AFF Singapore - Economic Fried Bee Hoon (Fried Rice Vermicelli)

Nice and yummy dish my family always love. I usually buy it from outside, this time I tried cooking it myself and so pleased with the result. Yummy and one great thing that outside food is usually lacking of - not oily! :)

 

 

Recipe is from Sonia from Nasi Lemak Lover

 

What you need:

 

300g beehoon (rice vermicelli), soaked in water til soft, drained

150g beansprouts, washed and drained

4 shallots, peeled and sliced

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

1 cup of water (original recipe is 2 cups, but mine was good enough with 1)

4 tbsp oil

 

Seasonings:

1 tbsp light soya sauce

1 tbsp dark caramel sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 1/4 tsp salt

 

Method:

1. Heat oil, sautee garlic and shallots til golden brown. Add in water, light soya sauce, sugar, salt and bring to boil
2. Add in beehoon, dark caramel sauce, and quickly stir fry, toss well. Cover with lid, cook for 2minutes
3. Add in beansprouts, stir fry and toss well. If beehoon is too dry, add in hot water
4. Dish out and serve

 

Serve the beehoon with stir fry cabbage, fried egg and fried luncheon meat

 

Stir fry cabbage:

 

What you need:

 

200g cabbage, tear into small pieces

1 carrot, julienned

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

salt, light soya sauce, pepper, oil, some water

 

Method:

1. Heat oil, sautee garlic til fragrant. Add in carrot, cook for a minute
2. Add in cabbage, stir fry. Add in seasonings, water, bring to boil and cook til cabbage softened
3. Dish out and serve

 

Fried luncheon meat: slice canned luncheon meat, dip in beaten egg and deep fry

 

 

 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest - Singapore, hosted by Grace from Life can be Simple

AFF Singapore - Mee Hoon Kueh (Hand Pulled Noodles)

The last part of Asian Food Fest, Singapore :)

Let's start with this heart noodle dish loved by me and family
This China origin dish is easily found island wide. You definitely see it in any food court you patronize
They typically sell different kind of shapes for the noodle, with the same soup base and a variety of topping. There are fried version, too

I personally love mee hoon kueh more than others, not sure why, just love the texture
Hence my experiment on making it :)

I love the rather thick chewy mee hoon kueh like this :)

The kids prefer the meat to be shaped into balls :)

 

Recipe is from Sonia from Nasi Lemak Lover with some modification

What you need:

Dough:
500g plain flour
200ml water
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp salt

Method:

1. Mix flour, egg and salt in a mixing bowl. Slowly add in water, knead til smooth about 5 mins
2. Shape dough into ball, keep aside covered with clingwrap for 1 hour or more

Soup base:
70g ikan bilis (anchovy), washed and cleaned
150g pork ribs, washed
a pot of water
2 tsp salt to taste

Method:

1. Blanch pork ribs in hot boiling water for a minute, and drain
2. Boil pork ribs in a pot of water and simmer for an hour. Add in ikan bilis and continue to simmer for another 45 mins. Taste with salt, set aside

200g prawns (skin on, head and tail intact), stir fry with chopped garlic
200g minced pork, marinate with sesame oil, salt, pepper and tapioca flour, shape into balls
ikan bilis (anchovy), fry til crispy
fried onion
some green vegetables (I used xiao bai cai)
tong choy (preserved vegetables)
eggs

To serve:

1. Transfer a single serving of soup base into a small pot, bring to boil
2. Pull and tear mee hoon kueh dough into thin pieces and drop them into boiling soup
3. Add in meatballs, tong choy and vegetables, crack an egg and cook for 1 min and pour into a serving bowl
4. Add in garlic prawns, fried ikan bilis and fried onion
5. Serve with chilli soya sauce

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest - Singapore, hosted by Grace from Life can be Simple



AFF Taiwan: Stuffed Tofu Soup, Blog 4th Anniversary & Giveaway

My last submission for this month Asian Food Fest - Taiwan
Saw this at Peng's Kitchen and immediately I gave it a try. Very satisfied with the result, tasty hearty dish eaten with rice or on its own :)

