Happy 55th Birthday Singapore

August is a month of many birthdays, starting with my mom’s birthday, followed by my nephew followed by Singapore Birthday! And this year, Singapore is turning 55!! HOO HOO!

Last month, we celebrated Canada Day with a chocolate cake so I was cracking my brains on what to do for Singapore Day that I could involve Ryan too. Turned to Pinterest but everything look more complicated than the level of energy I had lol. While I love creating indoor activities with Ryan, my criteria is that it can’t take too much time to assemble it. Otherwise, I be tired even before he starts the activity.

I know I know! We sing Happy Birthday for every occasion we can think of lol

Took a look at my pantry. TA DA!! I have Frozen Toaster Strudels!! Yeah to frozen convenience food lol.

They will do. They are rectangular in shape and will make do as a flag Ha! I am so impressed with myself lol especially since I just forgot to pick my son up from daycare last week. Turns out most mommies have done that before lol but I digress.

Here is my easy Peasy laZy mommy Singapore National Day Activity for Ryan.

Ingredients:

Pillsbury Strudel as the Flag
Store Bought Red Icing or Strawberry Jam
Store Bought White Icing
White Bread for the stars & crescent moon
Cookie Cutters to cut out “I Love SG”

There you go. An easy Peasy way for him to learn about the Singapore Flag.

And while Ryan was not born and didn’t grow up in Singapore like I did, it’s so important to me that I help him understand and get to know Singapore culture and traditions.

And while I get sad at times because all my family are in Singapore and I wish he could be there for his grandma birthday, his cousin birthday and every milestone of his Singapore family, I’m going to choose to focus on how lucky Ryan is that in spite of the long distance, so many people in Singapore adores & loves him, that he’s been flying since he was 5 months old and how lucky he is to be exposed to 2 awesome cultures – Canada & Singapore!

Lazy Mommy Kaya (Singapore Coconut Egg Jam)

I still remember the first time i packed a kaya sandwich in Ryan’s packed lunch to daycare. When I went to pick him up, the awesome daycare ladies asked me what was the green stuff in his sandwich 😛 . They probably wondered why any mom would slather green food coloring to their kid’s sandwich LOL.

So, Kaya is a Southeast Asia jam that basically consist of eggs, coconut cream, sugar and Pandan Essence. Pandan Essence is made from Pandan leaves which is in abundance in Singapore. Not so much in where we live in Canada. So next best thing – I brought back Pandan Paste and Pandan extract 😀 . I mean…what’s a girl gonna do to get her favorite jam fix? 😉

For those of you who do not know what Pandan Leaves are like, they are a tropical plant that grows abundantly in Southeast Asia. You can read more about the plant at thespruceeats.com if you like but it is known as a “fragrant plant” because of its unique, sweet aroma and growing up, my mom uses it fairly often for baking. It’s got such a sweet and fragrant aroma i love just sniffing the bottle LOL. And Kaya Sandwich is to me like how PB&J sandwich is to my Caucasian friends 😀 . Well, until now where every kid’s packed lunch has to be nut free anyway.

Traditional Kaya Jam takes at least a couple hours to make. It is really a very easy recipe with less than 5 ingredients. Challenge is it requires a lot of patience slaving over the stove using a double boiler to cook it slowly, making sure you stir it constantly over low heat. The patience is what makes good kaya jam smooth instead of lumpy. Well, I like to think I have many virtues but patience is not always one of them

So I decided to use the same ingredients as I would in a traditional recipe. Except that instead of a double boiler, I just cook it in a pot directly over stove on low to medium heat. Took way lesser time to get it to a jam kinda texture. Sure, it wasn’t as smooth but it didn’t affect the taste one bit. In fact, it taste every bit the same ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ ❤ as I remember growing up eating that for breakfast made by my adorable mom.. I wonder if Ryan thinks I’m adorable too lol.. probably not 😀 . What matters is he loves his kaya toast as much as I do & that’s a win for a lazy mommy trying to integrate him to his Singapore roots.

