Chwee Kueh

Last night, I had a sudden inspiration to make Chwee Kueh (aka steamed rice cake with preserved radish) for breakfast this morning. My sister had brought over the aluminum molds for me but they've just been sitting in the cupboard. So I looked up the first recipe I could find online and got to cooking. The recipe was pretty easy but I was (and still am) unsure as to how thick the batter should be before transferring them to the individual molds. The rice cakes turned out a little too soggy and I almost threw them out but they tasted just fine after sitting overnight in the fridge. (Phew!) I topped them with fried preserved radish this morning and breakfast was served! :)

Recipe adapted from Jas's Kitchen:
Ingredients:
180g rice flour
25g corn flour
800ml water
2 tbsp oil
½ tsp salt

1. Place the two flours into a bowl and pour about 300 ml water. Mix to form a smooth batter. Strain.
2. Bring remaining (500ml) water, oil and salt to boil. Reduce to low heat. Pour in batter and stir constantly till it thickens.
3. Grease a few chwee kueh molds. Pour the mixture into each mold and place it on steamer. Steam over rapidly boiling water for about 10 minutes.
4. Remove from mold.
5. Serve hot with radish topping. (Preserved radish fried with minced garlic and sugar)

Bread Pudding

Baked this for a recent gathering. A very easy and yummy recipe!
Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com:
Ingredients:
7 slices day-old bread
2 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins
4 eggs beaten
2 cups half & half
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2) Break bread into small pieces into an 8 inch square baking pan. Drizzle melted butter over bread. Sprinkle with raisins.
3) In a medium mixing bowl, combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. Beat until well mixed. Pour over bread, and lightly push down with a fork until bread is covered and soaking up the egg mixture.
4) Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly tapped.

Vietnamese Summer Roll

The food challenge of the week was supposed to be Korean cold noodles. However, I couldn't find them at the Asian supermarket I was at, so I decided to make up for it by making hubby his favourite Vietnamese rolls. The rice paper were a little tricky to work with but the rolls turned out alright in the end. I also made the boo boo of mixing all the ingredients for the sauce into one bowl but it still tasted pretty good. :P

Recipe adapted from Squidoo.com:(makes 6 rolls)
Ingredients:
6 sheets rice paper
2 large leaves of green lettuce, cut into small pieces
3 ounces rice vermicelli, cooked
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
12 mint leaves
9 large shrimps, cooked, peeled, deveined and cut in halfs

For the dipping sauce:

1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 tablespoons warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3/4 clove garlic, minced
1 1/4 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 teaspoon garlic chili sauce (Chirashi)
2 3/4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts (I replaced the sugar and peanuts with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter)

1. Bring the water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.
2. Dip the rice paper in a large bow of warm water so it will become soft
3. Place the rice paper on a flat area, then stack small amount of lettuce, rice noddles, cilantro, mint leaves, and 3 haft shrimps
4. Roll the rice paper
5. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce together.
6. In another bowl, mix hoisin sauce, peanuts, and chilli sauce. Serve the rolls with these two sauce.

Curry Puffs

My not so aesthetic looking curry puffs. ;)

We were told to bring a dish each to class this week. A dish that we are fearful of making for whatever reasons. I volunteered to make curry puffs - a snack that is pretty unique to Malaysia and Singapore. It is something I absolutely love to eat but have failed miserably in my one attempt to replicate it months ago - the pastry had turned out too hard and the fillings were too bland. I believe I had messed up the actual measurement of the ingredients while trying to do all that conversions from grams to pounds to cups. This time I made sure I had them properly measured out (or so I hope!)