 

 

What you need:

 

4 blocks of small firm tofu

200g fish paste

200g squid paste

200g minced pork

4 shitake mushroom, finely diced (I grinded)

1 tsp grated ginger

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp pepper (I used 1/2)

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp salt

1 tsp light soya sauce

2 stalks spring onion - chopped

2 tsp Chinese parsley - chopped (I skipped)

2 tsp potato starch

 

Broth:

4 cups stock

2 tbsp. fried shallot

1 tsp pepper (I used 1/2)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sesame oil

 

Method:

1. For the broth, mix everything in a pot and bring to boil
2. Marinate minced pork with grated ginger, pepper, sugar, sesame oil, salt and soya sauce
3. Stir in potato starch, spring onion and parsley, stir til sticky. Stir in chopped mushroom. Set aside for at least 30mins
4. Combine fish and squid paste, set aside
5. Cut tofu in quarters. Deep fry til golden brown. Drain and cool completely
6. Slit at the cut side and scoop out some of the tofu to make a pocket
7. Fill in pocket with marinated meat. Put a thick layer of fish paste mixture to seal the cut side completely. Do the same for all the fried tofu
8. Cook the stuffed tofu into the boiling broth for 10mins over medium heat til well cooked
9. Scoop out tofu and place onto serving bowl. Pour over the broth. Sprinkle some spring onion and fried onion. Enjoy! :)

 

 

 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest – Taiwan hosted by Alan from Travelling Foodies

 

 

Okay, now an announcement... This month of August is my 4th year of blogging, to be exact is 14 August :)

I was in my deepest stage of blogging blue on that very day I didn't post anything about it. I didn't even bake anything special LOL

Since today is the last day in August, and I am now in the mood of typing, today is the day to share with you all :)

 

Just like the previous years, I feel grateful and blessed to be able to reach another year of sharing and learning my passion and meeting many wonderful bakers and cooks

My initial intention of creating this blog was just to have an e-recipe book. And it has been surprisingly leading me to many wonderful unexpected surprises!

 

For all my readers, thank you so much for the support all along!

My hope is that this blog is not only useful to me, but also others :)

 

If I can mention things I need to improve in the future...

First, I will try to be more consistent in the participation for whatever events I have decided to join in - I have been lacking, not in all, but some of them - yes. And deep inside my heart, I really wish I could join in even more events! Ah, if only one day has 48 hours instead LOL

Second, my apology for those diligently visit my blog, leave comment. I really genuinely appreciate it. I will try hard to blog hopping more often in regular basis! :)

 

 

Now, to welcome the beginning of the journey of my fifth year, I have just created my Facebook page. The link is HERE 

Don't laugh, I know I'm very late. But late is always better than never, right? LOL

For those who have liked the page, thank you very much! :)

 

 

Okay, to share my excitement, I have giveaway courtesy of Lee Kum Kee!

Who doesn't know Lee Kum Kee? With so many products - sauces, premixes, etc., the name is well known island wide and even other countries

 

Lee Kum Kee has been so generous by sending me a hamper of their products. Really love the pair of bottled tomato ketchups. Cute, isn't it? :)

The teriyaki marinade and the ketchup are the latest products released in the month of June this year

 

They claim that the teriyaki marinade filled with white toasted sesame seeds and no preservatives added. And with just a spoonful, you can get a restaurant quality dish with the sweet and savoury teriyaki flavour

 

As for the bottled tomato ketchup, it is made with red ripe tomatoes, has no added preservatives and no artificial flavouring. And it's halal too

The design is eye catching and appeal to children. Its easy squeeze bottles allow parents and children to create instant food art by making cartoon characters, adding final touches with the ketchup

 

 

 

 

So glad to announce that I have 3 sets of this hamper to give away :)

My apology though, that it's only for Singaporean readers

 

How you can join:

1. Like my Facebook page HERE
2. Leave a comment below: "I want to win Lee Kum Kee hamper!" with your name & email address

