Ricotta Cheese & Spinach Puff

This recipe is one of many that's been long overdue. When I posted photos of this puff on FB a couple of years back, many of my friends asked for the recipe but I hadn't got the chance to upload it on my blog until...now. Procrastination at its finest. Hehe.

I have made these puffs many times for family gatherings and afternoon tea at home. My two year old daughter and husband love them - they're easy to eat! I have also made them three times for my little one's playgroup events. I was delighted to bring home an empty container at the end of each event - it's a good sign; all the pieces were snapped up. I have been asked to share the recipe by some very nice ladies at the playgroup last week. So, that's another push for me to upload the recipe here sooner than later.

What I love abt this puff is that it is on the savory side as opposed to sweet. It contains awesome nutrients (spinach is king!), it's child-friendly and best of all it is so easy to make. I can't wax lyrical abt it without also mentioning that it makes for an impressive and yummy party spread.

Ingredients:
1kg ricotta cheese
4 large eggs
1 big red onion (diced)
1 bag baby spinach
Salt
Pepper
6 pastry sheets (follow the packet instruction for thawing)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 egg (lightly whisked with fork, for glazing)

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 200ºC. Line baking tray with parchment paper or lightly spray the tray with cooking oil.

2. Heat olive oil in a small pan. Saute diced onions over medium heat for 5-6 minutes until caramelised. Set aside to cool.

3. Rinse the spinach leaves and place them in a medium bowl. Pour hot water on the spinach to blanch it for abt 1 minute. Drain the water and run cold tap water on the spinach.  Squeeze the leaves to drain off any excess water. The spinach will shrink in size. Chop the leaves into small pieces. Set aside.

4. Lightly whisk 4 eggs with a fork in a large metal bowl. Crumble in the ricotta cheese and mix it well with the eggs.

5. Add the chopped spinach into the mixture and mix all the ingredients.

6. Add the cooled caramelised onions together with the excess oil from the pan. Mix all the ingredients well. Add salt & pepper to taste. The mixture shd be sufficiently moist. If too dry, crack in another egg and mix well.

7. Spread spoonfuls of the cheese mixture onto one pastry sheet. Leave abt 0.5cm allowance on the top of the sheet. Roll the pastry sheet from bottom up, making sure that each roll is abt 3-4cm in height (if too wide, it wont hold the cheese tightly and makes cutting up later more difficult). Wet the top edge with some water and seal the roll. Your roll should be fairly tight. Repeat with the rest of the pastry sheets.

8. Cut up the roll into small sections of abt 6 to 8cm each. Don't be too concerned if the cheese overflows or the rolls are dented (see pic); they'll "reorganize" themselves in the oven. Place the rolls onto a baking tray. Glaze them with the egg mixture and bake for 25mins or until golden brown and the pastry evenly cooked.

[Alternatively, the pastry can be shaped into bite sized triangles or squares instead of a roll].

Lamb Chop with Cheesy Flat Mushroom & Salad

I put this meal together by accident. I mean, when I opened my fridge and saw lamb, mushrooms, cheese, yada, yada, yada I didn't have a clear concept of what I'd do with them.  I stared long and hard at those ingredients, long enough for my fridge to beep deafeningly, signalling that I'd left the door ajar for a while (and I think I heard it exclaim, "Make up your mind for a meal now!").  As I shut the fridge door and shifted my glare to the kitchen top, images of my favourite celebrity chefs (read: Jamie Oliver, Curtis Stone and the likes) played in my head.  Sorry to disappoint you, I wasn't fantasizing anything for mature audience only but I was recollecting recipes I've seen them make with similar ingredients I had on hand at that time.  Pure thoughts all the time!

I love the meaty and succulent taste of this Large Flat Mushroom
(Photo credit: taste.com.au)

Greek salad used to be my top favourite salad.  But eversince I started using freshly squeezed orange juice for my DIY salad dressing, I've never looked back.  It's so organic and refreshing.  I've managed to seduce my husband into loving orange salad as his ultimate favourite too.  I see that as an achievement because he's a true blue salad eater who most certainly knows what he wants in his greens.  So, there.  I would like to be a contender for "Swing Your Husband to Like Your Salad" reality TV contest, if there's any.  

