Corn and Raisin Muffin

I find these muffins a little too sweet, so might be better to reduce the sugar content next time. The corn gave these muffin a good aroma especially when they’re fresh out of the oven :)




Ingredients:
Flour (1 ½ cup)
Baking powder (1 tsp)
Baking soda (1 tsp)
Salt (1/2 tsp)
Sugar (3/4 cup)
Egg (1)
Butter (1/3 cup)
Sweet corn (4tbsp)
Raisin (3tbsp)

Preheat oven at 190C.


Method:
1. Beat butter, eggs, sugar and salt till light and creamy.
2. Mix in the corn and raisin.
3. Fold in flour, baking powder and baking soda (sift together first).
4. Scoop the mixture into muffin cups.
5. Bake for 20-25 min or until cooked.

Carrot Cake

Past Monday was Deepavali Day and since it’s a public holiday, the church had a small gathering over lots of yummy BBQ food. I brought salad and this carrot cake. Well, since it’s an off day for me, I’ll definitely utilize the time to do some baking! Haha….
After turning the pages of a recipe book, I’ve decided to bake a carrot cake.

As usual, I made some modifications to the recipe ;p
One was to replace the pineapple with canned peach and the other is adding yoghurt to the cake. I find that yoghurt is good in keeping the cake moist, so I like to dump some into the mixture. The outcome? This carrot cake is soft, moist and not too sweet. I think the mixed spice also gave it a flavourful taste.

Ingredients:
Oil (1 cup)
Eggs (3)
Caster sugar (1 cup)
Yoghurt (2tbsp)
Grated carrot (3 cups)
Pineapple/ Peach - chopped (3 tbsp)
Raisin (2 tbsp)
Mixed spice (2 tsp)
Self raising flour (2 ¼ cup)

Preheat oven at 175C.

Method:
1. Beat oil, eggs and sugar till light and creamy.
2. Mix in yoghurt, carrot, pineapple/peach and raisin.
3. Fold in mixed spice and self raising flour (sift together first).
4. Grease the baking dish and pour in mixture.
5. Bake for 45 min or until cooked.

Turmeric Fried Fish

I bought 2 fishes last weekend and since I have steamed one, I thought I’ll just simply fry this one. If you don’t like turmeric powder, you can omit it.

Ingredients:
Fish (cleaned and make 2-3 cuts on the body on both sides)
Turmeric powder
Pepper
Salt
Light soy sauce
Oil


Method:
1. Marinate fish with salt, pepper and turmeric powder for ~30min.
2. Heat some oil in a frying pan.
3. Fry fish on both sides till golden brown.
4. Dish up and pour 1 tbsp of light soy sauce over the fish.

Stir Fried Potatoes in Dark Soy Sauce

A stand alone dish?? Almost….since it’s only potatoes and onions.
Well, I really don't have much vegetables left in the fridge, so I just cook whatever that's left ;p
Although this is simple, it taste nice :)



Ingredients:
Potato (cut into slices)
Onions (cut into wedges)
Dark soy sauce
Pepper
Salt
Sugar
Oil
Water


Method:
1. Heat a little oil in a wok and saute the onions.
2. Put in the potatoes and stir fry for 5-6min.
3. Add in dark soy sauce, salt, sugar and pepper. Mix well.
4. Add enough water and cook till potatoes are soft.

Soy Bean Noodles

Another extremely easy dish.

Ingredients:
Soy bean noodles (soaked till soft)
Lettuce
Carrot (cut into thin strips)
Chicken (cut into bite size & marinate with a little light soy sauce)
Button mushroom (cut into slices)
Garlic (chopped)
Black pepper sauce
Marmite sauce
Salt
Oil
Water


Method:
1. Heat a little oil in a wok and brown the garlic.
2. Add in carrot and button mushroom. Stir fry for 1-2min.
3. Add in chicken meat and continue to stir fry for 1-2min.
4. Pour in mixture of marmite and black pepper sauce. Add water and cook till it boils.
5. Add in the noodles and cook for 1min. Season with salt.
6. Add in lettuce, mix well and serve.

