Steamed Archives • Mushroompride

Steamed Cabbage Rolls – Delishar

When I first started my cooking blog, I shared a very similar recipe. The difference is in the sauce, and the filling. This one uses fish paste and has a lighter, more kid-friendly sauce. The former uses minced fresh prawns and minced pork, served with a sweet and spicy sauce.

As usual, the husband’s face lit up when he saw cabbage rolls served during dinner. I mentioned that the husband does not eat/like fish paste. But that night, he probably finished a whole plate on his own, without knowing that the filling contains fish paste of course. Fish paste gives the filling a lighter texture, not as dense as the one using prawns. And the kids get to enjoy this lovely dish, as I made a non-spicy light sauce to go together with the dish. It was great with steamed rice!

New Cabbage Rolls insta 1

Usually, I wrap my cabbage rolls from the leave part, but this time round I started rolling it from the base of the leaf. Both ways works well as you can see. This means it gives you the flexibility to start rolling from the top or base of the leaf, depending on the ‘condition’ of the leaf. If that make any sense. For example you don’t have to discard the leaf if there are some small tears, or blemishes on the base. Just start rolling with the ‘most damaged’ part, whether it is the top or base of the leaf. That way, we reduce wastage.

Remember to tune in to 《弹指间的料理》, channel 8 at 8pm, 6th April 2016 (Wed) and watch me make this dish along side Dennis Chew as he tries to recreate this recipe. The show is hosted by hilarious Ben Yeo & Vivian Lai, so don’t miss it!

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Steamed Cabbage Rolls

Delishar

Makes about 12 rolls

Cabbage Rolls

200 g fish paste
250 g minced pork or chicken
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 tbsp spring onions
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 cloves garlic minced
1 lemongrass ends and inner part minced
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp sugar
White pepper to taste
12-14 leaves of napa cabbage
12-14 chives to tie optional

Sauce

1 to 1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tbsp wolf berries
1 lemongrass bruised
3 slices galangal/ blue ginger or old ginger
1 shallot
1-2 coriander root
2-3 lime leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp sugar
fish sauce to taste
corn starch slurry

In a large mixing bowl, add all ingredients for cabbage rolls except cabbage and chives.
Using a wooden spoon, chopsticks, or hand, stir vigorously in one direction until filling has a sticky consistency.
Allow to marinate in the chiller while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Bring a pan of water to boil, then add 2 leaves of napa cabbage.
Blanch for 30-45 seconds or until soften and pliable.
Continue blanching until all napa cabbage leaves are done.
Then do the same for the chives.
To wrap, scoop about 2-3 tbsp of meat filling onto an inch above the end/stem part of the napa cabbage.
Roll upwards, then tuck in the sides as you continue to roll.
Tie a butterfly knot around the cabbage roll with the blanched chives.
Place cabbage roll on heat proof plate, seam side down.
Continue until all the fillings are used.
Get a steamer going over high heat.
Steam for 10 minutes or until done.
Drain away excess liquid collected in the plate, or add that to the chicken broth.

Sauce

In a sauce pan, bring the chicken broth to a boil then add lemongrass, ginger, shallot, garlic, and wolf berries.
Lower heat to medium and allow to infuse for 3-5 minutes.
Season with sugar and fish sauce.
While stirring, drizzling in corn starch slurry to thicken sauce.
Remove from heat, discard lime leaves, ginger, shallot, and garlic.

You can substitute fish paste for mashed tofu for an even healthier alternative!

