Braised Egg With Tau Pok

One of the weekend,  I decided to go Chinese for our lunch and came up with this braised egg and tau pok. Reason being, I want to clear my tau pok stock which taking up the space in my fridge. My impulse buying landed me with two big packets of fried tau pok. That's how the Chinese lunch happened with braised egg and taught pok which we usually order whenever we dine out in Chinese restaurant.

I simply love the dark hue on all the ingredients. The sauces added to the broth coated well to all the ingredients to infuse the sweet and salty flavor. And the tau pok burst in your mouth with oozing broth of the flavorful gravy is indeed a pleasure. You may add Chinese rice wine to the dish but,  I added rice vinegar instead since we are not into adding alcohol to our food (to tell the truth,  none of us consume one) so,  there's no wine or other spirit to be added. The girl's simply love the crunch peanuts in the yummy dishes and the hint of sweetness from the vibrant wolf berries. Serve immediately with white rice to enjoy the taste of home cooked braised broth. 

Ingredients 

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled

6 pcs tau pok, halved 

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp sweet soy sauce

1 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar 

1 tsp sesame oil

600ml water

1 tsp all spice powder

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

2 shallots,sliced

4 slices galangal

4 slices ginger

4 cloves garlic, smashed

1 lemongrass,bruised

1/3 cup raw peanuts, boiled

1 tsp brown sugar 

2 tbsp goji berries 

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp ground black pepper 

1 tsp brown sugar

1 tbsp mushroom seasoning 

2 tbsp cooking oil 

Methods

Heat oil in a pan over medium flame and add cinnamon stick, star anise and shallots. 

Saute for 5 seconds and add garlic, galangal, ginger and lemongrass till fragrant.

Add water and add dark soy, light soy, sweet soy, oyster sauce, rice vinegar and sesame oil. Stir and add the tau pok.

Season with salt, pepper,all spice powder,goji berries and mushroom seasoning.

Add boiled peanuts,hard boiled eggs and brown sugar. Stir. 

Bring to boil and reduce heat to medium to simmer for 20-25 minutes or till the gravy reduce by stirring every now and then. 

Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Ghee Pilaf

Who doesn't love ghee pilaf?? Everyone in my household devour or anything made with ghee..be it sweets, puddings or even on rice. My nephew are ardent fan of ghee and his love for ghee is tremendous to the extend ghee are more than his dhal for rice or chapati. Having him on mind, I cooked this delicious ghee pilaf for Sunday lunch. 

Without much word his happiness shown in his eyes the very moment he has his first bite. When I say ghee, please do use pure ghee and not a blend.  Ghee also known as clarified butter and make sure you get a genuine product for this recepi to savour the best. 

Stir frying of the Basmathi rice is important step in making this pilaf. The idea is to coat the grains as much possible with the spices scented ghee. Do this gently without breaking the grains for a fluffy pilaf. Serve with gravy of your choice and side of raita for a perfect weekend lunch. 

Ingredients 

2 cups Basmathi rice

3 cups water 

1 cinnamon stick

1 red onion,sliced

3 cardamom pods

5-7 cloves

1 star anise

1 bay leaf

Salt to season 

2 +1 1/2 tbsp ghee

1/4 cup almonds 

Pinch of saffron strands

Methods 

Heat a small pan and add 1/2 tablespoon ghee. Fry the almonds till golden. Keep aside.

Wash and soak the Basmathi rice for 30 minutes. Drain the water and keep aside.

Soak the saffron with little hot water.

Over a medium-low flame, heat ghee in a large wok.

Add the cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, star anise, bay leaf and cloves. Fry for 30 seconds. 

Add the slices onion and fry till the onion turns translucent.

Add the soaked Basmathi rice and gently stir to coat the ghee well making sure not to break the grains. 

Stir for 1 minute and transfer to a rice cooker. 

Add 3 cups of water, season with salt and the soaked saffron. Stir gently to combine and cook till the rice are done. 

Once the rice are cooked, add the remaining 1 tbsp of ghee and fried almonds. (Do add the remaining ghee used to fry the almonds into the rice as well). 

Using a fork, gently fluff up the rice. 

Serve with gravy of your choice.

Greek Orange Semolina Cake With Orange Syrup

 

I'm in for any type of semolina cake be it Asian or Mediterranean. I love the fine grainy texture of semolina cake which burst into tiny little seeds on every bite. Quite fun right? I had few sweet oranges in my fruit basket when the idea of orange semolina cake hit the back of my mind and walla here you go Greek Semolina orange cake drizzled with orange syrup. Double orangy goodness in one delicious cake.

