21 December 2012. Everyone is busy wondering if it is the end of the world. Well well well, we won’t know if the world will end on December 21, but the 2012 winter solstice is still on the astronomical calendar. So my family is busy making tang yuan for winter solstice today.

The Dōngzhì Festival or Winter Solstice Festival (冬至), literally means “the Extreme of Winter” and is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Chinese. This is the shortest day, and longest night of the year. It is the day when families get together and eat tāng yuán (汤圆), a sweet soup made of glutinous rice balls. It is also the day when everyone becomes one year older.

Sadly, Winter Solstice is a forgotten celebration today. Because at this time, Christmas preparations are taking place, and people are busy eat turkeys and buying Christmas present. But in my family, Winter Solstice is the traditional time to celebrate the truly important things in life and looking forward to a wonderful year to come.

One activity we do together is to make tang yuan. Tang yuan is a dish of glutinous rice balls served in a sweet broth. By eating tang yuan, we welcome in the winter and become one year older. It is quite easy to prepare. Preparation started the day before when we have to first fry the peanuts and ground them.

We didn’t do everything from scratch. We bought the glutinous rice dough directly from the market. It is more convenient and it comes in the right texture and has two colours – red and white. For the past few years, my grandpa only bought 1 kg of dough. But I always complain it is not enough so this year he bought 2kg!

So, we just pinch off pieces of the dough and roll it into small balls.

Tong Yuan can also be stuffed with a paste made from peanut butter, black sesame seeds or red beans. If you realised, we made 13 BIG balls with peanuts because according to the Chinese Calendar, we have 13 months with a leap month (闰月) this year.

The rest are all plain (kosong) ones. If you are wondering, I rolled the pink ones and they are lesser because I was busy taking photos! haha

Then we drop the balls into boiling water with pandan leaves and cook them until they float – about 5 to 10 minutes.

While the balls are cooking, prepare a sweet soup by boiling water and adding brown sugar. Fresh ginger can also be added to the soup.

TADEH! My tang yuan is done! Tang yuan symbolizes reunion and I wish all of you a Happy Dongzhi Festival! Forget about Doomsday lah, just have a bowl of tang yuan and chill!

I FINALLY DID IT!

I have been wanting to make Jelly Hearts for the longest time. I first ate it in JC, when my form teacher treated us with this cute dessert right after our A Levels. The concept was still very new at that moment but it tasted heavenly!

It has been almost 10 years and lately I got in touch with Jelly Hearts. So I decided to give it a go and try to make it myself!

If you have made Jelly Hears before, you will agree with me that this is not a difficult dessert to make but THE MOST TROUBLESOME & TIME CONSUMING one! Because there are three different layers and after completing every layer, you have to chill it in the fridge for hours. So it is not those dessert that can let you eat within the same day of making.

I wanted to make this to give to some of my friends as a mini Christmas treat. All went smoothly till the very last stage when I have to pour the strawberry jelly layer into my already chilled cheese cake. My strawberry jelly layer leaked out of my removable cake tin and when I went into the kitchen, my whole kitchen floor and table is filled with strawberr jelly! I should have taken a photo of the horrible mess that I have created. And it was already 1.30am in the middle of the night!

Well, I don’t know what exactly went wrong but I assumed it was my removable cake tin. But the consolation for myself is, I don’t really like the artificial strawberry flavour, so the less the merrier! Then when I took it out from the fridge the next day (yes, my fridge was also full of strawberry jelly), it still looks ok! I packed about 20 jelly hearts to the office happily.

Guess what, when I reached the office, half of my jelly hearts have melted and most of them are disfigured! It only took me 20 minutes to go office! I felt very tramautised by it but luckily my friends are still willing to eat them! 够朋友！

So I am making it tonight again, and this time I am using another cake tin, please wish me good luck!

Recipe – Jelly Hearts
For 10 inch square tin (Makes 25 jelly hearts)

Ingredients

For the crust -
300g digestive biscuits
150g unsalted butter

Method:
1. Microwave the butter for 30 to 40 seconds at high till butter is melted.
2. Dip a brush into the melted butter and butter a large rectangular pan generously.
3. Place digestive biscuits in a food processor and process until they become fine crumbs.
4. Add the melted butter into the biscuits. Stir well.
5. Place Using a potato masher or a large glass with a flat surface, pack the mixture tightly into the pan.
6. Place the pan in the fridge and chill until ready to use.

Tip:
- If you are using a non-removable tin, you can line the tin with aluminium or baking paper so that the crust won’t stick to the tin and it will be easier for you to remove.

For the cheesecake layer -
250g cream cheese (placed in room temperature for 2 to 3 hours to soften)
2 & 1/2 tablespoons gelatin powder
200g boiling water
70g sugar
About 13 strawberries

Method:
1. Add gelatin powder and sugar in a bowl.
2. Add boiling water to the mixture. Stir well till all the gelatin everything has dissolved. Set aside to cool.
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the cream cheese till soft and smooth.
4. Add the cooled gelatin mixture a little at a time. Whisk well to combine.
5. Remove the pan from the fridge. Pour the cream cheese mixture on to the biscuit base and let it set for 15 minutes.
6. Meanwhile, cut the strawberries. Cut them into half and use a heart shape mould to cut them into heart shape.
7. Press each strawberry half into the cream cheese mixture. Let the strawberry sink in gently.
8. Cover the pan with cling film wrap. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Tips:
- If the strawberries don’t sink in, they will float up in the jelly layer later.
- If you don’t have a mould, just slice off the white tops with the leaves and cut a deep V in the centre.

For the jelly layer -
Tortally Strawberry Jelly Powder
250g boiling water
250g cold water

Method:
1. Add boiling water into the strawberry powder. Stir well till the jelly powder is dissolved.
2. Add in cold water. Gently pour the cooled mixture over the cream cheese layer.
3. Cover with cling film wrap again. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Tips:
- Ensure that the jelly-water mixture has cooled. If the mixture is still hot, it will melt the cheese layer and cause bits of cheese to float in the jelly layer.
- Use a sharp knife with a thin blade to cut the jelly hearts. Prepare a large jar of boiling water. Dip the knife into the water. Wipe it off and cut. Repeat that with every cut to get a nice clean cut with no crumbs sticking at the sides.
- Use a hairdryer to blow the surface for a few minutes before removing the jelly hearts. The heat will warm the butter at the base and make it easier to remove the jelly hearts.

Just two days ago, a few of us met up for Christmas / New Year celebration at Karen’s place! For the past few meals at her house (read here and here), she is always the one busy in the kitchen so this time, we decided to pot luck to give her a break!

Karen prepared salad and got roast beef from Plaza Brasserie.

East meets west sausages. Keropokman and Kopikosonggirl bought these cheese filled sausages and Taiwanese sausages from Cold Storage and grilled it!

As for me, I decided to try something new: Roast a Chicken! The boyf spontaneously wanted to help me with this and I even gave him a youtube link to let him learn how to butterfly a chicken. But he was tied down with work so in the end, I had to do everything myself. But nevermind, the consolation is, I can now butterfly a chicken! It is not as difficult as it seems! And I think I did quite a good job as a first timer. If you want to know how did I butterfly the chicken, scroll down to find out!

The chicken didn’t turn out as roasted as we expected and it looks like the Asian version of steamed chicken. But I am glad it turns well. The marinade is very simple but of course you can add more ingredients. I just prefer to keep it simple and not overwhelm it with tons of different flavors. The vegetables are flavoured by the oil from the chicken and the meat is very tender! Perhaps it is because I bought the Sakura Chicken from NTUC. Keropokman gave it a very atas name: Herb Roasted Sakura Chicken with Assorted Root Vegetables and Chestnuts.

The talented Keropok family did Green Tea & Kahlua, Coffee and Cocoa popsicles. I seriously think they can start a business liao, especially now when popsicles are in trend!

And not forgetting my JELLY HEARTS (Recipe here)! This time, my jelly hearts are PERFECT! The strawberry jelly didn’t leak out of the baking tin, my kitchen is not in a mess. And I doubled the amount of my cheese layer! LOVE IT!

Here’s a picture of us! We did a gift exchange and I got a Citrus Reamer and a necklace! HOHOHO!

