[ Collaboration with Dancing Chef and Singapore Home Cooks ]
Dish 1 - Laksa Yong Tau Foo
Dish 2 - Curry Puff / Karipap

"Curry pok! Curry pok!"
I remember during the 80s when I was in Primary School, every afternoon around 3pm, a Malay boy would carry a basket of freshly fried karipap and make his rounds in my block peddling his wares. There were two flavours, curry potato and sardine, differentiated with a red dot.

This is one of my favourite Malay kuih and needless to say, I would buy one of each flavour as my afternoon snack every other day. I cannot remember how much it cost, I think one piece was 10 cents? I recall savouring the puffs while they were still warm, eating the rounded part with filling first and the crispy edges to the last or sometimes I would do the other way round :p It's a very simple snack, but it's one of those simple pleasures we enjoyed in our childhood, isn't it?


This type of homemade karipap has a very nostalgic old-school taste, with a fragrant and thin crispy blistered crust and an aromatic curry potato filling, or sweet spicy and tangy sardine filling. These days, some Malay stalls at hawker centres or coffee shops still sell such karipap but somehow they don't taste as nice as they used to be.


Nowadays, there are many variations of curry puff, from the buttery flaky ones to thick chunky ones to super crispy spiral ones and many types of fillings as well, such as chilli crab, otah otah, black pepper and more. But the old-school one still holds a special place in my heart.

When I was researching on recipes, there are also many variations to achieve different results. Some recipes use hot oil which apparently makes the pastry super flaky; some recipes use more butter and less water which makes the pastry smoother, more buttery and a bit flaky; some recipes use separate oil and water dough to get the super flaky spiral effect; the recipe I'm using uses less butter and more water, resulting in a slightly blistered pastry skin, which is similar to the old-school curry puff I grew up with.


I made only chicken potato curry filling this time, using Dancing Chef Indian Curry Paste, which has No MSG, No Preservatives, No Artificial Colouring, and super convenient and easy to use! The curry paste has all the aromatics and spices already so no messy chopping, grinding or frying work to do.

I just have to prepare some chicken breast meat, potato, onion, garlic and coconut milk (and water). I simmered the chicken curry potato till the potato is soft but not mushy and with just a little gravy left. The taste is so good without being overwhelming, really suitable as filling for curry puff or pies.


Now to the pastry part, which is trickier. Frankly this is my first proper attempt in making curry puff! I think many many years ago, I tried making it but failed miserably at the dough. Not sure what happened but I simply couldn't close the dough properly and did such a horrible job at pleating the edges that most of my puff opened up before or during deep-frying resulting in a horrible mess.

I guess with more experience in the kitchen, I did a much better job this time round \(^o^)/ The first few pleating were super ugly and my puffs were totally out of shape, but subsequently I got the hang of the pleating technique and managed to get pretty decent looking ones! But somehow I find it easier to roll the dough into an oval shape and make the puff round and fat. I think I need more practice to make the conventional long and slim one :p


Curry Puff | Karipap
(makes 18-20 pcs)

Filling

• 1 packet Dancing Chef Indian Curry Paste
• 300g potato, cubed
• 200g chicken breast, cubed
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup coconut milk
• 2 tbsp cooking oil

1. Marinate cubed chicken breast with 2 tbsp of curry paste for about 30 mins.
2. In a frying pan on medium heat, add 2 tbsp of cooking oil, stir-fry diced onion and garlic till fragrant and translucent.
3. Add the marinated chicken breast and stir-fry till the meat turns opaque/slightly cooked. 
4. Add potato and remaining curry paste and stir-fry till all ingredients are well-coated with paste.
5. Add water and coconut milk, and bring to boil.
6. Lower heat,  cover and simmer till potato is soft, and gravy is reduced and the filling is moist (do not let the gravy dry up).
7. Set aside to cool completely.

Dough

• 375g plain flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 75g butter (I use Golden Churn canned butter)
• 200ml water (could be slightly more or less)

1. Add flour and salt into a large mixing bowl, stir till well-mixed for about a minute.
2. Add butter and water (bit by bit) into the flour mixture, use a spatula to fold and mix the ingredients together. 
3. Once the ingredients are mixed and a rough dough is formed, use the hand to knead the dough till smooth and non-sticky. 
4. Cover the bowl with clingwrap or towel and let the dough rest for 15-20 mins.
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly-floured mat. Roll the dough to about 4mm thickness, use a 9cm round pastry cutter to cut out as many circles as possible. Knead the leftover dough into a ball, and repeat till all the dough is used up.

1. Take a piece of round dough, roll the dough to oval shape, place the dough onto the palm, scoop about 1 tbsp of chicken potato curry onto the dough and fold the dough to close.
2. Seal the edges by pressing the dough using finger tips. Pleat the edges together starting from right to left, by pressing a small piece of dough using finger tip into scallop, then push the scalloped piece of dough downwards. Repeat till the whole puff is pleated.
3. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling till all ingredients are used up.
4. The curry puffs are best eaten freshly fried. If a big batch is made, at this point, the curry puffs can be stored in freezer. Lay each piece on a lined tray single layer and cover tray with cling wrap or aluminium foil. Place the tray into the freezer. Once the puffs are frozen, they can be transferred to a ziplock bag or box and stacked.

