Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients
3/4 cup milk
60g butter
490g plain flour
7g instant yeast
60g white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup water
1 egg
200g brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
125g butter (softened)
1/2 cup raisins/chopped nuts (optional)

Method
- Heat the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, remove from heat. Mix in 60g butter; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm
- In a large mixing bowl, combine half of the flour, yeast, white sugar and salt. Mix well. Add water, egg and the milk mixture; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has just pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, about 5 mins. Cover the dough with a damp tea towel and let rest for 10 mins.
- In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and 125g butter.
- Roll out dough evenly into a 12x9 inch rectangle. Spread dough with sugar/butter mixture. Sprinkle with nuts/raisins if desired. Roll up dough and pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 equal size rolls and place cut side up in a lightly greased baking tin / muffin tray. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30minutes. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
- Bake in the oven for 20mins or until brown. Remove from baking tin to cool.
- Best served warm.

New York Cheesecake

Serves 8 - 10 persons

Ingredients
120g digestive biscuits (crushed until crumbly)
45g salted butter (melted)
405g cream cheese (at room temperature)
80g caster sugar
15g cornstarch (acts as a stabiliser to present curdling)
2 eggs (at room temperature)
105ml whipping cream (at room temperature)
1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/4 tsp lemon essence (optional)
Lemon zest (from 1 lemon)

Method
- Add melted butter to the crushed digestive biscuits, mix well until it binds nicely without loose crumbs.
- Wrap aluminium foil around the exterior bottom and sides of a 6" springform pan so that no liquid can seep through during baking. Lightly coat melted butter on sides and bottom of the pan before placing the biscuit crumbs on the base of pan using the back of a spoon. Ensure that the biscuit is evenly spread, and press down firmly. Set aside first.
- Preheat the oven to fanned mode 150 degree C. Put the waterbath in the oven (I use a square cake tin which is about 1.5inches bigger than the springform pan, fill it half with water).
- Using a mixer on low speed, beat the cream cheese till soft. Add the caster sugar and mix. Add the cornstarch and mix well. Add the vanilla and lemon essence. Do not overbeat.
- Add cream and mix before adding in the eggs, 1 at a time.  Do not overbeat.
- Pour the mixture into the springform pan. Bake in oven over the waterbath for about 60-70mins. Keep monitoring towards the end of baking.
- Remove from oven when the top is light brown and abit springy to the touch and the sides have come off the pan slightly.
- Only remove the cake from the tin when it is completely cool. Otherwise, the cake will come apart.
- Best to chill the cake overnight in the fridge before serving.

Sticky Date Pudding

Makes 10 - 12 muffins

Ingredients

270g dates (pitted)

312ml or 1 1/4 cups water

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

60g butter 

2 eggs (lightly beaten)

1 tsp vanilla extract

160g flour

100g light brown sugar

Method

- Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees C. Greaseproof the muffin tray with abit of butter/oil. 

- Boil the dates with water. Once done, turn off the heat, melt the butter and baking soda with the boiled dates. When the date mixture is cooled off abit, use a hand grinder to chop up the dates.

- Add the eggs and vanilla extract. Do not over mix.

- Sieve the flour with the baking powder. 

- Add the brown sugar into the flour mixture, remove lumps if any.

- Fold in the dry with the wet mixture. Add walnuts/pecan nuts if you will like.

- Pour into muffin tray (3/4 full will do) and bake for about 25 - 30mins.

- Serves best with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream! 

Braised beef cheeks with red wine sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients
Marinate beef cheeks overnight:
1 kg of beef cheeks
1/2 bottle of red wine (preferably full bodied wine)
1 large carrot, chopped up into large pieces
1 large brown onion, chopped up into large pieces
4-5 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 celery stalk, cut into small pieces
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs of thyme

Braising liquid
1 large brown onion, diced
2 cups of beef stock
Plain flour, for dusting
Vegetable oil
Butter
1 heaped tbsp full of tomato paste
Italian parsley, chopped finely

