Stir fry Glass Noodles with Vegetables

恭喜！恭喜！新年如意！情人節快樂！Chinese New Year & Valentine's Day fall on the same day this year. Bring us double happiness in this celebration. It is definitely makes you and your loved ones more meaningful this year. Have you done all your preparations and waiting anxiously for the New Year to come? I would enjoy admiring the Chinese New Year decorations in the shopping mall and also in most of the Chinese houses. There are indeed elegant and full of the CNY atmosphere. Red has always become the favourite colour for CNY, especially those lanterns, fans, items made from red packets (ang pow) and plenty of decorative stuffs. It brings you prosperous and happy feelings. Even though my family main celebration is Christmas but we do have re-union dinner to symbolize the festival. This year, I spend sometime making CNY lanterns, fishes & butterflies from red packets (Ang Pow) to introduce this festival to my son, my son loves it to bits, especially the butterflies. He even asked me transforms those red packets to "Transformers".... phewwwwww..... But it is real fun!

Our local radio station is promoting and advertising plenty of CNY advertisements during this season. Most of them are good advertisements, associate with the festive season, their products and also creating awareness on re-union with family and "Healthy Eating". One of the advertisement really captured my attention! It is from one of the cooking oil company. The advertisement transform the meaning of having healthy home-cooked food with their healthy cooking oil. It brought you the message of having a good year ahead with "healthy cooking" especially during this CNY. In this way, we can assure our family to have a healthy year to cherish their dreams and wishes. For me, this advertisement is the best among all to promote and to inspire healthy cooking awareness to the listeners.

Through this advertisement, it actually brings me some ideas and awareness to opt for something healthy for this coming CNY re-union dinner. One of the dishes in my list is "Simple stir fry glass noodles with eggs, shredded vegetables and chicken" adapted from my good friend's recipe (Food-4tots), Simplified "Kwai Fa Chee" (桂花翅) This cook is a "health conscious" Mommy and she has plenty of creative, healthy yet delicious recipes, specially catered for toddlers and kids. It has become an inspiration for Mommies to cook at home with her simple, healthy and practical recipes!

Start your first day of CNY with some healthy home cooked food to have a "Good Health" ahead. Not forgetting of having a healthy meal with your loved ones during this Valentine's Day and enjoy the beautiful moment!

Wishing all of you, a "HEALTHY" & "PROSPEROUS"

Chinese New Year! 

新年健康！龍精虎猛！& Happy Valentine's Day! 情人節快樂!

Recipe adapted & modified from Food-4Tots - simplied Kwai Fa Chee Ingredients: 200g cabbage (shredded finely) 40g carrot (shredded finely) 60g chicken fillet, cut into strips 20g glass noodle (粉丝) – soaked till softened, pressed dry and cut into 6-7cm long sections 2 eggs (lightly beaten) Seasonings: 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tsp sesame oil ¼ tsp sugar (I omitted) ¼ tsp salt Dash of pepper Methods: 1. Prepare all the ingredients before hand. Heat up wok with oil. 2. Add in chicken and stir fry for a minute. Then add in carrot and 3 tbsp water. Stir fry with high heat. 3. Add in seasoning and cabbage. Quickly mix well with a pair of long chopsticks until the cabbage shrink. (Cabbage will produce water so do not add too much water) 4. Stir in glass noodle. Keep on stirring. 5. Reduce heat to medium and add in beaten eggs. Stir-fry until cooked. Dish up and serve. Isn't this recipe simple? Cook up for this CNY and enjoy the holiday!

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Raisin Custard Bun

I always wanted to make some soft and moist buns or bread but I also realized that making bread is quite a tedious job. It needs plenty of experiment to achieve a good result. This round, I am keen to make some buns and I found this recipe from Jodeli Bakery. It was awesome as the ingredients are simple and the methods are easy to follow. This website also has step-by-step pictures to guide you. It makes those novice in making bun or bread much more easier and interesting. I thought making Raisin Custard Bun was a good idea and since buns are also my family all time favourite. Thus, I started reading and digesting each of every steps in this recipe and experiment to achieve a better texture buns. Since I do not have the dedicated dough hook (big hook) which is an important instrument in making bread dough. I need to substitute some hand kneading time to achieve the elastic texture.

