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

Online shopping with ShopBack and Cashback We were having our regular get together recently and among the topics discussed was the subject of online shopping.   Online shopping is continuously becoming more popular and improving day by day with so many platforms to choose from.   Then one of us was asking whether she can find any nice qipao which are reasonably priced, online.   Of course, echoed another friend and she mentioned Qoo10.my and a whole string of other platforms like Taobao, Lazada, Zalora, Aliexpress.   On top of that these platforms are having a ShopBack and Cashback campaign, meaning that when you shop online at any of these platforms, you’ll get back a certain amount in cash.  In other words 'Shopback gives cashback on your online shopping'! As the year end festive season is just round the corner, now is the best time to hunt for great deals and Enjoy Groupon promo codes  or   ge...

Very rarely do I steam black pomfret as I normally like to fry it.  But I was assured by the fish monger that this black pomfret tastes just as good, steamed.  Steaming a whole fish is also a great and quick way to cook and with a vegetable dish on the side, dinner is served in a jiffy. Recipe for Steamed fish with preserved radish and dried shrimps ~  甜菜脯蝦米蒸鱼 Ingredients 300 gm black pomfret 1.1/2 Tbsp preserved sweet radish 1 Tbsp dried shrimps 4 pips garlic, chopped 1 heaped oyster sauce Oil for frying Sesame oil Spring Onions Method Wash the fish, pat dry and make 2 slits on the fish.  Season with a bit of salt.  Set aside. Heat up a pan with some oil, saute the chopped garlic with dried shrimps, toss in the radish, stir fry. Add in the oyster sauce and fine tune to taste.  Set aside. Heat up a steamer, place the fish on a plate and steam the fish over rapidly boiling water, for 8 mins. Pour the radish mix...

To combat the haze I made this Mulberry Chrysanthemum tea as it's caffeine free and Chrysanthemum is a natural coolant which helps to lower the temperature in our body, lower cholesterol, brings relief to sore throats, redness, itichiness and dryness in the eyes.   Chrysanthemum flowers come in many colours, white, yellow, purple and while the disc florets are yellow, the main types used are those with white or yellow petals.  Mulberry leaves on the other hand contain more  calcium than green tea thus help in strengthening bone mass.  Mulberry leaves are also caffeine free and are also a great source of vitamins A,B and C, minerals and amino acids.   Wolfberries , native to China helps in improving eyesight, general well-being and strengthening the immune system. Recipe for Mulberry Chrysanthemum Tea  ~   桑叶菊花茶 Ingredients 2.1/2 litre water 25 gm dried chrysanthemum flowers 20 mulberry leaves 6 honey dates (mut choe) 10 gm...

This is a very easy and quick ice cream recipe without the need for cooking the custard and the end product is just as smooth.  I reduced the amount of sugar for the ripe mangoes were already very sweet and the sweetness was just to my family's liking! Recipe for Mango Ice Cream   ~   芒果冰淇淋  (adapted from 'here' ) Ingredients 1 cup milk 1 cup cream 90 to 100 gm sugar 2 ripe mangoes, mash up the meat or grate the mango Method Blend the cream and sugar on low speed to let the sugar mix well with the cream, for about 15 to 30 secs. Add milk, blend till everything mixes well together. Add in the mango pulp, blend again, till creamy. Cover this mango mixture and chill in the fridge, overnight. Churn this mixture according to the manufacturer's instructions, about 30 mins. Pour this into a container and freeze before serving. This post is linked to the event  Little Thumbs Up (November 2015 Event: Mango)  organise...

This Peach Tea chiffon cake is slightly different from the  Matcha Green tea chiffon both in taste and appearance.  This Peach tea is sweetened with sugar and the colour is not as green as the normal Matcha powder.   The taste of tea is not so distinct as Green tea but overall the cake is soft, moist and light ..... just yummy! I always seem to have a problem unmoulding a chiffon cake.  Just look at the patches!   Have googled to see how to unmould a chiffon cake by hand, must give it a try when I next bake a chiffon. Recipe for Japanese Peach Tea Chiffon Cake   日式桃抹茶戚风蛋糕  ( adapted from 'here' )   Ingredients (A) 6 egg yolks 60 gm caster sugar 6 Tbsp canola oil 8 Tbsp water 150 gm superfine flour 20 gm Japanese Peach Tea powder 2 tsp baking powder (B)     6 egg whites           110 gm caster sugar Method With a hand whisk, whisk the egg yolks, add the sugar, mix well. ...