Scones

Scones with lots of jam, cream and butter.

YOU NEED:
1 cup self raising flour
3 tbls icing sugar
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup raisins (Optional)
Heavy Cream
Blueberry Jam

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine all ingredients with a fork till a dough is formed.
2. Roll it on the surface with a rolling pin to a desired thickness.
3. Cut with cookie cutter of your choice.
4. Line cookie cooking sheet with parchment paper.
5. Bake scones for 12 minutes in a oven that has been set to 220C.
6. Beat heavy cream till light and fluffy.
7. Serve scones with cream and lotsa jam.

Mee Kontong

We could always find this at Mak Rose's & Chu Uzir's house. Very easy to make. This is served with beef OR prawn soup with long beans, pickled carrots (lobak), boiled choy sum and chilli paste as condiments. The secret is to use the right noodle. You can find this rice base Mee Kontong in its clear plastic and pink wrap at Hock Choon in Ampang or Kedai Runcit Gon Deh in Kuantan.

YOU NEED:
Mee Kontong
Long green beans, finely diced
Black bean paste (Tauchu)
White Choy Sum
Garlic
Pickled carrots (Lobak), Blend
Beef
Prawns

Seasoning
Salt
Sugar
Ajinomoto

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Heat pan, fry long beans with tauchu. Set aside.
2. Boil white choy sum w. garlic. Season to taste. Set aside
3. Blend pickled carrots. Set aside.
4. To make beef soup, boil beef. Season to taste.
5. Do the same to make prawn soup.
6. Boil water and cook mee kontong for about 7 minutes.
7. To make chili paste, heat oil, put in chili paste. Season to taste.
8. Put noodles into a colander and run cold water over noodles.
9. Pour soup over noodles.
10.Serve with beans, choy sum, lobak and chili paste.

NOTE:
You can also serve this with bigger beef slices or blanched prawns.

Pound Cake

When you're wide awake, have a cake. No, don't!. Unless, you're one of the lucky 1% who does not pack it all in easily, don't have a cake when you're wide awake. Just trying out something which hopefully rhymes here. Known in the family as Kek Kuning, during her younger days, my mom used to sell this cake for Hari Raya (Eid). Like most sweets, I personally recommend that you eat this with unsweetened hot drink of coffee or tea. If you grew up in a cake eating family, you will enjoy this one. If you just starting to bake, it is not hard to make. Try it.

YOU NEED:
1 lb caster sugar
1 lb flour
12 oz butter (ie. One and half blocks of what's sold here)
10 eggs
6 teaspoonful of baking powder
2-3 tbls Vanilla essence

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Heat oven at 180-200 degrees or gas mark 4.
2. Grease & flour loaf tins. You need two bigs ones, or few small ones.
3. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter till light and fluffy.
4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. Fold in the flour one third at a time. Do not overmix.
6. Pour in the mixture in loaf tin. 2/3 full. The cake will rise.
7. Bake for 45 min to 1 hour. Or when inserting skewer, it comes clean.
8. Stand cake in tins for 10 min. before turning them out onto wired rack to cool completely.

TIPS:
This is a big recipe. You can make a smaller portion by cutting all ingredients in half. Methods and time to bake stays the same. And, if you don't have an electric mixer, when beating, mixing or stirring, always do it in one direction only. If you start clockwise, keep it clockwise. Else, your cake may come out bentat. Whatelse? If you must look inside, don't open the oven door for at least 20 minutes into the baking. It is within the first twenty that the baking powder will work its chemistry with the other ingredients. It needs uninterrupted heat.

Now, back to the starting point, I didnt sleep well last night, and apparently there was another worrying tremor in the region. Eventhough I was awake, I did not feel it. And non of my colleagues felt it. But, it happened. The latest shift had started in the same neighbourhood area of Sumatera, Indonesia. Some said, it's a new one. Some said, it's still one of the many aftershocks from last Dec 26th's Tsunami. Whatever it was, this time, it had caused a little bit of damage. Here, at the place where I am currently working, some 390 miles away from the epicenter, a small part of the office ceiling caved, affecting an aircond duct and couple of light bulbs. The tiles of the pantry of the floor where some our meetings are sometimes held, fell apart. Good news, walls are still intact and fortunately, we were not harmed.

Beef Stew

My grandmother's recipe, ie. famously known in the family as Beef 'Stik' Mak Tok. Some of you may have tried this at my mom's place. You can do many things with this dish. You can serve it hot with your favourite steam vegetables or pasta or rice. Or eat it with bread. Dip in the sauce and enjoy.

You need:
500 gm tender beef slices
2 Large onions
1 Garlic clove
2-3 tbls corn flour
2-3 cups water
1 tbls dark soy sauce
Worshestershire Sauce (we use Lea and Perrin's)
White Vinegar
Salt and Sugar
White and Black Pepper
Olive Oil

Instructions:
1. Season beef with white pepper, w'shire sauce, and a little olive oil.
2. Set aside for 20 minutes.
3. Thinly slice onions and garlic.
4. Sear beef slices on a grill or a shallow pan. 1 minute each side.
5. Heat olive oil, shallow fry to wilt the onions, set aside.
6. In a pot, heat olive oil, and fry garlic till fragrant.
7. Stir in corn flour. (Oil will splatter, so please becareful)
8. Pour in water. Stir until sauce starts to thicken.
9. Add w'shire sauce to desired taste.
10. Add dark soy sauce to desired color.
11. Add in the seared beef slices.
12. Season to taste with white vinegar, salt, sugar, and black pepper.
13. Cook in medium heat for about 20-25 minutes.
14. Put in the wilted onions just before turning off the heat.
15. Serve hot.

Note:
This dish can be kept frozen in the freezer up to a month. Wait for stew to cool first before freezing. To serve, thaw stew and microwave on high for about 2-3 minutes.

Raspberry Chocolate Mousse

Melting chocolate mousse with raspberries serve on a white plate. This is actually a recipe for a mousse cake. Have it for Afternoon Tea or as an after meal dessert with a cup of coffee.

YOU NEED:
125gm Dark Chocolate
125gm Unsalted Butter
4 eggs
225gm Sugar
85gm Self Raising Flour
40gm Cocoa
120gm Fresh Raspberries
Icing sugar for Dusting
Heavy Cream

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven at 180C.

2. Melt dark chocolate with butter in a bowl set over simmering water.

3. Beat eggs with sugar until fluffy and thick.

4. Stir in the chocolate mix. Fold in flour, and cocoa. Mix well.

5. Spoon mixture over 6 greased custard cups.

6. Place mousse in a roasting pan filled with water.

7. Bake for 40-45 minutes, cool cake on rack.

8. Dust mousse with icing sugar.

9. Serve with a dollop of heavy cream and fresh raspberries.

Tom Yam Somchai

Clear base extra hot Tom Yam soup courtesy of The Somchais. Collected this when I was working on an assignment for DHL APIS. The team was brought to a Thai restaurant in the city where they served Royal Thai tom yam. We loved it. Lucky for us, Somchai (the client manager we reported to) was around.

YOU NEED:
Seafood or Chicken Fillets
Lots of Cili Padis, Red and Green, whole and sliced
Fish Sauce, for a 1.5 liter pot, put in 4-5 tbls
Water
Lemon Grass, lightly pounded to release the flavour
Lime Leaves

INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Clean seafood or chicken fillets.
2. Boil water. Put in meat, sliced cili padi, lemon grass & fish sauce.
3. Simmer for 3-5 minutes
4. Turn off the hear and put in lime leaves and whole cili padi.
5. Serve hot with rice.