Cuisine Paradise | Singapore Food Blog - Recipes - Food Reviews - Travel

Omurice and Pork Cutlet With Japanese Curry

2013-05-17T11:50:00.005+08:00

Curry (カレー) is one of the most popular dishes in Japan and it is often make into Curry Rice (カレーライス), Curry Udon (thick noodles) and Curry Bun. The ingredients used for Japanese curry are vegetables like onions, carrots, potatoes and meat such as beef, pork, and chicken. Sometime you could also find Katsu-karē / Tonkatsu (カツカレー) which is a breaded deep-fried pork cutlet served with curry sauce too.

For this recipe I have combined 3 of our family favourite such as Omelette Rice, Japanese Curry and Deep-fried Pork Cutlet into one dish and we just simply love this dish even though we are having it second time for this week.

OMURICE AND PORK CUTLET WITH JAPANESE CURRY

Although we have a mad rushing week but finally the mid-year school examination has ended (on Thursday) and now we can start counting down for June school holidays. And also since I could not help my kid to sit for the exam, all I can do as a mum is to prepare his favourite food to shower my love and encouragement to him during this stressful week.

I know there are many mothers out there sharing the same thoughts as me during this stressful exam month but I believe we would get it through and enjoy the sweet moments with our kid(s) no matter how good or bad they scored for the exam. After all family support and love are also one of the greatest secret to score well too.

(Serves: 2-3 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 25 - 30 minutes)

Ingredients:

2 Servings Of Cooked Rice

2 Pieces of Butterfly Pork Cutlets

1/2 Cup of Breadcrumbs

Oil For Deep-frying

Japanese Curry
3 Medium Potato, cut into 1" cubes

1 Medium Carrot, cut into 1.5 cm chunks

1 Medium Onion, diced

100g Of Pumpkin, cut into 1.5 cm chunks

Half Chicken Breast Meat (optional), cut into chunks

1/2 Tablespoon of Cooking Oil

700ml Boiling Water

3 - 4 Cubes of Japanese Curry Sauce Mix

Omelette Skin
2 Eggs (55g each)

2 Tablespoons of Fresh Milk

Method:-

For Japanese Curry:-
1. Saute diced onion with 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil till soft and fragrance.

2. Stir in chicken breast (lightly marinated with 1/2 teaspoon each of light soya sauce, cooking wine, cornflour and dash of ground pepper) add cook for 30 seconds before adding in carrot and potato.

3. Give the mixture a quick toss, pour in 700ml of boiling water and bring it to boil. Lower the heat and simmer the mixture for about 7 minutes, add pumpkin and continue to cook for another 5 - 7 minutes until all the vegetables are cook to your preference.

4. Remove the pot from heat. Slowly stir in 3 - 4 cubes of Japanese Curry Sauce Mix till dissolved.

Tip:
~ I would advise you to taste the curry after adding the 3rd cubes and decide whether would you still like to add in either half/whole of the 4th curry cubes to suit your preference.

~ I use 2 curry cubes each from the above sauce mix so that the curry will taste better with the sweet and hot mixture, but you could also use just 1 type instead of two.

My boy loves this type of deep-fried pork cutlets which could be purchased from any of those Hainanese Scissor Cut Mixed Vegetables Rice Stalls in Singapore which cost around S$1.00 - S$2.00 each depending on it's size. For this quick recipe, I marinate the pork cutlet with egg and cornflour together with other seasonings and coat with a layer of dried bread crumbs before deep-frying it till golden brown.

You can find the recipe on how to make this deep-fried pork cutlet as well as how to use it to create dishes such as Hainanese Pork Chop Rice and Pork Katsudon at this post here.

For Omelette Skin:-
1. Lightly beat 1 egg with 1 tablespoon of milk till combined. Pour mixture into preheated grease pan and tilt the pan to coat the base. Cook until eggs are almost set but still a little runny in the middle (refer to the photo label no. 4 above).

2. Remove the pan from heat spoon about 1 serving of cooked rice (1/2 cup) on the omelette (refer to the photo label no. 5 above). With a spatula, flip one side of the egg omelette over the rice mixture

3. Slide the wrapped omelette rice to the edge of the pan and flip the pan against the plate for the omelette to land upside down on the plate.

4. Shape the omelette rice using kitchen paper towel and repeat steps with remaining portion of the rice and egg.

Depending on your preference, you could served the curry together with the omurice rice and pork cutlets or serve them in separate plates. For me, I love everything to be on the same plate and with decent amount of curry sauce to go with it. What about you?

Other than Omelette rice, you could also served the Japanese Curry with some cooked spaghetti or penne for quick meal idea. And if you have any interesting ways of pairing Japanese Curry, please do share with us by leaving your comments/suggestions in this post. Thanks.

Lastly, have a great weekend and hope you enjoy making this quick and easy Omurice with Japanese Curry for your family and loved ones too.

[Wordless Wednesday] Double Chocolate Loaf Cake Recipe

2013-05-15T11:23:00.000+08:00

*For Double Chocolate Loaf Cake:-
- 100g 70% Dark Chocolate, roughly chopped
Add half add into the batter and use the remaining for toppings.

[Wordless Wednesday] Corn Bread Muffins Recipe

2013-05-08T11:55:00.000+08:00

KNORR Stir-Fry Tom Yam Chicken

2013-05-04T14:37:00.001+08:00

Recently I found some new Knorr recipes from the i-weekly supplement booklet and most of them look delicious and pretty easy to prepare at home. Since I am a Knorr supporter who always stock up quite a varieties of their products in my pantry, I decided to try out this Stir-fry Tom Yam Chicken which is a very eye-catching dish from their Facebook page.

After a quick Google, I found the related recipe from Philip's website (KeropokMan). And with the necessary ingredients here is my version of Stir-fry Tom Yam Chicken which my family agrees that it goes pretty well with steamed rice! Give it a shot if you are a Tom Yam lover as this dish is quick and hassle free.

Above are some of the Knorr Stock Cubes and Seasoning which I always stock up in my pantry. I just love to add in half to 1 of these stock cubes to enhance the flavour of our soup. Furthermore just a few weeks back, I also get to learn some quick and easy dishes using these stock cubes from Knorr new recipes by Chef Daniel Koh.

KNORR STIR-FRY TOM YAM CHICKEN
(recipe by Chef Daniel Koh)

Here is my version of Stir-fry Tom Yam Chicken using Chef Daniel's recipe and since I am using 1/2 portion of chicken (instead of chicken breast from original recipe) plus we prefer something less savoury I reduce the amount of stock cube to half instead of 1 cube. And also I added in more lemon grass and Thai basil leaves to achieve that unique fragrant of Thai dishes.

(Serves: 2-4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:

1/2 Portion of Chicken, cut into bite sizes

1/2 Cube Knorr Tom Yam Stock

250ml Hot Water

1/2 Tablespoon Knorr Hao Chi

1/2 Lime, sliced

1/2 Teaspoon Lime Zest

2 Stick Lemon Grass, cut into diagonal sections

4 Kaffir Lime Leaf, roughly tear

2 - 3 Whole Shallot

2 Garlic Clove

1 - 2 Small Chilli, sliced

A Handful of Thai Basil

1 Tablespoon Coconut Milk, optional

Method:-
1. Season chicken pieces with Knorr Hao Chi, 1 teaspoon of cornflour, mix well and marinate for at least 5 minutes. Dissolve 1/2 Knorr Tom Yam Cube in 250ml of hot water and set aside.

2. Preheat pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, saute chicken pieces for 2 minutes till slightly brown in colour.

3. Push them aside, add in lemongrass, onion, garlic and lime leaf continue to fry the mixture till fragrant.

4. Add in Knorr Tom Yam stock, bring the mixture to boil and let it simmer over medium low heat for 7 minutes before adding it lime slices and basil leaves, continue to simmer for another 3 minutes or till stock reduce to your desire consistency.

5. Lastly lace it with coconut milk, give a quick toss, plate and serve with steamed rice.

* Recipe adapted from Chef Daniel Koh's Knorr Stir-fry Tom Yam Chicken Recipe

Ingredients: (Original Recipe)
1 Piece Chicken Breast
1 Cube Knorr Tom Yam Stock (dissolve 1 Knorr Cube in 250ml of water)
1 Tbsp Knorr Hao Chi
1/2 Slice Lime
1/3 Teaspoon Lime Zest
1 Stick Lemon Grass, cut into small pieces
1 Lime Leaf, julienned
1 Tablespoon Chopped Onion
2 Slice Garlic
1 Piece Chilli Padi, diced
1 Stalk Basil
1 Tablespoon Coconut Milk

These are some of my collection of Chef Daniel's Knorr Recipes from iWeekly (I周刊). But if you are keen to try out these quick and easy recipes at home, you could also view them over at Knorr Singapore Facebook page (here).

KNORR COOKOUT COMPETITION

Lastly for those who love to cook and has a family dish which you would like to share. I sincerely encourage you to take part on this Knorr Cookout Competition together with one of your family members and you might be the lucky one to walk away with the grand prize worth S$8000 to revamp your kitchen. More detail can be found over at Knorr Singapore Facebook page here.

To Take Part:-
- Form a team of TWO with any one of your family member Cook up your family favourite dish using KNORR® products (within S$30.00)

- Closing Date for submission is 12 May 2013

Prizes:-
- 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

*All opinions expressed in this post are my own and there is no monetary compensation received.

[#LiptonMomentsSG] Lipton Moments Photo Campaign

2013-05-03T10:16:00.001+08:00

Hello all Lipton fans as well as Instagramers and Facebook users! From now till 20 May 2013, snap and submit your Lipton Moments photos with hashtag #LiptonMomentsSG and be one of the weekly winner to win a spa voucher or walk away with the Grand Prize of 3D2N trip to Bali (for two pax).

There are no restrictions on the number of photos or Lipton theme (not necessary to feature Lipton product in it) to be submitted for this contest. But it would be great if it is something related to moment of positivity, happiness and good times spent with family or friends. Above are some sample photos of our #LiptonMomentsSG which I would love to share with you.

In order to be one of the weekly winner, you just have to follow the 4 simple steps shown below:-

1. Snap a photo of your "Lipton Moments" (you can find some inspiration at #LiptonMomentsSG)

2. Upload your photo(s) either through

Facebook @ Lipton Moments Contest (click on the link)

Upload your photo(s) using Lipton Moments Apps from Lipton Facebook Page

OR BY

Instagram.

Sample of the Lipton Moment photo submit through Instagram

3. Remember to write add interesting caption(s) and tag it with #LiptonMomentsSG to quality for the contest.

4. Prizes include weekly spa vouchers from Hyatt Hotel Singapore (worth SG$ 184.89 each) for the first 3 weeks, and a Grand Prize featuring 3D2N trip to Bali (worth SG$826.00 for 2 pax) in the fourth (last) week!

* Submission end on 20 May 2013 (2359 hours). Terms and Conditions of the Lipton Moments contest can be found here.

My Instagram entries posting as @CuisineParadise

I have submitted a few entries which you might be interested to take a look on how simple it is to join this contest. So hesitate, come join us and submit your #LiptonMomentsSG photos and stand a chance to win either the weekly spa voucher(s) or 3D2N Bail getaway trip. Good Luck everyone!!!!

8th Anniversary of Cuisine Paradise

2013-04-30T20:21:00.000+08:00

Today Cuisine Paradise adds another year onto the blog stats where we celebrate our 08th Anniversary. Time flies and it's seems only a few weeks ago when I wrote about our 07th Anniversary flashback post and yet now we are into the eighth years of blogging.

