Recently I was given a packet of red beans (Azuki beans) by my cousin sister who had bought it personally from Japan. To my astonishment, these Japanese red beans are as shiny as pearls. They are totally different from those sold in the local market. Therefore, I picked this recipe to try out these beans. The results is: The paste texture is thick and very smooth. The beans were so soft that it will “melt”...

It has become my parents’ tradition to prepare this vegetarian dish (Luo Han Zhai) on the first day of Chinese New Year. Since I got married, I have missed this dish for quite some time. This year is even worst as my whole family (hubby, son and myself) fell sick and didn’t have the chance to celebrate CNY in our hometown. When I started to do my own research on this dish, I was so confused looking...

If you are in a rush and need to cook 1 dish-meal cum soup, then this soup is the perfect choice! It is not only as easy as ABC but also a wholesome soup for the family. All of the ingredients (except for the fish bones) are edible. You can serve it with rice or pasta. Hence it is considered a “ZERO wastage” soup. Guess what have I done to the sweetcorns and potatoes in the soup? I had created another...

My hubby loved this soup so much that after drinking the soup, he also took an extra portion to mix with his rice so as to give him a “braised rice” flavour. This recipe is adapted from Hawker’s Fair Simplified cookbook. Ingredients: 1 piece soft beancurd – mashed into puree (it can be substituted with egg bean curb or homemade beancurd) 1 fresh squid (about 200g) – julienned 6...

This dessert ( 红枣桂圆莲子百合枸杞糖水）is suitable for all seasons. It can be served hot or cold. According to this posting, the combination of lotus seeds and lily bulbs provides the equivalent effect of bird nest. My modified version is as follows: Ingredients: 20 fresh/ dried lotus seeds (I used the dried lotus seeds)2 whole pods fresh lily bulbs /20 petals dried lily bulbs (I used the fresh...

Under the current hot weather, it is beneficial to drink some nourishing soup. I found this recipe from here. Another similar soup without using sweetcorn can be found over here. Ingredient A:20g white fungus 银耳(washed, soaked and torn into small pieces)20g yu zhu 玉竹 (washed)20g lily bulb 百合(washed)10g red dates (removed seeds) / 15g candied dates (I used 2 big candied dates)100g carrots (washed,...

Ingredients: 135g long beans (small cubes) 50g red capsicum (small cubes) (it can be substituted with 1 red chilly) ½ red onion (approx 30g) 150g tau gua/ dried beancurd (cut into small cubes and pat dry) 70g minced meat (marinated with light soya sauce, sugar and cornflour) 38g pickled lettuce (chopped) Seasonings: 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp soya sauce Pinch of sugar Dash of pepper and sesame oil Half rice...

Every time when I go to the market, I cannot resist the temptation to take a few close-up looks at these beautiful borlotti/ cranberry beans. But I didn’t buy any because I had no clue on how to cook it. Until recently, I discoverred that using them to boil soup is not only easy but so tasty as well. My son felt so much “in love” with the beans until he ate 80% of them from the soup! Ingredients:150g...

Huai shan(淮山) or shan yao (山药) (Chinese yam – English), is a type of vegetable which is neutral and sweet in nature. As mentioned in this site, Chinese yam is effective in relieving cough but should not be taken for cases with abdominal swelling and pain. Nowadays, fresh Chinese yam can be easily obtained in the wet market and supermarket. It can be used in cooking a variety of recipes ie porridge...

This recipe is adapted from Women’s Weekly Foodbook magazine (tofu and crabmeat patties) with some slight modification. Ingredients:240g crabstick filament (chopped finely)150g tofu (½ block) 板豆腐1 stalk spring onions (chopped finely)- use green part only30g breadcrumb (You can substitute with crushed plain crackers)2pcs waterchestnuts (chopped) Seasonings:4 tbsp Worchestershire sauce1 tbsp oyster...