Got Really Addicted To.... This Game..

What??!! You're not updating your blog with your bakes?!

No? Din bake anything recently?!

Yes, I did not bake anything recently.. Why? Cos I got really hook on to a game.. COOKING ACADEMY 2!

Oh My, it's a really really addictive game.. Initially I tried the free trial (playing the full version for 1 hr only), then I realised that boy, the game is really fun and good..

It's all about cooking.. Thr's chinese crusines, western stuff etc etc.. Really fun.. I guess I like this game bcos in actual life, I like to cook and bake as well... So in this game, I can cook (and play) like a chef.. keke!

So after playing that for 1 hr, I realised that I need to have the unlimited full version, if not this game will definitely haunt my mind.. Keke

So thanks to B, he managed to get the full version of the game for me! I was really over the moon! Lots and million of thanks to U, B!

Err... So it seems like I'll go MIA for another week.. Fully immerse myself in the joy of playing this game! Whhheee!

Marinated Guavas... DELICIOUS!! (2)

Made another batch of marinated guavas yesterday! Hmm.. But this batch of guavas couldn't "survive" for more than 2 day.. Cos they all end up in our stomach!!! Hee!!

Really yummy.. Taste like the 1st batch, except this time round is not so sweet.. I've learnt from the previous experience, so I washed 3/4 amount of orange peels under running water hoping that it'll wash off most of the sugar on it.. And it works! Oh ya, I did up-up the no(s). of lime used, for the same amount of guavas, I used 5 limes (and I find that it makes the guavas more appetitsing) and chop up the 3/4 of the whole lime and marinate it together.

This time round the taste definitely suits my tastebuds more! And I wish to experiment with other different types of fruits. =)

For the recipe, please get it from here. Please do make the changes accordingly. =)

Have a nice day!

Steamed Egg White Rainbow Cake

Finally I baked something after the long "holiday" from baking... I was "thread-hopping" in KC last night, and I stumbled on this cake recipe posted by zurynee, EGG WHITE RAINBOW CAKE.

Well, I've to admit that it's the beautiful picture of the cake that caught my attention, I was quite shock to see the picture because it's simply tooooo beautiful, with so many colours and the pattern created... Amazing I would say, but I was in for another shock! The amount of egg whites required!

Nah, not 100g, not 200g, not 300g, definitely not 400g... BUT 500g of egg whites! Gosh, that's quite a fair bit.. But reading on the posts by those forumers that tried this cake, 98% gave raving reviews and most of them yield beautiful cakes too, so I was like being tempted to try it out too..

I was curious on how to creat the patterns, so I read on the methods.. Looks simple enough.. So yes, SET, I decided on making this cake.

TADA..!! Present you a picture of cake before steaming.. My sister and I was like "goo goo ga ga" over the beautiful swirls..


There's a total of 6 colours in this cake..

• Rose Pink
• Apple Green
• Egg Yolk Yellow
• Brown (Coffee Emulco, instead of chocolate emulco)
• White (Actually I just left it plain)
• Cherry Red

Of which I concluded that Cherry Red and Rose Pink are quite similar in colour.. Take note of it, so next time shall omit either 1 of them.

This is the look of the cake after steaming.. It rise up till quite high, but kind of like shrink back a little after I took it out of the steamer. Maybe I should left it to sit in the steamer instead of exposing it straight away to the cold air?? (Any experts out there care to advise??.. Much much appreciated!)

Hey Hey, this is the picture I wanted or rather waited to present to all of you.. Check out the beautiful pattern!! Alright, please please ignore the crack in the middle and the ugly sides..

I'm super duper impatient, I release the springform pan almost immediately after removing the cake from the steamer, and I was literally banging the cake here and there... That's explains the ugly sides.. (I handle the cake VIOLENTLY!) Hiak Hiak Hiak.. =p

Nevermind the blurred picture, cracked cake.. The cake is still pretty (in my eyes) and did I ever mentioned that the cake is AWESOME-ly SUPER-ly DUPER-ly YUMMYYY and SPONGY?????? Just give me a Humongous slice of this cake and a cup of hot coffee, trust me.. I'll be a happy girl for the whole day!

