baking music

mushroom sauce

2010-06-17T23:51:00.004+10:00

Any steak dish is always incomplete without some sauce, be it mustard sauce or even an olive oil dressing. (By the way, steak and mustard is oh-so-good!) It definitely brings your steak to a whole new dimension, so next time you have steak at a restaurant, always get a sauce to go with your steak.

Here's my attempt on one of the more popular sauces - mushroom sauce. It's as easy as 1-2-3!

Mushroom Sauce

roughly 50g mushroom ( about 4 medium/10 small mushrooms), finely sliced

50g butter

1 garlic clove, finely diced

1 tbsp cream

25ml white wine

parsley

1. melt butter in saucepan, slightly brown the garlic then sauté the mushrooms.

2. set mushrooms aside but retain the fats on the pan. add the wine and simmer, reduce it slightly before adding cream and parsley.

3. add the mushrooms back, cook for another minute then keep warm till ready to serve.

p/s: other recipes suggest adding wine to mushrooms, allowing alcohol to cook for a minute, and maybe you can add beef/veal glaze, simmer for another minute before removing mushrooms. following this, strain the liquid into another pan and reduce slightly before adding cream.

fennel

2010-06-17T02:34:00.007+10:00

How many of you ever had this vegetable? So far, I've only had it in salads, but I thought there could be more that I can do with it. Fennel goes really well with seafood, it has a sharp, crisp taste. However,I wanted to experiment with the flavours so I decided to try this combination: Fennel and Beef! It is a little like beef and potato mash with a twist, give it a go and leave a comment!

Seared Beef with Fennel and Potato puree

200g porterhouse steak ( you can experiment with different cuts of beef)
1 medium sized potatp
1 bulb fennel (roughly same amount as potato)
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp cheese (mascarpone recommended but i used parmesan)
1 cup milk
2 cups chicken stock
approx 1/4 cabbage

1. Fennel and potato puree: Half the fennel lengthwise and cut into thin pieces of 1/4 inch thickness (be sure to trim the fennel of their stalks and bottom root/middle bulb). Peel the potato, halve and thinly slice. Place the fennel, potatoes, garlic, milk and chicken stock into a heavy pot over medium heat. If needed, add enough water to just cover the fennel. Bring the mixture to a simmer and continue until the fennel and potato are soft, roughly 30 minutes.

2. Drain the fennel mixture. Place the fennel into a food processor and puree. Add some of the mixture into the food processor (for more watery effect) and pulse to puree, gradually adding more mixture till the desired consistency is achieved. Add the cheese, mix, and season with salt and pepper to taste. (Consider adding mint)

3. Beef: Ensure meat is at room temperature ( definitely let it 'warm' up if taken directly from the fridge). Season with salt and pepper, then rub with some olive oil using your hands (optional). For medium rare, cook on each side for 2 minutes, then repeat for both sides (total 8 mins). Let meat to rest for half the cooking time before serving.

4. Cabbage: Blanch in hot, salted water for 1 min. Drain, then toss in pan to heat with some butter; add salt and pepper to taste.

carbonara

2010-06-15T21:40:00.007+10:00

Finally back after a loooooooong hiatus. I've done heaps of recipes but havn't got time to post them here. If you enjoy cooking, you should check out Masterchef Australia - this has been my main source of learning and inspiration. Here's a traditional style carbonara (no cream!) to impress your next guest!

Spaghetti alla carbonara

2 egg, separated

20g bacon (approx 2 large piece of middle-cut bacon. the exact amount depends on how much flavour you want)

spaghetti (enough for 2)

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

cheese (cheddar/parmigiano-reggano)

1. To cook spaghetti, bring a pot of water to boil (remember to add salt). cook spaghetti till al dente, reserve 1/4 of water and drain the rest.

2. Combine oil and bacon into a pan set over medium heat, and cook the bacon till it has rendered its fat and is crispy and golden. Remove from heat and set aside (do not remove fat)

3. add reserved pasta water to the pan with the bacon, then add in the pasta and heat, shaking the pan, for 1 minute.

4. Remove from heat, add grated cheese, egg white, and pepper to taste, and toss until thoroughly mixed.

*in the above dish, I served the pasta with chicken cooked with parsley butter

cake madness

2009-08-03T22:25:00.003+10:00

After 4 hours of madness, 3 pairs of hands, some disappointment but lots of learning, I present you my first ever "complete" display cake. More to come ( and hopefully less mishaps).

White Chocolate Cake with Strawberries

Recipe from my book "Cooking with Chocolate and Coffee"

prawn risotto v1.0

2009-07-14T21:05:00.004+10:00

If it doesn't work out right, it's just version 1.0

Been trying some new recipes on top of my head recently. I've always wanted to make prawn the dominant flavour ( something like prawn-noodle-style stock but used with a non-asian dish). Hopefully this will evolve into something really bistro. Comments are welcome!

Prawn Risotto v1.0

4 medium-sized prawn, centre shell removed ( I used banana prawn)
1 chilli
garlic
4 cherry tomatoes (halved)
30g baby spinach (washed)
white wine (I used chardonnay)
1/2 cup arborio rice
30g butter
about 700 ml of prawn stock

Prawn stock
skin/shell of 20 prawns
1 small carrot
1 medium sized onion
celery (about same amount of carrot)

*The above vegetables, used together in ratio of carrot:celery:onion=1:1:2 is called mire poix, normally used in making most stocks.

1. To make prawn stock, heat up some olive oil in a pot and cook the prawn shells lightly till they change colour. Then, lightly brown the carrot, celery and onion, then add about 1 litre of boiled water (speeds things up). Bring the mixture to boil, then lower heat to medium. Season with pepper, and minimal salt. Check the stock after 20 minutes as it might overcook and taste bitter instead.

2. When stock is almost done, heat up some olive oil in another pan and cook chopped chilli and garlic till fragrant. Then, cook the prawns but be careful not to overcook. Once done, remove and set aside.

3. In the same pan, add about 30g butter to the garlic and chilli. Once melted, add the arborio rice and coat the rice with butter. Then, add a splash of white wine and cook till wine is absorbed by rice. Following this, add the stock till just covering the rice. Note: pour stock around the sides of the rice, not at the centre. Keep repeating this process till risotto is cooked al dente.

4. Once done, stir in tomatoes and spinach and cook for another 1 minute. Serve the risotto with prawns cooked previously.

abundance

2009-07-12T01:49:00.002+10:00

generous. abundant.
the above two words were commonly used by Masterchef Australia judge Matt Preston, an internationally acclaimed food critic, to describe some of the contestant's food.

and i'd like to think we achieved that tonight. we had nikujaga(homestyle japanese beef stew), vietnamese vermicelii rolls, kimchi, stirfry bokchoy with mushroom, and lemonade with mint, finished with egg castella.

when you have food that is abundant, it makes it look really appetizing.
when you have great friends to share (and to help finish the food), life's good.

YES!

Broccoli with Beurre Blanc, Roast Beef and Kimchi

2009-07-07T00:07:00.005+10:00

It was an unhappy day today, so me and my mate decided to channel our energies from worrying to cooking! I tried making a beurre blanc sauce, something that I always wanted to learn to make, while my friend tries something new with beef.

Beurre Blanc Sauce
*recipe by Manu Feidel

100g chopped eschallots (about 3)
5 black peppercorns
1 sprig of thyme
1 bay leaf
150ml white wine
50ml white wine vinegar
50ml pouring cream
250g cold unsalted butter, diced

1. Combine eschallots, peppercorns, thyme, bay leaf, white wine and vinegar in a saucepan and simmer, until 95% reduced (or until all liquid is almost evaporated).
2. Add cream, bring to boil. Reduce heat to very low.
3 Slowly add butter, whisking continuously (otherwise mixture will split), a little at a time until combined. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour mixture through a fine sieve into a jug, cover and keep in a warm place. Makes 1/3 cup.

*I omitted the bay leaf and thyme and it still tastes alright. I used Chardonnay as the choice of white wine.

Beef with Kimchi, Shallot, and Rosemary

Sliced beef ( long flat pieces)
Rosemary ( dried or fresh is ok)
Finely chopped onion/shallots
Kimchi of choice

First, season beef with pepper (didn't use much salt). Then place kimchi in the middle and roll up the beef slice like temaki sushi.
In the meantime, sautee shallots with olive oil and rosemary.
Once fragrant, collect the onions into a bunch, then place beef on top of bunch so that the aroma/smoke slightly cooks the beef.
Finally, sear the beef on the surface of the pan for a short period of time ( depends if you want it rare, medium or well done).
Serve with the sauteed shallots and some fresh chopped shallot.

Chicken Cubes in Black Bean Sauce

2009-07-05T10:34:00.004+10:00

This is another dish that I'm trying to perfect. A popular dish at most Chinese restaurants, it packs a punch and is a wholesome all-in-one dish.

300g chicken breast, cubed
1/2 tbsp sliced garlic, 5 slices ginger
2 tbsp fermented black bean, soaked, chopped ( or use black bean paste as alternative)
1 green capsicum, sliced
1 onion, sliced; 1 red chilli, sliced

Marinade:
1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp corn flour

Seasoning:
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp dark soya sauce
1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp cornflour, mixed with 2 tbsp water, for thickening

1. Combine chicken with marinade and season for 30 minutes.
2. Heat up oil and saute garlic and ginger till fragrant. Add in black bean and stir fry till fragrant.
3. Next, add the following in order: chilli, onion, green capsicum. Then, add the chicken and fry together with other ingredients till almost cooked.
4. Finally, add seasoning and cook till sauce thickens.

*you may use chicken thigh or thinly sliced pork belly to substitute chicken breast.

Simple Cooking - Fish Fillet with Ginger and Spring Onion

2009-07-05T01:03:00.007+10:00

After a long hiatus, I'm finally back into blogging action. Well, I've been busy trying new recipes and this is one of those can be modified easily into many others. Simple and delicious! Great as an individual dish with rice or best to be shared with friends and loved ones.
Fish Fillet with Ginger and Spring Onion

300g fish fillet, sliced
50g sliced ginger
3 stalks spring onion, cut into 3cm lengths

Marinade:
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp light soya sauce
dash of pepper and sesame oil
1 tsp corn flour

Seasoning:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tsp light soya sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp corn flour water for thickening
Mix all the ingredients and set aside for later use

1. Mix fish fillet with marinade and season for 30 minutes. Corn flour is used here to help the fillet hold its shape. Alternatively, you can add more corn flour and deep fry the fillets first before doing the next step.
2. Saute ginger until fragrant. Add in fish fillet and spring onion and pan-fry the fillets till they are almost cooked.
3. Add the seasoning and cook till sauce thickens.