Recipe adapted from grouprecipes.com:
Ingredients:
5 tbsp oil
1 medium red onion (chopped finely)
1/2 tsp kurma powder or chicken curry powder
2 tsp meat or chicken curry powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 cup of finely diced chicken meat (breast or thigh) (I skipped this)
3 large potatoes (boiled and diced finely)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp black pepper or white pepper
1/2 salt
PASTRY:
500g (1lb) plain flour (equivalent to 2 cups of 8 oz based on my estimation)
150g (5 oz) margarine or shortening
3/4 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

1. To make pastry, mix flour with margarine, water, salt and knead well.
2. Let it rest for 1/2 hour.
3. While waiting for the dough, heat oil and fr onion gently until golden brown.
4. Add the kurma powder, curry powder, chili, turmeric and fry gantly.
5. Add the chicken, potatoes, sugar, pepper, salt and cook for 5 minutes.
6. Mix well and leave aside to cool.
7. Cut the dough into circles (3 inches) in diameter when it is done.
8. Pre-heat the oven if you decide to bake instead of deep frying at 180c.
9. Fold pastry over to make a half circle and crimp at edges with egg white.
10. Deep fry in oil until golden or bake 15-20 mins at 180c. (I baked at 350 F)
*Brush egg yolk on the puffs if you want to bake it to give it the golden finish.

Verdict: Well, the pastry has a much better texture this time round. The potato filling was a little dry and could do with more spice and salt.
What did the class think? They all liked the pastry. Mix response on the overall taste though since most have never tried curry puffs before. Chef suggested trying waxy potatoes next time (instead of mealy ones) to allow for more moisture retention and adding some chilli oil to up the spice level.
I think I will just wait for my next trip back to Singapore to satisfy my cravings for good! :P

Food challenge of the week: Indian Chicken Briyani

This week I wanted to cook one of my favourite Indian cuisine - Briyani. I used to eat so much of it for lunch at work that it was no surprise that my cholesterol was on an all-time high! Very spicy, extremely sinful but oh so good! I decided to try the recipe by Vah Chef at vahrehvah.com. The long list of spices required was pretty daunting but I managed to get most of it except for mace (which I substituted with nutmeg powder), black cardamon and saffron. Note that the recipe on the link does not tally with the ingredients used in the video. This was what I used:

Ingredients:
For the marinade:
6 chicken medium pieces
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 tbsp chopped mint leaves
2 sticks cinnamon
2 cloves
4 green cardamoms
1/2 tsp cumin and coriander pdr
1 tsp black cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp each of chopped ginger and garlic
2 green chilli
1 tsp nutmeg
6 piece pepper corns
2 cup yoghurt
Fried shallots
2 tbsp oil or ghee
Salt to taste
For the rice:
2 cups Basmati rice
Water
Salt to taste
2 tbsp oil

1. Add all the ingredients (except rice) with the chicken pieces and mix well (see video). Marinate in the refrigerator for at least four hours.
2. In a large pot combine the rice, water, salt, some oil and cook till the rice is half-done. Drain the excess liquid and spread the rice on a plate to cool.
3. In a large heavy-bottomed pan add chicken with marinade and spread a the rice evenly on top. Top the rice with some coriander, mint leaves and fried onions.
5. Cover pot with a tight lid and cook on high heat for first 10 min, medium heat for next 10 min and low heat for the last 10 minutes. Check for doneness.
7. Garnish with slices of boiled eggs, nuts or raisins.

The recipe was relatively easy to follow. However, my biggest issue was determining the time at which the basmati rice was 50% done. I must have overcooked it a little because the rice turned out softer than it should have been. I was quite happy with the taste though and I was pleasantly surprised that the chicken pieces did not burn or stick to the bottom of the pan. Next time, I shall try the baking method by showmethecurry.com.

Lazy day meal

Japanese curry using the idiot proof Japanese curry roux.
Just boil the meat & veges in water, mix in the roux and voila!

Don't be fooled by the box. It is really not that spicy!

Our curry with pork, potatoes, carrots & onions served with rice. Yums!

Food challenge of the week: Pizza and Buffalo wings!

The food theme this week was American and I decided to try my hand at pizza making and buffalo wings. The pizza dough was really quick and easy to make and I used whatever leftovers I had in the fridge for the ingredients: namely ham/jalapenos/ mushroom/ shredded cheese & BBQ sauce as base.

 Pizza crust (adapted from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
2 1/2 cups bread flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a medium bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. Stir in flour, salt and oil. Beat until smooth. Let rest for 5 minutes.
3. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat or roll into a round. Transfer crust to a lightly greased pizza pan or baker's peel dusted with cornmeal. Spread with desired toppings and bake in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let baked pizza cool for 5 minutes before serving.

There were many variations of Buffalo wings recipes online but this one kinda stood out because it involved boiling and then broiling the chicken. I left the chicken in the broiler for a tad too long and they were a little hard but still tasted pretty good when mixed with the hot pepper sauce.

Baked Buffalo Wings (adapted from food.com)
Ingredients:
1 lb chicken wings
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup lousiana hot sauce (I used Frank's hot sauce)
1 tablespoon margarine

1. Fill a large pot half way with water and then add the first 4 ingredients.
2. Bring water mixture and wings to a boil and then boil for 15 minutes.
3. Transfer wings to an oven safe container coated with cooking spray. Bake wings on "Broil" (high) for 15 minutes on each side.(For crispier wings, cook longer on each side, maybe 20 minutes per side).
4. While waiting for wings, combine the Hot Sauce and Margarine in a microwave safe container and cook in microwave for 2 minutes or until melted. (You can cook the sauce longer for a thicker sauce).
5. When wings are done, shake 'em up with the sauce.

My first attempt at Lebanese cuisine

This was the meal I promised hubby last week. On the menu: lentil soup, kofta lamb, hummus & pocket pita bread (bought off the shelves). Falafel was initially on the list but I figured it would be too much food for the two of us.

Kofta Lamb (Recipe adapted from Lebanese recipes)
Ingredients:
1 tbsp ground coriander
Small handful fresh coriander
1 onion, peeled and roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 lb minced lamb
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 tbsp olive oil
Warm pitta bread, tzatziki, hummus and salad to serve

1. Put the ground and fresh coriander, onion, garlic and cumin in a blender. Whizz until finely chopped and blended, then add the mince and egg and whizz again until combined.
 2. Divide mixture into desired portions. Brush with oil and grill until cooked through.
3. Serve with pitta bread, tzatziki, hummus and salad.
* The lamb was flavorful on its own but I personally would have preferred a bit of salt in my meat.

Lebanese Lentil Soup (Recipe modified from Food.com)
Ingredients:
Few sprigs of fresh cilantro, stems removed
3 cloves garlic
1/4 to taste olive oil
1/2 tsp salt, divided
1.2 large onion, chopped fine
1 cup lentils, washed and drained
1/3 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups water
Bunch of fresh spinach
1 potato, cubed
11/4 tbsp lemon juice
* See instructions on website
 * The touch of cinnamon added an interesting taste to the soup.

Hummus (Recipe adapted from About.com)
Ingredients:
1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans
1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas
3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini (made with 1 cup sesame seeds and 1/3 cup olive oil blended in food processor)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil

1. Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.
2. Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.
3. Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional).
4. Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.

Verdict from hubby: "Not bad!" ;P

The way to a man's heart is through his stomach...

Hubby has been grumbling that I've not been experimenting with my cooking as much since I started the culinary class. Honestly, it's a little a hard considering 1) the first module was mainly on knife skills, sanitation and salads 2) it can get pretty tiring thinking of new things to cook everytime. Well, good news is we are moving on to meat and poultry in our second module so that should be pretty useful knowledge to translate to homecooking.
To appease my husband in the meantime, I've agreed to try out at least one new cuisine a week. Basically, he names what he wants and I'll do my best to produce it. (No guarantee on the outcome of course! ;))
Last week, it was Thai and Mexican. I made Thai green chicken curry with rice and decided to try my hand at mango sticky rice for the first time. The taste was right  but alas my rice came out way to sticky. I will have to work on getting the right rice consistency the next time. Hubby liked it though..so phew!

 For the Mexican meal, there was baked nachos with chicken/jalapenos/tomatoes and cheese , ground beef with refried beans, chicken fajita mix and cheese quesadillas. I used ready seasoning for the meat so the meal wasn't too difficult to prepare and hubby loved it!

