Fragrant Oatmeal Prawns

Fragrant Oatmeal Prawns

Hello! 

Happy Wednesday to you. I am very excited to share today's recipe of Fragrant Oatmeal Prawns with you. I just made it and I am absolutely trying to complete this post quickly so that you may have the recipe. It is one of the best tasting seafood dishes I have had! Seriously, it's so good that I cannot emphasise enough how you must try it for yourself.

Preparation is extremely simple and quick. The prawns are dusted with cornflour and fried to make them crunchy. Then it is mixed in with crispy egg yolk bits, oats and seasoned with curry leaves and some chilli. Amazing! It looks really good too, definitely a restaurant worthy dish. Make this and your family and friends will be thoroughly impressed.

Vegetarian Curry for Meatless Monday

Vegetarian Curry

Hello and Happy Monday!

What did you do over the weekend? Mine was a weekend of high and lows. We had to put my poor hamster Peanut to sleep, so that was heart breaking :( 

She will be greatly missed. Funny how a small little hamster brought us so much joy and laughter. 

As for the highs - I am going back to Kuala Lumpur for a long visit! It wasn't a planned visit, very much a spontaneous decision. Must truly thank my dearest husband for the nice gift and for sacrificing so much to allow me to visit my family and friends. So, watch this space for more posts from Malaysia. I am super excited and can't wait to be inspired by all the food!

Since it is a Monday, I thought that I would do another Meatless Monday post. I think I am going to challenge myself and try to do a Meatless Monday post weekly. You my dear readers shall keep me honest and ensure that I do not stray.

This week, it is a Vegetarian Curry! It's so flavoursome and aromatic you won't even realise it is meat-free. I tried to give the curry a bulkier texture and more bite by using chunky vegetables like aubergines, carrots and courgettes. I also added Tofu Puffs that act like a sponge to soak up all the curry broth. When you bite into them, all the curry goodness oozes out. Heaven!

Kaya (Malaysian Coconut Egg Jam) Recipe

Kaya (Malaysian Coconut Egg Jam) on home made Milk Toast

Happy Friday everyone! 

Since I like Friday to be sweet, I am going to share my take on this ever popular Malaysian jam called Kaya. It is a very fragrant and sweet jam made from coconut milk, sugar, eggs and pandanus leaves. Usually eaten on buttered toast, it can also commonly used as a filling in pastries and buns. You can also slather it on top of waffles, pancakes, crumpets, the list goes on! 

The ingredients I use for Kaya

Most families will have their own recipe for Kaya, passed down through the generations. However, the trick about making this jam is that it has to be constantly (I greatly emphasise the word "constant" here) stirred over a double boiler for at least an hour. Because of this time consuming method, most people nowadays have opted for commercially produced Kaya. I think that if you could spare the time, nothing beats a homemade Kaya. The fragrance will knock you over and you will smile when you eat it simply because you know it is a labour of love.

Kaya and warm melted butter sandwiched between homemade Milk Toast

The recipe I am sharing today uses brown sugar. It produces a rougher more granular texture in the Kaya as compared to using castor sugar. I do find that I prefer the richer more caramelised taste and texture of brown sugar. Maybe it is because it is the way my mama makes it. Funny how a jam can trigger memories of an 8 year old you standing over the stove helping to stir the Kaya! 

Crunchy Oven Fried Chicken

Crunchy Oven Fried Chicken

I think most home cooks can agree that deep frying at home causes a huge mess as well, you stink, your kitchen stinks. I find that the greasy smell lingers in my kitchen for days and I have to scrub down every inch of it. Not very nice. I do wonder how life will be if you have one of those Acti-Fry fryers. Give me a shout out if anyone has tried one :)

Well, with all that said - the next best that we can do is opt for oven fried chicken. Like any diligent home cook, I did my research and came across some beautiful recipes from Jo Cooks and Oh Sweet Day. As I have never used Panko breadcrumbs before I decided to give it a go. I like how it is always crispy and light. So off I went to get some Panko and it is revolutionary. No more soggy, thick, clumpy batter. Why am I so late to this Panko game? 

This crunchy oven fried chicken recipe that I am sharing with you is very easy to make. Hardly any kitchen mess and the taste is superb. It kind of reminds me of chicken poppers. It is really tough to stop eating them. 

