A Nyonya's Kitchen...for all seasons

TO A FLAVORFUL 2012 !

2011-12-28T23:13:00.012+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR !

I didn't make it here for my Christmas wish, so I made sure I'm early for my New Year wish. 2011 is coming to an end, making way for 2012 to unfold soon. As we begin to reflect on our experiences in this past year, many of us will also begin to make new year resolutions. Do resolutions really work? I guess they do. Only if your determination to see them through is strong enough. I used to make new year resolutions every year during my teens and the last time I made any was probably when I was in my early 20s, having just started work and excited at earning an income. I've made so many resolutions in the past but 2 out of the many resolutions I distinctively remember that never made it through were 1) study harder 2) save more money. Knowing my past 'success rate' with new year resolutions, I don't even bother with it anymore. I can be such a procrastinator that the resolutions never get put into practice. I can also easily get bored and lazy with my original plan if I linger with it too long and thus, it will probably change again and again along the way. Or simply, they would just remain as empty promises to myself. If I have a resolution or an improvement or an aspiration to achieve these days, I'll try to work on it as soon as I can at any day of the year. So far this has been a pretty good system for me as I get things achieved sooner and surer. I guess I'm the kind who is better with short-term goals than long-term ones!

So, do you have a resolution you intend to silently pledge to yourself in the next couple of days? If it's going to be 'to cook more curries' (I'm saying this just because I have a nice curry recipe to share), I have a nice and easy home curry recipe to share here (see, I told ya! :).

This is my Mom's version of deliciously tangy fish curry that uses a mixed of Indian spices, condiments and fish curry powder. My Mom would always prepare this wonderful homey curry of hers with either golden snapper (ikan jenak/jenahak) or mackerel (ikan tenggiri) that were freshly hauled in from the Straits of Melaka. This curry also has ladies' fingers, brinjals and tomatoes cooked to soft perfection. I would love to flood my plate of rice with this curry before I dig in. Keep any leftover and reheat it the next day to go with bread.

Ingredients:

~ 1/4 cup cooking oil

~ 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
~ 1 large onion, roughly chopped
~ some curry leaves (optional)
~ 1 tbsp of Indian spice mix (mix of fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds & mustard seeds)

~ 2 star anise
~ 4-5 cloves
~ an inch-long cinnamon stick
~ 5 tbsps fish curry powder + 2 tsps optional chilli powder (mix with 3 or 4 tbsp water to form a thick paste)
~ 4 or 5 cut slices snapper or mackerel (or stingray)
~ 5 ladies' fingers/okra (cut into 1.5 long pieces)
~ 2 round or long brinjals/eggplant (slice lengthwise in half then cut into 1.5 inch long pieces)
~ 2 large tomatoes (quartered)
~ 2 tbsps tamarind paste (rub well with 1 cup water to get the juice, discard the seeds)

~ 5 cups water

Method:

~ Heat the oil in a small frying pan under small fire. When hot, saute together the spices, garlic and onion for until fragrant before adding in the curry paste and curry leaves.
~ Saute everything for another 2 minutes or until the curry paste is fragrant but not over burnt. Then, transfer the paste to a pot large enough for cooking the curry.
~ Pour the tamarind juice and cups of water into the paste in the pot. Let it come to a simmer for a while, and then taste it. It should be slightly tangy.
~ Add in all the vegetables and let it simmer until all the vegetables are cooked to soft perfection.
~ If the gravy is too tangy, add in a little bit of water. If it's not, add in a little bit of tamarind juice. It's really up to your personal preference.
~ Lastly, add in the fish slices and enough salt to taste, let it come to a boil for a few minutes until the fish is cooked. Serve hot with a plate of rice.

This is my last recipe to share for this year and hope you'll enjoy it. Once again...

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU !

MAY 2012 BRINGS US ALL WORLD & PERSONAL PEACE WITH MORE TOLERANCE LESS FIGHTINGS, MORE JUSTICE LESS CORRUPTIONS, MORE CHARITY LESS GREED, MORE LOVE LESS HATRED, MORE SAFETY LESS ACCIDENTS, MORE GOOD HEALTH LESS SICKNESS, MORE WISDOM & COMPASSION LESS IGNORANCE.

HAVE A BLESSED AND SAFE NEW YEAR!

Love,
petite nyonya

Cake Connection: Angry Bird Cupcake Deco Class

2011-11-20T18:25:00.019+08:00

Ever dream of making your own gorgeous flowers or too-cute-to-gobble cartoon figurines all out of sugar? And to have your work of art adorn your perfectly baked cake to impress?

Well, if you have a budding or developing interest in cake decoration, just like myself, attending hands-on lessons gives you a 360 view of the different aspects of decoration that one may not be able to glean off by relying on books alone....an experience I discovered just recently.

A couple of days ago I attended a 'Angry Bird Cupcake Decoration' class held exclusive for bloggers at the invitation and courtesy of Cake Connection, located at Jaya One, Petaling Jaya.

A little bit of background, Cake Connection is truly a dream business made real by two very affable and gracious ladies, Nancy and Shyamala. Once colleagues at an international MNC company, they both share the same personal interest and passion, and were always the happy bakers who would volunteer to whip up something in their kitchens for any function or celebration in the office. One progress to another, they then decided to swap their corporate suits for aprons, and have not looked back since.

It was a few months ago that I came across Cake Connection's website while searching for cake and baking supply shops in KL but have yet to pay the store a visit. So when I received an email invitation to attend a complimentary Angry Bird cupcake decoration class, I was JUST SO GLAD!

I have had a keen interest in cake decoration for years now and have always fully relied on books and the web for instructions. Although the idea to attend courses did occur to me once or twice, it had not stuck, till now.

The class taught us techniques and tips which may not be covered in books, and above all what I really like about it was that Nancy, our instructor, conducted the class with much clarity, patience and a step-by-step method.

These are samples of Angry Bird figurines that were perfectly molded in advance by our instructor, Nancy. They are so neatly and proportionately made!

The class started promptly at 10.30 am with a quick introduction of one another. There were Nancy, our instructor, and seven bloggers including myself. Following the ice-breaker, Nancy started the class by touching on the basics like the different available brands of fondant in the market, which one she favors and why, the difference between fondant and gumpaste and what is each suitable/unsuitable for and how to make our own edible glue at home.

Each of us was given printed notes to refer to and thanks to Cake Connection's generosity, the note even included a sour cream chocolate cupcake recipe (Sonia's blog has it, refer below for the link) and a chocolate butter cream recipe. Both are delicious to boot!! Pre-colored fondant and decoration tools were also prepared for our creative task.

Notes, colored fondant/gumpaste and tools were prepared for our use

After running through the basics, Nancy then started the hands-on way of showing us the correct method of kneading fondant to make it pliable, how to color a huge amount of fondant in a more effortless manner, as well as how to ensure that the color is incorporated evenly throughout.

Here's our friendly instructor at work to show us the right method of kneading fondant to make it smooth and pliable for molding

And then, she proceeded to coloring, rolling and cutting it for the cupcake surface

We were taught six designs of the Angry Bird characters which included 2D and 3D.

Each detail, big or tiny, from the beaks to the eye balls, ears and tails, were taught in a step-by-step and clear manner.

At one point just when I thought I had completed one of the figurines (the 5th one I think) with a feeling of relief coming over me, we heard Nancy said... "okay, attention all you beautiful ladies (ok, she didn't say beautiful), now we make the feather!" Errr...what??? Okay, I'm soldiering on, girlfriend!...

We were also taught on which detail to assemble or arrange first in order to make the whole experience easier, as well as how to steadily secure the 3D figurines on top of the cupcake in order to avoid slippage during transportation of the cupcakes.

Step-by-step method in making 2D characters

After showing us the 2D above, Nancy progressed on to show us how to make a cute electric green 3D piglet

Here are my 'work of art' after 4.5 hours of fun (and some stress!). That's an average of 45 minutes of decoration time per cupcake!! I guess I shall not complain anymore the next time I see an expensive 3D cupcake being sold outside.

Here are the talented bloggers (minus me and 3 others who were busy getting their cameras ready) with their work of art striking a pose with Nancy and Shyamala (in pink)

Sonia with her angry birdies

Lessons are comfortably held in a spacious room within the store itself. Our gracious hostesses also prepared light snacks to thank us for coming. We were overwhelmed with excitement over our work of art and everyone was clicking away, posing with their products.

Few of us stayed back a little while longer to check out the various cake decoration products at the store. Also, one can't help but notice and admire the sugar craft work of other students being displayed. Here are some of the beautiful work:

Products you can find at Cake Connection range from various tools and cutters, silicon impression mold and veiners, Wilton and Americolor food colors, sprinkles and pearl dust, gourmet vanilla extract and bean paste, many kinds of ready-made sugar ornaments like flowers and other figurines, impression mat, cookie cutters and many many more. A full list of products can be found on Cake Connection's website.

It was a fun and creative class, and I would like to again thank Cake Connection for having us there. Special thanks to Nancy for being the wonderful instructor who shared many additional tips with us and to Shyamala for entertaining Veron and myself with a thousand and one product questions at the end. Yes, we were the last two out.

To Ivy of My Story , Chris of Pure Glutton, Zurin of Cherry on a Cake, Tomoko of Caramel Factory, Sonia of Nasi Lemak Lover and Veron of Quay Po Cooks, it was a pleasure knowing and meeting all of you. Have fun decorating at home!!

To my readers and visitors, do hop over to Cake Connection's website and my fellow bloggers' blog. Enjoy and hope you''ll be inspired to jump in the cake decoraters' bandwagon!

Also, Cake Connection has a list of upcoming deco classes in December and do check it out on their site. I am personally very keen on its rose-making class. Zurin, who has attended it before, was full of praises and looking at Zurin's cakes, I am totally sold!

Here are the contact details:

Cake Connection Sdn Bhd (above Royal Oak Pub & Restaurant)
D11-1 Block D, Jaya One
72A Jalan Universiti
46200 Petaling Jaya
Selangor, Malaysia
Tel: +603-79564450
URL: http://www.cakeconnection.com.my

Till then, cheers
petite nyonya

More Books and A Chocolate Lemon Marble Cake

2011-10-24T22:00:00.003+08:00

Never have I purchased so many books in a month! And there's one more in the shipment yet to arrive!! Yabadabadooo...

My two sisters (out of five I have!!) and I are cook book addicts! We have some of the same titles and at other times, we cannot get our eyes off each other's books. So twice recently, we collected orders before ordering the same book - three copies.

Back to my purchases, first up, there are these books - one of Tish Boyle's (recommended by one of my two cook book addict sisters) and many of Peggy Porschen's - that I ordered online and arrived around 3 weeks ago. On Tish's book, I was instantly sold to it by the photo of a heavenly-looking piece of creamy pumpkin cheesecake while flipping thru' my sister's copy. And then, she tried out the almond pound cake while I was at her place and so I had a slice of it warm and fresh out of the oven. It was so so so delicious, I am not kidding!! Few days later, I ordered two copies of the book - for myself and for my other cook book addict sis.

And no prize for guessing, it's evident that I simply, simply, simply love and admire the work of the amazingly talented Peggy Porschen. Peggy specialises in wedding and party cakes. Her talent stands distinct from the rest in her genre and her cake work speaks nothing but immaculate perfection and alluring romance.

The above were not all. There was a mega warehouse book sale by the Big Bad Wolf Books this month with up to 95% mark down and I got these books below at really cheap prices. The Hershey's recipe collection was at only RM15 (USD5). I didn't buy that many actually.

And I can't wait to read these novels. Have just started with Deborah Crombie's 2-in-1 book.

With new books means new recipes to try. This is a really soft and moist chocolate lemon marble cake from the Hershey's collection. I've always loved marble cake for its old-fashion and simple appeal. I remember that during my childhood, marble cake is one of my Mom's favorite cake to bake. It's one of the many, many, many lovely things that I remember so fondly of her. And I miss her. Deeply.

I amended a couple of things from the original recipe. I reduced the amount of sugar, omitted the use of shortening and went all butter instead. I also used the creaming method for mixing instead of the slightly vague method in the recipe. Below is based on my amended version and it turned out perfect. I also recommend using buttermilk rather than sour milk (two options the book gave) as the latter may give a slightly acidic after taste on the tongue.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar + another 1/3 cup (separated)
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp baking soda + another 1/4 tsp (separated)
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup x 2 butter (recipe in the book calls for the other 1/3 cup for shortening but I used all butter)
3 eggs
1 2/3 cups buttermilk or sour milk (to make sour milk, use 1 tbsp + 2 tsps white vinegar + milk to equal 1 2/3 cups)
2 tsps vanilla extract
1/3 cup Hershey's cocoa powder
1/4 cup hot water
2 tsps freshly grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp lemon juice

~ Sieve the flour, baking powder and 1 tsp baking soda in a bowl. Add in salt.
~ In a separate bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and 1 cup sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well.
~ Then, add in the flour and buttermilk alternately, and be sure to mix well after each addition. Scoop out half of the batter into a separate bowl.
~ In another separate bowl, stir together cocoa, remaining 1/3 cup sugar, remaining 1/4 tsp baking soda and water.
~ Blend in the cocoa mixture into a bowl of the divided batter. Mix in the lemon rind and juice in the other half of the batter.

~ Scoop spoonful of chocolate batter into the baking pan and then followed with the lemon batter, until the pan is filled 3/4. Then use a skewer to 'swirl and run' the batter a few times to get the marbling pattern inside.
~ Bake in pre-heated oven at 375 F for 40 mins or until inserted skewer comes out clean.

* The recipe in the book uses a 12-cup capacity fluted bundt pan to bake this cake. I wanted mini cakes for giveaways so I baked in three mini rectangular pans. Remember to grease and flour the bundt pan. For flat-bottom pans, lining it with baking paper will do.

Enjoy baking!

petite nyonya

Some Days Are Made For...

2011-09-20T22:40:00.002+08:00

...Cupcakes, aren't they?!!

What's great is that everyone loves a cupcake (or two!). Bake some and frost them any how you like it and finish it off with additional topping of your choice. It's all so versatile and easy to handle. And of course, they're really really fun to make! I especially enjoy and love the decoration part of it.

These lovely moist chocolate cupcakes with delicious strawberry frosting were actually made over two months ago for my co-workers for a little tea time treat we had in the office. So this is actually my long overdue recipe post.

The cake here is an old recipe of moist chocolate cake I found hand-written in my old trusty recipe notebook. I made it into cupcakes and instead of using plain vanilla butter cream for frosting, I decided to give it a strawberry twist instead. I pureed about 2 cups of fresh strawberries and then strained out the juice before mixing in with the butter cream. And the result was....delicious!! It really made a difference to the normal butter cream. One can't argue that chocolate and strawberry make oh such a wonderful pairing!

Chocolate cupcake:

180 g butter
340 g caster sugar
3 large eggs
1 tsp instant coffee granules, dissolve this with 1 tbsp hot water
1 tbsp brandy
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup water

Sieve together:
240 g plain flour
75 g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

~ Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy, and then add in the eggs one at a time, mixing well in between.
~ Combine brandy, vanilla, dissolved coffee granules and the hot water together, stirring it well.
~ Fold in flour mixture alternately with the coffee liquid to the creamed butter, sugar and egg mixture. Mix well in between flour and liquid.
~ Mix everything well together. Fill up to a maximum 3/4 full in each cupcake liner/case that is fitted in a muffin pan. Bake at 150 deg C for around 40 minutes (depending on your oven) or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean.
~ Cool the cupcakes completely before icing them.

Strawberry butter cream:

2 cups fresh strawberries
2/3 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
2 cups sifted icing sugar

~ In a mini blender or food processor, puree the strawberries. Strain/squeeze (can use a muslin cloth) out excess juice (it need not be too dry, just as long as the excess juice is rid off)
~ Cream the butter, shortening, and icing sugar till fluffy. Add in the blended strawberry. Mix really well.
~ Fill up a piping bag with large star nozzle and pipe out a circular swirl on each cupcake. Topped with half of a fresh strawberry for a more luscious and tempting look.

(Add more icing sugar for a stiffer frosting if you prefer)

Cheers & see ya later!

petite nyonya

Lemon Poppy Seed Cake

2011-06-02T22:15:00.001+08:00

I have not been posting nor visiting blogs as much as I would like to lately and I do want to apologise to all my blog friends for my absence. I have not forgotten you and I shall return to visit soon :). Work just got in the way and it tires me out.

Wonder what I do for a living? Well, I'm in public relations consulting. A recent 2011 poll report by CareerCast.com indicates that amongst the most stressful jobs, pilots top the list. Not surprising at all considering the number of lives a pilot holds in his hand! Second on the list is none other than public relations executives. In fact, working in the media industry carries the highest work pressure with four of the top 10 most stressful jobs being media-related. Photojournalists were ranked fourth, newscaster fifth and advertising account executive sixth. Now, why didn't they produce this report at career week during my undergrad days??!!. Oh well, I guess with all that stress, that's where spending time in the kitchen helps.

This is a lovely soft and lemony cake with pretty specks of poppy seeds that adds a light crunch to the bite. Have a slice of this cake with a cup of coffee...aaahhhh....it can surely help to release your worries for the day! :)

Ingredients:
40g poppy seeds
125ml milk
250g butter, softened
1 tbsp finely grated lemon rind
275g caster sugar
4 eggs
335g self-raising flour
110g plain flour
240g sour cream

Method:

1. Combine poppy seeds and milk, soak for 10 minutes.
2. Beat butter, rind and sugar with electric mixer till light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined.
4. Stir in sifted flours, cream and poppy seeds into mixture, in two batches.
5. Spread mixture into pan, bake for about 1 hour at 160 deg C.

Happy baking!

petite nyonya

Easy Pumpkin Rice

2011-04-25T17:00:00.015+08:00

Cooking with pumpkin is something I've started doing just recently. I don't think I've eaten that many types of foods with pumpkin in it. Having said that, I must profess that I absolutely, absolutely love pumpkin cheesecake. I can't remember where exactly did I eat that awesomely delicious cheesecake, but I do know that my love for pumpkin was discovered at that time few years back. The first time I actually used pumpkin in my cooking was here (click to see). I've even tried growing pumpkin last year. I was brimming with joy when the 2 seeds I sowed sprouted. I successfully transplanted them to the ground and the result after 2 months or so was I had two vigorous plants with many male flowers. When the female flowers finally decided to make their diva appearance, all the male ones got tired of waiting and had wilted off . Thus, disappointingly I did not get any pumpkin at all. I would love to try growing pumpkin again, but my messy, weed-infested backyard is putting me off that idea. Anyway, for now, I'll just run to the supermarket when I feel like cooking it.

Here's a simple, easy-breezy pumpkin rice recipe cooked in an automatic rice cooker. It's another one of my quick meals and I like eating this with acar (pickles). Just for the record, I have 3 types of acar in my kitchen now - a bottle of Nyonya cucumber, carrot & green chilli acar (my dad bought), salted fish acar (my sister made) and Indian-style lemon acar (I bought). Oohhh la la!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp dried shrimps (soak in hot water for 20 mins and chopped)
5-6 dried scallops (soak in hot water for 30 mins and peel to shreds)
5-6 dried shitake mushrooms (soak in hot water for 30 mins and sliced)
1 small bowl diced chicken meat (season with dash of pepper and oyster sauce)
3/4 cup rice (wash and drained)
300g pumpkin (cubed)

Method:

1. Heat 3 tbsp cooking oil and 1 tbsp sesame seed oil in a pan and saute the garlic, dried shrimps till brown and fragrant.

2. Add in the shredded dried scallops, mushrooms and chicken cubes. Saute for 8-10 minutes (add 2 tbsp water and cover with lid for a few minutes), then add in the pumpkin. Saute for an another 5 mins. Turn off the heat.

3. Transfer everything into a rice cooker. Then add in the washed rice and the right amount of tap water as you would normally cook rice. (Rule of thumb is 1 cup water to 1 cup rice but then again it also depends on the type of rice - certain rice require just slightly lesser or more water).

4. Add in soy sauce or salt, dash of pepper and about 1 tbsp teriyaki sauce. Stir to mix.

5. Press cook and it will be done automatically when cooked in a rice cooker.

cheers,

petite nyonya

Mom's Sambal Belacan Terung Asam (Spicy Shrimp Paste Condiment)

2011-03-29T21:15:00.015+08:00

This is my Mom's version of sambal belacan in true Nyonya perfection! Mom was such a phenomenal woman, who cooked amazing food for us.

Ingredients: fresh red chilies, bird's eye chilies (for that added 'kick'), Asian shrimp paste (belacan) and terung assam (yellow round fruit) - pounded to a paste in a traditional stone mortar and pestle. Add in some sugar (optional) and a squeeze of calamansi/lime/lemon juice, you'll have your perfect spicy sambal belacan ready to whet your appetite anytime.

Sambal belacan for Malaysians and many South-east Asians needs no introduction at all. It originates from the Malay culture but appeals to the mouth-watering senses of all races in Malaysia.

