This dish is so simple yet delectable. Minimal seasonings required yet packed with flavors. I love to chew on the shell of these shrimps because that's the best part. Even my Evy who hardly eat shrimps asked for more. Edda who complaint too spicy finished her share after I told her to eat with white rice then it won't be too spicy anymore. :P If you have a bottle of Szechuan peppercorns at home, this will be a great way to use it. Can substitute the shrimps with chicken too.
Ingredients:15 large shrimps
8 dried red chili, soften in hot water and drained
1/2 Tbsp. Szechuan peppercorns
Shredded gingers
1/2 small red onion, sliced (yellow onion/scallion can be substituted)
Seasonings: 1/2 tsp. chicken stock granules and some soy sauce. Method:
1. Season shrimps with salt and black pepper, coat with cornstarch and pan-fry until cooked. Dish out and set aside.
2. In the wok, add a little oil. When hot, add in dried chili and Szechuan peppercorns, stir-fry until fragrant, add in gingers and red onion. Stir-fry until onion is soften. Add in a little water and the seasonings.
3. Stir-fry well and add in the shrimps. Stir to coat and dish out to serve. Simple yet delicious.
This is a Nyonya style mixed vegetable which uses preserved bean paste. This dish is normally served during Chinese New Year and is associated with festive dishes. Since I have all the ingredients, I gave this dish a go (first time trying). My glass noodle disintegrated and almost melted following the recipe in the cook book (not sure brand of glass noodle plays a part or not). The taste did not come out well too and something was missing. In the end, I had to add a few more seasonings to bring out the taste and had to change the method in the cook book for my own record, so that one can still see the glass noodle once this dish is cooked. Believe it or not, I always refer back to my blog for my own recipes because most of the recipes I created out of the blue and often time I forgot what I put into the dish. So, these recipes are not only for my girls but for myself as well.
Ingredients:
1/2 small Cabbage, shredded, or cubed
1 small Carrot, cut into flower shapes
1/4 cup Dried Lily Buds, soften in hot water, drained and cut off the hard tip and tie a knot
1/2 cup Wood Ear Fungus, soften in hot water
5-6 Dried Shiitake Mushrooms, soften in hot water, drained and sliced
4 Dried beancurd sticks (tau kee), soften in hot water, drained and cut
2 bundles Glass Noodle (tang hoon), soften in room-temp. water and drained
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/4 cup Dried Shrimps (you can use shrimps)
Seasonings:
3 Tbsp. Preserved Bean Paste (tau cheo)
1 tsp. Chicken stock granules
Salt to taste
1 tsp. Sugar
1 to 2 cups WaterMethod:1. In a pot, heat up some oil. when heated, add in dried shrimps, garlic and tau cheo. Stir-fry until fragrant. Add in cabbage and carrot, stir-fry until soften.
2. Add in shiitake mushrooms, wood ear, lily buds and beancurd sticks. Stir- well to mix. Add water and the rest of the seasonings. Let it simmer, covered for 10-15 minutes, check water level if need to. Open cover, add in glass noodle and mix well. Turn off the heat and serve.
P/S The cook book asked to add the glass noodle with the rest of the ingredients and simmer it for 20 minutes. Bad move as I learned later. I was trying to trust the cookbook and follow the instruction for once, but guess not. Seasoning was off too. Received a great tips, that is to soften the glass noodle in room-temp. water instead of hot water to prevent it from broken out when cooking.
This is one of the common household dishes. Most Malaysian Chinese families should have their own version. I cooked this dish often for my family and I was surprised I haven't posted this recipe before. This is a good one dish meal too but often time I would serve it with another Asian green with or without a chicken herbal soup. I often cook a minimum of two dishes, one make up of protein/seafood and the other of fiber and about 2 soups in a week, one is herbal, and the other one can be of anything.
Ingredients:1 box of regular Tofu, cut into cubed
Ground/minced pork, about 1/2 lb.
4-5 Chinese dried mushroom, soak in hot water to soften, drained and chopped.
1/2 Carrot, chopped
3 cloves of Garlic, chopped
1/4 cup Frozen green peas
Seasonings:
Oyster sauceCooking wine Dark soy sauceWhite pepper
Sesame oil
Method:
1. Heat up wok with oil. When heated, add in ground pork and garlic. Stir-fry until pork is no longer pink. Add in Chinese mushroom, carrot and green peas. Stir-fry for awhile.
