My Kitchen Snippets

Meatballs in Mushroom Sauce

2012-02-14T20:41:00.000-05:00

Carlos and I like this dish a lot. Sometimes we just have it with some sauté vegetables or serve it over pasta. It is so versatile that you can even eat it with rice or make sandwich out of it. Instead of frying the meatballs, I used the oven baking method to cook and brown the meatballs. If you have a large crowd to feed this will be a great dish to serve.The ground beef is cheap and so is the pasta. This recipe serves 4-5 so you need to double or triple the ingredients if you need to feed a large crowd.

Ingredients:

1 ¼ pound ground beef
½ cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 egg
½ medium size onion – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
3 tbsp chopped parsley
4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper

Mushroom Sauce:

8 oz white button or cremini mushrooms – slice thinly
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
2 cups beef broth
½ cup milk
½ tsp pepper
½ tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt to taste

1. Heat oven to 450 degree F. Mix ground beef, garlic, egg, breadcrumbs, cheese, parsley, onion, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well. Shape mixture into 1 1/2" meatballs; place on a well greased baking pan. Bake 25 min. or until instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of a meatball reads 160 degree F. Set the meatballs aside.
2. Meanwhile, for sauce, melt butter in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and mushrooms; cook, stirring until soft and lightly brown, about 5-6 min. Sprinkle in flour; cook, stirring it for 2 min.
3. Gradually stir in broth with a whisk, stirring, until sauce thickens, about 15 min. Whisk to make a smooth sauce. Stir in Worcestershire sauce and pepper, pepper flakes. Add in the meatballs. Let it simmer until the meatballs are warm throughout.
4. Add in the milk and bring it up to a slow boil. Add this stage if the sauce is too thick you can add a little bit more stock or water to it. Check seasonings.
5. Serve it warm with your favorite pasta.

Note: The meatballs and sauce can be refrigerated for a make-ahead meal.Just re-heat it over medium heat and if the sauce is too thick you can always add a little bit more water to it. You can also replace the ground beef with, chicken, turkey or lamb.

Oreo Brownies

2012-02-12T18:25:00.000-05:00

I know. This dessert is way sinful. I am sure many of you including me are on diet right now after indulging all the sinful food and cookies during CNY. As for me I’ve been having outside food for the past 3 weeks so it is time to start having some lighter meal. Well I made these 2 months ago and haven’t had a chance to post it until now. These brownies are sinful, rich, decadent and super delicious especially with the Oreo chunks peaking through the brownies.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) butter
8 oz semisweet chocolate chips
3 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups chopped Oreo cookies (20 cookies)

1. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350°F. Line and butter and an 8" x 8" baking pan.
2. In a heatproof medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water, heat butter, chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate until melted and smooth. Allow to cool down for 5 minutes.
3. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, vanilla and sugar. Blend chocolate mixture into egg mixture; cool to room temperature.
4. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to chocolate mixture. Stir in half of Oreo cookies into chocolate mixture.
5. Pour batter into baking pan and smooth top with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle the rest of the Oreo on top. Press it into the batter lightly.
6. Bake 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean; do not over bake. Allow to cool completely before cutting it into square.

Thank you Ah Tze of Away Of Mind and Eileen of Hundred Eighty Degree for awarding me this lovely award.

Beef Chow Fun/Stir-Fry Rice Noodles with Beef

2012-02-08T18:40:00.000-05:00

Beef chow fun or stir-fry beef in rice noodles is a very popular dish here in the US. Every Chinese restaurant or take out place will have this dish in their menu. Basically it is just beef strips stir-fry with fresh rice noodles (hor fun), bean sprouts and onion. The important factor in making this dish is very hot wok and stir-fry must be done quickly. I like having this dish in the restaurant but they are usually very oily which I am not a fan of that is why I prefer to cook it myself. This way I can control the amount of oil I put into it.

Ingredients:

10 oz fresh rice noodles
½ pound flank steak
1 medium onion – sliced thinly
2 cups bean sprout
5 slices ginger
3 cloves garlic – finely chopped
3 spring onions – cut into 1” length

Seasoning for the beef:

1 tsp corn starch
2 tbsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine – optional

Seasoning for the Noodles:

2 tbsp oyster sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp thick dark soy sauce
¼ cup chicken stock or water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Sliced the flank steak thinly across the grain and marinate it with the seasoning. Set it aside for half and an hour.
2. Cut the rice noodles into half inch thick and rinse it over warm water to remove any access oil. If you are using rice noodles that already been refrigerated you need to soften them up in the microwave for 2 minutes before washing it. Set it aside.
3. Combined the seasonings for the noodles in a bowl and set it aside.
4. Heat up the wok over high heat. Add in 2 tbsp of oil and add in the beef. Lay them flat, do not stir it until they are sear and brown before flipping it over to the over side. Let it sear the other side. Remove from the wok and set aside. This will only take a minute on each side.
5. In the same wok add in another 1 tbsp of oil into the wok. Add in the ginger, garlic and onion. Stir-fry until fragrant and lightly brown.
6. Add in the rice noodles, stir fry them for a minutes. Add in the seasoning mix and continue to stir-fry for another 1 minutes. Add in the spring onions and bean sprouts. Toss and stir until well mix. Check seasonings.
7. When the taste is to your liking, add in the beef. Give it a good stir and mix well for about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat and serve immediately.

Tangerine Scones

2012-02-06T06:38:00.000-05:00

How time fly and tomorrow will be the last day of Chinese New Year. It is also known as Chap Goh Meh (15th day of CNY) in Hokkien dialect. I didn’t do anything this CNY but I am planning to make some pineapple tarts and maybe another type of cookie as Diana will be flying in for a visit so I can give her some to take back to NY. Is already a week since we move into our new home and I am starting to venture out on my own. There is a supermarket near our house that sells really cheap produce. All the vegetables and fruits are so much cheaper than other supermarkets. I bought a whole bunch of Tangerine for only $0.58 a pound. They were super sweet and delicious. I decided to use it to make some scones for our breakfast. Actually this is my very first bake from our new home. I still have to get to know my oven as it work a bit different from the one at PA. These scones were so light and fragrant that Carlos had 2 right after it came out of the oven and don't they look great to serve them on Valentine's Day?

Ingredients:

2 ¼ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt
113 gram/1/2 cup cold butter – cut into cubes
½ cup + 2 tbsp milk
1 egg
1 tbsp tangerine zest

Glaze:

¾ cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tbsp tangerine juice

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line the sheet pan with parchment paper. Beat the egg and add in the milk and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, combined flour, baking powder, salt and tangerine zest. Mix well. Add in the cold butter, rub the butter and flour together with your fingers until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
3. Add in the milk mixture, mix until it comes together. Pour the dough out on a well-flour work surface. Knead lightly to form a ball. Flour your hand and pat out the dough to ¾” thick.
4. Using a knife or a cookie cutter cut into desired shapes. Place the scones on the baking pan. Collect the scraps of dough and roll it out and cut into shapes again.
5. Brush the top of the scones with a bit of milk and bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until lightly brown and the insides are fully baked. The scones should be firm to touch.
6. For the glaze mix both ingredients together.
6. Allow the scones to cool down before drizzling the glaze on it. Serving it with some jam and butter.

Oven Baked Chinese Five Spice Chicken Wings

2012-02-01T16:30:00.000-05:00

We still don’t have internet connection at home yet but it will be installed this Saturday. I managed to sneak out to the Starbuck right behind our house to make a quick update here.

This was the last batch of frozen chicken wings I had in my freezer before the move so I made it into this delicious finger food. I love the taste of five spices power as it added a nice aroma to the wings. Don’t be alarmed by the long list of seasonings as most of it can be found in your pantry. Make sure you let the wings marinate for at least 2 hours before baking for the flavor to blend into the wings.

Ingredients:

2 pounds chicken wings
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp ginger juice
1 1/2 tbsp chili sauce – more if you like it spicy
1 tsp 5 spice powder
1 ½ tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
4 tbsp honey

1. Mix all ingredients except wings into a mixing bowl to make marinade.
2. Cut wings into three pieces through the joints. Discard wing tips; add remaining “drumettes” and “flats” to mixing bowl with marinade, making sure the marinade covers the wings.
3. Let wings marinate in the refrigerator for at least 2 hour. If you have the time you can let them marinate overnight.
4. To cook you can either grill or roast in the oven. To grill: Preheat grill to medium heat (350ºF) and grill for 40 minutes turning the wings once at the halfway point (20 minutes).
5. Oven method: Preheat oven to 350ºF. Arrange wings on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and place baking sheet on the center rack. Cook for 45 minutes, turning wings once at the halfway point. After 45 minutes turn to oven to broil function. Broil the wings until golden brown.
6. Serve warm or at room temperature with some celery.

Note: For the chili sauce I used Sriracha Sauce but you can replace it with any type of chili sauce of your choice.

I am submitting this dish to Aspiring Bakers #15 - Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012 hosted by Wen's Delight and Muhibbah Malaysian Monday roundup, created and hosted by Sharon of Test with a Skewer and Suresh of 3 Hungry Tummies.

I'll Be Away!

2012-01-26T09:38:00.000-05:00

Dear Readers,

I will be away from my blog for a little while. All our things will be arriving today and we will be at our new home. I am not sure when I am able to get Internet access there so I might not be able to update my blog for the time being. You can still leave me a message here or email me if you have any questions and I will get to it as soon as I can.

In the meantime, I've just posted some pictures of our move from PA at my other blog and you can go and check it out. I hope you have a wonderful day and for those of you who are still celebrating Chinese New Year, have a good time with family and friends. Take care and see you soon!

Meat Spring Rolls

2012-01-24T17:00:00.000-05:00

Hi everyone!! Greetings from SF. Carlos and I are here already but still living in the hotel the company set up for us as our things are still on the way here. Hopefully it will arrive by this week. Anyway, hope all of you are having a wonderful Chinese New Year celebration especially spending time with your family and friends and not to mention all the yummy food. This year CNY is a very low key one for us. We just went out for dinner on the 1st day of CNY but I plan to cook something either on the 9th day or the 15th day of CNY once we are all settle into our new home. I will post some pictures here later on of our new home.

Now back to these spring rolls. I made these last month with some leftovers spring rolls wrappers. Instead of the usual vegetables filling I used meat instead. It tastes pretty similar to the Vietnamese fried spring rolls or the Filipino lumpia and goes really well with rice or you can serve it as appetizer. Some people do pre-cooked the filling first but I don’t. Just make sure you don’t put too much filling in it and fried them over medium high heat so that the filling gets cooked inside.

Ingredients:

15 - 18 large spring roll wrappers
1 egg – beaten

Ingredients for filling:

½ pound minced chicken
½ pound of shrimps – peel, deveined and roughly chopped
1 small carrot – shredded
10 water chestnut – peel and finely cubes
3 spring onions – finely cubes
3 sprigs cilantro – finely chopped
1 clove garlic – chopped
1 small onion – finely chopped
1 egg

Seasonings:

1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

1. Combine all the filling ingredients and seasonings in a mixing bowl. Mix the filling well and set it aside to marinate for an hour.
2. Lay a spring roll wrapper on a flat surface on an angle so it looks like a diamond. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the filling near the bottom corner of the wrapper and fold up to enclose the filling. Fold in the 2 sides. Paint the top seam of the wrapper with beaten egg. Continue rolling up to form a tight cylinder.
3. Finish rolling up the rest of the filling. At this point you can freeze them up if you want to fry them later on.
4. To cook the spring rolls, fill a large frying pan with about 1/2-inch of vegetable oil. Heat the oil over medium-high heat. Gently place the spring rolls into the hot oil and fry until golden brown on all sides, 5-6 minutes total (if frying frozen one, it will take 1 to 2 minutes longer).
5. Take out the spring rolls and drain the oil on paper towels. Serve immediately with sweet and sour chili sauce (you can get it from the supermarket)

Note: You can replace the minced chicken with beef, pork or ground turkey.

Happy New Year/Gong Xi Fatt Chai

2012-01-19T15:48:00.000-05:00

To my dear family, friends and blog readers,

I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of you A Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year. May the year of Dragon bring all of you good health, wealth, happiness, peace and joy!!

Mixed Fruits in Honey Ginger Dressing

2012-01-16T08:16:00.001-05:00

We are at the peak of our moves and I am just too tired to prepare anything elaborate. So it will be very simple meal like sandwiches or take out meal for us this week as all the pots, pans and kitchen utensils are all packed away in boxes. It finally sinks in when I see all the boxes everywhere that we are leaving this place we called home for 6 years. It is sad to leave our very dear niece Diana and friends. All our dear friends who had become our family over here, the stories that we share, and the good times that we have together will be forever in our heart. I hope all of you will come and visit us soon

Enough of my rambling and now back to this mixed fruit salad. I prepared this mixed fruits salad for our lunch over the weekend using whatever fruits that is left in the fridge. You can use any fresh fruits you have in hand.

Ingredients:

3 cups of fresh mixed fruits

Dressing:

2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp ginger juice
1 tbsp chopped mint leaves

Combined the dressing and pour it over the fruits. Toss it well and set the fruits marinate in fridge for at least half an hour before serving it cold.

New York Style Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote

2012-01-12T16:00:00.000-05:00

I finally used up the last batch of frozen blueberries in my freezer to make some compote to go with this cheesecake. Baked cheesecake is such a treat and often well received by your family and guests. I served this to a friend of mine who came to visit me before our move and she really likes it. The creamy taste of the cheesecake went so well with the juicy sweetness of the blueberries and paired perfectly with a strong cup of coffee. I baked this in 2 small 6” spring form pan and gave one to my friend to take home.

For the Crust:

1/4 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

Filling:

1 cup sugar
3 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
3 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Blueberry Compote:

2 1/2 cup blueberries – fresh or frozen
1/3 cup sugar – depend on how sweet you like it
2 tbsp lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Grease the sides of a 9” spring form pan or use 2 small 6” spring form pan
3. In a large bowl, combine butter and graham cracker crumbs. Press into bottom of pan and freeze.
4. In the meantime beat sugar and cream cheese on medium-high speed for 3 minutes.
5. Blend in cream. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each egg is added.
6. Mix in sour cream, cornstarch and vanilla until smooth. Pour the filling batter over the crust.
7. Bake for one hour or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. Turn oven off and let cake cool in oven for about 5 hours (this help prevent the surface from cracking as it cools)
8. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving with blueberry compote.
9. To prepare the compote, combine 1 1/2 cups blueberries, sugar and lemon juice in heavy small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until berries burst, stirring often for 3 minutes. Add remaining 1 cup berries. Cook until compote coats spoon, stirring often, for another 3-4 minutes (I like my compote on the chunky side so it cook them only for 2)

Note: The baking time can vary due to the differences in ovens, so make sure to check that the cheesecake is firm with only the center being a little wet and wobbly.

Roast Pork Loin with Teriyaki Orange Glaze

2012-01-09T05:48:00.002-05:00

non-halal

If I cook with pork, one of my favorite cuts of meat will be the tenderloin. I love how versatile it is and you can cook it any way you like and it won’t turn out dry or chewy. I usually like grilling at the BBQ stove during warm season but as for winter I will usually roast it in the oven. They always turn out moist and succulent. I totally transform Carlos into liking pork with this method of cooking and now this is one of his favorite dishes. In fact I still have two strips of it in the freezer waiting for him and Diana to come home so I can cook it for them next week. With the leftovers we will make sandwich out of it the next day. As for the glaze, you can use it on chicken or fish.

Ingredients:

1 piece of pork tenderloin (about 1 1/2 pound)

Ingredients for the rub:

1 teaspoons salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp olive oil

Teriyaki Orange Glaze ingredients:

1/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp ginger juice
4 tbsp mirin

1. In a small saucepan, combined the orange juice, soy sauce, honey and ginger juice. Bring it up to a boil and turn down the heat. Simmer until the sauce is bubbling and thickens. Remove and set it aside.
2. In a plate combined all the ingredients for the rub except the olive oil. Mix well. Rub the olive oil all over the meat and then roll the meat on the spice rub mixed. Let it marinate for half and an hour.
3. Heat up the oven to 375 degree oven. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil
4. Heat up a bit of vegetable oil in a sauté pan. Sear the tenderloin over medium high heat on all side until golden brown. Transfer the meat to the oven and roast it for 15-20 minutes or until the internal temperature reads 150 degree F. In between roasting turn the meat and brushing it with the glaze.
5. Remove the meat from oven, cover it with foil and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing it and serve it with the sauce.

Note: If you are grilling the meat, skip step 4. Put the meat on the BBQ grill, rotating it every 6 minutes and brushing it with the glaze each time. Grill until the internal temperature reads 150 degree F.

I am submitting this dish to Aspiring Bakers #15 - Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012 hosted by Wen's Delight.

Vanilla Bean Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries

2012-01-05T17:10:00.000-05:00

Vanilla panna cotta is such a refreshingly light yet extremely popular Italian dessert. These softly set and creamy Italian puddings are so silky smooth that they are just delightful to have at the end of a meal and they look really elegant too. It can be served simply with any type of fruit toppings, caramel sauce and even chocolate sauce and it is always one of my favorite desserts. Since I still have some vanilla beans I decided to use them to make this panna cotta instead of vanilla extract. As for the topping I macerate the strawberries in balsamic vinegar with a bit of sugar. The tangy taste of the strawberries goes so well with the silky panna cotta.

