I got a recipe from a chef and I was so eager to try it out! 

Every morning on my way to work, I always passed by a stall selling fried dim sum. I am not one who frequent fried food but somehow, those golden brown hue, and the warmth radiated from the fried dim sum in the cold morning was very appealing to me. So I often succumbed to my temptation, and I always ended up buying the same thing - fried carrot cake. 

I love my carrot cake soft. After fried, a crusty skin form around the soft savory cake and it is sooo good. But it is only true while it is still hot, or warm at the very least, cold soggy skin lost its attractiveness easily.

Coming back to this recipe, it is quite different from all other recipes that I have read. The batter is very runny, I almost doubted that it will ever harden at all. Most of other recipes call for cooking the batter till thick before steaming but not this one. Glad that I pressed on and didn't try to gek khiang (act smart in a Chinese dialect) and change the recipe. It turned out soft and savory just like what I have expected!

The hardest part is the waiting time. After steamed, you need to wait overnight before cutting and frying it. It won't be easy to cut as it is pretty soft. Deep frying will surely will help to retain its shape better but as a matter of preference, I simply pan-fried mine. 

Enough of the story, let's get cooking!

Carrot Cake

Make 9 inch round carrot cake

Ingredients

A

• 200g rice flour
• 100g corn flour
• 100g wheat starch
• 12g salt
• 40g sugar
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 500g water

B

• 300g radish, chopped 

C

• 1 tbsp oil
• 50g shitake mushroom, soaked and chopped
• 50g ebi, washed and chopped
• 3 shallots, sliced and fried
• 1 lup cheong, chopped

D

• 700g boiling water

Cooking Directions

1. Mix ingredients A until smooth. Set aside
2. Boil radish in water, drain, and add into A.
3. In a pan, heat up 1 tbsp oil and stir fry the rest of ingredients C till fragrant. Add into A.
4. Add 700g boiling water into A and mix till smooth.
5. Steam 1 hour and 15 minutes.
6. Refrigerate overnight, slice and pan fried.

萝卜糕

9寸圆形萝卜糕

主料

A

• 200克米粉
• 100克玉米粉
• 100克小麦淀粉
• 12克盐
• 40克糖
• 2汤匙香油
• 500克水

B

• 300克白萝卜切碎

C

• 1大匙油
• 50克香菇，泡软，切碎
• 50克虾米，洗净，切碎
• 3个葱头，切片和炸过
• 1 腊肠，切碎

D

• 700克沸水

做法

1. 混合配料A，直到均匀。搁置一旁。
2. 萝卜用水煮过，滤干，倒入A里.
3. 取一个锅，热1汤匙油，煸炒C至香，倒入A.
4. 700克沸水倒入A，混合均匀。
5. 蒸1小时15分钟。
6. 隔夜冷藏，切片，就可以拿来煎了。

My family were invited over to a dear friend's house for gathering. The host is a very good cook, she single handedly prepared an elaborate and awesome meal for us and no doubt, we had a feast! On the table there were bacon wrapped enoki rolls, soy sauce chicken, stir fried vegetables... and this, yam and chicken in coconut gravy. 

I bet this must be the last dish I tried, mainly due to its plain and unappealing look. Hey, we are all attracted to colorful dishes, don't we?

Then, I took a bite of it, and I goes 'Ooh that is sooo good!'

One bite, and I was overwhelmed with the beautiful fragrant of coconut milk. The coconut milk in the gravy gives the dish a luxurious and rich texture at the same time delivers big flavors. We enjoyed every single dish she served us, but this, yam and chicken cooked in coconut gravy, particularly stands up to me. Perhaps because I didn't have much expectation to start with due to its plain looking appearance. 

Coconut milk is a very popular ingredient in Asian cuisine, it is used the same way like western cuisine utilize cream - to produce a creamy texture and imparts a unique aroma to the dish. Coconut milk is often used in curry dishes, and even dessert. Although sometimes substituted with plain milk, it would never taste the same.

Shallots is a great flavor partner with coconut milk, it added piquancy to the gravy and produce a great tasting dish. Together, they made this dish irresistibly good!

Yam (Taro) and Chicken in Coconut Gravy

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp oil
• 250g yam, sliced

A

• 2 tbsp oil
• 2 slices ginger
• 4 shallots, sliced
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped

B

• 1/2 chicken
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

Others

• 1 cup water
• 200ml thick coconut milk

Cooking Directions

1. In a pan, heat 2 tbsp oil and pan fry yam to brown the surface. Set aside.
2. In a pot, heat 2 tbsp oil, stir fry A until fragrant.
3. Add B into the pot, lightly brown the chicken.
4. Add water to the pot, cover and cook for 15 minutes. Add in the yam and cook for another 10 minutes.
5. Add in coconut milk and cook for 10 minutes or until the gravy thicken.

