super soft cookies!

We made super soft cookies with a simple 1-1-1 formula recipe! Thanks Wing for this recipe ~ it's good + simple + fast! ^_____^

Food for thought: French Proverb: There is no pillow so soft as a clear conscience.


Ingredients: ( one of each of these ingredients: 1-1-1)
~1, 8oz container of cool whip
~1, egg
~1, box cake mix ( choose any flavor you like: chocolate, lemon, spice..)
~some icing sugar : to coat cookies

Directions:
1. Grease the baking trays.
2. Crack an egg into a bowl. Using a fork or whip, blend in the cake mix with the egg. After it has been well-mixed, fold in the cool whip mixture thoroughly.
3. Add a spoonful of dough into confectionary sugar/icing sugar to coat. Roll it into a ball before placing it onto the prepared baking sheets.
4. Bake at 350F for 10 minutes.
Note: The cookies spread out wide so be sure to space the uncooked dough far apart from each other!

check out this impromptu video........haha

granny smith apple crumble bars

*burp* A bunch of us girls just gathered together for a very big lunch. Candy made delicious eggless omelette and Jayce made ondeh-ondeh! Check out their blogs- I helped them create it today! *excited smiles* Well, as usual, i had something up my sleeve. *mischievous look* I made granny smith crumble bars and steamed turnip cake. (the turnip cake was for Jayce since she didn't get to try it last time). I decided to make these bars when i stumbled upon Cream puffs in Venice recipe last night. They looked good and I had all the ingredients in my fridge. Another article that I have to shared is from Tim's blog called, "A man worth marrying." Single girls, this story puts things into perspective. Hmm..I wonder who and how my future husband will be? *_^ *big laughs*

I modified it by reducing the amount of sugar, omitting brandy and using grape seed oil instead of melted butter for the topping, Threw in some shortcuts...they are described below. It is not as much work as it looks.

my modified recipe::::
Sweet Pastry Crust
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar ( or 1/4 cup)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg yolk
5 tsp. cold water (the original recipe requires 2 tsp.)
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and place a rack in the centre of the oven. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch square baking pan.
Mix together flour, sugar and salt. Add the butter pieces to the flour mixture and using a pastry cutter, knead it until the mixture resembles coarse oatmeal.
Whisk together the egg yolk, water and vanilla extract. Add the yolk mixture to the flour mixture. Mix until the dough begins to come together. More water can be added if the dough is still dry.
Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, pat the dough into an even layer. Bake until the crust is golden, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and let cool completely. Prick with a fork.

Apple Filling
1 1/2 pounds Granny Smith apples (4 to 5 medium)
3 tsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tbsp. frozen apple juice concentrate
2 tsp. cornstarch
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Peel and core the apples and then cut into 1/2-inch pieces.
In a bowl, mix the apples, lemon juice, concentrate, cornstarch.
In a large skillet, melt the butter and then add the brown sugar. Stir well and be sure that there are no lumps.
Add the apple mixture to the skillet. Cook for about 5 minutes or until the apples are soft, but not too soft.
Transfer mixture to a bowl and set aside.

Topping
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar ( can be omitted)
1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
7 tbsp. grape seed oil

In a bowl, combine all of the topping ingredients. Mix well so that all the ingredients are thoroughly moistened. Set aside.

Sour Cream Mixture
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup currants /chopped raisins/ dried wild blueberry/ chocolate chips (optional)

Mix the sour cream into the cooled apple mixture. Spread this mixture evenly over the cooled pastry crust.
Sprinkle the prepared topping evenly over the apple and sour cream mixture.
Bake the bars for 35 to 40 minutes, or until golden around the edges.
Cool the bars completely before cutting into squares.

turnip cake "luo po gao"

It can also be called "Taiwanese luo po gao" because it is plain and does not contain ingredients like mushrooms or meat, which the Cantonese version usually have.

Jesse, a Taiwanese friend told me that she would simply eat it as it is, plain or pan fry it to make it crisp. It's great dipped in a sauce. *lick lips*

Well, her mum shared this recipe over the phone and hence, we had to decipher what exactly had to be done. It sounded easy, "1 cup flour to 1 cup water. Mix everything and steam." We made this several times before I felt confident enough to post this recipe up!