I've never loved lamb so much until I came to Australia.  You can't blame me for having developed frequent "lamb cravings" because the meat here is so fresh, sweet and succulent everytime.  It's got to do with the fact that Australian lamb is entirely grass-fed, reared on pasture. Marvellous!  As we have heaps of rosemary growing in the garden, I didn't have to think twice about seasoning the lamb for this dish with the magical herb. The aroma is so delectable and therapeutic that it's almost aromatherapy on the grill.  And that flavourful, cheesy mushroom - I can't find a suitable expression to tell you how heavenly it is.  You've got to try it to understand my speechlessness.    

Ingredients:
(Serves 1)

250g lamb chop
1 large Flat Mushroom - remove stalk
3 tbsp shredded Mozarella cheese
2 leaves iceberg lettuce
2 leaves red lettuce
1/2 cup rocket salad
1 tomato - wedged
1/2 fresh orange
1 stalk fresh rosemary (optional)
Olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste


Preparation:

1.  Season lamb with salt & pepper.  Heat pan with 1 tsp olive oil.  Fry lamb (or grill it if you prefer) with rosemary herb on low-medium heat for 7-10 minutes on each side, then fry each side again on high heat for 2 minutes until lightly charred but meat is still tender.  Remove meat from heat.

2.  Season mushroom with salt & pepper.  Using the same pan (with the lamb flavour), sautee the mushroom 3-4 minutes on each side or until mushroom is softened and cooked.  Remove mushroom from heat.  Turn mushroom so the flat head is resting on a plate.  Sprinkle mozarella cheese onto the mushroom and microwave on high for 5 seconds (just enough for the cheese to melt onto the mushroom).

3.  In a salad bowl, combine all vegetables.  Add 2 tbsp olive oil, salt & pepper.  Squeeze orange juice onto salad, scrape the leftover orange pulps and add them to the salad.  Toss salad to harmonize the ingredients.

4.  Serve lamb, mushroom and salad on a plate.


Tips:

- You can vary the vegetables for salad to your liking.
- Orange can be substituted with lemon or grapefruit.
- Serve with BBQ/ketchup/chilli sauce, if desired.


Fearlessly Simple & Home Cooked

Daging Masak Kicap (Sweet Soya Sauce Beef Stew)

If there is one Malay dish that deserves the world's attention, I would not hesitate to nominate "Daging Masak Kicap", an elegant and beautifully aromatic beef stew.  I have cooked this awesome dish and served it to family members and guests of various ethnic backgrounds and taste palettes so many times that I have lost count.  What remains vivid in my memory though is everyone's delightful "Hmmm" and "Oh wow!", followed by "What's the recipe for this, please?".  My husband loves this dish so much that he nearly petitioned for me to make it everyday.  Typically eaten with plain white rice, it's one of my personal favourites too.  Although I have been eating it since I was a toddler because my mum made it wonderfully, I still go "oooh!", "aaah!" with every bite of my own version.  I must have gotten the knack for making this dish from my mum. So, this one's made lovingly in her honour.      

          

Champignons a.k.a button mushrooms are sold in cans.  I adore the soft and rubbery
texture of these little gems

When you were looking at the first picture above, I bet visions of the French's traditional stew, Beef Bourguignon, were playing in your head.  Uncanny resemblance, huh? I have never tried making BB but I remember a scene from the movie "Julie & Julia" in which Julie, while making BB, fell asleep and nearly burnt her kitchen down - the result of an elaborately long cooking time.  If you're anything like me - enthusiastic about cooking but a little lazy to wait around the stove or oven for hours - Daging Masak Kicap will bring you instant gastronomic pleasure minus the sweat.  It is sweet, salty, aromatic and mildly spicy (coriander & cumin seeds).  A bonus if you could get the right cut of fresh and tender meat as every bite of the succulent beef promises an ultimate satisfaction.     

