Meal 4 two

Pan fried fish basil, cherry tomato balsamic sauce

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:49:20 +1100

This dish is fool-proof! Really, trust me!

1 min to defrost the fish in microwave, 1 min to cut the tomatoes and marinate the fish and 10 min max to cook! it’s that easy!

Ingredients:

8-10 cherry tomatos
1 X fish fillet
Basil (Gourmet Garden Basil in tube)
Garlic (Gourmet Garden Garlic in tube)
Balsamic sauce
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

Heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil on frying pan
Seasoned the fish fillet with salt & pepper
Place the fish fillet on the frying pan and pan fried on medium heat for about 2-3 mins on each side.
Once the fish is cooked, set a side.
Cut the cherry tomatos into half and cook them on medium hear on the frying pan. Cooked till the tomatos are soft and add a pinch of garlic.
Add balsamic sauce ( more if you like more sauce, less if you like thick sauce)
Toss the frying pan so the tomato and the balsamic sauce are well mixed.
Spoon the mixture on top of the fish with a handful of fresh basil OR a few pinch of basil from the tube.

Fast, easy and fool-proof dinner in a flash!

Sunny side up egg with bacon & toast

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:35:00 +1100

Another yummy easy to cook breakfast from my collections! To make this dish to taste even yum-mier! Add a tablespoon of tomato chutney!

Ingredients:

2-3 pieces of bacon (trim away the fatty bits)
1 piece of toast
1 egg
Pepper (optional)

Method:

Get the toast ready while you cook ;)

Heat the frying pan with 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil
Place the bacon on the frying pan and cook for 2-3 mins each side
Pace the cook bacon on top of the toast
crack an egg on the frying pan and leave it there for 2-3 mins on medium heat.
Serve the egg on top of the bacon and toast hot.

Add a tablespoon of tomato chutney (optional) to make taste even better!

Home made Pizza

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 20:51:00 +1100

I am not a big fan of greasy Pizza but I don’t mind slightly healthy looking wood fire gourmet Pizza! :)

This easy recipe not only satisfied your cravingut also healthy to your waistline.

Ingredients:

Pita bread as pizza base
handful of mushrooms
1/2 small brown onion, sliced
1/2 red capsicum, cut into strips
slices of Avocado
fresh chilies (optional)
Shredded BBQ chicken ( I used ready made BBQ chicken from WW)
Tasty/mozzarella Cheese

Sauce:
2 tablespoons of BBQ sauce
2 tablespoons of Tomato sauce
1/4 teaspoon of Garlic mince
pinch of Oregano
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Combine all ingredients to make the sauce. Spread evenly on the pita bread.
Spread the chicken, onion, capsicum, and mushroom evenly over the pita bread.
Lastly sprankle some cheese on top of the pizza.
Pop the pizza into the oven and set the oven on grill mode.

Your yummy pizza should be ready in less than 10 mins!

Thai Fish Cake

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:00:00 +1100

I always thought fish cake is something very difficult to make. If you have the right ingredients and with a few smart short cut steps, fish cake can be a quick and yummy meal!

Ingredients:

2 pieces of firm white fish fillets, coarsely chopped. ( I used Ling)

NOTE: A great short cut way is to buy the fish paste from Asian Grocey.

Coriander ( I used Gourmet Garden coriander in tube)
1/4 cup cornflour
1 tablespoon of Olive oil
2 tablespoons of fish sauce
2 tablespoons of sweet chili sauce
2 tablespoons of curry paste
1 egg, lightly whisked
3-4 green beans, finely chopped
lime wedges
sweet chili sauce to serve

Method:

Place the fish in the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add coriander, corn flour, fish sauce, chili sauce, curry paste and egg, process until well combined.

NOTE: I do not have food processor, so I spent almost 30 mins chopping the fish on a chopping board. It’s hard work, but it makes the fish cake taste extra good! :)
Remove the fish mixture form the food processor and add in the beans and stir until well combined.
Heat frying pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil
Scoop a spoonful of mixture and flatten it on your plam before placing it on the frying pan
Cook on each side until golden brown.
Transfer to a plate with paper towel to remove the access oil.
Repeat the same process with the remaining fish mixture.
Serve hot with sweet chili sauce and lime wedges

NOTE: The beauty of this dish is you can freeze them. So cook more and freeze them in the freezer.

