Yummlicious Steamed Yam Cake (Taro)

There are some food that I grow up with in Singapore that I remember vividly. I do not eat them everyday but I enjoy making them in my kitchen and trying to bring back the nostalgic taste I savoured. 

One of the best yam cakes I have tasted comes from Chinatown food centre. The simple and plain yam cake doused with a sweet sauce is good enough to make a great start for any day. However, as a typical Hokkien, I like my yam cake topped with generous servings of dried shrimps, mushrooms and shallots. Yum Yum! 

Recipe (4" x 8" loaf) 

Ingredients 

• 300g Yam/ Taro, sliced in 1 cm thick 
• 10 Shallots, thinly sliced
• 40g Dried shrimps, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and drained
• 1 Chinese Sausage, cut into small dices
• 4 pieces of Dried Chinese Mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, drained and thinly sliced
• 1 stalk of Spring Onions, chopped
• 1 Red Chili, chopped (optional)  

Flour mixture

• 100g Rice flour
• 30g Tapioca Flour
• 350ml Water

Seasoning

• 2 tbsp Light Soya Sauce
• 2 tsp Sugar 
• 1/2 tsp Ground White Pepper
• 1/4 tsp Salt 

• 3 tbsp cooking oil 

Steps:

1. Steam the yam slices for 20 minutes. Remove and mash roughly. 
2. Mix the flour and water together. Add in the cooled yam and seasoning (except cooking oil). Mix well and set aside. 
3. In a heated wok over medium heat, add cooking oil. Add shallots and fry till golden brown. Remove the shallots and set aside as toppings. 
4. Keep the oil in wok, add in dried shrimps and dried mushrooms. Fry till fragrant. 
5. Add in chinese sausage and fry for 1 - 2 minutes. 
6. Remove 3/4 of the ingredients from the wok and set them aside for topping. 
7. Add in the flour and yam mixture for step 2. 
8. Stir the mixture slowly as it becomes thick. When the batter turns into a dough, transfer to a loaf pan. 
9. Steam the yam cake for 40 minutes. When it is done, remove from steamer and let it cool for 30 minutes. 
10. Top the yam cake with the rest of the toppings, chopped spring onions, fried shallots and chopped chili. 
11. Serve warm. 

Healthy Quinoa and Edamame Salad

Today is one of those days that I feel like going healthy. I want to enjoy something simple, healthy and tasty. It has been for at least 6 months which I have opt for healthier rice options during dinner. I read that quinoa is a great grain with high nutritive value. It is a high protein food and has high concentration of mono-saturated fats that protects our heart. It is also a good source of folate, copper and phosphorus in contrast to whole wheat. Sounds good isn't it? 

Taste wise... I think it tastes better than brown rice. And surprisingly, quinoa pairs extremely well with curries. If you wonder if it is a new world food. Nope! Quinoa has been around approximately 3000 BC. The good news is that the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has officially declared year 2013 "The International Year of the Quinoa." This further affirms that the quinoa is the healthier and right choice.

Ingredients (serves 2-3)

• 1/2 cup Quinoa
• 1/2 cup Edamame, blanched in hot water and drained
• 1/4 cup Celery, cut into small dices
• 1/4 cup Carrots,  cut into small dices
• 2 tbsp Toasted Pine nuts
• 1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Sea salt and Pepper to taste 

Steps:

1. Boil quinoa with 1 cup of water in a small saucepan, covered. Remove from heat once the quinoa becomes tender and absorbs all the water. Do not let the quiinao burn. Cool for 15 minutes. 
2. Mix the prepared ingredients and quinoa in a mixing bowl together. Add olive oil and salt and pepper to taste. 
3. You may serve straight away or chilled. 

Singapore Fruit Salad (Rojak)

Some dishes just bring back strong memories. And to me, Rojak is one of them. It brings me back to one of my earliest memory that when I was around the age of 5. I was staying in Toa Payoh, one of the earliest town in Singapore. I remember that school was fun and play was part of the learning. There was this lesson which I enjoyed very much and I could still remember vividly. The teacher brought my classmates and I to the hall. There, I saw many tricycles and the teacher got us to cycle on them in the hall. Because there were not enough tricycles to go around, we took turns and was told to ferry our classmates when it was our turn to cycle. From that lesson, I learnt about caring for one another and also to always extend help to someone in need. Such lessons are so valuable and important as part of my growing years. 