 Deep-frying

1. Heat a pot of cooking oil to medium heat. Make sure the depth of cooking oil is able to fully cover the curry puff.
2. Deep-fry the curry puffs till they turn golden brown on both sides. 
3. Drain the curry puff with kitchen towel or metal strainer.
4. Best eaten warm.

I must say I'm quite pleased with how the curry puffs turned out :) The HB also gave thumbs up!

They are not perfect yet, but better than nothing right? This is not readily available at where I stay, and can't recall whether I see them in BKK or not. Anyways, I'm happy that I can now make a big batch and freeze them so that I can satisfy my cravings anytime!

I'm gonna explore other fillings next time round, like sardine and even Thai flavours like Tom Yum or green curry!

Meanwhile, let me enjoy a few more shiokalicious curry puffs with a nice warm cuppa Teh Tarik and reminisce the good old days!

Happy National Day in advance to all Singaporeans!


From 1 to 31 August 2018, purchase 3 packets of Dancing Chef��s pastes or sauces at just S$7.85 (UP: S$2.85/packet), and stand a chance to win a pair of passes to a cooking workshop helmed by local celebrity chef Lisa Leong on 16 Sep 2017. There are 30 pairs of passes to be won.

Dancing Chef promotion is available at FairPrice supermarkets exclusively.

#dancingchef #dancing chefs

[ Collaboration with Dancing Chef and Singapore Home Cooks ]
Dish 1 - Laksa Yong Tau Foo

How time flies, next week is already Singapore's National Day and my family has been away for almost 8 months! As true blue Singaporeans who love to makan, we tend to miss local food from time to time.

Premix pastes like Dancing Chef really comes in handy whenever we have cravings. Sometimes it's too much hassle to cook from scratch or there are certain ingredients not readily available. I always stock up on our favourite pastes whenever we return to SG for visits; it's great that the packs are small and doesn't take up too much luggage space.


One of the SG local dish that we miss is Yong Tau Foo! Here in Thailand, there's no YTF stall where you can pick and choose the various ingredients like beancurd, bitter gourd, vegetables, fishballs etc...
Back in SG, we used to eat YTF at least once a week, and we always ended up ordering laksa gravy as the pairing is simply shiokalicious!

Using Dancing Chef Laksa paste, all I have to do is to prepare the YTF ingredients, cook the gravy and viola, a piping hot bowl of Laksa Yong Tau Foo!!


Laksa Yong Tau Foo
(makes 3-4 servings)

Minced fish & pork filling

• 200g fish meat (I use spanish mackerel/batang), chop into small pieces
• 200g minced pork
• 10g salted fish
• 4 tbsp water
• 2 tsp corn flour
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 stalk spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 stalk coriander, finely chopped

Yong Tau Foo
(filling above is enough for the listed ingredients)

• 2 small or 1 big brinjal, cut into 6 pcs about 1" thick with slit inbetween
• 1/4 bittergourd, cut into 6 rings about 1cm thick and hollow out the middle seed portion
• 2 blocks tau kwa/firm beancurd, cut diagonally into 4 pcs
• 3 pcs tau pok/fried beancurd, cut diagonally into 6 pcs
• 1 big red chilli, cut a slit inbetween and scrap away the seeds
• 4 pcs ladyfinger, cut a slit inbetween and scrap away the seeds
• Pot of cooking oil

1. Wash, pat fry and prepare the ingredients accordingly.
2. Using a small butter knife, stuff and spread the fish/pork filling into the prepared Yong Tau Foo ingredients.
3. Heat up a pot of cooking oil to medium heat and deep fry the yong tau food until cooked and golden brown. Drain using kitchen towel. Set aside. 

Laksa Yong Tau Foo

• 1 packet Dancing Chef Laksa paste
• 450ml water
• 250ml coconut milk
• 400g thick rice vermicelli (laksa noodles)
• 2 bunches kang kong (water spinach)

1. In a cooking pot, add laksa paste and water and bring to boil on medium heat.
2. Lower heat to simmer and stir in coconut milk. Simmer for another 5 mins and the laksa gravy is ready.
3. In a separate pot, blanch rice vermicelli for 15-20s, drain and scoop into individual bowls.
4. Blanch vegetables for 10-15s, drain and add into the individual bowls.
5. Top the bowls with desired pieces of Yong Tau Foo and finally ladle laksa gravy into the bowls.
6. Best serve hot.

Yum yum yum! This bowl of Laksa Yong Tau Foo was so satisfying! The HB also gave thumbs up! How I wish I could have more, but alas I ran out of the Laksa paste already :( Time to go back to SG to stock up?


