Custard Cream

Ingredients:

1 tsp plain flour
1 tbsp corn flour

4 tbsp sugar

1 egg

200 mL milk

1 tbsp butter, soften

Chocolate Sponge (scaled up)

Method:

In a small pot, mix together flours, sugar and 2 tbsp milk till smooth.

Whisk-in egg till homogeneous.

Pour-in milk and stir over low-heat to thicken.

Once reach a spreadable consistency, remove from heat.

Stir-in butter to a smooth cream.

Keep in refrigerator till use.

Chocolate Paste I (Vanilla Swiss Roll)

Ingredients:

Chocolate Paste

2⅓ tbsp plain flour

40 mL sugar

1 egg white

80 mL milk, warmed

1½ tbsp cocoa power

10 g butter soften

2 tbsp Nutella/grounded nut (optional)

Vanilla Sponge

3 eggs, room temperature

65 g caster sugar

80 g flour

20 g butter, melted

3 drops vanilla extract

Method:

To Prepare the Chocolate Paste

In a small pot, mix together flour, sugar and egg white till smooth.

Mix-in milk and cocoa powder.

Over low-heat, stir the mixture to thicken.

Once reach a spreadable consistency, remove from heat.

Stir-in butter and Nutella to yield a smooth paste.

Keep in refrigerator till use.

To Prepare the Vanilla Sponge

Line a 23 x 30 cm baking tray with parchment paper, set aside.

Sift flour, set aside.

Preheat oven to 180 °C.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs and sugar on high speed till thick, pale and glossy then whisk at low speed for another 1 min.

Fold-in butter and vanilla.

Gradually, fold-in flour to yield homogeneous batter.

Spread batter onto the prepared tray.

Bake for 15 min or until the surface is golden brown and skewer inserted into the sponge and come out clean.

Remove tray from oven and cool sponge/paper on wire rack covered.

Dust a bigger sheet of parchment paper with icing sugar, inverse-on the sponge with brown side down and remove the attached former parchment paper.

Spread-on the prepared chocolate paste and roll-up sponge by lifting up the large parchment paper pressurized outward.

Transfer the Swiss roll with seam side down into fridge and chill for 30 min or more before serving.

Curry Spring Roll

Ingredients:

100 g meat, coarsely chopped
1/2 big onion, thinly sliced
2 handful glass noodles
1 tbsp cornstarch in 1 tbsp water
1 handful coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp oil

Seasoning

2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp ketcup
1/2 tsp sugar
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper powder

enough medium size spring roll wrappers (thawed)
1/4 whisked egg
oil for deep-frying

Method:

Soak noodle in cold water until soften (about 30 minutes) and drain well; set aside.

Heat oil in a wok, pot or non-stick deep pan, saute onion till fragrant and softened.

Add meat and seasoning, stir-fry until meat shrink and half cooked.

Add noodles and keep stirring until noodles are well distributed.

Adjust taste with sugar and salt, add more curry powder if strong taste is desired.

Pour-in cornstarch solution and stir to thicken.

Dish-up and stir-in coriander leaves; set aside to cool completely.

To assemble spring rolls:

Place a sheet of spring roll wrapper on a clean working surface.

Locate enough filling on one corner of the wrapper.

Spread the filling lengthwise along the wrapper by using chopstick or fork (reserve some spaces at all edges for sealing).

Fold-up left and right sides of wrapper over filling.

Lift-up the filling side egde and roll upward to the other end.

Seal roll end by brushing-on some egg solution on all opening.

Deep fry spring rolls under hot oil till golden brown and crispy.

Remove from oil and drain well on absorbent papers.

Serve spring rolls warm with Thai sweet chili sauce or any favorite homemade dipping sauce (chopped fresh chili in 1/3 cup plum sauce and 3 tbsp light soy sauce).

Summer Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

250g pasta of your choice (bow ties)

1 tsp salt

1/2 green/orange/yellow bell-pepper, cubed

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

100g mozzarella cheese, cubed

few fresh basil leave

Dressing

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tbsp oregano powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Method

In a pot, boil enough water with 1 tsp of salt and cook pasta according to the written instruction on package, stir occasionally.

