Friday, November 30, 2007

Szechuan Chicken

I've eaten this dish with my sister at the Chinese restaurant here and it was really good but I have no clue how they cook it. Then I saw the similar dish at BBO blog and I was excited about it but too bad he didn't post the full recipe there. So I came up with my own version of it minus all the dry chilies since I don't have it in my pantry. So I replaced it with the small bird eyes chilies.

Ingredients :

2 chicken breast - cut to bite size pieces
2" of ginger - thinly slice
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 small onions - quarter
1 red chili - slice
4 chili padi - chopped or dry chillies
2 spring onions - cut into 1" long

Marinate :

1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 tsp of pepper
1 tbsp of cooking wine
2 tbsp of cornstarch

Seasoning :

1/2 tsp of sugar
1/2 tsp of pepper
2 tbsp of soy sauce
some cooking wine


1) Cut chicken and mixed it with the marinate ingredients for half and hour.
2) Heat up oil and deep fry the chicken until golden brown and drain the oil.
3) Leave about 2 tbsp of oil in the wok and stir fry all the rest of the ingredients until fragrant and lightly brown.
4) Add in the chicken and seasoning and lastly some cooking wine.
5) Stir fry till dry and dish out and serve with warm rice.

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Blog of the month award


Thank you Sue Sue for passing me this award.


I would like to pass along this award to : Rita, Cat, Beachlover, Zue, Jun, Envy and Farina.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Glutinous Rice with Pumpkin

Pumpkin is a very versatile vegetable and you can cook it in many ways. You cake make pie, soup, kueh, dishes and etc from it. It can either be a sweet or savory dish. I like cooking a one pot meal on my lazy days especially pumpkin rice. You will have carbohydrate from rice, protein from chicken and fibre from your pumpkin. For this dish instead of rice I used glutinous rice and is just as good.

Ingredients :

500 grms of glutinous rice - soak for at least 4 hours
5 pieces of dry shitake mushroom - soak in hot water and slice
2 pieces of chicken thigh
200 grms of pumpkins - cut into cubes
5 shallots - sliced
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
1" of ginger - finely chopped
Some water or chicken stock

Seasoning :

2 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of black soy sauce
2 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 tbsp of cooking wine
salt and pepper to taste

Garnish :

Spring onions
Fried shallots


1) Cut chicken to bite size pieces and marinate it with seasoning and set aside for an hour.
2) Heat some oil in the wok and fry shallots until golden brown. Dish out and set aside for garnish.
3) In the same wok stir fry garlic and ginger lightly brown and fragrant.
4) Add in chicken and and mushroom and stir fry until chicken turn pale or half cook.
5) Add in glutinous rice and stir fry for a minute. Add in water or chicken stock just enough to cover the rice. Bring to boil and check seasoning.
6) Add in pumpkin and cover wok and simmer in low heat. Stir rice occasionally.
7) When the rice is done, serve the rice with some spring onions and fried shallots.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Dinner Rolls

I baked these dinner rolls for Thanksgiving. I actually forgot all about the rolls until before bed time on Wednesday evening. So I quickly mixed a batch of the dough and let it proof overnight and I am all ready the next morning for some freshly baked rolls. Do not be alarm as this dough is quite soft and sticky and it doesn't required too much kneading.

Ingredients :

3 1/4 cups of flour
1 tsp of salt
1 1/4 cup of milk
1/2 stick of butter - 1/4 cup
3 tbsp of sugar
1 packet of yeast - 7 grms

1) Put milk, sugar and butter in a small saucepan and warm up milk on medium heat. Turn off heat once the butter melted. Set aside and let it cool.
2) When the milk is just warm to the touch or around 90 degree then put in flour, salt and yeast.
3) Stir everything together until well combined. Knead the dough for a few minutes and then cover and set it aside to proof to double its size. I let mine proof overnight.
4) Prepare muffin pan or any baking pan and spread it generously with butter.
5) To form the rolls, pinch some dough and make it into a small ball. Place 3 balls into each muffin tray.

6) Cover the pan with cloth and set it aside for second proofing and it might take another hour.
7) Brush the top of the rolls with beaten egg and bake in a pre-heated 350 F oven until golden brown. It might take around 25 min.