Ingredients:

2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tsp gelatin powder
3 tbsp water
1/3 cup sugar
½ vanilla bean – split and scrape the seeds
2 cups strawberries – clean and sliced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 ½ tbsp sugar

1. In a small bowl, sprinkle the gelatin powder on the water. Stir and set it aside to allow the gelatin to dissolve and bloom.
2. Combined the milk, heavy cream, sugar and vanilla bean in a saucepan. Cook over low heat and just before it starts to boil, remove it from the heat.
3. Add in the gelatin and mix until they’re dissolved. Pour it into 4 ramekins or glasses and refrigerate until completely set.
4. Combined the strawberries, balsamic vinegar and sugar. Mix well and let is macerate for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.
5. To serve, if using ramekins run a small knife around each the ramekins, dip the bottom of each ramekin quickly in a bowl of hot water. Invert onto a dessert plate and surround the panna cotta with strawberries. If using glasses, just top it with the strawberries and serve.

Turkey Sausage with Mushroom Galette

2012-01-03T05:16:00.000-05:00

18 more days and we will move out of this house and I am a bit overwhelmed now. Zue came and visit me today and I gave her my curry and kaffir lime plants. It saddens to see it go but I can’t bring the plant into CA but I know Zue will take good care of it. I tried packing up as much as I could especially the personal stuffs and the rest I am just going to leave it for the packers and movers. Carlos will be home next weekend and take care and co-ordinate the move. I miss him a lot and it is no fun being all alone here. I can’t wait to see him. Anyway, back to the galette.

This past two weeks I’ve been trying to clear up my freezer and fridge. Man, there was so much crap I freeze in there ha ha.. From meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, pastries and etc.. I can use all of it to feed an army without buying anything from the supermarket. I made this galette with some the leftover turkey sausage and pastry I had in there. Galette is a free form pastry that can be filled with savory or sweet fillings. They can be served as appetizer, a meal or dessert. It is incredibly versatile and simply delicious.

Ingredients:

Short crust pastry – recipe here
1 egg
3 links turkey sausage – remove the casing
8 oz cremini or white button mushrooms –wiped clean and sliced
1 clove garlic – chopped
1 small onion – sliced thinly
3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup cube cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp chili flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat up the frying pan with a 2 tbsp of olive oil. Add in the turkey sausages and try breaking it up into small piece with the spatula. Stir and cook until lightly brown. Remove and set it aside.
2. In the same pan, add in the garlic and onion. Add a little bit more oil if needed. Sauté until soft and fragrant.
3. Add in the cremini mushrooms. Cook the mushrooms until soft and the liquid from the mushrooms has completely evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Add in the chili flakes, salt and pepper, sausage and parsley. Continue to sauté for another minute. Remove from the pan and let it cool.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F. Roll the dough on a floured surface to make a 10-inch circle. Place on a baking sheet. Spread the mushroom mixture over the dough, leaving a 1 1/2-inch border around the edge. Top it with the cheese. Fold the uncovered edge of the pastry over the mushrooms and cheese, pleating it to make it fit.
5. There will be an opening in the center of the tart. Brush the pastry with egg wash. Bake until golden brown, 30 to 40 minutes. After 5 minutes, slide the galette onto a serving plate. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

Fruity Cake Tarts

2011-12-28T07:08:00.000-05:00

How was your Christmas celebration? I hope all of you get all you wanted from Santa. I must be really good this year as I got what I wish for and very happy with all my gifts. I got Canon Macro EF 100mm lens , a GSP (for me to zoom around with it when I am in SF), Nordic Heritage Bundt Pan ,Emile Henry Tarte Tatin Pan and etc…Life is good!! I can’t wait to use all of them.

Ok let’s end the year posting with something pretty and sweet. 1 made these pretty little cake tarts for our Christmas dinner dessert. Instead of the usual tart with pastry I made one with sponge cake. I didn’t bake the cake as I already put away all my baking pans so I just used the store bought plain sponge cake and top it with nutella and fruits. If you like to make this you can always bake your sponge cake in a muffin pan, once it is done hollow out the center and top it with nutella and fruits.

Ingredients:

10 individual serving sponge cakes
8 oz low fat vanilla yogurt
3/4 cup nutella
Some fruits – strawberries, cherries, kiwi and peaches (or any fruits of your choice)

1. Wash and cut the fruits and set it aside.
2. Warm up the nutella in the microwave for 12 seconds.
3. Mix it well and let it cool down. Fold the yogurt into the nutella. Mix well. Put the nutella mix into a piping bag and pipe it into the center of the cake.
4. Top it with the fruits and set the cake tarts the chill in the fridge before serving.

New Year is a time for celebration

of love, of life, of family and of friendship.

Therefore, it is time to thank God

for the wonderful family and friends,

and to bring to their lives as much magic as they bring to ours.

Have a happy and a memorable year 2012

Merry Christmas!!

2011-12-22T17:31:00.000-05:00

To my family, friends and blog readers,

May lovely and happy times decorate your holiday season,

May warm, special memories brighten up your New Year,

May the wonder of Christmas be with you forever.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Have A Happy Blessed New Year Everyone!!

Flaky Buttermilk, Parsley and Bacon Biscuits

2011-12-20T23:28:00.000-05:00

I made these a while ago and am only just getting around posting it here. I made these flaky biscuits to go with the Corn and Potato Chowder . They are decadent, flaky and pretty to look at too especially with the green parsley and bacon flecks in it. There’s really nothing hard about making biscuits. The secret to making great and flaky biscuits is not to overwork the dough.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cups of flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 stick/113 gram cold butter – cut into cubes
3/4 cup of buttermilk
3 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
4 slices of bacon

1. In a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat, cook the bacon until crisp and brown. Transfer to paper towels and to drain off excess fat. Chopped it roughly and set it aside.
2. Pre-heat the oven to 400 degree F. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper or silpat mat.
3. Combined flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl. Mix well. Cut in the cold butter with a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
4. Add in 2 tbsp of the chopped parsley and cooked bacon. Mix well. Add in the buttermilk and stir until it forms into a dough if not you can add a bit more buttermilk to it.
5. Pour out the dough on a well floured work surface and knead the dough 4-5 times. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rectangle shape. About 9 x 5 inches.
6. Lightly dust the top of the dough with floured then folds the dough crosswise into thirds (like folding a letter). Re-roll the dough into rectangle again. Lightly dust the top with flour again and fold it into thirds again. (this is to creates the layers)
7. Gently roll the dough out into ¾ inch thick, cut it into square with a knife or biscuit cutter to form the biscuits. Place the biscuits on the baking sheet, 1” apart from each other.
8. Brush the top of the biscuits with a bit of milk; sprinkle the top with a bit of chopped parsley.
9. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Cool down for a few minutes and enjoy it with some butter.

Note: With this basic biscuit dough you can add any type of herbs, cheese, nuts and etc to it.

Vanilla Beans Giveaway Results

2011-12-19T18:00:00.001-05:00

6 more days before Christmas!! Are you done with your baking and shopping yet? For us, it will be a very lay back Christmas. We won’t be doing anything elaborate in the mid of moving. The house is in a mess with boxes and things everywhere. Moreover I am not well since I got back from SF. Still having cough and stuffy nose and with the blasting cold winter it didn’t help much. So I am not in the mood for anything. Not even shopping. I just can’t deal with the crazy traffic and crowd everywhere. I end up buying some of the gifts online this year.

Enough of rambling as I am sure you all are eager to know the results. Here it goes.

The first winner is comment No: 38 - Edith

The second winner is comment No: 70 - Chloe

The third winner is comment No: 44 - Esz

Congratulations to the winners and I will email you soon for your address and Beanilla will mail you the gifts. Thank you everyone for participating and Beanilla Trading Company for providing us with the wonderful gifts.

Chocolate Chips and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookies

2011-12-16T06:32:00.000-05:00

If you have not entered the Vanilla Bean Giveaway, you can do so here .

I baked this batch of cookies to mail it to Carlos. They are just regular chocolate chips cookies but to make it extra special I top it with a mini Reese’s Peanut Butter cup since it is Carlos favorite. They turn out pretty darn good and you can’t stop by eating one or two. They are so addictive! If you like chocolate and peanut butter –these cookies are for you.

Ingredients:

2 stick/1 cup/226 gram butter – room temperature
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 ½ cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
40 – 45 pieces Mini Reese’s Peanut butter candy
1 cup macadamia nuts – roughly chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or silpat baking mats.
2. In a large bowl, use electric mixer to cream together butter, peanut butter and sugars for 2 minutes. Add egg, vanilla and continue to mix until well combined.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking soda and salt. Add dry mixture to wet mixture. Stir together just until the dry ingredients are incorporated. Stir in the chocolate chips and macadamia nuts.
4. Place a tablespoon of cookie dough on the baking sheet, leave about an inch apart from each other and top it with a Reese’s peanut butter cup. Press it down a bit into the dough. Repeat with same to the rest of the dough.
5. Bake for about 15-17 minutes, until cookies are lightly browned and cooked.

Vanilla Beans Giveaway (Closed)

2011-12-13T18:10:00.003-05:00

It the holiday season again and I am sure all of you are getting ready for Christmas and Chinese New Year baking. During this period I used lot of vanilla extract. Pure vanilla extract is expensive so I like making it myself. As you can see I don’t skim on my vanilla. I will put at least 6-7 beans to make a bottle of extracts that is why I used a lot of them. I’ve ordered vanilla beans from an online store before but I was not too happy with their beans and also their customer service until I found Beanilla Trading Company . I love their fat plum vanilla beans and they come all vacuum pack to retain its freshness and their customer service responds all your queries promptly. I am so glad that I found their online store.

Since it is the holiday season I wrote to them asking if they want to sponsor this year giveaway? Brent of Beanilla responded right away and generously sponsors all the gifts here.

The Beanilla Trading Company specializes in providing the best quality vanilla products to chefs, breweries, restaurants and at-home enthusiasts around the world. They take great pride in the quality of every product we offer.

Beanilla will be giving away their products to 3 lucky readers of My Kitchen Snippets. Each winner will received 5 Madagascar vanilla beans, 5 Mexican vanilla beans and a 2 oz package of vanilla fleur de sel.

Madagascar vanilla is incredibly smooth, rich and creamy. This is the most traditional type of vanilla and it goes well with any type of baking.

Mexican vanilla is bolder with tones of smoke. Mexican vanilla is often regarded as the best in the world. This variety pairs well with chocolates and other rich desserts.

Vanilla Fleur de Sel is a blend of premium sea salt, imported from the coast of Brittany, France. We blend this with our premium Tahitian vanilla beans. The result is incredible. Fleur de Sel is perfect for topping caramels, brownies or anything with peanut butter! This is potent stuff, so just a pinch will go a long way.

1. To Enter: Post your comment here and tell me what you want to do with the vanilla beans or the Vanilla Fleur de Sel.

2. For additional entries: Post about this giveaway at your blog, linking back to this post. Come back and leave me a comment with the link to your post.

This giveaway is open to anyone anywhere in the world. Remember to leave your email address in your comment so that I have some way of contacting you if you win. I will pick 3 lucky winner (s) by random drawings and Beanilla will send the gifts directly to you. Dateline for the Giveaway will be on 19th December 2011 at 9.00am (Eastern Time) Good Luck!!

My Kitchen Snippets Full Disclosure: Beanilla provides their products for the giveaway. I only promote things that stay true to my taste and interests. The opinions expressed here are my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments. Thank you Beanilla for sharing your wonderful products with us.

Cranberry Maple Almond Slices

2011-12-09T21:56:00.000-05:00

How times fly. We are now into the second week of December. With the holiday season just around the corner I am sure all of you are busy with Christmas baking. I won’t be baking too much this season as I already packed up most of my baking tools. Sam of Oh!Nut so kindly sent me some their products like Almond slices and dried strawberries for my holiday baking. Do go and check out their website as they supply a wide range of nuts and dried fruits for your holiday baking.

I love cranberry especially cranberry juice. I bought some gorgeous fresh cranberries before I left for S.F and I have to make something out of it before it gets mushy and all dries up. As you know fresh cranberries only make their appearance this time of the year and I always take advantage of it and use them in my baking. I made these slices with it and it turn out really good. I just love the tartness and slightly bitter taste of it and it compliment so well with the crunchy almond topping. What so great about these slices is you can use your leftover cranberry sauce (make sure is freshly made one and not from the can) or any type of fruit jam for the filling.

Ingredients for the crust:

1 cup of flour
1 stick/113 gram cold butter – cut into small cubes
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp salt

For the cranberry filling:

2 1/2 cups fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
Juice of an orange

For the topping:

3 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sliced blanced almond

1. Prepare the filling. Combined the cranberries, sugar and orange juice in a heavy sauce. Bring it up to a boil and once it starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally until the cranberries turns into thick chunky jam like consistency. This will take about 10 - 12 minutes. Set it aside to cool down completely.
2. Line and greased an 8” x 8” square pan with parchment paper, overhand on both side for easy removal later. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degree F.
3. Prepare the crust. Put the flour, salt, sugar and cold butter in a food processor. Pulse until fine and crumbly. Press the dough into the baking pan. Bake it for 15 minutes until the edges are slightly brown. Remove and let it cool down a bit.
4. In the meantime prepare the topping. Combined the maple syrup, sugar and butter. Bring it up to a boil and low down the heat. Continue to cook until it thickens a bit and add in the almond slices. Mix well and turn off the heat.
5. Spread the cranberry jam evenly over the crust. Pour the topping right on top of the filling and spread it out evenly.
6. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until the filling is lightly bubbling on the side and the topping turns golden brown. Remove from oven and set it aside to cool down completely.
7. To remove it from the pan, run a knife along the edges of the baking pan. Use the overhang parchment paper to lift them out of the pan and cut in into squares.

Sur La Table – San Francisco

2011-12-06T07:28:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I visit this favorite store of mine. I used to go there when we were living at Southern CA but not since we moved to PA. When I am in here I am like a kid in a candy store. I just want to grab everything in sight and run out of the store. Carlos said he will go broke real fast if I come here often. We went to the Pier at San Francisco Bay area over the weekend. The weather was perfect to walk around. It was sunny, windy and cooling at the same time. I dread to go back to the cold PA winter. Oh well, I still have a few days here and then back to PA again until our final move in mid January.

Here are a few pictures I took from the store at the Pier. Don’t you just love all the kitchen stuffs they sold here? There are a few things I (WANT) on my Christmas wish list and I hope Santa grant it to me ha ha...Can you guest which one it is?

Don't you just want the whole set of this?

Plenty of Nordic bakewares here. All shapes and sizes.

Note: Stay tune for my Christmas Giveaway coming up soon.

Bok Choy Gyoza/Bok Choy Dumplings

2011-12-04T18:08:00.001-05:00

I like making dumplings and I will normally make a big batch and freeze them up and we can have it whenever we want to. They are not difficult to make as now you can get the ready made gyoza/dumpling wrappers from the Asian Supermarket. Over the years I made lots of it and each time I will try using different type of meat and vegetables. You can basically put any type of fillings you like in it. Instead the usual napa cabbage I replace it with baby bok choy for this batch of dumplings.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound ground pork/chicken
1/2 pound of shrimp, shell and deveined
3 cups of finely chopped bak choy
2 green onion, finely chopped
1 tsp finely grated ginger
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tbsp of soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 egg
1 package of dumpling wrappers

1. Put the shrimp in a food processor and pulse several times. In a large bowl, combine the shrimp mixture with all the rest of the ingredients except the wrappers. Mix well and set it aside to marinate for an hour.
2. Spoon 2 tsp of the filling into the middle of the dumpling skin. Brush the edge of the wrapper with some water, Fold the wrapper over to enclose the filling and pinch the wrapper. Hold the filled half circle in the left hand and pleat the top of the wrapper from middle out. Shape the dumpling so that it has a flat bottom.
3. Repeat the same to the rest of the dumplings. At this stage you can freeze up the dumplings.
4. When you are ready to cook, heat a nonstick pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot arrange the dumplings, flat side down to the pan. Let it fry for 1 minute until the bottoms are light golden brown.
5. Pour 1/2 cup of water or stock into the pan and immediately cover with a tight fitting lid. Turn heat to medium and let the dumplings steam for 4-5 minutes. Open lid and let the remaining liquid cook off about 1 minute.
6. Remove to plate and serve with soy sauce or your favorite dipping sauce.

Note: If you cook the dumplings right out of the freezer you need to put more water to the pan and cook them longer.

Shrimp Carbonara

2011-11-30T04:10:00.000-05:00

Since Carlos is not around I hardly cook anything elaborate. My lunch and dinner is just something quick and simple that I can whip up in no time. I like to have pasta in light creamy sauce rather than the red sauce. This carbonara sauce comes together easily and you can play around with the ingredients you have in hand. You can check out one of the version here and for this pasta dish I added some fresh shrimps and some lemon zest to it. The pasta turns out light and tasty and the succulent shrimps with a hint of fresh lemon works really well in the carbonara sauce.

Ingredients:

Enough spaghetti for 2 serving
2 slices bacon – cut into small pieces
1/4 pound shrimp - peeled and deveined
1 clove garlic - chopped
1 tsp grated lemon zest
pepper to taste
1 whole egg + 1 yolk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
some chopped spring onions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Start cooking the pasta until al-dente. Mix the eggs, lemon zest and parmesan cheese together and set it aside.
2. Fry the bacon without oil until golden brown. Remove and drain the oil on paper towel. Removed all the bacon grease from the pan. Add in 1 tbsp of olive oil and sauté the garlic and shrimps until just cooked. Add the bacon back into the pan. Add in some pepper.
3. Drain the cooked pasta and reserve some of the pasta water. Add the pasta into the pan and toss. Remove the pan from the heat and add in the egg mixture. Toss to coat the pasta with the egg mixture.
4. Add a bit of the pasta water and continue to toss well. Taste for seasonings and add in a bit of salt if needed. Sprinkle in the green onions and serve immediately.