Tofu in Tomato & Black Pepper Sauce

I am short of one dish for dinner and didn’t know what else I can cook. Then, I just ‘list down’ the ingredients that I have in my mind and started to imagine what can I do with them. So, here’s the experimental dish which taste quite good :)

Ingredients:
Potato (sliced)
Egg tofu (cut into thick slices)
Tomatoes (cut into small pieces)
Garlic (chopped)
Tomato sauce
Black pepper sauce
Salt
Water
Oil


Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok and saute garlic for 1-2min.
2. Add in potatoes and stir fry for 4-5min.
3. Add in tomatoes and continue to stir fry for 1-2min.
4. In a bowl, mix tomato and black pepper sauce with water.
5. Pour this over and let it simmer. Season with a little salt.
6. Add in the egg tofu and cook for 1-2min. Serve hot.

Stir Fried Lettuce

One of the idiot-proof dishes for dinner….

Ingredients:
Lettuce
Carrot
Button mushroom
Salt
Soy sauce
Water
Oil


Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok and saute garlic for 1-2min.
2. Add in carrot and button mushroom. Stir fry for 3-4min.
3. Add in lettuce and season with some salt and soy sauce.
4. Add a little water.
5. Cook till it boils and dish up.

Tom Yam Mi Fen (Soup)

I cooked this for lunch last Saturday as I felt lazy to go out for lunch and it’s easier than having to think what to eat.
You must be wondering why are there tofu in tom yam soup??? Well, I didn’t put any meat (except those little dried shrimps) in it, so tofu will make it more filling. Anyway, I love tofu, so I like to add it in soups. :)


Ingredients:
Mi Fen (soaked in water till soft)
Dried shrimps (soaked and chopped)
Tomatoes (cut into wedges)
Cabbage
Tofu
Onions (cut into small pieces)
Garlic (crush lightly)
Tom Yam paste
Salt
Honey
Water
Oil


Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok and saute the garlic for 1-2min.
2. Add in onions and dried shrimps and stir fry till fragrant.
3. Put in cabbage and tomatoes. Add a little salt and stir fry for 3-4min.
4. Put in tom yam paste and honey. Add water and let it simmer till tomatoes and cabbages are soft.
5. Add in the mi fen and tofu and cook till it’s soft. Done.

Note: You always add different vegetables e.g. young corns, carrot, mushrooms, etc but I just put in whatever I can find in the fridge ;p.

Pork & Preserved Salted Vegetables Porridge

As usual, I cooked this over the night with the slow cooker. The slow cooker is really useful for busy (and lazy) people like me (OK, I am more on the lazy side ;p).


Ingredients:
Pork (cut it anyway you like)
Preserved salted vegetables
Carrot (diced)
Brown rice
Water
Pepper


Method:
1. Wash the rice 2-3 times and put it into the slow cooker.
2. Put everything into the slow cooker. Add water.
3. Cook with high heat till boiling then switch to auto mode. Leave it till meal time.
4. Add a dash of pepper before serving.

Note: Do not add salt as the salted vegetables, as the name has it, is salty enough!

Marmite Salmon

One of the super quick dishes for dinner.


Ingredients:
Salmon fish
Button mushrooms (sliced)
Onion (cut into small pieces)
Marmite sauce
Honey
Pepper
Water
Oil


Method:
1. Heat pan with a little oil and sauté the onions.
2. Add in the button mushrooms and stir fry for 1-2min.
3. Move the onions and mushrooms aside in the pan.
4. Pan fry the salmon for 1min. Turn and fry the other side for 1min.
5. In a bowl, mix marmite and honey and add some water.
6. Pour this over the fish and add in a dash of pepper.
7. Cook till boiling and it’s done.

Note: You can thicken sauce with corn flour if you like.
I did not add any salt as the marmite sauce is a little salty.

Marble Cake

It’s been a crazy week at work and so I needed to do some baking/cooking. Yes, it works wonder as therapy! Haha….I’ve always told my friends that I definitely enrolled in the wrong course. I should not have studied economics, but HOME economics ;p

This is again a ‘midnight’ cake because by the time it’s done, it was almost midnight.
I love marble cake. It gives us the freedom to create whatever ‘patterns’ we like with the cake. Instead of mixing half of the portion with chocolate powder, you can always mix it with something else e.g. pandan flavour, strawberry flavour, etc.

