Salt Roasted Chicken

This salt roasted chicken recipe is from Ju, Little Teochew.

http://thelittleteochew.blogspot.com/2009/06/salt-roasted-chicken.html

The recipe turned out great ! This is so easy and the skin is crispy and meat is so moist ! Definitely a keeper

To summarize the recipe, clean the chicken, pat it dry, garlic in the chic cavity , then roast at 420-440F for ~ 1 hour until it is nicely browned.

Enjoy!

Hainanese Chicken Rice

Tiramisu cake

I have been looking for good tiramisu cake in Minneapolis and last year decided to had it in Olive Garden for my Ultimate tiramisu on my birthday. It was really not up to my expectation. I want my "pick me up" cake to have Strong espresso , Strong ETOH and balance up together STRONGLY and GREAT. ( well, bear with me with all the cap letter as it should be a STRONG statement to write about tiramisu)

Therefore, this year , i decided to just make it at home since i can put however MUCH ETOH and coffee i want ! For a person who loves cake and loves to bake, who is happen to be on diet, i have been waiting this excuse to bake a cake for my birthday for 3 months !

This recipe is from Yochana's cake delight website.

http://auntyyochana.blogspot.com/2007/10/tiramisu-batik.html

Addictive Crispy Kale

How to make a carnivor eat vegetable ? How to make healthy snack and avoid eating chips? I think i have a good answer for that ! I stumble upon crispy kale recipe in Steamy Kitchen's blog and decided to try it today. It did not disappoint. It was really good and like its name, it's addictive. I guess next time , i will try it with Kai lan ( chinese brocolli)

Recipe
1-2 tb olive oil
Big bowl of kale green
salt to taste
1-2 ts garlic powder
2 ts cayenne pepper

1) Clean kale and remove from stems
2) Break kale into small bite size pieces
3) Dry with paper towel
4) Add olive oil , garlic powder , cayenne pepper and toss to coat
5) Bake in preheated 350F oven for 12 -20 minutes
6) Add salt to taste

ENJOY !

Fry Egg with Minced Pork and Beans

As a Teo Chew descent, nothing makes me happier than a bowl of just right temperature porridge , with fry fish , and eggs.For us , porridge is just our comfort food.

Ingredients
2 eggs
1/2 cup of chopped french beans
1 tb chopped garlic
1/4 cup minced pork
a dash of fish sauce
a dash of white pepper
2 ts salt

1 cup rice
10 cups of water

Instructions

1) Wash one cup of rice
2) Cook rice in rice cooker with 10 cup of water for about 10 minutes with lid closed
3) Then let the lid open halfway ( to prevent the porridge from overflow)
4) Cook about 45 minutes until preferred consistency
5) Heat pan and add 1 tb oil
6) Pan fry garlic until fragrant
7) Add minced pork , pepper, fish sauce and salt
8) Add chopped beans
9) Pan fry until the minced pork turned brown from pink
10) Beat 2 eggs in a bowl and pour it on the mixture of beans and pork
11) Cook about 3-5 minutes with medium heat then flip
12) Cook until set, then plate

Durian Filling Crepe

One of my favourite dessert is durian roll from Angie's Bakery in Singapore. I was so into the durian roll that i would take a taxi purposely to go to the mall just to get that when i was in Singapore. I couldn't figure out what was outside the roll until recently, i realised the roll was actually made from Crepe with durian + cream filling ! That sounds easy ! Here is my version .. :)

Ingredients
2 eggs
1 cup of flour
3/4 cup of milk
3 tb margerine ( or butter)
1/2 cup water
1-2 ts vanilla extract
1 ts salt

Durian filling
1 frozen durian
1 cup of cool whip cream

Instructions
1) Combine all the ingredients for the batter excepts butter/margerine
2) Mix well
3) Melt margerine in microwave with defrost setting for about 10 seconds
4) Mix margerine into the batter
5) Heat pan with 1 tb of butter
6) Remove pan from heat
7) Pour batter into the pan using a laddle and using the back of the laddle to spread evenly
8)Cook with medium heat
9)Cook until some browning seen on the bottom of the crepe
10) Cook the other side for about 10-15 seconds
10) Remove from heat

Filling
1) Defrost cool whip
2) Add durian to the cool whip and mix well

To Assemble
1) Place filing in the middle of the crepe and fold the crepe in a rectangular shape
2) Sprinkle powdered sugar on crepes with strainer( optional)

Healthy Pasta Salad

This is a quite healthy vegetables loaded lunch with Omega 3 from tilapia! I love this simple and easy recipe and would like to share it with you. The nice thing about salad is that you can basically add in any vegetable that you like and mix it with the dressing and it will turned out to be a good meal !

