Monday, May 31, 2010

Brunch....

Simple & fast Brunch for me & hubby, just cut up a red & yellow capsicum, 1 onion & 4 small eggplant, coat evenly with some olive oil, freshly grind black pepper & salt. Heat up a grill pan and grease lightly with olive oil. Place vegetables over hot grill pan and grill till cook and drizzle with some balsamic vinegar before serving :) Serve with grilled chicken marinated with BBQ sauce & olive oil which I've prepared yesterday.

Mixed Grilled Vege with BBQ Chicken

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Baked Tofu Cheesecake

First time bake a cake for my hubby to celebrate Father's Day. He does not really fancy confectionery stuffs so I never bake any on his birthdays!! Though I bake a lot he only sample a little of my bakings. I must say my boy is most supportive of all my bakings hahaha...everything he says nice..Usually I will give some of my bakes to my neighbour or my husband's colleagues.

Most Tofu Cheesecake recipes I've found online usually contains cheese and is unbaked. I've decided to try this Baked Tofu Cheesecake without using any cheese at all!! The original recipe used a sponge cake base but since I lazy to whip up a sponge cake, I choose to make a Oreo Cookies Base instead. The 'cheese' filling is very simple to make, just blend all the needed ingredients in a food blender till smooth. To ensure the texture of the cheesecake is not affected by the moisture from the tofu, the tofu must be well drained before using. To drain, place the roughly chopped tofu over a sieve. As I afraid the tofu will turn rancid sitting in room temperature, I place the sieve over a bowl and keep in the fridge for a couple of hours for it to drain of the liquid.*

The 'cheesecake' taste very tofu of course and the texture is almost like normal cheesecake! smooth & creamy...If you are a cheesecake fan, you may take a while for you to accept the taste of this non-cheese Tofu 'Cheesecake' :) Nevertheless the cake still taste palatable and nutritious if not of the cookies base ^-^ Happy Father's Day to all fathers out there!!

Ingredient
  • 150gm Oreo Cookie, cream removed
  • 60gm butter, melted
  • 500gm silken tofu, drained well*
  • 100gm sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup non-sugar soya milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
Method
  1. Line the base of a 8" round loose-based cake pan.
  2. Place oreo cookies in a ziploc bag. Crush with a rolling pin. Melt butter in a small pot. Toss in crushed cookies. Mix evenly. Spread cookies crumbs into cake pan. Press down evenly using the back of a spoon. Chill.
  3. Place drained tofu, sugar, eggs, lemon juice, soya milk & essence in a food blender. Process until smooth.
  4. Pour batter onto cookie base. Tap hard on table top to remove air bubbles. Water-bathe bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 60mins. (Wrap the bottom of the cake pan with foil to prevent water from seeping in) Cool completely in pan before unmoulding the cake. Chill the cake and decorate as desired.

Saturday, May 29, 2010

Pineapple Rice

Ingredient
  • 1 pkt Pineapple Rice Paste (I used 'Dancing Chef' brand)
  • 150gm chicken breast, diced (seasoned lightly with salt, light soya sauce, pepper, cornflour)
  • 150gm shelled prawn
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 550gm cooked rice
  • 120gm pineapple, diced
  • 1/4 cup raisins
Method
  1. Heat some oil in saucepan. Cook diced chicken & prawn separately till cook. Set aside.
  2. Heat some oil in wok. Saute onion till soft & fragrant. Add pineapple rice paste and mix evenly.
  3. Add rice and fry till rice is evenly coat with paste.
  4. Add in cooked chicken, prawn, pineapple & raisins. Mix evenly. Remove from heat & serve.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Happy 36th Birthday!!

So far this is the 3rd birthday cake I've baked for myself eversince I've started baking frequently!! turning 36 this year, yes I'm borned in the year of Tiger, Mdm Tigress hehehe... cannot believe a couple of years I'm going to hit the BIG 40s!!

