Parmesan Sauce with Peas and Bacon

Recently...

Question: What is the theme of your blog? 
My answer: Hmm... There isn't a theme. I cook the things I like to eat and the things I want to try. 
Question: What is your blog about? 

Yes, there are many people who blog about food. And I blog about food and cooking because it has a special meaning to me. 

My family started humble with little food to eat. I remember my mum told us that they had to fork out the last few coins to feed the family because we were very poor then. At that time, the coins managed to only get three steamed cupcakes (if you noticed, steamed cupcakes is one of the earlier posts on my blog) to feed a family of five. Since, my parents worked very hard to feed the family and slowly our family began to live more comfortably. Because my parents had to work, I started to help out in the kitchen at a young age. I am blessed that my mum is a good cook so I learnt to love cooking and baking. Over the years, I built on my cooking repertoires through culinary classes, cook books and research over the internet. My family and friends are my great supporters of my trials. Even though some of my experiments failed terribly, they have been very encouraging. I got to understand the phrase that food binds people together and often I like to invite family and friends over for dinner and sometimes bring baked goodies to friends and colleagues.  

So what is my blog about? 

My answer: It is about cooking for love. I hope I can inspire you (everyone) to cook at home. To cook for the ones you care and love and to enjoy the goodness of home-cooked meals together. 

This recipe is requested by a friend. She has a beautiful family and three wonderful children. I am sure she has asked for this recipe to cook a nice meal for her family. This sauce is good for any pasta. I had it with fresh linguine and ravioli too. Once my hubby and I invited my brother-in-law over for dinner, (Yes, we like to host and have been inviting people for dinner on weekends) he was obsessed with this pasta sauce and had been requesting for us to cook it again and again. 

Recipe (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

• 100g Bacon, thinly sliced
• 100g Frozen Green Peas
• 3 Garlic cloves, chopped
• 2 Shallots, chopped
• 4 tbsp Unsalted Butter
• 2 cups Heavy cream
• 1 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated
• Pinch of Nutmeg
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 200g Cooked Pasta 

Steps:

1. In a large pan, heat heat on medium and cook garlic and shallots. 
2. Add in bacon and fry till bacon turns light brown. 
3. Add in heavy cream. Cook on medium high heat till cream reduce to 2/3 of the original the amount. 
4. Add in nutmeg, peas, salt and pepper. Cook for a couple of minutes.
5. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan cheese. 
6. Toss with cooked pasta. 

Enjoy! And do enjoy cooking, yea? Yes, I know cooking takes time. But if you do not spend time cooking for your love ones, who will? 

Glutinous Rice with Dried Shrimps, Chinese mushrooms and peanuts (糯米饭)

After making the Kaya Glutinous Rice Cake, I still have more than half a packet of glutinous rice sitting in my cupboard. I did not wish to see any rice weevils so I have to use it up before the shelf life expires. So what should I make? Quick...quick... 

This dish which I am sharing is a typical Chinese Singaporean breakfast and it can be seen as a common celebratory dish to welcome the new born babies. I think the success factor of the dish goes to the tenderness of the grains and the blend of accompaniments that complements the sticky rice. The only tough thing about making this dish is that each ingredients must be fried to fragrant before mixing with the pre-soaked rice. After that you can send the blend of ingredients to steam to perfection!

Recipe (Serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 500g Glutinous rice , rinsed, soaked in water for at least 4 hours and drained
• 100g Peanuts with skin, fried till golden brown
• 50g Dried shrimps, soaked for 30 minutes
• 5 pc Dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked till soft and thinly sliced 
• 200g Pork Belly, cut into thin strips
• 75g Shallots, thinly sliced
• 2 stalks Spring onions, chopped 
• 1 Red Chili, chopped
• 150ml Water
• 1/2 tbsp Salt 
• 1/2 tsp White Pepper
• 1/2 tbsp Dark Soya sauce
• 1/2 tbsp Light Soya sauce
• 1/2 tbsp Sesame oil 
• 11/3 tsp Sugar
• 5 tbsp Cooking oil 
• 
  

Steps:

1. Heat up the wok and add in cooking oil. 
2. Fry the shallots till golden brown over medium heat. Remove shallots and leave the oil in the wok. 
3. Fry the mushrooms till fragrant for about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and leave the oil in the wok. 
4. Fry the dried shrimps till fragrant. Be careful as oil may spatter. Remove half the shrimps and set aside. 
5. Add in pork and fry till it turns opaque. Add in half of the fried mushrooms and half the of fried shallots. 
6. Add in the drained glutinous rice. Mix well. 
7. Add in the seasoning and water. Fry for 1 minute. 
8. Transfer to a steaming tray and steam for 40 minutes. 
9. Remove the tray from heat and let it cool for 20 minutes. Sprinkle with fried peanuts, rest of the mushrooms, dried shrimps and shallots. Top it with spring onions and chili as desired. 

