Lamb Shoulder For Xmas Meal

I handed over the cooking to the hubby for our Xmas eve dinner. He is best in cooking lamb especially on cast iron pan. I bought the Lodge Cast Iron pan when I retired 7 years ago and it is serving us well. We love to cook meat using the CI pan. It helps seal the juice in the meat and cooks evenly . The lamb shoulder was well cooked. So tender and moist. But most importantly, the special sauce is the highlight of this  CI pan cooked lamb shoulder. So tasty and delicious that I wanna share here with my readers. Hope you guys will like it too.

Just look at the cooked lamb, tender and moist

Marinate the lamb meat for 5 hrs or overnight in fridge

Ingredients for the marinade sauce

1:1:1:1:1 ratio

Minced garlic

Oyster sauce

Thai sweet Chilli sauce

Ketchup

olive oil 

Enjoy!

Danish Butter Cookies

Time flies, it is Christmas again. I didn't bake any cake this year. Last year I baked a Burnt Cheesecake but this year ,I baked some look alike Danish Butter Cookies . I googled for one and just trusting it will not failed but somehow the cookies tasted good but the shape is definitely out. But we are not letting the shape spoil the joyous Christmas mood. This recipe is taken from youtuber Little Duck's Kitchen . I adjusted the icing sugar by 30percent as hubby doesn't like it too sweet. It turned out ,just the piping out was a bit hard. First time making it. I guess practice makes perfect applies here. It should look like a rosette . Tip given is after piping out the rosette, chill the cookies in fridge for 10mins before baking at preheated 180C for clearer pattern after baking. Thanks for the tip given by LDK. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS !

I enjoyed piping out the soft dough

using 1M nozzle

I baked at 190c for 20 mins rotating the tray every five mins. My oven temp is a bit crazy :)

Ingredients

250gm SCS salted butter

130gm icing sugar - (I reduce 40 percents)

1egg

1tsp vanilla extract

270 gm cake flour

70 gm corn flour

20gm milk powder

Method to follow you tuber LDK

Matcha Glutinous Rice Balls / Tang Yuan

Today is Winter Solstice, the shortest day of the year, the onset of winter the following day. The day will be longer and night shorter. And Chinese around the world celebrate with making and eating Glutinous Rice Balls / Tang Yuan. A very important and big day for the Chinese. These Glutinous Rice Balls are made of Glutinous Rice flour and warm water for a gooey and chewy texture ( like mochi ) with a peanut butter filling and served with sweet soup. Matcha Glutinous Rice Balls ,so yummy good. First time making this Matcha balls. It is fragrant and texture is smooth with the peanut butter bursting in the mouth with every bite. For the not overly sweet soup , I used scewpine leaf and honeycomb sugar . So good. I served the Glutinous Rice Balls with sweet soup from a sake jar just for fun. 

the peanut butter fillings bursting in the mouth with every bite...so good!

before wrapping the filling, freeze the peanut butter filling for a few mins for easy wrapping 

the right texture for the matcha dough shld look like this as shown here. Add in water slowly to get the right texture...not too wet nor too dry. Cover the dough with a damp cloth when not using

 I used NikoNeko Matcha powder

Recipe: 10 pieces

1/2 cup glutinous rice flour

1/2 tbsp matcha powder

1/3 cup or more warm water

Filling

2 tbsp of Skippy Chunky Peanut Butter - freeze for 5 mins -shape them into tiny bit balls  

Method:

Mix glutinous rice flour and matcha powder evenly in a small mixing bowl. Slowly add in warm water and using a spatula, gently stir until you get a soft dough yet not too wet. The amt of water is just a rough guide. Cover with damp cloth if not using to prevent dough from drying . Divide dough into ten equal portions. Shape into  round balls. Gently press down and flatten dough and place the peanut butter filling  in the center and shape into a round ball again. Repeat till all balls are done and ready for cooking. Place the balls in the fridge while waiting for the sweet soup to be ready.

To prepare the sweet soup

Boil screwpine and honeycomb sugar with 2 cups of water. Once the honey comb has dissolved. Off heat. 