Best way to eat it – spread margarine and kaya on your toast 😀

Ingredients:

5 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup white sugar
1 cup coconut cream (full fat version please)
1/2 tablespoon Pandan Essence

Instructions:

Add sugar, coconut cream & essence to the lightly beaten eggs in a pot
Cook the mixture directly on stove over low to medium heat
Keep stirring constantly until it becomes the jam texture you are looking for
When it is cooled, you can store in fridge just like you keep your store bought strawberry jam

Easy Peasy Egg Tarts

Honestly, never even really occurred to me where egg tarts actually come from… as in from which culture. Growing up, I always remember eating them when my parents would bring us to go eat dim sum on weekend mornings. Those were very fond memories indeed. These days, you can pretty much eat dim sum any day.

But this I do know – while it is a Asian dish, it has influences from the Portuguese. Might be the reason why some Asian places call them Portuguese Egg Tarts.

So usually, I will try to make my own crust and I have a really wicked awesome flaky pie crust which I feel will work great for the egg tarts but this weekend, Ryan and I weren’t feeling really well so I just really didn’t feel like making it from scratch so store bought ones will have to do for this weekend 😀

And really, Tenderflake Tart Shells works perfect with Egg Tarts.

There are many many egg tart recipes but remembering that this is a Easy Peasy one, so I did skip some steps such as straining the egg mixture. Straining the egg mixture/filling helps remove any lumps and ensures your custard filling comes out looking smooth & pretty.

Also, it usually ask you to chill the filling in fridge first. Again, skipped by this mommy. One thing to note too that my original recipe usually uses evaporated milk but sometimes when I dun have that, I use my coffee cream instead. I just use 2 tbsp of coffee cream instead of 1/4 cup evaporated milk.

Since I am baking for my family and not to sell, I really could care less about straining it. Maybe when I have more time or when I decide to see if anyone will buy it from me at the Farmers Market lol

Here goes the super easy ingredients:

1 box of Tenderflake Tart Shells (12 tarts)
4 beaten eggs with a pinch of vanilla extract & salt
¾ cup hot water
6 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup evaporated milk

My Easy Peasy Lazy Mommy Recipe:

To make the custard filling, stir in sugar in hot water and let it cool slightly
Once water is cooled, add in your beaten eggs, vanilla, salt and evaporated milk. If you don’t have evaporated milk, I would just add 2 Tbsp of coffee cream or half & half
Mix it all up thoroughly
Strain it if you want your custard to look smooth and pretty and without lumps but I didn’t.
Pour it into the 12 tart shells till about 80% full
Bake at 400 f for 20-25 mins. Mine came out at 25 mins Cos I filled the tart shells to the brim lol. But if you fill it to 80% full, 20 mins works suffice

And that is it. Super easy. Super lazy recipe. And now my son gets to have a taste of what my parents would bring me to eat on a Sunday morning 😀 and he ate 2 for breakfast this morning so I’m gonna call that a Mommy Win!

😎 😎 😎 😎 😎 😎 😎 😎

Air Fryer Crab Stick Chips

If I have not said this yet, I love love love my Air Fryer 🙂 . With Chinese New Year approaching, I’m trying to find recipes I can replicate easily in Canada & it isn’t always easy. With Christmas, I wake up every day feeling festive like everyone else because Christmas is a much bigger event than Chinese New Year in my town. Chinese New Year really isn’t widely celebrated in my town so it can feel harder to be the only one getting excited about it. Thankfully, my Instant Vortex Plus is helping me get excited Cos there are so many Chinese New Year stuff that I can easily replicate using this one appliance 🙂

Anyhow, this took me 2 packets of crab sticks. Make sure you buy the rectangular ones.

In Singapore, they sell this during Chinese New Year and they are deep fried so it is pretty labour intensive which also meant they sell it pretty expensive but this air fryer version taste as good, uses way less oil and is so easy to make. I made all these in 4 batches in my air fryer and each batch took about 20 mins at 320 fahrenheit. While it was cooking, I just used the time to make my wontons.

