Tang Yuen 2010.......

Yummilicious Tang Yuen with black sesame fillings..........

Tang Yuen ready to be serve in sugar syrup......

The Tang Yuen floats up when cooked............

I finally made my tang yuen or glutinous rice balls this year after my niece Lena bought a packet of the glutinous rice flour for me. Today, my son H help me knead the dough and fill the balls with peanut and black sesame fillings. It is such a tedious job filling the tiny balls with fillings and its good if there are more helpers but I have only one son who can cook. It is worth all the hard work if you can bite into the soft balls and taste the delicious fillings melting in your mouth. Like to share the recipe here.

Son H wrapping up the dough with black sesame seeds fillings.....

Peanuts fillings: Blend peanuts and rock sugar til fine

200gs peanuts- roasted n skinned

150g rock sugar

Black sesame fillings:

100g black sesame- washed, drained and toasted in pan then blend til fine

50g soft brown sugar

50g butter

Syrup: Bring all ingredients to boil til sugar dissolved

2 litres water

200g rock sugar

4 pandan leaves knotted

Dough:

400g glutinous rice flour

2 tbsp wheatstarch flour(Teen Mien Fen)

200 ml hotwater

200 ml cold water

Put glutinous rice flour in a bowl. Add hot water and stir with a wooden spoon to mix. Then slowly add cold water to knead into a smooth dough. Divide dough into 3 portions to add the desired color. Then pinch off a small portion of dough and roll between palms into rounded balls. Flatten into thin disk and wrap around 1 tsp of filling and roll into a rounded ball. Repeat with the rest of the dough.

To cook the rice balls, boil water in a pot or wok. Drop in glutinous rice balls and cook until rice balls float up. Dish up with a perforated ladle and drop into a bowl of ice cold water for 5 minutes.

Serve it with prepared syrup water. It can be serve hot or cold.

A New Template....A New Face....

Today I did some browsing through my picasa pics and made a new header and also try out the new template on Blogger to replace my very old green one. So don't think you have come to the wrong blog. I like the light sky blue background that seems to breath some fresh air into my little cyberspace.

Life has been pretty quiet here these days as bloggers like me have take a turn for some other activities like facebooking, twittering, or playing with their new iphone n, ipad, with so many new applications which made blogging seems like some old fashion game.

Today ipad was officially launch in M'sia, though many had own it few months ago and I have dream of owning one too if i can get some sponsors. Just wonder which is better, iphone or ipad....

Homemade Carrot Noodles.....

Recently I bought a versatile juicer that can also process noodle. So after juicing my carrots, I add the juice into flour mixture to knead into a dough. I add some eggs to make a more springy noodle. Homemade noodles is fresh and you can add other juices like wheat grass or spinach for a healthier meal.

Divide dough into small pieces .......

Noodles are process by my juicer machine.......

Ingredients:

500 g medium protein flour

3 eggs

3 tbsp carrot juice

3 tbsp water

10g oil

1 tsp salt

Method:

I used my thermomix machine to knead into a smooth dough. Those without it can used a bread maker or manually knead with hand which takes about 10 minutes to become a smooth and elastic dough. Leave the dough to prove for an hour cover with a damp cloth. For my noodle maker I just divide the dough into 10 small oblong shaped and press into the juicer to cut out. Wonderful isn't it to have such a good invention saving all my time and hardwork instead of roll out into thin sheets with a rolling pin which my weak arthritis hand could not do. So there is no kneading, rolling or cutting for me to do by hands. Easy peasy for me and I can made any noodles I want in less than 10 minutes. Flat pan mein noodles, round noodles, thin wan tan noodles is all I can made with just a change of the desired nozzle.

Baked Curry Puffs..........

Healthy puffs ready to bite in.............

I had a busy August month and I had many things to share but could not find the time to post up here. Another lame reason is I am just plain lazy to blog as my time is spent more on my FB games. So now I get a break from my addiction to share something here. Today's food is Baked Curry Puffs which I made a month ago. Gosh! that is how long I have been away from here.

I used some atta flour or wholewheat flour that is use to make the Indian Capati for this pastry. With baking this Malaysian favorite snacks it saves me the time of splattering my nice kitchen from any oily vapour besides being a much healthy snack.

Ingredients for pastry:

150g atta flour

150g plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

140g cold butter

Ice cold water to mix

Fillings:

200g lean meat (pork, chicken or beef)-diced

2-3 medium sized potato

1 tbsp oil

1 big onion- chopped

1 tbsp meat curry powder

1 tsp of chicken powder

salt to taste

Method:

The ready cook fillings........

Dice meat into desired cubes. Add salt and curry powder to season it for awhile. Boiled the diced potatoes in pot til tender. In a wok or pan, heat oil and sautee the chopped onions for a minute. Add in the meat and cook til browned and add in the boiled potatoes. Mix well and season to taste. Dish out filling onto plate and leave aside to cool.

