FISH CUTLET

For ages we didn't had this  Fish  Cutlet, there are various ways to prepare this dish but mine differs from the usual method of frying the ingredients before shaping then re-fry again after dipping with egg and bread crumbs.

My preparation does not involve cooking before hand. What I did are mixing all the ingredients together, turn them into round shape then flatten. Before shallow frying, I coated the cutlet with rice flour and fried until golden color. It came out perfect, flavorful and yummy, great as an appetizer or side dish.

MUNG BEAN JELLY

My kids really love to have cold dessert especially during hot spell now. You can really felt the intense heat outdoors. Lucky for those work in an air conditioned environment.

This Mung Bean Jelly is pretty simple to prepare. What needs to prepare is the green bean aka mung bean before hand. Just boil the cleaned mung bean with water and salt until it is really soft and almost dry. Either mash or blend the bean but I just mash them with a spoon.

Added evaporated milk but you can also use coconut milk for real tasty dessert. It tasted divine on hot summer days!

PINEAPPLE TART

This melt in the mouth Pineapple Tart is a must during festive season in most South East Asian homes. It consists of two parts, the pastry and the filling. It is such a delight to bite into one, just can't stop eating them, so damn yummy.

Best to prepare the filling ahead before you start baking this tart. Most suitable to choose ripe pineapple that will produce better tasting filling came from the pineapple thus adding less sugar. The grated pineapple along with its juice is cooked until thick along with sugar using low heat and constant stirring if not it sticks to the bottom of the pan. Once cooked, leave to cool and refrigerate. This way the filling is quite easy to handle and easily shaped into small balls before stuffing into the pastry.

If the dough is too soft, you can add about 1 to 2 tablespoons of flour and refrigerate for 30 minutes in a covered bowl. Apart from using the fluted tart cutter, if you have time and patience, do pinch the sides of tart using tart pincer, look pretty but time consuming.

FRIED BEE HOON

Bee hoon is a thin noodle made of rice, dry packed and requires soaking before you proceed to prepare any dish using rice vermicelli.

It is particularly prominent in the cuisines of China, Hong Kong and most South East Asian countries. It is either stir fried or served along with a soup. Sometimes fish ball, beef, prawn or egg are added along with other ingredients.

What I have prepared is vegetarian version, feel free to include chicken, beef or prawn if you want and adjust the spice level to your liking. Adding chili paste is personal preference you can either add or omit this.

FRIED BEE HOON
Serves 3-4 persons

250g bee hoon (rice vermicelli)
1 big onion chopped
2 tomatoes chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 cup bean sprout, tail removed
Small cabbage shredded
1 carrot cut into matchsticks
1 cup button mushroom cut into 2
2 T chili paste
2 T tomato sauce
2 T chili sauce
3/4 cup hot water
2 T oil
salt and sugar to taste
red and green chili for garnish

METHOD

* Soak bee hoon with cold water for 1 hour then drain.

* Heat the oil, fry the onion and garlic until fragrant.

* Add in the tomato and salt, cook until tomato turns soft.

* Now add the chili paste and fry until the raw smell goes.

* Pour chili sauce, tomato sauce and sugar to the chili mixture, add 3/4 cup hot water let it boils.

* Mix in carrot and cabbage, stir for a few minutes, add bee hoon and mushroom.

* Once the bee hoon turns soft, add salt and sugar if needed, turns off heat.

* Now add the bean sprout, stir well. Garnish with sliced red and green chili before serving. Enjoy...

RED BEAN RING

After my successful attempt on baking bread, I have regularly baked my own instead of buying from the store.

Each and every time, my bread gets better and softer and I owe this to my children who constantly gave positive and encouraging feedback.

Red bean ring is an adaptable sweet bread that can be served for breakfast, brunch or dessert.

This time the evaporated milk is used for mixing the dough. Oh my goodness! I couldn't believe how good they were. I have used lots of different recipes before but this one by far is the best ever. It's a keeper, bread came out softer and tasty even after the next day.

RED BEAN RING

3  cup  all purpose flour
2 and 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
4  tablespoon  melted butter
2  tablespoon  sugar
3/4  cup warm milk
1/4  cup  warm water
1 tsp salt
red bean paste
butter to apply on top

METHOD

* Place yeast and sugar together with warm water in a small bowl, keep for 15 minutes or until frothy.

* Combine flour, salt, butter and yeast mixture in a mixing bowl. Gradually add the milk and forms into pliable dough.

* Knead by hand for 10 minutes or use your stand mixer until elastic.

* Rest the dough for 1 and 1/2 hours in an oiled bowl until double.

* Punch out the dough to release air, roll out into rectangle about 15 x 12 in on floured board. Spread generous amount of red bean paste leaving 1/2 in space along the corners.

* Roll out, jelly roll style and join both ends to form a ring. Slit the edges by 1 in interval using sharp knife. Let rise for 45 minutes. Towards the end of raising time, preheat the oven @ 18O C.

* Brush top with butter, bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

* Remove from the oven, apply again with butter and transfer onto wire rack to cool.

This goes to Yeastspotting 9-24-10

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