RECIPE – FRIED SPICY SAGO CAKE

When we talk about sago, these uncooked pearl-like 2mm in diameter white balls are usually presented in some of the South Asian cuisine desserts. Being a multi-racial country like Malaysia, we have so many desserts that have cooked sago as one of the ingredients, namely the Abok-Abok, Steamed Sago with Palm Sugar and Coconut Milk, Chilled Blended Honeydew with Sago or even the Mixed Leng Chee Kang with bigger and colorful sago pearls.

Did you notice a similarity in all these desserts? They are all served as sweet desserts. There is one sago dessert in the Teochew community which is fast becoming extinct and it is served salty but spicy. I’m going to share with you the recipe today on how to make this dessert. I call it the FRIED SPICY SAGO CAKE.

INGREDIENTS:
250gms pearl sago (soak for 10-15 minutes and drain)
1-2 Tspn chili boh/paste (according to your acceptance of spiciness)
200gms bean sprout (peel off roots if possible)
1 Tspn chopped salted turnip (Chai Po)
1 Tspn dark soy sauce
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Oil
Pepper
Salt
Sugar

GARNISH:
100gms of dried shrimps (flat type – fried and drain excess oil)
Some fried shallots
1 stalk spring onions (chopped)
Chillies (remove seed and cut in strips – optional)

OPTIONAL:
Prawns
Squids

PREPARATION:

1. Get a mixing bowl and pour the soaked sago pearl into it.
2. Add in 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sesame oil and some pepper. Mix thoroughly.
3. Oil a 20cm by 20cm (8”x8”) square baking tray. Put the mixed ingredients into the tray and press down firmly.
4. Heat up some water in a wok and steam for 30-40 minutes under medium fire. DO NOT OPEN THE LID while steaming as the sago might not be cooked properly.
5. Leave aside to FULLY cool down before cutting the sago cake in 3cm by 2cm rectangles.
6. In another wok, heat up 4 porcelain spoons of oil.
7. Saute the chopped salted turnip (Chai Po which is easily obtainable in any Asian stores) for 15 seconds under low fire.
8. Add in the chili paste and stir until you get the fragrance.
9. Add in one Tablespoon of dark soy sauce, one Tablespoon of soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, pinch of salt and sugar, some pepper and stir thoroughly.
10. Put in the diced sago cake and mix well.
11. Add in the bean sprouts and stir until cooked (almost transparent look).
12. Dish out to serve.
13. Garnish with some fried dried shrimps, fried shallots and some spring onions.

NOTE: I did not add too much of salt or soy sauce into the dish as some brands of the dried shrimps can be quite salty. If it’s not salty enough for your taste bud, you can always sprinkle some soy sauce on it. Good Luck!

(Serves: 5-6)

USEFUL TIPS: Do not worry about some tiny white spots left in the center. Leave it awhile as the heat itself would make them translucent. Depending on the freshness of the sago pearls, you might sometimes get 5% of the sago still with spots. You can ignore these as they are still edible.

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RECIPE – FRIED ICE CREAM

Desserts would be something that most people would like to have after each meal. It could come in the form of cakes, jellies, crepes, puddings, crumbles, tarts, iced/hot sweet soups or even ice creams. What would you do if you have to hold a dinner and yet you are short of time to prepare desserts for your guests? On top of that, you would also like to impress your guests with something that is not easily available out there. Would you want to try out FRIED ICE CREAM?

You won’t need any special gadget or many ingredients to make them. It would only take less than a minute from wok to the dining table. It sounded easy right? Let me share with you the method to make this simple yet yummy dessert.

INGREDIENTS:
1 loaf of white bread (400gms)
1 tub of ice cream of your choice (800ml)
Some corn/tapioca flour (mixed with water)
Oil for frying
Kitchen towel

OPTIONAL:
Chocolate/Strawberry/Raspberry Syrup
Icing Sugar
Peanut chunks
Multi color candy rice

PREPARATION:

1. Roll all the slices of bread flat. You can use a roller or even a glass bottle to roll them flat. You may want to cut off the brown edges but I maintained them since I fount that it will be a waste to throw them away.
2. Use a small round/square bowl to lightly make a marking on the bread.
3. Fill up the space with some ice cream of your choice. It is advisable to use ice cream that won’t melt so fast at room temperature.
4. Coated the area outside the marking with some corn flour mixture.
5. Place another slice of bread on top and use the bowl to make the ice cream more compact. Try not to be too forceful as it would make the ice cream leaks out.
6. Use a spoon and firmly press the surrounding edges.
7. Use a kitchen scissors and trim the edges to make it presentable.
8. Keep all the finished products in freezer for at least two hours or when needed.
9. When you want to serve the fried ice cream, just heat up enough oil on high fire. You can throw in a small piece of bread to test the heat.
10. When the oil is boiling hot, put in one or two of the ice cream bread and cook for 5-10 seconds.
11. Take up, drain excess oil with kitchen towel and serve immediately with some or all the items in the “optional” section.

