Session #2: Appetizer - Dim Sum (Shrimp & Chicken Dumplings)

Ingredients : (we doubled the original recipe)
400 grams of ground chicken
400 grams of shrimp (roughly chopped)
5 water chestnuts (diced small) ~ should put more
6 dry shiitake mushroom (soak still soft and diced small)
2 stalk of spring onions - finely chopped
1 stalk of coriander (optional) - finely chopped
2 egg whites
4 tsp of corn starch
2 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of sesame oil
salt and pepper to taste
100 pieces wanton wrapper

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a big bowl. Stir until everything is mixed together.

2. Set aside in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Scoop about 1 teaspoon into wanton skin and fold.This recipe makes about 100 pieces
4. Steam in a bamboo steamer for about 10-15 minutes.

Sauce Ingredients

3 tbsp dried chillies (blended)
3 tbsp chili sauce (we used Life brand)
3 tbsp tomato sauce (Life brand or any of your preference)
3 tbsp sugar
1 clove garlic
some oil
salt to taste

Directions
1. Mix dried chillies, chili sauce and tomato sauce in a bowl
2. Saute garlic with oil
3. Add in mixed ingredients. Stir till cooked. Add in sugar and salt to taste.
4. If it is too thick, add some water.

Session #1: Appetizer - Shepherd's Pie

For the shepherd's pie, we combined these two recipes:
1. Shepherd's Pie (Cottage Pie)
2. Easy Shepherd's Pie Recipe


Here is how we made our Shepherd's Pie..


Ingredients
800g ground beef
1 onion chopped
2 cups vegetables - chopped red, yellow and green bell pepper, carrot and celery
1kg Russet potatoes
1 stick butter
1 cup beef broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce,
1 teaspoon dried Rosemary
1 teaspoon dried Thyme
40g Parmesan cheese
Salt, pepper, other seasonings of choice


Directions
1. Boil potato in salted water until tender. Peel the skin and mashed the potatoes with 4 tablespoons of butter, season to taste.

2. Sauté onions in butter until tender over medium heat. Add in the bell peppers.

3. Add the carrots and celery in with the onions and peppers and cook until tender.

4. Add ground beef and sauté until no longer pink.

5. Add salt and pepper. Add in dried Rosemary and dried Thyme. 

6. Add Worcestershire sauce. Add half a cup of beef broth and cook, uncovered, over low heat for 10 minutes adding more beef broth as necessary to keep moist. 

5. Place beef and onions on baking dish. 

7. Distribute mashed potatoes on top. Rough up with a fork so that there are peaks that will brown nicely. You can use the fork to make some designs in the potatoes as well.

8. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of the potatoes.

7. Bake in 205°C for 30 minutes or until bubbling and brown. 

The meat was a bit watery because we added in 1 cup right away instead of half a cup. To improve this, we figured we should have added in 1 tablespoon of flour/cornstarch so that the meat will stick to the potatoes better. Nevertheless, it was really yummy and was a hit among our kids as well.