Savoury Meat Boat

Sometimes, we may look for food to eat between meals. There are many types of snacks; some like sweet snacks while others prefer savoury ones. There are also healthy nutritious snacks and the not-so-healthy ones. The easiest snacks available are those packaged and processed ones from the supermarkets. However, with a little bit of work in our kitchen we can produce snacks made from the fresh ingredients we have in our refrigerators.

Ingredients:

• 200 g minced meat (I used pork. You may use chicken, beef, fish or prawns.)
• 2 tbsp finely chopped spring onion
• 4 tbsp coarsely chopped red pepper
• 4 tbsp coarsely chopped yellow pepper
• 3 tbsp finely chopped parsley
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp Angel Light Soy Sauce
• 1 tsp white pepper powder
• 12 pcs round wanton skin
• 2 tbsp Angel Siracha Hot Chilli Sauce

Method:

• Put minced meat, spring onion, red & yellow pepper, parsley, garlic, egg, light soy sauce & pepper into a mixing bowl.

• Mix all the ingredients till well-combined.

• Oil a muffin pan well.

• Place wanton skin into the muffin pan.

• Scoop the ingredients into the wanton skin.

• Bake at 180 deg C for 10 min. Reduce temp to 150 deg C & bake for a further 10 min.

• Serve with Siracha Hot Chilli Sauce.

Chicken Stew with Vegetables

It is good to have some stews on cold days or nights to warm up our bodies. We can use either beef, poultry or seafood in the stews. As for vegetables, usually a combination of carrots, potatoes, onions and tomatoes is used.  We may also add mushroom to the stew.

Ingredients:

• 300 g chicken, cut into small pieces (2 servings)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 potato, cubed
• 1 carrot, cubed
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 stalk of celery, cubed
• 3 tsp corn flour + 1 tbsp water
• 3 tbsp Angel Light Soy Sauce
• A dash of pepper
• A pinch of salt
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• Parsley for garnishing

Method:

• Heat a sauce pan with cooking oil & fry chicken pieces till slightly brown.

• Remove excess oil when the chicken is done.

• Add garlic & saute till fragrant.

• Add broth & let it simmer for 1 hr.

• Add potato, carrot, onion & celery.

• Add light soy sauce, pepper & salt.

• Cover & let it simmer for another 1/2 hr.

• Stir in corn flour solution to thicken the stew.

• Scoop it into a bowl & garnish with parsley.

• Serve with rice or bread.

Sweet and Spicy Chicken Nuggets

Chicken dishes has become prevalent in our Malaysian cuisines. Most probably this is because of its low cholesterol and saturated fats levels. Furthermore, it is cheaper than the red meats and seafood. Another reason could be that it can be cooked in so many ways - baking, roasting, grilling, frying, boiling and barbecuing.

It also takes a shorter time to cook chicken as compared to red meats which are tougher. This dish, Sweet and Spicy Chicken Nuggets can be done within half and hour.


Ingredients:

• 250 g chicken breast, cubed 
• 4 tbsp all-purpose flour 
• 1 egg, beaten 
• 6 tbsp breadcrumbs, homemade 
• Cooking oil 

Sauce:

• 4 tbsp Angel Light Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp Angel Siracha Hot Chili Sauce
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1 tbsp Angel Rib Sauce
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 inch ginger, minced
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp white pepper powder

Garnishing:

• 2 tbsp toasted sesame seed
• 1 sprig of green onion, chopped 

Method:

• Heat up non-stick pan with cooking oil.

• Take a piece of chicken, coat it with flour, coat with egg, coat with breadcrumbs & drop it into the pan. Repeat till all pieces are done. Dish out & set aside when the nuggets are cooked.

• Mixed all ingredients for sauce.

• Pour into pan & let it boil until it thickens.

• Turn off the fire & pour the chicken back into the pan. Ensure that every piece is coated.

• Dish out onto a serving plate.

• Garnish with sesame seed & green onion.

Potato Omelette

Most of us would have stock many eggs and a lot of potatoes at home; the eggs providing us with our required protein and the potatoes, carbohydrate. There are many ways of cooking eggs either for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They can be cooked on their own, either fried, boiled, poached or scrambled, or used to make dishes such as omelettes, souffles, pancakes, frittatas, sauces, spreads (like our kaya), or used in baking - bread, pies, tarts, cookies and cakes.