Note : The first proofing might take longer as it all depend on the room temperature. I let mine proof overnight. As for the second proofing mine took about 2 hours.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Tiramisu II

I made these individual serving tiramisu for our Thanksgiving dinner. You can get the recipe from my pervious posting of it. Tiramisu




Thursday, November 22, 2007

Thanksgiving Dinner

I've posted some pictures of our Thanksgiving dinner at my other blog. Snippets of My Life

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone !!!

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Braised Peanuts

When we went home last year we went to a nice dim sum place at Jalan Imbi and they served braised peanuts as snack as normally the Chinese restaurant will serve you salted peanuts or 'Keropok' . I really like their braised peanuts because is soft, sweet and salty. I got this recipe from 'Kuali' but I have to omit some of the ingredients since I don't have it. This dish is really good as snack or eats it with hot rice porridge.

Ingredients :
(adapted from Kuali)

200 grm of peanuts - soak overnight
2 piece of tong kwai
some orange peel
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp of chopped garlic

Seasoning

2 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tsp of dark soy sauce
4 pcs of rock sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Enough water for braising

1) Rinse soak peanuts and drain well.
2) Combined all the above ingredients in a pot with some water and bring to boil.
3) Reduce the heat and continue to simmer until peanuts are soft. It might take 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
4) Serve peanuts warm or at room temperature.

Note : The peanuts will cook faster and softer if you use pressure-cooker for 30 min. I added some hard boil egg to the braised peanuts.

Ayam Masak Merah

This dish is a bit different from the Malay ayam masak merah we get back home but it does taste quite similar to it.

Blended ingredients :

1" of ginger
3 shallots
3 cloves of garlic
1 stalk of lemon grass

Blend all the above ingredients and set aside.

3 pieces of chicken breast - cut to bite size pieces and marinate with some salt and pepper
1 large onion - slice thinly
2 large tomatoes - cut in chunks
1 cinnamon stick
2 potatoes - cut to bite size pieces
1/2 cup of green peas or edamame
4 tbsp of chili sauce
Salt, pepper and sugar to taste


1) Heat up frying pan with some oil and stir fry chicken on high heat until slightly brown and set aside.
2) Leave some oil in the pan and saute the blended ingredients and cinnamon stick until fragrant.
3) Add in onion, chili sauce, chicken, tomatoes and potatoes. Add some water and simmer until potatoes and chicken is cooked. Lastly add in some green peas or edamame.
4) Check seasoning and serve with warm rice.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

A Year Old!!!

My blog is a year old now. Food blogging has brought many things into my life especially all the wonderful people I’ve known virtually and in person. I am glad that I am able to share my passion for cooking and baking with all of you.

I wanted to thank my niece Diana for creating this blog for me and my husband for putting up with me. Stalling him to take all my food pictures before he can dig in and each and everyone of you for reading and trying out some of my recipe and also taking the time to comment.

Once again thank you everyone for stopping by and please keep coming back. I made this specially cup cakes just for you :)

Friday, November 16, 2007

Fragrant Tofu

I remember eating this tofu dish a long time ago at one of the Chinese restaurant near my office. Is simple yet really delicious. They added salted fish to it but I can't because Carlos and the neighbour might call the police on me because of the smell :) I normally don't deep fry my tofu because it spatter a lot but for this dish I made the exception. So here the simple version of it.

Ingredients :

1 container of tofu - drain liquid on a few layer of paper towel
some cornstarch

4 oz of chicken breast - minced
4 oz of prawns - minced
2 spring onions - slice small
1 red chili - chopped
3 shallots - slice thinly
3 cloves of garlic - chopped

1 tbsp of oyster sauce
3 tbsp of fish sauce
some Chinese cooking wine
a few tablespoon of water
1 tsp of sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

1) Heat up oil, cut tofu to bite size pieces and coat the tofu with cornstarch and fry tofu till golden brown. Drain on paper towel and set aside. Pour out the oil and leave about 2 tbsp.
2) Heat up oil and saute shallots, garlic and chili until lightly brown and fragrant.
3) Add in chicken and prawns and stir-fried until it changes color.
4) Add in oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar and little bit of water. Stir-fried for a few second and add in the tofu. Mix well.
5) Add in a few splash of Chinese cooking wine and stir-fried for a few second and add in the spring onions. Dish out and serve warm with rice.

