Vegetable Lasagna ala Bonsay

Serves: 6

Ingredients:
4 lasagna sheets
400gr pumpkin, slice to 5mm thick
1tbs olive oil
1 red capsicum, chopped
3cups diced eggplants
3cups diced zucchini
100gr baby spinach
1cup Parmesan cheese
1cup mozzarella cheese
1small brown onion
1tsp dry thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
1can of 500ml tomato sauce
3cups ragout

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 200C. On a tray, grease with oil and line pumpkin slices. Drizzle with some oil and salt, and bake for 20minutes or until tender
2. Meanwhile, heat a pan and put oil. Stir fry onion and thyme until fragrant. Put in eggplant and cook until tender. Add in capsicum and zucchini, and stir until cook
3. Add in the tomato sauce to the vegetable, close the pan and let the vegetable cook until tender. Add a little hot water if needed, and season with salt and pepper
4. Once the vegetable in the pan cooked, set aside from fire and add in spinach. Mix until spinach wilted. Set aside
5. Preheat the oven to 180C
6. Assemble the lasagna in a 25cm x 25cm x 7cm thick oven proof container
7. Drizzle tomato sauce for the base and line the lasagna sheet over. Line some pumpkin slices, and spoon vegetable in tomato sauce over. Top up with 1 cup ragout, sprinkle with 1/4 cup of parmesan and 1/4 of mozzarella, then cover with lasagna sheet
8. Repeat the above steps until the vegetable was used up, cover with the last lasagna sheet. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over, and bake for 40minutes or until lasagna is cooked and cheese are melted

 

Chicken and Apple Salad ala Bonsay

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

500gr chicken breast, sliced/stripped
1clove garlic, crushed
2tsp thyme
200gr salad leaves
1cup zucchini, thin sliced
1 green apple, cored and sliced
1/2can champignon, whole 
1tbs olive oil
4tbs lemon vinaigrette


Methods: 

1. Wash salad leaves and dry well. Meanwhile, blanch the zucchini and champignon for 3minutes in boiling water. Dry and set aside
2. Heat pan, add in oil, garlic, thyme, and stir until fragrant. Add in chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook until almost done. Rest aside. Do not cook the chicken to long, otherwise it will become dry. The heat in the chicken will cook the chicken further when you rest it
3. Soak the sliced apple in salty water to prevent it changes the colour of the flesh
4. In a big bowl, mix the leaves, zucchini, champignon, apple, and salad dressing. Arrange the chicken on top of the salad, and drizzle the oil from the pan on top of the chicken
5. Serve as side dish, or meal with toasted wholegrain bread

Pan-Fried Salmon over Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette ala Bonsay

Finally, I bought these beautiful salmon fillets. The flesh was pink and fresh. And successfully, the craving is fulfilled.

Serve: two
Ingredients: 
2 x 200gr salmon fillets
2cups fresh salad leaves 
4buttons white mushrooms
1/2cup juliened carrots
20ml olive oil
3tsp sugar
1tsp mustard
1tsp chopped garlic
2 1/2tbs fresh lemon juice
2tsp apple cider vinegar
2tsp salt & some ground pepper

Method:

1. Mix oil, sugar, mustard, garlic, lemon juice, vinegar, salt and pepper, in a bowl. Set aside
2. Wash the vegetables, dry in a colander. Set aside 
3. While pre-heating the pan, oil the salmon and sprinkle with some salt
4. Pan-fry the salmon, 4minutes on each side. Or until it is cooked as desired 

Grilled Yellow Rock Cod served with Poached Egg, Warm Asparagus and Green Broccoli Salad, and Pan-Fried Potatos ala Bonsay

This was made after I watched the Masterchef show on television that I decided to cook this dish on the next day. Another reason was it is long since we eat our last fish dish. Hopefully you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.
 
