Happy Birthday Singapore! Part I

Today I am very excited to have WaiFong from "Fongs Kitchen Journal" to share with us her National Day Special Cookies as her guest post. I get to know Wai Fong about a year ago through a giveaway event from my blog and since then I always pop-by her blog, drooling over her delicious "Fongs 三菜一汤 - 3-plus-1" that she whipped up for her family. On top of that, she is also one of our regular supporters for the monthly "S$20 Budget Meal" event. So lets put our hands together and welcome WaiFong to share with us her icing cookie recipe as well as thoughts on coming National Day. Enjoy!

Happy Birthday, Singapore!

This is a very special post for me. First, as you can see, I have made some National Day Cookies here as a pre-National Day celebration. Tomorrow, I will be going down to Marina Bay to watch the NDP preview. And I am equally thrilled to be sharing this post with one of my favorite food bloggers, Ellena, at Cuisine Paradise.

With about a week more to our National Day, I decided to make these cookies for my little girl and her pre-school classmates. I zoom in on two colours - red and white, the colours of our National Flag. And, whats better way to pack these cookies than having them in this NDP Fun Box! For those who have attended last years NDP ("National Day Parade") celebration, you might remember having this Fun Box inside the goodies bag.

I thought this is also a great time for me, as a Singaporean and a young parent, to engage our little ones in some National Education. I design a simple quiz of 20 questions on Singapore, from "what is our National Anthem", " What does the crescent moon on our flag represents" to "Name 5 MRT stations on the East West Line". These questions are printed and glued on small little tags and taped behind each cookie pack. I hope while the children are enjoying the cookies, they will also get to learn something about Singapore.

I used the same cookie recipe as my earlier Valentines Day cookies. This cookie recipe yields very crispy cookies, but is extremely sticky to work with. If you prefer more manageable cookies, you may want to add a little more flour to it or cut down the butter to 200g.

Ingredients For Cookie dough: (makes about 28 to 30 cookies)
220g butter
100g caster sugar
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla essence
300g plain flour
60g corn flour

Royal icing:
4 tsp meringue powder
4 tbsp water
300g icing sugar
4 tsp lemon juice
Red, black colour gel

Method:

1) Cream butter and sugar till light and fluffy (pale white).

2) Add egg yolk and vanilla essence, beat for another minute or two.

3) Sift plain flour and corn flour together. Add into butter mixture and mix well to form a dough

4) Divide dough to 2 portions, cover with clingwrap and rest dough in fridge for an hour.

5) Roll each dough between baking paper and clingwrap to about 2 to 3mm thick.

6) Rest the dough sheet back in fridge for 30 minutes (or 10 minutes in the freezer).

7) Stamp the cookies using cookie cutter and transfer them to a baking tray lined with baking paper.

8) Bake in preheated oven at 175C for 15 to 20 minutes. Let the cookies cool completely on rack before decorating.


Decorating the cookies:

1) Whisk meringue powder and water till foamy.

2) Add icing sugar gradually and continue to whisk till stiff and fluffy.

3) Add lemon juice and whisk for another 2 minutes. Add a little water (1/4 tsp each time) if the icing is too stiff and dry.

4) Divide into portions and mix in desired coloured gel.

5) For each icing colour, save a portion for piping the outlines (i.e. stiff icing); and then add more water (1/4 tsp each time) to get thinner icing consistency for flooding the cookies.

NOTES:

1) Working with red and black colours are the most tricky, as the red and black coloured gels will turn "pink" and "grey" when mixed together with the white icing. You could try preparing the icing a day ahead, as icing color will darken slightly with time (whisk it slightly before using). If youre preparing your icing ahead, do not make it too thin as it tends to be a little diluted the next day. Alternatively, some websites suggested adding a little cocoa powder to darken the shades. I have not tried this method.

2) Transfer the royal icing to piping bag(s) and use immediately. Else, cover the royal icing with cling wrap to prevent it from drying out.

3) I used a piping tip #2 for piping the lines. For flooding, I just cut a small tip off the disposable piping bag.

4) Click here for a detailed explanation on getting the right icing consistency.

5) Let the icing fully set and dry before transferring them to cookie bag. I left them in a air-con room for about 5 hours to set. Some websites recommend leaving them overnight, but I am concern that the cookies might turn soft.


To know more about WaiFong and her blog, you can cross over to this link HERE to find out more about her cooking and baking recipes. Till then have a great weekend and stay tune for PART 2 of our National Day Special post which is done by me.

Happy Birthday, Singapore!

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Happy Fathers Day!

Besides reminding me of my father,
this also reminds me how primitive
my audio/video equipment used to be!

I like reposting this video on Father’s Day, since it’s the recipe that most reminds me of my father John. Growing up, I used to tag along with him on the golf course, and after the round he’d take me to the clubhouse for lunch. I always ordered the exact same thing – an open-face, New York steak sandwich, medium-rare. 