Ingredients
1/4 box macaroni
1 slice low fat cheese
4 tablespoon low fat mayonaise
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1/2 tb garlic powder
1/2 tb dry parsley
1/2 cup of broccoli florets
1/2 cup corns
1/2 cup green peas
dash of pepper to taste
dash of sat to taste
2 tilapia fillets marinated with salt and pepper
1 ts vegetable oil

1) Bring 2 large pot of lightly salted water to boil
2) Add pasta and cook for 5-8 minutes until al dente in one pot and cook brocolli , corn and peas in another pots for 3-5 minutes
3) Drain brocolli, peas and corns and rinse in cold water. Drain the pasta and stir in one slice of cheese until melted
4) Heat 1 ts oil in a non stick skillet over med heat
5) Sear tilapia about 5 minutes each side or until just cooked
6) Mix mayonaise, mustard, parsley, brocolli, corns, green peas, and garlic powder in a bowl
7) Lastly, add in the fish and if you prefer big chunks, just slightly break the fillet and mix in with the salad
8) Add salt and pepper to taste

Chicken Tikka Masala

The picture is not doing my chicken tikka masala justice. This chicken tikka masala has the combination of sweetness, sourish , spiciness that just awakened your taste buds! When i decided to blog what i had for dinner, it just show how excited i am with what i made today for dinner. Fun facts: the origin of chicken tikka masala is disputed. Some claim that it is from Glasgow, Scotland and some said it was created in a Bangladeshi Restaurant in England.Learn more about chicken tikka in Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicken_tikka_masala

Recipes
Chicken Marinate
A
1/2 cup of yogurt
1 lemon
3 ts ground cumin
3 ts ground pepper
4 ts cayenne pepper
2 ts salt or to taste

2 pieces of chicken breast , cubed
4 skewer

Sauce
1/2 cup sour cream ( low fat)
3 tb tomato sauce
1 ts vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup of cubed onion
1 tomato ( cubed)
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro
3 ts paprika
2 ts salt( or to taste)
3 ts ground cumin
2-3 red jalapeno pepper ( less if prefer less spicy)
1/2 cup of chopped cilantro

1) Marinate the chicken breast with A and keep in refrigerator for 1/2 hour to 1 hour
2) Preheat oven to grill mode
3) Soak the Skewer in water for 10-20 minutes ( to prevent the skwer from burning)
4) Thread chicken on skewer and cook each side for 5 minutes or until brown
5) Heat oil in the pan
6) Cook onion for 5 minutes until caramelized, then saute garlic , and jalapeno until fragrant
7) Stir in tomato, tomato sauce, sour cream , and cilantro
8) Cook the sauce until thickened, then season with salt
9) Add chicken and simmer for 5 minutes
10)Serve warm and top it with fresh cilantro

Cream Of Broccoli

Ingredients

1 lbs of brocolli
1 onion
1 carrot
3 cloves of garlic
3 cups of skim milk
1 tb butter
1 ts nutmeg
1/2 cup white wine
2 tb of sour cream
salt

1) Chopped onion , garlic, and carrot
2) Saute onion, garlic until fragrant with butter in a pan , then add broccoli and carrot
3) Add milk and white wine, simmer for 15 minutes
4) Blend the soup in the blender
5) Add milk until desired consistency
6) Add nutmeg and season with salt to taste
7) Divide the soup into 2 bowls and top the soup with 1 tb of sour cream

Tilapia with lettuce salad

I love to eat conch salad. I had that in Nassau, Bahamas and it was one of the best food that ever i had . This recipe is quite similar with conch salad except that it is not conch but is tilapia. It is a very healthy dinner for those who are looking for healthy recipes

Ingredients

1 onion cubed

1/2 cup chinese parsley chopped

1/2 cup of julienned bell pepper

2 lemons

1 carrot julienned

1 jalapeno chopped

2 tomatoes chopped

1/2 cucumber cubed

3 cups of chopped Romaine Lettuce

salt

1 lbs of tilapia

1/2 lemon

salt

pepper

1/4 cup chinese parsley

Instructions

1) preheat oven to 350F

2) Marinate fish with 1/2 lemon juice, salt and pepper and top it with chinese parsley

3) Bake in oven for about 10 minutes-15 minutes

4) To assemble, layer the chopped lettuce in a bowl

5) Then layer with tomatoes, bell pepper, onions and carrot

6) Squeeze one lemon into the layer

7) Top the layer with cucumber, then another 1/4 cup of the chinese parsley and jalapeno

8) Place the fish on top of the salad

9) Squeeze the remaining lemon on top of the fish and top the fish with 1/4 cup of parsley

Chilli

Chilli , yum yum . I guess this is the first time i enjoy eating chilli. Is not because i am so narcissistic into thinking that other chilli is not great and my chilli recipe is the best. Well, of course i hope so , but the truth is usually in a restaurant the chilli is cooked with minced beef and i dont really fancy beef. I guess that is kind of obvious that i don't have any beef dishes in my blog. Anyway, this is chilli that is cooked with minced pork .. YUMS ! love it .. is a comfort and hearty meal. :)

Recipe
1 can of kidney beans
3 roma tomatoes blended
1/2 yellow bell pepper
2 red jalapenos ( we love it spicy)
2 big onions
1 lbs of minced pork
1/4 cup of red chilli pepper flakes
2 tb of hot sauce
1 tb cumin
1 tb dried oregano
1 ts coriander
2 ts paprika
1 tb cornmeal
1 tb cornflour
1/2 can of beer
1/2 cup of water
2 cloves garlics
1 tb olive oil
salt to taste
sugar to taste

