Ban Dai Big Sushi Roll Maker

A friend of mine bought this 'toy' from Takashimaya. She had some vouchers to use up, or else she wouldn't have bought it either cos at $49.95....it's VERY expensive and not quite worth it.

This ad makes it look so easy. It doesn't seem as fun or easy to use actually, it was faster to roll the sushis in the traditional way. But it IS very cute as most Japanese things go. But maybe u get better with practice?

It comes with cute 'Recipe Cards'

Pre Cut Strips of Daikon Radish for Sushi

Found this packet of precut Daikon Radish. It's cut the perfect size and length for a standard sushi which is really great! I found it from the Korean supermarket for a reasonable price. The only downside is I wish it came in a resealable packet. It's definitely hard to find a container that is the same length as the radish. So I ended just putting the whole packet inside a clean bag (you know those fruit and vege bags you use at the supermarket, I bought a whole roll of it).

Myojo Mee Siam Instant Noodles

If you've never tried Myojo brand instant noodles, then you should go out and get some and try it. The noodles are different to your standard curly instant noodles, I don't know know how to quite explain it. They were springy, yet firm and just overall tasty. I firstly tried the Tom Yum flavour and it was pretty good. Then they came out with their newest flavour Mee Siam. As far as I know I don't think there's any other brands that have a Mee Siam flavour instant noodles.

I must say these are very very good. It's sweet, spicy and sour at the same time. I wouldn't say it's the same as Mee Siams you buy at hawker centres, but I think it's pretty good for an instant noodle. And it is noodle, not vermicelli (beehoon).

Vietnamese Coconut Waffles

Ever since I got my waffle maker, I've been searching for a specific waffle recipe. Waffles in the Western world are seen to be a breakfast item, or dessert that goes with ice cream. But in Singapore and other parts of Asia, waffles are seen as a snack item which you can simply buy from a shop. Usually in Singapore bread shops have a little waffle stand set up near the entrance. You put in your order and they'll make it for you on the spot. If you're unlucky you'll get one that was pre-made and had been sitting on top of the waffle maker for a while. But most often than not, you usually get a fresh one. And you get your choice of topping such as chocolate, strawberry jam, peanut butter, or kaya (pandan jam) or simply plain.

E and I are rather picky when it comes to our waffles, we like them crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. And we want that crispiness to last too. Some shops sell nice tasting waffles, but it's just soggy and no crispiness at all. If I had to describe it I would say it is more like pancakes rather than Belgian Waffles.

If you've been following my blog, you'd know that I've tried out 2 other waffle recipes. One with Buttermilk/Milk and the other the yeasted variety which is what Beligan Waffles are supposed to be like. But I still wasn't satisfied. My Mum told me that she had a recipe that used coconut milk, but she couldn't remember the recipe off hand. So what do I do, I Googled of course! And came across this website for Vietnamese Coconut Waffles. And the rest is history.

I now declare that I do not need any othe waffles recipe. This is the it. The texture and taste of this one is entirely different to the previous ones I made. Previous ones tasted like a cross between pancakes and crumpets. But these tasted like a cross between pancakes and cake. E said I shouldn't share the recipe, but since I got it from another site, I think it's only fair that I share it with everybody. So here it is:

Source: http://www.vietworldkitchen.com/blog/2007/08/vietnamese-coco.html

This yielded about 6 waffles on my waffle iron.

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour
7 - 8 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar, or 1 teaspoon baking powder
1 egg, separated
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla or pandan extract

1. Heat the waffle iron and have an electric mixer handy. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cornstarch, salt, soda and cream of tartar (or baking powder). Use the whisk to combine the egg yolk, coconut milk, butter, and extract of choice.

2. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and use a rubber spatula to gently stir. Switch to a folding motion toward the end to incorporate all the flour. If the resulting batter looks lumpy, that's okay. Expect the batter to be thick. Avoid over-stirring, lest the batter becomes over worked and yields a chewy, tough waffle. Set aside momentarily

3. Use the electric mixer to beat the egg white for about 1 minute, or until it holds a 1 ½-inch peak. It will look solid white. Use the rubber spatula to gently fold in the egg white.

