Crispy Pizzelle

I developed this crispy pizzelle by accident. I wanted to make kuih rose but the new batter that I tried didn't work for me. So, I had to improvise and use my pizzelle press in an attempt to save the batter. Hey, it works! It turned out very crispy, way better than the kuih kapit recipe I tried earlier. The kuih kapit recipe I tried earlier turned soft and I had to bake it in the oven again to make it crisp. But this batter is a keeper for me, it's crispy and stay that way. So, this is not the original pizzelle recipe (different flavor too), but a recipe I discovered by accident. A new recipe to try for people who own a pizzelle maker! Feedback would be appreciated. :-)

Ingredients:

125gm rice flour

100gm cornflour

85gm all-purpose flour

250gm sugar

200ml coconut milk

3 eggs

1 Tbsp. black sesame seeds
(would add 1 tsp. of vanilla extract next time)

Method:

1. In a big bowl, whisk coconut milk, eggs and sugar together. Then, add in all the flours and black sesame seeds. Whisk and blend to combine.

2. Heat Pizzelle press and brush with a little oil and pour about a tablespoon of batter in the middle of the press. Close the lid and bake until the light indicator tells you that it's done. Remove with a chopstick and let it cool completely before storing. You can shape it when hot if you like.

Asian Mustard Green (Gai Choy) Soup

The Asian mustard greens sold in the Asian market here came in a big bag. I still left with half bag of mustard greens from the "chai bui" I made earlier. So, what was I going to do with so much mustard greens? I never tried stir-fry it before so I was not sure about the taste. I did an online search but I couldn't find any recipe neither. So, I made this recipe up because I know it was good in soup. My recipe didn't fail me as this soup was so delicious even both my girls loved it, they loved the soft sweet carrots and the mustard greens. My hubby loved the peanuts and I simply loved everything. By the way, how do you normally cook the fresh Asian mustard greens? Is it good in stir-fry?

Ingredients:

Asian mustard greens (Gai Choy), washed and cut (one big bowl)
5-6 pieces of cut Pork ribs/Pork bones with meat
6-8 Chinese mushrooms, soaked in hot water to soften
2 carrots, cut
3/4 cup skinless peanuts
15 Chinese dried red dates
salt to taste
1/2 tsp. chicken stock granules
Water (about 3-4 litter)

Method:

1. In a big stock pot, add in water and let it boil. When boiled add in pork ribs and dish out any impurities that float to the top. Then, add in mushroom, carrots, peanuts and red dates. Let it simmer on low for 2 hours or until the pork meats are tender.

2. Add in mustard greens and let it simmer for another half to an hour, it depends on how soft you like your mustard greens. Season to taste with salt and a little chicken stock granules.

If you try this soup and loved it, feedback to me ya!

Gong Xi Fa Cai 2009

I want to wish all my readers a very Happy, Healthy and Prosperous Lunar New Year!! May this Ox year brings us great happiness, better economy, full tummy and wealth.

Too lazy to make pineapple tart this year, so I only pick easy cookies to make. For easy access of my recipes, click the links below:

Cornflakes cookies
Crispy Pizzelle
Peanut cookies
Kuih bangkit
Almond flavored sugee cookies

Stir-fried Chicken with Dried Beancurd Sheet

This dish was created because I didn't have much time to soften the dried beancurd sticks. So, instead of beancurd sticks, I used the dried beancurd sheet. As you can see, it is doable as well. The stir-fry beancurd sheet actually gave a more chewy texture. Not bad at all, give it a try if you have limited time to cook up a dish.

I like the sauce I created with this dish so I had to pen it down quick before I forget. I whipped up new recipe all the times and if I didn't write it down I would forget. So, normally for a sauce that I liked, I will pen it down and post it on my blog for my future reference.

Ingredients:

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced and marinated in Japanese rice wine, salt, garlic powder, sesame oil and cornstarch.
1 piece of dried beancurd sheet (dried bran sheet, from packet), break apart and soften in hot water.
Oyster sauce (about 2 Tbsp.)
Dark sweet soy sauce (about 1 tsp.)
Chin Kiang black vinegar (about 1 Tbsp.)
1/2 cup of water

Method:

1. In a heated wok, add in some canola oil. Add in chicken and stir-fry until no longer pink.

2. Add in soften beancurd sheet pieces and stir-fry for awhile. Add in water and all the sauces. Let it simmer for a little while and serve hot.

