NOT THE DOMESTIC GODDESS

LANA-ESQUE CHOCOLATE CAKE

2011-09-06T13:09:00.004+08:00

I think that for many of us who grew up in 1970's Singapore, chocolate Lana cakes hold a special place in our memories. Rich and chocolatey yet light and fluffy, it's easy to see why they were the mainstay of almost every birthday party in those days. Later, as we were wowed by chocolate mousse cakes and ganache and multi-layer chocolate fudge cakes, the Lana cake took a back seat (for me, at least) but are never forgotten. They're the ultimate comfort food!

I have always tried to crack the secret of the Lana cake without much success. Until a chance remark by someone recently that she got the recipe from her sister from Hawaii. So I googled "chocolate cake Hawaii" and BINGO!!! Chocolate dobash cake. A chocolate chiffon cake with chocolate custard frosting. The chocolate dobash recipes online didn't look chocolate-y enough so I increased the amount of cocoa powder. The result was declared by my fussy and very hard to please sister "better than Lana" (only because I put lots of filling between the layers).

Sorry, no photo (I'll take one next time) but I promise it's really good.

Because I'm wheat intolerant, I made mine with gluten free flour and you would never guess it's not a "normal" cake. My cousin in England tested the recipe with ordinary flour and pronounced it a success.

Here's the recipe.

Cake

1 1/4 cups plain flour
3/4 cup cocoa powder (I used good old Van Houten)
1 1/2 cups sugar (I reduced to 1 1/4)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
7 eggs, separated
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 165 deg. C. and line the bottom of 2 round 9" baking pans with baking paper. Do not line the sides or brush with oil/butter as the chiffon cake needs to be able to "cling" to this to rise.

2. Beat egg whites, part of the sugar and cream of tartar till stiff.

3. Combine cocoa powder and boiling water to form a paste.

4. In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients (sift first), egg yolks, cocoa paste and vanilla and mix well.

5. Fold egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.

6. Bake for about 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

7. Let cakes cool in pan.

(Recently, I tried making this with sponge cake stabilizer or Ovalett, which is available in the baking section of most local supermarkets. There was no difference in the result but it makes it so much easier and quicker! Just put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl (except oil) and add 1 tablespoon of Ovalett. Beat till thick and creamy. Add oil. That's it!)

Frosting

3 cups water
350g sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
120g butter
90g cocoa powder
90g cornflour
1 cup water

1. Combine cocoa powder and cornstarch and mix with 1 cup water to make a smooth paste.

2. Bring other ingredients to a boil.

3. Take off the heat and add in the cocoa paste.

4. Return to heat and stir till thickened. I used a balloon whisk for this.

5. Keep stirring/whisking while it cools to avoid a skin forming on top of the custard.

To assemble

1. Split the cakes into half horizontally.

2. Brush with a little milk, slap on the custard, put on another layer etc. Cover cake with custard.

3. Refrigerate for several hours before serving. The cake really tastes a LOT better so resist the temptation to eat it straight away!

N.B. You can halve the quantities and make a 2 layer cake. For this, I used 4 eggs.

CHEATER'S HAY BEE HIAM

2010-01-25T11:38:00.004+08:00

So easy ... and better than the real thing I think cos it isn't so oily!

250 g hay bee
1 bottle of Singlong nasi lemak sambal
sugar to taste

Soak haybee to soften.
Drain then blitz in a blender.
Fry with a little oil till fragrant.
Add sambal and sugar to taste.

I'm going to try making haybee hiam seafood pasta. And haybee hiam cookies which I think are a reinvention of old fashioned kueh badak which I learned to make in school. Haybee hiam goes with everything I think!

CUMI CUMI BAKAR (GRILLED SQUID)

2009-05-27T14:37:00.006+08:00

I found this recipe online but I can't remember from where. I had to translate it from Bahasa Indonesia so I hope I got it right. But anyway, it tastes yummo to me! My contribution is the assam and lime.

500g squid
5 tablespoons kecap manis
2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 tablespoons melted butter
small lump (about 1 tablespoon) of assam (tamarind), add a little hot water to extract juice

Grind together -
8 shallots
4 cloves garlic
1cm ginger
1/8 teaspoon star anise powder
1/5 teaspoon salt

Marinade squid for 1 hour and grill, basting occasionally with the marinade. Cut into slices, squeeze some lime over it and serve.

* This tasted really good with Singkong's nasi lemak chilli (which in terms of nasi lemak chilli isn't great, but it was good with the squid). I'm thinking that the next time I make this, I'm going to add a tablespoon of of the chilli sauce and I think it's also worthwhile to grill it over a real charcoal fire :)

IKAN PEPES BUMBU RUJAK (FISH STEAMED WITH MIXED SPICES)

2009-05-27T14:20:00.003+08:00

I had this one day at my friend Nelly's house. It was so delicious I begged for the recipe. Thanks Nelly!

There was this wonderful Balinese restaurant I used to go to called Pagi Sore. I don't know if it's still around since it moved from its original location. But they did this dish with a whole fish wrapped in banana leaves. I'm tempted to try this recipe with a whole fish but I'm not that familiar with fish ... I guess any fish which is good steamed would work.

400gm ikan kurau (threadfin) meat (or any other fish which is soft) cut into 1/2 inch strips

grind together -
5 buah keras (candlenut) which have been roasted for a few minutes beforehand
6 cloves garlic
6 red chillies
1/2 inch piece tumeric
1 tsp ketumbar (coriander) powder

chop up:
3 tomatoes (rough)
limau perut (kaffir lime) leaves (fine)

salt to taste
sugar to taste
three tablespoons coconut milk

banana leaves cut into pieces (about 9" each), cleaned and softened with hot water

1. Combine all ingredients together and add coconut milk - enough to make a thick paste.

2. Add fish and mix well

3. Place a piece of fish and some of the ingredients onto banana leaf and make into a "nasi lemak bungkus". Secure with sharp toothpick.

4. Steam for 20 minutes.

MARINADE FOR KALBI BEEF RIBS

2009-05-27T14:08:00.004+08:00

This recipe was from my sister's friend. It also works great with other meats.

2 lbs beef ribs (or any meat)
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup soy sauce (she doesn't say light or dark, I used dark)
1/4 chopped spring onions
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
splash of sherry
1 tablespoon cooking oil

1. Mix ingredients (except sesame seeds) and marinate the meat for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.

2. Grill meat, basting with the extra marinade occasionally.

3. When done, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

GRAN'S KAYA (EGG & COCONUT JAM)

2009-04-23T01:19:00.009+08:00

My Gran taught me this when I was a teenager. Gran ALWAYS had kaya in the fridge and kaya sandwiches were a treat every time we visited. Gran's kaya was solid and you could cut it with a knife, not like the jam-like stuff they sell at kopi tiams and supermarkets. If you like the kopi tiam variety, then just don't steam it.

Thick coconut milk squeezed from 2 coconuts (I got 400 ml)
10 eggs
1 kati sugar less 1 handful (I love this part!) ... I used 500g
about 3 or 4 pandan leaves, crushed a bit to release the fragrance and then tied into a knot

1. Beat eggs and sugar. Add pandan leaves. Put container in a kwali of boiling water and stir till sugar melts and the mixture turns a golden brown colour.
2. Add coconut milk. Stir until the mixture thickens. Prepare steamer while you're doing this.
3. Remove pandan leaves and cover the container with a lid wrapped with a tea towel to prevent water dripping onto the kaya.
4. Steam for about 2 hours.

KUEH LAPIS BERAS (STEAMED RAINBOW LAYER CAKE)

2009-04-19T16:42:00.002+08:00

30 oz coconut milk made from 24 oz grated coconut (squeeze and add water to make up 30 fl. oz)
12 tablespoons rice flour
6 oz. sago flour
16 oz sugar
10 fl. oz. water
About 8 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
pinch salt
food colouring

1. Place the flours and salt in a mixing bowl and add coconut milk. Mix till smooth.
2. Boil sugar, water and pandan leaves for 10 minutes to make a syrup.
3. Pour syrup into rice mixture and stir.
4. Divide the batter into several equal portions. Leave one portion white and add food a few drops of colouring to the other portions to make various pastel shades ... pink, green, blue, yellow. Or you could just divide into 3 and do the standard red, white, green combi. I like my kueh lapis colourful cos there's still a child in me ... but the bottom layer is always white and the top layer is always red.
5. Place a greased cake tin in a steamer. Steam each layer for about 6 minutes.

ROTI JALA (LACE PANCAKES WITH CHICKEN CURRY)

2009-04-19T12:41:00.005+08:00

This and the following Malay food recipes were from the time Mum took cooking lessons ... oh, those were goooooood times! :D

Pancakes

1 kati (600 g) plain flour
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
a bit of yellow colouring
5 bowls coconut milk made from 1 coconut

1. Mix all ingredients together to make a smooth batter.
2. Use roti jala ladle to pour batter onto frying pan to make lacey pancakes of about 6 inch diameter. When cooked, fold into quarters and put on serving plate.

* If you don't have a roti jala ladle, you can dip your hand (washed of course!) into the batter and then let the batter drizzle from your fingers onto the frying pan.

Curry

1 chicken, cut into pieces
4 bowls coconut milk made from 1/4 coconut
2 big red onions, sliced
3 tomatoes, sliced
1 handful mint leaves
4 tablespoons cooking oil
1 inch ginger and 5 cloves garlic pounded together
2 inches cinnamon
4 cloves
5 cardamoms
1 tablespoon chilli powder
1 tablespoon jintan puteh (cumin) powder
1/2 tablespoon jintan manis (fennel) powder
2 tablespoons ketumbar (coriander) powder
1 teaspoon black pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1. Heat oil in pan and fry spices and sliced onions till brown.
2. Add in ginger-garlic paste and fry for a few seconds.
3. Add in sliced tomatoes, salt, spice powders and chicken.
4. Add in coconut milk and simmer till chicken is tender.
5. Add in mint leaves and halved tomatoes (no quantity given).

* I think I'd like to make this with curry leaves instead of mint because that is the flavour I remember. In that case, the curry leaves are to be added together with the ginger-garlic paste. You could add a tablespoon of poppy seeds (kas kas) with the spice powders too.

