Gyudon

Liana requested for Gyudon and Chawan Mushi so here it is.

Gyudon


Ingredients:
2 cups steamed Japanese rice
500gm thinly sliced beef
1 onion
1 1/2 cups dashi soup
5 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp sake
*benishoga (red ginger) for topping
shichimi mixed 7 chill and spices

Method:
1. Cook Japanese rice.
2. Slice onion thinly. Cut beef into bite-sized pieces.
3. Put dashi, soysauce, sugar, mirin, and sake in a pan. Add onion slices in the pot and simmer for a few minutes.
4. Add beef in the pan and simmer for a few minutes. Serve hot steamed rice in a deep rice bowl. Put the beef topping on the top of rice. Place some benishoga (red ginger) on the top and shichimi (optional)

Chawan Mushi


Ingredients:
3 eggs
3 cups dashi (1 tsp hondashi in 3 cups boiling water)
2 tsps shoyu
2 tsps mirin
prawns )
dried shitake mushrooms ) marinate in 2 tsps sake
ginko nuts )
japanese fishcake )
mistuba leaves (optional)

Method:
1. Beat eggs with fork or chopsticks. Do not beat too vigourously as you do not want to create bubbles in the final product. When dashi has cooled down, add to beaten eggs. Add shoyu and mirin to egg mixture.
2. Sift egg mixture through muslin cloth or if no cloth available then through a fine sift.
3. Add ginko nuts and fishcake at bottom of chawan mushi container. Then pour egg mixture in. Steam egg custard for about 8 mins till lightly cooked, then place prawns and shitake mushroom on top of this. Add the mitsuba leaves as well if available. Steam for another 8 - 10 mins and then it is done.

Note: The reason for placing the prawns on top of the custard is purely for decoration purposes or you can just put it at the bottom of the container and let it be a treasure hunt!

Amarylis

These are pictures of my amarylis that I have been taking to show how quick they grow once the bud is out. Look at the shorter bud and see how fast it is shooting! This is the 3rd year that it has flowered and 1st time that I get 2 blooms!
Dated 19/01

22/01

23/01

24/01

27/01

Chinese Peanut cookie

This is a back dated post. Made 2 kinds of cookies for CNY. This is peanut butter cookie. Easy to make using peanut butter rather than roasting the peanuts and grinding them. Recipe to follow soon.

Peanut Butter cookie


Peanut Cookies
Ingredients:
200g smooth peanut butter
50g chunky peanut butter (optional)
200g flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g icing sugar
1/4 tsp salt
100g peanut oil or more/corn oil

Egg wash:
1 egg yolk lightly beaten with 1 tsp water

Method:
1. Mix flour, baking powder, both peanut butters, icing sugar and salt in a big mixing bowl till well combined.
2. Add in 100g peanut oil or more and mix till a piable dough is formed. (Do not pour in all the oil at once, as flours may absorb more or less oil)
3. Traditional method is to shape in balls and place on baking sheet. For me, I roll out the dough and use cutters.
5. Apply egg wash.
6. Bake on a lined tray at 165C for 20 minutes or till golden brown.


Kueh Bangkit - makes about 40 - 50 depending on size


Ingredients
200g tapioca flour
50 g butter, softened
100g icing sugar (sifted)
50ml coconut cream (more or less as necessary)
1 egg yolk
cut pandan leaves

Method:
1. Line a plate with kitchen towel, spread the tapioca flour evenly, add the cut pandan leaves and microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove, sift into a mixing bowl and cool and set aside. Preheat oven to 160 deg C.
2. Mix icing sugar with cooled tapioca flour, mix in softened butter and egg yolk. Grudually add in coconut cream until you get a soft, pliable dough. You may need more or less coconut cream than suggested (depending on the absorption of the flour)- Note too much coconut cream makes the cookie spread)
3. You could roll out the flour and cut with cookie cutters or use the traditional Kuih Bangkit moulds.
4. Bake for 20 mins or until dry but still light in colour. Cool and store in airtight container.

CNY Eve Dinner

If we were in Singapore, we would be having a Reunion Dinner last night which in the Lunar Calendar is known as the thirtieth night. Married couples would go back to their parents home or in-laws, hence Reunion Dinner.