The giveaway will open for one week. Closing date will be on 7 September and the winners will be announced on the following day,  Monday 8 September and I will email each winner for the mailing address. The hampers will be delivered to your doorstep

Please note that the hamper doesn't come with the red bamboo box, but it'll be inside a gold paper bag instead

 

 

So, what are you waiting for? Come join the giveaway! :)

 

AFF Taiwan: Taiwanese Chicken Rolls

I love all kinds of bean curd rolls. A must order every time I go for dimsum
So, when I saw this chicken rolls, I was drooling and determined to give a try
Thanks Kimmy for the wonderful recipe, it's delicious!
My family and I enjoyed this so much. I made half recipe and it's gone after dinner. The next time I will definitely make full recipe, or more! :)

She mentioned that the original version in Taiwan is usually much longer in shape, and has no chicken in it, even though it's called chicken roll. It uses pork instead. But since I have a lot of chicken breast in my freezer, I used chicken instead :)

 

 

Here's the recipe (adapted from Kimmy from Cooking Pleasure)

 

What you need:

 

300g fish paste, blend with 2 tbsp water to make sticky paste

300g lean pork (I used chicken breast), cut into strips

1 yellow onion, cut into fine shreds

2 tbsp tapioca flour

1 pc beancurd skin, cut into 8"x 5"rectangle pcs

Marinade for meat:

2 tsp light soya sauce

2 tsp cooking wine

2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp five spice powder

1/2 tsp sesame oil

 

Method:

1. Marinate pork strips with seasonings. Set aside for about 15mins
2. Add in fish paste and onion. Mix all with hands
3. Cover and keep in the fridge for about half an hour
4. Place about a handful of mixture at the centre of the beancurd skin. Fold both sides and roll up like spring roll
5. Heat oil in a wok and deep fry til golden and crispy at both sides over medium heat

I guess I should have put more filling, mine were not round enough. It's flattened after cooled. It didn't affect the taste, though :)
Look at Kimmy's. It's so round and full of filling in it, so nice!

This is one of the recipes I definitely will be making again (especially since I still have some leftover beancurd skin LOL)
I will for sure put more filling so I can get fat rolls :)

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest – Taiwan hosted by Alan from Travelling Foodies

AFF Taiwan - Taiwanese Chicken Rice

I saw this at Violet's Kitchen and I know this dish will be loved by my family
Never had this before, so I gave this a try and I am glad I did, it's yummy!
Such a simple meal can be so satisfying :)

I decided to use the recipe from An Acquired Taste
It said that the original recipe uses turkey meat, and it's called Turkey Rice (火雞肉飯 huo ji rou fan) but chicken breast is the alternative when turkey is not available

What you need:

2 chicken breasts, blanch in boiling water for 3 mins and drain
1 tbsp oil
3 shallots, slice thinly
2 spring onions, cut 3 inch pieces
6 slices of ginger
2 star anise (I skipped)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp light soya sauce
3 cups chicken broth
cooked white rice
pickled daikon and cilantro for garnish

Method:

1. Heat oil in a heavy based pot, and sautee shallots til golden brown. Add in spring onion and ginger, fry for 1min
2. Add in chicken and just enough broth to cover. Add in salt and soya sauce
3. Bring to boil and reduce to low, cover and let simmer for an hour
4. Take out chicken breast and shred
5. Prepare rice in a plate or bowl, arrange shredded chicken on top and pour gravy
6. Serve with pickled daikon and cilantro (I had my blanched greens instead)

Easy to prepare and delicious! I like :)

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest – Taiwan hosted by Alan from Travelling Foodies

AFF Taiwan - Braised Pork On Rice (滷肉飯 Lor Bak Png)

One Taiwanese dish I ate ages ago whenever I was in Taipei during my singlehood
Now is the time for me to experience cooking it myself :)

 

 

My family enjoyed this dish. Since we do not fancy fatty meat, I mixed pork belly with lean meat. In fact, 75% of the meat was lean meat

Since lean meat takes longer time to soften, I braised for longer period of time

Even though I diced them real small, it still took a little longer than an hour to get the softness I want. This was in fact a good step in giving maximum flavour to the dish

