Chinese Mixed Porridge

Ok, lately I had gone a little crazy with multigrain meals and just saw in the drama they are eating porridge and suddenly, I thought of  cooking porridge.

So, just went to cook some with the left over multi grain rice.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of cooked multi grain (quinoa, millet, rice and brown rice)
• 3 dried mushrooms, cut to small pieces
• 1/4 cup pumpkin, cut to small cube
• 1 piece of Y pork, leftover from braised pork the night before (cooked with minced ginger, minced garlic and preserved beans)
• 1/4 cup of beetroot, cut to small cube
• 1/2 salted egg, cut to small pieces
• 1/2 century egg, cut to small pieces
• a handful of english spinach
• 3 cups of water
• some shredded ginger

Steps:

1. Put all ingredients except for spinach and ginger in the pressure cooker.
2. Cook on high for 10mins and lower down the fire for 20min.
3. Let the pressure cooker release pressure. Once open, stir in the spinach.
4. Served and garnish with shredded ginger.

Multigrain Drink

I bought this drink last week and like it. But I suspect the high amount of sugar as well as not sure in terms of the processing. I'd prefer something I prepare myself with all the fibre and guarantee of cleanliness.

So, I went shopping and got all the stuff to cook this:

Ingredients

• 1.5 cup soy beans (soaked for 1/2 hour and removed skin)
• 1 cup brown rice (soaked 2hours)
• 1/4 cup barley
• 1 piece palm sugar (roughly 60g)
• 1.5l water
• 4 tablespoon black sesame seed powder

Steps:

1. Soaked the ingredients that requires soaking first.
2. Put all ingredients except the black sesame seed powder in the pressure cooker. 
3. Cook under high fire till it reaches 2nd bar and then boil another 20mins.
4. Let it release pressure. If the water get absorb add in more water (I used ready to drink water).
5. Put all ingredients (including the powder now) in the blender and blend till fine.
6. Store and fridge and served according to the consistency you like (add water).

Home made Ramen with Tonkatsu Broth

My demanding husband had requested that I prepared the nice tonkatsu ramen and after shopping for all the ingredients, finally, managed to do that.

For the broth (do note it takes a long time to prepared).

Ingredients:

• 2 pieces of pork trotters (the one with more bones, less meat, cut to small pieces)
• 1 chicken carcass
• 1 big onion, cut to half, lightly roast in the air fryer (I put it for 5mins, 200C)
• 2 spring onion, cut to half
• 1 pc of ginger, roughly 1 inch
• 4 bulbs of garlic, skin removed
• 5 litres of water

Steps:

1. Put the trotters and carcass in the pot along with 2 litres of the water.  Leave it to boil.
2. Then drain and wash the trotters and carcass. Scrap the skin and bones off those scum.
3. Then put all the balance ingredients plus the trotters and carcass in another clean pot and boil.
4. Next there are two options. You can lower down the fire and boil for 10hours. Second option, use the thermal pot. Once the water boil, leave it to boil another 20mins on low fire and move it into the thermal pot. Repeat the boil for 30mins 8hrs later and do this for 3days.
5. By the fourth day, it should be ready. If you have heavier taste bud, season with some soy sauce, otherwise, you may served it this way.

The noodle:

Ingredients:

• 400g bread flour
• 180ml water

Steps:

1. Pour the flour into the noodle maker.
2. Start the machine and add in the water.
3. Boil some salted water with oil and cook the noodle.
4. Can served with eggs, corn, endamame, flower fish cake, seaweed strips, carrot, charsiew, spring onion, etc

Pumpkin Rice (4grains)

Yesterday we had nutritional pumpkin rice that consist of four different types of grains.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups rice, pre soaked for an hour, can soak longer if got time (jasmine rice, brown rice, tri colour quinoa and millet)
• 2 lap cheong (waxed sausage), sliced
• 1/2 onion chopped
• roughly bout 400g pumpkin cubed
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoon dried shrimp, pre soaked
• 2 cups water
• 3 tablespoon oil

Steps:

1. Sauté the lap cheong with dried shrimp and onions till almost crisp. 
2. Add in garlic and pumpkin. 
3. Stir fry for bout 2mins, add in grains and water and cooked under low fire for bout 15mins.