Ham Omelette

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 21:50:00 +1100

Breakfast is a must to start my day. Without breakfast, I will be hunting for snacks around office by around 11-ish! So, the key to fit a breakfast in our everyday life is time! Every morning we have about 30 mins to prepare and eat breakfast, so I do keep a handful of recipes that I alternate every second day so we won’t get bored!

Here is one of my quick, easy and yummy breakfasts recipe:

Ingredients:

2 X eggs
a dash of milk
1 tablespoon of olive oil
a handful of ham ( I used triple smoked ham)
salt & pepper to taste
2 X pieces of toast

Method:

Whisk the eggs in a bowl, add a dash of milk and continue to whisk.
Add salt and pepper into the egg
Heat the frying pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil
Pour the whisked egg into the frying pan, reduce the heat to medium
Hold on the to handle of the frying pan and move in circular motion so the egg flow evenly on the frying pan. Repeat this action until the egg is set.
Place the ham on one side of the circle as you will have to flip the side of the egg without ham to make a half circle omelette.
Flip the other side of the egg (without ham) onto the side with ham to make a half circle.
Cut the omelette into hald and place it on top of the toast.

Enjoy this yummy breakfast before you start your busy day!

Gyoza (Japanese Pan-Fried Dumplings)

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 +1100

Found this yummy recipes online! TJ and I love Japanese food! It can be quite expensive if you opt to dine out in a good Japanese restaurant. So I have decided to try to make my own Gyoza. Gyoza is something we wouldn’t missed as entree whenever we dine in a Japanese restaurant.

Here is my version of Gyoza!

Ingredients:

2 cups of shredded Wom-Bak (Chinese Cabbage)
1/2 teaspoon salt
400g chicken mince (traditionally Gyoza is made with pork mince, but I used chicken mince instead)
1/2 tablespoon freshly grated ginger (I used Gourmet Garden ginger in tube)
2 – 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 teaspoon miso paste
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon crushed red chili pepper
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1X pack of dumpling wrappers (around 30 wrappers)

Dipping Sauce:

6 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
Several drops of chili oil or sesame oil (optional)

Method:

1. Place minced cabbage with the salt in a large bowl and let it sit for 10 minutes. Then using both hands, squeeze the cabbage firmly to drain and discard the excess water (prevent your dumplings from becoming mushy) and then transfer the cabbage to a deep bowl.

2. Add the pork, ginger, garlic, miso, sesame oil, crushed red pepper, and sugar. Mix everything together with your hands until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

3. Have a small bowl of cold water ready. Lay a Gyoza wrapper on a dry work surface, and place a teaspoon of the meat mixture in the center of the wrapper. Dip a finger in a cold water and trace a line along half of the edge of the round wrapper. Fold the wrapper over to enclose the filling, and pinch the wrapper in the center to seal the edges together. Holding the filled half-circle, pleat the top of the wrapper, pressing it to the flat edge of the wrapper at the back.

4. In a frying pan, heat 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil over medium-high heat. Carefully place as many of the dumplings that can fit with the pleated-wrapper edge up. Cook the Gyoza for 3 minutes, or until nicely browned on the bottom.

5. Once the bottoms are nicely browned, pour in 1/4 cup of the water into the frying pan. When the hissing and splattering die down, drizzle in 1/2 teaspoon of the sesame oil. Place the lid over the frying pan to steam the Gyoza for about 2 minutes.

6. When the wrappers appear slightly translucent and the meat feels firm when pressed lightly with a spoon, that means the Gyoza is ready! Serve the dumplings hot accompanied by the dipping sauce.

4. While the dumplings are cooking, make the dipping sauce by mixing the soy sauce and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.

French Toast with a twist!

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 09:39:00 +1100

Dad introduced me to French Toast when I was young. This simple recipe has helped me through my “poor student” uni years!

This morning, I wanted to make something different for us. TJ is not a big fan of standard French Toast, so I came up with this idea!

Ingredients:

4 slices of bread (2 slices per serve, I used multi-grain)
Brie cheese thinly sliced
100g shaved ham
a dash of milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoon of butter
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Whisk eggs and milk in a shallow dish. Season with salt and pepper.
lay the thinly sliced brie cheese on 1 bread and lay ham on top of the cheese. Put the other slice of bread on top.
Heat the non stick pan over low to medium heat. Add a little bit of butter to coat the surface of the pan.
Dip the bread into the egg mixture (I flip the bread in the egg mixture a couple of times)
Cook for around 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown.
Cut the French toast in half and serve.

