Char Kuey Teow 炒粿条

Today I have received the parcel which contains my new "toy"O(∩_∩)O! Since I'm cooking this Char Kuey Teow for my son, just try to shot a few photos to test the end result. What do you think? Any different from my usual shot? ;)  

This Char Kuey Teow is with extra prawns because I still left a big pack in my freezer and it is without bean sprouts because...I don't like it :D 

Recipe please see here. 

Daifukumochi 大福饼 (with custard and sweet potato filling)

Daifukumochi or Daifuku 大福饼 is a Japanese soft mochi (glutinous rice cake) commonly with different stuffing. The meaning of 大福饼 if directly translated from its Chinese words means great luck rice cake. The common stuffing for Daifukumochi is sweetened red bean paste.

Shui Jian Bao / Sheng Jian Bao (Pan-Fried Pork Bun 水煎包 / 生煎包)

今天突然想吃水煎包(生煎包），那是在"上海1930"餐馆吃过的，好怀恋哟！想想就来玩手工搓面团练练膀力，也好消掉那余下的馒头粉吧 ！

Today I have make Shui Jian Bao or Sheng Jian Bao (pan-fried Pork bun), a crispy fried bottom and soft airy top bun. Missed the one at "Shanghai 1930" Restaurant. As I have keep my KitchenAid in box, this is a good chance to make hand knead bun again...after so long ^_* I know tonight I will have to rest my arms straight on bed. 

Snowflake Almond Cookies

In another few weeks time, I'll start another chapter of my life. When I think about this, I gives thanks to God, thank Him for giving me so many chances to start anew again. I can't pen down how I feel in words, it is really full of anticipation, no doubt every times I'm not so willing, but every times it end up I don't want to leave the place He brought me into. How glorious are Your ways, how awesome are Your works. I pray that we will learn to trust in Your Word for each decision we make, will know beyond a doubt that Your ways are the best, will be assured that our obedience to You means living without regrets. Give thanks to the Holy one!

This is indeed a beautiful bake! Not just because of the cookies is in snowflakes, but a bake I sense the present of Jesus, a season to love and forgive. An early Merry Christmas to everyone!

As my kitchen is just left with a few ingredients for baking, this cookies is just with ground almond, plain flour, butter, sugar and milk. Finally used up the remaining 250g ground almond and 200g unsalted butter, another mission completed with no messy worktop! ^-^

This is the Kitchen Rules which I hang in my kitchen:

No complaining 

No Substitutions

No Late Arrivals

No Special Orders

Anyone breaking these rules, will be loved and forgiven in the usual manner

Ingredients:

250g ground almond

400g plain flour

90g fine sugar

200g unsalted butter, cold, cut into small cubes

5 tbsp fresh milk

Method:

1. In a bowl, place the sieve plain flour, sugar and ground almond. Add the butter cubes, rub the flour together with butter using fingers until the mixture is fine.

2. Add the milk into the flour mixture, mix well. Knead the mixture into a dough.

3. Flatten the dough between two pieces of wrapping cling into thin layer, cut out the shapes using your cookies cutter. Place them on baking tray with baking paper.

4. Bake at 170C for 15-20 mins or until golden brown.

Fish Head Soup 鱼头米粉的...汤 \(^0^)/

I love to eat Fish Head Soup with rice vermicelli, luckily my son also love it so I can cook it at home too. I enjoyed a good non-oily soup broth and love that distinctive bit of salty~sour sweet flavour which come from tomatoes and salted vegetable. 

This dish is very simple and easy to make, can complete in 3 steps, the rule for a nice bowl of fish broth is: fried your fish properly so the broth will be white and not fishy smell. The original recipe is using the 天麻 which is a kind of expensive Chinese herb which I don't have, so I omitted it and added the salty vegetable and tomatoes. Oh yes, no evaporated milk added to the broth, please! 

Huh... in this post I didn't add the rice vermicelli as it is not time for lunch and I have the perception that just drink soup and not eating the noodle can cut down my belly too ^0* 

Bechamel Prawn Croquette 虾子奶油可乐饼

This is a gorgeous prawn croquette, with a crisp outer skin and creamy bechamel prawn filling.  A bit of preparation time needed because need to prepare the bechamel sauce but you can store the extra prawn dough balls in the freezer until you need to consume. 