Drain the cooked pasta and transfer into a big salad bowl.

Mix-in the remaining vegetables and cheese.

Pour-in olive oil and lemon juice then sprinkles-on oregano powder.

Stir well and adjust taste with salt and pepper.

Grilled Pork Steak

Ingredients:

400 g pork chops

Marinade:

1 tbsp fish sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1.2 tsp ground black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder

Sauce:

1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp ketchup
1/4 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 tbsp light soy sauce
1 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp water

Method:

In a container, combine all the marinade ingredients, add-in meat, mix well and set aside to marinate for at least 4 hours or overnight covered in fridge.

Remove meat from fridge and bring to room temperature.

Preheat grill or broiler and grill all sides of meat for 6 minutes or until browned and cooked through.

Remove meat from heat and transfer onto a serving plate.

In a saucepan or wok, bring all sauce ingredients to simmer.

Scatter the sauce over the cooked steak and best serve hot.

Thai Tom Yam 冬粉/Glass/Cellophane Noodles Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

250 g dry 冬粉/bean threads/Glass/Cellophane Noodles
200 g shrimps, shelled with tails-on (omit it for vegetarian version)
5 large dried chinese mushroom, soaked and drained
3 handful bean sprout
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 tbsp tom yam kung paste dissolved in juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp sugar or to taste
1/4 tbsp salt or to taste
4 tbsp vegetable oil

enough medium size spring roll wrappers (thawed)
water or beaten egg or 1 tsp cornstarch/1 tbsp water paste to seal

Method:

To stir-fry the cellophane noodles:

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

Heat oil in a wok, pot or non-stick deep pan, saute garlic till fragrant and starting to brown.

Add mushroom and shrimps, stir-fry until shrimps are slightly pink and half cooked.

Add bean sprout and continue stir-fry for short while.

Add noodles and tom yam solution, keep stirring until noodles are well coated with the paste.

Adjust taste with sugar and salt, continue stir-fry till noodles cooked-through.

Dish-up; set aside to cool completely (Best serve hot immediately at this state too :P).

To assemble spring rolls:

Place a sheet of spring roll wrapper on a clean working surface.

Locate enough tom yam noodles on one corner of the wrapper (try to balance among the distribution of noodles, shrimp, mushroom and bean sprout for each spring roll).

Spread the filling lengthwise along the wrapper by using chopstick or fork (reserve some spaces at all edges for sealing).

Fold-up left and right sides of wrapper over filling.

Lift-up the filling side egde and roll upward to the other end.

Seal roll end by brushing-on some water.

Deep fry spring rolls under hot oil till golden brown and crispy.

Remove from oil and drain well on absorbent papers.

Serve spring rolls warm with Thai sweet chili sauce or any favorite homemade dipping sauce (chopped fresh chili in 1/3 cup plum sauce and 3 tbsp light soy sauce).

Bean Sprout Salad (Kongnamul Muchim)

Ingredients:

3 handful bean sprout, cleaned

Dressing:

3 tsp chopped green onion
3 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp Korean chili powder or to taste
1 tsp sesame oil

Method:

Bring a pot of water to boil.

Add-in bean sprout and cook covered for about 5 minutes.

Drain cooked bean sprout and run-through ice cold water for about 3 minutes.

Drain well, pat-dry with kitchen towel and transfer onto serving plate; set aside.

In a small bowl, combine together all dressing ingredients.

To serve, pour dressing mixture onto the bean sprout and mix well.

Kerabu Mangga (Nyonya's Style Mango Salad)

Ingredients:

1 large green mango, peeled and sliced into slim slivers
1 green apple, sliced into slim silvers
5 shallots, thinly sliced
2 bird's eye chili, thinly sliced
2 tbsp dried prawn, toasted

Dressing:

3 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp plum sugar/white sugar (omit it if mango and apple are sweet)

Sprinkle:

3 tbsp toasted peanut, coarsely pounded

Method:

In a large bowl, mix together all the salad ingredients; set aside.