LOL ^___*

Food for Thought

" Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm"

- Winston Churchill

~~~~::~~~::~~~::~~~

This "luo po gao" is siMpLy EASY and qUiCk!!!

Ingredients:

white radish, 1 ( approximately 20 cm)

rice flour, 1 cup*

(as mentioned earlier, the ratio is about 1 cup flour to 1 cup water. However, i felt that 3/4 cup would make it more firm for pan-frying. The size of the turnip might also affect the amount of water/flour used)

water, 1 or 3/4 cup*

salt, dash

white pepper, dash

sesame oil, 1/4 t

onion, garlic powder, 1 t

*note: 1 cup used is equivalent to the chinese cup used for measuring rice, which is approximately 3/4 cup of american 8 oz cup

Directions:

Using a carrot peeler, remove the skin of the radish. Chop it briefly, large enough to be easily blended by the blender.

Add 1 or 3/4 cup water into the blender to allow smooth grinding of the turnip. When it is finely grounded, pour the mixture into a bowl.

Add 1 cup rice flour into the bowl. Add seasonings. Mix well.

Pour the mixture into a greased tin and steam it for approximately 20 minutes, or until it is firmed when pressed.

Slice and eat or an extra step would be to pan-fry it.

Sauce: Any kind of thick soy sauce. What i used was ABC kecap manis mixed with the chili paste that i made for chili tempeh.

vegetarian spring rolls

It's been a busy week. * so glad its friday*

^______^

Don't know why but i've been craving to make spring rolls ever since i ate the ones aunty Grace made. The one she made was super delicious and I had to ask her for the ingredients used. Apparently, it was the tofu or mock abalone that made it delish. ;p

So, here's what I made today!

Ingredients:

spring roll wraps (20 pieces)

tofu bean curd,

see diagram below, may be substituted with similar versions ::

marinated in chinese cooking wine(optional), sesame oil and salt

mock abalone, 1 can, sliced ( drained water)

shredded carrots

sliced Jícama (chinese call it' mengkuang')

5 ears of dried shitake mushroom, soak before slicing

3 cloves garlic and 2 shallots, chopped finely

1 T corn starch + 1 1/2 t water

Directions:

Pan fry shallots and garlic until golden brown. Add mushroom before mock abalone. Season with pepper, soy sauce, kecap mani sweet sauce. Add corn starch mixture. Cool it before wrapping.

Follow the picture directions below. It is good to add the ingredients in this order: carrots, mengkuang, tofu bean curd, mushroom/mock abalone. The reason is because carrots are dry and will not wet the spring roll wrap when it acts as a base.

Finally, deep fry it in HOT oil!

Eat immediately while its crisp and warm!

I love Spring rolls! YUM :p

~~::~~::~~::~~

simple sauce:

Mix rice vinegar, brown sugar, ketchup, soy sauce, maggi chilli sauce

~~~::~~::~~::~~

After eating spring rolls, Jesse and I came up with some interesting ideas to make with spring roll wraps since there were 4 pieces left. LOL. Will post them up later when we make it again.

(hint: luo po gao wrap & banana wrap. )

~~::~~~::~~~::~~~

Shortly after that, Shevita and I made EGGLESS CAROB CAKE using a mix topped with indian spiced nuts! It was done in 9 mins using a microwave! haha

chili tempeh ( indonesian)

Ever experienced an intense burning sensation that nothing can soothe? Everything you touch feels "hot." This was what happened to my fingers the whole evening. Goodness....I will never remove chili seeds from soaked dried chili with my bare hands again. It wasn't a few chili but a whole bag full that caused my fingers to look swollen red. ( making chili paste for other dishes) Anyways, i guess it was worth the effort because i love aunty Rose's chilli tempeh!

