Monthly Archives: January 2016

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Potato Sausage Bake

January 25, 2016 7:16 am , Leave a Comment ,
Potato Sausage Bake

This is one of those dishes that I came up with on the fly because of what I had on hand. Often I make dishes from things I find in the fridge and not with the intention of making anything great. More often than not, my husband would say, “This is so good! Remember it for next time!” I tell him it’s nothing special and I’m sure I’ll remember it next time. I also like to challenge myself to come up with recipes in a pinch so I don’t write it down for that very purpose! 😛

One of the things I learned from one of my cooking class teachers about baking food (not baking sweets) is you can bake at a higher temperature if you’re short on time. One of the students asked the chef how long we should bake a dish for. The chef answered, “it depends on how much time you have. If you have more time, you can use the standard 350 degrees and if you have less time, put the temperature higher to speed up the process. Just watch the oven”. I never thought of that. When I read a recipe for baking food, I always follow the temperature precisely. When I cook on the stove, I adjust the temperature throughout to speed up the process. So it makes sense that you can do it for baking food as well. It is great advice from my teacher and I hear her voice assisting me every time I bake something savoury.

This experimental Memorable Dish is a quick one-dish dinner that could be made fairly quickly. It’s perfect for a weeknight dinner. I made this dish at 350 degrees for an hour the first time and this time, I baked it at 400 degrees for a shorter time. I kept an eye on it and it turned out great both times. I hope you try to experiment making different dishes with whatever food you have on hand. Please share and let me know how your experimental dish turns out 🙂

Potato Sausage Bake

Potato Sausage Bake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

Serving Size: 4

Ingredients

  • 3 medium Potatoes, large cubes
  • 1 medium Onion, large dice
  • 1 Red Pepper, large
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1/4 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil
  • 4 pieces of your favourite Sausages, cut into 1-inch pieces

Preparation

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F
  2. Place and mix all the vegetables, salt, pepper and oil in a large baking dish.
  3. Put the cut up sausages with the vegetables and mix.
  4. Bake for 30-45 minutes until slightly brown. Mix the sausages and vegetables halfway.
  5. Depending on how big you cut your vegetables and sausages, it can take longer or shorter to bake.
https://www.memorabledishes.com/potato-sausage-bake/

Posted in: Main Course, Pork , Tagged: , ,

Carrot Cake

January 18, 2016 8:12 am , Leave a Comment ,
Carrot Cake

Carrot cake is one of my husband’s favourite Memorable Treats. He always wants to eat or make carrot cake. He got this particular recipe from a lady he used to work with. Yes, my husband likes to chat it up with the ladies for sweet treat recipes 😉

He doesn’t cook very much but he has a sweet tooth so he likes to bake whenever he can. I remember the first time I witnessed him preparing to bake his carrot cake. He bought all the ingredients and laid everything on the kitchen counter looking like a serious baker. I didn’t want to interfere and left him to his own devices. After awhile, I wondered why he took so long to bake the cake. The ingredients and instructions are fairly straightforward. So I peeked in to see what he was up to. Little did I know that he was cracking shells for fresh walnuts! When I saw him cracking walnut shells, I thought to myself, he must’ve really cared for freshness. Later I learned that he didn’t know you could buy shelled walnuts from a pack.

This carrot cake recipe has become my go to recipe. The ingredients are straightforward and the cake always turns out yummy! Now that my husband has become a veteran at carrot cake baking, he uses packaged walnuts. Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything and maybe he’d continue to crack fresh walnuts for the carrot cake for extra freshness 😉Carrot Cake

Carrot Cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

1 Cake

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Butter, softened
  • 1 cup Granulated Sugar
  • 1 cup Packed Brown Sugar
  • 4 Eggs
  • 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp Nutmeg
  • 3 cups Carrots, grated
  • 1/2 cups Raisins (optional)
  • 1/2 cups Pecans or Walnuts, chopped (optional)
  • Frosting
  • 1 package of Cream Cheese (250g), softened
  • 3 cups Icing Sugar
  • 1 tsp Vanilla

Preparation

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  2. Cream butter, white and brown sugars and eggs in large bowl at medium speed with electric mixer until light and creamy.
  3. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda and spices in separate bowl.
  4. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and mix on low speed just until blended. Stir in remaining ingredients. Mix well.
  5. Spread in cake pan.
  6. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.
  7. Check if the cake is done by inserting toothpick in the middle of the cake. When it comes out clean, it’s done.
  8. For Frosting
  9. Beat cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla until smooth.
  10. Frost the cake once it’s cooled.