In a small bowl, mix well all the dressing ingredients; set aside.

Right before serving, pour the prepared dressing sauce over the salad mix, stir well to incorporate.

Sprinkle-on coarse peanut powder and serve cold or at room temperature.

Penang Lor Bak (Crispy Skin Pork Sausages)

Ingredients:

600 g fatty pork, coarsely chopped
1 ½ tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 large onion/2 shallot, finely chopped (yield about 2 ½ tbsp)
1 ½ tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp soy bean paste, minced
2 tsp five spice powder
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp chestnut flour
1 ½ tsp salt or to taste
2 tsp pepper powder or to taste (I used black pepper)

2 large bean-curd sheets
1 egg, lightly beaten for sealing (I used leftover egg yolks from dark soy dipping sauce)
16 pieces toothpick
oil for deep-frying

Dark Soy Dipping Sauce:

1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/8 tsp five spice powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt or to taste
4 tbsp water
1/2 tsp cornstarch
1 egg white, beaten

Sweet-Chili Dipping sauce:

3 tbsp chili paste
2 tbsp pounded roasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp hoisin or plum sauce
3 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp salt

Method:

In a bowl, mix pork, garlic, onion, sugar, soy bean paste, five spice powder, egg, chestnut flour, salt and pepper to make the filling; set aside to marinade for 30 minutes (adjust the taste by pan-fry a bit of the filling mixture).

Rub bean-curd with wet kitchen towel to solften, cut each sheet to four pieces; set aside covered and wet kitchen towel (if bean curd tends to harden quickly, just soften it by soaking into cold water for about 3 minutes and pat dry gently with kitchen towel).

Divide filling into 8 portions.

Spread a portion of filling length-wise on bottom of sheet (spare about 1 inch on all sides for folding and sealing).

Brush-on whisked egg on all sides.

Gently, fold up bottom edge and roll upward till end to form sausage roll, seal both sausage terminals with toothpick.

Alternately, fold-in sides bean-curd while rolling to enclosed.

Heat oil in wok or pot on over high heat, deep-fry sausage rolls till golden brown, cooked through and crispy skin (about 9 minutes).

Remove from oil, drain on paper towels and set aside to cool to handle-able temperature.

Right before serving, cut sausages into 1 inch pieces and serve along with dipping sauces as appetizer or with rice (best serve along with fresh cucumbers slices).

To prepare the dark soy dipping sauce:

In a small pot, mix-in dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, five spice powder, sugar, salt, water and cornstarch; simmer over low heat for about 2 minutes or till yields smooth sauce (stir occasionally); whisk-in egg white to form fine white streaks; remove from heat and apply warm or at room temperature.

To prepare the sweet-chili dipping sauce:

In a small pot, bring vinegar to boil, mix-in chili paste, plum sauce, sugar and salt; simmer over low heat for about 1 minutes (stir occasionally); remove from heat; stir-in sesame seeds and apply warm or at room temperature (We use to drop chili dipping sauce into the middle of dark soy dipping sauce and gradually incorporated while dipping-in sausage pieces, like wasabi in soy sauce for sushi eating).

Grilled Spicy Sour Fish/Stingray/Skate Wing

Ingredients:

1 (300 g) fish
1 large piece banana leaf/aluminum foil, greased
1 lime, cut into half
1 tbsp oil for grilling

Paste:

2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 knob fresh ginger, peeled
2 shallot, peeled
1 stalk lemongrass (white part only), sliced
1 or 2 dried red chili, softened in hot water
1/2 tsp belacan (toasted dried shrimp paste)
1 tsp tamarind paste in 2 tbsp water, strained and discarded seed
1 lime juice
1/3 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp fish curry powder
1/2 tsp dark brown sugar or to taste
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
2 tbsp vegetable oil

Dipping Sauce:

1 shallot, sliced
1 red chili, sliced (I used 2 tsp sambal omelek chili paste, it contributes to the red color)
1 lime juice
1/2 tsp sugar or to taste
1 tsp belacan (toasted dried shrimp paste)
1/2 tsp light soy sauce or to taste
1 bird's eye chili, chopped

Method:

Clean fish, make some gashes on both sides; set aside.

With blender, blend together garlic, ginger, shallot, lemongrass, chili and belacan till fine paste; set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or non-stick pan over medium high heat, saute paste till fragrant and aroma (about 2 minutes).

Reduce heat, add-in tamarind juice, lime juice, turmeric powder, curry powder, sugar and salt.

Stir to incorporate and cook for another 1 minute or till paste is thickened slightly (adjust taste accordingly).

Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Rub both sides of fish well with half of the paste (including the internal part and inside the gashes).

Spread half of the remaining paste onto the greased aluminum foil, lay-on fish and spread all the remaining paste on fish.

Fold the aluminum foil into a packet and seal completely; set aside to marinade for 30 minutes.

Heat-up grill pan or a heat resistance flat pan with 1 tbsp oil over medium heat, place the wrapped fish on the pan, cook each side for 5-6 minutes or till cooked through.

Remove from heat, squish-on additional lime juice if desire and serve hot along with dipping sauce as appetizer or with rice.

To prepare the dipping sauce, just mix together all the dipping sauce ingredients to form a homogeneous solution and it is ready to apply.

Hainanese Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

1 whole or half chicken, cleaned and pat dry

Marinade:

2 tsp garlic powder
1 thumb (3 cm) fresh ginger, minced
1 shallot, minced
1 tbsp sweetened soy sauce
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp Shao Hsing wine
1/2 tsp 5 spice powder
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp salt or to taste

Dipping Sauce:

2 fresh red chili, chopped
2 clove garlic, chopped
3 slices fresh ginger, chopped
1 tbsp chicken stock
1 lime juice or 1 ½ tbsp white rice vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Method:

In a bowl, combine all the marinade ingredients.

Rub the marinade mixture all over the dried chicken, internally and externally; set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight in refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 220 °C.

Place chicken in roasting pan or rotatable roasting rod and roast for 20 minutes.

Reduce temperature to 180 °C and continue the roasting till the chicken is brown and crisp (for about another 20 minutes).

Alternatively, pan-fry each side of chicken for 15 minutes or till the skin is golden brown, reduce heat and cooked covered for another 10 minutes or till cooked thoroughly.

Remove from heat, rest chicken for about 15 minutes and slices to bite sizes if desired.

Serve as appetizer or with rice along with dipping sauce.

To prepare the dipping sauce, just blend all the dipping sauce ingredients to a homogeneous paste and ready to serve.

Drunken Chicken

Ingredients:

1/2 (600 g ) chicken, cleaned

Marinade A:

1/2 tsp salt
3 thumbs (1 inch) fresh ginger, sliced
1 stalk spring onions, crushed and roundly cut
1 1/2 tbsp Shao Hsing wine

Marinade B:

1/4 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup chicken stock
1 cup Shao Hsing wine

Dressing:

3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp chicken stock
1/2 tbsp sesame oil

Garnish:

spring onion, or
coriander leaves

Method:

Rub chicken with marinade A, leave in fridge covered for at least 1 hour.

On a heat resistance plate, line half of the ginger slices and spring onion of marinade A on bottom, place-on chicken, then the remaining ginger and spring onion on top of the chicken.

Steam the prepared chicken over high heat for 30 minutes or till cooked-thoroughly.

Retain the chicken stock and cut the cooked chicken into serving sizes (commonly at the joints)

Rub hot chicken with pepper and salt of marinade B, plate into a container (not to oversize).

Mix together chicken stock (remove as much oil as possible from the surface of stock) with wine, pour on the chicken and leave the chicken to immerse under wine solution covered in fridge for at least 12 hours or preferentially 24 hours (turn the chicken occasionally for proper soaking).

