Smoked Salmon Bites

Smoked Salmon bites

It feels like ages since I updated my blog...huhuhu..Both of my little munchkins are down with chicken pox for the past 2 weeks and now still at home with flu..oh..how I miss winter now with less disease spread out wide! Anyway, here is my hubby latest obsession...Smoked Salmon! sejak balik dari UK trip last september tak jemu2 breakfast dengan smoked salmon...dah kena mandrom salmon la ni...


So lets me share with you how simple and easy to prepared meal with smoked salmon. 


Things you need to buy:


200gram of smoked salmon
cream cheese spread OR
Sour cream
bread/biscuits
Cucumber (If you want)


Steps:
1. Cut smoked salmon according to any size you like
2. spread cream cheese/sour cream on to your bread(Toasted bread lagi enak)
3. Sprinkle pepper/paprika powder on top if you like. wallaaa...enjoy the unique taste of smoked salmon.


Tips:
You can add cucumber for extra texture (crunchy) if you want. Usually they use bagel (yg mcm donut tp keras sket tu) but any kind of bread will work cthnye roti yg buat garlic bread tu pun sedap gak. Or plain biscuit will work as well. Easy right.


You can used this to entertain you friends as a snack as well..they will be impress I tell you!


So Happy cooking and don't be afraid of using new ingredients in your daily cooking...be adventures!

Ni hasil last weekend!

Blueberry cheese cuppies

Assalamualaikum and hi to all,

Lama tak update, been very busy with thesis and the kids. Today I wanna share with you my son's fav cuppies, blueberry cheese cuppies which he loves the most. Easy and super fast coz you can used food processor to mix all the things except the fruits of course. So selamat mencuba..This recipe is actually from Internet but I try it and have to change here and there to make sure that its easy to make and taste delicious..so be confident and try it because it will definitely work!

Blueberry cheese cuppies

100g Butter, softened

2 Large Eggs, at room temperature

1 cup Self Raising Flour

2 tbsp Milk, warmed for 10 seconds

50g Cream Cheese

½ cup, plus 2 tbsp Caster Sugar

1 tsp Lemon Zest, finely grated

¾ c Blueberries, fresh or frozen

Icing:

1 ½ cup Icing Sugar, sifted½ tsp Lemon Zest, finely grated

100g Cream Cheese

50g Butter, softened

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 12-hole muffin pan (or 36 mini muffin pans) with paper cases.

2. Place 100g butter, 50g cream cheese, caster sugar, eggs, 1tsp zest and flour into a food processor.

3. Process for about 10-15 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and process again briefly.

4. Pour in the warmed milk and pulse until combined.

5. Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared pans. Scatter over the blueberries.

6. Bake for 17 minutes (10 minutes for the minis)or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Steps for icing: 

1. To make the icing, cream 50g butter and 100g cream cheese with an electric mixer until   

    light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

2. Using a low speed, mix in 1 1/2 cups icing sugar and 1/2 tsp zest.

3. Pipe or swirl the icing onto the cooled cupcakes

 

Tips:

1. You can also put any others berries such as strawberry/raspberry etc.

2. Yg frozen pun bleh but of course the fresh one is better.

3. Cream cheese sgt mahal..apa kata buat sendiri? will give you the recipe of home made cream cheese in the next post..

4. This cuppies is yummy even without its icing and you only need 30 min to do it...

Happy cooking...

3rd Eid in Wollongong...The story of Tosai for breakfast

Assalammualaikum and hi to all...

Today we celebrate Eidul Adha for the 3rd time in wollongong without the luxury of all families in Malaysia. Kind of weird without the sound of "takbir raya" on the radio or tv...miss malaysia especially out families back there.

Anyway back to the real topic, the story of tosai for breakfast...sounds weird but that what we have for breakfast every Eid morning (pagi raya). Its a tradition by my mum to cook homemade tosai,coconut cutney and chicken curry for our breakfast (well, even my cousins or niece will merajuk if they came and no tosai left!). Thats shows how good it its...without the smelly smell or sour taste...its white and crispy...

So, let me share with you step by step in making homemade tosai...(a tribute for Mak..thank you for feeding us with yummy food every raya celebration)

Ingredients: 

2 Cups of rice (Beras)

1/2 cup of Urik dal@ kacang ulundhu @ can use powder form(serbuk kacang ulundhu)

1 tsp halba (erkkk lupa plak dlm bahasa english..little help please)

1 handful yesterday cooked rice @ nasi segenggam

(all the above ingredients must be soaked with water overnight)

2cm wet yeast / OR 2 tsp dry yeast 

Sample of urik dal-malaysia senang dapat tapi kat wollongong ada kat vina.

ni close up rupa urik dal.

