In Singapore you can find many “chicken rice” stalls, and usually there is a choice of “white” chicken or “roast” chicken.  This recipe is for the white boil chicken, which is prepare by poaching the chicken in hot water.  As the preparation is simply poaching the chicken, the chicken has to be fresh, and frozen chicken should not be used as frozen chicken has some “ice” taste.  For best result, use free range chicken or kampong chicken.

Ingredient

1. 1 fresh chicken
2.  stalk of spring onion
3. 1 slice of ginger
4. ½ teaspoon salt
5. 1 teaspoon sesame oil
6. 1 pot of water (enough to submerge the chicken)
7. 1 tablespoon salt for cleaning the chicken

Gravy and garnish

1. 3 tablespoon light soya sauce
2. 1 tablespoon sesame oil
3. ½ teaspoon sugar
4. ½ cucumber
5. 1 stalk of Chinese parsley

Method

1. Clean the whole chicken of feathers and internal organs.  Rub 1 tablespoon of salt on the skin and gut for 2-3 mins, and rinse away.
2. Boil the water in a big pot (big enough to submerge the whole chicken).  When boil, add in ½ teaspoon salt, a slice of ginger, and a stalk of spring onion.
3. Submerge the chicken and using high heat to bring the water to boil.  Once the water boil, bring down the heat to medium,  and allow it to simmer for 10 mins.  Turn off the heat and cover (and do not open and check) the pot for 40 mins.
4. When time is up, open the cover, and remove the chicken and drain dry. Rub sesame oil on the skin, and leave it to cool.  Do not cut when warm.
5. In a bowl, put in ½ teaspoon sugar and 3 tablespoon light soya sauce and 3 tablespoon hot chicken stock (hot so that sugar dissolve easier), stir till sugar dissolve.
6. Remove the skin of cucumber, half it through the center along the length of the cucumber and then slices into thick slices diagonally.  Place them in the center of the flat plate.
7. Cut chicken into pieces and lay them nicely on the plate on top of the sliced cucumber. (usually placing them to resemble the whole chicken).  Then, evenly sprinkle the sauce in item 5 on the chicken.  Cut some Chinese parsley and put on top of the chicken.
8. Serve cool.

Tip:  stock used to cook the chicken can be kept for future cooking as stock, or made into a soup and serve with chicken, or use to cook chicken rice.

Note that the chicken meat should be in a state where it just reach its cooked state, something like medium well, so that the meat is very tender.   If it is well done, the meat will be too tough (or “old”).  However, there might be some reddish color of the meat near the bone (especially when frozen chicken is used).  If you find that some of the meat is not cook, you could increase the simmering time slightly next time.  It also depends how big is the pot and how much water you have, as water is the only thing that retain the heat to cook the chicken, ie having lesser water will tend not to cook the chicken that well. (you have to try it few times to perfect it)

This dish goes well with rice by mixing the gravy and the tofu into the rice and eat together.

Ingredient

1. 1 ½ to 2 blocks of Soft tofu (prefer unicurd organic tofu, they are really soft)
2. 150g Minced chicken or pork (or you may replace with de-shelled shrimps)
3. 2 garlic
4. 2 tablespoon light soya sauce
5. 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
6. ½ tablespoon sugar
7. ¼ teaspoon salt
8. ½ teaspoon corn flour (to thicken the gravy)
9. ½ cup water
10. 3 tablespoon frying oil

Method

1. Peel and chopped the garlic and set aside.
2. Cut the tofu into smaller blocks (1 block of tofu may cut into 4)
3. Prepare the gravy in a cup, with ½ cup of water,  add in the soya sauce, oyster sauce, salt, sugar and corn flour.  (tip, when adding corn flour, it will float and just leave it until it sinks, and then stir.  This will prevent it from forming lumps)
4. Heat up frying pan and add in oil.
5. Use high heat and wait till pan is really hot, and slowly slide in the tofu (make sure tofu has little moisture as possible as this makes the oil splash).  Get ready a splash blocker or any pot cover to shield you in case the oil did splash.   Do not throw in the tofu as this will break the soft tofu and also create a splash of oil.
6. Flip the tofu when slightly brown (alternatively, you may use a different pot to deep fry the tofu and skip step 5 and 6
7. Scoop up the tofu or just push it to one side. Put in the garlic and fry till fragrant.  Add in the minced chicken/pork or prawn and stir.  If using minced meat, make sure you keep pressing and stirring to prevent it from forming big chunks.
8. Pour in the gravy ingredient in step 3, allow it to boil and thickens. Mixed it around by pushing (as stirring and flipping breaks up the tofu).
9. Serve hot.

