Ham and Cheese Omelette Sandwich

If you want to have a heavy breakfast this is what you should eat.

My kids hates baked beans and the creamy oozing cheese. hmmm ... In the end, I finished it all by myself. Since I'm a small eater but had to be a glutton, I had to skip lunch as I was so bloated. Hopefully they will grow up to like this. They don't know what they are missing.

Ingredients:

• 1 Egg, beaten
• 1 slice Ham of your choice, chopped into bits
• 1 slice Cheese of your choice, chopped into bits
• 1 - 2 slice Bread of your choice, toasted
• 1 tablespoon Baked Beans, steamed if preferred
• 2 Lettuce Leaves
• 1/3 teaspoon Oil

How to do it:

1. Heat pan with oil.
2. Pour egg mixture and swirl it around to coat the pan.
3. When the egg is set at the base but still not thoroughly cooked, sprinkle ham and cheese to one half of the egg.
4. Fold the egg over to cover it.
5. Gently press the edge of the egg to let it seal.
6. Flip is over to fry for another 13 seconds.
7. Dish out.
8. On a plate, place the lettuce on the bread.
9. Scoop the baked beans on the lettuce.
10. Plate the ham and cheese omelette on top.
11. Squeeze some tomato sauce on top if preferred.
12. Add another slice of bread if this is not filling enough for you.

Note:

• Try using luncheon meat in place of ham too. Taste great too.
• I cut the omelette in halves and have it like a sandwich. A bit messy but I prefer to eat with hands. *wink*

☆ Click HERE for printer-friendly version of an original recipe.

* Ham and Cheese Omelette with Baked Bean at the bottom *

Fried Chicken Wings with Coriander

We haven't had fried chicken wings for a long time since my hubby has to lose that spare tyre he has and my son was coughing too. I have decided that we have staying away from it for long enough. Haha... And so we are going to indulge again. hehe ...

These I made has a light coriander taste and smell. Rather nice for a change from the usual salty or sweet taste, if you like coriander that is.

Ingredients:

• 6 Chicken Wings, section if you like
• Oil for frying

Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine
• 1 tablespoon Sugar
• 2 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Oyster Sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 3 sprig Coriander Roots, grated into paste

How to do it:

1. Marinate chicken wings in the marinade for 3 hours (best if over night), turning occasionally to get it well marinated.
2. Heat oil and reduce to low fire.
3. Deep fried the chicken wings till cooked and golden brown.
4. Drain and serve.

Note:

Do not fry on high heat. The marinade contains sugar and the skin of chicken wing be burned before it's cooked.

☆ Click HERE for printer-friendly version of an original recipe.

Seared Vegetables with Butter

This is a easy and fast dish for those who are always rushing. This should take less than 5 minutes. It's simple yet look, smell and taste good. I like it that the colours stay vivid even when it's cold. It's like cooked salad!

Ingredients:

• 10 Asparagus (those very thin ones), cut into 2
• a bunch of Shimeiji Mushroom, end chopped
• 1/2 Yellow Bell Pepper, shredded
• 5 - 6 Cherry Tomato
• 1/3 tablespoon Butter
• Salt to taste

How to do it:

1. Heat wok and add in butter.
2. Add in all the vegetable and saute for 1 minute, longer if you prefer yours more well done.
3. Sprinkle a pinch of salt to taste.
4. Mix well, dish and serve.

☆ Click HERE for printer-friendly version of an original recipe.

Pig's Tail in Tomato Soup 猪尾番茄汤

The butcher introduced me to pig's tail when I went to the market very late one day and all the ribs and bone meant to make soup were sold out.

It's even better for those who enjoys eating the chewy skin. I like it because the soup is as sweet and much more clearer than if I were to use ribs or bones. Surprisingly, the soup is not oily as I thought it will be.

