Stir-fried Mani Cai with Egg

Mani cai or sayur manis in Bahasa Malaya or sweet leaf is a popular vegetable in our country. I usually cook it in soup with ikan bilis (anchovies). This particular soup forms the base for pan mee which is a popular Chinese handmade flat noodle. I have never stir fry mani cai until recently when I discovered it in a Thai restaurant. Since then I have cooked it many times.

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 400 g mani cai (just the leaves)
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• Cooking oil

Instructions:

• Pluck the leaves from the stems and wash them thoroughly.

• Add cooking oil to a pan and scramble the egg. Scoop up and set it aside when done.

• Add cooking oil to the pan. Add the garlic and saute them till they are crispy. Scoop out about 70% and set them aside.

• Add the mani cai to the pan and stir-fry till they are cooked.

• Season with salt and pepper.

• Return the scrambled egg to the pan. Mix them up with the mani cai.

• Ladle up onto a serving plate.

• Sprinkle the garlic crisp on top.

• Serve.

Sourdough Discard Loaf Bread

Sourdough discard is just unfed sourdough starter. It can be turned into pancakes, crackers, waffles, pizza, muffins and more. However, I usually use it to bake sandwich bread by adding some yeast to the dough. This is because I want to bake the dough within a few hours of mixing and kneading the ingredients. The bread always turn out soft, fluffy and tasty. However, if you are prepared to wait for a longer fermentation period with the bread having a more tangy taste, you need not add the yeast. Just let the bacteria do their work and fermentation will take longer.

I usually bake 2 loaves of bread to last a week for my family. After the bread has cooled down completely, I will slice them up and store them either in my storage box or zip lock bag and put them into the freezer. The next day, I will just remove the number of slices that I need, let them thaw at room temperature on my kitchen counter. They will be then be soft for consumption. I will sometimes steam them or toast them.

Ingredients: (Makes 2 loaves)

• 200 g sourdough discard
• 500 g warm water
• 40 g sugar (or more if you prefer a sweeter bread)
• 10 g yeast
• 100 g melted butter
• 1000 g bread flour
• 10 g salt

Method:

• Prepare 2 baking pans 9 inch x 5 inch x 5 inch; line and grease with parchment paper.

• Add all the ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer.

• Mix all the ingredients till no flour can be seen and a smooth dough is formed.

• Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl. Cover the bowl with a wet towel.

• Let the dough rise till it doubles in size.

• Transfer dough onto the counter which has been lightly floured.

• Divide the dough into 2.

• Gently spread out one of the dough into a rectangle, the length according to the length of your pan.

• Roll up the dough, pinch the edges and place it into your pan.

• Repeat for the other dough.

• Let them rise again till they are about 1 inch over the top of the pan.

• Bake it at 175 deg C for 40 minutes.

• Once baked, remove the bread from the pan immediately and let it cool down completely on a metal rack.

• Slice and serve.

Stir-fried Four-Heavenly-Kings Vegetable Dish

Four Heavenly Kings Vegetables is a popular stir-fried vegetable dish usually offered in Chinese restaurants. It is made of 4 types of vegetables stir-fried in sambal and dried shrimp paste. However, some also used deep-fried crunchy ikan bilis (anchovies) in this dish. The four typical vegetables are petai (stink beans), long beans, brinjal and okra (ladies' fingers). However, nowadays we do see winged beans replacing okra. In this recipe, I have used winged beans as I like their crunchiness. I have also added some anchovies.


Ingredients:

• 100 g stink beans
• 100 g 4-angled beans (winged beans) (or use ladies' finger if you prefer)
• 100 g long beans
• 200 g brinjal
• 4 tbsp of sambal made from:
• 300 g fresh red chili
• 30 g dried chilli
• 10 g bird's eye chilli (chilli padi) (optional)
• 1 big onion
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1/2 inch shrimp paste
• 50 g dried prawns, lightly minced
• 50 g ikan bilis (anchovies)
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 5 tbsp cooking oil

Instructions:

• Preparing the vegetables:
• Half the stink beans to check and remove any worms in them.
• Slice the winged beans diagonally.
• Cut the long beans into 2-inch length (or shorter if you prefer).
• Quarter the brinjal lengthwise, then slice them into thick chunks at an angle.

• Heat a wok with cooking oil.

• When the oil is hot add the anchovies. Fry them till they are crunchy. Remove them from the wok and set them aside.

