CRUSTY GARLIC LOAF

This recipe is good for 2 loaves

Crusty exterior and soft chewy interior

is expected in a good Garlic Loaf

To achieve such texture

many opt to

toast a slice of baguette or sandwich slice,

with a generous spread of garlic, herbs and butter on top.

This is simply a slice of bread with garlic topping

and

it is called a garlic toast!

After searching & testing

I have finally come up with this 

delicious and aromatic,

Crusty and yet soft Garlic Loaf

Recipe adapted from Chew Out Loud

Crusty Garlic Loaf

(A) Roasted Garlic

      1 garlic clove, 1) cut across & wrap in aluminium foil

                              2) bake in preheated oven 150'C for 35min

                              3) let cool, remove skin & mash the soft garlic with fork

                             

Garlic Clove, 

halved & ready to be wrapped & baked in the oven

(B) Bread dough                             

a) 230g water

    1 & 1/4 tsp salt

    3 Tbsp Olive Oil

    335g bread flour

    1 Tbsp sugar

    1.5 tsp dry yeast

b) mix together: 1/2 tsp dried oregano

                           1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1) all dough ingredients except herbs, into the bread machine, bread dough cycle 1.5 hrs

2) 5 minutes before the kneading ends, add herbs, leaving a little for topping

3) 1 minuted before the kneading ends, add mashed garlic

4) let proofing in the machine until time is up.

5) shape dough into 2 free standing loaves, cover & let rest until double in size

6) slash bread & generously mist water on the loaves, sprinkle remaining herbs on top

7) bake in pre-heated oven of 200'C for 30min

8) After baking 10min, mist loaf 

9) After another 5min, mist loaf for the last time & continue baking until golden brown
10) cool on rack

CHOCOLATE FUDGE CAKE

Chocolate Fudge Cake

Chocolate Butter Cake is one Chocolate Cake that I usually bake.

I heard about Steamed Chocolate Fudge Cake

but never tried baking one

I was curious when I came across 

this Baked Chocolate Fudge Cake 

shared by rumblingtummy23 

I wondered whether the cake would set

with that large amount of liquid in the batter...

 I tried, and it did!

A dense and flavorful Chocolate Fudge Cake!

If you are thinking of a simple, fail proof chocolate cake to bake,
I mean simple and easy to follow steps,
try this!

Chocolate Fudge Cake

(A) sifted together: 300g plain flour

                                100g cocoa powder

                                1 tsp baking powder

                                1/2 tsp baking soda

(B) whisk until double: 3 large eggs

                                      300g caster sugar

                                      1 tsp vanilla extract

(C) 250ml evaporated milk

      250ml corn oil

      2 Tbsp condense milk

(D) 250ml boiling water

1. At low speed, add (C) to whisked egg (B)

2. add dry ingredients (A) & whisk to combine

3. lastly, add boiling water (D), whisk until smooth

4. pour into lined 8" square pan

5, bake in preheated oven 175'C for 40-60min on the lowest rack

6, cool cake in pan for 10min before transferring to rack to cool  

QUINOA GARLIC CROUTONS

Quinoa 

may be nutricious

but not many people like its taste and texture

I cooked it, tossed it in salads, made bread

but 

it is still not so widely accepted!

While searching for a way 

for children to enjoy Quinoa,

I came across Miki Mak's Buttery Garlicious Croutons

@ dingoozatfood.blogspot.sg

Instead of waiting for unfinished bread or unsuccessful bakes,

I baked a Quinoa bread, slice it, cut into cubes

and toss it in butter & garlic powder,

then bake it into crispy little delicious buttery garlic croutons!

Hope my grandchildren will love it..

Quinoa Garlic Croutons

5 slices bread, cut into small cubes

35g salted butter, melted

1 tsp garlic powder

1. put bread cubes on a baking tray, drizzle melted butter over them

2. sprinkle garlic powder on the bread, tossing & shaking

3. bake in preheated oven 150'C for 15min

4. toss & turn bread cube over & bake another 10-15min until crunchy and fragrant!

5. store in air tight containers when cooled. 

FOOCHOW AH OO JIOK

Fuzhou people in China celebrate
 'U Kou Jei' 拗九节 ,
also known as
'How Lon Jei' 孝顺节 

on the 29th day of the 1st month

in the Lunar calendar

世界福卅人才有的节日.. 

