This is really a simple dish.

Ingredients

1. 1 block (10cm x 10 cm x 5cm) of soft bean curd (水豆腐), the softer the better
2. 10 shallots
3. 2 tablespoon light soy sauce
4. 1 table spoon dark soy sauce
5. 5 tablespoon cooking oil
6. ½ teaspoon salt

Method

1. Peel the shallots, slice and fry to light brown with the cooking oil. Set aside including the oil.
2. Boil a pot of water, and when it is boiling, turn down the flame to extremely small, just to maintain the temperature but not boiling, soak the whole bean curd block in the water to heat it up.  (important not to boil, as it might break up the bean curd).  5 mins will be sufficient.
3. Remove the bean curd, drain dry and place on a plate.  Rub the salt on the surface.  
4. Put the fried shallots on top of the bean curd, pour in the remaining oil, and pour in the light and dark soy sauce.
5. Serve hot.

1. 50-300 grams pork rib
2. 1 tablespoon bean paste
3. 3 teaspoon sugar
4. 3 teaspoon soy sauce
5. 1 sour plum (preserved in water)
6. 2 clove garlic

Method

1. Wash and drain dry the pork ribs and lay them on a steaming plate.
2. Mince the garlic. Remove the seed of the sour plum and mince the flesh. You may also put the bean paste on a chopping board and chop it with the back of the knife to smoothen the paste.
3. Mix the garlic, sugar, soy sauce, bean paste, sour plum in a bowl. (you may also throw in the plum seed)
4. Spread the mixture evenly over the pork ribs.
5. Steam for 15 mins in a steamer.
6. Alternatively steam over cooking rice in your rice cooker. (put the plate on top of the cooking rice when the water is almost dried up, and do not open the cover until 15 mins after the rice is cooked)
7. Serve hot.

This is good for premium fish like grouper, threadfin, pomfret (or commonly misspelled as promfet), where the meat is very tasty.

Ingredients

1. Fish ( 1 slice of mid cut 2 cm thick, or 1 fish about 300-500gms)
2. Salt
3. 5-10 dried shitake mushroom
4. 4 teaspoon sesame oil.
5. 4 teaspoon soy sauce.
6. 1 teaspoon sugar
7. Stalk of Chinese parsley

Method

1. Soak the dried mushroom overnight or at least for 2 hours.
2. Cut and discard the mushroom stalk, slice the mushroom into ½ cm thick strips.  Squeeze out the water. 
3. Put the mushroom in a bowl and add in sugar, soya sauce, and sesame oil, leave it to season for 30 mins. (this is an important step so that the mushroom taste good after steaming)
4. If processing whole fish (eg pomfret, or small grouper), de-scale the fish, and remove the gut and gills.  Lightly brush the gut wall with a brush to remove the blood clots.  If processing fillet, just rinse with water.  Drain dry.
5. Rub some salt on the fish surface, (and the gut wall if whole fish is used). 
6. Put fish on a steaming plate, and lay the mushroom on top of the fish, and some into the gut.
7. Make sure that the steamer is already on high heat and full steam.   Steam the fish for 10 mins under high heat.  15 mins if the fish is big (1kg)
8. Wash and chop the parsley into strips, lay them on the cooked fish while hot. 
9. Serve hot.

Special Consideration: Quick & Easy

Servings: 2

Description: Uses an Oreo cookie as the crust. - You can use other type of crust / other type of cookies.

Chill Time: 2 Hours

Ingredients:

1. 2 ounces Cream Cheese, softened
2. 1 tbsp Sugar
3. 1 square Semi Sweet Baking Chocolate, melted
4. 1/2 cup Whipped Topping (Cool Whip), thawed - I used Whipping Cream because I can’t find Cool Whip.
5. 2 Oreo cookies - I used biscuit crumbs that I manually made.

Method:

1. Beat cream cheese, sugar & chocolate in a medium bowl with a wire whisk until well blended. - Tiring job.
2. Add whipped topping; mix well. - If you’re using whipping cream / heavy cream, you’ll need to whip the whipping cream first, unless you buy those whipped cream. Don’t over-whip otherwise it’ll end up as butter.
3. Place 1 cookie on the bottom of each of 2 paper-lined medium muffin cups; fill evenly with cream cheese mixture.
4. Refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

This is great for breakfast or supper or for something easy for the stomach for lunch or dinner.  

Great as a kid’s meal too.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup white rice
2. 200 grams chicken breast meat.
3. Water
4. 1 stalk of spring onion and coriander leaves (optional)
5. 2 teaspoon salt
6. 3 table spoon cooking oil

Method

1. Rinse the white rice a few times until water is clear.  Boil over very low flame with 2 litres of water.  (Tilt the pot cover slightly to prevent spilling over).  This will take about 1 hour, till porridge is done.
2. Wash the chicken breast meat.  Slice it to about 1-2 cm thick steak size. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt and rub it evenly.  Leave for 15-30 mins
3. Heat up frying pan, add in the oil.  When pan is hot, pan fry the chicken steak till both slide lightly browned.
4. You may pour the excess oil into the porridge.
5. Put the cooked chicken steak on a chopping board, using the back of the chopping knife, hit the meat till loosen up.  Then cut it up into strips.
6. Put the chicken strips into the porridge, bring it to boil, add in the remaining salt to taste and turn off the flame
7. Serve hot with chopped spring onion and coriander leaves.
8. Suggest serving with fried dough (you tiao, 油条 or 油炸鬼)

Picture illustration of pan frying chicken breast meat.