favourite recipes for everyday cooking and baking

Less than two weeks to go before  Chinese New Year , and I can see many food-bloggers posting recipes for CNY cookies. I haven't started making any yet, though usually I just stick to making pineapple tarts. My sister just came back from Malaysia and brought over a few jars of CNY goodies which I have started snacking on, and at this rate, there might not be any left by the time CNY comes around. Anyway, I plan to make the tarts closer to CNY so that they are still fresh when I serve them to friends and family. In the meantime, instead of twiddling my itching-to-bake fingers, I decided to try out this cheesecake recipe that was posted by Nami a few months ago on Just One Cookbook . I halved the recipe, knowing that if I made the whole batch, I'd have no trouble finishing it, and then I would in trouble as that would leave me with little room for feasting during CNY (including the days leading up to it). I've made many versions of cheesecakes...

  One thing that often plagues me is that I can never get my sponge cakes to be soft and fluffy like the ones from the Chinese bakeries. There has to be some sort of special ingredient that gives the cake that ethereal texture, and for a long time, the answer has eluded me. I am generally not an advocate of instant cake mixes, as I find that they usually produce cakes with an unpleasant chemical aftertaste. This time however, I had to succumb to the fact that I am never going to achieve the perfect sponge unless I use a sponge cake mix of some sort. When I chanced upon this Hokkaido cake mix at a baking supplies store a few weeks ago, my gut (or more like my stomach) told me to grab a packet immediately. I then realised that I didn't have a recipe for the cake. Fortunately, when I approached the shop owner about it, she smiled and said "I'll give you the recipe" . She proceeded to pull out a thick folder bursting with recipe printouts of all sorts, and han...

I grew up in a culture where rice is a staple food, and almost every meal (that my mum cooked) would consist of boiled white rice served with a variety of meats, soups and vegetables . Mum's a fantastic cook who takes pride in the food she prepares for us, which is why I always look forward to her cooking whenever I go back to visit. I try to learn as much as I can from her, although in the much earlier years, before my foray into the kitchen, I was merely interested in consuming the end product and not so much how it was prepared.  I have, however, picked up many kitchen tips from her since then, which are truly invaluable and have probably saved me from countless pain and heartaches in the kitchen. Thanks Mum! With my family, I've followed the same tradition of serving rice for dinner (except for the occasional fast food or fish and chips on the weekends - kids, you know, gotta keep them happy). There are  endless types of dishes that go with rice, ranging from he...

    This cheesecake is kind of a cross between  cotton soft Japanese cheesecake and American (NY style) cheesecake. Though it does not have the chiffon cake properties of the former, it is not as dense as its American counterpart. From the photos here, you can sort of tell that the cheese layer is slightly fluffy, and there is a layer of sponge cake on the base as well. This version of cheesecake is quite similar to the Hokkaido cheesecake sold at Breadtop,  However, I would have preferred a lighter, smoother and fluffier texture, and less "cheesey". Maybe it's just that I overfolded the egg whites and lost all that air and fluffiness. In my next attempt (not so soon), I might use use less cream cheese, add more fresh cream and toss in some cake flour, and see how that turns out.      Japanese Cheesecake Adapted from Kuali.com Ingredients Sponge base 4 egg yolks 20g sugar 4 egg whites 80g su...

  I wrote a post on Hainanese chicken rice sometime last year, though without the detailed recipe. Before I go on, let me just say that this recipe was provided courtesy of Mr G. If there's one thing he loves to cook and can cook well, it's chicken rice. The only part I play in the whole cooking process is preparing the chilli sauce and supervising the food styling. I'm only too happy to let him hold the reins on this one as he has cooked this umpteen times for the last few years, and has become quite an expert at it.   This style of chicken rice is based on what we used to enjoy back in Singapore , where the chicken rice is served with a ginger chilli sauce and a thick black sauce to drizzle over the rice. If there's one Singapore street food that is better than Malaysia, it's definitely chicken rice. I think the difference lies in the texture and fragrance of the rice and the silky smooth and tender pieces of chicken. I should also mention that it is bursting wit...

  Char Kuay Teow with sweet soy  If you know and love Malaysian food, then Char Kuay Teow needs no introduction. In terms of popularity, I would think that Laksa ranks number one, followed by Hainanese chicken rice, and then Char Kuay Teow. These three dishes are commonly found in most menus of restaurants serving Malaysian-style food in Sydney, but more often than not, the authenticity of the Char Kuay Teow is questionable. Char Kuay Teow (CKT) literally means fried rice noodles, but a plate of greasy fried rice noodles with black soy sauce does not qualify as CKT. I find that the CKT sold here usually omits the eggs, which is a must in every CKT. It coats the rice noodles and gives it flavour and texture. Cockles are another must-have in CKT, but I have omitted them in my dish as I was unable to find any at the shops here. I made two versions of CKT. One is the savoury Penang-style, and the other is the sweet version, typical of that found in Singap...

It took me this long to finally attempt making Assam Laksa,  and if mum says it's easy to prepare, she's quite right there. Just steam (or boil) the fish , add the blended ingredients to the stock and simmer before adding the flaked fish. Then serve with noodles and garnishing. Sounds easy doesn't it? In fact, I think I took more time preparing all the ingredients then the actual process of cooking it (man, those shallots sure took forever to peel, and they brought buckets of tears to my eyes). In Sydney, mention laksa to anyone and his or her eyes will light up. But if you say  "Assam Laksa" , chances are you'll be met with a quizzical look. It's not a dish commonly found in Malaysian restaurants around Sydney, perhaps because it's an acquired taste for the local palate, with its sour and spicy tamarind-based fish gravy served with a dollop of black prawn paste (used in Chinese rojak ). There is no coconut milk in it, and the flavours in the soup ...