Simplified Mashed Potato Salad

Need to finish up the pack of baby potatoes and since my boy loves Mashed Potato, I decided to use them to make salad for him. Today we simply have Frozen Pizza along with Potato Salad. Definetely see him enjoying his lunch and finishing it up faster than usual.

Inspiration from JustOneCookBook but being lazy and rushing for time, I didnt exactly follow through. Instead I jus make use of the Japanese Mayo & Pepper to season only.. Ingredients used was Crabsticks, Ham, Egg, Potatoes. All ingredients cooked and cooled before assembling them.. 

Hope you love the salad as much as my boy does. Have fun!!

As I kept the balance salad in the fridge cos worried it will spoil by the time my gal comes back (2hrs b4 she comes back), I spread them on bread and put mozarella and toast them. Drizzle some tomato sauce and serve with Honey Drink. Yes, my boy says he wants a portion too!!

Mashed Potato Salad

4 Baby Potatoes

1/2 Slice Ham, cubes

1/2 Crabsticks, cooked & shredded

1 1/2 Hard Boil Egg, cut small

Japanese Mayonaiseg

Pepper

1) Boil Potatoes til skewer can poke thru easily. Boil hard-boiled eggs. All leave aside to cool.

2) Sautee Ham Cubes, Blanch crabsticks.

3) De-skin potato and mashed them up. Cut up hard boil eggs. Add eggs, ham & crabstick. 

4) Drizzle mayonaise and pepper and mix well. Add more mayonaise if salad looks dry. Taste and add accordingly. 

Salad can be serve immediately or chilled. 

小Panda Buns

Bookmarked this the moment I saw it. And what better motivation is when the house ran out of bread and I forgot to buy. Forced myself to bake them since I already bought the Heavy Cream yesterday. 

I wasnt quite sure if the steps in shaping the buns as a bit confused on the way the source guided me. So i jus shaped everything and let it go for 2nd proof. Haha~ And yes, i always cant shaped my animal buns well. Failed arts badly..

My 1st attempt. Soft and yummy buns but ugly Panda. My kids super likes it. Ok, that is enough to set me for a 2nd attempt.

I did it again the next day. Tis time i brush milk wash b4 putting on the eyes, ears & nose. It did stick well but still a bit distorted after baking. I think I need more practise.

And kiasu me, i use my Panda cutter and cut out 5 face for 'Just in case'... Wahahah. And i added Chocolate and cheese filling... 

My mistake for 1st bake: Baking tin not greased well enough so I had to pull out the buns 1 by 1 to cool on rack. But most important, it is well received by Hub & kids.

My mistake for 2nd bake: Still not greased well even though i really put lots of butter to grease it. My center roll bottom stick a bit lo. So difficult la. 

Panda Buns (adapted from HoneyBeeSweets

100ml Milk

85ml Heavy Cream

3 slices of Kraft Cheese

350g Bread Flour

1 Egg

40g Sugar

1/2tsp Salt

4g Yeast (original calls for 5g)

25g Butter, rm temp

1) Melt Milk, Heavy Cream & Cheese. I use microwave instead of stove top. 

I use 30sec interval and stir. Leave it to cool.

2) Put remaining ingredients, flour first then the rest at differenr corners of Breadmaker.

Let it knead the dough & proof the 1st time.

3) Once proof, take out dough and punch out air. Divide into 16x40g dough. 

4) Add 10g coco powder to remaining dough and knead til it becomes 1 colour well.

5) Roll and shaped 40g doughs into balls and place in greased tin.

Pinch out the ears, eyes & nose on estimation.

6) After 2nd proof, brush with milk and bake at 170deg for 30-35mins til it browned nicely.

7) Take out from oven and put on rack to cool. 

Spicy Black Beans Fish Head (啊嬷爱吃的黑豆辣鱼头)

My grandma super love to eat this dish that I cooked for her. She tells me to try frying it that way when we bought the Whole Salmon during a promotion. Since then, she has been asking me occassionally to cook this dish for her.

Lately I have been buying this fish, not sure the english name but i know in dialect it is "Gim Mak Lor". Who can tell me the name ah?

I like to have this with a bowl of white rice, its gravy is nice and flavourful enough to go with the rice. Mmmm.... Sharing my simple recipe, try it one day!

Spicy Black Beans Fish Head

1 x Fish Head, chopped
Sliced Ginger
2Tbsp Black Beans
1 Red Chilli, sliced
1 Chilli Padi, sliced
1.5Tbsp Black Sauce
1Tbsp Sambal Chilli
1Cup Water (or add more if starts to dry up)

1) Wash and rinse fish head. Drain.
2) Sautee black beans, ginger, sambal chilli with sesame oil.
3) Add in chopped fish head and stir well. Add water and bring to boil. Simmer and continue to flip fish head to ensure that it is cook properly.
4) Add in black sauce and stir. Simmer for 15mins, add water bit by bit if dry up.
5) Once cooked, serve warm. 

