This is it.......Delicious Char Siew!!

This is it.......I guess.......almost there to my search for the taste for delicious Char Siew!  I have made Homemade Char Siew just merely a month ago but I still feel some lacking of some flavour in there.... I think that version is just slightly salty .... only if doesn't add that teaspoon of salt into the marinated pork before cooking; I think that would be nice.

But I guess everyone has different taste bud.  And there is no harm to try another recipe to look which one suit to our taste.

Delicious Char Siew
Recipe from "Delicacies Of China Town" cookbook

Ingredients
1 kg pork belly 
2 tbsp chopped garlic

Marinade
2 pieces reddish cheese (fermented beancurds/"nam yue")
1 tbsp malt sugar
150g caster sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp five spices powder
1 tbsp "Shaoxing" wine
Few drops of red colouring (optional)

Method

Remove the skin of the pork belly, cut into thick large strips.

Mix the marinade ingredients well until the sugar is completely dissolves, add in chopped garlic and pork belly, mix well, marinate over night or at least 4 hours.

Arrange the marinated pork belly on the roasting wire ract, roast ina preheated oven at 200Celcius for 15 minutes.  Dish out, dip the belly with some marinade sauce.  Continue to roast for further 20-30 minutes until cooked through.  Dish out.

Bring the remaining sauce to the boil in a sauce pan, cook until thicken, remove from heat and pour over to the roasted pork belly.  Serve.

             Do let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing after removing from oven.

                              Drizzle more sauce onto the meat.....

   
                  Everyone gives thumbs up to this Char Siew !  Worth to give this a try.....
                  And it is fuss free too.......

"Angku Kuih"

I had wanted to try my hands to make "Angku Kuih" for quite some time eventhough wasn't really prepare to do it any soon.  Since my dad pluck some banana leaves for me few days ago so just make use of it.

Really, I would have called myself looking for extra work to do as this Angku Kuih, I can buy it at the shop easily for just $0.50 per piece.  But sometimes when you food blogging, looking at others making it so beautifully, it just motivate you to do so.  But hopefully in the end process, I won't complain of aching here and there, looking for trouble just to make this kuih where I can buy it easily....lol.

ANGKU KUIH

Recipe from Agnes Chang’s Hawkers’ Delights

(I half the recipe here and makes only 15 pieces, with mould of 5cm long)

Dough Skin

50g rice flour, mixed with 210ml water & 3 ½ tbsp oil, stirred and boiled, till thick in texture, cooled

300g glutinous rice flour

Few drops of orange red colouring

Enough water to mix into dough

Filling

150g green beans without skin, washed, soaked for 4 hours, steamed and mashed

2 tbsp oil

3 shallots, flattened

100g sugar

¼ tsp salt

Banana leaf, cut into oval shape

½ cup oil, for brushing the skin

Method

Filling : Heat up oil, stir fry sliced shallots till golden brown.  Discard shallots.  Add in the mashed green beans, sugar, salt and stir fry until it can leave the side of pan.  Remove and leave to cool.  Form  into small balls (approx. 13g per ball).

Skin : Mix and knead all ingredients until it forms into a pliable dough.  Divide the dough to 17g per ball.

Wrap up 1 part of filling with 1 part of skin, press into the Angku mould and knock out.  Line with a piece of greased banana leaf and steam with high heat for 3-5 minutes.

Remove and brush the Angku kuih with oil.

*  You can visit Jessie - Cooking Moments which she uses the same ingredient recipe too.

                                                  Ready to go into the steamer.

                              After steamed...... brushed surface with some oil.

I find the filling a bit dry....probably oil is not enough when frying it.

 

Tub Tim Grob (Red Rubies in Coconut Milk)

Asian Food Fest No. 2 (November) ~ Thailand
I believe this famous Thailand dessert, Tub Tim Grob (Red Rubies In Coconut Milk), need no introduction and this dessert is always well receive by everyone.

Do feel free to use the beetroot juice to substitute to the red food colouring or use soya milk over the coconut milk if you prefer a more healthier version to this dessert.

TUB TIM KROB (Red Rubies in Coconut Milk) 

Ingredients 
½ cup water chestnut, cut small into cubes size
Red food colouring / or ¼ cup beetroot juice
½ cup tapioca flour
¼ cup water
¼ cup sugar
½ cup coconut milk
Ice cubes 

Method

In a blender, whisk the coconut milk, water, sugar and some ice cubes together till become thick and smoothie.  Place the smoothie into the freezer.

