Pandan Leave Drink

My nephew, a strong built young man, he has Gout problem and in frequent pain for quite sometime. My sister prepared the pandan leave drink weekly without fail ever since she learned that the drink can serve as remedy. It has been proven effective. She bought S$2 pandan leaves from the vegetible stall in the wet market and consumed within the week.

I quickly got a plant and grow it in my garden. Well.., still a pretty young one....


Ingredient:

1. Pandan leave - 20 to 30 leaves
2. water - 1.5 litre (3 500ml-bottle)

Method:

1. Wash pandan leave and tie them to knots
2. put water in pot, boil with high fire
3. add pandan leave and continue to boil
4. reduce to medium fire, continue cook for at least half hour
5. off fire and leave cool
6. may add some honey or sugar if prefer
   
7. put water in bottle and drink as desired for whole day

Waffle (美式鬆饼）

Waffles are easy to make if you have an electric waffle maker at home. During past two Chinese New Year, I made ready some waffle batter at home, visitors especially children, they were delighted to be served this snack DIY.

Ingredient:

1. medium egg - 4
2. butter - 50 gm, soften (around 1/5 of the normal 250gm-brick butter, brand - Golden Chuen)
3. condensed milk - 2 table spoons
4. rice flour - 25 gm
5. plain flour - 200gm
6. baking powder - 1 tsp
   
7. vanilla essence - 1tsp
8. water - 250ml (around half plastic of 500ml-bottle)

Method:

1. beat eggs till cream colour
2. add condense milk, vanilla essence, soften butter, continue beating till all mixed well
3. sift plain flour, baking powder into egg mixture in batches, add water in between batches, till all dry ingredient and water have all added to form batter
   
4. scoop batter into waffle maker and cook as per waffle maker instruction
   
5. serve waffle with ice cream, apricot jam or avocado sauce
   

Papaya Pork Rib Soup

There are two papaya trees in my garden, both were planted from seeds at the same time. While the other one bore many fruits, the one in this picture was not, even though it was very much stronger and bigger. One day, my husband said "From hearsay of some old folks, if the papaya tree happens to be a male tree, it will never bear fruits, perhaps we should cut this tree down."
Luckily we were too lasy to put it into action, because the suspected male tree suddenly bear many nice looking fruits after two month!!!!

Ingredient:

• 1 green papaya, medium size. Washed, skinned, removed seeds and cut into bite size (around 1" cube)
• 1/2 cup peanuts. Soaked in water for 15 minutes, drained water and repeat soaking, draining around 3 times until the water is quite clear. Drain water and keep aside ready for use.
• Pork ribs/bones, around 350 gm, chopped into estimated 2" pieces. Wash and kept aside ready for use
• Water, 3 to 5 bottles (500 ml)

Method:

1. Add one bottle (500ml) water into a pot, boil water with high heat
2. add peanuts, let water boil continuously for 10 minutes
3. add remaining water, when water boil again, add all pork ribs/bone
4. Wait for water boil again, reduce to medium heat, continue cook for 1/2 hour with cover half cover until peanut and meat are soften
   
5. add papaya, continue cook until papaya is soften, add salt to taste
6. Ready to serve
   

Sammie's Spicy Thai Salad

I ate some Thai salad prepared by my relative's Thai maid, immediately my taste bud triggered my memory. I thought of my friend Sammie... I recalled observing her preparing the Thai salad for one gathering. She was so engrossed and took care of every little detail, the end product was really fantastic. It was the best Thai salad I ever tried, even better than the authentic one that I had in Thailand. Therefore I shall name this recipe that she gave me as "Sammie's".

Ingredient

1. 1 large pomelo
2. 1 large onion
3. 100 gm dried preserved shrimp, rinsed and drained well
4. 1 large bunch coriander (aka Chinese parsley), chopped
5. 250 gm roasted cashew nuts, crushed
6. 2 tsp cooking oil

Dressing:

1. 60 ml fish sauce
2. 6 Thai limes, juiced
3. 6 - 8 chilli padi
4. 1 tsp sugar

Mix lime juice, fish sauce and sugar together. Cut chillies into sections and add to the mixture.


Method:

1. Break flesh of pomelo to bite size. Place in salad bowl with coriander and onions (thinly sliced)
2. Sitr fry dried shrimp until crispy. Set aside to cool (I remembered Sammie cut the dried shrimp into small pieces before stir fry)
3. Throw in crushed cashew nuts
4. Toss dressing with all ingredients to serve

Thank you, Sammie

Yi Mi Shui (薏米水)

That day I was not feeling well, throat was dried and coughing in between, both eyes turned red. Improved little after doctor's medicine, but still was feeling lousy and as if heat was trapped inside body. Suddenly I thought of the 薏米水. I bought 200 gms of China 薏米from Chinese medicine shop, cooked and drank the water (around 500ml). Next day I was back to normal.


Ingredient:

1. 1 cup China 薏米(Coix Seeds)
   
2. 3 bottles of water (the normal 500ml plastic water bottle)

Method:

1. pour the China 薏米into a pot, wash till water is quite clear (around 3 times)
2. add 3 bolltles of water into the pot and boil at high heat
3. reduce to medium fire and continue cook for half an hour
4. add 1 tsp of salt and off fire
5. drink water

Note:

Drink 薏米水weekly is good for health. There are two types of 薏米, the shop keeper of the Chinese medicine shop advised me to buy the China 薏米. He said the other type of 薏米called 洋薏米, produced in Thailand/Holland, this kind of 洋薏米will induce phlem and not suitable for me because I was coughing.