I just loved how the crispy toast would soak up all those wonderful juices, and eating a sandwich with fork and a knife always seemed so grown-up. Sitting there eating, while the men laughed and argued about their rounds is one of my earliest and fondest culinary memories. I’d even get a glass of Coke with a cherry in it to mimic my father’s Manhattan, so I too could participate in the post-game cocktails, which even at that age I could tell were an essential part of the ritual. 

Speaking of golf, we’re heading to Sacramento to celebrate Father’s Day with my father-in-law, Al. Not only is Big Al is a great golfer, but he’s an even better father, and I only wish he and my dad could have played a round of golf together. That would have been a lot of fun. Anyway, whether you’re golfing or gardening, eating steak or tofu, drinking Manhattans or iced tea, I hope you all have a wonderful Father’s Day. Enjoy!

Click here for the original post with ingredients!

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Bento Happy 47th Birthday Singapore

Today is eve of Singapore National Day where most of the local schools are having short sessions in the morning for Pre-National Day celebration. And because of this special day, I have prepared this easy and yet meaningful snack box for my boy to bring to school. 

This unique lunchbox is one of the items from my recent Zespri® Introductory Bag for the Zespri®  14-Day Daily Scoop Amazing Challenge event. And for a bento accessories collector like me, this is definitely a "gem" to add into my collections whereby I can prepare yummy snack plus safe keep the kiwifruit.

NATIONAL DAY BENTO

As you can see the size of this unique lunchbox is about the size of our normal sandwich bread and you can also make use of it to put mini packet of juice, cookies and etc as sides. Mostly important thing is, there is a special compartment for storing kiwifruit which is a plus point that I love. In this way I can keep the fruit as whole without cutting to retain its freshness,  at the same time kiwifruit also helps to add extra Vitamin C to my kids daily diet.

(Serves: 1        | Preparation: 10 minutes    | Cooking: 3 minutes)

Ingredients:
2 Slices Sandwich Bread
1 Slice Picnic Ham
1 Slice of Sandwich Cheese
1 Zesperi® Gold/Green Kiwifruit
1 Mini Packet of Juice or Milo
Some Cheese Cubes
Some Cookies or Seedless Grapes

Method:-

1. Either blanched the picnic ham in boiling water or lightly pan-fry it for 20 seconds on each side, remove and set aside.

2. Using a 8cm pie cutter or mug, cut out round shaped from the bread slices. Repeat the same steps for the cooked ham and with a knife cut it into halve length wise.

3. Next with the round and star shape food cutters (read more on cutters HERE), cut out the crescent and five stars that represent our Singapore National Flag and use a tweezer to assemble them on the ham shown above.

4. When done, sandwich the remaining the ham and cheese(trim a bit) with the cutout bread. Top with the decorated Singapore National Flag Ham and place it in the prepared lunchbox.

5. To complete the bento box, add in some sides such as mini packet of juice or milo, cookies, cheese cubes or etc.

6. Lastly remember to put in either Zesperi® Gold/Green Kiwifruit in the special compartment allocated for it.

If you still remember, last year I also made a "National Day Bento" using Chicken Rice, Putu Mayam, Ondeh Ondeh and etc to represent the multi-races in Singapore. But this round indeed I made something more simple which I believed you can also pack something similar for your kids snack box.

One of our breakfast with Zespri® Gold Kiwifruit shared via my Instagram

Since now is the peak season of kiwifruits, you can be assured that both Zespri® Gold and Green do taste sweet when they are ripe. So remember to include this wonder Zespri® Kiwifruits which has 5 times the nutritious of apples in your family daily diet too!

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Happy National Margarita Day!

I just heard that today is National Margarita Day (thank you, Twitter), and so I thought I’d repost this ancient video recipe I did for About.com. Please keep in mind that this isn’t a Food Wishes video, so there’s a few things you may not be used to. I had to be under 3 minutes; it couldn’t contain inappropriate humor; and maybe worst of all, I was forced to show my “face for radio.” In fairness, I do get better looking after a few of these. Enjoy! 

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Joining the Happy Call craze Bak Kwa Stir fry Choy Sum and Grilled Teriyaki Saba

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Bracing into a brand new Year, a good head start with healthy cooking and diet would be my aim for this 2012. As age is catching up we have to be more careful with the food we eat and the way it is prepared. So since two months back I have being trying to in cooperate more steamed and baked dishes such as at least two steamed fish per week and daily stir-fry/blanched green vegetables.

We also tried to cut down or replace fatty meat and high carbo stuffs to perhaps once a week or every two weeks. Sometime I think working in the kitchen is rather more difficult and hectic than working in the office. As we have to plan the daily menu, grab fresh ingredients and at the same time monitor the in take of food in order to create a healthy life-style which I think is not an easy job. In this post, I would love to share with you a new pan and a facebook group which I have discovered recently and I hope it might add some good tips to your kitchen pantry and meal planning too.

Actually I got to know Happy Call pressure pan(HPC) quite long ago through my mum as she is using it for cooking since 2 years back.  And since I have my own loyal brand of non-stick pan I didnt bother to find out more about Happy Call pan from mum and I also seldom use it in my daily cooking. Its only until recently that I bump into a Happy Call group(known as Munch Ministry) in facebook where the members use it to cook up a lot of delicious and effortless dishes then I realise the magic of this pan.

