Pak Thong Kou

The weekend was hot hot hot!!!!! I have never sweat this much in my entire life (well...except for the PE classes during primary and secondary school).

It's a good thing that the weather is warm...perfect condition for proofing the bread dough or whatever dough you wanna proof. I chose to make the authentic Chinese sweet dessert (or breakfast for me...hehe!)....the "PAK THONG KOU"

I remember vividly that my grandma used to buy this sweet cake for me every Sunday morning for breakfast. There used to be a van packed with all sorts of homemade Chinese sweet cake that goes around the neighborhood where i used to live. I never fail to shout for the driver to stop so that i can buy my favourite sweet cakes and fill up my little stomach...mmmm...yum yum....well..those were the days! Kids now don't get to experience the good old times we had been through....oh well...thanks to the ever rising crime rates!

Anyway, enuf said....here's the recipe...enjoy folks!

Ingredients:

• 220g rice flour
• 160g caster sugar
• 380-400ml of water
• 1 tsp of yeast
• 1 tbsp of warm water

Method

Mix the yeast and warm water and set aside. In a pot, mix the rice flour and sugar. Pour the water over the sugar and flour and stir continuously. Bring the pot over low fire and continue stirring for about 3 minutes. (DO NOT BOIL THE MIXTURE!!!!) Strain the mixture into a baking/steaming tray. Let the mixture cool down for a while. Stir in the earlier prepared yeast mixture. Cover the tray with cling wrap and keep the tray in a warm place (a microwave oven is a good place) for proofing process (about an hour for a hot weather like Malaysia....). When the mixture has bubbles surface, the mixture is ready for steaming. Steam the mixture over rapid boiling water for about 25 minutes. Leave the cake till completely cool before slicing it. Enjoy the sweet cake with a cup of hot green tea....yummmz!

CNY Goodies

GONG HEI FATT CHOI! CHOI YUN KWAN KWAN LOI! TAI KAT TAI LEI! SUN TAI KIN HONG!

Happy Chinese Moo Moo Year everybody! Did you guys have a yummylicious reunion dinner? An ultimate celebration on the 1st and 2nd day of new year? You guys sure did!

As for me, *sob sob*....I had watery porridge from Chor Yat till Chor Mm. How about that? It all started on the night of CNY eve. I felt a lump in my throat...but didn't give much thoughts to it. So after reunion dinner, i went over to my grandpa's house and continue munching on cookies. Half an hour later, my bb came and took me to his cousin's house to gamble. Heaty food + non stop yelling and shouting during gambling made me a sick dog for the next 5 days. I had throat infection, fever and voiceless.....! So lessons learnt, go slow on CNY cookies before the festive begins....don't greedily gobble down the food like me.

Anyway...sad stories finished....let's share what have i contributed for CNY. My fellow blogger friend, JenJen, has been writing a lot of CNY food posts. The minute i saw her homemade MOMO (melting moments), I just couldn't take it anymore. To the hell with my painful throat, i took out my 'ka chang' (ingredients & utensils) and start baking. You won't believe how easy it was to make the MOMOs. It took me slightly over an hour to make 2 containers of the MOMOs. And believed it or not, the MOMOs were gone in just a snap. It was so good and so addictive! Even better than those pineapple cookies! For avid fan of melt in mouth cookies, please click the link above...100% no regrets.

Next, please join to welcome the ultimate labour of pain but damn worth trying Horlick Layer cake. I've been longing to try out this recipe (courtesy of Jen Jen also) a year ago. However, lame excuses got in my way (weather too hot...will sweat a lot if i stand too long in front of the stove; i'm too fat now...maybe later;....bla bla bla bla) and so the day of making the layer cake postponed till this year's Chinese New Year. It wasn't hard to prepare...and it wasn't hard to make it either....it's the long steaming process that is making me go cuckoo....Hahaha....but like Jen said, the 4-5 hours labour of pain will not fail you. It's yummy, moist, no words to describe. The cake smells like coffee, taste like Horlick on the first bite, coffee on the second bite and gone into your stomach....it's so delicious that you just can't wait to dig in the next piece again and again.