Steps:

1: the next morning- Rinse all the soaked ingredients with water 

2. Add a bit of water and blend until fine and smooth using electric blender- put the mixture (tosai batter) in a large pot (very large pot plz)

* Tips:( tambah air masa kisar) - tekstur lepas kisar mcm berpasir yg sgt halus.)

2. Mixed yeast with the warm water and then mix it together with the tosai batter.

3. Add salt (1 tsp) in the tosai batter and mixed it well.

*Tips: Adunan mesti seperti adunan buat apam gitu..kalu tercair tambah secawan tepung beras..

tosai batter (ready to cook)

4. let the tosai batter rest for 5-6 hours until the batter size triple (3 X).

*Tips: kalu cuaca sgt sejuk sila pasang heater!! Kalu tak mmg tak naik la.. Bleh naik smpi 3 kali ganda..

5. after 6 hours, test the tosai batter by heating 1 frying pan (very flat one) with medium heat.Use 1/4 cup batter and pour in the pan just like pancake but you must use your spoon to flatten the batter like a crepes.

*Tips: Always grease your pan with oil before cooking each tosai.-Cannot imagine Amirah face when she read for this tips ;-)

 1st cooked tosai always ugly..but mine always like this..hehehe

I know its hard, but trust me, it take practice to make a perfect crispy tosai like mamak's stall. And the pan also play huge role...the mamak's stall use large flat surfaces to cook..and the fire is hot and (api sekata)..so its hard to get a crispy one for sure..but definitely taste good.

But I did try this recipe with my friends Amy and Amirah and they said its easy and taste good...so why not you try it as well. Happy cooking....

For the coconut chutney recipe...wait up for the next post..

Rendang Ayam Minang wollongong version..

Assalammualaikum and hi to all..very nice weather here in Wollongong, its Friday morning..a very good morning!..

I'm in a very good mood today thanks to Mr hubby...He bought me 2 charms for my pandora collection yesteday,,its cute and lovely...Luv u dear...bleh le beli lagi ekk..ehheheh...muah muah...

Cantik kan... ;-D (big smile in my face)

Ok, lets get into business...Since in two days time we will celebrate Hajj Eid (raya haji), let me make my dear2 friends Hajar dreams comes true..she keep asking me to upload this special rendang recipe from minang..but of course my version...hehehe always change here and there to suite my taste.. hope you will try it as it is tested delicious and easy to make by me and my food critic ;-)

So Hajar, This post (recipe) is dedicated special to you...try this and tell me the outcomes ok! Happy cooking..


Resepi Rendang Ayam Minang

Ingredients (need to Blend):
100g Cili api di kisar-bird eye chilis
3-4 Serai di kisar-lemon grass
3 biji. Bawang besar di kisar-Onion
4 cm Halia dikisar-Ginger
6 ulas Bawang Putih di kisar-Garlic
4 cm. Lengkuas di kisar-Galangal

Others ingredients:
3 helai Daun kunyit- wollongong takde..-turmeric leaves
4 sudu besar kerisik-toasted Coconut paste
2 cup Santan/ 1 tin coconut cream.
1.5 kg Ayam (rebus sekejap dgn kunyit (turmeric)&asam 2 keping )-Chicken
Garam n perasa.(salt)

Steps:
1. Mixed all the blend ingredients in large wok and cook with medium heat,
2. After 5 Min add chicken, coconut cream, and cook until the gravy become thick.
3. Add kerisik@ toasted Coconut paste and fine slice turmeric leaves in the wok and cook for another 5 minutes with medium heat or until gravy become very2 thick and add salt (dan perasa jika suka)

Ni rupa pecah minyak ye..(When gravy thicken, can put tumeric leaves and kerisik.)

Tips: masak sampai pecah minyak.. Ayam daging cepat hancur kalau masak lama, jadi bleh masuk ayam terus tanpa direbus. Ayam kampung baru la kita rebus dulu.

Soo.. Start cooking.. Raye dah dekat..

Finish product... Yummy

Penangan Mengidam New York Cheesecake

Hi again, 

Today let me share you a story about craving!happens when I was 8 months pregnant with my second child. Bangun jer pagi, celik2 mata tekak nak makan cheesecake ... @_@..adoiii..mana nak cari pepagi buta..because of the craving and hormones..I Google the recipe and try to get all the ingredients available in my fridge...so fortunate almost all ingredients ada but I don't have lemons!..apa lagi, satu warga wollongong I called just to get me fresh lemons..hehehe..but managed to get bottle lemons and a few oranges..well...that will work i guess. so here is the recipe that I'd tried and work superb!  

Happy baking everyone!

New York Cheesecake recipe:
Crust:

2 cups (200 grams) of finely crushed Digestive biscuits/biscuit Marie

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 cup (114 grams) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

32 ounces (1 kg) cream cheese, room temperature (use full fat, not reduced or fat free cream cheese)

1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar

3 tablespoons (35 grams) all purpose flour

5 large eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy whipping creams (double cream /thicken cream)

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence

Topping:

1 cup (240 ml) sour cream (not low fat or fat free)

2 tablespoons (30 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract/essence

Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cheesecake.

