Tofu Chicken Rice Burger

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I was browsing through the various food blogs the other day and came across the Prawn Cutlet Rice Burger recipe on wokkingmum's blog (http:wokkingmum.blogspot.com). I have always been a fan of MOS rice burger (Kakiage Rice Burger my favourite) and wokkingmum really convince me that it is actually "do-able" in your own kitchen. :p

I make some changes to the recipe though.....I make a tofu chicken patty instead and I used short-grain rice as they tend to be more sticky than normal white rice so it is actually much easier to do up the round rice patties. I also brushed the rice patties with soy sauce on both sides before I pan fried them in the saucepan. The rice patties turned out slightly crunchy and the soy sauce give the rice patties a more flavourful taste as well.

Tofu Chicken Rice Burger

Ingredients for Chicken Tofu
25g carrot, chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
140g minced chicken
200g tofu (coarser, solid tofu to be used)
½ egg, beaten
1 tblsp breadcrumbs
1 tblsp plain flour
Salt & pepper to taste
1 tblsp vegetable oil

Method
1. Finely chop the carrot and spring onions. Can use a blender if prefer a smoother paste.
2. Add chicken, tofu, egg, breadcrumbs, flour, salt, pepper and mix/blend till well mixed.
3. Divide mixture into 4 portions and shape into round patties (I used a 7-8cm round cookie cutter to help me shape them more nicely).
4. Heat oil in saucepan and pan fry over low heat for 8 minutes until each side is browned.

Ingredients for Rice Patties

Uncooked Short-grained rice - 2 cups
Water
Soy sauce

Method
1. Cook the short-grained rice the usual manner for normal rice.
2. Once cooked, divide them into 8 equal portions.
3. Place the round cookie cutter on a wet chopping board. Scoop enough rice into the cookie cutter and press down using a metal spoon.
4. Remove cookie cutter and reshape further using wet hands.
5. Brush on soy sauce and place the rice patty on a flat frying pan over low heat until slightly crispy on both sides.
6. Place chicken tofu patty in between 2 rice patties with lettuce, sliced tomato, mayonnaise and chilli sauce. Serve hot.

Teriyaki Chicken Wings

Had a batch of chicken wings in the fridge and thought why not cook them and so this recipe is born.....:)

Ingredients
10 Chicken wings and drumsticks (depending on your preference for which chicken parts)
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
Salt n pepper
3 tablespoon teriyaki sauce (I used Masukan brand which can be found under Japanese food section in NTUC Fairprice or Cold Storage supermarkets)
1 tablespoon water
Cooking oil

Method
1. Season the chicken wings and drumsticks with soy sauce, salt and pepper for at least half an hour (they taste better if left-over night).
2. Heat up oil in a non-stick pan.
3. Using low to medium flame, pan fry the chicken wings and drumsticks on both sides till they are crispy on the outside. Remove from the pan.
4. Mix the teriyaki sauce and water and heat them up in the pan.
5. When the sauce starts to boil, add the cooked chicken wings and drumsticks. Make sure all are well coated with the teriyaki sauce.
6. Serve with plain rice.

This is really simple to cook and one of my favourite. Be sure to cook the chicken wings till they are slightly crispy as it helps to "force" out the fats under the chicken skin and make the skin more "edible".

Afternoon Tea at Blue Magnolia

I was watching a tv programme (HDB Tai tai) some time ago and the 2 "made believe" tai-tais in the programme went for afternoon tea at this little cafe located in Macpherson Road. My office is located in the same area but I have never notice this cafe till I saw it on tv. The food they featured looks really nice and I decided to make a trip down to the cafe to see and taste the food for myself.

The opportunity finally came early this week. I went down with a friend and it was pretty quiet when we get there around 430pm. Unfortunately, there is not much food items left at that time and the crepes which I saw on tv was not on sale at that time. :( Luckily, the cafe's famous Adzuki Green Tea Cake is still available. We ordered 3 other small cakes and together they made up the "Petite Four".

I ordered an infusion tea called Nightcap (a combination of peppermint & camomile tea) which comes in a nice clear teapot and is constantly kept warm by a tealight candle.
My friend had the Creamy Hazelnut Coffee instead. Among the 4 items we ordered, my favourite is the Cheesecake. The savoury Cheese Puff (next to the cheesecake) is unique but not fantastic.

The Adzuki Green Tea Cake is a letdown as I could hardly smell the green tea and I personally feel that the cake could have more of the adzuki bean inside the cake. Blueberry cake is also not very special.

My friend like the Creamy Hazelnut Coffee though. I guess I would not mind buying the cheesecake although I will give the 3 other items a miss. Although the food had not been as nice as I would have expected, I like the way the food is presented - in small little dish in a very manageable portions which allows you to try many different items without getting too stretched (the tummy i mean). Service is pretty good too. So I think I will still make another trip down for the crepes which I missed out this round. For those who are interested in visiting the cafe, here is the address.

Blue Magnolia

439 Macpherson Road.

I will make another post here after my next visit.

Bento Lunch Box 17 Oct 07

Chicken Teriyaki with xiaobaicai and Sweet Simmered Shiitake Mushrooms

After weeks of travelling on the job and falling sick after the trip, I am finally up and running again (Actually still have a slight flu and cough :p) My first "project" after many weeks of not cooking is to attempt to put together a japanese bento box based on a latest cook book I bought.

I have always been fascinated with how the japanese managed to pack such a comprehensive lunch box with a good mix of protein and carbo plus all the nice mix of colours in the lunch box. So when I heard about this cook book called Bento Boxes: Japanese Meals on the Go, I just could not resist not buying it. It was highly recommended by bento fans and being a bento die hard fan myself, it seems logical I should have a copy too. :)

This book really has a lot of traditional japanese recipes which is very suitable for packing into daily lunch box. I will definitely be trying the recipes in the book in the days to come. For now, enjoy this dish.

Ingredients

Chicken Teriyaki
1 piece of boneless chicken with skin on
1 tbsp each mirin and soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tbsp cooking oil

Xiaobaicai or any other green leafy vegetable of your preference

Sweet Simmered Shiitake Mushrooms
4 -5 dried shiitake mushrooms (soak in cold water for 1 hour and stems removed)
1 and 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp each of mirin, sake, sugar

Method

1. Marinate chicken in mirin, soy sauce, sugar and oil for 30 minutes. Drain the marinade reserving it for later use.


2. Pan fry chicken on both sides till brown.


3. Add 3 tbsp of water to reserved marinade and pour over the chicken. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked.


4. Turn up fire and reduce the sauce to a glaze. Remove and slice chicken.


5. Blanch the xiao bai cai in salted water. Drain and remove. Layer the vegetable over white rice and top with sliced chicken teriyaki.


6. Put shiitake in a pot with water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and add all other ingredients.


7. Continue to simmer until liquid is almost completely absorbed. So for a start, you should not add too much water. Just enough to cover the shiitake.


8. Cut the shiitake to pieces/slices and pack them into the bento box.

This is how my completed bento box look like:

I used chicken breast without skin (less fatty) but for those who prefer more tender chicken, you can consider using chicken thigh with skin. As for the shiitake, remember not to add too much water as it will take a while to simmer to almost dry. For those who prefer sweeter taste, you can consider adding more sugar although I find the taste just alright with a slight sweet taste.