Sweet Potato Donuts

Y’all know what….Krispy Kreme closed its business in most of the California areas….sux rite? They are doing so well when I was still studying here in the states in year 2003…but hmm…I guess the economy depression made a great impact to them.

I’m not sure what the next leading donut store is around and I won’t even bother trying them out…because Krispy Kreme is still the best!!!!!! Oh well, perhaps I should make some of our famous Malaysia’s donut for my aunty and cousins here in LA ya? Yeap…Kuih Keria it is!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium size sweet potatoes
• About ¾ cup of flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• Some oil for frying

Method:
Steam the sweet potatoes till soft. Peel off the skin and mash them using a fork. Mix in flour and baking soda into the mashed sweet potatoes. Using your hand, mix them thoroughly till it forms a ball. Take a pinch of the dough and roll it between your palms. Flatten a little and make a hole in the middle of the dough with your index finger. Set the dough aside and continue with the remaining dough. Heat up a non stick pan with enough oil for frying. Fry the donuts till golden brown. Blot the excess oil with kitchen’s towel. Dust the surface of the donuts with castor sugar when it cools a little. Serve warm.

My First Bento Breakfast

Me : Miiii, how come you never make any bento meals for me to bring to school when i was young ar? Those days the bento boxes are available already ma......why ar why ar (bugged my mom non stop with 'why ar why ar' question)

Mom : *face red, fuming mad, staring at me* Enough of why ar or not?!!??!

Me : *shaddup immediately and managed to giggle a bit* He he he!

Mom : You think i so free ar? I have to make breakfast for you and fei chai, then have to clean up both of you and have to clean the dining table and kitchen area...you think i still got time to cut your bread and insert the foodpick one by one ar? Do you know how horrendous you and fei chai could be? Both of you were so mischievous....

Me : *immediately* Well that's not me mom....it's fei chai ok...not me...remember....it's fei chai ok ok ??

Mom : *continues her grandma story* Bla bla bla bla bla @&UI&*&^G&&*UO%$#^

Me: Okay mom...nevermind...just want to show you i made my first bento meal!!!! Ta daaa!!!!

Remember my post about this website that sells all sorts of bento boxes, cutters, food picks etc??? Well, i bought two Bento Boxes (one with Thermal Insulated bag), a pack of food picks and a Bento Box strap about a month ago. Initially i bought only the thermal insulated Bento Box so that i can prepare food for my bb to bring to work....but afraid it may look too 'soft' for him. So i emailed the seller and asked if she could help me find an all black Bento Box...black looks macho ma! Yeap!!!!! She found it for me....super duper thanks for the efficient service!!! As for the food picks, it was initially sold out, but i wanted to buy it so badly and asked the seller if she could restock it for me (because all the items are very limited in quantities), she gladly said yes!! Oh my god...double happiness for me!!!! NOw i have those cute cute food picks to hold the food together.

Verdict : My bb did not comment much on the bento breakfast i made for him...but he gladly chomped down all the food which i prepared...(what is it with man's ego + cute stuff?? luckily i'm cute enuf for my bb to have him chomp down the food...muahahahaha...bet u guys feeling sick now :P)

As for the Thermal Insulated Bento Box...bet you guys are waiting for this verdict....Yes!!!!! It DOES KEEP YOUR FOOD WARM!!! I baked this banana cake bread and cut a portion of the freshly baked bread for bb, the bread stayed warm for the next 4 hours...amazing isn't it???? Oooo...i'm so in love with the box now...

Anyway...let the pictures do the talking!

Presenting the Thermal Insulated Box......

Presenting Bb's Black Box......

Ma Lai Kou

What's not to be missed in my list of food whenever i visit a restaurant for Dim Sum? Ma Lai Kou of coz! The best ever Ma Lai Kou ever i have eaten was when i was still in the states studying. The dim sum was all prepared by the HOngkies...and man! You can feel the orgasm rushing down all your blood vessels the moment you have the hot steaming cake melts in your mouth. The second best Ma Lai Kou i have ever eaten can be found at a little hawker stall situated in front of Fatty Mok Restaurant in Salak South Garden, KL. Opens every night....rain or shine! Remember to get them in Pandan Flavor...it's the best!!!!!
But what if you are craving for a Ma Lai Kou at 1 o'clock in the morning?

