Knorr Singapore Cookout Competition: Your Ingredients to Happy Family Moments / Wife's Babi Pongteh Recipe

Cooking Competitions are fun, exciting yet full of pressure, even if you cook without using a pressure cooker! Some of you readers might know that my sis and I joined a cooking competition last year, and we got first and the prize is quite good! We won a total kitchen makeover! (You can look through old posts on this blog to know more about that)

This post is to let you know that if you and a family member know how to cook, you should join this Knorr Family Cookout! The total prize is worth $18,000. The first prize is $8000 worth of cash and vouchers to revamp your kitchen! Even the consolation prize is worth $1000!

It seems like it's quite an easy competition and you might just be the winner!



For more information about the Knorr Cookout Competition, you can visit their facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/KnorrSingapore

To participate, it's easy, just form a team of two with one of your family members!
Send in the following details to knorr@vmsd.com.sg between now and 12 May 2013.

• Participant details, including name, date of birth, NRIC No, contact number, email and relationship of team members.
• Name and photo of family recipe dish.
• Story behind the family recipe dish (limited to 100 words)
• The recipe and Knorr product(s) used.
• Cost breakdown of dish (limited to $30)

Here's some of the Knorr products that you can use in your recipe! I am sure most of us have it your kitchen now and you can in fact cook the dish, photographed it and submit your application!

If you need help on how to take nice food photos, I have a guide here too!



Some of you have already know about this competition and might even have seen Chef Daniel Koh demonstrating at the Knorr Roadshows that is going on. You can go to the Knorr Facebook page to find out where and when is the next weekend roadshow.

A few bloggers and I had the opportunity to see Chef Daniel in action and it was only for us only. It was held at ToTT, which also happens to be where the finals of the competition is to be held on 29 May 2013.



Chef Daniel was going to teach us how to cook a very simple meal just using a few ingredients. It's so simple yet quite delicious. Try the recipe below and taste for yourself!

The dish is Stir Fry Tomyam Chicken.

Here's the recipe:

Serves 2-4 persons.

Ingredients:
1 piece - chicken breast
1 cube - Knorr Tom Yam Stock (dissolve 1 Knorr Cube in 250ml of water)
1 tbsp - Knorr Hao Chi
1/2 slice - lime
1/3 tsp - lime zest
1 stick - lemon grass cut into small pieces
1 leaf - lime leaf julienned
1 tbsp - chopped onion
2 slice - garlic
1 piece - chilli padi diced
1 stalk - basil
1 tbsp - coconut milk

Method:
1) Slice chicken breast and season with Knorr Hao Chi
2) Heat pan with oil and fry chicken for 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3) Fry onion, garlic, lemongrass, lime leaf till fragrant and add Knorr Tom Yam Stock.
4) Bring to a boil and add the rest of ingredients and the pan fried chicken breast.
5) Simmer till sauce almost dries and lace it with coconut milk. Takes around 15 minutes.
6) Plate and serve.

I know some people prefer to look at photos, so here's the photo version of the cooking process:



That's the chicken breast, slice it into the shape that you like. Can be longish or diced. It's up to you.
Then marinate it with 1 teaspoon of Knorr Hao Chi.



Chef was telling us that you marinate the chicken with Knorr Hao Chi make sure you mix it well. You want all the pieces to be coated. You do not need to use a lot of it!

If you want it to taste even better, add some oil. A teaspoon of sesame oil or vegetable oil is good. When you do that, it prevents the meat from lumping together when you stir fry it. It also gives it a nice texture when you eat it.

Remember to marinate the meat then mix in the oil, or else the oil will be a barrier that prevents the meat from being marinated.



Stir fry the chicken for 1 or 2 minutes at semi high heat. It does not need to be fully cooked. It will be cooked again later. Remove from heat and set it aside.

At the same time, boil 250 ml of water and add 1 cube of Tom Yam Cube into it. That's the smaller pot on the Bosch Induction cooker seen above.



Fry the onions, garlic, lemongrass, lime leaf till it's fragrant and add in the Knorr Tom Yam Stock that has been dissolved.



