Fried Glass Noodles

Glass noodles can be fried, cooked in soup or made into salad (kerabu). It is important that when soaked, they do not become soggy and clump together; they should maintain their stringy shape. Thus, finding the brand that gives you that texture is important and when you find it, stick to it.

Fried Glass Noodles can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner or supper. Lots of ingredients can be added to the glass noodles to make them delicious such as prawns, pork/chicken and seafood, vegetable (round or napa cabbage), mushrooms, black fungus. I usually fried the glass noodles in 2 styles - soy sauce and tomyum. 


Ingredients:

• Glass noodles, quantity depends on the number of people to be served.
• Eggs
• Cabbage
• Mushrooms
• Black fungus
• Garlic
• Spring onions
• Chili padi
• Cooking oil
• Water
• Seasonings - salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and pepper

Method:

• Soak mushrooms overnight till they are soft. Then slice them thinly.
• Soak black fungus overnight. Then cut them into strips.
• Soak glass noodles on the day of frying till they are soft.
• Wash and cut the cabbage into strips.
• Chop the garlic.
• Wash and cut the spring onions (for sprinkling)
• Wash and cut the chili padi into small pieces.

• Heat up wok with oil.
• Fry the eggs and break them up. Dish up and set aside.
• Add some oil into the wok.
• Saute the garlic till fragrant.
• Add in the mushrooms and stir-fry for a while.
• Add in the black fungus.
• Next add in the cabbage and chili padi.
• When the cabbage is half-cooked, add in water.
• Let the water boil. Then add in the seasonings according to your taste - salt, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce and pepper.
• Let the sauce boil.
• Then add in the glass noodles. Stir until they are cooked. (If they are too dry, add in some boiled water slowly.)
• Add in the fried egg and stir.
• Dish up and sprinkle the glass noodles with spring onion. (You may prepare fried shallots to sprinkle on top too.)

Rolled Oat and Multi-Grain Cereal Wholemeal Loaf or Buns

My husband does not eat any white bread; instead he will only eat wholemeal bread. Thus, I have to vary my wholemeal bread by adding cereals - wheat (wheat germ or bran), rye, oats and corn (maize) or seeds - sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, flax seeds and Chia Seeds or nuts - walnut, cashew nuts, almonds, pecans, macadamia and Brazil nuts. For the nuts, they have to be ground before they are added to the dough.

The most common healthy bread that I often bake is Oat and Multi-Grain Cereal Wholemeal Loaf or Buns. Besides being healthy bread, the Oat Wholemeal Bread is tasty. It is also easy to bake.


Ingredients:

• 2 cups of wholemeal flour 
• 1/2 cup of high protein or bread flour 
• 1 cup of oats 
• 1/4 cup of Nestum multi-grain cereals 
• 2 tablespoons of sugar (You may replace it with brown sugar which I sometimes do.) 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 2 teaspoon of yeast (I use Mari-pan instant yeast.) 
• 1 cup of warm milk 
• 1 egg at room temperature 
• 2 tablespoons of oil (I use corn oil. Sometimes I use pure butter.) 
• 1 tablespoon of oats, optional (for decoration - by sprinkling on top of the dough just before baking) 

The method:

• Grease and line a loaf pan 8 inch x 4 inch x 4 inch. Set aside. 
• Put the flours, oat, cereal, sugar, yeast and salt into the mixing bowl. 
• Pour the warm milk into the bowl. 
• Break the egg into it. 
• Add in the oil if you are using oil. However, if you are using butter, it should be added at a later stage of kneading process after the dough has formed into a ball. 
• Start kneading the ingredients into a smooth dough. This will take about 20 minutes or slightly more by machine. (It does not matter if you do not have a machine. You may do it manually.) 
• When the dough has formed into a ball, add the butter (for those using butter). 
• Grease a bowl with oil. 
• Remove the dough from the mixing bowl and put it into the greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap. Cover with a towel 
• Leave the dough to proof until it doubles in size. 
• Once it has doubled in size, remove the dough from the bowl onto a slightly floured table-top. 
• Knead it manually for about 5-10 minutes. 
• Then form it into a oval shape to fit the loaf pan. (You may also shape them into buns. Weigh the dough and divide it according to the number of buns that you wish to have. I usually divide my dough into 9 parts to obtain 9 buns.) 
• Cover the loaf pan with a cling wrap. 
• Let the dough double in size. 
• Pre-heat oven to 175 degree Celsius. 
• Once the dough has doubled in size, wet the top of the dough gently with some water. Sprinkle the oats on it. 
• Bake the dough in the oven for about 30 minutes. (If you have made into buns, bake for about 20-25 minutes.) 
• Once the bread is baked, remove the pan from the oven. 
• Remove the bread immediately from the pan and let it cool down on a metal rack. (For buns, let them cool down on the metal rack.) 
• Slice the loaf only when it has completely cool down.

