Stir-Fry Tom Yam Mihun (Rice Vermicelli)

Ingredients:

125 g dry mihun (rice vermicelli)
125 g sausages (omit it for vegetarian version)
6 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 red onion, finely chopped
4 leaves of cabbage, washed and finely chopped
5 dry Chinese mushroom, soaked and finely sliced
60g Thai tom yam paste or to taste
2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce or to taste

Method:

Soak noodles in cold water until soften (30 minutes) and drain well, set aside.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok or non-stick pan, pan-fry sausages until golden brown and cooked-through, let cool and cut into cubes or bite size, set aside.

Heat the remaining oil in the wok or non-stick pan, stir-fry garlic and onion until fragrant and starting to brown (about 5 minutes).

Add cabbage, mushroom and sausages, stir-fry until cabbage and mushroom are cooked-through (about 3 minute).

Add tom yam paste and continue stirring to distribute evenly.

Add noodles and soy sauce, keep stirring until noodles are well coated with the paste and cooked-through.

Serve hot.

Grissini (Bread Stick)

Ingredients:

1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 cup warm water
2 cups all-purpose flour (tipo o)
1/4 cup whole wheat flour (integrale)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup grated cheese
3/4 cup warm water
cornmeal for dusting

Method:

Combine yeast and sugar in 1/4 cup warm water, allow to sit for 5-10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine flours, salt, pepper, garlic powder and cheese, mix throughly.

Add the yeast mixture and 3/4 cup warm water into the flours mixture.

Stir until dough comes together and begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, knead until dough becomes smooth and elastic (about 5 minutes).

Transfer dough into a lightly oiled container and turn the dough to coat lightly with oil.

Flatten the dough and leave covered to rise at room temperature until doubled in volume (about 2 hours).

Preheat the oven to 200 °C.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Dust work surface with cornmeal, roll the dough out into a rectangle (1/8" thick).

Cut into 1/2" wide ribbons with a knife or pizza cutter.

Fold each ribbon over on itself and give a few twists before setting on the baking sheet.

Brush each bread stick with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with cornmeal.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on a wire rack.

Stir-Fry Musky Octopus with Ginger and Soybean Paste

Ingredients:

1 (500 g) musky octopus
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 knob ginger, peeled and chopped thin into 2-inch lengths
1 stalk scallion, chopped thin into 2-inch lengths
1 1/2 tbsp soy bean paste or to taste
1/2 cup water

Method:

Clean musky octopus and cut into bite size, set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or non-stick pan.

Stir-fry garlic and ginger until fragrant and starting to brown (about 5 minutes).

Add musky octopus, scallion and soy bean paste, stir for another 1 minute.

Add water and bring to a rapid boil for 2 minutes or until octopus are cooked through.

Stir a few times so they cook evenly.

Serve hot with rice.

String Beans-Sardines Curry

Ingredients:

300 g string beans
1 (125 g) canned sardines (omit it for vegetarian version)
3 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 large potato, boiled, peeled and cut into cubes
1 cup milk
1 egg (substitute with 1 tsp corn flour or omit it for vegetarian version)
4 tbsp fish curry powder
2 tsp salt or to taste

Method:

Wash string beans, cut-off two ends and chop into 1 cm long, put aside.

Heat oil in a wok or non-stick pan.

Stir-fry garlic and onion until fragrant and starting to brown (about 5 minutes).

Add string beans, sardines and potato.

Stir-fry until string beans are half-cooked.

Add half of the milk and bring to a rapid boil for 2 minutes.

Add egg and continue stirring so that egg evenly distributed into tiny pieces.

Dissolve curry powder in the remaining milk and pour into the simmering mixture.

Add salt and stir to dissolve.

Keep simmering and stirring to thicken the curry.

Remove from heat and serve hot with rice or any of your favorite bread.

