Assalamualaikum... my goodness...is this blog still alive? How long has it been since i last posted? 8 years.....EIGHT YEARS!

I have been looking like this for the whole of today..

Dear friends...how shall I put it..

..oh my God....I lost something valuable...difficult to accept....end of story...

Savoury Cheese Squares

A very rich and very filling little snack or something to brunch on, these little darlings came from the home of my good friend Bundazasha..thanks bunda!

It was sooo cute, I just gotta try and make it...with a little amendment here and there

Ingredients

5 eggs
60g coarse sugar (original recipe calls for 75g)
1/4tsp salt
1/4tsp pepper (I used black pepper)
100g rice flour
50g plain flour
150g butter (melted)
50ml coconut milk
50g cheese (grated - I used mozarella...u can use any kind)
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley - (I used chopped broccoli)
2-3 medium tomatoes - sliced horizontally



Preheat oven to 160-170 C. Grease a 10-inch square cake tin (I used my 8-inch square)and line with parchment paper. Spray with non-stick spray or just grease a little.
Arrange tomato slices on the bottom part of the pan. I used my 8-inch square pan, so I lined them with 9 slices of tomatoes (3 by 3). Set aside.
In a mixer, whisk the eggs and sugar till thick and doubles in volume.
Add in the rest of the ingredients one item at a time. Pour the mixture over the arranged tomatoes, taking care not to 'move' the tomatoes from their positions.
Bake in the oven for abt 20-30 mins, depending on yr oven. Check for doneness with a cake tester after 20 mins.
Place pan on a wire rack and once it's cool enough, invert over a cutting board. Cut into squares, with the tomatoes as the centre nucleus.Serve with a hot beverage.

Rendang Ayam Tahi Minyak

Chicken in Spicy Stew

Don't let the name fool you or put u off...I dare to guarantee that this dish is gonna make u lick yourself!...hehe...called Rendang Betawi at some point, this is best eaten with rice and pickled veggie but I would always eat the excess thick gravy with bread..aahhh...heaven!..
note : u really have to be patient and make the Tahi Minyak first...its the key..

Ingredients

1 and 1/2 kg of whole chicken, cut into 12 pcs, marinated with 1 tbsp of salt and 2 tbsp of tumeric and 1/4 cup of water, and fried till 1/2 cooked. Drain and set aside.

2 lemongrass stalks - bruised
16 - 20 birds eye chilli
10 pcs or more kaffir lime leaves - coarsely shredded
2 pcs tumeric leaves - coarsely shredded
2 cups of wet rendang mix - (rempah rendang basah) which u can get at the wet market.
1 and 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup palm sugar (gula melaka) - slivered
salt to taste

Tahi Minyak :

800ml thick coconut milk
1/2 cup oil
1 cup of water

Pour the above into a wok and simmer slowly under medium fire, stirring often to prevent big clumps. It will curdle and just stir till u get very coarse granules - but not too dry. This will be your tahi minyak.

To this, add the lemongrass and the rendang mix.
Cook, stir, till it's fragrant, then add 3 cups water, 16 - 20 birds eye chilli, tumeric leaves, lime leaves, sugar, palm sugar and salt. Add in the chicken pieces and let simmer slowly till gravy is reduced to a thick consistency and chicken has absorbed much of the liquid. Adjust the taste of sugar and salt. If salty, add a little more water, if too spicy add a little more sugar. If too sweet, add a few more birds eye chilli.
Serve with rice and Acar Timun Mudah (recipe below).

Acar Timun Mudah

A simple pickled cucumber and carrot relish..

Ingredients

1 large cucumber - discard the pulp, and cut into 2inch strips
1 large carrot - peeled and cut into 2inch strips
10 small round baby shallots - peel and crushed a little
1 red chilli - slashed
1 green chilli - slashed
a few slices ginger
a few cloves of garlic
1 tsp tumeric powder
2 tsp chilli powder or chilli paste
1 and 1/2 tsp mustard seeds (biji sawi)
3 tbsp of oil
1/4 cup water
3 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
salt to taste

Sprinkle some salt generously over cucumber,carrots,ginger,chillies,shallots and garlic and leave it aside for a few hours, turning the veg now and then. The salt will leech out any excess moisture from them , making them crispier and not soggy.
Drain.