In this process, I have learned that kneading time is an important key point in making bread. The dough needs to be elastic but not over knead. Thus, we need to experiment and plenty of practice to achieve that result. Oven temperature also is another important key point in baking bread or bun. Too high temperature will makes the buns tough and also result to hard crust. In the case, we need to adjust the oven temperature accordingly and observe the colour changes on the buns. I would say there is so much to learn and so much to observe in baking bread or bun.

Making bread or bun has become a new challenge for me now as I need to explore and try on variety methods and ways to have a soft and moist texture. Do you like bread making? If yes, do join me and share with me some of your secret! *wink* Happy Baking!

Recipe adapted and modified from Jodelibakery Makes 12 Ingredients: 390g high protein flour 50g castor sugar 2 tsp instant yeast 1 egg 180ml water 50g butter Some sunflower oil or greasing Filling: 60g instant custard powder 100 - 120ml milk (adjust accordingly) 50g raisins Glaze: 1 egg, lightly beaten Methods: 1. Soak raisins with sufficient water to cover all the raisin for at least 2 hours in the fridge. 2. Combine flours, castor sugar, instant yeast, water and egg in a mixing bowl. Use dough hook of your mixer to knead the mixture at slow-medium for 10 minutes. 3. Add in butter, continue to knead for 15 mins until dough is elastic, smooth, non-sticky and pull away from the sides of the bowl. 4. Remove the mixing bowl, grease your hands with some oil. Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a kneading surface or board. Start kneading with hands for about 10 - 15 mins, until the dough is elastic. Stretch and pinch up the dough to test if the dough is done, the dough should form a thin membrane before it breaks. (I have to knead by hands because I am using a small dough hooks which didn't give me a satisfying elastic dough result, if you are using specialize bread dough hook, you may skip this step). 5. Grease a stainless steel bowl with some oil, form the dough into a ball, place it in the bowl and cover with a damp cloth. Leave it to proof at room temperature or under the sun for 1 hour or until it is doubled in size. 6. Meanwhile, prepare the custard filling. Whisk instant custard powder and milk in a mixing bowl, you may need to adjust the amount of milk accordingly, pour in milk gradually until the a pudding-like batter is form, the batter shouldn't be watery. 7. Drain raisins and strain well to discard extra water. Set aside. 8. Use your finger tips to test if the dough has fully risen. 9. Punch down the dough with your fist to released gases produced in the proofing process. Rest for 5 mins before shaping. 10. Slightly grease the working surface with some oil. Roll bread dough out to a 15" X 11" rectangle shape. Spread custard on the dough and sprinkle raisins on the custard. Roll the dough up tightly to contain the filling. 11. Using a sharp knife to divide roll into approximately 12 portions. Line the baking tray with baking paper, arrange the dough on the baking tray. Proof buns for 30 - 45 mins or until double in size. 12. Beat up an egg. Glaze the top of bread dough with the egg glaze. 13. Bake in preheated oven at 360ºF for 20 - 25 mins. Do not over bake the buns as it will turn tough. You may need to adjust your oven temperature accordingly. The buns should be lightly golden not brown. 14. Cool buns completely on wire rack. Store in an air-tight container and served within 2 - 3 days. Tips: • All ingredients should be at room temperature before use. The best is to proof dough under slightly warm area or under the sun to have it fully risen and doubled in size. • Do not over baked the buns as it will result in hard and tough buns. Too high temperature of the oven will result in buns with thick and hard crust. You may need to adjust your oven temperature accordingly. • Adjust the amount of milk for the filling accordingly, you may need to add in the milk gradually to achieve a pudding-like or paste-like custard filling. Stop when you get the pudding-like paste. • You may need to observe the colour changes of the buns while baking, once it turns to lightly golden colour, adjust to lower temperature or the timing accordingly. • Kneading time also an important factor, you have to knead the dough until it is elastic and form a thin membrane before it breaks when you stretch and pinch up the dough. This will give you soft buns. • I have to knead by hands because I am using a small dough hooks which didn't give me a satisfying elastic dough result, if you are using specialize bread dough hook, you may skip step (4). • To get more tips on this recipe and on how to achieve soft and moist bread, you may browse through the Jodeli Bakery with more step-by-step pictures.

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Watercress Soup

The weather here is extremely unpredictable. It can rains cats and dogs in the morning and hot burning sun in the afternoon or vice versa. With this changes of weather, it really makes us feel sick and also dehydrated at times. I believed by taking in liquid, such as 'soup' is the best nourishment for this season. Soup can re-hydrate our body, pack with nourishment and nutrition, all in one pot. Being a Chinese, soup is one of my all time favourite in my meals. I have introduced them to my little son. Since then, he has fell in love with soup and will have soup almost everyday.

