audrey cooks

Happy New Year!

2007-01-01T19:06:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year to all my faithful readers! silent and non-silent. I have officially moved to my new virtual kitchen. Follow me to http://www.audreycooks.com to enjoy more of my heart-warming recipes!

Gingerbread Men and Women

2006-12-29T20:22:00.000+08:00

"Christmas isn't Christmas till it happens in your heart, Somewhere deep inside you is where Christmas really starts, So give your heart to Jesus you'll discover when you do,

That it's Christmas, really Christmas for you." I love this Christmas carol, so heart warming and meaningful for me. Christmas is not about Christmas trees, Santa Claus, merry-making, loads of presents etc... but all about Jesus, it is not X'mas but Christmas. Christmas tradition accummulated through the centuries, some are meaningful, some are not, some are plainly money-making schemes. As for me, Christmas is very special not because I have a good reason to cook but I look forward to spend precious holiday time with family and friends, especially those so dear to my heart. One of those traditions I hold so very dear to my heart is time spent making Christmas cookies and gingerbread men. Don't ask me why ... it's just me.

If you have seen my earlier post, I conducted 2 workshops on this Christmas cookie and Gingerbread men. I have the recipe posted below as a Christmas gift to all of you! Try it next year cos the children in my workshop could make them ... I am certain you can too.

You'll be surprise how long you can keep these little tough men. They can be consumed up to 1 month if kept in an airtight container in the fridge. A wonderful treat with piping hot coffee in the morning after a peaceful night rest.

Home-made Gingerbread Men (20 pcs - 12cm cutter) 125 gm unsalted butter (room temperature) 60 gm brown sugar 90 gm mollasses or golden syrup 1 egg 300 gm all-purpose flour 2 Tbsp ground ginger and 1 tsp soda bicarbonate 1. Preheat oven at 180 degree celsius. 2. Beat butter, sugar and syrup till light and creamy. 3. Add egg. 4. Sieve flour into the butter mixture and knead 2 minutes. 5. Take out and shape into a flat dough. 6. Cling wrap the dough and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes. 7. Take out and put dough in between 2 pieces of greaseproof paper and roll into desired thickness. 8. Cut into gingerbread man shape and transfer onto baking sheets. 9. Bake for 8 minutes or until slightly brown. Icing 1 egg white 280 gm icing sugar (sifted) 1. Wash and dry mixing bowl to remove any oil. 2. Beat egg white with a fork until foamy. 3. Add icing sugar in gradually. 4. Beat till icing stand in soft peaks. 5. Divide into bowls. 6. Pipe using disposable paper piping bags.

Christmas Dinner for Six

2006-12-28T22:06:00.000+08:00

I usually don't get to do a comfy cosy sit down dinner during festive seasons but this is a very unusual occassion. Someone did not manage to defrost 14 XXL size prawns for the Christmas day BBQ which actually turned out to be a wonderful blessing for tonite's six!

Such large prawns deserve to be eaten at its fullest of flavour which happens to be grilled and seasoned with sprinkles of sea salt. In this case, I just grilled them on my pan-grill which saved a lot of time. If you want them to look stiff and straight, just soak some fine bamboo sticks (or satay sticks) in some water for 1 hour and poke it through the prawn from the rear and out of the head before leaving it to grill. As I said, I wanted a quick, without hassle type of sit-down dinner, so no fancy stuff. Just leave them on the pan-grill for about 2 minutes each side. When almost done, sprinkle sea salt on them and serve on a platter. That's the main dish!

Appetiser was stuffed portobello mushrooms, grilled in the oven for 10 minutes at 170 degree celsius. Easy to make and delicious to gobble.... Just use a small vegetable brush or a new toothbrush to brush away the dirt on the mushrooms. Cut off the stem slightly and place them with the stem facing up (like a shallow bowl). Fill the mushroom with finely diced yellow capsicum, zucchini, tomatoes, bacon or ham and topped with some shreaded cheddar and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with a little sea salt, a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and pop them in the oven and before you know it, it's ready! Note : Do not rinse portobello mushrooms, it will spoil the taste.

Brussel Sprouts seems to be great idea for tonite's meal, maybe the fibre will scrap down all the cholesterol in the prawns. Wishful thinking. Trim off the bottom part of the stem. Blanche the sprouts and leave aside. Heat a pan, drizzle some grapeseed oil and saute some bacon chips or in this case some chicken ham. Put all the sprouts into the pan and saute for a good 2 minutes, season with sea salt and a dash of white wine.

As for the carbo, an interesting nutty flavoured bread and butter pudding seem appropriate. First, slice one and half sticks of french loaf and arrange them slightly slanted on a oven proof dish. Butter in between slices and throw in some hazelnuts and baby almond (raisins optional). In a litre jug, crack 4 farm fresh eggs, a can of evaporated milk and 250ml fresh milk. Stir mixture together and pour onto the bread slices gently, making sure liquid is pour over every slice of bread. Pop it into the oven marked 160 degree celsius for 15 minutes then sprinkle some demerara sugar over the pudding and drizzle 2 scoops of brandy over it. Pop it back into the oven for another 5 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil if your pudding starts to brown too much. Take out from the oven and sprinkle another tablespoon of sugar and 1 more scoop of brandy. Pudding ready to be served. Note : this pudding has a crispy top layer unlike some other soft spongy bread pudding.

As for dessert, the wonderful christmas cupcake was served. Will post later!

It's Christmas Time!

2006-12-07T15:13:00.000+08:00

It's that time of the year again! a time of joy, a time of sharing, a time for christmas baking. This year, I have a rather different approach, instead of the usual non-stop baking of christmas fruit cakes, I decided to share my Christmas baking joy in a couple of Christmas Cookie making workshops in my neighbourhood ingredient bakeshop. The joy of being able to share is so much greater than the joy of just making them yourself. I conducted a "Parent - Child " and "Children Bakeshop", where I taught them kitchen discipline, the making of cookie doughs, baking them and frosting. They loved it and most importantly I loved it. I would not have traded it for anything in the world, to see the joy on their little faces and the truimphant outcome when the cookies were iced and frosted to little kids perfection, not to mention, the adults did me just as proud!

Here's a "Parent and Child" busy with the creative side of baking!

An adult participant cookie decoration.

Christmas cookies and Gingerbread men all rolled and cut-out by my wonderful participants!

A 14 year old girl did this and pretty isn't it!

This is the work of an 8 year old.

Creativity oozing out from a 9 year old with her 5 year old sister.

Another batch of cookies baked to perfection waiting to cool for icing. Had to say even the boys, all six of them did their parents proud! Would love to have more posts coming but my notebook is still being fixed in the hospital so I am using someone else terminal. For those of you who left messages and comments, I will get to them in due time. My sincere apologies! When the goin gets tough, the tough gets goin!

Vanilla Rosettes Cupcakes

2006-11-24T21:49:00.000+08:00

I made this sometime ago using a very basic buttercake recipe. I forgot exactly how many cupcakes this recipe yields, maybe 40 regular ones. Ingredients 250 gm unsalted butter 150 gm castor sugar 2 tsp vanilla essence 6 eggs (room temperature) 200 ml fresh milk 450 gm all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder

Heat oven at 180 degree celcius.
Sieve flour, baking powder together in a bowl.
Cream butter until light and add sugar, beat till it turns a shade lighter and sugar combined.
Add vanilla and an egg at a 30 seconds interval, alternate with 2 scoops of flour mixture.
Pour in milk, alternating with the rest of the flour mixture.
Pour batter into cupcake liners or cups. Fill only half full.
Bake for 10 - 15 minutes, till cake skewer comes out clean.
Cool completely before icing with vanilla buttercream frosting.

Recipe for frosting 125 gm butter (room temperature) 500 gm icing sugar a little milk 2 tsp vanilla essence

Beat all the ingredients together taking great care not to add too much milk.
Consistency must be soft and creamy but does not drop off from the spoon.
Pipe using a medium size star nozzle.

Yes, I Am Still Here (Sigh!)

2006-11-22T20:28:00.000+08:00

I guess you are probably wondering why I am still here since I predicted I'll be moving to my new domain this week. Wonder no more ... I am still here in blogspot ... this time I predict I'll be here for a while cos my darling laptop has to be admitted to computer hospital. My poor darling is very ill! or maybe it needs to get acquainted with my new virtual kitchen. The list goes on ... On a chirpier note, I managed to cook a little, nothing too elaborate since my house is still in the mist of very dusty renovation. Aglio Olio pasta was high on my list. Aglio Olio simply means garlic, oil and chili. Sounds easy? Recipe serves 3. 300 gm wholemeal spaghetti

Boil some water and put in the spaghetti, add 1/2 tsp salt and cook pasta to your desired choice. Strain and run under cool water for an 'al dente' texture.

120 ml olive oil

5 cloves garlic (chopped finely)

2 fresh red chilis (chopped finely) or can be substituted with chili flakes

4 Tbsp chopped parsley (sprinkle a little water while chopping, keeps the chopped parsley together)

some julienne carrots (optional) - blanche in boiling water

Heat oil in a saucepan, add garlic and chili.
Garlic should only be slighly brown, take off from heat.
Toss in cooked pasta and parsley.
Season with sea salt and crushed black pepper.
Garnish with julienne of carrots and parmesan, if desired. (Parmesan is a no, no for me)
Because this pasta is so simple, the use of good quality ingredients is highly encouraged.

Clear Fish Noodle Soup

2006-11-18T16:21:00.000+08:00

Past 2 weeks have been a little unmanageable, too many things happening at the same time. Next week, I will be moving to audreycooks.com and hopefully all of you will follow me there for more recipes from "somewhere in my kitchen". I have really miss posting regularly and I hope to make up for it soon.

Lately, it has been raining 'cats and dogs' in the afternoons and I though this is suppose to be dry season. Obviously I made the wrong choice to renovate my home during this time. Anyway, what's done cannot be undone, just have to wait it out!

Whenever it rains, I crave for soupy stuffs, wonder you guys feel the same? Today, 'clear fish noodle soup' seems to ignite a growl in my tummy.

Fish Stock 2 thumb size old ginger (washed and smashed) 500 gm fish bones 2 litres filtered water

Heat a saucepan and add some olive oil.
Fry ginger and fish bones until fragrant.
Add water and bring to boil for 15 minutes. Simmer for 30 minutes and leave to cool.
Drain stock.

Ingredients Fish slices (freeze the fish for 30 minutes before slicing - easier) Julienne of ginger Tofu garlic oil tong hoe or coriander leaves spring onions (chopped) Rice noodles (blanche in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain)

Put blanche rice noodles (bee hoon) in a serving bowl.
Scoop some fish stock into a small saucepan, bring to boil.
Put in the ginger, tofu, fish slices and vegetable of your choice.
Let it boil for 2 - 3 minutes, season with a little sea salt.
Pour over rice noodles in the serving bowl.
Garnish with lots of garlic oil, white pepper and spring onions.
Serve with a small sauce plate of chopped chilies with soya sauce.

A Regular Home-cooked Chinese Meal (con't)

2006-11-08T21:44:00.000+08:00

Sometimes, blogspot gives me strange problems. I posted my earlier draft post and went for a break and found out that it refuse to let me continue downloading photos for this 3rd dish. Besides that, my numbering goes wild. I wander if you guys out there come across the same problem? Ah! just bear with it a little while longer, Audrey.

Stir-fry Scallops with Baby Kai Lan

1 packet of fresh scallops (600 gms, rinsed and pat dry), 1 bunch of baby kai lan (rinsed and leaves plucked), 3 Tbsp oyster sauce, 2 cloves garlic (chopped), olive oil, black pepper.

Pre-blanche baby kai lan and arrange on the serving plate.
Heat wok and drizzle with olive oil.
In goes chopped garlic, oyster sauce and scallops. Fry till scallops turns a little burnt at the sides would be good.
Add a little hot water and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour onto the bed of kai lan.
A little black pepper over it and serve.

A Regular Home-cooked Chinese Meal

2006-11-08T20:45:00.000+08:00

Occassionally, I get this strange nagging feeling that I should be using chopsticks and rice bowls for a nice warm comfortable sit down meal instead of the regular one pot, one plate or even the economy rice-styled kind of 'everything on a plate thingy'. Life can be so hectic at times until there is no time to savour the lovely dishes cooked.

Today is not that type of day, I simply won't allow it! A little chinese setting dinner seems so invitingly heart warming with a pot of hot chinese oolong tea warming up the dining table corner. Just 3 simple dishes cooked with love and placed attractively on the table, surrounded by a few well decorated bowls of steaming white fluffy basmathi rice and dark elegant chopsticks purchased directly from Shanghai, China.

Five-Spice Pork Strip 600 gm pork shoulder (usually sold cut in a 4' round slab) 3 cloves garlic (smashed) 5 slices of ginger 2 star anise 1 cinnamon stick 2 Tbsp chinese five spice powder Dark soya sauce Light soya sauce white pepper and sea salt to taste

Marinate the pork shoulder slabs with chinese five spice powder overnite in the refrigerator.
Drizzle a heated non-stick pan with some grapeseed oil and throw in the garlic, ginger, cinnamon stick and star anise.
Fry till fragrant.
Put in all the marinated pork shoulder and sear the slabs till lightly browned.
Drizzle in some dark and light soya sauce.
Add a little hot water and allow it to simmer on low fire for 40 minutes or until pork slabs are tender and can easily be pierce through with a paring knife.
Add white pepper and salt to taste.
Cut pork shoulders into bite-size strips and garnish with some coriander leaves.

Baby Bok Choy with Garlic Oil 500 gm of baby bok choy (rinse well and drained - peeled off some leaves and leave the heart intact) Olive oil 2 cloves garlic (chopped)

Blanche baby bok choy in hot boiling water for 20 seconds and rinse under cold running water.
Drain and set aside in the serving plate.
Heat olive oil in a small saucepan and put in chopped garlic. Stir until they turn slighly light brown, cut off fire and remove from hob.
Pour over baby bok choy and drizzle a little light soya sauce over it and serve.

Pineapple Prawn Curry

2006-11-06T17:17:00.000+08:00

Who could have imagined that a sharp-flavoured fruit can go hand in hand with prawns in a curry? The ever faithful fruit "The Pineapple" so thorny and yet deliciously inviting! If eaten on its own, the Sarawak Pineapple is just right cos its so sweet and flavourful.

I have dedicated this food blog of mine to my nephew "Nathaniel" whose birthday happens to fall on 1st November 2006. This little boy eats almost anything and he definitely loves food. Who knows ... when I grow old, maybe he will be the one cooking for me. Hint! hint! and guess what ... my god-daughter got a baby brother on this same auspicious day 1st November 2006! Great news!

We celebrated Nathaniel's one year old birthday gathering with family and everyone brought a dish. We had roast duck, char chap chye, birthday noodles and I made pineapple prawn curry as my part and parcel of the potbless.

Ingredients A

1 kg medium size prawns (only tail intact) - seasoned with salt, pepper and sugar. Keep wrapped, refrigerated in cling until ready for use.

Pineapple (skin discarded and the eyes cut out, then quartered lengthwise and slice into small triangular chunks)

2 Tbsp coriander seeds (ketumbar) - pounded in a mortar with a little water so that it's easier to pound into a paste. Set aside.

3 lemon grass root, sliced finely and the stem, cut an inch long.

Milk of 1 coconut (santan) with a little water added before milking.

Ingredient B

7 dried chili (pre-soaked in water), 5 fresh red chili (discard seeds), 5 bird-eye chili (discard seeds), 1 inch fresh tumeric, 3 clove garlic, 6 shallots, 1 Tbsp prawn paste (toasted). Blend all together in a blender, if no time constrain, pound them using a mortar and pestle. It gives a nicer texture.

Note : In order to pound ingredients or spices effectively in a mortar, try pounding one ingredient finely before adding the next one.

Heat oil in a curry pot, add blended or pounded ingredients (including coriander paste) and lemon grass in and stir-fry till fragrant.
Add half of the coconut milk and throw in the prawns, stir for 2 minutes add the remaining coconut milk and then pineapple chunks.
Simmer for about 10 minutes and add sea salt to taste.

Curried Pork 'Thai Style'

2006-11-01T01:12:00.000+08:00

It's great to be back and happily clicking on my keyboard again. Gosh! do I miss that sound! Since curry is my favourite dish, it shall be my first post to usher in my new layout design. I have always loved Thai food, maybe it's the sourness, sweetness and spicyness all together that makes Thai dishes so appetising! As for this dish, it can be curried chicken or even curried beef, just substitute the meat and retain the rest of the ingredients. Ingredient A 400 gm pork fillet (freeze it for 30 minutes to make it hard enough to slice easier) 2 Tbsp tumeric powder 1 Tbsp chopped ginger 2 Tbsp Thai red curry paste 1 tsp brown sugar Ingredient B 3 Tbsp grapeseed oil 3 cloves garlic (chopped) 1 Tbsp Thai red curry paste 5 slices old ginger 5 coriander roots (wash roots thoroughly to rid unwanted earth) 3 generous dashes of fish sauce 100 ml filtered water 1 Tbsp julienne of ginger 1 Tbsp julienne of carrot Juice of 2 lime

Marinate sliced pork fillet with all of ingredient A and refrigerate overnight.
Drizzle grapeseed oil in a heated curry pot.
In goes the chopped garlic, Thai red curry paste, old ginger, coriander roots.
Stir a while before putting in the sliced pork fillet. Stir until pork is almost completely seared then add fish sauce and pour in filtered water and simmer for 8 - 10 minutes.
Lastly, mix in the julienne ginger, carrot and lime juice.
Sea salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish with coriander leaves (if desired)
This recipe serves 3 persons.

Important Notice

2006-10-25T21:36:00.000+08:00

Here's a note to inform all my faithful floggers that my humble site is under some major construction to restore some lost items, for example my layout, design etc.... I will be back by 1st November 2006.

During this duration, I will not be able to post but rest assured, I will be busy cooking! So, be patient and stay tuned for many more wonderful recipes coming your way soon! Thank you for your understanding.

Masak Titik

2006-10-22T21:27:00.000+08:00

Ask me how this soup got its name, sorry to dissapoint, my answer is I don't know. For those of you who know, please give me some feedback. Frankly speaking, some use watermelon skin for this delicacy but as for me, I grew up drinking this soup made from wintermelon. 1.5 litres filtered water 500 gm wintermelon (discard skin, cut into chunks) Ingredients to be pounded in a mortar 5 chili padi (discard seeds) 2 large red chili (discard seeds) 3 shallots (discard skin) 1 Tbsp belacan (toasted) 5 white peppercorns (crushed) 120 gm dried shrimps (soaked in water for 5 minutes and drained) - hae bee sea salt to taste

Bring water to boil in a soup pot.
Put in all the pounded ingredients and boil for 15 minutes.
Throw in the wintermelon chunks and boil for another 10 minutes then bring to simmer for 30 minutes on low heat.
Add sea salt to taste.
Soup ready to be served.

The Power of Lime

2006-10-19T20:47:00.000+08:00

'Lime' classified under the citrus fruit family, is an essential ingredient in a variety of Malaysian dishes from the ever popular kerabu (sweet, spicy and sour salad) to mee siam (Thai-styled vermicelli). It is also widely consumed as a refreshing lime drink equivalent to its lemon counterpart as in lemonade.

What I would like to highlight here is not how widely it is used but its value as a preventive alternative for the common cold or influenza. This little citrus has high doses of vitamin C which helps strengthens our immunity system to enable us to fight off the common cold before it is full blown.

The minute I feel slightly under the weather, (before the nose gets all stuffy and runny) instead of drowning myself in a glass of high dosage of synthetic vitamin C, I just squeeze 2 limes and drink all its juices. Once in the morning and once at night. For those with gastric problems, advisable to take it after food. Bound to feel better the next morning. If not repeat the process for another day. For children, take only the juice of one lime.

This remedy has certainly helped my whole family and thanks to my sister who shared this little accidental wonder with me. It has in fact saved me a lot of unneccesary medical bills.

Sirloin Beef Canapes

2006-10-17T22:26:00.000+08:00

This was one hearty breakfast I had this morning, taking into consideration that it was yesterday's leftover dinner. We had some lovely pan-grilled Australian beef sirloin accompanied by freshly mixed salad greens (pic below) and not to forget that wonderfully chilled bottle of icy cold beer. Cheers! Happy Belated Oktober Fest!

Once in a while, cravings for red meat seem to creep up and haunt me day and night until I sink my teeth into a slab. I guess this was a long overdue craving. If you have noticed, lately the price of imported beef has risen to a very unreasonable price. 3 regular pieces of sirloin about the size of the 'palm of your hand' soared up to approximately RM40.00 a tray.