Steps:

Grease a 9 inch (23 cm) springform pan. Place the springform pan on a larger baking pan to catch any leakage while the cheesecake is baking. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with rack in center of oven.

For Crust:

combine the biscuits marie, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch (2.5 cm) up the sides of the spring form pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For Filling:

Use electric mixer and mixed the cream cheese, sugar, and flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well (about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the whipping cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Place the cheesecake pan on a larger baking pan and place in the oven.

Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C) and continue to bake for about another 60 -90 minutes or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. (The baking time can vary due to the differences in ovens, so make sure to check that the cheesecake is firm with only the center being a little wet and wobbly.) Remove from oven and place on a wire rack.(Do not used ypur oven fan!!) sangat pantang bakar cheesecake guna kipas oven.

Last step, used small bowl, combine the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla extract. Spread the topping over the warm cheesecake and return to oven to bake for 15 more minutes.  Remove from oven and carefully runs a knife or spatula around the inside edge of pan to loosen the cheesecake (helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools).

Let cool completely before covering with plastic wrap. Refrigerate several hours, preferably overnight. Serve with fresh fruit or fruit sauces.

This recipe is adapted from Cheesecake Extraordinaire by Mary Crownover. But tested by me and it worked superb!

Tips: 
1. Sometimes the surface of the cheesecake cracks.  To help prevent this from happening do not over beat the batter, especially when creaming the cheese and sugar. 
2. Another reason for cracking is over baking the cheesecake.  Your cheesecake is done when it is firm but the middle may still look a little wet. 
3. make sure the spring form pan is well greased as cracking can occur if the cheesecake sticks to the sides as it cools. Teman dah rasa dah chessecake merekah bagai apam senyum!! Huhuhu..

4. Bleh freeze:  Place the cooled cheesecake on a baking pan and freeze, uncovered, until firm. Then wrap in aluminium foil and place in a freezer bag. Seal and return to freezer. Can be frozen for several months. Thaw uncovered cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight.

Before baking

After 1 Hour baking and 1 hour resting in oven

Tadaaa.not bad right..enjoy everyone....

;-) see you next post..and Selamat Hari Raya Aidiladha to All the Muslims out there...

Uptown Chicken Chop with black pepper sauce

Assalammualaikum and Hi to all...

Feeling a little chill today here in Wollongong  (Where I' call home for the past 2 years).. Suddenly missing the sunshine we usually hate in Msia..(30 degree dah rasa paneih @_@..)..kat sini almost 40 degree kalu masa summer...Anyway, missing all the good food we have in Malaysia and every time we were home for holiday Uptown damansara is a must place to go as they have my hubby favourite chicken chop with superb black pepper and mushroom sauce! 

Today let me share with you my own version after so many times trial and error.. finally we got the almost similar taste of uptown chicken chop and black pepper sauce..(as what my hubby and friends claim la..not me ye..hehehe..shy2 cat). So lets get cooking....

Black peper sauce recipe: 

2 tbsp @ sudu besar gravy powder (traditional) – mixed with 1 cup of water

4 tbsp black pepper@Lada hitam (biji – tumbuk/blend kasar) 

1/2 tsp fine ground black pepper @Serbuk lada hitam – if you like spicy-optional

2 tbsp cornflour @ tepung jagung  – mixed with water

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

Steps:

1. Mixed all (except cornflour mixture) in one pot with slow heat and stir regularly as the gravy will thicken and burn easily.

2. after 1/2 hour, mixed cornflour mixture and adjust the taste with salt and a pinch of sugar.

Tips:

-Gravy powder is salty so do not add salt in the 1st place...

-if you can't find gravy powder, you can used "Kiub ayam/stok ayam" 2 cube and for more flavour, can add–  onion, carrot,celery.

-adjust the black paper taste using ground black pepper, do not used serbuk lada hitam as its tooo spicy!

This is gravy powder: Malaysian can get this from cold storage! 

Chicken– can grill/pan fry/deep fry

2-3 Thigh without bone (depend on how many people eat it)

1 cup of Bread crump

2 tsp of Mixed herbs (takde pun takpe)

2 eggs-beat 

Steps:

1. flatten the chicken thigh using heavy tool such as you roller pin (or lesung batu hehehe) a good way to release tension!

2.Deep them into eggs mixture and lightly crumbed with bread crumb.

3. Then you can deep fry them until crispy. 

4. If you don't like crumbed you can just grill it but not too long, the meat will dry and not juicy.

bread crumb and mixed herbs

ready to cook..

tadaaa...ready to eat..

enjoy..and happy cooking!