My Cool Cakes

Fish Sauce Sesame Salads Dressing

2015-10-23T02:57:00.001-07:00

Oh Yes! It is salad again. Love those crispy cooling salad during these hot season. Another version of Thai/Vietnam style salad.

Ingredients:

Handful of chopped lettuces

Half a bowl of cherry tomatoes

3 clovers Garlic

a knob of Ginger

Chilis (bird eye- for spicy salad)

2 -3 limes (6 tbsp lime juices)

2 tbsp fish sauces
1 tsp of soy sauces

1 tbsp brown sugar

1tsp peanut oil (optional)
1 tbsp of toasted sesame seed

Handful of chopped Coriander

Some chopped Spring Onion

Method:

1) Grind the ginger and garlic into fine paste.

2) Squeeze the lime, drain the seeds.

3) Mix all the wet ingredients together with sugar, chilies, coriander & spring onions.

Mix

4) Mix the cherry tomatoes in. You can half some of the cherry tomatoes, it looks more appetizing.

5) Toast 1 tbsp of sesame seeds over the hot pan.

6) Mix the salad dressing with all the greens & sprinkle the sesame seed last.

Enjoy.

Pan Fry Norwegian Mackerel

2015-10-23T02:43:00.002-07:00

Fish is fast to cook & taste great with simple seasoning. Let's Pan Fry Norwegian Mackerel. If you use Japanese style soy sauces, it will taste very close to teriyaki. If you use Chinese style soy sauces, it will taste so classic & old school just like how my grandma fry it. Simple yet delicious.

Ingredients:

Cleaned Norwegian Mackerel (dry the fish with paper kitchen towel)

Salt (not too much as we will flavour with soy sauces)

Pepper

Soy Sauces

Frying oil

Method:

1) Season the fish well with pepper & salt.

2) I am using very little oil to quote the base of the non stick pan. Hot the pan with medium fire.

3) Slide the fish with skin side down. Let it simmer with medium fire for 2-3 mins.

4) When flesh starts changing colors & texture. You can see the fish became more solid & the flesh will turn white instead of semi-transparent. Turn the fire over. Let theother side simmer for another 2-3 mins.

5) When the fish is almost done, last in a dash of soy sauces (roughly about 1 tbsp)

6) Quickly flip the fish to coat it with soy sauces in the hot pan, off the fire & we are done.

Stir Fry Oyster Mushroom (Vegetarian)

2015-10-18T03:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I do out of stock on "meat" supplies in the fridge due to any kind of businesses- busy with the kids, works, career, classes, baking etc....My kids are kind of carnivorous, of course, I always have a back up plan.

Mushroom to the rescue! Mushroom seriously taste like meat especially its texture. It is always good to add mushroom to our diet as it is very healthy & delicious too. What I like about the fresh mushroom - easy & fast to cook. With very little effort, we can have super delicious weekdays dinner.

Mushroom is high in Vitamin B2, D, Fiber, Potassium, low in calories, cholesterol free, enhances immune system & blood circulation & it is a perfect diet food.

Ingredients:

Handful of fresh mushroom (e.g. Shimeiji, Maitake, Grey Osyter etc)

Some chopped coriander/ spring onion

Lot of minced garlic (4-5 cloves)

Salt & Pepper

Optional (chicken stocks 1 tsp)

Only with these simple ingredients, we just need to cook these up in 5 mins.

Preparing the fresh mushroom, I always buy those "no need to wash" mushroom. If you are not able to get those, it is ok, just brief use running tap water to rinse the fresh mushroom. DO NOT soak mushroom in water, otherwise, it will become too watery when you stir fry the mushroom.

Method:
1) Stir fry garlic with one tbsp of olive oil, then add in the fresh mushroom.

2) Sweat the mushroom for 2-3 mins.

3) Add in the coriander or spring onion,chicken stock (it makes the mushroom taste like chicken), salt & pepper to taste.

P/S: There is an alternate version of non vegetarian stir fry mushroom, just add any left over roast meat when stir fry together with the mushroom. Taste superb too.

Simple & Delicious Salmon Pasta

2015-09-13T02:20:00.000-07:00

Pasta - I don't know why kids love pasta so much. I love pasta for a different reason, it is easy & quick to cook. No problem in feeding the kids or rush them to eat their meal. They will just automatically slurp everything from the plate. They just enjoy doing it. I do appreciate the simplicity & unpretentious of pasta. Sometimes, things doesn't have to be too complicated. It just kinda remind me on the thick SOP book.

Pan Fry the salmon fillet ahead of time. Slice the salmon into smaller pcs. Season with sea salt & pepper. Pan fry it until it is fully cook. Set aside.

Ingredients for the Pasta (3 serving):

250g Spaghetti

3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 tbsp chili flakes
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tomatoes (remove the skin & chopped)
250ml of fish stocks
100ml of cooking cream

1) Start cooking pasta first with pinch of salt. Cook 250g pasta follow the package instruction until al-dente. Do not over cook pasta, follow the instruction strictly.
2) In the mean time, start browning the garlic & chili flakes in olive oil (small fire). It takes about 4-5 mins. Do not burn the garlic.