Heat oil, add chilli paste,mustard seeds and tumeric and saute till fragrant. Add water, vinegar, sugar and salt and stir till sugar dissolves. Add the drained veggie,stir for abt 5 mins and quickly turn off the heat. Do not overcook or veggie won't be crisp.

Serve with the Rendang..

Mee Bandung Suhana

mmm...what's there to say..we have mee bandung johor, muar, indonesia...all of us shall claim that they have the original version...I say..why stick to one when u can have one of your very own?...so here's mine..those who like it, thank u...those who don't,...I don't blame u...*smile*...

Ingredients

1 kg yellow noodles
3 cups of bean sprouts -tails removed (I didn't)
mustard greens (sawi / chye sim) cut into desired lengths

Scald the above with hot water and set aside

Gravy:

20 - 25 dried red chillies - soaked to soften
5 onions
6 cloves of garlic
2 inches of ginger
4 candlenuts
2 tbsp belacan (shrimp paste)
1/2 cup dried shrimps - soaked to soften
Grind the above ingredients till fine.

1/4 cup chilli sauce
3 tbsp tomato sauce
2 tbsp sweet soya sauce
Sufficient water for the gravy (abt 10 cups).
1 kg of prawns - shelled, with tail intact and deveined
1/2 kg of lean beef - boiled till tender and cut into thin strips
2 chicken breasts - cut into big chunks
a few eggs
2 tbsp sugar or to taste
salt to taste

Garnishing:

4 pcs of beancurd - fried and cut into cubes
fried shallots
tomato wedges
pickled green chillies

Heat abt 1/2 cup of oil in wok. Saute the ground ingredients till fragrant and cooked. Add the sauces b4 adding the beef, prawns and chicken and stir well. Add water and simmer till boiling. I would use 2 egg whites to thicken the gravy but u can just leave it as it is. Crack some eggs into the gravy, leaving enough spaces between them and leave to poach. Do not stir yr gravy at this point. Remove from heat and serve. Pour gravy onto a bowl lined with noodles, bean sprouts and greens. Sprinkle with fried shallots and beancurd cubes and serve with the pickled green chillies and tomato wedges.
Always a hit with the family.

Daging Masak Kicap

Ahh..the second day of CHINESE NEW YEAR...with the eclipse and all yesterday,..I'm bushed..cooked a bit and baked a few...a pity I don't even have the time to snap a pic..Made some brownies with plain choc topping (50 pcs), baked mini curry buns which got snapped up real fast...(I had abt 40 pcs) and a pot full of Green Bean Dessert (Bubur Kacang Hijau) with only the container left... seriously...played the Guitar Hero World Tour with hubby's family..had a blast...but a painful ending..oh well...just to name the day..

So today, I decided to make Beef Stew - My Style..

Ingredients

Aromatics:

2 cinnamon sticks
3 star anise
4 cloves
4 cardamoms
1 yellow onions - wedged
5 onions - sliced
10 baby shallots - sliced
2 inches of ginger - sliced
6 garlic - sliced
3 red chillies - sliced
2 green chillies - sliced

3 tbsp meat curry powder - mixed with a little water to form a thick paste

1 kg of lean beef - cubed thickly or cut into desired portions
3 tbsp pepper
salt to taste
10 cups of boiling water
2/3 cup of soya sauce (kicap manis)

Garnishing

2 brinjals/aubergines/eggplants - sliced thickly and fried
5 potatoes - peeled, cubed and fried


Method :

Heat abt 1/2 cup of oil in wok. Saute the aromatics till fragrant and onions have wilted and caramelized a little. Add the curry paste. Stir. When spices look cooked, add in the beef. Sear a bit and then add in the boiling water, pepper, salt and soya sauce. Simmer for a good 40 mins or more on medium heat till beef is really tender and gravy has somewhat reduced to a nice consistency. Add water if it's too thick.
To serve, add the fried brinjal and potatoes and eat with hot rice

Very filling....

Mee Bakso

Indonesian BeefBall Soup Noodle

Everybody has his/her version of this dish, and so do I...
I like it simple, but the beefballs have got to be dunked into the hot dark chilli sauce for that extra kick!

