Make Dark Chocolate Brownie Cookies

This homemade cookie is recommended for diabetics, as found in diabeticliving.com. I safely reduced the amount of sugar from the original recipe by about 30 percent; also because I decided to add some chocolate chips for that extra chocolatey taste. The result? Yes. Delicious.

I'll get you straight to the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 cup plain flour

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 cup butter

100g white caster sugar

60g packed brown sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup sour milk (to make your own sour milk: 3/4 tsp lemon juice/vinegar + 1/4 milk. Let stand for 5 minutes)

1 tsp vanilla extract

50g chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Melt butter in saucepan. Remove from heat and add in white caster sugar and brwon suger. Mix well.

2. Pour in vanilla extract and continue mixing.

3. Next, gradually add cocoa powder and mix until incorporated.

4. Pour sour milk into the mixture.

5. Meanwhile, mix flour and baking soda together and then fold them into the chocolate mixture. Add chocolate chips.

6. Refrigerate dough for about one hour.

7. Spoon dough and bake on a baking sheet at 165 - 170 C for about 8 minutes.

My cookies turn out to be very dark, as in the color and the taste, but it wasn't bad at all. It has a very rich dark chocolate taste. Maybe next time I will reduce the amount of cocoa powder.

Enjoy

Make Cream Cheese Brownie Fudge

So my one and only photo up there doesn't depict the intensity of the brownie's external texture in a profound way. Again, pardon me, because I'm still working on my photography skills.
I whipped up this recipe from Food & Travel magazine September 2009 after weeks of drooling over cheese recipes. The pic in the magazine looked extremely inviting and it was easy to make too! This brownie has two layers, with the chocolate fudge as the bottom layer, and cream cheese as the top layer.

Here is how you can make cream cheese brownie fudge.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Brownie
190g unsweetened chocolate
50g unsalted butter
2 eggs
3 tablespoons caster sugar
100g plain flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Layer
250g cream cheese
90g butter
3 tablespoons caster sugar
3 eggs
3 1/2 tablespoon flour
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:
1. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler for about ten minutes until melted. Stir gently with wooden spoon. Remove from heat and let cool.
2. In another bowl, beat eggs until thick, add sugar gradually and continue beating. Then, add in vanilla extract.
3. Pour cooled metletd chocolate into the egg mixture and mix well.
4. Next, fold in sifted flour until well incorporated.
5. Spread chocolate mixture onto bas of a square cake pan, lined with baking sheets.
6. Then, pour in cream cheese filling as top layer.
7. Bake for 25-30 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 180 C.

Directions for Cream Cheese Layer:
1. In a medium bowl, beat butter, and vanilla extract with cream cheese together until creamy.
2. Add sugar gradually until fluffy.
3. Add in eggs, one at a time until it is well incorporated.
4. Fold in flour and mix until well blended.

Here I have reduced the amount of sugar in the brownie and cream cheese layer since I used melted, sweetened chocolate chips in addition (as a substitute) to my baking chocolate. Also, I don't really fancy intensely sweetened brownie. So you can add extra sugar if you intend to. The original amount of sugar for the brownie is 1/3 cup sugar and 1/4 cup sugar for the cream cheese layer.
Since the recipe calls for 3 eggs in the cream cheese filling, I honestly think that 3 is too many. 1 should be sufficient because in the end, the cheese taste a little bit eggy. Perhaps I need to add more cream cheese as well. Much to the contrary, the dense, fudgy brownie was perfect, you'll even forget how cheese tastes like!

Whatever it is, this still is a confection that promises to delight both cheesecake and brownie lovers :)

How to Make Chocolate Almond Biscotti

The name biscotti was derived from the Italian word 'bis' meaning twice and 'cotto' meaning baked or cooked. Biscotti is said to have originated during Columbus' time. The Italians use the term 'biscotti' to describe any particular type of cookie. But in North America, biscotti is referred to as a long, dry, hard, twice-baked cookie with a cuved top and flat bottom designed for dunking into wine or coffee.

I am particularly all for this recipe because it is butter-free. This recipe uses eggs to bind the ingredients together. Also, you want to avoid the cake-like texture.