3) Add in the chopped tomato, stir fry for a minutes, add in the fish stocks. Simmers for a while.
4) Lastly, add the cream, let it boils & reduce the liquid slightly , toss the al-dente pasta in for a minute. Serve hot immediately.

Tips: How to poach tomatoes to move the skins:

1) Make a cross at the bottom of every tomatoes.

2) Boil a pot of hot water.

3) Put the tomatoes in to be boiled for about 2 mins.

4) Lift it out from boiling hot water into cook tap water.

5) Just peel off the tomatoes skin. It is very easy.

Thai Salad Dressing

2015-09-11T03:57:00.000-07:00

This simple delicious main course salad is full of flavor & it can be done without using any oil. My kid love this salad so much. This is a salad that is guaranteed to become a family favorite. It is a perfect side dishes to any seafood- cooked prawn, cooked squid (sotong), grilled fish.

Dressing:

2 cloves garlic

1 bird eye chilies or 1 long big red chilies

1 knob of ginger

2 -3 limes (6 tbsp lime juices)

2 shallots

2 tbsp fish sauces

1 tbsp brown sugar

1tsp peanut oil (optional)

Handful of chopped Coriander

Some chopped Spring Onion

Salads (cleaned, wash & spin dry):

Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cherry tomato, any salad vegetables

Optional:

Some cooked prawn

Some cooked squid

1) Mix fish sauces with sugar, stir to melt the sugar, squeeze the limes, pick out the seed of the limes.

2) Grind the ginger, garlic into fine paste.Add in to the salad dressing. The colour of the mixture will change slightly after add in the ginger and garlic paste.

3) Add in all these ingredients that need to be chopped finely- tomatoes, shallots, chilies (hot- bird eye) or big chilies (mild). Mix all these into the salad dressing.
4) The best method to mix the salads well is by using both hand.
5) Pour all these well mixed chopped salad on the green lettuces.
6) Serve Immediately or chill in the refrigerator.

Dry Curry (Malaysia Style)

2015-09-01T19:13:00.001-07:00

The infamous Malaysia style curry has TWO version- Dry & Soupy. Sometimes, I cook the dry curry for its intense flavors. I don't know why sometimes I crave for spicier food. Perhaps it is already in the blood, my siblings love spicy food. I am at the medium spicy meter. I bought this brand of curry chicken sauce as my kid can take the heat (medium spicy).

Today the I cook the curry with more vegetables because it just taste good with potatoes, okra & long bean.Be creative to add in your favorite vegetable in the curry- cabbage, brinjal (egg plant), tofu pok (fried tofu).

Method:
1) Mix the store bought curry sauces with onion & stir fry over medium heat. The sauces itself is very oily, so you do not need to add vegetable oil for stir fry. Just follow the cooking instructions. However, I will show you the general procedures for cooking curry.
For home make curry sauces, pls refer to
http://fabulouscake.blogspot.com/2015/08/traditional-chicken-curry-malaysia-style.html

2) Add in potatoes & meat, continue stir fry.

3) Add in water enough to cover all the ingredients. Cover with lid to simmers.

4) Last in the vegetables as it needs lesser time to cook through. Add in the coconut milk at the final stage to thicken the sauces.

5) Super easy & fast. Serve hot with white rice or nasi lemak.

Delicious~

Traditional Chicken Curry (Malaysia Style)

2015-08-29T03:45:00.001-07:00

Traditional Chicken Curry - is a all time favorite for Malaysian & tourists. If you ever visit Malaysia, you must buy packets of the prepared curry paste as souvenir for your friends, family, colleagues or yourself. A lots Malaysia overseas student who study abroad will ask their friends or parent to even courier the curry paste to them. Of course you can also make it from scratch & it takes more time. Curry chicken is match made in heaven with nasi lemak. When I was a teenager, I can eat 2 bowls of rice with curry chicken. Those good old memories.

Check out the nasi lemak link:
http://fabulouscake.blogspot.com/2015/01/nasi-lemak-malaysia-style.html

As promised to my Korean friends, I will post some simple instructions in my blog to guide them through to cook the curry chicken the Malaysia way. Super easy. Prepare the ingredients as per the packet instructions:

1 Packet of Curry Paste (see curry paste from scratch at the bottom of this post)
Chicken ( prefer chicken thigh if I am not using the whole chicken)
Potatoes
Coconut milk (Santan- store bought)
Water
Fresh Curry Leaves (optional)

Delicious ingredients for curry chicken

Check out how to prepare fresh coconut milk from scratch:

http://fabulouscake.blogspot.com/2015/01/nasi-lemak-malaysia-style.html

1) Lightly fry the curry paste, I like to use a medium size pot.

2) Fry the chicken with the curry paste.

3) Add in the potatoes, curry leaves, water to simmer for about 20 mins. Do not cut the potato too small. Otherwise, it will "melt" & become too soft. Always use Holland potato- or any hard type of potato that is suitable for roast or boil.

4) Pour in the coconut milk & let it boil for 5-10 mins.

Delicious curry chicken served with Sambal & Nasi Lemak.

