STEAMED CHICKEN WITH CHEESE AND BASIL

Budget: 280-300 (S$10)
Serves: 3-4 pax

FINISH PRODUCT

Ingredients:
(Add/replace as you wish)

• Boneless chicken breast (Cut into halves or 2 separate parts, 500-700g)
• Salt (1 tbsp)
• Pepper
• Basil leaves powder
• Butter (left in room temperature for a while)
• Cheese (Any kind - parmesan, cheddar, quick melt, etc.)
• Lettuce (for wrapping, may replace with cabbage or aluminum foil)

 Directions:
 (Alter as you wish)

1. Pound chicken: Slice the chicken breast open, put it in a plastic wrap or zip lock then pound until it becomes a bit tender (do not over do this step as it may be hard to roll the chicken later if it is too soft).

2. Season and add filling: Rub salt, pepper and basil leaves in all sides (salt may be 1 pinch each side, depending on how salty you prefer it to be). Brush butter on one side --- the side where you will put the cheese filling or any other filling you wish. Add in cheese (do not pour it all over the chicken, keep everything in one part). Fold or roll the chicken to close.

3. Wrap: Using your preferred wrapper, place the chicken inside, wrap securely. You may use a toothpick to pin it if available. But if there's none, just make sure the wrap is secured enough to prevent your filling and the chicken's juice from falling off the steamer. (Tip: If you use lettuce, use a knife to cut the hardest part from the stem before peeling so it does not get torn apart. Also, you may place the chicken inside the fridge before cooking to let the flavor set in).


THEY ARE READY FOR SOME STEAM BATH!

4.Steam: Boil 3-4 cups of water in a steamer. I used the steamer included in my rice cooker so you can just use any kind of steamer available. Place the chicken inside, close the steamer, and wait for 15-20 mins depending on how big or thick it is. Do not overcook as it may dry the chicken up.

IF IT LOOKS CLOSE TO THIS, IT SHOULD BE DONE ALREADY

5. Unwrap: Remove the chicken from the steamer. Open the wrapper. Slice as preferred.

THAT CHEESE JUST LOOKS SO CREAMY!

6. Serve immediately. Bon appétit!

STIR-FRIED BROCCOLI AND FISH FILLET

Budget: 150-200 (S$6)
Serves: 2-3 pax

Finish Product

Ingredients:
(Add/replace as you wish)

• Fish fillet (250 grams, cut into bite size, white-meat preferred but may be more expensive)
• Broccoli (1 pc medium, stems cut and hard skin peeled, cut into smaller pieces)
• Carrots (1 pc medium, cut in circular shape)
• Ginger (1 pc of 1-2 inches in size, refer to photo)
• Butter (1-2 tbsp)
• Chicken cube (1 pc, substitute with soy sauce if none, or chicken stock if possible)
• Corn starch (1 tbsp, dissolved in a very small amount of tap/warm water for thickening)
• Sugar (1/2 tsp) 
• Garlic (enough for saute, minced)
• Water (1-2 cups depends on how much sauce you want, I used 1.5 cups for this demo)
• Pepper (to taste, add according to preference)
• Salt (A pinch, to taste) 
• Cooking oil (1 tbsp)

Toman fish fillet. Look how pinkish and pretty that is!

Refer to uncut ginger on left for size

 Directions:
 (Alter as you wish)

1. Blanch vegetables: Rinse carrots and broccoli then put it in boiling water for 3 minutes. Put a pinch of salt. Remove and drain immediately. Run it with normal temp/cold water to stop the vegetables from further cooking. Set aside. (You may not blanch the carrots anymore, I just did so to cook it at a lesser time later)

Water is actually boiling. Just not visible in photo

2. Pre-cook fish: Melt butter in a pan/wok. Once it turns a little brown, cook the fish for about 2 minutes each side. Remove from the pan. (The photo below shows the state we want it to be before removing it from the pan. Don't worry if it looks a little undercooked as we will be cooking it further later)

3.Sauce: In the same pan (with all the burnt stuff removed), heat cooking oil/butter, whichever you prefer. Add ginger and cook for about a minute, pounding/crushing it in the process to release more flavor. Add garlic and saute till brownish in color. Toss in the carrots and increase heat to high (Remember: to stir-fry means to cook in high heat for a short period of time). Add water, chicken cube (or chicken stock or light soy sauce), diluted corn starch, sugar and pepper. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes or until sauce reduced to half.

4. Mix everything: Add in the precooked fish and let it stay for 2 minutes. Mix in the blanched broccoli into the pan. Carefully mix everything for a minute to avoid breaking the fillet and broccoli into pieces. Let it sit in medium heat for a minute to soak in the flavor into your meat and vegetables. (Tip: Using a tooth pick, gently prick the fish to create holes to let more flavor in)

5. Serve hot. Bon appétit!