Friday, September 01, 2017

Baked Malaysian Satay


On Sunday at the last minute I decided to try out this satay recipe that I've seen the night before. I have to say I did not follow the recipe completely due to lack of ingredients. Despite this, the meat turned out satisfying especially it was done in the oven and not bbq.

Chicken satay
Recipe by : Lauren's Kitchen

Ingredients A For Chicken satay :
Makes: 25-30 skewers
5 shallots
3 cloves garlic
4 stalks lemongrass ( white part only)

15g ginger
25g galangal
15g turmeric

600g chicken meat
1 tsp salt
2tbsp sugar
1 stick lemon grass (to spread oil on satay while bbq)

Method:
1. Blend all the ingredients (A) . Mix the blended ingredients with chicken , add salt and sugar , combine well . Cover with cling paper and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hours or even over night if you want.
2.Soak Skewers in water while you are marinating chicken to prevent them to burning.
3. Thread the marinated chicken onto the skewers .
4.Grill it until cook using bbq method / grill in oven (180°c ,10-15min both side) , brush oil on top (both sides) using lemon grass stick .
served with peanut sauce and fresh vegetables

Using the stove to add some smoke flavour

Friday, June 30, 2017

Cottage Cheese Pastry Bites


An easy recipe from my neighbour. As this pastry is quite rich, best serve them on special occasions.

Cottage cheese pastry bites

Ingredients :-

Pastry
200gm All purpose flour
200gm Butter, cold
200gm Cottage cheese
a pinch of salt

To glaze
Egg wash

Toppings (optional)
Grated cheese of your choice
Cumin seeds



Method :-

1) Pre-heat oven at 180°c

2) In a bowl, combine all pastry ingredients and knead until just combine. Don't over work it.

3) Let dough rest in fridge for 15 mins.

4) After 15 mins. roll out dough to thickness of 0.5 - 1 cm. cut into shapes that you wish.

5) Glaze pastry with egg wash.

6) If using, sprinkle your choice of toppings all over pastry.

7) Bake in oven for about 18 mins. or until golden brown.

Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Walnut Meringue Pie




go to Zserbo.com for the recipe and detail instructions for this delicious pie.

I am obsessed with this pie, particularly the pastry. It is light and fluffy.  When walnuts were in season, I was making it every weekend.

As you can compared with the recipe link provided above, I have tweaked the recipe to what I have in the pantry and since then I have been making it based on my tweaked version.

Wednesday, February 08, 2017

Fanta slice { Fanta szelet }


Yup, Fanta as in the orange soda.  As strange as this sound, it does work. This should be sit in the fridge at least overnight for best taste.


Fanta Slice { Fanta Szelet }

Chocolate sponge cake layer :-
3 eggs , medium-sized, separated
3 heap Tbsp sugar
3 heap Tbsp plain flour
1 level Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 level Tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt 

Cream layer :-
200ml whipping cream
250g cottage cheese, room temperature
1 zest of lemon
100g powdered sugar, or to taste
1 Tbsp gelatine powder  
  
Orange layer :-
1 can x 333 ml Fanta brand orange soda
40g pudding powder
1 tsp lemon juice
3 Tbsp powdered sugar , or to taste.

Processes :-

Chocolate sponge cake (can be made in advance, freeze and thaw a day before serving)

1) Pre-heat oven at 180˙c.

2) Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. set it aside.

3) In separate bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until creamy. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and and mix gently until will combined.

4) Take 1/3 of the stiff egg white and add into chocolate batter to loosen it a little. Then fold in carefully the remaining stiffen egg white until well combine.

5) Great baking pan (  18x20cm ) and lined with baking paper . Pour in the cake batter . Bake for 12 mins or until the skewer comes out clean.

6) Let it cooled fully.

7) Once cake is cooled, start preparing the room temperature cottage cheese. Use a hand blender to blender the cottage cheese to get rid of lumps. Add a little of the whipping cream to help loosen the cottage cheese a bit.

8) Once cottage cheese is smooth, set it aside. In another bowl, start whipping the cream until half stiff. Then add in powdered sugar, cottage cheese and lemon zest until well combined.

9) Add in the preped gelatine* . Mix well . pour it over the cooled cake. Level the cream.


10) For the orange layer, take about 100ml of the soda and mix with the pudding powder.  Let it sit.
Meanwhile, heat up the remaining orange soda with lemon juice and sugar. When this is hot enough. pour in the earlier pudding-orange mixture, stir constantly until it thickens , just like making instant pudding. Once orange pudding is thick enough, set it aside to cool a little before pouring it over the cream layer. Level it out.

11) Let the assemble cake sit in the fridge over night before serving.

Tuesday, February 07, 2017

CNY Snack : Peanut filled pockets { Kok Chai }

We're 11th day into Chinese New Year but these deep-fried snacks had finished long ago! :D

These turned out as I remembered, crispy with sweet peanut filling. I couldn't stop munching on them.

Kok Chai

Recipe via Malaysian Chinese Kitchen
serves :  32 mini puffs
Ingredients

For dough
300g all-purpose flour 
0.5 tsp salt  
120ml vegetable oil 
160ml water
For Peanut Filling
½ cup (75g) raw peanuts 
2 tbsp (18g) sesame seeds  
¼ cup (53g) sugar
  • Instructions
    Filling
    1. Toast peanuts in a small fry pan over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until lightly brown. Remove and allow peanuts to cool. Coarsely chop or grind peanuts.
    2. Toast sesame seeds in the same pan for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly brown.
    3. Combine peanuts, sesame seeds, and sugar in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside.
    Dough
    1. Combine all-purpose flour (rice flour, if usinand salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour vegetable oil into the well. Mix with a spatula. Slowly add water a little at a time to form a soft, non-sticky dough. You may or may not require the full ⅓ cup (80ml) water.
    2. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a clean work surface for 3 to 4 minutes. Form dough into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover with a towel and allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.
    3. Remove dough from the bowl and shape into a cylinder about 12 inches long. Cut dough into 16 equal size pieces.
    Forming the Mini Puffs
    1. Take a piece of dough and shape it into a circle of about 2½ inches in diameter by rotating and flattening the edges. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center.
    2. Fold the dough into a semi circle. Seal by pressing and pleating the edges together. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
    Frying the Mini Puffs
    1. Heat about an inch of vegetable oil in a wok to fry everything at one go or a small saucepan to fry in batches.
    2. Deep fry mini puffs over medium low heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and allow mini puffs to drain in a metal strainer.
    3. Allow kok chai (mini peanut puffto cool completely before storing in air tight containers for up to 2 weeks.
     

Saturday, August 20, 2016

Hungary's Annual National Cake 2016

photo : https://www.facebook.com/gregory.iron.photography/


Every August 20th, Hungary introduces two new winning National cakes (one non-sugar option) on the occasion of her founding day by Saint Stephen. You can read more about the winners on Daily News Hungary.

photo : cukrasz.net

Each year we make a point to try the winning cake on the actual day of the introduction. The pumpkin seed cake white chocolate ganache (named “Green Gold of Őrség”) was unique. I liked the pumpkin seed flavour in the cake as well as in the crispy praline. The white chocolate ganache compliments the cake and raspberry jelly beautifully. I will buy this again definitely!


Sunday, July 24, 2016

Native American Fried Bread


This fried-bread looks very much like the Hungarian Lángos. However, the Hungarian version is leaven using yeast. While this Native American version uses baking powder ; which makes the process faster. Of course, there are difference in taste too.

