Assam Laksa

Hubby is a “BIG” fan of Assam Laksa. We’ve been looking for Assam Laksa paste for long time but we couldn’t find it in Asian groceries stores that we always go to. Just recently Chai Hoong told me that she had found the Assam Laksa powder!

We were so excited and we went to the shop last weekend and finally we managed to get the Assam Laksa powder! :)

We went to market this morning and bought some cucumbers, mints leaves, onions, red chilies, pineapples and canned sardines.

Frankly, the Assam Laksa was GOOD! Although I am not a fan but when I was cooking it, the aroma was so strong and I can’t control myself so I had a bowl too. It was delicious! Hubby had 2 big bowls at one time. Hahaha…:P

Thin Laksa Rice Vermicelli

Fat Laksa Rice Vermicelli

Laksa soup!!!

Here’s my “instant” Assam Laksa! (“;)

Oreo Muffins

I’ve used Oreo to bake cheese cake (as the base) before but haven’t tried for muffin. My cousin had sent me some muffin cups so it is a good time for me to use them! I have the muffin paper cup with me here but when I put in the muffin pan, the shape of the muffin turn out not nice!

So my cousin sent to me some aluminum cups so I can put in my muffin paper in there. Finally the shape turned out nicely! My cousin also sent me some muffin paper cups as the paper cups that they are selling here are quite expensive. I managed to get the cheap ones from the supermarket but the quality is not good (too soft).

Alright, I think I will stop talking about the paper cup now and back to the topic of muffin. I’ve tried out few muffins by using olive oil and they turned out GOOD. So, this time I also used olive oil for my Oreo Muffin.

Guess what? They were really tasty! Less oily compared with butter, healthier and less costly (I think). (^_^)

This is the paper cup that my cousin sent to me. (aluminum one)

The aroma of the muffin was very strong… SO GREAT! I can’t wait to try them as I was standing in front of the oven waiting for the timer to sound. Haha

10…9…8…7…6…5…4…3…2…1…0

Finally “ting!”, it is done now! Freshly baked from the oven! Wanna try one? :P

Ingredients

100g olive oil
80g sugar
150 self-raising flour
2 eggs
1tbsp hot water
1tbsp instant coffee
1tbsp vanilla extract
5 pieces Oreo (broken into small pieces)
Few pieces Oreo cut into half (for decoration on top of the cupcake)

What to do

(1) Dissolve instant coffee in hot water. Mix in vanilla extract. Set aside.
(2) Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add in eggs one at a time.
(3) Pour in liquid coffee and vanilla extract. Mix well.
(4) Pour in sifted flour in 3 equal parts... mixer on low speed. Add in the broken Oreo and mix till everything is well combined.
(5) Scoop batter into the paper cup and place half an Oreo onto the top of the batter. Bake at 180 degree for 25 minutes.

Orange Cupcake

I found this recipe from a website. The ingredients and steps for the orange cupcake are quite simple. I had a few oranges in the fridge hence it was a good timing for me to give this recipe a try. I had mixed some of the poppy seeds into some of the mixture so it becomes Orange Poppy Seed Cupcake! :P

Cupcake that with poppy seed!

Hmm…the texture of the cake is so soft and fluffy!

Ingredients

120g butter, softened at room temperature (I had replaced with olive oil)

150g caster sugar

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Finely grated zest of 1 orange

188g self-raising flour

2 tablespoon orange juice
1tsp baking powder

What to do

(1) Place butter, sugar and orange zest in a mixing bowl.

(2) Whisk with an electric mixer till mixture becomes white and fluffy.
(3) Add in eggs gradually and whisk until well combined after each addition.
(4) Sift flour and baking powder, add to the butter mixture and stir with a spatula gently. Add in the orange juice and stir till just incorporated.
(5) Spoon batter into cupcake liners and bake for 17 to 20 mins. Remove and leave to cool.

Berries Yogurt Bread

I was reviewing back my blog and realized that it’s been a while since I baked bread. I still had 6 packs of bread flour sitting in my pantry, hiding behind the plain and self-raising flour. No wonder I never thought of using them. Poor bread flour…

After I decided to bake bread I went to the food blogs that I used to visit to search for bread recipe and I found this Yogurt Bread from Pure Enjoyment blog. The bread that she baked looks so yummy. It makes me eager to try it now. Last weekend when I went for grocery shopping at Safeway, I had bought 2 big tubs of yogurt which were on sales. I had bought 2 flavors which were berries and fruit salad. The original recipe used plain yogurt but I used berries yogurt that I bought.


