Month: October 2009

Tai Lok Meen (Hokkien Noodles)

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i had a craving for tai lok meen for the longest time.
and whenever i think about this noodles.
i think about my dad.
and how much he loves this.
or how he would rather sit in a coffee shop in KL while we shop
just so he could order a plate of the best tai lok meen ever.
and slowly enjoy it for the night.
it makes me smile. and it makes me wanna spend more time with my family (:

so i’ve been looking around and I found the recipe on my love.my food
and it looked really yummy.
i went to BoxHill to buy the ingredients
and got down to cooking it for dinner tonight!
and boy was I a happy girl.
it wasn’t as yummy as the one in KL
but it was YUMMY enough! hehe
We enjoyed it so much we almost finish the whole pot. haha

so here’s the recipe!
give it a go cause it was really easy to cook it.
and it was really yummilicious!

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Creamy Seafood Spinach Pasta

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it’s Sunday! (:
and Sunday normally means either a baking day
or cooking something that I love. hehe
just to end the week on a high note.
so tonight.
I decided to cook creamy seafood pasta
which I haven’t made in ages!

baby loved it! (: hehe
good to see him happy. hehe
espcially cause he is doing his assignments and studying for his papers.
this meal was to cheer him up a little! hehe

it’s really quick to cook.
easy as well,
you will get delicious pasta in 30 mins or less!

so here’s the recipe
hope you guys enjoy it as much as we did!

Creamy Seafood Spinach Pasta

Ingredients :

500g marinara mix
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
50g butter
1/2 cup (125ml)  white wine
2 cups (500ml) cream
2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

Steps :

1. Separate the marinara mix into the different seafood
(cause all have a slightly different cooking time)

2. Melt and heat the butter in a frying pan
and cook the onion and garlic over medium heat for 2 minutes
or until the onion is softened
(be careful not to burn the garlic, as it will turn bitter)

3. Add the wine to the pan and cook for 4 mins
or until reduced by half.
Stir in the cream, mustard and lemon juice and simmer for 5-6 mins
or until reduced by half.

4. While allowing the cream to reduce,
cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box

5. Add the seafood into the cream sauce.
First, put the prawn and cook it for 1 minute
then add the fish and cook for 2 minutes.
Finally,
add the calamari and mussels and cook for a further 1 min.
If any of the seafood is uncooked, cook for another minute or so,
but be careful not to overcook as this will result in tough flesh.

6. Add the pasta and coat each strand with the cream sauce.
Serve with salad or a glass of wine.
Anything to your liking (:

DONE!

i dunno about you, but some creamy goodness is always good in my books (:

Roasted Black Sesame Macarons

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my second try
and it’s still not successful.
i dunno what’s wrong anymore. haha. (:
but i will give it another shot another time!
my shells just not rise like they should!

oh wells. hehe
if u got tips on this please feel free to let me know!
cause I really wanna get it right. hehe

got this recipe from a blog i regularly read (:
Muffins are Ugly Cupcakes
how cute is the name of the blog? hehe

so before trying it for the second time
i read around to see if people could help me not fail. haha
so I microwaved my egg whites for 10sec in a medium heat microwave to get all the water out.
I also toasted the almond meal and the grounded black sesame in the oven at 140 C° for 10mins (:

besides that.
i followed Felicia all the way.
(Thanks for the recipe btw!)

Recipe :

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
3/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup finely ground black sesame
6 tablespoons egg whites (I just used 3 egg whites)
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup granulated sugar

i processed the icing sugar to make sure there were no lumps.

then I added the toasted almond meal and black sesame and processed it as well.

I whipped the egg whites and slowly adding the sugar
until you get soft peaks.
Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites and start folding.
I put my dry ingredients half at a time. Makes things easier.

mine seems too thick now (the first attempt. it was too thin haha)
i should have a flow-like-magma consistency.

