Strawberry Tart

This has been in my to do list for quite sometime and I guess to end this month of love in a sweet way is to make this sweet treat, so I decided to make this tart in heart shape :) Moreover with Korean strawberries in season, sold in almost all supermarkets - sweet and juicy - best timing!

Adapted from Precious Moments, this tart is delicious and you just can't get enough of it! :)
It's actually more to strawberry chilled cheesecake to me - yum! :P
Still need to improve my skills in making it look prettier though *shy*
And also I guess I have made the crust slightly too thick to my preference, still it tasted great :)

What you need:

For the crust:
188g plain flour
113g cold unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
⅓ cup sugar
¼ tsp salt
For the filling:
250g cream cheese, softened
¼ cup sugar
fresh strawberries, hulled
strawberry jam for coating

Preheat oven to 180 ºC
Rub in butter to flour, sugar and salt till it become moist crumbs. Transfer the dough to pie pan and pressed firmly. Freeze crust until firm (around 10 mins)
Pricked crust and bake for about 25 – 30 mins till golden brown. Cool
In a bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar till smooth. Spread mixture evenly in pie crust
Arrange strawberries and brush heated jam. Chill for at least an hour
Remove from pan and serve

I happened to have some extra seedless grapes too, so I made another pan with a mixture of strawberries and grapes - apparently Abby prefer grapes than strawberries :)

I'm submitting this tart to "Aspiring Bakers #4: Love In The Air! (Feb 2011)", hosted by Cuisine Paradise at this LINK

Stir Fry Prawns In Butter Sauce (Udang Goreng Mentega)

Another dish loved by my family - saw the picture from Melly's photo collection and mentioned there the source of the recipe is from Ricke's blog

What you need:

250g large prawns - washed and deveined
1/2 large lime
salt, pepper
oil to fry the prawns

3 cloves of garlic - crushed
1/2 small onion - julienned
margarine, oyster sauce, worcestershire sauce, kecap manis, chicken stock powder

Marinade prawns with lime juice, salt and pepper - set aside for 15minutes
Heat oil in a pan - stir fry prawns til color changed - set aside
Heat margarine in the same pan, stir fry garlic and onion til fragrant
Add in fried prawns
Add in oyster sauce, worcestershire sauce, kecap manis and chicken stock powder
Mix well, simmer for around 15mins
Serve hot with rice

I also make the chicken version for Abby, as she cant take seafood
This is also yummy :)

Fried Mee - Another Recipe

Drooled ever this noodles made by another online friend of mine - Melly, I made the dish and was very well loved by my family
Really really tasty! :P
As usual, I have to eat fried noodles with pickled vegetable and ABC chilli sauce :)
Too bad Abby is allergic to seafood (lucky fish is not included), so I changed prawns used to fried fishballs

What you need:

2 packets of flat egg noodles - prepared as directed
4 eggs - mixed with a few pinches of salt - lightly beaten
6 cloves of garlic - crushed
1 chicken breast - sliced
5 fried fish balls - diced
cabbage - sliced
chyesim - sliced
sesame oil, canola oil, garlic oil, salt, pepper, fish sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, kecap manis, chicken stock powder, a little water

Prepare the noodles as directed - after drained, drizzle with a little sesame oil - set aside
Fry eggs with oil to make scrambled eggs - set aside
Heat pan with garlic oil, stir fry garlic til fragrant, add in chicken and fishballs, cook til chicken slices change color
Add in salt, pepper, fish sauce, oyster sauce, ketchup, kecap manis, chicken stock powder and a little water - mix well
Add in cabbage and chyesim - stir for a while (around 1 minute to avoid them being overcooked)
Add in scrambled eggs and noodles - mix well
Serve hot

Baked Bread With Sugar (Roti Panggang / Bagelen)

Dunno what to do with bread leftover?
I usually make bread pudding
But what to do when you're just too lazy to spend sometime in the kitchen?
Perhaps you can try this recipe below...so easy and yummy :)
Got this idea from one of my Indonesian online friends whom I admire her cooking and baking skill, Diah Raki

What you need:

10 slices of white bread - cut into 4 squares (or whichever shape u prefer)
3 tbsp margarine
5 tbsp golden caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence

Beat margarine, sugar and vanilla in low speed for 5minutes
Spread on the bread (advisable to spread quite thick otherwise the bread will end up tastes bland)
Put bread on slightly greased cookies pan, and bake for 10minutes in preheated oven of 200degC
Let cool and keep in airtight container

Cornflakes Fried Chicken Strips

Fried chicken (or whatever fried) is one of my family's fave, especially Ian
He always likes those food with strong taste, not really a fan of something bland (read: healthy)
Knowing that deep-frying itself already a not so recommended cooking method, I always try to switch to baking, but if it's still not possible, I try to choose what I fry

When I saw this recipe from My Kitchen, I was very excited to try - this is very yummy, all in the family likes this dish and I think baking this will still give a nice result - will try next time :)

What you need:

400g chicken breast meat, cut into strips
3 tbsp all purpose flour
garlic salt, pepper

2 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp fresh milk
around 100g cornflakes - crushed
salt, pepper

oil for frying

Pat dry chicken strips with paper towel then marinate with garlic salt and pepper to taste for about 10 minutes
Meanwhile, prepare egg mixture by mixing together egg and milk in a bowl
And, combine crushed cornflakes with salt and pepper in a separated shallow bowl
Put all-purpose flour into a clean plastic bag, add in chicken strips and shake well to coat all chicken strips with flour evenly
Take a piece of chicken coated with flour, shake to remove excess flour. Dip into egg mixture, then drop in cornflakes bowl to coat. Repeat for all chicken strips
Heat oil in a pot, drop in chicken strips and fry with medium heat till golden brown

Fudgy Brownies Pop

Finally I made this - supposedly Valentine's Day gift for Abby and Ian, but delayed for a week cos of my health issue last week :)

I fell in love with these pops when I saw them in Foodbuzz somewhere in early February
They're so pretty and cute!
When Abby saw the pictures, she said, I want those lollipops, mummy! :)

This is how to make them:

ready to eat fudgy brownies - cooled
heart shaped cookie cutter
dark chocolate cooking bar or candy melts
decorative sprinkles
lollipop sticks
styrofoam block

Crumble brownies in a large bowl using hands, shape into heart shaped cookie cutter, place on lined baking pan
Melt chocolate or candy melts according to instruction
Dip the sticks into the melted chocolate and gently insert the stick into each of the heart shaped brownie
Place them in the freezer for a few minutes to harden
Place the remaining of the melted chocolate in a narrow bowl or cup
Dip each brownie pop into melted chocolate, gently tap on the side to remove excess chocolate
Place each pop standing upright onto styrofoam block and let them dry completely
(this is a challenge in hot and humid Singapore weather - I placed them in an aircon room)
If using sprinkles, do immediately after dipping
I used pink color icing pen to draw on the pop

Besides heart shape, I did round shape too cos Ian kept on telling me that lollipops are round! LOL

Honestly, to make these pops is not easy at all, at least for me, whom always sucks in decorating my baking hehe... But it's all worth it when looking at the expression in my kids face...wow, mummy! You made lollipop cakes!!! :P

Okay now, about the brownies for the pops....

I wanted to use my usual recipe for the brownies but then I saw this recipe from Baking Library, and decided to give it a try - the brownies looked so sinfully rich and fudgy, my kind of brownies :)
Indeed it is!!!
It's so fudgy that I didn't need to add any additional frosting to mould them into heart shape - make my job easier :)

What you need:

To make the brownies:
185g dark chocolate (I use 70%) - melted and cooled
110g unsalted butter - softened
220g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
200g eggs (I use 4 large eggs)
75g plain flour
50g cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 180degC
Cream butter and sugar on medium speed for about 3-5 minutes. As there is a larger proportion of sugar to butter, the mixture will not end up being fluffy
Slowly add in eggs by the tablespoon to the creamed butter, beating the mixture well before incorporating the next tablespoon
Beat in melted chocolate and mix well. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often to ensure even mixing
Stir in the dry ingredients with a spatula or wooden spoon to get a smooth batter
I used 22cm square pan, pour the batter onto the pan and level the surface. Bake for around 20 minutes at 180 degrees C. The top should be crusty and dull. When lightly pressed on the surface, the underneath feels semi-firm. Cool baked brownie in tin for 45mins before removing to cool on wire rack

This was the brownies before the make over - yum!!!