Many biscottis call for a nuts, raisins, and chocolate chips. I guess that gives it an extra something to nibble on while drinking milk or coffee.

Here, I have a simple version of biscotti recipe from one of my favorite website, Joyofbaking.com. You can check here for more varieties and other form of baking recipes.

It is really easy to make. Here are the ingredients:

110g blanched almonds, roasted, and chopped

130g granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

225g plain flour

110g chocolate chips, chopped

Directions:

1. Beat eggs and sugar until thick and fluffy. Add vanilla extract.

2. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients i.e. flour, baking powder and salt.

3. Add the dry ingredients into the egg mixture and beat until combined.
4. Fold in chocolate chips and toasted almonds.

5. Pour dough into a baking sheet in a log-sized baking pan and bake in a preheated oven at 180 C for 25 minutes.

6. Then, remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Cut the log diagonally and transfer into a baking sheet on a baking pan.

7.Reduce heat to 165 C and bake for 10 minutes, turn the side over, and bake for another 10 minutes.

8. Remove biscotti from oven and store in an airtight container.

The first round of baking leaves a fudgy texture whereas the second round of baking will remove the moist and form some sort of a hard cookie.

Enjoy!

How To Make Coconut Macaroons

I made no-bake chocolate macaroons a few days ago (I will put up the recipes soon!) and I loved the springy texture of the flaked coconuts. So I went on to bake Coconut Macaroons earlier today. I have never tried coconut macaroons before; well honestly speaking, the coconut flavor were too distinct for my taste and a bit coarse. The entire portion of the macaroon is only made out purely of flaked coconuts. It tasted okay straight from the oven, but after a while, the crispiness was gone which resembles a soft cookie with pure coconut.

Macaroons are sweet pastries made with either coconut and egg white or with a coarse almond paste fromed into a dense confection. There are many varieties of macaroons depending on where they are originated, but macaroons usually consist of egg white, almond paste, sweet condensed milk and flaked coconut.

Coconut macaroons are most famous in North America, most commonly in the United States, although invented in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a conventional macaroon with a distinct coconut flavor and containing shredded dried coconut.

So here, I have made this version of coconut macaroons. Simple, plain, and easy recipe :)

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups dessicated coconut, unsweetened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 egg whites

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Whip egg whites until stiff. Then add in sugar and vanilla extract.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together, dried coconut, flour, and salt.

3. Mix well the egg whites with the dry ingredients.

5. Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto parchment paper.

6. Bake in preheated oven at 165 C for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.

Coconut macaroons are typically dipped in milk chocolate. In some varieties, almonds and pecans are added. In Australia, a blob of raspberry jam is often concealed in the center of the macaroon prior to cooking.

Make Hong Kong Style Egg Tarts

There is not story that I can whip up from this next post. But my dad inspired me to make our very own home-made egg tarts. Daddy has strong, sensitive taste buds. That makes him very picky about food. A few weeks ago, daddy wasn't well so he asked mummy to get him some egg tarts but refused to eat those anyway because they were too sweet. So he got mummy to buy another couple of egg tarts from another bakery.

So I figured, wouldn't it be pretty much healthier if you can control the ingredients i.e. salt and sugar content in your own favorite pastries? Yes. I think so too.

So here are my home-made egg tarts which are just as good as those from the bakery.

Ingredients:

A. For Pastry

1 egg, beaten

220g unsalted butter, softened

300g plain flour

3 tablespoons sugar

a pinch of salt

B. Filling

3 eggs

4 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon custard powder

70 ml fresh milk

230 ml water

Directions:

1. To make the pastry, mix together butter and sugar until creamy. Then, add in eggs and salt. Mix until incorporated.

2. Pour flour and mix well until dough is formed.

3. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, prepare the filling by beating eggs together with sugar and custard powder.

5. Pour milk gradually while mixing the filling.

6. Finally pour water while alternatively stirring the egg tart filling.

7. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and tear off and roll just about less than an inch of ball dough, place in the center of the tart tin and with your thumbs, lightly press the dough starting from the bottom and up to the sides.

8. Then, pour filling into the center of the dough.

9. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 20 - 25 minutes.

This is a Hong Kong/Cantonese Egg Tart recipe, pretty simple, no? Makes about 20 egg tarts and best eaten straight from the oven; hot and fresh! 20 egg tarts gone in two days!