To serve, remove chicken from fridge, set aside to achieve room temperature, further chop the chicken into bite sizes if desire, arrange on a serving plate, mix-well all the dressing ingredients and drizzle-on the chicken, sprinkle-on garnish, ready to serve (commonly serves cold) alone or with rice.

Chocolate-Pistachio Semifreddo with Espresso Sauce

Ingredients:

2 eggs, separated
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp whisky
1 cup whipping cream
40 g pistachio, coarsely crushed
60 g bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Espresso Sauce:

3/4 cup espresso coffee
3/4 cup sugar
40 g bittersweet chocolate
1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

Method:

Line a container (size about 7 x 10 x > 1 inches ) with food plastic wrap by covering the bottom, all side walls and also some extension for top surface; set aside.

In a large bowl, fill with cold water or ice water; set aside.

In a heat resistance bowl, whisk together egg yolks, sugar and whisky over simmering water for about 1o minutes or till pale, thick and glossy.

Remove from heat and transfer to the prepared cold water bath, continue whisking the mixture till cold.

In another large bowl, whisk egg whites till stiff peaks; set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk cream till soft peaks (it can be prepared a day or few in advance and keep in fridge covered till use); set aside.

Gradually, fold-in the stiff egg whites into yolks mixture.

Gently, fold-in stiff cream and mix carefully to incorporate.

Add-in chopped chocolate and pistachio crush, stir-well to mix (reserves some choclate and/or pistachio to base the container if desire).

Spoon into the prepared container, cover the filling all over with the extended plastic wrap, keep in freeze till firm (at least 2 hours).

To prepare the espresso sauce, cooks together hot brewed espresso with sugar and chocolate over low heat, stir constantly till the sugar is dissolved and the sauce is smoothed, remove from heat, stir-in lemon juice and mix well (the sauce can be prepared in advance and keep in fridge covered till serve).

To serve, unwrap the firmed semifreddo, invert on a plate with bottom side up, cut into serving size with sharp knife, plate on individual serving plates, let to stand for few minutes while at the same time, warm the espresso sauce, drizzle a tablespoon or more if desired of the warm/room temperature espresso sauce onto the semifreddo, ready to serve.

Serves 8 persons.

Hokkien Mee (Penang Prawns Soup Noodles)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rice vermicelli noodles, soaked for few hours, drained
1/2 cup yellow noodles (I used spaghetti and it taste the same), boiled, drained
1 cup mixture of prawn and chicken stock
1/2 of the prepared chili paste
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt or to taste

Garnish:

bean sprouts, quick blanched in boiling water
spinach, quick blanched in boiling water
water convolvulus, cut into 3 cm length, quick blanched in boiling water
prawns with tail's shell on, cooked in the prepared stock
lean chicken/meat slices, cooked in the prepared stock
fried sliced shallots
hard boiled egg, sliced

Chili Paste:

4 tbsp oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp dried prawns, socked and drained.
1 1/2 tbsp sambal omelek chili paste

Prawn Stock:

shell and head of 300g prawns, washed
3 cups water

Chicken Stock:

500g chicken bone, quick scalded
4 cups water

Method:

Chili paste: Blend onion, garlic and dried prawns with some water, stir-fry in heated oil till fragrant, add-in chili paste and continue stir-frying till aroma, remove from heat; set aside.

Prawn stock: In a pot, stir-fry prawns' shell and head still fragrant, pour-in water, bring to boil for 2 hours or more; filter-off the residues.

Chicken stock: In another pot, add-in water and scalded chicken bone, bring to boil for 2 hours or more; withdraw the bone.

Pour chicken stock into prawn stock; set aside.

Blanch rice vermicelli noodles in boiling water till cooked (about 1 minutes), rinse with cold water; add into a serving bowl.

Add-in cooked spaghetti and the preference garnish items (excepts fried shallot flakes and hard boiled egg slices) into the serving bowl.

Bring 1 cup of prawn-chicken stock to boil.

Add-in half of the prepared chili paste, brown sugar, light soy sauce and salt, continue simmering for another few minutes.

