Chicken Porridge

Ingredients:

• 0.5 cup of rice (soaked for 1 hour)
• 2 garlic cloves (lightly bruised)
• 3 thin slices of ginger (lightly bruised)
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 0.5 tsp dashi/Japanese fish stock OR fish sauce OR soy sauce to taste
• a few dashes of white pepper to taste
• 1 small egg
• 1 stalk of green onion (chopped)

Stock:

• 200 g chicken breast
• 4 bowls of water
• 1 tsp salt

How to:

• soaked your rice for at least 1 hour, meanwhile
• prepare the stock by bringing to boil 4 bowls of water, add in chicken breast and salt. Simmer for 15 minutes
• remove the chicken breast from the stock and let it cool down, meanwhile
• add in the rice, garlic, and ginger. I use a big earthenware that is only half filled, if you use a pot that is almost fully filled REMEMBER to open the lid a bit, else you'll have a mess to clean up later :)
• simmer for 15 minutes or until the rice grains have softened. DO NOT worry about drying up, you can always add in hot water and flavor won't lost, as they are all absorbed by the rice :) meanwhile,
• tear your chicken breast into strings, and return them to the pot
• before serving, add in sesame oil, dashi, pepper to taste, and egg to create smooth texture. Stir well and taste
• sprinkle with green onion on top. I enjoy eating watery, smooth porridge with furikake/Japanese dry condiment

Spicy Bean Paste Tofu - Mapo Tofu

Ingredients:

• 80-100 g pork-neck loin (minced with 1 tsp of corn-starch and 0.25 tsp of salt)
• 4 blocks of tofu (cut into 2 cm cubes)
• 2 garlic cloves (chopped)
• 1 tbsp chopped scallion
• 1 tsp corn-starch + 2 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Seasoning:

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp bean-paste
• 1 tsp Gochujang/Korean Red-Pepper Paste
• 0.5 tsp chicken essence powder
• 3 tbsp water

How to:

• heat your oil in a non-stick pan. Add in garlic and stir till fragrant
• add in pork mince. Stir till turning white
• add in tofu and seasoning. Stir for another 30 seconds
• add in scallion and corn-starch mixture
• mix well and serve

Seaweed Soup

Ingredients:

• 10g seaweed (cut into 1-inch lengths)
• 4 garlic cloves (lightly bruised)
• 120 g neck-lean pork (cut into bites)
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1.5 tbsp white rice vinegar
• 1 tsp mirin/Japanese sweet cooking wine
• a few drops of sesame oil
• 3 bowls of water

How to:

• bring water to boil
• add in the remaining ingredients and simmer for ~5 minutes

Straw-Mushroom Steamed Egg

Ingredients:

• 200 g straw-mushrooms (halved)
• 2 small eggs (beaten)
• 4 curry leaves (chopped)
• 0.5 tsp coriander powder
• a pinch of turmeric powder
• 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
• 1 small red chili-pepper (sliced)
• 2x2 tbsp of water

to grind into paste (using pester and mortar):

• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 red onion
• 1 thin slice young ginger (~ 1 tsp if grated)
• 1 tsp tamarind pulp
• a pinch of salt

How to:

• mix all the ingredients except the chili-pepper and water, and divide into 2 ramekins
• add 2 tbsp of water into each of the ramekins and stir well
• top each ramekins with sliced chili-pepper
• cover with aluminium foil
• preheat your oven to 160 degree Celsius, and baked for 10-15 minutes