Thursday, October 30, 2008

Kuih Bakar

Does anyone here watch Ho Chiak on 8TV every Sunday @ 630pm? I do! I do!

After each episode, I'll bug my bb to take me to this restaurant and that restaurant to try out the dishes featured in the food show. However, it's always just "OK GG...We'll Go next week k?" When it comes to 'next week', the initial plan will always have to delay to next next week...too many 'next week' visit that never came true.

However, the Ho Chiak added this short session in its weekly show. They added the baking/cooking short show! Oooo....my favourite. Few weeks ago, kuih bakar was featured in the program...it looked so good that i wanted to make that kuih immediately...but unfortunately, i do not have any coconut milk with me.

Then, came this beautiful Sunday, eve of Deepavali....i made this kuih. I found this recipe online...lotsa good credits given to the recipe....and so, i followed. Hmmm....I'm not sure if it's because of the coconut milk that i added, the kuih was kinda....Oily.

Nevertheless, it was a good recipe to try, but for a sugar phobic person like me, i halved the amount of sugar called in the recipe. The outer texture was a lil crispy...probably due to the sesame seed sprinkled on the kuih and the inner texture was moist and soft :) The color was Au Natural extracted from the pandan leaves. If you fancy a quick and easy kuih, this is a good recipe to try.

The recipe was written in Bahasa Malaysia. For the benefits of those who aren't familiar of the language, I'll retype the recipe in English below:

Ingredients ( 6 pax )

  • 1 cup of sugar
  • 1 cup of pandan* juice (or water + pandan essence)
  • 2 cups of flour
  • 2 1/4 cups of coconut milk (or 1 can coconut milk-450ml ) (DB used 1 cup of thick coconut milk + 1 1/4 cup of water)
  • 2 tbsp of butter
  • 3 nos of eggs
  • 1/2 tsp of salt (DB omitted this )
  • Some green coloring (DB omitted this)
  • Sesame seed
Method
1. Combine all ingredients and blend till thoroughly mixed.
2. Greased the baking pan with 2 tbsp of oil.
3. Heat the baking tray in the oven. When the oil becomes hot, pour the mixture of kuih into the baking pan and sprinkle the surface of the mixture with sesame seed. Bake at 180DC till the kuih appears golden brown.

*Pandan juice can be made by blending 1 cup of water with 8-9 pieces of Pandan leaves (screw pine leaves). Remember to sieve the juice....ngek ngek ngek

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Constipation

Constipation....ahh....my favourite topic.
Whenever i flipped through a magazine, somehow the C word will definitely caught my attention no matter how small the font is. See...that is how obsessed i am to know more about constipation.

When i was younger, i consulted a doctor for constipation treatment. As usual, he advised me to increase my fluid and fiber intake. However, some health magazines revealed that too much fiber intake will caused constipation too! due to the bulkiness of the ahem.....feces.

Just yesterday, as i was making my honey lemon drink, i realised that honey can actually help relieve the IBM (Irritable Bowel Movement). Yes...next time whenever you suffer from IBM, try this remedy:

For pregnant & elderly people:
Melt 6g of salt into warm water. Add 50g of honey and stir till dissolved. Take twice a day (once in the morning and once in the evening).


For constipation due to heaty body & intestine inflammation :
Coat 10g of honey onto a piece of banana. Take it once a day (only 1 banana per day).

During the weekend, mom bought lotsa bananas from the morning market. Here's how i varied my intake of the bananas:

1.Kuih Kodok (mashed banana fritters)
Recipe courtesy of Lily Ng.



2. Banana Bread Roll
Flatten some wholemeal bread with a rolling pin. Place a banana on each flatten bread, sprinkle some cinnamon & icing sugar on the banana, roll and 'seal' the bread with the aid of a toothpick. Toast the banana bread roll for 4 minutes. Serve hot.



My weekend breakfast was truly a fiber rich 1...remember to drink heaps of water to aid the 'flushing' system of your body.