Spicy Tofu with Mushrooms

Spicy Tofu with Mushrooms

Hello! How was your weekend? I mentioned in my post on Friday that I was going biking at Kielder Water and Forest Park over the weekend. That I certainly did. Let me tell you, it was a challenge!

We rented mountain bikes over at this bike rental place called The Bike Place. Be warned, they do have 2 outlets. One in Bellingham and the other at Kielder Castle. You need to go to the outlet in Kielder Castle if you want to bike in and around the trails at Kielder Water and Forest Park. We of course turned up at the one in Bellingham and had to be redirected.

Our route of choice was the Lakeside Way, that is, a 26 mile circular route around Kielder Water. It is very convenient because we picked up our bikes from Kielder Castle and just made a big circular loop back. Did I mention it took us novice bikers 5 hours? All in I must say it was an exhilarating experience and the views are breathtaking. The route was also very well signposted and we didn't have any trouble with navigation. I didn't bring my trusty point and shoot Canon Powershot so I had to rely on my phone. The photos didn't really do the views justice but it will have to do. There are of course many other routes which you can choose according to the level of strenuousness that you want, a good starting point is the Kielder Water and Forest Park website.

Trying hard not to fall

Janus Chairs at Kielder Water

In Kielder Forest Park

View around Kielder Water

Fast forward to Monday and yes, a meatless one at that. We do try to observe Meatless Monday in our household. It doesn't happen all the time, but try we do. After being totally shattered after the bike ride on Saturday, I was indulging in one of my favourite past times of late - pinning on Pinterest! I was searching for tofu recipes and came across quite a few. There is one here, here, another here and lastly, here.

Gluten Free Orange Poppyseed Cake Recipe

Happy Foodie Friday everyone!

Where did this week go, I can't believe it's the weekend already.

I have been wanting to share this recipe for a Gluten Free Orange Poppyseed Cake for awhile now. I should add that it is also Butter Free. It does have eggs so I don't think it can qualify as being Vegan.

Chapatis and Malaysian Chicken Curry

Chapatis and Malaysian Chicken Curry

Happy Thursday to you! I do hope your week has been good or as good as it can be.

I am currently enjoying the sunshine and heat we have been receiving in the North East of England. I even went to the beach! Whereupon I discovered to my dismay that I am not swimsuit ready. Sigh.

On to happier things - the good weather means al fresco dining! Must make the most of it while it lasts.

Mee Siam (Spicy Fried Vermicelli Noodles)

 

Hello! 

Today I am going to share a recipe for Mee Siam, also known as, spicy fried vermicelli noodles. It is a very popular dish in Malaysia and Singapore, with both countries having a slightly different variation of the dish. The Malaysian version is dry whereas the Singapore version is served with a spicy gravy.

Being a Malaysian, I am going to be sharing the Malaysian version of the recipe here. This is a very flavourful dish and the spiciness from the dish is nicely offset by the tanginess from the lime juice. These noodles are really easy to prepare and can be cooked with any variety of meat or seafood. The noodles are usually topped with shredded omelette, fried firm beancurd slices and beansprouts. 

To me, Mee Siam can be eaten at any time of the day and in any kind of weather. Back home, it is typically a staple at parties or on a buffet spread as it is generally well received and is equally tasty eaten on its own or with additional curry or chilli paste on the side.

I like it because it tastes just as good cold, hence making it a perfect dish to contribute to a potluck party or barbecue.

Sweet Balsamic Baked Chicken Thighs

Sticky, Gooey Chicken Perfection

Hello! I hope you are not suffering from a case of week night dinner blues.

I always look online for food inspiration. I think most of us do. Especially if you have one main ingredient and do not know how to build a dish around it or you just want to try something new. That's what I did yesterday, I had some chicken thighs which have been rotting  placed neatly at the bottom of my freezer. I don't even remember if I bought them for a specific recipe or because they were just cheap. The chinese in me reckons that it must be because they were cheap.

Strawberries and Grilled Vegetables Salad

Strawberries and Grilled Vegetables Salad

Look what I had earlier for my lunch! With the current sunny weather we have been blessed with, a super fresh light salad is just what I need. I decided to add the strawberries in not just for colour - but so I can have my fruits and vegetables in one dish. Easy!

