Macadamia Chocolate Chips Cookies

Chocolates! Bet everyone can't resist this sweet and tasty snacks huh! I love chocolates as much as my daughter. We can both wallop up few bars of chocolates in a day..haha! 

I have alot chocolate cookies recipes and all are so yummy and tasty and just can't finish to try out all of them. Here, one of the yummilicious one that I'll like to share. Recipe adapted from one of my collection books, with some changes as I can't get some of the ingredients from my nearby bakery store. 

Anyway it turned out super delicious and they never stay long in my cookie jar..;p

I think you can judge how delicious they were from the pictures below...(even though they were badly captured)...haha!

Ingredients:

115g butter

115g brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla essence

115g dark chocolate (roughly chopped)

50g raisins

100g macadamia nuts (roughly chopped)

Method:
~ Preheat oven at 190'C
~ Cream butter with sugar until pale and fluffy
~ Add in egg and vanilla and beat well
~ Stir in flour into the mixture and fold in lightly with a metal spoon
~ Add in chopped chocolate, chopped nuts and raisins and stir well
~ Spoon small spoonful of the mixture onto prepared tin and leaving space for spreading
~ Bake for 15-20 minutes until beginning to turn pale golden
~ Cool for 2-3 minutes and transfer to wire rack to cool completely

Look at the chocolate!! It melted when you bite them and the crunch of the nuts just come so well with the cookies. Trust me...its heaven!
If you like chocolates.....please try this!!

Cheers!

Fried Pumpkin Kueh 南瓜饼

I love pumpkin, its a cultivar of the squash plant, love the deep yellow to orange color. 

I've tried to make some kueh with this beautiful squash long time ago, the colors turned out so beautifully and the sweetness of the squash is so tasteful. 

Here a simple recipe that I'll like to share....Fried Pumpkin Kueh (南瓜饼) which is very famous

Recipe adapted from the web and I've made some changes to suit our own taste. 

I've tried this natural kueh at one of the Chinese restaurant near Kuala Lumpur but when I went back last 2 weeks, the restaurant has closed down. The food were really nice and tasty there, I'm wondering why they closed down without any notice. Anyhow, I've tried out some of their recipes myself and this was one of them.

I'm very satisfied with the outcome and of course when my family love them as much as I do.
Crispy at the outside and chewy inside, very tasty!
Here's the recipe....

Ingredients:
200g pumpkin (cut into small cubes)
200g Glutinous flour
50g castor sugar
alittle salt
alittle water (not neccesary)

Method:
~ Steamed the pumpkin till soft then mashed.
~ Mix all ingredients in a large bowl except water until well mixed.
~ Add alittle water if the dough doesn't form.
~ Round up dough into a small ball (about 20g) and flatten.
~ Heat up alittle cooking oil (about 2-3 tbsps ), panfry the kueh at medium heat until both sides are golden brown.
~ Place cooked kueh on greasing paper to remove some extra oil and serve hot.

Cheers!

Yam & Sweet Potatoes Sweet Dessert 炸年糕

Hi all, how are you guys? I've been missing from here since last year December, and I hope I'll get to blog more this coming days to share my recipes. 

Here's a sweet dessert that I made last month, and it tastes really good. I'm not so sure what this sticky sweet kueh called in English, in mandarin we call it "nian gao" (年糕.) Which this kueh we only eat it during Chinese New Year.

I've fried it with a different way this time with mashed sweet potatoes and yam. Have a look at the bottom, it was very easy.

Very crispy outside and soft & sticky inside. Really yummy!!

Recipe:
100g plain flour
alittle salt to taste
1 egg
about 50-60g water

** mixed all the ingredients above with the water addedslowly until you get a sticky starchy flour paste. set aside.

"nian gao" 年糕 - cut into stripes
*60g yam, steamed and mashed
*60g sweet potatoes, steamed and mashed

**the amount of the yam and sweet potatoes depends to individual.
* wrap the 年糕 with the mashed yam and sweet potatoes like shown below.

* deep fried in some hot oil at medium heat.

I will definitely stick to this recipe next year when I get this kueh. I was really surprise it turned out so nice and it was well received by my family.