Notes

Note #1: I divided the batter into 2 shallow cake pans and cook for lesser time. If you’re using shallow cake pans, cook for less time and check

Note #2: I used less icing sugar than the recipe called for. So add enough to your taste.

https://www.memorabledishes.com/carrot-cake/

Posted in: Dessert, Snack , Tagged: ,

Century Egg and Pork Congee
(皮蛋瘦肉粥)

January 11, 2016 8:51 am , Leave a Comment ,
Century Egg and Pork Congee

Congee is a comfort food that many Asians grew up eating. It’s a rice porridge that is typically served for breakfast or lunch if you accompany it with other heartier foods such as noodles. You’ll get full pretty fast if you’re eating congee but you’ll get hungry pretty soon too because it’s liquidy. It’s also a great meal to eat when you’re feeling sick because it’s warm and nourishing. Congee is like North American’s chicken soup.

I’m sure a lot of Chinese children grew up eating this Memorable Dish whether they grew up in Asia, North America or any other part of the world. If they are able to buy century eggs, their moms or grandmothers would’ve made them this congee when they were children.

My mother uses a couple of Chinese ingredients that may not be common to some. So if you can’t find them or don’t want to use them, it’s OK. One ingredient is conpoy (dried scallop) because it gives the congee a better taste. You won’t find good quality conpoy at your Chinese grocery store. We usually buy it from a Chinese dried seafood shop (海味店). She also mixes dried bean curd sheet (腐竹) with the rice before boiling it.

At first, my boys didn’t seem to like congee very much. Every time we had it at my mom’s house, they would only eat a few spoonfuls. They ate more of the side dishes of noodles and Chinese cruller. For them, congee equates Chinese cruller; congee is blasphemous without it. As time goes by, they started getting second bowls of congee! I wonder if it’s because of the crunchy Chinese cruller they love dipping the congee into or their taste suddenly evolved into a higher level of adult sophistication.

I’m sure this Memorable Dish brings back childhood memories for a lot of Chinese families. I remember my grandmother making it for us when we were kids and now my mother makes it for us and my kids. When my kids grow up I will teach them how to make this dish for their family with the hopes that they will continue the tradition of congee cooking for their loved ones.Century Egg and Pork Congee

Century Egg and Pork Congee
(皮蛋瘦肉粥)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes

Serving Size: 6-8

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Lean Pork, cut into 2 big pieces
  • 2 tsp Salt
  • 1 Century Egg (cut in half)
  • 1 cup Rice
  • 2 slices of Ginger
  • 16 cups Water
  • 3 pieces of Conpoy (Dried Scallop) (optional)
  • 1/2 cup Dried Bean Curd Sheet, crushed up (optional)
  • 1 sliced Green Onion for garnish
  • White Pepper & Salt or Soy Sauce to taste

Preparation

  1. The night before, coat pork pieces with salt and marinate in the fridge.
  2. If using conpoy, soak them in water to reconstitute it.
  3. On the day of making the congee, rinse rice until the water is almost clear.
  4. In a large bowl, mix 1/2 century egg, rice and dried bean curd sheet (if using) together. Set aside.
  5. After conpoy has been softened, break pieces up with a fork or by hand.
  6. In a large pot, put 12 cups of water, pork pieces, ginger slices, and conpoy (if using). Bring everything to a boil.
  7. Once it’s boiled, skim off scum and boil for another 15 minutes.
  8. Put rice mixture into the boiling liquid and once it’s boiled, turn down to medium to medium high heat.
  9. The liquid should be in a rolling boil state.
  10. Keep the pot lid slightly open so the congee won’t boil over,
  11. Cook congee for 15 minutes and add the additional 4 cups of water.
  12. Cook congee for approximately 45 minutes more.
  13. Check and stir the pot periodically to make sure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom as it thickens.
  14. Once you boil it to the consistency of your liking, the rice should be broken down by now. Turn off heat.
  15. Take the big pork pieces out of the pot and shred it with a fork or by hand.
  16. Cut the other half of the century egg into small pieces.
  17. Put the shredded pork and century egg back into the pot of congee and mix.
  18. Serve in bowls and garnish with green onions, white pepper and salt or soy sauce to taste.

