Vietnamese dipping sauce (Nuoc Cham)

Ingredients
1/4 cup fish sauce
3 tablespoons apple vinegar
3 tbsp water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bird’s eye chilli, thinly sliced
2 tbsp carrot, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons lime juice

Method:
1. Place all the ingredients into a bottle, close the lid and shake. Taste and adjust accordingly.

2. Store tightly sealed in a jar in the fridge.

Serve with Vietnamese fresh spring rolls.

Easy to roll - Vietnamese Spring Roll Part #3

This is the final post on how to roll a Vietnamese Spring Roll.
This is an open-ended method of wrapping them.

For the ingredients, mosey here.
For the dipping sauce, mosey here.

1. Start by softening the rice paper rolls in some lukewarm water. Place a sprig of chive and prawn/persimmon at the top end of the rice paper roll.

2. Add some vegetables, vermicelli and herbs.

3. Tuck in the sides and fold up the other side of the rice paper roll to make into a neat roll.


4. Another alternative is to cut the rice paper roll into half before wrapping.
Arrange neatly onto serving plate before serving.

Hope you had fun and got some ideas on how to wrap a Vietnamese Fresh Spring Roll.
It is not only delicious to eat but very healthy too - well, more so than the fried one :)

Easy to roll - Vietnamese Spring Roll Part #2

For the full list of ingredients, mosey here.
For the dipping sauce, mosey here.

Disclaimer, I didn't have any more cooked prawns left when I started this tutorial so I substitute with some juicy ripe persimmons instead :) Btw, they added some sweetness and turned out to be a very healthy substitute!
So bear with me ok.

Various styles of rolling.

This is the most Classic way of rolling - the closed ends method. My mom actually prefers this style as it is much easier to eat.

1. Soften rice paper roll by dipping a few seconds into lukewarm water.
Arrange the prawns/persimmon in the centre of the rice paper roll.

2. Add the salad, vermicelli and herbs. 3. Tuck in the sides and add a sprig of chive.

4. Roll up and arrange on plate neatly with the side up showing the prawns/persimmons.

The other alternative way of rolling this Classic style is to add the prawns/persimmon last. Don't forget the sprig of chive and roll up. Idea is that you are able to see the prawns once it is nicely rolled up.

Easy to roll - Vietnamese Spring Roll Part #1

For the various ingredients, mosey here.
For the dipping sauce, mosey here.

Disclaimer, I didn't have any more cooked prawns left when I started this tutorial so I substitute with some juicy ripe persimmons instead :) Btw, they turned out to be a good & sweet substitute, not to mention healthy too!
So bear with me ok.

This is my favourite way of rolling them as I think they look the prettiest.

Don't you agree with me??

1. Soften the rice paper by dipping into some warm water for a few seconds.

2. Tuck in the sides and arrange the prawns/persimmons so that it is 3/4 hanging outside the rice paper roll.

3. Add lettuce, vermicelli and other vegetables and herbs.

4. Add a spring of chive and roll up.


5. Cut in half and arrange on plate standing up with the cut side down.

Vietnamese Rice Paper Spring Rolls (Goi Cuon)

Whenever I dine in a Vietnamese restaurant, this is my number #1 must order.
I just heart fresh spring rolls. Deep fried ones are nice too but the healthier side of me prefers this especially filled with lots of various fresh herbs, so refreshing, light and yet not lacking in flavour.
They are pretty easy to make too, perfect for a party :)

Discovered that there are various ways of wrapping it so am going to split it to various post just in case the pictures take too long to upload.

For the filling, you can almost wrap anything inside - vegetables, meat, seafood or even fruits. The ingredient list may look long but that it is the combination that makes it taste so good, healthy too - look at all the fresh vegetables. :) Actually the most tedious part is cleaning and shelling the prawns but you don't need to use them if you don't want to - can always substitute with leftover roast chicken.

Ingredients you need:
rice paper rolls
lettuce
boiled
cooked vermicelli noodle
some cooked prawns, peeled and sliced in half
carrot, sliced thinly
cucumber, sliced thinly
mint
thai basil
coriander
bowl of lukewarm water
garlic chive

If you need a recipe, Luke Nguyen is my favourite.

There are probably many ways to wrap them but decided to share 3 styles you may consider, mosey over to Part 1, Part 2 or Part 3.

For the dipping sauce, mosey here.

Coleslaw

It might sound surprising but I actually don't eat a lot of cabbage. Its not that I dislike or hate the taste but its just one vegetable that I would not actively select or cook.

