Grilled Lamb Shoulder

中文版

This is a dish that I learn from my mum-in-law. When the first time I buy the lamb shoulder, I really don’t know how to handle it, my hubby told me that the lamb chop made by my mum-in-law is taste good, so asked her the method  to cooking the lamb shoulder. The most interesting is this recipe is came from my mum-in-law, but my hubby said the taste is totally different from what she made; my mum-in-law seem like she never give me any recipe and thought that is my own recipe, some more she had forgot how to cook the lamb after she provided the recipe to me. I have grilled the lamb shoulder for some of my friends, they feel the taste is quite nice. As the result, the grilled lamb became the exclusive dish from Ester.

Ingredients:

2 pieces Lamb Shoulder

2 tablespoons Oyster Sauce

1 tablespoon Tomatoes Sauce

1 tablespoon Chilies Sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce (Lea & Perrin)

½ teaspoon black pepper powder

Ingredients for Mints sauce:

Fresh Mints Leaves

Rice Vinegar

Salt

Sugar

                                               

                                                                                                                                                                       

Method：

1. Clean the lamb shoulder and use the back of a knife blade beat on it for few time, then use a fork to stick on it. Marinate the lamb shoulder with other ingredients for an hour.
2.  Add the sugar and the salt into the vinegar and until its melt. Chop the mints leaves (or blend it with a blender) then mix it to the vinegar to make it as mints sauce.
3. Wipe a bit of butter on a hot pan and grilled the lamb shoulder.

Note:

1. The usage of the ingredients can be change accordingly.
2. For those who like the juicy lamb can heat up a pan to fry the onion then put the marinated sauce which have left over, add in some water to cook it until it sticky then pour the sauce on the lamb shoulder.
3. For oriental style, cut the lamb shoulder into small pieces and marinate it. Fry the garlic then put in all the ingredients, pour in some water to cook for 15 minutes in the smallest heats and cover up the pot. It is no need to prepare the mints sauce for the oriental style.
4. It can be prepare more for the mixture of vinegar, the unfinished portion can be keep in the fridge, just add in the mints leave when it is finish.

Papaya Soup with Groundnuts

中文版

This soup I have learned from my grandma. Last time I’m not realized the benefit of this soup. When I grow I just know that this soup not only nourishing and good for one’s complexion, but also very suitable for those want to slim down.

Ingredients

½ Papaya which not fully ripe (peel off and cut into pieces)

2 handfuls Groundnuts

1.5oz Dried Oyster

500g Pork Ribs

20 Red Dates

Seasonings:

Some Salts

                                                                                                                                                                       

Method:

1. Clean the pork ribs and rinse it with hot boiled water. Remove the seed from the red dates.
2. Boil 8 bowls of water, and then add in the pork ribs and others ingredients cook with highest heat for 10 minutes, then turn to lowest heat and continue to cook for 1 hour.
3. Add in the salt bore turn off the heat.

Note:

1. Some people will put white fungus instead of groundnuts, or cut off the usage of pork ribs by add in chicken feets and pork tails.

Stewed Lamb Shoulder Steak with Szechuan Seeds

中文版

Personally I love lamb very much, some more I am very afraid of cold, and some one told me that ate more lamb or beef can keep my body warm. That day I have just asked my colleague to buy me some mutton. Because I am just recover from sick and don’t want to eat grilled food that much, so I go through my recipe book and finally decide to stew the mutton. As the result, the gravy is too much and I prefer thickened gravy, so that I have made some adjustment on my recipe.

Ingredients:

350g Lamb Shoulder Steak / Mutton

2 pieces Beancurd Preserved

3 Star Anises

½ teaspoon Szechuan Seeds

350ml Water

Seasonings:

1 teaspoon Bean Paste

10g Rock Sugar

2 tablespoons Light Soya Sauce 

Method:

1. Rinse the lamb shoulder steak and cut into convenient pieces. Blanch into boiling water for a moment. Dish up, and remove the fat of the lamb shoulder steak.
2. Bring the water and the rest of ingredients and seasoning to a boil in a deep pot. Add in lamb shoulder steak, covered. Braise over a low heat for 1 hour until the lamb meat are tender and the flavor has been absorbed, or until the gravy is thickened and slightly syrupy. Dish up. Serve hot.

Note:

1. If you feel that the gravy is too less, you may add in some hot water.
2. If the gravy is too oily, you may cook it by highest heat to make the oil float on top, then just take it out from the gravy.

Chinese Yam with Pork Ribs Soup / Congee

中文版

This is a soup which contain high nutrition, because Chinese Yam (Shan Yao) contains Vitamin C, Iron Frolic, Calcium  and many others nutrition. It is good to our spleen and stomach, and it’s also able to strengthen the Lungs and replenishes Jing (essence of life). One of the functions of Chinese yam is help to anti-oxidise and built up our immune system. It is also help to slowdown deteriorate of age. Actually I cook this soup to be the base for the macaroni, but my mum-in law said it will be bit hard to my father-in-law, so that I used it to cook the congee for him.

Ingredients:

500g Pork Ribs

½ Chinese Yam   (Shan Yao)                                    

30g Chinese Wolf Berries (Gou Qi)                      

2 Slices Ginger             

Some Salts
                           

Method for Soup：

1.       Clean the pork ribs and rinse it with hot boiled water. Peel off the Chinese yam and cut it into small pieces.

2.       Boil 8 bowls of water, then add in the pork ribs and ginger, cook for 30 minutes. Put in the Chinese yam and wolf berries, continue to cook until the Chinese yam is completely done.