4. Spread a decent amount of batter onto the waffle iron, stopping short of the far outer edges since the batter will spread once the top is lowered. (I often don't fill up all the holes and let gravity distribute the waffle.) Cook the waffle until golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Darker waffles will be crisper (and stay crisper) than lighter ones. Aim for medium-brown, not light tan.

5. To remove the waffle, I use a pair of mini tongs with a silicon head so as not to scratch the surface of the non stick waffle iron. Place the waffle (which will be slightly soft) onto a cooling rack, where it will crisp up. Break up the waffle and enjoy warm. They'll soften as they sit but may be reheated to a crisp in the toaster oven.

Below is the picture of all 3 waffles side by side. I'm not sure if you can see clearly, but the Buttermilk Waffles (the one on the right) had the smoothest looking surface and this went soft pretty much immediately. The Yeasted Waffles (middle one) looked more 'patchy' to the rest, but i'm not sure why. It certainly was crispy, but you could also taste the yeast which might not be for everybody. It was also the one that took the longest to cook (would probably make everyone starved at breakfast). The Vietnamese Coconut Waffles (left one), not sure if you can really see has a bit of a cake like appearance and the colour was more even (but I guess uneven colouring would also depend on individual waffle irons and different photo conditions). Its batter was also the easiest to handle without over filling the waffle maker and having it drip or overflow.

Easy Crispy Yeasted Waffles

Previously I tried out a Buttermilk/Milk Waffles recipe hoping that it was the recipe that would give me crispy waffles that stayed crispy even after they sat on the plate for a while. Well I found one that's pretty good and is MUCH easier to do than the previous Buttermilk Waffles recipe. This will now become my go-to waffles recipe. But I also want to note that eventhough this yielded a Crispy on the outside and Fluffy on the inside type of waffles, it still didn't taste like the 'Asian' waffles. Not sure if you've had them before (not the soggy Prima ones) but they're crispy on the outside and light on the inside....it's a cross between a cake and waffle. I highly suspect they use coconut milk in their recipe just like the chinese egg rolls/love letters that you see during Chinese New Year (If you've never had chinese egg rolls/love letters, they taste like a waffle cone). Must hunt for that recipe. In the meantime, give this recipe a go.

Source: http://www.crispywaffle.com/2007/09/best-and-easiest-yeasted-waffle.html

I can't quite remember, but using my waffle iron, I think this recipe yielded 8-10 waffles.
Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp instant yeast
1 stick melted butter (1/2 cup or 110 grams)
2 cups warm milk (heated to about 110 degrees)
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp sugar (add 3/4 cup of sugar if you intend to eat this as is without honey/syrup)
1/2 tsp salt

The night before:

1. Combine and whisk together the dry ingredients in a large bowl: flour, yeast, sugar and salt.
2. Combine the melted butter and milk. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients.
3. Whisk eggs and vanilla together in a separate small bowl. Add the egg-vanilla mixture to the other mixture, and whisk until well-combined.
4. Cover with plastic wrap and stick in the fridge until tomorrow morning. (The batter can rise for 10 to 24 hours.)

The next morning:

1. Prepare waffle iron as usual. Stir the batter to deflate it (it should be puffy and frothy).
2. Add to waffle iron the same way you would other batter, keeping in mind that this batter will rise more than batters that use baking powder instead of yeast.

Baked Croque Monsieur - Nigella Lawson's Express recipe

A Croque Monsieur is basically a toasted Ham and Cheese sandwich French style. Nigella Lawson goes one step further in her Express cookbook by making it an easy next day breakfast or brunch by preparing it the night before and keeping in the fridge till morning.


We really liked the crispy top, but wasn't that into the soggy bottom. If ever I decide to make it again, I may put the baking tray on the hob after taking it out from the oven just to brown and dry up the bottom a bit more.

