Corn chicken soup

From young, soup has been served regularly in my family's daily diet. As far as I can recall, my mom has been boiling different types of Chinese soups almost every day. After I got married, I too enjoyed all the home-boiled soups of my mother-in-law. Now, as a “minister of home affair cum head chef”, I continued with our family’s tradition to boil soups for the family as my son is a big fan of soup. The soups I had tried making consist of both Chinese and Western version as shown in the soup categories of this blog.

For Chinese soups, it generally requires 2 hours of simmering to achieve the best result. On those days when I am contraint for time , I will pick a quick and easy soup recipe such as the corn chicken soup I am in this posting. It is adapted and modified from “Soup of the Day” 天天有好汤. The time required for preparation and cooking is very minimum as compared to Chinese soups. I had added in extra ingredients (of course, do not overload it) to compliment its taste and nutritional value. Since all of the ingredients are edible, it can also be served as a one-dish meal. The happiest thing to me is less washing too!

Ingredients:
150g chicken breast meat
1000ml chicken stocks (I used 3 tbsp of concentrated chicken stock to mix with 1 liter water)
1 packet sweet corn cream style (380g) – De Monte or any other brand
1 packet enoki mushrooms * (cut away the tough part of the stems; if you think it is too long, then cut into halve, rinse with running water)
4 pcs fresh shitake mushrooms * (blanch over hot water and slice them thinly)
4 stocks of baby sweetcorns * (slice thinly)
1-2 eggs (lightly beaten and mix with 2-3 tsp water)
1-2 slices of ginger *
Spring onions for ganishing - chopped
Corn flour mixture (dilute some cornflour with water, adjust the consistency according to your personal preference)
Note: * - my personal add-on. Other recommended ingredients are: tofu and green peas

Seasonings:
Salt (I had omitted it because the chicken stocks is tasty enough on its own)
Pepper

Methods:
1) Rinse and pat dry chicken breast meat. Cut into small & long strips. Marinate with light soya sauce, sugar and cornflour for about 15-30 minutes.
2) Bring the chicken stocks/ water in a pot to boil. Add in chicken concentrated stock if used.
3) Add in ginger slice, baby sweetcorns and mushrooms. Simmer for 10 minutes.
4) Add in cream corn and stir well.
5) Add in chicken strips and stir well until it is fully cooked.
6) Add in cornflour mixture and stir gently to thicken.
7) Pour the egg mixture slowly into the soup, stir until it forms thin egg shreds on the surface. Turn off the heat.
8) Season with salt, pepper and sprinkle some spring onions before serving.

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Teriyaki chicken skew (Yakitori)

This teriyaki chicken skew (Yakitori) is a very simple and easy dish. You can even marinate the chicken the night before and grill it the next day. It is our family latest hit. I hope my special visitor who had requested for this recipe (when I put a picture of this dish at my previous posting) will enjoy making it for her children from a Japanese cookbook shared by my cousin in Japan.

Servings: 2-3

Ingredients:
2 boneless chicken thigh approx 250g (or chicken breast)
Other vegetable: capsicum, cucumber & leek
Bamboo skewers (trim to the desired length, cleaned & soaked into the water for a while)

Sauce:
3 tbsp light soya sauce (I used Lee Kum Kee Superior Light SS)
3 tbsp mirin (Japanese sweet sauce/ wine)
3 tbsp Japanese cooking wine (sake) (or Chinese Shaoxing cooking wine)
1 tbsp (slightly rounded) sugar
1 tbsp honey (I used no water added honey) – for grilling

Methods:
1) Cut chicken into ¾ inch squares. (For chicken breast, chop it with the back of the knife several times to make the chicken tenderer.)
2) Cut other vegetables roughly the same size.
3) Prepare the sauce and bamboo skews.
4) Marinate the chicken with the sauce for about 1-2 hours. (The longer the better. It is to allow the sauce to absorb into the chicken)
5) Drain the sauce and set aside.
6) Skew all the ingredients on the bamboo skewers.
7) Heat oil in a non-stick pan. Grill the skewered food under medium low fire.
8) Brush the leftover sauce (from step 4) and honey on top of the skewered food. Turn the skewer occasionally until the chicken is cooked and turned slight brown. Arrange on a plate and enjoy!

