我的试验室 My Lab

This is a very aromatic ayam masak merah.  I name it Italian ayam masak merah :-)

Ingredients:

• Chicken
• Lemon grass - grinded
• Onion - minced
• Garlic - minced
• Pasta sauce
• cooking oil
• water

Procedure:

1. Fry onion and garlic until fagrance then add chicken.
2. Brown chicken then add pasta sauce and water to simmer until chicken is cooked.

Imagine ayam masak merah with the aroma of Italian herbs.....

Will cook it for dinner tomorrow : )

We had pork mean ball soup last weekend.  Light and easy...
Those are homemade pork meat ball.  I wouldn't say that it is as crunchy as the store bought meat ball, only about 70% of it?  Use the 30% crunch to exchange for a chemical free meat ball.  I think it is worth it.  On top of that, you can include your favourite flavour in it too.

Ingredients

• 1 kg minced pork
• 10 big prawn - shelled and cut thinly
• 1 bulb garlic - chopped (optional)
• 1 big red chili - chopped (optional)
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp pepper
• 1 egg white
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 4 tbsp corn flour

Note :  I got the original recipe from
http://lilyng2000.blogspot.com/2005/06/meat-balls-ala-don.html
It is a fabulous recipe. 

As I could not get 1of the ingredient which I have absolutely no idea what that is... so I omit it. I also add some other ingredients....Try an error!!

Procedure

1. Process the minced pork, prawn, chopped chili and chopped garlic until paste like.
2. Transfer it into a big bowl.  Add the seasonings, corn flour and egg white.
3. Use hand to mix well.
4. Try to take a handful and throw it back to the bowl. Repeat this process until the texture of the paste has changed to 'spongy'.   (You will feel that as if the paste is not so sticky anymore)  It is then ready.
5. Boil a pot of water. Once the water is boiled, turn to low heat.  Shape the meat ball and throw it into the hot water.  When it is cooked, it will float.  Put them into cold water.
6. Once they have cool down, you can freeze them for future use too.

Worth trying!

After having some Chinese friends, then only I realised that Northern Chinese have dumpling during Chinese New Year.

Ingredients:

A.  Dumpling wrapper

• Same as tortilla wrap, but omit the butter  http://shlau06.blogspot.com/2009/11/tortilla-wrap.html

B.  Filling

• Same as Hamburger veggie combo meat patty  http://shlau06.blogspot.com/2010/10/hamburger-veggie-combo-meat-patty.html

Procedure:

Knead dough until smooth

Roll it into a log

Cut the log into pieces



Turn pieces so that they face upwards as above



Take 1 piece and put on chopping board



'Piak!' Good idea?



Slightly flatten it a little bit more with rolling pin



Add 1 tbsp of filling



Pleat it and it is done.


Cooking tips:

1. Fill a pot which is enough to cover the dumpling and boil it.  Wait for the water to boil.
2. Add the dumpling, leave the pot open, don't close the lid.
3. When the water start boiling, add 1 bowl of cold water.  Wait for the water to boil again.
4. Repeat until after adding 3rd bowl of water.  When the water boil, they are done.

Note:  These dumpling freeze well in the freezer.  Freeze it before cooking.

Tell you something.  I tried to make the above patties a few weeks ago.  I ended up spending the whole day cleaning my wok!!  I didn't know what happened, the patties just sticked on the wok.  I was so so so disappointed....  I decided to give it a final try after getting some tips from my mum on 'how to fry meat patties'.  (Just wondering anybody started laughing at me? mmmm....)

Finally, I manage to make some hamburgers for lunch last weekend.  Hey, just realised that it is not so difficult to homemake hamburger patties.  However, this is not the McDonald's meaty type.  It is my own version with lots of veggies/herbs in it.

