Cooking with Heart & Soul

Sweeti-Saurus...

2011-11-22T16:54:00.005+08:00

...yeshh! did a mini project on Dessert Tables for my youngest son's 3rd yr party bash last Oct. it was a hit, a hit with the kids nevertheless, and with the adults too! satisfied when the guests complimented the sweets galore. and did i tell you i made mashmellow dip with chocolates?? oooh boy, did these - arent they cute?? and delish - the 1st to be salvaged by all the sweeti-sauruses in the party....this project lashes out the creativity in me!

Letting off the Steam...

2011-11-19T09:40:00.000+08:00

...made another round of steamed tofu with minced chicken. the junior loved this dish so much ;) and i like it too! anyway, it is a healthy food and definately wont cost you more than 5 bucks :) eat it while it's still hot, yummy!

Chicken + Soup

2011-11-18T10:11:00.000+08:00

my youngest all-time favourite...and i love to have this with sambal belacan...drools!

Stir Fried Veges with Mussels...

2011-11-13T16:25:00.000+08:00

...nice to have this with hot steaming white rice on a cold day.

Mee Rebus...

2011-11-12T16:10:00.000+08:00

...was requested by the heavily preggy lady in the house. So there she had it last weekend, slurping the soup and had rounds of it ;)

oOoohhh Lala!

2011-11-11T09:26:00.004+08:00

Got the recipe from MyRecipe and indeed, it was truly yummy!

Lala lovers, you simply ought to try this :)

My-All-Time-Favourite...

2011-11-10T09:39:00.000+08:00

...is none other than Assam Pedas.

Just the thought of it could make me salivate.

Often, i would store the remaining gravy.

Simply because the longer you keep, the better the taste it'd be (provided you cook it properly :P)

Only then, you can enjoy crackers or bread dip in kuah assam pedas or simply fry an egg and pour the kuah over it....simply shiokness!

Of Chicken...

2011-11-09T09:58:00.002+08:00

...with soya sauce or Ayam Masak Kicap. I like mine with fried potato (wedges), lotsa onions and cili padi. Just this with hot steaming white rice is sufficient. Am drooling now...oh dear!

Steamed Tofu with Mince Chicken...

2011-11-08T15:30:00.000+08:00

Healthier choice of food that is affordable & abundant. This tofu dish is simple to prepare with minimal seasonings used. But a sure delicious snack / a dish on its own...

Breakfast is...

2011-05-15T20:06:00.000+08:00

Something easy for a superhot day. Our brunch for a lazy Sunday...

Mini Bread Pudding...

2011-05-07T16:19:00.001+08:00

...with Chips & Custard Sauce....it's simply heaven!

Big Breafast...

2011-04-30T16:37:00.001+08:00

i simply love the weekends. breakfast is bonding time for my family.

Oishi Nei!!

2011-02-13T10:27:00.000+08:00

Japanese cuisine has hit the family's tastebud this month, especially the Teppanyaki. We went to Yureka's not long ago to try their Teppanyaki sets. While it was the 1st Halal Japanese Teppanyaki Restaurant in Spore, it wasnt our 1st time trying Japanese cuisine. Yureka's fusion - offering an arrays of Thai dishes as well. The food served was nice and delish. But there's a few that couldnt hold what Pavillion, KL's Teppanyaki Restaurant has to offer. Yes, Pavillion's stir-fry sprouts is much better, Pavillion's Miso soup is more refreshing (Yureka's a lil'sourish) and while Yureka's teppanyaki's more to teriyaki sauces (sweet), Pavillion won our heart as their sauces varies with all their sets! So you wont kinda get sick with just the same sauce taste....but overall, we'd still give Yureka's a big thumbs up. Their fried pomfret with teriyaki sauce and chicken teriyaki was sooo delish...that I tried to copy theirs and cooked on my own :D

Yes, yes, yes! Managed to get that almost same taste (if not, better ;)) for their Japanese Garlic Fried Rice and my own Salmon Teriyaki. We had our own teppanyaki meal at home last night and hubby and my lil'boss (my eldest) both gave a thumbs-up for my new concoction..yippeee.."Can give Seoul Garden & Yureka a tough fight", the hubby said :D

So much in love with this crunchy garlic fried rice :)

My grilled salmon teriyaki..yummyyyy....

Of Noodles...

2011-02-10T15:30:00.003+08:00

after a long hiatus....

woohoo, unable to find the noodles type i wanted so i just have to make do with the normal hokkien noodle. nevertheless, the desired output was a success. this was trialed on CNY...

very yummylicious...

Mee Hailam...

2010-09-01T21:20:00.000+08:00

Made this quickly for Iftar tonight. Just want to clear whatever stock I have in the fridge.

Ingredients

500g yellow egg noodle

1l water

2 Maggi Beef cubes

Sliced chicken breast

A handful of fishballs

A handful of Chinese Cabbage

A handful of sliced carrots

A handful of bokchoy

1 tbsp diced garlic

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tspn dark soy sauce

A few dashes of white pepper

Cornflour mix

Salt to taste

Fried Shallots

Method

1. Heat oil and saute the garlic till fragrant.

2. Add in the oyster & dark soy sauce and stir.

3. Add the sliced chicken breast and let it cook.

4. Pour water and let boil. Add in the beef cubes. Let boil.

5. Add in the carrot, sliced cabbage, fishballs and the white pepper & salt to taste.

6. 5 mins later, add in the cornflour mixture and stir quickly. Add in the bokchoy.

7. Turn off heat.

8. Blanch noodles. Pour the soup over the noodles and sprinkle fried shallots generously. Eat with chilli padi with nampla sauce.

Fast & Furious - Tokyo Drift...

2010-08-31T23:47:00.001+08:00

...hahahah, not those racing cars le. But the meal I whipped for Iftar tonight is truly a fast & furious dish. Took me only 30 mins to make the soup :D My so-called own recipe, yippeeee...

Ingredients

2 Maggi Ikan Bilis cubes

1 tbsp of white pepper powder

Some water for the broth

Some Japanese Chilli Powdered Chilli Pepper Mix (to sprinkle)

Your choice of greens ( I used bokchoy)

Some chilli padi

A handful of Shiitake Mushroom

A handful of fishballs/fishcakes/sotong balls/crab sticks etc (whichever you prefer)

1 packet Udon Noodle (NTUC store-bought)

Salt & seasoning to taste (I omit this)

1 tbsp light soy sauce

Method

1. Clean all seafood & greens.

2. Boil water and add in the Ikan Bilis cubes & soy sauce. Stir well.

3. Add in the mushrooms, sotong balls & crab sticks and let boil.

4. Lastly, add in the greens and add dashes of white pepper powder. Turn off stove.

5. Boil udon and pour the hot broth over it. Sprinkle some chilli powder & chilli padi. Serve hot.

Simply Thai...

2010-08-31T12:11:00.002+08:00

When I'm too lazy to whip anything else, this goes! Combination of the usual Malay Mee Goreng + Thailand Tom Yam paste / cube. Dont make it too dry or you wont get to feel the Tom Yam taste. Authentic, right? You wouldnt get this recipe from the net cos this is a dish which I concocted in hope to clear the fridge hahahhaha :)) But, like Mr Husband commented "Ermm, nice, something different!" Yeayness!

From Kuching with Love...

2010-08-29T23:55:00.000+08:00

Success!!!... :D Thank you dear mother-in-law for inparting your recipe to me (even though it was purely based on estimation), but yeayness...my yin & yang balanced. I meant the taste was near to perfection, said the hubba. I was head over heels when my 1st attempt was a huge success!

Initially, I wanted to search the recipe myself from the web but most recipes call for Laksa Sarawak Paste. I reckon we didnt have that here, so it somehow, dampen my mood. Then I recall mother-in-law had made this before so I turned to her and 'begged' for the recipe :)) And the father-in-law chipped in some tips on how to sweeten the gravy using prawn stock.

The preparation was lil'tedious cos the noodle used a lot of add-ons such as fishcakes, taupok, cucumber, chilli padi, prawns coriander leaves, laksa leaves, shredded chicken, omelette and phewwww....but the taste was superb!! Very light unlike our local laksa lemak. Am so gonna stick to this recipe...thank you my in-laws!!!

Seafood Horfun...

2010-08-24T21:07:00.001+08:00

...for Iftar tonight.

Ingredients for the noodle

500g kway teow

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp diced garlic

some oil

Method

1. Heat oil and fry garlic till fragrant.

2. Add in the oyster sauce, black soya sauce & noodle. Stir till all blends well. Remove from stove.

Ingrdients for the gravy

A handful of fishballs

A handful of crab sticks

Some greens (i used bokchoy & young corns, u may add whatever greens you like)

2 beef cubes

1 tbsp oyster sauce

Salt & seasoning (i omit this)

Water

Oil

1 tsp garlic (blend)

1 tsp onion (blend)

Some sliced ginger

3 tbsp corn flour mixture (depends on how thick you want the gravy to be)

2 eggs

Method

1. Heat oil and fry garlic, onion & ginger till fragrant.

2. Add in water and let boil.

3. Once water boils, add in the beef cube, fishballs, crabstick & young corn. Add in the oyster sauce and stir well.

4. Add the greens and stir for few mins.

5. Before serving, add in the corn flour mixture. Stir quickly. Beat eggs and pour into the gravy quickly and off the flame.

6. Pour the thicken gravy on the fried noodles and served with lotsa fried onions & chilli padi that have been pre-soaked with nampla. Yummmm...

Laksa Goreng...

2010-08-20T21:37:00.000+08:00

Whipped this noodle as a side dish few days ago for Iftar. I remembered how Mr Hubby detest this noodle in the early stage of our marrriage but now, he has gradually try to likened it. This was my late mum's fave noodle for breakfast during the weekend - simple but filling. Sighhhh....somehow, I felt that this year's Ramadhan is so empty, without her around :( Al-Fateha to my late mum...

