Black Snapper in Sweet & Sour Sauce

I quite like this version of sweet sour sauce which was posted by coxiella at kc. It has just the right balance without any one ingredient being too overpowering.

This recipe does not use cornflour or any thickener, so the sweet sour sauce is not as gooey as the more common sweet sour sauce. When poured on the fish it has the right consistency.

Ingredients
½ kg whole fish or fish fillet
salt
2 Tbsp Oil

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Jing Du Pork

The recipe for Jing Du Pork was adapted from Tham Yui Kai's Suggestions by toon. The sauce gives the pork the sweet and slightly spicy flavour.


Ingredients
300gm pork soft bones or pork loin, cut into bite size

Marinade
½ tsp sugar
½ Tbsp light soya sauce
¼ tsp dark soya sauce
½ tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp five-spice powder
¼ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Dash of pepper
1 Tbsp cornflour
1 egg
½ tsp apple butter (optional)

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Beef Roll with Grand Marnier sauce

This beef roll has to be one of my favourites - easy to prepare and full of intense flavour. It is more of an asian dish but who is to say we can't have a fusion of styles.

The beef roll served with fried potatoes, mushroom and with vegies or salad on the side.

Ingredients
2 slices beef schnitzel
½ carrot cut into sticks
4 french, long or butter beans
1 mushroom, cut into thin sticks
¼ capsicum, cut into thin sticks
potato starch or corn flour for dusting

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Chicken Soup

On a cold winter day like today with the cold southerly wind blowing and the sun on strike, there's nothing more welcoming than a bowl of hot soup.

I have used chicken drumstick for this chicken soup as there is more meat and I prefer the texture of the drumstick. The chicken meat for this chicken soup is not wasted as it is served as part of the soup.


Ingredients
1 kg chicken

Vegetables (cut into big chunks)
3 garlic cloves
2-3 celery stalks
1 small parsnip
3 carrots
3 potatoes
1 bunch of green onions or 1 medium white onion
3-4 springs of parsley.

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Sam Pui Kai ~ 3-cup chicken

The traditional Sam Pui Kai {three cups chicken} uses equal amount of sesame oil, soy sauce and wine. When coxiella of kc cooked a healthier version of sam pui kai which she adapted from Amy Beh @kuali, I jumped at the chance to try it. My whole kitchen smelled wonderful when cooking this dish.

Ingredients
1 kg chicken, chopped into fairly large pieces
1 Tbsp onion oil
1 Tbsp premium light soy sauce

50 ml sesame oil
1 Tbsp garlic, coarsely chopped
5cm piece ginger, sliced
5–6 stalks spring onions, cut into 4cm lengths
2 fresh red chillies (deseeded)

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Multigrain Wholemeal Loaf

My breadmaker produces 750gm and 1 kg loaf but I only use ingredients for 750g which still produces bread that rises over the pan when baked. All the bread produced from this recipe have been consistently light and fluffy, similar to commercial bread but taste better.

With this multigrain wholemeal bread recipe, you can substitute with your favourite grain. I have used linseed, wholemeal oats and walnuts as they have good nutritional values. This bread is great for toast as well as sandwiches.

Ingredients (for 750 g loaf)
320 ml warm water
1 Tbsp lecithin granules
1½ tsp salt
1½ Tbsp+1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp+1 tsp milk powder
2¼ tsp surebake yeast

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Bacon Fried Rice

I have cooked this plate of fried rice with bacon, mixed vegetables and eggs. Fried rice is a very versatile dish to cooked and as such I do not have an exact recipe for it. Put in whatever you have in the pantry or freezer. It can be just rice, fried with eggs, vegetables, char siew (bbq pork) or prawns. If you do not have fresh vegetables, frozen stir fry vegetables or peas can be used for a quick and easy fried rice.

Homemade Ng Heong Fun ~ five spice powder

This recipe for homemade five spice powder is quite simple and the ingredients needed are common spices that most of us already have in our pantry. I like to grind my own ng heong fun as I find that it brings out the full flavour in a dish and the whole kitchen smells of beautiful spices. Most of the ready made ones from the shop does not have much fragrance and sometimes does not do a recipe justice.


