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

This Mixed Fruit Cake is not so dense but more cake-like than most other fruit cake recipes.   Feed it regularly with Rum, Brandy or Whiskey to keep it moist and flavourful.   You can bake this early, age it for a while, and serve to your guests or as a gift on Christmas Day! A moist and not too sweet mixed fruit cake ....... tastes great with a cup of hot tea! Mixed Fruit X'mas Cake  ~  混合干果蛋糕            Ingredients 600 gm mixed fruits  (raisins, black currants, green and red cherries, pineapple, mixed peel and cranberries) 1/2 cup rum 250 gm butter 100 gm dark brown sugar  4 eggs 230 gm plain flour 1 Tsp baking powder Zest of 1 lemon and 1 orange 1/8 Tsp salt Rum, Brandy or Whiskey to drizzle Soak the mixed fruits with rum and keep in the fridge for about a week. Method Prepare a  9 x 5 inch loaf tin, lined with double parchment paper. Cream butter and sugar till soft, light and creamy Add in eggs one at a time. Mix in the lemon and ora

I picked up this dish from a very old neighbour, fondly remembered as 'Malay Aunty' as hers was the only Malay family in a totally Chinese dominated neighbourhood, back in the late 50's. Young children addressed her as "Grandma'. She liked her rendang to be cooked dry, with some 'kerisik' (fried coconut) tossed in at the end. On the contrary, I prefer mine to have a little bit of gravy and omitted the 'kerisik'. Chicken Rendang Ingredients : 900 gm Chicken cut into medium size 20 gm young ginger (cut into fine strips) 20 Shallots (cut into slices) 3 stalks of Serai/Lemon grass (crushed) 4 fresh Red Chillies (blended) 3 to 4 pieces of Kunyit/Turmeric leaves (cut into fine strips) 500 ml Coconut milk Salt to taste 'Kerisik'/Fried Coconut - Optional Method  : 1. In a wok, put in the chicken pieces, ginger strips, shallots, turmeric leaves, coconut milk, blended chillies, lemon grass and salt. 2. Cook on high heat and

This strawberry chiffon cake is a light and airy cake which is packed with strawberry flavour.   I used our locally grown strawberries from the Cameron Highlands and the taste of this cake is natural and not overly sweet.  It is great on its own but you can serve it with more strawberries or a dollop of whipped cream if so desired. Strawberry Chiffon Cake ~  草莓戚风蛋糕   (adapted from  'here'  with modification) Ingredients (A)  6 egg yolks        20 gm caster sugar        120 gm plain flour        110 gm strawberry puree, strained        60 ml canola oil        20 ml milk        2 to 3 drops of red food colouring        1/2 tsp vanilla (optional) (B)  6 egg whites        80 gm caster sugar        1/2 tsp cream of tartar OR 2 tsp lemon/lime juice Method Puree the strawberries and strain it, set aside. With a ball whisk, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar, add in oil, milk, vanilla and strawberry puree, mix till well combined. Sift flour i

It's the norm to cook and serve this dish in a claypot but in my case, I used a wok as I do not own a claypot.  This is a classic dish which very often appears in the menu of most Chinese restaurants.  A very appetising dish which pairs well with a bowl of fluffy white rice or plain porridge. Salted Fish with Pork Belly ~  咸鱼花腩 Ingredients 450 gm pork belly, cut into bite size 3 dried chillies, soaked in hot water till soft 50 gm salted fish, sliced 5 pips garlic, chopped 6 slices ginger 1 onion, cut to wedges 1 Tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine 1.1/2 cups water sugar to taste  spring onions to garnish Seasoning for Pork Belly 1/2 Tbsp oyster sauce 1/2 Tbsp dark soya sauce 3/4 Tbsp cornflour Method Marinate the pork belly with the above seasoning, set aside. With some oil, lightly saute the chopped garlic, ginger and dried chillies till fragrant. Toss in the salted fish, stir-fry.   Add in the seasoned pork belly, stir-fry.  Add in the water a

These fairly large cookies baked with dried strawberries from my recent holiday up in the Cameron Highlands, are crispy at the sides and slightly soft and chewy in the centre.  These will come in handy as a gift for family and friends during the coming festive season.   If you prefer the cookies to be crunchy, just bake them a little longer, say about 5 mins.  Also, you can substitute the dried strawberries with other dried fruits that you have at hand. Strawberry Choc Chip Cookies ~   草莓巧克力曲奇 Ingredients 115 gm butter 40 gm brown sugar 40 gm caster sugar 1 egg 190 gm plain flour 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1/2 tsp vanilla 70 gm dried strawberries, chopped 70 gm choc chips a pinch of salt Method Beat butter and sugar till creamy, add in the egg and vanilla till well combined. Sieve in plain flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.  Mix well. Add in chopped strawberries and choc chips.  Mix till well combined. Let chill in the fridge for an hour.