Bring to a boil, and add in the chicken and other ingredients. This will take around 15-20 minutes, depending on your liking for dryness of the dish. Cook it longer if you prefer it to be dry.



Here's the dish! It taste really good and you might be quite surprised with the taste of the Tom Yam. I have only used Knorr's Ikan Bilis cubes most of the time. I have not tried the Tom Yam cubes before! Does takes a lot of time off food preparation!


After Chef Daniel's demonstration and us finishing up his dish, the rest of us also had to cook a dish. Yes, a few of my friends were there too! We were all suppose to cook something from our own family recipe!

MissThamChiak cooked her dialect dish, Hainanese Pop Chop. SgFoodOnFoot made Golden Sands French Beans. CookSnapEatLove made 40 Cloves of Garlic Roasted Chicken. You can visit their blogs for the recipe.

My wife Serene's Peranakan and we prepared Babi Pongteh. That's the story behind the dish. When you join, write till it's 100 words to convince the judges!

If you want to prepare Babi Pongteh at home, here's my wife's recipe.
She always emphasize that true Babi Pongteh must have mushrooms and bamboo shoots.

Serene's Babi Pongteh.

Serves 4

Ingredients
500-600g Pork Belly, cut into chunky pieces
15 mushrooms
150g of bamboo shoots
15 shallots
10 garlic
2 tablespoons of fermented soy beans aka taucheo
1/2 tablespoons of dark soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon sugar
Oil
Water

Method
1) Marinate the pork belly with the dark soy sauce for at least half and hour
2) Chop finely or use a food processor to chop the shallots and onions.
3) Heat the oil in the pan and fry the blended shallots and garlic till fragrant.
4) Add the fermented soy beans. Stir fry till very fragrant.
5) Add in the pork belly. Stir fry for about 2 mins.
6) Add in the mushrooms.
7) Add in water to just cover the ingredients.
8) Add in the bamboo shoots.
9) Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower down the heat.
10) Add in the sugar.
11) Simmer for about an hour or when meat is tender.
12) Served with warm rice.


Here's the pictorial instructions:



Half a kilo or 600 grams of pork belly.
If you prefer to have bigger chunks, then cut them up in bigger chunks, but make sure they are all about the same size, so that it cooks evenly.



Depending on the dark soya sauce you have, it's about 1/2 tablespoon of it to coat and marinate the meat.

This determines the final colour of the dish. If you want the final outcome to look like the last photo below, make sure it looks like the photo above. Just slightly coast it and not super dark meat! This will give the dish it's 'peranakan standard colour' that grandmothers will sometimes judge the dish on.



It's going to be cooking for at least 1 hour, so you can roughly chop it about the same size. No need to be super fine, it's going to be disintegrated anyway. You only cut it in precision when a peranakan grandmother's in the kitchen.



Mushrooms should be soaked till plump and soft. Cut bigger mushrooms in half, else just leave it whole it's the size you like.



The main ingredient in making Babi Pongteh is to use the correct bean sauce!
This is the brand that Serene uses. Different Peranakan family uses different brands.

When your wife says buy this brand, then remember how the bottle looks and buy the correct one! Buy the wrong one, and the taste differs and picky peranakans will say it does not taste the same.



The red dates above the bottle makes the difference for this brand?
I don't know. I am not peranakan. Hehe....



Stir fry the onions and garlic till it's fragrant. After that, add in the TauCheo and fry it till it's very nice smelling!



After that, add in the pork pieces and cook it for 2 or 3 minutes.
Then add in mushrooms.



Add in the bamboo shoot and cover the ingredients with water till it just about covers it.
When the water boils, lower the fire to a very low heat and let it simmer.

Add in the little bit of sugar to not have the 'dead salty' taste and that's about it.
Wait for 1 hour or so for the meat to turn tender.



This is Serene's version of Babi Pongteh.

Do you have a family recipe too? Cook it, take a photograph of it and join the competition!
You might just be the $8000 First Prize winner!

Hurry, submit your entries before 12 May 2013!

