Shepard's Pie

I come from a St. Patrick's School, a Christian Brother's School with an Irish patron saint and an Irish Principal, the late Brother Joseph McNally. Brother Joe was a damm nice guy. If not for him and some of the very dedicated teachers leading me along the right path, God only knows where I would be now. The true, salt of the earth nature of these people inspired this recipe. Just like them, no stock of any kind is added, but the goodness of the dish still shines through. 

Shepard's Pie is like a Patrician. Ever ready to fulfill your need anytime, all the time and good to the last bite! ;-) You can make this days in advance, keep it in the fridge, and when u wanna eat, just pop in in the oven for a few minutes and it'll be ready. Simple, no fuss, good and nutritious food.

Ingredients

750g minced lamb

250g chopped bacon

3 sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped

3 sprigs of thyme, finely chopped

one yellow onion, finely chopped

one whole garlic, finely chopped

2 stalks of celery, chopped

200g mixed vegs

5 medium size potatoes, peeled

3 tablespoons butter

200ml cooking cream

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons Tabasco sauce

2 tablespoons black pepper

1 bay leaf

1 can of Guinness, boiled down to half it's volume

1 tablespoon flour

half a can of tomato puree

3 tablespoons mozzarella cheese

3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

Method

In a pot of salted boiling water, boil the potatoes until soft and put it aside.

In a hot pan, cook the bacon till crispy, then add the onion,  garlic, Rosemary, thyme and celery and cook until the onions are translucent.

Add the minced lamb and a half a can of tomato puree

Now pour in the Guinness and let it cook down to half it's volume. 

Add the Worcestershire, Tabasco sauce and black pepper to taste.

Finally, stir in the mozzarella cheese and flour.

Once that's done, put it in your pie tray and set it aside.

Mash the potatoes with butter and cream. Add salt to taste.

Cover the minced lamb with the mash potatoes an sprinkle the shaved Parmesan cheese on the top.

Put it in a hot oven and cook till the top is slightly brown. that should take about 10 minutes.

This is one damm hearty meal, and a little goes a long way! The remainder can be kept in the fridge to fill your stomach another day. And that's a sure bet, just like a Patrician!

Enjoy!

THE BIG DADDY

It's called the Big Daddy because it's got a pretty big patty. 200g of 60/40 lean fat ratio minced meat.  This is really important if you want a really juicy burger. It's also called the Big Daddy because one should be enough for your lunch ;-)

I love pork burgers, but unfortunately, most come with fillers, too dry or just simply too small. So the only way to get what I want is to make them myself. A nice, tasty, juicy burger, with all real meat. To do that, we have to go back to the basics.

INGREDIENTS

200G 60/40 lean / fat ratio minced pork
1 Tablespoon chopped garlic
1.5 tablespoon chopped onions
3 teaspoons Cajun spice
half teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon beaten egg
1 slice of sharp cheddar cheese
1 burger bun
1 tablespoon butter
1 egg
2 teaspoons black pepper
a little chopped lettuce
your favorite BBQ sauce

Method

Mix the minced pork, onion, garlic, Cajun spice, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and the beaten egg well and shape it into a patty. The patty should be slightly bigger than the circumference of the bun. Don't worry of it being too big because it will shrink during grilling. 

Put the patty on a pan on high heat, let it sear slightly on both sides before covering the pan and let it cook further on low heat, turning it occasionally. The patty is cooked when it shows signs of shrinking and bulging in the middle. 

When it's done, put a slice of cheese on top and let it sit. Fry up a sunny side up egg and place it on top of the cheese

Slice the bun into two, butter both slices and put it on the pan to toast until it's slightly brown.

Now, to assemble the burger.

Put the completed patty on the bun, add the chopped lettuce and BBQ sauce on and it's ready to go!

It's important to let the patty sit for at least 5 mins in order for the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat. That way you will be rewarded with a really juicy burger. You can use any bun you like, in this case I'm using a wholemeal walnut bun. You can also dress it with ketchup and mustard, but I'm using my favorite, a homemade BBQ sauce. 

Enjoy!

GRILLED CHICKEN SKEWERS

This is one simple to make dish which everyone will enjoy. Serve with creamy mash and coleslaw and you will have a winner on the table! I know, because when I served this at a recent rosary session at my apartment, it disappeared in a flash ;-)

INGREDIENTS

3 de-boned chicken thighs

2 pineapple rings

6 cloves of garlic

1 of each type of bell pepper

1 big onion

1 pack of dried mandarin orange peel

teriyaki sauce

honey

15 bamboo skewers, soaked in water overnight

METHOD

Finely chop the garlic and dried mandarin orange peel.

Cut the rest of the ingredients into 1.5cm cubes.

Put all the chicken in a container, together 

with the garlic and dried mandarin orange peel.