Very tasty, fragrant, juicy and full of flavour. Yum! :)

 

 

Source: Doris from Sumptuous Flavours
(with slight modification)

What you need:

400g lean pork
100g pork belly
2 tbsp dried shrimp, soak til soft and coarsely chopped
20g brown rock sugar
1 star anise
1/4 tsp five spice powder
3 tbsp light soya sauce
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
5 cloves of garlic, minced
4 shallots, minced
6 eggs, hard boiled - shells removed
3 tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine
some cooked rice

Garnish: blanched xiaobai chai, Japanese pickled radish (too bad I couldn't find this on the day I cooked this dish, so I skipped this)

Method:

1. Heat wok with a little oil (since mainly was lean meat). Add the pork cubes and fry until water has evaporated
2. Add in the minced garlic and minced shallots. Continue to stir-fry until fragrant
3. Add in dried shrimp. Stir. Add in water to cover the pork pieces. Add in shaoxing wine
4. Add in rock sugar, soy sauce and dark soya sauce. Stir well
5. Add in hard boiled eggs to the pork and gravy. Turn the eggs occasionally so they're browned evenly
6. Simmer for about 20 mins. Add in star anise and five spice powder and continue simmer for another 45 mins (add water whenever necessary)
7. Adjust taste, give a good stir, let it boil and off the heat
8. Serve with hot cooked rice, blanched vegetables and pickled radish

 

 

 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest – Taiwan hosted by Alan from Travelling Foodies

AFF Philippines - Chicken Adobo with Garlic Fried Rice (Singanag)

This chicken dish is one of the ever famous dish from Philippines I often heard. So this time, I give it a try
And I'm glad that it's very well received by the family :)
The chicken is so tasty, tangy, garlicky, sweet at the same time. Finger licking good!
I served the dish with garlic fried rice. The recipe mentioned that it's cooked Pinoy style but I found it just like any other garlic fried rice. It's nice, fragrant and tasty :)
These 2 dishes are great together :)

Recipe is adapted from Peng's Kitchen & Kelly Siew Cooks

What you need:

900g chicken drumlettes
100ml vinegar
120ml water
120ml light soya sauce
2 tbsp sweet dark soya sauce (kecap manis)
8 cloves of garlic, unpeeled and lightly pounded
1 tsp whole peppercorn
4 bay leaves
cooking oil

Method:

1. Clean and discard any skin and fat from the chicken
2. Mix vinegar, water, soya sauce, dark sweet soya sauce, garlic, peppercorn and bay leaves
3. Add in chicken and marinate the mixture overnight
4. Just before serving, pan fry chicken and serve immediately

For the garlic fried rice...

Recipe is adapted from Bakericious

What you need:

3 cups cooked rice
10 cloves of garlic, finely minced
4 shallots, thinly sliced
salt, light soya sauce, fish sauce, pepper, cooking oil

Method:

1. Heat oil in a wok. Sautee garlic and shallots til fragrant (I didn't cook til garlic browned and crisp because it usually will give a little bitter after taste and my kids dislike that)
2. Add in rice, followed by seasonings and stir to all ingredients are evenly mixed

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest – Philippines hosted by The Sweet Spot

AFF Philippines - Abokado At Condensada

This dessert is apparently loved by Pinoy
It uses the same ingredients as Indonesian's avocado juice - avocado and sweet condensed milk, it's only that Indonesians use chocolate sweet condensed milk (which I can never find in Singapore)
The difference here is that for this dessert, the avocado is in chunks

Inspiration is from Hi Cookery & Overseas Pinoy Cooking


This is the basic typical avocado with condensed milk dessert:

 

 

No recipe for this. It's only cut avocado drizzled with sweet condensed milk. Original recipe uses so much of the sweet milk that it's like soaking the avocado. I just couldn't do it, it's just way too sweet for me, so I just drizzled a little bit over the cut avocado

 

After making banana-que and kamote-que, and then this dessert, I find that Pinoy really has sweet tooth! :)

 

Now, there are some variations in serving this dessert. Some add chocolate cream. Others serve this as a smoothie by blending it with ice cubes and fresh milk

So, I had mine too! :)

 

Cut avocado

 

 

 

Pour a little sweet condensed milk

 

 

 

Pour fresh milk (I used reduced sugar soya milk)

 

Stir stir stir...

