I don't usually deep fry my food, I try to bake them as far as I could. Firstly, it is because I don't like to clean up the mess after the spilling oil war; secondly, I kind of having a phobia against deep frying. However, when it comes to buffalo wings, I not only have the appetite of a buffalo, but also the courage of it. 

Traditionally, the wings were deep fried with no batter, and the sauce is only made up of Frank's hot sauce, butter and vinegar. However, I just couldn't resist those crispy batter, which acts like a thirsty sponge readily absorbs all the hot sauce. Biting down the crispy yet sauce-drenched batter immediately wake up every inch of my taste bud. Yum yum...

So, no, this is not the traditional buffalo wings. But, yes, it is very delicious.

Beware, if you are not a fan of sour food, this is not for you.

Buffalo Wings

Ingredients

• 7 chicken drumlet
• oil for deep frying

Sauce

• 25g butter, unsalted
• 75ml hot sauce (I used Frank's hot sauce)
• 1/4 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoon vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• few dashes of garlic powder

Batter

• 50g plain flour
• 15g cornflour
• 2g baking powder
• 60g water
• salt
• 10g cooking oil

Cooking Directions

1. In a bowl, mix together plain flour, corn flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add in water and stir to combine (do not keep stirring in the same direction to prevent the development of gluten).
2. Add oil into the batter and let the batter rest for at least 30 minutes.
3. Evenly coat the chicken drumlets with the batter.
   
   
4. Heat oil (enough to cover chicken wings, around an inch) in deep fryer to around 190 degree Celsius.
5. Deep fry the chicken over medium heat until the drumlets turn brown, around 10 to 15 minutes.
   
   
6. Meanwhile, heat up a sauce pan over low heat, combine the ingredients for sauce. Stir to combine.
7. Toss together the sauce with the drumlets. Serve immediately.

布法罗鸡翅

主料

• 7个鸡小腿
• 油，油炸用

酱汁

• 25克有盐牛油，
• 75毫升辣酱（我用弗兰克的辣酱 Frank's Hot Sauce）
• 1/4茶匙隐汁
• 2茶匙醋
• 1/4茶匙辣椒粉
• 少许大蒜粉

炸浆

• 50克普通面粉
• 15克玉米粉
• 2克发粉
• 60克水
• 盐
• 烹调油10克

做法

1. 在一个碗里，把面粉，玉米粉，泡打粉和盐混合在一起。缓慢加水，搅拌至结合（不要持续保持同一个方向搅拌，以防止生面筋）。
2. 油倒入面糊，让面糊休息至少30分钟。
3. 面糊均匀裹上鸡小腿。
   
4. 热油（足以覆盖鸡小腿）大约摄氏190度左右。
5. 加入鸡，用中火炸直到鸡小腿呈褐色，大约10至15分钟。
   
6. 同时热锅慢火，放入酱汁的材料。搅拌均匀。
7. 酱汁均匀裹上鸡小腿，即可食用。

Whenever passing by an Asian bakery store, I always adore those round shaped, cute looking steamed cake. There are so many flavors to choose from: mangoes, cheese, strawberry....

Somehow, I have a notion that eating steamed cake is more healthy than baked cake, maybe I am just cheating myself... At the very least, these pandan steamed cakes are made with all natural pandan juice, the aroma so fragrant that one piece is barely enough. With the natural bright green color from pandan juice, there is no need for artificial coloring too, suitable for those who are health-conscious.

Pandan Steam Cake
Makes around 10

Ingredients

• 3 medium eggs
• 100g sugar
• 80g butter
• 130ml pandan juice

Dry Ingredients

• 1.5 cup cake flour, sifted
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt

Cooking Directions

1. Heat a saucepan, melt butter.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs. Add in sugar in 3 stages. Beat the mixture until frothy and light yellow in color.
   
   
3. Add melted butter and pandan juice to (2).
4. Add the dry ingredients to (2) in 3 stages, fold the mixture to combine well.
   
   
5. Pour the mixture into mold and steam on high for 15 minutes.

Pandan leaf is a rather commonly used ingredient in Asia cuisine. It can be used to make savory dishes such as pandan wrap chicken, or get its juice extracted to make sweet dessert. The leaf on its own is coarse and fibrous, hence you don't actually eat the leaf, but only use it for flavoring and coloring. It possesses a unique natural aroma and if juiced, imbues a bright green color to the dishes.

 I happened to have bought a whole bunch of pandan leaves which had been sitting inside my fridge waiting to wither. I took some and cooked rice with it to infuse the pandan flavor to my rice, but there was just too much leftovers. 

1,2,3... 20 I counted. Whatever I have to do with it, I have to do it fast... My final decision? Juice 'em! It is so easy, and it only take 2 ingredients - pandan leaves and water. Just like making a fruit juice yeah...

All Natural Pandan Juice

Ingredients

• 20 pandan leaves
• 100ml water

Cooking Directions

1. Wash the pandan leaves and cut into small pieces.
2. Blend the leaves with water in a blender.
3. Remove from blender, strain the juice out using a strainer or cloth.
4. Keep the juice refrigerated no more than 2 days.

If you have tried the texture of Ipoh Hor Fun, I believe you will be impressed by its silky smooth texture. It is so slippery that grabbing it with chopstick require quite a bit of skill. Just in case you have not tried it before, Ipoh Hor Fun is similar to Kuay Teow, but with much more delicate texture.

The key of making a bowl of delicious Ipoh Hor Fun lies in the taste of the soup. So, be generous with the ingredients going into the soup base, you won't regret it.

Ipoh Hor Fun

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 500g Ipoh Hor Fun
• 1/2 chicken
• 1 chicken carcass
• 8 medium size prawns (cooked and shelled, set aside the shell for use)
• 2cm ginger
• 30g chives (cut into 1.5 inch length)
• 50g bean sprouts
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 litre water / chicken stock
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 2 bird's eye chillies, cut (optional)
• salt and pepper, to taste

Cooking Directions

1. Heat up 2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan, stir fry the prawns, prawn shells and prawn heads until fragrant.
2. Bring water to boil, add the ginger, half chicken, chicken carcass, prawn shells, prawn heads, salt and pepper. Simmer for 45 minutes.
3. Add chives and bean sprouts and simmer for another 2 minutes.
4. Take up the half chicken, shred the meat.
5. Cook Ipoh Hor Fun as per the instruction on the package.
6. Place hor fun in a bowl, garnish with prawns and shredded chicken. Ladle soup into bowl.
7. Serve hot, with cut chillies.

Do you know that the history of pao zi can be traced back to the 3rd century AD, and it is believed that pao was invented by the Zhuge Liang (my favourite character in Romance of Three Kingdoms)?

And coincidentally, pao is also one of my favorite. I could eat 'em all day long - breakfast, lunch, dinner... Call me obsessive? You may!

Red Bean Pao

Ingredients

• 150g low protein flour
• 3/4 tsp instant yeast
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 20g caster sugar
• 75g milk
• 2g shortening
• 150g red bean paste (home made or store bought)

Cooking Directions

1. Combine all ingredients, knead for around 15 minutes.
2. Cover the dough, let it rest until double in size.
3. Divide the dough into 6 pieces, roll up to form a round wrapping (the edges should be slightly thinner than the center).
4. Roll fillings into balls. Place fillings at the middle of the dough and wrap it up. Seal the edges and place the sealed part facing downward on a piece of square baking paper.
5. Steam the pao for 15 minutes.
6. Serve hot. Keep refrigerated (3 days) if not consume immediately. Re-steam for 10 minutes before consume.