Smell something Fish(y)...

2010-08-10T12:10:00.000+08:00

When I simply do not know what to cook, this comes handy :)

Ingredients

Black pomfret (wash & clean)

10 red chillies + 5 chilli padi

2 big onions

1 garlic

some oil

some salt to taste

Method

1. Marinade the fish with some salt & tumeric powder. Leave it a while and fry fish.

2. Pound all chillies, onions & garlic.

3. Heat oil and saute the pounded ingredients till fragrant.

4. Add some salt to taste.

5. Once cooked, you can add in the fish and stir together or you can pour the cooked sauce over the fish.

6. Serve with hot rice.

Go West

2010-08-09T22:58:00.001+08:00

Saw beef sirloin sold at a discounted price at Giant MP and I grabbed a few packets to whip steak meal for the family on National Day. Since the hubby was called to work, I made myself busy at my kitchen with this and when he came home in the evening, it was all prepared. Food that fits for my King :)

I didnt refer to any recipes online or books but concocted a 'rojak' marinade for the steak, as well as for the sauce. All base on 'agak-agak' or estimation.

Ingredients to marinade steak

About 1 tbsp of blended garlic, onion & ginger

1 cup of crushed black pepper

2 tbsp of lightsoy sauce

Some olive oil

1 tsp sugar

salt to taste

A handful of rosemary herbs

Method

1. Wash clean the meat first and mix all and marinade the steak for at least 1 day.

2. Boiled some carrot, brocoli & cauliflower with a bit salt to go along with the meal. I made Jamie Oliver's Buttered Mash Potatoes also.

3. You can either grill or fry the meat chunks.

Ingredients for the blackpepper sauce

Diced white onions

Diced garlic

Olive oil

1 cube of beek stock

some water

2 tbsp crushed black pepper

4 tbsp Woh Hup black pepper sauce

1 can cream of mushroom

Method

1. Heat oil and saute onions & garlic till fragrant.

2. Add in the cube beef stock and stir.

3. Add the cream of mushroom, black pepper sauce and crushed black pepper. Stir.

4. Pour some water if its too thick.

5. Let it simmer.

Of Me[at]...

2010-08-06T10:50:00.002+08:00

I have been keeping low profile the past 1/2 year not because I've lost interest in food-blogging. My life has been topsy-turvy since the passing on of my beloved mum. Felt kinda lost, having to lead own life without her around. Trying to pick the bits & pieces up as I carry on with life. 6 mths in solitude, 6 mths of soul-searching, and 6 mths to recuperate from that painful feeling (of losing her), and now I'm back, God's will, that this blog will be kept alive. I'm back to normal self again albeit not 100%. I will make Mak proud by continuing her passion in cooking (even though she's not around, I know she is there with me in my small kitchen while I cook up a storm for my family :)). Al-Fateha for dearest Mak.

Found this recipe from my mum's old recipe book - it was neatly hand-written by my sister :)

Daging Masak Kandar

1kg meat (pre-boiled)

2 tbsp meat curry powder/paste

1 tbsp dark black soy sauce (it was written as kicap pekat)

1 tbsp tomato sauce

1 tbsp chilli sauce

A handful of small red onions (I blended but the recipe said to 'ulek')

2-3 garlic (I blended but the recipe said to 'ulek')

A handful of fresh mint leaves ( i omit this cos i dun have at that moment)

A handful of curry leaves

Some cinnamon stick, star anise & cloves (washed)

Some oil & water (i used the boiled beef stock)

Salt to taste

Method

1. Heat oil and fry the condiments. Add in the curry leaves.

2. Add in the blended onions & garlic and stir. Add in the curry powder and the rest of the sauces. Fry till fragrant.

3. Pour water/ beef stock abit if the gravy is a lil'thick. Add in the chunks of meat and let cook.

4. Lastly add salt to taste and sprinkle the mint leaves. Off the flame & ready to be served.

Reminiscing Rawon

2010-01-21T09:44:00.004+08:00

Nasi Rawon with (clockwise direction) Tempe Goreng, Paru Goreng, Begedil, Tauhu Goreng, Sambal Tumis Sotong, Sambal Belacan, Fresh Cucumber Slices, Sambal Paru, Rendang Daging and Garam Asam.

Last weekend, I perked up my courage to try what I wasnt confident of initially. Celebrating my eldest 8th birthday last 17/1/10, I served my guest Nasi Rawon - a traditional Javanese delicacy - and its condiment and side dishes. Am I kidding? You may asked, but no, I wasnt. I tried on my own and Alhamdulillah, it turned out fine, as a matter of fact, I received several thumbs up from my brother-in-laws and siblings.

I didnt get the raw buah keluak cos I wasnt sure how to clean them up. I found out that these fruits could be lethal if not cleaned properly, so DH grabbed the cleaned ones from Geylang for me. I started with the affair as early as after my morning prayers (Subuh) cos I used tetelan for the Kuah Rawon. Gosh, it took me straight 3 hours to softened these tetelan meats ~ I should have known to use the pressure cooker next time! But the wait is worthwhile...the smell, the aroma, ohh mamamia...splendid. The wonders of traditional food! And so, when the soup is done, went on to whip all the other Javanese side dishes that must go along with Rawon. And that is, Garam Asam, Paru Sambal, Rendang Daging, Sambal Tumis Sotong, Paru Goreng, Tauhu Goreng, Tempe Goreng and Sambal Belacan. But Alhamdulillah, my kitchen was cleaned up and cooking was done before 1.00 pm.

When I looked back what I did last Sunday, ooh gosh, I couldnt believe that/what I could do. Guess, it's just a matter of being confident and the curiousity to try new/old recipes. I want to do it again :) ~ perhaps my cooking new resolution?

Ingredients (sorry, all estimation. no exact amount)

2 bags of Buah Keluak (bought from Geylang Market) (*)

A handful of long beans

1kg of tetelan (beef rump)

3 onions (*)

3 garlics (*)

Ginger (*)

Fresh Tumeric (*)

2 tbsp dried chilli paste

Some shrimp paste (*)

Galangal & Lemon Grass (bruised)

Assam Water

Daun Salam (Bay Leaves)

Salt & seasonings

Oil

Water

Method

1. Blend all items (*) with some water.

2. Heat oil. Fry the blended items till oil surfaced. Add in the chilli paste and stir well. Fry till fragrant.

3. Add water and tetelan. Let boil till beef softened.

4. Add the lemongrass & galangal. Stir and let boil.

5. Add in the seasonings, assam water, long beans and Daun Salam.

6. Served with other condiments, side dishes and hot white rice.

Chicken Korma

2009-12-02T08:43:00.003+08:00

When I'm not into curry, I'll whip its synonym - Korma. My eldest loves this and he'll ask for extras esp the chicken meat. The gravy isnt hot so perhaps kids will enjoy this dish. However, my eldest wont eat it with rice cos he dislike rice since young. He'll eat it on its own or with bread.

Stir Fried Prawns with Dried Chilli

2009-12-01T13:14:00.002+08:00

Sometimes when I'm outta ideas and the brain cells aint working well, simple menu with 'campak-campak' recipes were often dished out from my lil'kitchen. The above is one good example for yesternight's dinner. Simply took less than 15 mins to whip this dish..voila.

Ingredients

500g prawns (de-vein and de-shelled)

1 white onion (sliced thickly)

2 garlics (sliced)

4 dried chillies (cut halves)

Salt to taste (a pinch is enuff cos the stock is tasty)

1 tsp tumeric powder

1 tbsp oil for frying

1 tbsp Maggi chicken stock (or you can use oyster sauce)

Some water

Method

Clean prawns and removed its veins. Heat oil in a wok and saute the onions & garlics. Once softened, add in the dried chillies and tumeric powder. Stir well. If the mixture is dry, add some water. Add the chicken stock and a pinch of salt, stir well. Lastly, add in the prawns and let it cook for about 5 mins. Dish up and serve.

L for Lontong

2009-11-26T09:45:00.003+08:00

Seeing that there were some leftover lontong, I whipped this the very next day after I dished out Soto.

Need recipe? I dun think so lah, cos lontong gravy is our almost everyday basic recipe ;)

Soto Ayam

2009-11-25T10:35:00.002+08:00

Had this simple Soto with Adabi instant lontong, lotsa chilli, begedil, generous amount of chicken strips, fried peanuts and tons of fried onions.

Simply sedaappp...

What's not delish when eaten during these rainy season, a natural way for an instant body warmth.

Ketam Masak Lemak

2009-11-24T10:10:00.003+08:00

Havent had this traditional dish for so long a time. Everytime when we bought crabbies, it'd be always be Black Pepper Crab or Chilli Crab menus. And I've long forgotten my root's specialilty. Yes, I'd even forgotten its basic recipe! See, what modernisation has gone into me. Guess it's high time to do a U-turn and start whipping more kampung & traditional dishes..those I believe will be my priceless treasures.

Am lucky cos I've still that touch to cook this Lemak Ketam, Alhamdulillah, the taste was as good as those I had during my younger days with mum's cooking. Can't beat hers but I'll try my best to be abreast - at least of the same standard with hers.

Pandan Chicken

2009-11-24T09:55:00.002+08:00

The ultimate result was delish but the preparation part was tedious, very leceh as one need to wrap the chicken chunks with the pandan leaves. Challenging though ;) Got this recipe from the internet, thank you for the contributor who have shared this lovely recipes.