It has a egg-y taste, nice fragrance from the vanilla essence, and a comforting smell from the coffee emulco used.. I'm in love with this cake.. TOTALLY!!

But my dad commented that next time round I should just make a plain + coffee one (i.e white and brown colour ones).. Then it strikes me that it'll become a ZEBRA CAKE!

Well.. It's hard not to fall in love with this cake right??

FYI, this cake is quite big in size, and now, there's only 2 slice left in the container! I've reserved a slice for B.. How can I miss out his share of this lovely cake??

Sharing with you the recipe (with my variations):

STEAMED EGG WHITE RAINBOW CAKE

Ingredients

• 500g egg whites
• 60g evaporated milk
• 1 tbsp vanilla essence
• 150g melted butter (I replaced with 100g corn oil)
• 225g castor sugar (I used only 100g)
• 300g top flour
• 1 tbsp ovalette
• 1/2 tsp Colouring of your choice (I use 6 diff colours)
• 1 tbsp coffee emulco (considered as 1 colour)
• Pinch of salt

Methods

1. Beat egg whites at high speed. Add in sugar bit by bit once the egg whites turns bubbly. Continue beating till soft peaks.
2. Add in sifted flour, milk, ovalette, vanilla essence and salt. Continue mixing (Use electric mixer).
3. On low speed, mix in the corn oil/ melted butter and mix till well blended.
4. Divide batter into equal parts (depending on the no. of colours you've). Add one colour to each portion of batter and mix well.
5. Add coffee emulco into 1 portion of the batter as well.
6. Grease a baking tin with melted butter (I did not do so as I was using non-stick pan). Scoop 1 tbsp of batter (1st colour) into the center of the baking tin, continue with another colour (2nd colour) onto the 1st colour. Continue with all the colours and repeat the process till finish.
7. Bang the cake thrice on table top to eliminate air bubbles trapped within. Swing the cake pan from side to side gently. (This creats the wavy effect).
8. Steam the cake on high heat for 30mins or till cake is done.

Original recipe available here.

PS: In case some of you are interested, I use 18 medium eggs to get 500g egg whites.

Share With Me..

Awww.... Looking at the Kueh Lapis picture I can only drool and yearn to bake it.. Actually, I'm allowed to bake and cook.. So what's holding me back?

It's the amount of butter and egg yolk used in the making of Kueh lapis.. Ever since I saw the recipe for kueh lapis, I totally abstain from consuming it..

Yes, it definitely taste delicious (Who don't love it??), BUT consume it at the expense of your waistline (from growing horizontally)... *so sad right??*

By the way, anyone out there care to share a less "calorie/fat threatening" kueh lapis recipe??

Marinated Guavas... DELICIOUS!!

Alright my dear friends, readers, and passerby-s out there... Please do believe me.. At least for once.. That this marinated guavas are really delicious!!

No no no.. I'm not the genius that "created" this recipe.. I got this recipe from Kitchen Capers, posted by Yvne (really thank you so much for sharing)!


The sweet little guavas.. They are really small, guess they're from thailand?


Hmm.. the addition of chilli doesn't make any differences to the taste.. I guess chilli padi will be better.. More SPICY!


Yes, this is the "MAGICAL" ingredient.. It's the one that make the dish so tasty!

The end result after 8hrs of marination..

The last yummy shot..

Sharing with you the recipe... with my variations

Marinated Guavas

Ingredients

3 large guava

2 pkt marinated mandarin orange peels

1 chilli (It's really optional)

3 lime

Methods

1. Skin guavas and slice thinly, approx 2mm thick.
2. Slice the mandarin peels thinly.
3. Remove the seeds of the chilli, and slice the chilli thinly into stripes.
4. Obtain the lime juice and chop up 1 lime.
5. Mix guavas, peels, lime juice, chopped lime and chilli together. Toss to mix well.
6. Transfer into a plastic container and store in fridge for 8 hrs b4 serving.
7. Serve chilled.

Yes.. It's that easy peasy.. This recipe can easily yield a tub of guavas, but it definitely won't last long.. Cos my family polished off this tub within a day!