SAYOR LODEH (MILD VEGETABLE CURRY)

2009-04-19T12:04:00.004+08:00

2 coconuts,grated and squeezed to make 2 pints first santan and 2 pints second santan*
1/2 kati (300 grams) long beans, sliced
1/2 kati cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, sliced
1 small bamboo shoot, sliced and boiled (or you can use canned)
1 bangkwang (jicama or turnip), sliced
4 pieces taukwa (it's like very firm tofu), quartered corner to corner so they are triangle shaped, and fried
1 cup cooking oil
1 kati (600 grams) fresh prawns
4 daun salam (bay leaves)
1 1/2 tablespoons ketumbar (coriander) powder
2 tablespoons chilli powder
1 tablespoon jintan puteh (cumin) powder
1/2 tablespoon jintan manis (fennel) powder

Grind together:
2 stalks lemongrass (use lower 3 inches and strip away outer layers)
1 1/2 inches lengkuas (galanggal or "blue ginger")
1 inch ginger
3/4 inch turmeric
6 cloves garlic
20 shallots
1/2 cup dried prawns (soak in hot water and drain first)

1. Heat oil in pot and fry gound ingredients for a few minutes, then add in spice powders and daun salam and fry for a few minutes.
2. Add carrots, bangkwang, bamboo shoot and second santan. Boil until the vegetables are soft, then add the long beans and boil for a few minutes.
3. Add cabbage, prawns, fried taukwa and cook till cabbage and prawns are cooked.
4. Add first santan and salt to taste.

* first santan is the milk from the first squeeze of the grated coconut. To make this, put some grated coconut in a piece of muslin, dip in a little water and squeeze to get a thick, rich coconut milk. After squeezing, put the "used" coconut aside and put in some more fresh coconut to squeeze. (It's easier to squeeze the coconut a bit at a time rather than in one big lot).

*second santan is the second squeeze of the grated coconut. To make this, put the "used" coconut into a piece of muslin and dip in water, then squeeze out to get a thin coconut milk.

AYAM BERIANI

2009-04-19T11:43:00.003+08:00

1 chicken cut into pieces
1 1/2 katis (900 grams) basmati rice
4 fresh tomatoes, peeled and sliced
1 cup ghee
2 inches cinnamon
4 cloves
6 cardamom
1/2 kati (300 grams) big red onions, sliced
2 red and 2 green chillies, crushed
2 handfuls mint leaves
2 handfuls coriander leaves
pinch of saffron soaked in 1/2 cup boiling water and add 2 tablespoons rose water
10 cashewnuts, ground and mixed with 1/2 cup evaporated milk
1 1/2 tablespoons jintan puteh (cumin) powder
1 tablespoon jintan manis (fennel) powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 nutmeg, grated
1 inch ginger, pounded
6 cloves garlic, pounded
3 pandan leaves, tied into a knot

1. Wash rice and soak in water and 1 tablesppon salt for 1 hour, then drain.
2. Heat 1/2 cup ghee and fry half of the sliced onions until brown then put it aside.
3. Add in 1/2 cup ghee and fry cinnamon, cloves and cardamom.
4. Add in pounded ginger and garlic and fry for a few seconds.
5. Add in spice powders, remaining sliced onions, sliced tomatoes, chillies, half the leaves, 2 teaspoons salt and the chicken.
6. Add in 1 bowl water and simmer until chicken is 3/4 cooked and the gravy is thick. Add in milk/cashewnut mixture.
7. To 4 pints of water, add pandan leaves and 1 tablespoon salt. When water comes to a boil, add in rice and boil till rice is 3/4 cooked then drain.
8. In a big round pot, pour half the rice and sprinkle 1/4 of the saffron water over it. Arrange chicken, 1/2 the fried onions, 1/2 the leaves and 1/2 the gravy. Then layer over remaining rice, saffron water, fried onions, leaves and gravy.
9. Cover the pot and seal tightly. Cook over slow fire until rice is well cooked.

NASI MINYAK

2009-04-19T11:26:00.004+08:00

2 katis (about 1.2 kg) basmati rice (according to a converter I found online, 1 kg = 1.653 katis)
2 small tomatoes, peeled and diced
20 shallots sliced
1 cup evaporated milk, diluted to make same volume as rice and add 1 tablespoon salt
1/2 cup ghee
2 pandan leaves, tied into a knot
1 inch ginger and 8 cloves garlic, pounded together
2 green chillies and 4 stalks mint leaves, pounded together
2 inches cinnamon
5 cloves
6 cardamoms
a few strands saffron soaked in 1/2 cup boiling water with 1 tablespoon rose water

1. Wash rice and saok in water and 1 tablespoon salt for 30 minutes then drain.
2. Heat ghee in pot and fry spices and sliced onions till onions are light brown.
3. Add in pounded ingredients, tomatoes and pandan leaves. Fry till tomatoes are soft.
4. Add in rice and evaporated milk mixture. Cover and let it boil.
5. When the rice has absorbed the liquid, add in saffron water, cover and cook over slow fire until well cooked.
6. Garnish with fried shallots, fried raisins, fried almonds and coriander leaves.

AYAM KORMAK (MILD CHICKEN CURRY)

2009-04-19T11:18:00.005+08:00

1 chicken cut into pieces
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 big red onion, sliced finely
2 fresh tomatoes, halved
2 inches cinnamon
3 cloves
5 cardamoms
1 tablespoon ketumbar (coriander) powder
3/4 tablespoon jintan puteh (cumin) powder
1/2 tablespoon jintan manis (fennel) powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper powder
3 bowls water
fried shallots, coriander leaves for garnish

Grind together:
1 inch ginger
6 cloves garlic
3 green chillies
10 shallots
15 cashewnuts
4 stalks mint leaves

1. Heat oil in pan and fry spices and onions till soft.
2. Add in ground ingredients and fry for a few minutes.
3. Add in chicken and spice powders, fry for a few seconds.
4. Add in water and simmer till chicken is tender.
5. Add in tomatoes, garnish with fried shallots and coriander leaves.

AYAM PANGGANG (BARBEQUED CHICKEN CURRY)

2009-04-19T10:49:00.006+08:00

1 chicken cut into 4 pieces
3 bowls coconut milk obtained from 1 coconut
1/2 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon tamarind made into 1/2 cup of tamarind juice

Grind together:
2 stalks lemongrass (use only the bottom 3 inches and stip away outer layers)
3/4 inch piece turmeric
1 inch lengkuas (galanggal or blue ginger)
2 cloves garlic
8 fresh red chillies
20 small onions or 2 big red onions

1. Heat oil in pan and fry grounded ingredients until well cooked.
2. Add chicken and salt and cook for a few minutes then add in coconut milk. Simmer till chicken is tender and the gravy is thick.
3. Add in tamarind juice and sugar.
4. Remove chicken from gravy and grill over slow charcoal fire until both sides are brown.
5. Put chicken on a plate and pour gravy over it.

KUEH LAPIS (BAKED)

2009-01-11T16:34:00.002+08:00

This is variously known as kueh lapis batavia, kueh lapis legit or kueh lapis spekoek. At home we just call it kueh lapis.

I used to have a friend from my old gym who made the most divine durian lapis. Once I asked her for the recipe and she very generously obliged. (Don't you just hate people who take so much pride in themselves as cooks that they refuse to share their recipes ... yet are never too shy to ask you for yours?) I tried it once or twice but ended up with a great big soggy mess both times so I gave up. I didn't know it at the time, but the secret to a good kueh lapis is the grill and oven position. This is my own recipe after meticulous research on the internet, old cookbooks and what I remembered from my friend's long lost recipe. It is the product of several failed attempts and lots of tweaking so I hope that whoever tries this will have success from the first try. The other thing is that I only have one hand held electric mixer so I've written the recipe sequentially ... does away with washing in between. Hence, I start with the egg whites first.

This is definitely not a fast and easy recipe but I find it quite therapeutic and almost meditative and there's this strange sense of disappointment when I reach the final layer. I like to bake this at night when it's cool and I have all the time in the world and there's no one around to distract me :)

As proof of how utterly undomesticated (and stupid) I am, I didn't know you're supposed to leave the oven door open while using the grill function :P Hence my lapis kept getting very burnt on the sides and bottom. I'm just lucky I didn't burn out the oven!

Ingredients -
250g unsalted butter
1/2 can condensed milk
2 teaspoons rempah kueh or cake spice or lapis spice (you can find it easily in the baking section of any Singapore supermarket)
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
3 tablespoons brandy (I confess I don't measure ... I just pour)
12 egg yolks
100g sugar
3 egg whites
pinch of cream of tartar
90g self raising flour
pinch of salt
1 can Nestle cream

Method -
1. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar till it's stiff and holds its own shape. It's important your bowl and beater are clean with not a trace of oil. Set aside.
2. Beat egg yolks and sugar till it's creamy and thick and goes from being yellow to a pale buttery colour. Set aside.
3. Cream butter till it's fluffy. Add condensed milk, spice, vanilla and brandy and continue beating until mixed. After this stage, I stop using the electric mixer.
4. Pour in beaten egg yolks and gently stir through. I just give it 3 or 4 stirs even if it isn't completely mixed. There's more mixing later and I don't want to stir the air out of the mixture.
5. Sift in self raising flour and a pinch of salt and gently fold in.
6. Fold in Nestle cream. (This isn't in any of the other recipes but I find it gives the cake a more tender, moist texture. It was my Gran's secret ingredient for her pound cakes).
7. Fold in beaten egg whites.

Baking method -
1. Set the grill function of your oven to moderate heat. Mine has settings ranging from 1 to 4. I use 3.
1. Butter the bottom of a 6 inch square cake tin. Cut a sheet of baking paper to cover the bottom of the tin, then butter again. Put tin in grill for a minute to warm up.
2. Pour a ladle-ful of batter into tray, spread evenly. The batter melts when it comes into contact with the hot tin so just tilt the tin to spread the batter.
3. In the oven, place cake as close as comfortably possible to the heat source. Grill for 3 minutes or until top is light golden brown. Remove from oven.
4. Use a toothpick to burst any bubbles on the baked layer. If you find that your cake has "domed" or there are big bubbles, use the bottom of a glass to gently press it flat. They sell a special contraption for flattening kueh lapis but I think you don't really need it. Pour on another ladle-ful of batter and tilt tin to spread it.
5. Grill for 3 minutes till the top is light golden brown.
6. Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all the batter is used up.
7. When the final layer has been grilled, cover the top of the pan with a baking tray, switch to oven mode, 150deg C and let it bake for 15 or 20 minutes.
10. When cake is done, invert over a wire rack to cool. Do not cut until it is completely cool. The cake actually tastes better when it's had time to sit for a while.

Notes about spice -
We can easily buy mixed spice for kueh lapis in the supermarkets here (my favourite is from Phoon Huat) but if you are unable to find it, you can apparently use Allspice. Or you can make your own mix as follows -

28g cinnamon powder
15g clove powder
7g star anise Powder
15g cardamom powder

With the ready mixed spice, I find that if my bottle is more than a couple of months old it loses its sweetish top note (I think that's the cardamom flavour) and just isn't as fragrant. Since so much work goes into a kueh lapis, I prefer to just buy a new bottle ... the results are worth the cost.

Variations -
~ For durian lapis, you can add about 250g of durian pulp to the batter before adding the egg whites and omit the mixed spice.

~ For prune lapis, you layer prunes every third layer or so.