Watercress soup is one of my childhood favourite. I just love the green vegetable soak in the soup with some red dates and wolf berries. We believed watercress can cold down the body temperature and also pack with vitamins and minerals.

Watercress is a member of the cabbage family along with other greens such as mustard greens, kale, kohlrabi, and turnip greens. Watercress offers similar health benefits as kale and collards and can be used in the same way. They provide an excellent source of vitamins B6, C, manganese, and carotene. Greens in the cabbage family have almost three times as much calcium as phosphorus.
Reference from Everynutrient

Watercress is among the most highly nutritious vegetable, many of the great herbalists wrote of the revitalizing power of watercress. The health benefits of watercress are attributed to its nutrient content. Watercress is an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2, B6, C, E, manganese, and carotenes. It also a good source of calcium, fiber, iron and copper. Watercress livens up raw salad and it also makes a valuable juice. Watercress juice is a green juice and must not be consumed alone. It also tastes bitter and is much easier to swallow if mixed with carrot, potato, and a little parsley or carrot, spinach, and turnip leaves. For optimal health benefits, eat watercress raw and as fresh as possible.

Besides, watercress has plenty of health benefits. It is not only good source of fibre but also high in Calcium. By adding watercress in our diet brings us variety of nutrition, nourishment, vitamins, minerals and also savoring a delicious healthy vegetable!

Here are some of the health benefits of watercress:
• Watercress contains anticancer properties.
• Watercress helps protect the eyes because it contains a high level of two carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin.
• Watercress helps to normalize cholesterol and blood pressure.
• Watercress increases sexual energy and enhances fertility.
• Watercress can help improved memory, mental function and to retard ageing.
• Watercress is a powerful cleanser of the body, especially the bloodstream.
• Watercress can help increase production of breast milk.
Reference from hubpages

After reading so much of the goodness of watercress, it is worth adding this nutritious vegetable into our cooking & our meals. Watercress can be used for stir-frying, puree, turn it into pesto, juice and many other ways. You can explore and find other interesting mehtods of cooking watercress! Let's be creative and enjoy the goodness of this SUPERB vegetable.
More info about Watercress: Herbs are special

Ingredients: 500gm Watercress (西洋菜), trimmed leaves and stems to make it shorter 300gm Pork ribs, cut into pieces 2.5 litre Water 10 dried Red dates, pitted 1 tbsp dried Wolf berries, rinsed Salt to taste Methods: 1. Blanch pork with hot boiling water. Drain and set aside. 2. Boil a pot of 2.5 litre water. Bring to the boil. 3. Once it is boiled, add in pork ribs. Simmer at medium heat for 1 hour. 4. Meanwhile, wash and rinse watercress, drain. Rinse and remove red dates seeds. 5. Add watercress and red dates into the pot and simmer at medium heat for 30 mins. 6. Add in wolf berries, simmer for another 5 mins. Add salt to taste. 7. Serve while hot.

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Pan-grilled Lemongrass Chicken

Hey! How was your New Year celebration? It feels like long time I didn't start posting in 2010. Kinda miss the world of blogging here. As I was really busy with the New Year and also school re-open events. It had been so many things to prepare and to get things done. But, I did enjoyed this long break and kinda missing it now! *wink*

Now, my routine has back to schedule. Cooking has become one of the daily routine again and it was such challenging for this year as I need to explore more of the children's finger food or snacks for my son to pack to school. Not forgetting to try out more methods of cooking and variety of recipes. That is my new year challenges and aim. Well, let me charge up more energy for this challenges... haha.... no, no, it is not like the 'IRON CHEF' or the 'Hell's Kitchen'... Let's do more fun cooking and enjoyable food.

Today, I would like to share this simple recipe which I wanted to try sometimes ago. This recipe is simple, easy to prepare and full of flavour. Just the kind of food that you want to cook at home within a short period of time and enjoy! Lemongrass and garlic give you the fragrant smell and nutrition in this recipe. Lime juice simply gives you the kick and flavour to the chicken. If you are a lover of lemongrass, do give it a try and I am sure you will have a touch of satisfaction. You may check out more about the nutrition and another recipe of LEMONGRASS at my Turmeric Fragrant Butter Rice. These two recipes make a great companion for dinner!