Make Chinese Dumplings and Potstickers

My boyfriend and I used to head down to this Chinese Restaurant at Desa Palma next to INTI Nilai during our college days. And all he ordered were chinese jiaozi dumplings. Since then they became one of my all-time favorite.

I really miss those dumpling days. So I tried to relive the 'memory' by attempting to make the dumplings myself - from scratch.

It isn't so tough at all, just the part when you have to make the dough can be quite messy. But if you have patience and ample time, then by all means!

Normally, minced pork is used to make the filling, but in my case, since my family doesn't quite fancey pork, I used minced chicken instead.

Ingredients:

Dough:

3 cups plain flour

1 1/2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

Filling:

1 large bowl ground/minced chicken (or beef/pork)

1 cup finely shredded Napa cabbage

1 clove finely minced garlic

2 slices ginger, finely minced

1/2 green onion finely minced

3 tablespoon sesame oil

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 tablespoon sweet vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

pepper to taste

A. Here is how you make the dumpling dough.

1. Mix flour, salt and water together. On a flat wooden surface, sprinkle with some flour and start to knead dough.


2. When a smooth dough is formed, knead the dough into a round ball.

3. Divide the dough and roll each piece into a flat circle about 3 inches in diameter.

4. Insert a desirable amount of filling, enough to be covered by the dough. Fold the ends and press the dough together.

5. Pinch the edges until it is pleated.

B. For the filling, simply mix the ingredients, stirring at one direction.

You can either fry, boil or steam the dumplings. In this case, I fried the dumplings by firstly adding oil on a flat, heated pan. Once the bottom of the dumplings are golden bround and crisp, add a halfcup of water until it bubbles. After boiled add another round of water.

Serve!

For more illustrations and other variations, click here.

Make Lemon Squares

If you have lemons, make lemonade! But if you have a lot of lemons, make lemon squares!

"___________" Okay. Lame.

I was trying to figure out what to do with the tons of lemons in the refrigerator. Lemonade sounded tempting, but I wanted a bit more far-fetched. So I googled "Lemon Recipes" and found out that there were such things as lemon bars/squares. The soury taste of lemon didn't seem to incorporate with such pastry or so I thought. So this wasn't so appealing, but given that the recipe was uber easy, I gave it a shot.

What you need:

Crust:

3/4 cup plain flour

1/4 cup confectioner's sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened

Filling:

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons plain flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2 egss

5 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 175 C.

2. To make the crust, mix flour, confectioner's sugar and butter until the mixture becmes a breadcrumb consistency. Use fork or your own hands.

3. Pour crust over a greased baking pan. Refrigerate for about ten minutes, then bake for about 15 minutes at 175 C.

4. Meanwhile, for the filling, mix together sugar, flour, and baking powder until the dry ingredients are incorporated.

5. In another mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs. Then pour eggs into the dry ingredients. Add in lemon juice and lemon zest.

6. After the crust is baked, pour the filling on the crust, and bake again for about 20 minutes at 175 C.

7. Dust with confectioner's sugar after baked (optional).

Mine came out very burnt at the end. Perhaps, the temperature could be reduced between 170 C and 160 C. Do check on it occasionally.

The result? Okay I was wrong. Very wrong. The Lemon squares tasted great despite the burn. The tangy, soury taste were to die for. Seriously. I am definitely making this one again!

Make Apple Crumble

The past few days was a torture to my emotional state. And today, when I received the news, I was even more down. The only way to not think about it is to channel my emotions to my passion.

This time, I made apple crumble, sliced apples sprinkled with cinammon and sugar, piled together, and coverd with sweet crumble topping.

I remembered having this at Tony Romas, served hot, topped with cool vanilly ice-cream and caramel. It tasted good, except for the fact that the apples were way too sweet.

So here I am, with the simplest and most basic recipe on how to make apple crumble. One where you can try out yourself.