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Ok this is a rather gruesome part so if you are not keen to know how to butterfly a chicken, you can scroll directly to the recipe of my Roast Chicken at the end of the post. I actually want to make this a full post, but the gruesome photos will be big and erm, not very appetizing to the eyes lah. LOL

So why do we want to butterfly a chicken? For me, it is because I was late for the gathering and by doing the butterfly cut allows the meat to cook faster. Haha! But seriously, you will see alot of people actually butterfly the chicken during BBQ so that the whole chicken lays flat on the grill and cooks more evenly, since all the meat is about the same thickness. And also, it makes it easier to cut the chicken into two and butterfly shape looks better.

How to butterfly a chicken?
1. Turn the chicken breast side down. Cut away the backbone using a scissors.

2. Now position the chicken so the drumsticks are pointing away from you. Use a knife, cut the carcass open to break the breastbone.

3. Trim away all the fats (remember, they are very unhealthy!).

Rinse the chicken through tap water and it is ready to use. You can cook directly or cut the chicken into half.

TADEH! My first time butterfly-ing a chicken and I am quite pleased with it! So with that, we can start marinating and roasting the chicken!

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If you are keen to try roast a chicken for a New Year Party tonight, it is not too late! Head to the supermarket now and buy all the ingredients and in less than 2 hours, your roast chicken will be ready! I wanted to have alot of vegetables to pair with my roasted chicken, so that I don’t feel so sinful when eating it! Hehe

Recipe: Herb Roasted Sakura Chicken with Assorted Root Vegetables and Chestnuts

Ingredients
1 Fresh Chicken (about 1.5kg)
100g Onions, cut halves
5pc Water Chestnut
100g Carrots, cut into small pieces
100g Celery, cut into small pieces
3pc Garlic, cut into pieces
some honey
some butter

Seasonings
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Pepper
some Bay Leaves
some Rosemary

Method:
1. Brush the seasonings on both side of the chicken. Cover it with clean wrap and marinade for at least 30 minutes. You can definitely use other seasonings such as lemon or butter.

2. Preheat the oven at 200 degree celsius.

3. Place all the cut vegetables on a baking try.

4. Place the chicken on top of the vegetables, with the boney part facing on top first. Roast for 30 minutes.

5. Flip to the skin part, brush some butter and honey, and roast for another 30 minutes.

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So this is my last post in 2012. Once again, thank you so much for reading. Leaving you with a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt:”The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Happy New Year and cheers to a more tam chiak 2013!

Are you a fan of THE BIG BREAK?

This latest original reality television series on StarHub Channel 435 features 12 underprivileged youths from across Asia realising their dreams of becoming a chef.

Tonight at 10pm, don’t forget to catch The Big Break Episode 9 where the remaining contestants are back at Resorts World Sentosa for the ultimate Italiano experience! The contestants’ multi-tasking skills are put to the test, as they are required to knead, assemble and bake their own pizzas. With only one pizza oven available, disaster strikes as the flustered contestants scramble to bake their creations within the stipulated time!

After watching the show, I am sure you will be super motivated to make some traditional Italian food yourselves. Thanks to the invitation by The Asian Food Channel and Resorts World Sentosa, I attended an exclusive cooking class by AFC’s resident chef, Chef Wendy Ong. This hands-on cooking class shows us the secrets behind making that perfect slice of pizza and a delectable cannoli.

Recipe 1 Pizza

Ingredients (Yields a 14 x 15 inch tray skinny pizza)

Pizza Base
1⁄2 cup of warm water
1⁄2 tbsp of sugar
1 tsp of quick rising yeast
1 1⁄2 cups of plain flour
1⁄2 tsp of salt
1⁄2 tbsp of olive oil

Sauce
1⁄2 can or 85ml of tomato paste
1⁄2 can or 113ml of tomato sauce

Toppings
1 green bell pepper
200g of button mushrooms
100g of chicken ham
100g of chicken hotdogs
1 can of pineapple chunks
3 tomatoes
300g of cheddar cheese, shredded

Method:
1. For the base, add a pinch of sugar to the 1⁄2 cup of warm water and stir. Add yeast to water and let it sit for 5 minutes. (NOTE: Yeast will be killed if temperature of water reaches 60 degree celsius and above)
2. Place remaining sugar, flour, salt and olive oil in a bowl. Add yeast mix to flour and stir until dough-like.
3. Dust your hands and table with some flour and knead for 5 to 10 minutes. Knead till it becomes smooth and stretchy.
4. Let dough rise under room temperature for about 45 minutes, or until it is doubled in size.
5. Roll dough into desired shape and thickness and place them on a baking tray that is lined with parchment paper.
6. To assemble, spread sauce over the pizza base and add your favourite toppings. Have fun with it and make it your own!
7. Bake in the oven at 200°C until the base is crisp and browned. If your dough is thinner, set a higher temperature.

TIP: How do you know if the dough is ready?
Chef Wendy suggests, use the “window paint” method. Take some dought and stretch it against the window or sunlight. If some light can shine through, it means the gluten level is good enough.

So this is my pizza!

After 20 minutes!

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Recipe 2 Cannoli

Here’s how to make traditional Sicilian Cannoli, pastry dessert made of fried pastry dough, filled with a sweet, creamy filling of ricotta cheese!

Ingredients (Yields 30)

Shells
150g of sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp of sugar
A pinch of salt
12g of butter
1 egg yolk
65ml of water
Some cooking oil

Filling
32g of icing sugar
115g of ricotta
125ml of whipping cream
100g of chocolate chips, optional

Method (Shell) :
1. Mix flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.
2. Cut in the butter.
3. Add egg yolk and water together and mix till the dough is formed.
4. Rest dough for 30 minutes.
5. On a well-floured surface, roll dough until it is almost paper thin.
6. Cut out the dough to 2.5 inch circles.
7. Wrap dough around cannoli metal tube and overlap the edges with egg white.
8. Heat cooking oil to 180°C. Deep fry the dough till golden brown.
9. Let cool on paper towel and remove from tube.

Method (Filling) :
1. Cream ricotta and sifted icing sugar till a smooth consistency is attained.
2. Whisk whipping cream to medium peak.
3. Fold cream into ricotta mixture.
4. Fold in chocolate chips (Optional).

To Assemble :
1. Fill cream into a piping bag.
2. Pipe the filling into the cannoli shells and serve immediately.

Tada! My cannoli! If the dough is too much, you can put some in the chiller and keep it for 2-3 days. If you want to preserve it longer, wrap it with cling wrap and put into the freezer.

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About The Big Break

Premiered exclusively on StarHub Channel 435, this latest original reality television series will feature 12 underprivileged youths from across Asia realising their dreams of becoming a chef.

Judged based on their culinary and hospitality skills, techniques learned during the challenges, as well as attitude and performance, all participating youths will try their hand at getting one step closer to the grand prize of a scholarship worth over S$30,000 at At-Sunrice GlobalChef Academy in Singapore.

There will be no losers either. Every week, a selected number of youths who don’t qualify for the next round will be granted a S$2,000 bursary by RWS, allowing them to continue on with their education after they return home from the show.

Having just survived a grueling challenge, the remaining contestants are back at Resorts World Sentosa for the ultimate Italiano experience! The contestants’ multi-tasking skills are put to the test, as they are required to knead, assemble and bake their own pizzas. With only one pizza oven available, disaster strikes as the flustered contestants scramble to bake their creations within the stipulated time!

For more information on The Big Break, please visit: http://www.asianfoodchannel.com/thebigbreak. The site will provide the latest information about contestants as well as summaries and highlights from each episode.

Steamboat is a popular option for reunion dinners. This Chinese New Year, get creative and spice up your meal with a new soup base: Dancing Chef’s tom yam paste. Spicy and tantalising, this soup is bound to whet your appetite! Because Chinese New Year is coming, so I thought of cooking a bowl of fish maw tom yam soup. It is pretty convenient because you just have to pour the paste and add in your favourite ingredient.

Recipe: Fish Maw Tom Yam Soup

Ingredients (serves 3-4):
1 packet Dancing Chef Tom Yam Paste
300g prawns
400g water
50g fried fish maw, soaked and cut into pieces
200g chicken fillet
6 mushrooms, cut into slices
20g crab meat
1 egg
some parsley

Seasonings:
1/2 tsp sugar
cornstarch solution: mix 2 tbsp corn flour with 2 tbsp water

Method:
1. Add Tom Yam paste and water in a pot. Simmer for 5 minutes.
2. Add in fish maw, mushrooms, crab meat and chicken. Simmer until cooked.
3. Add in prawns and cook till it turns red.
4. Slowly pour in the cornstarch solution while stirring until you reach the consistency desired.
5. Turn off the fire, pour in the beaten egg. Garnish with parsley. Serve.

