Porcini Mushroom Cream Pasta

Everyone needs a few favourite "quick cook" recipes to get them through the busy days. Pasta is certainly one of those dishes I will always turn to when I want to whip up a quick meal for the family. And when I say quick, I meant lesser ingredients needed, lesser time needed to get it from the stove to the dinner table. So today, l want to introduce this simple mushroom pasta that uses Porcini mushrooms to "empower" the whole dish. As most of us might have already know, Porcini is a wild mushroom, although it is sold commercially, it is very difficult to cultivate. Thus that explains the slightly steeper pricing. The fragrance of the mushroom actually intensifies more when it is dried, much like other mushrooms like Shiitake. Porcini is commonly used in soups, risotto and of course pastas, thus we often see them appearing in Italian dishes.  

I have actually always wanted to try out cooking porcini mushrooms. So when I saw it selling at selling at Huber's Butchery at Dempsey Hill, it didn't took me long to place it in my shopping basket.

And since I didn't want to mask away the original flavour of the mushroom, I chose to cook it in the simplest form, just with cream pasta.

Recipe for Porcini Cream Pasta (Serves 2-3)

Ingredients needed:

100 - 120 g dried porcini mushroom

1 small onion, peeled and sliced thinly

4 - 5 cloves of garlic, peeled and finally diced

6 - 8 cremini mushrooms, sliced (brown button mushrooms)

2 tbsp salted french butter (if no french butter, other salted butter is fine too)

120-130 ml fresh cooking cream

Soaking water of the porcini mushroom (about 3/4 cup - 1 cup)

1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

Salt, fresh ground pepper and sugar to taste.

3 rolls of dried egg noodles (Use any brand you fancy)

(Optional protein side, you can choose pork or salmon

1 boneless, skinless chicken thigh 

• Soak the dried porcini in a bowl of warm water. Leave it to soften up to 1 hour. Remember DO NOT THROW away the soaking liquid. It will be used for the pasta later.

• In a pan over medium low fire, add butter in and let it slowly melt down. Add minced garlic and onion in. Cook till onions are soften and the mixture is aromatic.

• Squeeze dry the porcini from its soaking liquid and set aside. Once the onions has soften, add in both the mushrooms. Then season it with fresh ground pepper and salt.

• Once the mushrooms cooked down, add in another tablespoon of butter. This is to make a rue to thicken the whole mixture. So add in a tbsp of plain flour. Stir in to cook the flour for a minute. Once that is done, slowly pour in the soaking mushroom liquid, whisk till combined.

• Let the whole mushroom mixture simmer for a few minutes at low fire. In the meantime, cook the dried pasta in some boiling water.

• While the pasta is boiling, add the cooking cream into the mushroom mixture.

• Stir it in till everything is well combined. Once the pasta is al dente, remove from the boiling water and straight into the mushroom sauce.

• Toss together till the noodles are well coated with the mushroom cream. Dish up and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.

Serve the pasta immediately. You can have it as is. I actually find the mushrooms hearty good enough to go alone with the noodles. But if you want something more substantial, feel free to cook some protein like pan seared salmon or a pan fried crispy chicken thigh like mine. :)

I seasoned the chicken thigh and coat with plain flour, pan fry till crispy, simple as that. The whole meal got more substantial of course and my kids loves pasta and fried chicken, sure win...

Do try this out and don't be intimidated by a foreign ingredient that you've never used or come close to using. You never know how easy and delicious your next home cooked meal will be until you try it out yourself. ;)

Happy cooking!

Chicken Mushroom and Fish Maw Soup

What do you remember most about your mum's (or dad's) cooking? Besides some of the few favourite dishes that I would never get tired of eating, I remembered always enjoying the different delicious soups my mom boiled. Even till today, when we are back for dinner, she would (with the help of my dad now), boil a big pot of wholesome, heartwarming soup. Truly food for the soul if you ask me. It never fails to make me feel comforted and fortunate to be able to enjoy such homemade goodness from my parents for so many years! 

Often times I tell myself I must do this for my children too. To let them remember me this way. The kind of comfort they won't be able to find elsewhere. And I strongly believe having a bowl of wholesome soup is important during dinner time. For those that follow me on Instagram would know that I ALWAYS boil soup for my family during dinner. Truth be told, I am always looking for good soup recipes that is not too complicated to cook and yet will be well received by the children.

Today I am introducing a wholesome chicken fish maw soup. Perhaps your impression of fish maw soup are those that are served during the ten course dinners. Thick consistency, almost gooey like. But again, I have to admit I enjoyed it every time! They added crab meat, sometimes sharkskin (I doubt it), some stuff that made the soup ultra sweet and flavourful. 