The recipe for this sirloin steak is very simple. If the meat is fresh, all you need is to rub sea salt, freshly crushed black pepper and a dash of lea & perrin sauce. Sear the steak on a grilled pan drizzled lightly with olive oil. Cook it until it reaches the level of doneness of your choice. Serve straight from the grill onto a plate of fresh salad greens. As for gravy, pour some beef stock into the grill pan and stir until the brownings on the grill melts into the stock and thicken with some flour. Season with salt, pepper and a dash of beer. Pop open a bottle of chilled beer and suck it all in!

When morning came, leftovers were assembled into canapes using slices of french toasts spread with pure butter, garnished with some leaves from yesterdays' greens. Top off with thin slices of leftover sirloin beef drizzled with steak gravy.

My Healthy Diet Day 2 - Steamboat Dinners

2006-10-14T15:41:00.000+08:00

Day 2 healthy eating strives for a change of ingredients but still complying to the 3 rules I mentioned yesterday. I guess the first 2 days are tough, having a high metabolic rate body system, I was hungry before I retired for the night. A cereal 'night cap' actually helped me make it through the night. Eventually after the 2nd day, my body adapted slowly to the healthier dinners.

Fresh shiitake mushrooms - a great selection for tonight's meal. Shiitake contains high levels of niacin and riboflavin. They also possess an amino acid that helps lower cholesterol and improves blood circulation, and lentinan, which stimulates the production of white blood cells essential to the immune system. According to some research, it is thought to be effective in fighting hepatitis B and some types of cancer. (write up extracted from "A Cook's Guide to Asian Vegetables" by Wendy Hutton)

Fresh Norwegian Salmon - is the only meat for tonight. Approximately 300 gm per person, sliced thinly or in small chunks, to suit your choice. I just rubbed on some sea salt, white pepper and dashes of white wine, marinate cling wrapped in the fridge until ready to eat.

Chinese Baby Spinach (Amaranth) - pictured on top of the 'choy sum' in the above photo. I enjoy this vegetable a lot especially in soups. Wonderfully rich in iron and not lacking in protein, Vitamin A, B and C. Also excellent as baby food!

Choy sum (Flowering cabbage) - is another widely used asian vegetable, popular in stir fries and noodle soups.

Pearl corns, snap peas, sliced carrots and canned baby corns complimented tonight's steamboat besides the usual must have (not pictured here) tong hoe, tofu (2 each), garlic oil and chopped chili in soya sauce.

Stock for tonight is yesterday's fresh fish bones saute in some olive oil with some slices of ginger until fragrant and topped up slowly with 2 litres of filtered water. Bring to boil and simmer for 1 hour. Run cool stock through a strainer and pour into steamboat pot.

My Healthy Diet Day 1 - Steamboat Dinners

2006-10-13T14:49:00.000+08:00

A home-styled steamboat setting.

Sometime last month I planned a 2 week steamboat getaway for my family. We practically had steamboat every night for dinner but with a variety of fresh healthy food and stock. I guess, it's my way of getting the whole family to detox happily. Rule number 1 on my list of healthy food is "NO Processed Food", rule number 2 is "NO MSG" and rule number 3 is "NO red meat".

As for Day 1, I had lots of fresh chinese celery, asian lettuce, tong hoe (garland chrysanthemum) and carrots.

Chinese celery - is the one pictured above left, it had a distinctive aroma and it's rich in both vitamins and minerals. In some studies, it helps lower blood pressure, acts as a duretic and urinary antiseptic. Widely used in salads and stir fries and garnishes the ever popular Thai Tom Yum Soup and the Malaysian Sup Kambing (Goat soup). In some instances, it is also used as a replacement garnishing in the absence of coriander leaves.

Asian lettuce - is the vegetable pictured above right, it's high on beta carotene, calcium, phosphorus and vitamin C. The softness of the large tender leaves are useful as wrappers for minced meat dishes, ju hu char (for recipe, check under categories, main meals section) and spring rolls.

Tong hoe (Garland Chrysanthemum) - pictured above the sliced carrots. This is one vegetable I cannot do without when I eat steamboat. I just love the pungent smell, a very popular vegetable among the Chinese and Japanese apparently. The leaves are sold in bunches with roots still attached. The roots harbours a lot of earth, so an important tip is to wash the leaves thoroughly under running water. It is rich in vitamins A and B. This is the only way I eat this vegetable.

Carrots - I am pretty confident all of you know this root vegetable even blind-folded, so I will not elaborate.

The only meat for tonight is sliced (sek pan) fish. Has to be a fairly large fish in order to fillet it and slice it thinly for steamboat. Approximately 300 gms per person. Marinated with light soya sauce, white pepper, plenty of julienne ginger, a few drops of sesame oil, 1 Tbsp of garlic oil, sea salt and don't forget a few strong dashes of Shao Hsing fragrant rice wine (absolute must!). Leave fish cling wrapped in a bowl in the fridge until ready to eat.

These are lovely round tofu aka (Tofu Bomb). They are soft and very light, just perfect for steamboat. I got them from my neighbourhood grocer and I estimated 2 round tofu per person.

No steamboat is complete without a bowl of chopped chili in light soya sauce and some pre-made garlic oil. There will be a fresh bowl of chopped chili and garlic oil for every steamboat dinner, just in case I fail to mention later.

Garlic oil - heat a saucepan with grapseed oil. When hot, put in chopped garlic, stir continuously. Garlic burns very quickly. The minute the chopped garlic turns slightly golden brown, take the saucepan off the heat and pour into a heatproof glass bowl to cool. Do not cover with lid until garlic oil completely cool. This is used to flavour the stock before putting in the uncooked ingredients. Just 1 to 2 Tbsp will do just fine.

Chicken stock - for today's steamboat stock, I used chicken stock. 1 whole skinless chicken breast chopped into 4 pieces. Bring 2 litres of filtered water to boil. Put in 4 cloves garlic (whole, with skin) and 1 piece of old ginger (smashed with the back of the knife). When water is boiling, put in the chicken breast and quick simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour. This is my favourite stock, so I used it quite often in my steamboat dinners. When cool, drain stock through a sieve before placing into the steamboat pot, discard chicken breast, garlic and ginger.

Stir Fry Salted Mustard Green with Pork Belly

2006-10-08T16:07:00.000+08:00

I can't remember when was the last time I cooked this appetising dish. Lately, with the terrible haze covering Kuala Lumpur, my appetite too, was rudely affected. Was scratching my head as to what to cook to bring back some sort of cravings ... something salty, spicy and fatty might just do the trick.

Got myself a packet of preserved salted mustard green (the type with some leaves) and here goes ... 300 gm pork belly (cut into bite size portions) - marinate with a little dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, white pepper, sea salt, pinch of sugar and a dash of sesame oil. 3 cloves of chopped garlic. 5 thin slices of old ginger. 3 bird eye chili (sliced, seeds removed). 1 packet salted mustard green - soaked in water to rid access saltiness, drained and sliced thinly. (Squeeze dry by hand)

- Heat wok without any oil, drain all access water from salted mustard green and fry till dry and slightly crunchy. - Take it out of the wok and cool. (The process above is to maintain its crunchiness) - Heat work and drizzle a little olive oil, throw in the chopped garlic, ginger and chili. Stir a while and dump in the cut up pork belly, fry until pork turn slightly brown (juices all sealed in). - Add in the salted mustard green and continue to fry for another 10 minutes, adding a little hot water to keep it from drying up. (This dish has a little gravy) - Sea salt, sugar and light soya sauce to taste. - Serve with steaming white fluffy basmathi rice.

Steamed Caramel Cupcakes

2006-10-07T15:19:00.000+08:00

150 gm gula melaka (chopped) 80 ml filtered water hot water for topping up 80 gm butter (melted) 100 ml evaporated milk 1 egg (slightly beaten) 200 gm self raising flour (sifted) 1 tsp soda bicarbonate A pinch of salt - Grease heat proof tea cups or coffee cups of your choice with butter. - Caramelise shaved or chopped gula melaka in filtered water. Put water into small saucepan, then place the shaved gula melaka right in the centre. Bring to boil slowly until consistency becomes thick and gluey. Careful not to burn the sugar. In place of gula melaka, one can also use brown sugar, follow the same process. - Pour out into a measuring jug and top up with hot water until 150 mls. Stir well and leave to cool. - Sieve flour, soda bicarbonate and salt together. Make a well in the centre and leave aside. - Add butter, evaporated milk and egg into the cool gula melaka sugar. Stir well. Pour mixture into the centre well of the flour and stir consistently with a fork until mixture becomes a smooth batter. - Spoon mixture into the greased cups and place into a preheated steamer for approx. 30 - 35 minutes or until skewer comes out clean. Cool, and served drizzled with some melted gula melaka.

Note : In order to achieve the cracked top effect, use teacups with a smaller bottom then the top opening. When steaming, the heat will push the cake upwards thus causing the crackling effect. I like the texture of these steamed cupcakes cos they are laced with the fragrant gula melaka taste and smell and it doesn't stick to my teeth everytime I take a bite. Absolutely gorgeous and a changed from normal cupcakes!

For those who are thinking "What on earth is this Gula Melaka?" here's a little description. Gula means sugar in the malay language and Melaka is actually a state in Malaysia. "Gula Melaka" is a type of palm sugar made famous in the state of Malacca, Malaysia. It is a rich dark brown harden sugar made from coconut and caramel-flavoured sugar tapped from palm trees. It is boiled until thickens and poured into bamboo tubes to harden hence taking the bamboo segment shape. Sold in many countries and mainly used to flavour desserts.

Semi-Vegetable Dhall Curry

2006-10-05T22:44:00.000+08:00

Lately the weather has been really bad for health. Haze, haze everywhere! I just wonder what's gonna happen to the world when we pass it on to our children's generation.

Haze has definitely affected my diet. Vegetable is all I think about lately but then not enough to keep my tummy full, that explains me eating, munching, chomping the whole day through! My mom has this wonderful dhall curry which she loves! Very, very simple to make too!

100 gm ikan bilis (dried anchovies) 150 gm yellow dhall (rinsed, drained) 5 leaves of Peking cabbage (torn to small pieces) 10 baby long beans ( break into 3 equal lengths) 1 huge very ripe red tomato (wedges) 5 inch carrot (thinly sliced) 2 cloves of garlic (chopped) 2 shallots (chopped) 5 Tbsp fish sauce 5 Tbsp fish curry powder (mix with water until becomes a paste) filtered water sea salt to taste

Heat some olive oil in a curry pot.
Throw in the garlic, shallots and stir till lightly brown and not burnt.
In goes the ikan bilis, fry till fragrant.
Scrap in the curry powder paste and stir approx. 2 minutes.
Top up with a little filtered water (not too watery please) and put in the dhall, simmer 5 minutes.
Put in carrots and tomatoes, simmer another 5 minutes.
Add a little more water and fish sauce.
Put in the rest of the vegetables (I like them slightly raw and crunchy, that's why I put them in last), simmer for 2 minutes. (If you prefer the vegetable to be thoroughly cooked, put them in together with the carrots).
Salt to taste.

I can just eat it on its own! which I did.

Just a note ...

2006-10-05T21:47:00.000+08:00

For those of you who frequent my blog, will automatically know that it has evolved into another look. This is totally not intentional and will be back to its normal self hopefully soon. As for all my favourite links, categories etc ... which is not there now will hopefully be back soon too. Thank you for all your continuous support and try and bear with me a little longer..... Cheers!

Chocolate Cupcakes with Mint Buttercream Frosting

2006-10-03T23:14:00.000+08:00

For the love of Cupcakes!

In my circle of friends and acquaintances, I have yet to meet a person who dislike cupcakes. I have met some who simply find it too troublesome to make them, some who scrap away the frosting instantly before happily tucking into them and some who take them home and keep them in the fridge fearing they might eat them and never see them again. The list goes on ...

I still consider myself an amateur blogger when it comes to "Cupcakes". There is just so much cupcakes out there on the internet and not to mention all the blogs dedicated just for these little darlings! The month of September was pretty exciting for me as I found a good reason to bake a few batches of cupcakes for 3 very macho men as birthday tokens.

As for the recipe, kindly click on 'Chockylit' as found on my inspirational links. This is a wonderful recipe just like the way she described it. I was very satisfied with the results indeed. Utterly delicious!

Stir Fry Greens

2006-09-29T11:23:00.000+08:00

Stir fry greens is one of the easiest dishes to whip up. Most vegetables can be cooked this way. The best thing is a variety of greens and vegetables can be used and this dish can never, never be boring. In fact, the selection of vegetable I used for this dish is my favourite Peking Cabbage (very crunchy), dried wood fungus (for color and good for blood circulation), sugar snap peas (sweet), baby long beans (also very crunchy), carrots (vitamin for the eyes) and a bunch of enoki mushrooms (chewy and gathers gravy). Wash and rinse how ever much greens you need and drain. Soak wood fungus in some hot water for 10 minutes. Tear cabbage and wood fungus into bite size pieces. Slice carrots in thin rings. Peel off the sides (thread like) of the sugar snap peas and baby long beans. Chop off the ends of the enoki mushrooms and rinse well. 1 Tbsp chopped garlic 2 Tbsp oyster sauce A dash of Hsao Shing fragrant rice wine 1 tsp cornflour (diluted in a little water) Sea salt to taste

Heat wok and drizzle some olive oil and add in garlic. Stir quickly to avoid garlic from burning.
Throw in the carrots, followed by the rest of the vegetables except enoki.
Add oyster sauce and stir. Add some hot water and continue to stir.
Add enoki and stir another 2 minutes before drizzling in the cornflour mixture and rice wine.
Salt to taste.

Note : Never over fry greens cos they will turn limp and chewy. I like them fresh, crunchy and fragrant! Wok must be very hot when putting in vegetables.

Tomato Egg Drop Soup

2006-09-28T17:56:00.000+08:00

Simple as it sounds, this is a nutritious clear soup fit for everyone. Most likely originated from mainland China, this delicious wonder has found its way to my home and placed itself comfortably on my dining table and has never left since. This recipe serves 4 persons. Stock 1 whole chicken breast with bone (blanche in boiling water to rid impurities) 2 litre of filtered water 3 cloves garlic (washed, whole) 2 piece of 1 inch old ginger (smashed) Ingredients 3 medium size plum red tomatoes (blanche and skin and seeds discarded - cut flesh into small cubes) 2 soft square tofu (cut into small tiny cubes) 1 egg Method

Bring water to boil in a soup pot.
Put in garlic, ginger and chicken breast.
Simmer for 40 minutes. Leave aside covered on the stove.
Just as about to dine, strain stock (discard chicken breast, garlic and ginger) and bring to boil.
Drop in tomato and tofu cubes.
Boil for 5 - 8 minutes. Beat the egg and slowly drizzle it into the boiling soup. (cloud effect)
Cut off heat. Season with sea salt and serve.
Garnish with chopped spring onions or chopped coriander leaves. (Optional)
If preferred and thicker soup, just dissolve 1 Tbsp cornflour in normal temperature water and add to simmering soup until it begins to thicken.

Braised Pork Belly and Baby Pig Intestines

2006-09-24T22:24:00.000+08:00

I am utterly dissapointed with my internet service provider STREAMYX! Just as I was about to press SAVE and PUBLISH my post ... I lost all connectivity. What great timing! Anyway, here goes my post again ...... waste of precious time! It has been a while since I last had this succulent braised baby pig intestine dish. Cooked almost the same way as "Tau Yu Bak" (Braised Pork Belly in Soya Sauce) except for a longer list of ingredients which makes it a mouth-watering authentic dish for any special occassion. As for me, the occassion today is "EAT" for I have been very discipline with my food intake for the last 2 weeks consecutively. I was on my 'Steamboat Diet' together with my whole family. Oiless, Carboless and redmeatless.... I survived and feeling very much refresh and rejuvenated.

Ingredients A 400 gm pork belly (the leaner part with skin, blanche in boiling water) 2-3 bunches of baby pig intestines (blanche in boiling water) 4 hard boiled eggs (shelled) 1 can of abalone (sliced thinly and retain juice in can for stock) 6 dried chinese mushrooms (wash and soak in hot water for 10 minutes, retain water) 100 ml hot water sea salt to taste 1 cup brandy (approx. 150 ml) Ingredients B grapeseed oil 2 star anise 5 cloves 3 cloves garlic (smashed with skin) 1 cinnamon stick 8 black peppercorns (crushed slightly) 1 large dried oyster (rinsed throughly and chopped finely) 4 Tbsp scallop sauce or oyster sauce Dark soya sauce Light soya sauce

Heat oil in wok and put in all of the Ingredient B, mushrooms and pork belly. Flip pork belly until seared then add mushroom water and bring to simmer for 10 minutes. Then add hot water and simmer for another 20 minutes. Pour in the abalone juice and put in the intestines (whole bunches) and eggs, simmer for another 15 minutes. Sea salt to taste. Leave to sit in the gravy for 1/2 a day and just heat up before serving.

For a thicker gravy-like braise, thicken with a tsp of cornflour dissolved in filtered water. Pour in, stir and heat up before serving.

To serve, slice pork belly into bite size pieces, trim intestine into smaller bunches, pour in brandy and garnish with sliced abalone.

Strawberry Pie

2006-09-19T11:22:00.000+08:00

Who says 'covenience' doesn't taste good? I happened to have a pack of Pampas Shortcrust Pastry sitting patiently in the corner of my freezer and a tub of ready-made strawberry pie filling in my fridge. Put them both together and pop it in the oven. Strawberry pie in a jiffy!

Sometimes, I take it easy and make full use of 'ready-made food'. Having a dose of comfort food doesn't mean hours of sweating in the kitchen. This should be great news for those who love fruity pies and too darn lazy to make from scratch!

Take Pampas shortcrust pastry out from freezer and leave to thaw in the fridge overnight.
Roll out pastry in between 2 pieces of greaseproof paper or parchment paper. Always roll outwards from the centre.
When pastry is approximately 1 cm or 3/4 cm thick (evenly), place on a round oven proof plate.
Pour strawberry pie filling in the centre and fold in the pastry sides.
Pop into a pre-heated oven at 190 degrees celcius for 10 minutes and cover with foil and bake another 5 minutes.
Take pie out of the oven and cool. If preferred, sift some powdered sugar on the pastry at the sides and serve with coffee.

Pig's Trotter with Old Ginger and Vinegar

2006-09-15T20:09:00.000+08:00

Post-Natal Diet

Many new mothers, this generation prefer not to practice the 100 days confinement diet whereas there are many who still take this opportunity to sit back and be pampered, following only certain restrictions dictated only by ourselves and no one else. I am one of those products!

In fact, I have my own mom and darling hubby to thank greatly for taking great care of me during this time of deserved pampering. The first thing I did when I found out I was expecting was not to run out to get a cute infant romper but to plan a long list of what I was going to eat for my 1st, 2nd and 3rd trimester! I was that determined when it came to food. Sadly, eventhough I did not have morning sickness throughout my pregnancy, I had no special cravings for food altogether. I ate pretty much of anything except for chicken, just could not imagine the taste. Thank God! sometime during my 2nd trimester everything changed, I just must have char-grilled steaks, huge bowls of oats, Ramly burgers and extra creamy cakes. Boy! did I enjoy those times!

Some new-mothers simply did not enjoy confinement food but as for me I was overjoyed with every single meal served. Food was so, so, so appetising during this period of time. I remember eating so much and so fast. I secretly wish it could have gone on like this forever! Here is a popular 'confinement diet' consumed to nourish the body back to perfect health after delivery.

Pig's Trotter with Old Ginger and Vinegar

1 pig's trotter (front trotters preferred)

1 kg old ginger, washed and smashed with skin on

8 hard boiled eggs

5 Tbsp sesame oil

600 ml black vinegar

300 ml sweet vinegar or 200 gm brown sugar

500 ml filtered water

Have the butcher clean and chop the trotter into big pieces.
Blanche the trotter in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes. Drained.
Heat sesame oil in a wok and fry ginger till golden brown and fragrant.
Put in the trotter in the wok and brown the pieces slightly. Take the trotter pieces out and set aside in a plate.
Transfer ginger, sesame oil into a claypot. Pour in the black vinegar and the sweet vinegar. If no sweet vinegar, brown sugar will do. (you may vary with the vinegars or sugar, as per your own taste).
Bring to boil and gradually add the filtered water. Simmer the ginger for 30 minutes and add in the trotter pieces. Continue to simmer for 40 minutes to 1 hour. Make sure trotter still springy and not all soft. Take out all the trotter pieces, cool and refrigerate overnight in a glass bowl covered in a cling wrap. (Do not use plastic bowl. Plastic and vinegar don't get on very well)
Put the shelled hard boiled eggs into the vinegar gravy and cover. Let it sit overnight in room temperature.
Next morning, add trotter pieces into the vinegar gravy and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve with steamy hot rice.

Black vinegar - purifies blood and cleanses the arteries of stale blood. Old ginger - gets rid of wind in the body. Brown sugar - rids dampness in the body. Sesame oil - promotes blood circulation. Collagen in the pig trotters - to strenghen joints and ligaments. Eggs - to nourish the body.