From 1 to 31 August 2018, purchase 3 packets of Dancing Chef��s pastes or sauces at just S$7.85 (UP: S$2.85/packet), and stand a chance to win a pair of passes to a cooking workshop helmed by local celebrity chef Lisa Leong on 16 Sep 2017. There are 30 pairs of passes to be won.

Dancing Chef promotion is available at FairPrice supermarkets exclusively.

#dancingchef #dancing chefs

Boat noodles is a very popular street food in Thailand ???? In fact, noodles is a very big part of the food culture. I learnt that all types of noodles (whether rice noodles, glass noodles, egg noodles), they are all called Guay Tiew (same pronunciation) unlike in SG where Kuay Tiao means thick rice noodles. I still remember when I ordered my very first bowl of Guay Tiew, thinking that it's thick rice noodles, the hawker gave me "Sen Lek" which is very thin and slightly chewy. Sen Lek is somewhat like the default type of noodle hawkers would serve if you don't specify, or some stalls just serve "Sen Lek" only. Anyways, there's a whole lot of jargon to learn about ordering noodles, such as the type of noodles, soup or dry, type of broth, and we're not even talking about the fried ones. Well, I guess the same goes for SG where we have so many type of noodles as well.

I digress.

Anyways, Guay Tiew means noodles and Reua means Boat, so literally translates to Boat Noodles, I think because it's traditionally cooked and served on a boat, and hence the name. I love Boat Noodles as the broth is very aromatic and flavourful, plus I get to eat pig's blood which is no longer available in SG. I used to enjoy pig's organ soup during my teens because of the pig's blood. LOL! Nowadays, friends around my age who loves pig's blood still talk about it fondly and I guess we could only satisfy our craving or rather, relive the fond memories in Hong Kong or Thailand.

I digress again.

Back to the Thai Boat Noodles. And so, the very authentic stalls would use the liquid from pig's blood to thicken and flavour the soup broth  but sometimes they can be a little overwhelming on the palate. Some hawker stalls may also add MSG to the broth making the soup a tad too salty for my liking. That got me to think whether it's feasible to make the noodles soup at home. After searching on the internet for recipes, I found there are many variations to making the broth; some use beef bones and some use pork bones and different aromatics are used to season the soup. I decided to adapt from Hot Thai Kitchen's recipe as I find her youtube videos very informative and recipes easy to pick up.


Have tried cooking this a few times already, and I must say I love how my Boat Noodles turned out. So as mentioned, the broth is a key component, and homemade is even better because no MSG is added.

The recipe by Hot Thai Kitchen is such that the pig's blood is optional, that is it's not necessary to use the liquid to thicken the soup. The broth is already very aromatic and flavourful as it is. Trust me my soup tasted equally nice without the pig�s blood :p.

To serve, besides noodles of your choice, I included ingredients such as fishball, fishcake, marinated pork slices, bean sprouts and water spinach (kang kong), along with condiments like cilantro, spring onion, Thai basil, fried shallot & garlic, and finally a chilli vinegar dipping sauce.


Let's start with the soup broth preparation, which I usually cook one day in advance and let the flavours develop overnight.

Soup Broth
(makes 8 servings)

Ingredients

• 4 pcs pork bones (about 950g)
• 4 pcs chicken leg bones (optional, I use because I happen to have them)
• 1 pc onion
• 2 stalks lemongrass, lower white portion only
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, toasted
• 5 cloves garlic
• 10 slices galangal
• 1 pc star anise
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 3 pc cilantro roots
• 2 pc pandan leaves
• 9 cups water
• 3 cups homemade chicken stock
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tbsp Golden Mountain thai soy sauce (if don't have, just use light soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp tao jiew (yellow soy bean paste)
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• 15g rock sugar
• 1/4 tsp white pepper
• Sea salt, to taste (I didn't add)

Steps

1. Blanch the pork and chicken bones to get rid of blood and dirt. Rinse and place them in a large stock pot. 
2. Add onion, lemongrass, coriander seeds, garlic, galangal, star anise, cinnamon, cilantro roots, pandan leaves, water and chicken stock. Bring the pot of stock to boil then lower heat, cover and let it simmer for 2hrs. Use a fine sieve to remove any scums that float to the top of the stock from time to time.
3. After 2hrs, add the seasonings - soy sauce, dark soy sauce, tao jiew, white vinegar, rock sugar and white pepper and simmer for another 1 hr. 
4. After 1hr, taste the soup and add sea salt if required.
5. Leave the soup stock in the pot overnight. *if stock is prepared early in the day, at night bring it to boil first, off heat and cover.
6. The next day, strain and discard the ingredients. Boil the soup broth again and it's ready to use.

Now that the soup broth is ready, it's time to cook Boat Noodles!

Personally I prefer Sen Yai which is thick rice noodles like the hor fun we have in SG, my son likes Sen Yai as well, but a thinner version of it. As for the HB, he likes Sen Lek which is the thin noodles which is slightly chewy (not glass noodles). Luckily I can get all these at one hawker stall at the wet market I frequent.