Ingredients:

8 cooking apples (Granny apples or Fuji apples)

250g caster sugar

1 teaspoon cinammon

120g soft butter, unsalted

350g plain white flour

All you have to do:

1. Peel the apples, core, and slice apples into a half-moon-like shape. Add 3/4 of sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinammon. Mix well. Then, stew apples in a covered pot for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

2. When apples are soft, remove from pot, and place cooked apples in a baking serving dish. Remember, we want the apples to be soft, but not too soft as we don't want a puree). Leave to cool.

3. Next, make the crumble topping by mixing together the butter, flour, and remainig sugar in a mixing bowl. Best to mix with fork (or in this case I prefer using my own hands) until a breadcrumb consistency is achieved.

4. Finally, top the apples with the crumble. Bake at 160 C for 40 minutes. (Remember to preheat oven first).

5. Enjoy hot straight from the oven or chilled.

Apple crumble is a dessert that is best enjoyed with vanilla ice cream, cream, or custard.

Enjoy!

Lotus Seeds & Gingko Nuts Soup

Another hot day in KK and I can't stand the heat. Keep getting flu in the mornings. I wanted to try out something other than yee mai fu chok or lo han guo. I went to Giant to buy some lotus seeds and to this chinese herbal shop in Damai to get some gingko nuts. These two are quite costly though but worth the buy. Gingko nuts are excellent for blood circulation and to ease lung congestion. In Chinese medicine, Lotus seeds are believed to "clear heat" (清熱) and are particularly nutritious and restorative to one's health.

the gingko nuts I bought weren't so fresh ! :S

The gingko nuts I bought weren't shelled yet as I could not find those packed ones. If you bought gingko nuts as such, shell them first with a nutcracker, then peel of their brown colored skin. Cut the nut into half and then remove an embryo-like structure in the middle. In Chinese it is called 'xin'. It is quite bitter and toxic. But for this soup I did not remove the 'xin'.

It is easy to make this soup. The ingredients are:

7 red dates

1 cup dried longans

1 cup lotus seeds

1 cup gingko nuts

rock sugar

about 15 bowls of water

All you have to do is pour them altogether (after soaking for about a minute or so) and bring to boil. Add rock sugar during the final ten minutes or so. Boil for about 45 minutes.

I like it best when it is chilled overnight. Sort of the refreshing and cooling feeling when I drink it the next day :) - I guess now it is called a drink not a soup anymore!

Bittersweet Chocolate Brownie with Crushed Almonds

Today, I decided to make chocolate brownie simply because the result is just too yummy. I have always craved for sweet and nutty pastries. Well, that explains so don't be surprised if my posts are mostly made of sugar and nuts. :)

Brownie or chocolate brownie is hails from the US of A, a semi-flat square or made with chocolate and baked in a sheet pan, something like a dense chocolate cake. A brownie can be fudgy or cake-like depending on the ingredients you put in.

So away with the intro, and because you and I just love sweet, nutty chocolates, I shall go ahead with the baking directions.

How To Make Bittersweet Chocolate Brownie (with almonds)

First of, the ingredients are:

250g caster sugar

180g bittersweet chocolate

180g soft butter

110g plain flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 eggs

1/2 cup crushed almonds (or walnuts)

some butter for greasing

gorgeous chocolate mixture ready for bake.

Directions:

1. Heat chocolate and butter in a double boiler for about 10 minutes until melt. Use a wooden spoon and stir gently. Then, remove chocolate mixture. Let cool.

2. Meanwhile, put the eggs in a big bowl followed by caster sugar and vanilla extract. Whisk.

3. Pour cooled chocolate mixture into the bowl with eggs, sugar and vanilla. Fold in.

4. Finally add remaining ingredients of flour and almonds (or walnuts). Use a method called cutting and folding to mix it.

5. Pour mixture in a tin (greased and covered with baking sheet) and bake for 25-30 minutes at 160 C.

6. After brownie is baked, remove from oven immediately and let cool.

7. Cut into square pieces and top with icing sugar.

As you can see, there is no use of baking powder or baking soda because you want this dense, chewy and moist texture which is how brownies should be. That makes a brownie different from a cake. The lack of leavening and minimal amount of flour results in a fudge-like bar.

Also, for brownies, it is best to remove them from the oven as early as possible basically when a toothpick test still shows a few moist crumbs, again because we are looking for a dense, fudgy brownie; as opposed to cakes and muffins, the toothpick inserted must come out clean first as an indication that it is ready to be taken out of the oven.

my pictures didn't turn out good. I'll try taking better ones for my next post! with better lighting!