In the same year, I had also experienced the feeling of fear and worry. My mum liked to bring us to the town center to do some shopping and get lunch. On a fateful day, I wandered off and soon lost sight of my family. Although, I knew the town center at the back of my hand and knew my way home, I started to get frightened as I was worried that my family would not be able to locate me. Tears started to well. I walked to a pavilion nearby and stood there for my family to spot me. I waited and waited... Minutes felt like hours. After some time, I heard my sister calling out for me and I was relieved to see her and my mum. Tears poured. Instead of being reprimanded, my mum told me that she had reported the police and now I had to go to the police station to apologize to the policemen. (During those days, kids were told that policemen are out to catch naughty kids and put them into jail) I was so scared that hid behind my mum when she walked towards the police post. As we walked, she steered away from the direction of the police post and towards a coffee shop to get our usual dosage of Rojak!  Although I am not sure if that store is the famous Toa Payoh Rojak, I remember it was very delicious and it was wrapped with a colored rubber band. 

Ingredients:

A) Main

• 1 Apple, thinly sliced
• 1 small turnip, thinly sliced
• 1 small cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1/2 pineapple, cored and thinly sliced
• 2 Dried Beancurd, toasted and sliced
• 2 doughsticks (You Tiao),  toasted and cut into 1/2 inch slices
• 1/2 cup Beansprouts, blanched
• 1/4 cup Grounded Peanuts, toasted 
• 1 Ginger torch
• 1/4 tsp Grated lime zest

Steps:

1. Prepare the ingredients. 
2. As for the ginger torch, chop the top 1 inch of the flower finely. This ingredient is important to bring out the flavour of rojak.

B) Sauce

• 3 tbsp Prawn Paste (Hei Ko) 
• 2 tbsp Assam, mixed with 3 tbsp of hot water and strained
• 2 tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Fresh Green Lime juice

Prawn Paste (Hei Ko)

Steps:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix the assam mixture with sugar until sugar dissolves. 
2. Add in the prawn paste and lime juice. You may adjust the sauce according to your preference. 
3. Add half of the toasted peanuts and mix well. 
4. Add in ginger torch and grated lime zest. Mix well. 
5. Add in the main ingredients and ensure every pieces is coated well with the sauce. 
6. Plate it on a serving plate and top it with the rest of the peanuts. 

Carrot Cake is baked

Yes, this carrot cake is baked. It is a cake with carrots. I am still trying to get over it.  I didn't quite like carrot cakes because I was simply confused with Asian savory carrot cakes. Rooted to my asian roots, I was unwillingly to have  different items sharing a name. It is a identity crisis! Also I have never baked a cake with vegetables in it. I have tried nuts, fruits and herbs but never with a vegetable. It is weird... But it is a psychological issue I have to deal with. So here it is!

As I was writing this post, I googled for the history of carrot cake. I was surprised that it started long ago in the medieval days where it was cheaper to use carrot as natural sweetener in cakes. Perhaps that's why we have sweet potato pie? However it was only in 1960s where the Americans came up with the American Carrot cakes. 

Recipe For about 10 cup cakes

Ingredients

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup Canola oil 
• 3 tablespoon Buttermilk
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence
• 1 cup + 2 tbsp All purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Baking soda
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt 
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
• 2 cups Tightly packed shredded Carrots
• 1/2 cup Raisins
• 1/2 cup Walnuts, toasted and chopped

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. 
2. Using a cake mixer, whip the eggs and brown sugar at medium until mixture is light and thick. 
3. In a separate bowl, mix oil, buttermilk and vanilla. Set aside.
4. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together.  Set aside.
5. Reduce speed of cake mixer to low and slowly add in the oil mixture. 
6. Using a rubber spatula and fold in the flour mixture. 
7. Add in carrots, raisins and walnuts. Fold in until the batter is well mixed. 
8. Pour the batter into a baking tin or muffin cups.
9. Bake the cake for 1 hour or 45 minutes respectively. 

