Fried-stir Lady Fingers (Okra) with Ikan Bilis

Lady fingers has gotten a bad rap from many corners. "Slimy" is how some people describe it. But when these lovely little grassy pods are dry-cooked or combined with something acidic, like tomatoes, that effect it mitigated and their seedy yet soft texture shines through. Here I am sharing my recipe.

Ingredients:
6 lady fingers
3 garlic chopped
20gr ikan bilis
2 chili (if prefer spicy)
30ml water
1/4 tsp chicken stock (if prefer)

How to cook:
Wash lady finger and slice it into thin pieces, just like in this photo. Cutting it slanted makes it look nicer.

Heat up some oil, then stir fry the garlic and ikan bilis until fragrance or until turn to golden brown color.
Turn on high heat , pour in the ladies fingers, chili and water, stir until the water dry up, add chicken stock and stir a while. (You may not want to add salt depending on preference because the ikan bilis are already salty.)
Serve it while hot.

Tau Suan (split green mung beans)

Tau Suan (split green bean) is a popular Chinese dessert in Asia. I made this dessert last night! Its very easy to find at outside but it is definitely much cheaper to make this at home than to eat it outside, plus you can adjust the sweetness according to your liking. And the best part cooking at home is you can have unlimited servings of you tiao .Some people like to add coconut milk too.

Ingredients:
200gr split green mung bean
4 pandan leaves, washed and tied to a knot
100gr sugar *
1 litre water
2 you tiao

Thickener :
50 gr sweet potato starch mix with 50ml water

* Adjust sugar level according to your liking

How To cook:
Soak the beans in water for 1 hour, drained and rinse again with water. Drain again.
Steam the beans about 20 minutes or until they are soft

In a pot, add water and pandan leaves. Bring to boil. When its boiled add sugar, reduce heat, and add the steamed beans.

Add the thickener slowly to the soup until mixture thickens (before add thickener stir the solution again to make sure it is even). You do not need to add all … stop adding once it becomes the thickness that you like.
Ladle into serving bowls, add 1 tbsp of coconut milk (if you like) and top with you tiao. Serve hot or warm.

Salted Vegetables with Meat Balls Soup

People always jokes no money eat salty vegetables and salty fish. They call "poor man food" because in fact we can just eat alone with steamed white rice or porridge. My mum used to cook this dish when I was young. Its go well with rice. I just loves this dish so much. When I call hubby tonight I'll cook salty vegetable soup he will laughing and tell me " We are not so poor okay hahahaha".

Ingredients:
100 gr salted vegetables/pickle mustard (choose sour flavor)
150 gr minced pork
2 medium tomato
10 garlic
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tbs chicken stock powder
5 tbsp oil
1000 ml water

pickle mustard sour (buy at NTUC)

How to cook :
Chop garlic.
Cut salted vegetable and tomato.

Mix minced pork with garlic, pepper and chicken stock powder.

Form the meat mixture into balls about 1 inches and put aside.

Heat the pot, add 3 tbsp oil , fried the garlic until fragrance, add tomato and salted vegetables, stir about 1 minutes add water and bring to the boil over high heat.

Add meat balls when the soup is boiled.
Let the soup boil about 1 minutes, (taste the soup, can add salt if the soup is not salty).
Ladle soup into serving bowls.

Prawn in Tomato Sauce

This recipe comes from an idea when I have seafood spaghetti. Add some chili sauce if prefer spicy taste.

Ingredients:

10 medium size prawn

1/2 tbsp corn flour

1 tbsp light soya sauce 

Sauce :

10 tbsp tomato sauce

10 garlic

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp pepper

20 ml water mix with 1/2 tsp corn flour

How to cook:

Wash and clean the prawn

Marinate prawn with corn flour and light soya sauce, leave it about 20 minutes.

Pan fried the prawn until half cook (I used 5 tbsp oil).

Dish out the prawn, use the remain oil in the pan to fried garlic until fragrance, add tomato sauce,water, sugar and pepper mix well. (taste the sauce up to your like).
Add prawn and mix well.
.

Serve it while its hot.
Happy cooking

Soto Ayam (Indonesian Style Chicken Soup)

This is my first time to post a recipe at here. Very easy to cook.

Here is the recipe (approximate 10 bowl, the cost not more than SGD 15)
Ingredients: 
- 1 Jumbo Chicken 1.7kg-2kgcut into 6 pcs
- 5 small size potato about 1/2 kg
- 2 medium size carrot about 300gr
- 4 medium size tomato
- 1 spring onion
- Local lime 200gr (can be substitute by lemon )
- Garlic 100gr
- Shallots 150gr
- Yellow ginger about 3cm
- 2 lemon grass
- Egg (optional)
- Chili (optional)

How to cook:
- Peel off potato, carrot, garlic, shallot, and yellow ginger.
- Dice potato and carrot, put aside

- Sliced spring onion and put aside

- Wash garlic, shallot and yellow ginger and blend it with water until smooth. Don't add too much water.

- Smashed lemon grass

- Heat the pot add 3 tbsp oil, fried the blended spice and spring onion until fragrance, add 2.5 ltr water and lemon grass. Boil it.(must use a big pot)

 - While the water is boiling, you can wash the chicken, boil the eggs, cut tomato and lime, and blend the chili with a bit water

- When the soup is boil, add carrots and chicken. Let it boil for 45 minutes.

- After 45 minutes, take out chicken meat, add potato and let it boil for another 15 minutes, add salt.
- Let the chicken meat drain out the water about 5 minutes and use a bit oil to fried till golden brown  ( I am using happy call hehehehe....) and shredded the chicken meat.

Finally all the ingredients is cooked.
Serving in a bowl, add chicken meat, tomato, egg, and soup with carrot and potato (make sure the soup is hot), crispy shallot (optional). Adding sweet soya sauce, chili, and lime juice is depend on individual taste.

The soup is go well with the rice :))