Ingredients
2 tsp szechuan peppercorn
8 star anise
½ tsp ground clove
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp ground fennel

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Sago Pudding with Gula Melaka

I saw a picture of this dessert from irenechin's blog and wanted to try it at once. It looked so inviting and refreshing. A very simple and easy dessert to make as it only involves boiling the sago and putting it into moulds.

Makes : 7 small containers
Ingredients
200g Sago
Water, enough to cover sago

200g Gula Melaka
150ml Water
Coconut Milk to serve

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Bbq Bacon Jerky

This recipe is based on the style of loong yoke (recipe here) aka bak kwa or ba gua (as they are popularly called in Singapore) or barbecued dried meat except it uses bacon instead of pork. Rusti from kc posted this recipe and it seem an easy way to make a delicious piece of bbq meat that I can also use when making my tomato, onion and bacon loaf. It will definitely be more flavoursome than the ordinary bacon that I have been using. It tasted great eaten with a slice of homemade bread or as a snack.

Ingredients
1 kg back or shoulder bacon
60g garlic (or use some garlic flakes)

Marinade:
4 Tbsp (approx 150g) honey
200g sugar
2 Tbsp light soya sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1/4 tsp salt (adjust salt according to how salty your bacon is)
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
250ml water

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Kai Chai Paeng ~ Kampar Chicken Biscuit

Kampar is a small town in Malaysia. Among other things, it is famous for its kai chai paeng aka Kampar chicken biscuit (there's no chicken in it !). The biscuit is very crispy, savoury in flavour and has a very distinct fragrance.

When Rusti at kc mentioned she made some, I could hardly contain my excitement, it triggered in me a nostalgia for the biscuit and had to try out the recipe she posted. The aroma was very authentic - smelt exactly like the commercial ones. Every time I open the biscuit tin, the aroma transport me back to the Kampar shop where I use to buy them. If you like kai chai paeng, you have to try the recipe.

Makes : approx 36 biscuits (between 3" to 4" in diameter)

Ingredients
300g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp ammonia powder
½ tsp salt
½ Tbsp garlic (minced very finely)
2 pieces nam yue (red fermented beancurd)
1 small egg (lightly beaten)
30g maltose

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Kon Loh Meen ~ Homemade noodle in black sauce

The pasta machine have been neglected lately while I have been intent on improving my skill in making chee cheong fun. Kon Loh Meen is an easy meal for us as all I have to do is make the noodle (recipe for homemade noodle here), everything else is ready made in the freezer.

To go with the noodles are spinach, chinese scallops, pork balls, prawns, char siew, mince pork and garnished with fried onions. Not forgetting the sambals - sambal Lado Mudo (green sambal) and sambal chilli with anchovies.

For char siew mee recipe, please see here

Black Vinegar Pork Knuckle

I had some pork knuckles in the freezer and needed to get rid of it to clear up some space. Debated on what to do with it and finally decided to cook it with chin kiang vinegar again. The last time I cooked this dish was with spare ribs and it was beautiful. It did not disappoint - full of flavour, sweet and sour and a definite appetite wetter. Some of the pork looks fat but it is more the pork skin all puffed up than anything else. The pork knuckles and gravy tasted like a milder version of 'chu keok chou'.

The recipe for black vinegar pork is here .

I will be cooking up some noodles to go with the gravy tomorrow - can't wait !

Choc Chip Buttermilk Muffins

These cake-like muffins made with buttermilk are soft and moist. I have made these chocolate chip muffins low fat by using lite margarine and low fat milk to make the buttermilk.


Ingredients
90g unsalted butter, at room temperature
140g sugar
1 egg

190gm all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp sultanas (optional)
choc chips to sprinkle on top

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Soft Plain White Loaf

My breadmaker produces 1 kg loaf but I have found that if I use ingredients for a 1 kg loaf, my bread pushes against the lid of the breadmaker. So I only need to use ingredients for 750g but still produces bread that rises over the pan when baked.

All the bread produced from this recipe have been consistently light and fluffy, similar to commercial bread. This recipe for white bread have never failed me and is good for toast or sandwiches.

