BAKED CURRY PUFF

Have been contemplating for awhile to make Curry Puffs,

but having them deep fried

just put me off the idea

until I read li-shuan's recipe

www.li-shuan.blogspot.com/2012/07/curry-puff.html

Pastry:

250g all purpose flour

50g rice flour

50g tapioca flour

50g butter

50g oil

130ml icy cold water

pinch of salt

Filling:

350g potato, peeled & diced

1 large onion, diced

160g chicken breast, cut in small pieces

1 Tbsp curry paste (I used A1)

1 Tbsp cooking oil

some curry leaves

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp chicken powder

1 cup water

Method:

Filling:

1) heat up cooking oil in kuali, add onions and fry until fragrant

2) add potato & curry paste

3) add water to cook until potato is soften

4) add breast meat & the rest of the seasoning

5) cook until liquid is reduced

6) dish out to cool before using

Pastry:

1) sift 3 types of flour into a large bowl, set aside

2) in a small sauce pan. melt butter in cooking oil

3) pour hot oil over flours & mix until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs 

4) add in icy cold water, knead to form a soft dough

5) cover dough & leave in fridge for 30min

6) divide into 25g each & wrap filling

7) arrange on baking tray & apply egg wash

8) bake @ 180'C for 10min, turning and bake another 5 min 

Notes:

1) can use toaster oven to bake

2) can freeze the unbaked puffs until required

KETUPAT DAUN PALAS

A Malay Traditional Kuih

made during Hari Raya Puasa

Recipe adapted from: www.nasilemaklover.blogspot.com/2011/0//homemade-ketupat.daun-palas.html

Ingredients:

330g glutinous rice - soaked overnight

3/4 cup coconut milk

1 tsp salt

daun palas

Optional: beans of any kind - pre-cooked until soft

1 tsp salt to be added to the boiling water

Method:

1) steam rice with coconut milk & salt, until half cooked (20min)

2) fill ketupat pouch with half cooked rice

3) if beans are used, mix beans into rice

4) boil a pot of hot water enough to cover the ketupat

5) add 1 tsp salt to boilng water before putting in the ketupat

6) boil ketupat over low heat for 2 hours

7) drain and let cool before serving

FOOCHOW KAN BUAN

This is a popular breakfast in Sitiawan 

among the Foochow people

The noodles are made flat and dried in the sun

for easy storage

You can easily get them from the sundry shops

The Foochow in Sabah prefer white "kan buan"

without black soya sauce

Since now we have the Char siew, 

another important combination is the pickled garlic

Simply mince the garlic and pickle in vinegar

can be kept in fridge and last a long time

Kan Buan Mian

2 serving of dried noodle cook in boiling water

                  when soft, add cold water to stop cooking

                  remove drain the noodles

Sauce (combine all in a bowl)

2 tsp garlic oil

1 tsp black soya sauce

2 tsp soya sauce

pinch of sugar

pepper   

Method:

Pour sauce over the cooked noodle & mix well

Topped with fried minced garlic

Complete with few slices of char siew

and 2 tsp garlic vinegar by the side

Enjoy

EASY CHAR SIEW

After a full day in the office

feel like having some char siew 

for dinner?

If you have the pork marinated

you can cook in less than half an hour

No need to preheat the oven

the toaster oven can do the job

Want to try?

2 thin slices pork belly

Marinate:

3 tsp Char siew sauce

1/2 tsp red wine residue (for colour)

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp soya sauce

Method:

1) marinate the pork belly & leave in fridge overnight

     until you want to roast

2) roast in toaster oven for 15min

3) turn & roast another 10-15min

     checking every 5min

     cover with aluminium foil the parts that start to burn

l

MACARONS

This is definitely for people with a sweet tooth

I have tried baking several times

but they just refused to stick their feet out!

With special thanks to Ru Jing, 

I finally got them standing on their feet!

Yet, to my disappointment, 
they refused to step out of their base!

"underbake?"

"to leave on the pan for 30min after baking?"

"use different type of grease proof paper?"

I will make the necessary adjustment & improvement soon.