So what's your remedy of constipation?

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Pineapple Tarts

Dear Jen,


I wish we can meet up one day and I'll thank you endlessly for the recipe you shared. Then I'll present you with a bottle of my homemade pineapple tarts.


Haha....oh my god! Seriously this is good! Melts in mouth texture and the taste is just right! Not the too buttery type, not the dry type, but the right and melt in mouth type. I just can't stop popping these log shaped pineapple tarts into my mouth....there goes my diet.


Thank you JenJen for the lovely recipe and if we ever get to meet up, i shall bring a container of the tarts to you. No Kid :)


For instruction and recipe, please visit here. No regrets folks.


Ready for the pictures? Lai lai lai..........

Golden Jam Balls....took me only an hour to prepare..kekeke

(Instead of cinnamon stick, i added cloves for the aroma)

Why so pale? Coz i didn't brush a layer of egg wash la...hehehe

Okay...this is my half-bite-pineapple-tart.....dun be grossed out...i purposely took a pic of it to show the fibrous jam of the tart...is your saliva dripping now? kekeke

Friday, October 17, 2008

Braised Black Pepper Mushroom

2 weeks ago, it was my virgin Sunday of waking up early and refuse to go for jogging. Getting lazy...kekeke...aih...super regret now coz i just had a hearty breakfast! If only i jog, then it would balance up my super full breakfast.

Did not jog, what was i upto? Cooking of coz!! This is my 1st time ever braising a mushroom. It wasn't as difficult as i thought it would be. In fact, it's super easy! What's the best companion to a braised mushroom? WANTAN MEE!!!!!! Bribe me with braised mushroom wantan mee, i'll clean your kitchen for a week....okay i'm just kidding...but i really love eating braised mushroom wantan mee...bb...you heard me?? I know you do...haha

Next item on the breakfast menu was this overloaded sandwich...in which i cleverly buttered my toast and top it with slices of icey cool cucumber, sardine in tomato sauce (with extra extra ketchup) and not forgetting the protein...the eggs....mmm...yummy! I even thought of making a double stack sandwich but then my mouth is not big enough eh. Okay...come drool over the pictures now....hungry??? Kekekeke

My Perfect Wantan Mee with Braised Mushroom

Ingredients :
  • 5 Chinese mushrooms (soaked overnight), save some of the water
  • Half can of button mushrooms, drained and cut into half
  • Sesame Oil
  • 4 tbsp of Black Pepper Sauce
  • 3/4 cup of water
  • Cornflour (optional)

Method:

Heat a pot with some sesame oil and lightly fragrant both types of mushroom for 1 minute. Add water and some of the mushroom water into the pot and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes over low fire. Add in black pepper sauce and stir well. Continue simmer for 5-7 minutes. If the mushroom appears too watery, add in some cornflour to thicken the sauce. Dish up and serve hot.

Hehe....my overloaded sandwich

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Instant Sesame Jam

WHooopss.....let's take a break from fatty dairy products and shift to a healthier post. Ngek ngek ngek....

I've been a loyal reader of this hot mama's blog posts...her lifestyle seems to motivate me a lot to eat healthier, exercise more and most importantly, her own homemade food...healthy wei! I Kid You Not.

SO, one day, her post of healthy breakfast came strike me instantly....know why? Coz she spread her bread with sesame jam! Ha....where where where to buy?????? She gladly told me that the spread can be bought from organic shops and boy, they don't come cheap....

But then, i am just too determined to try out the sesame spread...and brilliant me (wakakakaka....self comfort) found these two tins of multigrain sesame powder, in which i added them for my morning cereal drink. Since this will be a trial and error thingy, i grabbed an empty container, put 4 teaspoon of black sesame powder + 2 tsp of multigrain powder + some sugar to the level of sweetness you desire + enough hot water and stir them well into a paste. Cool them and chill them in fridge....


Next day.....spread them on your favourite toast....TADAAAA.....mmmm....yummy! Thanks HealthFreakMommy!