With rice or bread, this Daging Masak Kicap is a crowd-pleaser

If red wine is the answer to a good BB, the non-alcoholic secret weapon for this Malay stew is "kicap manis" (sweet soya sauce).  There are many Indonesian versions of the sauce and there are varieties of Chinese sweet soya sauce too.  But the one that does the trick for this dish is Habhal's Kicap Manis Cap Kipas Udang from Malaysia.  Remember that brand, a mouthful notwithstanding.  I can write a lot about this outstanding sauce and make everyone familiar with it drool on their computer keyboard or iPhone but I'll leave that to next time.  Suffice to say that it is so good, it even has its own Facebook fanpage. If you're living in a non-Asian country, globalisation has enabled us to find exotic or foreign ingredients pretty easily in the Asian section of major supermarkets.  I nearly clapped my feet in the air for having found Habhal's Kicap Manis Cap Kipas Udang at my grocer's here in Australia.  Daging Masak Kicap for world domination! Yeeeha!

Some of my comfort food including Habhal's Kicap Manis
Cap Kipas Udang (bottle on right)

Ingredients:

Grind to form a paste

2 large red onions

4 cloves garlic

2cm fresh ginger

1 tsp coriander seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds 

****

500gm gravy cut beef - cut into 4cm cubes, wash and drain

1 tbsp chilli or curry powder

1 fresh carrot - cut in 1/2cm circles

2 potatoes - deskinned and cut in wedges

1 can of champignons - cut into halves

100ml Habhal's Kicap Manis Cap Kipas Udang (or any Indonesian sweet soya sauce)

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

2 cloves

2 cardamoms

1 1/2 cups water

Cooking oil

Sugar to taste 

Coriander/parsley leaves for garnishing

Preparation:

1.  In a medium non-stick pot, heat oil and add cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves and cardamoms.  Add the ground paste and chilli/curry powder.  Fry for 3-4 mins until fragrant.  Stir occasionally to prevent paste from sticking to the base of the pot.

2.  Add beef.  Fry and stir the paste until beef is lighly covered. 

3.  Add kicap manis (soya sauce) and water.  Let it simmer for about 20-30 minutes until beef is tender, stirring it occasionally.

4.  Add potatoes and boil further until the potatoes are soft.  Add carrots and champignons.  Add 1-2 tbsp sugar to taste.  Cook until the stew becomes slightly thicker and meat fully tender.  Turn heat off and serve with white rice or bread.    

Tips:

- Other vegetable subsitutes include baby corns and tomatoes.  If tomatoes are used, add it just before turning heat off to prevent them from bleeding and getting over-cooked.

- This stew can be kept in the fridge for days.  Re-heat in microwave when serving left-over portion.

Fearlessly Simple & Home Cooked

Pulut Serunding (Savoury Glutinous Rice with Spicy Coconut Floss)

My Cooking Affairs wishes you

Eid ul-Adha Mubarak!

Eid ul-Adha in Australia was celebrated on 16 Nov this year, one day ahead of that in Singapore and in most countries.  In addition to the religious significance of a special occasion as such, families all over the world would also gather for a feast (partial lyrics from "Hotel California" eh?).  In the Malay households, there are many signature dishes for Eid. Too many for me to list here.  I have my favourites, one of them is "serunding".  I can't quite recall how my love affair with this flossy side dish started.  All I know is I eat it with anything I could get hold of - rice, bread or lontong/ketupat (Malay rice cakes).  In case you start picturing someone (me) gobbling all of the aforementioned in one go with "serunding", take heart. I meant to say either of them at any one time, not all at once.  

In case you think that hairy brownish ball (left) is a meteorite, I have to quickly say
that's a real coconut. The white flesh (right) when grated will result in tiny flakes   

I did the most unexpected. Well, nothing rocket science, just a little bit of an old school technique.  I actually bought a whole coconut (dehusked) and grated the flesh by myself! The last person I saw doing that painstaking task was my mum, when I was 8 years old.  I would help her out sometimes.  I was always fascinated with the coconut milk that came out of every squeeze of the grated flesh.  Through the years, machines have taken over labour functions in a manner that's almost unbelievable.  Today, coconut milk comes in a can.  Even my mum now buys it ready made like that.  Lest the future generation thinks metal tin is the primary source of coconut milk, I think it's worth preserving and practising some traditional technique whenever we can.  So, when I came across coconuts at the supermarket, I grabbed the chance to relive my childhood. And boy, did I grate and squeeze!

