Bitter Gourd with Salted Duck Egg

Bitter Gourd with Salted Duck Egg

Hello everyone!

Look what I made yesterday - my friend came over and we both baked and decorated a cake for her parent's 39th anniversary! I had such fun making those cute little fondant flowers.

Anyway, for this Friday's post, I am going to share a recipe for Bitter Gourd cooked with Salted Duck Eggs.

Sounds exotic? 

Original Chiffon Cake

Original Chiffon Cake

Hello and happy Hump Day! I can't believe it is Wednesday already and nearly the end of August. 

My mother has recently fallen in love with a recipe for this really light chiffon cake. She got the recipe from a book she bought in Taiwan recently. It is in Mandarine and I can't read the characters, so I can't really tell you what it says specifically. Sorry! I got my dad to translate the recipes for me. Essentially the book is written by a Japanese Chef and the recipes in the book is specific to chiffon cake. The recipes revolve around one basic chiffon cake, and contain a variety of flavours including spinach and pumpkin. I can't wait to try my hand at those flavours, really does sound and look interesting. 

A photo of the book

However, to start off, I have been making the original plain flavoured ones. I have made this a couple of times since I have been back in Malaysia for some dear friends. It is ridiculously easy to make. It calls for only 5 ingredients. You do need quite a few eggs, 7 to be precise and you also need a chiffon cake tin. The recipe does not contain any butter.

Okra with Sambal

Okra with Sambal 

A very big hello to you!

I have not been blogging in the past 10 days or so. It has certainly been hectic since I arrived in Malaysia. I was too busy having fun meeting up with family and friends. I even managed to squeeze in an indoor rock climbing session and a session of paddling with my dragonboat team mates. If you are wondering what dragonboating is, have a read of this comprehensive article written by friend and coach Lee Shih.

As it is Monday, it is time for - yes, you guessed it - another Meatless Monday recipe!

Since I am currently in Malaysia, what better time than to introduce a famous and versatile Malaysian condiment - Sambal. Essentially, a chilli paste, Sambal can be used as a condiment for various dishes, these include but are not limited to a condiment for noodles such as Prawn Mee, Curry Mee, simple Fried Noodles, and even as an inclusion for stir-fried vegetables. However, Sambal is most famously used as a condiment in the de-facto Malaysian National dish, Nasi Lemak (stay tuned for a Nasi Lemak post in the near future).

Braised Steak au Poivre Delia Style

Dinner is served - Braised Steak au Poivre with Sweet Potato Chips and Broccoli

Hello and a very Happy Friday!

I am very excited about my trip to Malaysia now, only 3 sleeps away. I haven't seen my family and friends there for 14 months now so I am really looking forward to being reunited. 

Understandably I had to get some chores done before my departure. Dear husband will be travelling on business quite a fair bit so I wanted to make sure that the refrigerator is as empty as it can be. I do not want any unwanted surprises lurking in there when I get back in 6 weeks.

I had some leftover braising steaks in the freezer and decided to use one of Delia's recipes for it. Essentially slow braised steak in peppercorns. I love it because it was super tasty and so easy to prepare. All you have to do is leave it to braise for at least an hour and you can get round to all your other chores. I knew Delia wouldn't let me down! 

Basic White Bread

Basic White Bread

A Happy Wednesday shout out to you :)

I cannot believe that it is Wednesday! This time next week I will be back in Kuala Lumpur. Obviously I have not packed. I am really excited about my trip and have planned catch up sessions with friends and family already. Strangely enough, I have not planned what I would like to eat yet. It has to be mama's cooking first up right?

Friends often ask me what is a good recipe to try for bread. I guess for a first try, you can't go wrong with a basic everyday white bread. It is so easy to make and so versatile. I shaped mine into an easy round cob but you can easily adapt it to make rolls or plaits. I also used milk in this recipe as I find that it makes a very soft and light texture. Equally good eaten as toast or slightly warm to mop up a rich beef stew.

Teriyaki Tofu Steaks

Teriyaki Tofu Steaks

Hello and Happy Meatless Monday! How was your weekend? What did you cook and did you try any new recipes? I had a very lovely evening with some of our friends on Saturday night. I also got very excited about Meatless Monday and spent quite a fair bit of time on Pinterest searching for some meatless inspiration.

In the end though, I decided on something basic and staple as I noticed that I needed to use up some Tofu that I had bought. These are firm tofu which is very good for turning into Tofu steaks. I had also bought some Mirin recently so I figured that it would be best to make a Teriyaki Tofu Steaks.

Thai Style Pineapple Fried Rice

Pineapple Fried Rice

Hello and happy Friday!

I am so happy it is the weekend again. What are your plans?

We are having some friends over for dinner tomorrow. I was thinking of making my Mango Cheesecake for dessert, that seems to be my staple dessert this summer! I shall henceforth rename Summer 2013 as the summer of the Mango Cheesecake.

Speaking of fruits, I bought a pineapple during last weekends grocery shop. I ate half of it and still had another half. I decided to use the leftover half to cook pineapple fried rice. I am not sure if you have tried Thai Style Pineapple Fried Rice, but you should! You have the sweetness of the pineapple, the savouriness of the fish sauce and spiciness from chilli all combining to make a tasty rice dish. I wanted something vegetarian so did not use any meat or seafood. Feel free to include some prawns or chicken breast in yours if you prefer.

Chocolate & Hazelnut Praline Tarts

Chocolate and Hazelnut Praline Tart

Hello and Happy Thursday!

I am very excited because I have an amazing Chocolate and Hazelnut Praline Tart recipe for you. Needless to say it was absolutely delicious! 

Just imagine, a crumbly shortcrust pastry topped with smooth chocolate ganache and finally topped off with a crunchy hazelnut praline. Yes, it is rich and indulgent but sometimes we just need some treats.

Pasta Aglio Olio e Funghi for Meatless Monday

Pasta Aglio Olio e Funghi

Happy Meatless Monday!

How was your weekend? I hope you had a blast or at least some much needed rest and relaxation.

Today for Meatless Monday, I am going to cook a simple and classic pasta dish. I always marvel at how this recipe can be so simple and yet so flavourful and satisfying. More things in live should be this simple. Sometimes we need to just go back to basics.

If you have some pesto on hand, go ahead and add some in.

Sugar Raised Muffins

Sugar Raised Muffins

Hello! 

Can you believe it's Friday already? Time to celebrate with some sugar I say!

I was absolutely craving for sugar raised donuts and had to stop myself from buying some. You know the kind of craving when you buy 5 donuts and have to eat them all in one sitting? Does that happen to you or am I the only one? I do have an incredible weakness for sugar raised donuts, I prefer them over the glazed ones and no, I haven't had a Cronut yet.

I thought it would make me feel less guilty if I at least make some myself. Even better if I didn't have to fry them. Which lead me to make these muffins - essentially simple muffins that taste like a sugared donut. Perfect!