Ingredients

500g chicken fillet (cut into small chunks)

* 3 onions (blend)

* 3 garlics (blend)

* 1/2 cm ginger (blend)

* 1/2 cm galangal

* 1/2 cm tumeric (blend)

* 2 lemongrass (bruised and blend)

* 10 birds eye chillies (blend and add more if you want to be spicier)

2 tbsp coconut milk (optional)

1 tbsp honey

salt & seasonings

1 tspn ground coriander

1 tspn ground cumin

Pandan leaves

Method

1. Cut chicken fillet into smaller chunks. Blend all the * items.

2. Add the chunks into the blended items. Add in the coconut milk, coriander, cumin, salt, seasonings and honey. Mix well.

3. Rinse and dry the pandan leaves.

4. Wrap the chunks with the pandan leaves and fasten with toothpicks.

5. Fry till the leaves turn brown.

Ikan Bakar Berlada (Grilled Fish)

2009-11-23T13:45:00.003+08:00

After a long 2 months of hiatus...now i'm back :) I'll try to update all the long awaited photos which I took, but didnt managed to be uploaded here....been busy, far too busy with work and other commitments, that I've neglected my this diary. So let's get the ball rolling with my first entry - Ikan Bakar Berlada or simply, Grilled Fish with Chilly.

Ingredients

2 slice of fish (I used Mackarels /Kembung Batu)

5 tbsp chilli paste

3 red onions (pound)

2 garlic (pound)

1/2 inch ginger (pound)

1/2 inch tumeric (pound)

3 tbsp asam juice

2 lemongrass (lightly bruised with the back of the knife)

some oil

salt

3-4 lime

Method

1. Heat oil and fry the lemongrass. Add in all the pounded items and fried till fragrant. Add in the chilli paste and stir well. Once cooked, add in the salt to taste & assam juice. Cook them well and this paste can last you a week.

2. Stuff the cooked chilli paste into the fish (I made pockets) and grilled for abt 15 mins.

3. Squeezed some lime juices on the fish before savouring this dish with steam, hot rice.

Assam Rebus

2009-09-30T13:11:00.003+08:00

After days of heavy indulgence of festive dishes, the taste bud is crying for something simple. So this morning, I cooked Assam Rebus with Corn. A healthy dish - no oil is used in its preparation, simply throw all the vegetables in a pot and let it boil. Very finger-licking good if you are one who loves simple kampung dishes. Additionally, I boiled salted egg to go with this dish and you can even shallow fry salted fish to give that extra umpph! The soup is tangy cos it has a well-balanced taste of sourish & sweetness. Yummm..

Ingredients (no estimation)
onion, blended
garlic, blended
dried chillies, blended
3 pcs of assam keping
ikan bilis, lightly pounded
salt
sugar
small amount of shrimp paste (belacan), mix with water
water
choices of greens (i used green beans, cabbage & corns)

Method
Heat water, add in blended onion, garlic and dried chilli paste. Stir. Throw in the assam keping, belacan mixture, vegetables and the pounded ikan bilis. Let is boil. Lastly, add salt, seasonings & sugar to your likings.

Of Kylie Kwong's...

2009-09-03T15:11:00.003+08:00

Tried Kylie's version of Hokkien Mee for Iftar last night. Very simple, very delicious. Just alright for a busy working mum like me :) (that's why the lack of updates, even though pictures are all line up in my external hard disk :( )

Recipe (with slight modification)

4 tbsp of light soya sauce

2 tsp sugar

2 tbsp diced garlic

A bowl of chicken breast or prawns or fishballs (as per your likings)

1 bunch of choy sum

2 tbsp ginger (blend/diced)

2 tbsp oyster sauce (more if u like)

1 red pepper bell (sliced thinly)

A bowl of shitake mushrooms, sliced

500gm hokkien noodles

1/2 cup water

salt to taste

Method

1. Mix soya sauce, sugar and garlic in a bowl.

2. Add chicken or prawns and marinate for 30 mins.

3. Heat oil, fry ginger and the chicken / prawns mixture till cook.

4. Add in the bell pepper, shitake mushroom, fishballs, choy sum and stir.

5. After 5 mins, add water & oyster sauce. A dash of seasonings to taste.

6. Finally add noodles and stir thoroughly. If you like it hot, throw some sliced birds' eye chillies for a kick.

What a Sumptuous Spread...

2009-07-20T11:10:00.007+08:00

...we had last Saturday.

Siblings came visiting so I whipped these spread for them. Days before, I had surfed the web to search for the recipes but eventually didnt use them all as I'd decided to rely on mum's recipes. Mum only mentioned verbally the ingredients for each dish and the way they were cooked. So I was frantically jotting notes to get all in order & correct.

Phewww...after slogging for nearly 2 hours in my lil'kitchen, I'm satisfied with my siblings' feedback :D No pain, no gain...

Breakfast @ Tiffany's...

2009-07-18T09:06:00.000+08:00

...naaahhh.

Just a simple breakfast for a cheerful Saturday morning at my humble abode...

Chap Chye with Beancurd

2009-07-16T11:28:00.003+08:00

Just have to clear the stocks in my fridge that I whipped this simple Chap Chye recipe for dinner. I added Egg Tofu to this dish - yess, no more unused tofu in my fridge!

Ingredients

A handful of mixed veges of your choice

Some oil for frying

1 tspn garlic

1 tspn chicken stock (I used Maggie Chicken Stock)

2 tspn cornflour, mix with water

Egg Tofu (i shallow-fried them first)

Some prawns (deshelled)

Some water (abt 100 ml)

Salt to taste

Dashes of white pepper (I ran out of it, so I substituted it with black pepper)

Method

Heat oil and saute garlic. Stir and be careful not to burn it. Add in the mixed veges, prawns and chicken stock. Stir-fry them. Add in the corn flour mixture, salt & pepper to taste. Stir and lower heat. Before serving, add in the fried tofu and mix well.

Salam Taj Mahal...

2009-07-13T14:56:00.007+08:00

...of poori, okra, potato masala, kheema but unfortunately no Indian ice-cream or desserts over the weekend.

I saw my ex-schoolmate, Rai, did poori for her family and I thought I'd wanted to give the hubby a surprise. Her recipe used was simple, that was one of the reason I dared to try :P My mum was extra excited when she saw my flat bread ballooned up when I fried them. She would have never thought her this lazy daughter could whip something liddat!

So, since my siblings cameby to visit the Queen (my mum), they had a chance to try out the maid's Indian delicacies...

Poori (Recipe from here, thanks Rai for sharing!)
1 Cup wheat flour2 tbspns oil
Oil for for deep frying
1/2 tspn salt
Warm water to knead the dough

Method : Mix flour,oil & salt, by hand. Knead well by adding water to make a hard dough. Cover it with a wet cloth. Heat oil for Deep Frying. Divide the roll into lime sized balls. With the help of rolling pin, roll each to disc/circular shape. Deep fry poori in hot oil for a minute, turn side & fry till puffed & golden in color.

Potato Masala's recipe from here, but with a little twist :)

Stir-fired Okra's recipe from here.

Kheema
500g mince meat
2 onions, diced
2 tomatoes, diced
2 potato, diced
2 tsp ginger & garlic paste
150g green peas
2 tbsp meat curry powder
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tspn tumeric powder
1/2 cup coriander leave
1/2 cup oil
Salt to taste
Some water

Method : Heat oil and saute diced onions till caramelised. Add the ginger & garlic paste and tomato and stir well. Add in chilli powder, meat curry powder and tumeric powder. Stir fry for about 10 mins. Then, add in the mince meat and salt to taste. Add in the diced potato & some water and cook for 10-15 mins more. Lastly, add in the green peas and coriander leaves and off the heat. For a nicer aroma, add in the coriander leaves roots into the dish.

Fried Macaroni...

2009-07-10T11:31:00.003+08:00

for a cheerful Sunday morning... :)

Ingredients

1 packet of your preferred macaroni (boiled & strained)

Carrot, diced

4-5 chili padi, sliced

400g mince meat

A handful of chinese celery & spring onion

Some fried onions

1 tbsp ketchup / tomato paste

Some oil for frying

Salt for seasoning

To blend :

10-15 dried chillies, deseed

2 cloves garlic

1 red onion

Method

1. Heat oil and saute all the blended ingredients till fragrant.

2. Once cooked, add in the minced meat. Stir slowly.

3. Once tender, add in the diced carrots, ketchup or tomato paste and stir.

4. Add seasonings to your likings. Put in the boiled pasta and stir slowly.

5. To serve, garnish with boiled egg, sprinkle of chili padi, chinese celery, spring onion and lotsa of fried onions.

Of Meat Patties...

2009-07-07T13:34:00.003+08:00

...and my lil one loves this so much that he often brought this as his lunch to school. He said the taste is different from the frozen burger patties where it can get hardened after sometime, but not the patties I made for him. Still juicy & tender even when he ate it at 3.00 pm during his recess time! Kids dun lie, you know... :P All thanks to Mr Jamie Oliver for his wonderful recipes :)

Ingredients (I half all the ingredients)

1kg minced meat

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
some olive oil
a pinch of cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a handful of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 heaped tablespoon English mustard
1 large free-range egg (use normal ones if u cant find)
115g breadcrumbs
some burger buns

Method

Transfer the meat to a bowl. In a big frying pan, slowly cook the onion in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes until softened but not coloured. Add the onion to the meat - it will give sweetness to the burger. Using a pestle and mortar, bash up the cumin and coriander seeds with a pinch of salt and freshly ground black pepper until fine and add to the meat. Then add the Parmesan, mustard, egg and half the breadcrumbs and mix well. If the mixture is too sticky, add a few more breadcrumbs.

Lay some greaseproof paper on a tray or large plate and sprinkle over some of the remaining breadcrumbs. Shape the meat into 8 fat burgers and place these on top of the crumbs on the tray. Sprinkle more crumbs on top and press down gently. The burgers are better if they are chilled before cooking, so put them in the fridge for an hour or so.