I followed exactly the same for the others ingredients and steps. The bread was really soft and fluffy! It was so NICE! Thank you, Pure Enjoyment for the bread recipe. The bread was looking good before I sliced it. Well, it became “ugly” after I sliced it with my “terrible” slicing skill. :P I will need to buy the bread slicing equipment in the future as now I use a kitchen knife to “cut” but not “slice”.

First Proofing

Second Proofing

Egg wash the top of the buns and sprinkle some sesame seeds

Ok, here you go…my **Berries Yogurt Bread** done!

Hmm...bad slicing! =D

Here is the link for the recipe

Enjoy! ^_^

Wholemeal Cookies

My brother had sent me some cute cookies cutter from Japan and I haven’t tried all the shapes yet. I had only used 2 shapes for my Easter Goodies few weeks back. I had search in Google for easy wholemeal cookies recipes and I found one. Required ingredients are simple and I also already had them in my pantry. So I can start right away… can’t wait to use those cute cutters.


Hmmm…they were so GOOD, crispy and crunchy! I really like the nutty texture of the wholemeal flour. It is a very healthy snack for everyone. You may keep them in airtight container for about 1 week. It is also less oily compare with outside cookies as I had replaced butter with olive oil. It is worth to try! Enjoy!

Just out from oven. **hot hot**

Ingredients

150g wholemeal flour
100g plain flour
Pinch of salt
80g sugar
80ml olive oil
¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
115ml milk

What to do

(1) Sift together flour, salt, sugar and bicarbonate of soda.
(2) Add in olive oil into the dry ingredients and follow by milk. Mix well to form dry dough.
(3) Keep refrigerated for 2 hours.
(4) On a lightly floured bench, roll the dough out 1/4 inch thick.
(5) Cut out shapes and place onto lined tray and refrigerate until firm.
(6) Bake at 180 degree for 15 to 20 minutes.

Roasted Chicken Rice

This is the first time for me to cook Roasted Chicken Rice. Back in Malaysia, this is very common meal for everyone as you can get it easily in any coffee shop.

I bought the Hainanese chicken rice paste and the chicken rice chili from the Asian grocery shop. The only thing that I need to do is roast the chicken.

Okay, I searched online and found the recipe below.

Ingredients

1 chicken
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of black soy sauce
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tsp of 5 spice powder
3 tsp of sugar
1 tsp of salt
1 tsp of pepper


What to do

(1) Marinate chicken with all the ingredients for half an hour.
(2) Line the baking pan with aluminium foil and place the chicken on top bake on high heat for 45 minutes to an hour or until the chicken is done.
(3) Cut the chicken into pieces and serve with warm rice and chili sauce.

Marinated Whole Chicken

Just out from oven! Smell really good!!! >_<

Kaya Pao

My colleague gave a jar of homemade Kaya few days ago. There’s a recipe which came across my mind, Kaya Pao. I had a pack of pao flour sitting in my pantry for some times and now it is the perfect timing for me.

It is very simple. You will only need to mix the flour with 255ml milk and 100g sugar. Knead dough well for 10 minutes and add in 1 tbsp of olive oil. Continue to knead and leave aside for 30 minutes.

30 minutes later…

Alright, now I am going to divide the dough into 12 parts. Roll each piece into small round shape and flatten it. Place a small portion kaya into the center of each rolled out sheet and fold the sides over the filling. Place each pao on a piece of baking paper.

Now, place the steamer filled with water on high heat. Add 2 tbsp of vinegar into the water to whiten the paos. Steam it for 10 minutes, lit out the cover to remove any condensed water and continue to steam for further 10 minutes. Remove the paos from the steamer and serve warm.

Here’s my kaya paos. Looking good eh…hehe

Photos without "Flash"

Hmm…it taste good. This is my first attempt of making pao. Mission successful!!!

Waffle

My breakfasts over the weekdays are very simple. I will have cooked oat with banana + a cup of hot drink or muesli with fresh milk or multigrain bread with hardboiled eggs. Those are very easy to make breakfast. Well, had something different for this beautiful Sunday morning. So, I’ve made some waffles.

For topping, you may choose butter, honey, syrup, fresh fruits or ice cream. I served my waffle with some fresh fruits that I just bought from the V-market yesterday. There are strawberries, banana, and kiwi. I’ve also added some honey on top of the waffle. They taste yummy with the fresh fruits!!! ^_^

Ingredients

1 egg separated

1 tbsp sugar

200ml fresh milk

128g self-raising flour

2 tbsp of baking powder

pinch of salt

2 tbsp of butter, melted

What to do

1) Sift flour, baking powder and salt and set it aside. In a mixing bowl mix egg yolk and milk together.

2) Then add in sifted dry ingredients. Beat egg white until stiff. Fold in egg white into the flour mixture. Mix in melted butter.

3) Pour batter into the waffle maker.

4) Serve warm with the topping that you prefer.