Chicken Soup

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Both of us are chilli-crazies. We just cant live without chillies, cant we? Chillies really "spice" up our life. And bcoz of that, soup is never in our favourite list - be it beef, chicken or fish.

But then, once in a while it's quite nice to have a soup for lunch. Too much of everything (chillies especially) is not good anyway. The chicken soup I'm cooking today is based on a special recipe from Ms. Tulip of MYR. It's a special recipe that makes a very delicious soup indeed. My appreciation to Ms. Tulip for sharing the wonderful recipe....muahhhhh.

Chicken Soup
Source : Ms. Tulip




Ingredients

1/2 chicken
1/2 onion, finely blend
1 garlic, finely blend
1/2 inch ginger, bruised
1/2 stick of cinnamon
2 pcs. cloves
1 pc. anise
2 pcs. cardamon
1 potato, cut into 4 pcs
1 small carrot, cut into desired shape
1/2 bowl of water
Pepper, salt & chicken stock
Celery, scallion & fried onions


How To

Boil the water, add in the spices, turn off the flame & cover the pot.

Set it aside till the it becomes lukewarm. Strain the spices & keep the lukewarm water aside.

Heat the oil & fry the onion & garlic till fragrant. Then put in the ginger & spices, fry for a while.

Add in chicken & make sure they are well mixed with the fried ingredients. Fry under a small flame for about 1o min.

Pour in the lukewarm water with another bowl of plain water. Add more water as you desired.

Once the soup boils, add in the potato & carrot. Then followed by salt, pepper & chicken stock to your taste.

Turn of the heat & sprinkle with celery, scallion & fried onions. Cover the pot completely for about 20 mins to let the aroma being absorbed into the soup.

Serve hot with rice / bread / on its own.

Omelette With Long Beans & Enoki Mushrooms

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Marsya, your taste can be quite weird sometimes. You claim that you dont like mushrooms...fine. You dont eat those oyster mushrooms I put in the tom yam soup but you could eat them fried. You throw away those button mushrooms in the spaghetti sauce but you dig for the Enoki in the steamboat pot !

Anyway, I'm cooking your favourite mushroom today - not the way I usually did it though. Instead, this time I've cooked it as part of an omelette along with some long beans as a variety. I know you dont like egg that much but at least you can enjoy your Enoki !

Omelette With Long Beans & Enoki Mushrooms
Source : Belle du Chef




Ingredients

3 eggs
100 gm fresh Enoki mushrooms
4 stalks long beans, cut into 10 mm length
1/2 big onion, sliced
1 red chilli, julienne
3 tbsp fresh milk
1 tbsp mayonnaise
3 dash of pepper
1/2 tsp salt



How To

Beat the eggs with mayonnaise, milk, pepper & salt.

Heat oil & fry the onions & chilli till fragrant.

Put in the long beans & fry till it's half cooked.

Add in the mushrooms & fry for a while.

Pour in the egg mixture, making sure that it covers the whole vegetables.

Cover the pan & ensure that the flame is really small.

Fry till both side of the egg is cooked.

Kung Pao Squids

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Squids has always been your favourite. Other people (like me, for instance) might love prawns but you choose this rubbery seafood instead. This time, I'm gonna share with you another favourite Chinese cuisine of mine called Kung Pao Squids.

I love Kung Pao regardless whether it's chicken, prawns or squids. Dried chilli & cashew nuts are the mandatory ingredients for this special dish. Both ingredients give a balance to the taste - the hot & sweet taste, that is.

If you noticed, though we've eaten this Kung Pao for a couple million of times already (especially at our favourite Pak Ya's restaurant), this is the very first time I've tried cooking it. Since you & me dont fancy chicken that much, I've decided to make a Kung Pao Squids instead.

Kung Pao Squids
Source : Belle du Chef




Ingredients

600 gm squids
10 - 15 dried chillies, cut into 1.5 in length
100 gm cashew nuts
1 small capsicum, largely diced
2 Holland onion, largely diced
2 in ginger, finely pounded
4 garlics, finely pounded
3 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp chilli sauce


How To

Boil 2 cups of water in a pot, add in squids to blanch. Take out and set aside

Heat up cooking oil & stir fry dried chillies at low heat till turn to dark color (not burn) and fragrant. Take out and set aside.