Take your burgers out of the fridge and fry them in a little oil on a medium to high heat for about 8 to 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the burgers and how you like them, turning occasionally. Serve them on toasted burger buns.

Chicken Kung Pao

2009-06-29T23:39:00.001+08:00

Cooked this for dinner tonight..simple & delicious...

Ingredients
500g chicken fillets, diced
100g cachew nuts, (i forgo this)
3-4 strips of dried chillies, cut into 1.5 cm long
1 white onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, blended
1 cm fresh ginger, blended
A handful of capcicums
3 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tbsp of chilli sauce
Some water
Cooking oil
Salt, if need be

Method
1. Heat oil and saute ginger & garlic till fragrant.
2. Add in the dried chillies and white onions and followed by the oyster sauce, chilli sauce & stir well.
3. Add in capcicums and some water.
4. Sprinkle some salt and stir well until liquid dried up a little.
5. Add the cashew nuts, mix well & serve hot.

Mee Rebus

2009-06-12T09:57:00.004+08:00

I'm still hopeless in whipping this dish particularly. Still needed my mum's help with it. Credit goes to my mum cos she's the one cooking while I prepares all the ingredients etc.

Her campak-campak method usually does wonders and almost all dishes she cooks will turn out delish!

If it was me who does the campak-campak thingy, in no time, I'll be the one who gonna be kick / throw out (campak) from the lil'kitchen :P

Swedish Meatballs

2009-06-07T20:36:00.001+08:00

Have been wanting to try this recipe out all this while. Ikea's not halal so the best way to try this dish is to do it yourself. I have been surfing around for the recipes and eventually settled for this. The ingredients used are simple and it wasnt difficult at all. The meat's tender & overall, it was delish.

The only thing that I am still not satisfied is the gravy. I'd thought it had to be darker brown in colour but not sure why mine turned out a lil'pale though I used beef stock. Did I cook wrongly?

Anyway, dark or light, the taste wonderful. I added Mint Jelly for that minty taste -it goes well with the meat.

Hehe, now I dont need to travel up to KL to savour Ikea's Swedish Meatballs. I could have it on my own from my own lil'kitchen!

Ingredients

150 ml cream (i opt this out)

2 cubes of beef stock, mix with 100 ml water

2 eggs lightly beaten

500g mince meat

6 tbsp breadcrumbs

1 onion, chopped

Salt and black pepper to taste

Butter for frying

400 ml beef stock for gravy

Method

1. Mix cream, egg and beef stock together.

2. Add the breadcrumbs and mix evenly.

3. Season with salt & pepper and add the onion and mince meat.

4. If the mixture is still watery, add more breadcrumbs.

5. Shape the mixture into balls.

6. Heat the butter and pan-fry till slightly browned.

7. Transfer all onto baking tray and bake for 10 mins at medium heat.

To make gravy, in a small saucepan, boil the 400ml beef stock. On another saucepan, melt butter and add 2 tbsp of plain flour. Stir gently. Add the stock mixture little by little while continue stirring to ensure no formation of lumps. Season with pepper & salt.

Thai Fish Cakes (Tod Mun Pla)

2009-06-05T08:38:00.002+08:00

Each time I had this delish nibblets, memories of Phuket & Bangkok came to my mind...

Recipes adapted from Chef Wan's Simply Sedap Recipe Book.

Ingredients

300g Spanish Mackarel, minced

1 tbsp Thai red curry paste

1 stalk lemongrass, finely sliced

1 kaffir leaf, finely sliced

2 teaspoons nam pla

1 egg yolk, beaten

1 tbsp cornstarch flour

6 long beans, sliced finely

4 chili padi, finely sliced

cooking oil for pan-frying

Method

1. Combine the mackarel with all other ingredients except oil. Refrigerate well for an hour.

2. With oiled palm, shape mixture into flattened balls.

3. Pan fry the balls in hot oil.

4. Serve hot.

Graham Cracker Tarts

2009-06-01T15:22:00.001+08:00

I used to make this with creamcheese filling. But for this round, I added white chocolate into the filling. It was delish!

Next time, gonna try peaches or strawberries as toppings - fresh raspberries & blueberries are not cheap!

Got the recipe from here.

Roti John

2009-05-31T14:19:00.003+08:00

I've been away from this bloggy for too long, too long that I almost considered to end it. But due to the love for cooking, baking and all the experimenting, I persevere hard and determine to keep my this e-recipe blog alive.

Time is always not on my side ever since my #2 came into existence. And the dreadful things at work, my hands are tight and always full - these further delay me from updating stuff here.

Ok, now that many things have settled, I hope to be able to be active again in my lil'kitchen.

So for a start, I made simple Roti John (still can't beat Taman Serasi's) for breakfast. It is essentially an omelette sandwich, a popular Malay breakfast and snack item in Singapore. And they are best eaten while still hot.

Recipe

1 French loaf, cut half

200g minced beef

2 eggs, beaten

1 large onion, minced

2 cili padi, seeded and minced

2 tsp meat curry powder

1 tsp garlic, minced

1/2 tsp ginger, minced

1 tbsp diced chinese parsley

salt to taste

Method:

1. Mix beaten egg, onion and meat together.

2. Add curry powder, garlic, ginger and salt. Mix in the cili padi and parsley.

3. Spread the mixture onto the halved French loaf.

4. Heat a pan and coat thinly with oil. Shallow-fry the bread slices until the egg mixture becomes brown and sizzling and the bread is crispy.

5. Serve with sweet chilli sauce.

Orange Butter Cake

2009-02-25T08:19:00.005+08:00

We had an abundant supply of oranges when neighbours gave us in boxes during the last CNY. Of course, they were of good grades and very sweet. Most imptly, seedless! Though we consumed a huge amount of this citrus fruits, I'm just glad that we were not down with cough.

So, besides enjoying them raw, I made a cake, specifically, an orange cake. Recipe adapted from a travel magazine book. Very simple recipe but the result is good.

Ingredients

250g butter, softened at room temperature

11/4 cups sugar

4 eggs, at room temperature

2 cups of self-raising flour, sifted

2 tsp orange zest

100ml fresh orange juice (I freshly squeezed the juices out from those oranges)

Method

Preheat oven to 160 deg celcius. Cream butter and sugar together until pale & fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Fold flour into the batter. Add the zest and juice and mix only until the batter is well incorporated. Pour batter into a moulded tin and bake for 40 mins or until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean.

Crispy Tortilla Snacks

2009-02-24T03:01:00.000+08:00

It rained heavily last Sunday and the weather is terrificly nice. Windy & chilly.

I intend to whip some Jemput-Jemput Udang, nice right, to enjoy this nibblets on a cold day - with hot coffee or tea. Yummy. But to change my mind at the very last minute to whip something sinful. Very sinful snack - of tortillas, cheese & minced meat.

I couldnt remember the exact ingredients used but this is a Donna Hay's recipe. Since there was no time to search in the net, I simply used what I have and churned out my very-own style of Tortilla Snacks. Got a thumbs-up from the hubby..yippeee..

Ingredients

1 packet of Tortilla chips

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tbsp chilli paste

500g minced beef

1/2 cup Prego Tomato Sauce

1/2 cup tomato puree

2 Knorr beef cubes

1/2 cup chopped coriander

1/2 cup mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup cheddar cheese

Method

Heat oil, add onion and garlic. Cook until soft. Add chilli paste and stir till fragrant. Then add the puree & tomato sauce, stir well before adding the beef. Add some water if sauce too thick. Let simmer for about 15 mins or till sauce thickens. Add the coriander and stir.

To serve

Place tortilla chips on a baking plate, layer it with beef sauce and sprinkle cheese on top. Cook in over until cheese melts.

Coney Dog

2009-02-23T13:49:00.004+08:00

Everytime when one mention about Coney Dog, A&W will come to one's mind. For if you wanna know, A& W is very famous back in the 80s. Their signature dishes include Coney Dog, Waffles & Float. I always had them at Bukit Merah outlet. But as years passby and as more new junky food joints mushroomed, A&W, is slowly being pushed out from the limelight. There are as strong as KFCs and McDs but aint lucky enough to sustain in this industry. If I'm not wrong, they are the only food joint that offers Curly Fries - very sedap and original. And even right now, I dun seem to be able to find available outlet. Such a pity.

So, when I search for a Coney Dog Sauce recipe, I stumbled accidentally at Jeni's . The recipe is so simple that makes me wanna try it last Saturday. Kak Jeni mentioned that she got this recipe from allrecipes.com

I did make slight modification to suit my tastebud, though.

Ingredients

500g ground beef

1/4 cup water

1/4 chopped onion

1 clove garlic, diced

1 cup tomato sauce (I used Prego Tomato Sauce)

1/2 tspn chilli powder (I used 1 tbsp chilli paste, like it to be a bit hotter)

1/2 tspn MSG (I opt this out)

1/2 tspn salt (I added some ground black pepper)

Method (use own method)

Saute onions & garlic till browned. Add chilli paste and fry till fragrant. Add minced beef till browned. Add tomato sauce & water. Stir. Add salt & black pepper to taste. Allow the sauce to simmer for abt 10 minutes.

Mushroom Quiche

2009-02-20T15:55:00.002+08:00

Simply love mushrooms. This round, I made quiche with loads of them. Recipe taken from Alex Goh Irresistable Pastry Book.

