Baked eggs with cheese

So bored with the usual peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast! So just wanted to do something different this morning.

All you need is:
2 eggs
A splash of milk
Pinch of salt
1 pc of laughing cow cheese
4 slices of buttered bread

Preheat oven 180 Celsius.

1. Beat eggs, milk and salt together.
2. Trim and butter the bread and put butter side down into muffin tray. You can use a pretty cookie cutter if you have time to make the bread basket prettier. If don't have muffin tray use anything oven proof bowls.
3. Pour egg mixture into bread baskets and drop in a small piece of cheese.
4. Bake for 10 mins until egg mixture is cooked but still nice and wobbly!

This is a very impromptu dish using ingredients available in my fridge. You can jazz it up using more fancy cheese , wrap bacon or ham on the outside of the bread basket before baking. Or add some thyme into the egg mixture.

But just as it is was delicious too. Kind of like a simple cheesy egg tart. Will definitely try it again.

Rich Chocolate Cupcakes

Lately there has been quite a few cupcake stores selling cupcakes, but I've never bought a single one. I felt that cupcakes are simple to make and I can't find a reason why should I fork out money when I could make one myself. I bought some home from Twelve Cupcakes, just out of curiousity, and was grumbling at the crazy pricing until I took a bite. OMG... Now I know what the fuss was about. It was sooo moist, yet firm! Oh so rich and chocolaty, but yet not overly sweet! I became obsessed. How did they do that? Can I achieve such awesomeness in my kitchen??

I searched online for the right recipe, making sure that my key words include "rich", "chocolate", "cupcakes" and "moist" and this is what I found. Rich Chocolate Cupcakes. My review is... it is freaking awesome! It's sooo rich and moist and chocolatey and it's perfect when you are feeling low or just have the chocolate cravings! Definitely a keeper!

CUPCAKES
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup Baking Cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup (113g) butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

MILK CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1 3/4 cups Semi sweet chocolate chips
85g butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

CUPCAKES
PREHEAT oven to 180°C. Paper-line 20 muffin cups.
1. COMBINE flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in small bowl.
2. Beat sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl.
3. Gradually beat in flour mixture alternately with milk.
4. Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each prepared muffin cup.
5. BAKE for 18 to 20 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in pans for 5 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely. Frost with Milk Chocolate Frosting.

CHOCOLATE FROSTING
1. MICROWAVE chocolate chips, butter and salt in medium, uncovered, microwave-safe bowl on MEDIUM-HIGH (70%) power for 1 minute; STIR. The morsels may retain some of their original shape. If necessary, microwave at additional 10- to 15-second intervals, stirring just until morsels are melted.
2. Transfer to large mixer bowl. Gradually beat in sugar alternately with milk. Stir in vanilla extract.

MY NOTES

• Know your oven! My oven is hotter, so it's 160°C for me. To achieve a flat surface for your cupcakes, always go for LOW AND SLOW.
• I baked for 18mins which gave me very moist cupcakes that's juuuust cooked. But the paper muffin cups tore away from the cupcakes which bugs the hell out of me. Did some research online and turns out that this problem bugs the hell out of many people too! One of the many many possible reason was underbaking the cupcakes. Yes it does gives you a sexy, moist cupcake but the sight of the paper casing falling off is nothing to be proud of. Also, too little batter also means that there's not enough cake to "cling" onto the paper casing. Therefore, on my next cupcake project, I will make the following adjustments. 
• I've already lowered my temperature, so will increase baking time by 3-5mins. 
• Increase amount of batter to 1/2 or 2/3 for a fuller cupcake, hopefully will keep the cupcake casing on. Hope it works!

Prawn Noodles Soup with Prime Ribs - 虾面排骨汤

I've been "collecting" prawn shells for a couple of weeks now. Each time I cook a prawn dish like my sambal prawn I would keep the shells in a plastic bag and chuck it into the freezer. So when my little freezer compartment is running out of space from all the little bags of shells, I know it's time to try out the prawn noodle recipe! The original recipe is from My Wok Life, but I tweaked it a little here and there.