Potato Omelette is a simple dish for breakfast; it is easy and fast to cook. And it does not cost much as a breakfast meal. In fact all omelettes are easy to cook and do not cost much.

Ingredients:

• 1 large potato, skinned & sliced thinly
• 2 eggs
• 1 sprig of parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp Angel light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp white pepper powder
• 1 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

• Heat a large non-stick pan with cooking oil & fry the potato slices till brown & cooked.

• Arrange cooked potato slices in a 6-inch non-stick pan.

• Beat eggs with light soy sauce & pepper.

• Add parsley to beaten eggs & stir.

• Pour egg mixture slowly over the potato so as not to disturb the arrangement.

• Cook till the egg is done.

• Serve with bread & salad.

Fried Yellow Noodles

The yellow noodle is cooked in many ways as we know - hokkien mee (where the noodle is thicker), prawn mee, loh mee, mee jawa, curry mee, mee rebus, mee goreng and so on. The chewy texture and yellow colour of the noodles is due to the addition of food grade lye which prevents the noodles from disintegrating when cooked in soups or stir-fries. We usually soak and blanch the noodles in boiling water before adding them into our soups or stir-fries to get rid of the yellow colour and taste of lye.

Ingredients:

• 250 g yellow noodle (4 large servings)
• 200 g bean sprouts
• 200 g sawi
• 2 big Shiitake mushrooms
• 100 g of chicken/pork slices
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 4 chili padi, chopped.
• Seasonings - light and dark soy sauce, white pepper powder and salt
• 3 tbsp Cooking oil

Method:

• Firstly, rinse the yellow noodle a few times and after that soak it for about 15 minutes in warm water to rid it of the yellow colour and taste of lye. Transfer the noodle into a colander to let the water run off.

• Wash the bean sprouts and remove any leftover green covering. Let the water drain from the bean sprout and set aside.

• Wash and cut the sawi into 1-inch length. Set aside.

• Wash and soak the Shiitake mushrooms (overnight). Slice the mushrooms thinly.

• Wash and slice the chicken or pork thinly.

• Heat the wok with cooking oil.

• Saute the garlic till fragrant.

• Saute the mushroom till fragrant.

• Add the chicken/pork slices.

• Add the chili padi.

• Add the bean sprout.

• Add the sawi.

• Fry till the bean sprout and sawi are half-cooked.

• Add a cup of water and let it boil.

• Add 3 tbsp light soy sauce and 1 tbsp dark soy sauce (add more if you want darker noodles).

• Add the noodles.

• Stir gently till the noodles are fully covered with sauce.

• Let the noodles simmer for a while till they are soft but not soggy.

• Dish out and serve.

Sambal Belacan Kangkung

Any dish which is spicy will surely whet our appetite. One such popular dish with my family is the Sambal Belacan Kangkung. We usually ordered this dish when we ate out last time. However, not now. The outside chefs cooked it with lots of oil. Furthermore, we suspect the cleanliness of the vegetables. You will see how I prepare my kangkung below.


Ingredients:

• 350 g water spinach (kangkung)
• For sambal, blend:
• 5 pieces fresh red chili
• 5 pieces chili padi
• 10 pieces dried chili
• 1 small onion
• 4 cloves garlic, soaked
• 1/2 inch prawn paste
• 25 g dried prawns, washed and pounded
• Cooking oil
• Seasonings - light soya sauce and salt

Method:

• Preparing the kangkung:
• Remove the tender shoots and leaves of the kangkung.
• Split the hollow stems to ensure that there is no worms inside the stems. Cut the split stems into 1 1/2 inch length.
• Soak the kangkung (tender shoots, leaves and stems) in salt water for 30 minutes.
• Thereafter, rinse the kangkung with clean water till there is no impurities.
• Place the kangkung into a colander to let the water run off.

• Heat the wok with about 4 tbsp of cooking oil.

• When the oil is hot, add the dried prawns and fry them till fragrant.

• Add the blended ingredients into the wok.

• Fry until the oil separates from the blended ingredients.

• Add the kangkung.