Typical ingredients include marinated pork slices, fishball, fishcake, pig's blood (optional), bean sprout, water spinach (kang kong).

To serve, I have two separate pots, one is the soup broth and the other is water to cook the noodles and vegetables.

(1) Bring the soup broth to boil and cook the fishball, fishcake, marinated pork and pig's blood.
(2) Bring the other pot of water to boil, blanch the bean sprouts, water spinach till just cooked, drain and place them in individual bowls. Next cook the noodles briefly till just cooked, drain and add them on top of the vegetables.
(3) Scoop the fishball, fishcake, pork and pig's blood from the soup broth and arrange on the top of the noodles.
(4) Finally, scoop the soup broth into the bowl of noodles till the soup just cover the ingredients. Best serve hot!

Not forgetting condiments, the noodles are typically served with cilantro, spring onion, fried garlic, fried shallot, Thai basil and not forgetting, chilli vinegar dipping sauce which will add much kick to the Boat Noodles!

Chilli Vinegar Dipping Sauce - blend all the ingredients together. Start with minimal amount of chilli and add more according to preference.

• 1-2 red chilli and thai chilli, to taste
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup white vinegar

Look at my bowl of noodles loaded with ingredients. LOL! That's the beauty of home cooked dishes. I think I cannot be a noodle seller; there's too much preparation work involved and I load my noodle soup with too much ingredients!

Usually I will make a large pot of soup broth and eat it for a few meals (mainly because the ingredients are sold in large quantity and cannot use up within one meal). LOL! Anyway we don't mind since we enjoy this noodle soup a lot. Aroi Mak Mak!

[ Collaboration with Borges Singapore and Singapore Home Cooks ]
Dish 1 - Braised Chicken with Bamboo Shoot & Mushroom
Dish 2 - Thai-themed ~ Tod Mun Pla (Thai Fish Cake) and Khao Pad Sapparod (Pineapple Fried Rice)

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have been using olive oil and grapeseed oil for most of my cooking in the recent years, because they are healthier and boast of multiple health benefits. Many people have this misconception that olive oil and grapeseed oil can only be used for western cooking or drizzling on salad; however both oils are good for stir-frying and deep-frying as well! I usually alternate between the two types of oil for my cooking (as well as baking).

Once again appreciate the opportunity given by Borges Singapore and Singapore Home Cooks to demonstrate the use of olive oil and grapeseed oil in our common daily Asian dishes :)

For my second dish (or rather dishes), I'm going Thai since I'm currently residing in Thailand =D That said, many Singaporeans simply love Thailand as well as Thai food, judging from the frequent trips that I see on FB by friends and snaking queues at Thai eateries in Singapore. My family included :p

I've been trying to cook more thai dishes, since I've access to more thai ingredients now. Today's dishes are Tod Mun Pla (Thai Fish Cake), Khao Pad Sapparod (Pineapple Fried Rice), Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad), all popular and quite easy to cook at home, and I'm using Borges Grapeseed oil to cook them (except for Som Tum which doesn't require oil).



Some useful info about Grapeseed oil (source from Borges Singapore and Singapore Home Cooks):

• Cholesterol Free. Contains vitamin E and A. 
• Ideal for Wok, saut�ing, frying and fondues.
• Mild taste, light and nutty overstones that allows the flavours of other foods to shine through when used for frying and cooking.
• Contains acid linoleic essential fats.
• Low in saturated fats. No Trans Fat.
• Carbohydrate and sodium free.
• No added preservatives, flavourings or colorings.
• With a smoke point 210-245�C, it is ideal for stir-frying, fondues and deep-frying.

Tod Mun Pla or Thai Fish Cake is a popular snack or appetiser which is very easy to make at home. Simply blend fish meat, red curry paste, egg yolk and sugar into a paste, add long beans, kaffir lime leaf and thai/holy basil, shape into a patty and pan-fry. Taste really good with sweet chilli dipping sauce. I make my own sweet chilli dipping sauce as well, so that I can adjust the sweetness and spiciness level. Mine is less sweet with more vinegar (for a more tangy taste).

Tod Mun Pla (Thai Fish Cake)
(makes about 18-20 pcs)

Ingredients

• 500g fish meat (choose more tender fish, I use dory and tilapia)
• 2 tbsp red curry paste (storebought)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 stalks long beans, cut into thin slices
• 8 pcs kaffir lime leaves, cut very finely
• Handful of thai basil or holy basil
• Fish sauce (to taste, if necessary)
• 10 tbsp Grapeseed Oil (Borges)

Steps

1. Cut fish meat into small pieces. Add the fish meat, red curry paste, egg yolk and sugar into a food processor or chopper and blend till a paste forms.
2. Taste-test: Wet both hands and a teaspoon, scoop a spoonful of paste and form into a patty. Heat a frying pan with 1 tbsp of oil and pan-fry the patty till golden brown on both sides. Taste to see if salty or flavourful enough. I use store-bought red curry which is quite salty and flavourful. If not, add 1 tbsp more of red curry paste and/or 1 tsp of fish sauce to the fish paste.
3. Once fish paste is ready, add long beans, kaffir lime leaves and basil, use a spatula to fold the ingredients till well-mixed.
4. Heat frying pan with 10 tbsp of oil (my pan is 26cm) on medium high heat. Wet both hands and a tablespoon, scoop a spoonful of paste and form into a patty using the hands. Pan-fry the shaped patties in the frying pan till golden brown on both sides.
5. Best serve hot with sweet chilli dipping sauce.

Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 big red chilli
• 3-4 thai chilli/chilli padi (to taste)
• 1/4 cup + 1 tbsp sugar (to taste)
• 1/3 cup white or rice vinegar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp water
• Garnish: sliced shallot, cucumber and coriander

 Steps

1. In an electric chopper or food processor, add garlic and both chilli and blend coarsely (bits are visible).
2. Place blended garlic and chilli bits into a small pot, add sugar, vinegar, salt and water and bring to gentle boil over low heat. Taste and add more sugar or chilli if necessary.
3. Stir till mixture turns syrupy and remove from heat. The mixture will thicken slightly more once cool down. 
4. To serve, top with sliced shallot, cucumber and coriander.

Pineapple fried rice is yet another favourite dish, as it has a tinge of sweetness from the pineapple (and raisins), aroma from curry powder, seafood freshness from the prawns and different textures from the rice and cashew nuts.






Khao Pad Sapparod (Pineapple Fried Rice)
(serves 4-5)

Ingredients

• 3-4 tbsp Grapeseed Oil (Borges)
• 10 pcs prawns, deveined and sliced into half
• 2 eggs
• 530g cooked rice (preferably overnight)
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 10 pcs cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters
• 150g pineapple flesh, cut into small pieces
• 60g cashew nuts, lightly toasted
• 4 tsp thai soy sauce
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1.5 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp white pepper
• 4 stalks spring onion, finely chopped
• Garnish: coriander, thai lime

Steps

1. Heat up a large deep frying pan or wok on medium high heat, add 2 tbsp of grapeseed oil and saute the sliced prawns till just cooked. Dish up and set aside.
2. Add 1 tbsp of oil, add the eggs and scramble lightly. Once eggs are almost cooked, add the rice and toss to mix well with the eggs.
3. Push the rice aside, add 1 tbsp of oil and saute the onion till slightly cooked (changes colour), then toss the onion with the rice.
4. Add the seasonings and toss the rice to mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. Mine is on lighter side.
5. Add cooked prawns, cherry tomatoes, pineapple, cashews into the rice. Toss to mix well.
6. Off heat and add spring onions and toss to mix well.
7. Best serve hot (in pineapple bowl or plates).

And finally Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)! This is such a refreshing salad that our family eats it so very often as it's crunchy and appetising with different textures and taste. Many times the HB would tabao from the evening market on his way back from work. It's convenient to buy from street stalls as you can find it everywhere, but the thing is sometimes they are too spicy and sweet for my palate. Of course the advantage of homemade is, you can adjust the taste to suit your own tastebud.

The below recipe is on the lighter side, feel free to adjust the seasonings. As my mortar and pestle is  small and I don't have a big proper som tum mortar, I make my som tum in my own steps by batches, which is not the authentic way of preparing it. Please google or check youtube videos on how it's done properly.

Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad)
(serves 4)

Ingredients

• 200g julienned green papaya (I use a slicer tool to slice the papaya into thin strips)
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 stalks long beans, cut into 1cm pieces
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3-4 thai chilli, add more to taste
• 2 tbsp fish sauce, add more to taste
• 1-2 tbsp palm sugar, add more to taste
• Juice from 1 thai lime, add more to taste
• 3 tsp tamarind juice, add more to taste
• 3 tbsp raw skinless peanuts, toasted till slightly browned
• 1 tbsp tiny dried shrimps, lightly toasted

1. Soak the julienned green papaya in iced water for 10 mins. After 10 mins, dry using salad spinner or kitchen towel.
2. Add the green papaya into a large mixing bowl, use a pestle to lightly pound/crush the papaya strips.
3. Add cherry tomatoes and long beans into the mixing bowl and lightly pound/crush them using the pestle.
4. Add the tiny dried shrimps into the salad.
5. Add the peanuts into the stone mortar, lightly crush the peanuts into halves or smaller pieces. Add the peanut pieces into the salad.
6. In the same stone mortar, pound the garlic and chilli till a coarse paste. Add fish sauce, palm sugar, lime juice and tamarind juice. Lightly pound and stir till the palm sugar is melted.
7. Pour the sauce from the mortar into the mixing bowl, toss everything together till well-mixed. 
8. Taste the salad and adjust taste to preference.
9. The salad tastes best freshly prepared.

