Friday, February 27, 2015

Food review: kuih onde onde

Friday, February 27, 2015 0 Comments

Ah the sweet memories of biting into a guey and chewy onde onde balls and having the sweet palm sugar melt in your mouth!


So yesterday I Googled for the recipe and by luck I had pandan leaves pretty much rotting in the house so I decided to use the best leaves for my onde onde


1. First things first. Measure about 250 grams of glutinous rice flour. Keep that aside


2. Puree 10 to 12 pandan leaves with 200 grams of water and sieve it to collect the water, it will be green in color


3. Add the water to the rice flour to make a smooth dough. To check if your dough has been mixed with the right amount of water it should be able to hold a ball shape and if you flatten the ball the shape should hold too. Keep the dough aside for 15 minutes and prepare your coconut flakes/grated coconut


4. Now I don't have a steamer but if you do dump about 100 grams of coconut flakes (mixed and a pinch of salt) unto a plate and steam it for 10 minutes. If you dont own a steamer then I suggest you to sprinkle some water to it, mix it well and microwave it in 5 seconds bursts until it is tender. Don't go overboard or you will dry out that bitch


5. Meanwhile boil water in a deep pot. While waiting for it to boil you can get the balls ready. Make small bite size balls and squeeze them flat with your palms add fingers. Do it gently otherwise the dough will crumble. In the center of the ball add a small amount of palm sugar and fold in the dough, then shape them into balls again using your palms


6. Once the water has boiled gently add the balls to it and wait for it to float. Once it starts to float then you can take them out one by one with a fork and roll them into the coconut flake mixture (I used a fork too)


5. Arrange them in a plate and devour. I didn't have palm sugar here so I used jaggery. It tasted just as good


Thursday, February 26, 2015

Food review: kuih kacang hijau

Thursday, February 26, 2015 0 Comments

I am have never been a big fan of mung beans, they just look awful. So how do I get rid of about 2kg of the beans sitting in my kitchen taking up space in my shelf? I came up with the idea of using it to make kuih kacang hijau or the English name as the green bean pastry


I Googled the recipe online based on three different Malay blogs. Of course their recipes were in Malay so I will lay it down for you here in English


1. I used about 2 and half cups of split mung beans and I soaked them overnight. Then I rinsed it and gave them a good mix under running water with my hands. You can use whole mung beans also, they will just cook longer. I then transfered them to my pot, added water and boiled it in high flame. Again the water is subjected to the temperament of the beans. Split beans cooks faster than whole beans. If you aren't sure then add about 4 cups of water to just cover the beans and keep adding water if it dries up. I added a wee bit much of water and the beans were soggy-no worries I will provide the quick fix later on. So back to the beans. Cook them until they are tender. Now remember to stir it once in a while to avoid the beans burning and sticking to the bottom. You check the beans' status by taking a few beans into your hands and if it mushes easily then you know it's done. If you don't want to get your hands dirty then look at surface of the pot, well cooked mung beans sits still, there won't be that occasional breaking boil that releases steam on the surface. If your mix is a bit too mushy (slightly runny is ok too runny is not good but its still fixable) never mind I will provide the fix below.


2. Once the beans are cooked add sugar to it. Add sugar according to your liking. I added about 2 cups of sugar and I wished I had reduced the amount because it sweeten the paste too much. Before you add sugar reduce the flame to small. Stir continously to make sure the sugar gets mixed well. Add a bit of salt also. And here is the fix if the mix looks too mushy because it should resemble a paste. Add a bit of all purpose flour and give it a good stir. How do you know of your sugar and salt and flour has mixed well and the beans are cooked to perfection? Watch the surface of the beans. The breaking boils of steam will subside and the beans will have 'quieted down' And when you lift up your mixing spoon or whatever you have used to stir the beans will stick to it like a paste. Additionally I had added coconut flake or 'kelapa parut' to the mix


3. Turn off your gas and transfer the mushed up beans to a tray. Let it cool down before you shape them into burger sized patties. Store them in freezer for up to a month or use them immediately


4. And now to make the coating to deep fry the patties.


1 cup rice flour

1 table spoon of corn starch

1 teaspoon of turmeric powder

Pinch of salt

Water to make a runny batter (that still sticks to the patties)

Oil  for deep frying


5. Fry those sons of bitches and serve them hot

Food review: microwave cakes from mima sinclair

Thursday, February 26, 2015 0 Comments

For staters let me just say that I never thought it was possible to even bake in a microwave let alone make a cake!