(Serves: 5)

USEFUL TIPS: Make sure you use “harder” ice cream for this dish or else you might end up having too watery ice cream fillings. The King’s Dragon Fruit Ice Cream which I had used tends to melt too fast. I would advice Walls or Magnolia which is less creamy but hard enough to make this dessert. In case you have accidentally created a “leak” on the bread, just patch it up with thicker corn flour mixture before freezing.

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RECIPE – SPICY NYONYA NASI ULAM (JUNGLE HERBS RICE)

Cooking Nyonya cuisines which are normally spicy, tangy, herbal and aromatic has always required a lot of patience. In fact, the preparation alone for most of the dishes would take up a long time as it involved so much hard work in slicing, cutting and chopping of herbs and ingredients. Some such examples could be seen in dishes like Laksa, Perut Ikan, Acar Awak, Otak Otak and many more. But there is one dish that even some of the established Nyonya restaurants such as Hot Wok did not have it in their menu as it involved a lot of tedious fine slicing of many herbal leaves – SPICY NYONYA NASI ULAM (JUNGLE HERBS RICE).

This dish is definitely a very healthy diet as most of the ingredients are taken raw. My demised grandmother had made this yummy dish all the time, so have my mother some of the time. Before it ended up in my generation that none of us would even remember the existence of this dish, I would like to take some time to prepare this dish and share with you my heirloom recipe. Although I am not the descendants of the Baba-Nyonya, I would love to see someone pick up this recipe and be proud that it has been part of the Malaysian cuisines.

INGREDIENTS A:
4 plastic cups of rice (about 1kg of cooked rice)
100gms dried shrimps (soak, dice, fry & cool)
100gms salted ikan kurau (treadfin) meat (cut small thin slices, fry and cool)
1 teaspoon belacan (shrimp paste) powder – Maggi
3 tablespoon kerisik (toasted and pounded grated coconut)
1/2” fresh turmeric (chop finely)
10 mint leaves (daun pudina – chop finely)
3 screwpine leaves (daun pandan - knotted)
Salt, sugar and grounded black pepper to taste

INGREDIENTS B (FINELY SLICED):
6 shallots
1 stalk lemongrass (serai – use the thinner end only)
1/2 stalk torch ginger flower (bunga kantan)
4 kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut)
6 polygonum leaves (daun kesom/laksa leaves/Vietnamese mint)
6 asiatica pennywort leaves (daun pegaga)
2 turmeric leaves (daun kunyit)
15 basil leaves (daun selasih)
4 galangal leaves (daun cekur)
10 wild betel leaves (daun kaduk/Piper sarmentosum)

GARNISHING:
1 cucumber (halves and sliced)
Sambal Belacan (fresh shrimp paste chili sauce)
Some wild betel leaves (optional)
Some mint leaves (optional)

PREPARATION:

1. Cook rice. When cooked, loosen the rice and fold in the knotted screwpine leaves. Leave aside to be fully cool. Make sure the rice maintain the grain shape but still soft.
2. Find a large container (4 times the amount of the rice would do).
3. Toss evenly all the ingredients in A & B and serve.
4. You can eat it just as it plain or garnish it with the above garnishing with side seafood dishes like Assam Prawns, Assam Fish, Grilled Fish or even some dry meat curries. Sambal Belacan and cucumber is a must if you like the dish spicier.

(Serves: 4-6)

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RECIPE – SCALLOPS AND OYSTERS CONGEE

After having the rich and contented hi-tea at E&O Hotel on Sunday, I have decided to cook some congee instead. With all the grilling, roasting, barbequing and frying from the brunch, it’s good to have something less oily and burnt. Well, the weather here has been rather humid one minute and wet on another, thus lots of people tend to fall sick easily. Congee would be good then. Today I would like to share my easy-to-cook SCALLOPS AND OYSTERS CONGEE recipe with you all.

INGREDIENTS
2 cups rice grain
250gms minced meat
30gms dried oysters (~6 pcs – soak in hot water to soften and slice thinly)
30gms dried baby scallops (~20 pcs)
1” thumbsize young ginger (slice thinly)
1pc salted duck egg (boil 10mins and cut into cubes)
2pcs century eggs (cut into cubes)
1 tin braised peanuts (170gms)
6 cloves of garlic (chop and make into garlic oil)
1 stalk spring onions (chopped)
Sesame oil
Oyster sauce
Soy sauce
Salt & Pepper
Sugar
Hot water (9-10 cups)

SEASONING FOR MINCED MEAT (MEATBALLS):
2 Tablespoon oyster sauce
3 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2 Tablespoon corn/tapioca flour
1 Tablespoon salted pickle vegetable (Tong Chai - chop until fine)
2 teaspoon fried garlic (minus oil)
Some pepper
Pinch of salt

