Recipe: 3 minutes microwave cake

Made the instant 3 minutes microwave Milo cake. I tell you, I've never felt happier about a new kitchen hack than finding out this one haha. Isaac is now requesting that I make a few more to bring to school tomorrow. 

4 tbsp Milo
4tbsp flour
4 tbsp fresh milk
4 tbsp cooking oil
4 tbsp sugar
1 egg

Mix in a medium size bowl or big mug, stir, put in microwave for 3 minutes and it's ready! Super cool! Of course you have to on the microwave, silly!

Haha.

You can also substitute Milo with Nutella or Chocolate powder. I'm also gonna experience putting a bit of coffee the next time I make this.

And you can always top it up with a scoop of ice-cream! Or more!

Have fun!

Recipe: Steamed Siakap (Siakap Stim or Prik Kee Noo)

So today, I was a little more rajin than usual. Hubs said he wanted something soupy, Isaac wanted chicken (as always) and I was feeling a little fishy. And since Sunday is our Chow Kit day, I figured if there is siakap, let's make steamed siakap (totally ignoring the chicken request because I was so sick of eating chicken almost every day last week). To my luck, there's plenty of siakap at Pasar Chow Kit. We got ourself a small siakap (enough for 3 people) because we only have a small sized steamer at home. We can't cut the fish to fit the steamer can't we? Cos it won't look nice. Not Instagram worthy definitely hehe.

Got home, whilst hubs helped with the rest of the grocery, I (double) cleaned the fish with lemon (the fish has already been cleaned by the fish-aunty - as in perut has been buang'd & scrubbed). And then I started chopping all the condiments for the fish. I spent half an hour or more doing just that #hardwork but its all #worthit.

Anyway, here is the recipe for Steamed Siakap. It is really easy to prepare really. It's just the condiments preparation that took some time.

Ingredients
1 siakap  fish (the amount of condiments depends on the size of your fish - this recipe is for small/medium size)
1tbsp anchovies stock
4tbsp lime juice
4tbsp fish sauce
2tsp sugar
Corriander leaves
1 lemongrass (lightly pounded)

Condiments (cut/sliced into small pieces)
4 garlic cloves
1 yellow onion/Holland onions
2" ginger
5 bird's eye chilli
2 big red chilli
2 lemongrass

Cooking Instructions
1. Marinate the fish with a pinch of salt, 1tbsp anchovies stock and some lime juice. Leave it for a few minutes to season.
2. Insert the pounded lemongrass into the fish stomach and place the fish in a steamer (I placed it inside a steel bowl to catch the juice).
3. In another bowl, mix the fish sauce, lime juice and sugar - stir well and pour onto the fish. You can add in some water if you prefer a little bit more sauce.
4. Add in all the condiments - cover the fish to maximise the flavour into the fish and steam for 10 minutes (the time starts as the water started boiling. Makesure you time it because over cooked fish doesn't taste good).
5. Carefully transfer the fish into a serving plate. Garnish with corriander leaves and lime slices.

Enjoy your Prik Kee Noo!

We usually go to Khung Tai or Absolute Thai to eat this - we pay around RM45ish for a medium size fish. Today, we spent less than RM15 for this wonderful meal. The fish was RM8, the condiments were about RM3. My hardwork? Priceless :)

Andddd after we finished eating, since I so sayang to discard all my hardwork (the condiments), I decided to turn the leftover condiments into chicken soup.

I threw them all into a pot and I added some chicken. Add a bit of fish sauce and water and I boiled it for about 20 minutes. And  we had yummy chicken soup as our dinner teheeee. I was either clever or cheapskate teheee :)

P.s Isaac was definitely happy he finally got his chicken :)

Recipe: Green Curry Beef

#ThaiandProud

Here is the recipe for Green Curry Beef.