Air Fried Fluffy Cupcakes, with sliced banana and melted chocolates

Ingredients:

• 2eggs separated (white and yolk)
• 100g self raising flour
• 80g sugar
• 5g olive oil

Steps:

1. Beat white till stiff peak. 
2. Then beat the yolk and sugar (separate bowl) till creamy white. 
3. Add in self raising flour, oil and mix well. 
4. Fold in the egg whites into the mixture till the batter is well mixed.
5. Scooped in the paper cups. I sliced some banana and push down the middle of the batter and put a piece of cooking chocolate on top, push it down. 
6. Preheat air fryer at 160 for 2 mins. Bake for 7 mins at 170.

Healthy Energy Ball

Since I'm still breastfeeding, I'm eating non stop and like crazy (get hungry easily). However, I can't just simple snack on junks as I still want to be on diet to shed those extra weights. So, I was looking up for healthy snack and decided to try make energy balls instead. But the initial batches are super unhealthy with too much calories, fat and sugar (I need to be very careful with sugar intake).

Here it is, the healthier version.

Ingredients:

• 10 pitted dates
• 1 small piece of seaweed, shred it
• 1/4 cup of rolled oats
• 3 tablespoon of virgin coconut oil
• 1/8 cup of dried cranberries
• 1 slice of ginger, cut to really small pieces
• a handful of dried coconut flakes to coat

Steps:

1. Blend all the ingredients together with the blender. Don't need to blend till they are fine, but slightly coarse will do.
2. Chill in the fridge for at least 20mins.
3. Use the hand to scoop small amount to form into small balls and coat it with coconut flakes. Make sure you press it hard to avoid it from breaking apart.
4. Ready to serve. Do store in the fridge if not finish eating it.

Sup Ekor or Oxtail Soup

Just had the felling of drinking those Malay type of soup and so, I bought a bag of oxtail from the butcher the other day and wanted to try cooking it myself.

Here it goes .

Ingredients:

• 500-600g of oxtail
• 2 teaspoon of cumin seed
• 1 star anise
• some dried chills (I omitted this cause my daughter is drinking, she don't like it spicy)
• a small piece of cinnamon stick
• 1 carrot cut big chunk
• 1 potato cut chunk
• 1 tomato, quartered
• a little oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• a handful of chopped spring onion
• a handful of parsley
• half a big onion, sliced and fried till crispy, for serving
• 1.5l water

Steps:

1. Wash the oxtail, and dry it.
2. Pound the star anise and cumin seed together till it is quite fine and form a paste. put them in the muslin cloth.
3. Pan fry the oxtail till brown all side, leave the cinnamon stick in the oil too.
4. Put the oxtail, cinnamon stick and the paste in muslin cloth in the pot (I uses the pressure cooker). Add in the water. Boil for 2hours. I boil mine on high for 15mins and low fire for another 15mins. If you using chilli, add in now too.
5. Add in the potato, carrot and tomato and cooked for another 2hours (mine another 20mins).
6. Season before serving with salt and top with the rest of the ingredients.

Buckwheat Cupcakes

Bought a bag of buckwheat flour to make soba but gave up caused it needs to be fresh otherwise it will break. So, decided to try turn it into cupcakes.

Made two version with the same cake batter, top with dark chocolate chips and the other is shredded cheddar cheese.

Ingredients:

• 155g soften butter (unsalted)
• 3g baking powder
• 100g self raising flour
• 100g buckwheat flour
• 50g yogurt
• 100g sugar
• 2 large eggs
• toppings (mine was dark chocolates and cheddar, choose what u like)

Steps:

1. Cream the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add in egg and mix well.
2. Then mix in the self raising flour and buckwheat flour and baking powder. Mix it well.
3. Finally add in yogurt and stir well.
4. Scoop on the cups and top with the items you like. Bake for 15 to 20mins at 180c. I used air fryer and that requires 12mins at 160c.

