Tom Yum Clams

Been wanting to do a short recipe on my favourite dish - Clams!! Many ways I cooked them

before, spicy or no spicy, all i love! So long its clams is ❤️

Today shall a very simple recipe that anyone can cook at home! And frozen clams are so clean now! Only rinse 2-3x til water runs clear. Yes! That CONVENIENT! Always keep 1-2 packs in freezer for days I crave or when I crave spicy! Yums!!!

Video recipe: https://youtu.be/0iL4EE_bkxc
Tom Yum Clams
500g clams
2 tomatoes, chopped
3 coriander, chopped
2/3Tsp Tom yum paste
some chopped garlic
2 chilli padi, chopped

1) Sautee garlic n mix in tom yum paste
2) Stir in tomatoes, add enough water to cover tomatoes. Simmer slightly
3) Add in clams and stir well.
4) Stir in coriander and bring to boil
5) Taste before adding in chilli padu. Stir n serve warm

Stirfry Ginger & Onions Froglegs

Been always wanting to try cooking froglegs at home but always missed the chance to buy some froglegs. Finally managed to get some from my pork supplier and here comes my maiden attempt!

Stirfry some onions and ginger til fragrant, add in the marinated froglegs and then the sauce with some water to simmer and its done! Simple, yet so yummy dish! Try this dish, if you want you can add some chopped chilli padi to make it spicy.. 

Video recipe: https://youtu.be/jiV8KFufOJI

Stirfry Ginger & Onions Froglegs

450g frozen froglegs 

Marinate: 1Tbsp of Huatiao, Dark soy, Light soy 

Ginger, thin slices

Onion, thin slices

1Tbsp Oyster sauce

1Tbsp Dark soy 

1Tbsp Huatio

1/2 ricebowl water

1) Fry onions and ginger til fragrant

2) Add in froglegs and mix well

3) Add in oyster sauce, dark soy and huatiao once frogleg chg to whitish colour. Mix well

4) Add in 1/2 ricebowl water and simmer on low til cooked. Serve warm

Brown sugar boba II

Saw this new milk from Magnolia and finally got my hands on it. Decided to make some brown sugar boba to try it with the milk! 

I didnt roll them as feeling lazy, jus cut into small cubes and coat with tapioca flour. Shake off excess flour before boiling them. Then strain and put them in iced water. Quickly bring to boil brown sugar and water for the syrup and adding the boba back in to simmer til it turns thick.

Set aside to cool before using them. It taste soft, chewy with the hint of brown sugar fragrance! Yums! Goes so well with the brown sugar sea salt milk too!! Do give it a try!!

Brown sugar boba (adapted from Oven Fresh by Christine)
50g brown sugar
70ml water
100g tapioca flour

brown sugar syrup: 360ml water + 100g brown sugar

1) Bring brown sugar and water to boil
2) Add in 2-3tbsp of tapioca flour first and stir them til mixture is thick
3) Off fire and add in remaining flour and mix into a dough
4) Pour ontop baking sheet and slowly knead them together (be careful, its hot)
5) Roll out into a flat sheet and cut into strips and desired size and roll into balls (i didnt roll, cut into small cubes) Toss them in tapioca flour
6) Bring to boil a pot of water and shake off excess flour before adding in the boba
7) Boil til it changes colour, approx 10-15mins
8) Strain n put in ice water
9) Mix brown sugar syrup ingredients in pot and bring to boil, add in boba
10) Bring to boil then pour in boba, med heat and stir to prevent sticking
11) Simmer til it becomes thick. Cool before using

FAMOUS (amos) alike cookies

Been wanting to bake cookies especially when I see all the cookies posted in the cooking groups. Decided to shift my butt and baked some today since a neighbour was craving for some. Try out this recipe that was said to be very close in the taste of Famous amos. 

I cut back the sugar a bit, ended up not rolling the cookies as i prefer the uneven top.  Too smooth for my visual preference so i ended up jus dropping heaps of cookie dough to bake. Haha. I also replaced 20g of the cornflour with bread flour as i like the cookie crispier. 

Love it! I think the sugar can still cut back by another 30-50g depending on the type of chocolate chips you are using.  Have fun!

