Sambal Sotong

Literally translated as Squids in Chilli Sauce, we never fail to order this dish whenever we go for seafood back home in Singapore.  As the weather is rather cool and rainy today, I prepared a seafood lunch for my two boys:  Sambal Sotong, Stir-fried French Beans and Cereal Prawns & Squids served with hot Jasmine rice cooked in my new, small rice cooker which I managed to bring in as cabin luggage.

This sambal recipe has been in our family's collection since ages.  To get a sambal with an appetising colour, one has to have patience to cook it.  It took me about an hour to cook it over low/medium heat.  I added a little palm sugar (gula melaka) to add taste and colour to the sambal.  Instead of squids, one can also use other kinds of seafood.

Ingredients (serves 4 to 6):
500 g fresh or frozen squids, I sliced them into rings
20 g fresh tamarind, to be mixed with 150 ml water
salt to taste
sugar to taste
a little palm sugar (gula melaka), to be crumbled
1/4 cup cooking oil

Blended Ingredients:
50 g dried chillies, to be cut into strips & soaked in warm water until soft
2 large onions, to be peeled & sliced
1 pip garlic, to be peeled & sliced
8 g belacan (shrimp paste)

Method:
Heat 4 tbsp of oil in a wok over medium heat.  Add blended ingredients and stir-fry until fragrant. As and when needed, add cooking oil in order that the mixture is not too dry.  Cooking time will take about one hour in order that the sambal is well-blended with the oil.  Believe me, it is worth the wait!

Add tamarind juice (please use a small sieve in order that only the juice is used) a little at a time. Cook until sambal is thick.  Season with salt, sugar & palm sugar to taste.  Then, add the squids.

Cook for a further 5 to 10 minutes or until the squids are cooked.

This sambal can be served either hot or cold.

Bon Appetit!

Left-over Bread Snack

A simple recipe which was taught to me by my dear sister-in-law on how to use up left-over bread instead of throwing them away.  One just need to slice the bread and "roast" them in the pan together with olive oil and an italian spice.  The recipe has no exact measurements.  One just have to estimate depending on the amount of left-over bread.

Ingredients:
left-over bread, to be sliced thinly & cut into pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
1-2 tsp "Aglio Olio Peperoncino"

Method:
In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Then, add bread slices and "roast" until they are browned all over, not burnt.  Lastly, add "Aglio Olio Peperoncino". There is no need to add salt and pepper.

Bon Appetit!

Upper Bavarian Cheesecake (Oberbayerische Quarkkuchen)

After more than a month of absence due to our home holiday, I am now back to preparing home food. Hubby requested for this popular cheese cake and passed me the recipe which he found in one of our local newspapers.  I thought that it is going to be one of those "dry" german cheese cakes but I was wrong.  I followed the recipe to a tee and the end result resembles those offered for sale in the bakeries.  I must say that it tastes awesome and the texture is not dry at all.  To be exact, it is between my cheesecake recipe and those "dry" cheese cakes.  To round things up, I have two very happy men at home!

Dough Ingredients:
270 g flour
2 tsp baking powder (1 packet)
150 g fine sugar
180 g cold butter, to be taken directly from the fridge
1 medium-sized egg, to be taken directly from the fridge

Filling Ingredients:
4 medium-sized eggs
150 g fine sugar
4 tsp (2 packets) vanilla sugar
750 g Quark (curd cheese) - 20% fat content, can be found in any german shops
1 packet vanilla pudding powder
500 g fresh cream

some butter
some breadcrumbs
a 26 cm diameter springform

Method:
In a mixing bowl, knead all dough ingredients together by using the dough hook. Remove dough from bowl and wrap in cling wrap.  Store in the fridge for about half an hour.  Grease springform with butter and sprinkle some breadcrumbs all over. Shake off excess breadcrumbs.  Roll out dough between two plastic sheets to a diameter of about 32 cm.  Remove top plastic sheet and invert dough over springform.  Lightly press dough onto springform, making sure that the bottom and sides are lined with dough.  Remove bottom plastic sheet and store springform in the fridge while the filling is being prepared.

