prologue.

Melisa suggested (out of the blue) that she wanted to bake something. and Swee, needs to try making the Monkey cake (coming soon) for her customer.. so.. we decided to get together again for a Kitchen War 2. this time, no cookies or smoothies, we made 2 types of pastry and 1 chocolate sponge cake.. and a omelette...

swee then went over to mel's house n pick her up to the bakery supplier. it was actually quite a spontaneous trip. we didnt know what to bake at first, but thru our discussion in the car, we decided to try out something with puff pastry. Mel has not made it before, neither swee.. one of the ingredients to make puff pastry is the pastry margarine. yes, we've not heard of it before. surprisingly, we found it in the bakery supplier (they're suppose to have it anyway...) then we went over to Giant to get some granny smith apples and eggs ... cause's we're making Apple Strudel and Portuguese Egg Tarts.. YES !! YUMMMYYY ...

Recipes tomorrow.

while making the mango cream tart on new year's day..there was extra mango puree that should not go to waste as always. so, we (me, deb  and may) put a couple of things together into the blender..and came up with a fine tasting juice which also happpens to be rather beneficial..or at least we think so..

what is it??

ingredients..
..mango puree
..crushed ice
..some milk and orange juice (amount based on preference)
method..
1. blend mango puree and crushed ice in blender till smooth.
2. add in desired amount of milk and orange juice into mixture and blend till well combined.
3. tada..ready to be serve.

looks like a commercial pic..but it aint..

up till today..we've yet to give a name to our juice..haha..so any suggestion..

just alil background info on how we ended up blending all this elements together..lets just say theres 2 peeps among us who were having constipation..but this drink is really effective..just shortly after consumption..we were running to the loo already..

NOTE: we did not have "cirit birit"..just a pleasant trip to the loo..finally..

if u r facing the same situation..i guess theres not much harm in trying this..haha

it was yet another pretty spontaneous baking session..on the 1st morning in 2006..we are so "semangat"

the 3 of us..me..may and deb..gathered at my kitchen with still sleepy eyes..to try out another pastry recipe called Mango Cream Tart..

we were having more fun poking jokes at each other rather than paying full concentration in creating a beautiful tart..so as expected..some messy situations are lining up ahead of us..

Ingredients..
1 portion of Sweet Pastry B

Filling..
..A
150g milk
100g mango puree
..B
2 egg yolks
40g sugar
1 tbsp cornflour
..C
1 tbsp gelatine
2 tbsp water
..D
100g whip topping cream, whipped
..E
100g mango diced

Method..
1. roll out the pastry btw 2 sheets of plastic wrap to 3mm thickness. line the pie mould with rolled pastry. prick the pastry with fork and leave it to chill for 20mins.
2. line the pastry shell with foil or greaseproof paper and fil it up to the rim with baking beans, bake at 190C for 15mins. remove the foil and beans, then bake for another 10mins. leave it to cool.
3. cook A intil it boils. then add in B and mix well until well blended. continue to cook at low fire until it thickens.
4. premix C and put it over the double boiler until melted. add it into the above mixture and mix until well blended.
5. cool the mixture over ice water until cold and it starts to thicken on the side. add in D and mix until well combined. add in E and mix until well incorporated.
6. pour the mixture on the baked tart pastry. put it in the fridge until set and firm. decorate with diced mango.

the pastry

we decided to use the big pie mould..so that we'll have lesser work and it would be done faster..hehe..good thing the pastry turned out fine and tasty..

the mango cream tart should look like this..

at the end of the session..we forgot to take a pic of our end product..but it doesnt look at all like the pic..haha..so at least im leaving a good impression for you to look at..

our mishaps..
..i couldnt find gelatine...so i bought agar-agar powder instead...so maybe the texture was abit off because of this..
..we didn't realize that we had to whip the whip cream earlier..so there was delay in getting the filling done..
..there were several other avoidable delays which we commit..maybe we are just having to much fun with each other..haha..so the overall process took longer than expected..
..mangoes i bought turned out to be sour..

turns out...the filling of our mango cream pie was not up to expectation..but when left in the fridge overnight..the taste improve alil..maybe i should try this recipe again..just to see if it would be any better..haha..

in the midst of the whole kitchen havoc..we managed to create a new drink and also did another recipe with the remaining pastry..details in another post soon..hehe..

my first seafood makan in klang!!!

