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

Bak kwa or Pork Jerky is one of the most  sought after item during the Chinese New Year.  Other then cookies, well wishers choose to present this as a gift to their relatives and friends and one may see some makeshift tents by the roadside, barbecuing the pork jerky for sale.  Pork jerky can be eaten on its own as finger food alongside cold beer or with bread as a sandwich filling.  But today I'm sharing with you my version of using pork jerky as an ingredient with noodles. Bak Kwa Mee Suah  ~  猪肉干粗麵線          Ingredients 2 servings of dried  thick Mee Suah 2 eggs, scrambled some julienned carrot some shredded lettuce 1/2 tsp dark soya sauce light soya sauce and salt to taste 50 gm Bak Kwa, cut into small pieces 3 chopped garlic sesame oil Method Cook the mee suah in a pot of boiling water, Drain and set aside. In a non-stick pan, scramble the eggs, add in some light soya sauce, dish out. Shallow fry the chopped garlic, add in the bak kwa pieces, sti

A little bit of spiciness to usher in the Year of the Dog .... Sambal Shrimp Cookies!  The name may sound a bit weird but then there's always room for innovation and creativity.  I was just experimenting with this reicpe to make something different and surprisingly it yielded good result. Well at least the family members who were my guinea pigs gave a nod of approval! Sambal Shrimp Cookie ~  參巴蝦醬曲奇 Ingredients 180 gm plain flour, sifted 120 gm butter 40 gm icing sugar 1.1/2 to 2 Tbsp sambal udang (depending on spiciness) Curry leaves finely chopped Method Cream butter with icing sugar till light and creamy. Add in curry leaves and sambal udang,  mix well. Add in the sifted flour and lightly mix to form a soft dough. Cover with cling wrap and let chill in the fridge for about half an hour. Roll out the dough in between plastic sheets and stamp out the cookies with a cookie cutter. Arrange the cookies on a parchment lined baking tray. Bake in a preheat

These cookies can be served during the coming festive season or can be made into smaller pieces as a gift to relatives and friends.  The sugary top of these almond cookies adds a nice crunch and that's what makes them special. Sugary Almond Cookies ~  含糖杏仁曲奇 Ingredients 220 gm plain flour 30 gm almond powder 150 gm butter 100 gm icing sugar 2 egg yolks 1/4 tsp salt 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 beaten egg white raw sugar or granulated sugar to sprinkle Method Sieve flour with salt and set aside. Cream butter with icing sugar, add in egg yolks and fold in sifted flour and almond powder. Mix to combine.  Cover with cling wrap and keep in the fridge for about an hour. Roll into balls about the size of a golf ball, flatten with a fork, brush with some beaten egg white and sprinkle some raw sugar on top. Bake in a preheated oven @ 170 deg.C for about 20 mins. until golden brown. Yield :  18 cookies