Asian Food Channel and Hong Kong Tourism Board with Maria Cordero Food Demo @ Berjaya Times Square, Kuala Lumpur

Yesterday, I was invited to the Maria Cordero Food Demo session by Asian Food Channel at Berjaya Times Square. Thank you Asian Food Channel, George Alice Communications and Hong Kong Tourism Board for the invitation.

The event was jointly sponsored by Hong Kong Tourism Board in conjunction with the upcoming Hong Kong Food and Wine Year. The event was packed! I was there with fellow bloggers like Jason Mumbles, Big Boys Oven, Fat Boy Bakes, Masak-masak and Rebecca.



Hong Kong has long been famous for its culinary strength and recently become the second Asian city to be awarded its very own Michelin Guide. Leveraging on the Hong Kong SAR Government’s exemption of wine duty, which enables visitors to enjoy a wide selection of wine at highly attractive prices, the HKTB launched a brand new marketing platform “Hong Kong Food and Wine Year” to show the world the diverse culinary experience of Hong Kong, reinforcing the city’s image as one of the world’s culinary capitals. Throughout the Hong Kong Food and Wine Year, the HKTB will inject elements of food and wine into its promotion.

From 30 October to 1 November 2009 at the West Kowloon Waterfront Promenade where visitors can indulge themselves in the perfect pairing of wine and food, attend wine appreciation classes conducted by professionals sommeliers, sample many of the local food delicacies, as well as enchanting music, against the beautiful backdrop of Victoria Harbour. To celebrate this Festival and actively engage viewers, HKTB and AFC will be offering two lucky viewers the chance to win an exclusive trip to Hong Kong to experience the festival first hand.



AFC has had tremendous success over the past few years, building a strong Channel that is now represented in seven markets throughout Asia. As well as showcasing a variety of programmes from top celebrity chefs such as Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson, Marco Pierre White, Martin Yan, Daniel Boulud and more, the Channel has recently launched their original production documentaries. AFC has grown into a powerful brand, one that fully understands and nurtures food talent and one that is seen by many blue chip companies as a valued partnership opportunity.

AFC broadcasts on:
Astro Channel 703 (Malaysia)
First Media Digital 1 Channel 76 (Indonesia)
Prime Indovision Channel 22 (Indonesia)
now TV Channel 527 (Hong Kong)
Skycable Channel 58 (Philippines)
StarHub Channel 69 (Singapore)



Maria Cordero or also known as "Fat Mama Maria" talked about her family and her life before she demo her recipes.



She lived her life healthier due to proper eating. She still eats 3-4 meals a day.



She managed her time perfectly between work and family. She enjoys cooking for her grandchildren that visit her weekly.



Maria gave the audience a taste of her special made bitter gourd that she prepared in her hotel room yesterday. Yes, she cooked it in her hotel room! It was amazingly tasty! The crowd loved it too!

If you noticed properly, Maria has slimmed down tremendously. In fact, she lost around 78 pounds due to intakig healthy foods. She explained that she would add vegetables and fruits to her meals smartly. For example, she would fried chicken using chicken skins and added sliced apples and pears with it. The taste is still similar but healthier.

She did also offered tips to maintain a good family relationship. She was a great entertainer. She sang for the audience as she cooked and she also cracked some jokes from time to time.

Her recipes were unique and healthy. I listed them at the bottom.



After the cooking demo, her fans (from the crowd) rushed to her to take pictures and to take her signatures. I'm one of them. I loved her movies especially Mr. Coconut with Michael Hui!



She wasted no time and entertained the crowd with a few songs.




Checked out this song and her dance moves! (More movies comings!)



Maria and Sidney of BigBoysOven.com



Rebecca with Maria!



Cheng Yi of FatBoyBakes with Maria...



Well, its me and Maria!

As famous as she is, she is a very humble person. I watched her quite a number of her movies. The recent movie was the Andy Lau and Shu Qi movie. She acted as Shu Qi's mum.

Maria Cordero's Recipe

Rice Cooker Chicken

Ingredients:
1 Spring Chicken
Generous amounts of green onions, ginger and shallots
A dash of 5 spices
A dash of Pepper and salt
A bit of Sesame Oil
Shaoxing cooking wine

Method:
Mince some ginger finely. Mix the 5 spices, pepper, minced ginger and salt together.
Apply this mixture as a dry rub on the chicken thoroughly. Then set it aside for 30 minutes.
Chop some green onions and ginger into rough strips. Then stuff them into the belly of the chicken.
Chop some green onions, ginger and dried shallots into coarse chunks and add them to the bottom of your rice cooker. Then place the chicken into the cooker.
Put the lid on and cook the chicken for 20 minutes.
Open the lid and add some Shaoxing cooking wine. Put the lid back on and start the cooker again.
Turn the cooker off when the aroma of the wine starts to emanate from the cooker, leave the lid on for a few more minutes.
Then soak the chicken in ice water for a while.
Remove the chicken from the water, sprinkle some sesame oil on it, and slice the chicken before serving.

Mushroom Porcini Oat
Ingredients:
12 Chinese mushrooms
1 packet of Porcini mushrooms
3 cups of oats
1 cups of rice
A bit of Sesame Oil
Generous amount of coriander and green onion

Method:
Soak the Chinese and porcini mushrooms. Then slice them thinly.
Marinate the sliced mushrooms with sesame oil, light soya sauce and dark soya sauce.
Cook the oats and rice together in a pot. When the contents start to thicken and the liquid starts to reduce, layer the mushrooms
on top of the rice.
Put the lid back on and continue cooking.
Once the oat rice is cooked, remove from heat and leave the lid on for few minutes before serving.

Mushroom Cappuccino

Ingredients:
Mixed mushrooms of your choice
Butter
Olive oil
Black pepper
Salt
Whipping Cream

Method:
You need not wash the mushrooms. Just wipe them using a clean towel. Chop them finely and set them aside.
Pre-heat your wok. Add a bit of olive oil and butter and sauté the mushrooms. Then put the lid on briefly.
Remove the lid, add pepper and salt, then stir and sauté.
When the mushrooms are done, transfer all the contents of the wok into a food processor.
Blend this until you get a thick and sticky mixture.
After that, pour this mixture back into the warm wok.
Add the whipping cream and mix well.
The dish is now ready to be served.