 

 

 

Pour a little chocolate sauce

Stir again and voila!

 

 

 

This is yummy but then again, as I mentioned before, it's really too sweet! :)

 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest – Philippines hosted by The Sweet Spot

AFF Philippines - Mami Chicken Noodle Soup

For the past two days, Singapore weather has been better with showers
I think it's about time after it's been super hot and humid for many days

It's the best to have something soupy during rainy days, isn't it?
Hence, this soup I cooked. It's simple, tasty and delicious. We all love it :)

Recipe is from HERE

What you need:
(with some modification)

For the soup base:
chicken carcass and 300g skinless chicken breast
7 cloves of garlic, peeled & lightly pounded
1 yellow onion, quartered
a bunch of spring onion, halved
water, salt, pepper, chicken stock powder

500g fresh egg noodles - cook as directed
some shredded cabbage
salt, pepper
fish sauce (patis)

For the garnish:
a bunch of spring onion, chopped
fried garlic
4 hard boiled eggs

Method:

1. Prepare the broth by boiling the chicken in a large pot along with the onion, garlic, pepper and spring onion. Add water til it covers the chicken. Bring it to a boil, cover and simmer for an hour. Discard the floating froth
2. Remove the chicken and shred after it's cool. Keep the broth warm in the pot until it is ready to be served
3. Blanch the shredded cabbage in the soup just before serving
4. In a wide single serving bowl, put the cooked noodles, blanched cabbage, and shredded chicken. Pour the hot broth in the bowl. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top it with the chopped spring onions, fried garlic and sliced boiled eggs. Drizzle with fish sauce if desired

Note:

• I coated my cooked noodle with fish sauce & some garlic oil, so I didn't drizzle any fish sauce anymore into the soup
• My kids love eating this soup with fried luncheon meat. I found it's a great idea :)

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest – Philippines hosted by The Sweet Spot

AFF Philippines - Banana-que & Kamote-que

Are you surprised when I tell you that I NEVER eat Philippines food AT ALL? Not even the snack, let alone the dishes! That is despite many remarks I got that I look like Philippino hahahaha...

So, I was pretty surprised when I saw many of their food is actually similar to Chinese or even Indonesian!
Now, I have a new category in my ever long to do list - Pinoy food! :)

Okay, let me start with the easiest street snacks
I first saw it in a site called Overseas Pinoy Cooking and I was eager to try
It's actually a simple deep fry banana and sweet potato cuts, coated with brown sugar
What makes it interesting is, the sugar coating was done during the frying instead of rolling the fried banana and/or sweet potato cuts in brown sugar

Sounds calorific? Well, most snacks do. But giving a try is always harmless, agree? We do not eat this everyday, anyway
It's in fact good to broaden our knowledge - in this case, food. And to know is not complete if we have not tried it ourselves, IMHO :)

So, here they are... banana-que & kamote-que (I discovered that some wrote it as 'que', some 'cue' - I'm not sure which one is correct, anybody can help?)

Recipe is from HERE (for banana-que) and HERE (for kamote-que)

What you need:
(half recipe below)

8 pcs ripe saba bananas / 250g sweet potato (kamote)
1/4 cup brown sugar, divided into two (one part for banana, the other is for sweet potato)
vegetable oil for deep frying
bamboo skewer

For banana-que:

• Trim both ends of each banana and peel off skin
• In a large wok at high flame heat cooking oil put all the bananas in the wok and deep fry for 3-5 mins or until colour change to golden brown
• Sprinkle brown sugar over the bananas and continue to fry and stirring occasionally for 2-3 mins or until sugar has melted and have infused to the bananas
• Do not overcook, remove bananas from wok and drain excess oil
• Push bamboo skewer into each fried banana

