Baked Eggs With Sardines And Cabbage

It was supposed to be a tart.  A dreamy Diana Henry creation of pastry topped with sardines, except that I had planned on adding vegetables and a slice of lemon on the side. As it happened, nothing turned out the way it was visualised in my mind - I didn't have the necessary ingredients on hand.

My plans to go grocery-shopping and to meet a friend to drop off the BBQ set I had given away was thwarted by car trouble. The old sweetheart wouldn't crank up.  There you go, a kink in my otherwise perfect morning.

Baked Eggs With Sardines And Cabbage

So, eggs were used instead and a sunshiny dish was born to bring cheer to an otherwise gloomy-weather day. Someone said it looked like pizza. Surely a good looking one?

Baked Eggs With Sardines And Cabbage
Ingredients:
- 6 small fresh sardines
- 6 eggs
- 1 red chilli (sliced)
- 2 cups sliced cabbage
- ⅛ tsp salt
- Black pepper (several dashes)
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- An 11" round baking dish

Method:
1) Brush cooking oil around the baking dish.
2) Lay the cabbage inside.
3) Beat egg with salt. Pour it around the cabbage.
4) Rub sardines with a bit of salt and place on top of egg/cabbage mixture.
5) Sprinkle chilli slices on top and finish with several dashes of black pepper.
6) Bake at 175C for about 25 minutes.
(Note: Baking time will vary depending on your oven and type of pan.)

1) Lay the cabbage into the dish. 2) Pour beaten egg over.
3) Place sardines on top, decorate with slices of chilli and dashes of black pepper.
4) Bake until the fish is cooked. 5) It's done!

Baked Eggs With Sardines And Cabbage

Best eaten on its own paired with ketchup or sauce of preference.

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Braised Chicken With Olive Vegetable

A dash of salt, white pepper and some chopped garlic is how I regularly stir-fry vegetables. Things became a little more interesting when I started exploring beyond the norm, trying out various condiments available in our supermarket.

One of it was a jar of Olive Vegetable. This, I discovered, is really chopped mustard greens with olives and not leaves from olive trees per se as I had initially thought from the name on the jar label. Anyway, it is from then on that I have begun flavouring my french bean stir-fries this way - a teaspoonful of olive vegetable for a plate. A brilliant way to add taste to a dish without the usual seasoning.

I discovered from the world wide web that it's delicious in fried rice too, but I have yet to try this. Instead, I went further with a braised chicken dish. It turned out to be a finger-licking experiment and I am glad that I made extra!

Does this not look yummy?

Braised Chicken With Olive Vegetable

Braised Chicken With Olive Vegetable
Ingredients:
- 8 chicken wings (slice into two, that is, separate drumettes from wingettes/tips)
- 8 cloves garlic (pounded with pestle in a mortar)
- 1 red chilli (sliced)
- 3 tbsp Singlong Olive Vegetable (using a strainer, drain oil from vegetables, keep oil aside)
- ½ tbsp corn flour (with 1 tbsp water stirred in)
- 2 cups water
- Pinch of salt (optional)

Method:
1) Heat olive vegetables oil (just the oil!) in pan.
2) Pan-fry the chicken pieces in medium heat until lightly browned.
3) Push the chicken aside. Add garlic and saute for a bit before stirring it together with the chicken.
4) Then add olive vegetables. Stir- fry.
5) Add water, turn the heat up and bring to a simmer. Cook on low heat with the lid on but slightly uncovered.
6) Once the chicken is done (about 15minutes), remove the lid and cook uncovered on high heat until the liquid is reduced by half. Taste and if necessary, season with salt.
7) Switch the heat off. Add the slices of chilli and thicken the sauce with the corn flour mixture. Stir to combine. Done!

Best eaten with fluffy white rice.

1) Chicken, Garlic, Chilli, Olive Vegetables + Oil.
2) Pan-fry the chicken, then saute the garlic.
3) Add olive vegetables. 4) Add water and simmer.
5) Lastly, add slices of chilli and thicken with corn flour.
6) Braised Chicken With Olive Vegetable .. Done!

Braised Chicken With Olive Vegetable. Yum with rice!

There you go, an easy recipe!

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Pan-Fried Lamb Shoulder Chops With Strawberries

Selamat Hari Raya to our Muslim blog readers!

6 July marks the end of the fasting month for 2016. I will miss the vibrant Ramadhan Bazaars that were aplenty in my neighbourhood. However, the food scene is no less quieter with makeshift lemang stalls popping up along the roadside, Raya cookies and dodol which we received from friends. Lemang is coconut milk glutinous rice cooked in a bamboo stick over an open fire. I'm aiming to get some this weekend.

This blog post is nothing to do with local food, however. I thought it'd be a nice change to have lamb for dinner after a month of feasting on traditional eats. It was paired with small strawberries which I bought for a bargain at a supermarket. 'Tis the belt-tightening season. Funnily, it's not just about the finances. My waistline is waging a war with burgeoning love handles. That said, I wish I'd gotten more of the strawberries; it would have been beautiful in a fruit tart too.

Pan-Fried Lamb Shoulder Chops With Strawberries

Pan-Fried Lamb Shoulder Chops With Strawberries
Ingredients:
- 340g Lamb Shoulder Chops (or 3 pcs)
- 150g small fresh strawberries (leaves removed)
- 2 kiwi fruits (cubed)
- 2 shallots (sliced)
- 3 stalks lemongrass (smashed)
- ½ tbsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp coarse salt
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 tsp sugar or to taste
- A dash of black pepper
- 1 tsp corn flour (mix in 1 tbsp water)
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- About ¼ cup water

- Some boiled broccoli or vegetable of choice, butter and salt (toss together) .

How-to:
1) Rub the lamb with coarse salt. Leave aside for about 15 minutes.
2) Boil some broccoli florets in a pot of water. Dunk the boiled broccoli into cool water to stop the cooking process. Immediately toss in butter and a sprinkle of salt. Keep aside.
3) Rinse the salt away from the lamb cuts. Rub on ground nutmeg and cumin seeds.
4) Heat cooking oil in pan. Place the smashed lemongrass into the pan and the lamb cuts on top of it. Pan-fry the meat for a couple of minutes on each side or to a level of doneness of preference. Then, remove the cooked lamb cuts from the pan and leave aside to prepare the sauce.
5) Using the same pan, splash in a tbsp or two of water. Add the onions. Stir-fry it for a bit before adding the kiwi fruit.
6) Cook the kiwi fruit until it looks a little smashed. Add sugar, a little water and a dash of black pepper. Stir to combine.
7) Add the strawberries. Cook until slightly tender.
8) Finally, switch the heat off and stir the corn flour in to thicken the sauce. Add more water if you find the sauce too gooey.
9) Plate the lamb and pour the strawberry-kiwi sauce over. Serve immediately with vegetable of choice.

1) The Ingredients. 2) Pan-fry the spiced lamb pieces.
3) Cook to a level of doneness that is to your liking. 4) Prepare the strawberry sauce.

Taste-wise, the tangy sweet-savoury strawberry-kiwi fruit sauce went very well with the salted spiced lamb.

Pan-Fried Lamb Shoulder Chops With Strawberries

I've never been one to shy away from experimenting with new flavours. This one worked out wonderful for me.

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