Okay....don't be deceived by its black ooogey yuckey color...it's a blessing spread k...really...no kidding...

Friday, October 10, 2008

Cheese Brownie

To JenJen, I'm so so so sorry for posting the recipe this late. I hope you truly enjoy this recipe and let me know if you like it as much as i do! :)

To CL, u must bake one and let me try k? Curious curious!! ;)

Folks, this is a must have recipe if you are a dessert person like me. This cheesy....sinfully delicious and rich brownie totally rocks! I just can't wait to bake another tray of it. Happy trying!!

Brownie :
  • 180g butter, melted
  • 220g castor sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 120g plain flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 70g cocoa powder

Cheesy Filling :

  • 250g cream cheese, softened
  • 45g butter
  • 60g icing sugar
  • 1 egg

Method:

Mix melted butter and sugar until well combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time and mix well after each addition. Stir in vanilla essence. Gently fold in sifted flour, baking powder and cocoa powder...continue stirring batter till smooth.

Beat cream cheese, butter and icing sugar till well combined. Add in egg and beat well.

Pour 2/3 of the brownie batter into a baking tray. Then pour in all cheese filling. Spoon the remaining brownie batter on top of the cheese filling. Using a choptick, twirl the cheese and brownie batter around to create a marble effect.

Bake the cheese brownie in a preheated oven of 170 DC for 35 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the brownie comes out clean. Cool the brownie to room temperature and chill them for at least 2 hours. Serve cold with a scoop of your favourite ice cream.....mmm...yummy!!!!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Dinner for 4

Haiya....why am i in office working??!??! All because i have exhausted my annual leave. So what do you do when you go to office and your boss is not around? Happy hour time of coz!!! It's blogging time...kekek
First day of Raya...bb brought his cousin and his cousin's partner over to my house for mahjong's session. Since daddy and mommy are away for holiday, i took up the chef responsibility for the day. My mom is too generous. She bought all the ingredients for me and all i need to do is cook...i don't need to purposely drive out and start picking which chicken is nice, which veges is good...bla bla bla...

My meal preparation started on Tuesday night. I marinated some chicken wings with Teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, honey, sesame oil and dashes of pepper overnight. The next day, i placed the wings on a baking tray threw some butter on it, drizzle some sauce from the marination...baked the wings for about half an hour.

While waiting for the wings to be readied, i cook up some Mapo Tofu...this is superbly easy. All i need is just some minced pork, a cube of tofu, some soy bean paste (Taucu) and some pounded chili paste. I prefer my tofu spicy, so i actually added generous amount of the chili paste to the Mapo Tofu. Heh...bb was complaining the tofu is too spicy.

Next, i stir fry some green vegetables and added a tablespoon of Chinese wine to taste. I also stir fry some french beans with shrimps.

Ha....a typical Chinese cuisine cannot be completed without soup. I made a pot of anchovies soup base and threw in some preserved vegetables, tomatoes, carrots and sour plums. Yea...i made the "HAM CHOI Soup"....yummy...

Although I'm a pure genuine Chinese....ya pure genuine (just in case u may doubt that I'm of mixed blood...hahah) my meal will not complete without dessert. Hu HU HU!! Early in the morning, i baked a tray of Cheese Brownies...oh my god...this is heavenly good! After i have cooled the freshly baked brownies on the dining table, i transferred the brownies to the fridge and chill it. When i served the guests of the day with the brownies, holy mama, both cousins (bb and his cousin) requested to ta-pau the brownies. Hehe...thanks thanks thanks for your endless support. Keke...paiseh paiseh...
Ok...to cut story short, I'll leave the pictures talk the story :)
p/s: Not enuf...i also steamed some fruit cakes...in conjunction of Hari Raya...hahahaha!

Mapo Tofu with extra chili!

Baked Wings......mmmm

Cheesy Brownies.....sinfully deliciooooussss!

Last but not least......the Steamed Fruit Cake...moist and rich ;)