Chinny's Kacang Pool

This is one Malay/Mediterranean dish that I didn't like at 1st, until I invented my own recipe. The stalls that sells it uses foul/kidney beans, which I didn't really like the taste. So this is my own version which is very easy to whip up :)

What You Need [Cooks for 3-4]
- 250g of minced beef
- 2 big cans of baked beans
- 2 big onions, diced
- 2 tbsps of grinded garlic
- 2 tbsps of grinded onion
- 1 tsp of grounded coriander powder
- 1 tsp of grounded cumin powder
- A dash of black pepper
- Sugar and salt for seasoning, adjust to your own preference

Method
- Heat up 3 tbsps of vegetable oil
- Sauté the garlic and onion paste, cook till fragrant
- Add in the chopped onion and sauté for 5mins
- Add in the minced beef & cook for about 10 mins
- Sprinkle the grounded spices in and add in the baked beans and add in 30ml hot water
- Use a hand blender to blend the beans for 1min
- Boil the mixture for another 15mins

Condiments/garnish
- Sunny-sideup eggs
- Finely-chopped onions
- Thinly-sliced fresh green chilli
- Spring onions
- Kicap manis
- Sliced baguette
- Small limes, halved

Garnish & serve hot with the condiments :)

One Type of Food, Two Ways of Cooking

Lost post! Don't know what happened to my posts for this year. Here's one of the few of what I've posted recently. 

I've always been a fan of Wantons aka the Chinese dumplings. Just that it needs a little manual work as everything is gonna be handmade. This is my halal version :)

What you need [Cooks for 3-4] 
- 15 to 20 pcs of fresh wanton skin
- 60g of prawn paste (coarsely chopped into paste)
- 20g of fish paste
- 15g of minced/chopped chicken meat (optional)
- A small bunch of spring onions, chopped

Method
- Mix all ingredients together and season paste with oyster sauce, sesame oil and white pepper
- Marinade for at least 1.5 hrs
- Fill the wanton skins using a teaspoon and seal with egg whites
- Fry it in hot vegetable oil or cook in soup

Serve hot :)

Mini Baked Donuts

Seeing many recent facebook posts on mini donuts, I couldn't help but go get the donut trays and baked these lil' baby donuts last night. Quick and easy! They are actually more like 'cakey' taste as compare to the usual donuts. But although I really like the usual J.Co style 'fried' donuts texture soft & fluffy, they are unhealthier. So I tried this healthier option, bake them!

My daughter Falisha loved it :)

What you need

130 gr (1½ cup) all purpose flour

75 gr (1/3 cup + 2 tbsp) sugar

7 gr (1½ tbsp) salted butter, melted

5 gr (1 tsp) baking powder

2 gr (½ tsp) salt

1 egg

70 ml milk

60 ml whipping cream (I used thicken cream)

5 ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease your trays/moulds with melted butter.

In a big bowl, stir together the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Mix in the melted butter, the milk, the whipping cream, the egg, and the vanilla extract and whisk to mix well until there's no lumps. This recipe yields a pretty sticky thicky dough. Feel free to add in more milk or whipping cream if you prefer a slightly wetter dough.

Pipe each donut hole 2/3 full, or even less. Don’t put too much dough into the holes or you will end up with donuts without holes! LOL. It is not necessary to use donut trays but I found them cuter this way. You can use any other types of mould. I did the heart-shape one too :)

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the tops spring back when lightly touched. Bake slightly longer if you prefer your donuts to be more brown. Unmould them and let them cool on a wire rack.

I used chocolate ganache & sprinkles for the decoration. You can exploring with different types of toppings. Have fun!

Swirly Cheesecake Brownie

This is my 1^st time baking a brownie. The recipe yields a very chocolatey and fudgy brownie. It is so rich, a small piece is enough to satisfy you! This is soooo gonna be on my Hari Raya to-bake list!

