, use a wee bit rock sugar if want a sweetish taste, add more or less dark soya sauce depending on the shade you want.... :)


Ingredients :

600gms pork belly (with skin on) - I bought the ones which they have already cut into about 3 inches in length.
2 tbsp thick soya sauce (I use Cheong Chan Elephant brand cooking caramel - the best cos I am so used to the flavor growing up)
1-2 tbsp light soya sauce (I use TST brand)
1 whole bulb garlic (lightly smashed)
1/2-1 tsp white pepper, personal preference
1 cup water approx.

Method :

1. Heat a pot (if w/o lean meat, I prefer to use non-stick). Otherwise, use a wee bit of sesame oil just to coat the pot to prevent meat sticking
to the sides. Medium heat : Throw in the pork belly and garlic. Stir around until all sides of meat are not pink.

2. Add in both soya sauces and white pepper. Quick stir. Add water. Bring to boil. Continue to cook for about 1/2 hour on medium heat. At this time, I use kitchen scissors to cut to the size I want.

3. Reduce heat to the lowest and continue for another 1/2 hour.
At anytime if water has evaporated too fast, add more water bit by bit. Don't worry if you have added too much, leave it longer on the stove and it will soon evaporate. The longer the meat is braised, the softer and more delicious it gets. That is why it is even better eaten the next day.

Taste, if not salty or peppery enough, you can add a wee bit of salt and more white pepper.

10 mins before serving, add hardboiled eggs, if you like.

The lazy way is to boil water and then add everything in, cook 30 minutes on medium heat, cut the pork, lower heat and braise 30 minutes more.

Serve hot with lots of white rice and sambal belacan (but my personal fav is with cut bird's eye chili).

Options :
1. Use part lean meat + pork belly, pork ribs + pork belly (but use about 2 tbsp sesame oil if mixed with lean meat or pork ribs)
2. Can add eggs, hard tofu or fu chuk 10 minutes before ready.