Fried Carrot Cake Black Version (菜头粿)

Hubby and I have always wanted to try out this popular hawker delight.  He got the chance finally and made two versions, the white version and the black version.  I followed the Rasa Malaysia method of steaming the radish first before frying and adapted its recipe to my own taste.  The following ingredients are good for 4 servings.  Here is the black version.

Ingredients for steaming
for 4 servings
1 medium-sized radish/daikon (about 550g grated) + 50ml water
220g rice flour
280g ml water
pinch of salt

Fried Carrot Cake White Version (菜头粿)

Hubby and I have wanted to try out this dish.  He got the chance finally and made two versions, the white version and the black version.  I followed the Rasa Malaysia method of steaming the radish first before frying and adapted its recipe to my own taste.  The following ingredients are good for 4 servings.  Here goes the white version.

Ingredients for steaming
for 4 servings
1 medium-sized radish/daikon (about 550g grated) + 50ml water
220g rice flour
280g ml water
pinch of salt

South Indian Vegetable Curry

An adaption of cooking indian style vegetable curry with some chinese style ingredients :)

Ingredients

3 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 yellow onion - sliced

2 shallots - sliced

1 tsp minced ginger

dash of paprika

2 carrots - cut into cubes

1 potato - cut into cubes

1 wedge of pumpkin - cut into cubes

1 bowl of cabbage - cut into pieces

handful of dried bean curd (tau kee)

1 small green bell pepper - cut into cubes

2 green chilies (i use red chili)

some toasted cashew nuts

2 cups coconut milk

salt to taste

Pan Fried Tofu with Shitake Mushroom

Ingredients
1 block fresh tofu (3/4 portion used) - cut into rectangular pieces and pat dry
8 fresh shitake mushroom - cut into small pieces
2 tbsp minced meat
1 tsp minced ginger
1 tsp chopped garlic
salt and pepper to taste
dash of sesame oil
1- 2  tbsp cooking oil

Grilled Salmon with Basil

Ingredients
1 piece 8oz salmon fillet
dash of paprika
sprinkle of sea salt
dash of pepper
handful of fresh sweet basil - chopped
1 tsp vegetable oil

Burdock Root Soup (牛蒡汤)

Ingredients
3 pieces of pork rib - blanched
3 pieces of burdock root - peeled and cut into thick long pieces
2 carrots - cut into thick long pieces
15 chinese red dates
2 slices ginger
2 tbsp wolfberries
4 bowls of water
salt to taste

Italian Plum Jam

a basket full of beautiful organic plums

these plums are super sweet and juicy

8 cups of chopped plums can be cooked at one time in my pot

the jam turning into a beautiful magenta colour

cooked jam ready to be ladled into jars

enjoying the luscious spread on my bagel

our supply for the next half year :)

Thanks to our neighours, Jonathan, Deborah and Leo who generously gave us their wonderful crop of sweet juicy plums.  It was quite a bit of work making these home-made jam, but definitely very satisfying and rewarding and we look forward to enjoying our jam every morning.

Ingredients

8 cups italian plums, washed and pitted

4 cups sugar

juice of 1 lemon

rind of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Grilled Chicken with BBQ sauce

Ingredients

Half chicken

dash of garlic powder

dash  of paprika

dash of pepper

BBQ sauce

Fen Si Gua (粉丝瓜)

Thanks to our friends, Peter and Queenie who gave us this very large organic melon grown in their garden.  It is the first time we have seen this kind of melon known as "fen si gua" aka "vermicelli melon". The inner part looks like a winter melon but when it is cooked, it releases "vermicelli-like" fibre which makes this dish tasty.


Ingredients
1/5 of a large fen si gua
3 dried shitake mushrooms - soaked, drained and cut into strips
2 tbsp dried prawns - washed and drained
1 red chili - cut into strips
2 cloves garlic - chopped
2 slices ginger
salt and pepper to taste
dash of sesame oil
1 tbsp cooking oil
1/4 cup water

Pan Fried Chicken Drumstick with Garlic (脆皮蒜油鸡)

Ingredients

3 boneless chicken drumstick

4 cloves garlic - chopped

2 stalk green onion - cut into small pieces

2 red chillies - cut into small pieces

1 tbsp sesame oil

cooking oil

some flour for coating

salt and pepper to taste