Yunanese Fried Rice

A quick to prepare one meal dish which originated from the Yunan province.  I like the taste of the dried prawns which was added during the initial frying procedure.  I also added carrots and bell pepper although the original recipe does not call for them.

Ingredients (serves 4):
250 g beef, to be thinly sliced
3 pips garlic, to be peeled and chopped
1 tbsp dried prawns
2 eggs
1 medium-sized onion, to be peeled and coarsely cubed
1 stalk red chilli, to be coarsely cubed
1 medium-sized carrot, to be peeled and coarsely cubed (optional)
1 red bell pepper, to be deseeded and coarsely cubed (optional)
1 small can of green peas (optional)
1-2 tbsp margarine
roasted cashew nuts (for garnishing)

1/2 tsp ground pepper
a few drops of light soy sauce
a drop of sesame oil
1 tsp instant granulated chicken stock (optional)

Method:
In a wok, heat margarine over medium/high heat.  Add beef, garlic and dried prawns. Stir-fry until fragrant.  Then, add in eggs and scramble them.

Add chopped onions, carrots, bell pepper, green peas (if using) and red chillis.  Stir-fry for about 3 minutes.  Add in rice and mix thoroughly.  Add in seasonings to taste and reduce heat.  Cook for a further 5 minutes.

Once done, remove to a platter and sprinkle with roasted cashew nuts before serving.

Bon Appetit!

Epok-Epok Sayur

Another popular snack - Vegetable Curry Puffs.  These are deep-fried pastry which are filled with stir-fried bean sprouts & chives and served with a chilli sauce. Following recipe yields about 30 pieces.

Note:  There are two videos showing how to "pleat" the edges of the curry puffs.  If you are using a noodle maker, divide your dough into about 25 g portions.

Dough Ingredients:
600 g plain flour
pinch of salt or according to taste
125 g margarine or butter
2 eggs, to be beaten lightly
200 to 240 ml water - it all depends on your flour, you might use less water

Filling Ingredients:
500 g bean sprouts, tail to be removed
2 medium-sized onions, to be peeled and coarsely cubed
3 pips garlic, to be peeled and finely sliced
1 tbsp dried prawns, to be soaked in warm water, drained and finely pounded
1 stalk fresh red chilli, to be finely sliced
6 chives, to be washed, dried and cut into 2 cm lengths
salt & ground white pepper to taste
2 tbsp cooking oil

Chilli Sauce Ingredients:
6 stalks fresh red chilli (big ones), to be deseeded (optional) and sliced
3 pips garlic, to be peeled and sliced
125 ml water
6 tbsp lime juice (from 2 limes) or white vinegar
80-100 g sugar (according to taste)
salt to taste

Method:

Sieve flour into a mixing bowl.  Add salt and butter.  Use the "rubbing-in" method i.e. use your finger tips to rub-in all ingredients.  Then, add in beaten eggs and rub-in well. Lastly, add water a little at a time until a soft and pliable dough is formed. It is advisable to use the kneading hook of the mixer. Cover bowl with a damp cloth and leave aside for about 30 minutes.

In a pan, heat oil and add cubed onions, sliced garlic, sliced chilli and pounded dried prawns.  Stir-fry until fragrant and then, add beans prouts and chives.  Stir-fry for about 2 minutes and season with salt and ground white pepper to taste.  Remove from heat and drain filling in a colander over a bowl.  Set aside to cool down completely.

In a blender, add sliced chilli, garlic and 60 ml water.  Blend until smooth (I prefer to blend it coarsely). Pour into a saucepan and add balance of water, sugar and lime juice (or vinegar).  Bring to boil over medium heat. Season with salt and sugar to taste.  Remove from heat and leave aside.  The consistency of the sauce is just right i.e. not too thick or too thin.  Tip:  If your sauce is too thin, add a bit of steamed sweet potato and mix well.

Roll out dough to a thickness of 3 mm.  Use a dough cutter (about 8 cm Ø) to cut circles. Roll out each circle to make it a bit thinner.  Place about two tablespoons filling in the upper half circle of dough. Bring the lower half dough over the filling and press the sides lightly. Lift up the dough and pinch the sides decoratively. Place on a baking tray which is lined with baking paper.  Repeat procedure until dough is used up.

Heat oil (enough oil for deep-frying) in a wok over medium heat.  Add a few epok-epok at a time and fry slowly until golden brown on both sides.

Once done, remove to a tray which is lined with kitchen paper.  Serve hot with chilli sauce.

Bon Appetit!

Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

A simple and quick to prepare dish for a lazy Sunday evening.  The broccoli florets were blanched for a minute and quickly immersed in ice cold water in order that the colour is maintained.  Then, lightly stir-fried with the marinated beef slices before the sauce ingredients are added.  Tastes excellent when served with hot rice.