To cook the Glutinous Rice Balls

Boil a pot of water. Once water boil,  gently add in the balls into the boiling water. Once the balls starts floating, it means they are cooked. Use a slated spoon to scoop up the balls. Add the cooked balls into the sweet soup. They are ready for serving.

HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE 

Red Lentil Burger

I have been wanting to try eating healthy and the possibility of adding more plant based protein into my diet starting 2023.  Cutting down on meat protein and seafood such as prawns and squid and oysters will be in my wish list for 2023. For a start, I tried making burgers from red lentils and really it was delicious, flavourful and crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. There are many red lentil burgers on the internet. I chose one that is easy to prepare and oven baked for a healthier version. A keeper for sure. 

I can make 4 burgers from one recipe

the slightly sticky texture after blitzing in a food processor makes it easy for shaping

the ingredients in this burger mixture are red lentils, carrot, onions, sawtooth coriander, garlic and seasoning of my choice ( smoked paprika , black pepper, and salt )

a food processor is a must have in my kitchen..my useful helper

Red Lentil Burger - makes 4 piece

Ingredients:

red lentils - soaked for 3 hours, drain dry

Half carrot- cut into small chunks

6 Sawtooth coriander

4 shallots

3cloves of garlic

1.5 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp smoked paprika

A dash of black pepper

Salt to taste

Blitz the ingredients above in a food processor until you get the right texture. Not too fine. Divide into 4 portions and shape them into burger size.

Line a greaseproof paper on a baking tray . Brush paper with olive oil. Place the burgers on the baking tray and bake for 20 to 25 mins.  Flip burgers over and further bake another 5 mins @200 C.

Take out once the burgers aregolden brown and crisps.

Curry Fish Head Mamak Style

My favourite curry is the Curry Fish Head Mamak Style. Hot spicy and the fragrance from Halba Campur ( Mix Fenugreek) makes the curry tasty and delicious. This curry is easy to whip up and had it cooked in 50 mins. I used Alagappa's Fish Curry powder. I find the taste more authentic for Mamak  Style curry. Vegetables I used for the curry are just okras and fresh tomatoes. 

delicious curry to serve to loved ones

Okras and tomatoes goes well with this curry

Halba Campur are mix fenugreek seeds

Curry Fish Head Mamak Style

Ingredients 

1 med sized fish head

8 Okras

5 tomatoes - cut into wedges

4 tbsp Alagappa's Fish Curry powder ( mix with 2 tbsp of water into a paste)

1tbsp of ground dried chilli

6 shallots- sliced

1 clove garlic - chopped

2 slices of ginger

1sprig of curry leaves

2tbsp of Halba Campur

1cup of thick coconut milk

2 cups water

2 tbsp tamarind paste

5 tbsp of cooking oil

Method:

1. Pour 5 tbsp of cooking oil into pot and saute shallots , ginger , garlic curry leaf and curry powder and chilli paste till fragrant. 

2. Add in Halba Campur and add in thick coconut , tamarind paste and water. Once it boil ,add in fish head . Add in Okras and tomatoes and simmer under med low heat. Once the curry is boiling, add salt to taste. Off heat and serve with rice.

Vanilla Apricot Ice Cream With Butterscotch Caramel Sauce Topping

Ice cream is mostly everyone's favourite . Adults and kids alike just love them. Me, is one big fan of homemade ones. Why? Reason being I can control the amount of sugar and I can have whatever flavours I like. Having a ice cream machine makes making ice cream easier. Lessen steps and the ice cream turns out more smoother too. This time, I made Vanilla Apricot Ice Cream and top with Butterscotch Caramel Sauce. So good. A pair made in heaven. I used canned apricot as fresh apricot not in season . Anyway canned one taste just as good. 

 

Smooth and creamy texture

topped with butterscotch caramel sauce

always thaw the ice cream for 2mins for easy scooping

I always prepare a jar of butterscotch caramel sauce for ice cream

vanilla beans from the vanilla extract

put them into the milk and heavy cream for the vanilla flavours

Vanilla Apricot Ice Cream With Butterscotch Caramel Sauce Topping

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup  milk

3/4 cup sugar ( I reduce to 1/2 cup sugar )

1 can of Apricot

1 tbsp of vanilla extract 

Method:

Combine the cream, milk, sugar and vanilla extract  in a medium saucepan and heat over medium heat, stirring , to dissolve the sugar. Place the pan in the ice bath and stir occasionally until it cools to room temperature. Transfer to a container , cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled about 3 hours.

About an hour before you churn the ice cream, add in the chopped and blended Apricots mixture.  Freeze in ice maker according to the manufacture's instruction. Transfer to a container and freeze until firm about 2 hours. Serve with Butterscotch Caramel Sauce.

Butterscotch Caramel Sauce

4 tbsp of unsalted butter

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 tsp flaky salt

1/2 cup heavy cream

1tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Melt butter in a heavy saucepan over medium heat, once butter melted, stir in dark brown sugar, salt and heavy cream. 2. Keep stirring with a rubber stapula until well blended for 4 to 5 mins. Scraping the sides occasionally.

3. Remove the mixture from the heat, add in the vanilla extract. Once cooled you can add in a tsp of whiskey if you like ( optional ) 

4. Store in glass jar. It will thicken once cooled. Can store in fridge and reheat in microwave.

Pizza With Beefballs And Streaky Bacon

Light and easy meal is often welcomed by the husband...Pizza preferably, like the one above. The pizza base is easy to make and no fuss at all. Toppings can be of one's choice from minced beef to chicken or fully vegan. But knowing the husband, meat is a must have topping. I made Beef Balls for him with tomato and Italian herb sauce and plenty of some cheese and he is a happy human LOL! A light and easy pizza, where we can eat and watch TV at the same time.

I added fried bacon for the topping too

hubby loves the thick base

the more cheesy it is, the more delicious it is

baking time is just 30mins

one recipe of pizza dough

can make 2 pizza base 

beefballs with tomato 

Italian herbs sauce

Dough Recipe for Pizza Crust Base  

1.5 cups plain flour

1 cup bread flour

4gm instant yeast

2tbsp olive oil

1tsp salt

1tsp sugar

1 cup water

Mix all the ingredients together and knead till smooth (abt 6 mins) Leave to rest for 30 mins. Divide dough into 2 portions. One portion of dough can fit a 8 inch dia. round pizza tray.

Toppings of your choice.

Enjoy!

Preserved Dried Tomato in Rosemary Infused Olive Oil

My lovely cousin sister brought back gifts from Sicily Italy for me  .Dried tomatoes were one of the many gifts I received from her. What a wonderful cousin, having thoughts of me even while holidaying in Sicily. With the dried tomatoes, I preserved them in Rosemary infused olive oil. It will further enhanced the flavour of the tomatoes and helps keep them for longer period of them. Stored them in glass jar and keep in the fridge for future cooking.  Great for pizza, bread, pasta and in Italian stew. I can't wait to use them in my cooking. A great thank you to my lovely cousin. The steps in preserving the dried tomatoes are easy. For a jam jar size, I lightly heat up the olive oil. Once it is warm, add in dried rosemary herb and let the rosemary herb flavour infused into the oil. Pour the infused olive oil into the jar. Add in the dried tomatoes. Make sure the tomatoes are totally submerged in the oil. Once the oil has cooled down. Keep in the fridge till needed. It can keep for at least 6 months or more.

make sure the glass is sterilised properly before using. 

make sure olive oil is warm up so that the flavour of rosemary herb can easily infused into the olive oil, making it more fragrant

these dried tomatoes are from Sicily

Read up more on it before

 starting on your home preserving journey .

Enjoy! 

Chilli Sauce For Hainanese Chicken Rice

When having Hainanese Chicken Rice, a must have is a good chilli sauce. I was introduced to this beautifully blended chilli sauce by my daughter. Everyday we have long telephone conversations . Topic ranges from food, furkids to bible verses. My daughter who is also my best friend stays in Australia, so it's a long distance relationship but fortunately technology has brought us nearer. We can WhatsApp call or zoom to see each other. Sorry for the short digress, back to our recent conversation on food we cooked, she recommended this chilli sauce that she makes everytime she has chicken rice.  I tried it out and guess what? It is a must have chilli sauce and today I made a big batch for keeping in the fridge. It is a tangy, sweetish and flavour packed sauce for chicken rice . Once I had it , I became addictive to it. A must have chilli sauce when having poached chicken . It is easy to whip up too. It is made up of fresh red chillies, bird's eye chilli for extra heat, garlic ,ginger, sugar ,salt and vinegar . 