1) Chopped onion , yellow bell pepper , garlic, jalapeno
2) Saute onion , bell pepper, garlic and jalapeno until fragrant, then add minced pork
3) Saute until brown, then add blended tomato, beer, and 1/2 cup of water
4) Add cumin , paprika, red chilli flakes, coriander, hot sauce, oregono and drained kidney beans
5) Bring to boil , then simmer for about 2 hours
6) Thickened with corn flour, and cornmeal ( add more cornflour of you like thicker consistency)
7) Add sugar and salt to taste
8) Serve it warm

Chicken BBQ Pizza

Ingredients

One 9 inch Pizza Dough ( recipe in this blog)

1/2Chicken breast
BBQ sauce
1 clove garlic
1 tb minced onion
2 tb corn
2 tb pizza sauce
1 tb Extra virgin olive oil
1 tb cornmeal
2 tb chopped red pepper
1/2 cup shredded mozarella cheese

Directions
1) Cut chicken breast into half
2) Marinate chicken with BBQ sauce , then grill /broil for about 8 minutes each side in the oven
3) Cut chicken breast into cube
4) Preheat oven to 550F
5)Sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza pan and place the pizza crust on top of the cornmeal
6)Brush a layer of olive oil on the pizza crust
7) Arrange the garlic, onion, pepper, chicken, corn and mozarella cheese on the pizza
8) Bake on lower rack oven for 6 minutes, and bake on upper rack oven for another 6 minutes or until brown

Ginger black bean sauce steam tilapia

Recipe
2 tilapia fillets
1 tomato sliced
2 stalks scallions sliced
2 inch ginger ( minced)
1 tb black bean
1 tb fish sauce
2 tb sambal paste * left over from kangkung belacan, recipe in this blog*

1) Marinate tilapia with all the ingredients except tomato and scallions
2) Top tilapia with tomato and steam it for about 10 minutes-15 minutes
3) Garnish with scallions

Ginger Milk Custard

Ginger Milk custard is amazingly simple, and tasty. Here is the recipe

5 inches of ginger

1/2 cup milk ( i used 2% milk, but whole milk is cremier)

1 tb sugar

1) Peel off ginger skin, processed it in food processor , and strain it in muslim cloth

2) Divide ginger juice into two ramekins/bowls

3) Heat milk in a small pot until nearly boiled and remove from heat

4) Cool the milk by pouring the milk to another bowl, back and forth for 10 times

5) Then pour it into the prepared ramekins

6) Let it set for 10 minutes

7) Serve warm or cold

Grill Salmon

Ingredients

1 tb soy sauce

1 tb worcestershire sauce

pepper

salt

1/2 salmon fillet

1) Preheat oven to 350F

2) Bake for 5-7 minutes

3) Then, broil the fish in oven until brown

4) Serve it hot with mango tomato salad

Balsamic Vinegar Chicken

This is the recipe that i have been looking for since i was 2. Well , i know , i am exaggerating ! Well, this is one of the dishes that i love so much that i have been looking for the recipe for a long long time. Thanks to JustjanS, this recipe was posted in recipezaar ! http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Japanese-Mums-Chicken-68955

Recipe

2 chicken breast

1 cup of water

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup of soy sauce

2 garlic cloves

1 jalapeno

1 tb oil

2 tb sugar

1) heat oil in pan , then brown the chicken

2) add water, vinegar,sugar, bruised and peeled garlic, jalapenos

3) bring to boil , then reduce to simmer for 15-20 minutes

4) turn heat to high to thicken the sauce until it covered the chicken like a glaze

Wanton Mee

I love wanton mee. This would be one of our top 10 " must have" when we were back in Malaysia. The simplicity of the dish makes it great ! There is 2 ways you can have wanton mee, dry and wet.

Recipes adapted from http://www.malaysianfood.net/recipes/recipewontonmee.htm

Wanton Mee ( Soup version) - serve 2

2 cup egg noodle

1 cup of chopped choy sum

3 slices of ginger

6 cups of water

10 cups of water ( to cook the noodle and wantons)

2 stalks of scallions

6 wantons ( wantons recipe below)

1/2 chicken breast

1 tb soy sauce

1 tb shaoxing wine

1 tb fish sauce

1 tb of sugar

sesame oil

pickled green chillis

salt

pepper

1) In a stock pot , bring 6 cups of water to boil.

2) In a large pot, bring 10 cups of water to a rapid boil

2) Add in scallions, chicken breast and ginger into the stockpot

3) simmer about 25-30 minutes, remove chicken , set aside

4) blanch choy sum until al dante in the same boiling water, then remove the choy sum and set aside ( Now you have a chicken and vegetable broth! ) . Add sugar. salt , pepper, fish sauce, shaoxing wine to taste ( slightly saltier then u want it because when you add the noodle, it will balance it up nicely)

5) Cook wantons for about 3-5 minutes in the large pot and set aside

6) Cook the egg noodle in the large pot until al dante for about 1-2 minutes

7) Shred the chicken breast

8) To assemble, put the egg noodle in a bowl, then add wantons, choy sum , shreded chicken, and laddle in the broth

9) add a dash of pepper , and 1 ts of sesame oil

10) serve it hot with condiment ; pickled green chillis (recipe below)

Wanton Mee ( Dry Version)

2 cup egg noodle

1 knob ginger

1/2 cup chopped scallions

2 ts salt

3 tb oyster sauce

2 ts dark soy sauce

1 tb of soy sauce ( adjust to taste)

1 tb sesame oil

1/2 tb white pepper

1/2 cup chopped choy sum

1) In a large pot , bring 1 litre water to boil

2) Add salt, 1/4 cup scallions, and ginger

3) Cook egg noodle in the pot until al dante, drained

4) Blanch Choy sum in pot for 1-2 minutes

5) Mix oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper with noodle, mix well

6) To assemble, place 1/2 the noodle on one plate, with choy sum and chicken.