Use the same oil to saute the ginger & garlic till fragrant.

Add in the onions, capsicum & dried chillies.

Add in all the sauces, stir till mix well.

Add in cuttlefish and stir fry over high heat.

Do not add in any salt / sugar as the sauce is already enuff for the taste.

You can add some cornstarch if the mixture turned out to be too watery.


p/s : I've added 2 tbsp of chilli paste as it looks a bit dull without any chilli in it - plus it gives a spicier taste to it.

Coconut Jelly

Hi Princess,
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If you still remember, it was during our trip to Kota Kinabalu that we first tasted this Coconut Jelly & it was certainly love at a first bite. Honestly, it's not that I've never seen it here in KL ( what cant you get in KL, anyway? ) but the plain looking jelly never really caught my attention, let alone my appetite (yours is even worse). But then, I shouldnt have judge the taste by it's look coz looks can sometimes deceive you !

That's me & Acu with the finished jelly....but where were you then? Oppsss.....you're the one snapping the pic....hehehehe

Ever since our Sabah trip, we've never missed out buying this jelly whenever we bumped into them. When Tesco started selling the young coconut juice & flesh in a plastic container, I know one day I would be able to serve you my very own Coconut Jelly.

I got this recipe from the net ( really sorry, I cant remember the name of the website ) but I've reduced the amount of water used (since I feel 8 cups is a bit too much). The taste as how you described it : SUPERBLY GOOD !!!!

Coconut Jelly
Source : Idazs




Ingredients (makes about 20 cups)

10 grams jelly powder
2 cups sugar
8 cups coconut juice
6 cups water
2 pcs pandan leaves
Young coconut flesh


How To

1. Mix all ingredients (except for the coconut filling) & set to boil.

2. Cut the young coconut flesh into thin strips & place them in the moulds

3. Pour the jelly mix into the moulds & leave to cool.

Siew Mai (Steamed Chicken Dumplings)

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Marsya Dearie,

You know how much I love dim sum & I know you like it too (tho not as much . I blame it on those Chinese blood that runs through my veins which makes me adore Chinese food so much.

For your info, Dim Sum is a Cantonese term for a type of Chinese meal that involves small individual portions of food. There are various types of foods included in a Dim Sum meals such as char siew pau (steamed buns), dumplings, cheong fun (rice noodles rolls) etc. Among all, siew mai (steamed chicken dumplings) has been my all time favourite.

Finding a halal dim sum in town is not as easy as looking for a nasi lemak or capati. I've tried buying the frozen ones at the supermarket but the taste are so disappointing...... or it might just be my taste bud which has becoming pickier & pickier these days ~ sigh ~

After googling a few recipes on Siew Mai & comparing each & every one of them, I've come up with my own recipe for this favourite dish of mine. In one of those recipes, water chestnut is one of the ingredients & I thought of adding it too but unfortunately I couldnt find it at the supermarket. Maybe some other time then.

Nevertheless, I'm not trying to boast here but this Siew Mai was the best chicken dumplings I've ever tasted. I admit that the preparation was a bit tedious but the satisfaction is simply priceless !

Siew Mai
Source : Belle du Chef



Ingredients

200 gm minced chicken
200 gm prawns, minced
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp chicken stock granules
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sesame oil
3 pcs black mushroom, soaked & finely chopped
4 stalks spring onion (white part only), finely chopped
2 tbsp tapioca flour
Shredded carrots
Wonton skins


How To

1. Mixed all ingredients (except for wonton skin & carrots) together.

2. Set aside in the fridge for 20 minutes.

3. Trim wanton wrappers into round shape and wrap some filling in it.

4. Place a tablespoon of filling on each wrapper, gather up the sides and leave the center open.

5. Garnish the top with some shredded carrot.

6. Steam at high heat for about 10 mins.

7. Serve hot either on its own or with chilli sauce.

Cheese Baked Eggplant

Eggplant - or brinjal as how the Brits call it & aubergine by the Europeans. While some people (Marsya, for instance ) hate it, I love eggplant so very much. It's one of those vegetables that's so versatile, and really hearty.You can do a lot of things with eggplant - fry it on it's own or with sambal, grill it (& eat it with sambal belacan) or just add it in curries for varieties.