Famous amos alike cookies (adapted & adjusted slightly from Mothership)
250g butter
250g brown sugar
315g plain flour
20g bread flour
40g cornflour
1tsp baking powder
1tsp bicarbonate soda
1tsp vanilla
1 egg

Chocolate chips or any topping of preference

1) Put all in mixing bowl n mix them well
2) Add choc chips n mix it in and chill 30mins
3) Using spoon n drop heaps of teaspoonful onto baking tray
4) Bake at 180deg for 30mins, or til nicely brown
5) Cool thoroughly before storing in airtight container

Popiah & Kueh Pie Tee

Been craving for popiah since the Circuit breaker starts, ordered once frm Q10 but lots of hiccups and ends up with the storebought turnips turning sourish. End up had to discard and still have balance packets of popiah skin and pie tee cups. Motivate me to make my own fillings so I quickly ordered a turnip along with my vegetable order.

Quickly chop them up, along with carrots and prepare some small shrimps to add on. Kids love the small shrimps so I thought why not. Homemade is best as you use fresh ingredients and can customise it to what you like. 

Very simple and fast forward recipe as just need to simmer it soft and seasonings are some pepper, fish sauce and sugar. Water to be added bit by bit to simmer the turnip soft. Didnt had the cripsy bits that they added on top of the pie tee so I replaced them with crispy bacon bits used for salad! Its quite nice actually!! Here’s our lunch today served with century egg pork porridge! Yummy!!

Turnip fillings
1 turnip, approx palm size
1 carrot
1tbsp sugar
some fish sauce and pepper to taste

1) Cut turnips and carrots into strips
2) Sautee garlic then add in turnip and carrot strips and stir them well
3) Add water bit by bit to simmer the turnip n carrot soft
4) Once it is almost ready, season with fish sauce and pepper and taste
5) Serve warm

Sweet Vinegar Pork Ribs

Tried 2 new dish today! First was the sweet vinegar pork ribs, second is mayo shrimps! Both a success!! 👏🏻👏🏻

The ribs was slow braised with the marinate. Original recipe didnt marinate but i choose to marinate them with the seasoning for 2hrs before cooking, just adding enough water to cover the ribs and braising them. Adding more water bit by bit til the ribs are soft enough. I sub sugar with honey too. Kids totally thumbs up and loving it. Gonna try with chicken drumlets and midjoints the next round. 

Mayo shrimps was a hit too! I didnt even know it was so simple to do this! Jus marinate them lightly and coat with corn+tapioca flour before deepfrying them. Toss in mayonnaise mixed with lemon juice. Tadaa~~~ All done and Yummy!

Totally trying loads of recipes during this period! Love them! 

Sweet Vinegar Pork Ribs (adapted and slight modifications from Miki Food Archives)

500g ribs

Marinates: 

2Tbsp light soy sauce

1Tbsp black vinegar

1Tbsp huatiao

1Tbsp black soy sauce

Honey (adjust according to the sweetness you want)

some sesame seeds to toss them

1) Blanch the ribs and marinate them at least 2hours before

2) Put in pot with enough water to cover the ribs and braise

3) Add water bit by bit if it dries up and ribs is not soft yet

4) Once ribs is soft enough, let it braise over high heat to thicken

5) Sprinkle sesame seed and toss them before serving

小餐包 Dinner rolls

Been craving for butter kaya buns like those coffee place. Saw this simple straightforward recipe so decided to have a try. 

After proofing looks just nice, except for the bigger bun. Lazy to weigh them so portion and shape based on eye powder. I substitute bread flour instead of plain flour as am lazy to grab and open a new packet of plain flour. Interesting it gives a chewy texture to the bread itself. 

Couldnt wait and just had to try it! Kaya and butter spread. Yums! Only flaw is bread bun itself is not sweet enough, perhaps can increase another 10g next round. 

Soft, chewy and fluffy! Love it! Another Circuit breaker craving satisfied! Will attempt again and increase the sugar slightly. 

小餐包 Dinner roll (adapted from MyWokLife)

*halve recipe and made 9 buns

321g Plain flour (i used bread flour)

187.5g milk (i use cold milk instead of warm)

1tsp yeast

1egg

37g sugar

1/2tsp salt

1) Mix all together using my breadmaker til it comes together as a dough

2) Proof for 45mins, portion and shape into buns and proof another 30mins

3) Bake at 160deg for 30mins

Homemade Chicken Strips

Decided to make some crispy chicken strips for the kids. This CB really making me find joy in food. I cant see any much interesting things to do everyday EXCEPT to cook and go around the daily chores. Life is boring, cooping at home. Haha~ 

Basically everyday shopping for food or nice cutlery, utensils, pots etc. Back to chicken, this chicken strips is basically lightly marinate and then dip in panko and deepfried. Goes so well for tea break or as a main dish for meal time. Kids super love and best thing its homemade so its not heavily seasoned! Have fun making them! 