Mushrooms Tarts

2011-11-27T15:19:00.000-05:00

I made these tarts as our appetizer before our Thanksgiving dinner. This year we just had something simple as we are in the mid of packing and moving. So there is no turkey for us as I don’t want to have any leftovers. I roasted a Crispy Skin Roast Chicken with a few side dishes. As for this appetizer, I just used store bought puff pastry but if you like to make your own pastry you can always do so. They are easy to make and look sophisticated too and great for party. All you have to do is pre-baked the tart shells, cook the mushrooms and assemble it when your guests arrive.

Ingredients:

1 packet store bought puff pastries - thawed
1 packet 8 oz white button mushrooms – sliced thinly
1 medium size onions – sliced thinly
1 clove garlic – chopped
1 tsp chopped thymes
2 spring onions – cut small
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp butter
Salt and pepper to taste
A few cherry tomato for garnish

1. Heat up 2 tbsp of olive in a sauté pan. Add in garlic and onion, stir and cook until they begin to caramelize. Add in the butter. Once melted add in the mushrooms and sauté until they are completely soft and all of the liquid evaporated.
2. Add in the thyme and sauté until fragrant, about a minute. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Drizzle in the balsamic vinegar, scraping the bottom of the pan to pull up all the browned bits and cook until all the liquid has evaporated. Add in the spring onions and remove from heat.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F. Line a baking sheet with some parchment paper.
5. Unfold the thawed sheets of puff pastry and cut out circles (any size you like) from the dough, placing them evenly spaced on the baking sheets. Using a very sharp knife or a smaller round cookie cutter and lightly cut the top of the pastry (not all the way through) as this way you are able to remove the top when the pastries are baked.
6. Bake the pastries until golden brown about 15-20 minutes. Once it is cool, with a sharp knife cut out the top of the pastries. Fill it up with the cooked mushroom, garnish it with tomatoes and serve.

Shoo-fly Pie

2011-11-21T23:34:00.001-05:00

Shoo-fly pie is a traditional Pennsylvania Dutch pie. I fell in love with this pie the very first time I tasted it 6 years ago. We were driving through some farm land in Lancaster, PA and we saw a little vegetable stand by the road side and we stopped to get some fresh produce. There was this little Amish boy taking care of the stand and beside vegetables he sells pies too. One particular pie caught my eyes as it look different from the rest of the pies. He told me it was Shoo-fly Pie. The name sounds funny to me so I bought half a pie home to try it out. I actually like the taste of the pie. It has a nice molasses flavor, cakey like on the side and gooey and soft at the center. Here is a bit of history on this unique pie.

Taken from What’s Cooking America:

Pennsylvania Dutch cooking is indigenous to those areas of southeastern Pennsylvania that were settled by the Mennonites and Amish. William Penn (1644-1718), founder of Pennsylvania, was seeking colonists for the Pennsylvania area. The Amish and Mennonites both settled in Pennsylvania as part of William Penn's "holy experiment" of religious tolerance. He wanted to establish a society that was godly, virtuous and exemplary for all of humanity. Encouraged by William Penn’s open invitation to persecuted religious groups, various sects of Christian Anabaptists-Mennonites and offshoots such as the Amish and the Brethren-emigrated from Germany and Switzerland. The first sizeable group arrived in America around 1730 and settled near Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

These settlers were addicted to pies of all types and they ate them at any time of day. The most famous of their pies is the shoo-fly pie. As the very earliest settlers came to North America by boat, they brought with them the staples of their diet - long-lasting nonperishable that would survive a long boat trip. These staples were flour, brown sugar, molasses, lard, salt, and spices. Arriving in the new land during late fall, they had to live pretty much on what they had brought with them until the next growing season. The women, being master of the art of "making do," concocted a pie from the limited selection that could be found in the larder. This resourcefulness led to the creation of shoo-fly pie.

Visit the Lancaster area of Pennsylvania and indulge in a Pennsylvania Dutch original, the Shoo-fly Pie. First time visitors to the area always comment on this pie and its strange name. Most of the area restaurants and bakeries sell this favorite pie. The pie is more like a coffee cake, with a gooey molasses bottom. Some cooks put chocolate icing on top for a chocolate shoo-fly pie. Some use spices; some don't. The bottom of the pie can be thick or barely visible and is referred to as either a "wet bottom" or a "dry bottom." Everyone agrees the shoo-fly pie is best when slightly warmed and with whipped cream on top.

The origin of the name has been debated for years and will probably never ultimately be solved. The most logical explanation is related to the fact that during the early years of our country, all baking was done in big outdoor ovens. The fact that pools of sweet, sticky molasses sometimes formed on the surface of the pie while it was cooling; invariably attracting flies, show how such a pie could come to be called shoo-fly pie.

Ingredients:

I cup flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) plus 1 tbsp butter
3 eggs
1/2 cup molasses
1/2 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup hot boiling water
9” diameter unbaked pie crust

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degree F. Combined flour and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Mix well.
2. For the topping, transfer ½ cup of the flour mixture to a separate bowl and mix in the 1 tbsp of butter with your fingers until crumbly. Set it aside.
3. Melt the ¼ cup butter and let it cool slightly. Beat eggs with a whisk until blended. Stir in the molasses and melted butter. Gradually stir in the flour mixture until well mix.
4. Stir in the baking soda. Gradually stir in boiling water until well mix.
5. Pour the mixture into the pie crust. Sprinkle the reserved topping and bake it for 50 minutes or until the filling is puffy and set.
6. Remove from oven and let it cool down for 15-20 minutes before serving.

Banana Oatmeal Crumbly Cake

2011-11-18T07:38:00.000-05:00

This is a pretty healthy cake. I actually baked this cake a few months ago and only get to post it now. I love the texture and nutty flavor of this cake. Like Bee Bee said, it has a nice fragrance of banana and the right amount of sweetness to it too. Beside that I like the crunch topping too. This cake taste even better if you let it sit for a day and it goes well with a cup of tea. This recipe is from Honey Sweet Bee and I lightly toasted the oatmeal for 6 minutes in the oven and blend it in the food processor before putting it in the cake.

Ingredients:
Adapted from Honey Sweet Bee

112 gram unsalted butter, room temperature
110 gram light brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed banana
60 ml fresh milk
1/4 tsp salt
95 gram cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/3 cup of quick oats (lightly toasts it in the oven and gives it a few pulse in the food processor)

Oat Crumble topping:

3/4 cup oatmeal
50 gram butter, room temperature
50 gram light brown sugar (I used dark brown sugar)
2 tbsp all purpose flour

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degree F, grease a loaf pan or an 8” round pan and lined with parchment paper. Combined cake flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and oatmeal and mix well. Set it aside.
2. Prepare the crumble topping by mixing everything together and thoroughly. Set it aside
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the sugar and butter together till light and creamy. Then add in the eggs one at a time and mix well. Add in the mashed bananas and vanilla extract.
4. Fold in the flour mixture in 3 batches alternating with the milk. Mix until combined.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan. Sprinkle the crumble topping on the cake batter.
6. Bake the cake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown and the tester comes out clean. Set it aside to cool completely.

Egg Floss Butter Prawns

2011-11-16T10:44:00.001-05:00

This is by far my most favorite prawn’s dish. I love the crunchy egg bits, the taste, the smell and the presentation of this dish. I usually like using the whole big prawns but I can’t get them from the regular supermarket so I have to make do with the headless prawns. Instead of deep fried them I pan fried them till lightly brown and as for the egg floss I used my leftover egg yolks from my French Macarons , they should be in thinner strands which I still couldn’t perfect it. But what the heck, they still taste divine. I will definitely cook this again but not anytime soon as I have to watch my cholesterol. I just saw my doctor last week and my cholesterol reading was good so no problem. Can indulge again, maybe ;) Nah, I think I just wait till Diana come home for Thanksgiving and cook this for her.

Ingredients:
Recipe source: My Kitchen Snippets

1/2 pound of large shrimp/prawns – leave shell on
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 sprigs curry leaves
1 shallot – sliced thinly
3 bird eyes chilies – cut small
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp butter

Ingredients for egg floss:

3 egg yolk
3 tbsp butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil

1. Clean and pat dry the prawns in paper towel. Season them with a bit of salt and pepper. Lightly coat them with some cornstarch.
2. Heat up the wok with a bit of vegetable oil. Pan fried the prawns until lightly brown on both side. Remove and drain the oil on paper towel.
3. To make the egg floss, heat up the butter and vegetable oil. Carefully drizzle in the beaten egg yolks into the hot oil in a thin stream. When the eggs hit the oil stir it around so they don’t clump up together. Continue to stir until the egg floss is golden brown. Remove the floss and drain them on paper towel
4. Remove any access oil from the wok and wipe it clean, add in the tablespoon of butter. Toss in the shallots, curry leaves and chilies. Stir until fragrant. Add in the milk and continue to stir until the milk bubble and reduce.
5. Add in the prawns and give it a good stir to coat the sauce. Add in the egg floss, sprinkle in sugar, salt and pepper. Toss it really well. Dish out and serve immediately.

I am entering this post in the Muhibbah Malaysian Monday roundup, created and hosted by Sharon of Test with a Skewer and Suresh of 3 Hungry Tummies.

French Macarons # 3

2011-11-14T16:53:00.000-05:00

I made these macarons for my doctor. She has been taking care of my well being for the past 6 years and she is such a kind and gentle lady and I am going to miss her. I hope I am able to find someone like her when I am in San Francisco. Since this might be my last visit to see her before our move, I decided to make her an Orange Scented Cake , Oatmeal Raisin Cranberry Cookies and these Macarons.

I’ve made macarons many times but they don’t usually turn out all perfect. The first tray will usually have cracks on top and some of the macarons will have no feet. It really puzzles me as the second tray will usually turns out perfect. I normally bake one tray at a time rather than putting two trays in at one go even though my oven is big enough for it as I wanted them to have an even heating. I just filled them up with some melted dark chocolate to cut down on it sweetness. This is a repeat recipe from here but I am just going to repost it again.

Ingredients:
Recipe source: Tartelette

3 egg whites (about 90 grm)
40 grm granulated sugar
200 grm powdered sugar
110 grm almond meal

1. For the whites: the day before (24hrs), separate your eggs and store the whites at room temperature in a covered container. If you want to use 48hrs (or more) egg whites, you can store them in the fridge.
2. In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites to a foam, gradually add the sugar until you obtain a glossy meringue. Do not over beat your meringue or it will be too dry.
3. Combine the almonds, powdered sugar in a food processor and give them a good pulse until the nuts are finely ground. Pass through a sieve. Add them to the meringue, give it a quick fold to break some of the air and then fold carefully until you obtain a batter that flows like magma or a thick ribbon.
4. The whole process should not take more than 50 strokes. Test a small amount on a plate: if the tops flattens on its own you are good to go. If there is a small beak, give the batter a couple of turns.
5. Fill a pastry bag fitted with a plain tip (I used Wilton tip 12) with the batter and pipe small rounds (1.5 inches in diameter) onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.
6. Preheat the oven to 300F. Let the macarons sit out for 30 minutes to an hour to harden their shells a bit and bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on their size. Let cool completely before sandwich it with your favorite fillings.

Corn Croquettes

2011-11-13T06:00:00.000-05:00

This recipe is from Min’s Blog . I bookmarked this recipe some time ago and only get to tried them out recently. I love the rich milky taste of these croquettes. They were crunchy on the outside, creamy on the inside and I think they make a great appetizer for the coming holidays get together. You can make it a day before, put it in the fridge and fried them up just before your family and guest arrives.

Ingredients:

1/2 can sweet corn
2 spring onions – chopped
2 red chilies – cut small
1/2 tsp sugar
3 tbsp flour
1 egg – beaten
1 ¼ cups panko breadcrumbs

For the White Sauce:

50 grams butter
4 tbsp flour
150 ml milk
50 ml whipping cream
½ tsp salt

1. For the white sauce. Melt butter in a pan, add in the flour and continue to stir with low flame until the mixture became smooth. Next, add in the milk and whipping cream in several additions, mix them till well-combined and add in some salt at last. Leave aside to cool down completely
2. Once it is cool mix the corn, green onions, chopped chilies, salt, pepper and sugar until l well-combined.
3. Put the mixture rectangular plate and cover with cling film, store in freezer for at least 2 hours before using. Cut them into equal small pieces (I just freeze them for an hour and shape them with hands)
4. Dust them with some flour; dip them in egg wash and lastly panko bread crumb.
5. Heat up some oil, deep fry the croquette until golden brown. Remove and drain the oil on paper towels. Serve warm.

Kuih Talam Gula Melaka/Steamed Palm Sugar Cake

2011-11-09T16:22:00.001-05:00

This is another popular snack from Malaysia and Singapore. ‘Talam’ is a Malay word meaning ‘tray’, because the kuih is steamed in a tray-like steaming pan and it is made into two layers, one layer is sweet and the other is on the salty side. One can easily find these kuih (cake) sold at in the morning or night market. Instead the usual green and white one, I tried it with palm sugar. The top coconut milk layer is slightly salty and it compliment well with the sweet fragrant taste of the palm sugar from the bottom layer.

Ingredients for the bottom layer:
Recipe Adapted from: Jun of Yummylicious

200 gram palm sugar
2 1/2 cups water
1 cup flour
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp alkaline water

For the top layer:

1 1/2 cups thick coconut milk
1/2 cup rice flour
Salt to taste

1. Greased an 8” x 8” square pan with some vegetable oil. Bring the water in the steamer to a rapid boil.
2. Combined all the above ingredients and mix well. Strain mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat until slightly thickens.
3. Pour into the pan and steam it for 20 minutes.
4. In the meantime prepare the top layer. Combined all the ingredients and mix well. Strain mixture into a saucepan and cook over low heat until slightly thickens.
5. Pour the mixture on top of the bottom layer and steam it for another 30-40 minutes or until it is cook. You can test it by inserting a knife into the middle and it should come out clean.
6. Let it cool completely before cutting into it.

I am entering this post in the Muhibbah Malaysian Monday roundup, created and hosted by Sharon of Test with a Skewer and Suresh of 3 Hungry Tummies.

Crispy Skin Roast Chicken

2011-11-07T06:11:00.000-05:00

When I saw Kristy of My Little Space posted this roast chicken at her blog I knew I have to try it out one day. They skin look so evenly brown and super crispy. True enough, they were perfect. Even Carlos who is not a fan of chicken skin eats it all. Kristy sun dried the chicken outside but I didn’t do that as I don't want my neighbor to wonder what was I doing to the poor chicken and moreover it was summer and I don’t want it to attract any flies or insects. So I just sit the chicken on top of a wine bottle and let it dries out for a few hours on the kitchen counter. It still turns out great. I adjust the seasonings a little bit as Carlos is not a fan of fermented soybean paste. You can check out the original recipe here .

Ingredients:

1 whole free range chicken – about 2.5 pounds
3 cups waters
2 tbsp maltose
1 tbsp white vinegar

Seasonings:

1 1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp white pepper
1 tbsp light soy sauce

1. Clean the chicken, remove fats and pad it dry with paper towel.
2. Combined water, maltose and vinegar in a wok or a large pot and bring it up to a boil
3. Bath the chicken in the boiling mixture for several times. I just submerged the chicken into the water and turn it around a couple of times after a few seconds.

4. Stick the chicken on top of a clean wine bottle. Make sure to stand the bottle in a container to catch the drippings.
5. After an hour, bring the maltose and vinegar to a boil again and bath the chicken for the 2nd time and dry it for another 1 ½ hours or until the skin is dry and hard skin formed.
6. Combined all the seasonings and rub it all over the inside cavity and under the thigh and breast skin of the chicken. Avoid rubbing the seasonings on the outer skin.
7. Baked the chicken in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for an hour (depend on the size of the chicken) or until the skin is dark golden brown and crispy.
8. Serve warm with some roasted vegetables.

Kam Heong Chicken/Fragrant Chicken

2011-11-04T07:48:00.005-04:00

It is difficult to get into regular blogging after a break. I didn't cook at all since I came back from SF as my fridge is running low of supplies and I am trying to clear it all up before the move. I might drop by the supermarket to get some greens and fruits tomorrow.

I made this dish a few months ago and only get to post it now. This is a popular dish in Malaysia and I’ve tasted one done with prawns, lala (clams) and crabs. I never try it with Chicken until now. Kam Heong literally translates to ‘Golden Fragrant’ from Cantonese dialect. This dish has a flavor of Chinese, Malay and Indian all mixed together. With the combinations of dried shrimps, chili, curry powder and curry leaves it gives this dish great flavors and aromas. The next time I cook this again I will try it out with other protein. I think it will taste good with tofu too.

Ingredients:
Recipe source: My Kitchen Snippets

2 chicken breast - sliced
1/2 egg white
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp salt
a few dash of pepper
1 tsp cooking wine - optional
3 tbsp cornstarch

For the sauce:

2 cloves garlic- finely chopped
1 small onion – cut into chunks
10 curry leaves
2 tbsp dried shrimps – soak and finely chopped
4 birds eye chilies, roughly chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp sugar
salt to taste

1. Marinate the meat with egg white, soy sauce, salt, pepper and cooking wine. Set it aside for at least an hour. Heat up some vegetable oil for drying. Stir in the cornstarch to the chicken. Mix well.
2. Fry the chicken until golden brown. Remove and drain the oil on paper towels. Remove most of the oil from the frying pan and leave about 2 tbsp spoons for cooking the sauce.
3. Heat up the oil and stir-fry the garlic and onion until fragrant and lightly brown. Stir in the dried shrimps, chilies and curry leaves and continue to stir-fry until fragrant.
4. Add in the rest of the seasonings and water. Simmer for a few seconds and toss in the chicken. Mix until well combined.
5. Serve with warm rice.