 Sometimes I add a tablespoon of oil from the soup after poaching the chicken , it gives the chilli sauce the extra oomph

Chilli Sauce 

Ingredients:

12 pieces of fresh red chillies

3-4 pieces of bird's eye chillies

5-6 cloves of garlic

4cm piece of young ginger

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tbsp of sugar

1 tbsp of vinegar or fresh Calamansi Juice

2tbsp of chicken fat from the steamed chicken.

Method:

1. Blend the first 7 ingredients in an electric blender till fine. Take out the chilli mixture and adjust seasoning to your taste .

2. Stir in the chicken fat into the chilli sauce when serving.

Note:

If storing in the fridge for long keeping ,do not add chicken fat. Add only during serving time. 

Stuffed Vegetable / Yong Liew

Stuffed Vegetables with minced meat fillings, pan fried in little oil till cooked and then cooked in fermented soybean paste  is one of our favourite dish to have for dinner. It is known as ' Yong Liew' in Cantonese language. The meat filling is made up of minced dried shrimps, minced pork, finely chopped garlic , with pepper and soy sauce seasoning. It makes a very tasty meat fillings for  vegetables like, Bittergourd, Egg plants, fresh Red Chillies, Long Beans, Red and Green Peppers. Can be served as a stand alone dish or added as extra ingredients for noodle soup. It involves a bit of work but worth making as it is a very versatile dish and tasty.

It is a very delicious dish served 

with fermented soybean paste gravy, adding a tsp of preserved  black beans to the gravy gives it the extra oomph and brings the dish to the next level

this dish involves a bit of work but worth it. Delicious and full of flavours 

Pan fry the stuffed vegetable first to brings out the umami taste of the dried shrimps that has been added to the meat fillings . And the slightly fried meat fillings gives the dish the extra fragrance

Fillings ingredients 

350 gm Minced pork with a little fat

2 tbsp of chopped dried shrimps

1 tbsp of light soysauce

1/8 tsp of white pepper

Vegetables of your choice

Red pepper/ Green Pepper, Bittergourd, Egg Plants, Okra, Red Chillies, Long Beans.  

Ingredients for Fermented Soybean and Preserved Black beans ( Tou Zi) Gravy 

1 heaped tablespoon of fermented soybeans ( taucheong )

1 tsp of preserved black beans ( tou Zi )

1 red bird's eye chilli - chopped

2tsp of sugar

1 tsp of dark soy sauce for colouring

1cup or more of chicken broth or water

1 tsp of minced garlic

2tbsp of cooking oil

Method:

Saute minced garlic in oil till fragrant, add in fermented soybean paste, chopped chillies , and preserved black beans and continue to stir fry for a few seconds till fragrant ,add in chicken broth or water and dark soy sauce and simmer till slow boil. Add in the pan fried stuffed vegetables and continues to simmer till the gravy boils. Dish up .

Enjoy!

Matcha Green Tea Ice Cream

Weather is hot and humid with scatter showers now and then. And I have been hooked on ' The Good Doctor ' for the past few weeks thus had shelved the idea of  making this delicious Matcha Ice Cream. Yesterday was craving for ice cream so had to take a rest from watching the Netflix  drama for a while to make the ice cream I  have been wanting to make. Bought this brand of matcha powder ( NikoNeko ) from their official store from Lazada, after a friend introduced to me. No regrets, it is fragrant and the vibrant colour reflects a good quality grade. 

There are many grades of matcha powder. Once opened it must be consumed within 2 to 3 weeks as matcha powder oxidised fast. That's why buy in small quantity unless one is operating a cafe or bakery whereby consumption is fast flowing. 

I used RICH's Korean Double Heavy Cream and Niko Neko Matcha Powder for this ice cream

and the texture is smooth and this is the matcha powder I have been looking for.

Niko Neko Matcha Powder, great for ice cream and in your latte drinks

Recipe link : Click here 

Have a good day!