Peel the water chestnuts and cut into small cubes. Mix the few drops red food colouring with some water (depends how red colour you desire) and coat the water chestnuts into the red colouring mixture. 

OR if using the natural beetroot juice, soak the water chestnuts cubes into the beetroot juice for 5-10 minutes, and drain.

Add the red rubies into the tapioca flour and coat them all over.  (If you prefer to have a thicker starch coated, spray the red rubies with some water, and coat another layer of tapioca over again.  Repeat if you want more thicker coated starch.)

Place the coated red rubies into the hot boiling water and gently stir it so the rubies will not stick together.  Once the red rubies float to surface, remove and immediately put into a bowl of ice cube water. 

To Serve

Scoop some coconut smoothie into the serving bowl and some red rubies on top.  Serve immediately.

* The multi coated of tapioca starch to the water chestnut was inspired from Wendy (Table for 2....or more) .  Please feel free to hop over to view some tutorial photos too.

I am submitting this post to 

 Asian Food Fest ( Thailand ) - November Month hosted by

 Lena of frozen wings

"Goong Sarong" (Deep Fried Prawns Wrapped In Vermicelli)

This month (November) Asian Food Fest No. 2 has landed to the country of Thailand.  There are so many dishes I would like to try out too and hopefully I will be able to share out some post on Thailand cuisine.

Today post is "Goong Sarong" ~ "Goong" in Thai means shrimp or prawns while "Sarong" ~ I am sure you know what does "Sarong" means right; literally means wrapped around!

"GOONG SARONG"  (Deep Fried Prawns Wrapped In Vermicelli) 
Recipe sourced from Window On Phuket 

Ingredients 

200g fresh prawns
100g vermicelli / rice noodles
1 tbsp chopped coriander root
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp black pepper
1 cup vegetable oil 

Dipping Sauce 
2 tbsp Chinese plum sauce
1 tbsp ketchup 

Preparation 
Peel the prawns, but leave the hard tail in tact. Remove the dark vein. 
Pound the coriander and garlic in a mortar until a paste is formed. This can also be done in a blender or food processor. Add a little oil if necessary. Add the pepper and the shrimp to the marinade, mix well and let marinate.

Soak the noodles in the hot water until soft and then drain. Remove a shrimp from the marinade and wrap with some strands of vermicelli until the shrimp is covered in a 'sarong'. Repeat until all the shrimps have been covered. Fry in hot oil until the vermicelli are brown and crunchy.

Drain on a paper towel and serve with small bowls of warm plum sauce and ketchup.

I am submitting this post to

 Asian Food Fest ( Thailand ) - November Month 

hosted by Lena of frozen wings

Superlicious Cinnamon Rolls!!

It is so good to have someone whom we can communicate throughout the whole process of a recipe when we are going to face a recipe that we have not bake or cook before.  There might be some technical issue which we could encounter during the midst of preparing the ingredient or whatsoever and I am so glad I have my baking buddy here, Hui of butterfly waltz, communicating thru whatsapp giving me some good tips right after she make this Superlicious Cinnamon Rolls!!

Decadent. Luscious. Superlicious. NO-KNEAD! ~ this is what Hui have rated to this delicious Cinnamon Rolls.

This Cinnamon Rolls originated from The Pioneer Woman.  If you have visited her site about this recipe, there's a warning indication from her if you intend to make this yourself......

"A warning. If you follow these instructions and wind up delivering these cinnamon rolls to your friends, be prepared for any of the following to occur:

1. They’ll call you after they’ve taken the first bite and profess their eternal love for every
    ounce of your body.
2. They’ll pass out after the first bite, hit their head on the kitchen counter, sustain a 
    concussion, and sue you for damages, despite the fact that the one bite they tasted of 
    your cinnamon roll was the single most profound culinary experience in their miserable 
    little life.
3. They’ll call you and ask for the recipe, saying, "HOW did you make those?"
4. They’ll call you and propose marriage.
5. They’ll hug the cinnamon roll pan, get maple frosting all over their clothes, and send 
    you the bill for the dry cleaning. "

Cinnamon Rolls 
Recipe sourced & highly recommended from Hui of Butterfly Waltz

~ makes 27 rolls in 3 7-inch square trays 

Dough

2 cups / 500 ml milk

1/2 cup / 125 ml vegetable oil

1/4 scant cup sugar
1 packet active dry yeast /or  2 1/4 tsp instant yeast
4 cups all purpose flour (I use 3 cups plain flour + 1 cup bread flour)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 scant tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Filling
1 cup (227g) melted butter

2 tbsp cinnamon powder

1/4 cup sugar (white or brown)

1. Bring milk, oil and sugar to just short of a boil. Remove from heat and leave to cool for 45

    minutes - 1 hour.

