Month: August 2009

Spring Bay Mussels with white wine and cream

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we bought mussles from the event and it was so cheap and fresh!
$6 for a kilo! (:
it’s half price compared to the price they sell in the markets
so we bought 1kg and decided to try one of the recipes they displayed on the counter
and it was SO GOOD!
baby really enjoyed it. and he regretted not getting 2kg of mussels. haha
next time!

so here’s the recipe
cause it’s really simple and you will be able to have a meal on the table in less than 10mins!
so give it a shot if you are a big fan of shellfish

Ingredients :

1kg packet Spring Bay Mussels
15g unsalted butter
1/2 red onion, very finely diced
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped (I used 2! cos we love garlic)
freshly ground pepper
a sprig of thyme
a bay leaf
100ml white wine
150ml thickened cream

Method :

1. Heat a large heavy based pot with a tight fitting lid over a low heat.
Add the butter, when it’s melted add the onion, garlic and some freshly ground pepper.
Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the onions are clear and soft.

2. Increase the heat to high, add the thyme, bay leaf, cream and wine
and cook for 3-4minutes or until the liquid has reduced by 1/3 in volume.
Open the packet of mussels and pour into a colander then give them a light rinse.

3. Pour the mussels into the boiling wine mixture, give them a stir and then quickly put on the lid.
Cook for 3 minutes or until the mussels open.

3. Mussels with white wine and cream. DONE! (:

and you know what goes best with this?

garlic bread of course! hehe
soak up all the super yummy juices of the mussels and the sauce!
B-E-A-UTIFUL! haha (:
love it!

plump and juicy mussels.
mmmm. (:
im a happy girl!

Enjoy everyone!

family affair.

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yiqis-shop-1

Support my brother! (: The next time you go to Chinatown to eat something yummy.

Make a detour and visit my dearest brother’s shop and have look around

you might just find something you like (soap, clothes, detergent, pencils. a wide range!)

and at the same time you save the environment!

Thanks heaps in advance! Your support is greatly appreciated!

jelly hearts ♥

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♥  on a plate. made with love.

I’ve made these a few times now.
but Baby never had a chance to try them
cos I made them last year when we were a million km away from each other. hehe
so i decided to make some for him to try!
and since I bought strawberries from our visit to Costco that day.
it was the perfect timing to make it! (:

see the HUGE box of Philly cream cheese and the HUGE block of unsalted butter?
I got them at Costco! hehe
I LOVE THE PLACE!
cos it’s buying in bulk and buying them at a cheaper price!
and the strawberries were cheap and super sweet.
just awesome (:


(pic stolen from Peggy’s album haha sorry babe!)

see the block of butter in comparison to Peggy’s face?
haha. SUPER huge right?
yes. I wasn’t overemphasizing the HUGE at all. haha

the cream cheese and the butter were bigger than the box of digestives for the first time!

now that I got the “logistics” explained. haha
here is the recipe so you all can enjoy!

Ingredients :

Base
320g digestive biscuits
160g melted butter

Filling
250g cream cheese
2 1/4 tsp gelatine powder
70g sugar
150ml hot water
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
20 medium sized strawberries

Topping (Jelly)
1 packet (170g) strawberry flavoured Jell’o
1 1/2 cups hot watr
1 1/2 cold water

Steps :

Base

1. Crush biscuits and stir in melted butter
2. Divide and press onto the base of the try. Chill for 15mins or until needed.

3. Prick base with the back of a skewer (I used a fork) before pouring in the filling.

Filling

1. Using a small heart shaped cutter (1″) and cut hearts out of the strawberry halves.
Place on a plate lined with paper towel.


(and don’t worry. the left over strawberries are not wasted! you can use it in your smoothies!)

2. Place gelatine and sugar in a bowl.
Pour boiling water over and stir until gelatine has dissolved.
If it doesn’t dissolve completely, place this bowl over a bigger bowl filled with boiling hot water.

3. Cream the cream cheese and vanilla essence together.
Add the gelatine syrup gradually and cream until smooth.
Pour into tray(s).

4. Place 20 hearts on each try, partially submerged in the cheese.
(I refrigerate the cream cheese for 15 mins before submerging the strawberries.
Just so they don’t sink in all the way).
Refrigerate until firm about 2 hours.

Topping

1. Dissolve Jell’O in boiling water. Add cold water and stir well.

2. Cool completely before pouring over the cheese filling.
(Try and pour really slowly and over the strawberries instead of the cheese so that the jelly stays clear)

3. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

a row of ♥s. (:

we have a bit to last us for the week!

Baby’s verdict : it’s damn good la! haha. WHEEEE!

Unagi Fried Rice

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it’s now a new favourite in the house.
ever since I got hooked onto Unagi
and fell in love with the unagi fried rice at En Dining when I went back recently.
Baby and I have been trying to cook it
and hoping it will be close to what we had.
we came close.
but still not as good. haha (:
well practice makes perfect! so practice we shall!

but for now..
this is how it turned out!

so I know it may look like nothing fantastic.
but trust me. You will love it. haha
for real! (:
it’s awesome and very addictive.
thank God today is carbs day haha
wheeee!

here is the recipe for the rice!