PREPARATION

1. Wash the rice grain clean in a rice cooker (10 cups size would be ideal).
2. Wash the dried scallops and put into the cooker together with the sliced dried oyster.
3. Add in 5 cups of hot water.
4. Add in 1/2 teaspoon salt, sprinkle some pepper and bring to boil, stirring every 3-5 minutes. (Note: salt would increase the temperature in water or oil)
5. When the grain soften and turn into congee like, add in another 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 4 Tablespoon oyster sauce, 2 Tablespoon sesame oil and 2 Tablespoon soy sauce. Sprinkle some pepper. Stir thoroughly.
6. Add in more hot water as the congee gets thicker to suit your choice of thickness.
7. While the congee boils, roll in all minced meat to get your meatballs. Stir constantly to avoid the base being burnt.
8. Add in the cubed salted eggs, century eggs and the whole tin of braised peanuts (including the gravy). Mix thoroughly.
9. Serve while hot.
10. Garnish with chopped spring onions, garlic oil and some pepper.

(Serves: 4-6)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

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RECIPE – CRISPY VEGETARIAN DUCK

As the Nine Emperor Gods’ Birthday is nearing this coming Monday, 29 September 2008 (ninth day of the ninth month of the Chinese lunar calendar), most of the Chinese Buddhist would undergo a 9-10 days of meatless diets. There will be many vegetarian food stalls set up all over town, especially in Penang, where the devotees would flock around the temples to welcome the return of the gods from heaven to earth. Although the buying of the food would be easy, I still prefer to cook up something on my own. One of the dishes which I love to make would be the CRISPY VEGETARIAN DUCK. It’s easy to make and yet delicious enough to be shared on the dining table. Let me share with you the traditional recipe that has been in my family for generations.

INGREDIENTS (Make 6 pieces)
6 sheets of dried tofu skin (31” x 23”)
3 pieces of red fermented beancurd (ang tao joo)
1½ glass water (450ml)
1½ Porcelain spoon fine sugar
1½ Porcelain spoon corn flour
1½ teaspoon sesame oil
¾ teaspoon Five Spice Powder
2 teaspoon pepper
3 Porcelain spoon soy sauce
100gms sesame seed (slightly fry roast to golden brown in wok without oil)

OPTIONAL
6 medium Chinese Mushrooms (Soak, sliced and marinate with some ginger juice, soy sauce, sesame oil and pinch of sugar)

PREPARATION
1. Take a large bowl, mix all the ingredients thoroughly. Add in the roasted sesame seed last.
2. Place the tofu skin on a large tray or a clean table top length wise.
3. Dampen the right half of the skin (approximately a small ladle full or less depending on your ladle size) and fold into two fron left to right (as per diagram below – click on it to enlarge further).
4. Dampen slightly the folded skin. Fold 1/3 downwards and 1/3 upwards (as per diagram).
5. Dampen slightly again and fold 1/4 inwards on both sides (as per diagram).
6. Fold into half and secure with two long bamboo sticks upwards (as per diagram).
7. Heat up a wok with water. When boil, lower fire and place the ready vegetarian duck on a plate and for 10 minutes until bloated up. DO NOT over steam. You might have to steam many times as the “duck” has to be separated apart when steaming and your wok might not be big enough to fit all.
8. Leave aside to cool down. Make sure they are TOTALLY cool down before frying to ensure the fluffiness.
9. Fry in a wok of hot oil and cut according to your preference.

(Serves: 5-6)

FOLDING DIAGRAM

Most people would just serve this with chili sauce but I prefer the traditional way of eating the vegetarian duck with homemade pickle. Just place the pickle in an air tight jar and keep it refrigerated. It would last you more than a week if you are careful enough to use an extremely dry chopsticks to take them out when serving. You can even take them with Pork Roll (Lor Bak) or Liver Roll (Too Kua Kean). Here’s the recipe for the pickle. Marinate it for half a day would be good enough before serving with your dishes.

PICKLE RECIPE
500gms radish
100gms carrot
1 thumb size young ginger
4 Porcelain spoon fine sugar
3 Porcelain spoon lime juice (about 4-5 lime)
1 teaspoon salt

PREPARATION
1. Remove the skin of the carrot and radish. Cut half the carrot and a quarter the radish. Use a kitchen helper to slice them thinly. You can cut some decorations on the vegetables if you want to.
2. Scrape off the skin of the young ginger. Slice thinly and cut into strips.
3. Mixed the vegetables with the rest of the ingredients. Bottle it up.
4. Best served with your dishes when chilled.

If you feel that there is too much work involved in coming up with the pickle, here is another sauce recipe. I called it The Lazy Man’s Sauce… LOL!

LAZY MAN SAUCE
Some tomato ketchup
Some pounded peanut candy (khong th’ng / kacang tumbuk)
Some roasted sesame seed

PREPARATION
Mix all in a bowl. Best served with any fried meat or fried tofu end products.