TRIFLES

2009-01-02T15:29:00.000+08:00

This is the trifle I made for Christmas. I would have preferred more green but I ran out of kiwifruit :P

Sherry trifle is my ultimate comfort food ... it's sweet, squishy, creamy and gloriously boozy. I like making it at Christmas with fresh fruits like strawberries, kiwi fruit and mango or sometimes I use canned peaches in place of the mango. The colours are so beautiful and I like to decorate the top of the trifle like a Christmas wreath. The thing about trifle is that it looks beautiful in the serving bowl and it tastes wonderful but when it's served it tends to look like huge mess. So these days I prefer to serve it in individual glasses.

SHERRY TRIFLE

Strawberry sponge roll, sliced ... or pound cake, cut into cubes
Sherry
Fruit of your choice cut into cubes, or you're totally lazy, you can just use canned fruit cocktail
Custard (I just use custard powder to make a thick custard. The custard should be slightly firm when cold but not hard and not runny. What I do is to follow the instructions on the can but reduce the milk by about a quarter)
Whipped cream

1. Put a slice of sponge roll at the bottom of each serving glass.
2. Soak generously with sherry.
3. Layer chopped mix fruits on top of this (reserve some fruit to decorate) and I usually pour more sherry over them for good measure :D
4. Cook custard and let it cool. If you pour hot custard over the fruits, they will get all watery.
5. Whip cream till thick then spoon about a half inch layer on top of the custard.
6. Decorate top with mixed fruit and refrigerate. I like to just arrange fruit slices around the circumference, alternating the colours for a very pretty effect.

This is how mum did it and this is how we love it but you could also pour raspberry jello (make sure it's cool) over the fruit or cut it into cubes, then pour custard over that.

BEL'S CHOCOLATE TRIFLE

My friend Bel brought a chocolate trifle for dinner last night. It was so yummy, I decided to write down my lazy person's version of it here so I can reproduce it some time. Bel is definitely not a lazy girl .... she makes her custard with egg yolks and cream. I'm strictly a Bird's custard powder girl! hahahahahahaha. And I tasted bits of ginger and raspberries in hers but I couldn't really figure it out so this is my simple but boozy version -

Chocolate pound cake, cut into about 1 inch cubes
Canned dark cherries
Rum
Japanese coffee jelly (we buy this in the supermarkets here. Japanese coffee jelly has a lovely aromatic flavour but you could easily make your own with sweet black coffee and gelatin) Bel used 3 packs of coffee jelly for rather a large trifle
Custard
Whipped cream
Oreo cookies

1. Drain canned cherries and soak in rum for a couple of hours or, better still, overnight.
2. Put a couple of cubes of chocolate pound cake at the bottom of each serving glass.
3. Layer on the rummy black cherries and pour over more rum if necessary (I like it when the cake is all boozy!)
4. Pour a layer of coffee jelly over this.
5. When coffee jelly has set, layer custard over it.
8. Whip cream till thick, layer over custard and refrigerate.
9. Just before serving, cover top with crushed Oreo cookies so they're nice and crisp when eaten :)

(I like my trifles with nice thick layers of everything so that you can get the distinct taste and texture of each. Bel likes hers with lots and lots of very fine layers. It's just a question of preference).

This is Bel's recipe for custard, though I confess I'm rather scared of all that cream! -

20 fluid ozs of cream,
7 large egg yolks,
6 tablespoon of sugar,
vanilla extract.

1. Heat cream till almost boiling.
2. Add half of it, little by little to beaten egg & sugar.
3. Add the egg mixture back to other half cream, return to fire on low fire and stir till almost boiling (must watch otherwise will curdle, add in any flavouring when cooler but not cooled completely otherwise stirring cold custard can make it watery).
4. Make this ahead and refrigerate.

CARAMELISED ORANGE TRIFLE

Whilst we're in the mood for talking about trifles, here is a recipe from Delia Online which sounds absolutely yummy! I know I won't have the patience to slowly cut out orange wedges without the pithy part so I would probably just buy canned mandarins. Sorry Delia!

CHICKEN BIRYANI

2009-01-02T13:53:00.003+08:00

Many years ago when I visited my sister in Delhi, her maid Kamru cooked this for us. It was GORGEOUS! I've never been able to successfully make it as the rice always turned out soggy. However, I recently picked up some tips on the internet about how to cook basmati rice so this is the recipe I was given, which I've tweaked the cooking method for better results. I've not written it the usual way with ingredients in one section and method in another since there are so many ingredients and so many steps and I find it easier to follow the recipe sequentially. This is another of those "not for the lazy" recipes. I was just telling my friends yesterday, I have so much respect for Indian wives but I'm so glad I'm not one of them as I would most surely die if I had to do this every day!)

Serves 4

1.5 kg chicken pieces, with skin removed

1.5 tsp cumin seeds
2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
- roast spices till fragrant and grind till fine. Rub all over chicken

4 tbsp ginger paste
4 tbsp garlic paste
4 green chillies, slit lengthwise
100 ml yoghurt
2 tomatoes thinly sliced
50g mint leaves finely chpped
50 g coriander leaves finely chopped
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp nutmeg powder
1 tsp salt
- put in a deep bowl, add chicken pieces and cover. Let marinade for at least an hour.

2 tbsp ghee
2 cinnamon sticks
8 cardamons
8 cloves
2 bay leaves
4 onions, flnely sliced
-heat ghee and fry spices till fragrant. Then add onions and fry till golden brown. Add chicken pieces and cook till gravy thickens, oil separates and chicken is cooked.

Rice -

2 cups basmati rice, washed and soaked for about 1/2 hour then drained well. (I actually prefer the rice to the chicken and I've discovered that lots of people do too ... so I add another cup. I don't adjust the spices ... it's still yummy. Obviously if you increase the rice, you have to increase the water as well. No exact amount required since you're going to drain it anyway)

3 tbsp ghee
1 cinnamon stick
5 cardamons
5 cloves
1 star anise
1 bay leaf
- heat ghee and fry dry ingredients till fragrant. Add rice and mix well so that oil coats every grain of rice. Remove from heat.

4 cups chicken stock
100 ml of yoghurt
generous pinch of saffron soaked in 1 cup hot milk
1 tbsp rose water (I leave this out as I do not like it))
-bring the above to a boil and add in the rice. When rice is 80% cooked, remove it from heat and drain it.

- Heat a large pot, put chicken and gravy at the bottom, then the partially cooked rice on top of it. (I like to drizzle a bit of yellow colouring and some fried shallots on top of the rice) then cover with an airtight lid and let it cook for 10 minutes. Fluff rice up with a fork and remove large pieces of spice. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with -

50 g cashew nuts
50 g almond slices
- fried in a little oil till fragrant then add 50 g of raisins and cook till raisins puff up then remove from heat. Do not overcook as raisins will get burnt and hard.

30 g mint chopped mint leaves
30 g chopped coriander leaves

Note - In the original recipe, the chicken is put at the bottom of a pot and the uncooked ghee coated rice is put on top of that and then all the liquids poured in, covered and cooked. This just made a big fat soggy mess for me! I tried adjusting the amount of liquids, cooking it uncovered till most of the water is absorbed and never had any success. Then I came across this video on youtube and it was a godsend! Thank you so much, chef Sanjay! If you're visiting and you know a better way to do it, please leave a comment. I confess I usually shy away from ethnic cooking as there always seem to be these "secret methods" that make or break the dish.

PISTA KULFI

2009-01-01T10:56:00.000+08:00

I was planning an Indian dinner and decided to make kulfi since I love it. I searched the net for a recipe that sounded like it would turn out delicious and ended up with this one from Manjula's kitchen. Thanks, Manjula for such a simple and easy to follow recipe that makes perfect and delicious kulfi just like they serve in restaurants! My kulfi froze nicely with no ice crystals and had that wonderful, slightly chewy consistency that I love! For ease of reference, I'm reproducing the recipe here (with changes that I made).

Serves 6.

4 cups whole milk
1 slice white bread, with crust trimmed off
1 teaspoon cornflour (what Americans would term cornstarch)
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
Handful of cardamoms, roughly chopped

1. Blend bread, cornflour and 1/2 cup of the milk to form a paste. This paste will prevent the kulfi from forming ice crystals when it freezes.

2. In a large non-stick frying pan bring the milk to a boil over medium high heat, stirring continuously to prevent milk from burning (this takes some time).

3. Boil milk for about 12 minutes till it reduces to 2/3 its original volume. It starts developing solid bits .... this is ok.

4. Reduce heat, add the bread, cornflour, milk paste and let it cook for a further 4 minutes.

5. Add sugar a spoonful at a time, tasting in between (I say this because I found the original recipe a bit too sweet and ended up diluting it substantially with evaporated milk and another teaspoon of cornflour) and the chopped pistachios. Let it cook for another couple of minutes.

6. Take pan off the heat and add the cardamom powder, stirring well. (I added a little more than the 1/2 teaspoon as I like a stronger cardamom flavour).

7. When the mixture cools to room temperature, pour into a bowl or into small plastic cups and cover with clingwrap, making sure that the clingwrap touches the entire surface of the kulfi to prevent the formation of ice crystals.

8. Freeze for at least 7 hours.

EGGPLANT PARMIGIANA

2008-12-27T18:35:00.000+08:00

Another non-traditional offering from my kitchen but it was a big hit so I'm putting the recipe in here. I feel a little shy doing so as it was one of those "from the bottle" things I specialize in :D

2 big eggplants, sliced as thick or thin as you like them. I like mine about maybe 3 or 4 mm thick
olive oil
crushed garlic
marinara sauce (I just bought a bottled one .. I'm a lazy girl!)
chopped fresh basil (but I just used ready made pesto I had in the fridge ... told you I'm lazy)
grated mozarella
grated parmesan

1. Set oven to about 200 deg C.
2. On a baking sheet, spread olive oil and a little crushed garlic. Place eggplant slices on to and bake for about 15 or 20 minutes till brown. Turn oven down to 180 deg C.
3. In a smallish oven proof dish, arrange eggplant slices to cover the bottom. Sppon marinara sauce over the eggplant, sprinkle the chopped basil or spread on some pesto, sprinkle mozarella cheese over that and then parmesan over the mozarella. I like to sprinkle my cheese quite liberally. Keep layering will you finish up all the eggplant slices
4. Bake till cheese is brown and bubbling.

FRENCH ONION SOUP

2008-12-27T18:23:00.001+08:00

I love French onion soup but confess I never came across a recipe I liked when I was younger (when I used to cook more often) so I've never really made it. The other day we had a small roast beef dinner at home and I thought I'd try making it. I'm glad I did! I married a couple of recipes I found online and was pretty pleased with the results!