My version perhaps will be on a lighter side (not that gooey thanks), simpler and with ingredients that we can source easily. Ultimately we want something good that we can prep easily for the family even on busy days.

Ingredients for Chicken Mushroom Fish Maw Soup (Serves 4-6 pax)

2 whole chicken leg or 4 chicken drums (I used 3 this time because the ones I used was huge!)

100-150  fish maw (try to get better quality ones, dried and fried) 

4-6 dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked in water

15-20 dried baby scallops

5-6 slices fresh ginger (3 slices for 2 different pots)

2 sprigs green onion, cut into segments

1000 ml water

salt, pepper sugar to taste

1 tbsp corn flour + 2 tbsp water (thickening agent)

Method:

• First, cut the stems of the soaked mushrooms. Then cut the mushrooms into half or quarters.

• In a small pot, bring some water to a boil. Add 3 slices of the finer and the green onion segments in. 

• Once it started boiling, add in the dried fish maw in. You can break the fish maw into smaller segments for easier cooking.

• Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes to remove the layer of oil and also the fishy smell if any. Cover the pot and leave it in there till needed.
• Next chop the chicken legs or drums into smaller segments. Then parboil them in a pot of boiling water for 1 couple minutes, drain and set aside for use later.

• Finally, heat up the pot that you will be using to cook the soup. Add in the 1 litre water, ginger slices, soaked mushrooms, baby scallops and the parboiled chicken pieces in.

(This is how the dried baby scallops look like incase you wonder which ones I am referring to. They are great additions to porridge and soup for flavouring and sweetening the mixture up)

• Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the fire to a simmer. Simmer for a good 15 minutes then add in the fish maw in.

(OMG my pot was so full! But it will slowly simmer down to less liquid.)

• Cook the soup at low fire for 40-45 minutes, leaving the pot slightly opened to let the steam escape. It should look like this after awhile.

• The soup has cooked down slightly, all the ingredients has released its essence while the fish maw has soaked up the goodness and soften up. You can now snip the fish maw slightly smaller so that your younger kids can enjoy them properly as well. Season well with salt, pepper and sugar to your liking.
• At this point you can choose to add in the thickening agent to make the soup gesture slightly more smooth. 

• Stir in well. Off the fire and keep warm. Serve the soup when diners are ready to eat! Enjoy!

Wholesome, delicious bowl of soup that I am sure the family will enjoy. 

If you're not a fan of chicken stock, you can also use pork ribs. But you will need at least 6-8 of them to make the soup flavourful. And remember to use baby back ribs.

You can also use more fish maw if you are a big fan of it. But since my kids are still getting "acquainted" to this soup, I shall keep it on the lighter side for now.

Do give this a try and perhaps save some for cooking noodles the next day! Check out my FB later for a video on how I used this left over flavourful soup to cook some simple stir fried noodles. :9

Have a great weekend all!

Happy cooking!

One Pot Chicken Casserole

The haze coming from Indonesia has gotten bad to worst. Most of the families are trying not to be outdoors and that would means more home cooking. :P So I can totally understand when someone (like me) having to think what to cook 3 meals for a few days in a  row at home, it can get a little draining. A simple one pot dish is definitely a good idea. Less mess and less washing for sure! Plus I have been meaning to put up this Chicken casserole / Chicken stew recipe for the longest time. An easy dish that I always go back to every now and then. You can twig parts of the recipe by substituting some of the ingredients, but the "base" ingredients and technique are pretty much the same. 

Toast up some good baguette and you can mop up that delicious gravy from the dish. And this time I used Le Creuset's 26 cm Cool Mint Buffet casserole pot to cook this dish. Yes, all the cooking done in this casserole pot itself, brilliant isn't it!

Personally I love this buffet casserole pot. 26 cm diameter pot seems like the perfect size for my 4 pax family needs. It is approximately 3 inches tall, not your usual cast-iron pot height, but still deep enough for frying too. Easier to store and the wide flat cooking surface is good for cooking dishes like risotto or even pan searing two steaks at one go. Hopefully I can get to work on these recipes as well soon! 

In the meantime....Chicken casserole! Let's have a run down what are the required ingredients for this dish. ;)

Ingredients for One Pot Chicken Casserole  (serves 3-4 adults)

2 whole chicken legs
2 whole chicken wings
3-4 smoked sausages or any sausage link of your preference
1 large onion, diced
3 garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 cup thawed frozen green peas
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into bite size
2-3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
4 stalks celery sticks, cut into bite size
8-10 cremini mushrooms, cut into 4 sections 

Thickening rue : (not shown in pic)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
4 tbsp plain flour
400 ml homemade / store bought chicken stock (not shown)

Salt, pepper and sugar to taste.