Rotiboy - My Way

I love Rotiboy for the aroma they emit and the cheese and butter fillings in the buns. It would be troublesome to travel all the way to the shopping complex to buy them each time my family and I want to eat them. So making them myself is the best way to satisfy our desire for them; the best part is that they are not too difficult to make.


Ingredients:

For the dough:

• 120 ml water
• 1 tsp yeast
• 3 tsp sugar (1 tsp + 2 tsp)
• 275 g bread flour or high protein flour
• 3 tbsp milk powder
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tsp salt
• 45 g butter
• 2 pieces of cheddar cheese cut into 8 squares (will be using only 5 squares)
• 5 cubes of butter 1 cm x 1 cm x 1 cm

For the topping:

• 1 tbsp instant coffee
• 1 tsp hot water
• 50 g butter
• 50 g powdered sugar or icing sugar or castor sugar
• 50 g cake flour or all-purpose flour
• 1 egg

Method:

The Topping:

• Mix instant coffee and hot water. Stir to dissolve the coffee powder and set aside.
• Beat butter and powdered sugar until pale and creamy.
• Then sift in the cake flour.
• Beat 1 egg and slowly add into the cake mixture until well-combined and the consistency is good for piping. (You may not use all the egg.) Set aside for later use.

The Dough:

• Add 1 tsp of yeast into 120 ml of warm water. Sprinkle 1 tsp of sugar into  the water. Mix well and let it sit for 5-10 minutes or until the mixture is foamy.
• Measure 275 g of bread flour and 3 tbsp milk powder into a mixing bowl
• Add in 2 tsp sugar to it.
• Add in 1 beaten egg.
• Then add in the yeast mixture followed by 1 tsp salt.
• Knead the dough till a round dough is formed.
• Then add in the butter.
• Knead until the dough reaches window-pane stage.
• Oil a bowl and remove the dough from the mixing bowl into this oiled bowl.
• Cover the bowl with a cling wrap and let the dough proof for an hour or until double in size.
• After 1 hour or when the dough is doubled in size, transfer into a floured surface.
• Divide the dough into 6 pieces. Form them into balls.
• Divide one of the dough into 5 pieces. Form them into small balls.
• Cover all the dough and let them rise for about 10 minutes.
• Then take 1 small dough, flatten it and put 1 piece of cheese and 1 piece of butter cube on it. Repeat this until all the 5 small dough are done.
• Take one of the big dough put one small dough on it with the seam side of the small dough facing down. Seal the big dough and roll it into a ball. Repeat this until the other big and small dough are done.
• Cover the 5 dough and let it rise for about 30 minutes.
• Pre-heat oven to 180 deg C.
• Pipe the topping on the buns in a spiral motion.
• Bake the buns for 20 minutes.  

Sambal Sotong and Prawns

I love seafood especially prawns, squids, crabs, lobsters, fish and clams but do not eat meats like beef, lamb, duck and pork. I do eat chicken but once in a blue moon. And out of the many varieties of fishes that can be found locally, I love the mackerel (ikan kembung), the grouper (ikan kerapu), the Spanish mackerel (ikan tenggiri), the threadfin (ikan senangin) and the snapper (ikan jenahak). Although I do eat other types of fishes I have less preference for them.

I have chosen to cook my squids and prawns in sambal sauce. This Sambal Squids and Prawns dish would appeal to those who can eat spicy food. Those who cannot stand food which are too spicy may vary the quantity of chilies used to make the sambal. The sweetness of the squids and prawns when added to the sambal sauce makes the dish very yummy.

Ingredients:

• 10 pieces large prawns
• 10 pieces of medium-sized squids
• 10 red chilies
• 5 dried chilies
• 2 large onions
• 1 piece ginger (1.5 inches)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 5 shallots
• 5 sprigs of curry leaves
• 3 tablespoons of cooking oil
• 1/2 cup of water
• 3 tablespoons of tamarind juice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce

Method:

• Soak the dried chilies for at least an hour.

• Peel, wash and cut 1 large onion into rings. Set aside.

• Cut off the tip of the head of the prawns and the front legs and de-vein them. Wash them and let them drip dry.

• Remove the skin of the squids, the eyes, the ink sac and whatever that is in the body. Cut the body into rings, wash them and let them drip dry.

• Blend the red chilies, dried chilies, large onion, ginger, garlic and shallots.

• Heat up the oil in the wok.

• When the oil is hot, pour in the blended ingredients.

• Add in the curry leaves.

• Saute them until they are dry and fragrant.

• Add in the water and tamarind juice (add more for a more sour sauce) and let them boil.

• Add in the prawns.