Note : You can add more water if you like gravy. I like mine dry so I just add 3 tbsp of water to it. I didn't add any salt because the fish sauce is already salty.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Pulut Panggang

I made some lemang for Hari Raya the other day and I had some leftover glutinous rice. So I made some pulut panggang and as for the filling I just used beef serunding.

Ingredients :

200 grm of glutinous rice - soak for at least 3 hours.
100ml of coconut milk
1/2 tsp of salt
few pieces of banana leaves
Some serunding filling

1) Mix glutinous rice with coconut milk, salt and steam until cooked.
2) Spread some glutinous rice on banana leaf and add in some filling.
3) Roll up the banana leaf and secure both ends with toothpick.
4) Set the oven to broil and grill the rice for a few second or until the banana leaves is slightly charred.

Note : For the filling you can make some dried shrimps with coconut.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Crab Legs in Black Pepper Sauce

Crabs legs was on sale at one of the supermarket here and I bought some of it. I don't really like eat it just like that so I cooked it in some black pepper sauce.

Ingredients :

4 crab legs - cut to pieces
3 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
1" of ginger - finely chopped
3 spring onions - cut into 1"
1 red chili - chopped

Sauce :

1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of chili sauce
1 tsp of black soy sauce
1/2 cup of water
1 tsp of sugar
1 tbsp of finely ground black pepper
salt and pepper to taste

1) Combined all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
2) Heat up frying pan with some oil and saute garlic, ginger and red chili until soft and fragrant.
3) Add in crab legs and stir-fry for a minute.
4) Add in sauce and cook until sauce thicken and completely dry.
5) Add in spring onions and stir fry for a few second and dish out.
6) Serve with warm rice.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Cheesy Baked Rice

When I went home last year I heard so much about this baked rice but I didn't have a chance to try it. Since I have some leftover rice, some roast chicken I thought maybe I can do my version of the bake rice. Is easy and you can use any leftovers from your fridge and with some grated cheese you can have a quick meal in half an hour.

Ingredients :

2 cups of cooked rice
1 cup of cooked chicken - chopped
1/2 cup of shrimps - peeled and deveined
1 small onions - chopped
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 carrot - cut to cubes
small bunch of parsley - chopped (optional)
2 tomato - chopped
1/2 can of mushroom soup
1 cup of water
1 cup of grated cheese
salt and pepper to taste

1) Heat some oil in a pan and saute the garlic , onions and carrots until soft.
2) Add in chicken, shrimp and tomatoes and stir fry for 1 min.
3) Add in mushroom soup and water. Stir well and add in cooked rice. Bring to boil.
4) Check seasoning and add in parsley. Dish out to a greased baking dish.
5) Sprinkle cheese on top and bake in a 350 degree F oven until top is brown and bubbly. Serve warm.


Note : You can add other vegetables like cauliflower or broccoli to this dish.

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Bake Donuts.

It has been a while since Carlos and I indulged in this fried and sweet treats especially Krispy Kreme. Is just too bad we don't have Krispy Kreme here in the East. I never try making any donuts before because the thought of frying it in lots of hot oil and then the kitchen will be cover with grease and smell will lingers around for days kind of put me off.

I bought a mini donut pan at the Le Gourmet Chef when I went shopping at the premium outlets with Pinky and I just can't wait to try out these yummy treats.

This bake donuts is soft and fluffy and tasted as good as the deep-fried ones and is much healthier. You can glaze it with anything you want but I prefer mine in simple cinnamon sugar and lemon glaze.

Ingredients :

1 cup of flour
1/4 cup of sugar
3/4 tsp of baking powder
3/4 tsp of baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg
1 tub of plain yogurt (227 grm or 8 oz)
1 tbsp of melted butter
1 tsp of vanilla
2 tsp of lemon juice

1 tsp of powder sugar for dusting


1) Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F and coat the donut pan with non-stick spray and dust it with some powder sugar.
2) In a small bowl combined all the dry ingredients.
3) Combined egg, yogurt, melted butter, lemon juice and vanilla until well mix.
4) Stir in dry ingredients into the egg mixture until well combined. Do not over mixed.
5) Divide the batter evenly into the baking pan and bake for 12-15 min or until golden brown.
6) Cool in pan for 5 min before removing it into the cool rack.
7) Roll it with cinnamon sugar or glazes.


