TAMARIND CHICKEN

Tamarind Chicken
has a sweet and sour taste
with aroma of turmeric and not spicy!

Do not forget to cook more rice as it is very appetizing.

I have adapted this recipe from
Shirley Ong Geok Mooi's Assam/Tamarind Chicken.

Tamarind Chicken

2 chicken drumstick, chopped into bite size

2 Tbsp oil

1 big lemongrass, smashed

1/2 tsp tamarind paste

sugar & salt to taste

Rempah:

blend together

1-2 dried chilli, soaked in boiling water to soften

8 shallots

4 pips garlic

3/4" fresh fresh turmeric

1. heat up oil in a kuali, add the rempah & fry until fragrant

2. add lemongrass & chicken pieces, fry until chicken pieces shrink

3. add some water and allow to simmer until cooked

4. add tamarind paste, salt & sugar to taste

Note:

I have replaced the fresh turmeric with turmeric powder

so the colour is not so bright.

TONKIN JASMINE

Tonkin Jasmine
Scientific name: Telosma Cordata
is commonly known as
夜香花 or 夜来香
in Chinese

It is said in www.huabaike.com that it could improve vision,
reduce eye redness and irritation.

It is a flower but usually cooked and eaten as a vegetable.

It is only available from May to August every year.

2 common methods of cooking is

1) fry with egg

2) boil soup with minced pork

BRAISED SOUR PLUM PORK KNUCKLE

Braised Sour Plum Pork Knuckle

is an appetizing dish to go with steamed rice.

Braised Pork Knuckle
with Sour Plum

Some like to use the soaked plum sold in bottles

but I prefer the taste of dried sour plums.

This one I have added dark soya sauce!

Braised Sour Plum Pork Knuckle
450g pork knuckle, chopped

4 sour plum

1 Tbsp light soya sauce
dash of dark soya sauce for colour ( I added more because my hubby likes it dark)

1/2 tsp sugar, optional

1 Tbsp cooking oil
Either 3 sprigs of spring onions, cut into 1" lengths
           or 1 large onions, sliced

1.  pour boiling water over the pork knuckle pieces to remove smell and dirt.

2.  soak awhile then clean in running water.

3.  heat oil in a pot , add the white part of spring onions to fry

4.  add pork knuckle pieces to fry until shrink.

5.  add sour plum and enough water to cover the pork

6.  bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer for 30min

7.  add soya sauce and sugar to taste

8.  when meat is soft enough, add spring onions and dark soya sauce if necessary

9.  allow to sit until ready to serve.

Note:
1. Colour should be light, but I have added more because my hubby likes it dark.
    Dark colour will affect its taste!
2. The gravy should have boiled down to just enough to cover the bottom of he bowl.

ZUCCHINI FRITTERS

Zucchini Fritters

I have never tasted Zucchini.
By its appearance, I thought it is another species of cucumber.

The vegetable seller told me it is nice to eat,
simply fry it will do.
So I bought one piece, yellow colour one.

Many of my Facebook friends gave suggestions of how to cook this.
My niece Linda Su suggested Fritters.
And here it is: Zucchini Fritters!

After I googled, I realized that it has 10 health benefits!

Here is an extract from Pinterest:

This recipe is found in www.justataste.com

Zucchini Fritters

1 zucchini 7" length, shredded

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 sprigs scallions, cut into small pieces

1 Tbsp oil

salt & pepper to taste

1. mix some salt to the shredded zucchini, and allow it to stand for 15min

2. squeeze out as much liquid from the zucchini as possible

3. transfer the zucchini to a large bowl, mix in flour, egg and cut scallions

4. add seasoning to taste

5. heat up oil in a pan

6. once the oil is hot, scoop 2 Tbsp mounds of batter into the pan, press lightly

7. cook for 2-3min, then flip over and cook another 2 min until brown and cooked through.

8. serve warm when it is crispy.

HONEY LEMON BUTTER POUND CAKE

Honey Lemon Butter Pound Cake

is a simple and yet surprisingly flavourful cake.

Without using the egg separation method

the crumbs are not fine but

It is the signature of a pound cake!

I love the bright yellow colour.

I have adapted this recipe from Barry Apek's

Honey Lemon Butter Pound Cake

4 large eggs, weigh & remove enough egg white to leave

175g of egg

50g lemon juice

25g honey, stir into lemon juice above

250g unsalted butter

250g self-raising flour

200g caster sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1. cream butter, sugar and salt until light & fluffy

2. add eggs, one at a time, beat until well incorporated

3. fold in flour in 3 additions, alternate with honey-lemon mix

4. pour into a greased, bottom-lined, 8" round pan or 2 loaf pan

5. bake in preheated oven @ 170'C 

6. 1st 15min at high level, next 45min at the bottom level.

7. leave to cool on rack

ZUCCHINI SALTED EGG SOUP

Zucchini

a summer squash,

is a member of the gourd family.

I have extracted this from Pinterest to share:

These are sold either in green or yellow.

I have bought the yellow one.