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

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RECIPE – SPICY NESTUM CEREAL CHICKEN

It has been some time since I last cook something decent for my dinner as I have been eating out most of the time. At least I do not have to wash more utensils. LOL! Anyway, let me share with you one of my dishes today. It is simple yet delicious… SPICY NESTUM CEREAL CHICKEN

INGREDIENTS
500 gms chicken breast meat (cut into bite size cubes)
10 chilli padi (cut into small slices)
6 stalks curry leaves (wash well and pluck all the leaves)
5 Tspn margarine
3 eggs (separate the egg white and egg yolk)
40gms (8 Tspn) Nestum Cereal
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Pepper
Sugar
Multi-purpose frying flour (recommended Hup Loong brand)

OPTIONAL
You can even replace the chicken meat with the same weight of prawns. Peel the prawns, cut the back and take out the intestines. Marinate with a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper. Fry quickly in some hot oil until curled up. Scoop up and leave aside.

PREPARATION

1. Marinate the cubed chicken meat with a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil, pepper and some egg white for 15-20 minutes.
2. Pour some frying flour onto a container with lid. Put the marinated meat into the container and shake it until every piece is coated well.
3. Heat up some oil in a small pot with low fire. Deep fry the meat until golden brown. Do not overcook the meat as it will be too tough and dry. Take out and leave aside.
4. Use a wok, heat up the margarine. When melted, put in the egg yolk and balance of the egg white. Stir constantly until it becomes flaky. Sprinkle some sugar. When cooked, put in the chilli padi and curry leaves. Stir fry for awhile under low fire. Add in the cereal and stir until fragrant.
5. Add in the fried chicken pieces and stir evenly.
6. Dish out and serve with rice while hot.

(Serves: 5-6)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

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RECIPE – SHARKFINS FLOUR VERMICELLI (MEE SUAH TAU)

Initially, I thought of cooking something simple with gravy for my dinner since I was still feeling a bit sick. I ended up cooking something not fit for a sick person. LOL! What would you do if you were to have a box of mee suah (flour vermicelli)? Would you cook a bowl of filled with meatballs or a bowl filled with yummy goodies? As for me, I rather have something rich in taste and good in presentation with what I have in my freezer. So typical of me… Haha! Well, here is the recipe to what I have cooked tonight… SHARKFINS FLOUR VERMICELLI (MEE SUAH TAU).

INGREDIENTS
1 box flour vermicelli (mee suah – 10 pcs)
250gms chicken breast meat (dice, marinate with pepper, soy sauce & sesame oil)
250gms prawns (dice, marinate with pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil & pinch of sugar)
1 piece thick fish cake (halves and cut into cubes)
6 button mushrooms (halves and slice)
20-30 gms sharkfins (boil to soften and marinate in 1 Tspn brandy/Chinese rice wine)
1 egg (beaten with a bit of soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper)
2 pieces artificial crabsticks (cut into 4mm thickness)
2 Tspn soy sauce
2 Tspn oyster sauce
2 tspn sesame oil
1 tspn brandy/Chinese rice wine
3-4 Tspn corn flour (mix with a bit of water)
4 soup bowl water (about 800ml)
Some oil
Some pepper & salt to taste
3 cloves garlic (chopped and sauté with oil for garnishing)

OPTIONAL
3 young corns (dice)
Some crab meat
6 straw mushrooms (slice)
Spring onions (chop)
Black Vinegar

PREPARATION

1. Heat up the wok with low fire and sauté the chopped garlic with 4 Tspn of oil until golden brown. Dish out into a dish bowl and leave aside.
2. Boil a pot of water. When it gets hot and bubble, put in the box of Mee Suah (10pcs). Stir for 3 minutes (or until soften) and sieve it dry. Distribute it into 4 plates. Mix in some of the garlic to ensure that it would not lump up later. (Optional: You can actually put the mee suah into the gravy before scooping out to serve. I did it this way so that it can be divided equally amongst 4 persons.)
3. Heat up the wok again and put in 3 Tspn of oil. Stir fried the diced chicken meat, prawns, fish cake with 2 Tspn soy sauce, 2 Tspn oyster sauce and 2 tspn sesame oil with low fire.
4. When you all the combinations are cooked, pour in the water. Let it boil.
5. Add in the corn flour to thicken the gravy. If not enough make more as some brand of corn flour won’t thicken easily.
6. Add in the brandy/Chinese wine and salt and pepper to taste.
7. Put in the crabsticks, mushroom and sharkfins and let it boil.
8. Stir in the beaten egg until it becomes creamy.
9. Dish out onto the mee suah and garnish with some garlic oil and spring onions.
10. You are ready to serve.
11. You can add in some black vinegar if you like it to be sour a bit.

(Serves: 4-5)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

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BAD MEMORY OR GREAT FOOD?