Ingredients:
Self raising flour (190gm)
Soy bean powder (3 tbsp)
Cocoa powder (3 tbsp)
Butter (150gm)
Castor/brown sugar (120gm)
Eggs (3)
Vanilla essence (1tsp)
Yoghurt (4 tbsp)

Preheat oven at 170C.

Method:
1. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla essence.
2. Add in the egg one by one and mix well.
3. Add in yoghurt and mix well.
4. Sift self raising flour and soy bean powder.
5. Fold the dry ingredients into the butter-sugar mixture.
6. Divide into 2 portions.
7. Add cocoa powder to 1 portion.
8. Grease the baking dish. Pour the cocoa mixture on one side of the dish and the original mixture to the other side.
9. Use a fork/spoon to make crisscross pattern.
10. Bake for 35-40 minutes or until cooked.

Apple Pie

I love to try new recipes and pies are always a favourite because they look complicated to make but when you actually start doing it, it’s not that scary after all. So, don’t scare yourself and give it a try!
I love the pastry with its crispy crust and the buttery taste! Yummy….but can’t eat too much of it for health reason.

So, here’s a first attempt of apple pie :)


Ingredients:
Plain flour (250gm)
Salt
Icing sugar (3 tbsp)
Butter (150gm)
Cold water (5-6 tbsp)
Apple (3 apples cut into small cubes)
Brown sugar (5-6 tbsp)
Lemon juice (2 tbsp)
Cinnamon powder (1/2 tsp)
Nutmeg powder (1/4 tsp)
Egg (1 egg, beaten)


Preheat oven at 185C.


Method:
1. Put flour into a big bowl/pot and mix with butter until it looks like crumbles. (Use a knife to cut butter into small cubes)
2. Add in a dash of salt, icing sugar and some cold water to form a dough.
3. Wrap in a plastic and put in the fridge for ~30min.
4. Mix apples with brown sugar, a dash of salt, lemon juice, cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder. Leave aside.
5. Take out the dough and roll into 2 round sheets of ~2mm.
6. Line the pie dish with the pastry. Use a fork and poke holes into the pastry sheet.
7. Put the apples into the dish.
8. Cover the apples with the other pastry sheet.
9. Cut off the extra pastry at the sides and use a fork to press the edge of the pastry.
10. Cut a cross in the middle of the pie.
11. Brush the pie with egg.
12. Bake the pie in preheated oven for about 1 hour or until cooked.

Note: You can use this pastry to make other pies e.g. peach, pear, blueberries, etc.

Coffee Cake with Chocolate Rice Topping

Here’s the cake for Sunday church refreshment yesterday. This is made from the ‘fool proof’ recipe which I gave to few of my colleagues with some modifications ;p
You can make different flavor of cakes out of this recipe by adjusting the amount of wet and dry ingredients to produce a balanced mixture.

The coffee flavor is not very strong (for coffee lovers like me), so I think I’ll add more coffee powder the next time I make this. Anyway, the cake is moist and not too sweet, just the way I like it!

Ingredients:
Self raising flour (190-200gm)
Soya bean powder (3tbsp)
(Sift the above 2 ingredients together)
150gm butter
120gm brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs
3 tbsp instant coffee powder (mix with a little water to form paste)
4 tbsp plain yoghurt
A little oil
Chocolate rice (optional)

Preheat oven at 170C.


Method:
1. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla essence.
2. Add egg one by one and mix well.
3. Add in the coffee paste and yoghurt and mix well.
4. Fold in the flour mixture (self raising flour and soya bean powder).
5. Pour mixture into a baking dish greased with a little oil.
6. Sprinkle chocolate rice onto the mixture.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40min or until cooked.

Bow Tie Pasta in Tomato Gravy

This dish is actually very colourful if you put enough bell peppers. Most of all, it’s a ‘healthy’ meal with all the vegetables (you can omit the egg if you like).

Ingredients:
Bow tie pasta (cooked per packet instructions)
Tomato (cut into small pieces)
Green bell pepper (cut into thin strips)
Yellow bell pepper (cut into thin strips)
Onion (cut into small pieces)
Tomato puree
Egg (beaten and add with a dash of pepper)
Mixed herbs
Pepper
Salt
Water
Note: Make sure the pasta is soft before you use them for cooking otherwise when you start to stir it too much in the wok, the bowties will start to break….just like what you see in the pictures.


