Category: Recipes

Double_Skin_Layer_Milk_Dessert_Shuang_Pi_Nai_Recipe
Recipes

Double Layer Milk (Shuang Pi Nai)

Chinese desserts are relatively few and far between, but there are a few special ones that can be hard to get in the shops, and this double layer/skin milk is one such dessert. The recipe dates back to the 1850s, and comes from the Canton region.

The key ingredients are full fat milk and egg whites – so it will give you plenty of proteins! It is also very easy to make, and the prep time only totals around 5 minutes, with a cooking time of roughly 20 minutes. However, there are quite lengthy cooling periods in between. You can also make it the day before and keep it chilled in the fridge! Continue reading “Double Layer Milk (Shuang Pi Nai)”

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Cocoa_cake_recipe
Recipes

Scrumptious Cocoa Cake – The Tale of a Fail

This chocolate cake recipe is inspired by Giallo Zafferano’s Scrumptious Cocoa Cake. In the Italian household of Blender and Basil, the hubby has a soft spot for chocolate. So when his birthday comes along I usually make a chocolate treat to celebrate – this year I made a more elaborate birthday cake than usual. The base of this cake contains dark chocolate and bitter cocoa, and I added less sugar than the amount suggested: this gave it a mildly sweet, mature and charged flavour. Continue reading “Scrumptious Cocoa Cake – The Tale of a Fail”

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Fen_Zheng_Rou_Steamed_Broken_Rice_Couscous_with_Meat
Recipes

Chinese Steamed Pork with Couscous (Fen Zheng Rou)

This steamed pork with couscous recipe is both traditional and modern – in that it uses couscous instead of broken rice, but the taste is so similar to what you’d traditionally eat that it’s very difficult to distinguish between the two. Traditionally the broken rice is made from chopping rice (or whizzing it quickly in a blender) before it’s cooked, so that each bit of the broken rice is roughly the size of a grain of couscous. We chose to use couscous for this because it’s already the right size, and a bit healthier than white rice – or for an even healthier alternative, use wholegrain couscous! Continue reading “Chinese Steamed Pork with Couscous (Fen Zheng Rou)”

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Barley_risotto_gai lan_chinese broccoli_recipe
Recipes

Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) Barley Risotto

I’m a huge fan of barley benefits: it’s high in fiber and helps lower cholesterol; it’s very nutritious and enriches any stews, broths or even salads. When I saw the unreasonable prices of risotto rice in Singaporean shops, I quickly turned to a barley recipe as a perfect solution! Since I’m making the effort to buy more local produce and use the local market as much as I can, instead of kale or broccoli exported from far countries, I chose a local green, gai lan (Chinese Broccoli). Continue reading “Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) Barley Risotto”

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Pasta_Kale_recipe
Recipes

Simple Kale Pasta with Cashew Nuts

We all love kale: with a boost of vitamins and antioxidants comes a great solution for a quick and easy meal. This simple recipe serves two, and a few of its ingredients are easily interchangeable. Use it as a base for one of those evenings when you think you don’t have anything to cook, and when you open the fridge and cupboard you realise it’s not so bad. All you need is one ingredient and a few complementary ones to make a delicious pasta dish. Continue reading “Simple Kale Pasta with Cashew Nuts”

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Recipes

Sardinian eel pie (Panada di anguille)

Easter has come and gone, and in Sardinia many families have cooked a very traditional dish for special occasions: Sardinian panada. Many claim that this pie was created during the pre-nuragic period. I doubt so, judging by its similarities with empanadas, I would say that the idea was probably coming from our Spanish invaders. Legend says that the first place where it was cooked was a small town called Assemini, where back then fishing was the main activity. Hence, the panada di anguille, filled with eels is the classic version, which is also the one I’m presenting to you today. However, ingredients are easy to change: for the Easter holidays for example, the preferred filling would be lamb meat, accompanied by potatoes or other veggies. Continue reading “Sardinian eel pie (Panada di anguille)”

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Corn_and_Pine_Nuts_Stirfry_Song_Re_Yu_Mi
Recipes

Chinese Corn and Pine Nuts Stir-Fry (Song Ren Yu Mi)

With spring in the air, we’re here to share another light and easy Chinese veggie recipe this week. Pine nuts are not only subtly fragrant but extremely nutritious, and make up the main ingredient of this week’s recipe, along with corn.

I’ve always got some frozen corn in the freezer as it’s so versatile and easy to store (not to mention tasty!), so this recipe is often a go-to if the fridge and food cupboards are looking a bit bare.

Continue reading “Chinese Corn and Pine Nuts Stir-Fry (Song Ren Yu Mi)”

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Green_Bean_Dry_Fry_Stirfry_Gan_Bian_Si_Ji_Dou
Recipes

Dry fried green beans with chilli (gan bian sijidou) – a simple veggie recipe

Now that spring has arrived, it’s time for lighter food, but still with a touch of warming spice. That’s why we’re sharing this vegetarian dry fried green bean with chillies recipe today. It’s a very quick and simple recipe, and you need very few ingredients to cook it – mainly just the green beans and chillies! Although you will need to fry the green beans twice, you will only need one wok, as the oil is recycled.

Continue reading “Dry fried green beans with chilli (gan bian sijidou) – a simple veggie recipe”

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Recipes

Cauliflower with olives – A simple recipe

While it’s in season and at its best, I’m proposing a recipe with cauliflower. In Sardinia this dish is called cavolo soffocato, literally meaning suffocated cauliflower, and it’s called like that because you let it steam in the pot by closing the lid. Apart from the quality of the ingredients, you only need a bit of patience for the success of this very simple and satisfying vegetarian recipe. Have it as it is with some home made bread or fluffy basmati rice, or make it a side dish for a meaty dinner. Continue reading “Cauliflower with olives – A simple recipe”

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roasted_grilled_baked_fish_kao_yu
Recipes

Grilled fish simmer pot (Kao Yu) – a spicy Chinese recipe

Grilled fish served on a gas fire in a simmering tray of chillies and veg has been getting increasingly popular in Chinese restaurants, and unlike more traditional roast fish, it’s a lot saucier – in that it comes in a bubbling tray of soup. You can then spoon the soup over your bowl of rice as you eat the fish.

We’re making it with enoki mushrooms, celery and bamboo shoot here. In terms of choosing the fish, carp is ideal, sea bass is a good option, though we’re making it with yellow croaker here. Continue reading “Grilled fish simmer pot (Kao Yu) – a spicy Chinese recipe”

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