Ingredients - Filling
160g onion, sliced
3 tbsp oil
100g white button mushrooms, sliced
80g grated Parmesan cheese
3 eggs
200g milk
150g whipping cream
20g flour
A pinch of salt, pepper and ground cinnamon

Ingredient - Pastry
200g butter
100g icing sugar
Quater spoon vanilla essence
1 egg
420g flour
1 tbsp milk powder

Method
1. Cream butter, sugar & vanilla essence and add egg until smooth.
2. Add flour and powder milk and mix until well blended.
3. Roll out pastry to about 3mm thick. Line a greased remekins with the rolled pastry. Pricked the pastry with a fork and let chill in fridge for 20 mins.
4. Line pastry shell with foil or greaseproof paper with green beans. Bake at 190 deg celcius for 15 mins. Remove foil and beans and bake for another 5 more mins. Set aside to cool.
5. Fry onions with oil till becomes brown. Set aside.
6. Place the browned onions in each shell. Add Parmesan cheese and sliced mushrooms on top.
7. Mix the rest of the ingredients well. Strain and pour it into each shells.
8. Bake for 25 mins at 200 deg celcius.

Pulut Kuning

2009-02-13T16:12:00.003+08:00

I hold my lil'babe's Majlis Cukur Rambut on 11 Jan 09 and this is what I did as the favour or 'buah tangan' for all the Marhaban members - Pulut Kuning.

I know, it's a very ol'skool kinda favour but to go along with this kinda of function, think it's only appropriate to give what has been traditional given by our ancestors. So pulut kuning for the Marhaban reciters and of course, I ordered brownies for the guests :)

Ayam Limau Sambal

2009-02-01T22:54:00.002+08:00

Got this recipe from my sis who obtained it from a certain magazine. It's called Ayam Limau (not too sure of its name). I've heard a couple of times from her and my niece feedback that this recipe is worth trying. Hearing how positive their comments were, I tried this dish and voila, the result is wonderful.

I agree that this recipe is simple and super-easy. I received a thumbs up from the hubby though a lil'hot for him and my mum feedback that the dish was nice. I think this dish will usually go well with hot rice but equally unstoppable if eaten on its own (meratah).

Ingredients

To marinade :

1kg chicken wings

10 limau kasturi (squeeze the juices out)

4 tbsp of light soya sauce

To blend these together :

3 onions

4 cloves garlic

1cm fresh tumeric

1 cm fresh ginger

10-15 stalks of dried chilli (remove seeds)

5 fresh red chillies (remove seeds)

5 chilli padi (remove seeds)

Some vegetable oil

Some water

Salt to season

Method

1. Marinade chicken for a night with the light soya sauce & juices of limau kasturi.

2. Heat oil and fry the blended paste till fragrant.

3. Add the chicken with its sauces into the wok and stir well.

4. Add a little oil if it gets too dry.

5. Season to taste.

6. Simmer for about 20-30 mins or until chicken is cooked or gravy has thickened.

Mini Brownies

2009-01-27T20:58:00.000+08:00

Something small and biteful. This will never make you realise how many pieces of them have been popped into your mouth. I was a bit on the adventurous mood today so I made a lil'exploration here. When the brownies are cooked, I cut them up into smaller cubes and popped them back into the oven and baked for another 5 - 8 mins. The result? Brownies with crispy on the outside, soft on the inside. Yeehaaa....success!

Ayam Masak Merah

2009-01-26T20:53:00.000+08:00

Used my mum's recipe to whip this Ayam Masak Merah.

Perfect to be eaten with bread or steaming hot white rice. Yummy....

Mac & Me

2009-01-24T20:44:00.000+08:00

Too lazy to whip anything so I made some macaroni soup for the family.

Eaten on a cold day with hot sambal kicap chilli padi. Wow, it was a blast!

Pasta Fiesta : Baked Penne with Meat Sauce

2009-01-23T13:45:00.002+08:00

Another pasta dish I made during my stay last Dec. Delicious to savour while it's hot.

Pasta Fiesta - Angelhair with Mushroom & Tomato Sauce

2009-01-22T09:43:00.002+08:00

During my stay at home last Dec, I made several pasta dishes for the family. Something simple and suit for their taste.

One of them is as featured above - Angelhair spaghetti with Mushroom and Tomato Sauce.

Multiplying

2008-12-23T16:18:00.003+08:00

I know, I know. I've been missing from this 'world' for quite sometime. Havent been active in my lil'kitchen as well due to good reason.

Yes, I'm just like the Chipsmore Biscuits - Today U See Me, Tomorrow You Dont.

And starting from today onwards, God's Willing, you'll see me often here.

For I have safely delivered my 2nd lil'hero in October.

For those readers who have left your comments in my humble blog and those who have had PM me, I will try my very best to reply to you.

Having #2 is quite a handful cos this lil'babe of mine is uber-manja!

So I'll see you when I see you.

For now, have a pleasure day & happy cooking.

Getas-Getas

2008-09-27T23:35:00.007+08:00

This is what I made for Iftar tonight besides Beef Horfun. Am just trying to clear all the stocks in my fridge so that it can make way for Eid's festive dishes.

Beef Horfun (a campak-campak resipi)

Getas-Getas (a Malay traditional kuih)

Yeayness, my first-time trial is a success!

Mee Siam

2008-09-24T23:00:00.000+08:00

Hot weather - all that I wanted was to whip some easy noodle for Iftar tonight. Something that was sourish, a lil'sweet and spicy. Couldnt be cooking Tomyam again cos we had that on the other night. So Mee Siam, that's it. The menu for breakfasting with the family.

Jemput Yok...

2008-09-24T22:55:00.000+08:00

Made this for Iftar since there were potatoes available in the fridge. Thought of making Rosti, but craved for something local. Ate this while they were hot with chilli sauce, hmmmm, pure heaven!

Fried Calamari Rings

2008-09-13T23:19:00.000+08:00

Made these specially for my lil'boss who has requested these munchies for Iftaar tonight. An easy-peasy recipe.

Ingredients

1 packet / 300g of squid

1 cup wheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg

Salt & black pepper

Oil

Method

1. Wash squids and cut into rings.

2. Marinade with salt & pepper.

3. Beat egg and pour over squid. Mix well.

4. Mix the flour and roll squids evenly.

5. Fry for 5 mins.

6. Served with mayo or simply chilli sauce.

Prawn Noodle

2008-09-13T22:58:00.000+08:00

For Iftaar tonight, I tried my neighbour's version of Mee Udang aka Prawn Noodle. This round, eggs were included. Though the recipe was totally different from the one I normally used (I'd usually followed Chef Wan's recipe) and I'd thought more ingredients were used, it was truly nice. Never mind the 'leceh' step but I received thumbs up from the hubby and mum, especially. Btw, I had purposely made the gravy slightly diluted so that I could slurrped it. Heaven....

Ingredients (no exact amt cos the recipe was from a Makcik who doenst believe in measurement!)

2 packets of Yellow Noodle

300g prawns (deshelle, boiled and keep the water)

2 tbsp onion (pounded)

1 tbsp garlic (pounded)

1 tbsp dried shrimp (pounded coursely)

1 tbsp chilli paste

3 tbsp chilli sauce (more if you like it sweet)

2 tbsp tomato sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp vinegar

1 Ikan Bilis Knorr cube

A handful of any greens of your choice

3 eggs

Fried onions

A handful of spring onions & chinese parsley (chopped finely)

Salt & Black pepper for taste

A handful of sliced red/green chilli padi

Some oil

Water

Method

1. Saute pounded onion, garlic, chili paste & dried shrimp till fragrant.

2. Add in the chilli sauce, tomato sauce, oyster sauce & vinegar. Stir till cooked.

3. Pour the water in (more if you want to have the soup diluted).

4. Once boil, add in the greens, the Knorr cube and prawns. Season with salt & pepper.

5. Break the eggs into the soup and let cooked.

6. Boil and drained the yellow noodles. Served with the hot soup with fried onions, sliced chili padi and the greens.

Steamed Chocolate Cuppies

2008-08-21T12:20:00.001+08:00

Will update the recipe soon.

Portuguese Egg Tarts

2008-08-19T20:32:00.004+08:00

Did these during Singapore's Birthday.

A tad delay in posting my experiments due to my usual busy schedules. Pretty tight - didnt allow me to update religiously. The upcoming entries will not be in sequence order, simply aint got the time to sort by dates. A total wrecked for my July & August posts! Do bear with it.

Ingredients (Recipe from Alex Goh)

500g ready-made puff pastry

200g whipping cream

300g milk

80g sugar

3 eggs (beaten)

3 egg yolks

A qtr tsp of vanilla essence

Method

1. Roll out pastry into about 3mm thickness. Press onto the tart moulds.

2. For filling : Cook whipping cream and milk. Stir in sugar until it dissolves. Add beaten eggs and egg yolks. Mix until well blended. Lastly add in vanilla essence. Set aside to cool.

3. Pour filling into the pastry tarts. Then bake at 220 deg celcius for 20-25 mins.

Chocolatey Goodness

2008-08-17T20:48:00.003+08:00

What I saw in my fridge and pantry was an eye-sore - bars of Mars chocolate (still in wrappers) left uneaten and the cornflakes was left half untouched. To quickly consume them before they both reached their expiry date, this was what I did.

No exact ingredients but what you need are Mars Chocolate Bars (any amount), Cornflakes and some fresh milk.

Melt chocolate at low heat. Add in some millk to liquidify it. Stir gently. Lastly, add in the flakes and mixed them quickly. While still hot, scoop a spoonful into a cup. Refrigerate for about an hour before you enjoy them while watching your favourite shows.

Simple but a sure hit with the family.

Pasta Fiesta

2008-08-11T11:59:00.002+08:00

Something simple but filling.