It's a gluten free cake and and with the sugar syrup I won't call it healthy desserts but,  once in awhile there's no harm ya. Semolina works as sponge to absorb all the delicious sweet orange syrup.

The cake itself is moist, crumbly and don't taken back with the sugar syrup as it's not too sweet for a dessert. Always let the cake rest for at least an hour to soak in the syrup for a yummiest cake. Scented with orange in the cake and the sugar syrup, my whole house filled with citrusy fragrance.

Ingredients 

2 3/4 cups semolina 

3 eggs, room temperature 

3/4 cup castor sugar 

1 tsp baking soda 

1 tbsp baking powder 

2/3 cup olive oil

2/3 cup whole milk, room temperature 

1 1/2 tbsp orange zest

1/4 tsp salt 

For The Orange Sugar Syrup

1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar 

1 1/2 cups water

1 cinnamon sticks

2 tbsp honey

1 tbsp orange blossom water 

Methods 

Preheat oven at 180'C and line a 8"inch rectangular.

In a large bowl, combine semolina,salt,baking soda and baking powder.

In a mixing bowl,  add sugar and orange zest. Rub the orange zest into the sugar till turns orange in color. 

In another bowl, separate egg yolks and white. 

Using a hand or stand mixer,  beat the egg whites to form a firm peak. Keep aside.

Add eggs yolks into the sugar and orange zest mixture and beat till fluffy. Gradually, add the milk and olive oil. 

Add the semolina flour mixture and beat for 1 minute. 

Switch to a spatula, slowly fold in the whipped egg whites till  combine.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and bake for 25-27 minutes or till golden. 

Remove from oven and cool completely on the pan. 

For The Syrup. 

Add all the ingredients listed under "For The Orange Sugar Syrup" into a pot and bring it to boil.

Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer the syrup for 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let it to cool down. The syrup need to be warm. 

Pour the warm sugar syrup into the cool cake and let the syrup soak the for at least 1 hour before slicing. 

Serve with a cup of coffee or tea.

Blue Pea Onde Onde

My mother gave me few seeds of blue pea flowers or what we Malaysians call as Bunga Telang. I planted the seeds months ago and eversince, the plant are bearing abundance beautiful blue colored flowers which I happily use in my drinks, cooking and baking. Blue pea are one of the nature's 
best dye like beets, carrots or pandan leaves. Unlike pandan leaves, blue pea doesn't not have any fragrance of its own. 

The flowers are packed with antioxidants, fighting free radicals and good for blood circulation. You may make blue pea tea by simply seep some buds with hot water. Today,  I used this nature's gift to make Onde Onde or buah Melaka. 

Cute little balls made with glutinous rice, dyed with blue pea flower's extract from and filled with palm sugar. It's chewy, soft and the sweetness from palm sugar will burst into your mouth on else very first bite. It's one of Malaysian's favorite kuih or snack.

Ingredients

2 cups glutinous rice flour

18-20 pcs blue pea flowers 

1 cup hot water

 1 cup palm sugar,chopped into an inch pieces size

1 cup freshly grated coconut, added with a pinch of salt

Water as needed 

Methods

Wash and soak the blue pea flowers in hot water for 15-20 minutes or till the colour completely derived from the flowers. Strain and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the glutinous rice flour with extract of blue pea flowers and knead into a soft and non sticky dough.

Pinch a small piece of the dough about an 1 inch diameter. Make a hole in the center of the ball and fill with a small piece of palm sugar. Roll to form a small ball. Repeat the process with remaining dough and palm sugar. 

Bring a pot of water to boil, drop in the prepared dough 4-5 at a times. Remove the balls when they starts to float to the surface of the water. Drain the excess water and roll into grated coconut mixture till the onde onde well coated.

Serve with a cuppa.

Bolu Pisang

 

Bolu pisang are non other than steamed banana cake. Pisang emas works great for this recepi I used Cavendish bananas since that what I had in my fruits bowl. Cavendish goes well with the recepi too.  The cake are soft and spongy. I love the airy texture of this delicious cake and for a different I served it with grated coconut seasoned with salt. Bolu pisang can be served for tea or breakfast.

