Swedish Meatballs

Swedish meatballs was my favourite dish every time I dined at IKEA Singapore. I got this recipe from an Indonesian Mixed Couple website, submitted by a lady married to a Swede and lives in Sweden. So, hopefully it is close to the real thing. In the picture, I served the meatballs with cranberry sauce and mashed cauliflower instead of mashed potato. The gravy is made from Gravox, although you can make your own if you wish to.



Ingredients:
150 ml cream
50 - 100 ml beef stock
2 eggs, lightly beaten
3 1/2 tbsp breadcrumb
2 tbsp onion, chopped
500 gr ground beef
salt & pepper to taste (1-2 tsp)
butter for frying

Method:
Mix together the cream, egg and stock. Stir evenly, then add the breadcrumb and mixed again.
Add salt, pepper and onion, and then the ground beef.
With wet hands, shape the mixture into small balls about 2 cm in diameter.
Melt the butter on a frying pan and fry the meatballs until they turn brown, then bake them in the oven at 150C for about 10-15 minutes.
Serve with steamed / mashed potato & brown gravy.

To make the gravy: add 400ml stock to the left over oil for frying, bring to a boil and stir evenly. Heat 1 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp of plain flour on a frying pan, then add the stock mixture. Stir evenly. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 3-4

Bubur Sumsum

This is an a very easy to make Indonesian snack. I used to have it for supper in cold winter nights. Also for breakfast when I am lazy to cook anything else.



Ingredients for bubur:
50 g rice flour
1/4 tsp salt
325 ml coconut milk
1 pandanus leave, cut to small pieces

Ingredients for sauce:
100 g palm sugar, shredded
50 g sugar
125 ml water
1 pandanus leave, cut to small pieces

Method:
To make the sauce, boil sauce ingredients until sugar is dissolved. Remove from fire, strain the liquid.

To make the bubur, mix rice flour, salt and a portion of the coconut milk to obtain a smooth liquid. Boil the rest of the coconut milk with pandanus leave. Pour in the rice mixture, stir continuously, until the mixture is thicken and cooked. Remove from fire.

Serve the bubur with the sauce

Serves 2

Easy Chicken Porridge

Another of my mid-week one pot meal, made using left over roast chicken from the weekend. Very easy to prepare using my favourite Magic Jar.



Ingredients:
1 cup rice
1.5 litre chicken stock (or water + vegeta)
roast chicken, shredded
handful of blanched skinless peanuts
finely chopped carrot
salt & pepper to taste

Garnishes:
Coriander leaves
Fried shallots
Chinese doughnuts

Method:
Put the rice, stock, peanut and carrot in the inner pot. Bring it to the boil, and keep boiling for 10 minutes. Remove from fire, transfer the pot to outer pot and lock securely. Rest for 1 hour. Porridge is ready. Season to taste, served garnished.

Serves 2

Nearly Fat Free Pasta

This is one of my two favourite pasta dishes, which I cook pretty often. It is light and not oily at all.



Ingredients:
1/2 tbsp olive oil
125g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
125g shaved light ham, shredded
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
a few pcs of broccoli florets
250g penne pasta (you can use shell pasta), cooked, drained and kept hot
1 green onion (spring onion), finely sliced.

Method:
1. Heat oil in a large frying pan. Saute mushrooms and garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Add ham. Cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until shaved ham has browned.
2. Stir in stock and tomatoes. Reduce heat. Simmer 5 minutes or until stock has reduced slightly.
3. Toss sauce with pasta and green onions. Top with some finely grated tasty cheese and toasted pinenuts.

Serves 2

Doughnuts

Doughnuts are easy to make by hand, easier still using a breadmaker. Use dough - pizza setting if you do want to use your breadmaker. They are best made on the day of serving, although you can freeze unused dough for later use.



Ingredients:
300ml milk, warmed
90g butter, melted
2 60g eggs, beaten lightly
1 1/2 tsp salt
55g caster sugar
600g bread flour
2 tsp (7g) instant yeast
1 cup caster sugar, extra
2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:
Blend the yeast with a little of the warmed milk, stir in the remaining milk and 1 tbsp of the sugar, stand in a warm place for about 10 minutes or until frothy.
Meanwhile in a large bowl, sift the salt, remaining sugar and flour. Make a well in the centre, stir in the butter, eggs and yeast mixture, mix to a soft dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 10 minutes or until smooth. Place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl, cover, stand in a warm place for about 40 minutes or until the mixture has doubled in size.
If using a breadmaker, place all ingredients into the breadmaker according to manufacturer's instruction. Set machine to the correct dough setting. When dough is ready, remove from machine, let rest for 10 minutes on a floured board.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, knead for about 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic. Roll the dough out on floured surface to about 1.5 cm thick. Cut into rounds using a doughnut cutter. Place the doughnuts on a lightly greased trays, cover loosely with plastic wrap, stand in a warm place for about 20 minutes or until increased in size by half.

Heat the oil in a deep fryer or large deep saucepan to approximately 160C. Deep-fry doughnuts in batches, until golden brown and cooked through, turning frequently. This should take about 5 minutes per batch. Drain the doughnuts on absorbent paper; cool for 1 minute.

Toss the warm doughnuts in combined extra sugar and cinnamon.

Wonton Soup

This is a wonton soup with a twist. The ginger gives it an interesting taste. A heart warming soup for cold winter day, a meal on its own.



Ingredients:
36 won ton wrappers (approximately)
Filling:
250g chicken mince or pork mince
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp sugar
Soup:
1 litre water
1 Knorr pork flavour cube
Green vegie / bean sprout
Tang chai
Fried garlic
Coriander leaves / spring onion (for garnish)

Method:
Mix the filling ingredients together. Wrap the wontons and set aside covered with tea towel to prevent the wonton from drying up. To make the soup, bring the chicken stock to a boil. Add the vegetable and reduce the fire to a simmer.
In another pot / wok, boil some water. Drop the wontons into the boiling water and wait for them to float to the service. Drain them and place into serving bowl, pour soup over, add a dash of white pepper and a few drops of sesame oil. Garnish as desired.

Serves 2

Deep Fried Wonton

As a snack, these little dumplings are simply delicious eaten with tomato sauce.



Ingredients:
36 won ton wrappers (approximately)
Filling:
250g chicken mince or pork mince
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp sugar

Method:
Mix the filling ingredients together. Wrap the wontons and deep fry them at 180C until golden brown. Drain and serve with sauce of your choice.

Serves 6 as snacks

Quick Cookies

Although probably not the best looking cookies I have ever baked (I still have to work on improving this recipe), these cookies are pretty quick to bake. They are perfect as a nibble with a cup of hot tea.



Ingredients:
125 butter, chopped
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
2 cups self-raising flour, sifted
glace cherries or nuts for garnish (optional)

Method:
1. Cream butter and sugar together in a bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla.
2. Gradually fold in flour until a stiff dough is formed.
3. Roll small pieces into walnut-sized balls. Arrange on lightly-greased or baking paper-lined baking trays. Press each cookies lightly with a floured fork. Top with a cherry or nut.
4. Bake in a moderate oven (180C) for 10-12 minutes or until golden. Allow cookies to cool on trays for a few minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Variation 1: Add 1/2 cup choc bits or dried fruit (dates, sultanas, raisins) to the flour, then continue as directed.
Variation 2: Use brown sugar in place of caster sugar for a more caramel-tasting biscuits.
Variation 3: Add 1 teaspoon of mixed spice and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans with the flour.
Variation 4: Add 1/2 cup chopped crystallised ginger or glace cherries with the flour.

Makes about 24 - 34.

Jo's Swiss Roll

I call this swiss roll Jo's Swiss Roll because it is made following Jo's excellent recipe , with a little modification by me. Try this recipe and surprise yourself. I have never baked swiss rolls before, until today, and am very pleased with the result. The cake is spongy rather than cakey like "western" swiss roll cakes. Bake the cake using a 30 x 25cm swiss roll tin.



Ingredients:
(A)
35g castor sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
25g corn oil
10g milk
30g cake flour
30g cornflour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cake softener

(B)
4 egg whites
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
35g castor sugar

Filling:
Raspberry jam (or any other jam of your choice)

Method:
1. Preheat oven at 160 deg C fan-forced. Line a swiss roll tin with glad-bake.
2. Beat sugar in (A) and egg yolks with a hand whisk in a mixing bowl until creamy, about 2 minutes. Add vanilla essence, corn oil and milk and mix well.
3. Sift cake flour, cornflour and baking powder into mixture in (2) and fold till well combined.
4. In another clean mixing bowl, whip egg whites until big bubbles are form. Sprinkle cream of tartar and beat again until foamy. Add the sugar from (B) and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Tip the mixing bowl upside down. If the white egg doesn't move, it is ready.
5. Take 1/3 of egg whites in (4) and fold into the egg yolk mixture in (3). Pour all this combined mixture into the remaining 2/3 of whipped egg whites. Gently fold the egg whites into the combined mixture.
6. Pour and spread mixture into the prepared pan. Bake at 160 C for 10-15 minutes or till light brown and springy to touch.
7. When cake is done, invert it onto a linen kitchen tower sprinkled with icing sugar. Peel of glad-bake and spread the filling on the cake. Trim of edges to neaten up the cake.
8. With the aid of the kitchen towel, roll the cake tightly like rolling a sushi.
9. Let the cake cool down completely, about 30 minutes then cut into slices to serve.