Tip:
– You can also add in kaffir lime leaves, galangal and lemongrass for added flavour.
– If you want your soup to be more sour, you can add some fresh lime juice.

Of course, you can add this tom yam paste into your CNY steamboat. And to pair with it, you can dip some Dancing Chef Suki Sauce. This delicious spicy dipping sauce is the exact replica of the ones you find in Thai steamboat restaurants. It is a tasty complement to steamboat favourites like seafood, meat and tofu. For an extra kick, toss in some roasted sesame and Chinese parsley!

PROMOTION!
Buy 3 Bottles of Dancing Chef suki Sauce at $5.95 + Free Grocery Recycle Bag
Promotion period: Jan 2013 to 14 Feb 2013

All Dancing Chef pastes and Suki Sauce are available in NTUC Fairprice.

Thanks to Dancing Chef, I am giving away THREE sets of 1 Suki Sauce, 1 Thai Tom Yam Paste from Dancing Chef.

All you have to do is, answer a simple question: Name a product from Dancing Chef.

Deadline: 4 Feb 2012 (Monday), 23:59. I have to keep this giveaway short and sweet (giveaway ending tonight!) so as to make sure the prizes are delivered to the winners before CNY. Good luck & happy new year!

RESULTS

Congratulations of Alexial, Ling Li & Joann! I will contact you guys shortly! Happy New Year everyone!

This is the best dish I ever cooked and I am proud of it.

I got interested in cooking in 2008 when a cooking instructor cooked this dish for a photoshoot during CNY and I got to try it. So it is the first dish I cooked in my life! It is a easy recipe and everytime I cooked it, my family loves it. There is a wafting aroma when it is braised.

The important ingredients in this dish are oysters and mushrooms which gives out the taste. And of course a little patience because it takes time to braise! To enhance the flavours of this dish, try MAGGI Concentrated Chicken Stock and Premium Oyster Sauce, which boosts the aroma and enhances this dish with the richness of double-boiled taste.

As we look forward to reunions during this Chinese New Year, why not immerse in the joy of whipping up some tasty homemade meals to delight your loved ones and savour these precious moments of happiness with your family. With this simple and easy to prepare recipe, it is the perfect dish for anyone who wants to cook for this special occasion but is pressed for time.

May this be your signature dish for the many happy reunions to come be it with family or friends!

Braised Dried Oysters with Black Moss, Fish Maw and Mushrooms (好市发菜)
Serves 6-8 pax

Ingredients
15 dried mushrooms
8 dried scallops
8 dried oysters, washed and soaked
80g fried fish maw, soaked in hot water
6 red dates, soaked
1 tbsp wolfberries, soaked
4 cloves ginger
2 cloves garlic
some black moss

Seasonings
4 tbsp cooking wine
3 tbsp cornflour, mixed with 3 tbsp water
2 tbsp MAGGI® Concentrated Chicken Stock
1 tbsp MAGGI® Premium Oyster Sauce (healthier choice, less salt)
2 tsp Sesame oil
300ml water

Method
1. Wash the soak the dried scallops in 200ml of hot water. Retain the water for later use.

2. Heat oil to fry garlic and ginger till fragrant.

3. Add mushrooms, oysters, scallops, fish maw and red dates. Stir­‐fry well.

4. Add cooking wine, MAGGI Concentrated Chicken Stock, MAGGI Premium Oyster Sauce, sesame oil and all water (300ml water & 200ml scallop water).

4. Braise the ingredients for 20 minutes at low heat, covered.

5. Open cover, add wolfberries and black moss. Thicken the gravy with the cornflour mixture. Braise for another 20 minutes. Serve

Tips:
– you can also add in abalone and sea cucumber.
– Fish maws are sold dried in two forms – deep fried or non-deep dried. Get the deep fried fish maws which are puffy and light. You can just soak it in hot water for 5 minutes and it will soften.

Promotions for MAGGI

1. Exclusive Chinese New Year Gift Pack retailing at a promotional rate of $10.80 and consists of the following products:

· MAGGI Concentrated Chicken Stock (Healthier Choice Symbol, Less Salt, No added MSG and Halal certified)
· MAGGI Premium Oyster Sauce (Healthier Choice Symbol, Less Salt, No added MSG and Halal certified)
· MAGGI Seasoning (No added MSG)
· 80g of premium Dried Mushroom (worth $6)
· Eight Treasures Pot Recipe Booklet

2. For the purchase of two bottles of MAGGI Concentrated Chicken Stock, consumers will receive a complimentary MAGGI Bottle Stand for condiments and sauces.

3. For the purchase of 1 bottle of MAGGI Seasoning, consumers will receive a MAGGI plate clip holder which will come in handy when serving hot dishes.

4. For the purchase of any one box of MAGGI Stock Cubes (Retail store price at $2.95 per box), consumer will receive another complimentary packet for free. Promotion applicable to both Chicken and Ikan Bilis flavours.

I always admire people who bake pineapple tarts well, because it takes so much patience to make the pineapple fillings from scratch, from peeling to blending. Although I really love pineapple tarts, I don’t dare to take the first step to do it for the fear of failure.

I used to prefer pineapple tarts, with the pineapple fillings on top of the tart. But now, I prefer pineapple balls and pineapple rolls. And I prefer a more buttery and flaky tart base. So Aunty showed me a recipe she saw in i-weekly and we decided to give it a go! It is still not the melt-in-the-mouth kind but the texture and taste is good! Enjoy baking!

Recipe: Pineapple Rolls

adapted from “In Love with Cookies” by Alan Ooi (Seashore Publishing)

Ingredients A (makes about 100):
250g butter
60g icing sugar

Ingredients B:
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1 egg

Ingredients C:
250g plain flour
60g corn flour
30g milk powder

Pineapple Filling:
400g ready made pineapple paste

Method:

1. Blend Ingredients A until fluffy. Add Ingredients B and mix till well combined. Add Ingredients C last. Mix the dough.

2. Put dough into a piping bag fitted with pineapple tart nozzle. Pipe into thick line. Put in some pineapple filling. Roll it up. Repeat until ingredients used up. Arrange in a bakking tray. Egg wash.

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degree celsius for 20-25 minutes.

Ok I will be frank. I am not a cheese lover. Especially if you put a plate of blue cheese right in my face, I will probably run away. But, I do like to have some cheese in my food. Food like pizzas, sandwiches, omelette or nachos, I like it with more cheese.

Thanks for Perfect Italiano, I was invited to join their masterclass with Chef Lino Sauro, owner of Gattopardo. I was rather hesitant initially because I am not a cheese lover. But when I take a closer look at the dishes that we are going to learn, I agreed and was really curious how can he incorporate cheese into our daily food.

So how did Perfect Italiano begin? In 1922, Italian immigrant Natale Italiano arrived in Australia. Keen on continuing his family’s rich cheese making traditions, Natale started the Perfect Cheese Company in 1930. Natale prided himself on producing simple and authentic Italian cheeses using century-old methods he had taught himself back home in Southern Italy.

There are a whole range of Perfect Italiano cheese, but in Singapore, there are three types: Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Cheese, Perfect Italiano Parmesan Cheese and Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus Cheese. Today, I will be sharing with you 3 recipes by Chef Lino Sauro using Perfect Italiano cheeses. They are very convenient and easy to use. You can basically put them in any dish and it will taste good.

Wanton Ravioli with Soya Marinated Prawns and Parmesan Fondue

Ingredients (serves 4 pax):
100g Perfect Italiano Parmesan Grated Cheese
100g Anchor unsalted butter
20pcs wonton skin (square shape)
20g light soya sauce
30g olive oil
2 garlic cloves
110g full cream milk
1 stalk of spring onion
20g white wine
10pcs tiger prawns

Method:
1. Peel and marinate prawns with soya, garlic, olive oil and spring onion.
2. Make Parmesan fondue by mixing Perfect Italiano Parmesan Grated Cheese, milk, butter and white wine.
3. Warm up mixture in a bain-marie till creamy and season with white pepper.
4. Fill wanton with prawn. Seal nicely, put in boiling water for 3 mins.
5. Pour fondue on plate and lay down the ravioli.
6. Season with Perfect Italiano Parmesan Grated Cheese and spring onion.