This is my first time making brownies but it turned out great! Except that it was a little TOO sweet for my taste. Next time I will have to reduce the amount of caster sugar! :)

Okay, so how to enjoy a brownie?

Sprinkle icing sugar, top with caramel and ice cream (if you have an extraordinary sweet tooth), glaze with nuts; or simply have it plain with a glass of milk or coffee. You will be in heaven in no time!

Ice-Blended Mango Smoothie

Time for some tropical fruits in the kitchen! The other day I had bananas, and then longan; today I felt like taking some adorable mangoes. I bought Thai some mangoes at Damai and turned them into smoothies at home.

Smoothies are always easy to make. It's all about mixing the right ingredients for the perfect taste.

What you need:

1 cup sliced mangoes, frozen

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons plain yogurt

3/4 cup cold water

All you have to do is:

Put them all in a blender and blend away!

Yummy yummy! I love mangoes!

Have a nice weekend!

Jelly in Longan Syrup

My school canteen used to sell a cup of jelly longan for RM1.50 each. I loved it a lot and whenever I have extra allowance, I'd buy it for sure (if there is any left). It tastes good especially during hot days.

I started making jelly when I was six or seven, trying to help out my poh-poh in the kitchen so when I stumbled upon Cooking Crave for her soft jelly in longan syrup, I immediately wanted to try making one :)

Instead of using jelly powder, I used jelly strips instead, following my poh-poh's recipe.

Ingredients:

20g jelly strips

1500 ml water

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup evaporated milk

1/2 can longan in syrup

Here is how you do it:

1. Bring water to boil and insert jelly strips. Stir constantly until dissolved.

2. Add in sugar and ideal milk. Keep stirring for another 5 mins.

3. Pour jelly into desired mould, cups, bowls, etc. and leave until cool.

4. Add longan and syrup according to your taste.

My jelly came out a bit hard, probably because I added about 1 1/2 cup of evaporated milk. So better reduce it to 3/4cup.

Enjoy! :)

Traditional Tiramisu Cake

My Traditional Tiramisu (with Philadelphia Cream Cheese)

Mention Tiramisu and it will remind me of an amiable dear friend of mine who kindly brought and shared a whole tupperware of Tiramisu cake made by her chef-brother during one lunch hour. It was heaven to the taste and I couldn't forget the taste of the refreshing dessert! That day made one of my college days memorable.

Lately however, my interest piqued again when I suddenly craved for Tiramisu. Buying one is quite costly in my area. So I took the liberty to make one, and honestly, it is the easiest cake I'd ever made;no baking needed.

I did not follow according to the original recipe but instead, I made a few ammendments during the making of this cake and turned it into my own version. The signature of the Tiramisu include the Savoiardi biscuits (lady fingers) dipped in strong, black coffee, Mascarpone cheese, eggs, and cocoa.

Several sources (from Vin Vineto) claim that Tiramisu was invented at Le Beccherie restaurant by the god-daughter and apprentice of confectioner Robert Linguanotto, Francesca Valori, whose maiden name was Tiramisu. Other sources reported that the creation of the cake was originated in the city of Siena in honor of Cosimo III on the occasion of his visit to the city.

Well, either way, this still is a cake to try to put your hands on. Frankly, I went a long way in making a Mascarpone cheese substitute as I discovered that the price of the cheese was over my budget!

So, instead of using Mascarpone cheese, I used cream cheese, with a home-made whip cream and yogurt. Still, my cake turned out gorgeous to the taste.

Here are the ingredients you will need:

Savoiardi biscuits (lady fingers)

A large bowl of strong black coffee with sugar

Cocoa powder

250g Philadelphia cream cheese

1 tablespoon plain yogurt

For Self-made whip cream:

1/2 cup icing sugar/confectioner's sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup milk powder

1/3 cup butter, melted

* you can purchase a whip cream at your local store instead of making one.

Directions:

A. For Mascarpone cheese substitute:

1. Mix cream cheese with an electric mixer or a whip until soft.

2. For self-made whip cream, combine melted butter and milk powder. Beat until a heavy

cream is formed. Add in vanilla extract and icing sugar. Mix well.

