Priscilla’s Favourite Recipes

Lotus Root, Carrot Braised Chicken

Ingredients:
300g boneless chicken thigh or chicken fillet or chicken breast, removed skin
8 dried shiitake mushroom, soaked, removed stems and squeezed to remove liquid (Keep the soaked fluid)
1 small lotus root, peeled
1 medium carrot,peeled
some snow peas, removed tops and tails
2 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon oil
3 tablespoon sake
1.5 teaspoons dashi powder dissolved in a bowl of water
2 tablespoon mirin
2 tablespoon soy sauce

Method:
1. Cut the lotus into slices of about 0.5cm and soak them in water and vinegar to cover all of them and soak for about 10 to 15 minutes and drain.

2. Cut the carrot into slices and if you are more creative into flower shaped.

3. Heat oil over high heat and add chicken to cook until slightly brown on each side. And drain off and discard the oil.

4. Add the mushroom, lotus root, carrot and sake and combine evenly. Then add the dashi mixture and bring it to boil. Then add the mirin and half the soy sauce. Cover with a lid and let it boil for 5 minutes and reduce heat and simmer for another 10 minutes or so.

5. Add in the snow peas and the rest of the soy sauce and let it simmer for another 10minutes and turn off the heat and let it stand for a while before serving.

Tempura Shrimps (Prawns) With Wasabi Mayonnaise

Ingredients:
1/2 cup mayonnaise (125g)
2 green onions, ends trimmed,finely chopped
2 teaspoons lime juice (pref fresh)
1 ½ teaspoons wasabi paste, to taste
1 cup chilled soda water (seltzer) or can use cream of soda
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (75g)
1/2 cup cornstarch (70g)
1 teaspoon baking soda
salt & white pepper
1 kg tiger shrimp or other large shrimp, peeled with shells intact and deveined (2.2 lbs)
Some canola oil, for deep frying

Methods:
1. Combine mayo, onions, lime juice and wasabi paste together in a small bowl; set aside.

2. Heat oil in a heavy saucepan/wok (about 2″ deep) to 375°F or 190°C over high heat.

3. Combine soda water and egg yolk in a large bowl, then add the flours and baking soda.

4. Season with salt and pepper, whisk mixture until just combined but still lumpy (do not overmix).

5. Dip 6 prawns, 1 at a time, into batter to evenly coat.

6. Deep fry for 2 mins or until they curl and turn golden; remove from oil and drain on absorbent papers or metal oil strainer.

7. Repeat with remaining prawns, reheating and topping up the oil between batches, if necessary.

8. Serve with wasabi mayonnaise.

Teriyaki Chicken Breast/ Drumbsticks Recipe

Ingredients:
8 pieces of chicken breast / Drumsticks
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of sweet sherry
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
2 cloves of garlic
½ teaspoon of minced ginger
(The easy way will be to used the ready make teriyaki sauce in supermarket which I do not fancy.)

Methods:
1. Peel the garlic and crush and put into a small bowl.

2. Add the minced ginger, brown sugar, sweet sherry and soy sauce.

3. Stir to combine and pour over the chicken pieces.

4. Marinate for 15 to 20 minutes at least preferably overnight to allow the taste to mature into the chicken.

5. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F or gas mark 4.

6. Place the chicken pieces in an oven bag on a baking dish, or alternatively arrange the marinated chicken pieces on a greased roasting pan or baking dish. (I placed them on a metal grill over a baking tray for oil to drip when grilling.
7. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the chicken is tender and cooked through. Serve with rice and fresh stir-fried vegetables.

Gyoza (Japanese Dumplings) Recipe (For 32 Gyoza)

Ingredients for the skin wrapper:
170 ml of water
200 grams of strong white flour

Ingredients for filling:
250 grams of ground minced pork /chicken
1 cup of finely chopped white cabbage
½ cup of finely chopped button mushrooms
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon of crushed fresh ginger
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of soft brown sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon of sesame oil
1 bowl water for assembly
2 tablespoons of Canola oil for frying

Dipping sauce:
Mixed well – 2 tablespoons of soy sauce and 2 tablespoons of rice vinegar with ginger
Or
4 tablespoons of dark vinegar with ginger. ( I prefer this dip)

Methods:
Wrappers
1. In a medium sized bowl, mix the water and the flour to a dough.

2. Knead the dough until it is no longer sticky but is still soft.

3. Place an up-turned bowl over the dough, and let it stand for 30 minutes.

4. Cut the dough into 32 pieces, roll each piece through a pasta machine or roll out thinly by hand with a rolling pin.

5. Using a cutter cut each piece into a thin circle 10cm (4 inches) across.

Filling:
1. Very finely chop the cabbage, button mushrooms and spring onions or pulse them in a food processor until they are very fine.

2. Combine the cabbage, mushrooms, spring onions, garlic, ginger and the ground pork together.

3. Add the soy sauce, brown sugar and sesame oil and mix well.

Assembly:
1. Place one teaspoon of the filling onto a circle of dough.

2. Moisten one edge with water and bring the edges together, pinch and crimp the gyoza closed, moulding into a small ‘pasty’ or ‘moneybag’ shape. Repeat with the remaining filling mixture and wrappers.

Cooking:
1. Heat a large frypan, add a little oil and fry batches of the Gyoza until the bottoms are slightly golden brown.

2. Add enough water so that it reaches half way up the sides of the gyoza.

3. Ensure the frypan keeps a high heat and wait until all the water has evaporated.

4. Remove the gyoza from the pan and serve with the following dipping sauce.

*Hints:
1. Using a plate with some flour, freeze individual Gyoza without touching each other in the freezing till frozen and keep in the ziplock bag and can be kept for 3 weeks in freezer.
2. When using, do not need to defrost but heat up the pan with oil and place Gyoza in for cooking.

Anko (Japanese Sweet Beans)

Ingredients:
1 cup azuki beans (Red beans)
10 cups water
1/3 cup sugar

Mthods:
1. Put 4 cups of water in a pan and add azuki beans.

2. Put the pan on high heat and bring to boil.

3. Stop the heat and drain the water.

4. Put 6 cups of water in a pan and add the boiled azuki beans.

5. Put the pan on low heat and simmer the beans for an hour until soften.

6. Take out excess water from the pan and add sugar.

7. Stir the azuki on low heat for a few minutes until thicken. Stop the heat