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

Online shopping with ShopBack and Cashback We were having our regular get together recently and among the topics discussed was the subject of online shopping.   Online shopping is continuously becoming more popular and improving day by day with so many platforms to choose from.   Then one of us was asking whether she can find any nice qipao which are reasonably priced, online.   Of course, echoed another friend and she mentioned Qoo10.my and a whole string of other platforms like Taobao, Lazada, Zalora, Aliexpress.   On top of that these platforms are having a ShopBack and Cashback campaign, meaning that when you shop online at any of these platforms, you’ll get back a certain amount in cash.  In other words 'Shopback gives cashback on your online shopping'! As the year end festive season is just round the corner, now is the best time to hunt for great deals and Enjoy Groupon promo codes  or   ge...

Very rarely do I steam black pomfret as I normally like to fry it.  But I was assured by the fish monger that this black pomfret tastes just as good, steamed.  Steaming a whole fish is also a great and quick way to cook and with a vegetable dish on the side, dinner is served in a jiffy. Recipe for Steamed fish with preserved radish and dried shrimps ~  甜菜脯蝦米蒸鱼 Ingredients 300 gm black pomfret 1.1/2 Tbsp preserved sweet radish 1 Tbsp dried shrimps 4 pips garlic, chopped 1 heaped oyster sauce Oil for frying Sesame oil Spring Onions Method Wash the fish, pat dry and make 2 slits on the fish.  Season with a bit of salt.  Set aside. Heat up a pan with some oil, saute the chopped garlic with dried shrimps, toss in the radish, stir fry. Add in the oyster sauce and fine tune to taste.  Set aside. Heat up a steamer, place the fish on a plate and steam the fish over rapidly boiling water, for 8 mins. Pour the radish mix...

To combat the haze I made this Mulberry Chrysanthemum tea as it's caffeine free and Chrysanthemum is a natural coolant which helps to lower the temperature in our body, lower cholesterol, brings relief to sore throats, redness, itichiness and dryness in the eyes.   Chrysanthemum flowers come in many colours, white, yellow, purple and while the disc florets are yellow, the main types used are those with white or yellow petals.  Mulberry leaves on the other hand contain more  calcium than green tea thus help in strengthening bone mass.  Mulberry leaves are also caffeine free and are also a great source of vitamins A,B and C, minerals and amino acids.   Wolfberries , native to China helps in improving eyesight, general well-being and strengthening the immune system. Recipe for Mulberry Chrysanthemum Tea  ~   桑叶菊花茶 Ingredients 2.1/2 litre water 25 gm dried chrysanthemum flowers 20 mulberry leaves 6 honey dates (mut choe) 10 gm...

This is a very easy and quick ice cream recipe without the need for cooking the custard and the end product is just as smooth.  I reduced the amount of sugar for the ripe mangoes were already very sweet and the sweetness was just to my family's liking! Recipe for Mango Ice Cream   ~   芒果冰淇淋  (adapted from 'here' ) Ingredients 1 cup milk 1 cup cream 90 to 100 gm sugar 2 ripe mangoes, mash up the meat or grate the mango Method Blend the cream and sugar on low speed to let the sugar mix well with the cream, for about 15 to 30 secs. Add milk, blend till everything mixes well together. Add in the mango pulp, blend again, till creamy. Cover this mango mixture and chill in the fridge, overnight. Churn this mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions, about 30 mins. Pour this into a container and freeze before serving. This post is linked to the event  Little Thumbs Up (November 2015 Event: Mango)  organise...

This Peach Tea chiffon cake is slightly different from the  Matcha Green tea chiffon both in taste and appearance.  This Peach tea is sweetened with sugar and the colour is not as green as the normal Matcha powder.   The taste of tea is not so distinct as Green tea but overall the cake is soft, moist and light ..... just yummy! I always seem to have a problem unmoulding a chiffon cake.  Just look at the patches!   Have googled to see how to unmould a chiffon cake by hand, must give it a try when I next bake a chiffon. Recipe for Japanese Peach Tea Chiffon Cake   日式桃抹茶戚风蛋糕  ( adapted from 'here' )   Ingredients (A) 6 egg yolks 60 gm caster sugar 6 Tbsp canola oil 8 Tbsp water 150 gm superfine flour 20 gm Japanese Peach Tea powder 2 tsp baking powder (B)     6 egg whites           110 gm caster sugar Method With a hand whisk, whisk the egg yolks, add the sugar, mix well. ...

I've frequently made this mung bean sweet soup or 'tong sui' during this crazy, hazy weather but this is the first time that I'm serving it with freshly shredded jackfruit or   大樹菠 蘿 .      An Indonesian friend gave me the idea for she said that it was the normal practice in her kampong.  I was a bit skeptical at first but I believe that there's no harm in trying some thing new.   The jackfruit did add some fragrance to the sweet soup and made it more delicious! Recipe for Jackfruit Mung Bean Sweet Soup ~   绿豆糖水 Ingredients                       300 gm mung beans Jaggery powder to taste 2.1/2 litre water 5 pieces screwpine/pandan leaves, slit and tied like a bunch Jackfruit, shredded Method Wash the mung beans and boil in a pot of water.   Add in the pandan leaves and boil till the beans have softened. Add in the jaggery powder, mix well to taste. Before servin...

This is a delicious, fast and easy dish which can be prepared for lunch or dinner.  The chicken has a slight tinge of sweetness and the added herbs lent a sweet smelling fragrance to the dish.  Serve with rice or plain white porridge. Recipe for Herbal Soya Sauce Chicken ~ 药材酱油鸡  Ingredients 800 gm free-range chicken, chopped 1.1/2 Tbsp light soya sauce  1/2 Tbsp dark soya sauce pinch of salt 3 pcs Star Anise 1 bulb of garlic 2 pcs Dong Quai/Angelica sinensis 3 pcs Pak Kei/Astrgalus root 4 cups water Rock sugar to taste 2 to 4 pcs of  fried bean curd (optional) 2 hard boiled eggs  (optional) Method Heat up a wok with a bit of oil and lightly fry the garlic and star anise. Add in the water, sauces and once the water starts to boil, add in the chicken pices. Add in the dong quai and pak kei, salt and some rock sugar. Let it simmer for a while, then add in the bean curd and hard boiled eggs. Once the chicken is cooked, fi...

I love red bean, be it  in kuih, mooncakes, rice dumpling or other pastries with red bean paste filling.   This was my first attempt at making the red bean paste from scratch and had to admit that it was really very time consuming.  Nonetheless this sticky rice cake or glutinous rice cake with red bean paste, was indeed very delicious especially when taken fresh from the pan.  I like it that it was not deep-fried but pan-fried with very little oil when using a non-stick pan.  Great to snack on with a good old cup of hot Chinese tea! Recipe for Sticky Rice Cake with Red Bean Paste ~  芝麻豆沙饼 (adapted from 'here' ) Ingredients 250 gm glutinous rice flour and extra to dust 200 to 230 ml water 360 gm red bean paste, homemade 1/2 cup sesame seeds Oil for frying Method Put glutinous rice flour into a mixing bowl.  Gradually add water to mix into a soft, pliable dough that doesn't stick to the hand. Cover dough with a we...