Chilli Beef mince stuffed mushroom

Wed, 21 Oct 2009 14:03:00 +1100

I absolutely adore mushroom! In any shape or form :) I’m sure there are plenty of recipes out there that are similar but I discovered this dish by accident! Came home from work, hungry and don’t know what to cook for dinner. Found 4 ingredients in my fridge: beef mince, eggplant, mushroom and cherry tomatos. This is what I came up with and I am very happy with the result!

Ingredients:
400g beef mince
Cherry tomatos
mince garlic
1/2 eggplant, cut into cubes
Fresh cut chilies
Big mushrooms

Method:

Clean the mushroom and season it with some salt. I usually brush the mushroom with butter and place them in the oven for 10 mins.

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan. Cook cherry tomatos until soft then add in garlic. Mashed the soft cherry tomatos until it become tomato puree. Leave the tomato puree aside.
Toss the eggplant in a hot frying pan and set aside.
Heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil in frying pan and cook the beef mince. Combine tomato puree and eggplant together with the beef mince. Add fresh cut chilies. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the cooked mince on top of the mushroom.

Bake Egg & Bacon Breakfast

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 11:52:00 +1100

This is one of the easiest and yummiest breakfast you can ever made! You can never go wrong with bacon and egg! Perfect idea for breakfast in bed for you and your loved ones!

Ingredients:

1 egg per serve
2 pieces of bacon
2 pieces of bread (any kind, i used multi-grain)
Butter
Salt & pepper to taste
Cherry tomatos

Method:

First, butter 1 side of the bread and place it on flat pan to toast.
Cut the toasted bread into strips that fit into your bowl. Pleace the bread strips along the side of your bowl ans fill the bottom of the bowl with the rest of the bread.
Cut the bacon into small cubes and a quick toss in the flat pan
Filled the bowl with the cooked bacon
Crack an egg on top of the bacon
Place it in the oven to bake at 180 degree (fan forced) for 15-20 mins.
While waiting, grill the cherry tomatos.

Serve the ready breakfast with grilled cherry tomatos on the side.

Hope you enjoy it!

Sago Gula Melaka

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:21:00 +1100

Yummy Yummy Malaysian dessert! Warning: Can be abit too strong for you is you are not a big fan of coconut milk! But trust me, you gotta try this :)

Ingredients:

1 cup small sago pearls
5 cups water 4 pieces pandan leaves
200g gula melaka, chopped into small pieces
1 can of coconut milk a pinch of salt (optional)

Method:

1. Put water and pandan leaves into a pot and boil 10 minutes so the pandan flavor comes out. Remove the leaves. Throw in the sago pearls, stir well. Let it simmer 10 minutes, stirring all the time. The pearls will turn transparent but there will still be a dot of white in the middle. Turn off the heat, put the lid on and leave 10 minutes till the sago all turned transparent.

2. Pour the sago through a metal sieve over the sink and stir with a spoon so that the glue will run through the sieve, leaving just the sago pearls. Scoop sago in serving cup and let it chill in the fridge for unless couple of hours.

3. Meantime, melt the gula melaka with water in a small pot over low heat. Do not stir, just let the sugar thicken into a thin syrup. Let it cool; it will thicken slightly.

4. Serve chilled sago pudding with the gula melaka syrup and lots and lots of coconut milk.

Roti with Chicken Curry

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:12:00 +1100

One of the popular Malaysia’s legacy - Roti Channai. Back home, there are all sorts of Roti you can order at Mamak stall. Mamak is a food establishment which serves mamak food. In Malaysia, the term mamak refers to Tamil Muslim who generally own and operate them. Traditionally operated from roadside stalls, popular among Malaysian youths as hang out spots, due to cheap food and beverages being served 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. (taken from WiKi)

One of the easy meal you can create on the weekend. With the help of frozen food available in Asian groceries, you can master this dish in no time!

Ingredients:

1 pack of frozen roti
4 chicken drumsticks, chopped to half
2 chicken thigh fillet, cut into pieces
2 medium sized potatos, cut into 4 pieces per potato
1 pack of A1 instant curry paste (this is by far the best instant curry paste)
2-3 tablespoon of coconut milk
2 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 brown onion, diced

Method:

Cut the chicken drumsticks into half and cut the thight fillets into smaller pieces.
Marinate the chicken pieces with the A1 instant curry paste, leave it in the fridge for about 20 mins.
Heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a pot, cook the onion until translucent.
Add in the chicken pieces and stir evenly
Add 1 cup of water, continur stir evenly
Add in the potato pieces (Short cut tip: put the potato pieces in microwave for 5 mins, so it’s already half cook!)
Add 2 tablespoon of soy sauce
Add 2-3 tablespoons of coconut milk
Stir evenly and turn off the heat.
Leave the curry aside

Roti:

Remove the frozen roti from the pack.
Heat the frying pan without oil
Place the roti in the frying pan and let it toast. Flip the other side to do the same.