 My challenge for this week is Lebanese! Let's hope it turns out right!

HaiHan Fun Mein

I have never been very successful with frying noodles. I tend to either overcook them or the sauce just hadn't come out right. However, this recipe from Martin Yan Quick and Easy is a keeper! I didn't follow the recipe to a tee but it was still so yummy.

 Ingredients: (serves 4)
1/4 lb boneless, chicken breast or thigh meat, cut into 1-inch pieces
(I used my leftover roast pork instead)
1/4 lb med-sized raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp oyster-flavoured sauce

Sauce:
1 cup chicken broth
3 tbsp oyster-flavored sauce
1 tbsp sweet chilli (I didn't have this so I added 1/2 tsp sweet dark sauce & 1/2 tsp Thai garlic chilli instead)

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic minced
1 walnut-sized shallot, thinly sliced
1 red jalapeno chilli, thinly sliced (omitted)
1 celery stick, thinly sliced on the diagonal (I added a few bunches of chives instead)
2 cups cooked rice stick noodles (1 portion)
2 cups cooked Chinese egg noodles (2 portions)
1 egg, beaten (omitted)
1 tsp sesame oil

1. In a bowl, combine the chicken, shrimp, cornstarch and oyster-flavored sauce and stir to coat. Let stand for 10 minutes.
2. To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well.
3. Heat a stir fry pan over high heat until hot. Add vegetable oil, swirling to coat the sides. Add garlic, shallot, and chilli and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 secs.
4. Add chicken and shrimp, stir-fry until shrimp begin to curl and turn pink, abt 2 mins.
5. Add celery and stir-fry for 1 min.
6. Add noodles and sauce and cook, stirring gently, until chicken is no longer pink and noodles is heated through, abt 2 mins.
7. Push noodles towards the sides of the pan and pour the egg into the center.
8. Cook until egg is almost set, abt 1 min.
9. Sprinkle with sesame oil and toss to mix the egg into the noodles.
10. Transfer to plate and serve.

Homemade Chicken Patty

I made these chicken patties for a picnic recently. They turned out pretty good so here's the recipe...

Ingredients:
2 lbs minced chicken
1 onion, finely chopped
3/4 cup Italian seasoning bread crumbs
1 egg beaten
1/4 tsp white pepper powder
1/4 tsp black pepper powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp garlic powder
4-6 tbsp chicken broth
1/4 tsp salt or to taste

1. Combine minced chicken in a large bowl with all the other ingredients.
2. Mix the ingredients evenly with your hands.
3. Chill the mixture in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
4. Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions or more if you want them smaller.
5. Heat a non-stick sprayed frying pan over medium-low heat and cook each patty 4 to 6 minutes on each side or  until cooked and slightly browned.
6. Serve patties with burger buns, lettuce, cheese and sliced tomatoes.

Enjoy! :)

Nonya Bak Chang

The ladies gathered yesterday to make bak chang aka chinese glutinous rice dumplings! My all time favourite. I can practically eat them for every single meal without ever getting sick of them! *Yums!* Anyhoo, it was my first attempt at wrapping these dumplings and what mess I was. The lady who was teaching me truly had the utmost patience. Haha!
We had 2 pressure cookers so it really sped up our cooking alot. By the end of the day, we all had more than 10 dumplings to bring home each. And needless to say, I've had it for lunch, dinner and this morning's breakfast already!  Happy belly!  :)

Fillings made with pork, chestnut, mushroom...

Chinese Tea Eggs

We had the family day picnic today and everyone was supposed to bring a dish. Wanted to make Pa Jun (Korean pancakes) initially but realized it wouldn't taste too good when cold. At the last minute I decided on Chinese tea eggs using a ready tea/spice mix my friend had sent me. I boiled and cracked the shells of the eggs the night before and then put all the ingredients into my crockpot and allowed it to simmer overnight. Was quite happy with how the eggs turned out in the morning...

...and even the shells looked so pretty!

These can be easily made using black tea, star anise, cinnamon stick, peppercorn and soy sauce.  What you get is a slightly salted taste with a subtle infusion of tea and spice. *Mmm...* It would definitely be something I'm keeping in my list of potluck dishes to bring in future!

Mission accomplished! :)

So last evening's meal went pretty successfully! My first attempt without cheating with pizza delivery or ready bought food! *Yay!* I took practically the whole day preparing for it in my hell's kitchen. It was so darn hot in there that my face remained flushed the whole evening. Did not have time to take pics of my dishes but I managed to capture just this one shot while we were eating.

The menu included:
Pickled cucumber and carrot
Egg drop soup with tofu and enoki mushroom
Sesame grilled asparagus
Steamed corn with butter
Beer braised BBQ ribs
Kung Pao chicken
Fruit & mochi ice cream for dessert

I guess my biggest challenge was coordinating the cooking so that I could serve them hot when the guests arrive. I think it helps that I had all my recipes typed out on a piece of paper and I did all the prep for the ingredients and sauces early in the afternoon. I also used different modes of cooking and included a few dishes which were really quick and easy to cook (e.g. steamed corn & grilled asparagus). I prepared the pickled cucumber and carrot a day in advance and cooked the soup slightly earlier and kept it warm in a slow cooker. All in all, it worked out pretty well but I don't think I will be repeating this anytime soon. Well, not until the weather improves!

Rice cooker "claypot" rice

I wanted to use up the leftovers in my fringe and I wanted a no fuss meal so this was what I cooked....

Ingredients:
2 chicken breasts (cubed and marinated with 1T oyster sauce, 1 T dark soy sauce and 2 T light soy sauce and a dash of pepper for 30 minutes)
5-6 dried shitake mushrooms (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, remove stems and sliced)
Lettuce
1tsp sesame oil
1 T cooking oil
2 cloves garlic (minced)
2 stalks of scallions (chopped)
2 cups rice
Coriander for garnish

1. Heat cooking oil in frying pan for few minutes.
2. Fry garlic till fragrant and add in the chicken and stir fry for a few minutes
3. Add mushroom and stir for a minute before adding in the uncooked rice.
4. Drizzle in sesame oil and dark soy sauce and mix evenly.
5. Transfer ingredients from pan into the rice cooker
5. Add in 2 cups of water, lettuce and stir to mix evenly. Press cook.
6. Give the rice a stir mid-way through cooking.
7. Garnish with coriander and spring onions and serve hot.

Variations:
* Use chicken/vegetable broth instead of water to cook the rice. Adjust salt content accordingly.
* Replace chicken with beef or pork and throw in some Chinese sausages for the sweetness.
* Replace lettuce with any other veges you like.
* Add ginger to enhance taste.
* You can choose to omit the frying and simply mix and cook the ingredients in the rice cooker directly. I personally prefer to cook the meat first to be on the safe side.

Kung Pao Chicken

This is a rather spicy Sichuan dish. I was coughing away while frying the chilli but the end product was delicious! Cut down the number of dried chilli for less spice and don't forget to deseed them!

Recipe from Rasa Malaysia 
Ingredients:
1 1/2 boneless & skinless chicken breast (or 3 boneless & skinless chicken drumsticks)
3 tablespoons roasted peanuts
8-12 dried red chilies (deseeded and cut into halves)
3 tablespoons cooking oil
5 slices peeled fresh ginger
2 gloves garlic (sliced diagonally)
1 stalk scallion (chopped)

 For the marinate:
1 tablespoon corn starch
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
1 teaspoon oil

 For the sauce:
1 1/2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon black vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon corn starch

1. Cut the chicken meat into small cubes, rinse in water, pat dry with water and marinate with the ingredients above for 30 minutes.
2. Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Heat up a wok with one tablespoon cooking oil and stir-fry the marinated chicken until they are 70% cook. Dish out and set aside.
4. Clean the wok and add in the remaining 2 tablespoons of cooking oil until it smokes.
5. Add in the ginger and garlic slices and do a quick stir before adding in the dried red chilies.
6. Stir fry the dried red chilies until aromatic and they smell spicy, then add in the chicken meat.
7. Do a quick stir before adding in the roasted peanuts and continue to stir a few times.
8. Add in the sauce and stir continuously until the chicken meat is nicely coated with the sauce.
9. Add in the scallions and stir evenly.
10. Dish out and serve hot with steamed white rice.

