YUMMY BAKES

Award time ...

2012-02-09T14:07:00.000+08:00

I feel extremely excited and honoured to receive the second award in the month of February. What an encouragement and motivation to move on....

This award came from Edith and Alice and I am passing it on to the following blogs:

Min's blog
Tested & Tasted
Small Small Baker
Wen's Delight
Table for 2 or more
Bake for Happy Kids
kokken69
A Busy Gran's Kitchen
No-Frills Recipe
Nasi Lemak Lover
Noobcook

Almond Cheese Cake

2012-02-09T08:54:00.000+08:00

This is one of the cheesecake which I have been eyeing for a long time but so many good bakes have taken precedence over this. Anyway, I finally got down to this.
Haha.... I toasted too much almond flaks so in order not to waste it I sprinkled all the 50g of toasted almond flaks.

Recipe adapted from Ann

Biscuit crumbs for one 20cm/8 inch round spring-form cake tin

Grease the sides and base of the lined (bottom) cake tin

150g Marie biscuit (grind, not too fine)

135g Melted butter

Combine the marie biscuit and melted butter in a large bowl and stir to mix evenly, add melted butter to the biscuits and mix till combined, add more butter to it if biscuit crumbs are too dry.

Press biscuit crumbs evenly at the bottom and about 2 1/2 inches up the sides of the cake tin and put in refrigerator for later use.
Wrap cake tin with aluminium foil to prevent water from sipping in during the process of baking.

Cheese filling

50g Soft butter

40g Sugar

3 Egg yolks

3 Egg whites

40g Sugar

250g Cheese cream, at room temperature

50g Ground almond

25g Cake flour/Plain flour or Corn flour

200g Dark sweet cherries (pitted) or Blueberries

1/2 tsp Vanilla extract or almond flavor

Method:

Beat cheese cream, butter, sugar and vanilla extract till light and smooth at medium speed.
Add egg yolks one at a time till mixture combined then add flour and ground almond into it, mix well and transfer to a large bowl.
Whisk egg whites and sugar till peak form and fold egg whites into cheese mixture with a rubber spatula.
Pour cheese mixture evenly into prepared cake tin, gently drop dark sweet cherries or blueberries on cheese mixture and sprinkle some toasted almond flakes on top.
Steam-bake in preheated oven at 170C for about 50 mins.
Leave cheesecake to cool and put in the fridge for about 30 mins before removing cheesecake from the cake tin.
Use scissors to trim the uneven biscuits crumbs at the sides.
Mix 1 tbsp apricot gel and 1 tbsp hot water, mix well (add more hot water if mixture is too thick) together and brush on cheesecake.
Chill cheesecake before serve.

Braised Stuffed Tofu (金钱袋 )

2012-02-06T14:10:00.001+08:00

I quite like dishes that are braised and especially tofu. I saw this at Honey Bee Sweets and I was really bought over. This is a nice homely dish that can be served at any time.

Recipe adapted from Honey Bee Sweets

Ingredients for Stuffed Golden Purses (Braised stuffed tofu, makes 6)

3 squares of Dao Gua (pressed tofu)

Filling:

250g fresh ground pork (can be replaced with any meat of your choice)

100g fresh prawns, peeled, devined and dice small

3 dried mushrooms, soaked till soft and diced small

1 tbsp minced ginger

2 tbsp diced green onion

Marinate:

salt & pepper

2 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp caster sugar

1/2 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp cornflour

Seasoning:

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup of water with 1 tsp cornflour mixed in)

Method:

For the pressed tofu, take one and cut diagonally into 2 triangles, repeat for the other two tofu. The using a spoon, scoop out the a cavity in the cut surface, about 1 tbsp worth, see picture. (Those scooped out tofu can be added into the filling if desired.)
In a mixing bowl, add in all the ingredients for the filling and marinate. Mix well and let sit for at least an hour in the fridge before use.

After an hour, fill the tofu cavity with the filling and try to stuff it full so it will look nice and packed.

Pat the stuffed tofu some cornflour and heat up a frying pan with about 1 cup of cooking oil.
Pan fry the tofu till golden brown, dish up and drain on paper towels.
Pour away the oil the pan and lower the heat to small. In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients in seasoning and pour into the pan and let it simmer till it thickens a little. Add in the stuffed tofu and let it coat with the seasoning sauce. After 2 to 3 minutes, dish up and sprinkle some fresh chopped green onions over as garnish if desired.

You may want to pop over to Honey Bee Sweets' blog for a more detailed methods of preparing this dish.

Liebster Blog

2012-02-03T13:59:00.000+08:00

I feel so honoured to be one of the Liebster Blog award recipient from DG at Tested & Tasted. Doris, thanks a lot. This is my first award for 2012 and its still the lunar new year period and surely am more excited to receive this award to share the award with fellow bloggers.

'Liebster' means favourite or dearest in German.

Rules for accepting the award:

Thank the person who gave the award and link back to their blog.
- Copy and paste the award to your blog.
- Reveal the 5 blogs you have chosen to award and let them know by commenting on their blog.
- Hope they pass it forward by accepting and awarding it to bloggers they would like to honour.

Here are the five blogs that I would to share this award with:

Happy a great week end.

Stuff Lotus Root with Mushrooms

2012-02-01T09:11:00.001+08:00

I have never cook with lotus root and I only its normally used in soup other than that I have no idea how to cook lotus root. Then I chanced upon this pretty dish at DG's post.

It think it is very presentable to be served on during CNY. I am quoting from Messy Witchen:

"Lotus root is one of the many auspicious Chinese New Year food. Others being fish, prawn, sea cucumber, black moss (fatt choy)… to name a few. Lotus root symbolizes abundance, togetherness and family unity. Let me explain how the symbol come about; lotus root in Cantonese is called lin gau (sounds like lin yau) which means abundance year every year. Also the round shape of lotus root is yuen in Cantonese which means togetherness. "

Pardon me for this poor photo as it was taken in the evening. This was done last Sunday and it was really a tasty dish so I attempted again last night.

The below photo is the one I did last night.

Recipe reference from DG and Messy Witchen

Stuffed Lotus Root with Mushrooms (Messy Wichen & Tested & tasted)
Serves 2-3

100g fish paste (I used ready-made fish paste)
120g lotus root, thinly sliced
1 spring onion, cut into 2.5cm lengths
4 garlic cloves, deep fried until golden brown
3 cloud ear fungus (wan yue), soaked and sliced
1 red chili, cut into diamond shapes
40g fresh abalone mushrooms, washed and sliced
30g (about 2 pieces) fresh shiitake mushrooms, washed and sliced
(I substituted abalone mushrooms with 3 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked)

Seasonings
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon chicken stock powder (I used anchovy powder instead); if you find the dish too salty you can ignore this ingredient
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon cornflour
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
1/3 teaspoon Hua Tiao rice wine (Shaoxing wine)
3 tablespoons chicken stock (I added 3 tablespoons water to the anchovy powder above)

Fish paste

To get a sticky paste, use either a blender or cake mixer.

600g ikan tenggiri (kau yi/mackerel fish) meat, skinned and de-boned
1/3 teaspoon salt
1/3 teaspoon chicken stock powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 teaspoon cornflour
1/2 teaspoon water
1/3 teaspoon oil

Method:
To prepare fish paste:
1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and mix until it becomes a sticky paste.
2. Keep covered in the refrigerator until ready to use.

To cook this dish:
1. Stuff fish paste between 2 slices of louts root to make a lotus root sandwich slightly less than 1cm thick.
2. Heat oil to deep fry the lotus root “sandwiches” until golden brown. Remove and drain on paper towels.
3. Drain remaining oil in the wok, leaving just a teaspoon of oil in the wok.
4. Add spring onion, garlic, fungus, chili, mushroom and fried lotus root “sandwiches”.
5. Stir-fry on high heat. Add seasonings and stir-fry until fragrant. Remove and serve immediately.

Silician Orange Cake

2012-01-30T12:17:00.001+08:00

I personally don't not like cakes with a lot of cream though they are very pretty. I find it a waste to scrape off and a waste of the baker’s time and effort. So I prefer a simple cake like this and as quoted by Ellie of Almost Bourdain:

“This is the best orange cake I have tested so far”

Except from Almost Bourdian by Rick Stein:

“As Jill says,it has to be the richest, moistest, butteriest and yet lightest orange cake in the world”

Recipe reference from Jess

Ingredients

250g lightly salted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing

200g caster sugar

4 medium eggs

1 1/2 tsp finely grated orange zest

250g self raising flour

85ml freshly squeezed orange juice

For the icing:

125 g icing sugar

5 tsp freshly squeezed orange juice

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 170C. Grease and line a 22-cm clip-sided round cake with non-stick baking paper.

2. Using an electric whisk, cream the butter and sugar together for 4-5 minutes until very pale. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating very well between each one, if necessary adding a spoonful of flour with the last egg to prevent the mixture from curdling. Beat in the orange zest. Add the flour all at once and mix in well, then slowly mix in the orange juice.

3. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a skewer, inserted into the centre of the cake, comes out clean. If it starts to brown too quickly, cover loosely with a sheet of lightly buttered foil.

4. Leave the cake, in its tin, to cool on a wire rack, then carefully remove the sides and base of the tin and peel off the paper. Put it onto a serving plate.

5. For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a bowl and stir in the orange juice until you have a spreadable consistency. Spread it over the top of the cake, letting it drip down the sides, and leave to set. Serve cut into slices, and store any leftovers in an airtight container.

Happy New Year- 新年快乐

2012-01-22T12:00:00.000+08:00

Wishing All My Friends and Fellow Bloggers A Prosperous Dragon Year, Good Health and Lots of Laughter and Happiness

ALMOND COOKIES

2012-01-18T11:57:00.000+08:00

I love this cookies - it literally melts-in-the-mouth. Ann, thanks very much for sharing the recipe.

Recipe with courtesy from Anncoo Journal

Ingredients:

250g Plain flour

1 tsp Baking powder

3/4 tsp Baking soda

1/4 tsp Salt

90g Icing sugar

60g Ground almond

130g Corn oil

Method:

Sift all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
Make a well in the centre and pour in corn oil.
Use spatula to mix the ingredients till combined and use hand to knead it into a soft dough.
Roll dough between 2 plastic sheets to a thickness about 3mm.
Cut out the dough by using cookie cutter and use a small palette knife to lift up the cut-out soft dough and place on a baking tray lined with baking sheet.
Lightly brush the dough twice with egg wash. (1 egg with 2 tsp water and 1-2 drop of egg yellow colouring)
Sprinkle extra some almond nibs on top if you prefer.
Bake in preheated oven at 150C for about 20 mins or until golden brown.
Leave cookies to cool on wire rack and store in airtight container.

German Crunch Cookies

2012-01-16T14:20:00.002+08:00

I didnt realised I only have last week end to do my little CNY cookie baking. Time really flies ... in a blink of an eye, next week is the Lunar New Year. I only managed to do the easiest cookies ie German crunch cookies but this time added one teaspoon green tea powder.