Pour hot over the prepared serving bowl.

Sprinkles with some fried shallot flakes and arrange-on few slices of hard boiled egg.

Serve immediately and the remaining chili paste for extra spice.

Sushi (Shari, Nigiri-Zushi, Maki-Zushi, Uramaki-Zushi)

Shari/Sushi Meshi (Sushi Rice)


Ingredients:

2 cup uncooked short grain white rice
2 cup water
2 tbsp sake
4 tbsp white vinegar
3 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt

Method:

2 hours before cooking rice, wash the rice thoroughly, allow cool water to drain till the washing water is clear.

Mix rice with measured water, sock for at least an hour or more.

Right before rice cooking, add sake (I used rice cooker).

When the rice is cooked, let it stand covered for about 10-15 minutes.

In a small bowl, combine vinegar, sugar and salt; set aside.

Remove cooked rice from rice cooker, pour into a large container.

Slowly, pour the vinegar mixture over the hot rice, one hand gently stir in a slicing motion to thoroughly incorporate it while the other hand manually fan the rice to remove any excess moisture.

Keep the shari in a covered thermal container to keep warm at body temperature till use.


Nigiri Zushi


Ingredients:

1 heap tbsp shari for each nigiri zushi

Neta (topping):

prawns (popular)
salmon (popular)
tuna (popular)
baby octopus (popular)
mackerel
eel
squid
clams
scallops
egg omelet
(note: the toppings can be served raw, cooked, smoked or cured, grilled or batter fried)

Method:

Clean prawns, remove head but keep the shell on, use bamboo skewer to straighten the prawns by inserting the skewer from down side of tail-end towards backside and all along the backside shell.

Boil or steam prawns for 5 minutes or till fairly pink and cooked through (optional, I did used seasoning for steaming: 1/4 tsp fish sauce, 1/2 tsp sesame oil, 1 1/2 tbsp shao xing wine, 1/8 tsp salt and dash of pepper).

Remove from heat, let it stand till hand able temperature, remove bamboo skewer and shell but keep the tail on.

Slice the prawns deeply from down part and remain intact at the backside.

Assembly:

Wet both hands well with vinegar, take shari with one hand, squeeze shari into oblong bite size.

Pick a neta with the other hand, brush a bit wasabi on a surface, then place-on shari.

Press on shari gently with the thumb of holding hand, at the same time, make dent on both sides with the other hand's thumb and index fingers (neta side down).

Wrap neta around shari with shari side down.

Hold sushi with holding hand's fingers in a box shape, press on neta with both index and middle fingers of the other hand.

Open the holding hand's fingers from box shape into flat surface, with the other hand's thumb and index fingers, gently press on both sides inwards to give the shape of bottom boat side up.


Maki Zushi


Ingredients:

10 x 19.5 cm yaki nori (roasted seaweed sheets)
2 1/2-3 tbsp shari for each roll
makisu (bamboo rolling mat)

Neta (filling):

prawns (popular)
salmon (popular)
tuna (popular)
crab (popular)
cucumber (popular)
avocado (popular)
toasted black/white sesame seed (popular)
carrot
asparagus
tofu
salad vegetables
(note: the fillings can be served raw, cooked, smoked or cured, grilled or batter fried)

Method:

Wrap makisu with a layer of plastic, place-on a sheet of nori at bottom side of makisu.

Wet both hands well with vinegar, spread a thin layer of shari on nori from one side to the others.

Empty about 2 cm of space on the top of nori while about 1 cm on the bottom without any shari.

Spread some wasabi on shari all along the center core of nori.

Sprinkles-on some sesame seed all over the shari.

Place-on a long, thin strip of neta (I used cucumber, avocado and/or deep-fried prawn wrapped with lettuce).

Slowly, lift the makisu to roll it upwards evenly all along the nori, from one side to the others.

With both hands' fingers in a box shape, gently press-on all over the roll into a square shape.

Unroll the makisu, cut the maki zushi in half with a very sharp knife.

Place them together paralellly and cut into 6 equal size pieces.


