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

Very often nutmeg is used as a spice to enhance the flavour of food be it in cooking or baking.  A friend who  just returned from Penang, gave me a bottle of nutmeg juice. The tangy juice is made into a syrup which can be used to make a refreshing beverage and here I have added it into this chiffon cake.  Although nutmeg has a good many health benefits but during pregnancy, it's unsafe to be consumed in larger doses other than those found in food, for it may cause miscarriage or birth defects.  Not recommended during breastfeeding. Nutmeg Juice Chiffon Cake ~  豆蔻戚风蛋糕  Ingredients (A) 6 egg yolks 65 gm caster sugar 100 ml canola oil 100 ml warm water 50 ml nutmeg juice 200 gm plain flour 3 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt (B) 6 egg whites 65 gm caster sugar Method Dissolve the nutmeg juice with the 100 ml warm water, set aside. With a ball whisk, whisk the egg yolks with sugar till dissolved, add oil and juice, mix well. Sift in p...

This is a simple yet delicious dish with a few easily available ingredients.  The lemon grass lets outs a citrusy fragrance while the yellow turmeric spice lends a beautiful colour to the dish.   Turmeric not only helps to boost food flavours but it also has many benefits which includes helping to ward off dementia and reduce the risk of cancer, just to mention a few. Lemon Grass Turmeric Chicken ~   香茅姜黄鸡 Ingredients 2 whole leg of chicken, about 700 gm, chopped 2 stalks of lemon grass, finely choppped 2 tsp turmeric powder 1.1/2 Tbsp fish sauce 1/2 Tbsp light soya sauce 1.1/2 Tbsp brown sugar 2 Tbsp cooking oil 50 ml water a dash of seasalt Method Marinate the chicken with the chopped lemon grass, sauces, brown sugar and turmeric powder for a few hours or overnight. Heat up a non-stick pan with the cooking oil, pan-fry the marinated chicken, add in the water, cover with lid and let it simmer till the chicken is tender and cooked thoroug...

The El Nino helped in speeding up the proofing process for these Pumpkin Cinnamon Nutty Rolls.  I was really surprised when the dough tripled in size in just under an hour.  I checked the temperature at that time and it was 34 deg.C!  These sweet and tender rolls are best eaten on the day they are made but do heat up leftovers if any. Pumpkin Cinnamon Nutty Rolls  ~    南瓜肉桂面包卷 Ingredients 1/2 cup milk 430 gm plain flour, sifted 3 Tbsp/45 gm unsalted butter, melted 2 Tbsp sugar 2.1/4 tsp instant dry yeast 1 large egg 2/3 cup fresh pumpkin puree (from 300 gm raw pumpkin) 1/2 tsp salt some raw sugar to sprinkle Filling 50 gm brown sugar 2 tsp cinnamon 50 gm lightly toasted walnuts, chopped 2 Tbsp melted butter Method Discard the seeds and membrane from the pumpkin and steam with the skin.  Then scrape out the pumpkin, and mash with a spoon, leave aside. Heat milk and butter till butter is melted an...

These ribs can be easily made at home, not necessary to order when at a restaurant.  The ribs are tender and the meat falls right off the bone.   I rub the ribs with spices, cook them in a pressure cooker and finished on the grill with a simple homemade barbecue sauce. Juicy Pork Ribs ~  美味排骨 Ingredients 800 gm pork ribs Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper Paste 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp paprika 1 tsp chilli paste, 2 tsp ground ginger 1/2 tsp Chinese 5 spice powder, 1/2 tsp mixed dry herbs 2 Tbsp golden syrup BBQ Sauce 1 small piece ginger 2 pips garlic 1 tomato, pureed 30 ml Rum 1 Tbsp white vinegar 2 Tbsp brown sugar 100 ml water Method Combine paste with 2 tsp of sea salt in a bowl. Clean and pat dry the ribs, rub all over with the paste. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate, overnight, refrigerated. Cook the ribs in a pressure cooker with 200 ml water. Remove and place the ribs on a sheet of parchment paper...

These Cola Chicken Wings cooked the Chinese way are finger licking good.  Easy to prepare with simple ingredients that can be found in most households.  Coke together with the soya sauce made a delicious sweetish and savoury glaze for the chicken.  Simply Yum! Recipe for Cola Chicken Wings Chinese Style ~  可乐雞翼   Ingredients 600 gm chicken wings 1 Tbsp Chinese cooking wine 3/4 cup Coca Cola 2 tsp sugar 2 Tbsp light soya sauce some ginger slices 3 star anise 1 small piece of cinnamon stick 1.1/2 Tbsp oil Sesame oil dash of seasalt Method Cut the chicken wings into 2. Add cooking wine to marinate for a few hours or overnight. In a wok, add oil and sugar to caramelise on low heat. Add the wings and stir fry till yellow. Add Coke and soya sauce, star anise and cinnamon stick. Add 1/2 bowl of water to cover and cook till chicken is tender. Turn off heat and drizzle on some sesame oil Serve immediately.

These crispy straws, full of cinnamon fragrance are perfect for snacking and great to satisfy your hunger pangs while waiting for lunch or dinner to be served.   I kept them in a bottle and they stayed crispy and fresh even after a week. Recipe for Cinnamon dusted puff pastry straws Ingredients 1 piece frozen puff pastry, thawed (store bought Kawan pastry) 1 egg, whisked Cinnamon raw sugar Method Lightly whisk the egg. Roll out the pastry to 1/8 inch thick, then brush with egg wash. Sprinkle the whole surface with cinnamon, then sprinkle on the raw sugar. Cut into 3/4 inch strips with a sharp knife. Twist each strip and place on a  parchment lined baking sheet. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg.C for about 15 - 20 mins till golden brown. Let cool and keep in a bottle. Yield :  10 pastry straws.

I tried  cooking this pork belly stew in the thermal pot for dinner thinking that it'll save some time.  However, I found that the heat from the thermal pot was not enough to really tenderise the meat and so ended up cooking this on low heat in a normal pot for another hour.  It did make it in time for dinner and paired very well with a bowl of hot white rice and a vegetable dish in tow. Recipe for Pork Belly Stew Ingredients 600 gm pork belly cut into pieces and seasoned with some salt 6 pieces Shitake mushrooms, soaked and stemmed 1 carrot, cut into chunks 1 star anise 1 cinnamon stick 5 slices of ginger 1 stalk spring onions, sectioned 2 cups water 1 Tbsp soy bean paste 1 Tbsp nam yue (red fermented bean curd) 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 Tbsp oil Method  . Heat oil in a wok, add spring onions, star anise and cinnamon stick, stir-fry.  Add garlic, ginger, soy bean paste and nam yue.  Stir fry till fragrant. Add se...

I'm trying to make more use of my slow-cooker which has been in hibernation far too long and if you don't crank up your electrical appliances once in a while, they may decide to go on strike!  To make cooking a meal for my family more hassle free, I concocted this recipe for Mixed Spice Pulled Pork which pairs well with rice and some blanched vegetables on the side.  The spices and sauces that I dumped into the slow cooker were reduced to a rich and flavourful sauce in 5 hours on medium heat. Recipe for Slow Cooker Mixed Spice Pork Ingredients 800 gm pork shoulder 2 Tbsp brown sugar 2 Bay leaves 1 cinnamon stick 4 cloves 2 star anise 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper 2 cups water 1 Tbsp cornflour 1 tsp chicken granules Seasalt to taste Sauces :  1 tsp dark soya sauce and 2 tsp light soya sauce Method Season the pork with seasalt and freshly ground pepper. Heat oil in a pan, add pork to pan-fry, tu...