Recipe's

The fine art of steaming dishes. The best way of enjoying fish ,according to the Chinese, is by steaming it.The freshest of fish is steamed because its natural taste and goodness will be retained. Just fill half a wok with boiling water .Place the prepared fish on a tray atop a tripod in the wok,and cover it.Cook for about seven to 10 minutes,serve immediately.A big fish will take about 10 to 15 minutes while a small one needs about five to seven minutes.You must not steam the fish too long or its eyes will pop out. Another important thing to look out for when steaming food is the temperature of the water.The water must be boiling hot before the food is inserted,and the wok must be covered. If a dish, such as a whole chicken ,requires a longer cooking time,then the cook must have a steady supply of boiling water to top up the wok.You must not top up a wok with cold water.This will interrrupt the cooking processas the water has to boil again.The wok must also be covered at all times. The fish be steamed with ginger and spring onion (to alleviate the fishy smell) without any sauce. Steamed fish can be served with a variety of garnishes but the most common are ginger, spring onion and coriander leaves.Those garnishes enhance the sweetness of the fish.

Apart from fish and seafood,chicken,meat,eggs,rice and beancurd can also be steamed. The most important rule in steaming is that the ingredients must be fresh as subtle seasoning is used to enhance the natural taste of the food. Cooking time is usually short to retain the ingredients' flavour and nutrient.A small fish is steamed for 5 minutes on high heat,and a whole chicken for about 45 minutes at medium heat .Unshelled prawns are cooked in 5 minutes at high heat, egg custards in 15 minutes at low heat.

STEAMED POMFRET Ingredients: 1 medium pomfret 3 stalks of spring onion 2 slices of old ginger 2 stalks of coriander Seasoning: 1 tsp of salt 1/2 tsp of sugar 1 tsp of light soya sauce 1/2 tsp of dark soya sauce 1tbsp of oil a dash of pepper

Method: 1.Wash and shred spring onions and coriander leaves finely. 2.Clean the fish.Wash and drain.Rub the fish with salt and sugar. 3.Put the fish on a shallow dish and pour on light and dark soya sauce and oil.Add the finely sliced ginger. 4.Steamed over high heat for seven to ten minutes. 5.Garnish with spring onions and coriander leaves.Add a dash of pepper and serve immediately

STEAMED CHICKEN WITH MUSHROOMS Ingredients: 1 chicken, cut into serving pieces 6 dried Chinese mushrooms 1tsp of salt 1 tsp of sugar 1 tsp of light soya sauce 1 tsp of dark soya sauce 1 tbsp of ginger juice 1 tbsp of Chinese rice wine (or substitute) 1 tbsp of oyster sauce 1 tbsp of cornflour 1 tbsp of oil

Method: 1.Marinate chicken with all the ingredients above except the mushrooms for 15 minutes. 2.Soak mushrooms in water for 20 minutes.Squeeze out the excess water and slice the mushrooms thinly.Reserve the mushroom water. 3.Add mushroom and mushroom water to marinated chicken.Mix well. 4.Put all the ingredients on a metal plate and steam over high flame for 15 minutes. 6.Serve immediately

Line baking trays with parchment paper.Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.Cream butter and sugar until smooth, then beat in the egg and peanut butter.Add the essence.Stir in the sifted ingredients and mix until smooth.Do not overheat lest the dough turns oily Take a small bit of mixture,roll it into a ball and place it on the baking tray.Use a fork to press down.Bake in a preheated oven for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly brown.Place the cookies on a wire rack to cool.

Peanut Cookies 150g/5.3 oz butter 175g/6.2 oz castor sugar 1 egg 100g/3.5 oz crunchy peanut butter 1/2 tsp vanilla essence Sift: 200g/7 oz plain flour 1tspbaking powder 1/4 tsp salt

Doughnut Ingredients: 250g/8.8 oz high protein flour 100g/3.5 oz plain flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 tbsp instant yeast or easy blend yeast 30g/1.1 oz castor sugar Combine: 30g/1.1 oz melted butter 1 lightly beaten egg 150ml warm milk Oil for deep frying For coating: Cinnamon sugar or Castor sugar - mix with 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder for flavouring,if desired

Put sifted flours and salt in a large mixing bowl.Stir in yeast and sugar.Pour combine ingredients into flour mixture.Mix well and knead till you get a soft dough. Turn out dough on a lightly-floured board.Knead for about five to six minutes until the dough is smooth. Place dough in mixing bowl again, cover with a damp tea - towel and leave aside to proof for 60 to 90 minutes or until it doubles in size. Knead dough on a lightly - floured board for a minute.Roll out dough to 3/4 cm/ 0.3 in thickness. Stamp out with a doughnut cutter ( You can gather the remaining dough, roll it out and stamp again with the cutter. Place the cut out doughnut on grease proof paper.Cover with grease cling film wrap and leave aside for 25 to 30 minutes Heat oil and deep fry doughnuts till they puff up and turn golden brown.Remove and drain doughnuts on absorbent paper; toss them in cinnamon sugar and serve.

Lemon Chicken Ingredients: 500g/17.6 oz chicken breast meat cut into fairly large slices Juice of 1 lemon 1/2 cup of tapioca flour For marinade: Combine 3/4 tsp of salt 3/4 tsp castor sugar 1 tsp sesame oil 1/4 tsp of pepper 2 tbsp cornflour 1/2 egg For dipping sauce 250ml chicken stock 1/2 tsp salt 1tbsp castor sugar 1/2 tbsp Worchestershire sauce 1tbsp lemon juice For thickening Mix together 1/2 tbsp cornflour 1/2 tbsp custard powder 2 tbsp water

Marinade chicken for 3 to 4 hours, or preferably overnight , in the refrigerator.Dust marinated chicken pieces with tapioca flour and deep fry in hot oil for 2 to 3 minutes until cooked and crispy.Strain and place chicken on serving plate.Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok. Pour in dipping sauce ingredients and bring to a slow boil.Add thickening.Dish out and serve with the fried chicken pieces, or you can pour the sauce over and serve immediately.