Ingredients

300g beef (daging)

2 cups coconut milk (santan segar)

Vegetables (brinjal, capsicums or long beans)

1tbsp corn starch (tepung jagung)

Kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut)

Corriander leaves (daun ketumbar)

Lime juice (air limau nipis)

Fish sauce, palm sugar, salt (sos ikan, gula Melaka, garam)

2tbsp of cooking oil (minyak masak untuk menumis)

Blended ingredients

4 shallots (bawang merah)

3 garlic (bawang putih)

1 lemongrass (serai)

4" galangal (lengkuas)

1" ginger (halia)

1 tbsp corriander (ketumbar)

Green chilli  & bird eye chilli - depending on your spicy tolerance (cili hijau & cili padi)

Cooking instructions

1. Blend all the blended ingredients.

2. Heat 2tbsp of oil in a pan. Add the blended ingredients, and fry until fragrant.

3. Add 300g beef, fry for 10 minutes. Add in 1 cup of coconut milk while constantly stirring for 2 minutes. Add in the other cup of coconut milk, and about 1 cup of water to boil the beef on medium heat until cooked.

4. Add in 1tbsp corn starch and stir constantly to avoid lumpy texture.

5. Pour in the lime juice, fish sauce, palm sugar and salt. Continue stirring.

6. Add in the vegetables & kaffir leaves. Continue heating while stirring on medium fire for 5 minutes.

7. Garnish with corriander leaves and serve.

Footnote: The corriander leaves can be substituted with celery leaves. And this recipe can also be used for chicken. Enjoy cooking!

For those who are confused with these two leaves, can find the info here. I was confused too hehe.

Recipe: Mango Salad (Kerabu Mangga)

Made Kerabu Mangga a few days back. Putting the recipe here because a friend asked. And also as my own references storage.

Ingredients
Young mango (mangga muda)
Fish (ikan sardin/selayang/selar) - steam or grill the fish for about 5 minutes, remove bones and unwanted part.
Lime (limau nipis)
Tomatoes (tomato dipotong kecil)
Lemongrass  - (serai dihiris kecil)
Chilli (cili padi & cili besar)
Salt, sugar & vinegar (garam, gula & cuka secukup rasa)

Directions
1. Wash, peel the and grate the mango, add in the fish meat.
2. Add in the tomatoes, lemongrass and chillies. Sprinkle some sugar, salt and add about 3 tablespoon of vinegar and mix well.
3. Squeeze in the lime juice and serve.

Recipe: Daging Masak Merah

My aunt owns a little restaurant in Kluang Johor and one of her signature dishes is Daging Masak Merah. Everytime we go there, this would be the dish I'd request her to make. Hubby loves it so much so I figure baik belajar and buat sendiri. Made this dish yesterday and a few friends asked for the recipe. People at home are always saying that it is family recipe and back in the days when I was a child, I remember grandma making all these delicious food and people will be like "Ah this is Wo Noh's secret recipe. Need to be nice to her to get the recipe". 

Hehehe. Today, you all no need to be nice to me also dapat recipe as I know it will benefit someone somewhere and that makes me happy. Because if you are like me, you'd appreciate a good recipe that you can easily get online when the mood to cook strikes. Ah, the joy of internet.

Anyway, here is the recipe for Daging Masak Merah.

Ingredients
300g of beef (cleaned thoroughly because beef produces this unpleasant smell if not cleaned properly. Same like mutton).
1 big onion.
3 cloves of garlics.
3 spoonful of oyster sauce.
3 spoonful of chilli sauce.
Red food dye (I used the one that's used to make jelly)
Vegetables (I used whatever I have in the kitchen last night - tomatoes, brocolli, red chilli. You can also put long beans, kailan, capsicum, cauliflower)
Salt, sugar (and MSG if you like. We don't use MSG in our household but my family recipe has MSG in it. It tastes better my aunt said hehe).

Directions
1. Boil the beef - add in the red dye, salt MSG and a bit of sugar. Boil until the beef is tender.
2. Strain the beef until dry. Slice it into small pieces.
3. Heat the pan with a bit of oil, add in pounded garlics stir fry until slightly brownish.
4. Add in the sliced beef. Fry for a few minutes.
5. Add in the onions, oyster sauce, chilli sauce, salt and sugar. Fry on big fire for a few minutes.
6. Add in the vegetables (leave the tomatoes for last). Add in a bit of water for sauce (I used the beef broth) and leave if for a few more minutes and your Daging Masak Merah is ready.