I am submitting these cute little pops to "Aspiring Bakers #4: Love In The Air! (Feb 2011)", hosted by Cuisine Paradise at this LINK

Homemade Chicken Burger

I don't know if I can say this burger as homemade, since I didn't make the bun myself
Instead I bought Sunshine brand burger bun *grin*

What's homemade is the chicken patties, adapted the recipe from Nasi Lemak Lover

I have never, yes - never, make bread in any kind - not even once in my life!
It's not that I do not like bread, in fact I love bread, it's just that I never had the kick to give it a try
But recently, I have been tickled to try many new bakings - and bread is one of them
But this busy (read: lazy) mum thought, oh well, I'd just make the patties first, after that I'd see if I had time to try out those lovely buns...and of course, I ended up never made them hihihi....
Anyway, the buns will definitely bookmarked and still in my (long) to do list, in the meantime, this is what I had

The patties is just delicious, I follow everything exactly and it turned out perfect! My kids can eat just the patties, or eat them with rice :)
The only thing is I perhaps put too much breadcrumb coating resulting in a deep fried kind of finishing look
What you need (for the chicken patties):
500g minced chicken (I used breast meat, cut and put in chopper)
1 onion, finely chopped
3tbsp fresh breadcrumbs
3tbsp fresh milk
1/4tsp white pepper powder
1/4tsp black pepper powder
1/4tsp chicken stock powder
1tsp salt or to taste
plain flour - enough for coating
1 egg - lightly beaten
fresh breadcrumbs - enough for coating

Mix fresh breadcrumbs and milk in a mixing bowl, set aside for few minutes
Fry the onions till soft, and mix into minced chicken
Add the rest of ingredients and seasoning, mix till well combine, form into patties
One by one, dip patties in plain flour, next coat in beaten eggs, then transfer to breadcrumbs and coat thoroughly
Pan frying with little oil until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels

I put iceberg lettuce, tomato, mayonaise, tomato ketchup and chilli sauce on top of the patty before top up with the bun

Before closing:

Will definitely do the homemade bun too next time :)

Fish Maw Soup

Yesterday was Chap Go Meh and I cooked this dish for dinner, since I still have fish maw left
Recipe is from Peng's Kitchen
This soup is so yummy and when it's almost ready I saw a can of pacific clams standing pretty in my cupboard, I quickly opened it up and added them in this soup :)

What you need (a little modified to suit my taste (and greediness :P)):

50g fish maw - softened
2 stalks spring onion - sliced
3cm ginger - sliced
300g pork ribs
1 chicken breast bone
4 dried oyster - softened
3 slices ginger
around 700g chinese cabbage - cut into big chunks
20pcs chicken mushroom balls
1 can pacific clams - drain water
water, salt

Place ginger and spring onion in a pot of water, bring to boil. Add fish maw, bring to boil
Lower heat, simmer for another 15mins - drain away water
Cut fish maw, set aside
Blanch pork ribs and chicken bone in boiling water, drain away water
Bring to boil  water, chicken bone, pork ribs, ginger, dried oyster sauce
Lower heat, let simmer for 30mins
Add cabbage, simmer for 1 hour
Add balls, fish maw and clams - simmer for another 30mins
Add salt to taste - off heat

Fermented Cassava Cake With Cheddar Cheese (Cake Tape)

I love this cake, but the problem is it's impossible to find fermented cassava in Singapore
And it's too troublesome to make!
I ever bought the cake from Jakarta and paid quite an amount for the shipping fee - I did post here - was really craving for it at that time :P
Coincedentally my mum brought some from Jakarta, so here it is...
This I can say the best fermented cassava cake Ive ever tried - soft texture, not too dense, can really taste the fermented cassava and the cheese - yum! :P

What you need:

1/4kg fermented cassava - mashed
4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
200g butter
250g sugar
6 eggs + 1 egg yolk
250g plain flour - sift
100g grated cheddar cheese
extra grated cheddar cheese for topping

