Sugarcane @ Surrey Hills, NSW

Time does fly and I believe this is our 2nd year being away from home during Chinese New Year. In some ways, both the Wife and I do miss home because of family and the overall festive mood. Luckily, being away since we have been married, we never did have to give out any red packets (ang pao). Anyways by the time you read this, it should be the first day of Chinese New Year, specifically Year of the Dragon.


To all my readers, Gong Xi Fa Cai or Gong Hei Fatt Choi. May everyone be blessed with good food and be prosperous enough to feed yourself with good food.


Back to blogging.


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After spending a night at Coffs Harbour, we were quite eager to soldier on to Sydney. Faced with a range of 1 lane and 2 lane roads (not to mention the turtle crawling speed limit), I was surprised that it was still rather easy to drive long distance compared to driving down the highways of Malaysia (maybe its the scenery).


A very old friend of the Wife played host for the night. The better fact was that her husband was also quite a big foodie and when we said we leave it to them to pick a dinner venue, they said let's go to Sugarcane.


Sugarcane, one of the growing restaurants in Sydney / Australia which serve Southeast Asian cuisine with a twist. The menu is not quite fusion as such but its more of the chef's interpretation of the cuisine. Headed by chefs from Longrain, I presume the pioneer restaurant who started this trend, we were told that the food will be good and luckily it was.


The downside of this place though is the noise level. It is an open kitchen concept and yes, there was a dinner group of 20 people at one end that night but the amount of echo was equivalent of entering into a bar. Not exactly the place for a quiet conversation.


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The battered calamari was what it was, a standard starter served with a soy based dip.


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Whole barramundi, deep fried with two dipping sauces (if I remember correctly), a soy sauce and a chili like dip. Fried to perfection; crisp skin as you run your fork in and smooth silky flesh inside. The soy sauce was a little on the thick side, if it was slightly runnier, it would have reminded me of how we used to eat fried fish in restaurants back in KL.

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The pork hock served with a thai mango salad. This was the bomb dish and if you ever come here and the dish is available, you got to order it. That being said if you were vegetarian, go try the mango salad, there's that perfect mix of sweet, sour and spicy (at least for the poor soul here who can't really take his chili very well).


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Not equal! ly as go od was the chicken in a tamarind / plum sauce. Again playing with the familiar sweet and sour notes, the chicken wasn't over cooked, there was crispy skin but it all seemed a bit too ordinary for me.

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I am a big fan of eggplant and lo and behold we somehow ordered a plate of this cooked in a yellow bean and basil sauce. The gravy was delicious with the addition of basil and by the end of it, the eggplant had soaked in all the flavours.


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A rather late comer this one, the last dish arrived after a while which was a jungle chicken curry. Maybe by now we were stuffed, so it really didn't stand out for me.


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Dessert was a pumpkin "cake" and mango with black sticky rice. There were a few "ooh" and "aah" with the pumpkin cake / flan and I must admit it was pretty good. However one must realise I was stuffing myself silly with Zumbo desserts just hours earlier and everything seemed like a shadow.

Interesting thing to note is the above dishes were a mix of fixed courses from a voucher and ala carte dishes. Can you identify which is whi! ch? I pe rsonally felt after having dishes from both sides, the quality was pretty similar although the fixed courses seemed a bit flat at times. A rather old issue but restaurants will always have a dilemma between trying to break even and making sure customers do come back. Even if the food was spectacular, people looking out for bargains won't come back when they see the prices from the ala carte menu. I wonder what say you?

Overall pretty good stuff with I guess average prices of AUD25-30 a main.

Address and contact details:


Sugarcane on Urbanspoon

Verdict: 3.5 stars out of 5 stars. Got to take off marks for the incredibly loud atmosphere and some of the dishes we tried did fall a bit flat and tasted uninspired.