For testing purposes, I have reduced the ingredients to a third of the original.

Native American Fried-Bread
via The Pioneer Woman

1 cup All-Purpose Flour
a pinch of salt
1 tsp Baking powder (slightly rounded tsp)
1/4 cup milk
water as needed
Lard or shortening , for frying (I used vegetable oil, will try lard the next round)
    Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir with a fork as you pour in the milk; keep stirring for a bit to get it to come together as much as possible. Add just enough water to get it to come together. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it sit for 35 to 45 minutes to rest.

    When you're ready to fry the bread, heat about 1 to 2 inches shortening/lard in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Grab a plum-sized piece of dough (or larger if you want larger fry bread) and press it into a circle with your fingers: place it on a clean surface and begin pressing in the center and work your way out, stretching it as you go.

    When the circle is about 4 to 7 inches (however big you want it) carefully drape it into the skillet. Allow it to fry on one side until golden brown, about 1 minute, then carefully flip it to the other side using tongs. Fry it for another 30 to 45 seconds.

    Remove the fry bread to a paper towel-lined plate and allow it to drain while you fry the other pieces.

    Serve warm!

    Monday, July 18, 2016

    Zucchini and Cheese Bites


    I have to say I'm one of those people that don't eat enough of zucchini .  The funny thing is I actually love zucchini but some how I only eat them when someone else had cooked them; which is not frequent.

    With this recipe I'll be buying and cooking them in my kitchen this summer and the coming ones. They are great for meatless days!

    Zucchini and Cheese Bites
    serves : 4
    source : No Salty
    note : video available on above link 

    Ingredients
    +/- 600gm Zucchini (I used more)
    1 tsp salt
    1 pinch of black pepper
    1 tsp garlic paste (used granulated garlic)
    1 large egg
    100gm grated cheese (used cheddar, will use a more intense cheese next round)
    4 Tbsp bread crumbs
    ++ sauté onion


    For breading
    3 Tbsp flour
    1 large egg
    5 Tbsp bread crumbs

    Method :
    1) Grate zucchini into a fairly large bowl. Sprinkle the salt all over. Let it sit for 15 mins.
    2) Strain away the liquid from zucchini as much as possible. Return grated zucchini to bowl.
    3) Put in black pepper, garlic paste, sauté onion, crack-in the egg, grated cheese and bread crumbs. Mix well. shape into a bite-size balls. and place on a plate.
    4) Coat each balls in this sequence first into flour, then egg and finish with a good coating of bread crumbs. shake of excess crumbs. Place on a plate. Repeat coating process until zucchini mixture is finished.
    5) Heat up the oil in frying pan. Fry until golden brown. Serve immediately.



    Wednesday, June 29, 2016

    Coleslaw


    I have never checked a coleslaw recipe before preparing this post just to compare my ingredient list with what is the norm. It's good to know it is not far off.

    Coleslaw

    Ingredients
    Equal quantity of Cabbage and Carrot, shredded or cubed
    Spring onion, slice thinly
    salt, to taste
    sugar, to taste
    ground black pepper
    Mayonnaise, to taste
    2 tsp of sour cream
    a little water

    Method :
    1) Rinse cabbage and carrot before shredding or cubing
    2) In a salad bowl, put in the thinly sliced spring onion follow by salt, sugar and ground black pepper
    3) Put in half the vegetables, drizzle with some mayonnaise and a teaspoon of sour cream. Place the remaining vegetables and again drizzle on some mayonnaise and another teaspoon of sour cream.
    4) Mix well and let it chill in the fridge for minimum 30 mins.


    Sunday, May 15, 2016

    Roasted Radish


    It is common to eat radish raw. However, in Chinese cuisine, radish is also cooked in soups and also sun-dried. I much preferred the taste of sun-dried radish than raw. Since I am not so adventurous to sun dry radishes myself, I tried roasting them in the oven. The results is quite similar to dried ones but with enhanced sweetness and milder peppery taste.

    Roasted Radish
    Radishes
    salt
    oil

    1) Pre-heat oven at 170˙c
    2) Slice radishes into rounds. Place on oven-proofed dish, drizzle with some cooking oil and sprinkle with salt.
    3) Bake for 30mins. until slightly brown.

    raw radishes

    Saturday, February 20, 2016

    Hungarian Fairy Cake { Tündérsüti }


    Hungarian Fairy Cake { Tündérsüti }
    recipe via Tundi Konyha

    Ingredients

    For the dough
    200gm Plain flour
    80gm Powdered or Confectioner's sugar
    100gm Butter, room temperature
    2 Egg yolks
    1 tsp Baking powder
    1 pkt vanilla sugar
    pinch of salt

    For the filling
    1 packet "puncs" / strawberry pudding powder
    200ml Cold Milk
    4 Tbsp sugar
    180gm Sour cream, room temperature (normally 20% fat, but I only had 12%)
    2 Egg whits
    Rum extract, to taste
    small drop of red food colouring

    Powdered sugar for dusting

    Method
    1) Pre-heat oven to 180°. Prep cake tin (17.5x23.5cm) by greasing and flouring it. Set aside.

    2) Make the dough by mixing  mixing flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and pinch of salt. Then add in butter by gently pinch butter into flour mixture until crumbly. Create a well in the centre of the bowl, pour in the egg yolks and gently knead into becoming a soft dough.

    3) Divide dough into 6:4 portions. Roll out the bigger dough to the size of the bottom of baking dish. Place in the baking dish. Place the baking dish in the fridge to let the dough rest. The smaller portion of dough, wrap in cling film and let it rest in the fridge too.

    4) While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. In a sauce pan , pour in cold milk, then slowly mix in the pudding powder and powdered sugar. Cook the pudding on stove top until thickens.

    5) When pudding has thickens, carefully mix in the sour cream. This process will easily split the mixture. What I did was, take a little of the hot pudding, and add into the sour cream and then pour the whole sour cream mixture into the  hot pudding and quickly whisk it to avoid splitting. Then put in the rum and red food colouring, mix well. Set aside

    6) In a bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. The slowly fold into pudding mixture.

    7) Take out the baking dish from the fridge, pour the filling over the dough base. Finally roll out the smaller portion dough, cut into strips and lay a criss cross pattern on top (see pic from recipe link above).

    8) Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins. until pudding is firm nad pastry is golden brown.

    Wednesday, February 03, 2016

    Chinese New Year Baking : Almond London Cookies

    Chinese New Year is once again around the corner (February 8th)! For this year, I thought aside from the staple pineapple tart, I should try my hand at another favourite cookies for the festival. When I saw a recipe for Almond London Cookies during my blog surfing, I knew I want to make these. These did not originate from London and I have no idea why this cookies exists in Malaysia. The cookie is basically a toasted almond wrapped with short cookie dough, bake lightly, then dipped into melted chocolate and finish off with a sprinkle of chopped/nibbed almonds.

    For step-by-step tutorial, please go to Nasi Lemak Lover.


