Chickpeas Pumpkin Soup

Getting bored with the normal meals and wanted something special for lunch today and at the same time need to finish up the pumpkin before it spoils, and tada... roast pumpkin soup with chickpeas cooked using the pressure cooker.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chickpeas, soaked for at least 30mins, washed and drain
• 5tbsp of puy lentil, soaked for at least 30mins, washed and drain
• 1 cup of water
• 150-200g of pumpkin, sliced
• 1/4 cup of chopped onion
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1/2 carrot, cut to coarse pieces
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1cup meat broth (mine is the one I had made for ramen, left over, or you can use vegetable stock or chicken stock)
• 1/4 cup chopped bacon

Steps:

1. Place the chickpeas, lentil and water in the pressure cooker and use manual mode to cook for 5mins. Once done, drain off the water.
2. While the chickpeas and lentil are cooking, place the bacon on some aluminium foil and place it in the air fryer. Also line the pumpkin slices in the air fryer. Set it at 180c for 8-10mins.
3. In either a pan or in another pot, saute the onion with the butter. If using pressure cooker, use the high saute mode.
4. Next blend the onions with the pumpkin.
5. Finally, add in all the ingredients except bacon into the pressure cooker. Set it to manual modem KPT for 2mins.
6. Once ready, served with the air fried crispy bacon.

** Note: I have not use any seasoning but if you like, you may sprinkle some cumin powder and paprika in step 5. There is no need for salt as it is already very flavoursome.

Quick Style Hainanese Chicken Rice

Weather is getting cold and I just want something yum, good for recovering body from sickness yet with some hot soup. Then it just cross my mine why don't I do a quick hainanese chicken rice with the pressure cooker.

So I prepared this while the little one is taking her nap and the big girl was still in school for her after school activity.

Previously I had also posted the recipe before but using the traditional method, that consumes roughly almost at least 2-3hrs to prep and cook the entire dish. The recipe is here.

For this, it took me an hour for the entire prep including preparing of sauces (and some chatting online.. hehehe)

Ingredients:

• 4 chicken drumsticks (use what ever amount you need for your family or other part of the chicken)
• 5 cups of water
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups of cold ice water
• 3 cup rice (soaked in warm water to remove pyhtic acid and then washed and drain)
• 2tbsp butter
• 2tbsp minced garlic
• 2 leaves of pandan
• 10-12 slices of ginger
• 1 tbsp of garlic and 1tbsp of ginger, minced together
• 4tbsp of sesame oil
• 3tbsp cooking oil
• 1tsp oyster sauce
• 3tsp soy sauce
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 5tbsp chopped spring onion
• some fish balls
• some slices of cucumber for serving

Steps:

1. Pour the 5cups of water into the pot of the pressure cooker and select the saute high mode, close the lid so that it heats up faster.
2. Once the water is boiling, add in 1tsp salt and half the ginger slices. Then add in the chicken.
3. Close the lid and change it to manual pressure mode, KPT for 7mins.
4. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the ingredients for the rice and sauces.
5. In one saucer, mix 2tbsp of spring onion with the minced garlic and ginger. Then add in 2tbsp of cooking oil, 1tsp soy sauce, small pinch of salt, 1tbsp sesame oil, and mix well. Set aside for serving.
6. Once the chicken is done and pressure valve has drop, remove the pot from the pressure cooker and ladle the chicken into the cold ice water. Leave it for roughly 5-10mins before plating it up.
7. In another pot, set the pressure cooker to saute high mode, add in the balance cooking oil and sesame oil. After bout 1min, add in the balance of the minced garlic and saute till it is light golden. Scoop out half on another saucer and set aside for the other sauce.
8. Add in the balance of the pandan leaves, ginger slices, salt, butter and rice and stir fry it for a min or two. Then add in the chicken stock from boiling chicken. It should be about 3cups, enough to cook the rice. Set the pressure cooker to rice mode.
9. Add in the oyster sauce and balance soy sauce into the saucer with the fried garlic. Stir and set aside for serving.
10. Heat up the pot with the balance of the chicken stock, add in the fishballs and let it boil for bout 5mins. Season with some pepper. Dish out to serve and sprinkle with the balance of the spring onion.
11. Once the rice is ready, you may serve your food.