My apartment comes with a microwave-oven and in my opinion it couldn't get any worse than this! I am not a purist but I am an oven person when it comes to baking. Preheat that bitch!


But alas I have no space to store a mighty oven in here so I am making do with the oven function of my microwave. It took me a lot of trials and errors expecially when it came to baking biscuits and muffins and cupcakes-I always had to bake longer at a higher temperature


So when I found this book online at bokdepository.com I just had to get it. The book did arrive 1 month later from purchase date but it was a wait worth while because the cakes did bake and they baked well. They taste good too.


Most of Mimas recipes require two main ingredients-semi skimmed milk and self raising flour. If you don't have this in your kitchen you will be left to figure our the baking soda-flour ratio and you could jeapordise your cake. It might explode or sink!


All in her the book is great, the recipes are simple and they're easy to make. She has a whole chapter dedicated to classic cake (think chocolate and peanut butte) another chapter with alcohol infused cakes(aptly titled happy hour), single recipes for gluten free and egg free recipes, a chocolate chip cookie recipe and a toffee recipe. Oh and there's also the cakes for special occasions


The first cake I baked was the chocolate chip cake which was pretty easy and it stayed soft and chewy even if I left it out on the kitchen counter. Most of the other cakes harden if you leave them out too long. At first I baked the cake in a bowl because I was afraid it might explode. After that I got crafty and started baking them in ramekins and lunch boxes. I even stored the dough in fridge and baked it after 2 days and it came out well. Since they all bake in about 1 minutes and half (max) or lesser than a minute even your husband can bake it as his lunch dessert


Some pictures after the jump


Friday, February 20, 2015

Doha review: qdc

Friday, February 20, 2015 0 Comments

All you expats residing in Qatar read this


In Qatar you need a license to drink.  Well if drinking in pubs is proving too expensive for you I suggest you get a license so you can drink as much as you want (but there is a catch here) in the vicinity of your home. Well you are not allowed to drink in public here so you don't have much choices when it comes to where you want to drink


But when it comes to what you want to drink you will be spoilt for choices in QDC


In order for you to get your license you need the following paperwork


1. Proof that you are employed-a letter stating you work at so and so
2. Your tenancy agreement copy
3. Your RP copy
4. Your passport copy
5. 1000 refundable deposit
6. Dress well for the photo


You need to be present to sign up for this 'membership' You can't get someone else to do it for you because they will take your picture there and that image will be plastered on your license! That's it!


And if you are married then please read on. My husband applied for his license last week and found out they have a spouse 'package' as I'd like to call it...and here's how it work


If your husband already applied for his license then all you need is a consent form with his signature on it and your Qatar ID and you're good to go! You don't even need the deposit or anything like that. Pretty simple eh? I thought this is a good deal and I might apply for it soon. I will update this entry on how that went


Oh and another thing, you can't just spend all your pay on the alcohol. You are restricted to buy according to how much you earn! They will do the math for you and allocate your monthly quota of which the usage and balance will be printed on your receipt


They started selling pork in QDC in case you're wondering


Food review: Strawberry daifuku

Friday, February 20, 2015 0 Comments

Like all Japanese sweet dessert this one too was lengthy and meticulous


I took the recipe from just one cookbook blog-google it for the link. I did the red bean paste first and then later at midnight when I am most free I did the daifukus


It took me a lot of time getting the sticky glutinous dough to stick to the red paste and even after multiple folding and generous dusting of corn flour the thing was still sticky


Then I realised with Japanese desserts there is no short cut and I'm going to need a lot of practice to get it right. All the other bloggers that put up pretty pictures of daifuku is because they had probably done it their whole life so they can produce great results but if you are a first timer then don't expect much. My pictures a telling proof!!!