Told you guys I'm a sucker for desserts and snacks at anytime of the day...or rather...any random time of the day! Haha! I tiptoed from my bedroom down to the wet kitchen and closed the kitchen door....just to make sure i won't send my dad down from his bed with a baton in his hand (thinking there's a thief in the house...huhuhu).

I have actually tried this recipes a few times and i shall say, it's as good as the one sold in the little hawker stall. But the best is still the one i have eaten in US.....damn...die die must go and eat again in December. So girls, this recipe comes handy whenever you want to please your ahem....in laws...hehehe! Happy trying!!!

Ingredients :

• 100g plain flour
• 2 tsp of baking powder
• 70ml skim milk
• 30ml water
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 20g of melted butter

Method:

Sieve the plain flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add in milk, water, vanilla essence and an egg into the bowl of flour and mix well before adding the other egg. Stir in the melted butter till the mixture well incorporated. Pour the batter into a lined muffin tray / baking tray / steaming bowl. Steam the batter on high heat for 15 minutes. Serve hot.

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

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?

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...

Blossom Chinese Cake

A new cake species ar?

Haha....it's non other that our very famous "Fatt Koe". I'm just trying to make it sound sophisticated...okay i know it's not.

The last time i tried to make a fatt koe...it didn't blossom that well...in the end, it looks more an ordinary steam cake rather that a smiling chinese blossom cake. I was demotivated.

Came Tuesday (19/8/08), flipped through The Star newspaper and i saw this recipe. Don't know why, i was so eager to try out the recipe. Guess what??? I DID IT!!!!! The moment i uncovered the steamer, all cakes were blossomed and smiled at me!

The only down side of my fatt koe is the color. My colleague asked me if it's yam fatt koe (no...it's not yam...it's just the blue+red coloring). My senior manager asked me if the cake is expired....hence the color (*slaps head*)

Minutes later, they were enjoying the fatt koe albeit the poor first impression of the fatt koe.

Thank YOu So Much AMY BEH!!!

'Min Xin' Kueh

Aunty C : What is this? Looks like fried kueh with pork oil....
Me : *slaps head* NOla aunty....it's kueh made by mee suah
Aunty C : Ha? Sure boh????
Me : Yala...bluff u for what? Got Gold ar?
Aunty C : Eh...quite nice la!

Looks like 'chee yau kou' (pork oil kueh) meh??

Hey hey everybody? How was Merdeka Day? Got the patriotic semangat or not? As for me, usual lor...just another manic Sunday...wish it were Saturday..ok ok...ter-into a classic song pulak. Anyway, Saturday night, after our kai kai adventure at Sunway Pyramid, i defrosted some minced pork and a small packet of shelled prawns on the wet kitchen's counter. After watching a DVD with bb, off i went to the wet kitchen and chop chop chop a whole bulb of garlic and also minced the prawn. Then heat up a non stick pan with a drizzle of oil...dump in the garlic and fry till fragrant. Slowly add in the minced pork and prawn and stir fry till cooked. Then add in some water seasoned with soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper to the meat mixture and let it simmer for a minute. Add in mee suah and stir thoroughly till the mixture appear soggy. Turn off the heat. Transfer the mee suah mixture into a lightly oiled pan and let it cool overnight.

The next day, cut the cooled mee suah into cubes/oblong/round/whatever shapes you want. Dip the cut mee suah into a beaten egg mixture and pan fry each of them till golden brown. Absorb the excess oil with a kitchen's towel and garnish the mee suah kueh with some spring onion (i ran out of them...oppps) Serve hot with your favorite sauce!!!

Ingredients :

• 50g of minced pork
• 50g of minced prawn
• 1 whole bulb of garlic
• 2 bowls of water
• 8 pieces of mee suah
• some sesame oil, soy sauce and pepper for seasoning

Quick Donuts

I've been feeding on donuts for at least a week (7 consecutive days). Why? Blame it on my blardy hormone. Haha...the estrogen / progestrone / whatever it is in me had ignited my sudden crave of junk food.

Haiya...i'm a growing young adult ma...what to do?

The last time i made donut is by baking method....this time...notty me, ahheem...fried them. Aiya....very guilty now. How am i able to lose the spare tyre if i continue my unhealthy eating lifestyle? Sigh...enjoy life...dun worry abt the spare tyre now. Worry tomorrow. Haha!!