    Almond London Cookies
    Source : Nasi Lemak Lover (linked above)


    150g whole almonds

    30g nibbed almonds




    170g butter (salted)

    60g icing sugar, sifted

    20g egg yolk (used 1 yolk)

    300g cake flour (used plain flour)


    300g chocolate

    Method

    1. Toast whole almonds in oven at 180°c for 13-15mins, and toast nibbed almonds at 180°c for 1-2mins. Set aside to let it cool completely before use.
    2. Cream butter and icing sugar till light and pale.
    3. Add in egg yolk, beat well to combine.
    4. Add in cake flour, mix until it come together to form soft dought. Do not over work it.
    5. To weight dough 6g each, wrap up a whole almond, and shape into oval shape.
    6. Bake cookies at 160°c (fan forced) for 15mins or until golden brown, set aside to cool completely.
    7. Melt chocolate over double boiler or microwave oven. Dip cookie in melted chocolate. Use a small fork, transfer coated cookie into a mini paper cup.
    8. Sprinkle some toasted nibbed almonds on top. Chill in the fridge (~10mins) to set the chocolate before storing in air-tight container. Store in cool place to prevent chocolate from melting.

    Thursday, December 17, 2015

    Hungarian poppy seeds / walnuts rolls { Bejgli II }

    Two thumbs up for this recipe! which by the way , will replace the one archived here before.  What I like about this version is the fluffy bread texture as you see below.
    With the exorbitant price of walnuts, I've opted to only make the poppy seeds fillings. That being said, both fillings are equally good. For us and especially my mother-in-law, she prefers the poppy seeds type.

    The recipe linked below makes 6 rolls; but the quantity I stated below have been adjusted to only 2 rolls. In fact, I could have made into 3 shorter rolls instead of 2 long ones.

    Bejgli
    source : Receptneked

    makes 2 rolls

    Ingredients
    For the dough
    130ml sour cream (20% fat)
    83g goose fat
    1 medium-size egg
    2 Tbsp sugar
    pinch salt
    30gm fresh yeast
    400gm flour

    For the filling

    200gm ground Poppy seeds
    100gm Honey
    100gm water
    vanilla extract
    bunch of raisins, soaked and drained
    1 zest of lemon
    2 Tbsp of apricot jam
    sugar, to taste


    For glazing
    1 egg, seperated

    Preparation
    For the dough
    1) In a bowl, mix together sour cream, goose fat, egg, sugar and salt.
    2) In another bowl, put in the flour and crumble in the yeast. Then create a well in the centre, and pour in the sour cream mixture (1). Mix until all ingredients are combine.
    3) On a floured surface, pour out the flour mixture and knead until you get a smooth dough.
    4) Let the dough rest in covered bowl , in room temperature for 1 hour.

    For the filling
    1) Heat water until hot. Combine it with honey and mix well.
    2) In a bowl, put the ground poppy seeds, lemon zest, apricot jam, vanilla extract , soaked and drain raisins. The pour in the honey-water mixture. Combine well. Check for sweetness, if needed add sugar to taste. I needed to add sugar in consideration of my MIL taste buds.
    3) Divide filling into 2 portions. Set aside until assembly.

    To finish
    1) 30 mins. into proofing the dough, start pre-heating the oven at 180°c
    2) Once dough is fully proof, pour out on floured work surface, and punch out the air from the dough.
    3) Divide dough into 2 equal size.
    4) Take the first dough, roll out into a rectangle shape. Size according to your preference.
    5) Spread a portion of the filling onto the dough , leaving some space on the sides to prevent leakage.
    6) Roll up the dough just like Swiss roll, but not too tight to leave room for the dough to grow and not burst.
    7) Repeat the same for the next roll. Glaze each roll with only egg yolk. Then let it dry for about 15 mins. After 15 mins. glaze with egg white.  Use a knife or fork to prick the roll all the way to let out the steam during baking.
    8) Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30-35 mins. until golden brown.

    Serving
    It is better to let the roll sit for a day or two to enhance the taste even more. Just wrap the rolls in cling film and keep in a cool place.

    Monday, November 23, 2015

    Cantonese Egg Tarts II 港式蛋挞

    Over the years, I've made egg tarts on few occasions. The result mostly looked rough and rustic but this time these tarts look  like the real deal! That said, am still trying to achieve a melt in the mouth lighter crust. Mine have slight chewy tart shell. I'll have to work on my short crust pastry technique. However, the filling is exactly what I'm looking for.

    Cantonese Egg Tarts
    serves : 12-15 tarts
    I have halved the recipe from Guai Shu Shu

    Ingredients
    For tart shells 
    1 egg (lightly beaten) 
    220 grams of plain flour (sifted) 
    40 grams of icing sugar (sifted) 
    100 grams of chilled butter (cut into cubes) 
    1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence (optional) 

    For egg custard filling   
    220 grams of fresh milk 
    75 grams of castor sugar 
    2 eggs 
    1 teaspoon of vanilla essence (optional) 

    Pre-heat the oven to 180°c

    In a big mixing bowl, put butter cubes and sifted plain flour together. Use the finger tips to rub the butter cubes and flours together until it become crumby. Add in sifted icing sugars and continue to rub until well mix.

    Add lightly beaten eggs and vanilla essence, mix slowly until it become a dough. Put it in the fridge to chill for 20-30 minutes. Note that if you are able to handle soft dough, you can by pass this step. Take the dough from the fridge and use a rolling pin to roll it into a flat sheet with about 0.5 cm thickness.

    Use a round cutter to cut about the size of the mould.  Note that this step is optional and will help you to roughly gauge the amount of dough required and you still need to adjust the quantity of dough as you progress.  Use your hand to press the dough against the sides and make it as even as possible. Use a knife or anything sharp to cut off the sides. If preferred, use a fork to lightly make some holes to let any trapped air to escape.  However, this step of making hole is optional. Set aside for later use.

    For crispier crust, bake the tart shell in the pre-heated oven of 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. However, this step is also optional. 

    For filling :-
    In a microwavable bowl or mug, heat the milk until boiling hot (if you do not have a microwave oven, just heat the milk over the stove). Set aside for the next step. 

    In a big mixing bowl, put egg, sugar and vanilla essence. Use a hand whisk to beat until well mixed. Pour the hot milk to the mixture and use a sift to sieve the custard mixture. 

    Pour the custard mixture to the pre-baked tart shells. 
      
    Bake the egg tarts in the pre-heated oven of 180˙c for 10-15 minutes. Once the tarts starts to puff up a bit, open the oven door, leave the door ajar and continue to bake the tarts for another 5 –8 minutes. A tart is considered as baked when a toothpick inserted in the centre of the tart, the toothpick stands upright. The tarts is best served warm when the custard is still soft and crust crispy.

    Sunday, November 22, 2015

    Homemade Belgian Waffles

    Not sure why it took me so long to invest in a waffle maker, when I love eating waffles?! Now that I finally bought one and that the first recipe came out exactly how I like it. It will definitely be used many Sundays ahead.

    Homemade Belgian Waffles
    adapted from casa de lindquist
    serves : about 6 x 10x12cm waffles

    Ingredients:
    1 large egg or 2 medium-sized eggs, room temp.
    1 Tbsp sugar
    1 cup all-purpose flour
    about 207ml milk, room temp.
    57gm butter, melted2 tsp baking powder
    2 tsp baking powder
    1/8 tsp salt

    Method:
    1) Lightly grease waffle maker then switch it on to pre-heat.
    2) Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. set aside.
    3) In another bowl, whisk egg(s) and sugar until light and fluffy.
    4) Pour in milk and melted butter, mix well. Finally add in the flour-mixture. Mix until lump-free. Don't over mix.
    5) Spoon waffle batter onto pre-heated waffle maker. close it. and set timer to 5 minute.
    6) Serve hot with any sweet or savoury condiments.