There I was writing about remembering my childhood days and here I am experiencing the scary signs of growing old gracefully. Do you know what would be the worst nightmare for a food blogger? It is either all the photos turned out to be over exposed, under exposed, and blur or forgetting to take a snap shot of the food that was served to them on the table. Sometimes, it could also be due to the fact that certain owners disallowed taking shots within the premises. My nightmare was none of the above as I got even worst! I forgot to take a snapshot of one of the dishes I cooked last night. Arggh!! Haiz… I think it’s time for me to get some Gingko Bibola to rejuvenate my brain cells. :P

After having spent so much on restaurants food these few days, I had decided to spend some time in the kitchen to cook some simple meals. Since it was a meal for four, I cooked some cans of rice with some herbs and spices and fried with some butter, eggs, raisins, roasted chicken meat chunks and garnished with fried onions. Bingo! I had my Buttered Roasted Chicken Fried Rice. There’s the BUT here! I forgot to take a shot of this dish. I guessed somehow with the migraine medication I was taking, it made me kind of a blur king. LOL! Anyway, not even one grain of rice was left in the pot. It must have been real good then. :)

As for the side dishes, I came out with Deep Fried Prawn Paste Squids (Fried Belacan Sotong). This is a simple yet mouth-watering dish that can be taken with either Thai Chili Sauce or Mayonnaise.

The recipe is rather easy. Here are the ingredients needed.

Ingredient:
One box 100gms Nona All Purpose Seasoned Flour (Prawn Shrimp Recipe)
Some pepper
2 Tspn sesame oil
Oil
250gms squids (clean and cut into rings)

Method:

1. Drain the excess water from the squid. Sprinkle some pepper and add in the sesame oil. Mix thoroughly.
2. Add in the prawn shrimp flour gradually until all the squids get mixed well. Put in a bit of water to make it into a batter like mixture. Add in a teaspoon of oil and mix thoroughly.
3. Heat up some oil in a wok. Lower the fire to medium when it is hot. Scoop the ringed squid pieces by pieces with a spoon and slowly put it into the wok. BEWARE! The oil might explode everywhere due to the little amount of water added earlier. You might want to consider laying some used newspaper on the floor. When the squids become golden brown, take them out and put onto a plate laid with kitchen towel to drain the excess oil.
4. Transfer the cooked squids onto a plate and you are ready to serve.
   

(Serve: 3-4)

Note: Try frying a piece first to taste the saltiness as some brands of flour do not have salt in the content. If not enough, drip some soy sauce into the batter.

Since both of the dishes were fried dishes, I decided to have another dish with gravy base. Let me introduce you to my Broiled Cabbage with Steamed Meatballs. This is another simple and yet delicious recipe that my demised grandmother used to cook for us.

Ingredients:
300gms minced meat
100gms minced prawns
250gms cabbage (wash and cut into 2” x 2”)
2 Tspn oyster sauce
I tspn Worchester sauce
3 tspn sesame oil
Some pepper
Pinch of salt
5 Tspn corn flour (3 Tspn mixed with water for gravy)
Young ginger (3 slices in strips)
Carrot (6 slices chopped & 6 slices in strips)
Some chopped garlic
2 bowls water (70gms)
Oil
Chinese mushrooms (optional – soak and cut into small cubes)

Method:

1. Mix thoroughly the minced meat and prawns in a big bowl with one Tablespoon oyster sauce, one teaspoon Worchester sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, chopped carrots, 2 Tablespoon corn flour, some pepper, and a pinch of salt.
2. Line a big metal plate with some oil. Use a Tablespoon / Porcelain Spoon to scoop the mixture onto the plate. Steam the meatballs under medium fire for 10-15 minutes. Leave aside.
3. Heat up a wok with 2 Tablespoon of oil and sauté some chopped garlic under medium fire. When the garlic turned a bit brown, put in the ginger strips and stir for awhile. Put in the cabbage and stir fry for 5 minutes. Add in 1 teaspoon sesame oil, 1 Tablespoon oyster sauce and sprinkle some pepper and salt. Stir evenly. When the cabbage looked cook, put in 2 bowls of boiled water. Let the cabbage cook until all turned soft. Add in the strips of carrot. Stir evenly. Bring to boil and add in the remaining corn flour mixture slowly to thicken the soup.
4. Put in the steamed meatballs and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
5. Scoop onto a bowl and serve with rice while it is hot.

(Serve 4-6)

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RECIPE – CHIVES FLOWER ROASTED PORK FRIED HOR FUN

I got up real early this morning just to prepare a meal for my family today although it is a Sunday. Have you ever encountered trying to think of what to buy back for lunch on a Sunday? If it is not Fried Rice then it would be the usual noodle dishes that I got rather bored with. With a little of creativity, I came out with something you cannot buy from any stalls around, which I would like to share with you all. Here is the recipe to my CHINESE CHIVES FLOWER ROASTED PORK FRIED HOR FUN.