Uramaki Zushi


Ingredients:

10 x 19.5 cm yaki nori (roasted seaweed sheets)
2 1/2-3 tbsp shari for each roll
makisu (bamboo rolling mat)

Neta (filling):

prawns (popular)
salmon (popular)
tuna (popular)
crab (popular)
cucumber (popular)
avocado (popular)
carrot
asparagus
tofu
salad vegetables
(note: the fillings can be served raw, cooked, smoked or cured, grilled or batter fried)

Spinklings:

toasted black/white sesame seed
fish eggs
chili flakes

Method:

Wrap makisu with a layer of plastic, place-on a sheet of nori at bottom side of makisu.

Wet both hands well with vinegar, spread a thin layer of shari on nori from one side to the others.

Apply some Sprinklings all over on the shari.

Turn nori over with shari side down on makisu.

Spread some wasabi on nori all along the center core.

Place-on a long, thin strip of neta (I used cucumber, avocado and/or deep-fried prawn wrapped with lettuce).

Slowly, lift the makisu to roll it upwards evenly all along the nori, from one side to the others.

With both hands' fingers in a box shape, gently press-on all over the roll into a square shape.

Unroll the makisu, cut the uramaki zushi in half with a very sharp knife.

Place them together paralellly and cut into 6 equal size pieces.


Sushi Dipping Sauce


Ingredients:

1 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp water
1/4 tsp wasabi

Method:

In a small dipping plate, stir to combine the light soy sauce, water and wasabi; ready to serve with sushi.

Chee Cheong Fun (Filled Glutinous Rice Balls-Base)

Ingredients:

1 cup glutinous rice flour
2 tbsp dried prawn, soaked, drained and finely chopped (substitute with mushroom for vegetarian version)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup water or just enough to form dough
dried prawn for filling, soaked and drained (substitute with chopped mushroom for vegetarian version)

Chee Cheong Fun Sauce:

1 cup water
2 1/2 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp peanut butter
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp fried shallot crispy for sprinkling (optional)

Method:

In a mixing bowl, mix flour, chopped dried prawn and salt.

Pour-in water little by little till soft and smooth dough formed.

Divide dough into small pieces balls.

Flatten each ball, fill ball with a dried prawn in center, close to seal and roll up into ball again.

Bring a pot of water to boil.

Drop the filled glutinous rice balls into the boiling water.

Scoop-up dry once it floated.

To make the chee cheong fun sauce, mix all the chee cheong fun sauce's ingredients in a wok or pan except sesame oil and fried shallot crispy, bring to boil.

Remove from heat and stir-in sesame oil.

Pour-over the filled glutinous rice balls and sprinkle with fried shallot crispy to serve warm.

Dried Shrimp Sambal Belacan (Dried Shrimp and Chili Paste)

Ingredients:

5 dried chili, soaked, drained and roughly chopped
5 shallot, roughly chopped
2 clove garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 cup dried small shrimp, soaked and drained
1 tbsp soy bean paste
1 tbsp tamarind paste (assam jawa paste)
1/2 cup water
3 tsp toasted belacan powder (toasted dried shrimp paste)
1 tbsp light soy sauce or to taste
4 tsp sugar or to taste
2 tbsp oil

Method:

Dissolve tamarind paste in water, discard tamarind seed from the tamarind water (if any).

Dissolve belacan powder into tamarind water.

Blend chili, shallot, garlic, soy bean paste and half of dried small shrimp with tamarind water to form paste.

Heat oil in a wok or pan over medium heat, add the remaining dried small shrimp and stir-fry till fragrant.

Add blended paste and keep stirring all the time.

Seasoning with soy sauce and sugar (add more water into the tamarind residue and moist the chili paste if paste look like going to dry up before obtaining the desired taste with soy sauce and sugar).

Continue stirring till paste turns dark and almost dry (as shown in photo).

Remove from heat and let cool completely before storing in container.

Serve with raw vegetables like cucumber, noodles, rice or as seasoning for home cooking.