Ingredients: 3 pcs Chicken breast meat, rinsed & pat dry 3 sticks 5cm long Lemongrass 4 cloves Garlic, peeled 3 tbsp Water Juice of one medium-size Lime Dash of salt Sunflower oil for pan-grilling Methods: 1. Prepare chicken breast meat, pound chicken meat with the back of the knife gently. Make some slit on the chicken meat. 2. Sprinkle some salt to both sides. Set aside. 3. Chop lemongrass into small pieces. Blend lemongrass and garlic with water until become paste. 4. Spread or rub over both sides of the chicken breast meat evenly. 5. Drizzle lime juice over the chicken breast meat. Put them in a zipper bag and marinade in the fridge for an hour. 6. Remove chicken from the fridge and rest for 5 mins. Discard any remaining juice. Drained well. 7. Heat up oil in the frying pan or grill-pan. Grill chicken for 5 - 6 mins each sides or until it is just cooked & turn to slightly brown colour under low heat. 8. Prepare some salad leaves, butter head or rocket salad leaves. 9. Arrange grilled chicken on the salad and serve. Note: • You need to pound the chicken meat with the back of the knife or with a pestle to have tender and soft chicken meat. • You need to make some slits on the meat to allow the marinade ingredients absorb into it. • Do not over grill the chicken breast meat as it will become hard. • Use fresh and big-sized lemongrass to have more fragrant flavour. • The pan-grilling time is depends on the thickness of the chicken breast meat, always pan-grill in low heat. Be cautious of the grilling process, not to over cooked the chicken breast meat.

Weekend Herb Blogging is a great way of gathering and introducing readers on herbs recipes & goodness.
I am submitting this recipe to Weekend Herb Blogging #187, which is housed by Haalo of Cook (almost) Anything at Least Once and hosted this week by Maninas from Maninas: Food Matters

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Cheese Scones

Time really flies, Christmas was just over and it is already time to say goodbye to Year 2009 and welcoming Year 2010. It was like just busy putting up the Christmas tree, decorating it and now it is about time to think of how to celebrate the coming New Year. We had a jolly good time during the Christmas long break! Christmas was really busy for all of us as we had plenty of visitors this time. It was busy cooking, eating and cleaning up! Thus, we had plenty of cakes, tarts and desserts this time and it was really a sweet-Christmas for all of us. I even served them with one of my good friend cum foodie's Icebox cheese cake and guess what? They loved it to bits including my family. Thanks LK - Food-4tots for sharing this recipe! If you are reading this post right now, I am giving you a "thumbs up".... I will surely make it again and watching the weighing scale's needle increasing! haha...

What is your New Year resolution? Mine? As always, good health comes first. Be more happy and appreciate every moments in life, that will eventually bring us GOOD HEALTH. May God bless all of us with good health, peace and joy! Not forgetting to have more delicious, tantalizing, scrumptious healthy food.

For this coming New Year, I would like to begin with something simple and basic for this celebration. Cheese scones - this recipe was adapted & modified from Betty Saw - CAKES & TREATS mini cookbook! In her recipe, she called for bacon and cheese, but I have omitted the bacon and increased the cheese amount. With grated Cheddar cheese, the scones turned out to be savoury and appetizing. My son loves it so much and keep on asking for more! It is indeed a convenient snack to bring along when he is going to kindergarten next week.

Scone is a small British quick bread which uses basic ingredients such as flour, milk, eggs, butter, salt, baking soda and sugar, unlike yeast breads which often take hours to rise. All the ingredients are combined and gently bring together until it forms a lumpy dough which is rolled out on a lightly floured surface. The dough is usually made in a round shape which cut into triangles/squares, cut it with round cookies cutter or just shape it with hands. The top of the scone is often glaze it with egg and milk before sprinkled with sugar and put into the oven to bake.

There are many ways and methods in making scones, some common additions to scones include spices like cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Some adding dried fruit such as raisins, dates or cranberries. More hearty scones include bacon or cheese. You may have many types of flavours according to your own preference.

References from:
• wikipedia
• wikipedia-Quick bread
• wisegeek

This cheese scones recipe is easy to follow and taste savoury, you can just cut them into half, spread it with butter, jam or peanut butter and enjoy with a cup of tea or coffee. What a delicious and relaxing way to eat your scones in this new year! See you in 2010!