Hope everyone enjoys these thai dishes! I'll try to post more thai recipes in time to come (if I have the time!). Stay tuned :)

LAST CALL for Borges Giveaway!
Want the best from the Mediterranean? We are giving away three sets of Borges Gift Basket worth $60 at http://bit.ly/2INmCz4 

Be sure to check it out!
#BorgesRecipes

[ Collaboration with Borges Singapore and Singapore Home Cooks ]
Dish 1 - Braised Chicken with Bamboo Shoot & Mushroom
Dish 2 - Thai-themed ~ Tod Mun Pla (Thai Fish Cake) and Khao Pad Sapparod (Pineapple Fried Rice)

In the recent years, I've switched to using olive oil and grapeseed oil for most of my cooking, because they are healthier and boast of multiple health benefits. Many people have this misconception that olive oil and grapeseed oil can only be used for western cooking or drizzling on salad; however both oils are good for stir-frying and deep-frying as well!

Really pleased and honoured to be partnering with Borges Singapore and Singapore Home Cooks to demonstrate the use of olive oil and grapeseed oil in our common daily Asian dishes :)

For my first dish, I'm using the Borges Classic Olive Oil to cook this simple but wholesome one-pot meal, Braised Chicken with Bamboo Shoot & Mushroom. I believe most chinese families would have our own rendition of this classic chicken stew at home, as it's like a comfort and homey dish to many of us.


Olive oil is considered as the healthiest fat due to its high content in oleic acid. For the Borges Classic Olive Oil, it is a blend of quality refined olive oil and a high quality of Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Due to its less accentuated flavor and aroma, it is the most suitable oil for frying, braising and for vegetable and meat stews. 

Some useful information about using olive oil in the kitchen (source from Borges Singapore and Singapore Home Cooks):
1. Whether fried, boiled or roasted, any food should be cooked at low heat. The temperature should never exceed 200�C so that the olive oil does not deteriorate.
2. The best temperature to fry green vegetables and fish is between 155 and 160�C. For other foodstuffs, between 175 and 185�C. Never exceed 210�C, as olive oil starts to burn beyond this temperature.
3. If the recommended temperature is respected, olive oil hardly penetrated the food, does not increase its calorific value and maintains its nutritional qualities.
4. Filtering olive oil after frying allows to be re-used 4 times.


Braised Chicken with Bamboo Shoot & Mushroom
(served 4-5)

Ingredients

• 1.2kg chicken meat, chopped into pieces
• 12pcs dried mushroom, soaked in water to re-hydrate
• 200g bamboo shoot, sliced
• 6 stalks spring onion, lower portion only
• 5 slices ginger, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 5 tbsp Classic Olive Oil (Borges)
• 1/2 cup mushroom water (used to soak the mushroom)
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• Corn starch slurry (1 tsp corn starch + 2 tsp water) 
• Garnish: spring onion, chilli, coriander

Marinate

• 3 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp hua tiao cooking wine
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

Steps

1. Marinate the chicken pieces with oyster sauce, soy sauce, hua tiao cooking wine, sesame oil, corn starch and white pepper for 3-4hrs.
2. Heat a cooking pot to medium high heat, add olive oil and saute spring onion, ginger and garlic till fragrant.
3. Add the marinated chicken pieces and stir-fry till slightly browned.
4. Add the mushroom and bamboo shoot, and stir-fry with the chicken for a minute.
5. Add the mushroom water and bring the mixture to boil.
6. Turn heat to low and let the chicken simmer for about 20-25 mins.
7. Add dark soy sauce to the braised chicken for some colour and corn starch slurry to thicken sauce slightly. (add sea salt to taste if desired, I didn't add as I find the sauce flavourful enough from the marinate).
8. Garnish and serve hot with rice.

This pot of wholesome goodness smells so aromatic when I'm cooking it, even my mum who's with me exclaimed that the aroma is tantalising. And indeed, the sauce is heavenly and goes so well with rice! Couldn't resist second helping :d~~~

Do give this simple one-pot dish a try with Borges Classic Olive Oil :)

Want the best from the Mediterranean? We are giving away three sets of Borges Gift Basket worth $60 at http://bit.ly/2INmCz4 

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#BorgesRecipes

I haven't been attempting much new bakes recently, choosing to stick to the same old trusted recipes again and again. I blame it on the weather which is crazily hot and most days I'm simply brain dead from the heat! Also don't have the mood to do any food styling or photography :(

I digress.

But when I saw an IG post by HoneyBeeSweets.sg on a Greek Yogurt Bundt Cake that she baked few days ago, I simply couldn't resist trying it out. Actually it was because I have a tub of Greek Yogurt that's near expiry :p

I have mentioned before that I'm not a fan of butter cakes nor pound cakes as they are more dense and dry in texture. Surprisingly this cake was not as dense or heavy as the usual butter cake and it was quite moist, probably due to the addition of greek yogurt in the batter. The chocolate paste added a contrasting taste to the butter cake which I like.

Was supposed to wait till the next day for the buttery flavour to develop but I couldn't resist taking slice after slice when the cake barely cooled down. Enjoyed more slices with a hot cup of tea for breakfast again. #fatdieme. Baked two loaves and gifted the remaining, as I've already satisfied by my cravings :)

This recipe is certainly a keeper! 