20 medium – large prawns

Section A
Minimum double the amount of prawn shells and head (the more the merrier!)
50 grams of dried anchovies aka ikan bilis (Chinese translation: 江鱼仔)
2 teaspoon of brown sugar

Section B
300 grams of prime pork ribs
3 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of salt
1 star anise (八角)
4 dried cloves (丁香)
1 teaspoon of ground white pepper
5 cups of water (about 1000 – 1200ml)

Seasoning
1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce
3 tablespoons of light soy sauce

yellow noodles, kway teow
Kangkong vegetables, bean sprout and sliced fish cakes (optional)

Garnish:
Fried shallot
Fresh chillies, julienned

TO MAKE THE SOUP
1. To make the pork ribs nice and tender, boil Section B for about 30mins.
2. While the ribs are cooking, stir fry Section A with a tiny bit of oil in a deep wok. Alot of juices would come out of the shells. Just keep tossing them until they are fragrant and all the juices have dried up.
3. Pour everything in the wok into the ribs soup. There will be a layer of dried up prawn juices coated on the wok. That where all the flavours are so don't waste it! Ladle some pork rib soup back into the wok, stir the wok clean and pour the liquid back into the pot of pork and shell soup.
4. Boil the pot of soup. I use a pressure cooker, so 45mins to and hour would be fine. For regular pots, boil the soup for at least 1-2 hours in low heat. Make sure the soup don't dry out.
5. When the soup is done, season the soup accordingly. It's ok to over season just a little because the noodles are bland. Blanch the prawns in the ready soup and set aside for later use.

Assembly!
1. Blanch the preferred amount of noodles and vegetables in a pot of boiling water and put into a waiting bowl.
2. Add other ingredients like prawns and fish cakes and pork ribs.
3. Ladle soup from the pot and pour into bowl through a sieve to catch any shells.
4. Garnish with fried shallots, garlic and fresh cut chillies!

Cereal Butter Prawns 麦片虾

I have to say this is one of those dish that I'm very proud of. I guess cereal butter prawns is the kind of dish you would pay to enjoy at a restaurant and never imagine that you could do it in your very own kitchen.

I just happened to have a can of Nestum All Family Cereal at home. I add it to my hot drink sometimes during tea break, but I was taking so long to finish the can so I thought I use it for cooking too. Cereal Butter Prawn was the first (and only) dish I can think of! There are plenty of websites teaching this dish but I chose a YouTube video of the popular "auntie" day time talk show, 黄金年华, cooked by a popular tze char restaurant chef.

The recipe was surprisingly simple, and I'm sure anyone can do it at home.

(A)
8pcs of Prawns, trimmed and butterfly-ed
1 tbsp plain flour
1/2 a beaten egg

(B)
3 tbsp Butter
Curry leaves (a few pcs)
Chilli padi (2-3 pcs, cut) (I didn't add due to my child)

(C)
100g Cereal
2 tbsp Icing sugar
2 tbsp Milk powder
1 tsp MSG (I use chicken stock powder)

1. Mix (A) together and deep fry in hot oil until the prawns are cooked and golden. Drain and set aside.
2. Using low heat, (B) melt butter in wok and add in chilli and curry leaves.
3. Mix (C) together and stir fry in butter mixture. Stir frying constantly as cereal mix will burn easily.
4. When cereal mix has turned slightly brown, which only takes a minute or two, switch off the fire and reintroduce the prawn to the cereal. Toss the prawns to coat it with the crispy yummy cereal and serve immediately.

Gochujang Chicken Stew

A few weeks ago I bought a tub of gochujang (Korean chilli paste) to make one of our favorite dish, kimchi soup. But I didn't know what to do with the remaining chilli paste, so I Googled gochujang recipe and discovered this dish. Sounds simple enough, and I have most of the ingredients, so that was dinner tonight.

I substituted or opted out some ingredients that I didn't have, but the end result was still quite delicious. Hubby preferred it to be more spicy, so next time would add more chilli! Me, I thought it tasted delicious, hearty and perfect with a steaming bowl of rice.

1/2 Portion of Chicken, about 500g
Your choice of vegetables, I chose potatoes, carrots, wong bok cabbage and some leftover brown button mushrooms.
2 Garlic Cloves, crushed
1 Tablespoon of Cooking Oil
1 Tablespoon of Sesame Oil
1 Spring Onion, finely chopped to garnish

Marinade:
1.5 Tablespoons chinese cooking wine
Salt and Pepper

Seasoning Sauce:
1/2 Tablespoon peanut butter
1/2 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Gochujang Chilli Paste

1. Marinate chicken pieces in wine and seasoning. Brown meat with a little oil.
2. Set chicken aside and using the same pot, stir fry all the vegetables and garlic.
3. Put chicken back in and add water or chicken stock till it covers about 2/3 of the meat and vegetables. Add seasoning sauce and stir well.
4. Boil for 15-20mins or until the sauce has reduced near half.
5. Add in sesame oil and garnish with spring onions before serving.

I love the sweet after taste of the gochujang chilli paste, but next time would add some fresh chilli to give it more kick! Anyway, definitely a keeper!