2. Add in cubed tofu and seasonings to taste. Add a little water if need to (for sauce). Stir- fry well and dish out to serve hot.
I love Kai Chai Beng or chicken biscuits, not sure why it is called that because no chicken is used in the recipe, but this cookie is crunchy and fulled of flavor. In Malaysia, we have two types of chicken biscuit, the fat variety (softer in texture) and the thin variety. Even though I like it but I never thought of making it myself because I don't buy Nam Yee. Then, on this recent trip to the Asian store, I spotted Nam Yee was on sales and it was placed in the front, so I just grabbed one, like it was calling me to pick it up. By the way, this chicken biscuit is different from the Western chicken biscuits that we see in the supermarkets.
Today, I am making the thin variety as I like it crunchy. I got the recipe from Lily's and I modified slightly to use what I have in the house. I cut down on the salt and added more dark soy sauce to compensate the honey that I substituted. The chicken biscuits turned out so crunchy and delicious, even my hubby could not stop snacking on it. Now I really have no reason to buy anymore since the homemade one is so good.
The finished dough.
Ingredients:
(A)
10.5 oz. self rising flour
4 oz. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. five spice powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. chicken stock granules
1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
80gm. white sesame seeds
4 oz. candied winter melon strips (tong tung kwah), finely chopped or cut and process it fine in a food processor
My lazy method that worked!
(B)
1 large egg
1 Tbsp. honey
2 pieces Nam Yee (red fermented beancurd), mashed
4 drops dark soy sauce
100ml. oil
Assorted shapes! I made four trays with this recipe.
Method:
1. Measure the ingredients (A) and put it in a food processor, pulse to mix well.
2. Add (B) in a bowl, whisk with a hand whisk until blended. Pour into the food processor and pulse until a dough is almost formed. Pour into a big bowl and knead with hand until a dough is formed. Let it rest for 10 minutes.
3. Pinch pieces of the dough and roll between a piece of wax paper with a roller, and then cut it with a pastry crimper (as picture shown above). Place on parchment lined baking tray with some space between them as the chicken biscuit will puff up during baking.
4. Bake in preheated 350'F oven for 10 minutes or less, remember to check the oven when you can smell it. Do keep an eye on it as it burn easily. I used convection oven and it was baked in 6 minutes or less. Baking time also depends on the thickness of your cookies.
Cool on wire rack then store in air-tight container.
For some reason, Balado (an Indonesian sambal sauce) left an impression on me. I had some Chicken Bumbu Balado at a ladies gathering and I couldn't stop eating this dish. The sauce came in a bottle so it is on my next buying list. The next day, I saw Brinjal Balado at Gert's blog and she told me why buy when it is so easy to make at home. But you know me, I would still love to buy the sauce if I can but sadly I couldn't find it at my local Asian store. Frustrated, I IM Lily about it and she told it was like sambal tumis and asked me to make my own. I told her yeah it is like sambal tumis with added tomatoes but I don't buy tomatoes. But I know I can substitute it with ketchup, so here is my version of homemade chicken sambal balado with added red bell peppers, carrots and lemon grass. Next time I should add yellow onion or more shallots because it is so good with the sauce. Quite spicy too I might say!
Ingredients:
1 chicken breast, thinly sliced, marinate with salt and cornstarch
1 lemon grass, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1/4 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 carrot, thinly sliced
Seasonings:
1 Tbsp. Sambal Oelek
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 tsp. salt
Brown sugar, to taste
Lime juice, to taste
1/4-1/2 cup water
Method:
1. Heat oil in wok. When heated, add in lemon grass and shallots, fry until fragrant. Add in garlic, fry for a while then add in marinated chicken slices. Stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink.
2. Add in red bell peppers and carrots and fry until soften. Lastly add in water and seasonings. Season to taste and dish out to serve. The sambal oelek I bought this time is quite spicy so I did not put much as my daughters want to eat too but still turned out quite spicy.
Do you loved luncheon meat? We do as we grew up eating pan-fried luncheon meat. My mom used to pan-fried slices of luncheon meat, some sunny side up eggs and toasted bread for us to have as lunch. It was really a treat then because instead of the usual rice and dishes, we got to eat western food and with ketchup. As a kid, I was really looking forward to it. Now that I am older, I only buy SPAM luncheon meat, no more luncheon meat made in China for me anymore. Better yet, SPAM Lite where there is 50% less fat, 33% fewer calories and 25% less sodium and still tasted great, how cool is that? I stock up when it was on sales for $2 each, just for a day when I feel like cooking SPAM.