BRAISED MEAT

"LU NUK" in Hock Chiew is braised pork.

This is one of my husband's favorite dish,
prepared by her mom.

Many of his siblings also missed this dish.

The preparation is time consuming 
but the end result is delicious!

You will like the thick and tasty gravy.

Ingredients:

1 chicken thigh (with skin on, mine removed by mistake)

1 piece pork belly

1 Tbsp oil

6 pips garlic 

few pepper seeds (crushed)
1 star anise

2 cloves

2 Tbsp sugar

dark soya sauce for colour

light soya sauce to taste

Method:

1) heat oil in kuali

2) add garlic, fry awhile

3) add chicken thigh and pork chunks

4) turning the pieces to brown the sides (to get the nice fragrant)
5) pour 1 cup of water round the sides of the kuali

6) add the rest of the ingredients

7) cover & simmer 

8) turn the pieces & add more water to make sure there is gravy (about 1 cup)

9) if the chopsticks can go through the meat it is cooked

10) slice the meat when cool to the touch.

SUGEE (SEMOLINA) CAKE

Like a dense butter cake?

Like a flavorful butter cake?

This is for you!

Its rich butter taste, 

the texture of  semolina and almond meals, 

all contribute to this wonderful cake.

Ingredients:
A) 250g butter
     180g castor sugar

B) 1/2 tsp vanilla
     120g semolina, pan fried on low heat until slightly brown
     120g ground almond, toasted
     50g superfine flour

C) 6 egg yolk AA size

D) 2 egg white AA size

Method:
1) cream butter & sugar until pale
2) add B into A, stir well and leave for 2 hours to soften the semolina
3) after 2 hours, preheat oven to 175'C
4) add egg yolk to mixture & leave aside
5) whisk egg white until soft peak
6) fold into mixture and mix well
7) pour into a 7" square pan and bake for 40min until done

BAKED CHEESY POTATO

This is indeed an easy dish to prepare as claimed by http://anncoojournal.com//2014/06/cheesy-potato.html

Ingredients:
250g skinned,cooked potato
15g butter
40g grated cheddar cheese
1/2 Tbsp plain flour
1/2 Tbsp corn flour
1/2 tsp salt to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten

extra cheese for topping

Method:
1) mash hot potato with a fork
2) add the rest of the ingredients to mashed potato, mix well
3) scoop into a baking dish
4) sprinkle extra grated cheese on top
5) bake in preheated oven 180'C for 15-20min until brown
6) Enjoy while it is hot.

Hayley likes:
- to have some of the potato remain in chunks
- to add some cooked rice at the bottom

GLUTINOUS RICE CHICKEN

A common dish in the Dim Sum Restaurant

The glutinous rice is usually soft & tasty

I found this recipe in http://auntyyoung.blogspot.com/2014/06/steamed-glutinous-rice-with-chicken.html?utm_source=bp_recent&utm-medium=gadget&utm_campaign=bp_recent

I have made it with some alterations:

Ingredients:

(A) 220g glutinous rice (soaked overnight)

(B) 1 Tbsp oil

      1 shallot-chopped

      

(C) Sauce: 2 portions 

      2 tsp sugar

      1 tsp oyster sauce

      2 tsp light soya sauce

      1 tsp dark soya sauce

      1/3 cup water

      salt & pepper to taste

(D) 1 chicken thigh-chopped into 8 pieces

      1 lap cheong - sliced into 8 pieces

      4 mushrooms, soaked until soften & cut half

      2 cloves garlic-chopped

      1 Tbsp oil

      1 Tbsp sesame oil

Method:

1) Mix together (c) X2 portions

2) heat oils in D & fry garlic until fragrant

3) add chicken, lap cheong, mushroom & fry until dry

4) add sauce C (1 portion only)

5) dish out when cooked

6) in the same pan, fry B until fragrant

7) add drained rice & fry

8) when dry, add sauce C

9) dish up & steam in steaming pan for 15min

10) fluff the rice & let cool

11) distribute chicken, mushroom & lap cheong into steaming bowls

12) top with steamed glutinous rice, press down lightly

13) distribute all sauce into the 8 bowls

14) steam for 30min until cooked.