Here is the recipe I've amended from the original:

Ingredients:
6 slices bread (brown, white, multigrain whatever)
1/3 cup Dijon mustard or 1/3 cup Sun Dried Tomato Pesto
3 slices of cheese
3 slices of ham
6 eggs
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk
4 tbsp grated Cheese (any kind you like)
good sprinkling of Worcestershire sauce

1. Spread the mustard or pesto on the bread slices and make sandwiches with the cheese and ham. If you wish, cut the sandwich diagonally to make two triangles.
2. Squash the sandwich into an appropriate sized baking dish.
3. Beat together the eggs, salt and milk and pour over the sandwiches in the baking dish.
4. If you're not cooking it immediately, cover the dish with cling wrap and put in the fridge overnight.
5. Next morning preheat the oven to 180C and remove the cling wrap from the dish. Before you bake it, sprinkle over the grated cheese and worcestershire sauce. Place on the lowest rack in the oven and bake until the top is golden brown.
   

Crispy Prawns using Ottogi Frying Mix

This Korean Ottogi Frying Mix really gives whatever you're frying a nice crispy coating. I was surprised at the fact that the prawn tails were so crispy that you could eat it. I wanted to try to see what it was like if I just fried it with the flour without making a batter, but it didn't turn out very nice, dried up the prawns and made it shrink. So to make the batter, just add some water to the flour mixture. Pour a little at a time to get the consistency you want. I usually like to have the batter not to runny so they'll stick better. I must say, I'm usually very afraid of frying prawns but the batter coated the prawns so well that the oil didn't spit at all.

The prawns are nice as is. But I added a cereal mix to it and turned them into Cereal Prawns...yumm...my favourite!

Home-made Buttermilk/Milk Waffles

I've been looking for a crispy waffles recipe and tried this one out. Not exactly crispy unless you crispen it again in a toaster or oven. The website suggested you turn on the oven to low heat and put the the waffles on the rack in there while you finish making up the rest so they stay warm and crispy. I didn't manage to save the website I got it from tho. They do taste good after toasting them, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I've got another recipe to try (a yeast one), so keep a lookout for my review on which one is the best.

Oh I also like to eat waffles plain (like Belgian waffles) so I upped the sugar quantity too. But if you like to douse your waffles in honey or syrup then by all means scale back the sugar.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk or 3/4 cup buttermilk+1/4 cup milk
6 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large egg, separated
1/2 cup sugar (or 1 tbsp sugar if you want it unsweetened)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
1. Mix flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, baking soda in medium bowl. Measure the milk and oil; mix in the egg yolk and set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat the egg white to almost soft peaks. Sprinkle in the sugar and continue to beat until peaks are firm and glossy. Beat in vanilla.

3. Pour milk into dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed. Drop the whipped egg white into the batter in dollops and fold in with a spatula onto hot waffle iron and cook until waffle is crisp and brown.

Thai Minced Chicken Salad (Larp of Chiang Mai)

This is sooo good, I simply can't get enough of it. This is also when I discovered the yummiest secret ingredient - Toasted Ground Rice! Sprinkled over the salad the taste of the dish completely changes! I've known about this ingredient for a long time, but I've never tried it, now there's no turning back. It's recommended that you use Glutinous Rice for the ground rice, but I didn't have any. I figured Short Grain Rice would probably work just as well (maybe even normal Long Grain Rice would probably work too). I really don't know if it would've made a difference, but I'll try it next time just to see.

When I ground up the toasted rice, I was really surprised that it had a peppery fragrance. I now declare it as my new favourite 'ingredient'!

To toast the rice: put some uncooked rice in a dry pan over high heat and keep stirring until the rice has become nutty brown colour. Remove from heat, grind using coffee or spice grinder and store in a container to use whenever you like.

Recipe adapted from: Classic Thai Cooking Course by Kit Chan

Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
450g minced chicken/pork/duck/beef
1 stalk lemongrass, finely chopped
3 kaffir lime leaves, finely chopped
4 red chillies, chopped (optional: seeded)
4 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp roasted ground rice
2 spring onions, chopped
2 tbsp coriander leaves
mixed salad leaves, cucumber and tomato slices, to serve
a few sprigs of mint, to garnish

My Notes: I omitted the lemongrass because I don't fancy chewing lemongrass in my dish. I don't mind lemongrass as an ingredient as long as it can be fished out later. I also added more lime juice and fish sauce than recommended because I like more salt and sourness. And I also added a ton more ground rice just because it was that good!

