肉碎生菜甜玉米粥

上星期六去了唐人超市買了一隻五香肉糭和一隻豆沙梘水糭回家。前天趁端午佳節熬了肉碎生菜甜玉米粥和糭子以示慶祝。糭子味道不錯，包裹方法和味道似廣東人做的。

準備時間：5分鐘

烹調時間：40分鐘 (白米已冷凍) / 1.5小時 (白米未經冷凍)

冷凍時間：5小時 (可省略)

份量：2人

材料:

l   ½糧杯米

l   水4.5糧杯

l   豬肉100g (絞碎)

l   生菜1塊 (切絲)

l   甜玉米4湯匙

l   薑2g (切絲)

l   葱1條(切絲)

l   生抽1茶匙

l   糖 ½茶匙

l   黑胡椒粉 ¼茶匙

l   魚露 ¼茶匙

l   鹽 ¼茶匙

做法：

1.	將米洗淨，放入保鮮密實袋後存放在雪櫃冰箱中最少5小時。*如時間不足以冷凍米，可直接將已洗淨的米放入煲滾的水熬煮，但需要熬煮1.5小時才令粥綿滑 (步驟4) 。
2.	加入生抽、糖和黑胡椒粉醃豬肉。
3.	以中火煲滾水，從冰箱取出已冷凍過的米放入煲內。
4.	加入薑絲，煮滾後轉小火。半蓋上煲蓋轉細火慢慢熬煮25-30分鐘。期間每隔10分鐘拌勻一次，這樣會令粥更綿滑。
5.	再加入肉碎、生菜絲和甜玉米，拌勻後再熬煮10分鐘。
6.	以魚露和鹽調味。最後加入葱絲和麻油即可。
	温馨提示：
1.	最容易和快速熬煮又綿又滑的粥是先將洗淨的米存放在雪櫃冰箱中一段時間。為着方便，我家的雪櫃冰箱內經常存一至兩小袋米備用。
2.	以小火熬煮粥時，勿將煲密蓋著以免滾瀉。

Minced Pork Congee

Congee is a rice porridge commonly served for breakfast in China. It is an ultra-simple dish. A small amount of rice is simmered in a large amount of water for several hours.  Then it becomes silky and creamy.  Some people like simmering the rice in chicken stock to make it tastier.  It is nice to have congee with rice dumplings during Dragon Boat Festival.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes for frozen rice (if not, 1.5 hours)

Chilling time: 2 hours (optional)

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

l   ½ cup rice

l   4.5 cups water

l   100g pork (minced)

l   1 slice of lettuce (shredded)

l   4 tbsp sweetcorn

l   2g ginger (shredded)

l   1 spring onion (shredded)

l   1 tsp soy sauce

l   ½ tsp sugar

l   ¼ tsp ground black pepper (optional)

l   ¼ tsp fish sauce

l   ¼ tsp table salt

Method:

1.	Before start cooking, rinse the rice and keep it in ziplock bag.  Then chill it in the freezer at least 5 hours.  *If there is not enough time, just rinse the rice and boil it directly in a pot.  But it needs to be simmered a long time like 1.5 hours instead of half an hour (step 4).
2.	Season the minced pork with soy sauce, sugar and ground black pepper.
3.	Boil water in a pot over medium heat.  Take a pack of ½ cup frozen rice out of the freezer and put it into the boiling water.
4.	Add ginger in the pot.  Partially cover the pot and reduce to low heat.  Simmer for 25-30 minutes.  Stir once for every 10 minutes.  The more frequently you stir, the more the rice will break down and become silky.
5.	Add the minced meat, lettuce and sweetcorn into the congee and stir well.  Continue simmering for 10 minutes.
6.	Season congee with salt and fish sauce. Add sesame oil and garnish with spring onions before serving.

Tips:

1.	The quickest way to cook congee is to use the frozen rice.  Rinse the rice and keep it in a ziplock bag.  Store it in the freezer at least 2-3 hours. I always store one cup or two cups of rice in the freezer.  Then it can be used immediately when needed.
2.	It is important to simmer over a low heat and partially cover the pot to prevent drying and boiling over.

Matcha (Green Tea) panna cotta

https://mamaleeblog.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/matcha-green-tea-panna-cotta/

I am a fan of matcha for nearly 25 years.  I firstly had matcha ice-cream when I had visited Japan in 1991.  Then I tried matcha cake, tea, mochi and so on.  A few years later, I read some articles about matcha and love it more and more. 

Matcha is a stone-ground powdered green tea used in traditional Japanese tea ceremonies.  It is made from ground up whole tea leaves.  It contains three times more of the catechins than other kinds of standard green tea.  Besides, it is rich in antioxidants which help fight against cancer and heart disease.  The taste of matcha is strong; some of my friends describe it as grass or spinach-like.  The taste of high quality matcha is smooth and mellow, and not at all bitter.  A high quality matcha should have a bright green colour.  I always buy those which come from Japan.  Recently, one of my friends gives me a pack of matcha powder after visiting Tokyo and I think of making matcha panna cotta.