For kamote-que:

• Using a small knife remove skin of each sweet potato and slice crosswise about 1/2 inch thick
• In a large wok at high flame heat cooking oil. Put the sliced sweet potato in the wok and deep fry for 8-10 mins or until color change to light brown (mine was less than 5 mins cos I sliced thinner)
• Sprinkle brown sugar over the sweet potato and continue to fry and stirring occasionally for 3-5 mins or until sugar has melted and have infused to the sweet potato
• Remove sweet potato from wok and drain excess oil
• Using large bamboo skewer string 3 slices of sweet potato together (I didn't do this step)

If you notice, mine were not fully coated by brown sugar
Well, I just could not bear to add sugar that much I sprinkled less than half the amount stated. And actually, I found the sweetness was just right - suitable to my liking
It still gave me a crisp exterior from the brown sugar, but it couldn't last long. It turned soggy pretty fast, and when it's soggy, it's real oily! So the best is to consume right after frying

All in all, this is a yummy snack :)

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest – Philippines hosted by The Sweet Spot

AFF Indo China - Vietnamese Sizzling Crepes (Banh Xeo)

Ah, I have a list of what to cook for Asian Food Festival (AFF) this month, only to realize that I have been beaten by school holiday this whole month packed with activities with the kids - we were out on most days, 8 days holiday, and of course high pile of home works!

Okay, never mind.. Now, approaching the end of June, school holiday is almost over, I still can do one or two. So, here's my first Vietnamese dish I made this month. In fact, this is my very first Vietnamese dish ever! :)

 

 

When I ate this dish, I was like...SHIOK!!! - typical Singaporeans' reaction whenever doing something enjoyable LOL

This dish is so good! Do not ever eat without the dipping sauce, if you want to feel shiok too :)

Yummy and refreshing, it's so addictive, too. I ate this dish as my dinner yesterday, telling myself I would eat half, I ended up polishing the whole plate. Yes, it's that good! Hahaha...

 

 

 

Saw this dish the first time at Peng's Kitchen. She presented it so well with side salad. I didn't need salad. I didn't want salad. I just want to munch on the whole crepes LOL

 

At first I thought it's omelette. Just realized there is no egg used when I read the ingredients used. Interesting. More interesting to find out this is Vietnamese dish. All along my knowledge about Vietnamese food is only about beef pho, broken rice and pork chop baguette sandwich. Another new thing explored. So happy :)

 

What you need:

 

Crepes:

150g rice flour

1 tsp turmeric powder

3 stalks of spring onion, chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup water

1/2 cup coconut milk

 

Filling:

200g chicken fillet, thinly sliced (I diced)

200g peeled prawns, sliced into 3 parts

1 medium onion, peeled, thinly sliced

300g beansprouts, trimmed

salt, pepper, cornflour

 

Dipping sauce:

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 red chilli, minced

1/4 cup fish sauce

2/3 cup water

2 tbsp lime juice

1/4 cup sugar

 

Method:

1. Marinade chicken with salt, pepper, cornflour. Set aside
2. Combine ingredients for the crepes, whisk til smooth. Rest for 30 mins
3. Mix all ingredients for the dipping sauce til sugar dissolved. Adjust taste if needed
4. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan. Add in onion, sautee til fragrant, slightly softened. Remove from pan
5. Add in chicken slices, pan fry for 2 mins til color changed. Remove from pan
6. Add in prawns, sautee til pink. Remove from pan
7. Clean pan with kitchen towel. Heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat. Stir batter for crepes. Scoop 1/4 part of the batter onto the oiled pan, swirl to create a thin layer. When the sides of the crepes start sizzling, top with onion, chicken, prawn and lots of beansprouts on half sides of the crepes. Sprinkle over some pepper. Cook 1-2 mins covered and then continue to cook uncovered til crepe crispy and golden. Fold crepe in half, gently slide onto a serving plate
8. Serve hot immediately with the dipping sauce. It'll lose its crispiness when cooled

 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest – IndoChina hosted by Kelly Siew Cooks

AFF India - Mango Lassi

Ppppsssstttt!!! Let me share a secret, I am not a big fan of Indian food. Only to name a few that I don't mind having - prata, naan and dosai. That's it!