• Add light soy sauce and salt (according to taste).

• Fry till the kangkung is just cooked. Over frying will result in the kangkung turning yellow. 

• Dish out and serve with hot rice.

Braised Chicken

Most housewives would have braised chicken before. It is a very easy dish to cook up. However, my husband wanted me to cook it the way his mother did it. So, based on his explanation, I managed to cook it for him, the taste exactly like his mother's cooking.


Ingredients:

• 300 g chicken, bite size
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 4 - 5 slices ginger
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp black pepper powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup of water
• 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (Shao Hsing Hua Tiao Chiew)
• 2 sprigs spring onions, cut to about 1 inch in length

Method:

• Hit up wok with sesame oil and cooking oil.

• Saute the ginger till fragrant.

• Add the chopped garlic. Saute till fragrant.

• Add the chicken to the wok.

• Fry the chicken till half cooked.

• Add light and dark soy sauce, pepper and salt.

• Add water and let it simmer till the chicken is cooked.

• Add 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine. Stir.

• Add spring onions and stir.

• Dish out the chicken into a serving plate.

Fish Ball Noodle Soup

I love eating fish balls. They are great in soup, in noodle soup, in steamboat, deep fried, fried with vegetables, in curry noodles, in chee cheong fun and so on. However, I have stopped buying fish balls and have instead made them myself. There may be some work involved but what I get in the end are pure fish balls with little flour and no preservatives.


Ingredients for Making Fish Balls:

• 1 tenggiri (polk-dotted) fish of about 750 g
• 100 ml + 75 ml cold water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1.5 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white pepper powder
• 1 tsp corn flour
• 2 egg whites

Method for Making Fish Balls:

• 1 tenggiri fish - 750 g
• Remove the entrails.
• Remove the head.
• Remove the tail.
• Wash the fish.

• Fillet the fish i.e. slice both sides of the fish from the backbone.
• Keep the bones as they can be used to boil soup.

• Scrape the fish meat from the skin.
• From the 750 g fish, we will get about 550 g of fish meat.

• Put the fish meat into a blender.
• Pour in 100 ml of cold water.
• Blend till the fish meat becomes a paste.

• Transfer the fish paste to the mixing bowl of a stand mixer.
• Start the machine.

• Every now and then, stop the mixer and use a spatula to scrape the paste from the bottom of the machine.

• Add the first of the seasonings - 1 tsp of sugar.
• Continue to mix till the sugar is incorporated into the paste.

• Next, add 1 1/2 tsp of salt to the paste.
• Continue to mix so that the salt is incorporated into the paste.
• Next, add 1 tsp of white pepper powder to the paste.

• Add 1 tsp of corn flour.

• Next, add in 2 egg whites, a little at a time.
• Continue to mix till all the seasonings, corn flour and egg whites are well incorporated.
• Slowly add in 75 ml of cold water.
• Let the mixer run for another 10-15 minutes.

• Note: For a "bouncy" fish ball, take the paste and hit it again the bowl for as many times as possible.

• Test to see whether the fish paste is ready for use - the floating test.
• Take a glass of water.
• Scoop a ball of fish paste and make into a ball.
• Drop the ball into the glass of water.
• If the ball floats, it means that the paste is ready.
• If the ball sinks, start the machine and let it mix for another 10 minutes and then carry out the test again.
• Repeat this until the ball floats to the top of the glass.

• This step is carried out if you do not wish to use the fish ball yet.
• Fill a pot of water.
• Put it over low heat. [Do not let the water boil but just simmer. (Bubbles around the pot.) Note: If you let the water boil, then the sweetness of the fish ball will escape to the water. The fish ball will cook with slow simmering.]
• Scoop the fish paste and use 2 spoons to make it into a ball and drop it into the water. Repeat this until the paste is used up. However, you may use your palm and closed fingers to squeeze out the paste into a ball.

• Once the balls float to the the top of the water, they are cooked and can be removed from the water.

Let the balls cool down completely before putting them into a container and keeping it in the refrigerator.

