Zucchini Bread

I made this Zucchini Bread with a big piece of homegrown Zucchini given by a friend.  This is very easy to prepare and there's no necessity for a cake mixer.  This bread is not too sweet as sugar has been reduced but it's aromatic, full of grated Zucchini, moist and delicious.

Recipe for Zucchini Bread  (adapted from 'here' with modification)

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable  oil (I used oil)
• 6 oz self-raising flour
• 4 oz caster sugar
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1.1/2 cup grated Zucchini
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts of your choice.  (I used almond flakes)
• 1/2 cup raisins, chopped
• A pinch of salt
Method

1. In a large bowl, mix sugar, egg and vanilla till well combined.  Stir in the grated Zucchini followed by the oil.  Mix till well blended.
2. Sift in flour 1/3 at a time with the salt, over the liquid mixture, mix well.
3. Add in nuts and raisins.
4. Pour batter into  a lightly greased and floured 4 x 9 x 3 inch loaf pan.
5. Bake in a preaheated oven @ 180 deg.C for 35 to 40 mins.  Test with a skewer till it comes out clean.
6. Let cool in pan for about 10 mins. before unmoulding onto a wire rack to cool completely.

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Chicken Adobo

Chicken Adobo is an authentic dish of the Philippines.  Adobo is the Spanish word for  marinade or sauce and therefore Chicken Adobo is  chicken marinated with a combination of soya sauce, vinegar, Bay leaves, crushed peppercorns and garlic.  Not much effort is needed in the preparation for this dish.  To me, this is something quite similar to our soya sauce chicken just that this has vinegar and Bay leaves added to it.  I must agree that it does pair well with plain white rice.

Recipe for Chicken Adobo      (adapted from  'here' with slight modification)

Ingredients                      


• 550 gm free-range chicken cut into bite size
• 3 pcs dried Bay leaves
• 1 Tbsp dark soya sauce
• 1  Tbsp  vinegar
• 4 cloves crusched garlic
• 1  tsp sugar or to taste
• 1 cup water
• about 2  Tbsp oil
• 1  tsp crushed black peppercorns
• Salt to taste
Method

1. Marinate chicken with the soya sauce and garlic for about 3 hours or overnight, refrigerated.
2. Heat up oil, add in the chicken pieces (without the marinade), cook for about 5 mins.
3. Pour in the remaining marinade, add water, bring to the boil.
4. Add dried Bay leaves and crushed peppercorns.  Simmer for about 30 mins. till chicken is tender.
5. Add vinegar, stir and cook for about 10 mins.
6. Add in sugar and salt to taste.
7. Turn off  heat, dish up onto serving plate.
8. Serve hot with rice.

         

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Beetroot Ice Cream

After savouring a spicy meal, time for some  not overly sweet relaxing dessert.  The weather has been crazy these past few weeks, hot and humid which makes one feel sweaty, lethargic and irritable.  So this comfortable dessert is what we need right now to keep our heads and bodies Cool!

Recipe for Beetroot Ice Cream      (adapted from Goodfoodchannel)

Ingredients

• 200 gm beetroot, peeled
• 150 ml milk
• 300 ml whipping cream
• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthwise, seeds scrapped
• 50 gm caster sugar
• 4 egg yolks
 Method

1. Boil beetroot till tender, drain, after cooling slightly, puree in a blender or food processor.  Measure out 75 ml, set aside.
2. Using a ball whisk, whisk egg yolks with the sugar till smooth, set aside.
3. Place milk and cream in a saucepan, heat gently, adding in the vanilla seeds.  Once milk starts to foam up, remove from heat.
4. Gradually, pour this into the egg mixture, whisking continously not to cook the eggs.  Add in the beetroot pureee, mix well.
5. Pour this back into the saucepan, cook on low heat stirring continuously till thick enough to coat the back of the wooden spoon.  Remove from heat.
6. Pour this into a large bowl, cover with cling wrap.  Let cool, then refrigerate overnight.
7. Churn in the ice cream maker according to the instructions of your ice cream maker 

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Korean Spicy Pork Bulgogi

Looks like I've developed a craving for Korean food!  Here's my first attempt at preparing Pork Bulgogi with this Pork Bulgogi marinade which is supposed to be not too spicy but yet we do find it to be quite spicy.  'Bul' in Korean means 'fire' and 'Gogi' is 'meat', so literally it means 'Fire meat'.  I didn't BBQ or grill to 'fire' the meat  and instead just pan-fry the overnight marinated bulgogi.  

