Pavlova

It’s a stunning piece of artsy-dessert, beautifully inspired by this Russian ballet dancer Anna Pavlova. Fig: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:AP_Cygne.jpg

I would love if someone could name me after a dessert. Well, like how her beautiful ballet moves, pavlova is a gentle meringue dessert which is crispy on the outside but light and fluffy inside. Think marshmallows.

With my reference from page 39 “Jamie at home” and from http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/004356pavlova.php. I’m inspired to make mini pavlova like the ones I read from http://cannelle-vanille.blogspot.com/2009/03/pavlova-berries-and-spring.html 

It’s not too difficult to put everything together, I’ve used:

-4 large eggs whites,

-1 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla essence ,

- 1 1/2 tbsp of cornstarch,

- 2 tsp of wine vinegar,

- pinch of salt

I whip everything and in no time everything is fluffed up and have them spooned to the tray with baking papers on it.

about 3 large table spoon and a gentle press to create a ‘valley’ for the toppings later.

  130’c, 45 mins (or till they are crisp) later:

Well, I think over baked mine, it’s not suppose to be so tanned. Something not so right with the sugar / baking time. But hey, it taste perfect. (mind you this is my first time making this dessert)

I just love how it look on the tray and my sweet tooth calling is just hard to resist.

It’s almost midnight, and I took out some mascarpone cheese, spread it over two piece of the meringues and a handful of strawberries. Yum.

Lotus Root

Cooking time is specially crucial in making Chinese soups.

‘Lou four thong’ literally means soup boiled over gentle heat, for a long period of time. And there’s a huge difference when cooking soup gently, rather than boiling everything in a mad rush.

So i got back home late last night, well past midnight and  I quickly want to make lotus root soup for the Saturday.

Trying to minimize neighbours complaints, I have the lotus roots peeled and cut into half an-inch think. A generous amount of spare ribs, and throw in dried oyster and stripes of dried cuttle fish. All in with half a garlic, and 1.5 litres of water into the slow cooker pot.

On low heat, I have it cook till this morning, about 8 hours.

And the morning greets you with a wonderful smell from the soup. And you know it’s a beautiful ‘lou four thong’ when you can taste the rich yet clear flavours bursting out, even before I add in salt.

Soup got to be less oily, not too salty and not too much of dried seafood pairings so that it not too overpowering. I just love soups, it’s healthy, tasty and seriously easy to make one.

Well, the next time I make the same this lotus root soup again, i got to remember to cook it with peanuts and red dates.

Have a nice weekend everyone.

Getting adventurous with pork’s tripe

Grandma would make this mean soup, every time she’s expecting us. It’s her way of showing love, and I believe like many other Asian families it’s a way, to show the unspoken care and love among family members.

Just the smell of it, reminds me of the journey back home.

Well, this is my very first time making the soup. No joke here, cleaning the stomach does take a lot of perseverance. Really.

Unpleasant sights and weird smell is just synonymous.

Well, the lady boss ‘sales talk’ me to buy one when I was getting my regular supply of meat. “aiya lengchai, it's very easy to clean it one”

Plus my 10 minutes over the phone instructions from my mum, I nailed it. 

“Scrub with tapioca starch, massage in and out, exfoliate it with salt, wash off, boil it in hot water, take it out scrape the membranes and fats, boil again, repeat and finally cut it to bite sizes.” and one hour spent just to do so.

A chicken + pork ribs stock, a whole garlic, a handful of crushed white pepper, all thrown into the crockery pot and cook for the next 6-8 hours.

The next day just smell nice, with the peppery, soupy and soupy, and soupy and … soupy …

So the simple lunch comes with a simple side vegetable pairing. Finely shredded cabbage, carrots and black fungus ‘wood’s ear?!’ all stir fry with a dash of chopped garlic and ginger and infused with soy sauce and oyster sauce. A pinch of salt and dash of pepper. 4-6 minutes cooking time max.

And since I’ve got extra tiramisu ingredients, why not making more of it for desserts.  Oh, my sinful weekend. 

a tiramisu

I always wanted to make my own tiramisu since I read about it from http://imbinitchy.blogspot.com/2009/03/easy-tiramisu.html. I give it a try.

It’s really easy. Get the ingredients right , and get creative.

Quoted from Lianne’s recipe:

• Ladies Fingers (1 packet)
• Mascaporne Cheese (250 grams)
• Espresso Coffee (1 cup)
• Coffee Liquor (3-4 tablespoon, or adjust to your personal taste)
• Sugar (1 cup)
• Cocoa Powder (1/2 cup)

Method

1. Combine sugar and coffee liquor into a hot cup of Espresso.
2. Soak the Ladies Finger, one by one until it is thoroughly soaked. Set aside.
3. Beat Mascaporne Cheese until its light and fluffy. Set aside.
4. Layer the soaked Ladies Finger in the glass, and alternate them with Marcaporne Cream.
5. Do break the Ladies Finger when necessary for it to fit into the glass.
6. The ideal layer would be between 2-3. The last layer should be Marcaporne Cream.
7. Lastly, sprinkle cocoa powder on top.
8. Bring the glass to fridge to chill for at least an hour. Done.

Oh yummy.

Well, there’s an hour wait, to chill it before gobbling it, so while waiting. I ‘selongkar’ my fridge and decided to .. ahem try my new lenses.

 

And in my fridge I found:

Two ripe passion fruit.

Tomatoes

Dried Chillies

 Dried Chinese Mushrooms

Spices

breakfast for supper

One of the hardest thing for me to resist. Eggs.

