Cookies

First time baking cookies and the kids help…. not bad the result. 😀

Happy Winter Solstice 冬至快乐!

Happy Winter Solstice to everyone!!

Since today is such an important day in the Chinese calender, I’ll be cooking something less ordinary tonight. 🙂 Not a feast…. but will take more time for preparation, like making popiah (preparing the fillings take quite some time) , frying nyonya noodle and fried chicken and not to miss out the glutiounus rice ball.  Taking an extra effort on this day to prepare a meal is because it’s just once a year affair and I want my kids to understand that it’s an important day in a chinese culture.

Most family would have rolled the glutionous rice ball a night before, but I didn’t do so because I’m not preparing it for prayer ( prayer to the ancestor)  early this morning and also hubby wont be eating it until he got back from work later… if I make it too early, it will become sticky and soggy.

During my childhood day, I have never got a chance to be involved in the activity of rolling the ball. My mum didn’t practice that at home. Since both my paternal and maternal grandparents staying quite near by to us, it’s just a phone call away and we already get yummy food to eat. So all I knew was TO EAT!! We would have feasty lunch at maternal grandma house and later dinner at paternal grandparents place.  To me it’s just another special and important day which there would be ample of good food and also glutinous rice ball.

Last year was the first time I try my hand on make the balls, mainly because I want to instill this cultural awareness in my kids. Suffice to say I have nil knowledge on that. Prior to that I didn’t even know the existent of glutinous rice flour and where to get it but I was ambitious enough to want to make glutinous rice ball with fillings in it. During the process, I made endless SOS calls to my mum and at the end it still end up a failure and mess. 😛

This year I have learned from my past experience. 😀

 Occupy the kids with some “work” while I was busy in the kitchen. Caught this pic when I check on them later.

 JS helped me to roll the balls

 WH also wanted to help

 Playing with left over dough.

 The glutinous rice ball ready to be cooked. The big white ones with peanut fillings.  I didn’t make it according to the tradition/restriction of 6 big white balls and 6 big red balls, all make in fun filled sizes and colours.

 Put the balls into boiling water. Once the balls started floating on the water surface, scooped it out and then soak the ball in ice cold water. (mum said that by doing so, the ball will have a better texture (QQ taste))

 This is the rock sugar for the sweetened soup. It’s called “Pin Tong” in cantonese. Some would prefer to use Gula Melaka and some Cantonese will prepared red date soup based.

 Boiling the sweetened liquid using the above sugar and Pandan leaf.

Ready to be served. When hubby comes home, I just need to heat up the sweetened liquid and then put in the glutinous rice ball.

 A savoury version that my neighbour brought over. The liquid is actually chicken soup. The Hakkas usually prepare savoury glutinous rice ball while the hokkien and cantonese the sweet version.

Baked Honey Chicken

Another of the kids favourite…

Ingredients

• 2 chicken thighs, chopped
• 1 tbsp abalone sauce
• pepper and salt to taste
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil

Method

1. Marinate chopped chicken with abalone sauce, pepper and salt for at least 1 hour
2. Preheat oven to 200C
3. Put chicken in preheat over and bake till golden brown
4. Rub honey and sesame oil over chicken. Serve

No pictures taken….too hungry ….kids loves the chicken skin which is sweet and crispy.

Kuih Lapis 九层糕

First time trying to make this nyonya kuih, only managed to make six layers instead of nine.

Ingredients

• 50g rice flour
• 50g tapioca flour
• 25g green beans flour
• 100g castor sugar
• 450ml coconut milk
• pink food colouring

Method

1. MIx and sieve ingredients. Divide into 2 portions. Add pink food colouring into one portion
2. Steam a tray in a wok. Pour in one thin plain batter and steam for about 3 minutes. Pour in another layer of pink batter. Steam for another 3 minutes. Repeat until batter is used up

Marbled Chocolate Cheese Cake

Ingredients A

• 180g butter
• 20g cocoa powder, sifted
• 180g castor sugar
• 3 eggs
• 120g self-raising flour, sifted

Ingredients B

• 250g cream cheese
• 60g castor sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup water

Method

For ingredients A

1. Melt butter in a saucepan, add cocao powder and mix well. Cool slightly and beat in castor sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Lastly mix in flour. Pour into a greased tin and bake at 170C for about 15 minutes (half cooked)

For ingredients B

1. Mix all the ingredients together and beat well. Pour over A and swirl through with a small knife for marbled effect. Return to oven and continue to bake till golden brown.