Ingredients:

• 2 Pig's tail, chopped into smaller pieces
• 1 litre Water
• 3 big ripe Tomatoes
• 1/2 Carrot, shredded or diced
• 1/2 Onion, shredded or diced
• Salt to taste

How to do it:

1. Blanch the pig's tail.
2. Add it into a pot of water and bring to boil.
3. Reduce to a simmer when water starts to boil.
4. Slit an 'X' on the skin of tomatoes.
5. Add tomatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil.
6. Remove and plunge in cold water.
7. Remove the skin and dice the tomato.
8. Add tomato, carrot and onion an hour after simmering of the pig's tail.
9. Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for another one to two hours. Longer is you are eating the pig's tail and prefer it less tough.
10. Add salt to taste.
11. Serve.

☆ Click HERE for the printer-friendly version of the original recipe.

Grilled Fish Fillet in Miso

I did a similar dish but since that was pan fried, it was slightly oily but juicy. This oven grilled version is less oily but flaky. Whichever way it's done, I like. haha. If you have an oven, try this.

Ingredients:

• 1 slice fish fillet, I use Snapper here
• 1 tablespoon Miso Paste
• 1 tablespoon Mirin

Dressing:

• 1/2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
• 1/2 tablespoon Sesame Seed Oil

How to do it:

1. Mix miso paste and mirin well.
2. Coat fish with miso mixture.
3. Refrigerate for 3 hours, best if over night. When the fish has a very light brown tone, it's ready.
4. Scrap off excess miso mixture from the fish but do not wash it.
5. Grill the fish at 200◦c for 20 minutes or till fish is slightly brown, turning only once.
6. Remove to a plate.
7. Drizzle dressing over and serve with salad if you like.

Note:
I cut fish fillet into two pieces for easy grilling.


☆ Click HERE for printer-friendly version of an original recipe.

Butter Car Cookies

Ah! My very first attempt in baking. I still need a lot of practice. And I should really read more about baking too. I'm soooo blur with the terms used in baking and sometimes I just don't understand how a certain mixture should be like. I think I don't only need a lot of practice, I need a teacher too!

I'm still sharing the recipe because I don't think there's anything wrong with it. It's just my baking skills. LOL And this was one of the simplest recipes I found and one that I understand!

Ingredients:

• 50g Butter
• 30g Shortening
• 60g Confectioners' Sugar aka Icing Sugar
• a pinch of Salt
• 1 Egg
• 200g Cake Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 Egg Yolk

How to do it:

1. Combine butter, shortening, sugar and salt and beat till well combined.
2. Beat egg into the butter mixture and mix well.
3. Sift flour and baking powder.
4. Fold in to the mixture and mix well.
5. Relax dough for 20 minutes.
6. Dust some flour on a clean tabletop.
7. Roll dough out thinly
8. Use cookie cutters to cut out shapes.
9. Place in a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper.
10. Brush with egg yolk.
11. Bake at 175◦c for 15 - 18 minutes.
    

.:: Credits of this recipe goes to Zheng Yan Xue of Recipe Book Cakes and Cookies ::.

Home-made Yong Tau Foo in Sweet Broth 自制酿豆腐汤底

I friend asked if I know how to make fish balls. Yeah, I did a couple of times. That was when I just moved to my place and didn't know there is a stall in the wet market selling fish paste. The ready-made fish balls in the supermarket didn't smell and taste good so I decided to get my hands all sticky with fish paste.

Nowadays, I buy ready-made fish paste to save me the hassle of making my own. But since I was asked, I thought I should really try it again to make sure I still know how to make it. I prefer to use 西刀鱼. (Sorry I don't know the English name for this fish. Anyone who does, please enlighten me. Thanks.) (A sweet reader has kindly send me the link on this fish. It's called Ikan Parang aka Whitefin wolf-herring. Thanks, HL.) 西刀鱼 sweeter but has lots of tiny bones which is not a good choice if it's given to kids.

I'm using Mackerel with is commonly used. You can also ask your fishmongers for suggestions. They will know. Basically most fishes that can be made into paste, except for oily fishes like Cod. The only thing that defers is the taste and not as bouncy as those you buy off the shelf.