So believe it or it, this is my first coleslaw. While DH loves coleslaw, I normally avoid it especially when we go out to eat, he will gladly have my portion too. Its probably more a weight conscious thing, lots of mayonnaise means high calories. haha....now you know why I prefer my salad without dressing :)

The men organized a BBQ Xmas gathering. Interestingly, all I hear on the menu is meat and more meat or seafood. While I know that this sort of carnivore food planning is probably very typical in Asian country, thought a coleslaw would be a great pairing for a BBQ! Doesn't mean if I don't like it other people cannot enjoy it right?

Used Greek yogurt to make the dressing so its much healthier without sacrificing the creamy salad dressing texture that normally goes into coleslaw.

If own a vegetable shredder or mandoline slicer, this would be a breeze to prepare.

Ingredients:
Thinly shredded red cabbage
Thinly shredded carrot

Coleslaw dressing:
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
2 tbsp good quality mustard
1 tbsp apple vinegar
lemon juice to taste
sugar, pepper and salt to taste

Whisk all the ingredients and taste it. Adjust seasoning as you prefer before pouring onto shredded vegetable. Mix well. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving.

Gingerbread house & Merry Xmas

My first house!

It all started with a big tub of leftover royal icing. Debated between throwing or finding another use for it. Then remembered the pretty sweet houses by wangirls.

So at a whim and one day before xmas eve, rolled up my sleeves and whipped up the dough, bought some colourful candies and decorated it all in one night.

Since it was my first build, must confess it was rather stressful especially after the first crash. Was suppose to leave the base structure to dry for at least 1 hour before adding the roof but as time was not on my side decided to risk it; fiddled too much with the roof while the 'cement' was still wet and in a flash, was back to square one. Used the template by elsie.

Fortunately, as time went by, the house looked a lot nicer - many thanks to the colourful candies. As I was thinking how to decorate the house, kept thinking of the stories of Hansel and Gretal and the Land of Sweets by Enid Blyton.

All it takes is a handful of candy to draw the child in everyone of us!! lolz

Needless to say Master Prince was thrilled with the final product - he couldn't wait to start munching on the house, probably starting with the marshmallows. Now, that must be another story in itself! *can't imagine how one starts consuming this - where would you start???*

Side view.

Anyway, plenty of lessons learnt with this project. It was a lot of fun and will probably make this a yearly ritual, can't wait for next Christmans now :)

Merry Christmas 2011 to all friends and readers.

Some tips:

1. Decorate the side walls first especially if you are sanding it with sprinkles.

2. It is harder to pipe designs upright on side compared to a flat canvas.

3. Allow the base of the wall to dry at least 1 hour before stacking the roof to avoid any further stress.

4. Marshmallow is the best candy to use as they are light, colourful and easy to decorate with.

5. Some of the heavier candies like the bigger M&Ms needed additional time and attention holding it in place until the royal icing dried.

6. Before cutting the dough, make sure the templates match and line up.

French Onion Dip

This is a great to-go party dip with veggie sticks. What is even better is that it is so easy to put together.

All you need is 3 items - 250g cream cheese, 1/4 cup marscapone/yogurt and a packet french onion mix. Mix it all up for a yummy dip!

It never fails to please! :)

Gingerbread men 2011

The year has gone by so quickly, another batch of gingerbread man - such cuties, who can resist them? I'm such a big fan of them, perhaps that is why I enjoy baking trays of them!!

echo-echo??

Decided that the best style is still the Classic look!

Used the recipe found here.

Banana Bread

Count it a blessing when you find leftover riped bananas sitting rather neglected at your kitchen counter.

This is a easy one-bowl recipe shared by elsie. Really handy especially when you want to make something but too lazy to lug out the Kitchen Aid.

Makes one loaf.

Ingredients
3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
75g butter, melted
125g brown sugar (3/4 cup)
1 large egg, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp baking soda
pinch salt
204g all-purpose flour (1 1/2 cups)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

2. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, and vanilla. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix.

3. Pour mixture into a buttered 4x8 inch loaf pan.

4. Bake for 1 hour. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

Full of banana flavour and not too sweet. I like it slightly toasted with a thin spread of butter, yum!

Ina's Fleur de sel Caramel

Still remember as a young child, thumbing through a children's cook book and chancing upon a supposedly easy to make fudge/candy to make - put all the ingredients into a pot and boil. Even after boiling for the required cooking time of 35 mins, the thick and sweet mixture remained as liquid as ever and ended up in the bin. Feeling cheated, left the book forgotten at the bottom of the cupboard.

Now, many years on and having read more cook books, realize that to successful make candy it is vital to use a candy thermometer. . Without one, it is hard especially for novices to judge when the hot mixture is ready.