New Cabbage Rolls

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Hong Kong Style Steamed Cod – Delishar

Quick, simple, homely, and healthy. This is what this dish is about. A house favourite approved by both the young and old. Even my super picky elder daughter asked for 2nd serving after she reluctantly tasted it after some coaxing, although she didn’t want to admit to it. Our conversation went like a little something like this:

Mel: “Is this fish Mom? I don’t like it.”
Me: “Just try it, you just don’t remember if you like it or not.”
Mel: “Ooook. *took a bite* Ermmmm, mom. Can you please put more on my plate?! Like a bit piece. Because fish is really good for my brain, and I want my brain to grow. :D”
Me: “Riiiiiggghhhttt…”

What made this dish even tastier was that all the ingredients was delivered to me fresh from the wet market, while I ordered it from Market Fresh the night before. My personal shopper picked out the best and freshest ingredients at the wet market and delivered it right to my doorstep. Such a blessing because the next day, it was pouring! Imagine having to brave the rain, walk 15 minutes to the wet market, and then do over on the way back. Not to mention how crazy the markets can be when everyone is preparing for Chinese New Year!

The concept of Market Fresh is straight forward and simple. Order your fresh and dry produce their website, choose your delivery timing, and wait to receive your order. All fresh produce are kept chilled after the shopper purchased it from the market. You will get your order as given by the store vendor. I like it better this way as it means that my food is minimally handled to avoid contamination or damage.

Because wet markets are open in the day only, there is a cut off ordering time. 11.59pm the night before, for next day morning delivery. And 11.59am on the day itself, for same day evening delivery. Great if you want to cook dinner but don’t have time to go to be market in the morning!

Ordering from the website was easy. Click on the categories on the menu bar or use the search box on the top left corner to search for what you need. I clicked on seafood, and immediately found what I needed.

I really like that the website clearly shows what I’m getting and inform me of the weight of the product. There’s an option for me to fill in customised instructions as well. It’ll come in very handy when I need meat to be prepped a certain way by the store vendor. For example, I like my chicken breast boneless and skinless but will usually ask the vendor to pack the bones in a separate bag for me to make stock.

If any of your item is out of stock, your personal shopper will call you for alternative. Of course, you can also list it down in the instruction when you order as well.

One of the category caught my eye, and when I clicked on it I was impressed to see fresh noodles on the list of items! They have dried octopus, dried scallops, salted fish, etc… Umami, umami, umami!

At the shopping cart, I get to choose my delivery timing. 10am-12pm is perfect for lunch time prep, and 5pm-7pm is a good timing for dinner prep. Payment process was quick and simple. Orders below $99 will incur a fixed $7 delivery fee. BUT!!! Delishar’s readers get to enjoy free delivery regardless of order amount for your first order!! Use code ‘DELISHAR‘ during check out to enjoy free delivery.

Plus!! Market Fresh is giving away $88 store voucher to 2 Delishar readers! Details at the end of this post.

As I was browsing Market Fresh website, I saw this current CNY promotion that is on-going. Not a bad deal for all that’s included in the set! Good amount of quality ingredients that’s good for 4 pax and great for a hassle-free reunion dinner.

Although I did detour a little during my online wet market experience. I probably took about 10 minutes to complete my order, including window shopping time. That’s even faster than me going to the actual wet market, and I was on the bed in my PJs the whole time. Lol!

At about 11am the next day, my order arrived in a couple of plastic bags. It actually felt like I just got back from the wet market when I was carrying the bags into the kitchen! The items was still chilled when I took them out from the bag.

The greens are crisp and fresh, and the fish was packed with a bag of ice and wrapped up in news paper. This is a very good virtual ‘wet market’ experience! Me likey, and I know you will really enjoy it too! Let’s get to the amazing dish that will literally melt in your mouth and leave you yearning for more!

Hong Kong Style Steamed Cod

Delishar

Fish marinade

275 g cod fish steak
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1/8 tsp salt
3 slices old ginger
green onion 6 2-inch pieces
dash of white pepper

Garnish

1 stalk green onion thinly sliced
1 tbsp thinly juilenned old ginger
Coriander leaves
Red chilli thinly julienned (optional)