Beat cassava, condensed milk and butter - til fluffy and creamy
In another bowl, beat sugar and eggs til light and fluffy
In low speed, add in cassava mixture into the egg mixture - mix well
Add in grated cheese, mix well
Fold in flour - do it gradually til well incorporated
Pour onto greased 24cm square pan, bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes
Take out the pan and add the cheese topping, continue baking for another 30 minutes or til golden light brown

Mummy, please bring more fermented cassava the next time you come visit me okay :)

Cream Puff (Kue Sus Isi Vla)

This is my mum's recipe (again - yes, she's one of my recipe sources :P)
I love this since my childhood and so does my family

All the puffs before adding in the filling

Rum custard and chocolate custard filling

What you need:

For the puff:
125g plain flour
100g butter
4 eggs
200ml water
1 tsp salt

For the filling:
20g cornflour
20g plain flour
70g sugar
2 egg yolks
300ml fresh milk
rum (for rum custard)
unsweetened cocoa powder + chocolate emulco (for chocolate custard)

For the puff:
Bring to boil water, butter and salt, add in plain flour - off heat, stir well
After cooled, add in eggs, beat with mixer for around 2 minutes
Grease cookies pan, spoon 2 tbsp of the dough - make into round shape, give enough spaces in between
Preheat oven at 200degC for 10mins, bake around 20mins or til golden brown

For the filling:
Mix egg yolks and sugar also milk, put in a pot on low heat, stir til mixed well
When already hot, add in cornflour and plain flour, stir til incorporated, let it cooked - keep on stirring til smooth
After that let it cool, then make into 2 portions
1 portion to add rum for rum custard filling, and the other portion to add unsweetened cocoa powder which has been mixed with chocolate emulco and a little hot water for the chocolate custard filling

Cut the puff big enough to add filling, add accordingly
Makes 20pcs

Crispy Baked Fish Fillets

I was still not feeling so good today, but definitely better - been resting for almost two full days!
Still in low mood to be in the kitchen, so I just made something simple, recipe from Little Corner Of Mine which has been in my to do list for quite sometime
(FYI, the list is super long! :P)

My kids don;t really fancy fish - unfortunately
Well we know that fish is good, especially for kids, I give them fish oil supplement but I still do my effort occassionally to make them eating more fish
Forget about steam / soup, they will definitely say no, but when I do other styles, they're more behaved :)
Deep fry or pan fry - taste nice but not a good idea to do this too often
Baked is still the best option for them but I am really lack of idea for baking fish which is not those spicy Indonesian style :)
Lucky I found this recipe - they love it to the bits!
Actually I think I didn't crush the cornflakes fine enough, but they still enjoyed it, I think cos they love cornflakes :)

What you need: (modified to my family's preference)

2 big fish fillets (I use sutchi fillets) - cut into big chunks
Marinate the fish with olive oil, garlic salt and all purpose seasonings
Keep in the regrigerator for around 3 hours

Crush cornflakes in sealed bag (not too fine), and mix with breadcrumbs
(I use Japanese breadcrumbs so I pulsed 2times to make it finer)
Put the mixture in a shallow plate

Spray the aluminum foil lined baking pan with canola oil spray. Take a piece of the fish and generously coat it with the cereals mixture. Pat it in and put extra coating on top of the fish fillet before baking. The olive oil used in marinating the fish pieces should be enough to make the coating stick

Bake in preheated oven 230degC for 10 minutes. Serve hot with baked potatoes - I bake the mini potatoes together with the fish, next time I'l prepare sour cream, chopped spring onion and bacon bits to eat with these little cuties :P)

Nice to do this version for lean chicken meat too, and perhaps next time I might try to replace olive oil with garlic oil :)

Chocolate Pudding With Fruits Cocktail Sauce

My mum's recipe - first trial based on verbal explanation without any past hands on experience!
I love this pudding, we all in the family do
But all this while, my mum was the only one who always lovingly prepared this pudding for the whole family

Now when craving strikes and she's not around with me, I picked up the phone, and asked her the details while at the same time jotted down everything in a piece of paper
Hung up the phone, rushed to get the ingredients I didn't have and spent around one hour in the kitchen

