Quick Chef Dad

Quick Chef Dad Quick and easy home cooking.
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Our sourdough bread: we do not add eggs, milk, butter, animal sourced dairy (except bread which contains cheese), additives, sugar, colouring and flavourings.

05/06/2026

Old Cucumber Pork Rib Soup. Sweet, golden broth that tastes like it's been on the stove all day. 老黄瓜排骨汤.

Serves 4 to 6
700g pork ribs, blanched
1-1.2kg old cucumber, to seed and chunk
3 cloves garlic, skin on
8 red dates, pitted
3 honey dates
6 dried scallops, soaked 15 to 20 mins (keep the soaking water)
2L water total
Salt/MSG to taste

1️⃣ Blanch pork ribs 3 mins. Rinse under cold water.
2️⃣ Soak dried scallops until soft. Do not discard the water.
3️⃣ Add everything into the pressure cooker. Top up to 2 litres.
4️⃣ High pressure 30 mins. Natural release 10 mins.
5️⃣ Season with salt/MSG. Serve hot.

This is the first in my Top 10 favourite soups to make at home. Stay with me for the rest of the series.

#老黄瓜排骨汤

28/05/2026

Here's something I probably shouldn't admit… recipes don't work word for word. Mine included.

Ingredients are local. Taste is local. Soy sauce, sugar, even salt… all a little different depending on where you are.

So two people can follow the same recipe to the gram and end up with two different dishes. That's not failure. That's normal.

I've cooked long enough to know the scale and the clock are just training wheels… the real skill is cooking by what you see, smell, hear and feel. Taste as you go, and adjust at the end.

I've eaten the same dish in two towns an hour apart and they tasted nothing alike. Both good. Neither wrong.

So don't blindly follow a recipe… not even mine. Understand why each step is there first… then adjust it to your taste.

That's not breaking the rules.

That's learning to cook.

26/05/2026

Homemade pork lard and pork lard oil, 猪油 + 猪油渣.

Just pork fat, a few slices of old ginger, low heat, and a bit of patience.

An hour later, you'll have:
✨ Clear, fragrant pork lard
✨ Crispy 猪油渣
✨ A kitchen smelling like grandma's cooking

Funny thing is, many people think pork lard is one of the worst fats you can eat.

But pork lard isn't the trans-fat monster many believe it is. In fact, nearly half of lard is monounsaturated fat, the same family of fats found in olive oil. Like any cooking fat, moderation matters. A spoonful in your fried rice or stir-fry isn't automatically the health disaster social media sometimes makes it out to be.

What I like most about homemade lard is knowing exactly what's in it:
✔️ Pork fat
✔️ Ginger
✔️ Nothing else

And let's be honest... the real reward is stealing a few pieces of hot, crispy 猪油渣 before anyone else gets to them. 😆

Did your parents or grandparents cook with 猪油 at home?

🥢 Save this recipe for later.
📌 Follow Quick Chef Dad for more home-style Asian cooking

23/05/2026

Watermelon in season now..

If you have not tried this.. you don't know what you are missing. 🍉

🥗 What you need:
800g watermelon, cubed (sweet ones works best!)
150g feta, crumbled (you like it, add more)
Fresh mint leaves (for the aroma, you like it, add more)
1–2 tbsp olive oil (Bind everything together, dont go more)
Optional: lemon juice, pistachios (lemon for the citrus punch, pistachios for that complex woody undertones)

👨‍🍳 How to:

Chill your watermelon first
Arrange on a platter
Add feta, torn mint, olive oil
Squeeze of lemon, crack of pepper (if you like)
Serve cold. Done.
No salt needed. Feta handles that.
Best with grilled meats or on its own on a hot day 🌞

20/05/2026

After you try this, plain rice is going to feel like a punishment.