I marinated a smallllll quantity with the addition of chilli, the other big tub is chilli-free... Cos my parents aren't very adverturous when it comes to food..

Luckily I manage to keep a small container of it away in the corner of the fridge and bring it to my grandparents to try.. Yes, they (Aunty, uncles, grandparents) love it!

I gonna make some more real soon.. but this time round I gonna make some changes to it.. To perfect it!

Note

1. I use only 1.5 pkt of peels and 3 small guavas.
2. Tho I did not use any sugar, but I still find that it's too sweet. So I gonna rinse the peels b4 adding them to marinate together.
3. My family finish off the whole tub even tho the marination time wasn't 8 hrs yet.. =p
4. One word of advice.. Don't be afraid to make more, cos it's really POPULAR!!

Venturing into Kueh making... SOON!

Gonna venture into Kueh making soon... Well, I'm a typical singaporean that loves to eat kueh.. Even though it is relatively cheap to pick up a kueh or two, but I guess it'll taste even better (or perhaps not) if it's homemade..

So recently I've been very hardworking in searching for Kueh Recipes and yeah, I've got a book that features recipes of local kuehs (Courtesy of B's dad, Thank U uncle!). So I'm so gonna make some kuehs for my family, B's family and to satisfy my munching pleasure.. Keke!

Stay tuned for the 1st kueh product from my humble kitchen!

Steamed Tofu for Dinner...

"Contributed" this dish for dinner last night.. It was a real simple and fail-proof dish.. Simple and healthy.. Suitable enough for my family's diet (woppes, or rather mine) keke!

Got the inspiration from my Aunty.. She used to make this dish for me and my cousins to have for lunch. So I recreated this dish based on my memory..

My Aunty's version uses Egg tofu, century egg, salted egg yolk and minced chicken. But of course, I just make use of those things that are available in the fridge.. Don't wanna make another trip to the market.. (yes... I'm lazy..) Hehee..

Steam Tofu

1 packet tofu/ 2 tubes egg tofu
3 prawns
50g minced pork
1 egg
1 tsp chicken stock
Spring Onion
Chilli

Seasonings (suitable amount of:)
Soy sauce
Pepper
Sesame oil
Hua Diao Jiu (chinese cooking wine)

Methods

1. Carefully remove tofu and rinsed under water. Pat dry.
2. Cut tofu into 9 equal pieces and arrange them on the steaming plate.
3. In the middle of the tofu, scoop up some tofu, creating a "hole".
4. Cut prawns into smaller pieces and mix with the minced pork. Mix in the seasonings.
5. Form small balls out of the meat mixture and place onto the tofu. Garnish with spring onions and chilli.
6. Beat an egg with some sesame oil, soy sauce, pepper and chicken stock, pour onto the steaming plate.
7. Steam over medium heat for 15 mins.
8. Serve hot.
   

A promise made... LONG TIME AGO...

Yes.. Finally brought a promise into actuality.. I made a promise to B 1.5 yrs ago that I'll cook for him a bake rice..


Baked Rice.. His ultimate favourite food! I tried to imitate those restaurant to create a set lunch specials.. So here's my set lunch menu:


1. Main Course- Seafood baked rice


2. Sides- Grilled chicken and Capsicums on stick


3. Drinks- Homemade Icy Lemon Tea


4. Desserts- Ice cream... Serve in a special way

He has an "Ang Moh Soul" trapped in an asian body.. Haha! He will choose western food over any chinese-style food.. And since today's theme is western food, I guess he'll enjoy the food as much as I do.. Keke!




The seafood baked rice, before baking.. I top the dish with lots and lots and lots of cheese.. whole packet actually.. =p


After baking.. I did not wait for the cheese (in the middle) to brown.. Simply because my dad and B was waiting at the dining room, and my dad was rushing me to be quick.. Guess he was really hungry.. Nevertheless, the taste is still great!

I use sotong, fish, prawns, ham and potato for the baked rice..

Meanwhile, I use the other oven to grill this chicken.. That's the good side when you've a 2nd oven (even tho it's smaller).. You can use it to bake multiple things at the same time.

This is how I serve the chicken.. Actually I wanted to do some decoration to the food before serving, but like I've said, I was running out of time.. *Need a better time management*

The Ice Lemon Tea, made by yours truly..