Steamed Chocolate Cake with Butter-Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sweetened concentrated milk
1 1/4 cups cake flour (Tipo OO)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3 eggs

Whipped Cream Frosting (Decorated with Strawberries):

200mL whip cream
1/4 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Butter-Cream Cheese Frosting (Decorated with Peaches and Kiwi):

250 g cream cheese
125 g butter
2 cup icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Method:

Grease a 22cm cake pan.

Mix cocoa powder, sugar, milk, oil and sweetened concentrated milk in a non-stick pan and cook over low heat until cocoa powder and sugar are fully dissolved.

Remove from heat and leave aside to cool.

In a separate bowl, sift to mix the flour, baking powder and baking soda.

In another bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy then fold into the cooled cocoa mixture and mix well.

Stir-in flour mixture and mix well to form homogeneous batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan.

Steam over high heat for about 1 hour with a cover that wrapped with kitchen towel to avoid water vapor droplets, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for at least 10 minutes and turn out onto a plate and cool completely.

To Make Whipped Cream Frosting:

Begin with thoroughly chilled cream and beater.

Whip the cream on medium speed until slightly thickens.

Add-in sugar and vanilla extract or any flavoring and continue whipping the cream until soft peaks formed (The peak should bend over at the top of the whisk).

Prepare in advance, keep in refrigerator and frost the cooled cake later.

To Make Butter-Cream cheese Frosting:

In a large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and vanilla until mixture is well-blended.

Slowly, add the powdered sugar and stir to achieve smooth consistency.

Prepare in advance, keep in refrigerator and frost the cooled cake later.

Roti Tissue

Ingredients:

2 cups plain flour (Tipo O)
1 cup milk
1 tsp salt
3 tsp sugar
1/2 cup oil/margarine/butter/ghee

Method:

Dissolve salt and sugar in warm milk.

Add-in flour into the warm solution to form dough.

Knead dough till soft.

Leave to rest for an hour or two.

Form into small 1 inch diameter dough balls.

Coat each ball generously with margarine, keep in a container and leave aside overnight.

Grease a thin layer of oil on a smooth table surface.

With oily hand, spread some oil on ball and flatten the dough ball with palm.

By the help of rolling pin, roll out dough to as thin as possible and follow by stretching as far as possible.

Leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Heat a flat bottom pan over high heat and evenly spread a little margarine on the pan.

Carefully transfer the ultra-thin dough layer into hot pan and pan-fry the individual dough tissue until brown spots formed and crispy. (Spread more margarine when needed).

Remove from heat and serve with sugar or sweetened-concentrated milk.

Roti Canai

Ingredients:

2 cups plain flour (Tipo O)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup oil/margarine/butter/ghee

Method:

Dissolve salt and sugar in warm water and milk.

Add-in flour into the warm solution to form dough.

Knead dough till soft.

Leave to rest for an hour or two.

Form into small 1 inch diameter dough balls.

Coat each ball generously with margarine, keep in a container and leave aside overnight.

Grease a thin layer of oil on a smooth table surface.

With oily hand, spread some oil on ball, flatten the dough ball by tossing and pressing then stretch out as far as possible.

Twirl the stretched dough till thin.

Fold the sides to the center with trapped-air in and leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Heat a flat bottom pan over low heat and evenly spread a little margarine on the pan.

Lightly flatten the air-trapped dough again into just less than a cm thick.

Pan-fry the individual dough on one side till proof-up small bubbles, flip dough around continuously until brown spots formed at both sides of the roti (Spread more margarine when needed).

Remove from heat and serve hot with any of your favorite curry.

Pan-Fry Pork with Reddish Soy Cheese

Ingredients:

150 g lean pork, cut into bite size (better taste with fatty meat)
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Marinade:

4 pieces reddish soy cheese
1/4 tsp sugar

Method:

Rinse pork and pat dry.

Marinade the pork for about 30 mins or more.

Heat oil in a non-stick pan.