3. Pour whip cream into the cream cheese little by little and mix well. Next, add in the plain

yogurt and mix again.

B. Cake

1. Soak Savoiardi biscuits with black coffee and arrange first layer of cake on a desired dish.

2. Layer the soaked biscuites with the cream cheese mix and repeat for the next layer.

3. Finally, top the last layer with cream cheese mix (in this case, there are only 2 layers).

4. Dust cocoa powder on top of cream cheese mix.

5. Refrigerate for about 4 hours or overnight.

To make this recipe simple, all you need are Savoiardi biscuits, cream cheese + whip cream+ yogurt/sour cream for Mascarpone cheese substitute, black coffee,and cocoa powder.

There are many versions of making this cake and they vary greatly. Today, many Tiramisu cake recipes include liquor or brandy. Some with walnuts and pecans.

Recipes using Mascarpone cheese require egg whites and egg yolks, beaten till fluffy. You can find more versions of Tiramisu recipes here.

that's my half-eaten cake!

Liquor or no liquor, eggs or no eggs,the most important is the cheese is rich and perfect to taste; the Savoiardi biscuits soaked in strong espresso or coffee. Then you shall enjoy your Tiramisu (literally meaning "pick me up") and get pulled into the sinful taste of the cake!

Chocolate Banana Smoothie

All hot and sunny days call for the opposite. Cool and chilling, in this case delicious to fill my tummy! Today, I decided to make full use of my brand new blender to make my Chocolate Banana Smoothie.
Ah, simple and extremely easy to make.

All you need are:

2 Bananas
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
a pinch of cinammon
ice cubes

All you have to do is:

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend till smooth!

It turned out so yummy that it wasn't satisfying enough so I finished all the bananas at home just to make more for myself and my younger brothers. =)

Can you see the bubbles? Take a look again...

There you go!

Yummy-ness in yummy-land. :)

Lo Han Guo Soup

The pandemic H1N1 outbreak is a scare to everyone including my family. Day and night, we practice our best hygiene an eat healthily. But that alone is not making me at ease. Perhaps if I practice an additional alernative, I would feel better. Least I have done what I can to promote a better and healthy lifestyle. The influenza affetcs the function of lungs and respiratory system, attacking mainly of those who suffers from asthma, pneumonia, diabetes, and obesity. Not to mention those with very low immunity system.

So, I have turned to chinese medicinal herbs to help ease my jittery and help boost the immunity system. One of the chinese soups that I believe might help is Luo Han Guo Herbal Soup. This soup helps relieve cough and invigorate the function of lungs.

I went to the local supermarket and found this ready packed packet of the soup.

The packet included the above. There are two herbs that I could not identify. (If you can, do let me know!)

• Luo Han Guo has cooling properties and are widely used as sweetener in many soups and drinks. It is good to relieve cough. It also has antioxidant properties that helps prevent cancer. For more info click here.
• Solomon's seal or yu zhu is believed to be excellent to alleviate a host of ills including throats and lung ailments. It is also used in the lowering of blood sugar levels and prevention of hardening of arteries.
• Lotus seeds are said to alleviate heatiness. They also benefit the heart, spleen, and kidneys. However, lotus seeds should not be consumed by people who are constipated.
• Red Dates isknown as the "living vitamin pill' by the Chinese. Scientists found that cyclic adenosin monophosophate found in the red dates can slow down the growth of cancer cells.
• Gou ji zhi are high in antioxidants and contain 6 essential vitamins, beta-carotene, potassium, calcium, and zinc. It is also known to be beneficial to the liver.

There are two ways of preparing the above.

1. Boil ingredients with 10 rice bowls of water and add in rock sugar. Bring to boil for about 1 hour. (Serve warm or chilled)
2. Boil ingredients with 10 rice bowls of water and add in 300g of ribs chicken. Bring to boil for about 1-2 hours or until chicken is cooked. (Serve hot)

Note: This soup is not pescribed by any chinese medicinal practitioner. If you need more information, do consult at your nearest chinese herbs practitioner. Also, do not simply consume chinese herbs without doing some research on the herbs or without consultation as some herbs might yield side effects.

