Steamed Egg for Two

I’ve always wanted to make this, especially since my husband absolutely loves eggs. The silky smooth texture is really a treat. The best steamed eggs we’ve had were in Taiwan and Japan. Although this is not as professional and more of an impromptu recipe, it sure satisfies our cravings!  Also, using cute mugs for this makes it fun =)

Ingredients:

• 2 shiitake mushrooms
• 2 slices of carrot
• 1 leaf of a vegetable (your choice)
• 6 ginkgo nuts
• 2 tablespoons (approx.) shredded chicken
• salt
• 1 cup chicken broth (homemade or store bought)
• 2 eggs
• 1/5 cup water (for steaming)

Total preparation and cook time: 2 hrs, if making with homemade chicken broth
or: 45 mins, if making with store bought chicken broth

This is optional, but I like to make the steamed egg with homemade chicken broth. You may think it’s rather time consuming, but if you’re also making chicken soup for dinner… then better yet, you’re killing two birds with one stone–You’ll have both steamed egg and some chicken soup of your liking done within the 2 hrs!

First thing’s first, soak the shiitake mushrooms in some water.

Then, simply boil the chicken with some water for about 30 mins. Make sure you don’t add too much water in the beginning since you don’t want to dilute too much of the chicken flavor. After 30 mins of boiling, taste the broth. If you think it’s too concentrated, add some water to dilute it. Then scoop out a little more than 1 cup of broth and a piece of chicken (dark or white meat) into a bowl.

Add salt to taste. (*note that the salted broth will be diluted with the egg later, so it can be a bit saltier than you’re used to). Let the broth cool, while you continue to make the chicken soup of your liking.

Prepare the ingredients that will go into the mugs. Crack, shell, and remove/peel the skin off the ginkgo nuts. Cut the carrots into flowers. Cut the leaf of the vegetable into small pieces. Shred the chicken into small pieces. Wash and cut the stems off the shiitake mushrooms, then create slits at the top.

In a large bowl, scramble the 2 eggs, making sure there are no large clumps. Strain the chicken broth (only if it’s homemade) and add to eggs. Mix.

Place the shredded chicken in the mugs.

Add the chicken broth egg mixture.

Place 3 ginkgo nuts in each mug. Then add the vegetable, shiitake mushroom, and carrot on top.

Place the mugs in your Tatung cooker. Add 1/5 cup of water in the outer pot, cover, and switch on the cook switch.

Once the switch switches up, make sure to wait about 15 mins before you open the lid to enjoy your mug of steamed egg.

麻油雞湯 (Sesame Oil Chicken Soup)

This soup is great for warming up from the cold weather and also great for when you have a cold!

This recipe is from the memory of how my late mother used to make it. There are many variations to making this chicken soup. I think some people use light and/or dark sesame oils.. red or black dates.. rice wine or shao xing wine. But as far as I know, this is the tastiest and best recipe. :P Just kidding. I only say that because… who doesn’t love their mother’s cookings?

Ingredients:

• 1 silkie chicken (~2 lbs. my chicken was 1.85 lbs. you can use regular chicken too)
• 15 ginger slices, thinly longitudinal (julienne) sliced with the ginger skin unpeeled
• 1/4 cup + 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 4 licorice root slices
• ~10 dried red dates
• ~1/8 cup goji berries
• 1/4 cup + 1/8 cup rice wine
• 4 1/2 cups water
• salt

Directions:

First, cut the chicken into small pieces. The trick to cutting the chicken wings and legs is to cut at the “soft” spots where the cartilage connects the limbs. The body portion is a different story. I just hacked away at the bones.. =]

Place the pan on the stove and turn the temperature to high. When the pan is hot, place the ginger slices in and stir (yes, before you place the oil in the pan). This is to take the moisture out of the ginger so that it won’t splatter hot oil at you.

When it looks like the ginger has been dried or becoming a little brown, add 1/4 cup of sesame oil in. Stir.

When the ginger looks browned, add the chicken pieces in. Stir, to get the chicken pieces in the oil.

Add the licorice root, red dates, and half of the goji berries. Mix and Stir to try to evenly cook the chicken.

The pan should be sizzling by now. Then add the 1/4 cup of rice wine in. Stir. Turn the temperature down to medium high. Let it cook a little more and simmer. Stir occassionally to cook evenly.

When there is not a lot of visible liquid left, turn the temperature off.

Boil the water in a large pot. Add all the contents in the pan in the boiling water. Add the 2 tsps sesame oil and 1/8 cup rice wine. Add a few dashes of salt.