This porky dish is delicious and just wonderful to go with plain white rice or lettuce wraps.

 Recipe for Korean Spicy Pork Bulgogi  (adapted from  'here'  with slight modification)

Ingredients

• 450 gm pork, thinly sliced
• 2  Tbsp soya sauce
• 2  Tbsp sesame oil
• 2  Tbsp honey
• 1  tsp sugar
• 2.1/2  Tbsp Pork Bulgogi marinade
• 1 onion, sliced
• 10 cloves garlic minced
• 1  Tbsp chopped ginger
• 3 to 4 stalks of spring onions cut into 2 inch lengths
• Lightly toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. Combine all the sauces and mix well.
2. Add in the minced garlic and ginger.  Mix well.
3. Add in the sliced pork, onions and spring onions, mix well.
4. Cover with cling wrap and let chill in the fridge for 1 to 5 hours or preferably overnight.
5. Saute the marinated meat in a pan with a bit oil, work in small batches.
6. Serve hot with rice.

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Korean JapChae (Sweet Potato Noodles)

I'm not a great fan of Korean cuisine but lately after savouring some Korean food during my recent vacation, I've sort of developed a liking to their stir-fry noodles, pork bulgogi and Tteokbokki or rice cakes.  I've a vague idea of how this stir-fry Dangmeyon was prepared but after surfing the net, settled for this simple vegetarian stir-fry sweet potato noodles.  My family enjoyed this meal and look forward to more.

Recipe for Korean JapChae   (adapted from 'here' with modification)

Ingredients

• 350 gm Dangmyeon (sweet potato noodles)
• 1.1/2  Tbsp sugar
• 5  Tbsp light soya sauce
• 1.1/2  Tbsp sesame oil
• 1 carrot cut into strips
• 1 capsicum - cut into strips
• 1 onion - sliced
• 300 gm cabbage, sliced
• 5 Shitake mushrooms, soaked, stemmed and sliced
• 5 cloves garlic, chopped
• Lightly toasted sesame seeds

Method

1. Combine sugar, soya sauce, sesame oil, mix well, set aside.
2. Boil a pot of water, add the noodles, cook for 5 mins. until soft. Drain, cut into half-lengths, set aside.
3. In a wok, add 2 Tbsp oil, saute the chopped garlic, mushrooms till fragrant, add in the cabbage, stir-fry.  Toss in the carrots and capsicum, stir-fry.  Finally add in the onion slices, mix well and fry till cooked.
4. Toss in the drained noodles,  and add in the sauce, mix well.  Fine tune to desired taste.
5. Dish out and serve immediately.

This post is linked to the event  Little Thumbs Up organised by Zoe of (Bake for  Happy Kids), and
Miu Mui of (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by Joyce of  Kitchen Flavours for this theme.

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Nectarine Cake

I made this duirng my recent vacation as there was an abundance of  Nectarines in Victoria Market and they were going cheap.  Nectarines can be pretty expensive in Malaysia and I took the opportunity to bake this for tea.  This cake tasted best served warm, soft and moist with a crunchy crust coupled with a slightly tangy taste of lemon. 