7) Garnish with 1/2 of the remaining scallions, and top it up with some pepper

Wanton recipe

10 of wanton wrappers

1/2 cup of ground pork

1/2 tb corn starch

1/2 tb sesame oil

1 tb soy sauce

1/2 tb fish sauce

1 tb shaoxing wine

1) Mix ground pork with corn starch , sesame oil , soy sauce and shaoxing wine

2) wrap with wanton wrappers to form 10 wantons

Pickled green chillis

2 green chillis

1 cup of water

1 cup of vinegar

1) chop the chillis

2) boil water, remove water from heat

3) soak chillis in boiled water for 10 minutes

4) drain the chillis and soak chillis in vinegar overnight

Char Kueh Teow

Fried Kueh Teow is one of the food that is commonly seen in the Malaysian restaurant menu and hawker stalls. I don't think i have achieved the ultimate way to fry this noodle , without the "wok hei" , which means the pan fragrant created by high heat, but i think this recipe can cure the craving for char kueh teow for those who are living far from home. As the saying goes, "bo hu , hei pun hor", no fish , prawn is acceptable too .

Recipe

1 bowl of kueh teow

1/4 cup of chives

1/4 cup of bean sprout

1-2 cloves of garlic

1 egg

1/2 tb siracha

1 tb oil

1 ts chicken stock

1 ts of fish sauce

1 ts dark soy sauce

1 tb light soy sauce

1 ts sugar

salt and pepper to taste

1) heat 1 ts oil in the pan

2) break the egg and roughly scramble it

3) dish out and set aside

4) heat the remianing oil , add chopped garlic , and fry till fragrant

5) add the kueh teow, fry fro 1 -2 minutes, add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, siracha , chicken stock , fish sauce , and sugar

6) Add salk and pepper to taste

7) stir fry on high heat and then add bean spout and chives

8)stir fry until the vegetable mix well with the noodle

9) Dish out and serve

Strawberry Banana Smoothies

Recipes
1 cup strawberries
1 tb honey
1 banana
5-8 ice cubes
1/2 cup plain yogurt ( low fat is preferred)

Blend everything together and enjoy

Glutinous Rice Dumpling

Recipefor 12

Glutinous rice 500 g

Pork tenderloin 24 small cubes

12 Duck egg yolks

12 chestnuts

200 g peeled mung beans

6 shiitake mushrooms ( halved)

2 shallots

2 garlics

salt

soy sauce

Dark soy sauce

oyster sauce

5 spice powder

rice wine

3 tb cooking oil

30 Bamboo leaves

long strings

1) soak bamboo leaves in cold water overnight

2) marinate the pork with 2 tb rice wine , 2 tb soy sauce , 1 tb oyster sauce , 1 ts of five spice powder overnight

3) soak glutinous rice overnight with cold water, then drain

4) chop shallots, garlics, and fry in cooking oil until fragrant then removed from heat

5) Boil bamboo leaves for 10 minutes
6) Use 1/2 of the shallots /garlic oil to fry the rice , add oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, soy sauce, salt and five spice powder until slightly saltier than preferred ( the reason is when you cook the glutinous rice, it will balance it up). Fry for 3-4 minutes . Dish out and set aside
7) Fry 1/ of the shallot/garlic oil with mushroom until fragrant . Dish out and set aside

8) Fry 1/4 of shallot/garlic oil with pork until brown ( you just want to brown the the pork , not cook) . Dish out and set aside

9) fry the chestnut until brown , add 1 tsp 0yster sauce + soy sauce . Dish out and set aside

10) soak the mung beans for 1/2 hour

11) Dry the Bamboo leaves and make a cone with 2 bamboo leaves.Fill with 2 tb rice + Duck egg + chest nut + 1 tb mung beans + mushroom+ meat . Wrapped the filling , and tie with strings

12) repeat until you have 12 nice dumplings

13) boil in water for 2 hours

What I learned

- not to tie it too tight , because the dumpling will burst open

- practice makes perfect

- need to put more filling in my dumpling

- and practice makes perfect !

Enjoy !

Mango-Apple-Blueberry Smoothies for 2

Is fun to play with your food and come up with something tasty and yummy and nutritious! This is one of the mix and match fruits , blend together and Ta.. Da.... Super tasty and healthy smoothies for lunch .

Recipe

1) 1/2 cup of green apple

2) 1 cup of mango

3) vanila low fat yogurt

4) 1/2 cup of blueberries

5) 6 cubes of ice

6) 1/2 cup of cold water

Blend everything together and there you have a healthy, super good for you smoothies :)

Low Carb Caesar salad dressing and crouton

Yeah , yeah , eating healthy post again ! Crouton + Caesar salad dressing = Great salad. I remember the first time i cooked for my mother, i made caesar salad with a packet of crouton and packet of caesar salad mix. There, is my caesar salad which i claimed to make ! Seriously , why do people have to buy crouton and the dressing. It is extremely easy to make and you can whip the dressing up in 5 minutes or maybe less.