2. Add active dry yeast to lukewarm milk mixture and leave it to sit and bubble. Omit this 

    step if using instant yeast.

3. If using instant yeast, blend in with the 4 cups of flour. Add flour into the milk mixture and

     mix till well combined. Cover and leave to double in size for about 1 hour.

4. Mix the extra 1/2 cup flour with baking powder and baking soda till well blended. Add the 

    flours into the dough till well combined.

5. Refrigerate dough for later use or use immediately. Refrigerating overnight would be a 

    good choice.

6. Generously flour working surface, and roll out dough thinly into a rectangle.  

   Tip: Wrap rolling pin with plastic cling wrap to make it easy to roll it out.

7. Spread melted butter all over dough. Sprinkle cinnamon powder and sugar all over evenly.

8. Roll dough from the long end towards you. Roll tightly and pinch the seams to seal.

9. Slice rolls into 3/4 or 1 inch thick and place them in greased baking tins. Leave to rise for 

    20-30 minutes.

10. Bake in preheated oven of 400F/200C till light golden brown for 15-20 minutes.

11. Remove and drizzle generously with sauce/topping of your choice! 

Easy caramel sauce 

(Highly Recommended to make this to drizzle to the rolls!!)
 ~ make 1 1/2 cups
 
Ingredients
* 1/2 scant cup brown sugar
1 stick / 115g butter
1/4 cup heavy/whipping cream
1/4 cup honey
** add 2-3 pinches of sea salt ~ you won't regret this!

Bring all ingredients to a boil. Lower heat  and continue to stir and cook for 2 minutes. 
Once the Cinnamon rolls have slightly cooled down, drizzle the sauce all over.

                             Does my Cinnamon Roll looks like a rose?  I baked some of the 
                             rolls in muffin pan.

It is so easy to make as it doesn't require to knead at all.  You can prepare the dough at night and refrigerated it, and start making it the next morning.  


As for the filling, you can add extra raisins or some walnuts for some extra crunch and flavour too.

                               My Verdict :  YUMMYLICIOUS !!!!!

Japchae With Beef Bulgogi (Korean stir fried beef noodles with vegetables)

My family and I loves Korean dishes very much ~ can't blame us as we use to operate a Korean BBQ restaurant many many years ago.   During those days, even after we have stopped operating the business, our family still get together to have this Korean style BBQ together. 

On my last visit to Auckland, sometimes when we're lazy to cook, we will have take away.  Every Saturday, there is a "night market" available in a basement parking lot in one of the shopping mall.  Many varieties of food stalls to choose from ~ western, chinese, korean, japanese, indian, etc. etc.   On my first visit there, I just couldn't make up my mind what to have, everything seem to be so delicious; can't blame me as the weather is cold and you will get hungry all the time and when you see food around you, everything seem to be delicious too.   And finally I chose the Korean stall and select the Japchae Beef Bulgogi. 

And now back home, I have missed this dish so much and I just got to try this at home.

JAPCHAE WITH BEEF BULGOGI

BEEF BULGOGI
Recipe sourced from trifood.com 

Ingredients

200g thinly sliced beef (sirloin or rib eye)

2 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 tsp finely chopped garlic

1/8 tsp salt

2 tbsp Mirin

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Method

Mix all ingredients except carrots. Marinate in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Stir fry the beef until just well done and caramelized on the outside.

Dish up and set aside.

JAPCHAE (Korean Glass Noodles)

Recipe sourced from Steamy Kitchen with changes

(Below portion serves for 1-2 person)

Ingredients

50-70g dried Korean sweet potato noodles
½ tbsp cooking oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced onions (I used leeks)
1 small carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 stalks green onions, cut into 1″ lengths
¼  cup mushrooms or wood ear, thinly sliced
80-100g spinach, washed well and drained (I didn’t add this)

Method

Fill a large pot with water and boil. When water is boiling, add the noodles and cook for 5-10 minutes. Immediately drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again and toss with only 1 tsp of the sesame oil. Use kitchen shears to cut noodles into shorter pieces, about 8 inches in length. Set aside.