Weekend Brunch @ Halia, Singapore Botanic Gardens

If work has really gotten into you during the weekdays, you just want to spend your weekends resting, taking walks and perhaps a brunch to go along as well. If you are looking for a brunch where you can enjoy some natural breeze, try the weekend brunch at Halia located at the Singapore Botanic Gardens.

If you don't already know, Halia means 'ginger' in Malay. Make a guess where Halia is located at the Botanic Gardens? At the Ginger Garden of course. Take a walk before or after having your brunch would certain aid in digestion.



For some folks who believe in always having hot drinks even in hot Singapore weather, order the Hot Ginger Tea. It comes with a 'shot' of honey too if you prefer to sweeten it a little.



For those like me who always prefer iced drinks. This iced ginger tea is my preferred drink on warm afternoons in Singapore. It's cold, yet it has the kick of the spicy ginger and sweetness of the added honey. Refreshing indeed!



If you choose to sit at the non air con section of the restaurant, you are right next to nature. This was just right beside me at the table I was sitting where I was dining at Halia recently.

For those who can't live without air-conditioning, there's always the air-condition part of the restaurant.

My brunch at Halia, was a hosted lunch by the PR firm FoodNews, who is engaged by Halia.
The following items are the 'recommended items' for you to try when you decide to pay them a visit.



Oysters with Bloody Mary. ($6 each)

If you are into oysters and you like the South Australian ones, they serve Coffin Bays oysters here with a shot of 'bloody mary'.  They are available at $6 each.



Many people eat it differently. Some like the taste of raw fresh oyster in their mouth, so they just pop the oyster in their mouth to savour the salty oyster taste first then down it with a shot of their chef's version of Bloody Mary.

Chef's recommended way of eating we were told is to drop the oyster into the shot glass and drink it all down together! Which is your favourite way of eating oysters?



Cocktail of king prawns, spicy tomato sauce, avocado, wasabi and coriander ($22)

If you like prawns and the you also like avocado, this is a nice combination, a delicious creation by the chef here. The succulent prawns are also from South Australia, Spencer Gulf King Prawns if my memory does not fail me.



I really like this prawn cocktail. Here's an 'underview' for you to admire. Avocado all at the bottom and the little mix of wasabi and their own mix of spicy tomato sauce does makes it quite appetising. It's light, and refreshing. There's 7 prawns in there if you are curious. The perfect number of prawns!




Wood smoked salmon toastie, capers, crème cheese & dill, sunny side up fried egg ($24)

If your idea of brunch must include toast and eggs, this wood smoked salmon toastie is created for those who love smoked salmon. If you are interested to know like us where the salmon comes from and how it's smoked, it's oak wood smoked salmon from Scotland.

Smoked Salmon with creme cheese and dill combination by itself is already very tasty even without the fried egg. The photo I am showing has a portion of it eaten so that you can admire how it looks inside. I love the frisee that was around the toastie. I like it with the soft egg yolk!



Cinnamon French toast, fresh seasonal berries, white chocolate and Iranian pistachio ($18)

Doesn't that just look so gorgeous. Berries are good for you, they are rich in anti-oxidants. I guess if you don't like the slight tartness of berries, the chef has drizzled melted white chocolate all over it! Sounds good? More delicious than having condensed milk over toast right?

If you see how nice the colours of the pistachio are, it's Iranian pistachios and they cost 4 times more than the usual pistachios we normally buy. The difference, there's no floury taste that lingers like in normal pistachios. 

Oh yes, the toast is egg custard brioche if you are wondering.




Poached eggs on brioche, dill hollandaise, Swiss brown mushroom, spinach and tomato. ($22), (add $4 for shave honey baked ham)
I know many ladies will just order this just because the word poached egg is there. Nicely poached eggs that guarantees a flowing egg yolk for you to instagram!

I took a photo of it top down and realise it's not so appropriate to be posted. Yes, the poached eggs comes in a pair.



Halia chilli crab spaghettini Singapore-style spicy, sweet and tangy crabmeat sauce tossed in pasta ($24)

This is the signature dish that's available at both Halia at SBG and also at Raffles Hotel. I would say this is not really chilli crab kind of chilli crab. It's their version of it. It's quite tasty, a version that goes well with spaghettini.

