Street Food Tofu

My favourite street food tofu and I cooked this very often.  Since my homegrown mint leaves are growing wild , it is time for harvesting.  I plucked some to cook my all time favourite dish .  Mint leaves and garlic are perfect ingredients for this tofu dish.  It is addictive and the aroma of the garlic and mint leaves ....gosh every mouthful got me high and this makes a wonderful snack.  Try it to believe me.  

click here for the recipe

Enjoy !

Stir Fry Chickpeas With Mint Leaves

Each time I see a new recipe and I have not eaten before, I will want to try it out and see for myself if it is that good as I imagined it to be.  And true enough, it was fantastic ! Who would think a simple stir fry chickpeas with home grown mint leaves could taste so heavenly. A combination of flavors...garlicky spicy and  minty just burst in your mouth as you take a mouthful of these chickpeas. I would recommend you to try this recipe if you are a fan of chickpeas and mint leaves. Simple to prepare and taste so good.  Very addictive.  You can serve this as a side dish or appetizer. 

The mint in my small space called my garden are growing profusely and since I can make my own cooked chickpeas in just less than 30 mins with the Philips Pressure Cooker , making this dish is easy :)   If you don't have a PPC...you can buy the ready cooked chickpeas from the kacang putih stall. Don't wait try it out and I know you will love this addictive dish :p

once you start putting the chickpeas into your mouth

you will not want to stop until the last pea is in your mouth

flavors packed...

Stir Fry Chickpeas With Mint Leaves

ingredients:

2 cups of cooked chickpeas ( kacang kuda)
1 bunch of mint leaves - wash clean
2 bird's eye chillies - sliced
3 cloves of garlic - chopped
1 tbsp of olive oil

Method:

Heat up 1 tbsp of olive oil in a non stick pan under medium heat.  Once oil is hot, add in chopped garlic and chillies and mint leaves.  Stir fry till fragrant.  Add in the cooked chickpeas and continue to stir fry for a few mins till all ingredients are well mixed . Off the heat and dish up and serve warm .

Note: no salt required as salt is already added when cooking the chickpeas

Enjoy!

Korean Fried Chicken -yangnyeom-tongdak

After having tasted "Four Fingers" (crispy and crunchy Korean fried chicken ) in Singapore,I knew I had to try making my own 'four fingers '!  yea I am greedy Oink :p  I googled for Korean fried chicken and I found one that is quite near to the one I tasted in Singapore.  I tweeted the recipe a bit to get the taste as near to the original Four Fingers...believe me, it is quite near to it :) ok ok ...I don't want to exaggerate the taste but it was FABULOUS ! 

The chicken wings were well marinated and the 3 types of flour used and the double frying made the wings really crispy and crunchy and needless to say the special sauce to coat the fried chicken is truly awesome.  A mixture of gochujang paste , ketchup , apple cider vinegar and a dash of gochugaru make up the awesome sweet spicy sauce coating for the crunchy chicken.  The fried chicken wings remains crisp and crunchy  We ate using four fingers until the last piece wamoosh from the plate..WB and I fighting for the last piece..you guess who won ?

 

the sesame seeds added flavor to the already flavor packed fried chicken

marinate the wings with ginger juice, ground black pepper and salt,

best to marinate it over night

add baking soda,  rice flour, potato flour and multi purpose flour, 1 egg to

the marinated wings until the thick batter coats the wings evenly

double frying will make the wings crisp and crunchy

ingredients for the sweet and spicy sauce

sauce comprises of thai chilli sauce, gochujang paste, ketchup,

apple cider vinegar, gochugaru and chopped garlic

throw in some toasted white sesame seeds...

it tasted fabulous!

Thanks YC ( my son's mom-in-law) for these fine ceramic dishes for sides

love the different shapes and sizes

just nice for my kimchi and other korean side dishes

I love them all :)

Korean Fried Chicken- yangnyeom-tongdak  - adapted from Maangchi 

ingredients:

7 chicken wings - cut off tips, use only the flat wings and drummets 

salt,

ground pepper

ginger juice from 1" inch ginger

ingredients for batter :

1 tsp of baking soda

1/4 cup rice flour

1/4 cup multi purpose flour

1/2 cup potato flour

1 egg

6 - 7 cups of canola oil or  vegetable oil for deep frying

sauce for coating the fried chicken :

1 tbsp of canola oil

4 cloves chopped garlic

1/3 cup tomato ketchup

1/4 cup sweet thai chilli sauce

1/4 cup gochujang paste

1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar

3 tbsp of toasted white sesame seeds

Method:

Marinate the flat wings and drummets with salt, ginger juice, ground black pepper for 3 hours or over night in fridge.

Add all the 3 types of flour and baking soda onto the marinated chicken. Add in 1 egg and mix well with the hand until the wings and drummets are completely coated.

Double frying method:

Heat 6-7 cups of canola oil in a wok or deep pan.  When the oil is heated , slowly add in the coated drummets and wings and deep fry them for 7 mins.  Take them out of the oil and shake them off in a strainer. Let them sit for a few mins.  Fry them again for another 10 minutes until all pieces look golden brown and are crunchy outside.

When you are frying, you can prepare the sauce :

Put 1 tbsp of canola oil and minced garlic into a heated non stick pan, add in 1/3 cup tomato ketchup, 1/4 cup gochujang paste , 1/4 cup sweet thai chilli paste and 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar and simmer the mixture for 7 mins under low heat.  Off heat.  When the wings and drummets are done..quickly coat them with the sauce while still hot or the sauce will not stick to the drummets. Throw in the toasted sesame seeds.

Serve as a snack/finger food or a stand alone dish.

Enjoy!