While serunding is a side dish, I decided to make Pulut Serunding, which is a traditional Malay savoury dessert or what we Malays call "kueh".  No prizes for guessing that this is one of my favourites because the main feature is serunding.  I love the chewy texture of the glutinous rice combined with the fragrantly sweet/sour/spicy taste of the serunding.  Simply mouthwatering!  And for nostalgia's sake, I served my Pulut Serunding on a banana leaf.    

(From L to R): Freshly squeezed coconut milk and coconut flakes, lightly fried (without oil) coconut flakes
and a tub of glutinous rice in coconut milk and pandan leaf (screwpine leaf) ready to be cooked  

Ingredients:

Serunding (Coconut Floss)

Grind to form a paste
2 lemongrass
4 cloves garlic
1 large red onion
1cm galangal
2 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
10 dried chillies (reduce quantity if you prefer less hot)

****

Coconut flakes from 1 whole coconut
350gm minced beef (fried without oil)
100gm brown / palm sugar
5-6 kaffir lime leaves
1 tumeric leaf (optional)
1/2 cup tamarind juice
Salt to taste
Cooking oil


Preparation:

1.  Lightly fry the coconut flakes until they turn slightly yellowish.  Set aside.

2.  In a medium saucepan, heat oil and fry the ground paste for about 5-7 minutes until fragrant.  Stir the paste occasionally while frying to prevent it from getting burnt.

3.  Add the minced beef.  Stir for about 20sec.  Add the tamarind juice, followed by the coconut flakes, sugar, salt, kaffir lime leaves and tumeric leaf.  Lower the heat.  Stir all ingredients well and cook until the coconut flakes get drier.  Be sure to stir regularly to prevent the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

4.  When the mixture is not soggy anymore, that's the right consistency.  Turn heat off.  Taste that the floss is a little sweet, sour and salty.  Otherwise, add sugar/tamarind juice/salt to taste.


Pulut (Glutinous Rice)

3 cups glutinous rice - washed & drained
3 cups coconut milk
1-2 pandan leaves (screwpine leaves)
Salt to taste


Preparation:

1.  Put glutinous rice, coconut milk, pandan leaves and salt into a microwavable container and cover with lid.  Cook on high for 15 minutes.  Pause microwave every 5 minutes to gently stir the rice.

2.  When rice is cooked, remove container from the mircowave.  Remove the lid, cool rice for 1 minute.  Scoop the desired amount of glutinous rice into a small bowl to make a round shape.  Invert bowl so rice is released on a plate.  Sprinkle a generous amount of serunding onto the glutinous rice and serve.     

Tips:

- Glutinous rice must be used to make "pulut" as it is sticky, which is the texture desired for this dessert.  Normal grain rice will not give the sticky effect.

- Minced beef is optional for the serunding.



Fearlessly Simple & Home Cooked

Nasi Lemak (Coconut Rice)

As I'm writing this post, it's rightfully Spring here in Australia.  However, the weather has been rather atypical and temperature for much of last week was meandering between 12*C and 15*C.  That's prominently cold for someone like me who hailed from a perpetually sun-kissed island where humidity is overdone.  Thus, I felt it appropriate to knock out the unseasonal chills with a familiar food that guarantees me good warmth and gratification - Nasi Lemak.  

To add to your Malay vocabulary, "nasi" means rice while "lemak" has two meanings: (i) fats (ii) creamy.  The latter sounds more palatable than the former, of course.  But you can't go around Singapore or Malaysia asking for Creamy Rice.  If you do, you will be greeted with a You-Must-Be-Nuts and confused look from the food seller.  It's the same as how in Italy, you won't ask the waiter for "Pick-Me-Up" which is English for Tiramisu.  You have to say it in the native language.

I'm a real sucker for Sambal and Kangkong Belacan.  Those plus the fragrant
coconut rice make this meal superbly satisfying 

Although Nasi Lemak is an original Malay dish, over time, it's been given many facelifts and customisations to suit different taste buds.  I must have tried more than a dozen varieties that are great but my favourite is still my mum's (and mine!).  That's the beauty of home cooked meals.  Regardless of all the fancy restaurants in the world, mum's cooking is sentimental and one-of-a-kind. 