Serves 6

Soup -
6 yellow onions, chopped into half and then sliced semi-finely
1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
3 oz. butter
2 cups beef stock (I bought ready made stock from a gourmet grocer's)
4 cups chicken stock
liberal pour of sherry
liberal pour of brandy
1 dried bayleaf
sprinkling of dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Cheese croutons -
Small baguette sliced into about 3/4 inch slices
shredded gruyere cheese
A bit of crushed garlic
olive oil

For soup -
1. Melt butter, add onions and garlic and fry over high heat till they're browned slightly.
2. Turn heat down to the lowest setting and leave to cook for about an hour. The onions should have caramelized. Mine didn't, so I just turned up the heat and stirred them around till they turned browner and there was a nice caramel colour and smell). It took me about 2 hours.
3. Add rest of soup ingredients and bring to simmering point.
4. Turn down fire and let soup cook slowly for an hour.
5. Taste and adjust flavouring. I didn't need to as the stock I used was ready salted.

For croutons -
1. On a baking sheet, pour a little olive oil and a little crushed garlic. Mix them together and then place sliced baguette pieces onto baking sheet. Turn them over so that both sides are lightly covered with the olive oil/garlic mixture.
2. Bake at 180 deg C for about 20 minutes till they are crisp.

Assembly -
1. Ladle soup into oven proof bowls, put a slice of the crouton in each bowl, sprinkle shredded gruyere over.
2. Grill until cheese is golden brown and bubbling.
3. Serve immediately

LEFTOVER TURKEY PIE

2008-12-26T13:17:00.001+08:00

Another of my annual highlights :)

This quantity makes a large pie. I had lots of leftover turkey!

Leftover turkey, cut into cubes
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, diced
2 capsicum, diced
3 carrots, diced
3 potatoes, diced
2 punnets mushrooms, sliced or quartered or halved depending on the size
3 cans Campbell's cream of mushroom soup, undiluted (I used to make a white sauce with butter, flour and chicken stock but this is so much easier!)
1 small can tomato puree (add more or less according to your taste. You can even omit it if you like. I just added it cos I was kind of sick of white sauce)
2 or 3 tablespoons sour cream
liberal splash ... ok, more like a pour ... of sherry
pepper
parsley, chopped
butter
egg, beaten

Frozen puff pastry (I like Pampas)

1. Fry onion in melted butter till transparent and fragrant.
2. Add vegetables and stir.
3. Add in soup, diced turkey, tomato puree, sherry, chopped parsley, pepper and stir.
4. Let it stew a while till the vegetables are soft and the flavours have melded.
5. Add in mushrooms and let it cook a while more.
6. Pour into a heat proof dish and allow to cool.
7. Roll out pastry, cover pie, decorate, brush with egg wash and poke holes.
8. Bake according to instructions on pastry packet.

LEFTOVER ROAST BEEF PIE

2008-12-26T13:05:00.000+08:00

I make this once a year after Christmas or new year, depending on when we have roast beef at home. Yes ... I'm ashamed to say that's how often I cook and entertain :P My husband always looks forward to my leftover pie and I love the way his eyes light up when I serve it! This is what I made in 2008. We had friends over to help us eat it so I decorated the pie with "friends R fun" ... I wanted to say "friends R funny" but decided to be polite!

Again, I didn't put any quantities as it really depends on how much leftovers we have (but we tend to serve more than we can eat so that we'll have lots!)

Leftover roast beef cut into smallish cubes (I find if the cubes are too big it's not as nice)
Leftover gravy. If not enough, just make up some more ... I just used gravox.
1 large onion
chopped bacon
Carrots, diced
Mushrooms, sliced
peas (I just used frozen)
tomato paste
bayleaf
liberal splash of brandy
liberal splash of sherry
couple of splashes of Worchestershire sauce
finely chopped fresh parsley and thyme (only cos I had these herbs in the fridge, but not really necessary I think)
pepper
butter
a bit of flour for thickening, if necessary
egg, lightly beaten

Frozen puff pastry (I buy Pampas, not the ready rolled one ... it turns out better somehow when you roll it yourself).

1. Heat up some butter in a big pan. Fry chopped bacon and onion till fragrant and onion is transparent.
2. Put in carrots and peas and stir.
3. Put in gravy, roast beef cubes and bayleaf ... add tomato paste (I had a whole lot of leftover beef so I added a whole small can of tomato paste), Worcestershire sauce, brandy, choped herbs, sherry, pepper ... taste and adjust accordingly.
4. Let it stew till nice and rich, add in mushrooms and let it cook a while more then put into a bake proof dish. Let it cool.
5. Roll out puff pastry and place over the top of the dish. Poke a few holes in the pastry to let the steam out. I just use a fork. You can decorate it if you like ... I like to use the scraps of leftover pastry to do silly things like write "leftovers" or "friends" and stuff like that. Brush over lightly with egg.
6. Bake according to puff pastry packet instructions till pastry puffs up and is brown.

Note about pastry - I find you get the best results if you bake it immediately. It's not one of those things you can make ahead and put in the fridge till it's time to bake. When I did that once, the pastry was soggy on the inside and not as light and fluffy as it should be,

MENTAIKO PASTA

2008-11-19T18:47:00.000+08:00

When I told our friend Paul that I was writing all my favourite recipes in a blog, he said "you should really put in that Japanese fish egg pasta of yours" ... so here it is. Actually I should say it was my friend Bel who taught met this dish. I daren't even claim that this is the authentic way the Japanese like to eat it cos I've seen it on the menu in some Japanese restaurants and it looks nothing like the one I've been making :D But this is just how I like it ...

Mentaiko is a raw fish roe which you can find in any good Japanese supermarket. It's really salty and fishy but mixed up with everything else, it is quite simply divine :)

3 pieces of mentaiko
1 bunch spring onion, finely chopped (our supermarket sells spring onions in bunches ... I guess that would be about 8 stalks?)
2 bunches of shisho leaves, finely shredded (shisho leaves are sold in bunches as well)
250g butter, melted
olive oil (sorry, I don't measure the quantity but I just pour like maybe 5 rounds)
juice of 1 lemon
2 squid, boiled and cut into rings
seaweed strips
sesame seeds, toasted
small tub of ebiko (optional)

This makes quite a large quantity. Basically I taste as I go along ... so you can add more or less lemon juice or butter or olive oil to suit your own taste.

1. Squeeze the eggs out of the egg sacs and into a mixing bowl.
2. Add in melted butter, olive oil and lemon juice and stir.
3. Add in spring onions and shisho leaves.
4. Add in squid. I like to let this sit a while before tossing in the pasta, to let the flavours mingle and meld together.
5. (I like to add ebiko too as I love the way they pop in my mouth but it's not strictly part of the recipe. Japanese people reading this, please forgive me).
5. Add in the pasta and toss thoroughly.
6. Serve garnished with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds and seaweed strips.

NB: I have a confession ... I had a packet of instant mentaiko mix in my cupboard. It's just the mentaiko with seasoning, no shisho, spring onions and all that. I added it in and mmmmmmmmmmm ..... it was yummy. I think it's probably the MSG :P

STEWED PORK BEE HOON

2008-11-19T15:29:00.001+08:00

This is the ultimate comfort food! We used to eat it at our friend Jackie's house and raved about it so much that Mum asked her mother for the recipe. Auntie was kind enough not just to give us her recipe but to come over and demonstrate how to cook it personally! Thanks, Auntie!

In our health conscious youth, we used to put the tins in the fridge so that the fat would solidify and then skim it off and trim off every single bit of visible fat from the pork. But honestly, the thing that makes this dish really delicious is the rich, mellow flavour of the pork fat and the smooth, glossy texture it gives the noodles. It's just not the same without it. Well, eating healthily is of course good but I do sincerely believe that it's good for the soul once in a while to throw caution to the wind and eat whatever makes us happy! Even so, I usually end up throwing quite a fair bit of fat out.

I was heartbroken when they pulled the China canned stewed pork from our supermarket shelves even though I haven't eaten this for the longest time. There's just something about the thought of never eating something again that is so very sad. Then the other day, my husband and I were supermarketing and we happened to chance upon Narcissus stewed pork on the shelf (though we used to use Ma Ling before ... it really is the best!). His eyes lit up! "Heeey ......" Then his conscience got the better of him ... "no, no .. we shouldn't". Well, today I decided to surprise him. Yep, we're having stewed pork beehoon for dinner!

~ About 1 heaping tablespoon minced garlic
~ 1 packet bee hoon (rice vermicelli ... I like Chilli brand), soaked in hot water till soft, then drained
~ About 4 cups of beansprouts, pinch off the ugly root part
~ About 2 cups spring onions, cut into 2 inch lengths
~ 3 large cans or 5 small cans of stewed pork but you might need extra because sometimes you get nothing but fat in the can

1. Shred stewed pork. If it's really fatty, I throw out huge chunks of it. Mum would always say I'm throwing out the best part. I think next time instead of throwing it out, I shall use some of it to fry the garlic etc.
2. Fry the garlic and the white part of the spring onions till fragrant, then add the shredded pork and gravy. Stir around, then add the beehoon and the beansprouts. Lastly, the spring onions. Add pepper and some dark soy sauce (cos the Narcissus brand one is a bit light in colour ... it's just an aesthetic thing). As light soy sauce if necessary. Fry for a bit then serve.

So easy! That's all that is needed as the gravy is already so delicious, nothing more is needed. I like to put lots of beansprouts and spring onion as I think these help to cut down the richness of the dish and add a little crunch and pungence and I love the play of textures.

We serve it with sliced red chillies in light soy sauce but I like it just like that, without anything else.

There are several types of stewed pork available ... like with mushroom or with chestnuts. I just like the plain one. Just chunks of fatty fatty pork in rich, yummilicious gravy! Mmmmmmmmmmmm!!!

SALMON MOUSSE

2008-11-19T01:06:00.001+08:00

Another staple.

~ 1 can red salmon (15 1/2 oz),
~ 2 tablespoons mayonaisse
~ 15 g gelatin, dissolved in 1/4 pint hot water and 1/2 stock cube (don't boil)
~ 1 egg white, whisked till stiff
~ 3 tablespoons Nestle cream
~ salt, pepper to taste

Mix together all ingredients except egg white. I use a handheld mixer for this.
Fold in egg whites.
Pour into oiled fish shaped mould and set in fridge.
To serve, place some shredded lettuce on a large plate, unmould mousse onto shredded lettuce. Put a small piece of cherry where the eye is. Serve with melba toast.

BEAN SALAD

2008-11-19T01:02:00.001+08:00

Mum whips up a mean Christmas Eve dinner. This is one of her staples.

1 can green lima beans
1 can green string beans
1 can yellow wax beans
1 can kidney beans (rinse with cold water)
1/2 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped green peppers
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup salad oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

Mix all together and let stand overnight.

MACARONI AND CHEESE

2008-11-19T00:40:00.000+08:00

Mum used to make this when we were kiddies, except she used canned cocktail sausages, which we loved! This is my grown up version. I made it recently for my sister and Madam pronounced it delicious. If Madam says it is, then it must be! :)

Boil macaroni till just cooked, rinse with cold water and set aside.

