Carrot & Sweet Potato Puree

100g organic carrot

150g organic sweet potato

100g free range chicken breast

200ml free range chicken stock

The flow

1. Skin and dice carrot and sweet potato

2. Dice free range chicken breast

3. Steam for 20 minutes

4.  Blend according to consistency wanted.

    *I usually do 4-5 pulses so I still get small chunks for my 10 months baby

5. Portion and store  

Pumpkin, Potato and Baby Spinach Puree

300g organic pumpkin

50g organic potato

50g organic baby spinach leaves

100g  free range chicken breast

100ml free range chicken stock

The flow

1. Soak organic baby spinach leaves. Drain and leave aside

2. Dice pumpkin and potato

3. Dice free range chicken breast meat

4. Steam pumpkin, potato and chicken breast with chicken stock for 15 minutes

5. Add in baby spinach leaves and steam for another 5 minutes

6. Blend according to consistency wanted.

    * I usually do 3-4 pulses so I still get small chunks for my 10 months baby

7. Portion and store  

Chickpea Salad

Who hates chickpea?

Oh boy you missed out a lot!

Chickpea is one of my favourite legume to work with. The locals here call them “kacang kuda”. Malaysia Indians refer it as “kacang subhese”. It has different common names like garbanzo, chana and etc. All refers to the same beloved legume that gives out sweet, nutty and creamy buttery flavor.

A treasured staple food in India, chickpea is high in protein and fibre. Keeps you full longer and promotes healthy digestive. Some published studies show chickpeas promotes the growth of good bacteria in your guts. Great for keeping that weight in check!

Studies also show that it helps in regulating blood sugar and the folate and magnesium found in chickpea helps in promoting healthy heart. The catch – you have to take it almost daily to enjoy such benefits.

Our local supermarkets sell the dried beige coloured chickpea and canned cooked chickpea. I have seen chickpeas in shades of black and brownish red during my US visit. Unfortunately, I didn’t get them as I was too occupied with the fruit section that time. How stupid right?

Before cooking, it’s best to soak chickpea for at least four hours or overnight. Pre-soaking shorten the cooking time and activates the enzymes. Steam or cook in lightly salted boiling water for 30-45 minutes to soften it and add into your stew, dhal, curries, paste like spread like hummus, cold salad or deliciously by itself. You can skip the soaking and cooking by using canned chickpea but you get that typical can smell.

Here’s my take on a simple chickpea salad

Chickpea Salad

Portion: 4-6 pax

Prep Time: one hour

500g dried chickpea (soak and cook per the above instruction)

1 small red onion

2 ribs/stalk of celery

1 Japanese cucumber

1 red/yellow capsicum

1 tomato

1 clove of garlic – grated into paste

1 bunch of fresh mint

1 bunch of fresh coriander

1 lemon (juice and zest)

1 tbsp raw cane sugar

3 tbsp apple cider vinegar

5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly grinded black pepper to taste

The flow

1. Add cooked chickpea, diced red onion, diced celery, diced cucumber, diced capsicum, diced tomato, chopped mint and coriander in a big bowl

2. Grated garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, sugar and extra virgin olive oil in another bowl and combine until sugar is fully dissolved

3. Pour the dressing into the chickpea mix

4. Season with sea salt and black pepper

5. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Toss em'!

Pan Mee at Rock Cafe Sunway.

Pan Mee or flat wheat noodle is part of Malaysian Chinese comfort food of Hakka origin. Malaysians eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner and even supper. Nothing fills and warms your stomach like a good bowl of pan mee.

A walk in Klang Valley alone, you will see a number of different soup variation for Pan Mee – herbal, curry, laksa, thick gravy and etc.  Authentic pan mee soup is made from anchovies and pork bones and served with crispy dried anchovies, minced pork, mushroom and leafy vegetable of either sweet potato leaves, spinach or lettuce and fried shallots for that added “ommphh”. And of course sambal or lime chili mix on the side for that fiery kick. If you are not a big fan of soup noodle, you can opt for dry pan mee where the noodle is tossed with dark soy sauce mix.

