Staying at home doesn’t mean that Mother’s Day celebrations have to be dim and boring. If anything, this is a great time to bond and do something thoughtful for mum, rather than the usual eating out at a fancy restaurant, or buying her an expensive gift. Better still, whip up dishes worthy of any five-star establishment with these quality recipes, shared by chefs from luxury hotels and restaurants around the world.

*Photos and recipes courtesy of respective restaurants and hotels. 

FOR THE MUM WHO LOVES DIM SUM 

Spring is in full bloom – and while a trip to Japan might be a no go, you can bring the beautiful cherry blossoms to mum in the form of Sui Tang Li‘s mouth-watering Cherry Blossom Dumplings. This restaurant at The Middle House is known for its vibrant menu inspired by Cantonese, Sichuan and Shanghainese delicacies. Made with beetroot, asparagus, winter bamboo shoots, mushrooms and shrimp, these Cherry Blossom Dumplings by Chef Tony is the perfect dish to surprise any dim sum-loving mum with.

Ingredients:

• Wheat starch: 60g
• Corn starch: 60g
• Beetroot: 50g
• Asparagus: 30g
• Winter bamboo shoots: 30g
• Mushroom: 30g
• Shrimp: 300g
• Egg: 3
• Lard oil: 40g

Method (Video)

FOR THE MUM WHO ENJOYS CHINESE CUISINE 

If mum prefers the savoury and spicy flavours of Chinese cuisine, try these three recipes from Jing Yaa Tang, the Opposite House Beijing’s one-Michelin star restaurant.

Kung Pao Chicken

Ingredients:

• Chicken thigh : 20g
• Diced green onion: 50g
• Cooked peanuts: 25g
• Cooked cashew nuts : 25g
• Sliced garlic : 5g
• Sliced ginger: 5g
• Dried chilli : 5g

Seasoning: 

• (A) Salt (2g), rice wine (5g), sugar (1g), egg (1/3), corn flour (6g)
• (B) Sugar (30g), salt (3g), rice vinegar (50g), corn flour (10g)

Method:

1. Mix and pickle the diced chicken thigh with seasoning (A).
2. Heat the oil in a heated wok, then fry the pickled chicken and diced green onion until the chicken is cooked.
3. Lightly fry the sliced garlic and ginger and dried chilli.
4. Add cooked chicken and onion, and then stir-fry the cooked peanuts, cashew nuts and seasoning (B).

Tips:

1. Cook the fried chicken and diced onion for one minute to elevate the taste.
2. Turn off the fire when adding the peanuts and cashew nuts to keep them crispy.

Mapo Tofu

Main ingredients:

• Tofu (1pc)
• Minced beef 50g

Ingredients:

• Scallion 5g
• Minced ginger 5g
• Spring onion 5g
• Fermented Soy bean 20g
• Sugar 5g
• Sesame oil 8g
• Chili oil 8g
• Rice wine 5g
• Soy sauce 25g
• Soy bean paste: 15g
• Chili powder 8g
• Sichuan peppercorn chili powder 3g

Method:

1. Cut tofu into 3 cm cubes, boil with hot water for 5 minutes.
2. Fry the minced beef until golden brown
3. Fry ginger, scallion, soybean paste, chilli powder. Add tofu, rice wine and water until it covers 2/3 of the tofu. Add sugar, soy sauce and half of the minced beef, cook with low heat for 5 minutes, reduce the sauce and add fermented soybean, stir fry it for 2 minutes.
4. Plate it and add another half of the minced beef, sprinkle the spring onion and Sichuan peppercorn chilli powder.

Braised beef brisket with potatoes 

Main ingredient: (for 4pax)

• Beef brisket : 1.6kg
• Potatoes: 600g

Ingredients:

• seafood sauce: 65g
• Oyster sauce: 65g
• Rice wine: 30g
• Bean paste: 16g
• Soy sauce: 32g
• Icing sugar: 24g
• Ginger slice: 80g
• Leek: 1 stem
• Spice bag: 1

Method:

1. Cut the beef brisket into 4cm squares, boil them for 5-8 minutes.
2. Fry the ginger slice until golden
3. Fry the leek until golden
4. Fry the seafood sauce and add beef brisket until fragrant; add water until it covers the beef, then add spice bag, oyster sauce, soy sauce and a bit salt. Turn to low heat and stew for 2-2.5 hours.
5. Skin potatoes, deep fry until golden, add into the beef stew and reduce the sauce.

Tips:

1. Don’t add extra water when stewing the beef.
2. When reducing the sauce, use low heat so the beef and potatoes can absorb the sauce better

FOR THE MUM WHO’S SHRIMPLY THE BEST 

Mums who love seafood will be absolutely thrilled by Capella Singapore’s Prawn Aglio Olio.  Inspired by the traditional Napoli pasta dish , it is perfumed with aromatic garlic and olive oil, and brought to life with white wine, cloves of garlic and delicious chicken stock.

Ingredients 

• 5pcs Prawn
• 150g Linguini
• 10g Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1 clove Garlic, Minced
• ¼ cup Chicken Stock
• Chilli Flakes
• White Pepper Powder
• Salt to taste
• Italian Parsley

Method
1.Bring a large pot of water to boil. Season water with salt and add in the linguine. Drain and set aside.
2. Using a pan and medium heat, add olive oil and sear prawns until they are cooked on both sides.
3. Add in garlic, followed by chilli flakes.
4. Stirring frequently, add in white wine to deglaze, followed by chicken stock.
5. Add linguine to the sauce. Add white pepper powder and salt to taste. Toss well.
6.Serve with Italian parsley as garnish.

FOR THE MUM WITH A SWEET TOOTH 

If you’re looking for dessert to finish things off on a sweet note, Singita’s indulgent Double-Baked Flourless Chocolate Meringue Cake, or Feast at EAST, Hong Kong’s Raspberry Butter Cake made with fresh raspberries and jam is sure to seal the deal.

Raspberry Butter Cake ingredients and method: 

Singita’s Double-Baked Flourless Chocolate Meringue Cake

Ingredients for the cake 

• 250g butter
• 350g dark chocolate
• 300g brown sugar
• 5 eggs, separated

Ingredients for the meringue

• 4 egg whites
• 225g caster sugar
• 10ml vanilla essence
• 5ml cornflour
• 50g cocoa powder

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.Line a 20cm x 30cm x 5cm baking pan with baking paper
2. Melt butter, chocolate and sugar together, stirring until the sugar has dissolved
3. Remove from heat and mix in the egg yolks
4. Whisk egg whites until stiff peaks form, then fold into the chocolate mixture
5. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 40 minutes
6. Then make the meringues by whisking egg whites, adding a little caster sugar at a time and then the vanilla essence until stiff peaks form
7. In a separate bowl, sift cornflour and cocoa powder together and fold into the meringue
8. Remove the chocolate cake from oven and reduce the temperature to 120 degrees
9. Top the cake with the meringue and return to oven for 25 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.