Gin hâi a-ròi!

Recipe: Chicken Padpik (Padpik Ayam)

I have so much to blog about but things have been crazy of late. So by the time, the kids are tucked in bed, all I ever wanted to do is sit by hubby's side silently and listen to my own thoughts.

Anyway, we threw a little raya do last week and my Chicken Padpik was quite a hit. Decided to prepare another batch for hubs' friends and my ex colleagues a few days after. They finished the whole pot!

Some of you asked for the recipe? Here it is! This recipe I got from my aunt. For those who do not know, I come from a family of chefs and cooks. Everyone in the family owns their own food business. So when the recipe is from any of them, it is sorta guaranteed that the food will turn up amazing! #notkidding

Ingredients

Main ingredient
2 medium sized chicken, cleaned and cut into small pieces (2 ekor ayam saiz sederhana, dibersih dan dipotong kecil)

Ingredients A
7 - 8 lemongrass (7 -8 batang serai)
1 garlic clove (1 labu bawang putih)
5 big red onions (5 bawang besar merah)
1" ginger (1 inci halia)
1" turmeric (1 inci kunyit hidup)
1 table spoon of black pepper (1 sudu makan lada hitam)
Chilli (cili padi - secukup rasa)
3" shrimp paste (3 inci belacan)

Ingredients B
Tamarind juice (air asam jawa)
Water (air)
Palm sugar, salt and a bit of MSG if you like (gula melaka, garam dan MSG)
Kaffir lime leaves (daun limau purut)

Note: You can add in some blended dried chilli (cili guling) if you like. Your chicken padpik will be slightly brownish. I like mine yellowish hence just the turmeric.

Directions
1. Blend ingredients A.
2. Heat up a big pot (or pan) with 3 table spoon oil and fry the blended ingredients until properly sautéed (make sure you have enough space to stir so don't use a tiny pot).
3. Add in the chicken and stir until slightly dry (please note that there's water from the chicken that needs to be dried up to avoid unpleasant chicken smell).
4. Pour in the tamarind juice, palm sugar, salt (and MSG) and stir evenly.
5. Add a cup of water and cook until the chicken meat is tender (I usually cook for half an hour or more on small fire).
6. Lastly, add in the kaffir lime leaves. Stir occasionally. Your chicken padpik should be ready in 30 minutes time.

Chicken padpik can be eaten with rice or with nasi impit and ketupat as raya dish. Bon appetite!

Recipe: Asam Pedas Ayam

Hubs has been pestering me to make his favourite, Asam Pedas Ayam for a few weeks already but we have been busy going out every weekend for events or simply to spend all the money we earn at shopping malls, for the past month. And weeknights are almost impossible with Ramadhan traffic. So I haven't been going into the kitchen cooking at all since the first day of Ramadhan.

But I finished work slightly earlier today and traffic was a breeze. So we drove to Cold Storage Jaya One, bought everything I needed, picked the kids up and rushed home before the traffic madness begun.

So here is the recipe for Asam Pedas Ayam. This recipe is for us to eat in two separate meals (we freeze food so we can eat a relatively good homecooked dish on a busy day). Or for a family of six - if you are preparing for one meal.

