ayonecan-cook

I craned my neck to look at the translucent sheet of rice paper rain that H had pointed out to me. It was pummeling the ground, before us, a few meters away. Within seconds I heard it drench our black Hyundai as we entered its realm. I ducked. It sounded like a Niagara. But I felt the eerie-ness of a clenched fist, at first knocking then spreading its fingers, softly, on top of my head. Have you ever felt that? Juxtapositions of weather never fail to fascinate me ....nature's abrupt seperateness of downpour and clearness existing within meters of each other...side by side, face to face, meeting up, merging, yet apart, clear on one side, grey on the other, dry over here and wet over there. How cool is that? That happened a few days ago. And it has nothing to do with these spring rolls. I just had to tell you. Because the past month has been a sort of tropical winter. Wet and gloomy most times yet smouldering in between. And my enthusiasm towards cooking or baking have shifted accord...

Here's a fictional bau story and a true recipe. A Bau Story ~ (or skip it) ~ It's hard to picture bau on a plate and Dad on a chair together, face to face. But curry was a different matter altogether. He had to have it everyday. Like water. Especially a fish curry. So if Mom asked (which she would do almost everyday) what she should cook with this or that, accompanied by a plagued and tired look on her face, Dad would simply answer "curry" without flinching, without looking, without thinking. You would think that that would be the end of Mom's problems. But no. That was her problem. Was that why she left him? We often wondered. Because right after she did she abandoned curry and went for bau. Bau this, bau that, it was bau, bau, bau.  Finally, exasperated, Janna asked her one day after school  "What's with the bau Mom? "  "This is the one thing your father hated. Bau. And I hated all that curry. Everyday. To cook, to eat, to cook, to eat. Why d...

I had planned to do a Hokkien Mee for dinner and then decided that I might as well blog about it. This is one of my favourite noodle dishes apart from a  hearty and spicy mee mamak. To be honest I didn't know that there were variations of this dish until I googled it. I had always thought of Hokkien mee as the dark, thick sauced, fat noodle dish. Period. Now I know that Penang has it's own version as does Singapore. All three look absolutely scrummy! This version however is really quick to put together and it must be made just before serving. Because the sauce is a simple mixture of sweet dark soy sauce, some oyster sauce and stock I find that the yellow noodles used in this dish cannot be substituted by any other because the flavour of the noodles contributes to the flavour of the dish as a whole. I had tried using my own home made noodles but it didn't quite taste the same because it did not have the flavour particular to Hokkien Mee made with yellow noodles. The yell...

I thought I could s'nail' this since arts and crafts has always been my forte but these flower or snail buns were quite a challenge. And chignons I have never made. Unlike Terri. So perhaps that explains why I was struggling. I almost didn't post these. Some of them looked ridiculously laughable. These were the best of the worst. N looked at me with a question mark on her face. But I think they taste good. I'll know by sunset. I will have to re-heat them though. These are best eaten warm. I have always loved Chinese steamed buns but especially buns with a spicy curry meat filling. Yes.... you cannot take the Malay out of me but there's always room for Chinese. And chocolate. And ice cream. These would be good soaking up a curry I made last night. Oh. My. Yum.  Terri was spot on with the recipe. I used exactly 200 ml of water and  I didn't need to add a drop more. I kneaded the pau dough in the machine until it didn't stick. I had no sticky problems. The ...

God forbid..... (that I would ever need to be executed).  I would be an executioner's worst nightmare. I would never be able to choose my death dish. It would have to be a toss between so many dishes. My ethnic Malay Sambal Belacan and Fried Salted Fish with white rice, a Western Chocolate Anything and now a Chinese Kung Pao Chicken dish.  And this is all Terri's fault. Her Kung Pao Chicken was just too mouth watering to ignore. I couldn't shake it off no matter how hard I hit my head on the kitchen sink........ Or was it the stove? Anyway..... This. Was. So. Good.  I followed Terri's detailed instructions to a T. I did everything she demanded that one should do. On my own initiative I had read Kung Pao Chicken recipe five times....then.... all the whys and the hows and the why nots. It was pure prep, chemistry and finally execution (pun not intended). Terri and A Daily Obsession remains my repository for Chinese cooking. Period. N took one bite of the Kung Pao Ch...

Hi everyone! Here's a quick post of some breakfast noodles. It is simple and uses dried prawns as the main flavour base with added bean sprouts and chives for added flavour and texture. And crushed bird's eye chillie fo a nice kick. Yum! I made this on the same day that I made the hot sauce . I used skinny noodles from a packet (horrors) but it did have a few NO'S on the packet.....like NO preservatives, NO MSG, No Colouring. I suppose that's as close to homemade as I can get.  I'm out of steam, out of energy and out of time these past few days. I need to get working on those cookies. And I think I'm in  need of a plan just so I can carry out my plans.   The recipe ~ This noodle dish is so simple yet so full of flavour and makes a nice filling breakfast, lunch, snack or even dinner. 2 squares of skinny noodles 6-7 pieces dried prawns, soaked in water for about 10 minutes 2 pips garlic 2 bird's eye chillies or a large chillie pepper a handful of bean sprouts ...

Nothing fancy here. It's just a garlic ginger chillie hot sauce. A chicken rice hot sauce. All you need is a blender and a swoosh and it's done. Ju made this exact sauce a couple of days ago as well. I'm not surprised if we had made and photographed it on the very same day. We share the same vibes. I believe that this is the third time we've made similar food and posted it within a whisker's post of each other's. It's one of those strange but true occurrences.  This hot sauce is great with steam boats, chicken rice, stir fried noodles, rice, soups, as a dipping for fritters. Anything and everything I suppose. Whatever makes you happy and whenever your palate needs a bit of a kick. Its kind of sour and spicy with a very subtle tinge of sweetness to it. Very very very appetizing. The recipe ~ 10 chillies plus some/many bird's eye chillies if you like 6-7 pips garlic, peeled 1 inch ginger, peeled 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar 1 T sugar salt to taste Wash and...

I totally connect with Ju, The Little Teochew .  I think it's a brilliant idea. Time flies and somewhere along the line we've got to take time spent in blog world and put it back into our real world. I've been so blessed with so many wonderful blog friends that I cannot thank you enough for all the lovely and kind comments that have more than made my blogging days. However due to time constraints and other commitments I'm closing comments indefinitely. But it won't stop me from saying a little hello every so often when life permits. Because of that I'm able to come back sooner (like now). And I might post recipes more often than I thought without having to dismiss my blog over a long and extended period of time as was with Plan A . It will also allow me to get on with my other work at the same time. If you need to get in touch you know where to reach me. I'll always be there. So since time is of the essence these days this quick noodle salad is perfect....

Some things find you even when you're not looking for them. Like a little tart press.  The little tart press worked like a charm. It stamped out smart little crimped tart shells that looked like they were about to march off the baking tray in a fine little procession. And the depressions..... they were simply waiting to be sat on by sticky ole pineapple jam. My little pineapple tart press, the love of my life. And the pastry..ahhhh that's yet another joy in my tart life. I had used a combination of plain flour and custard powder and a little more than half the proportion of butter to the flour mixture. It produced the most light, the most buttery and the most crumbly pastry when baked yet it remained an obliging and workable dough in its raw form. Without a doubt the magic ingredient was the custard powder which provided the lightness and gave that gorgeous golden glow to the finished tarts. It abolished the need for an egg wash. Magic ~ yes?  I almost shrieked uereka. And I ...