Method:

1. Cook the mince chicken until brown. You can add some water if you wish and cook till the water has evaporated.
   
2. While the chicken is cooking, chop up all the other ingredients.
3. Transfer the chicken into a bowl and add all the other ingredients except for the mixed salad leaves, cucumber, tomato and mint.
4. Serve on the bed of salad leaves either at room temperature or cold.
   

Home-made Buttermilk/Milk Waffles

I've been looking for a crispy waffles recipe and tried this one out. Not exactly crispy unless you crispen it again in a toaster or oven. The website suggested you turn on the oven to low heat and put the the waffles on the rack in there while you finish making up the rest so they stay warm and crispy. I didn't manage to save the website I got it from tho. They do taste good after toasting them, crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. I've got another recipe to try (a yeast one), so keep a lookout for my review on which one is the best.

Oh I also like to eat waffles plain (like Belgian waffles) so I upped the sugar quantity too. But if you like to douse your waffles in honey or syrup then by all means scale back the sugar.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup milk or 3/4 cup buttermilk+1/4 cup milk
6 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large egg, separated
1/2 cup sugar (or 1 tbsp sugar if you want it unsweetened)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
1. Mix flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder, baking soda in medium bowl. Measure the milk and oil; mix in the egg yolk and set aside.
2. In another bowl, beat the egg white to almost soft peaks. Sprinkle in the sugar and continue to beat until peaks are firm and glossy. Beat in vanilla.

3. Pour milk into dry ingredients and whisk until just mixed. Drop the whipped egg white into the batter in dollops and fold in with a spatula onto hot waffle iron and cook until waffle is crisp and brown.

Nice dried noodles to keep in the pantry

A while ago I made some Bakmi Kangkung (or Kangkung Noodle Soup, click here for recipe). Traditional yellow egg noodles are used for this, but since I didn't have any, I improvised with these dried noodles I had in the pantry. Turns out these noodles taste great, it's chewy and springy and doesn't go soggy even after soaking in the soup a long time.

Chocolate BlackBerry Cupcakes

Adapted from the book "500 cupcakes & muffins" by Fergal Connolly.

I made this last weekend in honor of Father's Day. Yummy cake, 'nuff said!

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes:
100g blackberries, fresh or thawed frozen (see my notes below)
3 tbsp water
225g caster sugar
100g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
100g soft margarine (I used butter)
2 eggs
1 tbsp cocoa powder

For the ganache:
150g plain dark chocolate, broken
150g double cream
12 blackberries

Method:
This recipe will only yield 1 dozen small cupcakes.
1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Place 12 paper baking cases in a muffin tin.
2. Place the blackberries, water and 115g sugar in a small saucepan over low heat. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the fruit starts to release its juices. Set aside to cool. (MY NOTE: I really don't think this step is necessary, I don't really see the purpose of it and is actually wasteful because you don't use up all of the mixture. I think just use the blackberries in its normal form unless you're very afraid of sour fruits, Just push the fruit inside the batter once you've spooned them into the cases).
3. Combine the rest of the cupcake ingredients in a medium bowl and beat with an electric whisk until pale and creamy, about 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Spoon the batter into the cases. Spoon a little of the fruit on top (again I say a better method would be to just push the fruit into the batter. Bake until brown and cooked through. Remove the tin and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cupcakes and cool on rack.

To make the ganache: melt the chocolate and cream in a medium bowl over a pan of simmering water, until glossy and smooth. Dollop a spoonful of ganache onto each cooled cupcake, and top with a blackerry. (MY NOTE: I only used 100g of chocolate and 100 of whipping cream - couldn't find double cream - and it was more than enough, even had leftover).

Tomato & Olive Muffin

Recipe adapted from the book "500 cupcakes & muffins" by fergal connolly. Original recipe was for Tomato & Basil Muffins. They were a bit dry and lacked flavour. Although it was supposed to be a savoury muffin, I think a little sugar would have gone a long way. It tasted a lot like a foccacia tho so would make a good breakfast muffin.

