Coconut Melting Moments

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 1/3 cup + 1 Tbp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup sweetened coconut flakes

Method:

The method is the same as green tea melting moments, except for this I used vanilla extract instead of green tea powder.

Shape the dough into 1- inch ball and packed it with coconut flakes and baked in preheated 325'F oven for 15-17 minutes. Remove to cool on wire rack. When cooled, placed the cookies in small paper cups (for decoration only, can be omitted).

Verdict: Taste better the day it was baked.


Sparkle Sugar Sequins Melting Moments
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As for this, shape into balls, flatten it with a fork and sprinkle sugar sequins on top. A favorite for kids!

Soy Braised Whole Chicken

I posted the recipe under Soy Braised Cornish Hen, for the whole chicken, just double the recipe. I slow boiled it covered for 30 minutes on each side and then I uncovered it and simmer it further for about 10-15 minutes on each side, depending on the size of the chicken. Dish out the chicken and let cool. Thicken the sauce by simmering it down or add some cornstarch mixture to it. Later use the thicken sauce to pour on top of the cut out chicken to serve.

Sambal Belacan Sweet Potato Leaves

Featuring one of my home cook dishes. This is my shortcut version of sambal belacan vegetable. Keep a canned of shrimp paste at home and you can whip up a belacan veggies anytime. :)

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Leaves
1/4 cup of dried shrimps, washed & drained
2-3 sliced shallots
2 Tbp. Caravelle shrimp paste in bean oil
1 Tbp. my homemade chillies in oil
1 tsp. belacan powder
salt to taste
sugar to taste

Method

Heat oil in wok, when hot, add in the shallots and dried shrimps. Stir well until fragrant, then add in the sweet potato leaves. Stir-fry until the veggies soften, add in the shrimp paste, belacan powder & chillies paste and a little water. Stir around and season with salt and sugar. Dish out and serves hot.

Note:
Good with kangkong, ladies fingers (or okra), Chinese long beans, esparagus and even Japanese eggplants.

Kung Pao Chicken

Featuring one of my home cook dishes.

I cooked this chicken all the times. Love it while in M'sia, thus when I came over, I just have to crack my head to come out with this dish. Over the years, it becomes one of my master dishes. No exact recipe for this, all agaration. But here's what I use.

Kung Pao Chicken

Ingredients:
1/2 Onion, sliced.
1/2 Carrot, sliced.
2-3 Scallions, cut into 2 inches length.
Chicken pieces from 1 chicken breast (marinate in soy sauce, dark soy sauce & cornstarch).
6-8 Dried chilli peppers.
1 inch piece of Ginger, thinly sliced.

Sauce Mixture:
Soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
sugar

Thickening:
Cornstarch + water

Method:

Heat oil, add ginger, when fragrant, add chicken pieces, stir-fry until chicken is half way cooked, add in dried chilli peppers. Stir-fry until chicken is cooked, add onion and carrot. Stir to mix then add the sauce mixture. Let it boil for a while and add in the thickening. Serve hot!

Stir-Fried Udon Noodle

I love fresh Udon noodle. It's delicious eating it in soup or stir-fry. It's a quick lunch to prepare in soup, just add in some marinated chicken pieces or shrimps, fresh vegetable, tofu pieces and fresh mushroom and top it with fried shallots or garlics and fresh cilantro. Serve with a bowl of chilli padi in soy sauce, can I say yum?

Of course it's delicious in stir-fry too. Just add in your favorite ingredients and for the sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce (if you prefer it dark), a little sugar and sesame oil.

Meme: Childhood Food Memories

Carrying on the baton from Lily's Wai Sek Hong

1. The giant shrimp cracker that I used to buy for 10 cent in my primary school. And then I dipped it in a special chilli sauce and enjoy it by hand. I bet a lot of people who came from that school will remember this giant chilli dipped shrimp crackers! :)

2. Everytime when the roti man rang his motorcycle horn to signal the arrival of him. And my mom would go out and buy the roti for tomorrow. Me and my siblings would go out with my mom and of course asked for little packets of snacks that were hanging on the containers at the back of the motorcycle. If my mom was in a good mood, she would buy those treat for us. Not sure whether they still sell roti this way?

3. My late grandma (dad's side) was a very good kuih maker. She used to make kuih-muih and sell when she was young. However, by the time we knew her, she was no longer in the selling business. But we got to enjoy her kuih everytime she came down to see us or when we visit her during CNY. She would make a variety of steamed kuih for CNY and it were always very good. Now, I really miss her yellow steamed radish kuih. She usually made it in big block and cut it into smaller pieces to pan-fry and serve it in the morning of CNY. YUM! I think all her knowledge and recipes of the kuih she made died with her as I don't think she copied her recipes down and passed it on to her daughters.

4. My mom's lettuce wrap that she made for CNY reunion dinner. I always enjoyed this dish, bite into a fresh crispy lettuce with stir-fried jicama, slices of soy sauce chicken and top with homemade chilli sauce, where juices dripped down on my fingers and I got to lick it off, such a fond memory. Not sure whether this is the authentic way to make the lettuce wrap, but it was how my mom made her.

5. Help to make CNY cookies at my grandma (mom's side) house. I was pretty young and anxious to help and they were making the kuih kapit (love letters) and kuih bunga (honeycomb cookies). You learned while you help and glad to say that I did. What was best was we got to take home big tins of cookies home with us. Hehehe... always a plus.

Now I would have to pass the baton on to,

Rantings from a Solitary Reverie