It is Yum Yum in my tum tum 😀

Instant Vortex Plus Chinese New Year Baking – Green Pea Cookies

**One of my favourite Chinese New Year Cookie**

Green Pea Cookie, I feel is one of those very understated cookie. If Chinese New Year Cookies were a group of friends, Green Pea would be the wallflower, Pineapple Cookies would be my popular & vivacious friends and Me, I am definitely the Walnut Cookie, the Nutty & Klutzy one in the group haha 😛

**Ryan is definitely a NUTTY Walnut Cookie like his mommy too 😀 lol**

Lol anyhow, while Green Pea Cookie is very often overlooked compared to her more flashy friends, she is so so yummy. And it’s the type of cookie that the more you eat, the more you want more.

And it is a very easy recipe. Oh well maybe not my first round Cos the first time I made it, I had to wash the peas, dry them, roast and then grind them 😥 . Definitely not this Lazy Mommy idea of a lazy way to bake lol.

I might be lazy but I’m definitely determined when it comes to finding lazy ways to bake quality food. So this time, I had this bright idea and it actually worked!!!! 😉

Instead of fresh peas, I used these green pea snacks 😎 & they work perfectly! 😀 . Just make sure you are using the plain flavored ones and not the Wasabi Spicy ones lol. Otherwise, be prepared for a very spicy cookie hahaa..

Ingredients

1 Cup Ground Green Peas
1.5 Cup Flour
2/3 Cup Icing Sugar
100 gram Vegetable Oil
1 beaten Egg Yolk to glaze the top of cookies

Instructions

Combine top 4 ingredients in a mixing bowl until well mixed into a dough
If too dry, add a bit more oil gradually
If too oily, add a bit more flour gradually
I find this recipe very forgiving
Glaze the top of cookies
Bake in Vortex Plus for 12 mins
Switch the trays midway
When it’s done, let it cool before storing it. This would stay well in freezer as well.

They were soooo yummy 😀

Enjoy!

Dummy Guide to Chinese New Year in Singapore

Winter vector created by freepik – www.freepik.com

While I really love Chinese New Year (CNY) celebrations, I only celebrate CNY if I am back in Singapore during that period of time. But now that we have a kid, there’s this urge in me to start celebrating CNY in Canada with hubby and kid. Maybe it’s a maternal thing. Maybe I hope he doesn’t forget his Singapore roots. Either way, it feels so important to me now to start recreating certain CNY traditions for my own family.

So for the very first time since I moved to Canada, we are gonna host a CNY Party and invite our friends over. Needless to say, both hubby and me want to make sure we incorporate CNY stuff and food at this party. But really, ny hubby has never celebrated CNY so how would he know? He will probably say he knows but really, he wants to bake Toblerone Shortbread Cookies for CNY hmmmmmm….Ya, he doesn’t know CNY but hey, it’s the love & effort that counts 😀 and I do love that he is for us trying to integrate CNY into our family so LOVE YOU DADDY

With limited ingredients here, we can’t recreate everything but we will recreate selectively lol. So I thought what better way to start than to write up a Beginner Guide to CNY in Singapore 😀

THE MONTH BEFORE CHINESE NEW YEAR

1. SPRING CLEANING

What this step essentially means is to usher in the new year with a clean slate in life, giving you the opportunity to prosper in the new year.

Major Cleaning before CNY 1st day – symbolizes a fresh start & sweeping away all the bad luck for last year out the door
Decorate the house with CNY decorations
No cleaning especially on the first day of CNY – symbolizes sweeping away all your new and good vibes/luck out the door so NO CLEANING on 1st day.
If you owe anyone money, try to repay them before the first day of CNY. What it symbolizes is that if you went into the new year owing people money, then you will always be owing people money in the new year. Clearing that debt will symbolizes good money luck in the year ahead. To us, this is also a form of cleaning.
We also use this time to pay our respects and worship our deities either at home at at the temple. One prays to different deities for different wishes. You pray to God of Wealth for obviously more wealth, to Kitchen God who has witnessed and recorded your family dynamics for the last year ready to go back to Heaven to report your good and misdeeds to Heaven. There are many other gods.

