Ngo Hiang

Recipe here was adapted from the book by Agnes Chang, once a famous face on tv. I will make my own recipe soon, closest to my late mother-in-law who makes the best ngo hiang on every Chinese New Year.Ngo Hiang is porks and prawns wrapped and rolled in beancurd skin with added five-spice powder.(ngo hiang hun,hokkien).
It is often seen eaten at every household on Chinese new year and most mothers are keen to make during these special occasions.Of course, there are some people who are 
keen to make at anytime of the weeks.It is also great for parties.These rolls are sweet and
savoury.My mother in law always made extras.Visitors who came are lucky to eat her ngo 
hiang, for she stuffed in a lot of porks and prawns.These rolls can be kept in the refrigerator
for weeks and when you want to eat it,you can either microwave it or put in the steamer 
again for just a few minutes to make it hot.Then enjoy with rice.
My neighbour told me that she added mackerel into it. I was never told that there are Hokkien
and Teochew versions.If you ask me which version mine is,I don't know.I can only eat because it is good.I think I'll make a campur(mix)version. In the meanwhile,enjoy this recipe
from Agnes.



Ingredients:

1 piece bean curd skin
600g minced pork
300g minced prawns,without shell
2 bombay onions,chopped small
10 water chestnuts,chopped (I opt out cos I couldn't find)
1 egg
enough oil for dip-frying



1 tsp salt
1/4 chicken stock granules
1 tbsp light soya sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/4 tsp five-spice powder
1/4 tsp pepper

Method:

1.In a big mixing bowl,mix minced pork,prawns and salt till sticky.Add bombay onions,water chestnuts(if using)egg and all seasoning.Mix well.Divide into 4 parts.
2.Cut bean curd skin into 4 pieces,8"x6".Wipe with a damp cloth.
3.Place 1 part of meat mixture onto 1 piece of bean curd skin and form into a long roll.Roll out lightly.
4.Place the meat rolls on a steamer or if using kuali,steam for 8-10 minutes.Take it out.
5.Heat up oil in a saucepan or kuali,and fry on medium heat till golden brown.Take it out onto a plate to cool and cut into thin slices.Serve with dipping sauce.

The sauce are also from Agnes,but we just dipped with chilli sauce.

Dipping Sauce:

4 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tbsp light soya sauce
3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp five-spice powder
2 tbsp water,mixed with 1/2 tbsp cornflour

Waffle

Lately,I've been making waffles at home.I bought two types of waffle makers,a square shape,and a heart shape.I do not really like the former one,so I sold it away to someone who also wanted to buy a waffle maker..

My recipe here are of the crispy type,so don't worry,go ahead and try.

Crispy waffles:

2 cups flour

2 tsp yeast

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp salt

3 tbsp melted butter

1 cup milk

1 egg,room temp

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 cup warm water

Method:

Mix flour,yeast,salt,butter,egg,vanilla and milk together.Whisk slowly and thoroughly.

Add in warm water slowly,bit by bit and mix again.If the batter is still thick,add in a little more water,bit by bit first.

Rest the batter for 10-15 mins.Heat the waffle maker.Pour 1 ladle of batter into the center and wait till it's brown.

After making,you can spread whatever you want onto it.Mix the flavours from kaya to peanut butter,chocolate,milk,honey,butter, jam or even nutella.The choice is yours.

Milo Oreo MintShake

Ever since I started doing this,I've been making it quite often.Now,I'm going to share it with you all.Feel the taste of Milo with a tint of mint and Oreo.You gonna love it!

So,here's the recipe:

2 full tbsps milo

3 scoops mint ice-cream

8 cubes ice

1/2 cup water

3 Oreo biscuits

Topping:

some milo

1 pc crush Oreo

Method:

Put everything inside the blender and blend for about 3 minutes till done.

Sieve some milo all over the top and crush Oreo onto it.

NOTE:: You can substitute milo with cocoa powder.It will be bitter a bit.

Dried Soya Sauce Chicken Mushrooms

 

It comes as no surprise that this one is always included in our family's menu list.It's the easiest that we could think of to cook either for lunch or dinner.It is quick and simple.The recipe has been passed down from my late mother but,up to these days,I've made a little bit of an alterations of my own version.My mother version was wet but my version is dry,which I found it to be more crispier and delicious.I let the oil comes out to fry the chicken to make it crispy.People who had a chance to eat my dark soya sauce chicken said that it is very,very   tasty and juicy!The mushrooms is a choice.You can opt not to add in.Most of the time,it'll only be the chicken alone,or sometimes ginger were added,minus the mushrooms.