Stir-Fried Noodle

Simple noodle dish

Ingredients

• Fish cake, sliced thinly
• Chicken breast, sliced thinly
• Prawns (shelled and deveined)
• Crab stick
• Birthday noodle
• Chai Sim
• 1 egg

Seasonings

• stock
• 1 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce 
•  1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
•  2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 1/2 tbsp hua tiao cooking wine
• 1 tsp sugar
• pinch of salt to taste

Method

1. Heat up some oil, stir fry fish slices, cuttle fish, prawn, chicken till cooked and then add chai sim to fry further. Add crabsticks and beat in egg to scramble the egg. Fry well, remove and set aside
2. Heat up some oil, pour in seasonings and stir till it boils
3. Add stir fried ingredients and cooked birtday noodle. Continue to fry well. Serve

Fried Tang Hoon Omelette Soup

Another of the kids favourite

Ingredients

• 3eggs
• 1 1/2 bundle tang hoon (soaked till softened, pressed dry then cut into 2 cm long sections)
• minced meat/chicken
• 1 tsp dong cai (preserved vegetables)
• some light soy sauce
• pinch of pepper
• stocks
• pinch of salt
• spring onion

Method

1. Mix well egg, tang hoon and minced meat. Add dong cai, light soy sauce and pepper to mix further
2. Heat up some oil, pour in the tang hoon mixture and pan-fry into an omelette. Break it up into slices using the spatula
3. Add stock and bring it to a boil. Let it boil for about 10 min before seasoning with salt
4. Sprinkle with spring onion, serve

Salmon Star

Another of the kids favourite from Annable Karmel.

 Ingredients

• cold mashed potatoes
• tomato ketchup
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 2 tsp chopped chives
• cooked salmon fillets, flaked
• 3 tbsp fresh breadcrumbs plus extra for coating
• a little melted butter

Method

1. mash the potatoes with the tomato ketchup, worcestershire sauce, egg and chives. mix in the salmon and 3 tbsp of breadcrumbs. Shape the mixture into flat rissoles. Pre-heat oven to 180C
2. use a star shaped biscuit cutter to cut into star shapes. Coat with breadcrumbs and brush with butter
3. set the fishcakes on a lightly greased baking sheet. transfer to the preheated oven and cook until each side brown.

No Bake Cheesecake

Hubby and me love cheese cake, we both like the soft moisty cheesecake from Secret Recipe….Here’s my first attempt of making one.

Crumb Crust

• 240g digestive biscuits, crushed
• 120g melted butter

Filling

• 3 1/2Tbsp gelatine powder, mixed with 250ml boiling water
• 1/2 tbsp grated lemon rind
• 60ml lemon juice
• 1 tin evaporated milk, well-chilled
• 240g cream cheese
• 180g castor sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

Method

1) Combine biscuit crumble and melted butter

2) Press onto a tin that line with 2 layers aluminium foil and chill it.

3) Dissolve gelatine powder in boiling water, cool, add lemon rind and juice

4) Whisk chilled evaporated milk till thick and double in bulk, set aside

5) beat cream cheese until smooth, add castor sugar and vanilla, beat well.

6) Fold in milk, lemon and gelatine mixture

7) Pour into the prepared crumb-crust and chill overnight before serve.

*hub said it taste too much like jelly…maybe too much gelatine…will try again to perfect this another time*

Pancake – Simple Snack/Breakfast For Kids

Something my kids love and simple to make

Get the ready mix pancake flour from supermarket. Follow the instruction on the package but instead of using water as instructed, subsitute with milk. I added raisin and shredded cheddar cheese for varietion and can top with maple syrup…yumm…yumm…