Chee Cheong Fun

I was absolutely inspired by the Chee Cheong Fun (a.k.a. rice noodle roll) prepared by Lily that she had it on her blog (http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2008/07/chee-cheong-fun-iii.html). The preparation process was fascinating and I was so eager to try it out myself!

Ingredients:
(A)
60g rice flour
20g tapioca flour
2 1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil

(B)
1 1/2 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 1/2 tsp water
1 tbsp sesame seed

Directions:
1. Mix ingredients from (A) and leave it aside for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat a non-stick pan on medium heat. Pour a thin layer of batter into the pan and heat until a thin layer of the the batter solidifies at the bottom. Pour back any excess batter.
3. Place a lid on the pan and cook on low heat.
4. The noodle is cooked when it turns translucent. Remove pan from the heat source.
5. Roll the sheet of noodle carefully (not to break it) with a wooden spatula on the pan. Place the rice noodle roll on a greased plate.
6. Continue cooking with the remaining batter.
7. Dilute the Hoisin sauce with water. Pour the sauce on the noodles and garnish noodles with sesame seed. Savour the chee cheong fun while hot!

p/s: It takes some practice to yield smooth texture cheong fun. I appreciate those hawkers who cook fine and tasty chee cheong fun!

Steak Feast II

The carrot was cut into a unique shape, very creative :)

I've been craving for steaks these days and hence prepared myself a Grade A striploin and salad for supper. Besides the similar ingredients used to prepare the first steak that I had (refer to the post "Steak Feast I"), I added some Moroccan harissa spice (1 1/2 tsp) for marinating the meat. It was merely a 15-20 minutes of cooking time with the toaster oven set at 400F, for a medium rare steak. With the steak topped with mushroom sauce, and salad as side dish, I indulged myself in this delicious meal ^v^

Salad

Ingredients:
1 cherry tomato
1/2 medium green pepper
1 small carrot
2 stalks celery
2 leaves iceberg lettuce
2 leaves romaine lettuce

Directions:
Creativity + Passion + Patience = Awesomeness

How did I come out with this idea? Well, I had these ingredients sitting in the refrigerator that I needed to prepare for tomorrow's lunch. Instead of a boring dish of salad, I wanted something that's more presentable, and more appetizing! And here I am, combining the salad with some canned salmon for a meal *wink*

Steak Feast I

Hmm...what am I gonna have for today's supper? I found this sirloin tip steak from the meat market for a good deal. Without second thought, I've decided my supper menu--sirloin steak, salad, mashed potatoes, and my favourite Campbell cream of mushroom soup.

It was an absolutely random recipe. A good try!

First of all, let's prepare the steak.

Ingredients:
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp dark soya sauce
2 tsp cooking wine
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Keep the marinated steak aside for 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the toaster oven to 400F.
3. Cook the steak for about 10 minutes on each side.

It was a well-done steak before I managed to stop it from being cooked further. I was anticipating a medium rare. Oops! Too bad...try again next time ;P

Next, we have mashed potatoes.

Ingredients:
2 medium potatoes
1 small onion
1 tsp light soya sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
1 tsp dried basil
Dash of red chili powder
2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp whipped dressing or mayonnaise

Directions:
1. Prepare a pot of boiling water.
2. Peel and cut the potatoes into small cubes.
3. Dice the onion into small pieces.
4. Cook the potatoes in boiling water on high heat for 15 minutes. Add onion into the boiling water and cook for another 10 minutes on medium heat.
5. Drain water from the pot. Mash the potatoes and onion efficiently with a hamburger press (use a spatula if you don't have one).
6. Add light soya sauce, salt, margarine, and whipped dressing according to taste (adding some milk will give a richer taste too). Mix thoroughly.
7. Add black and white pepper, dried basil and red chili powder.
8. Ready to serve.

Umm...what else are we missing? The gravy! Again, a simply random recipe for gravy.

Ingredients:
1/2 small onion
1 1/2 tbsp corn starch
3/4 cup water
1/2 beaten egg
1 tbsp cooking wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tsp light soya sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions:
1. Dice the onion into small pieces. Fry the onion in a sauce pan on medium heat till brown.
2. Dissolve the corn starch in water. Pour in the corn starch mixture. Let it boil on high heat, while stirring it occasionally.
3. Keep it on medium heat once it's boiled. Add the beaten egg, oyster sauce, salt, dark and light soya sauce. Stir well and cook the egg.
4. Add salt, cooking wine, white and black pepper according to taste.
5. Let the gravy simmer on low heat till thicken.
6. Serve it on the steak.

* The above recipes serve as a reference. The amount of ingredients used may not be exactly the same. So how? Try it out according to personal taste!

