Monday, December 19, 2005

Mee Siam Malaysian Style

This is the mee siam I used to eat in Malaysia. I have no idea there is another kind of mee siam which comes with gravy and they called it Singaporean style mee siam until recently. I have not tasted it before and have no idea how it tasted like as well. Would love to try it if I have the chance.



This is my version of mee siam. The main seasoning is of course chilli sauce which gives the noodle the red color and makes it spicy, just the way I like it.

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Cookies...Cookies...

Ahhhh....is the season to make some cookies! I have a tea party on Dec. 17th (today) which gave me an excuse to make some cookies, or play with the dough. :P I actually had a few patterns that I wanted to try out, but it didn't turn out so well as I was using the melting moment recipe (added more flour to make it crunchy). The dough was still too soft to shape! Thus got to make do with my last minute patterns, whichever works!



From left clockwise,
Peppermint & Vanilla Cookies, Peppermint Cookies, Strawberry & Vanilla Cookies, Peanuts Cookies, Orange-Cranberries with Brandy Cookies

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Individually packed to prevent flavor mixed up.

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Then into the gift bags ready to be given away. This is my "Thank You" gift for coming to the tea party. :o) Hope they like it.

Wednesday, December 14, 2005

Nasi Lemak

Nasi lemak is one of the Malaysia National Food. So simple and yet so good. The translation for nasi lemak is oily rice. The rice is oily because it is cooked with coconut milk. Rice cooks in coconut milk is fairly common in Malaysia. Coconut milk is one of the staple in Malaysian cooking and it is widely used in Malay cooking.

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This is my version. I like it simple and original. If it is wrapped in banana leaf, I would be in heaven. Fresh banana leaf is hard to come by here, basically non-existence. Only the frozen one is available in some of the oriental stores here. When I was back in Malaysia, the only nasi lemak I wanted to eat were those wrapped in banana leaf that cost about $1 (used to be 50 cents). I just love the fragrant that the banana leaf gave to the rice. Smell so good.

Monday, December 12, 2005

Who Would Know

Look at what my 20 months old is doing now? She is addicted to pbskids.org and has to be on there a few times a day. Hahaha... Oh yeah, she would climb on top of the chair, sit herself nicely and says, "Mama...mama...PB....". Of course I will get her to pbs kids and from there, she would surf it on her own, find her favorite games and play. If she go to a page that has song, she would dance to the song. She knows how to paint and play some simple games. Look at how concentrated she is in the picture below!

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Oh yeah, hope that this early use of computer will make her smarter and interested in the computer. Well, she's definitely interested in it now. I told my hubby, we will have to get her her own computer set when we move into our new house, so that she would leave ours alone. Hahaha...

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She is painting one of the boohbahs on the picture above. Boohbah is one of the kid shows feature in PBS T.V. channel here. Boohbah and Teletubbies are suitable for her age to play, and she knows how to go and find it to play.

Saturday, December 10, 2005

Vietnamese Honeycomb Cake

Thanks tt for this wonderful recipe. :) I first saw him posting this recipe at Jo's Deli a couple months back. The picture and simple recipe just attracted me to it. Got to copy it and put in on my to-do list.

I have a tea party next Sat. and thus have to think of something to bring. And I saw this recipe again while surfing through tt's blog. So, why not this!

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This is my trial & test version because I have not make it before and I just don't want a last minute disaster and plan B kinda thing going on next Sat. Glad to say that it turned out great. I just have to grease and flour my bundt pan the next time I make it. (If you just grease it alone, it will stick to the pan)

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This is a close up picture of the cake. This cake tasted like a kuih, chewy with a hint of pandan and the sweetness is just nice. It is called a honeycomb cake because it has holes all over inside of the cake and looks like a beehive.

Note 1: Use 1 tsp. of Pandan paste for more pandan flavor. I only used 1/2 tsp. and my hubby complaint not enough flavor. He wanted it sweeter too.


Note 2: Made my second batch yesterday using a 8" square pan. Added 1 tsp. pandan paste and 1/4 cup more sugar. This definitely more to my liking as the flavor and sweetness go. (added 12/17)

The recipe is posted here:
tt's blog

Friday, December 09, 2005

Coconut Shrimps

After I tried a coconut shrimp in a seafood restaurant here, I have been thinking of how to make it myself. It's very popular here, normally served as an appertizer or your choice of main side dish.

This is my version of it, shouldn't be too far off from the real thing and very easy to make. It's crunchy with a hint of coconut, even my hubby said it's good.

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