This recipe was adapted and modified for my own preference: Makes 18 scones Ingredients: 240g Self-raising flour 60g Butter 120g Grated Cheddar Cheese 170ml Milk (I used fresh milk) Egg glaze: 1 Egg yolk, beaten 1 tsp Water Methods: 1. Beat egg yolk and water together to make glaze. Set aside. 2. Sift flour into a bowl. Lightly rub in butter with fingers or blend with a pastry cutter. 3. Stir in cheese, mix with milk to form soft dough. Rest for 5 mins. 4. Line a square baking tray with baking paper. 5. Dust some flour on your hands. 6. Place 1 - 2 tbsp of batter on your hands and roll them into a ball. Approximately 4cm diameter. 7. Place them on the baking tray. (I did not use cookies cutter as I don't have an appropriate size cutter). 8. Bush the top with egg glaze. 9. Bake in a preheated 200ºC (400ºF) oven for 12 - 15 mins, or until scones turn golden brown. Serve. Note: • The best is to eat scones while it is warm and finish them within 2 days. Original version (Makes 14 scones): 1 Egg yolk, beaten 1 tsp Water 240g Self-raising flour 60g Margarine 90g Cheddar cheese, grated 90g Bacon, chopped 170ml Milk Methods: 1. Beat egg yolk and water together to make glaze. Set aside. 2. Sift flour into a bowl. Lightly rub margarine with fingers or blend with a pastry cutter. Stir in cheese and bacon. Mix with milk to form soft dough. 3. On a lightly floured board, roll dough to 1 - 2cm thickness. Cut into 5 - 6 cm rounds with cookies cutter. Place on lightly greased trays. 4. Bake in a preheated 200ºC (400ºF) oven for 12 - 15 mins, or until scones are golden brown. Serve.

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Christmas Delight | Butter Cake

Hey! Christmas is around the corner! Few days more we will be celebrating this joyful moment with friends and family at home. Food and desserts are the main attention during Christmas besides a beautifully decorated Christmas tree. Have you decorated your Christmas tree?

As usual, on Christmas Day, we will be busy feasting and celebrating this day in Church and at home! Also, not forgetting weight-watching too... haha... This year, our list consists of the mixture of Western and Asian dishes, such as chicken debal/devil curry (one of the Eurasian dishes), prawns sambal, roast chicken, roast pork, vegetables, soup and not forgetting our must-have cakes! It has become a norm every year for my Mother-in-law to make some homemade cakes for Christmas, such as fruit cake and butter cake. I have also hooked to these 2 delicious home made cakes since then.

Today, I would like to feature one of her all time favourite and popular cake among the family, traditional BUTTER CAKE! Butter cake has become one of the popular cakes for everyone and it is simply easy to make and tasty! You can make this simple butter cake more unique and mouth-watering by choosing the right ingredients! We found out many ways to enhance this simple cake by using a good quality/premium butter and the technique in making it. I hope by sharing these few tips, you too can enjoy a simple yet extra-ordinary butter cake!

Till then, before I opt for Christmas break, I would like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas & Happy Holiday! Have fun and enjoy! Stay tuned for the next delicious pastry for New year!


glitter-graphic.com

Ingredients: 250gm Butter (Use S.C.S butter/premium butter) 1 3/4 cups Self Raising flour 3/4 cup Castor Sugar 1/2 tsp Baking powder 1 1/4 tbsp Full Cream milk (use Dutch Lady) 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence 4 eggs (separate egg yolks & egg whites) Methods: 1. Line a 20cm round baking tray with baking paper. 2. Sift self-raising flour & baking powder together. Mix well, set aside. 3. Cream butter & castor sugar with mixer for 10 mins or until mixture is creamy and fluffy. 4. If you are using hand whisk, whisk in one direction for 15 mins. 5. Whisk egg yolks and egg whites in separate bowl. 6. Put egg whites in the batter, then egg yolks. Whisk at low speed. 7. Fold in half of the flour and mix well. Repeat with another half. 8. Add in milk and vanilla essence. Mix well in one direction. 9. Transfer batter to a baking tray. 10.Heat up oven for 10 mins. Baked for 20mins at 400ºF until top is golden brown. 11.Switch off oven. Leave in the oven for 5 mins. Test with a skewer. Note (below is some of the tips from our observation and enhancement): • Use premium butter will enhance the taste and make the butter cake more moist and creamier. • If you are using hand whisk, whisk in one direction. • Use full cream milk will make the cake soft and moist.

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