Today was the day as I have half a packet of leftover thin spaghetti and mee rebus sauce and a Presto Pasta Night event to catch. So, I sliced some carrots, washed some Chai Hsin (a Chinese veggie) and chopped some garlic to whip this up.
Ingredients:
1/2 packet thin spaghetti, cooked as directed and drained
1 cup Mee rebus sauce (mine was a leftover from mee rebus dinner)
1 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
A little soy Sauce
1/2 thinly sliced carrot
1 soup bowl of washed and cut chai hsin
1/2 canned SPAM Lite, cut into small pieces like above pictures
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
Method:
1. Heat up wok with oil. When heated, add in cut SPAM and stir-fry until slightly brown. Scoop to the side, add in garlic, chai hsin, and carrot. Stir-fry until chai hsin is soften. Add soy sauce, stir-well.
2. Add in drained noodle and stir fry well. Add in mee rebus sauce and dark soy sauce, stir to coat well. Serve hot!Now, I would love to share this dish with Presto Pasta Night, an event created by Ruth from Once Upon a Feast.
This week host is Daphne from More Than Words, do go and check out her round up on Friday!
Have you tried scrambled eggs with asparagus or asparagus omelet? Let me tell you, it is delicious. I happened to discover it by accident three plus years ago when I was trying to finish few asparagus left in my refrigerator. Now, I used it often to fry eggs. Try my omelet recipe here.
Ingredients:
Asparagus, about 10, chopped
8 large shrimps, cut into small pieces, 4 in 1
1/2 carrot, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 cup of chopped cilantro (optional)
3-4 large eggs, beaten, season with soy sauce and white pepper
1 tsp. chicken stock granules
Oil for cooking (olive or canola)
Method:
1. In a wok, heat up some cooking oil. When heated, add in garlic, fry a little while, add in shrimps. Cook until shrimp is almost cooked, add in chopped asparagus, carrot and chicken granules. Stir-fry until asparagus is cooked.
2. Add chopped cilantro (if used) in the seasoned beaten eggs, mixed well. Pour it on top of the asparagus and shrimps in the wok. Stir fry the eggs and mixture together until eggs are cooked. Serve hot.
We loved this dessert. When the sweet potatoes is on sales in the supermarket, I will buy some to make this dessert for my family. It is like killing two birds in one stone. I get to enjoy the Chinese brown sugar with ginger drink with the super food sweet potatoes! I will cook a big pot and enjoy it for couple of days. A small bowl for afternoon snack and another one after dinner. Ha! I think I will gain a pound or two whenever I cook any Chinese dessert. :P
Ingredients:2 sweet potatoes, cut into cubes
1 cup tiny size sago (sago pearls, available in Asian store)
6 slices of thinly sliced gingers
Chinese brown sugar to taste
Water to cover double the amount of sweet potatoes
Method:
1. Rinse sago under water. Heat a saucepan with water, more than triple the amount of sago and let it boil. When boiled, add in sago and stir to separate. Turn the heat to low and let it boil for 10 minutes. Then, turn the heat off, cover the saucepan and let the sago to continue to cook for another 15 minutes. It should turn transparent after this. Rinse the sago in a fine large sieve under cold running water to separate them. Put on a bowl and set aside.
2. Boil another pot of water until boiling. Then, add cubed sweet potatoes and ginger slices, turn the heat to low, cover and let it simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the sweet potatoes have soften (test with a fork). Then, add in Chinese brown sugar to taste. Stir until sugar dissolved, turn the heat off and add in sago pearls, give a little stir. Keep leftover in the refrigerator, it is nice eaten cold too.
I think all Malaysian adore this dish. It is served in almost all restaurants and we could never get tired of it. Kangkong is also called water convolvulus and it has an empty filling so Chinese called it 空心菜. I love to cook this dish in my short-cut version. So, sharing with you my short-cut version with ingredients easily available at the Asian supermarket.Ingredients:
A big bunch of kangkong, pluck the leaves, discard the stem. Wash in water 2 times and rinse dry.