Okay...here you go :

Ingredients :

• 2 cups of plain flour
• 1/3 cups of sugar
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tbsp of baking powder
• some ground cinnamon
• a dash of ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp of butter
• 1/2 cup of milk
• 1 egg, beaten

Method :
Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. With a clean hand, knead the liquid-dough mixture for about 7 minutes. Heat up a frying pan and pour an adequate amount of oil onto it. Lower heat when the oil is hot enough for frying. Drop a spoonful of batter into the frying pan and fry till golden brown. Blotch the excess oil of the fried donut with a kitchen towel. Cool the donut before dusting them with powdered sugar. Serve warm.

Kuih Serimuka

Okla....looks very ugly la...:P

Hello everybody!


How was labour day? Good? Best? or bad + worst?????? Good or bad...i hope you all enjoy most of it as it's our day! The day that marks the appreciation of our hard efforts, sweat and blood......by holidaying...kekekekek! Agree?

So, to rejoice this memorable day...i opted to make this sweet and salty kuih...this kuih is actually the 'twin' of Kuih Talam...both had a salty bottom layer and topped with sweet layer. The only difference is that one has glutinous rice as the bottom layer.

A tasty and yummy kuih is greatly complimented by the coconut milk....coconut milk plays an important role in making kuih....thus, it's best to use fresh coconut milk from the local sundry shop or wet market:)

Let's not waste time blablabla-ing anymore...enjoy the recipe below and be sure to share out the kuih with as many people as possible...as this is rather fattening and unhealthy (high cholesterol oooooo) but very yummylicious...sigh....how leh??? hehe!

Ingredients & method:
Bottom Layer

• 350g of glutinous rice (soaked overnight)
• 150ml coconut milk
• pinch of salt

Drain the soaked glutinous rice and combine together with coconut milk and salt in a pan. Steam over high heat for 20 minutes. Fluff the rice after steaming. When it's rather cool to room temperature, use the aluminium foil to press the glutinous rice down and firmly packed to the steam pan.

Top Layer

• 3 medium eggs
• 220ml coconut milk
• 100g castor sugar
• 2 tbsp custard powder
• 2 tbsp plain flour

Combine all ingredients together and strain over the steamed glutinous rice. Steam on high heat for 35 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it in the steamer for 10 minutes before taking it out and cool to room temperature. Do not attempt to cut the kuih if it's not cooled....otherwise it'll look ugly and messy.

Chinese Peanut Pancake / Man Jien Kuih

It's Saturday!!!!

Started my day at 615am with jogging at a nearby park. It was super dark and i got so scared that i would be 'kidnapped' by some hooligans...am i thinking too much?

So after the jog, i was soooooo eppi with my flatter stomach that i quickly went home and made myself a hearty breakfast. I vowed earlier that i would at least try to stay healthy for 1 month by ceasing junk food intake...and while i was having my tasteless bowl of oatmeal, i heard this..

Psst psst...over here!! over here!!

Guess what was 'calling' me? a bottle of coarsely chopped peanuts....yerrr! Why liddat 1??? I wanna stay healthy also kenot! Suddenly i was walking towards my recipe books cabinet...and suddenly i was pulling out a book....and the next second i found myself whipping up a batter!! Haha!!

Ok...here's what i've got:

Batter:

• 220g of plain flour
• 40g of sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate
• 1/2 tsp yeast
• 1 cup of water

Filling:

Coarsely chopped peanuts + balanced amount of sugar

Method:

1. Combine all the batter ingredients in a mixing bowl using a whisk. Set aside the smooth and silky batter for 30 minutes.
2. Heat up a non stick pan. On low fire, pour the batter to the pan and spread evenly. Close the pan with a lid for about 40 seconds.
3. Toss a handful of fillings over the pancake. Fold the pancake into half moon shape. Cut and serve hot.

The man jien kuih is super delicious and super easy to make!! A definite keeper!!
aiyoyo...sumbody please stop me from eating....

Man Jien Kuih Cooking in the pan

The "Kentang" Salad

Tired of plain old scrambled eggs on your toasted bread? NO? Ok...it's just me then.

