Watercress Pork Ribs soup

I am not very good in brewing soup. Since I am craving for soup and it is the easiest on the stomach. I decided to try cooking one of my favourite soup - Watercress Pork Ribs soup.

I didn't realise it is that easy to have a pot of good soup. The most important ingredient is time.

Ingredients
500g - 600g pork ribs (I usually use a combination of prime ribs/spare ribs & soup bone)
1 bunch of watercress
4 gigantic red dates, soaked (if you are using small dates, use about 10)
4 conpoy, soaked
Salt, to taste

Method
1. In a pot, parboil the pork ribs. Rinse and set aside.
2. Trim and soak the watercress. Rinse and set aside.
3. Using a large pot, add in the pork ribs, conpoy and red dates. Cover them with water till around an inch away from the ingredients.
4. Bring it to a boil. Lower the heat and add in the watercress.
5. Let it simmer for 2 hours or more under low heat.
6. Season with salt to taste, if necessary.

*Note: if you allow the soup to simmer for a longer time, the soup will be bursting with flavours and you can forget all about the salt.

Non Baked Strawberry Jelly Cheesecake

When I first met this beautiful looking cake was when my colleague bought it for Xmas, so I told myself hmm...It shouldn't be difficult to "bake".

So I did my homework and...here comes my cheesecake. Just love the colour. 红红!

My first "bake" & success!

I made this on 2 January evening and finished the top jelly layer on the 3 January morning.

Cheers to all and have a wonderful new year ahead!

Ingredients (for 24 jelly squares)

For the bottom layer - Crust

300g digestive biscuits

150g melted butter

For the middle layer - Cheesecake

2 bloc Philadelphia Cream Cheese (500g)

1½ tbsp gelatin powder

1¼ cups hot water

2/3 cups sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

12 strawberries (I used Korean Strawberries)

For the top layer - Jelly 

160g strawberry flavoured jelly (I bought Jello)

1½ cups hot water

1½ cups room temperature/cold water

Method

1. Melt the butter using in a water bath over the stove. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Using a brush, coat a 9x13 inch baking pan.

    *As I don't want to scratch my pan and also for easy removal of the jelly cheesecake, I lined my pan with baking sheet and brush butter on it as well.

3.  Using a food processor, blend the digestive biscuits to obtain fine crumbs.

4. Place the fine crumbs into a large bowl and add the rest of the melted butter. Stir well to combine.

5. Scoop the mixture into the pan and press them down.

    *I used my spatula to press the biscuit butter mixture as evenly as possible.

6. Now once this is done, cover the prepared bottom layer with a cling wrap or if your pan (like mine) has a lid, cover and chill it in the fridge.

    *I let it chill for almost 1 hour in the fridge.

7. While waiting for the bottom layer to solidify and holds in shape, there are a couple of things to prepare.

a) Bring the cream cheese to room temperature and allow them to soften. 

b) In a small bowl, add in the exact amount of gelatin powder and hot water. Stir till the gelatin powder completely dissolve. Set aside and allow it to cool.

c) Remove the green top of the strawberries and wash the strawberries. Set aside for them to dry.

8. Using a mixer, place the soften cream cheese in the mixer bowl, add in the sugar and whisk till its light.

9. Add in the vanilla extract to the cream cheese mixture. Whisk.

10. Add the cooled gelatin mixture a few tbsp at a time into the cream cheese mixture and combine well.

11. Once all the gelatin mixture is incorporated, the cream cheese mixture should be a smooth runny mixture.

      *There shouldn't be any lumps. If there is lumps, sieve the mixture before pouring them into the pan.

12. Bring out the baking pan out from the fridge, using a fork poke holes into the bottom biscuit layer.

13. Pour the smooth runny cream cheese mixture on top of the biscuit layer. Allow it to rest at room temperature for 10 minutes.

14. In the meantime, half the strawberries and cut a v-shape at the top to remove the white portion. This should make the strawberries look like a heart shape.

      *which Mr W failed to make them looks like heart shape. Lol.

15. After the 10 minutes, gently press the halved strawberries into the cream cheese mixture. Space the strawberries 1 to 1.5 inches apart.

16. Cling wrapped it or cover with lid and place it in the fridge for minimum 4 hours or overnight.

17. Using 160g of Jello Strawberry powder, add in 1½ cup of hot water and whisk till the powder dissolve. Add in the room temperature/cold water. Mix well.

18. Bring out the baking pan, using a measuring cup, gently pour the jelly mixture on top of the cream cheese layer. Pour just enough to cover the strawberries.

19. My baking pan comes with a cover & this is how it looks like.

Alternatively you can cling wrapped it before placing it back to the fridge for another 4 hours.

I forgotten to take photos when I cut them. Pretty and delicious jelly cheesecake!!! You can omit the strawberries and jelly and you will have a Tofu cheesecake!