On Hainanese Cuisine, Or How Chicken Chops Became Comfort Food in Malaysia

Hainan food_david_hagerman (13)

A classic Hainanese coffeeshop breakfast: coffee and charcoal-grilled toast with butter and kaya,usually accompanied by a soft-boiled egg

About eighteen months ago Dave and I were approached by the editor of a new Dutch food magazine called Sabor. Would we be interested in doing a feature story on the topic of our choice for the inaugural issue, he wondered? In fact, for years we'd wanted to write and photograph a story on Malaysia's curious culinary mish-mash known as "Hainanese food". So in late 2010 we spent some time in Kuala Lumpur and on Fraser's Hill researching the story for Sabor.

Sabor published its first issue last August. It's a beautiful, substantive food magazine the likes of which I wish there were more of: a great mix of stories high-brow and low-brow, on dining from the street to tables in starred restaurants, focusing on chefs and producers and cooks and eaters of all stripes. The photography is beautiful and the layout is gorgeous. Our Hainanese piece was given 20 pages; needless to say the photographer was pleased. If you're interested, have a peek at, or download, the storyhere.

The second issue of Sabor is out now. If you're in the Netherlands and read Dutch (or not, but enjoy looking at wonderful food photography) please pick up a copy and support this new venture.

Our next story for Sabor, on Hanoi, will appear later this year. In the meantime, now that Issue No 1 is off the newstands, we give you here the original English text and photos: Hainanese food and Hainanese cooks in Ma! laysia, with recipes.

--------------------------------------

Hainan food_david_hagerman (49)

Just another busy day at Yut Kee

Soon after I arrived in Kuala Lumpur a Malaysian friend invited me out for a Hainanese meal. Hainan is a Chinese island province in the South China Sea, about halfway between southern China and Vietnam, and in the mid-eighties I idled there for an entire August. I spent every day just like the one before it, hiking past cows grazing in coconut palm groves, swimming off pristine stretches of sand and gorging on whole snapper, plump prawns and lobsters with tails the diameter of my wrist, all steamed with garlic and ginger.

After almost three decades I can still taste those simple yet stunning lunches and dinners. My chums invitation threw up the possibility of having those flavors close to hand once again, and I was thrilled.

Imagine my surprise a few days later when I found myself staring down a chicken chop. My friend and I had just been served at Yut Kee, a Hainanese-owned stalwart of Kuala Lumpurs dining scene for over 90 years. The corner coffee shop's chicken chop -- a mostly de-boned leg and thigh deep-fried, topped with peas, cubed carrots and corn kernels and bathed in glossy Worcestershire sauce-seasoned onion gravy -- is one of its signature dishes.

This was my first taste of Malaysian Hainanese cuisine. It was as far from the dishes that Id fallen for on Hainan as much of what passes for Cantonese food in America is from the food eaten served in Guangzhou. Once I got over my shock, however, I had to admit that chicken chop was a work of art in its own right. I soon became a Hainanese food devotee and Yut Kee regular.

Chops are just one of the pantheon of dishes! with or igins variously Western, Chinese or a combination of the two recognized in Malaysia as Hainanese. In addition to chops, Malaysian Hainanese cooks are known for their breakfasts -- soft-boiled eggs served with steamed or charcoal-toasted soft white bread -- chicken pot pies, steaks, and Hailam mee, noodles cooked with prawns, pork and vegetables. They're credited with making some of the best kopi (coffee) -- thick, dark and usually mixed with sweetened condensed milk -- in Malaysia. And they poach whole chickens and serve the meat sliced, accompanied with oily chicken stock-enriched rice and dipping sauces made with ginger and fresh chilies, for a dish known as Hainan chicken rice.

Malaysian Hainanese is a hodgepodge cuisine, a product of the countrys history as colony (the British controlled much of what is now Malaysia and Singapore from the mid-19th century until 1946) and adopted home of waves of immigrants from Asia and beyond. Today ethnic Chinese make up a little over a quarter of Malaysias population. They arrived in stages, beginning in the 1700s with traders from the southeastern Chinese province of Fujian (who are known as Hokkien). Hakka, Cantonese and Teochew followed. They arrived early enough to have their pick of jobs in tin mining, rubber production, agriculture and other professions.