This recipe is not as easy as it seems when you read, timing and speed is essential
I was nervously perspiring bullets, but ended up had a big relief sigh - mission accomplished! :P

One ingredient needed to make this pudding is originally from Indonesia, chocolate sweet condensed milk, which is not available in any supermarket in Singapore

So far I only know one shop sells this: Belanja.com
This shop sells all Indonesian stuff, located at Lucky Plaza level 2 or you may order online too

What you need:

1 can of chocolate sweet condensed milk - mix with water to 1000ml
2 packets of white agar agar - mix with 1200ml water
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp mocha emulco
6 heaps tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder - mix with a little water, til form thick liquid

For the sauce:

1 big can Del Monte fruit cocktail with syrup
1 honey pineapple - small cut
water
5 heaps tbsp white sugar
5 heaps tbsp brown sugar

For the pudding:
In a pot on medium fire, heat up milk mixture
When it's warm (you can see a little smoke coming up), take 8 tbsp of the warm milk and pour to egg yolks, mix well
Pour the egg yolk mixture onto the milk mixture slowly, stir continuously
Bring to boil, then let it simmer
Add in mocha emulco and cocoa powder using strainer onto the milk mixture, stir till well mixed
Off heat
Bring to boil agar agar and water mixture, keep on stirring
Once boiled, pour agar agar mixture onto the milk mixture, stir continuously til well mixed
Pour the mixture immediately to the mould
Let cool, once cooled keep refrigerated

For the sauce:
In a bowl, bring to boil cut pineapple and water also sugar, mix well
Once boiled, let simmer for around 30mins til the pineapple consistency is just right - off heat
( I like it not too soft)
Pour fruit cocktail with the syrup, mix well
Adjust the sweetness if needed
Let cool, once cooled keep refrigerated

How to eat:
Pour over the sauce onto the pudding - yum!!!

It takes lots of love to prepare this pudding, not to mention the mess in the kitchen after that haha...
Last time it was my mum who did that, now it's my turn! :)

I'm submitting this pudding to "Aspiring Bakers #4: Love In The Air! (Feb 2011)", hosted by Cuisine Paradise at this LINK

Orange Pound Cake

Another cake, it's pound cake - close to butter cake *grin*

This time is with another mission - to finish my oh so many oranges in my fridge :)

This time recipe was from Kitchen Snippets, DH could not stop eating this, and I had a terrible confession, I ate 5 slices in one day! *faint*

What you need:

226g unsalted butter - softened
4 tbsp milk
3 eggs
1 3/4 cup plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp grated orange zest
1 tbsp vanilla

For the glaze:
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

For the cake:
Preheat oven to 165degC. Grease two small loaves pan with some butter
Sift flour, baking powder and salt and set it aside
Beat soft butter and sugar together until light and creamy
Add in eggs one at a time until well incorporated into the butter
Add in the orange zest and vanilla
Slowly fold in the flour and milk into the mixture, mix well
Pour into the loaf pan and bake until skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean
Allow the cake to cool on pan for 10 minute before turning it into the cooling rack
For the glaze:
Combine sugar and orange juice in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat, stirring until sugar has dissolved and reduce glaze by half
Brush some of the warm glaze over top of cake

Love love love the texture of this cake!

I still have some leftover of the orange glaze... Perhaps I just spread over toasted bread tomorrow morning for my breakfast :)

Indonesian Style Chicken Noodle With Beefball (Mi Ayam Bakso)

Today (oopss, its past midnight, I mean yesterday) is 7th day of Lunar NY
People believe it's the day when everybody grows one year older
Everybody today is tossing yusheng and feasting with Chinese dishes, but this is what I cooked today - so Indonesian! :P

Adapted and modified from Mochachocolarita, she always has ideas to make cooking easy yet yummy :P
Moreover she's also Indonesian - many of her Indonesian food recipes are still in my to do list hehe...