Ingredients (serves 4):
600 g broccoli florets
2 pips garlic, to be peeled and crushed
5 cm piece of fresh ginger, to be peeled and thinly sliced
3 tbsp cooking oil

450 g beef tenderloin or steak, to be thinly sliced
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp chinese rice wine or sherry
a few dashed of ground white pepper
1 tbsp (heaped) cornflour

Ingredients for Sauce:
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp (level) cornflour
2 tbsp water

Method:
In a bowl, marinate beef slices with light soy sauce, sesame oil, chinese rice wine, ground pepper and cornflour.   Leave aside for about 20 minutes.  Mix all sauce ingredients together in a separate bowl.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and blanch broccoli florets for about 1 minute.  Remove to a bowl which is filled with ice cold water.  Leave aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok over medium/high heat and stir-fry marinated beef slices until they change colour. Remove to a bowl and set aside.  Clean work thoroughly before using it again.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok and add crushed garlic and ginger slices.  Stir-fry for one minute before adding the beef and drained broccoli florets.  Then, add sauce ingredients and mix well.  Do not overcook the broccoli florets or else they will become soft.

Serve hot with rice.

Bon Appetit!

Goreng Pisang (Fried Bananas)

A favourite tea-time snack for the family.  The secret to get a crispy and crunchy crust lies in the ingredients.  I must admit that I have tried several recipes and the crusts were not to my liking.  After experimenting a bit, I managed to get the proper crispiness and crunchiness this time.  Deep-frying them at a high temperature also plays an important role as this will minimise oil absorption.

Ingredients (serves 2):
10 medium-sized unripe bananas
150 g plain flour
100 g rice flour
50 g cornflour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
350 ml mineral water
1 tbsp air kapur sirih (lime stone water) - check here on how to prepare
oil for deep-frying

Method:
In a mixing bowl, add flour, rice flour, cornflour, sugar, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. Add mineral water a little at a time and whisk together until no lumps can be seen.  Lastly, add in air kapur sirih and mix well.  Store in the fridge for about one hour.

Peel bananas and cut into two.  Then, slice into two lengthwise 3/4 way.

In a wok, heat cooking oil to a high temperature of about 185° C.  Dip banana pieces into batter (3 or 4 at a time) and add to wok.  Deep-fry until golden brown and quickly remove to a tray which is lined with kitchen paper.

Serve hot with a good mug of teh tarik or kopi.

Extra Tip:
If you have leftover batter, just store in an air-tight container in the fridge for a few days.

Bon Appetit!

Mee Rebus

A popular dish served in Singapore and Malaysia - yellow noodles served with a thick & spicy sweet-potato/peanut gravy and garnished with chopped spring onions, fried shallots, bean sprouts, fried bean curd, hard-boiled egg, chopped green chillies & calamansi lime.  This recipe has been passed down by my mother.  The preparation may seem to be time-consuming but do not let it hinder you because it is simple to cook and tastes excellent.

Ingredients (serves 4-6):
400 g beef (tetel lembu), to be cook with a little water until tender, then cut into small bite pieces
3 tbsp meat curry powder
100 g peanuts (skinless), to be fried without oil and finely grounded
80 g red sugar (gula tanjung) or brown sugar
30 g sugar
salt to taste
500 ml water or more depending on the consistency of gravy

50 g fermented soybean paste (tau cheow), to be blended together with 50 ml water
250 g sweet potatoes (orange), to be boiled or steamed until tender, then blended together with 150 ml water
3 tbsp cornflour, to be mixed with 2 tbsp water (to thicken gravy)

*A* Ingredients to be blended together:
30 g dried anchovies, to be soaked in warm water until soft and rinsed
50 g dried udang geragau/geraguk, to be soaked in warm water until soft and rinsed (one can use dried prawns instead of udang geragau/geraguk)

udang geragau/garaguk (left) & anchovies (right)

*B* Blended/Pounded Ingredients:
6 stalks dried red chillies, to be cut into pieces and soaked with warm water until soft
1 medium-sized onion, to be peeled and coarsely chopped
4 red shallots, to be peeled and coarsely chopped
2 pips garlic, to be peeled and coarsely chopped
1 lemon grass, to be sliced
1 cm fresh turmeric, to be peeled and sliced
1 cm fresh galangal, to be peeled and sliced
1 cm fresh ginger, to be peeled and sliced
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
100 ml water

Ingredients for garnishing:
5 hard-boiled eggs, to be shelled and halved
250 g bean sprouts, to be plucked
1 block bean curd, to be sliced, deep-fried and cut into cubes
4 green chillies, to be sliced
3 spring onions, to be sliced into fine rings
fried shallots
5 calamansi limes (limau kasturi) or limes, to be halved

4-5 tbsp cooking oil
500 g yellow mee or cooked spaghetti

Method:
All blended ingredients:

From top:  sweet potato, spices, soybean paste and anchovies/udang geragau

In a big pot, heat cooking oil over medium heat.  Add in *A*, *B*, curry powder, chopped peanuts & blended soybean paste and fry until fragrant.  Then, add in blended sweet potato and beef.  Stir well.