It's easy if you have a blender at home. Just ask your fishmongers to debone and remove the skin of the fish for you. The bones and skin you can keep to make fish broth. You then chop the fish meat into smaller pieces and throw into the blender to blend into a smooth paste. You can add some salt and pepper if you like. Some people I know add some cornflour to it but I didn't as I think the paste can hold quite well. If you don't have a blender at home, then you will need a strong arm. Just follow these steps:

1. Slice open the fish with skin still on but bones removed. The skin is used as a base to let you scrap off the very last bit of fish meat.
2. Scrape the meat with a metal spoon.
3. Add some salt and pepper.
4. Smash the meat (I use a tenderiser but it can be messy) using a spoon against the bowl. This is where the strong arm takes it's role.
5. Smash the meat till it become a smooth paste, not even bits of fish meat insight.
6. Make sure the fish meat becomes paste-like. 
7. Now lift the paste and throw in on the chopping board of bowl, whichever you are working with. Throw a few times (a good way to vent your frustrations :P) 
8. Dust about 1 tablespoon of corn flour and mix it well with the fish paste and it's ready.
9. To do the fish balls, get ready a bowl of water.
10. Hold some paste in your palm, squeeze it gentle closing your finger into a fist.
11. Give more space for your thumb and forefinger (close up like an 'O').
12. As you close the other 3 fingers, the paste will squeeze out from the top.
13. Use a spoon to scoop out and place them in the water to prevent sticking together.

I used the paste to stuff into bean curd, tau pok, ladies' finger and also to wrapped with bean curd skin. You can also use it to stuff eggplant, bitter gourd, chili, mushroom, etc. Just like what you see in the Yong Tau Foo aka 酿豆腐 stall. You can try my very own Dual Coloured Tofu with Fish Paste with it too! *wink*

I made my Yong Tau Foo 酿豆腐 broth by brewing 150g Soya Bean 黄豆 with 70g Ikan Bilis 江鱼仔 for 2 hours or till the Ikan Bilis turn opaque. Sieve it and the broth is ready to be used.

To make a nice bowl of Home-made Yong Tau Foo 酿豆腐 in Soup, just have a pot of broth, add in your Home-made Yong Tau Foo 酿豆腐 and other ingredients you like (I have added crabsticks) and bring to a boil. Add in the vegetable during the last minute of cooking. Scoop out into a bowl, topped with some fried garlic, shallot and sesame seed oil and enjoy!

Note:

Yong Tau Foo 酿豆腐 originated from the Chinese Ethic group, Hakka, and is very common in Singapore.

* the stuffed and fish ball *

* the Fish Paste *

* The stars in the making of the sweet broth *

* Home-made 酿豆腐 in sweet and tasty broth *

Simple Egg Flowers on Rice

.:: Egg Flowers on Rice ::.

I dropped my camera while it's on and damaged the focusing and flash! Boo-hoo! Now I have to take tons of pictures to get some clear one. Sometimes, I can't even get a single clear picture. So pardon me, if you see pictures that are not so clear and dark. Bear with me till I save enough money to get a new replacement. Or maybe you would like to sponsor me? *wink*

Okay, this a very simple dinner I made for my son yesterday. The flowers were made from eggs with a spot of tomato sauce. The other two dishes served were Shredded Sweet Peas with Sliver Fish and Deep Fried Tuna Balls.

.:: Shredded Sweet Peas with Sliver Fish ::.

Ingredients:

• 15 Sweet Peas, tips removed
• 1/2 handful Silver Fish

How to do it:

1. Split open the sweet peas.
2. Remove the peas.
3. Shred the sweet peas.
4. In a wok, heat 1 teaspoon oil.
5. Fry the sliver fish till golden brown.
6. Remove and set aside.
7. Add the sweet peas and the peas.
8. Stir fried for 1 minute.
9. Add in the sliver fish and mix well.
10. Dish and serve.

Note:
No seasoning is required as the sweet peas are sweet and sliver fishes as salty.

.:: Deep Fried Tuna Balls ::.

Ingredients:

• 1 canned Sandwich Tuna (I used Heinz Brand)
• 2 tablespoon Mayonnaise
• Breadcrumbs
• Oil for frying

How to do it:

1. Drain tuna from the can.
2. Mix with mayonnaise.
3. Spoon some tuna and coat with breadcrumbs.
4. Deep fried till golden brown. Don't fry them for too long.
5. Scoop out using a small sieve as it will be too soft to pick up using chopsticks.
6. Drain and serve.