    Wednesday, November 18, 2015

    Spanakopita { Greek spinach pie } with homemade filo / phyllo pastry

    When I have spinach and feta available, first thing that come to mind is spanakopita. It's an absolute favourite filling for filo /phyllo pastry for me. Never in my life that I would've imagined making filo / phyllo pastry  though! I gave it a go on and as usual it is not as scary or hard as I thought. What I did was prep. and knead the dough a day ahead and let it rest in the fridge over night. 

    Homemade Phyllo Dough

    via http://korenainthekitchen.com/2011/06/27/daring-bakers-baklava-with-homemade-phyllo-pastry/

    Ingredients
    Dry
    1 1/3 cup flour (type “00” or pizza flour, if possible – all purpose flour will do, though)
    1/8 tsp salt

    Wet
    1/2 cup less 1 tbsp water
    2 tbsp vegetable oil
    1/2 tsp cider vinegar

    Filling
    spinach (frozen, with access water removed)
    feta cheese
    sautéd garlic
    salt, to taste

    Method
    1) Mix together dry ingredients. In a small bowl combine wet ingredients. Then pour the wet mixture slowly into the flour.
    2) Continue mixing stirring until it comes together in a soft dough with no dry flour bits left. You may need slightly less water, or slightly more (I had about 1 tbsp of water left over) – just add it slowly, bit by bit, to gauge how much you’ll need.
    3) Knead the dough in mixing for about 20 minutes, until you have a soft, silky, smooth dough.
    4) Then  remove from bowl, on floured surface knead another 2 minutes, whacking the dough down hard on the counter a few times during kneading.
    5) Rub the dough with vegetable oil, wrap it in plastic, and let it rest for at least 2 hours – longer is better.

    Rolling and stretching the dough

    Divide the ball of dough in half, cut each half into thirds, and each third into thirds again, to end up with 18 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place them on a plate, covered with plastic wrap.

    Flatten a ball out with your fingers and place on a well-floured surface. Roll out with a floured rolling pin or dowel until it’s about 9″x5″ (mine was twice as large), picking up the dough and re-flouring the surface underneath it every few strokes. Don’t be afraid of adding too much flour – keeping everything properly floured will make it much easier to roll, because if stuff starts to stick you’re in trouble! Let the dough rest for a minute or two if it starts getting difficult to roll out.

    When the dough sheet is as thin as you can roll it, gently lift it and stretch it with your fingers from underneath. Do this very s-l-o-w-l-y and gently, using more of a stroking motion than a pulling motion, and letting the dough rest every so often. Don’t worry if you get some rips and holes – you only really need one perfect sheet for the top layer of your baklava (it took me until sheet number 14 to get a perfect one, and only about two out of 18 had no holes!).

    When the dough is stretched thin enough to read through, place it on a floured baking sheet, and lightly sprinkle flour between each sheet to stop them from sticking together. The original recipe says that the sheets won’t dry out, but it took me forever to roll them out so I covered them lightly in plastic, just in case.

    Monday, October 19, 2015

    Carrot Salad


    Carrot Salad


    Ingredients
    Carrots, julienned or grated
    2 garlic cloves, minced
    1cm ginger, minced
    a pinch of cumin seeds
    a pinch of turmeric powder
    a squeeze of lemon
    1 bunch of parsley, chopped finely
    salt, to taste
    sugar, to taste

    Method :-
    1) In a pan, toast the cumin seeds, then add in some oil. Once oil has been heated a little, add in the minced ginger and garlic. Fry until fragrant.
    2) Add in sugar to caramelise. Then turmeric, stir a little.  Put in the carrots, a little water and cook until just crunchy. Season with salt and garnish wit finely chopped parley. Eat warm or cold.

    Saturday, October 17, 2015

    Sticky Rice with poached chicken

    A play on Hainanese Chicken Rice. Instead of plain rice, I've switched to sticky/glutinous rice. Since sticky/glutinous rice is heavier than plain rice, you don't need too much. In this pic., I've served with green chilli+parsley sauce. The spiciness of this Hungarian green chilli is almost rival to the Asian's bird's eye chilli.

    Sticky Rice with Poached Chicken
    serves : 2
    Ingredients
    1/2 cup glutinous rice, cleaned and soaked over night
    4pcs of chicken thighs or drumsticks
    1 knob of ginger, bashed
    2 cloves of garlic, bashed
    1 spring onion

    cooking oil, for sauté

    Chilli sauce
    2 chillies, finely chopped
    1cm pc of ginger, minced
    1 shallot. minced
    3 cloves garlic, mince
    soy sauce, to taste
    cooking oil, for sauté

    Method :-
    1) Clean and soak rice with enough water to cover rice, overnight.
    2) In a pot, stir fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant. When fragrant, pour in 1.5 cups of water. Bring it to boil.
    3) When water is boiling, put in chicken thighs and only boil it for 1 min. When the chicken thighs have gone white, quickly remove from chicken pieces from the pot, give it a cold water bath. This is to tighten the skin. After bath, return chicken thighs back to the pot , add some salt and cook for another 15 mins.
    4) After 15 mins. switch off heat and leave chicken in pot for another 30 mins. 
    5) After 30 mins. give chicken thighs another cold bath. Then leave chicken thighs on wire mesh to dry.
    6) Cook down the chicken stock for 15 mins. 
    7) Meanwhile, get the steamer ready, drain glutinous rice and place rice in steaming dish. Once the chicken stock has been cook down a little. pour it over glutinous rice, just enough to cover rice. Be careful you don't want to drown the rice. You can always add more stock if needed.
    8) Steam glutinous rice in high heat for about 15 mins. check for doneness. If needed cook longer r add more stock if too dry. After than check every 5  mins. until rice is done.
    9) While waiting for rice to cook, cook the chilli sauce. Heat some in sauce pan, put in minced shallot, garlic and ginger. Cook until fragrant, add in chilli, cook down the chilli and it is ready. Remove onto serving dish , with oil, season with soy sauce.
    10) Serve immediately.






    Friday, October 16, 2015

    Bone broth


    Bone Broth

    Ingredients

    3 pcs beef bones
    1 large onion, peeled left whole
    3 cloves garlic, peeled
    1 knob of ginger, bashed
    1 stick of cinnamon, optional
    2 carrots, peeled left whole
    2 parsnip, peeled left whole
    1 celery root, peeled , halved
    1 bay leaf
    6 pcs black pepper corns
    salt, to taste
    garnish
    1 bunch parsley , finely chopped
    1 spring onion green part, chopped

    Method

    1) Bring 1 litre of water to a boil. Put in the bones, boil it for about 20 mins. After 20 mins. pour away the water, clean the bone a little under cold water.
    2)  In a clean pot,put in all the ingredients except for salt, parsley, and spring onion. Pour in enough water to cover all the ingredients in the pot. Bring it boil and then simmer for 2 hours. Remove carrots, onion and parsnip, set aside in fridge until 30 mins. before serving. Continue to simmer soup for another 5hours. After that season with salt and simmer for 1 hour.
    3) Finally , use a strainer , strain the soup to get a clear broth. Serve with chopped up carrots, onions, parsnip, parsley and spring onion.

    You can serve with vermicelli pasta,rice noodles as well as protein of your choice.



    Friday, September 01, 2017

    Baked Malaysian Satay


    On Sunday at the last minute I decided to try out this satay recipe that I've seen the night before. I have to say I did not follow the recipe completely due to lack of ingredients. Despite this, the meat turned out satisfying especially it was done in the oven and not bbq.