For the original recipe, see here.

Basic vanilla cupcake

I've stopped baking for several months as I was busy caring for my 2nd baby and struggling as I learn the ropes on being a stay home mother of two. I've really missed baking and all my baking stuff was starting to grow mould! So I took the opportunity of the coming Easter Friday to make some cupcakes for my girl to bring to school.

I baked a batch with my girl on Wednesday, but it turned out horrible! I blame the damn recipe as it told me to add baking powder with self raising flour. I knew something was off, but I placed my blind faith on the damn book and it all went south.

I was utterly disappointed that I failed the most simple vanilla cupcake, so on Sunday night I tried a different recipe and it turned out beautifully. This recipe is from Nigella.com and it couldn't be more simple. I used a food processor as I was too lazy to carry out my mixer. From start till end it took less than an hour. Great if you have a cupcake craving!

125g butter, softened
125g caster sugar
125g self raising flour
2 medium eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk

1. Put everything but the milk into the food processor or mixer and whizz it till its all mixed up.
2. Add the milk and blend till smooth.
3. Spoon about 1/2 full into cupcake cases and bake in a 200C oven for 15-20mins till the cakes are slightly gplden brown on top. Test with a wooden skewer. If it comes out clean, its done!
4. Leave it to cool completely before frosting.

It was delicious, unfortunately my frosting wasn't as successful cause I think I made too small a batch! But the kids loved the Cabury speckled chocolate eggs. Will do better next time!

Oxtail stew with fettuccine

Was shopping for beef at the supermarket the other day when I came across some beautiful oxtail. I've never cooked it before, but I was suddenly feeling adventurous. "What's the worst that could happen?" I thought, so tonight I finally did it.

It was delicious!!!

Days before, I've been doing my homework and reading up on all sorts of recipe online. Including the original inspiration, Heston Blumenthal's oxtail and kidney pudding recipe. But it's so complex, not very realistic for a busy mommy of 2 kids. So i did a mash up of several different recipes I read and it turned out awesome.

Of course, I'm using my trusty pressure cooker which gives you the melt-in-your-mouth texture in only an hour. If you don't have one, I suggest you go buy one. Meanwhile, you can follow the steps accordingly,  just double the braising time.

500g oxtail
1 stick of celery
1 stick of carrot
1 large onion
1 clove of garlic
4 brown mushrooms
4 tablespoons of traditional pasta sauce from a jar
1 glass of red wine of your liking
2 cups of chicken stock
Thyme and a bay leaf
Salt and pepper

Additional vegetables: (to be added later)
Diced carrots and potatoes, cabbage and mushrooms

1. Season the oxtail with salt and pepper and brown them in hot oil. Set aside.
2. Using a food processor(save time!),  blend all the vegetables finely and stir fry them in the same pot with a pinch of salt.
3. Put the oxtail back on top of the veges and add in all other ingredients except the seasoning. Make sure the oxtail is just covered in liquid.
4. Stew in low heat for one hour, release pressure, add in rest of the vegetables, and stew for another 30mins.
5. Remove oxtail from stew and you should be able to tear the meat off the bone easily! Reduce stock if you like but note that the sauce would thicken further once cooled. Season accordingly.
6. Cook pasta according to instructions and ladle sauce and meat over noodles.

Enjoy!

*my pasta looks watery cause I was carrying my baby in the other arm while trying to get the pasta out of the pot of water :p

Macaroni and cheese with beans

This dish is the ultimate comfort food! Delicious and at the same time nutritous, this is actually a pretty well balanced meal consisting of carbohydrates, proteins and also vegetables. Great for kids!

Cheese Sauce
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon plain flour
1/4 cup milk
1 handful romano cheese
1 handful chedder cheese
pinch of salt

Flavour Mix
4 strips of bacon
1 stalk celery
3/4 carrot
1 small onion
1 clove garlic
1/2 can of cannellini beans (can't find, so I used butter beans)
Splash of water
Pinch of salt

1. Get macaroni cooking in a pot of boiling salted water and cook as instructed on the packaging.
2. Prepare cheese sauce by melting butter, add in flour and cook for a minute in low heat before adding milk to get a creamy white sauce. mix in cheese and salt and put aside.
3. For the flavour mix, dice bacon and fry till crispy. Add in finely chopped onion, carrot, celery and garlic and salt and fry till softened.
4. Wash beans under running water, add into flavour mix and cook for a few minutes with a splash of water to get all the flavours together.
5. Mix cheese sauce and flavour mix to cooked and drained macaroni and mix well.
6. Serve as it is, or sprinkle more cheese over macaroni and melt it in the toaster oven.