Stuffed Hairy Gourd With Fish Paste And Fresh US Scallop

This is a very homecooked dish.  My mom used to stuff hairy gourd with minced meat and salted fish, braised with oyster sauce till the gourd is soft and tender. She cooked this dish often and my siblings and myself loved this dish very much. I still crave for my mom's cooking. She was one good cook and I regretted not having learned more from her when I was a teenager but as you know when I was a teenager I only know how to eat and sleep :p

My mom was called home eight years ago and gosh how I miss her....she was my best friend and she raised me up well. The only solution to the craving is to replicate her dish . Instead of stuffing with minced meat and salted fish...I used store bought fish paste and some fresh scallops. I steamed the stuffed gourd instead of braising . And gosh it was good too but can't beat mom's cooking.  I still need to improve my cooking skills.

I blanched the gourd for a min in hot boiling water

before filling with the desired meat filling

steamed until the filling is cooked thru and the gourd has 

become tender soft.   Cook a thickening sauce and pour over 

the steamed stuffed gourd

serve with hot piping hot rice

Stuffed Hairy Gourd With Fish Paste And Fresh US Scallop

1 med sized hairy gourd - pare off skin , slice diagonally into 1 3/4inch lengths, 

                                      remove center pulps with seeds, blanch with hot boiling water

                                      for a min, drain off water and keep aside

ingredients for filling

fish paste - store bought

fresh US scallops

Sauce

the excess water from the steaming + 1/3 cup water

1 tsp + of oyster sauce

1 tsp of chinese cooking wine

1 tsp of corn flour

a dash of ground white pepper

* optional -salt to taste

garnishing

spring onion and crispy fried garlic

Method:

1.  Pare off skin from hairy gourd, slice diagonally into 1 3/4inch lengths, remove center pulps with seeds, blanch with hot boiling water for a min, drain off water and keep aside.

2.  Stuff blanched gourd with fish paste into hollow part and place a fresh scallop on top, push the scallop inner so that it will not fall off the fish paste while steaming. Repeat until all the gourds are stuffed. Place on steaming plate and steam in hot boiling steamer for 15-18 mins or until filling is cooked through and the gourd is tender soft.  Pour excess water collected in steaming plate during the steaming process into a small cooking pot and add in oyster sauce and chinese cooking wine and corn flour, white pepper and cook under med heat to make a thickening sauce. Once the sauce thickens, pour over the steamed gourd and garnish with spring onion and crispy fried garlic.  Serve with hot piping rice.

Enjoy !

The Limestone's Fine Dining Restaurant, @Regalodge Hotel, Ipoh

After our bible class, our teacher decided to take us out for lunch. Hehehe I guess we are good students. Julie, Bill Chia and myself were treated to a wonderful lunch.  Great fellowship and a time of sharing.  Food was great and this was our first time here .  We will come back again to savor the rest of their menu.  Nice ambience and good service. Not only the food taste good but the presentation of food is brilliant !

Seafod Paella...very aromatic, prepared to suits asian taste bud

Grilled Salmon With Linguine

Bill and I ordered 

Grilled Chicken With Chickpea Salad

THE LIMESTONE’S FINE DINING RESTAURANT
@ Regalodge Hotel Ipoh
131, Jalan Raja Ekram,
30450 Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia.
Tel No : +605-242 3241
Hours : Breakfast (7.00am – 10.30am), Lunch (11.30am – 2.30pm), Hi-Tea (Cake + Coffee/Tea) (3.30pm – 5.30pm), Dinner (6.30pm – 10.30pm). Closed for lunch and hi-tea on Mondays.

Oven Baked Crispy Chicken Drumstick

After eating out most of the time for the past one month...it is time to settle down to some homecooked meals :)  We craved for this crispy oven baked chicken pieces with crispy skin on the outside and tender juicy meat on the inside.  The most important factor is the chicken pieces must be well marinated.  You can have your own choice of marinade of course...being the lazy me, I choose the easiest.  A bottle of steakhouse pepper seasoning ( a mixture of spices - dried onions, dried garlic, pepper, salt, paprika and mixed herbs ) a fabulous seasoning for the chicken drumsticks. Using potato starch as coating will have the chicken skin crisp and crunchy after baking .  You can use all purpose flour or corn flour but for me, I prefer potato starch.  Reason being, the crispyness last longer.

this seasoning is made up of dried onions, dried garlic, salt, black pepper,

dried oregano and paprika - truly flavor packed.  

After seasoning the drumsticks for 30 mins, coat evenly the drumsticks with 

potato starch and arrange the drumsticks on a wire rack over

a tray for catching  oil drips from the chicken during baking

you can omit the butter if you like

bake for 40 mins @200C

drumsticks skin should be evenly browned

and crispy 

the crispyness of the skin  is to die for

Oven Baked Crispy Chicken Drumstick

ingredients:

3 drumsticks - debone and leave skin on

a few tbsp of Spice rub - I used Steakhouse Pepper (Schwartz )
a few sprig of thymes
a tsp of butter

1 cup of potato starchs

Method:

Preheat oven at 200C for 10 mins

Season the debone drumsticks with spice rub , leave the drumstick to rest for 30 mins.   Coat the drumsticks with potato starch. Make sure every part of the drumsticks are coated with the potato starch.  Shake off excess potato starch and arrange the coated drumsticks on a wire tray over a baking pan .  Leave the drumsticks in room temperature  for another 30 mins.  Apply a tsp of butter on each drumstick * optional and sprigs of thymes on the drumstick.

Put the tray of drumsticks into the preheated oven and baked until the skin is crispy and evenly browned and cooked.  Take the drumsticks out of the oven and leave to cool..the skin will become crispy and the meat is tender and juicy.

Enjoy!