Ingredients

for the Soup

1kg of store-bought beefballs (I like to score a cross on it and it'll fluff up when boiled...pretty)
5 cloves of garlic - crushed
2 shallots -wedged
a few slices of ginger
2 beef cubes (either Knorr or Maggi)
6 cups water or more
salt and pepper to taste
a tsp of sugar

1kg of yellow noodles - washed and scalded
some beansprouts - washed and scalded
some mustard greens (chye sim/sawi) - scalded

Garnishing

some fried shallots
pickled green chillies

Dark Chilli Sauce

10-15 red cili padi(bird's eye chilli)
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup sweet soya sauce (kicap manis)

Blend the abv together till fine.


Heat abt 1/4 cup of oil with 1 tbsp of sesame oil. Saute the shallots, garlic and ginger till fragrant. Add the beef cubes and enough water for yr soup. Drop in the beefballs. Simmer till boiling, then add salt,sugar and pepper to taste.

To serve, pour hot soup and beefballs over noodles with beansprouts and the mustard greens. Garnish with shallots and pickled green chillies or with the dark chilli sauce.

Say mooooooo....

Tahu Goreng

Deepfried Beancurd with Spicy Peanut Sauce

MMmmm.... I made this after I got tired of the usual menu spread of rice..NO..let me rephrase that...I DIDN'T get tired...I was thinking of a little change,...so I decided that we shall go meatless for a day... Still , this is superb! (if I can say so myself)

Ingredients

4 Large beancurds - deepfried, cut into cubes
1 cucumber - peeled, and shredded into long strips
1 carrot - peeled and shredded into long strips
some beansprouts - scalded

For the Sauce

10 cloves of garlic(best roasted lightly)
12 cili padi (bird's eye chilli)
2 tbsp vinegar or apple cider or lime juice
3/4 cup of palm sugar (gula melaka)- melted
1 tbsp white sugar
1/4 cup water
1/3 cup of soya sauce(kicap)

1 and 1/2 cup of coursely ground roasted peanuts

Grind the sauce ingredients till fine and mix together. Add in the peanuts and mix well. Pour over freshly hot fried beancurd cubes and top with the cooling cucumber and carrot strips with crunchy lightly scalded beansprouts.

Oh..baby...simply...delicious!...

Nutty Pumpkin Cake

Trust me when I say that I made this to get rid of the pumpkin sitting in the fridge. Best sure-fire way?...turn it into a teatime centrepiece!..or in my case,...with hot coffee for a lazy evening delight....I repeat, best consumed with yr favourite hot beverage...sweet pumpkin, meet yr doom!..hehe

Ingredients

150g butter
150g castor sugar
50g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
250g pumpkin, steamed and mashed

Sieve together the following :-

250g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon powder (I used a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves)

100g walnuts or any nuts of yr choice, toasted and chopped


Beat butter,castor sugar,icing sugar and vanilla till light n creamy. Gradually add beaten egg and mix well. Add in the mashed pumpkin.
Fold in the sieved ingredients,plus the nuts and pour the mixture into a greased and lined 9-inch round cake tin. Bake in a preheated 170 degrees oven for abt 45 to 50 mins or till a caketester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack.

For the Topping

2 tbsp butter
50g light brown sugar
3 tbsp fresh milk
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
100g sifted icing sugar

some toasted nuts or strawberries for decoration

Combine all the topping ingredients (excluding the nuts/strawberries) in a saucepan and stir over low heat. Stir till butter has melted and sugar has dissolved. Spread over the warm cake and sprinkle sides with the nuts and decorate as u wish..

Get ready to tip the scale!

Crabby Roll

I made these as a snack but it ended up as dinner as it's laden with so much protein....I felt full in no time!

Filling

10 crabsticks, diced
4 frankfurters, diced
3 eggs, separately moist-scrambled
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 shallot, minced
2 red chillies, de-seed and sliced finely
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp sweet n sour sauce

Heat abt 2 tbsp of oil in wok and saute the garlic, chillies and shallot. When fragrant, add in the diced items and the eggs. Stirfry quickly, season with salt and pepper and add the sauce. Stir till cooked. Remove from heat and drain over a colander to rid of excess oil, if any. Cool the filling before rolling up in popiah skin, just like how u would in my Veggie Roll.