Ingredients (for 750 g loaf)
310 ml warm water
1½ tsp salt
1½ Tbsp+1 tsp sugar
1 Tbsp lechithin
1 Tbsp+1 tsp milk powder
2¼ tsp surebake yeast (my surebake yeast have bread improver in it)
450gm bread flour

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Wat Tan Hor Fun ~ Flat Rice Noodle with egg gravy

Wat Tan Hor Fun is a dish of flat rice noodle with prawns, fish cake, pork and choy sum swimming in egg gravy. It is one of my favourite noodle meal. I had to cook this after PutuPiring kindly posted the recipe at kc.

Ingredients
500gm fresh hor fun (flat rice noodles) {I make my own kway teow}
1 tbsp dark soy
1 tbsp soy sauce
2-3 tsp oil

250gm pork (marinate with chinese wine, soy sauce, bit of cornstarch, salt and pepper and bit of sesame oil)
125gm fish cake
250gm prawns
125gm mixture of scallops, squid, (optional)

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Orange Blueberry Cupcakes w' choc chips n raisins

I have baked this orange blueberry cupcakes before but without the chocolate chips and raisins. This time I wanted to find out whether the texture of the cupcake will still be as soft using plain flour instead of cake flour. I am glad to say it did not make any difference to the texture. These cupcakes should be quite healthy as it uses yoghurt.

Ingredients
225g flour or cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

85g unsalted butter, cut into pieces
160g sugar
2 eggs, beaten

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Hoisin Chicken

We bought a small convection oven and decided to test out the rotisserie with this hoisin chicken. It was quicker to roast the chicken using a convection oven and the rotisserie eliminated the need to turn the chicken during baking.

Ingredients
1 chicken 1½ kg
1 Tbsp honey
1 Tbsp hoisin sauce

Marinate:
2 tsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp salt

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Hainanese Chicken n Rice

Hainanese Chicken Rice is very popular in Malaysia and Singapore. The set comes with chicken, rice, soup and chilli sauce. The chicken is cooked by boiling in water flavoured with ginger, with the resulting stock used in the preparation of the rice and also in the accompanying soup and chilli sauce. This is a simplified easy version adapted from reading all the recipes I could get my hands on.

Hainanese Chicken & Rice......

Hainanese chicken....

Ingredients for Hainanese Chicken
1 chicken (about 1.5kg)
1 inch young ginger
1 tsp mince garlic
enough boiling water to cover the chicken
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp soy sauce

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Black Vinegar Pork SpareRibs

These spare ribs cooked with a combination of black vinegar and sugar were finger licking good. The vinegar used did not overpower the flavours of the dish.

Ingredients
1 kg pork spare ribs (chop to bite size pieces)
1 Tbsp Oil
1 onion, sliced
1" young ginger, sliced
1 tsp garlic, minced
4 Tbsp chinkiang black vinegar
½ tsp dark soy sauce

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Prawn Crackers ~ 'Har Pang'

This is the first time I have ever tried making har pang or keropok. I have always wondered how they were made. The only contact I have ever had with prawn crackers were the dry ones you buy from the shops. These crackers are light, crunchy and very flavoursome and very 'moreish'. Best prawn crackers I have ever had for a long time. This recipe is from Chips at kc




Ingredients
300 g prawn meat
1/3 Tbsp salt
½ tsp ground white pepper
¼ tsp monosodium glutamate or ½ Tbsp sugar
300 g tapioca flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ cup boiling water
Red food coloring (optional)

Method
1. Pound (or use a food processor)prawns to a fine smooth paste. Season with salt, pepper and monosodium glutamate.

2. Put tapioca flour into a large mixing bowl. Stir in baking powder. Add prawn paste and knead together.

3. Gradually add boiling water, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon as you do so.

4. When cool enough to handle, continue kneading until dough is firm and smooth and the prawn paste is distributed evenly throughout . (If you have a powerful food processor, the dough can be mixed and kneaded in it)

5. Divide the dough into 3 portions and roll each into a long roll about 5 cm in diameter. Make sure that the roll is very smooth and there are no cracks on the surface.

6. Put on a greased tray and steam over high heat for about 1½ hours or until cooked through (there should not be any white specks of flour).

7. Remove from the steamer and brush with red food coloring, if desired.

after steaming.....