Perhaps I'll give my hands on naan in a day or two. But for now, this is what I have made for this month's Asian Food Fest - mango lassi
Believe it or not, this is my first time trying it out. Never had it before! Don't laugh! LOL

Easy and quick to prepare - checked. Delicious - checked
Sweet, creamy and refreshing, yum!
I can't believe this is one of the popular treat in India. To me, this is one healthy and delicious mango smoothie :)

 

 

What you need:

 

1 large mango (I used Thai honey mango)

1/2 cup plain yoghurt

1/4 cup fresh milk

1-2 tsp raw honey

 

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients in a blender and blend til smooth
2. Keep refrigerated before consuming

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest - Indian Subcontinent hosted by Alvin from Chef and Sommelier

Also, this post is for  Little Thumbs Up organised by Bake For Happy Kids, and My Little Favourite DIY, hosted by Tze from Awayofmind Bakery House at this post

AFF Korea: Easy Homemade Kimchi (Mak-Kimchi)

Last day of AFF Korea. How can I not posting anything with kimchi?
But I guess it can be forgiven when I made the kimchi itself right? LOL

Something I learned: making kimchi is easy and fun!
Recipe is from Maangchi

What you need:
(I made 1/5 recipe)

1 kg napa cabbage
35g salt

For the porridge:
15g sweet rice flour (I used glutinuous rice flour)
150ml water
10g sugar

For the kimchi paste:
50ml fish sauce
1/2 cup Korean hot pepper flakes
3 tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp minced ginger
3 tbsp minced onion

2 stalks of spring onion, thinly sliced
chopped of 1 big leek
1/2 small white raddish, julienned
1/2 medium carrot, julienned
toasted sesame seeds, to sprinkle

Method:

1. Cut the napa cabbage lengthwise, and discard the core. Chop into bite sizes
2. Soak the pieces of cabbage in cold water and drain. Sprinkle salt
3. Every 30 minutes, turn the cabbage over to salt evenly (total salting time will be 1½ hours)
4. 1½ hours later, rinse the cabbage in cold water 3 times to clean it thoroughly (I did 5 times)
5. To make the porridge: Put water and sweet rice flour in a pot and mix it well and bring to a boil. Keep stirring until the porridge makes bubbles. Add sugar. Stir and cook for a few more mintues until it’s translucent. Cool it down.
6. To make the kimchi paste: Place the cold porridge into a large bowl. Add all your ingredients one by one. Add fish sauce, hot pepper flakes, crushed garlic, minced ginger, minced onion and blend everything using food processor. Transfer into a large bowl
7. Add in spring onion, leeks, raddish and carrot into the kimchi paste and stir well
8. Add in cabbage into the mixture and mix well. Keep in an airtight container and keep refrigerated

Note: fermentation will be faster when kimchi is stored in room temperature, so if you need the kimchi urgently you may keep it away from the fridge for the first night. Kimchi will be sticky at first but the juice will start to form the following day

 

 

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: Korea, hosted by Sharon from Feats of Feasts

AFF Korea: Pork & Radish Soup (Dwaejigogi-Muguk)

This is such a heartwarming dish. My family & I enjoyed it so much!
Original recipe uses beef (sogogi). I replaced with pork loin

I saw the recipe both from Aeri's Kitchen and Maangchi, and I combined both recipes adjusting to our preference

What you need:

about 250g pork loin, pounded and thinly sliced
about 250g white raddish, washed, peeled and sliced
5 cups of water
2 spring onions, sliced thinly diagonally
2 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp salt
1/2 tbsp sesame oil

To marinade meat:
2 tbsp spring onions - finely chopped
1 tbsp garlic - finely minced
1 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cooking wine
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp pepper

Method:

1. Mix sliced meat with marinade and set aside for about 30mins
2. In a heated pot, add in 1/2 tbsp sesame oil and stir fry the marinated pork slices and the raddish. Cook about 3mins over medium-high heat
3. Pour water and bring to boil. Let simmer for another 15mins. Occasionally remove foam on the surface of the soup
4. Add in fish sauce and salt, adjust the taste. Also check the tenderness of the meat
5. Add in spring onion at the last 2mins of the cooking
6. Ready to serve! Just with rice - it's good enough! :)

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: Korea, hosted by Sharon from Feats of Feasts

AFF Korea - Eggplant Side Dish (Gaji-Namul)

Eggplant. One of my favourite vegetable. But I have only limited choice on how to serve it. Everytime it's either stir fry with minced meat, or grill and cook with sambal (chilli paste)
So excited when I saw a simple dish using eggplant. And it's so easy to prepare, too

 

 

Recipe is from HERE

 

What you need:

 

3 medium size eggplant

2 1/2 tbsp light soya sauce

1 stalk of spring onion, chopped finely

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tbsp roasted sesame seeds

1/2 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp of hot pepper flakes (I used 1/2 tsp in powder form - not as spicy)

 

Method:

1. Cut 3 medium sized Asian eggplants into 3 pieces. Then cut each piece in half lengthwise
2. Steam the pieces of eggplant inside. Bring to a boil for 15 minutes over high heat
3. Turn  the heat off and move the cooked eggplant to a bowl. Set it aside to cool down
4. After the eggplant has cooled, drain the liquid. Tear each piece of eggplant lengthwise with your fingers, and put the strips into a large bowl
5. Add in all seasonings and mix together using your hands
6. Serve with rice

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: Korea, hosted by Sharon from Feats of Feasts

AFF Indonesia - Soto Ayam Ambengan

Unfortunately, this will be my last post for AFF Indonesia. I wish a month is not only thirty days LOL There are still so many Indonesian dishes I'd like to share with you. Well, it's not restricted to AFF event only anyway. You'll always see me posting Indonesian dishes from time to time in the future :)

Okay, this soto ayam is slightly different from soto ayam Kudus I ever shared sometime back
Soto ayam Ambengan is from East Java while soto ayam Kudus is from Central Java
What makes soto Ambengan special is the prawn garlic powder (poyah) sprinkled on the soto right before serving. Yum yum...

FYI, there are still a few different kinds of soto ayam from both East and Central Java. Hopefully slowly I can share them, too. I guess it shouldn't be too difficult since my family and I love soto :)

Recipe is from HERE

What you need:

For the soup:
1 free range chicken, cut as desired
5 stalks lemongrass, discard the green part, lightly pounded
10 lime leaves, tear
2 tbsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2,5L water
2 tbsp oil to sautee

Grind til smooth:
15 shallots
8 cloves of garlic
6 candlenuts, fry without oil for awhile
1 tsp turmeric powder
2cm old ginger

For the chilli paste:
7 red chillis (you may add bird's eye chilli if you prefer real hot)
1 clove of garlic
salt, sugar

For the poyah:
20g prawn crackers (ready to eat)
1 tbsp crushed fried garlic
a pinch of salt

Garnish:
3 hard boiled egg, sliced
150g cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
1 stalk of spring onion, finely chopped
50g bean vermicelli, soak til soft

Prepare all the ingredients in the serving bowl

Pour the soup over and sprinkle poyah

 

 

Method:

1. Boil water and chicken in a large pot
2. Heat oil in a wok. Sautee grinded ingredients, lemongrass, lime leaves til fragrant. Add into chicken stock. Add in salt and sugar. Bring to boil and simmer til chicken soft
3. Scoop out chicken and pan fry for awhile
4. To make the chilli paste: Boil chilli and garlic til soft. Drain. Add in salt and sugar to the chilli. Blend but not til smooth
5. Serve the soup with chicken, all the garnishes, poyah and chilli paste

Mix it all up after adding chilli paste... So refreshing. Nom nom nom...

I am submitting this post to Asian Food Fest: Indonesia, hosted by me, Alice from I Love. I Cook. I Bake