Simple Chicken Salads

You'll need:
1 x cup of iceberg lettuce
1/2 cup of carrots julienne
1 x red chilli julienne
1/2 cup of cucumber julienne
1/2 cup of bean sprouts
3 x spring onions finely chopped
1/2 cup of coriander (optional)
a handful of mint leaves
Qtr / half store bought roasted chicken, shredded
a handful of roasted peanuts roughly crushed

Sauce:
1/2 cup of sweet chilli sauce
1 tbsp of fish sauce
juice of 1 lemon/lime

Mixed all just before serving.

Chilli Fish Balls

Ingredients:

1 pack x fried fish balls (AROY brand, 1 kg)
1/2 cup chinese satay/ bbq sauce*
1 tsp x super hot chilli bean paste (HK brand - Koon Yik Wah)*
1 tbsp of kicep manis (sweet indonesian soy sauce)
1 tbsp of oysters sauce
splash of water

Add all in a pot and cook under gentle heat until sauce thicken.
Serve while they are hot!

*more notes about these items.

Takoyaki Party

Saturday 1 November 2008, Tomo-Chan and Marc had invited us (Toko-Chan, Sachi-Chan and Me) to their lovely home for a popular and yummy Takoyaki Party! After stuffing our faces with 200 balls!!! And hours of Wii fun. In the end Toko gave up with a cramped left foot and her tired arms from washing too many pairs of dirty undies. Sachi showed off her yoga and balancing moves she is as fit as a 54 yrs old. When asked how does she keep it all so well? Sachi says, Young at heart is the key! and lot of happy smiles : ) Mary was headbutted by lots of football boots and was sent back to the bench. Tomo was the winner of all. Well Done!! Marc suggested us to go skinny dipping with a beer and feeling rich! But the weather was a bit too cold so we've opt for next round of Takoyaki and Wii challange!

(p.s we had to let Tomo wins cause she had our passports!!!)

So what is Takoyaki?
Takoyaki (たこ焼き or 蛸焼, Takoyaki?) (literally fried or baked octopus) is a popular Japanese (Osaka) dumpling made of batter, diced or whole baby octopus, tempura scraps (tenkasu), pickled ginger, konnyaku, and green onion, topped with okonomiyaki sauce, green laver (aonori), mayonnaise, and katsuobushi (fish shavings), originating from Osaka. There is a similarly named dish called ikayaki but it is a broiled whole squid and bears no resemblance. "Yaki" is derived from "yaku" (焼く, "yaku"?) which simply means "to bake or grill" in Japanese, and can be found in the names of other Japanese cuisine items such as teriyaki or sukiyaki. source:wikipedia

You'll need:
1 2/3 cup flour
2 1/2 cup dashi soup
2 eggs
1/2 lb. boiled octopus, cut into bite-size pieces
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1/4 cup dried sakura ebi (prawns)
1/4 cup chopped pickled red ginger
*For toppings:
fried bonito flakes
aonori (green dried seaweed)
takoyaki sauce
mayonnaise

To make:
Mix flour, dashi soup, and eggs in a bowl to make batter. Thickness of the batter should be like potage soup. Put oil inside cups of a takoyaki grill pan. Pour batter into the cups to the full. Put octopus, red ginger, and green onion in each hole. Grill takoyaki balls, turning with a pick. When takoyaki become rounds and brown, remove them from the pan and place in a plate. Put sauce and mayonnaise on takoyaki and sprinkle bonito flakes and aonori on the top. *makes 4 servings

Mohr Fish

2 x firmed fish fillets ( cod / snapper / whiting)
extra virgin olive oil
red / Spanish onion (diced)
salt
handful of grapes
handful of roasted pine nuts
handful of roasted almond
a dash of honey
4 tbsp of red wine vinegar
handful of dill
handful of parsley
ground pepper
served with couscous or salad

Easy Smoked Salmon Frittata

5 eggs
A dash of cream / milk
Any herbs you have in the fridge – dill, parsley, chives, basil (you can opt for basil pesto, it works well)
Salt and pepper
1 pkt x Smoked Salmon
1 cup x of any vegetables you have – capsicum, tomatoes, zucchini, canned corn kernels, frozen peas
Hand full of leftover mushrooms
A bit of garlic
A handful of cheese
Olive oil

Pre-cook vegetables & mushrooms with some garlic and olive oil. Set aside.
Mixed eggs and cream then cook under low heat.
Add veges and mushrooms while eggs mixture is cooking – add cheese and seasons with salt and pepper to your liking.
When it’s almost set but still runny, add herbs and smokes salmon.
Turn Frittata to semi circle and serve with salad.

Lemongrass & Coriander Roots Steamed Fish

Ingredients:
4 slices of firmed white fish
1 lemongrass thinly sliced
1 sml clove of garlic
3 coriander roots (from 3 bunches of coriander)
Splash of Chinese rice wine
Splash of water
3 tbsp of fish sauce
2 tbsp of light soy sauce
a handful of chopped spring onions and coriander leaves (optional)

Method:
Using a mortar and pestle mix lemongrass, garlic, and coriander roots, add a pinch of salt and pound all to a paste.
Mix Chinese rice wine, water, fish and soy sauce in a sml bowl.
Rub fish with lemongrass paste and place on a plate and add liquid mix.
Pour in some boiling water into the base of your steamer. Make sure the water doesn't touch the base of the fish.
Cover the steamer and steam the fish over a roiling boil for about 10 - 12 minutes.
When it's ready, turn off the heat and keep it covered.
Carefully remove the fish from the wok onto a dish.
Sprinkle the spring onion over the fish.
Serve with rice.