Wholemeal French Toast

2006-09-09T16:37:00.000+08:00

Lazy morning breakfast!

8 slices of wholemeal bread cut into half.

3 fresh low cholesteral eggs (slightly beaten)

50 ml fresh milk

20 ml filtered boiled water

Brown organic sugar

Grapeseed oil

Heat a non-stick frying pan and drizzle in some grapeseed oil.
Mix the slightly beaten eggs together with milk and water. Whip vigorously with a fork. Set aside.
Dunk the bread into the egg mixture until it is evenly coated on both sides.
Quickly place the bread on the hot pan. Repeat until pan has no more space left for another slice of bread. (Usually 3 - 4 slices) Turn bread over when the bottom side is slightly brown. When both sides are golden brown (golden brown does not mean burnt!) Lower down the heat and sprinkle sugar on both sides of the bread. Flipping them from side to side and quickly take them off the heat. (slightly tricky here ... practice makes perfect!)
Wipe away the oil and sugar left in the pan with kitchen paper towels and repeat the process all over again.
There are many ways to prepare "French Toast" but I like mine with enough egg mixture and evenly coated with melted sugar. I always thought it was worth all the trouble.

Penang Char Koay Teow (Flat Rice Noodles)

2006-09-06T17:32:00.000+08:00

The ever famous Penang Char Koay Teow, makes me salivate everytime I see or smell it! I am not a picky eater but I am real fussy about my plate of char koay teow. I remember during my school days in Convent Green Lane, there was this school canteen hawker who serves a to-die-for wet char koay teow. Hungry like a cow after school, I always must have a plate at least 3 times a week. Sometimes, I cannot wait so long and just had to have a dose of it during recess time when the canteen is usually ever so crowded. I always thought lining up for my plate of koay teow was a game of 'squeeze-in-queue' and have to say it's the survival of the most determined. I must say until todate, I am yet to savour a plate of the authentic "Convent Green Lane Canteen Char Koay Teow" as how I remembered it. Even after much attempts, I still cannot fry koay teow the exact same way. So, here my closest replica of the REAL THING.

1 packet of koay teow - rinsed in hot water to rid unwanted oil. (serves 3). Recipe will be according to 1 portion.

1 handful taugeh (beansprout), 1/2 handful garlic chives (cut to the length of beansprout), 3 peeled and deveined prawns (leave tail intact), 1 egg

2 Tbsp Chili paste, 1 Tbsp chopped garlic, dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, sea salt

Heat grape seed oil in a wok, throw in the chopped garlic and chili paste. Stir 30 seconds add prawns. Stir 1 minute and put in the koay teow, dark and light sauce and stir another minute. Put in all the sprouts and garlic chives, stir 30 seconds and push all ingredients in the wok aside. Crack an egg and stir in the free space created earlier in the wok. Slowly flip the koay teow over the quickly cooking egg. (Careful not to over stir, may cause the eggs to be too scrambled). Here, I add a little hot water to give it a wet style. (Chicken or prawn stock may be used). Salt to taste.

Note : I love my fried koay teow with large raw shelled cockles just covered with piping hot koay teow. The raw springy texture is just overwhelming! Sadly, I was very dissapointed for I could not find any fresh looking cockles in the market today and most of them look so depressingly tiny. Life has to go on with or without cockles!

When the cook falls sick, does the food keep going?

2006-09-03T12:34:00.000+08:00

Today is one of those days, the mind is sharp but the physical body is no where near it. Got a package deal ranging from fever, phlegm, a bit of the sniffles and sore throat. I guess I should just empty my pocket once a year and get back to the cordyceps regime for 2 months.

This is a genuine question for all you out there who is the family cook. What do you eat when you're under the weather. Too tired or sick to whip up food? Who cooks us our meals? Does that mean, the better half has to pack food home? or do we still have to drag ourselves to the kitchen and make porridge with ikan bilis soup to nourish ourselves back to health? Just curious.

Anyway, this post is concentrated towards the accompanying vegetables more than the pork chops itselves. I have used the same pork chop recipe found in one of my posts in August 2006 "Pork Chop Stack".

As you can see in the photograph, there is this small green cabbage-like vegetable which I cut into wedges and stir-fried with some yellow capsicum and red bell peppers. This small cabbage is actually our locally grown brussel sprouts. It's a lot lighter, crispier and crunchier compared to it's original imported counterpart. I prefer this specie, it's sweet and easy on my digestive system. In fact, this combination of vegetables brings out the best flavour in the pork chops.

I devoured my meal with 2 slices of wholemeal bread and a tall glass of icy cold plain water. Satisfying!

Note : I had this meal sometime last week not today.

Yam Cake (Woo Tow Koe)

2006-08-31T20:38:00.000+08:00

Yam Cake, a popular local savoury kuih 'snack' made from cubed yam steamed with rice flour is a favourite in many local homes. The truth is, it is so popular that you can get it just almost anywhere from a little stall on a busy street to a cafe in an elegant shopping mall. Moreover, it can be eaten as breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea or even supper. Making a yam cake is actually not difficult at all, just a few simple steps to follow.

1 small yam (rinsed, skin peeled and cubed) 3 shallots, sliced 2 Tbsp dried shrimps (washed, soaked in hot water to soften) 100 gm rice flour 3 Tbsp tapioca flour 550 ml filtered water sea salt 1 tsp five spice powder white pepper

Steps to follow Steam cube yam for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Heat wok, drizzle in some oil, stir-fry shallots till slightly brown. Add in the cube yam, salt, five spice powder, pepper and stir for approximately 2 minutes. Combine rice flour, tapioca flour, salt and filtered water in a saucepan until mixture is smooth (lumps free), place over low heat, stirring continuously with a fork until it thickens like light custard. Remove saucepan from heat and add in all the yam, mix evenly. Transfer yam mixture into a 20 cm square cake tin and steam for 25 minutes. Leave to cool and garnish with chopped spring onions, chili and crispy fried shallots (as preferred). Served with sweet chili sauce of your choice.

Note : Most yam cake recipes call for alkali water which give this dish a gelatin texture but I have omitted it altogether. Instead, I keep my yam cake cling wrapped overnight in the refrigerator to firm up the texture. As for the tapioca flour (tapioca starch), it gives the dish an attractive glistening look.

Merdeka Special - Malaysian Recipe Long Forgotten

2006-08-29T16:15:00.000+08:00

"Malaysia, a beautiful country that reflects the way of life for many ethnic groups living together in harmony on a small piece of land sandwiched between Thailand and Indonesia. We owe it all to God who has given us the ability to love one another, the way HE loves us. Without LOVE, I cannot imagine peace, tolerance, patience, kindness, respect and forgiveness.

GOD loves you Malaysia!"

I would like to thank fellow food blogger, babe in the city for hosting a little "down memory lane" food special for our Independence Day. As exciting as it seems, it is truly difficult to cook something like that! I had 2 lovely recipes in mind, alas- it was not meant to be! For the first dish, I couldn't find the main ingredient here in Kuala Lumpur. As for the second recipe, the fruit I was looking for was not in season. What are the odds, really? I finally settled for my third recipe which I find appropriate for this event. I now call it "Dry Muhibbah Curry", before, it was a nameless curry just whipped up whenever there is a craving for it .

The word 'Muhibbah' here is reflected in the style of cooking more than the ingredient itself. It consists of lots of pounding of fresh ingredients in a mortar just like the Malays and is later thickened with an egg just like in our Chinese ala "Sar Hor Fun" style.

Ingredients to be pounded : 5 large red chilis, 5 dried chilis, 3 chili padi (bird-eye), 5 shallots, 2 clove garlic, 1 Tbsp toasted belacan (prawn paste), 1 Tbsp dried shrimps.

1 kg peeled and deveined prawns (leaving tail on), 2 medium size aubergines, 8 lady fingers, 2 red juicy tomatoes. All vegetables cut into bite size pieces. 3 small pieces of salted fish head (pre-fried in oil), 1 dried cuttlefish (cut in small pieces).

Heat oil in a curry pot. As usual, put in all the pounded ingredients and fry till fragrant. Add a little sugar, cuttlefish and the salted fish head pieces, add a little hot water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Put in the prawns and stir, followed by the cut vegetables. Curry gravy should be thick. Lastly, crack an egg, slightly beaten and drizzled into the curry gravy quickly. Stir a bit and add salt to taste. There you have it, my family's Dry Muhibbah Curry!

Mom's Chili Tau Chu Crabs

2006-08-28T17:56:00.000+08:00

School holiday is finally over. Life goes back to normal. Had a break from cooking for 1 whole week. Don't really know how I survived but I guess mommy needs a break too. I often feel there is so much to do but so little time. I wonder how many of you feel that way too. Sigh! My mom cooked this dish, not me. Still having a hangover from 'not cooking'. Mom knows we love crabs, she saw some live ones at the fresh market today and carted some home. God bless you, Mom! I will skip the murdering part and get straight to the recipe.

6 crabs (cleaned and chopped into half)

Ingredients to be blended

5 large red chilis 1 piece ginger (1" length) 2 Tbsp tau chu (fermented soya beans) 3 cloves garlic

Heat some oil in a wok and saute all the blended ingredients till fragrant.

Next, add a little hot water to the simmering gravy.

Add a dash of dark soya sauce to color and salt to taste.

Put in the crabs and stir till cooked.

Simple but finger licking good!

Sotong Curry (Squid or Calamari in Curry Sauce)

2006-08-20T13:13:00.000+08:00

It has been a long while since I was first inspired by a photo taken by boo-licious of masak-masak.blogspot.com of this sotong curry she reviewed sometime in my early days as a food blogger. I couldn't resist the delicious looking sotong curry photo she took, so I pasted it on my desktop as a reminder I should cook this delicacy someday. That day has finally come!

Sotong also known as squid or calamari is a relative of the octopus family and available all year round. The only reason I hardly cook this dish is because sotong is very high in cholesterol. Reading taken from a writing by Sheldon Margen and Dale A. Ogar in our Star newspapers sometime ago states sotong has "239 mg of cholesterol per a three ounce cooked portion, 117 calories and 4 g of fat, but less than 1 g is saturated." Just as a comparision, the same three ounce portion of crabs has 87 calories, 1.5 gm fat and only 85 gm of cholesterol. Even three ounce of fresh prawns (shrimps) only account for 166 mg of cholesterol, 89 calories and 1 g of fat.

Whether it is a myth or not that tamarind juice helps reduce cholesterol, I shall give it a clear shot!

6 fairly large sotong (skinned, de-boned and inky eyes and teeth removed)

1 Tbsp assam paste (tamarind paste) - soak in a small bowl of warm water, discard the seeds and use the assam water

1 tsp belacan paste (toasted till fragrant)

4 Tbsp olive oil

sugar

sea salt to taste

Ingredients to be blended

5 dried chilies

3 fresh large red chilies

5 bird-eye chilies

3 clove garlic

5 shallots

1/2 inch ginger

Heat wok, drizzle with olive oil, stir in blended ingredients till fragrant. Add belacan, sugar and assam water. Put in the cleaned sotong, stir just about 5 minutes. Always remember sotong will become rubbery once over-cooked. Sea salt to taste.

Serve and decorate with some mint leaves.

Scrumptious Pearl Corns

2006-08-16T18:35:00.000+08:00

Ever got addicted to corns? I just did. Saw these little delectable babies in a grocery store last week and thought I give them a try since they look so beautiful with their plum kernels of white and yellow bursting out at me. Even their silky threads were almost silver in color and glowing in the light. They are slightly larger and bigger in diameter compared to the normal pure yellow corns. These babies cost me RM3.50 each but I must say "They were worth every single cent!" In fact, I am now constantly looking out for them whenever I visit the grocery store.

Since this was my first encounter with 'Pearl Corns' otherwise known as "Chun Chee Pow Sook", I steamed them so that I could taste its pure unadulterated flavour. No added salt or butter or anything else, just pure natural sweetness. Juicy kernels popping with every single bite, just like the saying goes "pops in your mouth". To steam the Pearl Corns, peel corns off the husks and discard the chucky stem. Bring some water to boil in the steamer. At boiling point, place corns in the steamer above the boiling water. Cover and steam for approximately 5 - 7 minutes. Off the heat and leave the corns to cool.

Word of caution : There's no turning back after one bite into these scrumptious pearlies.

Homemade Beluga Kaya

2006-08-15T16:43:00.000+08:00

Beluga of Kaya?

This homemade kaya earned its name 'Beluga Kaya' because of its tiny round texture which looks a little like caviar compared to its counterpart which is creamy and silky. Many people I know prefer this kaya mainly because this kind of texture is more or less equivalent to 'homemade' and most importantly NO PRESERVATIVES! I admit I am not a kaya fanatic but my hubby can never resist a good bread, butter and kaya snack anytime, anywhere. Not to forget the kopitiam (means coffeeshop) style served with a couple of half-boiled eggs flavoured with light soya sauce and ground pepper. I guess our culture is more of the half boiled eggs rather than the poached ones. I clearly remember paying AUS 9.00 for a couple of poached eggs in a Sydney hotel just because my dear daughter decided to wean herself off milk just right at that faithful period when we were on holiday.

I have here a basket full of free-range farm fresh chicken eggs which inspired me to whip up a small pot of 'Beluga Kaya'. This recipe calls for an equal portion of eggs, castor sugar and santan (first pressed coconut milk). 4 eggs, 200 gm castor sugar, 200 gm santan and 2 pandan leaves (knotted or bruised for more flavour). Heat a pot of boiling water over the stove. In another saucepan, crack in the eggs and beat slightly with a fork, add sugar and stir some more. Slowly stir the saucepan over the pot of boiling water with a wooden spoon. The minute the sugar dissolves (30 seconds), run the liquid through a sieve and discard all semi-cooked pieces of eggs. Return the sieved liquid over the pot of boiling water, stirring consistently, gradually adding the santan and the pandan leaves. Keep stirring until batter begins to thicken and eventually looking like lumpy beluga caviar. Leave to cool before storing in a container.

There are more than one way to make this lovely paste. Some prefer to double boil, some steam and some even use the slow-cooker. Which ever way, the kaya will still be more authentic then the commercial ones. For those of you who like the kaya to be brownish, just caramelise the sugar and cool before repeating the same process. So I guess you know what you have to do when you feel that craving setting in! or just bribe someone to do it for you! Cheers!

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

2006-08-11T15:59:00.000+08:00

Here's a batch of semi-indulgence cookies after all those healthy muffins earlier! I called them 'semi' cos they have healthy oatmeal inside. Ha! who am I trying to deceive? I especially like these cookies with a hot cup of black coffee. Just one or two pieces will be enough to satisfy those little urges to snack on something crispy, chewy and partially sweet. Most recipes I tried earlier did not yield what I craved for. They are either too sweet, too soft for soft-baked, too burnt and not crispy and most of all, does not flatten when baked thus looking like a round bomb, when it's done.

Ingredient A

120 gm butter

120 gm castor sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

125 gm all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

A pinch of salt

---------

100 gm semi-sweet chocolate chips

140 gm rolled oats

30 ml grape seed oil / olive oil

Pre-heat oven at 160 degree celcius.

Pulse all 'Ingredient A' together in a food processor.

Stir in chocolate chips and rolled oats until even.

Drizzle in the grape seed oil and mix until batter is soft and slightly sticky.

Drop 1 teaspoon of cookie batter on a greased baking sheet and flatten it with the back of a fork.

Repeat this process till baking sheet is full, leaving enough space in between each cookie batter to expand when baking.

Bake for 8 - 10 minutes until cookies smells great and lightly browned.

Leave to cool completely on a wire rack before storing in an air tight container.

A Healthy Batch of Muffins

2006-08-09T20:43:00.000+08:00

Was doing my blog rounds and was captivated by Rachel's latest post on Thamjiak.blogspot.com. "Whole Wheat Banana Chocolate Muffins". Absolutely a wonderful idea for a healthy breakfast. Well, I guess Moms too need a good healthy reason to wake up early in the morning! What better way then to have these delicious looking muffins waiting eagerly to be eaten. Checked my larder and 'what have we got?' 3 boxes of Luxury Swiss Muesli waiting to expire. Any other better way to recycle? For the original recipe kindly refer to Rachel's blog. As for this recipe, I made do with what I had in hand which was a small tub of sour cream so instead of low fat yoghurt, I replaced with 210 gm of sour cream. I omitted the unsweetened shredded coconut and replaced raisins with sultanas. The topping was my dear almost expiring Luxury Swiss Muesli. Bake at 170 degrees for 10 to 15 minutes. Cover with a foil after the 1st 5 minutes because my muffins were much smaller in size.

They turned out well, just like how Rachel described them slightly chocolatey, good thick texture, occassional encounter on soft sultanas and crunch on the nuts. Wonderfully said!

Word of caution : Not for Gobblers! Eat slowly to enjoy the nuts and other interesting stuff inside.

Pork Chop Stack

2006-08-08T11:28:00.000+08:00

Anyone for a pork chop stack? This recipe is more to the chinese-styled pork chop. Purchase 6 pieces of 2 cm thick slabs of pork chops. I usually use the neck part called "kap sum" in Cantonese. The diameter of each slab approximately 12 cm. Marinate them overnight in a ziplock bag in 1 juice of lemon, salt, pepper and 3 Tbsp HP Sauce or any sauce of your choice. Place the ziplock bag in the fridge. Next morning, take the slabs out from the fridge to cool at room temperature, add 2 Tbsp of cornflour evenly, a dash of Shao Hsin fragrant wine, a dash of dark soya sauce and a dash of light soya sauce. Heat olive oil in a teflon pan (non-stick), place the slabs of pork chops in. If your pan can only take 3 chops at a time then sear and cook them in batches. Add a little hot water to help cook the pork chops evenly. Please ensure they are completely cooked. Stack pork chops aside. The left over oil in the pan is used to make the pork chop gravy. Heat the oil and add 1 tsp of cornflour dissolved in half a cup of Shao Hsin wine. Stir till the gravy is slightly thicken and add sea salt to taste. Pour gravy over the stack and serve with hot fluffy basmati rice.

Vegetable Curry Hotpot

2006-08-03T20:28:00.000+08:00

This week has been pretty hectic for me, that's why 'no posts'. I guess this is one of those weeks where my mind is constantly thinking... Yea! Malaysia Carnival Sale! but no time to go. Hmm, I sound simply pathetic! Most people would think being a homemaker is just so relaxing, I beg to differ. I do not fall under the category "Hire a housemaid and be a lady of leisure" I just don't know how and I guess I won't be thrilled doing just that.

Here's a recipe I have in archives but have not posted. It's called vegetable curry hotpot. Hotpot reflects the way it is cooked, just put everything in and simmer. You will need vegetables of course.

Rinsed and cut into small chunks : 1 large onion, 3 small aubergines/brinjals, 6 lady fingers, 2 red ripe tomatoes.

Rinse and make a slit : 2 large green chilies and 2 large red chilies.

To be blended : 3 cloves garlic, 5 shallots, 1 piece of 3" old ginger, 2 large red chilies, 3 bird-eye chilies, 3 dried chilies.

Soaked in hot water : 1 Tbsp tamarind paste, use the tamarind water and discard the seeds.

3 Tbsp curry powder of your choice, 1 tsp sugar, fresh milk and salt to taste.

Method : Heat olive oil in a curry pot, toss in all the blended ingredients, stir to avoid it sticking to the bottom of the pot. When fragrant, add sugar and curry powder, continue to stir, add a little hot water at a time. Repeat a few times until curry liquid looks like thick gravy, not too watery. Add in all the cut vegetables, chilies and tamarind water, simmer for 15 - 20 minutes on low heat. Drizzle a small cup of milk in place of coconut juice and add salt to taste. This recipe is all about personal tastes, you may use a pinch here, a drizzle there as long as it gives you the taste you desire.

Ceylon Spinach Soup

2006-07-28T17:00:00.000+08:00

Ceylon Spinach is known as 'Saan Choy' in Cantonese. Easily grown in Malaysia, this spinach has deep green leaves with bright red stems. It is popular in clear soups and has a somewhat a slippery texture when it's cooked.

By now you would be wondering why I have here photos of borlotti beans. What has this bean got to do with this soup? Well, I kind of accidentally found out that this bean serves 2 purposes here. I actually meant for this bean to be a healthy snack for the kids, so I removed the beans from the pods and boiled them. Then I thought what a waste it would be if I were to throw away the water I boiled them in. I decided to add it to my soup as stock. What a pleasant surprise that was! It added sweetness and nutrients to the soup without changing the taste.

Love the looks of these beans in the water, don't you? Anyway, back to my clear Ceylon Spinach soup. This soup is rich in vitamins and minerals.

As for the soup base, I used 2 pieces of chicken keel, boiled in 2 litres of filtered water.

Pour the boiled stock into a slow-cooker and continue to simmer for 1 hour.