Red Dates and Dried Longans Drink

The weather outside had been outrageous lately. Sometimes it rains, sometimes, it's scorching hot, and most of the time, it's hazy. I needed something that is cooling but that improves blood circulation as well. Moreover, healthy.

So, I made myself the following drink:

Red Dates and Dried Longans Drink

What you need:

8 red dates (coreless)

1 cup dried longans

Rock Sugar

10 cups water

Directions:

1. Rinse dried longans with warm water.

2. Boil dried longans and red dates for about 30 mintues. Add rock sugar and boil for anoter 5

minutes

3. Serve hot or chilled. (I prefer them chilled)

This is such a soothing drink! It's especially suitable for one of those hot, humid days.

Hinava Sadaa Tongii

How to Make Hinava (Raw Spanish Mackerel Fish Salad)

mine turned out a bit mashed up. but still tastes good.

Two nights ago, my memory flied way back where I almost always attend numerous Kadazan-Dusun weddings, Kaamatan dinner, or just any of those social nights and events. During their buffet dinner, there is only one thing that I was looking forward to: Hinava.
Anything sour, spicy, and chilled, count me in! I made a promise that I would eventually learn how to make Hinava.
That is why today, I have finally fulfilled my wish. And I never knew making it is a piece of cake!
Before that, a little bit on the background of this dish: Hinava tongii or pickled Spanish mackerel (ikan tenggiri) is among the most popular Kadazan-Dusun cuisine and probably the most widely served in many hotels and festivities as salad or appetizer. Hinava is made up of fresh, raw, spanish mackerel fish with grated ginger, lots of lime, bittergourd, chillies, and bambangan seed. What makes this dish enticingly tasty is its strong, and zesty taste of lime. (In other words, 'very kick'). (Find more about Sabah's Traditional Cuisine here)
If you are a native Sabahan, you shouldn't miss out making this yourself at home!

First, you will need:

1 lb spanish fish mackerel (ikan tenggiri)
Bittergourd
Ginger (grated/sliced)
Red chillies (Big and bird's eye chillies, finely sliced)
Red onions (ringed)
Big onion (thinly sliced)
10 limes (or more) - for lime juice
1 lemon - for lemon juice
Salt


And this is how you do it:

1. Skin and debone fish, and cut into cubes.

2. Drench fish in lime juice and salt. This is one of the methods to 'cook' the fish. Marinate and keep in refrigerator for about 10 minutes.

3. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Add more salt and lime juice to add up to your liking.

4. Chill and serve!

Thismethod is pretty easy, not too extravagant. I didn't include bambangan seeds because I had no time to buy them. But if you do, by all means, add the latter!
Should you feel more adventurous, try adding in diced tomataoes, and shallots and tuhau.
You can also opt for vinegar and salt to 'wash' and 'cook' the fish.
Try mixing them with your hands rather than spoon or other utensils or you might end up squashing them. You wouldn't want mashed hinava.

The following websites give you more ideas and different ingredients to make hinava, whoch of course, omits the same result, if not better!

• A Daily Obsession
• Kuali.com All Malaysia Recipes

If you like raw, sour, and spicy fish, You are in the roll!

Chicken Salad with Cheddar Cheese

Great Chicken Salad with Cheddar Cheese

My mum is great at making salads. And she's getting beter day by day! Just that most of hers are well..greens. I decided to take a turn to add a little bit something into her ordinary salad.

You and I agree that cooking is not only about the preparation, or the ingredients, or the nutritional value. Presentation is equally important. How you are able to make your platter taste delectable at the same time appetizing to the eyes is an exciting challenge! It is all about being creative and artistic.

So for amatuers like me, the best way to pique my creativity is of course, starting with the very basic. Salads. The following is one of the easiest salad recipes that everyone would love.

What you will need:

Purchased roasted chicken (half, shredded)
Raw cabbage / lettuce
1 clove big onion (sliced)
1 cup red onions (sliced, ringed)
1 red pepper (diced)
1 green pepper (diced)
Cucumber (diced)
Cheddar cheese (grated)
Parsely flakes
Ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoon olive oil
Half cup cocktails nuts and kidney beans (optional)

Directions:

1. Prepare ingredients as above in a large bowl.

2. Add in olive oil, salt, ground black pepper and grated cheddar cheese. Mix well.

3. Serve

What makes this chicken salad yummy is the cheddar cheese. Smells nice and tastes awesome. You can try to substitute the cheddar cheese with feta cheese or blue cheese.
You can also be a little creative to make use of this salad as a bread or totilla filling.