What you need

For the Brownie

- 120g salted butter

- 90g Hershey’s unsweetened chocolate bar, chopped

- 14 tbsp of sugar

- 2 large eggs

- 1 tsp vanilla essence

- 2/3 cup AP flour

- A pinch of salt (optional)

For the Cheesecake

- 250g cream cheese(whole bar of Philadelphia cheese), at room temperature

- 1/3 cup sugar

- 1 large egg

- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

- 3 tbsp of AP flour

Method

- Preheat oven to 180 degrees for about 15 mins. If you like your Swirly Cheesecake Brownie to be tall like a normal cake use the 8 x 8” tin. If you prefer it to be like flatter chocolate bars use the 9 x 9” size tin. Line the baking tin with baking paper and spray with baking spray. You can opt to brush with melted butter too. Set aside.

- For the Brownie batter:

Melt butter and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium low heat, stirring continuously until everything is completely melted and well-mixed. Remove from the heat and let cool for 5 mins. Whisk in the sugar, eggs and vanilla essence. Add the flour and mix well. Reserve 5-6 tbsp of the brownie batter in a small bowl and pour the rest into the baking paper lined tin and set aside.

- For the Cheesecake batter:

In a small bowl, combine the cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla essence and flour and whisk until the batter is smooth with no lumps. Do use cream cheese at room temperature so that it will be easier to mix the ingredients together.

- Pour the cheesecake batter into the baking tin. Spread across evenly to cover the brownie batter completely. Using a spoon, drop small lumps of the brownie batter on top of the cheesecake batter. Then use a butter knife to swirl the two batters together gently (do no put your knife too deep in case it ‘disturbs’ the brownie batter) until you have a nice marbled effect. You would want a nice two-layered cheesecake brownie J

- Bake for 33-36mins (depends on what tin size you choose) or until the sizes are puffy.

- Once baked, bring it out of the oven let cool completely before cutting. I chilled mine overnight before cutting it.

- Serve chilled or 5-10 mins out from your fridge  J

Chinny's Mee Siam Goreng

I luv noodles. Especially vermicelli. I would always choose noodles over rice! Hehe…this dish is a one-pot meal that I tried to create with my own recipe and style. 

I hope you like it J 

What you need [Cooks for 5-6]

- 2/3 pack of Vermicelli/Bee Hoon (Pre-soak it for 20mins in warm water)

- 1 bunch of chives (cut to 1.5 inches long)

- 1 handful of bean sprouts (add more if you want more ‘crunch’ factor)

- 3 pcs of fish cake (sliced)

- 5-6 tbsp of Fermented beans / Tau Jiu (pounded)

- ½ kg of prawns (peeled & left the tail)

- Tau kwa (optional)

- 2 tbsp Heinz chilli sauce

- 4 tbsp tomato sauce

- 6 tbsp of onion (grinded into paste)

- 1 tbsp of garlic (grinded)

- 2-3 tbsp of grinded dried chilli paste (add more if you want more kick J)

For the seasoning (adjust to your preference according)

- 1.5-2 teasp salt

- 1 teasp sugar

- A sprinkle of kicap manis

For the Garnishing

- Egg omelette using 2 beaten eggs (optional)

- A handful of fried shallots for garnishing

Method

- Heat 3 teaspoons of cooking oil in your wok

- Sauté the grinded onion & garlic mix until fragrant

- Add in the grinded chilli

- While the sambal is cooking, prepare your omelette in a smaller pan

- Add in the pounded fermented beans

- Cook for 15mins or until the oil starts to separate from the chilli

- Add in the prawns & fishcake and stir-fry for 3-5mins

- Cut your bee hoon shorter with a scissors

- Add in the bee hoon and stir-fry for about 10mins

- Add in the bean sprouts and chives and stir-fry for another 5mins

- Lastly, roll up the omelette & cut into strips and garnish with fried shallots

Serve hot & enjoy J

Bubur Chacha a.k.a The Lancing Dessert

This is something that I love since I was young when my mum cooked for us. Now it’s my turn to cook it for my elder daughter Falisha. She’s only 4 years old but simply loves it!

