Red Curry/Sambal Banana Cake

Although these summer months bring us juicy sweet fruits and enjoyable arrays of berries, the banana is still hanging gloriously. on my kitchen counter. The bananas are always the loser at the race to the finish line of comsumption, therefore, giving me a chance to give these losers their dignity back by making into something delicious.  Looking at the title of the cake, you must have thought that i have 'gone banana', an expression that the effects of bananas on the brain. To top matter worse, adding in red curry/sambal to the banana cake.!!!! - crazy yes but a very delicious cake is borned.

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1/3 cup buttermilk/yogurt/sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup mashed banana(about 2 - 3 riped bananas)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tbsp red curry paste/sambal paste(Follow this Garam Assam Paste)
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt





Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line the base of 2 loaf pans ( 3 inch by 7 inch) and grease well.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk/yogurt/sour cream,. oil, mashed banana , red curry/sambal and sugar.

Add the dry ingredients. Stir mixture for a count of 10. Do not overmix.

Pour into prepared loaf pans and bake in preheated oven for 35 - 40 minutes. Check for doneness.

Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes before turning out into rack to cool.

Read More......

Mac And Cheese From Scratch

Today is the first day of Kindergarten for Alexander.  I can't imagine that he is going to be five at the end of this month.  I can remember my first day of school which is a long long time ago.  It was a very scary event for me  to be amongst strangers and to make matters worst, the nuns in The Convent wore black long outfits and in my tiny eyes, they were huge shadows towering over me.  My grandmother was the one who managed to bribe the nuns so that i can get admitted - The Convent admission priorty was for the catholics and the rich.  I can't blame them cos they needed donations to run the school and being a catholic school, therefore meant for catholics.  My grandmother had her ways of getting things done - i was to bring with me to school on my first day, a wicker basket which was my school bag and that was the fashion for girls at that era.  I did not have books yet but i did have somethings in my basket.  I had a Chinese Almanac and in between the pages, there was a sprig of chinese celery(kan choy), a stalk of green onions(choong) and a mirror.  Only later in my life did i find out what was the significance of all these contents.  The chinese celery which is 'kan choy' was to prepare me to be 'kan lek'/studious, the green onion which is 'choong'  will make me 'choong meng'/inteligent and the mirror, haping that i will have clarity to solve problems and questions answered.  Last but not least, the Chinese Almanac - it  is called 'Thoong Seng', it should give me the ability to understand anything put forth to me.  I did not put all these in Alexander's bag but  blessings and hopes were in my heart as i bid him 'goodbye'. 

While waiting for him to come home from school, i made him his and Renee's favorite - Mac and Cheese.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup flour

1 cup milk

1/2 lb. (8 oz.) VELVEETA Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

2 cups elbow macaroni, cooked, drained

Method:

MELT 3 Tbsp. butter in medium saucepan on medium heat.

Whisk in flour; cook 2 min., stirring constantly.

Gradually stir in milk; cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly.

Add VELVEETA; cook 3 min. or until melted, stirring frequently. Stir in macaroni.

Serve and enjoy. 

Read More......

Barbecue Pork Ribs

This weekend, sit back, and savor America's freedoms with the simplicity of time-honored traditions and have a Barbecue. A July 4th Barbecue is not the same without ribs and this recipe is simple producing tender and juicy ribs without the long hours on the grill.  Although prep is tedious, it is worth the effort.  This recipe is adapted from  Bobby Chinn - Wild, Wild East.  The recipe calls for steaming the ribs and i used the pressure cooker which cut the steaming time by half. I did not brine as the ribs were fatty enough and the meat would not dry out besides like the saying goes - the nearer the bone, the sweeter the meat and don't need any brining.. 

Ingredients:

2 1/4 lb baby back pork ribs or St Louis Cut Pork Ribs

Dry Rub:

1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp ground paprika
1 1/2 tbsp garlic salt
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp ground dried sage
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1 tbsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Vinegar-based Barbecue Sauce:

1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 cup apple juice
5 tbsp tomato ketchup
5 tbsp molasses
2 - 3 tbsp crushed red pepper(to taste and optional)
Freshly ground black pepper

For the smoking:

Raw Rice
Sugar
Black Tea

Method:

To make the dry rub, combine all the ingredients well.  Store in an air-tight container for use as required.

To make the sauce, combine the ingredients in a saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes. While the sauce is cooking, throw in about half the dry rub.  It is pretty much up to you how much you use.

Clean the ribs and trim off excess fat.  Cut each rack in half. 

Put in about an inch of water in the pressure cooker and place a steamer rack on it.  Place the ribs on top of rack and close lid of pressure cooker.  Pressurized for 15 - 20 minutes until ribs are cooked through and tender.  I cook them until tender enough to pull the bone from the meat freely. 

Rub the surface of the ribs with the remaining dry rub - ready for smoking.

To smoke the ribs:

Line the wok with aluminium foil to prevent ingredients sticking and burning against the wok's surface
Arrange the smoking ingredients on the bottom of the wok.
Place a circular wire rack on top of the smoking ingredients
Place the tender ribs on top of the wire rack
Place the wok lid on top of the wok and seal with damp towels.
Heat the wok. As the wok commences to heat,  the rice, sugar and tea will begin to burn, filling the wok with flavoured smoke. The ribs will bake and at the same time become flavoured by the smoke.
Smoke for 20 minutes.

To grill:

Heat the grill and cook smoked ribs for about 4 minutes on each side.


To Serve

Place the cooked ribs on a cutting board, sprinkle about a tablespoon of dry rub over them and chop through every 2 ribs.

Drizzle some sauce on top of the ribs and serve.

Enjoy and have a Good July 4th Weekend!!!!!!

Read More......