Pour enough teriyaki sauce to cover all the meat, mix them and let it marinade for at least half an hour

Now, it's time to skewer the lot.

I would usually alternate between chicken pieces and the vegs, you can do that too.

When it's done, it's time to put it on a grill. The grill should be hot enough to sear the skewers, and once it's done, lower the temperature to let it cook properly.

Just before it's taken off the grill, baste the skewers with some honey, let it cook for a minute or two and it's ready to be served.

It's always advisable to make more of this, as it'll disappear from the table in no time!

Serve it with mash and coleslaw. I'm sure everyone will enjoy this!

BOTAK'S OTAK OTAK

Now, you must be wondering, this don't look anything like otak otak. Where's the coconut / banana leave wrapping? Being a city slicker, those are hard to come by, so I decided to spread it on a slice of bread and popped it into the oven toaster for 10 mins. Does the job just fine too! My mom used to make the best otak otak that I've ever had, and this comes as a close second. She used to pound the ingredients together, but now I have a food processor, or so I thought. This being the Hungry Ghosts Festival, things can get rather weird..... You can use any fish you like, the default choice is normally spanish mackerel, but waste not, want not, I always believe, and we Peranakans have a unique way of making the off cuts taste good, so I'm using what's left of the salmon and parrot fish meat from my de-boning of the fishes

INGREDIENTS

60g Dried Chilies, seeds removed

30g Lengkus

50g Balachan

12 pcs Buah Keras

200g shallots

8pcs daun limau, finely sliced

50g lemongrass

1 tablespoon tumeric powder

1 tablespoon coriander powder

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs

100ml santan

500g of any boneless fish slices

METHOD

Re-hydrate the dried chilies

Put the rehydrated   chilis, lengkus, balachan, shallots, lemongrass, tumeric powder, coriander powder, salt and sugar in a food processor and blend it into a paste.

Add some oil in a pan and cook the paste until the oil rises to the top.

Remove the cooked paste and let it cool to room temperature.

When it's sufficiently cooled, put in the two eggs, half of the fish slices and 100ml of santan into the food processor and make sure everything is properly blended.

Remove from the food processor and add the remainder of the fish and the sliced lime leaves, stir in to make sure they're properly mixed. 

Spread a generous amount on a slice of bread.

Put it in an oven toaster at 200 degree Celsius for 15 minutes.

When it's cooked, remove and cut it to smaller portions and it's ready to be served.

The funny thing was that when i wanted to use the food processor, it broke down. My mom always told me that pounding was the way to go as it released more flavor from the spices. Maybe that's why this batch tastes so good? ;-)

Enjoy! I sure did!

GARLIC SHRIMP PASTA

There's nothing I like more than a juicy, sweet, spicy and tangy shrimp dish, and this dish has all those qualities by the bucket loads! Freshness is another thing that is very important to me, be it cooking for myself or for my customers. That's the reason why my freezer is always almost empty, with the exception of a few blocks of butter and ice cubes.

Was at the local market today and came across some really fresh shrimps. It looked really good, and the price was right too, so I bought a few back to try to cook this dish.

Ingredients

9 shrimps, shelled, leaving the tail
Zest of 1 lime, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lime, without seeds
2 heaped tablespoons of chopped garlic
2 tablespoons honey
A knob of butter
2 tablespoons of roughly chopped dried chili
Some roughly chopped parsley
Some salt
125g angel hail spaghetti
Olive oil

Method

Cook the spaghetti to al dente, toss it with some olive oil and put it aside.
Mix the honey, chili powder, lime zest and juice and put it aside
In a hot pan, pour some olive oil and throw in the garlic and shrimps
Cook the shrimps till it's almost done, then pour in the honey mixture and let it caramelize.
When that's done, add the parsley and the spaghetti, toss it well, plate it and it's ready to eat.

This is one damm easy dish, from the raw ingredients to the table, ready to eat in about half an hour. Just make sure not to over cook the prawns, as there's nothing worse than overcooked seafood.

Enjoy!

HONEY LIME GRILLED PORK

When I was in the army, we had training sessions in Thailand. In the nearest town to the army base, there was this stall selling BBQ pork on sticks. it's been more than 25 years since I've had that and i really missed that Thai BBQ pork, so I decided to try to make some on my own. Turned out quite good, and I'm seriously thinking of adding this to my menu.

I've got some off cuts of pork lying in the freezer, and it seemed like a good idea to use them to make this. The best cut of meat to make this is pork belly, but this marinade can be used on pork chops, chicken and even fish too.

Ingredients

500g mixed pork cuts
A handful of chopped coriander leaves
4 pieces of garlic, chopped
6cm young ginger, chopped
1 whole red chili, chopped
1.5 teaspoon of coriander powder
5 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons honey
4 tablespoons fish sauce
4 tablespoons olive oil
The rind and juice of 2 key limes
Some dried chili flakes

Method

In a ziploc bag, mix everything up, leaving aside some of the chopped coriander leaves and dried chili flakes for garnish and let the meat sit in the bag to marinade for an hour

When the hour's up, on a smoking hot grill, sear the meat, lower the temperature and let it cook till it's done, basting it on and off with the remaining marinade.