Simple Curry Chicken Paste:

1 kg of Whole Chicken (chopped into pcs)

500g Potato

200g Coconut Milk

(B) Blend into Paste:

100g Garlic

200- 250g Shallots

2ea Candlesnut (Buah Keras)

1 inches Tumeric (Kunyit) - optional if you don't have

(C)

3-4 tbsp of Meat Curry Powder

2 tbsp Chili Boh (Chili Paste)

1-2 tbsp Sugar

0.5 tsp Coriander Powder

3 Stalks Lemongrass (Serai- smash it)

3 Stalks Curry Leaves

Salt to taste

0.5 cup water (or slightly more to cover all the ingredient in the pot)

Method:

1) Heat 4-5 tbsp of oil, add in B & C . Stir fry until fragrant.

2) Add in chicken & potato, slightly stir fry & cover all ingredients with water, boil with high heat.

3) Reduce to medium heat & let it simmer until cook.

4) Stir in coconut milk & salt. Serve hot with white rice or Nasi Lemak.

Mocha Ganache or Chocolate Ganace (with Coffee)

2015-08-24T00:33:00.000-07:00

Discover one super delicious icing for simple chocolate cake. Let us present the crowd pleasing Mocha Ganache. I use this to ice one of my favorite Eggless Chocolate Cakes (8" round cake). It turns out great. This is so simple, you just need a spoon to ice the cake on the plate

Simple Ingredients:
6 oz Dark Chocolate (chopped into small pcs)
Half cup of Double Cream
1 tbsp of Kahlua
1 tsp of Hot water mix with 1tbsp espresso powder ( or any coffee powder)

Method:
1) Place chocolate in a bowl.
2) Heat double cream on medium fire with the hot water mixture of coffee powder, make sure the coffee powder melt nicely with the double cream.
3) When the double cream come to boil, the side of the pot with the cream will simmer slightly.
4) Quickly pour in the boiled double cream into the chocolate, stir until the chocolate melted & glossy.
5) Let the ganache cool down completely. The longer it sets, the thicker it gets.
6) I let the ganache cool at room temperature & then put it in the refrigerator chilled for another half an hour.
7) Then, I took it out & whipped with a fork to let it slightly thicker so that it can hold the shape when I apply the ganache by using the back of the spoon. [Yes, I admit I love to cook & bake but not washing...]
8) Apply the ganache all over the cake. It is better to let it set slightly in the refrigerator for another half an hour before serve.

Tips: You can use a hand held whisk to whip the ganache to incorperate more air in order to have thicker icing. Make sure the ganache mixture if set up further in the fridge for 45 mins - 1 hour.

Simple Delicious Daikon Soup (with Konbu)

2015-06-20T01:53:00.002-07:00

As usual on one sunny Sunday I was doing my round of groceries shopping in a mall. For those who live in this region (Souteast Asia), the weather is hot & humid. We love to visit the shopping mall during the weekend.You may not believe how this recipes was created. It was inspired by the soup served on Japanese events.

Whenever I see other people cooking delicious stuffs, I will automatically ask them: " This is nice, how do you cook it?". From here, I learned the combination of raw material that make this soup delicious.

This soup is so clear & delicious. Simple ingredients & it can be made vegan or non-vegan. The "umami" or the pleasant savory taste shines in this soup.

Ingredients for 3 paxs:

1 medium size Daikon (White Radish)

10-15g of dried konbu (Kelp- normal come in square shape, use a damn cloth wipe the konbu)

1 corn

1200 ml water

Method (using pressure cooker):

1) Put all the ingredients in a deep pressure cooker.

2) Cook for 15 mins & let it simmer in the pressure cooker until it cooled. Serve warm.

Method (using normal deep pot)

1) Put all the ingredients in deep pot & cook with medium fire until boiling. You may add extra 300-500ml water as the liquid will reduced after 30 mins of boiling with small fire.

2) Let it simmer for 30 mins (mins). Serve warm.

Tips: For those who prefer to add some ribs or lean chicken meat in this soup, pls do so. It tastes equally good. But the soup base will not be so clear after adding the meat.

The secret of success for this soup is the konbu or sea tangle. It is very "umami" & full of fibers. We love to eat the sea konbu & it is great for detox. This soup is super cooling for this HOT summer.

There are lot of vegetables in this soup, I just need to stir fry one dish & dinner can be served right away. This is a two in one dish- soup & vegetables.

I love to use pressure cooker because it is so fast & we can enjoy soup on a busy weekdays. Kids just love soup.

Classic Banana Cake (made with Yogurt)

2015-06-02T01:40:00.001-07:00

I have been looking for a classic banana cakes recipies. Guess what? I found one. Everyone can bake it without fail. The classic banana cakes has be to firm instead of spongy. That's my personal liking. One good thing about the banana cake is we can use less sugar. These are good for Saturday & Sunday tea time. Surprisingly, such simple cake is always a hit among the crowd every time. It tastes so good even without icing. Besides, you must use the local fruits (banana or pisang emas) to make this cakes. It just tastes superb.

Ingredients I: Mix & Set asides

210g Mashed ripe bananas by fork

1 tsp Lemon Juice

Ingredients II:

85g Butter

Pinch of Salt

180g Fine Sugar

1 Egg (L)

1 Egg Yolk

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1.5 cup of Yogurt (original flavor- no sugar added)

188g AP flour

3/4 tsp Baking Soda

* Tips: You can also replace the Yogurt with Buttermilk. Buttermilk will give fluffier texture banana cakes.

