By Tan Hsueh Yun SoShiok.com Singapore, May 28, 2008   On the face of it, mentaiko pasta just sounds like a fusion dish that’s trying too hard. I mean, which sane person would add seaweed and Japanese mayonnaise to Italian noodles? And not to mention mentaiko, the sacs of salted spicy cod roe. Fish eggs in pasta? Yes. And it is such delicious fusion too, the kind only the Japanese can come up with. In my kitchen, mentaiko pasta is a quick dish I whip up for myself on weeknights when I’m too lazy to do any real cooking. But this dish is one of those rare ones which can go from feeding one to feeding a crowd. Sure, you can order it in Japanese restaurants, but making it at home brings rich rewards because you can add more of the stuff you like. For me, that would be the mentaiko. I like lots and lots of this pink roe in the pasta. There’s nothing like taking a big bite of pasta and then having those little eggs burst in your mouth and releasing their lovely, briny flavour. Over the years, I’ve added and taken out this or that ingredient. Truth be told, a perfectly good version can be made with just the mentaiko, butter, mayonnaise, spring onions and some strips of nori or seaweed. Still, I like all the other things I’ve added to the basic sauce. A dash or five of spicy Shichimi Togarashi amps up the heat. This Japanese blend of red chilli powder, orange peel, black and white sesame seeds, Japanese pepper, seaweed and ginger, really gives the pasta some kick. If you can find yuzu pepper, which is chilli powder and yuzu zest combined, use that because the flavour from the zest is just what you need in a rich dish like this. I also toss the pasta with shiso leaves. These pretty, bright green leaves, also called perilla, have a fresh, slightly minty flavour that offsets the richness of the roe. Myoga, a crisp, juicy flower bud that tastes like a cross between a rose apple and a spring onion, also adds a perky accent to the dish. I also sprinkle some toasted dried sakura shrimps on top of the pasta. You can get these tiny, bright pink shrimps in Japanese supermarkets, and their light crunch adds texture to the pasta. Just think of it as complementing the egg-popping experience. The recipe I’ve given makes enough for two, since the roe tends to come in packs of two anyway. But it’s easy to halve, double or triple the quantities. Just writing about this makes me hungry for some. Good thing I’ve got some mentaiko in the freezer. Ingredients  For two main course servings: 160g spaghetti (I use size 3 or 5) 2 sacs mentaiko, 90-100g 30g unsalted butter, softened 50g Japanese mayonnaise Pinch of Shichimi Togarashi or yuzu pepper, or to taste 2 tsp rice wine vinegar 2 stalks spring onion 4-6 shiso leaves (optional) 1 myoga (optional) 2 Tbs dried sakura shrimp (optional) Handful of nori strips Method  1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. The water should taste salty like seawater. When it comes to a rolling boil, add the spaghetti. It should take 7-8 minutes to cook. 2. In the meantime, get the sauce ready. Slit the sacs of mentaiko down the middle with a sharp knife and scrape out the eggs with a small spoon into a small bowl. Add the butter, mayonnaise, Shichimi Togarashi and the vinegar. Mix well with a spoon and set aside. 3. Chop finely the spring onions. If using shiso leaves, snip off the stems, roll into a tight tube and slice finely crosswise. Slice the myoga on the diagonal, if using. 4. Toast the dried sakura shrimp lightly in a non-stick pan, set aside. 5. When the pasta is al dente, drain into a colander, shake it a couple of times to get rid of excess water and return the noodles to the empty cooking pot. Add the mentaiko sauce, spring onions, shiso leaves and myoga. Mix well with a pair of tongs. 6. Divide the pasta between two serving bowls, top each with sakura prawns and nori strips, serve immediately. This article was first published in The Sunday Times on May 25, 2008. 

By Tan Hsueh Yun SoShiok.com Singapore, May 28, 2008   On the face of it, mentaiko pasta just sounds like a fusion dish that’s trying too hard. I mean, which sane person would add seaweed and Japanese mayonnaise to Italian noodles? And not to mention mentaiko, the sacs of salted spicy cod roe. Fish eggs in pasta? Yes. And it is such delicious fusion too, the kind only the Japanese can come up with. In my kitchen, mentaiko pasta is a quick dish I whip up for myself on weeknights when I’m too lazy to do any real cooking. But this dish is one of those rare ones which can go from feeding one to feeding a crowd. Sure, you can order it in Japanese restaurants, but making it at home brings rich rewards because you can add more of the stuff you like. For me, that would be the mentaiko. I like lots and lots of this pink roe in the pasta. There’s nothing like taking a big bite of pasta and then having those little eggs burst in your mouth and releasing their lovely, briny flavour. Over the years, I’ve added and taken out this or that ingredient. Truth be told, a perfectly good version can be made with just the mentaiko, butter, mayonnaise, spring onions and some strips of nori or seaweed. Still, I like all the other things I’ve added to the basic sauce. A dash or five of spicy Shichimi Togarashi amps up the heat. This Japanese blend of red chilli powder, orange peel, black and white sesame seeds, Japanese pepper, seaweed and ginger, really gives the pasta some kick. If you can find yuzu pepper, which is chilli powder and yuzu zest combined, use that because the flavour from the zest is just what you need in a rich dish like this. I also toss the pasta with shiso leaves. These pretty, bright green leaves, also called perilla, have a fresh, slightly minty flavour that offsets the richness of the roe. Myoga, a crisp, juicy flower bud that tastes like a cross between a rose apple and a spring onion, also adds a perky accent to the dish. I also sprinkle some toasted dried sakura shrimps on top of the pasta. You can get these tiny, bright pink shrimps in Japanese supermarkets, and their light crunch adds texture to the pasta. Just think of it as complementing the egg-popping experience. The recipe I’ve given makes enough for two, since the roe tends to come in packs of two anyway. But it’s easy to halve, double or triple the quantities. Just writing about this makes me hungry for some. Good thing I’ve got some mentaiko in the freezer. Ingredients  For two main course servings: 160g spaghetti (I use size 3 or 5) 2 sacs mentaiko, 90-100g 30g unsalted butter, softened 50g Japanese mayonnaise Pinch of Shichimi Togarashi or yuzu pepper, or to taste 2 tsp rice wine vinegar 2 stalks spring onion 4-6 shiso leaves (optional) 1 myoga (optional) 2 Tbs dried sakura shrimp (optional) Handful of nori strips Method  1. Bring a pot of salted water to boil. The water should taste salty like seawater. When it comes to a rolling boil, add the spaghetti. It should take 7-8 minutes to cook. 2. In the meantime, get the sauce ready. Slit the sacs of mentaiko down the middle with a sharp knife and scrape out the eggs with a small spoon into a small bowl. Add the butter, mayonnaise, Shichimi Togarashi and the vinegar. Mix well with a spoon and set aside. 3. Chop finely the spring onions. If using shiso leaves, snip off the stems, roll into a tight tube and slice finely crosswise. Slice the myoga on the diagonal, if using. 4. Toast the dried sakura shrimp lightly in a non-stick pan, set aside. 5. When the pasta is al dente, drain into a colander, shake it a couple of times to get rid of excess water and return the noodles to the empty cooking pot. Add the mentaiko sauce, spring onions, shiso leaves and myoga. Mix well with a pair of tongs. 6. Divide the pasta between two serving bowls, top each with sakura prawns and nori strips, serve immediately. This article was first published in The Sunday Times on May 25, 2008. 

For the yogurt sauce: 250ml of Greek yogurt 250ml yogurt Juice of one lemon 1-2 cloves of crushed garlic 2 dashes of dried mint 6 fresh mint leaves 4 to 6 tbsp tahini (sesame paste) 3 to 4 pinches of salt The filling: 1 can of chickpeas, discard the water 1 fresh baguette 1 tbsp pine nuts Olive oil for frying Ground cinnamon (Garnish) Method Blend the ingredients for the yogurt-based sauce in a food processor. Set aside. Cut the baguette into cubes and deepfry in olive oil until you get brown and crispy croutons. Over low heat, lightly pan-fry the pine nuts until golden brown. Taking a casserole dish, layer the chickpeas followed by the fried croutons, more chickpeas and top it off with the yogurt-sauce. Garnish with the pine nuts, dried mint and ground cinnamon. Hed Chef's version

Korea, September 16, 2011 - Hobaktteok is a type of rice cake made with non-glutinous rice powder and steamed pumpkin. Tteok has a long history in Korea. It can be served as a main dish as a substitute for rice, or as a special food for a festive day or birthday. There are various kinds of tteok with different ingredients. Ingredients 5 cups non-glutinous rice powder, 1/2 tbsp salt, 2/3 cups sugar  2 sweet pumpkins  10 cups water  Garnish 2 jujubes, 16 pumpkin seeds Method 1. Scrape out the insides from the pumpkins. 2. Sprinkle salt on the rice powder and sieve.  3. Clean the jujube and cut it into flower shapes. 4. Pour water into the steaming pot and put on high heat. When it gives off steam, put the pumpkin in and steam it for 15 minutes. Scrape the flesh from the pumpkin. 5. Add the pumpkin flesh and sugar to the rice powder, rub in thoroughly, then sieve.  6. Pour water into the steaming pot and put on a high heat. When it boils, layer cotton cloths on the bottom of the pot and put the cake mold on them. Put the rice and pumpkin mixture into the mold then plane the surface. Put X-shaped slits in the mixture at intervals of 5 cm, top with jujube and pumpkin seeds.  7. Steam the tteok for another 15 min. Tips  To prevent the sweet pumpkin becoming watery, the pumpkin should be kept upright while steaming.  Pumpkin skin may be used for garnish by cutting into sheets and boiling down with sugar.

By Amy Beh Kuali, The Star, ANN Malaysia, September 17, 2011 Fried Otak-Otak Rolls recipe Preparation time: About 1 hour Cook less than half hour Ingredients 220g fish fillet, minced 70g shelled prawns, minced 1 tsp rice flour 2 kadok leaves, chopped 2 kaffir lime leaves, finely sliced 1 egg Salt and pepper to taste Pinch of sugar or to taste 1 piece beancurd skin Spices 3 shallots 2 slices ginger 3 slices galangal 1 stalk lemon grass, finely sliced 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1 tbsp chilli powder Method Combine spices in a food processor. Blend to a fine paste. Remove and add in the egg. Stir in minced fish and prawns to mix. Add kadok leaves and kaffir lime leaves. Adjust with salt, pepper and sugar to taste. Mix in rice flour. Place beancurd skin on a tabletop. Spread the combined fish paste mixture on the beancurd skin. Roll up tightly to resemble a popiah roll. Using a sharp knife, cut the otak-otak roll into 1.5cm-thick slices. Hold on to the cut slices firmly and slowly place into medium-hot oil. Deep-fry until golden brown. Dish out and serve at once.

$35 for chicken rice set: Price hike due to 'overwhelming response'? Posted on 16 Sep 2011 When STOMPer chickwn rice dined at a hotel restaurant recently, he was shocked when the bill came to $35 for a plate of chicken rice and a drink. They told him the price was due to 'overwhelming response', said the STOMPer. The STOMPer elaborates (Sep 16): "What a rip off. "$35 dollars for a plate of chicken rice? Too expensive? Plus an iced lemon tea? God... "I ate this at Chatterbox, Mandarin Hotel recently. "It cost me $35, GST included. "In June, I also had it, and it cost me $17.50. "According to the restaurant, the price increase was due to the overwhelming response and demand for the chicken rice. "In November last year when I had it, it was also below $20. "It tasted like ordinary chicken rice. "Unfortunately I did not take a picture of the receipt."

Do a taste check of shark's fin Letter from Jennifer Lee Sep 12 I refer to David Pilling's commentary "Excuse me waiter, there's a shark in my soup" (Aug 26). I would add that when a variety of ingredients are used in a single dish, we lose our ability to distinguish individual ingredients because we taste the soup as a whole. We know how fish meat tastes and how chicken meat tastes, but how does shark's fin taste, on its own? I spoke to consumers of shark's fin who told me they like the taste of the soup. It is ironic that although most could describe its texture to me (slightly crunchy, etc), not a single person was able to describe its taste. Simply because the fins are completely tasteless. Our tastebuds have been tricked. The soup is tasty because of other ingredients: Seafood, vinegar, chicken stock and so on. A friend of mine served mock shark's fin with the same soup at her wedding some years ago, and none of her guests noticed the difference, not until she told them. Unknown to many, mock shark's fin is readily available in the market and makes a perfect replacement at a fraction of the cost. There are different types of mock fins: Vegetarian (made of seaweed gelatin) and non-vegetarian. We do not need shark's fin to make the same soup. The World Wildlife Fund's Seafood Guide 2010 lists various sustainable seafood alternatives that can be considered if wedding couples would like to serve a seafood soup in place of fins. Other than mock shark's fin, a melon called the "shark's fin melon" can be used. Alternatively, if the host is looking for an expensive replacement, ginseng soup can be considered as a show of generosity. The possibilities are endless, and a good restaurant would have chefs who are creative enough to whip up interesting options. In the same aspect, more companies across the world are moving competitively toward greater corporate social responsibility. With the growing controversy surrounding shark's fin, many market leaders have inked conservation deals to grow their CSR image. The dish is becoming an outdated fad that could be seen as a show of nonchalance or ignorance toward conservation. As time progresses, the gains made through flaunting generosity by serving the soup no longer justify risking the potential damage to a company's image. The additional budget for shark's fin soup could be better parked elsewhere.

Sticky Date Pudding with Butterscotch Sauce

1 3/4 cups chopped and seeded dates

1 1/2 cups water

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

60g butter

125g castor sugar

2 eggs

1 cup self raising flour

Method

Preheat oven to 180 degree Celcius.
Lightly grease a 20cm cake pan and line the base.
Combine the dates and water in a saucepan, and bring to boil.
Remove from heat, add bicarbonate of soda and let it stand for five minutes.
In a large bowl, beat sugar, butter and eggs until smooth.
Stir in the sifted flour and then add the date mix.
Pour into the greased cake pan and bake for 40 minutes.
Cool pudding in cake pan for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.
Butterscotch Sauce

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup cream

100g butter

Method

Combine ingredients in a saucepan and stir over heat until sugar is dissolved. Simmer for three minutes.
Pour the sauce over a slice of pudding and serve with fresh cream or vanilla ice-cream.

By Chef Julie Song
Kuali, The Star
Malaysia, August 25, 2011

Ingredients

2 mangoes, skinned and thickly sliced

3 wedges of sweet Ipoh pomelo

Half just-ripe papaya, no skin and sliced into thin strips

12 prawns, poached and shells removed

1 1/2 cups fresh coriander leaves, nicely washed

Dressing

3 limes, juiced

1 tsp soy sauce

2 red chillies, de-seeded and chopped

3 tsp chopped garlic

1 1/2 tsp sugar

A pinch of salt

1 1/2 tsp grated ginger

6 tbsp passion fruit pulp, fresh or frozen

9 tbsp olive oil

Method

Firstly, combine all dressing ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor.
Then slowly pour in the olive oil whilst the machine is running until the dressing is combined. Always taste the mixture.
Remove into a separate bowl. Refrigerate the dressing if using later.
In a separate bowl, lightly toss all the rest of the ingredients. Mix in the dressing just before serving.
Serve immediately.

By Datuk Faridah Begum
The Star/Asia News Network
Malaysia, June 8, 2011

WADING into untried territory - that was how I felt when I was told I would be transferred to Sunday Metro in July 2007. After almost 20 years of journalism, it was daunting because I had all the while been mainly a news writer.

What was more worrying was the fact that every story was done on the spur of the moment, and we were required to fill up 12 pages every Sunday.

But after a fortnight of charting unknown waters, with the then editor T. Selva informing the three writers (angels, we were called) - Sangeeta Nair, Renita Che Wan and me - that he was going on long leave, we were entrusted to plan the pullout ourselves. And what fun we had, along with our sub-editor Catherine Siow and Penang-based food columnist Helen Ong.



The three years I spent on this pullout was an eye-opener of not only the new things we could learn but also an acid test of what all of us could do. It became a show of our individual strengths that we could put the pullout together from scratch every single week.

Sunday Metro launched my career as a food columnist and cook, and I am thankful to all the readers whose letters, comments and criticism built up my confidence in this field.

The greatest treasure that I gained from Sunday Metro is the fact that I inspired so many people to start cooking and enjoying it at the same time.

This is the last issue and for it I have specially concocted recipes to celebrate Sunday Metro for the icon it has been these four years.

Thank you, Sunday Metro, for all the good you have brought to me!

Celebration Dry Chicken Curry Recipe

Ingredients

1 chicken, cut into 12 or 16 pieces
1 pod garlic
8cm ginger
½ cup cashewnuts or almonds – soaked and blended into a thick paste
2 large onions – cut into thin rings
½ cup vegetable oil
1 cinnamon stick
3 cardamoms
2 star anise
3 cloves
2 pandan leaves – washed and tied together
2 tablespoons meat curry powder
½ cup coconut cream and 1/2 cup evaporated milk (or a cup of either)
2 cups water
3 large tomatoes, cut into 6 wedges each
4 large red chillies – halved and seeded
Coriander leaves – chopped (as desired)
Salt to taste

Methods

1) Blend the garlic and ginger together into a paste. In a large wok, heat the vegetable oil and add the cinnamon stick, cardamom, star anise and cloves.

2) Add the pandan leaves and onions and fry until fragrant and the onions are soft.

3) Put in the curry powder, cashewnut or almond paste along with the ginger-garlic paste. Reduce the heat, and stir until the oil surfaces. Add the chicken pieces and stir fry to coat them with the paste.

4) When the chicken turns opaque, pour in the cream and milk, water and tomatoes.

5) Cover and simmer until chicken is almost cooked. Remove the cover, raise the heat a little and let the liquid evaporate to a desired consistency.

6) Season and throw in the chopped coriander, mix and serve with hot rice.

12 cups wheat flour, ½ tsp salt, 6 tbsp water

- 150 g minced beef (top round), 3 stems brown oak mushrooms

Seasoning sauce:

- 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp minced green onion, ½ tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp sesame salt, 1 tsp sesame oil

- 150 g pumpkin, ¼ tsp salt

- 250 g mung bean sprouts, 5 cups water, ½ tsp salt

- 1 tbsp pine nuts

- 10 cups steaming water

- 1 ea egg, 3 stalks watercress, ½ tbsp wheat flour, 1 tbsp edible oil

Vinegar soy sauce:

- 18 g (1 tbsp) soy sauce, 15 g (1 tbsp) vinegar, 15 g (1 tbsp) water, 3 g (½ tbsp) pine nuts powder

Methods


1. Clean blood of beef for broth with cotton cloth. Trim and wash the fragrant seasoning. Put the beef and water in the pot and boil it on high heat for 9 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer it for 30 minutes Add the fragrant seasoning and simmer it for 20 minutes more. Strain it through cotton cloths, season with salt and cool it down.

2. Add salt and water to the wheat flour and knead. Wrap it with cotton cloths and let it sit for 30 minutes

3. Clean blood of minced beef with cotton cloth. Soak the brown oak mushrooms in water for 1 hour, remove the stems. Wipe excess water with cotton cloth and shred it into 0.2 cm-thick and wide, season them respectively.

4. Clean the pumpkin and cut it 4 cm-long. Peel the skin off into 0.2 cm-thick round and shred it into 0.2cm-wide. Marinate with salt for 10 min, wipe water with cotton cloths. Remove the tails of mung bean sprouts and wash. Remove tops of the pine nuts and wipe the nuts with dry cotton cloth.

5. Panfry the egg for yellow/white garnish (thin sheet and then cut it into strips). Panfry the watercress after thick coating with wheat flour liquid and beaten egg. Cut them into 2 cm of diamond pattern.