Rice Roll with Mozzarella Cheese and Salmon

Ingredients (serves 4 pax):
300g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese
200g sushi rice
4 sheets of nori (seaweed)
150g cured/smoked salmon
100g cucumber (cut into strips)
50g rice vinegar
5g wasabi
200g mayonnaise

Method:
1. Place a sheet of nori on bamboo mat.
2. Spread and flatten rice on top of nori.
3. Lay down salmon, cucumber and Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese in the middle.
4. Hold on to the ends of the bamboo mat and roll, making sure that the ingredients are held inside it.
5. Remove bamboo mat and cut rice roll by one inch.
6. Warm up rice roll to melt Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese.
7. Serve with mayonaise and/or wasabi.

Deep Fried Potato with Mozzarella Cheese

Ingredients (serves 4 pax):
200g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese
400g potatoes
50g corn starch
50g onion(chopped)
5g cinnamon
5g ground black pepper
5g curry powder
2 eggs
4 garlic cloves
30g lemongrass (minced)
20g shallots (minced)
300g Japanese breadcrumbs (panko)
Lemon zest
Some oil to fry

Method:
1. Shred potatoes in food processor and place in strainer. Sprinkle with salt. Drain for 15 min.
2. Mix dry seasonings.
3 Squeeze potatoes dry and place in mixing bowl.
4. Add cornstarch and mix thoroughly. Add all remaining ingredients (except panko crumbs and oil) and mix well.
5. Add Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese. Drop a tablespoon mixture into the panko crumbs. Coat all the way around.
6. Heat oil in pan. Lower patties into oil and flatten patties with a spatula. Patties should be 2 inches across.
7. Fry until crisp and golden on the bottom. Fry the other side.
8. Drain the ready to serve. Serve with sweet and sour sauce.

Here’s a shot of us with Chef Lino! You can find more recipes from www.perfectitaliano.com.sg

Awarded as the winner of the Malaysia Ministry of Tourism’s Malaysia International Fabulous Food 1Malaysia Blog Award 2013, Tony from Johor Kaki is a very talented food blogger. He lives in Singapore but travels to Malaysia almost every other day to explore and share the good food in Johor. Derrick and I have been talking about planning a Malaysian Food Trail since last year and we finally did it last Monday, all thanks to Tony for bringing us around Johor! We conquered more than 10 dishes for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

1. Roti Canai Bukit Chagar

Our breakfast was at Bukit Chagar Roti Canai. I like their prata because it is thick, crispy outside, softer inside, and not-too-oily. The prata goes very well with their dhal which is mild and not too spicy. For those who like it hot, you can add a dab of sambal chili for that extra oomph. Tony expected us to only share two pratas as it will be a long day of makan, but in the end we ordered 5! LOL! And guess what, the total bill is only RM$7.80!

Roti Canai Bukit Chagar
Address: Junction of Jalan Bukit Chagar and Jalan Ungku Aziz (next to Pine View Apartments and PDRM Apartments, map here)
Opening Hours: 6:00am to 11:00am (breakfast only, roti canai often sold out by 10:00am)
Halal

2. Restoran Tua Thow

We were supposed to head to Taman Tasek Kway Teow Kia but unfortunately, it was closed. We drove past Restoran Tua Thow and Tony said this is one of the best Kway Teow Soup for him, so we decided to try it. For a RM$10 bowl of kway teow soup, it had many many ingredients in it, including prawns, sea bass, pork, fish ball, fish maw etc. The spork and fish bone based soup was clear and naturally sweet. It does not have any MSG.

Restoran Tua Thow (Kway teow soup stall)
Address: Susur 4, Jalan Tun Abdul Razak (next to Shell petrol station, map here)
Opening Hours: Daily 7:30am to 2:30pm (closed on Fridays)
Non Halal

3. Restoran Lai Kee

47-year-old boss, Ah Lai (亚来) started this business when he was 22 years old and his fishballs are made purely from ikan parang (Xi Dao). Ah Lai’s fish balls are freshly hand made every day at the shop. No MSG, no preservatives, each fishball is very springy. Everyday, they use 60kg of fish meat to make the fishballs. Their fishballs are so good that it attracted many tourists on Sundays, and you have to wait for at least 30mins. They also make their own fishcakes, and it is very Q. Be sure to try their dry version because the chilli takes 6 hrs to fry to give out the fragrance. Each bowl of noodles costs RM$4.50.

Restoran Lai Kee 来记西刀鱼丸
Address: 90, Jalan Pahlawan 2, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah (TUTA), Skudai, 81300 Johor Baru (map here)
Opening Hours: Daily 7:00am to 4:30pm
Non Halal

4. Restoran Wah Cai

Also a supplier to our local Jurong Point’s Malaysian Boleh, Restoran Wah Cai is famous for its 3-in-1 Fried Nian Gao (RM$1.50). Everything here is homemade, especially the nian gao which contains no egg at all, sandwiched between yam and sweet potatoes. The fried nian gao undergoes two deep frying, one is to make sure it is fried till cooked while the second deep fry is to ensure it is crispy. Another of their specialty, is the fried durian (RM$2.50) which is made with premium durian pulps. Once you bit it, the strong durian aroma lingers in the mouth.

Restoran Wah Cai
Address: 86, Jalan Pahlawan 2, Taman Ungku Tun Aminah (TUTA), Skudai, 81300 Johor Baru (map here)
Opening Hours: Daily 7:00am to 4:30pm
Not Certified Halal

5. Restoran Lima Ratus

Restoran Lima Ratus is a humble shop in Taman Perling run by Mr Low and his wife with an elderly helper. 75-year-old Mr Low had been a noodle seller since the Japanese Occupation in the 1930s, when he was in his early teens. Being a Fuzhou man, the one and only dish he learnt from his mother was the classic Foochow red rice wine mee suah and it has brought many praises to the foodies at the table. The mee suah was silky smooth, with tangy and sweet homemade red rice wine broth. Beside this, the stall is also famous for its wanton noodles. Their make their own noodles with duck egg, which we hardly see it nowadays! The wanton noodles are on the dry side, but it tastes good with some stirring. FYI, Mr Low has a hidden talent for mimicking bird songs!

Restoran Lima Ratus
Address: 4, Jalan Undan 18, Taman Perling, Johor Bahru (map here)
Opening Hours: 7:00am to 3:00pm (Closed on Weds)
Non Halal

6. Restaurant Teck Sing

After eating so much food, we were too full and decided to take a walk around (AEON) JUSCO Tebrau City Mall before trying the paper wrapped herbal chicken in Restaurant Teck Sing. Wrapped with many layers of parchment paper, when we slowly tore open the paper, it has a nice herbal aroma that we could not resist. The kampong chicken meat is very soft and tender and it can be removed from the bones easily. Each herbal chicken costs RM$18.

Restaurant Teck Sing 德星
Address: 3 & 5, Jalan Sutera Satu, Taman Sentosa, Johor Bahru (map here)
Opening Hours: 11:00am to 10:00pm daily
Non Halal

7. Joo Yee (Tan Kee Pelangi)

Tan Kee Ice Kacang (Ais Kacang in Malay, or short form ABC) is a favourite among students because it is near Chinese High School. The red beans, corn, and attap seed were buried in a mountain of crushed ice, while the hawker pours generous amount of chocolate sauce on the ice. They made their own chocolate sauce from cocoa powder and you can ask for unlimited supply. They also sell yummy rojak which only has crispy youtiao and taupok. Total bill RM$9.

Joo Yee (Tan Kee Pelangi)
Address: Jalan Biru (stall in hawker centre opposite San Low seafood restaurant), Taman Serene, Johor Bahru (map here)
Opening Hours: Daily 7:00am to 5:00pm
Not certified Halal no pork, no lard served

8. Restoran Woon Kiang

Kway teow kia is only of the signature hawker food in Johor and it is definitely a pity if we miss it. Hence, Tony brought as to Woon Kiang for dinner. Kway teow kia is just like Singapore version of Kway Chap. The pork innards here are naturally sweet and tender, with subtle herbal sauce. The duck is very tender and the garlic chilli sauce has a spicy kick.