Pipe the macaron batter onto baking paper.
Top off with some sesame seeds to make it prettier

Bake at 320F (160C) for 12 mins.
and let it cool (:

cause it was a fail attempt
i didn’t make any buttercream to sandwich it with.
I will hold that till I get the perfect shells. hehe

help anyone?

chocolate salted-caramel mini cupcakes

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I promised myself that once all the school madness is over.
I will bake something to unwind (:
and I did! hehe
been wanted to try this recipe for ages.
and i did.
mine didn’t turn out as yummy as I thought it would be.
though it looks pretty haha.

i think the icing just taste of butter, sadly.
and my salted caramel didn’t stay in the middle of the cupcake.
it got absorbed by the cupcake for some reason
maybe it was too thin haha.

ah wells. (:
it’s still quite good.
baby said he likes it.
hopefully it taste better when it’s been put in the fridge!

so here’s the recipe!
(adapted from Bake or Break)

Cupcake

1 1/2 cups of plain flour
3/4 cups dutch cocoa
1 1/2 cups of caster sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tbs vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup warm water

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 350° (175 C°).
Line mini muffin pans with paper liners.

2. Whisk together flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Add eggs, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and water. Using an electric mixer on low speed, mix until smooth.

3. Fill muffin pans about 2/3 full.
Bake about 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Cool in pans on wire racks about 10 minutes. Remove cupcakes to wire racks to let cool completely.

4. Cupcakes can be stored overnight at room temperature or frozen in an airtight container for up to a month.

Salted-Caramel Filling

2 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
1tbs light corn syrup
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 1/2 tsp sea salt

Steps :

1. Heat sugar, water, and corn syrup in a heavy saucepan over high heat.
Stir occasionally until syrup is clear. Attach a candy thermometer to side of pan.
Stop stirring, and cook until syrup comes to a boil, washing down sides of pan with a wet pastry brush as needed.

2. Boil, gently swirling pan occasionally, until mixture is caramelized and temperature just reaches 360°.

3. Remove from heat. Slowly pour in cream and stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Stir in sea salt. Use immediately. If caramel begins to harden, reheat gently until pourable.

4. Use a paring knife, cut a cone-shaped piece, about 1/2-inch deep, from the center of each cupcake.
Spoon 1-2 teaspoons of warm filling into each cupcake. Sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over filling.



Dark Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon boiling water
2 & 1/4 cups unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 & 1/2 pounds semi-sweet chocolate, melted and cooled

Steps :

1. Combine cocoa and boiling water. Stir until cocoa has dissolved.

2. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter, confectioners’ sugar,
and salt until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low and add melted and cooled chocolate.
Beat until combined. Beat in cocoa mixture.

3. Frosting can be refrigerated up to 5 days or frozen up to 1 month.
Bring to room temperature and beat on low speed until smooth before using.

4. Fit a pastry bag with a medium open-star tip (Wilton #18).
Fill pastry bag with frosting. Pipe onto cupcakes, swirling tip and releasing as you pull up to form a peak.
Garnish with a pinch of sea salt.

5. Cupcakes are best eaten the day they are filled and frosted.
Store at room temperature in an air-tight container until ready to serve.

i think it’s the prettiest I’ve made.
just wish it was yummier and made me go WOW. haha
but it was still good! (:

Pavlova : First Attempt !

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Instead on working on my thesis
(which i really should haha just so tired of it)
I decided t try making a pavlova
which baby has been craving for.
so it’s a win-win. kinda. hehe.

found a recipe on Joy of Baking and it looks really good! hehe
so I decided to give it a shot.
well. it didn’t turn out as well as I hoped for.
it was flat. haha
and not high and thick like how it looked on the website.
but it still tasted pretty good i must say
baby had 2 servings! haha
so it must not be that bad. hehe

the center was chewy and it was crispy on the outside.
just like how a pavlova is suppose to be.
now I just need to try and get it to be thick and not spread out after being placed on the parchment paper.
any hints or suggestions?
would love to hear from your past experiences!

so here’s the recipe.
hopefully, the next time I try it
would be better! hehe

ingredients :

Meringue Cake
120g egg whites (from 4 eggs)
100 grams of caster sugar
1 teaspoon of white vinegar
1/2 tablespoon of corn starch

Topping
240ml thickened cream
1 1/2 tablespoon of caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Fresh fruit of our choice (I used mango and passionfruit)

Steps :

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (130 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and draw a 7 inch (18 cm) circle on the paper.

2. In the bowl of your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment,
beat the egg whites on medium-high speed until they hold soft peaks.
Start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time, and continue to beat until the meringue holds very stiff peaks.
(Test to see if the sugar is fully dissolved by rubbing a little of the meringue between your thumb and index finger.
The meringue should feel smooth, not gritty.
If it feels gritty the sugar has not fully dissolved so keep beating until it feels smooth between your fingers).
Sprinkle the vinegar and cornstarch over the top of the meringue and, with a rubber spatula, fold in.