Serve with chilli sauce.

Cereal Prawns

NOTE:
Generally, this is a rather dry, crispy dish but I like to make mine a little MOIST as I love to take my time to nibble and 'suck' the sweet aromatic succulent juice from the prawns, skin and all. Hey...it's yr choice!.

Ingredients

1 kg prawns - I just make a slit along the back to devein, leaving shells intact.U may want to dip them into beaten egg and dredge them in cornflour b4 deep-frying to get a crispier texture. I didn't.

2 tbsp butter
5 bird's eye chillies (cili padi) roughly chopped
1 egg yolk lightly beaten ( I added the white too )
15 or so of curry leaves
1 and 1/2 cup of Nestum cereal mixed with 1 tbsp of milk powder
salt
sugar

Heat the wok and add in the butter. When melted, add in the chillies and curry leaves. Saute till fragrant, before adding the cereal mix. Stirfry for a while and slide in the prawns, coating them. Adding the eggs at this time is entirely OPTIONAL. I did. Add abt a tsp of salt and a tsp of sugar to taste. Remove from heat and serve hot.

Chicken Curry - Egg Salad - Veggie StirFry

Initially I was planning to make Roti Kirai to go along with the dishes - but somehow,...I became too lazy to cook anymore...So I ended up eating these with plain rice and bread...hey!...that's fine too!,..and who said that we can't succumb to laziness?......hehe..



Use this recipe for any kind of veggie stirfry..u won't go wrong..just remember never to overcook the vegg. For this, I used celery, carrots, mushrooms, capsicum, broccoli, and u can add anything u want,...just make it colourful.



The Chicken Curry:
U can use my Ayam Kariana for this recipe...mmm..thick and spicy..



For the egg salad with peanut sauce :

Hard-boiled eggs - sliced neatly with an egg-slicer
Cucumber - skinned, raked with fork and sliced thickly
Tomatoes - sliced thickly
Onions - sliced into rings
Some lettuce/daun salad

The Peanut Sauce

12 dried chillies - soaked to soften
2 cloves of garlic
Grind the above till fine

3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp vinegar
1 potato (or sweet potato) - boiled and pushed through a sieve.
salt to taste

1/2 to 3/4 cup of coursely ground-roasted-skinned peanuts

In a saucepan, put chilli-garlic paste, brown sugar, water, salt and tomato puree and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the mashed potato and vinegar. Reduce heat and continue stirring all the time till thick. Add the ground peanuts, stir and remove from heat.Season with a little salt. If using sweet potato, reduce the amount of sugar.

Saujana Seafood Set

Was inspired to cook this set after a visit to Saujana in Johore after my Melaka trip. Unfortunately, for some reason, I can't find any seabass today and so decided to skip Ikan Tiga Rasa...had Sweet Sour Fish instead..anyway,..the kids loved it and so do I...only setback was, I can only eat a little coz I have this condition - I can't eat much when I'm tired!....*smile*



The fried rice is quite similar to the Nasi Goreng Ananas in my previous entry.....just omit the pineapples and use a combi of veg oil plus a little sesame oil for sauteing..



For this kailan, I added sliced fishcakes.

A handful of baby kailan
2 cloves of garlic - crushed
1 red chilli - sliced
1 small shallot (small onion)- sliced thinly
1/2 cup oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt or to taste, as the oyster sauce is already salty

Boil some water in a pot.Add some salt and 1 tsp of oil. Blanch veggie for a couple of minutes. Prepare a bowl of ice cold water in the meantime.Take out veggie and dunk into the bowl to stop the cooking process. U'll get a nice green colour without overcooking yr veg. Drain well.
Next,in a wok,heat 1 tbsp of oil,mixed with a few good dashes of sesame oil. The combi of oil will produce a glaze effect on the veg later. Saute onion,garlic,chilli and add the oyster sauce.Pour a little bit of water to mix.Add some sugar and salt.Simmer till boiling,then then turn off heat. If sauce is too dilute,u may add some cornflour solution (1 dsp cornflour + 1/4 cup of water )to thicken it.Arrange veg on a plate and pour sauce over...eat it hot!



Similar to the soup in my Tom Yam Noodle...just add in any 'protein' seafood u want..