Although there were ups and downs along the way during these 8 years but I am thankful for a group of supportive friends and readers who are always there to show us full supports as well as their kind words and encouragements which makes us grow stronger each year.

LIPTON CITRUS TEA CAKE

All I want to say today is I really appreciate all the lovely comments and supports from each and everyone of you who have accompanied us to grow during these past 8 years. Without all your moral supports we won't be able to hold on till now so whatever Cuisine Paradise achieved till date are all because of your efforts.

For this 8th Anniversary, I have made a Lipton Citrus Tea Cake from the inspiration of a Earl Grey Tea Cake that I saw from Anncoo Journal website here. But instead of Earl Grey I decided to make something with citrus flavour so I replaced it with Lipton Black Tea Citrus. Love it's refreshing citrus taste plus bits of citrus peels in the tea leaves.

(Makes: 6 - 7 Cupcake | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 20 - 23 minutes)

Ingredients:
150g Plain Flour
20g Ground Almond
1/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
150g Unsalted Butter
120g Icing Sugar
1 Tablespoon of Honey
4 Eggs (55g each)
2 - 3 Lipton Black Tea Citrus Tea Bags
Pinch Of Salt
Rind of 1 Lime And Lemon Each

Tea Syrup (optional):
40g Castor Sugar
80ml Boiling Water
1.5 Tablespoons Lime Juice

Method:-
1. Preheat oven to 170°C (degree Celsius) and prepare some cupcake liner or line two 2 loaf tins (17cm x 8cm x 6cm) with parchment paper all sides up.

2. Cream butter, icing sugar and honey till light and fluffy. Gradually add in egg one at a time and beat well.

3. Next stir in salt, tea leaves, ground almond, half of the lemon and lime rinds then mix well till combined.

4. Add sifted flour mixtures and fold batter till glossy and smooth.

5. Lastly pour batter into prepared cupcake liners, top with reminding lemon and lime zest and bake for about 20 - 23 minutes or until skewer inserted into the centre and come out clean.

* (Optional) 6. When the cake is done brush it with tea syrup and leave it to cool before serving it with a cup of tea.

Lastly, I hope you would like this recipe and also I hope I would be able to whip up more new recipes to share with you in coming months. Till then have a great holiday tomorrow (it's Labor Day in Singapore), sit back, relax and enjoy a wonder #LiptonMomentsSG with your loved ones.

[i-Love Mama Healthy Meal] i-Love Mama Bento

2013-04-29T18:54:00.001+08:00

Photo Credit:- iWeekly (I周刊)

Finally after a few weeks of preparations (like designing and preparing of bentos for approval, practicing, lasing and etc) we managed to complete our two i-Love Mama Healthy Meal recruitment roadshows; 1st (Tampines Giant) and 2nd (Sheng Siong Supermarket) that were hosted by Mediacorp artiste Pornsak and Y.E.S 93.3FM deejay Siau Jia Hui!

Although in between there were some hard times dealing with the coordination and etc but eventually we were all thankful that everything went on smooth and we did have fun to be in part of their i-Love Mama Healthy Meal recruitment roadshows. More photos of the roadshows could be found at our Facebook Page HERE.

Introducing the ingredients used and concept of the Bento before the demonstration starts.

Shiting (Lobsterpaint.com) and I busying at the i-Love Mama Healthy Meal bento demo roadshow.

Samples of the i-Love Mama Bento made during the i-Love Mama Healthy Meal roadshow demo @ Sheng Siong Supermarket (88 Tanglin Halt Rd).

i-LOVE MAMA BENTO
(i-Love Mama Healthy Meal)

This i-Love Mama Bento design is request by organizer as they hope I would be able to include the Mama Lemon Lion Mascot as a character in the bento meal. Although at first I was quite hesitate to try out because I am not very confident to do character bento and also I am afraid that it might not resemble their Lion Mascot.

In order to make it look as close as possible to resemble the Lion Mascot, I decided to use mashed pumpkin to colour the rice for the face and hand, then use broccoli to assemble its' hair. And also to make the facial express more 3-D like, I used black beans for the eyes and mouth. Guess overall I still could be able to score a PASS for this right :)

(Serve: 1 | Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
150g Broccoli, trim and cut into small florets
2 - 3 Fresh Shittake Mushrooms, sliced
1 Cup of Cooked Rice
100g Of Pumpkin Cubes
70g of Salmon Fillet
3 Goyza / Wanton
Some Cherry Tomato
1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
3 Black Beans / Blueberry
Nori (seaweed) Sheet
Some Seaweed Flakes / Bonito Flakes
Some Fresh Lettuce, optional

Tools Needed:
Bento Box
Side Dishes Food Casing
Heat Resistant Cling Wrap
Alphabet and Heart-shape Food Cutters
Food Tweezer
Small Scissor
Bento Food Pick (optional)

To Assemble the Lion Character:-

1. Remove the outer skin of the pumpkin and cut it into small cubes. Either steamed or microwave it till soft then using a fork to mash until it resemble paste like texture. Set aside

2. Spoon about 5 Tablespoons of cooked rice in a bowl, slowly mix in the mashed pumpkin until you achieve your desire colour.

3 Place 2 - 2.5 tablespoons of pumpkin rice on a piece of heat resistant cling wrap. Using hand, shape it tight into oval / round shape to form the lion head. Set Side.

4. Next using the same method as step 3, make 2 small oblong shapes using 1/2 tablespoon of pumpkin rice to make the arm of the lion. Set aside.

5. Arrange the cooked mushrooms (stir-fry the shittake mushroom with broccoli) at the top corner of the box before placing the broccoli around it (refer to the photo above) to make the outline of the lion head with the round/oval pumpkin rice in the middle.

6. Next place arrange the gyoza or wanton below the lion head to resemble the clothes. Place a few cherry tomato beside the goyza to secure the placement.

7. Shaped the two small oblong pumpkin rice ball to from the arm and place it below the head area. (refer to the photo above) Plus two tiny small rice balls for the ears above.

8. Using the black beans to form the eyes and mouth of the lion. Cut thin strips from the nori (seaweed) sheet to form the whiskers.

9. Arrange cooked salmon into the box and start adding in the "i-Love Mama" wordings using Alphabet, Heart-shape and drinking straw to cutout the shapes from sandwich cheese and punkin (heart shaped).

10. Above shows the close up look of the completed i-Love Mama Bento.

To prepare the Baked Salmon:-

1. Marinate the salmon fillet with 2 tablespoons of freshly squeeze orange juice and rind of 1 orange together with some cooking wine and dash of pepper for 5 minutes.

2. Arrange some fresh corn kernels (optional) at the base of the baking dish, top with marinated salmon and some orange rinds.

3. Baked in preheated 180°C (degree Celsius) oven for about 10 minutes or till cooked through. Sprinkler some seaweed or bonito flakes on top and assemble into the bento box.

Lastly calling all mothers/grandmothers out there if you love to cook for your kids/grandchildren. Do consider to take part on this fun and family bonding i-Love Mama Healthy Bento contest which would be held on 11th May 2013.

To Participate:-

Email: mpbcontest@mediacorp.com.sg
Subject header: i-Love Mama Healthy Meal

Terms And Conditions:
~ Send in your healthy, tasty and attractive meal recipe (in Chinese or English), with a detailed ingredients list and step-by-step cooking instructions.
~ Share in less than 100 words the nutritional value and design concept behind the dish prepared for your child.
~ Attach a photo of yourself with your child, and your dish, along with your full particulars (name, age, NRIC and contact nos.)

*Open to grandmothers/mothers with child aged 12 years and below.

Closing date: 02 May 2013

[i-Love Mama Healthy Meal] Panda Bento Set

2013-04-25T13:03:00.000+08:00

In conjunction with the i-Love Mama Healthy Meal Contest which is organised by Mama Lemon and i-Weekly, I was invited to do bento demo at the recruitment roadshows to promote their upcoming healthy meal contest. To register for this contest, grandmothers/mothers with child aged 12 years and below can team up to create a healthy meal and stand a chance to win attractive cash and prizes worth S$4,000. (more details here)

Doing the Panda Onigiri together with Pornsak (Mama Lemon ambassador)

The host and Pornsak were sharing the nutrition values of the ingredients used while Shiting and I were busying assembling the Bento.

Shiting (Lobsterpaint.com) and I busying at the i-Love Mama Healthy Meal bento demo roadshow

Samples of the Kid's Panda Bento Set during the i-Love Mama Healthy Meal roadshow demo

Adult Bento Set with same ingredients used but without cute "make-over".

PANDA BENTO SET
(i-Love Mama Healthy Meal)

This is my Kid's version of healthy meal whereby a normal homecook meal is being transform into a Panda Onigiri with accompany dishes such as asparagus bacon roll, baked honey chicken, panda quail, steamed corn kernels and some grapes. I am sure this fulfills the 2 servings of veggies plus plus to balance out the nutrition intakes for kid.

Beside you don't have to spend extra time preparing additional dishes for the bento. You could just use your creative mind and re-assemble your daily homecook dishes into something more attractive for the kids. Blow is a quick bento recipe which shows how I turn simple homecook dishes into a cute Panda Bento Set.

(Serves: 1 | Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
6 - 8 Thai Baby Asparagus (泰国小芦笋), trim and cut into half
2 Strips of Bacon
3 Tablespoons Of Cooked Rice
1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
Nori (seaweed) Sheet
Baked Honey Chicken Mid-joint
1 Quail Egg
Some Cherry Tomato
Steamed Sweetcorn Kernels
4 Blueberry / Dried Raisin
Fresh Fruits
Some Fresh Lettuce, optional

Tools Needed:
Bento Box
Side Dishes Food Casing
Heat Resistant Cling Wrap
Food Cutters
Seaweed Puncher (for facial expression)
Food Tweezer
2 Toothpicks
Bento Food Pick (optional)
Small Scissor
1 - 2 Dry Spaghetti Noodle

To Make the Asparagus Bacon Roll:-

1. Blanch the asparagus in boiling water for 20 seconds, remove, pat dry and cut them into half of equal length.

2. Arrange half of the asparagus near one end of the bacon strip, roll the bacon strip forward to wrap the asparagus then secure the end with a toothpick shown on the photo above.

3. Preheat a frying pan with 1 teaspoon of oil, cook the asparagus wrap over low heat till slightly golden brown in colour (about 5 minutes). Remove and set aside.

To Assemble the Panda Onigiri:-

1. Spoon about 2 - 2.5 tablespoons of cooked rice on a piece of heat resistant cling wrap. Using hand, shape it tight into oblong shape to form the panda body.

2. Open up the cling wrap, wrap a 1cm wide nori (seaweed) sheet near the bottom the rice ball to form a belt (refer to the photo above). Next place the rice ball with nori sheet back onto the cling wrap and shape it tightly so that the nori sheet will stick to the rice ball.

3.With another piece of cling wrap shape 1/2 teaspoon of rice into a triangle shape to form the nose of the panda.

4. Using Scissor, cut out 2 oval shapes from the nori sheet to form the black eye circles of the panda.

5.With either a food cutter or drinking straw cut out smaller oval shapes from the sandwich cheese to form the white part of the panda eyes.

6. Next using a facial seaweed puncher to punch out facial express from the nori sheet and assemble it on the panda (refer to the photo above).

7. To decorate the "belt" below, you can use any small shape cutter like star, heart, flower or etc, cut out shapes from the sandwich cheese and place it on the nori belt.