Recipes for caesar salad dressing

1 cloves of garlic / 2 ts of garlic powder

1/2 cup of low fat plain yogurt

1 ts worcestershire sauce

1 ts - 2 ts of white vinegar ( depends on preference)

1/8 ts salt

1 lemon

1 tb olive oil

mix everything together , cover

refrigerate until ready to use

Vegetable mix

* 1 slice of green apple , 1 ts chopped chives, 2 tb chopped red pepper , 1/2 cup chopped napa cabbage, tomato , 1/2 cup chopped brocolli

Crouton

Recipes

2 slices od stale bread

1 tb garlic powder

2 tb olive oil

1-2 tb dry basil and parsley

1)Peheat oven to 350F

2) Cut the bread into 1 inch X 1 Inch

3) Toss the bread with garlic powder, olive oil, dry basil and parsley unitl incorporated

4) Bake in oven for about 10-15 minutes ( until dry and brown)

p/s : this is a low carb version, and of course there is a real version of caesar salad out there in google ! :) enjoy !

Kangkung Belacan

While doing my weekly grocery shopping yesterday, i found kangkung!! I was so excited because i was told once that kangkung was banned in MN? I don't know how true that is, but that was what i was told by one of the Malaysian restaurant owner here. While the stock last, i just grabbed one big bunch of the kangkong and started dreaming about my kangkung and how to make my belacan all day !! yumsss.All i cared and all i talked about whole day was ... kangkung .. Kangkung .. and Kangkung ;)

Recipes adapted from

http://www.malaysianfood.net/recipes/recipekangkungbelacan.htm

1 red chili ( chopped)
1 lb kangkung
2 tb oil
1 tsp sugar
salt

A
1/2 cup dried shrimp
3 tablespoon of siracha
6 shallots
4 cloves of garlic
2 tsp belachan
3 red chili

1) soak dried shrimp in water for 10-20 minutes
2) Ground A in food processor until chunky
3)Heat wok on high , heat the oil
4) stir fry paste until aromatic 2-3 minutes
5) Add kangkung , sugar and salt to taste
6) Serve immediately

Mango Lassi

I have been playing with my food so much lately and my current obsession is mango. We used to have mango lassi in indian restaurant for USD 3-4 per drink. It's so EXPENSIVE ! Thanks to google that we can easily find mango lassi recipe EVERYWHERE, and it is so easy to make.

Recipes , serve 2

1 big mango or 2 small mangoes

1 cup of plain yogurt

1/2 cup - 1 cup of milk ( depending on the thickness preference) cold water

5 cubes of ice

How to make it ? well it is not rocket scientist. Just cube the mangoes , and blend all the ingredients in your blender.

Serve immediately and start enjoying the cold, refreshing , sweet , tasty drink ....

Turmeric Chicken Wings

I made chicken wings in two-ways today. The chicken wings on the left are the turmeric chicken wings and the one on the right are Malaysian Style Chicken Wings. Turmeric chicken wings are basically marinate with whatever i have in pantry and it turned out to be one of the yummy chicken wings that i will definitely make again.

Recipes
3 chicken wings
olive oil
A
1 tb turmeric powder
1 ts fennel seed
1 tb cayenne pepper
1 tb paprika
salt and pepper


1) Marinate chicken wings with A overnight / 6 hours prior
2) preheat broiler
3) brush the pan with olive oil
4) arrange the chicken wings on the pan and broil the chicken at high
5) Broil each side about 5 minutes or until slightly charred
6) serve immediately with potatoes wedges or salad as sides

Malaysian Style Chicken Wings

Siu kai yik aka chicken wing is one of the famous street food in Malaysia. This is the easiest and fuss free dish that i loved to make for a lazy dinner at home.

Recipes
3 chicken wings
2 tb olive oil
A
2 tb honey/maltose
1 tb dark soy sauce
1 tb soy sauce
5 tb of oyster sauce
2 tb hoisin sauce



1) Marinate the chicken wings with A , cover and refrigerate for 6 to 24 hours
2) preheat broiler
3) Layer the pan with olive oil
4) Arrange the chicken on the pan and broil in oven until dark brown ( about 5 minutes each side) or until dark brown and slightly charred
5)Serve with some coleslaw/ potatoes wedges at the side

Chicken Cordon Bleu

I bought lots of chicken breast in costco recently, with the thought of eating healthy. I usually will get chicken thigh or chicken drumstick, because to me , dark meat usually is tastier and juicier but for the sake of " healthy diet", i just need to make some changes . This chicken cordon bleu doesn't disappoint. It is easy, does not need hours to marinate and is great!