I am entering this post in the Muhibbah Malaysian Monday roundup, created and hosted by Sharon of Test with a Skewer and Suresh of 3 Hungry Tummies.

Closing the 30-Day Challenge .... Announcing One Lucky Winner!

2011-11-02T20:51:00.000-04:00

I'm back from San Francisco! What a tiring week! The road trip went well, we passed through 8 states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada to arrive in California. It was a long journey but I'm glad we did it. We are unlikely to make a similar road trip again but there are two states I want to return to visit in the near future - Nebraska and Utah. More about why later.

For now, I thought I'll round-up the Royal Selangor Jellyriffic Challenge with this special video my good friend, Rita Ho created for me to recap all my 30 jelly-mould entries. She made a movie of them! The accompanying song you hear is 'We Are The Champions' by Queen, a favorite song embraced by many breast cancer patients in their individual battle and often played at awareness programs for the illness.

Again, very special thanks to Royal Selangor for the opportunity in participating for this great cause and to all my blogging friends and readers for their comments, suggestions and support.

Last but not least, it is my pleasure to announce the winner of the Olympus Camera generated by random.org, the true random number service. Josephine was the commenter's No 683 from Bailey's Mocha Pudding - Day 25 .

Congratulations, Josephine! I hope you enjoy snapping endless memories with your prize! Please email me your address so I can send you the gift. My email address is at my profile.

Pink Ribbon Cake – Day 30

2011-10-30T09:33:00.001-04:00

Phew! A lot of emotions went into creating this Pink Ribbon Cake, my final entry for the Royal Selangor Pewter Jellyriffic Challenge . I feel both relieved that a 30-day kitchen marathon has ended and sad that I will no longer have the daily rush of meeting a deadline doing one of my favorite things. It will also be strange to not enjoy the morning ritual of excitingly checking out the amazing creations of my fellow Challenge participants. Most of all, I feel honored to have been given this unique experience by Royal Selangor Pewter that supports breast cancer awareness and welfare in its entity – proceeds from the sale of each Nick Munro jelly mould go to the Breast Cancer Welfare Association (BCWA).

A friend asked me what I thought of the jelly mould after a month of using it. I did not hesitate to say, “You should buy it!” It truly is a versatile multi-purpose utensil that enhances the presentation of all dishes and makes ordinary looking desserts the centerpieces of all table settings. My list of 30 include 10 jellies and puddings, 7 savories, 3 cookies, 5 cakes, 2 kuihs, 2 breakfast items and 1 steamed bread but I still have ideas to do another 30 but not all in a month though. It was a different scenario at the beginning when jellies tumbled out in pieces, steamed cakes had wet batter and the shape of kuihs changed! Lots of laughs and some at my kitchen counter! Thankfully, it took only a few practice sessions before it was a breeze to use. The mould now has a permanent place in my collection for Royal Selangor Pewter wares.

I can’t pick a favorite among the 30 delicacies I created for this challenge but this Pink Ribbon Cake closest to my heart. It not only bring back memories of 2 family members who died of breast cancer and friends who had battled breast cancer but also reminds me of the importance to continue in every little way I can to support efforts that create awareness of the illness and help those facing it. Thank you to Royal Selangor Pewter for the opportunity to be part of a worthy cause and you, my loyal readers who have been following this blog all these years. I truly appreciate your visits and comments that never fail to help me cook and bake. Also, a big shout-out to Masak Masak , House of Annie , A Table For Two , Wholesome Cook , Indochine Kitchen , My Cookinghut , Chopinandmysaucepan , Fried Wonton For You , Hunger Hunger for the great fun in this competition!

And now, my recipe for this very special cake.

Ingredients:

113 gram/1 stick/1/2 cup room temperature butter
80 gram sugar
120 gram flour
½ tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
½ tsp vanilla
A few drop of pink coloring
A few drop of strawberry essence

For frosting:

Some lemon curd
Some butter cream

1. Line and greased the Jelly Moulds. Prepare the steamer and bring the water up to a boil. Combined flour, baking powder and salt together. Mix well and set it aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time and beat until well combined. Mix in the vanilla.
3. Add in the flour in 3 batches alternately with the milk. Mix until combined.
4. Take 1/3 of the mixture and mix in the strawberry essence and pink coloring. Mix well. Put in the plain batter, alternately with the pink batter into the jelly moulds. Give it a few tap on the counter top to removes any air bubble. Steam the cake for 35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
5. Cool completely before layering it with some lemon curd and frosting it with my butter cream.

Again, THANK YOU and wishing everyone a happy purchase of the Royal Selangor Pewter Jelly Mould and many fun days with it!

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011.

Steamed Savory Glutinous Rice/Loh Mai Fun/Chu Bee P’ng - Day 29

2011-10-29T08:00:00.003-04:00

Actually I have no plan to make this dish but quite a few of my readers suggested that I make loh mai kai it so after giving it some thoughts I decided to make something similar. I really appreciate all your suggestions. I am not sure if this is a typical Hokkien dish but my mom always serves this dish on special occasion especially during our family get together. We practically grew up eating this. Each time I cook this dish it makes me think of home. Being so far away from home this is sort of like a comfort food for me. I made this before and the original recipe is here but I am going to re-post it again with some minor change as I find the one I made before had too much dark soy sauce in it. So the dish does not look so appealing.

Ingredients:

500 gram glutinous rice
6 shallots, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic – finely chopped
1 piece chicken breast – sliced thinly
10 dried mushroom, soaked till soft, drained and thinly sliced
1 carrot – cut into small cubes
3 tbsp light soya sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
salt to taste
pepper to taste
1 cup water

For garnish

some fried shallots
some small diced green onions and cilantro

1. Soak the glutinous rice in water for at least 3-4 hours. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat up the wok, add in some olive oil and fry the shallots until golden brown. Remove for garnish later. Add in the chopped garlic and stir-fry until fragrant.
3. Add in the meat, mushroom, carrot and stir-fry for 5 minutes. Add light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, oyster sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix well. Add glutinous rice and stir-fry for few minutes.
5. Add in the water, mix well and cook the rice for two minutes.
6. Transfer the rice into a steaming pan and steam the rice for 40 minutes. Stir rice every 20mins, sprinkle some water if necessary. Remove the rice, add in some spring onions, stir well.
7. Line the jelly mould with aluminum foil and press the rice into the mould. Continue steaming for another 10 minutes.
7. Let the rice cold down a bit before un-molding it from the mould. Garnish with some fried shallots before serving.

Please do continue to support the Breast Cancer Awareness Month and if you are interested to purchase the Royal Selangor Pewter Jelly Mould designed by Nick Munro you can get it here . Proceeds from the sale of the jelly mould go towards the Breast Cancer Welfare Association in aid of their continuous efforts to raise awareness and support for breast cancer.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Cendol Pudding - Day 28

2011-10-28T09:07:00.001-04:00

We are into day 28th of the Selangor Pewter Jellyriffic challenge. It is sad that it will be come to an end soon as I am growing very attached to my jelly moulds. Oh well, all good things must come to an end but for sure it won’t be the last time you see the moulds making an appearance in this blog. I am definitely going to use it again to make some of my dessert.

I like this traditional Malaysian style jelly a lot. I made this before something ago and you can get the recipe here . But for this challenge, I tried out the recipe from K.Nor of Secubit Garam . K.Nor is a great supporter of this challenge and never fails give me a lot of encouragement and ideas. Terima Kasih K.Nor. Do check out her blog as she has a lot of mouthwatering recipes there.

Ingredients for White layers
Adapted from : Secubit Garam

250 ml water
70 gram sugar
150 ml coconut milk
4 gram agar agar powder
250 gram cendol
pinch of salt

Ingredients for the brown layers:

250 ml water
70 gram palm sugar – cut into small pieces
150 ml coconut milk
4 gram agar agar powder
1 egg yolk
pinch of salt

1. For the white layers, combined water, agar agar powder and bring it up to a boil. Cook until agar agar powder and sugar dissolved. Lower down the heat, add in the coconut milk and salt and bring it up to a slow boil.
2. Add in the cendol, stir and turn down the heat to the lowest.
3. For the brown layers, combined 100 ml water and palm sugar. Cook until dissolve. Remove from heat and strain. Add in the balance of the water and agar agar powder. Cook until agar agar powder dissolved.
4. Combined the egg yolk and coconut milk. Mix really well and pour it into the agar agar mixture. Add in the salt. Bring it up to a slow boil and turn the heat down to the lowest.
5. Wet the jelly mould; pour some of the brown mixture into the mould. Let is set and scratch the surface with a toothpick. Pour in some of the white mixture and let is set. Do the alternate layers until it is done.
6. Let it chill completely before serving.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Milky Vanilla Bean and Strawberry Jelly - Day 27

2011-10-27T07:18:00.001-04:00

This is by far one of my favorite among the rest of the jellies and pudding. I used Madagascar vanilla bean for the milky layer and fresh strawberries for the bottom layer. Who knows that vanilla and strawberry pair so well? The vanilla bean gives and very intense vanilla flavor and the fresh strawberries added a fantastic burst fresh taste to it. This dessert is absolutely divine for hot summer weather.

I made two of these and while snapping some pictures the phone rang and I went to answer it. Disaster strikes! The white boards fell on one of the jelly and just see what happen. I am left with one. Thank God I always make two just in case incident happens just like this one and I will always have a back up. All ends well :)

Ingredients for white layer:

150 ml water
200 ml milk
3/4 tsp agar agar powder
2 tbsp sugar
Half vanilla bean – scrape off the seeds

Strawberry Layer:

150 ml water
1 cup fresh strawberry
2 tbsp sugar – more or less
3/4 tsp agar agar powder

1. Combined the water and agar agar power in a saucepan. Bring it up to a boil very medium heat and continue to cook until agar agar powder dissolved.
2. Add in the milk, sugar and vanilla bean. Continue to cook over low heat until the mixture come up to a slow boil. Turn off the heat.
3. Wet the Jelly Mould. Put about 1 ½ tbsp of mix into the mould. Tilt the mould into and angle. Once it is set, do the same by tilting it to another angles.
4. In the meantime blend the strawberries with the water. Strain it to remove all the seeds.
5. Put the strawberries mixture, sugar and agar agar powder in a small saucepan and bring it up to a boil. Let it boil for 2 minutes.
6. Put the jelly moulds back into upright position and pour in the strawberry mixture. Put it in the fridge to set. Serve cold.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Lang Poon/Chilled Savory Salad - Day 26

2011-10-26T07:08:00.003-04:00

I have no clue how to name this dish in English so I just name it Chilled Savory Salad. If anyone of you have suitable name for this dish please let me know and I will change it. Anyway, I remember during the 70’s and the 80’s this dish is very popular but I don't think they serve this dish anymore. They are basically meat and seafood arrange in a bowl and then pour gelatin mixture over and let it set overnight. Restaurant used to serve this during wedding banquet or Chinese New Year.

I have some problem making this dish. The gelatin just refused to set after 6 hours. Finally I have to pour the stock out of the mould and start all over again with the extra stock. I added more gelatin powder to it and it set properly this time. This is not the first time I encounter problems using gelatin powder. I threw out a few jellies as it refused to set properly. That is why I prefer to work with agar agar powder. Anyway, this is what I used for this cold dish. There are no specific ingredients here but you can basically put anything you like in this cold dish.

Ingredients:

1 piece chicken breast
10 shrimps – peel and deveined
2 dried shitake mushrooms – soak in water
2 tbsp green peas
1 tbsp corn kennels
3 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 tbsp gelatin powder
1 small red chili – optional – cut small
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut the mushrooms into small cubes. Heat up the stock in a saucepan and add in a bit of pepper.
2. Poached the chicken breast until it is cooked. Remove and shred it once it is cool.
3. Blanch the shrimps in the same stock for 1 minute. Do the same with mushrooms, green peas and corn kennels. Remove and set it aside.
4. Arrange the shredded chicken, shrimps, mushrooms, peas, corn kennels and chili into the mould and set it aside.
5. Remove the extra stock and leave about 1 1/4 cup in the saucepan. Mix the gelatin with a big of the stock and set it aside.
6. Bring the stock up to a boil and add in the soft gelatin. Mix thoroughly until the gelatin melts into the stock. Remove from heat. Check seasonings.
7. Pour the stock into the jelly moulds and let it set completely. Serve cold.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Bailey's Mocha Pudding - Day 25

2011-10-25T07:00:00.005-04:00

Before going into the recipe I have an announcement to make. We will be moving back to California sometime in the month December or early January 2012 but this time it will be to San Francisco and not Southern CA. It will be a huge move again for us. This came really sudden and everything happens within the last 3 weeks. Blogging will slow down a little bit, limited time visiting other bloggers and leaving comments until I am settling into the new place. I hope you all will understand. Hope that I am able to cope as Carlos will be in SF much earlier and will be back only during the move. Anyway, I will away for over a week as we decided to take a road trip to the West Coast and I already schedule the rest of the Royal Selangor Jellyriffic challenge posting up to day 30 as I am not sure if I will have internet access or not. Please continue to leave your comments here and I will try to reply them as soon as I can or whenever I have internet access. As for the result of the Giveaway, I will announce it on the first week of November.

Now back to this pudding. I actually love coffee but I can’t drink much of it. Carlos actually bans me from it. I will have problem sleeping at night and poor Carlos will suffer with me. You know he needs his beauty sleep ha ha.. Actually I sneak the coffee into this pudding without telling him and I ate it all in two days ha ha..Did I have a sleepless night? Yes I did but it is all worth it. They were delicious!!

Ingredients:

350 ml unsweetened soy milk
3.5 gram agar agar powder
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp instant coffee powder
1 egg yolk
3 tbsp Bailey's Irish Cream

1. Wet the jelly mould and set it aside. Combined milk, agar agar power and sugar. Stir well and bring it up to a boil over medium heat. Add in the instant coffee power and mix well. Reduce the heat.
2. Whisk egg yolk lightly and take a ladle or two of jelly mixture and add it into the yolk. Stir well. Pour it into the jelly mixture. Mix well.
3. Continue to cook over low heat until it comes up to a slow boil. Turn off the heat and lastly stir in the Bailey's. Strain the mixture through a sieve. Pour it into the jelly mould and let it set completely. Serve chilled.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Halloween Witch’s Hats - Day 24

2011-10-24T07:00:00.006-04:00

Halloween is just around the corner, so I thought maybe I can create something for the occasion. The Jelly mould looks so much like the top part of the hat so I used them to make the hat. They are simple enough that your children can make them with you and decorate it whichever way they like it. This is my first time trying to make something with rice krispies and man, it is a challenge. It took me two days just to make these two hats and I suck at decorating it. It looks more like kids’ hats rather than witch hats. Anyway, I gave them to my friend kids and I hope they like it.

Ingredients:

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate
2 tbsp butter
3 cups marshmallow
5 cup rice krispies
Some candies for decoration
Some melted chocolate for decoration

1. In a large saucepan melt chocolate and butter over low heat. Add in marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat and add in the rice krispies. Stir until well coated. Let it cool down slightly.
2. Lightly spray the inside of the jelly mould with some non-stick spray. Do the same to a baking pan. Lightly butter your hands. Take some the rice krispies mixture and press it into the side of the mould. Set it aside.
3. Press the rest of the mixture into a baking pan to make a flat sheet. Let it cool down and harden. Cut it into 4 ¾” disk for the hat brim. Remove the rice krispies from the jelly mould and attached it to the hat brim with some melted chocolate.
4. Set it aside to harden. At this stage you can decorate it which every design you want. For me I just decorate it with some candies.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Nyonya Fried Noodles with Jicama and Pineapple Sambal - Day 23

2011-10-23T07:28:00.005-04:00

My friend Shereen told me that almost all Peranakans/Nyonya will have a recipe like this in their family. The unique thing about these particular noodles is that it will be eaten with Sambal pineapple and cucumber. It is somewhat similar to a salsa albeit with a different taste and spiciness level. This noodle is usually eaten during happy occasion such as Chinese New Year, birthdays or family get together for a celebration. I replace the cucumber with jicama as I don’t have it in my fridge and I am too lazy to drive out just to get it.

Since the noodles and sambal were eaten together, I thought it will be a good idea to pile them up together into the jelly mould. The sweet and tangy taste of the sambal compliments the noodles really well. This is a very appetizing dish indeed. Thanks Shereen for sharing the recipes with us. I did some minor changes to the recipe to suit my taste and also the availabilities of ingredients in my fridge.

Ingredients for the sambal

20 gram dried shrimps – soaked and drained and finely chopped
1 tsp of shrimp paste – toasted
150 gram fresh pineapple – cut into small cubes
200 gram jicama – cut into small cubes
2 kaffir lime leaves - julienne thinly
1 bird eye chili
3 dried chilies – soak in hot water until soft
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp vinegar - optional

1. Blend the dried chilies, shrimp paste and dried shrimps and set it aside.
2. Combined the pineapple, jicama, bird eye chili, kaffir lime leaves, sugar and vinegar. Mix well. Add in the blended ingredients and give it a good toss.
3. Serve with the nyonya fried noodles.