Recipe adapted from Periplus Mini Cookbooks - Classic Essential Pasta
500g penne or pasta of your choice
90g butter
150g shredded Parmesan cheese
315ml cream (i half it)
3 tbsp fresh chopped parsley
Salt & pepper to taste
Chilli flakes (optional)

Method
1. Boil pasta until just tender and drain in colander.
2. Heat butter in medium heat, add cheese and cream and bring to a boil. Stir constantly.
3. Add parsley, salt & pepper and stir well to combine.
4. Add to drained pasta and toss well to combine.
5. Sprinkle chilli flakes if you want that extra ummph.

And Again...

2008-07-16T22:35:00.002+08:00

...he asked for it, for the 2nd time in a row. "Cant get enough" he said. Ok, so using the same recipe (except that I halved it), 30 mins later his dessert was baked to perfection. Am too lazy to make either the vanilla or custard sauce, so I simply substitute it with vanilla ice cream and chocolate dazzles.

Pockets full of Stuffings

2008-07-14T22:09:00.000+08:00

Made this for dinner last night. There were some balance of minced meat from my last weekend cooking and I didnt want to keep them for long. So I simply stir fried the meat with some potatoes and stuffed them into these mini-taupok before I lightly fried them. Something quick but delicious when eaten hot with chilli sauce & mayo.

Mid-Eastern Dish

2008-07-13T21:24:00.002+08:00

"Why not you whip Shabsuka today? Go light cos we are going out later in the evening." Those are his words and of course, I'd be happy to whip his request. Something simple to go on a hot Sun-day. So Shabsuka, it'd be. Lesser meat but more tomatoes & onions...yummyyyy.

I think I like best eaten with toasted bread. Crunchy and when the bread soaked up the juices of this dish, hmmmm....simply delicious.

Bread & Butter Pudding

2008-07-12T20:47:00.001+08:00

Hubby has been asking me to make his Bread Pudding for sometime but I keep on delaying his request. Just aint got the mood to cook these few days. Been 'tired', 'lazy' and most of the times, we are out somewhere during the weekends, hence, no chance for me to whip his request dessert.

But today, I manage to put some time aside to make this for him. And oh boy, how he loves it to bits. This round, I didnt try William Sonoma's recipe but just one that I did out of my own guts feeling. Made some custard sauce too to go with it but I didnt get to snap it, duh. Oh well, here's the recipe.

Ingredients
500ml of fresh milk
8-10 pieces of bread (tear into smaller pcs)
1 tspn of vanilla essence
2 eggs
Handful of black raisins
3 tbsp caster sugar
2 spoon of softened butter

Method
1. Soak breads into fresh milk and leave it for a while
2. Mix eggs, butter, sugar, and vanilla essence. Beat gently.
3. Add in raisins to the egg mixture. Pour this mixture into the soaked bread and mix.
4. Placed the mixture into a casserole dish, sprinkle more raisins and top with some small cuts of butter.
5. Baked at 160 deg celcius for 30 mins.
6. Serve hot or cold.

Roti Kirai

2008-05-25T23:22:00.000+08:00

Some people called it Roti Kirai, some Roti Jala and to some was Roti Renjis. No matter what you called/named it, it is still the same Roti which is usually eaten with Meat Curry, Sambal Goreng and Salad.

This is also the same Roti which consumed too much time to prepare. My mum told me she used to sit by the 'anglo' when prepared this. But comes to my generation, where to set-up the 'anglo' and we had to rely solely standing by the stove. My legs hurt and ache after the long 'torture' and though I use two non-stick pan to make these pancakes, I'd still take a solid two hours to complete the whole process of swirling.

Though the end result is finger-licking good, no doubt, but the thoughts to spend so much time swirling these pancakes would definately made me think twice to do it again in the future.

But if the cravings are there, who cares! Homemades (though tiring) taste better & nicer as compared to readymade ones. See - just told you that I'd think twice, but now my contradicting statement....hur, hur!

Mee Penang

2008-05-24T23:10:00.000+08:00

When asked what he'd like to have for lunch - his answer is always "anything, something simple." And that was not simple for me. I've got to crack my brains to 'search' myself what simple meant to him. At times, he'd let me know what he yearned to have, but there'd be times, like today, he simply let me decide.

Since I truly didnt know what to whip, I asked my mum for Mee Penang's or the usually we called it Mee Sup Bontut's recipe. But no oxtail today, so I merely used its meat.

I loved this noodle cos it is refreshing with salad leaves, fresh tomatoes, some bits of fried tauhu, sliced red chilies and juices of limau sambal - that added to the extra punch!

"Ahh, this is what I want-lah, simple lunch" he said when I served him. I smiled but gave him a-next-time-you-tell-me-straight-what-you-want-to-eat-lah-look!

Healthy Snacks

2008-05-03T14:59:00.001+08:00

At last, I tried hands-on to make this - a favourite Indian savoury or famously known as Vadei. A healthy snack as it was made of beans. This time I used Organic (Dhal) Mung Yellow Split Beans and the taste was very similar to the normal ones. I wanted my vadei to have those dhal beans still intact when I chewed, hence, I merely blend the beans coarsely. My mum has requested to use green chillies instead of dried chillies when I made these the next time round.

Ingredients

1 packet of yellow mung split (dhal) beans

2 dried chillies, cut finely (optionally you can use fresh green chillies, sliced finely)

1-2 stalk of curry leaves, cut finely

1 onion, diced coursely

1 tspn fennel (jintan manis)

Salt to taste

Oil for frying

Method

1. Soak dhal beans for abt 5 hours, washed & drained.

2. Blend the beans coarsely.

3. Add in all the other ingredients and mix.

4. Shape them into balls and flattened the top part a bit.

5. Deep fry them for about 5 mins and drained the excess oil.

6. Serve immediately.

Couch Potatoes, no more :p

2008-04-27T11:41:00.003+08:00

Yey, I'm no more a couch potato cos I am driven to make this savoury for tea. See how my mood swings, errmm, change.

You know, I first had these munchies donkey years ago - that was when I took a domestic flight from Jogjakarta to Jakarta on Garuda. They dun serve heavy meals but light ones and one of them was these lil Krokets. Ennaaaakkkkk banget and soooo sedaaaapp...when eaten piping hot, especially with cili padi. I was much younger then, and to try out the recipe was not even in my mind! But now, I'd made these upteen times :)

I wasnt as well sure if these savouries originated from Indonesia cos I saw and heard, it sources from this country, from that culture et cetera. Different versions - I just wanted to be fair to all, so just like Rojak, we didnt actually knew who, where, etc started its first. So let's keep its status as mystery for these loveys. Dun care lah where it originated from, so long it is a hot-favourite internationally. Anyone, everyone could have their own version. Mine's simple - just do like the way you do for Begedil and stuff some meat filings in it, coat with breadcrumbs, fried them up, prepare some chilli padi to go with and...Viola!

And as I chew on my lil kroket, views of magnificient Prambanan Temple, Borobudur Temple and all about Jogja flashed in my mind...when will I make a comeback to that beautiful city? Hur, hur....

the cross-section of my croquette - beautifully soft in the inside, crunchy on the outside

Fried Mee Hoon

2008-04-27T11:31:00.001+08:00

The weather's scorching these few days. Dun have the mood to whip anything fancy. I simply feel ultra lazy, just wanna laze around. But, of course, there are mouths to feed. So how lazy am I, still have to cook but I choose easy-to-prepare-menu : Fried Mee Hoon and fried some chicken wings. Nothing special, ingredients are all campak-campak ;)

Rose, Rose, I love you...

2008-04-20T08:44:00.001+08:00

Simply didnt know what to whip today. Noodles? Rice with dishes? Oooh boring. At times, I dreaded when weekends approaching. Sometimes, aint got idea what to cook - sheesh. Was browsing through some of the recipes but I didnt fancy any of them. At last, I decided on something easy. Didnt follow any recipe's but simply concocted own's idea.

For the chicken, I merely used boneless chicken thigh, marinated with some salt, ground black pepper, lotsa rosemary and a dash of basil on both sides. Keep in fridge for at least an hour. And as for the pasta, it was just meat & mushrooms with vermicelli. Nothing special, just a dollop here, a dollop there.

While I was grilling, I realised that rosemary gave out a very beautiful aroma, very sweet-smelling, very relaxing scent. And it worked wonders as an ingredient in marinating - it gave my chicken a taste of its own. Especially if you were using fresh ones....my whole kitchen smells wonderful!

And so, that was how my dull Sunday morning eventually turned out to be a wonderful day when I received praises from my the other half.

Nasi Lemak & a simple dessert

2008-04-06T23:07:00.000+08:00

Longing to salvage this, so this morning I made some Nasi Lemak for brunch. Whenever I made Nasi Lemak, I used Basmati Rice instead of the normal rice. It gave a nicer taste, flavour & texture, though a packet could cost a bomb. This time, I fried some wings instead of fish, just for a change.

And along with this Sunday morning brunch, I made instant jelly cocktail as dessert. Something simple yet refreshing.

Soupy Noodles

2008-04-05T22:54:00.005+08:00

I have been away from updating this site of mine - a loong silence. Wasnt feeling well and there are just too much activities going on these few weeks, hence enabling me to concentrate in my lil'kitchen. Thank you all for your comments out there, will try to reply to you soonest.

The weather's unpredictable nowadays, dunch you think so? It can shine one moment and rain the next. Same goes to my tastebud - one moment I craved for that, another moment I changed my mind. How indecisive, vair fickle-minded me. Anyway, since another outing is scheduled today, I whipped simple soupy noodles with shreds of meat and loads of greens, eaten hot with mountains of fried onions and birds eye chillies with light soy sauce. Yumm...

Dessert : Bubur Pulut Hitam

2008-02-20T11:09:00.003+08:00

I liked mine (the santan) as featured in the above picture. But the hubster liked his (the santan)to be mixed with the pulut hitam. Usually, I'd gave in to his preferances. However, before I stirred in all the coconut juice into the pulut hitam this time, I snapped a picture first (as above) hehehe, to be uploaded in my digital recipe book (my site here lah).