Tips: You can make some dipping sauce or gravy using those caramelized sauce from the pan. Pour a little bit of hot water over the pan and leave it for 1-2 mins. Then reheat the pan and stir well. Simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened. _______________________________________________________________

Updated on 25/11/08

This was how I grilled my skews. This photo was taken by my wonderful hubby. Hope you will have a clearer picture of the cooking method. Thanks to the suggestion by Alice of Bits of Life 'n' Taste.

If you like teriyaki sauce, you may be interested in these recipes:
- Mushroom rice
- Kiddy "mushroom rice"
- One-dish meal
- Super fast meal

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SUPER FAST MEAL (超级简单快餐)

Sometimes, I really don’t favour the idea to dine out. If I go to Ikea, under normal circumstances, I need to spend around 20 minutes for traveling and another 20-30 minutes to find a place and order my food (during peak hours). The total time spent is actually equivalent (or maybe more) to cooking a simple one-dish meal at home. This is why I love one-dish meal so much. Among the entire one-dish meals I had tried before, I personally find that this recipe is the best - easiest and fastest. No special cooking experience required. You just need to make sure all the ingredients are available and read the steps properly.

This super fast meal is adapted from Mitong’s recipe. If you can read Chinese, check out her website which has featured many great recipes. Her steps-by-steps illustrations are also very useful for me as a novice to understand the cooking process. Hehehe!

Ingredients:
2 small chicken thighs (de-boned) (I used chicken breast)
1 sweet yellow onion ( ½ for small size) – sliced (切丝)
1-2 leeks – sliced (斜段) (Refer to pic below)
2 eggs – lightly beaten
Mocked vegetarian barbecue pork/ char siew (optional)
Cooked rice – 2 rice bowls
Coriander leaves (for garnishing)

Seasonings:
¼ cup cooking wine (I used Chinese Shaoxing cooking rice wine)
¼ cup light soya sauce
¼ cup mirin (Japanese sweet cooking sauce/wine. Ref to pic)
– You can substitute with cooking wine and sugar of the equal amount
¼ cup water
1 tbsp sugar

Methods:
1) Cut the chicken into equal bite sizes. For chicken breast, use the back of the knife to chop for several times so that the breast meat will be tenderer. Use light soya sauce, cooking wine and cornstarch to marinate the chicken for 10 minutes.
2) Prepare seasonings and ingredients. (Ref to pic below)
3) Pour chicken, onion, leek, seasonings into the cooking pan. Simmer until the chicken is cooked. Do not cook for too long. (Ref to pic below)
4) Add in beaten eggs. Cover lid and simmer for 15 seconds. Turn off heat.
5) Pour over cooked rice, garnished with coriander leaves and serve.

If you find that this recipe is too easy-peasy, try my other one-dish meal recipes:

- no frying noodles
- claypot chicken rice
- yam rice
- pesto pasta
- Indian vegetarian rice

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Scrambled eggs with cauliflowers

Previously, my son always rejected cauliflowers but I managed to "convince & confuse" him with this recipe. Since then, he can easily accept cauliflower in other cooking methods. Sounds like "Crouching tiger, hidden dragon" as described by my foodie friend? In fact, this is the most effective way to coax a child to eat certain vegetables. This recipe is adapted and modified from Special Quick & Delicious Vegetable Cookbook.

Ingredients:
70g chicken thigh/ breast – shredded and marinated with light soya sauce, sugar and cornflour.
170g cauliflower – cut into small pieces and blanched
35g carrot – shredded
½ potato – boiled and diced (optional – This is the leftover from my pumpkin soup)
½ red onion - sliced
2 eggs – mixed with pinch of salt and pepper and beaten lightly

Note: You can subsitute chicken with fresh prawn or 2 tbsp dried shrimp .

Seasonings:
1 tbsp – oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce – 1 tsp
Dash of pepper

Methods:
1) Heat up oil and stir-fry chicken until cooked. Dish up and set aside.
2) Add in onion and sauté until fragrant.
3) Add in carrot and stir-fry. Add in cauliflower, potato, cooked chicken and seasoning, and mix well. If it is too dry, add in 1-2 tbsp water.
4) Add in eggs. Stir fry until the eggs are cooked. Dish up and serve.

This dish paired well with rice and pumpkin soup. My son loved the combination so much that he can gooble up his meals super duper fast on that day. This soup recipe is slightly different from my original pumpkin soup as I used lesser water (enough to cover all the ingredients for simmering) and replaced fresh milk with thickening cream.

