Sesame Chicken

Simply delicious pieces of chicken slathered in a scrumptious sauce!

Hi everyone!

I have been so busy with college and I absolutely love every minute of it. I just had my mid-term practical assessment and it went well! I was so nervous before it, I was waking up in the night reciting the different muscles each exercise would work. The upright row works the trapezius, anterior deltoids, medial deltoids and the biceps! So on and so forth. It’s good stress I assure you.

Since I was having my mid-term break, I was looking up new recipes to try and I thought I would make this sesame chicken. Oh, it goes so well with rice. Make more sauce if you want, you will not regret it.

Chinese Peanut and Beancurd Sheets (Foo Chuk) Soup

Delicious Chinese style soup perfect for lifting your spirits and warming you up.

Hi everyone!

It is officially the end of summer and the weather has certainly gotten rainier and slightly colder. I always want soup on gloomy days, I find that it is a real comfort food.

This soup is so easy – really, you can count the ingredients, 5 in total, not including the water. I used raw blanched peanuts here, the ones you can buy from the Oriental shop.

In Malaysia, I used a different variant that is specially for boiling soup. It is much softer but I can’t seem to find it here in the UK so this will have to suffice. You can use beancurd sticks if you prefer, though those are slightly harder and hence you would have to boil them a little longer.

In other news I was listed in an infographic published on Rebates Zone as being one of the Top 50 food blogs in the UK! I must say I feel very proud and happy to be included – Yippee! Here is the infographic.

I get to have this badge of honour!

In further news, I am going back to college. I will be starting my first day at Loughborough College tomorrow and I am so excited. Sure I am twice the age of most of the students but I have not felt so happy and excited in a long time. I don’t ever recall feeling so happy or excited when I enrolled for my A Levels and or University half a lifetime ago. I will be training to be a gym instructor, it will be tough so, wish me luck! Be sure to follow me on Instagram for all the exciting updates of life as a mature student. I am going to prove to myself that at 33, I have still got it.

Now click on for the soup recipe! 

Thai Minced Pork Salad (Larb Moo)

This is a really delightful and fresh salad, the meat makes it quite filling and satisfying. Eat with some vermicelli noodles or just wrap in some lettuce leaves for a low carb meal. 

I am always on the lookout for different salads to try.

One of my favourite salads these days is this fabulous Thai Minced Pork Salad or Larb Moo.

It is everything you can ever wish for in a salad! Fresh and a little tangy, it tastes so good with some plain vermicelli noodles. It is also totally delicious wrapped up in lettuce leaves as a low carb wrap. You can add in some mint as well. Go on and give this salad a try!

Mamak Mee Goreng

This dish is a favourite street food in Malaysia. Today I am sharing my recipe for it with you.

In essence, this is fried noodles. It’s quick, it’s fast, and it is delicious.

All credit for this dish needs to go to my husband. He was the chef here.

Being typical of a Malaysian dish the noodles have a nice spicy kick in it. This dish was so on point I can’t get enough of it.

If you can, don’t skip the crushed peanuts, it just adds another level of tastiness to the noodles. Squeeze on some lime juice just before eating to add a nice tangy zest to this dish.

Cambodian Fish Curry

A mild curry that is not overly spiced, yet the flavours are not at all compromised. It is also very easy to cook – always a bonus in my books. 

If you are looking for a mild type of curry then you have found the right one to try. I got inspired to make this from watching Cambodian Amok Fish Curry being cooked on Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey TV series. I did some searching on the recipe and found many all with slight variations to them.

In the end, I just used what ingredients I had available to me and modified it to make it work for me. As such, I thought it would be best not to call it Cambodian Amok curry so as not to ignite the wrath of any foodie purists.

This curry is slightly different to what I am used to. It is very mild and not overly spiced, yet the flavours are not at all compromised. It is also very easy to cook – always a bonus in my books.

A point to note, this curry does use peanuts in its base so if you are allergic, you need to find a substitute. I hope you make this and enjoy. See you soon!

Pandan Cupcakes with Gula Melaka Syrup

The best pandan cupcakes ever! Really easy to make and results in fluffy cupcakes that are perfect for eating as it is or for decorating with your choice of icing.

I have been searching through a lot of pandan cupcakes recipe and did not find one that was easy enough for me to bake until I found this amazing recipe.

This is not a pandan chiffon cupcake recipe. It is a regular easy to make pandan cupcake. The texture is light and fluffy but it is not so delicate as to make it difficult to handle. As such, it makes a perfect base for decorating with icing if you are so inclined. I just drizzled mine with a Gula Melaka Syrup.

The cupcakes are just as nice eaten plain. If you would like to fill them with Gula Melaka, you can definitely do that too. That’s what I like about these cupcakes, the cupcakes are so versatile you really can have them any way you like.

If you are eating the cupcakes plain or with some Gula Melaka syrup like mine, try heating them up a little before eating. It’s so delicious warm!

Zucchini Bread

Wonderfully moist and spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg this zucchini bread is a winner. 