During the years with my late mother,she wouldn't even allowed us to cook dry foods.There must be at least some sauce or soup included,but somehow,sometimes,I forgot to pay good attention to the chicken that I was frying,that it becomes dried.So,it was from then on,that I discovered that the dried version is far more better than the wet version.

It proved me not wrong when one day,my husband(then my boyfriend),came over to our house to eat.As I was cooking this,I was also so absorbed in talking to him that I for the second time forgot to check on the chicken again and the noisy oil can be heard;plat!plat!plat!(it is how I described it,no better words)I quickly open up the kuali cover and keep on stirring and finally dishing it out.

When we sat down to eat,my husband(then my boyfriend)ask me why I cooked better chicken than his mother and sister.He was telling me that the way they cooked at home was the wet version,just as the way my mother had taught me to do.And he too agreed the dry one is more better.

As years gone by,I begun to cook for my own family and my children also loves it.Sometimes,I added long beans instead of mushrooms.And now,my husband is also good at cooking this.He cooked this during Chinese New Year this year.Believe me or not,his younger sister and brother told him that above all the dishes that they had tasted,this dark chicken dish is the best!She wanted to know how we cooked it.This time the credits goes to my husband who had learnt it from me.

Before we begin,let me tell you that there are no exact measurements to this.It all depends on how much chicken you used and how salty you want it to be,according to your own preference but I will give you roughly mine.

Ingredients:

500g chicken,cut to bite sizes

1 canned mushrooms

onions-small batches

garlics-small batches

4-5 dashes dark soya sauce

1 dash light soya sauce

1-2 dashes gourmet cooking wine

pepper to taste

oil-abt 3 tbsps

Method:

1.Heat up some oil in a wok or kuali.Fry the onions and garlics till fragrant

2.Put the chicken in and then the mushrooms.Stir for a while,then add in dark soya sauce,light soya sauce and the gourmet cooking wine.Add in a little bit of water,but not too much or else when the chicken is overcooked,the water is still not dry out.

3.Keep stirring every few minutes as to not get burned and the flavour has absorbed into the chicken.

4.After the sauce is nearly thickened,add in a few dashes of pepper.

5.When oil can be heard,keep stirring continously until the chicken turns crispy.

6.Dish it out onto a serving plate.Serve 5 people with rice.

Note:

Garlics and onions cooked in this way are also tasty.So it's better to leave the garlics and onions uncut.Take about 2 cloves garlics and 2 cloves onions.

Potato And Chicken Pie

Though the picture below doesn't look tempting enough,but overall the taste was yummy and delicious.I was shopping,saw the pan and decided to buy home and make this.A few days ago,I had bought a recipe book and had this potato and chicken pie recipe in it,so why not try it?The last time that I made chicken pie was 12 years ago.That was a very long time ago.This is just another recipe from a new book.

Basic Tart ingredients:
100g unsalted butter
80g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
200g cake flour
1 tsp salt

Method:
1.Sift cake flour.soften butter under room temperature.
2.Beat butter until creamy and fluffy.
3.Divide icing sugar into 3 portions and add them in one portion at a time.Mix well after adding each portion.Add in salt and mix well,followed by egg yolk.Mix well.
4.Divide flour into 2 portions and add them in one portion at a time.Use a rubber spatula to mix well.
5.Remove dough and wrap with plastic wrap.Keep inside the fridge for about 2-3 hours.
6.Place the dough on a tabletop pre-lined with plastic wrap.Cover the dough with another piece of plastic wrap and roll out to 3mm thickness.
7.Place the dough onto the baking mould.Depress gently so tht the dough sticks to the mould.Using a fork,pierce the dough evenly.
8.Bake in pre-heated oven at 180°C for about 20 or 30 minutes.
9.Remove from oven and leave to cool for further use.Remove the crust from the mould and put on a cooling rack to cool completely.