I bake this cake in a 8" inch round tin. Always coat the inner of the round tin with butter or cut a round wax paper at the bottom of the tin for easy remover.

Method:

1) Mashed banana & lemon juice - set aside.

2) Mix AP flour & baking soda- set aside.

3) Mix yogurt/ butter milk with vanilla extract- set aside.

4) Cream butter , sugar, salt until fluffy for about 3-4 minutes.

5) Beat in one eggs each time until well mix.

6) Add in the flour mixture & alternately it with yogurt mixture. Fold in the mashed banana mixture. Remember not to over mix.

7) Bake in a preheated oven at 175'C from 45 minutes to 1 hour until a toothpick inserted come out clean.

The baking time need to be calibrated for different oven. Enjoy.

Korean Japchae (Stir Fried Korean Glass Noodles with Vegetables 杂菜炒)

2015-05-23T04:53:00.001-07:00

We had Japchae for the 1st time during our trip to Korea. We thought that was very good. As usual we will try to figure out how to cook it at home. We miss the Korean glass noodles which is very different from the Chinese glass noodles. It was made with potato starch. My hubby loves the texture of these noodles so much. As the Korean wave is very strong in Malaysia & Singapore, we have these noodles import into this region with reasonable price. It is actually quite easy to cook. This noodles are great for partis as it tastes good even when it served cold. It has a lots of vegetables in it. For the vegetarian versions, just skip the meat & it tastes just as great.

The infamous Korean Glass noodles made from potato starch.

The Ingredients (3 - 4 servings):
350g Dried Korean Glass noodles
6-8 cloves of minced garlic
Light soya sauces
2-3 eggs
Cooking oil
Some water
Salt & Pepper
Sesame oil

Cut everything below in strips: to
Fresh mushrooms
Onion
Carrots
French beans
Green bell pepper
Spring onions
Black wood fungus (fresh)
300g Meat strips marinated with 1tsp of oyster sauces
Garnish with cucumber strips & sesame seeds (toasted)

Tips: You can throw in any kind of vegetables. Any amounts. As long as it is well season with soya sauces. It will taste great.
Tips: You can use the Korean soya sauces which will it even more authentic.

I

1) Separated the eggs yolk and eggs white. Fry with vegetable oil, let it cold, cut into strips, set aside.

2) Heat oil with mince garlic & fry the french beans & carrots. Season with salt & pepper. Set aside.

3) Put a big deep pot with lots of water over the noodles & cook according to the instruction on the packaging. I noticed that different glass noodles with slightly different size has different cooking time. The rule of thumbs, always pick up one noodles from the pots & eat it. This classic grandma method work perfectly well.

4) Drain the cooked noodles & put in into a big bowl, pour some light soya sauces to flavor it. The noodles is very long. Need to cut it with a scissors. I use stainless steel bowl. Mix the noodles with clean hand.

5) Heat oil with mince garlic, cook the onion with green bell pepper, season with soya sauces. Just put all the cooked vegetables on top of the noodles.

6) Heat oil with mince garlic, cook the meat strips with mushroom & black fungus. Cook this last as it will stain the wok. You don't really wash the wok pan every time when you cook.

7) Finally mix in the fresh cucumber. Use clean hand to mix is the fastest way. Season with sesame oil or additional soya sauces if needed.

Serve immediately.

Garlic Fried Brown Rice with Fresh Mushroom

2015-04-06T04:10:00.001-07:00

Fried Brown Rice is always a popular option in local vegetarian restaurant. Today, I am not doing the vegetarian version as I need to please the kids. However, you could omit the roast meat in the recipes if you want a vegan version fried rice. The highlight of this recipes is MUSHROOM & GARLIC.

Ingredients:

3 bowl of brown rice (it is ok to replace with white rice)

4 cloves of minced garlic

Handful of varieties fresh mushroom (cut into slices)

200g of roast pork (cut into little cubes -see pics below)

2 stalks of spring onion

2 tbsp of light soya sauces

1 tbsp of vegan oyster sauces

2-3 tbsp of water if needed

See Vegan oyster sauces below. It also included the dark caramel soya sauces.

Method:

1) 1 tbsp of vegetables oil dry with the garlic in small medium fire together with the roast pork.

Do not let the garlic burn as it will taste bitter. Do not leave the non stick wok, keep stir frying.

2) In all the fresh mushroom & continuing stir frying. Add in the oyster sauces.

3) Add in the spring onion & brown rice.Keep on stir frying.

4) Add in the soya sauces,pouring the soya sauce in circular motion over the fried rice over medium high fire.

5) You can add around 2 tbsp of water if you think the fried rice is too dry.

6) It is best served hot.

For those who are fans Japanese Garlic Fried Rice, you just need to change the recipes slightly:

3 bowl of round sticky Japanese rice

4-5 cloves of minced garlic

3 stalks of spring onion

3 tbsp of light soya sauces

Pinch of salt if needed
2-3 tbsp of water if needed

**Tips: The ratio of water : brown rice is 2:1.

Pre-soak the brown rice 4-6 hours ahead before cooking in the rice cooker.