I did this last year too. So pressed for time, I dont have time to tidy my photo presentation. :(

Recipe for Melt-In-Mouth German Crunch Cookies

Ingredients (makes 60 pieces)
125g butter
40g icing sugar, sifted
125g potato starch
80g superfine flour (I use plain flour, tried out both 50g and 80g, both good)

Method
1. Beat butter and icing sugar till fluffy and lighter in colour.
2. Sift in potato starch and flour, mix to form a soft dough.
3. Roll into small balls (about 2cm in diameter), arrange on lined baking pan and press lightly with a fork (dip the fork in water after each press to prevent cookie dough from sticking to the fork).
4. Bake in preheated oven at 170 deg C for 15 mins, upper rack (need not bake till cookies turn brown).

Fish Cake Omelette

2012-01-04T09:04:00.001+08:00

This is incredibly easy and quick recipe with no fuss cooking or elaborate ingredients. Main ingredients - fish cakes and eggs and surprising these two ingredients paired off very well. When I saw this at Noobcook's post, I thought it looks like a plate of delicious carrot cake.

This certainly goes very well with porridge

Recipe adapted from Noobcook.com

Ingredients:
2 to 3 fish cakes (about 50g each), diced
1/2 tbsp cooking oil
chopped spring onions (for garnishing - optional)

Mixture A
3 eggs, beaten
a dash of ground white pepper
1/2 tsp light soy sauce

Method:

Heat oil and stir fry diced fish cakes for about a minute.
Pour egg mixture (A) over the fish cake. Gently tilt the wok to ensure all the diced fish cakes are covered in the egg. Cook a few minutes on one side until dry and nicely brown, then flip to the other side and do the same. Garnish with chopped spring onions.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays

2011-12-17T16:14:00.002+08:00

This Christmas I am very fortunate and blessed - very privileged to try Ann's freshly baked apricot slice and dragon fruit chiffon cupcakes. These two are really great cakes keeper. Not only tried Ann's cakes, she also gave me a surprised Christmas present - Ann, thanks very much for the friendship and also for sharing great recipes.

And wishing all visitors and bloggers to my blog Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

These are from Jess Hu who has been missing in action for a while. Jess, we are still waiting and looking forward to seeing your great bakes.

It was great meeting up with her on Christmas eve.

Apricot Slice

2011-12-17T16:12:00.003+08:00

I feel so privileged to have tried two of Ann's recent bakes. This is very good that I have to quickly bake it myself to satisfy my palate.

Do you believe I finished half the cake if not for my niece coming, I would probably finish the whole cake myself.

Recipe from courtesy of Anncoo Journal

Ingredients:
150g Soft butter
175g Caster sugar
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
1/4 tsp Salt
3 Large eggs
175g Plain flour
100g Dried apricot

Method:

Dice dried apricot and mix with 1 teaspoon plain flour, set aside.
Beat soft butter, sugar, salt and vanilla extract till white and fluffy at medium speed.
Lower speed add eggs one at a time and beat well until incorporated
Stop machine and pour in plain flour and fold well with a rubber spatula.
Lastly add in dried apricot and mix well.
Pour batter into a 8 inch square tray (lined all sides up) and bake at preheated oven at 170C for about 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Pan Fried Fish Fillet

2011-12-16T16:52:00.002+08:00

This is a very homely dish and I really loves this as it goes very well with rice. I love pouring the sauce over the rice ... delicious.

Recipe reference: Christine's Recipes

Ingredients:

1 piece fish fillet (mackerel or other white fish)
1 tsp shallot, minced 2 to 3 slices ginger, shredded
1 stalk spring onion, diced or shredded
Ingredients:

salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
1/2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
cornflour/corn starch, for coating fish fillet

Sauce:

1½ tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
6 tbsp water
sesame oil,to taste
pepper,to taste

Thickening:

1 tsp cornflour
2 tbsp water

Method:

Rinse fish and wipe dry with kitchen papers. Season with salt, pepper and wine. Let sit for 10 minutes. Lightly coat with cornflour. Set aside.
Heat oil in a non-stick frying pan. Pan fry the fish over medium-high heat until both sides are golden brown and cooked through. Remove from the pan, cover to keep warm.
Add some more oil in the pan. Saute shallot, ginger and white spring onion dices. Pour in the sauce. Bring it to boil. Add thickening and cook to preferred consistency. Pour the sauce over the fish. Garnish with spring onion. Serve immediately

Chocolate Chips Orange CupCake

2011-12-11T14:26:00.001+08:00

These cuppies are nice to be served on breakfast table or even over tea with friends. I like the orange taste with added chocolate chips.

Cheah, thanks for sharing - they are nice and good.

These two are a little burnt so I dust with a little snow power and added some Christmas accessories to create Christmas mood. I am a little create for once? ;) The little burnt top gives a very crisp taste which is just as nice.

Recipe adapted from No-Frills Recipe

Ingredients

250g butter
180g sugar
280 gm plain flour + 2 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
5.1/2 Tbsp orange juice
4 tsp orange rind
100 gm choc-chips
Pinch of salt

Method

Sift the plain flour with baking powder and salt, set aside.
Cream the butter, sugar and orange rind till light, fluffy and creamy.
Add in eggs one at a time, mix well.
Fold in sifted flour alternatively with the orange juice.
Add in the choc-chips, mix thoroughly, scraping from the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl.
Line a patty tin with cupcake liners and spoon over the batter.
Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg C and bake for about 20 to 25 mins, or till golden brown.
Test with a skewer till it comes out clean.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan for about 10 mins. before removing from pan and let cool completely on a wire rack.
Enjoy ...

Three Cups Chicken (三杯鸡)

2011-12-08T14:53:00.000+08:00

This is the second time I am cooking this dish. Somehow, the first time didnt turned out very well. This is a popular Taiwanese dish.

Recipe with courtesy from Wiffy

Ingredients
(Serves 2)
- 450g chicken thighs, cut to small pieces (you can also use half chicken, chicken wings or drummettes)
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (Suppose to be 1 1/2 tbsp based on 1:1:1 ratio, but I find that 1 tbsp is salty enough)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese wine (Hua Tiao/Shao Hsing)
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 10 cloves garlic, peeled & slightly bruised
- 6 slices ginger
- 2 stalks spring onions, cut to 5cm (2 inch) lengths
- 40ml water
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- a handful of fresh sweet basil leaves

Method
1. Heat sesame oil in claypot and add garlic cloves, ginger, the thick bottom white ends of the spring onions. Stir fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add chicken pieces and stir fry until the surface is no longer pink.
3. Sizzle Chinese wine and add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water and sugar. Stir evenly, and cover the lid to simmer for about 6 minutes.
4. Add the rest of the spring onions and continue simmering until the sauce is greatly reduced.
5. When the dish is cooked, stir in some fresh basil leaves before serving.

Spicy Black Bean Sauce Chicken

2011-12-04T14:56:00.001+08:00

This is a simple stir-fry dish that goes very well with white rice.

Recipe adapted from Noobcook

Ingredients(Serves 2)
- 200g boneless chicken fillets, cut to bite-sized pieces
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1/2 red or yellow bell pepper, de-seeded and cut to bite-sized wedges
- 1/2 green bell pepper, de-seeded and cut to bite-sized wedges
- 2 tsp dried fermented black beans (rinsed, patted dry & mashed slightly with a fork)
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 slices ginger, finely chopped
- 2 chilli padi, thinly sliced (adjust or omit to your preference)
- 2 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

Marinade:
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp Chinese wine (Shao Hsing or Hua Tiao)
- 1 tsp corn starch

Sauce (mix well):
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp hot bean sauce/la dou ban jiang (辣豆瓣酱), optional (I omitted)
- 1/2 tsp sugar

Method
1. Combine chicken with marinade for at least 15 minutes.
2. In a wok, heat oil and stir fry bell pepper wedges until cooked, about 2 minutes. Set aside on a plate.
3. Using the remaining oil, stir fry fermented black beans, shallots, garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
4. Add chicken pieces and stir fry until the surface is cooked, about 2 minutes.
5. Add sauce ingredients, mix well, cover the lid and simmer for about 3 minutes.
6. Thicken the sauce with cornstarch solution. Return and stir in cooked bell peppers to coat evenly in the sauce.

Three Cups Mushrooms

2011-11-27T15:35:00.001+08:00

This is the first time am cooking with basil leaves. I bought it from NTUC supermarket and it looks kinda of chunky to me.

Again, mine look so dark in color? Wiffy's looks so appetising and colorful. Well, regardless of its color, it still goes very well with white rice.

Recipe with courtesy from Noobcook

Ingredients(Serves 2-3)

- 250g fresh shiitake mushrooms, stalks trimmed (for larger caps, I halve them)
- 1 1/2 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce (Supposed to be 1 1/2 tbsp based on 1:1:1 ratio, but I find that 1 tbsp is salty enough)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese wine (Hua Tiao/Shao Hsing)
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 10 cloves garlic, peeled & slightly bruised
- 1 carrot, peeled and sliced thinly (oops I forgot my carrots!)
- 6 slices ginger
- 2 stalks spring onions, cut to 5cm (2 inch) lengths
- 40ml water
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- a generous handful of fresh sweet basil leaves

Directions

1. Heat sesame oil in clay pot or wok and add garlic cloves, ginger, the thick bottom white ends of the spring onions. Stir fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add mushrooms and carrots, stir fry briefly. Don’t worry if the clay pot looks crowded, the mushrooms will shrink considerably when cooked.
3. Sizzle Chinese wine and add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water and sugar. Stir evenly, and cover the lid to simmer for about 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms are cooked and tender soft.
4. When the dish is cooked, stir in the remaining spring onions and fresh basil leaves before serving.

Cranberry Yoghurt Chiffon Cupcakes

2011-11-27T14:47:00.001+08:00

The combination of lemon juice and cranberry - sourish-sweet is the taste of this cake. It is very soft and moist too.

Recipe with courtesy from Anncoo Journal

Ingredients:

5 egg yolks
40g caster sugar
65gm canola oil/salad oil
2 tsp lemon juice
130g plain flour (sieved)
130g natural yogurt
lemon zest from one lemon
7 egg whites
90g caster sugar
95g dried cranberries (cut to small pieces and sprinkle with 1/2 tbsp plain flour)

Method:

In a large bowl, mix egg yolks, sugar, flour and oil well with a hand whisk. Add lemon juice, lemon zest and yogurt's and mix well again.
Whisk egg whites till frothy, gradually add in the sugar, continue beating till egg whites are stiff but not dry.
Use a hand whisk to mix 1/3 whites with yolk mixture.
Gently fold in the rest of the whites with a spatula till well combined.
Lastly, fold in the cranberries.
Spoon batter into cupcake liners up to 3/4 full evenly and bake at 180C for 15 minutes, then lower to 160C for another 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Invert cake immediately on a wire rack to cool completely before unmoulding.

Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes Revisited

2011-11-20T15:38:00.001+08:00

We had a bloggers’ potluck on 19 November 2011 initiated by ZY of Baking Library. This is my second meeting with food bloggers whom I have got to know through blogging. We had a great time with lots of food. :)

I decided to bake something simpler and lighter (and less stressful for myself). Hokkaido Chiffon with a little black sesame added for this gathering. See my first Hokkaido Chiffon

I am submitting this to the Aspiring Bakers #13 – Enjoy Cupcakes (Nov 2011) hosted by Min

Recipe adapted from Hearty-Bakes

Ingredients

4 Yolks

70g Sugar

1 tsp of Vanilla Essence

80ml Fresh Milk

60ml Corn oil

135g Cake Flour

4g Baking powder

6 Whites

50g sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven 180°C

2. Arrange paper liners on baking tray

3. Hand whisk yolks with sugar until pale in colour.

4. Add drops of vanilla essence

5. Add in Milk, follow by oil, manually whisk till combined.

6. Sieve in Cake flour and baking powder. Stir till well-mixed.

7. Whisk whites till foamy, add sugar. Whisk till medium peak.

8. Take 1/3 whites fold in with yolk mixture, follow by folding in the rest of white

9. scope batter into pre-arranged paper cups about three-quarter filled.

10. Baking time: 20-25 minutes

ps: this cake will shrink after cooled, however, do not overfilled up the liners as batter will overflow.

Stir Fried Prawns in Sweet Chilli Sauce with Snow Peas and Carrots

2011-11-20T15:14:00.001+08:00

The moment I saw this dish posted by Wiffy at Noobcook, I told myself I must try it. It's a very appetising dish and goes very well with a bowl of white rice.

Recipe adapted from Wiffy at noobcook

Ingredients
(Serves 2)
- 8 to 10 large prawns (US name: shrimps), shells (leaving only tail end) and veins removed
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 3 slices ginger, stacked and sliced thinly
- 2 chilli padi (US name: bird’s eye chili), finely sliced (adjust or omit to taste)
- 70g snow peas, strings pulled and ends trimmed
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced
- a handful of coriander (US name: cilantro), finely chopped
(A) sauce (mix well)
- 3 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp light soy sauce

Directions
1. Heat oil in wok. Stir fry garlic, ginger and chilli until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
2. Add snow peas and carrots, stir-fry for about a minute.
3. Add prawns and (A) sauce. Stir fry until the ingredients are well coated in the sauce and the prawns are cooked. Garnish with finely chopped coriander.

Italian Apple Cupcakes

2011-11-13T15:06:00.001+08:00

Neither have I heard nor tried Italian apple cupcakes until I saw what Ann posted. I like the huge chunks of apples in the cake and yes, these are fuss-free to make and soft, and moist with every bite.....

Recipe reference: Anncoo Journal

Ingredients:
180g butter
150g caster sugar
3 eggs (about 70g each), lightly beaten
180g plain flour (sieved)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon powder (I used 1/2 tsp)
4 green apples, thinly sliced (I used 3 1/2 apples)

Method:

Cream butter and sugar till light and creamy at medium speed. Reduce speed, add in eggs bit by bit till well mixed and add in sieved flour, baking powder and cinnamon powder.
Off machine and use a rubber spatula to mix the flour well and add in all the sliced apples, mix well.
Scoop mixture into cups and bake at preheated oven at 170 deg C for approximately 35 minutes.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #13: Enjoy Cupcakes (November 2011) hosted by Min of Min's blog.

Cheddar Cheese Cupcake (之车打起司蛋糕)

2011-11-10T09:07:00.000+08:00

Never know we could whip up very nice and light cheese cake with slice cheese. This is very light and soft unlike the usual rich cheesecake. That's the good thing about blogging - one get to learn and exchange pointers/recipes.

Min, I would also like to say thanks for taking time to give me the English version of the recipe.

Recipe adapted from Min's blog
车打起司蛋糕 Cheddar Cheese Cake （取自星厨房）

鸡蛋 3 个（蛋白与蛋黄分开）
幼糖 50g
塔塔粉 1/4 tsp
起司片 3 片
鲜奶 50ml
牛油 50g
面粉 50g

起司片、鲜奶及奶油一起隔水煮溶，待凉。
蛋白及塔塔粉用高速打至起泡，幼糖分两次加入，打至硬及倒转盆而蛋白不会掉下来。
蛋黄倒入芝士糊内搅拌均匀。
将一半的蛋白倒入芝士糊内，用手轻轻搅拌均匀，筛入面粉，继续拌匀。
将芝士糊反倒入剩余的蛋白内，搅拌均匀。
预热烤箱 150 度，隔水烘烤 50 分钟。

Cheddar Cheese Cake

Egg 3 (separate the egg white and yolk）
Castro Sugar 50g
Tartar powder 1/4 tsp
Cheddar Cheese Slice 3
Milk 50ml
Butter 50g
Flour 50g

Using double-boil method, dissolve the cheddar cheese, milk and butter. Set aside and let them cool down.
Whisk the egg white with tartar powder, add in the castor sugar and whisk till hard peak forms.
Add in egg yolk into the cheese batter.
Pour out half of the egg white into the cheese batter, mix them well.
Sieve in the flour, mix well.
Pour all the cheese batter into the remaining egg white, mix well.
Put into preheated oven 150C, bake them using double-boil method for 50 mintues.

I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #13: Enjoy Cupcakes! (November 2011) hosted by Min at Min's blog

Chayote Black Eye Beans Soup

2011-11-10T09:03:00.003+08:00

This is the first time I am using chayote for soup and it is very tasty. Will certainly make this more often as it is naturally sweet and very appetising.

Recipe reference from Fong's Kitchen

Ingredients:

1 chayote (佛手瓜), peeled and cut into chunks

2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 handful of black eye beans (眉豆）

5 to 6 red dates

1 small piece of ginger, smashed

Chicken bones (2 racks)*, removed skins and trimmed off fats

* I used the bones from one medium-sized chicken. Cut and set aside the drums, thighs, wings and breast meat. The remaining bones and legs for making soup

Method:

1) Blanched the chicken bones in hot water. Set aside.

2) Bring a pot of water (about 1.7 litre) to boil. When water starts boiling, add in all the ingredients. Bring it to boil again and reduce to low heat to simmer for an hour and a half.

3) Season with salt to taste. Serve hot.

Chocolate Banana Muffins

2011-11-06T14:24:00.001+08:00

I usually finished my bananas before it becomes over-riped. But I purposely kept some bananas in the fridge to allow it to become over-riped for this muffins.

Sonia highly recommended this muffins in her blog and I fully agree with her. This muffins are so soft and moist. Its packed with chocolate chips, mashed bananas and banana wedges.

I also strongly recommend those who love bananas, chocolates to give this muffins a try and I am quite certain you would live it

Recipe adapted from Sonia

Ingredients:
125g unsalted butter, softened
100g caster sugar
150g cake flour
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cocoa powder
100ml milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips
150g mashed bananas
some banana wedges (about 2cm in length)

Method:

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, mix well.
Sieve in flour, baking soda and baking powder, combine well with milk.
Add in mashed bananas and cocoa powder, mix well.
Lastly, add in chocolate chips and mix well.
Scoop batter into a muffin liners to about 3/4 full. Then insert a banana wedge into the middle of the muffin. Repeat till all the batter has been used up.
Bake in pre-heated oven at 180C for 25 minutes.

Chocolate chip cookies

2011-11-03T09:03:00.001+08:00

Chocolate chip cookies - who can say no to it? I believe both kids and adults would love snacking on these.

Recipe adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Ingredients:
250g butter
120g fine sugar + 100g brown sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
80g corn flour or corn starch
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp cocoa powder (optional)
100g almond nis (chopped almonds)
250g chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degree C or 375 degree F.
Combine flour, corn start and baking soda in a small bowl. Beat butter, sugar and brown sugar until creamy. Add eggs and beat well. Gradually mix in the flour mixture. Stir in cocoa powder, chocolate chips and almond nibs. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto baking sheet or parchment paper.
Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown. Let it cool on wire racks before serving.

Hokkaido Chiffon

2011-10-29T18:39:00.000+08:00

I wonder where this cake originates from but I know I dont have to travel to Hokkaido to try this cake. I have been eyeing on this cake for a long time and I think sometime last year it was selling very well on the market. This is a very light and soft cake.

I saw Hearty-Bakes baked this last year and recently Jessie baked again. This cake is very simple to make and yet a nice cake no one will stop at just one.

Hokkaido Chiffon (recipe courtesy of Jessie)

Ingredients
4 Yolks
70g Sugar
1 tsp of Vanilla Essence
80ml Fresh Milk
60ml Corn oil (I used Canola oil)
135g Cake Flour
4g Baking powder
6 Whites
50g sugar
Method
Preheat oven 180°C

♥ Arrange paper liners on baking tray

♥ Hand whisk yolks with sugar until pale in colour.

♥ Add drops of vanilla essence

♥ Add in Milk, follow by oil, manually whisk till combined.

♥ Sieve in Cake flour and baking powder. Stir till well-mixed.

♥ Whisk whites till foamy, add sugar. Whisk till medium peak.

♥ Take 1/3 whites fold in with yolk mixture.

♥ follow by folding in the rest of white

♥ scope batter into pre-arranged paper cups about three-quarter filled.

Baking time: 20-25 minutes

PS. This cake will shrink after cooled. However, do not overfilled up the liners as batter will over flow.

Lemon Chicken (柠檬鸡)

2011-10-27T12:28:00.001+08:00

I love the color and taste of this lemon chicken. This is an easy and appetizing dish with a hint of sweet and sour taste. Thanks to Wiffy of Noobook.com for sharing such a delicious dish. It goes very well with plain white rice.

Ingredients (serves 2)

- 200g boneless chicken fillet or chicken breasts
- 1 egg, beaten
- vegetable oil, for shallow/deep frying
- lemon wedges/slices, for garnishing

A) Lemon Sauce
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp plum sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1/4 tsp tumeric powder (for the yellow colour – see cooking note below)
- cornstarch solution (1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp water)

B) Marinade
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- dash of white pepper powder

C) Batter (sifted)
- 3 heaped tbsp plain or all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt

1. In a saucepan, bring ingredients for lemon sauce (A), except cornstarch solution, to a simmer. Gradually add cornstarch solution to thicken the sauce to desired consistency. Transfer the sauce to a small serving bowl.

2. Marinade chicken fillets with ingredients (B) for at least 10 minutes.

3. Combine batter ingredients (C) in a plate. Dip marinaded chicken first in the egg, then coat evenly in the batter, shaking off the excess flour.

4. Heat the oil in a wok or deep-fryer (180°C /350°F) and deep or shallow fry battered chicken until golden brown. Drain excess oil on kitchen towels/tempura papers before serving.

5. Slice the chicken to bite-sized pieces and transfer to serving plate, with lemon edges at the side. Drizzle lemon sauce over the chicken just before serving.

Directions

Cooking Note

Tumeric is staining. To prevent the tumeric from staining my saucepan, I prepared the lemon sauce ingredients without the tumeric first. I then transferred the sauce to a stain-proof ceramic bowl, and while it is still hot, I mix in the tumeric. Besides tumeric, you can use yellow food colouring too. You may also omit the tumeric/yellow colouring if you prefer a natural, pale translucent yellow.

Malacca trip (17 - 18 Oct 2011)

2011-10-26T12:19:00.000+08:00

No plans for a holiday yet and its already October. Our firm's policy is we have to clear our leaves by 31 December of each calendar year.