Gado Gado (Indonesian Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce)

I used to dislike Sundays. It is a day away from Mondays which means I have to wake up early the next day for work. Don't get me wrong. I enjoy work but I love my bed more. Besides that, I find the air on Sunday stale and the weather too sunny for my liking. I prefer days that are cool, shady and breezy. Well...that's was my impression of Sundays. Nowadays my Sundays are different. It is fun! I have family lunch parties. It could be Soya sauce Chicken Noodles treat or a home-made pizza party. This time round, we are having Gado Gado buffet. 

Gado Gado originates from Indonesia. It is made up of boiled vegetables dressed with spicy peanut sauce. It is actually up to individual to decide what goes into the salad. I like it with rice cakes (lontong) and this makes the meal more satisfying. The school I used to go during my primary school days sold this simple and gorgeous dish. I did not eat it often because it would cost my entire day worth of pocket money to have it. Then I was given a humble amount for pocket money. 

If you feel like having Gado Gado now, it  is not easily found in the hawker stalls, I am not too sure why... Do you know? 

In case if you are wondering ... I assure you it is not a 'Tupperware' party. I wanted to use these containers so that the leftovers can be easily kept away. But guess what... there was no leftovers. Everything was gone! :) 

Recipe (Serves 6) 

Ingredients:

A) Spicy Peanut Sauce

Spice Paste (Make approx. 3 portions of rempah)

• 200g Shallots
• 90g Lemon Grass
• 80g Galangal
• 30g Garlic
• 40g Ginger
• 4g Tumeric Powder
• 10g Belachan powder
• 50g Buah Keras (Candle nuts)

Using a electric blender, blend all above ingredients into paste form to make rempah. Set aside for use later. 

• 80g Rempah
• 2 cloves of Garlic, chopped
• tsp Cumin Powder
• 1 tsp Coriander Powder
• 50g Chili Paste
• 3 tbsp Tamarind paste, mix with 1 cup of water
• 100g Ground Peanuts
• 400ml Water
• 50ml Coconut milk 
• 1 tsp Salt 
• 60g Gula Malacca
• 1/2 cup of cooking oil 

Steps:

1. In a wok over medium heat, add oil and fry rempah and chili paste for a minute and add in garlic, cumin and coriander powder. 
2. When the spice paste separates from the oil (this will take approx 8 minutes), add tamarind water, water and coconut milk. Bring to boil and add in grounded peanuts. 
3. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes over low heat. When in thickens, add sugar and salt. 
4. You may vary the tamarind water for preferred acidity, salt and sugar to taste. 
5. Keep gravy warm. 

B) Salad 

You may prepare the salad ingredients while the gravy is boiling. 

• 5 eggs, boiled, peeled and quartered
• 2 Potatoes, peeled, boiled and cut into cubes
• 1 Cucumber, removed seeds and cut into 1 inch strips
• 2 cups of Beansprouts, blanched
• 2 pieces of Beancurds (Tau Kwa), deep fried and cut into cubes
• 300g Cabbage, cut into 1 inch cubes and blanched
• 15 French Beans, cut into 1 inch strips and blanched
• 5 Boiled rice cakes 
• Crackers

To enjoy, mix and match the ingredients and drizzle generously with the spicy peanut sauce. 

How are your Sundays spent? 

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? 

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!

Crispy Layered Curry Puffs

I grew up in a Singapore heartland and I could get simple and tasty food in the nearby coffee shops and eateries. I could remember Hainanese chicken rice was scrumptious and serving was generous. It can beat the Mandarin Chatterbox $25 chicken rice anytime! My favourite was the Fried Hokkien noodles. They were fried upon order and watching the uncle frying the noodles was truly an eye-treat. Food then was authentic and delicious.  


Today, food is fancier in presentation. Food appreciation is elevated to include different senses. Beside taste, it must be a feast to the eyes and scent to the nose. The recent craze of curry puffs has invited a few brands to compete for a market share. With competition, curry puffs have evolved from the good old days of Epok Epok. 