Let it cool down before frying. Normally, I will cook all the rice in the afternoon, half portion is for lunch consumption & the other half to be kept in the fridge for dinner fried rice.

ABC Soup - Everyday Simple Vegetables Soup with Ribs

2015-04-04T03:54:00.001-07:00

This soup is as easy as ABC. And it is so comforting for the kids. I used to love this simple soup when I was a kid. Guess what, my little ones love it too. It is a simple delicious soup that is full of nutrient for growing up small kids from 1 year old to 18 years old. It is good to eat these vegetable when drinking the soup.

Ingredients for 3 servings:

300-350g of ribs/chicken chunks with skin removed

2 carrots (cut into thick slices)

1 medium size tomato (quarter)

1 medium size red onion (quarter)

3-4 medium size potato (cut into half)

1200ml plain cool water

Method:
1) Remember to blanch all the ribs with hot boiling water for a min & then wash it clean with running tap water.
2) Chop all vegetables according.
3) In all the ingredients above into a pressure cooker with 1200ml water.
4) Let it boil for 20 mins in the pressure cooker & it is done.

If you do not have a pressure cooker.
1) Just put all the ingredients in a deep pot over the stove & boil with high heat.
2) You will need to increase the water slightly to 1900ml as the water will evaporate while boiling.
3) Once the soup is boil, reduce the heat to the smallest setting & let it simmer in small fire for 2-3 hours.

This soup is best served warm.

Tips: You can also add one pcs of corn into this soup. Chop the corn into 4pcs. The soup will have the sweetness of the corn. Yes, kids love it. Who doesn't love corn?

Easy Sambal Ikan Bilis ( Spicy Chilies Condiment in Anchovies -Malaysia Style)

2015-02-04T04:03:00.002-08:00

As I have promised, I would like to share my Easy Sambal Ikan Bilis. Trust me, this taste as good as the original recipes that start from scratch. Looks yummy?

3 simple Ingredients:

1 tub of store bought Sambal Chili paste

Half bowl of dried anchovies ( rinse with running tap water)

1 medium size red onion

Pinch of salt & sugar

Method:

1) 3-4 tbsp of vegetable oil, fry the ikan bilis (pre-wash & drained dried anchovies) until crispy.

2) Drain the excess oil with kitchen towel & put aside.

3) 1 tbsp of vegetable oil into the non stick pan, red onion in, brown it with medium fire. By using non stick pan, we reduce the oil needed to cook the sambal ikan bilis.

4) Stir fry for 3-5 mins in medium fire, add in 2-3 table spoon of the sambal paste ( chili paste). You can add more if you think it is not enough. Don't worry, cooking do not need to be so accurate compared to baking.

5) Tips: Need to add pinch of salt & pinch of sugar ( 1-2 tsp). The sugar will caramelize the onion in the sambal & it taste even better. Feel free to adjust it to your liking:

* Add more sambal paste if you like it hotter

*Add more onion & sugar if you like it sweeter (kids love this)

6) Finally, stir in the fried ikan bilis & let it simmer for a while about 2-3 mins.

Serving recommendation: Taste best with Nasi Lemak & Curry Chicken. Stay tune for the Curry Chicken Recipes.

Thanks to my sister in Singapore, the below recipies was her home science recipes in secondary school.

I think she doesn't even remember this was the recipes she shared with me. I could still remember my late father who was so supportive & he was trying so hard to finish the sambal. Why? My sister double the spiciness of this recipes.

Here is the traditional Sambal Ikan Bilis if you like to make it from scratch.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp dried anchovies (cleaned & pre-washed)

4ea shallots

1 knob of gingers (sliced thinly)

6 dried chilies

1cm dried belacan ( dried shrimped paste, toasted- optional)

1 stalk of lemon grass

1/2 cup of asam juice (mix some asam paste with water, drain the juice)

1/2 tsp of salt

1/2 tsp of sugar

2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

1) Grind all these ingredients or you can smash it finely using a mortar & pestle- dried chilies, lemongrass, shallots, ginger, belacan.

2) Heat 2 tbsp of oil & fried the anchovies until crispy. Put aside & drained.

3) Then, add in all the no (1) finely grind ingredients, fry until become thick, you can see that the oil is turning into slightly red color & the aromatic smell of spiciness.

4) Add in the asam juice, let it simmer for a while. Add in salt & sugar.

5) Finally, let the mixture simmer & add it the fried anchovies, let the sauces become slightly thicken.

6) Serve the sambal ikan bilis with Nasi Lemak, accompaied with cucumber slices, hard boiled eggs (sliced half), fried peanut. This is a authenthic Malaysian breakfast!

Nasi Lemak (Malaysia Style)

2015-01-31T01:44:00.001-08:00

Nasi Lemak- Malaysian or Singaporean all time favorite. In the Malaysia language; Nasi means Rice; Lemak means Fat. These fat is from the coconut milk. The Nasi Lemak was classified a national dish for Malaysia. It is well loved by almost everyone includes the tourists, be it Japanese, Korean..etc. The Nasi Lemak is usually served with sambal (spicy condiments), crispy ikan bilis (anchovies), fried peanuts, cucumber, curry chicken or spice fried chicken (for those who can't take spicy food). I love Nasi Lemak for breakfast with spicy condiments.But, I can only eat once a week due to its "lemak" is making me fat.