Ingredients:
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil
320g plain flour
2 tbsp baking powder
pinch of salt
4 lightly beaten eggs
125ml olive oil
320g tin condensed tomato soup
3 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 175C. Grease a 12 cup muffin tin.
2. In a medium bowl, mix the basil, flour, baking powder and salt with a spoon.
3. In a large bowl, combine the eggs, olive oil, soup and sun-dried tomatoes with an electric whisk until well combined. Mix the flour mixture into the soup mixture until just combined. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin. Bake for 20 minutes or until brown and cooked through.

My Notes:
I didn't have any sun dried tomatoes or basil, so I substituted with chopped olives and dried thyme. I also used mini muffin pans and it yielded about 30 of these babies.

Bacon Carbonara Recipe

I don't know why I never tried making Bacon Carbonara before. It's so simple and delish!

Whip some eggs in a bowl, add some cream or evaporated milk, grated Parmesan Cheese, lots of black pepper and salt. While the pasta is cooking, snip some bacon into small pieces and pan fry till crispy. Once the pasta is al dente, drain and add to the egg mixture and toss to coat. Sprinkle the bacon pieces on top and tuck in!

My Version of delectable Butter Crab

So this is my version of the delectable Butter Crab we oft see in restaurant menus. The first time I tried it was at the Mellba Seafood Restaurant. I tried to 'recreate' it as best as I could. Ingredients included Evaporated Milk, Chopped Chilli, Curry Leaves and Butter. I think I should've added more water to the sauce, cos it was really rich. The sauce is really nice with some crusty bread too.

We bought the crabs from Pasar (wet market) and our seller is great, they'll even kill, clean and chop the crabs for you. Definitely saves u A LOT of trouble!

Soto Betawi - Indonesian Beef Soup

Indonesia has a lot of different kinds of 'Soto' and they're all generally pretty good including this delicious one called Soto Betawi. It's a creamy soup made up of lots of spices (as most indonesian foods go), thickened or made creamy with the addition of coconut milk or for a healthier and just as good version Evaporated Milk. I have no idea how to make it from scratch altho I'm pretty sure I have it in one of my cookbooks. But why bother when I can just buy the premixed spice paste from Munik right? It's just like buying ready made Thai Curry Paste, makes life much easier for the busy cook :)

The meats in this soup are usually Tripe, Tendon, and Beef, all cut up in little pieces. To serve you add some spring onions, some diced tomatoes, kecap manis (sweet soy sauce), Fried Onions, some friend Emping (or Belinjo crackers), extra chilli, a dash of lime and rice on the side (or as I prefer it inside the soup).

Even Caelyn loves this and I also found out that she likes tripe!

Bay Leaves

Boiling the meats until tender. This step would be faster if you have a pressure or themal cooker.

Creamed Smoked Roe Spaghetti

There is a Japanese type of pasta that uses Mentaiko (marinated roe) as its sauce. A while ago my Mum bought this ready made Mentaiko sauce from Takashimaya and it was pretty good, but was pretty expensive for a pasta sauce I thought, but I guess it is from Japan. Anyway as I was walking around Ikea with my friend, she recommended me to try the Creamed Smoked Roe in a tube in the fridge of the food section of Ikea. She told me her husband loves the stuff and so I thought I'd give it a try. I tried it on some Meiji crackers and she was right they were pretty good.

For some reason I decided to experiment and try adding it to some cooked spaghetti. I added some olive oil and the cooking water to loosen up the sauce, added some black pepper, shredded seaweed and topped with some Red Lumpfish Roe that I also got from Ikea. It was soooo delish, I scoffed it down within minutes! And it tasted similar to the Japanese one that my Mum bought and cheaper too. I cooked it for hubby and surprisingly he said it tasted like Carbonara sauce. That's interesting. I guess the taste is a bit similar because Carbonara is egg based and there's also smoky bacon in it. So the smoky eggness of the Creamed Smoked Roe tastes similar. This is now one of my most favourite way to eat spaghetti.

After mixing

The tube of Creamed Smoked Roe from Ikea


Red Lumpfish Roe frm Ikea