Ingredients A
3 quarter of a medium size chicken (deskinned, cleaned)
1 torch ginger (bunga Kantan)
Daun Kesum 
1 lemongrass (serai)

Ingredients B
7 shallots (bawang merah)
5 cloves of garlics (bawang putih)
1" ginger (halia muda)
1" turmeric (kunyit hidup)
A small bowl of dried chilli (about 30 pieces - cut, boiled and tossed. And if you have small children, avoid touching the chilli with your hand)
Shrimp paste, about the size of your thumb (belacan)

Ingredients C
1 table spoon of black pepper (I use powdered black pepper)
Tamarind juice (air asam jawa)
Sugar, salt & water

Directions
1. Blend ingredients B
2. Heat up the pan, put about 3 table spoon of cooking oil
3. Stir fry the blended ingredients together with lemongrass (cut into 3 pieces and pounded lightly) until slightly dry
4. Add in the chicken, torch ginger, daun kesum and stir well. Cover the pan, leave it for about 5 minutes
5. Add in tamarind juice, black pepper, salt, sugar and cover the pan. Leave to boil
6. Add in water and cover. Stir occasionally. Cook until slightly dry. Asam Pedas Ayam is usually drier than Asam Pedas Ikan.
7. Serve and be prepared to receive a kiss from your hubby!

Recipe: Grilled Lamb Chop

Hubs and #IsaacIsyrafLim are big fans of lamb. Today, I made, well, grilled, lamb chop for lunch.

It's very easy really. I got the frozen readily marinated lamb from @rembaufoodwanted. And all I had to do was defrost it, heat a grill pan over high heat until almost smoking, add the chops and sear for about 2 minutes. Flip the chops over and cook for another 3 minutes for medium-rare and 3 1/2 minutes for medium.

The boys usually eat it with mint sauce but today I was a bit lazy so I just stir fried the remaining sauce from the container and walaaa, delicious BBQ sauce to go with the chop. Delish! Really recommended. The meat tastes very fresh, no funny smell (I'm not a fan of lamb because of the smell but this one, no smell) and very juicy.

Try it. They do COD too I think. Look them up on Instagram @rembaufoodwanted and Facebook at www.facebook.com/Rembaufoodwanted

Recipe: Bolognese Pasta for My Baby

Our little Princess is a big fan of food. You guys should see how she salivates and and pretend-munch her saliva each time we eat in front of her. Due to this, and after much research and paed's advice, we decided to start her solid slightly earlier. Common practice is to only start at 6mo, we did when she was 4 and half mo. A bit advance but it was all properly researched and confirmed.

She is now 10mo and she has been having fun eating all her homemade food. Yes - I try to homemake all her food unless we are out for the whole day and she has finished the home-packed food, hence we don't mind giving her any of the organic ready-made food that we can get from supermarket (Cold Storage, Jaya Grocers, Village Grocers, Ben's) or if we are at The Curve, there is this cart that sells yummy homemade baby food (its located on 1st floor opposite MPH/Sony Centre).

Many of my friends have been asking for the recipes (I usually start of with recipes from recipe books that hubs got for me and subsequently, I alter as per my liking) and some of them are even initiating that I should start a baby food business (not that  I am so great at it). Anyway, sharing is caring and I don't own the rights to this recipe so here's the recipe of Sophie's current favorite: Bolognese Baby Pasta (suitable from 9mo and above).



Ingredients

• 1 tbsp virgin coconut oil
• 1 finely chopped onion
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed
• 20g chopped celery
• 50g finely diced tomatoes
• 1 medium carrot (approx 85g), peeled and grated
• Half of small size pumpkin, peeled and grated
• 100 g lean minced beef
• 100 ml unsalted beef stock or boiling water
• ¼ tsp fresh rosemary leaves 
• 3 tbsp Greek yogurt
• Baby Pasta

 Method

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion and celery over a low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened.
2. Add the garlic and cook for one minute. Add the grated carrot and pumpkin and sauté for 4 minutes. Add 3 spoons of yogurt.
3. In a separate pan, dry fry the minced beef until browned, stirring occasionally.
4. Add to the onion and carrot. Pour over the tomato, beef broth or boiling water and add the rosemary leaves.
5. Cover and cook over a low heat for about 12 minutes.
6. Remove from the pan and pulse for a second or two in a blender to make a smoother texture.
7. Meanwhile, cook the baby pasta according to the packet instructions.
8. Drain and mix with the bolognese sauce.

 
Note: Please note that this recipe is for 4 portions. I usually prepare on Sunday, pack and freeze them.

Have fun cooking for your baby!
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