Ingredients

1kg battered fish slices - fried, and put aside

The sauce :

1 cup chilli sauce
1/4 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup sweet sour sauce
2 tbsp plum sauce
3 tbsp vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
salt to taste

2 onions - wedges
a few slices of ginger
2 cloves of garlic - finely minced
1/2 green capsicum - cubed
1/2 red capsicum - cubed
1/2 yellow capsicum - cubeb
1/4 cup of finely cubed pineapple

1 tbsp veg oil
1 tbsp sesame oil

Heat the oil combi and saute the onions,garlic,ginger and add all the capsicums and pineapple. Don't burn the aromatics. Add the sauce ingredients. If it's too thick, add some water till u get the consistency u want. Avoid making it too dilute. Taste and adjust accordingly. It shud taste spicy , sweet and sour all in one. Add whatever that is lacking. Pour over fried fish slices when u are abt to serve to prevent sogginess.

Mee Rebus Sally

i made this entry once before...i think it's this one..
one thing that made me go for this particular verion is the abundance of succulent beef and the hefty serving of condiments accompanying it....you're filled to the brim...

I spent my new year eating this for the whole day..



the noodles and the bean sprouts - blanched briefly..



the thick gravy with a mighty load of beef..



the condiments... comprising of..(from top-left) fried shallots, potato cutlets , fried beancurd, fried tempe, lime, eggs, fish fingers, red/green chillies, chopped parsley, fried chicken drumlets..whoa..



the end result....heavier than a big mac..

Cupcakes for Farah Alisha

Nisa's daughter is 6 yrs old and i got the order for cupcakes....so made them with yellow and strawberry cake base with crusting buttercream frosting of pink and white theme....

Browniana Brownies

Made these sometime back...forgotten when...but not too long ago..one is frosted with dark chocolate n hearts and the other one is white chocolate with dark chocolate stripes...the brownies are packed with chopped walnuts and chocolate chips...sinfully wicked...

oh..by the way...i sell them...

thankfully, NorShirin loved them...(thanks dear!)

Spicy Fried Macaroni

well....had some leftover boiled macaroni from the previous entry....so i thot maybe this time i'll just fry it..at least it won't be wasted...

Ingredients

boiled macaroni
250g minced beef - fried over a dry wok with a few dashes of pepper
some crabsticks
1 cup of mixed frozen veggie - thawed
3 eggs - slightly beaten
fried shallots
chopped spring onions and chinese parsley

To be blended:-

10 dried chillies - soaked to soften
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp dried shrimps - soaked to soften
a pinch of shrimp paste (belacan)
2 tbsp of chilli sauce
2 tbsp of tomato sauce

Mix the above till u get a thick paste

Method

Heat abt 1/4 cup of oil in a wok. Saute the blended ingredients till fragrant and cooked. Add the minced beef and crabsticks. Stir. Add in beaten eggs. Finally, add in the macaroni and the mixed veggie and give it a good fry. Sprinkle with a little water if it's too dry. Serve hot, with garnishing.

Chicken Macaroni Soup... for the Soul

2nd daughter is down with fever and I decided to make some soup to whet her appetite. Don't feel like having rice as well, hence, the macaroni. Hubby hates pasta but he'll agree to the soup...So I'm safe...

Ingredients

1 packet of macaroni - cooked to al dente
1 whole chicken - cut into 12 pcs, skinned of excess fat
4 medium potatoes - peeled and cubed
4 carrots - peeled and cubed
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
3 cloves
salt
pepper

Soup Base (to be blended)

3 onions
4 cloves of garlic
an inch of ginger
2 pcs of knorr/maggi chicken cubes
6 tbsp of soto spice mix

mix the above with a little water to form a thick paste

Garnishing

fried shallots
spring onions (chopped)
chinese parsley (chopped)

method :
Heat abt 1/2 cup of oil. Thrown in cinnamon stick, star anise and cloves. Stir for a few secs and then add in soup base paste. Saute till fragrant and cooked. Stir in the chicken, potatoes and carrots. Add sufficent water to cover and make sure it's a little dilute. Add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer till chicken is cooked and tender.

To serve, place macaroni in a bowl. Pour over soup with chicken pieces and sprinkle with a garnishing of fried shallots and chopped greens....and THAT....is comfort food for the sick...