After everything comes to a boil, turn the temperature down to medium low-low. Let the chicken cook thoroughly and simmer for about 10-12 minutes. Add more salt to taste.

You could either enjoy as simply a soup or you could add some noodles. ^_^

(麻油雞麵線)

Rosemary Thyme Chicken Fillets

Walking down the seasoning and spices isle at a grocery store, I noticed that I didn’t have a lot of the basic seasoning/spices that a kitchen should have.  I spotted the rosemary and thyme and thought to myself to buy them first and then figure out what to do with them later.  So these rosemary thyme chicken fillets were just a random, yet simple creation.  Anyone can make them :) And what’s great is they can last me 3-4 meals.

Ingredients:

• ~1 lb chicken, filleted into 6 pieces (about 1 cm thick)
• salt
• rosemary
• thyme
• black pepper
• lemon

Directions:

Season the fillets by first rubbing a thin layer of salt on both sides. Repeat. Rub in a thin layer of rosemary on both sides. Rub in some thyme (less than rosemary) on both sides. Rub in some black pepper (amount depends on how peppery you like it) on both sides. Then let it sit for about 30 mins.

Place the pan on the stove and turn temperature to high.  When the pan is hot, place about 1/2 tablespoon of oil in.  When the oil is hot, place the chicken fillets in.

When the bottom side of the chicken turns to a nice golden brown, flip the fillets over.  Let it cook for about 1 min.

Turn the temperature down to medium.  Place the cover on the pan (this will keep the fillets moist) and let it cook for another 5-7 mins.  Check on it after about 2 mins.  If the bottom side has become a golden brown-brown color, flip the fillets over again and place the cover back on.

Once they’re thoroughly cooked and ready, transfer them to a plate and squeeze a little bit of lemon juice over them.

Thai Curry Chicken

My friend recently visited Thailand and took one of those cooking classes in Chiang Mai. One of the dishes that she learned was the Thai curry chicken along with a few other dishes. She emphasized on how easy this dish was to make, so it inspired me to give it a shot. Considering that I had zero experience with making any sort of Thai food, I had her give me a little direction on the recipe and the ingredients that I needed. :)

It’s indeed a very simple dish–I’ve made it twice already, first time with potatoes and the second time without. The dish with potatoes seemed to have been thicker (starchier/heavier because of the potatoes I’m guessing) and the dish without the potatoes was the opposite, thinner and less heavy.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breast fillets
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 2 1/2 tablespoons panang curry paste
• 1 – 1 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce (to taste)
• 8 small potatoes or 2 large potatoes (optional)
• basil for garnish (optional)

Directions:

(optional potatoes) Boil the whole potatoes for about 8 minutes. Drain the water and let the potatoes sit to cool down for about 10 mins. Slice each potatoe in half and remove the potato skins.

Slice the chicken fillet into thin slices, medium pieces.

Turn the temperature to high. When the pan starts heating up, place the oil in. When the oil heats up, place the sliced chicken in. Stir around and let the chicken cook for about 1 min. Add half (or a little more than half) of the coconut milk. Wait for the coconut milk to heat up and then stir for 1-2 mins.

(optional) Add the potatoes in. Stir.

Add the curry paste and stir/mix it in. Add the fish sauce. Turn the temperature down to medium high. Stir and cook for about 4 mins. The sauce should become a little thicker.

Add the rest of the coconut milk in. This is to thin the sauce out. Stir and cook for about another 2 mins.

and there you have it, Thai Curry Chicken (w/potatoes)! yum!

if you cut out the potatoes, this dish will be a lot faster to make.

Momofuku Style Chicken Wings

I’m extremely happy that I came across this recipe: http://steamykitchen.com/6902-momofuku-baked-chicken-wings.html.  (Momofuku is a restaurant group in New York).  I’ve gotta say, the chicken wings were heavenly.

I pretty much followed the whole recipe with only the baking time being different.

The chopped ingredients for the Octo Vinaigrette (including the cilantro. and I even cut a full chili for garnish just like SteamyKitchen did. haha):

The Octo Vinaigrette mixture (I used regular soy mixed with water instead of the low sodium soy. turned out fine):

I baked it for 35-40 mins instead for extra crisp:

Mixing the awesomeness:

Even with the chicken wings being drenched in the octo vinaigrette, they still maintained a slight crisp.

*There will be some vinaigrette left over. I tried to make good use of it and poured it over baked cod and salmon. Chicken is still better, but it worked.