French Toast

Sometimes we may be stuck with stale bread in the house. One of the best ways to use up this stale bread is to make them into French toast. Basically French toast is just sliced bread soaked in milk and egg and fried. However, this does not stop us from making it even tastier by adding some butter, sugar and spices like cinnamon to it.

Usually I would add some sugar in the milk mixture in which I soak the bread for frying. However, if sugar has not added, the French toast would taste great with golden syrup and butter.


Ingredients:

• 4 pieces of bread
• 1/2 cup of full cream milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp butter + a dollop
• 3 tsp brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence, optional
• A pinch of salt (if unsalted butter is used)

Method:

• Add milk, egg, butter and sugar into a bowl.

• Mix the ingredients well.

• Slice the bread according to desired shape.

• Soak the bread slices in the milk mixture.

• Heat up a pan with the dollop of butter.

• Swirl pan so that it is covered with butter.

• Place the soaked slices of bread onto the pan.

• Fry till the bottom of each slice is golden brown.

• Flip the bread to the other side.

• When the bread has turned golden brown, remove it from the pan.

• Serve.

Kerala Appam or Laced Rice Crepe

I love eating Kerala Appam or the Laced Rice Crepe but I cannot find it in the area I am staying in. I get to eat it only when I go back home as there is an Indian lady selling it in the market near my mother-in-law's house. Thus, after watching many videos on how it is made, I decided to try it out.


Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of raw rice, soaked for about 6 hours so that they can be ground easily
• 3/4 cup of coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup of cooked rice
• 6 tbsp sugar (according to taste, so you may reduce or add more)
• 1 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 tsp yeast
• A pinch of salt (according to taste, so you may add more)

Method:

• Add soaked rice, coconut flakes, cooked rice and some water into a blender and blend till they are very fine.

• Sieve the blended ingredients into a big bowl.

• Add sugar into the bowl. Stir till the sugar dissolves.

• Add yeast into the bowl and stir the batter.

• Cover the bowl with a cling wrap.

• Leave the bowl on your counter top and let the batter ferment overnight (6 to 8 hours).

• Add a pinch of salt and stir it into the batter until the batter is smooth.

• Heat up a small kuali (mine is 21 cm in diameter) and grease it with cooking oil. 
• Note: if the batter sticks to your kuali, just put some oil into your kuali and break an egg into it. Fry the egg and rub it onto every part of your kuali.

• Scoop the batter into the kuali and swirl to get a thin crepe.

• Cover the kuali and cook the batter for about 5 minutes.

• Remove once the crepe is done.

• Repeat till all the batter is finished. (Remember to grease the kuali after every crepe is done.)

• Serve.

Vegetarian Toast

We toast our bread to make it more palatable as it is firmer (crunchy) and has more flavour. Normally after toasting our bread, we will just spread it with butter (or peanut, almond or other types of butter), egg custard (kaya) or jam. However, we can make our bread even more tasty by adding other ingredients like vegetables, eggs, cheese, chicken, bacon, mushrooms and many more.

One of the toasts that I like to make is the Vegetarian Toast as I consider it to be a healthy eat. I usually add capsicum (red and yellow) and tomatoes. However, you may add other vegetables of your choice.

Ingredients:

• A small segment of red capsicum
• A small segment of yellow capsicum
• Half of a tomato
• 3 stalks of green onion
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 1 tsp salt (or according to taste)
• 4 pieces white bread (can also use wholewheat bread)
• Butter for spreading
• Mozzarella cheese

Method:

• Cut the red capsicum, yellow capsicum, green onion and tomato into small pieces and put them into a mixing bowl.

• Add mayonnaise, paprika, pepper and salt to the bowl. Mix them up till they are well combined.

• Cut off the crust of the 4 pieces of bread.

• Butter the bread and place them on a parchment paper on a baking tray.

• Spread the vegetable mixture on the bread.

• Spread Mozzarella cheese on top of the vegetable mixture.

• Bake the bread at 150 deg C for 20 minutes of until they turn golden brown.