It's one of the most popular 'must have' condiments during meals as it goes oh! so well! with rice and the various yummylicious Malaysian/Asian dishes.

If you're wondering what terung asam is, the picture below shows you what it is.

Terung asam is a tiny, round and hairy kampung (village) fruit like the size of a calamansi lime. It turns to a pretty bright yellow once ready to be plucked off the plant. Literally translated, terung asam means sour aubergine. However, it has no relation to aubergine. Can be eaten raw or added into asam pedas (spicy/sour fish dish).

Terung asam can be found sold in small quantities by Malay vegetable/herb traders in markets as it is not a crop that is widely cultivated. In fact, many city dwellers may not even heard or seen terung asam before. I have 5 plants growing well in my backyard. Thanks to my sis who gave me the first original plant (below pic). I sprouted the seeds from one of the fruits from this original plant (which has since died by the way) and now I can't wait for the fruits to grow on my 2nd generation plants! Yippees!!!

Fried tempeh with sambal belacan terung asam. Goes well with fried chicken/fish etc. Yummzzzz!

Mom's sambal belacan terung asam

Pound to a paste:
3-5 fresh large red chilies (remove seeds)
3-5 bird's eye chilies
1 tbsp Asian shrimp paste (belacan), lightly fry it in an oiled frying pan for 2-3 mins
4-5 terung asam (peel off the hairy skin)

Add to the paste:
Half to 1 tsp sugar (more or less according to preference)
Some juice of calamansi/lime/lemon (more or less according to sour preference)
Salt (only if preferred after 1st tasting as belacan is already salty)

Happy pounding!

petite nyonya

A Dog's Story and Bacon, Onion and Parmesan Cheese Tart

2011-02-14T23:40:00.009+08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

I watched "Hachiko: A Dog's Story" starring Richard Gere, on HBO last night. I cried incessantly - during and after the movie and again today when I read about Hachiko.

Based on a true story that happened in the 1920s/30s Japan, it tells the story of an invisible but fortified bond between a male Akita breed pet dog and his master. Hachi was found as a little puppy one day by a university professor and raised as the family's pet. As Hachi grew, a bond between pet and master developed and during the professor's life, Hachi would dutifully accompany his master to the train station and would religiously wait outside the station for his master's return from work every evening. Sadly one day, the master collapsed and passed away suddenly on campus and never did return to the station that evening where Hachi was waiting. Hachi was given away after his master's passing but he always found his way back to the station to wait for his master's return. For the next 9 years across 9 springs, 9 summers, 9 autumns and 9 winters until his death in 1935, Hachi never failed to return to the train station every evening hoping to see his master again.

Today, a bronze statue of Hachi can be found outside the Shibuya train station in Tokyo. Hachi became a national symbol of loyalty amongst the Japanese and a reminder to hold family ties in that regard.

If you have not watched this movie and intend to watch it, do prepare a box of tissue or a towel if you must, as you'll be moved by such remarkable measure of faithfulness and love by a pet dog.

May this Valentine's Day bring a renewed and holistic meaning of love to all.

This bacon, onion and parmesan cheese tart below was made for a dinner gathering at my sister's house last weekend as our continuous celebration of Chinese New Year before it ends this week. I harvested a few bunches of my organically homegrown grape cherry tomatoes and I used them for decoration on the tart. My family said the tart was pretty and delicious. I guess that's because it was made with love for those whom I care deeply for.

Recipe for a 10 -11 " in diameter tart

To make the Shortcrust Pastry:

280g plain flour
150g butter
1/4 tsp salt
80g water

- Mix the butter, flour and salt until they combine and become sandy. Use a food processor, mixer or by hand. Add the water bit by bit and knead well to form a pastry dough.

- Roll out on a floured surface the size of at least 2 inches larger than your tart pan. This allowance is needed to cover the side of the pan. Lift the rolled dough and place it on the base of the pan. Adjust with fingers by pulling the dough to cover exposed side/top rim of the pan.

- Next, use a kitchen scissors and trim off access dough all along the rim of the pan.

- Got extra dough and don't want to waste it? No sweat. Roll the dough out to fit tiny tart molds.

- Use the back of a fork and make imprints all around the top rim dough. Also, use the fork and randomly poke the base and its side to allow better baking.

- Pre-bake the pastry at 145 C for about 15 minutes.

To make the Tart Filling:

2 large onions, diced/chopped
90 g grated Parmesan cheese
450 g Nestle all-purpose cream
3 eggs, beaten
4-5 slices of bacon, baked or pan-fried, cut into small pieces
Extra 5-6 slices of uncooked bacon (for decoration on top)

- Break and beat the eggs in a baking bowl. Add in the cream, mix well.

- Mix in the rest of the ingredients, beat well. Pour into the pre-baked pastry in pan.

- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes at 145 C or until the top has somewhat set but not yet browned. Take the pastry out from the oven, arrange the extra slices of bacon and bake at the same temperature for 15 minutes. Take the pan out again and this time, arrange the cherry tomatoes wherever you like by pushing each halfway into the filling. Sprinkle some crushed black peppercorns and dried oregano (or your other favorite herb). Place it back into the oven for further browning the way you like it.

Best regards

petite nyonya

Fried Rice Vermicelli With Roast Pork

2011-01-15T22:00:00.005+08:00

It seems to me that time simply passes by more quickly in this day and age. We still have the same amount of seconds in a minute, minutes in an hour, hours in a day, days in a week, weeks in a month and months in a year. But strangely, it feels like they all seemed to have been reduced in this fast paced, globalized world today. Everyday seems like a day with endless list of things to do and appointments and people to chase. At least this is what I've been feeling especially in the last few months. Thus, my absence from blogging. Too many happenings to mention here and I don't even know where to start. Well, I guess holding a busy job and rushing through mad traffic flow on every work day compounded such feeling. Not forgetting attending to errands and commitments on the home front too. I know there are millions of people out there who feel the way I do. With rushed days where mostly were survived on quick lunches in between meetings and dinners at the nearest, most convenient place on route home, a simple and quickly prepared meal at home can truly bring great delight and happiness. So, here today is a simple and very popular Asian quick meal loved and cooked by many - whether as a quick meal, a proper meal or even for a potluck party. No matter what meal setting may be, fried rice vermicelli is always a favorite for many.

Ingredients:

200g rice vermicelli ('mai fun'; 'mi fern'), soaked in water for 20 mins then drained well
200g store-bought Chinese roast pork, sliced - 1cm thick
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 inch ginger, chopped
1 carrot, shredded
8 dried Shiitake mushrooms, soaked in hot water till soft then sliced thinly
A handful bunch of Asian green veggie
3-4 tablespoons cooking oil
1 tbsp sesame seed oil
2 tbsp teriyaki sauce
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark (thick) soy sauce

Heat oil in a wok. Add in the garlic and ginger. Fry until brown and fragrant. Add in the roast pork, carrot, mushrooms. Stir for a few minutes. Add half cup water, soy sauces, teriyaki sauce. Cover with lid for 5 minutes. Add in the veggie and more water if it dries out. Bring to a boil again, then add in the rice vermicelli. Stir well to ensure the rice vermicelli is well coated with the sauce and ingredients. Add more light soy sauce if it's not salty enough. Add some water bit by bit if it's too dry. Keep stirring until rice vermicelli is soft and cooked to the bite. Serve hot on a plate garnished with sliced fresh chili and crispy fried shallots.

Happy cooking :D

petite nyonya

Here's To A Joyful Start!

2011-01-02T23:53:00.008+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 !

May all your endeavors in this new year be promising, sunny and rosy.

May all your gastronomic journeys be infused with passion, love and great flavors, and may your garden blossoms to your heart's content.

flowers in my tiny front garden

I've taken a short break from blogging due to my hectic schedule, but I look forward to be back soon with newer and better things for the new year!

Best wishes!
petite nyonya

A Contest!

2010-11-12T12:25:00.006+08:00

Hey everyone, something really exciting is in store for you if you are residing right here in Malaysia, a country truly Asia. Read on and you could be on your way to winning great quality prizes worth RM1,000!!

If you're a Malaysian blogger, you may already know of a column in The Star called "Don't Call Me Chef". In fact, some of you may have already been featured in it. Hungry Caterpillar, a fellow blogger who's an editor with The Star as well as 1 of the 3-person team that write the column, has kindly informed me about this contest. Brought to you by Tupperware to celebrate its latest product launch, themed with a touch of nostalgia (read on to find out!), this contest is open to one and all who is living in Malaysia. Winning this would also put you in the column and who knows, you could be on your way to bloggerstardom!! :).

Here are the details

LONG before there were plastic bags and disposable containers, tiffin carriers were used to store and carry food. Tiffin carriers are stackable, multi-tiered containers that are looped to a handle with latches on the side.

The separate containers allowed for the different dishes to be stored separately, and it usually even comes with a plate.

Originally from India, it was invented as the carry-all for workers to pack their lunch to take to the office. In Mumbai, India, there is a highly efficient service that delivers tiffin lunches to office workers and schoolchildren.

Dabbawallas (meaning one who carries a box) collect tiffin boxes from homes, and deliver them to offices, and then return them to the respective homes.

Tiffin carriers are also used here, and elsewhere in Asia. They are usually made of stainless steel, or enamel. Tiffin carriers are suitable for packing Asian meals, as we can keep our rice, curry or soup, and other dishes separately.

We also use them for noodles, packing the noodles, garnishings and gravy in different containers. These tiffin carriers are not only functional but environmentally friendly as well.

Inspired by the tiffin carrier, Tupperware is launching its BYO (Bring Your Own) 'TaPau' multi-tiered containers, which are designed to hold our favourite soup-based noodles and rice dishes. As with all Tupperware Brands products, it is made made from safe, non-toxic, non-carcinogenic and microwaveable materials and do not release harmful chemicals to food or liquid contents.

The BYO 'TaPau' Set also reduces plastic waste and garbage. It is toxin-free, and is an eco-friendly alternative to plastic bags, styrofoam boxes and disposable containers.

In conjunction with the launch of this product, Don't Call Me Chef will be celebrating the tiffin carrier in our next issue. We'd like you to join us, and share your favourite tiffin lunch recipes.

Tupperware is giving away a RM1,000 hamper of its products, including the BYO 'TaPau' containers, to the senders of the three best entries. We'll also be featuring the winning recipes in next month's Don't Call Me Chef.

All you have to do is: Share with us your tiffin carrier stories; they could be anything from your memories of tiffin lunches, or a favourite dish you packed for school or the office. Share your recipes with us. Cook the dishes and snap a clear photograph (it must be high-resolution and at least 1,000KB) of the meal in a tiffin carrier/bento/container (but without the product name being visible).

E-mail to dontcallmechef@gmail.com or snail mail your entries to:
Don't Call Me Chef
c/o StarTwo Star Publications (M) Bhd
Menara Star
15 Jalan 16/11
46350 Petaling Jaya Selangor

Closing date: Nov 21

(Note: Thanks for asking, Little Inbox. Non-halal recipes are totally acceptable to qualify for this contest)

Don't forget to join the contest!!

Cheers to the weekend!

petite nyonya

Crusty Moist Madeleines

2010-10-24T22:55:00.009+08:00

These little plumpy morsels in their recognizable shell shape may have originated from France, but its fan base spans the globe. I read that some had said, for the tastiest and most delicately authentic madeleines, one needs to go to France. Hmm...sounds like a darn good idea to me!

The first time I tried making madeleines was well, not quite in their original form as I didn't have any madeleine pans then so I basically used my bear mould pan. I had used the recipe from Lee Mei of Cooking Hut, who shared a classic recipe which uses yeast instead of baking powder.

Last week after purchasing my madeleine pans, I got eager and wanted to make some badly. After searching and comparing about 5-6 recipes (and they all have the same classic ingredients), I stumbled upon one which uses some milk and honey. The result was good if you want crusty edges with a buttery moist inside. These are however, best eaten on the same day they are baked as leaving a day older will have them less spongy.

Recipe for "Crusty on the outside, moist in the inside Madeleines" (found at www.epicurious.com)

Ingredients:

1 3/4 sticks (14 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus additional for brushing molds
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 vanilla bean, halved lengthwise (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/4 cup whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons mild honey

Method:

Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350°F. Brush molds with melted butter.

Sift together flour and baking powder into a large bowl, then whisk in zest.

Scrape seeds from vanilla bean into another bowl with tip of a paring knife (reserve pod for another use). Add sugar and rub together until vanilla is well dispersed, then whisk in eggs, milk, honey, and remaining 1 3/4 sticks melted butter. Fold into flour mixture until just combined.

Spoon a rounded tablespoon of batter into each mold, filling it about two-thirds full. Bake (with 2 pans on one rack), switching position of pans halfway through baking and rotating 180 degrees, until golden around edges and a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a madeleine comes out clean, 10 to 12 minutes total. (I baked longer for crustier edges)

Turn out madeleines onto a rack and serve slightly warm.

Notes: These madeleines are best eaten when just baked. The batter can be made 3 hours ahead, then chilled, covered.

Cheers

petite nyonya

Sri Melaka Cupcake

2010-10-10T21:10:00.006+08:00

Alex Goh is a popular Malaysian pastry chef who has published books ranging from cakes and cheesecakes to breads and pastries. Under my growing recipe book collection I have 3 titles from Chef Alex. What I find approachable is that in one of his books, he willingly had his mobile phone number printed inside it so that people like you and me could reach him for baking related questions, hints and tips. Although I don't seem to have much luck with some of his bread recipes, on the contrary my sister's attempts have been highly successful thus far. One of his latest books I've recently purchased is Magic Steamed Cake, which I thought is just perfect since I have an under utilized steam oven. However, you don't really need a steam oven because simple equipment like a wok with a cover or steaming pot will work just fine.

Sharing with you here is a simple recipe from his steamed cake book - Sri Melaka Cupcake. Melaka is the name of my hometown state, a historical place once upon a couple of centuries ago had been colonialized by the Portugese, Dutch, Japanese and English. The name of this cupcake must've been derived from the use of gula melaka (gula = sugar). Gula melaka is basically brown palm sugar made from the sugary sap of the Palmyra palm and is produced in cylindrical blocks. Whether it was originally produced in my home state or not, I have absolutely no idea. But what I can say for sure is that gula melaka is widely used in many gastronomical delights of the Baba Nyonya or Peranakan cuisine which originates from Melaka, from our dishes to sweet desserts to cakes. Gula melaka is also very widely used in many yummy Malay cakes and desserts.

gula melaka

There are many cottage producers of gula melaka in Melaka (as with elsewhere in Malaysia) but only a true old timer food critic I call 'Dad' knows where to get the actual pure stuff. Some producers may make it by mixing with white granulated sugar, and the color is often pale in comparison to the real thing. My sisters and I can be sure of adequate packets of gula melaka readily available for us each time we make a visit back home. Our dad refuses to buy from any other supplier except his regular trusted one. According to him, finding dead bees trapped inside the gula melaka and high softening point (needs to be kept in the refrigerator) are indicators of pureness. They say the Nyonyas are fussy, well you haven't met my dad yet!

Recipe:

A
200g gula melaka (or brown sugar as substitute)
120g water

B
4 eggs
100 g white granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt

C
150g corn oil
150g coconut milk

D
400g flour
1 tsp sodium bicarbonate
4 tsps double action baking powder

1. Cook A until sugar is dissolved, set aside to cool.
2. Whip B until sugar dissolves and mixture slightly thickens. Add in A adn C, mix until well-blended.
3. Fold in sieved D, mix until well combined.
4. Fill cupcake liners placed in muffin pan till about 3/4 full.
5. Steam for 30 minutes or until cake is done.

I serve it with grated white coconut as they pair well together.

Happy steaming!

petite nyonya

Chef Devagi's South Indian Pepper Chicken

2010-10-05T21:52:00.002+08:00

I was delighted to learn that one of Singapore's celebrated chefs, Chef Devagi Sanmugam, recently published her Indian cook book. Titled 'South Indian Temptations', just a quick browse through the pages had me convinced that it is THE South Indian cook book I've been searching for. I've tried only 2 recipes since I purchased the book about 2 months ago and below is one of my 2 tries. Serve it with plain rice or pilaf or biryani rice, this pepper chicken is full of aroma from the lovely blend of spices.

Pepper Chicken (with Coriander!)

1 kg chicken (chopped into small pieces)
3 large tomatoes
2 tbsp black pepper
11 cloves garlic
5 cm piece ginger
2 large onions
1/2 cup water
enough salt
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chili powder
2 tsps coriander powder
1 tsp black pepper powder
1/2 cup water
10 tbsps oil
2 pieces cinnamon
4 cardamons
4 cloves
1 tsp aniseed (coarsely pounded)
2 sprigs curry leaves

Add in a bunch of chopped fresh coriander leaves in step 3 below. This is my own addition, not stated in Chef Devagi's original version above.

1. Chopped the tomatoes.
2. Blend pepper, garlic, ginger and 1/2 onion with 1/2 cup water in a blender.
3. Mix blended ingredients with enough salt, turmeric powder, pepper powder, chilli powder and coriander powder. Rub over chicken pieces and leave to marinate for 1 hour or more.
4. Add 1/2 cup water and tomatoes to chicken pieces and cook covered over slow heat.
5. When gravy has thickened, turn off the heat.
6. Slice the remaining onion into fine pieces.
7. In a pan, heat oil. Add cinnamon, cardamons, cloves and aniseed. When fragrant, add onion slices and curry leaves.
8. When onions are lightly browned, add chicken pieces and fry for about 5-10 minutes over low heat. Dish out and serve.

Have a great day!

petite nyonya

What Lies Beneath?!

2010-09-28T17:30:00.010+08:00

Bring on the rabbits!

I was swept by joy!! Think my neighbors could hear my excited scream last Sunday evening!

My first carrots!! Yipppeeeee!!!!!!!!!!

3 carrots in total from 1 plant I finally, finally had the heart to pull out!

I picked the plant that didn't flower as the flower is too pretty to be sacrificed (see my below post). I'm quite surprised (and extremely elated!) to see 3 carrots from a single plant. But based on what I have read and saw on 'planting your own veggies' sites and blogs, there is normally 1 carrot to each plant. Mine has got 2 small carrots (more like stunted carrots due to heavy clay soil which impedes full development) and 1 longer and larger one. Hmm...somewhere along the process, it must have mutated into 3! Not sure how this happened but I'm not complaining. I didn't expect my first time growing carrots to be a success.

Destined for the stew pot this weekend!

Now, I can't wait to dig out the rest for my sisters when they comeover soon.

If you don't have any ground areas, I read that growing carrots in pots work so much better as you can choose the type of soil, which has to be light, rich in compost and free of pebbles/stones.

Cheers

petite nyonya

A White, Lacy Discovery & Lots Of Chilies Too!

2010-09-25T22:30:00.007+08:00

Work has been so hectic lately and I'm mentally tired. All day long yesterday (Friday), I've been anxiously anticipating the weekend so that I could sleep in late. I was hoping that it would rain this morning. But it didn't! Darn!! Why does it always rain in the morning on weekdays?!! Anyway, strangely I woke up early this morning (at 8.30am!!) despite it being a Saturday. Not normal for me. Just could not fall back to sleep. After freshening up and dumping the laundry into the washing machine, I took a peep at my backyard from my kitchen. To my pleasant surprise, I suddenly noticed a pretty new bloom perking upright on a single long stem! A lovely, lovely white lacy cap-like flower. I immediately grabbed the key to my back door and dashed out. To my pleasant surprise, one of my carrot plants has flowered! I didn't even know that carrot plants produce flowers so you could imagine how delighted I was at this morning's discovery. This is my 1st time planting carrots.

A 2nd wonderful surprise was my bird's eye chili plant has suddenly grown so many chilies ! Just last weekend, there were no flowers nor chilies, so they all grew within the past 1 week. Today's find is such sweet reward after a busy work week. Well, I'll say no more and shall just leave you with some pictures that speak of my joy today, and tomorrow and for as long as they can grow and last :).

Carrot flower

Pretty, huh?!

In full bloom

Based on what I've gathered from the web, carrot plants are biennial, which means they can live up to 2 years and flowering only happens in the 2nd year. My plants are just 3-4 months old so I'm perplexed. Anyway, my carrot seeds are of F1 hybrid and while I can savor the beauty of the flowers, I can forget about using the seeds once the flowers dried up as seeds from F1 hybrid will not germinate.

This is another bud getting ready to bloom.

Bird's eye chilies

Have a restful weekend!

Apple Butter Cake With Cream Caramel Sauce

2010-09-13T17:00:00.018+08:00

There are a couple of good ol' fashion cakes that will never cease on charm and tradition amongst home bakers. Apple butter cake is simply one of them. I don't think anyone who has taken a strong keenness in home baking has not attempted an apple butter cake in his or her baking lifetime, unless of course if you've just only started out in baking. Don't worry, you too will for sure make an apple butter cake someday.