Ingredients 

2 cups all purpose flour 

4 Cavendish bananas 

3 eggs

3 tbsp butter,melted

1 cup granulated white sugar 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

3/4 tsp baking soda 

1/2 tsp salt 

1/2 cup water

Methods

Greased a 8'inch round pan and keep aside.

Mashed the bananas and keep aside.

In a large bowl add flour, salt,baking powder and sugar. Stir to combine.

Add the melted butter,vanilla extract, eggs, mashed bananas and water. 

Mix well to form a semi flowing batter. 

Pour batter into prepared cake tin and steam for 30 minutes.

Cool completely before slicing.

Besan Brownies

This recepi is a gluten free brownies and better still no white sugar or brown sugar used in the preparation. Organic jaggery went into the making of this delicious brownies. I won't call it guilt free treat as there are both semi dark and milk chocolate loaded. Better still drizzled with jaggery caramel. U heard me right unlike,ordinary caramel this black beauty deserve something special as drizzling. 

I baked this yummy besan flour brtownies as our tea time treat. My youngest Dandelion are a huge fan of brownies. Besan or gram flour usually, use in Indian sweets or savoury dishes. I haven't come across of adding besan flour into brownies here in Malaysia thus, decided to give it a go.  To my surprise the brownies turned out really well and tasted heavenly. Shall I say much better than using ordinary flour?  My girls polished off the brownies in less than an hour and that's how good it was. 

Ingredients

3/4 cups besan flour

3/4 cups organic jaggery 

3 eggs,room temperature

2/3 cup butter,room temperature 

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

4 tbsp cocoa powder 

1 tsp vanilla extract 

1 tsp instant espresso powder

1/3 tsp salt

9 whole walnuts

For The Jaggery Caramel Sauce

1 cup organic jaggery 

1/3 cup chilled cream

4 tbsp cold butter

Pinch of salt

Methods

Lined an 8"inch square pan with parchment paper. 

Preheat oven at 350'F or 175'C.

In a bowl sift together,cocoa powder,besan flour, salt and coffee powder.

Using a double boiler method, melt butter and dark chocolate chips. Keep it aside to cool completely.

Beat the jaggery  and eggs till creamy.  Add vanilla extract bet for 5 seconds. 

Add the melted chocolate mixture and beat till combine. 

Using a spatula, fold in the besan flour mixture. 

Add the semisweet chocolate chips and fold in to the batter. 

Pour into the prepared pan, arrange with walnuts and bake for 35-40 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the jaggery caramel sauce.

In a heavy bottomed non stick sauce pan, melt jaggery on low heat. 

Cook without stirring for 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and slowly add the cream and stir. Stir in the butter to combine. Season with salt. 

Keep aside to cool completely.

Remove the brownies from the oven and cool completely.

 Drizzle with jaggery caramel sauce.

Slice and enjoy. 

Pizza Buns

Baking bread is one of my favorite. To-date I have baked dozens of buns and breads be it sweet or savoury. Nothing beats the aroma of freshly baked bread to kick start the day. Quality yeast are very important for a soft and spongy bread and proofing the yeast are equally important. I have failed in baking breads in my initial days but, improved overtime with much practice and tips from professional bakers. 

One such encounter is my pizza buns which is a hit among my girls. The bread are soft and fluffy,topped with savoury minced chicken and generously sprinkled with gooey mozzarella. I used bottled bolognese sauce for my shortcut version, you may make your own sauce for the recepi. The left over sauce can be used for pasta too. I love the minced chicken mixture as lightly seasoned with aromatic thyme and oregano which lends the flavour of pizza. The girls favorite are without doubt the melting mozzarella of course. This pizza buns are perfect for breakfast.

Ingredients

4 cups bread flour
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1/3 cup + 1 tsp granulated white sugar
1/3 cup butter,melted
1/2 cup warm milk
1 egg,slightly beaten
1 tsp salt

For The Toppings 

300g minced chicken

250g shredded mozzarella 

1 small red onion,finely chopped 

2 cloves garlic,minced

1 tsp paprika powder

1/2 tsp fresh/dried oregano 

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp black pepper powder

Salt to taste

3/4 cup bolognese sauce

8-10 black olives, sliced

3 tbsp olive oil 

Methods 

For The Buns

Using a stand mixer, fitted with dough hook add lukewarm water,yeast and 1 tsp sugar to the bowl. Stir and let the yeast to bloom for 5-10 mins.

In another mixing bowl, mix in melted butter,egg and milk. Add the mixture to the yeast. dd flour,salt and remaining 1/3 cup of sugar. Turn on the machine.