The secrets to a good Nasi Lemak lie in the pandan leaf that's cooked with the rice, good quality coconut milk and the sambal (chilli paste sauce).  When I made this dish for lunch, I wasn't sure how my husband would take to it as it can be pretty chaotic for someone who is not used to a myriad of things on a plate.  I mean, for Nasi Lemak there's rice, sambal, egg, cucumbers, anchovies, peanuts and in my case I love it with Kangkong Belacan too.  To my surprise, my husband loved my Nasi Lemak, belacan and all.  As he waxed lyrical about the fragrant rice and how interesting the sambal tasted, albeit it's chilli hot, all I could do was to sit there and wonder how I had managed to swing his European palette to like belacan ;)  
   

No, these are not my ingredients for Nasi Lemak but my coconut-based
toiletries that I love. Organic, fragrant and superbly moisturizing 

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)

For rice
2 cups of long grain rice
250ml coconut milk
2 pandan leaves - tied into a knot
2 tsp salt
Water

For prawn sambal (chilli paste sauce)
12 dried chillies - washed and soaked in warm water for 5 mins before using
1 large onion - peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic - peeled and chopped
3 tsp belacan (shrimp paste)

Others
250gm prawns - washed & de-shelled
3 tbsp tamarind juice
2 cups water
Sugar & salt to taste
4 tbsp cooking oil
Cucumber - sliced into 1/2 inch circles
4 hard boiled eggs
Fried peanuts & crispy anchovies for garnishing (optional)
Kangkong Belacan (optional)

(See Kangkong Belacan for recipe)


Preparation:

1.  Rinse rice cleanly, add salt and pandan leaves to rice and cook with water quantity according to rice cooker instructions. 

2.  Grind all chilli paste ingredients with a bit of water to form a fine paste.  In a medium saucepan, heat oil and fry chilli paste for 3-4 mins until fragrant and it changes to a darker shade.  Do not let it burn.

3.  Add water and tamarind juice and let it simmer.

4.  Add prawns, sugar and salt to taste.  Cook for a further 5-8 mins until prawns are thoroughly cooked and sambal gets a little thick.  Turn heat off.

5.  Serve rice with sambal.  Garnish with hard boiled eggs and cucumbers.  Optional garnishes can include fried peanuts, crispy anchovies and Kangkong Belacan.


Tips:
- Besides hard-boiled eggs, Nasi Lemak can be served with egg omelette or sunny side up.
- Prawns can be substituted with anchovies, squid or simply plain sambal.
- Good quality canned coconut milk can also do a good job with the rice.


Fearlessly Simple & Home Cooked

Kangkong Belacan

Whenever I dine at a Malay or Indonesian restaurant, it's almost a compulsion for me to order a plate of Kangkong Belacan.  Here's why - when paired with steamed white rice, this glorious dish would take you to a dreamy gastronomic haven that you wished was your final destination.  Ok, a little exaggeration and fond hope won't hurt, will it?  In simpler terms, Kangkong Belacan is a must-have and will-love dish in the encyclopedia of Malay/Indonesian cuisine.  The marriage of these leafy greens with the saltish belacan (Malay for "shrimp paste") and mildly hot chilli paste is one that is truly descended from food paradise.  I love cooking this simple dish, which was one of the first dishes I made since I started learning the names of various vegetables.

Popularly known as kangkong in Southeast Asia, this vegetable carries other names too
such as water glorybind, water spinach, water convolvulus and swamp cabbage

The thing about kangkong that I have been advised by my mum is that, while they usually come in a large bouquet, do not be worried that you would have plenty of leftovers when you cook the whole bunch.  The leaves shrink during the cooking process.  Forget about eating just a few pieces like you would lettuce because one fork will grab a sizeable amount of kangkong and more often than not, you won't stop at just one serving.  In fact, for a complete white rice-kangkong enjoyment, you shouldn't stop at just one serving. 