Hainanese Chinese were among the last to make their way to British Malaya, beginning in the late 1800s and continuing into the early 20th century. By that time Cantonese, Teochew, Hokkienese and Hakka clan associations, which were established to help new arrivals find work and housing, had secured a lock on most employment opportunities. So many Hainanese ended up taking positions as cooks in British military camps and in the homes of British expatriates and wealthy Chinese, where they learned to turn out perfectly cooked roasts, make cream of mushroom soup, boil eggs just so, fry up crispy chops and knead dough for bread and pastries. Soon enough they put this experience to use in t! heir own restaurants and coffee shops, where they cobbled together the elements of what came to be known in Malaysia as Hainanese cuisine.

Yut Kee embodies the Hainanese gastronomic odyssey. My dad was born in Hainan in 1887 and came to Malaysia when he was in his teens, says Yut Kees son Jack Lee late one afternoon as his busy shops begins to quiet down. Sixty-six year-old Jack runs Yut Kee with his own son Mervyn, who will carry on the family business when Jack is ready to step down.

Yut Kee looks as if it has hardly changed since Jacks father opened its doors in 1928. It occupies a typically long and narrow Malaysian Chinese shop house open across the front on the ground floor with a kitchen in the back and living quarters upstairs. Ceiling fans rotate lazily over the always-crowded dining room, where Malaysian regulars and tourists (Yut Kees reputation has spread well beyond Malaysia) sit in bent timber chairs at marble-topped tables arranged on a green and white tiled floor.

Hainanese cooks mastered not only Western savories, but sweets as well. Displayed near the cash register, in a vintage wood and glass case, are Yut Kees desserts: marble cake and fat logs of ethereally light butter cake rolled around a filling of kaya, a rich caramel-ish coconut milk-and-egg jam. Yut Kees signature inky coffee is made the old-fashioned way -- by pouring boiling water over grounds in a cotton sock filter suspended from a metal ring -- in a cubby hole just off the rear of the dining room. Cloudy mirrors on opposite walls maintain good feng shui. Hanging on a wall near the middle of the shop is a large photograph of a young Yut Kee, the spitting image of Jack and Mervyn with his rounded cheeks and upturned nose.

Hainan food_david_hagerman (69)

Jack Lee during a ra! re quiet moment at Yut Kee

Yut Kee died just three years after Jack was born, so everything I know about Dad I heard from my mothers, he says. Multiple wives wasnt so unusual in Yut Kees day, and after he died his three wives ran the business, dividing duties amongst themselves: one took charge of the coffee area, another oversaw the cash register and the third, Jacks birth mother, kept the kitchen humming. Today Yut Kee opens for breakfast at 7am and closes, after the last customer has taken his or her beer and chicken chop or cup of coffee and kaya roll, around 5 or 6 in the evening. In Yut Kees time the place operated as a full restaurant the in place for night clubbers, Jack winks -- and didnt close its doors till 3 or 4 in the morning.

Jack grew up in the shop. I worked a bit in the kitchen, but I wasnt sure if I would keep with it, he remembers. But in 1970, when his mothers were getting on and the day-to-day became a challenge for them, he took over. They had put so much effort into the business, so I thought, Let me continue with it.

Today much of whats served at Yut Kee is true to the original menu. Though cutlets (prawn, crab, and pork) and Jacks fathers signature steamed fish with cream sauce are no more, chicken curry -- tender bone-in pieces in a fiery sauce flecked with fresh curry leaves spicy-sou asam fish, perfectly prepared chops, Hailam mee (noodles with prawns and pork), and toast served with kaya remain. When he took over Jack added a few items such as beef stew and rice stir-fried with belacan (Malaysian shrimp paste) to the menu.