Bring to a light boil and add in both types of sugar.  Then, add cornflour/water mixture to thicken gravy to your preference.  Check seasoning - you may want to add sugar & salt to taste.  Simmer gently for about 10 minutes.

To serve, blanch a portion noodles and bean sprouts in boiling water.  Drain well and add to serving bowl.  Pour enough gravy over noodles and garnished with chopped spring onions, fried shallots, bean curd cubes, sliced green chillies, half an egg and half a lime.

Bon Appetit!

One-Pot Chicken Chasseur

A great family dish which shows how tasty a simple casserole of chicken thighs can be - succulent mushrooms and melt-in-the-mouth chicken - all served in a fragrant and delicious gravy.

Ingredients (serves 4):
4 chicken legs, to be washed and pat dry
salt & ground black pepper to taste
1 tsp olive oil
20 g butter

300 g small button mushrooms or brown mushrooms, to be cleaned and left whole or cut into 4
1 medium-sized onion, to be peeled and cut into fine wedges
3 pips of garlic, to be peeled and crushed
150 ml red wine (optional - I omitted this)
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 sprigs of thyme or 1 tsp of dried thyme
500 ml chicken stock

Method:
Season chicken legs with salt and ground black pepper to taste.  In a large pan, heat olive oil and half of butter over medium heat.  Add chicken legs and fry for about 5 minutes each side or until golden brown.  Remove to a tray and set aside.

Melt rest of butter in pan and add onion wedges.  Fry until soft before adding the crushed garlic.  Fry for about 1 minute before adding the mushrooms.  Cook for a further 2 minutes and then, add wine.

Add tomato puree and let gravy simmer and reduce for about 5 minutes.  Then, add in thyme and chicken stock.  Return the chicken legs to pan and put on lid.  Simmer over low/medium heat for about an hour.

Remove chicken from pan and keep warm by covering with aluminium foil.  Boil gravy for about 10 minutes or until the flavour is concentrated.  You may add a mixture of cornflour/water mixture to thicken the gravy a bit, if you wish.

Return the chicken legs to pan and heat through.  Serve with baguette or potato dumplings.

Bon Appetit!

Ondeh-Ondeh

A traditional malay kuih which is also known as buah melaka or klepon.  The dough is made of glutinous rice flour, tapioca flour & coconut milk with gula melaka (palm sugar) filling and coated with steamed freshly grated coconut.

Ingredients (yields abaout 35 pieces):
250 g glutinous rice flour
1 tbsp tapioca flour
100 ml water
200-250 ml coconut milk
1-2 tbsp pandan paste

freshly grated coconut (from 1 coconut)
a little salt
1 pandan leaf, to be cut into pieces

100 g gula melaka (palm sugar), to be finely chopped

Method:
In a bowl, mix grated coconut, salt and pandan leaf pieces together.  Steam for about 15 minutes.  Once done, remove from streamer and leave aside.

In another bowl, add glutinous rice flour, tapioca flour, pandan paste and water. Knead well and then, add enough coconut milk to form a soft and pliable dough.  Cover bowl with a damp cloth and leave aside.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, then lower the heat until the water gently simmers. Pinch a ball of dough about 2 cm in diameter and flatten it into a disk.  Drop it into the simmering water.  When it is cooked, it will rise to the surface.  Remove with a slotted spoon, shake off excess water and knead the cooked dough evenly back into the main dough.  If dough is sticky, add another 1-2 tbsp of glutinous rice flour and knead well.

Pinch a small ball of dough to the size of a small like (limau kasturi) and roll it in your palms to form a smooth ball.  Carefully make a small dent in the centre and add a small chunk of palm sugar.  Pinch dough together to seal, then roll ball gently to smoothen.  Then, drop into the simmering water. Repeat procedure 5 or 6 times. When the dough balls float to the surface, carefully remove them with a slotted spoon. Allow the water to drain off and then, roll them in grated coconut to coat evenly. Repeat procedure again.

Transfer to a serving dish.

Bon Appetit!

Kuih Kosui

A classical malay steamed dessert which is one of my favourites.  Some recipes use rice flour and tapioca flour but I use plain flour instead of rice flour as I find the texture is similar to those using rice flour.  One may noticed that I used two different moulds to show that the kuih can be easily taken out as long as the moulds are greased with a little oil beforehand.  Normally, this kuih is steamed in a round or rectangular tray and cut into diamond shapes, then coated with grated coconut before serving.

