Gift From Home

My mom is here! Yup, she came all the way from Malaysia to help me look after Evy and my confinement month. She arrived yesterday evening and now is still asleep in bed. Below are the goodies she got me!


Mooncake of course, what else? :oP


The design of this mooncake box is just too unique that I had to show it.


Haha...even the mould is unique! All the money sign should tell you it's from Genting Casino. Hehee...


What the inside looks like! Single yolk pandan lotus paste with melon seeds, Yummy!


My brother in-law went back to Muar, Johor to get me this Wife Cake!


Read so much about it and finally got to sample it!


Got this.


And this.


Not bad at all! Thanks BIL!! :o)

Tonight Dinner

I have been lazy in the cooking department lately. Since I thought I was going to deep-fry the cornish hen and have some zucchini and onion on hand, why not just deep-fry all of them together.

So, tonight dinner was all deep-fried food. I thought it was easy but man...this deep-fried stuff took a long time. I think it took me more than one hour to finish deep-fried everything.


Onion Rings


Tempura Zucchini


Deep-fried 5 spices Cornish Hen

Oh yeah, this was just half of the cornish hen, the other half still in the wok frying. I had to take the picture first because I was afraid my daughter was hungry.

Stir-fried Udon Noodle 2

This is the udon noodle stir-fry in dark sauce. I want to recreate hokkein mee but I guess without the lard and crispy pork fat, the flavor is just not there. Furthermore, mine is too dry to be called hokkein mee. It's hard to watch the wok while cooking this because half way through, my daughter did something that called for some spanking action. Thus my sauce evaporated while me running around from one place to another. Oh well, but the result is still delicious though, got a head knock from both hubby and daughter.

Easy Stir-Fried Udon

Another quick and easy dinner!

Stir fry udon noodle in ketchup, sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce. You can add any ingredients you have in the refrigerator.

Microwave Muah Chee

I used to make muah chee using the boiling method. It is also easy to make but not as easy as microwave muah chee. I saw this short-cut method posted at kitchencapers a while back and decided to give this a try.

It is definitely easy but the dough can be very sticky and difficult to handle. Taste good though!

Recipe from Gina at KC:

(A)
250g glutinous rice flour
375ml water
2 Tbp. shallot oil

Mix (A) in a Pyrex bowl and microwave on High for 7 mins. Cut into tiny pieces using a kitchen scissor and drop it into the peanuts and sugar mixture. Coat well and serve immediately.

(B)
250g peanuts, toasted and grind
50g sugar

Mixed (B) together to create peanuts and sugar mixture.

Oops! I think my peanuts is not fine enough, should have processed it more. :P

LOOK! LOOK!

The baby in my ticker has moved to the last one!! Hahaha.... Finally I'm at the final stage, one month to go, 30 days to go, wow! but hopefully this one will decide to come out early instead of later.

My Ob will start doing internal exam next week and I will know whether I have made any progress or not. Last time, I didn't make any progress at all with Evy but at 37 weeks, I was 2cm dilated and 60% effaced. But then again this didn't really mean anything because I was still 2cm and 80% effaced until my due date, at 40 weeks before I had her. So, we never know, the baby will come out when she pleases.

Getting a bit excited now because she can come as early as in two weeks time (hoping!) or as late as in four weeks time. Not sure who she looks like, can't wait to find out! Also hoping three of us can cope with this new arrival well and the transition into a family of four will be smooth and uneventful.

Cassava Kuih

Made this cassava kuih (kuih bingka ubi) using adapted Agnes Chang's recipe.




This recipe has the rough texture and thus you can taste the cassava in it. I used the frozen grated cassava easily available in the frozen section at asian grocery stores. I have changed this recipe into cups measurement. 

Sambal Haebee Coconut Whole Wheat Buns

Same recipe as I did my whole wheat buns earlier.


The filling is the leftover from my rempah udang.

Seafood Gumbo

I have some brats left from the July 4th BBQ, so I thought I will make gumbo out of it. This is my first time making a gumbo and I used Paula Deen's Savannah Seafood Gumbo recipe. It has good reviews and I have most of the ingredients so I gave this a try.



This is half of Paula Deen recipe since it's only two of us. Still yield 4 servings.