There you have it. It's a easy recipe except time consuming. We need to give each individual layer time to set properly.

For prettier presentation, you may slice away the 4 sides and eat them. Oh remember to pour hot water on your knife, wipe dry before cutting any cheesecake. With each slices, wipe the knife before cutting again.

Give it a try!

Rosemary Roasted Chicken

Christmas is a month or so away, and I am trying out some new dishes that will not take up too much time to prepare and that is Rosemary Roasted Chicken.

I have intention to buy a whole chicken but there is only 3 mouths to feed at home, it will be an overkill. So instead of one whole chicken, I bought 6 chicken thighs, but I only use 4 in this recipe. It is such easy recipe and fail prove.

Most importantly, Mr W likes it. Crispy outside and juicy inside. When I slice the meat, the juice oozed out. Yummy!!!

Ingredients 
4 chicken thighs (can be replace with whole chicken or breasts)
½ lemon, wedged (use 1 lemon if using whole chicken)
½ yellow onion, quartered (use 1 whole onion if using whole chicken)
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
Olive oil

Dry rub
3 to 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped
Garlic powder, to taste
Onion powder, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

Vegetables
3 Potatoes
3 Carrots
1 Broccoli, using its florets
9 Cherry tomatoes
½ yellow onion, quartered
½ lemon, wedged
2 cups of chicken broth

Method
1. Clean the chicken thighs, pat dry and set aside.
2. Pour olive oil of the chicken and rub the chopped rosemary, garlic, onion, black pepper and salt onto the chicken. Make sure all parts of the chicken is covered with the dry rub. 
3. Squeeze half a lemon on to the chicken pieces and leave the wedged lemon on the tray, together with the quartered onion and crushed garlic.

4. In a preheated oven, oven roast the chicken pieces at 180°C for 1½  to 2 hours or till the chicken pieces turn golden brown. 
*Note: the time in the oven is based on respective ovens, so please keep an eye on the chicken after 1½ hours.
5. Place another tray just below the chicken after the 1st hour of roasting. In the tray, add 2 cups of chicken broth, quartered potatoes, carrots, onions and tomatoes to cook. It will collect the juice of the chicken and cook together with the vegetables. 

*Note: you can add any vegetables of your liking. 

For whole chicken,
Please stuff 1 quartered onion, squeezed 1 wedged lemon, chopped rosemary into the chicken cavity. Tied the chicken legs together. 
Using the olive oil and the same dry rub, rub on to the chicken and make sure it covers the whole chicken. 
Preheat oven and oven roast the chicken at 180°C for 2 hours.
It is advisable to use a meat thermometer to test the doneness of the chicken. Insert the thermometer into the thickness area of the chicken, the temperature should be approximately 74°C.

Pan seared Oregano Butter Prawns

When I want something that cooks fast and taste good, one of my choice will be prawns/shrimps. Simple seasoning and you will get tasty prawns.

While waiting for the bread to finish baking, I took out some prawns and was thinking how to prepare it since the main course for the evening is Wagyu beef stew. Looking through the spice cabinet, I took out 5 ingredients -

1 tsp onion powder 

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 tsp oregano flakes

Salt & black pepper, to taste 

Method

1. Remove the shell and deveined the prawns. Leave the tail on. 

2. Mix the onion powder, garlic powder and oregano flakes together. 

3. Coat the prawns well in this spice mixture.

4. Heat pan with 1 tbsp of butter and olive oil. Once pan is well heated, place the prawns in the pan. Do not overcrowd them in the pan. Once the prawns change colour, grind some salt and black pepper onto the prawns. When the prawns turns orange on the side facing down to the pan, turn the prawns to the other side. Remember not overcook it.  

5. Dish up and serve. 

It still taste good when it's cold.

Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes is always my love. Oh...I just love the creamiest of this mashed potatoes.

I have tried a few times before Mr W concluded this recipe will be the one I will make in future. But I am still thinking of altering it. *Lol. We shall see how it goes.

Ingredients (Serves 4)

5 large russet potatoes, peeled & cubed

80 ml sour cream

3 cloves of garlic, finely minced.

1 cube of chicken bullion 

100g cream cheese

100g butter

Salt & pepper, to taste

Oregano flakes, to taste

Method

1. In a large pot of boiling water, cook the potatoes, garlic and bouillon until potatoes are soft.

2. Sieve the potatoes and garlic, place them in a large bowl. Reserve the water. 

3. Mash the potatoes. Add in the sour cream and cream cheese; incorporate them into the mashed potatoes. Add the reserved water to it, if needed. 

4. Add the butter and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. 

5. Sprinkle the oregano flakes before serving. 

Simple and easy. 

Note: 
1. This dish can be prepared a day ahead. Place the mashed potatoes *without adding butter into a slow cooker and allow it to slow cooked on low. Before serving, add in the butter and season it with salt & pepper. 
2. To achieve a smoother mashed potatoes, you can whisk it.