Restoran Woon Kiang
Address: #G-06, Jalan Pandan 1, Pangsarpuri Impian, Stulang, Johor Bahru (map here)
Opening Hours: 6:00pm to midnight (closed on Tuesdays)
Non Halal

9. Mobile Penang Rojak Stall

We went to a mobile Pasar malam at Taman Century (only here on Mondays) to burn some calories and eat more food. One of it is the Penang rojak, which is usually along Jalan Maju next to Pelangi shopping centre. The rojak man comes from Penang and the fruits are specially picked by the rojak man every morning to ensure that they are all fresh, juicy, and crunchy. This sauce is very unique, it is very thick which subtle sweet and savoury flavour. Very shiok.

Mobile Penang rojak stall (on motorbike)
Address: Along Jalan Maju next to Pelangi shopping centre in Taman Maju Jaya (map here)
Opening Hours: Mobile – only hours of the Pelangi location given here. Mon and Tues – 12:30pm to 3:45pm; Weds to Sun – 12:30pm to 5:00pm. Off on Thurs
No pork, no lard

10. Sin Kee Ikan Bakar

Our last stop for the day was at Sin Kee Ikan Bakar because their grilled seafood is really tasty. The sambal is not too spicy but savoury. We also had a plate of petai (irresistible stinky beans) and lady fingers which was crunchy.

Sin Kee Ikan Bakar @ Cedar Point Food Centre
Address: Jalan Musang Bulan 2-16, Taman Century, 80250 Johor Bahru (map here)
Opening Hours: Daily 6:00pm to midnight
Non Halal

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I hope you enjoy reading this post as much as I enjoy eating all these food. Eating so many dishes in a day is seriously not easy but I am glad that we did it (although I have to do lots of exercise for the next few days). If you have tried some of the dishes above, drop me a comment and tell me if you like it! Alternatively, if you are thinking of driving to Johor for makan, hope this food trail gives you some good recommendations to go. I will blog about specific stalls and the pasar malam soon. Meanwhile, happy Monday and have a tamchiak week!

Now that everyone is talking about healthy eating, I am also starting to make healthy cakes. If you realized, I have stopped baking for quite a while. Not because I lost interest already, but whenever I think of the amount of butter and sugar I add into a cake, it kinda scares me and I would constantly remind my Grandpa not to eat too much.

So when Derrick bought me a recipe book “大口吃也不怕胖：讓你年輕10歲的營養美味磅蛋糕” as a Christmas present, I thought it would be a perfect reason to bake a cake. But the next problem I had was, swallowing and understanding the recipe in Chinese. Even though I usually converse and write in Chinese, but having to grasp the baking terms in Chinese is definitely not easy. So after spending 30minutes translating, I decided to bake a HEALTHY EARLY GREY GRAPE CAKE!

The author of the recipe book is a very lovely Japanese lady who follows a macrobiotic diet. The term macrobiotic is taken from the Greeks. The term macrobiotic means “long life”. The basis for a macrobiotic diet is whole grains, combined with other unprocessed fruits, vegetables and other whole foods.

The good thing about having a macrobiotic diet is that, whole grains, fruits and vegetables makes this a very high fiber diet. They are rich in many nutrients. However, the diet is quite limited and may be difficult to stick to if you crave variety. And also, some of the ingredients may not be readily available in bakery supplies shop.

Healthy Earl Grey Grape Cake
for two 15×6 baking trays

Ingredients A:
100g cake flour
100g wholemeal flour
60g almond flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp early grey tea leaves, pounded into small pieces
a pinch of salt

Ingredients B:
6 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp grapeseed oil
100ml soya milk

Ingredients C: 
100g grapes (I did 50g red and 50g green, you can fine tune the proportions according to your liking!)

Method:
1. Preheat the oven at 180 degree celsius for 15 minutes.
2. Sieve the cake flour and mix all the Ingredients A together.
3. Mix all the Ingredients B together.
4. Fold in Mixture A to Mixture B.
5. Add in grapes.
6. Pour the mixture equally into each baking tray and bake for 40 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle of the cake come out clean.

** Cake keeps at room temperature up to 3 days and can be put in the fridge up to 5 days. Upon consumption, just microwave it for 2-3 minutes.

I followed the steps very closely and the end result is somewhat similar to bread, perhaps because I used wholemeal flour. It is not like a soft pound cake. And the essential of eating this macrobiotic cake is to eat slowly and chewing food thoroughly, as well as avoiding overeating. It provides a good afternoon tea alternative, especially when you pair it with some tea. And now I don’t feel so guilty when my Grandpa eats my cake. If you are wondering, I did not overbake the cake. It looks tough and dry on the outside but actually it tasted okay. Perhaps next time I will try with some other ingredients and steam it instead of bake!

Happy Tuesday! Time passes really fast and we are now in April. I am so looking forward to my Chiang Mai trip in 2 weeks’ time and my Europe trip next month.

I had an exciting Monday with good and bad news. Good news include receiving an opportunity call and a confirmation for a super good giveaway for the blog (which will happen this week!). I have also received a wedding invite from a close colleague and a friend just told me she bought a property. I am truly happy for all my friends!

As for the bad news, not exactly bad lah, and that is the boyf finally went to see a specialist yesterday regarding his continuous nose bleed condition. He used to have nose bleed once a month but lately, he sometimes suffers the condition twice a day! It just got me very worried and finally he decided to seek help after dilly dally for many months. The doctor did an endoscopy, saw a wound and a swell in the nose. Then he did a biopsy to check if the swell is cancerous. Results will be out next week and I really hope he is gonna be alright!

On a lighter note, I signed up for Hot Yoga classes in Clarke Quay over the weekend. The gym which I frequent is having an overcrowding issue which makes me very pissed off. I wanted to do BodyCombat class last Saturday and reached the gym 20 mins earlier for registration. Guess what, when I entered the gym, the queue for registration was super long and by the time it reached my turn, there were no more slots. So I went to take a shower, came out and waited for 15 mins to use a hairdryer. This is it. Immediately I called up the Hot Yoga centre which I have been wanting to try, went for their trial the following day and signed up for classes there. Love Hot Yoga very much because it feels good to see my sweat dripping onto the yoga mat and I felt very refreshed after the class!

Ok enough of my ramblings. I hope all of you had a good Easter break. I spent my Good Friday preparing lunch for the family. After my Malaysia Food Trail last month, I fell in love with the Red Glutinous Rice Wine at Restoran Lima Ratus and decided to cook Chicken in Red Glutinous Rice Wine (Hong Zao Ji) at home! Adapted the recipe from noobcook, I bought my red glutinous wine lees and red glutinous rice wine from NTUC supermarket. I know they are probably not as good as the ones from Malaysia, but I think this is good enough for me.

Some people are better in baking while some are better in cooking. I think I am more talented when it comes to cooking than baking. Probably because I am not exactly a fan of desserts, so when it comes to baking, I am not as excited. But when I want to cook a meal, I will spend my time researching for the dish, and sort of have the “sense” to it. It is hard to explain the “sense”, but I will kind of know when to put what seasonings and how much to put. If you get what I mean?

So for this Chicken in Red Glutinous Rice Wine, I first marinade my chicken with red glutinous wine lees and Red Glutinous Rice Wine for about an hour. Then I stir fry and simmer it for a while. The result? Nice thick aroma from the red glutinous rice wine and the family loves it! And of course, this is a popular confinement dish and it is very nourishing for ladies. I think I can be a confinement lady already, since I love to cook confinement dishes such as pig trotter with vinegar and Hong Zao Ji!

Chicken in Red Glutinous Rice Wine

Ingredients (serves 2-4)
- 500g medium to chicken thigh, chopped in pieces
- 3 slices ginger
- 2 tbsp sesame oil

Marinade
- 2 tbsp red glutinous wine lees
- 1 tbsp red glutinous wine
- 3 slices ginger
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce

Seasoning
- 200ml red glutinuous wine (红槽酒)
- 1 tbsp red glutinous wine lees (红槽)
- some sugar

Garnishing (optional)
- 2 tbsp Hua Diao Jiu
- coriander

Method:
1. In a bowl, marinade chicken with the marinade ingredients for 1 hour.
2. In a wok, pour in sesame oil. Then add ginger and stir fry till fragrant.
3. Add chicken pieces. Stir fry until the chicken is cooked on the surface.
4. Add in the seasonings and mix until the chicken is evenly coated.
5. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. If you can, flip the chicken pieces halfway through the cooking time for more even cooking.
6. If you prefer a richer wine aroma, drizzle Hua Diao Jiu onto the dish upon serving. Garnish with coriander. Enjoy with warm white rice.