2 shallots, chopped
1 tsp. belacan powder
2-3 Tbsp. Shrimp Paste in Soy Bean Oil, product of Thailand
1 tsp. Fish sauce
A little sugar
1/4 cup water
Oil for cooking
Method:
1. Heat oil in a wok. When heated, add in shallots, shrimp paste and belacan. Fry until fragrant, then add in the kangkong. Fry until kangkong reduce in size and soften. Add water, season to taste with fish sauce and sugar and stir-fry well.
2. Dish out and enjoy! The above dish is kids friendly. If you like it spicy, add chili padi, chili paste or sambal for the extra kick.
This is one of Malaysian favorite dishes. I love eggplant stir-fry with ground pork and in spicy chilies. Yet, my hubby dislike the taste and texture of eggplant, thus I haven't bought an eggplant for ages. However, recently while reading Rita's blog, she mentioned that to soften her eggplant, she just sprinkle it with some olive oil and salt and bake it in the oven. Now, why I haven't thought of that? I used to stir-fry the eggplant in oil to soften it and found it very oily because the eggplant will soak up all the oil. But with the new knowledge, I went to buy an eggplant. I had this dish for two days and it was yummy! 
Ingredients:
1 Japanese eggplant, slice thinly and arrange on a aluminum foil lined pan. Then, sprinkle with olive oil and sea salt. Use your hands to mix well and bake in preheated 400'F for 10 minutes. Set aside to let cool.
1/4 lb. Ground pork
1/2 red onion, chopped
Canola oil
Seasonings:
LKK oyster sauce, about 2-3 Tbsp.
Delimas crispy prawns chili, about 2 Tbsp.
A little sugar, about 1 tsp.
Method:
1. In a wok, heat up some oil. When heated, add in red onion. Fry until slightly soften, add in the ground pork. Fry until pork is no longer pink. Add in soften eggplant. Stir-fry well and add in the seasonings.
2. Add a little water (1/4 cup) if needed. Stir well and dish out to serve.
Note: Delimas crispy prawns chili is the same as Tean Gourmet crispy prawns chili.
This is definitely my East Meets West dish. I loved to buy canned tuna when it is on sales and keep it in my pantry. Canned tuna is high in omega 3 fatty acids and store well so it is one of the canned foods that I loved to keep in my pantry. Nai Pak is an Asian green that only available in Asian supermarket. I loved to buy this veggie for its vibrant green color leaves. This can be easily served as one dish meal with some brown rice for a healthy and nutritious meal. Looks kind of messy and not as appetizing isn't it? But trust me, it tasted good.
Ingredients:
Nai Pak, separate the leaves, wash individually when soak in water, rinse again under water, cut off the bottom part. About a big bowl.
1/2 medium carrot or 1 small, cut
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 chunk white Albacore tuna in water, drained
1/2 cup water
Salt to taste
1 tsp. Chinese chicken stock granulesCanola oil for cooking
Method:
Heat your wok with oil. When hot, add garlic, fry until slightly brown, add in nai pak and carrot, fry until nai pak soften, add water and stir-fry well. Add in albacore tuna, salt and chicken stock granules. Stir-well and serve hot.
This is the cookie I invented while making my green pea cookies. While making that cookies, I remembered I still have half a bottle of dry roasted Edamane in my pantry. This is definitely a great way to finish my roasted Edamane as this cookie is delicious, way better than munching the roasted Edamane alone. This is an Asian Chinese style cookie. The cookie is very delicate and when you bite into it, it is crunchy with bits of Edamane and yet it has the melt-in-the-mouth feel. Sooooo good! Now, I am going to use my unfinished roasted Edamane to make this delicious cookies, it will make such a great gift for my healthy friend too. If you love dry roasted Edamane, you will love this cookie, go ahead give it a try! :) My girls and I totally loved this cookies.
Ingredients:1 1/2 cups lightly salted dry roasted Edamame
(A)
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup icing sugar
(B)
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
130ml canola oil
Method:
1. In a food processor, process the dry roasted Edamame until fine. Pour into a big glass bowl.
2. In the big glass bowl, add (A) and stir with a spatula until combined. Then, add (B) and mix with your hand until a dough is formed or stick together when squeeze with your palm. Use a small cookie scoop and scoop even sizes of cookie dough on parchment paper lined baking sheet about 1/2 inch apart. After that, flatten the cookies with a fork in a circular motion like picture above.
3. Bake in preheated 350'F oven for 12-13 minutes. Cool on wire rack completely before storing them in an air-tight container.
~Yield about 31 cookies with the small cookie scoop. This recipe can easily be double to make more cookies.