芋头椰子鸡
配料

• 2大匙油
• 250克芋头，切片

A

• 2大匙油
• 2片生姜
• 4个葱头，切片
• 4瓣大蒜，切碎

B

• 1/2只鸡
• 1汤匙酱油
• 1/4茶匙盐
• 1小匙糖

其他

• 1杯水
• 200毫升浓椰浆

做法

1. 在平底锅，烧热2汤匙油，油锅内炒熟芋头直到表面棕色。 备用。
2. 在另一个锅里，加热2汤匙油，翻炒爆香A。
3. 将B加入放入锅中，炒香鸡。
4. 锅中加入水，盖上锅盖煮15分钟。加入芋头再煮10分钟。
5. 加入浓椰浆，继续煮10分钟或直到酱汁变浓。

his post is linked to the event Little Thumbs Up ~ October 2015

Event Theme : Coconut

organised by Zoe of Bake for Happy Kids and Doreen of My Little Favourite DIY 

and hosted by Jess of Bakericious

I vaguely remember myself enjoying caramel candies during my childhood - not those hard candies but the chewy gummy type which stick to your teeth as you bite. As a child, these type of candies were very popular, we didn't mind at all to get our teeth covered with candies, the stickier the better in fact!

Now, I could hardly find them anymore. The easily available ones are the hard candy type, sometimes with some liquid filling inside. I had searched high and low in Singapore but to no avail. What a disappointment!

Of course I have to recreate them in my kitchen. Boiling sugar is no joke, neither is getting spilt by it. I was all suited up with hand gloves and goggles while stirring it. I should have taken a photo of myself but... I was too embarrassed. 

After the hard works, I couldn't wait to show them to Lyn and El even before refrigerate them, but alas! They were taken aback by the sticky texture. El especially doesn't like anything that can stick on his hand, yes, not even chocolate!

No choice then, all goes into refrigerator and cut into super mini size so they won't complain.

Caramel Candies

Makes 5"x7" candies

Ingredients

• 113g butter
• 120ml / 118g heavy cream
• 3 tbsp water
• 60ml / 85g light corn syrup
• 200g sugar

Cooking Directions

1. Over gentle heat, melt butter together with heavy cream. Set aside
2. In another pot (deep pot preferred), over medium heat, bring water, corn syrup and sugar to boil. Be careful not to spill the sugar to the side of the pot, else it will get harden and difficult to clean.
3. Cover the pot and cook for 1 min.
4. Open the cover and cook for another 5-10 minutes untill 160C
5. Add (1) into the pot, 1/6 at a time until finish. Stir constantly while pouring. The mixture will bubble vigorously so be careful not to get it spill onto you.
6. Cook until the mixture register 115C, stir often.
   
   
7. While hot, pour the mixure to mold.
   
   
8. Let it cool for at least 4 hours before cutting.

焦糖软糖

做5“×7”糖果

材料

• 113克牛油
• 120毫升/118克鲜奶油
• 3汤匙水
• 60毫升/85克轻玉米糖浆
• 200克糖

做法

1. 用文火，融化牛油和鲜奶油。 备用。
2. 取另一个锅（建议用深锅），以中火煮沸水，玉米糖浆和糖。小心不要把糖洒到锅的内侧，否则变硬后不易清洗。
3. 盖上锅盖，煮1分钟。
4. 打开盖子，再煮5-10分钟，直到160℃
5. 把（1）慢慢倒入锅中，每次倒1/6，直到完成。要不断搅拌。倒入时会起大量泡沫要小心不要被溅到。
6. 煮到115℃，要不时搅拌。
   
7. 乘热，倒入模具。
   
8. 冷却至少4小时才切割。

There is always some lemon in my pantry, be it the green lime or the yellow lemon. Not everyone can take that sourness, but me, and even Lyn and El, fell for it helplessly. I am surprised at the level of sourness they can take, especially they are both below 5 years-old!

We don't have a garden, and neither any luck growing plants in our pots. But there it goes, look at those newly sprouted tender leaves! As fragile as they look, they had survived many occasions that other plants had otherwise perished. Oh I just hope that they will grow up to be strong and fruitful lemon trees!