INGREDIENTS
1.5 kg hor fun (open up and cut into 1.5” strips)
600gms roasted pork (chopped)
300gms chives flower (cut into 1” length)
1 piece thick fish cake (halves and cut into strips)
2 pieces artificial crabsticks (cut into 4mm thickness)
5 eggs (beat with 1 Tspn sesame oil, 2 Tspn soy sauce and pepper)
10 porcelain spoons vegetable oil
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
6 Tspn soy sauce
1 Tspn dark soy sauce
3 Tspn sesame oil
3 Tspn oyster sauce
Pepper
Salt
Sugar

PREPARATION

1. Heat up wok with 6 porcelain spoons of oil and saute some chopped garlic. When the garlic becomes slightly brown, lower fire, pour in the hor fun. Add in 1 Tspn of dark soy sauce, 3 Tspn of soy sauce, 1 Tspn oyster sauce, 1 Tspn sesame oil and some pepper. Higher fire and stir until it looked slightly dried up. Scoop and leave aside.
2. Put in some oil and chopped garlic. Stir fry the fish cake for two minutes. Scoop and leave aside together with the diced crabsticks.
3. Put in 3 porcelain spoons of oil and sauté some garlic until brown. Pour in the roasted pork, 1 Tspn soy sauce, 1 Tspn sesame oil, 2 Tspn oyster sauce, pinch of sugar, and some pepper and stir fry for about two minutes. Add in the chives flower and stir until cook. Scoop and leave aside.
4. Add in the balance oil, sauté some garlic on high fire. When slightly brown, pour in the beaten eggs and scrambled it until loose.
5. Lower the fire. Pour in the fried hor fun and stir thoroughly. Next, pour in the rest of the ingredients and stir thoroughly.
6. Sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste (if not enough)
7. Scoop into dishes and serve while it is hot. You can garnish with fried shallots and serve with shrimp paste chili (sambal belacan).

(Serves: 4-6)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

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RECIPE - VEGETARIAN KURMA MUTTON

I have been having too much of red meat continuous for the past few weeks. I think it’s time to cook something that is much healthier. Somehow, I still missed those juicy T-Bone Steak or Mutton Shank but for a healthier meal, I opted for vegetarian mock mutton. I am going to share you all this week my Vegetarian Kurma Mutton, an Indian dish which is spicy but not hot. It can also be taken by children of any ages.

INGREDIENTS
500g mock mutton
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup water
1 big onion (cut to wedges)
2” cinnamon bark
2 cloves
2 cardamoms
1 full clove of star anise
2 medium tomatoes (washed and cut to wedges)
2 green chillies (deseed and cut into thick slices)
40 Mint leaves
300ml full cream milk (can be replaced with coconut milk)
Salt and sugar to taste
Some fried shallots
2 potatoes (optional – cut into large cubes and semi fry it to cook)

BLENDED INGREDIENTS
10 shallots
2 green chillies
2 tsp coriander powder
3 tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp turmeric powder
1.5” ginger
1/2 tsp grounded pepper

PREPARATION
1. Heat up the vegetable oil and stir in the blended ingredients.
2. Put in the onion, cinnamon bark, cloves, cardamoms and star anise. Stir until fragrant.
3. Add in the mock mutton and water. Simmer for 10 minutes on low fire.
4. Add in the tomatoes and green chillies and stir for another 5 minutes.
5. Add in the full cream milk and mint leaves.
6. Add salt and sugar to taste.
7. Garnish with fried shallots
8. Serve with white rice, roti canai or chapatti.

(Serves: 4-6)

YOU CAN CHECK HERE FOR MORE RECIPES.

OPTIONAL:
The mock/vegetarian mutton can be replaced with meaty mutton cubes. The mutton must be marinated with juice from grated ginger in order to make the meat tender while cooking. Use one cup of water instead of the 1/2 cup as stated.

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RECIPE – APPLE SALAD

After eating too much of rich food outside, I sometimes make some salads as my meal. It is a good and healthy diet too as most of the hawker food here could be rather oily. I came out with the idea of creating my own style of fruit salad but I used only some fresh apples. You can also add in some fresh baby tomatoes, honeydew, seedless grapes or pears if you are planning to make this as one of your party dishes. This is a quick recipe that is perfect for any occasions.

You can remove the skin of the apples if you want to but make sure you soak in some salt water to avoid them turning brown. I did not do so because I wanted the dish to have more colors. Please make sure that you use some vegetable soap to wash the skins clean. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 green apples (wash and cut into thin slices)
2 big red apples (wash and cut into thin slices)
1 large carrot (remove skin, diced and boiled)
3 pcs of chicken ham (cut into 1” strips)
200 gms of canned pineapple (diced)
100 gms of mixed raisins
150 gms of roasted walnut (break into small pieces – leave some for topping)

Dressing:
7 Tsp mayonnaise (Lady’s Choice)
2 Tsp milk powder
3 Tsp water
Some pepper
Some Italian Mixed Herbs
Pinch of salt

Mix all the ingredients in a large container. Whip the dressing in a bowl thoroughly before pouring into the container. Stir well. Place the mixed fruit into a large bowl. Chill it for about 30 minutes. Sprinkle the balance walnut and some Italian Mixed Herbs before serving.

