No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

Chee Cheong Fun or steamed Rice Noodles are a Cantonese dish and commonly served either as a snack, breakfast or as a variety of dim sum.  It's a thin crepe made with rice flour and rolled into a long noodle.  You can add filling into the rice noodle, like dried shrimps, prawns, or char siew (BBQ pork) or even with vegetables for a meatless option.  As they are flavourless, a sweetened soy sauce usually accompanies the dish. Chee Cheong Fun (Rice Noodles) with dried shrimps  ~  虾米肠粉 Ingredients 100 gm rice flour 20 gm cornflour 20 gm tapioca flour 400 ml water 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp oil 1 Tbsp dried shrimps Spring onions, chopped Ingredients for sauce 2 tsp light soy sauce )   1 tsp sesame oil        )  Mix well and bring to a light boil. 1 Tbsp sugar             ) 3 Tbsp water             ) Method Wash, rinse a...

This is  an easy recipe for the weekend especially during this lock down period when it's not advisable to go out unnecessarily.   My first encounter was a bittergourd fried kway teow (rice noodles) dish in a Chinese restaurant and since I like bittergourd, I tried to replicate it with rice vermicelli instead.  You can opt to use yellow noodles and for a vegetarian dish, substitute the meat and seafood with more greens and perhaps some mushrooms. Rice Vermicelli with Bittergourd and Black Beans ~   苦瓜黑豆炒米粉 Ingredients 100 gm rice vermicelli (for 2 servings) 2.1/2 tsp black beans 3 cloves of garlic, chopped 180 gm bittergourd, sliced thinly 150 gm boneless chicken leg, sliced 250 gm prawns 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce light soya sauce, bit of sugar to taste Method Season the chicken with 1/4 tsp cornflour, some pepper, salt and a bit of sugar. Wash and devein the prawns, season with salt, sugar and pepper. Slice up the bitte...

This is a simple one-pot meal which I serve quite often at home, especially during the hot and dry spell. Something soupy is very welcome in my family.  It's refreshing and not too heavy which can be served for lunch or dinner. Pork Misua Soup ~     面线肉汤 Ingredients 350 gm chicken bones for broth 350 gm minced pork eggs (optional) vegetable of your own choice 2 servings of Misua Seasoning for minced pork - 1 tsp Rose wine, 1 tsp sesame oil, 1/2 tsp oyster sauce, 1/4 tsp salt and a dash of pepper Method Clean and blanch chicken bones in some hot water. Rinse. In a pot, add about 3 cups of water and once the water is boiling, add in the chicken bones and let cook for about an hour.  Discard the chicken bones. Scoop some seasoned minced meat and cook in the soup.  Break in an egg if desired. In another pot, boil some water and blanch the vegetable, then cook the misua. Place the misua in a bowl, arrange the vegetable, minced po...

Bak kwa or Pork Jerky is one of the most  sought after item during the Chinese New Year.  Other then cookies, well wishers choose to present this as a gift to their relatives and friends and one may see some makeshift tents by the roadside, barbecuing the pork jerky for sale.  Pork jerky can be eaten on its own as finger food alongside cold beer or with bread as a sandwich filling.  But today I'm sharing with you my version of using pork jerky as an ingredient with noodles. Bak Kwa Mee Suah  ~  猪肉干粗麵線          Ingredients 2 servings of dried  thick Mee Suah 2 eggs, scrambled some julienned carrot some shredded lettuce 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce light soya sauce and salt to taste 50 gm Bak Kwa, cut into small pieces 3 chopped garlic sesame oil Method Cook the mee suah in a pot of boiling water, Drain and set aside. In a non-stick pan, scramble the eggs, add in some light soya sauce, dish out. Sh...

These woven intricate bundles of rice vermicelli called Banh Hoi resemble our local 'string hoppers' or 'putu mayam', a South Indian snack of steamed rice flour noodles and eaten with a sweetened topping of grated coconut and palm sugar (gula melaka).   Vietnamese Banh Hoi can be rolled and served with a variety of meat and in my case I served them with pan-fried chicken, sauteed spring onions, salad and a dipping sauce. Vietnamese Banh Hoi Ingredients 200 gm chicken breast 8 pieces of dried Banh Hoi, prepared according to their instructions @ the back of the packet Spring onions, romaine lettuce, coriander and basil leaves Dipping sauce 3 tsp sugar lime juice from 6 calamansi 1 tsp fish sauce 2 tsp peanut butter dissolved with 1 Tbsp hot water Chilli padi/bird eye chillies Method Season the chicken breast with some salt, sugar, light and dark soya sauce. Heat up some oil and pan fry chicken till cooked. Sautee chopped sp...

My blog has taken a back seat for a while and it has now shifted to a new ‘home’.  Yes, a very good friend of mine had tirelessly helped to give my blog a fresh new look.  Here's a short guideline on how to ‘hover’ around my blog.   On the Home page, ‘Subscribe’ is to get email notification, ‘Search’ is to look for any recipe with key words and a click on the ‘menu’ will bring you to ‘Connect’ which is email, facebook, g+ and Pinterest.  And on the individual post, you can click on ‘Share’ and follow my post. So for today, I’m going to introduce a savoury noodle dish …….. Salted Fish with Glass Noodles. Fried salted fish with bihoon or rice vermicelli is a common item on the menu of any ''Tai Chau" for home-cooked Chinese dishes.  But here I substituted rice vermicelli with glass noodles.  The glass noodles were given a quick  stir-fry with cabbage, chicken, eggs and not forgetting the Salted Fish.   Verdict?   Yum! ...