8. To fix the panda ears, use either blueberry or dried raisin and connect it to the rice ball with the help of the dry spaghetti noodle in between.

9. Above shows the close up look of the Panda Onigri plus the asparagus bacon wrap.

10. When done, assemble the bento box together with the rest of the side dishes and fruit shown above.

For this coming Saturday i-Love Mama Healthy Meal roadshow, I would be doing a similar bento which I hope it resemble the Lion Mascot of Mama Lemon shown above. Also I would like to delicate this MAMA bento to all mothers on coming Mother's Day and wish everyone a fruitful and healthy Mother's Day! Between if I would to conduct Mother and Child Bento Workshop(s) (like what i did previously here) during this coming June school holiday, I wonder would there be anyone interested to join?

Lastly I would like to thank ShiTing from Lobsterpaints.com who takes her time to come and support plus assist me during the bento demo roadshow. Thanks sis! More photos of the roadshows could be found at our Facebook Page HERE.

Matcha Cherry Blossom Chiffon Plus Giveaways

2013-04-19T15:30:00.001+08:00

I love Cherry Blossom (Sakura) and it is always my dream that one day I would be able to enjoy a family picnic under the full bloom cherry blossom trees like those Japanese family do during the Cherry Blossom Festival (Hirosaki Sakura Matsuri). Although last year we went Tokyo during November (read more here) which it impossible to see any cherry blossom but we are bless to have Joyce who visited Osaka last week and shared her trip photos with us at Cuisine Paradise facebook page here.

Other than photos she also helps us to loop back some awesome cherry blossom products like Salt Pickled Cherry Blossoms which are pickled in salt and umezu (ume vinegar), Sakura Leaf Powder and etc which I am going to share with TWO lucky readers as our blog 8th Anniversary Giveaway #1. (refer to the participating details at the end of the post)

MATCHA CHERRY BLOSSOM CHIFFON

The first time I saw this similar chiffon was over at Happy Home Baking post way in October 2011 (here) and her beautiful Sakura Chiffon had indeed captured my heart. So when I get hold of this "precious" pickled cherry blossom (盐渍樱花) from one of my facebook friend, the first cake that comes to my mind was to bake my favourite Matcha Cherry Blossom Chiffon (抹茶盐渍樱花戚风蛋糕).

(Using: 17cm Chiffon Tin | Preparation: 15 minutes | Baking: 30 minutes)

Ingredients:
80g Cake Flour
1.5 Teaspoon Matcha Powder
25g Caster Sugar
3 Egg Yolks
50ml Vegetable/Corn Oil
50ml Drinking Water
Some Salt Pickled Cherry Blossoms (盐渍樱花), soaked in water
4 Egg Whites
45g Caster Sugar

Method:-
1. Rinse and soak the pickled cherry blossoms in water for about 15 - 20 minutes, removed and place it on kitchen paper towel and pat dry before arranging them on chiffon tin. (refer to the photo above)

2. Whisk egg yolks and 25g caster sugar for 2 minutes till slightly pale in colour, stir in oil and water in sequence until everything is well combined.

3. Next slowly whisk in the sieved flours (cake flour and matcha powder) into the egg mixture till no trace of flour is found. Set aside.

4. Preheat the oven to 180°C (degree Celsius).

5. Beat egg whites and 1/2 of the remaining 45g caster sugar with an electric mixer until mixture becomes frothy and foamy.

6.Add in the other 1/2 of the sugar and continue to beat on medium speed until stiff peaks form. (the whole process takes less than 5 minutes and the egg whites remains in the bowl when it is overturn)

7. Using a balloon whisk carefully whisk in the stiff egg white into the egg yolk batter in 3 separate additions, with the 1st addition to incorporate the whites into the yolk mixture till combined leaving no trace of whites.

8. Next add in the 2nd and 3rd addition of whites using the balloon whisk in a gentle manner in order not to knock off the air in the whites, just fold till no trace of whites and the mixture are well combined.

9. Lastly lift up the bowl to height, pour the mixture into the tube pan and tap the pan once or twice on a table top to get rid of any trapped air bubbles in the batter.

10. Bake the cake in the preheated oven (2nd lower rack) for about 30 minutes or when the surfaces turns golden brown. (you can insert a skewer into the centre and test if it comes out clean)

11. Remove it from the oven and invert the pan immediately to let it rest on top of a cup. Make sure it cool completely before unmould.

12. To remove the cake from the pan, run a thin-bladed knife (i use a small plastic spatula) around the inside of the pan and the center core.

13. Release the cake and run the knife/spatula along the base of the pan to remove the cake completely.

I choose to pair those pickled cherry blossom with chiffon cake is because I love it's soft and fluffy texture as well as it's low content of fat used. A slice of this Matcha Cherry Blossom Chiffon also goes well with a cup of Sakura Tea or any light fragrant tea of your choice.

GIVEAWAY #2

To celebrate Cuisine Paradise's 8th Birthday, we are giving away a sets of these "Pickled Sakura Cherry Blossoms + Sakura Leave Powder" bought from Japan directly to TWO of our lucky readers/followers.

To Participate:-

1. LIKE and SHARE this photo on Facebook. (remember to leave a comment that you have liked and shared over at Facebook)

2. Leave a comment at this post sharing how you would like to use these goodies?

Terms And Conditions
* This giveaway ends on Monday, 22 April 2013 (NOON, Singapore time).
* ALL readers (including those overseas with valid mailing address) of Cuisine Paradise.
* Participants must follow the instructions mentioned above to be eligible for the giveaway.
* Please leave a valid email address when filling out the comment form so that we can contact you immediately if you are one of the winners.

[UPDATED ON:- 22 April 2013m 10.40pm]

*Photos taken using Canon EOS M, M18-55 lens on Manual mode

Singapore's First Pop-up Lipton High Tea Bar @ Plaza Singapura Atrium

2013-04-18T17:18:00.000+08:00

For those who are around Dhoby Ghuat or Plaza Singapura this week, you might have already seen the set up for the Singapore's First Pop-up Lipton High Tea Bar which would be available for public from 16th - 21st April 2013 from 11am to 9pm (daily).

During these six days event, shoppers at Plaza Singapura who spend S$25.00 and above or purchased any S$15.00 worth of Lipton products (at the Lipton High Tea Bar) will be able to redeem and enjoy a set of Complimentary Lipton High Tea Set specially customised by Canelé's Executive Pastry, Chef Mr Christophe Grilo.

Here is the preview of the Lipton High Tea Bar interior setup and each day there are only 420 high tea passes available for redemption on a first come first serve basis. And the redemption is only valid on day of purchase and each customer is entitled to one redemption a day.

Interactive Tea Menu which is available at the counter for members of the public to select their desired High Tea Set based on their mood of the day.

The High Tea Bar serving counter which is near the entrance of the Pop-up Tea Bar.

Welcome Speech by Miss Susanne Arfelt Rajamand, Market Manger of Unilever Singapore

During the Lipton High Tea Bar media preview Lipton tea expert, Food Technologist, Miss Wong May Chee (in red) and Canelé Chef Christophe Grilo introducing to us the 6 High tea Sets as well as how tea-pairing is done for these sets.

LIPTON HIGH TEA SETS

So here are the 6 different High Tea Sets available at the Lipton High Tea Bar for your choice depending on your mood of the day where you could select it from their Interactive Tea Menu. And on top of that, THREE out of the 6 sets are new exclusive High Tea Sets customised for the Lipton High Tea Bar.

[Customised for Lipton High Tea Bar] If you like something fruity with refreshing blend of berries like strawberry, raspberry, redcurrant, blackberry and cherry perhaps you would like to try the Lipton Forest Fruit Tea with Chicken Mini Burger set. Enjoy the mini fluffy brioche that enclosed with healthy poached chicken, tomatoes, fresh lettuce and drizzle of mayonnaise sauce.

[Customised for Lipton High Tea Bar] Macarons lover should not miss this pairing of Lipton Yellow Label Tea with Lemon Macarons. Each bite of the macarons is filled with smooth butter cream-infused with lemon zest and it definitely goes well with a cup of aromatic Lipton Yellow Label Tea.

[Customised for Lipton High Tea Bar] Lipton Citrus Tea with Traditional Salmon and Cucumber Sandwich set is suitable for individual who love citrus flavour of tea that consists combination of refreshing lemon, orange, lime and grapefruits taste.

Other than the three customised high tea set, customers can also choose from the all-time favourite pastries available at Canelé such as Lipton Asian White Tea with Chestnut Cassis Sponge Cake which is soaked with vanilla syrup and topped with chestnut cream. And this cake goes well with Lipton Asian White Tea that is a blend of white and green tea, mingled with real rose petals for a lighter floral fragrance. Very Japanese feel.....

{Must Try} Personally this Lipton Blue Fruit Tea with Classic Cheesecake is my favourite set out of the 6. I love the light fruity fragrance of the blackberry, blackcurrant, blueberry and raspberry combo in the Lipton Blue Fruit Tea which perk up my day. Moreover I am a cheesecake lover so the smooth vanilla cheesecake make it a great pair with the fruity tea.

{Must Try} Lipton Russian Earl Grey Tea with Le Chocolat Croustillant makes it another great pair for their high tea set. With crispy chocolate praline wrapped around the 70% Vanini Cocoa mousse layered I am sure you would fall in love with this like what we do. So enjoy your set with the pairing Lipton Russian Ear Grey Tea that release its unique taste on each sip.

Beside enjoying the High Tea Sets, Instagram lovers can also take shots of their experience at the High Tea Bar and include a hashtag #liptonmomentsSG to stand a chance to win a 3D2N Bali trip.

LIPTON HIGH TEA BAR
Plaza Singapura, Main Atrium Level 1
Date: 16 - 21 April 2013

Operating Hour:-
11.00am - 9.00pm daily (last redemption at 8.30pm)

FREE LIPTON HIGH TEA SET PASS GIVEAWAY

Thanks to Lipton, we have 2 pairs of Lipton High Tea Bar free pass to giveaway to 2 lucky winners who would be able to enjoy their favourite Lipton High Tea Sets with their loved ones or friends this coming weekend. To participate:-

1. LIKE and SHARE this photo on Facebook. (remember to leave a comment that you have liked and shared)

2. Leave a comment at this post stating which is your favourite Lipton High Tea Set and also sharing with us which is the Happiest Day in your life?

Terms And Conditions
* This giveaway ends on Friday, 19 April 2013 (2.00pm, Singapore time).
* Only for readers living in SINGAPORE.
* Participants must follow the instructions mentioned above to be eligible for the giveaway.
* Please leave a valid email address when filling out the comment form so that we can contact you immediately if you are one of the winners.

[Updated on 19 April 2013]

This post is bought to you by Lipton.

i-Love Mama Healthy Meal Contest

2013-04-17T10:09:00.001+08:00

[Tea-Break] Cheesy French Toast with Cute Bunny and Granola

Hi Morning! It's mid-week again and I am sure everyone is looking forward to weekend to have some family time or gathering with friends and etc. Here I have four different design of Bento Meals which I hope it would bring in some ideas for you while preparing your daily meal for your kids or loved ones.

Also two days back while flipping through the iWeekly(I周刊) and 8Days, I happen to see an interesting advertisement on i-Love Mama Healthy Meal Contest which I would like to share with you. But before that, let me run through some of the bento meals which I have made for my boy.