As a crazy fan of bread, i can eat my bread plain, or sandwich a scoop of vanilla ice cream in between for desserts, or make a super healthy vegetarian sandwich for lunch at work, or spread peanut butter and jam generously on the bread...just anything but cheese. I hate cheese. Full stop.

Yesterday, as usual, went to the mart and bought a loaf of bread. Then.....open the fridge, instead of reaching for the butter and the coconut custard (a.k.a. kaya....yala...action a bit can or not?), i grabbed the Mayo, 2 eggs and a potato. Heh heh heh....cheeky me up for something again

So, after peeling the kentang's skin, i settled it in a pot of boiling water and let it boil until soft. Since i'm hungry, i cut the potato into quarts (speed up the soften process). Then, made hard boiled eggs (don't boil them too long...you won't want super hard boil eggs in your yummy sandwich....well at least in my sandwich). Peel the hard boiled eggs and mash it together with the soften potatoes.

Add 3 tbsp Mayo to the mashed potato eggs if you have a stick thin body....or add 2.99 tbsp Mayo to the mashed potato eggs if you are not. Haha! Come on....it's salad! How can you miss out the fun of Mayo??? Just for once, be generous on the Mayo :>

Finish the salad preparation with dashes of pepper and a lil salt....mix and spread them on the bread or have it just like that.

Now...get a bip and salivate over this....kekekke....kid you not!!!

My Generous Spread of Potato Salad on Toasted Bread Topped with Pork Floss ~ muaaaaah!

Apple Crumble

As I mumbled to myself in my previous post about dieting, that was just PURE MUMBLE. I did not exert the diet because I know everyone will be screaming at me “Look At YOU! NO BOOBS NO BUTT …AND YOU WANT TO LOSE MORE???!??”

Alright alright….my fault…maybe I should just do the silent diet..

Wait…did I say diet again…seriously it’s just one of my ‘3 minutes heat’ haha…because I’m up for some dessert again…haha!

The first time I tried Apple Crumble was a take away from a café (forgotten the name) early this year …it’s really good and I planned of giving it a try to make it. However, I dropped the plan almost immediately for some reason but my plan is back!!!

And here it is….my first ever homemade Apple Crumble. I googled for the recipe and most of the recipes stated almost same ingredients….however, dumb-baker being adventurous, did not follow any of the recipes and made this apple crumble based on instinct. Call me dumb or whatever, I knew I should have adapted one of the many recipes since it’s my first time…but my little instinct wasn’t too bad la. Baking is all about experimenting…agree???

What I Had was:

1. 2 green apples (core + cut them and toss them in an amount of lemon juice to keep the apples from discoloring)
2. 1 tbsp of brown sugar
3. 1-2 pinch of cinnamon powder
4. 140g plain flour
5. 50g rolled oats
6. 10g castor sugar
7. 120g melted butter

What I did was:

Preheat the oven at 180DC. Bring the cut and tossed apples into a saucepan. Add in brown sugar and cinnamon powder over the apples. Stir and simmer over low heat until the apple becomes slightly soft. Turn off the heat and transfer the saucy apples into a baking pan ( I used a 6 inch pan). Set aside first.

Combine flour, oats and sugar in a mixing bowl. Pour the melted butter over the dry ingredients and mix well with a spatula.

Pour the crumbly mixtures over the saucy apples. Bake in the oven to 180DC for 30 minutes. Serve hot or cold….i had mine hot…and it’s yummy…!

Easy Puffs on Lazy Day

Last night, it hits me again. This time, it isn’t cookies or breads anymore. It’s puffs. Too bad it was raining heavily last night that I struggled a lot to drive safely back home…ah…not forgetting that my car was almost banged by a 4WD (shitty traffic lights). So, going out from my home sweet home to buy puffs is the last thing I want to do since my vision at night is not good.
I ransacked my cupboard….looked up at the clock…damn…it’s already 8pm…I don’t want to make a puff from scratch as I know it will takes me forever just to knead and get the shape right…plus I’m getting sleepy. But without satisfying my sudden crazy crave, i will not be able to sleep peacefully. SO….checked out the freezer…hehe…guess what I found? FROZEN ROTI PRATHA!!!!!
Epi EPi EPi!!! Immediately I took out two sheets of ROTI Pratha, a packet of frozen mixed veggies and a can of baked beans. I preheated my oven at 160DC, while waiting, I assemble my lazy puff. Hu HU HU!!!