Steam Pumpkin Bun

Ingredients

• 85g pumpkin puree
• 35g raw sugar
• 250gram of plain flour
• 3g instant yeast
• 3g baking powder
• 1/8teaspoon salt
• 15g olive oil
• 60g water (including the juice from the pumpkin)

Steps:

1. To make the pumpkin puree, remove the skin and cut 120g of pumpkin to thin slices. Steam over high heat for 5-7mins.
2. Let it cool down and then mashed it with a fork. Use a fine sieve and mash it on it. This will squeeze out the water from the steam pumpkin.
3. Mix half the water to the instant yeast and set it aside. Since it is early winter now, I had mix the pumpkin juice with some hot water so that it is warm.
4. Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and pumpkin puree together. Stir it to mix. Then add in salt, olive oil, yeast liquid and the rest of the water and knead.
5. I had knead with hand yesterday coz I wanted some exercise but you can use the mixer to do it. With hand, I had knead for about 5mins till the mixture had turn into a nice non sticky dough.
6. Cover the dough with a cling wrap and set it aside to let it proof for about 20mins. Again, if your place is cold like where I am now, prepare a warm water bath (3:2 hot to cold water ratio) and set the dough on top to proof.
7. Punch down the dough and cut to desire size and shape accordingly. I had rolled mine with some home made meat floss. Recipe available here.
8. Leave it to proof for another 30mins.
9. Heat up a pot of water. Then steam the buns in high heat for 12mins. If your bun is bigger, do steam longer.

Meat Floss

Few days back, I boiled some tonkatsu soup based for the ramen. This time I used the pork bones that come with meat and I felt so wasteful to throw them away but the taste of it is not yum enough to make us it.

So, after some thought, I decided to attempt making the meat floss with the pressure cooker. Do note that mine is a combo of pork and chicken (no exact ratio, just peel off all the meat).

Ingredients:

• roughly 600-800g cooked meat (pork and chicken)
• 5tbsp MSG free soy sauce
• 5tbsp crushed gula melaka
• 3/4tbsp MSG free oyster sauce
• a dash of pepper

*Note: my recipe tends to use a little bit more seasoning compared to the others coz the meat used is quite bland after being used to boil soup. I had previously KPT the meat for almost 2hrs and that will mean it is like boiling it for 4-5hrs or more.

Step:

1. Peel the meat out and try to shred them up a little.
2. Stir in all the seasoning and mix well.
3. Pour the meat into the pressure cooker pot.
4. Use high saute mode to quickly heat up the meat and let it absorb the seasoning. Stir constantly for about 5mins before switching to bake mode for 45mins.
5. When at bake mode, stir every 5-7mins once so to avoid the meat from getting burnt and for it to dry evenly.

Squid Stuffed with Glutinous Rice

Had made stuffed squid with minced previously and dont quite work so nicely and remember seeing some recipe using glutinous rice. Hence, tried making it since I have some glutinous rice left.

Ingredients:
For the stuffing:

• 1cup of glutinous rice, pre soaked with hot water for bout 20-30mins
• 1 big clove of garlic, minced
• 1 small shallot, chopped finely
• 3/4 cup of fresh button mushroom (can be substituted with dried shitake or canned button mushroom), sliced to thin pieces
• salt and pepper to season
• 1tbsp of oil
• 1 cup of water

For the sauce:

• 3tbsp of soy sauce
• 1tbsp of sugar
• 1tbsp miri

Other ingredients:

• 3 cleaned nice big tubes of squid

Method:

1. Heat oil in the the pressure cooker using saute high mode. Add in the shallot and saute till almost golden before adding in the garlic and saute.
2. Next, add in the mushroom and saute till it is soft and add in the rest of the ingredients.
3. Choose risotto mode that has KPT 14mins time.
4. Once the rice is ready, let it slightly cool before stuffing it in the squid. Seal off with a tooth pick.
5. Place the stuffed squid in the air fryer, 180c for 12mins.
6. While the squid is cooking, place all the sauce ingredients on the pan and cook it till it is a bit thicken.
7. Once the squid is done, place it on the sauce and coat it all over with it.
8. Ready to serve. If you like, u can cut the squid up a little.. :D