3*.If you want to make this like "wa tan hor", just crack an egg into the pan with the sauce while it is still cooking. Then keep stirring to break up the egg into thinner shreds.

Great dish for a quick meal. I used basa fillet for this recipe but you may use garoupa, ikan kurau or any big fish.

december delights

2008-12-24T01:33:00.007+11:00

"Ham Yu Fa Lam Pou" - pork belly cooked with salted fish and dried chilli in claypot. Taken at Overseas Restaurant, Jalan Imbi.

The main highlight - "Yin Yong Kai Lan". The stem of the kailan is blanced and lightly stir-fried, while the leaves are cut thinly then deep-fried. Superb! My favourite has to be the one at Beng Kee Restaurant, along Ulu Klang Road.I vote this the BEST Laksa in all of KL. Situated at the end of Jalan Alor (nearest to KFC and Sungei Wang), this joint has been there before I was born, and ever so good. I've not finished a full bowl of laksa including the soup for a long long time...

Treats from Imbi

2008-11-30T03:36:00.007+11:00

If Malaysia was a treasure chest of many delicious food, then the Imbi area in KL is certainly a secret compartment in this treasure chest. Managed to wake up in time for breakfast today to revisit Imbi Market, one of my favourite breakfast spots of all time. Food is good and service is fast, the 2 most crucial criterion for any place to be considered a great breakfast place.

Everytime I go with my family, the coffeeshop staff (actually, the owner) knows exactly what we need and brings us our usual morning meal without us having to say anything. Usual means kaya toast, half-boiled egg, iced coffee for dad, hot barley drink for mum. As for myself, I had Milo today. To top off the basic meal, we shared dried wonton noodles, popiah and chee cheong fun. The popiah here is fantastic! the skin is not too thick, and some of the contents are still crunchy.

At night, after a fantastic dinner at Kampachi with my friends from Mauritius and Malaysia, I went to satisfy my craving for Fried Hokkien Mee at Ming Hing, a corner shop at the end of Jalan Imbi. It was heavenly! It started to rain halfway as I was eating with my family. Funny thing was, instead of going indoors for shelter, we started eating faster and faster, trying to finish before the rain gets heavier. I thought it was hilarious. One thing for sure was we left for home contented, full, and happy.

Pictures(from top): popiah, dried wonton noodle, fried Hokkien mee

the truffle adventure

2008-09-30T03:04:00.003+10:00

Had a 'shotgun' potluck last week, where we just suddenly decided we didn't want to have Mexican dinner in hall. Since I havn't had much practice with savoury stuff, I thought I'd just do desserts (again).

Didn't want to do my normal fare, so decided to pick a recipe from my Choc & Coffee book - Truffles! First attempt at being a chocolatier - Kokoblack here I come!

Kahlua Truffles (makes approx 25)
200g dark(bittersweet) choc, chopped
150ml double (heavy) cream
45ml Kahlua
115g icing (confectioner's) sugar
cocoa powder, for coating

1. Melt the chocolate in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring until smooth then cool slightly
2. Using a whisk, whip the cream with the kahlua in a bowl until thick enough to hold its shape.
3. Stir in melted chocolate and icing sugare . Leave to firm up a little
4. Dust your hands with cocoa powder and shape the mixture into bite-size balls. Coat in cocoa powder and pack into pretty boxes. Store in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days if necessary

I tried 2 batches of these - one batch with just kahlua, another with kahlua and Glenfiddich (single malt whisky)

Good luck!

GONG HEI FATT CHOY!!

2008-02-07T02:04:00.001+11:00

Happy Chinese New Year 2008! (Year of the Rat)

I'm back in Canberra for a few days now. It IS really quiet with only a handful of students back in Bruce Hall, but hey, the serene campus and peaceful surroundings make a great setting for getting new inspiration!

CNY was not as loud and large a celebration like the ones i have at home. Probably will be working with dad in bakery till the very last minute of chinese new year, but it's special :)

This year is going to be my 2nd time missing CNY at home, and I've chosen to spend it with my brothers and sisters from OCF. I was the youngest there amongst a group of working adults. My friend Michael had kindly offered his house as a gathering place, and what more, he cooked all the food himself!!! We even had yu sheng, which he ordered from the one and only place that makes yu sheng in Canberra - our very own Mamak corner (run by Malaysian). This 'Aussie' version of yu sheng had beetroot and Japanese pickled ginger in it. Other than that, we had roast pork, hainanese chicken, chicken cooked with potato and mushroom ( ju lynn loves those potatoes.. it's her recipe anyway), hakka vegetarian dish (my fav!), and vege soup followed by red bean soup for dessert. Wonderful wonderful meal.

On a side note, just felt like highlighting some of the works of my dad, who is also my baking instructor. That was a cake made using icing-sugar topping.

enjoy you meal :)

life's journey is like...

2008-01-27T05:06:00.000+11:00

baking bread.

first, to bake a specific bread, we need a recipe. it's like laying down the steps to achieve a desired outcome. plan.

we then follow the recipe step by step, and especially in baking, mistakes in measurement or timing will lead to unwanted outcomes - dough too soft, proof for too long, bread doesn't rise, burnt? it is not a definite thing that what you are trying to make turns out to be a failure, as you might accidently discover a new technique or perhaps an entirely different product! the rules are set, breaking them might cause you regret, but if you don't try you don't know what you'll get!

assuming you are a super careful person, does everything right from start, then now you leave your dough to proof ( for it to rise... let the yeast work its way through the dough). one tiny mistake, like accidentally knocking it, might puncture the dough and the bread collapses. all the careful effort now ends up wasted. you might be able to get something else, but really, it's not what you wanted. this is like life's 'testing' period. you do all that you could to protect things that are precious to you - treasured items, treasured relationships. yet sometimes, it is sad that the slightest mistake per say can make a mess of things. and such external factors are beyond our control - or perhaps they are?

we only have one life. fragile... that's why it is so precious. Lead a life of no regrets.

The less of routine, the more to life.

* this is a special dedication to Lee Nian Ning, who went home to be with God this morning. She was a an aspiring doctor, baker, and most importantly a great friend. May you rest in peace. We will meet again.

A Foodie's Tour of Japan [ part 3 ]

2008-01-14T22:24:00.001+11:00

Day 8: Tokyo - Tokyo Bay, Akihabara
- dinner: Izakaya @ Hana no Mai, Akihabara. Dinner hosted ala Japanese style by Kazuhito - he taught us a few Japanese customs with regards to serving sake and also hosting guests at dinner. Also met Aik's friend Henry at the restaurant. Anyway, had the chance to try some really interesting food. pic#1: kujira (whale) sushi. was surprised that the meat is red in colour, thought it'd be white. pic#2: fried chicken cartilage. This is a really addictive snack. the cartilage is chopped into small bite size pieces and it is really nice to chew and crunchy and... really good snack to go with some beer or sake! pic#3: busashi... it is actually horse meat (oops). not the most tender of meats, but supposedly a delicacy in japan. yes, i know it's a bit bizarre, but it's all in the name of experience!

Day 9: Tokyo - Tsukiji, Ginza, Harajuku, Roppongi + Midtown
- brunch: Edomae sushi @ Tsukiji Sushi sen. Went for 'sushi-pilgrimage' to the famous Tsukiji Fish Market - a must-go for all ye lovers of sushi and sashimi! After which, time to fill our stomach with some edomae sushi. Bumped into this restaurant which is quite popular (luckily they have english menu too... the variety of sushi on offer is just too many!) I had my favourite tamago(egg), which is a specialty in this sushi region. then, i also tried the 'otoro maguro' (most fatty part of tuna), which costs 500yen a piece. it is the top row, 3rd piece from the left. compare it with the standard maguro sushi (top row, far right). Notice the difference? yes, the former has way more fish oil than the latter. every piece is craftfully made - equal length and thickness, with a hint of wasabi and the right proportion of rice. perfect size for one bite, but it's so good you'd want to slowly nibble on the food. the cost of those 8 pieces? make a guess :)

- afternoon tea: pastries @ Fortuna Mason, Ginza. Walked into the floor with all the food in Mitsukoshi and found this pastry shop. tried the one on the right - something like puff pastry with atzuki bean filling, topped off with icing sugar and green tea powder. such food (breads, pastry, confectionery) are quite popular in japan; i wonder if it is because of the influence of Yakitate! Japan.

- dinner: Ramen @ Roppongi. Sorry..Too hungry to take pictures.

Day 10: Tokyo Disneysea
- simple meals at Disneysea park. Was rushing from one attraction to another such that we didn't really concern ourselves too much with food today. Celebrated New Year countdown at Shinjuku. Here's Kirin and Sapporo to usher in a great 2008! Kampai!
Day 11: Tokyo - Asakusa
- lunch: Unaju @ restaurant near Asakusa Jinja (Asakusa temple). Unaju refers to another method of preparation of unagi(Eel), this one just lightly grilled with less sweet sauce compared to the unagi we eat in malaysia/singapore. It is served with a bottle of mixed 5-spice for you to sprinkle over the unaju. New experience of eating eel but tasty nonetheless. and 1600yen for that huge piece of eel? Definitely worth it.

- snack: New Year mochi @ Nakamise dori. Mochi with red bean filling - looks kawaii (cute), tastes yummy.

- dinner: fried rice @ Ameyayokocho (or ameyoko). Once again.. was too hungry. anyway, there is quite a lot of chinese influence especially in fast food like fried rice, ramen.. we even had ma pou tofu.

Day 12: Tokyo - Ueno, Imperial Palace, Shibuya
- breakfast: Yakisoba pan. Aik bought it off a kombini (convenience store). never thought you'd mix your noodles with bread? try maggi next time, or mi goreng.

- lunch: suteki (steak) @ Kuishinbo, Shibuya. Beef patty, chicken and pork... all for 800yen. the beef patty is really tender - in fact the best i've ever had; melts in your mouth.

- dinner: yakitori (again!) @ Yakitori Kushisuke, Shibuya. Tried chicken Hatsu (heart); tastes a bit like the liver.. a hint of saltiness, but more tender in terms of texture. the standard chicken yakitori is also prepared differently here. in ichiban yakitori, they lightly season with salt, pepper and grill it.. cutting away the charred parts before serving. here, they grill it with yakitori sauce till it is tender but still juicy, then dip into yakitori sauce again before serving. charred parts remain. this goes to show that each yakitori bar has its own special way of preparing yummy yakitori. oishii desu ne!

- Post-dinner: New York Bar, Park Hyatt Hotel @ Shinjuku. This place made popular by the show 'Lost in Translation'. Really nice and posh place on 46th floor...perfect location to enjoy a night view of Tokyo and listen to some jazz. Tried L.I.T, a cocktail made from Sake and Sakura Liqueur and one other ingredient.

Day 13: Tokyo - Tokyo Dome, Akihabara, Azabu-Juban
- breakfast: dorayaki. Bought this from kombini too. cost about 130yen only. This snack is made famous from the cartoon Doraemon. Pancake like top and bottom layer, with sweet red bean filling in the middle.

- lunch: Maguro Ryuku Don @ Akihabara. Sliced tuna dressed with a dash sesame oil, sesame seeds, green onion and one egg yolk in the middle. Each piece of tuna sliced till equal length and thickness.. truly amazing. surely the skill of a sushi guru. First took notice of this when saori had it during our outing to asakusa jinja. no regrets for trying it myself. the wasabi is very fresh too.. most probably made by the shop themselves and not those prepackaged ones we get back home.

- dinner: Yakiniku @ Hana Ju Ban, Azabu Juban. Finally... the chance to grill my own meat on metal wire. We paid for some really nice pieces of beef, which was marinated with seasoning, salt, pepper, then it's up to us to do the cooking. Since it was such good beef, i cooked my meat till medium, retaining some of its juicyness. since the meat has streaks of fats in it, when put to the grill it melts and kind of cooks the meat itself. I'll never forget that melt-in-your-mouth feeling. and also never to buy Suntory beer. their spirits are much better.

Day 14: Tokyo - Shinjuku
- lunch: Kare Raisu @ Shinjuku Subway Station. Curry rice is a popular and cheap fastfood in Japan. My meal cost only 600yen, and i get free flow water and pickles (the two containers in front of me). Japanese curry tends to be sweeter than most curries that you find in the rest of asia. and it is really thick too. Try it to see if you like it.

- dinner: Monjya-yaki @ Shinjuku. Monjya-yaki is a variant of the more popular okonomiyaki. the starch solution to make the batter is more watery, and you don't really get that 'solid' pancake part ( from flour or noodle) in okonomiyaki. the restaurant is a D.I.Y restaurant so kazu had the honour to cook it for us. arigato gozaimasu!

Day 15: Osaka
- breakfast: Mr Donut. Japan's response to Dunkin' Donuts and J.Co and Big Apple in Malaysia. Mr Donut has ALL of the ranges of donuts offered by the 3 different donut shops. And the stuff they sell taste DAMN GOOD. No wonder Japan is suffering donut fever too (According to saori).

- lunch: Udon. Had this udon in a fast food restaurant specialising only on udon. Here, they even print out a set of procedures telling you how things are done there. First, grab a tray. Along the queue, there will be small plates available for you to pick up whatever 'add-ons' you want to have together with your meal ( here, i had one kara-age). same goes with drinks. as you proceed down the queue, you will reach the kitchen, and there you place an order for your choice of udon. finally, the cashier will be waiting for you at the end of the queue, just next to the kitchen. this meal also roughly 650yen, and mind you, that was a Large size bowl of udon, served with a half-cooked egg and special udon sauce.

There you go. 15 days of food tourism in japan. I must admit most breakfasts were just a packet of milk and either a piece of nikuman (meat bun..pau), or yakitori, but for other meals I think we splurged quite a bit. Even after eating Japanese food for almost every meal, I still opted for japanese food on my flight SQ620 back to singapore...some things you just can't get enough.

I really miss the hospitality that was extended to us everywhere we go. the experience of hearing staff greet you "irashaimasse" as we enter, then saying "itadaikimasu" before starting our meals and "gochizosama desu ta" after we are done, then as we proceed to pay and then leave, being thanked with "arigato gozaismasu ta".

All these memories just makes me want to go there again.

A Foodie's Tour of Japan [ part 2 ]

2008-01-11T15:12:00.000+11:00

Day 4: Kyoto
- lunch: street food @ Kitano Tenmangu Ji (the nearby market fair)
- #1: 'Chicken skin'(kawa) yakitori - Fattening it may seem, but it's taste is fantastic... crispy skin with teriyaki sauce.

- #2: taiyaki - Fish shaped pancake with sweet red bean filling. sounds simple, but tastes great.

- #3: oden - some sort of 'steamboat' food... radish, konyaku, beef, fishcake (you can choose what you want) boiled in a special broth and then served on a plate with mustard. perfect winter dish.

- mid-day - went into a shop that sells wagashi, Japanese candy that is craftfully made into artistic masterpieces. Costs a bomb but well worth the money.

- dinner: Tonkatsu @ The Cube, Level 11, Kyoto Station. Tonkatsu normally refers to fried pork fillet in bread crumb batter (well, i think it's bread crumb). Havn't had such tender tonkatsu, ever. crispy on the outside, not too dry on the inside. The interesting part is that we have to make the sauce ourselves..pounding the sesame then adding our preferred amount of sweet sauce. this makes the meal more interactive and overall a very pleasant experience.

Day 5: Kyoto
-breakfast : korokke @ Nishiki Market. Korokke (croquette) is something like 'fried mashed potato', probably of Western origin. However, this snack is quite popular in Japan these days. It has a fried bread-crumb exterior but soft and melts-in-your-mouth interior. It has a variety of fillings these days, eg. cheese.

- lunch : tempura moriawase @__ . Tempura refers to food that is fried with a light and crispy batter. Not easy to get it to the correct texture. Here, we had Tempura set for just 1000yen.Rare find in Japan. and the braised pumpkin in the top right corner tastes mild but nice.

- dinner: Kaiseki dining @ Kyoto Station 11th floor. Japanese meals that are served using really nice presentation. See the set meal Aik had - it was 'charcoal udon' in the bowl on the left, and the big container on the right opens up to a variety of delicacies!

- snacks: Check out the green tea Kit Kat! Tastes like white chocolate with matcha flavour.

Day 6: Kobe, Himeji
-lunch: shabu shabu @ Kobe. Japanese steamboat. But with premium beef. There was miso paste provided which I 'assumed' is to be added to the broth, or made into D.I.Y miso soup, whichever suits your fancy. We were also served a bowl of (chopped) radish that enhances the sweetness of the meat/vege when eaten together.

-dinner: Yakitori @ Ichiban Yakitori, Kyoto. THIS PLACE IS VOTED MY #1 FAVOURITE for the entire Ja-Plan trip. I really miss the food and the atmosphere there - inside this small yakitori bar you see the boss cum main chef taking a puff in between grilling the pieces of meat (or occasional vege), then as you take a sip of Asahi beer you watch the chef skillfully prepare your food, and the moment it is served to you directly from the counter, then taking a bite... a taste of heaven. [2nd pic: grilled chicken(mi: boneless leg meat part), pork (butabara). 3rd pic: grilled onigiri(riceball) served with pickles, 4th pic: grilled sparrow (suzume). Not in pic: gyurosu(sirloin) and aigamo(duck)]

Day 7: Nara
- lunch: Oyako-don @ Za-Don ("The" Don). Simple food joint that specialises in nothing but donburi (rice with topping served in a bowl). I still remember Koji and the other Jap exchange students making this dish for the ISD Hawker's Night back in October '07, so I thought I'd just try it right here in Japan! Oyako means "father son", in other words it means something like 'family'. Most popular dish at the restaurant, and it is very easy to make. Chicken cubes cooked in a sauce made from mirin, soy sauce and dashi, then cooked together with cabbage and egg. *slurp

- dinner: Omuraisu @ Kyoto Station, Lower Ground Fl. Isetan. 'Omuraisu', or omelette rice, is interesting in that the rice is actually wrapped inside the thin omelette layer. The omuraisu I had came with crab meat sauce and a piece of korokke. My friend, Piro actually brought us to try omuraisu after many many attempts at suggesting something to eat that me & Aik have not tried(Japanese specialties, of course). To think that we've gunned down most of the famous eats in 7 days is very impressive I think! [inset: omuraisu cut open to reveal the treasure within!]

A Foodie's Tour of Japan [ part 1 ]

2008-01-11T03:13:00.000+11:00

December 2007, the chance to visit my dream holiday destination, Japan, finally came true. The whole idea of visiting the land of the rising sun surfaced during a random MSN conversation between Veng & Aik in mid-2007, and we finally set foot in Osaka on 22 Dec '07.

Ja-Plan: 22/12/07 - 05/01/08. 15 unforgettable days of roaming the streets of Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Himeji, Nara and Tokyo. Nippon!

Japan has been an unforgettable journey - even 4000 pictures cannot fully describe the experiences I had in those 15 days. Well, I think food speaks a lot about culture ( and looking at them makes you hungry), so enjoy this preview of Japan from a culinary perspective!

Day 1: Osaka
- lunch: Okonomiyaki @ Okonomi Chibo, Umeda. some sort of Japanese pancake on a hotplate. varies from region to region. osaka style has a thicker 'pancake' layer, while hiroshima style is more 'noodle-based'

- afternoon snack: Takoyaki @ Amerika-mura (this stall dubbed the best in Osaka by Koji-san). 10 octopus balls for 300yen. beat that. and it tastes oh-so-good especially in cold weather.
- dinner @ Izakaya (Japanese-style pub). Such a setting is very popular in Japan, eat food with some biru or sake, and not too noisy. Must haves include Edamame (cruncy Jap green peas) and Shishamo (grilled 'pregnant' fish..can't remember the exact name of it).

Day 2: Osaka - Universal Studios Japan
Didn't really have any fancy Jap food till dinnertime ( we were running around as though it was Amazing Race USJ). Tried one of the local beers, Yebisu. It was served with some crackers which tasted really good. Had Soba to go with it.. one item was plain soba with plum, taken with soy sauce dip. the other is kind of a 'tamago soba' (the sauce has quite an egg base to it)

Day 3: Osaka
- lunch: Sukiyaki Teishoku @ Umeda Sky Building. dined in one of the restaurants at the basement level of Umeda Sky. First taste of sukiyaki in Japan.. I love sukiyaki! it is very expensive in those sukiyaki specialist places because they use higher grade beef. that's only one of the 2 main components - the sukiyaki broth also matters. the one i had for lunch was pretty good. i'm satisfied. (missing from pic: a serving a raw egg for you to dip the beef into, so as to cool the meat)

- dinner: Tonkatsu Ramen @ Ginryu Ramen, Dotomburi. Ginryu ramen ( dragon ramen, i think) is a really popular name for good ramen, according to Piro (one of my Jap friends who's also a foodie). There was free flow kimchi and pickle, and set up is something like an outdoor noodle stall in malaysia. hot noodles on a cold winter's night....syiokkk!

-supper: grilled crab @ Dotomburi. It's a small stall just below the big kani (Crab) in Dotomburi. Can't possibly miss it. Grilled crab was really huge though... just look at the legs! X'mas eve later spent in a bar drinking some Asahi (bar closed at midnight.diao..)

Also saw some 'interesting' food souvenirs. It is pudding actually, in the shape of breasts. haha! hilarious.

week 3 n 4

2007-12-14T03:55:00.003+11:00

apam balik
"lok-lok"
taiwanese sausage
Ampang Yong Tau Foo

cookbook wishlist

2007-12-07T19:34:00.000+11:00

Morimoto: The New Art of Japanese Cooking
By Masaharu Morimoto

Just bummed into this book online while browsing through my (current) favourite TV channel's website: The Asian Food Channel. And boy.. chef morimoto is a genius. This book is a must have :)

first 2 weeks of KL (food)

2007-12-04T12:38:00.000+11:00

Finally, some time to write something about the 'makan' hits that i've been to in my first 2 weeks back home. Here's the top 4 picks, in no particular order:

PURPLE CANE RESTAURANT - This place is ALL about tea, and incorporating elements of tea into their cooking. Very unique taste, and the food here is hardly oily at all, good for health (and weight) conscious people. the best part is, you only pay rm2 for free flow of really good tea. I choose Pu Er tea as the best tea to have, and I think it's also the best chinese tea ever given its unique, earthy flavour.

CHICKEN RICE @ PANDAN INDAH hawker centre (corner shop) - There is a reason why I've been patronising this store for 10 years now: it is PLC, 'Pang, Leng, Ceng' [canto, which means cheap, beautiful(like yummy), and value for money. hmm.. can't really find an accurate translation, gotta check with wai]. All the food in the picture ( normally it comes with roast duck instead of the hainanese boiled chicken, the 'pak kai' [white chicken]. they ran out of duck that day), plus 3 plates of rice and one bowl of soup... costs only RM18, which means RM6 per pax, ie. AUD2. Tell me, where can one find a better deal? and the food has been consistently good, the soup's really nice. Need i say more? come try for yourself. I guarantee you value for money.

HAU KEE SEAFOOD RESTAURANT, Cheras - One of my favourite places to go for good Chinese cuisine, at reasonable prices. Nice place to go with family and friends, and share a few dishes. (To all Canberrans reading this, the place is definitely 10x better than Happy's). Hau Kee's signature dish: Crab cooked in milk and butter sauce. It's just so yummilicious! They serve it with some sweet bread for you to eat it with the sauce, but i prefer eating plain rice with that sauce; accentuates the flavours in the sauce better since plain rice has a more neutral taste allowing the real stars of the night to shine.

IMBI MARKET, Off Jalan Imbi(next to Pasarakyat) - Originally the market grounds was in Jalan Imbi itself, but now it's relocated to new ground, slightly off Jalan Imbi, but still within walking distance from landmarks such as Berjaya Times Square. The 'food area' of the market boasts many local favourites such as chee cheong fun, wanton mee, porridge with pork intestines(yummy! very popular), popiah, and of course the drinks stall which also sells, in my opinion, the best kaya toast in town (See inset). Be sure to turn up early if you intend to eat here as some of the stalls might just think they had a good run on sales and decide to close early.

More updates on my local picks next time!

donut wars

2007-11-30T04:45:00.000+11:00

Even if you're not Bart Simpsons, I think you should give a serious thought about doughnuts. there's the classic donut without any topping, jam donuts (there's one very popular in Victoria Market, Melbourne), any shape any flavour. it is normally a sweet piece of dough or batter that is deep-fried - there's even mini-machines that does the frying for you (all you need to do is mix the batter.. ANU Campus Bakery does this..shhh)

ANYWAY, the purpose of this post really is to introduce to you TWO alternatives to Krispy Kreme, which i strongly believe is OVERRATED. People go nuts about krispy kreme, but i think there's really nothing special about it.. just sugar glaze over doughnut made using some premix..possibly the same ones you can get off supermarket shelves.

Since my arrival back in Malaysia, the makansutra heaven, I found that there is a this new donut and coffee joint called J.Co. I actually bummed into one of its two(?) stores in KL while walking around the newly opened Pavillion in Jalan Bukit Bintang ( the mall sits on the former site of the then Bukit Bintang Girls' School, more affectionately known as BBGS). anyway, being the foodie that I am, the first place that I went to in the mall is none other than the floor where all the food is located. They've made it into a really really nice foodcourt, with cheap and expensive restaurants, local and foreign fare all situated next to each other. Surprisingly there are a lot of bakeries there (Tunku Mahathir's bakery is in Pavillion too). It was while touring this really nice food 'centre' that I saw this particular shop with so many people queueing up for the food. In fact, it was actually the ONLY shop there that attracted such a large concentration of people in one place. SO, my curious stomach led me to this 'magnificent' donut parlour - J.Co.

I waited 30 minutes just to get my dozen donuts, of which i requested for a piece from each flavour. I got one of everything available that day but I think there's still a few flavours missing. I saw how them donuts are made while I was patiently waiting in the queue, and honestly, I don't think there is really anything special to it. I feel that a lot of customers are driven by the hype and craze of a potentially new trend-setter, or they are just naturally attracted to them due to a sweet tooth. Seriously, after trying the donuts myself, i feel that all those different flavours are just different mixtures of sugar icing - nothing so special that is worth 30 minutes of my time queueing up. *majorly disappointed* The only ones that caught my attention was the almond one(top row, 2nd from right, donut picture), the cheese flavoured one (top row, 1st from left) and the tiramisu, (bottom row, 2nd from right; sadly it turned out to be way below expectations.) The doughnut base ain't anything fantastic either, tastes just like the standard donut pre-mix.

Now, moving on to Dunkin' Donuts. Tried it a few days after having those donuts from J.Co, and the verdict is pretty obvious. Dunkin's still the best in my opinion. They now serve these 'whirl' (i think i got the name right) donuts which uses a different batter , and the extra 'twisting' means larger surface area and more crispy skin. it is a bit dry i think,not worth paying the extra bucks for it.

HOWEVER, you really have to try dunkin donut's choc based donuts.. such as coconut and butternut flavour ( the top-right and top-centre ones respectively). THEY ARE THE BEST. the jam-filled donuts sold here are nice too, but i was buying an offer package which allowed me to choose only 3 normal donuts and 3 of those whirls. ( the 3rd donut, bottom right, is a cinnamon flavoured one. also another bomb...just about the right amount of cinnamon). The donuts have just about the right texture, and the flavours are generally great ( i normally avoid flavours that have weird toppings on it, they're ok but not fantastic). Dunkin donuts also sells mini jam-filled donuts which make a fantastic snack anytime of the day.

I guess the winner here is pretty obvious. Say NO to krispy kreme and J.Co. seriously, even the donuts at my workplace (ANU campus bakery) taste better. and cheaper too. choose less sugar, more flavour.

Dare to be Different

2007-09-02T02:10:00.000+10:00

Remember this photo from when this blog was started? (cf. A day at Suiss)

I gave it the title "Dare to be Different", because that was really what caught my attention when I took the photo. the croissants had just been taken out of the oven, smelling nice, looking good!

Now, those croissants has just won me the GRAND PRIZE for the recent Bruce Hall Photography competition!

Double Chocolate Fingers with Irish Cream

2007-06-24T00:50:00.000+10:00

this recipe was created for a post-exam, rest 'n' relax dinner at unilodge with friends. it's an idea that sparked off from edmond's desire to use his bailey's (irish cream liqueur) for dessert and my suggestion of making tiramisu. we used 2 types of chocolate( actually, we used 3 different blocks of choc)..hence the name double chocolate.

this is really one of the easiest recipes to try, so have fun!

ingredients:
sponge fingers
dark chocolate ( i used lindt 70% and some other hunter valley brand.)
chocolate with nuts ( i used cadbury choc..i think the flavour was nutbreak)
irish cream (baileys)

1. melt the dark chocolate in a bain marie. then coat one side of the sponge fingers and leave it till chocolate hardens
2. soak the sponge fingers in irish cream ( the hardened chocolate layer helps retain the shape of the sponge fingers after soaking in all the irish cream). how long to soak and how much irish cream depends on your preference, but i'd not add too much till i becomes "overkill".
3. finally, melt the other chocolate with nuts and coat the other side of the sponge fingers. leave to dry and it's ready to eat!

tip: if the sponge biscuit/fingers are too huge, or if you need to serve a lot of guests, i suggest breaking them into halves.

just one serve

2007-06-02T23:31:00.000+10:00

here's a scenario: you've been presented with a cake that, in your opinion, is the best dessert that you've ever come across. think...a slice of cheesecake. now, say you only have enough room in your stomach for ONE serve of dessert.

so ask yourselves now, will you take that slice of cheesecake, since you think it's the best that you can find? why do we sometimes not take something which we think is the best?

could it be the costs? but if it's REALLY the best, shouldn't it be worth your money? your time? why spend on second best when you've hit jackpot? and then you ask yourselve again... is this really the best? you begin to doubt your own judgment, since if you choose to take that one serve, you can't choose another as you'd be too full for anything else.

so if it is truly the best, but you've doubted your judgment and choose to pass on this dessert, wouldn't you be a fool, instead of full.. since you could've just taken it when the opportunity was there for you?

then, while you are going through this process of self-realisation , or no realisation, someone notices the treasure that's before you, and wants a slice of the pie too. no, there's only one slice, so they want that one and ONLY ONE slice. which was originally discovered by you in private but in your seeking of opinions, have been made known its wonders.

but these merits, are they only potentially true? how much do you know of that one slice of cake, that dessert, that will allow you to pass sound judgment on what is really BEST for yourself? and in your evaluation, should you be biased? should you rate it for what it is, or should you rate it based on past ratings, or experiences for that matter.

further, what if you've been asking for this serve of dessert for some time now, having not tasted any, why not reach out for it when it's still withing sight? or are you thinking, is the best necessarily be the ideal?

life's not that sweet, aye?

if presented with such a dessert, i'd really, really want to top it up with some complementary icing, and share it with the person so kind who gave that 'just one serve' to me.
simply because, he or she need not share it with anyone, but now is presenting it wholly to me...

a chef's mentality

2007-04-26T13:58:00.000+10:00

they say "journeys end when lovers meet". i say journeys begin when flavours meet!

i love cooking, and even more so, baking. there's just so much excitement and curiosity involved - right from the start when you decide on what you are going to cook, till the end when you ask others if your if your food taste good. well, the first person anyone should ask regarding their food, really, should be themselves.

and sometimes i wonder why i will choose to be the cook instead of being the waiter ( not that i wait on the food to arrive, but to serve others their meal - the front of house). of course, i would love to do both, so that i can get first-hand response of how the food went. to serve my friends from start to end. nonetheless, if i had to choose, i'd choose the former. i think it's just that bit of me that's willing to give my best even if it means to be in the background. why one would one do that? what if another person did nothing and claims all credit? while it will sadden me deeply if that person is my friend, i feel that i derive more joy in knowing that i am able to make someone's day better, to put a smile on their faces.

i'm happy when i know that you are happy.

that's how my heart works i guess. even if it means that i have to go through stress or hardship, or a really bad day, i'd still press on and maybe pretend so that others don't have to worry. perhaps cooking is like a way to escape from it all, like keeping my troubles within the kitchen doors, and only serving the best at the dining table. the realm of food and flavours, i believe, is largely results-driven. more often than not, you will not know the true process involved in cooking up a storm; you will more likely only have to decide if you truly had a satisfying meal. what a chef serves is like his signature, it's near impossible to copy 100% from another chef. if you're observant, you'll pick out the minute details that's been carefully added to make a meal great - the true gastronomical experience!

get involved in the process, and you'll love the flavours even more.

"although it's possible to love eating without being able to cook, i don't believe you can ever really cook unless you love eating." - Nigella Lawson, taken from her book 'How to Eat: The Principles of Good Food'

cooking with chocolate and coffee

2007-02-27T00:56:00.000+11:00

thanks eli, huda, phoebe, sengbeng, net, adrian, ailin n felix for the wonderful 21st birthday present. there were a lot of requests in it but still, i really appreciated it.

melaka bandaraya bersejarah

2007-01-20T04:08:00.000+11:00

-The Historical City of Malacca, Malaysia

Eu Gene: Ok.. that's the Kota A Famosa in front of you and the St.Paul's church up the hill
Me: Ahh, I see. Let's go somewhere else...

... for more food, obviously.

3 days of *makan marathon. And I must agree with my host that 3 days is just too little to savour all that melaka has to offer. 3 cheers to eugene for making my 3 days stay there an unforgettable one.

Day 1: chicken rice balls. Pool. Satay. DoTA/CS. ikan bakar with sambal. DoTA/CS. roti john. SLeep
Day 2: "kon low" wantan mee with chilli oil. Mahkota Parade. Bee Bee's pineapple tarts. Daph's home. Sushi King. DoTA/CS. Satay Celup. Rest&Relax. Sotong&kangkung + cockles with "special sauce". DoTA
Day 3: Duck noodles ( not roast duck, but braised). "Pong piah" (pastry with sweet filling). Chai kueh. Rest,Relax,DoTA. Chendol. Eugene's fav Popiah. Assortment of malay kuih. Chinese dinner

There's so much flavour involved in the last 3 days that i think i will not be able to do justice to all of them by describing them here. You HAVE to go try them yourself! For myself, everyday was more of a matter of waiting for the next meal, thus explaining why there were so many DoTA sessions.

among those that are worthy of mention is, of course, satay celup. we(me, sengbeng, daphne & eugene) went to the BEST satay celup in melaka( capitol satay celup, can't remember where it is, i got chaffeured around town during my stay there..hehe). the concept is similar to "lok lok" in KL, where you cook food skewered on a wooden stick in a pot of hot clear broth. for satay celup, replace that broth with satay sauce - tastes soooo good! there's also a small serving of bread for you to soak it with the sauce and eat it. at the place where we ate, after you've eaten about 20+ sticks, then they will give you selected VIP items, usually the more exotic seafood.

The most memorable experience of all -Sotong&kangkung + cockles with "special sauce". it was supper time on thursday and eugene and i was really happy when he took me walking down this dark alley in between the antique buildings in the city - only to discover the sights and sounds of patrons happily opening the shells of cockles (boiled...but i think it's more like just blanched), then removing the flesh and dipping it in the SPECIAL SAUCE that tasted nothing but heavenly. it's a mix of prawn paste, sweet sauce(those you get when you eat yong tau foo), lime juice, chilli sauce, and peanuts. i personally do not fancy eating just cockles...but with that sauce, it's a really addictive delicacy. the excitement does not stop there - there's also this sotong & kangkung dish that eugene ordered for me. only one word to describe it - orgasmic. it's so so good! that's the single dish that i really really dig into. there's such a dish in kl too supposedly, but the one in melaka was done to perfection. and apart from the heavenly-tasting food, i really love the ambience and atmosphere at that place - a dark street with people eating off a really low table with waste containers in front for you to dispose the shells, the boss preparing the food in front of you, and there's a framed newspaper review of the stall hanging by the wall... the limited number of people there adds to the exclusivity of the stall - you either know the place or you don't.

Of course, there's also the satay i had during my first day in melaka. the sauce is sweeter than the normal peanut sauce you get when you eat satay kajang-style, as there's some fruit used to cook the sauce. there's also a pig's small intestines satay ( on top of the usual chicken, beef and pork satay). the combination of that satay, which tastes slightly salty-ish, with the sweet sauce - perfecto.

the best part of this trip is... i took ZERO photos! which meant that the food is just too good to resist. allow me to be selfish now, but isn't more exciting to see and taste it for yourself especially if it's for the first time?

i'm booked for my trip down to melaka again in a year's time. Definitely. Thanks eugene for being such a wonderful host!

choc mousse...incorporating honey

2006-11-30T16:54:00.000+11:00

Got a craving for the chocolate mousse you had during the Great Orange Cookout 2006?
Here's an alternative choc mousse recipe that I picked up while watching Jamie Oliver's "The Naked Chef" on TV

Chocolate Mousse
200g Lindt 70% Cocoa (2 bars of 100g lindt chocolate)
1/2 block of butter (approx 150g)
2 eggs
2 tbsp honey
350ml pouring cream

1. melt choc with butter in a boiling water bath.
2. lightly beat egg and honey together in a bowl
3. whisk cream till it expands/raises a bit in another bowl
4. mix all the above mixtures together, then leave to chill in the refridgerator.

you can make some sesame snapps to go with the mousse
200ml sugar
4 tsp water
100g sesame seeds

1. add the sugar and water into a pot and caramelise the sugar
2. once almost done, add the sesame seed into the caramel solution
3. heat for 1-2 minutes more, then cool over metal surface. REMEMBER to grease/oil the surface so that you can remove the snapps easily when it is cooled.
4. Break snapps into large pieces to garnish the mousse.

Broccoli with beurre blanc sauce

2006-11-24T20:28:00.000+11:00

took this off Jamie oliver's book. thought it'll be a cool idea to try with other vegetables. He suggested a really simple way to prepare the beurre blanc sauce, a French sauce that usually goes with vegetables.

Beurre blanc sauce:
200ml good white wine, prefably Chablis.
170g cold unsalted butter, diced

1. Pour some boiling water into a thermos flask to preheat and clean it.
2. Pour the water away and sieve the flavoured wine into the thermos, adding all of the butter.
3. Put the lid on tightly, place a tea towel over the lid and shake the thermos for a few minutes.
4. Open it very carefully (in case of any hot steam escaping) and you should have a nice beurre blanc sauce. You can keep it in the flask to keep warm till you serve it with your broccoli.

As for this recipe, try to blanch the broccoli till they are slightly soft (Adjust accordingly) and then add some olive oil to a pan, heat it up and then grill/fry the broccoli for a one or two minutes just to 'extra'-flavour it. Will be good to experiment with other greens like asparagus...yumm..

Watermelon delights

2006-11-20T16:46:00.000+11:00

Watermelon lemonade

6 cups watermelon, cubed and seeded
1 cup raspberries
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup lemon juice

1. Place watermelon, raspberries and water in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Push through a fine mesh strainer into a large jug.
3. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice and mix until the sugar dissolves.
4. Refrigerate until chilled. Serves four.

Watermelon sorbet

1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 tbs honey
2 tbs fresh lemon juice
drop of red food colouring (optional)
8 cups seedless watermelon, diced

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the water, sugar and honey to a boil over high heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved.
2. Remove from the heat and let cool. Stir in the lemon juice and food colouring.
3. Place half of the watermelon chunks and half of the cooled syrup in a blender and puree until smooth.
4. Pour into a 23cm x 33cm baking dish and repeat the process with the remaining watermelon and syrup, adding all the pureed mixture to the baking dish.
5. Cover and freeze for about four hours, or until 2.5cm of the edge have frozen over.
6. Stir well to mix up the ice crystals.
7. Cover and freeze for six more hours, or until completely frozen.
8. Using an ice cream scoop, scrape the ice into mounds and serve. Mint springs may be used to decorate.

Lessons from the Kitchen

2006-10-28T16:19:00.000+10:00

I bake, therefore I am.

Coming to Australia this year has really exposed me to a myriad of new flavours (and people). With so many places to cook like Fenner Hall, B&G and even in Bruce Hall’s South Kitchen (undoubtedly my favourite), it has been a really interesting learning experience – there’s just so much to learn just from the kitchen alone!

People usually marvel at those who can cook, and I mean those that prepare heavenly delicacies that are so good you’d think it is orgasmic. Well, I’d say that you don’t have to be a good cook to be able to do that. All you really need… is a really good recipe. And, of course, a little bit of practice to just correct little errors here and there to bring your dish to perfection. Voila! A masterpiece!

Now, do not think that you are plagiarizing someone else’s creation or masterpiece. We’re just following instructions in the recipe really, and if you are still not unhappy about the whole copying issue, modify the recipe to suite your own taste. Make it uniquely your recipe. Try something totally different, don’t let the phrase ‘usually done this way’ stop you. The kitchen is really a wonderful place to let your creative juices flow!

Timing is everything. Although I bake more than I cook, if there is one culinary lesson that I’d like to impart, it’d definitely be this one. Especially true in baking, that extra few minutes (or lack of) will determine whether your cake is overcooked or just baked to perfection. Planning ahead before starting to prepare your meal allows you to do multiple jobs within a given time frame.

While waiting for your food to be ready, I’d recommend investing those little bits of time into garnishing your food. They say first impressions matter, and I can’t help but agree. Looking good is just as important as tasting good. It’s all part of a package. Even simple things like the name of the dish can make a difference – imagine this: how would you react if I served you ‘crab ice cream’1, as compared to a similar item but named ‘frozen crab bisque’ instead?

inset:
Honeyed-ginger dumplings with honeyed-ginger and almond snack

The quality of the food that you prepare will at times be limited by the choice of ingredients used. For starters, if you are unfamiliar with how different ingredients complement each other, you could even try adjusting the recommended proportions of the ingredients listed in the recipes that you already have. They’re usually just suggestions, not rules.

All things said and done, I think the most important ingredient for any successful recipe… is love. It motivates the aspiring chef to give his best, and I believe that you can really taste the amount of effort a person added to his cooking, and that makes all the difference.