I have a funny relationship with apples. I love the smell of apples when holding one close to my nose. And I like hearing the crunch when someone bites into it. But despite these and its glossy luscious red or fresh vibrant green look, if I could liken eating an apple to a day in a life, it would be an unmistakeably dull, unlikeable day. Somewhat like a much anticipated weekend day at home which turned out unexpectedly unenjoyable, dry and dreadfully slow. One with no phone calls, no messages, no great programs on TV, no pleasant visitors, no sale in the mall, no flowers blooming in the garden, an empty gas tank in the kitchen stove, no eggs in the refrigerator and a visit by the m.i.l. You get the picture.

Apples could be THE most boring fruit to munch on, according to me, for me! But since there is always going to be a better tomorrow (as long as 2012 hasn't arrived! seen the movie?), there's still a hope. If I could pick one out of all types of apples to at least stand out slightly successfully in tackling my munch, it would be the South African variety. It has a nice crunch to it and is sweet, and usually my interest munching it will last a tad bit longer than it usually does with apples before it starts to wane. Therefore, I hardly choose to eat apples.

BUT, give me apples fried, cooked or baked, I'm all for it. In all its forms, commercial glory and varieties, I do appreciate the fact that apples exist! Being one of the most bountiful of fruits, a wide cooking option is available, from apple cake to apple tart to apple pie to apple sauce to apple strudel to all sorts of creative uses in meals. I can't disagree that it is one of the most marvelous fruits to be created, sowed and reaped from the face of this earth! According to Wikipedia, at least 55 million tonnes of apples were grown worldwide in 2005, with a market value of about USD$10 billion. Given 5 years on and with overpopulation, I'm sure cultivation and harvesting have since increased!

To me, apple cake exudes a feeling evocative of old rustic farmhouse and village charm. I guess I must've gotten this from reading the many blogs that associate apples with autumn pickings, an activity often away from the cities. Thinking of this, I think I would really favor living on a farm. But not in Malaysia though! Anyway, enough rumblings and as you would probably know by now, I simply adore recipes from the Australian Women's Weekly. This apple cake recipe is another awesome one from AWW following the one below on Tiramisu roulade. Topped with cream caramel sauce, this is a winning apple cake recipe!

Recipe:

2 -3 medium green apples
80g butter
3/4 cup (165 g) firmly packed brown sugar
125 g butter, softened, extra
2/3 cup (150 g) caster sugar (I used only 1/2 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup (150 g) self-raising flour
2/3 cup (100 g) plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk
3/4 cup (180 ml) cream

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg C or 160 deg C with fan-forced. Grease 20cm baking pan.
2. Peel, core and quarter apples; slice thinly. Melt butter in large frying pan; cook apple about 5 minutes or until browned lightly. Add brown sugar; cook, stirring, about 5 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly. Strain apples over medium bowl. Reserve apples and cooking liquid.
3. Beat extra butter, caster sugar and extract in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined between additions; transfer to a large bowl. Stir in sifted dry ingredients and buttermilk, in two batches.
4. Spread two-thirds of the mixture into pan. Top with apples, leaving a 2 cm border around the edge; cover with remaining mixture. (In addition to the pre-cooked apples, I added some chopped fresh green apples into the cake batter as well). Bake about 50 minutes. Stand cake 5 minutes; turn, to-side up, onto wire rack to cool.
5. Meanwhile, return reserved apple liquid to frying pan, add cream; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, about 15 minutes or until sauce thickens (I didn't have anymore cream left so I omitted it, thus my sauce does not look creamy/milky thick).
6. Serve warm cake with caramel sauce.

Click for my previous post on Apple Fritters

Happy baking & best wishes!

Tiramisu Roulade, Reshaped!

2010-09-05T12:36:00.001+08:00

This was supposed to be a roulade, or more commonly known here as swiss roll.

But my rolling technique failed miserably! So, it became a stack tiramisu cake instead. But it tasted just as fantastic as I expected it to be.

Have I mentioned that I'm a HUGE fan of Australian cake recipes and ideas?! ESPECIALLY recipes that are from the Australian Women's Weekly. They are my favorites! So far, all of AWW's cake recipes that I've tried have been accurate and yielded successful results. This 'almost' roulade was no exception.

Back to my failed attempt and the suspected reason for it. I didn't have a proper swiss roll cake pan to begin with, one that is wide or large enough for the batter to spread across more thinly. So, I had no choice but to use my rather small rectangular cookie tray, thinking that 'it'll do it'. Of course it didn't (yes, I'm blaming my pan!) as my cake turned out a tad too thick to be rolled successfully. Thus, it cracked while being rolled. I rolled and unrolled several times and when the cream started to spill out and everything became messy, that's it!! My patience ran thin. In the end, I thought what the heck, all I wanted was to eat this cake regardless what shape it takes. So, I scooped out all the cream again (yes, messy! messy!), cut the cake where it cracked and I got four pieces. I then stacked two pieces, with generous amount of the delicious smooth cream sandwiched in between.

The cake batter is very simple to make and it gives a very airy and light texture. The cream, which combines mascarpone cheese and thickened cream, is infused with coffee flavored liqueur and imparts a lovely aroma and full-bodied creamy taste. This cake makes a superb light but very satisfying dessert after a hearty meal.

I may have failed at my rolling technique but I'm sure you wouldn't. So here goes the recipe for the Australian Women's Weekly's Tiramisu Roulade.

2 tbsps coffee-flavored liqueur (I used Kahlua)
1/4 cup water
2 tbsps caster sugar
1 tbsp instant coffee granules
1 tbsp hot water
3 eggs
1/2 cup caster sugar (extra)
1/2 cup plain flour
2 tbsps flaked almonds

Coffee Liqueur Cream
1 cup mascarpone
1/2 cup thickened cream
2 tbsps coffee-flavored liqueur

1. Grease 25cm x 30cm swiss roll pan; line base and two sides with baking paper, extending paper 5 cm over long sides
2. Combine liqueur with the water and sugar in a small saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, without stirring, for about 5 minutes or until syrup thickens slightly. Remove from heat, stir in half of the coffee; reserve syrup.
3. Dissolve remaining coffee in the hot water.
4. Beat eggs and extra sugar in small bowl with electric mixer about 5 minutes or until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick; fold in dissolved coffee.
5. Meanwhile, sift flour twice, then sift again over egg mixture and gently fold into mixture. Spread sponge mixture into pan; sprinkle with almonds. Bake about 15-20 minutes or until cake is done at 170 deg C.
6. Meanwhile. place a piece of baking paper cut the same size as the swiss roll pan on working top; sprinkle evenly with about 2 tbsps of caster sugar. Turn sponge onto sugared paper; peel away lining paper. Roll sponge from long side, using paper as guide; cool.
7. Meanwhile, beat ingredients for coffee liqueur cream in a bowl with electric mixer until firm peaks form. Unroll sponge, brush with reserved syrup. Spread cream over sponge then re-roll sponge. Cover roulade with plastic wrap; refrigerate 30 minutes before serving.

Happy rolling!

Sambal Telur

2010-08-17T22:22:00.009+08:00

There's a very high chance that this is not your first time coming across sambal telur or egg sambal in blogs by Malaysians, or sambal of any kind for that matter. If you're a fellow Malaysian, blogger or not, there's an extremely low probability that you have not cooked sambal before in your very own kitchen, arrrggchoo-ing continuously as you saute that fiery red chili paste in your wok.

The popular base sauce known as 'sambal' has chili as its main ingredient, blended to a smooth paste alongside other condiments like onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, candlenut and of course, the infamously fragrant Asian shrimp paste or 'belacan'. Different types of sambal may call for the use of different condiments.

Sambal has its roots in Malay cuisine but sambal telur has, over centuries-long of cultural assimilation, become a regular dish in Peranakan or BabaNyonya households.

By its generic name, sambal brings a meaningful form of commonality between the cuisines of Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Brunei. On the other hand, through its varied forms and adaptations, sambal brings uniqueness and identity to each of the said cuisine.

The types of chilies used are usually dried chilies, although there are some recipes that may call for a mixture of dried and fresh chilies, or just fresh chilies alone. Substituting a small amount of the fresh chilies with the bird's eye variety will up the ante for those who have frequently trained and toughened tongue sensory. For the uninitiated, let's just stick to using the less spicy variety of dried or fresh chilies, whichever the recipe calls for.

Once you get a good sambal base, you can switch the eggs with poultry or red meat or seafood, like dried anchovies (ikan bilis), prawns, squids, cockles etc. Sambal is synonymous with nasi lemak (coconut milk rice), one of Malaysia's many signature meals but is also often served as a dish to go with plain rice.

Here's my regular egg sambal recipe the way I've been taught to cook it by my late Mom, who never left my heart nor my thoughts.

Egg Sambal (Serves 3-4)

4 hard boiled eggs
1/4 cup cooking oil
15-20 strips of dried chilies (add more for spicier sambal)
8-10 shallots
3 candlenuts
1.5 tsp belacan (Asian shrimp paste)
1 tbsp tamarind paste, rub/mix in 3/4 cup water
4-5 kaffir leaves
2 large onions, halved then sliced
2 tomatoes, quartered (optional)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp or enough salt for taste

Use a kitchen scissors to cut the dried chilies and remove the seeds inside. Boil in a small pot of water for 5 minutes, then discard the water. Blend the chilies, shallots, candlenuts and shrimp paste. Add 1/4 cup water to ease blending. Heat the cooking oil in a wok/large pan. Saute the blended paste and kaffir leaves together for about 10 -12 minutes over medium heat until the paste is fragrant and is somewhat drier. Add in the tamarind juice, but discard the pulp and seeds. Add in the sliced onions, tomatoes, eggs, sugar and salt . Stir well and let it simmer for a few minutes. It should have a slight hint of sweetness but slightly more sourness. Add enough salt according to personal preference but do note that without enough salt, the sambal will not taste as good. Dish up and serve with rice.

Best

Best Banana Muffin With Apricots And Choc Chips

2010-08-10T18:35:00.002+08:00

If you love bananas and muffins, this is a recipe you simply must try! It's easy and quick to make, and the taste is totally uncompromised!

By any measure, this is one of the best muffins I've ever made! But then again, I haven't really made THAT many muffins. Whatever it is, seriously, this is a good muffin recipe to share and many people have testified to that. It did not only survive the unforgiving critique of many home cooks but also received glowing reviews from those who tried it. I found this recipe on CatCanCook. The recipe is also included below for a quicker reference.

This is the 2nd time I made this. This time, I gave it a little twist by adding chopped dried apricots and chocolate chips for extra 'dimension'. The base recipe is so good - soft, moist, springy and delicious. What more could you ask for in a muffin?! With a hot cup of coffee or tea, this muffin will just perk up anyone's sulky day.

Recipe (makes 12 delightful muffins)

3-4 large ripe bananas (around 470g)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
1/2 tsp salt

Optional: 100g chopped dried apricot and 50g chocolate chips (the combination of dried apricot, chocolate chip and banana go really well together).

Remove the banana skin and mash them. Mix in the sugar, melted butter and egg together with the mashed banana and stir well. Combine in the sifted flour, baking powder, bicarbonate soda, salt, dried apricots and choc chips and mix until just combined. The trick with muffins is to NOT over mix. The batter is supposed to be lumpy and not thoroughly combined like a cake batter. Pour 3/4 full into paper cups placed in muffin pan. Bake at 150 deg C till done.

Best

Rose Shape Tri-Flavor/Color Marble Cake

2010-07-31T22:00:00.007+08:00

Bundt pans have definitely made a huge comeback. And they have certainly returned with a vengeance, I'd say! Bundt pans now come in various shapes and designs to suit almost every occasion. I just love Nordic Ware bundt pans and if only I could own one of each design. Now, wouldn't that be bliss?! Sad thing is, they are quite expensive to buy for folks who are earning in pathetic Malaysian Ringgit like me. I actually bought this gorgeous Nordic Ware rose bundt pan more than a year ago when I was still living in Singapore. I first saw it on Amazon but I wasn't able to order it as there was some kind of restrictions on overseas online purchase for this beauty at that time. Then one fine day, I stumbled upon it at a baking supply shop in Singapore and I know I just got to have it! Period! This beauty is made of cast iron and is non-stick. My cake came out perfectly well-baked and beautifully even too. And no, I'm not doing any promo for Nordic Ware, just that I absolutely love this pan and I'm sure all of you avid bakers would too. :)

Needless to say that the real star here is the pan but the recipe for this marble cake is worth highlighting too. So here it is...

Tri-Flavor & Tri-Colour Marble Cake (adapted & revised from The Australian Women's Weekly's "Marbled Choc Mud Cake")

250g butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups cater sugar
3 eggs
2 1/4 cups self-raising flour
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup milk

Beat butter, extract and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.
Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just well combined.
Stir in sifted flour and buttermilk, in two batches.
Divide cake batter into 3 portions. Flavor 1 portion with 1 teaspoon strawberry essence & tinge of red or pink coloring, the 2nd portion with half teaspoon peppermint essence and tinge of green coloring and the last portion with 20g cocoa powder. You can do your own combination of flavors/colors.
Layer the pan with strawberry batter first, then the peppermint one and ending on top with the cocoa batter. Bake in 160 deg C until cake is done.

Have a great day, all!

Planting Your Own Veggies

2010-07-07T23:16:00.009+08:00

They say absence makes the heart grow fonder! How true indeed as it is exactly how I'm feeling with regard to my little world of blogging and all my blog friends. To all my friends and readers, here I am, back again after slightly more than a month of hiatus! And I have to say, I have missed blogging as well as visiting all of your blogs and posts!! In fact, I have missed all of you! And yes, it's good to be back. My daily routine for the past 1 month has been interrupted, but all in a wonderful way. First up, I had a couple of different groups of good friends who visited from abroad. Following that, I was away in Singapore and Melaka (my hometown) for a couple of weeks and then last week, I had to make a trip to London as part of a new job which I've recently accepted. Nope, I'm not working in London (how I wish!)...but was just there for a meeting. After breezing through life as a freelancer for the past 2 years, I've decided to 'sell my soul to the devil' - as how my boss had put it while trying to entice me to take up the offer!! What a way to sell! Fearing no evil I asked him whether the devil wears Prada and pays enough for it too! Although he didn't seem to be too amused, I thought, what the heck! So, yes, I have officially gone to the dark side now. What can I say, they have cookies!!! Although I would love to and had the intention of wanting to contact and perhaps meet up with a couple of you who are based in London, I honestly had not much spare time (after my hurricane speed shopping spree, that is!). So, hopefully they'll feed me with more yummy cookies and I'll land there again and with more leisure time!!

So with all that has happened, I have not been cooking nor baking at all. But the good news is, I have been growing...fresh, crunchy edible greens!!! Other than herbs mentioned in my previous post, I also planted veggie seeds...namely 'pak choy' and 'nai pak', which are popular Asian veggies, especially used in Chinese/Oriental cuisine. These veggies come in broad green leaves and crunchy stems and are delicious if you're a veggie-eating sort of person! They're not suitable for salads but delicious when stir-fried with garlic and oyster sauce. Or simply add them into your bowl of noodle soup! While 'pak choy' has a smooth leaf surface, 'nai pak' comes in slightly crinkly leaf form.

Planting my own vegetables seem like a far-reaching dream once, when I was living in high-rise Singapore. Now, I am relishing that dream and it has been such a rewarding effort and note-worthy experience to share. It doesn't matter if you don't have a garden because planting them in pots will work out equally well, if not better because you get to use all fertile soil. So far, I've harvested my veggies twice and there's plenty more supply left in the garden. So having said all this, okay, here are the evidences of my veggie-growing journey and hope you'll be inspired to grow some yourself too.

The clay soil at my backyard is not fertile so I dug up a straight row of holes about half feet deep, removed the clay soil and replaced with black soil which I bought from the local nursery. I watered the area to damp the soil and scattered a handful of organic fertiliser. I watered the area again the next day.

2 days later on April 9, I scattered about 1 teaspoon of seeds of each vegetable type (pak choy & nai pak) on the black soil area. Due to heavy downpour in the weeks that followed, some seeds got washed away and the rest got buried deeper into the soil, thus they took a much longer time to sprout.

As this was my first time growing my own veggies, just imagine how truly enveloped I was in sheer joy when the seedlings sprouted and were showing signs of healthy growing, as shown in the pics below which were taken on 5 May. These baby plants are 1 mth old. They grew rather slow due to the rain as mentioned above. At this stage, I again scattered 2-3 tablespoons of organic fertiliser to boost growth.

Grow veggies, grow! After almost 2 months, my veggies grew to this size as pictured below. You can see here a couple of bunches had missing leaves or leaves that were left with holes, while a couple other bunches were alright. I left them as they were and didn't use any organic pesticide to keep the worms at bay. Also because I had no time and wasn't at home much. I had thought, oh well..if there were no more leaves left, no worries I'll just eat the stems! Life is short, so fret not.

Pic taken 23 May Pic taken 1 June

Surprisingly, bunches of my 'pak choy' (like the pic below) were not attacked by the worms but the 'nai pak' were not spared. I guess the 'nai pak' must have tasted better for the worms. Pic taken 1 June.

Can you spot the unwanted visitor right in the middle spot in the first pic below?
The second pic shows a bunch that was reduced to multiple holes on the 'nai pak' leaves. Pics taken 1 June.

Below was my 1st harvest on 1 June!! Simple things bring great joy! I had two good friends staying over and we harvested a bountiful of these lovely veggies and cooked simple lunch at home! I harvested only a few bunches and let the rest continue to grow.

...And they grew! And grew! Other than a couple of hungry worms, the rest of my edible greens were growing really well. I wasn't home much for most part of last month and some leaves wilted but the rest were still ok. When I came home for a day, I was actually surprised to find that my veggies grew healthier, larger and with more stems and leaves! And surprisingly, with fewer worms and damaged leaves too. Pics taken 22 June.

Below was my 2nd harvest on 22 June. Healthier and larger veggies than my 1st harvest above! Looking at those that are still growing in my backyard, looks like I will be saving some more money and trips to the supermarket for fresh edible greens! Yayyy!

Such veggies grow pretty fast and thus, do remember to fertilize about 2 weeks once, and water at least once a day if you can. Twice a day is best. The only downside is, if harvested after they have fully grown and matured, the stems tend to taste a bit bitter and fibrous. But I can live with that.

More and more grew, seem like an endless supply. This pic was taken just yesterday.

So, are you inspired to plant your own veggies now? If you are, here's a list from my own experience with regard to why you should just do it!

1. It's a really fun learning experience
2. You get to discover your green fingers
3. Some types of veggies are easy to grow, almost fail proof and they'll boost your confidence
4. Healthier choice as you get pesticide-free veggies whenever you want, fresh from your garden
5. Saves space in your refrigerator as they are 'stored' in your garden and you harvest only when you need them
6. Saves you money as seeds are cheaper
7. Saves you multiple trips to the supermarket
8. Makes you feel accomplished and happy
9. You get to inspire others to plant
10. And finally, you get to show off your veggies on your blog ;)

I shall be visiting all of you again real soon!

Cheers!

My Garden To My Kitchen - Oyster Sauce Prawn With Spring Onion & Thyme

2010-05-31T01:18:00.016+08:00

Ever since I moved back to Kuala Lumpur and into my own place half a year ago after calling Singapore home for the last 10 'freaking-where-did-they-go' years, I've been cultivating a new hobby - gardening! After I got help to get my messy backyard cleared (no more snakes slithering around anymore so far!! yes, scary!), I've been trying to plant anything and everything that could grow and flourish under the hot tropical sun plus withstanding the beatings of frequent and unpredictable heavy downpours! Gardening is pretty new to me and I'm not even sure if I have green fingers. Furthermore, the soil in my backyard is clay-like so I was really doubtful anything could grow well. But I guess if weeds and grass could grow, then the soil should be fertile enough to feed at least a couple of variety of edible plants and veggies. Well, as the old adage goes, you'll never know if you don't try! It also helps that I've been exchanging planting tips with my sisters (who are avid gardeners) and turning to the web for more information for a novice like me. Gardening has got me so excited that I've been buying seeds of all kinds, germinating and sprouting them, transplanting them and watching them grow. It's really going through a string of trials and errors, like rowing through uncharted waters but most of all, it's been fun so far...except for my failed cabbage seeds. Nothing seems to sprout at all from my cabbage seeds :(.

Anyway, on to more happy plants...I now have 2 corn, 1 longan, 1 Indian jujube (which I initially got conned and led to believe that it was an apple tree!), 2 pumpkin which I'm so excited about, a bunch of pak choy and bayam (local Asian spinach), and some herbs like rosemary, thyme and basil. Now, let me start small by sharing pictures of my humble spring onions and thyme.

Spring onions are the EASIEST and FASTEST to grow and pretty much suitable in most types of soil! Just bury a couple of onions about 3/4 deep into the soil, water twice a day (do not over water) and you'll get fresh spring onions for cooking in about 3 weeks' time. Growing your own spring onion is fail-proof and it'll make a great confidence booster in kick-starting your desire to plant other edible greens. Planting in pots works just as well.