Now to make Potato and minced chicken pie: (of course the filling can be anything that you liked)

Ingredients:
900g potatoes
6 tbsps milk
120g butter
120g large onion
120g carrot
1 clove garlic
450g minced chicken
500ml stock
120g button mushrooms
1-2 tbsps plain flour
120g grated cheese
2 tbsps oil
salt and pepper to taste

Method:
1.Peel potato skin and cut into big chunks.Peel and dice carrots.Dice onions and cut button mushrooms into four.Chopped garlic.
2.Bring a pot of water to boil and put in the potatoes.Boil until soften.Drain away the water.Mash the potatoes.
3.Put butter and milk into the pot over low heat.Cook until butter melts.Add in potatoes to mix.Season with salt and pepper.Remove from pot and set aside to cool.
5.Heat oil in the pot.Add in onions and carrots and fry for about 5 minutes.Add in garlic and fry for another 1 minute.
5.Add in minced chicken and half of the stock.Stir constantly until the chicken is browned.Add in the remaining stock,mushrooms,salt and pepper to taste.Cook for 15 minutes.
6.Add in flour,stir constantly until chicken sauce thickens.Place chicken fillings onto the pie shell,cover with mash potatoes.Sprinkle grated cheese on top.
7.Bake in preheated oven at 180°C for about 30-35 minutes

Coffee Chippy Shake

I'm no coffee lover,but it doesn't stop me from trying to make coffee drinks.In fact,I love making varieties of drinks.I got headache when I drank coffee.Never mind about wasting it.I can always give it to my hubby and sons to drink.

This one is called Coffee Chippy because of the added chocolate chips on top.Try it out!You'll be sure to love it.

Ingredients:
2 large scoops vanilla ice-cream
1 pkt 3-in-1 instant coffee
3/4 cup water

Method:
1.In a blender,add in the ice-cream,coffee and water.Blend for 2-3 minutes until done.
2.Pour into a glass.Top with chocolate chips.That's it!Done.

Fruit Cake

This simple yet delicious fruit cake comes from my new recipe book.The only difference is I added some dried cranberries into it and used a packet of mixed fruits and raisins.The result was simply delicious.Thumps up for me!

Ingredients:

100g butter

100g cake flour

2 eggs

100g brown sugar

2/3 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp cinnamon powder

1/4 tsp cardamon powder

80g dried cranberries

300g pkt Sakura brand mixed dried fruits

Method:

1.Beat the eggs.Sift the cake flour,baking powder,cinnamon powder and cardamon powder    together.

2.Beat the softened butter till creamy.Add in 1/2 of the brown sugar and continue to beat    until pale and fluffy.Add in remaining brown sugar and continue to beat until creamy and  fluffy.

3.Add the beaten eggs into the batter by 4 times,make sure to mix well before adding the    next portion.

4.Add in the fruits.Add in half of the flour mixture,mix well and fold in the remaining mixture.

5.Pour the batter into a long rectangular mould.

6.Bake in preheated oven at 150°C for about 40 minutes.

Kueh Momo

Kueh momo or Kueh makmur

Here is an update of my kueh momo pictures that I recently took.Three years ago,I did not take a beautiful pictures as of now.Bad camera,bad handphone.One year back,inJanuary,round the corner of chinese new year,I made this irresistible melt-in-the-mouth cookies again and  I forgot to take  better pictures again to update to my blog.Last night,I finally remembered to take the pictures of my kueh momo that I baked till late evening and today I update and share with you the pictures.

2018

 

2015

Kueh momo or kueh makmur ,as it is called is a type of "melt in the mouth" cookies.This is also one of the" must have" cookies during chinese new year.It's just simply made of ghee(clarified butter)OR grade A butter,like SCS,ANCHOR or GOLDEN CHURN and plain flour.I used ANCHOR.Roll a small dough into a ball,bake and then coat it with powdered sugar or glucose powder.Just follow the recipe below,and you can have a delicious homemade snowball cookies that can melt in your mouth!While most recipes have milk powder added,this one has none,and is what I preferred, for I don't like the strong smell of the milk powder.If anyone of you out there who also don't like milk,this one is for you.On top of that,I also preferred to use butter instead of ghee(clarified butter).

Ingredeints:

250g Anchor butter
360g plain flour
300g glucose/icing sugar

Method:

1.Over medium heat,stir fry flour in a wok.Stir and fry until it turns a little brown.Turn off fire and leave to cool.Sift into bowl.
2.Melt butter and slowly pour into the centre of the flour.Mix and knead well.
3.Shape into round balls and bake for 20 mins160°C without fan.
4.Cool for a few mins.Then coat the balls on a bowl of glucose or icing sugar.Keep in an airtight container.