I havent been to Malacca for a long time, so decided to do an overnight stay in Malacca just to relax and unwind. We decided on a week day to avoid the crowds and indeed it was very quiet - no need to Q for anything. :)

This little birdie in the hotel compound has kindly allowed us to take photos of it ...

These are some of the local products .....

Only two of us went and both of us are small eaters and its a shame we missed the Nonya food this time..... :(

Coconut cupcakes

2011-10-23T16:10:00.001+08:00

I finally have to say bye-bye to my oven which has been with me for a long, long time more than a decade, so I think its time I let it retire and invest in a new one. A little sad to let it go after all it has served its purpose well .... all this decade it has never broke down.

New oven performing its first stunt .....

I dont really fancy cakes with dessicated coconuts. When I saw this by Bakericious, its looks very fluffy and soft to me and then I just left it as it is. Then I saw another blogger trying it out (apologies, cant remember which blogger) and she assured me that it very nice and worth a try and so I book-marked for a long time - cos whenever I want to bake this, I always cannot find the coconut cream at NTUC supermart.

I saw it on the shelf last Friday (without knowing when I will do it), I just grab a packet first. When the oven was delivered, I thought why not give this simple cake the honour of being the 'guinea pig' to try out the oven.

Hmm .... not a bad job, right?

Even though the recipe calls of dessicated coconut and instant coconut powder, it exudes a very fragrant coconut smell while baking in the oven and the cake is very nice too.

Recipe reference (Bakericious)

Ingredients:
200g butter, softened
120g caster sugar
4 eggs
6 tbsp milk
200g cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
100g coconut cream (like Jess, I too used Kara coconut cream powder)
40g dessicated coconut
80g raisins
some dessicated coconut (to drizzle on the cake)

Method:

Beat butter and caster sugar until light and fluffy.
Add in egg, one at at time beating thoroughly after each addition.
Add in milk and mix well.
Fold in sieved flour, coconut powder using spatula.
Add in 40g dessicated coconut and raisins and mix well.
Scope the batter into the cupcake cases 80% full, drizzle dessicated coconut on the top and bake in preheated oven at 180C for 15 to 20 minutes.

Stir-Fried Chayote with Vermicelli

2011-10-19T12:05:00.001+08:00

Cooking has made to learn a lot new ingredient names. Chayote? never heard of not eaten? What is it?

But the photo posted by Noobcook.com was very tempting.... I am very curious to find out how chayote taste like?

I first tried this last Saturday and it was very tasty and good and I did it again on Sunday. So good that I have it for two days consecutively,

Recipe adapted from Noobcook.com

Ingredients
(Serves 4)

- 1 whole chayote (佛手瓜/合掌瓜), peeled and sliced to thin strips
- 1 tbsp dried shrimps (aka Hay Bee, heibi, Xiami, 虾米)
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 3 slices ginger, sliced thinly
- 30g vermicelli (tang hoon/mung bean noodles), soaked to soften and drained
- a small handful of dried black fungus, soaked to soften and cut to strips
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely shredded
Sauce
- 1/2 cup chicken stock (if you are cooking clear Chinese soup, you can use that too)
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp Chinese wine (hua tiao/shao hsing)
- water from soaking the dried shrimps

Directions
1. Rinse dried shrimps and soak them with hot water (just enough to cover the shrimps) in a small bowl. Drain the dried shrimps, setting aside the soaking water. Pat dry the shrimps with kitchen towel.
2. Heat oil in wok and saute the ginger and dried shrimps until fragrant. Add garlic and stir fry for about 30 seconds.
3. Add chayote and black fungus strips. Stir fry for about 3 minutes.
4. Add carrot and sauce. Let the contents simmer for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add vermicelli and allow the noodles to soak up the sauce.

Cooking Notes
1. The chayote is slightly slippery during peeling and slicing so do be careful.
2. For a vegetarian version, omit the dried shrimps and use vegetable stock.
3. The carrots are finely shredded using a special vegetable peeler. If you are cutting them by hand like in the case for the chayote, add the carrots in step 3 instead of 4.
4. If you like to add meat, check out chayote with pork recipe. You can also use leftover roast meat.

Stir Fried Bean Sprouts, Carrots and Wood Ear Fungus

2011-10-16T15:11:00.001+08:00

When I saw this I couldnt figure out what is Wood Ear Fungus, though from the photo I could guessed it must be black fungus. So I asked my colleague, once confirmed what is it, I decided to give a try.

This is a fuss-free and and tasty dish with very simple ingredients.

Recipe adapted from Christine's recipes

Ingredients:
200g bean sprouts, trimmed
1/2 carrot, shredded
6 dried wood ear fungus
4 tbsp chicken stock
shredded ginger, to taste
salt, to taste

Seasonings:
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp corn flour
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
dash of sesame oil
pinch of pepper

Method:

Trim off the heads and tails of bean sprouts. The whole bean sprouts is edible. Trimming is just for making the dish more good looking.
Soak the wood ears in water until softened. Rinse off and remove any dirts. Blanch in boiling water for 2 mins. Drain well and cut into thin strips.
Heat oil in wok. Add shredded ginger and saute till fragrant. Toss in carrots, and cook until softened. Add the bean sprouts and wood ears. Add chicken stock and continue to cook for a while. Season with salt. Pour in seasonings. continue to cook until the sauce dries up a bit. The vegetable should retain a bit crunchy in texture, so don't overcook. Dish up and serve.

Baked Tofu Cheesecake

2011-10-09T16:32:00.001+08:00

Being a cheesecake and tofu fan, how could I possibly pass this?

This was baked on Saturday afternoon. This is indeed a very healthy and light cheesecake. Cheesecake lovers you need not worry about the calories - trust me. I baked a second one today.

And the below photos are my second attempt today. So you know how good this is? So hurry, go and get your ingredients and warm up the oven. Not only good and it very easy .....

This cake is so soft I was a little worried that I may not invert the cake well.

And the recipe is of course adapted from Anncoo

Ingredients:
(A)
250g tofu
250g cream cheese
5 egg yolks
120ml unsweetened soya milk
3 tbsp lemon juice
70g plain flour (sieved)

(B)
5 egg whites
130g castor sugar

Method:
Preheat oven to 170C. Line a 9" cake tin and wrap with heavy duty aluinium foil to prevent water from seeping into the cheesecake during baking.
In a food processor, blend all (A) ingredients until smooth. Pour mixture into a large bowl.
In a separate mixing bowl, beat egg whites and castor sugar until semi-firm peaks form to make a soft meringue.
Use a whisk to mix 1/3 soft meringue with mixture.
Gently fold in the rest with spatula.
Pour mixture into cake tin and steam bake for about 50 minutes and bake at the center rack of the oven.
Move the cheesecake to upper rack of the oven and switch temperature to grill for about 30 seconds to one minute to get a nice golden color on top.

Enjoy ...

Soba with Sesame Sauce

2011-10-07T10:16:00.004+08:00

I love soba and when I saw Ann's post on this I thought it was easy for a quick meal. It smells very fragrant with the sesame sauce.

Recipe reference from Ann

200g Soba (buckwheat noodles)

2 pcs Chicken thigh meat (debonded and skinned)
some chye sim (菜心) or Spinach (波菜)
some toasted white sesame seeds
Sesame mixed sauce
1 tbsp minced ginger
4 tbsp Sesame/Tahini paste
2 tbsp Sesame oil
6 tbsp Kikkomann light soy sauce
2 tsp Sugar
4 tbsp Water

Method:

· Remove skin and fat from chicken, mix thoroughly with 1/2 tsp salt and crushed black pepper, leave aside for 10 minutes (put in the fridge). Pan fry chicken thigh with little oil till golden brown. Leave to cool and cut into small pieces.

· Wash the chye sim or spinach and blanch in boiling water, then run cold water through it and drain. Cut into sections.

· Cook soba in boiling water for about 5-6 minutes, strain and run cold water through it.

· Mix soba, chye sim or spinach and chicken well with the sesame mixed sauce and place on serving plate. Sprinkle some toasted white sesame seeds on it and serve.

· OR serve as cold dish, chill the soba before mixing with sesame mixed sauce

Braised Chinese Cabbage with Mushrooms and Wheat Gluten Balls

2011-10-02T14:55:00.001+08:00

Chinese cabbage is a good source of vitamin C. It has properties for beautifying the complexion and removing heatiness in the body.

Recipe (adapted from All about Vegetables)

Ingredients:
600g Chinese Cabbage
1/2 carrot
4 Chinese Mushrooms
1 cup fried wheat gluten balls (I used canned)
1 tbsp dried shrimps
1 stalk spring onion
some coriander

Seasonings:
1 tbsp light soy sauce
dash of salt
dash of sesame oil

Method:

Rinse Chinese cabbage. Cut the stalks into wide strips and leaves into big pieces. Cut carrot into slices and spring onion into sections.
Soak Chinese mushrooms until soft. Remove the stems and cut into slices. Reserve the water used or soaking the mushrooms. Soak dried shrimps until soft, then pluck away the hard bits. Soak dried wheat gluten balls in warm water until soft, then gently squeeze dry.
Heat 2tbsp of oil and fry spring onion, chinese mushrooms and dried shrimps until fragrant. Drizzle over light soy sauce, then toss in chinese cabbage to cook until it turns soft.
Add the mushrooms soaking water and corrot to cook for about 3-5 minutes.
Add fried wheat gluten balls and stir well. Season with salt. Cook until the chinese cabbage is soft and the gravy has slightly reduced. Add sesame oil and scatter over coriander to serve.

Mongolian chicken

2011-09-26T11:39:00.002+08:00

This chicken dish is very nice. When I first saw it, it sounded very alien to me but the ingredients are not foreign at all.

Recipe is adapted from Sonia

3 boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite sizes
3 sprigs curry leaves
2 small chili padi, chopped
1 big onion, chopped
4 clove garlic, chopped

For marinate
1/2tsp salt
1tsp sesame oil
½ egg, lightly beaten
2tbsp tapioca starch/ cornstarch
Pepper

For seasoning
1/2tsp black pepper powder
1tbsp chili paste
150ml evaporated milk
1tsp sugar
Salt to taste

Method
1. Marinate chicken pieces for 30mins.
2. Deep fry chicken till golden brown, set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok, sauté onion, garlic, curry leaves and chili padi till fragrant.
4. Return deep fried chicken to the wok, add seasonings and stir well.
5. Last add in evaporated creamer, quickly mix well and dish out.
6. Serve hot.

Elvis Presley Pound Cake

2011-09-21T12:42:00.002+08:00

This cake has aroused my curiosity - Why Elvis Presley Pound Cake? Is it Elvis' favourite, if so it must be good! Secondly, bake in COLD OVEN - since I started baking I have not heard of baking in a cold oven. Then I read about the good reviews by some bloggers who tried this cake but being kiasu I emailed Lena to clarify some of my doubts and once doubts cleared, here comes my Elvis Presley Pound Cake.

I bought this bundt pan from the US last year while holidaying and am really pleased to see it so beautifully inverted. Yeah ... yeah!

I first saw it posted by Wendy . Then I saw Lena's post on this cake too. Lena's photo was very well captured and it seemed to beckon me to try it, taste it for yourself - its good!