Notes

If you like thicker congee, cook it longer. If you like it thinner, add a bit more water. Make sure you bring it back to a boil if using cold water.

https://www.memorabledishes.com/century-egg-and-pork-congee/

Posted in: Breakfast, Main Course, Pork, Rice, Soup , Tagged: , ,

Chinese Hot Pot

January 4, 2016 8:14 am , Leave a Comment ,
Chinese Hot Pot

Hot pot is something that I crave during the cold winter months. The boys also look forward to eating it every winter. Chinese hot pot consists of using broth to cook slices of meats, seafood, dumplings and vegetables in a boiling pot of broth. You set this up on the dining table and everyone cooks their own food. It’s like a fondue except you cook with boiling broth.

This is definitely a Memorable Dish for our whole family because we all look forward to it during the winter months. Thinking about eating hot pot always makes me hungry. The kids love picking their own pieces of meat and dumping them into the bubbling broth. They especially love the baby cuttlefish. My second son always forgets that the meat is piping hot after it’s just done cooking and usually ends up burning his tongue.

I remember my maternal grandmother used to have hot pot practically every evening during the winter months! In Hong Kong, there’s no central heating because it doesn’t snow and doesn’t get super cold. However, you need to wear thicker clothes inside the house or you might have a space heater if you’re really cold. To keep warm, my grandparents used to have hot pot in this mini pot that just serves one or two people.

We like using plain broth because of the kids. But you can spice it up by making your own spicy broth. If you dare, you can make a mala sauce which consists of Sichuan peppercorns, chilies and various spices. The Sichuan peppercorns create a numbing effect on your tongue – people either love it or hate it. But for now, we’ll stick to our regular broth hot pot.Chinese Hot Pot

Chinese Hot Pot

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Serving Size: Slice about 1/2 pound of meat per person.

Ingredients

  • Slices of Chicken
  • Slices of Beef
  • Slices of Pork
  • Slices of Fish
  • Cuttlefish
  • Shrimp
  • Oysters
  • Tofu
  • Frozen Dumplings
  • Udon Noodles
  • Leafy Vegetables (Spinach, Bak Choy, etc.)
  • Chicken Broth
  • For dipping sauces:
  • Scallions, julienned
  • Ginger, julienned
  • Vegetable Oil
  • Soy Sauce
  • Satay Sauce
  • Hot Sauce

Preparation

  1. Slice up all your meats if you’re not using frozen pre-sliced ones.
  2. For your dipping sauce, put your ginger and scallions in a bowl.
  3. Heat up the oil until it sizzles. You can check by putting a small piece of ginger in it.
  4. Once the oil is heated, pour the hot oil onto the ginger and scallions. Then pour in soy sauce.
  5. You can mix in satay sauce or use the satay sauce on the side.
  6. Set your butane burner on your dining table. (We also have an electric one.)
  7. Heat up your broth in a pot used for hot pot cooking on the stove.
  8. Once the broth is boiled, carefully transfer it onto your butane burner.
  9. Cook your meats in the broth and enjoy.
  10. You can make steamed rice to go with it if you want.
  11. As you cook, the broth will evaporate. Add boiling water to the pot so you’ll have enough liquid to cook the food.

Notes

Note #1: You can find butane burners and hot pot cooking pots at an Asian grocery store. The hot pot cooking pots are usually thinner and may have a divider in the middle so that you can split between a plain or spicy broth.

Note #2: You can purchase thin slices of meat in the frozen section at large Chinese grocery stores.

https://www.memorabledishes.com/chinese-hot-pot/

Chinese Hot Pot Ingredients

Posted in: Main Course , Tagged: , , ,
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