3. Gently spread the meringue inside the circle drawn on the parchment paper,
smoothing the edges, making sure the edges of the meringue are slightly higher than the center.
(You want a slight well in the center of the meringue to place the whipped cream and fruit.)

4. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes or until the outside is dry and takes on a very pale cream color.
Turn the oven off, leave the door slightly ajar, and let the meringue cool completely in the oven.
(The outside of the meringue will feel firm to the touch, if gently pressed,
but as it cools you will get a little cracking and you will see that the inside is soft and marshmallowy.)

5. Just before serving gently place the meringue onto a serving plate.
Whip the cream in your electric mixer, with the whisk attachment, until soft peaks form.
Sweeten with the sugar and vanilla and then mound the softly whipped cream into the center of the meringue.

6. Arrange the fruit randomly, or in a decorative pattern, on top of the cream.
Serve immediately as this dessert does not hold for more than a few hours.

ENJOY!

Prawn Paste Chicken Drumlets

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after my last paper.
I just wanted to cook something nice
so I went to BoxHill and walked around waiting for inspiration to hit me
haha. so….
I saw drumlets and they were going cheap!
and then it hit me that I really miss having some prawn paste chicken

Prawn paste chicken is something I always had at the zhi char back home
haha so it was quick and easy decision.
I went to get a bottle of prawn paste and scooted home!

and it turned out quite well!
and boy was it yummy hehe
and trust me. after not sleeping enough
this was so easy to make
you could do it in a jiff and have dinner served before you know it!

so here’s the recipe (:
Hope you guys would enjoy it as much as we did!

Ingredients :

15 drumlets
1 tablespoon of prawn paste
1 tablespoon of chinese cooking wine
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoon corn flour
Pepper

Oil for deep frying

Steps :

1. Marinade the drumlets with all the other ingredients for at least ah hour.

2. Heat the oil in a deep dish on medium heat.

Tip : To make sure the oil is hot enough, dip the tip of a chopstick
and when you see bubbles, the oil is ready for deep frying.

3. Deep fry the drumlets till there are golden brown.
Do make sure the oil is not too hot, or else it will brown before it’s cooked!

We had some mince pork in the fridge.
so we rolled them into balls
and coated them with the prawn paste liquid left over from the drumlets
and fried them as well
and they were absolutely divine! (:

ENJOY!

Malaysian Coconut Butter Prawns

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I must admit, mine is just butter prawns.
cos I don’t have coconut anywhere in the house. haha
and I wanted to whip up something quick and yummy.
so I didn’t bother going down to the convenience store to get coconut.

we bought these really fresh and large tiger prawns from Woolworths recently.
and cause we haven’t had seafood for the longest time.
I could not wait to cook these huge-little things. hehe
and looking through Rasa Malaysia (in the midst of doing my thesis)
I found this recipe!
and it was super yummmy!
and quick (which is key now during the midst of the crazy exams and thesis writing)
baby really liked it. hehe
so here is the recipe! ENJOY!

Malaysian Coconut Butter Prawns
(adapted from Rasa Malaysia)

1 lb large prawns (washed, deveined and patted very dry)
3 tablespoons butter
6 bird’s eye chilies (chopped, seeds removed)
3 sprigs of curry leaves (leaves only) (I left this out)
3 stalks of scallions (I used coriander instead)
3 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/4 cup of grated coconut (I left this out)
3 tablespoons Cognac (or brandy) (didn’t put this either!)

Steps :

1.  If you do have the grated coconut
toast the coconut:  In a dry, nonstick skillet, toast the coconut until golden brown.

2. Fry the prawns: In a large saute pan or wok, heat 2T cooking oil on high heat.
When smoking, add the prawns.  Cook only half way.  Timing depends on size of your prawns.
When they just start to change color, remove and set aside.

3. Stir-fry: In same pan or wok, you should have some cooking oil left over. If not, add 1T.
When hot, add the curry leaves, scallions and garlic.
Fry for a few seconds until fragrant.
Add Cognac, butter, salt, sugar and soy.
Reduce just a bit – you should have a nice sauce that will coat the prawns.
Add the prawns back in the pan.  Fry until prawns are cooked through, timing depends on size of prawns.
Turn off heat, add the toasted coconut and immediately serve.

just go with rice. it’s awesomeeeee! (: