From Thulsy Subramaniam's Kitchen : Fried Kangkong with Belacan

Left: Thulsy's , Right: Mine

Always wanted to learn how to make this. Did not know it was so easy. 

Ingredients:

1. A little oil to fry
2. 2 handfuls of kangkong (cut)
3. 1/2 teaspoon of Belacan (less if yours is a strong kind)
4. 2 small cili padi (chopped)
5. 1 pip of garlic (chopped)

Method:

1. Heat some oil in a pan and stir fry the belacan, garlic and cili padi till the garlic is rather brown and the belacan melts.

2. Add in the kangkong and stir fry. When the kangkong  wilts, it's done !


Optional Ingredient: I think I might add some dried shrimp the next time I make this :)

From Dodo's Kitchen : Mee Hoon Kueh

Dodo’s Mee Hoon Kueh

Okay, so yesterday I made this dish again.  I simplified it. It still tastes good! Had a friend try it even and she vouched for it.

STEP (Prepare according to number)	Ingredients	Method	Notes
1)      The Dough	1) 100 grams plain/wheat flour. 2)2 tablespoons of beaten egg. 3) ¾  or 1 teaspoon of salt 4)About ½ cup water 5) 1-2 dashes of olive oil	1)      Sieve flour and salt. 2)      Add in egg. Give it a light stir with hand. 3)      Slowly add water till flour is smooth and not sticky. Let the dough sit for a while. Make the condiments now.	If you find the texture sticky. My trick is to pat some flour on the surface of the dough and punch it down. It’s easier to see how much flour you need this way and you don’t overdo it. Best to go with your gut!
2)      The condiments	1)      ½ cup minced chicken 2)      4 black mushrooms (shiitake) 3)      2 small red onions 4)      Anchovies 5)      Some green chili to decorate and give a kick!	1)      Marinade 1 and 2 with oyster sauce and salt separately. 2)      Divide one large frying pan into 4 parts. Fry ingredients 1-4 at the same time but don’t mix them as you fry.  Saves time.	For the ingredients 3 & 4, you can put it in first if you want it brownish and crispy. Then add the others that need shorter cooking time. You don’t have to deep fry.
3)      The soup	1)      4 garlic pips (chop it fine) 2)      ½ cup of dried shrimp and anchovies . More shrimp, less anchovies. 3)      3-4 cups of water. 4)      Oyster sauce 5)      Some vegetables (sawi bunga, pak choy, tung choy etc..) 6) White pepper	1)      Fry the garlic till it browns and sticks to the pot a little. Then add the shrimp and anchovies   2)      Add 3 cups of water first and let it boil. 3)      Add 2 tablespoons or more of oyster sauce. 4) Dashes of white pepper	After adding water, put on high heat. After it begins to boil, bring the heat down and add in the dough by pinching,stretching, and tearing it into small pieces. Keep doing this while the soup simmers. Stir a little and let the dough cook. Once cooked, add in the vegetables. Taste the soup. If it needs more water, oyster sauce or salt…do it justice as you see fit!

From Khaw Ee Leng's Kitchen : Grandma's Mee Hoon Kueh

Top: Mine, Bottom: Mrs. Khaw's

Step	Ingredients	Method	Dodo’s Modification / Notes
The Soup	1.     150g ikan bilis (we use pangkor type) 2.     100g dried shrimp 3.     8 medium dried mushrooms 4.     1 head of garlic 5.     2 small red onions 6.     Enough oil (we use peanut) to lightly cover the base of a medium – large pot 7.     1 bunch of sawi (sawi bunga preferably) 8.     2 tablespoons of salted vegetable (sayur masin/ tung choy)	1. Soak mushrooms for at least a couple of hours to allow them to draw in the moisture. 2. After soaking, remove and keep stalks. Cut the mushroom heads to chunky sizes to your preference (4 – 8 pieces each mushroom). 3. Rinse ikan bilis and dried shrimp, then drain. Set aside as much ikan bilis as you would like to fry as condiment, the rest will be used for the soup. 4. Peel and finely chop garlic and onions. 5. Heat oil in the pot on medium flame then add garlic and onions. 6. Once onions start to sweat, add mushrooms (stalks and head), ikan bilis and dried shrimp. 7. Stir occasionally over a few minutes until the oil has dried up and ingredients start to ‘stick’ to the bottom of the pot. 8. Add enough water to fill up the pot then set flame to high until soup boils. 9. Once soup has boiled, turn the flame down to a simmer. 10. Prepare the dough while the soup is simmering.	I divided all the ingredients into 4 parts. Only cooking for 1. I replaced the sawi with Pak Choy. I did not have Tung Choy so left it out. But Mrs. Khaw swears it’s the key ingredient so try not to omit. I used Canola oil.
The Dough	1.     400g plain flour 2.     1 whole egg 3.     Salt to taste 4.     A dash of olive oil 5.     ± 2 glasses of water (depends on the texture you prefer)	1. Put the plain flour, egg, salt and olive oil into a large mixing bowl. 2. Add about 1 cup of water and mix the ingredients by hand. 3. Using your hands, combine the ingredients by folding and kneading. 4. Add water in small amounts and knead into the mixture. 5. Stop adding water once the dough has reached a smooth, bread dough type texture. 6. Stretch-pinch the dough into thickness and size to your preference and add to the soup.	If you find the texture sticky. My trick is to pat some flour on the surface of the dough and punch it down. Dust one hand with some flour, then  hold the chunk of dough. Dust flour on other hand’s fingers to make the pinch, stretch and tear easier. Make sure you put  at least  ¾  teaspoon of salt for about 100grams of dough. If you find the technique of pinching, stretching and tearing the flour difficult, (Actually it’s easy, don’t think too much!) you can roll out the dough into thin layers and then begin tearing and flinging it into the boiling pot.
The Condiments	1.     6 shallots 2.     8 small mushrooms 3.     Enough oil (we use peanut) to cover the base of a medium-sized frying pan 4.     Oyster sauce to taste	1. You may want to delay the below process if the dough that you have pinched is thicker, to allow it to almost cook through first. 2. Once you have finished pinching all the dough and added to the soup, rinse the salted vegetables and wash and cut the sawi to desired lengths. 3. Add the salted vegetables and sawi to the soup and return the flame to medium. 4. Stop cooking once the sawi has wilted and stalks start turning soft. 5. Add white pepper to taste.	I don’t like crispy fried shallots. So I lightly fried them with the mushrooms and oyster sauce. I fried some minced chicken after marinating it with Lea & Perrins Wos-the-whatever the spelling is-sauce. Makes it taste nicer. Added some slices of green chili instead of cili padi.

Step

Ingredients

Method

Dodo’s Modification / Notes

 The Soup

1.     150g ikan bilis (we use pangkor type)

2.     100g dried shrimp

3.     8 medium dried mushrooms

4.     1 head of garlic

5.     2 small red onions

6.     Enough oil (we use peanut) to lightly cover the base of a medium – large pot

7.     1 bunch of sawi (sawi bunga preferably)

8.     2 tablespoons of salted vegetable (sayur masin/ tung choy)

1. Soak mushrooms for at least a couple of hours to allow them to draw in the moisture.

2. After soaking, remove and keep stalks. Cut the mushroom heads to chunky sizes to your preference (4 – 8 pieces each mushroom).

3. Rinse ikan bilis and dried shrimp, then drain. Set aside as much ikan bilis as you would like to fry as condiment, the rest will be used for the soup.

4. Peel and finely chop garlic and onions.

5. Heat oil in the pot on medium flame then add garlic and onions.

6. Once onions start to sweat, add mushrooms (stalks and head), ikan bilis and dried shrimp.

7. Stir occasionally over a few minutes until the oil has dried up and ingredients start to ‘stick’ to the bottom of the pot.

8. Add enough water to fill up the pot then set flame to high until soup boils.

9. Once soup has boiled, turn the flame down to a simmer.

10. Prepare the dough while the soup is simmering.

I divided all the ingredients into 4 parts. Only cooking for 1.

I replaced the sawi with Pak Choy.

I did not have Tung Choy so left it out. But Mrs. Khaw swears it’s the key ingredient so try not to omit.

I used Canola oil.

The Dough

1.     400g plain flour

2.     1 whole egg

3.     Salt to taste

4.     A dash of olive oil

5.     ± 2 glasses of water (depends on the texture you prefer)

1. Put the plain flour, egg, salt and olive oil into a large mixing bowl.

2. Add about 1 cup of water and mix the ingredients by hand.

3. Using your hands, combine the ingredients by folding and kneading.

4. Add water in small amounts and knead into the mixture.

5. Stop adding water once the dough has reached a smooth, bread dough type texture.

6. Stretch-pinch the dough into thickness and size to your preference and add to the soup.

If you find the texture sticky. My trick is to pat some flour on the surface of the dough and punch it down. Dust one hand with some flour, then  hold the chunk of dough. Dust flour on other hand’s fingers to make the pinch, stretch and tear easier.

Make sure you put  at least  ¾  teaspoon of salt for about 100grams of dough.

If you find the technique of pinching, stretching and tearing the flour difficult, (Actually it’s easy, don’t think too much!) you can roll out the dough into thin layers and then begin tearing and flinging it into the boiling pot.

The

Condiments

1.     6 shallots

2.     8 small mushrooms

3.     Enough oil (we use peanut) to cover the base of a medium-sized frying pan

4.     Oyster sauce to taste

1. You may want to delay the below process if the dough that you have pinched is thicker, to allow it to almost cook through first.

2. Once you have finished pinching all the dough and added to the soup, rinse the salted vegetables and wash and cut the sawi to desired lengths.

3. Add the salted vegetables and sawi to the soup and return the flame to medium.

4. Stop cooking once the sawi has wilted and stalks start turning soft.

5. Add white pepper to taste.

I don’t like crispy fried shallots. So I lightly fried them with the mushrooms and oyster sauce.

I fried some minced chicken after marinating it with Lea & Perrins Wos-the-whatever the spelling is-sauce. Makes it taste nicer.

Added some slices of green chili instead of cili padi.

Dodo's Kitchen : Pineapple Upside Down Cake

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

ADAPTED AND MODIFIED FROM THIS LINK : http://www.joyofbaking.com/PineappleUpsideDownCake.html

STEP	INGREDIENTS	METHOD	DODO’S MODIFICATION / NOTES
The Topping	4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) (55 grams) unsalted butter, cut in small pieces 3/4 cup (160 grams) light brown sugar 1 medium pineapple(peeled, quartered, cored, and sliced 1/4 inch thick) Maraschino cherriesor candied cherries (optional)	Place the butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan and stir over medium heat until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Continue cooking, without stirring, for a few more minutes or until bubbles just start to appear around the outside edges of the mixture (the sugar starts to caramelize). Then remove from heat, and pour into your prepared cake pan. Evenly arrange the fresh pineapple slices on top of the sugar mixture. (Can also garnish with cherries.)	I found this to be too sweet and syrup-ish. So what I did was to put a few knobs of butter on the base of the cake tin and melt in the oven for a few minutes at 150 C. Then I took it out and arranged the pineapples on it. Don’t pat it dry. Use the syrup WITHIN the pineapple too. Then, I scattered brown sugar using a tablespoon. Just generally cover the base. About 3-4 tablespoons will do. Then put in the oven for another 3-5 minutes or till you see the sugar melting. I didn’t have CHERRIES so I put a dollop of whip cream and some colourful sprinkles instead.
The Cake Batter	1 1/2 cups (195 grams) all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature 1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 2 large eggs, separated 1/2 cup (120 ml) milk 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar	In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of your electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture (in three additions), alternately with the milk (in two additions), ending with the dry ingredients. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with the cream of tartar just until the whites hold a firm peak. With a large spatula gently fold the beaten egg whites into the cake batter in two additions. Pour the batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top. Bake in preheated oven for 45 -55 minutes, or until the top of the cake has browned and starts to pull away from the sides of the pan (a toothpick inserted into the cake (not the pineapple) will come out clean). Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and then invert the cake onto your serving plate. Serve with softly whipped cream. Makes one - 9 inch (23 cm) cake. OVEN SETTING: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) a 9 inch (23 cm) round cake pan with three inch (7.5 cm) sides.	Okay, so I didn’t have patience to do what they did. I just sifted the flour twice, made sure butter was melted well at room temperature, and put all the ingredients in at one go and beat the shit out of it. Now, if you’re going to do it my way. There is a technique you must use which my friend Thulsy Subramaniam taught me. 1)    You MUST use a SILICONE SPATULA! That’s right! Not wooden, cake mixer,  etcetera. The silicone spatula allows you to beat the life out of lumps. (Dodo’s Discovery) 2)    You MUST beat it in a shape of an 8 and make sure when you’re beating the mixture, you keep folding it in to  release trapped air. I DIDN’T HAVE CREAM OF TARTAR! So I replaced it with 2 tablespoons of ground almond powder. Almond helps the batter come together well. I used SELF RAISING FLOUR so no need for baking soda. I reduced the sugar to half. Just nice! OVEN SETTING: The same as original setting. However, since I only made half of the ingredient amount. I lowered it to 150 C. Baked it for 30-40 minutes. You have to watch your oven as mine is a small oven. If you’re using a bigger oven and want to modify the amount of batter you make, try it first at 150 C and increase it if you feel it’s not cooking evenly. You can do this by using a stick to test the sides and middle of the cake. Learnt that through experience! J