上海菜饭. Shanghai Vegetable Rice. Three ingredients, one pot, zero fuss.
Serves 4 to 5

Rice: 4 rice cooker cups jasmine rice, rinsed
Lap cheong: 200g, small cubed
Bok choy: 250g, roughly chopped
Pork lard: 80 to 90g
Salt: 1.5 tsp, for the bok choy

1️⃣ Salt the bok choy and massage well. Rest 15 to 20 minutes, then squeeze out all the water firmly.
2️⃣ Add rice, lap cheong, and lard into the rice cooker. Mix well. Fill to the normal water line for 4 cups. Cook on standard setting.
3️⃣ Once done and still hot, fold the squeezed bok choy into the rice. Close the lid. Rest 4 to 5 minutes. Toss and serve.
✨Optional: a pinch of white pepper, fried shallots, or a splash of light soy sauce when serving.

Recipe Inspired by Chef Cadence Gao 鞑厨高寒
Youtube@CadenceGao

#上海菜饭

18/05/2026

🔥 Chinese All-Purpose Fragrant Oil

🛢️ 500ml neutral oil
🧄 Onion, leek, garlic, ginger, carrot
🌿 Coriander for freshness
🌿 Spices + dried chilli + optional Sichuan peppercorn
🧂1 tsp of salt

🔥 Method (important)
Start low at 80–90°C
Add everything in
Let it slowly release flavour
Finish at 100–110°C for last 15 mins
This builds deeper aroma

⚠️ Watch the garlic
Light golden = perfect
Dark = bitter
⏱️ Total cook time 25–30 mins

Strain for clean oil

🫙 Storage
• Room temp: up to 3 days
• Fridge: 1–2 weeks (I secretly use it longer)

💡 Use it on everything
🍜 Noodles
🐟 Steamed fish
🥬 Vegetables
🍳 Fried rice

16/05/2026

Steamed fish but make it miso garlic 🐟

The sauce does all the work.

🛒 Ingredients
🐟 900g red snapper tail
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
3–4 slices ginger
2 stalks spring onion

🧂 Miso Garlic Sauce
2 tbsp white miso paste
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1½ tsp sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp oil

🌶️ Optional: bird's eye chilli, sliced

🔪 Method
Score fish, rub with Shaoxing wine
Rest on ginger and spring onion
Mix sauce, spread over fish and into slits
Scatter chilli on top
Steam 11–13 mins over strong boiling heat
Top with spring onion and coriander
Pour smoking hot oil over to finish

💡 Add chilli right before steaming — keeps the heat sharp and the aroma fresh.

Serve immediately. Don't let it sit. 🙏

14/05/2026

Nobody needs to know you used frozen prata. 🥧
Prata Chicken Pot Pie — creamy, hearty filling, shatteringly crispy top, and zero pastry-making required. Comfort food hack that actually works. 🍗✨

🥩 Main

2 frozen prata
250g chicken thigh, diced
½ tsp salt | White pepper, a few dashes

🥕 Vegetables

1 potato, diced
1 carrot, diced
3 French beans, diced
½ onion, diced
Optional: peas, mushrooms

🧄 Aromatics

2 cloves garlic, minced

🥛 Cream Sauce

1 tbsp butter | 1 tbsp flour
200ml milk | 150ml chicken stock

🧂 Seasoning

1 tsp light soy sauce | ½ tsp sugar
White pepper, a few dashes

🔥 How to cook:
1️⃣ Aromatics — Heat pan with oil. Fry onion and garlic until softened and fragrant.
2️⃣ Chicken — Add diced chicken thigh. Sear until lightly golden on the outside.
3️⃣ Vegetables — Add potato, carrot, and French beans. Stir-fry for 2–3 mins.
4️⃣ Roux — Add butter and let it melt. Sprinkle flour over and stir well to coat everything.
5️⃣ Sauce — Pour in milk and chicken stock gradually, stirring continuously until the sauce thickens and coats the filling.
6️⃣ Season and simmer — Add light soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Simmer until the potato is just almost cooked through.
7️⃣ Transfer — Pour filling into a baking dish. Lay frozen prata flat over the top to cover. Poke a few holes with a fork to let steam escape.
8️⃣ Bake — 200°C for 20–22 mins until the prata is puffed, golden, and crisp.
💡 Pro tip: Season the filling slightly stronger before baking — the prata top absorbs some of the flavour as it cooks, so what tastes perfect in the pan will be just right out of the oven.