Note:
Instead of using breadcrumbs, you can used diced bread too.

Soba with Prawn Sauce

This dish came about when I was cooking Prawn Noodle Soup on a weekend. I was craving for Lor Mee which is another asian noodle dish. You may call it Braised Noodles in thick sauce. Since I'm already cooking this, I can't be cooking another dish. Furthermore, some time is needed to braised the egg and meat for Lor Mee.

Anyways, I took some Prawn Noodle Soup, added some shelled small prawns and peas and thicken it with cornflour mixture. Afterwhich, I added one beaten egg white. I poured the sauce over some cooked soba.

Now, I have a brand new dish. Think 滑蛋虾面 as suggested by a blogging friend,Sandra.

Coconut Jelly 椰子果冻

I love to drink coconut juice especially in hot weather. It so refreshing. I remember with I was in Secondary School, some drinks stalls in the hawker centers sell coconut water diluted with syrup. Then there were other drinks too, pineapple, sour plum, ching chow, soya bean. I love those. I would save money to buy a glass after school. I hardly see pineapple and sour plum drinks now. I know some older hawker centers still have them.

Back to the coconut. Quite recently I bought a coconut jelly from a pasar malam. I remembered having them 2 years ago. I cost me S$2 each. These sellers really know how to make money. Okay, if you like those too, let me help you save some money. It's really easy to make.

Before that, you will need to know how to crack the coconut for it's juice. It's not that difficult too. Have a look at this post HERE.

Ingredients:

• 1 Young Coconut
• 10g Gelatine to 300ml of Coconut Juice
• 1 1/2 tablespoon Hot Boiling Water
• Sugar to taste

How to do it:

1. Crack the top of the coconut using the back blade of your chopper by hitting it.
2. Pour the coconut juice out to a bowl.
3. Scrap off the meat.
4. Discard meat if it's hard. Only retain the soft and tender ones.
5. Dice the meat and return to the juice.
6. Mix the gelatine with water.
7. Stir to melt it completely.
8. Simmer some coconut juice with sugar to melt it completely and set it aside.
9. Pour gelatin mixture and sugar mixture into the coconut juice.
10. Mix well.
11. Return it to the coconut shell (there should be some leftovers).
12. Refrigerate it to set.
13. Serve cold.

Note:

• The coconut jelly I made here is like a cross between agar-agar and jello; soft and squishy.
• Adjust the amount of gelatine for the consistency of the jelly you like.

Porridge with Steamed Frog Legs

There's a stall in Singapore, Geylang, that sells Frog Legs Porridge which is very famous. I haven't try it but everyone who had, tells me it's the best.

It's not easy to prepare frog legs. To start with, one have to overcome the grossness of handling the skinless frog. That is if you are lucky to buy it dead with the skin already removed for you. I'm one of the lucky ones. I just have to bring them home and chop it into pieces. You can't overcooked the frog legs either as it will be too tough to even chew.

Ingredients:

• Porridge cooked with Bone Broth
• 3 Frogs, skinned and chopped
• Shredded Ginger for frying and steaming
• 1/2 tablespoon Sesame Seed Oil for frying

Seasonings:

• 1/2 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine
• 1 teaspoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1 teaspoon Sesame Seed Oil

Marinade:

• 1 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine
• 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon Sesame Seed Oil
• 1/2 tablespoon Ginger Sauce

How to do it:

1. Marinate the frog parts for half an hour.
2. Heat a wok with sesame seed oil.
3. Fry the ginger shreds till golden brown.
4. Remove and set aside to be used later.
5. Pour out oil (can be used to drizzle the porridge) but do not wash the wok.
6. Saute the frog; half cooked is enough.
7. Place the frog legs in a dish.
8. Add seasonings and top with some ginger shreds.
9. Steam on high heat for 5 mins.
10. Before you steam the frog legs, return the other parts to the porridge for further cooking.
11. Simmer the porridge for half an hour to hour.
12. To eat, place frog legs on the the porridge.
13. Drizzle with the steamed sauce and sesame seed oil from frying the ginger shreds.
14. Top with fried ginger shreds and serve hot.