What I did was:

1. Thaw the Frozen ROTI Pratha for like 3-4 minutes. ( u might want to flour the surface of the counter where you thaw the roti pratha to avoid the roti from sticking to the counter…and get messy later)
2. Cut the roti pratha into the portion/size you desire.
3. Put an amount of mixed veggies and baked beans on a piece of roti pratha.
4. Lay another piece of roti on top and seal the edges by pressing them lightly.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes or until the puff is golden brown in color.
   For a buttery taste, you may brush some melted butter on the puffs before baking them in oven.

For variations: you can substitute baked beans with sardines / Tuna / hard boiled eggs….basically anything you desire :>

result of being too greedy *grin*

This snack was super easy and yummy too. I had a piece of the puffs (felt guilty since I had taken dinner…gotta stop all my crap binge eating from now) and my dad finished off the rest of the 3 puffs. See how yummy it is…haha…ok who am I kidding now?

*Mumbles to myself: Hmm…where’s my bathroom scale…I GOTTA MUST MESTI “YAT TING” stop eating after dinner…sad case…my waistline is getting thicker..diet diet Ms Shortie!!!*

Sui Kow & Kow Zi

My other half is an ardent fan of soup based 'sui kow'. Each time we go out for 'wantan' noodle meal, he never fails to ask me this :

bb : Gg, you want sui kow?
me: Dun wan la.
bb : oklor (sounded disappointed...but....)
[waiter came to our table to take our order]
bb : 2 plates of wantan noodle and 1 big bowl of sui kow

despite me not eating the sui kow with him, he will still continue order a bowl of it.

So, on Friday night, i texted him this :
Don't eat breakfast alone tomorrow. I'm gonna stuff you mouth with food i'll be making tomorrow morning.

Haha...i'm one abusive girlfriend on earth.

So, woke up as early as 630 in the morning and begin my mouth-stuffing-food project.
For Sui Kow:


I had the minced pork marinated overnight with sesame oil, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce and dashes of black pepper. I'm sorry i can't list down the precise measurements of ingredients as i've prepared everything in estimation...in other words...agak agak version :P Next, shelled the shrimps, seasoned them and rinse them under running water...this method will actually yield a 'springy' shrimp! I've also cut some black fungus into thin strips and add them to the pork mixture before making the sui kow. To assemble, firstly, take a piece of sui kow wrapper (similar to wantan wrapper but in circular shape), lay a piece of shrimp and top with the pork and black fungus mixture. To seal the sui kow, dabbed the corner of the wrapper with water and seal it. I've made a pot of anchovies soup and added some 'tung choy' (salty preserved vege) to compliment the soup's taste. Dump the nicely wrapped sui kows into the pot of boiling soup. The sui kows are ready when they float onto the surface of the soup. Serve the sui kows hot and compliment with some cut cili padi......oooo syiok!

For the kow zi, i've adapted the ingredients and methods for the skin here. For the fillings, I had 1 jicama/sengkuang/chinese turnip and 1 carrot shredded thingly. I've also sliced 3 presoaked mushrooms thinly. Lightly oil your in a pot/wok over medium fire and stir fry the fillings until semi soft. Add in dark soy sauce, soy sauce, some salt and pepper and some sugar to the fillings and continue stir-frying for a minute or two. Again, the seasonings i've added to the fillings are all estimation. You may adjust the seasonings according to your taste bud. To assemble the kow zi, take a piece of prepared skin for the kow zi, put the fillings and wrap the kow zi in your own preferred shape. Remember not to overload the skin with fillings or have the edges of the skin came in contact with the liquid from the fillings....otherwise you'll have a hard time sealing the kow zi or worst still, you may end up 'patching' the holes of the skin..hahaha! Finally, arrange them in a tray and steam over boiling water for 15 minutes or until the skin is translucent. Serve hot!

Here's my version of sui kow and kow zi....TADAAAAAA......enjoy!

Kow Zi

Sui Kow in anchovies soup with some green vegetables