    Chicken satay
    Recipe by : Lauren's Kitchen

    Ingredients A For Chicken satay :
    Makes: 25-30 skewers
    5 shallots
    3 cloves garlic
    4 stalks lemongrass ( white part only)

    15g ginger
    25g galangal
    15g turmeric

    600g chicken meat
    1 tsp salt
    2tbsp sugar
    1 stick lemon grass (to spread oil on satay while bbq)

    Method:
    1. Blend all the ingredients (A) . Mix the blended ingredients with chicken , add salt and sugar , combine well . Cover with cling paper and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hours or even over night if you want.
    2.Soak Skewers in water while you are marinating chicken to prevent them to burning.
    3. Thread the marinated chicken onto the skewers .
    4.Grill it until cook using bbq method / grill in oven (180°c ,10-15min both side) , brush oil on top (both sides) using lemon grass stick .
    served with peanut sauce and fresh vegetables

    Using the stove to add some smoke flavour

    Friday, June 30, 2017

    Cottage Cheese Pastry Bites


    An easy recipe from my neighbour. As this pastry is quite rich, best serve them on special occasions.

    Cottage cheese pastry bites

    Ingredients :-

    Pastry
    200gm All purpose flour
    200gm Butter, cold
    200gm Cottage cheese
    a pinch of salt

    To glaze
    Egg wash

    Toppings (optional)
    Grated cheese of your choice
    Cumin seeds



    Method :-

    1) Pre-heat oven at 180°c

    2) In a bowl, combine all pastry ingredients and knead until just combine. Don't over work it.

    3) Let dough rest in fridge for 15 mins.

    4) After 15 mins. roll out dough to thickness of 0.5 - 1 cm. cut into shapes that you wish.

    5) Glaze pastry with egg wash.

    6) If using, sprinkle your choice of toppings all over pastry.

    7) Bake in oven for about 18 mins. or until golden brown.

    Wednesday, February 22, 2017

    Walnut Meringue Pie




    go to Zserbo.com for the recipe and detail instructions for this delicious pie.

    I am obsessed with this pie, particularly the pastry. It is light and fluffy.  When walnuts were in season, I was making it every weekend.

    As you can compared with the recipe link provided above, I have tweaked the recipe to what I have in the pantry and since then I have been making it based on my tweaked version.

    Wednesday, February 08, 2017

    Fanta slice { Fanta szelet }


    Yup, Fanta as in the orange soda.  As strange as this sound, it does work. This should be sit in the fridge at least overnight for best taste.


    Fanta Slice { Fanta Szelet }

    Chocolate sponge cake layer :-
    3 eggs , medium-sized, separated
    3 heap Tbsp sugar
    3 heap Tbsp plain flour
    1 level Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
    1 level Tsp baking powder
    1 pinch salt 

    Cream layer :-
    200ml whipping cream
    250g cottage cheese, room temperature
    1 zest of lemon
    100g powdered sugar, or to taste
    1 Tbsp gelatine powder  
      
    Orange layer :-
    1 can x 333 ml Fanta brand orange soda
    40g pudding powder
    1 tsp lemon juice
    3 Tbsp powdered sugar , or to taste.

    Processes :-

    Chocolate sponge cake (can be made in advance, freeze and thaw a day before serving)

    1) Pre-heat oven at 180˙c.

    2) Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff. set it aside.

    3) In separate bowl, beat egg yolks and sugar until creamy. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and and mix gently until will combined.

    4) Take 1/3 of the stiff egg white and add into chocolate batter to loosen it a little. Then fold in carefully the remaining stiffen egg white until well combine.

    5) Great baking pan (  18x20cm ) and lined with baking paper . Pour in the cake batter . Bake for 12 mins or until the skewer comes out clean.

    6) Let it cooled fully.

    7) Once cake is cooled, start preparing the room temperature cottage cheese. Use a hand blender to blender the cottage cheese to get rid of lumps. Add a little of the whipping cream to help loosen the cottage cheese a bit.

    8) Once cottage cheese is smooth, set it aside. In another bowl, start whipping the cream until half stiff. Then add in powdered sugar, cottage cheese and lemon zest until well combined.

    9) Add in the preped gelatine* . Mix well . pour it over the cooled cake. Level the cream.


    10) For the orange layer, take about 100ml of the soda and mix with the pudding powder.  Let it sit.
    Meanwhile, heat up the remaining orange soda with lemon juice and sugar. When this is hot enough. pour in the earlier pudding-orange mixture, stir constantly until it thickens , just like making instant pudding. Once orange pudding is thick enough, set it aside to cool a little before pouring it over the cream layer. Level it out.

    11) Let the assemble cake sit in the fridge over night before serving.

    Tuesday, February 07, 2017

    CNY Snack : Peanut filled pockets { Kok Chai }

    We're 11th day into Chinese New Year but these deep-fried snacks had finished long ago! :D

    These turned out as I remembered, crispy with sweet peanut filling. I couldn't stop munching on them.

    Kok Chai

    Recipe via Malaysian Chinese Kitchen
    serves :  32 mini puffs
    Ingredients

    For dough
    300g all-purpose flour 
    0.5 tsp salt  
    120ml vegetable oil 
    160ml water
    For Peanut Filling
    ½ cup (75g) raw peanuts 
    2 tbsp (18g) sesame seeds  
    ¼ cup (53g) sugar
    • Instructions
      Filling
      1. Toast peanuts in a small fry pan over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes until lightly brown. Remove and allow peanuts to cool. Coarsely chop or grind peanuts.
      2. Toast sesame seeds in the same pan for 1 to 2 minutes until lightly brown.
      3. Combine peanuts, sesame seeds, and sugar in a medium bowl. Mix well and set aside.
      Dough
      1. Combine all-purpose flour (rice flour, if usinand salt in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Pour vegetable oil into the well. Mix with a spatula. Slowly add water a little at a time to form a soft, non-sticky dough. You may or may not require the full ⅓ cup (80ml) water.
      2. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead on a clean work surface for 3 to 4 minutes. Form dough into a ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover with a towel and allow dough to rest for 10 minutes.
      3. Remove dough from the bowl and shape into a cylinder about 12 inches long. Cut dough into 16 equal size pieces.
      Forming the Mini Puffs
      1. Take a piece of dough and shape it into a circle of about 2½ inches in diameter by rotating and flattening the edges. Place a teaspoon of filling in the center.
      2. Fold the dough into a semi circle. Seal by pressing and pleating the edges together. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
      Frying the Mini Puffs
      1. Heat about an inch of vegetable oil in a wok to fry everything at one go or a small saucepan to fry in batches.
      2. Deep fry mini puffs over medium low heat for 4 to 5 minutes or until golden brown. Remove and allow mini puffs to drain in a metal strainer.
      3. Allow kok chai (mini peanut puffto cool completely before storing in air tight containers for up to 2 weeks.
       

    Saturday, August 20, 2016

    Hungary's Annual National Cake 2016

    photo : https://www.facebook.com/gregory.iron.photography/


    Every August 20th, Hungary introduces two new winning National cakes (one non-sugar option) on the occasion of her founding day by Saint Stephen. You can read more about the winners on Daily News Hungary.

    photo : cukrasz.net

    Each year we make a point to try the winning cake on the actual day of the introduction. The pumpkin seed cake white chocolate ganache (named “Green Gold of Őrség”) was unique. I liked the pumpkin seed flavour in the cake as well as in the crispy praline. The white chocolate ganache compliments the cake and raspberry jelly beautifully. I will buy this again definitely!