To make the pastry, sieve flour and salt into a mixing bowl and rub in the cold butter gently until it resembles fine bread crumbs. Add enough ice cold water to form a firm dough. Wrap up dough with plastic sheets and leave to chill in fridge for about 30 mins before using.

Cut out pastry circles ready for wrapping with fillings.....

Roll out pastry thinly about the thickness of a 50 sen coin and stamp out with a cutter (I used the cover of my biscuit container) into circles of 9 cm in diameter. Place spoonful of fillings in the centre. Fold over, flute if you are skilful or just press down with a fork to seal the edges. I use the plastic curry puff maker bought in supermarket for easier handling as my arthritic fingers made it more diffficult for me to flute it.

Unbaked puffs ready to go into oven...........

Lastly brush puff with beaten egg for a golden glaze. Baked in a preheated oven of 200 degrees Celcius for 15 to 20 minutes or til golden brown.

Note: I had other versions of curry puffs over here and here.

I like to bake in double portions and when cooled I keep the puffs in airtight container or sealed plastic bags then kept in freezer for weeks to enjoy. When needed just take out to thaw and heat in microwave.

For those who wants to know how a curry puff mould looks like, refer to the above pic.

Put a cut pastry on top , add in fillings, fold over, press and pull out the unwanted ends.

My Focaccia Bread.......

Yesterday I baked a Focaccia bread kneading it in my Thermomix. It is an Italian oven baked flat bread which is so simple to make. All you need is some high gluten flour, yeast, salt, sugar, water and olive oil. I added some Parmesan cheese powder and finely chopped fresh herbs of rosemary and thyme to the dough. Focaccia dough takes up more water than a normal bread and so it is has more moisture and stickier. Here is a recipe to share.
I use gram here because my TM 21 can weigh all the ingredients plus the liqiud while I add in the ingredients one by one.

Ingredients:

500g high protein flour
100g/ml milk
250g/ml water
20g/ml olive oil
10g sugar
15g dried yeast/3 tsp
5g salt/ 1 tsp
50g Parmesan cheese powder
1 tbsp of freshly chopped mixed herbs(Rosemary, basil or parsley)

Method: Using Thermomix.

1. Put water, milk, dried yeast, and sugar into TM bowl. Set temperature @40 C, speed 2, for 10 seconds to warm the liquid. Next add in flour, salt, herbs, Parmesan cheese powder and olive oil. Set @ 20 seconds speed of 6 to mix the ingredients.

2.Then set timer to 2 1/2 minutes and press 'Knead' button to knead the dough.

3. Take dough out from bowl and place on a lightly oiled large bowl and leave covered with a damp cloth to rest for 45 minutes to an hour in a warm corner of your kitchen. ( I put the whole bowl in a clean plastic bag and tied up.)



4. Take the risen dough out of bowl and put on a lightly floured surface to prevent it from sticking it to the surface. Press both fingers on the dough to flatten it. Fold both ends together and flatten it again with hands. Do it few times to clear out the air.


5. Place dough in baking tray lined with non stick paper. Brush or drizzle olive oil on the flatten bread and sprinkle some Parmesan cheese on top.(I sprinkle some sesame seeds in addition to the cheese because I love the smell of sesame)

6. Bake the dough in a preheated oven of 220 degree Celcius for 40 - 45 minutes til golden brown.


For those who do not have a thermomix, omit method 1 and 2 and replace it with this method here:

1. Place water, milk, sugar and yeast in a bowl and rest for 5 minutes. Its better if the milk and water is lukewarm but not hot so that the yeast will proof better.

2. Put flour in a large bowl, make a well in the centre and slowly pour in the yeast mixture. Fold in the flour with hands to combined and knead into a soft smooth dough.

The baked focaccia bread is moist and soft on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Son R 's dinner of Focaccia bread with creamy mushroom soup, pork chops and salads.

The Most Awesome Porridge With My TM 21...

TM 21 short for Thermomix is actually the most wonderful machine that I ever had in my kitchen. It is a powerful blender which can cook, weigh, cut, chop, mix, mince, pulverize, grate, grind, mill, beat, whip, whisk, knead, emulsify. It can also steam, simmer, and stir fry. My TM 21 is an old model bought a decade ago and now there is a newer version known as TM 31 which was recently promoted in Malaysia and selling like hot cakes.

My older model TM 21, cooking the porridge....

Few days ago my eldest son was having a bad flu so I cook this very smooth and nutritious chicken porridge for him in just 13 minutes. All I need to do is put all ingredients like washed rice cubed onions, chicken pieces, potatoes, carrots and water into the machine, adjust timer, temperature and speed. Viola! porridge is ready to be served.....