Ingredients:

• 600g minced pork
• 2 medium onions - chopped
• 6 cloves garlic - chopped
• 1 bunch coriander - chopped
• 1 bunch parsley - chopped
• 1/2 cup plain flour/corn flour
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar(optional)
• 1 tsp ginger powder
• 1/2 tsp 5 spices powder
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce / light soy sauce
• 1 egg

Procedure:

1. Mix well all the above ingredients.
2. Heat up the pan, when the pan is hot, add 1 tbsp oil. 
3. When oil is hot, add 1 heaped tbsp of the mixed minced pork, flatten it using a turner to a desired thickness.
4. Fry both faces using very low heat. 
5. It is ready when both side are golden brown.

I sincerely think that, it is again the healthy version of hamburger patty, simply because you need only 1 tbsp oil to fry all the patties.  And, it is free from preservatives!!  Good for simple and easy lunch.

Pumpkin is rich in antioxidant and fibre.  I try to include it as much as possible in my daily diet (Please take note that it is not suitable for diabetics).  I make up this bao recipe.  Please let me know whether you like it.
Ingredients

• 300g pumpkin
• 1 small potato
• 3/4 cup pumpkin/potato water
• 1 tsp yeast
• 4 - 5 cups plain flour
• 15pcs of pan-fried ham (can vary the fillings)

Procedure

1. Peel pumpkin and potato then slice them.
2. Boil them until they are soft.  Reserve 3/4 cup of the pumpkin/potato water.
3. Mash pumpkin and potato until smooth.  Let it cool down.
4. Add the 3/4 cup reserve water to mashed pumpkin and potato.
5. Stir in yeast.  Mix well.
6. Add plain flour 1 tbsp at a time.  Keep adding plain flour and stirring until the mixture turn into soft dough.
7. Roughly knead the dough and form into a ball.
8. Cover it and let it rise until the size is doubled (It takes me ~4 hours during winter).
9. Punch it down to release all the air.  Add more flour if it is too sticky.
10. Divide dough into 15pcs.
11. Roll into a rectagular shape which is double the size of the ham.
12. Fold in the ham.
13. Boil hot water to steam the bao.(Tips : Do not put bao into steamer until the water is boiling hot)
14. Steam for 10 min using high heat.

Serving Suggestion:
Add some shredded lettuce, carrot and chili sauce before serving.

• 500g pumpkin - peel and slice
• 5 tbsp coconut milk
• 5 tbsp brown sugar
• pinch of salt
• pinch of cinnamon (optional)

1. Boil pumpkin for 10min or until soften.
2. Mash it with potato masher.
3. Put mashed pumpkin in a fry pan.  Add coconut milk.  Keep stirring until it thickens.
4. Add brown sugar, pinch of salt & cinnamon.
5. Keep stirring until it reaches the consistency that you like.
6. Keep in the fridge when it is cool.  Try to finish it within 3 days.

I have never thought that I can Char Kuih kak in my cooking life. This is definitely a surprise!!
It was school holidays. Sew Keng visited us on 15 July. It is a great catch up for us as well as for the kids. Both Laura and Jia have not meet each other for months... To my surprise, Sew Keng brought a pot of home-fried Kuih Kak. Wow, can we fry kuih kak at home? It just never crossed my mind......Of course, she is always very kind to share her recipe with me.  After listening to her recipe, it seems that I can use the Chwee Kuih recipe http://wlteef.blogspot.com/2005/04/chwee-kuih.html as a substitute.  The whole main reason for me to substitute the original Kuih Kak recipe is that, it is easier to handle half cooked rice flour than to stir rice flour batter on the stove.  It can get burnt easily.