Matcha (Green Tea) panna cotta

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 45 minutes

Chilling time: 4 hours

Serve: 4

Ingredients:

l   350g fresh milk

l   150g single cream

l   45g sugar

l   3 tsp matcha powder

l   100g hot water

l   10g gelatine powder

Red bean paste

l   50g red beans

l   3 tsp brown sugar

l   800g water

Method:

1.	For the matcha powder mixture: In a large bowl, mix matcha powder with hot water thoroughly.  Then add gelatin powder into the bowl and stir well until the gelatin powder is totally dissolved.  Set aside.
2.	In a non-stick pot, mix milk, cream and sugar.  Stir thoroughly.
3.	Put the pot over low heat, use a wooden spoon to stir the milk mixture until the sugar is totally dissolved.
4.	Add the ready-made milk mixture into the bowl and mix well with the matcha powder mixture.  Then drain the mixture through a fine sieve.  Stir well.
5.	Meanwhile, pour the mixture into the moulds.  Let them cool down and chill in the fridge for 4 hours.
6.	For the red bean paste: clean and soak the red beans in a bowl of water at least 3 hours.  Then boil the red beans in a small saucepan for 30 minutes until it is a bit soft.  Place the beans in a bowl and mix with brown sugar until the sugar is dissolved.  Add the red bean paste on the top of the panna cotta.

Stewed Chicken with 3-cup sauce (Taiwanese dish)

I have been Taiwan for a few times.  I like the tea plantations in Taipei very much, especially those near Maokong.  Last year I spent one day in visiting some tea plantations.  I tasted different varieties of tea and tried this yummy dish - stew chicken with 3-cup sauce there.  

The 3-cup sauce means the proportion of rice wine, soy sauce and sesame oil should be 1:1:1. Since  I would like to cook in a more light and healthy way,  I modify the proportion of the 3-cup sauce in this recipe. 

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serve: 2

Ingredients:

Ø  ¼ chicken (500g) 

Ø  4 slices of ginger

Ø  3 garlic cloves (peeled and sliced)

Ø  ½ shallot (peeled and sliced)

Ø  1 small hot pepper (remove seeds and cut into strips)

Ø  1 spring onion (cut into strips)

Ø  5 tbsp water

Ø  1tsp veg oil

Ø  ½ tsp sesame oil

Ø  12g / 1 tbsp rock sugar

Ø  1 tbsp rice wine / white wine

Ø  2 tsp dark soy sauce

Ø  1 tsp soy sauce

Ø  Small handful basil leaves (12g)

Seasoning:

Ø  ½ tsp sesame oil

Ø  1 tsp rice wine

Ø  1 tsp dark soy sauce

Ø  1 tsp soy sauce

Ø  a little ground black pepper

Method:

1.	Cut the chicken into pieces. Season the chicken well with sesame oil, wine, dark soy sauce, soy sauce and black pepper for 15 minutes.
2.	Heat a casserole over medium heat, put veg oil and sesame oil into it.   Add ginger, garlic and shallot and stir fry for 1-2 minute(s).
3.	Meanwhile, add the hot pepper and chicken into the casserole and  stir fry for 1 minute.
4.	Add water, rock sugar, spring onion, soy sauce, dark soy sauce  and wine.  Stir well and cover the casserole to cook for 8-10 minutes until dry.
5.	Add basil leaves and stir, cover the casserole for 10 seconds.
6.	Serve with a bowl of rice if you like.

三杯雞 (健怡版)

三杯雞 (健怡版)

台式三杯雞的三杯是指以1杯米酒、1杯麻油和1杯醬油用作最主要的調味成份。但為顧及家人健康著想，這個食譜中的酒、麻油和醬油不以1:1:1的比例烹調。

準備時間： 15分鐘

烹調時間： 15分鐘

份量： 2人

材料：

Ø  雞¼隻 (500g)

Ø  薑片4片 (拍扁)

Ø  蒜頭3顆 (拍扁)

Ø  紅葱頭半個(拍扁)

Ø  辣椒段2湯匙 /新鮮辣椒1隻 (去籽和切片)

Ø  蔥段1 (斜切)

Ø  清水5湯匙

Ø  菜油1茶匙

Ø  麻油半茶匙

Ø  冰糖1湯匙 /12g

Ø  米酒/白酒 1湯匙

Ø  老抽2茶匙

Ø  生抽1茶匙

Ø  九層塔5段 / 12g

醃料：

Ø  麻油半茶匙

Ø  米酒/白酒1茶匙

Ø  老抽1茶匙

Ø  生抽1茶匙

Ø  黑胡椒粉少許

做法：

1.	先將雞 / 雞腿切件。
2.	用麻油、酒、老抽、生抽和黑胡椒粉醃雞件15分鐘。
3.	開中火於熱砂鍋中加入菜油和麻油，煎香薑片，爆香蒜頭和紅葱頭1-2分鐘。
4.	加入辣椒段和雞肉放入拌炒煸香。
5.	再加入清水、冰糖、蔥段、生抽、老抽和酒拌炒均勻後，蓋上鍋蓋後用中火燜煮8-10分鐘。
6.	待鍋中燜煮至完全收汁入味，再加入九層塔葉抄勻，蓋上砂鍋蓋燜約十秒即可。