To sort of get the feeling of Chinese New Year, I invited my uncle and aunt who live here, another couple and us - 8 of us for dinner.

So here are the pictures of what I cooked. Most of them are typical Peranakan dishes except for the Braised Vegetables which I made Japanese style.

Babi Pongteh


Itek Sioh


Spinach and Mixed Mushrooms


Steamed Sea Bass


Shrimp Wanton


Braised Vegetables - Japanese style


Satay Babi


This is the dessert that I made.
Panna Cotta with Summer Fruit Coulis


My friend brought this Roulade.

CNY 2009

Wishing everyone a Happy and Prosperous Year of the Moo Moo! Gong Xi Fa Cai! Xing Nian Kuai Le!

Fried Beef Kway Teow

Fried Beef Kway Teow



When K was in town a couple of days ago, we had Dim Sum in Chinatown and she said a friend told her about this fresh noodle shop. So after lunch, we went in search of this place. She was told that it is in a back alley somewhere and if it wasn't for the fact that we happened to chance on a new Singapore restaurant, we wouldn't have spotted the back alley. Anyway, they were making the noodles in this tiny shop and I bought 2 packets and so tada, fried beef kway. Really yummy noodles!

Beef Stew



Liana had been badgering me to make beef stew for ages, so today thought had better do it as I have time to cook it properly.

Recipe taken from Jamie Oliver

Ingredients:
olive oil
a knob of butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
a handful of fresh sage leaves
800g/1¾lb stewing steak or beef skirt, cut into 5cm/2 inch pieces
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
flour, to dust
2 parsnips, peeled and quartered
4 carrots, peeled and halved
½ a butternut squash, halved, deseeded and roughly diced
optional: a handful of Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and halved
500g/1lb 2oz small potatoes
2 tbsps tomato purée
½ a bottle of red wine
285ml/½ pint beef or vegetable stock
zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
a handful of rosemary, leaves picked
1 clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

Method:
Preheat the oven to 160ºC/300ºF/gas 2. Put a little oil and your knob of butter into an appropriately sized pot or casserole pan. Add your onion and all the sage leaves and fry for 3 or 4 minutes. Toss the meat in a little seasoned flour, then add it to the pan with all the vegetables, the tomato purée, wine and stock, and gently stir together. Season generously with freshly ground black pepper and just a little salt. Bring to the boil, place a lid on top, then cook in the preheated oven until the meat is tender. Sometimes this takes 3 hours, sometimes 4 – it depends on what cut of meat you’re using and how fresh it is. The only way to test is to mash up a piece of meat and if it falls apart easily it’s ready. Once it’s cooked, you can turn the oven down to about 110°C/225°F/gas ¼ and just hold it there until you’re ready to eat.

Sat Lunch

Bangers and Mash



Most weekends, we just have instant noodles for lunch, but today Liana wanted Bangers and Mash so...

Seafood Spaghetti

Seafood Spaghetti

When I arrive home late and haven't got a clue as to what to make and especially on Fridays when it's fish day, then I make my easy peasy seafood spaghetti.

Honey Pork

Honey Pork



My mum has been making this for me since I was a child and it is so easy to make. Although the picture does not do the food justice, trust me, it is yum...

Ingredients:
300 gm Pork Shoulder or 2-3 thick slices
3 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp oil
300 ml water
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1. Place everything in frypan or wok and bring to boil.
2. Once the gravy has come up to the boil, turn fire down to low and simmer for about 1/2 hour, turning the meat over once or twice.
3. If the gravy has boiled down and meat has not softened, add a bit more water.
4. When pork is soft enough, remove from sauce and cut into slices. Pour sauce over and serve.

Crab and corn croquette

Crab and Corn Croquette



Ingredients
2 tbsp flour
2 tbsp fresh cream
250 ml milk
A
3 large potatoes - cooked in boiling water till soft then mashed - cooled
200 gms crab meat - fresh or canned
1 can sweet corn )
1 onion - sliced ) can be omitted
30 gms butter
salt and pepper to taste
B
flour
1 beaten egg
panko (japanese breadcrumbs)

Method:
1. Heat butter in fry pan, then add the flour, stir until well mixed. Then slowly add the milk a little at a time and stir till lump free. Add cream.
2. Add ingredients A and mix well. Leave to cool.
3. When mixture is finally cool, shape into cutlets or balls or any shape you wish and coat in flour. Then dip into beaten egg and finally coat with panko.
4. As the ingredients are more or less cooked, you do not need to deep fry the croquettes. Just shallow fry till golden brown and dish out.