This thyme plant was originally in a pot when my sister bought it for me. I transplanted it to the ground about 2 months after that and I completely didn't expect it to survive as the stems were starting to dry out. Much to my gladness, it did survive and is still growing new young stems and leaves. Thyme is a hardy herb plant and not much care is needed. It doesn't crave for attention but propagating it could be quite a challenge. Stem cutting is a way of propagation. I just love the smell of this wonderful herb.

Last but not least, here's a simple recipe with spring onion and thyme from my backyard garden.

Oyster Sauce Prawn with Spring Onion and Thyme

Ingredients

10 -12 large prawns (with shell intact)
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 inch ginger, finely chopped
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp cooking wine (optional)
1/4 tsp black/thick soy sauce
2 tbsp water
1 tsp sugar
1 green chili, sliced
1 tomato, quartered
A handful bunch of spring onions, cut into 1.5 inch strips
2 sprigs thyme leave, roughly chopped

Heat the oil and saute the garlic, onion and ginger for 5 minutes. Add in the sliced chili and tomatoes. Stir fry for about 3-4 minutes, then add in the prawns, then the oyster sauce, cooking wine, black soy sauce, water and sugar. Taste a little of the sauce. Add more oyster sauce if not salty enough and a bit more sugar if not sweet enough. It should be salty sweet but not too sweet (depending on personal preference too). Stir fry until prawns are just cooked. Then throw in the spring onion and thyme. Stir under high heat for another 1.5 minute and dish up. Serve hot with rice.

Apple Fritters

2010-05-13T15:50:00.004+08:00

Fritters make wonderful tea time snacks! Banana fritters, sweet potato fritters, yam/taro fritters, tapioca/cassava fritters...these are all so easily available at many afternoon street stalls which is a common sight throughout Malaysia. But apple fritters? It's definitely not something I would think of or able to find at those afternoon fritter stalls here. Maybe because apples are not locally grown fruits and thus cost more. So when I saw this simple apple fritters recipe in my dessert book by Martha Day, I knew instantly it will be a hit! This recipe is also wonderful for me since I (as mentioned in one of my posts below) don't really enjoy eating apples as they are. Turning them into desserts or snacks seem like the perfect alternative . Coated with cinnamon sugar, the perfect perennial companion for apples, I assure you that these fritters make wonderful snacks that will delight you and your guests. It is so easy and quick to make too. So, be sure to make more if you have friends coming over! Brew some of that wonderful afternoon tea, and you're set to be the perfect host!

When I made these, I've forgotten to add baking powder in the batter as stated in the recipe. Take note of it if you plan to make some as the baking powder will make quite a difference - it'll give puff to the fritters.

Easy apple fritters recipe:
- 130g plain flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2/3 cup milk
- 1 egg, beaten
- oil for deep frying
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2-3 large tart-sweet apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/4 inch round slices
- some icing sugar for dusting

Method:
- Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Beat in the milk and egg with a wire whisk.
- Heat the oil in a heavy frying pan.
- Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a plate. Toss the apple slices in the sugar mixture to coat all over.
- Dip the apple slices in the batter, using a fork or slotted spoon. Drain off excess batter. Fry in batches, until golden brown on both sides. Drain the fritters on kitchen paper.
- Sprinkle with some icing sugar and serve hot.

Have a great day!

Mushroom Braised Pork

2010-05-04T14:45:00.002+08:00

There are several recipes for soy sauce braised pork as I'm aware. One of the authentic Nyonya recipes is 'bak tauyu', which doesn't use spices or condiments, but just light and dark soy sauces, and with a little bit of sugar. Potatoes can be added in for additional ingredient. I remember having 'bak tauyu' and rice as one of my regular meals during childhood.

Another version my late Mom used to cook is 'bak lor'. This version uses large pieces of pork belly braised in water, star anise, clove, cinnamon, light and dark soy sauce and sugar. The meat is braised until very tender and when the layers of fat have softened, giving a melt-in-your-mouth feeling. Then, the pork belly is cut to slices of about 1/2 inch thick and arranged on a plate. The thickened sweet black sauce is then poured over the pork belly slices and this is usually served with cucumber slices on the side and with home made chili sauce. If there's a heaven on earth, this must be it!!!

While 'bak tauyu' is more of a normal daily meal, 'bak lor' holds a higher 'status' in the Nyonya food hierarchy (if there is one) as it is often cooked during functions and celebrations like birthday dinners at home or on Chinese New Year days. Anyway, as cooking is always so versatile, I made braised pork as I like it - kind of combining the two versions. This goes very well with hot plain rice.

Ingredients:

- Cinnamon (about 2 inches long)
- 2 star anise
- 4 cloves
- 400g pork belly, cut into 1 inch-thick pieces
- 8 dried Chinese mushrooms (wash, then soak in some hot water for 30 minutes & cut in half if too large)
- 3 hard boiled eggs
- 2 whole knobs of garlic, remove some of the papery outer layer skins, break the knobs in 2 large portions and wash clean
- 1 large piece of dried bean curd skin, wash and soak in water till softens, then tear into pieces
- 1 liter water
- 1/4 cup light soy sauce (or more or less according to preference for saltiness)
- 2 tbsps dark soy sauce
- 2 tbsps sugar

My cooking method is simple. Mix everything in a pot and cook under medium heat. Add some water from time to time if needed if the sauce dries up a bit. Cook until the meat and mushrooms are tender and finally, when the sauce has become thicker and lesser in volume, but not dried up (usually about 1-1.5 hours). Take a final taste and add a bit more sugar and soy sauce if necessary. The sauce should be a little sweet and salty, infused with the taste and smell of cinnamon, clove and star anise.

Cheers,

Spiced Fried Chicken Drumsticks

2010-04-28T22:15:00.003+08:00

If you are not up to complex cooking after a long tiring day at work, well here's a very simple fried chicken drumsticks recipe for you. It's so simple because I use powdered spices. All you need is a teaspoon each of turmeric powder, chili powder, cumin powder and coriander powder, and 3/4 teaspoon of salt. Mix it all evenly together on a large plate. Next, place 5 pieces of unfrozen chicken drumsticks which have been rinsed and drained off excess water onto the powdered spices and roll to coat all over. Randomly sprinkle with some tap water if necessary in order to damp the spices. Cover and leave to marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Heat 3/4 cup oil in a non-stick frying pan and shallow fry all sides of the drumsticks till browned and cooked.

Enjoy!...& till then,

Air Bandung & Ice-Blended Green Apple Milkshake

2010-04-23T19:46:00.004+08:00

If you happen to be looking for barstools for your bar counter or even for your kitchen island (which I was recently), check out this link Barstools, and you might just be able to find what you're looking for! I was browsing through the website of CSN Store recently and I am really amazed at the wide range of products it carries online, ranging from furniture to home deco to houseware to kids' stuff and many more!!

Talking about barstools, I can't help but relate it to drinks. The weather has been somewhat unpredictable these days. It gets really, really hot in the afternoon and then a sudden heavy downpour in the evening or at night. Since my house faces the West direction, I get afternoon/evening sun and often, the sun doesn't set till about 6.45pm or 7pm! Imagine how warm it can get when you live in a country near the equator line! Anyway, to cool it down from the effect of the warm weather, thought I'll share in this post two very simple drinks I made today using milk. The first one is 'air bandung', which is a very popular and great-tasting drink that can be found at many street/roadside stalls in Malaysia and the second one, ice-blended green apple milkshake.

Air Bandung - One of my favorite local drinks that's made up of rose essence, sugar syrup, milk and red food coloring.

1 cup milk (full fat is better!)
1/2 cup water
4-5 drops red food coloring (I use Wilton)
6-7 drops rose essence
1.5 tbsps sugar

Mix everything in a pot and bring to quick, short boil. Taste and add more sugar if preferred. Turn off heat and let it cool completely. Pour in a jug and refrigerate. To serve, pour in a glass and add ice cubes.

Green Apple Milkshake - In reality, I don't like eating apples as they are. Ironically, I've just planted a small apple tree which I bought at a market back in my hometown, Melaka. Unlike mango trees, apple trees are not known to be able to grow in crazy hot Malaysia but who knows! Anyway, I decided to turn my leftover Granny Smith green apples into milkshake instead. I didn't have a recipe, so I basically just added milk, ice cubes and sugar syrup, and blend away! I must say that it is refreshing and personally for me, much better that munching away a whole apple.

1 green apple
1 cup milk
10 cubes of ice
1.5 tbsps of sugar dissolved in 1 tbsp hot water

Mix everything and blend away!!

Happy drinking!

Mom's Nyonya Ikan Cili Garam (Nyonya-style Fried Fish with Chili Paste)

2010-04-11T20:57:00.007+08:00

Preparing Nyonya food is often considered a laborious task as the cuisine is synonymous with super heady aroma and spicy blend of various spices and ingredients prepared in the most traditional way - using stone mortar and pestle (lesung) or a very thick and heavy stone slab that comes with a stone rolling pin (batu giling). This perception that many hold is, well, quite true!..that is, depending on what you cook. Not all Nyonya or Peranakan food are difficult or require a long-drawn process to prepare. There are times that I just want a quick-fix Nyonya food and ikan cili garam is definitely one of my favorites in the super easy category. Unlike the older generation of Nyonyas who were known to be real fussy cooks who swear by the use of tools like the lesung and batu giling to bring out the best of taste and fragrance from the spices or ingredients, I am just thankful to whoever that invented the electric blender!

Below is my darling late Mom's recipe. She used to cook this sometimes 2 or 3 times a week and we were so contented with just a simple dish. Hers tasted fabulous because she would tirelessly pound all the ingredients by hand using lesung or batu giling. The only complain I have when I made this sometimes was when the chilies were not spicy enough. This is where comes the addition of bird's eye chilies (cili padi). The ingredients for the paste are extremely uncomplicated - only shallots, chilies and salt. However, never underestimate how simple and few ingredients can make a dish tastes oh so delicious!

The best types of fishes for this are ikan gelama (sorry! donch know what it's called in English), pomfret, mackerel, stingray or snapper. (The fish in the pics is ikan gelama, as we call here in Malaysia).

Mom's Recipe

2 fishes (whole or slices)
1/2 cup oil

Pound/blend together:
5 shallots
6 fresh chilies
3 fresh bird's eye chilies (cili padi)
1/2 tsp salt

- Heat the 1/2 cup oil in a non-stick frying pan. Fry the fish till brown. Drain off the oil and place the fried fish on a serving plate.
- Using the leftover oil from frying the fish, take about 3-4 tbsp and heat it up in a frying pan/wok. Pour in the blended chili paste and saute for 12-15 minutes over medium heat. Drain the oil and dish up the chili paste and pour over the fried fish. (Note: If you believe that life should be lived well, then dribble some of those oil from saute-ing the chili onto the fish too. Yumm yummm!)

Best,

Lamb Korma Pilaf

2010-04-04T21:45:00.003+08:00

Namaste!

This is my first time making lamb pilaf and thanks to Camellia Panjabi's "50 Great Curries of India", it turned out superb and delicious! The aromas of lamb cooked in korma gravy and the basmati rice in turmeric powder were fantastic. It's a truly wonderful recipe too good not to be shared. The recipe does need a rather long list of spices and condiments, but the result is going to worth all the efforts you have to make to get the ingredients complete and the time you have to spend in the kitchen preparing this flavorful Indian meal. A short intro in the recipe page about this lovely meal says:

'Lucknowi cuisine is a refined version of Moghul cuisine, with an accent of aromas, hence the mace, nutmeg, saffron and rosewater. Contrary to common belief, Lucknow is famous for its wide range of pulaos, rather than biryani. This pulao recipe is from the home of Bulu Hamied, who was born and raised in Lucknow'.

Serves 6-8

400g basmati rice
65ml oil
4 large onions, finely chopped
2.5 x 1cm piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 green chillies, chopped
5 cloves
5 cardamoms
5cm cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
1kg boneless lamb
1 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 level tsp cumin powder
1 1/2 tsps red chilli powder
3 pieces mace (I omitted this)
1/4 nutmeg powder
100ml full-fat plain yoghurt
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp salt

For the rice
2 cassia leaves or bay leaves
1 tsp oil or butter
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 level tsp salt
a few strands of saffron
2 tbsp rosewater or milk

1. Wash the rice a few times. Leave the rice to soak in a bowl of water for 30 mins.

2. Heat the oil in a shallow pot or large pan. Fry the onions till they are medium to darkish brown. Add the ginger, garlic, chillies, cloves, cardamoms and cinnamon and fry for 2-3 mins. Add the lamb and stir fry over a low to medium heat, stirring continuously for at least 10-15 mins. The longer you do so, the better the taste.

3. Add the coriander powder, stir for 2 mins, then add the other spice powders and mix well. Add 65ml water and stir and let it simmer for 2 mins.

4. Whisk or whip the yoghurt with a fork and add to the pot. Add the tomatoes and salt. Stir, cover with a lid and leave to cook until the lamb is 90 per cent done, but checking every 15 mins or so to see if the pot has dried up completely. If it does, add 100ml water or more. When the lamb is done, it should have a thick spice coating, but not a runny gravy. (I added eggplants 15 mins before the lamb is done)

5. Drain the rice. Put in a separate pot with equal quantity of water (measure using a cup or bowl). Put the same volume of water to boil with the bay leaves. When boiling, add the oil, salt and turmeric powder. Then add the rice. Leave pot uncovered. When the water is absorbed, the rice will be three-quarters cooked.

6. Soak the saffron in 2 tbsp of rosewater or milk and set aside.

7. Take a large ovenproof serving dish. Brush the bottom with a little oil. Put half the rice in and spread it evenly. Then put the cooked lamb on top and spread over. Put the rest of the rice on top. Cover with lid and cook in preheated oven at 160 deg C for 20 mins. The rice will have cooked and absorbed some of the moisture from the korma. You will also get a curried rice at the bottom and the fragrant rice at the top, making a delectable korma and rice combination. Sprinkle the saffron and rosewater/milk on top.

Best,

Two Scoops of Sorbet

2010-03-28T16:10:00.004+08:00

I would love to try making my own ice creams but without an ice cream maker, I doubt it is easy or possible at all. My sisters who have made their own perfect scoops encouraged me to get myself an ice-cream maker. The type of ice-cream maker they have is the one that needs to be stored in the freezer overnight or something like that. Personally, I think it is rather troublesome because some space in the freezer needs to be allocated for the maker. I wonder if there are other types of ice-cream makers where pre-freezing of the machine is not required. I am just clueless about home-made ice creams and the gadgets required!

Anyway, since I don't have a maker, I decided to make the equally refreshing, non-creamy cousin - sorbet or sherbet. According to the info on Wikipedia, sorbet is a frozen dessert usually made from fruit juice or puree. Chocolate or cocoa version is popular too. Some sorbets contain wine or liqueur for extra flavor. At first, I wondered what is the difference between sorbet and sherbet. Well, apparently they are the same. The term sherbet or charbet is derived from Turkish whilst the term sorbet or serbet is Persian.

The two recipes below are based on my dessert book 'Desserts All Around The Year' by Martha Day. With some mandarin oranges in my refrigerator at the time of making this sorbet (about 3 weeks ago), I decided to tweak Martha Day's original lime sorbet recipe by using the mandarins instead. These sorbets are so good and so refreshing! They are so easy and cheap to make and what's best is that they make just the perfect desserts for family and friends after a hearty meal.

Mandarin Orange Sorbet

250g cups granulated sugar
600ml water
grated rind of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
175ml freshly squeezed mandarin orange juice

1. In a saucepan, dissolve the granulated sugar in 600ml water over medium heat, without stirring. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let it cool.
2. Combine the cooled sugar syrup, lemon rind and orange juice in a bowl or jug. Stir well, taste and adjust the flavor. Add more icing sugar if you want it sweeter but do not over-sweeten. Add more lemon juice if you want it a bit more tart.
3. Pour mixture into a freezable container and freeze for 3-4 hours or until soft set. Remove from container and chop roughly. Place in food processor or blender and blend until smooth. Return to container and freeze again. Follow this step for an additional 2 times, each time placing it in the blender after it has soft set and freeze again. Blend until a smooth consistency is obtained. Best prepared 2 or 3 days ahead because of the process.

Chocolate Sorbet

475ml water
3 tbsp clear honey
115g caster sugar
75g cocoa powder
50g plain dark chocolate, broken into squares

1. Place water, honey, cocoa and sugar in a saucepan. Heat gently, stirring occasionally until sugar has dissolved.
2. Remove from heat, add the chocolate and stir until melted. Let it cool down and freeze until soft set.
3. Here on, follow same method as step 3 in the mandarin orange sorbet recipe above. Do the freeze/blend process for 3 times to achieve a smooth consistency.

Last but not least, if you're a real ice-cream lover and love to have it home-made, you'll be truly wowed by the tantalizing array of ice-creams at Perfectscoops by Quinn. Perfectscoops is by far one of my favorite blogs dedicated only to ice-creams. I had the warmest pleasure of meeting Quinn in person during my recent bloggers' meet up in Kuala Lumpur. With a warm and infectiously bubbly personality, it is not hard to guess that this lovely gal just loves ice-creams in every way possible!

Enjoy!

Roasted Duck Mixed Congee

2010-03-02T23:15:00.016+08:00

Using some leftover roasted duck from one of my many Chinese New Year feasts, I managed to whip up an unsuspectingly delicious bowl of silky smooth congee (or porridge as it's more commonly called in Malaysia). By just adding some other dried stuff like scallops, oysters and such, the congee takes on a super lovely flavor and aroma! To achieve a bowl of silky smooth and thick congee quite like the version one usually gets in dim sum restaurants, there are 2 tips for home cooks which my sister-in-law imparted to me a while back. So, enough said, here are the recipe and tips.This recipe serves 2-3.

- 130g Jasmine rice/white long-grain rice

- Approx. 2 liters water
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shao Tsing/Hua Tiaow wine)

1. Wash rice twice - each time with clean tap water. Discard the water.
2. * Place rice in a pressure cooker, pot or rice cooker.
3. Add the water, cooking oil (tip #1) and cooking wine.
4. Leave to soak for 30-40 minutes (tip #2).

While the rice is soaking, prepare:
- Approx. 300g store-bought roasted duck, cut into small pieces
- 4 pieces dried scallops, wash and soak for 10 minutes, then break into strands
- 4 pieces dried oysters, wash and soak for 10 minutes, then chop into small bits
- 3 pieces dried shitake mushrooms, wash and soak for 30 minutes or till soften, trim off stems and cut into strips
- 2 pieces dried black wood's ear/cloud's ear, wash and soak for 30 minutes or till soften, trim off 'heads' and cut into thin strips
- 30g groundnuts, remove skin and split in 2 (cooks faster)
- 130g minced pork or chicken

After the rice has been soaked for the required time, add in all the ingredients above into the pot. Cook until the congee is thick but not dry, and smooth. If the water evaporates and the congee becomes too thick while cooking, some hot water can be added in. Do not add too much water at a time as this will dilute its flavor.

* For faster cooking time, use a pressure cooker. Using a pot over a stove or an electronic rice cooker is fine too. If using a pot, clay pot is the best. I have a phobia of pressure cooker, so I don't own one. I cooked my congee in my much-loved automatic rice cooker. With automatic rice cooker, the heat will turn off by itself after a certain point when the congee has been cooking for long and as it gets thicker. What I did was to let it rest for a few minutes before pressing the 'cook' button again as I wanted my congee to cook longer and soften even more. Using the rice cooker, my cooking time was approx. 1 hour to 1.15 hour.

For garnish:
- Chopped cilantro
- Chopped spring onion
- Crispy fried shallots (thinly slice 10-12 shallots and fry in hot oil in a wok/pan over medium low heat till golden brown. the amount of oil should be enough to cover the shallots)
- Chopped/sliced fresh chilies (normally congee is not accompanied by chilies, but I much prefer mine with them)

Enjoy!

Best,

Semolina/Sugee/Sooji Cake

2010-02-21T20:45:00.004+08:00

Among my fellow Malaccans, semolina or sugee/sooji cake is believed to have been introduced by the Portuguese community in Malacca and has now become a favorite butter cake for many, especially the Peranakan/BabaNyonya families here. The Portuguese people in Malacca are descendants of their forefathers who sailed thousands of miles to South-east Asia in search of spice trading routes which resulted in an era of Portuguese colonization of Malacca during the 16th century. Like the BabaNyonya community in Malacca, the Portuguese community still retains its own cultural identity, Kristang language and famous cuisines.

There are many recipes for semolina cake but as I'm aware, often times each Peranakan family has their own secret version that was passed down by grandparents or parents who had earlier learned it from their Portuguese friends of their generations. Personally, I have 4 different recipes for semolina cake, in which 2 are considered 'secret recipes' passed down from earlier generations - one from my late Mom and the other from a dear Peranakan friend who is currently residing in Toronto and who inherited his family's secret recipe from his mother.