Method for Making Fish Ball Noodle Soup:

• Put a pot onto the stove and turn on the fire.
• Put some oil into the pot.
• Add some minced garlic into the oil and let it saute till fragrant.
• Once it is fragrant, add water, the amount depends on the number of bowls of noodle you are making.
• Once the water boils, add in raw fish balls, fish meat, prawns, squids or whatever ingredients you like.
• Add the seasonings according to taste - salt, light soy sauce and pepper.
• Add whatever vegetable you like - cai xin, napa cabbage, lettuce, etc.
• Drop some beaten eggs into the soup if you like.
• Add the noodles - kueh teow, yellow noodle, bean noodle, bihun, etc.
• Scoop out and serve when the noodle is cooked.

Chocolate Buns (with Whipping Cream)

I love making breads and buns. But more important I love experimenting with the ingredients in coming up with my breads and buns. All my breads and buns are different for each bake. It is important to feel the dough during the process so that we know whether the bread will turn out well. If the dough is too dry we have to add more liquid. When we are adding liquid we must not pour all in at the same time. The golden rule is to retain at least 10-15% of the liquid. If we were to put all the liquid in, we cannot remove them if the dough is too wet. (The alternative is to add more flour and have a bigger loaf or more buns than we desire.)

The Chocolate Buns for this recipe are not sweet. In fact they are slightly bitter. But the chocolate chips will add some sweetness to the buns. However, for those with sweet tooth, they may add more sugar to the recipe. 

Ingredients:

• 330 g bread flour
• 60 g all-purpose flour
• 40 g cocoa powder
• 60 g sugar (Can add another 15 - 20 g for sweeter buns.)
• 2 tsp yeast
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 200 ml chocolate milk
• 70 ml whipping cream
• 1 egg
• 50 g butter
• 12 tsp chocolate chips
• For brushing the dough (Optional):
• 1 egg
• 2-3 tbsp milk

Method:

• Put all dry ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer.

• Start the mixer at a slow speed to combine all the dry ingredients.

• Slowly add the chocolate milk and whipping cream. (Different flour has different moisture content. If your dough is dry, add more chocolate milk.)

• Add the egg.

• Knead until a dough ball is formed.

• Add the butter.

• Knead until the butter is incorporated.

• Continue kneading until window pane stage is achieved.

• Grease a bowl which is big enough for the dough to proof to double the size.

• Transfer the dough from the mixing bowl to the greased bowl.

• Cover the bowl with a cling wrap.

• Once the dough has doubled in size, transfer the dough onto a slightly floured or greased surface.

• Punch down the dough and knead for 5 minutes.

• Divide dough into 12 pieces. (My mini dough weighs 75 g each.)

• Take 1 dough and roll it into a ball.

• Flatten it into a circle using a rolling pin.

• Place a teaspoon of chocolate chips in the centre.

• Roll up the dough to form a ball.

• Place the ball onto a cupcake liner.

• Place the liner onto a baking tray.

• Repeat this until all the dough balls have been completed.

• Cover the baking tray with a towel.

• Place the baking tray in a warm place and let the dough proof until double in size.

• Preheat oven to 170 deg C.

• (If you want a shiny top, brush the dough just before baking with the egg and milk mixture.)

• Bake the dough balls for 20 minutes.

• When baked, remove the buns immediately onto a metal rack to cool down.

Purple Sweet Potato Sesame Balls

The Sesame Balls are a favourite snack among Malaysians. Soft on the inside, chewy on the outside and coupled with the aromatic sesame seeds, it is no wonder so many people love them. However, making them involves quite a bit of work. To lighten the work load, the processes of making them can be broken down into 2. We can make the filling first and then freeze them up until the time when we need them.

Making the Fillings

Ingredients:

• 200 g purple sweet potatoes (already skinned and cut into cubes)
• 2 pandan leaves, cut into 6 inches long
• 50 g of castor sugar (may add more)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp glutinous rice flour
• 100 ml water
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

• Put the purple sweet potatoes onto a metal plate with the pandan leaves. Put the plate into a steamer and steam until the sweet potatoes are soft. (It will take about 25-30 minutes depending on the cut-size of the sweet potatoes.)

• While waiting for the sweet potatoes to soften, combine the sugar, salt, glutinous rice flour and water in a bowl. Stir to melt the sugar and to mix all the ingredients.

• When the sweet potatoes have softened, mashed them as fine as possible.