Bon appétit.

1Savoury ices were popular in Victorian times but have long since fallen out of fashion.

ISD Hawker Night

2006-09-29T15:35:00.000+10:00

Pakistani-style masala chicken

marinade: yoghurt, paprika spice, mixed herb, finely chopped ginger and garlic

have to try that modify the cooking method for this type of marinade, didn't turn out too well.. especially when the yoghurt gets in the way of frying the chicken most of the time.

anyway, there was an iron chef competition on that night. secret ingredient: cheese. we were to make dessert using the ingredients provided and incorporating cheese into our dish. the cheese that the ISD committee provided were those square slices that you add to your sandwich. other ingredients provided include yoghurt, fruits, biscuits, jellybeans, some nuts, just to name a few. they weren't the best around to make a dessert and to make it look pleasant at the same time.

so, i partnered net and we came up with the idea of making cheesecake. we crushed the biscuits and mixed it with the cheese we had to make the base of the cheesecake. i lined the base with strawberry slices like how i did for eli's cake, and the 'cake' was the yoghurt. i worked mainly on the decor part of the dish... didn't manage to do it properly given the time constraint (only 20 minutes), and the fruits provided were either oddly shaped or too small. i cut the straberries and put a slice of kiwi on it. also, i tried sprinkling some 'cadbury drinking chocolate' powder on the slices of orange, using a spoon to cover some parts to make the pattern.

wasn't too happy with what decoration, but we still tried our best. only after the 20 minutes that we realised that we could've just made cheese sandwich - use the cheese slices as the bread, and the fruits as the filling of the sandwich.

anyway, we called our dish "trinity", because it was cheese-biscuit-yoghurt, cheese-strawberry-kiwi, and cheese-orange-chocolate. judges thought ours actually tasted a lil' like cheesecake!

it was done all in the name of fun, but in the end, surprisingly, we won!

here's 'Trinity', the dish that earned me my 2nd Iron chef success!

spring blossoms

2006-08-17T00:45:00.000+10:00

it was Bruce Hall's inaugural Malaysia High Table dinner today and i achieved my first milestone in my guitar career. my dean, diedre.pierce asked me to put up a short performance for the night, knowing that i played the guitar for Malam Kenduri. was initially going to play "I Will Follow You Into The Dark" by DeathCabForCutie, employing a 2-guitar setup with elizabeth on vocals. then, eli fell ill, and i thought of playing the acoustic version "Tears" by X-Japan. spent the whole day worrying about my performance.... till..

3.30pm.. i caught a spark of genius, and asked eugene to get on the guitar and together we jammed on my favourite chillout 4-chord progression. we worked on it once, and bingo!, we just found a piece to play for the night.

i thought of the chord since mid last year at least, if not earlier, and i only found someone to just jam and play spontaneously that song when i came to ANU. i sat down for a while, laid down some directions for the song.. and voila! i just composed my first guitar song. thanks eugene.

it didnt have a name up till the time when we performed it during dinner. our performance was pretty impressive given that we only came up with that song TODAY! everyone seemed to have enjoyed the song, so i'm quite happy.

it's only tonight...a touch of magic once again... we found a name:
s
Spring Blossoms
very simple, very chillout

we might consider doing a song for every season. but hey, spring is still a great season and i'm looking forward to it!

bacon and cheese pie

2006-08-11T17:04:00.000+10:00

hmm.. this is probably the first non-recipe and non-cooking related post. well, i've been working part time in the ANU campus bakery for over a month now and pies are among the things that i help to make.

today, just as any other day, i was helping to transfer the pies from the baking tray(pie moulds) onto the aluminium foil cup-like pie holders. [my boss calls this task 'stripping the pies', among other terms like 'give the floor a scare' which means 'sweep the floor' ]

anyway, pies like bacon&cheese pie has some cheese toppings on the top surface. sometimes, the cheese will melt in such a way that it flows till the side of the pie, and then when it hardens, it 'locks' the pie onto the mould, making it harder to remove the pie. there are 2 possibilities why it is hard to remove a pie:
1. the mould is not greased properly
2. the scenario mentioned above
it is quite irritating sometimes when you are trying to rush your work, and some of these abnormalities happen, slowing down your momentum when you just want to get the job done quick and go home.

so, one thought came across my mind.

"what is holding you back?"
(such that you cannot take off and fly, that you are still stuck in your current idle situation, that you cannot progress and move forward)
for a pie in that 'stuck' situation, it's the cheese holding it back from being removed easily
( as it should be) from the mould.

relate that scenario to our everyday lives..
what is holding us back from a positive change (of character, attitude)?
what is holding us back from taking that initiative to help others?
what is holding us back from executing that brilliant new idea that came across our mind?
what is holding us back from expressing our innermost emotions to another person?

what is holding us back?
not cheese, that i'm sure.

the great orange cookout - my creations

2006-07-29T22:30:00.000+10:00

DARK CHOCOLATE MOUSSE
(serves 6-8)

300g dark couverture chocolate, chopped ( i substituted this with Cadbury Dark Cooking Chocolate )
150g soft butter
6 eggs, separated
40g castor sugar
3 tbsp rum ( i used triple-sec instead..it's a type of orange liqueur, smells like mandarin oranges)
dark couverture chocolate and cocoa powder, to serve

1. melt chocolate in a large heatproof bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water - don't allow the bowl to touch the water. Remove chocolate from heat, stir in butter, egg yolks and rum and set aside to cool for 5 minutes. ( i only added the triple sec at the end of the whole process, ie. just before pouring into serving cups as i had a friend who cannot take alcohol ..non-halal ^_^)
2. use a hand-beater to whisk egg whites until soft peaks form.
3. Add sugar and whisk again until well-combined.
4. Pour cream into chocolate mixture and stir.
5. Gently fold egg whites into chocolate mixture until smooth.
6. Pour into serving glasses. Cover and chil for a few hours or overnight. Serve with dark chocolate shavings and a good dusting of cocoa.

ORANGE BISCOTTI
(10 Servings)

125g self-raising flour
100g white sugar
2g salt
1 egg
1 egg white
50g chopped almonds
10g orange zest

1. Preheat oven to 175 C. Grease cookie sheet
2. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Beat in the egg and egg white, then mix in almonds and orange zest.
3. Knead dough by hand till mixture forms a smooth ball
4. Roll the dough into a log about 10cm wide, 5-7cm high, about 15 cm long ( actually doesnt matter...depends on personal preference)
5. Bake for about 20-25 minutes in preheated oven. After baking, cool on a rack. With a serrated knife, cut into 3-5mm slices. Place slices, cut slice down, back onto the baking sheet.
6. Return them to the oven for an additional 20-25 minutes ( till slightly browned and crisp). turning over halfway through the baking.
7. Place cookies on racks to cool.

Alternatives: cut the dough into thin slices before baking. Also, you might want to consider dipping the cooled biscotti in chocolate to give it a chocolate coating.

here's another experimental idea that i'm working on to improve it:

CARAMELISED ORANGE SLICES

1. cut orange into slices of 4.
2. coat pulp area with sugar ( i used brown sugar during this try)
3. bake in oven at about 200C till sugar has caramelised

the great orange cookout

2006-07-29T19:30:00.000+10:00

"the world of cooking has immeasurable depths" - yakitate! japan ep62

the date was set, the menu prepared, chefs ( and kitchenhands) appointed, invitations sent, the shopping and venue bookings done.... all for the biggest cooking event i've ever organised.

Venue: Bruce Hall South Kitchen
Time: 1300 - 2000 (cooking), 2000 - 2130(dinner)
Theme: Orange! and anything else that reminds you of home

-Chef list-
Entree:
Eugene - baked orange-egg

Main course :
1.Ernest - "te ka"(hokkien for vinegared pork trotters)
2.Kelly Lee - curry chicken, 'fu-yong' egg, fried chicken with curry leaves, fried kangkung with belacan, crispy fried squid rings, steamed tofu with black soy sauce
3. Hong Yin - Ginger Chicken (cooked with a generous helping of cooking wine)
4. Aaron Ng - Asam Curry Fish

Dessert:
1. Veng Hoong - Dark Chocolate Mousse, Orange Biscotti
2. Ai Lin & Elizabeth - Kaya dip
3. Huda - Khir(Pakistani dessert...with an added twist using lots of coconut!)

-Invite List-
Kenny Chew, Adrian Wong, Net, SengBeng, Hazel, Phoebe, Felix, Will, Xinyi, LiChen, RachelLau, XinYi, XiaoJing, JonathanOh, ChiYao, AidanMorrison

i've actually had the idea of organising this event sometime back during the semester1 winter break, but then after discussion with eugene my co-organiser, we thought it'd be better to do it once, do it good, and especially when everyone's back from their holidays. originally, the idea was to have an orange-themed cookout where everything from starters to mains will have something to do from orange. why orange? well, i had the idea from Boys' Brigade Malaysia Pesta2003's Orange Bash Night, where everyone came dressed in orange. we relaxed the idea such that it only applies to myself and eugene, and so we got a few others to cook whatever they'd like to cook... and poof! comes all the delicious homestyle delicacies.

these are pictures from our menu..both ingredients and the actual dishes themselves. quite fun to try to guess the name of each dish =)
the event was such a GREAT success thanks to everyone who came to cook, help, and most importantly EAT all the food! i felt really happy watching others just enjoying their food with the company of good friends.....the good ol' merry experience at the dining table! and i love the part where we dine like what asian families do...share the food on the table, as compared to the more western approach of having your own food on your own plate.

GREAT FOOD + GREAT COMPANY + GREAT MUSIC = pure bliss

French Chocolate Macaroons

2006-06-26T03:17:00.000+10:00

*darker looking cookies - french chocolate macaroons (by myself)
*lighter coloured cookies - chewy oat cookies (by karen zhang)
*acknowledgements: kelly lee, for helping with preparation, baking, and participating in the photo =)

Post-exam cookie baking session. held just before cocktail drinks session for some of us. really fun baking with friends - loads of endless laughter. and usually there's always something new to learn about baking, or just about your friends =)

French Chocolate Macaroons (makes 24)

3 egg whites
25g Dutch cocoa
200g caster sugar
150g ground almonds
1 1/2 tbsp plain flour

1.Line biscuit tray with baking paper. Preheat oven 180 C.
2.Using an electric mixer, whisk egg whites until soft peaks form, then gradually add sugar, whisking well after each addition to dissolve sugar, until mixture is smooth and glossy.
3.Sift clour and cocoa together, then stir in ground almonds.
4.Gently stir flour mixture into egg white mixture until just combined.
5.Spoon tablespoonfuls of mixture on to tray and bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp on the outside but still soft in the centre.
6.Let the macaroons stand for 10 minutes before transferring on to a wire rack to cool.