(Serves: 4-6)

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RECIPE – STIR FRIED CHINESE LEEK FLOWERS WITH ROASTED PORK

Nowadays, most of the family members are working personnel. If you ask them to go into the hassle of spending hours just to cook a meal, they would rather spend their time eating out. Why not try this Stir Fried Chinese Leek Flower with Roasted Pork. You would have it served on the dining table within minutes. Here are the ingredients and method to cook the dish.

Ingredients:

1 bundle Chinese Leek Flower (Koochai Hua) – wash and cut into 1.5 inch length
500gms roasted pork
1 big onion – cut into 10 pieces
2 pips garlic - chopped
1 tspn fine sugar
1 tspn sesame oil
1 Tspn soy sauce
2 Tspn oil
1/3 cup of water
2 Tspn corn starch (dissolve in some water)
Pinch of salt
Some pepper

Method of cooking:

1. Put some oil into a heated wok. Add in the chopped garlic and sauté until golden brown.
2. Put in the roasted pork. Add in the soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar and some pepper. Stir fried until fragrance. Add in the water and simmer it with low fire for 5 minutes.
3. Add in the dissolved corn starch some at a time until the gravy becomes thick. Taste if the gravy is salty enough for your taste bud. If not, pinch in some more salt.
4. If the combination is just right for you, put in the big onions and Chinese leek flowers and stir fry until the vegetables are cooked.
5. Dish out immediately and serve with hot steaming rice.

(Serves: 3-4)

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RECIPE – FRIED HOR FUN WITH GLASS NOODLES

Sometimes during weekends, I would create some special food to share with my family. This is something that you cannot get from any food stall out there. I tried something different which tasted real nice and not as oily as our famous Penang Char Koay Teow. Since my family has a few children in it, I opted out the chili paste. I called it “Fried Hor Fun With Glass Noodles”.

Ingredients:

1 kg hor fun (open up and cut into 1” strips)
300 gms tang hoon (glass noodles) (soak for 30 min and drain)
3 pulps garlic (chopped)
1.5” thumb size young ginger (grate and juice)
300 gms medium prawns (peel and marinate with some pepper, soy sauce & sugar)
1 chicken breast meat (slice and marinate with pepper, soy sauce, sesame oil & some ginger juice)
300 gms bean sprout (taugeh)
4 eggs (beaten with some soy sauce, pepper and sesame oil)
Some oil
Dark Soy Sauce (optional)
Salt and sugar to taste
1 stalk of spring onion and chillies (for garnishing)
Sambal Belacan (shrimp paste chili mix with lime)

Method of cooking:

1. Saute some chopped garlic with some oil until golden in a wok.
2. Put in the hor fun. Add in some pepper and soy sauce (optional: drop some dark soy sauce for darker coloring) and stir fry on high fire. Scoop up and put aside.
3. Stir fry the prawns and chicken meat individually and put aside.
4. Heat up some oil. Put in the eggs and scramble until cooked.
5. Lower the fire. Stir in the glass noodles and sprinkle some salt.
6. Put in the cooked hor fun and stir evenly.
7. Put in the cooked prawns and chicken meat. Stir evenly.
8. Put in the bean spout and stir until the bean sprout becomes almost transparent.
9. Dish out onto a plate and garnish with sliced chillies and spring onions.
10. Best served with Sambal Belacan.

(Serves: 4-6)

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RECIPE – MANGO MILKSHAKE

You can do up your own fruit drink within minutes and stop your worries over those preservatives that are available in a packet drink. I love mango as few fruits can rival its succulent and aromatic delights in it. An average size fruit contains about 90% vitamin C and 75% of vitamin A and E. These vitamins are powerful immune system boosters. Let me share with you all a simple yet nutritious recipe.

MANGO MILKSHAKE (serves: 1-2)

225 grams (8 oz) medium ripe mango
250 ml soy milk (vanilla flavored will be ideal)
2 teaspoon honey
1 cup ice cubes
1 stalk mint leaves
Some whipped cream

1. Cut the mango on both side length wise and scoop the flesh into the blender. Try to cut around the pit to get any remaining flesh.

2. Add in soy milk, honey and ice cubes and blend until it becomes puree like.

3. Pour into a tall glass. Spray some whipped cream on it. Drip some honey. Garnish with mint leaves. Serve immediately.

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RECIPE – SPICY POTATOES WITH ANCHOVY

If you are running out of ideas on what to cook for your next meal, you can try out this recipe. It is so simple to cook and appetizing that you may want to have it always. This is my own recipe and you can change the amount of ingredient used to suit your taste. Let’s try out my Spicy Potatoes With Anchovy recipe here.

Ingredients:
150gms baby anchovy (ikan bilis) – wash and dry
6 pips of onions – blended
1 Tspn chili boh (chili paste) - add more if you want it more spicy
4 large potatoes – quarter and cut into slices
150gms tamarind juice (juice from 2 large lime plus 100gms water)
Salt and sugar to taste.
Some oil

Method of cooking:
Deep fry the potato slices in medium fire in a wok until they are cooked and slightly brown. Dish them out.