Lemon not only do good to our skin, nourishes our body, it also imparts a wonderful tangy and zesty tang to whatever dishes it is added to. A slice of lemon wedge spruces up the dish immediately. Now coming back to this garlic coriander prawn, I think lemon is the key ingredient rendering this dish refreshingly good. Have you seen those appetizers served on the spoon? DH think this is perfect dish for spoon appetiser. Indeed, sour food is guaranteed to whet your appetite. One bite is never enough, it will make you crave for more, and more...

Believe it or not, this is one of the best prawn recipes that I have. I am careful to label the term 'best' in my recipe, but this, it earns the title!

Garlic Coriander Prawn

Ingredients

• 300g / 12 pcs prawn, deshelled tail-on
• 40g butter
• 2 garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup / 2 bunches coriander, chopped
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 tsp capers
• 1 tbsp lemon juice

Cooking Directions

1. Blend together butter, garlic, coriander and thyme.
2. Spread half of the paste at the bottom of baking dish, arrange the prawn on top and spread the rest of the paste on top. Add capers.
   
   
3. Bake at preheated oven at 220C for 10 minutes.
4. Drizzle lemon juice just before serving

蒜茸香菜虾

材料

• 300克/12只虾，去壳
• 40克牛油
• 2个大蒜，切碎
• 1/4杯/2串香菜，切碎
• 2小枝百里香
• 2茶匙刺山柑
• 1汤匙柠檬汁

做法

1. 牛油，大蒜，香菜和百里香混合在一起。
2. 铺一半（1）在烤盘底部，整齐地排上虾，再铺上其余的（1）。加入刺山柑。
   
   
3. 在已预热好的烘箱中以220℃烘烤10分钟。
4. 在食用前淋上柠檬汁

Are you a fan of cod fish? If I were to rank the fishes that I like most, cod will surely top my list. The snowy white flesh, so tender and juicy. Most fishes are easy to overcook, but cooking cod is much more forgiving. With proper care, you could hardly overcook it to the point of dry and tough, perhaps due to the nature of the meat that is relatively oily.

I usually like to have my cod steamed, fresh cod taste superb even without much seasonings. Seafood soy sauce is my first choice, as it is a bit sweeter than regular soy sauce, and coriander leaves render a refreshing twist to the steamed fish. The coriander was chopped and added right before serving so that it would not get soggy. It could be a bit boring, though, having cod the same style all the time. 

So today, I made it Japanese style. A piece of cod fish pan fried to brown the surface, and doused in freshly prepared umami sauce made of kombu, miso and bonito. Add some greens and vegetables to it, you get a plate of colorful healthy dish.  

The dashi is very well balanced in terms of its saltiness and sweetness. Even Su that don't usually keen on miso soup find this appetizing. Serve the fish over a bowl of japonica rice, drizzle with black sesame seeds and yes, your meal is ready!

Cod Fish in Dashi

Ingredients

• 1 slice (around 150g) cod fish

Dashi

• 1 piece (around 6cmx3cm) kombu (seaweed)
• 1 tbsp (19g) miso paste
• 1-2 tbsp (3g) bonito flakes
• 1 cup water

Others

• 4 asparagus
• 1/2 cup shimeji mushroom
• 3 cherry tomatoes, halved

Cooking Directions

1. In a pan, heat 2 tbsp of oil and pan fry the cod fish (you can also skip this step and cook the fish directly in the dashi). Set aside.
2. In a pot, combine the ingredients for dashi and simmer for 30 minutes.
3. Strain the stock.
4. Add in asparagus and shimeji mushroom, cook for another 3 minutes.
5. Pour the dashi over the fish, garnish with cherry tomatoes.

昆布味噌鳕鱼

配料

• 1片（约150克）鳕鱼

昆布汤

• 1片（约6cmx3cm）昆布（海带）
• 1汤匙（19克）味噌
• 1-2汤匙（3g）柴鱼片
• 1杯水

其他

• 4条芦笋
• 1/2杯shimeji蘑菇
• 3个樱桃番茄，切半

做法

1. 在平底锅，烧热2汤匙油，煎鳕鱼至表面呈金黄色（也可以跳过这一步，直接用汤煮鱼）。备用。
2. 在一个锅里，加入昆布汤的材料，小火煮30分钟。
3. 把汤过滤。
4. 加入芦笋和shimeji蘑菇，再煮3分钟。
5. 汤汁倒在鱼上，用樱桃番茄装饰。