Easy Pasta Soup

A warming soup for winter days. I made use of the leftover roast chicken from last week. It takes a mere 5 minutes to prepare! You may either use prepared chicken stock or water + stock cubes. I use vegeta, which is vegetable stock powder.



Ingredients:
150g roast chicken
100g pasta (macaroni, shell etc)
100g potato, diced
50g carrot, diced
2 dsp vegeta
1 litre water

Method:
Put everything in a pot and boil until pasta is aldente and vegetables are soft. Serve with a dash of pepper and coriander or other herb of choice. If you are using Magic Jar, put everyting in the inner pot, bring it to the boil, then remove from fire. Insert the inner pot into outer pot, lock, and let it sit for about 20 minutes.

Serves 2

Poppy Seed Twists

Another item I made for Christmas 2004. Serve these Poppy Seed Twists as an appetizer on its own or with soup.



Ingredients:
1/2 cup plain flour
35g butter, chopped
2 tbsp iced water
1 tbsp poppy seeds
1 egg, beaten

Method:
Preheat oven to moderate 180C. Brush a 32 x 28 cm oven tray with melted butter or oil
1. Place flour in a medium mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre and add butter. Using two knives, cut butter in a crossing motion until reduced to very small pieces. Stir in the water with a knife and mix to a firm dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, knead 1 minute or until smooth. Store, covered in plastic wrap, in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
2. In a slightly floured surface, roll pastry to a 24 x 16 cm rectangle. Sprinkle with poppy seeds, press them gently into the pastry with the back of a sthingy. Fold pastry into three layers and re-roll to a 30 x 12 cm rectangle. Cut crossways into 24 strips.
3. Hold a strip at each end, and twist ends in opposite directions. Place on prepared tray and brush lightly with beaten egg. Bake for 15 minutes or until golden. Cool on a wire rack.

Grand Marnier Truffles

I made these little truffles for Christmas 2004. They are easy to make, no fuss and no baking! They are delicious with a cup of coffee after dinner.



Ingredients:
225g dark chocolate, chopped
45g butter
1/3 cup cream
1 tbsp grand marnier
80g dark chocolate, extra, finely grated

Method:
1. Place chocolate in a medium mixing bowl.
2. Combine butter and cream in a small, heavy based pan, stir over low heat until butter has melted. Bring to the boil, then remove from heat.
3. Pour hot cream mixture over chocolate. Using a wooden sthingy, stir until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in Grand Marnier.
4. Cool in the refrigerator, stirring occasionally. When mixture is firm enough to handle, roll heaped teasthingys into balls. Place grated chocolate into small mixing bowl. Roll each truffle in chocolate until completely coated. Refrigerate until firm. Serve with coffee and a glass of Grand Marnier or your favourite liqueur.

Storage Time:
Truffles may be made up to three days in advance and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Allow truffles to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving.

Hint:
To avoid finger marks on truffles, re-roll in grated chocolate just before serving.

Makes 24

Tom Kar Gai

Thai Chicken with Galangal in Coconut Milk Soup. What more can I say? Although I normally prefer Tom Yam Soup, Tom Kar Gai is also another favourite of mine.



Ingredients:
400g chicken breast meat, thinly sliced
5 cups thick coconut milk
4 cm galangal, thinly sliced
2 stalks lemon grass, bruised, cut into 2cm lengths
1/4 tsp pepper
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 tbsp fish sauce
2 fresh coriander roots, finely chopped
1/2 cup bamboo shoots, sliced
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp sugar

Garnish:
10 small chillies, finely chopped
3 kaffir lime leaves
1 stalk coriander, cut into 2 cm lengths
2 stalks spring onions, cut into 3 cm lengths

Method:
1. Bring the coconut milk to a boil together with galangal, lemon grass, pepper, coriander roots, shallots, garlic and fish sauce.
2. Add bamboo shoots and cook for 5 minutes on low heat.
3. Add chicken breast meat, stirring constantly till chicken is cooked. Add sugar and lemon juice to taste.
4. Before serving, add in crushed chillies, lemon leaves, coriander leaves and spring onions.

Serves 6

Thai Fried Olive Rice

This is a Thai dish with Teochew influence. I first tasted this dish at Paddy Field when it was still at its old location at South Buano Vista Village (?), and was hooked.



Ingredients
1/2 cup peanut oil
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 Tbs. dried shrimp
1/3 lb. small fresh shrimp, shelled and butterflied
2 eggs
1/4 cup finely julienned sour green mango
8-10 Chinese salted black olives
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 tsp. sugar
4 cups leftover cooked rice
6-8 thai chillies, cut into very thin rounds
Coriander sprigs

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a wok until it is hot, then reduce heat to medium and fry the cashews in the oil, stirring frequently, until they are an even rich brown colour. Remove from oil and let cool in a wire mesh strainer. Remove half of the oil remaining in the wok, reserving it for later use.
2. Add the dried shrimp and fry until the colour has deepened and they are crispy. Drain from oil.
3. Turn the heat up high and quickly stir-fry the fresh shrimp until they are cooked through. Remove from wok and set aside.
4. Beat the eggs and make 2 to 3 thin egg crêpes out of them in a flat round pan, using some of the reserved oil. When the crêpes have cooled sufficiently, roll them up and slice very thinly into fine shreds.
5. Peel the green mango and julienne into very thin strips about 1 to 1 1/2-inches long.
6. Remove the pit from the salted olives and chop finely.
7. Reheat the wok and add 3 tablesthingys of the remaining reserved oil. Toss in the ground pork and garlic and stir-fry, breaking the pork into little bits as it cooks. When most of the pork has changed colour, add the chopped salted olives and sugar. Stir-fry until the pork is cooked through.
8. Loosen the grains of the leftover rice before tossing into the wok. Stir-fry for several minutes until the rice is well heated through and well mixed with the pork and olives. Dish the fried rice onto individual serving plates in a rounded mound in the centre of each plate. -- use a small round bowl to help make neat rounded mounds (i.e., fill the fried rice in the bowl and invert over centre of plate). Arrange in small piles around the perimeter of the plate the cashews, dried shrimp, fresh shrimp, egg shreds, julienne green mango and Thai chillies. Top the rice mound with a cilantro sprig.
Eat the fried rice with the accompanying titbits. For those who like the rice spicy, toss the chilli rounds into the rice.

Serves 6 to 7 as a one-dish meal.

He Keng

This is a dish my mum cooks quite often, especially if we are having a feast! A family favourite recipe passed down by my maternal grand father. It is nice eaten fried crispy, either with or without sauces. Thai chilli sauce is a good choice if you cannot take hot chilli sauce.



Ingredients
1 kg green prawn, shell on
100 - 200 gr plain flour
300 g lard (pig fat)
2 eggs
chinese parsley
msg (optional)
salt & white pepper to taste
beancurd sheet

Method:
De-shell the prawn and chop it or pulse in a food processor briefly. Do not over process it.
Dice the fat abt 0.5 x 0.5 x o.5 cm.
Mix all ingredients except beancurd sheet. Wrap them in beancurd sheet tightly. Steam for about 20 minutes. Cut at slant into small pieces. If you like it crispy, cut thinner. Fry in hot oil.

Steamed Chive Snack

Steamed Chive Snack or Ku Chai Kue is a traditional Teochew snack. It is one of the varieties of Teochew Chai Kue (vegie snack). When I was growing up in Pontianak (West Borneo), these little 'kueh's were a favourite for mid-day snack. There were some children selling them door-to-door, all neatly stacked up in a pan, and served with some garlic oil and chilli sauce poured over. However, my favourite then was the Ou Kue, which has shredded yam filling. Here is the Ku Chai Kue I adapted from Linlin's mother's recipe.



Ingredients for the skin:
300g rice flour
30g tapioca flour
300ml cold water
300ml boiling water

Ingredients for the fillings
600g chives
About 8 tbsp cooking oil
Salt to taste (1 tsp)

Method:
1. Wash chives & dry them out.
2. Chopped the chives & add in oil & salt to taste. If mixture is too dry, add in some more oil.
3. Set fillings aside.
4. To make the skin, mix both flour together in a big glass bowl.
5. Pour in cold water & mix using a wooden spoon until a smooth paste/liquid is formed.
6. Heat up 300ml water, when it starts to biol lower the heat to simmer. Pour the dough into the boiling water while continue stirring. When the dough is half cooked and starts to change colour, remove from heat. Trasnfer the dough into a large bowl
7. Grease the palm of your hands and knead dough for about 10 to 15 mins until the dough is smooth and elsatic.
8. Prepare steamer.
9. To wrap the kuehs, pinch out a small round of the dough, about the size of a shelled walnut. Sprinkle some rice flour on work table and roll the dough out to about 1-1.5mm thick. Cut with the largest round cookie cutter (98mm).
10. Wet the dough around its circumference. Put in about 1 tbsp of fillings into the middle of the dough. Seal the edges by lightly pressing around the half circle.
11. Continue with the rest of the dough, while covering the kuehs with damp tea towel to prevent them from drying out.
12. Place them onto a large steaming plate (or pizza pan) lined with cling wrap. Steam for 15 mins.
13. When kuehs are cooked, let them cool down & grease them with garlic oil to prevent them from sticking onto one another when stacking up.

Silky Beancurd (Tau Hu Hwe)

When I was growing up, the neighbour at the back of my parents' house sold this dessert. However, my parents did not allow us to eat much of it, probably for hygiene reason since that family owned a few dogs who seemed to jump around over the soya bean laid out to dry in the sun. But I must admit, the children of that family had really good clear and pinkish complexion. Tau Hu Hwe (or Tauhwe as it is called in Singapore) can be enjoyed either with white sugar syrup, brown sugar syrup and also with a sprinkle of finely grown roasted peanuts. I personally prefer white sugar syrup boiled with some ginger.


Recipe by Lily Ng
Ingredients:
240 gm soya bean
2000 ml water
1 1/2 tsp gypsum
2 tbsp cornflour
150 ml cooled cooked water

Method
1. Soak soya bean in cold water for at least 8-12 hours in cold water or 2-5 hours in hot water.
2. Blend with the water and squeeze as much milk out as possible.
3. Cook the soyamilk over medium heat until it oozes. It must ooze for 3 times. In the meantime mix the 150 ml water with the gypsum and cornflour. When the soyamilk ooozes for the third time, turn off fire and stir in the gypsum/cornflour mixture GENTLY BUT THOROUGHLY.
4. Cover with kitchen towel and close lid tight for 15 mins.
5. Serve with syrup cooked with ginger.

Note:
Gypsum (Shi Gao) is calcium sulphate, obtainable from Chinese medical shops or Chinese grocery stores.

Ginkgo, Barley & Bean Curd Dessert

This is a Cantonese dessert I sometimes had in Singapore and haven't tasted again since I left 5 years ago. So, when I saw Edith, a blogger buddy of mine, put up the picture on her blog, I asked her for the recipe. Apparently this dessert is nourishing, moisturising from within the body. It is said to be especially good for expecting mother and should be consumed so that the baby will have beautiful complexion. Here is a version I made using Magic Jar my mum gave me earlier this year when she came to visit.



Ingredients:
50g pearl barley
20g dried beancurd sheet
60g canned ginkgo nuts
1 litre water
rock sugar to taste

Method:
Soak the beancurd sheet until it turns soft. (Mine took a few minutes only.) Wash the barley until the water runs clear. Drain. Rinse the ginkgo nuts. Boil everything together, leaving out the rock sugar. Simmer for about 1 hour.
If you are using Magic Jar, remove from fire when it starta to boil and tranfer the internal jar to the external jar and leave for about 1 hour. Add sugar to taste.
Serve hot.

Serve 4-6

Braised Chicken Teochew Style (Lou Goi)

I adapted this recipe from Amy Beh's Braised Teochew Duck recipe. Since duck is not my favourite poultry, I used chicken instead. The resulting sauce is thick and rather sweet. I would reduce the amount of sugar next time, and add water to the sauce after the chicken is done, to thin it down, before adding other condiments such as boiled eggs and beancurd.



Ingredients
1 whole chicken (approximately 1.5kg)

Seasoning (combined):
1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
1 tbsp salt
2 slices (20gr) ginger
2 stalks spring onions (use only the white portion)
Oil for deep frying

Gravy:
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 cups water
50g garlic (whole)
25g shallots (whole)
4 star anises
6cm-piece cinnamon stick
100g galangal, sliced
3 cups water

Method
1. Rub the inside and outside of the chicken with the combined seasoning ingredients and leave aside to dry for one to two hours. To quicken up the process, place the rubbed chicken inside an oven, and bake at 150C for 20 minutes. This will seal the five-spice flavour in.
2. Heat enough oil, about 1/5 full, in a wok. Fry chicken in hot oil until just lightly browned. Remove and drain well. Place ginger and spring onions into cavity of chicken.
3. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a wok, add sugar and three to four pieces galangal slices; when oil turns a dark gold, turn off heat. Add dark soy sauce. Return chicken to the wok and coat well with this sauce.
4. Combine all the gravy ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then pour the cooked gravy ingredients over the chicken (sauce should cover more than half the chicken). Bring to a boil then simmer, covered, for 40 to 45 minutes over low heat or until chicken is tender and the sauce thick.
5. Dish out chicken and cut up into bite-sized pieces. Arrange chicken pieces on plate and pour gravy over. Serve hot.