Ginger Spring Onion Fried Rice

From: preciouspea.com


Quote:
All you need is a bowl of overnight white rice, an egg, a big spoonful of julienned ginger and spring onions (for the colour - optional), n dash of fish sauce.


Heat up your wok with 1 tablespoon of oil. Crack an egg, put in the ginger and give it a good stir.


Mix the rice into the wok, add seasoning. All I used was a few dash of fish sauce. Alternatively, you could use salt, soya sauce and even chicken granules for extra flavouring. But trust me, just a dash of fish sauce will do. Add the spring onion last and give it a good stir. 

Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce

From a favourite link at simplyrecipes.com

Asparagus with Hollandaise Sauce Recipe


Ingredients
1 bunch of asparagus (about 1 lb)
10 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick plus 2 Tbsp)
3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt (skip if using salted butter)
Pinch of cayenne

Method
1 Prep the asparagus. Break off the tough ends with your fingers. Bend the asparagus spears near the end and they will break naturally where the spear is no longer tough. For an elegant presentation of the spears, use a vegetable peeler to peel off a very thin layer of the outer skin of the lower two to three inches of the asparagus spears. Prepare a large, shallow pan (with a cover) with a half inch of water and a steamer rack.

2 Prepare the Hollandaise sauce. Melt the butter in a small pot. Put the egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne into a blender. Blend the eggs for 20-30 seconds at medium to medium high speed until lighter in color. Turn blender down to lowest setting and slowly drizzle in the hot melted butter while the blender is going. Continue to blend for a few seconds after all of the butter is incorporated. Taste the sauce and add more salt or lemon juice if needed. Keep warm while you are steaming the asparagus.

3 Bring the water in your steaming pan to a boil. Place the asparagus on the steaming rack. Cover. Steam for 3 to 5 minutes, until tender, but still a little crisp, definitely not mushy. The timing depends on how thick the asparagus spears are.

4. Plate the asparagus. Pour Hollandaise sauce over them.

Serves 4.

Mpek Mpek Palembang - My favourite submarine

Between salty & sweet, I will definitely choose salty food, and Mpek-Mpek is one of them.

Klo lagi kangen ama makanan yg satu ini, dulu tinggal ngesot bentar ke 'seberang' Sudirman and singgah ke MpekMpek A'bing. Nyam2 :D Perut kenyang, hati pun senang :)

Berhubung disini gak ada yang jual mpek2, and inget ada temen yg udah berhasil bikin sendiri, jadi iseng2 nyari resepnya... aku pool disini dulu (salah satu tujuan blog ini, memang utk ngumpulin resep dulu).

Tantangan terbesar yang sudah hadir di hadapan mata... adalah.. cari ikan tenggiri hihihi... nama malay-nya apa ya? terus bentuknya sendiri gimana aku juga gak tahu.... mudah2an yg jualan ikan di pasar orang Indo jg :)

Ini beberapa linknya, gak tau mana yg paling enak:

- Empek2 via Auliahazza.com. Bahannya cuma ikan, tepung kanji, garam, n air. Hebat!

- ala Bima.ipb.ac.id  Nah ini mulai ribet, n ada bwng putih & tepung terigunya. tapi ada tips supaya adonan gak alot.

- Nama blognya sih gak nyambung: tapi tinggal pilih resep mpek2 kualitas 1 or 2?
- Dapoerkoe.blogspot.com : Kayanya ini yg paling detil n propesional :) Mungkin klo nyoba, dari link yg ini aja, walo banyak yg bilang adonannya lengket... digabung dng tips dari Bima :). terus ada link cara ngelipat adonan mpek2 kapal selam :) my favourite :)

Note: Baru tau, tepung kanji = tepung tapioka =))

 

Cooking with Monkey

I came across this website, witty, smart, and hilarious!
One of the recipes, that I've also tried when i was still a kid in Bpp, was the boiled egg with mayonaisse. It is so simple and fun to do.

But look at the pictures of the wonderful site. I really didn't expect the stonehenge watermelon pieces, when reading thru the steps on 'how to cut a watermelon' :) Hilarious! There i said it again.

ps: All pics of course taken from http://www.himonkey.net

Pasta Aglio Olio

I came back from work, exhausted and hungry, wondering what to eat.
Knew had to cook somehow, cause no more leftover food in my fridge. So, I ran thru my food inventory & the only 'ready-to-use' food is my boiled chicken drumstick stuck in my fridge (dont ask why). So i decided to make pasta aglio olio.... + chicken.

I must say it was quite successful, n the best, it is so simple.