This cake has a very fine texture, soft and moist. I think its worth a try. Occasional indulgence in high sugar content cake is ok lah.

Lena, mine don't look so crumbly like yours? I think mine no 'selling power'! :(

Recipe adapted from Lena and Wendy

Ingredients

225gm butter (cold butter)
350gm sugar (reduced from original recipe of 600gm or 3 cups)
½ tsp salt (my butter is salted, so I reduced the salt but did not eliminate this as I usually will due to the high sugar content of the cake)
7 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
250ml /1 cup whipping cream (do not use non dairy) (I used only 200ml)
350gm cake flour

Method:

1. Put oven rack in middle position, but do not preheat oven.

2. Generously butter pan and dust with flour, knocking out excess flour.

3. Sift together sifted flour and salt into a bowl. Repeat sifting into another bowl (flour will have been sifted 3 times total).

4. Beat together butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment or 6 to 8 minutes with a handheld mixer.

5. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half of flour, then all of cream, then remaining flour, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down side of bowl, then beat at medium-high speed 5 minutes(I just beat for 2 mins). Batter will become creamier and satiny.

6. Spoon batter into pan and rap pan against work surface once or twice to eliminate air bubbles. Place pan in (cold) oven and turn oven temperature to 350°F/175C

7. Bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in middle of cake comes out with a few crumbs adhering, 1 to 1 1/4 hours (mine was nicely done at 1 hour). Cool cake in pan on a rack 30 minutes. Run a thin knife around inner and outer edges of cake, then invert rack over pan and invert cake onto rack to cool completely.

Enjoy ....

Swanson Udon Soup

2011-09-18T15:55:00.000+08:00

I saw this in last week's Today. From the photo it looks light and easy with very basic ingredients.

This was my lunch yesterday .... easy, tasty and healthy.

Recipe adapted from newspaper article (serves 4)

Ingredients:

400ml Swanson Clear Chicken Broth
2 packs of Fresh Udon 200g
100g chye sim
50g carrot (cut into flower shape)
60g Homeji mushrooms
60g Broccoli floret
1 slice ginger
185ml water
pinch of salt and pepper

Garnishing:

55g ripe tomato strips

Method:
Heat up a pot of water, add ginger and Swanson Clear Chicken Broth and bring to a boil. Add carrots, mushroom, chye sim and broccoli to cook.

Add in the udon and garnish with tomato strips.

Ready to serve.

Guest Post

2011-09-14T16:31:00.000+08:00

This week I have invited Anncoo from Anncoo Journal to do a Guest Post for us. I’m sure you’ll find reading Anncoo’s posting such a delight, so do check it out!

Anncoo is the first blogger whom I got to know through a friend who was then helping me to set up my blog. Blogging has since been such a thrilling experience for me. I’m sure you’ll have similar sentiments.

Anncoo’s culinary and photography skills, and craft work simply amazes me. She is such a talent, and more importantly, so generous a person. Anncoo shares honestly all that she has learnt from her experiences and knowledge. Ask her on any topic – from baking to marketing, and I’m sure you’ll find nuggets of gold that you can take away! Just recently, she has done a spring clean to my blog which explains why my blog is now so pretty now! :)

Take a look at some of Anncoo’s creative ‘artwork’. Beautiful Koi Fish Jelly

See how Anncoo turned the moon cakes into cute, adorable piglets!

So thank you Ann. You are such a source of inspiration and that’s why I continue to be blogging till this day! As the Chinese saying goes, you certainly ‘进得了厨房出得了厅堂’. Your husband is one blessed man!

Do stop by at Anncoo Journal and I’m sure you’ll be echoing all that I’ve said about Anncoo!

After making so many mooncakes for the Mid-Autumn Festival, I think it is better to make something light and healthy to balance our diet. I've chosen a few easy recipes from books and magazines for the next few posts ... Please stay tuned :)

This first healthy post ~ "Tuna & Tofu Cold Dish" is a special guest post for Chris from Yummy Bakes and thank you very much for inviting me to do a guest post on your blog.

I've known Chris not long after I started blogging and she is also my first met local blogger. We arranged to meet at Hans for lunch two years ago which was very near to her offfice. I still remember the first time I saw Chris, a short hair, slim and petite lady wearing a red blouse and a pair of black pants. She walked towards me and was the first person who called me 'Anncoo'. Hahaa I felt a little bit funny as this was the first time that someone addressed me as 'Anncoo' as most of you by now would know that my name is 'Ann' We had a nice chat in that short one hour lunch and after that we exchanged emails and went out together quite a number of times. It is my pleasure to know you Chris and this is for you.... Tuna & Tofu Cold Dish
Tofu is a very good source of protein and it is very easy to use. It can be used in both savory and sweet desserts. I made this easy Tuna & Tofu Cold Dish which can be ready in 15 in minutes. You can serve it as appetizer, side dish or even as a light meal with Soba (buckwheat noodle) by adding extra sauce in it.

Here is the recipe (serves 4)

2 Block Silken tofu

1 can Tuna in water

some cherry tomatoes, toasted white sesame seeds, diced spring onion

Dash of white pepper, pinch of salt

Sauce

3 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp Vinegar

2 tsp Kikkoman light soya sauce

2 tsp Chopped garlic

Dash of black pepper

Method:

Cut tofu into small blocks. Remove water from tuna and squash tuna slightly and mix with a dash of white pepper and pinch of salt. Slice cherry tomatoes thinly.

Place tofu on serving plate with sliced cherry tomatoes and tuna on top.

Drizzle the sauce over it and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and diced spring onion and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Award - Healthy Snacks Event

2011-09-13T12:59:00.002+08:00

This steamed shiitake mushrooms with broccoli has won me a surprise award from DD at Good Food Recipes.

Am really happy and surprised to receive this award. :)

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival

2011-09-11T12:36:00.000+08:00

Oink, Oink ... do you find me familiar?

Hey, I think I saw you somewhere....

Hmmm, let me try to recall

Shh.... if you recalled where you have seen me, please don't tell anyone I have sneaked out ok? I just want to wish Yummy Bakes' readers/friends "Happy Mid-Autumn Festival" and thereafter I will go back to keep my friends company. Too lonely here - I don't think I should abandon my friends at Anncoo Journal :)

Oink, oink ... do I look a little lonely? But I do feel lonely here!
It's getting late, I better go back before Anncoo realise one piglet is missing!
And don't forget to enjoy the moon cakes with your family and have fun.

Finally, Anncoo thank you very much for the lovely moon cakes - we love it.

Spinach soup with fish balls

2011-09-04T15:59:00.002+08:00

Spinach are rich in vitamin A, C, B-group vitamins, beta-carotene, folate, dietary fibre, iron, calcium and potassium. Packed full of nutrition, spinach protects the eyes, aids in babies' brain development, nourishes blood, anti-aging, prevents osteoporosis and promotes bowel movements.

This is a very light and simple soup.

Recipe reference from the book "All About Vegetables"

Ingredients:
120g spinach

1 box tofu

8 prawn balls or fish balls
2 strips bamboo fungus (I omitted)

Seasonings

dash of salt
dash of chicken seasoning powder (I used without MSG)

Method:

Cut spinach into sections and briefly blanch in water. Rehydrate bambo fungus and cut into sections. Cut tofu into slices.
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Place prawn balls or fish balls into the water, put the lid on and cook until they float to the surface. Add bamboo fungus and seasonings. Bring to a boil then add spinach and tofu to cook through.

Mini Tofu Chiffon Cake

2011-09-01T08:55:00.003+08:00

I first saw this tofu chiffon cake at Sonia's blog, book-marked it not sure when I will do it cos I dont have a chiffon tube. The cake looks soft and cottony and I like it very much just looking at the photos. Then I also saw Cheah's. And recently, I saw Anncoo also posting this tofu chiffon cake in mini sizes so I know i have a chance to try this cake.

This cake is very light and soft. I baked in two attempts to clear the silken tofu. Brought some to share with my colleagues and they all say its very nice. So this cake is certainly a keeper.

Recipe reference (Anncoo Journal)

(A) 4 Egg yolks (I used 70g egg)
15g Caster sugar
55ml (55g) Corn/canola oil

(B) 110g Silken tofu, mashed finely (or blended finely)
55ml (55g) Soymilk (sweetened but sugar reduced)

(C) 100g Superfine flour (I used plain flour - sifted twice)
1/2 tbsp Black sesame seeds

(D) 4 Egg whites
80g Caster sugar

Method:

Cream (A) till pale, thick and creamy.
Add in (B), mix well.
Fold in (C) and mix till no lumps, add 1/2 tbsp black sesame into it and mix well, set aside.
Beat egg whites till frothy, gradually add in the sugar in batches, mix well. Continue beating till egg whites are stiff but not dry. (When the whisk is removed and inverted, the egg white residue does not fall off).
Fold egg whites into the egg yolk mixture with a handwhisk till well combined.
Spoon batter into muffin cases up to 3/4 full evenly and bake @ 180C for 15 mins then lower temperature to 160C for another 20 mins or skewer comes out clean.
Invert cake immediately on a wire rack to cool completely before unmoulding.

Prawns and Corn Fritters

2011-08-29T09:55:00.000+08:00

Couldn't resist these when I saw the beautiful fritters posted by Ju - it looks so finger-licking!

Don't turn away these fritters if my photos fail to 'entice' you, please pop over to Ju's blog and I am sure you would be drawn to these yummy, finger-licking fritters.

Recipe reference The Little Teochew

150g fresh prawns (shelled, deveined and chopped into small chunks)
- 2 ears sweet corn (peeled, washed, kernels removed from cob)
- 2 shallots (peeled and chopped)
- 1 stalk spring onions, chopped
- 1 red chilli (seeds removed, sliced or chopped)
- 300g flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 375 ml water
- Oil for deep-frying
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste

1. Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add salt and pepper. Slowly stir in water to obtain a thick batter (batter should slowly drip off the spoon).

2. Add prawns, shallots, sweet corn, spring onions and chilli to the batter. Stir until well-mixed.

3. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Drop 1 tbsp of batter into the oil, one at a time, until the skillet is filled up. Make sure your have sufficient space in between fritters so that they don't stick. Flip the fritters to ensure that both sides are browned. Fry in batches.

4. Remove the fritters from skillet and drain on paper towels (I find tempura paper better).

5. Serve with dips, although they are lovely on their own.

Melt in Your Mouth Blueberry Cake

2011-08-24T16:16:00.004+08:00

A punnet of blueberry was sitting in the freezer and I was just wondering what cake to bake and I stumbled on this Melt-In-Your-Mouth-Blueberry-Cake caught my attention.

This is a fantastic blueberry cake; although not for those with a sweet tooth. This cake has an excellent light texture and good flavor.

This is a nice tender cake. A great cake to bring along to a picnic or have friends over for an afternoon tea.

Recipe Source: All Recipes.com
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup milk
2 egg whites
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8 inch square pan.

2. Cream butter or margarine and 1/2 cup sugar until fluffy. Add salt and vanilla. Separate eggs and reserve the whites. Add egg yolks to the sugar mixture; beat until creamy.

3. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour and baking powder; add alternately with milk to egg yolk mixture. Coat berries with 1 tablespoon flour and add to batter.

4. In a separate bowl, beat whites until soft peaks form. Add 1/4 cup of sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into batter. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

5. Bake for 50 minutes, or until cake tests done.

Stir-fried Asparagus and Prawns

2011-08-21T15:33:00.001+08:00

Asparagus is an excellent source of folate, B-group vitamins, vitamins C, E, beta-carotene, iron and calcium. It has nutrients good for vision and for protecting against cardiovascular disease.

Asparagus should not be eaten raw. It is a delicate vegetable which needs only be cooked lightly. Overcooking or storing them for too long will decrease their nutrients and sweetness.

Ingredients:
10 asparagus
200gm prawns
4 button mushrooms
some carrot slices
some spring onion sections
3 slices ginger slices
some potato starch mixture

Seasonings
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp chicken seasoning powder
1/2 tbsp wine

Method:

Peel off tough skins from the asparagus and cut each into 2 sections. Blanch in lightly salted boiling water, then rinse under cold water, drain well. Cut mushrooms into halves.
Heat some soil and fry onion and ginger until fragrant. Stir in asparagus, prawns, mushrooms and corrot. Add a little water and stir briskly. Add seasonings and lastly thicken with potato starch mixture.

Aspiring Bakers - Egg Tarts

2011-08-17T15:41:00.000+08:00

This is my second attempt on egg tarts which I am submitting this to Aspiring Bakers #10: Easy as Pie (August 2011), hosted by Janine of Not the Kitchen Sink.

Does my egg tarts look better the second time? My first egg tarts - the smooth filling is making me crave for more .... so I am sharing with you once again this easy-to-make egg tarts.

Recipe source from Lena

Ingredients for skin:
Butter 190gm, softened
Flour 225gm
Custard Powder 75gm
Sugar 60gm (this time I used icing sugar)
1 egg

Method:
1. Just mix all the ingredients together into a pastry and place pastry into tarts moulds.

Ingredients for filling:
Boiling water 200gm
Sugar 150gm
Egg 5 nos
Fresh milk 250gm

Method:
1.Preheat oven at 200C for 15mins
2. Dissolve sugar in boiling water, let cool, add egg and fresh milk. Do not beat, just stir and mix.
3.Strain the mixture and pour into the tart mould. Bake at 180C for 25mins or until cooked.

Orange Cupcakes

2011-08-14T15:12:00.012+08:00

This orange cupcake is very soft and moist and has a rich orange aroma ...

Thanks to Cheah for sharing this recipe. These cupcakes are not difficult to bake and I love the strong orange aroma it fills the kitchen when baking this.

Recipe adapted from no-frills recipes

Ingredients
250 gm butter
250 gm self-raising flour
170 gm vanilla sugar
4 eggs
2 tsp orange rind (keep some extra for decorating)
85 ml fresh orange juice
pinch of salt (omitted, I used salted butter)
some icing sugar for dusting (optional)

Method

Sift flour with salt, set aside.
Cream sugar, butter and orange rind till light, fluffy and creamy.
Add in eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Fold in sifted flour alternating with orange juice, start with flour and end with flour. Mix well.
Scoop up batter into the lightly greased and floured mould.
Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 degC for 20 - 25 mins. Test with a skewer if it comes out clean.
Let cool in pan for about 10 mins. before removing and transferring to cool completely on a wire rack.
Decorate with some icing sugar and a little sprinkling of orange rind, if desired

Stired-Fried Napa Cabbage

2011-08-10T14:05:00.001+08:00

This is another very homely dish from Noobcook.com with very basic ingredients.

This is the first time I tried napa cabbage - not bad very sweet.

Ingredients
(Serves 2-3)

- 1/4 head (about 300g) of napa cabbage
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 3 slices ginger, stacked together and sliced thinly
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 150g enoki mushrooms (enokitake), ends trimmed
Sauce (A)

- 50ml hot water
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce (if not using this, add a bit more light soy sauce)
- 1/2 tbsp Chinese wine

Directions

1. Slice and separate cabbages leaves from the white stem portion. Tear leaves to smaller pieces. Slice the stem portion to 3 cm length at a slant angle.

2. Heat oil in wok, and saute the garlic and ginger until fragrant.

3. Add cabbage stems and stir fry for a minute or two until the stems start to soften.

4. Add cabbage leaves, enoki mushrooms and sauce (A). Cover and let it simmer for a few minutes until the cabbage is tender and the liquid is greatly reduced.

Easy Does It

2011-08-06T11:15:00.001+08:00

A hearty meal can be made in minutes with chicken nuggets and tomato ketchup ...

I saw this classic sweet and sour chicken in the newspaper on Thursday and was very much won over by the 'appetising' photo. Those days when one is lazy and run out of ideas of what to cook, this is indeed a tasty dish to consider.

This eliminates the steps of marinating the meat, making a batter, coating the meat and frying it - that's before you even start on the sauce.

Cheats Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients: (serves 2 to 4)

12pcs chicken nuggets
6tbsp tomato ketchup
3tbsp fine sugar
4tbsp water
1tsp white vinegar (I omitted)
A pinch of salt
1/2 tbsp corn flour
2tbsp water
1tbsp cooking oil
1 red onion, large dice
1 yellow pepper, large dice
1 red pepper, large dice
1 tomato, cut into wedges

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Place chicken nuggets on a foil-lined baking tray and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and set aside (I deep-fried them)
Place tomato ketchup, sugar, 4 tbsp water, white vinegar and salt in to a bowl and stir to mix. Set aside.
Mix cornflour with 2 tbsp water in a small bowl. Set aside.
Place oil in a wok over medium-high heat. Fry onion and peppers for 3 minutes, or until they start to color slightly.
Add sauce and stir to mix well. Cook for 4 minutes, or until the sauce comes to a boil.
Add corn flour mixture and stir so that the sauce starts to thicken.
Add nuggets and tomato. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Remove to a plate and serve immediately.

(If you want to tweak it to make it spicier, you could also add two tbsp of chili sauce).

Dessert Time

2011-07-31T14:32:00.001+08:00

Do you find these elegant? It tastes simply fantastic and it's easy to prepare too.

This recipe calls for digestive biscuits, but you can use any of your favourite biscuits, such as ginger cookies or something similar. Just let your imagination and creativity take over.

Recipe Source (TODAY, 23 July 2011)

Peach Tart in a Glass (serves 6 to 8)

For the biscuit base:
100g digestive biscuits or another similar biscuit
40g melted butter

1 tsp fine sugar

- Place the biscuit, melted butter and sugar in a small food processor and blitz to a fine sand. Press into the base of several serving glasses up to 8mm thick and refrigerate. (I misread this part, you will see I have more pudding than cookies)

For custard:
1 cup evaporated filled milk
1 cup water
3 tbsp custard powder
1/2 cup fine sugar (will reduce next time, I find it too sweet)
1/4 tsp fine salt

- Place all the custard ingredients into a small saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil gently for 2 mins (the custard will thicken) and then transfer to a wide bowl. Cool, then spoon 3 tbsp into each glass.

- Arrange diced peaches on top and refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.

- Garnish with mint if desired.

For topping:
1 can peach halves in syrup, drained and diced
Fresh mint sprigs (Optional)

Stir Fried Spinachs with Ikan Bilis

2011-07-28T09:02:00.002+08:00

Nowadays, almost every dinner, I will have a plate of vegetables but often wonder what's next for the next dinner?

My eyes brightened when I saw this posted by Noobcook.com. The crispy ikan bilis really caught my attention... The ikan bilis gives an extra savory kick to this dish. Am very contented just to have this dish alone with a bowl of rice.

Recipe Source (Noobcook.com)

Ingredients:
Ingredients (serves 2)

- 1 small handful of ikan bilis (dried anchovies), rinsed and pat dry
- 1 carrot, peeled and sliced thinly
- 3 tbsp cooking oil
- 200g round/sharp spinach
- 3 slices ginger, sliced thinly
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp Chinese wine

Sauce (A)
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp sesame oil

Directions

1. Separate spinach leaves and stems. Snap the stem into 5 cm length, pulling and discarding the strings.

2. Heat oil and add ikan bilis, cooking until golden brown and crispy, about 3 minutes. Drain ikan bilis from oil and set aside.

3. Using the remaining oil in the wok, add garlic and ginger. Saute until fragrant.

4. Add spinach stems and carrot slices. Stir fry for about 2 minutes until just softened.

5. Add spinach leaves and sauce (A). Stir fry until the leaves are wilted. Then cover with lid and let the contents simmer for 30 seconds.

6. Drizzle Chinese wine on the sides of the wok, off the flame when you smell the aroma of the wine.

7. Dish into serving plate and top with the previously fried ikan bilis.

Egg Tarts

2011-07-24T17:29:00.007+08:00

Suddenly I was craving for egg tarts and started to itch about making it. Browsed through a few bloggers's lovely egg tarts and was kind of undecided which recipe to adapt.

I have never make any egg tarts before, some say the filling is a bit difficult to get it right, etc,etc. And this being my maiden attempt, I want to get it right. So I decided to adapt Lena's which I feel a lot easier for my first attempt on egg tarts. These are really easy to make and so good to pair off with a cup of nice tea or kopi. Crispy skin and smooth egg filling ... just the perfect tarts for me ... love it so much and I shared some with my neighbours who enjoyed very much too. Thanks, Lena for sharing - this recipe is worth keeping and repeating.

Egg Tarts (adapted from Her Frozen Wings)

Ingredients for the skin

190g butter, softened
225g flour
75g custard powder
60g fine sugar
1 egg

Method:Just mix all the ingredients together into a pastry and place pastry into tart moulds.

Ingredients for the filling:200g boiling water

150g sugar

5 eggs

250g fresh milk

Method:

Preheat oven at 200C for 15 mins.
Dissolve sugar in boiling water, let it cool, add egg and fresh milk. Do not beat, just stir and mix.
Strain the mixture and pour into the tart mould. Bake at 180C for 25 mins or until cooked.

Steamed Shiitake Mushrooms with Broccoli

2011-07-19T13:33:00.002+08:00

I recently just chanced upon Almost Bourdain's blog and was shocked to see her farewell post. What a pity I won't get to see her nice posts again but fortunately, she is not closing her blog ....

Simple and healthy dish which pairs off very well with rice.

Why is my mushroom so black?

Recipe is adapted from Almost Bourdain.

Ingredients:
300 g broccoli, cut into florets
20 fresh shiitake mushrooms

Sauce:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 cup water
1 tsp cornflour
pepper to taste

Method:

1. Arrange broccoli and shiitake mushrooms in a steaming plate.

2. To make the sauce: Mix all ingredients. Pour on top of the broccoli and mushrooms in the steaming plate.

3. Steam for 10 minutes or until vegetables are cooked.

Chocolate Mint Cheese Cake

2011-07-17T12:59:00.004+08:00

I really couldn't resist the beautiful cheesecakes posted by Anncoo recently.

I love both baked and non-bake cheesecakes. Ann, do you think my base looks a little dry? These photos were taken immeditely from the fridge.