Today I am going to show you how to cook the Nasi Lemak- the "Nasi" or "Rice" only. I will share with you the recipes on others sides dishes in the next post.

Don't worry. It is super easy to cook the Nasi Lemak.

Ingredients (3 servings):
2 cup of white rice (use the cup that come with the rice cooker)
2 cup of coconut milk* (use the cup that come with the rice cooker)
2 slices of ginger (slightly smash it)
2ea of Pandan leaves (tie to a knot)
1 stalk of lemongrass (slightly smash it)- i forgot to put this in.

How to extract coconut milk- The traditional way:
- Buy 1ea of young fresh grated coconut from the wet market, then, add 1 cup/150ml of hot boiling water.
- Let it sit for a while, it is too hot to handle it at this point of time
- Use a clean cloth to wrap up a portion the coconut mixture & squeeze all the liquid out.
- After a round of squeezing, pls check if you have enough of the coconut milk.
- You can add extra hot water to repeat the above steps again to squeeze extra coconut milk.

The modern way:
- Store bought coconut milk in packet. This is easily available in any supermarket.
- It saves time & avoid messy clean up.

Method:
1) Wash the rice & rinse it clean for 3 times.
2) Put all the ingredients in.
3) Let the rice cooker do the work.
4) After half an hour, you will have fluffy Nasi Lemak.

In South East Asia-Nasi Lemak usually serve with Sambal Ikan Bilis (spicy chili paste cooked with anchovies) & Curry Chicken. Enjoy~

Simple Lady Finger (Okra) Salad

2015-01-31T00:38:00.001-08:00

Super simple easy salad for a busy weekday nights. Okra or ladies fingers are surprising one of the super food that have a lots of health benefits. Okra is packed with dietary fibre that helps stabilisation of blood sugar levels by regulation of the rate of absorption of sugar from the digestive tract. The anti-diabetic property of okra is also attributed to its ability of inhibition of enzymes metabolizing carbohydrates, enhancement of production of insulin, regeneration of beta cell of the pancreas and increased secretion of insulin. In short, we shall include okra or lady fingers into our vegetables list. It is a very common vegetables in this Asia Pacific region.

Salads for 2-3 servings:

6-9ea lady fingers or okra (washed & cleaned)

2 tsps Seaweed sauces* (usually made in Taiwan, made in Korea or Japan)

1/2 tsp shallots oil or garlic oil (fried some vegetable oil with slices of shallots or garlic)

Some toasted sesame

* If you can't get the seaweed sauce, just replace it with light soya sauces will do.

Method:

1) Boil a pot of boiling hot water & cook the okra for 4-5 mins.

2) Drain & cool with running tap water. Put aside & slice it.

3) Mix the sliced okra with shallot/garlic oil.

4) Season well with the seaweed sauces or light soya sauces.

5) Sprinkles some toasted sesame on top.

6) Serve immediately.

Happy New Year 2015

2015-01-06T23:02:00.001-08:00

Thank you for following this blog. We would like to wish you a very Happy New Year 2015.

We will continue sharing new recipes & master chef tips for cooking /baking. Stay tune.

Braised Pork in Dark Soy Sauces (卤肉）

2014-12-11T01:47:00.002-08:00

Today, I am in good mood to cook something more elaborate. My favorite Braised Pork in Dark Soy Sources (卤肉). It is best served with rice. Honestly, it is not difficult to cook this dish. The only issues is time- at least 1 hour. The secret to cook a yummy braised pork to control the fire & long cooking time under the small medium fire for at least 1 hour or more.

Ingredients:

1-1.5kg Pork Knuckles (chopped into pcs that is suitable for braising)

6-8 dried Chinese mushroom (soaked until soft with warm water, cleaned, cut into half)

Some Dried Squid (julienned 鱿鱼丝)- around 1 tbsp

6 cloves of Garlic

2 Dried Chilies

Some Star Anise (2ea)

Some Cinnamon Stick (1ea)

1.5 tbsp Sugar

Some Pepper (whole pepper-half a teaspoon)

1.5 tbsp Oyster Sauce

1.5 tbsp of Dark Soy Sauces

1.5 tbsp Soy Sauces

Water

Salt to taste

Method:

1) Boil a pot of water & blanch the pork knuckles in the hot water for 3-5 mins.

2) Then, rinse the pork knuckles with cool running water. Set aside.

3) Heat 1 tbsp of oil, stir fry the dried squid until fragrant, add in the dried chilies, garlic & sugar. Then add in the star anise, cinnamon stick & whole pepper.

4) Add in the pork knuckles & stir fry until fragrant

5)Add in the soy sauces, dark soy sauces & water enough to cover the pork leg. Add in the mushroom.

6) Braised the meat on medium high fire until it simmer, then turn down the fire to "small setting" & braise for 1 hour or until water reduce. If the water reduce too fast, you can add in some hot water.

7) Alternative, you can cook these in a pressure cooker for 15 mins, then transfer the mat to the normal pot to braise for another 20-30mins.