    Sunday, July 24, 2016

    Native American Fried Bread


    This fried-bread looks very much like the Hungarian Lángos. However, the Hungarian version is leaven using yeast. While this Native American version uses baking powder ; which makes the process faster. Of course, there are difference in taste too.

    For testing purposes, I have reduced the ingredients to a third of the original.

    Native American Fried-Bread
    via The Pioneer Woman

    1 cup All-Purpose Flour
    a pinch of salt
    1 tsp Baking powder (slightly rounded tsp)
    1/4 cup milk
    water as needed
    Lard or shortening , for frying (I used vegetable oil, will try lard the next round)
      Stir together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir with a fork as you pour in the milk; keep stirring for a bit to get it to come together as much as possible. Add just enough water to get it to come together. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and let it sit for 35 to 45 minutes to rest.

      When you're ready to fry the bread, heat about 1 to 2 inches shortening/lard in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Grab a plum-sized piece of dough (or larger if you want larger fry bread) and press it into a circle with your fingers: place it on a clean surface and begin pressing in the center and work your way out, stretching it as you go.

      When the circle is about 4 to 7 inches (however big you want it) carefully drape it into the skillet. Allow it to fry on one side until golden brown, about 1 minute, then carefully flip it to the other side using tongs. Fry it for another 30 to 45 seconds.

      Remove the fry bread to a paper towel-lined plate and allow it to drain while you fry the other pieces.

      Serve warm!

      Monday, July 18, 2016

      Zucchini and Cheese Bites


      I have to say I'm one of those people that don't eat enough of zucchini .  The funny thing is I actually love zucchini but some how I only eat them when someone else had cooked them; which is not frequent.

      With this recipe I'll be buying and cooking them in my kitchen this summer and the coming ones. They are great for meatless days!

      Zucchini and Cheese Bites
      serves : 4
      source : No Salty
      note : video available on above link 

      Ingredients
      +/- 600gm Zucchini (I used more)
      1 tsp salt
      1 pinch of black pepper
      1 tsp garlic paste (used granulated garlic)
      1 large egg
      100gm grated cheese (used cheddar, will use a more intense cheese next round)
      4 Tbsp bread crumbs
      ++ sauté onion


      For breading
      3 Tbsp flour
      1 large egg
      5 Tbsp bread crumbs

      Method :
      1) Grate zucchini into a fairly large bowl. Sprinkle the salt all over. Let it sit for 15 mins.
      2) Strain away the liquid from zucchini as much as possible. Return grated zucchini to bowl.
      3) Put in black pepper, garlic paste, sauté onion, crack-in the egg, grated cheese and bread crumbs. Mix well. shape into a bite-size balls. and place on a plate.
      4) Coat each balls in this sequence first into flour, then egg and finish with a good coating of bread crumbs. shake of excess crumbs. Place on a plate. Repeat coating process until zucchini mixture is finished.
      5) Heat up the oil in frying pan. Fry until golden brown. Serve immediately.



      Wednesday, June 29, 2016

      Coleslaw


      I have never checked a coleslaw recipe before preparing this post just to compare my ingredient list with what is the norm. It's good to know it is not far off.

      Coleslaw

      Ingredients
      Equal quantity of Cabbage and Carrot, shredded or cubed
      Spring onion, slice thinly
      salt, to taste
      sugar, to taste
      ground black pepper
      Mayonnaise, to taste
      2 tsp of sour cream
      a little water

      Method :
      1) Rinse cabbage and carrot before shredding or cubing
      2) In a salad bowl, put in the thinly sliced spring onion follow by salt, sugar and ground black pepper
      3) Put in half the vegetables, drizzle with some mayonnaise and a teaspoon of sour cream. Place the remaining vegetables and again drizzle on some mayonnaise and another teaspoon of sour cream.
      4) Mix well and let it chill in the fridge for minimum 30 mins.


      Sunday, May 15, 2016

      Roasted Radish


      It is common to eat radish raw. However, in Chinese cuisine, radish is also cooked in soups and also sun-dried. I much preferred the taste of sun-dried radish than raw. Since I am not so adventurous to sun dry radishes myself, I tried roasting them in the oven. The results is quite similar to dried ones but with enhanced sweetness and milder peppery taste.

      Roasted Radish
      Radishes
      salt
      oil

      1) Pre-heat oven at 170˙c
      2) Slice radishes into rounds. Place on oven-proofed dish, drizzle with some cooking oil and sprinkle with salt.
      3) Bake for 30mins. until slightly brown.

      raw radishes

      Saturday, February 20, 2016

      Hungarian Fairy Cake { Tündérsüti }


      Hungarian Fairy Cake { Tündérsüti }
      recipe via Tundi Konyha

      Ingredients

      For the dough
      200gm Plain flour
      80gm Powdered or Confectioner's sugar
      100gm Butter, room temperature
      2 Egg yolks
      1 tsp Baking powder
      1 pkt vanilla sugar
      pinch of salt

      For the filling
      1 packet "puncs" / strawberry pudding powder
      200ml Cold Milk
      4 Tbsp sugar
      180gm Sour cream, room temperature (normally 20% fat, but I only had 12%)
      2 Egg whits
      Rum extract, to taste
      small drop of red food colouring

      Powdered sugar for dusting

      Method
      1) Pre-heat oven to 180°. Prep cake tin (17.5x23.5cm) by greasing and flouring it. Set aside.

      2) Make the dough by mixing  mixing flour, powdered sugar, baking powder and pinch of salt. Then add in butter by gently pinch butter into flour mixture until crumbly. Create a well in the centre of the bowl, pour in the egg yolks and gently knead into becoming a soft dough.

      3) Divide dough into 6:4 portions. Roll out the bigger dough to the size of the bottom of baking dish. Place in the baking dish. Place the baking dish in the fridge to let the dough rest. The smaller portion of dough, wrap in cling film and let it rest in the fridge too.

      4) While the dough is resting, prepare the filling. In a sauce pan , pour in cold milk, then slowly mix in the pudding powder and powdered sugar. Cook the pudding on stove top until thickens.

      5) When pudding has thickens, carefully mix in the sour cream. This process will easily split the mixture. What I did was, take a little of the hot pudding, and add into the sour cream and then pour the whole sour cream mixture into the  hot pudding and quickly whisk it to avoid splitting. Then put in the rum and red food colouring, mix well. Set aside

      6) In a bowl, beat egg whites until stiff. The slowly fold into pudding mixture.

      7) Take out the baking dish from the fridge, pour the filling over the dough base. Finally roll out the smaller portion dough, cut into strips and lay a criss cross pattern on top (see pic from recipe link above).

      8) Bake in the oven for 30-35 mins. until pudding is firm nad pastry is golden brown.

      Wednesday, February 03, 2016

      Chinese New Year Baking : Almond London Cookies

      Chinese New Year is once again around the corner (February 8th)! For this year, I thought aside from the staple pineapple tart, I should try my hand at another favourite cookies for the festival. When I saw a recipe for Almond London Cookies during my blog surfing, I knew I want to make these. These did not originate from London and I have no idea why this cookies exists in Malaysia. The cookie is basically a toasted almond wrapped with short cookie dough, bake lightly, then dipped into melted chocolate and finish off with a sprinkle of chopped/nibbed almonds.

      For step-by-step tutorial, please go to Nasi Lemak Lover.