*7. for the macaroons i made this time, i added some chocolate chips onto the cookies' surface as well as glazed the macaroons with egg-wash (egg yolk and water mixture... in roughly 1:1 or 2:1 proportion)

strawberry with basil

2006-06-21T23:52:00.000+10:00

2 punnets strawberries, sliced
1/2 lemon juiced
2 tablespoons castor sugar
6 basil leaves, finely shredded
100ml balsamic vinegar
vanilla ice cream, to serve

slice strawberries lengthways
add lemon juice, sugar, basil leaves, balsamic vinegar. (you may want to heat it slightly)
set aside for 10 minutes

serve with ice cream... a mix of hot and cold per se?

delicious bread

2006-06-15T05:33:00.000+10:00

"If you've created a truly delicious-looking bread, who's the first person you'd give it to?

Yourself.
Just because it looks delicious, doesn't mean it really is. In that case, you can't give it to people yet.

But, once you know that it's delicious, to whom would you give it to first?

Who do you think it is?

Obviously, when you know that the bread is truly delicious...

You first give a truly delicious bread to...
every person you'd want to eat it.
And in addition, you want every person who loves the bread to eat it."

- quoted from the anime 'Yakitate! Japan'.

...and you'd give that truly delicious bread to the one you love,

...for it is out of love, that you make a bread truly delicious...

for if not for love, there wouldn't be a truly delicious bread...

no noise during study and exam weeks (:

2006-06-05T23:28:00.000+10:00

for your viewing pleasure!

(one's the actual notice.. the other.. just a pun on the real one. both notices ARE actually spread along corridors in my halls of residence ^_^ )

Ignis Draconis article

2006-05-31T16:57:00.000+10:00

"In an awe-inspiring display of their talents, each challenger celebrated the secret ingredients (honey and ginger) in a unique fashion. In a triumph for both presentation and taste, Eugene Hong and Veng Hoong Loh produced irresistable ginger and almond dumplings nestled within carved honeydew and rockmelon baskets, complemented with freshing honeyed ginger and melon juice. "

extracted from Bruce Hall's Ignis Draconis, May 2006 edition

KoKo Black

2006-05-05T10:51:00.000+10:00

never knew a cup of hot chocolate can be this beautiful

iron chef!

2006-04-25T23:04:00.000+10:00

Bruce Hall Iron Chef 2 competition
south wing kitchen
1300- 1700 hours
25 April 2006

Team Members: Veng Hoong, Loh; Eu Gene, Hong
Competition's Secret Ingredients: Honey and Ginger

Recipe Name: Ginger Honey Dumplings

well, actually was looking through recipe books trying to get ideas for the competition. thought that ginger will be a challenging ingredient to incorporate into a dessert. found recipes for common stuff like cakes, souffle' and other usual stuff... just itching to make something refreshing so in the end thought of making dumplings!

first, to make the dumplings.
you just need glutinous rice flour and candied ginger, and honey.
1. mix about 1 cup of flour to 0.5 cups of water... add more flour or water to achieve the desired consistency ( such that it is not too wet and sticky or too dry and breaks easily)
2. once the dumpling 'dough' is done, keep it aside. now, mix the honey and candied ginger(cut to appropriate dumpling-size) in another bowl so that you coat each of them with a layer of honey.
3. now, insert a piece or two of the honey-coated candied ginger into a small ball of dumpling dough. roll with your hands to make it into a round shape. make sure all open ends are closed so that the contents of the dumpling will not leak out when boiling.
4. place dumplings on a plate in preparation for boiling. (much easier and tidier this way)
5. now, put to boil a pot of water. include some chunks of fresh ginger ( and, if possible, some pandan leaves) to make the 'soup'
6. once the water is boiled, lower the temperature to mid-heat and carefully insert the dumplings to boil. DO NOT BOIL TOO MANY AT ONE GO. Also, you might want to check if there are no 'fractures' in the texture of the dumpling skin.
7. once the dumplings start to float - they're done!
8. transfer the dumplings into another bowl of water ( no preference if it's warm or cold) to store.

ginger drink
1. using the 'soup' from boiling the dumplings, add some honeydew and rockmelon and continue to boil for about 5-10 minutes. add some honey too.
2. serve chilled or warm.

honey-baked ginger and almonds
- this is mainly for garnish purposes but it makes a GREAT snack too.
1. finely chop fresh ginger into small strips
2. you'll also need almond flakes
3. cover the baking tray with baking paper, then spread evenly the cut ginger and almond flakes across the tray
4. drizzle honey all over the ginger and almonds. try to cover the entire tray. (the more generous you are with honey, the better)
5. put to bake in the over for about 160-180 C for 20-30 minutes. you might choose to bake longer for a different effect on taste and appearance.

serving instructions
1. drain dumplings of water and serve on a clean plate ( or on a fruit bowl, in the case of our competition)
2. drizzle honey over the dumplings and garnish with small pieces of the honey-baked ginger and almonds
3. serve with ginger drink

~bon appetit~

from top: 1. veng hoong and eu gene... the Iron Chefs, 2. top down view of our masterpiece 3. honey-baked ginger and almonds; 4. single photo of our masterpiece

Carinya Alpine Village, Jindabyne

2006-04-14T00:14:00.000+10:00

- OCF Canberra Camp 2006
- Theme: Clearing the Cobwebs, by Kel Willis
- OCF = Overseas Christian Fellowship
- Jindabyne, a place in NSW near the Snowy Mountains
- temperatures drop to as low as -5 C!

photo taken at the nearby stream...notice the 2 different shades of leaves.
Autumn is SO BEAUTIFUL!

Photo taken during nightwalk

Campfire

more yummy pics

2006-04-03T09:51:00.000+10:00

more pancake parlour goodness - post micro1 mid-sem treat with chiyao, abi, eli, eliza and x.jing.

cooking at xinyi's is soo fun! on the right is stir-fried chicken with oyster sauce! ( just remember to fry the garlic first, and use sesame oil if possible). my mum's recipe recreated successfully by me!
xinyi made the vege... haha..
=p

pancake parlour

2006-03-19T01:40:00.000+11:00

half of "IT"... a favourite at pancake parlour

p/s: x.jing really missed out on this one..haha! =p

chess... size doesn't matter (:

PUB and fireworks

2006-03-05T18:29:00.000+11:00

Fireworks! - let us shine, and sparkle, and light up your life
(Taken during the Canberra Skyfire)

The wonders of PUB 31

photo taken from the top of the new Australian Parliament House

Bruce Hall's dining hall during Vday. nice eh? =)

These are for real... not caused by accident.

Lake Burley Griffin

2006-03-05T18:11:00.000+11:00

So romantic (:

Lake Burley Griffin. this is just a 5-10 minute walk from my college( halls of residence). used the "cool" (as opposed to warm) colour function on my camera.

just thought that this would be those pictures one'd describe as arty ;p

CNY special

2006-02-01T03:53:00.000+11:00

my all-time CNY favourite - yee sang!

CNY-eve at SUISS

2006-01-30T06:30:00.000+11:00

unbaked danish pastry

blueberry danish

blueberry muffin

checkers - chicken tart pastry

tools you'll see in a bakery

choose me, i'm round [chocolate butter cake]

yet-to-be-wrapped vegetable curry puff filling with pastry

yolk-flower

a chilly escape [ inside a chiller in a hospital's kitchen] ;

a beautiful sunset after a long day's work...it's time to go home for CNY dinner!

chicken, lamb, potatoes, pineapples

2006-01-26T01:44:00.000+11:00

slow-cooked chicken with cabbage

cut 2 lemon into 8 smaller pieces each. also cut 2 whole heads of garlic(include skin). chop up 2 half chicken into smaller sections.

arrange chicken and lemons into a bowl. then, sprinkle fresh thyme over the contents and drizzle with olive oil followed by 150ml of white wine. cover bowl with foil and cook for 160 C for 2 hours. after that, remove and put to cooking again for 45 minutes.

to prepare the cabbage, arrange whole cabbage/s (Try not to get too big ones) in a bowl, then pour chicken stock over it followed by drizzle of salt and pepper and olive oil. cover bowl with aluminium foil and cook in same oven as chicken..for the final 20minutes

lamb-sticks (:

first, cut the lamb into small cutlets and trim away unnecessary fat. wrap with plastic film(for cleanliness) and bash it ( with a roller or anything handy!) to loosen the meat.
start to heat up olive oil (not virgin) in preparation to fry the lamb cutlets.
into another container, grate about 10-20g of parmesan cheese and mix it with bread crumb. you can prepare bread crumb by just leaving some slices of bread to dry and then grate or do anything just to crush it. =)
then,beat 2 eggs into another bowl.
the procedure to coat is to first layer the lamb cutlet with egg, then only the mixture of bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. it's now ready to be fried and later goes down into any hungry stomach!

yet another potato salad recipe
cumin, lemon juice, olive oil, onions...and of course, you mix it with potato, cut or mashed.

caramelised pineapple with malibu chocolate

melt these together:
125ml malibu (coconut liquor)
125ml cream
200g chocolate
during the process, squeeze some pineapple juice into the chocolate sauce..give it extra flavour!

you'll need to prepare cut pineapples-on-sticks. soak the (wood) sticks in water to prevent it from catching fire when caramelising sugar.
coat the cut (longitudinally) pineapples with brown sugar and put on barbeque to caramelise.
once done, serve with the chocolate sauce (in individual bowls for hygiene purposes) to be used as a dipping sauce. =)

italian?french?spanish?

2006-01-24T10:59:00.000+11:00

this is some simple recipe to prepare rice with prawns ( or prawns with rice, whichever that you fancy)

first, prepare the sauce. you'll need chopped chilli, ginger, garlic and lemon juice. just mix all the ingredients together.
next, poach the prawns. when poaching, add juice from 1/2 of a lemon and some salt.
then, cook the rice(original recipe uses some sort of black coloured rice). once done, use a fork to loosen the rice. mix some of the sauce with the rice, place the prawns, and pour remaining of sauce onto it. =)

some trouffle? recipe

you'll need a huge bowl for this =p
first, spread blueberry jam on slices of bread of sponge cake. layer the bottom of the bowl with these.
next, melt blackberry jam in a pot, throw in blueberries/blackberries and add one lemon's juice. heat till a gooey texture is obtained. this forms the second layer in the bowl.
now, we start preparing the final layer.
step 1. mix 2 egg yolks + 100g sugar + 3-4 spoonful of lemon liquor. whisk the mixture.
step 2. mix the egg white and 100g sugar. whisk the mixture.
for both steps, whisk till slightly fluffy texture.
finally, mix the products of step1 and step2 with 750g mascarpone cheese. the final mixture gives the topmost layer.

once all 3 layers are complete inside the bowl, leave it in the fridge to set, probably overnight. serve as you wish!