Recipe reference is adapted from Anncoo Journal. This is indeed a cake that I would love to savour it with my favourite coffee slowly ... but too 'sinful' to have all by myself. Will bring some to office to share with my colleagues who have been a fan of my bakes. ;)

Ingredients for chocolate cake base:
3 egg yolks
65g sugar
3 egg whites
60g cake flour or all purpose flour - sieved
20g Valrhona cocoa powder - sieved
40g melted butter
20g fresh milk

Method:

Beat egg yolks and 30g sugar until fluffy. Stir in sieved flour, cocoa powder, milk and melted butter.
Beat egg whites and 35g sugar until soft peaks formed. Fold egg whites into egg yolks mixture.
Pour the mixture into a 8 x 8 x 1 1/2 inches (lined) cake tin. Bake at 180C for about 25 minutes.
Leave cake to cool in tin (do not remove cake from tin)

Mint Cheesecake:
250g cream cheese at room temperature
45g sugar
3 large eggs
50g whipping cream
1 to 1.5 tbsp peppermint essence

To Assemble:

Combine cream cheese and sugar.
Add one egg at a time. Beating well after each addition.
Fold in whipping cream and peppermint essence, stir well (Optional: add a small drop of apple green coloring).
Pour the cream cheese mixture into the cake tin over the chocolate cake base.
Bake in water bath at 160C for about 35 - 40 minutes.
Leave cheesecake to cool in tin before removing it.
Chill cheesecake before serving.

Notes: Wrap cake in with heavy duty aluminium foil to prevent water from sipping into the cheesecake during baking.
You can add vanilla extract to the chocolate and cream cheese batter if you don't like peppermint.

Green tea tiramisu revisited

2011-07-10T15:25:00.000+08:00

What do you think of green tea tiramisu in their new little glass wares?

It's great to have this desserts on a hot afternoon ... yum, yum

Prawns in Chilli Ketchup Gravy

2011-07-05T08:56:00.000+08:00

My mom used to say don't know what to buy, don't know what to cook!! It's a headache to think of what to buy and cook each day, now I understand. Every day you see the same thing at the wet market and supermarkets....

Double-headache for a non-cooking person like me but thanks to technology and experienced bloggers who have generously shared their recipes. I must say am thankful that I joined blogging and get to try different dishes and bakes.

I saw this at The Little Teochew's blog. The prawns look so fresh and tempting from the photo. Too delicious to pass this. So this is my Prawns in chilli ketchup gravy and all say very good....

Ingredients(Recipe source: The Little Teochew)

1kg black tiger prawns (or any type of fresh, whole prawns)
7 to 8 thin slices ginger, about 2cm diameter
3 spring onions, cut into 1-inch length (leave aside a handful, cut small, for garnishing)
1 onion (cut into wedges)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chilli (sliced) optional

Vegetable oil, enough for shallow frying + 1 tbsp

Sauce:

2 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp soya sauce
Water, 2-3 tbsp

Method:

1. In a wok and deep frying pan, heat up enough vegetable oil to cover prawns when frying. When it is warm, shallow fry prawns in batches for about 5-6 minutes or until pink. Repeat until the whole batch finishes, set aside.

2. In a new pan, pour over 1 tbsp spoon of the vegetable oil. Under medium heat, put in garlic, onion and ginger. Cook until soft. Mix all the ingredients for the sauce and add into the pan. Stir well.

3. Add in cooked prawns, spring onions and cut fresh chilli (if using). Cook and stir for another 5 minutes. Serve hot.

Pumpkin Carrot Cake

2011-06-29T14:06:00.001+08:00

I still have cranberries and ground almonds sitting in the fridge and yet there are so many bakes that I have book-marked to ry. I told myself better clear the fridge before I start buying and storing new ingredients. This cake has always been in my mind to try again - did I improve from the last time?

And recently I saw it at Cheah's blog, and was reminded again to warm up the oven ....

So this is my second attempt at Pumpkin carrot cake and it was also very well received by my colleagues. This is good keeper and a healthy cake that's worth trying ....

Ingredients

190 gm self-raising flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
150 gm caster sugar (orig. 170 gm)
100 gm butter
50 gm canola oil
4 eggs
30 gm ground almonds
120 gm shredded pumpkin
30 gm shredded carrot
60 gm dried cranberries - cut and coated with some flour from above
1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

Sift the self-raising flour with baking soda and salt. Set aside.
Cream butter and sugar till light, thick and creamy.
Add in eggs one at a time, mix well.
Add in oil and vanilla essence.
Add in the sifted flour mixture.
Add in shredded pumpkin, carrots, ground almonds and finally the cut and flour coated cranberries. Mix thoroughly, scraping from the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl.
Transfer batter into a lightly greased and floured 8 inch square tin.
Bake in preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for about 45 - 50 mins. Test with skewer till it comes out clean. Allow to cool in tin for about 10 mins.
Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Braised French Beans with Tung Hoon

2011-06-26T15:51:00.003+08:00

Another great and easy dish from the book "All about Vegetables. The book is about all vegetables and I am someone who never loves vegetables when younger but now loving more variety of stir-fry veggies.

I think I have put in a little too much French beans. haha

Ingredients:
450g French beans
80g minced pork (omitted cos I forgot to buy)
2 bundles tung hoon
1 tbsp chopped spring onion

Marinade:
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
dash of sesame oil

Method

Trim the two ends and tough fibre of the French beans, cut into sections. Soak tung hoon until soft.
Heat 3tbsp oil and fry French beans over high heat for about 3 minutes until they soften. Remove.
Add minced port and fry until the meat separates, toss in chopped spring onions, add dark soy sauce, salt and water. Lastly, add French beans and cook for about 3 minutes.
Add tung hoon and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes. Turn up the heat to reduce the gravy if you prefer. Lastly, add sesame oil.

Kangkong Belachan

2011-06-21T13:31:00.000+08:00

This is another easy, stir-fry vegetables I saw in a book. This is one dish which I have enjoyed but was never served at home. ;)

Ingredients:
400g kangkong, cut into sections
1 1/2 tbsp belachan (toasted)
2 tbsp dried shrimps (soaked till soft)
2 chillies (sliced)
3 cloves garlic (chopped)

Seasonings
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp chicken seasoning powder

Method

Heat 2 tbsp of oil, fry garlic and dried shrimps until fragrant. Add belachan and fry until fragrant. Stir in kangkong and add a little water, combine well briskly over high heat.
Lastly, add chillies and seasonings to fry until kangkong is soft.

Saturday Meeting

2011-06-19T13:09:00.000+08:00

Does this cake look very familiar? Did you just saw this somewhere (of course I am the baker)?

She is the very first blogger I got to know when I started blogging and have always been amazed with her baking and cooking. Her photos always made me salivate at her goodies!

Her creation has also inspired me and intensify my interest in baking and cooking but I don't think I can ever produce such beautiful work like hers!

Am very honoured to be the recipent of her cranbery yoghurt cake. I have always enjoyed all her home-baked cakes and cooking. Anncoo, this cake is very nice - soft and moist.

This is another delicious carrot cake from Anncoo.

This cake is very soft too and I like to cinnamon aroma. Perfect to the taste (wish I could write better to describe the cake). Another healthy cake to enjoy....

Lemon Cake

2011-06-15T15:57:00.000+08:00

After a few weeks' break from baking, my oven seem to be working well! Such a nice golden brown top, would you believe there was something wrong with the oven?

This zesty cake is moist, soft and fluffy.

Ingredients:
Recipe Source: The Little Teochew

- 113g butter
- 170g caster sugar
- 170g self-raising flour
- 1 level teaspoon baking powder
- 2 large eggs
- Grated rind of 1 lemon
- 5 tbsp fresh milk or evaporated milk

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degree celsius. Grease and line a 6-inch pan.

2. Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix using an electric mixer.

3. Pour into prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean.

I paired this zesty, fragrant cake with a cup of Lipton Forest Fruit tea and it was very good.

Mixed Vegetables Curry

2011-06-12T15:42:00.000+08:00

This is the first time I cook curry and am pleased with the result. I always feel that curry involves a lot of blending the spices and for a family who don't appreciate spicy food - I feel the work involved would not be justified!

This is easy - very basic ingredients and yet delicious .....

Ingredients A:
500g cabbage
1 carrot
150 long beans
2 tomatoes
1 onion
4-5 pieces bean curd puffs
2-3 cloves shallots
2 slices ginger

Ingredients B:
600ml coconut milk (I used carnation milk)
1 tbsp belachan
2-3 tbsp curry powder

Seasonings:
dash of salt
dash of sugar

Method:

Cut cabbage into large pieces. Roll-cut carrot into pieces. Remove the ends of the long beans and break into sections. Cut tomatoes into small sections. Cut onions into shreds. Cut bean curd puffs into halves and shallots into slices. Toast belachan in a try pan until fragrant.
Heat 6tbsp of oil and fry onions, shallots and ginger until fragrant, add belachan and toss well. Stir in curry powder and fry until fragrant and oil seeps out.
All all the vegetables, bean curd puffs and seasonings. Cook over medium-low heat until the vegetables are soft. Turn down the heat, add the coconut milk to cook briefly until heated through.

Serve with white rice ....

Kitchen tips

Potatoes, eggplants, lady's fingers, pumpkin and cauliflower may also be used for this dish.

Do not cook coconut milk for too long as it will curdle. Freshly squeezed thick coconut milk will given out an oily taste if cooked over a long period of time and this will affect the flavour of the dish.

Outrageous Orange Jelly

2011-06-07T11:47:00.001+08:00

When I saw Anncoo posted her cherry delights, I told myself I must have it. Her cherry delights were so well captured in photos - so bright and clear and so tempting in this hot weather. Unfortunately, I can't find the F&N Cheeky Cherrydale in NTUC and since I die-die must have it, I bought the F&N Outrageous Orange sparkling drink, and so this is my outrageous orange jelly!

I must say these little jellies are very nice. Next time, I must try a different flavour. And they are not difficult to make at all.

Recipe Source - Anncoo Journal

Ingredients A
150ml Water
350ml F&N Outrageous Orange
40g Sugar
10g Gelatin powder (soak gelatin in a small bowl with 2 tbsp water)

Ingredients B (Milk Orange)
175ml Water
250ml F&N Outrageous Orange
55g Sugar
10g Gelatin powder (soak gelatin in a small bowl with 2 tbsp water)
75ml Fresh milk or Evaporated milk (to be added last)

Method
Bring Ingredients (A) to almost boil, add soaked gelatin and stir till gelatin dissolved and boil liquid for 2-3 minutes, set aside.

Bring Ingredients (B) to almost boil, add soaked gelatin and stir till gelatin dissolved and boil liquid for 2-3 mins, off heat. Continue to stir liquid to almost cool and add milk into it, mix well.

Prepare 6-8 small glasses. Pour 2-3 tbsp orange liquid into each glass and chill to set for about 10 mins or put in freezer for about 5 mins.

Remove from refrigerator and add 2-3 tbsp milk orange liquid and chill for 10 mins or put in freezer for about 5 mins..

Repeat process until you finished up the orange liquid and chill for 2 hours and serve.

Join me for a cool jelly afternoon ....