Why the name? I cooked this during that Mummies’ gathering and after chit-chatting with them, the thought of some Aunties can’t pronounce the letter D came to my mind, and because it’s Bubur ‘Chacha’ I thought of them saying ‘go lancing’ instead of ‘dancing’. Hence the nonsensical name came out but I luv it! Muahahaha… 

What you need [Cooks for 4-6]

- 4 pcs of sweet potato (diced)
- 1 box of coconut milk
- 2 big pcs/chunks of gula melaka
- ½ to ¾ teasp salt (adjust to your own taste)
- 1 tbsp of sugar (add this if you want it sweeter)
- ½ packet of sago
- 1 stalk of pandan leaves
- 750ml of water (add more water if you prefer to have more ‘soup’)

Method
- Boil the stalk of tied pandan leaves in a pot for 8mins
- Add in the sweet potatoes and boil for another 8mins
- Add in the sago, ¾ of the coconut milk, gula melaka and salt and boil for 15 mins
- Stir occassionally
- Once the sweet potatoes are often, it is ready to serve!

Serve hot or cold J

No-bake Nutella Cheesecake

During my maternity leave, I had a small gathering at my place with some Mummy friends so I decided to surprise them with this self-created dessert. This is a very simple no-bake dessert that everyone can do J

What you need [ Makes about 6 med-size dessert cups ]

For the biscuit crust
- 12 pcs of McVities biscuits
- ½ bar of butter

For the cream cheese

- 4 tbsp of Nutella (add more if you like the taste to be stronger)
- Icing sugar
- 1 bar of Philadelphia cream cheese (room temp)

For the toppings & deco

- Sliced peaches

- Fresh strawberries (Sliced)

- Mini dessert cups (I got mine from Daiso)

Method

Making the crust

- Mash/process the biscuits till it resembles fine crumbs. For me, I put the biscuits
  into a big ziplock bag and crushed it with something hard, like a pin roller or a mug,

  with a small folded towel underneath it on the kitchen top 

- Melt butter in the microwave and mix well into the crumbs. Make sure all the 

  crumbs are thoroughly coated by the melted butter or else it won't harden when 

  chilled. If the crumbs looks still dry and powdery, melt a little more butter and 

  adjust accordingly

- Fill in the crumbs mixture into the dessert cups to about 1cm height

- Place the cups into the fridge and chill till harden (at least 2 hours)

Making the Nutella cream cheese
- In a big mixing bowl, whip cream cheese and the icing sugar (sieved) till

  thoroughly mixed
- Scoop a small portion of the cream cheese into a dessert cup
- Add in ¾ teasp of Nutella and stir with a small fork to create swirls
- Repeat the same for the rest of the cups & chill for 3-4 hours or till the

  cheese hardens

Preparing the dessert deco
- Slice the fruits into small neat pieces

- Make sure the fruits are almost 'dried' if they are direct from the cans
- Get ready to decorate your cheesecake with the fruit toppings
- Chill for another 30mins

Create your own style of Nutella cheesecake! Nice and freshing dessert :)

Chinny's Chicken Mayo Delight

This mini appetizer is something great for home parties and mini gatherings. Small yet yummy and looks appealing too!

What you need [Cooks for 4-6]

- 1 Baguette from Delifrance (Sliced to 1cm thickness)

- 2 pcs Chicken fillet

- Mayo (Your own preference)

- Cucumber (sliced)

- Tomato (sliced)

- Chicken picnic ham

- A tbsp of butter

For the Seasoning

- Pepper

Method

- Heat a table spoon of butter in the frying pan (I use my trusty HappyCall) and pan grill the chicken for 10 mins or till it turns tender

- Let cool before you chop the chicken fillets into fine dices

- Add in the mayo & pepper and mix well

- Decorate your mini appetisers as desired

Note: I toasted my baguette for that extra crunchiness J

Yummalicious Mee Soto

This is one of my all-time favourites! It's a real easy-peasy dish to prepare. However, the 'troublesome' part is actually making the bagedil (potato balls) that goes GREAT with Mee Soto. So yummy, you can even eat it on its own. You can see bagedil in almost every Nasi Padang stall. Mee Soto will taste alil' weird and incomplete if you dun eat it with them. Heheh...Warning: It can be very addictive, once you pop, you can't stop! 