At this point, I must highlight a little bit about belacan, which is the main ingredient in this dish.  Belacan is a Malay word and is pronounced as "be-la-CHAN" as opposed to "can" like in "can-not".  The Indonesians call it "terasi".  It is chiefly made from fermented, sun-dried shrimp and processed in many food factories all over Southeast Asia.  In Malay cooking, belacan is a staple ingredient as it gives a superb salty flavour and unique pungent aroma (an oxymoron, eh?) that's unmatched by any other ingredient on this planet.  Having said that, I felt compelled to issue a friendly advice pertaining to belacan: it's not for the faint-hearted.  Most non-Asians would find the smell off-putting.  So, there.  If this explanation of belacan terrified you somewhat, take a deep breath.  Like blue cheese and durian, it's an acquired taste for beginners but 100% edible.  Once you're hooked on it, it becomes a life-time affection.  Just like this Kangkong Belacan dish.

Belacan is as common in Malay cooking as garlic is in Italian cuisine

Ingredients:

1 bunch kangkong - washed, drained and cut into 2-3 inches length including the stems
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp tamarind juice
Sugar to taste

For chilli paste
6 dried chillies (washed and soaked in warm water for 5 minutes before use)
2 shallots (small onions) - chopped
2 cloves garlic - peeled and sliced
2 tsp belacan

Preparation:

1.  Finely grind all ingredients for chilli paste. 

2. Heat wok on high, add oil and stir fry chilli paste for 1-2 minutes.  Reduce heat, fry the paaste further until fragrant and it turns a shade darker.  Be careful not to burn the paste.

3.  Add kangkong, tamarind juice and sugar to taste.  Stir-fry on high heat for 2-3 minutes. 

4.  Turn heat off.  Serve hot immediately on a dish while the kangkong is still crunchy.

Tips:

- Belacan is already salty but you may add salt to taste at Stage 3, if still required.

- Kangkong Belacan goes excellently with steamed white rice or porridge and is best served hot. 

Fearlessly Simple & Home Cooked

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Roll (Goi Cuon)

My first encounter with Goi Cuon or Vietnamese spring roll was some five years ago on Jalan Masjid, off Changi Road in Singapore.  It was a small cooked food stall serving authentic Vietnamese fare operated by a gutsy Vietnamese Muslim lady and her sister.  I got hooked from the first bite and thereafter, had it for lunch almost everyday for nearly a year.  What a chronic addiction.  I nearly checked myself into Goi Cuon Anonymous, except that there was none.

Rice vermicelli straight from the packet (right) and springy
after blanching in hot water (left).

I love prawns and I'm quite a sucker for raw vegetables.  So, that partly explains my deep affection for this Vietnamese savoury.  The other part is the springy super interesting rice paper that's hugging all the fillings together.  Divine.  In some parts of the world, these rolls are also happily known as Summer Rolls.  

Last Sunday, my mum-in-law gave me heaps of lettuce from her garden.  I was quite done with salad and didn't really know what to do with the spare vegetables.  My weekend fridge de-cluttering resulted in a packet of prawns, among other things.  Then, like the neon lights of Las Vegas, images of Goi Cuon flashed rapidly in my head.  I gleed and sprung right into spring roll action.  This beauty joins my list of easy-to-make food and it's nutritious to boot.  A must try!

Dip the Goi Cuon into the fish sauce mixture and food paradise awaits

Ingredients:

For spring roll

50g rice vermicelli

8 rice papers (for Vietnamese spring roll)

16 cooked shrimps - peeled & deveined

1 1/2 tbs chopped fresh Thai basil

3 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves

3 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (fresh coriander)

2 leaves lettuce, chopped

1 carrot, sliced into very thin pieces

For dipping sauce

4 tsp fish sauce

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 garlic, minced

2 tbsp white sugar

1/2 tsp garlic chili sauce

1 tsp finely chopped peanuts

Preparation:

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil.  Boil rice vermicelli for about 3 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.

2. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one rice paper into the warm water for 1 second to soften. Lay paper on a flat workspace. In a row across the center, place 2 shrimps, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro, lettuce and carrot, leaving about 2cm uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning from the bottom upwards. Repeat with remaining ingredients.

3. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.  Garnish with chopped peanuts.

4. Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce.