Method:
1. Heat some oil in the wok and sauté the onion for 2-3min.
2. Add in the egg and when it’s cooked, add in green and yellow bell peppers and tomatoes.
3. Stir fry the vegetables for 2-3min.
4. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Add in tomato puree and some water and let it cook till it boils.
6. Put in the pasta, add some mixed herbs and let it simmer for ~2min.
7. Eat. ;p

Mixed Vegetables Fried Rice

A quick dish for dinner with a few varieties of vegetables added. Whenever I cook a one-dish meal, I try to add in more vegetables to make it a more balanced meal :)

Ingredients:
Brown rice - cooked
Chinese cabbage
Carrot (cut into cubes)
Egg (beaten and added with a dash of pepper)
Onion (cut into cubes)
Mushroom
Preserved Salted vegetables (cut into small pieces)
Yam bean (cut into small pieces)
Soya sauce
Salt
Sugar
Pepper
Water (cooked)


Method:
1. Heat some oil in the wok and sauté the onion for 2-3min.
2. Add in the egg and when it’s cooked, add in carrot, Chinese cabbage, mushroom, salted vegetables and yam bean.
3. Stir fry the vegetables for 2-3min.
4. Season with salt, sugar and pepper.
5. Pour in the rice and mix well.
6. Add a little soya sauce. If it’s too dry, add a little water.
7. Stir fry for another 1-2min and it’s ready to be served.

Strawberry Jam Cupcake

Keep bleeding, keep keep bleeding….yeah, I think that’s how the muffins felt. Just look at the photos, don’t they look like they’re bleeding? Haha….

I was thinking what to bake the other day when Lizard Meng suggested muffins with strawberry jam. So, I thought “Why not?”

As for the bleeding, I read in a recipe book which says if we need to bake with jam, we need to use a special kind of jam that’s suitable for baking. Of course I have no idea where to get such special jam, so I make do whatever I can find in Tesco ;p
Not bad la for 1st attempt.


Ingredients:
Plain flour (1 ¾ cup)
1 tsp bicarbonate soda
½ cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla essence 80gm butter
1 egg
1 cup yoghurt (I used ½ cup plain yoghurt and ½ cup apricot flavour yoghurt)
½ milk

Preheat oven at 180C.

Method:
1. Cream butter, sugar and vanilla essence.
2. Beat in the egg, milk and yoghurt.
3. Sift flour and bicarbonate soda.
4. Fold in the flour mixture into the wet ingredients.
5. Fill up muffin cup with 1/3 of the mixture.
6. Add some strawberry jam in the centre. Top with the flour mixture until the muffin cup is 2/3 full.
7. Bake for 25min or till cooked.

Mixed Vegetable Porridge

OK, this photo looks so blurred but I didn’t bother to take a few more because I was almost famished by the time I finish doing brisk walking and came back for dinner ;p



Ingredients:
Brown rice
Chinese cabbage
Carrot (cut into cubes)
Yam (cut into cubes)
Chicken meat
Dried scallop
Ginger (crushed lightly)
Salt
Pepper
Water


Method:
1. Wash and rinse rice 2-3 times.
2. Put all ingredients into the slow cooker and let it cook over high heat till boiling, then switch to low/auto mode and cook till done.
3. Season with salt and pepper.

Loh Hon Cai

This is one of my favourite vegetarian dishes but I have not had it for a long time. Well, eoconomy rice stalls don’t always have this and I only go back to my hometown once or twice a month. Each time I am back, there would be too many things I wanted to eat, so I never really thought of this when my mum asked that standard question “What should I cook tomorrow?” ;p

It happens that Sunshine supermarket was selling vegetarian stuff last 2 weeks and I just knew I had to try this dish again when I saw the pre-packed ingredients. VIP, with his “must have meat” in every meal expectation likes it too. So, it means I can cook this again in the future. Haha…

Note: Usually “fatt choy” is added to this dish but I omitted it since it was not included in the pre-packed ingredients.