           

FOOCHOW RED WINE CHICKEN

A popular dish among the Foochow dialect.

Not everyone cook the same way, 
and of course the taste also differs.

My mom can cook this dish very well and it always tastes good. 

She says, the trick is: 

"Always fry the chicken until it is fragrant and dry before adding any water"

I have done it!

Ingredients:

2 chicken thigh, chopped

1 Tbsp chopped ginger

1/2 Tbsp cooking oil

1/2 Tbsp sesame seed oil

Sauce:

2 Tbsp red wine residue

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1/3 cup water

Method:

1) mix all ingredients for sauce & leave aside

2) fry chopped ginger in hot oil until fragrant

3) add chicken & fry till almost dry & the meat shrink

4) pour sauce over & cook until water evaporates & oil comes to surface

5) dish out and serve.

FOOCHOW RED RICE WINE

福州紅酒

Rice Wine

 is widely used in Chinese Cooking

Different dialects 

in the Chinese Community

brew their Rice Wine

unique to their individual groups

Rice Wines 

are called by different names in their own dialects

Cantonese call theirs 'Wong-Zhou'

Hock Kien, 'Mi-Jiu'

Mandarin, 'Huang-Jiu'

 Foochow have their own signature variant of 

'Ang-Jiu' or 'Oint-U'

which is RED in colour!

Basically
all rice wine, whether yellow or red are the same
and
made by the same method
except with some additions of ingredients

My late mother-in-law took pride in her 'Oint-U'

which is sweet and 'strong'

To the older generations
certain 'pantang' needs to be observed
while making the rice wine
but 
my late mother in law just told us to keep our mouth shut while making!

Using her basic method

I have come out with this easy and no fuss method

which I gladly share with you

First of all
There are 2 important rules:
1) to keep all utensils clean and thoroughly dry
2) to make sure the rice is cooked through and cooled overnight.

When completely cooled,
the ingredients are ready to be mixed together.

The glutinous rice already mixed with
blended red yeast
and
ground wine biscuits
ready to be put into the glass bottle

Done!

 Now wait for 26 days for it to mature.

Foochow Red Rice Wine

1 kg glutinous rice

100g red yeast

1 sweet wine biscuit

1 hot wine biscuit

Utensils

a glass bottle big enough for the ingredients, sun dried thoroughly

a piece of cloth to cover the mouth of the bottle

a string to secure the cloth

muslin cloth to strain the wine during harvesting

Method:

1. cook rice in rice cooker, add same amount of water as you would cook rice

2. scoop out fully cooked rice to cool overnight

3. blend red rice yeast

4. put wine biscuits in plastic bag & mash with a glass bottle

5. mix red yeast powder & wine biscuits with rice, in batches

6. put the well mixed batch into the bottle, pressing to the bottom of the bottle

7. continue until all the rice is finished

8. cover the mouth of the bottle with a piece of cloth, secure it with a string

9. cover the bottle loosely with the plastic cover

10. leave in a cool place for 26-30 days

To Harvest:

1) Make sure the top does not have any BLACK mold (poisonous!)

    Pour away all if you find any black spots!

    and start again...... making sure you soak the bottle, cleaned & sun it well 

    Cause: contamination during the process!

2) some white mold is OK, just scoop up the white spots & discard

11. This top layer is kept as 'chow' or residue

12. strain the rest of the mixture through a muslin cloth

13. keep the wine (liquid) in a bottle. Do not fill to the brim but 2" below

      to allow further fermentation

14.keep the residue in a jar & sprinkle some salt on top & store in fridge

Notes:

1. 100ml bottled water or (water boiled & cooled overnight) may be used to clean utensils 

     off the glutinous rice & yeast, and can be added to the lot for fermentation.

2. rice wine will remain red if store in fridge

3. to get a clear bottle of wine, drain the clear wine to a new bottle after it has settled for 

    a few days.

4. cloudy ones at the bottom of the bottle can be kept for cooking mee sua or sea shells

5. you can collect 1 litre of wine from this recipe