Chopsuey

Chopsuey is a very classic Chinese dish that has been adopted by Filipinos. This is one of our family’s favourite vegetable dish because it is easy to prepare. This dish is very healthy dish also.

· 300g chicken meat, sliced into small pieces
· 200g shrimps peeled
· 1/4 kilo cauliflower, broken to bite size
· 1/4 kilo broccoli, broken to bite size
· 1 cup snow peas, cut into two
· 1 cup cup cabbage, cut into squares
· 2 stalk celery, cut into ½" long pieces
· 1 cloves garlic, diced
· 1 onions, diced
· 1 carrot, sliced thinly
· 1 green bell pepper. cut in strips
· 2 tablespoons of cornstarch, dissolved in 1/4 cup of water
· 1 cups chicken broth
· 1 tablespoons of fish sauce(patis)
· 4 tablespoons of soy sauce
· 4 tablespoons of corn oil or vegetable oil
· Salt to taste


In a big pan or wok, sauté garlic, onions then add in the chicken and shrimps. Mix well. Add 1 cup of stock, pinch of salt and simmer for 10 minutes. Add all the vegetables, fish sauce, soy sauce and the dissolved cornstarch. Cook for about 5-10 minutes or until the vegetables are done. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with rice.

Chicken Adobo

Chicken adobo is the most popular of the Filipino dish or maybe the Philippines' national dish. There are many ways of cooking adobo but the common ingredient is soy sauce and vinegar that creates a right blend of saltiness and tasty flavour. This dish is perfectly served with steamed white rice.

· 500 g chicken, sliced serving size, (bone-in and skin on or you can cook it without the skin)
· cooking oil
· 1 cup soy sauce
· 4 tsp cup rice or white vinegar
· 3 cloves garlic, smashed
· 1 onion, chopped
· 2 asian chili(cut into 2 or 3)
· 3 bay leaves
· 12 peppercorns (you can use ground pepper instead if you like)
· 1 1/2 cups chicken broth (or 1 can coconut milk and 1/2 cup chicken broth)
· salt


In a large non-sticky sauce pan, sauté garlic and onion then add the chicken parts. Mix well until meat turn brown. Add the soy sauce, chicken broth, pepper and bay leaves. Mix well. Add the vinegar and do not mix. Turn heat down to medium low. Cover the pan and let it boil for 15 minutes.

Adjust the seasonings you can add pepper and salt.

Picadillo

Picadillo can be served with white rice or used as filling to bread. For picadillo you can use ground lean pork or you may use beef or turkey.

· 500g ground pork
· 1 large onion, chopped
· 2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
· 1 cup tomato sauce
· 1 carrot, cubes
· 2 potatoes, cubes, fried
· 1 green bellpepper, cubes
· 5 tsp black soy sauce
· ½ cup water
· Salt and pepper to taste
· Olive oil

In a large non-sticky pan, sauté garlic and onion then add the ground meat, soy sauce, pepper and salt until meat turn brown. Mix well.

Turn heat down to medium low. Add the tomato sauce, water and carrots. While it simmers, add the potatoes and green bell pepper to meat mixture. Adjust the seasonings.

If you like it soupier, just add more tomato sauce, if you wish.

Tekka Market

Almost every weekend, we visit Tekka Market to purchase our weekly wet goods. While you can find almost anything and everything here, we normally limit our shopping list to certain things such as chicken, pork, vegetables, fruits, seafood, and eggs. For those who like beef and mutton, you can also find several beef and mutton stalls here.

Lee Chuan Seng Fishery (stall #01-16/17) sells most kind of seafood. Some claim that they have the best prawns in the market.










Tan Chee Boon Fruits (stall #01-191/192) sells all kinds of fruits. This stall carries everything from banana and apples to Japanese grapes, Taiwanese musk melons, and Korean strawberries .

I think the most famous stall (according to many blogs) in Tekka Centre is Chia’s Vegetables Supply (stall #01-201). They sell a wide range of vegetables from Asian to Western gourmet like fennel, zucchini, Brussels sprouts, matsusake mushrooms, baby spinach, as well as herbs like rosemary, basil, mint, thyme and others. You can easily spot the store as the stall owner likes to play jazz and bossa nova from a little stereo.














CHIA'S VEGETABLES SUPPLY
Blk 665, #01-201 Buffalo Road
Tekka Market
Singapore 210665

Tel: 6294-4901 Victor Chia (HP: 9731-9743) Desmond Chia (HP: 92708350)
Hrs: Tuesday to Sunday: 9am - 5pm. Closed on Mondays
MRT: Little India
Bus: Bukit Timah Road(171, 67, 700, 851, 852, 960, 961, 970, 980)
Serangoon Road(61, 67, 853, 966, 985)
Parking: Ample parking lots in the basement

Fish Soup@Food Republic

Fish Supreme Stall


Fish Soup @ SGD4.00

Food Republic-Suntec a setting of an "Old Europe: ambience, Food Republic is prominently located on the first level of the convention centre. Its decor is conceptualised as a 19th-century library.

Opening Hours:
Mon – Thu 10am - 10pm
Fri-Sun & Public Holidays 10am - 11pm

Suntec Singapore
Suntec Singapore, Level One
1 Raffles Boulevard, Suntec City,
Singapore 039593

MRT:
The nearest MRT Station is City Hall. You can then take a 10 minutes’ walk via the underground City Link Mall. Alternatively, you can hop on board our Suntec City Courtesy Shuttle Bus– pick-up point is outside the City Hall Station entrance at St Andrew’s Cathedral, opposite Capitol Building.

Buses:
Bus services to Suntec Singapore: 36, 97, 106, 111, 133, 501, 502, 518, 857, 700. Alight right in front of the Convention Centre.

Toast Box

If you are tired of western style coffee and settings like Starbucks, Coffee beans, Gloria jeans, TCC and others, you can try a kampong (village) style coffee shop in shopping malls. You can visit Toastbox.

Toastbox is a sister company of Breadtalk, a company that has been selling all sorts of breads since 2000. That is why every Toastbox outlet is always right next to a Breadtalk shop. Aside from toast and coffee, they also serve local dishes like Mee siam and Laksa.

Since I’m neither a coffee addict nor a local dish fanatic, I only tried their hot chocolate (actually its Milo) and a Kaya Toast.




Outlets:
AMK Hub L1
53 Ang Mo Kio Ave
AMK Hub #01-01 S(569933)
Tel 65554434

Bugis Junction
200 Victoria Street #01-67
Bugis Junction S(188024)
Tel 6333 4464

Capital Square
No.25 Church Street #01-08
Capital Square 3 S(049482)
Tel 6536 4434

Causeway Point
1 Woodlands Square #01-38
Causeway Point S(738099)
Tel 6893 4434

Changi Airport T1
Terminal 1 Departure
Transit Lounge West
Tel 6543 4484

Changi Airport T3
Terminal 3 Departure
Transit Hall South
Tel 6242 4434

CentrePoint
176 Orchard Rd #B1-02A
Centre Point S(238843)
Tel 6734 4434

City Square
180 Kitchener Road # 01-41/43
City Square S(208539)
Tel 6509 8340

Great World City
1 Kim Seng Promenade #01-52
Great World City S(237994)
Tel 6733 4144

Junction 8
9 Bishan Place #01-35/36
Junction 8 S.C S(579837)
Tel 6251 3444

Jurong Point
3 Jurong West Central 3 #B1-70
Jurong Point S.C. S(648331)
Tel 6862 4464

Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road #01-23
Plaza Singapura S(238839)
Tel 6337 4644

Raffles City
252 Northbridge Road #B1-44A
Raffles City Shopping Centre S(179103)
Tel 6339 4434

Suntec City
1 Raffles Boulevard
Suntec S'pore Convention & Exhibition Centre
Unit 125 to 126 Stall No 8
Tel 6376 4434

Tiong Bahru Plaza
302 Tiong Bahru Road #01-43
Tiong Bahru Plaza S(168732)
Tel 6270 4434

Vivo City B2
1 Harbour Front Walk LB2-34
Vivo City S(098585)
Tel 6272 4434

Vivo City L3
1 Harbour Front Walk L3-1D
Vivo City S(098585)
Tel 6272 4434

Wisma Atria Food Republic
435 Orchard Road #04-23
Wisma Atria S(238877)
6732 4434

Wisma Atria B1
435 Orchard Road #B1-55/60
Wisma Atria S(238877)
6887 4434

YewTee Point
21 Choa Chu Kang North 6,
#01-03, S(689578)
6509 4309

Yemas

Garlic Chili Atchar

Home made

· 2 tsp ginger, grated
· 2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
· 4 chili (asian/thai), chopped finely
· 3 tbsp sugar
· 4 tbsp cider vinegar
· 1 red onion, chopped finely
· 1 tbsp salt


Mix chilies, garlic, vinegar, onion, salt and sugar. Adjust sugar, salt and vinegar to taste. Transfer to a small glass jar and refrigerate.

The sauce will last several months in the fridge.

Serve with grilled or fried meat or fish.

Sago with mango puree

· 2 pieces mango, cubes

· 1/4 cup sago(white)

· 5 tsp sugar

· 5 tsp condensed milk

· 500 ml mango puree or blended mango

· 1 cup full cream milk or evaporated milk

Boil the sago until translucent. Pour into a sieve and wash with tap water.

Add puree, sugar, sago, condensed milk, evaporated milk and chill before serving.

Chicken with grape sauce

Around middle of November, I started a fan group in Facebook named Cooking Club, with the aim of letting members to help and share their culinary skills and specialties.

For starters, I opened my kitchen for our first session.
For our lesson I shared:
Appetizer: Leafy shrimp salad
Main dish : Chicken with grape sauce
Dessert: Sago with mango puree

I love cooking with tomato sauce, coconut milk and fruits as one of the main ingredients. I got to know this recipe in 2004 from one of the local newspapers here in Singapore. I made some changes and improvements according to our tastes buds.

· 500g chicken breast boneless & skinless

· 250 gram grapes

· 2 tsp herbs (Italian)

· 2 tsp butter

· 1 cup white wine

· 1 cup chicken stock

· 1 cup cream

· olive oil

· salt & pepper to taste

· Additional 1/2 cup of full cream milk or 1/2 evaporated milk

Season chicken breast w/ herbs , salt and pepper for 30 minutes to 2 hours. Set aside.

Heat sauce pan in low heat with butter. Saute onion for two minutes or until soft. Add the white wine and bring to boil. Add the chicken stock and let it boil. Add the grapes and cream while stirring. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add additional butter or evaporated if desired to overpower the wine. Cook for 3 minutes or until grapes are slightly soft. Set aside.

Brush the non-sticky grill pan with olive oil and heat the pan in low heat. Lay the chicken and cook each side for about 5 minutes.

Cut the chicken in 1cm thick slices and pour the sauce with grapes over chicken.

You can serve with rice or pasta.

Leafy Shrimp Salad

· 1 Avocado

· 1/4 cup green onion, chopped

· 1 cup shrimp, cup into half

· 3 tbsp lemon juice

· 1 carrot

· 2 tomatoes

· lettuce or mixed green

· 1 tbsp lemon zest (optional)

· salt & pepper

· 2 tbsp ketchup

· 1/2 olive oil

· 3 hard boiled eggs

· 1/8 cup chilli sauce

· 1 cup mayonnaise

Blend mayonnaise, chili sauce, salt, olive oil, ketchup, pepper and lemon juice. Chill shrimp until salad is ready. Combine shrimp, onion, avocado and egg. Toss all ingredients lightly.

