Salmon cakes - Feature recipe for My Cooking Hut

Ever since I was a child, I perceive and express better through pictures instead of words. In scientific term, I am a right brain person. (No wonder I did badly in written essay in my school years. ) Now, whenever I search for recipes online, I am easily sold by impressive-looking photos. They motivate me to try the recipes out as soon as I can lay my hands on the ingredients. If you love to see beautiful photos as much as I do, then you should take a peep at the photo gallery of My Cooking Hut. It is one of those fabulous food blogs I am really hooked on. Every shot taken by Lee Mei, who is a freelance photographer, is awesome and of professional-quality. With excellent food styling skills and perfect propping, she set the right mood and theme for her readers. Every time I visit her blog, I love to admire her photo shots, more as a piece of fine art than just a normal food photo. It gives me lots of inspiration, tips and ideas in food photography. Apart from photography, she is also a very talented cook. You can find a variety of Eastern and Western cuisines featured in her blog that ranges from Asian stir-frying dishes to French delicate dessert. Her blog is my main reference for simple yet delicious recipes.

When Lee Mei wrote to me to ask if I am interested to be her guest writer, I was awe and surprised . I started scratching my head as what to feature on her beautiful blog. After some discussions, we decided on salmon cakes with an Asian twist. Today, I feel so honoured to be the guest writer for My Cooking Hut. Without further delay, let me bring you over to visit Lee Mei’s nicely decorated “hut” and savour my salmon cakes virtually with just a click here.

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Beancurd seafood soup （豆腐海鲜羹）

My hubby loved this soup so much that after drinking the soup, he also took an extra portion to mix with his rice so as to give him a "braised rice" flavour.

This recipe is adapted from Hawker's Fair Simplified cookbook.

Ingredients:
1 piece soft beancurd - mashed into puree (it can be substituted with egg bean curb or homemade beancurd)
1 fresh squid (about 200g) - shredded
6 crab sticks - shredded
2 pieces ham - shredded
3 black mushrooms - soaked and shredded
6 water chestnuts - peeled and shredded
2 egg whites
1500ml stock (上汤）

Seasonings:
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing cooking wine
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp salt
dash of pepper and chicken stock granules
3 tbsp corn flour (mixed with 5 tbsp water for thickening)
1 tbsp chopped spring onion

Methods:
1. Bring stock to boil. Put in all ingredients, seasonings and bring to boil.
2. Add in corn flour water and mix well. Then add in egg whites, mix well and remove from heat.
3. Dish soup into individual serving bowl, sprinkle chopped spring onion on top and serve with black vinegar if desired.

Note:
I had made some slight modifications to the ingredients used because I need to clear some of my stocks in the fridge.

Ingredients (my version):
1 tube Japanese egg beancurd ( 150g) - mashed into puree
5 water chestnuts - peeled and shredded
5 fresh shiitake mushrooms - blanched over boiling water, shredded
2 slices bacon flavour vegetarian ham - shredded
120g surimi crab legs (imitation of crab legs) - shredded (I think it will taste even better if use original crab meat because of its textures and taste)
3 egg whites
1100 ml stocks (I use chicken bones to boil the soup first)

I had replaced chicken stock granules with some concentrated chicken stocks. Before adding egg whites, you may also need to adjust the seasonings according to your own preference if neccessary.

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Tofu and crabstick patties

This recipe is adapted from Women's Weekly Foodbook magazine (tofu and crabmeat patties) with some slight modification.

Ingredients:
240g crabstick filament (chopped finely)
150g tofu (½ block) 板豆腐
1 stalk spring onions (chopped finely)- use green part only
30g breadcrumb (You can substitute with crushed plain crackers)
2pcs waterchestnuts (chopped)

Seasonings:
4 tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soya sauce
½ tsp sugar
1 egg (lightly beaten)
2 tbsp oil

Dipping sauce:
4 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp tomato sauce
1 tsp chilli sauce
1 tsp sugar

Methods:
1. Mash tofu and add in all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir in seasonings and then add in beaten egg. Stir until mixture is well blended. Shape in 4-5cm diameter patties.
2. Put on a plate and cover with clip wrap. Refrigerate for about 30mins.
3. Heat up 2 tbsp oil in a pan over medium fire. When hot, add patties in batches. Cook for 3 mins on one side. Turn patties over and cook for another 2 mins or until brown.
4. Dish up and drain on kitchen towel.
5. Serve with dipping sauce.

Tips: Drain tofu and waterchestnus on kitchen towel so that the patties will be firmer.

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