Place the dough in a large greased bowl and cover with clean kitchen towel. Let the dough to rest in a warm place for 90 mins.

Punch down the dough and lightly dust a clean working surface with flour. Place the dough on working surface and divide them equally into 12-15 oval shaped balls.

Place them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover the dough with  it clean kitchen towel and let it rest for another 30 mins in a warm place.

For The Toppings 

Heat olive oil in saucepan over medium heat and add onions. Saute till translucent and add minced garlic. Saute for another 30 seconds. 

Add the minced chicken and saute for 2 minutes. Add the paprika,salt and pepper. Stir to combine. 

Add the fried thyme and oregano. Stir and cook for 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat. 

Smear the bolognese sauce over the bread, top with cooked minced chicken and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Add sliced olives. Repeat the same with the remaining toppings. 

Preheat oven at 350'F or 180'C and bake the oven in the middle tray of the oven for 20 mins till golden and the cheese melted. Remove from oven and cool the buns on cooling rack.

Serve warm.

Air Asam Kerisik/Tamarind Sauce With Toasted Coconut Paste

 

Whenever we come across of grilled fish or ikan bakar, air asam or tamarind dipping sauce is a must. There's no grilled fish without the sensational tamarind sauce. Now you can make your own tamarind dipping sauce with this simple and easy to make recepi at home.  The most important thing in making the dipping sauce is just be generous with the ingredients. No cooking involved just add all the fresh ingredients with tamarind pulp and dish out as a perfect partner in crime for your grilled fish. 

I added kerisik or toasted coconut paste for an additional kick to the sauce. You may use store bought kerisik or make your own by toasting coconut till deep brown and pound to release the oil. Kerisik adds texture to the sauce, if you're are not a fan of kerisik do omit it. Enjoy the fresh taste of onion and tomatoes with a heat from the chillies which works perfectly well as a dipping for your favorite grilled fish. 

Ingredients 

3 tbsp tamarind paste

2 tbsp toasted coconut paste (kerisik)

2 tomatoes, chopped 

10 bird eye chillies,chopped

3 red chilly,finely minced

2 red onion,chopped

2 cups water

1 calamansi, juiced 

Salt as needed

1/4 tsp palm sugar

Methods

In a bowl combine tamarind paste, calamansi juice, salt and sugar. Stir till the sugar and salt dissolved.

Add the finely minced red chilly,chopped tomatoes,onions,bird eye chillies and toasted coconut paste. 

Add water and tamarind paste mixture. Stir to combine.

Serve with grilled fish. 

Ikan Bakar

 

Ikan bakar or grilled fish Asian style are one of my family favourite. We often visit Bellamy ikan bakar a place known for their delicious grilled fish but one need to gather patient to wait the long queue. Everytime we saw the queue, we'll drop the idea and head to some other place to have our lunch.  That's how I decided no more turning back or waiting the long line, I'm making my very own ikan bakar in my humble kitchen. 

It's easy to prepare provided you have all the aromatic herbs needed for a delicious ikan bakar. Grilling in banana leaf lends a special fragrance and enhance the taste of the humble grilled fish. You may bake them in your oven as well but,  I prefer to grill them on my pan for the "ikan bakar experience".  The lightly charred skin is the result of toasted ground herbs which penerate into every layer of the fish brings the flavor to the next level. 

It's juicy, soft and tender flesh of the grilled fish goes really well with a squeeze of calamansi or lime and serve along tamarind chilly dipping. I love it with hot white rice to savoury the spicy savoury fish. 

Ingredients 

4 whole talapia or pomfret,scaled and cleaned

1 tsp turmeric powder 

1/2 tsp salt 

1 tbsp coriander powder 

Juice of 2 limes

1/2 tsp black pepper powder 

For The Sauce

10-12 dried chilly,torn

3 red chilly,chopped

1 1/2"inch galangal 

1 1/2"inch ginger

6-8 shallots, sliced

4-5 cloves garlic,chopped

1 stalk lemongrass,chopped

Handful coriander,chopped

2 kafir lime leaves,torn

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar 

1 tsp black pepper powder 

Banana leaves, washed & wiped clean 

Oil for brushing 

Methods

Add fish in a large bowl with salt and turmeric. Rub the mixture well into the fish and rest for 5 minutes.  Wash the fish well to remove fishy odour. Pat the fish dry with kitchen towel.