Ingredients:
Glass noodles
Beancurd stick
Dried Chinese mushroom
Black fungus
Dried lily bulbs
(soak all the above ingredients in water until soft)
Chinese cabbage
Garlic
Preserved beancurd (mashed and mix with some water)
Salt
Sugar
Oil
Water


Method:
1. Heat a little oil in the wok and stir fry garlic till light golden.
2. Put in all the soaked ingredients and Chinese cabbage and stir fry for 2-3min.
3. Pour in the preserved beancurd mixture and season with salt and sugar.
4. Add more water and cook till cabbage is soft and it’s ready to be served.

Chocolate Almond Cake

I think I have a tendency to bake on a Sunday night because last Sunday I baked chicken pies and yesterday I baked this cake! Haha... Well, we have fellowship for my BSF group tonight, and since it's always potbless style, I thought I'll just bake a cake lah. Easier and at the same time I can practise my baking skills also mah. ;p Kill 2 birds with 1 stone. This recipe is actually for choclate walnut cake but since I only have almond, I used almond instead of walnut.

The original recipe missed out a step on adding the sugar! I thought it was my eyes' problem but I read it again and again and still couldn't find when do we add in the sugar!!!

So, with I just agak-agak and follow the common process in making cake.

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
Cooking chocolate (200gm)
Butter (150gm)
Eggs (2)
Self raising flour (160gm)
Milk (180ml)
Castor sugar (110gm)
Chopped almond/walnuts (~1/2 cup)



Method:
1. Preheat oven at 150C.
2. Melt butter and chocolate with low heat. When done, stir in the sugar and leave aside to let it cool.
3. Sift the flour and put in a mixer bowl. Add in eggs, milk and the chocolate mixture.
4. Beat using mixer until smooth (beat for 20sec or so will do).
5. Stir in the chopped nuts.
6. Pour into a baking dish (line with baking paper or grease with a little oil/butter) and bake for 45min or until cooked.
It smells great during baking! The texture is just right. It's not dry and not too moist. I reduced the amount of sugar, so it's not that sweet as well :)

Almond Cookies

I have not been baking cookies for some time, so it's time to try out new cookie recipes again :)

This is a recipe from Amy Beh in kuali.com. Just search for almond or cookies and you will find the recipe there. As usual, for health reason (although I doubt it makes much difference with the amount of butter used ;p) I cut down on the amount of sugar and butter by 10-20gm. I like almond so I increased the ground almond used by ~15gm. I also put on some 'make up' for the cookies before baking (brush them with beaten egg ;p) to give it the light golden colour.

I brought them to church for tea refreshment and Brother SB and the VIP think it's nice. :) I think the cookies are a little hard which could be due to the higher temp which I used in baking. The deco of the cookies made them looked like they're peanut cookies huh ;p This is easy to make and doesnt require much effort, so I think I will bake them again with a little variation next time!

Stir Fried Lou Shu Fun

First posting of the week but this was last week’s dinner! ;p

Ingredients:
Lou Shu Fun (cook in boiling water for 1-2min, drain & rinse with water)
Chicken meat (de-boned, cut into small pieces & marinate with soya sauce and pepper)
Chinese mushroom (soaked in hot water till soft and cut into slices)
Carrot (cut into strips)
Broccoli (cut into small pieces)
Onion (cut into small pieces)
Lettuce (cut into thin strips)
Dark soya sauce
Light soya sauce
Pepper
Oyster sauce
Salt
Oil
Water


Method:
1. Heat some oil in wok and sauté the onion for -3min.
2. Add in Chinese mushroom, carrot and broccoli. Stir fry for 2-3min.
3. Put in chicken meat. Season with salt, light soya sauce, oyster sauce and pepper.
4. Pour in the loh shu fun, add in dark soya sauce and mix well.
5. Stir fry for 1-2min. If it gets too dry, add a little water.
6. Add in lettuce and stir fry for 1min. DONE.