Serve: 2
Ingredients:
2 x 200gr fish fillets
1 bunch asparagus
2cups green broccoli florets
2 small potatoes, cubed
1/2 onion, sliced
2 eggs, poached
Olive oil, butter
Salt & pepper
Lemon

Method :

1. Pre-heat oven at 170C. Pre-heat pan grill
2. In a pan, put 1tbs olive oil to heat, and cook the potato. Stir a few times to avoid sticking on pan. After cooked, add 1tbs butter, then season it with salt and pepper
3. Poach the eggs in a boiled water for 5 minutes, then transfer into cold water to stop the cooking process
4. Oil the fillets, season with salt and pepper. Cook the fillets on a hot non-stick pan for 2 minutes on both sides. Transfer to a tray, throw the onions on top and around the fillets. Put in the oven for 10 minutes
5. Meanwhile, oil the asparagus and broccoli, add salt and pepper. Grill on a pan until cooked
6. Served on a plate, drizzle some lemon juice on top, and cracked pepper to garnish

Prawns Swim in Tomato Sauce ala Bonsay

One evening, I was planning to cook ribs soup, when I heard my boyfriend saying he was defrosting some prawns. We had to cook it fast, because we suspected that the shop didn't sell fresh prawns, as it gone bad in a short period of time. So, before we wasted any food, I turned this prawns into Prawns Swim in Tomato Sauce. Happy cooking !! (Photos are coming)

Ingredients:

• 350gr prawn (shell in-tact or no shell)
• 2 red chillies/paprika (unseeded)
• 1/2 onion (chopped)
• 4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
• 2 roma tomatoes (roughly sliced)
• 1tbs corn flour
• 2tbs water

Sauce:

• 125ml water
• 2tbs ketchup/tomato sauce
• 2tbs fish sauce
• 1tsp sugar
• 1/2tbs sweet soy sauce 
• 1tbs shaoxing chinese cooking wine
• salt to taste

Method:

1. Combine the sauce in  a small bowl. Set aside
2. In a wok, stir fry the onion until fragrant, add in garlic and red chillies
3. Add in prawn, cook until the colour changed, then add in the tomatoes. Stir well
4. Pour the sauce in the wok, and let the prawns absorb the taste from the sauce. Adjust the taste
5. To thicken the sauce, combine the corn flour and water in a small container, and add in the wok bit by bit while you stir the prawns
6. Serve it hot

Tips:
Try having the sauce on top of your rice, it will send you to a different dimension on how to enjoy your rice to the max

Creamy Potato Salad ala Bonsay

On this summer weather, I was requested to bring along my potato salad for Australia Day lunch at my mom's friend's house. The simpleness and creaminess in taste, is too good to let it pass by.

Ingredients:
1.5 kg potatoes
6 eggs, hard-boiled
3 bacon rasher
150gr mayonnaise
1tsp mustard paste
1/2 lemon
6 sprigs thyme, leaves only
1 small onion, chopped
2 spring onion, chopped
1tsp garlic
salt and pepper

Methods:

1. Par-boil potatoes until cooked through but not tender. Let it completely cooled. Cut them bite-size with skin on
2. Meanwhile, stir fry bacon until cooked through. Set aside and let it totally cooled
3. In a big bowl, mix mayonnaise, mustard, and juice of 1/2 lemon. Add in thyme, onion, spring onion, and garlic. Add the bacon in, and mix it well. Season it with salt and pepper
4. Peel the eggs, and cut in cubes.
5. Add the potatoes into the mayonnaise mix, and mix well. Lastly, add in the egg, and fold
6. Put it in fridge, and serve it cold

Tips:
This salad is best to be made the night before

Pork Sang Choi Bao ala Bonsay

What's for the entree? This was the question popped-up in my head when I was designing the menu for a birthday dinner.

Normally, sang choi bao is found on the second course of your Peking Duck set menu. However, to create an entree to start a meal, there's no limitation of modifying it using pork instead. And it tasted exactly what it was supposed to be.

Ingredients:

1tbs oil

200gr pork meat, small diced 

1tbs finely chopped garlic

1tbs finely chopped ginger

8 dried shitake mushroom, soaked in water, diced

10 water chestnuts, diced

2 carrots, diced

1tbs oyster sauce

2tbs soy sauce

1tbs Chinese cooking wine

1tsp sugar

1tbs chopped spring onion

salt and pepper to taste

Ice berg lettuce leaves to serve

Methods:

1. Heat the wok, add in oil
2. Stir in ginger until fragrant, add pork and garlic, and cook until the colour changed
3. Add in mushroom, mix well
4. Add in oyster sauce, soy sauce, cooking wine, and sugar, stir well
5. Add in water chestnuts and carrots
6. Season with salt and pepper to your liking
7. Sprinkle with spring onion
8. Serve with ice berg lettuce leaves

Neil Perry's Sang Choi Bao vs Bonsay's Pork Sang Choi Bao

P.S. I was hitting Neil Perry's sang choi bao using minced pork and minced duck with chinese sausage when I was thinking about this entree

Stir Fry Sweet Potato Leaves ala Bonsay

I love vegetables, either eating them or cooking them. Sweet potato leaves in one of my favourites, as it is as crunchy as kangkung.