[Tea-Break] Mini Milk Bread with Assorted Cheese and Fruits

Cheese and milk are important for growing up kids to provide them with calcium that needs for growing bones and teeth. Furthermore cheese is also a source of protein, vitamins and minerals which are essential for growing so it would be good to add in some cheese while preparing your snacks or dishes in a way to encourage your your kid(s) to eat them.

[Lunch] Lovely Garden

For lunch I made a lovely garden theme using sweetcorn for the flowers and assemble the garden with mushrooms and butterfly from the ingredients in the stir-fry choy sum. With this lovely layout it actually turns the "boring" green vegetables into something artistic which I am sure your kid(s) will be delighted to try them out.

My boy who loves underwater world creatures always get excited when he see an ocean theme deign for his lunchbox. Here by adding some fish and star cutout carrots to my stir-fry broccoli with mushroom, I managed to assemble something that he likes with sausage octopus and baked cheesy salmon to complete the healthy meal.

So if you love to cook, have creative ideas to assemble your healthy meal, perhaps you could consider to join this i-Love Mama Healthy Meal contest and form a team with either your kid or grandchildren (12 years and below). Come friends, let's try our luck and send in our healthy meal recipe :) Who knows any of you might be one of the lucky winner to win the attractive prizes shown above!

To participate:-

1. Send in your healthy meal recipe (in Chinese or English) with ingredients list and step by step cooking instructions;
2. In less than 100 words share the nutritious value and design of your concept behind the dish;
3. Attached a photo of you and your child/grandchildren with the dish along with your full particulars (Name, Age, NRIC, Contact Number) to mpbcontest@mediacorp.com.sg (indicate in subject header: i-Love Mama Healthy Meal) or VIA;

Snail mail:
i-Weekly Marketing Department
i-Love Mama Healthy Meal
Andrew Road Caldecott Broadcast Centre, Singapore 299939

In line with the i-Love Mama Healthy Meal Contest, there are also 4 recruitment road shows to demonstrate how to make a healthy, tasty and creative meal on the following dates and locations shown below:-

Saturday, 20th April 2013
Time: 1 - 3pm
Venue: Giant Tampines, Level 2

Time: 4 - 6pm
Venue: FairPrice Xtra, NEX, Level 3

Saturday, 27th April 2013
Time: 1 - 3pm
Venue: Sheng Siong Supermarket @ Block 88 Tanglin Halt Road

Time: 4 - 6pm
Venue: FairPrice Xtra, AMK Hub, B2

On top of the cooking demonstrations, you could also take part in games to win prizes or enter the grand lucky drawn when you purchased S$6.00 worth of Mama Lemon Anti-bacterial products on the road shows.

*Photos taken using Canon EOS M, M18-55 lens on Manual mode

Assorted Cakes For Tea

2013-04-10T16:42:00.000+08:00

It is the month of April again, and by the end of this month Cuisine Paradise will be celebrating it's 8 years old Birthday. Day after days it's has being more than 2,800 days since our 1st post till now which shows how fast time past. From a blog that shares simple homecook dishes and parenting journey till what we had today, I sincerely appreciate each and everyone for your kind comments and support. Although I could not update the blog as often with a daily / weekly post like what most bloggers do but I hope to try my very best to maintain it as often as I could too.

Here I have 3 different Tea Cake recipes which I would like to share with you and I hope you would find them useful or even add them into your cake recipes collection.

BLUEBERRY CREAM CHEESE BUTTER CAKE

If you are looking for a quick tea cake, I would like to recommend this moist and melt-in your mouth Cream Cheese Butter Cake which you could add in different types of berries according to your preference or using seasonal fruits. Even though it named as a butter cake but to us it taste slightly more with a creamier and cheesy texture as compared to the usual butter cake. Love it when it's cold and just taken out from the fridge :)

Adapted from Maameemoomoo's Mixed Berries Cream Cheese Butter Cake here.

(Make: 20cm square cake tin | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 50 minutes)

Ingredients:
250g PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
250g Self Raising Flour
250g Unsalted Butter, softened
200g Caster Sugar
70ml Fresh Milk
3 Eggs (55g each)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1/4 Teaspoon of Salt, optional
250g Fresh Blueberries

Method:-
1. Preheat the oven to 160°C (degree Celsius), grease and line cake tin with baking paper. Or for easy serving, bake them in individual cupcake case.

2. Beat butter, sugar and vanilla using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time until well mixed. Lastly add in cream cheese and milk and beat until smooth.

3. Next add in flour, beat briefly until mixed. Fold in the blueberries (set aside some for toppings) carefully using a spatula and spoon the cake batter into the square tin or cupcake cases.

4. Bake the square pan in the preheated oven for approximately 50 minutes until a skewer in the middle comes out clean. For cupcake size, bake for approximately 20 - 25 minutes.

5. When the cake(s) are cooled, dust with icing sugar and serve.

MATCHA AUZUKI BEAN POUND CAKE

I am a matcha fans and since I am craving for some Matcha Pound Cake, I made this cake using whatever ingredients that I could find in my pantry. Although the texture of the cake is good but I still think I didn't managed to get it right somewhere as the beans tends to sink down. Perhaps I shall try it with another recipe(s) or get a different type of sweeten auzuki beans.

Adapted from my Orange Pound Cake With Dried Fruits here.

(Serves: 2 Loaf Tins | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 35 minutes)

Ingredients:
120g Cake Flour
40g Cornflour
2 Teaspoons Matcha Powder
150g Unsalted Butter, melted and cool
140g Caster Sugar
4 Eggs (55g each)
80g Sweeten Cooked Auzuki Bean
Some Almond Flakes, optional

Method:-
1. Preheat oven to 180°C (degree Celsius). Sift cake flour, cornflour and matcha powder together and set aside.

2. Using an electric beater, beat eggs and sugar over a pot of hot water (about 80 degree) until thick and creamy.

3. With a balloon whisk, stir in sieved flours into the egg mixture until well combined.

4. Add in melted butter and stir till combined before tossing in the auzuki beans.

5. Give the mixture a quick stir, divide it into baking tin, top with some almond flakes and bake for 30 - 35 minutes or when a skewer insert in the center and comes out clean.

SOYMILK BUTTER CAKE

Remember that "BLACK" Soymilk Butter Cake (recipe) which I made some time back? My family really love that cake because of it's moist and sweet fragrance taste from the Okara and soymilk used. But this round since I have run out of bamboo charcoal powder, I omitted it and enhance it with some pure vanilla bean seeds. I am said the end result is amazing, the fragrance from the okara and vanilla seeds match perfectly!

Adapted from my Okara Black Butter Cake here.

(Serves: 2 tins (17cm x 8cm x 6cm) | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 40 minutes)

Ingredients:
200g Self Raising Flour
200g Unsalted Butter, soften
180g Caster Sugar
4 Eggs (55g each)
150g Okara
50ml Homemade Soymilk
1 Vanilla Pod, scrap out the seeds

Method:-
1. Preheat oven to 170°C (degree Celsius).

2. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla bean seeds together until light and fluffy (beating with an electric mixer for about 4 - 5 minutes on medium speed).

3. Add in 1 egg at a time, beating well in between each additions.

4. Beat in Okara till combined (a few seconds). Using a rubber spatula, fold in half the sifted flour (careful not to over-stir or beat the mixture) and follow by soymilk and remaining flour.

5. Divide the batter into the prepared casing, bake the cake in preheated oven for 40 - 45 minutes or until a skewer insert in the middle and come out clean.

6. When done remove cake from the oven, allow it to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting.

Till then have a great week ahead and stay tune for more upcoming recipes soon. Just to give you a preview on what's coming up next. Since it's Cherry Blossom season, I would like to share this new recipe on Matcha Cherry Blossom Chiffon Cake in the next post!

Okinawan Cuisine By Chef Tadashi Takahashi at La Galerie De Dietrich

2013-04-01T09:42:00.001+08:00

About two weeks ago, ShiTing (@ lobsterpaints.com) and I were invited by FoodNews to a cooking demo class together with a few food bloggers plus customers who purchased De Dietrich product(s). This cooking demo was conducted by Chef Tadashi Takashi, owner of Hashi Japanese Restaurant on 3 different cuisines using ingredients from Okinawa which were available at Four Seasons Gourmet Market.

The demo kitchen at La Galerie De Dietrich, Cendex Centre

OKINAWA MOZUKU WITH TUNA

Blanched and Marinate Tuna

Okinawa Mozuku with Tuna

The first demo dish was Okinawa Mozuku with Tuna whereby Chef Tadashi shared with us his tips on handling tuna. He suggested in order for the tuna to absorb the marinade evenly, it would be good if we could blanched the tuna in boiling water then cover it with a layer of kitchen paper towel before putting it into the marinade for better result..

Between Mozuku is a type of "seaweed algae" grown on other seaweed which is a healthy ingredient that contains fiber, mineral, iron, and 18 kinds of Amino acid. So if you are a seaweed lovely, do drop-by Four Seasons Gourmet Market to grab some if you are near Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 1.

OKINAWA VEGETABLE TEMPURA

Okinawa Vegetable Tempura

Second dish was something with homely taste which you would fall in love immediately. Chef Tadashi prepared 3 different types of vegetables tempura such as Beni Imo (purple sweet potato), Nigauri (bitter gourd) and Shima Ninjin (carrot) to pair with the Okinawa Sea Salt and Yellow Noodles.

Although the blanched yellow noodles might look plain due to it's soy sauce broth. But after adding in some generous amount of grated ginger, the end result was amazing. It taste so refreshing and had a rather similar flavour like our Asian "Sweet Potato Soup" that infused with lot of ginger in it.

Recipe Adapted from Chef Tadashi Takahashi

(Serves: 4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 30 minutes)

The Okinawa Nigauri (bitter gourd) has an unique bitter taste and high level of heat-resistant vitamin C which makes it a popular vegetable that is perfect for stir-fry. As a bitter gourd lover, I find eating the fried nigauri with hint of sea salt gives it a better aftertaste, leaving it a sweet scent instead of bitterness.

Ingredients:
170g Beni Imo (紅いも, Purple Sweet Potato)
60g Nigauri ( ゴーヤー, Japanese Bitter gourd)
85g Shima Ninjin (Okinawa Carrot)

Tempura Batter
85g Tempura Flour
125ml Cold Water
1/2 Egg (cold)

Method:-
1. Wrap Beni Imo in Aluminum foil and bake in De Dietrich oven at 180°C (Degree Celsius) for 25 minutes. (depending on size, adjust the timing accordingly)

2. Cut Nigauri and remove the seeds. Cut into small slices.

3. Peel Shima Ninjin's skin and cut into long sticks.

4. To make tempura batter:- First, make sure all the tempura batter ingredients are cold (this will enable a fluffy and crispy batter) before mixing the egg and water. Then slowly stir in the flour and you could add in more flour / water and mix until the batter is able to coat onto the vegetables.

5. Dip the vegetables in the prepared Tempura batter and fry till golden brown. (remember to test the oil with some batter to make sure that it is hot enough to fry the tempura)

6. To go with the vegetable tempura, Chef Tadashi specially prepared some soup broth (using soy sauce, dashi and water) to serve with the springy yellow noodles which was imported from Okinawa too.

OKINAWA PINEAPPLE WITH ICE CREAM

Sweet and Juicy Okinawa Pineapple serve with Koorimo’s Chestnut Ice Cream

The last dish was a quick simple dessert which used Okinawa's famous Pineapple. These pineapples have been cultivated on Okinawa as an agricultural product for around a century and if you do visit Okinawan, don't miss out the opportunity to drop by it's famous pineapple plantation at Nago Pineapple Park.