Sorry I kept forgetting to blog about this :P

Now here it is!

What you need [Cooks for 5-6]

- Yellow noodles
- Bean sprouts
- 1kg Chicken wings/drumsticks
- Mee Soto paste (Mine is from the wet market)
- 3-4 tbsp of tumeric powder
- 6 tbsp of onion (grinded into paste)
- 1 tbsp of garlic (grinded)

For the Garnishing

- A handful of Chinese parsley (Chopped)

- A handful of Spring onion (Chopped)

- Fried shallots

For the Seasoning
- 2 teasp Salt
- 1 teasp Sugar

Method
- Heat some oil in the frying pan and sauté the garlic for 3 mins
- Add in the onion and continue to cook for another 3mins
- Add in the Mee Soto paste, tumeric powder, 3 tbsp of water and stir-fry 
  till fragrant
- Add in water (my paste instruction states 1litre) and bring to a boil
- Add in the chicken and boil for 15mins or till chicken is tender
- Throw in a tbsp of fried shallots to make your soup more fragrant!

[Making The Mee Soto Chilli]

What you need

- 8-10 stalks of red chilli padi

- 2 stalks of normal red chilli

- Kecap manis (use less of this if you prefer to have a thicker chilli paste)

Method

- Pound/blend the chilli to a paste

- Add the chilli paste to the kicap manis and mix well

[Making Bagedil]

What you need [Makes about 15pcs]

- 4-5 potatoes

- 100g of minced beef

- ½ teasp salt & a dash of pepper

- A sprinkle of fried shallots

- 1 egg (whisk to mix the egg white & yolk thoroughly)

Method

- Boil the potatoes in water till soft

- Once cooked, mash them up (I used my pestle and mortar)

- Stir-fry the minced beef in a pan with a tbsp of cooking oil / butter and mix 

  into the mashed potatoes

- Sprinkle the fried shallots, salt & pepper and mix well

- Roll the mashed potato into 1.5 inches-wide potato balls and flatten it slightly

- Dip the bagedil into the egg and fry it in hot oil till golden brown

Blanch the noodles and bean sprouts, add in all the toppings and serve hot!

Stir-fried Hokkien Mee

It's been pretty hard for me to find a good halal Hokkien Mee, so as usual, I decided to try cooking it myself to satisfy that craving. Hehehe...

What you need [Cooks for 4]

- 500g Yellow noodles

- 500g Thick bee hoon

- A handful of bean sprouts

- A bunch of Chives (cut to 2-inches long)

- 3 rolls of Fishcake (sliced)

- 1/2 kg prawns
- Sambal chilli
- 5 lime (cut into halves)
- 2 tbsp Garlic (grinded)

For the Seasoning

- Chicken stock (can be soup form or the concentrate) or

  Prawn stock (from boiling the prawn shells)

- Salt

- Sugar

Method

- Heat some oil in the frying pan and sauté the garlic for 3 mins

- Add in the stock and bring to boil

- Add in prawns, followed by fishcake and stir-fry for 3mins

- Add in the following in this sequence – Thick bee hoon, yellow noodles, 
  bean sprouts and mix thoroughly and simmer for 5 mins

- Lastly add in the chives, cook for 2mins and serve hot with sambal chilli and lime

How to cook the sambal paste

You will need
- 9-10 tbsp onion (grinded into paste)
- 2 tbsp Garlic (grinded into paste)
- 4 tbsp dry chilli paste (grinded into paste)
- Salt & sugar

Method

- Heat some oil in the frying pan and sauté the garlic for 3 mins

- Add in the onion and cook for another 5 mins

- Add in the chilli paste, stir-fry for 5 mins and add salt & sugar for taste and

   continue to stir-fry till the paste darkens slightly and becomes drier and the oil

   is slightly separated from the oil