Pad Ka-Prao

Pad Ka-Prao

400 g ground chicken
7 large cloves garlic, peeled
7 bird's eye chillies
1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark sweet soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 cup basil leaves

1. Pound the garlic, chillies and shallot into a coarse paste.
2. In a skillet, heat up the oil over medium-high heat. Add the paste in and fry until fragrant.
3. Add the ground chicken and break it into small pieces.
4. Add the fish sauce, light soy sauce, dark sweet soy sauce and oyster sauce.
5. Once the meat is cooked, add in the basil leaves before taking the skillet off the heat. Give it a couple of stirs to wilt the leaves.
6. Serve with rice and a crispy fried egg.

Original recipe shared by she simmers.

Hati masak ungkep

I love chicken liver the most, among all the chicken parts and I'm trying to cook something different than the usual liver in soy sauce or sambal. This is a Javanese style dish.

Hati masak ungkep

 400g chicken liver
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
1 green chilli
15 bird's eye chillies
1-1/2 inch ginger
1 inch turmeric
1 piece asam keping
1 tsp coriander powder
2 tsp sweet cumin powder
1 lemongrass, bruised
1 inch galangal, bruised
1 cinnamon stick
1 star anise
3 cloves
1 tbsp palm sugar
Pinch of salt
Cooking oil
1 cup water

1. Parboil the chicken liver and set aside.

2. In a blender, make the onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric, green chilli and bird's eye chillies into paste.
3. Heat a skillet on medium-high heat and add cooking oil.
4. Saute the cinnamon stick, star anise and cloves. Add in the paste, lemongrass, galangal, coriander powder, sweet cumin powder and asam keping. Fry until the oil separates.
5. Add the liver and water. Put in more water if you want more gravy. Add the palm sugar and salt.
6. Let the liver cook through and the gravy thickens. Remove from heat.

Original recipe shared by K.Nor

Som tam

I made Som tam using the regular pestle and mortar we have at home, and I wish I could use the large version that would be perfect for making this dish.

Som tam (Green Papaya Salad)

6 ounces of green papaya, peeled and shredded
1 tomato, cut into small wedges
1/4 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/3 cup green beans
2 tbsp dried shrimp
2 Thai bird's eye chillies
Fresh lime juice
Thai fish sauce
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Palm sugar

1. Using pestle and mortar, pound the garlic and chillies until they form a smooth paste.
2. Add the dried shrimp and pound until the pieces are broken up.
3. Add 2-3 teaspoons of palm sugar. Pound to a paste.
4. Add peanuts and lightly pound until they are broken to tiny pieces.
5. Add the green beans and pound until they split and lightly bruised.
6. Add papaya and tomato and pound on them. Pound until the papaya strands soften up a bit and the tomato crushed and release the juices.
7. Add a couple of teaspoons of fish sauce and a couple of teaspoons of lime juice. Use a large spoon to help flip things over and scrape down the sides of the mortar. Keep pounding and flipping for a few seconds.
8. Taste and add more lime juice, fish sauce or palm sugar as needed.

Original recipe shared by Leela.

Roasted Tomato Marinara Pasta Sauce

This is the kind of pasta sauce made from scratch that I would love any day. Simple ingredients and you don't really need to slave over the stove for hours.

Roasted Tomato Marinara Pasta Sauce

7 medium-size tomatoes
2 onions, peeled
1 red bell pepper
1-2 medium carrots
1 whole garlic bulb
2 tbsp dried oregano
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup fresh basil

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
2. Roughly chop the tomatoes, onion, bell pepper and carrots. Put them in a baking tray.

3. Wrap the garlic bulb in aluminum foil and place in the baking tray.
4. Sprinkle salt, and oregano over the vegetables, then drizzle them with oil.
5. Bake for 1 hour.
6. Remove from the oven and let them cook down for 30 minutes.
7. Remove the garlic from the foil and squeeze the gooey garlic from the skin into a blender. Put the vegetables and juices in the blender, including the basil. Blend until smooth.

Original recipe by thevedge

Kimchi jeon

This is just something I made without really planning to. We always have kimchi in the refrigerator and I have some flour left from another dish, so kimchi jeon came to mind.

Kimchi jeon (Kimchi pancake)

1 cup cabbage kimchi
1/4 all purpose flour
1/4 cup rice flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp onion, diced
Water
Vegetable oil for frying

1. Drain the kimchi, reserving the juice. Measure the juice and add water to make 1/4 cup of liquid. Chop the kimchi coarsely.
2. In a bowl, mix together all purpose flour, rice flour, salt and the liquid. Let stand for 10 minutes. Add in the chopped kimchi and onion.
3. Heat the skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan with oil. For each pancake, add 1/4 of the mixture to the skillet and spread it out with the back of a spoon.
4. Cook for about 2 minutes until the bottom is crispy and golden. Flip over and cook until the other side is cooked. Remove from skillet and drain on towels.
5. Serve with dipping sauce. I use the same dipping sauce as hobak jeon's sauce.

Original recipe shared by Emily.

Ara'yes

Ara'yes

1/2 large onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 small bunch fresh parsley
1 pound minced chicken
1 tomato, diced finely
1/4 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp lime juice
Salt
4 pieces pita bread, cut into quarters
Extra virgin olive oil, for brushing

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C.
2. Finely mince the onions, garlic and parsley. Combine and mix together in a large bowl and add in the chicken, tomato, garam masala and lime juice. Season with salt. Mix until well combined.
3. Arrange the pita quarters on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Fill each quarter with 2 tbsp of the mixture, flattening it out so the filling is even.
4. Brush each quarter on both sides with a little olive oil. Sprinkle salt on top.
5. Bake for 10-15 minutes, turning once halfway through. Pitas should be brown and crispy.

Original recipe by Aarti Sequeira.

Ara'yes served with grilled eggplant and pico de gallo.

Cinnamon rolls

Since Melaka doesn't have any Cinnabon outlet, I might as well make these myself. I have been meaning to for so long. But I didn't quite trust myself to get involve with yeast just yet. I was thinking of making it using a recipe that won't require yeast. But that wouldn't be the real deal, right. So, this is it. Ree Drummond's recipe yield a whole lot of cinnamon rolls, so let's use a small portion of that. Thanks to Kitchenmage.

Cinnamon rolls

1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 and 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 and 1/4 cup all purpose flour, divided
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar
5 tbsp melted butter
2 tsp melted butter, for pans

 Frosting:
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp brewed coffee

1. Heat the milk, vegetable oil and 1/4 cup of sugar in a medium saucepan on a medium-high heat to just below a boil. Set aside to cool and warm. Sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute.
2. Add 2 cups of flour. Stir until just combined, then cover with a clean kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour. After 1 hour, remove the towel and add the baking powder, baking soda, salt and the remaining 1/4 cup of flour. Stir thoroughly to combine. Place the dough in a mixing bowl and refrigerate for at least an hour.
3.To assemble the rolls, roll the dough into a large rectangle on a floured baking surface. The dough should be rolled very thin. To make the filling, pour the melted butter on the surface of the dough. Spread the butter evenly. Generously sprinkle the ground cinnamon and brown sugar over the butter.

 
4. Beginning at the end farthest from you, roll the rectangle tightly towards you. Use both hands and work slowly. When you reach the end, pinch the seam together and flip the roll so that the seam is facing down.
5. With a sharp knife, make 1/2-inch slices. Pour the melted butter into cake pans and swirl to coat. Place the sliced rolls in the pan, be careful not to overcrowd. Each pan will hold 7 to 9 rolls.

6. Preheat the oven to 190 C. Cover the pans with a clean kitchen towel and set aside to rise on the counter top for at least 20 minutes before baking. Remove the towel and bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown. Don't allow the rolls to become overly brown.

7. Frosting: Right before serving, top your cinnamon rolls with frosting. Mix the powdered sugar and coffee together until smooth and drizzle over rolls. You may replace the coffee with milk or cream.

Original recipe by Ree Drummond.

Remark: I am glad I made these, they are super soft. You can never stop putting them in your mouth, that is the only bad thing :p
The frosting is super sweet, so you could put in less sugar in the filling.

Corn ravioli in creamy sauce

I haven't reach the make-your-own-pasta time yet and if you can't really get the correct thickness for the pasta, the filling wouldn't cook properly. So, I was intent on looking for the ways to make my life easier AND get to eat ravioli at the same time. I found Guy's recipe and later I found out Ree Drummond also used the same way to make it.

Corn ravioli in creamy sauce

1 ear fresh sweet corn, shucked and removed from the cob
5 tbsp red bell pepper, minced
3 tbsp sweet onion, diced
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 cup heavy cream
Pinch of nutmeg
3 oz smooth tofu, room temperature
3 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 package wonton wrappers
Water, as needed
2 jalapeno chiles, deseeded and chopped
2 tbsp unsalted butter

1. Heat up oil in a saute pan, add in corn, 3 tbsp of red pepper and onions. Saute until onion is translucent and corn has released some of its sugars.
2. Add in a couple of twists of black pepper. Add in 2 tbsp of heavy cream and reduce by half. Set aside to cool. When cool, smash up a bit with a fork, stir in tofu and cream cheese.
3. Place wonton wrappers down and in the center of each, place 1 tsp filling. Brush exposed wrapper with water, carefully place a second wrapper on top and carefully seal edges, making sure to get out any air bubbles. Work fingers around edges to make sure seal is tight. Set aside on floured baking sheet and continue to assemble.
4. When finished, boil water and gently add ravioli a few at a time, cooking for 2 minutes or until they float. Carefully remove and drain.
5. For sauce: In clean saute pan, melt the butter. Add in remaining red pepper and jalapeno chiles. Saute for a while until butter is just very lightly browning. Add in remaining cream and reduce to thicken. Add salt and pepper to taste, serve over ravioli immediately.

Original recipe by Guy Fieri.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

This is not a regular cake in my household, and my idea of a pineapple treat is actually Pineapple Tarts. But somehow, I was thinking about the cake sometime ago. Then, DrNotts mentioned the cake a few days after that. All the more reason to bake one and see how it will turn out. I found quite a number of recipes, and did not know which one to choose. But the morning that I planned to bake the cake, I simply pick the hardest one to do. It's not really hard actually, this recipe just required the egg yolks and whites to be separated when other recipes mostly use the whole egg as it is.

I made the cake during the Chinese New Year celebration, just because pineapple is associated to the celebration. The pineapple symbolizes wealth, luck and excellent fortune to the Chinese.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1 medium pineapple, peeled, sliced 1/4-inch thick and cored
Maraschino cherries or candied cherries (optional)

Cake batter:
1 and a half cup all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs, separated
120 ml milk
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Preheat oven to 170 C. Grease a 9 inch round cake pan with a three inch sides.
2. 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. Then remove from heat, and pour into your prepared cake pan. Evenly arrange the fresh pineapple slices and cherries on top of the sugar mixture.

3. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
4. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in another bowl. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add 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 in the flour mixture (in three additions), alternately with the milk (in two additions), ending with the dry ingredients.
5. 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.
6. Pour the batter into the cake pan, smoothing the top. Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes.
8. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan and invert the cake onto your serving plate.

Original recipe by Joy of Baking 

Remark: The cake does look like it was burnt in the oven, but I can assure you that that is not the case. It is moist and turned out great.