I am always fascinated by Japanese cuisines but yet I find them very difficult to prepare at home perhaps due to the lack of ingredients and etc. Now after Chef Tadashi's demo class, I think preparing simple Japanese cuisines at home is actually not that difficult too.

Lastly I would like to thanks La Galerie De Dietrich, Four Seasons Gourmet Market and Foodnews for the Okinawan Cooking Demo invite.

Happy Egg-Citing Easter!

2013-03-31T17:25:00.003+08:00

Received some hot cross buns as take home gift after our church service this morning. So without hesitate, I decided to use it to make an Egg-Citing Easter Bento for my boy's lunch. To enhance the bento with Easter mood, I decorated it with some "chicky" design such as hen, chick and heart-shaped egg using his favourite quail eggs.

Rejoice And Celebrate!!!! Here we wish everyone a wonderful and blessed Happy Egg-citing Easter! Cheer, remember to hut for more bunny and eggs..........

Quick Easter Bunny Bento

2013-03-27T16:16:00.000+08:00

With Easter Sunday coming up this weekend, I prepared a quick Easter Pizza Bento for my boy as his breakfast. Actually there are nothing complicated about this bento, what I did was transformed the pizza toast which I had made previously into something Easter themed with Bunny and Easter Egg.

After which just use your imagination to decorate the bunny as well as the oval shape so that it would resemble Easter egg design.

QUICK EASTER BUNNY BENTO

(Serves: 1 | Preparation: 10 minutes )

Ingredients:
2 Pieces of Wholemeal Bread
1 Slice of Picnic Ham
1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
1 Cherry Tomato, halved
Some Tomato Base Pasta Sauce
Some Mozzarella Grated
Garnish with dried parsley and grated Parmesan cheese
Easter Theme Cutters

Method:-
1. Using a Bunny and Oval shaped food cutter, cutout the shapes from the wholemeal bread. Set aside.

2. Lightly toast the bread for about 1 - 2 minutes in a toaster oven till slightly crisp.

3. Spread a layer of tomato sauce on the toasted bread, top it with some Mozzarella cheese.

4. Decorate it with ham, sandwich cheese and tomato then bake it for another 30 seconds or more to melt the cheese

5. When done, serve pizza with some fresh fruits and milk (or juice).

OTHER EASTER RELATED RECIPES

Easter Chicky Bento with "3D Pumpkin Rice Chick" plus side-dishes such as Nuggets, Pumpkin Sliced and Cherry Tomato sandwich with cheese to complete the meal.

Easter Cupcakes baked using empty egg shells which had being dyed with food colourings.

Chocolate Hot Cross Bun, a prefect treat for coming Easter.

Nested Easter featured volcano like toasted loaf which consists runny soft-boiled egg, extra bits of fried bacon that served together with a bed of shredded cucumber and mixed dried fruits.

Lastly for this coming long weekend, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Easter Holiday.

Homemade Pizza Using Perfect Italiano Cheese

2013-03-21T17:25:00.003+08:00

March school holiday is going on this week so we have more rest and relax time to enjoy our breakfast and afternoon tea. And upon request from my kid, we have assorted pizza in different base such as "Thin or Thick Crust" using Pita Pocket, Wrap and normal sandwich bread.

And with a decent packet of Pizza or Mozzarella Cheese, you could also turn homemade pizza into something similar like restaurant serving which impressed your family or friends. Below we have 3 quick pizza ideas (with recipes) which I hope you would find it useful as a quick meal idea.

HAM AND TOMATO PIZZA
(using wholemeal wrap and Perfect Italiano Grated Mozzarella)

If you love "Thin Crust" pizza, I am sure you would love this! Just pick up any flavour / brand of wrap, despite whether it is plain, wholemeal or etc. Most important tip is to pre-bake the wrap for a minute or two (on both side) to get it slightly crisp before spreading the sauce and add on the toppings. In this way the base will remain crispy instead of soggy after baked and makes it an addictive finger food.

(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients:

1 Piece of Wholemeal Wrap

30g Of Shaved Ham, roughly tear

100g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated

2 Broccoli Florets, cut into smaller pieces

Some Cherry Tomato, halved

1 - 2 Tablespoons of Tomato Base Pasta Sauce

Garnish with dried parsley, chilli flakes, grated Parmesan cheese

Method:-
1. Lightly baked the wrap on both side for about 2 - 3 minutes in an toaster oven (or pop it into a preheated 180 Degree Celsius oven) till slightly crisp.

2. Remove, spread a thin layer of tomato pasta sauce on the wrap. Top it with half the amount of the Mozzarella cheese.

3. Arrange shaved ham, broccoli and tomato on it then follow by another layer of Mozzarella cheese.

4. Pop the prepared pizza back into the toaster oven (or normal oven) and bake for another 5 minutes or till cheese melted and turn slightly golden brown in colour.

5. To serve, top with some garnishing of your choice and enjoy it while hot.

HAM AND MUSHROOM PIZZA TOAST
(using wholemeal bread and Perfect Italiano Grated Mozzarella)

For a quick breakfast idea, grab any type of sandwich bread you have at home. Spread it with some tomato base pasta sauce (or with any tomato or BBQ sauce that you have), add some Mozzarella cheese plus your favourite toppings (or anything you can find in your fridge) to create a delicious pizza toast like what we have done. This recipe is very easy and it can be done within 5 - 10 minutes using whatever ingredients on hand to create a delicious pizza treat at anytime of the day.

(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients:
2 Slices of Wholemeal Bread
30g Of Shaved Ham, roughly tear
100g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated
1 - 2 Brown Button Mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 - 2 Tablespoons of Tomato Base Pasta Sauce
Garnish with dried parsley, chilli flakes, grated Parmesan cheese

Method:-
1. Lightly toast the wholemeal bread on both side for about 1 - 2 minutes in an toaster oven (or pop it into a preheated 180 Degree Celsius oven) till slightly crisp.

2. Remove, spread a thin layer of tomato pasta sauce then top it evenly with half the amount of the Mozzarella cheese.

3. Arrange shaved ham and mushroom on it then follow by another layer of Mozzarella cheese.

4. Pop the prepared pizza back into the toaster oven (or normal oven) and bake for another 3 minutes or till cheese melted and turn slightly golden brown in colour.

5. To serve, top with some garnishing of your choice and enjoy it while hot.

Short Video Clips on making Pizza Toast

ASSORTED PIZZA
(using pita pocket and Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus)

For a more satisfying treat that close to a "Thick Crust" pizza, you could get a packet of Pita Pocket which is available in the supermarket (bread section) that comes in either small or medium rounds. With that you could enjoy a mini pizza party for your family movie night using your favourite toppings like Hawaiian, Tuna, Seafood and etc.

(Serves: 4 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:

4 Wholemeal Small Pita Pocket

250g Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus Cheese

1 Hardboiled Egg, halved

Some Tuna Mayo

4 Fresh Prawns, Halved

Some Fresh Basil Leaves, thinly shredded

Some Cherry Tomato, halved

Some Ham And Capsicum, sliced

Some Fresh Pineapple, cubed

Some Tomato Base Pasta Sauce

Garnish with dried parsley, chilli flakes, grated Parmesan cheese

Method:-
1.Lightly toast the pita pocket on both side for about 1 - 2 minutes in an toaster oven (or pop it into a preheated 180 Degree Celsius oven) till slightly crisp.

2. Remove, spread a thin layer of tomato pasta sauce then top it evenly with half the amount of the Pizza Plus cheese.

3. Top with your desire ingredients and follow the similar steps base on the recipes shown above.

Lastly I hope with these 3 quick pizza recipes it would somehow or rather inspired you to prepare more homecook food for the family which I believe it is not as difficult as what you think. Just start with something simple, like the Pizza Toast which requires only normal sandwich bread, cheese and ham. I am sure you could do, remember to share your pizza photos with us over at our facebook page (HERE). Hope to see yours soon :)

{With Recipes} Perfect Italiano Masterclass by Chef Lino Sauro

2013-03-07T12:51:00.001+08:00

Last Saturday I was invited to attend the first Perfect Italiano Masterclass which was conducted by Chef Lino Sauro, executive chef and owner of Gattopardo. During the class we were taught on how to incorporate different types of cheese into our daily cooking to make simple and mouthwatering dishes.

Below are 3 of the recipes which I would like to share with you. And out of the three, my favourite dish is Deep Fried Potato with Mozzarella Cheese which is quite similar to the Japanese Croquette. Love the crispy outer skin and oozing cheesy in it.

The class was conducted at Palate Sensations and most of the ingredients and set up are done before we arrived. I was very excited with this Masterclass because I am a cheese lover plus learning new dishes always excite me.

WONTON RAVIOLI WITH SOYA MARINATED PRAWNS AND PARMESAN FONDUE

The first dish was Ravioli which is so easy to prepare at home and the method is quite similar to our Asian Wonton (云饨). We all love the cheesy fondue that perfect this simple dish with awesome taste. At that point ShiTing and I also thought of using this fondue sauce to create our own "white sauce" paste which we think it will be simple and yet delicious.

Recipe adapted from Perfect Italiano website, HERE.

(Serves: 4 | Preparation: 20 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:

100g Perfect Italiano Parmesan Grated Cheese

100g Unsalted Butter

20 Pieces of Wonton Skin (square shaped)

20g Light Soya Sauce

30g Olive Oil

2 Garlic Cloves, minced

110g Full Cream Milk

1 Stalk of Spring Onion, chopped

20g White Wine

10 Pieces of Tiger Prawns, halves

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 (double-boiled) over medium heat till creamy. Season with white pepper, set aside.

4. Lightly brush wonton wrappers with beaten egg, divide the prawn mixture evenly on the wrappers.

5. Seal them neatly by folding it into half to form triangles. Put in boiling water for 3 min (or until wonton floats up).

6. Pour prepared fondue on plate and lay down the cooked ravioli. Season with Perfect Italiano Parmesan Grated Cheese, spring onion and serve immediately.

RICE ROLL WITH MOZZARELLA CHEESE AND SALMON

Adding cheese into sushi roll plus topping it with extra cheese makes this dish a perfect mini "baked rice roll" which is great for party food. And if you are not into salmon, perhaps ingredients like Kani (crab stick), Tamagoyaki (egg omelette) or even some Can Tuna or etc. (the above garnish is making by ShiTing (www.lobsterpaints.com), my cooking partner of that day)

Recipe adapted from Perfect Italiano website, HERE.

(Serves: 4 | Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients:

250g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese

200g Cooked Sushi Rice

4 Sheets of Nori (seaweed)

150g cured/smoked salmon

100g Cucumber, cut into strips

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 (for extra flavour, you could top extra mozzarella cheese on the cut sushi before putting them into the preheated oven (180 degree Celsius, 2 minutes or toaster oven, 3 minutes).

7. Garnish the sushi with extra cucumber and salmon. Serve with mayonnaise and/or wasabi.

DEEP FRIED POTATO WITH MOZZARELLA CHEESE
(served with sweet and sour sauce)

For the 3rd dish, we made something fusion such as mashed potato patty wrapped with oozing Mozzarella Cheese and it was infused with aromatic spices such as lemongrass, cinnamon and hint of curry powder. Love this to bits and I would re-create this again using tuna and cheese for a more filling snacks.

Recipe adapted from Perfect Italiano website, HERE.