So what makes a good curry puff? My answers are:

• Crispy and flaky dough
• Buttery dough
• Warm and moist filling
• If it is Potato filling, hard boiled eggs is a must!

Well, my featured version of curry puff has of course satisfied my own criteria.  And I brought these to Boston Food swap. I would say it created a buzz among the Bostonians in the event. 

Photo from Boston Food Swap

Recipe:
A) Chicken and Potato Filling

• 1 Chicken Breast, cut into cubes
• 2 Large Potatoes, boiled and cut into cubes
• 1 Red onion, diced
• 1 handful of Cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp Curry powder
• 1 tsp Tumeric powder
• 1 tbsp Chili paste (optional) 
• Black pepper and salt to season
• Cooking oil
• Water
• 2 Hard boiled eggs, cut into 6 segments

Steps:

1. In a heated wok, add 2 tbsp of oil. Add in chili paste. Fry till fragrant. 
2. Add in onions, fry until it turns translucent. 
3. Add in chicken and fry until it turns opaque. Add in potatoes. 
4. Add into curry powder, tumeric powder, seasoning. Stir well.
5. Add in 1/4 cup of water. Simmer until the chicken is cooked and water dries up, approx 10 minutes.
6. Remove from heat and set aside. 

B) Dough 


1) Water Dough

• 450g All Purpose flour
• 1 tsp Salt
• 200ml water

2)  Oil Dough 

• 200g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
• 365g  All Purpose flour
• Some Ice cold water

Steps:

1. Prepare the water dough. In a mixing bowl, mix flour with salt, add in water slowly to form a dough. Adjust the water accordingly to have a pliable dough. 
2. Wrap with plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes. After which, divide the dough into balls of 85g each. 
3. Prepare oil dough in a different mixing bowl. Mix the butter and flour together. Add some ice cold water to help to gather the dough together. Do not over knead as it may transfer heat and melt the butter. Wrap with plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes in the fridge. After which, divide the dough into balls of 70g each. 
4. Flatten a water dough ball and place a oil dough ball onto the center of water dough. Wrap the oil dough. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
5. Roll the mixture dough into a rectangle about 18 cm x 10 cm. Roll the dough tightly into a spiral, start with a shorter end. Rest for 10 minutes. Cut it into 4 equal pieces. Repeat for the rest of the dough. 
6. Take a piece of cut dough. Roll into a round 1/8 inch  dough wrapper. 
7. Fill the wrapper with filling and a piece of hard boiled egg. 
8. Seal the edges with some water. Pinch the ends. 
9. Deep fry it in medium high heat. Remove when pastry turns golden brown. Drain from oil. 

Singapore Popiah (Springroll)

I was invited to host a cooking session to showcase Singapore delicacies to the international friends here. I was stuck at that task for a couple of days. The variety of Singapore food is so great that it is very difficult to choose a few to represent Singapore uniquely. 


I remember there was a tussle between Singapore and Malaysia on the dishes which are unique to their country. Chicken rice, Chili crabs and Yu-sheng were some of the prized cuisines that were debated. Were there any conclusions? I think the line should not be drawn so clearly and good food should be shared and enjoyed. 


So in planning for my cooking session, I decided to go for home-cooked food. Food that are common and popular in Singaporeans' homes. So popiah it is! 
In Singapore, it is quite popular to host popiah parties at home during festive occasions or gatherings. It is fun to get family members and friends to get their hands busy to roll their own wraps with their preferred filling. It is simple to make and does not require the host to be busy in the kitchen and miss out the action in the main hall. 

Recipe (For approx 30 spring rolls)

A) Vegetable filling:

• 2 medium Turnips, shredded
• 2 large Carrots, shredded
• 1 handful of Green beans (optional) , shredded
• 1 medium Cabbage (optional) , shredded
• 2 cloves of Garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp of Dried Shrimps, soaked (optional)
• 3 tbsp of Oyster Sauce
• 3 tbsp of Light Soya sauce
• 1 tsp of Salt
• 1/2 tsp of White Pepper

B) Other filling:

• Hard boiled eggs, chopped
• Boiled shrimps, halved
• 1 cup of Beansprouts, blanched
• 1 cup of unsalted peanuts, toasted and ground and add 2 tbsp of granulated sugar
• 1 handful of Cilantro, use only the leaves
• Sweet paste
• Chili paste (optional)

C) Skin:

• ·        Spring roll skin (For a twist, crepe is fine too!)

