2010 CNY dinner

2010 CNY Dinner

As K and her husband could not make dinner on 13 February (Reunion Dinner), we decided on the following week, which was yesterday.

Planned to cook 10 dishes and 3 desserts, and for this had all my shopping done a couple of days beforehand. Saturday morning itself, started at around 10 making my desserts first so that they could harden/cool in the fridge. Made my chocolate torte, finished that and then was starting on my mango pudding when I realised I did not have enough gelatine and also needed a pack of mango juice. Yikes, so had to drive to the supermarket to get them, but eeks, no mango juice. Was debating whether to go to another supermarket to get it, but decided against it as had so many other things to do and I was so afraid of running out of time.

By the time I got back, it was around 1+, so starting making my mango pudding. That done, my stomach was calling out to me, so had to take a break to have instant noodles. Turned to TV on just to see what was happening and "East Enders Revealed" was on - (this btw is an English soap that has been going on for a long, long time) -so anyways watched it for a bit but with a heavy heart, had to turn the TV off, otherwise - no dinner for my guests!!

Never made lychee sorbet before, but this was one dessert that I have always wanted to make and boy was it ever so easy. Opened a can of lychees, threw the fruit into a food processor and whizzed it. Then put the whizzed fruit and a pack of lychee juice into an icecream maker and 1/2 hour later - voila - sorbet. Hehe, didnt realise making sorbet was so easy!And yet I didnt take a picture of it! Duh!

The rest of the afternoon flew by and I am pleased to say that I managed to finish everything by about 8 - so just in time for dinner!

Recipes to follow shortly!

Our guests

Braised Beef with Daikon

Roasted Chicken Wings

Scallops with Asparagus

Steamed Monkfish

Steamed Fish Paste Roll

Siew Yoke

Gado2

Prawn, Mango and Banana Packet

The picture does not do this dish justice. I use wafer paper and in it I have prawns, sliced mango and banana. To top it, I add a litle sauce of condensed milk and mayo. Yumm!
Chicken Ngoh Hiang

I decided to make Chicken Ngor Hiang as one of my guests prefers chicken and I have been wanted to try this dish out for a long time. If you use chicken thigh, it is actually quite moist and tasty. I was worried it would turn out dry but not so!
Yee Sang

Chocolate Torte

Mango Pudding

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Gong Xi Fa Cai

Wishing all my friends and readers a very Happy and Prosperous Chinese New Year. May this year bring you Peace, Happiness and Good Health! Oh and I almost forgot - Happy Valentine's Day too!

Finally

Finally

Whew! Managed to nearly complete my tasks for today. Did 5 loads of washing today. Made sugee biscuits, acar and also a strawberry shortcake.

Wanted to do the strawberry shortcake for valentine's day tomorrow but since Katrina's future parents-in-law were coming to tea, thought I'd make it today. This is the first time we are meeting them, so...

Last 2 things left to do. Bake one more batch of pineapple tarts - jam already done this morning, so just have to make the dough and then wipe down the glass of the extractor fan and I think I'm done!

Chinese New Year Cookies

Chinese New Year Cookies

When I went back to SG in Sept, chanced across a heart shaped pineapple tart mould in NTUC and got myself one. So this year, instead of the normal round one, made a heart shaped one. Trouble is I love pineapple tarts and also, because I have given some away to friends and colleagues, have to bake my third batch this Saturday again because it has run out.



Also made peanut cookies - Pat prefers these to pineapple tarts.
Recipe can be found in the archives.



The other cookies that I made as well was Kuih Bangkit. Trouble with Kueh Bangkit is that I have never got it looking right. The taste was good but I always ended up with the dough spreading out after baking. that is until now. I finally worked out not to add so much coconut milk to it and boy, was I ever so pleased. I got proper looking kuih bangkits!



After seeing a fellow blogger talk about Kueh Belanda or Love Letters (they call it Kueh Kapit in Malaysia, I decided to try it out as well. I have 2 of these molds as my mum brought it for me yonks ago but I had never trie it. So tried that and not that great, but I think good enough for a first time and it tastes good as well!