Ingredients:

1/8 cup oil
3 Tbp. all-purpose flour
(A)
1 cup onion, chopped
1/2 cup green bell pepper, chopped (I used red)
1/2 cup celery, diced (I didn't have this)
2 large garlic cloves, minced
(B)
2 cup chicken broth
1/2 Tbp. Chicken base (I used chicken granules)
(C)
1 1/2 cup water
1 bay leaf
3/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/6 cup dried parsley
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. House Seasoning {consisted of 1 cup salt + 1/4 cup black pepper + 1/4 cup garlic powder} ( I just sprinkled some salt, black pepper and garlic powder)
1 Tbp. worcestershire sauce
1/2 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes or 1 cup fresh diced tomatoes
(D)
2 cup sliced Cajun-Style fresh link sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (I used brats)
2 cup cut okra (fresh or frozen)
(E)
1 cup oysters & liquid (I omitted this)
1/4 pound crabmeat (I omitted this)
3/4 pound fresh peeled shrimps
1 1/2 cup bay scallops

File powder (for thickening) (I omitted this)

Method:

1. In a large pot, combine oil and flour. Cook over medium heat stirring constantly until the roux has browned to a light chocolate color.

2. Add (A), saute for 2-3 mins, stirring constantly. Slowly add (B), stirring as you go. Add (C).

3. Add (D). Cover pot and let it simmer for 1-1.5 hour (I simmer for 1 hour, but if it's all seafood, 30-45 mins would do, so that the okra can still be in pieces.), stirring occasionally. Add (E). Simmer for an additional 15 mins. Serve over hot rice.

4. Sprinkle file powder on individual bowl, stir in before serving (Find this unnecessary as it was thick enough).

My Note:

It's actually a very good recipe, quite delicious. But next time I will omit the sausage and add chicken breasts instead. No oyster because hubby won't touch it. Will substitute the House seasoning with Old Bay seasoning. More okra would be nice too, since I love veggie. Definitely would make this again.

Meme: 5 Things to Eat Before You Die

I have been tagged by my blog pal, Gracio for this meme.

Let's see....*thinking* 5 things to eat before I die....okie must be some good food for sure....hahaha....

1. Shark Fin Soup: What can I say my favorite soup. I have to order it everytime I go back to M'sia. :)

2. Lobsters Stir-Fry in Butter Cream Sauce: This is so very good. The lobster pieces were deep-fry in some sort of batter first and then mixed into this thick and yummy butter cream sauce.

3. A Very Good Dim Sum: Nothing can beat a well-made delicious dim sum. Sitting down with a cup of tea and sampling a table full of mouth-watering dim sum can be such a joy.

4. Indian Banana Leaf Rice: I simply love this, the variety of veggie dishes with assortment of Indian curries, and not forgetting the crispy cracker on the side (forgot the name! :P), make this a must have when I go back to M'sia. I think what's make this different is I get to eat with my fingers....hahaha...so called finger licking good huh?

5. Good Old Ice Kacang: Very refreshing in a hot and humid Malaysia weather. Oh man...where's my ice kacang!! Over here, in order to savor this we have to buy our own snowcone ice machine, make our own red beans and buy all the ingredients and make it ourselves. Lots of work just to eat a bowl of ice kacang!

Now, I would like to pass this "baton" to my good friend, Lily.

Rempah Udang

This is my favorite kuih in M'sia. I have been wanting to make this kuih for years, but just never got to. Why I finally made it you asked?

Because I made some sambal haebee two days ago and I have the frozen shredded coconut and banana leaves in the freezer just ready for me to use. So, why not just make it and satisfy my craving. So, here it is! :)


This is my short-cut filling. I used my sambal haebee, added the toasted shredded coconut and some coriander powder, pan-fry to mix well.



Steamed my glutinous rice with coconut milk and a little salt.



Wrapped in banana leaves and stapled it. Pan-fried in greased non-stick pan until toasted and fragrant.



Finished product!



Closed up of what the inside looks like! A bit spicy because of my spicy sambal haebee. :P

Deep-fried Sweet Potato with Nian Gao

Made this for afternoon snack today. I used the baked nian gao that I did earlier this year that I have kept frozen to try out the deep-fry version. Can't eat this too often because it's very oily and might give you sore throat (heaty feeling).


Bought sweet potato to go with it because this nian gao was not very sweet.