Recipe inspired from AURecipe.com Apps from my beloved iphone :):

Ingredients: Pasta, 2-3 cloves of Garlic, dried chilli, EV Olive Oil, Parmesan, salt, black pepper (optional), cut pieces of boiled chicken (optional).

- 1 handful of pasta (I used fetuccini) enough for 1 person. Cook in boliling water per instruction (Mine said boil for 11mins) till Al Dente, with a little bit of salt & oil, so that it's tasty & does not get sticky.
Warning: Better to put the pasta once the water has boiled, otherwise the long ends may stick out of the pan & get burned by the heat instead, like what happened to me :)

- While waiting for the cooked pasta, sizzle/"Tumis" 2-3 cloves of chopped garlic, dried chilli (I used 1 mini packet from Domino Pizza, they had large grains of dried chilli, nicer than the fine sandy ones), with some extra virgin olive oil.

- Drain Al Dente pasta, then mix with the condiments. add a little bit of oil, if too dry.

- Sprinkle with grated parmesan (I keep a bottle of it, though they say freshly grated is better)

And voila, all cooking is done in 15mins! And eating less than 10 mins :)
Sigh, why does the food disappear so fast from my sight :)

Note: "Al Dente" : I googled it, & Al dente refers to the desired texture of cooked pasta in Italian cooking. It literally means "to the tooth

Poached Salmon in White Wine

There are 2 dish that I feel can never go wrong: 1. Pork. and 2. Salmon.
The meat itself is succulent & delicious enough, that you hardly need any more additional ingredients, to make it better!

I usually cook salmon just with salt & sprinkle of lime, and I'm already in heaven! But this time, I looked up for poached salmon, with a twist (white wine). Hope this one turns out alright!

This poached salmon recipe is one of the first recipes my father taught me a few years ago. It's his favorite way to prepare salmon because not only can it be prepared in 10 minutes or less, but it doesn't stink up the house the way broiling or frying salmon can, and it tastes simply delicious.


From http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/poached_salmon/, I quote:

Poached Salmon Recipe
Ingredients
1 to 1½ pounds salmon fillets
½ cup dry white wine (a good Sauvignon Blanc)
½ cup water
A few thin slices of yellow onion and/or 1 shallot, peeled and sliced thin (Saute it first slightly)
Several sprigs of fresh dill or sprinkle of dried dill
A sprig of fresh parsley
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
Put wine, water, dill, parsley and onions in a saute pan, and bring to a simmer on medium heat. Place salmon fillets, skin-side down on the pan. Cover. Cook 5 minutes or to desired done-ness. Do not overcook. Serve sprinkled with freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 2-4.

Potato Dauphinoise

I first tried this gem of food during a lunch buffet in Nikko Hotel, KL. It was the best dish they served. I never knew such food existed. So I looked up for the recipe in the internet.
The original recipe's main ingredients seem to consist of potato & cream, but not cheese. The one in the hotel tasted delicious because of the cheese. So one recipe I found which had cheese in it was from ... what do u know... the famous Gordon Ramsay:

And I quote:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/recipes/article2590900.ece
Serves 4 as an accompaniment


For this creamy potato dauphinoise gratin, you need to buy a waxy variety that will retain its texture as it absorbs liquid. A traditional gratin is cooked entirely in the oven, but I prefer to simmer the potatoes first in milk on the hob, then finish the dish in the oven. This method cuts the cooking time and gives you a more dependable result. The potatoes should be of a similar size.

600g waxy potatoes (such as Maris Piper)
350ml milk
350ml double cream
1 large garlic clove, sliced
1 thyme sprig
1 bay leaf
90g Gruyère cheese, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 200C, Gas 6. Peel the potatoes thinly, then slice evenly into 1cm slices. Bring the milk and cream to the boil in a large saucepan and add the garlic, herbs and seasoning. Simmer for a couple of minutes.

2 Slide the potatoes into the pan and stir gently. Simmer for about 7 minutes until the potato slices are only just tender; they should hold their shape and retain a bite. Drain the par-cooked potatoes in a colander over a bowl to catch the milk.

3 Layer the potatoes in a shallow ovenproof dish, sprinkling two thirds of the cheese and seasoning in between the layers. Trickle a little of the saved milk over each layer too.

4 Pour a little more of the milk around the sides, but not too much - just enough to moisten. Sprinkle over the last of the cheese.