Tips: To get crunchy effect on the roti, run the roti through cold water (quickly) before toast it in the frying pan.

Serve the roti with the chicken curry. You may reheat the curry again if you like your curry serve hot.

Beef with mint yogurt

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 12:33:00 +1100

Easy and healthy dinner! TJ loves this meal! You can even make extra and freeze it in freezer! Convenient for lunch too!

Ingredients:

400g Beef mince
1 brown onion
1 teaspoon of mince garlic
1 teaspoon of sweet paprika chili powder
2 teaspoons of cumin powder
1 egg
Pitta or other flatbread for serving
Salt & pepper to taste

Mint yogurt
250g natural yogurt
2 teaspoons of honey
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
pinch of sugar (optional)

Method:

Heat oil in frying pan; cook onion and garlic until translucent, but not brown.
Combine onion, garlic, spices, beef and egg in a bowl; season salt and pepper to taste. Mix all ingredient well.
Take a handful of the mixture and make them into a shape of sausage or patties (whichever you like)
Pan fry/grill/BBQ them until cook.

Serve the beef with mint yogurt, pitta and salad.

Penang Char Hor Fun Recipe (炒河粉)

Sun, 04 Oct 2009 15:07:00 +1100

This is one of my favorites food! I must stressed this dish is created in the Penang way. You can get similar kind of Hor Fun almost everywhere in Malaysia. The one and only Penang style Hor Fun is slightly darker and is stir fry with soy sauce!

Ingredients:

1/2 pack hor fun or flat rice noodles ( I bought the ready to eat from the fridge section of Asian grocery)
1/2 pack vermicelli (optional)
3 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
12 shrimp (peeled)
12 thin pieces of fish cake
2 tablespoons corn flour
white pepper to taste
1 teaspoon of chicken stock
5 Bok Choy (cut into 2-inch length)
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon mince garlic

Method:

Soak the hor fun/flat rice noodle in hot water for 5 mins or until soft.
Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a wok. Place the hor fun/flat rice noodle into the wok and add soy sauce and dark soy sauce and stir until the sauces and hor fun/flat rice noodle are well blended. Dish up and set aside.
Heat 1 teaspoon of oil and cook garlic, prawns and fish cake. Add oyster sauce, soy sauce and white pepper.
Add the chicken stock and 1/4 cup of water immediately and bring it to boil.
Add in the starch mixture (corn flour & water) to thicken the gravy and cracked an egg into the mixture.
Add in the Bok Choy, do a quick stir and turn off the heat.

Pour the gravy and toppings on the hor fun/flat rice noodle. Serve hot.

Penang Muachee/Muachi

Sat, 26 Sep 2009 11:55:00 +1000

It was freezing in Melbourne yesterday! We are at the end of September and it supposed to be Spring now, instead, it was raining for the past week and was 11 degree yesterday.

After breakfast, TJ and I decided to stay at home as the weather was too miserable to do anything! So i have decided to make Penang Muachee/Muachi! From memory it is a dish that it’s not easy to made, but after doing some research online (google of course!) I found some easy recipes. I read through a few and decided to create my own version :D

Here is my own version to share with you guys:

Ingredients:

2 cup glutinous rice flour ( you can get them from Asian grocery)
2 tablespoons tapioca flour
1 1/2 cup water
Fried shallot crisps

Ground Peanuts & Sugar Mixture

1 cup ground roasted peanuts
1 cup sugar

Method:

Mix the glutinous rice flour and tapioca flour with water to form a batter. Transfer the batter into a pan. Steamed over high heat for 10-15 minutes until the glutinous rice paste is completely cooked through in the centre. Let cool.
In a deep dish, mix the ground roasted peanuts and sugar. Cut a small piece of the rice paste using a plastic knife. Drop it into the mixture and start cutting the rice paste into smaller cubes. Coat well with the mixture, dish out and serve immediately with some fried shallot crisps. Taadaaa!!!

Hope you enjoy it!