There is nothing quite like a delicious meal that brings families and friends together. Especially the moment you see families and friends enjoying the food prepared with love and joy, it is probably one of the best motivations.

Creating these moments and cooking up a storm at home for your loved ones is actually more simple, effortless and enjoyable than most people would think. Just yesterday, I went for Knorr Blogger Cookout with local award-winning celebrity chef – Chef Daniel Koh – and learnt his family recipes-inspired dishes, Stir Fried Tom Yam Chicken.

Stir Fried Tom Yam Chicken

INGREDIENTS: (For 2-4 pax)
1 chicken breast
1 cube Knorr Tom Yam Stock
250ml water
1 tbsp Knorr Hao Chi
1/2 lime slice
1/3 tsp lime zest
1 stick lemon grass, cut into small pieces
1 lime leave julienne
1 tbsp chopping onion
2 garlic, sliced
1 chilli padi, diced
1 stalk basil
1 tbsp coconut milk

METHOD:
1. Dissolve 1 Knorr Tom Yam cube in 250ml of water.
2. Slice chicken breast and season with Knorr Hao Chi.
3. Heat pan with oil and fry chicken for 1-2 minutes. Remove and set aside.
4. Fry onion, garlic, lemongrass, lime leave till fragrant and add Knorr Tom Yam stock.
5. Bring to boil and add the rest of the ingredients, including the chicken breast.
6. Simmer until sauce becomes almost dry and lace with coconut milk. Serve

Chef Daniel took about 15 mins to prepare and another 15 minutes to cook. It is quite simple especially for busy working adults who have no time for cooking!

After Chef Daniel is done with the cooking, we also experiment with your own family recipe under the guidance of Chef Daniel. And being a Hainanese, I initially wanted to cook Chicken Rice, but the process is too long. So in the end, I whipped up Hainanese Pork Chop with the help of the boyf!

Hainanese Pork Chop

Ingredients:

PORK CHOPS (for 4-6 pax)
- 500g boneless pork chops (or 4 pieces of pork loin)
- 5 pieces of bread, baked for 5 mins and blended to breadcrumbs
- 2 eggs
- Cooking oil

MARINADE
- 3 tbsps light soya sauce
- some pepper
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp cornflour

GRAVY
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 large tomato, cut into sections
- 100g green peas
- 1 onion, cut into thin slices
- some fresh pineapple cubes
- 5 tbs of tomato ketchup
- 1 tbs of oyster sauce
- 1 tbs of sugar
- 1 Knorr Chicken cube, mixed with 250ml of water
- a pinch of salt (optional)
- corn flour solution

Method:

FOR PORK CHOPS
1. Tenderise the meat by pounding it using a meat mallet or the back of a chopper.
2. Marinate the pork slices for at least 30 minutes or even overnight for more flavour.
3. Before frying, pour the beaten eggs onto a plate or into a shallow bowl. Dip both sides of each pork slice in the beaten egg.
4. Coat each side with breadcrumbs, patting to get an even layer. Gently shake off the excess breadcrumbs.
5. Heat your wok or pan with oil over medium-low heat. Fry each breaded pork slice until golden brown and crisp.

FOR GRAVY
1. Heat oil and fry the onion.
2. Add the tomato, peas and pineapple cubes.
3. Add the sauces, sugar and water and bring to a boil.
4. Allow to boil until the peas are cooked through.
5. Add in corn flour solution. Stir into mixture to thicken the gravy.
6. Drizzle onto the pork chop. Serve.

Here is our Hainanese Pork Chop after 45 minutes! Everyone loves it!

Here are the dishes prepared by my friends! Derrick & Vicki cooked Golden Sands French Beans, Philip & Serene did Babi Pongteh, Jacob & Chloe did 40 cloves of garlic roast chicken! For their recipes, you can visit their blogs to check it out!

JOIN THE KNORR COOKOUT COMPETITION TO GET THE KITCHEN OF YOUR DREAM

Well, if you have a family recipe to share, join the Knorr Cookout Competition to get the kitchen of your dream! What you have to do is to form a team of TWO with any one of your family member and cook up your family favourite dish using KNORR® products (within $30). The dish will be judged on taste, presentation, creativity, teamwork, hygiene and background story.

1st Prize : $8,000 worth of cash and voucher to revamp your kitchen
2nd Prize : $5,000 worth of cash and voucher to revamp your kitchen
3rd Prize : $3,000 worth of cash and voucher to revamp your kitchen
Consolation Prizes x 2 : $1,000 Vouchers

Please provide details of participants: Names, Dates of Birth, NRIC Numbers, Contact Email/s & Number/s and Relationship; Name and Photo of Dish; Cost Breakdown of Dish (no more than $30); Recipe; KNORR® Product/s Used & in no more than 100 words, share the story behind your family favourite dish. Email the details to knorr@vmsd.com.sg

Closing date: 12th May 2013

Happy Saturday! I am so happy that weekend is finally here. It has been a busy week for the F&B scene. We welcome the opening of Tim Ho Wan on Wednesday and yesterday, Savour 2013 officially opendd. I have not try the Tim Ho Wan outlet in Singapore. I shall wait for it to settle down for a while before I join in the queue! I had the dimsum in the original Mongkok outlet a few years back and really love it. I hope Tim Ho Wan Singapore is as good as the one in Hong Kong!

I am not a Peranakan so I won’t dare to name this is Nonya Chap chye. But as a Hainanese, surprisingly we eat chap chye during CNY and my aunt cook it really well. So when I was given the task to prepare lunch for the family, I wanted something quick and healthy, so I thought of Chap Chye!

I didn’t really like fermented beans all along. But the aunt has been telling me that the essence of this dish is the bean paste. So I just bought the cheapest bottle found in supermarket. After I reached home, then I ponder, why didn’t I get the most fine one. So I had to ground the bean paste. And adding the fermented bean paste really brings out the umami flavour in the chap chye. If you have more time, you can simmer for a longer time to bring out the sweetness of the vegetables more.

Enjoy cooking!

Ingredients: (for 4-6 pax)
1 head round cabbage (wong bok), cut into large pieces
6 dried black fungus, soaked for 15 mins
2 long sticks of dried beancurd, soaked for 15 mins and cut pieces
8 shitakke mushrooms, soaked for 15 mins and cut into halves
15g dried lily bulbs, soaked for 15 mins
2 tbsp dried shrimps, soaked for 15 mins
1 bundle glass noodles, soaked till soft
1 tbsp of fermented beans
2 tbsp oyster sauce
250ml chicken stock or water
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tbsp of oil

Method:
1. Ground the fermented beans using mortar and pestle. Alternatively, you can buy the fine/grounded fermented bean paste.
2. Heat oil in wok, add in garlic and fry till fragrant.
3. Add in dried shrimps and fry till fragrant.
4. Add in all the other ingredients (except glass noodles), mix well and bring to boil.
5. Cover wok and let it simmer for 15mins.
6. Add in glass noodles and let it absorb the sauce. Serve.

I haven’t been baking for a long time. Not that the passion has died off, just that I was very busy for these two months. Somehow, baking has been the best way for me to relieve stress. I reached home past 8pm last Friday, feeling very demoralized and upset over something-not-worth-mentioning, so I decided to switch on the oven and do some baking.

I am a very strong believer of work life balance. I believe that while we need to work to earn money and pay for our bills and meals, we also need to spend time at home and spend with our loved ones. So I make it a point to try to have dinner with my Grandpa at least 3-4 times a week. But when work interferes too much into my personal time, I get annoyed. Annoyed at myself, annoyed at everyone.

I am not a high flyer. Or rather, I chose not to be a high flyer. Like spiderman always says, with great power comes great responsibility. And with that, it also means less time with the loved ones. I rather have a super ordinary job, low pay also okay, as long as I am happy and am able to spend time with my family and friends. I don’t want to be working on weekends. I don’t want to be bothered by SMS-es in the middle of the night.

Anyway, Grandpa is a very good assistant. He does things quietly and neatly while I mess up the kitchen table with flour and eggs. I love it when Grandpa bakes with me, but not when Aunty is around. Because I need some peace to think things through while I bake.