8. Leave to cool and chill, uncovered, in the fridge overnight to set and dry out a little.

9. Slice into thin slices, about 1 mm, with a sharp knife or with a manual vegetable slicer. Lay out on trays and dry in the sun until thoroughly dried.

cut and laid out to dry.....

10. Deep fry in hot oil until it expands. Store in airtight containers.

Notes
1) Mixing with boiling water partially "cooks" the dough and helps to reduce the steaming time quite considerably.
2) Depending on how wet your prawn paste is you may need to add more or less water. DO NOT add more taipoca flour.
3) Make sure the prawn paste is absolutely smooth.
4) The dried crackers can be stored in airtight containers for 1 -2 years, in the freezer even longer. Sun them again for a day before deep frying.

Recipe by : Chips @kitchencaper (adapted)

Redneck says ……
We do not use any MSG in our cooking so used the sugar option in this recipe. They were so delicious - I was unable to stop eating!

Woo Tau Kow Yoke ~ sandwiched yam & pork

A very rich and strong flavoured dish. A slice of yam is sandwiched with pork and steamed.

Ingredients
600 gm pork belly (ng far nam)
600 gm yam (taro)
black soy sauce
2 Tbsp oil
1-2 star anise (pat kok)

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Crusty Base Pizza

This dough gives us 4 pizza bases (dinner plate size) as we like our pizza thin and crusty. The beauty of making your own pizza is that you can have whatever topping strikes your fancy.

Spicy salami, capsicum and olives...

Salami, pineapple, capsicum and olives...

pre-made and frozen for later.....

Ingredients
200ml Warm Water
1 tsp Salt
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Olive Oil
375g Bread Flour
2 tsp Yeast

Method
1. Place ingredients into the bread pan according to your breadmaker instructions
2. Setting : Dough
3. Divide and roll dough on a lightly floured surface to the desired thickness.
4. Spread with selected pizza toppings.
5. Bake in a preheated oven at 200C for 12-15 minutes or until base is cooked and topping heated through.

Tip
This video shows the art of rolling the pizza dough to a perfect round.

Redneck says ……
After eating this I will never eat supermarket frozen pizza (e.g. McCain’s) again. Pizza Hut crispy based pizza is the only commercial variety that comes close to being as good.

Assam Fish n Prawns

This dish is slightly sour and has a very strong aroma. It has a strong flavour of tamarind, lemon grass and belacan and a mix of other spices. I have cooked the assam paste with okra (lady finger), fish fillet and prawns.

The recipe is from Tham Jiak's blog here

Chee Cheong Fun with Thim Cheong ~ steam rice rolls w' sweet sauce

It looked easy when I was watching the hawkers make it but actually cooking it at home is another matter. It is quite difficult and require patience especially for the home cooks as we do not have the special long trays which makes the task of steaming quite a long and tedious one. But it was well worth it especially since I could not just go to the shops and order a plate. I followed a recipe posted by cwl in kc.

This plate of chee cheong fun is actually my second attempt. My first attempt was a complete disaster. I was determined to succeed in making this, so read all the tips I could get my hands on. It paid off......

I would like to attempt this chee cheong fun again before I post the recipe.

This was the improvised cooking utensils I used to cook the chee cheong fun. A thin layer of the batter is poured onto the wet cloth and steamed for 4-5 minutes and then rolled.



Updated on 29-9-06 : Recipe posted here

Spicy Assam Chicken

This recipe is taken from cwl at kc. This dish is quick, easy to cook and full of flavour.


marinate for at least 1 hour (overnight is best) :
1.5 kg chicken , cut into fairly large pieces
1 Tbsp Tumeric Powder
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 teaspoon salt

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Orange Blueberry Cupcakes

I have not been trying out new recipes recently as I have been busy trying to cope with the apple and tomato glut.

This orange blueberry cupcake is made with yoghurt and the texture comes out nice and soft. The recipe is from coxiella at kc and can be seen here

Mini Carrot Cake with Walnuts

The recipe for this carrot cake was actually given to us by our gym instructor. It is a really easy recipe and the cakes comes out beautifully soft and moist. For lazy people who hates washing up, there is only 1 bowl to clean and wash.

I like baking it as mini cupcakes as it cuts the baking time by more than half and is easier to freeze and defrost for morning tea.