Method
- Mix all the ingredients for marinating the beef cheeks and refrigerate covered overnight.
- Remove the beef cheeks and pat dry, set aside the red wine marinate.
- Season the cheeks with salt and pepper on both sides, dust with flour and shake off the excess.
- Heat the oil in a casserole pot over medium/high heat and brown the cheeks on both sides. Leave abit of gap in between each cheek, fry in batches if necessary.
- Fry the onions in the same pan until translucent. Add the tomato paste and fry for another 2 minutes until fragrant. Add the cheeks, beef stock and red wine marinate, along with all the marinated vegs. Season with salt and pepper.
- Turn up the heat until simmering, cover with parchment paper or lid and transfer to the oven, cook at 160 degree C for about 3-4 hours until tender, turning the cheeks every hour.
- Remove the cheeks and strain the sauce, keep the cheeks tightly covered with clingfilm to prevent drying).
- Heat the sauce in a saucepan until reduced by half and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the butter until you see a rich/glossy consistency. Season with salt and pepper if necessary.
- Slice and serve the beef cheeks with chopped parsley and sauce. Goes very well with pasta or mashed potato. 

Carrot Cake

Cuts into 8-10 slices

Ingredients
200g plain flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmug
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
140g light brown sugar
200ml vegetable oil
3 medium eggs (in room temperature)
250g carrots, peeled and grated
50g chopped walnuts / pecan nuts (optional)

For the frosting
250g cream cheese
Finely grated rind of 1 lemon
1 tsp vanilla essence
150g icing sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Method
- Preheat oven to 150 degree C. Lightly oil and line the base of a 7 or 8 inch round cake tin with greaseproof paper.
- Sift and combine all dry ingredients, except sugar.
- Beat the eggs, sugar and oil for about 1 minute in a mixing bowl. Add in all the dry ingredients and mix well.
- Add the carrots and walnuts, mixed thoroughly and pour into cake tin. Bake in oven for about 50 mins - 1 hours (half the baking time if the batter is separated into 2 cake tins), until a skewer inserted into the centre of cake comes out clean.
- Remove from oven and allow to cool in the tin for 10mins before turning out to a wire rack.
- To make the frosting, beat together the cream cheese, lemon rind, juice and vanilla essence. Take note that the cream cheese and butter should be at room temperature.
- Sift the icing sugar first and stir into the cream cheese mixture, until it reaches a thick and smooth consistency.
- When the cake is completely cooled, spread the frosting over the top/side. Best to chill in the fridge for a day/overnight before serving.

Stir Fried Bean Sprouts with Salted Fish

Serves 2-3

Ingredients
- 200g of bean sprouts (washed and roots removed)
- 1 piece of dried salted fish (washed, pat dry and cut into 0.5cm slices)
- 3 cloves of garlic (skin peeled and chopped up)
- 3-4 sprigs of spring onions (washed and cut into 4cm lengthwise)
- 1 thumb size ginger (sliced thinly)
- Red cut chilli

Seasoning
- Light soya sauce
- Pepper
- Salt

Method
- Fry the salted fish in hot oil until it turns crispy. Set aside.
- Pour away the oil and use fresh hot oil to fry the garlic and ginger till fragrant.
- Add in the bean sprouts and fry using medium/high heat. Put in the fried salted fish and mix well.
- Add seasoning, taste and add more if required.
- When the bean sprouts are about cooked, add in the chilli and spring onions. Serve hot.

Hong Kong Style Steamed Fish

Serves 2-3

Ingredients
- 400g of fresh fish (I used red snapper fillets)
- 1 thumb size ginger
- 4 - 5 cloves of garlic (more if you like garlic)
- light soya sauce
- chinese hua diao wine
- sugar

Garnish
- spring onions
- ginger
- red chilli

Method
- Wash and clean fish. Pat dry. Rub salt on the fish and place it on a steamer plate. Put a few slices of ginger on the fish. Steam 10-15 minutes. Do not overcook the fish as the flesh will turn hard.
- While the fish is steaming, prepare and heat up the sauce - made up of 2 tbsp of light soya sauce, 2 tbsp of water, 2 tbsp of hua diao and 1 tsp of sugar.
- When the fish is cooked, remove from steamer and pour away the liquid and discard the ginger. Pour the hot sauce over the fish.
- Fry the garlic in hot oil until it turns golden brown, you can also add sliced ginger and spring onions just before you turn off the heat. Immediately drizzle over the fish and serve hot. 

Mee Hoon Kueh 麵粉粿

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

For the dough
- 250g plain flour
- 100ml water
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 1 egg (lightly beaten)
- 1/2 tsp salt

For the soup
- I use frozen chicken soup stock as the soup base.