Note:
I did not season my porridge because I used the sauce from steamed frog legs as seasoning.

Chocolate and Cream Cheese Truffles

Quite some time ago, my husband bought me a box of chocolate truffles and guess how much it was? S$1.50 a piece!! My God! So expensive and my heart pains each time I took a bite. It was very good but no matter how much I love those, I refuse to buy them again. It was an extravagant indulgence.

I found a Chocolate Truffles recipe in a 'small' recipe book on Chocolate, my husband bought when he bought the oven for me. I did some adjustments to it and made these instead.

Everyone at home love it and it's cheap to make!

Ingredients:

• 180g Confectioner's Sugar aka Icing Sugar
• 60g Cream Cheese (I use Philadelphia Cream Cheese)
• 100g Unsweetened Chocolate
• Cocoa Powder for rolling

How to do it:

1. Mix cream cheese and sugar together.
2. Melt Chocolate using double boil method.
3. Add to the cream cheese and sugar.
4. Mix well.
5. Scoop some mixture and roll into balls.
6. Refrigerate for an hour to harden.
7. Pour some cocoa powder on a plate.
8. Place chocolate balls on the powder.
9. Roll to coat evenly.
10. Pop one in your mouth now and enjoy. *wink*

Seafood Baked Rice with Cream Sauce

My husband finally got me an oven as an encouragement and to let me explore more way of cooking. I haven't had the time to bake cakes yet. With my son's enrichment classes starting this coming Saturday, I foresee even less time to cook. One thing for sure, I won't be able to cook on Saturdays now.

Anyway, this was the very first dish I made using the oven. I didn't want to be disappointed and so I cheated for this dish. Haha ... Have to make it a little easier for a first timer. *wink*

Ingredients:

• 2 cup Cooked Rice
• 1/2 Bell Peppers, diced coarsely
• 4 Prawn, shelled and blanched
• 1 small Squid, cleaned, blanched and sliced into rings
• 1 cup ready-made Cream Sauce of your choice
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella Cheese

How to do it:

1. Place rice in a baking dish.
2. Spread 1/2 cup of cream sauce and 1/3 cheese over the rice.
3. Place prawns, squid and bell pepper over the rice.
4. Spread the remaining 1/2 cup of cream sauce over it.
5. Sprinkle the remain cheese over and cover it.
6. Bake in preheated oven to 200C for 20 minutes or till cheese are melted and a little browned.
7. Sprinkle on some Parmesan Cheese before you eat if you like.
   

Champagne Grapes Shaved Ice

Few years ago, there was this craze about shaved ice drinks in Singapore. If I remember correctly, it was bought in from Taiwan. Although, the shaved ice drinks 'trend' had died down, we are still able to see these stalls in some shopping centers but selling at a much cheaper price. They used essences and syrup for the drinks but if we do it at home we can use the real fruit or fruit juice.

Few days ago I happened to see these really tiny grapes in the supermarket and I bet the kids would love it and so I bought home a box. They are called Champagne Grapes. And just how tiny are they? The size of a pea! Too cute!

I wanted to used some for baking but just couldn't find the time. So before they turned bad, I used them to make shaved ice for dessert. Eat it or drink it. You decide.

Ingredients:

• 250g Champagne Grapes
• 300ml Water sweeten with sugar to taste

How to do it:

1. Blend the grapes with water.
2. Filter juice.
3. Pour juice into a flat shallow pan/dish.
4. Refrigerate in the freeze.
5. Bring the pan out just before the juice turned hard.
6. Blend till smooth.
7. Pour into cup.
8. Drink immediately.

* Pea-size Grapes *

* Cute bunch of Grapes *

Roasted Duck Noodles in Herbal Soup

Before I start, I have to say this. I didn't actually made this dish. I just sort of made the soup. Sort of ... read on to understand.