Kimchi

A friend had just requested for my kimchi recipe, which I totally forgot to blog about and hope that I don't forget the steps and the ingredients yet.. :p

Ingredients:

• 1 head of chinese cabbage/napa (roughly 1-1.2kg)
• 1 cup of coarse salt
• 1 sink of water or a big pot of it
• 6-7 pieces of korean anchovies (it is big and a lot more flavourful then the normal ikan bills)
• 3 cups of water
• half an apple - cut to small pieces
• a small piece of ginger (roughly 3cm x 1cm) - cut to small pieces
• half a big yellow onion - cut to small pieces
• 3-4 pieces of garlic - cut to small pieces
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 2 pieces of raw squid, cleaned and cut to small pieces
• 1/4 cup of salt
• 1 to 1.5 cup of korean chilli flakes
• 3 tablespoon of sugar (i used brown ones)
• 1 leak - cut to 3cm length
• 1 carrot, julienned
• a bunch of spring onion - cut to 3cm length

Steps:

1. This first step need to be prepared a week in advance or you may buy ready made fermented shrimp (cencaluk) or fermented squid. Mixed the 1/4 cup of salt with the raw cleaned squid in a container. Leave it to ferment in the fridge for a week.
2. Cut the napa to small pieces of roughly 3x3cm size. Seasoned the sink of cold water with half the cup of salt. Next layer a layer of napa in it, sprinkle with the balance of the salt, another layer and sprinkle and repeat till all the napa is soaked in the cold water. Used something heavy to press it down. Soaked for at least 2-3 hours till the leaves are all lifeless and soft.
3. Rinse the napa off the salt water (at least three rinse) and dry it. You may keep the water to wash veggie or fruit instead of wasting it.
4. Boiled the 3 cups of water with the anchovies for at least 20mins. Leave it aside to cool.
5. Place the rice, apple, squid (if using shrimp, no need to do this step), ginger, garlic, onion with a little of the anchovies stock in the blender and give them a blitz till it is all smooth.
6. Stir in the mixture into the chilli flakes and sugar till even. If too thick add a little more of the stock. If using shrimp, add in now.
7. Mix the leak, carrot and spring onion into the chilli paste.
8. Now prepare your container to store the kimchi. I used a big container, you may do it in few small one.
9. Rub the chilli paste on the napa leaves evenly, piece by piece and layered it on the container. When you are done with all,  pour in all the stock to the chilli paste, mix it well and pour it over the leaves.
10. Leave the kimchi to ferment a day at room temperature before transferring it to the fridge to store. The longer it is outside, the more fermentation will take place.

Cheat Curry Fish Head

I bought a big fish recently and got the fish monger to cut the fish to half for us and hubby requested for fish curry. So, I cooked up this cheat version so that I don't need to get so many ingredients and spent to much time (I have a baby and a 6yo to attend to).

So, this is the fish head curry...

Ingredients:

• one fish head, roughly 600g
• a big handful of frozen okra (no fresh one available since mine is last min decision to cook and shop for ingredients)
• 4 pieces of taufu pok
• 1 tablespoon of shredded coconut
• 2 tablespoon of onion
• a few leaves of curry leaf
• one chopped tomato
• 2tablespoon of nyonya sambal (bottled from asian grocer)
• 2 tablespoon of baba's fish curry powder
• 1cup water
• 0.5 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon oil
• salt to season

Steps:

1. Clean the fish head, season with a little salt and air fried it at 180c for 15mins. 
2. At the last 5mins, add in the taufu pok to air fry too.
3. Heat up the wok and add in the oil. Saute the curry leaves and onion till almost brown.
4. Stir in the water, curry powder and sambal.
5. Then add in the okra, taufu pok, tomato and fish head.
6. Simmer for 7-8mins for each side of the fish and turn and simmer another 5-6mins.
7. Finally, add in the milk and shredded coconut and let it thicken a little.
8. Season before serving.

Collagen Broth

I saw someone posted  collagen broth that she used as soup based and has lots of goodness, I decided to google it and give it a try.

It is sort of almost the same as preparing the soup based for ramen, but shorter time and less ingredients. There is no onion, leek, shallots, etc

I used mine for my ramen served with kimchi, shredded seaweed and air fried beef fingers slices.