$10 milk shake

2006-01-18T13:49:00.000+11:00

as seen in Surreal Gourmet

to a bowl of grated chocolate, pour in scalding hot cream and stir gently to form a homogeneous layer of chocolate. then, add vanilla ice cream to the chocolate, blend slightly before adding raspberry liquor (framboise liqueur... Chambord is a popular brand). blend all the ingredients till smooth like milk shake :p

to serve, add a rasperry to the drinking straw and garnish with a mint leaf and sprinkle some chocolate crumbs.

summer treats

2006-01-12T01:19:00.000+11:00

honey semi-freddo
semi-freddo - semi-freeze

300ml double cream - whip till slightly "raised"
100ml honey, 1 egg, 4 yolks - mix these together into a bowl. put bowl on top of a pot of water, height of water is such that it does not touch the bowl. the idea is to warm the mixture in the bowl as you whisk it, and not cook scrambled eggs.

once the honey and egg mixture is homogeneous yellow and aerated, looks vouptuously swelling, then pour it into the whipped double cream. "fold in" the mixture with a scraper or spoon.
put a layer of plastic wrapper on the sides of a square/round/whatever-shape container and pour the mixture into it. put into fridge for the mixture to set. you can remove once it solidifies.
to serve, drizzle the semi-freddo with honey and add a dash of almonds or any other nuts.

cucumber salad

ingredients: yoghurt, chopped cucumber, dried mint, finely chopped mint leaves, some finely grated garlic.
put all ingredients in a bowl n mix well. serve with pita bread

yoghurt chicken rice
(the twist to this one lies in its marinate)

first, marinate the chicken fillet with yoghurt, lemon juice, and ground cinnamon. chill in fridge for 1 hour.

next, get ready the shredded saffron and chicken stock
then, heat some oil with butter in a pot. about 1:1 ratio... not too much of each.
after that, add 500g of bismati rice(some sort of fragrant rice) and pour in the chicken stock with the saffron. also add a dash of lemon zest and the juice of a whole lemon. cover the pot and allow the rice to cook for 10-15 minutes.

in the meantime, roast a mixture of cashewnuts, almonds, etc on the pan. this will be mixed together with the rice. also, lightly fry the marinated chicken fillet.

finally, mix the rice with the chicken and the nuts. garnish with a hearty sprinkle of pistachios (do not roast these)

bon appetit!

cool desserts

2006-01-06T01:03:00.000+11:00

here's two ideas i picked up today.

BERRIES with WHITE CHOCOLATE SAUCE

first, to prepare the white chocolate sauce.
1. you'll need 250ml of cream and roughly 250g of white chocolate (1:1 ratio), and also some vanilla sticks.
2. warm the cream together with the vanilla in a pot. put the white chocolate in a bowl and pour the heated cream with the vanilla over it. stir the contents of the bowl till homogeneous (minus the vanilla, that is) as the chocolate will melt.
3. after this, pour the contents back into the pot and warm slightly. be careful not to overheat of the chocolate might 'split'.
4. arrange the berries (raspberry, blueberry, straberry...anything!) on a plate.
5. pour the white chocolate sauce on the berries.
6. serve immediately

second, just a simple concept. you may consider preparing mousse with a jelly base. that'll give the dessert a whole new dimension. i shall try to work out the recipe for lemon mousse.

a day at Suiss

2006-01-04T01:19:00.000+11:00

Croissants! they smell so lovely just after baking.
clockwise from top: glazing the croissants, "the croissant", "dare to be different"

bread avenue

rows of small loaf white bread arranged for cooling

streets of rotimania

roti (malay) - bread

eggtarts! yummy!

this is the dry form of baker's yeast, for those of you out there who are still curious.

bread pudding

2005-12-31T01:58:00.000+11:00

hmm i thought this has to do with bread so, here goes:

4 eggs
1 bottle of milk
1 packet of cream
butter
170g sugar
icing sugar
and of course...bread

first, glaze the surface of a bowl with butter. this prevents the bread pudding from sticking to the sides.
next, into another bowl add the eggs, milk, cream and sugar into the bowl and whisk/stir the ingredients.
then, dip the sliced bread in that mixture and transfer into another bowl for baking. pour the remaining pudding mixture into the bowl, stop when you have almost covered the top layer of bread.
sprinkle icing sugar on the surface of the bread pudding, then put to bake in the over at 160 C for 30-40 minutes.

serve while hot

the amazing cheesecake

2005-12-30T03:37:00.000+11:00

well, this is another idea from my all-time favourite culinary show on Astro TV - Made To Order.

if i remembered correctly, it involves using cheesecake then rolling it into tiny ball-like sizes. (it could be just cheeseballs, improvise! )
after that, coat the cheeseballs with a layer of crushed nuts.
arrange on a plate and sprinkle with a mixture of green tea powder and icing sugar
simple. bingo. lovely dessert

p/s: anybody knows the name for the method of cooking with acid, as in that from lime or other citrus fruits?

coffee with soda

2005-12-28T02:07:00.000+11:00

another whacky go on how to enjoy your espresso

you'll need a cup of 'double espresso', and also sugar syrup.

you can make your own sugar syrup by mixing equal parts of sugar and water, then heat the mixture and stir till homogeneous. you can add flavours like vanilla or cinnamon by adding them while cooking the sugar syrup. after you get a homogeneous solution, remove from heat and chill till needed.

as for the coffee with soda, into a cup filled with ice cubes( cup size about 300-400ml):
first add the double espresso
next, add about 30ml of sugar syrup
finally, top up with soda
give it a light stir and voila!

there's another idea using this same similar concept - sweetened coffee with vodka
to make the sweetened coffee, well, it's just adding sugar to a strong-flavoured coffee, and stir. leave to chill.
(there's an extra step to coat the drinking tip of the glass with sugar and a pinch of ground coffee..just for kicks)

into a glass, pour the sweetened cofee in first till about two thirds the final amount of the drink. then, pour in the vodka using the "layering" method. you simpy don't pour vodka into the coffee directly but instead, pour onto the back of a spoon and control it such that it flows in from the walls of the glass. you should see a distinct black and transparent layer. =)

sinful, ain't it?

mushroom tarts

2005-12-27T03:09:00.000+11:00

this sounds like the simplest yet most creative idea for a starter cum CNY. hehe.

the concept:

imagine an egg tart
instead of egg, you stir-fry some mushrooms and serve it using the tart pastry
just put small portions into each tartlet

this is going to be whacky... CNY in one month's time! i should think of more ideas

when coffee and mangoes meet

2005-12-21T01:00:00.000+11:00

this idea totally blew me off my seat when i watched it on tv. all you need is:
half a mango
double shot espresso or any coffee of choice
ice cubes
one chilli (make it a red hot one)

you only need about one 'shot glass' ( i don't know the correct name) of espresso. pour into cocktail glass.
then, into the blender, add the ice, mango, and chopped chilli. mix the contents. the amount of ice needed is about that to fill up the cocktail glass.
once this is done, pour contents of blender into the glass with the espresso.
pour with the direction of container facing yourself.

honestly, i am totally amazed by this combination. really whacky and best of all, really easy!

chocolate sauce

2005-12-16T16:09:00.000+11:00

chocolate bars/chunk (1 bar...about 300g?)
butter (about 100g)
icing sugar (about 100g)
4 teaspoons of milk

mix all ingredients into a bowl.
heat over boiling water (you know..like a boiling water bath set-up)
after about 1 minute, remove bowl and stir contents.
repeat till you get a smooth sauce
do not heat too long or the cocoa will 'split'

pina colada

2005-12-16T14:57:00.000+11:00

thought that this cocktail is simple yet interesting enough

pineapple juice
rum/whisky
cream of coconut (santan)
sweetened condensed milk

blend the above ingredients with ice.
serve with cherry =)

baking bread with a microwave

2005-12-16T02:56:00.000+11:00

first, add 75 ml of milk and 8g of unsalted butter to a alarge heat-resistant mixing bowl
microwave it on high for 30 seconds
Next, whisk until completely blended

Add salt, sugar, and bread flour
mix well and add the remaining flour (65g)
mix well and put into microwave for 30 seconds
With this, the first fermentation is complete

Next place it on the chopping board and divide it
Cover the dough with cooking paper and a wet cloth,
and leave it for 10 minutes

Press with your fingers, and put in microwave for 30 seconds on low
Sprinkle it with sesame seeds, cover with the cooking paper and wet cloth, and let it rise.
With this the second fermentation is complete
Next, just bake it at 200C in the oven

With this, it's complete!

Japan #2 - baking with a electronic rice cooker

2005-12-16T02:36:00.000+11:00

courtesy of Yaktate! Japan
How to make Japan #2

Ingredients
Bread Flour 350g
Butter 21g
Sugar 21g
Milk 35cc
Water 180cc
Dry yeast 5g
Salt 6.5g

1. mix ingredients in cooking container
2. knead the ingredients
3. then add the butter
4. knead it some more, thoroughly
5. when it no longer feels sticky, shape it so that it's round
6. leave it in a warm place for 60 minutes (primary fermentation)
7. then the dough will 'rise'. next, you have to get rid of the extra gas.
( don't grind it with your fist! all you need to do is drop it from a height of 50cm)
8. once you've released the gas, start the secondary fermentation. leave it for 60 minutes
9. then, switch on the button on the rice cooker. now, you're finally baking it.
10. after about 60 minutes in the rice cooker, one side will be baked. turn it over, and cook it again.

then, once that's done, turn it over once more and cook it once again.
after 3 rounds, you're done!

just a little work and you can have a freshly baked, fluffy fluffy Japan #2!
adding eggs or green tea to suit your taste isn't a bad idea too!

durban curry

2005-12-13T17:03:00.000+11:00

something i picked up from watching Floyd on Discovery Travel & Living

1. to a big pot, add oil and throw in loads of diced onions/shallots =)
2. next add in the mutton
3. add lots of diced tomatoes
4. add 1 bowl each of diced/minced garlic and ginger
5. add the curry powder. you decide how hot you want your curry to be
6. throw in some cinnamon bark/sticks
7. allow ingredients to simmer in closed pot for 30 minutes
8. add potatoes, coriander and curry leaves. cook for another 5 minutes
9. food is served

note that no water is required for the entire process... the curry sauce is made from the juices of the tomatoes and the mutton

Bon appetit!

baking music

2005-12-03T03:22:00.000+11:00

this is a side project revolving around food and music and how it affects my daily life
look forward to yummy days ahead =)