Beef Callos

This beef callos recipe is my simplified version as I didn't include an essential ingredient, the tripe. Nevertheless, it still tastes great and also healthier.

· 3 tbsp olive oil


· 4 cloves of garlic, crushed & chopped


· 1 onion, chopped

· 1 ½ cup tomato sauce
· ½ cup tomato ketchup


· 2 potatoes, cubes


· 1 carrots, cubes


· 1 cup garbanzo, peeled


· 1 green bell peppers, julienne

· 4 cup of water
· ½ kg beef sliced thinly or tripe, precook


· ½ cup bacon

· 2 tsp paprika
· salt and pepper to taste


Cook beef with 4cups of water, salt and pepper. Use pressure cooker if you want to soften the beef in a shorter amount of time. Set aside. Fry potatoes. Set aside.

In the same pan, sauté garlic until light brown then adds onion. Add the beef, tomato sauce, tomato ketchup and sauté for a few minutes. Add carrots and broth. Boil for 5mins. Add potatoes, garbanzos, green bell pepper, bacon and simmer for 5mins. Add paprika, salt and pepper to taste and simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Tinolang Manok

Tinolang manok is a simple dish that is healthy and easy to prepare. Whenever available, I actually prefer to use papayas (that are not ripe) over sayote. The original recipe actually requires malunggay leaves. We used spinach here instead because it is quite difficult to find malunggay in Singapore. Malunggay will definitely make the recipe healthier.

· 3 tbsp. oil
· ½ kg. chicken, cut into serving pieces
· 5 cloves garlic, minced
· 1 large onion, minced
· 2 pcs lemon grass, cut in 2" length
· 1/4 cup ginger, peeled, julienne
· 4 cup water
· 1 cup chicken stock
· 1 sayote, cut into big squares
· 2 red chilli
· 2 cups spinach leaves
· salt and pepper to taste

In the same pan, sauté garlic until light brown then add onion, ginger, and lemon grass. Sauté for a few minutes. Add chicken and stir for few minutes. Pour the water and chicken stock. Lower the heat and let boil for 15 minutes. Add sayote and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the spinach and chilli. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat. Serve hot with rice.

Fresh Spring Roll(Lumpiang Sariwa)

Lumpiang sariwa or fresh spring rolls is a popular Filipino dish for get-togethers and can also be a good nutritious snack.






· 2 tbsp cooking oil
· 1 cup water
· 20 spring roll wrapper
· 1/4 cup skinless, toasted peanuts, chopped coarse


· 2 cloves garlic


· 1 medium onion


· 250g minced pork


· 1 potato (1/2 cup)


· 1/2 cup Jícama or mexican turnip


· 1/2 cup shredded cabbage


· 1 cup carrots




· 3 cups of bean sprouts, roots removed


· lettuce leaves


Heat oil in medium heat to saute garlic and onions. Add pork and saute until almost dry. Add water and simmer for 10minutes. Add salt and pepper.

Add the potatoes, carrots and jicama. Stir for 5 minutes. Add the cabbage, bean sprouts and mix well. Simmer for 5-10 minutes. Mix well and cook until the vegetables are done, careful not to overcook.

Brown Sauce:

· 1/4 cup brown sugar
· 3 tsp white sugar
· 1 tsp salt
· 1/4 cup soy sauce
· 1 cup of chicken stock or water
· 2 tbsp cornstarch in 2 tbsp water

Combine sugar, salt, soy sauce and chicken stock in a sauce pan. Bring to boil in low heat. Add corn starch solution and stir until thicken. Serve with 3 minced.


Wrapping:
Place lettuce leaf at the center of the wrapper, put 2 heaping tbsp of vegetable mixture. Sprinkle a teaspoonful of peanut over the filling. Fold along an inch of the wrapper, on the left end over the filling, fold the wide side of the wrapper over the filling and roll to the other side to make a neat cylinder with the left end closed and the other side is open.