Chicken Pie (Puff Pastry)

I just bought 2 recipes books last weekend and one of them was on making pastries. Both books were authored by Alex Goh. Puff pastry seems to be one of those "mission impossible" task for me but hey, no harm trying right? You might think I have gone nuts in the head as I only started making these 9.30pm on a Sunday night and by the time I finished baking the last batch of pies, it was almost 12midnight ;p

But, it was all worth it.....yes, puff pastry is a lot of work compared to shortcrust pastry but I am glad I gave it a try. I don't have the recipe here since it's from the book but you can just googled it and you'll find the recipe to making this queen of all pastries.

I made 15 pies that night and only ate one while distributed the rest to my friends and colleagues. Although the pastry is not as puffy as I want it to be, overall the chicken pies are yummy! Not only I say one la...those who tried it also agree ;p
Here's how I cooked the filling for the pies. Forgot to buy button mushrooms, so didn't add it in.

Ingredients:
Chicken meat (de-boned and cut into small pieces - marinate with soya sauce, chinese wine, pepper & sugar) Potatoes (cut into small cubes)
Onion (diced)
Mixed vegetables
Shallot
Salt
Sugar
Soya sauce
Oyster sauce
Corn flour (mix with some water)
Water Oil



Method:

1. Heat oil in work and saute shallot for 1-2min.

2. Add in potatoes and onion. Stir fry for ~5min.

3. Put in mixed vegetables and chicken meat. Mix well.

4. Season with salt, sugar, oyster sauce and soya sauce. Add some water and let it simmer (low heat) till potatoes are soft.

5. Thicken with some corn flour mixture.

6. Dish up and set aside to let it cool before making the pies.

Penne in Beancurd Sauce

Unveiling the dish of the week! Ta-dah…

This one is for those who are adventurous and love to try something new. It’s an ultimate east meets west dish. Can you imagine preserved bean curd with pasta???
Well, I'd always strive to make a difference especially when it comes to cooking (my passion), so I do experiment with 'weird' dishes when I have the insporation. Haha...
Don't worry, this is edible. VIP and I finished everything :)

Ingredients:
Penne (cooked per packet instruction)
Yam (cut into small cubes)
Pork (cut into thin slice, marinate with a little pepper, sugar & soya sauce)
Chili (chopped)
Shallot
Preserved bean curd
Water
Sugar
Oil


Method:
1. Heat a little oil in the wok and stir fry the shallots for 1-2min.
2. Add in yam and chili. Stir fry for 5min.
3. Mix bean curd with some water and sugar. Pour this over the yam and let it simmer until yam is soft.
4. Add in pork slices and penne.
5. Once pork is cooked, dish up and serve.

Stir Fried Broccoli

Ingredients:
Broccoli
Carrot
Shallot
Oyster sauce
Salt
Oil
Water


Method:
1. Heat oil in wok and sauté shallots for 1-2min.
2. Put in carrot and broccoli and stir fry for 3-4min.
3. Season with oyster sauce and salt. Add some water.
4. Let it simmer till boiling and cook for 1 more min before serving.

Island Supreme Pizza

Hehe….this is not the “Island Supreme” from Pizza Hut although I tried to make it look and taste like one.
Since I still have some pita bread, why not try a different topping right? This taste nice too.

Ingredients:
Pita bread
Crab sticks (cut into 1cm length)
Tuna fish (mashed)
Onion (diced)
Tomato (diced)
Pineapple (cut into small pieces)
Yellow bell pepper (cut into small pieces)
Chili sauce
Tomato sauce
Cheddar cheese
Pepper
Salt


Method:
1. Mix chili and tomato sauce together and spread on the pita bread.
2. Mix a little salt and pepper with tuna fish.
3. Sprinkle onion, tomatoes, yellow bell pepper, tuna fish, pineapple and crab sticks onto the pita bread.
4. Top it with the cheese and bake at 170C for 15-20min.

Szechuan Vegetables Soup

A friend's friend asked how come no vegetarian dishes in my blog. Well, here's one :)

Ingredients:
Szechuan preserved vegetables (cut into thick slices)
Tomato (cut into wedges)
Tofu (cut into squares)
Onion (cut into wedges)
Sugar
Salt
Water
*If you like more sweetness in the soup, you can add in some carrots.


Method:
1. In a pot of boiling water, put in the tomatoes, onions, tofu and Szechuan vegetables.
2. Simmer for 1 hour.
3. Season with salt and sugar.