2. RED PACKET MONEY ( KNOWN AS 紅包 OR HONGBAO)

During CNY, it is our tradition for the married people to give Red Packet to unmarried guests as well as seniors and the elderly at home. These are filled with money and symbolize good fortune and luck for the new year. So basically, every married couple including us will give Ryan a Red Packet and me & Darren will give my Mom (the senior in the home) a Red Packet.
Amounts usually differ depending on how close the relationship is and hierarchy. Fear Not if you are clueless about this. Of course, there is a short dummy guide published yearly on amount rules 😀 . You can have a quick read at here.
One should only use new dollars and the amount should always be in even numbers but never the number 4. So no odd amount like $7.00 but also never use the even number 4. Number 4 in Chinese sounds like death so never give $4.00, $44.00, $24.00. While other even numbers are acceptable, we love the number 8. 8 is considered a very auspicious number.
Go to bank to obtain new or good as new dollar notes for the Red Packets. While most Singaporeans use online banking, this is the time of the year where the banks will be filled with customers coming in to withdraw new dollar notes. You can even reserve your new notes online 😀 .
For recipients of the Red Packet, make sure you wear bright colored clothing. Always bring 2 mandarin oranges when visiting during CNY and as soon as you enter someone home, offer the oranges to the family and say a auspicious greeting. If in doubt, just offer with both hands and say “Happy Chinese New Year”. The family says thanks, receives your oranges and gives you a Red Packet. NEVER open your Red Packet until you get home. It is just rude.

3. BUY NEW CLOTHES

New clothes preferably in Red or auspicious colors for at least the first 3 days of CNY (By the way, CNY runs for 15 days but no, we dun get time off for all 15 days lol)
In stricter households, most still would avoid white and black colors as those are associated with death. Kinda funny that in the western world, white is considered a wedding beautiful color whereas it is associated as death or funeral in Asian cultures.
It’s not so strict in my family so we can wear any colors but i would still suggest leaving your goth makeup at home 😀
Some would even buy new bed sheets to usher in the new year as well. Not sure if my mom ever did. Have to remember to ask her.

**RYAN & GRANDMA CHECKING OUT CNY MARKET**

4. PREPARE CHINESE NEW YEAR FOODS

There is a lot of playing with words in Chinese New Year traditions so preparing foods that translate to auspicious meanings is important. In my family, I don’t think we observe it that strictly but some families still do. Example: Long Noodles symbolize long life, Fish symbolize being blessed every year, mandarin oranges symbolize abundance & prosperity, Glutinous Rice Cakes symbolize great improvement in study and work, Pineapple Tarts symbolize ushering a sweet & prospering life, Sweet Rice Balls for family harmony, Spring Rolls symbolize wealth & etc. The list goes on and on.
Prepare food for the Reunion Dinner which is on the last night before Chinese New Year. I love love love Reunion Dinner. It’s a Must in my family, I grew up having Hot Pot for our Reunion Dinner and I miss it soooo much. Wish we could be there this Chinese New Year :(. Oh well, such is Life but at least, we would be doing our own mini celebration in Canada

CHINESE NEW YEAR EVE

1. REUNION DINNER

As the name depicts, it really is a gathering of the family members for a sit down meal. Traditionally, Reunion dinner always happens on CNY Eve but nowadays, some families choose to do their dinner earlier. Reunion dinner has to be the favorite part of CNY for me personally 😀
The format of the meal depends on the family but growing up, we always had Steam Boat or Hot Pot for Reunion Dinner.
I just ordered a Hot Pot from Amazon.ca . Hope it arrives in time for our 2020 CNY Party

2. COUNTING DOWN TO NEW YEAR

Once Reunion Dinner is over, some people would go to Chinatown to usher in the New Year and join the locals in various celebrations, street performances, night markets in counting down. Be warned. It is a sea of people packed together but if you want to feel the CNY atmosphere, this is the best way to.
Expect plenty of loud celebrations when you are out and about. If you hate crowds, people and loud noises, do yourself a favor and just stay home
For Lazy people like me, we count down at home with our full bellies and reminisce about the family and the last year.