Ingredients:

• a big handful, roughly 500g of chicken feet
• 1kg of bone marrow (that's the type of name labelled for the bone) 
• 1 chicken carcass
• 4l of water

Steps:

1. Boiled some water and placed the bone in there to boil for about 4-6mins. Washed the bones clean
2. Then put all the ingredients in the big pot and boil for 3-4hrs. Mine is sort of a cheat. I used the thermos cooker pot and I boiled it for 40mins, placed in the cooker pot for over night and boil it again and leave it there for another 3-4hrs.
3. Used the filter to filter the soup before storing in the container. I have one just in the fridge that I'm using it now and the other container in the freezer coz I'll be using it later.
4. Season with salt before using or you can omit that if you are like me, prefer the original taste.

Steamed Glutinous Rice

Everytime someone posted something I like on Facebook, it gets me wanting to cook them. And here it is steamed glutinous rice. Cooked this few times de but just didn't blog down the recipe each time.

The glutinous rice served with a quick curry chicken.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of glutinous rice (I uses the thai one this time), soaked for 3hrs with cold water
• 4 tablespoon of finely chopped shallots
• 2 tablespoon of finely chopped garlic
• 2 pieces of lap cheong (waxed sausage), cut to small slices (roughly 0.5cm each) 
• 3 pieces of chinese dried mushroom, soaked and cut to small slices
• 1 big handful of dried shrimp, soaked and roughly chopped
• 1/8 teaspoon of five spice powder
• 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• a big dash of pepper
• 4 tablespoon of oil
• a big handful of chopped spring onion for garnishing

Steps:

1. Heat up the oil and fry 1/2 tablespoon of the shallots. Once brown and crispy, set aside for garnishing.
2. Heat up some water in the steamer.
3. Then fry the lap cheong for about a 1min before adding in the  dried shrimps.
4. Stirring for another 1 min, add in the shallots. When they are about to brown, add in the garlic and mushroom.
5. Finally stir in the rice and seasoning. Cook for about 4-5mins.
6. Scoop the rice into a bowl and leave it to steam for about 20-30mins, depending to how soft you want the rice to be. My hubby likes it "al dente" so I had mine steamed bout 25mins.

Mooncake

Last year, I just suddenly feel like making moon cake but realised that I have no mould for it so there is no shape and just simple one. I cooked up some red beans and mashed it and that's the filling. Even the golden syrup was cooked by myself... hehehe...

Then I decided to order the mould online but didn't get the chance to bake it given the morning sickness that just kicked in at that time.

So, this year, I try to make use of the purchase and not waste it. First I make the baked version using the same filling, cheese.

For the filling, I'm trying to clear the mascarpone stock I have from the tiramisu recently.

Ingredients:

• 100g mascarpone cheese
• 100g cream cheese
• 50g sugar

Steps:

1. Cream them till sugar is well mixed and the cheese is creamy and a little hard.
2. Scoop them up according to required amount on greased paper and leave it to chill in the freezer. This will make it easier to fill up the moon cake.

This, the recipe I adopted from the Facebook Healthy Meal for babies.

Ingredients:

• 90g of golden syrup
• 38g peanut oil
• 150g flour
• 1 egg

Steps:

1. Mixed all the ingredients (except the egg) till it is all even and form a proper ball dough.
2. Pinched out the required according to the size of your mould, mine was roughly 60g (can be more if need it taller). Flatten the dough and filled up with your preferred filling (approximately 25-30g).
3. Roll up the dough and insert into the mould to shape.
4. Knock the moon cake out.
5. Brush with egg wash and bake at 180c for 20-25mins (I uses air fryer 160c for 15mins)

Meanwhile for the snowskin, this is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 25g glutinous rice flour
• 25g rice flour
• 20g corn flour
• 50g brown sugar
• 120ml milk
• 20ml peanut oil
• 25g fried glutinous rice flour (just put on the pan and fry till it is light brownish, stirring it constantly. should take less then 5mins to get this)

Steps:

1. Mixed all ingredients properly (except for the fried glutinous rice flour) till even and non clumpy.
2. Steam over high fire for 15mins.
3. Let it lightly cool to warm and dust with the fried flour. Kneed till soft, fluffy and smooth.
4. Pinched out the required according to the size of your mould, mine was roughly 60g (can be more if need it taller). Flatten the dough and filled up with your preferred filling (approximately 25-30g).
5. Roll up the dough, dust with fried flour and insert into the mould to shape.
6. Knock the moon cake out and done.

