“Tofu Canapé” is a name invented by Jason and I like it! I was going to name this erm “Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork and Shrimp” yeah so original I know. But of course, unlike a real canapé, you can’t hold this with your fingers although you can probably eat this in one bite (or two)!

I was thinking of what else to do with tofu. I’ve made claypot tofu (look out for my recipe!), Mapo Tofu, cooked them with tau cheo, used them in soups.. I love Agedashi Tofu but I don’t do deep fry. So I thought of 方太 (haha!) and remembered those tofu parcels with meat topping that I watched her make on television, and these Tofu Canapés were created! For those not in Singapore, 方太 is a popular cook in the 1980’s to early 1990’s who had her own cooking show. Every mother in Singapore knows 方太! (“这就是我为你们准备的鲜虾肉圆蒸豆腐，你也可以在家试一试。” Haha!)

For steaming, I used my Zojirushi rice cooker which came with the steaming pan:

Of course you can steam them in a wok or stacked steamer. The water chestnuts lend a nice sweet crunch to the minced pork. I get those pre-peeled ones from Sheng Siong at $2 a packet. Please use fresh ones if you can! Leftovers can be used to brew a waterchestnut drink or my Wintermelon Soup with Pork Balls. I hope you try making the Tofu Canapés.. I had fun cooking these little parcels!

The post Tofu Canapé (Steamed Tofu Parcels with Pork and Prawns) appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

It’s gonna be a busy, busy November for me. Indeed, with the wedding date inching nearer, I am busy going on a diet! I am a last minute bride, I swear. I had months to lose weight but was busy eating potato chips during our home movie sessions! But those potato chips tasted so good. #YOLO is all I can say. And I’ve been using it wayy too many times this year :)

Looks like lunch and dinner this few weeks have gotta be quickfixes without much prep work (no braised pork belly, me thinks), but this doesn’t mean that they can’t be delicious! Take this recipe for example. It is so simple but so presentable (I suggest adding red and green peppers!), you could serve a portion with rice and make it a one-dish meal like how they do it at zi-char stalls.

As you might know by now, I do a lot of Chinese stir-fry because it is quick and easy, and most importantly, it is what my two aunts are used to eating. I don’t know if this has anything to do with us being Teochew, but they sure love anything cooked in black bean sauce. I made slow cooker bittergourd for them a few days back and they even compared it to my grandmother’s version.

I’ve never met my grandmother, and no.. as much as I love to cook, I don’t believe that anything that I cook can even come close to my grandma’s cooking. I’m sure she made everything “from scratch” though (chuckles), and I take what some would say the “easy way out” by not fermenting my own black beans. Good for you la, if you do that or grow your own bean sprouts. I know of a lady who did.. and she’s none other than Lily Ng from Lily’s Wai Sek Hong. She probably doesn’t even know that I exist but she’s kitchen God in my eyes and I truly admire and respect her! Hop on over to her blog. You might never come back! LOL.

Makes 2 servings

What I used:

1 piece good quality sutchi fish (or you can use any chunky white fish)
3 slices ginger
1 yellow onion, chopped into small wedges (quartered, then half each piece. I don’t know how you call it, eighth-ed? haha)
1 red chilli or chilli padi, sliced
2 tablespoon cornstarch solution (half tablespoon cornstartch mixed with 2 tablespoons water)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Seasonings:
1 tablespoon Lee Kum Kee black bean garlic sauce
1 sachet sugar
1 tablespoon chinese cooking wine (hua diao jiu)
A dash of white pepper
A dash of fish sauce

1. Clean and pat dry the sutchi fish, then chop into chunks (about 2 inches across).
2. Heat up the oil in a frying pan, fry the onions and ginger til fragrant. Add the fish and seasonings and fry for 3-4 minutes, then add water. Stir gently to combine as you don’t want to break up the fish.
3. Cook til water is bubbling. Add cornstarch solution and cook til thickened. Garnish with sliced chilli and serve with warm rice or noodles.

How much I spent:

$1.40 for sutchi fish
$0.30 for onion
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $0.85
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This is a super easy stir-fry which took all of ten minutes in the frying pan. I would have added chopped bell peppers (green and red!) but I didn’t have them on hand. Looks like I gotta cook them again next time!

The post Chinese Stir-Fry: Black Bean Fish Fillet appeared first on Budgetpantry | Singapore Mummy Blog on Food, Recipe & Baby.

I love home made wanton soup because I like the wrapping process. No, really. I like to wrap wantons! I wrap mine this way:

1) Put a glob of filling in the center of the wanton skin and fold it into a triangle.
2) Use a bit of water to seal the edges. Then, holding both ends of the triangle, fold them over the top so that both ends meet.

Some people choose to fold it into an ingot shape, or twist it into something like a money bag, which is fun! Mine’s something like this:

For more ways on how to wrap wantons, check this page out.

Whenever I eat wantons soup in Hong Kong, they always come with lots of sweet yellow chives. It is almost impossible to find yellow chives in the local markets so I had no choice but to leave them out. The vegetable seller told me that yellow chives spoil quickly and she has not seen them for years. If you know of where I can get yellow chives, please leave a comment below!

When making wanton, I always add tiny dried shrimps to the pork, shrimp and mushroom filling. I get mine from Giant and also use it when stir frying vegetables and chicken. The dried shrimps lend a good savoury flavour to the minced meat and prawn filling. Here’s what the packet looks like:

Ready to make some easy wantons? Me too!

Makes 30 wantons (4 large servings)

What I used:

1 pack of 30 wanton wrappers
200g minced pork (marinated in 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, 1 sachet sugar, white pepper, a pinch of salt and 1 teaspoon corn flour)
200g small prawns (soak in cold water + one sachet sugar for 15 mins, drain, then cut each prawn into half)
5 dried shitake mushrooms, soaked in water til plump and sliced thinly
1 tablespoon dried shrimp as above
1 litre chicken stock
A handful green leafy vegetables
A small bowl of tap water to moisten the wanton skin when wrapping
A sprinkling of sesame oil and white pepper

1. Mix the prawns, mushrooms and dried shrimps with the minced pork mixture.
2. To wrap wantons, place a wrapper in your palm and spoon a teaspoon of filling in the center. Fold into a triangle and use a bit of water to seal the edges. Then, holding both ends of the triangle, fold them over the top so that both ends meet.
3. Heat up the chicken stock til boiling, then add the leafy vegetables. Slowly drop in the wantons til they are cooked and have floated to the top.
4. Sprinkle the white pepper and sesame oil and serve immediately.

How much I spent:

$2 for wanton wrappers
$1.60 for minced pork
$2 for prawns
$0.30 for vegetables
Everything else from my pantry!

Total cost per serving: $1.47

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I decided to make these for lunch because I found a packet of wanton wrappers in the fridge after 88 went to the supermarket- a clear sign that she wanted me to make some wantons! She is quite cute– she doesn’t tell me to cook a particular dish but when I find something in the fridge that I did not buy, it’s a hint for me to cook her that something. Since she “asked” for them, she got them! You can choose to add egg noodles into the soup which is what I’m gonna do when I cook these again. Then maybe, I’m gonna experiment with folding them differently.

Do you have a favourite way of folding wantons?

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