For dinner, I made teriyaki chicken skew. Fingers lickin' good!

(Did u notice something is missing from the first bamboo stick? Guess who's the culprit?...........Both my son and I! Shhhhh........ We just couldn't resist the temptation to grab a bite. Hehehe!)

If you are looking for recipes to coax your kid to eat vegetables, I strongly recommend these recipes:
- zucchini cakes
- simplified "kwai fa chee"
- ridge or sweet gourd with prawn omelette
- spaghetti bolognese

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Steamed chicken with wolfberries and red dates

This is a modified version of steamed herbal chicken adapted from Quick & Easy Hawkers’ Fair. I had omitted dang guai (chinese herb – 当归) and chinese shaoxing cooking wine.

Ingredients:
2 chicken whole legs
1 tbsp wolfberries (枸杞) (washed) – Add more if you like as it is a very nutritious (read this link for more details)
5 red dates (removed seeds)

Seasonings:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
½ tbsp cornflour (diluted with 2 tbsp water)

Methods:
1) Clean the chicken legs and pat dry. Remove bones and skins ( I asked the chicken seller to do it for me to save time). Trim the fat. Cut into 4 pieces.
2) Marinate all ingredients with seasonings for at least 30 mins.
3) Steam at high heat for 15-20 mins or until the chicken is cooked. Dish up and serve hot.
4) If the chicken is dry, add 1 tsp fried garlic or onion oil.

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Claypot chicken rice

My weekends are always tied up with the routine “once-a-week” groceries shopping. Last Sunday was even busier. After all the housework and cooking, we have to rush for an appointment. Due to time constraints, I just snapped some quick shots of my chicken rice directly from the claypot. Later on, I only realized that my cooked rice had been fully covered by the ingredients. As we had started eating, I had no choice but to take another shot solely focused on the rice. How silly I am!


By following the measurement from the original recipe, my rice turned out to be slightly hard (as you can see from the photo) because mine is basmathi rice and required more water during cooking.

This recipe is adapted and modified from here.

Servings: 2-3

Ingredients:
130g fragrant rice
170g water (Different type required different amount. Eg more water is required for long grain rice)
250g chicken thigh (removed skins, chopped into 5 – 6 pcs)
4-5 pcs shitake mushrooms (fresh or dried) – discarded stem and cut into halves
For fresh ones, blanch over boiling water
For dried ones, soaked to soften
1 Chinese sausage (soaked over hot water for 2-3 mins, removed the outer layer and sliced thinly)
Spring onions (for garnishing)

Seasonings for rice:
1 tsp garlic (chopped)
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
Dash of salt and pepper
1½ tbsp cooking oil

Seasonings for marinating chicken:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tsp sugar
½ tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp cornstarch
Dash of salt and pepper
1 tsp Chinese cooking rice wine (optional)

Seasonings for stir-frying:
2 pcs sliced ginger
½ tbsp garlic
1½ tbsp cooking oil

Methods:
1) Heat up wok with oil. Sautee garlic till fragrant. Add in rice and stir fry till rice turns to little stick and heavy. Add dark soya sauce, salt and pepper.
2) Pour into a claypot and add water. With medium high heat, cook the rice with closed lid for about 8-10 mins until the rice is almost cooked and water is almost dried up.
3) Heat up wok with oil. Lightly pan-fry sliced sausages till fragrant. Dish up and set aside.
4) With the remaining oil, stir-fry ginger until fragrant. Add in garlic and sautee garlic until it turns slightly brown.
5) Add in chicken and stir-fry until fragrant and let it simmer while cooking rice.
6) When the rice is cooked, spread chicken, mushrooms and sausages on top of the rice.
7) Close the lid and cook at medium fire for another 5-7 mins. (You are expected to have burnt bits for claypot rice)
8) Turn off the heat, sprinkle some spring onions and serve.

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Simple pizza bread

We love pizza and always want to bring our son to eat pizza. But the strange thing is whenever we dined out, we always ended up with something else. The reason is my "emperor" only prefers authentic pizza and we are still searching for one.

As I don’t have an oven now, it is impossible to make a homemade pizza. Recently I found an interesting posting at this blog about no-dough pizza bread! At least, my oven toaster can be fully utilised now. This recipe is indeed very simple and easy. Just right for a lazy person like me that can simply make a nice toast that looks like pizza! What I did is to toast the pizza bread after my son goes to bed. After toasting, let it cool off at the room temperature. Keep it in a container and put in the fridge. Tomorrow morning, I just need to slightly toast them to reheat the bread and serve them as our breakfast. As what the food blogger said, there are many ingredients you can use to make this pizza bread. Some of them are: chicken, capsicum, sausage etc.