Ingredients for the Nyonya Noodles:

400 gram yellow noodles
2 cloves garlic
4 oz meat or fish cake – cut into small pieces
10 shrimps – peel and deveined
One small bunch of mustard green – cut small
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock or water
Salt to taste

1. Heat up the wok, add in a bit of oil and stir fry garlic until fragrant. Add in the meat, shrimps, oyster sauce, and dark soy sauce. Stir fry for a few minute and add in the chicken stock. Once it comes up to a boil add in the noodles.
2. Continue to stir gently and once the noodle is coated with the sauce, add in the mustard green and give it a few more stir. Check seasonings.
3. Remove and set it aside. Put a 2 tsp of the sambal in the Mould, follows by the noodles, sambal and noodles. Unmold it and serve immediately.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Blackberry with Coconut Juice Jelly - Day 22

2011-10-22T07:30:00.006-04:00

I really like the look and taste of this jelly. They look really girly, isn’t it? A fresh coconut here cost around $3.00 each and I can’t bring myself to pay that kind of money so I just used the can coconut juice. I didn’t expect them to taste good but they do but of course it can’t be compare with the fresh one. I guess beggar can’t be chooser, right. By the way, that is blackberries but it turns red once it hit the warm agar agar mixture. You might notice in the 1st pictures that the jelly has an odd shape. Actually one of the jellies broke into half when I was unmolding it and I just cut it off and stack the other one on top of it. Thank God I made 2 of it so there is always a back-up.

Ingredients:

400 ml coconut juice with some coconut flesh
1 tsp agar agar powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 pandan leaf
Some blackberries

1. Combined coconut juice, agar agar powder, sugar and pandan leaf. Cook over medium heat until it boils and agar agar dissolved. Continue to cook for another minute.
2. Wet the jelly moulds. Pour the mixture into the moulds and add in a few of the blackberries to each mould.
3. Let is set completely. To unmold, dip the moulds into hot water for 15 seconds, run a knife along the side of the mould. Turn the jelly out on a plate. Serve cold.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011.

Rainbow Steamed Cake - Day 21

2011-10-21T07:50:00.001-04:00

I can't believe that we are into day 21 of the Royal Selangor Jellyriffic challenge. 9 more posting to go and I think most of us will have a huge sigh of relieve. This has to be the most hectic month for me because of this challenge and also some un-expected personal matters.

Now back to this cake. Does this cake remind you of the Red Indian Teepee ha ha..? The more I look at it the more it resembles a colorful teepee. This is actually my 2nd attempts making this cake. The first time it didn’t turn out well. The top and bottom part cake was cooked but not the middle. When I unmold it, it falls apart. I guess I didn’t steam them long enough. Those who knew me will know that I am not easily defeated. I mix the second batch of batter right away and this time I steamed it for 40 minutes and voila. Came out perfect!! This cake is pretty healthy as there is not butter or oil in it. Just a little bit of coconut milk.

Ingredients:

3 eggs
80 gram sugar
½ tsp vanilla
130 gram cake flour
1/8 tsp. salt
100 ml. coconut milk
Green, red, blue and yellow food coloring (or any color of your choice)

1. Line and greased the Moulds. Prepare the steamer and bring the water up to a boil. Combined flour and salt together. Mix well and set it aside.
2. Whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla until mixture is thick and pale in color. Using spatula, fold in flour and coconut milk in small amounts till well mixed.
3. Divide mixture into 4 equal parts. Stir in red coloring into one part, green into the 2nd part, yellow into the 3rd part and blue into the 4th part.
4. Put about 2 tbsp of each color of the batter into the jelly mould. One color on top of each other. Steamed for 35 - 40 minutes or skewer comes out clean when tested.
5. Let it cool in the mould for 10 minutes before removing the cake from the mould. Cool completely before cutting it.

Note: If you steamed them in little silicon moulds or muffin pan it will only takes 15-18 minutes to cook.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011.

Mandarin Orange No-Baked Cheesecake - Day 20

2011-10-20T09:27:00.001-04:00

This is the first time I am making a no-baked cheesecake. Never done that before and you know why? It is because I need a lot of space in my fridge to let them set. You know my fridge is packed up to the door so I don’t have the space for it. Now you know the reason why ha ha… anyway, because of Jellyriffic challenge I will make space for it. I wanted to make something with cheese. Since I can’t bake a cheesecake, I don’t have a choice but to make a no-baked one. Verdict? We still prefer the baked ones. This just doesn’t have the wow factor but it looks good though :)

Ingredients for the top part:

3 tbsp graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp melted butter

Cheese layer:

227 gram low fat cream cheese
1/2 tsp mandarin orange zest
4 tbsp sugar
1/4 cup mandarin orange juice
2 tsp gelatin powder
1/2 cup plain yogurt

Jelly layer:

1/2 packet orange jello
Some mandarin orange segments for garnish

1. Line and greased the Jelly Moulds. Combined the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Mix well. Press the crumbs mixture into the jelly moulds.
2. Mix the gelatin and orange juice and set it aside to bloom. In the meantime beat the cream cheese, sugar, mandarin orange zest until thick and smooth.
3. Warm the gelatin and orange juice mixture in the microwave for 20 – 25 seconds. Stir and mix well. Let it cool down before adding it into the cheese. Mix well and then fold in the yogurt.
4. Spoon the cheese mixture into the jelly mould to about 3/4 full. Chill the cheesecake for at least an hour.
5. Arrange the mandarin orange on top of the cheese. Prepare the orange jello according to the package instruction.
6. Pour it on top of the mandarin orange. Chill the cheesecake for at least 4 hours before serving.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Pandan Kaya Cake - Day 19

2011-10-19T07:18:00.003-04:00

This cake used to be so popular at one time. All the cake shops will be selling it. I remember this was one of the very first fancy decorated cakes I learned to make from my baking teacher. It is pandan sponge cake layered with pandan kaya/custard jelly. It has been many years since I last had this cake. So I decided to make this and I layered it with regular butter cake rather than making a sponge cake. I usually make two of the dessert with same amount of ingredients in the jelly moulds but one will usually comes out bigger than the other one. Weird isn't it :)

Ingredients:

A few slices of readymade cake (sponge or butter)
Some dried coconut

Jelly Kaya Layer:

450 ml coconut milk
5 tbsp of Hoen Kwee Flour/green pea flour
2 tsp agar agar powder
80 gram sugar
¼ tsp salt
A few drop pandan paste

1. Line the Jelly Mould with parchment paper. Put all the jelly kaya ingredients into a saucepan and stir till evenly mixed. Cook over medium heat till mixture thickens and smooth.
2. Cut the cake into few round circles using round cookie cutters – from small to big according to the size of the mould.
3. Put a few tablespoon of the custard into the mould. Top it with the smallest round cake, top it with some custard again (give the mould a few taps on the table)

4. Do the same until the layering is complete to the top (end with the custard)
5. Leave aside to cool and set completely in the fridge. Unmold the cake from the mould. Cover the top of the cake with some dried coconut.
6. Serve chilled.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Carrot Juice and Soy Milk Jelly - Day 18

2011-10-18T07:00:00.003-04:00

I just love the vibrant color of this jelly. Don’t you just want to eat it? If your kid is not a fan of carrots, make it into jelly. I am sure they just can’t resist this. Since I have a huge bag of carrots in my fridge I was thinking what I can do with it using the Jelly Mould. I can’t think of much except juicing it with my Jack LaLanne’s Power Juicer and make it into jelly. After all I love carrot juice and it should taste good to in jelly and I was right.

Soy Milk Layer:

300 ml unsweetened soy milk
3/4 tsp agar agar powder
1 tbsp sugar
1 pandan leaf

Carrot Juice Layer:

300 ml cups carrot juice
3/4 tsp agar agar powder
1 tbsp condensed milk

1. Wet the jelly moulds and set it aside. Combined all the soy milk layer ingredients and bring it up to a boil. Cook until the agar agar powder dissolved.
2. Pour the mixture into the moulds and tilt the mould to the side. Let it set completely.
3. Combined all the ingredients of the carrot juice layer and bring it up to a boil. Cook until agar agar powder completely dissolved.
4. Set the jelly moulds back to the upright position; lightly scratch the surface with a toothpick. Pour in the carrot juice layer and set it aside to set completely.
5. Serve cold.

Note: Please adjust the amount of sugar and condensed milk to the sweetness of your liking.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Spiral Shape Mantau-Day 17

2011-10-17T11:30:00.001-04:00

I've been away for a few days so the previous posting were on schedule mode that is why I didn't reply to all your comments yet. Please give me some time and I will get to it soon. Anyway, I wanted to make bread of some kind with the Jelly mould but I can’t think of much other than doing something with Bao dough as I can steam it. This is what I can think of and they look pretty cute after steaming it. You can eat this steamed plain mantau with anything. It is sort of like mantau where you eat it with some stew meat. Actually this is the second time I am making this. The first time, I coiled the dough all the way down to the bottom of the mould and after steaming it they were huge! They look like a giant mantau. No very nice visually. So this time I made it smaller. Since I don’t have much time to prepare anything to eat it with, we just have this with some stir-fry chicken with jicama for our dinner.

Ingredients:

150 gram flour
30 gram sugar
1 tsp double action baking powder
1 tsp yeast
20 gram shortening
80 -85 ml water

1. Mix all the above ingredients and knead them into smooth dough. Cover and let them rest for half an hour.
2. Oil the outside of the Jelly Moulds with some vegetable oil. Divide the dough into 2 portions. Take one portions and divide it into 3.

3. Roll out one of the dough into long thin strip and start coiling it around the mould. Start from the top to the bottom. Each mould will need 3 strips if you want to coil it all the way down to the bottom of the mould. Do the same to the other mould.
4. Set the dough aside to rest for 15 minutes. Prepare the steamer. Bring the water up to a rapid boil.
5. Steam them for 15 minutes. Serve them warm.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011.

Caramel Pudding - Day 16

2011-10-16T08:00:00.005-04:00

This eggless caramel pudding tastes very much like flan but it is much lighter. I think I like this version better but Carlos prefer the eggy version. I can’t blame him as he grew up eating that type of flan that with Dulce De Leche.

How time flies. We into the 3rd week of the challenge. We have seen so many wonderful recipes and ways to use the Jelly mould created by the rest of the bloggers. Please do continue to support the Breast Cancer Awareness Month and if you are interested to purchase the Royal Selangor Pewter Jelly Mould designed by Nick Munro you can get it here . Proceeds from the sale of the jelly mould go towards the Breast Cancer Welfare Association in aid of their continuous efforts to raise awareness and support for breast cancer

Ingredients:

5 gram agar agar powder
550 ml water
60 gram sugar
100 ml milk
1 tbsp custard powder
1 tsp essence vanilla

For Caramel:

1/3 cup sugar
3 tbsp water

1. In a small heavy bottom saucepan, over medium heat, cook the 1/3 cup sugar with the 3 tbsp of water, stirring constantly until it is light brown syrup. Pour syrup into the Jelly Moulds or any type of serving bowl and set it aside.
2. Combined milk and custard powder. Mix well, strain and set it aside. In a pot bring the sugar, water and agar agar powder to boil over medium heat. Stirring constantly until all the ingredients dissolved.
3. Turn the heat down to low and add in the milk mixture. Continue to stir until mixture thickens and come up to a slow boil. Turn off the heat, add in the vanilla and stir well. Pour the mixture into prepared jelly moulds.
4. Cool and let it set in the fridge for a few hours before serving.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011.

Mixed Berry Smoothie - Day 15

2011-10-15T07:00:00.001-04:00

I made this the night before and had it for breakfast. Since I have so many berries around, I just blend them up with some yogurt and freeze it. I actually had a tough time trying to keep the shape whole as it kept melting up on me. I have to snap the pictures real fast. Half way snapping I have to put them back into the freezer again. Just look at the last picture and see how fast it melts. I guess there are not much liquid in there except lots of blended fruits and a bit of yogurt. This is a great way to perk up your morning and healthy too.

Ingredients:

2 cups of fruits - blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries etc.
One banana – peel and cut into chunks
½ cup plain yogurt
2 tbsp honey

1. Line the jelly moulds with some plastic wrap and set it aside.
2. Put the fruits, yogurt and honey into the blender. Blend until smooth.
3. Pour into the jelly moulds and let it set overnight in the freezer.
4. Remove the plastic wrap and serve it with some fresh fruits.

Note: You can use any type of fruits for this smoothie. If you want to make it into popsicles you have to add some water to the mix in order for the popsicles to hold up.

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30 th October 2011.

Abok Abok Sago/Tapioca Pearls with Palm Sugar - Day 14

2011-10-14T11:12:00.001-04:00

I wanted to make this kuih for the longest time but never get to do it. I always think they are very difficult to make because I have to use the banana leaves to make it into a cone casing and it is a daunting task as I’ve done that before for the Kuih Koci. Fear no more. Now I have these cone shape jelly moulds to use and they are just perfect for this kuih. The shape came out nicely.

This kuih is one of the easiest kuih to make actually. With just a few ingredients you will have perfect kuih for your afternoon tea.

Ingredients:

100 gram white pearl sago
100 gram green pearl sago
150 gram fresh grated coconut
180 gram palm sugar – finely chopped
1/4 tsp salt
Some banana leaves

1. Lightly wash the sago in cold water. Soak it in water for half an hour. Drain well.
2. Mix salt and grated coconut. Divide the coconut into half and add it into the white and green sago. Mix well.
3. Line the jelly moulds with banana leaves. Brush it lightly with some vegetable oil.
4. Scoop about 1 ½ tbsp of the white sago mixture into the mould. Top it with some palm sugar and cover the palm sugar with 2 tbsp of the green sago mixture.
5. Steam it over high heat for 20 minutes or until cooked. Do the same to the rest of the sago.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Omurice/オムライス/ Rice Wrap in Omelet - Day 13

2011-10-13T11:50:00.001-04:00

I feel like making something simple today without taking much effort. The easiest has to be fried rice with some leftover rice from two days ago. And how can I incorporate the Jelly Mould into this dish? Wrap the rice up with a cone shape omelet of course. There come the Omurice. Omurice is a Japanese word for "omelet and rice. The dish mainly consists of fried rice with whatever other ingredients you wish, wrapped in a thin sheet of fried omelets. Many restaurants serve the dish with white sauce, tomato based sauce or ketchup. Malaysia has a version of this rice too and it is called Nasi Goreng Pattaya .

Ingredients:

2 cups of cooked Japanese rice – you can always use regular white or brown rice
4 oz chicken breast – cut into small cubes
10 shrimps – peel and deveined
1 small – cut small
1 tomato – cut into small cubes
1 clove garlic - chopped
¼ cup green peas
¼ corn kernels

Seasonings:

2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

For the Omelet:

2 eggs
2 tbsp milk
2 spring onion – cut small
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat up about 2 tbsp of olive oil in a wok. Add in onion and garlic and sauté until fragrant and lightly brown. Add in the chicken and continue to sauté until the chicken turn’s opaque color. Add in the shrimps. Cook until the shrimps turns pink.
2. Add in the tomato, peas and corn. Add in the seasonings. Mix really well. Add rice into the wok and continue to stir fry until well combined and rice is warm. Check seasonings.
3. Remove the rice and set it aside. Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Add in the green onions. Mix well.
4. Heat up a non-stick large frying pan. Add in 2 tsp of olive oil and give the pan a few swirls. Pour the eggs into the frying pan, Spread them out and let it cook. Once the egg is set and lightly brown, flip them over to the other side. Remove the omelet to the cutting board. Cut it into half.
5. Line the omelet into the jelly moulds, fill it up with the rice and press it down with a spoon. Unmold it on the plate, drizzle it with some ketchup and serve with some salad.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Pulut Inti/Glutinous Rice with Coconut Sauce - Day 12

2011-10-12T11:00:00.001-04:00

This is another version of Pulut Inti , Pulut is glutinous rice and inti means fillings. The rice is steamed with coconut milk and the brown filling is coconut cooked in palm sugar. I tinted some of rice blue with blue pea flower/bunga telang given to me by my friend Lesley. Instead of wrapping it in banana leaves I shape them with the Jelly mould and serve them in a bowl drizzle it with coconut sauce. This is one of Malaysian favorite tea time snacks or as dessert especially if you have guest over.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups glutinous rice – wash and soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight
1/2 tsp salt
130 ml coconut milk
1 pandan leaf, tied into a knot
8 bunga telang/blue pea flower + 2 tbsp hot water

Coconut filling:

120g palm sugar or gula Melaka
4 tbsp water
1 pandan leaf, knotted
1 1/2 cup grated coconut

Coconut Sauce:

1 cup of thick coconut milk
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
½ tsp cornstarch

1. Soak the blue pea flower in hot water for 15 minutes. Give it a few squeezes to extract the color. Drain the rice in a strainer. Place the rice in a heatproof dish. Mix in the salt and coconut milk to the rice. Add pandan leaf in the rice and steam over high heat till it is cooked for about 20-25 minutes.
2. Check from time to time and fluffy it up with a fork. Drizzle in the liquid from the blue pea flower. Remove from heat and mix it lightly. Set it aside to cool down for 5 minutes.
3. For the coconut filling, in a heavy saucepan dissolve sugars in the 4 tbsp of water. Simmer until liquid starts to thicken and become syrupy. Add grated coconut and pandan leaf. Cook till the mixture is soft and dry about 10 to 15 minutes. Most of the liquid should have evaporated. Remove from heat and let it cool.
4. To assemble, line the Jelly moulds with aluminum foil. Take about a tablespoon of rice and press it into the mould. Follows by a table spoon of the coconut, rice, coconut and rice again. Make sure it is well compact.
5. Combined all the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and bring it up to boil and set it aside.
6. Unmold the rice, and drizzle the coconut sauce over it before serving.