Beef Salad

Beef Salad

Quick and easy healthy weekday dinner.



Ingredients: - for 3 ppl
Sirloin or Rump Steak (400 gms)
Red Onion - sliced
Celery - sliced
Mango - seeded and sliced
cucumber - julienned
red chilli - pounded
fish sauce
a little palm sugar
coriander leaves for garnishing

Method:
1. Season steak with salt and pepper and grill on both sides for 4 - 5 mins each depending on how you like your steak done. Rest for 5 mins. Slice.
2. Mix all salad ingredients and add seasoning to taste.
3. Place sliced beef on salad and it's ready to go!

Terong Belado

Terong Belado (Aubergines with chilli)
This is an Indonesian recipe which Pat likes and one day he turned to me and said that I had not made this for some time now and he would like to have it for dinner.

So here is my recipe for Terong Belado.

Ingredients:
1 fat purple aubergine(brinjal, eggplant)
1 clove garlic
2 chilles (or more depending on how spicy you want it)
1 big onion - quartered
1 tomato - quartered
a little piece of belachan
salt and 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Method:
1. Slice the aubergine half lengthwise, the slightly score into diamond shape on the flesh side. Use a fork to stab into the aubergine to help it cook and soften quicker.
2. Place them on an oiled baking sheet(brush top of aubergines with oil as well) in a preheated oven of about 220 deg C. Leave it to bake for about 1/2 hour or until the aubergines are quite soft.
3. Whilst the aubergines are cooking in the oven, prepare your paste. Dump all the rest of the ingredients into a blender and blend it until fine.
4. Remove from blender and heat a saucepan. When it is hot, add some oil and fry the rempah (spice ingredients)for about 5 mins. Remove from pan and leave aside.
5. Once aubergines are soft, remove from oven and "butter" the spice ingredients onto the aubergines and cook for another 10 mins.

Joys of the London Underground (Part 2)

Joys of the London Underground (Part 2)

Like they say in Singapore... "Can die" .. this expression aptly captures what I felt this evening!

Left the office at 5.30 as boss was not in, so thought, alright will be home around 6.30 or 7pm but ....so, left the office at 5.30, caught the train and then driver announced that there were no trains between Aldgate and Wemberley. This was fine as the train I was on was going to Wemberley, so no problems there, right? Wrong! Halfway through, another announcement... this time that the train wasn't going to Wemberley, only stopping at Wilsden Green. So how, got off the train to wait for the next train that would go to either Wemberley or beyond. Took that, and then changed at Wemberley for the train home. That itself was another challenge as train only moved a bit because of signal failure elsewhere, someone got sick on another train, oh the excuses they made.... so finally got home 2 hours later again. Sigh... this time not my fault but courtesy of the London Underground!

The Joys of London Underground

The Joys of the London Underground - The Tube

Last Friday it took me 2 hours to get home from work. Why? Well, to start from the beginning... since I started work, I have been driving to South Ruislip station, parking there and taking the tube. Parking at the station costs me £83 a month. It's so expensive but what can I do? Then during the Xmas hols, we went into town and Pat parked at a different station. It was only £2 a day which means £40 a month, a saving of £43. Wow! So from last Monday onwards, parked at this different station taking a different route to work. Halfway through I have to change trains to get to my destination. So back to my story. Left work and where I was supposed to change trains to get home, there was a train on the other platform waiting. I just jumped in without even thinking of looking at the destination as I have always been lucky the last 4 days. Then halfway through the journey after the driver had closed the door, he said train was going to Amersham. S*** I thought... and the worst thing was that this was a semi express train, which did not stop at the next station. It only stopped like 5 stations away. Mumbling and scolding myself under my breath, made my way to the opposite platform to wait for the train to get home. Haiz... moral of the story? Look that the board before boarding. Kekeke!