Yut Kee is perhaps best known for its roti babi (pork bread in Malay), an over-the-top, eat-with-your-hands snack consisting of a thick slab of white bread stuffed with pork and crabmeat, coated in egg, and shallow-fried. Visit Yut Kee anytime after 10am and youll find at least one order on every single table.

Butter cake and chops, noodles and a mish-mash east-west dish like roti babi. What exactly is Hainanese food! ? A fusi on of confusion, in Jacks words. But as far as hes concerned theres no doubt which Chinese Malaysian cooks can lay claim to the chop:

You certainly wont find any Hokkienese, Teochew, or Cantonese chicken chops!

***

Hainan food_david_hagerman (12)

Arundel, on Fraser's Hill

While many Hainanese cooks transported their skills from colonial-era homes to their own coffee shop, others stayed in private kitchens . The fruits of their culinary prowess can still be enjoyed in a few hotels and bungalows found in colonial hill stations dotted around peninsular Malaysia.

With its polished plank floors, wood-paned windows, stuffed sofa and chairs, and clipped lawn bordered by temperate blooming flowers and shrubs, Arundel would be right at home in the English countryside. Instead the four-bedroom black-and-white bungalow sits at 1,500 meters two hours outside of Kuala Lumpur on Frasers Hill, a former tin-ore trading post turned British hill station in 1922. Set amidst pristine forest threaded with walking trails and often shrouded in fog or rain clouds, the former hill station is a popular weekend and school holiday getaway for Malaysians, who come to take in the clean, cool air and enjoy the green and quiet.

But Ive come to Arundel, one of two early 20th-century houses sharing a prime spot of land at the end of a cul-de-sac, to experience Malaysian Hainanese cooking in situ. For almost 50 years the bungalows kitchen was the domain of Tan Kee Tain, a Hainanese cook who arrived in Malaysia in the 1920s. Four and a half years ago Tan died at the age of 82, but not before passing his culinary knowledge on to his daughter-in-law Lam Foong Ling.

Hainan food_david_hagerman (52)

Teatime at Arundel: freshly baked scones and a photograph of a young Mr. Tan

Over tea, homemade scones, and jam in Arundels sitting room Mr. Tans daughter Nancy Yap, who supervises the bungalow, shares memories of her father. He didnt come to cooking naturally at first it was just a job, she tells me. Nancys father held a number of jobs around British Malaya before making his way to Frasers Hill, where some of his relatives worked in other bungalow kitchens.

But once he began cooking, he really enjoyed it. As if to illustrate her point she shows me photos: a lean, young Mr. Tan sitting with a big grin on a curb outside the bungalow and another of a middle-aged Mr. Tan showing off a chicken pot pie with a mile-high puff pastry crust. Then there's a snapshot of white-haired, septuagenarian Mr. Tan in Arundels kitchen, demonstrating the art of bread-making to a half-circle of enraptured Malaysian housewives.

Madam Foong, Mr. Tans daughter-in-law, mimics her teachers savvy with dough and sweet breads; our scones are rich and buttery, golden outside, a light crumb within. She began to study with Mr. Tan a decade ago. My kids had left home and I had nothing to do. I always liked to cook. He said, Why dont you come and work in the kitchen? And I thought, Why not give it a try?

Hainan food_david_hagerman (54)

Hailam mee at Arundel

Over two days at Arundel I dine on a parade of exquisitely prepared Hainanese classics: crispy pork cutlets bathed in a Chinese sweet rice wine and soy sauce-spiked gravy, Hailam noodles with sli! ced pork and briny shrimp, garnished with crispy caramelized sliced shallot and perfectly poached Hainan chicken made with a free-range bird and served with zesty fresh ginger and chili sauces. Every meal is accompanied by green vegetables slender string beans, perky leaf lettuce, crispy baby bok choy plucked fresh from Arundels kitchen garden and stir-fried with Madam Foongs expert touch. Teatime brings baked goods -- scones of course, and one of Mr. Tans specialties: tender, chewy twists of potato-enriched dough sprinkled with sugar and grated orange rind.

