Cakey Pine Nut Brownies

Compared to the fudgy one, i would prefer this cakey type of brownies. I've try the fudgy brownies few times and it always has strong smell of egg, which i hate most. I don't know, whether it should be that way or i do it in the wrong way.

Ingredients:

65 g bittersweet chocolate
115 g butter
170 g fine sugar
40 g cake flour
100 g pine nut
2 eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt

- Melt chopped chocolate and butter in microwave and stir until smooth. Beat egg and sugar till a bit creamy(not too creamy) add salt and vanilla essence, stir in melted chocolate and fold in flour. Pour half of the batter into baking pan, sprinkle with half pine nut and pour the rest of the batter and topped with the rest of the nuts.
Bake in preheated oven at 180 for 25-30 mins

Salmon & Tofu in Miso Soup

I'm fighting flu and severe runny nose for past 4 days. Mouth felt so numb and lost appetite for anything except hot water. And i guess everyone felt the same when they are sick, especially this kind of annoying flu.
This warm and light soup is good when you're in the same condition as me.

Ingredients:

1 block tofu, cubed
salmon (as required), cubed
1 tbsp miso
600 ml water/clear stock
1 scallion, chopped
1/2 celery, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

- Dissolve miso with 2 tbsp hot water. Bring water/stock to boil add miso and tofu, cook for 3 minutes, add in salmon, simmer for another 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat, stir in chopped scallion and celery

Baked Enoki Mushroom and Bacon

Another fast and easy yet delicious dish and it can be ready in less than 15 mins. All u need to do is clean the mushroom and discard the bottom cluster, wrap with a piece of bacon and bake for 10 minutes. When it done, sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Some people say, washing the mushroom is not necessary. But since i'm sure it had been touch by i don't know what kind and how many hands, i'll wash the mushroom 5-6 hour earlier and drain it in the dry place, so it won't be too watery when cooked.

Rotini and Veggies Carbonara

This is consequence for being such forgetful person like me. Shop for carbonara stuffs, and out without its main ingredients, a pack of SPAGHETTI. Yeahh...i'm physically 26 but brainly, 75 something.
Since i have a pack of rotini, then i don't need to rush to the store again, and here is the result, yummylicious

Ingredients:
1 cup rotini
3/4 cup cream
2 egg yolk
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped broccoli
4 pieces bacon, chopped
2 tbsp bacon drip

- Cook pasta with salt and olive oil till done, drain and set aside. Blanch broccoli and carrot with boiling water for few minutes.
Fry chopped bacon until dry and crisp, mix egg yolk with grated parmesan cheese, cream and bacon drip. Return pasta and veggies to the pan, toss with egg yolk mixture and fried bacon, stir quickly and turn off the heat. Sprinkle more grated parmesan cheese and serve hot

Chinese Chives Flower with Black Bean

Taiwanese name it chang ying thou chai, mean house fly's head vegetable. Though it sounds terribly disgusting, but it absolutely delicious and most important of all, no "real" fly's head added to it.

Ingredients:

100 g ground pork
80 g chopped chinese chives flower
2 tbsp mashed/minced garlic
6-8 red chili, sliced
1 tbsp fermented black bean
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp cornstarch
salt and sugar to taste

- Marinate ground pork with 2 tbsp soy sauce, cornstarch and few drops oil. Heat 1 tbsp oil, saute garlic till fragrant, add in black bean and red chili, stir for another minute. Add pork and stir quickly. Season with soy sauce, salt and sugar. Stir in chopped chives and continue stirring for few minute. Remove from heat

Chicken With Preserved Green Chili

What can i say about this? It's just... taste heavenly!!

Ingredients:

2 chicken thigh, cut into pieces
2 stalk lemon grass, take the white part
2 lime leaves
2 candle nut
4 cloves shallot
2 cloves garlic
8 red chili
3 preserved green chili, shred
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
3 tbsp lemon juice

- Grind all the spices except preserved green chili, heat 2 tbsp oil and saute the spices till it become oily, add in chicken, shredded green chili and stir for another minute. Pour 2 cup water and simmer till chicken tender and gravy almost dry. Add lemon juice and remove from heat.

Milky Meat Floss Bun

With my magic wand, hokkaido milk loaf turned to be meat floss bun. I made these buns for a friend who just gave birth to a super cute baby boy. Congratz Vv.
Loaf's recipe adapted from Florence, while the filling, i use mixture of meat floss+chopped dried seaweed+toasted white sesame seed. Vv said, the buns remain soft after 2 days

Yummy Cheese Cookies

I've been dying to bake this cookies since long long ago, and the only problem is the flour. Sago flour is used in this cookies, which i can't get in every corner of baking supply store and supermarkets.
Till last week when i phoned my mom, she told me that hun kwe flour is also made from aren/sago flour. The cookies remind me of my childhood, mom used to buy it for me and brothers and we'll fight over the cookies till the last piece....
Recipe from Stella slightly modified by me

Ingredients:
300 g sago flour/hun kwe
50 cornstarch
50 all purpose flour
225 g butter
125 icing sugar
3 egg yolk
100 g gouda/edam cheese powder
50 g cheddar cheese powder

- Sift sago, cornstarch and all purpose flour together . Cream butter and sugar till pale and fluffy, add in egg yolk one by one and beat till well combined. Stir in cheese powder and sifted flour. Beat in low speed until well combined, fill the dough into piping bag and pipe onto lined baking tray (the top picture was dotted with black cherry jam). Bake at 180 for 20-25 mins or till slightly brown.

Indonesian Honeycomb Cake / Bika Ambon

Few days ago, J was talking to me about this cake. Indonesian call it Bika Ambon, originally come from Medan, big city in northern part of Sumatra. I don't know why they call it bika ambon, where Ambon located nowhere in/near Sumatra.
And he challenge me again whether i can make this cake. This time, it's really a "challenge" since i've never eaten bika ambon in my life.
Browse and search the recipe, most people said the process of making this cake is difficult and complicated. Finally i ended up in this site and decide to use their recipe since it's the simplest one compared to others. I substitute the sago flour with hun kwe flour which also made from Aren. Aren is Indonesian name for sago palm.
The cake turned out to be very nice and it has beautiful honeycomb texture, soft and chewy with strong flavor of lime leaves+coconut milk+egg yolk. I couldn't get a nice shot of the cake due to poor lighting in my kitchen (and super cheap digicam too)


Cross cut section

Layered Cake

My 1st attempt of making layered cake which contain lots of egg yolk. The layers are messy and doesn't seem stick to each other properly. I should get layered cake presser perhaps(which i dunno how it looks).
I went to my laptop when baking the second layer and i've forgotten that i have something to watch in my oven, till my fire alarm screaming loudly, telling me that my cake is BURN. Goshh...i almost burn the whole kitchen and the whole apartment.
For instruction and recipe click here. I do skip the crystalized pineapple and pineapple essence since i dunno where to buy it and substitute the red coloring with pandan essence instead.

Steamed Dumpling

Finally, i managed to make a batch of this dim sum today, after a couple of lazy days. I do nothing in those few days except sitting and browsing in front of my pc and searching some cake's recipe. And ohh...i also read the book that i bought around 4 years ago and leave it untouched in the book shelf. The title is Silence Truth written by Susan Lewis.
So here is dumpling's recipe

For skin:
150 g wheat starch
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp corn oil
210 cc boiling water


For filling:
100 g ground chicken
75 g minced shrimp
1/2 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup minced cooked bamboo shoot
1/2 cup sliced celery and spring onion
1 small egg
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tsp white pepper powder
1 tbsp sesame oil
salt as u need
(mix all the filling ingredients together)

- Sift wheat starch and cornstarch together, pour in hot water and corn oil , stir until it become soft dough. Knead lightly and roll it into thin round/square shape (just like wonton wrapper). Wrap the filling and steam for 15 mins. Serve with ginger garlic sauce or dumpling sauce.

Salamz Aidil Fitri and Eid Mubarak

Wishing all the Muslim's friends and visitor a happy Hari Raya Aidil Fitri.
May Lord continue shower His blessing to all of you.