27 Feb 10 (Sat) - Chicken with Bamboo Shoots (Ayam Ponteh)

Spending the weekend at my sis’s place again and decided to try out my latest recipe from the Paranakan Cuisine course - Ayam Ponteh (Chicken with Bamboo Shoots). Overall comment of the dish was good.

Ayam Ponteh - Chicken with Bamboo Shoots

(Chicken, Bamboo Shoots, Chinese Mushrooms, Garlic and Shallots)

Ingredients:

10 chicken wings

5g salt to marinate chicken wings
10ml dark soya sauce to marinate chicken wings
20ml cooking oil
30g chopped garlic
30g shallots cut into small pieces
1.5ltr water
80g sliced bamboo shoots
150g shitake mushrooms

Seasoning Ingredients:
15g sugar
1/2 chicken cube
10ml oyster sauce
A dash of white pepper
10g light soya sauce
20g yellow bean paste

Method:
1. Marinate chicken wings with salt and dark soya sauce for half an hour
2. Lightly fried the sliced bamboo shoots till golden
3. Heat up oil in a pot and saute the chicken wings with garlic and shallots untill frangrant
4. Add water and seasoing ingredients with bamboo shoots and mushrooms
5. Simmer untill the gravy becomes thick for around 20min in low heat
6. Ensure the chicken wings are cooked

22 Feb 10 (Mon) – SoEZ Lesson 3 (Paranakan)

Was on leave today again since last Friday and decided to go for another cooking lesson since I have the time and also I could get more discounts since it’s my birthday month. Since I had gone for Japanese Cuisine last Friday, so today went for the Chinese Paranakan Cuisine instead. Registered for the 2:30pm class and again as it was a weekday afternoon class, there were only four of us, two Caucasian ladies, one Chinese lady and myself. The instructor for the day was Chef Steven Low and he was equally friendly. Though not as humorous as Chef Kent, he was more fatherly type. He guided us through the cooking and we had fun on the whole. Compared to Japanese Cuisine, Paranaka Cuisine was more complicated and required more ingredients. The Chinese lady, named D, was also a foodie and loves to cook. Before the lesson began, she was asking me about how the class was like coz I had been here several times. So chatted with her and she suggested exchanging numbers so that we could go for cooking class together in future. During lesson, she asked Chef Low a lot of questions and even after class, she stayed back for a while to ask more questions.

Udang Masak Nanas (Prawns with Pineapple)

Sayur Lodeh (Vegetables Curry)

Ayam Ponteh (Chicken with Bamboo Shoots)

21 Feb 10 (Sun) - Steamed Moist Chocolate Cake

Found a recipe on Steamed Moist Chocolate Cake from the internet and psycho my sis’s SIL to try with me. She was better at baking and pastry and also has a lot of baking equipment. Followed the steps closely and prayed that the end product would turn out well. The conclusion of the end product was that the cake itself tastes good; the topping was a bit too runny and sweet though. However, after leaving the cake in the fridge overnight, it turned out that the topping became sticky and not so sweet.

Steamed Moist Chocolate Cake

Ingredients A (Chocolate cake):

188g corn oil

1 cups of castor sugar
1/2 can of evaporated milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten with a folk
1 cups of plain flour
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Method:
1. Combine castor sugar, evaporated milk, vanilla extract and corn oil in a bowl
2. Stir till well blended over low heat until sugar is dissolved, off fire and keep warm
3. Add the beaten eggs into the slightly cold evaporated milk mixture and stir till well mix
4. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda into a large mixing bowl then pour the egg mixture over the flour and stir till well mix (cake batter should be runny)
5. Heat up the steamer
6. Lined and greased a 9 inch baking pan or 2 9'inch sandwich pan
7. Pour the batter into prepared pan and place the pans into the steamer and cover the top of the pan loosely with a piece of aluminum foil
8. Steam over medium heat for 45min
9. Cold the cake in pan before turning out for further decoration


Ingredients B (Chocolate topping):
1/2 can of condense milk
1/2 tsp of vanilla extract
1/4 cup corn oil
1/6 cup cocoa powder, sifted
A dash of salt

Method:
1. Combine the sifted cocoa powder, condense milk and oil
2. Stir over low heat till thickens (stirring all the time)
3. Add in salt and vanilla extract
4. Cold the chocolate topping a little before spreading on the cold cake

Credit to Yochana's Cake Delight - http://auntyyochana.blogspot.com/2006/06/steam-moist-chocolate-cake.html

19 Feb 10 (Fri) – SoEZ Lesson 2 (Jap)

Took leave today for cooking lesson coz I need to clear leave anyway. Went for another Japanese Cuisine course at 3pm so that after lesson, I could meet up with sis and BIL to hitch a ride back to their house to spend the weekend. As it was a weekday afternoon lesson, so there were only three persons in the class, a couple and myself. The instructor was Chef Kent Seah and he remembered me from the previous lesson. Today we were taught Gindara Nitsuke (Poached Cod Fish), Yaki Udon and Teapot Soup. Didn’t bring back the soup coz Chef said it doesn’t taste nice after it cooled. So all of us sat down and sipped our soup after the lesson ended early than the scheduled time. After lesson, took a bus to Raffles Place to meet up with sis and waited for BIL to knock off before going back to his place. Took photos of my creations before letting the rest of them sampled the food.

Gindara Nitsuke - Poached Cod Fish

Yaki Udon

16 Feb 10 (Mon) - Japanese Curry, Steamed Egg Cake (鸡蛋糕) & Stewed Fish Maw - Hokkien Style

Tried out the Japanese Curry today and not many knew how to appreciate coz unlike our normal curry, Japanese Curry has a sweet taste. Added more golden curry paste therefore the color was slightly darker and tasted spicier than the original recipe. Besides cooking that, also tried out a cake recipe given my my sis’s SIL - Steamed Egg Cake (鸡蛋糕). Used my sis’s steam oven for it and the results wasn’t good coz the base of the cakes were still damp. As for dinner, tried out another recipe that I got from The Momster's Kitchen - Stewed Fish Maw (Hokkien Style) - on top of the other dishes that my sis prepared.

S&B Golden Curry Paste (Hot) and House Java Curry Paste (Med Hot)

Japanese Curry

(Golden Curry Paste, Java Curry Paste, Cooking Sake, Plum Sauce, Idaho Potatoes, Large Onion and Carrot)

Steamed Egg Cake (鸡蛋糕)

(Self-rising Flour, Eggs and Fine Sugar)

Ingredients:
2 eggs
120g fine sugar
120g self-rising flour
(Note: if using plain flour, add in ¼ cup of 7-up)

Method:
1.  Mixed all the ingredients together and beat till they turn white
2.  Pour into foil cups
3.  Steam at 100 degree celsius for 30min

Stewed Fish Maw - Hokkien Style

(Fish Maw, Crab Meat, Dried Scallop and Carrot)

Ingredients:

1 packet fish maw, soak in water till soft
Some chopped garlic
A few dried scallops
1 carrot, cut into thin strips
1 packet frozen crab meat
1 chicken cube to make chicken stock with 500ml water
Salt , sesame oil and pepper to taste
1 tbsp Hsiao Hsing Wine
Cornstarch for thickening

Method:
1.  Heat oil in pan, sautee the garlic till fragrant
2.  Add in carrot and stir-fried for a minute
3.  Pour in the chicken stock and add in fish maw. Let it simmer for about 20 minutes or till fish maw is soft
4.  Season with salt and pepper and a dash of sesame oil. Add in the Hsiao Hsing Wine
5.. Thicken the stewed fish maw with cornstarch. Served hot with a dash of black vinegar

14 Feb 10 (Sun) – CNY Lunch

For the past three years, during the first day of the Lunar New Year, I would cook lunch and waited for my sis and her family as well as my elder niece and her dad to come and eat before leaving with my sis back to her house to spend the rest of the Lunar New Year. This year, however, there had been a change. My sis shifted from her HDB flat to a condominium and so BIL suggested that I cooked the CNY lunch at his place and invite my elder niece and her dad over.

Started preparing the ingredients bright and early after breakfast with some help from my sis. Started cooking around 10+am and only finished just in time my elder niece and her dad reached. Cooked sushi, breaded prawns, vegetables with abalone and BIL made grilled chicken. Overall comments on the food was good and was especially happy when my elder niece, M, enjoyed the food.

Bull-Dog Plum Sauce and Mizkan Rice Vinegar

Akita Komachi Japanese Rice

Mizkan Cooking Sake and Ajinomoto Japanese Mayonnaise

Breaded Prawns, Fried Bread Crumbs, California Maki, Small Maki and Hand Rolls

Hand Rolls

(Yaki Nori, Sushi Rice, Rice Vinegar, Japanese Cucumber, Avocado, Ebiko, Crab Stick and Mayonnaise)

Breaded Prawns

(Glass Prawns, Egg, Corn Flour and Bread Crumbs)

California Maki and Small Maki

(Yaki Nori, Sushi Rice, Rice Vinegar, Japanese Cucumber, Avocado, Ebiko, Crab Stick and Mayonnaise)