Steps:

•  In a wok, add cooking oil. Fry garlic until light golden. 
• Add dried shrimps and fry until fragrant. 
• Add in carrots, green beans, cabbage and turnips.  
• Add seasoning. Simmer for 15 minutes. Taste and adjust accordingly. 
• To wrap the spring rolls, lay a piece of spring roll skin on a plate with one corner pointing downwards, spread 1/4 tsp of sweet paste and chili (if desired) on 1/4 of the skin.
• Sprinkle ground nuts, eggs, beansprouts on the spread.
• Place few cilantro leaves and shrimps. 
• Top it with 2 spoonful of vegetable filling. 
• To roll, fold the roll like an envelope, with the downward pointed corner to fold up and two corners at the sides to fold in. Roll the spring roll forward to meet the top corner. 
• Enjoy!

Egg Benedict & Hollandaise Sauce

Egg Benedict... A sinful breakfast/ brunch item made of poached eggs and ham over English muffins, sinfully drizzled with the divine Hollandaise sauce. All faint hearted should avoid this delicious combination because the sauce is rich, buttery and creamy. You may die of a heart attack! Just joking! But well, you got to try it at least once (from a decent restaurant, or make your own!). 

Hollandaise sauce is one of the five mother sauces in the French sauces repertoire. It is difficult to make and does not keep for long. To make the sauce, you need egg yolks, butter, lemon and some seasoning. I had to get my hubby to help me during the preparation process as one has to add melted butter into the mixture while whisking it continuously. In fact, I learnt that it is good to involved your hubby in the cooking process because he will appreciate your hard work in bringing food to the table. Well, my hubby enjoyed his breakfast very much and of course he appreciated the hard work I put in. I guess it will take some time for him to request Egg Benedict again for his breakfast at home.  (In fact, the next day we tried Egg Benedict at Boston. The sauce was a let down :P)

Recipe

Ingredients:

A) Hollandaise Sauce

• 2 Egg Yolks
• 4 sticks of butter (2 cups), melted and clarified
• 1 tbsp Freshly squeezed Lemon juice
• Salt and white pepper to taste
• Water

Steps:

1. Simmer a pot of water over low heat.
2. Using a mixing bowl (that is able to place over the pot of simmering water for double boiling), whisk the egg yolks over the simmering water. Whisk the eggs till it is creamy and ribbons are formed. 
3. Remove the mixing bowl from heat, add in the butter a teaspoon at a time and whisk continuously. If the mixture becomes too thick, add some warm water. Continue to add all the butter a teaspoon at a time. 
4. Add in lemon juice, salt and pepper. Whisk well. 
5. Set aside. Keep the sauce warm. 

B) Egg Benedict (For 2)

• 2 Eggs, at room temperature
• Ham
• English Muffins, halved and toasted
• Asparagus, trimmed 
• 1 tbsp White vinegar 
• Salt and pepper
• 1 tsp of oil

1. Blanch the asparagus in boiling water and put it into ice bath. 
2. In a pan with 1 tsp of oil, saute the  asparagus and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
3. In the same pan, heat the ham (optional)
4. In a pot of simmer water over low heat, add white vinegar. 
5. Crack an egg into a bowl. Slide the egg using the bowl carefully into the simmering water. Let the egg poach for 3 minutes. Repeat the same process for another egg. 
6. Using a slotted spoon, remove the poached egg. 
7. Lay a slice of muffin on a plate, top it with ham, egg, asparagus and drizzle with a generous amount of hollandaise sauce. 
8. Bon Appetit!

Curried Carrot and Cilantro Soup

My refrigerator is reaching its bleakest moment... it is emptying .... Yes, we skipped a week of grocery shopping. No luxury of options so our stomachs were asking for some creativity. I need something to start a dinner of apricot glazed chicken drumsticks (Yes, we are having it again because it was so good!) and pan-fried brussels sprouts. I pulled my vegetable drawer in the fridge and I had only a few carrots and some sprigs of cilantro left. 