Monday, November 05, 2007

Filo Triangles

I love working with Filo or spelled as Phyllo. Is a paper-thin pastry dough that is used in many Greek cooking. You can used it for appetizer, main course and even desserts. Is readily available at many supermarkets here.

One difficulties working with filo is that it tends to dry out very quickly once its exposed to air. So you have to work really quickly with or or always cover it with a damp cloth. This will prevent the sheets from drying out.

Ingredients :

20 sheets of filo dough
1 cup of melted butter

Filling :

1 box of frozen chopped spinach - thaw and squeeze out the water
1 cup of cooked chicken - chopped
1 cup of low fat ricotta cheese
1/2 cup of grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp of garlic powder
1 tsp of curry powder
1/2 tsp of chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

1) Mix all the filling ingredients in a mixing bowl and set aside.
2) Lay down your first sheet of filo, brush sparingly with butter and layer the next sheet on top. Do a total of 4 sheets.
3) Divide/cut the filo into 4 strips.
4) Put some filling to one side and fold to one corner to make a triangle. Keep folding triangles up to the end ( I really hope this makes sense)
5) Do the same with the rest of the pastry.
6) Brush with some butter and place on a baking tray and bake in a pre-heated 350 degree F oven for 20 min or until golden brown.


Note : Don't be afraid of filo and don't worry if you make mistake the first time round. It will get better with practice.

Friday, November 02, 2007

Lemon Yogurt Cake

This is a really light, moist, tangy and sweet cake and it is much lighter than a pound cake. Is infused with lemon glaze which is just perfect. This is a very common cake in France but they usually measure their ingredients with the yogurt cup. Is a very simple cake to make and is finished with a lemon syrup which give the cake a very nice glaze.

Ingredients :

1 1/2 cup of flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1 cup of sugar
2 tsp of lemon zest
1/2 cup of plain yogurt
3 large eggs
1/2 cup of vegetable/canola oil

For Glaze :

Juice of 2 lemons
1/4 of powder sugar

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degree F and grease the baking pan. It can be round pan or a loaf pan.
2) Put all the ingredients in the mixing bowl and beat on high speed for 2 minutes.
3) Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake for 45-50 min or until it golden brown.
4) Meanwhile cook the lemon juice and sugar in a small saucepan until sugar dissolves and mixture is clear. Set aside.
5) When cake is done allow it to cool in pan for 10 min. Remove cake and place it on a rack over a sheet pan and drizzle the glaze over the warm cake.
6) Cool cake completely before serving.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Steam Fish Rolls

I remember my mom used to make this fish rolls for us when we were young. We don't get to eat this often because it was a lot of work for her to make the fish paste but now you can get the ready made fish paste from the wet market and in US you can get it at the freezer aisle at the Asian supermarket.

Ummi, I hope this dish is suitable for your son. For him you can just use the seaweed minus the omelette or make the omelet using a good non-stick pan without any oil.

Ingredients for Omelette

3 eggs
1/2 tsp of salt
a few dash of pepper

For the rolls :

300 grms of fish paste
1 red chili - chopped finely
3 spring onions - only the green part and chopped finely
half carrot - chopped finely
2 sheets of seaweed (Optional)

For the sauce :

1/2 cup of chicken stock
1 tsp of soy sauce
1 tsp of corn starch
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tsp of sugar

1) Beat eggs with salt and pepper. Heat a large non stick pan with a little bit of oil and fry half of the egg mixture to make a thin flat omelette. When is lightly brown flip it over and then set it aside.
2) For the fish paste, add in some salt and pepper to taste and mix it really well.
3) Place the seaweed on top of the omelet and spread a thin layer of fish paste on it.

4) Sprinkle chopped chili, spring onions and carrot on top. Roll it up carefully into a long tube.
5) Transfer the rolls to a steamer and steam for 20 min on high heat.

6) While the rolls is steaming, make the sauce. Combined all the ingredients except the corn starch and bring it up to a boil. Let the sauce reduce a bit and thicken it up with cornstarch.
7) Cut the rolls into slices and drizzle the sauce over. Serve warm