Note: If you can't find the bunga telang/blue pea flower you can always use a few drops of blue coloring.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30 th October 2011.

Watermelon Pudding - Day 11

2011-10-11T11:00:00.001-04:00

No, there is no watermelon in this pudding. It is just the pudding looking like a watermelon :) This particular pudding has been floating around the local Malaysian blogs for some time now. Inspired by the beautiful results I tried creating it with the Jelly mould. It is a bit of work but I love the end results. The next time I make this again I will have to add a bit more sesame seeds to it.

Ingredients:

1 ¼ tsp agar agar powder
150 ml water
300 ml soy milk
1 egg
40 gram sugar
½ tsp vanilla
½ tsp black sesame seeds
A few drops of yellow, pink and green coloring

1. Combined the agar agar powder and water. Cook over medium heat until agar agar powder dissolved. Whisk egg and soy milk with a fork until combined.
2. Strain it into the agar agar mixture and continue to stir until it boils. Add in the sugar and vanilla.
3. Strain the mixture again. Take about ¾ of the mixture and divide it into half. Mix one with yellow color and some sesame seeds and the other one with pink coloring and some sesame seeds.
4. Pour them into the Jelly moulds and let it set. While waiting for the mixture to set make sure the balance of the agar agar mixture sits on a pan of boiling water. This is to avoid the agar to set.
5. Once the agar agar is set, scratch the surface with a toothpick. Pour in a bit of the white mixture to the colored one and let it set again.
6. Add a drop of green coloring to the rest of the mixture and once the white it set, scratch the surface with a toothpick. Pour the green on top of it. Let it set completely before unmolding it.
7. Serve cold either whole or cut into wedges.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011

Steamed Shrimp and Meat Patties - Day 10

2011-10-10T07:20:00.002-04:00

Let’s make something savory today. After a few days of sweet dessert I decided to make these patties for our lunch. I basically used whatever I have in my fridge. This is a very versatile recipe as you can use any type of ingredients you like. It is quick to prepare and healthy too. Instead of steaming everything in a plate I steamed them individually with the Jelly moulds. If you don't have the moulds you can always use muffin pan or ramekins.

Ingredients:

10 shrimps – peel and deveined
4 oz of cooked meat – can be chicken, BBQ pork or ham
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes – roughly chopped
½ cup grated cheddar cheese
3 spring onions – cut small
2 eggs
1 tbsp corn starch
50 ml water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Roughly chopped up the shrimps. Cut the meat into small cubes.
2. Combined all the ingredients and mix well. Prepared the steamer and bring the water up to a boil.
3. Line the Jelly Moulds with some parchment paper and brush it with some oil. Fill the mould up with the mixture and steam it over high heat for 10 minutes or until it is cook. To test just insert a skewer to the center and it should comes out clean.
4. Serve it with some chili sauce.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011.

Blueberry Granola Yogurt Parfait - Day 9

2011-10-09T07:38:00.004-04:00

Now who say you can’t have dessert for breakfast? I made this parfait over the weekend for our breakfast. Carlos thinks I was crazy serving him ice-cream ha ha..No it is something healthy. It has granola, fresh blueberries and yogurt in it. Guess what, he likes it a lot. So, if your kids are fussy about their breakfast, maybe you can prepare them this. I am sure they are going to like it as much as we do.

Ingredients:

2 slices whole wheat bread
8 oz plain yogurt
½ cup fresh blueberries
½ cup granola cluster
2 tbsp honey

Blueberries compote:

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1 tbsp honey

1. Cut the bread to the size of the bottom (round) of the jelly moulds. Put the granola in the food processor and give it a few pulses. In a mixing bowl combined the yogurt, honey, blueberries and granola. Mix really well.
2. Line the moulds with some plastic wraps. Fill up the moulds with the yogurt mixture and place a round piece of bread at the end. Put the moulds into the freezer and let it set compeletly.
3. In the meantime, prepare the compote. In a small saucepan, combined the blueberries and honey. Cook until the berries burst and soft and sauce thicken. Set it aside.
4. Remove the jelly moulds from the freezer. Unmold it and serve the parfait with some blueberries compote.

Note: You can always replace the blueberry with any type of fruits of your choice.

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30 th October 2011.

Coconut Pomegranate Jelly- Day 8

2011-10-08T07:36:00.004-04:00

We are 8th day into the Royal Selangor Jellyriffic challenge. This is the very 1st jelly I made with the moulds. On my very first tried, I completely destroyed the jelly when I tried to unmold it and I had to re-do again the very next day. The key to unmolding it is dip the mould in hot water for 15 seconds; run the butter knife along the side of the moulds before turning them out. For this Jelly I used pomegranate which is in season now. I just love them. Love the rich, ruby seeds and savoring the sweet juice when I pop them into my mouth. They make great dessert too.

Ingredients for coconut layers:

200 ml water
250 ml coconut milk
1 tsp agar agar powder
pinch of salt
3 tbsp sugar - more if you like it sweeter

Ingredients for Pomegranate layers:

450 ml pomegranate juice
1 tsp agar agar powder
1 tbsp sugar – depend on the sweetness of the juice

1. For the pomegranate layer mix agar-agar powder with the juice and bring to the boil over medium heat in a saucepan. Stir continuously until all the agar-agar dissolves, then add sugar Continue boiling until the sugar dissolved and then turn the heat to the lowest.
2. For the coconut layer mix water and agar-agar powder together, bring to the boil over medium heat. Boil until the agar-agar dissolves, and then add coconut milk, sugar and salt together. Stir regularly to prevent the coconut cream separating. Bring it to a slow boil until the mixture dissolve completely, turn down the heat to the lowest.
3. Wet the Jelly Moulds . Spoon 1 tablespoonful of the coconut mixture into each mold, leave to set. Scratch the surface lightly with a toothpick and then spoon some of the pomegranate mixture over and leave to set. Continue with this process until each mold is full. Leave to completely cool before remove from the moulds.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011.

No-baked Chocolate Coconut Oatmeal Cookies - Day 7

2011-10-07T09:00:00.001-04:00

Now who say you can’t make cookies without an oven. This cookie is just perfect when you are desperately craving for something sweet and chocolaty but don’t have much time to bake. These no baked cookie has been around for years but I never make them until now. Carlos said these mounds of peanut buttery, chocolate goodness are addictive. He can’t stop eating it but I have to keep some away for the next day, if not he will finish all of it up :)

We are into the 7th day of the Royal Selangor Jellyriffic challenge and I am enjoying it a lot especially seeing everyone's wonderful creations. Who knows we can do so much with a mould.

Ingredients:

2 cups quick oats
1 cup unsweetened dried coconut
4 tbsp butter
3/4 cup chunky peanut butter
3 oz dark chocolate
3 tbsp honey
1 tbsp sugar - add more if you like it sweeter
¼ tsp salt

Garnish:

Some melted white chocolate

1. Lightly toast the oats and coconut in a pre-heated 325 degree F oven for 5-6 minutes until they are lightly brown. Remove and set it aside.
2. In a heavy saucepan, combined butter, peanut butter, dark chocolate, honey, sugar and salt. Cook over low heat until everything melted, combined and bubbly.
3. Pour the mixture into the oats and coconut. Mix well and set it aside to cool down a bit.
4. Line the Jelly mould with aluminum foil. Take about 1 ½ tbsp (depend on how big you like your cookies) of the mixture and press it into the mould. Remove from mould and let the cookie set in the fridge.
5. Once it harden, drizzle them with some white chocolate.

Note: You can always add some chopped dried fruits to these cookies.

Steamed Butter Caramel Cake with Dates - Day 6

2011-10-06T11:40:00.001-04:00

I hardly steam any cakes as I prefer to bake them. My big steamer is at the basement as I find it too much hassle to take it out, clean it and then put it back again, but once a while it is nice to have something different from the usual oven-baked cakes. Actually I find steam cakes are moist and tender compared the bake ones and I should do it more often. Since the jelly mould is steam-proof I decided to make some steamed caramel cake. It is a bit like the Dates Pudding but instead of steam bakes this is steamed. It turns out really moist, delicious and a nice fragrant of the caramel. I am definitely going to make this again but a bigger one :)

Ingredients:

1 stick/113 gram butter – room temperature
2 eggs
100 gram sugar
80 ml water
70 ml milk
160 gram flour
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp baking soda
10 dates – cut into small pieces

1. Make the caramel. Put the sugar and water in a small saucepan and cook them over medium heat until it starts to turn golden brown. Watch it carefully because once the syrup turns golden it will darken very quickly. Remove from heat and let it cool completely.
2. Line and greased the 2 jelly moulds. Combined the flour, baking powder, baking soda and mix it well. Set it aside.
3. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs one at a time and beat until well combined. Pour in the cool caramel. Mix well.
4. Add in the flour in 3 batches alternately with the milk. Add in the dates and mix until combined. Pour into the jelly mould and steam for 35 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.
5. Cool completely and serve it with some fresh whipping cream.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30 th October 2011.

Smoked Salmon Terrine - Day 5

2011-10-05T11:00:00.004-04:00

Carlos and I celebrated our wedding anniversary last week and I prepared a special dinner for the both of us. I prepared this appetizer for the very special day. Many people like to add cream cheese with smoked salmon but I prefer using roasted peppers, green olives, hard boiled eggs etc. It gives the terrine a contrast of colors. So if you are having a party or celebration a special occasion, maybe you can prepare this as it only takes a few minutes to prepare but it will never fails to impress your guest.

A few days into the challenge and I am totally enjoying it. Tried out a couple jellies today and by now I am very comfortable using the Jelly moulds. No problem unmolding it :)

Ingredients:
Recipe source: My Kitchen Snippets

1/4 pound smoked salmon – roughly chopped
1 roasted red pepper – chopped
2 hardboiled eggs
1/3 cup yellow sundried tomatoes in oil – roughly chopped
1/4 cup green olives – roughly chopped
1 tbsp mayo
Some chopped chives
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Roughly chopped up the eggs and mix it with mayo, chives, salt and pepper.
2. Line the Jelly Moulds with some aluminum foil. Add in about a tbsp of smoked salmon and press it tight with a spoon.
3. Follow by the chopped olives, peppers, hardboiled eggs, salmon again and lastly yellow sundried tomatoes.
4. Put it in the fridge and let it marinate and set for at least an hour. Unmold the terrine and serve it with some crackers or toasted crusty bread.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30 th October 2011.

Cone ShapeTuiles - Day 4

2011-10-04T10:09:00.003-04:00

Today is the 4th day of Royal Selangor Get your Jelly On challenge. Beside jelly I am posting something different today. I am making tuile using the jelly moulds. A tuile is a thin, crisp sweet or savory cookie or wafer made of dough or cheese. Originally from France, 'tuile' means tile in French, and is named after the shape of French roof tiles it is supposed to resemble. They are commonly added as garnishes to desserts such as panna cotta or used as edible cups for sorbet or ice cream (from Wiki)

To get a curved shape, tuiles are usually made on a curved surface, such as a wine bottle or rolling pin. Since I wanted to put ice-cream in it, I made it into cone shape just like the one sold at the ice-cream shop. I serve them on this cool cone holder that Carlos just made for me. Aren’t they beautiful?

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 stick/6 tbsps unsalted butter, softened
3 large egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the softened butter until it is completely smooth. Using a spatula or spoon, beat the egg whites and vanilla into the dry ingredients until completely incorporated and smooth.
2. Whisk in the softened butter by thirds, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary and whisking until the batter is creamy and without any lumps.
3. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Make a 5-inch hollow circular stencil. Place Silpat on the counter (it is easier to work on the Silpat before it is put on the sheet pan).
4. Place the stencil in one corner of the sheet and, holding the stencil flat against the Silpat, scoop some of the batter onto the back of an offset spatula and spread it in an even thin layer over the stencil.
5. Then run the spatula over the entire stencil to remove any excess batter. Place the Silpat on a baking sheet and bake for 6-8 minutes, or until edges are golden and the centers are just beginning to color. Remove the cookies from the oven.

6. As soon as they are cool enough to handle, remove the tuiles from the baking sheets and drape them around the jelly mould.

7. Fill them up with your favorite ice-cream. Sorbet and fruits topping.

Note: If the cookie is too stiff to bend, return them to the oven for a minute or so and they will soften up. Brush some melted chocolate inside the tuiles as this way they won't get soggy when you fill it up with ice-cream.

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30th October 2011.

Dried Longan with Wolfberry Jelly - Day 3

2011-10-03T07:12:00.002-04:00

I thought we are having some nice autumn temperature but it turn out hot and humid again a few days ago. With weather like this I normally like some cold sweet soup of grated winter melon and dried logan but since it is the Royal Selangor Jellyriffic challenge I make it into jelly. I omit the winter melon and added agar agar powder to it. Nice little dessert for the hot summer like weather.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried longan
1 tbsp wolfberry/gojiberries
6 dried red dates
1 pandan leaf
500 ml water
1 tsp agar agar powder + 1 tbsp water
1 tbsp sugar – more if you like it sweeter

1. Wash the dried longan, wolfberries, red dates and set it aside.
2. Bring the water to a boil; add in the washed ingredients and pandan leaf. Bring it up to a boil and turn down the heat let it simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Mix the agar agar powder with water and add it into the simmering pot. Bring it up to a boil and continue to stir until agar agar powder dissolve. Add in the sugar.
4. Wet the jelly moulds. Pour it into the Jelly moulds and let it set completely. Serve cold.

Note: Don’t forget to leave a comment for a better chance to win an Olympus VG-110 camera. Giveaway is open worldwide. Entries close 30 th October 2011

Yellow Rice/Nasi Tumpeng - Day 2

2011-10-02T10:48:00.004-04:00

Tumpeng is a cone-shaped rice dish like mountain with plenty of side dishes from meat to vegetables. People in Java, Bali and Madura usually make Tumpeng to celebrate important event. However, all Indonesians are familiar with Tumpeng. The philosophy of Tumpeng is related to the geographical condition of Indonesia, especially Java as fertile island with numerous mountains and volcanoes. Tumpeng dated back to ancient Indonesian tradition that revered mountains as the abode of ancestors and gods. The cone-shaped rice meant to mimics the holy mountain. The feast served as some kind of thanks giving for the abundance of harvest or any other blessings. In gratitude ceremony (syukuran or slametan), after the people pray, the top of tumpeng is cut and delivered to the most important person. He or she may be the group leader, the oldest person, or the beloved one. Then, all people in the ceremony enjoy the tumpeng together. With tumpeng, people express the gratitude to God and appreciate togetherness and harmony. (from Wikipedia)

I’ve been making jelly for the past few days and it is time to create something savory using the jelly moulds. It took my over half a day to prepare this fancy meal. Everything was cooked from scratch from the Malay style BBQ Chicken/Ayam Percik , Chicken Rendang , Sambal Tempe , fried omelet and etc but I am not complaining as this is a very satisfying meal with plenty of leftovers. You can prepare any type of dishes to accompany the rice. It can be a vegetarian meal, seafood or meat. Traditionally there should be a balance between vegetables, meat and seafood. I made the cone shape rice with the a cone moulds. As for the rest of the dishes you can get the recipes from the link.

Ingredients for the Yellow Rice
Recipe source: My Kitchen Snippets

2 cups of long grain rice or basmati rice – wash and toss dry
2 tsp ground turmeric
1 cup of coconut milk
Enough water
2” cinnamon
3 cloves
2 slices of ginger
2 cloves garlic - smashed
Salt to taste

1. Heat up 2 tbsp of butter, sauté the cinnamon stick, cloves garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add in the rice, turmeric powder and continue to stir fry until the rice is coated with oil.
2. Transfer the rice to the rice cooker; add in salt, coconut milk and enough water to cook the rice.
3. Cover and let the rice cooker to do the work. Once the rice is cook, fluff it up with a fork. Scoop some rice into the moulds. and press it tight with a spoon. Unmold the rice and serve it with the side dishes of your choice.

Rose Syrup Panna Cotta - Day 1

2011-10-01T09:00:00.003-04:00

This is the very first post for the Royal Selangor Pewter Jellyriffic challenge. I’ve been trying out a few jelly recipes. Some turn out well and some not. I encounter a few mishaps along the way when I was trying to unmold the jelly. After a few attempts I finally got the hang of using the jelly moulds. So my dear friends and readers do join me and other 9 other bloggers for the month of October as we experiment and share our ways of using mould and support a great cause at the same time. In conjunction with the Breast Cancer Awareness Month I made something pink.

Ingredients for the pink layer:

1 tsp agar agar powder
150 ml water
2 tbsp sugar – more if you like it sweeter
200 ml milk
1 tbsp rose syrup
1-2 drops of pink coloring

1. Combined the agar agar powder and water and mix well. Cook it over low heat until agar agar powder completely dissolved.
2. Add in the milk and sugar. Cook it over medium low heat until sugar dissolve and it come to a slow boil. Add in the rose syrup and coloring. Check the sweetness if it is to your liking. Pour it into the Jelly moulds and let it set.
3. Once it is set, take out the jelly, cut into 4 segments. Put 2 segments of the jelly back into the mould and leave the rest empty. Prepare the white layer.