Pan-fry the marinaded pork till fragrant, cooked through and golden brown.

Serve hot with rice.

Tiramisu

Ingredients:

4 egg yolks
4 egg whites
250 g icing sugar
500 g mascarpone cheese
300 g savoiardi biscuits
3 liters rectangular box

Coffee Soaking Syrup:

3/4 cup Italian espresso coffee
3-6 tbsp sweetened almond milk
6-12 tbsp whisky or rum

Topping:

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

Method:

Prepare the espresso coffee and let cool.

Add-in milk and alcohol, put aside.

Whisk egg yolks with half amount of sugar till it has a smooth consistency.

Mix-in mascarpone cheese and put in fridge.

In a separate bowl, whisk egg whites till almost stiff, add the remaining sugar and continue whipping till stiff peak formed.

Fold the stiffed egg whites into the mascarpone-egg yolks mixture and mix carefully using spoon.

Dips savoiardi biscuits with sugared side down into coffee soaking syrup and make a base layer of savoiardi with sugared side up in a rectangular box.

Spread-on half of the prepared mascarpone cream evenly on top of the base layer, follow by the second layer of savoiardi biscuits and finish the tiramisu with another layer of the remaining mascarpone cream.

Put the tiramisu in fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Right before serving, sift a thin layer of unsweetened cocoa powder onto the surface of tiramisu.

Stir-Fry Mussels with Ginger and Soybean Paste

Ingredients:

1 kg mussels with shell, rinsed with running water
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 knob ginger, peeled and chopped thin into 2-inch lengths
1 stalk scallion, chopped thin into 2-inch lengths
1 1/2 tbsp soy bean paste or to taste
1/2 cup water

Method:

Steam the shelled mussels until open (about 2 or 3 minutes).

Remove the opened mussels from heat and let cool.

Pull mussels out from shell and set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or non-stick pan.

Stir-fry garlic and ginger until fragrant and starting to brown (about 5 minutes).

Add mussels, scallion and soy bean paste then stir for another 1 minute.

Add water and bring to a rapid boil for 2 minutes or until mussels are cooked through.

Stir a few times so they cook evenly.

Serve hot with rice.

Cream Filled Profiteroles

Ingredients:

1 cup water
2 tbsp milk
50 g butter
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour (Tipo O)
3 eggs
1 tsp baking powder

Whipped Cream Filling:

200 mL whip cream
1/4 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Topping:

1/3 cup whip cream
100 g semisweet chocolate

Method:

Preheat oven to 210 °C.

Grease a cookie sheet.

Heat water, milk, butter, salt and sugar to boil in saucepan.

Pour in flour and stir vigorously over low heat about 1 minutes or until mixture forms a ball.

Remove from heat and let it cool for 5 minutes.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, until smooth and shiny.

Let cool to room temperature and stir in baking powder thoroughly.

Using decorating bag with large round tube, squeeze 2 inch rounds batter onto prepared baking sheet.

Bake for 15 minutes at 210°C (Do not open oven door during first 15 minutes baking).

Then turn oven down to 180°C and bake for further 15 to 20 minutes or until puffed and golden brown.

Remove from the oven, immediately make a small hole or slit in under each puff to allow the steam to escape to prevents the puffs from collapsing.

Let cool on a large wire cooling rack and pull out any filaments of soft dough.

Using decorating bag with small round tube, fill puffs with whipped cream mixture and ice with chocolate topping or any other favorite dessert topping.

Freeze 2 hours or until dessert is firm.

To Make Whipping Cream Filling:

Begin with thoroughly chilled cream and beater.

Whip the cream on medium speed until slightly thickens.

Add-in sugar and vanilla extract or any flavoring and continue whipping the cream until soft peaks formed (The peak should bend over at the top of the whisk).

To Make Chocolate Topping:

Melt chocolate over double boiler.

Remove from heat.

Add-in whipping cream and mix the mixture until evenly combined.