A Healthy Meal

2011-06-05T12:01:00.003+08:00

Don't ask me what fish this is because I have no idea at all. The fishmonger told me very nice - just plain steam. Huh? Just steam?? How? Dont care lah - plain steam....

So I just rubbedsome salt on it and add some shredded ginger and sent to the steamer to steam.

Oh yeah, its true .... very sweet and nice!

And together with a plate of simple chinese cabbage with dried shrimps ... and indeed this was what was served for dinner.

I saw this book "All About Vegetables" at NTUC supermarket and browsed through and found the recipes quite simple to follow so I bought a copy.

Ingredients:
400g Chinese Cabbage/loofah
2tbsp dried shimps
1tsp wine
1/2 cup water or stock
1/3tsp salt

Method:
1. Cut Chinese cabbage into wide strips. Soak dried shrimps until soft, then pluck away the hard bits.

2. Heat 1tbsp of oil and fry dried shrimps until fragrant. Drizzel over wine and add Chinese cabbage to cook until slightly soft. Add water or stock and cover with a lid to cook the Chinese cabbage to your preferred softness. Lastly season with salt.

What a fuss free and healthy meal for the day ...

Braised Fish with Bean Curd Puff and Bean Paste

2011-06-02T13:16:00.001+08:00

This is another simple and nice dish to go with extra helping of white rice ...

And with bean curd puff added - I thought it was interesting.

Cheah, thanks for sharing this is very delicious ...

This is the second time I cook this and I added more bean curd puffs .... a very satisfying dinner

This was my first attempt at this dish

Cheah, why mine look so dark color?

Recipe reference is from No-frills recipes

Ingredients

220 gm Red Snapper block
150 gm Bean Curd Puff - cut into half
3 Tsp Black Bean
2 Tsp Bean Paste ( Tau Cheong)
10 gm young ginger - chopped
10 gm garlic - chopped
1 Tsp Oyster sauce
1/2 Tsp Dark soya sauce
1 Tsp Light soya sauce
1 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Sugar
1.1/2 cups water
1.1/2 Tsp Cornflour mixed with 3 Tbsp water
1.1/2 Tbsp oil for frying
Garnishing - Sliced red chilly and chopped spring onions

Preparation

(1) Marinate the fish block with some salt, set aside

(2) Heat up the pan with oil and when it's hot pat dry the fish and lightly fry on both sides, dish out

(3) Saute the chopped garlic, ginger, black beans and bean paste till fragrant

(4) Add in the 1.1/2 cups of water together with the oyster sauce, salt, sugar and light soya sauce

(5) Bring to the boil and add in the cut bean curd puffs.

(6) Add in the prefried fish block and let it simmer for a while (the bean curd puffs are very absorbent)

(7) Thicken the gravy with the cornflour mixture, add salt to taste, dish out

(8) Garnish with sliced chillies and chopped spring onions

Serve

Orange Lime Jelly

2011-05-30T09:06:00.000+08:00

Won't you just love to tuck into this orange lime jelly on a hot day?

My colleague passed me this recipe and I thought I thought I saw it somewhere....

Yes, I remembered seeing it at Technicolor Kitchen by Patricia Scarpin and its very easy with ingredients conveniently available at supermarkets.

Recipe source: Technicolor Kitchen

Ingredients
80ml water
5 tsp gelatine powder
660ml freshly squeezed orange juice
160ml freshly squeezed lime juice
5 tbsp caster sugar (superfine), or to taste sweetened whipped cream to serve

Method:
1. Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle over the gelatine. Allow to stand for 5 minutes.

2. Combine the orange juice and lime juice and the sugar in a medium saucepan and cook over medium heat stirring until sugar dissolved. Reduce heat to low, add the gelatine and whisk until dissolved.

3. Remove from heat, strain mixture into a jug then divide evenly among eight 120ml capacity glasses or cups. Let cool to room temperature then refrigerate for 4-5 hours or until firm.

4. Top jellies with whipped cream and serve (I omitted the whipped cream)

Enjoy ....

Steamed Fish Fillet

2011-05-26T15:57:00.002+08:00

My apologies for not being able to respond to those who left comments in my blog earlier as I have not been able to do so. It kept prompting me to login and login. And even after having done so, I still was not able to respond..... so frustrating!

I am borrowing Cheah's words "This is as simple as A,B,C ...... plain steamed fish fillet. Quick and easy to lay on the table and healthy and nutritious too! Non-greasy and less washing up!"

Recipe source: No-Frills Recipes

Ingredients:
300 gm red snapper fillet
4 pips garlic - chopped
10 gm ginger - chopped
1 Tbsp oil
1 tsp each of - light soya sauce and oyster sauce
a pinch of sugar
Sea salt
Spring onions for garnishing
Dash of pepper

Preparation:

1. Wash the fish fillet, pat dry and rub in some sea salt and pepper. Set aside.

2. Saute the chopped garlic and ginger with the oil till fragrant. Mix the oyster sauce and light soya sauce with 2 tsp warm water, bit of sugar and add into the garlic ginger, stir well. Set aside.

3. Prepare a steamer with water and steam fish over rapidly boiling water for about 8 mins.

4. Pour the garlic and ginger sauce over the fish, garnish with the chopped spring onions, add in a dash of pepper.

Serve hot immediately.

Walnut Crumble Cake

2011-05-22T10:58:00.000+08:00

I am so happy and satisfied with this cake though my oven seemed to be asking for 'retirement'! My recent bakes took much longer to bake than what was required. This cake took 1.5 hours - can you believe it? Well, at least at the end of 1.5 hours the cake turned out well.

I guess soon I have to approve the retirement of my oven and start sourcing for a new one ....

I seemed very to be in love with streusel cakes or cakes that have this kind of toppings (I almost finished the whole cake in one afternoon)! Guilty, guilty .... strong guilt feeling ... why didnt I have control? Why was I so greedy??? :(

The texture of the cake is so fine, soft and moist and sweetness just perfect ... so how I can stop at one piece!

I am so tempted to warm up my oven and whip up another one ...... Oh shall I?

I may not have captured the photo well enough to convince you, but pop over to HHB and I am sure you will be bought over. Please refer to HHB for a more convincing story.

Ingredients for the Crumbles:

100g digestive biscuits (crushed)
50g walnuts, lightly roasted and chopped coarsely
50g light brown sugar
5g instant coffee powder
2.5g cinnamon powder
50g cold butter

Ingredients for cake layer:

150g butter, softened at room temperature
100g castor sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten (about 100g)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
a pinch of salt (I omitted cos I used salted butter)
200g cake flour (I used plain flour)
1 tsp baking powder
150g plain yoghurt

Method:

1. Mix crushed digestive biscuits, light brown sugar, chopped walnuts, cinnamon powder, instant coffee powder in a mixing bowl. With finger tips, rub in the cold butter until the mixture becomes crumbly. Set aside.

2. Sieve cake flour and baking powder. Set aside.

3. With a manual whisk or electric mixer, beat butter and sugar until the batter becomes pale, creamy and fluffy.

4. Add in vanilla extract, salt and mix well.

5. Add in eggs gradually, mix well each time the egg is added.

6. With a spatula, stir in the flour mixture. Stir until the flour mixture is fully incorporated into the batter. The batter should be quite thick and firm at this stage.

7. Add in yoghurt in a few separate additions, stir well each time the yoghurt is added. The batter will become smooth and 'spreadable'.

8. Line the bottom of a 20cm (8") springform pan or a loose bottom pan with 1/3 of the crumbles. Spread evenly and press firmly with the back of a spoon.

9. Add in half of the cake batter, spread evenly with the spatula. Sprinkle the tope of the cake batter evenly with 1/3 of the crumbles. Add in the remaining cake batter, spread evenly. Sprinkle with the rest of the remaining crumbles.

10. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 Deg for 35-40 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

11. Remove cake from oven, let it cool slightly and unmould. Allow to cool completely befoe slicing.

12. The cake can be left in room temperature or left to chill in the fridge. If allowed to chill, let the cake return to room temperature before serving.

Steamed Meat Patties

2011-05-19T13:23:00.000+08:00

I love this dish. Love pouring the sauce over my bowl of white rice ....

Simple and nice meal

Recipe reference from Food for Tots

Ingredients:

70g minced pork (I used minced chicken and I would think minced pork would be better)
50g shrimps (net weight) – de-vein and rinse under a running tap water. Pat dry with kitchen towel. Cut into small cubes.
2 pieces water chestnuts – wash, scrub and rinse. Remove skins and soak in the water to avoid discoloration. Use the side of a chopper to slightly pat the water chestnuts, then chop coarsely.
30g carrots – chopped finely
2 pieces dried shitake mushrooms – wash and soak in water. When the mushrooms turn soft, drain and squeeze dry. Chop finely.
2 tbsp chopped spring onions (only use the green parts)
Seasonings:
1½ tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp light soya sauce
½ tsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp cooked oil
Dash of sesame oil, pepper and cornstarch

Methods:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and seasonings. Use a pair of chopsticks to stir in one direction until well combined.

2. Cover the bowl with cling wrap and refrigerate for at least half an hour.

3. After chilling, steam under high heat for about 15-20 minutes until cooked.

Notes:

1. You can use fresh mushrooms instead. Just blanch over hot water, drain and squeeze dry.

2. You can use semi-lean pork for better texture. If not, just add some cooked oil to make the mixture tenderer.

3. Shrimps can be substituted by pork.

4. If you are not a pork-eater, you can replace it with chicken.

5. If the mixture is too dry or you prefer to have more gravy, add a little bit of water in step 1.

6. You can use either a stainless steel or ceramic plate for steaming. Make sure the patties only cover 80% of the steaming tray to avoid over-spilling of gravy during the steaming process.

7. Do not over-chop the water chestnuts to maintain its crunchy texture.

Sweet and Sour Chicken (甜酸鸡)

2011-05-14T11:21:00.001+08:00

Sweet and sour pork is an old time favourite. Heard of sweet and sour fish but not sweet and sour chicken. I like sweet and sour dishes and this was book-marked a long time ago when I saw it at Sonia's blog and I never regretted trying out.

Deep-fried dishes probably has a special appeal to many as they are usually tastier and quite popular amongst young and old....

So let's forget about the calories and enjoy this with a bowl of white rice ....

Recipe reference from Nasi Lemak Lover

Chicken meat 500g (cut into cubes)
Fresh tomato 1 (cut into cubes)
Cucumber 1 (cut into cubes)
Young ginger 3 slices
Garlic 2 (chopped)

Seasoning:-
Tomato ketchup 4tbsp
Chili sauce 1tbsp
Sour plum sauce 1tbsp
Sugar 1tsp or to taste
Salt ½ tsp or to taste

Steps:-

1. Marinate chicken meat with-light soy sauce, pepper, salt, sesame oil, tapioca flour, little water (to moist the chicken) and egg for 1 hour.

2. Coat with rice flour, and fry in hot oil till golden brown, set aside.

3. Heat oil in a wok, stir fry ginger slices and garlic, add some water.

4. Add in the seasoning, and follow by fried chicken cubes.

5. Cook till sauce became thick, dish out and serve hot. Enjoy ...

**without any seasoning, just eat the fried chicken, is equally tasty !!