You see, I love to eat roasted duck (especially Peking Duck) but I'm also a stingy stay at home mum. I won't buy a S$30+ duck to enjoy on my own. So the other day when Bi Feng Tang 避风塘 was having a National Day Promotion on their Roasted Duck with Dang Gui 当归, my husband bought one whole duck home. Yummy!

I deboned the duck but kept the bones to make soup. It so rich in flavours, it would be a waste to throw them away. This duck was roasted with Chinese Herbs and Spices stuffed in it, so it was rather aromatic.

To make the soup, I simmered the bones, fats and some skin that was too tough to chew with 1.5 litre of water for 3 hours. During the last hour, I added six red dates and half an hour later, a handful of wolfberries. No seasonings was required here. Yeah, I cheated in making the soup. LOL But at least nothing is wasted. Well, maybe except for the head and parson's nose. *wink*

I only had Dried Soba at home so I used that instead of the usual yellow noodles. Drain the cooked soba, placed some leftover roasted duck meat on top and poured the soup over. Hmmm... nice supper we had.

Try it the next time you buy a whole duck.

Bread Sushi

Is your sandwich always either in the shape of triangle, triangle or square? How about making it in the shape of circle the next time you do it?

This is great for primary school kids as snack for canteen breaks. Great for picnic too!

Ingredients:
makes a roll

• 2 slice Bread of your choice
• 1 sheet Nori aka toasted seaweed
• 1 Egg, beaten
• 1 Lettuce Leave
• 1 slice Ham of your choice
• 1 piece Crabstick
• 1 stick Japanese Cucumber
• Mayonnaise
• Butter
• Batter
• Breadcrumbs
• * Cling wrap

How to do it:

1. Heat pan with a few drops of oil.
2. Fry egg like crepe till cook.
3. Set aside.
4. Dip crabstick in batter and coat in breadcrumbs.
5. Deep fry till golden brown.
6. Set aside.
7. Trim off the skin of bread.
8. Flatten both bread with rolling pin or any other ways.
9. Cut the nori to the size of 2 bread laid side by side and with an extra 4cm in length.
10. Have piece of cling wrap on the tabletop.
11. Lay nori on top of cling wrap.
12. Lightly butter the bread on both sides.
13. Lay bread on the nori.
14. Lightly butter the nori that is not covered by the bread
15. Place egg crepe on the bread.
16. Either fold in or trim off extra egg.
17. Place lettuce over the egg.
18. Place ham which is cut to size over lettuce.
19. Place cucumber and crabstick on top of ham.
20. Squeeze in some mayonniase.
21. Now start rolling the bread.
22. Lift the cling wrap as you roll.
23. Use the extra nori to secure the roll.
24. Wrap the roll with the cling wrap.
25. Cut the bread roll into smaller pieces.
26. Remove cling wrap before eating.

Note:

• You can use any other ingredients you like.
• Butter the nori so it can 'stick' together.
• The cling wraps helps hold the bread roll together and makes cutting easier.

* Place all ingredients together *

* Roll the bread, lifting the cling wrap as you do. *

* Wrap bread roll with cling wrap to secure it before cutting. *

* Bread Sushi - the unconventional way to eating sandwich *

Stir Fried Beef with Spring Onion and Ginger

In the past, when I do not know how to cook, my husband and I would to eat at 煮炒店 (a more economical alternative to dining at restaurants). One dish we like to order is 姜葱鹿肉 Stir fried Deer Meat with Spring Onion and Ginger but seriously, do you think they really serve Deer Meat? I think it's more like beef to me. We like how they do it. It's always tender, not tough at all.

Ingredients:

• 250g Lean Beef, sliced into strips
• Spring onions, white part only cut into sections
• 5 slice Ginger
• 1 tablespoon Oil

Marinade:

• 1/2 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine
• 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• 2 teaspoons Cornflour

Seasonings:

• 1/2 tablespoon Chinese Cooking Wine
• 1/2 tablespoon Oyster Sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon Cornflour
• 1 tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
• 1 tablespoon Sesame Seed Oil
• 4 tablespoon Water

How to do it:

1. Marinate beef and set aside for at least an hour.
2. Mix ingredients for seasonings and set aside.
3. Heat oil in wok.
4. Add spring onion and ginger and saute till fragrant.
5. Add beef and quickly stir fry till 75% cooked.
6. Add seasoning and stir fry in heat heat till sauce thickens and beef is just cooked.
7. Dish and serve immediately.