Don't expect chunks of Sri Lankan mud crabs. This is a refine version that has been made for easy eating with fork twirling around your pasta. ;-)



Mayura Station full blood Wagyu rump, bacon, sunny side-up hen's egg, vine cherry tomato and barbecue sauce. ($48)

Meat eaters out there, if you like beef at 11 am, order this. The chef has made special arrangements and brings in Mayura Station full blood Wagyu into his restaurants. I seem to notice they are having all things South Australia here!

If you are there for brunch, they have weekly brunch specials and the above was the special on the week I was there. (ie, not on the regular brunch a la carte menu) If you are on a non-carbo diet, this is made for you!



It looks so delicious and beautiful, I have to show you how it looks the other side as well. If you are wondering how heavy is this wagyu beef that costs $48,  the week I had it, it was a 150 gm piece of wagyu rump.

Oh how I adore vine riped tomatoes and the bacon too!
A bite into this beef, and it was very good. Just serve me the wagyu and tomatoes, I will be satisfied.




Sticky Valrhona chocolate brownie, salted caramel sauce & vanilla ice-cream ($12)

For the sweet tooth, let you bask in the sweetness of the sticky chocolate brownie.
Enough said, the photo above is enough to tempt and salivate chocolate lovers ya?




Young ginger nougat frozen parfait, roasted fresh pineapple & spiced pineapple sauce ($12)

A very 'halia' dessert. Made from ginger and pineapple. It has a nice ginger 'hotness' to it. I now my wife won't take this because it has ginger. I will order this because I love ginger, yes even raw ginger that is thinly sliced.



The young ginger nougat frozen parfait. Either you love it or you detest it. ;-)



If you are wondering who's the new Executive Chef behind this new menu, it's Australian Chef Peter Rollinson. Previously from The Prime Society, that's why his meat dishes are so good. I guess he knows the Australian produce rather well, that's why he is using South Australian produce.

Halia, Singapore Botanic Gardens
1 Cluny Road
Ginger Garden
Singapore Botanic Gardens
Singapore 259569

Tel: +65 8444 1148

Wan Hao @ Marriott Hotel

There's always stories behind the food that I post, but today's post has no occasion or reasons to eat at a high class hotel. The only reason is that parents-in-law got some Marriott Dining vouchers and they want to use them before they expire.

If you are wondering how to get the vouchers, transfer money between bank accounts and keep it there and do it again probably next year. Almost all the banks don't appreciate loyalty if you already know.  Marketing dept of the banks are usually loaded and all they care are new customers. That's how you get vouchers. The instrument is a very conservative instrument by the way. Fixed Deposits.

Now back to the food.



Five Spice Beef Shank

This appetizer was a little small, but it was a very delicious cold beef appetizer.
Very well marinated and it has been chilled and sliced thinly. It has a slight but not too beefy smell to it. Doesn't it already look tempting?



Wok-fried string beans, roasted pork.

It's a dish that it seems that the FIL and I share a common love for.
The Wan Hao version has roasted pork cut into strips to look similar to the string beans. Generous amount of roast pork too. The roast pork in Wan Hao is already delicious, with an additional stir fry makes it even more fragrant.

A homey dish that my mum also prepares at home since young. Mum's version is bigger chunks of roasted pork but less pieces. Wan Hao's look more elegant. Home cooks, copy the cooking style!




Deep Fried Spare Ribs, Almond Seeds and Orange Sauce.

Pork rib fans and if you love citrus flavours to your food, order this. Spare Ribs here were boneless, making it really easy to eat. Deep frying gave it a nice crunchy outside, but the inside was surprisingly so tender.  The chef probably bashed it before cooking? It does not taste as if it has been tenderised with tenderiser.

Love the sticky caramel like orange sauce over it with almonds.



Claypot Braised Sliced Duck Meat with Sea Cucumber and Chestnuts.

This dish came out smelling so good! Yes, food that has been braising and cooking in claypots till the pot is dark above smells so good! Taste wise, the duck was tender and usual marinates used for sea cucumber. We wished there were more sea cucumber though, that's us being a little greedy.