1. 1 hairy gourd
2. ¼ teaspoon salt
3. ½ tablespoon soya sauce
4. ½ teaspoon sugar
5. 1 garlic
6. 1 small bunch bean vermicelli
7. 2 tablespoon cooking oil
8. 1/2 cup water
9. 1 tablespoon scoop of dried shrimp or dried silver fish.

Method

1. Remove skin of hairy gourd and cut into thin strips (about ½ cm thick).
2. Soak bean vermicelli for 15 mins. Soak dried shrimp if using dried shrimp for 30 mins.
3. Peel garlic and minced.
4. Heat up a pot or wok with oil, add in garlic and dried shrimp or silver fish, fry till fragrant. Add in hairy gourd and stir fry for 3 minutes.  Add in bean vermicelli and 1/2 cup water (can use the water used to soak the dried shrimp too).  Cover to simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Add salt, sugar, soya sauce.  Stir and serve.
6. Vegetarian version do not add the dried shrimp or silver fish.

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoon Curry Leaves chopped
2. 6 slices of French Lamb cutlet
3. 3 teaspoon of curry powder for meat (pre-mix, sold in supermarkets)
4. ½ teaspoon Salt
5. 1 teaspoon honey
6. 2 tablespoon olive oil

Method

1. Wash the lamb chop, dab dry. Using tenderizing hammer or back of a cleaver, lightly chop the meat to make it more tender.
2. Wash the curry leaves, and use only the leaves, not the stem. Chop finely.
3. Sprinkle chopped curry leaves and curry powder evenly and pat it so that they stick on the meat.
4. In a mixing bowl, add in salt, honey, olive oil and mix thoroughly. Apply this evenly on both side of the lamp meat, and allow to marinate for 30 mins.
5. Heat up grilling pan until very hot.  Grill lamp for 3-4 mins each side.

1. 4 tablespoon dried Ikan Bilis (anchovy)
2. 2 bowl cooked rice
3. 2 egg
4. 3-4 shallots
5. ½ cm section of ginger
6. 5 tablespoon cooking oil
7. ¼ cup water
8. 3 tablespoon light soya sauce
9. Dash of pepper
10. 1 tablespoon chopped Spring onion

Method

1. Peel shallots and cut into slices. Cut ginger into thin strips (1-2mm thick). Wipe ikan bilis with damp cloth to clean of dirt (optional for hygiene).
2. Heat up wok, add in cooking oil.
3. Fry the ikan bilis till fragrant and lightly browned. Remove and set aside.
4. Add in shallots and fry till lightly brown, add in ginger and briefly fry (careful that ginger burn easily), and add in the cooked rice.
5. Add in the ikan bilis and keep stirring till the rice loosen up. Sprinkle water on the rice as you stir fry to keep it moist.
6. Push the rice aside to expose the wok, crack in the eggs, and stir. Mixed in the rice.
7. Add in soya sauce by dripping it evenly over the rice (so that it is even out) and add dash of pepper and keep stirring.
8. Add in spring onion and serve immediately.
9. Serve warm.

You can make a vegetarian version by not using the chicken and fishcake, and add more vegetables like baby corns or bamboo shoots. 