6. Blend vinegar soy sauce.

7. Preheat the frying pan and oil. Stir-fry the beef and mushrooms for 3 minutes on medium heat.

8. Pour water in the pot and boil it on high heat for 5 minutes When it boils, add the mung bean sprouts and salt, scald it for about 2 minutes Drain water. Chop them 0.5 cm-long. Preheat the frying pan and oil, stir-fry pumpkin for 10 sec. on high heat, maintaining green color, cool it down.

9. Combine the mixture of beef, mushrooms, mung bean sprouts and pumpkin to make the filling. Press and roll the kneaded dough with wooden roller to be 0.2 cm thickness, cut it into 7 cm square for dumpling skin. Stuff the dumpling skin with 13~15 g of fillings in the middle, put two pine nuts on it. Pinch four corners together to form square shape.

10. Pour water in the steaming pot, heat it up for 9 minutes on high heat. When it gives off steam, layer damp cotton cloth on the bottom of the pot, place the square dumplings on the damp cloths and steam them for 5 minutes on high heat.

11. Place the square dumplings on a dish and pour the broth, top with fried egg strips and watercress. Serve it with vinegar soy sauce.

Rose Petal Jam Shortbread Recipe

Ingredients (makes 24 large or 36 small cookies)

200 g chilled butter

2 egg yolks, beaten

2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons rose jam

1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Sesame seeds

Method:

1. Sift flour and salt into a large mixing bowl. Cut the chilled butter into small pieces and drop them directly into the bowl.

2. Using cool fingers, gently rub the butter into the flour, tossing them in the air as you go to "aerate" the mixture until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.

3. Add the beaten egg yolks to the bowl and stir to bind the mixture until it just comes together. Do not knead as that will raise the gluten and make the shortbread tough.

4. Pinch off a small ball of dough and place a pinch of rose petal jam in the middle. Roll up again into a ball and place on a papered baking tray. Press to flatten the ball slightly.

5. Brush the tops of the cookies with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

6. Bake in a pre-heated 180 C oven for 20 minutes, removing the shortbread when it turns a light golden color. Cool and keep in airtight containers for about a week.

Thumbprint Cookies with Rose Petal Jam Recipe



Ingredients (makes 24 cookies)

200 g butter, softened

150 g castor sugar

2 whole eggs, beaten

0.5 cup milk

2 cups plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons rose jam

Method:

1. Sift flour and baking powder together.

2. Cream butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time.

3. Fold in sifted flour and add a little milk in between. Chill dough until it is firm.

4. Pinch off chestnut-sized pieces of dough and roll into a ball. Press down the center with your thumb, creating a depression. Fill with rose petal jam.

5. Place cookies on a papered baking tray and bake in a pre-heated 180 C oven for 20 minutes. Cool and keep in airtight containers. Eat quickly as these are richer cookies and may not keep for too long.

Rose Petal Jam Pancakes Recipe

Ingredients(makes 6 pancakes)

200 g plain flour Water

100 g softened butter or vegetable oil

6 tablespoons rose jam

Method:

1. Add enough water to the flour to make a soft dough. Knead until it feels silky and soft. Allow it to rest for at least an hour.

2. Divide the dough into six pieces.

3. Roll out a piece of dough as thinly as possible and brush with softened butter or oil. Spread a spoonful of jam on top.

4. Roll up the dough from the furthest edge, gently stretching the roll as you go.

5. Curl the roll of dough like a snail shell and flatten with the palm of your hand, keeping the tabletop floured as you go. Roll out the flattened disc to a thin pancake.

6. Lightly oil a non-stick frying pan and fry the pancake over medium heat, flipping it as the pancake turns color.

7. Dust with icing sugar and serve quickly. Great with a hot cup of Chinese tea.

Red and White Sweet Soup Recipe

Ingredients (serves 4)

8 dove or quail eggs

4 teaspoon rose petal jam

100 g lotus nuts, soaked

50 g sweet apricot kernels or nanxing

Honey to taste

Rose petals for garnish

Method:

1. Place the eggs in a pot with enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Let them cook for 10 minutes and immediately rinse the eggs under cold running water until totally cooled. Peel carefully and set aside.

2. Wash soaked lotus nuts and check to remove the bitter shoots, which hide in the middle. Place the cleaned nuts and sweet apricot kernels into boiling water. Turn down the heat once the pot boils and simmer until the lotus nuts are soft.