Note:
Add 3 tablespoon of crushed black pepper to change it to black pepper beef instead. You can leave out the spring onions.

Grilled Prawns with Bell Pepper Salsa

My family prefers Chinese food to any other food and it's never easy trying to get to try other food. And because of this, I'm not very good with dishes other than home-cooked Chinese food.

My poor husband is always forced to try my non Chinese dishes. I usually do them in small portion in case he is not used to the taste. Then I would have to finish them all by myself.

Happened to this dish. Haha ... he only took the prawns without the salsa because he didn't like bell peppers. I love it. So in the end, I diced the prawns and added them to the Salsa. It's easier for me as the Salsa was more than the prawns now.

Ingredients for Salsa:

• 1 Red Bell Pepper
• 1 Yellow Bell Peppers
• 1 tablespoon chopped Coriander
• 1 tablespoon chopped Mint Leaves
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil or Sesame Seed Oil
• A dash of Pepper
• A pinch of Salt

How to do the Salsa:

1. Grill bell peppers on all sides till they are charred.
2. Put them into a plastic bag and let stand about 20 minutes to loosen the skins.
3. Remove from the plastic bag and pull the skin away and remove the seeds.
4. Diced the bell peppers and place in a bowl.
5. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
6. And it's ready to be used and/or eaten.

Note:
You can chill it if you like.



Ingredients for Grilled Prawns:

• 20 Prawns, shelled
• Some Butter for brushing
• A pinch of Salt

How to do the Prawns:

1. Marinade the prawns with salt.
2. Brush prawns with butter.
3. Pan grill prawns on both sides till cooked.
4. Top with some Salsa and serve.
   

Asparagus stuffed Fish Maw

Chinese would probably be familiar with fish maw. It's an internal organ of a large fish. I usually buy the ready prepared fish maw which is deep fried and buffy.

My understanding is that fish maw if very nourishing and beneficial to general healthy. My parents said it's a very good source of collagen, so it good for our skin and joints. It's quite tasteless so I usually braised it to add flavours. I love to make soup with it too. However, this time, I'm using it with vegetables.


Ingredients:

• 5 Asparagus, skinned
• 10 Fish Maw, soak to soften
• 500ml Chicken Broth
• 25 Wolfberries
• Salt to taste
• Cornflour Mixture (thickener)

How to do it:

1. Place fish maw in chicken broth and simmer for a hour to further soften it.
2. Remove and cool.
3. Retain broth for sauce later.
4. Blanch the asparagus with a teaspoon salt and a tablespoon oil for 5 minutes or half cooked.
5. Remove and set in previous boiled cool water to stop cooking.
6. Drain and set aside.
7. Soak wolfberries in water to soften.
8. Drain and set aside.
9. Cut the end of the fish maw.
10. Stuff two asparagus in one fish maw.
11. Return asparagus and fish maw to the broth.
12. Add in the wolfberries.
13. Boil the broth to a boil.
14. Add salt to taste.
15. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 seconds.
16. Remove asparagus and fish maw to place in a dish.
17. Thicken the broth with cornflour mixture.
18. Pour the sauce over the asparagus and fish maw.
19. Serve immediately.

Note:
If you are using those baby (thin) asparagus, don't skin them and blanching is not required too.

Finger Food for Kids

You know kids love cocktail sausages. I don't remember eating so much of it when I was a kid. My kids just can't seems to have enough of them.

I sometimes served this as a tea-time snack for my kids. And when I'm preparing it, I munched on them too. Haha ... Not much left in the end. I think they make a pretty nice party finger food too.

What you see here are cocktail sausage wrapped with lettuce and ham. You can have other varieties like using cheese, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, bread, etc. The combination is endless.

