Love Fried Rice For Valentine's Day

According to Wiki,  Qixi Festival (Chinese: 七夕), also known as the Qiqiao Festival (Chinese: 乞巧節), is a Chinese festival that celebrates the annual meeting of the cowherd and weaver girl in Chinese mythology and this festival is the chinese Valentine's Day.  Although the chinese does not celebrate Valentine's Day like the West does by giving flowers and gifts, they demonstrate their love by cooking their favorite foods...............

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Chung/Rice Dumpling Special

his year the chung/rice dumpling festival falls on June 12th and this recipe has to be shared before it is too late.  I am noted to be late as the chinese saying goes 'Kor How Chui Peng'.  If this recipe is not shared now, we will be chasing the solders after the war(Rice Dumpling Festival).  So, as i promised to continue with the Square Ball Soup recipe  i guess i would have to put that on hold until the next posting.....

Continue to read and for recipe click HERE

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Loh See Fun From Scratch

This has been my quest, to make loh see fun from scratch.  Many hours have been spent trying to get the right texture - one that is chewy, slippery and firm to the tooth without using any chemicals...............

Continue to read and how to make this ..............

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Nasi Lemak With Apricot Sambal Ikan Bilis

The weather is much cooler nowadays especially in the mornings, I don't have to go out for my walks at 6.00 am , could do it at 7.30 am and still feel comfortable.  Then you know that summer is over and autumn is upon us soon.  This summer has been a busy and fruitful...............

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How to tie 'chung'chang'zong zi'

 Before  we can start our attempt to make  'chung/chang/zong zi', we must learn how to tie it tightly.  There are many ways to do it,  as long as the chung/chang/zong zi' is tied properly and does not get unwrapped while boiling, then you have achieved success in tying.  Whatever shape you desire is preference and i prefer the triangle shape and i would like to show you how to tie with a strand of string.  What?  Isn't it is tied with a strand of string  as usual!!!!


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Breakfast Chee Cheong Fun

I love this type and style of chee cheong fun for breakfast and have been trying to get the texture right but have not been able to get it right until now. Now, my quest is over, i can have this type of chee cheong fun for breakfast with no fuss no muss............

Continue to read and for how to make this chee cheong fun, click HERE

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East Meets West- Zucchini with Pork and Rice Stuffing

This is a guest post from Reese Darragh of The New Art Of Baking. A Malaysian living in the United States,  Thank you Reese for coming to my rescue for not posting as often as i used to, you know, it's the summer and so much to do. 

The recipe and how to are HERE Read More......

So Happy Together

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received Tyson Grilled And Ready Chicken and Uncle Ben’s(R) Whole Grain White Rice and they arrived so timely TOGETHER which made me SO HAPPY cos i had to feed 2 hungry grandkids who looked like they were going to be knocked out if food was not ready in a JIFFY.  These 2 products helped me to keep up with my repertoire of cooking IN A JIFFY.  Looking at the whole grain white rice, i know my picky grandkids will not eat it, but ????  they love Hainanese Chicken Rice, so i cooked this rice the Hainanese way  - thank you 'Paydey Ben' (Paydey is Uncle in Hainanese, i hope i got it right). Tyson Grilled and Ready saved the day too.  When the rice was ready, the Tyson Chicken slices were already ready as stated.  The grandkids were ready to eat and everyone, Rice, Chicken and grandkids were all SO HAPPY TOGETHER.

HERE is the recipe. Read More......

Chicken In A Jiffy For Hainanese Chicken Rice

In a Jiffy - i am branded with this statement so i must keep my up with my repertoire of cooking in a jiffy, i would like to share my way of cooking 'Chicken in a Jiffy For Hainanese Chicken Rice'. 

For step by step on how to microwave chicken and hainanese chicken rice, the recipe is HERE Read More......