Basically, semolina or sugee derives from wheat and is great for making cakes and desserts. It's a popular ingredient for making Indian desserts too. Semolina cake has become very popular these days and many recipes are easily obtainable. Many love it for its rich buttery aroma and grainy texture which gives one a delightful eating taste. Since semolina cake is absolutely delicious and too good not to be shared, here is a wonderful recipe which I had cut out from a women's magazine a couple of years ago. My family loves semolina cake and I made this for them last week for our Chinese New Year get-together in Malacca. I decided to 'dress it up' with chocolate frosting and basic CNY-theme deco. I'm no expert at cake deco and this was made in quite a rush, thus the molding of the God of Prosperity (Cai Shen) was, as you can see, wayyyy less than perfect (thus, no close up shot of it..;). Well, it doesn't matter since the taste is in the cake and the crumbs were all wiped out by my nieces and nephews!

Semolina Cake

140g cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder (I used 1 tsp)
100g semolina
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
100ml milk
2 tsp vanilla extract/essence
250g butter, at room temperature
200g sugar (I used only 170g)
2 tbsp honey

Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl and stir in semolina and salt. Mix well.
Beat eggs, milk and vanilla essence together in a bowl.
Cream butter, sugar and honey till light and fluffy. Gradually trickle in egg mixture, beating constantly. Mix in flour mixture on low speed and stir till well combined.
Spoon the batter into an 8-inch cake tray lined with baking paper.
Bake for 45 minutes at 150 deg C or until an inserted cake tester comes out clean.
Cool cake for 15 minutes, then unmould and let cool.
Decorate as you like or have it as it is. Best served with a cup if tea.

Best,

GONG XI FA CAI ... HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR OF THE ROARING TIGER!

2010-02-13T14:57:00.010+08:00

"HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR"/ "GONG XI FA CAI"/ "KONG HEI FATT CHOY"

Based on the Chinese lunar calendar, Chinese New Year will be celebrated tomorrow, 14 February, Sunday, marking the start of the Year of the Tiger. The celebration lasts for 15 days ending with 'Chap Goh Mei' as the last day.

The buzz and preparations have already started more than a month ago and as we head closer to 14 Feb, one can feel the excitement and anticipation escalate. This escalation often reaches its highlight in the form of massive traffic jams along the highways of Malaysia as everyone rushes back to their original hometown for the family reunion dinner on the eve of new year (which is today). Anyway, for my family, this year will be a quiet and simple New Year as we remember and deeply miss our phenomenally amazing Mom who passed on a year ago.

For most, lanterns, cherry blossom and peony flowers decorations, pussy willows, blinking lights, firecrackers and all sorts of new ornaments are exhibited to maximum red effect by shops and residential houses alike. Red is the auspicious color for the Chinese culture.

At every corner one turns to at shopping malls, one cannot escape the audible upbeat tempo of Chinese New Year songs that reverberate through the air, and it's hard to not hum along the beat and drums if you know the lyrics! With Chinese New Year songs, you either hate them or love them. I simply love them! With all their chaotic music arrangements and drum beats! Even though my Chinese language skills is "less than a quarter bucket full", hold on tight and don't fall of your chair when I belt out (at full capacity of my lungs!) the full lyrics (yes, in Chinese!) of "Cai Shen Tau" ("The God of Prosperity Has Arrived")!! When we were little, my sisters and I got one of our friends, who went to a Chinese school and who mastered the language well, to translate the lyrics into "ABC" form for us. Ever since the numerous practices and memorizing processes we painstakingly went through during our younger days, the lyrics somehow stuck in my mind, albeit could be out of tune when I sing it ;).

Chinese New Year is also a time where the nurseries are abound with stocks of various plants and flowers and their businesses boom sky high. The Chinese believe that adorning the house with live plants and flowers signify boundless positive energy and welcomes good luck. Needless to say, most popular ones are the lime plants, pussy willows, chrysanthemum plants and flowers and many other gorgeous blooms like the famed and fabulous hydrangeas (my favorite!). So, from my small little 'potted garden', here's wishing all of you...

...an abundance of prosperity, peace, joy, longevity and togetherness

'Ji Guan Hua'/'Cockscomb Flower'

...may the Year of the Tiger empower you with more great blessings and possibilities for all your good dreams and wishes!

Drive safely & Cheers for the New Year!

Peranakan Pineapple Prawn - Guest Post On Nyonyafood.com

2010-01-12T22:14:00.008+08:00

Few months ago when I was still living in Singapore, I received a pleasant and surprise email from the talented Bee Yinn Low (or Bee, as she is fondly called), who invited me to be a guest writer on her fabulous Nyonyafood blog site - which is also linked to her primary blog site, RasaMalaysia. Bee, who is based in California, is also a Peranakan by heritage and originally hails from Penang, a beautiful island-state in the northern part of Peninsular Malaysia known for its fantastic local food. I don't think Bee needs much introduction at all as you may already be familiar with Rasa Malaysia. However, if you love Asian food and have not visited Rasa Malaysia or Nyonyafood before, you simply MUST! In addition to Bee's cooking talent and a wide variety of delicious recipes (including her family's own) that she shares, her food photography technique and simple creativity speaks volume, is refreshing and one of the best I've seen.

When Bee asked if I would like to feature a unique Melaka Peranakan/Nyonya dish based on my family's recipe, Udang Masak Lemak Nenas or Pineapple Prawn in Spicy Coconut Milk Gravy immediately came to mind. This recipe was taught by my wonderful and deeply missed late Mom to her six princesses - my five 'J' sisters and I. I'm proud to say that all of us have learned well from our Mom as she was a great cook and a generous person.

The photo below was my version. Bee has also tried this recipe and I'm glad to say that she gave her thumbs up for it. Do check out Bee's version, more on my guest post and the recipe for this dish on Nyonyafood.

Thanks again, Bee! Keep up your great work on Nyonyafood.

Cheers!

New Year, New Home!

2010-01-09T13:00:00.014+08:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2010!

We have officially moved into our new home a week ago! 3rd January to be precised...which also coincided with our wedding anniversary date. No romantic candle light dinner, only aches from several days' of back breaking cleaning and moving tasks. Thankfully, both our family members were with us to join in the fun and rendered the much needed help despite the next day being the first day of a new school year for their kids.

Getting our house prepared was an exhausting journey especially in the last couple of months prior to leaving Singapore. While having to deal with contractors over shoddy work, wrong measurement and delayed completion, my 'wise' husband decided against hiring a mover and so, we had to transport all our belongings accumulated over a period of 10 years living in Singapore in our tiny little car all the way back to Kuala Lumpur - a journey of 4-5 hours single way on smooth highway traffic. I've lost count on the total trips we made over numerous weekends just to transport our stuff back here.

Finally now, all our efforts have come to fruition despite the expected initial glitches to our Internet connection. Anyway, since my new kitchen is not fully stocked up on cooking stuff yet, real baking and cooking will have to wait for a while. So, in this first post of mine for the new year, from my new home and from a new city since I started my blog, thought I'll share with you some interesting cultural observations when moving into a new home as practiced by the Chinese community in Malaysia. You may already be familiar if you're a Malaysian Chinese. If you're not, I hope you'll find them interesting anyway, even though they may sound rather peculiar to you.

Moving into a new home, especially a home of your own, marks one of the many significant dates many would bound to experience in their lives. It is a day where certain dos and don'ts need to be observed in order to auger in good luck whilst avoiding unwanted bad luck. In fact, observation starts even a week or so before the move in date. To share with you, here are some of the general observations one might choose to follow. Some might think of these as superstitions and choose not to follow, while some might prefer to. Often times, these basic observations are complemented by each own family's practices or advice given by the older generations such as grandparents and parents, and religious rites for house blessings.

Before the move in

1. First of all, a suitable date and time for moving into one's new home need to be determined. This can be done by consulting a feng shui master or a geomancer or a Chinese temple minder who would then choose a move in date and time based on the ancient-old Chinese astronomy calendar book. To obtain a precise date and time, the master/geomancer will do the 'calculation' by taking into consideration the Chinese zodiac year/animal sign of all occupants who will be staying permanently in the new house. The Chinese zodiac year of each person is determined by the year in which the individual was born.

The Chinese culture is one that is steeped in traditional beliefs and norms. It believes that each animal sign has its own auspicious and inauspicious days/time throughout the calendar year. Therefore, this preparation is meant to avoid inadvertently choosing an inauspicious date and time which could potentially spell bad luck later on.

2. Anytime within a week or two before the day of move in, 2-3 tablespoons of salt are placed at all room corners in the house, including living, dining, bedroom and kitchen etc. Store room, balcony and bathroom are omitted. It is believed that the salt will absorb all the negative and stale energy (or 'chi' as we say it in Chinese) that got 'accumulated' during the time the house was left vacant. The salt needs to be left overnight and discard off the next day.

Move in day

1. On the move in day and time, one of the most auspicious and important symbol in the Chinese culture - rice urn - needs to be brought into the new house. The urn/container (one which is made of wood is preferred as it is believed to be of earth element which promotes the growth of rice) needs to be filled with uncooked rice (it does not matter how large the urn is but usually one that can hold 2-5 kg or more of raw rice). Once the rice urn has been brought in to the new home by the home owners at the designated move in time, it now officially marks the beginning of a new household. This is an essential step to observe because in the Chinese culture, rice signifies endless, good and sufficient livelihood for always.

Rice urn

2. At any time of the day after the rice urn has made its significant, official entrance, the occupant of the house (anyone) is required to cook something and consume it. Even a simple bowl of instant noodle will 'seal' in good luck.

3. At any time of the day as well, heat a pot of water on a stove and leave it to boil continuously for around 10 minutes. This was an advice from my late mom. According to my sisters, it signifies prosperity.

4. As it is an auspicious day, other family members would often come by with food fit for a party. It is also believed that more auspicious luck will be ushered in if the house is filled with food, people, joyful chatter and laughter on the day of moving in. Since I come from a large, close-knit, boisterous and love to eat! Peranakan/BabaNyonya family, gathering family members' presence and support was thankfully, not an issue at all :). Best part is, my sisters will never forget to bring the food!

Popular Nyonya kueh: angku (left); pulut seri kaya (right, made by my 5th sis)

marbled cheese brownie (left, made by my 5th sis); fried rice vermicelli/'bee hoon' (right, cooked by my 2nd sis)

Recipe for the marbled cheese brownie can be obtained from my sister's blog at What's Baking. Do check it out!

5. Avoid breakage of any glass or porcelain items as well as drilling and knocking throughout the first day of the move in. These are considered inauspicious as the noises are thought to 'scare' away good luck.

Other auspicious symbols

1. Red cloth over the front door - I completely forgotten about this task in the middle of my busy, nomad-style weeks prior to our move. The red cloth (or 'chai kee' as we call it in Peranakan language) is to be hung over the main front door on the outside. It signifies good luck streaming in to the house. In my hometown, Melaka, the 'chai kee' is also a common sight at every Chinese household throughout the 15-day long Chinese New Year celebration.

2. Fir plant - My mother-in-law brought us two potted fir plants which are each tied with a Chinese red packet ('hong bao'/'ang pow') that contains a few coins inside. I'm clueless as to what variety of fir this is even though it grows easily and widely available here. I also do not know what symbol it represents. With the Chinese, it's all about ushering in good luck, fulfillment of good wishes and hopes, unity, abundance, prosperity, joy, good health, longevity and peace. So, it should signify at least one of the above.

Fir plant

3. Fruits -A platter of fruits to be displayed on the dining table to signify abundance. Oranges are a favorite in the Chinese culture as they are called 'kam' in Cantonese, which also means gold. Again, it signifies prosperity. As Chinese New Year will be approaching on February 14, oranges of the Mandarin variety imported from China will be a common sight here in Malaysia and in other countries (like Singapore, China, HK, Taiwan etc) where Chinese New Year is celebrated as a major celebration. Over here, supermarkets and grocery shops will be selling them in large quantities and each household will be stocked with at least a crate.

Note: The teapot has no known significant meaning although serving tea to our elders is an important practice in Chinese culture. I love this teapot set of mine which I bought in Vietnam years ago and I displayed it next to the platter of fruits just for fun. My brother in law took these shots below.

Finally, with all the 'luck enhancement' observations above, I now patiently wait for my big lottery win! :).

While I'm on this first post for the new year, let me also include my last baking project at Christmas last year (technically only 2 weeks ago). I had a great Christmas with my family - roast turkey, lamb and all that greasy succulent cholesterol!! Along with my 11-year old niece, Amanda, and her 7-year old brother, Kevin, we made sugar cookies on Christmas eve at my 4th sis' house. I prepared the dough, monitored the baking and prepared the sugar frosting, Amanda did the rolling and cookie cutting, and both Amanda and Kevin played with and did the decoration after the cookies were baked and completely cooled down. We made a great team and it was really fun! I had promised them earlier that I would post it on my blog and although it is rather delayed, a promise is a promise and it better be kept (need to set good example for the kids! ;), especially after seeing how excited they were at the mention of posting it online!

So, Amanda and Kevin, well done with the sugar cookies and for decorating them. The pictures below are for both of you! (You can now 'show off' your baking talents to your friends ;-). Hope you both had a lot of fun. Till we embark on many more exciting baking projects this year! Love, your 'ah-ee' (aunt).

Great brother & sister teamwork - no cat & dog fights for a couple of hours!!

Amanda and Kevin having a lot of fun playing with the frosting and piping out their creativity on the cookies. They are extremely cheeky and some designs of theirs are 'censored'.

Recipe for the sugar cookies can be obtained HERE.

Till more to come!

Cheers

Early Christmas Cheers - Green Tea Cookie Recipe, Easy Craft & Two Gift-aways

2009-11-10T23:57:00.010+08:00

Here's my early 3-in-1 Christmas cheer to share in anticipation of the festive celebration which is just around the corner. A nice green tea/matcha cookie recipe, an easy-and-cheap-to-do Christmas gift tag and 2 Christmas prezzies as giveaways!

First up, is the cookie. If you often find yourself making the same types of Christmas cookies year after year, here's something different you might want to consider making.

Green Tea With Red Bean & Pecan Cookies

Ingredients:
A: 160g butter; 10g vanilla essence; 100g icing sugar; 5g green tea powder; 3g green tea paste
B: 1 egg
C: 210g plain flour; 40g cornflour; 3g baking soda
D: 180g toasted crushed pecan; 150g golden syrup; 10g vanilla essence; 100g cooked red beans (wash & boil in 4 cups water till the beans are soft, then strain and discard the water)
E: Icing sugar for dusting

- Cream A till light & fluffy
- Add B and continue creaming till combined
- Sift C and add to the above mixture. Mix thoroughly with a spatula till it becomes a dough.
- Mix, stir well all ingredients in D together.
- Take approximately 1.5 tablespoon of the cookie dough, shape into a ball with the palm of your hands and flatten it. Fill the center with 1 teaspoon of the red bean & pecan filling, then fold in the sides of the dough to close it up. Shape it round and flatten with your hands.
- Place onto greased oven tray. Bake at 150-160 deg C for 30 minutes or till slightly golden brown.

Dust cookies with icing sugar just before serving (not illustrated here but you get the idea!)

Easy Craft - Christmas Gift Tags

1. You'll need:
- A few pieces of printed felt
- A few A4-size plain red and green thick cards
- A scissors, a ruler, a pen & glue
- Christmas-theme cookie cutters

2. Use a pen to trace the outline of the cookie cutter on the non-printed/flip side of the felt.

3. Cut the green & red plain cards into 6cm x 10.5cm rectangular and fold each piece in half.
4. Cut out the outlined shape, spread some glue on the non-printed/flip side and paste on the card.

5. Here you go...easy to make gift tags!!

Christmas Prezzies For The Lucky Two!

In anticipation of the spirit of Christmas giving and sharing, and to thank you for your support to my blog, I have 6 mini cookbooks to giveaway to 2 lucky winners - whose names will be randomly picked. A small 'mystery gift' from me will be included too!! All you need to do is, leave a comment on this post and you're in for the random picking! And it doesn't matter where you currently live in on Planet Earth (as long as you have a valid postal address!).

The 1st randomly picked name will receive the top row books, while the 2nd picked name will receive those at the bottom row. Last day to post your comment entry for this is 25 November. Results will be shared before 29 Nov.

Hope you'll join in this Christmas cheer!:-)

Last but not least, I would like to take this opportunity to thank one of my earliest blog friends, Kristy of My Little Space, for passing me this lovely Friends button. Thank you very much Kristy, for being a wonderful blog friend. Look forward to more cooking goodies from you :) !

Cheers!

All Shook Up On A Cake For 'The King'

2009-11-04T01:57:00.016+08:00

Heard of Elvis Presley's Pound Cake? I'm sure you have if you're a true blue, super die-hard Elvis fan. I was made aware of the King's cake by the charming, insightful and debonair Uncle Lee who truly got me "All Shook Up" on it! He had graciously given me the recipe to this cake in his winsome comment on one of my previous posts.

Oh, but before I get into Elvis' cake, let me tell you a teeny weeny bit about Uncle Lee and "A Thing Called Love"!

If "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" of which romance brings, sorrow no more my dear. Cross that "Bridge Over Troubled Water" and hop on over to Uncle Lee's blog. He'll dazzle you, romance you, dance with you, charm you, share a story with you, share a song with you, and he'll humor you as well. He'll look into your eyes, into your dreamy and bewitched black, brown, blue or green eyes, and he shall ask, "Are You Lonesome Tonight?", and in which your natural womanly instinct (if you're a woman, that is!) shall likely respond, "A Little Less Conversation", because you'll probably "Can't Help Falling In Love" with the magic of sweet romance all over again!

Elvis & his parents

According to a brief story by Uncle Lee, Elvis' mom, Gladys, and his cook, used to bake this rich, soft and buttery pound cake for the King - which is his favorite cake - even when he was on tour. While I usually found that most pound cakes are rather heavy, dense and dry, this one is truly the opposite. It is THE best butter pound cake I've tried thus far. I took the liberty to add dried prunes, which gave the cake a really nice additional flavor.

Here's a piece for you, Uncle Lee, to thank you for the wonderful recipe!

ELVIS PRESLEY'S POUND CAKE

3 cups granulated sugar (I reduced it to 1 3/4 cups, and which turned out just nice for me)

1/2 pound butter, softened
7 eggs, at room temperature
3 cups cake flour, sifted twice, divided (I added 1.5 teaspoon baking powder to the flour too)
1 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

- Butter and flour a 10-inch pan.
- Thoroughly cream together sugar and butter.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Mix in half the flour, then the whipping cream , then the other half of the flour.
- Add vanilla extract. Pour batter into prepared pan. Set in a COLD oven and turn heat to 350 degrees F.
- Bake 60 to 70 minutes, until a sharp knife inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 5 minutes. Remove from pan and cool thoroughly.

To quote Uncle Lee, "Hold that smile and keep a song in your heart!"

So, let's turn on your speaker and enjoy these YouTube videos of my two favorite Elvis' songs.

Have a great week all !

Cheers,

Mac & Cheese With Oriental-Style Chicken Tofu Meatballs - 5 Star Makeover Participation

2009-10-29T13:30:00.005+08:00

I happened to catch an episode of The Rachel Ray Show on TV recently where it showed her making the most delicious looking American-style beef meatball mac & cheese EVER! From that episode on, the plain view I had of mac & cheese was redefined to a new paradigm shift and thought to myself that I should try to make some soon!

And then last week, while visiting Natasha of 5 Star Foodie's fantastic blog, I was elated to read that she had chosen mac & cheese as the subject of this month's 5 Star Makeover. I immediately knew I wanted to participate. To participate in Natasha's 5 Star Makeover, one needs to create the chosen food (this month's choice is mac & cheese) with a modern, healthy, fusion, molecular gastronomy, seasonal, or adapting to a particular cuisine style.

After some thinking, I decided to go with 'adapting to a particular cuisine style' by combining American mac & cheese with Oriental-style chicken tofu meatballs. Inspired by a recipe I once stumbled upon which uses tofu with prawn meat, I created my own version of tofu with chicken and added a variety of Oriental-style seasonings - basically, whatever I have in my kitchen. So, here it is - my Oriental chicken tofu meatball recipe and the complete mac & cheese meal which I hope you will enjoy. This recipe serves 3.

Oriental-Style Chicken Tofu Meatballs
- 250 g minced chicken meat
- 150 g white tofu, mashed
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 5-6 stalks of cilantro, finely chopped
- 1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp cornflour
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tsp Worchestershire sauce (optional)
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp pepper powder
- 1/2 cup oil for frying

Mix everything together really, really thoroughly to ensure that all the seasonings & beaten egg are mixed in well with the minced chicken and mashed tofu. Shape each tablespoon of the mixture into round balls. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the meatballs till golden brown. Note: I prefer to flatten the meatballs a little so that lesser oil is required for frying.

Mac & Cheese
- 1.5 cups mini shell pasta/macaroni
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 pips garlic, chopped
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (add more if you like)
- 8-10 mini/cherry tomatoes, halves
- 1.5 tbsp butter
- Some crushed black peppercorn & grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling

Boil the pasta till al dente. Strain and leave aside. Heat the butter in a pan, then saute the onion and garlic till slightly golden brown. Add the oregano, and then pour in the cooked pasta, milk, the grated cheese and tomatoes. Add in the fried meatballs and continue to stir for another minute or so till the cheese has melted. Serve with sprinkles of crushed black peppercorns, a generous amount of grated parmesan cheese and a few sprigs of cilantro as garnish.