Greek Yogurt Marble Butter Cake
(makes 2 loaves using 7x24cm rectangle cake pan, or 18cmx18cm square cake pan, or 20cm round cake pan)

• 15g cocoa powder
• 30g hot water
• 3 tbsp fresh milk + 1 tsp lemon juice
• 225g Greek yogurt
• 400g cake flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 0.5 tsp baking soda
• 0.5 tsp fine sea salt
• 200g unsalted butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 3 eggs (65g egg with shell)
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Line the cake pan with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 170 degree celsius, top & bottom heat.
2. Mix cocoa powder with hot water, stir till a smooth chocolate paste. Set aside.
3. Add lemon juice to fresh milk, mix and let the mixture curdle, about 5 mins. Then add the mixture into the greek yogurt. Mix well and set aside.
4. Sift cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and fine salt into a mixing bowl. Set aside.
5. Cream butter and caster sugar using paddle attachment of electric mixer on medium high speed, till light and fluffy for about 5 mins.
6. Turn speed of mixer to low, add the eggs, one at a time, switch to medium speed and beat till well-incorporated.
7. Add vanilla extract and mix well.
8. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the yogurt mixture.
9. Scoop about 1/3 cup of batter and mix well with the chocolate paste to form a chocolate batter.
10. Fill the cake pan with main batter till 1/3 height, add dollops of chocolate batter and swirl the chocolate batter into main batter using a toothpick or cake tester. Add more batter till the next 1/3 height, add dollops of chocolate batter and swirl the chocolate batter into main batter. Finally fill the cake pan with the remaining main batter, add the remaining chocolate batter and swirl into the main batter.
11. Bake the marble cake batter for about 50 mins at 170 degree celsius. 
12. Once baked, remove from oven and let the cake cool down completely before unmoulding. 
13. Store the cake in an airtight container, the cake tastes better the next day.

It's been more than three months since my family relocated to Chonburi, Thailand. Although I mentioned that I would resume my blogging once we settle down, the truth is, I've been procrastinating. Yes, I have visited some interesting places, dined at some lovely cafes and restaurants and been cooking a lot, but simply couldn't find the mojo to write. I really have a lot of backlogs. Urgh.

So yes, I'm forcing myself to kickstart with this piece! Initially thought of starting with a Thai recipe since I've been cooking more Thai food, but on the other hand, I've also been cooking SG local dishes due to our cravings :p

Frankly this is my first time cooking a whole set of Nasi Lemak from scratch. In SG it's simply too convenient and relatively easy to find reasonably good Nasi Lemak; plus I'm lazy lah! But now that we are away and it's not readily available anymore, I start to miss it.

My Nasi Lemak set consists of Butterfly Pea Flower Coconut Rice, Tumeric Chicken Wings, Nyonya Achar, Tempe, Sweet Sambal Chilli, Ikan Bilis with Peanuts as well as hardboiled egg. I separated the process into different days so that it's not too rush. Spent a day making the Nyonya Achar, another making the Sweet Sambal Chilli and marinate for chicken wings and finally ready to cook the rice, fry the wings, assemble and eat!



How does my Nasi Lemak set look? Love the addition of butterfly pea flower tea to the coconut rice, it gives the rice a lovely bluish hue and somehow the whole set looks much more sexy, exotic,  appealing :p

Here are the recipes, with reference from several sources, such as Nasi Lemak Lover, Noob Cook, LadyHomeChef (hosted under Miss Tam Chiak).

Butterfly Pea Flower Coconut Rice
(1 cup of rice, serves 2A1C)

• 20 pcs dried butterfly pea flower
• 1/2 cup boiling water

1. Infuse the dried flowers in boiling water till the flowers are fully bloomed, around 30mins.
2. Set aside 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp infused butterfly pea flower water

1. Add coconut milk, sugar and salt to a small pot, bring to boil till sugar is dissolved.
2. Off heat, add lemongrass and pandan leaves to the coconut milk and let them infuse till mixture is cooled down.
3. Stir in the infused butterfly pea flower water.
4. Place rice into rice cooker, add the coconut-butterfly pea flower mixture (together with the lemongrass and pandan leaves) and stir to mix well.
5. Add shallot and galangal, and set the coconut rice to cook.
6. After rice is cooked, let it rest for 10 mins before fluffing the rice.

Tumeric Chicken Wings
(serves 3)

• 6 chicken wings
• 3 pcs shallot
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp shallot oil
• Cooking oil for brushing

1. Pound shallot, garlic and coriander seeds in a mortal into a paste.
2. Add turmeric powder, curry powder, salt and shallot oil and stir till well-mixed.
3. Place chicken wings and marinate paste into a ziplock bag.
4. Seal and rub the marinate till each piece of chicken wing is well-coated.
5. Marinate for at least 4hrs or overnight in fridge.
6. Remove from fridge 30mins before cooking to bring the wings to room temperature.
7. Place the chicken wings in the basket of an air-fryer, brush cooking on both sides of the wings.
8. Air-fry for 15 mins at 180 degree celsius, turning over once after 8-9 mins.
9. Best serve hot. 