Indon Favourites

2008-02-19T16:59:00.002+08:00

I tried to make my own Ayam Penyet, especially its sambal base on my memory. I havent got the chance to surf for its recipe but since I've savoured this dish a couple of times, I somehow, could taste what went in its sambal.

Using the Sambal Lonteh's version where all the onions, chillies, bird's eyes chillies and shrimp paste were fried. When doing up this particular Sambal Lonteh, you simply got to be generous with the onions - tasted naturally sweeter. Add some salt & sugar (balancing that yin & yang) and squeeze some limau sambal, if you wish to.

Verdict for my first trial - almost there but there's still room for improvement for the sambal taste. Somehow I felt, something's missing but couldnt figure it out. Anyway, I'd try again someday to perfectionize my own sambal :)

Chips in a Cuppies

2008-02-17T19:34:00.001+08:00

I havent had cupcakes for quite sometime so after baking a batch of cookies for my son, I baked a batch for myself - chocolate chips cupcakes. I have intended to clear my chips stock, so this was the reason I baked :) Got this recipe from a magazine. I brought these munchies along to the park - kinda tea-time picnic, enjoying the breeze while watching my boys engaged in some sport activities.

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter, softened

225g caster sugar (I lessened this to 100g)

225g self-raising flour

1 tsp baking powder (I omit this)

4 eggs, at room temperature

1 tsp vanilla extract

50g white chocolate chips

50g black chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 175 deg celcius. Line muffin tins with paper cases.

2. Cream butter & sugar until fluffy.

3. Add eggs, one at a time.

4. Add vanilla extract and mix quickly.

5. Add flour slowly.

6. Stir in the chocolate chips.

7. Fill the muffin tins 3/4 of the way up with batter and bake for 20 mins or until skewer comes out clean.

8. Transfer to cooling rack

Who Took My Cookie From The Cookie Jar?

2008-02-17T19:29:00.005+08:00

It was a Cookie-Pookie time. Made these especially for my lil'one. I have also added a handful of nuts to make it crunchier. Yummy.

Easy Breakfast

2008-02-09T12:33:00.000+08:00

First of all, I'd like to wish all a very, merry happy New Year & Gong Xi Fa Cai! I know I'm a tad to late to wish but we are just into the 2nd month, so I guess, it should be alright, yeah.

I was busy and am still busy at work & home. I'm still trying to adapt my weekends now, with new schedules & arrangements, hence the no-updated-entries in this site of mine. Often I feel my Saturday is a Sunday and my Sunday is a Saturday...very dis-organised. And after a hectic month, yes, now, I shall & will be back with more actions in my lil'kitchen.

So, for a start (in my dusty site), I whipped a simple fried noodle for today's breakfast. Something which I'd long forgotten to make for the family. Using whatever available in the fridge (CNY mah, most marts are still closed), I made Mee Goreng with Minced Meat.

A nice way to start the day.

Pizzamania

2007-12-30T09:29:00.000+08:00

My instant-base Pizza

My Bread-base Pizza

Everytime when I made pizza, I made sure I do its sauce from scrap. Fresh carrots, celery, onion, garlic, some mince meat, a lil'chilli paste, oregano, basil and tomatoes - my basic pizza sauce. All simmer to perfection. And this sauce can also be used for pasta, dun you think it's versatile? And lasagna even! Just with one basic sauce, you can have an array of Italian delish in an instant. Today's menu is simple cos I'll be busy running errands ;) Made Mushroom Pizza using the instant pizza base and leftover white bread. Be generous with its sauce & toppings especially mozzarella. Oh mamamia..chewy, gooey and absolutely finger-licking good. Great munchies while reading the magazines...

It's A Wrap

2007-12-28T17:30:00.000+08:00

Had this for lunch today. Something simple but delicious. Little did I expect that Enoki & Turkey Ham strips combination can produce such finger-licking good snacks. I'd thought it would taste nicer if dipped with mayo but I was wrong, totally wrong. It tasted best eaten on its own. Even my lil'one enjoyed munching them ;)

Ingredients

A handful of Enoki mushrooms, trimmed & rinsed

Turkey Ham strips, cut into half

Chives, cut into 6 cm lengths

Some salt

Some crushed black pepper

Some oil

Toothpicks

Method

1. Place few pieces of Enoki on a slice of strips and top with some sprigs of chives. Roll strips and wrap enoki and chives tightly. Secure with toothpicks.

2. Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and arrange bundles about 2 cm apart.

3. Pour some oil over bundles. Sprinkle a dash of salt & crushed black pepper over the bundles.

4. Place the tray in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg celcius for 12-15 mins or until the strips turns brown and crisp. Drain bundles and serve warm.

Chocolate Marble Cake

2007-12-28T10:33:00.000+08:00

Dun know where the energy came from to bake this loaf of marble cake. Soon after I made my Wrapped Enoki, I embarked to try this Chocolate Marble Recipe. Got this from a travel magazine. Swirling technique needed more practise, though.

Ingredients

116g butter,softened

116g sugar

100g eggs, beaten

100g flour

3g baking powder

a pinch of salt

15g milk

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 170 degree celcius.

2. Beat butter at medium speed till creamy, add sugar & beat till light and fluffy.

3. Add eggs one small portion at a time, whisk well after each addition.

4. Gently fold in sieved flour, baking powder & salt, in 3 batches, alternating with 2 batches of milk.

5. Pick up a scoop of the mixture and gently fold in sieved cocoa powder and the milk. Place both mixture alternative into baking tray, then use a wooden pick to creat swirls in the mixture.

6. Bake at 170 deg celcius for 20 mins or until the top is golden.

Roast Chicken

2007-12-25T16:07:00.000+08:00

Looking very energetic today even after I'd just returned from a short trip. Guessed it must'd been the festive mood that made me feel so merry this evening. Told the hubster that I craved for roast chicken and that I'd roast them once we reached homeland. The hubby gave me a skeptical look but didnt discourage nor encourage and with concerned he asked if that would tire me more. Told him no, cos I have all the ingredients ready before we departed few days ago except to get the fresh whole chicken from NTUC nearby. And so, with him helping me in the kitchen, that saved more time and this recipe simply too easy not to be missed. Source from Asmah Laili Mintak Ampun Sedapnya...Fiesta Cookbook.

Ingredients

1 chicken (about 1.5 kg), wash cleaned & pat dry

1 tbsp freshly grounded black pepper (crushed coarsely)

2 tsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1 lemon, juice extracted (I used half lemon)

200g butter

Some salt

1 onion, cut into 4

500g small potatoes, wash cleaned

100g brocolli

100g cherry tomatoes

100g carrots

Method

1. Heat oven at 180 deg celcius.

2. Mix all soya sauces, lemon juice and black pepper in a bowl. Thoroughly brush this mixture on chicken. Brush more in the stomache area and add small cubes of butter.

3. Place chicken on the pan. Brush more mixture with butter on the chicken and its stomache.

4. Stuffed chicken with potatoes, some cherry tomatoes, brocolli and carrots.

5. Place the rest all around the chicken.

6. Roast for 30 mins.

7. After 30 mins, take the chicken out and turn it the other way round so that the other side cook. Pour the liquid over the chicken. Sprinkel some salt onthe veges.

8. Cook for another 20 mins.

9. Check if the potatoes are cooked, if not roast for another 5-10mins.

10. Serve hot with Black Pepper sauce which I did myself.

Swiss Potato Rosti

2007-12-21T09:53:00.000+08:00

My mum didnt use all her potatoes when she cooked for her chicken curry yesterday. So I thought I'd used them to make Rosti for breakfast this morning. Potato Rosti is a crisp dish originated from Switzerland and it goes well with meat dishes and simple salad. But for this morning, we had them with chilli sauce. My lil'one complimented and said it tasted very similar to McDonald's Hash Brown. But of course, they both were potatoes and potatoes do taste the same. It was nice to have them while it is still hot & crisp. A good snack to substitute chips while you enjoy watching T.V. The recipe was adapted from Light Meals - Marshall Cavendish Mini Cookbooks.

Ingredients

900g potatoes, scrubbed clean

1 onion, peel & chopped finely

2 tbsp finely chopped parsley

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

55g butter

Vegetable Oil

1 tsp finely chopped chives

Method

1. Boil potatoes in lightly salted water. Drain and peel.

2. Grate potatoes into large bowl. Mix chopped onion, parsley, salt & pepper.

3. Heat butter and add the potato mixture. Pat lightly with spatula. Cook over low heat for about 10-15 mins or until the underside is browned and crusty.

4. Gently turn it over and cook until the other underside is browned and crusty.

5. Slide rosti onto a plate and serve immediately.

On Eid-Adha

2007-12-20T09:41:00.000+08:00

I steal some time to bake this Banana Cake this morning. Hari Raya without cakes or cookies is like being handicapped, very incomplete. Actually, I can just grabbed some ready-made cakes but my oven is itching to let out heavenly aroma. So, within two hours, everything is done and my cake is ready to be served to the first guest this Eid. I used the same recipe which I did few weeks ago.

Selamat Hari Raya Aidil-Adha to you.

Go Vege

2007-12-19T16:13:00.000+08:00

I became vegetarian for the past weeks cos I've been holidaying too much and savouring their delicious local delicacies. Too much seafood & meaty stuff so when I'm back in mainland, told myself must change my 'diet' a bit. Have to, cos the last two weekends, we went roaming out of Spore. And we got to make way for more room for our stomaches for the upcoming trip as well, hence no heavy stuff ;).