You must be wondering what sort of healthy bread-cake this is. Well, even though it has zucchini in it I won’t say it is particularly healthy. It is definitely a sweet treat but boy oh boy, you need to try it!

It is so delicious you will want to have it for breakfast every day. The bread is topped with oat streusel and chocolate chips – doesn’t that just sound divine?

If you are anything like me, you would have been baking banana bread for ages and ages. This zucchini bread is definitely a nice change and you really ought to include it in your life.

The method of making it is similar to banana bread or muffins, just add the wet ingredients to the dry. There is also no need for any butter and hence, no need for an electric mixer. Easy isn’t it? Try it for yourself, you won’t regret it!

Roast Thai Pandan Chicken (Gai Hor Bai Toey)

This dish is a classic and perennial favourite. I roasted this instead of the traditional way of steaming and deep frying the chicken.

I love pandan leaves. They are a real sensation. Everything from sweets to savouries can taste so much better with the addition of pandan leaves.

Thai Pandan Chicken is an internationally renowned dish that utilises pandan leaves. It’s a good dish to start with if you are new to using pandan leaves in your cooking.

Traditionally, the dish is steamed and then deep fried or simply just deep fried. The pieces of chicken are also cut into small pieces and then individually wrapped in pandan leaves.

For me, I wanted this to be an easy week night meal so I shortened the process. I also have an aversion to deep drying at home. So, I just wrapped the whole chicken thigh with pandan leaves and roasted it. The verdict? It may not be as pretty to look at but it sure did taste good! Oh, and so easy to do as well. The marinade really gets into the chicken meat. Scrumptious!

I have made this twice already, once with coconut milk and the other time without. I would say, if you can, keep the coconut milk in as it just brings all the flavours together. Another note, try not to skimp on the marinade time, it really allows the flavours to get into the chicken.

Roast and eat with a side salad for a totally delicious and easy meal.

Greek Pastitsio

A Greek version of lasagne, the addition of cloves and cinnamon make a nice difference to the recipe.

  

Last weekend my husband and I decided to make a Greek Pastitsio. The best way to describe it is that it is a Greek version of lasagne.

It is constituted of pasta, meat sauce and white béchamel sauce. The method for assembling the Pastitsio is exactly the same as assembling a lasagne. Layer the pasta first, followed by the meat sauce. Repeat. Make sure to finish with a final layer of pasta before spreading the béchamel sauce over. Sprinkle on some cheese and bake!

We got inspired to make this dish after watching Rick Stein cook it on his Mediterranean Escapes series. I have included a link to the video here so you can watch it as well.

Rick Stein cooking Pastitsio – Mediterranean Escapes

Personally I like the meat sauce in the Pastitsio because you add in cloves and a cinnamon stick. It really adds a nice, warming aniseed flavour and smell to the sauce.

Do note that the original recipe calls for Greek kefalotiri cheese but I just used Mozzarella to substitute.

I really am looking forward to making this again. I hope you give it a try too. Enjoy!

XO Fried Noodles

XO sauce takes this fried noodle dish up a notch. Noodles just got serious. Try it!

Hello folks!

Guess what? I just had my first experience of an exploding watermelon. I went to bed and the watermelon was fine and sitting pretty on my kitchen counter. In the morning the husband is shouting “Oh No, Oh NO!” I ran down to the kitchen and was greeted by a watermelon mess. Dripping down the counter and flooding the kitchen floor with watermelon goo. Since I had to clean everything up I thought it was a sign that I should mop the whole kitchen up as well. Boo.

So now that my kitchen is back in a clean state let us talk about this noodle dish. I made this fried noodles a few nights back and you must try it. Really. You just must.

It is truly a quick mid-week or an any time super fast of meal. Home made fast food. Delish.

For those who are wondering, XO sauce is really a savoury Chinese seafood based sauce. You can certainly make it yourself but for other mere mortals such as myself, you can buy it ready made.

Since we are talking FAST meal here, I added half a bag of ready packed stir fry vegetables. Of course if you prefer, you can chop up your own favourite veggies and add them in. I also used ready peeled prawns, but once again, if you want to use chicken, tofu, other types of seafood – go right ahead.

I loved it so much I can’t wait to make it again. Let me know if you like it.

If you make this you can always show me on Twitter or Instagram by tagging @leowailin or using the hashtag #nomsieskitchen. Enjoy!

Malaysian Seri Muka Kuih

A sweet dessert made from glutinous rice and flavoured with gorgeous pandan (screwpine) leaves and coconut milk, it’s a real tea time treat.

Hello!

It has been a long time since my last post hasn't it? I blame the house move and no internet for my absence. Now, I finally have fibre broadband installed and have moved out of the dark ages.

So, what have I been cooking? Well, I made this delicious Malaysian dessert last week. Pandan and coconut milk always make such an aromatic and tasty combination.

I hope you don’t get overwhelmed by the recipe, it’s just a few steps that you need to plan for. Otherwise it really isn't that daunting and is very do-able! If you make this you can always show me on Twitter or Instagram by tagging @leowailin or using the hashtag #nomsieskitchen. Enjoy!