No-Frills Recipes ... cooking, baking & excerpts on travel

These vanilla cuppies are stuffed with some mini Reese peanut buttercup candies, topped with a dusting of snow powder and yet another candy.  The cake is soft, moist and delicious with a slight tinge of salty peanut butter and chocolate.   A good party treat for kids! Recipe for Vanilla Cupcake with Peanut Buttercup Candies ~   巧克力花生杯子蛋糕 Ingredients          140 gm plain flour 2 large eggs 120 gm caster sugar 80 ml canola/corn oil 3/4 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda a pinch of salt 2 tsp vanilla 1/2 cup buttermilk (milk + 1 tsp lemon juice/vinegar to make up 1/2 cup) Reese mini peanut buttercup candies Snow powder/icing sugar and candies for decoration (optional) Method Sieve plain flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a mixing bowl, set aside. Beat eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla on low speed to medium, till smooth. Pour half wet ingredients into dry ingred...

I've made spare ribs  with red fermented beancurd paste before and today I'm sharing with you a chicken dish with these cubes of bean curd that have been preserved in fermented red rice and other seasonings.  No aftermath cleaning of the kitchen was needed as I didn't deep fry these chicken pieces, only cooked them in a non-stick pan, with lid on! Recipe for Red-fermented Beancurd Chicken aka 'Nam Yue' Chicken ~   南 乳 鸡   Ingredients                                         750 gm drumsticks and whole leg of chicken 1 piece red-fermented beancurd, mashed 1 tsp honey 20 gm ginger, pounded and juiced 4 to 6 cloves of garlic, minced 1.1/4 tsp sugar 1/2 Tbsp light soya sauce 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce 50 ml water to add to the mashed red-fermented beancurd a pinch of salt 2 tsp Shoaxing wine to drizzle Method Marinate the chicken with the mash...

This dish doesn't need much introduction and no recipe whatsoever.  A very homey dish that is popular when one goes to have plain white Teochew porridge for it does pair very well with it.  I stir-fried this with my leftover homemade roast pork belly and what did I serve with it?   Plain white porridge, of course :) Recipe for Stir-fry roast pork with leeks  ~   大 蒜 炒 燒肉 Ingredients 3 stalks of leek, about 300 gm, sliced diagonally 150 gm  roast pork belly, sliced 6 pips of garlic, chopped Salt and light soya sauce to taste Method Saute the chopped garlic with some oil till fragrant Add in the sliced pork belly, stir-fry Add in the sliced leek, stir-fry Fine tune to taste with some salt and  a light drizzle of light soya sauce Dish out  Serve with hot rice

I haven't baked a chiffon cake for a long time and seeing some lemons idling in the fridge, decided to put them to good use.  This is a moist, light and airy cake with a distinctive lemon flavour and chiffon cakes are always welcome in my household, for one can indulge in it with the least sense of guilt.  Another plus feature is that this cake remains soft even when refrigerated in an airtight container, that is, if there are any leftovers! Recipe for Lemon Chiffon Cake ~   柠檬戚风蛋糕   (adapted from  'here'   ~  I doubled the recipe) Ingredients (A) 200 gm plain flour 3 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 6 egg yolks 80 gm caster sugar 100 ml vegetable oil (I used canola) 100 ml water 50 ml lemon juice Zest of 2 lemons (B)  6 egg whites 80 gm caster sugar Method Sift plain flour twice.  Add in baking powder and sift again, mix in the salt thoroughly with a ball whisk.  Set aside. Place egg yolk...