In many soup noodles, the cook can get away with good broth but shitty noodle (usually – yellow noodle, flat or thick rice noodle or vermicelli). Not for pan mee. Noodle for pan mee needs to be al dente, chewy yet silky while the broth must be balance in terms of sweetness and saltiness. Ask any stall or restaurant and they will tell you the secret to a good broth is a long hour low fire simmer to draw out the essence from the anchovies and the pork bones.  

I have few favourite pan mee stalls and one of them is a stall in Rock Café food court located in Sunway. Although run by Burmese workers, they got the broth right! Their clear broth is made from chicken instead of pork and top with spinach (green bayam), dried anchovies, mushroom, minced chicken and shallots and a fiery lime and chili mix on the side.  

First look, you probably think this is too simple to be delicious. Surprise awaits on the first mouth full.   

The noodle they usually serve here is "miet" or tear. The dough are rolled up into small balls, flatten then lightly pulled before tossing them into boiling water.  

The only downside of this bowl of pan mee is they used MSG. Such a wasted effort.    

Here's the address if you want to experience a bowl of satisfying pan mee but do avoid weekday lunch if can. This food court is surrounded by offices, and colleges so parking here can be a bitch. 

Rock Cafe,

Jalan PJS 11/20, Bandar Sunway, 

46150 Petaling Jaya, Selangor.

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Apple and Pear Puree

As the old saying goes “An apple a day keeps the doctor away”. Apple is undeniably nutrient-rich fruit and my little bub adores apples. I usually use them as base and sweetening agent for his mixed fruit purees. Just add mashed plums, peaches, banana or avocados for variety.

The below recipe is great for breakfast. Just mix the puree with grain cereals. Or you can turn it into delicious popsicle for hot weather. Baby popsicle moulds can be purchase online or selected baby store. I got mine from amazon.com.

Here’s one for the babies

Apple and Pear Puree

Yield: 14 oz

Prep Time: 30 minutes

4 medium sized pear

2 medium sized red apple

1. Skin, core and cut apple and pear in cubes

2. Steam for 20 minutes

3. While it’s still hot, blend steamed apple, pear and apple with blender

          Note: After steaming, you will find liquid with the steamed apple and pear. Do not discard, blend them together.

      4. Let it cool

      5. Portion and freeze.

I usually portion my fruit puree at 2oz per storage pot. 

Slow Braised Chicken In Spiced Soy Sauce and Mushroom

“A good braised chicken pulls rice” -that’s what my dad always say. Braising is not a hard but it’s time consuming. The longer you braise the meat, the tastier it gets and the sauce becomes richer. It’s advisable to use good ingredients for braising. 

So over the weekend, I decided to braise a whole chicken after passing the soy sauce isle at my favorite supermarket. For my braised chicken, I use Lee Kum Kee light soy sauce as it has light sweetness and not overly salty.

Slow Braised Chicken In Spiced Soy Sauce and Mushroom

Portion: 6-8

Prep Time: 3 hours

0.8 - 1.2kg whole chicken

4 star anises

6 cloves

2 cinnamon sticks

1 thumb size rock sugar

2 tbsp. oyster sauce

1 tbsp. dark soy sauce

100ml light soy sauce

3 inch old ginger - crushed

1 garlic bulb

5-6 pieces of white pepper – lightly crushed

3 cups of water

1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine

One handful medium sized dried mushroom – soaked

4 hard boiled eggs * optional

½ tsp five spice powder

The flow

1. Rub five spice powder mix on chicken. Leave for at least 3 hours or overnight

2. Lightly fry chicken until skin is golden brown. Dab away oil

3. In a deep pot, heat oil

4. Sauté ginger, star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick until fragrant

5. Reduce to medium heat, add in soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce and rock sugar and cook until sugar is fully dissolved.

6. Add in whole garlic bulb, crushed white pepper and water and bring mixture to a full boil

7. Submerge whole chicken, dried mushroom and hard boiled eggs in the sauce

8. Cook using low heat for 2 hours, turning the chicken occasionally. (once sauce reduced, it may not cover the whole chicken. You will need to turn the chicken)

9. After braising for two hours, add shaoxing wine and cook for another 5 minutes.

10. Lift chicken from the pot and strain liquid. Cut according to preference.

11.   Serve with braised mushroom, eggs and of course, the sauce.

Basic Chicken Stock/Soup for Babies

I love my infant son and I promised to take care of him as long as my heart pumps. Diagnosed with G6PD deficiency, I tend to be VERY particular with his solid food intake. I cook most of his solids and try to avoid commercial baby food.

When he reached 8 months old, I started giving him 2oz of chicken soup after his dinner. He loves his soup so much he down them like a hungry wolf (even after a full dinner).  Effort not wasted J

The below chicken stock/soup recipe is suitable for infant who are taking solid and meat.  Only slight difference from the basic chicken stock recipe you find in this blog. I only use DQ Clean Chicken.  

I have been using their free range chicken for four years now. DQ raise their chicken without the use of antibiotic and growth hormone. Their chickens roam freely on their organic grass field and not fattened with grain feeds. And their chickens are lean and I don’t need to go through the tedious process of skinning and removing fats. Don’t get pulled away when you see the price. RM26.00 per 1.3kg bird, worth every penny and I don’t think I will make any switch.  

Do check them out http://www.dqcleanchicken.com/ or follow them on Facebook. They also have great ideas in sustainable home farming (do read about their padi in baldi) and share seeds from their farms. Available in most organic shops and selected supermarkets.

Basic Chicken Stock/Soup for Babies

Yield:  1.5litre of stock

Prep Time:  3 hours

1.3kg Whole DQ free range chicken - chopped

2 medium sized organic carrot

1 organic yellow onion - quartered

2 rib/stalk organic celery  - cut into 2 inches length

1 stalk of organic leek – cut into 2 inches length

3 cloves of garlic - bruised

5 pieces of whole black pepper – crushed

3 litres of water

Note: I usually, portion out the breasts for baby solid.

The work flow

1. In stock pot, lightly sear chopped chicken for three minutes on each side

2. Add in organic onion, carrot, celery, leek, garlic and black pepper and toss them

3. Add in water and let it boil

4. Close lid and reduce to medium heat. Boil for two hours.

5. Let the stock cool before straining and portioning. To maximize the yield, squeeze the vegetables for the “hidden” stock.

Storage.

1. Portion stock using ice cube tray. Once set in freezer, pop them out and store them in zip lock bags.

Basic Chicken Stock

Confession. I have a lot of lazy bones in my body. I still have them and they take control of my mind once in a while. I used to use stock granules and bouillons in my early cooking days. Pop one bouillon in the soup or sprinkle granule in your stir fried dish and you will have fuss free, easy and flavorful meals. As I grow older and wiser, I began to realize kitchen cheats won’t take a dish far. Tear those convenience and flavors apart, commercial stocks are just compressed dehydrated vegetable and meat pumped with enhancer and artificial flavoring. Besides, having to see family members and guest downing water after every meal is not a pleasant sight!

Making your own chicken stock is easy and save cost too! I always buy whole chicken and portion them accordingly. I will keep the legs, ribs, neck frozen and once I gather enough, I will make them into wholesome stocks. Alternatively, you can get chicken ribs from the morning wet market for a good price. If you have a sweet mouth, you might get them cheaper or extra from the poultry man. 

Basic Chicken Stock

Yield:  1.5litre of stock

Prep Time:  3 hours

1.5 -2kg Chicken carcasses

2 medium sized carrot

1 onion - quartered

2 rib/stalk celery  - cut into 2 inches length

1 stalk of leek – cut into 2 inches length

3 cloves of garlic - bruised

8 - 10 pieces of whole black pepper – lightly crushed

3 litres of water

The work flow

1. Roast chicken carcasses in oven at 250C for 30 – 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Note: This step is for a fuller rich stock. For a milder version, you can skip this step.

2. Bring 3 litres of water to a boil

3. Add in roasted chicken carcasses, carrot, onion, celery, leek, garlic and black pepper.

4. You will find brown bits of dried chicken essences on the roasting pan. Don’t discard unless they are burnt. Add water to the pan and put it on your stove. The bits will dissolve and add them to the boiling stock.   

5. Close lid and reduce to medium heat. Let it boil for 2 hours.

6.  Let the stock cool before straining and portioning. To maximize the yield, squeeze the vegetables for those "hidden" liquid.

Here are some of the storage options.
1. Portion stock using ice cube tray. Once set in freezer, pop them out and store them in zip lock bags

2. Portion stock base on 200ml in zip lock bags. Freeze and store away for further use.

MasterChef US 2014

My favourite show is back with a new set of contestants! Time to stock up the munchies. It was released on 26^th of May but the hubs and I only managed to watch the first episode yesterday. Boy oh boy, I've missed Gordon Ramsay!

The legends.
Picture taken from fox.com/masterchef

That's Gordon Ramsay in action
Picture taken from fox.com/masterchef

And Graham Elliot looking mighty fine with his new weight but it won’t be long. Bet he is going to gain a kilo or two after the show declares his 5^th winner. I read somewhere he had a sleeve gastrectomy and recently completed a 10km marathon in 1 hour and 16 minutes! 

The apron worthy contestants. Picture taken from fox.com/masterchef

Back to MC 2014, I sense there is going to be a number of dramas coming from Leslie, Victoria, Astrid and Elise. Willie is so lovable! We didn't get enough face time of the rest of the contestants so hopefully we get to see more of them in episode 2.

If you are outside of US, you can catch Masterchef 2014 via the links below

FOX (if you have VPN installed)
or
YouTube - MasterChef Channel

While waiting for the next episode, the hubs and I are heading back to MasterChef Australia 2014. I'm rooting for Tash, Colin and Sarah. And did you know two contestants are from Malaysia? You gotta catch the show to find out more.

MasterChef Australia 2014

The Super Quinoa

I got to know about quinoa when I was in my former company. We were the first to bring in organic quinoa into Malaysia back in 2005 from Bolivia. We had a great time developing and marketing these protein rich grains.

Quinoa is actually seed but often referred as grain. The Incas call them “Chisaya Mama” which translates to “Mother of All Grains”. Quinoa has complete protein profile, containing all nine amino acid, magnesium, iron, copper and other essential minerals. Gluten free too

Once puffed, it is soft and light, and carries a nutty tone. Comes in hue of white, black and red. I personally prefer the black and red variety as it has slightly thicker hull which give that great “crunch” in every bite.

The more I cook the deeper my love for quinoa. The versatility is incredible. I have made multigrain rice/porridge, various salad, quinoa and corn pudding and breakfast bar. My husband got hooked to it and didn’t mind having them for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Here’s my first quinoa recipe

Tuna and Quinoa Salad

Portion      : 4 - 6

Prep Time : 30 minutes

500g organic quinoa

750ml water

2  canned tuna (in water)

300g cherry tomato – small diced

100g mint leaves - chopped

50g onion – small diced

50g celery – small diced

30g red chili – small diced

Juice from one lemon

Lemon Zest

6 tbsp. of extra virgin olive oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

The work flow

1. Using a large sieve, rinse quinoa under running water. Drain well

2. In a bowl, add rinsed quinoa and 750ml water

3. Steam for 20 - 25 minutes

4. Remove from steamer and let it cool

5. Drain liquid from canned tuna.
6. Pour content in a bowl and lightly separate the chunk with a fork
7. Add in diced cherry tomato, celery, onion, red chili, chopped mint and lemon zest
8. Squeeze juice from one lemon
9. Add in quinoa and mix well.
10. Drizzle in olive oil, salt and pepper and give it a final toss. 
11. Serve immediately

  

Note: Can store up to two days in chiller.