Sweet and Sour Fish

Seems like we need a lot of ingredients to do this but rest assured that it’s really to whip out this yummy dish!


Ingredients:
Fish cutlets (rub in a little salt and pepper)
Cucumber (cut into slices)
Tomato (remove the seeds and cut into cubes)
Onion (cut into wedges)
Pineapple (cut into cubes – canned ones will do fine)
Green bell pepper (cut into cubes)
Shallot
Chili sauce
Tomato sauce
Plum sauce
Salt
Water
Corn flour
Oil

Batter for fish:
(mix all together)
Plain flour
Rice flour
Baking soda
Salt
Water


Method:
1. Dip fish into batter and deep fry till golden brown Set aside.
2. In a wok, heat oil and sauté shallots for 1-2min.
3. Put in onions, tomatoes, pineapple and green bell pepper. Stir fry 1-2min,
4. Mix chili, tomato and plum sauce with some water and pour into the wok.
5. Season with some salt.
6. Add in the cucumber and cook for 1min.
7. Mix corn flour with some water and pour into the gravy to make it thicker.
8. Once it’s boiling, put the fish and mix well. It’s ready to be served.

Chicken and Potato Stew

I am trying to do most of the cooking with the slow cooker nowadays to save time ;p
The slow cooker allows you to just dump everything inside and cook. By the time you wake up the next morning, it's ready. This is one of those trial and error dish. Tastes quite good but I think can be improved with some cloves and dark soya sauce. :)

Ingredients:
Chicken (remove skin, cut into large pieces)
Cinnamon stick (1-2 will do)
Star anise (2-3 pieces)
Garlic (crushed)
Soya sauce (mix with some water)
Salt
Corn flour (mix with a little water)
*I ran out of dark soya sauce but if you have, add a little dark soya sauce would be nice.


Method:
1. Put all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook over low heat for 7-8hours.
2. Season with some salt.
3. If you would like the gravy to be thicker, add in a little corn flour mixture and cook till it boils before serving.

Steamed Fish with Preserved Bean Paste

This is THE dish for VIP. He can finish the whole fish (if there’s 2, he can finish all as well!) by himself. Anyway, this is very easy to do and if you like steamed fish the traditional way (yet not too complicated), try this.


Ingredients:
Fish (rub with a little salt and pepper and leave it for 30min)
Bean paste
Ginger (cut into thin strips)
Garlic (chopped)
Pepper
Soya sauce
Water
Oil or sesame oil


Method:
1. Clean the fish with some water to wash away the salt.
2. Put half of the some garlic, ginger and bean paste on a plate.
3. Place fish over the ingredients in #2.
4. Sprinkle the remaining garlic, bean paste and ginger over the fish.
5. Mix soya sauce, a little oil and water in a bowl. Pour the mixture over the fish.
6. Steam till cooked.

I usually place it on a steamer while cooking the rice. Yeah….the lazy way ;p

Stir Fried Bean Sprouts

This is definitely not as nice as the Ipoh bean sprouts (cos if it is, I wouldn’t be working 9-5 anymore ;p) but if you want a quick vege dish, this can be done in less than 10min.



Ingredients:
Bean sprouts
Chilli (cut into thin strips)
Carrot (cut into thin strips)
Garlic (chopped)
Soya sauce
Water
Pepper
Oil


Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok and sauté the garlic till it starts to brown.
2. Add in carrot and chilli and stir fry for 2-3min.
3. Put in the bean sprouts and mix well.
4. Mix soya sauce with a little water and pour it over the bean sprouts. Stir fry for 2-3min.
5. Serve with a little pepper.

ABC Soup

I am not sure what soup you call this but in my family, we’ve always know it as ABC soup. This is my sis’ favourite and I love it too especially on a cold rainy day.


Ingredients:
Potatoes (cut into wedges)
Tomatoes (cut into wedges)
Carrot (cut into thick slices)
Onion (cut into wedges)
Chicken (cut into large pieces)
White pepper (crushed)
Salt
Water


Method:
1. Put all the ingredients (except salt) into the slow cooker and cook over high heat until boiling, then set it to ‘auto’ mode and let it cook until serving time.
2. Season with salt before serving.