haha..ain't that sad..i've stayed in klang for more than 20 years now..but i've not tasted my town's famous seafood at restaurants in klang or port klang..well at least i made it now..at the end of 2005..hehehe

it started off a very cold and rainy night...but when the lights at PORT VILLAGE are seen..we know that our mission is here...and its not a mission impossible..

the troops..

me..deb..and may..

sze n bf..

without wasting much time..the orders are made..hail sinful seafoods..haha

first up..super crunchy and succulent fried sotongs...yum..

may's ever fave.."nai you he ko"..butter mantis shrimp..
alil kurang ommp tho..

fried bihun with lala..

what do you call "o jian" in english..looks like omellete..hehe

i love the chilli sauce...dip evrything in it..

looking fierce..marmite crabs..but sadly hunger is fiercer than u..haha..

aiks..where's the "kam hiong" crab...all down the digestive system..

the crabs tasted superb..some prefer the marmite 1s..and some of us love the "kam hiong" ones..and one person got too carried away with the exquisite sweet n spicy sauce of the "kam hiong" crabs..i'll leave her anonymous for you to guess..this girl was so "gila" over the sauce that she drinks it like its SOUP..things seafood can do to your mind..haha..no offence ya..but the taste was just great..

some had finger licking good times with the crab too...who needs KFC..hehe

then..there was that lil argument about the term used to refer the crab's "penyepit"..deb says its "sniper or snipper"..may said something else..and we still do not have a conclusion..

overall the food gets a thumb up...

as for the service..hmm..the food arrive at the table speedily..but the BILL is what you've to be aware of..seems that they have a practice to overcharged their customers or rather cheat them to pay extra a couple of bucks for PEANUTS AND NAPKINS which weren't at all on your tables..

we had a taste of it yesterday..haha..but of course knowing that it would happen..we blew their cover..CAUGHT yA!!

neh.neh.neh.neh.neh....

im not sure but i think the price was pretty reasonable..bout 20+ per person..it was all in the name of food n fun..

yay!!

i made sausage cheese flans again!!!haha..this time in tart moulds..just didn't want to waste the extra dough and ingredients...i added more cheese and sausages this time..yum yum..beautiful tempting aroma..i think it tasted better...haha..improvement la.

great things come in small packages..or so i hope..

if you cant find it..then just bake it..haha..

im trying to improve more..and make it my signature dish...hmm..wonder if its possible..

p/s: tis entry was suppose to be up few days back..hehe..

(long entry ahead)

Sushi is the most famous Japanese dish outside of Japan, and one of the most popular dishes among the Japanese themselves who usually enjoy sushi on special occasions.

During the Edo period, "sushi" refered to pickled fish conserved in vinegar. Nowadays sushi can be defined as a dish containing rice which has been prepared with sushi vinegar. There are many different types of sushi. Some popular ones are:

Nigiri
Small rice balls with fish, etc. on top. There are countless varieties of nigirizushi, some of the most common ones being tuna, shrimp, eel, squid, octopus and fried egg.

Gunkan
Small cups made of sushi rice and dried seaweed filled with seafood, etc. There are countless varieties of gunkanzushi, some of the most common ones being sea urchin and various kinds of fish eggs.

Norimaki
Sushi rice and seafood, etc. rolled in dried seaweed sheets. There are countless varieties of sushi rolls differing in ingredients and thickness. Sushi rolls prepared "inside out" are very popular outside of Japan, but rarely found in Japan.

Temaki
Temakizushi (literally: hand rolls) are cones made of nori seaweed and filled with sushi rice, seafood and vegetables.

Inari
Inarizushi is a simple and inexpensive type of sushi, in which sushi rice is filled into aburaage (deep fried tofu) bags.

from japan-guide.com

So, i made Norimaki type and for the fillings, there're tamago(egg), crabstick mayo, tuna, avocado, sausages, carrots and cucumber.