Asked what she most enjoys about cooking, Madam Foong smiles wide and answers quickly: Roast lamb. I love cooking Western dishes. Mr. Tan's Hainanese culinary legacy is alive and well on Fraser's Hill.

***

Hainan food_david_hagerman (30)

In the kitchen at Yut Kee

Back at Yut Kee, Jack has promised to show me how to make the shops iconic dish: roti babi. But when I arrive after lunch on a Thursday hes had a change of heart. Let Mervyn do it, Jack says, with a nod to his son, whos standing behind the cash register adding up receipts. Mervyns coming up now. Hes the new generation.

Like his father, 30-year-old Mervyn grew up in Yut Kee. After earning a university degree in the United States he returned to Malaysia and joined the business. Putting his knack for systems management to use, Mervyn is adding polish to Yut Kees inner operations. But his attachment to the place comes from the heart, all but guaranteeing that the spirit of Yut Kee won't change.

Mervyn also knows his way around Yut Kees well-worn, sometimes bordering-on-chaotic kitchen. I watch as he minces pork by hand and carefully cuts pockets into two thick slices of bread. After s! tir-fryi ng sliced onion, Chinese sausage and pork with Worcestershire sauce for the roti babi filling he adds jicama, instructing The jicama goes in last because I like to keep it a little bit crispy.

Then the secret of Yut Kees version of roti babi is revealed: instead of beating whole eggs for dipping the bread Mervyn separates yolks and whites, beats the latter to stiff peaks and then gently folds them into the beaten yolks. When the stuffed bread is dipped into the mixture it emerges with an impossibly thick layer of egg that browns beautifully, flawlessly, in the oiled skillet.

What emerges from the pan is an almost oil-free fluffy bread pocket spilling tender pork and a touch of crab meat. The Worcestershire is a barely detectable back note, a hint of sweetness and salt that plays off the richness of the pork and shellfish. While the onions are soft and caramelized the jicama retains a bit of bite, offering a welcome bit of textural contrast.

After plating his roti babi Mervyn heads back out to the cash register. Jack sits at his usual spot, near a table at the entrance, gabbing with regulars and wishing passers-by a pleasant evening. In downtown Kuala Lumpur, as on Frasers Hill, Hainanese cuisine is alive and well.

***

Hainan food_david_hagerman (53)
Lunch at Arundel: Hainan Chicken Rice w/two dipping sauces and Hailam mee

HAINAN CHICKEN RICE

According to Mr. Tans daughter Nancy this is one of the few Malaysian Hainanese dishes that can also be found on Hainan, in her fathers home of Wenchang. This simple preparation demands the best ingredients, so if you can, use a free-range bird. The mark of a good Hainan chicken is flesh that is just barely cooked; you dont want the meat to get tough.

The chicken, rice, and dipping sauces can comprise an entire meal, but you might also serve a light soup of green leaves (bok choy perhaps, or choi sum) cooked in diluted chicken broth with a slice or two of ginger.

FOR THE CHICKEN:

And approximately 2-kilo chicken, preferably free range

2-inch piece old ginger

Salt

  • Bring a pot of water (large enough to accommodate the whole chicken) to the boil.Wash and dry the chicken. Drop a few pinches of salt into the body cavity, along with the ginger.
  • Place the chicken into the pot, laying it breast up. Bring the water back to the boil, then lower to a slow simmer and place a lid on the pot. After 20 minutes turn the chicken over. Continue to simmer for another 20 minutes. In the meantime, fill another pot (or large bowl) also large enough to accommodate the whole chicken with cold water.
  • After about 40 minutes remove the chicken from the pot, reserving the broth, and plunge it into the cold water. Leave for 20 minutes. Remove and gently pat dry with paper towels. Set aside, propping the chicken up so that any water in the body cavity can drain out.
  • FOR THE GINGER SAUCE:

    2 inches old ginger

    2 green onions, white part only

    Reserved chicken stock

    Salt to taste

    Sesame oil scant 1/4 tsp (optional)

  • Chop and pound in mortar (or whir in blender or food processor) the ginger and the onions. The result should be a barely lumpy puree.
  • Remove to a small bowl and stir in approximately a tablespoon of stock from boiling the chicken (try to include some of the chicken fat as well) and salt to taste. If you like, add just a couple drops of sesame oil.
  • FOR THE CHILI SAUCE:

    2 cloves garlic

    2 small fresh hot red chilis

    2 large mild fresh red chilis

    inch old ginger

    Chicken fat skimmed from stock

    2 kalamansi or -1 whole lime

    Salt to taste

  • Chop and pound in a mortar (or whir in blender or food processor) the garlic, chilies, a! nd ginge r. The result should be a barely lumpy puree.
  • Remove to a small bowl and stir in a bit of chicken fat from the boiling stock, and the juice of 2 kalamansi or whole lime. Taste and adjust for salt and kalamansi/lime juice. The dipping sauce should be hot and tart, but not overwhelmingly sour. Its meant to balance the richness of the chicken meat and rice.
  • FOR THE RICE:

    2 red shallots

    2 cloves garlic

    2 1/2 cups rice

    3 3/4-4 cups stock from boiling chicken

    2 pinches salt

    black soy sauce

    1 pandan leaf (if available)

  • Finely mince shallots and garlic, and quickly fry in a dry wok or pan just until they begin to color. Remove from the pan and place in a rice cooker, along with the rice, chicken stock, salt, soy sauce, and pandan leaf. Turn the rice cooker on cook as usual.
  • TO SERVE:

    1 cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced crosswise

    2 green onions (scallion), white and green part, thinly sliced lengthwise

    fresh cilantro sprigs

  • Arrange the cucumber slices on a platter in a single layer
  • Prepare the chicken: If you prefer, remove the skin from the breasts and legs and thighs. Separate legs and thighs and cut each of the four pieces in half with a cleaver or sharp knife. Carefully remove the breast meat from the bone and cut into 1 -inch thick slices.
  • Arrange the breasts and legs/thighs neatly on top of the cucumber. Lightly toss the shallot slivers and cilantro sprigs together with your fingers and place them on top of the chicken.
  • Serve the chicken with the two sauces, the rice and any leftover broth, reheated (or a light soup of green leaves parboiled in diluted broth).
  • Hainan food_david_hagerman (57)

    Mr. Tan's -- and now Madam Foong's -- orange! twists< /em>

    ORANGE TWISTS

    These light, not-too-sweet orange-fragrant rolls are frequent accompaniments to afternoon tea at Arundel and Bunge. Fresh milk was hard to come by on Fraser's Hill, thus the use of powdered milk..

    According to Nancy Tan her father learned this recipe from an American who stayed at Arundel many decades ago. After experimenting with the dough he began to use it for other baked goods as well. Madam Foong advises that the finished dough can be halved, with one half used the same day for these orange twists and the other refrigerated and used within three days for fried donuts, cinnamon buns, or dinner rolls. (If you go this route be sure to use only half the amounts specified when you make the filling)

    Makes approximately 34 twists

    FOR THE DOUGH:

    2 scant Tbsp dry yeast

    6 oz. warm water

    tsp sugar

    2 cups hot water

    3 Tbsp milk powder

    1 cups vegetable shortening

    1 cup white sugar

    Tbsp salt

    1 cup mashed potato

    2 eggs

    8 8 cups plain flour

    Flour for kneading

    FOR THE FILLING:

    8 Tbsp butter, softened

    4 Tbsp sugar

    Grated zest of 3 oranges

  • Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water. Set aside for yeast to rise, about 15 mins. Dissolve milk powder in hot water. Set aside to cool slightly.
  • Cream shortening with white sugar. Stir in salt. Pass mashed potato through fine sieve into dough. Stir to combine.
  • Beat the eggs and stir them into the water/milk powder mixture. Add to dough and stir to combine thoroughly. Sift flour into dough and stir to combine. Start with 8 cups and add more if necessary the dough should be smooth and no longer sticky. Place dough in bowl and cover with a damp towel. Place in refrigerator for one hour.
  • Remove dough from refrigerator and turn it out onto smooth surface lightly dusted with flour. Flatten and knead lightly for several minutes. Return to bowl and! place b ack into refrigerator for at least 1 and not more than 6 hours.
  • Grease two large cookie sheets. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide in two. Set one piece aside and cover with a damp cloth. Knead the other lightly for several minutes and then use a rolling pin to flatten it into an approximately 24-inch by 12 inch rectangle.
  • Spread the rectangle of dough with 4 Tbsp soft butter and sprinkle evenly with 2 Tbsp sugar and half the orange zest. Slide a floured knife underneath the doughs perimeter to loosen it from the rolling surface.
  • Bring one long side of the dough up and fold it over, so that its edge lays at the rectangles center. Repeat with the opposite side. The two sides should barely overlap in the center of the. Lightly pat the surface of the new, narrower rectangle, then use a knife to divide it crosswise into 16 1 1/2-inch strips. Twist each strip into a loose rope and lay the ropes side-by-side on a cookie sheet. Cover with a damp hot towel and set aside. Repeat with the other piece of dough. Leave the twists aside, under a damp cloth, to rise for 1 hour.
  • Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and bake the twists on racks set at the ovens center. Check after 15 minutes if theyre not finished reverse the trays and bake for an additional 5 minutes, until golden brown.
  • While the twists are baking prepare the icing, if using: stir icing sugar, starting with 1 Tbsp, into orange juice until you have a liquid the consistency of pouring cream.
  • Drizzle the hot twists with the icing (dont overdo it) as soon as they come out of the oven.
  • Blue and orange-hagerman

    Dusk on Fraser's Hill


    Reunion Dinner Feast - Chinese New Year 2012

    Reunion dinner is one of the most important event of the Chinese New Year celebration. Family members from all over the country would gather on the eve of CNY for a meal together, believed to strengthen family bonds (great for catching up with relatives that we see once a year!).

    My children are very lucky to be able to spend this special day at their paternal great grandparents home for the past few years. I'm grateful that one of my aunts and my grandma work very hard to put out delicious homecooked food for us every year.

    Something we all enjoy before the reunion dinner feast... CNY cookies! My favorite are of cos the pineapple tarts and also these pretty butter cookies. Kids love them too!
    Butter cookies


    Pineapple tarts


    Our reunion dinner feast, thanks to the two ladies who slaved in the kitchen all morning/afternoon!


    Since my grandma is Hokkien, we will always the delicious braised pig's trotters / knucles with seacucumber, fish maw with mushroom and chicken feet, longevity noodles (sau meen) and also pig's stomach soup!

    Braised pig's trotters / knucles with seacucumber served in a claypot



    Siew yoke


    Fish maw with mushrooms and chicken feet



    Prawns for happiness. ha ha ha


    Leeks so that we have lots to "count" in 2012


    Fried chicken.. cos the kids love it.. :P


    Kailan.. green vegetables symbolise new beginnings


    Longevity noodles...


    Baby C and her noodles!



    Baby D loves his noodles.. and everything else!


    Pig's stomach soup... oh yum!


    Mini mandarin ora! nges

    What did you have for your reunion dinner?

    *All photos taken with iPhone4S.