Slow Braised Pork Belly (Tung Po Pork Belly)

1.5kg pork belly (including skin)
1/2 cup dry sherry/chinese rice wine/mirin
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/3 cup dark caramel soy
3 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
6 cloves of garlic lightly bruised
6 slices of ginger about 1/2cm thick
6 spring onions cut in half
A few tablespoons of oil for initial browning
3 tsp of brown sugar
1/2 cup water

Method

Blanch meat in a large saucepan of boiling water for 10 minutes.
Remove and dry with kitchen paper.
Heat a large pot, then add oil and lower heat.
Add meat, skin-side down, and brown skin slowly until golden and crisp (10-15 minutes).

Lift meat from wok and wipe off any excess fat with kitchen paper.
Remove oil from pot and add soy sauces, sherry , water, star anise, cinnamon stick, garlic, spring onion, ginger, brown sugar, and meat.
Bring to a simmer on a stovetop, cover tightly, and cook for 3 hours or until meat is tender. Stock should thicken to gravy consistency.
Sliced meat into 1cm thick while it’s hot and add gravy to sliced meat and serve.

Peking Duck Rice Paper Rolls

1/2 Peking Duck meat (you can get this @ any Chinese Roast Restaurant) shredded
2 cucumber cut them into stick
Spring onions
Hoi sin sauce
20 sheets of medium rice paper

warm water in a medium salad bowl or dish to soften rice paper sheets (one at a time)
dry with paper towel / clean tea towel
assemble a few shredded duck meat, one cucumber stick and a few spring onions and a teaspoon of hoi sin sauce
then wrap all into a roll and serve.

tip: lightly rubbed serving plate with a bit of oil prevent rolls from sticking.

Spring Salad

1 – 2 medium x zucchini finely julienne
300g crab stick finely julienne (washed and drained well) (usually in 500g or 1kg pack) (500g will do)
2 - 3 tbps of small fish roe (you can get these from Chinese grocery shop)
*Add Japanese Mayo + Normal Mayo to your liking, I never measure this, about 3 tbps
I like fresh herbs so my version
I’ll add 1/2 cup of Coriander
And a bit of finely chopped Spring Onions and/or a bit of Dill

Mixed all with Mayo just before serving, otherwise, salad will be watery.

* Note: I like to add both Mayo because Jap Mayo can be quite salty sometimes. I think you can try mixing low fat sour cream too for other opt.

Spring Rolls

Ingredients

Vermicelli Noodles
Dried Shiitake Mushrooms
250g Pork Mince
250g Crab Meat
1 Carrot
Spring Onions
Garlic Cloves
Fish Sauce
Caster Sugar
White Pepper
Spring Roll Sheets
Vegetable Oil, To Deep-Fry
Iceberg Lettuce Leaves, To Serve
Fresh Mint & Coriander Leaves, To Serve

Dipping Sauce
Sweet Chili Sauce

Stir Fried Mushrooms And Vegetables

Ingredients

150g Shitake mushrooms
150g Oysters mushrooms
1 Cup of sliced Carrot
1 Cup of Snow Peas
1 tbsp oysters sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
A pinch of sugar
A pinch of salt
A dash sesame oil
A dash white pepper powder
A bit of cornstarch mixed with water (as thicken agent)

Simple Stirred Noodles In Soy And Spring Onions

Ingredients

1 pack 500g fresh wonton noodles
Chopped spring onion
Chopped red chilli
1 tbsp of Oysters sauce
A few dash of light soy sauce
A dash of Sesame Oil
1 tbsp of Dark Caramel Soy Sauce
A dash of pepper
1–2 tbsp chicken/vegetable stock (or just water)

Pork And Prawn Dumplings

Ingredients
200g Uncooked Prawns
250g Minced Pork
Finely Sliced Spring Onion
Finely Sliced Black Fungus (optional)
Finely Chopped Water Chestnuts
1 teaspoon Finely Diced Ginger
A dash of Shao Hsing Wine or Mirin
A few dash of Light Soy Sauce
A few dash of Sesame Oil
1 egg
1 Pack Fresh Wonton Wrappers

Dipping Sauce/ Dressing

Chinese Black Vinegar or Balsamic Vinegar
A pinch of Sugar
2 tablespoon of Water
A dash of Olive Oil
A dash of Sesame Oil
A handful of Coriander Leaves
2 tablespoons of Spring Onions

BBQ Pork

Ingredients

1kg pork neck cut into fillet
Garlic chopped
Ginger grated
1/2 cup Char Siu Sauce
1/4 cup Hoisin Sauce
3 tablespoons dark caramel soy sauce
3 tablespoons light soy Sauce
A dash of rice wine / sweet sherry / mirin
A pinch of five spiced (optional)

Mix all ingredients with pork and marinate in fridge for an hour or over night if possible.
Preheat over to 180C and cook pork for an hour or until cooked.

Tippy's first cook up with friends

1st Tippy's cooking with friends, Saturday 19 July.

11am @ Chinatown, discovering the Asian shops and markets.
1pm @ Unit 3, 1A Booth St Annandale.

What are we cooking?
- Traditional Congee
- Pork Dumplings
- Simple Soy Noodles

Send your RSVP to tippysrecipe@gmail.com before 16 July 2008.

Please post any questions you have on the site, we'll get back to you as soon as we can.