Economical Vegetarian Bihun

I cooked this easy peasy recipe last Friday. Made a lot to last me for 2 days of buka puasa and 2 pre-dawn meals. The kids were away for the weekend then so...yeah, malas la kan nak masak. If you are ever wondering, no, I have not turned into a vegan. I don't think I can. I can never live without my red meats! I didn't have anything else in the freezer then but had enough vege to finish before they rot so I've decided to put them together and come up with a masterpiece. Hehehe banyak la aku punye masterpiece! :p

So here, try tau jangan tak try...

1. Soak 1/2 packet of bihun in warm water. If you don’t like chewy bihun, use slightly hotter water. 
2. Add 1 tbs each of dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil for bihun to absorb.
3. After half hour or so, drain bihun, but keep the liquid.
4. Fry 1 tbs garlic. Add vegetables/meat if you like. I used slightly more oil than usual. The original economical vegetarian bihun is always glistening with oil. So sebab nak bihun tu nampak gemilang I made it a little oily, kalau too dry tak cantik plak..hehe
5. Add bihun. Mix well to let bihun absorb the oil. If too dry, add some of the liquid that was used for soaking earlier.
6. Add 2 tbs dark soy sauce, 1 tbs light soy sauce, 1 tbs fish sauce, 1 tsp kicap manis (optional), salt and msg (optional) to taste.

Please note these are all estimates, add according to your own taste. I suke campak2 je kalau masak. Baru nampak macam pro! Heh!

Ok lah nanti malam kalau tak penat, kite sambung lagi...with a new recipe, eh bukan, tried and tested recipe...Cantonese Fried Yee Mee, I made yesterday for buka puasa. Sekarang I nak gi jejalan cari sofa baru!

Ta

Mee Kuah Mamak Ala Singapore

Salam y'all! It's been a while, hasn't it? I've been busy yet again with the professional aspect of my daily routine. That would be my excuse, as always! Nah! Truth is, every time after I break my fast, I will be sprawling on the couch on the balcony, letting the cool breeze of the night lull me to a half-sleep half-zombie state! Now, that’s the truth!

Turkey has been playing on my mind! No! Not that Turkey! Istanbul! I need to get out of here. I need a break and have been planning for another getaway with my favourite girls, my cousins and my beautiful niece. We went away to Bali for a spa retreat in April this year. That was like centuries ago la...I need to go away or I will die….of boredom!!! Urgh!!!

Okies! Let’s get back to business now. I was craving for the Mee Kuah Mamak, Singapore style for a long time now. It is only available in the Fine City and the last time I was there was 3 years ago. Fortunately, I have good friends who commute to Singapore quite frequently and would buy back special spices concoctions that you can never get in KL. And these good friends had generously given them to me to spice up my kitchen with my signature Singapore dishes.

Jom tengok gambar jom!!!

 

I am going to cook vegetarian bihun for tonight's iftar. Not that I'm a vegan but the fact that I don't have much left in the refrigerator to cook up anything fancy. Malas wanna go to the supermarket today! :p

Ciao bellas. Selamak berbuka.

Sago Gula Melaka

Cheap and simple dessert to make. Everyone loves it! Jom belajar cara membuat ni jom...kalau tak nak belajar pun terpaksa gak sebab ni je yang ade untuk entry kali ni hehehehe...

Dinner was simple too. Asam pedas ikan tengiri, some sauteed vege, deep fried oyster mushrooms and telur goreng.

I am guessing many of you know how to make this simple dessert but not everyone knows the smooth consistency that the sago should be. Kan? kan? kan? The sago should be boiled till clear ie. no more of that 'white eye' in the sago. I use 1:4 cups of sago to water. Soak the sago in water for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Boil 4 cups of water in a pot and place sago in the pot when water is really boiling stirring continuously for approximately 7 minutes. When sago turns clear, drain and put them under running tap water to wash away the starch. Put them in moulds and chill in the fridge.

The gula melaka syrup is basically 1 piece of gula melaka to 1/2 cup of water. Boil water and gula melaka with knotted pandan leaves. Drain and leave to cool.

Instead of the norm coconut milk as the accompaniment to the syrup, I've used evaporated milk. Tasted better, I thought. Ade kelazzz la! Try it! :)

I'm starting to take up guitar lessons now so...I'm off to practise my fingering...psssttt...I'm using my sonny's guitar for now...:p

xoxo

Nasi Lemak for Iftar Day 4

Iftar! Presumably, it is Arabic. Never knew of the term until a few years ago. I've always used the commonly accepted terms "buka puasa" for breaking my fast. So, when I first heard of the word 'Iftar' in eg.'iftar bersama kak long dan keluarga', I was, "amende tu Iftar?". haha sekarang baru Mak Nenek tau! Jangan marah arrrr...Mak Nenek tak belajar time sekolah dulu. Time sekolah dulu kita belajar omputih dan bahasa Mandarin je. Tu yang hancur sikit tu kalau menulis dalam BM.

Banyak plak Mak Nenek ni mencecih! Anyways, I was out and about almost the whole of today and only managed to start my cooking game at about 5.30pm. A simple dinner was planned. Nasi Lemak, Sambal Tumis Udang and Kari Ayam with the usual suspects, sliced cucumbers, deep fried anchovies and peanuts. I also made some Sago Gula Melaka for desserts, of which I have not indulged in yet because I am already filled to the brim. Heh! I think I shall keep it for tomorrow night. 

