Hohoho Merry Christmas

School Holiday (in Singapore) and Christmas is at the corner, want to have some bonding with your child? You can do some Christmas decoration by re-using toilet paper roll and Felt. You don't need to break your bank to do that. This is a no sewing craft.
You need :
- toilet paper roll
- felt, Red, green and white, or any colour which you like
- a pair of scissors
- a pen knife
- a hot glue gun
- measurement tape

1. Cut a line in the middle of the paper roll, dividing it into two. (size of the segments do not matter).
2. Using a measurement tape, measure the circumference  and the length of the paper roll

 

3. Cut the felt according to the measurements, giving/adding an allowance of 0.1 inch at each side for the gluing (which will be done later)

4. For the Santa's Belt, cut a strip of felt 3/8 inches wide, and as for the length, the size of you previously measured circumference.

 

 

5. Using a hot glue gun, help your child to glue the red felt to the paper roll segment, then glue the green belt and the white colour buckle to the roll. (Instruction on how to cut the buckle are shown in the above picture)

Here is a picture of how the final product should look like.
Merry Christmas all. Ho Ho Ho

Beef ball

BAHASA klik SINI

I have been trying making beef balls for a few times, the result was well, 'so so' , because meat balls need to be springy .
But I didn't give up .So started again to  collect all the  knowledge , practice it  and combine it . here the know how

Yield:  22 beef balls
Basic ingredients:
300 g shin beef, cubed into 1 X 1 cm
1 egg white (direct from the fridge)
1/2 tsp white pepper powder
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
1 ice cube
2 tbsp. tapioca flour

- Meat chopper
- Ice, for ice bath the freshly made beef balls

Method :

1. load all the ingredients into the meat chopper, chop for 15-20 minutes, or until the meat really fine.

2. Prepare ice and water in a big bowl for ice bath, using  your hand and spoon mould the beef ball, lower into the ice water bowl.

3.boil water in another pan, lower down  the beef ball into the boiling water , cooked beef balls will float. Serve with noodles , vegetables or whatever you like.

rainbow cake

Bahasa klik SINI

Rainbow cake!. Most kids will screamed with delight when they got one.
the recipe below only yield one colour, for home baking the best way is doing one colour at a time. bake 6 consecutive times to achieve  the complete rainbow colour

175 ml egg white
1/2 tsp cream of tartar, sifted
100 g icing sugar

Dry ingredients:
25 g milk powder
65 all purpose flour + 10 g corn starch, sifted 
Wet ingredients:
75 g butter
1 tbsp condense sweeten milk

food grade jell paste colouring, red,orange,yellow,green, blue and purple
Prepare a 22 X 22 X 4 cm baking pan, grease the inner surface with butter evenly,line the bottom with porchment.  powder with thin all purpose flour.

method :

Preheat the oven to 180C/356F

1. Combine milk powder with all purpose flour and corn starch, sprinkle with a table spoon of icing sugar.
2. In a electric mixer beat butter for 1 minutes, add in  condense sweeten milk , continue beating until the mixture become light and fluffy (about 6-8 minutes), set aside to be use later
3. Pour in the egg white into a stainless steel/ glass mixing bowl,beat slowly for seconds, sprinkle the cream of tartar, (omit the cream of tartar if you are using a cooper bowl), add the gel paste colouring at this stage, beat a few seconds till you get your desired shades. Lower the icing sugar spoon by spoon (while electric mixer keep running), increase the speed to high and beat the egg white until soft peak.
4. fold in 1/2 part of dry ingredient, fold  1/2 cup of the batter into the wet ingredient, fold the mixture back into the batter, continue fold in the other 1/2 part of dry ingredients.
5. Spread batter into prepared baking pan, bake for about 10-12 minutes, or insert a knife into the centre of cake, it should come out clean. leave to cool on a wire rack.
6. continue with the 5 colours left

To assemble the cake, apply Swiss Meringue buttercream in between each layers, refrigerate for 1 hours. Decorate as desired.

swiss meringue buttercream

175 g coarse sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar
125 ml egg white
150 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  75 g Crisco shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract

Using a Bain Marie method, in a mixing bowl combine the sugar with cream of tartar, stir in the egg white (the water bath about 60C). stir the mixture continuously until the mixture reach 50-55C . Remove from the water bath, using a electric mixer, beat on high speed for 5 minutes, lower the speed beat for another 5 minutes, until room temperature and stiff.

In another mixing bowl, cream the butter at medium-low speed, add in the Crisco shortening and vanilla extract until light and fluffy. fold in 1/4 of the meringue into the butter mixture, continue fold in  the rest of the meringue.
 

 

Anchovies, olive fried rice

Try this awesome fried rice for the first time was at my friend's son wedding, one of my friend  teach me how to home cook it.

Ingredients:

1 cup of rice , 3/4  cooked (at the same day)

3 shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic, finely chopped
1 + 2 tbsp cooking oil
1 salted egg, chop the yolk
1 egg
1 tbsp fried ikan bilis  (silver anchovies)
1/2 tsp light soya sauce
 pinch of white pepper powder
1 tbsp Olive vegetable    

silver anchovies / ikan bilis/ikan teri

Method :
1. in a wok, heat the oil (stove on high temperature).
2. using a fork , mix the egg with salted egg, pour into the hot wok, stirring vigorously until it cooked, set aside.
3. Using the same wok, on high heat, add additional 2 tbsp of cooking oil, stir fried shallots and garlic until fragrant, lower the 3/4 cooked rice, stir for about 2 minutes, Add light soya sauce, white pepper, stir for another minute.
4. add Olive vegetable, stir for another 2 minutes, add fried ikan bilis, do some quick stir , pour into serving plate, serve hot.

ABC (apple beetroot carrot) Juice

Try this Juice first time at Old airport Rd Hawker centre.  Bahasa Klik SINI
Beetroot has been linked with better stamina, improved  blood flood and lower blood pressure. It is also said that drinking beetroot juice increases blood flow to the brain in older people, which may be able to fight the progression of dementia. Beetroot has a sweet and earthy taste , that's why it's so difficult to persuade my family member to eat it, but by blending it with apple and carrots, It taste yummy.

Yield 2 cups
400 G beetroot, skinned
4 apples
2 carrots

Method :
1. Wash all the fruits, cut into chunk
2. Blend all of them with a Juice extractor, n drink immediately.

Drink Moderately.

notes : Side efefcts of eating  too much beetroot

- It can turn urine pink , which can be mistaken for blood in urine
- If you get kidney stone because of too much calcium, you may be advised to cut down on oxalates in your diet. Beetroot is just one food which contains oxalates, which prevent calcium from being absorbed by your body allowing it to build up as stones in the kidney.

Red velvet cake

Layered red velvet cake

Yield one 8 X 6 -inch , 4-layers cake, Bahasa klik SINI

For the cake:
dry ingredients:
180 g cake flour 
140 g  sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Liquid ingredients

liquid ingredients:
1 whole egg + 1 yolk ( egg's weight about 60g including the shell)
150 g butter, melted, set aside, let it cool down
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar

300 g beetroot, skinned plus 100 ml water
 

For the frosting:  Click HERE

Preheat oven to 350°F. 170 C

1. Blend the beetroot and 100ml of water together. Put the puree in a strainer and sieve out the liquid. Pour the liquid into a small pan and boil over a small fire, until it thickens and evaporates to about a tablespoon.

 
2. Sift together the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa, and salt into a medium bowl).

3. Beat liquid ingredients in  a large bowl with an electric mixer until well combined, check the colour, is it red enough for your taste?(Note: If the colour of the liquid is not a deep enough red for your tastes, add red food colouring until satisfied.) .

Batter

4. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

5. pour into a  16 X 12 inch Bake cakes, rotating halfway through, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean, 8-10 minutes. Let cakes cool 5 minutes, invert  onto a cooling rack. Let cakes cool completely.divide the cake into 4 equal parts (8 X 6-inch each

6. Put 1 cake layer on a cake plate, level off with a serrated knife, and spread one-quarter of the frosting on top. Set another layer on top, level, and repeat frosting.
You may also set remaining layer on top level, and sides. 


**Tip: after leveling cake, turn it upside down to reduce numbers of crumbs. I also did a crumb coat on the outside, let it set for ten minutes, then finished with remaining frosting.

