Pillow Dumplings

These are glutinous rice dumplings in the shape of pillows..kinda cute, different from the triangle shaped ones. I would like to thank my Piggy Cuz for these two ‘ pillows dumplings ’ homemade by her Aunty. * Yay, I can have these for dinner….one for myself and the other one for my other half. So happy. Thanks Piggy Cuz…it was good but not as good as grandmother’s …sshhh don’t tell the Aunty !

If I guessed correctly her Aunt must have learned from her grandmother ermmm also my grandmother who was one great woman. She made the most delicious dumplings ever! And every dumpling festival , every one of her children will get a few for their family and I looked forward to them. When I got married off, Mom continued to give me her share…so precious becoz each children will get a few only, becoz it was hard work for an old lady to wrap the dumplings all by herself. I should have learned from her too but too late now, she was called home many years back. This is what I regreted most!

The glutinous rice remained in its original color becoz no thick sauce was used. The fillings are just lean meat, chestnuts, some mung beans and some dried shiitake…..yummy is the word. Homemade ones are better becoz you can pick your own favourite ingredients as fillings and I love these fillings…so many chestnuts…so delicious…it brought back memories ….grandmother’s pillow dumplings, I thought I never get to taste again!

the undressed dumplings.....glorious!
Can't wait to see the inside :p

wow....the fillings revealed

a piece of well marinated lean meat,
4 pieces of dried shiitake, 5 pieces of chestnuts
and some mung beans.......

now...opened up for all to see
Mmmmm....d-e-l-i-c-i-o-u-s.....

I loved it so did Daddy..he too miss this dumpling
he only knows how to eat this kind of dumpling
since he married me ! See the advantage of being
married to ME.....LOL ! He learns to eat all kind of food

Our desire for this dumpling had been satiated for now
Thanks Piggy Cuz for this deliciousness!

^_________^

Thanks Miranda Hagan of My Food and Life Encounters

for passing me this

"I ♥ Your Blog" award :)

and Miranda I ♥ your blog too!

Thank You also for being so supportive and

truly you have given me so much encouragement by your

kind words each time you visit my blog :)
I have done all the questions when Tracie first gave me the award...LOL

Have a nice weekend!

*             *              *

Fluffy Deep Fried US Potato Bread

I came across this recipe which I thought will complement my chicken curry . Fluffy Deep Fried US Potato Bread ! And was I glad that I tried it out? Yup….it was good and everyone loves it . Knowing me…I will not leave it alone till I had tried it out and what more since I have some leftovers of the chicken curry in the fridge!

I know my Piggies will surely love these Potato Bread. Atta flour and mashed russet potatoes …lightly kneaded into a soft dough and rolled out into round discs, deep fried it in hot oil and tada….pieces of fluffy US potato bread ready to eat with the chicken curry! It was delicious and my kids love it to bits. The ooohs and ahhhhs from the family food critics….was proof enough! The Atta flour/potato bread does give out a nice fragrant after the deep frying. Dip the deep fried potato bread in hot spicy chicken curry….Mmmmmm the best brunch we had so far :)) This is something like the ' Puri bread " but it tasted much much better :)

You have to try it out yourselves to know what I meant by - it tasted much better than the Puri bread ! My opinion that is :p Homecooked food are somehow much better in my opinion…but of course you don’t have to take in what I wrote here….haha just that I am in the mood to crap a little bit. Ohhh.. I am beginning to mizz my Piggies…they have gone back to college today and I am feeling a little blue now. I only get to see them 3 weeks from now……. :(

Atta Flour + mashed russet potatoes= a flat round disc of dough


dust on each piece with lotz of flour when you stack them
together ,otherwise they will stick together .....
but you have to dust off the extra flour before putting them
into the wok of hot oil


pieces of fluffy delectable golden discs...mmm
the aroma was good for the hungry soul.....:p

but the puff deflated by the time I sat down to eat :))
just the same the taste was fantastic

vegetable oil is used for frying the potato bread

Fluffy Deep Fried US Potato Bread

Ingredients:

200g USA Russet or purple potatoes ,peeled and cut into wedges

195g wholemeal flour, or atta flour

¾ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

1 Tbsp corn oil

100ml lukewarm water, or enough to form dough

extra flour for dusting

oil for deep frying

Click here for the star online cooking demo by Amy Beh

for the preparation of the above potato bread



Enjoy!