Braised Sliced Monk Abalone, Ling Zhi Mushrooms and Seasonal Greens.

There were 2 vegetables section in their menu. We ordered this from the Vegetarian section. The wait staff was looking at us saying this is a vegetarian dish, just in case you don't know? (I think she was looking at our dishes of all meat above). We found that amusing and we know she's being helpful.

The two different kinds of mushrooms were nice. A little starchy as expected, but that goes well with the rice.



8 Treasures Hashima

Parents shared that, we call it high class chng tng. It is, isn't it?
They loved it though. We took a sip, ok probably a few sips of it too.



Chilled Lemongrass Jelly served with Lemon Sherbet and Fresh Fruits

We had this the last time and remembered the sourness of the lemon sherbet so we ordered it again. The lemon sherbet that gives you the shiokness.



Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant
Singapore Marriott Hotel
320 Orchard Road
3rd Floor
Singapore 238865

Tel: +65 6831 4605

Hours:
Lunch - 11.00am to 3.00pm, Daily
Dinner - 6.00pm to 10.00pm, Sundays to Thursdays / 6.00pm to 11.00pm, Fridays & Saturdays

Din Tai Fung @ Junction 8, Bishan

One of those nights, date night and run errands night. The 2 should not mix, but we are all in a hurry. We both know we have to get stuff, pay bills, change foreign currency (Euro and Pounds) and we were very hungry.

Thanks to the Circle Line, (both our work places are both on different parts of the Circle Line) so we said, let's go to a mall on that line! Somehow we decided on Junction 8. We got off the train and thought of a place that has a relative short queue to eat.

Some how, it ended up at Din Tai Fung, because it's quick and we like their food. Not the usual branch we visit, since it's far from home, but food was good, but they did forget to key in one of our dishes though. Food was relatively good and served rather quickly too.



The wife's favourite soup at Din Tai Fung. The Braised Beef Soup without noodles. Yes, the non-carbo soup. The beef chunks are always looking perfectly whole, yet when you bite it, it's so tender and it's as if it can dissolve in your mouth.

The Taiwanese style of Beef Soup, fragrant and a hints of spices.



A little carbo in the form of delicious prawns wontons. I ordered it because of the spicy vinegarish sauce that comes with it. Something both of us like very much.



A relatively 'safe' side dish of pickled vegetables. The 'kiam chai' has been soaked and not salty anymore but still has the nice crunch to it.



Our order that was forgotten to be keyed in and did not arrived till the end of our meal when we asked. The lady who took our orders remembered us ordering it but realised it was not entered into the order system. She was very apologetic and we said it's ok.

We always order this when we are at Din Tai Fung in any country! There's a little bit of difference we noticed. The one that has the 'Michelin' Star in HK does taste better!



We thought we would not eat Xiao Long Bao that night, but we still ordered it. Why? We have no idea, we always say we shall eat other things before we walk into the restaurant, but always still end up ordering it!

A quick Chinese Food date night meal. After a quick meal, we rushed to change money for we were going to Europe and that was the only night left that we are free before we flew off!

Din Tai Fung
9 Bishan Place
#01-41 Junction 8 Shopping Centre
Singapore 579837

Tel: +65 6356 5228

Lipton Pop-up High Tea Bar @ Plaza Singapura

If you are a tea-drinker in Singapore, here's something that might just interest you. Lipton has created a world-first pop up High Tea Bar here in Singapore at Plaza Singapura.



I was there earlier tonight (at their kind invitation) and thought it was rather interesting. Why?



It was interesting because we were pairing tea with food. Different types of teas and different types of food. We all know taste is a very subjective matter, so why try it out and see if it works for you.

The poster above says keep an open mind, and really you need to do it. Dennis (Superadrianme) and Derrick (SgFoodOnFoot) and I were really playing with our taste buds and other sensory like smell and sight. We had all the different kinds of tea and food and it was like a lab experiment.