Steamed Egg w/Tube Tofu

Yesterday and today we really experience bad haze. OMG! Going as high as over 300! We only went out 1/2 day in the morning yesterday and went home to hide in air con room. (Sad, couldnt enjoy the Public Holiday much)

Today haze slowly clears up in the day and with it keeps on rising from late afternoon onwards. And with my aching back, I pretty much guessed due to sleeping posture, I decided to go light. (Reduce as much standing time as possible)

I remembered seeing someing posting in a Facebook group, Steamed Tube Tofu with Prawns and a bit of beaten egg at the bottom. Looks delish but as I want to use up my ingredients I decided to modify. 

The wet wet gravy underneath is so sweet to go with rice

I added chopped tomato, a little minced meat, 1 tube tofu, 2 eggs, gouqizi and added some water. I seasoned it, luckily just enough flavour and it tasted great. My "usually" dont really fancy steamed dished hubby commented it was nice. And the steamed fish was fresh & sweet, yes, a delish dinner tonight! Even my gal kept saying the tube tofu tasted like jelly and its so nice that she wants to have it again. So here, I am sharing the recipe. 

Before steaming

Steamed Egg w/Tube Tofu
1 Tube Tofu
1/2 Tomato, diced
2Tbsp Minced meat, marinated
1 handful gouqizi
2 Eggs
2/3 Cup water
Seasonings: 1 Tbsp Sesame oil, 1 Tbsp Lt Sauce, 1.5Tbsp Fish Gravy, Dash of pepper.

1) Prepare tube tofu into approximately 10 thin rounds. Place on steaming plate.
2) Add eggs, tomato, minced meat, water and the seasonings. Beat well. Pour over to cover tofu.
3) Sprinkle gouqizi over the egg and tofu mixture. Steam for 15mins. Serve warm.

Mushroom Oyster Sauce Winglets w/Long Beans

Today decided to cook a dish which my family loves, including myself. You can even cook it for a 1-dish meal on lazy days.

I actually modify this dish slightly from the usual Oyster Sauce Mushroom Chicken by adding long beans today. Initally wanted to stir fry Garlic Long Bean but decided to make it 1-dish for the kids while the adult indulge in Spicy dishes. Ha~

Along I cooked Ginger Sliced Pork Liver, Stir Fry Bean Sprouts & Chilli Sambal Sotong & Prawns! Yummy!!

Mushroom Oyster Sauce Winglets w/Long Beans

18 Winglets

1 small bunch Long Beans

4 Shitake Mushroom, sliced
2Tbsp Oyster Sauce
1.5Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce
Water (to add accordingly)

1) Sautee garlic then add in long beans and winglets.
2) Once winglets is slightly cooked, add in mushroom, oyster sauce & dark soy sauce. Add enough water to cover the winglets.
*Do not add too much if not will be tasteless*
3) Let it simmer and stir them to ensure they are cooked evenly. Add water if it dries up and stir well.
4) Use the fryer to cut thru the center of winglets. If can cut thru easily, continue to simmer another 5-8mins then bring to a boil and off fire. Serve warm.

Korean Bimbimbap

Today my hubby threw me a Mission - Korean Bimbimbap! Wow, I have been wanting to try but then I always see the amount of preparation and decided to wait. Yes wait. The side dishes seems a lot of work to prep. Haha~

Today I didn't regret. My hubby gave thumbs up for it. He told me he actually lowers his standard as I mentioned I was worried. Heng ah! He says its so delicious. I made the side dishes - Spinach, Soy Bean sprouts, Egg strips, Spicy Chilli paste Mushroom & Chicken, Oyster Sauce Onion Pork.
For the Spinach and Soy Bean sprout, jus blanch and drain, add a bit of sesame, pepper and salt to taste. 

Lotsa of work, but I enjoyed. Then I use the ready Bimbimbap Sauce, drizzle a Tablespoon of Sesame Oil. And I am done. Yummy!

My kids had with Sesame oil only, served with Korean Ginseng Chix soup. Got the herbs packet from a Korean Mart at Befok Mall.

Cherry & Blueberries Yogurt Popsicles

Saw many versions of home-made popsicles and mainly all around the same amount and since tat is the case, I jus "anyhow" mix, taste before freezing to make sure its edible. 

I use 2 tubs of Greek Yogurt, 1 box of Cherries, 1/2 box of Organic Blueberries, 1tsp Vanilla extract & 2.5spoon of Manuka Raw Honey. Add honey spoon by spoon and spoon and taste the sweetness to your preference. For ours, I didnt add to too sweet, jus nice with a hint of sourish feel from the sour cherries. Hehehe...

A great way to give yogurt and fruits to my lil ones at home... Another fun and indulging way for a healthy snack.