~ 1 onion, chopped finely
~ 2 trays fresh sausages ... I used spicy Italian
~ 1 can sweet peas (these are sweeter than the frozen ones and heaven forbid that I should use the fresh variety! hahahaha)
~ 2 punnets button mushrooms, quartered
~ 2 Tablespoons plain flour
~ milk, boiled together with a sliced onion and some of black peppercorns then strained.
~ grated cheddar cheese (I like the strong, sharp type)
~ grated parmesan cheese
~ breadcrumbs

White sauce
1. Melt a generous dollop of butter in a pot, add flour and stir till cooked.
2. Add milk slowly, stirring thoroughly to prevent lumps from forming until it reaches thick, creamy consistency.
3. Add in grated cheddar cheese. I like it very cheesy so I add lots.

1. Fry onions till fragrant and transparent.
2. Squeeze out sausage meat into little "balls" and fry till cooked.
3. Add mushrooms.
4. Add macaroni, green peas and white sauce and mix together.
5. Taste and add salt, pepper to taste.
6. Pour into a baking dish, top with grated cheddar and parmesan and sprinkle a little breadcrumbs on top (I saw this on the Rachel Ray Show and it makes the topping nice and crispy). Dot generously with butter and grill until top is golden brown.

MASALA ROAST LAMB

2008-11-19T00:23:00.003+08:00

1 leg of lamb (1 1/2 to 2 kg)

10 cloves garlic, sliced finely
juice of 2 lemons
3 tablespoons cracked peppercorns

8 to 10 shallots
6 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons chilli powder
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 to 2 teaspoons mustard
1/2 cup yoghurt
1/2 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala powder
2 tablespoons mango chutney
3 onions sliced and fried till golden brown

1. Make slits in lamb and insert the sliced garlic.
2. Rub all over with the lemon juice and cracked peppercorns.
3. Grind all other ingredients into a paste, rub over lamb and marinate for at least 24 hours.
4. Roast at 200 deg C for one hour, then turn over and roast for further 30 minutes.
5. Squeeze lemon over lamb and serve garnished with coriander leaves and pickled onions.

NB: This is the recipe I was given. However I remember the lamb was rather dry and I like mine pink and juicy so I fiddled with the roasting temperature and time ... I surfed the internet for tips on roasting lamb and came up with this fomula -

Heat oven to 220 deg. C and roast for 20 minutes, then turn oven down to 190 deg. C and roast another 15 minutes for each pound. When lamb is done, let it stand for at least 20 minutes before slicing.

When I made this, I didn't make the slits in the lamb to insert garlic slices as it had the netting over it to hold it in shape. So I just increased the garlic in the marinade to 10 cloves. I didn't turn the lamb halfway either as I used a roasting pan which came with a raised grill. I had to cover the lamb with foil halfway as it started getting a little charred. And as some of my guests were a little late, the lamb stood for about 40 minutes before I sliced it ... but it was the most perfect, pink, juicy, tender lamb ever and a big hit with everyone!!!! What would we do without the internet? :)

PRAWNS COOKED IN CREAMY MASALA SAUCE

2008-11-19T00:13:00.001+08:00

Yummy with pasta too. I recently made the sauce and put in crab meat instead of prawns. It was absolutely delicious served over fettucini!

3 tomatoes
2 to 3 teaspoons chilli paste
1/2 cup red peppers
4 cloves garlic
- grind together with a little water

garlic, minced
2 onion, sliced
1/2 cup mixed peppers
2 stalks curry leaves

2 to 3 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup Paul's thickened cream
1 bunch chopped coriander leaves
2 tablespoons sugar
knob of butter

500 g tiger prawns, shelled and de-veined and pat dry

1. Heat 4 to 5 tablespoons oil (ghee and vegetable oil mixed) and fry garlic and onions.
2. Add mixed peppers and curry leaves.
3. Add ground tomatoes, chill etc.
4. Add ketchup and cook till reduced.
5. Add prawns, cream, coriander, sugar and butter.
6. Taste and add salt to taste.

I think this would probably taste great with shredded crab too! It's mild and tomato-ey, not very spicy.

FISH BIRYANI

2008-11-18T23:45:00.002+08:00

This does NOT fall into my easy to make category!

Once upon a time, I actually went for cooking lessons. I've made this a couple of times and it's nice for showing off ... but it really is a killer, preparation wise!

1 kg red snapper (ang go li in Hokkien), wash, pat dry and cut into 1 inch cubes
- Marinate with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon chilli powder and 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek.
- Deep fry till golden brown. Set aside. (The deep frying is necessary to prevent the fish from breaking up during the cooking process)

Curry

A
5 green chillies
3 red chillies
5 cloves garlic
1 cup shallots
2 tomatoes
1 inch ginger
- grind together then add -

2 dessertspoons chilli powder
1 teaspoon roasted cumin powder
1 1/2 teaspoon Baba brand fish curry powder
1 1/2 teaspoon salt.

3 dessertspoons ketchup

B
1 cup yoghurt
3 dessertspoons cashewnuts
3 dessertspoons raisins
1 cup mint leaves
- grind together

1 dessertspoon sugar

1. Heat 4 to 5 dessertspoons of oil (ghee and veg oil mixed).
2. Fry A over medium high heat till fragrant and spices start to separate from the oil. If this is not fried well enough or if not enough oil is used, the gravy will have a "raw" taste.
3. Add ketchup and B and cook until there is a layer of oil floating on top.
4. Add sugar.
5. Add fried fish and cook over low heat for about 10 minutes, mixing very gently to prevent fish from breaking into pieces.
6. Taste and adjust seasoning, add a little fish stock if necessary. I usually end up adding about a cup or more of water cos I like the gravy when it's not too thick.

Rice

2 cups basmati rice, wash and drain in strainer (subsequently I learned over the internet that you have to soak the basmati for about 30 minutes first)

3 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger
- grind together

2 big red onion, sliced
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup almond flakes

1 stick cinnamon
5 cardamoms
5 cloves
3 pandan leaves

3 cups seafood stock
few strands saffron, soaked in a little rose water
pinch yellow colouring (Ng Chee Lee no. 258)

1. Fry onions till brown and set aside.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons ghee and 1/4 cup oil and saute the cashews, raisins and almond flakes. Remove and set aside.
3. In the same oil, fry the cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves and pandan leaves till fragrant.
4. When fragrant, add rice and stir.
5. Add ginger and garlic paste and fry for 2 minutes.
6. Transfer rice mixture to a pot and add in stock, with a little of the fried onion, saffron and yellow colouring.
7. When water bubbles and little holes start to appear, lower heat and cover for about 12 minutes. Rice is cooked when you lift it up with a spoon and there's no moisture and rice is fluffy. Leave uncovered.

NB: Instead of adding the yellow colouring to the stock mix which gives a uniform pale yellow colour, I like to dilute it with a little hot water and sort of drizzle it over the rice before I cover it. That way I get a variegated colour with some darker yellow areas. I find that prettier and more like the biryani we eat outside :)

Assembly -

In an oven proof casserole dish, layer fish curry and fried onions
then rice
then nuts and raisins
then curry and fried onions again
then rice
nuts and raisins
... ending with fish and fried onions.
Garnish with coriander leaves
Cover with foil and bake in oven at 160 deg C for 10 minutes.

PHEW!!!

CHINESE BEEF STEAK

2008-11-18T23:26:00.000+08:00

Does anyone remember Tham Yui Kai? He was a famous Singapore chef in the 1960's and 70's. This was one of my childhood favourites and pretty easy to make. I've left out the MSG. Why is it we hardly use Lea & Perrins sauce any more these days? It's delicious!

2 lbs beef fillet, cut into about 1/2 inch mini steaks and bashed with the knife blade to soften
1 egg
1/2 tablespoon meat tenderizer
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon sugar
3 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
12 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons cornflour
2 tablespoons Lea & Perrins sauce
3 tablespoons oil

Mix the above and marinate the beef for about 3 to 4 hours.

Gravy

1 rice bowl stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons tomato ketchup
3 tablespoons Lea & Perrins sauce
1 tablespoon A1 sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Boil together.

1. Fry 5 to 6 pieces of beef at a time over high heat. When one side is cooked, flip over and fry till about 80% cooked.
2. Stir gravy and add in gradually. Boil for a while.
3. Transfer beef pieces to a plate, spoon some gravy over each piece.
4. Top with 2 fried eggs (sunny side up) and serve garnished with tomato slices.

By the way, they make this at the Chinese restaurant at Island Club, Bukit side. Yummy!

MEE GORENG

2008-11-18T23:11:00.001+08:00

I ate this at a friend's house and liked it so much, I begged him for the recipe. Thanks FH! But I've never managed to make it as delicious as he did.

Cabbage, shredded
Beansprouts
1 onion, chopped
Yellow noodles
chilli sauce
A1 table sauce
peas
potatoes, boiled and diced
tomatoes, halved and then quartered
2 eggs
Indian rojak

1. Fry cabbage, beansprouts and onions in large wok.
2. Add in mee and stir.
3. Add in chilli sauce, A1 table sauce, salt, light soy sauce and sugar to taste. Stir.
4. Add peas, potatoes and tomatoes.
5. Clear a patch in the middle and drop in a little more oil and diced onion.
6. Drop in 2 eggs and scramble.
7. Mix everything together.
8. Serve garnished with sliced green chillies, Indian rojak fried crispy and chopped into cubes and sliced cucumbers topped with A1 table sauce.

HAWKER STYLE HOKKIEN MEE

2008-11-18T22:58:00.000+08:00

Believe it or not, I made up this recipe when I was a teenager after watching how the hawkers do it! I'd forgotten all about it until I just found it written on the back cover of one of my really old cookbooks! It's one of those things I used to cook for my ex-boyfriend and thereby lured him into marriage .. hahahahahaha. And I remember ... it was REALLY good!

Sorry, no measurements ... everything is just "agak agak"

Yellow mee
Beehoon
stock
belly pork, boiled and cut into strips
prawns
squid, boiled and cut into rings
Chinese sausage (lap cheong)
spring onions, cut into 2 inch strips
beansprouts (taugeh)
garlic, minced
shallots
eggs

1. Make stock by boiling together prawn shells in water. Use this to cook the belly pork, prawns and squid. Add a chicken stock cube. (Hahahaha even then, this was my staple!)
2. Scald beehoon and mee and set aside.
3. Fry sliced shallots till brown. Remove and set aside.
4. In the same oil, fry the lap cheong. Remove and set aside.
5. In the same oil, fry garlic till golden brown.
6. Then break in 2 eggs and scramble.
7. Add spring onions, belly pork strips, lap cheong, squid rings and prawns.
8. Add in the mee and bee hoon and pour in some stock. Mix and cover for about a minute.
9. Stir again, adding more stock if necessary (I like mine nice and moist).
10. Serve garnished with brown onions and sliced red chillies.