Close your eyes, smell the tea, the food, eat something then drink, drink something then eat, a big mouth of tea, a sip of tea, leave the tea bags longer, take it out for a mild brew, etc.



Yup, that's how one side of the pop-up High Tea Bar looks like. There are also bar stools and a 'garden' area!



That's a nice cuppa don't you think? Who here grew up drinking the good old Yellow Label Lipton?
Lipton has partnered with Canele and got their Executive Pastry Chef Christophe Grilo to come up with six tea sets paired with Canele Patisserie Chocolaterie's sweet and savoury items. Lipton had their Unilever Food Technologist, Miss Wong May Chee to work with Chef.

(We had a short conversation with Miss Wong, and she knows a lot about tea!)



The familiar aromatic Lipton Yellow Label Tea has been paired with Lemon Macarons specially made for the Lipton High Tea Bar.

Play time! 

Try it by having some tea, then take a bite of the macaron. Try it again with both macaron and tea in your mouth. See if your taste buds tells your brains different things. Do you feel that the tea becomes smoother? The sweetness of the macarons and unsweetened tea fuses and releases a different taste?



Of course Information Technology - IT (yup, that's what I do in my day job) does makes this whole experience more fun. Without software engineers building programs, can't imagine us living in the modern world right?

The mechanics of the High Tea Set Redemption: Members of public can enjoy a complimentary Lipton High Tea set with mimimum spend of S$25 at Plaza Singapura or S$15 worth of Lipton products at the Lipton High Tea Bar.



The fun starts when you choose one of the 6 High Tea sets. There's a huge touch screen where you order.



If no one's behind you, play around with the software, I mean place your orders.
You confirm your orders all on the touch screen.



Over at the order taking side, when you confirm your order, they know what you order and give you a 'number'. Bring that to your seat and they will deliver your High Tea Set very soon.



Derrick, Dennis and I were later joined by Adrian and William. Since we were a big group, we sat at the 'garden' area. (yes, with faux grass some more and a rabbit!) Err, yes, we were imagining we were at a picnic, because we sat under a big brolly!



There are 6 Lipton High Tea sets to choose from. 3 sets are only available at the Lipton High Tea Bar. The other 3 sets, you can order them if you visit Canele.

This was the Lipton Forest Fruit Tea with Chicken Mini Burger. The tea is a blend of strawberry, raspberry, redcurrant, blackberry and cherry. Pair that with poached chicken served with tomatoes, fresh lettuce, mayo and brioche.

Now, if you are like 'Da Chang Jin', you should be able to imagine the taste in your mind. Can you?



Lemon Macarons!! Only at the High Tea Bar.  I did walk to Canele to 'steal a look' and I don't see this there.



Left: Traditional Salmon and Cucumber Sandwich.
Right: Le Chocolat Croustillant.



Left: Classic Cheesecake
Right: Chestnut Cassis Sponge Cake.

Note: They are not all very big servings, let's just say it won't make you put on too much weight. The main thing is to tea and food pairing. Taste it.



Some of the tea boxes that you can purchase at the pop up store. That's the Forest Fruit that's paired with the Chicken Mini Burger. The good old Yellow Label goes well with the lemon macarons.

The Russian Earl Grey is a special collection. What do you think it should be paired with? The traditional Salmon and cucumber sandwich, Chestnut Cassis Sponge Cake, Classic Cheesecake or Le Chocolat Croustillant?

Why not try it yourself if you can't decide which tea goes with what food?

Lipton High Tea Bar
Plaza Singapura, Main Atrium
68 Orchard Road
Singapore 238839

It's only popping up from 16 to 21 April 2013.
Hours: 11 am to 9 pm daily. (Last orders at 8.30 pm)

Spend a minimum of $25 at Plaza Singapura or $15 worth of Lipton products in a single receipt is entitled to 1 Lipton High Tea Set.  Redemption is only valid on day of purchase. Each customer is entitled to one redemption a day.

I say, go shopping or lunch with your friend or friends and make sure everyone has a $25 receipt or just go buy $15 worth of tea. Then each of you have a different set and play with your food, I mean taste buds! Enjoy Tea and Food Pairing!