Last but not least, the creamy mushroom soup! It's quite self-explanatory. Simply refer to the directions on the can. You can either add a can of water or milk (gives creamier texture) to cook with it. Mushroom soup was a nice treat in the family for either supper or just a late night "snack" when I was little. Dad used to prepare it during a few occasions. Once it's cooked, stir in with dash of Maggie seasoning and white pepper. It's the best soup ever that will warm your heart! And not to mention, fog up your glass too with its hot steam! Yumm.... a memorable taste from childhood. *What a little girl I am*

Nasi Paprik

What is nasi paprik (a.k.a. paprik rice)? Also referred to as nasi pad prik, it is a fried rice dish with paprika sauce which is known to be of Thai origin.

Ingredients:
1 sachet Maggie Nasi Paprik
2 cups uncooked rice
1/2 lb ground pork
10 stalks green beans
1 medium carrot
1 beaten egg
1 medium onion
1 tsp light soya sauce
Dashed of white pepper
Sliced cucumbers
Tomato ketchup (according to taste)

Directions:
1. Cook the rice and let cool.
2. Marinate ground pork with dashed of pepper and light soya sauce. Leave it aside.
3. Cut the onion and carrot into small cubes.
4. Saute the onions till brown on medium heat. Add the ground pork and cook.
5. Pour in the cooked rice and mix in Maggie Nasi Paprik seasoning. Add dashes of white pepper.
6. Fry the rice until fragrant. Add the egg and cook.
7. Serve with sliced cucumbers.

One thing is missing here-tomatoes! Additionally, nasi paprik is usually served with sliced chicken meat as opposed to ground pork. It's just my little modification to come out with something different, as I always do ;)

Taro Cake

Taro cake (a.k.a. woo tao koh) is a Cantonese delicacy normally eaten for breakfast or afternoon tea. Since it's impossible to get it from a stall here, unlike in Malaysia; it can be easily found at the wet markets and coffee shops.

This special dish reminds me of Mom who loves Taro cake a lot ;) She even commented that this picture looks tempting (*blushed*). Haha... no worries, Mom, you can sure have some :)

Here is the recipe adapted from Lily's Wai Sek Hong. Thanks to Lily for sharing her great recipes!

Ingredients:
(A)
250g taro root (a.k.a. yam)
1 tsp five-spice powder
1 cup water

(B)
125g rice flour
20g tapioca flour
1 cup water
150g taro root

(C)
1 tbsp chicken stock granules
1 tsp soya sauce
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp sesame oil
Dash of white pepper

(D)
Dried shrimps (~100)
4 shallots
2 stalks green onions
2 red chillies

(E)
10 red chillies
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
2 tbsp lemon juice/lime juice/white vinegar

(F)
3 tbsp Hoisin sauce, diluted with some water
1 tsp soya sauce
2 tsp sugar
Dash of white pepper

Directions:
1. From (A), coat the diced taro root with five-spice powder.
2. Dice, steam, and mash the taro root from (B). Mix in other ingredients from (B) and sieve.
3. For seasoning, mix together the ingredients from (C).
4. Soak and chop the dried shrimps from (D) coarsely. Cut shallots in slices and deep fry (or microwave with 1tsp oil on high till crispy). Chop the green onions and red chillies from (D). Set them aside for garnishing.
5. To prepare the chilli sauce, chop or blend the red chillies from (E), and mix in with the other ingredients from (E).
6. Mix together ingredients from (F) for sweet sauce.
7. Heat up some oil and saute the dried shrimps from (D) till fragrant. Remove 3/4 and set aside for garnishing.
8. Add some oil and into the wok, stir fry the seasoned taro root. Mix in water from (A) and bring to a boil.
9. Add in (B) and (C), and cook till the batter is fairly thick.
10. Pour thick batter into a well-greased 25cm round tray. Steam till the cake is set and cooked.
11. Garnish the cake and press lightly. Leave aside to cool.
12. Serve taro cake with chilli sauce and sweet sauce!

Yummm... Don't be intimidated by the long recipe. Trust me, it's not hard at all once you get it started! And believe it or not, you'll be tempted to prepare it over and over again ;)

Quick & Easy Pizza

Craving for pizza but don't feel like order one, wanna customize your own instead? Here is a recipe of a quick & easy pizza crust, plus your favourite toppings (anything you like):

Ingredients:
1 cup warm water (~ 110 degrees F)
1 tbsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in the warm water. Add in olive oil and salt.
2. Stir in the flour until well blended. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
3. Preheat oven at 450 degrees F.
4. Pad dough into a pizza pan. Spread pizza sauce. Top with your favourite pizza toppings (i.e. onions, green peppers, carrots, tomatoes, sausages, bacon, hamburger slices etc.). Lastly, top with cheese slices/shredded cheese.
5. Bake pizza for 15-20 minutes. Serve while hot!