Vegetable and Ham Noodle Cups are a great way to snack on or you can add in a salad to serve as a meal.   If you have kids who refuse to  eat their veggie, this is a good way to add or rather hide the veggie into the noodles and with some meat thrown in, I'm sure they will enjoy it. Vegetable and Ham Noodle Cups ~  蔬菜火腿杯面 Ingredients 120 gm  dried thick noodles 3 large eggs 1 capsicum, chopped Cherry tomatoes, chopped 2 slices of ham, cut into match sticks Salt, pepper, olive oil and sesame oil Method Grease muffin pan with cooking spray or melted butter. Cook the noodles in boiling water for about 4 mins, drain. Mix olive oil and salt into the noodles. Arrange the noodles into the muffin, add in some chopped capsicum and cherry tomatoes. Beat the eggs in a measuring cup, add in 1/2 tsp salt, sesame oil and a dash of pepper. Pour the egg mixture into the noodles. Top with some ham strips. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 ...

With the current sweltering heat, drought and unplesant humidity no thanks to the El Nino,  I'm at a loss sometimes thinking of what to serve for dinner.  Not much appetite for rice, just longing for something soupy with a fair amount of protein, carbohydrates and vegetables, quick to prepare with not much standing in the 'toasted' kitchen .... yes  a bowl of Vietnamese Chicken Noodle for a change.   Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup ~  越南鸡肉面条汤 Ingredients                         1/2 kg free-range chicken Rice sticks a small piece of ginger 1 star anise 1 small piece cinnamon stick 2 onions spring onions 1/4 Knorr chicken cube 1 small piece rock sugar Seasalt to taste Basil leaves Bean sprouts Bird eye chillies Fish sauce Lemon or lime wedges Method Clean the chicken and boil some water in a pot. Once the water is boiling, add in the chicken, the water should be abl...

Misua or Mee Sua is a very fine, thin variety of  noodles made from wheat flour and originated from Fujian, China.  Misua signifies long life in Chinese culture, hence very often this is served during birthdays and during Chinese New Year.  For this heart warming stir-fry, I used the thick variety of Hock Chew Misua from Sitiawan, added in a few ingredients and it turned out just delicious! Recipe for Stir-fry Misua   炒面线 Ingredients 100 gm pork or chicken fillet, cut into strips 100 gm vegetables of your choice 3 Shitake mushrooms, soaked till soft, cut into strips 1 egg 4 pips of garlic, chopped 2 servings of Misua 1 tsp or more dark soya sauce Sesame oil Oil for frying Seasoning for meat 2 tsp oyster sauce 1 tsp light soya sauce 1/4 tsp sugar Dash of salt Method In a pot of boiling water, cook the Misua, strain, drain, set aside. Heat up some oil in a wok and fry the egg.  Dish out and set aside. Saute the garl...

This is a lazy man's one-dish meal, quick and easy to prepare, fuss-free.  I just marinated the chicken legs with some sauces,  cooked them in a non-stick pan, cooked the vermicelli, added a sprinkling of carrot, cucumber and greens,  squeezed on some lime juice for that tangy taste and it's done! Recipe for Vermicelli Chicken Salad Ingredients 2 chicken legs, cut into 2 pieces 100 gm vermicelli or more, soaked and cooked in hot water 3 Tbsp chilli sauce 2 tsp fish sauce 3 tsp brown sugar Carrot, cucumber, some lettuce, red chilli and lime Method Marinate the chicken pieces with the sauces and brown sugar for about 2 hours. Heat up some oil in a non-stick pan and cook the chicken till tender. Meanwhile blanch the vermicelli in a pot of boiling water, drain well. Cut up the carrot and cucumber into match stick sizes and mix with the vermicelli.  Toss in some lettuce and red chilli. Drizzle on some sauces from the chicken. Serve the sala...

I whipped up this simple noodle salad for a quick lunch during the weekend as it was too hot and humid to eat out.  There's no exact recipe for this salad.  I just panfried the piece of seasoned Salmon, break it up into chunks, cooked the noodles, tossed in whatever veggie that was in my fridge, squeezed on some lemon and it's done! Salmon Noodle Salad Ingredients 250 gm Salmon Some salt, pepper and mixed dried herbs Cabbage, Carrot, Coriander and Tomatoes Fish Sauce and some Olive oil Dried noodles 1 Lemon Method Season the piece of Salmon with some salt, pepper and mixed dried herbs Pan fry the Salmon, 2 or 3 mins. on each side Dish out and break into chunks, set aside Slice up the cabbage and carrot Dice the tomatoes Cook the noodles in a pot of  boiling hot water Drain off  the water and put noodles onto a plate,  drizzle on some fish sauce and Olive oil, toss it well Arrange some Salmon chu...