I stand up them using a bell pepper top which I had saved from a dish I'm cooking for dinner. Of course you can just lay them on a tray, can't be cutting all the tops of bell peppers to do this. *giggles*

Having a party tomorrow to celebrate Singapore's National Birthday? Why not serve one of these? A time saver and easy to prepare.

Happy Birthday, Singapore! And Happy Holiday to everyone in Singapore!

The Natural Toner - Rose Water

You must be wondering why am I having a post on Toner. Isn't that a beauty thingy? I know this is a food blog but I have to share this because the weather nowadays is terrible and I thought our skin needs feeding of 'natural food' too.

Few years ago, there was this grand opening of a beauty parlour at my place and they were having this one time trial promotion at a very cheap rate. During that time, I only had a child and since it was only 5 minutes from my place, I asked my husband to help took care of my son and I went. That was the last time I went for a facial.

Anyway, while I was there, I happened to overhear a customer telling her beautician than she uses Rose Water as a 'toner' and drinks Rose Water as part of her beauty regime. Hmm.... Since I don't even follow the proper cleansing routine (yeah, I just washes my face with soap. :p), I thought I'll try that.

I understands from the Medical Hall people that Rose Water is consider a mild astringent. Hence, it a good form of toner as it helps to firm and tone the skin as well as moisturises it. And best of all it doesn't cause dryness because it doesn't contain alcohol. If I'm not to lazy, I'll even make a separate pot of Rose Water for drinking. Seriously, I'm not sure how effective is it but I sure save a lot of money on the Evian Atomiser.

Ingredients for Rose Water as a Toner:

• 10 Rose Buds
• 250ml Distilled Water

How to do it:

1. Rinse rose bud and put them in a cup.
2. Bring water to a boil.
3. Pour over rose bud.
4. Cover the cup and let it stand for 20 minutes.
5. Drain and let it cool.
6. Empty to a spray bottle.
7. Refrigerate if you like and use up in 3 days.

Note:
If you do not have a spray bottle, use it as normal. Just pat some rose water to your face after cleansing.

For Rose Water Beauty Drink:
In addition to the ingredients for Rose Water Toner, add 4 pieces of dried Hawthorn fruits and rock sugar to the water for taste. Normal drinking water can be used here. As usual, add them to the rose buds when it boils. You don't have to strain it out first. You can drink it like tea. The longer you let it stand in the pot/cup, the strong the drink will be.

Note:

• Hawthorn fruits contains antioxidant properties in case you are wondering why it's added it.
• You can use honey instead of rock sugar if you like.
  
  
  

* Beauty Rose Water *

Vegetable with Ham in Bean Curd Roll

Quite some time back while having breakfast with a friend, she shared with me a recipe she learned with a cookbook, which could pass as a Dim Sum.

To me it was a really good way to use up left-overs without looking like I had served scrapes for dinner and I had learned a new trick as well - how to remove the saltiness in bean curd skin.

Ingredients:

• Broccoli florets
• Carrots, cut into sticks
• Babycorn sliced into halves
• Shitake Mushrooms, sliced thickly
• Ham, sliced to size (as the base)
• Bead Curd Skin, cut to size 6cm x 18cm
• Oil for frying

Seasoning to be mix together:

• 4 tablespoon Water
• 2 teaspoon Cornflour
• 1 teaspoon Chinese Cooking Wine
• Salt and Sugar to taste.
  

How to do it:

1. Blanch all vegetables except mushroom.
2. In a wok, heat with 1/2 tablespoon oil.
3. Add in mushrooms and the blanched vegetables.
4. Add in seasonings.
5. Stir fried till the sauce thickening and vegetables are well coated.
6. Dish and set aside to cool.
7. In a pot, heat oil.
8. When it's hot, turn off heat.
9. Using a tong or chopstick, put in the bead curd skin in the oil removed with it's fried and puffed up.
10. Add to cold water to soften and remove immediately and drained well.
11. Place a piece of ham at the edge of the bean curd skin.
12. Add the various stir fried vegetables on the ham and row the bean curd skin.
13. Place on a dish and steam for 5 minutes.
14. Serve hot.

Note:
You can try using other ingredients of your choice.