• Add the stink beans to the wok and stir-fry for about 2-3 minutes. Ladle them up and set them aside.

• Next, fry the winged beans for 2-3 minutes. Remove them from the wok and set aside. Do the same for the long beans.

• Next fry the brinjal till they are half-cooked. Ladle them up and set them aside.

• Add the minced dried prawns to the wok and fry them till they are fragrant.

• Add the sambal and fry them till they are fragrant and it separates from the oil.

• Then add all the vegetables to the wok. Fry them till they are cooked. Season them with salt, light soy sauce and sugar.

• Add the crunchy anchovies.

• Give the vegetables and the anchovies a good stir.

•  Ladle them up onto a serving plate.

• Serve with white rice.

Stir-fried Pumpkin Noodles

When we talk about pumpkin, the first thought is on the Halloween celebration. The pumpkin is usually carved into a jack-o'-lantern for this celebration. However, its culinary uses are wide; it can be baked into pies, blended into soups, fried with dried prawns, fried in rice and rice vermicelli and roasted as a side dish. And its seeds can be toasted and eaten as snacks or used in baking especially in bread.

Pumpkin is also eaten widely because it is good for health. It has a high Vitamin A and C content, rich in beta-carotene, low in calories and packed with beneficial dietary fiber.

Stir-fried Pumpkin Noodles is a self-creation. This sweet and savory dish is a favourite among my family members.

Ingredients:

• 150 g bihun (rice vermicelli)
• 100 g chicken breast
• 100 g pumpkin
• 1 piece brown (deep fried) tofu
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 small onion
• 50 g pumpkin + 100 ml water
• 1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 bird's eye chili
• 1 stalk green onion

Instruction:

• Soak the rice vermicelli till it has softened.

• Slice chicken breast into thin strips.

• Shred the 100 g of pumpkin.

• Cut the tofu into 8 pieces.

• Mince the garlic.

• Cut the small onion vertically.

• Blend 50 g of pumpkin with 100 ml of water.

• Add salt, pepper, light and dark soy sauces to the blended pumpkin.

• Slice the chili (for decoration).

• Cut the green onion into short pieces (for decoration).

• Heat up cooking oil in a kuali.

• Saute garlic till fragrant.

• Then add the onion and shredded pumpkin. Fry till they are soft.

• Add blended pumpkin to the kuali. Let it boil.

• Once it has boiled, add tofu and rice vermicelli.

• Fry till the rice vermicelli has soaked up the blended pumpkin sauce and is cooked. Test taste the cooked rice vermicelli. If it is not salty, add more salt. If the rice vermicelli is too dry, add hot water till your desired texture is achieved.

• Scoop it up onto a serving plate.

• Decorate with chili and green onion.

Orh Nee or Yam Pudding

 

 

Steaming the Yam

Grinding the Cooked Yam

Cooking the Ground Yam

When I was very young, I only got to eat Orh Nee during wedding dinners. However, nowadays we can easily find it in Chinese restaurants and dessert shops. I usually make it myself to have a healthier version with less sugar and to reduce cost as there are many members in my family; a bowl in the dessert shop can cost more than, say, a 500 g yam. Besides, the processes are not too difficult - preparation of shallot oil can be done a day earlier and so is the preparation of the gingko nuts. (Peeled gingko nuts can be bought from the supermarkets.) 

Ingredients:

• 500 g yam
• 3 pandan leaves
• 100 g gingko nuts
• 200 ml water
• 60 g sugar (or 75 g for a sweeter pudding)
• 4 tbsp shallot oil
• A pinch of salt

Instructions:

• Deshell the gingko nuts and remove the brown skin and the bitter centre green core.

• Add them to a pot with about 250 ml water.

• Boil the gingko nuts till they are cooked. (They turn from pale colour to yellow when cooked.)

• Keep the water as we will be using it to process the mashed yam later.

• Prepare the shallot oil by peeling and slicing the shallots and then frying the slices in cooking oil. (The amount of shallots and oil is up to us as we can always use the fried shallots and oil in our dishes.)

• Peel the yam, cut them into small cubes and steamed them with pandan leaves.

• When the yam is cooked, mash them with a fork or a ricer. (You may skip this step and transfer the cooked yam directly to a food processor.)

• Transfer the mashed yam to a food processor.

• Add 200 ml of water from boiling the gingko nuts to the food process.