Add lime juice, salt, black pepper powder and coriander powder. Mix well to cost the fishes. Rest the mixture for 10-15 minutes.

In a blender,  add galangal,ginger,shallot,garlic,lemongrass,coriander leaves, kafir lime leaves, red chilly,dried chilly, salt, black pepper powder and sugar to a fine paste by adding little water.

Heat a flat pan or girdle over medium-low flame. 

Brush oil on the banana leave evenly, place the marinated fish and top with the prepared sauce.  Fold the banana leave to cover the fish. 

Drizzle oil on the pan and place the banana leaf covered fish.

Cook till the banana leaf curled up and charred. Gently flip and cook on the other side.  Approximately 5-6 minutes on both sides. 

Serve with tamarind chilly dipping 

Lempeng Pisang

 

Every Friday,  there will be a bazaar or food market near my office. I came upon a humble stall selling piping hot toasted banana pancake or known as lempeng pisang in Malay. Made with simple and easily available ingredients lempeng pisang is a favorite for many this can be seen with the long queue lined up to get their hands on the delicious delicacy.

Pisang emas works brilliant for this recepi since, I have used up all the left over pisang emas from our breakfast into the making of the lempeng, just make do with Cavendish bananas for photography 😆. Guess Cavendish will work good for the recepi too. I have dozens of gula melaka in stock (thanks to my recent trip to Malacca), and adding gula melaka to the batter as a sweetener never failed me. You may substitute with brown sugar but, do use palm sugar for a greater flavour. The rich and caramel taste of the gula melaka goes really well with banana.

Nicely charred and toasted lempeng pisang is ideal for breakfast or as a teatime snack. I love the texture of the grated coconut on every bite and the beautiful fragrance of banana leaves enhance the taste of the lempeng pisang. Best eaten hot with a cuppa. 

Ingredients 

6 pisang emas, mashed

2 cups of all purpose flour 

1/2 palm sugar, melted

1/2 cup grated coconut 

2 bananas, sliced

1/4 tsp salt 

Banana leaves, cut into palm sized

Methods 

In a large bowl, add the mashed banana,melted palm sugar, salt, flour and grated coconut. Mix well to combine.

Heat a flat girdle pan and place a banana leaf. Pour a ladleful of the batter and spread it lightly.  Top with few pieces of sliced banana.

Place another banana leaf on the too and cook on medium flame for 3-4 minutes. 

Flip and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a serving plate. 

Repeat the process with remaining batter.

Serve hot or warm with tea or coffee.

Nigella Methi Naan

This is my second time making Naan or Indian flat bread at home.  The first time I managed to cook garlic Naan with chopped coriander leaves and this time it's time for Nigella seeds and some crushed methi leaves. I used dried methi or fenugreek leaves which can be found in Asian or Indian groceries. Methi leaves has a slightly bitter taste thus,  do not add to much. 

Talking about the Naan, it was soft and spongy. Credit goes to the well activated yeast. What I love about Naan is the ability to soak gravies perfectly. I served my Nigella methi Naans with onion raita and creamy Dhal Makhani. The sponge like Naan soaked every bit of the gravy and burst with flavour. The popping of pungent Nigella seeds and methi leaves enhanced the flavor and taste to the humble Naan. There's more reason to prepare this Naans for your household as the black beauty Nigella seeds are a great antioxidant,prevent cancer and methi leaves help with digestion. Do we need more reason to dish out this delicious Naan?

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated white sugar
1 1/2 tsp active yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 cup almond milk
2 tbsp butter,melted
1/2 tbsp Nigella seeds
2 tbsp crushed methi leaves

Methods

In a bowl, combine melted butter and chopped garlic. Keep aside.

In a large bowl combine flour,yeast and sugar. Stir.

Add the yeast and stir. Pour in the warm water and give a mix. Add the almond milk and knead to form a soft dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and rest the dough for 30 minutes.

In a pan,  melt butter and transfer the melted butter into a bowl. Add Nigella seeds and crushed methi leaves. Stir and keep aside. 

Divide the dough into equal sized balls and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a 1/4 inch" oval shape.

Heat tawa on medium flame lightly greased with butter.

Cook the naan for 1 till little bubbles formed. Flip to cook for another 1 minute on the other side.

Brush with prepared butter mixture.

Serve warm or hot with gravy of your liking.

Notes

• You may opt for whole milk instead of almond milk

• Do use warm water to activate the yeast. The temperature of the water shall be 107' thermo or just a little above your body temperature