When I was in Italy few years ago, my choices of food are limited to seafood & vegetables only. One thing I noticed is that, Italians just love to eat. For dinners, while others have 4-course meals (appetizer, main course, dessert & coffee) as a norm, theirs are 5 (antipasto, primo, secondo, contorno & dolce). Reason being, there are 2 main course which is the primary (pasta or rice) & secondary dish (chicken, meat or fish). Imagine having a steak after finishing your pasta - crazy isnt it? Well, that's how Italian reward themselves after a long day at work.

Among these 5 courses, antipasto is my favourite. I love Italian appetizers (which reminds me of Ciao Restaurant for their delicious antipasto). The choices they have for appetizers (which mostly consists of vegetables) are simply enormous. It was then that I learned the versatility of an eggplant. It was also then that I've tried my very first Baked Eggplant & it was love at a first taste !

Been googling the recipe for Baked Eggplant ever since but didnt really have the nerve to try it out for it might not turn out as how I expect it................not until yesterday. Where possible, every Friday I would meet up with a few of my friends of the Celibacy Club where we eat & talk as if we've never seen each other for ages. Yesterday I decided to invite them to my place & treat them home-cooked dinner.

Since one of them is on a diet where he's currently cutting off rice from his food regime, I've decided to cook them Italian dishes - Baked Eggplant for the antipasto, Spaghetti Marinara for the main course & Custard Caramel for the dessert. 

My Eggplant was a great success & I was the happiest person that night. The taste was superb - very the Italiano, I would say....hehehe. Over the years, I've collected a few Baked Eggplant's recipes & what I did yesterday was to mix & match these recipes and wallahhhh.....my very own Cheese Baked Eggplant.

Ingredients

2 medium sized eggplants

1 red capsicum, diced

5 ripe tomatoes, chopped

5 garlics, chopped

1 cup fresh sliced button mushrooms

1/2 can of Prego's Tomato & Basil spaghetti sauce

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp Italian herbs

Parsleys, cut into 3 cm long

Maozarella shredded cheese

Olive oil

Salt & sugar to taste

How To

1.  Preheat the oven to 200 Deg. C

2.  Slice the eggplants into 1 cm rounds & brush both sides with olive oil & bake for 10 mins.

3.  Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. 

4.  Add in the onion & fry till fragrant. Add in the tomatoes.

5.  Cook and stir for a few minutes until the tomatoes have released their juices.

6.  Add the spaghetti sauce along with the rest of the ingredients.

7.  Pour the spaghetti sauce over the baked eggplants.

8.  Spread the cheese on top into a thin layer & bake for 30 in the preheated oven.

9.  If you want to make it spicy, add some black pepper into the sauce. 

Apam Gula Hangus

It has been ages since the last time I posted a recipe in my blog. As how the songs & melody cant be separated for the late Tan Sri P.Ramlee, the same thing goes to me & cooking. Cooking is my passion & it's something I really love doing. It gave me some sort of pleasure nothing else could match up with.

A few of my friends have been complaining about the absence of new recipes in my blog. So, in order not to disappoint them, today I'm gonna post a simple yet marvelous recipe of a Malay traditional kuih called Apam Gula Hangus. Credit to My Resipi for this wonderful recipe.

There are 2 things I like the most about this particular apam. First, preparing it is very, very easy. No mixer, no sifting, no nothing - all you need is a blender & steamer. Secondly, is of course the outcome. The texture of this apam is super soft & fluffy and the taste is just so yummy ! everyone should try it - it's really good !

Here it goes :


Ingredients :

2 eggs
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of hot water
1/2 cup of oil
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp condensed milk
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp soda bicarbonate

How To :

- Cook the sugar under small heat until it turns to golden brown
- Slowly add the hot water & cook till the sugar clumps dissolve
- Set aside to cool
- Put the eggs, milk, butter & oil into a blender & blend for approximately 3 mins.
- Add in the cold caramel & bicarbonate of soda & blend again.
- Finally put in the flour & blend till the mixture is well blended.
- Grease the mould & pour the mixture in.
- Steam it for approximately 40 mins.