Nyonya Achar Awak (Spicy Nyonya Pickled Vegetables)

Ingredients:

2 cucumber, cut into 1 x 1/4 inch sticks (seeded)
1 carrot, cubed
1 tbsp salt

100 g string or long beans, cut into 1 inch length
few leaves of Chinese Cabbage, cut into 1 ½ inch squares
3 cup water
1/2 cup vinegar
2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp sugar

5 fresh red chili
15 shallot or 3 large onion
5 clove garlic
5 candle nuts
1 inch knob fresh turmeric
1 inch knob galangal
1 lemon grass
1 ½ tbsp toasted belacan (toasted dried shrimp paste)
40 mL water

1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup white rice vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp salt
3 lemon juice or 5 lime juice (about 50 mL)
1 cup crunched toasted peanut
1/2 cup toasted sesame seed

Method:

In a bowl, mix together cucumber, carrot and 1 tbsp salt, set aside for about 2 hours.

Rinse-well with running water and wring dry with clean towel; set aside.

In a pot, pan or wok, bring 3 cup water, 1/2 cup vinegar, 2 tbsp salt and 2 tbsp sugar to boil.

Blanch separately beans and cabbage for 1 minute each.

Remove from water, wipe dry with kitchen towels and dry further more under fan or strong sunlight for 1 hour or more; set aside.

Meanwhile, blend together red chili, shallot, garlic, nuts, turmeric, galangal, lemongrass and belacan with enough water (about 40 mL) to form paste; set aside.

In a large pan or wok, heat oil over medium high heat and saute the blended paste till fragrant and separates from oil (about 15 minutes).

Pour-in the remaining vinegar, salt and sugar.

Turn off the heat immediately once boil.

Stir-in carrot, cucumber, beans and lastly cabbage.

Add-in lemon juice and mix thoroughly.

Add-in peanut and sesame seeds and stir-well to mix (adjust taste according with vinegar, salt and sugar).

Transfer to container and keep in refrigerator for at least 2 hours or overnight till serve.

Chicken Soup with Glass Noodles (Fins Soup Style)

Ingredients:

1 handful of dry 冬粉/bean threads/Glass/Cellophane Noodles, soaked 30 minutes to soften, drained and cut into 2 inch length
4 dried big Chinese mushroom, soaked to soften, drained and sliced
1 cup of leftover cooked chicken (from any kind of cooking method or boil raw chicken till cook), shredded
3 crab-sticks, shredded
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
3 cup bone broth or water

Seasoning:

1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt or to taste
1 tsp sesame seed oil

2 tsp cornstarch or as prefer (thickener)
pepper and black vinegar for serving

Method:

In a pot or wok, bring broth to boil.

Add-in mushrooms and seasonings, let to simmer for short while.

Add-in chicken, crab-sticks and glass noodles.

Gradually, stir-in cornstarch while the soup is boiling.

Once soup reach the preference consistency, slowly whisk-in egg whites.

Remove from heat once egg whites obviously appear.

Best serve with pepper and vinegar.

Crostoli Pastries

Ingredients:

1/3 tsp salt
3/4 tbsp sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup evaporated milk (substitution: 1/2 cup milk powder in 9 tbsp warm milk or water)
1 tbsp rum (optional)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
2 cup flour

oil for deep-frying
Icing/confectioner/powdered sugar for dusting

Method:

In a large bowl, beat salt, sugar and eggs till very pale, glossy and fluffy.

Whisk-in evaporated milk, rum and vanilla extract.

Gradually, mix-in flour and knead for 10 minutes or till dough begins to blister
and non-sticky (add 1/2 tbsp flour at a time if necessary).

Cover dough with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for at least 20 minutes.

Over a floured surface, roll out dough portion by portion to as thin as possible.

Preheat enough oil in shadow wok or deep-fryer over medium high heat (175 °C).

Cut dough sheet into long and narrow strips (depend on the size of deep-fryer).

Carefully transfer strips into the hot oil and fry till puffy and golden yellow ( may give a mild stretch on each strip by pulling both ends before frying).