(Serves: 4 | Preparation: 20 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:

200g Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Grated Cheese

400g Potatoes, boiled till soften

50g Corn Starch

50g Onion, chopped

5g Cinnamon

5g Ground Black Pepper

5g Curry Powder

2 Eggs (55g)

4 Garlic Cloves, minced

30g Lemongrass, minced

20g Shallot, minced

Lemon Zest

300g Japanese Breadcrumbs (panko)

Oil to fry

Method:-
1. Peel the skin of the potato, mashed it using a fork or grater.

2. Mix in all the DRY ingredients except cheese and breadcrumbs (if the mixture i too wet to handle, add in some breadcrumb and cheese to keep it dry to handle)

3. Next shaped about 2 tablespoons of potato mixture into a ball, flatten it slight and wrapped it with 1/2 tablespoon or more of the Italiano Mozzarella Cheese.

4. Sealed and shaped it back to a round shape, coat it with panko crumbs and lightly flatten it to form a 2 inches wide patty.

5. Heat oil in pan. Lower patties into oil and fry on medium low heat until crisp and golden on the bottom.

6. Fry the other side. Drain and ready to serve with sweet and sour sauce.

As for the cheeses used, although there are a wide range of Perfect Italiano cheeses, but in Singapore there are only 3 different types available in the supermarkets such as:-

Perfect Italiano Mozzarella Cheese
This cheese is really stretchy and it has a mild flavour that melts beautiful with every bite. Now they even have low fat version (35% less fat than regular mozzarella) which is available in a block/grated for your convenience.
[BEST USE ON] Pizza or Lasagne

Perfect Italiano Parmesan Cheese
Parmesan is aged for up to 18 months so it has a rich and bold flavours which adds bite and enhance the taste of dish. It is available in a block /grated for your convenience too.
[BEST USE ON] Pastas, Salads, Risottos and Soup

Perfect Italiano Pizza Plus Cheese
Pizza Plus is a delicious and unique combination of three cheese - Mozzarella (for stretch), Cheddar (for bold flavour) and Parmesan (for bite).
[BEST USE ON] Pizza. Sauces and Hot Snacks

Currently Perfect Italiano is running a contest where shoppers could "Stand a chance to win a Perfect Italiano Masterclass experience!". To join the lucky draw, submit your receipt details for proof of purchase of at least one pack of Perfect Italiano Cheese. (read more HERE)

Lastly I would like to thank Perfect Italiano and Joy from Tribal DDB Singapore for the Perfect Italiano Masterclass invite.

Organic Brown Rice Milk And Organic Soymilk Using Pebblio Soymilk Maker

2013-03-04T17:26:00.001+08:00

Many of you might remember my posts on Homemade Organic Soymilk plus some related recipes using soymilk and okara (soybean resides) which I have shared last year. And with many people starting to make their own soymilk at home, there are now quite a few new brands of soymilk makers available in the market with similar functions too.

In this post, I would be sharing how to make Organic Soymilk and Brown Rice Milk using Pebblio Home Appliance (a new Tofu plus Soymilk Maker) in less than 20 minutes with a collection of about 2 litres of soymilk in one batch.

HOMEMADE SOYBEAN MILK

(Make: 1.8 Lires | Preparation: 6 Hours Soaking Beans | Cooking: 20 minutes)

Ingredients:
200g (2 cup) Organic Soybean
1.8 Litres Water
Cane / Castor Sugar to taste
Pandan Leave, optional

Method:-
1. Add pre-soaked soybeans (soak for at least 6 hours) into the Stainless Steel Container (within the filter).

2. Fill water into the container up to the maximum mark, scrap in the vanilla bean pop, Put on the lid and turn clockwise to tighten the latch of the cover.

Place the Tofu Box below the discharge tube. Press the RED button (start/stop) follow by the "SOY MILK" button to start the process.

4. Appliance will start heating up the water (starting for 28 degrees), blend and cook the "Soy Milk" and the whole process takes about 18 - 20 minutes to complete.

5. Once done, appliance will "BEEP" 3 times. Slowly turn RELEASE KNOB and soymilk will discharge into the Tofu Box or cup.

Tip:

~ Other than using soybean alone, you could replaced the amount used to 100g each of soybean and black soybean.

~ Or using 150g Soybean plus 50g Peanut for a nutty flavour soymilk.

Above shows the internal view of the Filter after all the soymilk had be dispensed out from the container to the Tofu Box. From the photo you could also see that the Okara (soybean residues) were collected inside the filter and you could keep them for making some Okara Butter Cake (recipe), Okara Omelette (recipe) and etc.

Above are a few types of the Organic Soybeans that I am using. You can use any brand of soybean despite of whether they are organic or not. Soybeans can be easily found in any local supermarkets or grocery stores under the dried beans sections.

ORGANIC BROWN RICE MILK

Brown Rice Milk is a dairy free milk made from brown rice and just like soymilk and almond milk, rice milk is also safe for those who suffer from lactose intolerance. Furthermore rice milk is also low in fat which in terms makes it a good milk substitute for baking too. And recently many people also starting to make their own rice milk at home which is inexpensive and easier with the help of soymilk maker or blender.

(Make : 1.8 Litres | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 20 minutes)

Ingredients:
150g (1.5 cup) Naturel Brand Organic Brown Rice
1 Vanilla Bean Pod, optional
1.8 Litres Water
Sugar to taste

Method:-
1. Rinse and wash the organic brown rice in a few rounds. Drained and add into the Stainless Steel Container (within the filter).

2. Fill water into the container up to the maximum mark, scrap in the vanilla bean pop, Put on the lid and turn clockwise to tighten the latch of the cover.

3. Place the Tofu Box below the discharge tube. Press the RED button (start/stop) follow by the "SOY MILK" button to start the process.

4. Appliance will start heating up the water (starting for 28 degrees), blend and cook the "Rice Milk" and the whole process takes about 18 - 20 minutes to complete.

5. Once done, appliance will "BEEP" 3 times. Slowly turn RELEASE KNOB and rice milk will discharge into the Tofu Box or cup.

Tip:

~ If you do not have any vanilla pod, replace it with a few leaves of pandan leaves to cook together with the rice at steps 1 to enhance the taste of the rice milk.

~ For other rice milk flavour, you could reduce the amount of brown rice to 100g (1 cup) and add in 50g of Almond or Walnut for better taste.

NATUREL Organic Brown Rice

There are a few types of Organic Brown Rice available in the supermarkets for you to pick up. Above is what we usually have at home as my kid only prefers this brand. It is easy to cook with an hour of pre-soaked before cooking it using rice cooker (without adding extra amount of water). The texture of the cooked rice is fluffy, slight chewy and most important it does not have an unpleasant or rough taste when consumed.

After flashing out the soymilk/rice milk or etc to the Tofu Box, removed the cloth filter from the Stainless Steel Container and slow removed the filter cloth from for easy washing. Since the filter cloth is washable, you could re-used (on daily basis) it up to 6 months depending on it's wear and tear conditions.

And as for the Stainless Steel Container, you could use a big washing brush (similar to those used for washing baby milk bottle) to brush the blending blade and etc which is much easier to clean the residues in it.

Disclaimer:
This is not a paid/sponsored post. We just want to share our experience and tips in using this new Pebblio Home Appliance.

HOMEMADE ORGANIC TOFU
(upcoming recipe)

For the upcoming post I would be sharing on how to make Organic Tofu (豆腐) using Nigari Salt and Homemade Soymilk. So do stay tune for more updates soon.

[Wordless Wednesday] Banana Chocolate Loaf With Nuts

2013-02-27T18:09:00.002+08:00

You can whisk the vanilla extract together with the eggs.

Lemon Butter Cake With Chia Seeds & Pistachio Nuts

2013-02-25T10:46:00.000+08:00

This Lunar New Year, I have come up with 2 similar cakes using orange and lemon rinds plus Chia Seeds to enhance the taste of the cakes. And for festive flavour, I also used dried longan (龙眼) which represent "many good son" and pistachio nuts (开心果) which is often given as a gift to symbolize health, happiness and good fortune.

LEMON BUTTER CAKE WITH
CHIA SEEDS AND PISTACHIO NUTS

The added of pistachio nuts to this cake gives it a savory and nutty taste which blends well with the citrus syrup that moist and enhance the flavour of the cake. And for extra crunch and decorative purpose, you could also scatter a some crashed pistachio nuts on top of the batter before baking.

(Make: 10 Square Cupckes | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 25 minutes)

Ingredients:
250g Unsalted Butter, soften
180g Castor Sugar
Rinds Of 1 Lemon and 1 Orange
4 Eggs (60g each)
280g Cake Flour
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
50ml Fresh Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 Tablespoons Chia Seeds
100g Pistachio Nuts, roughly chopped

Citrus Syrup
100g Castor Sugar
Juice of 2 Lemon
Rind of 1 Lemon and 1 Orange

Method:-
1. Using an electric beater, cream butter and sugar till pale and creamy.

2. Beat in egg one at a time till combined. Add in lemon and orange zest together with vanilla extract, beat well.

3. Next fold in sieved flour mixture (cake flour plus baking powder) in 3 batches alternate it with fresh milk.

4. Lastly, stir in chia seeds and pistachio nuts (reserved 1/4 as toppings) till well mixed.

5. Pour mixture into prepared cupcake case or baking tin (2 loaf tin measuring 17cm x 8cm x 6cm), bake in preheat 180°C degree Celsius oven for about 50 minutes (loaf tin) and 25 minutes cupcake cases or when a skewer insert and come out clean.

6. To Make The Citrus Syrup: Place all the ingredients in a heavy duty pan and simmer till sugar dissolved. Turn off the heat and set aside.

7. When the cake is out of the oven, using a toothpick or skewer poke a few holes before drizzling citrus syrup on the cake to enable the cake to absorb the flavour.

Tip:

~ If you do not have cake flour on hand, you could replace it with all-purpose plain flour (with 280g all-purpose flour, removed 4 level tablespoons from it and replace it with 4 level tablespoons of cornstarch. Sieved the flour mixture at least 5 times to aerate the flours before using it).

{Tea Snack} Lemon Butter Cake With Chia Seeds and Pistachio Nuts

For personal preference or time factors, you could skip the citrus syrup too. But if you do follow the recipe above, it does make a different in taste as well as presentation which makes the cakes look moist and eye appealing.

Braised Pork Belly With Rice - 卤肉饭

2013-02-22T10:55:00.001+08:00

Both Pork Belly and Pork Trotter are my favourite parts of meat which I love to use them for either Braised Pork Belly In Soy Sauce (卤肉) or Ginger Vinegar Trotter (猪脚醋). To be frank, I love the soft and jelly like "fats and skin" on them which makes it a good source of collagen in some sinful ways.

There are many ways to braised pork belly depending on what other ingredients you prefer to add on to it like; hard boiled eggs, firm tofu, mushrooms or beancurd sticks. And also in order to braised a good pot of pork belly in soy sauce, you have to take note on the amount of water added plus amount of the seasonings and spices used.

BRAISED PORK BELLY IN SOY SAUCE

(Serves: 4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 60 minutes)

Ingredients:
500g Pork Belly (三层肉), cut into thick strips
4 Hardboiled Egg, shelled
2 Pieces of Firm Beancurd (豆干), cut into quarters
6 Shiitake Mushrooms, soak till soften
Some Dried Beancurd Stick (腐竹), optional
500ml Hot Water
2 Star Anise (八角)
3 Cloves (丁香)
1 Cinnamon Stick (肉桂棒)
5 Cloves Garlic, crashed
3 Shallot
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoon Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 Tablespoon Cooking Wine
1 Teaspoon Sesame Oil
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar

Method:-
1. Marinate the pork belly with 1/2 Tablespoon each of oyster sauce, light and dark soy sauce, 1 teaspoon of sesame oil, 1 tablespoon of cooking wine and 1 teaspoon grated ginger for at least an hour.