Recipes
3 tablespoon of butter
2 chicken breast
2 slices of cheese
2 slices of ham
bread crumbs
2 tb paprika + cayenne pepper + a dash of salt+garlic powder
Salt
pepper

White sauce
1/2 cup of white wine / shaoxing wine
2 tablespoon of flour /cornflour
1/2 cup of milk/ heavy cream / half and half


1)Preheat oven to 350F
2)Use the back of the knife to pound chicken breast to 1/4 inch thickness
3)Sprinkle salt and pepper on the chicken
4)Place a slice of ham on top of chicken followed by a slice of cheese
5)Roll the chicken and secured with toothpick
6)Coat the chicken with bread crumb+ cayenne pepper+paprika+ garlic powder+ salt
7)heat the butter in a pan, pan sear the chicken about 5 minutes each side, until brown
8) bake in oven for 35 minutes
9) Meanwhile, to make the white sauce, add flour to the pan (with the chicken dripping)
10) Add milk/cream and wine. Cook until thickened.
11) to serve, pour the sauce on top of the chicken. For side dishes, boiled the green peas and brocolli and seasoned with pepper and salt

Mango Mousse Cake

Mango Mousse Cake
It is very seldom for me to be proud of the cake I baked! I remember the first cake that I baked was in 2005, a cheesecake which was a total disaster. Instead of looking like a cake, it looks like a pie instead. Fast forward it to 2010; I baked a mango mousse cake! This cake taste great, looks great and is amazing! I used the foolproof sponge cake recipe from Christopher Kimball. I have been looking for the recipe for mango mousse for weeks, after the birthday boy requested for a mango cake. It is really my bad of asking, since I just wanted to make an easy cake and topped it up with fondant! Yeah, all I care about was the decorations. Since he wanted the mango cake, I did lots of research and came upon these websites. They are real “guru” in cake ..
http://novice-baker.blogspot.com/2008/05/looking-at-bright-side-mango-mascarpone.html
http://allthatmatters2rei.blogspot.com/2009/04/mango-mousse-cake.html
Adapted from Christopher Kimball , novice baker and all that matters blog

1/2 cup cake flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
2 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Cover pan bottoms with rounds of parchment paper( you can use 8 inch or 9 inch pan)

Sieve the flours, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
Heat the milk and butter in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter melts. Take the sauce pan off the heat and add in vanilla extract; keep the mixture covered and warm.

Separate the eggs, placing the whites in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment
Beat the whites on high speed until foamy. Gradually add 6 tablespoons of the sugar and the cream of tartar and continue to beat the whites to soft, moist peaks.
If using a standing mixer transfer the beaten egg whites to a large bowl and add the egg yolks to the standing mixer bowl (you don't need to clean the bowl).

Beat the egg yolks with the remaining 6 tablespoons sugar on medium-high speed until the mixture is very thick and turns a pale lemon color, about 5 minutes. (very important step because we tend to stop after 1-2 minutes)
Add in the beaten egg whites to the yolks, but do not mix.

Sieve the flour mixture over the egg whites and mix on low speed for 10 seconds.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, make a well in one side of the batter and pour the melted butter mixture into the bowl.
Fold gently with a large rubber spatula until the batter shows no trace of flour and the whites and yolks are evenly mixed, about 8 strokes. (Use a half circular motion, and fold from bottom to top)
Also make sure that you have incorporated the butter into the mixture. There should not be visible oil as you pour the mixture into the cake pans.

Immediately pour the batter into the prepared pans. Bake until the cake tops are light brown and feel firm and spring back when touched, about 16 to 18 minutes for 9-inch cake pans and 20 to 22 minutes for 8-inch cake pans.

Invert the cake and let cool completely. To remove from the pan, use a knife to loosened the side and releases the cakes from the pans. Remove the parchment paper.

Mango mousse
17g Gelatine Powder
60g Hot Water

350g Whipping Cream
3 Tbsp Icing Sugar

300g Mango Puree (if refrigerated, bring to room temperature)
1Tbsp Rum

200g to 220g Cubed Mango

Mango topping
150g mango puree (bring to room temperature)
1 Tbsp gelatin
4-1/2 Tbsp boiling water



Method
1) In a mixing bowl, whip whipping cream with icing sugar to mousse state. Refrigerate to chill.

2) In a small bowl, dissolve gelatine powder in hot water. When the gelatine powder is fully dissolved, add to mango puree. Add rum to the mixture. Mix well.

3) Fold mango into the whip cream
4) In a springform pan, place a layer of cake and pour in mango mousse, Add mango cubes and cover them with some mousse. Let it set for about 10 minutes in the fridge.

5) Lay another cake layer and pour the remaining mousse. Let it set for 30 to 45 minutes in the fridge.

6) Dissolve gelatine in hot water for mango puree topping. Mix in mango puree. Wait till the mousse is set and the topping is cooled, arrange sliced fruits, if using, pour in the topping carefully. Let the cake chill for at least 3 hours
7) Then is time to enjoy your cake … Enjoy !

Cream Puff with vanilla filling / Durian Filling

Cream puff is one of my favourite dessert. It has all the combination of crispy , chewy , creamy , yumminess . Love it , love it and love it . I am tasting one while i am writing this ! I can't find any cream puff beat the yummy home baked cream puff, honestly. I just love the freshly baked from oven hot cream puff with the chilled cream !