The aromatic and flavorful chicken tofu meatballs with hints of Oriental seasonings were wonderful addition to the rich and creamy mac & cheese, making it a complete & delicious meal.

Natasha will be doing a round-up of all submissions on Nov 2, so be sure to visit her 5 Star Foodie blog to see all the various mac & cheese creations by participating food bloggers.

Bon Appetit!

Cheers

Mom's Nyonya Kuah Lada (Fish & Aubergine In Turmeric & Peppercorn Gravy)

2009-10-21T20:46:00.008+08:00

Kuah Lada ('Kuah': soup/gravy; 'Lada': pepper/chilli) is a specialty Melaka Nyonya dish consisting of fish and aubergine cooked in thick turmeric and peppercorn gravy, with a hint of tanginess from the use of tamarind paste juice. Mackerel (ikan tenggiri) or stingray (ikan pari) are the two preferred types of fish often used to cook Kuah Lada, although other suitable fishes may be used too, like hardtail mackerel (ikan cencaru) and pomfret (ikan bawal), which are normally found in tropical oceans.

Kuah Lada is one of the many mainstay Nyonya dishes for my family and this recipe was taught and passed down to my sisters and I by our wonderful & beautiful late Mom who was a terrific cook of Nyonya dishes and a skilled maker of Nyonya kueh/kuih (cakes) and sweet treats. This dish, and as usual with all other Nyonya dishes, is served mainly with rice. In my family, the leftover gravy is often kept overnight in the refrigerator where the next day it gets re-heated to go with a bowl of plain rice congee/porridge, along with other congee condiments. Depending on the palate of individual Nyonya household, the degree of tanginess can be adjusted by using more or lesser tamarind paste juice. I love mine with more tamarind paste juice as the sour & peppery turmeric taste never fails to whet my appetite. It is also one of the 'specialty & less commercial' dishes that one can hardly find in a Peranakan or Nyonya restaurant, so if you do love Nyonya dishes, this is worth trying at home.

You'll need...some mini aubergines or any types of aubergine will also do. These mini aubergines are so cute that I just can't resist buying some when I spotted them at Little India recently.

...also a tablespoonful of tamarind paste

Here's the complete recipe:
A couple slices of mackerel or small chunks of stingray fish
8-10 mini aubergines, cut into halves
1 tbsp tamarind paste (using your fingers, rub the paste thoroughly in 1 cup water and discard the seeds)
800 ml water
1/4 cup oil

Pound/blend together:
5 or 6 cloves garlic
5 or 6 shallots
1.5 inch long fresh turmeric (or 1 tbsp turmeric powder)
1 fresh red chilli (this is optional, I added it in because I had one lonely chilli left sitting cold in my fridge)
1 inch Asian shrimp paste (belacan)
1.5 - 2 tbsps white peppercorns
3 candlenuts (buah keras)

Method:
Heat oil in a wok or pan, saute all the blended paste for about 8-10 minutes until fragrant. Transfer the sauteed paste into a small pot, add around 800 ml water and 1 cup tamarind juice, and let it simmer on a low to medium fire. Once it is simmering, take a spoonful of the gravy to taste your preference for the degree of tanginess. Add a bit more water if you find it too tangy for your taste or add more tamarind paste juice if you find it not tangy enough. Once you're agreeable on the taste, add in the aubergines, let it simmer for 5 minutes, and then add in the fish slices and let it simmer for 3-4 minutes till they are cooked through. Serve with rice.

Cheers,

Happy Deepavali & More...

2009-10-17T00:11:00.007+08:00

Around the world today Oct 17, many Hindu Indians celebrate the vibrant Festival of Lights known as Deepavali. Also called Diwali, this Festival of Lights signifies the victory of good versus evil, or light versus darkness. For more about Deepavali, do read it HERE. My sisters and I grew up celebrating Deepavali with our Indian friends and neighbors, and till today, we all enjoy joining in the festivities of this celebration as well as tasting all the delicious Indian food and cookies. So, to all my friends (especially Ranjita, Hema & Arshi) and my readers (recurring or accidental first timers) who celebrate Deepavali, I'd like to take this opportunity to say a little wish:

"Idlis and dosais, curries and chutneys, may you look resplendent in dhotis and saris, and enjoy a celebration full of bliss! Happy Deepavali to one and all!"

Moving on, the below recipe for baked eggs, corn & cheese was taken from one of my favorite recipe books - Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook For All Seasons - which I had received as a birthday gift from my wonderful former colleagues several years ago. I made this 2 weeks ago, but hadn't got the right mood to post it as I have been feeling under the weather in the past 1.5 weeks. It's a simple recipe but it does take about 1 hour to slow bake in the oven. But the result is worth it. I chose to bake it in individual ramekins, but you can also opt to bake it in a large casserole dish & cut into square slices for serving, as per the instructions on the recipe.

Recipe for Egg, Potato and Corn Slice:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small red capsicum, chopped
130g can corn kernels, drained
2 tsp chopped fresh oregano (I used dried instead of fresh)
2 tsp chopped fresh thyme
2 medium potatoes, thinly sliced
6 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

Heat oil, then saute onion, garlic & capsicum for a few minutes, then drain. Combine onion mixture with corn and oregano. Layer half the potatoes over base of casserole dish/pan, top with onion mixture then the remaining potatoes. Combine the eggs and cream. Pour over the potato/onion layers. Sprinkle with thyme. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour or until potatoes are tender. Sprinkle grated cheese on top about 10 minutes before it is ready.

Also something I made 2 weeks back out of a sudden craving for something to snack on was this delightful madeleines - based on a recipe by the wonderful Lee Mei of My Cooking Hut. Lee Mei's blog is fantastic, do visit it when you have some time. Since I did not have a madeleine mould, I used my heart shape and bear moulds instead. My apology to all die-hard madeleine fans out there if I've 'broken' any particular rules to making madeleines. This was my 1st try and I love the taste, texture and the use of yeast in it. To obtain the recipe, please click here: My Cooking Hut - Madeleines.

Cheers,

Japanese-inspired Shiso Chirimen Fried Rice

2009-10-08T10:51:00.008+08:00

There was a Kyushu food fair going on recently at a supermarket in town. I happened to be there strolling along the aisles in my own carefree moment when a Japanese guy politely smiled and invited me to try out the products he was selling at his booth - a variety of different seaweeds. After tasting of a couple of different flavors, I decided to show him some support and bought a packet of shiso chirimen - which is seaweed with dried anchovies and toasted sesame seeds. According to him, people in Japan eat shiso chirimen with rice at breakfast, lunch or dinner. Further cooking is not necessary as it can be eaten straight from the packet. As my husband and I are both rice-loving people but with some hesitation of eating it with plain rice, I decided to make a simple Japanese-inspired fried rice instead - with lots of chopped garlic!

With the intention to blog about this ingredient, I 'googled' to double check on what shiso chirimen means [not that I didn't trust the Japanese guy!..just that I wanted to enhance my knowledge :)..]. What I found on the web was that shiso refers to a type of plant with paper-thin leaves with jagged edges which is also called perilla or beefsteak plant or chinese basil or purple mint, and chirimen refers to small anchovies. The description of shiso on the web doesn't say anything about it being seaweed at all. So, I'm confused. Is it seaweed or is it not? (If anyone knows, please enlighten me.) But it sure tasted like seaweed & I'm very sure the Japanese guy knows his stuff. Anyway, seaweed or not, it added a really nice leafy flavor to the fried rice and it made up for the need for any other ingredients other than garlic & eggs to whip up an easy, quick & delicious fried rice meal.

Shiso chirimen

Recipe:
- 1 big bowl of cooked long grain rice (best if the rice has been left in the fridge overnight, but not entirely necessary)
- 4-5 pips garlic, chopped
- 3 shallots, chopped
- 2 eggs
- 1 small bowl of shiso chirimen
- Some mini/cherry tomatoes, halve
- Dash of salt & pepper
- 3 tbsp cooking oil + 1 tsp sesame seed oil

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok/pan and break the 2 eggs inside. Stir and fry, breaking the eggs into pieces. When slightly browned, dish out and set aside. Heat the remaining oil and saute the chopped garlic and shallots until they are brown and fragrant. Mix in the shiso chirimen, tomatoes, rice, fried eggs, salt and pepper and stir fry for 4-5 minutes. If it gets too dry, add in 1 tbsp of water at a time if needed while stir frying the rice. Dish up & serve. A simple, quick and inexpensive meal!

Cheers,

Kam Heong Chicken

2009-10-02T16:27:00.015+08:00

'Kam heong chicken' is a very delicious and popular dish served in many Chinese restaurants or eating shops throughout Malaysia. Apart from preparing 'kam heong' dish with chicken, also very popular amongst diners is the clam version, which we would call 'kam heong lala' locally. It's a very easy dish to cook, yet so tasty and fragrant as it uses curry leaves, and goes really well with white rice.

Firstly, prepare the 'kam heong' sauce

as follows:
A) Ingredients
- 100g dried prawns, soaked in water
for 10 mins
- 2 tbsp chopped garlic
- 8 shallots, chopped
- 1/2 bowl curry leaves
- 6 bird's eye chillies (cili padi), chopped
- 3 tbsp oil

B) Seasoning
- 2 tbsp curry powder
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp little dark soy sauce

C) Method
- Heat 3 tbsp oil and saute the dried prawns, chopped garlic and shallots till very fragrant.
- Add in curry leaves and chopped chillies, all the seasoning and stir fry until aromatic. Remove from heat.

Now that the sauce above is ready, here is how to prepare 'kam heong chicken':
A) Ingredients
- 2 chicken thighs, cut into pieces
- 5 tbsp 'kam heong' sauce
- 100ml water

B) Marinade
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp corn flour
- 1 tsp sesame seed oil

C) Method
- Mix chicken with marinade and leave for 30 mins in the refrigerator
- Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown
- Heat up 1 tbsp oil and saute 'kam heong' sauce till fragrant
- Add in fried chicken pieces, water & stir well
- Cook until the gravy is thick. Dish up & serve hot.

Enjoy the recipe & Cheers,

Light & Crunchy Peanut Butter Cookies

2009-09-23T23:39:00.007+08:00

This is one of the best recipes for peanut butter cookies I have come across. It is superbly light, crunchy & richly tasty. The peanut-buttery aroma that wafted through the air while the cookies were being baked in the oven was enough to convince me that this recipe by Belinda Jeffery which I had gotten from 'delicious.' - an Australian food mag - is definitely a keeper. As the dough is really soft, it needs to be rolled into logs and refrigerated for a couple of hours prior to slicing and baking. This cookie will never fail to delight both the young & the old. With each crunchy bite, you'll definitely want to go for more. So, be sure to make enough to last for several days. Caution: if you have unexpected guests whom you dislike, do not offer these cookies or else, they might just return again!...Or, if you want to win someone over, go ahead and offer these cookies packed nicely in a pretty ribboned gift box ;-).

Recipe:
1 1/2 cups plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
125g unsalted butter at room temperature
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chopped raw unsalted peanuts, plus some for decoration

Sift flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Cream butter and all the sugar in a separate bowl till light and fluffy. Add peanut butter, combine. Then add egg and vanilla, combine. Add flour and gently mix. Add chopped peanuts. The dough will be very soft. Divide into 2 portion. Prepare 2 large baking paper and place each portion of the dough on each of the paper. Use your hands to shape the dough into approx 5 cm-thick log. Then roll up with the paper to enclose. Chill them in the fridge for 2-3 hrs or until firm. Preheat oven to 150 deg C, unwrap logs, slice into 6-7mm thick rounds. Place cookies 3 cm apart on trays lined with baking paper. Press extra nuts onto each cookie and bake between 20-25 mins or till brown.

Cheers,

Stir-Fry 'Sea Asparagus' & A Week Of Deprived Connectivity!

2009-09-21T23:21:00.007+08:00

I lived through the whole of last week without a computer & the Internet. And what made it worse was that I wasn't on any extended holiday after my HK trip! Long story short...I had to make an unplanned trip to Kuala Lumpur to attend to some personal matters. I think I've read more copies of Reader's Digest in the last 1 week (to fill up the rest of my free time there) than I've ever did in my lifetime! It got me imagining living a life reversed back to the days of pre-Internet!! I wondered if the Internet did not exist in the first place, what would I be doing right now. I realized I'm unable to immediately think of an answer given how pervasive the Internet has permeated my life. I found myself missing my blog, my blog friends & their blogs, my Facebook, my email accounts, Google, Wikipedia and the whole universe of the online system! Ahhhh...how good it feels to be back at home & online!

Anyway, below is a really simple dish I cooked prior to my travel last week which I had no time to post it then. I've been keeping a can of imported Chilean sea asparagus (the seafood variety) in my pantry for the longest time and I was figuring out how & what to cook it with. So, I decided to prepare a simple, slightly spicy stir-fry with a variety of veggies. First of all, don't be confused by the name on the can if you happen to see it in the supermarkets (sorry, I've forgotten to take a picture of the can with its label). Although it was written 'sea asparagus' on the can label, it is not the plant variety which grows abundantly along salt marshes, beaches and mangroves. It is in fact, a variety of razor clams. In Malaysia, it is known as 'bamboo clams', and in Spanish, 'concha navaja' (watch this video to see a swimming clam). If you have not eaten it before, it has a mild & delicately chewy texture, and is delicious whether steamed with sauces or stir-fried. These clams live on the sandy seabed and they camouflage themselves against being preyed upon by digging & hiding in the sand. The best time to 'collect' these clams are during low tide season.

Here's the recipe:

Blend to a paste:
3 fresh chillies
4 shallots
2 pips garlic
2 candlenuts

1 can seafood 'sea asparagus'/razor clams
2 stalks celery
1 carrot
Snow pea
Cauliflower florets
2-3 tbsp cooking oil
Salt to taste

Heat the cooking oil in a wok/pan and saute the blended paste till fragrant. Mix in the clams and stir fry under high heat for about 40 seconds. Add in all the vegetables, salt to taste and stir fry for 3 minutes. Cover with a lid for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and serve with rice.

Cheers,

A Thai Affair...

2009-09-09T22:45:00.006+08:00

Kai Haw Bai Toey or Fried Chicken in Screwpine Leaf has always been huge on my order list whenever I eat out at a Thai restaurant. So for dinner just now, I made some to go with Thai-style pineapple fried rice, another one of my favorite Thai recipes. To wash down the palate, I also boiled some Chinese-style Lotus Roots with Pork Ribs Soup in a clay pot by simmering it on low fire for slightly more than an hour. Everything smelled so good (esp the fried chicken) and looked perfect!...till of course, my Hub came home, saw the dinner on the table and asked "No Thai green curry???"! ......*&^%$*%#@ SMACKKK!!!!

Anyway, he did compliment me later on and said that dinner was fabulous. And so, he was spared from doing the dishes (this time)!

Kai Haw Bai Toey or Fried Chicken in Screwpine Leaf

Finely ground paste:
4 cloves garlic
4 shallots
1 stalk lemon grass
1 tsp white pepper
1 tsp chillie powder

500 g chicken, cut into small pieces
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame seed oil
2 tbsp fish sauce
Light pinch of salt
1 tsp dark soy sauce (optional)
Screwpine leaves (use 1 leaf to wrap 1 piece of chicken)
2 cups cooking oil for frying

- Mix the chicken with the finely ground paste. Add sugar, sesame oil, fish sauce, dark soy sauce & marinate for 1 hour.
- Wrap each piece of chicken with 1 screwpine leave. Use a toothpick to secure both ends of the leaf if you want to.
- Deep fry for 10-12 minutes and drain.

Pineapple Fried Rice

(Serves 2)
1 big bowl of cooked rice
Quarter of a medium ripe pineapple (cored & diced)
2 tbsp cooking oil
6 shallots, sliced thinly
2 tbsp dried prawns (soaked in water for 5 mins and drained)
150 g diced chicken meat
1-2 Chinese sausages (lap cheong)
2 tbsp Nam Pla or fish sauce
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce

- Heat the cooking oil and saute the shallots until brown and crisp. Set aside. In the same oil, saute the dried prawns until fragrant, then add in the chicken and sausages and saute for 3-4 mins.
- Add the fish sauce, curry powder, sugar, soy sauce, pineapple and rice. Mix well and continue frying for another 3-4 mins. Serve hot and garnish with coriander leaves and cucumber.

Cheers!

Nyonya Kuih Genggang

2009-08-29T16:33:00.012+08:00

I'm off tomorrow to HK for a week holiday! Yippeeee...as it means lots of good food, dim sum and flea market shopping! But before that, here's the traditional and popular Nyonya 'kuih genggang' which I made for M, a good friend of mine.

Other than in my hometown, Melaka, kuih genggang is more widely known by its commercial name - kuih lapis or layered cake - throughout Malaysia. There isn't any direct English translation for kuih and the closest is cake. However, unlike cakes as we understand them in the Western world, kuih refers to the traditional local cakes in Malaysia & Singapore and they are often made of plain flour or rice flour or glutinous rice flour or tapioca starch flour or wheat starch flour etc. Given that Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country, one can enjoy a wide variety of kuih- Nyonya kuih, Chinese kuih, Malay kuih etc. Kuih are normally either steamed, grilled or baked, and for Nyonya & Malay kuih, coconut milk is often a main ingredient.

Kuih genggang is easy and cheap to do, and also delicious to eat. Its texture is sticky and gooey. It is a favorite tea time treat for many. Kids enjoy eating it by peeling off a layer by a layer. It is made by steaming it a layer by a layer also but it doesn't take very long to complete. It is best eaten on the same day that it's made as it can't keep for very long.

(Other variety of Peranakan food from Malaysia can be found at Nyonyafood.com).

Recipe:
- 180 g rice flour
- 200 ml water
Mix the above together and leave aside for 1 hour.

- 180 g sugar
- 350 ml water
- 2 srewpine (pandan) leaves, knotted
Boil the above together and leave the sugar syrup to cool.

- 250 ml thick coconut milk
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1-2 drops red/pink coloring

- Add the coconut milk, salt and sugar syrup into the rice flour mixture after 1 hour. Stir well and divide the portion equally into 2. Color one of it with 1-2 drops red/pink coloring.
- Heat up an 8 inch round pan in a steamer setting. Grease it lightly with cooking oil first. Pour half cup of the white batter, cover the steamer with lid and steam for 5 mins or until the layer is cooked. Do the same with the next batch of 1/2 cup red/pink batter. For the final top layer, you can add more red/pink coloring to distinguish it or for presentation sake. (Note: make sure to give the batter a really good stir each time before taking 1/2 cup to pour for steaming). Leave to cool completely before cutting into diamond shape.

Cheers, have a great week ahead & see you next weekend!

Brandy-Pecan Choc Fudge & Banana Cakes

2009-08-26T19:00:00.015+08:00

1. BRANDY-PECAN CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

Made these for M, a good friend of mine who is back visiting from the US. The original recipe from Nancy Baggett's "All-American Dessert Book" calls for Bourbon but I used Brandy instead. I made slight adjustments and simplified the baking steps as below.

The intro in the book took the words right out of my mouth when I was savoring a piece of this cake. "This is an immensely rewarding cake - moist, tender and very chocolatey on the inside, with a glossy, gooey fudge layer on the outside."

For the cake:
- 6 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- 8 tbsp butter
- 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp brandy, combined with 2 tbsp hot water
- 1 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 3 oz semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
- 7 large eggs, at room temperature

1. In a bowl over a double boiler, melt the chocolate, butter and vanilla. Remove from the heat, stir in the brandy-water mixture, then the cocoa powder until the mixture is well-blended.
2. In a food processor, combine sugar and pecans till the nuts are ground to a powder.
3. In a food processor, process the flour and 3 oz chocolate till the chocolate is fine and well-blended with the flour.
4. In a large bowl, beat all the eggs and sugar/pecan mixture (no. 2) on medium to high speed till the mixture becomes frothy, lightened and nearly doubled in volume. Remove 1 cup and stir into the melted chocolate mixture (no. 1) till well-blended.
5. Combine everything into the egg mixture, using a whisk, stir and mix until well-combined. Bake in a 21-22cm springform pan for 25-30 mins at around 150 deg C.

For the choc fudge glaze:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp light corn syrup
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4 1/2 oz unsweetened chocolate, roughly chopped
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Over a double boiler, combine everything to melt over low heat. Gently stir until the glaze is completely smooth and thickens to your liking. Let it cool for a while and pour over the completely cooled cake. Use a spatula to gently spread the glaze over the sides.

2. MOIST BANANA CAKE

This is a recipe given by my 4th sister to me a few years ago. It's really moist and delicious!

