Smile and Say Cheese!
Just 2 days after we dropped by at Say Cheese Cafe in Bukit Jalil, BAM! MCO (Movement Control Order) was declared and there would not be any dining in for a while. It seemed rude to post a food review when we were supposed to …
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Less guilty Brownies 5.0
I’ve tried so many brownies recipes these past few months that I’ve lost count so I’m calling this Brownies 5.0. It uses dark chocolate and brown sugar, so I’m consoling myself that it’s a less guilty indulgence! They all claim to be the easiest, fudgiest …
Easy bake Lemon Drizzle Loaf
This has turned out to be my favourite cake to bake this season! The citrus flavour cuts through the sweetness to give the most delightful cake you will ever bake!
I’ve tried a version from kebayakitchen.com which is more of a pound cake and more dense. Her version uses sour cream for a heavier cake that’s still moist and delicious. I’ve tried different versions and my final recipe is based on Mary Berry’s recipe from goodtoknow.co.uk
Update: I’ve tweaked the recipe to add a bit of sour cream. I find it makes the cake more moist and fluffier.
Ingredients
180g self-raising flour
160g castor sugar
180g butter, softened
3 large eggs
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
zest from one lemon
2 drops vanilla essence
60g sour cream
Lemon drizzle
70g fine sugar
Juice from 1 lemon (about 4 to 5 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon warm water
Stir both together and keep aside
Method
Heat the oven to 175 degrees C. Cream the butter with the sugar until creamy and pale. Add the eggs one by one, lemon zest and vanilla essence and continue whipping.
Sift the flour and mix in the dry ingredients. Then add the sour cream and mix again. Transfer mixture into a 9x5in loaf tin that’s been brushed over with butter or lined. Then bake for 40 mins or until cake sets. If you poke a toothpick right through and it comes clean, means the cake is done.
Let it cool for 5 mins then poke small holes in the cake and pour the lemon drizzle over it when it is still hot and let it seep in.
Remove cake from tin when cool and serve.
Giving second life to Okara
Is it May already? I’m looking forward to eating out again as restrictions are slowly being lifted. And about time, as I’m really low on inspiration these days. Could you tell? I love experimenting and trying out new foods. But when you have to come …
Easy bake Dinner Rolls
Everyone is baking nowadays, it seems, and the shops are running out of bread flour and yeast. On a day when I was low on both, I changed upon this recipe from a friend’s feed. Am not exactly sure where the recipe is from but …
Tiger out to save Malaysian Street Food
Tiger Beer is donating RM1.5 million to support Malaysian street food during the Movement Control Order (MCO). The funds will be used to help cover rent for street food vendors, coffee shops and food courts across the country as they face reduced income due to ongoing restrictions.
Some RM1 million will be made available immediately to benefit street food vendors operating in more than 1,200 coffee shops and food courts nationwide.
The public can also support their local coffee shops and food courts during this tough time by purchasing Tiger Beer vouchers to be used once restrictions are relaxed.
You can log on to www.drinkies.my/TigerSOS to purchase a voucher for a big bottle of Tiger or Tiger Crystal (RSP RM17) at only RM10. This voucher can then be redeemed at participating coffee shops and food courts across the country when they reopen. The outlet will receive the initial RM10 voucher price, plus the full RM17 RSP value from Tiger Beer for each voucher redeemed.
Roland Bala, Managing Director of Heineken Malaysia Berhad said, “Tiger has long been a champion for Asian street food, so it was important for us to help support the people who create the dishes we all love. We hope that the Tiger ‘Save Our Street Food’ fund goes some way to easing their financial burden during this tough time, and look forward to supporting them further as conditions improve.
“We invite the public to join us in supporting the local coffeeshops and food courts where many of our favourite street food vendors operate, with the purchase of vouchers to be redeemed once restrictions are relaxed. For every RM10 spent, Tiger Beer will contribute another RM17 to help these outlets get back on their feet.”
Meanwhile, Tiger Beer is also working with the Malaysia Singapore Coffee Shop Proprietors’ General Association on additional initiatives to help the wider industry.