Tonight's Iftar :D

Sempat gak beli daun pisang tu! Food presentation katanya! :)

Nak masak ape agaknye eh untuk esok? Stress! Stress! Stress

 

Bread and Butter Pudding

Salam dolls! Amboi! Mentang2 bulan Ramadhan pembukaan pakai 'Salam'! Selalunya tak kot? Hehehe tak ingat. Takpe lah, janji ikhlas! ;)

I meant to post this up yesterday but was caught up with a few other dealings that required my immediate attention. Heh! Cam serious sangat plak? Bulan2 puasa ni tak boleh serious2...nanti fairy marah!

Okay, here goes...my Bread and Butter Pudding (gerenti sedap) :-

Ingredients

• 8 slices of sandwich white *roti biase je* (I used Gardenia. Tear them into smaller pieces and place them in an oven-proof dish)
• 500 ml milk (fresh/full-cream) [soak the bread in milk for approximately 30 minutes]

• 4 tbsp fine sugar
• 2 tbsp butter (melted)
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 eggs
• Raisins (if you would like)
• I have added 1 tsp of cinnamon powder. This is optional but it gives a nice aroma, so you may want to try it. :)

Method

1. Mix the above (except the raisins and cinnamon powder which, if used, to be added last) well over low heat just enough to dissolve the sugar.
2. Pour the mixture over the soaked bread.
3. Bake for 30mins or until done at 180 deg C.

For the Sauce

• 1 can of evaporated milk
• 2 tbsp custard flour
• 2 tbsp sugar

Method

1. Mix all the ingredients over low heat stirring constantly until slightly thickened.

There!!! Senang je. This can also be eaten chilled which is how I've liked it.

Okay, selamat mencuba! Saya nak curik tulang jap...barang setengah jam! ;)

Nasi Tomato

First and foremost, I would like to wish all my Muslim brothers and sisters, Ramadhan Kareem! 

I am posting this entry while waiting for my Bread and Butter Pudding (with added cinnamon powder) in the oven to bake and my Lamb Stew to cook just nice and tender. Ooooh! The aroma!!!! If only I could include in this entry, the 'smell' of what's cooking in my kitchen. I wonder if there is a Fragrant App that I could download to do this. I swear I can make your stomach rumble just by the smell of my Lamb Stew. I know mine is! :p

Anyhoo, pictures of the Bread and Butter Pudding and the Lamb Stew Delhi Style (actually, it's not! I just came up with the name. It's just another of my crazy concoction of spices put together in an old fashioned way) will be posted in tomorrow's entry, Insya'Allah! Today, I will share with you pictures of what I cooked for the first day of Ramadan....

Tadddaaaaahhhh.....

Nasi Tomato

Ayam Masak Merah

                                                          
                          Dalca Kambing

Pacri Nenas

It was a boring Saturday, so I decided to cook up a feast...and a feast it was! It was a dinner for 10 and it took me approximately 3 hours to complete. Not too bad, RazZ! 

For those interested, the following is the recipe for my Nasi Tomato:-

Ingredients

• 4 cups of Bhasmati Rice (washed and soaked for 30 minutes)
• 3 cups of water
• 1 cup Chicken Stock
• 1 cup of evaporated milk
• 
  

• 1 Onion - blended
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 star anise
• 4 cardamons
• 5 cloves
• 4 tbsp tomato puree

• 4 tbsp of butter/margarine
• Salt to taste

Method

1. Heat up the butter on medium heat.
2. Stir fry blended onion and all the spices till fragrant. Add in the tomato puree and mix well.
3. Add in milk and bring to a low boil. 
4. Pour the milk mixture into the rice pot containing the washed rice, water and chicken stock and cook till rice is done stirring occasionally.
5. Tips for cooking Bhasmati rice: always use a fork to fluff the rice to preserve the nice long grains!

Selamat Mencuba and I really hope you will like it. 

Ciao bellas and Selamat berbuka to those who are fasting!

Oven-Baked Barbecue Chicken

It has been a while since my last entry. I've been really busy. Very busy. Busybody!!!

I've cooked up dinners and kuehs and shot a few pictures of which are still sitting in the hard disk waiting to be uploaded but I'm going to take my time and post the recent ones first. Recent ones being tonight's dinner! It has been raining the whole of today and laziness crept in so I've decided to throw in some chicken legs and made a simple no-fuss dinner for 3. 

The barbecue sauce was homemade. Less sugar and with a dash of vinegar, a slightly more tangy. I had baked scallop potatoes with cheese and rosemary to go with the chicken and some fresh fruits with low-fat yoghurt dressing. The kids are not particularly fond of greens, so I've decided to skip the hassle and serve fruit salad instead. 

I've been eating like a pig for the past weeks so tonight's dinner is a welcomed change. Hah!

Tomorrow, I will try to post up some pictures I took last Saturday of a simple lunch I prepared for a girlfriend, who traveled all the way from Singapore for my Sambal Udang Petai. :D 

Sssshhhh...I think I hear my bed calling me....nanite, beloveds!