拗九节又称后九节,孝順节. 在我国的福卅同郷已鮮少庆祝，可能也忘記了”孝順粥”的味道。

“尊敬老人，孝顺父母”是中华民族优良的传统美德。
我呼吁全马的同鄕每年农历正月廿九日也一起来庆祝“拗九节”。

百善孝为先，㊗天下父母身体健康，阖家幸福！
愿天下的子女都能常回家看看。

On this Festive day, every household will cook 

'U Kou Jiok'  拗九粥 or 'Ah Oo Jiok' 阿烏粥

'Jiok' is porridge,
and U kou sounds like dirty
in Foochow dialect.

It is cooked with 

glutinous rice, brown sugar, groundnuts, red dates, raisins & dried longan.

This porridge is offered to ancestors, and

given to friends & relatives.

Married daughters will bring a bowl of this porridge

to present it to her parents as a sign of filiapiety.

'Kou' 九 in Foochow is 9

The Foochow people believe that the number 9 is bad luck

so the porridge is presented to people whose age

 has the number 9 , 明九 (ming kou) e.g.9 yrs old, 19, 29 etc

or 

hidden 9, 暗九 (ang kou) e.g. 18 yrs old, 27, 36 etc

to ward off evil or bad luck for that particular year!

As such, olden days Foochow believe that 

it can help to ward off evil,

kick out poverty

and 

bring luck to the person receiving it.

The tradition started from the story

目连救母

Mulian 目连 ，a peasant girl

brought food for the mother who was in jail.

To prevent the jailer from confiscating the food again

she sprinkled a handful of black sesame seeds onto the bowl of porridge

to make it look black and dirty.

Hence the name, 'Ah Oo Jiok'

'Oo' 烏 in Foochow is black

When asked what was it that she brought,

she told him it was 'Oo Kou Jiok'

'Oo Kou' sounds like 垢 in Foochow
meaning dirt!

The jailer let her go

thinking that the poor peasant girl
had nothing better to bring than the dirty porridge!

My mom is very particular about this porridge.
She insists all of us, married daughters
to bring a bowl for her on this
29th day of the 1st Lunar month.

She likes to have an hard boiled egg in this porridge
The egg, which signifies peace, further enhances
the meaning of this porridge! 

Foochow sisters out there,
if you are interested, try this recipe

Foochow Ah Oo Jiok

50g peanuts, boiled to soften

110g glutinous rice

25 pcs red dates

50g raisins

30g dried longan

2 heaped Tbsp brown sugar

1) to make porridge, bring to a boil with sufficient water, 

    all the above ingredients except sugar

2) let simmer until rice is soft, add brown sugar, sweetened to taste

3) serve warm or cold

Taiping Foochow Association

Sitiawan

FOOCHOW YU PAIN

Foochow Char Yu Pain

is 

none other than the sweet and sour fish

commonly served in restaurants.

It is my grandson's favorite!

He loves the thick. sweet & sour sauce

and

the thick slices of fried fish!

Simple it may look
but the skill in mastering the consistency of taste 
to your individual liking
is what it matters.

Some like it sweet
some like it sour
so this dish is cooked to suit individual taste buds

Do not worry,
just a bit of this and that
and 
you will soon be there!

Char Yu Pain

7-8 slices of white fish fillet

2-3 Tbsp tapioca or corn flour
oil for deep frying fish

1 big onions, quartered

1 chili, cut (optional)

1 tomato, quartered

1 spring onions, cut into 1" length

few slices of old ginger

2-3 Tbsp tomato sauce

1/4 cup water

few slices of carrots

1 tsp sugar

salt & pepper to taste

sauce thickener: corn flour+ water

1) marinate fish slices with salt & pepper

2) heat oil for deep frying

3) coat fish slices into tapioca or corn flour & fry until golden

4) remove & discard oil from wok

5) heat up 1 Tbsp oil & fry ginger, onions & cut chili until fragrant

6) add tomato sauce, carrots, water & tomato pieces
7) add sugar, salt & pepper to taste
8) mix in thickener to thicken the gravy
9) add fried fish pieces & spring onions, toss & dish up
10) enjoy

FOOCHOW EIGHT JEWEL RICE

Eight Jewel Rice

八宝飯

when spoken in Foochow dialect is

either

"Bei Koh Bhon' 八菓飯 meaning 8 fruits rice 
or
"Bei Po Bhon" 八宝飯 meaning 8 treasure rice

is a popular dish during Festive Seasons and Celebrations Dinners

Basically this is just

a bowl of glutinous rice topped with some dried fruits!