CURRY PUFFS AND SAUSAGE ROLLS

2008-11-18T22:07:00.001+08:00

These are things that spell nostalgia for me. Mum used to make them for our kiddy birthday parties way back in the 60's when life was good, together with my other old time favourite, custard puffs. These aren't her recipes but recipes I've used and tweaked over the years ... but they still taste like old times to me :)

Curry puff filling

500 g minced beef
About 4 or 5 potatoes, diced
About an inch of ginger, minced
About 1 Tablespoon minced garlic (I buy the one that comes ready minced in a bottle)
1 big red onion, diced
4 heaped Tablespoons meat curry powder mixed with water to make a thick paste
lime juice
a bunch of coriander leaf, chopped (can omit, but I love the taste!)
1 small packet coconut milk (I like to use Kara brand)
1 chicken stock cube (my staple! hahahahaha)
sugar and salt to taste

1. Fry ginger, garlic and onions till fragrant.
2. Add minced beef and fry till cooked.
3. Add curry paste and fry for a few minutes.
4. Then add in potatoes, stock cube, some water and coconut milk (I just agak this ... enough to make it fragrant but not too lemak).
5. Let it simmer for a while, stirring occasionally. Add coriander and sugar, lime juice and salt to taste.
6. I like to let it cook till the potatoes get a bit mushy, then some of them will get mashed up and make a nice texture for the filling.

Roll out a pack of frozen puff pastry.
Cut into small circles.

To make puffs, stretch a circle of pastry in the middle so it gets a bit pouchy.
Put a spoonful of curry mixture in the middle.
Seal edges with a bit of water and pinch together gently.
Then starting at one end, pinch the pastry and turn ("pichit, pusing").
Keep doing this until the whole edge is sealed.
Brush with beaten egg and bake according to pastry pack instructions.
I will post photos to show how this is done soon.

Sausage roll filling

For this I just buy some fresh pork sausages from the supermarket. I like the fat English ones.
Squeeze the sausage filling out from the casing into a bowl.
To this, add one finely chopped onion, about 2 or 3 slices of bread (with crusts removed) soaked in milk till soggy, a beaten egg, a good pinch of salt and lots of pepper.
Use your fingers to mix it all together.

Assembly -
Roll out frozen pastry into a longish shape.
Put sausage filling about 1 inch from edge of pastry, all along the length of the pastry.
Fold the pastry over the sausage and brush some water along the edge of the pastry.
Then fold the whole thing over and cut away excess pastry.
Cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces, brush with beaten egg. I like to cut 2 little slits on the top just for decoration.
Bake according to pastry pack instructions.

YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!! I sometimes make these to eat in front of the tv while we watch the parade on National Day.

NB: I am really not ashamed to say I use frozen puff pastry. I usually get Pampas. No particular reason, just that we've always used it. A friend very kindly showed me how to make it from scratch once. All I can say is ... not worth the effort! :P

SATAY

2008-11-18T21:55:00.004+08:00

This is another one of those things I don't bother to eat unless Mum makes it :)

2 kg meat (chicken, beef or even belly pork which is super yummy!)
2 medium onions
5 cloves garlic
6 stalks lemongrass
4 teaspoons cumin powder
4 teaspoons fennel powder
4 teaspoons coriander powder
2 teaspoons turmeric powder
4 teaspoons galanggal powder
4 teaspoons lemon juice
300 g sugar
salt to taste
1/4 cup oil

1. Blend onions, garlic and lemongrass together.
2. Mix all ingredients together.
3. Cut meat into pieces ... we like ours relatively large, maybe about thumb sized.
4. Marinate overnight and then thread onto bamboo skewers, the blunt ends of which have been soaked in water to prevent burning.
5. Barbeque or grill.

Satay sauce

I asked Mum for her satay sauce recipe and she laughed saying it's from Mrs Leong Yee Soo's cookbook. I'm reproducing it here for ease of reference -

A
15 shallots
8 cloves garlic
2 stalks lemongrass, thinly sliced
20 - 30 dried chillies, deseeded or 4 - 5 tablespoons chilli paste

B
2 tablespoons salt
8 - 10 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons thick tamarind water

455g freshly roasted ground peanuts
225ml oil

1. Pound A to a fine paste
2. Boil pounded peanuts with 900 ml water over low heat till thick. Stir constantly for about 1/2 hour. Set aside.
3. Heat oil in wok and fry pounded paste A till fragrant and oil is separated.
4. Add paste to peanut mixture.
5. Add B. Boil over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes till sugar is dissolved, sitrring constantly.

BREAD AND BUTTER PUDDING

2008-11-18T21:28:00.001+08:00

8 fl. oz milk
8 fl. oz. cream
vanilla pod
3 eggs
4 oz sugar
buttered bread
prunes or raisins

1. Butter bread slices and arrange in layers with prunes or raisin in a baking dish.
2. Bring first 3 ingredients to boiling point and let stand to cool. Remove vanilla pod.
3. Beat eggs and sugar till foamy.
4. Mix egg and milk mixtures together. Pour over bread.
5. Bake in bain marie at 180 deg C for 40 minutes.

Custard sauce

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup milk
vanilla

1. Beat egg yolks with sugar.
2. Heat milk and vanilla and add slowly to egg mixture, whisking as you add.

Or if you're lazy like me, you can just use custard powder and make according to the instructions on the can :P Or really REALLY lazy like Mum, you can just buy a pack of ready to pour custard! Hahahahahaha. Gosh ... all our secrets!

SWEET TEA BUNS

2008-11-18T21:19:00.000+08:00

This recipe was given to my friend Amy by one of her clients. When I was working, I used to find it really therapeutic kneading bread. And they really are quite yummy!

2 tsp yeast
450 g bread flour
30 g castor sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp mixed spice
100 g butter
110 g mixed fruit
140 g strong hot tea
140 g milk

1. Soak mixed fruit in tea for 30 minutes.
2. Drain fruit. Mix tea with milk.
3. Mix all ingredients together and knead well until dough is supple.
4. Add fruit and knead some more.
5. Shape into little round balls and place on baking tray.
6. Prove for 30 to 45 minutes.
7. Glaze with milk and bake at 200 deg C for 15 to 20 minutes.
8. After baking, glaze with milk and sugar (1 tablespoon milk and 1 tablespoon sugar).

SHEPHERD'S PIE

2008-11-18T20:30:00.000+08:00

Hahahahaha ... apparently this is my best dish! My friends rave about it and I have to admit ... yeah, it's pretty good! My version is pretty decadent so I reserve it for special occasions and for times I need comforting .... it's like a hug on a plate! Real cooks scoff because this is classic me ... everything from a can or a bottle .. and then they have to grudgingly agree, it's good ... :D

1 onion, diced
500 g minced beef
splash of brandy
1 chicken stock cube
1 can tomato puree
1 can diced tomatoes
generous dose of tomato ketchup (best invention in the culinary world! Hahahahahahaha)
1 dried bay leaf
mixed veg

1. Fry the onion till fragrant and transparent, add the minced beef and fry till the beef is cooked.
2. Add some brandy and stir.
3. Add the mixed vegetables (sorry no quantities, I just use eyeball method .. whatever looks right)
4. Add tomato puree, diced tomatoes and bay leaf.
5. Add in ketchup and a can of water, using the diced tomato can. Let mixture simmer.
6. When mixture has reduced to a nice thick consistency, taste and add salt if necessary (I don't usually need to).

For potato topping, I put some boiled potatoes in a large bowl (sorry, eyeball method again), add some butter, grated cheddar cheese, a teaspoon of mustard, a little milk, salt and pepper to taste ... then I just use a handheld rotary mixer to mix everything together. So fast and easy ... I saw Delia Smith do it on the Food Channel :) Taste and adjust if necessary.

Put meat mixture into an oven proof dish.
Put mashed potato mixture on top and use fork to rake lines on it. Dot liberally with butter and put in grill until potato is a beautiful golden brown.

Sorry for the imprecise measurements ... it's something I've been making using the "agak" method since I was a teenager. I'll work out the amounts one day for the way I like it ... it is really a matter of taste, isn't it? I like my potato topping nice and cheesy so I chuck in a really evil load of cheese and butter. Be warned! :)

Sometimes I add in a sweet potato to the potato mixture ... it gives it a beautiful colour and rich sweetness ... yummy!

Although I'm a fan of instant food, when it comes to mashed potatoes only the real thing will do! In the days when I used to mash them with a fork, it was relatively hard work but ever since I discovered the handheld mixer method, easy peasy!

CHAI TOW KUEH (STEAMED RADISH "CAKE")

2008-11-18T19:25:00.001+08:00

This recipe is from Mum's friend Jessie. Thanks, Jessie!

1.5 kg radish, grated and squeeze out the liquid
1 1/2 cups soaked and chopped dried shrimp (hay bee)
3 Chinese sausages (lap cheong), chopped*
About 10 Chinese mushrooms, soaked and chopped
Fatty pork, chopped (sorry, no quantity ... I just "agak" one strip)*
About 10 shallots, sliced finely

Rice flour mixture
350 g rice flour
1 Chinese soup spoon corn flour
4 1/2 Chinese rice bowls chicken stock
4 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoons pepper
4 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1. Fry shallots, add pork, lap cheong, hay bee and mushrooms.
2. Add oil, fry radish till dry.
3. Add rice flour mixture and stir till really thick.
4. Put in well oiled pan, cover with foil to prevent water from dripping into it and steam for 1 1/2 hours.
5. Garnish wih finely minced chilli, fried crispy brown shallots, finely chopped spring onions and toasted sesame seeds.

* This is how I like it. Traditionalists prefer the taste of that waxy preserved pork thing (forgot the name) but personally I don't like it.

NB:
Grated pumpkin can be substituted for the grated radish for "kim keh kueh". I love this for its sweetness.

Cubes of yam can be substituted for "or kueh". In this case, at step 2, after frying the yam cubes for a while add in some of the chicken stock from the rice flour mixture to cook the yam for a while before adding in the rice flour mixture. You can add 1/2 teaspoon of 5 spice powder to the rice flour mixture if you like. I think that yam and 5 spice were just made for each other! :)

NO- BAKE PINEAPPLE CHEESECAKE

2008-11-18T18:58:00.000+08:00

Hahahahaha ... there was a time I thought this was just too unsophisticated to make but now my tongue sometimes gets tired of the rich, baked cheesecakes and craves this simple childhood delight! Courtesy of my sister, who is the real cook in the family. Well, she and my brother are both great cooks. I just main-main in the kitchen.

Base

2 cups crushed biscuits (I just use one roll of MacVittie's digestive biscuits)
125 g butter, melted
Pinch of salt

Mix together and press into 9 inch cake tin.