• After you have rinsed the chicken pieces, drain them dry and season well with salt and pepper.

• Add about 1 cup of cooking oil in the buffet casserole over medium low fire. Prepare some plain flour + 1 tsp baking powder to coat the chicken pieces for frying. Mix the flour well then coat the chicken pieces and dust off extra. Gently drop them in the preheated cooking oil to fry.

• Repeat till all the chicken pieces are coated and placed into the cooking oil to fry. Fry at medium low temperature and making sure you do not burnt them.

• Remember to turn the chicken pieces and fry on both sides. Each sides takes about 6-8 minutes to fry up till golden brown. No worries if some of the blood oozes out, usually happens when you uses frozen chicken pieces. Remove the chicken pieces and drain over paper towels for use later. Personally I feel this frying of the chicken pieces is quite an important step, so do not skip it. It helps seal the juices and flavours of the chicken.

• Drain away the frying oil. It is okay that bits of the meat is "stuck" at the base of the casserole. Once you add in your next ingredient (onions), it will slowly render off. Those bits are gonna help flavour your dish, so please DO NOT scrap them away. Add in the chopped onion and 1 tsp of olive oil over medium low fire and stir to cook.

• Cook till the onions starts to soften. Give the base a slight scrap to release the bits of meat. Next add in the sausages or bacon, whichever you fancy. These salty flavourful meats will boost that extra depth in flavour in the chicken casserole. 

• Cook the sausages for a couple minutes. Add in the chopped vegetables ; potato, celery and carrots. Cook for 5-6 minutes till the vegetables are half cooked, stirring constantly.

• Add salt and fresh ground pepper to the vegetables. Cook for another 2-3 minutes. Add in the cremini mushrooms and sweet peas in. Cover the casserole and leave it to cook for 2 minutes. The mushroom will cook down on its own. 
• After 2-3 minutes, open the cover and give it a quick stir. Now you can start making the rue which will thicken the whole dish. Place the cold butter right in the center of the hot casserole and let it melt down.

• Once the butter is melted, add in the 3 tbsp of plain flour and cook over that "Pool" of melted  butter. Stir to cook the flour and butter mixture. Make sure the fire level is at low, and do not burnt your ingredients. 
• The flour butter mixture will start ti bubble a little. At this point, stir in the chicken stock. Slowly drizzle in and stir as you pour to mix well.

• Bring the whole casserole to a gently boil. At this point, you can season a little more. Salt, sugar, pepper, then stir well. Lastly, add in the fried chicken pieces.

• Cover the pot and let it simmer for a good 13-15 minutes at low fire. Till all the ingredients "marinate" each other's flavour and taste. Off the fire and let sit covered for a good 30 minutes. Yes marinate further with the heat retained by the casserole pot itself. 

Well if this doesn't spell comfort, I don't know what does. Thick flavourful gravy coating the tender soft chicken. And those soft vegetables are just irresistible too! Whether you prefer to have this chicken casserole with steam rice or toasted bread or just plain alone on it's own, I can guarantee you will enjoy every bite of it.

The buffet casserole did make this dish an ease to prepare. Everything done with in it, no fuss no hassle, easy peasy. And that cast iron pot did retained the heat super well. Reason  said that is after I cooked it for 1.5hrs, it was still warm and nice.

Hope you guys love this simple chicken casserole one pot meal. If you decided to try this out, do drop me a comment as well, either here or at IG @Honeybeesweets.sg, appreciate it. Happy cooking!

Do what you love!

Heritage Recipe : Braised Pig Trotter

I am happy and honoured to be working with Le Creuset in the coming months, in which I will be using their timeless and beautiful cookwares to cook up homey dishes to share with everyone. Since I have been using Le Creuset cast iron pots for more then a decade, I have more or less got myself familiarised on how to handle them. Thus, as I showcase some of Le Creuset's products with the different dishes, I hope I will be able to highlight the cookware's features like their extraordinary heat-retention and its damage resistant enamel coating. And don't get me started on the array of colours they have available for their products...enough to make me go gaga over them. Definitely one of the few cookwares presentable enough to be taken directly from the stove to the dining table. So much win.

If you see carefully, some of those pots have already collected "souvenirs" from the years of cooking with them. But trust me, it is still solid as a rock and functions the same as the day I brought it out from it's new packaging. 