When the meat's cooked, let it sit for 15 minutes before cutting into strips and garnish with the remaining coriander leaves and dried chili flakes.

I chose to serve this with a mushroom and garlic angel hair olio with some vegetables to make it a complete meal for tonight's dinner. This pork is so easy to make that even a kid can do it on his own, but there's nothing kiddy about the taste. Should I be having a BBQ anytime soon, this will surely be on the menu! 

Enjoy!

SALTED EGG CARBONARA WITH FRIED PORK LARD

A word of caution...... If you can't take such unhealthy food, please do not read further. I have been told that some of the food that I cook should come with a health advisory label, you know, like those that come on cigarette packs? Well, this is one of them. So, there! Done!

I've always been a fan of salted eggs. Lately in Malaysia and Singapore, lots of food have fallen to the mighty salted egg. Salted egg prawn, squid and crab is now a commonplace in the food scene. Burgers and croissants just joined the list.  And now, it seems, pasta too! I came across a recipe of salted egg carbonara on the internet, but since I love my food spicy and sinful, I tweaked the recipe with some fried pork lard and bird's eye chili and viola! My new favorite dish! 

Ingredients for a plate of heart attack inducing goodness.......

125g penne

2 egg yolks

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

3 rashes of the fattest bacon, chopped

3 bird's eye chilies, finely chopped

A handful of parsley, chopped

Parmesan cheese, as much as you like

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon Italian herbs

1 sated egg yolk, steamed for 15mins and mashed

some salt for the pasta water

50g of fried pork lard bits

Method

Cook the penne according to the instructions on the pack.

In a pan, pour in the olive oil, garlic, Italian herbs and bacon, cook till the bacon is crispy, put it aside.

Beat the egg yolk and slowly add 3 teaspoons of Parmesan cheese into it.

When that's done, add the mashed salted egg yolk into it. You will not be using all of it as the mixture will be too thick. Don't worry about the remainder, you can toss it into the pasta when it's done. you should get about the same consistency as in the picture below

In a mixing bowl, put the remainder of the mashed salted egg yolk, parsley, bird's eye chilies and bacon bits.

Drain the pasta, saving a cup of the water used to cook the pasta.

Mix the hot pasta with the egg yolk and cheese mixture, with all the other ingredients in the mixing bowl.

Add a little of the water you saved earlier into the mix to get it a little creamier.

Now's the time to add in the fried pork lard and it's ready to serve!

Enjoy! But remember, Too much of the good stuff is not good for you! Moderation is the key! And should you think that this should be on my menu, please let me know! Thanks!

BAK KWA

Since the Chinese New Year's around the corner, I thought I'd give making Bak Bwa a shot. I always loved this sweet slices of BBQed meat! Can't keep my hands off them! Searched the internet and found that the recipes of Bak Kwa are almost similar to my Char Siu, and since I have all the stuff needed, why not make some?! 

Last year, when i was back in Singapore, they had this Bak Kwa with pieces of pineapple in them. Pork and pineapple is a winning combination. However, I was a little disappointed with it as it seemed that there was not enough pineapple, so since I'm making some, why not add more pineapple pieces? That's the beauty of D.I.Y! And since pineapple mixed with cinnamon tastes excellent, why not season the pineapple bits with cinnamon? Excellent stuff!

Ingredients

500g minced pork (60/40% mix of lean and fat)
8 tablespoons sugar
Half tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon chinese five spice powder
1 tablespoon chinese rice wine
1 cube of red fermented bean curd
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
3 pieces of pineapple bought from the cut fruits stall
Some honey for basting

Method
Roughly chop the pineapple and marinade it with cinnamon powder.
Mix all the other ingredients together and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours to marinade
When it's done, spread a thin layer of it on a non stick pan and put it in an oven that is preheated to 180 degrees celsius for 10 minutes

The meat will shrink a little after the 10 minutes are up, and there will be a fair bit of liquid on the pan.
Drain the liquid and cut the meat slices into manageable chunks.

For those of you who have a BBQ grill handy, now's the time to break it out! Nothing beats the smoky smell on a Bak Kwa! But unfortunately I don't, so it's back into the oven to get it slightly charred. 
Baste the slices with honey, put it in the oven at 250 degree celsius and take it out when there is a slight charring on the sides

I know it's quite a bit of work for so few slices of Bak Kwa, but the taste is pretty good! If it was finished on a charcoal grill, it would be awesome! 

So, it's not too difficult to D.I.Y. Bak Kwa. Give it a shot! You'd be pleasantly surprised how easy it is to do and how good it tastes too!

Enjoy!