Some pictures after the jump


Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Food review: how to make hung yogurt

Tuesday, February 10, 2015 0 Comments

This is probably the most simplest recipe there is to it. All you need are ready made yogurt and muslin cloth. Where do you get muslin clothes? Well from baby stores because muslin clothes also double as burp cloth, breastfeeding cover and swaddle wrap. In my culture they use it as a nappy because the cotton is breathable

Anyhow here's the super duper simple recipe

Empty out the entire contents of the yogurt into the center of the muslin. Gather the sides and pull up. If you want to you could tie it with rubber band or string. I didn't because I only had like 2 small packs of yogurt

Then hang that bitch in your fridge or outside (if temperature permits it from souring)

The whey from the yogurt will drip down so make sure you place a plate or bowl underneath to catch it

I tied mine on my kitchen drawer on top of my sink so to dripped into the sink

If you want 1 cup of hung yogurt you need 2 cups of yogurt and so forth

If you're lazy just buy Greek yogurt from the supermarket. Even after blending it with bananas and strawberries in my food processor the thing was as thick as hung yogurt


You will need to leave the yogurt overnight if you are going to hang it at room temperature, just make sure your weather is not hot and humid because you will get a sour thick yogurt. Over here it's winter so my room temperature is constantly at 25°C and at might it drops to 21°C. Or you can leave it overnight in your fridge so you know it don't go sour

When dealing sith dairy product you want to make sure you don't have opened food lying around in your fridge because that bitch will pick up the smell into your hung yogurt 

The Greek yogurt after a well blend with strawberries and bananas

The yogurt ready to be hung 

The hung yogurt after leaving it overnight to strain 

Added cinammon powder, icing sugar and tutti frutti mix into the hung yogurt 

Give it a gentle mix 

And here we go 

Monday, February 2, 2015

Food review: chestnut mushroom burgers

Monday, February 02, 2015 0 Comments

Eat healthy bitch!

After a whole day of cleaning up and sorting clothes and two failed attempts at whipping cream-both times it curdled and went straight to the sink I was raving for something quick and easy


I found this recipe off someone's blog and it took me no more than 30 mins from preparing it to baking it


The original recipe was meant for 4 burgers but when I followed it thru it only fit in 3 burgers


So here goes the recipe for a tasty and flavorful chestnut mushroom burger


3 burger buns
1 onions finely chopped
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 buffalo tomato diced
3 tablespoon of fresh parsley finely chopped
Salt and coarse pepper to taste
Shredded emmentel, yancey's fancy buffalo wing cheese and Scottish mild cheddar  (use any cheese you have this is what I had in my fridge)
1 tablespoon French baratte butter (again use any butter you have this is what I had sitting in my fridge)


1. In a pan heat butter and add the onion, garlic and tomato. Fry lightly. I fried for about 2 minutes on medium heat 


2. Add in the parsley. Reduce heat to the lowest


3. I was lazy so I shredded on the pan straight the cheeses 


4. Add the salt and pepper to your liking 


5. Mix well 


6. Wash the mushrooms, pat them dry with kitchen paper and put them upside down on the bun


7. Scoop the fried gooey stuff off your pan and fill up the hollow of the mushrooms 


8. Close your bun, give it a quick press with your hand. It's OK if the access filling dribbles to the bun as long as it doesn't come out of the bun


9. Bake it at 180°C for 15 minutes

The burger after its round in the oven

My burger looks yellowish because I had added too much salt and to even out the taste I added a dollop of ceasar sauce

Here you can see I cut the burger in half to show you how the mushroom should be put on the bun; upside down