Have a look at the inside....you can never resist this.

Cheers!!

Pork & Shrimps Satay with Tamarind Glaze

Hi all, I'm back with a simple recipe which its well received by my family and friends. Last weekend we had a small gathering with friends at my house. I've prepared some grilled chicken wings with lemon grass, grilled prawns, some desserts like blueberry cheese tarts and tiramisu. Well, this satay was the most welcome dish during that day. All were gone before the gathering ends..haha! I'll make more for the next one ya...^^

The recipe only needs few ingredients:
600g minced pork
100g minced shrimps
1 tsp ginger powder
3 small pcs galangal (chopped0
15 stalks lemongrass (wash & clean)
1 gloves garlic
50g coriander leaves
1 tsp ground tumeric
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Glaze:
1 tbsp tamarind puree
1 tbsp honey
ground black pepper to taste

Method:
- Place all ingredients except lemon grass stalks, meat, shrimps and glaze in a blender and pulse until combined.
- Mix the blended ingredients with the meat and shrimps. Mix well and leave to marinate for 1 hour.
- With wet hands, mould each portion around each lemon grass stalks into shape of a sausage (about 3-4") long. (like the picture shown above)
- Prepare the glaze. Preheat and overhead grill.
-Brush satay with glaze and grill, turning every 3 minutes until well cooked / browned. Takes about 8-10 minutes to cook. Serve hot!

For outdoor cooking, grill over medium-hot coal. It may taste better with the coal grill.
This was so nice and everyone started to ask for the ingredients, so here you are my dear friends. Sorry to take such along time to post...hehe!

Cheers!!

Zha Jiang Mian (炸酱麵)

This is the noodles I always wanted to try but I cannot find a good recipe for it until my friend taught me with her secret recipe...^^ I'm always lucky with good friends around....:)

Well, it's not so complicated after all. I've twisted the recipe alittle bit to suit my taste and it still taste good. Easy and tasty....yummy!

The ingredients below were all you needed. The main ingredients for this dish are the bean paste and the egg.
This is not the original "Zha Jiang" noodle you seen in Taiwan or Korea.....this is the Malaysian way...haha!

Ingredients:
A pack of dry egg noodles (any brand will do)
5 shallots (minced)
4 mushrooms ((diced)
300g minced pork
1 egg (beaten)
3 tbsps minced yellow bean paste
3-4 tbsps water
sugar & light soy sauce to taste
some green vege & chilli for garnish

Marinate the minced meat:
3 tsps sesame oil
alittle pepper
alittle sugar

Method:
- Stir fry the shallots with some cooking oil till fragnant.
- Add in bean paste and mix well.
- Stir in beaten eggs and mix well., then follow by the diced mushrooms.
- Turn to low heat, add in sugar and soy sauce to taste.
- Cook for about 3-4 minutes until the meat paste becomes alittle thick (like shown below).

Cook the noodles in another pot with clean water, then served with the meat paste!
This is so yummy, and my daughter wants it again for lunch today.

I'm sure you'll like this. Let me know after you try ya....^^

Cheers!!

Hazel Strawberry Jam Cookies

Cookies! It was quite a long time since my last baked of cookies. These were quite special, and delicious. Good to go with a cup of tea!

These were made very last minute when I was told that we are going to meet some friends for dinner. I've never bake anything for them before, so I hope they will like it. By looking at the pictures here, they may taste good ..haha! Why I said that?...because I, myself had never tried it and I dare to give it away...LOL!!

Recipe was taken from a book named "The Great Big Cookies Book" by Hilaire Walden. I didn't really follow the ingredients stated in the book, instead I've changed most of it.

Ingredients:
190g plain flour
100g ground hazelnut
175g butter
100g sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
350g strawberry jam
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method:
- Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy.
- Stir in vanilla essence and add in flour and ground hazelnut.
- Mix well to form a dough. Cover with cling wrap and chill for an hour.
- Preheat oven at 170'C, line  baking sheets in  different trays.
- Divide dough into  portions, roll each piece out on floured surface to a thickness of 3mm.
- Cut the dough with pastry cutter (any desire shape) shown above.
- Bake for 15 minutes or until lightly brown and cooked. Cool them on a wire rack.