• Add the mashed sweet potatoes into the sugar mixture. Mix to combine them well. (Taste a bit of the mixture. Add more sugar if you want it to be sweeter.)

• Pour the mixture into a sieve and using a spatula press the mixture through the sieve. This will ensure that all the fibers from the sweet potatoes and any impurities are removed and that we obtain the smoothest paste possible.

• Transfer the paste into a non-stick pan. Add cooking oil into it.

• Cook the paste. Keep on stirring and turning until we have a smooth and shiny surface.

• Remove the paste from the pan and let it cool down completely.

• Divide the paste into 10 pieces.

• Roll each piece up into a ball and put it onto an oiled plate.

• Repeat until all the pieces have been rolled up.

• Cover the plate with a cling wrap until they are needed.

• Note: You can make the paste very much in advance. Wrap them up in the cling wrap and freeze them. When you need to use them, bring it out to thaw to room temperature.

Making the Skin

Ingredients:

• 125 g glutinous rice flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tbsp castor sugar
• 125 ml boiling water
• 1 tsp vegetable oil

Method:

• Measure glutinous rice flour into a mixing bowl.

• Add the baking powder and castor sugar.

• Mix the rice flour, baking powder and sugar.

• Add the boiling water slowly, stirring all the while. If the dough is too dry, add more water.

• Add the oil.

• By now the dough should have cooled down. Start kneading by hand until you have a smooth dough.

• Rest the dough for 10 minutes.

• Divide the dough into 10 pieces.

• Roll each piece into a ball and place it onto a greased plate. (It is important that you grease the plate well or the dough will stick onto it.)

• Repeat until all the dough has been rolled up.

• Cover the plate with a cling wrap.

Assembly

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp of glutinous rice flour.
• 4 tbsp of water
• 100 g sesame seeds, slightly browned in a wok without oil
• Cooking oil for frying

Method:

• Put the glutinous rice flour into a small bowl.

• Add water into the bowl and stir to get glutinous rice solution.

• Put the sesame seeds into a small bowl.

• Take a piece of the dough ball.

• Flatten the dough ball in your palm.

• Put a sweet potato ball on the dough and slowly cover up the sweet potato ball with the dough. Then roll it into a ball with your two palms.

• Put the ball into the glutinous rice flour solution. Roll the ball so that every part is covered.

•  Transfer the ball into the bowl with sesame seeds.

• Cover the ball with sesame seeds completely with spoon.

• Take out the sesame ball and roll it in between your palm to ensure that the seeds stick onto the ball.

• Place it onto a greased plate.

• Repeat until all have been done.

• Heat wok with cooking oil.

• When the oil is hot, put the sesame balls into the wok. Fry them until they turn golden brown.

• Remove them onto a wire mesh to let the oil drip.

• Place the sesame balls onto a serving plate.

Wholewheat Bran Loaf

The healthiest types of bread include:
1. Ezekiel bread which is made without added sugar and from sprouted whole grains,
2. Flax seed bread,
3. Rye bread,
4. Oat bread, and
5. Whole wheat bread.

So far, I have been baking a lot of oat bread and whole wheat bread for my family. Now I have excluded sugar from some of my breads. This is because sugar has calories and, secondly, it will increase the blood sugar in our body (especially if we are diabetic or have diabetes-related conditions). The Whole Wheat Bran Loaf is sugarless and is a welcome addition to the breads I bake.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole wheat flour
• 6 tbsp wheat bran
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp yeast
• 250 ml water or milk
• 30 g butter

Method:

• Add whole wheat flour and bran into a mixing bowl.

• Add salt to one side of the bowl and yeast on the opposite side. (Salt will slow down the fermentation activities of the yeast.)

• Mix up all the ingredients in the mixing bowl.

• Slowly add the water or milk. Mix and knead until a smooth dough is formed.

• Add butter and knead further to incorporate the butter into the dough.

• Line and grease an 8 inch by 4 inch baking pan.

• Transfer the dough into the baking pan.

• Cover the pan and let the dough rise for about 1 hour.

• Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees Centigrade.

• Put the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.

• Once the bread has baked, remove the pan from the oven.

• Remove the bread from the pan immediately and let it cool down completely on a wire rack before slicing it.