The closed up of the combination. Not bad at all, but this baked nian gao didn't turn gluey and sticky like the one in M'sia. Perhaps it was baked and didn't use coconut milk?? Not sure!

Whole Wheat Bread with Raisins and Almonds

Just as the name implied. I was trying out a different way to make my whole wheat dough.




This is the closed up of the bread. I found bread making is really fun, all sort of ways to play with the dough. If you can imagine it, you can make it!

Black Bean Soup

This is one easy and delicious soup to whip up. I even feel embarrass to give out the recipe!! Well, for the newbies I guess.

Ingredients:

3-4 pork ribs or pork loin bones
1/2 cup of black beans, washed
5 cups of water
Salt to taste

Method:

1. Boiled the water over high heat. When boiled, add in the pork bones/ribs. Dished out the inpurities and add the washed black beans. Turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 3-4 hours, or until the pork turned tender. Season to taste with a little salt. Serve hot!

Short-Cut Tofu Fah

Buzzbuzz, this is for you! I told you I'm going to show you my short-cut version.



I have been making this short-cut tofu fah for years and have passed the secret to my friends here. This bowl of silken tofu fah is from a box!! It is as good or better than those sold at the good dim sum restaurants here. That's why I don't bother to order. What's more, super easy to do! Of course you can make tofu from it as well but I only buy it to make tofu fah since you can buy cheaper tofu at the store.



What do you think? Silken soft right? I like mine with ginger brown sugar syrup.



This is how the box looks like. Now, my secret is out. Anyone can make a bowl of silken soft tofu fah at your own house without a fuss! Actually a couple of bowls, one box can serve up to 6-8 bowls tofu fah.
Enjoy!

Edit to add: Inside the box is a package of soy bean powder and a small package of hardening agent. The recipe for tofu fah is on the side of the box, basically add more water. You will need to mix the soy bean powder with the amount of water required until dissolved and then cook it on the stove top until boiling. Set aside and add the hardening agent and pour in a container and then cover the container with foil or kitchen towel and let it harden for 20-30 mins. You have to cook your own syrup to serve with this.

My Version of RotiBoy

This is my new creation. The healthier version of RotiBoy. LOL! This is made using my trusted basic sweet bun recipe, I just substituted the bread flour with whole wheat flour and white sugar with brown sugar.

Since I have some leftover Mexican topping from making the cream cheese bun that I kept frozen, I used that to make the topping, just added some cocoa powder and coffee emulco.

I used the same cream cheese filling (for the cream cheese bun) for this Rotiboy. If not, you can used salted butter as filling, just made sure the butter was still cold solid when wrap inside the dough to proof.

Then, I added some sliced almonds on top of the Mexican topping. As you can see, my sliced almonds slide down while baking...Oops!




Here's the close up of my whole wheat RotiBoy with cream cheese filling. What can I say, another soft and yummy bun for my snack and breakfast!

I store it in the refrigerator because of the cream cheese filling and toast it in a toasted oven for 4-5 mins the next day and tada....like fresh baked again!!

Dried Shrimp Sambal (Sambal HaeBee)

I finally made my first sambal haebee. Both hubby and I love eating this sambal but I just never make it on my own, not sure why. Probably lazy...hahaha...

Well, decided to make it today using my short cut version. Viola, it's so yummy with white rice. Would be delicious spread in sandwich too. Okay, here's my recipe if you want to try it.

Cream Cheese Buns

I saw Yochana's cute little cream cheese buns and couldn't resist myself to ask her for the recipe. I made mine into a big buns because I don't have the cute flutted mould to use.


It's very delicious with the slightly sour cream cheese filling and crusty mexican topping. Definitely will make this buns again.


Oh, the topping will get soft and sticky the next day. But just pop it in the toasted oven and toast for 4-5 mins will bring back the crusty top and hot soft yummy buns.

Yong Tau Foo Dinner

I have been craving for yong tau foo recently and am glad that finally got this craving satisfied. :D

I bought the ready made Wei Chuan fish paste and made a pan-fried dried version using Gina's Hakka Yong Tau Foo method.



Put the fish paste in and sealed it with egg wash.



After pan-fried and ready to serve.

I pan-fried mine in shallot oil, added garlic and fish sauce in the end. Then, sprinkled with crispy fried shallots on top.

