What I Learnt From Guy Pieri's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives

Cable. Never got cable til recently. And oh my...Food Network Asia, AFC...

This week's tip after watching multiple episodes of triple-D, here's what i learnt about all these joints serving pot roasts:
- 1 big slab of meat
- Garlic salt (they call it granulated garlic, and ALL of them used it on their meat)
- Pepper
- Other spices, like paprika, or herbs

Sear the meat. Then line a big pot/dish with carrots, celery and onions, lay the meat on top, then more carrot, celery and onions. Then douse stock and red wine til it covers meat. Viola. After 3 hours in the over of about 170 degrees (350 f), you got one lovely piece of meat. :)

Har Cheong Kai

I went on a har cheong kai frenzy a few months back...it was an entire week of trying to make the perfect har cheong kai. End of story - they did not turn out as nice as those you get in the restaurants, but its still worth a try, just for some variety in your chicken :) Its actually quite easy, chucking everything together to marinate. It only gets abit messy with the deep frying.

5tbs chopped ginger
3.5 Chinese Rose wine (or cooking wine)
2tbs shrimp sauce
1tbs corn starch
1tbs sugar or honey
Half tbs sesame oil
Pinch of white pepper
150gm Tapioca flour

1. Pound ginger to extract 2 tbs of juice. Stir well with wine, shrimp paste, cornstarch, sugar, pepper and sesame oil.

2. Marinate chicken, refrigerate for 4-6 hours.

3. Heat oil - medium high heat. Roll chicken pieces in tapioca flour, ensure they are evenly coated.

4. Fry chicken for 5-6 minutes - pale brown. Drain.

5. Reheat oil until very hot, and fry chicken again for 1-2 minutes, until golden brown.

Jeannette's Dad's Wonderful Sauces

So far, I have only eaten this; Uncle gave me the recipe verbally, with no measurements.

Cantonese-style light soya sauce for fish
Heat oil until smokin'.
Throw in light soya sauce mixture with ginger, spring onions and chilli. (Be careful not to mortally wound yourself in the process)
My guess is 2 parts soya sauce, 1 part oil.

Yummy sweetish sauce (goes well with sliced pork)
Just tomato ketchup and Worchestershire sauce (quite a bit of it I think).

Basic Beef Stew

300gm beef cubes
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 carrot, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
2 stalks celery, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
Potatoes, peeled and cut into bit-sized pieces
2 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs Worchestershire sauce
1 cup beef stock
Half tbs thyme
Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Season beef with salt and pepper for an hour. Fry beef ove rhigh heat til brown.

2. Add onion, carrot and celery, fry to 2-3 minutes. Add potatoes and mix well. Stir in tomato paste and Worchestershire sauce.

3. Pour in beef stock and stir well, bring to boil, add thyme. Simmer over low heat for 2 hours, or transfer to a slow cooker.

Ikea Swedish Meatballs (Kottbullar)

This recipe is just for the meatball. It doesn't come with the recipe for the cream sauce and ligonberry, which is what really makes the meatball the CHAMPION of all meatballs. I guess you'll still have to give Ikea some money to get their powdered cream sauce and ligonberry sauce.

1/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup light cream
1/4 cup water
200gm / 7 oz ground beef
200gm / 7 oz lean pork
1.5 tsp ground all spice
2 tbs grated onion
1 egg, beated
3 tbs butter for frying

1. Mix breadcrumbs, cream and water. Set aside for 5 minutes.
2. Mix beff, pork, salt, all spice and onion, gradually adding in the breadcrumbs, then the egg.
3. Shape the balls, and fry it up (til its a beautiful brown)!

My Friend's Mother's Chinese Roast Chicken

This always tastes better when my friend's mum makes it; but beggars can't be choosers, if I want this more often than just at Chinese New Year, this will have to make do.

1 whole chicken or 8 drumsticks
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tbs oyster sauce
1 tbs Chinese cooking wine (I use Hua Tiao)
1 block or 1.5 tbs preserved red bean curd
1 tbs dark soya sauce
1 tbs honey

1. Mash the beancurd and mix all the seasoning together, marinate chicken.

2. Roast in 400F oven for 20-30 minutes, turning over the meat halfway.