Others
- 4-5 dried chinese mushrooms (pre-soaked and cut into smaller pieces)
- 1 clove of garlic (rinsed and bruised)
- leafy vegetables, any type will do (I used chye sim)
- 150g minced pork (pre-marinate with light soya sauce and pepper, rolled into small balls)
- 3-4 heaped tbsp dried split fish (washed/rinsed with boiling water, do not soak, dab dry with kitchen towel)
- fried shallots

Method
- For the dough, combine all wet and dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl and using your hands, knead for about 10mins until it forms a smooth soft dough. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour. If too dry, add a bit of water. Once you get a springy dough that does not stick onto your fingers, shape it into a ball and set aside for an hour, wrapped with clingwrap.
- Prepare the soup base. I used frozen chicken soup stock diluted with water. Alternatively, you can cook ikan bilis soup by boiling about 150-200g of ikan bilis with water for about 45minutes. Add a few cloves of garlic to the soup.
- Using 2 tbsp of oil, fry the dried split fish till crispy. You can add abit of salt if you want. Set aside to cool for garnishing.
- Using the remaining oil (add more if need be), fry the mushroom till cooked. Set aside.
- When the soup is hot and boiling, tear the dough using your hands into thin bite size pieces. Drop each piece into the boiling soup. Add the minced pork and mushrooms. When the dough is cooked (they will float) and the soup is boiling, add the vegetables. Season with light soya sauce and pepper to taste.
- Top with the crispy split fish and fried shallots, served hot.

Braised pork in dark soya sauce

Serves 3-4

Ingredients
- 500g pork shoulder meat (cut into big chunks)
- 10 chinese mushrooms (pre-soaked)
- 10-15 dried chestnuts (pre-soaked)
- 8-10 pieces of dried oysters (pre-soaked)
- 1 star anise
- 2 cloves
- 1.5 whole cloves of garlic (with skin and lightly bruised)
- 4 eggs (pre-boiled till cooked and shell removed)

Seasoning
- Light soya sauce
- Pepper
- Dark soya sauce
- Sesame oil
- 1/3 tsp of five spice powder
- Rock sugar, 4-5 small pieces

Method
- Pre marinate the pork with light soya sauce, pepper and sesame oil.
- Heat the stew pot with cooking oil, and dry fry the meat till half cooked.
- Remove from pot and set aside, leaving the meat juices in the pot to saute the garlic cloves till fragrant. Add more oil if too dry.
- Add the mushrooms and fry for 2-3 minutes. Combine with pork, dried chestnuts and dried oysters. Season with pepper, dark soya sauce, five spice powder. Add enough hot water until the meat is fully submerged. Simmer for 10mins in medium heat. Turn down the heat to low and simmer for 2hours till the meat has softened and the sauce has thickened in texture. If the sauce runs low, add more hot water. You can also add rock sugar half way through the cooking.
- If you will like to add vegetables like carrot and potatoes, add them after 1-1.5hours.
- If you like it saltier, add more dark soya sauce. If you like it sweeter, add more rock sugar. If it's too salty, add more water.

Pesto Pasta with Tomatoes and Sausage

Serves 2

Ingredients
Fresh basil leaves - 30g
Pine nuts - 100g
Parmesan cheese - 50g (grated)
Extra virgin olive oil - 1/4 cup
Garlic - 1 clove (peeled)
Salt
Pepper
1 medium sized tomato - cut into smaller pieces.
Pasta - 200g
Parsley - for garnish

Method
- Dry fry the pine nuts in a frying pan on low heat. Set aside to cool abit.
- Using a food processor / mortar and pestle, combine the basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts and the olive oil until a thick paste forms.
- Add parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste. (If you don't like it too cheesy, you can reduce the amount of cheese). The paste will be coarse and thick but avoid adding too much olive oil. Set aside.
- Cook the pasta (I used tagliatelle) until al dente, reserve about 3/4 cup of pasta water.
- Toss the cooked pasta and (raw) tomatoes in a large mixing bowl with the pesto, adding enough pasta water to moisten the pesto and let it coat the pasta evenly.
- Serve while hot and garnish with shaved parmesan cheese and parsley.

Comfort food - Porridge

Yesterday was a busy work day for both myself and the hubby. He wasn't feeling too well, so I decided to cook something simple and nutritious for dinner, with whatever ingredients I can find in the fridge.
It turned out really tasty and satisfying.