How about carrot soup? Ya I know... not appealing at all. I am sure with some innovation it will be an awesome soup! And it did turn out really great. My food critic (aka hubby) gave thumbs up too! 


I like the depth of curry powder. It makes food tastes so exotic and rich. This spice definitely adds some $$ value to a plain old carrot soup. The use of cilantro was really quite a genius as it brings out a citrus-y and healthy taste. I know cilantro may not be everyone's favorite but it has a place in our house. Yea!!!

Recipe (Serves 3 -4) 
Ingredients:

• 3 medium Carrots, peeled and cut into dices
• 1 Onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 handful of Cilantro, chopped
• 1 tbsp Curry powder
• 2 cups Beef stock (you can use chicken or vegetable stock)
• 1/2 cup Water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Heavy cream (optional) 
• 2 tbsp Olive oil

Steps:

1. In a heavy saucepan, heat olive oil on medium heat. Add in chopped onions and stir well. 
2. When onions turn transparent, add in carrots. 
3. Stir for 2 minutes and add in beef stock and water. 
4. Let it boil on medium heat until the carrots turn very tender. Use a fork to test. 
5. Add in cilantro and simmer for 2 minutes. 
6. Using an immersion handheld blender or a liquidizer, blend the soup until all ingredients are fine. Be careful as soup is very hot. 
7. Return the saucepan with soup to low heat. 
8. Season the soup with curry powder, salt and pepper. Simmer for another 5 minutes. 
9. Serve with a drizzle of heavy cream. 

Potato Latkes wth Spicy Habanero Jelly

In my stay in Boston, I made many friends. Friends from all over the world. One of them is M, she is from Taiwan and she loves food and dining too. We hit off immediately and have been hanging out frequently. At a recent foodswap which we attended together, we tasted for the first time Habanero Jelly. Both of us fell in love with it. Unfortunately, I did not managed to swap for the prized item. But M did. So she shared with me. Oh my.... it was so gorgeous. Well, I was so captivated with the jelly and started browsing the internet for a good recipe. Trying to figure out the ingredients that will contribute to a good Habanero jelly, with much effort I nailed it! Hence I invited M to come and make some spicy and sweet Hanabero jelly. 


Habanero is rated one of the hottest chili in the world. It is given 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale whereas Bird-eye chili (Commonly used in Asia) is only rated 50,000 - 100,000. Be careful when you deal with them. My hands experienced hot sensation even though I minimized contact with it. 

After making the jelly, M and I tasted it. Wooh! It was much better than the one we had at the foodswap. It was magnificent (and quite spicy despite both of us love spicy food). Right after M left my place, I started to think of what to have for dinner. After browsing some food magazines, I decided to make some Potato Latkes. Then a sudden thought came to my head! Why not dip it with Habanero jelly! So I did! It was a marriage made in heaven! Yummy... You got to try these out!

Spicy Habanero Jelly 
Recipe 
Ingredients:

• 60g Hanabero chili 
• 30g Yellow Bell pepper
• 1/3 Big yellow onion
• 1/2 cup Apple Cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cup Sugar
• 6g Pectin 

Steps:

1. Puree chili and peppers with 1/4 cup of vinegar.
2. Boil the puree chili mix with sugar and rest of the vinegar for 10 minutes. 
3. Stir in pectin and keep boiling for 1 minute. 
4. Remove from heat. 
5. Skim foam.
6. Mixture will form when cooled. 

Potato Latkes

Recipe (Makes seven 3" pieces)
Ingredients:

• 2 large potatoes
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Egg
• 1/6 cup All-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp Salt 
• Cooking oil 

Steps:

1. Peel and coarsely grate the potatoes. 
2. Toss with lemon juice. 
3. Chop the onions and mix it with the potatoes. 
4. Using a clean kitchen towel, wring out as much liquid as possible from the potatoes and onions. 
5. Put the potatoes and onion to a clean mixing bowl. 
6. Add in egg, flour and salt. Mix well.
7. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. 
8. Fill a 1/4 cup with latke mixture and carefully place it on the pan.
9. Using a slotted spatula, flatten latke mixture into 3" patty. 
10. Fry till the undersides turned golden brown. Turn over and cook the other side golden brown too. 
11. Repeat for the rest of the latke mixture. 
12. You may keep them warm in a 250 degree Fahrenheit oven for up to 1 hour. Or you may fry them again for 2 minutes on each sides.   