Remove crispy strips from oil and drain-well on absorbent paper towels to cool.

Sprinkle with confectioner sugar and store in airtight container.

Coffee Chiffon Cake

Ingredients:

4 egg whites
7 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar (optional)

60 mL milk/water with 8 tbsp instant coffee (I used orzo coffee)
7 tbsp sugar
50 mL vegetable oil
4 egg yolks

120 mL cake flour
2 tbsp corn flour
1/2 tsp baking powder (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 170 °C.

In a bowl, combine together flours and baking powder; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar till frothy; gradually add-in sugar and continue whisking till stiff peaks form (I always whisk egg whites first because I use the same whisk for egg yolks mixture later without washing); set aside.

In a cup of warm milk, dissolve-in instant coffee and sugar; set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk egg yolk till pale and glossy.

Stir-in oil and coffee solution, continue whisking till batter is fully incorporated.

Fold-in flours mixtures, stir-well to form homogeneous batter.

Gradually and gently, fold the egg whites mixture into the egg yolks batter.

Pour batter into an non-grease chiffon pan (6 inches) and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and immediately invert the chiffon pan to cool on a lifted wire rack.

Leave to stand for at least 10 minutes or till the cake shrinks all over from pan walls.

With a flexible thin knife or spatula, loose cake from pan and transfer it from pan onto wire rack; let cool completely before cut into serving size.

Braised Red Pork Trotters (红烧猪蹄)

Ingredients:

1 (600 g) Pork trotter, quartered
3 cup water
3 tbsp black vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil or vegetable oil
1 tbsp (2 clove) chopped garlic
1 tbsp dried shrimp, soaked and drained

4 cup water
2 stalk spring onion, chopped
2 dried chili, soaked and drained
2 dried chinese mushroom, soaked and drained
6 slices (1 knob) fresh ginger
2 star anises
1/2 tsp pepper corn
4 tbsp light soy sauce
10 chunks rock sugar
2 tbsp Shen Yuan Hua Diao wine or any rice wine
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 ½ tsp salt or to taste
1/2 tsp cornstarch

Method:

Clean pork trotter by plucking-off hair and scraping the surface of rind to remove dirt; set-aside.

In a pot, boil 3 cups of water with 3 tbsp vinegar, blanch pork trotter thoroughly for few minutes, drain and set aside.

In a small pan, heat oil over medium high heat.

Add-in garlic, saute till fragrant and start to golden.

Add-in shrimp, saute for another 2 minutes or till aroma; dish out and set aside.

In a pot, bring 4 cup of water to boil.

Add-in the blanched trotter and the remaining ingredients, reduce heat and let simmer covered for at least 2 hours or till trotter is tender (stir occasionally for even cooking).

Stir-in the fragrant garlic-shrimp mixture and continue to simmer till the sauce is thicken (adjust taste accordingly with salt).

Dish out and sprinkle with some chopped spring onion.

Best serve hot with rice or noodles.

Yeast Doughnuts

Ingredients:

1 ½ tsp dry instant yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water

1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1/6 cup shortening or butter
3 cup all purpose flour
oil for deep-frying

enough fine sugar for coating

Method:

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

In a large bowl, combine milk, sugar, salt, egg, shortening and half of flour.

Pour-in yeast solution and stir well for few minutes.

Gradually, add-in the remaining flour till non-sticky dough form.

Knead dough well for about 8-10 minutes till smooth and elastic.

Transfer dough into a greased bowl and set aside at warm corner to rise covered with plastic wrapper till double in size.

Over large floured surface, flatten dough and roll out gently to the thickness of about 1/2 inch.

Cut into doughnut rings with floured doughnut cutter or simply with opening part of glass.

Let doughnut rings sit out to rise covered loosely with cloth till double in size again.

Heat oil over high heat or to 175 °C.

Carefully slide doughnuts into the hot oil by the help of wide spatula and fry doughnut till both sides are golden brown (doughnuts are turn-able once it floated).

Remove from oil and drain well on wire rack or absorbent papers.

Dip warm doughnuts into a bowl of sugar to coat.

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.