Ingredients

- 1-2 carrots (grated or chopped up)

- 5-6 dried scallops (pre-soaked till soften)

- A handful of wolfberry seeds (washed)

- 1/3 cup of corn nibblets (I used those frozen pre-packed ones)

- 1.5 to 2 litres of pork bone / chicken stock
- Uncooked rice for 2
- Salt and pepper

Method
- Rinse the rice and cook with pork / chicken stock in a pot over medium heat. Add the scallops.
- When it boils, turn down the heat to low and add the grated carrots.
- When the porridge is about cooked, add the corn and wolfberry seeds. Continue cooking for another 10-15mins. Add more stock or water if the liquid dries up.
- Add salt and pepper to taste and serve while hot.

Honey Baked Cod + Orange Arugula Salad

Honey baked cod

Ingredients 
4 cod fillets (about 600-700g in total)
2 tsp light soya sauce
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp honey

Method
- Pat dry the cod fillets before marinating.
- Marinate the cod and set aside for about 15mins.
- Pre-heat the oven to 200 deg C.
- In a frying pan, add a tbsp of oil and when it's hot, pan fry the cod fillets (skin side down) for about 2mins. Leave the remaining seasoning in the baking dish.
- Transfer the cod fillets into the baking dish (skin side up) and bake for about 10mins until cooked.

Orange Arugula Salad

Ingredients
4 cups arugula leaves (Washed thoroughly and drip dry)
1 orange (Cut into small pieces)
Half a yellow capsicum (Cut into small pieces)
10 cherry tomatoes (halved)
1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1.5 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar

Method
- Place all the vegetables and fruits in the salad bowl.
- Drizzle with olive oil and vinegar.
- Toss and serve.

Roasted Potatoes & Sweet Potatoes

Serves 2

Ingredients
4 small potatoes (I used red and yellow potatoes)
1 mid size sweet potato
1 red onions (cut into bite size)
3 cloves of garlic (rinsed, bruised, leave the skin on)
1 sprig of rosemary leaves (chopped up)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tbsp good quality balsamic vinegar
sprinkle of salt
sprinkle of cumin seeds (optional)

Method
- Pre-heat the oven to 200 deg C.
- Washed the potatoes thoroughly and cut into smaller pieces.
- Washed and de-skinned the sweet potatoes, cut into smaller pieces.
- Combine the potatoes, sweet potatoes, garlic and onions in a baking dish.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, rosemary leaves and cumin seeds.
- Drizzle the dressing over the vegetables and toss to coat well.
- Roast in oven for about 45mins. The potatoes will be blackened because of the balsamic vinegar; they are not burnt.

Tomato-based Baked Pasta with Ham and Mushroom

Serves 2 - 3

Ingredients
300g spaghetti (or any other pasta of your choice)
3-4 slices of ham (cut into smaller pieces)
1 red onion (diced)
50g chestnut mushrooms (diced)
1 canned tomatoes
80g tomato paste
350ml chicken stock
Olive oil
Mozzarella shredded cheese
Salt & pepper

Method
- Preheat oven to 180 degree C.
- In a big boiling pot, cook the pasta according to package instructions. Do not overcook.
- Remove spaghetti from the pot, add 2 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of salt and mix well.
- Fry ham with a dash of olive oil until fragrant. Remove from pan.
- Sauteed the onions in olive oil. Then add the mushrooms and fry until fragrant.
- Add the canned tomatoes, tomato paste and stock. Put to a boil, add the spaghetti and mix well.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the spaghetti into a baking dish, spread the ham pieces on the top and lastly, sparingly sprinkle mozzarella cheese till the surface is covered.
- Bake for 10 minutes till the cheese turns golden brown.

Blueberry Muffins

Makes about 6 - 8. 

Ingredients
1 1/2 cup plain flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup blueberries (washed and pat dry with a kitchen towel)

Method
- Preheat over to 200 degree C. Grease muffin tray / line with muffin liners.
- Combine the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a mixing bowl.
- Pour the vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup.
- Mix the wet with the dry ingredients.
- Fold in the blueberries and take note not to over mix.
- Fill the muffin cups to almost full and  bake for 20 - 25 minutes in the oven. The muffin is cooked when a toothpick inserted in the centre of the muffin comes out clean. 

Banana Walnut Muffins

Makes about 9.