Ingredients

• 350g rice flour
• 50g tapioca flour
• 10 g wheat starch (sometimes I use plain flour, it turn out alright too)
• 400ml room temperature water
• 950ml boiling water
• 2 tsp salt (alter to taste from original recipe)

Procedure

1. Mix all dry ingredients with the room temp water in a big mixing bowl.  (Note:  If the room temperature is too low, especially during winter, you can take away 3 tbsp of the room temperature water, then add 3 tbsp of hot water.  I will explain the reason later.)
2. Add salt to boiling water, stir well.  Pour salted boiling water to the above mixture.
3. Constantly stir the mixture until it is thickened.  If the room temperature is too cold, the mixture will NOT be thickened.  At that case, you have to cook the mixture on stove with constant stirring until it gets thickened.
4. Grease 2 metal plates, then pour the mixture into the 2 greased plates.
5. Steam them at high heat for 15 minutes or until the it comes out clean when poke with a chopstick.
6. Cool down to room temperature. 
7. Keep them in the fridge for at least 4 hours.  This process is vital o/w you will not be able to cut them nicely in the next step. 
8. Cut them into 1.5cm cubes.  

You are ready to fry Kuih Kak now.

Suddenly, there is this crave to eat Laksa, but, don't know why? I just can't produce my mum's Laksa even though after getting all the tips from her weeks ago. So, I decided to think out of the box. What about having something similar to Laksa then? Emm, Tom Yam paste may help. There starts my experiment again.

Ingredients:
A. Noodle
1 Packet of Angel Hair(the thinnest spaghetti)

B. Soup
1 kg salmon frame
2 L water
2 tbsp Tom Yam paste(add more will increase the kick)
2 Onions(diced)
5 cloves Garlic(diced)
2 big tomatoes(diced)
2 stalk lemon grass/ 1 tsp dried lemon grass powder
1 tsp galangal powder
2 tbsp lemon juice(more if u like it sour)
2 tbsp shrimp paste
2 red chili(optional)
salt to taste

C. Garnish
Shredded cucumber
Thinly sliced salad onion

Procedure
1. Cook Angel Hair as stated on the packet. Set aside.
2. Put all ingredients for soup in the pot and let it boil for 20 min.
3. Drain salmon frame and make sure that all the bones are removed. Pour all salmon flesh back to the soup.
4. Bring to boil for another 5 min, the soup is ready.
5. Add about 1/4 bowlful of cooked angel hair, garnish with shredded cucumber and salad onion, add about 3 ladle of boiling hot soup.

You should try it if you are a Laksa lover.

Frankly, I have looked for tortilla wrap recipe through internet for years, and I have gone through so many failure too. Finally, I managed to find one which is good enough last year. However, after advised by a Chinese friend of mine, whom I regard her as 'kitchen veteran' (厨房老将), I decided to try out this new recipe for tortilla wrap, and it works.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups self raising flour (can substitute by plain flour too, then it will become plainflour wrap)
• 1 cup boiling water (it has to be boiling hot, otherwise, you will go through the same failure as I do)
• 1 tbsp butter(optional)

Procedure:

1. Pour hot water to the flour.
2. Stir quickly with chopstick, the half cooked flour will resemble into chunky pieces of dough.
3. Now, add cold water bit by bit, knead dough until it form a ball. It shouldn't be sticky at this stage.
4. Cover the dough and rest dough for ~30min.
5. Divide dough into 15pcs (depends on the size/thickness you like it to be).
6. Use rolling pin to flatten them.
7. Start frying using a pan. (Note: Must not use oil, otherwise it won't puff up nicely).
8. Fry one side until you see some 'bubbles' puffing up and the dough slightly change to translucent, lift the dough to confirm there are a few brown patches/dots at the down side, flip them over. Fry for another 30 sec, again, lift the dough to check for a few brown patches/dots, then, it is done.
9. Repeat for the rest of the dough.

Reminder

1. Must use boiling water.
2. Do not use oil when frying.
3. Stack up all the tortilla wraps to maintain the moiture in the wrap so that it will remain soft.

Tips:
Flour to water ratio is 3 : 1 , so you can actually vary the quantity of wraps you are going to make easily.

Try to substitute SR flour by plain flour, then it will become a plain flour wrap.  It will have different texture.  Tell me which one you like best.