Ingredients

1 tablespoon of cayenne powder
1 tablespoon of  smoked paprika
1 tablespoon of  hot paprika
1 tablespoon of  chilli powder
1 tablespoon of  black pepper
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of dried rosemary

2 kg of thawed, boneless, chicken thighs

Method

1 . Mix all the spices together and apply generously on the raw chicken thighs. You can choose to marinate it for an hour or overnight.

2. Bake for 25 minutes at 180 degrees, do not overcook. Internal temperature of the meat should be between 55 to 60 degrees celsius in my opinion. Many recommend it to be higher but I have done this many times and this is the best for me. Let rest, slice and serve.

What’s on my mind…

I cook this all the time as my daily breakfast and lunch at work. It is fast and easy and keeps me filled. The most important thing is to make sure it is not overcooked. Buy a food thermometer; it costs about $2 online and allows you to accurately check the internal temperature of meats to make sure it is cooked to the perfect done-ness.

Ingredients

1 pack ee fu noodles (300g)
1 pack yellow chives, cut up into 5 cm strips
2 packs enoki mushrooms, cut away the roots
1 pack shitake mushrooms (200g), sliced
1 pack taugay (beansprouts) (200g)
minced garlic

Ingredients for braising sauce

4 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cooking wine
pepper to taste
2 cups water

Make sure the braising sauce is all mixed and ready to use before you start cooking

Serves 8

Method

1.  Boil a pot of water that will fit the  dry noodles. Place the noodles into the boiling water for 1 min and switch off the flame. Leave it in there for about 2 more minutes or when you think it is at least half cooked. Then drain the noodles and leave aside.

2. In a pot big enough to fit all ingredients, heat about 2 tablespoons of oil and stir fry the garlic till it is light brown and gives off a nice fragrance.

3. Throw in the yellow chives, mushrooms and taugay and stir fry for about 2-3 minutes then throw in the drained noodles.

4. Now, pour in the braising sauce, reduce heat to low and close the lid. Let it simmer for about 10 minutes and then check to see if it is cooked. If the noodles is not cooked enough but there is no or very little liquid left, add in a little more water and allow to braise longer. Once cooked, you are ready to serve and enjoy this amazing dish.

What’s on my mind…

Ee fu mian is traditionally eaten during chinese weddings and honestly, the first time I tried it was in a Dian Xiao Er restaurant. Ever since, I have wanted to replicate the same homely taste and I am glad to have been shared this recipe from a friend. What I personally like to do towards the end of this cooking process is to blast the flame and to stir vigorously, preventing the noodles from getting burnt. I feel this give the dish a “wok hey” feel and makes it taste really flavourful. Overall, this dish is easy and fast to make but finding the right Ee fu noodles and the yellow chives can be quite a chore. I get mine from Serangoon North Sheng Siong but there has been many times when I look for it there and it is out of stock.

Ingredients

1 kg of pork belly cut into cubes
1/2 cup chinese rice or gourmet wine
3 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce
5 slices of ginger
3 star anise
1 tablespoon sugar or brown sugar

Method

1 . Parboil the cubes pork pieces for about 3 minutes and discard the water. You are not cooking it yet, you are simply cleaning the pork in hot water.

2 . Place all ingredients into a pot, including the pork. Then add water till it is barely covering the pork. Simmer on low heat with the lid on for about 1 hour.

3 . Remove the lid and let the liquid evaporate for about 20 to 30 minutes. If there is still alot of liquid left, pour away the excess till you are left with just a little and put back onto the fire to caramelize. You should end up with a thick, gorgeous sauce coating the pork.

What’s on my mind…

I’m not sure if this recipe will work with red meat but I plan to try it with lamb one day and I will update if it works out. I simply love slow cooking meat because the flavours become so rich and in this case, the fat of the meat will simply melt in your mouth.

For the pork belly, I would recommend purchasing from a reliable butcher from your wet market. When I purchased mine from the supermarket, the pork had lots of hair on it and I spent quite some time getting rid of the hair. Whereas, when I purchased from the butcher, the meat was completely clean and he even offered to cut it up into cubes for me, saving me lots of time. Do look at the cross section of the meat and make sure the fat layer is less than 25% of the thickness of the meat. If there is too much fat or skin, it becomes very tiring to enjoy this dish. You get sick of it very quickly if it is too fatty.