Pull off the tender top of the ceylon spinach from the stems, then remove the leaves from the harder portion of the stems. Rinse and drain.

3 pieces of soft tofu, rinsed and drained.

Add the borlotti beans stock into the chicken keel stock and put in the ceylon spinach and tofu. Let them simmer in the slow-cooker for another 30 minutes, then crack a salted duck egg and slowly drizzle its contents into the hot boiling soup, stir slightly before cutting off the heat. (This is to get the cloud effect). If the duck egg is of good quality, you will see the orange color oil dots floating on top of the soup. (It's lacking in my photo)

Add sea salt to taste.

Cut tofu into quarters before serving.

Notice the holes in the tofu. Hmm, that's the best part! A very springy texture which I like.

By the way, the ceylon spinach loses its bright red color after it's cooked.

Herbal Wonders

2006-07-27T15:49:00.000+08:00

Food is the natural lifeline for our physical bodies and the right choice can assist us in maintaining and strengthening our health. The importance of herbs has been highly acknowledged by people from all nations, rich and poor alike. This post is specially written in reply to a request from a dear friend currently living in Hong Kong and my fellow bloggers whom may find this brew useful. I will not be in the position to introduce something I have not tried since I am no doctor but as for 'strengthening the lungs', I bring to you the well trusted "Cordyceps". In the mandarin translation cordyceps means 'worm in the winter, grass in summer'. Many will not try it mainly because it is expensive but if bought from a trustworthy source the investments can be worthwhile. Beware of imitations. Cordyceps otherwise known as 'tung chung cho' in Cantonese is believed to be the best remedy for anaemia, fatigue and weak lungs. It has great medicinal properties to aid recovery from illnesses as it encourages appetite and builds up resistance against chills and common cold. One small box of Cordyceps can be divided into 6 portions for this brew.

Red dates otherwise known as 'hoong cho' in Cantonese is often used in soups, brews or even sweet desserts to increase blood circulation in the body. It also possess lung, heart, spleen and stomach strengthening properties.

Recipe 1 portion of cordyceps (rinsed under filtered water) 1 handful of red dates, with or without stones (seed) is fine. Heat up a small slow-cooker with 2 rice bowls of hot filtered water (hot water is used to quicken the cooking process). The slow-cooker method is preferred because slow cooking does not burn and the liquid does not evaporate.

Method Simmer the brew in the slow-cooker for approx. 2 - 2 1/2 hours. Pour out the brew, cool slightly and drink warm.

Since this brew is expensive, a thinner brew can be obtained by adding a rice bowl of hot filtered water into the herbal sediment (cordycep and red dates) and boil in the slow-cooker for 1 hour for the second time. This second time round brew will be less aromatic but still contains enough medicinal properties for our well being. I personally drank this brew for a period of 3 months before trying to conceive a child. Started off by having it twice a week and consecutively once a week. The second time brew was serve to my hubby and he too benefited from it. I did not catch a flu for a year after that, I suppose my lungs were pretty strong then.

Refreshing Iceberg Lettuce

2006-07-23T16:50:00.000+08:00

The iceberg lettuce is, in a way related to the white round cabbage. They look almost alike except for the texture of the leaves. The leaves of the iceberg lettuce is lighter in texture and thinner in density. It is simply refreshing when eaten raw in sandwiches or salads, but here in Malaysia it is usually blanched in boiling water, drained and drizzled with some garlic oil, a dash of light soya sauce and some pepper. This dish basically needs no formal introduction, so I guess I won't dwell in it too much.

Roasted Soft Pork Ribs

2006-07-21T17:13:00.000+08:00

For this recipe, I used 'soft pork ribs' otherwise known as 'baby pork ribs'. This is the part where the white colored ribs can been seen connected to the normal rack ribs. I find this part more tender and moist compared to the normal rack ribs, not to mention I can't resist chewing on the soft bones. Anyway, in order to get a tender roast, marinate the ribs overnight with the juice of 1 fresh lemon. Other ingredients are a dash of my favourite S&W mesquite smoke sauce, Lea & Perrin sauce, sea salt and black pepper. Put all the marinate and ribs in a zipper bag and place in the fridge, overnight.

The next day, take the bag out and drip dry the ribs, reserve the marinate in the bag for gravy later. Leave the ribs at room temperature while the oven is heated to 200 degree celcius. Drizzle a little olive oil onto the ribs and pop it into the ready oven and roast for 20 minutes uncovered. If you want it with more color, leave it uncovered a little longer but be sure not to let it burn. Cover with aluminium foil and set timer for 30 minutes, check ribs and baske ribs with its own dripping. Repeat this process for another 30 minutes. Pearce knife into the meatiest part of the ribs to check if it's properly cooked. No red liquid oozing out means okay. Please do not eat pork roasts or steak rare or medium done mainly because it harbours harmful bacteria that may cause a slow down in our brain waves if eaten consistently. Trust me that won't be fun. Pork must always, always be well done.

Take ribs out of the roasting pan to cool. Place roasting pan on the stove, pour in the pork marinate and bring to boil. Add a cup of red wine and salt and pepper to taste. If you like thicker gravy, dissolve 1 Tbsp of plain flour or cornflour in some water and pour into boiling gravy. Stir a moment and cut off the heat. Spoon gravy on top of the ribs. Cut ribs can be served with some steamed broccoli and some boiled baby potatoes.

Nutritious Roots Soup?

2006-07-17T20:52:00.000+08:00

Wild edible roots and tubers have provided people all over Asia with food for thousand of years. Now widely cultivated, these roots are eaten in many ways. Cooked as vegetables, used in desserts, drinks and grounded to make flour etc... Most root vegetables are high in nutritional value. In fact, some roots and tubers like tapioca, sweet potato, yambean replaces rice as the staple diet in certain parts of Asia.

My first selection for this nutritional soup is a tuber called arrowroot (fun koat in Cantonese). Originated from Central America, is occassionally eaten as a vegetable in Japan and China. Arrrowroot looks slightly like a long tapioca with a fresh and pleasant aroma and texture. This tuber is known to relieve acidity, stomach cramps and indigestion. Paired with the lotus roots (ling ngaw in Cantonese) made famous by the chinese, transforms this soup into a treasured delicacy for a soup friendly home. The lotus root consists of a number of linked segments approx. 10 - 20 cm in length each. When sliced, the crisp flesh reveals a series of hollow chambers and not to mention this root has appreciable amounts of vitamin C and some level of calcium. Peanuts, often known as groundnuts (faa tzang in Cantonese) in Asia, also comes from roots. They are actually nodules which form on the roots of a bushy leguminous plant. It is rich in calcium, thiamine, carbohydrates, phosphorus and niacin. Besides all the underground goodies, some chinese herbs like boxthorn fruit (kei chee) and red dates (hoong choe) are added for more nutritional values. 3 litres of filtered water 1 arrowroot (10 inches long), peeled and cut into chunks. 1 lotus root (aprox. 3 short segments), sliced. 1 handful of skinless groundnuts 1 handful of seeded red dates (washed under filtered water) 1 handful of boxthorn fruit (washed under filtered water) 1 chicken breast (washed and cut into 2)

Bring water to boil in a soup pot and put in all the ingredients above. Bring to boil for 10 minutes and transfer to a heated slow-cooker and set timer for 3 1/2 hours. Sea salt to taste.

Phlegm Remedy

2006-07-14T23:19:00.000+08:00

Never thought this simple brew was so effective in getting rid of phlegm. Must share this little wonder-brew with you especially when you have children prone to the common flu. This is not a flu remedy but it definitely rids the phlegm factor in the beginning stage of the common cold and the tail end of it. Sometimes, the irritating phlegm causes unneccesary hurling in young children (above 1 yrs old) when they don't know how to cough it out. Worst scenario is when they just drank their milk. I shall leave it up to your imagination! This remedy is easy to prepare and works pretty well, All you need is 30 dark red grapes of any kind. The darker the skin the better. 5 slices of 'kam choe'. Sorry I don't know what it's called in english or any other language but refer to my photo for visual. Can purchase from chinese medical halls or herbal shops. Malaysian RM1 can yield approximately 15 slices of 'kam choe'.

1.5 litre of filtered water 30 dark red skin grapes (seed or seedless does not matter) - wash throughly and slice into half. 5 slices of 'kam choe' Bring to boil together and simmer for 1 hour. The liquid will then look like chinese tea with a slight tinge of redness. Pour and drink. Pleasant to the taste buds. This can be repeated for a period of 3-5 days continuosly.

Leftover Lamb

2006-07-12T21:01:00.000+08:00

Long live the leftovers!

I always look forward to leftovers especially from tasty roasts with bones. This time was my roast leg of lamb which was my main course to usher in Germany's 3rd placing in the world cup. So thrilled with it, I carved off almost all the juicy succulent meat for this morning's lamb sandwich which left me more than overjoyed and fulfilled! Just assemble the bread, the warmed-up lamb slices and crispy curly vegetable. Drizzle some leftover gravy on the meat and serve with a hot cup of coffee.

Oh yes, please don't forget the bones and the knuckles with some meat still stuck to it. This makes a very robust pot of lamb soup. Put 2 litres of filtered water in a soup pot, bring to boil. The put in all the the lamb bones, 1 large carrot, 2 sticks of celery, 3 potatoes, 1 large onion, 2 small corn (optional), some crushed black peppercorns and a bouquet garni of soup herbs. All vegetables cut into small chunks. Simmer for 1 1/2 hours. Add sea salt to taste.

* A bouquet garni consists of cloves, cardamon, coriander, aniseed, star anise, cinnamon stick and peppercorns tied up in a small piece of muslin cloth and secured with a thread.

Time to Celebrate!

2006-07-09T17:53:00.000+08:00

Finally, all tension is gone, Germany has gotten the 3rd placing in the 2006 World Cup. At least I got to watch Oliver Kahn in action for the last time today in his last world cup play. He is not exactly the greatest looking guy on the field but he is definitely the man for the job. With him on the team was like placing a pillar of confidence to the Germany team since Ballack's injury. Great game! and great goal keeping! Viva Germany! see you in 4 years time. Had a pefect reason to celebrate and has to be a tasty juicy roast, I'm starved of red meat lately. Rosemary Roast Leg of Lamb with potatoes, blanche broccoli and crispy curly greens seems to fit the profile just right.

For the leg of lamb, I usually pick Wammco International, (Australian), vacumn-packed chilled meat. It beats getting a frozen chump anytime. The meat is more tender and tastes better, all 2.4 kg of pure red meat!

Preheat oven at 210 degree celsius.

Just tear open the chiller wrap and rinse the leg of lamb under some filtered water. Pat dry with disposable kitchen towels. Place leg of lamb on a roasting tin. Use a sharp paring knife, make slits on the top part of the leg (where the layer of fat is) and push a slice of silvered garlic into each slit. Grind sea salt and black pepper over the leg and pluck sprigs of fresh rosemary and throw on top. (see photo above) Put it into the oven and time it to 30 minutes uncovered. Check it meat is properly brown on top then cover with an aluminium foil. Continue to roast for 1 hour. Check roast, baske with its drippings and continue to roast for another 20 minutes to get a medium to well done piece. I roasted it longer because most of my takers tonight are children. My roast is close to well done but not dry, all in all 2 hours 15 minutes.

While the leg of lamb is roasting away, wash some potatoes and praboil for 15 minutes. When roast is 30 minutes to ready, toss in the potatoes.

Cut broccoli into large pieces and blanche in hot boiling water for 30 seconds. Drain and plunge them in icy cold water to stop cooking and maintain crunchiness.

As for the crispy curly vegetable, just wash lightly under filtered water and decorate.

Please remember to let the roast sit for 1/2 hour before carving. While that's going on, pour all the dripping from the roasting tin into a small saucepan. Skim off the oil and thicken with 2 Tbsp of flour mixed with 5 Tbsp water. Stirring while heating and pour in a glass of white wine. When sauce begins to thicken, cut off the heat.

Last but not least, uncork a bottle of choice red wine to complete the lovely evening. Cheers!

Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake

2006-07-08T10:54:00.000+08:00

Summer fruits are deliciously beautiful when obtained in their homegrown countries. Peaches, nectarines, strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, blueberries never fail to ignite a feast for my eyes. They look beautiful when captured on photos and do wonders to the tastebuds. However, here in Malaysia, some of these fruits are grown in the highlands and is usually expensive to purchase. Not only it is expensive but most of the time they are terribly sour which does not really go with me. In order to satisfy some cravings for the summer fruitty flavour, freshly-made strawberry pie filling is the next best choice. This recipe is light and not too overwhelming to the tastebuds, that is why I use Tatura light cream cheese and cold milk instead of the usual Philadelphia cream cheese and heavy cream. Definately calls for a 2nd helping without stretching the waistline too much. Here's my refreshing home-made Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake that needs no baking. All you need is :- 250 gm Digestive Biscuits (pulsed into tiny bits in a food processor or blender) 90 gm soft butter Mix crushed biscuits and butter evenly and spoon into a prepared 22cm springform cake tin brush slightly with oil. Press firmly into base and refrigerate 30 minutes or until firm.

As for filling:- 500 gm Tatura light cream cheese Juice of 1/2 a large lemon 100 gm castor sugar 125 ml cold milk Blend all ingredients together in a cake mixer until soft, creamy and light. 2 Tbsp gelatine dissolved in 60 ml hot water in a small bowl and stand bowl in boiling water so that gelatine will not set too quickly. Place 250 gm fresh strawberries and 100 gm sugar (to taste) in a food processor and process till smooth. Fold in 1/3 of the gelatine mixture. Fold in the rest of the gelatine mixture into the cream cheese mixture. Swirl both mixture together in the earlier prepared tin with the biscuit base. Refrigerate overnight covered with a cling.

Mama Fries

2006-07-06T22:25:00.000+08:00

Something my home cannot do without.

This humble potato wedges nicknamed 'Mama Fries' was born in my sister's kitchen 3 years ago. Not a week goes by that I don't make this. It has become a familiar carbo substitute for rice in my home. Instead of feeding our young ones french fries laden with salt and msg from the fast food joints, we decided to make them the healthier way. Simple as ABC, but pretty tasty I might say. Peel potatoes and cut into 8 wedges. Heat some olive oil in a teflon or non-stick pan, put in the wedges and grind some sea salt onto the wedges. When wedges slightly brown on one side, turn them over. It takes only 15 minutes to make wedges from 2 large potatoes.

Hey, I finally manage to post my orange oatmeal cake here. I guess that will do for the moment until I learn how to manage my photos some other way. My missing photo from my earlier post, Anniversary Cake. (below)

Anniversary Cake

2006-07-04T17:15:00.000+08:00

What they say about 'a cake for all occassions' certainly lives up to its reputation. A cake marks a time of joy, a time of memories and a time of indulgence. Here's my humble gift to a wonderful couple who has blessed my family and many people along their way during their 2 years of marriage. Happy 2nd Anniversary to you both and may the Lord continue to multiply all your blessings till they overflow! Anniversary cake for this occassion is a Orange Oatmeal Buttercake topped with Orange Buttercream icing. This is one of my family favourites and perfected by my dear mom. I like the feel of the oatmeal in the cake a day after it's baked. It gives a chewy feeling to the cake and the orange buttercream icing adds a refreshing compliment. It is considered a heavy cake cos one slice definitely fills the tummy. Orange Oatmeal Buttercake 250 gm butter (room temperature) 100 gm castor sugar 4 eggs 1 - 2 oranges 150 self raising flour (sieved) 100 rolled oats 1 tsp baking powder milk Heat oven at 175 degree celcius. Grease the inside of the round baking tin (20 cm diameter) and cut a grease proof paper and line the bottom of the tin. Powder the inside of the tin with flour after greasing. Grate some orange rind, set aside. Juice the 2 oranges, discard seeds if any and add to the eggs.

Cream butter and sugar till fluffly and light, add in the egg and orange juice mixture alternately with the flour and rolled oats mixture. Continue to cream and add a little milk if batter is too thick. Due to the amount of juice from oranges, the liquid in the batter may vary, that's why milk is added. Batter must be creamy but does not drop off the spoon when scooped up with a spatula. Lastly dump in the grated rind and mix throughly. Pour batter into the prepared tin and pop it into the ready oven. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes. Cover with a piece of foil when the top starts to brown. Test by poking a cake skewer into the cake, if it comes out clean, it's done! (suppose to have a photo of my cut cake here but photoblogger refuse to upload it) Sorry! Orange Buttercream Icing 30 gm butter (room temperature) 400 gm icing / powder sugar (sieved) Juice of 1/2 an orange Some grated orange rind Beat butter and add icing sugar, alternate with orange juice until icing looks like soft peaks when beaters are lifted. Add in the rind and mix throughly. Make sure the icing is not too watery of soft cos it will not harden when put on the cake. It needs to slightly harden with room temperature to keep the looks of the soft peaks after coating the cake. Decorate accordingly. Leave to stand at room temperature for at least 1 hour before serving.

Chap Chye T'ng (Clear Mix Vegetable Soup)

2006-07-02T23:59:00.000+08:00

Another refreshing soup for another hot humid day. The title speaks all, vegetable, vegetable and more vegetables! Soup base is pork shoulder and fried cuttlefish boiled in a stock pot with a piece of ginger and some crushed peppercorns. Simmer on slow heat till pork shoulder is tender (approx. 1 hour). Fish it out and set aside to cool. Will be used as soup meat later. 2 litres filtered water 400 pork shoulder (whole piece) 2 small dried cuttlefish (washed and scalded with hot water) 1 inch ginger (smashed) 1/2 tsp peppercorns (crushed)

1 medium size carrot (sliced into a flowers) 300 gm yambean (sengkuang) sliced into squares 6 dried shiitake mushrooms (soaked and quartered) 300 gm cabbage (torn into small pieces)

When soup is ready, add carrots and mushrooms and boil for 5 minutes before adding the yambean and cabbage. Salt to taste. Sliced some soup meat and serve together with the vegetables. Drizzle some garlic oil before serving.

Note : As for the garlic oil, heat olive oil in a pan and pour in some chopped garlic. Saute garlic until aromatic and slightly brown. Set aside to cool and can be used as garnish in soups, congee, blanche vegetables, steam fish, etc.

Fish Porridge (Congee)

2006-07-01T22:28:00.000+08:00

Weather today has been simply crazy, been glugging down liquid whole day long and feeling so lethargic. What better food to consume other than a watery meal, congee! Someone told me Calrose rice makes real good congee, that someone is right! I tried it today and it turned out the way I like it, mushy. My father and mother-in-law loves this a lot, since it's easy to eat and effortless to digest.

1 litre fish stock 2 cups Australian calrose rice (japanese rice) filtered water Wash rice till water clears. Boil washed rice in some filtered water. When rice is half-cooked, add in fish stock, stirring the rice from time to time so that it does not stick to the bottom of the pot or rice cooker. (whichever is used) Continue to cook till rice is mushy and soft (add water if congee is too thick) 600 gm sole fish fillet (cubed while still slightly frozen, easier to cut) marinate the sole fish cubes with shredded ginger, a drizzle of fish sauce, sea salt, white pepper, a drizzle of sesame oil, light soya sauce, 1 cup Shao Hsin fragrant rice wine and pop it back into the fridge.

When the congee is pipping hot and ready to be served, put in all the fish fillet, stir and cover for 10 minutes. If fish is sliced, time for it to cook throughly in the congee will be shorter. Garnish congee with coriander leaves, shredded ginger or sliced chili and a drizzle of garlic oil. Needs no guessing which bowl was mine.

Flower Tea

2006-07-01T17:59:00.000+08:00

Since my faithful camera Canon Powershot A75 got really ill lately, I couldn't really capture much food photos for my blog. It finally died momentarily last week and had to make a major decision to get a replacement. Finally got a Canon Powershot S3 IS today, a belated birthday present from my darling hubby. Can't wait to play with it but first, gotta cook something! anything! Anyway, here something I thought of posting for a long while but never got around to do so. Tea! Photo was taken with my old faithful camera.

My hubby brought back a pretty unique type of tea from Shanghai last year. It is wrapped like an individual candy and comes in different colors signifying different flavours. All you have to do is to pour boiling water into a tea pot and unwrap the tea from the wrapper and put it into the teapot. Something magical happens, the piece of tea slowly grows into a lovely flower and the smell, spectacular! These shown here is 'jasmine tea'.

Look how delicate the flower petals are, they won't even tear when hot water is pour on it. I for one find it really interesting. Ain't chinese people cool?

Onepot Meatball

2006-06-25T00:09:00.000+08:00

Well my onepot meal is back! I guess it's my way of taking a break from cooking. Recently, I just went back to chasing my afternoon soap 'Bold and Beautiful' since the character of Taylor Forrester came back to life, lotsa changes with plastic surgery too. Got the kids out to the garden for some fresh air and sunshine since the weather was so beautiful. Blue sky, white clouds and cool breeze.... that reminds me of some of my vacations I had by the beach. Gosh! how I missed the beach, just sitting there doing nothing, absolutely nothing. Better still at Club Med, they feed you breakfast, lunch and dinner too! Got a snapshot of the beautiful sky. Okay, back to reality, my onepot still needs a little of my attention.