• When the prawns are half-cooked, add in the squids.

• Add in the onion rings.

• Add in salt and soy sauce. (Add more or reduce according to your taste.)

• Dish out when the prawns and squids are cooked.

Blue Pea Soft & Fluffy Bread

The Clitoria Ternatea (commonly known as Asian Pigeon Wings, Blue Bell Vine, Blue Pea, Cordofan Pea and Darwin pea, ‘Butterfly Pea’) is named as such as the flower has the shape of the human female genital. According to research, many benefits can be derived from this flower. Just Google and you can read about these benefits.

The flower is used as a natural food colouring, for example, it is used to colour glutinuous rice to make pulut tai tai and nyonya chang. It is also used to colour the rice to make nasi kerabu. Another way of using these edible flowers is to dip them in batter and fried. Besides these, the blue pea is also used in making desserts such as acar-acar. And nowadays, due to the many benefits that can be derived from the flower, it is common to find them being made into tea.

I have experimented with them and used them to make my soft and fluffy bread.

I used the Sponge and Main Dough Method to make this bread. The ingredients are as follows: (Note that the moisture content for flours bought from different shops varies. Thus, you have to feel the dough during mixing to ensure that it is not too wet or too dry.)

Sponge Dough:

• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 tbsp warm water
• 210 g bread flour or high protein flour
• 1 tsp sugar
• 110 ml blue pea water (I used 50 dried flowers to make 130 ml of water to get a pastel shade. Keep 20 ml for Main Dough.)

Main Dough:

• 60 g plain flour
• 30 g bread flour or high protein flour
• 1/2 tsp yeast
• 10 g milk powder
• 20 ml blue pea water
• 55 g sugar
• 5 g salt
• 1/2 egg (Grade B) or 27 g
• 30 g butter

Method:

• For the sponge dough, mix instant yeast and warm water and set aside for 10 minutes. Then pour the yeast mixture into the mixing bowl.
• Add the remaining ingredients and knead to form a dough.
• Cover with cling wrap and let it proof for 1 hour or double in size.
• Add the sugar, salt and egg from the main dough ingredients.
• Mix until they are well blended.
• Then add flours, yeast, milk powder and blue pea water.
• Mix all ingredients till well blended. Knead to form a dough.
• Add the butter and knead to form a smooth and elastic dough (window-pane stage).
• Remove the dough from the mixing bowl onto a slightly floured dough mat. (I apply a thin layer of oil instead.)
• Slightly flour the rolling pin. (I oiled the rolling pin.)
• Roll out the dough into long rectangle. Then fold into 3. Do this 6 times.
• After the 6 roll-outs, cut the dough into 3 pieces of equal weight.
• Grease a loaf pan (8 in x 4 in x 4 in). (I greased and lined the pan with parchment paper.)
• Shape the (3) pieces of dough to fit into the pan side by side.
• Cover the pan with cling wrap and let the dough proof for an hour or until it doubles in size.
• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 deg C for 25-30 minutes.
• Remove the bread from pan immediately when it is baked.
• Let it cool completely on a metal rack before cutting.

Brinjal Omelette

Brinjal, also known as Eggplant in North America, Australia and New Zealand and Aubergine in British English, is widely used in cooking all over the world. Cooking methods include steaming, roasting, boiling, baking or frying (pan-fry or deep-fry). Usually, I will either steam or deep-fry them and sprinkle some fried garlic, chili padi and spring onion on them. Sometimes I stir-fry them with minced meat and bean paste. At times I will stir-fry them with sambal petai an okra while at other times I will cook them in vegetable curry.

An interesting way of cooking brinjal (and I bet very few people does it} is to make omelette with them. Like all other kinds of omelette, they are easy to make.


Ingredients

• 1 medium size brinjal
• 3 eggs
• 1 red chili padi
• seasonings - salt, light soy sauce and pepper

Method

• Wash the brinjal.
• Cut it into very thin round pieces.
• Sprinkle salt on them and let them sit for about 30 minutes. This step is to draw out the moisture out from the brinjal, leaving them to be more tender, less bitter and, therefore, more palatable. It will also make them less prone to absorbing too much oil when cooking.
• Rinse the brinjal to remove the salt and drain them dry.
• Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them.
• Season the eggs with salt, light soy sauce and pepper (according to individual taste).
• Add the drained brinjal into the bowl.
• (Optional) Chop the chili padi and add them into the bowl.
• Mix the brinjal well to ensure that they are coated with the eggs.
• Heat up the wok with some cooking oil.
• Pour the brinjal into the wok. (If there is too much brinjal, you may keep half to be fried after the first round.)
• Spread out the brinjal into a single layer.
• Let them cook over very low fire.
• Once they are soft and cooked, flip them over to brown the other side.
• Dish out and serve.