Purple Kaya Kuih (Kuih Pulut Tartar)

Ingredients:

100 g glutinous rice
25-40 ml coconut milk
2/3 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp purple sweet potatoes cubes
1 tbsp water

Kaya for serving

Method:

Rinse rice with water and soak overnight in fridge, drained.

Steam purple sweet potato cubes with a spoonful water for 20 min, reserve the purple water.

Pour 2/3 rice into one steaming tray and 1/3 rice wetted with few drops of purple water into another tray, steam at low flame for at least 20min or until the rice is softened, stirred twice in between.

Dissolve salt and sugar into coconut milk and mix 2/3 part into white portion and 1/3 into the purple portion, steam for another 10 min or until rice is cooked throughly.

Remove rices from steamer and mix two portions into a baking paper lined tray, give a few stirs with chopsticks.

Press the rices strongly with palm to a smooth texture, press with a heavy container on top and set aside to cool until set.

Cut into bite size with wetted knive and serve with kaya （pandan coconut jam）

Yields 6 pieces kaya kuih

Creamy Broccoli Soup with Croutons

Ingredients:

Croutons

6 cup Baguette/hard bread, cubed
4 clove garlic, mashed
pinch of salt
2 tbsp chopped/dried parsley
1/3 cup olive oil

Soup

1 large head broccoli, washed, stem removed & roughly cut
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, roughly sliced
2 cup water/stock
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
150 ml heavy cream
150 ml milk

Garnish

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 handful broccoli
some water for sprinkling
pinch salt
dash black pepper

Method:

To prepare the croutons:

Preheat oven to 200 °C.

In a large mixing bowl, mix bread cubes with all the ingredients and stir well to coat homogeneously.

Spoon onto a baking tray and spread out evenly into single layer.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes and stir occasionally about two times during baking.

Remove from oven and set aside.

To prepare the soup:

In a pot, melt butter in 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat, saute onion until softened with occasional stirring.

Add-in half of broccoli, and stir for short while.

Pour-in stock and bring to boil.

Reduce heat, cover and let simmer until broccoli is tender.

Add-in the remaining broccoli, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and blend it into smooth puree in several batches (depending on the size of your blender).

Transfer into saucepan/pot, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder, then stir in cream and milk over low heat right before serving.

Garnish with sauteed broccoli and serve with croutons.

To prepare the garnish:

In a saucepan, heat oil over moderate high heat and stir-fry broccoli for shot while.

Sprinkle-on some water, reduce heat and seasoning with salt and pepper.

Cook the broccoli accordingly with occasional stirring.

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.

Mediterranean Couscous

Ingredients:

1/2 cup couscous
1/2 cup water/stock
1/4 cup fresh orange juice
1 cup broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes and/or garbanzo beans or any other preference garnishes
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
1 shallot, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

In a pot or saucepan, heat oil over medium high heat and saute garlic-shallot till aroma.

Add-in garnishes such as broccoli and/or tomatoes, stir-fry for another short while.

Pour-in water and orange juice, bring to boil and seasoning accordingly with salt.

Add-in couscous, cover and remove from heat, set aside to stand for 5 minutes or till all liquid is fully absorbed.

Gently fluff with fork to separate the couscous grains and serve.

Yield 2 servings.

Mixed Vegetables Quince

Ingredients:

Pastry:

150 g all-purpose flour
75 g butter, cut to small pieces
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg
enough water to blind

Filling:

2 cup cooked string bean, green peas and carrot
1 big onion, boiled/sauteed
1 cup(100 g) grated parmigiana cheese
3 eggs, beated
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp salt or to taste

olive oil, bread crumb and oregano for sprinkling

Method:

To prepare the pastry:

In a large bowl, mix together flour, butter and salt till crumbly (not to over-mix).

Add-in egg and slightly knead to smooth dough.

Gradually add-in enough water to blind dough if the dough still appear crumbly after the egg.

Shape dough into ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

To prepare the filling:

In a large bowl, mix-well all the filling ingredients, set aside.

To assembly the quince:

Preheat oven to 200 °C.

Roll out the chilled dough into thin sheet, transfer it into a small baking tray and press to form firm base.

Spoon-in the prepared filling.

Sprinkle-on enough olive oil, followed by bread crumb and oregano.

Bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes or till set.

French Crepes

Ingredients:

1 egg
1/3 tsp salt
1/3 tsp sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 ⅓ tbsp butter, melted

Sweet Filling Options:

Jam/Apple butter/Nutella/Chestnut cream/Butter and sugar/Sliced bananas with chocolate sauce and whipped cream or ice-cream/Fresh berries marinated with sugar and grand marnier/crepes suzette

Savory Filling Options:

Grated cheese/Sliced ham/Egg freshly cooked on crepe/Sauteed spinach/Sauteed mushroom in cream sauce/Mushroom and chicken in cream sauce/Shrimp and shelled mussels in cream sauce/Ratatouille/Cooked sausage/Green salad with vinaigrette

Method:

In a large bowl, beat eggs with salt and sugar till dissolved.