Here's my:
Braised chicken with dried bean curd sticks
Golden prosperity soup

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

Awesomely delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 pkg. (4 oz) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour (all purpose, unbleached)
1/2 Tbp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Beat butter in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed 1 min. Gradually add sugar, beating well after each addition, until very light and fluffy. Add cream cheese; beat 1 min. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla extract, beat to mix.

2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture. Beat 1 min or until well blended. Pour batter into greased and floured 8 1/2 x 3 1/2 loaf pan and bake for 40 minutes. Stick with toothpick to check for doneness.

Check out my Green Tea Pound Cake.

Chai Bui (Leftver Vegetable Stew)

This dish is widely popular in a Hokkein household. Usually it is cooked the day after a wedding banquet, on Chinese New Year or whenever there is a lot of leftover. I remembered I always picked the Asian mustard green and siew yoke (roasted pork) to eat. This hot and sour dish is easy to cook, everything in it will be the leftover food except the mustard green. Of course today, we don't really have to depend on the leftover in order to cook this dish (I never have so much leftover in my house). So, I enjoy this dish without much of the leftover. Whenever I buy a whole roasted duck, I will save the bone, neck parts and freeze it in my freezer. Then, I will add it in with some lean pork and lots of Asian mustard green to cook this dish.

Ingredients:

Asian mustard greens (Gai choy), cleaned (about one very big bowl)
Leftover pieces of roasted duck/chicken
Lean Pork slices (from 2-3 pork chops)
1 cup of Tamarind juice
8-10 dried chili peppers
Enough water to cover the meat and vegetable
Salt to taste
Sugar to taste

Method:

1. In a big pot, add in some water and let it boiled. When boiled, add in the pork slices. Dish out the impurities that float to the top and discard. Add in the leftover, tamarind juice and dried chilies. Let it simmer for an hour or until the meat is tender.

2. Add in Asian mustard green and let it simmer for a further 30 minutes or until the soften consistency you like. Season to taste with salt and sugar.

Trans Fat in 3 in 1 Coffee or Milk Tea

I couldn't believe my eyes this morning when I opened a newly bought bag of 3 in 1 Taiwan milk tea that was manufactured in Singapore. One packet of this has 0.7g of trans fat! I didn't check the label because it never occur to me that milk tea has trans fat. I quickly looked through the ingredients list and the culprit came from the non-daily creamer used. I was at a shock because I just spent $5 for it and I didn't know whether I should throw it away or just have one packet of milk tea per day until it finished and never to buy it again or double check the ingredients list of this product in the future. I beat myself for not checking the ingredients list. Is it safe to consume 0.7g of trans fat a day? Okay, perhaps that was too much, probably two packets per week (by the way, I have a very good total cholesterol level and optimal LDL reading). Of course I quickly threw away the non-daily creamer in my pantry, luckily I only used this when I ran out of milk. Guess it is all come down to this, back to basic! Eat from nature (vegetable, wild-caught fishes, meat, etc), drink from the fresh (milk, cream, etc), and avoid processed food as much as possible. Now I can see the importance of organic food because certain fresh food is still minimally processed unless it is certified as organic. We never know how many years down the road that the scientist will discover something new again.

Okay, before I lost my focus, the thing I wanted to say is go check the ingredients list on your favorite 3 in 1 coffee, 3 in 1 tek tarik or milk tea. So that next time you can buy other brand that has no non-daily creamer (mom, sis, go check yours too!). I know how we love to drink from the 3 in 1, so I want you to be aware of this too. I love the 3 in 1 coffee because I can never make my instant coffee taste as good as 3 in 1. Of course I quickly checked my 3 in 1 coffee made in Vietnam, I like 3 in 1 Vietnamese coffee because I found it less sweet. Luckily it didn't say it has trans fat in the label and on the ingredients list, it said creamer instead of non-daily creamer. Can I assume creamer has no trans fat because it didn't make from partially hydrogenated oil? Anyone knows?

Imagine all these years when trans fat has not been discovered, people were delighted at the invention of shortening, margarine and non-daily creamer that have low saturated fat that were supposed to be good for us (heart healthy they said). And now all these are considered bad because they were made from hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil that has trans fat that is more lethal than saturated fat. So, all these years we have been eating food that was made with trans fat but not knowing it. Now we have the mean to know and thus should take precaution especially people with high cholesterol and/or coronary heart disease.