Tuna Muffin

It has been a long time since I last posted any recipe. Again, this is my own recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 small cans of tuna (I uses one with spring water and the other is corn with mayo)
• 50g butter (melted)
• 30g flour
• 1/8 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 handful of endamame beans
• 30g shredded mozzarella
• 1 egg

Steps:

1. Preheat oven at 180C.
2. Mix all the ingredients till even.
3. Scoop to the muffin mould.
4. Bake for 15mins at 180C

Yam Rice

Just saw someone's post in FB again and view thru the person's blog and saw yam rice. Hmm... looks kinda good and I haven't been eating this for a while, so maybe I should try it out since I manage to get yam which looks kinda nice and not too expensive from the fruit shop.

Ingredients:

For garnishing:

• Some crispy fried shallots
• Some chopped spring onions
• some hard boiled eggs, sliced

Main ingredients:

• 1.5cup rice (I used basmati here, washed and leave aside)
• 5 pieces of dried mushroom, soaked and water reserved
• 1 big handful of dried shrimp, washed and soaked, water reserved, chopped to smaller pieces
• 1 cup of small pieces of pork pieces, lean meat only (marinate with salt, pepper, sesame oil and corn flour)
• 1 chopped shallot
• 3 cloves of chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon of minced ginger
• 250g of yam, cut to small cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon 5 spice powder
• 1/5 teaspoon of sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon of salt
• 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
• a big dash of pepper
• 2 tablespoon of soy sauce
• 3 tablespoon of oil (i used olive oil)
• water (inclusive of the reserved water above, should make up bout 1.5 cup)

Method:

1. Saute the shallot till a bit yellowish, add in the garlic and ginger. Stir for about 1mins and add in the chopped dried shrimp. Fried for bout 3-4mins.
2. Add in the yam pieces and fry till all the yams are well coated with oil and a bit yellowish.
3. Add in the pork pieces and fry. Ensure the pork are cooked before adding in the rice and a little water.
4. Add in the seasonings and fry for another 2mins.
5. Scoop the mixture out on to a big bowl or rice cooker and add in the rest of the water.
6. If you using rice cooker, just cook your rice like normal. If not, place the big bowl in a double boiler, or big wok with water and steam for 7-8mins till the rice is cooked and all water absorbed.
7. Fluffed the rice, served and decorate with the garnishing.

Taiwanese Dessert - Sweet Potato Cubes

I had been wanting to try to make the sweet potato cubes or the taro cubes for some time but just not sure why I didn't get into it. But recently, looking the tapioca starch and also the soy milk that I had for a while, I thought why not? Instead of letting those stuff rot, let's try make taiwanese style dessert.

And someone's post in FB just came the right time to inspire me with this dessert.

Ingredients (I made 4 small bowls of these):

• 700ml soy milk (unsweetened)
• 25g sugar
• 10g gelatin
• 100g sweet potato sliced as thinly and small piece as possible
• 45g tapioca starch/flour
• a pinch of salt
• 1/2 tbsp of sugar
• a pot of water to boil the cubes
• 4 tablespoon of cooked and lightly mashed red beans
• 8pcs of grapes
• 8 pieces of mango slices

Methods:

1. Steam the sweet potato for about 5-10mins depending on the size you have cut it. To test if ready, just use a fork to try mash it and if it works, it is ready.
2. Premix the tapioca starch, salt and sugar (1/2tbsp) while steaming the sweet potato.
3. Once the sweet potato is ready and hot, pour it into the dry mixture and mix till even. You can use the fork or your hand to mashed the sweet potato.
4. Shaped it to desire shape. I make them squarish. If the dough is too mushy, add a little more of the flour. Set aside.
5. Heat up the soy milk and add in the sugar (25g), stirring to dissolve it. Once dissolve, remove from heat and let it cool for a while. Slowly stir in the gelatine. Pour to the bowl/container you will like to use. Leave it in the fridge to set.
6. Boil a pot of water and add in the Sweet potato cubes. It should take bout 3-4mins to boil and turn off the fire.
7. Take out the soy jelly that is setting in the fridge (bout 10mins) and it should be semi set.
8. Arranged the sweet potato cubes and the other ingredients on it. Leave it back in the fridge.
9. It should be ready to serve after about 30mins in the fridge.