New York Cheese cake

New York Cheese cake

Katrina said that I hadn't made Cheese cake in a long time and asked her which it was - said she wasn't sure, so I made this first and if it is not the right one, then will make the Japanese cheese cake at another time.

Got this recipe from Lucy's blog.Aunty Yochana.

New York Sweet Crust:

125 gm. plain flour
50 gm. butter
1/4 tsp. baking powder
50 gm. sugar
1 no. small egg

Ingredients for filling:

600 gm. Cream cheese - room temperature
120 gm. Sugar
30 gm. plain flour
4 nos. medium size eggs
125 gm. sour cream
1 Tbsp. Lemon zest
1 tsp. Vanilla essence

apricot gel: 2 Tbsp. apricot jam + 80 to 100 gm. water + 1/2 tsp. agar agar powder + 1/2 tsp. instant jelly

Method:

(1) For crust: cream butter and sugar till creamy. Add in egg a little at a time till evenly mixed. Add in flour and baking powder and mix into a dough. Rest for about 20 mins. Then roll out the dough and lay into a 9" springform tin. Bake at 175C for about 15 mins. then remove from oven and let it cool.

(2) Beat cream cheese with sugar till creamy. Add in lemon zest and vanilla essence.
(3) Add eggs, 1 at a time until finished.
(4) Add in plain flour and then pour in the sour cream and mix.
(5) Pour the cream cheese filling into the baked crust and steam bake for about 1 hour 10 mins. or until center is almost set.
(6) Leave in the oven for about 30 mins (oven switched off) and then remove from oven or you can leave it inside till cooled.
(7) Chill in the fridge and glaze the cheese cake with apricot gel.
(8) Serve chilled.

I tried the crust but next time I think I will use digestive biscuits and butter. And for the topping, I used sour cream.

Katrina came and tried and said "it's nice but not this", so guess I will have to do the Japanese cheesecake another day!

Terong Belado

Terong Belado (Aubergines in Chilli paste)

This is an Indonesian dish and Pat commented that I have not done this in quite a while so here we go. This is a rather easy dish to do.

Ingredients:(for 2 ppl)

1 big fat aubergine
1 onion (quartered) )
1 clove garlic ) grind to a paste
1 tomoto (quartered) )
1 or 2 red chilles )
1/2 teaspoon belachan )
salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Method:

1. Heat oven to 200 deg C.
2. Slice aubergines lengthwise into 2. Score fleshy bit and dab with oil and roast/grill for 1/2 hour or until aubergine is soft. (Take care not to burn it)
3. While aubergines are roasting, grind the rest of the ingredients to a paste.
4. Heat oil in pan and fry the paste ingredients for about 5 mins. Remove and leave aside.
5. When aubergines are tender, "butter" the aubergines with the cooked chilli paste and put back into oven for another 5 - 10 mins.

Sambal chilli and hae bee hiam

Sambal chilli and hae bee hiam (Dried prawn sambal
Everytime I go back to Singapore, I will get my mum to buy me a few packets of this chilli which I will then freeze and when I run out of my sambal chilli, I will make.

Not very difficult to do and you can use this chilli for all sorts of things, eg, nasi lemak chilli, mee siam chilli - you get my drift!

Ingredients:
1 packet of chilli paste
a couple of shallots

Method:
1. Slice shallots finely. Heat oil in pan and when hot fry shallots. Sweat the shallots but do not let it brown. Then add the chilli paste and slowly fry till it changes colour. Add sugar to taste. Shiokadooo!

Chilli paste


Sambal


The other thing that I like to make and store (although it does not last me a week)is my ration of hae bee hiam or in English - dried prawn sambal.



Sambal Hey Bee

Ingredients:
1 cup hey bee (dried prawns) – soaked and finely ground
6 – 8 fresh chillies )
10 small onions ) pound together
a knob of blachan (optional) )
salt to taste
sugar to taste

Method:
1. Heat a tbsp of oil in a fry pan and fry the pounded ingredients for 2 minutes.
2. Add the dried prawns and continue frying till quite dry.
3. Add a little salt and sugar to taste.