      Almond London Cookies
      Source : Nasi Lemak Lover (linked above)


      150g whole almonds

      30g nibbed almonds




      170g butter (salted)

      60g icing sugar, sifted

      20g egg yolk (used 1 yolk)

      300g cake flour (used plain flour)


      300g chocolate

      Method

      1. Toast whole almonds in oven at 180°c for 13-15mins, and toast nibbed almonds at 180°c for 1-2mins. Set aside to let it cool completely before use.
      2. Cream butter and icing sugar till light and pale.
      3. Add in egg yolk, beat well to combine.
      4. Add in cake flour, mix until it come together to form soft dought. Do not over work it.
      5. To weight dough 6g each, wrap up a whole almond, and shape into oval shape.
      6. Bake cookies at 160°c (fan forced) for 15mins or until golden brown, set aside to cool completely.
      7. Melt chocolate over double boiler or microwave oven. Dip cookie in melted chocolate. Use a small fork, transfer coated cookie into a mini paper cup.
      8. Sprinkle some toasted nibbed almonds on top. Chill in the fridge (~10mins) to set the chocolate before storing in air-tight container. Store in cool place to prevent chocolate from melting.

      Thursday, December 17, 2015

      Hungarian poppy seeds / walnuts rolls { Bejgli II }

      Two thumbs up for this recipe! which by the way , will replace the one archived here before.  What I like about this version is the fluffy bread texture as you see below.
      With the exorbitant price of walnuts, I've opted to only make the poppy seeds fillings. That being said, both fillings are equally good. For us and especially my mother-in-law, she prefers the poppy seeds type.

      The recipe linked below makes 6 rolls; but the quantity I stated below have been adjusted to only 2 rolls. In fact, I could have made into 3 shorter rolls instead of 2 long ones.

      Bejgli
      source : Receptneked

      makes 2 rolls

      Ingredients
      For the dough
      130ml sour cream (20% fat)
      83g goose fat
      1 medium-size egg
      2 Tbsp sugar
      pinch salt
      30gm fresh yeast
      400gm flour

      For the filling

      200gm ground Poppy seeds
      100gm Honey
      100gm water
      vanilla extract
      bunch of raisins, soaked and drained
      1 zest of lemon
      2 Tbsp of apricot jam
      sugar, to taste


      For glazing
      1 egg, seperated

      Preparation
      For the dough
      1) In a bowl, mix together sour cream, goose fat, egg, sugar and salt.
      2) In another bowl, put in the flour and crumble in the yeast. Then create a well in the centre, and pour in the sour cream mixture (1). Mix until all ingredients are combine.
      3) On a floured surface, pour out the flour mixture and knead until you get a smooth dough.
      4) Let the dough rest in covered bowl , in room temperature for 1 hour.

      For the filling
      1) Heat water until hot. Combine it with honey and mix well.
      2) In a bowl, put the ground poppy seeds, lemon zest, apricot jam, vanilla extract , soaked and drain raisins. The pour in the honey-water mixture. Combine well. Check for sweetness, if needed add sugar to taste. I needed to add sugar in consideration of my MIL taste buds.
      3) Divide filling into 2 portions. Set aside until assembly.

      To finish
      1) 30 mins. into proofing the dough, start pre-heating the oven at 180°c
      2) Once dough is fully proof, pour out on floured work surface, and punch out the air from the dough.
      3) Divide dough into 2 equal size.
      4) Take the first dough, roll out into a rectangle shape. Size according to your preference.
      5) Spread a portion of the filling onto the dough , leaving some space on the sides to prevent leakage.
      6) Roll up the dough just like Swiss roll, but not too tight to leave room for the dough to grow and not burst.
      7) Repeat the same for the next roll. Glaze each roll with only egg yolk. Then let it dry for about 15 mins. After 15 mins. glaze with egg white.  Use a knife or fork to prick the roll all the way to let out the steam during baking.
      8) Bake in the pre-heated oven for 30-35 mins. until golden brown.

      Serving
      It is better to let the roll sit for a day or two to enhance the taste even more. Just wrap the rolls in cling film and keep in a cool place.

      Monday, November 23, 2015

      Cantonese Egg Tarts II 港式蛋挞

      Over the years, I've made egg tarts on few occasions. The result mostly looked rough and rustic but this time these tarts look  like the real deal! That said, am still trying to achieve a melt in the mouth lighter crust. Mine have slight chewy tart shell. I'll have to work on my short crust pastry technique. However, the filling is exactly what I'm looking for.

      Cantonese Egg Tarts
      serves : 12-15 tarts
      I have halved the recipe from Guai Shu Shu

      Ingredients
      For tart shells 
      1 egg (lightly beaten) 
      220 grams of plain flour (sifted) 
      40 grams of icing sugar (sifted) 
      100 grams of chilled butter (cut into cubes) 
      1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence (optional) 

      For egg custard filling   
      220 grams of fresh milk 
      75 grams of castor sugar 
      2 eggs 
      1 teaspoon of vanilla essence (optional) 

      Pre-heat the oven to 180°c

      In a big mixing bowl, put butter cubes and sifted plain flour together. Use the finger tips to rub the butter cubes and flours together until it become crumby. Add in sifted icing sugars and continue to rub until well mix.

      Add lightly beaten eggs and vanilla essence, mix slowly until it become a dough. Put it in the fridge to chill for 20-30 minutes. Note that if you are able to handle soft dough, you can by pass this step. Take the dough from the fridge and use a rolling pin to roll it into a flat sheet with about 0.5 cm thickness.

      Use a round cutter to cut about the size of the mould.  Note that this step is optional and will help you to roughly gauge the amount of dough required and you still need to adjust the quantity of dough as you progress.  Use your hand to press the dough against the sides and make it as even as possible. Use a knife or anything sharp to cut off the sides. If preferred, use a fork to lightly make some holes to let any trapped air to escape.  However, this step of making hole is optional. Set aside for later use.

      For crispier crust, bake the tart shell in the pre-heated oven of 180 degree Celsius for 10 minutes. However, this step is also optional. 

      For filling :-
      In a microwavable bowl or mug, heat the milk until boiling hot (if you do not have a microwave oven, just heat the milk over the stove). Set aside for the next step. 

      In a big mixing bowl, put egg, sugar and vanilla essence. Use a hand whisk to beat until well mixed. Pour the hot milk to the mixture and use a sift to sieve the custard mixture. 

      Pour the custard mixture to the pre-baked tart shells. 
        
      Bake the egg tarts in the pre-heated oven of 180˙c for 10-15 minutes. Once the tarts starts to puff up a bit, open the oven door, leave the door ajar and continue to bake the tarts for another 5 –8 minutes. A tart is considered as baked when a toothpick inserted in the centre of the tart, the toothpick stands upright. The tarts is best served warm when the custard is still soft and crust crispy.

      Sunday, November 22, 2015

      Homemade Belgian Waffles

      Not sure why it took me so long to invest in a waffle maker, when I love eating waffles?! Now that I finally bought one and that the first recipe came out exactly how I like it. It will definitely be used many Sundays ahead.

      Homemade Belgian Waffles
      adapted from casa de lindquist
      serves : about 6 x 10x12cm waffles

      Ingredients:
      1 large egg or 2 medium-sized eggs, room temp.
      1 Tbsp sugar
      1 cup all-purpose flour
      about 207ml milk, room temp.
      57gm butter, melted2 tsp baking powder
      2 tsp baking powder
      1/8 tsp salt

      Method:
      1) Lightly grease waffle maker then switch it on to pre-heat.
      2) Mix together flour, baking powder and salt. set aside.
      3) In another bowl, whisk egg(s) and sugar until light and fluffy.
      4) Pour in milk and melted butter, mix well. Finally add in the flour-mixture. Mix until lump-free. Don't over mix.
      5) Spoon waffle batter onto pre-heated waffle maker. close it. and set timer to 5 minute.
      6) Serve hot with any sweet or savoury condiments.