First day of work and snowing

First day of work after a 2 week break

For 2 weeks, I had the luxury of waking up at 8 or 9 every morning, hmm.... then this morning and for the next how many hundred mornings, have to wake up at 6 to get ready for work. Went into the bathroom and as we have a velux window there, saw some snow. Did a double take and walked back to the bedroom to look out of the window to get a better look... yup... it snowed throughout the night. So anyway, continued getting ready and when it was time to leave, got into the car and reversed out onto the road. Oh before that, K called to say that the slope onto the main road was icy so beware of sliding around. To continue, reversed out to the road and then nothing happened, car moved a few meters and stopped... my jag simply couldn't make it up the road. Aiya, wasted my time earlier cleaning the snow off my car. So went back in and changed cars with Pat, he has got a 4 x 4 and my goodness, what a difference it made, with no effort at all, I was at the main road and continued my journey.

New Year Eve Dinner

Happy New Year 2009!

Quiet New Year Eve Dinner with family. As mum was with us, did not have any party or go to any, so had peranakan dinner of Buah Keluak with Pork Ribs/Chicken Wing, Mango Fish, Papaya masak Titek, babi assam garam (pix posted previously)and Aubergine with minced pork. Forgot to take pix of the aubergine.

Buah Keluak with Pork Ribs and Chicken Wings


Ingredients:

(A)
10 Buah Keluak (soaked in water for about 1 week - change water every 3 days)
15 raw prawns
1/2 tsp sugar
pinch of salt

(B)
1 inch galangal
3 stalks lemongrass
4 pcs candlenut
50 gm shrimp paste
4 red chillies
2 dried chillies
1 big onion or 15 shallots
1 tsp tumeric powder

(C)
50 gm tamarind soaked in 150ml water, squeezed and strained
700 ml water

500 gm pork ribs or
10 chicken wings or half and half of both

Method:
1. Remove nuts from water and brush them to remove sandy particles.
crack nut at opening and remove meat. Pound or grind together with raw prawns to form a smooth paste. Add salt and sugar, then refill shells.
2. Grind (B) to a paste. Heat oil in sauce pan and fry pounded ingredients B till fragrant. Add (C)and bring to a boil over high heat. Add pork ribs and let it boil for 5 mins. Reduce heat and cook for about 1/2 hour. Add chicken wings and black nuts and cook for 1/2hour or till chicken is tender.

Mango Fish


Ingredients:
2 pcs fish fillet (White) - sliced
1 green mango (peeled and shredded)
1 carrot (peeled and shredded)

Sauce/Seasoning
1 - 2 tbsp black vinegar
1 tbsp marmite
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
3 tsp sugar
pinch of salt and pepper
3 tsp oil
2 tbsp tapioca starch/flour

Method:
1. Mix shredded mango and carrot. Add 1/2 tsp salt and set aside for 5 mins. Add 1 tsp sugar and marinate and set aside.
2. Marinate the fish fillet slices with seasoning for 10 - 15 mins.
3. Heat up enough oil to deep fry the fish fillets. Before frying the fish, coat in tapioca flour and fry until golden brown. Dish out onto kitchen paper.
4. Put remainder of seasoning/sauce mixture in small saucepan and add 1/2 cup water and boil until it thickens. Put in fried fish and coat evenly with sauce.
5. Place shredded mango and carrot onto a plate and place fish fillets onto the shredded ingredients.
6. Serve

Papaya Masak Titek


This is another peranakan dish that is seldom seen in restaurants.

Ingredients:
(A)
3 candlenuts
1 tbsp shrimp paste
1 big onion or 10 shallots
1 red chilli
1 tbsp ground black pepper

1 Fish Cube
2 green papaya
12 big raw prawns or 2 fish fillets - sliced into pieces (white fish)
700 ml water
50 gm dried prawns - ground
50 gm salted fish

Method:
1. Grind A to a fine paste
2. Skin papaya and cut into pieces
3. Fill pan with the 700 ml water, add A, ground dried prawns and fish stock. Bring to boil. Put in the papaya pieces and boil till almost tender. Add fish slices or prawns or both for 5 mins till seafood is cooked. Remove from heat and serve.