What you need:

Soup:

1 chicken breast bone
hot water
2 shallots, cut
1 clove of garlic, crushed
salt, pepper, sugar
beef balls

Cook chicken bone in hot water with garlic, ginger and shallot, let cook until you have the chicken flavor you prefer, season with salt, pepper, and sugar
Add in beef balls upon boiling, off heat when all the balls float

Meat topping:

250g minced chicken
2 cloves of garlic - crushed
1 can of button mushroom - cut into 4
vegetable oil, fish sauce, light soy sauce, sweet soya sauce (kecap manis), oyster sauce, white pepper, hot water

Saute garlic in vegetable oil until fragrant, add mushrooms let cook, add meat, add sauces and seasonings, add hot water, let cook and reduce, keep tasting til the desired taste achieved

Noodles -> cook as directed
( I used hongkong style noodles)
Mix drained noodles with a dash of light soya sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil

Garnish:
spring onion - chopped
fried onion
large lime

How to eat:
Top noodles with chicken, garnish with fried onion, spring onion, ans a squeeze of large lime
Eat with beefball soup and chilli sauce (sambal cap Jempol)
Yum!

To all, happy birthday! :)

Cocoa Butter Cake

I always love butter cake, so does DH
This makes my eyes blink everytime I find butter cake recipe with nice pictures
Just like this one - I found this recipe at Nasi Lemak Lover
Seeing the pictures, I was like, ok, I'll try this asap!!!

Easy to make and great taste - even my fussy mum said, this is nice - give me the recipe :)

What you need:

250g butter
160g sugar
4 eggs
250g cake flour
1tsp vanilla essence
2tsp of double action baking powder
4tbsp milk
2tbsp cocoa powder and ½ tsp coffee powder mix with 3tbsp hot water

Sift cake flour and baking powder in a bowl
Beat butter with the sugar until pale and fluffy
Add in egg one at a time, add in vanilla, mixing well
Fold in flour and milk, combine well
Mix ½ portion of cake mixture with cocoa mixture
Pour cake mixture into cake tin and follow by cocoa cake mixture ( i did this but after that I swirl the cocoa cake mixture hence the marbled effect)
Bake in pre-heated oven at 180C for 30mins or skewer came out clean

Great for tea time! :)

Baked Fish In Honey Sauce & Stir Fry Brocolli With Shitake Mushroom

Bought black pomfet but too bored with pan fried dish, so I decided to go through a little bit more hassle but enjoyable dish in the end :)

What you need:

1 large black pomfret  - cleaned and cut across
cooking spray

(A) juice of squeezed large lime, salt, pepper
(B) sweet soya sauce (kecap manis), honey, bird's eye chilli (green chilli padi) - crushed, butter - mix well

Spread (A) all over the fish, pan fry (yeah...still have to pan fry) - don't pan fry til crispy, only cooked
Spread (B) all over pan fried fish, put on greased (with cooking spray) pan and put in preheated oven (on grill mode)
Turn the fish occasionally til well cooked
While turning the fish, can spread more of the (B) mixture

Not too much of a hassle actually after tasting this delicious baked fish :)

Eat the fish with this easy peasy veggie dish:

What you need:

2 cloves of garlic - crushed
7 medium shitake mushrooms - sliced
1 medium brocolli - cut
oil, oyster sauce, fish sauce, salt, pepper, a little sugar and water

Heat oil, stir fry garlic til fragrant
Add in mushrooms, stir well, followed by oyster sauce - mix
Add in brocolli, stir well quickly, add in water, fish sauce, salt, pepper, sugar - mix well
Adjust the taste accordingly then off heat

(Do not cook for too long after adding in brocolli if you prefer crunchy brocolli - I hate soft and overcooked brocolli)

Stir Fry Leeks & Fried Fish Fillet

CNY is not enough withour leeks - people believe it symbolizes wealth and fortune :)
It does add fragrance in soups and I like them stir fried too

What you need:

2 cloves of garlic, crushed
5cm old ginger, peeled and sliced
3 stalks of leeks, washed and cut
spring onion, cut
sesame oil, a little water, oyster sauce, light soya sauce, chinese cooking wine, chicken stock powder, a little salt and sugar

Heat oil, stir fry garlic til fragrant, add in ginger and spring onion, mix well for awhile
Add in leeks, followed by oyster sauce, light soya sauce, chinese cooking wine, chicken stock powder, salt, sugar - mix well
Add a little water and stir
Off heat

Eat the leeks dish above with fried fish fillet
Many likes to mix fried fish (fillet or whole) with the leeks together as one dish, but I don't really like the idea cos it'll rob the crispiness of the fried fish - I just hate eating soggy fried fish, therefore I separate these into two dishes :)

I used sutchi fillet, cut small, mix the fish fillet with salt, pepper, chicken stock powder, self raising flour and a little corn flour
Deep fry (best to fry just before mealtime)

Yum!!!

