Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Buddha Hand Gourd with Fried Tofu & Shitake Mushroom

I know it doesn't looks pretty.... What is Buddha Hand Gourd anyway? Many overseas people called it Chayote.
The chayote[1] (Sechium edule), also known as christophene or christophine,[1] cho-cho,[1] mirliton[2] or merleton (Creole/Cajun), chuchu (Brazil), centinarja (Malta), pear squash, vegetable pear,[1] chouchoute, choko, pipinola, güisquil (El Salvador)[3] is an edible plant belonging to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, along with melons, cucumbers and squash.
Chayote is originally native to Mexico or Central America where it grows abundantly and has little commercial value, and it has been introduced as a crop all over Latin America, and worldwide. The main growing regions are Brazil, Costa Rica and Veracruz, Mexico. Costa Rican chayotes are predominantly exported to the European Union, whereas Veracruz is the main exporter of chayotes to the United States.
The word chayote is a Spanish derivative of the Nahuatl word chayohtli (pronounced [t͡ʃaˈjoʔt͡ɬi]). Chayote was one of the many foods introduced to Europe by early explorers, who brought back a wide assortment of botanical samples. The Age of Conquest also spread the plant south from Mexico, ultimately causing it to be integrated into the cuisine of many other Latin American nations.
The chayote fruit is used in mostly cooked forms. When cooked, chayote is usually handled like summer squash, it is generally lightly cooked to retain the crisp flavor[clarification needed]. Though rare and often regarded as especially unpalatable and tough in texture, raw chayote may be added to salads or salsas, most often marinated with lemon or lime juice. Whether raw or cooked, chayote is a good source of amino acids and vitamin C.

Well, since it's good for our health.....,try this recipe. It's the most flavored dish I have ever tried so far....

Ingredients A:
1 buddha hand gourd
1/2 pack of shitake mushroom
1 piece of fried tofu (sliced)

Ingredients B:
2 tsp soy bean paste
5 slices of ginger
1 tsp sugar

Seasoning:
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp seasoning powder
1 cup water
1 tsp cornflour + 1 tbsp of water (to thicken the sauce) (last step)

How to cook:
1. Clean and cut buddha hand gourd and shitake mushrooms into slices.
2. Heat up some oil in wok, stir fry Ingredients B until fragrant then add Ingredients A.
3. Stir fry evenly and pour in Seasoning, cover to simmer until gourd becomes tender.
4. Add in cornflour to thicken the sauce.
5. Remove and serve hot with white rice.



















Monday, April 15, 2013

Mui Choy Broccoli


Normally, broccoli gets squishy when you cook it. I used to stir fry or boil the broccoli for my dinner. Taste just as normal as usual. So what did I do to the broccoli to make it taste even better?
Seriously, this recipe is so easy& delicious. But oh my oh my, I love it in this dish.What a delight to discover how well mui choy can play with the broccoli. Try it!

The ingredients:
1. 500gm broccoli
2. 50gm mui choy (soaked)
3. 50gm shredded ginger (deep fried)

for seasonings:
1. 1 tbsp oyster sauce
2. 1 tsp sugar
3. 1 tsp chicken seasoning powder
4. 1/2 tsp sesame oil
5. 3 tbsp water

How to cook:
1. Rinse and cut broccoli into pieces. Squeeze mui choy until dried, cut into pieces,
2. Heat up 3 tbsp of oil in wok, stir fry untilmui choy until fragrant.
3. Add in broccoli and seasonings, stir fry until is cooked. Remove.
4. Sprinkle fried shredded ginger on top and serve.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Steamed Tofu top with Fried Egg & Fried Anchovies

As soon as I opened my fridge, I realized I have only eggs & tofu to cook for dinner. I love anything about steamed food. But I'm not going to have both steamed egg & steamed tofu. Will you? I also knew I need to have other ingredients for steamed egg but I don't have any. I remembered I have fried tofu in one of the restaurant in KL. It served with fried anchovies & fried shallots. That was truly delicious. So, I turned the flavour into more creative one. And the tofu actually soaked up the flavors of the sauce. I think I'm going to change my cooking method from now on.