🍽️ Serve hot, straight from the dish.

Save this for your next cosy weekend cook. Follow for more easy home cooking! 👇

13/05/2026

Pumpkin Rice using Rice Cooker (One-pot cooking)

🛒 What you need
🍚 Rice Base
Jasmine rice — 3 cups
Water — 2 cups (2.5 cup marking)
Light soy sauce — 1 tbsp
Oyster sauce — 1 tbsp
Dark soy sauce — 1 tsp
Sesame oil — 1 tsp
Chicken stock powder — 1½ tsp
White pepper — to taste
Fragrant oil — to taste

🥘 Main
Orange pumpkin — 350g, cut into 3cm chunks
Dried shrimp (hei bi) — 40g, soaked and chopped
Lap cheong — 200g, sliced
Shallots — 5 to 6, sliced
Garlic — 3 cloves, minced
Shiitake mushrooms — 3 to 4 pieces, soaked and sliced
Cooking oil — 3 tbsp

👨‍🍳 Method

Fry shallots in oil until fragrant. Add dried shrimp, toast until nutty. Add garlic, fry 90 seconds.
Add lap cheong, mushrooms, then pumpkin. Coat everything in the aromatic oil. Remove from heat.
Add rice and all seasonings to rice cooker pot. Stir well. It should taste slightly salty — this is correct.
Layer the pan mixture over the rice. Do not stir. Cook on standard white rice mode.
When done, rest 5 minutes with lid closed. Fold from the bottom up and serve.

💡 The pumpkin releases moisture as it cooks — that's why we use less water than usual.

12/05/2026

This one tastes like home. Every single time. 🍅
Creamy Tomato Egg with Onions (番茄滑蛋) — silky soft eggs, tangy-sweet tomato sauce, glossy and rich over rice. One of those dishes that looks simple and tastes like so much more. 🥚✨

🥚 Eggs

4–5 eggs, beaten
¼ tsp salt
(Soft scramble — remove early while still slightly underdone)

🍅 Tomatoes

3 medium ripe tomatoes
(Score skin with a cross → blanch 15–20 secs → ice water → peel → cut into wedges)

🧅 Aromatics

1 red onion, sliced
2 slices ginger, julienned

🥣 Sauce

3 tbsp tomato ketchup | 1½ tbsp sugar
1½–2 tsp chicken seasoning | ¼ tsp salt
1 cup water
1 tbsp cornflour + 2 tbsp water (slurry)

✨ Finish

Spring onions, chopped
Few drops sesame oil, off heat

🔥 How to cook:
1️⃣ Soft scramble — Heat wok with oil. Beat eggs with salt and pour in. Scramble gently into large soft pieces — remove while still slightly underdone. Set aside.
2️⃣ Aromatics — Same wok. Stir-fry ginger and red onion over medium-high heat until glossy and just softened. No browning.
3️⃣ Tomatoes — Add peeled tomato wedges and a pinch of salt. Stir-fry until the tomatoes break down and release their juices.
4️⃣ Sauce — Add ketchup, sugar, and chicken seasoning. Toss to combine.
5️⃣ Simmer — Add water. Let the sauce come together and simmer until slightly reduced.
6️⃣ Thicken — Stir in cornflour slurry gradually until the sauce turns glossy and coats the back of a spoon.
7️⃣ Return eggs — Gently fold the soft scrambled eggs back in. Keep the pieces large and pillowy.
8️⃣ Finish — Turn off heat. Add spring onions and a few drops of sesame oil. Plate immediately.
💡 Pro tip: The secret is in the soft scramble — pull the eggs out early. They'll finish cooking when you fold them back into the hot sauce, and you'll get that creamy, custardy texture instead of rubbery chunks.
🍚 Best served over hot steamed rice.

Save this one. Follow for more easy Chinese home cooking! 👇

#番茄滑蛋 #家常菜

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