Dessert of the day.. Crispy Biscuit base top with Ben and Jerry's Ice-cream + milk chocolate coated strawberries..

So... the verdict from the "food tasters" is that the baked rice is good! YEah, B gave me 10/10!! I was really over the moon when I heard that! *Maybe he was just being kind??* Hehe!

2nd attempt.. cooking my comfort foodie..

Did this lovely dish for dinner again.. Only difference is that I replaced the lean pork with roast meat, uses long beans & egg plant for the vege.



The pearl-y white uncooked rice grains.. I did dry fry them after washing.. I feel that it'll make the rice more fragrant..





Yum Yum.. I love the taste of dried shrimps (Hae Bee in hokkien).. They taste excellent when cook in curry.. And they've a very nice fragrance! But do remember to soak them in water, else they'll be very salty..





Long Beans (Cai Dao in hokkien).. My dad commented that I should fry them longer before adding them to the rice to cook.. Cos he don't like them to be crunchy.. He likes it soft and mushy..



And this applies to the egg plant too..









The roast pork are my dad's favourite.. I dry fry the roast pork first.. And it secretes some "roast pork oil" which I use it to cook the vegetables..





I fry the pumpkin and yam together, towards the last 10minutes of frying, I add in the roast pork cubes.. And the flavor of the pork kind of like magically fused into the yam and pumpkin..



Last of all, in the wok, combine all of the above ingredients to fry together for 2 - 3minutes before transferring to the rice cooker to cook till done.

Kiam Peng (Hokkien food- "salty rice")

Ingredients

600g yam, cut into cubes

400g pumpkin, cut into cubes

2.5 cups rice (I use rice cup to measure)

9 stalks of long beans, cut to 4cm long

5 egg plant (short and slender type), sliced

150g roast pork, cut to slices
60g dried shrimps, soak in water for 20mins

6 shallots, chopped

2 - 3 garlic, chopped

8 - 10 dried scallops (Gan Bei, in chinese)

Oil

Seasonings

3 tbsp abalone sauce

1 tsp Sesame oil

1 tsp dark soy sauce

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tsp chicken stock granules

Some salt

0.5 tsp Hua Diao Jiu (chinese cooking wine)

Methods

1. Soak dried scallops in hot water for at least a hour (it will swell up in size), reserve the water and shredded the swelled up scallops.


2. Heat up 1 tsp sesame oil and fry the washed rice for 1 mins. Remove the rice and set aside.


3. Heat up wok till hot, dry fry the sliced roast pork till hot and fragrant.


4. Remove the pork from the wok and set aside. DO NOT WASH the wok, heat up 50ml oil and deep fry the yam and pumpkin cubes till crispy. Towards the last 5mins, add in the roast pork and fry together.


5. Heat up 1 tbsp sesame oil in wok and fry shallots and garlic till fragrant, before it browns, add in the soaked dried shrimps and fry till fragrant.


6. Add in the long beans and egg plants to fry for 3mins. Add in the shredded scallops to fry for 1min.


7. Pour in the scallop water and give it a stir. Cover wok and continue cooking for 1min.


8. Add in yam, pumpkin, roast pork, rice and seasonings to the wok, cooking it for 1mins. Transfer the contents into the rice cooker and add in suitable amount of water to cook till done.


9. Lastly, dish up rice and serve hot! ENJOY!

I'm so sorry that I did not take any pictures of the end products.. I was busy as a bee serving the food to the "Food critics", my family members actually..

I also pack 2 box of this for my paternal grandparents to try.. Happy that they enjoyed the food!

Randommm..

Just a sudden random thought...

If I've my own house in the future..

I want...

1. My Kitchen...

• To be bright and BIG
• Be RED in colour
• Equip with kitchenAid (In this colour/ or white)
• A really good oven
• A microwave
• A big big fridge (Yes, you read it right, must be a big big one to store all those barang barangs)
• An island
• In modern stylish design

But first of all, I must earn alot alot of money in order to make a dream come true.. Hehe..


I guess only the KitchenAid, Oven and a basic fridge is a Need, whereas the rest are Wants.. =p