STEPS BY STEPS PICTURES OF MAKING KUEH MOMO

The sifting of flour using wok is because I don't have any extra large bowl.No fire on at this time.

Sorry for this poor quality video.It was my first uploaded video on youtube.

My Three Best Cheesecakes

Below here are the three best cheesecakes that I had made this year.These are specially made for the Chinese New Year.Chinese New Year is always full of fun because I get to make lots and lots of cakes and cookies.These will also means getting big bellies and tummies and high cholesterol and diabetes,but of course people will say",never mind,one year one time only".This sounds too good to be true!.Only the weight watcher will certainly do this!Better be careful! These are all junks!
My recipes are scattered everywhere!I copied everywhere,from books to papers.I almost had a hard time finding but then I found it.



cheese oreo layer cake

The recipe was taken from a malay website and translated to english.Her link:http://sue-hasue.blogspot.com/2010/11/kek-lapis-oreo-cheese.html

Except,I do not know how much she meant for the ovalette.Isit tablespoon or teaspoon,but then,I just put in 1 tablespoon.


Ingredients:

450g butter
150g castor sugar
10 eggs
1 small tin condensed milk
100g sifted horlicks
180g hong kong flour,sifted
1 cap vanilla essence
250g cream cheese
1 tbsp ovalette
2 tbsp nestle cream(optional)
2 pkts or more oreo biscuits
coloring of your choice,but I leave it plain.

1.Heat up oven to 170°C top and lower.Butter the tray and sift a little flour onto it.
2.Beat butter with the cream cheese till creamy.
3.Add in castor sugar at the same time.Continue beating,slowly at low speed.Add in egg     
   one by one till finished.
4.Then,add in vanilla,milk,horlicks,flour,ovalette and nestle cream(still at low speed).Turn
    off the mixer,mix thoroughly.
5.Divide into 2 parts,if you are using colors.
6.Pour 1 cup into the tray,spreading evenly and grill on top and lower heat for about 7 mins 
   or until golden brown.
7.Take the tray out from the oven and press.Pour in the second layer or color. 
8.After it is cooked,arrange Oreo biscuits on top. Then pour in the next layer or color.
9.Repeat 7,8 and 9 till finished.
10.After the final layer has turned brown,cover with alluminium foil and change to top and lower heat again.Bake at 120°C for 15 min.

Oreo Mint Cheesecake

If you loved peppermint so much,you would have loved this too.This recepi was adapted from Philadelphia.Actually,the name was Philadelphia Mint oreo Cheesecake.So,Philadelphia,here I come!

Ingredients:

21/2 cups Oreo baking crumbs

1/2 cup butter,melted

4 pkg(250g each)Philadelphia brick cream cheese,softened

1 cup sugar

3-4 drops green food coloring

1 tsp mint extract

4 eggs

16 Oreo cookies.cut into quarters,divided

75g semi-sweet chocolate,melted

Method:

Heat oven to 350°F(180°C)gas marked 4.

Mix crumbs and butter,press firmly onto bottom of 13x9 inch baking pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended.Gradualyy add food coloring intil cream cheese mixture is of desired color.Blend in mint extract.

Add eggs,1 at a time,beating on low speed after each addition just until blended.

Pour half of the batter over crust.

Remove 16 of the cookie quarters.Set aside for garnish.Spread remaining cookie quarters evenly over batter and pan,cover with the remaining batter.

Bake for 40-45 mins or until center is almost set.refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Cut into 16 slices to serve.Top each slice with one of the reserved cookie quarters.

Drizzle with melted chocolate just before serving.

Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator. 

How to drizzle chocolate:
Place chopped chocolate in reseable plastic bag,seal bag.Place bag in bowl of hot water.Let stand 5 min.Squeeze chocolate in bag until chocolate is completely melted.cut off small corner from 1 of the bottom corners of bag,drizzle chocolate over cheesecake.

                                                        

salted cheese cake

And this last one is the cheesecake layered with the salted cheese crackers.I usually don't like unbaked cheesecake,but this one is an exception.I hear people said it's nice,and it's really is nice.keep it for 2 or 3 more days inside the refrigerator,and it will become more firm and more nice.I didn't know many people know how to make this,especially those who never love to bake.I only came to know this much,much late from someone whom I know recently.It's very easy to make.No wonder everyone knows.