Crispy Chicken Strips

1pc boneless chicken breast, cut into strips

2tsp garlic powder

2tsp onion powder

1tsp huatiao

1tsp light soy sauce

1tsp sesame oil

1tbsp cornflour

dash of pepper

1egg

panko crumbs

1) Marinate the chicken strips with above seasonings for at least 2hrs

2) Crack an egg 10mins before frying and mix it well with the chicken 

3) Coat with panko n fry til both sides are nicely brown. Serve warm

Baked Donuts

Chanced upon this recipe few days back shared by Y3n_Kitchen, love to see her post in facebook as she has wonderful bakes and creations! It always look so yummy that I wished I could just reach out into my hp screen to take a piece and try it! 

Seeing how bouncy it is in the video she shared, I decided to bake and try it out. Saved the hassle of deep-frying and especially at this period, baked products seems better and less heaty! And since tml we dont have enough bread to go around, so I decided today is the day to try them! 

Never good at shaping bread dough, even if it means cutting them with a cutter. It always goes out of shape even though the ‘cut product’ looks good. Reason is that they always goes out of shape once they go for the 2nd proofing. Dont ask me why ok, I think its the way I roll the dough. Perhaps the thickness isnt evenly rolled out, or perhaps some other reason. I need to explore. Hee. So mandatory shot before they are ready from proofing. 🤞🏻🤞🏻

Oh thankful that most of them came out well, the hearts are still well formed! The texture is chewy and firm, definitely like a donut texture. Its soft, but heavier than breads, if you know what I mean. 

I couldnt wait and took a bite straight out of the oven. My picture definitely doesnt do justice to the donut. My kids had a few at 1 go! They want more and totally want more! A keeper! ❤️❤️

Baked Donut (adapted from Y3n Kitchen’s)

460g plain flour

2tsp salt

50g sugar

11g yeast

225ml cold milk

80ml cold water

58g butter

1) Pour all wet ingredients into breadmaker

2) Add in flour then put sugar, salt n yeast at different corners of the breadmaker

3) Once the mixture comes into a dough, add in butter and continue kneading

4) Dough is ready when it looks smooth. Leave to proof for 1hr or til it doubled in size

5) Punch out air and roll it into 1/2 inches thick, cut with donut cutter

6) Go for 2nd proof. Brush with milk and bake at 160deg for 15mins, or til it is browned nicely

7) Dust with icing sugar and serve

Burnt Basque Cheesecake

Finally did this burnt basque cheesecake after waiting so long! Hub’s bday happen during this Circuit Breaker period. And unfortunately, most of the places selling cakes were unable to operate and thus I think baking my own is safest. 

Worse if it is so hard to get all the ingredients or groceries lately online. Q-ing isnt an option as it is always packed with long Qs. Only go every 2-3 days when we need to buy bread. Even online and NTUC ran out of whipping. Thank goodness I alway stock the basic flours and sugar so I decided to take the chance and went with replacing whipping cream with milk. 🤞🏻🤞🏻

Thankfully the texture turns out well. Being a noob, and haven tried a burnt cheesecake before, I didnt know it was meant to be wobbly and creamy for the cake texture. After baking for 30mins, cake was so wobbly that I continue to bake for another 20-30mins and even had to top bake to burnt the crust. Only after baking and keeping the cake did I find out from a friend that its supposed to be creamy on the inside, instead of a firm texture. So glad mine wasnt too far off even with the lack of whipped cream as well as overbaking it! ❤️

Happy birthday my dear hubby! May we grow old together still loving each other very much for as long as we are together! Thank for all the love and tolerance along this long road. Today marks the 14th year of our ROM anniversary too! I love you and will always do. Hope you love the dinner spread tonight! ❤️

(Homemade tumeric honey wings, Homemade shrimp tofu, Stir fry Nai Bai, Tomyum Steam Fish)

Burnt Basque Cheesecake (adapted with slight modifications from MyMindPatch)

250g creamcheese

40g sugar

2 eggs

180g milk

15g corn flour

1tsp vanilla essence

1tsp lemon juice

1) Melt creamcheese and sugar til smooth over hot water

2) Add in eggs 1 at a time

3) Add milk and vanilla, mix well

4) Stir in cornflour until no more lumps

5) Mix in lemon juice

6) Bake at bottom rack for 20mins at 200deg then shift to middle rack and continue for another 30-40mins (You can change to top heat for the last 5mins to burnt the top, WATCH OVER CAREFULLY)

7) Leave to cool in oven fully then chill overnight before serving