Ingredients (serve 4)

1. 1 packet Yee Fu Noodle (see that it serves 4)
2. 100-200 grams Chicken meat
3. 1 piece fishcake
4. 20 french beans or snow peas
5. 1 carrot
6. 4 dried shitake mushroom
7. 2 garlic minced
8. 1/4 teaspoon Salt
9. 4 tablespoon light soya sauce
10. 1/2 teaspoon sugar
11. 2 tablespoon oil
12. 600 ml water

Method

1. Soak the dry mushroom for 2-3 hours.  Remove stem and slice into thin slices. 
2. Rinse the chicken, cut into thin slices.  Cut fishcake into thin slices.  Either snow pea or French beans, using fingers to break the ends and pull off the fiber that runs along the side of the pod.   If using French beans, wash and cut diagonally into strips.  If using snow peas, you may not need to cut.  Skin and slice the carrot. Minced the garlic.
3. For the health conscious, you may rinsed the noodle with boiling hot water to remove some of the oil from the factory, as Yee Fu noodle are deep fried noodle.  Otherwise, you can skip this step.
4. Heat up a pot or wok.
5. Add oil and minced garlic and fry till fragrant.  Add in chicken and stir fry for 1 minute, add in the rest of the vegetables, mushroom and fishcake and fry for another minute.
6. Add water and all seasoning, Allow to boil, and lower heat to simmer for 1 minute.
7. Add in noodle, and stir till noodle is soften and mixed with the gravy. Cover and allow it to simmer for 5 mins under very low heat. 
8. Serve hot.

Another idea for your Christmas dinner.  You can also do this with prawn.  Merry Christmas!

Ingredients (serve 2-3)

1. 1 tablespoon dill chopped
2. 5 clove of garlic
3. 2 tablespoon butter
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
5. 250 gm scallops
6. 2 ½ tablespoon Olive Oil

 Method

1. Wash the scallop and dab dry.
2. Rinse the dill and take the tender part of the plant, and chop finely.
3. Minced 1 garlic.  Mixed dill, minced garlic and 2 tablespoon olive oil in a big bowl.  Add the scallop and mix evenly and set a side.
4. Chop up the remaining garlic into chucks.  Mixed in ½ tablespoon olive oil and salt and mixed well and set aside for 15 mins (allow the garlic to be marinated with the salt)
5. Heat up a sauce pan, add in the chopped garlic and toast it for 2 mins (fragrance but not brown).  Add in butter and allow it to melt to a slight bubbling (do not burnt it).  Set a side.
6. Heat up grilling pan till very hot, grill the scallop 3 mins each side.
7. Put on serving plate, drip over with the garlic butter and some garlic chunks.
8. Serve hot.

This will be a good main for your Christmas dinner. 

French lamb cutlet are actually lamb chops, cut out from the rack or the ribs.  The signature look is that it has a bone sticking out.

Ingredients

1. 1 tablespoon Thyme chopped
2. 6 slices of French Lamb cutlet
3. 1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
4. ½ teaspoon Salt
5. 1 teaspoon honey
6. 1 tablespoon lemon juice
7. 1 clove garlic, minced
8. 2 tablespoon olive oil

Method

1. Wash the lamb chop, dab dry. Using back of a cleaver or tenderising hammer, lightly chop the meat to make it more tender.
2. Wash the thyme, and use only the leaves and the tender part of the stems. Chop finely.
3. Minced garlic.
4. Sprinkle chopped thyme and cracked black pepper evenly and pat it so that they stick on the meat.
5. In a mixing bowl, add in salt, honey, minced garlic, olive oil, lemon juice and mix thoroughly. Apply this evenly on both side of the lamp meat, and allow to marinate for 30 mins.
6. Heat up grilling pan until very hot.  Grill lamp for 3-4 mins each side. Bast it with the remaining marinates.
7. Serve with some cracked black pepper on serving plate.

Ingredients

1. 1 slice of salmon (fillet is better than mid cut so that we can fry the skin)
2. ½ teaspoon salt
3. 2 tablespoon Kikkoman Teriyaki sauce
4. ½ tablespoon cooking oil

Method

1. Wash the fish, drip dry and rub evenly with salt.
2. Heat up a pan, add cooking oil.  When the pan is hot, place the skin side down to allow the skin to fry to a crisp.  Then flip over and fry other side (if using mid cut, you may not be able to get a crispy skin).
3. When cooked, still on the hot pan, pour in the teriyaki sauce, and let it sizzle, flipping it over and over to let the sauce coat the outside, for about 1 min and serve  (Note that there is no gravy, it will be just sticky coat on the fish). 
4. Serve hot.