In a mixing bowl, whisk fresh cream until stiff.  Leave aside.  In another mixing bowl, whisk eggs, sugar and vanilla sugar until creamy.  Then, add vanilla pudding powder and Quark.  Mix thoroughly.

Carefully fold in the whipped cream by using a spatula.

Remove springform from the fridge and add filling into it.  Spread filling evenly and ensure the surface is even.

Bake in a preheated fan oven at a temperature of 150° C on the middle rack for 90 minutes.  The top of cake will start to "overflow" but don't worry, it should "overflow". Once done, remove from oven and leave to cool down completely.

This is how it looks like after being cut:

Happy Baking!

Kirsch-Rohrnudeln

A german version of the popular Pull Apart Buns but with a slight twist - they have fresh pitted cherries in them.  With its soft, springy texture, I am sure that they will be a hit with the kids.

Ingredients (yields 16 buns):
600 g flour (type 550) or plain flour (type 405)
80 g fine sugar
1 egg white
1 tsp salt
40 g butter, to be gently melted
250 ml warm water (straight from the tap)
1 cube à 42 g fresh yeast, to be crumbled

32 fresh cherries, to be washed, dried & pitted
2 tbsp castor sugar
1 egg yolk to be mixed with 1 tbsp fresh cream (for brushing top)
2 x 24 cm diameter pans

Glaze Ingredients (to be mixed together):
100 g icing sugar
about 1-2 tbsp water

Method:
In a mixing bowl, add flour, sugar, egg white, salt and melted butter.  In a small jug, mix warm water and crumbled yeast together.  Stir until yeast is dissolved and add to mixing bowl.  Knead dough until it leaves the sides of bowl.  Cover bowl with a damp cloth and leave aside to let dough rise to double its volume - it takes about an hour.

Punch dough down and divide into 16 portions of about 64 g each.  Flatten each portion and place two cherries on it.  Enclose cherries with dough and twist the top. Sprinkle castor sugar on the base of pan and arrange dough with pinch side down as shown.  You can also arrange them on a baking tray if preferred.

Leave to rise for about 30 minutes.  Then, glaze top of buns with egg yolk/cream mixture.

Bake in a preheated fan oven at 170° C for 25 minutes.  Once done, brush top with icing sugar/water mixture while still hot.  This is how the cross-section of a bun looks like:

Serve buns as they are or just sprinkled with icing sugar on top and serve with vanilla sauce.

Happy Baking!

Agar-Agar Oreo & Ovaltine

A simple dessert to make for those who are crazy of Oreo cookies.  This time, I added Ovaltine to the ingredients.  Of course, one can also use Milo or cocoa instead. The following recipe fits nicely into the jelly mould from Tupperware.  Otherwise, small individual moulds can be used.

Ingredients (for a 1.3 litre mould):
1 packet (12 g) clear agar-agar powder
150 ml sugar
800 ml water
340 ml evaporated milk
8 tbsp ovaltine (milo or cocoa can be used)
8 Oreo cookies, to be quartered

Method:
In a medium-sized pot, add agar-agar powder, sugar and water.  Cook over medium heat and stir until sugar is dissolved.  Add in evaporated milk.  Stir well and bring to a slight boil.  Divide mixture into two portions (about 600 ml each) into two saucepans. Add ovaltine to one portion and leave the other portion white.  Leave both saucepans over low heat in order that the mixtures do not set.

Rinse mould with cold water.  Pour 300 ml (half) ovaltine mixture into mould and allow it to almost set. You may store the mould in the fridge for a few minutes to quicken the process.

Once the ovaltine layer is almost set, pour all white mixture into mould.  Add the Oreo cookies on top and push them down a little by using the tip of a teaspoon.  All mixture to set again.

Once the white layer is almost set, pour the remaining ovaltine mixture into mould.  Leave to set in the fridge.

The photo below shows a cross-section of the agar-agar.

Bon Appetit!