Ingredients :

1 1/2 cups of cooked rice (allow it to cool for about 2 hrs)
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 pieces of garlic, chopped finely
1 egg
10g butter
2 tbs olive oil
1 tbs Mirin
1 tbs fish sauce
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs dark sauce
1 packet of Unagi (baked according to instructions behind the packet)



Steps :

1. Heat the oil and butter in the pan and fry the onion and garlic till the garlic just turns light brown.

2. Pour in the rice and fry till they are coated with the oil and add the 4 different sauces.
Please note that you can vary the amount of sauces to your liking. (:

3. Cut up the unagi after taking it out of the oven, and gently put it into the pan.
Fold the rice and unagi together, careful not to mash the fish up.

4. Crack and egg and fry till it coats the rice.

5. Unagi fried rice. DONE! (:

Simple pleasures in life.
AWESOME!

Wasabi Prawns

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Had this dish at Barstop on my recent trip home.
and have been wanting to make it for quite some time
found the recipe online and I’m quite happy with how it turned out!
and since we were having potluck tonight.
I decided to try making it! (seriously daring haha)
and was really relieved to hear that Peggy likes Wasabi prawns! haha
so made a good switch from Pork Adobo to Wasabi Prawns tonight (:

well. the wasabi taste is kept to the minimal.
but u can always add more if u wan more kick to it
so enjoy! (:
hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Recipe from Tung Lok Group’s cookbook, New Chinese Cuisine

Ingredients :

18 prawns, shelled & deveined (use the freshest, biggest prawns you can find.)
1 egg white
vegetable oil for deep frying
6tbsp cornflour
180ml mayonnaise
2 tbsp condensed milk (I didn’t put this)
2 tsp wasabi powder (can put more if you want more wasabi kick)
dash of lemon juice
sesame and seawood seasoning (for garnishing)

Steps :

1. Dip the prawns in egg white, then coat evenly with cornflour.

2. Deep fry the prawns in 180C (356F) for about 3 minutes, until prawns turn crispy.

3. In a separate dish, combine the mayonnaise, condensed milk, wasabi powder and lemon juice.

4. Toss the deep-fried prawns with the wasabi mayo until evenly coated.

5. Garnish with sesame and seaweed seasoning.

ENJOY! (:

chocolate cupcake with creme banana filling and peanut butter icing

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Chocolate cupcake ingredients :

3 cups of all-purpose flour
2 cups of caster sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups hot water
3/4 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon instant coffee crystals
1 tablespoon vanilla essence/extract
Regular or silver cupcake paper liners

Directions :

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
In a large measuring cup, combine the oil, water, instant coffee and vanilla.Whisk it into the dry ingredients
until combined. Don’t worry if there are a few lumps.

2. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners and fill till 2/3 full.
Bake until wooden skewer comes out clean about 20-25mins.
Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

3. Remove center of the cupcake using the cone method.
Set cone aside, trim the excess tip off the cone.
Fill the cupcake with creme banana filling, replace cone.
Frost with peanut butter frosting!


Creme Banana filling ingredients :

3/4 caster sugar
1/4 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
5 tablespoons butter
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1 teaspoon vanilla essence/extract

Directions :

1. Combine sugar, flour and milk in a saucepan; cook, stirring until smooth.
Continue cooking until mixture thickens.

2. Transfer to mixing bowl and let it chill for about 10 mins.

3. Beat butter into chilled mixture, one tablespoon at a time. Fold in mashed bananas and vanilla.


Peanut butter frosting ingredients :

2/3 cup icing sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, soft at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon vanilla essence/extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup thickened cream

Directions :

1. Place the icing sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla and salt in a mixing bowl.
Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a spatula as you work.

2. Add the cream and beat on high speed till smooth.

Enjoy! (:

Dover sole with shrimp butter sauce

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you know what is the best thing
and made me the luckiest girl in the world?
it’s when you reach home after a grueling exercise session (actually wasn’t too bad)
and smell the awesome yummy smell of dinner prepared by my baby (:
and very well know that dinner is going to be awesome!

and so it was (:

after watching so much F word (a Gordan Ramsay cook show)
we tend to try everything we could that he put up the recipes for.
so tonight. baby tried making the dover sole with shrimp butter sauce!

Ingredients :

2 medium Dover sole, gutted and prepped
100g plain flour
Knob of butter
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the shrimp butter:

30g butter
200g cooked and peeled brown shrimps
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp capers
1 lemon, juice only
Small handful flat leaf parsley, chopped
Steps :

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C.