Tips: Meat cooked in pressure cooker is not as delicious compared to small fire in regular pot. However, it can be used to shorten the cooking time.

Lastly garnish with some spring onion & it taste super delicious.

Best serve with steamed rice.

Yummy~

Always cook extra for tomorrow. So convenient. Just need to re-heat it.

Hot & Spicy Korean Rice Cake (Ddeokbokki/Tteokbokki 떡볶이- 炒年糕)

2014-11-29T00:55:00.001-08:00

Who doesn't like Hot & Spicky Korean Rice Cake (Ddeokbokki/Tteokbokki)? It is a very easy recipes. Anyone can cook & it is so hard to fail. Love to cook this on a lazy weekend when I don't feel like cooking at all . There are times we felt too tired to cook. This is a super easy one.

Ingredients (4 pax):

600g Korean Rice Cake

400ml-500ml Water

1 packet Ddeokbokki Hot Sauces

Some Mix Vegetables -

Bell Pepper

Kimchi

Spring Onions

Cabbages

Onions

Optional : extra ingredient for meat lover: fish balls, meat balls, squids or prawns.

Rice Cakes Hot Sauces

Simple instructions for cooking Korean Rice Cakes:

1) Pour water into a pan to cook together with the rice cakes. Make sure the water cover the rice cakes. Cook for about 4-5 mins over medium high heat.

Tips: Can add 1 tsp of anchovy powder to cook the rice cake with water. It will taste even better.

2) To check if the rice cakes is ready for the sauces. After 5 mins, just use a scissor to cut one of the rice cakes. If you can cut it through, it means the rice cakes are ready for the sauces.

3) Pour in the rice cake hot sauces & let it simmer. Stir occasionally. It is getting even more starchy.

4) Add in all the mixes vegetables & continue to cook for about 2-3 mins. Stir occasionally.

5) Serve hot immediately.

Tips: For younger kids who can't really stand too much spicy food, please reduce the hot sauces. Instead of using the whole packet, I only use half a packet.

Easy Fry Eggs with Mushrooms (Bunashimeji)

2014-11-08T00:11:00.000-08:00

Eggs! We love eggs. It is super easy to prepare. Can't imagine if I am running of out eggs supplies from my little kitchen. You can use any fresh mushrooms to replace the Bunashimeji. It is one type of Japanese mushroom - small, brown & delicious. Mushrooms are good subtitle for meat actually. They are healthy & low in calories.

Bunashimeji mushrooms

Recipes (serve 3 pax):

100g Mushrooms
4 Eggs
1.5 tbsp Olive oil
2 tbsp of Milk (options - water)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:
1) Cut the mushroom into small pieces. Removed the root.
2) You don't really need to wash the mushroom. Per the packet instruction, we do not need to wash it & can use it straight from the packaging.
3) If you need to wash any mushroom, please wash it with running tap water & do not soak it.
4) Break the eggs in a bowl & mix with 2 tbsp of milk, add in salt & papper. Mix lightly.
5) Heat the oilve oil in a non stick pan, stir fry all the mushroom over low heat for 2-3 mins.
6) Add in the eggs mixture and fry it over low heat for 3-4 mins each side.
7) Serve hot with rice.

Tips: Use olive oil to pan fry eggs taste super delicious! However if you do not have olive oil, use any type of vegetable oil instead. Enjoy.

How To Eat Korean Seaweed with White Rice?

2014-11-07T23:46:00.001-08:00

Even as an Asian myself, it is interesting to learn others nation eating culture. I always teach my kid, when you travel overseas, you need to learn to eat like a local. I got these Chongga Korean Seaweed in a can as a gift from a friend travel to Seoul, it tastes so good.

I find Korean products amazing. It is very practical especially their product made for the local market. Normally we bought the seaweed from local super market in light aluminium pouch. Once open, we really have to finish the whole packet. However, I find these seaweed in a can are more practical, easy to store & compact. I tried to figure out how to eat it without creating a mess.

1st- Lay a seaweed on top of the white rice with chopstick.

2nd- Position the chopstick at the edge of the seaweed just like you see in the above pictures.

3rd- Pick it up & yummy.

These are great quick fix on the weekday dinner especially I did not cook any "meat" cuisine. My daughter will not complain the dinner is too plain. When I don't have time to cook or the fridge is on "out of stock" situation, I will usually serve eggs & vegetables. These seaweed is very appetizing.

Fry Mixed Vegetable with Korean Spicy Hot Sauces

2014-10-25T02:30:00.000-07:00

Simple & quick vegetarian stir fry for healthier diet. This is great to serve with white rice. Extremely easy. Love the rainbow colour of this dishes. it is good to incorporate different colours vegetable in our diets. It will never go wrong with all sort of varieties of vegetables.

Ingredients (2-3 pax):

Vegetables:

50g Brown mushrooms

50g White mushrooms (or any mushrooms of your choice)

3 Napa cabbages leaves

1/3 Red bell pepper

1/3 Green bell pepper

1/2 Red onion

1 Knob of sliced ginger

2 Cloves garlic

Sauces:

2-3 tbsp Chongga Kimchi Sauce (TOS)

3-4 tbsp of Water

Salt to taste

1 stalk of spring onion cut into inches

1 red chili sliced

Method:
1) Brown the ginger & onion with 2 tsp of oil in a wok pan.