Cherries & Blueberries Yogurt Popsicles

2 Greek Yogurt

1 box Cherries

1/2 box Blueberries

2.5 spoon Manuka Raw Honey

1tsp Vanilla Extract

1) Blend all together and freeze. Served once frozen. (Approx 24hrs)

Tom Yam Stir Fry Fusilli

While grocery shopping last night, I casually asked Hub if he has any cravings for this week. He immediately saw "FUSILLI" and told me he want the same spicy Stir Fry Fusilli from Black Canyon Cafe. Haha~

I told him OK! Will cook for him tonight. And there I used the Tom Yam Sachet I got from Bangkok in February and used 1/2pkt to season, added some fish sauce and chopped chilli padi too.

End result, Hubby raved about it. Saying how delicious and nicer aa compared to Black Canyon blah blah. I think I can open a restaurant soon.

This is the one from Black Canyon Coffee.

Tom Yam Stir Fry Fusilli (Serves 2 small eater)

Cooked Fusilli (approx 1 soup bowl)

6 Prawns

100g Sliced Pork, marinate with Sesame Oil, Pepper, Lt Sauce & Hua Tiao

Brocolli, cut into small pieces

1/2 pkt Tom Yam Seasoning Sachet 

Bit of Fish Sauce to taste
Chopped chilli padi

1) Cook Fusilli til al dente. Drained and leave aside.

2) Sautee chopped garlic. Add pork, brocolli & prawns. Fry til 70% cooked. Add in 1/2 cup water, tom yam powder and stir well.
3) Add a bit of fish sauce and taste.
4) Add in fusilli, stir well. Add in chilli padi and stir. Serve warm.

**Add water bit by bit should it dry up as you stir fry. 

Japanese Cheesecake

Received an "order" for a Cheesecake, those light Japanese version and I decided to take up the challenge as it has been a while since I baked a Japanese Cheesecake. The thoughts of mixing in Egg Whites deter me as I haven really been baking cakes much.

I googled and decide to try a new recipe from JustOneCookBook. Her Japanese recipe never fails me and always keep me happy after seeing my end product. Ha~

I followed the recipe exactly except that I mixed 40g Plain Flour + 40g Corn Flour instead of 80g Plain Flour and I omit Lemon juice as I kept forgetting to replenish them! Other than that, I took about 10 tablespoon of batter and mix with 1.5Tbsp of Cocoa powder. I wanted to drip small dots to make flower swirl to run thru skewer but I was too clumsy and end up piping all the batter onto the cake. So I jus swirl it big for marble effect!

End results? I think lemon juice should not be omitted. But the cocoa marbled effect really makes the cake taste yummy! Texture is so good! All packed to give away!

Japanese cheesecake (adapted from JustOneCookBook)

400g Cream Cheese

60g Sugar

60g Butter

200g Whipping Cream

6 Egg Yolks

1Tbsp Vanilla extract

80g Plain Flour

6 Egg whites

100g Sugar

1) Beat cheese and sugar til combined. Add butter and continue to beat til it is fluffy.

2) Add yolk, followed by Whipping Cream making sure it is well mixed after each addition. Add in Vanilla extract. Add in Plain Flour and mix well.

3) Beat whites with sugar til stiff peak and add to cake batter in 2 additions.

4) Water bake for 1hr at 160deg then 30mins at 150g. 

5) Once skewer comes out from cake clean, leave it to cool in oven with door ajar. Serve after chilled.

Butter Loaf (somewhat similar to Danish Loaf)

Finall, after so long I take out my bread maker again. Hahha~ intrigued with this recipe that is somewhat similar to Danish Loaf but using lesser butter. So should be less sinful hor.

I made into a mini loaf, braided choc bun, mini sausage bun too. My kid were so happy to see me baking mini buns for them. And even more happier to see chocolate and double sausage. 

Basically I followed thru the recipe, except that I uses my Breadmaker to knead and proof. Then using it to bake the mini loaf while my buns went in to oven and "tan" themselves.

Hub likes the bread. I feel texture a bit like baguette. Ha~ Slight crusty outer with soft & chewy on the inside. Loves...

Butter Loaf (adapted from Carol)

200ml Milk

270g Bread Flour

30g Cake Flour (I uses Cornflour as I ran out of Cake flour)

30g Sugar

1/8tsp Salt

1/2tsp Yeast

20g Butter + some to spread on dough

1) Put in ingredients in above sequence then press Function 8: Dough kneading

2) Press Function 10: proof for 1st proof. Take out dough once done, punch.

Roll out and spread thin layer of butter then roll up and seal like Swiss roll.

3) I cut out 4x25g and seal up them. Then I cut the larger dough into 3 stripes and braid and leave in Breadmaker for 2nd proof.

I roll out the 25g dough and put my sausage, proof for 45mind and bake for 20mins or til golden brown.

4) Press Function 14: Bake and set to 50mins. Look out for loaf browning around 40mins onwards.