Fried Eggs with Minced Pork/Chicken (For FY)

HY is my daughter. She once studied alone overseas. Her studio apartment only equipped with one pot (with cover), one wok (no lid), one small electric rice cooker and one small kettle. I gave her some recipes for her to keep going till her graduated and returned home.


Ingredient

1. 100 gm minced pork/chicken, season with 1 tsp of corn flour and 2 tsp of soya sauce
2. 2 eggs, add 1/2 tsp salt, some pepper and beat well

Method

1. add seasoned meat into the beaten egg, mix well with a fork/spoon
2. heat 1 tbsp oil in wok at high heat
3. scoop one tbsp of egg mixture into wok, reduce fire to medium and fry both side till golden yellow
4. dish out and serve
5. keep excess in fridge, heat up tomorrow morning and make sandwiches for beakfast.
   

Black Bean Minced Pork (For HY)

HY is my daughter. She once studied alone overseas. Her studio apartment only equipped with one pot (with cover), one wok (no lid), one small electric rice cooker and one small kettle. I gave her some recipes for her to keep going till her graduated and returned home.

Ingredient:

1. 300 gm - minced pork, season with 2 tsp of corn flour, soya sauce and dashes of pepper
2. 1 clove - garlic, chopped fine
3. black bean (can) - 2 teaspoons

Method:

1. Heat 1 to 2 tbsp in wok on high heat
2. add chopped garlic, reduce fire to medium, stir fry till garlic just change colour and aroma
3. add seasoned minced pork, stir fry until meat changed colour and cooked
4. add water 2 tbsp or more (depends on whether you prefer more gravy or not)
5. add 2 tsp of black beans (don't scoop the black bean oil) and stir fry, till liquid is boiling
6. taste, if prefer, add little soya sauce, pepper or sugar
7. add some water if you find it dry, stir fry again till liquid boil
8. off fire and serve
9. leave excess to cool , transfer to container and keep in fridge.
10. re-heat for breakfast, lunch or dinner, eat with porridge or rice or bread.

Hairy Gourd Soup

This soup is very nice for a meal with rice. You may cook more soup, keep the excess in the fridge. Next day, heat it up and add some noodle, meehoon or mee sua for quick breakfast.

Ingredient:

1. 1 hairy gourd (refer to picture)- peeled, cut or sliced into pieces (around 2cm x 1cm)
2. 1/4 cup dried shrimp - washed and soaked to soften
3. 2 pieces dried mushroon (big) - washed, soaked, discarded stem and sliced
4. garlic - 1 clove, chopped fine
5. ginger - small pieces, sliced thinly, around 3 - 4 slices
6. 100 gm minced pork - seasoned with dashes of pepper, 1 tsp of corn flour, 1 tsp of soya sauce

Method:

1. heat a pot with medium fire, add 1 tbsp of oil
2. add chopped garlic, stir fry till colour turned (cooked)
3. add mushroom, ginger, hairy gourd and dried shrimp, stir fry a little while
4. pour hot water into the pot, around 1 litre, bring water to boil, add water if you wish to have more soup, increase fire to high for water to boil
5. when water is boiling, reduce to medium fire, continue to boil with lid half covered
6. add salt to tast, test hairy gourd with fork, off fire when hairy gourd has soften.

Curry Chicken

Ingredient:

1. Chicken - 1 whole, around 1 to 1.5 kg, cut into few pieces (available in NTUC)
2. Potatoes - qty 3, peeled, wash and cut into 1/2" cubes, pat dry with tower
3. Chicken Curry powder - 1 pkg (Earthen Pot , Authentic Indian Curry)
4. Curry powder - 1 tbsp (optional, if prefer more spicy curry)
5. Instant coconut cream (powder form) - 1 pkg (Powder, Santan, 50gm), melted the powder into 1/2 cup of warm water.
6. Small onion - 10 pieces, washed, chopped into small pieces or sliced into fine slices
7. Oil - around 1/2 cup (peanut oil or others)

Method:

1. wash and drain chicken pieces, season with 1 tsp of salt
2. heat 2 tbsp oil in wok or frying pan, fry cut potatoes (put potatoes gently into the wok/pan, the oil might splash out) at medium fire. Stir fry occassionally till potatoes are golden. Scoop out and put aside.
3. put cut onions into the same wok after potatoes has been scooped out, stir fry till colour turn slightly, add in curry powder, continue stir fry for awhile, add oil if it's dry.
4. add chicken pieces, increase fire to high, stir fry continuously, add potatoes and continue stir fry tilll chicken is cooked.
5. Transfer chicken into a pot, add hot water sufficiently to cover all the chicken, bring water to boil.
6. Reduce to medum fire, continue cook till potatoes are soft by testing with a fork.
7. pour in coconut cream while continue stir the curry till all coconut cream is added, add more salt to acquired taste if needed.
8. bring to boil again for a while, off fire and ready to serve.

Note: left over curry chicken, should be boil again, let it cool down and keep it the freezer. Re-heat the microwave or bring to boil agan next day morning, eat it with bread for breakfast.