3.        Add in the salts to taste and serve.

Method for Congee:

1.       Put a handful of rice into 3 bowls of soup which with some Chinese yam to cook for 1hour in the lowest heat.

Note:

1.       Chinese yam must peel off to avoid the feeling of itchy. For the fresh Chinese yam can clean with the water which have add in the vinegar to avoid slippery and get cut accidentally. Steep the cut Chinese yams into the water with salt to avoid the colour turn into black after oxidize.

2.       The peel of Chinese yam will cause skin sensitiveness, it is better to wear hand glove when peel off the Chinese yam, and wash your hand immediately after cutting the Chinese yam.

3.       You may add in the soup during the process of cooking if you feel the congee is lack of moist.

    Chinese Yam with Pork Ribs Soup

Chinese Yam Pork Ribs Soup with Macaroni

Brocoli Soup

中文版

That day I was having my lunch with my colleague in a restaurant in town. We have ordered the broccoli soup. I feel that the soup is quite nice, and it is high nutrition but low calories. This soup may replace the porridge for the babies too.

Ingredients:

500g Brocoli                 

3 – 5 Potatoes

3 – 5 Onions

150ml Thickened Cream

Seasonings:

Salts

Pepper                            
                           

Method:

1.       Steam the broccoli, potatoes and the onions for 20 minutes.

2.       Blend the broccoli, potatoes and the onions with 3 cups of water.

3.       Cook the blended ingredients with medium heat and keep stirring. Add in the thickened cream and seasonings then serve.

Note:

1.       The usage of the potatoes will affect the thickness of the soup, and the usage of the onion will affect the sweetness.

2.       For those dislike the dairy product can ignore the usage of thickened cream.

3.       Onions can be replaced by the carrots for those vegetarian.

4.       If you feel that the broccoli is bit expensive, you may mix with the cauliflowers, but the taste will not be so nice.

Huai Shan Congee

中文版

Recently my father-in-law admits to the hospital due to lungs disease and minor stroke. Our family is bit busy due to it. Because of the sickness my father-in-law is less appetite some more he is on soft diet too. Because of his sickness I have go through my recipe to found some food which his suitable to him. Actually Huai Shan is quite suitable to old people due to it is easy to digest and able to take care of our stomach. This congee benefits the spleen and the kidneys, stimulates body fluid secretion, strengthens the Lungs and replenishes Jing (essence of life). It is good for diabetes caused by Kidney-Asthenia too.

Ingredients:

30g Huai Shan

1 Pork Spleen

113g Rice

Salt

Method:

1.       Rinse the rice. Slice the pork spleen and set aside.

2.       boil 8 bowl of  water. Put in all ingredients and boil over high heat for 20 minutes. Then turn to medium heat and simmer for 1 hour. Season with salt. Serve.

Note:

1.       This congee is recommended to serve once a week.

2.       This congee is bit tasteless. For those old people used to stronger taste may add in some vegetable extract or seaweed sauce.
3.    It is suggested to use lean pork instead of pork spleen if you are giving it to your babies.

Salted Taste Yam Glutinous Ball

中文版

When I am small I have been eating the salted taste glutinous ball which made by my grandma, the taste is little bit odd to me and I don’t like it much. It may cause by the soup for the rice ball due to it’s just a normal soup we usually consume, it’s just too much ingredients in the soup & taste too strong for it. Probably it may also I’m still small and I’m more prefer the sweet taste and it make me don’t know how to enjoy the salted one. Recently from the TV shows & some recipe, I just know that salted glutinous ball is one of the traditional foods for the Hakka race, that’s not because of my grandma create it by herself because she more prefer salted taste food. Just wonder that my grandma is not the hakka race how come she just made it as our traditional food during some occasion. That’s one time I have cooked the yam soup and it leave so much yam from the soup. I feel that is so wastage if I just throw it away. After that I think that there is sweet potatoes glutinous ball, so I may just do the yam glutinous ball. As the result, it taste not bad, and I have made some correction at here to make it taste better.

Ingredients:

½ Yam                                           

1 bowl glutinous rice flour                                        

1 bowl Sauropus                       

½ Chinese Cabbage                                  

1 Carrot                                                                         
3 oz Ikan Bilis (Dried Little Fish)                          
1½ oz Dried Shrimp                            

Soup:
3 Whole Chicken Bone                         

300g Spare Ribs                          
2 liters Water                            
Salt to taste                              

Method：

1.       Clean all the Ingredients for the soup and cook for 2 hours. Add in the carrot to cook for 15 minutes and then continue with the Chinese cabbage for about 5 minutes

2.       Shave off the peel of the yam, cut into small piece. Steam until it done and then smash it. Put in the glutinous rice flour and little bit of salt to mix it until the dough is not sticky. 

3.       Make the dough into small ball and put it into hot water to cook it (the rice ball is done if it’s float on the water). Steep the cooked glutinous ball in some soup which haven’t add in the salt, until the soup cover all the glutinous ball.

4.       Fried the ikan billis and the dried shrimp until it crispy and blend it into powder.

5.       Add in the Sauropus and some salt to the soup then put it to the bowl which has already put in the mixed blended powder and last just add in the glutinous ball.

Note:

1.       Sauropus is the name that I found in the internet. The vegetable I used is mani chai which called in local and usually we are eat with the pan mee which sell in Malaysia. Money

2.        Do not put all the Sauropus into the soup, just put in the amount that you want to eat, if not the colour of the Sauropus will change after steep to long in the soup. The soup also just take out some to make hot, if not the soup will become salty after add in the salt and keep boiling. 

3.       For those don’t like the ikan bilis or the dried shrimp can take it out from the recipe and add in the fried onion, garlic oil or others Ingredients that you like.

4.       Glutinous ball need to steep in the soup to avoid it stick all together, and used the soup that haven’t add in the salt is to avoid the glutinous ball taste too salty after dipping in the soup for long time.

5.       For those prefer sweet can use the sweet potatoes to replace the yam and the sugar water to replace the soup.