No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

This is a simple recipe for flavourful Honey Lemon Cupcakes which serve well as a dessert after a hearty meal.  The cakes are soft, with a balance of sweet and tart and taste fresh with the whipped cream frosting and berries.



Honey Lemon Cupcake  ~ 蜂蜜柠檬蛋糕
Ingredients (A)

5 large egg yolks160 gm superfine flour (sifted)100 gm caster sugar70 ml lemon juice + water to make up 128 ml juice96 ml vegetable oilzest from 1 orange1 Tbsp honey1 tsp vanilla(B) 5 large egg whites50 gm caster sugar1/4 tsp cream of tartar OR 1/2 tsp lemon juice or white vinegarFrosting 300 ml thickened or whippig cream50 gm icing sugar1 tsp vanilla Method for whipped cream Chill a metal bowl in the freezer for about 10 mins.Pour thickened cream, icing sugar and vanilla into the chilled bowl and beat on low speed.  Then increase to high speed till stiff peaks form.  Keep refrigerated till ready for use.  Frost as desired.
Method Beat the egg yolks with sugar till light and creamy.  Add in the oil, continue beating and add i…

This was my first 'lock down' dinner on 18th March.  It's just a simple fried rice all-in-one dish as I had to finish off my 'lap cheong'  to make space to stock up food in my fridge because of the lock down.  It's super easy to whip up and I just garnish it with a sprinkling of fried garlic, but it was yummy!               




Fried Rice with Chinese Sausages and French Beans   ~  臘腸炒饭

Ingredients

1/2 cup rice plus enough water to cook85 gm (in a pair) Chinese sausages, sliced90 gm french beans, diced2 eggsSalt, light soya sauce as desiredMethod Heat up a pan with some oil, scramble the eggs with a bit of  soya sauce and salt.  Dish out.In the same pan, fry the Chinese sausages till cooked, dish out but leave the oil in the pan.With the oil from the sausages, fry the diced beans with a bit of salt.  Pour in the cooked rice, a bit of soya sauce, fry and mix well.  Test for taste.Mix in the scrambled eggs and sausages.Dish up, sprinkle on some garlic and serve immedia…

Since our country, Malaysia, has been 'locked down' or imposed with the 'Movement Control Order', many mums are confined to their homes scratching their heads what to cook or serve to their families.  So why not give this recipe a shot as the ingredients should be available in most households.
These Choc-Chip Peanut Butter Muffins are moist, warm, and soft with melty and chooey choc-chips.  There's nothing like a peanut butter and chocolate combination.  These can be enjoyed as a mid-morning snack with a strong cup of coffee or as an after-dinner treat!





Choc-chip Peanut Butter Muffins ~   巧克力花生酱玛芬
Ingredients
210 gm plain flour200 ml plain yoghurt120 gm caster sugar2 'L' eggs80 gm choc-chips75 ml vegetable oil1/2 cup milk (125 ml)4 to 5 Tbsp peanut butter, microwave to soften3 Tsp cocoa or chocolate powder2 tsp baking powdera pinch of saltMethod

Sift or whisk flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt in a mixing bowl.  Mix in sugar thoroughly.  Set aside.In ano…

This is another dish of juicy pork ribs steamed with ginger and black beans and the ingredients are more or less the same as per my previous post of  'Steamed pork spareribs with black beans'.  But I added sesame oil and 1 tsp of  Rose wine to marinate the pork ribs and another teaspoon onto the ribs once they are steamed.  The effect was just marvellous!




Steamed pork ribs with ginger and black beans (2) ~ 豆豉姜蒸排骨  
Ingredients

300 gm pork ribs1/4 tsp sugara pinch of salt2 tsp or more RoseWine (1 tsp to season and 1 tsp to add on, after steamed)1 tsp sesame oil 1 tsp chopped ginger3 pips of garlic chopped2 tsp cornstarch2 tsp water2 tsp black beans2 birdeye chillies, choppedMethod Season the pork ribs with the sugar, salt, Rose wine, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, cornstarch and black beans, for a few hours or preferably overnight.Place the marinated pork ribs on a plate and steam for about 8 mins. till the ribs are tender and cooked through.Distribute the teaspoon or more of Rose wi…

Each Chinese New Year, I would get a Nian Gao, sticky rice cake as an offering for prayers as Nian Gao is a homonym for  'higher year',  which symbolises increasing prosperity and higher achievement for the coming year.  Therefore it is considered good luck to eat Nian Gao during this period.  Instead of frying the Nian Gao with batter like what I did 'here', this time I chose to just wrap it up with a piece of puff pastry and dump it into the oven, and the ultimate result,  yummy gluey Nian Gao with crispy pastry!





Puff Pastry Nian Gao   ~   酥皮年糕
Ingredients 10 small pieces of Nian Gao about 1.1/2 x 3/4 x 1/2 inch  10 pieces of 4 x 4 inch Kawan puff pastry Egg glaze
Method Place a piece of Nian Gao onto a piece of puff pastry Apply beaten egg all round the edges Roll up, and use a fork to seal the two ends Place seams side down onto a parchment lined baking tray Apply egg glaze Bake in a preheated oven @ 180 deg.C for about 15 to 20 mins. Serve warm

Poon Choi (盆菜) or 'Big Bowl feast'  is traditionally a Chinese New Year dish and it signifies an abundance of wealth and prosperity.  The choice of ingredients are your own preference and here I have prepared a seafood poon choi with nine ingredients.  The dish should be eaten layer by layer from the top to the bottom and not just dig up the whole pot from the bottom.. As this is my first attempt preparing this dish, I made a small portion on the 15th day or the last day of  CNY, which is Chap Goh Mey.  Having this dish in a Chinese restaurant is pretty expensive especially during the Chinese New Year period and preparing it youself is definitely more economical and moreover you get to eat what you like to eat.  For more information on Poon Choi, take a look at  'Wikipedia'.

Layering the Poon Choi






Seafood Poon Choi  ~   海鲜盆菜

Ingredients

1 small Napa Cabbage1 can of abalone2 dried fish bladder4 big shitake mushrooms6 dried oysters6 dried scallops6 big prawnsPacific clamsB…

This moist and delicious Banana Loaf is a quick bake with loads of banana flavour. While it is baking in the oven your home will be filled with tempting banana aroma and before long you will be rewarded with a slice of your very own freshly baked banana bread.  This is also a great way to use up your overripe bananas.





Banana Loaf  ~  香蕉蛋糕
Ingredients
150 gm plain flour90 gm wholemeal flour1 tsp baking soda1/8 tsp salt100 gm caster sugar3 overripe bananas, about 300 gm (mashed)1/2 cup vegetable oil1 tsp vanilla1/3 cup buttermilk (milk + 1 tsp vinegar)2 eggs1/2 tsp cinnamon1 to 2 bananas, cutraw sugar to sprinkle on topMethod Sift plain flour, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl.  Mix and whisk in wholemeal flour and cinnamon, set aside.In another bowl, whisk sugar, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla and add in the mashed bananas.Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  Do not overmix.Scoop batter into a lined 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.  Level the surface and arrange the cut bananas on …