Do not have the chance to attend any proper baking class on decorating, so my piping skill and decorating looks ugly, at least the 3 rose chocolates manage to beautify the cake, in my own opinion :P Guess what? after piping the chocolate writing on the cake, keep finding somewhere is wrong but just could not figure out hahaha really mental blocked...then realise I have miss out the letter 'd' for the birthday!! gosh cannot believe how blur I am! luckily manage to salvage it because the wordings were not sticking onto the cocoa powder layer.

Lovely rose shape chocolate made by my newly bought rose shape silicone chocolate mould. Thanks Jane for recommend this product!

In order to prevent the cocoa powder from staining onto the cheesecake, I've to wipe the knife each time after I sliced each pieces. But still not able to get a completely 'clean' slice.

This is how the cake looks like after baking. Water-bathe baked will not burnt and dries out the cheesecake. After the cake is out of the oven, I touch the surface gently and it feels slightly soft. But chilling the cake in fridge will firm up the cake.

Ingredient
  • 150gm oreo cookies (cream removed)
  • 60gm butter
  • 500gm cream cheese, room temp
  • 100gm sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 3/4 cup bailey
Method
  1. Line the base of a 8" round loose-based cake pan.
  2. Place oreo cookies in a ziploc bag. Crush with a rolling pin. Melt butter in a small pot. Toss in crushed cookies. Mix evenly. Spread cookies crumbs into cake pan. Press down evenly using the back of a spoon. Chill.
  3. Using a electric whisk, beat cream cheese on low speed for 1 min until soft. Add sugar and beat on medium speed till soft and fluffy. Scrap down the sides of the mixing bowl in between.
  4. Add eggs one at a time. Beat well before adding the next egg. Drizzle in bailey and beat to combine.
  5. Pour cheese mixture onto cookie base. Water-bathe bake in preheated oven at 180 deg cel for 60mins. (Wrap the bottom of the cake pan with foil to prevent water from seeping in) Cool completely in pan before unmoulding the cake. Chill the cake and dust with cocoa powder before serving.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Stir-Fry Chicken with Pineapples

An appetizing dish which my boy loves it a lot especially the pineapples :) Fish or pork fillet can be used to replace the chicken.

Ingredient
  • 300gm chicken fillet,
  • 200gm pineapple, cubed
  • 10 cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
  • 5 shallot, peeled and quartered
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1 red chilli, diced
  • 2 tbsp light soya suace
  • 1 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp mirin
  • cornstarch water
Method
  1. Cut chcken fillet in thin stripes, marinate lightly with light soya sauce, salt, black pepper & cornstarch for at least 30mins.
  2. Heat 3 tbsp oil in wok, add chicken fillet and stir fry till golden brown. Dish up and set aside.
  3. With residue oil in wok, saute garlic & shallot till fragrant.
  4. Add pineapples & tomatoes. Mix to combine. Add seasoning.
  5. Toss in cooked chicken fillet and chilli and mix evenly. Add cornstarch water to thicken the dish. Serve.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

花旗参薏米花生汤

Ingredient
  • 19gm American ginseng
  • 38gm barley
  • 75gm peanuts
  • 5 large seedless red dates
  • 2 slices ginger
  • 300gm pork ribs
  • 2000ml water
  • salt to taste
Method
  1. Blanch pork ribs in boiling water. Rinse.
  2. Rinse barley & peanuts well.
  3. Place all ingredients in a pot except salt. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2hrs. Add salt to taste.

Pan-fried Prawn with Coriander

Coriander leaves....either you like the fragrant or simply hate it :P A simple stir-fried dish which I learnt from my mother-in-law.

Ingredient
  • 12 medium prawns
  • 55gm coriander leaves
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tbsp light soya sauce
  • 2 tbsp water
  • dash of black pepper
Method
  1. Remove shell and deveined the prawns. Pat dry on kitchen towel. Season lightly with some sugar, salt & black pepper. Chill in fridge for 30mins.
  2. Wash coriander and cut into 3cm length.
  3. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Lay prawn in single layer and pan-fried each side for a min. Remove and set aside.
  4. With residue oil in pan, saute garlic. Add coriander leaves. Add water, light soya sauce and mix well. Toss in prawns and mix well. Add dash of pepper mix and dish up.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Butter Cake

Moist & buttery cake, love the fragrance of the butter lingering in the kitchen in the process of baking!! The texture of the cake is fluffy though of the 'holey' appearance. This is the first time I does folding of 8 egg whites into creamed batter, maybe not skilful enough thus resulting this problem. Maybe next time I shall use the whole eggs beating method to see how the texture looks like!