Filling

1 sachet gelatine powder (6 teaspoons)
450 g tin crushed pineapple, drained
250 g Philadelphia cream cheese
2 Tablespoons lemon juice (adjust to suit your taste)
1 cup hot water
6 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 pint (300 ml) cream

Dissolve gelatine in hot water.
Cream sugar, cheese and vanilla.
Add lemon juice and pineapple.
Whip cream and fold into mixture.
Pour onto base and set in fridge.

So simple and soooo good!

NB: Last time I made this, I didn't feel it was tart enough, so I added 5 tablespoons of lemon juice. Or maybe our lemons aren't as sour as they used to be :P And I love the biscuit base most of all so I like it THICK! I bought the long roll of MacVities biscuits and used a whole block of butter (250g).

KUEH BINGKA (TAPIOCA "CAKE")

2008-11-18T18:54:00.000+08:00

Mum's recipe ... it's the best! I don't bother to eat any other kueh bingka. Mum!!! Get the hint!!! Make some for me please! :D

2 kg tapioca, grated and squeeze out liquid
250 g butter
2 coconuts, grated - put 1/3 into the mixture and from the rest, squeeze out 10 fl. oz. milk
500 g sugar
5 eggs

Cream butter and sugar, add eggs, tapioca, coconut and coconut milk.
Bake at 180 deg C for 1 hour.

Divine!

MELTING MOMENTS

2008-11-18T18:48:00.000+08:00

I discovered the melt in the mouth goodness of these when I was a teenager. I can't remember where the recipe is from though.

500 g butter
1 cup icing sugar
1 cup corn flour
3 cups plain flour
vanilla essence and/or grated lemon peel

Use creaming method.
Put mixture into piping bag and make little swirly shapes.
Bake at 180 deg C for about 15 minutes
Dust with icing sugar.

Some people like to sandwich these together with butter cream icing but I like them just like that!

CHEESE BISCUITS

2008-11-18T18:44:00.000+08:00

Mum's cheese biscuits ... I think this could be another recipe she got from Auntie Elsie.

1/2 lb butter
1 lb flour
3/4 lb grated cheddar cheese
2 eggs
water
1/2 teaspoon salt

Use creaming method. Roll out pastry, cut into shapes, poke with fork to decorate.
Bake at 180 deg C for 10 to 15 minutes till golden brown.

We never did it but you can sprinkle some cayenne pepper on top of the cookies before baking.

OATMEAL COCONUT CRISPIES

2008-11-18T18:40:00.000+08:00

This wasn't part of my Gran's Chinese New Year repetoire but we used to make them ourselves. Mum loves the flavour of coconut in baked goods and I have to say I agree with her!

8 oz butter
8 oz white sugar
8 oz brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup dessicated coconut

Use creaming method.
Form into little balls and press with fork.
Bake at 400 deg F

Gosh, I'll get around to converting these old recipes to metric one day!

KUEH BANGKET ... OR RATHER, KUEH BANGKIT :D

2008-11-18T18:12:00.000+08:00

This is another of my Gran's recipes. They are light, crisp and wonderfully melt in the mouth coconut flavoured cookies. When I was a little girl, we had a lovely Chinese New Year tradition where my mum and all my aunties would gather at Gran's house to make cookies and tarts. I loved the atmosphere and I loved helping wherever I could. I can't remember my sister or any of my cousins being there ... so maybe they were outside playing. I was a strange kid who always preferred the company of older people. Actually I still love spending time with my uncles and aunties :) This is the recipe written in Mum's little notebook but I have to ask her if she ever added pandan leaves when making the coconut syrup cos I seem to remember that. Better yet, I think I'll ask Mum to make me some for Chinese New Year this year! I haven't eaten home made kueh bangket for years and I think it's high time to revive a good old tradition! I think I would a pinch of salt to the syrup too, as coconut desserts always taste better with a little salt.

I've noticed a lot of visitors to my blog arriving on this kueh bangket recipe so I googled it. Wah! I'm no. 2! How did that happen? To my visitors, this is a genuine old fashioned nyonya recipe. Try it and tell me how you like it!

Hahahahaa ... now I know why I was no. 2 ... I spelled it wrongly! Seems it's spelt "kueh bangkit". I notice most people use tapioca flour instead of sago and very few bother to fry it till it's light and airy. That is a very important step for getting the right texture.

1 lb sago flour
3 oz plain flour
500 g grated coconut
1 egg
sugar

1. Fry the sago flour and plain flour in dry kuali over low heat until it takes on a light texture. This takes some time and requires a lot of stirring to make sure all the flour is "cooked" but is a very important step.
2. Squeeze coconut without water to extract a thick milk. I think when Mum is in Australia and unable to get fresh grated coconut, she just uses packet coconut cream.
3. Add same quantity of sugar as coconut milk and cook with 3 pandan leaves tied in a knot and a pinch of salt till it forms a syrup.
4. Cool coconut syrup, remove pandan leaves and transfer to a large bowl, add in beaten egg and stir.
5. Add in flour mixture, little by little. Gran just used her hands to mix everything and knead the dough. When the dough is done, it pulls together into a ball instead of sticking to the sides of the bowl and it stops sticking to your fingers too.
6. Roll to about 1/3 inch thickness and cut out shapes. You can still find traditional kueh bangket cutters which come in flower, bird and fish shapes but if you don't have them you can just use any small cookie cutter with a flower pattern. Pinch with tweezers to decorate.
7. Bake at 350 deg F for 10 to 15 minutes.

ALMOND BISCUITS

2008-11-18T17:53:00.004+08:00

We've been making these from the days we called them biscuits and not cookies :D Mum got the recipe from her dear friend Auntie Elsie in Perth. Auntie Elsie has long left this earth but I still remember her very fondly. This is not the Chinese almond biscuit, it's basically an almond flavoured shortbread and it's delicious despite its simplicity.

250g butter, at room temperature
125g cornflour
250g plain flour
125g sugar
I teaspoon almond essence
Blanched and peeled almonds, cut in half lengthwise

1. Mix butter and sugar till combined ... do not overbeat or mixture will spread.
2. Add sifted flour and cornflour.
3. Add essence
4. Shape into little balls and press almond onto the top, flattening slightly.
5. Bake at 180 deg C (170 deg in my oven) for about 20 minutes until slightly brown and fragrant. The biscuits will continue to brown after you take them out of the oven so don't bake them too brown.

N.B. The mixture is quite firm and the balls should more or less hold their shape. If they spread, it could be because you've overbeaten the butter/sugar mixture.

PINEAPPLE TARTS

2008-11-18T17:32:00.013+08:00

My Gran made the best pineapple tarts ever! I used to love the run up to Chinese New Year ... Mum, her sisters and sisters in law would gather at Gran's house and everyone would sit at Gran's long long dining table and roll, cut and pinch the pastry. When I was very little, my job was to sit in the kitchen and watch the clock and then run and alert them whenever 10 minutes had passed. I think they were just trying to get rid of me!

Pastry

1 kg plain flour, sifted with a pinch of salt
750 g butter, very cold and cut into cubes
4 eggs, beaten

1. In a large bowl, rub butter into flour until mixture resembles bread crumbs. These days I just use my KitchenAid to do this.
2. Make a well in the centre and pour in beaten eggs.
3. Mix until mixture comes together.
4. Cover with clingwrap and refrigerate for 1/2 hour.

Jam

4 large pineapples
5 cups sugar (* see below)
A handful of cloves
1 stick cinnamon
1 star anise
1 tablespoon golden syrup

Boil pineapple pulp and spices WITHOUT sugar till the amount of liquid reduces substantially. (If sugar is added from the start, the mixture has a tendency to spit and make stirring very painful!) Then turn down heat, add sugar and let it simmer gently till it reaches desired consistency, stirring to prevent burning. Add the golden syrup towards the end. I put the spices in a muslin bag so they can be easily fished out. I take them out when I'm adding the sugar so it isn't all sticky and easier to wash.

As for when to stop, I think it takes a practiced eye/feel because the jam firms up as it cools so if you cook it to what you think is right, it may end up becoming hard when cool. On the other hand, if it's too wet you won't be able to roll it into balls. My cousin cousin Janice gave me a pretty good tip. When you think it's done, put a little on a saucer and pop it in the freezer. When it's cooled, take it out and see if it's firm enough.

About the jam ... if you go to the market and tell them you want pineapples for making jam, they will give you the slightly underripe ones. That makes for a nice, tart jam and also, the underripe ones are more fibrous so the jam has a better texture. I like to mix these with the sweet ones 3:1. My Gran taught me that the pineapple should be hand grated rather than put in a blender cos the blender cuts the fibres too short whereas grating by hand gives the jam nice long fibres which makes for better texture. For the spices, Mum just uses cloves but I like the flavours of the other spices too. My friend Amy told me her aunt used grated papaya to give the jam a richer colour. My gran used golden syrup. I used to use commercial pineapple jam when I was working but honestly it just doesn't match up to fresh home cooked jam.

* I should mention that Mum's original recipe was 3/4 parts sugar to 1 part pineapple and she squeezed out part of the juice before cooking. I simplified the sugar quantity to 1 1/2 cups per pineapple (Mum gave me an earful for this!) Now that I don't squeeze out the juice but boil to reduce it, I have reduced the sugar because there is a lot of sweetness from the pineapple juice (and it's healthier fruit sugar too but it means a LOT longer on the stove!) This is just a rough guide and can be adjusted depending on the size and ripeness of the pineapples and how sweet you like the jam.

Assembly

Set oven to 180 deg C. (My oven is fan forced and very hot so I set to 165 deg)

1. Roll out pastry to desired thickness and cut out tart shape.
2. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes and remove from oven.
3. Put a ball of jam onto pastry case, decorate the top with a small cut out pastry shape.
4. Return to oven and bake for a further 5 to 10 minutes.

Variations -

While Gran always made open tarts, Mum used to make ball shaped tarts where the jam is enclosed within a shell of pastry. Then she'd brush them with beaten egg** (see below) and pop a clove in each tart. These days, these closed tarts are pretty common but in my childhood I don't remember anyone else who made them. I confess that I love these closed tarts ... they're so much easier to make and the cloves give them a lovely fragrance!

My method differs from Mum's in that I cream the butter and eggs then add in the flour rather than use the rubbing in method for the pastry. It makes for a softer, more tender crumb. Because I'm extremely anal retentive about my tarts being exactly the same size, I use 7g of pineapple jam and 14g of dough. I make all these little balls of jam and dough before I set about making the tarts. Then I pop the dough into the fridge for a while.

** I've discovered a more beautiful way to glaze my tarts. If egg wash is applied before baking, it "pulls apart" and isn't very pretty. This is because the pastry expands slightly while it bakes. And whole beaten egg is too runny. The trick is to bake the tarts first for about 10 - 15 minutes then apply the glaze, which consists of an egg yolk diluted in a little water. I use a water colour brush as I have to paint around the clove stem (squirrel hair ... such an indulgence!)