Ingredients
3 large, very ripe bananas (I use the del monte ones)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 slightly beaten egg (room temperature)
1/3 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup walnuts (chopped into smaller pieces)

Method
Preheat the oven to 175 degree C. Mix the mashed bananas, sugar, egg and butter together. Set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the walnuts to the dry mixture. Mix wet and dry ingredients together till just combined, do not over mix. Grease muffin tray / line with muffin liners and fill it up to about 3/4 full. Bake for about 30 minutes. The muffin is cooked when a toothpick inserted in the centre of the muffin comes out clean. 

Oven-roasted Potatoes with Rosemary

Serves 2 

Ingredients
2 large potatoes
Salt
Olive oil
1 sprig of fresh rosemary leaves

Method
- Preheat oven to 220 degree C.
- Thoroughly wash the potatoes and cut into smaller pieces. Do not remove skin.
- Lay the potatoes on a baking dish, drizzle oil, salt and rosemary leaves.
- Give the dish a few quick tosses, so the salt and oil seasoning gets onto the potatoes.
- Bake for about 40mins.
- Serve while hot.

Mango Salsa

Serves 2 - 3


The mango salsa recipes that I have seen so far will use ingredients like cilantro and lime. I couldn't get the former in the supermarket and I already have quite a few lemons and a mint plant at home, so I came up with my own version of mango salsa. This goes well with meat or fish dishes.

Ingredients
1 mid size mango (peeled, cored and cut into smaller pieces)
2-3 red tomatoes (cut into smaller pieces)
1/2 red onion (diced)
8 fresh mint leaves (diced)
Half a lemon

Optional
Cucumber

Method
- In a salad bowl, gently combine and mix all the ingredients.
- Squeeze half a lemon into it. You can add more lemon juice if you like it more sour.
- Chill for about 1-2 hours before serving.
- If stored in fridge (covered), it can keep for about 3 - 4 days. 

Roast Chicken with Lemon and Rosemary

Serves 2

Ingredients
4 x chicken thighs (with skin)
2 tsp of garlic
2 tsp of red onion
1 tsp of ginger
1 lemon
1 sprig of fresh rosemary leaves
Salt
Black pepper
Olive oil

Method
- Rinsed the chicken thighs and pat dry.
- Chop up the garlic, onion and ginger and mix with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Rub the mixture onto the chicken flesh and skin, add salt and black pepper.
- Add rosemary leaves and transfer into a covered bowl, keep in fridge to leave the chicken to soak in the marinade for about 2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 220 degree C.
- In your baking dish, lay 4 thin slices of lemon at the base. Put the chicken thigh on top of each lemon slice, with its skin facing up.
- Roast for about 35 - 40 mins until cooked. 

Apple & Cinnamon Crumble-Top Cake

This is the first proper (and successful!) cake I baked using my oven and I have since baked it many times and even shared the recipe with some of my friends.
This is a moist and heavy cake and a small slice per person is usually enough.

Cuts into 10 slices

Ingredients

For the crumble topping:
350g granny smith apples (peeled, cored and cut into 2cm pieces)
125g self raising flour
75g unsalted butter (cold, cut into smaller pieces)
60g Demerara sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp milk

For the cake base:
125g butter (softened, room temperature)
90g caster sugar
2 eggs (room temperature, lightly beaten)
150g self raising flour

Method
- Preheat the oven to 180 degree C. Greaseproof a 20 - 22 cm springform pan.
- Mix the apples with the lemon juice. Set aside.
- For the crumble topping, sift the flour and cinnamon into a mixing bowl.
- Using only your finger tips, rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Add in the demerara sugar, mix well and set aside.
- For the cake base, cream the butter and sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs a little at a time until all the egg has been added.
- Sift in the flour and gently fold in with a spatula.
- Transfer the mixture into the base of the baking pan. Spread evenly and lay the apple pieces on top. Leave a 0.5 cm gap between the apples and the edge of the pan (so that the apples won't turn black after baking).
- Lightly drizzle the milk into the crumble mixture and scatter the crumble bits over the apples, making sure the apples are covered up.
- Bake for about 1.5 hours.
- Serve warm / cold with your favourite ice cream!

Tips
- I like some bite for my apple crumble, so I din cut the apples too small.
- If you can't get granny smith apples, you can use any other apples.
- If you want a crunchier topping, stir in 50g of chopped nuts to the crumble mixture.
- It is a lot easier to do rubbing in method using cold butter from the fridge.