EZCR#40 - STIR FRY WHITE RADISH WITH LEEKS

This is a very Chinese, stir fry vegetable dish which I have  seen on a Taiwanese TV Cooking Show some time back.  I have cooked this dish during Chinese New Year season when carrots and leeks are auspicious ingredients and  in abundance.  Leeks aka Suan in Chinese - meaning there is plenty of money for one to count.  Carrots aka Chai Tao [好彩頭] in Chinese - signify good luck.So instead of frying leeks with sea cucumbers or firm beancurd and other various ingredients, perhaps you can try  this dish for a change during Chinese New Year.Ingredients1 white carrot [about 200 gm] - peeled and shredded50 gm red carrot...

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THE PROSPERITY KUIH [BROWN SUGAR HUAT KUIH]

I was so happy when I removed the cover of the steamer after 20 minutes of steaming the cake.  Why so happy?  Oh,  definitely it is because I had 9 pieces of ‘smiling’ huat kuih in front of me.  All 9 turned out well, the cracks were lovely and nice colour too.These huat kuihs are moist and the sweetness is acceptable to me.  Great for giveaways too as it is a symbol of  ‘GOOD LUCK’ and ‘HUAT AH!’  hehehe!.   Moreover,  the ingredients required are just a few  and the preparation is quick and easy, about 15 minutes.  I used the brown sugar bought at Tesco store.  It gives a...

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CNY 2016 - NESTUM PINEAPPLE TARTS

These pineapple tarts are so fragile, crispy and light with the addition of Nestum cereals. It has a rough crispness, savoury crust and sweet filling. Nice but must handle with care cos' it is very crumbly.I used a wooden pineapple design mooncake mould to shape these tarts.Recipe adapted from Nestum.com [modified]Ingredients[makes 16 pieces]150 gm plain flour15 gm icing sugar1/4 tsp salt50 gm Nestum original130 gm butter1 egg yolk250 gm ready-bought pineapple paste/jamSift flour, add in salt, stir in Nestum and set aside.Beat soft butter with sugar until light before adding egg yolk.  Mix thoroughly.Fold in the dry ingredients [flour/salt/Nestum]...

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BRAISED SEA CUCUMBER WITH ROASTED PORK

Sea cucumber on its own is tasteless.  The best way is to cook it by braising with sauce and some other ingredients for it to soak up the flavours.This dish is the most common way that we used to cook sea cucumbers at home.  Braising it with nam yee [fermented beancurd] makes it tasty and aromatic.  As this is a family recipe, most ingredients are just estimates.  To cook this dish, you need only to stir fry the ingredients until aromatic, add water and braise until the sauce is reduced.  Taste to adjust the seasoning.Ingredientssea cucumbers - washed and slice slantwise about 1.5 cm thicksome roasted pork [pork belly...

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NYONYA MIXED VEGETABLES [CHAR CHAP CHYE]

This is a dish with many ingredients but it is not difficult to prepare. You can simply mix and match the ingredients according to own preference, that is a little of this or more of the other ingredients. It is still okay and tastes good.In some families, this is a must have dish during Chinese New Year when they observe vegetarian diet on the first day of the lunar year.Ingredients[serves 3-4]3 dried mushrooms – soaked and cut thick strips30 dried lilybuds [kim chiam] – soaked, knotted and hard tip trimmed 10 gm cloud ear fungus [bok nee]– soaked3 strips fu chook [dried beancurd stick] – soaked and cut ½ inch lengthsSome glass noodles...

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STIR FRIED CUTTLEFISH SHREDS AND VEGETABLES

I think this dish is the Nyonya Jiu Hoo Char cos’ the ingredients and cooking method is exactly the same. The only difference is perhaps it is a ‘Halal’ version since chicken fillet is used instead of pork belly.So for those who do not eat pork, you can try this version. Taste wise, there isn’t much difference with the Nyonya Jiu Hoo Char. It is aromatic, delicious and tasty vegetable dish to serve wrap in lettuce leaves, sambal belacan and with steaming hot rice.  The dried cuttlefish adds sweetness and flavour to this dish.Ingredients400 gm turnips – sengkuang – peeled and finely shredded1 medium size red carrot – peeled and finely...

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