Cheese Cake Bread (ver. 2)

This is a revised post. This bread is so good and tasty that I must once again share it with you. I like the fine texture of the bread, its cheesy taste and the sweetness and sourness of the blueberry jam. They are a perfect match.

The recipe is here.

Steamed Minced Pork With Lotus Root

How easy is it being a full time housewife, needing to cook dinner 365 days a year?

Let me tell you, it is not easy at all. How many different recipes can you possibly conjure up? Sometimes, I just run out of ideas and resort to simple dishes. The above - steamed minced pork with lotus root, is one example. My first time putting lotus root and minced pork together, I had come across a similar dish at a food court recently.

Not only is it easy to prepare, this dish is healthy as little oil and sugar are used. In fact, you only need about ten to minutes to prepare the ingredients, and let the rice cooker/steamer do the rest of the job.

The usual lotus roots you find are dark brown and coated in mud. However, I used white lotus root here as I find that the crunch adds variety to the minced pork. Choose the younger (smaller and lighter in colour) ones for added crispiness.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
(A)- 300 g minced pork
      - 1 teaspoon salt
       - 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
       - 1 tablespoon water
      -  2  teaspoon corn flour
      -  white pepper powder

 (B) - 100 g lotus slices (cleaned and peeled skin and then sliced thinly)

(C)  - 2 tablespoon or more of cooked water (adjust to taste)
       -  1 teaspoon light soy sauce
       -  1/4 teaspoon dark soy sauce (for colouring, optional)
       -  1/2 teaspoon sugar

Method:
1)  Combine ingredients (A) and mix well. Use a pair of chopsticks  to  stir at one direction until the water is fully absorbed by the meat. Once completed the meat becomes gooey, and the texture is smooth.  Add in  lotus slices, gently crush the lotus root into rough pieces as you blend them together with the minced pork.
2)  Steam the minced pork mixture for 15 to 20 minutes.
3) Once done, drain the sauce from the plate. Mix ingredient C into the sauce and pour back into the dish. Garnish with spring onion and serve with plain rice.

Nasi Lemak, Belacan Chilli Paste

Have been cooking Nasi Lemak for N times but realised that my recipe has never been recorded in my blog.

The essence of nasi lemak is in the coconut rice and the belacan chilli. If you get these two ingredients right, you will have dished out a Nasi Lemak as good as, if not better, than those commercial outlets. Enjoy!

Warning: Please cook more rice. :)

Recipe:

Ingredients for Sambal Chilli paste :
- 100 g dried chillies, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes, drained
- 25 g belacan,  wrap in a kitchen tissue paper and toast in microwave for 1 to 2 minutes, crushed into powder
- 1 big onion, peeled and sliced
- 10 small onions, peeled
- 3 pip garlic
- 1 tablespoon assam keping, mixed with 1 bowl of plain water to get assam water
- 1 chicken cube or ikan billis cube
- cooking oil for cooking
- half bowl or more pre-fried ikan billis

Method:
1) Grind dried chillies, garlic, big onion, shallots and belacan into fine paste. (if you do not want to toast your belacan in microwave).

2)  Heat up a wok, put adequate oil to cook the ground chilli paste. Stir constantly and cook till the  oil separates from the paste. At this time the colour of the paste is darker.

3)  Add in chicken cube, assam water (adjust your sourness to adapt to your taste bud), sugar, salt to your taste. Dish up.

To Make Nasi lemak sambal chilli:
1) Fry 1 big onion (sliced) till fragrant. Put 2 tablespoon chilli paste, 2 tablespoon assam water, 1/2 bowl water, and sugar to taste. Then add in ikan bilis to toss for a while. Here only a guideline for you - adjust the amount of spicyness and the amount to prepare for number of guests. The remaining chilli paste can be kept in the fridge/freezer for future use.

Ingredients for Coconut rice:
4 cups  rice
3 pandan leaves
2 cm piece ginger, scliced
1 lemon grass, lightly smashed
5 cups santan (coconut milk) from 1 coconut (or l packet  200g  Kara coconut milk add water to get 4.5 cups or 5 cups of water)
1 teaspoon salt

Method:

Wash rice and drain.  Boil together with the  above ingredients  till  the rice is cooked through. Let it stand for 20 minutes. Stir to loosen rice grains before serving.

With this simple and humble basic belacan chilli paste, you can prepare other dishes such as:

Ikan bilis chilli sambal

Sambal Prawns

Fried Dried Mee Siam

Fried Mee Siam:

Ingredients:
300 g beehoon, soaked for 30 mnutes, drained
30 g dried shrimps, soaked for 10 minutes, drained and diced.
2 small (bean-curd) tofou, cut into small cubes, deep fried till crispy.
2 tablespoon fermented beancurd (bean paste)
2 tablespoon basic belacan sambal chilli paste
sugar, assam water to taste
1/2 bowl of chive, cut into lengths
30 cents bean sprouts
2 eggs, beaten and fry, cut into strips
2 shallots, 1 pip garlic, chopped

Method:
1) Heat up oil in a wok, fry dried shrimps, garlic and onions till fragrant.  Add in fermented bean, chilli paste, paste, sugar, salt and bee hoon. Stir fry for few minutes.
2)  Add assam water, cover , and let it cook over low heat for 5 minutes or the beehoon is softened.
3)  Add in bean sprouts and continue to cook for 1 minutes. Pour in chives, toss and mix well.
     Dish up and serve with bean curd pieces and egg.