Crispy Ginger

2 tbsp thinly juilenned old ginger
2 tbsp cooking oil

Sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp sugar

Hot oil drizzle

1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp canola oil

Rinse and pat dry fish steak, then place on heat safe dish/plate.
Pour shaoxing wine and salt on fish.
Place ginger and spring onion on top of the fish, and gently rub everything together.
Then place the spring onion and ginger to rest under the fish, and allow to marinate for 5 minutes.
Bring a steamer to boil on high heat.
Steam fish for 8 minutes on high heat.
Mix all the ingredients for sauce in a small bowl. Stir until sugar dissolve.
Heat 2 tbsp of cooking oil on medium high, and fry julienned ginger until golden and crispy.
When fish is done, pour sauce mixture over fish. Do not drain away the liquid from the fish, that makes the sauce as well.
Then garnish with fresh ginger, coriander, spring onion, chilli, and crispy ginger.
Heat 1 tsp sesame and cooking oil together.
Drizzle hot oil over garnish and fish. You should hear it sizzling.

Market Fresh is giving away $88 store voucher to 2 lucky Delishar reader! Just in time for you to use it for CNY preparations! Simply complete the giveaway widget below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This giveaway ends on Friday, Jan 20, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. Singapore time (GMT+8). Each winner will be entitled to a $88 store voucher.* There will be 2 winners selected by random.org and will contacted by email. The winner will need to respond within 48 hours. If there is no response from the winner after 48 hours, another winner will be selected. Emails will be added to mailing list to be notified for future promotions. This contest is opened to Singapore entrants only.

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Steamed Moist Orange Chocolate Cake – Delishar

A moist, decadent, luxurious, and ultra delicious chocolate cake that was steamed, not baked. It was surreal when I took my first bite. This cake is hands down one of the best cake I have on my blog. A recipe that I highly recommend.

My girls turned to me after their first taste, with smiles on their precious little faces. Gave me 2 thumbs up and said, “Wow! It’s very good, mom. Very very good!” They say kids are the toughest food critics. It seems this recipe excelled. Steaming the cake was extremely easy with the Compact and Multifunctional Panasonic Cubie Steam Oven.

With all the festive, gatherings, and get together this time of the year, this cake is the perfect dessert to bring to parties. Your hosts and their guests will love you! This is the perfect make-ahead party dish. The cake is so deliciously moist (thanks to the steaming method) that you don’t have to be afraid of it drying out overnight or two in the fridge!

Last year, I shared a Christmas Tree Pizza recipe with you using the fermentation, steam, and convection function. Because the steam function has a 30 minutes maximum time, I wanted to test how it’ll hold up to a recipe that needs twice the cooking time.

As you can already tell from the pictures, it definitely aced the test. All I needed to do was to reset the timer once the 30 minutes beeping sounded. With a quick start of only 20 seconds to get the steamer going, there was no significant loss of steam or heat that will affect the cooking process.

The compact Panasonic Cubie oven is great for families who are space-conscious or would like an extra oven. Measuring only 355 x 455 x 351 mm and weighs only 10.8kg, it is portable enough without much hassle. Although compact on the outside, it is big on the inside. With a 15L capacity, you can fit a whole fish or chicken or a 9-inch cake pan. Do away with a few kitchen appliances with this multifunctional machine. It is a steamer, oven, sterilizer (think utensils & milk bottles), and air-fryer all build into one.

I’m impressed with the intelligent pre-programmed menu. As I looked down the list I was amazed to see deodorization (17) and self-cleaning programs (19 & 20)! Scoring major points here as we all know it’s not fun to clean an oven or remove the smell of strong smelling food trapped in the oven. I like that I can drain (21) the water from the tank and water pipe after I use the steam function. Don’t want any stale water trapped in there, do we?

The water tank holds 600ml of water, which is good for about 30 minutes of steaming. I topped it up towards the end of the steaming process by simply lifting the lid, pour in the water, and popped the lid back on.

Look how perfect the cake turned out!! It was fluffy and ooh so moist. While waiting for the cake to cool, I wiped the inside of the oven to dry out the excess water from the steam. Cleaning was simple, and took barely a couple of minutes.

I like it that I didn’t have to monitor a steamer on the stove and worry about the water drying up or the pot burning or keeping time. And that I didn’t have to worry about adding water into a wok steamer when the water level is low and having to wait for the water to come back to a boil!