To tell you sincerely, the porridge turns out so smooth, soft and flavorful that it can even beat those in any famous restaurant. It cooks while stirring rice and blending the chicken meat and at a desired temperaure of 100 degree Celcius all at the same time. So easy peasy. It will be most useful for those with elderly or babies who need to have soft diet like this as it can grind and cook anything to smooth paste in seconds at the push of a button.

I cook some chicken mushroom soup and knead my dough for sausage rolls in my Thermomix yesterday which is also called Bimby overseas. It only takes less than a minute to made a smooth dough.

For more info of this wonder kitchen appliance from Vorwerk, Germany here are some links to share...

Superkitchen Machine Blog

Note: Would love to create more recipes and share with anyone with this super machine. Recently I have join the team of Advisors with the company that import and distribute Thermomix 31. Anyone can contact me here for more info or have any recipes to share.

Aromatic Pandan Chicken.....

Pandan chicken

Yesterday I cook this yummy chicken dish using lots of screwpine leaves or known as Pandan in Malay. The unique taste and aroma of these screwpine leaves used to wrap round the seasoned chicken pieces which is then deepfry in hot oil to bring out a flavorful dish which nobody could resist. Pandan leaves can be easily grown if you live in the tropics and have a small garden and it doesn't need lots of care. I brought some over from my garden in my hometown house during the weekend. Here is a recipe to share.

Blended shallots, garlic, ginger and lemon grass....

Chicken with blended ingredients and sauces......

Ingredients:

3 Chicken thighs-deboned and diced into 6x3-cm pieces
3 shallots-peeled
2 slices ginger
2 cloves garlic
1 stalk lemon grass
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp Worchestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp chilli powder
100 ml coconut cream or santan

15-20 pieces pandan leaves-washed

Wrapped chicken ready for deep-frying.......

Method:

1. Rinse chicken meat and pat dry with kitchen towel.
2. Blend shallots, garlic, ginger and lemon grass in a processor with a little water. 3.Then mix it with the rest of the ingredients(except the pandan leaves) into the chicken.
4. Mix well and leave to marinade for 3 to 4 hours in fridge.
5. Wrap up each piece of chicken neatly with a pandan leave and secure with a wooden toothpick.
6. Heat oil in wok or deepfryer and deep-fry for 6 to 8 minutes til chicken is cook through.
7. Drain and serve it with hot rice.

Guinness Stout Spare Ribs....

Yesterday I tried my hands on this dish which uses the famous Irish beer for cooking my spareribs. It turns out well and tasted just as good as those eaten outside and if not the best. Maybe next time I will give it some variations like adding jams or maltose instead of honey to add to the flavor of the bitter sweet stout. Here is how I cook it......

1. Wash 600gm of spare ribs and drained. Dap dry with kitchen towel.

2. Marinate the ribs with 1 tsp ginger juice, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp light soya sauce, 3 tbsp Guinness Stout, 1 tbsp plain flour and 1 tbsp cornflour. Keep aside in fridge to season for 2 to 3 hours covered.

3. Deep fry the marinated ribs in hot oil for about 2 minutes. Remove and drain.

4. Heat 1/2 tbsp oil in a clean wok. Pour in sauce mixture A which consist of 1 tbsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 1/2 tbsp honey, 1 tbsp freshly squeeze lemon juice, and 9 tbsp Guinness Stout. Bring it to boil.

5. Return ribs to wok and mix well. Pour in 1/2 cup water and bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer for about 40 minutes til the ribs are tender and make sure the gravy is not too dry. Lastly thicken the sauce with cornflour mixture by mixing 2 tsp of cornflour with 1 tbsp water. Dish up and it is ready to be eaten with hot rice.

Spicy Nestum Butter Prawns....

Actually I already had a recipe of this savory dish in my blog here. My boys love to eat anything cook with butter and what more if it is fried and fragrant. As it is not a very healthy dish for those with high cholesterol I would try to lessen the amount of butter and omit the egg yolk in this variation. This time I peel the prawn shells before cooking to make it easy to pop into the mouth without dirtying the fingers and also convenient for little children to eat. Omit the chillis or split it into halves and take out the seed like I do for small children. Here is a healthier recipe to share......

Ingredients:

600 g medium prawns- peeled and leave the tail part on.

2 sprig curry leaves-take out the stems

5 chilli padis - chopped

5 cloves garlic- chopped

2 tbsp of evaporated milk

1 tbsp of butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp of salt

Marinade: for Prawns

1 egg- slightly beaten

1/2 tsp salt

a dash of pepper

1 tsp cornflour

Method:

Marinade the prawns with egg, salt, pepper and cornflour. Keep aside in fridge for about 30 minutes. Deep fried the prawns in hot oil til just cook or change color. Drain and keep aside.