- 250 g banana
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 4 tbsp milk
- 3 eggs
- 180 g butter
- 150 g sugar

1. Cream butter and sugar together till it is light and creamy.
2. Add in an egg at a time, mixing till well-blended after each egg addition.
3. Add in the mashed banana and mix well.
4. Add in the flour, alternate with the milk. Mix the batter until everything is well-combined. Bake at 150 deg C for 45 mins or until skewer comes out clean.

Cheers!

Tangerine Babe!

2009-08-23T01:53:00.014+08:00

Babe, I got you babe!

I'd like to say "THANKS" to my blogger friends who provided their comments and reviews to my previous post "Mixed About Mixers". I made my final decision SO MANY times, going back and forth between Kenwood Chef and KA Artisan or Pro. Unfortunately, I can't find Cuisinart and Bosch mixers here. In hindsight, better that way or else I'd still be thinking which one to get. In the last 2 weeks, my decision hadn't seem to change, and I believe it means THIS IS THE ONE. And what a great luck on my side last night. I wanted to purchase it last weekend but my plan got cancelled. Finally went to Robinson's last night (which was unplanned!) and guess what!...there was a further price reduction for OCBC Bank/Robinson's card member! Adding to the bonus was, the color that I had mentally shortlisted, Tangerine, was one of the 3 colors that qualify for the card members' privilege. Woohooo!! So, I got my Tangerine baby at SGD599 instead of SGD$779. For my readers in Singapore who have been thinking of getting a KA Artisan, your last chance for this great bargain is today (Sunday, 23 Aug). If you don't have a OCBC/Robinson's credit card, just make a few calls to family and friends and buy them a meal for this favor! You'll save SGD180, which can get you a flight tix on budget airline to Bangkok!! So, hurry on! :D

Cheers!

Steamed Chicken Curry Noodles

2009-08-20T18:55:00.013+08:00

I've been thinking of chicken curry noodles for a week now but because the weather was so hot lately, I tried to hold back from having too much spicy food. Then, it rained a little in the morning yesterday and today and that cooled down the weather slightly. And there goes my temporary abstinence from spicy food.

Anyway, there is this stall near where I live that sells really good chicken curry noodles. The steamed chicken is succulently good and the curry gravy, thick and spicy enough. The only slight downfall is that it's a tad bit too oily, but nevertheless, DE-LI-CIOUS! Each time I visit the stall to feed my craving, I tell myself that I must try and make it one day at home. And that was exactly what I did for dinner just hours earlier. The stall has its secret recipe well-guarded and so, I created my own. I reckon the several main ingredients for a good curry gravy are pretty much easy to guess, so here's my recipe to share. Based on feedback from my food critic by the name of Dear Hub, looks like this recipe is quite a winner although there's still room for slight ingredient adjustments here and there.

This recipe serves 2 persons.

What you'll need:
- Quarter of a chicken with its skin intact
- White fish cake
- Yellow noodles enough for two persons
- A handful of bean sprouts (taugeh)
- Curry gravy, see my recipe below

Steam the chicken for 15-20 mins and then chop it. Don't waste by discarding the chicken stock, instead add it into the curry gravy later. Steam the fish cake for 3-5 mins and then slice it. Blanch the yellow noodles and bean sprouts in hot boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Discard the water.

Place noodles in bowls. Top with some bean sprouts, slices of fish cake and steamed chicken. Generously pour hot boiling curry gravy over it and serve hot with a small lime squeezed into it.

For cooking the curry gravy:
- 60g shallots
- 40g garlic
- 1/2 inch galangal
- 1 stalk lemongrass
- 2 fresh chillies
- 1 tbsp dried prawns (soaked in hot water for 5 mins)
- 3-4 tbsp curry powder
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 3 stalks curry leaves
- 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 potato, quartered
- 1/2 cup cooking oil
- 1/2 cup thick coconut milk
- 1.3 litre chicken bone stock
- 2 pieces fried beancurd skin with fish paste filling inside (tau pok)

Blend the shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, fresh chillies and dried prawns to form a paste. Mix in the curry powder, chilli powder, turmeric powder and curry leaves into the paste. Heat oil and saute the paste till it becomes drier and fragrant. Then, add in the stock and potatoes and let it simmer. When the potatoes are soft, add in the coconut milk and the fish paste fried beancurd skin or tau pok, sugar and salt. Let it simmer for a minute or two and turn off the heat. Ta da! Your boiling hot curry gravy is now ready to be poured into your bowls of noodles. Bon Appetit!

If You Can't Float It, Roll It!

2009-08-14T22:57:00.005+08:00

I caught an episode of Bob Blumer's Glutton for Punishment yesterday and it was all about humongous, giant pumpkins! I know pumpkins can grow large but what I didn't know was that they could grow as large as those featured in the program. The pumpkins were SO huge that the township of Windsor in Nova Scotia, Canada held what they call an annual Pumpkin Regatta where giant pumpkins as heavy as 500 lbs are carved, hollowed-out and turned into water vessels able to hold a full-grown man inside while he paddles in the regatta across Lake Pisiquid.

While I think it must be a really fun sport to participate in, I can't help thinking what a waste of all those pumpkins that could help minimize world hunger.

Anyway, if you happen to have a pumpkin in your garden or in your refrigerator, here's a pumpkin roll recipe you can try, if you like.

Pumpkin Prawn Roll

You'll need:
200g pumpkin
2 shallots, chopped
20g dried shrimps (soak till soft & chopped)
10 fresh prawns (roughly chopped)
5 water chestnuts (chopped)
1 egg yolk
3 tbsp evaporated milk
Salt
Sugar
10 pieces beancurd skin

- Skinned and cut the pumpkin, steam till soft and mash it to become a smooth paste. Heat up some oil in a wok/pan, saute the dried shrimps & shallots till fragrant, then add in the water chestnut, egg yolk, evaporated milk, salt and sugar. Mix well for a few mins, turn off the heat, add in the chopped prawn meat, mix well again and leave to cool.
- Take a piece of beancurd skin, use a brush to rub some water on it in order to soften the skin for easy rolling. Place 2 tbsp of the pumpkin paste on the edge of the skin. Roll once, fold in the sides and complete the rolling.

- On a plate, mix half cup of plain flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 egg yolk and 1/4 cup water to get a batter. Coat the rolls all around with the batter.
- Heat 1/2 cup oil on medium heat and fry the rolls till all sides are golden brown. Drain the oil and serve.

Cheers,

Concord Grape Chilled Cheesecake

2009-08-12T22:39:00.017+08:00

I have been feeling kinda lazy these past two weeks. Yesterday was no different from last week and my lazy mood hasn't taken a paradigm shift either today. Am not quite sure what caused this lazy feeling in me lately. Perhaps it was the hot and humid weather. Or perhaps it was due to my sleeping in late and skipping breakfast lately. Anyway, lazy or not, I was browsing through a cheesecake recipe book yesterday and the pictures inside look so amazing that my yearning for a slice somehow managed to make me overcome that lazy inertia in me, at least temporarily. So, lazy or not, the glutton in me had won and this really nice and super easy cheesecake was the cause, as well as, the reward.

The original recipe calls for apricot nectar but I changed it by using Organic Concord Grape fruit spread which turned out really nice.

Also, I'm on a quest to use up supplies in my pantry/fridge, thus I also took the liberty to substitute the plain sweet biscuits for the base and sides by using leftover cornflakes. Out of laziness, I did not process the cornflakes to get fine breadcrumbs texture. All I did was crushing them with my bare hands. Thus, I had to pay the price for my laziness as the coarse cornflakes base was not a huge success at all, although the cheesecake layer and the topping turned out great.

Recipe:
155g plain sweet biscuits
75g butter, melted
1 (250ml) cup apricot nectar/grape fruit spread
1 tbsp gelatine
375g cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup (250ml) cream

For the topping:
1 cup apricot nectar/grape fruit spread
1 tbsp sugar
3 tsp cornflour

- Process biscuits until resemble fine bread crumbs. Add butter, process till combined. Press crumbs evenly on the base of a 21cm springform tin (I did not use a springform tin and I had a lot of cornflakes crumbs left so I used it for the sides too)
- Pour 1 cup of apricot nectar/grape fruite spread in a saucepan over low heat. Sprinkle gelatine over it and stir until gelatine dissolves; cool until thickened slightly.
- Beat cream cheese and sugar in a bowl until smooth. Add lemon juice, beat in the apricot/grape mixture above and then fold in the cream. Pour cheesecake mixture into the tin and refrigerate for 3 hours.

- For the topping, combine 1 cup apricot nectar/grape fruit spread, sugar and cornflour in a saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil until it thickens slightly. Cool. Then gently pour over the chilled cheesecake. After that, refrigerate overnight.

Cheers,

Fruity Pie

2009-08-04T00:08:00.012+08:00

This delightful multi-fruits pie is adapted from a blueberry pie recipe in one my dessert books,
"The All-American Dessert" by Nancy Baggett.

I especially like the crust, which uses sour cream.

For the crust:
8 tbsp cold unsalted butter
1/4 cup solid shortening (I omitted this for my crust)
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup sour cream
2-4 tbsp ice water

Mix the flour, sugar & salt in a food processor. Sprinkle the butter & shortening, process till crumb-like texture is achieved. Mix in lemon juice, sour cream and ice water, and knead to form a dough. Roll out 1/2 of the dough and press the dough on the base & sides of a pie dish. Reserve the remaining portion for the lattice top.

For the filling:
- a handful of blueberries
- a handful of green grapes
- 2 plums
- 1 orange

- 1 1/4 cup sugar (or according to individual preference for sweetness)
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 5 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 2 tbsp lemon juice

In a saucepan over small fire, mix the sugar, cinnamon, butter & fruits. Add the cornstarch to thicken the filling once the juices from the fruits has started to ooze out.

Pour the filling over the crust that has been pressed in the pie dish. Use the remaining dough to roll out into a round as large as the top of the pie dish. Cut into strips and lay on top of the pie filling to make a lattice design. If there is some bits of dough left, it can be rolled & cut out into desired shapes to decorate the border. Brush the pastry crust with egg wash & bake.

Dust with icing sugar once the pie has been baked & cooled. Serve with vanilla ice-cream.

Cheers,

What's for Dinner? Spicy Sambal Petai with Tempeh

2009-07-29T22:31:00.015+08:00

Well, what's for dinner tonight was not for the faint-hearted who dislike spicy food, nor was it for the 'faint-nosed' because this is Sambal Petai with Tempeh in all its spicy-ness and stinky-ness!

Petai
Petai beans are definitely something of an acquired taste...and smell (just like the King of Southeast Asian fruits called Durian). Highly popular in Southeast Asia, the beans are contained in long, flat green pods with bulging bumps in the shape of small almonds. Petai has a really peculiar smell that is dispelled through the urine (so, make sure the flush works!). As such, it is also nicknamed as 'stinky beans'. Petai is said to contain 3 types of natural sugar - sucrose, fructose and glucose. It is also believed to be carrying many beneficial medicinal values from regulating blood pressure to curing a hangover with a glass of petai milkshake (err, anyone up to this challenge?!).

Tear the pod to get the petai beans. Peel off the white skin and split open the petai to spot for any cute tiny little worms in suspicious-looking beans.

Tempeh
Tempeh is essentially fermented soy bean cake that originates from Indonesia (where it has been a staple food & source of protein for hundreds of years) and is widely cooked and loved by Malaysians and Singaporeans alike, especially in Malay households & food stalls. Tempeh can be easily found in many supermarkets these days. Many also prepare homemade tempeh as it is easy and cheap. Dehulled soy beans need to be soaked overnight, cooked and ferment with tempeh starter, which is a dried mixture of live Rhizopus spores. Just like how one would need the desired lactobacillus and streptococcus bacteria to make yoghurt, the similar concept applies to tempeh which needs its desired 'agent'. Whoever created tempeh was really clever. If you can see from the pic below, the whitish surface has a really unique texture. It is not anything like a wet batter at all. It is slightly damp & with cotton-like texture. As gross as it may sound, it is just like the outer layer of a caterpillar coccoon as I imagined. Too much details? Don't worry, it's completely hygienic, healthy & delicious. Tempeh is highly suitable for vegetarians & vegans.

Traditionally-made tempeh are wrapped in a certain type of leave where fermentation process takes place. Fry the tempeh till golden brown and slice it.

Now, get ready for the spicy, stinky, delicious Sambal Petai with Tempeh.

For the Sambal paste (grind all together):
100 g shallots
20 g dried chillies (soak in boiling hot water for 15 mins)
1 inch belacan (Asian shrimp paste)
2-3 kaffir lime leaves (optional)

To cook my Sambal Petai with Tempeh, you need:
1 small bowl sambal paste (as above)
30 g ikan bilis (baby anchovies), fry with oil till golden brown & drain on paper towel
100 g prawns, deshelled
5-6 tbsp tamarind paste juice or 3-4 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp sugar
Salt to taste
3-4 pods of petai beans, skinned and split
1-2 pieces tempeh, fry till golden brown and slice

Method:
Heat 5-7 tbsp oil in a wok/frying pan. When it's hot, put in the grounded sambal paste and saute till the paste emanates a fragrant smell and somewhat drier than before. Pour in the tamarind/lemon juice, sugar and salt. You can add some water if you prefer a slightly wetter sambal. Put in the prawns, petai and tempeh all together. Stir and cook for 3-5 mins. Turn off the fire, leave the sambal to cool for about 10 mins, then mix in the fried anchovies. Stir well and serve with plain rice, coconut milk rice (nasi lemak) or bread.

Cheese Bread

2009-07-24T18:41:00.012+08:00

One of the reasons why I like visiting food blogs is that they inspire me to stretch my boundaries. Bread is something that I've never really explored that much at all as I used to think that it's just too darn troublesome to do it all by hand without a bread maker. I guess, as "time and blogs" went by, I began to be more enlightened about the adventure of bread making.

This recipe below has been sitting on my mind lately as my sister who really likes making bread had tried it and said that it is a wonderful recipe. So, with all the inspiration and encouragement, I decided to try it and here it is.

It is fluffy & soft, with bits of melted cheddar cheese, butter & aromatic oregano embedded in the bread. I love the smell of dried herbs and this recipe was just great for me.

Recipe:
(A)
320 g bread flour
80 g plain flour
20 g sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsps instant yeast
(B)
220 ml cold milk
1 egg
(C)
30 g butter
(D)
30 g cubed cheddar cheese
30 g roasted nibbed almonds
Dried oregano
(E)
20 g nibbed almonds
20 g cubed cheddar cheese
(F)
3 cheddar cheese slices
Dried oregano
Dried parsley

Steps:
1. Mix (A) till well blended. Add (B) to form a dough.
2. Add (C) and knead to form a smooth and elastic dough (Here, I used a hand mixer with dough hook to rub in the butter more evenly. Oh! how I wish I had a hands-free stand mixer!)
3. Cover in a clean plastic bag and let it prove for 45 mins. Then, divide into 2 equal portions, mould into balls and leave to rest for 10 mins.
4. Roll the dough flat into rectangles and spread dots of soft butter on them, then sprinkle with (D).

5. Roll the rectangles up like a swiss rolls, then cut each dough into 3 pieces and place them in 2 greased paper-lined rectangle pans, with cut side facing up. Cover and let it prove for another 45 mins.

6. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with (E) on top. Bake at 190 deg C for 23 mins
7. Take out the loaves from the oven and quickly place cheese slices and herbs from (F).
8. Bake for another 7 mins. Unmould immediately.

Notes:
- I made only half of the recipe above to get 1 loaf, thus did not divide the dough to 2 equal portions as mentioned on step 3.
- The top crust of my bread had burnt slightly due to the cubed cheese being sprinkled earlier on (step 6). I would suggest omitting this and just put more slices of cheddar cheese as guided by step 7.

Slice the loaf and have them by dipping in a bowl of spicy chicken curry. Yummy!

Have a great week ahead!

Almond Butter Cookies

2009-07-23T13:54:00.007+08:00

In anticipation of my short trip back to my hometown, Melaka, this weekend (yippee!), I've made some almond butter cookies yesterday for my 9 (or 10, I think) year-old niece using my collection of cartoon character cookie cutters.

This is my first time trying out this cookie recipe which I actually got (believe it or not!) from the back of a cookie cutter packaging. Well, you know...one of those free recipes thrown in when you purchase a certain baking tool at a supermarket. I normally don't really trust such recipes, but since it doesn't use that much ingredients and is easy to make, I figured I'd remain objective about it and give it a try anyway. And whaddaya know!...it actually turned out rather well. Here's the really simple recipe:

200 g plain flour
30 g cornflour
80g ground almond
150 g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
130 g butter
1 beaten egg for brushing (for me, i didn't use this)

Optional: I added 1 tbsp of grated lemon rind and 1 tbsp of its juice for a slightly lemony twist.

Cream butter and icing sugar for a few minutes. Add in the yolk and flours. Knead to form a dough. Roll and cut out. Bake at around 140-150 deg C depending on the size of your oven. Mine is small. Please note that the cookies bake pretty fast, around 20 mins so be sure to monitor regularly towards the end as they brown easily.

Mixed About Mixers! Cuisinart? KitchenAid? Kenwood? ...?

2009-07-19T13:59:00.009+08:00

Cuisinart? or KitchenAid? or Kenwood? or ...?

It is every home baker's dream to own one of these sleek, gorgeous machines called stand mixers! I'm one of those dreamers right now.

While stand mixers are so great to have, I've read hundreds of mixed reviews about them, in particular the three brands above which I have shortlisted (as they are easily available in Singapore). My basic online research found many mixed reviews - good reviews amidst the bad ones, and just as well, bad reviews amidst the good ones. Honestly, I'm left more confused than ever. So, I decided to put up a post on this and seek reviews/comments from all of you, for the benefit of all home bakers like me who wish to learn more and make the best informed decision. Because lemme tell ya', these mixers are not cheap out here in Asia!

I would LOVE to hear from you if:
1) you or know of someone who own(s) a stand mixer of any model/series from the 3 brands above - Cuisinart, Kenwood and KitchenAid
2) you own any other brand of stand mixer (please state the brand) and are very happy with it
3) you too, have been dreaming of owning a stand mixer and have heard some comments/reviews from family or friends
4) you don't have a stand mixer and don't dream of owning one but would just like to say something

Would appreciate all comments/reviews especially on the durability and stability of the mixer (like its strength in slogging through heavy cookie/bread dough without having the whole machine struggle or shake). Hope you will participate as your comments will help shed some light for many of us who intend to own a stand mixer someday. Look forward to hearing from you!

Cheers!

Strawberry Cupcakes With White Chocolate Frosting

2009-07-15T19:04:00.009+08:00

In the mood for cupcakes this week, here's another wonderful recipe for those who love strawberries and white chocolate.

What you need:
1/4 pound butter
1 cup sugar (I had reduced mine to 3/4 cup)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

Cream together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well after each addition. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking powder. Add the flour to the creamed mixture, alternating with the milk. Mix well, then add in the vanilla extract and strawberries. Bake the cupcakes in preheated oven at 150 deg C for about 25-30 mins or till skewer comes out clean.

For real 100% strawberry cupcakes, I had switched from using vanilla extract to LorAnn Gourmet highly concentrated strawberry flavoring. Just 4-5 drops are all you need to ahieve a wonderful strawberry fragrance and taste. I personally feel that it is essential to use really good essence as some brands that are commonly found (here in Singapore) and which cost much cheaper can taste really awful, as if some sort of industrial chemical has been added into it. I had a bad experience with one such brand and vowed to never use it again as my cake had a really bitter chemical-like aftertaste. Here it is the LorAnn Gourmet flavoring that I really, really like...a lot! (at one glance, I thought it looks just like a product from Body Shop!huh!)

For the white chocolate topping, I used Valrhona White Ivory Feve. Melt some of the white chocolate in a double boiler. Spread the melted chocolate on the cupcakes and top it off with fresh strawberries.

Vanilla Cupcakes With Hazelnut Chocolate Frosting

2009-07-11T16:20:00.011+08:00

This is a wonderful vanilla cupcake recipe from the famed "The Magnolia Bakery" in New York which was partly made famous by Sarah Jessica Parker's character in one of the episodes of Sex & the City. I made half of the recipe below and it yielded about 12 standard size cupcakes. It was just great as I still had many left to feed my cravings for the next few days. To ensure freshness, the cupcakes need to be stored in an airtight container and be kept in the refrigerator. They can keep up to 4-5 days and will still taste fresh and nice. Infact, the cupcakes taste better overnight.

Recipe

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar (this is the original sugar measurement but do reduce it by half a cup if you don't like it overly sweet)
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. In a small bowl, combine the flours. Set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before icing.

My hubby and I had some of the cupcakes when they came out fresh from the oven and I kept the rest in the refrigerator.

The next day, I just felt like having some chocolate frosting on my cupcakes, so here they are - generously spread with melted hazelnut chocolate nugotin and topped with chocolate caviar for that extra crunchy bite. And of course, for a perfect cupcake setting, I also brewed some lavendar and rose tea to further delight the palate (not to mention finding the opportunity to use my bone china teapot and cups!)