500 gm minced beef (can substitute with pork, chicken or even mutton) 4 Tbsp breadcrumbs (some stale bread toasted in the oven and pounded finely) 2 pieces sundried tomatoes (cut into small strips) 2 roma tomatoes (chopped roughly) 3 Tbsp Heinz tomato sauce 3 cloves chopped garlic 1 big onion (chopped), 1 bayleaf salt and pepper

Mix the minced meat with breadcrumbs and 1 tsp cornflour, salt and pepper. Roll them into balls. Heat some olive oil in a pot and saute the garlic and onions. Add bayleaf, sundried tomatoes, roma tomatoes and tomato sauce, bring to simmer for 10 minutes. Put the meatballs one by one into the sauce. Add a little hot water if the sauce thickens too fast. Simmer for another 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. At the end, add 1 cup of white wine (optional) and a generous portion of grated cheddar cheese over the meatballs, then serve. (Photo above has no cheddar cheese on top but I love the taste and texture of the cheese in the sauce)

I served this meal over some mashed potatoes instead of pasta. Bon Appetite!

Nose Clearing Soup

2006-06-22T20:15:00.000+08:00

Stuffed nose? Need to unclog? Here's an unorthodox remedy for relieving stuffy nose. Some find 'wasabi' a Japanese horseradish an instant relieve but I know of a soup that might just do the same. I don't know what this fish is called but in Cantonese is called 'Chei Yee Chai', I have it in the photo below, go figure... if you happen to know the name please tell me. This fish has a lot of scales and the smaller the size of the fish, the sweeter to soup.

5-6 fish, wash and gut but leave the scales on because we only want the sweetness of the fish in the soup. Add 3 lemongrass (bruised), 3 large red chilis (slit), 2 bird-eye chilis (slit) and a little fish sauce, a drop of dark soya sauce, pepper and light soya sauce to taste. Boil all the ingredients in a pot of filtered water (except the fish) until the chilis are soft and the lemongrass turns colour, then add the fish and continue to boil for 30 minutes or until the soup is tasty. Drink hot!

Bittergourd Chicken

2006-06-21T22:36:00.000+08:00

In Cantonese this dish is called 'foo kua men kai', and is one of my family favourite recipes. I learned how to eat this dish during my schooling days when I had to spend my mornings at my neighbour's house where she would prepare lunch for my sister and I and her own children before we went to school. I really own it to her for teaching me how to savour this fantastic dish. Hopefully, my daughter will one day learn to enjoy it as much as we do.

I used chicken parts cos I only cooked this for dinner the other day with no accompanying dishes. Chicken parts can be substituted with sliced chicken fillets.

2 chicken drumsticks and 2 chicken wings (cut into small chunks)

Cut one medium size bittergourd into sticks as shown above after scraping out all the seeds in the core. Blanche them in boiling water for 2 minutes and drained (this is done to take away some of its bitterness).

Chop some garlic, 2 Tbsp tauchu paste (fermented soya beans), plop them into hot oil in a wok and saute for 1 minute and add chicken. Stir till chicken is slightly brown on the outside and add a drizzle of dark soya sauce and light soya sauce. Stir some more and add a little hot water before pouring in the pre-cooked bittergourd. Simmer for 15 minutes with lid on. Add salt to taste.

10 Things I Miss of Mom's Cooking

2006-06-17T18:00:00.000+08:00

I got a little note from Foodcrazee saying he tagged me for Meme. Yours truly here has no idea whatsoever what Meme is or stands for. After reading Foodcrazee's blog, I find it an honour to be tagged and what a incredible topic to be tagged for, '10 Things I Miss of My Mom's Cooking'. I find it a great blessing to have a mom like my mom who made sure there was always delicious food on the dining table for mealtimes and mom never miss celebrating our birthdays until we turned 18. Life practically grew around food since grandma's time and is still going strong. My list goes like that..... 1. Pork Belly Salted Fish Head Curry Mom used to make this dish and kept frozen in the freezer in smaller portions to be defrosted when needed to add flavour to our mealtimes. 2. Anchovies (ikan bilis) and Baby Cuttlefish Sambal This was another to-die-for appetizer cum sandwich filling. Mom used to spread a thick coat of butter on our bread and lace it with this particular sambal and packed it in our school lunch boxes. I can eat 6 slices of bread easily with this as filling! 3. Braised Dried Oyster with Sea Cucumber, Dried Cuttlefish, Dried Scallops, Dried Chinese Black Mushrooms and Abalone Slices This is one dish I never fail to cook during Chinese New Year since I got married. Reunion dinner is never complete without this aromatic slow-cooked braised dish. It originated from Grandma kitchen and Mom cooks it real well. 4. Grilled Stuff Sambal Belacan Mackeral Fish Just love this way of preparation, can smell the mouth-watering aroma a mile away! Mom still makes it occasionally but leave most of the cooking to me now, I guess is her time to relax and eat now. 5. Slow-Boil Clear Chicken Soup with Red Dates and Boxthorn Fruit (Kei Chee) in a Coconut This is a very tedious way of boiling soup but the result is just phenomenal. Mom had to ask the coconut seller to cut off the top of the coconut so that it closes like a pot lid over the coconut and slow-boiled over charcoal in our backyard. I think I will just stick to those precious memories for the time being. 6. Octopus Soup (Mak Yue Thong)

Used to have this soup almost every month when I was young. I guess it just happen to dissapear from the dining table altogether since my mom got acquainted with the meaning of 'Cholestral'. I remember the delicious aroma enveloping the whole house while the soup was simmering in the slow cooker and the tasty tender octopus meat. Very flavourful soup!

7. Kerabu Mee Hoon (Rice Vermicelli tossed in a mixture of finely cut fresh chili, shallot, coriander leaves, mint leaves, toasted belacan and fried shredded coconut)

This is basically a vermicelli salad that needs no cooking skills but slicing skills, I'm afraid.

8. Devilled Food Cake

This is a dark rich moist chocolate cake with mashmallow icing. Fabulous cake! I remember she made this for me to bring to school for 'last day of school party'.

9. Grandma's Har Kwai (meat pies)

These meat pies were created by my Grandma and was traditionally carried down by my mom and now I have the recipe (still on the to do list). It has chopped liver, pork, turnip, black chinese mushrooms, onions and lard as the filling. I really miss this! what can I say but to make it myself one day.

10. Giant Chili Cockles

We love cockles, eat them in many ways too. Mom's delicacy is to fry these giant cockles flesh in a garlic and chili paste until they're scrunchy with all the rich chili flavours. I can hardly find such fresh juicy giant cockles nowadays.

I have got so many more but 10 it is for this meme. Notice those with photos? Those are the only ones I have adopted so far and have cooked them before and now in my humble blog.

I now would like to tag 5 of my fellow bloggers for this meme.

1. Eatzycath of eatzybitzy.blogspot.com

2. Gustad Mody of ironcheff.blogspot.com

3. Sea Dragon of cafeoftheeast.blogspot.com

4. Suyin of cookingismypassion.blogspot.com

5. Jadepearl of playplayinthekitchen.blogspot.com

Sour Cream Scones

2006-06-15T22:58:00.000+08:00

Scones and Earl Grey tea ... brings back memories of Old Smokehouse (Cameron Highlands, Malaysia) evening tea spread. Pretty, polish and polite, not to mention pricey just for tea. Nevertheless, that particular trip more than 10 years ago, ignited a love for scones in my heart. Occassionally, I would get a strong craving for scones and I usually buy them from the bakery and lightly toast them before I indulge. This time was different, I was blogging when I found this recipe in one of the blogs I frequently visit, Sea Dragon's "cafe of the east.blogspot.com". There staring at me were these beautifully made sour cream scones, that was enough to send me running out to get a packet of sour cream! For this recipe, kindly refer to Sea Dragon's blog.

Here's the end result, slightly crispy on the outside, moist and soft on the inside and tastes full and rich. Served with a tall glass of chilled fresh milk. My entire household actually loved it and looks like it's going to be another regular in my home.

Spicy Curry Chicken

2006-06-14T23:00:00.000+08:00

For those of you reading my blog regularly would know I have suddenly gone crazy with my sweet stuff more than my savoury and spicy. Maybe finally I am learning to enjoy the sweeter things life has to offer. I wonder if this is a starting point to mid-life cravings?? Today, I am back to my normal self and cooking one of my favourites ... Spicy Curry Chicken. This recipe is slightly different from my Fullmoon Fare curry chicken. All you need is :- 2 medium size chicken thigh with drumsticks (cut into bite size pieces) 4 chicken wings (cut into 2) 4 potatoes (cut into small chunks and par-boil) 1 ripe red tomato (cut into 4 wedges) 3 sprigs of fresh curry leaves 1 packet of chicken curry spices (powder) 20 gm assam (soaked in hot water for 15 minutes and discard seeds) Olive oil 1 tsp sugar sea salt to taste 1 Tbsp tumeric powder Ingredients to be blended :- 6 shallots 2 cloves garlic 2 pieces of toasted belacan (approx. 50gm) 2 big red chilis 8 bird eye chilis 3 dried chilis Blend all ingredients together finely and saute in hot oil in the curry pot. Stirring to avoid burning, add curry leaves, curry chicken powder and tumeric powder. When fragrant add sugar and chicken pieces and stir until chicken pieces starts to brown slightly. Add a little hot water, assam water and tomatoes and potatoes, simmer for 20 minutes with lid on. Curry chicken serves 4 adults. One practical suggestion here, if you want to cook more and freeze the curry chicken in the freezer for weekday dinners, just omit the potatoes. I used to do that pretty often while I was working 9 to 6, and boy! do I look forward to dinner!

Wholemeal Breakfast Pancakes

2006-06-11T21:13:00.000+08:00

I am totally inspired by eatzycath's blog where she pasted her meatball and spaghetti photo with a beautifully crafted frame. With that photo still fresh in my mind, being an amateur as I am, I decided to try out new functions on my 'PhotoImpression' and stumble upon this automatic frame. That's how it looks! Anyway, I have never imagine I could learn so much just by blogging. I guess I should take this opportunity to thank all fellow bloggers for sharing and contributing their thoughts, recipes, cooking tips and photography skills on the net. It has widen my knowledge in a lot of things including places to eat and visit. As the saying goes "Life is a learning process that cannot finish".

So, here is a recipe for my wholemeal breakfast pancakes:-

150 gm all purpose flour

100 gm wholemeal flour

2 fresh eggs

a pinch of salt

250 ml fresh milk

1 Tbsp golden syrup

filtered water

Place the 2 types of flour in a mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour. Crack in the 2 eggs. Using a fork, mix in a circular motion starting from the centre where the eggs are. Pouring in the milk as you go along. Add salt and golden syrup and some filtered water until consistency feels like a runny mixture. Heat a small non-stick frying pan with a little butter and pour in a scoop of the mixture. Turn the pancake over when the side facing you still has a little raw mixture in the centre and flip it out when it is done and not burnt. Please use low heat. Serve with maple syrup, honey, fruit jam, butter or peanut butter and a hot cuppa coffee.

Basic Tomato Sauce Pasta

2006-06-06T19:35:00.000+08:00

A classic recipe for an inexpensive meal.

1 Tbsp olive oil 1 large onion (chopped) 2 stalks celery (chopped) 3 cloves garlic (chopped) 1 can of peeled plum tomatoes (I prefer to use Cirio) 2 Tbsp tomato paste 1/2 tsp dried oregano 2 bay leafs 1 tsp brown sugar Crushed black pepper 2 shots of white wine Sea salt to taste Heat oil in pan and pour in the chopped ingredients until softens. Add tomatoes, oregano, bay leaf, sugar and bring to boil, lower heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Stirring from time to time to avoid burning. (Make sure to use a pot or pan with lid that does not allow much room for evaporation) When almost ready, pour in the wine and add pepper and salt to taste.

Baked Tom Yam Fish

2006-06-04T20:31:00.000+08:00

Sunday dinners must always be fast and edible. Pretty tired after a long day out and not really wanting to dress up and go out again for dinner so I raided my freezer for a tray of frozen sole fish. I decided dinner would be 'baked tom yam fish'. Instead of grilling, I will be baking the fish in tin foil. I used to serve this dish during my BBQ party days when we first got married and all my friends were still without children. I remember enjoying myself even while standing over extreme heat chucking down cool icy beer with BBQ tongs in the other hand. I guess at this moment none of such pleasure except if it's someone else's BBQ party and kids not invited! Nasty me.

Recipe is very straight forward.

1 sheet of tin foil (enough to wrap the whole dish. Remember the reflective side facing out)

1 piece sole fish (deboned and thawed)

1 ripe red tomato (cut in thin wedges)

5 lady's fingers (cut in stars or slanted)

1 leek (cut in 1 inch length - optional)

1 lemongrass (finely sliced)

10 kaffir lime leaves (finely sliced)

3 red bird-eye chilis (sliced)

1 tsp tumeric powder

3 Tbsp fish sauce

2 Tbsp Tae-Pae tom yam paste

1 Tbsp Thai sweet chili sauce

1 lime juice

3 Tbsp filtered water

Heat oven at 200 degree celsius.

Just pat dry the sole fish fillet and season with tumeric powder. Mix all the paste, fish sauce, lime juice and filtered water together and pour over the fish. Put all the cut vegetable and spices over the fish and seal the tin foil tightly. Bake for 10 minutes. Serve immediately

'Chang' Festival (Boiled Rice Dumpling)

2006-06-01T21:43:00.000+08:00

I guess, better late then never since the 'Chung' or 'Chang' festival was celebrated end of last month. In China, it's a summer festival celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth lunar month on the chinese calendar. I for one have never attempted to make 'Chang' (rice dumpling) from scratch before. Nevertheless, that does not stop me for getting a dose of all the dumplings when it comes to this time of the year. When I was about nine or ten years old, my Mom used to make them and she would teach us how to wrap and tie them. I was so incompetent until I had to sit on the floor with the main tie straw hooked onto the kitchen cabinet door and used my feet to balance the whole process. Don't remember how exactly but thinking back really got me wondering. The dumplings I wrapped always turned out looking pretty flat, nothing like the real thing but I was so proud of it cos I did it myself.

My mother's favourites are the sweet and salty filling dumpling also known as the "puah kiam ti chang' and the yellow split peas dumpling. The sweet and salty dumpling is actually a nyonya version of the traditional 'bak chang' salty meat dumpling. The rice in this dumpling is slightly colored blue with the dye from the butterfly pea flower which makes it quite exotic. As for me, I love the 'kee chang' (alkaline rice dumpling) which looks semi-transparent and is eaten with gula melaka (palm sugar syrup). Absolutely delicious! I just can't resist the texture and the feel of it...so bouncy, chewy and sweet. (photo below)

I have a recipe here share by an elderly lady which I am going to try one day, maybe you guys can try it first and let me know.

20 fresh young bamboo leaves (washed and soaked overnight)

200 gm glutinous rice (washed in several changes of water until water runs clear, soaked overnight and drained)

1/4 tsp alkaline water

1 tsp peanut oil

a pinch of boric powder (pang sar)

some hemp strings or tie straws

Stir peanut oil and alkaline water into the glutinous rice and leave aside for 1 hour.

Overlap 2 pieces of bamboo leaves making a cone and fill it 3/4 full with glutinous rice. Fold the extended ends of the bamboo leaves over the rice and try folding it into a pyramid shape. Tie with straws. (easier said then done!)

Place dumplings into plenty of hot boiling water with a pinch of boric powder and boil for approx. 4 hours over medium fire. The boric acid in the boiling water will prevent the bamboo leaves from sticking to the dumplings when cooked and also gives the dumplings a shiny coat.

Some people like it with some sweet red beans in the centre of the dumpling. Cook some red beans in water and sieve so that all the skin is removed. Add sugar and cook till creamy and cool. Make into small balls and cover in the fridge. When wrapping the dumpling, just pop the red bean ball into the centre of the rice and wrap like usual.

Leave dumpling to cool and serve with palm sugar syrup.

Eventhough I attempted none of it this year, I hope to make it one of my projects to make 'chang' before the next dumpling festival begins next year.

Another type of dumpling is the one with fatty meat, salted eggs yoke and chestnut known as salty meat dumpling 'kiam bak chang'. Let me try the recipes first then I shall post them later since I prefer to post tried and tested ones! (more meaningful that way)

My Darlin' Daughter Turns 3!

2006-05-28T15:18:00.000+08:00

This month marks exactly 3 years of motherhood for me. I thank God for all the wonderful times with my daughter, may it be 'cleaning up after she throws up when she's not well' to 'cuddly bedtime story-telling in bed under the warm cosy sheets of comforters'. Motherhood can never be a bed of roses all the time but definitely has plenty of fulfilling rewards.

My daughter's 1 year old party was celebrated only with family and her 2nd birthday was a simple party at home with family and close friends. Daddy and I promised her a bigger and more memorable party for her 3rd birthday so we decided to have a poolside bash with family and slightly more friends. We had close to 20 kids playing in the pool, some were nuking each other with water balloons, others were wandering aimlessly around. God blessed us with fine weather (no rain) until much later when everyone had finished swimming and blowing of candles was over, it started to pour. That made the whole alfresco dining so much more inviting.

A month before her birthday, she wanted me to bake her birthday cake. A promise is a promise, rule number one in parenting! I was blogging one night and she stopped me and pointed at cupcakes on my computer screen. So that's what she wanted and that was the birth of her birthday cupcakes! I tried a few recipes and decided to follow the Vietnamese Coffee Cupcakes recipe from chockylit.blogspot.com. It's just marvelous! I substituted coffee with chocolate and some were just plain butter. I also changed the icing to plain lemon buttercream frosting which complimented the cupcakes very well. The frosting was not too hard nor too soft but just perfect.

Recipe for frosting

125 gm butter (room temperature)

500 gm icing sugar

a little milk

juice of 1/2 a lemon

Beat all the ingredients together taking great care not to add too much milk. Consistency must be soft and creamy but does not drop off from the spoon.

Separate the frosting into different bowls and add different colors to each.

Pipe using disposable piping bags with small star nozzle in a circular motion. Next is to decorate slightly with some ready-made red sugar hearts. Notice the 3 hearts.... one belongs to Daddy, Mommy and last but not least the birthday girl. The birthday girl loved it so much that she couldn't wait to blow out the candles and tuck in. Same went for all her tiny guests, even the boys!

As for the adults, there was a spread of the 'must have lobak', some choice sausages, roasted ducks and BBQ pork 'siew yoke' for the wine table. A very tasty dish of 'mee siam' fried by her church friends' mommy ( which I myself had 3 helpings), some hokkien noodles and chicken satay.

At the end of the evening, I was real pleased with the whole party ... weather, food, guests, cake and most of all my little girl was happy and thrilled to have turned 3 with a big bash!

Marble Loaf Cake

2006-05-22T21:16:00.000+08:00

Every baking household I know has their own 'tried and tested' marble cake recipe. As for me, this is my new version and I thought it was 'different'. This recipe is very moist and a little sticky in the centre and slightly crispy on the crusts when straight out from the oven. Love it for tea or as dessert after a hearty dinner, not to forget that cup of hot black frothy coffee. Just heaven! 250 gm all purpose flour 1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate (add in the flour) 100 gm castor sugar 175 gm unsalted butter (room temperature) 80 ml sour cream 2 large eggs (room temperature) vanilla extract 125 ml boiling water 175 gm dark bitter chocolate (melted)

Pre-heat oven at 170 degree celcius. Grease the side of a loaf tin and sprinkle flour over. Line the tin with grease paper. Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Alternate the flour and boiling water.

Cream until even and scoop out 3 scoops and add melted chocolate (chocolate batter). Pour batter into the baking tin followed by the chocolate batter.

Folding the chocolate batter into the cake batter to get the marble effect.

Bake for 40 minutes or till the cake tester say so.

I am afraid I didn't do too well here. The chocolate batter just decided to stay unmarbled. Anyway, came out good enough for me.

Desserts Galore

2006-05-16T16:58:00.000+08:00

Last weekend while doing my favourite passtime, wandering around the bookshop, I picked up this georgeous recipe book "Nyonya Flavours" published by The State Chinese (Penang) Association & Star Publications (M) Bhd. I recommend this book as "The Ultimate Penang Nyonya Recipe Book"! and it only costs RM38.00, full of authentic recipes, excellent photography and heritage wares. I also have another book "Penang Nyonya Cooking" by Cecilia Tan which I think is also pretty good but on the pricier side of RM67.20, published by Marshall Cavendish Cuisine.