    Spicy Bopis Recipe

    Spicy Bopis Recipe

    This Spicy Bopis Recipe is the response to your requests about a spicier version with sauce using the minimum ingredients possible.

    If you remember, we were able to post a Bopis Recipe over a year ago. I shot the video when I went to the Philippines. Being there made it possible for me to get all the ingredients that I needed. That recipe was dry version of this dish. I constantly get requests from readers here in North America for the version with some sauce using readily available ingredients. This drove me to make this post.

    Being outside of the Philippines can limit our ability to cook Filipino Recipes because of ingredient availability issues. However, things should not prevent us from making our favorite dishes. Lets keep in mind that there are alternative ingredients. We can also omit some ingredients and still come-up with a similar version of our Filipino Recipes.

    Most groceries and supermarkets in this part of the world do not sell pigs lungs for some reason. Because of this, the main ingredient that I used for this dish is only pigs heart. You can also use veal heart as an alternative. These ingredients are always available in Mexican and Asian groceries. the other ingredients such as dried bay leaves and annatto seeds can be purchased in the same stores.

    This recipe makes a good pulutan. Feel free to add more chillies depending on your heat tolerance. Since there is a sauce, eating this as a main dish along with steamed rice can get your appetite going. Just a few reminders, if you dont mind. Take it easy on the rice, If you have diabetes. Try only a small portion of this dish if you have gout. Happy eating everyone!

    Try this Sp! icy Bopi s Recipe.

    Recipe: Spicy Bopis

    Ingredients

    • 1 1/2 lbs Pigs heart, boiled until tender and diced
    • 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
    • 1 medium carrots, diced
    • 1/2 cup annatto seeds diluted in 1/4 cup water
    • 3/4 cup vinegar
    • 2 1/2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
    • 1 1/2 tablespoons ginger, minced
    • 1 medium red onion, chopped
    • 4 clove garlic, minced
    • 4 pieces dried bay leaves
    • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
    • 2 cups water
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Watch the cooking video:

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9IAC-yfEFI

    Cooking Procedure

  • Heat oil in a pan.
  • Saute garlic, onion, and ginger.
  • Put-in the pigs heart and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add the crushed pepper and annatto water. Stir.
  • Add the dried bay leaves and pour-in water. Let boil and simmer for 5 minutes.
  • Pour-in vinegar and allow to reboil. Stir.
  • Add carrots,red bell pepper, salt, and pepper. Cook for 3 minutes.
  • Transfer to a serving plate. Serve.
  • Share and enjoy!
  • Number of servings (yield): 6

    My rating 5 stars: 1 review(s)

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    Momofuku Holiday Cookies

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    A family conversation starter should not focus on how one member gave herself a tattoo with a ballpoint pen, needle, and a flame.

    Momofuku Holiday Cookies

    What you need for the cornflake crunch:
    5 cups cornflake cereal
    1/2 cup milk powder
    3 tablespoons sugar
    1 teaspoon kosher salt
    1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
    9 tablespoons melted butter

    What you need for the cookie:
    2 sticks butter, at room temperature
    1 1/4 cups sugar
    2/3 cups light brown sugar
    1 egg
    1/2 teaspoon vanilla
    1 1/2 cups flour
    1/2 teaspoon baking powder
    1/4 teaspoon baking soda
    1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
    the cornflake crunch
    2/3 cup chocolate covered candies
    1 1/4 cup mini marshmallows

    What you do:
    For the cornflake crunch, preheat the oven to 275 F. Mix all the ingredients together and spread them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes.

    For the cookies, combine the butter and sugars in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Mix in the eggs and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until the dough just comes together. On low speed, add the cornflake crunch and chocolate covered candies. Then mix in the mini marshmallows. Chill the dough for 1 hour.

    Preheat the oven to 375 F. Portion the dough with an ice cream scoop on top of a parchment lined baking sheet about 4 inches apart from each other. Bake them for 18 minutes.