Cheesy Potato Pancake

A good old fashioned pancake is prepared from a batter made from flour, eggs, sugar, milk, baking powder and butter. However, we can add many other ingredients to make the pancake that we would like to eat. Adding pumpkin puree to the batter will yield a beautiful golden yellow pumpkin pancake. We can also add banana, cocoa powder, cheese, blueberry, oats, apple and many more to make various kinds of delicious pancakes for our family.

As the name implies, Cheesy Potato Pancake is made by adding cheese and potato to the pancake batter. It is crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.


Ingredients:

• 450 - 500 g potatoes
• 3 stalks of green onions, chopped
• 75 g grated Mozzarella cheese
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 eggs
• 40 g all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp salt (can be more according to taste)
• 2 tsp black pepper powder (can be more according to taste)
• Cooking oil

• Dipping sauce:
• A bowl of mayonnaise
• A dash or 2 of paprika
• Black pepper powder, according to taste

Method:

• Grate the potatoes lengthwise (as thin as possible so that it can cook easily).

• Put the grated potatoes into a muslin bag.

• Squeeze out as much water as possible from the potatoes so that the pancake will not be soggy.

• Put potatoes into a mixing bowl.

• Add green onions, cheese, garlic, eggs, all-purpose flour, salt and pepper to the mixing bowl.

• Stir to mix up all the ingredients.

• Heat up a pan with some cooking oil.

• Scoop a round spoonful of batter into the pan.

• Flatten the batter so that the resultant pancake will be crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.

• When the underside has turned golden brown, flip the pancake to the other side.

• Remove the pancake when both sides are golden brown

Chicken Stromboli or Chicken Turnover

Stromboli is a type of turnover which is filled with cheeses and meats or vegetables and baked. The dough used is either bread dough or pizza dough. Typically, Mozzarella cheese is used. However, sometimes I use other cheeses like Parmesan or Cheddar. As for meats, I usually use shredded chicken. This is because whenever I cook chicken soup, my children will drink the soup and leave the meat behind. Besides chicken, you may use slices of cooked meats like salami, pepperoni or whatever you can find in the supermarkets. If you are making a vegetable stromboli, you can use tomatoes, onions, spinach, broccoli, capsicum, mushrooms or whatever you desire.

Ingredients:

• For the Dough:
• 375 g bread flour or high protein flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar
• 30 ml oil (preferably corn oil)
• 240 ml warm water (60 ml + 180 ml)
• For the Fillings:
• 2 tbsp mayonnaise
• 150 g Mozzarella cheese
• 300 g chicken breast or thigh, cooked and shredded
• 200 g tomato puree
• 5 stalks of coriander, chopped finely
• salt and pepper to taste
• For egg wash:
• 1 egg yolk
• 15 ml milk

Method:

• The Dough

• Activate the yeast.
• Pour 60 ml of warm water into a cup.
• Add sugar and yeast to the water.
• Give the mixture a stir.
• When it bubbles, the yeast mixture is ready to be used.

• Put the flour and salt into the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir to mix them up.

• Add the yeast mixture to the flour.

• Add the oil to the bowl.

• Add the remaining water to the bowl and start the mixer.

• Knead until the dough passes window pane stage.

• Transfer the dough into a lightly greased bowl.

• Cover the bowl with a cling wrap.

• Let it proof for an hour or until it doubles in size.

• Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured parchment paper.

• Roll out the dough into a rectangle.

• Spread a layer of mayonnaise on it.

• Next, spread Mozzarella cheese on it.

• Mix chicken with tomato puree and chopped coriander until well-combined.

• Add salt and pepper, to taste.

• Spread the chicken mixture on top of the Mozzarella cheese.

• Fold the dough into three, either from left to right or right to left.

• Seal the dough.

• Egg wash the dough.

• Spread Mozzarella cheese on the egg-washed dough.

• Transfer dough onto a baking sheet.

• Make 3-4 diagonal slits on the top of the dough.

• Bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 deg C for 30 minutes or until golden brown. (Tent your bread roll if it browns too early.)

