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Saturday, March 31, 2012

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

Thursday, January 26, 2012

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


Monday, January 9, 2012

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

Monday, January 2, 2012

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