Pai Ku Wang Spare Rib King Recipe via RasaMalaysia.com

My nephew loves to eat Pai Ku Wang everytime we visit the Zhi Char Store (chinese stir fry cafe). From coffeshops to Paradise Inn Restuarant. It's widely available even in those Economy rice stalls.

Of course, the ones that you taste at the resturant are much nicer as it's piping hot and they probably used a better cut or grade of meat.

Pic source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/avlxyz/4956297285/

I find the pricing of the dish kinda high for this dish ($12 to $20). And I think it's possible to replicate the restaurant taste from cooking it at home.  So it's time to do research and testing!

This is my favorite recipe so far from RasaMalaysia.com.

It's simple, fast and straightforward. Taste really good too!
I did not add any Worchester sauce as I did not have it in my kitchen during testing. But it turned out okie. :

 
Marinade:
1 egg
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon Shaoxing wine
1/2 teaspoon salt

Sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
1/2 tablespoon plum sauce
1/2 tablespoon chili sauce
1/4 teaspoon sweet bean sauce, or Hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons black vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar

small pinch of Chinese Five Spice powder, optional
2 tablespoons water

Method:

1. Marinade the pork for at least 30 minutes.

2. Prepare the sauce and set aside.

3. Deep fry pork and set aside.

4. Heat up sauce and coat deep-fried pork with it

5. Optional: Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds on top

Research & Sources:
http://rasamalaysia.com/peking-pork-chops/2

Simple Chocolate Cake Recipe using a Toaster Oven and No Kitchen Weighing Machine - Just Cups and Spoons measurement

Just gotten a Morries Toaster Oven for free via Credit Card Redemption Points from Citibank.

Decided to try to make a cake with it without using any Weighing equipment. I don't have any weighing machine currently. I am all for shortcuts!

So I used measurement cups/spoons that looks something like this that I bought a while ago at a store:

Did some searching and found a simple recipe via Liz Aziz's YouTube Channel.
She's cooking it via the Philips AirFryer though.

I'm adapting her recipe by using the Toaster Oven (no temperature setting!) at 20 minutes.



Recipe from Liz:

Wet Ingredients:
1/2 cup melted butter
1 egg (hmm 1 egg only?)
1/3 cup milk or chocolate milk

Dry Ingredients:
1 cup plain flour
1tsp baking powder
3/4 cup fine sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
  
Method: 
Step 1:  Mix the wet ingredients together

Step 2:  Add in all the dry ingredients.

Step 3:  Pour into the pan.

Step 4:  Bake in the toaster oven for 20 minute

Step 5:  Poke the centre of the cake with a satay stick to see if its sticky or dry.
If it's sticky, it's not fully cooked yet. Try cooking it for another 5 to 10 minutes and test again till your satay stick is dry. 

Results:
It was pretty good. I made 2 small cakes with this using those metal thin foil type of disposable baking bowls. I lined it with butter before I poured in the cake mix. The oven managed to cook both cakes at the same time as it was quite spacious.

Going to try to make a plain version and maybe add other flavors like pandan or marble for fun.

Love the simple recipe! Fuss Free! Thanks Liz!

I did everything in like under 30 mins. And the kitchen had a really nice chocolatey smell while it was baking.  And as you can see, the cake had been devoured before I remembered to take a photo!




Research & Sources:
Liz Aziz's - Philips Airfryer - Bake a cake
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmWApOFUnrU

Garlic Soy Chicken Recipe From Seonkyoung Longest

There are Korean Fried Chicken Wings Restaurants springing up all over Singapore recently.
"CHICKEN UP", "4 WINGS" and "Kko Kko Nara" are just a few of the current household names.

But it' really kinda expensive to eat Korean Fried Chicken Wings at restaurants frequently (We rack up about S$20 to $60 bucks each time ), so I decided to learn how to replicate the same taste.

I think cost wise, I only ended up spending $4 to $15 per time when I cooked this dish.

First time was more expensive coz I had to buy Mirin and Tempura Flour. Subsequently I did not have to re-buy those items when I cooked. And chicken wings only cost around $2 to $9 from the supermarket.

It's really not that difficult actually. My favorite flavor is "Garlic Soy Chicken Wings" from "Kko Kko Nara". So I hit Google and chanced upon this recipe by Seonkyoung Longest:



I couldn't get the exact tempura flour or soya sauce brand that she recommended. So I used those I could find locally.

After a few attempts at her recipe, in the end, I skipped the tempura flour and simply coated the chicken with a little corn flour before deep frying it. It tasted much lighter and not as "thick". The tempura flour I used was too thick and really tasted like there was too much "flour".  It also made the chicken a bit "rock-hard" and "too crispy".

The best thing that I learned from her recipe is how to make the sauce! It's Delicious! Would Highly recommend you to try it out!

Wonder if its the same sauce they use to make for Pepper Rice. Since it's "Garlic Soy"? Hmmm.. to be tested.

Modified Recipe:
Prep the sauce. Fry the wings. 
Mix it together when you're ready to eat!

Step 1: Prepare the Sweet Garlic Sauce and set aside
(Remember to sift garlic out after boiling the sauce)

Step 2: Marinate the chicken with salt and pepper for about 20 mins

Step 3: Lightly coat the chicken with corn flour before deep frying

Step 4: Only add sauce to fried chicken just when you're about ready to eat it, or it'll get soggy and lose it's crispness.

Sweet Garlic Sauce
    2 Tbs. Finely chopped garlic
    3 Tbs. Soy sauce
    3 Tbs. Sugar
    1/3 cup Mirin





Fried Wings:
    6 Full chicken wings or 2 chicken leg/thighs cut into bite-size pieces
    3 Tbs. Corn Flour
   Salt and pepper to taste

Made this over and over again. Becoming one of our favs!


Research & Sources:
Seonkyoung Longest's Korean Fried Chicken Wings with Sweet Garlic Sauce:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlndZUqDKk4