Rosemary Baked Chicken

This baked chicken dish is so simple and hasssle-free. Hope you'll enjoy this dish as much as we did.

Ingredients

• A dozen chicken parts ( I used upper thigh parts, skin removed, you can also use a whole chicken )
• 12 cloves of garlic (remove skin, no need to chop)
• some baby potatoes (with skin on,cut into half)
• some cherry tomatoes
• 1 large chopped yellow onion
• 3-4 sprigs of rosemary (strip of the leaves)
• some coarse black pepper
• sea salt
• some paprika
• some cumin powder
• juice of 1 lemon
• olive oil

Methods;

1) Pre-heat oven at 180 Degrees Celcius. Using a large bowl, marinate the chicken parts with paprika, cumin powder, seasalt, black pepper and lemon juice. Marinate for 10-15 minutes.

2) Using a large baking dish, place the marinated chicken in it together with the potatoes. Sprinkle the rosemary leaves over the chicken and potatoes. Drizzle with olive oil and bake in the oven for half an hour. Remove the pan and throw in the cherry tomatoes and bake for another 15 more minutes.

3) We had it with side salad as shown in the picture below. Spread the creamy baked garlic over the chicken to make the chicken even tastier.  Enjoy!

Cinnamon Pumpkin & Walnut Muffin

I love pumpkin. Pumpkin is full of nutrients and is a storehouse of many anti-oxidant vitamins such as vitamin-A, vitamin-C and vitamin-E. I usually have them boiled/steamed or make soupy dessert out of them. Today I tried something different. I made Pumpkin muffins and it turned out delicious and the smell is oh so heavenly. Hope you'll love this muffin recipe.

Makes 12 muffins


Ingredients

200 grams pumpkin flesh, cut into cubes, boil till soft but firm for about 10 minutes and mash it.
100 grams salted butter
170 grams soft brown sugar
2 large egss- beaten
1 tbspn vanilla essense
240 grams self-raising flour
1 tbspn baking powder
100 roasted chopped walnuts
100 ml milk- add 2-3 drops of yellow food colouring (optional)
1 tbspn cinnamon powder - add to the milk

Methods

1) Pre-heat oven to 190 degrees celcius. Sift the flour with baking powder and set aside.

2) Beat the butter with sugar till fluffy and creamy. Then add the beaten eggs and vanilla essense and beat for a while. Next add the walnut and pumpkin flesh. Using a spatula, mix the ingredients gently. Next, fold in half the flour and pour in half the milk. Fold in the rest of the flour and the milk. Mix well.

3) Spoon the batter into muffin cups 3/4 full and bake in the oven for 20 minutes till the muffins turned golden brown. Enjoy!

                                       The mashed pumpkin should look like the above picture.

 

                                Cinnamon Pumpkin & Walnut Muffins. Great for breakfast or for tea break.

Baked Tandoori Chicken

This is one of my family's favorite dish. It can be eaten with hot Basmati rice or even good on its own. I find this recipe quite hassle-free. Hope you'll love it!

Ingredients;

1 whole chicken ( cut into 10-12 parts) - I prefer to remove skin for a healthier version

1/2 cup olive oil

1 cup yogurt

Juice of 1 lemon 

2 onions

1 inch ginger

3 cloves of garlic

1 tbspn tandoori masala

1/2 cup chilli paste and about 2 tbspn chilli powder

sea salt to taste

For garnishing,

some chopped corriander leaves/chopped lettuce
1 lemon- slice

1 tomato- slice

Methods,

1) Rub lemon juice on chicken parts. 

2) Blend onion, ginger and garlic with a little water into thick paste. Then mix the masala, chilli paste, chilli powder, sea salt and yogurt into the blended paste. Marinate the chicken with the tandoori paste for about an hour.

3) Heat the pan with olive oil and pan fry the chicken for a few minutes and transfer to a baking tray and bake at 180 degrees celcius for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Keep turning the chicken to make sure all sides are well cooked. Garnish as shown on the pix below. 

Baked Salmon Patties with Sour Cream Sauce

I had a heavy breakfast with my firstborn yesterday so I made salmon patties for lunch coz I wanted to have something light. They're quite easy to make and tasted so delicious. I simply love salmon with sour cream. I think sour cream compliments salmon perfectly. Below are the ingredients. Hope you'll love it!

Ingredients;

300 gm salmon fillet - poached.
4 cups of breadcrumbs - I substitute with nestum cereal instead coz I have ran out of breadcrumbs
3 eggs
some chopped parsley & spring onions
sea salt to taste
some black pepper/white pepper
3 tbspn some melted butter
4 large potatoes- peel of the skin, boil & mash them.

Sour cream sauce:

200 mls sour cream
2 cloves of garlic - Chopped
sea salt to taste & white pepper
some chopped spring onion
1 tspn of olive oil

Methods;

1) Preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius.

2) In a large bowl, add in the mashed potatoes, salmon, 1 egg, chopped parsley & spring onions, 1 cup of breadcrumbs, season with sea salt & pepper & mix well. If the texture is too soft, add in more breadcrumbs. Form mixture into patties.

3) In a smaller bowl beat 2 eggs & set aside.  Next, pour the rest of the breadcrumbs in a medium sized bowl. Dip the patties into the beaten eggs & coat with breadcrumbs & place it on a baking tray which was already brushed with melted butter. Arrange the patties on the baking tray & lastly brush some melted butter over the patties gently.

4) Bake for about 15 minutes till the patties turned golden brown. Set aside.


For sour cream sauce:

- Heat a small pan with olive oil, sautee the chopped garlic for a while then pour in the sour cream. Season with a lil seasalt & pepper. Turn off the heat after a few minute them lastly throw in the spring onions.

Prepare the dish as shown in the picture below. Don't forget to add side salad for a wholesome meal. Happy trying!

Asam Pedas Ikan Duri. ( Sour & Spicy Catfish)

Asam Pedas Ikan Duri. ( Sour & Spicy Catfish )

Ingredients;

-  1 medium sized catfish ( cut, clean & wash)
-  1 small bowl of dried chillies ( cut & soak in water for 1/2 hr & drain)
-  2 stalks of lemongrass ( hit a lil using a pounder)
-  3 large red onions
-  4 cloves of garlic
-  11/2 inch ginger
-  1 1/2 inch tumeric
-  1 tbspn course black pepper
-  abt 1 tbspn belacan  (shrimp paste)
-  a bowl of concentrated tamarind juice
-  2 ltrs water
-  a cup of laksa leaves (daun kesum)
-  seasalt & sugar to taste
-  2 large tomatoes - quartered.
-  1/2 cup pure olive oil

Methods;

1) In a food processor,  blend the dried chillies for a few minutes. Next, add the onions, garlic, ginger, tumeric & black pepper and blend for abt 2-3 minutes till it turn into a smooth paste.

2) Heat a cooking pot with olive oil for a minute then add the lemongrass. Next add the chilli paste and fry till fragrant for a few minutes. Add the tamarind juice and water and boil for 10-15 minutes. Then add seasalt & a lil sugar to taste.  You can add more water if the gravy is too thick. Lastly add the slices of fish slowly and cook for a few more minutes.

3) Turn off the heat and slowly throw in the tomatoes & laksa leaves and cover the pot. You can have it with rice or with bread.

P.S. You can substitute other kinds of fish for this dish. I also love using stingray or tenggiri.

Easy Chicken Porridge

On days when I feel rather tired, I would cook this dish coz it's so easy and no blending of ingredients required for this recipe. You can add any condiments to the porridge as you wish according to your own preferences. Here's the recipe. Enjoy!


Easy Chicken Porridge

Ingredients:

3 cups of rice ( I use Basmati rice )
2 ltrs water- add more if required
500 grams of chicken meat
1 large onion (Chopped finely)
4 cloves of garlic (Chopped finely)
2 inch ginger (slice thinly)
3 tbspn sesame oil
some white pepper
sea salt to taste

Garnish:
- some chopped Chinese parsley & spring onions
- fried shallots
- sliced red bird's eye chillies with added light soya sauce


Methods:

1) In a small pot, boil some water to poach the chicken meat. Cook the chicken meat till tender. Drain  the stock and shred the meat & set aside. Reserve the stock for your porridge.

2) In a large pot, add the rice, water & stock and cook for 15 minutes. Then add the chopped onion, garlic, ginger & sesame oil.

3) Cook until the rice turn into porridge. Make sure to add more water to ensure a good consistency for the porridge. Season with a lil salt & pepper. Once the porridge is done, serve as shown below. I love having this porridge with halal kimchi I purchased from a nearby supermarket. Hope you'll enjoy this simple dish. Do leave a comment below once you've tried this out.

Salmon Fried Rice

Salmon Fried Rice

Ingredients

6-8 cups of cooked Basmati Rice
12 cloves of garlic
2 red onion
2 cups of mixed frozen vegetables
some white pepper & black pepper
1/2 cup olive oil & 1 tablespoon of sesame oil
1 (no msg) chicken cube
1 tbspn light soya sauce
2 tbspn oyster sauce
abt 300 grams Salmon
3 eggs (scrambled)
sea salt to taste
Garnish-  Chopped Chinese parsley & spring onions

Methods

1) Marinate the salmon with a lil seasalt, black pepper & lemon juice for abt 15 mins. Grill the Salmon with a lil olive till well done on both sides as shown on the pix below. Next, carefully tear the grilled salmon into chunks & set aside.

2 ) Blend the garlic & onion with lil water into a coarse paste. Heat the olive oil & fry the paste till fragrant.

3) Add the chicken cube, sesame oil, oyster  & light soya sauce. Add white pepper & sea salt to taste. Next, add the cooked rice & mix well. Lastly add the scrambled eggs & top the fried rice with the salmon chunks. Garnish. Serve hot. Enjoy!

Dark Hersheys Banana & Chocolate Chips Muffins

I had a few over ripe bananas yesterday and made Chocolate Chips Banana muffins and they turned out really delicious. My teens and girl love them so much! Best part was that they were super duper easy to make. Here is the recipe.Hope you and your loved ones will love them!

Make 20 medium-sized cups

Ingredients;

 3 over ripe bananas, mash & set aside
150 grams plain flour
4 tbspns Hersheys cocoa powder
1 tspn bicarbonate soda
80 grams soft brown sugar
1 tspn vanilla essense
1/2 cups Hersheys semi-sweet chocolate chips
100 grams butter
2 eggs


Methods:

1) Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Sieve the flour together with cocoa powder and bicarbonate soda and set aside. 

2) Melt the butter in microwave oven. Next, add the brown sugar to the butter and with a hand beater, beat the mixture till the sugar dissolves slightly. Add the eggs and vanilla essense and beat well. Then add the mashed bananas & mix well. 

3) Next, fold in the flour. Lastly, add the chocolate chips and mix well. Pour into baking cups each cup filling about 3/4 full and bake for 15 minutes. Serve warm or chilled. Enjoy! 

                    

Crispy Noodles

Crispy Noodles. It's my family's favorite Chinese dish.This dish is relatively easy to prepare. All you need is to cook the seafood broth and blanch vegetables. As for the noodles, you just need to use Yee Mee which you can purchase at any supermarket.

Ingredients:

1 packet Yee Mee

For the Seafood Broth: 

2 large onions
10 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
2 tbspn light soya sauce
3 tbspn sweet soya sauce
seafood of choice- I use some Toman fillet cut into cubes, some prawns, slices of fish cakes and crab sticks.
some olive oil for frying
1 tbspn sesame oil 
2 tbspn cornflour mix with lil water - to thicken the broth
1 cube no msg chicken stock & some pepper
3 litres of water 
2 eggs
seasalt (optional) *most of the sauces already have salt in them.

Garnish:

- blanched chye sim/ bok choy
- sliced bird's eye chillies in light soya sauce
- chopped Chinese Parsley and spring onions
- fried shallots


Methods:

1) Blend the onions, garlic and ginger coarsely. Heat cooking pot with olive oil and fry the blended ingredients till fragrant. 

2)Next, add the light soya sauce and sweet soya sauce and mix well. Pour  water slowly into the pot and leave to boil. Add more water if you wish to have more broth.Throw in the stock and boil further. Add all the seafood ingredients, sesame oil and pepper. Crack the egg into the broth and stir gently.

3) Lastly, add the cornflour mixture to thicken the broth. 

4) Place Yee Mee in a bowl and pour the seafood broth over the noodles and garnish as shown in the picture below. Serve hot. Enjoy!

  


 

Simple Spicy Belacan (Shrimp Paste) Fried Rice.

Simple Spicy Belacan (Shrimp Paste) Fried Rice.

Ingredients:

5- 6 cups of cooked rice
1 bowl dried chillies ( soaked in water and drain)
2 large chopped onions
4-5 cloves of garlic
half handful of dried shrimp
2 inch belacan (dried shrimp paste)
a small bowl of prawns (remove skin and de-veined) 
some sea-salt to taste
olive oil for frying
a cup of mixed frozen vegetables
2-3 scrambled eggs


Methods:

1) Blend dried chillies, onions, garlic, dried shrimp and belacan with some water into a thick paste.
2) Heat a frying pan with olive oil and fry the paste till fragrant. Then add the prawns. When the prawns are cooked, add the frozen vegetables and some sea-salt to taste. Then add the cooked rice and mix well. Lastly, add the scrambled eggs and turn off the heat. Serve hot. You can also serve as shown in the second pix below with sunny side up egg, air-fried anchovies and fish crackers.

Simple Scones.

SCONES. A scone is a single-serving cake or quick bread. They are usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and are baked on sheet pans. They are often lightly sweetened and are occasionally glazed.(source: wikipedia)

Ingredients:
 
2 cups plain flour
1 tbspn baking powder
50 gm cold salted butter, diced
1 egg beaten
1tspn vanilla essence 
1 tbpn caster sugar
1/2 tspn of salt
75 ml milk

Method:

1) Preheat oven to 180°C & place 
2) Sift flour & baking powder together. Add the salt and sugar. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until it resembles fine breadcrumbs. 
3) Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, add in the egg & milk & mix gently to a soft dough & knead the dough. Cover with a dry cloth and leave to rest for 15 min.
4) Next, on a floured surface, roll the dough to abt 2 cm inch in thickness & cut using cookie cutter into 12 circles. (abt 5 cm diameter cookie cutter)
5) transfer the cut dough to baking pan & brush with some egg yolk & bake about 10- 15 mins till golden brown. Serve hot with jam and clotted cream(optional). You can also add some raisins in the scones before baking them. Enjoy!

Mee Bakso

Mee Bakso is a famous Indonesian dish which is somewhat identical with Mee Soto, only this dish has meatball instead of slices of chicken meat. Bakso or baso is Indonesian meatballs commonly made using beef. I learned to cook Mee Bakso from my mum's previous Indonesian helper and it is one of my family's favorite dish. It's relatively easy to prepare. Hope you'll enjoy it with your loved ones.

Ingredients:

1 kg egg noodle or rice vermicelli/vermicelli pasta for a healthier version. 
1 kg meat balls
2-3 liters water
200 grams sliced beef
4 large red onions
6 garlic cloves
1/2 inch ginger
1/2 inch tumeric
1 1/2 tbspns white peppercorns
1-2 stalks of leek
4-5 lime leaves
1 stalk of lemongrass
some sea salt to taste
some olive oil 

Garnish:
some chopped spring onions and chinese parsley

fried shallots
some blanched chye sim and bean sprouts 

Chilli paste:
15 red bird's eyes chillies
1/2 cup sweet soya sauce
3-4 garlic
juice of 4-5 lime




Methods:

1) Blend the red onions, garlic, ginger, tumeric, white peppercorns in a blender with a lil water added to it into a smooth paste.

2) In a pot, heat olive oil and throw in the leek, lemongrass and lime leaves. Then add in the paste and fry till fragrant. Next, add the sliced beef and cook till the beef changes color. Pour in the water and boil for about half an hour to prepare the beef broth. Add more water if necessary.

3) Lastly, add the meatballs and cook further till the meatball is cooked. For the chilli paste, blend the bird's eyes chillies, sweet soya sauce, lime juice and garlic together and set aside.

4) If you're using egg noodles, just add hot boiling water to the noodles and leave it for a few minutes to allow the noodles to cook and drain the water. The same for rice vermicelli. 

5) Serve as shown in the picture below. Enjoy the dish hot. 

Mee Bakso using egg noodles.

My healthier version using vermicelli pasta.

Herbed Basmati Rice with Prawns.

Basmati rice 

Basmati rice is aromatic rice grown in India and Pakistan. It has a nut-like texture and a buttery flavor. It is considered long-grain white rice and is lower in starch than other varieties. According to The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition, this means that Basmati rice does not raise blood sugar quickly for those concerned with diabetes.

Source: http://article/320971-basmati-rice-dietwww.livestrong.com/

I will be sharing with you my recipe of Herbed Basmati Rice with Prawns. Hope you'll love it. Do leave a comment below once you've tried it and let me know what you think of this simple one-pot dish.

Herbed Basmati Rice with Prawns.

Ingredients;

5 cups of cooked basmati rice
2 large red onions
8 cloves of garlic
a handful pf English parsley

3 tbspn of olive oil
some chopped parsley, spring onions, basil (optional)
 2 eggs (scrambled & set aside)
some prawns (deveined)
sea salt to taste 
some white pepper
some sliced cherry tomatoes

Methods:

1) In blender, blend the onions, garlic and a handful of parsley into a paste.
2) Heat the olive oil in a frying pan and pour the paste inside and fry till fragrant. Then add the prawns. Add sea salt to taste, pepper and the cooked basmati rice. Mix well.
3) Lastly add the scrambled eggs and mix well and throw in the chopped herbs and the sliced cherry tomatoes. Serve hot.