Jam:
- In a saucepan, melt the jam with lemon juice until it comes to a simmer.
- Cool the jam, and spread onto the biscuits and sandwich together.

Yummy right! Try try try...:))

Cheers!!

Rapsberry & Cheese Delight

Special treats for my niece! Thinking what to bake for her on her birthday but instead of cakes that will make her fat....so this light desert is what I think will suits her since she's on a diet...LOL!! Anyway...cheese...hmm is fattening though...haha!

Well, this is not very special from any special chef's recipe. It's just something she loves..."rapsberry & cheese"...so I just combined them and put it in a cup. Looks tempting though....^^

Very easy and it was done within an hour. No bake and no fuss!! I personally like the combination and the colour of the cream cheese...beautiful! The tatse?!...PERFECT!!

Ingredients:
170g rapsberries
250g cream cheese
100g whipping cream
75g sugar
150g digestive biscuits
30g butter (melted)

Method:
~ Mashed the rapsberries and keep aside.
~ Beat cream cheese, sugar and whipping cream till fluffy.
~ Mix in the mashed rapsberry and sti well.
~ Smashed digestive biscuits into crumbs and add in melted butter and mix well.
~ Scoop the biscuits follow by the rapsberries cream layer by layer into a cup.
~ Chill before serve.

See the biscuits and the cream?! Melt in the mouth and appetizing...wonderful!!
Try it and you'll know. Its easy as ABC...:))

Cheers!

Simple Roasted Chicken

Hi all, I've been missing for quite a long time from my blog here...hehe! Well, back with a simple dish which I cooked last month first ya...;p

Here's the roasted chicken that I made for my hubby's birthday last month. Instead of eating outside, I suggested that we eat at home with some simple salad, soup and wine. This was delicious and my hubby was asking for more...WOW! That means I have to make this more often huh...^^

 It does not have any special ingredients for it. I just mixed whatever I can find and dump it into the oven for an hour. Surprisingly it turned out really good.
Anyway, here's what I used.....

3 drumsticks
some small baby potatoes (peeled, washed and rub with some salt and dried basil leaves)

Marinated:
2-3 garlic (mashed)
2-3 onions (mashed)
dash of black pepper
2 tsps paprika powder
some parsely & fresh basil (blendd)

Method:
~ Rub the whole drumsticks with the ingredients above and leave for 2-3 hours at least. (I left it overnight)
~ Place marinated drumsticks onto prepared tray with the baby potatoes and some fresh white button mushrooms (sliced) if you prefered.
~ Bake the drumsticks for 45-1 hr at 250'C.
~ Serve hot.

It was served right out from the oven that day with some milestones soup and Italian salad. Well, although the soup and salad were store bought ones...haha! Will try to make everything myself next round...;p

Crispy skin and juicy meat...just imagine it!! Well done...Reese!!..LOL
Hope you like it too..:))
Btw, what title should I give for this recipe??.....Eh.....Special Chicken Treats?!...hahaha! I think "Simple Roasted Chicken" will do...;p

Cheers!!

My Sister's Pre-Wedding Cake

It's my sister's wedding yesterday and before her big day, we had a small family gathering (her pre-wedding night) at the hotel suite. Well, it was a great night after gathered with my parents and sisters, then my husband and me sneaked out for a good movie and a super good supper...hehehe!!

Right, about the cake....I've actually planned to make this for my sister on her wedding day but with not much confidence, I decided to make a small one for her pre-wedding night. Anyway it ends up cutting the cake the next morning when the groom was here....:)) I did has good compliments and all the Woooos & Ahhhhs about the cake, but I'm not satisfied with it...real rough work I did!! You'll see....;p

I did some white roses to decorate the cake, at least I'm quite satisfied with the flowers. (but not the finishing of the cake)

See...now you know why I said that....so terribly done right?!! Well, well....I know the fondant to cover the cake was too thin but I have no more time and no more extra fondant to do it again. I was so frustrated at that moment and was actually sweating while thinking what am I going to do to cover all that.....that ugly parts!!