Well, it’s way past midnight and having some re-runs of shows over the satellite TV, it’s got to have some nice warm supper to go along with.

So when I open the fridge, I’ve got half a loaf of bread, eggs and milk.

Pop two slice of white bread with generous amount of butter, I toast the bread for 3-5 mins in 160’c. Take em out, and slowly pour over the egg.

I want my yolk runny, so another 5-7 mins in 200’c would be just nice.

 

A dash of pepper, few drops of soy sauce.
I just had breakfast for supper.

Goodnight :)

Nyuk Lan Satay

I spoke to one of the chief ‘griller’ of this satay restaurant with over 30 years of existence,

‘Saya kerja disini sudaaa lamaaaaa, start tahun 1982’

The friendly Chinese lady cum owner attended us with over 650 sticks of ‘satay’. Well, there were about 35 of us, and after a fun cycling event at Putrajaya’s Botanical Park, ‘satay’ chomping seemed to be the right snack for everyone.

Located in the old town of Kajang, the coffee shop known as Restoran Malaysia (Nyuk Lan Satay) serves halal food from satay to the typical Chinese style of noodles (dai chao).

A sugarcane juice section at the side of the shop is also worth mention. With the hot weather and the grilled snack, it is all washed down with the icy cold freshly squeezed sugar cane juice.

Restoran Malaysia (Nyuk Lan Satay)

31, Jalan Semenyih, Kajang.

03-87331160

10am-11pm, closed on Tuesday

Serves: Beef, chicken, duck, fish, satay,

the casual DimSum

 

There’s this thing about casual dim sum. Well, with aplenty of casual dim sum shops these days, it’s just hard to resist the calling of steamy lil baskets filled with goodies.

Steamed, deep fried or chilled desserts, I always find myself busy peeping over the trays whenever the dim sum staffs passes by. A point here and there, I got myself a table load of food. I still never learn the lesson of, my eyes  is always way  more hungry that the stomach can fill. Oh well,

Love the siew mai, the wu kok, fried yaochar kuai with filling, char siew pau, pai kuat, and salad ha.

So far these are the default dimsum must haves.

Burp.

I just love the busyness of these casual dim sum places. Noisy, fast, sweaty and cheap, the whole mad rush just make the dining experience interesting.

Eat your shoes those who are running expensive-cheongsam waitress dimsum places.

Find it at:

Hong Kee Tim Sum

No 18 & 20, Jalan SS22/25, Damansara Jaya

47400 Petaling Jaya. Tel: 012-6069787

Opening hours: 7.00am to 3.00pm daily.

 

I’ll visit again to try other stuffs. Now give me my siew mai.

it's easier to cook,

It's 1030pm, and while waiting for my Hong Kong TVB drama that starts on 11pm, I needed some sugar.

Oh I remember having some sweet potatoes I bought last Sunday, and why not. Throw in a thumb size ginger, pandan leaves, boil till it's soft and a handful of rock sugar.

See it's much more easier to cook than to drive out for a takeaway.

and a dinner for 3

And since I got a 4pm meeting in Bangsar, and I could end it by 530pm. Making dinner is like a good Thursday plan. And a quick MSN invite to get the guest sorted.

Bought a nice chunky cut of sting ray, and I decided to make fish curry, the Indian style and some suitable side dishes to go along with.

Flaming Sting Ray Curry

Well, like everyone would have they own way of making curries, I’ve also develop my own preferred way of making curries. There’s no definite way to cook curries, but stick to the ones you prefer. After all, how wrong can you go with curries.

My personal style is closer to the Indian style. Never like the too-diluted Chinese style and healthier than the ‘santan-ny’ Malay style.

A splash of oil, and fry those lil mustard seeds, then add in the mashed ginger, garlic and wedges of onions. Fry till it’s aromatic and add in a teaspoon of ‘cili giling/boh’. Then add in the fish curry mix (I use 5 tablespoon Adabi fish curry + 1 bowl of water).

Fry the mixture till it’s ‘cantik’ then add a bowl of water and let it simmer. Once it starts to boil throw in the tomato wedges, eggplants, then the string ray cubes. Turn to medium heat and let it cook for the next 25 mins before turning to low heat, and 30 mins before serving it, put in the lady’s finger and let it blanch to crisp.

Kobis goreng kunyit

A very simple side dish made of shredded cabbage and beans with a twist of garlic and ‘cili padi’. Stir fry consistently while adding a dash of turmeric and curry powder. Of course you can’t be so ignorant to forgot the salt.

Eggy prawny omelette

Seriously you don’t need instructions for this dish.

And there you go, all ready in 1.5 hours.

Yin

And the lucky guest, snap snap snap and makan.

Handmade Chocolates,

Lovely isn't.

Oh, there one with Vodka filling. Twas absolutely delicious.

in a meeting?

I had a day long meeting today, and being Monday it’s always a great challenge to beat the Monday-ey-blue.

So while I listen to some meeting updates from other department, I was looking attentively at my debating-colleagues’ expression and an occasional nod of affirmation.

But in actual fact, I’m thinking about cooking….. and food

I was imagining about  roasting pumpkin with onions and sage. A simple serving of pumpkin peeled and cut into cubes and wedges of onions. Toss with a handful of sage, salt and pepper.

Roast with some olive oil for 30 mins at about 180’c. Lovely, peppery flavour with the sweet golden pumpkin

It’s an imagination. No end product picture. Yet.