Ingredients (yields about 48 pcs):
145 g castor sugar
240 g dark brown sugar (one may use palm sugar)
250 ml water
2 pandan leaves, to be tied in a knot

215 g plain flour
50 g tapioca flour
750 ml water
2 tbsp air kapur (limestone water) - please see tip on how to prepare

freshly grated coconut (skinned)
salt
1 pandan leaf, to be cut into pieces

Method:
In a saucepan, add castor sugar, dark brown sugar, water and pandan leaves.  Cook slowly over low heat until sugar is dissolved.  Remove from heat and leave aside to cool down completely.

Grease moulds with a little cooking oil and leave aside.  In a large bowl, whisk plain flour, tapioca flour and water together until there are no lumps.  Lastly, add in the air kapur.

Then, add the sugar mixture and mix thoroughly.  Strain through a sieve to get rid of lumps.

By using a small container with a spout, pour into prepared moulds up to the brim and steam in a hot steamer for about 20 minutes.

Leave to cool down completely before removing them from the moulds.

In a small tray, mix grated coconut and a little salt together.  Then, add cut pandan leaves.  Steam for about 15 minutes.

Once done, remove the pandan leaves.  Serve coated with grated coconut.

Bon Appetit!

Swedish Meatballs

A simple and quick to prepare swedish-style dish which is very popular with kids.  It tastes excellent when served with mashed potatoes and greens.  One may have come across this dish in IKEA.  Note: just double the recipe and freeze one portion for another day.

Ingredients (serves 4):
500 g minced beef (minced pork may be used instead)
1 egg
1 small onion, to be peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped dill
85 g fresh white breadcrumbs, freshly grated from 1-2 one-day-old bread rolls
salt & ground black pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
about 500 ml beef stock

chopped dill for garnishing

Method:
In a large bowl, add minced beef, egg, chopped onions, chopped dill, salt & pepper to taste.

Add freshly grated breadcrumbs and mix thoroughly.  Form into small balls about the size of a walnut - total quantity is about 25.

In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add meatballs (in two portions) and brown all sides. Remove to a tray.

Add butter to pan and sprinkle flour.  Cook for about two minutes.  Then, add in beef stock a little at a time and whisk slowly until the mixture has a thick gravy consistency with no lumps.  Check seasoning.

Return meatballs to the pan and heat them through.  Before serving, garnish with chopped dill.  Serve with mashed potatoes and greens.

Bon Appetit!

Vanilla Sauce

This thin egg custard sauce complements well with cakes, ice cream, yeast dumplings/buns, apple strudel, etc.  Home-made vanilla sauce tastes excellent when fresh vanilla pods are used.

Method:
500 ml fresh milk
2 fresh vanilla pods
80 g sugar
125 ml fresh cream
5 "M" egg  yolks

Method:
In a small bowl, whisk sugar, cream and egg yolks together.

In a saucepan, add milk.  Cut each vanilla pod into two and scrape the seeds.  Add both seeds and pods to the milk.  Bring to a slight boil over medium heat.  Remove pods.

Then, add sugar/cream/egg yolks mixture.  Stir well.  Heat slowly over low/medium heat until the mixture starts to simmer.  Dip the back of a tablespoon into mixture.  The sauce is ready when it is slightly coated.  Quickly remove saucepan from heat and let it cool down completely.

Best served with cakes, ice cream, strudel and yeast dumplings/buns.

Bon Appetit!

Baked Yeast Buns

A popular german/austrian/czech-bohemian speciality which is also known as Buchteln.  They taste excellent when served with vanilla sauce.  They can also be filled with jam or fruit if preferred.

Ingredients (serves 4):
500 g plain flour
250 ml warm milk (not over 35° C)
42 g fresh yeast
100 g sugar
zest of one lemon
a pinch of salt
75 g soft butter
2 "M" size eggs

a 22 x 30 cm rectangular pyrex dish
50 g butter, to be melted

Method:
In a mixing bowl, add flour and make a well in the centre.  Dissolved the crumbled yeast in the warm milk and pour into the "well".  Stir well and then, add salt, sugar, lemon zest and soft butter.  Lastly, add in the eggs.  Knead until the dough leaves the side of the mixing bowl.

Cover bowl with a cloth and leave aside for about half an hour to let dough rise to double its volume.

Then, remove to a floured worktop.  Divide dough into 24 portions (about 51 g each). Arrange them in a buttered pyrex dish.  Brush top with melted butter.

Bake in a preheated oven (fan:  175° C/conventional:  200° C) for about 35 to 40 minutes.  Once done, remove from oven.

Served warm with vanilla sauce.

Happy Baking!