So well, I hope baking these delicious muffins together help us spend some time together since I have been coming home late recently. These sweet treats are moist, tender and smells very good! They are flavoured with chocolate chips and cocoa powder. It’s a chocoholic’s dream come true. If you love chocolate, you’ll love these chocolate chocolate muffins.

Ingredients (makes about 12 large muffins):
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup cocoa powder
¾ cup sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1¼ cups whole milk
2 large eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp butter, melted
1/3 cup oil
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus 1/3 cup additional chocolate chips for sprinkling

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 180 degree celsius.
2. Combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
3. Combine the milk and the melted butter. Then add the oil, and finally whisk in the beaten eggs.
4. Place paper muffin liners on a muffin pan.
5. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and mix.
6. Gently fold 1 cup of chocolate chips into the batter. Don’t overwork the batter.
7. Carefully spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan.
8. sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips onto the top of the muffins, and transfer to the oven immediately.
9. Bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
10. Remove pan from the oven and let the muffins cool for five minutes in the pan. Then remove the muffins from the pan and let them cool another five minutes on a wire rack.

TGIF PEOPLE! Whoohoo! It has been a busy week! I am taking full time Japanese class now from Monday to Friday. I learnt it when I was in university but failed. HAHA! I decided to try it again lah!

Since my timing has been more flexible now, I am meeting different friend for lunch everyday. It’s like we have been so busy working working working for the past few years that we didn’t really have time to catch up, unless it is during birthday celebrations. So now I want to make time for each of them and catch up on each other’s lives.

The boy has been super busy for work and has no time for me. To cheer myself up, I decided to bake a chocolate bundt cake. I never have any luck with bigger cakes. I have been baking muffins and small cakes because I guess I am not ready for bigger ones. They always don’t succeed. Haha! But one night, I picked up the courage and do it again. This time, it is to use up the remaining ingredients from double chocolate muffins. Thank you to many of you who have tagged me in your successful attempts at baking double chocolate muffins. Hope this will be good for you too!

CHOCOLATE BUNDT CAKE
(inspired by Martha Stewart’s Chocolate Bundt Cake)

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup whole milk

icing sugar, for serving

1/2 cup sour cream (4 ounces)

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

METHOD
1. Preheat oven to 170 degree celsius. Butter a Bundt pan.

2. Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Mix milk and sour cream in a small bowl.

3. Cream butter and sugar with a mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla.

4. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add flour mixture, alternating with milk mixture, ending with flour. Fold in walnuts, if using.

5. Spoon batter into pan. Bake until a tester inserted in center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes. Cool the cake for 10 minutes and then remove it from the pan. Cool completely before dusting with icing sugar.

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The boy got me a Sous Vide machine for Valentine’s day. I was very surprised because I had wanted a waffle maker instead of this. But his reasoning was, he didn’t want to eat waffles everyday, and by giving me a sous vide machine, he can have different dishes everyday! Well well, good reasoning my dear. -_-”

I seriously have no idea what to do with it. I have eaten some sous vide dishes before but to do sous vide at home is a crazy new idea to me. It just sounds too complicated lah!

For the benefit of those who are new to the concept, sous vide is a method of cooking food sealed in airtight plastic bags in a water bath for longer than normal cooking times at an accurately regulated temperature much lower than normally used for cooking. The intention is to cook the item evenly, and not to overcook the outside while still keeping the inside at the same “doneness”, keeping the food juicier.

Although he got the sous vide machine, he burst his budget and didn’t get me a vacuum until much later. So I delayed using the machine until… now, which is about half a year later! He has been complaining that I didn’t use the machine and he didn’t get to eat any sous vide food blah blah blah, ok lah ok lah, I overcome my fear and finally use the machine (which has been sealed in the box for 6 mths).

First I watched a few introduction videos about this sous vide supreme, learnt how to use it and that’s it. I AM GOING TO COOK SOUS-VIDE EGGS!

Not difficult lah, very similar to a kopitiam style where you put the egg in water and boil it. Just that in kopitiam, you can probably get your eggs in 10 minutes. But by using this sous vide machine, my eggs will only be ready after… 45 minutes.

It is a long wait leh. I sat in front of the machine, looking at the temperature slowly rising to 63.5 degrees. I did some research and many blogs and website recommended cooking the egg using 63.5 degree celsius for 45 minutes. So I followed and waited and waited for close to 1 hour before my eggs were ready. (And I was late for my Japanese lesson because of these 4 eggs)

TADEH! After 1 hour, my egg is ready! I love it because it is silky smooth! And of course, you may think that I can just do the kopitiam style instead. I agree with you, but I just wanted to try this machine with sous vide egg before I cook something more challenging.

My sous vide egg actually looks more raw as compared to others who cooked it at the same temperature and time. So perhaps next time I will cook it slightly longer and give it a try. Anyway I am totally happy with my first sous vide egg. I just add a few drips of truffle oil which missuschewy bought for me from Europe, sprinkled some spring onion and it’s good to go!

Thank you to the lovely boyfriend who gave me this present! Hmmm… next time I will cook salmon for you ok!

I don’t usually post failures of my cakes, but I think this is an exception. I spent one of the Friday night making Steamed Egg Cake (鸡蛋糕) with my Grandpa.

This is something close to my heart as my late Grandma always make it for the family especially during festive season. After she left, nobody makes this at home anymore. And tonight, I picked up the courage to do this for the first time. It looks simple, but I guess the simplest things require the toughest skills.

When my Grandma is still around, she will always take a big wire mesh skimmer to beat the eggs. The process is very long. As a kid, sometimes I will help beat the eggs but after 3 minutes, I will complain hand pain lah, very tired lah etc etc. But I like to stand beside Grandma and see her beat the eggs.

When she finally let the batter to steam, we will be waiting for it to be ready, hoping it will “huat” (Chinese prefer to have this cake smile broadly as this the emblem of ” Bringing good fortune and usually Chinese like to present this cake for praying). After it is done, aunty and I will use a flower decorating tool, dip abit of red colouring and decorate our cake! Photo taken while we are celebrating one of the last Mother’s Day with Grandma. She left when I was 16.

Thanks to Little Teochew for sharing the Ji Dan Gao recipe, Grandpa and I had a great time recreating it!

Ingredients:
- 220g eggs excluding weight of shells (about 4 large eggs)
- 210g caster sugar
- 230g cake flour or top flour (sifted 2 or 3 times)
- 6 tbsp F&N Orange (or any other soda)

Recipe:
1. Whisk the eggs till frothy, then start adding sugar a little by little, to ensure it is well-incorporated. Continue beating until the batter becomes very pale, thick and creamy. This takes time, and there is no shortcut. Meanwhile, heat up your wok, pot or steamer until you get a gentle boil. Do make sure it is large enough to fit the cake tin and has ample space for the batter to rise and the steam to circulate.

2. Fold in the flour in thirds, alternating with the soda, and ending with flour. Once there are no streaks of flour, stop.

3. To steam, either pour the mixture into a bamboo steamer lined with greaseproof paper or use a 6 or 7-inch lined baking tin. Pop it into the wok, pot or steamer – then cover – and steam on high for 30mins.

4. Once done, place the cake on a rack and allow to cool before slicing.

I didn’t succeed, because my cake didn’t huat, but the taste resembles what I had during my childhood days. And I guess my steamer is probably the cause because the height of the cover is very low and it almost touches my cake. In any way, the family is very pleased with to see this cake appearing on table again and it was gone less than a day! I will try it again!

Grandma, I miss you…

Hope everyone has a good long weekend break! For me, I spent most of the time at home or to the gym. I signed up for a new gym in Ang Mo Kio and I wanted to make full use of it. It feels so good after exercising and definitely gives me a reason to have a good meal after that!

I was reading maameemoomoo‘s blog one Saturday morning and she was raving about this pumpkin cake. It looks pretty simple so I immediately jumped out of bed to get some pumpkins.

That’s the problem with me. I like to do impromptu baking and because I live in a small neighbourhood in Ang Mo Kio, not many ingredients are available. For example, the NTUC opposite my block doesn’t sell pumpkin so I have to walk all the way to the next street and buy it from Sheng Shiong. BUT, that Sheng Shiong only has pumpkin seeds with shells. So bobian, I bought a packet home and spent 30 mins de-shelling some of the seeds. This is an example of bad planning. LOL!