Radish Cake (Lo Pak Ko)

Radish Cake or Lo Pak Ko can be easily found in wet markets and in dim sum shops. Those sold are usually very plan with just julienne radish and seasonings. A few sellers add some tiny pieces of char siew in their Lo Pak Ko. Usually when we make it ourselves, we will add ingredients like Chinese sausages, dried prawns, Shiitake mushrooms and dried scallops to greatly improve the flavour of the Lo Pak Ko.

The way of making Radish Cake is similar to that of making Yam Cake. The difference is that while we top up the Yam Cake with fried shallots, dried prawns, cut chilies and green onion, we will usually pan fry the Radish Cake.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg daikon
• 75 g dried prawns
• 3 pieces Shiitake mushrooms
• 5 pieces dried scallops
• 150 g rice flour
• 2 tbsp tapioca flour
• 1 cup of water (from soaked dried prawns, mushrooms and dried scallops)
• 3 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp pepper powder

Method:

• Wash dried prawns, mushroom and scallop. Soak them with clean water overnight to soften the dried prawns and scallops and to plump up the Shiitake mushrooms. (We will be using the water to mix with the flour later.)

• Remove skin of the daikon and julienne it. (You may use a grater to grate it length-wise about 2 inches long.)

• Chop up the dried prawns and Shiitake mushrooms.

• Shred the dried scallops 

• Heat up wok with cooking oil.

• Saute the mushrooms, dried prawns and dried scallops till they are fragrant.

• Remove the sauteed ingredients from the wok.

• Add the julienne daikon to the same wok. Stir and let the daikon simmer till it is soft.

• Remove the daikon from the wok into a sieve. Press the daikon to remove the water from the daikon.

• Pour the daikon back into the wok.

• Add the sauteed ingredients to the daikon. Stir to combine them well. Then turn off the fire.

• Prepare a steamer with water. Boil the water.

• Weigh and sieve rice flour and tapioca flour into a bowl.

• Add the water to the flours and stir well until there are no lumps.

• Add salt, sugar and pepper to the flour mixture. Stir to combine.

• Pour the flour mixture into the wok with daikon and the sauteed ingredients. Stir to mix them up.

• Turn on the fire. Stir until the batter in the wok become drier.

• Grease a 7-inch pan.

• Pour the batter into the pan.

• Steam the batter for an hour over medium heat or until a wooden skewer poke into the centre of the pan comes out clean.

• Remove the pan from the steamer and let the Lo Pak Ko cool down completely before cutting.

• Cut the Lo Pak Ko into whatever shape that you desire.

• Heat up a non-stick pan.

• You may fry the Lo Pak Ko as it is or you may coat it with a thin layer of corn flour before frying it.

• Serve with chili sauce.

Baked Garlic-Paprika-Rosemary Chicken Drumsticks

Chicken is really the most common poultry in the world compared to the turkey, the goose or the duck. And due to the low cost in rearing chicken as compared to rearing other animals like cattle, pig, goat or lamb, chicken has become widely available in menus around the world. And as far as I know there is no religion that forbids eating chicken unlike the pig.

There are so many ways of cooking the chicken - deep fry, braise, stew, stir fry, casserole, curry, slow-cook, soup, pie, grill, roast, barbeque or bake. Thus, by being creative and by using the various herbs and spices available to us we can put endless chicken dishes on our dining table.


Ingredients:

• 4 pcs of drumstick or thigh
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tsp black pepper powder
• 2 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp rosemary
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped

Method:

• Wash and pat dry the chicken drumstick or thigh with kitchen towel.

• Poke holes throughout the chicken pieces and put them into a bowl.

• Rub the chicken with salt.

• Sprinkle the chicken with black pepper powder.

• Add 2 tbsp (or more) of paprika to the chicken. Ensure that the chicken is fully covered with the paprika.

• Add rosemary to the chicken.

• Sprinkle the chopped garlic over the chicken

• Cover the bowl with a cling wrap.

• Leave the bowl in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

• Heat up oven to 180 deg C.

• Bake the chicken pieces for 40 minutes, turning them half-way into baking.

• Can serve the chicken with rice and vegetable or with mash potato and salad.