Here is the one of the versions I had made (based on my own creativity) for my breakfast today:

Ingredients:
4 white toast breads
1 palm-size chicken breast meat (cut into chunks)
½ white onion (sliced thinly)
4 button mushrooms (sliced)
8 cubes canned pineapples (drained and sliced)
5+1 tbsp butter (I used a mixture of ready-made garlic spread and butter)
Fresh grated parmesan cheese or any type (2 cups) - I put plenty because we like cheese!
Dash of sugar and pepper

Methods:
1) Marinate chicken with light soya sauce, sugar and corn flour for at least ½ hour.
2) Heat up a pan with oil and 1 tbsp butter, sautee onion until translucent. Add in mushroom, dash of sugar and pepper. Mix well and stir fry for a while. Add in chicken meat. Stir-fry until it turns brown. Dish up and set aside.
3) Cover baking tray with aluminum foil. Put breads and toast for 3 mins.
4) Flip them over and spread butter and garlic herb spread (ready-made) on the untoasted side. 5) Arrange all the stir-fry ingredients, pineapples and cheese on the bread.
6) Toast for 15 mins or until the cheese melts and turns golden brown.

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Braised chestnut （栗子）with chicken

Ingredients:
200g Chinese chestnuts (fresh)
2 chicken thighs (de-boned & skinless) - marinated with 2 tbsp light soya sauce, dash of sugar and cornflour for at least ½ hour
5 fresh mushrooms
2-3 tbsp wolfberries (kei chi - 枸子）
4 cloves garlic (bruised)
Coriander leaves (for garnishing)
300ml water

Seasonings:
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp concentrated Maggi chicken stocks（上汤）
Dash of dark soya sauce
Dash of sesame oil and pepper
Cornflour (for thickening)

Methods:
1. Wash chestnuts and place in a small saucepan together with the water. Boil for 15 mins, remove and soak in cold water. Use knife to remove the skin. Cut into smaller pieces.
2. Heat up wok with 1 tbsp oil. Sautee garlic, then add chestnuts and stir-fry for a while.
3. Pour in 90% water and seasoning. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 45 mins or until the chestnuts are tender.
4. Then add in mushroom and chicken and simmer for another 10 mins
5. Add in cornflour solution and bring to boil. Then stir in wolfberries and simmer for 30 secs.
6. Dish up, garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

Note:
You can use dried mushrooms but need to pre-soak it in advance. Add in during step 2.

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Stir-fried french beans with chicken

Ingredients:
100g chicken breast meat
100g french beans (cut diagonally)
50g capsicum (shredded) - about ½ medium-sized
25g carrots (shredded)
2 fresh mushrooms (shredded)
1 small red onion (chopped)

Seasonings:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp soya sauce
Pinch of sugar
Dash of sesame oil & pepper
Cornflour (for thickening) - mixed with some water

Methods:
1. Cut chicken into small pieces, use the back of the knife to chop the chicken several times to make it tender. Then marinate with sugar, soya sauce and cornflour. Refrigerate for at least ½ hour before cooking time.
2. Heat up 1 tbsp oil in a wok, stir fry chicken meat until it turn pale brown. Dish up and set aside.
3. Heat up 1 tbsp oil in wok again. Sautee onion until fragrant. Add in mushroom and stir-fry.
4. Then add in french beans, capsicum and carrots. Put little bit of water and stir fry with high heat for about 2 mins.
5. Lower down the heat to medium, add in chicken and stir well.
6. Then add in cornflour solution, stir fry for a while and turn off the heat. Dish up and serve.