DURING CHINESE NEW YEAR

1. VISITING, VISITING & MORE VISITING

While CNY last for 15 days, the statutory holidays only cover first 2 days of CNY so we do a lot of visiting of and with families and friends during these two days. Growing up, it’s not uncommon for my family to be out visiting 3 to 4 families within a day. It’s pretty hectic and so no, you can’t be staying at one place for that long
As a single, I would receive Red Packets but sigh now that I am married, I am the giver lol

2. LO HEI (PROSPERITY TOSS)

Best way I can describe a Prosperity Toss is the tossing of a very colorful salad with sashimi and every ingredient in this salad has a auspicious meaning
It is really quite hard for me to describe how we do the Prosperity Toss but check out this quick YouTube Video and it gives you a good idea of how that looks like
If you prefer a short step by step guide, check out this article on LadyIronChef.com on How To Lo Hei Like a Boss 😀
Traditionally, people do this on the 7th day of CNY but nowadays, people do it on any day of the 15 days of CNY
I really would like to incorporate LO HEI in our CNY Party but not sure how to with limited ingredients.

3. WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE

Ermmmmm not that I always have the best language but for us, swearing, scolding and talking negatively or behind other backs during CNY is like the worst thing you can do to yourself. We believe that how we chose to behave during CNY sets the tone and fortune for the year to come. Well, obviously, we should strive to better people anyway not just during CNY but throughout the year but it definitely will get you disapproving looks if you did that during CNY

Bear in mind that CNY celebrations might differ slightly in different countries, the whole idea is that CNY is a time of family togetherness, joy, abundance and prosperity and is the time to get all your family together, pay respects to your deities and gods and usher in the new year with good fortune and luck.

I hope you enjoy this beginner guide and that gives you a better idea of my culture 😀 Now I better get started on my CNY Baking

Instant Pot Nasi Lemak (Coconut Milk Rice)

So before I explain what Nasi Lemak is, I want to explain why I have never attempted to cook this even though I could have googled a long time ago on the recipe. Like Singapore Chicken Rice, this is a dish that has more than 1 component. It’s not like Beef Stroganoff or Cabbage Rice Soup where there is just 1 main dish. With Nasi Lemak, the rice and the fried chicken feels like the most important components for me. Yes. There are other components but since I don’t have most of the ingredients here, I’m just going to focus on the rice and the fried chicken that makes up this famous Singapore dish.

So my challenge today is to be able to replicate Nasi Lemak with using just 1 Instant Pot. And I succeeded! 😀

So now, let me tell you what is Nasi Lemak. Wikipedia states that Nasi Lemak is a Malay fragrant rice dish cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves (also called Screw Pine Leaves). It is a very popular Southeast Asia dish and you can find it everywhere in Malaysia and Singapore.

My Western friends and hubby will find this part strange but to us, this is a dish that can be served as breakfast, lunch or dinner. Because it is so popular, you can find many variations of the dish but it is always rice cooked in coconut milk and pandan leaves and it is usually always accompanied by a no. of smaller side dishes like fried chicken (Ayam Goreng), deep fried anchovies, peanuts, fried egg, sliced cucumber and sambal chilli

If you are in Singapore and wishes to try Nasi Lemak, you can find them everywhere. But if you want to know where the Top 10 Best Nasi Lemak is in Singapore, check out the list at Singapore Foodie 😀

Some Notes About This Recipe:

Obviously, given the restraints I have in terms of grocery shopping in my town, I am not going to be able to replicate the dish and its side dishes 100%
I wanted to make fried Chicken as in Ayam Goreng but I don’t want to have to deep fry so this is a very easy peasy version and is not going to taste like Ayam Goreng but honestly, I was pretty happy with how the chicken turned out. My toddler and hubby loves it
Whole concept of Instant Pot is using just 1 pot so you can see in my video that other than broiling the chicken in oven for 5 mins, everything was done in Instant Pot
I cooked the chicken in Instant Pot with just water. But after cooking, the water now has a lot of juice and fats from the chicken dripping onto them so make sure you drain all that liquid before you cook your rice. Needless to say – please dispose the liquid safely and not down your sink. I feel like everyone should know this lol but since I can be considered quite ditsy at times (more times than not), I figured let’s not assume everyone has common sense cos this Lazy Mommy doesn’t lol 😀
Because I use only coconut milk with the rice, I find that I need more salt than most coconut rice recipe. I estimate I used about 1/2 tsp and slightly more. If you are concerned about sodium, add the salt after rice is cooked so you can tailor to your taste buds