Makes 10 cupcakes

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
½ cup oil
1½ cup grated carrot
¼ cup chopped walnuts (optional)
2 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup flour
½ tsp salt

Method :

1. Mix together all the above ingredients.

2. Pour into paper cases or directly into muffin tins.

3. Bake at 180 degress for 15 - 20 minutes.


See here for Mini Carrot Cupcake with Passion Fruit Glazing.

Sweet & Sour Spare Ribs

A sweet & sour dish that is always welcomed on our dining table. An all time favourite especially cooked with spare ribs.

Claypot Chicken Rice

This is one of those really easy one pot meals where everything is thrown and cook together. Really delicious and full of flavour. One of our favourites and very moreish....

Recipe serves 3-4 persons

Ingredients:
250g raw rice (washed & drained)
1 tsp sliced young ginger
4 chicken thighs or breast (cut into bite sizes)
1 pcs chinese sausages (sliced & pan fried till crispy)
2 tbsp pan fried salted fish (chopped finely)

2 tbsp Fish Sauce
2 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp Sesame oil
1 tbsp Dark Soya Sauce
2 tbsp cooking oil
400ml water

Optional:
peas, mushrooms

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Plain Rolls, Char Siew Buns and Apple Butter Buns

These buns and rolls are made from the recipe I shared here . Even though the buns are partly wholemeal, it has a really soft texture.

Plain rolls with no filling

Char Siew (bbq pork) buns

Apple Butter buns

Spicy Chicken with Basil

The thai basil and capsicum in this dish definitely added the 'oomp' to the chicken. The sauce is rich and full of flavour.


Ingredients :
1 kg chicken (cleaned, washed, dried, cut into pieces)
Seasoned with 1 tbs soy, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp pepper.

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Pork Balls

These Pork Balls are a favourite of mine and it is a good addition to our kon loh meen (noodles). I usually fry them and then freeze it for later eating.

Ingredients :

1 kg mince pork
3 Tbsp light soya sauce
½ tsp white pepper
3 Tbsp corn flour
2 Tbsp sesame oil
8 pc of waterchestnut (chopped)

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Hot & Sour Spare Ribs

These ribs are wicked . They are so good - heaps better than any of those I have eaten at a restaurant.

Marinade:
50g preserved red beancurd
30g sugar
50g oyster sauce
30g chinese cooking wine

Ingredients:
1 kg pork ribs, cut into bite size pieces
3 cups cooking oil
100g cornflour, mixed with 100g rice flour
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
300ml chicken stock (use canned or stock cube)

Sauce :
100g tomato sauce
50g chilli sauce
50g plum sauce
50g oyster sauce
salt and sugar to taste
20g hua tiow wine (Chinese cooking wine)
20g sesame oil
20g dark soy sauce
sesame seeds to garnish

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Aloo Dum (Potato in Masala Sauce)

I love eating potatoes especially those cooked in a curry sauce. This particular spicy masala sauce is healthy as no cream or coconut milk is added but the sauce is thick and rich. The recipe is from this blog .

Vanilla Yoghurt

Cool and refreshing Vanilla Yoghurt laced with Strawberry Vodka conserve served with Pepino fruit sticks. Low calorie and very healthy.

Strawberry Jam

I had to try out this recipe which I got from kc - never had jam cooked with vodka before. The strawberries from the garden bed were a bit midget in size (a bit late in the season). Besides bread, this jam would be good as a topping for ice cream and yoghurt.

A very quick and easy recipe, takes less than 10 minutes to make.

Golden Sesame Prawns

These prawns are quick and easy to cook. You will be guaranteed to get request for an encore.......


Ingredients
15 large raw prawns (remove head/shell, devein)
½ tsp fish curry powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp corn flour
1 tsp Olive oil
¼ tsp minced garlic
2 Tbsp roasted white sesame seeds
2 sprigs curry leaves(optional)
coriander leaves for garnishing

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Claypot Chicken Curry

This is what curry is all about - even the 'flies' could tell it was a good curry. They hung around the pot while it was cooking. I made this curry using a lontong paste (recipe from kc) which I made from scratch. It tasted so much more flavoursome, richer and more authentic than those store paste. I like my curry with heaps of gravy and a layer of curry oil on top. The gravy was rich and hot - went very well with rice.