This recipe is adapted from the Cuisinart recipe booklet but I made some adjustments to it.  First and foremost, I reduced the recipe to a smaller portion and subsequently adjusted the amount of sugar and used whatever chocolate I had on hand instead of the peanut buttercup candies, as per recipe.   The taste is extremely gorgeous with the combination of the rich peanut butter flavour and the nutty chocolate. Recipe for Peanut Butter Ice Cream  ~   花生酱冰淇淋 (adapted from the Cuisinart recipe booklet with adjustment) Ingredients 3/4 cup peanut butter 80 gm sugar (reduced from 2/3 cup) 3/4 cup whole milk 1.1/2 cups cream 1 tsp vanilla 3/4 cup Hazelnut milk chocolate, chopped (any chocolate of your choice) Method With a handmixer on low speed, combine peanut butter and sugar till smooth. Add milk, mix on low speed till sugar is dissolved. Stir in ...

I've posted a  Roast Pork   belly recipe before but this time I made this with some changes to the method.  The ingredients are more or less the same as per my previous post.   I've seen on the internet that some recipes called for the piece of pork belly to be 'precooked' by blanching the piece of pork belly in some light boiling water for a short while, before poking holes on the skin.   I was game to try and I wasn't disappointed.  The skin stayed crunchy for many hours, much to my delight.  With the current high prices of food and goods, my butcher remarked that 'you'll get more to eat, if you DIY' and  I totally agree with him :) Recipe for Chinese Roast Pork Belly  ~     脆皮燒肉 Ingredients 900 gm Pork Belly Marinade (A) 1 tsp coarse seasalt 1 tsp 5 spice powder 1 tsp sugar 2 Tsps Shaoxing wine Marinade (B) for the skin ...

This is a fat-free cake as the ingredients are only eggs, sugar and flour.  The texture is a bit dense but the flavour is well compensated by the syrup comprising of freshly squeezed orange juice with an addition of Cointreau.  The cake tasted much better the next day, thanks to the orange syrup. Can indulge in this fat-free cake without the slightest sense of guilt  :) Recipe for Orange Syrup Cake ~   香橙糖浆蛋糕     (adapted from 'Baking' 200 Moreish & Comforting Recipes, with slight modification) Ingredients 150 gm plain flour 130 gm caster sugar (reduced  from 250 gm) 4 large eggs (separated) 2 Tsp baking powder Orange syrup -  50ml freshly orange juice + 1 Tbsp Cointreau Method Line a 9"x5" loaf pan, set aside. Sift plain flour and baking powder, set aside. Beat sugar and egg yolks till ...

I made this Strawberry ice cream with our locally grown strawberries from the Cameron Highlands.   Must admit that they are not as sweet as their imported counterparts but definitely much more affordable.   Great to serve this as a dessert after a meal or as a snack in this hot weather. Recipe for Strawberry Ice Cream  ~   草莓冰淇淋 Ingredients                                           1.1/2 cups strawberries, hulled 110 gm sugar 3/4 cup milk 1.1/2 cup whipped cream 1 tsp vanilla pinch of salt Method Use a food processor to pulse the strawberries. Whisk the sugar with milk till sugar is dissolved. Stir in the cream and vanilla, mix well. Pour in the strawberries and juice, mix well. Cover with cling wrap and keep chilled in the refrigerator, overnight. Churn in the ice cream maker as per the instructions in the manual. Pour int...

This Yam Fried Rice dish seems to be appearing in the menu of some restaurants lately, and I've savoured two versions from two different restaurants.   Here, I'm sharing with you my version of Yam fried rice, prepared with leftover cooked brown rice.  If you don't have leftover cooked rice, you can still use freshly cooked rice but air the rice to remove moisture and refrigerate it for a few hours before cooking.  This way your fried rice won't become clumpy or mushy. A very satisfying and delicious bowl of Yam Fried Rice, which I must admit is truly 'Yum'! Recipe for Yam Fried Rice ~   芋头粒炒饭 Ingredients 1 cup brown rice (rice cup) 750 ml water 200 gm yam cubes 30 gm anchovies 30 gm dried shrimps 80 gm frozen peas 2 eggs scrambled 1 Chinese sausage, cut into cubes 1 tsp light soya sauce 1/4 tsp salt Method Cook the rice in the rice cooker, set aside for a few hours.  (I used leftover cooked rice). In a...