I have two sizes of Happy Call pressure pan - which are the Normal pan and Deep Ocher Pan both can be used for cooking, baking and steaming. Below are 3 quick and easy recipes using HCP which I hope you would find it useful if you do own a HCP too. (for your information this is not a advertorial post, it is only base on my personal view and sharing)

BAK KWA - BBQ PORK

Chinese New Year is barley about 3 weeks around the corner and everyone is busying with spring cleaning, storing up groceries and etc. Recently at the Happy Call facebook group where most of its members are using Happy Call pressure pan to make interesting snacks and pastries. And since Chinese New Year is approaching everyone is joining the craze to make Bak Kwa - BBQ Pork. 

Recipe adapted from Munch Ministry website, HERE.
(Make: 5 pieces | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 - 20 minutes)

Ingredients:
250g Minced Pork Meat
1 Tablespoon Maltose
1 Teaspoon Fish Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1/4 Teaspoon Dark Soy Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon Cooking/Rose Wine
1 Teaspoon Red Glutinous Rice Lees
1/4 Teaspoon Five Spice Powder
2 Tablespoons Sugar

Method:-

1. Marinate the minced pork with the rest of the ingredients for about 30 minutes or more in the refrigerate.

2. Cut the baking paper according to the size of your Happy Call pan, set aside.

3. Spoon about 1 - 1 1/2 tablespoons of meat mixture on prepared baking paper, spread out thinly according to your preference. (refer to the photos above)

4. Preheat Happy Call pan (without oil) for 1 minute, place a sheet of the meat spread on the pan. Once the base is cooked, flip the meat over and slowly remove the baking paper.

5. On low heat continue to pan fry each side until cooked and a bit charred. Remove and repeat on another sheet of meat spread. (you can wipe the pan with paper kitchen towel in between to remove any burnt residue or stain )

Although ours is not as nicely done as compared to those commercial ones outside but this is indeed our 1st time making Bak Kwa at home and it is definitely something interesting.  At least we know what kind of ingredients is being used and we can to control the amount of sweetness and taste accordingly to our preference too. For more information and video on how to make Bak Kwa you can refer to the website at HERE.

STIR-FRY CHOY SUM

Using Happy Call pressure pan to stir-fry vegetables retain its natural green and crunchy texture which our family loves.  And moreover the quick cooking due to the heat pressure enable food to cook faster and less hassle due to oil splashing and etc during cooking.

(serves: 4 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients:
1 Bunch of Baby Choy Sum, cut into sections
3 Fresh shiitakeMushroom, thickly sliced
3 Slices of Ginger
2 Clove of Garlics
1 Teaspoon of Oil
1 Teaspoon Knorr Hao Chi All-in-1 Seasoning1 Teaspoon Cooking Wine

Method:-

1. Soak and rinse the vegetables at last twice before draining it well and set aside.

2. Preheat Happy Call pan for about 2 minutes, saute ginger, garlic cloves and mushroom with some oil for about 1 minute(pan closed and locked).

3. Open the pan, give the wilted mushroom a quick stir, evenly spread the drained vegetable on top. Cover the pan, locked and cook for 20 seconds before flipping the pan and cook another 20 seconds.(flipping the pan enables the dish to be evenly cooked)

4. Flip the pan over, open(red seal facing upwards) and drizzle some cooking wine and seasonings over the vegetables, give a quick stir and remove from pan.

5. To serve, top it with some fried shallot to enhance the flavour.

GRILLED TERIYAKI SABA

Finally at the 1st day 2012, I managed to spot fresh Saba fish at one of seafood stalls in my wet market. So without hesitate, I bought medium one to try out our favourite grilled Teriyaki Saba. Even though we love fish especially those pan-fried or grilled over stove but the stinky fishy smells always put me off cooking it until I discover this Happy Call pressure pan.

(serves: 2 | Preparation: 5 minutes | Cooking: 8 - 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
1 Medium Size Saba Fish, halves
Freshly Ground Salt and Pepper
2 Tablespoon Homemade/Bottled Teriyaki Sauce

Method:-

1. Rinse and pat dry the fish with kitchen paper towel. Lightly marinate it with some salt and pepper, set aside for 5 minutes.

2. Preheat Happy Call pan for 2 minutes on low heat. put in the fish as shown above. Cover, locked and cook for 3 minutes before flipping over and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes. (I cook on medium heat for the last 1 minute to get that golden brown and crispy skin)

3. Lastly flip the pan over open, evenly drizzle the teriyaki sauce over the fish and let it cook for 10 second on low heat.

4. Remove and serve with either rice or noodle.

As you can see from the photo above, Happy Call pressure pan can cooks meat and fish perfect leaving it with a moist and tender texture. This fish is cook for around 8 minutes and we love its juicy and soft texture which compared some dry ones sold in certain Japanese restaurants or food center. And moreover the most importantly fact is it reduce that stinky fishy smell when frying fish and as well minimize the greasy area around the stove.

For the next Happy Call post, I would try making some cakes/pastries which I hope I would be able to share my experience with you too.

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