Enjoy! :)

Beer- Braised Ribs in Barbeque sauce

As you can see, I am on a roll with pressure cooking. This recipe is so easy and oh so tasty! And oh, do pop by Hon, what's for dinner? if like me you are clueless about what you should be cooking for dinner everytime! Better still, contribute! ;)

Recipe from Pressure Perfect: Two Hour Taste in Twenty Minutes Using Your Pressure Cooker

Ingredients
4 lbs pork spare ribs, country style or baby back ribs
1 bottle beer (12 ounces)
1 cup water
2 tbsp cider or red wine vinegar
Barbecue sauce

1. Slice ribs into three or four rib portion.
2. Pour the beer and water into a 6-quart of larger cooker.
3. Arrange ribs in cooker so that none are directly on top of each other. (Lean ribs against side of cooker but do not fill cooker more than two-thirds full. Ribs do not have to be fully submerged in liquid to cook properly.)
4. Cook on high pressure for 15 minutes and quick release pressure.
5. Preheat oven to 400 F. Transfer ribs to a rack set over foiled-lined baking sheet.
6. Brush BBQ sauce on both sides of the ribs.
7. Roast until browned and crisp on top, 7 to 10 minutes. Turned ribs over and baste with additional BBQ sauce. Continue to roast until second side is deeply browned, abt 5 mins.
6. Brush a little extra sauce onto each rib and serve.

Variation
*Lamb ribs (20 mins + quick release)
*Beef short ribs or flanken (25 minutes + natural release)
*Instead of BBQ sauce, use honey-mustard sauce +/- 2 to 3 tsp of toasted sesame oil and 2 tsp of sesame seeds

I am absolutely blown away...

...by the magic my pressure cooker can do! Tender, succulent meat in just minutes. Wow. Makes me feel like a pro in my own kitchen. ;)

Five spice pork roast

Recipe adapted from Pressure Cooking for Everyone

Ingredients: (makes 6 servings)
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 lb boneless pork loin, fat trimmed to 1/8 inch, tied
1/2 tsp five spice powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 scallion, chopped
2 tbsp shredded fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp dry sherry
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
11/2 tbsp cornstarch
Ground pepper to taste
Chopped green scallions for garnish

1. Brown pork roast on all sides for abt 4 mins over medium high heat and transfer to a platter.
2. In a small bowl, mix five spice powder and salt together. Season pork with mixture.
3. Add scallion, ginger and garlic to pot. Stir over medium heat until fragrant, abt 30 secs. Add sherry and stir well. Add stock and return pork to the pot.
4.Cook under high pressure for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and quick release the pressure. Insert meat thermometer in the center of pork roast. It should read 150 F.
5. Transfer roast to serving platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Let roast stand for 10 minutes before carving.
6. Let cooking liquid stand for 5 mins. Skim off fat that rises to the surface. Return cooking liquid to medium heat and bring to boil uncovered. Dissolve cornstarch in soy sauce in a small bowl. Stir into boiling liquid and cook until thickened. Season sauce with pepper.
7. Arrange roast on the platter and sprinkle with scallions. Serve immediately with sauce passed on the side.

A flour-y mess.