I made 18 pieces and fried six for each meal. My son loves the croquette very much! No doubt, it is flavourful and yummy! It can be a gorgeous finger food for the coming party as well! A recipe from Masa again :) 

Steamed Tofu with Minced Pork Bonito Flakes

今天过得好充实，一大早带孩子好好的在离家不远的游戏场玩了一个早上。说是孩子玩倒不如说是我也在玩，好久没这样玩了，好开心！回来后，看着好开心，连写作业也兴奋得一直笑得好大声的孩子。。。我才知道我差一点错过舍麽。当妈妈的我是不能一心二用，在兴趣和家庭中如没法兼顾时，家庭是放第一的。我的料理是为孩子和家人的快乐和健康而弄，而这里是为我自己的料理做个记录。原来，欧巴桑的快乐是这样简单！

This is a simple and easy tofu dish love by my son. The key for this dish is to place a thin layer of minced meat (in my case is pork) on top of the tofu instead of a thick one, this is crucial as the cooking time is very short. Then you will get a tender soft pork texture which encourage little one to eat ^0^

揚げ出し豆腐 Agedashi Tofu

This Agedashi Tofu is one of the "must order" dish if we go to the Japanese Restaurant with Gabriel. So glad that Alan from Travelling-foodies write out so clearly how to make this dish, now I can cook it at home too. \(^0^)/ save $$$ aiyo...越来越像欧巴桑了！

The tofu used here is the silken soft tofu, I had used the Japanese egg tofu also, the texture is a bit firm if compared with soft tofu, I like the former. The trick of this dish is to make sure the tofu is thoroughly pat dried with kitchen paper, so no splatter of oil while cooking. Oh, yes, Bonito flakes is a must to get the taste! Itadakimasu! \(^=*)/

Ingredients:
1 box of soft tofu
cooking oil for deep frying the tofu
60g of corn flour/potato flour or tapioca flour

Tofu sauce:
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp warm water
1 tsp sugar
some bonito flakes
some spring onions, chopped


Method:

1. Take out the tofu from its box, cut it into 6~8 big pieces. Place it on a piece of kitchen paper, let the tofu dried for 30 mins. (or you may use more kitchen paper to pat the tofu dried)

2. Heat up a deep saucepan with oil, while waiting for the cooking oil to turn hot, place a piece of tofu on the flour, gently coat the tofu with flour, pat off excessive flour (or the tofu may have floury taste), slowly lower down the tofu to the oil. Deep fried for 2 mins or until the tofu turned slightly brown. 

3. Place the fried tofu on a piece of kitchen paper. 

4. To prepare the tofu sauce, add mirin, light soy sauce, warm water and sugar together, mix well. Place the tofu on the sauce and sprinkle with bonito flakes and spring onions. 

Fried Rice with Salmon and Bacon

I have some leftover bacon and a big piece of fried salmon with teriyaki sauce from yesterday meal. I know my son well, he is not going to eat the reheated salmon anymore. So this is what I usually do, shred the salmon meat with the knife and add the salmon to the fried rice, shred salmon is actually very versatile, you can add it to noodles and make a well-rounded meal; the fried rice is delicious and the most important part is...my son will eat all the salmon!

Sour Hot Soup

This week is a tough week as need to resist the temptation to snap photos on food (><)// while I'm packing up my stuff, I'm clearing the fridge as well. I'm dropping in to post this Thai Sour Hot Soup to support my friend Lena who is hosting the Asian Food Fest for Thailand. Lena is one of my blogger friend who is constantly encouraging me since I started to bake and cook. 

This hot soup is a simple dish, I have one lemongrass, one lime and lemon, one frozen ginger flower (yes, we can't find fresh ginger flower here, the frozen one bought from Mdm Kwong's Restaurant), a big pack of frozen prawns and a half pack of medium size squid left sitting in the fridge (actually there are still lot of stuff in the fridge( _ _;) ), when I saw this soup recipe in my mini Thai Cooking cookbook, I know this is the dish to clear some of my stuff in the fridge. Cooking and preparation time under 30 mins...and sour, sour, sour soup! \(^0^)/