So, first I covered the sides with some white patterned fondant as ribbons...haha! see from far, at least it looked better....;p

Then with the roses and butter cream, I did my best to covered the whole cake (those ugly parts) as much as I can.

My dear friend did gave me some advice and tips to touch up the cake and make it look even better but by that time, visitors started to come and I was so busy by then. So at the end, the cake was left the way it was...haha!

But....the cake tastes delicious!! This I have no doubt at all. It was real good that everyone forgot about the decoration...LOL!!

This recipe was actually taken from a book which I can say, it was a terrible book. The recipe which printed in this book was in English and Mandarin, but both was printed with different measurements and ingredients!! Can you imagine that...:(

Therefore, I did my own version for this recipe...which was real good and well received..:)

Coffee Almond Butter Cake:

275g Butter

200g sugar

5 eggs

3 tbsps milk

1 tbsp coffee paste

230g cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

60g nibbed almonds

Method:

~ Beat butter and sugar till light and fluffy, add in eggs one at a time. Continue beating for another 4-5 minutes.

~ Add in milk and coffee paste, mix well.

~ At low speed fold in flour and baking powder. Mix well.

~ With a spatula, mix in nibbed almonds.

~ Pour in a 9" round tin ( I used two 6" round tins ) and bake at 180'C for 45 minutes.

Trust me, this cake taste really good and you'll want to have more after one slice...^^

Last but not least, I'll like to wish my sister all the best in everything and have a wonderful honeymoon!! Congratulations dear sister...:))

Cheers!!

A Fine Dining ~ Coco Tei Tokyo Japanese Cuisine

I was at this classy Japanese restaurant 2 days ago accompanying my husband for a bussiness dinner.

This was my first time there, and I'm so lucky that I have a chance to try out the most authentic and delicious Japanese food I've ever try.

The entrance and the enviroment of this restaurant gave me a feeling that I'm going to enjoy the dinner without any hesitation! And yes, I'm right, no regret at all!! Well, it was alittle pricey but it really worth it..:)

Let me show you why it is so special...................

The entrance.....

The costumers there are mostly VIP or under reservation, they seldom take in walk-in costumers. Then the chefs will make sure you'll never have the repeat menu as your last visit! Yes, they do record what you ate!! Specical??...Then you may ask do they have such a long menu??....Ah that's the point! The owner will invite a special guest, a retired Japanese chef from Japan, to train and test out the menu there. Then he'll also create some nice, special, delicious dishes into the menu before he left!!

I'm not so sure how's the menu looks like because I didn't get the chance to peep into it.....and our dinner just started without it!! As I said the chef already knows what he's going to serve us!! From appetizer till the end of the dessert...it was so fullfilling!!

My 1st dish.....the Fruit Salad.

...then came the Sashimi.....so fresh!!

Oh..it was served with their fresh Wasabi, which I never tried before..:)

Then, the Cabbage Rolled Soup...with a tomoato heart...so beautifully served!

Then follow by...Senzai San Tei ( a 3 combination main dish)....from the left, the Japanese chives with sesame, then the cow's tougue and follow by a homemade Japanese toufu.

Then the Inari Rolls....

The fried prawns...(pardon me for I've forgotten the name given to this dish)

Baby Sardine served with Japanese mayonaise....this was so good and crispy!!

Then it ends with the Grilled Maki....and some ice cream which I didn't take. I was too full by then...;p

The name card I got from them with the location inside (located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)

Pardon me with the bad photography here which I've taken with my phone. And another reason with so many people waiting for me to take the pictures of every dish before they can start...opps! Really feel bad....heehee!! Truly I don't know how much was the dinner cost, but roughly it was around rm200-300 per person I guess. But it doesn't matter if the food served was really good right?!....;p

Hope to visit this restaurant again soon, then I'll see what I'll get from their menu again..:))

Address:

Coco Tei, Tokyo Japanese Cuisine.

No.5, GF-B, Jalan Delima, 55100

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tel : 03 2141 1945

Hotline: 1800-88-6655

W : www.cocotei.com

E : info@cocotei.com