I would suggest you to part the salad into two bowls before adding in (2) and then finally mixing them altogether for so to ensure consistent distribution.

Enjoy!

Barley Soup with Beancurd Skin

Barley and Beancurd Skin Soup (Yee Mai Fu Chok)

I remember during one of my college nights two years ago, my boyfriend and I would go to this popular Chinese shop together with a bunch of friends for dinner cum supper. Not many Chinses restaurants serve dim sum and sweet soups. This restaurant, however probably have the best pan mien, wantan mee, tom yam and curry chicken in the whole of...Nilai. Just some light reminicse that inspired me to try making this drink. My boyfriend likes it. So I decided to give it a try.


Barley is a wonderfully versatile cereal grain with a rich nutlike flavor and an appealing, chewy, pasta-like consistency. It is cooling, refreshing, and has many health benefits. Find out more here.

Beancurd skin or tofu skin is made from soy beans which are known for their high protein, fiber, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals content. Soy beans are good for men with high cholestrol, protects menopausal women against cardiovascular disease, and of course they are also good for improving complexion.

This is an extremely simple recipe. What you will need:

1 bowl of barley seeds
A desirable amount of beancurd skins, sliced (or beancurd sticks, fu chok)
2 eggs
Rock Sugar
15 bowls of water




Directions:

1. Soak beancurd skins in warm water for about 10 minutes

2. Bring water to boil in a round pot. Then, pour in barley seeds into boiling water and boil for 45 minutes in a low-medium heat.

3. Add in beancurd skin into pot and bring to boil for another 15 miuntes.

4. Add rock sugar, stir well.

5. After rock sugar has completely dissolved, turn off heat. Beat two eggs and stream into the soup before serving.

Quick and easy! You can consume hot or cold.
Keep the soup in the refrigerator if left overnight (tastes better the next day anyway!).
It is strongly recommended that you add in extra rock sugar but less water. The barley and beancurd skin will absorb the sweetness in the soup. And your soup will taste to perfection even with when ice cubes are added.
You can add extra water to your liking before drinking.
You can also include gingko nuts into your soup.

This is a great sweet soup and I reckon kids would like it! My younger brothers said they were delicious!

Easy Lasagna

Easy Lasagna for Beginners




You will need:

about 150g minced meat
lasagna noodles
1/2 cup tomato ketchup
240g tomato paste
diced red onins
minced garlic
minced big onions
minced red tomatoes
mozarella cheese
cheddar cheese
120 ml water
olive oil
parsely (fresh or shredded)
salt
ground black pepper
sugar

Directions:

1. Soak lasagna noodles in warm water for about 15-20 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat cooking pot with olive oil. Then add in garlic, onions, tomatoes and minced meat on medium heat. Mix well.


3. Once minced meat turns brown, add in tomato paste, tomato ketchup and 120ml water. Mix well. Simmer at low heat. You don't want the meat to be over-cooked.


4. Add shredded parsely, ground black pepper, 1 tea spoon of sugar, and about 1 1/2 teaspoon sugar (up to your preference).



5. Wait to simmer.


6. Laddle lasagna sauce into an oven-safe lasagna bowl (or lasagna pan - preferably stainless lasagna pan. Aluminiun in Aluminium pans will react with the acidic tomato sauce, leaching the aluminium and ruining the taste of your lasagna sauce). to cover the base. Spread lasagna noodles on top, cover with mozarella cheese, and grated cheddar cheese. Next, apply second layer of noodles, laddle amount of lasagna sauce and again repeat fr the second layer.





7. Finally, cover lasagna with remaining lasagna sauce, mozarella cheese, and grated cheddar cheese. Sprinkle parsely. Tent with aluminium foil (do not touch noodles or sauce) an bakefor 190 C for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, remove aluminium foil and bake again for another 25 minutes with same temperature.


8. Serve after cool for 15 minutes.