2. Preheat frying pan with some oil and fry the firm beancurd till slightly golden brown on all sides. Remove and set aside.

3. Using the same frying pan, add in another tablespoon of oil. Saute garlic and shallots till fragrant, add star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick and marinated meat (without the sauce) and fry till slightly golden brown in colour on both side.

4. Add in mushrooms and continue to fry for another 30 seconds. Next stir in oyster sauce, light and dark soya sauce, cooking wine, sesame oil and sugar and give it a quick stir till well mixed.

5. Pour in hot water, bring it to boil and let it simmer for about 30 minutes or more till the meat is tender, add in hard boiled eggs, beancurd and soaked beancurd stick. Continue to simmer for another 15 minutes till all ingredients are flavoured by the soy sauce.

6. Remove from heat and serve with steamed white rice.

Tip:
~ Soak the dried beancurd in warm water till soften, rinse a few time and drained well, set aside.

~ Fresh Shiitake mushrooms can be used to replaced the dry ones too.

~ If Cooking Spices like Star Anise, Cinnamon Stick and etc are not available in your area, replace it with 1 teaspoon or more of five spice powder for taste.

~ For extra flavour, add in 2 - 3 dried chilli in step 3, and remove it on step 5 before adding hard boiled eggs and etc.

{Braising Spices} Five Spice Powder (五香粉) and Cooking Spices

Above are my two cents worth on Braised Pork Belly In Soy Sauce which I hope you would have a rough idea on how to make your very own braised pork. For a start you could just try the pork belly with hard boiled egg combines perhaps with a few shiitake mushrooms too. Alternatively, you could also modify the recipe above with some Chicken Mid-joints instead of pork belly.

Homemade Crystal Yam Cake - 水晶芋头糕

2013-02-21T10:55:00.002+08:00

I have seen many friends in my facebook list making either Radish Cake (萝卜糕) or Yam Cake (芋头糕) before and during Chinese Lunar New Year period. And usually these are the auspicious steamed cakes to be served to the visiting guests as compared those western cakes. This year, my mum made a new version of Yam Cake using different types of flour combination which is different from what she always did.

From the photo above, you realize that the colour of this yam cake is slightly more translucent and Springy (QQ) texture which is similar to Agar Agar (a kind of Asian jelly).

HOMEMADE CRYSTAL YAM CAKE
水晶芋头糕

After the yam cake is ready, you can either eat it on it's own or cut it into slices and pan-fried till slightly golden brown in colour and top it with your desire garnishing. I love to have mine with some chopped spring onion, fried shallot and lot of sweet dark soy sauce as breakfast.

Wheat Starch (澄麵粉)

(Make: 9" Square/Round tin | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 45 minutes)

Ingredients:
350g Yam (taro or 芋头) , peeled and diced
30g Dried Shrimp, soaked till soften
3 - 5 Fresh Shiitake Mushroom, sliced
2 Shallots, chopped
3 Garlic Cloves, chopped
3 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
100ml water

Batter
350g Wheat Starch / Deng Mien Fun (澄麵粉)
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
1200ml Water

Seasoning
1 Teaspoon White Pepper
1 Teaspoon Five Spice Powder
1 Chicken Stock Cube
1/2 Teaspoon Sesame Oil

Garnishing
Some Chopped Spring Onion
Some Chopped Coriander
Some Fried Shallot Flakes
Some Red Chilli, sliced
Some Fried Dried Shrimp, optional

Method:-
1. Combined batter ingredients, mix well and set aside.

2. Heat up oil in a preheated pan, saute dried shrimps (lightly pound) over medium heat until fragrant. Add shallot and garlic, stir-fry until aromatic.

3. Next stir in yam and seasoning, toss well and simmer over medium heat with 100ml of water for 3 minutes till liquid is adsorbed.

4. Add batter mixture, mix well and stir over low heat until mixture almost thicken, remove from heat.

5. Transfer the mixture into a greased 9" square or round tin, level the surface and steam over high heat for 45 minutes or until cooked.

6. When done, removed from steamer, leave to cool.

7. Top with garnishing and served with chili sauce or sweet dark soya sauce.

Tip:
~ You can replace 350g Wheat Starch with 200g rice flour + 150g wheat starch for a softer texture.

~Instead of cutting the yam into cubes, you could shredded half and diced half.

There is another Chinese version recipe using more yam, less water and rice flour as part of the ingredients as compared to the above. If you are interested, you could take a look at the recipe here.

[With Recipes] Lunar New Year Lunch Gathering With Relatives

2013-02-14T10:38:00.000+08:00

This year mum and I decided to do a combined New Year lunch gathering to invite our relatives over for a festive lunch. We hope to take this opportunity to get touch and mingle with everyone since we seldom get a chance to eat together as a big group during normal days of the year.

{Chinese New Year Gathering} Our Big Family! Photo Credit to Alvin @ http://mralvinlyt.tumblr.com/

As this was my first time cooking for 30 pax, I was pretty excited about the whole gathering and I also spent quite some time drafting the menu to cater for festive feel plus majority preference. And thanks God, everything went on smooth with surplus of food and everyone has a wonderful family bonding time together too.

Gift For Our Neighbour

Beside the family gathering, every year we also prepared something as a token of appreciation for our neighbours. Being staying around my area for more than 10 years and we have two families of wonderful neighbours whom we always joke and chit chat whenever we see each other. And every year during Lunar New Year, Malay Hari Raya, Deepavali and Christmas season, we would exchange gifts and food together to soak in the festive atmosphere as well as appreciate each others culture and friendships.

FAMILY LUNCH GATHERING DURING
DAY 2 OF CHINESE LUNAR NEW YEAR

Above is my draft lunch menu which we also added a few last minute dishes in order to feed a group of 30 persons. And below are some foodporn of the dishes that we had during the lunch gathering.......

APPETIZER

{Appetizer} Spicy Top Shell

Since I don't really fancy top shell, I have limited ideas on how to create a dish using this. But mum on the other hand loves to use this as side dish (Chinese Salad) together with some onion, cucumber and spicy sauce. And to enhance the taste, mum also added in some small chilli (diced) and crashed roasted peanut which makes it taste similar to Thai-style salad.

(Preparation: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
3 Cans of Top Shell
2 Japanese Cucumber, skin removed
6 Calamansi (酸柑), halved and juice
6 Shallot, thinly sliced
1 Small Chilli, chopped
2 Tablespoons of Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce, optional
Some Roasted Peanuts (optional), roughly chopped

Method:-
1. Rinse and drain the top shell, thinly sliced and set aside.

2. Cut the cucumber into halve, lengthwise then sliced 0.5cm thick diagonally.

3. In a mixing bowl, mix together top shell, cucumber, shallot, chilli, calamansi juice, chilli sauce and some freshly ground black pepper together.

4. Season the taste with more calamansi juice/chilli sauce, top it with some crashed peanuts before serving.

{Appetizer} Yogurt With Mixed Fruit Salad

For kids and those who don't like the Spicy Top Shell, I have prepared some Yogurt With Mixed Fruit Salad as alternative choice. This is a quick appetizer which you could easily whipped it up at home using assorted fruits of your choice like:- dragon fruit, apple, pear, avocado, orange, strawberry and etc. Mix the cut fruits with either flavoured yogurt or Greek yogurt for a thick and creamy texture.

MAIN DISH

{Main} Mini Buddha Jumps Over The Wall

Buddha Jumps Over The Wall (佛跳牆) is made from numerous delicacies with more than 10 ingredients such as bamboo shoots, scallops, sea cucumber, abalone, shark fin, chicken, Jinhua ham, pork tendon, mushrooms and etc. These ingredients are then simmered over low heat for many hours with just the right amount of heat to achieve the irresistible taste of this traditional dish.

But on our end, instead of making this soup dish from scratch we shorten the cooking process by using ready bought "Buddha Jumps Over The Wall" soup broth. On top of it, we add in extra ingredients like abalone, sea cucumber, fish maw, scallops, chicken broth and etc to create our quick and easy Mini Buddha Jumps Over The Wall (迷你佛跳牆).

{Main} Longevity Noodles With Superior Broth

You might find this "noodle dish" familiar because I have shared the recipe in my previous post on the Chinese Cooking Demo by Chef Eric Low.

For our version instead of using the traditional Longevity Noodles, we replaced it with Ee Fu Noodles and also add in Chinese Cabbage (Napa Cabbage) for extra sweetness.

{Main} Braised Pork Belly With Mushroom

To pair with the steamed white rice, mum specially prepared this pot of Braised Pork Belly With Mushrooms which is well received and gone within minutes too.

{Main} Stir-fry Sweet Peas with Leek And Carrot

A very "green veggie" dish that mum and I come up with using Sweet Peas, Celery, Chinese Leek, Mushrooms, Carrot, Wolfberries, Lily Buds and Chinese Preserved Sausage for extra seasoning flavour. Before serving, I also scattered some roasted cashew nuts on top for extra crunch too.

{Main} Baked Honey Chicken With Rosemary

Instead of deep-fried chicken wings, I bought 2 kg of mid-joints to make 2 different recipes to cater for two groups of guests. First we had this Baked Honey Chicken With Rosemary which was savory and yet with hint of sweetness from the caramelized honey. Recipe can be found here.

{Main} Korean Spicy Chicken Wings

Next for my cousins and aunties who are fans of Korean food and drama. I specially made this Korean Spicy Chicken Wings for them. Although mine were not as spicy and fiery as compared to those from Nene Chicken, but majority of them love my combi of using Gochujang paste, sesame seeds, grated ginger and etc which you could find my recipe here at one of my Korean Cooking Project post.

{Main} Hakka Style Rice Wine Chicken

Traditional Hakka Style Rice Wine Chicken (黄酒鸡 ) (my recipe) made by my mother-in-law who is a typical Hakka lady whom is good in culinary skill. She has a lot good traditional recipe on Hakka delicacy such as Abacus Seeds (recipe), Steamed Pork Belly with Mui Choy (recipe), Soon Kueh and etc which I still learning and try to make it simple to share the recipes in my website with those who are keen in trying those dishes.

{Main} Homemade Assorted Mini Pizza

Everyone loves pizza especially those with lot of cheese and pipping hot ones that are just out from the oven. In order to speed the preparation and serve it hot, we used ready bought Pita Bread (thick crust) and Wholemeal Wraps (thin crust) from supermarket to use as the pizza base.

It's so fun creating our own pizza using ready bought pizza base (put in the fan-force oven for about 3 minutes till slightly crisp before use), pizza sauce (I used tomato base spaghetti sauce) , sausage, pineapples, capsicums, shredded mozzarella cheese, prawns, tomato, mayo tuna and etc as the toppings.

{Main} Assorted Finger Food

Party cannot do without fingers food like nuggets, chicken gyoza, fish balls, sotong balls, hotdog, sausages and etc as these are the all time favourite for both kids and adults.

DESSERT

Assorted Drinks

{Dessert} Osmanthus And Chestnut Koi Jelly

I love dessert so for this New Year gathering, I made some Koi and Ingot Jelly using Konnyaku Jelly Powder plus Osmanthus Flower and Water Chestnut. You can read more on how to make this auspicious jelly at the recipe post here.