5 Place the dish in a shallow roasting tin and bake for about 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is beginning to bubble and turn golden brown. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Ayam Kalasan

I found this recipe in http://budiboga.blogspot.com/2006/09/rahasia-resep-ayam-goreng-gurih.html  & the best thing about this article is the tip in the comment section that we can replace Air Kelapa with a bit of cuka & sugar + salt + water! Lovely taste. Easy to make, & like most of the good stuff i've tried, the secret is in marinade-ing it for enough time!
====================
Quote:
Kelezatan dari ayam goreng ini adalah dagingnya yang gurih dan empuk. Rahasianya terletak pada air perendam dan teknik menggorang. Mengungkep ayam dengan air kelapa dan rempah-rempah menjadikan ayam goreng ini bercita rasa istimewa. Jangan lupa goreng dengan teknik deep frying atau menggoreng dengan minyak banyak, agar ayam matang merata, renyah dan berwarna kuning kecokelatan.


Resep & Dapur Uji: Budi Sutomo

AYAM GORENG GURIH

Bahan:
1 ekor ayam, potong menjadi sepuluh bagian
500 ml air kelapa
3 cm lengkuas, haluskan
2 cm jahe, haluskan
1 sdm ketumbar, haluskan
2 cm kunyit, haluskan
4 siung bawang putih, haluskan
1 sdt garam halus
minyak untuk menggoreng

Cara Membuat:
1. Larutkan semua bumbu dalam air kelapa, aduk rata. Masukkan daging ayam, diamkan dalam kulkas selama 2 jam agar bumbu meresap.
2. Didihkan ayam beserta air kelapa berbumbu dalam api kecil. Setelah daging empuk, angkat, tiriskan.
3. Panaskan minyak banyak, goreng ayam hingga matang dan berwarna kuning kecokelatan. angkat. Sajikan hangat dengan sambal terasi atau sambal tomat dan lalapan.

Untuk 5 Porsi

Tip: Jika Anda menghendaki ayam empuk hingga ketulang-tulangnya. Rebus ayam dengan air kelapa berbumbu dalam panci presto selama 20 menit.
 
Tip2: pengganti air kelapa bisa pake rumus sbb:

250ml air + 1/2 sdt cuka + 2 sdt gula pasir + 1/4 sdt garam.

Tipsnya diambil dr website dapur keluarga Nugraha http://www.resepnugraha.net/resep/others/tips_didapur.html

Hong Kong Style Steamed Fish

http://foodloverscreations.blogspot.com/2009/09/hong-kong-style-steamed-fish.html


Excerpt:

Ingredients:

1 fresh fish, preferably grouper, seabass, not more than 1kg, mine was 600g.

¼ cup of very fine fresh ginger strips

¼ cup of spring onion strips

A few sprigs of fresh coriander

4 tbsp oil

Seasoning sauce:

3 to 3.5 tbsp light soy sauce (good brand), 2/3 cube of chicken stock + 1/3 cup hot water, 2 pieces of rock sugar

Method:

1. Prepare a wok with water, boil it.
2. If the fish is thick, make sure you cut a few strips on the meat or butterfly it. Put it into a plate, scatter ginger strips, spring onions and coriander.
3. When the water is boiling, put in the fish, start the timer (max 10 mins for 600g fish, add 2 mins for every 200g)
4. While steaming, prepare the seasoning sauce: mix the hot water with rock sugar, chicken cube and light soy sauce. Heat in the microwave for 1 min.
5. Using a fork or chopstick, dig into the thickest part of the fish (usually the middle of the body) to check its doneness. It is suppose to be cooked 99% with a speck of red remaining in the flesh. If not, cook another 1 min and then check again.
6. When it is cooked, take out the fish into a new plate. Pour away ALL the fishy juices & herbs. Don’t worry; you won’t regret pouring it away!
7. Pour the seasoning sauce all over the fish.
8. Garnish with ginger strips, lots of spring onions and coriander
9. Quickly heat up the oil until smoking (until you see smoke), Pour this cooking oil over fish. You will hear a very satisfying sizzling sound!
10. Enjoy!

Mistakes:

As a matter of fact, the best way to learn is to learn from our past mistakes. We found out that we did not:

1. cook at medium high heat
2. put in the fish only after the water start boiling
3. season & steam the fish together with Chinese wine (Shao Xing or Hua Diao), spring onions, ginger and coriander
4. discard ALL the cooking juices and herbs after steaming
5. mix the seasoning sauce separately and add them just before serving
6. add in rock sugar to enhance its sweetness
7. pour smoking hot oil all over the fish in the end

To have just-like-the-restaurant steamed fish, with some guidance from other websites such as hunger hunger, I managed to find my own style – not far different from the restaurant standard