Tips:

- Do not overstuff with the fillings as it will make rolling difficult.
- These spring rolls make for a great appetizer or a snack to take along on a picnic.

Fearlessly Simple & Home Cooked

Sushi for Beginners!

If the idea of eating raw food sent shivers down your spine but at the same time you're intrigued because you've read that the Japanese famously have a long and healthy life, I would suggest you go with sushi first.  Be warned, though - go slow with that innocent looking green paste made from horseradish called wasabi, lest you would be gasping for air and fear if you'd be able to breathe normally ever again.  But then, a little adventure in the pursuit of longevity does make for a cheap thrill, don't you think? Ha.   

Now, don't get me wrong.  I'm not suggesting eating sushis would certainly prolong your life.  It's just that you've got to give this famous food a try some day, if you haven't.  I adore sushi because of the wide variety and it is so easy and fast to make.  The freshness of the ingredients and the delicate flavour of the seaweed wrap make for a blissful indulgence.  Oishi!  As for wasabi, you can buy them ready made from the supermarkets.  Because I don't consume alcohol and the commercial sushis are often made with sake (Japanese wine), I quickly learnt to make my own sushis.  If you don't already own a rice cooker, get one. It's one of the best kitchen inventions you would treasure.

The full set of ingredients and utensils I used to make sushi.
You decide what fillings you want but be sure you can roll them with the rice!

As sushi's variety is wide ranging and limited only by one's creativity, I'm going to reveal the ingredients and preparation differently from my other recipes - via my favourite sushi making video.  You decide what you want to put into your sushi - I like mine with salmon, crab stick, egg omelette along with avocado and cucumber.  Pay attention to how the rice is cooked and the sushi rolling technique.  It's foolproof.  Have fun!

Fearlessly Simple & Home Cooked

Scotch Fillet Beef Steak with Juicy Orange, Beetroot & Tomato Salad

THE NAKED CHEF.  No, not me.  These three cheeky words refer to the TV cooking series by Jamie Oliver in the late 90s, of course.  Since then, they have become synonymous with the Welsh celebrity chef who speaks with a cute pronounced lisp.  I have been revelling in his awesome cooking shows for almost a decade now.  If I could name any one particular chef who has managed to singlehandedly break down all barriers of complicated cooking, it will unquestionably be Jamie Oliver.

I could say this Scotch Fillet Beef Steak with Juicy Orange, Beetroot & Tomato Salad dish I created has been inspired by Jamie. I love salad but after each intake, ironically I would often feel uneasy rather than pleased for having eaten something so raw and healthy.  One day, I nabbed the culprit - it's the salad dressing!  The mayonnaise, cream and heaven-knows-what-else those manufacturers put in their products have left my tummy feeling queasy most times.  And then, I'm vinegar-intolerant. If those aren't reason enough to start making my own salad dressing, I don't know what will. 

So, when I watched how Jamie easily made salad dressing out of orange juice, I screamed EUREKA!    




Beef so tender, salad so refreshing. 
Through this dish delicious, healthy food has taken on a new meaning.

 

Ingredients:

(Single serving)
200 grams scotch fillet beef steak
1 cup rocket salad
3 leaves red leaf lettuce, shredded
3 leaves green leaf lettuce, shredded
2 tomatoes, diced
3 slices canned beetroot, diced
1 orange
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste


Preparation:

1. Season beef with salt and pepper.  Pan fry with a dash of olive oil over medium heat for 7 minutes on each side.  When cooked, take beef off the pan and slice it in 2cm strips.

2. Put all vegetables into a salad bowl and splash with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

3.  Cut orange into halves.  Squeeze juice of half orange on the salad vegetables, scrape the remaining orange flesh from the skin and drop them into the salad.  Peel skin off the other half of the orange.  Dice the flesh and add the to salad.

4.  Sprinkle salt and pepper to taste.  Toss the salad to combine the ingredients well.  Ready to serve with the beef.


Tips:

- Don't be afraid to toss the salad with your clean hands.  It makes the ingredients come together nicely.
- If you prefer a well-done steak, increase the beef frying time for each side by about 5-7 minutes.


Fearlessly Simple & Home Cooked