Hakka Pestle Tea Rice/Ham Cha Farn/Looi Cha Farn

This dish is from the Chinese migratory Hakka dialect group and is several hundred years old. The Hakkas, especially this sub-group called Ho Poh , have a unique tradition regarding this dish as medicinal, a detox meal which is also reputed to boost metabolism and servet his supersalad, with 7 types of vegetables, on the seventh day of Chinese New Year just like the cantonese tradition of serving Yee Sang which most chinese are accustomed to.

Ham Cha Farn(salty tea), Looi Cha Farn(ground tea) or Thunder Rice, has a lot of variations. The tea used ,be it green or black signifies and determine the flavour and taste of the dish. It is sometimes kept simple by grinding the tea, add salt to taste and hot boiling water, to make a broth. However others may add roasted peanuts, sesame seeds or both together with the tea leaves and herbs like mint, basil, perilla and saw coriander, in the grinding process to make into an almost medicinal tea broth. This alters the flavour of the dish significantly. The taste however, is not for everyone. Some find it enervating and refreshing, others do not like the bitter or strong herbal notes.

The essential ingredients are Farn(Cooked Rice), which can be puffed rice (mee chang) or rice grains fried with garlic and a little oil, prior to cooking and three of the seven ingredients which will determine a good Ham Cha Farn/Looi Cha Farn are dried shrimps, choy poh(preserved radish) and firm tofu. These three are to be sauted and seasoned with sugar and white pepper..

To complement the tea and rice, a wide variety of carefully selected vegetables (including blanched long beans, cabbage, carrots, four-angled beans, chye sim, celery, are used. It should be noted that meat and fish is seldom added to this diah as the the main idea is to eat lots of vegetables, making this dish cheap, hearty , nutritious and a fibre-rich.

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Home Brewing - Glutinous Rice Wine

I have to confess that i have shyed away from brewing glutinous rice wine at home for the longest ever, all because of all the superstitions pertaining to brewing wine at home.  I finally buck up courage together with inspiration from my friend, Claire and tried making 2 batches, one plain and one with red rice yeast.  Claire came to help and all we had to do was to blend the yeast and start assembling the rice for brewing.  I had prepped the rice earlier by cooking it in the rice cooker, so that it will be cooled enough for assembling when Claire arrived.  I was so excited that i forgot to take pictures of the assembling.  I did not take pictures perhaps i was skeptical that the wine will be a success as i know that i will break all rules and superstitions - I did not have a mouthful of sugar when i started making, i talked alot and made it in broad daylight,  i did not leave the pot under the bed with a rusty knife on top, i let the 2 pots(crockpots) sitting on the dinning table, perhaps if you make the wine in a glass bottle, it will be better to put it away from the light.  According to one of the myths - one should leave the pot alone without peeking, i, of course, have been opening the lids of both the pots and checking for green stuff growing and have been tasting the wine as days go by.  Despite of being so rebelious, the wine turned out so sweet and not too alcohlic.  The one with the red rice yeast tasted better than the plain one and had more wine, perhaps the extra yeast present in the red rice gave the extra kick and for the extra wine, i think i had sprinkled in an extra cup of water. The whole process was worth it and now my younger friends can have Rice Wine Chicken during their confinement, just inform me and i will brew some.

Ingredients:

8 cups/2.2 lbs/1 kg long grain white glutinous rice
1 pc wine yeast (bigger kind brought from Malaysia)
1 pc wine yeast (small kind available in any asian stores here in the States)
1 cup red rice yeast (also available in the asian stores here)
2 cups filtered water for sprinkling.

Method:

Wash the glutinous rice, drain, and place in rice cooker with enough water to cover the surface(it is just like cooking regular jasmine rice). Put to cook, and when rice is cooked, remove from the rice cooker, then spread it onto foil covered baking sheets and leave to cool completely.(make sure new foil is used to cover the baking sheets)  Rice must be completely cold before use.

Using a clean coffee grinder, grind the wine yeast and red rice yeast into powder.