Recipe for Nectarine Cake  (adapted from  'here' with slight modification)

Ingredients

• 4 oz butter
• 3 oz caster sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1  Tbsp lemon or lime juice
• 1.1/2  tsp grated lemon peel
• 5 oz self raising flour, sifted
• 1 tsp vanilla

Topping

• 1.1/2  Tbsp brown sugar
• 3/4  tsp cinnamon
• 3 to 4 Nectarines sliced into 4 quarters

Method

1. Grease and line a 9 inch springform pan or loaf pan.
2. Beat butter with sugar till soft and creamy till well blended.
3. Add in eggs one at a time, add in juice and peel.
4. Fold in sifted flour till well combined.
5. Spread batter evenly in the prepared pan.
6. Arrange Nectarines on top, press lightly to adhere.
7. Mix cinnamon and brown sugar and sprinkle on top.
8. Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for 45 mins.  Test with a skewer till it comes out clean.
9. Serve warm or at room temperature on its own or with some ice cream.

Linking this post to  Carole's Chatter - Food on Friday - Apricots and Nectarines.

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Braised Chicken with Mushroom and Chestnut

Dried shitake mushrooms  are versatile, affordable and widely used in Asian cuisine.  Their meaty texture and smoky flavour is great paired with other varieties and in this case I've used them in a soy-based dish, braised with chicken and chestnuts.  This dish goes very well with plain white rice.

Recipe for Braised Chicken with Mushroom and Chestnut

Ingredients

• 500 gm free-range chicken, skin removed, cut into bite size
• 6 dried Shitake mushrooms, soaked, stemmed and cut
• 60 gm dried Chestnuts, soaked for about 5 hours or more till puffed up and remove the skin from the crevices of the nut.  (Best to do this a day before)
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1  Tbsp dark soya sauce
• 1  Tbsp light soya sauce
• 3 cups water
• Seasalt and  some Rock Sugar to taste
• 1.1/2  tsp cornflour + 3 tsp water to thicken
• Shaoxing cooking wine 

Method

1. Marinate the chicken with some seasalt, let rest.
2. In a wok, saute the crushed garlic with some oil till fragrant, add in the chestnuts, stir-fry followed by the mushrooms.  Add in the sauces, some rock sugar, water and bring to the boil.  Then lower heat, cover and simmer.
3. Once the chestnuts are slightly soft, add in the marinated chicken pieces and let cook till meat as well as the chestnuts are tender.  (You may need to add more water if necessary).
4. Thicken the sauce with the cornflour mixture, fine tune to desired taste.
5. Drizzle on some Shaoxing wine, turn off heat.
6. Ladle onto serving plate and serve with hot rice.

 

This post is linked to the event,  Little Thumbs Up organised by  Zoe (Bake for Happy Kids) and Mui Mui (My Little Favourite DIY) and hosted by Joyce of  Kitchen Flavours   for this theme.
                                       

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Almond Chocolate Tart

We in Malaysia had a very exciting weekend as Sunday, 5th May 2013   was our  long awaited 13th General Election.  The day seemed to drag on at a snail's pace and to keep myself busy, I made these nutty tarts so that we can snack on them while waiting eagerly for the results to be announced.  The nibbed almonds blended very well with the bittersweet chocolate to which I've added some Kahlua.

Recipe for Almond Chocolate Tart (please refer  here  for the sweet crust pastry)

Ingredients for the filling

• 40 gm nibbed almonds
• 1  Tbsp golden syrup
• 1  Tbsp Kahlua
• 1  Tbsp melted butter
• 1 oz dark unsweetened chocolate, melted
• 1/2  egg
• 1.1/2 oz sugar
Method

1. Melt the chocolate, set to cool.
2. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, add in sugar, golden syrup, melted butter, salt and Kahlua.  Continue whisking, stir in the melted chocolate, mix well.
3. Pour the filling onto the tart shell.
4. Sprinkle on the nibbed almonds.
5. Place tarts on a baking sheet and bake for about 25 mins. till filling has puffed but is still wobbly when gently shaken.
6. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
7. Serve warm with whipping cream or Vanilla ice cream or on its own.
8. Yield :  4  x  four inch diameter tarts.

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