If you are wondering how I fry the peanuts... All I did was to deep fry them in a saucepan of hot oil. Put the peanuts in a metal strainer and lowered it into the oil. In less than 30 seconds, the peanuts are browned perfectly. You will noticed the peanuts had shrunk a little. These peanuts are good to eat on their own too. 

French Onion Soup with Cheese Gratin

I am a soup person. I love soups. I will order soup as a side in restaurants even though it is scorching hot outside. Be it cream, clear, bisque or consomme. You have it, I get it. However, I didn't quite understand why the 'French' like tonnes of onions in their soup? What is so unique about French Onion Soup? Just onions for soup? Is it possible for onions to stand out on its own. Well, I have to convince myself. 

Recently I was at a French restaurant along Duxton and they only had French onion soup for their lunch menu. Well, I thought it was time to give onions a chance. So I did. Wow! The caramelized onions provided a layered and complex depth to the taste. The gruyere cheese and  toasted bread enhanced the texture and taste to a humble soup. Hmm...mm... onions  surprised me. 

For the next few days, I was thinking about it and flipped Julia Child's cookbook. Yes, let's make it!

Recipe (Serves 6)

Ingredients

A) Onion soup

• 680g Yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 40f Unsalted Butter
• 1 tbsp Olive oil 
• 3 tbsp Plain flour
• 1.9 litres Chicken Stock  
• 1/2 cup White wine
• 3 tbsp Cognac
• 1/2 tsp Salt 
• 1/2 tsp Sugar
• A dash of pepper

Steps:

1. In a heated large pot, melt the butter with oil over low heat. 
2. Add in the onions and stir well. 
3. Cover for 15 minutes and let it cook slowly. 
4. Uncover the pot, increase the heat to medium and add in salt and pepper. 
5. Stir frequently for about 30 minutes or until onions turn deep golden brown. Scrap the bottom of pot to prevent burning as the onions caramelized. 
6. Add in the flour and cook for another 3 minutes. 
7. Add in wine and stock. 
8. Season with salt and pepper. 

B) Cheese Gratin

• 2 cups Grated Gruyere 
• 1 French bread, cut into 0.8 inch thick rounds and toasted till hard
• 2 tbsp Butter

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degree Celsius. 
2. Divide the soups into 6 soup bowls. 
3. Add 1 tsp of cheese into the soup. 
4. Spread some butter on toast. 
5. Float a couple of toasted bread over the soup and top it with your preferred amount of cheese. 
6. Bake it for 15 minutes and finish it off over a broiler/grill at high heat to brown the cheese lightly. 
7. Serve while it is hot. 

Do take note that the soup will thickened during the baking process. Enjoy!

Kaya Glutinous Rice cake (Kueh Seri Kaya)

When I was young, my parents would sometimes drive by Katong to pick up some nyonya kuehs for breakfast for the next day. I was not a BIG fan of the asian sweet cakes but there are a few types I adore. In fact, my family members have their own personal favourite. And mine? Kueh Seri Kaya!




























Most nyonya kuehs are made from eggs, coconut milk, flour, asian herbs and some use root vegetables like tapioca and yams or in this case, rice. These ingredients are easily available in Asia and they are relatively cheap. The preparation is easy and does not require much whipping or beating. 



Recipe (12 cm round tray)
Ingredients:

A) Rice (base)

• 600g glutinous rice, washed once and soaked for 4 hours
• 1 & 1/2 tsp Salt 
• 250 ml Coconut milk
• 125 ml Coconut milk + 125 ml water
• 3 pieces of Pandan Leaves

Steps:

1. Drained the glutinous rice. Lay the rice into a 12-cm round tray and steam the rice for 10 minutes. 
2. Dissolve salt in 60 ml Coconut milk + 60 ml water mixture. Mix into the glutinous rice. 
3. When it is mixed well, add in the rest of the coconut milk. 
4. Lay the pandan leaves on top of rice.
5. Steam for another 30 minutes. 

b) Kaya

• 35g Plain Flour
• 240ml Coconut milk 
• 60 ml Coconut milk + 60 ml water
• 10 eggs 
• 230g Caster Sugar
• 1/4 tsp Salt 
• 2 Pandan leaves, tie into a knot
• 120ml Pandan juice, pound the 10 pandan leaves and add 2 tbsp of water
• 1/2 tsp Green colouring 

Steps:

1. Mix plain flour with 60 ml Coconut milk + 60 ml water. Set aside.
2. Mix the eggs in a bowl and strain it through a strainer. 
3. In a metal mixing bowl or a heat proof glass mixing bowl, mix the eggs with sugar, salt and pandan leaves. 
4. Add in the coconut milk, pandan juice, colouring and flour mixture. Mix well. 
5. Put the mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water, double boil it. 
6. Stir continuously until the kaya thickens and coats the back of a wooden spatula. 
7. Discard the pandan leaves. 

8. Pour the kaya over the just steamed glutinous rice. 

9. Steam it for 30 minutes. 

10. Set aside 4 hours. Cut and serve!  

I like how this recipe turned out. Very authentic and original! My mum came over and had 3 pieces at one shot! That speaks for itself!
Cheers!