Take note that the hot sugar liquid is very HOT and dangerous, absolutely no licking until it is cooled.

These salted caramel turned out SO ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS that Master Prince gave me 110 marks declaring that this is the best-ever EVER thing I have made!! ...ok, haha not sure whether to be flattered here.

Recipe source here

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups coarse sugar (375g)
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1 cup heavy cream (250g)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter (75g)
1 teaspoon fine fleur de sel, plus extra for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup water

Method:

1. Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper, allowing it to drape over 2 sides, then brush the paper lightly with oil.

2. In a deep saucepan (6 inches wide and 4 1/2 inches deep), combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar and corn syrup and bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil until the mixture is a warm golden brown. Don't stir, just swirl the pan.

3. In another small pot, bring the cream, butter and 1 teaspoon of fleur de sel to a simmer over medium heat. Turn off the heat and set aside.

4. When the sugar mixture is done, turn off the heat and slowly add the cream mixture a little at a time to the sugar mixture. Be careful, it will bubble up violently. Stir in the vanilla with a wooden spoon and cook over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, until the mixture reaches 248 degrees F (firm ball) on a candy thermometer.

5. Very carefully (it's hot!) pour the caramel into the prepared pan and refrigerate for a few hours, until firm.

6. When firm, take caramel out for 20 min before cutting it up to smaller bite size pieces and sprinkle with a little bit of fleur de sel.

7. Wrap in glassine or parchment and store in the refrigerator.

Tis' the Season for Sharing

a sweet treat.....from the heart.

December is always a busy month for me. From planning what to bake and cook for xmas parties and also new year celebration, there is also the homemade little gifts. I'm just one of those who prefer to personalize the gift. I like to think its more meaningful.

So even though the packaging may not be as glossy, spiffy or colourful as those commercially bought ones, I like to believe that homemade with a lot of heart, thought and effort makes up for that shortfall. Plus I can control the amount of sugar and butter, making it a lot healthier option and less sinful while indulging on some favourite classic treats.

Everyone's favourite - chocolate chip cookies.

Another must - gingersnaps.

Another choc chip variation with walnuts.

gingerbread cookie, another must bake during this xmas month! :)

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies

This has been on my to-do list for a while now. Guess the reason it took me a while to get moving is because it uses two types of flour (cake & bread flour) and also need to wait at least 24 hours for best tasting results before baking. There is a nice crunchy texture and didn't need to bake it twice unlike my normal chocolate chip cookie.

Only thing I didn't get right was the look , which means I need to try this recipe again. Wondering whether it has anything to do with shapping into golf size balls as I opted for a more dainty disk?? Still a mystery to me.

Ingredients
2 cups minus 2 tablespoons (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 pounds bittersweet disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content
*Sea salt

Method:

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

5. Unbaked cookie dough freezes well, perfect to satisfy the next chocolate chip cookie craving.

The ULTIMATE Ina Garten's Brownie

The outcome of the combined combo of Ina's Outrageous Brownies and her peanut butter brownies. If you compare both recipes, it is actually the same except one uses walnuts and the other substitutes it with peanut butter.

Me thinks I've been consuming one too may 3-in-1 instant coffees, haha!

Was all set to try out another recipe when her's rolled up. And since I'm a big fan of hers, the decision was set.

If you are allergic to nuts, just omit the nuts as it is still a good recipe or perhaps substitute it with cream cheese, yum that would be a great combo too!! ;)

Brownies may seem easy to bake but actually it is the more challenging one compared to a chocolate cake. A properly baked brownie is done when it is slightly crisp on the outside but soft, damp and squidgy within. If you have been baking cakes, your automatic logic would usually insist that you bake until the skewer comes out clean instead, if you do, tendency is that you would have over-baked it. So turn off your auto mode when baking brownies. :)

Needless to say, it was gorgeous. But if I had to do this again, maybe I might split the pan to 50:50 - walnuts:peanut butter, just for the yin-yang contrast and let guests decide whether they want theirs with walnut or peanut butter. In my crowd, they'll probably just insist on the combo!!

Ingredients
453g unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped walnuts

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170C degrees.

2. Melt together the butter, 1 pound of chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

3. In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup of flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour into the baking sheet.

4. Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven shelf to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not overbake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.

Sage @ The Gardens

Just some food porn.

It was a great night with free flow of wine and champagne and the food, just absolutely fabulous!

website

Great place to celebrate or dine with someone special.


Sage, Restaurant & Wine Bar
The Gardens, Residences Level 6
Mid Valley City
Kuala Lumpur