Add-in milk and mix thoroughly.

Gradually, add the batter to flour and beat to eliminate lumps.

Pour-in butter and beat to incorporate.

Place the batter into fridge for at least 40 minutes.

Heat a 18 cm frying pan or crepe pan over medium-high heat and grease it lightly with butter (about 5 g each).

Pour-in 1/3 of the batter to the preheated pan and swirl it quickly to coat on the pan.

Cook for 2-3 minutes or till the crepe light golden brown on the bottom.

Flip it over to brown the other side.

Meanwhile, fill-in with a preference filling and fold accordingly.

Transfer the crepe to a serving plate with the seams on the bottom side.

Repeat for the remaining batter.

Best serve immediately.

Yield 3 crepes.

Onion Pie (Torta Insalata di Cipolla)

Ingredients:

Base:

230 g puff pastry (pasta sfoglia)

Filling:

25 g butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 kg onion, sliced
2 eggs
1 cup milk and 90 g butter or 1 cup double cream
2 ½ tsp salt or to taste
1 cup Parmesan cheese

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 °C.

Roll out puff pastry together with the provided parchment paper on a lightly grease pie pan ( 28 cm in diameter); keep in refrigerator till use.

In a large saute pan, heat butter and oil over medium high heat.

Add-in onion and saute covered for about 30 minutes or till onion is softened and cooked (stir occasionally to avoid burning).

With another small pot, melt butter with milk over low heat, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Beat-in egg, follow by cheese and salt.

Stir-in cooked onion and spoon the filling into the prepared pie case.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until filling is lightly set or till surface is browned as prefer.

Best serve warm or at room temperature for party.

Oriental Eggs Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 bowl cooked rice
2 eggs
1 carrot, finely chopped
2 stalks spring onion, chopped
2 tbsp white rice vinegar
2 tbsp rice wine
2 ½ tsp salt or to taste
5 tbsp oil

Method:

Cook rice 1 day ahead and keep in refrigerator covered to prevent sogginess fried rice.

Heat 5 tbsp oil in a wok or non-stick deep pan over medium heat, scramble eggs till golden yellow.

Add-in carrot and stir-fry for short while or till almost cook-through.

Add-in cooked rice and stir fry for about 1 minute to spread out rice grains.

Pour-in vinegar, wine and seasoning with salt, stir-fry to incorporate.

Sprinkle-on spring onion and continue stir-fry for another short while or till aroma.

Dish-up and best serve hot immediately.

Cuculli (Chickpeas Flour Fritters of Liguria)

Ingredients:

1 ½ tsp dry instant yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water
2 cups chickpeas/besan/gram flour
1/2 cup lukewarm water
1 tsp oregano or chopped marjoram
2 tsp salt
oil for deep-frying

Method:

Dissolve yeast in water, leave for 8 minutes or till foamy.

In a large bowl, dilute flour with water to obtain a thick but smooth batter.

Pour-in yeast solution and set aside to rise for few hours or overnight.

Once the batter has done leavening, add-in oregano and salt.

Heat oil over high heat.

Drop a spoonfuls batter into hot oil and fry till golden yellow.

Remove from hot and drain well on absorbent paper towels.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield 38 pieces of cuculli.

Torta Salata Pasqualina (Liguria Easter Pie)

Ingredients:

Pastry:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp salt
2 ½ tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2/3 cup water

Filling:

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
500 g chard, sliced into slim silvers
1 onion, sliced into slim silvers
250 g ricotta cheese
1 cup Parmesan or Grana cheese
2 tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp black pepper powder or to taste
1 tsp oregano flakes
3 eggs

Egg Wash:

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp milk

Method:

To prepare the pastry:

In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and oil.

Gradually, pour-in water and mix to homogeneous dough.

Knead dough into smooth and elastic dough (about 10 minutes).

Divide dough into 6 portions and set aside to rest for 30 minutes covered.

To prepare the filling:

Heat oil in a wok or pan over medium high heat, saute chard and onion for 15 minutes or till wilt.

Remove from heat and set aside to cool completely.

Add-in ricotta, Parmesan, salt, pepper, oregano and stir-well to homogeneous mixture.

To assembly:

Line the bottom of 18 cm baking pan with parchment paper; set aside.

Preheat oven to 180 °C.

Over a smooth working surface, roll out a portion of dough into very thin sheet and almost transparent.

Transfer it into the prepared pan and brush the exposing surface all over with oil.

Roll out second portion of dough to very thin, transfer onto the first pastry and brush-on oil.

Again roll out another portion of dough till very thin, transfer onto the previous pastry as third layer but without oil brushing for this time.