• Grind the mashed yam till they are smooth. (Add more water if the yam puree is too dry.)

• Heat up a pan with 4 tbsp of shallot oil.

• Transfer the yam puree from the food processor to the pan.

• Cook the puree till the desired consistency is achieved.

• Serve it hot or cold with the gingko nuts.

Purple Sweet Potato Bread

I love purple sweet potatoes - to eat them (steamed) as well as to use them in my bakes (breads) and in making sweet soup (bubur cha cha). They are sweet, colourful and has high dietary fiber. Packed with these dietary fiber, vitamins A and C, low glycemic index and powerful antioxidants, they support digestion, promote eye health, regulate blood sugar, boost immunity against germs and inflammation, protect heart health and improves skin and brain health.

However, purple sweet potatoes are rarer as compared to the orange and beige ones. Thus, whenever I see them, I would buy, steam and freeze them for future use.

Ingredients:

• 240 ml warm milk
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 tsp yeast
• 500 g bread flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 200 g purple sweet potato
• 45 g unsalted butter

Instructions:

• Peel, wash and steam the purple sweet potato till it is soft. Mash the sweet potato till fine (You may add some of the milk to make mashing the sweet potato easier.) Set aside.

• Add the remaining warm milk to the bowl of a stand mixer.

• Add the sugar to the bowl.

• Add yeast to the bowl.

• Stir and wait for 5-10 minutes for bubbles to be formed.

• Add eggs, bread flour, sweet potato and salt to the bowl.

• Knead till a dough ball is formed.

• Add butter to the dough ball.

• Continue to knead till window pane is achieved.

• Grease a clean bowl and transfer the dough to it. Cover the bowl with a cling wrap.

• Once the dough has doubled in size, transfer it to your counter top.

• Punch down the dough to degas.

• Form the dough into a ball.

• Roll out the dough ball into a rectangle and roll it up place into a cylinder.

• Place it into a greased and lined 9 inch x 5 inch x 5 inch loaf pan.

• Cover the pan with cling wrap and let the dough rise till double in size.

• Meanwhile pre-heat your oven to 175 deg C.

• Once the dough has doubled in size, egg wash the dough.

• Bake it for 30 minutes. (Tent your pan with aluminium foil if your oven is too hot and the top of the bread is turning dark too soon.)

• When baked, remove the bread from the pan. Remove the parchment paper and place the bread onto a metal rack to cool down.

• Slice the bread when the loaf has cooled down.

• Enjoy.

Peanut Sauce

Peanut sauce is rich and savoury. It is a must when we are making satay or grilled meat on skewers. It can also be eaten with compressed rice (nasi impit), deep-fried taukwa or fruit / fruit and vegetable salad.

Ingredients:

• 350 g peanuts
• 50 g tamarind pulp
• 50 g water - to mix with the tamarind pulp
• 30 g dried prawns
• 50 g dried chilies
• 200 g onion, peel and cut into small pieces
• 45 g garlic, peel
• 50 g lemongrass, slice thinly
• 20 g galangal, slice thinly
• 200 ml water - for blending
• 1 tbsp turmeric powder
• 10 g coriander powder
• 200 ml cooking oil
• 100 ml water - for cooking the sauce
• 80 g gula Melaka/ brown sugar or to taste
• 1 tbsp salt or to taste

Instructions:

• Wash and fry the peanuts without oil in the kuali till they are crunchy. Remove the membrane. Pound them coarsely or finely according to your preference. I pounded them coarsely as I like to bite and feel the crunch of the peanuts. Set them aside. (You can do this one day in advance to spread out the work.)

• Add water to the tamarind pulp to yield the required tamarind juice. Set it aside. (Increase the tamarind pulp if you want a more sour sauce.)

• Wash and blend the dried prawns. Set aside.

• Wash the dried chilies and soak them in hot water till soft. Cut them into shorter pieces.

• Blend the dried chilies, onion, garlic, lemongrass and galangal with water till a fine paste is formed.

• Heat up the kuali with cooking oil. You may add more oil for a more shiny sauce.

• Add the blended ingredients, turmeric powder and coriander powder to the kuali. Fry the ingredients till they are fragrant and the oil separates from the ingredients. Add water slowly if the ingredients are too dry. The sauce should not be too watery.

• Add tamarind juice, gula Melaka/brown sugar and salt.

• Scoop up once the sauce has boiled.