To assemble:

Sprinkle a little wine yeast mixture on to a crockpot and then layer with rice(wet hands with the filtered water and flatten a handful and use it for layering). 

Sprinkle with more rice yeast all over the rice and then sprinkle with the filtered water.

Repeat the layering - rice, rice yeast and water until all the rice is done.

Lastly pour the remainder of the filtered water.

Cover crockpot with a clean cloth and then the lid.

Leave it to ferment for 7 days, then open lid and give mixture a good stir with a clean wooden spoon.

Cover crockpot with the clean cloth and lid and leave to brew for another 14 days(the total brewing time is 21 days - if you prefer a stronger alcoholic wine leave for another 7 days).

Wine can be harvested on the 21st or 30th day.

Prepare a sieve or a colander and line it with a clean cloth.  Put it over a pot to catch the wine.

Put the brewed wine mixture onto the cloth and let the wine dripped.(patience in letting the wine drip slowly will result in very clear wine).

When all the wine has dripped and the residue is quite dry, remove the residue and store it in a jar or air tight container for many more other recipes.

Bring the wine to a quick boil (my wine started to boil at 180f and of course it is cos i am one mile above sea-level)

Let the wine cool before bottling.

Wine is now to be enjoyed in any way you wish.

Serves

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Futomaki - Thick Sushi Roll

Futomaki are thick sushi rolls which includes various fillings. They are also known as fat rolls. My friend Sam who is a Sushi Chef told me that it is easy to make Sushi.  All i needed was some goodwill and a good guide, meaning that he will show me how.  Looking at his nimble fingers working with the rice, trying not to blink in case i missed some valuable tips, but i must have blinked, cos the roll was ready right before me,  like magic, my mouth was opened wide with astonishment.   I insisted that he would have to roll on slow motion and this time, he went extra slow, so i had more ideas of how a good sushi roll was done.  Then it was my turn,  i was so excited that i forgot all the tips and made a huge mess.  Our hungry friends could not wait for lunch, so Sam had to continue making lunch for us and i promised him that i will go home and try to remember his teaching and not make a mess.  You think that i will remember?  I did keep my promise , i made some and a mess too.

Sushi Rice:
Ingredients: 

2 cups sushi or short grain rice
2 cups water, plus extra for rinsing rice
2 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp kosher salt or 2 tsp regular table salt

Method:

Place the rice into a mixing bowl and cover with cool water. Swirl the rice in the water, pour off and repeat 2 to 3 times or until the water is clear.  Pour enough water to cover rice and let it soak for 30 minutes.

Place the rice and 2 cups of water into the rice cooker and cook rice until done.

Combine the rice vinegar, sugar and salt in a small bowl and heat in the microwave on high for 30 to 45 seconds.

Transfer the rice into a large wooden or glass mixing bowl and add the vinegar mixture. Fold thoroughly to combine and coat each grain of rice with the mixture. Allow to cool to room temperature before using to make sushi

California Roll

Ingredients:

Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted, and sliced into 1/4-inch thick pieces
4 sheets nori
1/2 batch sushi rice, recipe as above
1 small cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into matchstick-size pieces
4 crabsticks, torn into pieces

Pickled ginger, for serving
Wasabi, for serving
Soy sauce, for serving










Method:

Squeeze the lemon juice over the avocado to prevent browning.

Cover a bamboo rolling mat with plastic wrap.

Lay 1 sheet of nori, shiny side down, on the plastic covered mat.

Wet your fingers with water and spread about 1 cup of the rice evenly onto the nori.

Place 1/8 of the cucumber, avocado and crab sticks in the center of the sheet.

Grab the edge of the mat closest to you, keeping the fillings in place with your fingers, and roll it into a tight cylinder, using the mat to shape the cylinder. Pull away the mat and set aside. Cover with a damp cloth.

Repeat until all of the rice has been used. Cut each roll into 6 pieces.

Serve with pickled ginger, wasabi and soy sauce.

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