Below is the recipe i adapted from Allrecipes

1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
4 eggs
1/4 tsp salt

For Vanilla filling
1 packet of instant vanilla pudding
2 cups of milk -2 1/2cup ( depending on the filling thickness preferred)

For Durian Filling

1/2 cup cool whip
2 frozen durian

Durian Filling
1) Defrost durian
2) Mash the durian and mix it with cool whip
3) Cool the filling until ready to use

Vanilla Filling
1) mix pudding with milk and chill in refrigerator until needed

Puffs Instructions
1)Preheat oven to 425
2)In a pan , bring water , water and salt to a rolling boil
4)Add in the flour until the flour forms a ball
5) Transfer the dough into a mixing bowl. Using a stand mixer, beat in one at a time
6) spoon 1 -2 tb to parchment paper to bake for 20-25 minutes , until brown
7) remove from oven and poke holes on the puff to let the steam out
8) pipe in the filing to serve

And see the happy face everyone around you enjoying the cream puffs !!!

Pizza Dough

This is the third time i am making pizza at home. This is the pizza dough recipe that i like best. With try and error, i came up with the ratio below. The pizza dough is crispy on the outside and chewy on the inside! The rule of thumb for pizza making is when you think the dough is sticky when u are kneading them , add some flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and if you think the dough is dry/crumble, add 1 table spoon of water until you have a shiny and lively dough :)

To serve 4

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour + 1/2 cup ground semolina flour
1 level tablespoon salt
1 packet active dried yeast
1 tsp sugar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup lukewarm

- in a bowl , mix all purpose flour, salt and semolina flour
- in a cup, add the yeast into the warm water, oil and sugar. Leave it for about 5 minutes.
- Then pour the yeast mix into the flour. By using a fork , mixing it until it all come together. Then , knead with hand until it becomes springy and smooth. To make sure it is well kneaded, poke on the dough , if it spring back , then it is well kneaded.
- place a very hot water in the oven on the lowest rack
- Place the dough in a large dusted bowl and dust the top. Cover with damp cloth and place it on the upper rack in the oven for 1 hour .
- When the dough double in size, punch it down and roll it out with rolling pin about 1/4 inch thick
- preheat the oven to 450F
- Put on the topping and bake in oven ( lower rack for 5 minutes, then middle rack for 4-5 minutes until it is browned)
- Then ITADAKIMAS


* tips on making pizza - Make sure the dough is well kneaded
* roll it out thin, really thin if you want to have a thin crust pizza !

Pho "fuh"

It smells so good already after 2 hours of simmering ! I am making Pho tonight. Usually i will post up the recipe only after i had it just to make sure every recipe that i post up is a keeper. However, this recipe is for sureeee a keeper. I adapted this recipe from steamy kitchen. Using pork instead of beef, cause i prefer pork over beef. I got to tell you , this is a GREAT recipe from steamy kitchen !

The original recipe from steamy kitchen
http://steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup-pho.html



Ingredients
To serve 4

THE BROTH
1 onions, halved
ginger powder - 2 tsp ( i run out of ginger in my pantry , but is better to use whole ginger if available)
3 lbs of pork bones
3 quarts of water
1 cinnamon stick, 1/2 tbl coriander powder 1/2 tbl fennel seeds, 3 star anise, 1 cardamom pod, 3 whole cloves - in mesh bag]
3/4 tbl salt
1/8 cup fish sauce
1 inch chunk of yellow rock sugar (about 1 oz) – or 1oz of regular sugar



1 lbs rice noodles (dried or fresh)
Garnish
mint, cilantro, basil
2-3 chili peppers, sliced
1 big handfuls of bean sprouts
Hoisin sauce
siracha

Char onions on baking sheet. Broil on high . It takes about 5 minutes to get it charred on the outside. Turn over. Continue broil for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and peel off the charred section.

Par boiled the bones by boiling vigorously for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse the bones. Refill pot with bones and 3 qts of cool water. Bring to boil over high heat and lower to simmer.

Add ginger, onion, spice packet, beef, sugar, fish sauce, salt and simmer uncovered for 3 hours . Taste and seasoned if needed

Then prepare the noodle by following the instructions on the packet.
Fill each bowl with rice noodles. Serve immediately. Garnish with bean sprouts , chili pepper, basil, mint and cilantro

* The noodle is just too hard to resist. As soon as it on the table , we gobbled up everything and forgot to take a picture. Will definitely cook again and next time, with a picture of the noodle !

Dry curry noodle with left over curry chicken

I love mee hoon ! The nice thing about meehoon is you can basically fry it with anything you like and it turned out to be a good dish ! This dry curry mee hoon is made with left over curry chicken from the nasi lemak the other day .

Ingredients

4 cups of left over curry chicken with chicken

cilantro

rice noodle 1/3 packet

Salt

1/2 cup water

Bean sprout

Choy sum

Soak the noodle in cold water for about 5 minutes
Reheat curry chicken in the pan for about 5 minutes.

Add the noodle into the curry chicken and stir fry. Add water if needed

Mix well the noodle and the curry, then add cilantro , choy sum and bean sprout

Continue to stir fry about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Sambal Nasi Lemak

Nasi lemak is translated to be " fat rice " . I guess it must be the coconut in the rice that makes it so fattening. Nasi Lemak is usually served with sambal , curry chicken ,fried anchovies roasted peanuts and egg. I think it is too overwhelming to write down eveything in one blog, so i decided to start with the easiest among all. The sambal ! This sambal is so good and it taste just like the one i had in Malaysia !!