2) Add in the mushroom & continue stir fry for a min or two.

3) Add in all the vegetables except the chili & spring onion. Stir fry with the kimchi sauces & water, add salt to taste. Reduce the sauces to the consistency that you like. Do not put the lid on. I like mine a little dry with very little bit of sauces.

4) Last in the spring onion & chili. Serve hot immediately.

Tips: For stir fry, try to use the non stick pan because we can reduce the stir fry oil that need to be used to brown the garlic & ginger at the beginning. The result is more or less the same.
Tips: Prefer to use ceramic coated wok pan. It doesn't stick at all.

Easy Homemade Kimchi with Kimchi Based Sauces

2014-10-03T02:21:00.000-07:00

Nowadays, we love to prepare quick & healthy food especially on busy weekdays. This is one of those simple but delicious recipes that you can prepare ahead of time. This Kimchi can be served immediately when you have done mixing it. You can keep it in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Ingredients for :
350g Napa Cabbage (half & wash clean, presoak with 1 tbsp of salt & water fully cover)
3g of salt
40g of Chongga Touch of Spicy (TOS) kimchi based sauces

Method:
1) Pre-soak the cut napa cabbage in salt water for 1-2 hour, cover the cabbage with water & add 1 tsp of salt. Use a heavy plate to cover the soak cabbage to ensure it is fully soaked. Rinse the cabbage with running water after that.

2) Wear clean plastic disposable glove to sprinkle the salt evenly on every leaves of the napa cabbage. Or you can mix the salt & Chongga Kimchi based sauce before apply on the leaves. Hygiene is very important in Kimchi making process. Remember, we need to keep it for quite some time in the refrigerator.

3) Apply the Chongga TOS kimchi based sauces & salt evenly on every leaves.

4) Another option: you can cut the cabbage &amp & mix with the sauces to make Mat Kimchi.

5) Serve immediately or
6) Chilled it in the fridge for future usage.

Tips: You can double or triple the recipes if you family love Kimchi. It runs out fast.
Tips: Fresh Kimchi is good as salad or side dish.
Tips: Aged Kimchi is good for Kimchi Stew (Jjigae).
Once you know how to make this easy homemade Kimchi, you will never have to worry Kimchi shortagee from your fridge. Enjoy~

Stir Fry Korean Firm Tofu (Dubu) with Minced Meat

2014-10-03T02:19:00.001-07:00

Tofu & minced meat is always my 1st choice to cook for the kids. It is easy to eat, they do not need to use too much time to chew. Besides,tofu is another option of healthier plant based protein. I am training my kids to eat "everything" & do not be too choosy on food. They need to learn to appreciate whatever is served on the table. Granny & parents taught us the same idea when we were kids. Got to pass some of these wisdom to them.

I am using Chongga firm tofu for this dishes. Chongga offer two version of firm tofu (or Dubu -豆腐, 두부 in Korean language).

Soyrich tofu for stew
Soyrich tofu for frying ( I love the frying type)

I like the firm texture of these Korean tofu (口感很好).

Stew Tofu

Frying Tofu

In order to make the tofu taste better, you can fry it 1st See my previous recipes on the fry tofu:

http://fabulouscake.blogspot.com/2012/04/simple-delicious-fried-tofu.html

It is okay if you just use the tofu as it is.

Ingredients (2-3 serving):

150g minced meat (marinated with 1 tsp of soya sauces + 1tsp of corn starch)

1 box Firm tofu (210g)

Few slices of ginger

2 cloves of garlic

Sauces mixture:

1 tbsp of oyster sauce

1 tsp of dark soya sauces

1 tsp of soya sauces

4-5 tbsp of water

Pinch of salt to taste

some spring onion for decoration

Method:

1) Fry the garlic & ginger with the minced meat for 2 mins with 1 tbsp of oil in a wok pan (medium high heat).

2) Pour the sauces mixture & cook the meat for 2-3 mins , then add in the tofu. Lid on.

3) Continue simmer for another 2-3 mins, last in the spring onion.

4) Serve hot immediately with white rice.

Easy Fish Ball Soup

2014-09-21T02:52:00.000-07:00

Children love fish balls. Fish ball soup are very pleasing even to adult like me. In South East Asia, fish ball is easily available in the wet market (pasar). These fish balls are made from fresh fish. We are very blessed because we got these top quality fish ball direct from a good friend from Sekinchan.

Ingredients (serve 4):
1 pkt/500g of fish ball
half a red onion
300g of homemade Kimchi
2 stalks spring onion cut into inches
4 tbsp/60ml of Chongga Touch of Spicy (TOS) Kimchi based sauces
1 knob of ginger (sliced)
650ml water
Some red chilies (sliced for garnishing)

Method:
1) Mix the water & TOS kimchi sauces in the pot. Let it boils.

2) Put all the ingredients in & let it boil on medium high heat.
3)As the fish ball is very fresh & I do not want to over cook it because it will become rubbery.
You will know the soup is done when the fish balls floats on top.

4) Serve hot & enjoy.

If you do not have homemade kimchi, you can always buy from the store. It is easily available in all super market.