I also made the one below, just spread a thin layer of fish paste onto the beancurd sheet and sealed with egg wash. Then, deep-fry until golden brown. Cut and serve with Hoisin sauce and Sriracha chilli sauce.


Deep-fried crispy beancurd sheet with fish paste.

Tau Sar Buns (Red Bean Buns)

I bought a can of red bean paste the other day and thought of giving it a try. It's a fat free red bean paste from China, fat free because no oil was added, just water. Thus, I made red bean buns for breakfast.



This time I brushed the top with egg wash, that's why it has the golden shiny look.



Guess I'm still not very good at shaping filling inside the bun. But to my surprise, the fat free red bean paste actually tasted pretty good. Smooth and sweet, what's more, it's fat free!! So, feel a little guilt free while eating these buns. Now, I don't have to make my own red bean paste anymore. Hehe...can just buy it in Denver.

My daughter loves red bean too, she would stick her finger in to eat the red bean paste first before finish the rest of the bun. Quite messy if you ask me!

Pandan Kaya Jelly Roll

I always want to make some sort of a roll, but just never really got my hands on it. Don't know what happen today, out of the blue I just thought of making pandan kaya roll after I saw a swiss roll picture on the net. Perhaps because I have Pandan kaya ready in the refrigerator and what better way to match it but to make a pandan roll. So, here's my first Pandan Jelly Roll. :)




Verdict: Soft and Spongy! This is actually easier than making a cake, guess will make it often from now on.

Bubur Pulut Hitam

I bought a bag of black glutinous rice months ago thinking of making it but just never got to it. Then, Lily came to visit and taught and showed me how it was done. The below was made by me since hers was finished without taking a picture.



I made mine with a little white glutinous rice (Lily's method) to cook the bubur. Then, added dried longans and Gula Melaka (like Amy Beh's recipe). Lastly, top with salted coconut cream to serve.



When stirred and ready to makan. If you want the recipe, just go to kuali.com and do a search. Amy Beh got a good recipe there.

Click here to read my latest bubur pulut hitam using a slow cooker (with recipe).

Nutella Buns

Experiment with Nutella as filling for my chocolate-coffee dough. The top was sprinkled with desiccated coconut.



What's the inside look like. Excuse the burr picture, hard to take close up.

Verdict: Not bad at all! Just like eating bun spreading with Nutella jam. Most important, my daughter who doesn't fancy bread/buns can finish the whole bread by herself, even two at one go. I asked her, "Hao zhi ma?" and she replied, "Hao zhi". Hehe...

Malay-Indian Night

Chicken Kapitan using Hup Loong premix.
Verdict: Good!


Indian Stir-fry Green Beans, my version.


Nasi Minyak (oily rice with spices).


Ready to serve!

What a good dinner! Even my hubby got a second serving of everything. :) It was my first time making all of the above, not bad for a first timer huh? :P

Click below for Stir-fry Green Beans Recipe:

Japanese Cottony Cheese Cake

I just bought a 3 sets springform pan the other day that come with 8", 9" and 10". So, I can finally make some cheese cake from now on. The first thing I want to make is Edith's Jap. Cottony cheese cake. I did make it before (2-3 years ago) using the shallow 9" pie pan, thus my cake won't be able to rise. I remembered that cake was only 1" in height and very flat.




Not too bad huh? However, I did manage to cook some of the egg yolks while pouring in the still warm cream cheese mixture (no patient to wait til it cool), thus I have pieces of cooked egg yolks at the bottom of the cheese cake. So, for those that haven't tried this recipe and wanted to try, remember to cool your cream cheese mixture first and don't end out like me. :P




Therefore, I have to cut off the bottom layer. The bottom layer was cut from the above picture. Still look pretty high hor? Like the name said, this cheese cake is cottony soft and not very sweet.

Prawn Mee

I have a bag of prawn shells reserved in the freezer to try out cwl's (a KC member) prawn mee recipe. But I ended out with my version of prawn mee instead (lack of ingredients, using my ready-made chilli paste, etc).

I think I put too much fried shallots in my stock that it over power the smell of prawn in the stock. Not really happy with my version and the ingredients I put in. Next time have to make it real authentic with just kangkong, shrimps and thin pork slices instead of spinach and added fish balls. I think too much stuff spoiled this delicate soup base.

My hubby seem to like it though since he finished the whole bowl including all the soup!! *Shocking*