Food for Thought: "Always remember that striving and struggle precede success, even in the dictionary." -Sarah Ban Breathnach, writer

I can still remember carrying this dish back to the US from Singapore in my luggage hoping that the customs will not know. haha. They didn't. It was so sweet of her to make a whole container for me just because I said I love it. I always believe that it is better to teach someone how to fish that give them the fish. Hence, I asked her for the recipe so that I can make it myself when I've finished eating the ones she made.
BTW, I did not follow her recipe word for word because I had extra of several ingredients. Play around with Asian cooking- you'll never go far off ^_____^

Presenting aunt Rose's recipe in her own words....

Ingredient:

16 dried chili soaked in warm water for 1/2 hour. Remove the seeds ( with plastic gloves! LOL)

1 big onion

20 small onions

3 garlic

blend everything together

___

Fry a piece of galangal or lengkuas (powder form works too if you do not have a whole piece). Then fry the blended ingredients. Put 3 bay leaves and fry until the color turns darker. Add salt, palm sugar or sugar. ( i like gula melaka sugar). Off the fire and cool the mixture.

Deep fry the tempeh, peanuts and potatoes. Cool it.

Stir everything together. Able to last in the fridge for a month!

~~SPICEALICIOUS~

my mummy's corn soup

*slurp*

I'm eating my mum's style corn soup as I type this recipe. This corn soup brings back fond memories of my mummy and her superb home cooked food. * can't wait to hug you mummy! *

Many people love her corn soup and have asked her for the recipe. Of course her daughter has to know how to make it! LOL. It taste like the chinese restaurant's corn soup. Even better! ^___^

Ingredients:

( 1 serving- i can eat it all myself..haha)

1 canned cream corn

3 shallots, minced

Soy sauce, mushroom seasoning or vegetarian osyter sauce and pepper to taste

a few drops of sesame oil

1 egg white

1/2 teaspoon cornstarch mixed with 2 teaspoons water

1/2 cup water or vegetable broth

water chestnut, 5, diced finely

dried shitake mushroom, 3 pieces, chopped finely

Directions:

1.Soak mushrooms in hot water. Squeese out the water before mincing it finely.

2. Fry onions or shallots in oiled pan until golden brown. Add mushroom and continue frying for 1 minute. Add soy suace, pepper and mushroom seasoning.

3. Add diced water chestnuts and continue frying for several seconds.

4. Pour in the can cream corn. Add 1/2 cup of water or vegetable broth into the can and pour the liquid out.

5. Allow it to cook for 1-2 minutes before adding the corn starch mixture. Give the cornstarch slurry a quick re-stir and add to the soup, stirring quickly to thicken.

6. Pour the egg white into the soup before turning off the fire.

7. Drizzle in sesame oil. Top it with chopped green onions if you want.

~Serve immediately when its warm~~

Nastar

Or it can also be called Pear-shaped cookies. At least I tried to make it look pear-shaped. ;p I wonder if there is a secret to quick shaping because it made my hands tired after the first batch. I am going to try out another recipe using the piping method so that it'd save my hands extra work. If there's an easier way, i'll take it. hehe.
It's been a year since I made pineapple tarts and hence, i had a little difficulty remembering what i did before. After reading my old Pineapple tart post, i decided to use the same filling method but a different dough for the cookies.

Ingredients:

(makes about 70, each is 1 Tablespoon big)

Pineapple filling (refer to old post)

butter, 320g

icing sugar, 140g

flour, 600g

egg,2

custard powder, 60g

soymilk powder, 15g

egg yolk, 2, for brushing

cloves, for decoration ( about 70)
Direction:

1. Sift flour, custard powder, soymilk powder together

2. Beat butter, icing sugar, egg in mixer well.

3. Pour (1) in to mix well.

4. Divide dough into small balls. Wrap each with ball of pineapple filling and form into pear shape. Arrange on baking tray. Brush with egg yolk and decorate with clove. Bake at 350 for 12 mins.

"Nian Gao" New Year's cake (taiwanese)

Nian gao ( 'Sticky cake 'or 'Year cake' translated literally from mandarin) is traditionally eaten during Chinese New Year. There are numerous varieties of nian gao.Since this VERY simple recipe was taught by Jesse, a true-blue Taiwanese, it is a Taiwanese style nian gao.;p It is a sweet, stretchy, and sticky pudding made with glutinous rice flour and brown sugar, flavored with rosewater or red bean paste. The batter is steamed until it solidifies and served in thick slices. It can also be served fried. After niangao has been cooked, cooled and cut, coat it with flour and pan fry My mum likes to place two pieces of yam between nian goa before frying.