I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to not only be able to replicate our traditional Singapore dishes for my baby but also to see his happiness and joy at trying and liking these dishes. I really hope he grows up being a proud Canadian but also remembering his Singapore roots 😀

Is that too much for a Lazy Mommy to wish for? 😀

Instant Pot Nasi Lemak (Coconut Milk Rice)

Ingredients

1 Tsp Puree Ginger
2 Tsp Puree Garlic
1/2 Tsp Puree Turmeric
2 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Oyster Flavored Sauce
A dash of Sesame Oil
1 Tsp Sugar
Chicken Thighs
2 Cups Basmati Rice (Rinsed and drained)
3 Cups Coconut Milk
1/2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Puree Garlic

Directions

Add the first 8 ingredients together & marinate chicken in it for 1 few hours. Better overnight
Add to Instant Pot on the trivet with 1 cup water
Close lid, ensure vent valve is sealed and select Pressure Cook for 15 minutes. Once done, Natural Release 10 minutes before Quick Release
Place chicken on greased baking tray and Broil on High for 5 minutes
Drain the Instant Pot of the liquid (There is chicken oil so dispose of it safely and not down the sink)
Add rice, coconut milk, salt and puree garlic in pot. Give it a good mix
Close lid, ensure vent valve is sealed and select Pressure Cook for 5 minutes. Once done, Natural Release 10 minutes before Quick Release
Plate and Enjoy

Instant Pot Singapore Chicken Rice

Singapore Chicken Rice – a humble dish created out of wanting to stretch the use of the chicken as much as one can. I’m sure that when the dish was created years & years ago, it never thought it will become one of Singapore National dish that is eaten all over the world…oh well, except in my part of the world where no other Singaporeans reside lol

According to David Farley’s article, Chicken Rice from Maxwell Food Centre in Singapore was worth him flying 15 hours from New York to come eat it. And get this, Chicken Rice is sold in many places in New York. David specifically flew to Singapore and went to Maxwell Food Centre to eat at 30-year-old food stall Tian Tian, a spot renowned for its Singapore chicken rice that has gotten praise from even the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Gordon Ramsay.

Chicken Rice can be found ANYWHERE in Singapore. Not kidding. We love this dish so much. I can eat it 2-3 times a week. But while you can find it everywhere, there are only a selected few places that have made the top in not just my mind but in every Singaporean’s too. There would be a chicken rice place within 5 mins walking distance from where I live but I would have no qualms traveling all the way for 45 mins or more to another chicken rice place to join a insane long line just to eat what I feel is a better chicken rice version. My hubby often jokes that to get a Singaporean to love a food, just create a long line as a marketing strategy. He’s not exactly wrong LOL. We will line up to get good food but we are also very good at sussing out the bad places lol.

So now let’s talk about making it in the Instant Pot. I first saw the Instant Pot recipe on pressurecookrecipes.com and I was hooked. I really wanted to make it but felt it was too much steps for my tiny brain. So I thought maybe I could adapt it to make it simpler for me. I’m 100% positive theirs taste better but for the convenience and time saved for me, I am happy to compromise with what I feel is still a pretty ok recipe. It will never top my Favorite Chicken Rice in Singapore but it’ll do; my craving is satisfied & Ryan gets to experience his Singapore culture 😀 . That’s all that matters to me. I was worried Ryan wouldn’t like it but he LOVES it!!!