      Wednesday, November 18, 2015

      Spanakopita { Greek spinach pie } with homemade filo / phyllo pastry

      When I have spinach and feta available, first thing that come to mind is spanakopita. It's an absolute favourite filling for filo /phyllo pastry for me. Never in my life that I would've imagined making filo / phyllo pastry  though! I gave it a go on and as usual it is not as scary or hard as I thought. What I did was prep. and knead the dough a day ahead and let it rest in the fridge over night. 

      Homemade Phyllo Dough

      via http://korenainthekitchen.com/2011/06/27/daring-bakers-baklava-with-homemade-phyllo-pastry/

      Ingredients
      Dry
      1 1/3 cup flour (type “00” or pizza flour, if possible – all purpose flour will do, though)
      1/8 tsp salt

      Wet
      1/2 cup less 1 tbsp water
      2 tbsp vegetable oil
      1/2 tsp cider vinegar

      Filling
      spinach (frozen, with access water removed)
      feta cheese
      sautéd garlic
      salt, to taste

      Method
      1) Mix together dry ingredients. In a small bowl combine wet ingredients. Then pour the wet mixture slowly into the flour.
      2) Continue mixing stirring until it comes together in a soft dough with no dry flour bits left. You may need slightly less water, or slightly more (I had about 1 tbsp of water left over) – just add it slowly, bit by bit, to gauge how much you’ll need.
      3) Knead the dough in mixing for about 20 minutes, until you have a soft, silky, smooth dough.
      4) Then  remove from bowl, on floured surface knead another 2 minutes, whacking the dough down hard on the counter a few times during kneading.
      5) Rub the dough with vegetable oil, wrap it in plastic, and let it rest for at least 2 hours – longer is better.

      Rolling and stretching the dough

      Divide the ball of dough in half, cut each half into thirds, and each third into thirds again, to end up with 18 pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place them on a plate, covered with plastic wrap.

      Flatten a ball out with your fingers and place on a well-floured surface. Roll out with a floured rolling pin or dowel until it’s about 9″x5″ (mine was twice as large), picking up the dough and re-flouring the surface underneath it every few strokes. Don’t be afraid of adding too much flour – keeping everything properly floured will make it much easier to roll, because if stuff starts to stick you’re in trouble! Let the dough rest for a minute or two if it starts getting difficult to roll out.

      When the dough sheet is as thin as you can roll it, gently lift it and stretch it with your fingers from underneath. Do this very s-l-o-w-l-y and gently, using more of a stroking motion than a pulling motion, and letting the dough rest every so often. Don’t worry if you get some rips and holes – you only really need one perfect sheet for the top layer of your baklava (it took me until sheet number 14 to get a perfect one, and only about two out of 18 had no holes!).

      When the dough is stretched thin enough to read through, place it on a floured baking sheet, and lightly sprinkle flour between each sheet to stop them from sticking together. The original recipe says that the sheets won’t dry out, but it took me forever to roll them out so I covered them lightly in plastic, just in case.

      Monday, October 19, 2015

      Carrot Salad


      Carrot Salad


      Ingredients
      Carrots, julienned or grated
      2 garlic cloves, minced
      1cm ginger, minced
      a pinch of cumin seeds
      a pinch of turmeric powder
      a squeeze of lemon
      1 bunch of parsley, chopped finely
      salt, to taste
      sugar, to taste

      Method :-
      1) In a pan, toast the cumin seeds, then add in some oil. Once oil has been heated a little, add in the minced ginger and garlic. Fry until fragrant.
      2) Add in sugar to caramelise. Then turmeric, stir a little.  Put in the carrots, a little water and cook until just crunchy. Season with salt and garnish wit finely chopped parley. Eat warm or cold.

      Saturday, October 17, 2015

      Sticky Rice with poached chicken

      A play on Hainanese Chicken Rice. Instead of plain rice, I've switched to sticky/glutinous rice. Since sticky/glutinous rice is heavier than plain rice, you don't need too much. In this pic., I've served with green chilli+parsley sauce. The spiciness of this Hungarian green chilli is almost rival to the Asian's bird's eye chilli.

      Sticky Rice with Poached Chicken
      serves : 2
      Ingredients
      1/2 cup glutinous rice, cleaned and soaked over night
      4pcs of chicken thighs or drumsticks
      1 knob of ginger, bashed
      2 cloves of garlic, bashed
      1 spring onion

      cooking oil, for sauté

      Chilli sauce
      2 chillies, finely chopped
      1cm pc of ginger, minced
      1 shallot. minced
      3 cloves garlic, mince
      soy sauce, to taste
      cooking oil, for sauté

      Method :-
      1) Clean and soak rice with enough water to cover rice, overnight.
      2) In a pot, stir fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant. When fragrant, pour in 1.5 cups of water. Bring it to boil.
      3) When water is boiling, put in chicken thighs and only boil it for 1 min. When the chicken thighs have gone white, quickly remove from chicken pieces from the pot, give it a cold water bath. This is to tighten the skin. After bath, return chicken thighs back to the pot , add some salt and cook for another 15 mins.
      4) After 15 mins. switch off heat and leave chicken in pot for another 30 mins. 
      5) After 30 mins. give chicken thighs another cold bath. Then leave chicken thighs on wire mesh to dry.
      6) Cook down the chicken stock for 15 mins. 
      7) Meanwhile, get the steamer ready, drain glutinous rice and place rice in steaming dish. Once the chicken stock has been cook down a little. pour it over glutinous rice, just enough to cover rice. Be careful you don't want to drown the rice. You can always add more stock if needed.
      8) Steam glutinous rice in high heat for about 15 mins. check for doneness. If needed cook longer r add more stock if too dry. After than check every 5  mins. until rice is done.
      9) While waiting for rice to cook, cook the chilli sauce. Heat some in sauce pan, put in minced shallot, garlic and ginger. Cook until fragrant, add in chilli, cook down the chilli and it is ready. Remove onto serving dish , with oil, season with soy sauce.
      10) Serve immediately.






      Friday, October 16, 2015

      Bone broth


      Bone Broth

      Ingredients

      3 pcs beef bones
      1 large onion, peeled left whole
      3 cloves garlic, peeled
      1 knob of ginger, bashed
      1 stick of cinnamon, optional
      2 carrots, peeled left whole
      2 parsnip, peeled left whole
      1 celery root, peeled , halved
      1 bay leaf
      6 pcs black pepper corns
      salt, to taste
      garnish
      1 bunch parsley , finely chopped
      1 spring onion green part, chopped

      Method

      1) Bring 1 litre of water to a boil. Put in the bones, boil it for about 20 mins. After 20 mins. pour away the water, clean the bone a little under cold water.
      2)  In a clean pot,put in all the ingredients except for salt, parsley, and spring onion. Pour in enough water to cover all the ingredients in the pot. Bring it boil and then simmer for 2 hours. Remove carrots, onion and parsnip, set aside in fridge until 30 mins. before serving. Continue to simmer soup for another 5hours. After that season with salt and simmer for 1 hour.
      3) Finally , use a strainer , strain the soup to get a clear broth. Serve with chopped up carrots, onions, parsnip, parsley and spring onion.

      You can serve with vermicelli pasta,rice noodles as well as protein of your choice.