Growing up in a Hokkien family, we do a lot of braised dishes. And one of them is this Braised Pig Trotter.  And as long as I can remember, my parents has been cooking this dish for the family. Whether it is for a casual dinner or having guests over or during festive seasons, this dish always seem to fit the occasion. Sometimes we would use pork belly instead, but the formula is pretty much the same. The meat is cooked at low fire for long hours to create that fork tender effect. And having that dark flavourful gravy "elixir" alone, is good enough to make me chomp down a bowl of steam rice. Such wonderful taste of tradition and nostalgic flavours definitely needs a trusty recipe and of course a good cookware. I am happy to say that Le Creuset dutch oven is just perfect for the job. And can I just say that new Cool Mint colour is just gorgeous!

In this post, I will share with you all, how I cook up this family favourite using Le Creuset's  25 cm French Oval Oven. Personally, I think 24 or 25 cm oven are just perfect for a small family usage (like mine). It fits a midsize chicken, a pig trotter and even a midsize fish too. 

Let's take a look at the required ingredients for this recipe:

Ingredients for Braised Pig Trotter (Serves 4-5 pax)

900 g to 1 Kg Pig Trotter, removed any hair
4 to 5 slices of ginger
3 garlic cloves, smashed
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
2-3 spring onion, cut into smaller segments
500 - 600 ml water

Marinate:

1/2 tsp quality 5 spice powder
1 tbsp Chinese wine (绍兴酒)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil

Seasoning:
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese wine (绍兴酒)
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp white ground pepper
1.5 tbsp rock sugar (冰糖）

Add ons: 
200 g firm tofu, cut into smaller squares
4 hardboiled eggs

• First order of business is to wash the new Le Creuset pot with warm soapy water, just like how you would with any new cookware.

• Then fill the pot with water and bring to a boil. Blanch the pig trotter.

• Remove the pig trotter and leave it to drain on a clean plate. Pat dry and rub in the marinating ingredients. Let it marinate for 1 minutes at least. In the meantime, rinse the dutch oven and dry it.
• Pat dry the pig trotter. At this point, marinate the pig trotter with all of the marinate ingredients and let sit for 10 minutes. 
• Heat up 4 tbsp of cooking oil in Le Creuset oven over medium low fire. 
• Pan fry the pig trotter in the dutch oven but make sure you have something to shield the possible oil splatter.

• Pan fry both sides, then off the fire and carefully remove the leg and place on a clean plate. You will notice there are some bits of the skin stuck at the base of the oven. That is okay, those will add flavours to the dish and will come off when we do the braising later. 
• Add in the smashed garlic cloves, cinnamon stick, star anise and ginger slices. Cook till fragrant over medium low fire.

• Now proceed to add the pig trotter, follow by all the seasoning ingredients EXCEPT the sugar. Stir to mix and coat the leg with the flavourings and cook for a couple minutes.
• Add in the water and bring the pot of ingredients to a boil.

• Cover the pot with it's cover and slow braise the trotter for a good 30-40 minutes. 
• After 30-40 minutes, open the lid and add in the rock sugar and spring onions.

• This time, leave a small gap when you place the lid back over the pot. Let the sauce slowly reduce to a thick gravy, about 1/3 left.
• At this point, you can add in the firm tofu and hardboiled eggs to braise together with the trotter for another 10 - 15 minutes.

• You can now remove the pot from the stove, covered and let sit till ready to serve later.

I would usually cook this dish early in the afternoon and let it seat to soak up the flavours further. Especially since the Le Creuset oven is excellent in retaining the heat, it will still continue to breakdown and braise the meat with the flavourings. So when we have the dish for dinner, it was still warm and just perfect for the kiddos. 

The best part of this dish? Everything! Fork tender meat, galantines pork skin, gravy soaked tofu and perfectly flavoured braised eggs. Gravy is perfectly intense with meat and fat essence rendered into it. Give me steam rice please!

If you wonder if the pot has any stains after this long braising process...none. After we mop up all the gravy, I did a quick wash up with soapy water, it was good as new. Happiness. 

I am glad I managed to learn how to cook this dish from my parents. Now I get to cook it for my own family for many years to come. And trust me, this Le Creuset French oven will still be good enough for them to cook this dish with when it is their turn! 

Interested to get yourself a lovely Le Creuset dutch oven too? Head on over to Le Creuset 's official website or go to their FB page for more offers and see he range of cookwares they offer. Alternatively, you can go to major departmental stores like Tangs, Robinson, or Takashimaya to check out the products in person. Get a feel which size is more suitable for your family or personal use. 

Hope I have inspire you enough to give this homey and delicious dish a try. 

Do drop by my Instagram @HoneyBeeSweets.sg or here to leave me a comment how it worked out for you. 

Until then, do what you love and stay happy!