Sweet & Spicy Prawns

I just realized I had this in my kitchen cabinet - fortunately it's still not expired

I had plan to cook prawn dish today but not with this sauce
But since I got this with me, I'd better use it up before it's forgotten again :)

Dunno what I've done wrong, it turned out so different from what's shown in the packaging
The sauce is real close to chilli crab sauce - DH was quite happy with this dish, unlike me whom expected something different with the prawns I have bought

Following exactly from the instructions in the packaging, what you need:

80g peeled prawns - butterflied
1 pack egg tofu - sliced
1 small onion - julienned
oil, eggs, potato starch, water

Heat oil, deep fry egg tofu til golden brown - set aside
With a little oil, stir fry onion til fragrant, add prawns, stir til half cooked
Add in the sauce and a little water, also fried egg tofu, stir til well mixed
Add in potato starch which has been diluted with a little water and eggs, stir
Off heat
Serve with hot rice

Next time I will have mantou to eat this dish - if there is next time hehe...
Okay, I'd better buy another batch of prawns to cook with my initial planned recipe :)

Hotpot Soup

We always have the same reunion dinner for the past few years - chicken based hotpot soup with whatever ingredients we feel like having at that time, but there are two things can't be missed out - pacific clams and fishmaw

What you need:

For the soup:
chicken bone
chicken stock powder
leeks. cut into 3 parts
white raddish, cut
carrots, cut
water, salt, pepper

Bring all ingredients to boil - then let it simmer for around 2hours

What is in the soup for this year:
* fried fishballs
* cuttlefish balls
* vegetable balls
* pacific clams
* fishmaw
* fish dumplings
* shitake mushroom
* enoki mushroom
* shanghai greens

Simple dish yet satisfying :P

Macaroni & Cheese

My kids love pasta
This macaroni & cheese recipe is nice with a touch of meat and veggies included

Adapted from Little Corner Of Mine ( I modified according to my kids preference)

Before baked

After baked and cut

What you need:

2 boxes of 7.25oz Kraft macaroni & cheese

1/2 box of Philadelphia cream cheese, cut into cubes

1 chicken breast, diced

corn kernels from 2 fresh sweet corns

all purpose seasoning, garlic salt and black pepper

olive oil, 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup milk, salt, 2 tbsp butter, breadcrumbs

Cook the macaroni as directed by packetWhile boiling the macaroni, heat olive oil and add in chicken breast. Add in the seasoning and pan-fry until chicken is cooked. Add in the corn kernels and fry to mix well
Set aside
Once the macaroni is cooked, drain and back to the pot
Add 1/2 cup of water and 1/2 cup of milk and cream cheese, stir to melt the cream cheese
Add in the packets cheese that came in the box, stir to mix well
Add the chicken & veggies and a dash of salt/to taste, mix until incorporated
Pour into a baking dish and top with butter and bread crumbs
Bake in preheated 180degC oven for 15 minutes

Almond Sugee Cookies

Saw this Sugee Cookies recipe from QBB website, but since I have a pack of grould almond still untouched, I decided to add in some to the cookies
After adding grond almond, the cookies is still soft and crumbly - such a pleasant to eat them :)

Look at these cutie little balls - I like to see the cracks - the recipe said that's from the baking soda used

After bitten by me hehe...

What you need:
( I made half of the recipe)

125g ghee
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
85g icing sugar
1/3 tsp fine salt
75g ground almond

Melt ghee in the microwave, low heat for approx 20 seconds - let cool
Add vanilla essence to the cooled ghee
Sift plain flour, baking soda, icing sugar, salt - add in ground almond
Pour ghee onto the flour mixture, knead well til form firm dough
Make balls and arrange on baking tray (each ball is 1 tsp)
Bake in preheated oven of 180degC for 15mins (til cooked but not brown)
Cookies should be white in color and crumbly