One the lunch I had was Stir-Fried Winged Beans (Kacang Botol / Kecipir) with Ikan Bilis and Stir-Fried Taugeh (picture above). Just have these with steaming hot white rice is already satisfying - you know, down to basics. I had Teppanyaki while I was overseas and managed to 'steal' their Stir-Fried Taugeh recipe. It was damn simple but damn delicious - it was crunchy & tasty, at least to me ;)

Stir-Fried Taugeh

A handful of fresh taugeh (beansprout), washed & cut away the tails

1 tsp of oil

A dash of salt

A dash of powdered blackpepper

A dash of light soya sauce

Method

1. Heat pan. Place taugeh into pan and drizzle oil over. Mix.

2. Add salt, pepper & light soya sauce. Stir well for about a min or so.

3. Serve hot with rice.

Star Light, Star Bright

2007-12-18T10:46:00.000+08:00

Speculoos or Spice Cookies are Belgium's famous homemade Christmas cookies. There's ginger, cloves & cinnamon spices in this recipe and the taste doesnt vary too far from Swedish's Gingersnaps except that Belgium's ones does not use treacle. It's fun baking with my lil'one (he helped to cut out the dough) and of course, trying out other nation's speciality. It was Lucie (my ex-neighbour) who emailed me this recipe when she holidayed in Europe. And I so like this cookies cos it's crunchy and of course, spicy.

Ingredients

1/3 cup butter

3/4 caster sugar

1/2 egg, beaten

1 cup plain flour

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon sugar

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp baking powder

Method

1. Cream butter and sugar till light and pale. Add egg and beat until fluffy.

2. Place flour, all the grounded spices & baking powder in a separate bowl.

3. Gradually sift all into butter mixture and mix until combined.

4. Wrap the dough and chill in fridge for abt 2 - 3 hours.

5. Pre-heat oven to 180 deg celcius.

6. Roll out dough to about 3 mm thickness.

7. Use cookie cutter to cut out the dough.

8. Bake for 10-20 mins or until they turn brown & crispy.

Seeing Stars

Mini Flan with Orange Sauce

2007-12-13T10:14:00.001+08:00

Using Williams Sonoma, I made a little twist on the recipe. I added 2 tablespoon of freshly squeezed orange juice in the syrup and some grated orange zest to the flan . It turned out just as good with a slight tangy taste. In fact this dessert is supposed to be served on a special mould which the Spanish called Flaneras. Since I do not own one, I used smaller remekins to produce mini flans. The steps to making this was a lil'tedious and leceh cos you need to bake and later chilled before you can savour them. But the end product is nice.

* Made this couple of days ago but only managed to upload it today.

Mango Pudding

2007-12-13T09:01:00.000+08:00

My mum's tenants who were from the Philippines brought back heeyuuuugee quantity of the freshest & sweetest mangoes from their homeland recently. They gave us loads of them till we almost had enuff of it. Not wanting to let them spoil, I made some puddings for the family. Tried the recipe from Jimmy Chua's Hawker Food.

* Made this few Sundays ago but only got the time to upload it now...

Ingredients

400g mango flesh (blended)

300g mango ice-cream

1 drop of orange food colouring

1 drop of mango essence ( I omit this)

40g gelatin powder (I substitute with plain agar-agar powder)

500ml water

260g sugar (I half this amt)

2 egg whites

250g whipped cream

Method

1. Boil agar-agar powder, sugar and water till dissolves. Turn off the heat & set aside.

2. Mix mango flesh, mango ice-cream & the orange colouring till well blended.

3. Whisk egg whites til stiff and light. Add whipped cream and beat till it thickens.

4. Mix all the mixture together till smooth. Pour into mould. Refrigerate until set.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2007-12-11T10:29:00.000+08:00

One of my festive cookies which I made last Eid. My son lurrves this to the max compared to the other cookies I made. I mean, cookies with chips, who wouldnt be? I bet adults, too, craves for these loveables. There is this combination of sweet, bitter, crunchy and chewy in these cookies that perhaps, make people go ga-ga with it. In fact, Aidilfitri or any other festive is nothing without the presence of these chewies, just like Kuih Tart (Pineapple Tarts). Just go to any households, they sure do have these chocolate chip cookies in many, wonderful forms, taste, colour & sizes. Ahhh, so with this entry, this will remind me to bake a batch for me to send over to NZ, for Lucie & her family ;)

Rolling Good Times

2007-12-07T12:37:00.000+08:00

Pionono or Jelly/Jam Roll is actually a coiled, cyclinder lookalike sponge cake with fillings in it. Popular in Latin America. In Singapore, it literally means Cake Roll, or Kek Gulung - a famous savoury served during Aidilfitri or any other celebrations. It's delish with the usual buttercream filling. Shops here sell at a lower price compared to other cakes, but it'll be much, much cheaper if we do it ourselves :) . This is my 1st attempt, hence the outcome is not that great...still have rooms for improvement!

To my tastebud, this cake resembles and taste almost like Baulu Gulung - another new invention that was introduced to me by my colleague (also a hit during Aidilfitri). Rather sweet, crisp on the outside, soft in the inside...yumm. This recipe (adapted from Fabulous Cakes & Dessert) is another one of the many recipes of Kek Roll which I've yet to try. Let's just say, this is just the beginning to more rolling good times...

Ingredients
4 eggs
250g sugar (lessen if you want)
125g flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 tbsp melted butter
Icing sugar for dusting
125ml strawberry or raspberry jam

Method
1. Preheat oven to 180 deg celcius.
2. Beat eggs until bright yellow and thick. Gradually stir in sugar. Sift flour, baking powder and salt, then fold into the egg mixture.
3. Scoop one cup of the egg-flour mixture and fold into the butter. Fold back into the egg-flour mixture.
4. Pour into a baking tray lined with waxed paper.Bake for 20 mins.
5. When cooled, spread jam on the top of the sponge cake and roll tightly. Cut into thin slices and serve.

Banana Cake

2007-12-01T22:50:00.000+08:00

This cake is truly moist. Never did I expect that it'd turned out to be like that - it looked dry but only when the slice landed in your mouth, you'd then knew how moist it was. This kinda moist that I was looking for for a carrot cake. Unfortunately, till now, I've yet to find one. This banana cake recipe is a real keeper. I couldnt recall from which site did I took this recipe down. But truly, I'd like to thank the owner (whoever it was) of this wonderful recipe for sharing it with us - foodbloggers.

The hubster has asked me to make him in cuppies. Alrighty, for you, anything goes.

Ingredients

150g butter (softened)

125g caster sugar (I lessen this to 80g)

3 medium eggs, beat lightly

11/4 cup of self raising flour (sift)

A pinch of bicarbonate soda (sift)

2 riped bananas, mashed

Method

1. Heat oven at 160 deg celcius. Grease tin.

2. Cream butter & sugar till light and fluffy.

3. Pour eggs bit by bit.

4. Sift flour & bicarbonate soda.

5. Fold half of flour into butter mixture. Add in the mashed banana. Fold in the rest of flour.

6. Pour mixture into cake tin and bake for about 40 mins or until skewer comes out clean.

Dadih - A Minangkabau Dessert

2007-11-26T09:57:00.000+08:00

Something to sooth the throat - Dadih. Made this easy dessert for last Saturday, only managed to upload it today. Took the recipe from my sis-in-law and tried to experiment it. Verdict - tasted not much different from normal pudding and it was soothing. It just slided down your throat!

Ingredients

1 litre chocolate milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup evaporated milk

2 tsp jelly powder

3 tbsp sugar (more if you like yours sweet)

Method

1. Boil chocolate milk, water & evaporated milk in a pot.

2. Once boil, add sugar and stir.

3. Add in the jelly powder and stir till boil.

4. Pour into moulds and place in fridge for 4-5 hours before serving.

Mee Soto

2007-11-25T09:26:00.000+08:00

Hmmm, when was the last time I ate this? Couldnt remember but I guessed it must'd been in Sept during Ramadhan. So since the siblings would be coming today, I thought Mee Soto would be the easiest dish to serve them. I made some Begedils (Malay Potato Patties), some red, hot chilli padi sambal to go with and substituted the normal yellow noodles to mee hoon and voila. Something simple but got ummphhh!

Mac & Me

2007-11-24T09:49:00.000+08:00

I guessed after a whole month of very rich & sinful food fiesta-ing, we should now go mellow or slow down with the food intake. My routine now will return to the basics - soups, and more soups to come. And especially now coincides with the wet & cold season here, again, you wont go wrong with soups!

Antique Abuk-Abuk

2007-11-23T10:25:00.000+08:00

Beats me why this delicious kuih is called Abuk-Abuk. Abuk or Habuk in Malay literally means dust/dusty in English. Cant see any link with the name given & the kuih. Perhaps, this kuih looks dusty? And that is why it was named after? I dun know.

Anyway, dust or dusty, the kuih is sedap. Though it doesnt look appealing enough, but it is a comfort food. So chewy and if you're generous with the Gula Melaka fillings, ooohh boy, this is one kuih which I wont miss. I realised that this kuih goes well with banana leaf cos the taste & aroma is somehow authentic. It'll taste different if you're kinda, errr, lazy, and uses baking tins instead. Try and you'll see, taste & smell the differences.

Ingredients (Rough Estimation)
150g of sago pearls (washed & strained)
Salt to taste
Grated coconut
100g palm sugar, chopped roughly
Some banana leaves (washed & cleaned)

Some toothpicks

Method
1. Wash and soak pearl sago. Drain well in a strainer.
2. Add grated coconut and salt. Mix to combine.
3. Fold leaf to form pyramid. Drop a tbsp of mixture and add 1-2 chopped palm sugar.
4. Add another tbsp of sago mixture on top and fold leaf nicely. Fasten with a toothpick.
5. Steam till cooked.