3. Add the rose petal jam and stir to dissolve. Add the eggs and a little honey to taste.

4. Serve in small bowls with fresh rose petals for garnish.

Food notes:

In traditional Chinese medicine, dove eggs are believed to have detoxifying qualities. Both the lotus nuts and the apricot kernels clear the lungs and nourish the bronchial system. If you do not like the aroma of roses, you can substitute with candied osmanthus.

China Daily/ANN
Beijing, China, June 21, 2011 - It is a traditional Beijing specialty, while in colour, delicate in texture and savoury in taste. There are the Moslem recipe and the vegetarian recipe. Here is the Moslem recipe.

Ingredients:

Soy bean 5kg, tender mutton 1.5kg, soy sauce 500g, plaster powder 225g, cornstarch 3.25kg, salt 100g, Chinese prickly ash 5g, garlic 500g, chili oil 100g, seasame oil 100g, MSG 5g (for 100 bowls)

Preparation:

1) Steep soy beans in water till swollen. Rinse and grind the swollen soy bean with water into pulp. Add water and stir well, then filter with a cloth bag or a fine sifter. Repeat till the bean dregs are not stickly. Skim off the froth and bring it to a boil with high heat.

Then ladle to a container to keep warm. Dissolve the plaster powder in hot water, then pour into the bean milk, be sure that they are thoroughly mixed. Afer 25 minutes, skim off the froth, the rest is the jellied beancurd.

2) Heat seasame oil 100g, when hot put in sliced mutton, grated scallions and ginger, soy sauce, salt MSG. Stir-fry for seconds, then add boiled water. When it boils, add wet cornstarch.

3) Ladle jellied beancurd into a bowl, add mutton soup and mashed garlic or chili oil, then serve.

By Datuk Faridah Begum
The Star/Asia News Network
Ingredients

60g butter, melted
½ cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup self-raising flour
¾ cup milk
1 overripe banana, mashed
1 egg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Vanilla ice-cream or custard, to serve

Methods

1) Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until smooth. Spoon into rice cooker bowl. Cover with plastic wrap.

2) Place in steamer basket. Place lid on and set timer (45 mins). Serve with ice cream or custard.

Guinness Hokkien Mee and seafood recipes


SoShiok.com
Singapore, June 14, 2011

Here are recipes by Guinness Stout, which uses the brew to jazz up Singapore street food and seafood.

Guinness Hokkien Mee
Step 1: Prepare the Guinness reduction base
(ingredients: Guinness stout, apple cidar vinegar, rock sugar, salt)
 
Step 2: Prepare the prawn mee stock
(ingredients: Guinness stout, blue ginger, lemongrass, toasted coriander seed, red onion, salt)
 
Step 3: Stir fry the ingredients & add in Guinness reduction base and prawn mee stock to whip up the Guinness Hokkien mee

(ingredients: pork fat oil, minced garlic, whole egg, yellow noodle, rice noodle, bean sprout, soya sauce, fish sauce, squid ring, tiger prawn, pork belly slice, sliced red chili, salt/pepper)
 
 
Guinness Prawns
Step 1: Prepare the seafood spice mixture
(ingredients: Coriander root, red chili, salt, crispy fried shallot, heniz kecip manis, toasted baby dried shrimp)
 
Step 2: Prepare the Guinness reduction base
(ingredients: Guinness stout, apple cidar vinegar, rock sugar, salt)
 
Step 3: Cooking the prawns with Guinness reduction base, seafood spice mixture and the ingredients
(ingredients: chili padi, prawns)
 
 
Guinness Squids
Step 1: Prepare the seafood spice mixture
(ingredients: Coriander root, red chili, salt, crispy fried shallot, heniz kecip manis, toasted baby dried shrimp)
 
Step 2: Prepare the Guinness reduction base
(ingredients: Guinness stout, apple cidar vinegar, rock sugar, salt)
 
Step 3: Lightly fry the ingredients and add in the seafood spice mixture and the Guinness reduction base
(ingredients: fresh squid, oil, chili padi)