Ingredient
* 250gm unsalted butter
* 180gm caster sugar

* 8 medium eggs, separated
**
* 220gm self raising flour, sifted

* 40 ml milk

* 1/4 tsp cream of tartar

* 1 tsp vanilla essence



Method

  1. Whisk egg whites with 1/4 tsp cream of tartar until foamy. Add 100gm sugar gradually and beat till stiff peak formed.
  2. In another bowl, beat butter and remaining sugar light and fluffy, do scraped down the sides for butter that are not creamed.
  3. Add the yolks one by one, beating well after each addition and beat in milk and vanilla essence.
  4. Fold in the flour in 2 or 3 batches.
  5. Fold the stiff egg whites into the butter mixture until well-blended but don't over-do it or the whites will deflate. (ignore this step if beating in whole eggs)
  6. Pour batter into a lightly grease and lined bottom of a 8" square or round cake tin and bake in preheated oven at 160 deg cel for 55mins-60mins or until wooden skewer plunged into middle of cake comes out clean. Cool cake in pan for 10mins, unmould cake and cool completely on wire rack.
** Beat in whole eggs one at a time after butter & sugar are creamed for a heavier texture cake.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

玉米火腿面包

99.9% fail-proofed bread recipe without yeast added! no need to knead till dough is smooth....no need to wait for proofing time!!! the result is amazing!!




Ingredient
  • 200gm plain flour
  • 8gm baking powder
  • 13gm sugar
  • 1/3 tsp salt
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 150gm natural yoghurt (use Pauls All Natural Yoghurt)
  • 3 slices cheddar cheese, sliced
  • sweet corn kernels
  • ham
  • mayonnaise
Method
  1. Sift plain flour & baking powder into a mixing bowl. Add in sugar, salt, egg & natural yoghurt.
  2. Use a electric whisk, beat on medium speed till a soft sticky dough is formed. (takes less than 1min)
  3. Divide dough into 6 and spread into a round flat disc onto a lined baking sheet. Pipe some mayonnaise over the surface, lay some cheese, corn & ham over and finally spread some more mayonnaise.
  4. Baked in preheated oven at 200 deg cel for 15-20mins until golden brown.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Rice, Noodles, Pasta

Grains
糯米鸡
庙口咸粥




鸡丝粉皮
红糟面线
蚂蚁上树
海鲜焦底米粉
松山路凉面
猪脚米粉


Pasta


Chicken/Duck Dishes



Apricot Chicken
Ayam Golek (Grilled Spicy Chicken)
Ayam Masak Merah
Ayam Percik (Kelantan)
Ayam Siow
Baked Cajun Chicken
Baked Mustard Lemon Chicken
Baked Teriyaki Chicken 

Baked Terikyaki Chicken 2 
Baked Thai Chicken Meatballs
Balsamic Chicken & Roasted Vege
BBq Chicken with Buttered Garlic Rice
Black Pepper Chicken Chop
Bovril Chicken with Potatoes
Boxing Chicken in Pineapple Sauce
Braised Chestnut with Chicken
Braised Chicken Drumstick in Carrot Sauce

Braised Chicken with Anka & Ocean Bamboo
Braised Chicken with Corn in Beer
Braised Chicken Wings

Braised Chicken with Dried Longan & Spices
Braised Chicken with Yam
Buffalo Wings 

Chicken Kebabs
Chicken Kiev 
Chicken Korma
Chicken & Chives Dumplings
Chicken Patties