Just by flipping through the dessert pages already got me working an appetite for sweet stuff. For those of you who have the former book, page 195 Nyonya Cendol was a total killer! Absolutely delicious looking! While I was growing up I distinctly remember cendol made that way and felt slightly chewy (unlike the ones we get in local restaurants), fragrantly pandan and simply refreshing is the word.

Armed with a packet of green beans, I decided to boil a pot of green bean soup (Lek Tau T'ng) just to satisfy my darling hubby's cravings.

200 gm green beans (washed and drained)

100 gms pearl sago (washed and drained)

1 piece of rock sugar (approx. 2" x 2")

2 pandan leaves (tied into a knot)

Bring a pot of filtered water to boil together with the green beans, adding the pandan leaves for fragrance. Boil for 15 minutes and simmer for another 40 minutes before adding the rock sugar to taste. I like it with less sugar. Boil another pot of filtered water and pour in the sago pearls, boil for 5 minutes and cover with the lid for 15 minutes. Then, drained and added into the pot of boiling green beans and stir. When sago pearls are properly cooked, they look transparent. I have one pearl that is half-cooked in the photo. How strange!

Bee Ko Moy (Black Glutinous Rice broth) is another heavenly dessert. Very importantly for this dessert to turn out well, one must purchase the right type of black glutinous rice. I can't really describe it cos I made this quite sometime ago and I did not take a photo of the rice. Sorry guys!

200 gm black glutinous rice (wash and soak for a while)

80 gm organic brown sugar

2 pandan leaves (knotted)

100 ml thick 1st pressed coconut milk (santan)

1 pinch of salt

Bring filtered water to boil with pandan leaves, add in the rice and simmer for 30 -40 minutes. Stirring regularly to avoid burning at the bottom of the pot. Cover the pot with a lid for the rice to cook throughly. The correct type of black glutinous rice will give a very smooth springy bite in every mouthful and not fibrous.

Fatt Tiew Cheong

2006-05-13T11:54:00.000+08:00

This dish reminds me fondly of Samuel Hui's song, (Fatt Tiew Cheong, chen hei kom kuai heong!) simply means Buddha or monk jumps over the wall dish is just so deliciously aromatic! This is definitely not a simple daily dish, first of all it's really expensive, secondly it takes a little more time and effort to make it all worth while. Have been brewing this dish in my mind for a long time, finally a perfect occassion to churn it up, what better occassion than Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day to all you 'Mothers' , young and old alike and may you take this journey of motherhood pleasantly in your stride.

Eating out on Mother's Day, Valentine's Day or any other special days that would really clean out your pocket is a definite No! No! for me. For the same amount I want to spend eating out on these days, I would gladly make an effort to cook an expensive delicacy right in the comfort of my own cosy kitchen. All you need is a packet of herbs from your nearby chinese herbal shop and some of your favourite expensive ingredients. I have a photograph of the herbs but I am not familiar with some of the names. Maybe you will know from the looks of it.

Bring 4.5 litres of filtered water to boil in a 5 litre soup pot. Rinse the herbs, 2 big dried scallops and 2 big dried oysters very briefly and drain. Add them into the boiling water and let it simmer for 1 hour. Next, wash and clean 4 pieces of chicken keel or chicken breast and blanche them in another pot of hot boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and add the chicken keel into the herbal soup pot and simmer for another 1 1/2 hours. Open the can of abalone (put abalone aside) and add the liquid from the can into the herbal pot. (I prefer to use chicken keel or breast for soup base mainly because it emits less impurities and I don't have to skim the soup). Also note, when making clear soup or stock, always simmer and never boil profusely cos that will make the liquid murky.

My favourite ingredients for this dish is a can of abalone (sliced thinly), 5 large whole dried shiitake mushrooms (pre-soaked in hot water, stem cut), 5 small chicken drumsticks, fried fish maw (bite size pieces), snow fungus (bite size pieces), 1 carrot (sliced and cut into the shape of stars, boiled in boiling water for 5 minutes, drained), 1 packet of brown shimeji mushrooms (cleaned and roots trimmed), 1 packet enoki (cleaned and roots trimmed), sea moss (fatt choy - pre-soaked in water).

20 minutes before the soup is ready, discard the chicken keel, then add in the mushrooms and chicken drumsticks. Continue to simmer. 5 minutes before the soup is ready, put in the fish maw, snow fungus, shimeji mushrooms, enoki, carrots and 1 cup of Shao Hsin fragrant wine. Soup is ready and notice I did not add any salt, very tasty! Decorate the serving bowl with all the goodies from the pot, add sea moss, sliced abalone and top up with this delicious soup. This recipe serves 5 -6 persons.

Leftovers Simply Delicious!

2006-05-11T19:06:00.000+08:00

Festive leftovers like roast turkey can become a fresh turkey salad overnite or even hmm turkey soup! What about our daily leftover dishes, for example, braised pork belly, chicken stew, steamed chicken otherwise known as white cut chicken, chicken braised in soya sauce, roast duck or even BBQ pork belly. I certainly will not put them to waste, no way, its too precious. Leftovers like what I mentioned earlier can be transformed into a heart-warming appetizing hot pot called "Chai Boey" or "Choy Keuk". This dish is churned from all the meaty leftovers from a huge festive meal eg. Chinese New Year, Big Birthday Cookouts or just a little home entertaining dinner. Today's post was made possible by my darling sister who started off by cooking a pot of her delicious braised pig trotter in turnips and carrots yesterday. By the way, that was really good and simple too. Braised Pig Trotter with turnips and carrots 1 pig trotter (chopped into small chunks) - blanche in hot boiling water for 5 minutes to get rid of impurities then seasoned with dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, sugar, oyster sauce, salt and pepper.

5 medium size turnips cut in chunks - I forgot to snap a photo of them, they were gorgeous! 2 large carrots cut in chunks 5 cloves of smashed garlic 1 big onion cut in wedges 8 -10 dried chilis (soaked in hot water for 20 minutes and drained) Heat olive oil in a claypot, put in the garlic and onion. Sautee till fragrant. Sear the chunks of pig trotter, adding a little hot water as you go along. Put in all the turnips, dried chilis and carrots and bring to boil for 10 minutes. Simmer on low heat for 40 minutes. (Important note : make sure the carrots and turnips are in big chunks, if they are too small, they will all melt away by the end of the 40 minutes)

We couldn't finish all of it cos we were all so stuffed! Then my mobile market guys came a honking... what a blessing his van was filled with fresh vegetables, he had preserved salted mustard greens (kiam chye or ham choy), lots of choy sum fa (flowering cabbage), pow choy (chinese round head cabbage) and on and on. Just then, our Chai Boey dish is born! I just cannot resist but blog it! Here goes...

The leftovers from the above dish and half a frozen roasted duck from the freezer.

3 huge clutches of choy sum fa, 2 packets of perserved salted mustard greens, 5 bird eye chilis, 8 dried chilis (soaked in hot water and drained), 2 sour plums and 1 1/2 Tbsp assam paste.

Salt, sugar, light soya sauce, dark soya sauce - all these use according to the taste you like. Sometimes the leftover dishes may be salty or some may be spicy so put your tastebuds to the test. Same goes for the chilis in this dish. Some may like kai choy (bamboo mustard cabbage), it gives it a slightly bitter taste to this awesome hot, spicy, salty, sour and sweet dish.

Bring 2/3 of water in a 5 litre pot to boil. Put in roasted duck, leftover braised trotter, sour plum, dried chilis, bird eye chili, assam paste and boil for 1 hour. I use the vision ware 5 litre pot that does not dehydrate much and also try not to use metal pot as the sourness in this dish may not go well with metal.

Pre-soak the preserved salted mustard greens in water to make sure most of the salty taste is gone before putting them into the simmering pot. Simmer for another 40 minutes and cut off the heat. Leave it covered on the stove overnite. Reheat the next morning and put in the cleaned fresh vegetables and boil for 20 minutes then dig in!

I especially like the turnip bits in the chai boey cos the taste of the dish really got soaked-in. By far, this is one of the best dishes my sis makes real well. Sorry to say I can't get the taste just right... there is so much to consider, spicy, sour, salty, sweet and balancing them needs lots of practice. I will just continue to eat.

Hi Fellow Bloggers!

2006-05-10T10:51:00.000+08:00

You must have noticed by now I have not been blogging as much as I love to. Just to let you guys know, I have not stopped blogging and will not intentionally stop. Due to lotsa birthdays, mother's day, teacher's day, whatever days you name it ... it's probably in the month of May! I promise to be back as soon as I can cos as for me, my whole family is born in this special month. Happy Birthday to us and to all of you MAY babies out there! To tell you the truth, I am trying to perfect my little girl's birthday cake and wish me all the best! Keep blogging!

Fish anyone?

2006-05-02T18:28:00.000+08:00

Mackeral and Leeks

This is a long forgotten dish, for me anyway. Brought to memory by my mobile market guy when he tried to sell me some really fresh looking leeks. This can actually be a very delicious weekly dish on the dinner table. All you need is:- 1 medium sized mackeral (kau yee) cut into 2 cm thick slices, slightly marinated with cornflour, light soya sauce 3 fairly large bulbs of leeks (cut it very slanted) 1 Tbsp fermented soya beans (tauchu) 3 bulbs chopped garlic

4 slices of ginger salt and pepper Dash of black soya sauce

Drizzle pan with olive oil and throw in the chopped garlic, ginger and soya beans. Stir fry the fish slices, add in the sliced leeks and a little hot water. Salt and pepper to taste. Dark soya sauce for coloring.

Steam Pomfret in Oyster Sauce

1 large Pomfret (cleaned and gutted)

1 sprig spring onions (roughly chopped)

Julienne of ginger

coriander leaves (roughly chopped)

Sauce

a little chopped spring onions

3 Tbsp garlic oil

A dash of sesame oil

1 tsp light soya sauce

1 Tbsp fish sauce

1 Tbsp oyster sauce

hot water

Arrange all the ingredients on the fish and stuff some julienne of ginger into the cavity of the fish. Keep cool in the fridge in a cling wrap.

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and pour it onto the fish when about the steam. Steam for 8 - 10 minutes on very high heat. Serve immediately.

Bah Kut Teh Strikes Again!

2006-04-25T17:04:00.000+08:00

Lately, I have been extremely fond of Bah Kut Teh. Maybe because it is simple to make and need no cooking experience at all. I have tried many types of BKT herbs from the chinese medical halls to the pre-packed packets on the supermarket shelves. All have their own speciality tastes but so far, I find this one very authentic indeed.

First of all, it consists of 2 packets of dried herbal spice mix and 1 packet of dark colored soya sauce-like substance. Aha! that sauce-like substance it the secret! and it is MSG free. Superb! I really have a distinct dislike towards MSG, just can't stand that stuff. The address on the box says, the 'One Fine Shop' is located at 79, Jalan SS25/32, 47301 Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Tel : (03) 7729 4771. Please don't get me wrong, they did not pay me to sell their products but I must take a trip there to purchase the BKT soup mix for myself. This is solely for self gratification only.

To cook is so simple, just open the box and put the 2 packet of herbal spice mix (uncut) into 1600ml of boiling water and dunk in 2 bulbs of garlic with the bottom sliced off (for a better aroma and the garlic will not melt into the soup). Simmer for 1/2 hour.

Wash the meat and boil it for 8 minutes in a pot of boiling water (to rid the meat of impurities), I especially like offals but I decided to stay with the spare ribs (500 gms) and a 400 gm piece of pork shoulder (uncut) this time round. Put them in the simmering soup for 1 hour.

At the same time, cut open 1 packet of tofu puffs and cut them into halves, blanche them it boiling water for 5 minutes and dunk them into the simmering soup.

Open 1 can of large button mushrooms, rinse them and put them into the simmering soup about 10 minutes before we put in the special sauce. This sauce is added 5 minutes before the dish is ready to be served. This one pot dish goes very well with steamy hot fluffly rice and some blanched leafy vegetables with garlic oil and a drizzle of light soya sauce.

Smoked Oyster Fried Rice

2006-04-24T14:02:00.000+08:00

Every housewhole would have their own favourite style of frying rice. I accidentally stumbled upon a can of S&W fancy whole smoked oysters in my larder and huge bowl of left-over plain rice in the fridge. Put them together and what have you got? Bippity Boppity fried rice!

1 can of S&W fancy whole smoked oysters 10 prawns (peeled and deveined) 3 black chinese mushrooms (sliced thinly) some leafy choy sum (short sprigs)

some long beans (diced)

1 egg

sesame oil

2 shallots (chopped)

2 clove garlic (chopped)

Seasoning :- dark soya sauce light soya sauce

salt and pepper

accompaniment:-

3 bird eye chilis (sliced) 2 large red chilis (sliced)

light soya sauce

Drizzle a wok with olive oil and sesame oil, throw in the chopped garlic and shallots, then add black mushrooms, oysters and prawns. Sautee till fragrant, beat in an egg and add in the vegetables and rice. Drizzle in all the seasoning and fry.

As for the sliced chilis, just add light soya sauce and eat as a tastebud appetiser.

Sticky Chili Pork Ribs

2006-04-19T16:27:00.000+08:00

I once tasted a very well roasted pork ribs while vacationing in Sydney, Australia and it tasted so good, I couldn't resist and asked for the recipe from the proprietor. Surprisingly, he recited the recipe to me and I tried it at home and it tasted almost like the real deal. Maybe the difference lies in the piece of ribs itself. Australia has really fresh produce, from vegetables to all sorts of meat, even the spices are excellent. No wonder Kylie Kwong always insist on the freshest of everything, lucky her.

1 kg of baby pork ribs (soft ribs) - washed, pat dry and uncut.

Marinate with;

5 Tbsp sweet chili sauce (I use Lingam's - not very spicy)

3 Tbsp honey

a dash of dark soya sauce

ginger juice (2")

2 Tbsp apple cider (Braggs)

sea salt and black pepper

a dash Lea & Perrin sauce

1 Tbsp custard powder

Pre-heat oven at 200 degree celcius. Drizzle some olive oil on the ribs, put 2 small cubes of butter on top and pop it into the oven. Roast the ribs for 40 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the ribs, basking it with its own drippings every 20 minutes. Turn down the heat after 20 minutes.

Leave ribs to cool for 15 minutes before cutting them into sticks. If serving adults only, add a few dashes of brandy, left-over red wine or even Jack Daniel.

Easter Sunday

2006-04-15T01:07:00.000+08:00

As a matter of sequence of events, the passover dinner is followed closely by Good Friday, which by right is called God's Friday. This is the day that Jesus was crucified on the cross where he shed his blood to cleanse us of our sins, even before we were born. I am actually totally blown away by the fact that who on earth or in heaven would died for us? Who are we anyway? 'For God so loved the world, He gave his only begotten son, whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life'. John 3:16. That is how much God loves us. Good Friday is a day to bring to remembrance of this day.

On the 3rd day Jesus rose to heaven and is seated on the right hand of God the Father. Mark 16:19. This is the ressurection of Christ, the son of the living God! we greet this day with feasting and triumphant celebration for God has overcome death and is alive in us today. Romans 3:23-24, 'for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus'.

Many celebrate Easter just like any other festivals but for me personally, would like to make this day a memorable one for my family. I choose lamb because of the term 'sacrificial lamb'. People then expected a messiah or saviour to come with a loud bang just like our super heroes saving the world but none knew Jesus choose the come in total humility, as a lamb of God.

Easter is in Spring where spring lamb is in abundance. Tender and succulent meat slightly lower in fats makes a wonderful grill or roast. Lamb cutlets is my choice of the day served with a ragout of portobello and white country mushrooms, fresh crispy curly salad, french loaf and a glass of full-bodied red wine.

This photo shot on the right is spring lamb cutlets, I hunted all round, from Mr Ho's fine food shop to the cold storage supermarket, nobody seem to have spring lamb instead only New Zealand or Australian lamb cutlets were on sale. So, let's just make do with these cuts I have bought (below).

I guess it's almost there but slightly heavier on the fats and may taste different.

The marinate for the cutlets are kept plain and simple with some sea salt straight from the mill, organic black peppercorns which I just purchased a week ago, drizzle of some olive oil and sprigs of fresh rosemary herbs. Heat oven at 210 degree celsius and roast the lamb cutlets for 30 - 40 minutes uncovered. This is to allow all the fats to melt away from the cutlets and the blend of fats, butter and olive oil will flavour the cutlets as it cooks. Take the cutlets out of the roasting pan with a pair of tongs. Cutlets should be crispy and very aromatic when done.

As for the mushrooms, a ragout seems fine. Cut portobello into small uneven chunks with a paring knife, do the same with the white mushrooms, heat a saucepan and drizzle olive oil and a small cube of butter (butter on its own burns easily). Chop some garlic and sautee in the saucepan. Throw in the mushroom chunks and stir until its juices comes out. Add 1 tsp balsamic vinegar and season with sea salt. Serve on a bed crispy curly salad.

Dessert is some crackling top cupcakes with fresh strawberry jam oozing out (named blood of christ) and chocolate cupcakes covered with icing sugar which I nicknamed them Mt Sinai.

Butter a loaf of french bread and throw it into the oven just 10 minutes before the lamb is done. You will then get a wonderful flavourful crispy loaf. Open a bottle of red wine and ........

A simple Easter dinner is served!

Passover Dinner

2006-04-14T18:15:00.000+08:00

People around the world celebrate Christmas, believers and non-believers enjoy this festive season alike. There are many more christian celebrations besides christmas and this weekend is one of them. It is my heart's desire to share a little about this weekend's christian celebration with all my faithful bloggers. As widely celebrated like any festivals eg. Chinese New Year, Hari Raya Aidil Fitri, Deepavali etc, this weekend starts with the 'Passover Dinner' which is a requirement for the Jewish people (Ex 12:14) and we believe that Jesus observed the feast in what we know as the 'Last Supper'. As Christians and people of the new covenant in Christ, we have no obligation to observe this Old Testament feast. However, this feast is significant to our understanding of God's redemptive purposes (1 Cor 10:11). The proceedings of this symbolic dinner is outlined as follows; 2 candles are lighted at the start to remind us that we are not here to feast but to observe and remember what Jesus has done for us. To get our hearts ready to celebrate and tell the story of deliverance, freedom and redemption.

In the days preceeding the Passover, it is tradition to clean the house thoroughly and the evening before the passover all trace of leaven/yeast is removed from the house. In removing the leaven, we symbolize our willingness to obey God in preparation for celebrating the deliverance He has already brought to his people. This meal has no leaven, it signifies the attitude of penitence, the willingness to remove any corrupting influence in our lives and submit to God in obedience. We are suppose to search for any hidden sins in our hearts that might prevent us from celebrating the joy of this festival.

God gave promises of freedom to His people with 4 cups from the fruit of the vine (wine) to celebrate what we call God's promises to Israel and to us. In the 4 cups we drink, celebrates the 4 'I will' promises of God; Freedom, Deliverance, Redemption and Thanksgiving.

Food on the dinner plate are as follows;

Matzah - unleaven bread reminds them (the Israelites) of the haste in which they left Egypt.

Maror - a bitter herb usually horseradish reminds them that they were servants to slavery.

Karpas - a sprig of vegetable (parsley or celery) dipped in salt water symbolises the coming of spring which brings hope and the salt water are the tears they cried in Egypt.

Charoset - is a sweet desssert made from apple, nuts, spices and wine has the appearance of straw in remembrance of the mortar used to build ther treasure cities for pharoah. It is a symbol of hope of freedom that enabled their ancestors to withstand the bitter slavery.

Zeroa - the shankbone remind them that there has to be blood sacrificed to save their lives.

Our Lord's Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven, Holy is your name! Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, adn forgive us our trepasses, as we forgive those who trepass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For yours is the Kingdom, the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Semi-Soupy 'Bah Kut Teh'

2006-04-12T15:11:00.000+08:00

When we speak of bah kut teh, a delicious pot of porky herbal soup comes immediately to mind. The herbs used to make the soup has its own medical values not to mention sumptous to gobble down. It was only recently, I realised that there is another way to cook bah kut teh. This style is more gravy like instead of soupy. Both ways appeal to me just as well. I would like to post this gravy like bah kut teh cos I believe not many people have tried it this way. It's slightly more complicated then the soupy one but worth a try for all the die-hard 'Bah Kut Teh Fans' out there!