That was the state of my kitchen today. First with the garlic pancakes I made for lunch, followed by my first attempt at making apple/blueberry crumble. Have not been very successful with my baking so far but this one turned out pretty well. :)

Recipe from Big Eats (Refer to website for step by step pictorial guide)

Ingredients:

Crumble Topping
250g unsalted butter, cut into 1x1 cm cubes, cold
500g plain all purpose flour, sifted
100g castor sugar
2 tablespoons demerara sugar (solely for crunch. this is optional) I skipped this.
Filling
1 packet blueberries, washed
5 Granny Smith apples (may be substituted with Washington or Macintosh apples) I used Golden Delicious apples and they worked fine.
1 cinnamon stick
4 cloves
200g castor sugar
100g unsalted butter, softened

1. Preheat oven to 180c and grease a square baking dish. 

2. Peel and core apples. Cut into medium sized cubes and set aside. In a small saucepan, add apples, sugar, spices and just enough water to cover. Bring to a boil and cook until apples are softened. Once cooked, discard all liquid and spices. Allow apples to cool. 

3. In a large bowl, combine the cold butter and the flour. Using a “cutting” action, cut the butter incorporating it into the flour with a blunt metal knife. Keep cutting the butter allowing it to pick up the flour gradually. Stop once it resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in castor sugar.

4. Add cooled apples and blueberries into the greased baking dish. Dot with the softened unsalted butter. Spoon over crumble mixture and sprinkle the demerara sugar. Bake for 40 minutes or until crumble is browned all over. Serve warm with pouring cream or ice cream.

Ngoh Hiang

I've been missing food from home and Ngoh Hiang (five spice pork roll) ranks high on the list. Unfortunately, the only way to satisfy my craving here is to make my own. Well, thank goodness for the internet and the generous people with their wonderful recipes! =)

Recipe from Rasa Malaysia:

Ingredients : (Makes about 10 six-inch rolls)

1 pound/ 455 grams minced pork
½ pound/ 228 grams fresh shrimp, shelled, and minced (don't forget to devein too!)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons light soya sauce
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 teaspoon five-spice powder
10 to 12 water chestnuts (about 11 ounces/ 300 grams), washed, peeled and smashed with a pestle
(Here's how to peel a water chestnut if you are as clueless as me! :))
3 green onions, finely chopped
½ a yellow onion, minced
3 tablespoons self-rising flour (I made my own self raising flour by using 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder and 1/4 tsp salt)
Dried soya bean skin, cut into 4 by 6-inch rectangles
Corn oil
Sweet dark soya sauce or Kecap Manis for dipping

1) Mix the pork and minced shrimp in a large bowl and add the egg, stirring to mix. In a separate bowl, stir together the soya sauce, salt, white pepper and five-spice powder until smooth, then add it to the pork/shrimp mix.
2) Stir in the water chestnuts, green onions and yellow onion, mixing as you go to distribute the ingredients evenly. Finally, sift in the flour and mix until no traces of flour are visible.
3) Lay out the prepared skins on your work surface. Arrange a heaping tablespoon of the prepared pork mix along the longer edge of the skin, leaving a ½-inch gap from the surrounding edges. Shape the meat into a slim sausage, it should be about 1 inch tall and 1½ inches wide.
4) After shaping the meat, roll the skin starting with the edge closest to you, tucking in the side edges as you go. Roll until the meat is fully ensconced within the skin, then place it, seamside down, on a plate. Repeat until you’ve used up all the pork.
5) Lightly grease a steamer tray and steam the rolls for 8 to 10 minutes, until the skins turn translucent and the rolls feel firm. Remove and set aside on wire racks to cool. At this point, you can divide the rolls into batches and freeze them in plastic wrap for up to 3 months. To cook, defrost the rolls in a 350F/ 180C oven for 10 minutes before frying.
6)To finish the rolls, heat a non-stick saucepan large enough to hold 2 to 3 rolls comfortably and add enough oil to thinly cover the surface of the pan.
Add the rolls one at a time – maximum of 3 at one go– and fry on medium high heat until the skins turn a crisp dark brown. Leave to cool on paper towels or a wire rack before slicing and serving. Wipe down the pan with paper towels after each batch before cooking the next.
7) Slice the rolls into 1-inch chunks and serve warm or at room temperature with the dipping sauce.

Here's a look at my Ngoh Hiang...

Mmmm....they tasted so good! It was a tad labor intensive (at least to me!) but definitely well worth the time and effort!