Mushrooms Ragu

I saw some nice mushrooms in the supermarket two days ago. They looked so lovely and delicious. I just want to EAT them. 

When choosing mushrooms, choose firm, smooth and dry caps mushrooms. Do not choose mushrooms which are damp, pitted or dried out mushrooms. Put the mushrooms in paper bags or their original boxes. There is no need to wash mushrooms before cooking. You may brush the dirt away but they are very clean actually. Washing mushrooms are like putting sponges into water and it will affect your cooking. 

Mushrooms are easy to cook but it taste better if it is stir fry with some herbs and served over pasta, rice or even burgers! 


Mushrooms Ragu
Ingredients
12 Cremini mushrooms, cut into thick slices 
1 stalk of Rosemary (You may use thyme)
1 shallot, chopped 
1/4 cup Cooking White wine
1 tbsp Butter
1tbsp Olive Oil
White wine
Salt 
Black pepper


Steps

1. In a pan over medium-low heat, melt butter with olive oil.
2. Add chopped shallots. Cook until soft and fragrant. 
3. Increase the heat to medium. Add mushrooms and stir. 
4. Add in salt and pepper. 
5. Cover pan with a lid until mushrooms release their liquid. 
6. Uncover and increase heat to high. 
7. Stir until liquid drys and mushrooms are brown. 
8. Add rosemary and wine. 
9. Cook till pan is almost dry. 
10. Serve hot. 

You can always replace cremini mushrooms with white mushrooms. Cremini mushrooms has a earthy, meaty and mild flavour. It is actually a baby portobello. If it is left to grow another 5 days, it will turn into a 4 inch portobello. 

Beansprouts can be tasty too! Stir-fry Beansprouts with Tofu

Simple is nice. Simple can be delicious.

Beansprouts is a crunchy and light vegetable. It is best eaten with its head and tail removed so you don't get the soil aftertaste. Well, to have tasty beansprouts is to cook the beansprouts 'al dente' with a slight crunch when you eat it. That would mean to remove it from the heat when it starts turning translucent. Raw and opaque beansprouts can taste bad especially when it is not fresh.

As beansprouts do not have a strong flavour so I like to add some flavourful vegetables to to bring out the flavour of beansprouts.

Let's call these vegetables "The 3 Musketeers": Green bell peppers ( or known as green capsicum), Chilli and Scallion (or known as spring onions). These vegetables gives out a and strong, peppery fragrance. Nice....

To add a change of texture in the dish, I added fried beancurd (firm tofu). For meat/seafood lovers, you can replace beancurd with slices of pork or shrimps into it.

Recipe for 2-3 servings

Ingredients

2 cups of beansprouts, with heads and tails removed

7 pieces of 1" x 0.6" beancurd pieces

Half a small green bell pepper, cut into 1" slices

1 chilli, cut into 1" slices

1 stalk of scallion, cut into 1" slices (separate ends of the scallion and the main leaves)

1 small garlic, chopped

1 tbsp of cooking oil

1tbsp of light soya sauce

1 tsp of sesame oil

1 dash of Hua tiew wine (Chinese Cooking wine)

Salt and pepper

Water

Cooking Oil

Steps:

1. Deep fry the beancurd pieces till golden brown. Remove and drain the oil away.
2. With a clean wok, heat it up and add 1 tbsp of cooking oil over medium heat.
3. Add in chopped garlic. When it starts to turn golden brown, add in green pepper and ends of scallion. Stir well for 1 minute.
4. Turn up the heat, add in beansprouts and chilli slices. Fry well.
5. Add the seasoning and 2 tbsp of water. Continue to fry.
6. When the beansprouts starts to turn translucent, add in the rest of the scallions.
7. Give a few more stirs.
8. Remove from heat.
9. Best served with rice or porridge.