Here are the ingredients:
Serve 2
1 pack of Chilled Bean Curd
1 fried egg

~ Garnishing
1/2 rice bowl of fried anchovies
1/2 rice bowl of fried shallots with oil
~Seasoning
2 tbsp of abalone sauce
1 tbsp of light soya sauce

How to cook:
1. Steam bean curd for 5 minutes, drain away excess water.
2.  Arrange egg on top of bean curd & pour the seasoning onto it.
3. Garnish with the fried anchovies & fried shallots with oil. Serve.


Siam Noodle Soup

It seems I’m going crazy lately. I can’t get enough! Searching recipes for the last couple of months in front of my laptop doesn't fulfill my desire on baking & cooking. Till I found a jar of Mee Siam Paste in our local supermarket lately. It was Superb when I tried this paste. Personally, this is the star of the soup. I loooove this paste. I used extra in this soup, about another tablespoon. It’s a very forgiving spice and not actually that hot at all, so feel free to add more or less to taste. And it's HALAL tho.

Here are the ingredients:
Serve 1
Seasoning (for soup)
3 tbsp of Woh Hup Mee Siam Paste
1 1/2 tsp of soya sauce
a dash of pepper
2 rice bowl of water

1 rice bowl of vermicelli (soaked) | * yellow noodle also can
few leafs of romaine (sliced) | *any of your favourite vegetable also can
few slices of tofu
1/2 of hard boiled egg
2 mushrooms (sliced)

(for garnishing)
1/2 of sliced shallots

How to cook:
1. Bring water to boil, put in all the seasonings under medium heat.
2. Put in vegetable & mushroom, till cooked.
3. Pour the soup into the vermicelli bowl, fill on top with tofu & hard boiled egg.
4. Garnish with shallots & serve.

Note: You may want to add some seafood, but make sure all cooked before pour into the bowl. Add extra spoonful of Mee Siam Paste if you love spicy.


Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Cinnamon Hot Chocolate



I found this recipe for White Hot Chocolate when I visited a book fair last year and I was waiting for a special occasion to try them. Today I decided that a Tuesday evening was occasion enough. I mostly wanted to make them because they’re so stinking pretty, but it turns out they’re delicious too. Lately I’ve been on a chocolate kick. The rich brown cinnamon stick pairs perfectly with the light almond essence flavour to quiet my hunger before going to bed. Try it yourself! Its delicious!

Here is the recipe:
Serve 1
1 cup of milk
2 cinnamon sticks
2 whole cloves
30gm plain dark chocolate, chopped into small pieces
2 drops of almond essence

Here's how:
1. Heat the milk with the cinnamon & cloves in saucepan until almost boiling.
2. Stir in plain dark chocolate under low heat until the chocolate melted.
3. Strain into a blender, add almond essence and blend on high speed for 30 minutes until frothy.
* Alternative way, you may use hand electric mixer or wire whisk
4. Pour into a glass & serve immediately.

Monday, February 4, 2013

Chinese New Year Cookies

Pineapple Tarts
Pineapple tarts refers to small, bite-size pastries filled with or topped with pineapple jam found in different parts of Asia.The pastry consists of a large proportion of butter and egg yolk, besides using corn starch, giving it a rich, buttery, tender and melt-in-the-mouth texture. The pineapple jam is usually made by slowly reducing and caramelizing grated fresh pineapple that has been mixed with sugar and spices - usually cinnamon, star anise and cloves.Considered a "festive cookie", pineapple tarts are usually consumed during Hari Raya, Chinese New Year and Deepavali periods in Singapore and Malaysia as it is the star of the cookies.

Chinese New Year Cookies

Peanut Cookies (Fah Sang Peng)


Peanut Cookies are my mum-in law favorite, a must have for Chinese New Year. So, I have created my own recipe which once you pop into your mouth, it just melt & definitely you won't stop at one.
Peanut Cookies (fah sang peng)
Making these cookies remind me of my childhood memories of helping my mum rolling hundreds of them. I was lucky enough to learnt how to bake from my mum. Really miss those days......