Ingredients

1/2 onion
10 anchovies
1 tsp-2 tsp belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste)
2 shallots
2 cloves garlic
1 stalks lemongrass
5 dried and seeded red chilies
2 fresh chillies and seeded
5 white pepper corns
4 heaped tablespoons coriander powder
1/2 cup siracha
5 tablespoons oil

Preparing Chili Paste

Blend all the ingredients except the anchovies, oil and siracha to a fine paste. Heat up the oil and fry the anchovies to brown. Add onion and fry for 5 minutes. Add paste and fry until aromatic over medium heat, for about 5 – 8 minutes. Add siracha and mix well.Dish out and set aside.

Cornbread muffin

20 minutes breakfast ! I have never use cornmeal flour until 2 weeks ago to make corndog. Anyway , i found that cornmeal texture is great. So , the first thing on my mind this morning was to make cornmeal muffin. I knew it is going to be easy , but i did not know it is going to be SO easy ! Waw, done in 20 minutes, that is awesome ! This recipe is adapted from the Neelys.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/down-home-with-the-neelys/honey-cornbread-muffins-recipe/index.html

Ingredients
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2 stick butter, melted
1/4 cup honey
Special equipment: paper muffin cups and a 12-cup muffin tin
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Into a large bowl, mix the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the whole milk, eggs, butter, and honey. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.

Place muffin paper liners in a 12-cup muffin tin. Evenly divide the cornbread mixture into the papers. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden.

*note: I used the parchment paper to replace the muffin cup papers so it wont stick.

Enjoy !

Strawberry Daifuku

Black Pepper Chicken Chop with Potato Wedges

Chicken Chop ! We can find this commonly in Malaysia's western restaurant but strangely enough i dont see it in any of the menus in US. This is one of the food that i miss terribly and i always make sure i had it before i return to US. However, to cure my chicken-chop-craving, i do mak it frequently at home here. It is quite easy and yield a pretty good result !

Ingredients: Main
• 2 chicken thighs
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• salt
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Ingredients: Sauce
1. 2 tb butter
2. 2 cloves garlic
3. 1 large onion, cut into strips, mushrooms (if desired)
4. 1 teaspoon sugar
5. ground black pepper, and salt to taste
6. 2 tb light soy sauce sauce
7. 2 tb worcestershire sauce
8. 1/2 cup flour , 1-2 cup water ( to your preference thickness)

Preparation:
1.Skin and de-bone chicken thighs, tenderise the meat using the tenderising hammer or the back of a chopping knife.

2. Mix all the main ingredients together, cover the meat with the marinade and leave it in a closed plastic container for about 1 hour.

3.Preheat the oven t 350F. Oil the grill pan and place it on 350F about 3 minutes. Place the chicken on the grill and return it back to the oven. Grill the chicken each side for 5 minutes- 8 minutes or till it is golden brown (depending on how thick the piece of chicken is).

4. To make the sauce, melt 2 tb butter in pan. add flour and stir until it become creamy brown. Whisk in 1-2 cup of water and chicken dripping. Add in onion , and mushrooms.

5. Add in the black pepper, light soya sauce, and Worcestershire sauce ; stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.

6. . Add on more of the ingredients to suit your taste if necessary.

7. Pour the sauce over the chicken chop and serve with your favourite steamed vegetable.

Enjoy !

Kimchi Fried Rice

I made some kimchi 2 weeks ago and have some leftover rice in the fridge. The easy way out , is of course to make Kim Chi fried rice. This kim chi fried rice is surprisingly good ! Here is some copy and paste recipe with some changes tht i made.

Adapted from trifood.com

Recipe Ingredients (Yield: 2 servings) 2 cups cooked rice ½ cup kimchi with liquid (pickled fermented vegetables) ½ cup minced pork or ground beef 2 roots green onion 1 tbsp soy sauce ¼ onion 1 clove garlic 1 egg Vegetable or olive oil 1/2 cup of red pepper and mushroom Salt & pepper Cooking Directions Cook rice as directed in a rice cooker or in a pot. Chop kimchi into small pieces. Save kimchi liquid to add to rice, if desired. Dice and mince green onions, onions, and garlic. Season the minced pork or beef with soy sauce, minced garlic and powdered pepper. Sauté the pork (or other substitutes) with vegetable or olive oil in frying pan. When the pork is cooked, add chopped onions, kimchi and cook for 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and green onion. Add in red pepper and mushroom. Add cooked rice and mix all ingredients well. Add 1-2 tbsp of sesame oil and re-heat again. Add salt and pepper to meet taste. Cook egg sunny side up (or scrambled). Put rice on a dish and place a fried egg sunny side up on top.

Enjoy !

Cinnamon Rolls

I was so excited that i successfully made some cinnamon rolls today! It was good ... I was so excited that i wanted to start a blog and share all my successful recipe with everyone so that people can enjoy it too !

I just knead everything by hand and it works ! Yey !

Adapted from Alton Brown, Good eats

Ingredients

Dough:

• 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 large whole egg, room temperature
• 2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
• 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted, approximately 6 tablespoons
• 6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
• 20 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 cups, plus additional for dusting
• 1 package instant dry yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• Vegetable oil

Filling:

• 8 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 cup packed
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 3/4-ounce unsalted butter, melted, approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons

Icing:

• 2 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened, approximately 1/4 cup
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 5 1/2 ounces powdered sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

Directions

For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the roll and serve

Enjoy!