Making Tamago
this time around, the sifu's here to make, i'm the amateur.. haha.. so i just snapped the pics of the tamago..
Recipe : (this can make about 2 big pieces of tamago)
6 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3 tbps sugar
1 tbsp salt

whisk everything together. Heat a flat pan. if u have a square pan, it's wonderful, if not, u'll have to make do with the cacatness of the pan. anyway, pour in some oil, then pour in the egg mixture (like as if u're making... crepe)

fry it thin, n make sure it's .. cooked

fold it over (like pohpiah / springroll) 3-4 times.. using 2 metal spatulas would be easier i guess. u see, if u use a square pan, the side of the eggs would not be wasted. when it's round and folded, the side is thinner than in the middle.. em. get what i mean ?

this is the 1st layer..

ok i didnt take the following pics.. u'rs suppose to pour in egg mixture in the pan (like the first step), but keep the folded eggs.. then when u fold like in pic 2.. u fold with the folded egg earlier.. after that, u just repeat it again and again until u have a thick folded egg... that looks like.. this

this one's abit wet.. no.. oily.. hehe

tamago, tuna and mashed crabstick with mayo

cucumber and carrots and sausages.. all in strips

special ingredient : avocado. it's not frequent.. actually we dont really eat avocado at home.. so.. this is the additional stuffs that we added in...

How to roll Norimaki

u need sushi rice, seaweed, sesame seeds, mayo and other stuffs that u wanna put in.. and also the sushi mat..u can't possibly roll it without the sushi mat

ok.. cook the rice according to the instruction behind the sushi rice pack.. or, u can use normal rice and cook it the normal way. then add in japanese vinegar. u can get them in most supermarkets.. the one in jusco has a starter pack that includes : vinegar, sushi mat, 10 seaweeds, and japanese soy cause and wasabi. u cant get those if u've got nothing at home..i mean as in, if this is your first time making sushi.

make sure u cool your rice before making sushi, or else it would stick on your hands and it will make the seaweed soggy..

ok spread some rice on the seaweed.. leave about 1 - 1/2 inch at the top. Tip : spread some mayo on your fingers before spreading the rice, this will prevent the sushi rice from sticking on your hands..

after the sushi rice is spreaded, add in some toasted sesame seeds on the rice.. as much as u want, as little as u want.

now u're free to add whatever u want..

add more lah...

ok, but dont be so greedy and add so much k, it'd be hard to roll later.. then move the seaweed up to the tip of the sushi mat.. and leave about 5mm of it outside of the mat..

ok.. then roll it like u're rolling poh piah..use your finger tips and push the seaweed (that's left outside earlier) in... i know, typing it seems to be easier than making it.. hehe

then roll it... em... well i dont know how to say this. but.. it should turn out like this..(below)

yeah.. it must look like this.. hahaha..

then.. cut into half, then half of the half.. and half of the half of the half... HAHAHA.. ok.. u should get about 8 pieces..

yup... 8 pieces... oh yeah, make sure your knife is sharp, or else it's hard to cut it ...

assorted norimaki sushi.. haha..

well i think making sushi is fun to try (oh this is my.. 5th time making it.. hahah i think).. and.. u can put whatever u like in it.. this time we just made it simple, if my mum's at home, she would fry some chicken meat and put in.. oh yeah! we did have some left over luncheon meat from lunch, so we added in as well...

it's really up to your imagination and creativity

have fun!

oh n Happy New Year to you and your family and friends! enjoy lots..

long time no see Mr. Oven.. i've came to visit u again.

oh well, i just wanted to bake something after coming back from a discussion in college.. because it wasnt such a happy discussion.. so... just had the urge to make somthing..

recipe :

Ingredients
125g unsalted butter
3/4 cup water
100g dark chocolate, chopped coarsely
20g cadbury chocolate
1 cup caster sugar
1 egg, beaten lightly
3/4 cup self-raising flour
1/2 cup plain flour
2 tbsp cocoa powder

about 2 bananas, halved
whipping cream for deco, whipped
scraped chocolate for deco

Preheat oven to slow (150 C). Grease a 7" cake pan.

Stir butter, water, chocolate and sugar in medium saucepan over heat until smooth. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Whisk in egg with sifted flours and cocoa.
Pour mixture into pan, bake in slow oven about 45 minutes. Stand cakes for 5 minutes; turn, top-side up, onto wire rack to cool.

Using serrated knidfe, split cooled cakes in half. Place bottom layers on wire rack over tray. Spread whipping cream, add in halved bananas; cover with cake top. Spread whipping cream over the cake and smoothen it.

Add scrapped chocolate at the sides and top. and eat !!

ok.. mm.. cake was nice.. but there wasnt enough bananas in between. the texture of the cake seems pretty densed. do u know how can i make it more ... fluffy ? as in .. not so densed ? i was thinking maybe its because of the way i mix the chocolate mixture and the flour.. mm ... well.. what do u think ??

yeemei made her version of chocolate banana cake as well some time ago. but hers, the banana was sliced.. and buried in the cake (ho ho ho, buried.. what a word)...