Any choice of 4 to 5 types or even more
from the following list will do:

soft boiled lotus seeds, cooked gingko nuts, roasted groundnuts,

dried longan, dried golden lime, red dates,

barley pearls, melon seeds, raisins,
sweet winter melon strips,

 green & red cherries (for colour) 

& shredded red plum strips ( for mild sour taste)  ...........

To break the monotony of the thick layer of rice,

and to add some colour,

a layer of mashed yam (oor nay) or golden sweet potato may be added 
as an in between layer within the rice portion

Foochow Eight Jewel Rice

Ingredients:

1) 2 cups glutinous rice, rinsed, 

                and soaked for at least 4 hours or overnight

2) 150g yam, a) sliced & steamed until cooked

                   b) while still hot, add 35g sugar & 7g cooking oil and mash until smooth
                   c) add some boiled water if necessary
                   

3) choice of at least 4 types from the list

    - dried fruits, chopped or cut

    - leave the soft boil nuts whole

    - groundnuts or walnuts, roasted & ground, to be added upon serving
             

Method:

1) steam glutinous rice, use enough water to cover the top of rice, for 35min, until cooked

2) stir in 8g cooking oil & 90g sugar (to taste), mix well and leave to cool
3) sprinkle some water on chosen dried fruits & steam for 5min to soften

4) spread the steamed dried fruits onto the base of a medium size bowl or 5 small ones

5) add a layer of rice, alternate with mashed yam

6) topped with another layer of rice, press in and level
7) sprinkle some water on the rice and steam on high heat for 10-20 min 

8) to serve, overturn the bowl onto a serving plate

9) topped with some chopped groundnuts & serve immediately

   

The softened dried fruits are arranged at the bottom of a metal bowl
before adding the steamed rice

Once over turned on a serving plate
the fruits are on top




If you prefer
all dried fruits can be mixed together 
before putting at the base

ORNEE

Ornee

 may be popular among the Teochow

but

Oor Nay

 is not uncommon among the Foochow dialect

Foochow people love yam

and 

it has been used in many of their favourite cuisine.

They make yam noodles,

Oor nay dessert

and 

a layer of Oor Nay has been added to their Eight Jewels Rice too!

Thank you Tan Sweechoo for sharing this Orh Nee recipe

Ornee

300g yam (taro) peeled & sliced

200g warm water

40g ginkgo nuts, peeled

65g sugar, adjust to taste

15g cooking oil

1. steam yam & ginkgo nuts until soft

2. remove ginkgo nuts to be used as topping later

3. blend yam, water, sugar and oil until creamy

4. serve warm with ginkgo nuts

FOOCHOW DEA PIANG - OYSTER CAKE

Dea Piang in Foochow 
is

Oyster Biscuits

Fuzhou
is rich in sea food
Oyster is abundant, big and juicy ones

Big ones are used to make Dea Piang,
and Dea Lonn (Oyster Pancake)

While the smaller ones are used to cook noodles
and make soups

In Malaysia,
oysters are scarce and expensive

 Foochow here often replace it with

soft shelled or white Shrimps 

However, the Foochow people in Sitiawan
still use small oysters 
to make the Khor Ta Au (tofu soup)
or traditional soup noodles (char ju mian)

Traditionally Dea Piang is made from Soya bean pulp

quite a tedious preparation

but if you get to taste it

you will know it is different from

those sold in town

which are made from flour only

I want to express my gratitude to my sister in law, Pauline 
for sharing with me 
her family's traditional recipe 

Dea Piang

50g soya beans soaked overnight, blended with 

150g water

1/2 cup rice flour
1/4 cup glutinous flour
1/2 tsp salt & pepper to taste
spring onions, chopped
70g osyter or shrimps, marinate with sugar, salt & pepper

60g ground meat, marinate with salt & pepper (optional)

Oil for deep frying

Method:

1) combine soya bean pulp with the rest of the ingredients
2) leave aside while you prepare the wok

3) heat up the flat base ladle in oil

4) scoop some soya bean batter into the heated flat base ladle

5) put 2 oyster or 2-3 prawns, spring onions & a small meat ball onto the batter
6) pour another scoop of batter on top of the filling

6) deep fry in the hot oil

7) lightly shake the ladle & the cake will come off in one piece

8) continue frying until golden

9) do the same for the rest of the batter

10) serve hot with chili sauce

Flat base ladle