~*~*~*~*~*~

Chicken Curry

This is another favourite curry dish of the family. We love this chicken curry for it could be eaten with plain rice, yellow glutinous rice or eat it with plain bread .

I took the opportunity of the long weekend to cook this delicious, hot and spicy chicken curry to the delight of the Piggies. You are right, I do pamper them and they are so blessed…..lotz of good food for them to enjoy during this short break :)) They love my food and I love their company! :)

This curry is so flavorful coz I added in some kaffir leaves to enhance further the flavor of the curry.

I used baby potatoes for this curry...yumm yummy

the kaffir leaves truly enhanced the flavor of the curry

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

1.5 kg chicken ( remove skin and cut to pieces)
20 baby potatoes
4 tbsp of cooking oil

(A)
1 tbsp meat curry powder ( Babas)
150 gm of ground fresh curry spices ( from wet market )
1 stalk of lemongrass- crushed
3 kaffir leaves
15 shallots – slice thinly

(B)
1.5 cups of thick coconut milk mixed
together with 5 cups of water

(C)
½ cup of thick coconut milk
salt to taste


Preparation:

Heat up oil in a cooking pot over medium heat and add in the ingredients A and saute till fragrant and the oil has surface . Add in the chicken pieces and stir fry till the chicken is ¾ cooked. Add in ingredient B and the baby potatoes , lower the heat and simmer till the chicken and the potatoes are cooked through. Add in (C) and simmer for another 20 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Enjoy!

Vegetables Stuffed With Meat Filling

When my Piggies are back , I will be either busy cooking in the kitchen making their favourite dishes for dinner or busy baking away….and a cuppa of hot green tea with some cookies to soothe the tired soul :p

They asked for this special dish - vegetables stuffed with meat filling enhanced by rich aromatic fermented soybeans gravy..Mmmmm I too loved this dish…it's been a long time since we had this for dinner. So, stuffed bitter gourd, aubergine, long fresh red chillies, firm texture brown tofu and shiitake made up this delicious and appetizing dish. The filling being minced pork, fish paste, dried shrimps and chopped spring onions with added corn starch powder , mixed together and stirred until a thick and sticky paste is formed. The preparation is simple and the end result belies it :))

Lightly fried them in hot oil till they are cooked for extra fragrance and dressed in a delightful aromatic gravy made of fermented soybeans, salted black beans and garlic. This is the family favourite dish :) I think , if I am not mistaken this dish is famous among Chinese families in Asia. They even served them as a dim sum delicacy in some dim sum restaurant :) but I served them as a veggie dish for dinner :p

yummilicious stuffed veggies and shiitake :)

not to forget firm brown tofu....everyone's favourite

and those pungent hot red chillies yumm yumm......

yumm yummm yummy........

filled our stomachs to satisfaction! :))))

Vegetables Stuffed With Meat Filling

Vegetable Ingredients
1 bitter gourd
1 aubergine
2 firm brown tofu
8 pieces of dried shiitake mushrooms – soaked and cut off stem
5 fresh red chillies

Meat Filling

300 gm minced pork
500 gm fish paste
100 gm dried shrimps- soaked and chopped
some chopped spring onions
1 tbsp corn flour

Gravy
2 tbsp of fermented soybeans- chopped fine
½ tbsp of salted black beans
some chopped garlic

1 tsp of thick soysauce
½ tbsp of sugar

Thickening
1 tbsp of corn flour mixed with 3 tbsp of water

Preparation:

Mix all the meat filling ingredients together and stirs with a pair of chopsticks till all the ingredients become a sticky paste. Leave aside.

Cut the bitter gourd and aubergine into ½” thick slices. Remove seeds from the bitter gourd.

Cut a slit through the chillies length wise and remove all the seeds.

Cut tofu diagonally and on each triangle cut a slit.

Soak the dried shiitake till soft and remove the stem.

Stuff all the cut vegetables with the meat filling. Apply some corn flour on the surface of the meat filling before putting them in hot oil and fry till cooked. Dish up and place them in paper towels to absorb the oil from the fried stuffed vegetables.

Meanwhile , heat up the wok with 1 tbsp of oil and put in all the gravy ingredients except the thick soysauce, sugar and thickening and sauté till fragrant. Add in 2 cups of water and simmer till it boils. Add in the thick soysauce , sugar and thickening When the gravy has thicken, add in all the stuffed fried vegetables into the gravy. When it boils, off the fire and dish up and garnish with some chopped spring onions.

Enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Tamarind Fish Curry

The fastest curry that I can cook up in just less an hour is this tamarind fish curry. Simple steps in the preparation and yet deliciously appetizing. With this , the whole family gets to enjoy a really nice dinner . Anything hot and spicy will have all the heads nodding in agreement LOL ! So easy to please them as long as it is CURRY!

this is one yummmilicious & savoury fish curry

black promfret is most appropriate for this kind

fish curry :)))

Tamarind Fish Curry

Ingredients:

1 black promfret

1 big aubergine – cut into ½” thick slices
2 tomatoes – quartered
1 stalk lemongrass – crushed
1 sprig of curry leaves

6 shallots – slices thinly
2 pips of garlic- slice thinly

2 tbs of fish curry powder – mixed with 2 tbsp water, into a paste
2 tsp of ground chilli paste
½ tsp of mustard seed

3 tbsp of tamarind pulp – mixed with 1cup of water , into a paste
1 cup of evaporated milk
3/4 cup of thick coconut milk mixed with 1 cup of water
3 tbsp of olive oil
Sea salt to taste

Method:

Heat up the olive oil in a wok, add in the shallots , garlic , lemongrass, curry leaves, mustard seeds and sauté till fragrant. Add in the curry powder paste and grounded chilli paste and continue to sauté till the oil come to the surface. Add in the aubergine slices& tomatoes and the evaporated milk and cooked till the aubergine slices are soft. Add in the tamarind water and the coconut milk and continue to cook for another 10 minutes under small flame. Add in the promfret last, simmer the curry till the fish is cooked. Add in sea salt to taste. Dish up and serve hot with rice.

Enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sea Clams In Wine Soup

I thought I will just steam a fish and blanch some greens for dinner but when I went brisk walking ( my routine exercise ) last evening, I walked past this fish stall outside my housing estate and I could not resist stopping by to see what fishes they have for sale …these fishes are from Pantai Remis ,a coastal fishing village in Perak….the fishes were fresh but triple the cost compared to those frozen ones sold in the supermart but worth buying coz they are so fresh and sweet. I ended up buying some threadfin salmon and black promfret and not least to mention, a kilo of fresh sea clams too…persuaded by the seller of course! :p :p Sales talk as usual, promoting his stuff so I was sweet talk into buying these sea clams but no regrets..it was so sweet that we finished one kilogramme of it :)) He even taught me how to cook them…. free cooking lesson , YAY…wonderful isn’t it ;p

I have never tried this specie before but looking at them I was seduced by their lustrous look and freshness! :))) We had extra dish for dinner last nite and Piggy gal was lucky coz she took the last train back and she too get to enjoy the clams :)) I cooked the way the seller taught me. Cooked them in wine and served as a soup dish….it was so sweet and honestly it is best eaten this way. You get to taste the original sweetness of the clam meat and the soup was heaven on earth….excuse my term of expression , it was really GOOD! :))))

the scent is out of this world.

and the infusion it makes is absolutely magical.

One minute you are entranced by this delicious aroma,

the next it is exploding in your mouth…

Just imagine

how many miles I have to walk

to reduce the calories and burn up the bad cholesterol!!!!!

self restrain!!!

walk walk walk and not pass the fish stall again
I forget to mention, he sell

mud crabs too......

I really have to stay away from this stall..

temptation is too great here....LOL!

Sea Clams In Wine Soup

Ingredients
1 kilo of sea clams – soaked and washed clean, drained

enough water just to cover the clams * I didn’t measure ,so you have gauge yourself :p½ cup of Chinese cooking wine
1 thumb size ginger – julienne
3 pips of garlic- crushed
3 chilli padi
1 tbsp of olive oil
sea salt to taste

Preparation:

Saute the ginger and garlic with the olive oil in a pot till fragrant. Pour enough water for the soup into the pot and boil for ½ hour and let the ginger and garlic infuse into the soup . Put fire to high and let the soup boils rapidly for another 5 mins, add in the clams , chilli padi and the wine together and stir till well mixed. When the soup boils and the shells are opened, off the fire and add sea salt to taste. Serve hot.

* Do not overcook the clams, the meat will become hard and shrink in size.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~