1 packet of claypot brand herb and spices mix 15 black chinese mushrooms (presoaked in hot water and stems removed, drained) 1 packet of brown top shimeji mushrooms (roots trimmed and washed lightly) 1 can of baby corn (optional)

2 rack of baby pork ribs (approx. 500 gm each) 1 whole pork shoulder including the fats and skin

tofu puffs (cut in half, boiled in hot water and drained) Marinate the pork with the below:- dark soya sauce light soya sauce oyster sauce brown sugar sea salt and pepper cornflour

Boil 1 litre of water in a huge claypot together with the herb and spices mix, 2 bulbs of garlic (sliced at the bottom) and a portion of the above marinate. Simmer the pot for 40 minutes on low heat. Heat the wok and drizzle with olive oil. Throw in some crushed garlic cloves and drained chinese mushrooms. Sautee till fragrant and sear the pork one by one. Careful not the burn, adding a little stock from the huge claypot if needed. Put the pork shoulder, ribs and chinese mushrooms into the claypot to simmer for 1 hour. Turning the meat and stirring the pot from time to time. When the soup is slightly thicker off the heat, put in the tofu puffs and let it sit until ready to eat. Take out the pork and cut into bite size pieces and place them on a serving dish. (I just served it straight from the claypot) Bring the gravy to boil again and add the shimeji mushrooms and baby corn. Stir 30 seconds, pour over the cut pork and to serve. This recipe serves 6 persons.

To compliment the aromatic bah kut teh, I served it with plenty of blanche crispy iceberg lettuce drizzled with garlic oil, light soya sauce and pepper. Not to forget a pot of hot oolong tea served in those tiny teapot and cups to wash down all the grease. Take note : - Do not take a medical examination (blood test) after this meal. Your cholestral will definitely be pretty top notch!

Careful what recipes you follow from now on cos I am on a weight gain project!

One pot dinner

2006-04-10T14:12:00.000+08:00

Well, well, isn't it pouring again. With this kind of weather, I just like to take it slow and easy. Maybe that's why I have a fairly large pantry. In fact, if space permit, I would prefer to have a walk-in pantry just like the one Nigella Lawson owns. Dream on, baby! What goes well with pouring rain would probably be a one pot of hot steaming stew. Tonite, I will be making a simple garlic sausage hot pot. Recipe as follows :- 3 garlic sausages (cut into 3 pieces each and peel off the skin) 200 gm minced beef (marinated with Lea & Perrin sauce, salt and pepper) 2 chopped garlic 2 peeled tomatoes (leftovers from pizza making) 2 Tbsp tomato sauce 1 can button mushrooms 1/2 can baby corn Sautee garlic and minced beef in a saucepan drizzled with olive oil. Add in the sausages, tomatoes and tomato sauce. Bring to simmer for 8 minutes. Put in the mushrooms and baby corn and simmer for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Served with bread or plain pasta and a glass of red wine.

Time For Some Fresh Air

2006-04-09T20:27:00.000+08:00

Having spent so much time doing so many things day in day out. Ha! finally got some time to ourselves, just my family and I. My better half thought we should go to the KLCC Aquaria, then wander around aimlessly to see what we want to eat. This actually sounded great! Took some shots of the fishes there but one really caught my attention, it's a catfish and they called it by a strange name... I can't really remember what but I swear it was a Patin fish! My favourite steam fish actually. Then to my horror! one of them was even bigger then my dog! Ekkk! Overall I suppose the Aquaria is ok, not grand but I thought the under water tunnel was kinda short.

Anyway, we adjourned over to KLCC to hunt for lunch. Ended up at Chilis .... Here are some shots of what we had and I though it was quite good. The first photo is a dish of flavoured rice served with some crunchy fat shrimps, grilled chicken and steamed mixed vegetables. It's kind of a mixture of tastes and textures all together. Pretty flavourful and colourful, eh?

I had a ranch beef burger, just wanted a juicy burger with fattenning fries cos I just lost some precious weight. If I loose anymore I'll probably look like these fries with skin and that ain't nice.

My daughter got to eat free and she choose a pizza (just as I expected, since I already have the fries). It's a simple pizza but has a country flair to it. It's just a thick pizza base with peeled tomatoes and lots of cheese on top.

I like Chilis cos they have this free flow of fruit juices and a warm family ambience to it.

This post is slightly out of my usual league, a slight divertion can definitely add some spice to my cooking, not to mention ignite some inspiration and creativity along the way. I always believe that we can never learn or see enough, life is full of experiences that can either make us or break us. Well, I wish my culinary journey with you would be an unforgettable and fulfilling one.

Cereal, Nuts and Chocolate Cookies

2006-04-07T18:26:00.000+08:00

With this kind of gloomy weather, it's hard to keep awake. Got myself busy with a batch of cookies. I didn't know what cookies until I checked my pantry. Obviously, there were some walnuts, cereal and some leftover rum and raisins chocolate in the fridge. Let's see the recipe below:- 280 gm all purpose flour (seived) 1 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp sea salt 1 small teacup of cereal 250 gm butter

2 Tbsp golden treacle 35 gm brown sugar 30 gm caster sugar 1 egg 1/2 tsp vanilla essence (the real thing so much better) 30 gm chopped walnuts some leftover chocolate bars (crushed) Put flour, baking powder, sea salt and sugars together. Beat soft butter with sugars till creamy add golden treacle, egg, vanilla and the above flour mixture a scoop at a time. Next add in all the rest that I have not mentioned and scoop out batter with a spoon. Ball up the scoop and press it flat on the baking sheet with a floured fork. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degree celsius for 10 minutes. Cool on a rack and it becomes crispy.

This recipe can be modified by using other fillers like raisins, cranberries, rolled oats, hershey's chocolate kisses, currants, lemon peel, orange flavoured chocolate bar etc... Baking is all about creativity and feeding the sweet tooth people. As for me, 2 pieces of cookies and a glass of milk will be satisfying enough for me, nothing more.

A 5 Minute Stir-Fry Lunch

2006-04-07T15:56:00.000+08:00

Today is a kinda strange day, didn't know what I wanted for lunch. Maybe it's the weather, so gloomy and wet. This kind of weather makes my mind wander, how wonderful to be eating steamboat with family or friends. Yea, dream on ... it's Friday and almost all of them are at work, if not they will be busy with their children. I suppose a normal thing to do is to dig my fridge for some fresh food then maybe bake something, anything.

1 small tray of stir-fry beef cuts some organic baby kailan (trimmed off roots and cut into small portions - takes 1 minute) Marinate the beef cuts with dark soya sauce, oyster sauce, garlic oil, brown sugar, freshly ground black pepper, cornflour and sea salt. (2 minutes) Heat wok, drizzle olive oil and stir-fry beef for 1 minute, put in the kailan and stir for another minute. Add a little hot water and it's all done. That's all for lunch today, only 5 minutes.

Simply Pizza

2006-04-05T23:21:00.000+08:00

There is something about kids this generation, a common link! When they don't wanna eat, just mention pizza or french fries, they say they're starving!!!! Strange but it's tested to the core. Well, it's one of those days none of the kids wanna eat my food and this is so dissapointing. Trying not to show that I am stressed, I drove out to my neighbourhood bake shop to grab some pizza base. Managed to get a couple of thin pizza base. Armed with some BBQ pork sausages I bought from Tesco's Deli...'something', a home made pizza is fast appearing.

Spread some butter 1 Tbsp tomato sauce Crush a skinless tomato (from the can) 1 BBQ pork sausage (cut in rings) a dash of oregano cheddar cheese (gives pizza the taste) mozzarella (tastless just stringy when baked) Put all the above onto the pizza base, working upwards from the butter to the cheeses Place pizza in to the oven preheated at 180 degree celcius. Bake for 10 minutes. Pizza comes out with crispy crusty base and stringy slurpy cheeses. Whalla! pizza up for grabs.

Jing Du Spare Ribs

2006-04-04T13:34:00.000+08:00

Hi everyone! I was blogging and found this interesting dish on Jingle's Kitchen blog. Sure is one great looking spare rib!. I am used to grilling and roasting ribs but this dish is relatively new to me. I have eaten it in many chinese restaurants but preparing it never met up to their standard. The spare ribs usually turn out to be dry or hard or even non-glossy! This recipe seems to have all that 'thingi' that makes a good spare rib dish! This recipe is taken from Jingle's Kitchen Blog except for the baby cucumbers cos I have not a leaf of lettuce in sight in my kitchen. So, here goes....

Ingredients: 1 kg of pork ribs (small pork ribs) Seasoning 1 tbsp of light soya sauce 1 tbsp of ginger juice (1-thumb size) 1/2 tsp 5-spice powder 1 egg 3 tbsp of cornflour 3 tbsp of custard powder Gravy 5 tbsp of water 2 tbsp of tomato sauce 2 tbsp of A1 sauce or HP sauce 1 tbsp of oyster sauce 1 tbsp of chilli sauce 1 tbsp of sugar 1 tbsp of plum sauce 1 tsp of sesame sauce 1/2 tbsp of cornflour 1/2 tbsp chinese wine Vegetable Baby cucumbers heads and tails sliced and rubbed, then halfed.

Method 1. Cut the pork rib into about 1 1/2 inches long. Do not wash the pork rib too long, if water get inside the marinate sauce will not be absorbed. 2. Season the pork rib with the seasoning, mix them thoroughly and season for 1 hour. 3. Prepare gravy, mix all together and put into a bowl set aside. 4. Heat 2 bowl of oil, must see bubble then put in the seasoned pork ribs and fry high fire then reduce to medium fire until it cooked, use a wooden chopstick to poke the meat, if it is soft, tat means its had been cooked. then can scoop up and set aside. 5. Leave abt 2 tbsp of oil in the wok, put 1/2 tbsp chinese wine, then pour in the gravy to cook, until bubble, put in the fried pork rib to stir evenly, once you see shiny, off fire. 6. Scoop out the ribs leaving some gravy in the wok and throw in those crunchy baby cucumbers and stir a while, then serve.

More Kiddies Snacks

2006-04-03T15:40:00.000+08:00

A couple of weeks earlier, I posted a recipe for muffins. Last nite, I whipped up another of that recipe for the kids to take to school today. Anyway, I just changed the filling to peanut butter. I planned to mash 2 bananas in but as usual I forgot! so I guess it's just peanut butter. I put a teaspoon of skippy's creamy peanut butter into each muffin core to minimise the mess when they eat but I must say 2 teaspoons tastes much better. This time the muffins look soooo cute and tiny!

Tiny muffins makes real good picnic and children's party food. The fillings can be either savoury or sweet. With a little colored decorations on them, they are transformed to a totally different level of the food chain.

Here's a photo shot of a close up of the peanut butter in the muffin. I just couldn't resist when it came out straight from the oven, coffee no coffee waiting, I whollop 2!

Sambal Belacan Fish

2006-04-03T15:13:00.000+08:00

This is another of my growing up food. Remember my food caterer? Well, this dish came to mind when I saw some fresh kembung fish on sale just now. I usually prefer to use smaller size fish for this dish cos I like the crispy crunchy corners and fins of the fish after frying and lotsa sambal belacan on the insides. I asked my daily mobile market guy to slice 2 deep slits right beside the back bone of the fish for sambal filling and to also gut the fish. Some people prefer to leave it ungutted so that when they slit the fish, they go way in and stuff the sambal filling into the fish stomach or gut area. As for me, I want it gutted, more crunchy corners the better! 5 medium size kembung fish Ingredients to be blended or pounded. 5 cloves garlic 5 shallots 3 fresh large red chilies 5-6 bird-eye chilies 1" toasted belacan 4 Tbsp dried shrimps a little assam water (optional) 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour a little water Add some olive oil and stir-fry all the blended ingredients till fragrant. Take out to cool. Pat dry the fish and season with some sea salt. Fill the fish cavity with pre-cooked sambal belacan filling, including the gutted stomach. Press firmly so that the filling will not fall out when handled. This is the part I clearly remember my caterer doing, mix some all-purpose flour with water and stir into a white starchy paste. Place the paste on top of the sambal filling on the back of the fish. This acts like a glue to prevent the yummy sambal belacan from falling out onto the pan while frying. Fry fish not too many at a time with enough heat. Too low heat will not give you a delicious crispy fish. Some would prefer not the glue the fish with flour paste so that the red hot sambal can be seen ozzing out. Either way, it is still delicious!

Instant Lunch

2006-04-01T13:56:00.000+08:00

Lately, I have been pretty occupied with house keeping cos I suddenly noticed that my walk-in closet is rapidly turning into a walk-in jumble sale booth if I don't get rid of some old stuffs and shopping isn't fun when your sub-conscious mind tells you that there is no place for new things anymore. So, clearing, packing, delivering has been pretty much what I was doing all week. I guess I finally have a little time on my hands to put up an instant post.

While I was growing up in Penang, fresh food was abundance but I constantly find myself digging my mom's pantry for a packet of instant curry maggi mee. Strange! what msg can do to a person. I am a sucker for maggi mee especially the curry and assam flavoured ones. I guess now you know distinctively which era I am from. Since I had no time to think of what to cook for lunch today, I settled for a heart-warming bowl of modified instant curry mee. Here is how it looks like. I am sure I don't need to teach you food junkies out there how this is cooked! ha! ha! ha!

Notice the chili anchovies? It's actually the left-overs of my ikan bilis cuttlefish sambal from my earlier post.

Sunday Nite In

2006-03-27T21:27:00.000+08:00

On Sundays usually after a long day at church, dinner is either eat-out or pack-home. However, once in a while I get bitten by the cooking bug and the next thing you know I have a couple of friends over for Sunday dinner. I can't explain it but I guess cooking is the way I unwind or call it escapism, whatever! Obviously whatever dished out has to be straight forward and hassle-free. I cook whatever I have in the house. I happen to find a big packet of anchovies (ikan bilis) and 2 packets of dried baby cuttlefish. So, a hot and spicy sambal ikan bilis and cuttlefish would be an appetizing dish. This dish has many uses, can be a filling for a bread and butter sandwich, an accompaniment for nasi lemak or just a appetizer for a blend meal. It can be kept in the fridge for a week.

400 gm anchovies (cleaned, peeled and stir fried in some oil till slightly brown and crispy) 60 gm dried cuttlefish (soak in water for 10 minutes, drained) Blended ingredients a handful of dried red chilies (pre-soaked in hot water, drained) 5 large red chilies 5 bird-eye chilies 5 cloves of garlic 5 shallots 1 Tbsp roasted belacan Olive oil sugar dark soya sauce 1 Tbsp assam paste (soaked in hot water and drained off the seeds)

Heat oil in wok and put in all blended ingredients, fry till fragrant, add sugar and assam water.

Put in all the pre-fried anchovies and let it simmer till anchovies are soft, adding water when starts to dry.

Add in the cuttlefish, fry for 10 minutes and soya sauce for coloring.

A refreshing baby spinach sautee with garlic compliments the hot and spicy sambal. Another cooling vegetable would be bittergourd (see spicy bittergourd recipe posted earlier).

While I was a growing up, my parents catered food from a nearby food caterer and one of the dishes I always look forward to as a child was the stewed pork patties with potaotes. It never failed to ignite my appetite that's for sure! and since I am on this topic, some other dishes were perut ikan, braised pig trotters in dark soya sauce, ikan pulai and the their curry chicken.

Recipe for stewed pork patties with potatoes.

400 gm minced pork

season with sea salt, soya sauce, da

rk soya sauce, pepper, oyster sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and garlic oil.

Shape into patties, fry with a little olive oil on a non stick pan till slightly brown. Let the patties cool on a plate while you make the sauce.

Peel pototoes and slice into 1 cm thick rounds. Put to boil till cooked. Drained and cool.

Sauce

Heat some garlic oil, oyster sauce and hot water. Bring to simmer and add in 1 large onion (cut into rings).

Put in the pork patties and potatoes and simmer for 30 minutes. Thicken with cornflour.

Roasted Oink! Oink! Belly

2006-03-26T14:40:00.000+08:00

Roasted Oink Oink Belly! is actually 'siew yoke'. A very popular roast among Malaysian chinese. I would rate it more sought after than roast leg of lamb or even roast turkey here. This piece of roast is not directly associated with any particular festive season and can be found sold in almost every local chinese coffee shop here. I never thought I would one day attempt to make this myself, the truth is, it's pretty simple. A good piece would have beautiful light crackling skin, not too much fatty streaks and a tasty marinate. When you cut it with a cleaver, the crispy sound it makes is just out of this world. Everytime I have siew yoke at home, I make sure that I have bottles and bottles of chilled cold beer to dunk it in with. Satisfying just plain satisfying!

I remember my grandma (my late father's mother) would have a stout with siew yoke or roasted duck thigh every evening at 4pm. I was about 4 years old then. Radiofusion music piping from her kitchen. Hmm those good old days, not a care in the world!

Get yourself a good piece of pork belly (not too fatty please or else it will turn out too oily, happened to me)

Pat dry the piece of pork belly (8" X 15") with a kitchen towel.

Prick the skin with a sharp paring knife tip and slice slits on the other side of the meat.

Marinate the slited side of the meat with a mixture of 5-Spice powder (from the chinese medical hall) and some sea salt.

Some would encourage you to put it to dry under the sun but I am just too lazy. I just place it under a rotating ceiling fan in my dining for 2 - 3 hours.

Heat oven at 220 degree celsius and pop in the piece of meat drizzled with a little olive oil. Put timer to 20 minutes and turn down to 200 degree celsius after that, checking every 10 - 15 minutes to avoid burning. Baske the meat with its own dripping everytime you check.

Turn the heat down a little if it is too hot but the skin must continue to crackle. If it doesn't, means the oven is not hot enough. Please do not cover the meat with a cover or tin foil throughout the whole roasting process. The roasting time will depend on the size of the meat, how much fat on the meat and the heat of your oven. An average piece like mine would take approximately 1 hour. The meat will shrink a little when completely cooked.

Let the meat rest (cool) for 1/2 hour before chopping it up into bite size pieces with a sharp knife.

Salted Fish Gulai Coming Up!

2006-03-24T22:42:00.000+08:00

This recipe brings back precious memories. It was one of my best friends in my work place during the last chapter of my working life who willingly gave me this delicious recipe. She's a town planner in a reputable architectural firm where I still go visit time to time. Working life is comfortable and exciting but being a mommy is most satisfying. Let me not derail from my thoughts, originally this is a basic gulai with salted fish, brinjals, lady fingers and tomatoes. I took the opportunity to modify it just a little to suit my taste.

4 pieces of salted fish head (in place of the whole salted fish pieces) 1 Ma Yaw fish head (cut into chunks) 5 pieces of Ma Yaw fish cutlets

Fish roe (fish eggs) 8 lady fingers (blanche in hot water) 3 round brinjals (cut into quarters) 2 large ripe red tomatoes (cut into quarters)

1 large onion (cut into quarters) 3 Tbsp Burung Nuri fish curry powder 1 tsp sugar 1 Tbsp assam jawa (soaked in hot water and seeds discarded) Ingredients to be blended 3 cloves garlic 5 shallots 1 piece of 3" ginger 3 big red chillies 5 small chillies 3 dried chillies (presoaked in hot water) All the fish, fish roe and salted fish head pieces must be pre-fried in oil and drained. Pour some olive oil into a heated curry pot. Stir fry all the blended ingredients till fragrant and add in the curry powder and a little sugar. Put in the salted fish head and fry for another 15 minutes adding assam water and some hot water as it goes. Simmer for 20 minutes. In goes brinjal, onion and tomatoes and simmer for another 20 minutes till vegetable is soft. Notice I don't add in the lady fingers cos I like it a little raw but if you like it very cooked you can put it in together with the rest of the veggies. Add in the ma yaw fish and simmer for 10 minutes. Gulai is served. I usually eat 2 plates of rice with this dish.

Kiddies Lunches and Wholesome Dinners

2006-03-22T16:05:00.000+08:00

Jamie Oliver did a very noble thing by trying to change the diet of school going children in the United Kingdom. I admire that step he took cos for those of you who have seen that episode, those children are eating junk food, really! and most of them are from pretty wealthy families. Sadly, affordability is not the issue here, mindset and time constrain is. More and more parents these days are working harder and harder just to provide the best for their children. It's natural to want to be able to give our children the best but often we neglect their basic needs. Food and attention are just as important as a roof over our heads, it builds the child and that's my personal conviction. We can't change the world over night but we definitely can make a difference a day at a time. Once we change our own mindset, we can slowly change the mindset of our younger generation. The book "The secrets of why french women don't get fat by Michel Montignac" is really inspirational cos it's all about how we want to live our lives. Malaysians overall have pretty unhealthy breakfasts. Someone said to me before that our national breakfast is nasi lemak. Wow! I love nasi lemak but eating it everyday is terribly unwise. Firstly, I believe that we can change all those mindset by instilling proper meals for our children. Kiddies meals are simple, it just need a little creativity and some tender loving care. I do have the pleasure of serving kiddie meals pretty often. My own and my nieces and nephews drop by very often and I find it a real joy to be able to whip up some tasty snacks or meals when they are around. It's so fulfilling to see them tuck in and licking the gravy off their plates. A little competition is good for the body and soul!

My fall back recipe for a quick meal is beef stew. 300 gm beef shin (uncut) 5 potatoes (peeled and cut into half) 1 big Australian carrot (cut in chunks) 1 big onion (cut into quarters) 3 cloves garlic (smashed) A handful of fresh peas 100 ml tomato puree

2 Tbsp Mesquite smoke sauce 400 ml beef stock olive oil sea salt and pepper to taste

Heat a saucepan with oil, put in the garlic and sear the beef shin till lightly brown. Pour in the tomato puree and add in the stock a little at a time. Simmer for 1 hour on low heat.