Pour-in the prepared filling and spread out evenly.

Make 3 holes in the firm filling and fill-in a whole raw egg into each holes.

Gently cover the filling with another 3 layers of pastries in the same procedures as of the pie basement assembly.

Close the pie by folding-in the wall-sides pastries.

Poke surfaces with fork or knife.

Brush surface with egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes or until golden.

Best serve hot or at room temperature.

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 Curd/Tofu/Tauhu/Tokwa//Tahu/豆腐

Ingredients:

25o mL homemade soy milk (unsweetened) or from 1/2 cup soy bean and 380 mL water
3 egg whites
1/2 tsp salt or to taste
1 tbsp dried prawn, soaked and finely chopped

Method:

Grease 12 muffin tins; set aside.

In a bowl, combine soy milk, egg whites and salt, gently whisk to mix (minimize as much froth as possible).

Spoon/divide the batter into the prepared muffin tins, spread-in enough dried prawn and steam over high heat for about 12 minutes or till set and cook thoroughly.

Vegetables and Camembert Tart

Ingredients:

Shortcrust Pastry:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter, creamed
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coarsely grounded black pepper
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Tart Filling:

3 carrot, boiled and sliced
1 cup string beans, boiled
125 g Camembert cheese, sliced (can be substitute with Brie or Parmesan Cheese)
1 large tomato, sliced
3/4 cup milk
1/3 cup butter
3 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp black pepper powder
2 ½ tsp salt
zest of 1 lemon (yield about 3 tsp)

Sprinkles:

1/2 tsp chili flakes
1/2 tsp oregano

Method:

To prepare the pastry:

In a large bowl, mix together flour, butter, salt, pepper, water and oil.

Knead into smooth dough (add more oil if necessary till mixture begins to cling together).

Shape dough into ball, wrap in plastic wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

To prepare the tart:

Preheat oven to 190 °C.

Roll out the chilled dough into rectangular sheet and transfer it into a medium size baking tray.

Spread-in a layer of carrot slices over the base of tart, follows by another layer of string beans.

Arrange-on third layer with Camembert slices and top-on tomato slices as last layer; set aide.

In a large bowl, melt butter in warm milk; set aside to cool.

Add-in eggs, garlic, pepper, salt and lemon zest, whisk well into homogeneous batter.

Pour batter over the filling.

Sprinkle-on chili flakes and oregano.

Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour or until just set.

Chinese Fried Rice

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked rice, cooled
3 tbsp oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger (1 ½ inch)
1 onion/shallot, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup Chinese chives, cut into 1 ½ inch length

Seasoning:

2 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Shao Hsing wine or any others rice wine
1/3 tbsp sambal omelek chili paste or to taste
1 tsp sugar or to taste
1/2 tsp white pepper powder or to taste
1 tsp salt or to taste

Sprinkle:

1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp crisp fried shallot

Method:

One day before, cook rice and keep in refrigerator covered to prevent sogginess fried rice.

In a bowl, mix together all the seasoning ingredients and set aside.

Heat oil in a wok or non-stick deep pan, saute garlic and ginger till fragrant and start to golden brown (about 3 minutes)

Add-in onion and continue stir-fry until aroma (another 2 minutes).

Add-in cooled cooked rice and stir fry for about 1 minute to spread out rice grains.

Pour-in seasoning mixture, stir-fry till all the ingredients are well incorporated.

Scrape rice to side, pour egg into middle and stir quickly to scramble the egg.

Cover scrambled egg with side rice, sprinkle-on chives, continue stir-fry to spread the egg and till chives just right cooked thoroughly (adjust the taste accordingly).

Dish-up, stir-in sesame oil, sprinkle-on crisp fried shallot and best serve hot immediately.

Spiral Curry Puffs with Sweet Potato Curry Filling

Ingredients:

Curry Sweet Potato Filling:

1 medium sweet potato, diced
1 onion, diced
2 ½ tbsp curry powder
1/2 tbsp sambal omelek chili paste
1/4 tsp sugar or to taste
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
1/4 tsp white pepper or to taste
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp oil

Pastry:

Outer/Water Dough
2 cups all purpose flour
1/6 tsp salt
15 g butter
1/2 cup water

Inner/Oil Dough
1 cup all purpose flour
70 g butter

oil for deep-frying

Method:

Filling:

Heat oil in wok or non-stick pan, stir-fry onion till fragrant and golden brown.

Add-in sweet potatoes cubes, stir-fry for another 2 minutes.

Add-in curry powder and chili paste, stir-fry still fragrant (about 1 minute).

Pour-in water, stir for short while to incorporate.

Add-in salt and pepper, continue stir fry till sweet potato is soften, cooked thoroughly and the gravy is thicken (almost dry).

Remove from heat and leave aside to cool.

Pastry:

Water Dough:

Mix flour, salt and butter in a large bowl, knead thoroughly.