Cooking vegetables is best to keep it simple so not to loose its flavour and sweetness.

Cooking time: 5minutes
Ingredients:
1bunch sweet potato leaves, washed
1clove garlic, smashed
2 bird eye chillies, chopped
1tbs oil
1tsp salt


Methods:

1. Heat a wok, add in oil and garlic, stir until fragrant
2. Add in sweet potato leaves and chillies, stir until the vegetable changes its colour
3. Season with salt
4. Serve on the plate

Wonton Soup ala Bonsay

Honestly, I didn't know what to have for lunch at that time. I didn't have much ingredients left in my fridge. So I transformed what I had in to this Wonton Soup. Hope you'll enjoy it as I did.

Cooking Time: 30minutes
Serve: one
Ingredients:
8sheets wonton skin
2cups water
1clove garlic, smashed
1/2tbs miso dashi paste
a few choysum leaves
3fish balls, halved
a dash of fish oil

Methods:

1. Boil the water, garlic, and dashi paste
2. Add in fish balls, choysum, fish oil
3. After re-boiled, add in wonton skin
4. Test the taste and adjust to your liking
5. Serve hot

Kaylan Oyster Sauce

I love kaylan for its crunchiness. Therefore when I cook it, I never want it to loose the texture. Also, kaylan in oyster sauce is an easy side dish on you table when you are out of menu to feed your family.

Cooking time: 15minutes
Ingredients:
1bunch kaylan (Chinese broccoli)
1tbs oil
1tsp chopped garlic
1tbs oyster sauce
1dash fish oil
1tbs Chinese cooking wine
1tbs water


Methods:

1. Wash kaylan and boil in water until just cook, rinse under cold water straight away to stop further cooking
2. Heat up a wok and oil, put garlic in for 5seconds, then the rest of the ingredients
3. Add kaylan in, and stir until just heated
4. Serve

Chicken Wellington ala Bonsay

This recipe is modified from Gordon Ramsay's Beef Wellington, and I found using chicken breast instead of beef fillet is lighter for your diet 


Cooking time: 1 hour
Ingredients:
250gr chicken breast
2-3shaved ham
100gr spinach, chopped roughly
1tsp English mustard
Salt
1sheet pastry, thawed as directed
1 egg yolk, beaten
1 teaspoon poppy seed

Methods:

1. Preheat oven at 220C
2. Cut the chicken breast horizontally into two but  not until through
3. Roll the chicken and shape it  into sausage like, using cling wrap and freeze it for 10-15mins
4. Meanwhile, chop the spinach
5. Prepare the ham onto another cling wrap, top it up with chopped spinach
6. Heat a pan and drizzle with olive oil
7. Coat the chicken with salt and put in pan until the meat just change colour on all side of the chicken (at this stage, you don't have to cook the chicken well done)
8. Take out the chicken fro the pan, and cover with mustard, then put it on top of the spinach
9. Roll the arrangement, and freeze it for 20mins
10. After 20mins, unwrap the chicken, and put it on a pastry sheet, then roll up and make sure you close all edges
11. Wash with egg yolk, pattern the pastry skin with knife, spread the poppy seed and salt
12. Cook in the oven for 35mins

To serve:
Cut the wellington thick, it should not be thin. Serve it with green salad and mashed potato. Eat warm


Serve two

Gordon Ramsay's Beef Wellington vs Bonsay's Chicken Wellington

Roast Beef Canapes ala Bonsay

Ingredients:
1sheet puff pastry, thawed as directed
1egg yolk, beaten
 50gr sliced roasted beef
25gr cream cheese
1/2tsp salt
a crack of pepper
1sprig thyme
1tsp chopped spring onion
1tsp chopped garlic








Methods:

1. Preheat oven to 200C
2. Cut the pastry using 1 1/2 inch cookie cutter into 9 rounds. Wash with egg and put in the oven for 10mins or until golden brown
3. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, add in salt, pepper, thyme, spring onion, garlic. Mix well

To serve:
Put cream cheese mixture on top of the pastry and top it up with roast beef