Nyonya Achar
(makes 5 jam bottles)

• 2 small cucumbers (about 450g)
• 1 small carrot (about 200g)
• 100g cabbage leaves
• 200g pineapple flesh, cut into small pieces
• 40g skinless peanuts, roasted and pounded
• 2 tbsp sesame seeds, roasted
• 3 tsp sea salt

1. Cut the cucumbers into 3-4cm sections, cut each section into quarters and slice away the seed block. Next cut the cucumber into thin strips. Add 1 tsp of sea salt to the cucumber strips and toss to coat well. Set aside for 1hr. After 1hr, squeeze out the excess water from the cucumber strips, pat dry, spread them out on a flat tray and air-dry for 1hr.
2. Cut the carrot into 3-4cm sections, then cut the carrots into size of matchsticks. Add 1 tsp of sea salt to the carrot sticks and toss to coat well. Set aside for 1hr. After 1hr, squeeze out the excess water from the carrot sticks, pat dry, spread them out on a flat tray and air-dry for 1hr.
3. Cut the cabbage leaves into bite-size pieces. Add 1 tsp of sea salt to the cabbage pieces and toss to coat well. Set aside for 1hr. After 1hr, squeeze out the excess water from the cabbage pieces, pat dry, spread them out on a flat tray and air-dry for 1hr.
4. Place the cucumber strips, carrot sticks, cabbage leaves and pineapple pieces into a large glass bowl and set aside.

Rempah

• 7-8pcs shallots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 pcs candlenut
• 3 pcs dried chili, soak in hot water till soften, remove seeds and cut into small pieces
• 3 pcs big red chilli, remove seeds and cut into small pieces
• 1 stalk lemongrass, lower section only, sliced thinly
• 5 slices galangal
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp shallot oil
• 1 tbsp cooking oil
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water
• 100g brown sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt

1. Place the shallots, garlic, candlenuts, dried chilli, red chilli, lemongrass, galangal and shallot oil into a blender, blend into a smooth paste.
2. Add 1 tbsp of cooking oil in a pan or wok, add the rempah paste and turmeric powder and stir-fry till paste is aromatic.
3. Add the vinegar, water, sugar and salt to the paste and bring to simmer.
4. Remove from heat, let the rempah paste cool slightly and add the rempah paste into the mixing bowl of vegetables. Add the pounded peanut and sesame seeds. Stir to mix everything well.
5. Let the achar cool down completely before bottling. Divide the achar into glass containers (prewash with boiling water) and store in fridge. Let the achar pickle overnight for flavours to develop before consumption. Bottled achar can be stored in fridge for up to 4 weeks, but best eaten within 2 weeks.

Sweet Sambal Chilli
(makes 1 jam bottle)

• 8 pcs shallot
• 5 cloves garlic
• 15 pcs dried chilli, soak in hot water till softened
• 4 pcs big red chilli
• 3 pcs chilli padi
• 1 tsp belachan, toasted
• 1 tsp shallot oil
• 1/4 cup cooking oil 
• 100g Gula Melaka
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

1. Remove seeds from the dried chilli, red chilli and chilli padi and cut them into small pieces. Retain some seeds if wish to have a more spicy sambal.
2. Place the shallot, garlic, chilli, belachan and shallot oil into a blender and blend till a smooth paste.
3. Add cooking oil into a wok, then add the rempah and fry on medium low heat till the sambal is cooked and aromatic (turns from bright orangey red to dark red).
4. Add gula Melaka and sea salt and mix till gula Melaka is melted.
5. Let the sambal cool completely before bottling.

Tempe - store-bought (I lugged back from SG) and freeze. Simply deep-fry or air-fry till golden brown (around 10 mins at 180 degree celsius).
Ikan Bilis and Peanut - store-bought. I air-fry them around 15 to 20 mins at 160 degree celsius, till golden brown.
Hardboil egg - place egg into water (fully covered) and boil for 10-12 mins.

To serve, simply assemble all the ingredients onto a serving plate.


I must say I super love my Nasi Lemak set, it's visually appealing with myriad of colours and tastes totally tantalising! So does my HB and kiddo. (The kiddo only ate the coconut rice, chicken wings and egg))

The coconut rice is fragrant but not too oily or overwhelming. I chose to air-fry the chicken wings as it's more convenient, less oily and cooks more evenly. This chicken wing has a kampung feel to it, like those sold at Malay stalls. Super love the sweet, spicy and tangy achar, so aromatic and flavourful with the spices. Homemade achar seems to taste "fresher". And the sweet sambal chilli, super like it as well, only thing is, I retained a bit of chilli seeds and the sambal is a tad too spicy for me. But the HB says it's just nice.

Very pleased with my first attempt, and this shall be on my regular menu probably once a month =D