Ingredients for the white layer

1 tsp agar agar powder
150 ml water
200 ml milk
2 ½ tbsp sugar – more if you like it sweeter
1 tsp vanilla

1. Combined the agar agar and water and mix well. Cook over low heat until the agar agar powder completely dissolved.
2. Add in the milk, sugar and vanilla. Cook over medium heat until it boils. Remove from heat. Spoon the agar agar mixture into the empty sections of the moulds.
3. Let it cool completely in the fridge before serving.

To encourage everyone to support the good cause, I will give away the Olympus VC-110 Camera to one of my lucky readers.

How to win:

All you have to do is comment on my Get Your Jelly On posting for the month of October 2011. Give me feedback, suggestions, recipes or anything at all and you will automatically be entered into the competition to win the camera. So make sure you come back to check my posting and comments for more chances to win the camera. The winner will be chose using a random number generator and will be notified via email. Oh, in case you are wondering this giveaway is open to anyone, anywhere in the world and not just for USA readers. Remember to leave your email address in your comment.

Get your Jelly on – Royal Selangor Pewter

2011-09-29T06:53:00.001-04:00

I’ve been contacted by the Royal Selangor Pewter a few weeks ago and they invited me to be one of the 10 inspiring bloggers worldwide to participate in their 2011 ‘Get Your Jelly On!’ competitions. This competition will be conducted throughout the month of October; the competition is a 30-day challenge in which bloggers will devise a new and creative use of the Nick Munro jelly mould daily, accompanied by a blog posting for 30 days detailing the process. Each of us was given 2 of the Jelly Moulds, an Olympus VG-110 digital camera and an apron. You can check out the list of bloggers who participate here .

Royal Selangor is the foremost producer and retailer of fine pewter products globally and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Every year, Royal Selangor raises funds for the Breast Cancer Welfare Association (BCWA) through the sales of our Nick Munro jelly mould (as seen here), designed by the British designer in support of breast cancer awareness and welfare. Since 2006, Royal Selangor has been working with BWCA and organizing jelly-making sessions particularly during Pink October month to promote awareness of breast cancer and to raise funds through the sale of our jelly mould. However, this year they decided to work with food bloggers across the world, whose creativity and individualism strongly support what the jelly mould represents.

After giving it some thoughts I’ve decided to participate. After all I like making jelly and it will be a great challenge for me to experiment and hopefully come up with something new to share with all of you and to support a great cause at the same time. It is not an easy task as I’ve been cracking my head since on what to make with it so much so until I dreamt about it. So, my dear friends and readers if you have some wonderful ideas on how to use the Jelly mould please please let me know. I need all your support. However, this Jelly Mould is only steamed proof and not oven proof so I can’t bake with it. So do join me in this worthy cause and stop by here each day on the month of October and see what I creates with the mould.

My husband made this little jelly mould holder for me this week and he is working on another display for me. Stay tune to see what he make.

Stir-Fry String beans with Shrimps

2011-09-27T19:27:00.000-04:00

This is our favorite way of eating string beans. It is just a quick stir-fry with shrimps. Actually this is one of Carlos favorite dish. Sometime I will cook it with dried shrimps and sambal but since Carlos is eating I can’t do that. Just like how they cook it in the restaurant I like the string beans to be crunchy and not overcook. I will usually stir-fry them for a few minutes and dish them out before cooking the rest of the ingredients. This way the string beans will retain its crunch.

Ingredients:
Recipe Source: My Kitchen Snippets

1/2 pound of string beans – removes both ends and cut into 2” length
10 large shrimps – peel and deveined
1 carrot – julienned
2 cloves garlic - chopped
1 shallot – sliced thinly
3 tbsp of chopped pickle radish/chye poh
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
Dash of pepper

1. Heat up the wok and add in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Stir-fry the string beans for 3 minutes. Dish out and set it aside.
2. In the same wok, add in a tbsp of olive oil, stir fry garlic, shallots until lightly brown and fragrant. Add carrot, pickle radish and shrimps. Continue to stir-fry for 2 minutes.
3. Add in the string beans and all the seasonings. Drizzle in 2 tbsp of water. Continue to stir fry for another minute and dish out.
4. Serve with warm rice.

Fookchow Red Bean Mooncakes

2011-09-25T23:41:00.000-04:00

I know this posting came a bit too late as Moon Cake festival was over some time ago. Actually I have no intention of making any kind of moon cakes as I am not a fan of it but since the Aspiring Baker’s theme for the month of September is Mooncakes, I’ve decided to make something. I don’t want to miss the boat. I saw this mooncake recipe at Frozen Wings blog and the method of making the pastry is like Tau Sar Pheah so I give it a go. It turns out really well with plenty of layers on the pastry which I like.

Ingredients for water dough
Adapted from Frozen Wings

120 gram flour
15 gram powder sugar
45 gram melted butter ( I used vegetable oil )
70 ml water

Ingredients for oil dough

110 gram flour
70 gram shortening

Filling

450 gram red bean paste

For Garnish

Some black sesame seeds
1 egg yolk – lightly beaten

1. Divide filling into 45gms portions. Combine flour, powder sugar and melted butter (vegetable oil) for water dough. Add in water and knead into soft dough. Divide into 10 pieces.
2. Combine ingredients of oil dough and knead into dough. Divide into 10 pieces. Flatten the water dough and wrap the oil dough into it. Repeat process to the rest of the dough (you can refer here on how to roll out the pastry)
3. Flatten the dough with your palm then roll it out into long oval thin dough using a rolling pin. Roll the dough up like a Swiss roll.
4. Turn the dough 90°, flatten it and roll it out thin. Then roll it up like a Swiss roll again. Repeat step 3 and 4 with the remaining dough. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.
5. Flatten the dough and roll it out into round shape. Wrap in the red bean filling and seal well. Lightly flatten it. Arrange the pastries on a line baking pan. Brush the top lightly with egg yolk and sprinkle on some black sesame seeds.
6. Bake in a pre-heated 375 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into it.

I am submitting this post to the Aspiring Bakers #11: Mid Autumn Treats (Sept 2011) hosted by Happy Home Baking

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

2011-09-22T22:16:00.000-04:00

We are having autumn like weather here and I liking it a lot. I can’t help thinking of pumpkin. The local markets already start selling all kinds of pumpkins and I can’t resist buying one. I don’t buy pumpkin often as Carlos is not a fan of it so I hardly cook dishes with it but he doesn’t mind having it bakes. This recipe is pretty much my favorite as I can just prepare the dough and leave it overnight on the kitchen counter and the next morning, all I have to do is I just shape it up and bakes it and we can have piping hot cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Ingredients for the dough:
Recipe Source: My Kitchen Snippets

3 cups flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
3 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 packet/7 gram dried yeast
½ tsp salt
1 cup pumpkin puree – drains and squeeze out all the water
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk *
4 tbsp butter

Filling:

4 tbsp soft butter
4 tbsp dark brown sugar
½ tsp cinnamon powder
½ cup pumpkin seeds

*Adjust the amount of milk. It depends on your environment, the dryness of your flour and the wetness of your pumpkin puree. It’s always best to start with the lesser amount; you can always add more, but it’s pretty hard to go back and add less.

1. Fit the mixer with the dough hook attachment. Combined all the dried ingredients for the dough and mix it well. Combined the eggs and pumpkin. Add it into the dried ingredients and turn on the mixer to medium speed. Slowly drizzle in the milk until the dough comes together and forms a nice ball of dough. Continue to mix for 10 minutes on medium speed.
2. Slowly add in the cut butter and continue to mix until dough is smooth. Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and place it in buttered bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest and raise at room temperature until double it size. (I mix this and left it overnight on the kitchen counter)
4. Punch down the dough; dust the work counter with some flour. Roll out the dough into rectangle shape and about 1/3” thickness, spread on the soft butter. Combined together the brown sugar, cinnamon and pumpkin seeds. Sprinkle it all over the roll out dough.
5. With your palm lightly press the filling ingredients into dough and then roll them up. Secure the roll by pinching both ends of the roll. Cut the rolls into ¾” pieces and arrange them in a well butter baking pan.
6. Cover them and let them rest and rise for an hour or until they are doubled in size. Bake them at 350°F for about 25-30 minutes or until they are golden brown.
7. Remove them from the oven and let them cool on wire rack.

Portuguese Egg Tarts

2011-09-20T18:15:00.000-04:00

These are such a delightful little treats. Diana and I could never resist them whenever we see them at the Asian Bakery or at the dim sum place. I’ve made some egg tarts using the short-crust pastry before and this is the first time I am trying my hand in making Portuguese egg tart which have a flakier type of pastries. I went online to check on the recipe and most of them used store bought puff pastry for the crust which I am not too keen of using. In the end I used the recipe of a Dim Sum book I bought many years ago. The pastry turns out pretty flaky but I wish they were a bit tenderer. I think the next time I will try out Shirley of Kokken69 recipe for the pastry as they look so soft and tender.

I don’t think I will put up the recipe for the pastry here until I perfect it but I am posting up the recipe of the custard filling which I got it from Christine’s Recipe.

Ingredients for Custard Filling
Adapted from Christine’s Recipe

3 eggs
110 gm caster sugar
225 gm hot water
85 m evaporated milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Add sugar into hot water, mix until completely dissolved.
2. Whisk egg with evaporated milk. Pour in sugar water. Mix well.
3. Sift egg mixture to get rid of any foam into a tea pot. Carefully pour egg mixture into each tart shell.
4. Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Position rack in lower part of the oven. Bake tarts for 10 to 15 minutes until the edges are lightly brown.
5. Lower the heat to 350 degree Keep an eye on them. Once you see the custard being puffed up a bit, pull the oven door open about 2 to 3 inches. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes until the custard is cooked through. Just insert a toothpick into the custard. If it stands on its own, it’s done.

Ayam Kampong Goreng/Fried Free Range Chicken

2011-09-18T18:24:00.002-04:00

This is a popular fried chicken dish using Kampong Chicken/free range chicken. It is usually serve with Nasi Lemak. I remember there was this Nasi Lemak seller at Subang Jaya that sells tons of this daily. It will be fried on the spot and people will make a bee line for it. Sometime you have a wait for some time to get serve but it is all worthwhile when you sink your teeth into the tasty juicy chicken. With very few ingredients but it is packed with explosive flavors. So here I am trying to replica it. It actually turns out pretty well.

Ingredients:
Recipe Source: My Kitchen Snippets

1 small free range chicken – clean and cut into 8-10 pieces

Marinate:

5 cloves garlic
2 shallots
1” ginger
2 stalk lemongrass – remove the outer layers and cut small
2 tsp coriander powder
1 tbsp chili powder
2 tbsp curry powder
1 1/4 tsp salt or to taste

1. Put the garlic, ginger. Shallots and lemongrass in the food processor and blend it into paste. Combined the rest of the marinate ingredients. Mix well.
2. Pat dries the chicken pieces. Add in the marinate paste and mix it into the chicken really well. Set it aside to marinate at least 4 hours. Heat up some oil for deep frying.
3. Once the oil is hot enough, fried the chicken pieces over medium heat until golden brown and cooked.
4. Serve it with rice.

I am entering this post in the Muhibbah Malaysian Monday roundup, created and hosted by Sharon of Test with a Skewer and Suresh of 3 Hungry Tummies.

Cherry Frangipane Tarts

2011-09-15T18:30:00.000-04:00

Cherries are a must have summer treats. They are great in dessert or simply popping them in your mouth. There are still plenty of cherries out there but for now I can only find the Bing cherries and not the Rainier. They are both different in color and flavor. Bing cherry has a deep red skin with similar colored flesh while the Rainier has translucent flesh and yellow skin with a rosy hue. I prefer Rainier because they are bigger, much sweeter and more refined in flavor. They have a very short season of availability, so I will always grab some when I see them. I splurged quite a bit of $$$ each season on this particular fruit as they are the most costly than the regular Bing cherry. Anyway, I reserved some of it to use it in the frangipane tarts. There recipe is the same as Peach Frangipane Tarts and I re-post it here again.

Here is a bit of history on Rainier Cherry.
From WiseGeek

Rainier cherries are especially large, sweet cherries developed by researchers at Washington State University. These cherries are highly prized in the Pacific Northwest for their superb flavor, and several nations, including Japan, also import large amounts of Rainier cherries when they are in season. As a general rule, Rainier cherries are more costly than other cherry varieties, but some consumers feel that the added price is worth the superb flavor.

Thanks Michelle and Karen for the cherry trees pictures.

These cherries were bred in 1952 by crossing the well-known Bing variety with the Van cultivar. The result was an unusually large golden to orange cherry with sweet yellow flesh. The pomologists who developed the Rainier cherry named it after Mount Rainier, a landmark in Washington State, and a number of cherry orchards began producing the crop commercially. Several things distinguish the Rainier cherry from other cherry varieties. The first is the unusual and distinctive color discussed above. Rainiers also have a tender texture which is almost creamy, and their sweetness is much higher than that of ordinary cherries. Many producers wait until their cherries are at the peak of sweetness before picking, so that they can negotiate the best price for them. This can expose farmers to loss, because birds are big fans of the sweet fruit, and they can consume up to a third of a crop.

Ingredients for Pastry:
From Source: My Kitchen Snippets

210 gram flour
113 gram cold butter – cut into cubes
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg yolk
1-2 tbsp cold water

1. Put flour, butter, sugar, baking powder and salt into a food processor fitted with metal blade. Process until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. Then add in the egg yolk. With the motor running, add in the cold water in tiny trickles, until the pastry just hold together.
3. Remove from the processor, press together into a ball, wrap in plastic wrap and place in the fridge to rest for half an hour.

Ingredients for Frangipane Cream:

113 gram butter – room temperature
100 gram powder sugar
160 gram almond meal
1 tbsp flour
2 eggs
1 tbsp milk powder
½ tsp essence vanilla
some fresh cherries
3 tbsp apricot jam – for glazing the tarts

1. In a mixing bowl, cream butter, icing sugar and vanilla together until well combined. Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well mixed.
2. Add in the flour, almond meal and milk powder. Mix until well combined and set it aside.
3. Greased 12 tart pans (I used 1 1/2" diameter tart pans) and pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F. Roll out the pastry and line the tart pans. Spoon the frangipane cream into the pastry tarts and fill it to about 2/3 full.
4. Top it with a cherry. Repeat the same to the rest of the tart shells. Baked for 25-30 minutes until the top is golden brown.
5. Heat up the apricot jam in the microwave for 20 seconds. Brush it all over the warm tarts.

Steamed Meat Buns/Sang Yoke Bao

2011-09-13T18:12:00.003-04:00

Each time I go to dim sum place I will definitely order their steamed baos/buns. The nearest Chinatown is about an hour away from my house so I don’t get to eat dim sum often. So when craving strike I will have to make it myself. I will usually use the Vietnamese pre-mixed bao flour but they are not always as fluffy as I wanted them to be. I tried making them from scratch a few times but the results were not good. The buns usually turn out yellowish and pretty chewy. I’ve been searching for a recipe that uses regular flour for the dough as most recipes I see used Hong Kong flour. I can’t seem to find them here in the US.

Finally I saw this posting from Vivian Phang Kitchen that used regular flour for her baos. I bookmarked them and finally get to try them out recently. It turns out pretty good when they were warm but slightly chewy texture when it cools down. Overall, I am satisfied with it for the time being until I get Diana to bring back a few kilograms of the Hong Kong flour for me from Malaysia.

Ingredients for the dough
Adapted from Vivian Phang Kitchen

Overnight sponge dough

60 gram flour
40ml water
1/2 tsp yeast
1 tsp sugar

Pau dough

110 ml water (I need 130 ml)
1/4 tsp yeast
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 cups plain flour (I used bleached flour)

For the meat filling:
Recipe Source: My Kitchen Snippets

500 gram ground pork or chicken
10 water chestnut – cut into small cubes
3 spring onions – cut small
2 cloves garlic – chopped
2 tsp ginger juice
1 tbsp corn flour

Seasonings:

2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 pepper
Salt to taste

3 hard boiled eggs – cut into 4 wedges each
12 1.5" sqaure parchment paper

1. Mix the meat filling ingredients and the seasonings together. Mix it well and set it aside to marinate for at least an hour.
2. For the sponge dough, mix all the ingredients together to form dough. Wrap the dough in a greased plastic wrap. Make a tight knob without leaving any space for the dough.
3. Let the dough to rest in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Thaw the dough 10-15 minutes at room temperature before using it. Tear the dough into small pieces before use.
4. For the bao dough, put all ingredients from (B) except flour into the mixing bowl. Mix well and then add in the overnight sponge dough pieces follow by the flour. Mix and knead them into smooth dough. Cover and let them rest for 10 minutes. (I let it rest for half an hour)
5. Transfer the dough to working surface. Divide the dough into 12 portions and mould into balls. Flatten balls into round shape. Then place 1 ½ tablespoon of the filling and 1 wedges of egg in the middle of circle. Wrap and pleat the dough to seal. Place bao onto a 1.5” square parchment paper, with the seal side up.
5. Let the baos rest for 15 minutes before steaming. In the meantime prepare the steamer. Bring the water up to a boil. Arrange buns into a steamer, leave about 1” gab in between buns. Steam over high heat for 12 minutes. Remove buns from steamer and cool on rack to prevent soggy bottom.

This is the bun flour that I found at the Asian store. I comes in a 5.5 pounds bag. The bao turns out really white and soft.