Eggs Ben

While we were in visiting my grandma in Australia, she bought us a lot of bacon and free range eggs for breakfast. We stuffed ourselves silly every morning with browned bacon and sunny side ups. One morning, with my messy unbrushed hair, I decided to assemble a sophisticated egg and bacon combination.

Eggs Ben

Portion: 6

Prep Time : 30 minutes

Hollandaise Sauce

125g butter - melted

4 free range egg yolks

Juice from half lemon

1 pinch of paprika

Salt to taste

Eggs Ben

3 English muffins 

6 slices of streaky bacon / ham

1 tablespoon of white vinegar

6 free range eggs

Black pepper

The work flow: 

Part 1

1.      Add egg yolks and lemon juice on a stainless steel bowl

2.      Whisk until mixture turns pale

3.       Place bowl over saucepan with simmering water  

4.       Continue to whisk and slowly add in melted butter.

5.       Whisk until mixture thickens

6.       Remove bowl from sauce pan

7.       Add in paprika and salt and mix well. If you are using salted butter, you may want to skip the salt.

8.       Set aside on a warm place.

Part 2

1.       On a pan, brown the bacon. Don’t add oil. Let the fat from the bacon melts!

2.        Toast English muffin on a grill pan.

3.       Fill half saucepan with water and bring to boil. Once boil, lower the heat to simmer

4.       Add in white vinegar to the boiled water

5.       Swirl water to form a vortex

6.       Gently break egg (one at a time) and cook about 3 minutes

7.       Remove egg with slotted spoon and drain off the water

The Construction

1.       Lay one bacon on toasted muffin

2.       Top with poached egg.

3.       Scoop a spoonful off hollandaise sauce on top of the poached egg

4.       Grind some black pepper on top

5.       Serve immediately

The result - extra gooey caramel points from the hubs. You can add rocket leaves for the fresh peppery kick.

Let's get started

I love cooking. Just like most kitchen warriors, I love dishing out delicious food. Just like most working adults, I food cheat with pre-mixes sometimes.

I come from a Hainanese and Teow Chew lineage. My dad is an extremely good cook (most Hainaneses are) but a lazy house chef. He can wow us with weird combinations –  savoury stewed papaya with chicken and apple and pork soup. When I was younger, I would call home and asked who’s cooking and if it’s my dad, I would cancel all my dinner appointments. Sometimes, I would root myself in the kitchen and try to remember as much when the great chef cooks.

My grandma is another great cook. She amazes me with her agak agak measurements and yet her food still taste OMG good. Why? She is overly generous with ingredients. Imagine having three whole chickens to make 3 litre of chicken stock.

The difference between my dad and my grandma’s approach on food is my dad loves using spices to lift his dishes and my grandma uses whole loads of meat or seafood for natural “sweetness”.

When I was younger, I used to cook no-brainer dishes. Pasta with thick Campbell’s seafood chowder (reduced water ratio to get sauce like consistency), instant noodle with eggs and when I get less adventurous I would just call 755 2525. Yes, that's Pizza Hut hotline back in the 1990's.

After I got married, I would spend my weekend trying to get cookie points from my in-laws with some dishes I grew up with. But first, I would need to call my parents and getting quick refreshment on the ingredients needed. When I was pregnant with my son, my big belly forced me to cook less. I ended up abusing my whisk and oven more. And when my son started solid, that’s when I got excited about cooking once more.

In this blog, I will try to share as much as I can. Let it be recipe, travel and even a sneak peek of my baby’s food journey.

And yes, I’m from Malaysia - where food is our second language.