7. Chill for 2 hours to set frosting.

8. to have a perfect cut, slice the cold cake with a sharp straight-edge knife. Before making that first slice, warm the knife under hot running water and wipe it dry.After cutting each slice and before making the next one, wipe the knife clean with a warm wet towel, this will make every slice clean and picture perfect.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting for red velvet cake   , Bahasa klik SINI
120 g  cream cheese, softened
120 g  unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
115 g confectioners’ sugar
1 pinch of fine salt
Method:

Beat cream cheese, butter, salt and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer until combined. Add sugar and beat until frosting is light and fluffy, 5-7 minutes, cover with cloth 

cold ramen

 

1 bundle of dried ramen, Bahasa klik SINI
1 tsp of  Hyoshiro gomen tsuyu (sauce dip) , dilute with 6 tsp of cold boiling water
ice for washing the ramen

method:
1. boil according to the instruction on the packet*
2. pour the cooked ramen on the ice, and stir it ( wash it in the ice) for 3 minutes, put the cold ramen into a serving plate, pour the sauce dip, garnish with seaweed, serve clod.

*Different brands of ramen require different boiling time

Yin n Yang cupcakes

Yin and yang cupcake

Yield 8 cupcakes ( diameter 8 cm cupcake holder) for Bahasa klik SINI
White Batter: A
60 g unsalted butter
50 g icing sugar
1/2 tsp pure Vanilla
50 g egg ( about 1 whole egg)
65 g all purpose flour
5 g potato starch
1/2 tsp baking powder
50 ml fresh milk, I use "Pura"


Brown colour batter

Brown butter :B60 g butter
65 g icing sugar
50 g egg ( about 1 whole egg)
50 g all purpose flour
20 g cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
50 ml milk

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 Celsius.


Beated butter with icing sugar

2. Cream the butter, add in icing sugar and vanilla, beat until light and creamy, add in the egg, beat until well combine.


Beated butter, icing sugar and egg

3. Mix the dry ingredients, flour, potato starch and baking powder, shift 1/2 part into the batter, and fold in.
4. fold in 1/2 part of milk (25ml), fold the remains 25 ml of milk, follow by the remains of flour mixture, fold until just combine, don't over fold.

white batter inside cupcakes holders

5. pour the batter equally  into 8 cupcakes holders

Brown butter pour into  piping bag

6. prepare the brown colour batter. Cream the butter, add in icing sugar, beat until light and creamy, add in the egg, beat until well combine.

use a cup to hold the piping bag, if you do it by yourself

7.  Mix the dry ingredients, flour, cocoa powder and baking soda, shift 1/2 part into the batter, and fold in.
8. fold in 1/2 part of milk (25ml), fold the remains 25 ml of milk, follow by the remains of flour mixture, fold until just combine, don't over fold.


Kee-seal piping bag

9. scoop the batter into a 12 inch disposable piping bag, I use "kee-seal", cut the end of the bag n dip the opening inside the white batter, and squeeze in the brown (B) batter until it reach 2/3 of the cupcakes holder, stop and continue with the rest of the cupcakes.

Fill the pipingwith all brown batter

dip the piping bag inside the white batter and squeeze

white n brown batter, ready to put into oven for baking

 10. Bake for 18 minutes, the first 10 minutes on the middle shelf and remains 8 minutes on the buttom shelf or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted in the centre of the cupcakes. Transfer to a colling grid to cool.

freshly bake Yin and Yang cupcakes

Tembro

This is a deep fried finger food, original recipe  should be call Combro as the filling is contain of "oncom" I think :D , But since there is no Oncom in Singapore,  I use tempe instead. So let's call it Tembro. Bahasa klik SINI

 Yield 20 pcs

Dough
400 g Cassava, chop finely in a chopper, squeeze out about 50g of the juice.
100 g grated coconut
1/4 tsp fine salt

Filling:
finely chopped ingredients:
30 g shallot
10 g garlic
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp oil

200 g Tempe, finely cut
1 tbsp dried prawn powder
7 pcs green chilly, finely cut
1 red  big chilly, finely cut
100 ml water

500 ml oil for deep fried

Method:
Prepare dough - Mix Cassava, coconut n salt, set aside

Prepare the filling
1. Heat up the wok at medium heat, pour in 2 tbsp oil ,  saute finely chopped ingredients.
2. Add in Tempe, dried prawn powder and chillies ans toss evenly. Add in water, stir-fry for 20 minutes . Remove, divided into 20 equal portions
3. Divided the dough into 20 portions
4. flatten into round wrappers, about 8 cm in diameter
5. put 1 portion of filling into each wrapper
6. fold wrapper n seal into oval shape, or any shape that suit you.
7. heat up 500 ml oil, using medium heat, low down a wooden shopstick, if bubble come out from the wooden chopstick, it means the oil is ready to be used.8. deep fried the 'tembro'  under medium heat  until golden brown , serve hot.