Peanut Butter Cake with Maple Syrup Glaze

2011-09-12T02:51:00.000-04:00

Growing up we had a lot of peanut butter with bread. My mom will always have a big jar of Smuckers ‘Groober’ peanut butter with grape jelly for us. My sister Angela will only eat the peanut butter and I will only have the grape jelly. So can you imagine how the jar looks like as we both will try to scrape out our favorite ha ha… we always get scolding from our mother for doing that.

I am sure my mom and sister would love this cake as both of them are a huge fan of peanut butter. Too bad they are so far away and I can’t share it with them. I don’t have a specific recipe to follow and I just made it up as I go along. I didn’t expect it to turn out well but it did. If you like peanut butter this is the cake for you.

Ingredients:
Recipe Source: My Kitchen Snippets

2 sticks/226 grams/1 cup butter
1 1/2 cup sugar
1 cup peanut butter – creamy
5 eggs
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking power

Glaze:

1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup powder sugar
3 tbsp milk – you might need more if the drizzle is too thick
1/4 cup chunky peanut butter

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Generously grease and flour a 10” Bundt pan. Sift together the flour and baking powder and set it aside.
2. Beat butter, sugar and peanut butter together until light and creamy, scraping the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add in the vanilla. Mix well.
3. Add in the flour mixture in 3 batches alternately with the milk until well combined. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for an hour or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let it cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto the rack and allow it to cool completely.
4. To prepare the glaze, combine all the ingredients and mix it with a whisk. Mix really well. Drizzle the glaze all over the cake and allow it to run down the sides.

Laksa Lemak/Nyonya Laksa

2011-09-09T18:23:00.002-04:00

There are so many different variations of laksa in Malaysia. . It depends on which part of Malaysia and you will surely get a different bowl of laksa. Penang Laksa, Asam Laksa , Kelantan Laksa, Johor Laksa, Sarawak Laksa and the list goes on. The most common one from Kuala Lumpur is Curry Laksa or curry mee Laksa lemak, also known as Nyonya laksa is a Laksa from Melaka. It is a type of curry laksa with rich and sweet coconut gravy. Lemak is a Malay culinary term which refers to the presence of coconut milk. As the name implies, this dish is all about the broth, it is made with rich, slightly sweet and strongly spiced coconut broth.

Ingredients for the paste:
Recipe source: My Kitchen Snippets

4 red chilies
6 dried chilies – soak in hot water until soft
3 shallots
3 cloves garlic
5 candlenuts/buah keras
1” ginger
1” fresh turmeric or 2 tsp turmeric powder
¼ cup dried shrimps – soak in water until soft

For the Broth and garnish:

3 stalk lemongrass – white part only – smashed it
6 cups of chicken or shrimp stock
3 cups thick coconut milk
5 daun kesum leaves/Vietnamese mint
1 tbsp sugar
Salt to taste
2 cups of bean sprouts – remove the roots and blanched
20 fresh shrimps – peel and deveined
12 pieces of tofu puffs – wash and squeeze out the oil
Some fish balls/shrimp balls or fish cakes
4 hard boiled eggs
A packet of yellow noodles – wash and blanched in hot water

1. Put all the paste ingredients in a food processor and blend it into a smooth paste. Set aside. Heat up a heavy bottom pot and add in about 3 tbsp of oil. Cook the paste over medium low heat until fragrant.
2. Add in the chicken or shrimp stock, lemongrass and bring it up to a boil for 10 minutes. Blanch the shrimps in the stock for 2 minutes. Remove them and set it aside.
3. Add in the coconut milk, fish balls, tofu puffs, and daun kesum and bring it back to a boil. Let it simmer for 5 minutes. Remove some of the excess oil from the top of the broth (you can leave it if you like it).
4. Add in seasonings and adjust the taste to your liking.
5. To serve: Put the some noodles and bean sprouts in the serving plate or bowl. Pour enough gravy over it and top it with shrimps, fish balls, and hard boil eggs.

I am entering this post in the Muhibbah Malaysian Monday roundup, created and hosted by Sharon of Test with a Skewer and Suresh of 3 Hungry Tummies.

Strawberry Shortcake

2011-09-08T07:18:00.001-04:00

Since there are still so many nice strawberries around, I decided to make this classic American dessert. Strawberry shortcake is the combination of biscuit, fresh strawberries and cream. This no fuss dessert is great for summer when strawberries are at its peak. You can actually use any type of fruits or berries for your shortcake but the most popular one is the strawberry.

Ingredients:
Recipe source: My Kitchen Snippets

2 cups flour
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
6 tbsp cold unsalted butter – cut into cubes
¼ tsp salt
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
½ cup milk

Filling and topping:

1 ½ pound fresh strawberries
3 tbsp sugar – more if you like it sweeter
1 cup (240 ml) cold heavy whipping cream
1 - 2 tablespoons powder sugar

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degree F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set it aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Rub the cold butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
3. Whisk together the egg, milk and vanilla extract and add to the flour mixture, mixing just until the dough comes together. Do not over mix the dough.
4. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead the dough gently four or five times and then pat or roll the dough into a 7 inch (18 cm) round. With a 3 inch (7 cm) round cookie cutter, cut out rounds and place the scones on the baking sheet.
5. Brush the tops of the scones with a little bit of milk. Bake for about 15 - 20 minutes or until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted in the center of a scone comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
6. Filling: Wash, hull, and slice the strawberries. Sliced it and add in the sugar. Set aside to macerate at room temperature for about 30 to 60 minutes.
7. Whipped Cream: Chill the bowl in the freezer for 10 minutes. Place the cream and sugar in the bowl and whip until stiff peaks form. The whipped cream can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for a few hours.
8. To serve: Cut the scones in half and place the bottom half of the scone (soft side up) on a plate. Spread some whipped cream on, top it with some strawberries. Place the top half of the scone on the strawberries. Top with whipped cream and a few more strawberries. Serve immediately.

Vietnamese Shaking Beef/Bo Luc Lac

2011-09-06T07:47:00.003-04:00

My friend Janice and I went to Philly for our Asian groceries shopping a couple of weeks ago and after that we went for lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant. Since I’ve never been there I let her do the ordering. She ordered a few dishes and one of them was Bo Luc Lac. Bo Luc Lac literally translated is ‘Shaking Beef’ The luc Lac refers to how you have to shake back and forth the skillet or wok to sear the cubes of beef.

I love this beef salad so much that I have to re-creates it at home. After a little research online I came up with this. I used my leftover tenderloin from the freezer for this but you can use other cuts of meat of your choice as long as they are good for quick stir-fry. This dish is normally served on a bed of watercress salad and since I am too lazy to drive out to get it I just served them with lettuce and tomatoes. Both of us enjoyed this dish very much. The beef is so tender, succulent and flavorful... it packs such a punch of flavor. The next time I cook this again I will try it out with other cuts of meat and see the difference in taste.

Ingredients:
Recipe Source: My Kitchen Snippets

1 lb beef tenderloin
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp black pepper
1 red chili - sliced (optional)
1 onion - sliced

1 bunch lettuce (watercress is traditionally used)
2 tomato
3 tbsp rice or white distilled vinegar
1 tsp sugar

1. To prepare the meat for the marinade, remove silver skin and cut out excess fat. Cut meat into 3/4” cubes and place into bowl to marinade. Add in chopped garlic, fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar and pepper. Mix really well and let it marinate for at least an hour.
2. Prepare your lettuce and sliced tomato thinly and place over the lettuce on a serving platter and set it aside. Mix the 3 tbsp of vinegar and sugar together. Drizzle it all over the salad before serving.
3. Ensure the marinated meat is at room temperature if you had refrigerated it. This means it should be out of the fridge at least 15-20 minutes before cooking.
4. Set a wok or large pan over high heat. Oil up the wok with 3 tbsp vegetable oil. When the oil is shimmering, add in your meat. Try not to over crowd the pan. This is important to ensure good searing. Cook in batches if necessary. Also, take care not get marinate into the pan if not the meat won’t sear well.
5. Allow to meat to sear for about 2 minutes, before “shaking” to sear the opposite sides for about another 1-2 minute until brown all the sides. Before the meat is fully done, add in the onion and chili. Give it a few quick stir-fry.
6. Transfer beef to bed of lettuce and tomatoes. Serve immediately.

Note: We like our beef medium well done so I cook it for a total of 5 minutes.

Clay pot Loh Shu Fun/Clay pot Silver Needle Noodles

2011-09-04T18:03:00.002-04:00

I like all kinds of noodles and I can have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner. There are so many types of noodles out there and three of my most favorite has to be flat rice noodles, yee mee and this Loh Shu Fun or literally means rat noodles. The noodle got its name from its shape resembling the tail of a rat. Loh Shu fun is white and semi-transparent and it is made mainly from rice flour and corn flour to get the smooth texture.

I am so glad that I am able to get this type of noodles here in the US. I will never hesitate to buy a few packets if I see them on the noodles shelves. There was once I was looking for it at the Asian supermarket and can’t seem to find any of it and I asked the cashier if they have any Loh Shu Fun at the back of the store. She gave me a weird look and had no clue what I was talking about. She must think I was crazy ha ha.. I described the noodles to her and she said…oh..you are looking for "Ngan Chum Fun". I never knew it was called ngan chum fun in Cantonese. Literally means Silver Needle noodles. Well, now I know.

This noodles can be stir-fried, blanched and mix it with sauces, cooked in soup or stir-fry. I have yet to find a restaurant here that serve this noodles dish but back in Malaysia certain restaurant or roadside stalls do serve these noodles in various way. One of the famous ways of cooking is Clay-Pot Lao Shu Fun. The purpose of using clay-pot is it retains heat and also to make the dish look more appealing. Before serving they will crack an egg on top and you have to mix it well before digging into the dish. So here is my take on this dish.

Ingredients:
Recipe Source: My Kitchen Snippets

400 gram Loh Shu Fun
150 gram ground pork/chicken or beef
1 small carrot – peels and sliced thinly
3 pieces of cloud ear fungus – soak until soft and sliced thinly
2 shallots – sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
Small bunche of mustard green – wash and cut
50 gram bean sprouts
2 cups chicken stock
1 tsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water
1 egg

Seasonings:

2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
½ tsp sugar
Salt and pepper taste

1. Heat about 2 tbsp of oil in a clay-pot or wok. Sauté the shallots and garlic until fragrant. Add in the ground meat, wood ear fungus and carrot. Stir fry until the meat no longer pink. Add in the loh shu fun and stir-fry for a few seconds and add in the chicken sauce.
2. Bring it up to a boil and add in all the seasonings. Add in the mustard green and continue to simmer for another 3 minutes.
3. Add in the cornstarch mix and bring it back to a boil. Check seasonings. Lastly add in the bean sprouts and stir well.
4. Remove from heat and crack in the egg. Serve immediately.

I am entering this post in the Muhibbah Malaysian Monday roundup, created and hosted by Sharon of Test with a Skewer and Suresh of 3 Hungry Tummies.

Strawberry Jam

2011-09-01T07:10:00.002-04:00

Strawberries are abundance now and it can be really cheap. I bought a few pounds of it the other day. Some I had it fresh and some I made it into jam. This recipe yield 2 jars and it will last me for some time. I usually have it with toast or scones.

Ingredients:
Recipe source: My Kitchen Snippets

5 cups strawberries – halves or quarters
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1. Combined strawberries and sugar in a heavy medium saucepan and bring it to a simmer over medium heat.

2. Stir frequently and remove the bubbles on the top. Simmer for over an hour or until thick, stirring occasionally.

3. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Cool at room temperature before storing it in jars. Refrigerate it.

Note: You can always use other fruits like blueberries, apricots, peaches for the jam.

My Kitchen Snippets has exclusive rights to all the recipes and photos in this blog.

Kakiage/Japanese Vegetable Fritters

2011-08-31T06:03:00.002-04:00

I always like this type of vegetable fritters. I remember I used to buy them from Jaya Jusco back in Malaysia. I am not sure if they are still selling this fritters at the Japanese food section. Anyway, Kakiage is a member of the tempura family, though these mixed vegetable fritters are less complicated to make than is usual for tempura. Kakiage is great to make when you need to use up the vegetables remaining in your fridge, like onions, carrots, bean sprouts, zucchini, sweet potato and etc. You can eat them on their own with your favorite dipping sauce or simple serve them with rice or a simple bowl of soba or udon noodles.

Ingredients:
From My Kitchen Snippets

10 shrimps – peel and deveined
1 zucchini - grated and squeeze out the water
1 small carrot - grated
1 small onion - sliced thinly
1 cup bean sprouts
1 red chili - chopped
3 spring onions – cut small

Batter:

1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup rice flour
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp baking powder
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In mixing bowl, mix all the batter ingredients until well combined. Set it aside to rest for 15 minutes.
2. In the meantime, clean the shrimps and give it a rough chop. Prepare the vegetables.
3. Heat up some oil for frying. Add all the cut vegetables and shrimps to the batter. Mix well.
4. Once the oil is hot enough, put a spoonful of the batter into the oil. Fry the fritters on both sides until golden brown.
5. Remove and drain the oil on paper towels. Serve immediately and enjoy it while it is still warm.

Note: You can use any type of vegetables for this fritters. Sometimes I will add sweet potatoes, beans, asparagus or whatever I can find in my fridge to it.

WISHING ALL MY MUSLIM

FRIENDS AND READERS

" SELAMAT HARI RAYA AIDILFITRI AND TO ALL MALAYSIAN HAPPY MERDEKA "

Penang Tau Sar Pheah/Mung Bean Biscuits

2011-08-29T13:12:00.001-04:00

As a paradise of cuisine, Penang has indeed a whole range of delicious cuisine that attracts many visitors to the island. One such delicacy is the ubiquitous Penang Tau Sar Pheah. It is widely enjoyed by both locals and tourists. Penang tau sar pheah (豆沙饼) in Hokkien, is basically a baked biscuit with thin layers of flaky pastry and mung beans filling. There are many brands of this biscuit in Penang, but the most famous one will be the Ghee Hiang and the Him Heang brand. A trip to Penang will not be complete if you don’t buy a few boxes of this biscuits to take home with you to share it with family and friends.

I will always bring back a couple of boxes of this biscuits with me when I am back for vacation. This is one of the snacks I miss a lot since living here in the US. There was once I didn’t packed the biscuits well and once it reach the US custom, the immigration lady wanted to check one of my suitcase. She unzip the suitcase and some of the tau sar pheah fell out. It was all over the table. It was so embarrassing ha ha… and she said this must be something good as you carried it all the way from back here. Thanks God she was not upset with me and didn’t confiscate the biscuits. So each time I eat this biscuits I will think of the incident.

In conjunction of Malaysia Independence Day on the 31st of August, as usual Babe in the City-KL will be hosting a virtual Merdeka Day open house and this year theme is Makan (means Eat) Through Malaysia which we are to prepare a dish famously linked to a place in Malaysia. Actually it is a pretty tough theme for me as I have been away from Malaysia for so long and hardly have a chance to try out all the great food in Malaysia. After giving it some thought, I decided to make this famous biscuits. This was in my to-do list for a few years now and finally I can strike it off the list.

I prepared the filling a day earlier and the traditional Chinese pastries the next day. There is a lot of wrapping, rolling and rolling and by the time I finish the 65 pieces I was death tired but it is all worth it. The biscuits tasted really good with flaky pastries and very nice and fragrant filling.

Dough A
Recipe source: My Kitchen Snippets

175 gram Flour
100 ml vegetable oil

Dough B

345 gram Flour
180 ml vegetable oil
135 ml water
¾ tsp vinegar

Filling:

50 ml vegetable oil
2 shallots - thinly sliced
150 gram sugar (if you like it sweeter you can add more to it)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp white pepper
400 gram dried mung beans

Prepare the filling:

1. Soak the beans for at least 4 hours, steamed for 30 minutes or until soft. Put it in a food processor and give it a few pulses (not too smooth). Add In the sugar, salt and pepper and mix well.
2. Heat up the oil and fry the shallots until lightly brown and fragrant. Add in the bean mixture. Stir and fry until the mixture is slightly dry and you are able to form it into a ball with it.
3. Remove and divide the filling into 65 small balls. Set it aside.

Prepare the dough:

1. Mix ingredients for dough A until it form into a smooth dough. If the dough is too dry add a bit more oil. Wrap dough with cling wrap and set it aside to rest for 30mins. Divide into 65 pieces.
2. Mix Ingredients for dough B together until it form into a smooth dough. Wrap dough with cling wrap and set it aside for 30mins. Divide into 65 pieces

To assemble the biscuits:

I am using the same pictures on how to roll out the pastry from my previous posting of Wife Biscuit/Lao Por Peng .

1. Take a piece of dough B and wrap it around dough A. Be sure to wrap tightly and eliminate any air pocket. Flatten the dough with your palm then roll it out into long oval thin dough using a rolling pin (pix A). Roll the dough up like a Swiss roll (Pix B and C).

(pix A)

(Pix B)

(Pix C)

2. Turn the dough 90° (pix D), flatten it and roll it out thin (pix E). Then roll it up like a Swiss roll (pix F) Repeat step 1 and 2 with the remaining dough.

(Pix D)

(Pix E)

(Pix F)

3. Take 1 piece of pastry dough, press down the center of the dough (Pix G)and pinch both ends (Pix H)together then flatten it so the dough is roughly round shape. Roll the dough out to a circle

(Pix G)

(Pix H)

4. Wrap it with filling. Brush with egg wash and bake it in a pre-heated 375 degree F oven until golden brown.

I am entering this post too to Muhibbah Malaysian Monday, created and hosted by Sharon of Test with a Skewer and Suresh of 3 Hungry Tummies.