Then in a clean wok or pan, heat olive oil and butter under medium heat as butter will get easily burnt on high heat. When butter melts, add in the garlic, chopped chillis, curry leaves to fry for a minute or two til fragrant. Next, add in the fried prawns and mix well for another minute. Add milk to it while stirring.

Before dishing out, add in the Nestum ( made sure it is original and not the packet mix which is too sweet for this dish) and stirfry for a minute sprinkling some salt for flavor. For those who love Nestum you can add more to bind with the buttery prawns to make a drier crispy texture.

Kam Heong Chicken.....

Oh dear, its quite sometime since I have posted any of my cooking here. Guess I am pretty busy, not with work but just buzzing around with my lappy, addicted to Farmville games recently which I have to admit. And there were times I had to exercise a lot to get myself ready for my vacation, then had to rest putting up my feet for nearly a week after both my ankles were swollen from too much walking. I had food poisoning which renders me disable for another week which happens few days before my trip to Hong Kong. 'Phew'...what a lucky me to be able to walk the streets of HK after 5 days on plain porridge. Ok, now comes the Kam Heong Chicken which I cook 2 days ago......

Ingredients:

3 chicken thighs deboned

100 ml water

Ingredients for Kam Heong sauce:

2 tbsp dried prawns- soak and chopped

2 tbsp chopped garlic

3 shallots peeled and chopped

2 sprig curry leaves

6 chilli padi,chopped

3 tbsp oil

Seasoning: Mix well in a bowl..

1 tsp curry powder

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp dark soya sauce

2 tbsp water

Marinade:

1 tsp light soya sauce

1 tsp oyster sauce

1 tsp cornflour

a dash of sesame oil

Method:

Mix chicken with marinade and leave aside in fridge for 30 minutes. Deep fry in hot oil til golden brown. Dish and drain.

Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok, saute dried prawns, chopped garlic, and chopped shallot til fragrant. Add in curry leaves,chilli padi, seasoning and stir fry til aromatic. Add in chicken thighs, water and stir well. Cook til gravy is thick and dish up. I have another Kam Heong recipe for seafood here.

Tsim Sha Tsui, Dim Sum, & Symphony of Lights...

Last week I went to Hong Kong with my family of sisters, nieces and of course our mum in her eighties. Don't under estimate her vigour and energetic feet because of her age. I am still the weakest among all our ladies clan with the most complain and disabilities. Yet I manage to follow everyone of them til the end of the trip despite my painful and swollen ankles. We did our own tour with the help of our dear niece, Lena. It was such a good family outing in a far away land.

Roti Jala aka Lace Pancake....

Yesterday a friend call me up to ask about the making of Roti Jala which in Malay is translated as net bread. It does not look anything like a bread to me but a lacy pancake is more precise the correct word. It has to be eaten with a curry sauce and so I made some Curry Kapitan to go with it. Here is the recipe to share of the Roti Jala.

Roti Jala cup with five funnels........

Ingredients:

2 cups or 240g flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs, lightly beaten

120 ml or 1/2 cup thick coconut milk

2 cups or 500 ml water

a pinch of tumeric for colouring

Method:

The batter that is mix til smooth.........

Sift flour into a bowl and add salt and tumeric powder. Combine coconut milk with water. Gradually stir in beaten eggs and coconut milk into flour and beat til batter is smooth. Strain batter to get rid of lumps.

Cooking roti jala in non stick pan............

Grease and heat a non stick pan over low heat. Put a ladleful of batter into roti jala cup and move it in circular motion over pan so that pancake will have a lacy pattern. Cook til set. Fold it into two or fold once and roll up. Serve it with any curry of your choice.

A Bowl of Udon in Soya Milk.....

These days I keep reminding myself that I need to eat healthy food to keep my inflammation down. I do not want to rely totally on my toxic medication to keep me going. So for lunch yesterday, I made my own soya milk from organic soya beans and cook some Udon (Japanese rice noodles) to go with it. Soya products are high in antioxidants and nutrients that have anti-inflammatory effects. Here is to share the recipe.

A bowl of homemade unsweetened soya milk......


Spring onion, cherry tomatoes, dried bean curd skin..(I love dried bean curd skin).................

My favorite, golden mushroom......

Japanese rice noodles..........

My squids, prawns, crabmeat and fishballs.....

Ingredients:

A handful of Udon

A bowl of unsweetened soya milk

A handful of Golden mushrooms

Seafood of your choice(clam,prawns, squids, fish or fishballs)

3 small tomatoes

1 stalk spring onion

2 bak choy leaves

Method:

Cut spring onions into sections and tomatoes into halves. Scald Udon and golden mushroom til cook and set aside.

Mix spring onion sections, tomatoes, soya milk in a pot and bring to boil. Then add Udon, golden mushroom, bak choy, seafood and fishballs and simmer in low heat for a minute til cook. You can also add in an egg before serving.