So Some Things About This Recipe:

This is a very humble Singapore dish but one that every Singaporean loves and is proud of. But not all my Canada friends would appreciate the white pale chicken that is fundamental to this dish. My hubby is one of them. So instead of needing to cook a separate dish for him, I just brush BBQ sauce on 2 of the chicken legs and broil them on High in oven for 10 mins and he gets BBQ Chicken Legs and we get our traditional chicken
I love using frozen chicken but ALWAYS make sure you separate the chicken pieces first before placing in pot. Either leave it out to thaw for a bit which is way too troublesome for me or defrost it in microwave for 10 mins. Chicken will still be frozen but you can now separate the pieces
The original recipe from Pressurecookrecipes.com has more steps than my recipe but I definitely took my inspiration from their recipe and I am 100% certain theirs must taste better than mine but I am not picky. I always think that any food that is made with love and patience always taste better and I have Love but definitely not the Patience LOL. I am honestly though quite happy with the results of my adapted recipe so this will work for my family but if you want an even better result, I suggest you follow the original recipe as I definitely took a lot of shortcuts. Thanks Amy & Jacky at Pressurecookrecipes.com!! 😀
Condiments are very important to us in eating this dish. I only had dark soy sauce so that’s all I used. But the original Singapore Chicken rice is served with freshly minced chilli sauce, garlic and ginger. I didn’t have all the above so dark soy sauce will have to do
While the chicken is an important part of the dish, the rice is really of the essence. That’s where the seasoning mix and that broth comes in. If you want to be even more lazy, use campbell chicken broth but for the rice to have that fragrance, oil from the chicken is important. Thus, cooking the rice with the broth that was used to steam the chicken helps make the rice so much nicer than using Campbell. While the chicken gets cooked, the chicken fat drips into the water in the pot making it the perfect rich chicken broth to cook the rice in.
I use puree for the seasoning mix but feel free to use fresh

Instant Pot Singapore Chicken Rice

Adapted From: www.pressurecookrecipes.com.

Ingredients

4 Frozen Bone In Chicken Legs (Separate them first)
3 Cups Water
3 Cups Jasmine Rice (Better to wash & rinse them once but i didn’t)
Seasoning Mix: 4 Tbsp Puree Ginger/10 Cloves Puree Garlic/1 Puree Shallot/1 Tbsp Olive Oil (Puree them or just use store bought puree products)
Dark Soy Sauce as condiment
Sliced Cucumbers and Sliced Tomatoes as garnish

Directions

Add all 4 frozen chicken legs in pot & add 3 Cups water
Close lid & ensure vent valve is in sealing position. Select Pressure Cook for 25 minutes. Once it is done, do a Quick Release
Once all pressure is released, open lid
Plunge all 4 chicken legs into a ice cold water bath immediately to firm up skin & stop it from cooking further. Lay chicken aside
Pour the broth from Instant Pot to a measuring cup. It came to about 4 cups of broth
Add Rice to pot. Add 3 Cups of that rich chicken broth from Step 5 into pot
Add the Seasoning Mix in pot and make sure you give it a good mix so the rice gets mixed well with the seasoning mix, as well as that rich juicy chicken broth
Close lid & ensure vent valve is in sealing position. Select Pressure Cook for 5 minutes. Once it is done, wait for 10 mins. Once 10 mins is up, press Cancel
Once all pressure is released, open lid & fluff rice with fork
Lay your rice along with the chicken, dark soya sauce, sliced cucumbers & tomatoes & enjoy while it’s hot
NOTE: Not everyone likes chicken the Singapore Chicken Rice way. Singaporeans love it but my hubby wouldn’t like eating pale white chicken lol. So best part – I used 2 chicken for Ryan & me and broil the remaining 2 chicken legs in oven brushed with BBQ sauce on HIGH for 10 minutes and TAH DA…now everyone is happy

Enjoy and I hope you like it as much as Ryan and I did 😀

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THE MONTH BEFORE CHINESE NEW YEAR

1. SPRING CLEANING

2. RED PACKET MONEY ( KNOWN AS 紅包 OR HONGBAO)

3. BUY NEW CLOTHES

4. PREPARE CHINESE NEW YEAR FOODS

CHINESE NEW YEAR EVE

1. REUNION DINNER

2. COUNTING DOWN TO NEW YEAR

DURING CHINESE NEW YEAR

1. VISITING, VISITING & MORE VISITING

2. LO HEI (PROSPERITY TOSS)

3. WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE

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Instant Pot Nasi Lemak (Coconut Milk Rice)

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So Some Things About This Recipe:

Instant Pot Singapore Chicken Rice

Ingredients

Directions

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