Here's how to do it:I used a medium size squared container.

250g unsalted butter

250g cream cheese

1 cup icing sugar

170g cream

1-2 pkts salt cheese crackers

1 cup fresh milk

1.Beat sugar and butter till fluffy.Add in cream cheese and beat again till light and fluffy.

2.Add in cream.Beat again.

3.Pour milk in a container.

4.Dip the crackers one by one,and arrange it horizontally, .

5.Spread the cream cheese batter on top of the crackers.Arrange the second layer of the crackers and spread again.

6.Continue to do all of the layering and spreading till it's finished.

 7.Put inside the fridge till set.(and of course till the next day).

Note:I used a hot knife to cut so that it is smooth and not sticky!Deep the knife in hot water each time of cutting.

Happy Trying everyone!









NEW HOME IMPROVEMENT

More Nice Cozy Feel

Once again,another year had arrived.Yes,now it's 2015.The year of the goat.Mek!Mek!Mek!.We here, in Malaysia are celebrating another Chinese New Year.Today marked the eighth day of the Lunar New Year in the chinese Calendar.The chinese has fifteen days to celebrate Chinese New Year and the last day is known as Chap Goh Meh.As usual,every year we got big cleaning to do before the actual day.Not to mention,I did bits and bits of touch-up to the house almost every year.The house was repainted,from the inside to the outside.The curtain changed.

And the old dining table table was replaced with a new one.

I've always wanted to throw away the old table but decided to put it outside the front house for party use.It was worn out a bit,but with cover on,still looks good.Just imagine,I've been using it for thirteen long years since the day I moved into this house.It was given as a gift from a friend for my house warming party.

Home is where your heart is.I want to come home with a nice looking home that welcomes me.Home is a home if you keep it clean,neat and tidy!What's the use of a home if you just arranged it in style,but looking dirty and messy?You want to be in the comfort of your own home,don't you?People spend thousands and thousands of money to have designers style their home,but I DIY.That's me!

Flower Pot Ice-Cream

This is what everyone is crazy about nowadays.Have you ever heard of an ice-cream in a flower pot?Well,I have.What's inside the flower pot are cake as the base,an ice-cream in the middle and using crush Oreo biscuits to make it look like soil,and not to mention the artificial flower.I think the artificial flower looks weird on an ice-cream and not edible.Here,I replaced it using gummy candies.You can put an artificial flowers if you like.It's fun and looked more real.But,I am doing it for business and sometimes I do it this way:for children to buy,I used gummy candies,and for adults,I used an artificial flowers.Now,isn't that sounds good?
Here's what you gonna used to make a flower pot ice-cream:

a small round cake

1 big scoop of ice-cream,flattened

plenty of crushed Oreo biscuits
gummy candies or artificial flowers
Straw/tooth-picks
flower pot
gummy worms(optional)

How to do:
Put the round cake into the bottom of a plastic pot.You can either buy packets of ready made round cake,or baked it yourself cakes and cut it into small round shape enough to fit inside the flower pot.but you must first wash the flower pot very clean.Next,put the ice-cream into another clean bowl and try to flatten it a bit so that it can cover the whole pot and not leave a

 hole on sides.Then,you put the ice-cream in.Put on the artificial flower using straw or

tooth picks for gummy candies.Lastly,soiled the whole pot with crushed Oreo biscuits and put 2 gummy worms on top of the fake soil.
There,you've planted your pot of flowers.Nice try!

Custard Biscuits

This recipe is from www.taste.com.au. Suddenly,I feel the urge to eat cookies.I had some custard powder left from making custard mooncakes.So,let's get going!

Ingredients:
250 g butter,softened(it is better to use unsalted butter)
1/2 cup pure icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
13/4 cups plain flour
1/2 cup custard powder

Methods:
1.Preheat oven to 180°C.Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.Place butter,sugar and vanilla into a food processor.process for 2 mins or until well combined.
2.Add flour and custard powder.pulse until just combined(don't over-process or biscuits will not have a fine texture)
3.Roll heaped tsp of mixture into small balls.Place ontp prepared baking trays.Press with a floured fork to flatten slightly.bake for 12 mins or until light golden.Allow to stand on trays for 2 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool.Repeat with remaining biscuits mixture.