Variations of pastry for the pineapple balls

The main thing about these variations are the addition of milk powder and using egg yolks instead of the whole egg. This makes the pastry crumblier and richer and adding sugar and vanilla makes it taste more cookie-like. I like this but Mum doesn't. It's a matter of preference.

Supposedly Smiling Orchid's recipe - super rich and crumbly. Given to me by a friend whose Mum apparently got the recipe from Mrs Choo.

500 g butter
100 g sugar
4 egg yolks plus 1 egg (if use 6 egg yolks even better but can't imagine the cholesterol!)
700 g plain flour
100 g milk powder
pinch salt

Cream butter and sugar, add in eggs then flour and milk powder.

Phoon Huat's recipe - similar to above but with vanilla flavour. I'm rather partial to this pastry

500 g butter
620 g plain flour
4 egg yolks
50 g skimmed milk powder
100 g sugar
vanilla essence
pinch salt

Use creaming method as above.

In today's (12 Jan 2009) newspaper supplement, there was a recipe from Mandarin Hotel's Pine Court.
Caveat ... I haven't tried this out yet but I may try it this year ... cheese pineapple tarts were quite the craze a couple of years back and my sister was mad about them!

1 kg plain flour
700g butter
50g cheese powder (what on earth is this? I guess I could blitz grated cheese with the flour to get a finer texture)
60g icing sugar
3 eggs

1. Sift flour into a bowl.
2. In another bowl, combine butter, icing sugar, cheese powder and egg.
3. Stir egg mixture into flour and mix to form dough.
4. Wrap and chill for 1 hour till firm before using.

BUTTER CAKE

2008-11-18T17:20:00.003+08:00

This is my Gran's recipe which I've been using this since I was a kid in primary school ... it's that easy! Gran's secret was the tin of Nestle cream. It makes the cake so mois. It's actually so easy to remember this recipe .. everything is just "half" ... half pound butter, sugar and flour and half dozen eggs ... no need for recipe!

1/2 lb unsalted butter, softened (250g)
1/2 lb sugar (250g)
1/2 lb self raising flour (250g)
1/2 doz. eggs at room temperature (6 for those too young to remember the Imperial system of measurement)
1 teaspon vanilla extract
1 can Nestle cream
3/4 teaspoon salt

1. Cream butter, salt and sugar till pale yellow and creamy,
2. Add eggs, one by one.
3. Add vanilla.
4. Fold in sifted flour.
5. Add cream.
5. Bake at 180 deg C for 1 hour.

That's it, so easy!

Variations -

For an orange cake, just add the zest of 1 orange.

For a chocolate cake, add 2 oz cocoa powder and reduce flour by slightly more than 2 oz cos cocoa tends to make the cake a little dry.

For a marble cake, divide the batter into half after adding in the vanilla. To one half add flour and to the other half add flour/cocoa powder. Pour the batters in alternately and then use a spatula to give it about 3 big swirls. Don't make too many swirls as it will make the cake look a bit messy. You can make orange/chocolate marble cake too.

You can use this batter for cupcakes too. For cherry cupcakes (which my baby of a husband loves), just dredge some chopped cherries in flour and add them in at the end.

I think the list of variations are as endless as your imagination ... but these are the ones I use most often :)

EASY PEASY SUGEE CAKE

2008-11-18T17:09:00.005+08:00

This recipe was from a friend who's an excellent cook and is the recipe I use when I don't have the time or patience to beat whites and yolks separately ... which is all of the time! Don't let the simplicity of the recipe fool you ... in fact, it tastes just as good as the laboriously prepared one with all those egg yolks. I know this cos Mum likes it and Mum's very hard to please. I've tweaked the original recipe somewhat and cut down the quantitles to fit my 6 or 7 inch square cake tin.

250 g butter
250 g sugar
80 g plain flour
170 g semolina (sugee)
pinch salt
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
1/2 teaspoon almond essence
4 eggs
100 g packet chopped almonds
1 teaspoon baking powder
generous dose of brandy
1 can Nestle cream

1. Cream butter and sugar, add sugee, cover and leave to soak overnight.

2. Add eggs one at a time, beating well in between.

3. Add essences and brandy.

4. Mix flour, salt and baking powder together and sift. Add half to mixture, then cream, then rest of flour.

5. Add chopped almonds, pour into prepared pan, bake at 170 deg C for an hour or until a skewer inserted comes out clean. To get an even rise, I lower the temperature by 10 minutes every 10 to 15 minutes till it's 140 deg C (fan forced).

SUGEE CAKE

2008-11-18T16:32:00.004+08:00

This recipe is from Mum's neighbour at No. 2. who was so kind she didn't just give Mum the recipe, she actually invited her over to watch her make it! I find the rose essence a bit strong though, so only add a few drops instead of 1 teaspoon.

The quantities given can be halved ... the half quantity is enough for my 6 to 7 inch square cake tin.

This recipe is for all the purists out there. I find I get an equally delicious cake with this recipe. Honest!

500 g butter
575 g sugee (semolina)
90 g plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
14 egg yolks
4 egg whites
180 g total of chopped tungkueh (candied wintermelon), candied nutmeg and chopped almonds
2 Tablespoons brandy
1 teaspoon rose essence
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
pinch salt
pinch cream of tartar

1. Cream butter. Add sugee and let soak overnight.
2. Add the brandy and essences to the chopped wintermelon, nutmeg and almonds and let it soak overnight.
3. Next day, butter and line 8 or 9 inch square cake tin. Set oven to 180 deg C.
4. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and set aside.
5. Beat egg yolks with sugar till thick and creamy, add to butter mixture.
6. Fold in sifted flour and a pinch of salt.
5. Fold in egg whites.
6. Pour into cake tin and bake for 180 deg C for 15 minutes, then lower temperature by 5 degrees every 15 minutes until it reaches 150 deg C. (Watch cake to see if it starts peaking in the middle. If it does, turn down temperature even if it hasn't reached 15 minutes).
7. Bake for 1 1/2 hours total or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

SUGEE FRUIT CAKE

2008-11-18T16:14:00.001+08:00

This recipe is from my mother in law. Thanks, Ma! It's totally and sinfully delicious and I always looked forward to getting some at Christmas in the days before she started getting healthy and cut down on stuff like sugar, butter and egg yolks. Healthy eating is of course a very good thing ... but there are times you just have to indulge a little and enjoy!

125 g currants
375 g raisins
65 g cherries, chopped
65 g chopped nuts (I use almonds ... they come in 100g packets ... I use the whole packet)
65 g glace citrus peel
2 Tablespoons honey
1 teaspoons allspice
2 Tablespoons each brandy and sherry

Mix all together and let soak for a few days. I like to let mine soak for at least a week. I find the best results are obtained when the sugar from the dried fruit mixes with the alcohol and becomes gorgeous and fragrantly syrupy. The other thing I do is to put in the essences as well ... to give all the flavours a chance to meet and mingle. And I don't stick to the stated amount of alcohol :)

I have a confession ... I just use 600g of mixed fruit.

250 g butter
300 g sugar (I reduce to 250g)
250 g semolina (sugee)
8 egg yolks
4 egg whites
1/2 teaspoon rose essence
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Butter and line a 8 inch square cake tin. Set oven to 180 deg C.

1. Cream butter and sugar, add semolina and let soak overnight.
2. Beat egg yolks till creamy and add to butter mixture.
3. Add essence and soaked fruit mixture.
4. Beat egg whites till stiff and fold into mixture.
5. Pour cake mix into lined cake tin, bake at 180 deg C for 15 minutes, then lower temperature by 5 deg every 15 minutes until it reaches 150 deg C.
6. Bake for 1 1/2 hours total or until toothpick inserted into cake comes out clean.

I have another confession ... the last few times I made this, I didn't bother to separate the eggs. I just added them in one by one. And I added my gran's secret ingredient ... a can of Nestle cream. It was gorgeous!

CHOCOLATE RUM CAKE

2008-11-18T15:57:00.000+08:00

Today, my husband and I were talking about where to bring my cousin for dinner for his birthday on Thursday. And then he said "want to bake him a cake?" Huh? Me? Took me completely by surprise ... see, I'm not particularly well known for my culinary skills, least of all by my husband ... or maybe he secretly thinks I'm a good cook?

This is what I'm making him ... it's a variation of my sister's famous (among her obviously alcoholic dive buddies) rum cake. I just like chocolate better. By the way, there are several versions of this recipe on the net so I don't take credit for it at all. And it's my kind of recipe ... everything instant and from a box! Shhhhhhh ........

Cake

1 box chocolate cake mix (I like Duncan Hines)
1 packet instant chocolate pudding mix (I notice they now come in 2 sizes, I used the smaller packet)
4 eggs
1/2 cup dark rum
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cold water

Whisk together, pour into prepared cake tin and bake at 175 deg C for an hour.
So simple!

Rum glaze

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup dark rum

Boil first 3 ingredients till sugar melts, add rum.

When cake is ready, take out of oven and cool for about 10 minutes.
Poke holes in cake to create channel for the glaze to be absorbed, then slowly pour glaze over cake.

I find the cake tastes best after soaking up the glaze for 3 days cos the flavours and textures have had time to meld and mellow.

I've made this cake with gluten free cake mix and it tastes just as good. For my sister's version, just substitute yellow cake mix and instant vanilla pudding.

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Although this cake is really yummy, it is rather plain looking. I've been thinking how to dress it up for celebratory purposes. So, inspired by Awfully Chocolate's chocolate cherry rum cake, here's my (totally different) version -

Chocolate Rum Butter Cream Frosting:

1/2 cup Rum
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons corn syrup
1 bar dark chocolate (I used Lindt 85%)
6 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
250 g butter

1. Heat rum, sugar, and corn syrup in saucepan over low heat, stirring gently, until sugar dissolves. Add chocolate and stir till it melts.
2. Remove syrup from heat and let cool slightly.
3. In a large bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until mixture is thick and pale.
4. Add hot syrup to yolks by pouring slowly down the side of bowl, while beating the mixture.
5. Let mixture cool then add softened butter 1 tablespoon at a time, beating well after each addition until frosting is perfectly smooth.

Assembly -

1 can dark cherries

1. Put the cake in the fridge so that it firms up.
2. Cut it in half, lengthwise. If the top is uneven, then cut it so it's flat.
3. Drain the dark cherries and pat them with kitchen paper so they aren't so squishy and wet.
4. Spread some frosting on top of the first layer, then put the cherries on top of that.
5. Put the second layer on and frost the whole thing.

* I got some feedback on this ... My cousin took the remainder of the cake home after dinner and apparently he and his son loved it but his wife wouldn't let them eat it cos it was "too sweet". So when she was out the next day, they finished the whole lot! Hahahahahahaha ... I was so happy to hear this ... always nice to have my efforts appreciated!