Anyway, I am very happy with this cake! Try it if you love pumpkin!

Ingredients:
225g butter
160g sugar
3 eggs
150g steamed pumpkin, mashed
300g self-raising Flour
20g corn flour
60g milk
150g pumpkin, peeled and diced
pinch of salt
pumpkin slices, for topping
pumpkin seeds, for topping

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 175ºC. Line and grease the baking pan.
2. Cream butter together with sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, and cream until light and smooth or the colour turned pale.
3. Stir in mashed pumpkin and mix until well blended.
4. Sift together flours and salt, fold into the mixture alternate with milk. Mix until well combined then stir in diced pumpkin.
5. Transfer batter in to baking pan, arrange pumpkin slices on the surface and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
6. Bake for 50 to 60minutes or until it is cooked. Cool on rack.

It was Missuschewy‘s birthday and just like last year, I decided to bake something for her. I have always been intrigued by red velvet cupcakes and more recently so when I have tasted a few red velvet cupcakes from different bakery. It is soooo classic and every other bakery has that. But I really want a good red velvet cupcake recipe and I guess I have finally found it.

You see, the boyfriend is pretty stingy when it comes to compliments. He has never given me any praises at all since I started baking. Good and bad lah. Good is because I always try to make my cakes better hoping that he will be impressed one day. Bad is I always felt demoralized and don’t feel like giving him a piece of my cake. LOL!

But but but, I really take his comments seriously when he eats my cake. During one of my previous bakes, he told me he love soft soft and not-so-buttery cakes. And I was thinking hard what to bake for missuschewy, because misterchewy is quite picky so I don’t want to be too adventurous. So here I have it – super moist, melt-in-your mouth and soft red velvet cupcake.

This red velvet cake recipe from Divas Can Cook is pretty superb. Because it is so soft and moist. I went NTUC to buy Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa, then went Coffee Bean to get a cup of Americano to add it into the batter. No it doesn’t have any coffee smell lah, don’t worry. This batter is more watery than other cupcake recipe. I freaked out initially but heng ah, it turned out well.

And the cream cheese frosting from Martha Stewart is simply great! I cut down on vanilla essence because too much of these artificial flavours will make me nauseous. The same goes for fish sauce. If you want your cake to be super red, please go ahead and add more colouring. I am happy with just a few drops. Actually, I prefer to go without the colouring.

RED VELVET CUPCAKE RECIPE
(Adapted from Divas Can Cook)

Ingredients: (makes 24)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
11/2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon red food color
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoons apple cidar vinegar
1/2 cup of plain hot coffee

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 170 degree celsius.
2. Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.
3. Combine the sugar and vegetable oil.
4. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and red food coloring until combined.
5. Stir in the coffee and white vinegar.
6. Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients a little at time, mixing after each addition, just until combined.
7. Divide batter evenly among lined cups, filling each three-quarters full. Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until a cake tester inserted in centers comes out clean, about 18-20 minutes. Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely before removing cupcakes. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature, or frozen up to 2 months, in airtight containers.
8. To finish, frost the cupcake with cream cheese frosting when the cakes have cooled completely.

*If you are baking a cake, bake for about 30 minutes.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
(adapted from Martha Stewart)

Ingredients:
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
12 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 pound (4 cups) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method:
Beat butter and cream cheese with a mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add sugar, 1 cup at a time, and then vanilla; mix until smooth.

One advice is to please let your cupcake cool COMPLETELY before frosting it. Cannot be gan chiong please. I made another batch and my Grandpa was overly ganchiong and made me frost the cake when it was still abit warm. In the end the poor frosting just melted and it was a messy sight.

As I made 24 cupcakes, I packed 6 for Missuschewy, 6 for my facial aunty because she invited me for her BBQ on the same day and the rest is for the family. Auntie love it and she asked me to bake one more batch for her to share with her friends next week. -_-

See, all my friends are the best ambassadors! LOL!!! Ok lah, I forced them to pose this before they ate the cupcake. But misterchewy and missuschewy all said it is very nice okay! And this is the first time the boyfriend said to me:”蛋糕很好吃！” YAY!

Maybe it’s time to open a cupcake shop liao! :p

One of Singapore’s greatest assets is its wet markets, full of exoticm authentic food and where every day some of the nation’s oldest butchers and fishmongers chop, cut, scale and fillet fresh foods any way you desire. And among the most colourful of these bastions of all foods fresh and local: Tekka Centre in Little India. Just this week, I visited the market with MasterChef Australia Season 4 finalist, Audra Morrice.

Tekka Market has been the heart and soul of Little India since the early days. Previously known as Kandang Kerbau, the centre is used by Chinese vendors, Indian stall owners and Malay retailers, and sells everything from casual clothing, hardware tools and religious paraphernalia, to traditional Indian fashion and watches.

We were all given a task, that is to cook Nonya Curry Chicken using Audra’s recipe. So during the food tour in Tekka, Audra helped us picked up some ingredients used for cooking curry.

Audra Morrice is a cook and a mother, best known as the finalist in MasterChef 2012 who produced some of the most consistent and amazing dishes on the show. Acknowledged for her ability to both cook and bake, she was a favourite in this series of MasterChef.

Born to a Chinese mother and Indian father, Audra spent her formative years in the culturally rich heritage of Singapore. Audra graduated from Canterbury University in Christchurch, New Zealand, with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Japanese and spent much of her working career in telecommunications in Singapore, New Zealand and Australia. Despite a very successful career in telco, winning multiple sales awards over the past several years, Audra’s passion was clearly in food and decided to follow her dream. In 2012, she took a break from work to compete in MasterChef.

There are several types of dried chillies. For this recipe please choose the type that are about finger sized. The smaller ones are very hot and the broader, larger ones mild. Also please never replace dried chillies with fresh ones as they don’t impart the smokiness of flavour and depth of colour required for this dish.

Here’s us at Tekka market and happy with our items! If I were to cook curry, I would always go to the market and ask the Indian aunty to pack a ready made curry powder for me. But for Audra’s recipe, we have to make the rempah from scratch! Hope I succeed!

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Audra’s style of food is eclectically Asian drawing influence from her Chinese Indian heritage. And hence, Nonya Chicken Curry is definitely one of her specialty! I sat on the floor and pound my ingredients using mortar and pestle. I was little afraid while attempting to make my own rempah. But it turned out to be a satisfying experience especially when my rempah smells so good. It felt like I had conjured magic, to make a dish like this and have it hitting all those familiar notes! WOOHOO!

Ingredients:
1kg whole chicken, cut into 12-14 pieces
240g or 5 small potatoes, peels and halved

Rempah:
1 large onion, peels and cut into wedges
1 tbsp or 10g long dried red chillies, soaked in hot water, drained, coarsely groun
1 tbsp or 2 long fresh red chillies, coarsely ground
4 cm piece fresh tumeric or 1 tsp ground tumeric
4 cm piece galangal, sliced
4 cm piece ginger, skinned
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 candlenuts
1 rounded tsp balachan, wrapped in foil and toasted in a dry pan until fragrant
2 stalks lemongrass, white part only
2 tbsp ground coriander
oil

1 pandan, tied to a knot
2 kaffir lime leaf
2 cups coconut milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar

Method:
1. In a blender or mortar and pestle, grind onion, chillies, tumeric, galangal, ginger, garlic, candlenuts and balachan to a paste.

2. Heat 4 tbsp of oil in a large pot, add the rempah and lemongrass and cook on medium heat until fragrant. Add the ground coriander and cook for a further 5 minutes.

3. Add chicken pieces, pandan and kaffir lime leaves. Stir until well coated, then add the potatoes and coconut milk, stir well and cook until both chicken and potatoes are cooked and tender. Season with salt and sugar. Be careful not to break up the potatoes when stirring.

Most curry dishes involve a rempah and if you are a fan, you can make a big batch, keep some in the fridge, or even freeze it for later. I like to use a mortar and pestle because I feel it brings out the flavour much better. And my grandpa has been my great assistant and hand model. Hope you love it as much as I do. I cut down abit on the coconut because I wanted it to be more dry. As I am typing this blog post, I can still smell the chilli, garlic and onion fragrance on my hands. So niceeeee!

Thank you Lifetime Channel for bringing Audra Morrice back home to Singapore.