2. Season the flour with salt and pepper. Dust the fish all over in the flour. Heat a little olive oil in a large pan, season the sole again and fry on one side until golden brown (3 – 4 minutes in total). Add a touch of butter towards the end, flip over and transfer the fish to the oven for a further 6 minutes or until its cooked.

we didn’t have dover sole.
so we just used the normal white fish.
as long as it’s a firm fish (: should work!

3. For the shrimp butter: melt the butter in hot pan and cook until it begins to brown. Add the shrimps, cayenne pepper and capers. Lightly season and add the lemon juice. Cook until the shrimps are heated through then add the flat leaf parsley and stir to combine.

baby shrimps
best if it’s fresh, but we used the ones from a can.
still as good! (:

and mixing that with butter will give you an awesome..

4. Serve the fish on warm plates, spoon the shrimp butter on top and a spoonful of nettle champ on the side.

so baby and I are really anal about presentation. haha.
so he put it together really nicely!
with crispy potatoes and beans (:
the potatoes were SUPER good.
crispy on the outside
and soft on the inside!

YUMSSSSS! (:

Thank You Baby! hehe

Apple Crumble

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Made apple crumble for the first time today. and I am really happy with how it turned out! (:
I have always been buying apple crumble from thie yoghurt stall in QV
but the price for the amount I get is actually quite little! so i decided to go look for a good recipe.
It’s not the same as the other crumbles you might have tried.
This one has rolled oats in it. so there is a bit more bite to it than usual.
and we absolutely loved it!

the crumble is nice and dry.
not soggy at all! (: hehe so I really really like it!
being a crumble fan and all.

so here is the recipe! (:
hope you all will enjoy it too!

(Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Website)

Ingredients :

For the crumble:
35g rolled oats
35g wholemeal flour (I used 55g cause my crumble felt a bit too wet)
20g caster sugar (I used brown sugar)
35g margarine or butter

For the filling:
400g cooking apples, peeled, cored and quartered (I used Granny Smith apples)
50g sugar, to sweeten (I used brown sugar)
1 tablespoon water

Steps :

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/375°F/gas 5.
Peel and core the apples, quarter and cut in to chunks.

2. Put the apples in to a pan with the sugar and water.
Cook over a low heat for 5 minutes and place in a small oven proof dish.

3. Place the flour and oats in a bowl and mix well.
Cut the margarine or butter in to small cubes and add this to the oats and flour.
Mix with your fingertips until it resembles an even crumb texture. Add the sugar and mix through.

4. Cover the fruit with the crumble mixture.
Bake for approximately 20 minutes until the crumble is golden and the apple hot.

Can’t get enough! (:

Cheok’s Beautiful Chaos : Tuna Tataki

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Ingredients :

4 Tuna steaks
Black peppercorns, coarsely cracked

Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup Peanut oil
1 ounce Sesame oil
2 ounces Soy sauce
1/2 ounce Garlic—grated
1/2 ounce Ginger—grated
5 spice powder to taste

Roll tuna in cracked black pepper then sear it in a very hot cast iron pan without oil.

let cool slighly, then slice thinly. Serve with dipping sauce.

all done and ready to be sliced!
i got so excited when he was about to slice it up.
cos tataki (beef or fish) is like one of my favourite dishes ever!
and how good does this look!?

haha the two chefs! (:
one getting pointers from the other. hehe.

as Cheok slices the tuna and plates them!

Beautiful Chaos (:
that’s the name of his dish! haha

it was a huge plate of tataki. haha
can u imagine how happy i was? SUPER!

deserves another shot! (:

the dipping sauce for the tuna tataki.
SUPER SHIOK! haha.
definitely a crowd pleaser.
by crowd. i mean all 4 of us. hehe

and that’s how you eat it! (:

Enjoy!

Salmon Fillets with Lemon Hollandaise Sauce

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Ingredients :

2 salmon fillets with skin on
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Lemon Hollandaise Sauce

175g butter
4 egg yolks
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Steps :

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Skim any froth from the surface and discard.
Leave to cool. Whisk the yolks and 2 tablespoons of water in a separate saucepan for 30 seconds,
or until pale and foamy. Place the saucepan over very low heat and whisk the egg mixture for 2-3 mins,
or until frothy and the whisk leaves a trail behind it as you whisk.
Don’t let the saucepan get too hot or you will scramble the effs.
Remove from the heat.

2. Whisk the cooled butter into the eggs, a little at a time, whisking well after each addition.
Avoid using the milky butter whey from the base of the saucepan.
Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and cracked black pepper.
Set aside.

3. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and rub the fillets with the olive oil.
Heat the non-stick pan over high heat and cook the salmon fillets skin-side-down for 4 mins.
Turn over and cook for another 2 mins, or until cooked to your liking.
Serve with the sauce and vegetables of your choice.

4. Salmon fillets with lemon hollandaise sauce. DONE! (:

Tip : Hollandaise sauce should be cook in a heavy-based saucepan.
If the sauce separates or curdles, remove from the heat and whisk in an ice cube.