Add in the rest of the ingredients except peas and simmer for another 40 minutes. (Checking the tenderness of the beef). Once the beef is soft and tender pour in the peas, cut off the heat 5 minutes later and serve with crunchy toasts.

Another of my recipe is the pork and beans platter. First you'll need a piece of pork fillet (mui yoke) - Sliced thinly and marinate with a little tomato paste, dark soya sauce, sea salt, pepper and sugar for 4 hours in the fridge.

Heat the wok and drizzle some olive oil. Throw in some smashed garlic and 2 sundried tomatoes (cut in streaks). Put in the marinated pork slices and bring to sizzle. Add in 1 big quartered onion and a small can of whole roma tomatoes and simmer for 20 minutes. Pour in a can of baked beans and simmer for another 10 minutes. This dish can be served with rice and boiled vegetables like broccoli, french beans or even lady fingers.

Since most of our children do not go to boarding schools, school dinners do not apply. Instead, school lunches or snacks is my priority. Some schools serve a good variety of food but still most of them still can barely pass the basic nutritional requirement. I have seen french fries so yellow in color as if dipped in yellow dye. Fried rice fried with rice ... hardly any meat or veggies. Noodle soup which is actually noodles in msg water. That's the truth and it hurts! Can you imagine your little ones eating this everyday?

I have quite a number of pack lunches ideas to share and one of them is minced meat burger.

Meat used can be pork, beef or even mutton. Just season the minced meat with a little oyster sauce, dark soya sauce, light soya sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. A drizzle of olive oil in the pan with some chopped garlic, in goes the mince meat. Stir fry for 15 minutes and scoop into a buttered bun with a lettuce leaf. In it goes into the lunch box and off to school. This can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated.

Prawn omelettes are a great source of protein children need for healthy growth. 300 gms of peeled prawns seasoned with cornflour, sugar, sea salt and pepper. Beat 3 large chicken eggs in a bowl. Drizzle some olive oil in a non stick pan and pour in the prawns, stir fry for 5 minutes and in goes the beaten eggs. There you have it! can be served with 2 slices of wholemeal bread, crunchy vegetable or just some tomato sauce.

Good Morning Muffins!

2006-03-17T13:28:00.000+08:00

Last night just as I jump into bed, I had this cravings for muffins! Gosh! to get out of bed at that ungodly hour just to make muffins seems most ridiculous. So I decided to crawl out of bed early this morning to whip up a batch to satisfy my desire. Here is the recipe for my muffins. You can make it in a jiffy. It's fast and easy, right on time for breakfast. Muffins have to be eaten straight from the oven served with a cup of freshly brewed coffee and the morning newspapers of course!

375 gm self raising flour (sifted) 75 gm castor sugar 2 tsp baking powder 375 ml fresh milk 2 large eggs (slightly beaten) 250 gm pure butter 1 can of sweetened seedless cherries (strained) Heat oven at 190 degrees celsius. Melt the butter. Put all the flour, sugar and baking powder into a large mixing bowl. Add in the melted butter, milk and eggs in the centre of the flour mixture and mix them together using a fork. The mixture must be a bit lumpy and batter like. Scoop the batter into the muffin trays. Only half fill the moulds with batter. Put 3 - 4 cherries into the centre of each mould and top it up with the rest of the batter. Pop it into the oven for 20 minutes. Take it out from the oven and cool on the cake trays.

One Plate Meals

2006-03-16T16:40:00.000+08:00

I am a great supporter of one-plate lunches and one-plate dinners. I don't have to slave over the kitchen sink washing up plate after plate. One-plate not neccessary mean malnutrition ... nope, nope, nope. In fact, I find it much simpler to balance a meal that way. Eat all on your plate and you're done! It's very much like the main course of a set meal. We have protein, vegetables and carbo all on one plate. I enjoy piecing these food chains together but tonite, I am serving a carboless diet cos earlier today, I had a pasta dish. Another thing I like to do is to Malaysianise my dishes cos I don't really fancy too much butter or cream in my diet. I believe chinese cooking styles are very healthy and sumptous so I always incorporate them in my cooking.

Just like tonite's menu of pan-fry steak, stir-fry watercress shoots and oven roasted pumpkin. For a balance meal you may replace the pumpkin with potatoes, alio olio pasta, french loaf, rice, couscous and etc. Usually, I like my steak marinated with sea salt and black pepper but tonite's marinate is different with a little mesquite smoke sauce, sea salt and black pepper. When dinner is about served, heat up the pan with olive oil and just sear the steak to the way you like it. As for the watercress shoots, just pluck off the shoots from the whole twig of watercress, mince some garlic and stir fry in a pan. Add salt to taste. Roasted pumpkin is simple. Cut pumpkin into wedges, rub a little salt and drizzle with some extra-virgin olive oil. Pop it in the oven marked 180 degree celsius for about 30 - 40 minutes. Poke a knife through the pumpkin to check if it is cooked.

As for the watercress stems, I just turn them into watercress soup.

1.5 litre of filtered water

300 gm soup meat (preferrably pork)

6 red dates

2 small pieces of dried cuttlefish

Bring water to boil and add in the dates, cuttlefish and soup meat. Boil for 30 minutes and throw in the watercress and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add salt to taste.

When bitter is good!

2006-03-15T21:16:00.000+08:00

Ekkk! so bitter! was my first impression of bittergourd. I can imagine many share this tongue-killing experience with me. I have learnt through the years not to under estimate this gourd. It is rich in vitamins A and C and also believed to be good for those with low blood pressure. Lately it seems that research has shown that it contains properties that can give us clear healthy complexion. Well, anything to look great and healthy! To make it more palatable, I have a few ways to dish it out. Most common is in the form of 'Yong Tau Foo' which the bittergourd is cut in rounds or slightly slanted and the empty space in the centre is filled with yummy fish paste. It is then deep fried in oil and drained. The filled gourd is then served with other types of vegetables like lady fingers, red chilles, aubergine, long beans twisted into a circle and filled with fish paste. I have been trying to capture a nice photo of Yong Tau Foo with bittergourd but seem to have failed but I guess I shall keep trying cos I don't intend make this dish myself since lots of stalls out there make real delicious ones.

Bittergourd stewed with chicken (Foo Kua Mun Khai) is another decently palatable dish. Lately with 'Bird Flu' around I am not too keen to cook chicken eventhough I love this dish. When times are better I shall post this recipe and photo. (Stay tuned for a better future)

Spicy Bittergourd Dish

4 small bitter gourd (pitted and cut like the photo on the right)

Ingredients Blended

3 cloves of garlic

2 large red chilies (sorry I have been spelling chillies all this while!)

3 bird eye chili (feels strange with 1 L)

2 tsp whole bean tauchu paste (fermented soya beans)

1 Tbsp of scallop and chicken concentrated stock (from the bottle - optional)

A dash of black soya sauce (for coloring)

Boil a pot of water and dunk in the sliced bittergourd. This process is done for those who don't like it too bitter. Drained off the water and run bittergourd under normal temperature filtered water. (To preserve its crunchyness)

Drizzle some olive oil in a saucepan and put in the 3 blended ingredients and tauchu paste. Stir fry till fragrant and put in the scallop and chicken stock.

Throw in all the bittergourd and stir come more, adding a little water and saute for another 10 minutes. A dash of soya sauce and just a stir and it is ready to be served.

Crabs and more crabs!

2006-03-14T14:34:00.000+08:00

My favourite seafood is the crab, followed closely by the prawn. In my opinion, it's even tastier then lobsters or abalone. I like it steamed, salt baked, chilli, bisques, boulaibasse or just simply BBQed. When it is eaten freshly cooked it possess a very sweet flavourful tinge. I guess I just love seafood!

When we were young, our parents used to take us to the beach a lot. I don't enjoy swimming in the sea but I definitely love digging for shellfish washed up shore, prying small oysters off the rocks and eating them, chasing after little crabs or just building sand castles. Occassionally, we see fishermen with their evening catch coming to shore in their little sampan (boat). The fish and prawns still jumping around in the sampan and the squid (calamari) still looks transparent. Hmm can you imagine the freshness of the seafood? Mom will always buy some home and we will enjoy a delicious 'catch of the day' meal without must resistance.

A day by the beach was a real retreat for me then and is still is. For me, a vacation is not a vacation without the beach! The warmth of the fine white sand between your toes and the fresh sea breeze blowing, seagulls flying looking for fish and a book in hand. Ah! paradise! What can I ask for more but just thank God I am alive.

This is a one person recipe actually. I alone can eat 3 blue swimmers (crabs) easily.

3 blue swimmer crabs (cleaned and halfed)

6 medium size prawns

1 Tbsp Tauchu (whole beans)

2 Tbsp tomato sauce

1 Tbsp chilli sauce

3 big red chillies

3 small bird eye chilli

3 cloves garlic

sugar

sea salt

Blend all chillies and garlic together.

Heat up some olive oil in a wok, tumis (sauteed) the blended ingredients and tauchu till fragrant.

Add in the sauces and a little hot water for a more watery consistency.

Put in the crabs, followed by prawns.

Stir and cover for 15 minutes. Sugar and salt to taste

My Darling Nephew's First Birthday

2006-03-13T23:38:00.000+08:00

First birthdays are special and will always be. Most importantly for the birthday child is the memories it may bring in the later years. Birthday cake, candle(s), sounds of children's laughter floating in the air, guests chatting with one another, some happily tucking in the food oblivious to its surrounding, all captured on video and photographs.

I had the priviledge to be invited to my nephew's first birthday bash by the poolside. The weather was perfect after a heavy downpour earlier in the afternoon. By 5 pm it was windy and cooling and to top it all, the pool was warm and not crowded. The attraction for the evening besides the birthday boy was Lobak! All 4 kgs of it! This lobak recipe is slightly different from those you eat in restaurants. We like it this way.

1 kg pork (kap sum)

1 kg pork fillet (mui yoke)

2 Tbsp 5 spice powder (I get mine from the chinese medical shops and not pre-mixed with salt)

1 Tbsp corn flour

sea salt to taste

2 cloves garlic (pounded)

3 shallots (pounded)

3 - 4 lobak skin (get the unsalted type)

Cut pork into small pieces and mix in 5 spice powder, cornflour, shallots, garlic and sea salt.

Marinate for 5 - 6 hours in the fridge.

Cut the lobak skin into 4" x 8" enough to wrap the meat in the centre without mess.

Wrap it a bit like in the photo.

Heat a wok full of oil and deep fry lobak a few at a time till skin is brown and cripsy and meat is completely cooked.

Fish it out and drain.

Besides lobak, another item that stood out was the 'Punch' the birthday boy's daddy made. It was refreshing and had a thirst quenching zing to it! I though that was one of the better non-alcoholic drinks I have had for a long time. Since I have gotten his permission to share it online with you... try it sometime! I have a strong feeling it goes well with BBQs too.

1 large tin Del Monte fruit cocktail

2 granny smith apples - cut into thin slices

Juice of 2 lemons (slice a few slices for decor)

1 box apple juice

1 bottle Zapple Apple

1 bottle Sprite

Put all the above except the last 3 items into a large bowl, give it a good stir. (You may want to keep it in a separate jug for extra punch!)

Add the desired amount of the above and add in the apple juice, Sprite, Zapple Apple and ice cubes. If you want to give a zing add a dash of liquor or a can of beer.

Family Food

2006-03-08T14:34:00.000+08:00

When we have children in the family, we always have to think of what to cook for their growing needs. Be it a toddler, a young child or a school going kid, they all have to be fed appropriately. By now, you would more or less know what my comfort food is. Can't really go without spicy food for more then 3 days straight! So, I always have to constantly remind myself that there are little pitter patter feet running around who can't possibly live on spicy curries, tom yam etc... Meal times have to be spicy and non-spicy at all times. Tonight's meal will be hairy marrow stew (which has been a hit for sometime, even with the adults), spicy pumpkin fish curry and stir-fried vegetables of your choice served with hot steamy rice. I never thought pumpkin tastes so good in curries until I ran out of potatoes one day and had to find a worthy replacement. So far, I like it especially cooked with kaffir lime leaves. It seems to bring the best flavour out of the curry. 1 Ma Yaw fish head (I like bones! cut in bite-size pieces) 5 slices of Ma Yaw fish (marinate fish with some sea salt, pepper and tumeric powder) 3 Tbsp Thai red chilli paste 600 ml fish stock 3 lemongrass (cut into 5 cm length and bruised) 4 kaffir lime leaves (torn to pieces) 5 Tbsp fish sauce 1 Tbsp dark brown mollasses 1 tsp tumeric powder 1 kg pumpkin (peeled, cut into larger than bite size pieces) 100 ml full cream milk 4 siew pak choy (bok choy) or long beans (5 cm length) Juice of 5 limes coriander leaves (plucked from the stems) Heat curry pot with a little drizzle of olive oil and plop in the chilli paste and stir. Add fish stock, bring to boil and throw in the lemongrass, lime leaves, fish sauce, brown mollasses, tumeric powder. Simmer for 15 minutes. Put in the chucks of pumpkin and fast simmer for 10 minutes. Do not simmer too long or else there will be no more pumpkin left cos the pumpkin will continue to cook eventhough the heat is off. Then it will be called fish and pumpkin paste curry! Trust me that wouldn't be very nice. When ready to eat, reheat curry and pour in the fish and cook for 10 minutes and add vegetable into the hot curry. (I like the vegetables just slightly cooked) Dish out and squeeze lime juice over it and garnish with coriander leaves.

1 hairy marrow (peeled, cut into large bite-size chunks) 400 gms minced pork (marinated with sea salt, pepper, sugar, light soya sauce, a dash of dark soya sauce, cornflour) 2 ltr hot water 200 gms dried anchovies (ikan bilis) 1 ginger (4 cm, bruised) 2 dried octopus tentacles 1 big scallop 1 small packet of glass noodles Some baby spinach leaves Heat a saucepan with olive oil, put in the ginger, anchovies and let it sizzle till lightly brown and fragrant. Add a little hot water at a time and bring to boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Sieve out the stock and place into a soup pot. Add in the octopus, scallop and bring to simmer for 30 minutes and throw in the chunks of hairy marrow and simmer for another 30 minutes. Roll the minced meat into meatballs and dump them into the boiling soup, boil for 10 minutes till the meatballs are completely cooked and at the same time put in the glass noodles. Add baby spinach and cover for 2 minutes. Soup is ready to be served.

Ju Hu Char Lunch

2006-03-06T15:20:00.000+08:00

Root vegetables are absolutely deliciously sweet and refreshing. It's a simple dish to cook especially when I have health conscious friends coming over for lunch. Doesn't take much sweat in the kitchen and I will have all the time to catch up with current affairs. All I need is 2 white turnips (julienne), 2 medium size carrots (julienne), 8 dried chinese mushrooms (pre-soaked in hot water and julienne) and 300 gms dried julienne octopus (ju hu). Chop some garlic and saute in a hot wok drizzled with olive oil. Throw in the mushrooms and ju hu and stir for 10 minutes. Toss in the julienne vegetable and fry evenly till vegetable becomes soft and slightly mushy. Add light soya sauce to taste. Served with crispy iceberg lettuce or small crunchy butterheads.

On normal days, I look forward to having this same dish on a hot sunny afternoon. Just vegetables and a tall icy cold plain water. Talk about carbo free diet and detox! Refreshing and delicious!

Country Oxtail Stew

2006-03-05T18:02:00.000+08:00

I can't stop thinking of oxtail stew lately, don't know why. The only thing that is stopping me from running to the butcher and whipping up a pot of stew is the cholestral. Anyway, my cravings has got the better of me this time. I always have a soft spot for oxtail soup. Seriously, I can actually taste it as I type. This is an authentic stew which is cooked in an oven instead of on the stove. I have cooked this dish in many styles but I find this most authentic. Well, this is not an everyday affair so let's have the best!

1 oxtails (cut into 4 cm pieces, marinate with a little sea salt and black pepper, dusted with plain flour) 4 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 4 sticks of smoked ribs (approx. 5cm pieces) 3 shallots (halfed) 5 cloves 5 cloves of garlic (crushed) 2 cups of white wine 3 Tbsp Mesquite cooking sauce (for the smoky flavour) 50 ml tomato puree 1 can peeled tomatoes 6 sticks celery (cut into 4 cm lenghts) 1 Tbsp toasted pinenuts 1 Tbsp sultanas

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Heat oil in a large casserole, fry smoked ribs till golden brown then remove from casserole. Sear oxtail thoroughly on all sides in the same casserole oil, the return the smoked ribs, add in the shallots, cloves and garlic. Stir till sizzles.
Empty the can of tomatoes into the casserole dish and pour in the wine, add mesquite sauce, tomato puree and cover the dish with aluminium foil. Bake for approx. 3 - 4 hours till the meat is tender and falls off the bone. (Remember to turn the meat a few times to avoid burning)
When casserole is cooked, add in the celery sticks, pinenuts, sultanas and pop it back into the oven for another 20 minutes.
Salt and pepper to taste.

This stew is best eaten with scoops of creamy warm mash potatoes. Peel 5 US potatoes and boil for 20 minutes in water. If the potatoes are cooked, the knife can go through effortlessly. Add small cube of butter, a pinch of sea salt, a dash of pepper and 170 mls full cream milk and mash them all together till fluffly and creamy. Serve with hot oxtail stew and oven fresh french loaf.

Rainy Days

2006-03-04T14:08:00.000+08:00

I love rainy days, especially right before a thunder storm when the sky is dark and gloomy, cold wind howling, pushing itself through the side of my balcony door, trees waving crazily to and fro, oh yes...the smell of refreshing rain going through my nostrils. Hmm ... just can't describe that uplifting feeling when you have a pot of piping hot porridge waiting to be served. I can't think of a better time for this wonderful meal. Can you?

Porridge, just a simple man's food, then again made complicated by women! This meal is eaten all over the world and is given many different names. In England, porridge is actually oatmeal and is eaten for breakfast whereas is the East it is rice boiled in lots of water till each grain of rice opens up and becomes mushy and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It is also a toddler's weaning food, cos it is easily digestable and can be flavoured with seafood, meats or vegetables. My regular doses of porridge is plain, simple and refreshing.

1 cup of rice (washed, drained and seasoned with sea salt and olive oil)

Bring rice to boil in a slow cooker for 4 hours to get that fine texture. I use the slow cooker cos it does not burn and the water does not evaporate. Garnish with chopped spring onions, coriander leaves and garlic oil.

Accompaniments

200 gms cleaned anchovies (ikan bilis)

1 Tbsp brown sugar

Heat olive oil in a non stick frying pan. Throw in the anchovies and stir carefully to avoid burning. When the anchovies start to turn light brown add in sugar and take it away from the fire. Ready to serve. This is one of my many favourites cos it's deliciously crunchy, crispy, sweet and salty at the same time!

3 salted duck eggs

Scrap away the black earth on the eggs and bring eggs to boil in a saucepan for 30 minutes, then cover. Cut the eggs in halves and serve.

1 can of sardines in tomato sauce

1 big onion (quartered)

tomato sauce

chilli sauce (optional)

Heat up the sardines in a pan and toss in the onions and sauces. There you have it.

Salted fish (tan lau is the preferred one - see right)

Cut the salted fish into small pieces and fry them in olive oil till crispy. Easy as that! (some like it with fresh lime juice and fresh cut onion wedges)

Braised peanuts (can)

Pickled chinese cabbage (bottle)

100 Visitors Mark!

2006-03-01T22:25:00.000+08:00

As to date, this blog has reached the 100 visitors mark since 15 February 2006. I am thrilled and thankful for all the support you food lovers out there have given me. Just thinking about all my future posts already fill me with sheer excitement. It has been 2 weeks since I started blogging and it sure is fun. I am actually enjoying myself, taking all those photographs and whipping up recipes as I go along. Sometimes, recipes that I have long forgotten, you know ... out of sight out of mind. I am glad the dishes still tastes as good as it use to. Besides recipes and good food, I also enjoy experimenting with herbs and other styles of cooking. So far, I have not written anything on western cooking which I just adore. Actually, the first dish I churned out from my mother's kitchen was spaghetti bolognese at 12 years old. I actually cooked from scratch and no instant sauces at that time except for good old ACE Food tomato and chilli sauce. That's when I knew I had a liking for cooking. Since then, there is no looking back .... can eat cannot eat, (sorry lah for those who had to try my not so likeable food) ... the recipes never stopped. In the year 1998, I baked so much till my dog refused to eat my cakes. Hmmm think about that! Whatever it is, I am doing what I like best, so hopefully my blog is giving you readers out there as much fun as it has for me.