{Dessert} Longan And Cranberry Yogurt Cake

For cake I also made two different flavour to cater for the group of old and young. And since it was the 2nd day of Lunar New Year, I decided to bake my new inspiration which was the Longan And Cranberry Yougrt Cake. I really love this new flavour which is moist, fluffy and full of flavour from the dried longan, cranberry, cointreau and chia seeds. Give this a try if you love orange flavour cake with dried fruits in it.

Recipe is available at this link here.

{Dessert} Double Chocolate Yogurt Cake

Chocolate lover would love this because I use 70% dark chocolate plus chocolate chips and Valrhona Dutch Process Cocoa Powder to make this moist and rice chocolate cake. To enhance the texture of the cake, Greek yogurt and fresh orange juice were also added into it.

Ingredients: (makes 2 small loaf tins, 17cm x 8cm x 6cm)
175g Unsalted Butter, room temperature
200g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs, 60g each
200g Self Raising Flour
45g Valrhona Cocoa Powder
100g Mini Chocolate Chips
40ml Orange Juice
200g Greek Yogurt

Method:-
1. Please refer to here for steps on making.

{Dessert} Baked Cheesy Nian Gao With Prata

Apart from the cakes and jelly I also made this addicting snacks for the guests and they really enjoy it, especially for those kids who do not know how to appreciate "Nian Gao (年糕)" on it's own. With this fusion method of wrapping traditional nian gao with shredded cheese using ready bought prata skin I am sure it would make a great snack for your visiting guests.

If you could not find prata skin, replace it with either puff pastry or spring roll wrapper (deep-fry the end product instead of bake) . But remember do not over-filled the wrapper with Nian Gao or else the parcel would burst during baking or cooking. Related recipe could be found at my recipe link here.

Lastly I would like to wish everyone a Prosperous and Happy Lunar New Year!

祝大家新年快乐，万事如意，蛇年行大运! 发发发!!!

Chinese New Year Cooking Demo @ ToTT by Chef Eric Low

2013-02-09T00:23:00.001+08:00

Last Sunday, I was invited by OpenRice (Singapore) to attend their first cooking demo class with ToTT (Tools of the Trade) on the Chinese New Year Workshop - Good Fortune, conducted by Chef Eric Low. Despite of the gloomy and raining weather, all participants were still very excited about the class and everyone were also eager to pick up some tips and cooking skill from Chef Eric.

The three hours cooking class was indeed a fun and fruitful one with Chef Eric whom is humorous and knowledgeable with his answers during the class. Although there was no hands-on but Chef Eric makes every little details visible thru two big TV screen in front of the class where we could get a good view of the ingredients plus steps during cooking process.

TOTT BISTRO

During that day, all OpenRice members who signed up for the cooking class were entitled to a complimentary lunch at ToTT Bistro before the class. And during Chinese Lunar New Year period they also offers New Year menu starting from S$7.90 each.

For appetizer: Chicken Wing And Mushroom Medley Spring Roll

Main Course: Pan Fried Dory With Sauteed Mushrooms, Vegetables and Spicy Tomato Sauce

Main Course: Chicken Chop With Mushroom Sauce, Fries and Coleslaw

Dessert: Tempura Durian and Lemongrass Jelly

Before the demo class, Chef Eric Low gives a brief introduction of himself plus a description of the three dishes that he is sharing during the class.

There is also a cozy beverage corner at the back of the class for participants to enjoy complimentary coffee/tea during the break or class.

CRISPY FISH FILLET WITH CARAMELIZED
SHALLOTS AND BASIL LEAVES

The first dish that Chef Eric starts with was "Crispy Fish Fillet with Caramelized Shallots and Basil Leaves". It was something simple and yet full of flavour where you get a nice aromatic taste from the Thai Basil used.

Chef Eric also shared with us that if Thai Basil is not available, the next closer herbs to replace would be "curry leave". And if you wish to get a nice golden crispy crust on the fish, add in some egg whites to marinate the fillet together with ground pepper and salt before dusting it with corn starch and deep-fried.

Recipe by Chef Eric Low | Serves: 4

Ingredients:
420g Fish Fillets (Sea Bass / Dory Fish)
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1 Teaspoon Coarse Ground Black Pepper
Potato Starch for dusting
Oil for Deep-frying

Sauce:
3 Tablespoons Extra Oil
40g Whole Garlic, thickly sliced
100g Whole Shallots
20g Ginger
5g Dried Chilies
15g Sugar
4 Tablespoons Water
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
2 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Dark Soya Sauce
10g Thai Basil Leaves

Directions:-
1. Dust sea bass fillet with potato starch and deep-fry in hot oil till crispy

2. Heat oil in pan and saute garlic and shallots till golden brown. Add ginger, dried chilies and sugar. Cook till aromatic and sugar caramelizes slightly.

3. Pour in oyster sauce, two soya sauces and add fish fillets and basil. Toss evenly and transfer to heated claypot and serve.

STEAM GINGER MARINATED CHICKEN WITH
JIN HUA HAM AND MUSHROOMS

Dish 2 had two of my favourite ingredients such as Chicken Leg and Mushrooms that sandwich in between a slice of "Jin Hua Ham (金华火腿)" which is the most famous dry-cured meat product in Asian ingredients. Jin Hua Ham can be very salty but on the other hand it has an unique flavour that helps to enhance the dish. If you can't find Jin Hua Ham (which most properly available only during Chinese New Year) the next alternative replacement would be the Italian Parma Ham.

My mum suggested since she is not a fan of any "ham" products, she would replicate this dish using Chinese Perserved Sausage (腊肠) instead of Jin Hua Ham.

Recipe by Chef Eric Low | Serves: 4

Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 Teaspoon Dark Soya Sauce
12 Slices Ginger, finely sliced
400g Boneless Chicken Leg, cut into 4cm dices
1/2 Teaspoon Coarse Ground Black Pepper
1 Tablespoon Corn Starch

For Assembly:
12 Pieces Jin Hua Ham (金华火腿), sliced
12 Pieces Chinese Dried Mushrooms, soaked and stalks trimmed
Dried Lotus Leaves, soaked in warm water for 10 minutes

For Garnishing:
Dash of Shaoxing Huatiao Wine (花雕酒)
Coriander Leaves (芫荽)

Directions:-
1. Marinate chicken with the rest of ingredients for an hour.

2. Arrange chicken on a steaming plate lined with lotus leaves. Alternate each piece of chicken with a slice of ham and a piece of mushroom.

3. Steam chicken for 20 minutes. Serve chicken with a dash of wine and coriander leaves over rice.

LONGEVITY NOODLES WITH SUPERIOR
STOCK AND QUAIL EGGS

Longevity Noodles is one of my favourite noodle dish during Chinese New Year or Lunar Birthday (recipe) where we cook it in sweet version and served together with hardboiled eggs. Here Chef Eric's Longevity Noodles with Superior stock and Quail Eggs is something different from how we usually cooked it at home. He actually cooks the sauce and noodles separately which makes it a great ideas to serve this dish during Chinese New Year where most of guests would arrive in different timing. In this way, the accompany sauce would not dry up easily and also the noodles won't get soggy too.

Mum and I already bookmark this recipe to cook for our guest during Chinese New Year but instead of Longevity Noodles, we replace it with Ee Fu Noodles for majority preference.

Recipe by Chef Eric Low | Serves: 4

Ingredients:
400g Longevity Noodles
6 Tablespoons Oil For Cooking
1 Teaspoon Chopped Garlic
200g Pork Loin/Fillet, sliced
30g Dried Shitake Mushrooms, sliced
100g Chinese Yellow Chives (韭黃), cut into 2cm lengths
1 Litre Water
3 Tablespoons Concentrated Chicken Or Scallop Stock
2 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
12 Pieces Prawns, peeled
200g Bean Sprouts
Cornstarch for Thickening
12 Pieces Quail Eggs, hard boiled and peeled

Directions:-
1. In a large pot of boiling water, blanch noodles for 5 - 10 minutes until tender. Refresh in cold water and set aside.

2. Heat oil in wok, saute garlic till fragrant. Add pre-marinated pork slices (marinate with dash of MAGGI Seasoning Sauce and 1 tablespoon cornstarch) and cook briefly. Stir in mushrooms and Chinese Chives and saute for 2 minutes.

3. Pour in water and bring to boil. Season with concentrated stock and oyster sauce. Add prawns and bean sprouts. Thicken sauce slightly with some cornstarch.

4. Return noodles and quail eggs to boiling for a quick blanch. Transfer to serving plate and pour sauce over noodles.

ToTT Store
896 Dunearn Road #01-01A,
Singapore 589472
Telephone: (65)6219 7077
Website: www.tottstore.com

Operation Hours:
11.00am - 9.00pm (Monday - Friday)
10.00am - 9.00pm (Weekends And Public Holidays)

Lastly I would like to thank Estelle from OpenRice (Singapore) and ToTT for the demo cooking invitation. For more cooking class and discount through OpenRice Members, you could take a look at their website here. Or you could also browse through ToTT cooking class schedules at their website here.

{Mobile Post} Braised Duck With Sea Cucumber

2013-02-08T12:10:00.002+08:00

Counting down......2 more days to Chinese Lunar New Year! Everyone is so excited and today (1 day before the eve of Lunar New Year) almost all the wet markets, supermarkets and etc will be operating on 24 hours for last minutes shopping. And you would be able to see big crowds of people around grabbing for food, ingredients, beverages and etc to store up for the approaching New Year feast.

BRAISED DUCK WITH SEA CUCUMBER
焖海参鸭

Here I would be sharing our quick Braised Duck with Sea Cucumber recipe which you could easily get it done within 30 minutes. So if you have some extra roast duck or roast pork from the New Year feast, you could prepared this dish together with some sea cucumber, Chinese Cabbage, mushrooms and etc to make this delicious one pot dish.

(Serves: 4 | Preparation: 15 minutes | Cooking: 25 minutes)

Ingredients:
1/2 Portion of Roast Duck, chopped into big slices
1/2 Portion of Chinese Cabbage (napa cabbage - 白菜)
2 Medium Soaked Sea Cucumber (海渗), thickly sliced
8 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms, soaked till soften
3 Dried Scallops (干贝), soaked in hot water
3g Black Moss (发菜), soaked in water
, soaked in water 3 Dried Chilli (辣椒干)
4 Whole Shallot, skin removed
4 Garlic Cloves
Some Chestnuts (optional), skin removed
500ml Water / Chicken Broth

Seasoning
1 Tablespoon Abalone Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 Teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce

Method:-
1. Preheat the frying pan with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil. Saute mushrooms, shallot, garlic, dried chilli, chestnut (if using) and scallops till fragrant.

2. Add in roast duck, give it a quick stir and let it cook for 30 seconds before adding sea cucumber and seasoning sauce. Stir well and dish up set aside.

3. Using the same pan, add in the cabbage and stir-fry for a minute before adding back the duck mixture.

4. Stir the mixture over medium heat until well combined, add water and bring it to boil over high heat.

5. When the mixture comes to boil, transfer it into a claypot (if your claypot is big enough to do the stir-fry from step 1, you can omit the frying pan) covered and allow to simmer over low heat for 20 minutes

6. Lastly stir in black moss (drained), splash of cooking wine and serve immediately.

This is one of my favourite one pot dish where I could have it with either steamed white rice or blanched noodles. And I always enjoy picking up each scoop like treasure hunt because I won't know what would end up in the bowl. But personally Roast Duck and Sea Cucumber are my favourite combine and I hope you would enjoy this dish too. For another version using Roast Pork and Fish Maw, you could refer to the recipe here.