Nasi Minyak

2009-07-10T22:15:00.010+08:00

Nasi Minyak is usually served at Malay wedding banquets. 'Nasi' means rice and 'minyak' means oil, so literal translation has its meaning as 'Ghee/Oil Rice'. I actually cooked this to go with the Rendang Tok dish which I posted few days back. It is long-grain rice boiled in evaporated milk and clarified butter (ghee). However, I substituted the ghee with normal butter.

Recipe:
1/4 cup ghee
2 pips garlic (chopped)
4 shallots (sliced thinly)
4 cloves.
5cm cinnamon
6 cardamoms
2 cups long-grain rice or Indian Basmati rice
2 cups water
1 cup evaporated milk
1/2 cup raisins

Heat ghee in a pan and saute the garlic and shallots. Add in the rest of the spices and saute for 5 mins till they are fragrant. Mix in the washed rice, water and milk. Mix in the raisins and cook until the water evaporates and the rice is well done. The reason the color of my rice is slightly darker than it normally should was because I had run out of cinnamon sticks, so I used 3/4 tsp cinnamom powder instead.

Tuna Flakes Salad

2009-07-10T21:56:00.007+08:00

On a really lazy evening few days ago, this salad was what I had for dinner.

Recipe:
Half a can of tuna flakes in oil
A handful of cherry tomatos
1 Japanese cucumber, sliced
2 bunches of butterhead lettuce
1 Egg (boiled and quartered)
1 apple (peeled and diced)

Mix everything together, throw in a dash of salt and crushed black peppercorn and you'll get a truly quick and easy salad dinner when you just don't feel like cooking.

Rendang Tok

2009-07-08T19:25:00.020+08:00

Anyone who has eaten rendang - chicken or beef - will love it! For those who have not tried it before, it is meat cooked in heavily fragrant spices, grated coconut and coconut milk. The dish originates from the Malay culture but it is widely cooked by many these days. Rendang Tok originates from Perak, Malaysia and it is slightly easier to cook than other rendang recipes I've tried in a sense that the blended spices do not need to be sauteed in cooking oil. This means it is less time consuming. I think there are several versions of Rendang Tok - some use turmeric powder, some don't and some cook it dry while some cook it with extra thick gravy. Below is the recipe I've tried recently and the outcome of my cooking. It was delicious and fragrant.
Recipe:
A
600g chicken/beef (cut into chunks)
Approx 1 cup thick coconut milk & 1.5 cup thin coconut milk
Salt

B
8 stalks lemongrass (use the bottom white part which may measure ard 5-6 cm)
5 pieces turmeric leaves (optional)
2.5 cm ginger
2.5 cm galangal/blue ginger (lengkuas)
10 shallots
1.2 cm Asian shrimp paste (belacan)
50g dried chillies (discard seeds & soak in hot water for 10 mins)
2 tbsp coriander seeds (biji ketumbar)
1 tsp fennel (jintan manis)
1 star anise (bunga lawang)
4 cardamoms (buah pelaga)
5cm cinnamon (kayu manis)

Grind together all the above in a blender.

C
Approx 1 cup grated coconut - 'dry fry' without using any oil in a pan, keep stirring till golden brown. If it's difficult to get fresh grated coconut, the 2nd option is packet dessicated coconut (unsweetened).

Method:
Mix A & B, stir well and cook in a pot. Let it simmer under slow fire till the gravy has thickened and the meat is tender. Add C, stir evenly and let it simmer for another 5 mins. If you prefer a dry rendang, let it cook a while longer till the gravy dries up, and with all the spices left. Serve hot with rice.

Peranakan/BabaNyonya - Its Historical Beginning And Culture At A Glance

2009-07-05T16:31:00.050+08:00

"Peranakan", "Baba-Nyonya" and "Straits-born Chinese" (named after the Straits of Malacca/Straits Settlement under the British rule of Malaya) are terms used for the descendants of the early Chinese immigrants to the Nusantara region who inter-married with local folks. This region includes the British Straits Settlements of Malacca, Penang and Singapore and the Dutch-controlled island of Java.

The birth of Malaysia's & Singapore's unique Peranakan or BabaNyonya heritage dates back to the early 15th century when Melaka was ruled by a Malay sultanate kingdom in which during that time, it was also a prosperous and strategic trading port for herbs and spices. As a trading port for the region, Melaka had enjoyed very strong relations with the kingdom of China.

Before I proceed further, let me explain why are there different terms, how did they originate and used interchangeably?

The word "Peranakan" is also commonly used to describe Indonesian Chinese back in those days (am not sure if it still applies now). In both Malaysia and Indonesia local languages, "Peranakan” means descendant. "Baba" refers to the male descendants and "Nyonya" the female.

"Straits-born Chinese" simply means the descendants of Peranakan people who were originally born in Malacca (like me and my big family), and which also extended to Penang and Singapore, when these three places which are located along the shore lines of the Straits of Malacca were treatised as the British Straits Settlements.

Why did some spell it as "Nyonya" while some others in Penang and Singapore may spell it as "Nonya"?

Well, the answer is simple. "Nonya" (no-nee-yah) is the simplified version to ease its pronunciation. "Nyonya" (nee-yo-nee-yah - and you have to say it fast and not by syllable) is the original spelling and pronunciation which is still being retained in Malacca. According to sources, "Nyonya" was rather tongue-twisting to say for many Chinese (who are non-Peranakans) whose mother-tongue is not Malay in places like Penang and Singapore. Thus, the simplified version emerged. Please note that Peranakans are also Chinese in race, thus I specified the above as non-Peranakan Chinese (other dialects like Cantonese, Teochew, Hainanese, Hakka, Hokkien etc). However, majority of the Peranakans are part Hokkien (probably due to the ancestral heritage of China's Princess Hang Li Po - see History below).

History: How did this unique culture first emerged?

Well, in the early 15th century, close relations with the kingdom of China was established during the reign of Parameswara (the founder of Melaka way before Malaya -now Malaysia- was formed). Great tributes were given during the visit by China's Admiral Cheng Ho (Zheng He) to Malacca. In return for such tributes, a princess of China called "Puteri Hang Li Po" ("Puteri" means Princess) was presented as a 'gift' to the ruling Sultan of Malacca, Sultan Mansur Shah circa 1459 AD (who was Parameswara prior to his throning) to forge closer trading ties. The Princess and her entourage of servants then settled in Bukit Cina (means "Chinese Hill") in Malacca. With the Princess having married the Sultan and later her entourage also followed suit by marrying local Malay folks, thus eventually emerged the beginning of this centuries-old culture called "Peranakan" or "Baba-Nyonya". In addition, records also show that following the successful union of China and Malacca through the marriage of Sultan Mansur Shah and Princess Hang Li Po, more Chinese male and female immigrants had come to Malacca, leading to more inter-marriages and the continued development of this unique Peranakan heritage.

By the middle of the 20th century, most Peranakans were English educated as a result of British colonisation of Malaya (which included Singapore at that time). They filled jobs in civil service as they had embraced English culture and education openly. The interaction with the British also resulted in some Peranakans converting to Christianity, thereby they became influential under the British colonisation. The Peranakan communities were also known as the King's Chinese due to their perceived loyalty to the British Crown. The culture and heritage then developed further and flourished to Penang and Singapore as Malacca Peranakans were transferred to fill administrative and civil jobs at these places. At that time, Malacca, Penang and Singapore had been formed the British Straits Settlements.

However, some records show that in the 19th century even before British colonisation of Malaya, some Peranakans from Malacca, drawn by commerce, had also migrated to the bustling ports of Penang and Singapore, and settled there. (During this time, it was believed that Malacca had began to lose its ground as the most sought after trading port, and was overtaken by Penang and Singapore. Thus, more Malacca Peranakan began moving out to these two newer ports and contributed to establishing firmer and stronger presence of Peranakan heritage in Penang and Singapore. Perhaps, there are other accounts as to how the Peranakan heritage flourished in these two states which are not to my knowledge, hence no other sources of information included here.)

Many Peranakans became traders and merchants and had amassed great wealth, mainly by the 1st generation of Peranakans. This was said to be due to the 'business sense and acumen' that were inherent in the immigrant Chinese who came and married local folks. Unfortunately today, the Chinese proverb proved to be quite true - the 1st generation creates, the 2nd generation builds, and the 3rd generation squanders! Up till the mid 1900s, many Peranakans were really wealthy and the community had colonised most of the large Dutch-influenced houses on Hereen and Jonker streets in Melaka. Fyi, apart from and prior to the British, Melaka was also colonised by the Portuguese and Dutchmen once upon a time in history. After Melaka and other Malaysian states were formed as Malaya, the Japanese and British 'came over'.

Suffice to say that today, Malacca, Penang & Singapore remain the 3 distinct locations where the Peranakan heritage is firmly established, preserved and appreciated. And proudly, till today Malacca continues to be known as the original birthplace of the Peranakan heritage and where its culture most well preserved - not through newly built museums or newly acquired cultural artifacts but through the generation of thousands of Peranakan families who are still living there and living out the culture through normal everyday lives. Through the original language of Malay-Chinese patois, style and slang of talking, customs and traditions and most definitely, through everyday food.

Pic: An old map of British Straits Settlements in Malaya.

Culture & religion

The Peranakans were partially assimilated into the Malay culture, especially in food, dressing and language, while retaining some of the Chinese traditions and culture, like religion, name, folk medicine and festival celebrations they brought from China, thereby creating a new kind of mixed culture of their country of origin with local elements. Among those, like Peranakan cuisine which has developed with very strong influence of the spices of Malay cuisine and the famous Sarong Kebaya clothing for the ladies.

Peranakans are not Muslims despite the inter-marriage with local Malays because in those days, there wasn't any sort of law that requires any religious conversion. Thus, till this day and age, many original Peranakans have retained their ancestral worship tradition of the Chinese (unless they are Christians), especially of their wedding ceremony which is largely based upon the Chinese tradition.

The Peranakan culture has lived through centuries and it is so unique that there is almost a kind of 'exclusive status' prescribed to it now. This is so evident in that many would claim to be descendants of Peranakans through the bloodlines of their deceased ancestry although they may not be all too familiar with its history, customs and language. Nevertheless, it is important to keep this heritage alive.

Looks

Because the early Peranakans inter-married with the local Malay population, most early Peranakans are tan in skin color, albeit in this modern day and age where the ancestry bloodline for many have been diluted, it may not necessary be so anymore.
Pic: Nyonyas in Sarong Kebayas in the early days. No Nyonyas would be dressing this way anymore as the Sarong Kebaya has sinced evolved throughout the years. Sarong Kebayas in those days were normally in light shades of transparent pastel colors with small floral embroideries all around the edges. Kebayas are now bold in colors and huge on floral designs and other animal motifs (like the phoenix), and its bodily cut has changed quite a bit too since it re-emerged as a fashion element lately.

Personally for me, I am on the tan side and there were endless number of times where I was mistaken for as a Malay. This happened again just recently at the wet market near where I live (Ang Mo Kio, Singapore). I was buying fruits when a local Chinese aunty saw a packet of dried shitake mushrooms I was holding and she asked in broken Malay "Melayu ada masak ini kah?" (translation "Do Malays cook this?"). That was because dried mushrooms are typically used in Chinese cooking, not Malay. So, I politely corrected her (countless times I've done this!) that I'm not a Malay and am a BabaNyonya. That was when she let out an expression of "Oh, I see!" on her face. I just smiled!

Language & Interaction

Because of the interaction with different cultures and as well as retaining their own, Peranakans, up to the mid 1900s, were trilingual. They were fluent in Malay, English and Chinese Hokkien. However, Peranakans have their own language which is Peranakan Malay - a Malay-Chinese patois hybrid. Many of the words are different from the actual Malay language, and contains the influence of several Chinese Hokkien and Indonesian words. The slang of the language and the way it is spoken are also somewhat different from the official Malay language in Malaysia. An example of Indonesian influence would be, an elderly Peranakan Nyonya in Malacca is often called a "Bibik" or in short "Bik" which means 'aunty'. It is an honorific term of endearment and respect for the elderly Nyonya ladies. Hence, my mom was so fondly known as "Bibik Chwee" (Chwee was her middle name) to many folks who knew her and our family.

The Melaka Peranakan way of speaking is very informal and sometimes could be perceived as rude. Let me give you an actual account between my dad and a friend of his at a coffee shop in Melaka years ago. I was with him walking into the coffee shop when he spotted a very old friend whom he had not met up with for sometime. When both of them spotted each other across the coffee shop, one went: "Oi! Mana lu pergi lama tak jumpa? Gua ingat lu dah masuk gol!" (translation: "Hey! Where have you been? Been a long time since I've seen you. I thought you have kicked the bucket!). The other responded: "Sial lah lu. Apasal lu tak carik gua? (translation: "You idiot! Why didn't you come look for me?"). This conversation was exchanged in the middle of hearty laughter, jest and care for one another, and in no way was that a slightest hint that a possible fight might ensue! This is just the fond ways of the Babas!

When it comes to the Nyonyas, there are two contrasting ends to their characters. Before that, let me outwardly say that Peranakan ladies have reputations that precedes them. They are either very gentle and soft spoken, or the complete opposite - fearless and fierce! Or both!! Just that different situations would command the different sides of them to exhibit itself. My late maternal granny whom I've never met was exactly like the latter description - fearless & fierce! My mom was just gentle, compassionate and loving to her family and friends but never incur her wrath, as that would warrant the feisty side of her to come out. My mom used to relay to us that when she was a young girl, she had once a while peered at the door when my granny was trying to bun up her hair. Each time the 'bunning' failed (in this case it means having just one single strand of hair out of place!), my granny would grab her comb or her slippers and fling it right across the room, aiming accurately at my mom, whilst shouting at her to go out and start pounding the spices. In this day and age, that is called 'child abuse'!! She had a 'pantang larang' (taboo) that no one should be watching her while she was trying to bun up her hair because it would definitely mean that the 'bunning' will fail.

Most, if not all, Peranakan families in Malacca still speak the original Peranakan language today. One can hear it at many corners of or across Malacca's many narrow streets or in coffee shops. We speak it at home, with relatives, and even with other non-Peranakan Malacca Chinese. In fact, a typical Peranakan person could not really speak Chinese, just like my dad, my 3rd sister and her husband. Meanwhile, Peranakans in Penang tend to speak more Hokkien (as I was told by a Penangite). The older generation of Peranakans in Singapore can still speak Peranakan language largely due to their roots and relations to Melaka Peranakans. This is not the case with the younger generation who are mainly English and Mandarin speaking.

There is an abundant of things to talk about with regard to this unique heritage of mine and many other Peranakans alike -whether they are from Malacca, Penang, Singapore or other parts of Malaysia and the world where many Peranakans live today. From its elaborate wedding customs to crockery to architecture to fashion - there is a story to tell.

I hope to post them bit by bit as I pursue them with more research going forward. Like any other modern-day Nyonyas challenged by modernity and pop culture, there is a whole lot for me to discover as well, as I live to share more about All Things Peranakan.

In the meantime, I hope you have enjoyed yourself reading this post.

Sources: my own recollection and knowledge passed down by my parents, relatives and family friends, my own interactions and observations with other Peranakans, information from various Internet sites and images.

Caveat emptor: additional historical facts/information may be missing. my above post is meant to give a quick glimpse only.

Mustard Greens Chinese Fried Rice

2009-07-04T00:52:00.011+08:00

Each time I ordered fried rice from a restaurant here or back in Malaysia, it's always the same style with bits of 'char siew' (sweet barbequed pork), small prawns, mixed corn kernels, cubed carrots and peas. Since fried rice is so versatile and delicious, I made my own version of it with lots and lots of chopped 'chye sim' (mustard greens), and I would use up especially all the stems as they make the fried rice extra delicious and crunchy in the eating.

Recipe:
1 big bowl of cooked rice
1 tbsp cooking oil + 1 tbsp sesame seed oil (sesame seed oil is optional but it does add to the fragrance & taste. if you don't have it, just use 2 tbsp oil)
2-3 garlic, chopped
2-3 shallots, chopped
1 tbsp dried prawns, soaked in water for 10 mins, rinsed and chopped
1 egg
A bunch of 'chye sim', washed and chopped
A small bowl of diced ham (or luncheon meat)/chicken/small prawns
Soy sauce or salt (according to taste)

Heat the oil in a wok (or a pan if you don't have a wok). Saute the garlic, shallots and dried prawns for a few minutes. Break the egg in, mix in the diced ham/chicken/prawn and saute for another 2-3 minutes. Then, mix in the chye sim and rice together. Add soy sauce/salt and fry under medium fire for 3-5 minutes. The 'chye sim' will be just nice to the bite..with still crunchy stems.

Nyonya Spicy Cucumber Salad

2009-07-02T18:58:00.014+08:00

As a Malaysian 'Peranakan' family whose dad can only speak 2 words of Chinese in Hokkien dialect which are "Ho" (Good) and "Chiak" (Eat), we have always loved our food spicy, even with salads! This is one of my family's many, many favorite salad dishes that my mom used to make. It never fails to whet the appetite and it is very easy to do.

Recipe:
2 cucumbers
2-3 fresh red chilies
A few small slices of fried, boneless salted fish
3-4 shallots
juice of 1 small lime (limau kasturi)

Cut the cucumber in half, length-wise. Discard the inside 'stomach' (well, you know what I mean:), then slice. Pound/grind the chilies, shallots and fried salted fish together. Mix in and stir with the cucumber, add lime juice and stir. Keep in container with lid, and chill for 1 hour or so before serving.

Puff Pastry Apple Strudel With Creme Patissierie

2009-07-02T18:16:00.012+08:00

This Aussie-style (as was told) puff pastry apple strudel came out superbly well, at a recent pastry class I attended at Creative Culinaire, Singapore. It is money well spent - learning puff pastry methods through face-to-face interaction with a qualified and experienced pastry chef, Chef Judy. In truth, I have always refused to sign up for any baking/cooking class for the sole reason that since I have the interest and basic skills, there is nothing that I cannot learn or practice via books or the Internet. Call it stingy..or pride..whatever! :D Anyway, I have been receiving the school's monthly newsletter for the longest time and finally, this puff pastry class really caught my attention. It was an excellent hands-on class for anyone with interest.

Satisfaction is a good feeling when witnessing the puff being 'pulled to rise' a thin layer by a thin layer in the oven, with the buttery smell wafting through the air.

Happiness is an even better feeling when eating it! This is EXACTLY how life should be...light, flaky and crisp, buttery, sweet, delightfully creamy!

You can used any store-bought puff pastry to make the above apple strudel.

Here's the recipe for the pastry cream:

Milk 200g
Cream 200g
Sugar 80g
Egg yolk 65g
Corn flour 30g
Butter (optional) 10g

In a bowl, mix half the milk, yolk and cornflour.
Heat up the remaining milk, cream & sugar.
Pour some into the yolk mixture, stir and then pour it back into the main milk, cream & sugar mixture and cook with low heat, continuously stirring with a whisk.
Cook till it turns 'custardy' and till it bubbles.
Leave to cool slightly and use a piping bag to pie the custard on the pastry.

'Resting Clown' and 'Bug in the Garden' cupcakes

2009-07-01T20:25:00.007+08:00

Still reeling from my MJ 'out of this world' sad syndrome, I need to post something that will distract and keep me happy for a while. So, here it is.

First of all, let me say that I really like cupcakes because of the versatility and individuality they present in decoration. And I also like collecting various designs and colors of cupcake cases! Cupcakes are not just in vogue, they are great for any party! This is my 1st try molding a clown with some leftover sugar paste. I must say, in this warm and humid tropical weather, it is really quite a challenge trying to shape the sugar paste (fondant) and hoping that it will 'stay still'. I like the clown, but I still need to perfect it. Maybe I'll wait till December, when the weather is a bit cooler. Oops, I forgot, it's global warming, so December could still be really hot in this topsy-turvy world we live in now. However, back to this post, the bug idea is equally cute too, and I really got a kick from piping the 'grass' with buttercream. Just so much fun!

Orange & Rosemary Chicken

2009-06-20T22:31:00.008+08:00

Recipe:
Half a chicken, cleaned and pat dry (do not remove the skin)
2 Sunkist oranges (squeeze the juice from 1 1/2 oranges, and slice the remaining half)
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp coarse black peppercorn (another option is 1 tbsp Dijon mustard)
1 tsp salt
1 carrot, cut into chunks
2 potatoes, quartered
1 onion, quartered

Place the chicken in a roasting pan and scatter the carrot, potato and onion chunks all around the chicken. Scatter the orange slices on top the chicken. Mix the orange juice, rosemary, honey, salt and black pepper together in a bowl and stir. Pour all over the chicken. Bake in the oven at 170 or 180 deg C for about 1-1.5 hrs or till chicken is golden brown and the 'juice' has reduced in amount. While roasting, occasionally scoop the juice with a large spoon and 'bathe' over the chicken.

Ocean Theme Birthday Cupcakes For Wee Lim Who Turns 8!

2009-06-12T18:19:00.009+08:00