If you've never made Nian Gao before, you really have to try this! Only 3 ingredients!

Ingredients:

1 cup Glutinous rice flour,

(Basically, the ratio of flour and sugar is 1:1. However, if red bean paste is used or sweetened red beans, decrease the sugar ratio )

1 cup soft brown sugar

(sieve it well to remove lumps/ brown sugar is used for the brown color effect)

red bean paste or red beans

(i used the instant red beans beans paste usually used in bingsu or korean shaved ice dessert. However, you can steam or boil the red beans)

water

If you want it softer and eaten on its own, add 1/2 cup of water. However, if you want to fry it, the nian gao has to be thicker. Hence, 1/3 c water is used.

Directions:

Grease pan with oil

Sieve sugar. Mix flour, water and sugar together. Add in red beans.Stir until all the lumps disappear.

Steam for 1/2 hour.

Tutti-Frutti Cookies

Today, baby Zoei Toh and I baked tutti frutti cookies! YUM! She couldn't stop eating them. lol. *_^

Isn't she cute!!!

( didn't have my Digital camera and had to use my cellphone to take these pics)

Okee, i chose this recipe because of the rave reviews on Little Corner of mine blog. It was Pusiva's recipe. I modified it because I'm not a fan of desiccated coconut and substituted with almond powder instead. In addition, i added vanilla and almond essence and decreased the sugar by half. It turned out just right because the mixed fruits were pretty sweet.

Ingredients:

1 cup plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

8 almonds, chopped very finely

1 cup mixed fruits to give its colorful look ( bought from Loma linda market)

vanilla essence, 1 tsp

almond essence, 1/4 tsp

Directions:

Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Add almond powder. Set aside.

Beat together butter, vanilla and almond essence and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add the egg and beat again.

Stir in flour mixture and mixed fruits.

Mix until dough forms.

Shape into rolls and wrap them in wax paper or cling film.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Slice the dough logs into thin slices with a serrated knife. OR shape them any way you like...like the way we spelled "ZOEI"

Place on ungreased tray.

Bake them at 175° C (350F) for 10 to 12 minutes or until pale golden.Remove and let it cool on wire rack.

vegetarian wontons

A refreshing hike...

@ Mount Rubidoux

followed by delicious (vegetarian)WON TON noodle soup night!

We made way too many wontons to stuff into our asian stomachs' *wink*

Brief recipe for 150 wontons...

Filling ingredents:

dried mushroom, soaked and diced

water chestnuts, 1 can

1 box of TOFU or vegetarian pork paste (we used both types)

green onions,minced

garlic, minced

shallots, diced

carrots, chopped

seasoning: soy sauce, black pepper, corn starch, sugar, sesame oil, salt, ginger powder, vegetarian oyster sauce

What we did: Fry garlic and onions until golden brown. Add chopped carrots, mushrooms followed by water chestnuts. Stir in green onions and seasonings. Divide into 2 portions. Add vegetarian pork paste into one and mashed tofu in the other. (mashed tofu does not need to be cooked). Allow it to cool before wrapping. Fold each wrapper in half to form triangle and use egg white or water to stick the edges. Press edges to seal and shape

Boil or deep fry them:)

Boiling the wontons: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the won tons, making sure there is enough room for them to move about freely. Let the wontons boil for 5 - 8 minutes, until they rise to the top and the filling is cooked through. Remove from the pot with a slotted spoon.

Deep-frying the wontons: Heat oil for deep-frying. Add wonton in small batches and fry, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

~~Wontons can be prepared ahead of time up to the cooking stage and frozen. Thaw before cooking.~~

Other stuff to go along with the soup...

bok choy, egg noodles, vermicelli, bean sprouts, mushroom, sliced carrots, sliced baked tofu bean curd, chinese parsley,

Sauce: for dipping the wonton(Kar's recipe!)

Mix lemon juice, soy sauce, ginger powder, garlic powder