1. Leave about 6 Tspn of oil in the wok and with low fire sauté the anchovy until they are fragrant and golden in color. Dish them out.
2. Again with low fire, put in the blended onions. Stir for about 5 minutes then add in the chili paste. Saute until you get the pungent smell.
3. Add in the tamarind juice. Cook until thicken.
4. Add in pinch of salt (not too much as some anchovy can be salty) and some sugar to taste.
5. Put in the pre-fried anchovy and potato slices and stir thoroughly.
6. Serve with rice while it is hot to maintain the crunchiness of the anchovy.
7. Garnish with some tomatoes and celery leaves (optional).

(Serves: 3-4)

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RECIPE - HAINANESE CHICKEN RICE

It has been awhile since I posted up a recipe to share with my readers. Last Saturday, I have decided to cook something healthy and less oil for lunch. I cooked Hainanese Chicken Rice. Here is my recipe:

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium chicken (3-4kg) (wash with salt and get rid of the intestines)
1 stalk Chinese parsley/cilantro (chopped about 2” in length)
7 stalks spring onions
4” old ginger (slightly crushed)
2 cups fragrance/plain rice
5 tablespoon sesame oil
some soy sauce
3 teaspoon salt
6 cups chicken stock (boil 6-8 chicken bones with 8 cups water)

RICE:
1. Wash rice until clean. Drain excess water until dry.
2. Heat up the wok. Put in 4 tablespoon sesame oil and add in 2” of crushed ginger. Stir until you get a fragrant smell.
3. Add rice and stir for about 10 minutes on medium high and transfer everything into a rice cooker.
4. Pour about 3 cups of chicken stock. Add in 3 stalks of whole spring onions and cook.
5. Stir the rice a little when it starts boiling. Mix in salt and/or soy sauce to taste.
6. Add some chicken stock if it is too dry.

CHICKEN:
1. Cook 4 cups of water and 3 cups of chicken stock into a tall pot on high until boil.
2. Add in 2” of crushed ginger and 3 whole stalks of spring onions into pot.
3. Add in 2 teaspoon of salt.
4. Put in the chicken and cook on medium high. Cover the pot partially. Lower the fire if necessary as the chicken should be cooked slowly.
5. Turn chicken once in a while to ensure it is properly cooked.
6. Cook about 45 minutes.
7. Drain the chicken. Pour one tablespoon sesame oil. Rub evenly all over the cooked chicken while hot, followed with some soy sauce.
8. Cut chicken into preferred sizes.
9. Garnish with some chopped Chinese parsley and spring onions.
10. Served with hot rice and garlic chilly sauce.

(Serves: 3-4)

Note: For those who do not wish to have rice, you can use wholemeal breads or buns instead. You can slice the chicken into small cubes. Mix in some mayonnaise, pepper, herbs and a pinch of salt. Put in some chopped lettuce and sliced tomatoes. Tada…you have your healthy chicken sandwich.

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RECIPE - SEAFOOD FETTUCCINE PASTA

If you are planning to invite a small group of friends back for dinner, you might want to impress them with some pasta dishes. Here is one good recipe which most people would like to have. They will sure like the Seafood Fettuccine dish that you had prepared.

INGREDIENTS:
2 tins Campbell Mushroom Soup (420gms + 300gms)
½ tin Evaporated Milk
1 tin button mushroom (thinly sliced)
2 big onions (chopped)
2 big tomatoes (cut into cubes)
500gms frozen Dory fish (cut into small cubes)
500gms peeled prawns
300gms squid (cut into rings)
1 stalk of celery (chopped)
2 pkt fettuccine pasta (500gms)
2 small cans of water (600gms)
Some black pepper
Some Italian Mixed Herbs
Pinch of salt and sugar

MARINATE (15 MINS):
prawns - some soya sauce, sesame seed oil, pepper and pinch of sugar
squids – some soya sauce, pepper and sesame oil
fish – some soya sauce, pepper and sesame oil

METHOD OF COOKING:
1.Boil a big pot of water with a teaspoon of salt. Put in the pasta and cook until soft according to the instructions given on the packaging. Drain the water and then mixed with some margarine/olive oil.
2.Stir fry all the marinated seafood individually and put aside to be used later.
3.Put 3 Tablespoon oil into a wok. Put in the chopped onions. When it’s cooked, put in the tomatoes and stir fry for 5 minutes.
4.Put in the canned mushroom soups. Stir awhile and then add in the evaporated milk and water. Bring to boil.
5.Put in the boiled carrots, mushroom slices and celery. Bring to boil.
6.Sprinkle some mixed herbs and black pepper
7.Put in the cooked seafood and stir well.
8.Add in salt and sugar to taste
9.You are ready to serve.
10.Put the cooked pasta into a flat plate and put some sauce on it.
11.Garnish with some herbs and celery leaves.

(Serves: 8-10)

Note: Use a packet of pasta if you do not want to have so much. You can keep the rest of the sauce in the cooler to be reheated the next day.

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