Add the cooking oil in a wok or large saute pan on high heat and swirl to coat. When the cooking oil is hot but not smoking, fry onions and carrots, until just softened, about 1 minute. Add the garlic, green onions and mushrooms, fry 30 seconds. Then add the spinach and noodles and ry 2-3 minutes until the noodles are cooked through.  Then add in the beef bulgogi and stir well till all are combined and absorsed in the sauce.

Turn off heat,  toss with sesame seeds and drizzle some sesame oil if preferred.

                                Korean Glass Noodles or Korean Sweet Potato Noodles

Honey & Thyme Roast Chicken

I think no one will say no to fried chicken or roast chicken, right?  I am constantly looking for new recipe and flavour for roast chicken or fried chicken because I love to eat  chicken meat.  When I see new post of roast chicken from fellow bloggers, I will usually visit to view their ingredients and if the ingredients are simple and easy, I will not hesitate to try it out.

I have in fact have tried out many version of roast chicken but rarely post it to my blog because it is just not good timing to take pictures during evening time.  Well, if I can, I will try to snap few if good lighting permits me to do so.

Honey & Thyme Roast Chicken 
Makes 6

(Recipe Source from Jessie - Cooking Moments with slight change) 

Ingredients:
6 ChickenDrumsticks
6 Sprigs Fresh Thyme
6 tbsp Melted Butter
4 tbsp Honey
2 tbsp Ginger Juice * 
2 tbsp Shao Xing Cooking Wine
1.5 tbsp Garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
1 tsp Five Spice Powder
1 tsp Salt 

*  (I use 2 tsp ginger powder dilute in 2 tbsp water) 

Method: 
1. Marinate Chicken with all other ingredients & refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 180C(fan-forced).  Cook in the middle level for 15 minutes.
3. Remove, baste the chicken with the marinade & put back to the oven.
4. Reduce heat to 175C. Repeat Step 3 every 12-15 minutes until golden & the chicken parts
   are cooked through. 

NOTE: 
The chicken skin will be browned very quickly after each basting, so do watch out the heat or alternatively, cover with foil.

Absolutely delicious!  All roast chicken are delicious even if you marinated with simple ingredients.  

A fuss free meal and less utensils to wash up or scrub your kitchen stove later.....LOL!!

 I’m submitting this to Little Thumbs Up(LTU) Oct – Soy Beans theme that was originally organized by 

 Zoe@Bakefor Happy Kids & Mui Mui@My Little Favourite DIY & currently hosted by Mich of Piece of Cake.

Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)

I guess those of us who cook for the family, we are constantly in a dilemma what to prepare and cook for the family. Well, for me if I cook the same old boring food frequently, I might get bore of it too, not to say my family members and of course I wouldn't want to hear from my members saying "oh no, not this again!".  For me here at home, I had fish almost everyday..... and sometimes even when I try various way to cook the fish, I still get bored of eating fish sometimes.  

Have you heard the news lately?  The normal meaty Chicken, the chicken seller dye the chicken into yellowish colour and sell it to consumers saying that the chicken is the "Kampung Chicken" (free range chicken).  Sometimes, I just can't believe this kind of thing they also want to cheat the consumers.   Nowadays, I really don't know what food is healthy to eat.

I'm sure almost everyone loves fried chicken right?  Why not give this a try, Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken) a change from the normal usual fried chicken.

Chicken Karaage (Japanese Fried Chicken)
(recipe source and adapted from Sonia from NasiLemakLover with slight change
 

Ingredients

 3 boneless chicken thighs (with skin on), cut into small equal bite size pieces

Seasonings
1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce
2 tsp Mirin (I used Sake) 

1/4tsp salt or to taste
1tsp grated ginger
1tsp grated shallot

For deep frying
5 tbsp potato flour 风车粉
3 tbsp self raising flour
3 tbsp iced cold water
Oil for deep frying

Garnishing- Japanese mayonnaise, tomato wedges, cabbage thinly shredded (soak in iced cold water for crispiness)

Method
1. Marinate chicken with all seasonings, keep inside the fridge for 1 hr.
2. Add in potato flour, self raising flour and iced cold water, mix well.
3. Heat oil in a wok over medium high heat (to test oil readiness for deep frying is by putting 

    chopstick in the oil and when you see bubbles around the tip).
4. Deep fry the chicken pieces in few small batches, fry for about 2mins. Drain on a wire rack.
5. Continue to deep fry till finished. Return the fried chicken to the hot oil and deep fry again.
6. Serve the fried chicken with shredded cabbage and tomato, and drizzle with Japanese 

    mayonnaise.

Oishii !!