Add-in water and continue the kneading process till form a smooth dough; set aside covered to rest for 30 minutes.

Oil Dough:

Mix flour and butter, knead till dough is smooth and soft, leave to rest covered for 30 minutes.

Assembly:

Roll out both water dough and oil dough into long sausage shape and divide each dough into 6 portions.

Roll out a piece of water dough, fill-in a piece of oil dough and wrap up to form dough ball.

Flatten, roll out flat and roll up into a swiss roll.

Repeat the rolling and flattening process for three times.

For the last roll up into a swiss roll, cut dough roll into two pieces with a sharp knife.

Face the cut side down, flatten and roll out to form a circular pastry.

Place enough filling in the center and fold pastry over to make a half circle, pleat the edges to seal.

Repeat the assembly process for the rest of doughs' pieces.

Deep-fry over high heat until golden brown.

Drain on absorbent paper and best serve warm.

Yield 12 pieces of spiral curry puffs.

Green Split Peas Burgers

Ingredients:

500 g green split peas, soaked overnight and drained
3 medium onion, chopped
1 cup chinese parsley/coriander/cilantro, finely chopped
5 dried red chili, soaked, drained, deseeded and finely chopped
3 tsp chinese five spice powder
3 tsp garlic powder
3 tsp black pepper powder
4 tsp salt
1/2 cup bread crumbs for coating
oil for pan-frying

Method:

With blender, blend split peas and onion.

In a large bowl, mix blended split peas, onion, parsley, chili, five spice powder, garlic powder, black pepper powder and salt, mash to incorporate.

In a shallow pan, heat 1 tbsp oil over moderate heat.

Scoop up split peas paste, form into ball and coat with a layer of bread crumbs.

Drop on pan, press-on firmly and shape into burger with spatula, pan-fry for few minutes and turn over for another sides.

Turn and press-on firmly with spatula occasionally till browned on both sides.

Serve on bread slices with salad or just as they are.

Paruppu Vadai

Ingredients:

250 g Chana Dal
1/2 cup shrimp, peeled and finely chopped (omit it for vegetarian version)
2 red onion, finely chopped
4 red chili
2 green chili (optional)
2 tsp curry powder
1.5 tsp salt or to taste
few curry leaves, roughly chopped
3 tbsp flour
1/4 cup water
oil for deep-frying

Method:

Soak channa dal in water for at least 3 hours or overnight.

In a food processor, add red chili, green chili, curry powder and salt, grind for 5 minutes.

Add-in soaked dal and water (use water as little as possible just for processor to roughly grind), partially grind for 1 minute (divide into few batches for smaller processor).

Withdraw from processor, add-in chopped shrimp, onion, curry leaves and flour, mix-well to form homogeneous paste.

Shape into small balls and lightly press to flatten.

Heat oil in wok, deep fry till golden grown.

Polpettone Genovese

Ingredients:

350 g string beans
1 big potato (or 3 medium)
1 big onion (or 2 medium)
100 g grated parmigiano cheese
3 eggs, lightly beaten (use vegetarian eggs for vegetarian version)
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp garlic powder
2.5 tsp salt or to taste
bread crumb, oregano and olive oil for topping

Method:

Boil string beans, potato and onion until solften, drain and pat dry with kitchen towel.

Finely chop the string beans, put aside.

Peel the potato and mash with onion, put aside.

In a large bowl, mix chopped string beans, mashed potato-onion, cheese, eggs, oil, garlic powder and salt to form paste.

Pour the paste mixture into a lightly greased baking pan (28 cm in diameter).

Top with a layer of bread crumb, dash with oregano and oil.

Bake in preheated oven at 200 °C for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center, comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Curry Puffs

Ingredients:

Filling:

2 large potatoes, boiled and cut into cubes
2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 (80g) canned tuna (omit it for vegetarian version)
4 tbsp hot curry powder
6 tbsp soy sauce or to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
3 tbsp oil

Pastry:

500 g all-purpose flour (tipo o)
150 g margarine
3/4 cup water
3/4 tsp salt
oil for deep-frying

Method:

Filling:

Heat oil in wok or non-stick pan, stir-fry onion till fragrant and golden brown.

Add tuna and potatoes cubes, stir-fry for another 2 minutes.

Add curry powder, soy sauce and pepper, stir-fry to well-mix the seasonings.

Remove from heat and leave aside to cool.

Pastry:

In a large bowl, mix flour, margerine, water and salt, knead to form smooth dough.

Leave to rest for 30 minutes.

Roll into cylinder shape, cut into pieces.

Flatten each dough into circle with 3 inches diameter and half cm thick.

Place enough filling in the center and fold pastry over to make a half circle, flowered the edge to seal.

Deep-fry over high heat until golden brown.

Drain on absorbent paper and serve warm.

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.