This recipe is simply delightful and perfect as a side dish or a light meal. It is simple to make, flavourful and a joy to look at, what more could you ask for :)

You just need to grill some mushrooms and aubergine with garlic, olive oil and balsamic vinegar, then toss together with chopped romaine lettuce and strawberries. Job done. I felt that the grilled vegetables added enough flavour to the salad hence there is no need for more dressing. Just a squeeze of lemon juice to make everything fresh and zingy.

Now that I have got lunch sorted, what's for dinner?

Triple Layer Mango Cheesecake

Hello and Happy Monday to you!

Allow me to send some virtual sunshine to you, wherever you are :D

Hope you had a great weekend. I sure enjoyed the heat and sunshine we have been blessed with. Tell me what you got up to! I was enjoying the sun outside the Krispy Kreme at the Metrocentre. Dum dee dum.

Anyway, remember the luscious No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake recipe I shared, well, obviously being the sucker that I am, I had bought enough ingredients to make 2 cheesecakes. I know you should only buy what you need, but those 3 for 2 offers always gets me. It makes sense right? Right? 

I wanted to use up those ingredients so I decided to take advantage of the lovely mangoes I have been seeing and serve up a cold and refreshing mango cheesecake. The basics of this recipe are the same as the No Bake Strawberry Cheesecake, just swap the strawberries for 1 medium sized mango. I also added an extra layer of light sponge cake on top of the biscuit base - hence the 3 layers. The sponge cake doesn't contain any butter, and just works really well with the light cream cheese. This cake is really just fabulous on a hot humid day. Make this for your summer parties and it will be be the star of the party.

Since the recipe for the base and cheese layers are essentially the same, I am just going to share the recipe for the sponge cake layer and mango purée topping here.

Healthier Fried Rice & Tamago

Washing the rice cooker is not my favourite chore, so when I do cook rice I prefer to cook a big batch to last a few meals. We eat mostly brown rice in this house and in my weekly fridge clean out, I found I had a whole batch of leftover cooked brown rice. What better way to clean out the fridge with bits of leftover ingredients by making fried rice. That way I can use up my sugar snap peas as well, hey, fried rice works every single time!

At the same time, I wanted to try out a Japanese omelette ("Tamago") recipe which I found on this site called "How to Make Great Sushi". I like it because  - A. I have all the ingredients already B. It's so darn easy!

Sweet Potato Mash with Home Made Baked Beans

I was at the gym today and I observed that some of the staff had to have really quick lunch breaks. Now, I was at the gym, why was I still picking up food vibes? 

Anyway, the point of this story is that even the nice chap manning the front desk had to eat at his desk. I have done it before, and I know how difficult it is trying to eat, type, answer the phone and yes, focus on work while eating. It's really an amazing feat. Most times you have to have food which do not require both hands to eat. That got me thinking about creating a dish which was safe to eat at work, with one hand :D

Just to digress a little, I am a new user on Reddit and have just discovered what the acronym "SFW" stands for. Thank you Urban Dictionary and yes, I am a noob like that.

Cod Fish Noodle Soup

Hello, happy 1st of July and how was your weekend?

Mine was quite eventful, thank you for asking ;) I had a grand time at the Vamos Festival which was held on Saturday at Newcastle's Highbridge Quarter. It was a real carnival like atmosphere and the smell of various street food permeating the air was oh-so-wonderful. I love how you go to a street carnival where there is a myriad of food stalls and you are trying to pin point which stall a particularly delicious smell is coming from. Then you realise, it's impossible, it is delicious all over. Yum! After the carnival I stupidly stumbled into John Lewis, realised they had a sale on and spent way too much money on unnecessary things.

After all that fun, I wound up having a bit of an annoying cough today. I was really in need of some hot soup to soothe my itchy throat. Nothing spicy or oily to be on the menu.

Since it is a Monday night and I am home alone I was in no mood for time consuming preparations. In fact, I don't think I ever am! Fast, easy and fresh is the way to go I say.

As such, I decided to make a wholesome and throat soothing Cod Fish Noodle Soup. It took me all of 20 minutes to make. Kind of longer than instant noodles from a packet but more nutritious and better for you. When you sauté the ginger, garlic and preserved turnip together, the aromatic fragrance assures you that something good is happening. The hint of sesame oil also adds a nice fragrant punch to the dish.