Chicken Ponteh
Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken & Potato Patties
Chicken Roll with Mushroom Sauce
Chicken Slices with Ginger & Wine
Chicken Tikka Masala
Classic Chicken Adobo
Coconut-crusted Lime Chicken
Crisp Chicken Cutlet
Crispy Skin Roast Duck
Devil's Curry 
Festive Golden Five-Spice Chicken
Fried Chicken Meatballs
Fried Chicken with Onion & Tomato Sauce
Fried Chicken Wings
Fried Chicken with DOM
Fried Pumpkin with Minced Chicken & Lemongrass 
Fruity Chicken Drumstick
Galangal Chicken
Garlic-Butter Rubbed Chicken with Roasted Oranges
Green Chicken Curry

Grilled Chicken with Worcestershire sauce 
Grilled Lemongrass Chicken Wings

Grilled Miso Chicken
Guangxi Style Steamed Chicken
Hainanese Chicken
Herbal Chicken

Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Homemade Chicken Nuggets II
Homemade Chicken Stock
Homemade Japanese Curry
Honey Chicken Chop
Honeydew Curry Chicken

Indonesian Style Grilled Chicken
Kindled Chicken & Lotus Root
Korean BBQ Chicken
Korean Fried Chicken (Spicy)
Korean Fried Chicken (Non-Spicy)
Korean Spicy Chicken (Baked)
Laotian Style Chicken Fricassee 
Lemon Fried Chicken
Lemon & Black Pepper Roast Chicken
Lemon & Olive Chicken
Lemon Chicken 2
Lemony Rosemary Chicken
Lotus Roots Patties

Lychee Chicken Red Curry 
Mango Basil Chicken 
Mango Chicken
Mango Chutney Chicken
Marmite Chicken

Nyonya Curry Chicken
One Pot Creamy Chicken 
Oven Fried Chicken
Pandan Chicken
Peach Chicken

Pesto Chicken Quesadilla  
Pistachio Crumb Chicken
Pomegranate Glazed Chicken
Potato Chicken Croquettes
Prata Sesame Chicken Roll 
Prawn Paste Chicken
Roast Chicken Wings
Roasted Chicken Drumstick in Capsicum Coconut Sauce
Roasted Coriander Chicken 
Roasted Mint Chicken
Roasted Pandan Chicken
Slow Cooker Pull Bbq Chicken
Slow Cooker Roasted Chicken
Smoked Tea Chicken
Spiced Chicken Skewers
Spicy Chicken with Pears

Spicy & Sweet Drumlets
Spicy Roast Chicken

Spring Chicken with Bamboo Shoots & Mushroom 
Spring Chicken with Scallop Sauce 
Steamed Chicken in Fragrant Oil
Steamed Chicken in Lotus Leaves
Steamed Chicken with Garlic & Pandan Leaves 
Steamed Chicken with Red Dates & Lotus Seeds
Steamed Herbal Chicken Drumlets
Steamed Tofu with Chicken & Chinese Sausages 
Singapore Satay (Premix)
Stir-Fry Chicken wif Apples
Stir-fry Chicken with Pineapples

Stir-fry Chicken Wings with Broccoli & Cauliflowers
Stir-fry Pandan Chicken
Stuffed Portebello Mushroom 
Swiss Wings
Sweet & Sour Chicken Fillet
Sweet Soy Chicken

Terengganu Braised Chicken
Teriyaki Chicken
Thai Basil with Chicken

Thai Curry Chicken with Sweet Potato
Thai Fried Chicken
Tomato Chicken Stew

Tsukune
Vietnamese Caramelized Chicken Wings 
Vietnamese Garlic Chicken

Yam Puffs





三杯 鸡
五 香炸鸡
咸 酥鸡
宫保 鸡丁
当归 炖鸡
洋 葱棒棒鸡腿
盐 水鸡
腐乳炒 鸡丁
香菇 腊肠蒸鸡
黄 酒鸡

红糟盐酥鸡 
药材蒸鸡 
珍珠鸡肉丸 
冬瓜咸蛋蒸肉 
南瓜番茄炒鸡丁 
蒟蒻焖鸡块 
虫草花蒸鸡 
红糟炸/蒸鸡 
咸菜鸭 
醉鸡卷
五香烤鸡翅
腐乳咸酥鸡
火鸭腊味蒸 
 港式酱油鸡腿
豆豉凤爪
沙姜炒鸡丁
山奈烤鸡
红烧马铃薯鸡丝
蜜糖蒸鸡
南乳苹果烤鸡
清蒸沙姜鸡
玫瑰露酒豉油鸡
柱候薯仔焖鸡