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Pumpkin rice

Ingredients:
120g rice (2 persons) - (rinsed and soaked for 15 mins)
160g pumpkin (cut into cubes)
1 chicken thigh (de-boned, removed skin and cut into small cubes)
4-5 fresh medium size shiitake mushroom (washed with running water, cut into small chunks)
25g dried prawns (pre-soaked for 15 mins, retained water for cooking later)
5 shallots (sliced thinly)
3 tbsp oil
Water for cooking (depending on the type of rice used)
Spring onions (for garnishing)

Seasonings:
1 tbsp light soya sauce
2 tsp dark soya sauce
½ tsp salt
Dash of sesame oil & pepper

Methods:
1. Marinate the chicken with light soya sauce, sugar, sesame oil & conrflour for at least half an hour.
2. Fried shallots until golden brown, set aside.
3. Heat up 2 tbsp oil of shallot oil, add in dried prawns and stir fry under low heat until fragrant. Add in mushrooms and dash of sugar, stir-fry for a while.
4. Push the dried prawns and mushrooms to the side of the wok, add in chicken and stir-fry until the chicken cubes turn pale (half-cooked).
5. Add in pumpkin and continue to stir-fry for a while. Add in a little oil if the mixture looks dried.
6. Add in pre-soaked rice, fried shallots, then followed by seasoning and stir until all the ingredients are well-combined.
7. Transfer all the ingredients to a cooking pot, add water to cover ¾ of the rice mixture.
8. Cook under low heat and stir occasionally until the rice is cooked thoroughly.

Note:
I do not have a rice cooker at home. Most of the time, I am using a steamer. Therefore, it is considered my first attempt using a cooking pot to cook rice.

I had been referring to the recipes from Hockiak and Piggy's Journal for cooking my own pumpkin rice.

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Kiddy "mushroom rice"

This is another variation from the mushroom rice.

Ingredients:
Cooked rice
Chicken fillet (cube) - marinate with light soya sauce, sugar & corn flour
Frozen mixed vegetables
Assorted fresh mushroom
Garlic - diced
Butter

Seasonings:
Teriyaki sauce
Shaoxing cooking rice wine
Dash of sugar and pepper

Methods:
1. Use some butter to stir-fry the chicken until brown and set aside
2. Melt the remaining butter and fry the garlic until slightly golden brown and fragrant
3. Add in mushroom and sugar. Stir well
4. Add in seasonings and cook until the sauce is slightly thicken
5. Add in chicken and mix vegetables. Stir well.
6. Turn off the fire. Add in cooked rice and stir well. Serve.

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Chicken and potato stew

My mum taught me how to cook this one-dish meal.

Ingredients:
1 red onion
2 chicken thighs (with or without bone) - marinate with light soya sauce, sugar and cornflour
2 potatoes
1 large carrot

Seasonings:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
Dash of dark soya sauce
1 tsp concentrated chicken stock (optional) - mixed with 150 ml water
Dash of sugar and pepper
1 bay leaf (my personal add-on)
Corn flour (for thickening)

Method:
1. Heat the oil and sautee the onion until fragrant.
2. Add in all the ingredients and seasonings and stir well.
3. Simmer with medium heat until all are cooked.
4. Thicken with cornflour.

Below is another variation I cooked for my son. I used chicken breast, baby sweetcorn and add-on japanese edamane (salted soya bean). No dark soya sauce. Sometimes I will add some fresh mushrooms too.

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Steamed minced chicken with mix veg

Ingredients:
120g chicken breast (minced)
3 waterchessnut (chopped)
30g carrot (chopped)
1 Japanese bean curb (mashed)
Small handful of frozen green peas

Seasonings:
1½ tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce
½ tsp sugar (optional)
Dash of sesame oil and pepper
Cornflour

Methods:
1. Combine all ingredients with seasonings in a mixing bowl. Stir in 1 direction until well combined.
2. Add some cornstarch and bit of water to the mixture and mix well.
3. Put the mixture on a steaming tray and flatten it with a spoon. Arrange green peas on top.
4. Cover the tray with cling wrap and chill it in the fridge for at least half an hour.
5. After chilling, steam for about 20 mins or until cooked.
6. When cooked, removed from the steamer and put some fried garlic or shallot oil on top.

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Chicken herbal soup (玉竹鸡汤）

This recipe is adapted from 我的厨房笔记（玉竹鸡汤）。

Ingredients A:
Whole chicken : ½ pc

Ingredients B:
Yu zhu : 50 – 100g
Red dates : 15pcs
Gouqi : 1 – 2 tbsp
Ginger : 1 pc

Ingredients C
Water : own judgment

Method:
1) Wash chicken, cut into pieces, blanch the chicken with boiling water, drain
2) Wash Ingredients B, pour in water, bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to medium heat and boil for another ½ hour
3) Add in chicken , simmer for another ½ over medium heat

Note:
I used skinless chicken thigh and breast to boil this soup because it is less oily.

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