The Tiger Save Our Street Food fund is part of a comprehensive package of support for F&B Operators and the wider community by Heineken Malaysia Bhd. It provided 80,000 meals to more than 3,000 B40 community members located around the brewery premises.
As part of a wider regional initiative from Tiger Beer, #SupportOurStreets, the campaign encourages consumers to stay off the streets as part of continued safe distancing measures across the region.
To find out more about the campaign and purchase a voucher to help support local coffeeshops and food courts, visit www.drinkies.my/TigerSOS.
Sweet and spicy Nyonya Pork Trotters
I forget what day of the week it is already. Weekday or weekend, it doesn’t make much of a difference when you’re staying home either way. Here’s one way you can shake things up a bit. As mentioned in my last post, I’m sharing my …
Super easy Thai coconut cake (kanom babin)
So, the news is out, and we’re stuck at home for another 2 weeks! Haiz! Let’s cheer ourselves up by making a dessert for a change. While in the process of fine-tuning my mother’s Pork Trotter’s recipe, I thought I’ll share this Thai dessert recipe …
No-fail easiest Beef Stew ever!
Feels like we’re in limbo, this MCO (movement control order). While some people get back to basics and unleash their inner chef, others are running out of ideas of what to cook.
Frankly, after practically living in the kitchen these past few weeks, I opted for food delivery for a change, and also to support our local hawkers and coffeeshops. Maaaan, streetfood have never tasted so GOOD! But then again, the MSG, the extra salt and extra oil, also tasted so much more apparent as our tastebuds had gotten used to homecooked food which is generally healthier.
Well, here’s one recipe that’s guaranteed to turn out, even if you feel you can’t cook to save your life. All you need is a slow cooker to wake up to a delicious pot of goodness the next day.
My recipe is a cross between a Western stew and Chinese braised (thick soy sauce) beef. If you try this out often enough, you’ll probably be able to further fine tune the recipe to your own liking. If you can’t get your hands on the Western herbs, it’s OK though they do add toward a more robust and flavoursome stew.
Ingredients
1kg stew beef (with streaks of fat, cut into 4cm chunks)
1 big onion (cut into 4)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped small
3 carrots
4 potatoes
3 stalks of celery
1 small (white) Chinese radish
1 large tomato (diced into 4)
750ml beef broth or beef stock
2 tablespoons thick soy sauce
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Salt and sugar to taste
1 stick cinnamon
2 star of anise, 5 cloves, 2 bay leaves
Black pepper
Mixed herbs or rosemary or thyme
Method
Most recipes call for you the garlic and onion to be tossed around in a tablespoon of oil in a separate pan for about a minute or two. Then, brown the beef which has been rubbed with salt and pepper lightly and set aside.
But I’m going to suggest a shortcut here. True chefs will admonish me but I feel it doesn’t really make a huge difference or affect the taste drastically. Besides, I’m too lazy to wash that extra pan. So, throw in the garlic, onion and then, the beef into the slow cooker directly.
Cut all the veggie into large cubes and add them in on top of the beef. Pour in the beef broth. Add in the remaining ingredients (except the salt and sugar), give it a good stir to mix things up, turn on the slow cooker and leave it on for about 6 hours or overnight.
Next up, add salt and sugar to taste. Pour the stew into another pot and heat up over the stove for about 15 to 20 minutes to reduce the gravy. And there, you’ve got your one pot meal!
Some people like to add cornflour to thicken the stew but I don’t really like the starchy end result. Besides, the extra gravy is always welcome in my home as the boys love to soak their bread in it.
I’ve got another recipe which I usually use when I have guests over that involves red wine, but that’s a different story.
Tip: it’s really not that different as it involves popping the stew into the oven for a few hours, and adding the wine midway to give it more oomph!
Healthy Oatmeal Chia and Sunflower Seed Coconut Cookie
Was the granola too tedious as you have to keep taking it out of the oven and putting it back in again? Maybe this could be simpler. I was thinking of making a healthier sort of cookie after I saw something in the supermarket. Then, …