Thursday, May 6, 2010

Tomato & Pumpkin Soup

Ingredient
  • 5 tomatoes
  • 800gm pumpkin
  • 250gm frozen boiled clams
  • 250gm pork ribs
  • 2 slices ginger
  • 2400ml water
  • salt to taste
Method
  1. Thaw clams and rinse.
  2. Cut tomatoes into quarters.
  3. Peel & deseeded pumpkin. Cut into chunks.
  4. Blanch pork ribs in boiling water. Rinse.
  5. Place all ingredients except salt into a pot. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2hrs. Add salt to taste.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Steamed Tapioca Cake

A lighter taste version than the baked one I've made few days ago.


Ingredient
  • 500gm grated tapioca
  • 100gm sugar
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 200ml thin coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp pandan juice (blend some pandan leaves with 2 tbsp water and strain to get juice)
  • pinch of salt
  • green food colouring (optional)
Method
  1. Combine coconut milk, sugar, egg, pandan juice & salt together. Stir till sugar dissolve.
  2. Fold in grated tapioca and mix evenly.
  3. Grease a 8" square pan, pour batter over and smooth the top.
  4. Steam over boiling water for 45mins. Cool completely in pan before unmoulding and cut into pieces.
  5. Optional: roll over sliced steamed tapioca cake over grated coconut and serve. (steam some grated coconut with pinch of salt & some pandan leaves)

Monday, May 3, 2010

玉竹薏米汤

玉竹 (Polygonatum roots) 具有补气润肺、生津止渴、舒缓神经、滋润皮肤的功效. 薏米有利水消肿、健脾去湿、舒筋除痹、清热等功效, 以及能够美白肌肤!

Ingredient
  • 38gm Yuzhu 玉竹
  • 38gm barley 薏米
  • 300gm chestnut, shelled 栗子
  • 250gm pork ribs
  • 2400ml water
  • salt to taste
Method
  1. Cook chestnut in a pot of boiling water for 10mins. Drain and remove skin. Cut into halves.
  2. Rinse Yuzhu & barley.
  3. Blanch pork ribs in boiling water. Drain.
  4. Place all ingredients in a pot except salt. Bring to boil and lower heat, simmer for 2 hrs. Add salt to taste.

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Lychee Muffins

A recipe from my favourite magazine Food & Travel Magazine Mar 2010 issue. Moist & light texture. I omitted out the sugar as I think the lychee syrup is sweet enough.


Ingredient
  • 250gm self-raising flour
  • 1/4cup sugar (I omit this)
  • 1 cup natural yoghurt
  • 1 cup canned lychee syrup
  • 1 cup lychee, drained & diced
  • 1 egg, lightly beaten
  • 100gm butter, melted
Method
  1. Combine yoghurt, lychee syrup and egg. Mix well. Stir in melted butter.
  2. Sift flour over the butter mixture. Fold till just combined. Do not overmixed.
  3. Fold in chopped lychees.
  4. Spoon batter into muffin case. Bake in preheated oven at 180deg cel for 25mins.

Tomato & Waterchestnut Soup

The sun is so scorching nowadays!! need to intake more fluid to replenish the body, but sometimes just simply forgot to drink more water, especially my son. Most of the time have to force him to drink!! Nowadays will try to boil soup more often, so you will see me posting new soup recipe quite frequently ^-^

Ingredient
  • 5 tomatoes
  • 150gm waterchestnut
  • 300gm beansprouts
  • 2 slices ginger
  • 300gm pork ribs
  • 2400ml water
  • salt to taste
Method
  1. Blanch pork ribs in boiling water. Rinse and set aside.
  2. Wash & cut tomatoes into quarters.
  3. Peel & wash waterchestnut. Cut into halves.
  4. Rinse beansprouts.
  5. Place all ingredients except salt in a pot. Bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer for 2 hrs. Add salt to taste.