Thank you Jessie Tee for introducing to me

Zucchini Salted Egg Soup

I have adapted the recipe from wendyinkk.blogspot.com

 These are the ingredients:

Zucchini Salted Egg Soup

1 Zucchini 7" long, cut itno 5mm thick strips

1 salted duck egg, white & yolk separated

3 slices old ginger

3 sprigs spring onions, cut into 1" lengths

20-50g glass noodles, soaked

1. heat up a wok/pot with 1 Tbsp oil

2. fry ginger until fragrant

3. add zucchini sticks & fry until sticks wilt

4. add in 1L water and bring it to a boil

5. add salted egg yolk to cook, turn the heat to medium low

6. after 2 min, fish out the egg yolk & slice thinly or chop it

7. add glass noodles

8. when zucchini is soft, drizzle salted egg white into the soup, stirring at the same time

9. season with salt, pepper and chicken cube if necessary

10. add salted egg yolk pieces, spring onions

11. serve hot

Note:

1. Zucchini can be replaced with any member of the gourds family.
2. feel free to mash the yolk in its white before drizzling into the soup 

PASSION FRUIT CAKE

Passion Fruit Cake

 I like the fragrance of Passion fruit.

The fragrance and the slight sourness in the cake makes it so special

This Passion Fruit Cake is done with Cooked Dough method,

baked in a 6" round cake mold.
Recipe is shared by Stephanie Pang

I have put a tablespoon of  passion fruit seeds and pulp into the batter

as you can see in the baked cake.

After eating, I prefer the well risen and smooth cake without these seeds.

This is the reason why I have left out this in my recipe.

Passion Fruit Cake

Egg Yolk Batter: 35g corn oil

                            55g cake flour

                            45g fresh passion fruits juice

                            3 egg yolk

                            1 whole egg

Meringue: 3 egg white

                  1/8 tsp cream of tartar

                  40g sugar

1. heat oil until just start to simmer, remove from heat

2. sift in cake flour & mix well

3. lightly whisk yolks & whole egg, add to the flour batter, whisk to combine

4. mix in fruit juice, and leave aside until required

5. beat egg white until foamy, add cream of tartar

6. add sugar in 3 additions, beat until still peaks

7. bring 1/3 meringue to the flour mix, mix until incorporated

8. use spatula to fold in another 1/3. Follow by the balance of the meringue

9. pour batter into a 6" pan, gently tap pan to remove any trapped air bubbles

10. put pan into another bigger pan, add hot water to the outside pan

11. water bath at 170"C for 15min, then lower to 150'C for 40min.

12. remove from oven and leave to cool a few minutes before unmoulding

PICKLED VEGETABLE

PICKLED VEGETABLE

is easy to prepare and nice to eat.

So colourful and appetizing that you would like to have a 2nd helping.

It is best served in a barbecue or buffet

where meat is plenty and vegetables are few.

It is so refreshing to take a bite into it!

I have tried making this sweetened with honey.

It is yummy, but 1/2 your bottle of honey is gone!

Perhaps you can try this basic recipe & do the adjustments next time.

Pickled Vegetable

1 cucumber

1/2 carrot

1 big onion

1/4 pineapple

1 red chilli

1/2-1 lemon, juiced

4 Tbsp sugar

1. peel away part of the skin from the cucumber, and cut it into 1/4s lengthwise.  Slice away the     seeds, then slice diagonally.

2. slice carrots into thin strips

3. combine cucumber & carrots, marinate with salt

4. slice thinly onions and chilli

5. cut pineapple into pieces

6. when cucumber is soft (about 15min), wash away the salt & squeeze dry

7. combine cucumber, carrots, onions, chilli and pineapple in a big bowl

8. add sugar and lime juice, adjust to you liking. Toss or mix with chopsticks

9. let sit for 15min and chill before serving

Notes:
1. lemon juice can be replaced with apple cider or vinegar
2. sugar can be replaced partially with honey
3. feel free to adjust the taste to your liking

2 INGREDIENTS PANCAKE

Pancakes are easy to prepare

and loved by many,

adults & children alike.

2 Ingredients Pancake

is easy to prepare, healthy and nutricious.

The little ones will love it because it is sweet and soft,

If you are interested:

2 Ingredients Pancake

1 egg

80-100g banana, mashed

1. combine both ingredients & fry as normal pancakes
2. enjoy

KAYA PUFF

Kaya (Coconut egg Jam)

made into a puff and becomes Kaya Puff.

It is my favourite.

I am afraid I have made the skin too thick as you can see from the photo.

I will roll the puff sheet bigger and thinner next time.

Nevertheless, the layers are clear!

Giving special thanks to GuaiShuShu for the recipe.

Kaya Puff

Water skin: 100g plain flour

                    30g oil

                    1/2 Tbsp maltose

                    1/8 tsp salt

                    45g water

Oil Skin: 75g cake flour

               40g butter

Filling: 250g kaya, chilled

Egg Wash: 1 egg yolk + 1/2 Tbsp water

Method:

1. mix the ingredients for water skin, knead to form a smooth dough.

    rest the dough for 20min

2. mix ingredients for oil dough, lightly knead to form into ball

3. divide the oil dough into 6 portions and shape into a ball

4. divide water dough into 6 portions, shape into a ball & press flat to wrap the oil dough

5. secure the edges, roll into a ball & allow to rest for 10min

6. carefully roll the ball lengthwise into a rectangle, then roll up as if a swiss roll

7. Again, roll the swiss roll flat lengthwise & roll up again.

8. lastly roll the dough into oval about 6" x 4", put 1-2 Tbsp kaya on one side of the dough

9. close with the other side  & seal the edges & pleat

10. place the puff onto a parchment lined tray & egg wash

11. bake in preheated oven 190'C for 20-25min until golden.