I’ll be making this cake very soon and with Chinese New Year coming, I might switch up the navel orange juice and zest to Mandarin Orange to suit the occasion. You can find Panasonic Cubie Oven at major home appliances stores. Search for your closest store here!

Steamed Orange Chocolate Cake

You can also steam it on your stovetop or steamer over medium heat for 45-55 minutes if you don’t have a steam oven.

180 g butter
170 g caster sugar
150 g full cream evaporated milk
50 g navel orange juice
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp navel orange zest
100 g plain flour
50 g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Chocolate Ganache:

50 ml whole milk
200 g semi-sweet chocolate chips

Add the butter, sugar, evaporated milk and orange juice into a heavy bottom pan. Over low heat, stir until sugar and butter melt. Cool mixture to lukewarm temperature.
In another bowl, combine eggs, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Lightly beat to combined.
Pour egg mixture into lukewarm butter mixture. Mix well.
Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl.
Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well.
Pour batter into a lined and lightly greased 8″ round baking tray. Cover with foil and steam over medium for 50-60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Remove foil, allow to cool for 15 minutes in the pan before flipping it out to cool completely. Gently remove the baking paper on the cake.

Chocolate Ganache

Heat milk in a heavy-bottom saucepan over low heat until the edges starts to bubble then immediately remove from heat. Do not boil the milk. Add chocolate chips into the milk, and stir.
Stir until chocolate chips has melted and ganache is smooth and glossy.
Pour over the cake and spread with a spatula or drizzle on the cake before serving.

You can garnish with berries and mint leaves for added colour and flavours. I served mine with cherries and mint with a light dusting of powdered sugar. Want a full chocolate cake instead? Omit orange zest and replace the 50g of orange juice with evaporated milk.

This post is in collaboration with Panasonic Singapore. However, all of the opinions are of my own.

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Cantonese Steamed Fish – Delishar

The one prominent dish on the table of every Cantonese’s family gathering. Be it a birthday dinner, Chinese new year, wedding dinner, or even just for a regular weekend dinner, this will be served. It is almost, the host’s way of showing love, for letting you know that your presence is treasured.

Although the dish is quick to make, it does take a little more effort to prepare the garnishes. However, when the hot oil hits the aromatics, magic happens. Your 5 senses are instantaneously awakened. Hear that sizzle, watch the herbs wilt ever so slightly, smell the fragrance released as the hot steam escape, and notice your mouth water.

Watch the magic happen on my IG story. Here’s the link to this recipe on IG highlights. Alternatively, you can go to my Instagram to browse the cooking highlights. Have fun cooking!

Cantonese Steamed Fish

1 600-700g Whole seabass cleaned
5 slices Old ginger
2 Spring onions cleaned
3 tbsp Neutral cooking oil (not olive oil)

Sauce

4 tbsp Soy sauce
2 tbsp Shaoxing Wine
1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
2 tsp Sesame oil
2 tsp Sugar
Dash of White pepper
4 tbsp Hot Water

Garnish

6 sprigs Coriander leaves
1-2 tsp Fried shallot
1 pcs Red chilli seeded and julienned (optional)
1 Spring onion thinly julienned

Make sure the fish is cleaned and scales removed. Rub salt all over fish and rinse with water. This helps to reduce fishy smell.
Place the 2 spring onion on the heatproof plate and rest the fish on top. Place a few slices of ginger into the cavity of the fish.
Bring steamer to boil on high. Steam fish for 8 minutes. Check with a butter knife or fork. Fish should flake easily and is opaque, if not let it steam for another 1-2 minutes.
Carefully drain off the liquid collected on the plate from steaming.
Garnish top of the fish with julienned ginger
Top the fish with chilli, coriander, and spring onions.
In a small saucepan, heat oil till it starts to smoke and immediately remove from heat.
Drizzle hot oil over coriander and spring onions. Then finish with fried shallots.
Pour prepared sauce over fish.