Fettucine or Spaghetti Carbonara - Italian version

This is a very simple and delicious Carbonara recipe given by an Italian lady. This is nicer version as compare others using thickening agent as it has tasty flavoring of bacon, egg and parmesan in it. It is pure egg and parmesan cheese. This dish serve 4 only cost less than AUD10.00 which is actually very cheap. You can use any type of pastas as the actual recipe require Fettucine pasta.

Serve 4

Ingredients

1. 2 tablespoon of olive oil for cooking and 2 tablespoon for cooking the pasta
2. Cut 600 gram of bacon into Match stick or you could substitute with ham but bacon is nicer as when you fried it the aroma and the texture is just lovely. 
3. 2 big onions sliced.
4. 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
5. 250 grams of dried Fettucine or Spaghetti or you can use fresh pasta too
6. 1 cup of chopped parsley
7.  2 cups of dry White wine
8. 1 cup of shredded parmesan cheese
9. 1/2 cup cooking cream or pure cream or lite cream
10. 6 eggs, lightly beaten
11.  2 tablespoon of cracked black pepper
12. 1 tablespoon of salt

Methods :

1. Boil a pot of  hot water. 
2. Heat pan up, then add the 2 tablespoon of Olive Oil
3. Fried the bacon till it is crisp. Then spoon up the bacon into a plate.
4. Use the same pan fried the onions for about 4 to 5 minutes till it is soft and translucent.
5. When the pot of water is at the boiling point stir 1 tablespoon of salt into the water and 2 tablespoon of olive oil. Then put the pasta into the boiling water and cook till it is al dente, normally it takes 8 to 10 minutes cooking time. 
6. Once the onions are done put the bacon back to the pan. 
7. Pour the wine into the bacon and onions and gently simmer for at least 5 to 8 minutes.
8. Then mix the beaten eggs, cream with the parmesan cheese. Make sure it is well combine. 
9. When the pasta is al dente, remove from the pot. 
10. Toss the pasta into the pan where the bacon and onions in. 
11. Then mix the egg, cream and cheese mixture with the pasta and sprinkle with the cracked black pepper and parsley. 
12. Off the fire and toss quickly. Serve immediately. 

Note : The eggs mixture should not be done but just at the point of cook and creamy and the sauce should be slightly thicken and the cheese at the point melting. No salted is required for this dish as the bacon will release the saltiness and the saltiness from the parmesan cheese.

Preserved Vegetable with Belly Pork (Mui Choy Kaw Yoke) - recipe from my mum (a typical Hakka dish)

This is a typical hakka version recipe as it is more sweeter as compare to Cantonese version where it is more savory and they use salty mui choy. Being pure breed Hakka and was brought up with the sweeter version hence the below recipe is a typical Hakka Mui Choy Kaw Yoke.

There are two types of 'mui choy'. One is preserved with salt and the other is darker in color which is 'teem' – sweet one. The sweet type is more 'mui' which is soft in cantonese, the softer the better, it will melt in the mouth. This dish could be presented in a fancier manner but for homecooked meals this is good as it is.

Serves 6

Cooking and Preparation time : Approximately 2 hours

Recommendation : To cook the night before or a few hours before serving as it is taste much nicer.

Ingredients

1. 1kg pork belly
2. 1 whole clove of garlic (chopped)
3. 5 cm size of ginger (chopped)
4. Chopped1 small brown onion if used French shallots then maybe two or three if it is small  
5. Soaked and finely chopped 1 table spoon of dried prawns (soaked and finely chopped) 
6. Soaked and finely chopped 2 or 3 dried small cuttlefish  
7. 5 tbsp light soya sauce 
8. 500g preserved vegetable (teem mui choy) 
9. 5 tbsp dark soya sauce (also known as Thick Caramel Sauce by Cheong Chan) 
10. 2 dash of sesame oil 
11. 1 tsp sugar 
12. 1 tsp of white ground pepper 
13. 5 tbsp cooking wine (wong chau or shao xing or hua tiau or sherry) 
14. Peanut Oil or any oil that is suitable for stir frying

Optional

1. 1 tbsp Corn Flour 
2. 2 tbsp water

Garnishing

1. 2 or 3 stalks of coriander 
2. 2 stalks of spring onions finely chopped

Serve with Man Tau (8 pcs)

Methods:

1. Boil a pot of water.
2. Remove leaves of mui choy from stem, wash and steep in water to remove excessive salt. Cut into 1-inch lengths. 
3. Cut belly pork into 1 inch cube or 1 inch thick slice (as that depends how you want to present it).  
4. When the pot of water reach boiling point put the belly pork into the hot water and boils for further 20 to 25 minutes.  
5. Then remove the pork from the hot water and keep the stock for later use.  
6. Drip dry the pork. 
7. When it is cool apply 3 tbsp dark soya sauce onto the pork. Once well colour, then heat the pan up with oil and slightly brown the pork by small batch till finish.  
8. Then clean the pan or use a new pan heat it up with some oil (2 or 3 tbsp). Stir fry the garlic, ginger, and onions until fragrance. Add the dried prawns and dried cuttlefish to the pan. Stir fry for at least 3 to 5 minutes. 
9. Then add the mui choy into the pan. Continue stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Then add at least 1 ladle or more if required of the reserved stock into the pan. 
10. Add the rest of the dark soya sauce, sugar, light soya sauce, cooking wine and pepper. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes till boiling point. You can then taste and adjust the tasting according to your taste with sugar and salt. 
11. Once this stage is complete then it is the assemble part.  
12. You can present it in any manner that you like but the importance part is the skin of the pork always faces down on the dish and alternate spoon of the preserved vegetable then pork. 
13. Once assemble to your desire way then you need to ladle the reserve stock into the dish where the pork and preserved vegetable are in till it covers at least ¾ full of the dish.
14. Then cover with aluminium foil and steam in a steamer for at least 1 hour to 1.5 hours as depend on your steamer and the dish that you use. You can check at 1 hour and see whether the pork has gone soft. If it is still not tender further steam for another 30 minutes or so till the pork is tender and soft. 
15. When you test it is soft then you can remove it from the steamer. 
16. Once it is being removed from the steamer pour the stock out from the dish gentle as you do not want your arrangement being mess up.  
17. If time allows, I will recommend to chilled the gravy that you have just pour out in the fridge for at least an hour to scope out the fat, however if you do not care about the fat then you can boil the gravy and thicken it with cornflour (1 tablespoon of cornflour and 2 table spoon of water) or you can just leave the gravy texture as it is.
18. Then overturn the dish where the pork and preserved vegetable is in into a plate. 
19. Then pour slowly the hot gravy over it and sprinkle/garnish it with coriander and spring onions if desired.

Enjoy this dish with “man tau”.It is really delicious.

Loh Mai Kai (Steam Glutinous Rice Malaysian style)

This is one of the best way of cooking Glutinous Rice. It is very tasty just like the one that you could get it from the Kopitiam and accompany it with Chilli sauce.

Serve 6

Ingredients

500g glutinous rice 4 cups water 250g chicken thigh or maryland fillets, diced in 4cm piece 6 pcs chicken wingettes 6 pcs sliced Char Siu (BBQ Pork) 1 Chinese sausage (lap cheong), remove skin and thinly sliced 10g black Chinese mushrooms, soaked and cut into thin slices 1 big onion, diced Coriander leaves - garnishing (optional) Seasoning (A): 2 tsp light soy sauce 2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp oyster sauce 2 tsp ginger juice 2 tsp sugar 1/2 tsp white pepper 1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp Shao Hsing Hua Tiau or any good Chinese cooking wine 1 tsp dark soy sauce (Thick Caramel sauce by Cheong Chan) 2 tsp oil 1 tsp cornflour Seasoning (B): 4 tsp light soy sauce 2 tsp pepper 3 tsp sugar 1 tsp salt 4 Tbsp oil 2 tsp sesame oil 2 tsp dark soy sauce (Thick Caramel Sauce by Cheong Chan) 1/2 tsp Chinese five spice powder   Method Wash glutinous rice, then soak it for at least five hours, for better result advise to soak overnight. Remove the glutinous rice from the water and put it in a metal bowl or line a steamer and steam it for 35 minutes in high heat. Cut chicken meat into slices. Marinate chicken slices, wingettes with seasoning (A) for about two hours. Heat oil in a wok and saute onions till fragrant. Add mushroom slices and stir fry quickly then dish up. Add cooked glutinous rice back to the wok and seasoning (B) and water. Stir fry and mix well for five minutes. Grease six medium-size rice bowls. Add some fried shallots and mushroom slices, a few slices of Chinese sausages and seasoned chickens and Char Siu (BBQ pork) slice. Fill up with glutinous rice and press down with a spoon. Steam for 30-40 minutes. Turn over the rice bowl onto a plate and serve Loh Mai Kai with chilli sauce. You could garnish it with some coriander leaves. Note : For those busy people out there you can enjoy this dish with little organisation. Marinate the night before, then in the morning soak the Glutinous Rice and when back from the busy day, start steaming the rice. Meanwhile the rice steaming, divide the marinated meat into the rice bowl. Then stir fry the onions and mushroom. When the rice is done then do the rest and steam. Within an hour and 10 minutes you will have this delicious dish.

Carrot Cup cake with cream cheese topping

This is a classic recipe of a nice and simple carrot cake. I have remove the walnut as my family does not really likes walnut. However if you do like it you can add walnut into it which you require 60 gram of walnut for this recipe.

Make 12 cup cakes

Ingredients

1. 225 grams self raising flour
2. 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3. 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
4. 1/4 teaspoon salt
5. 7 tablespoons of sugar
6. 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
7. 3 large eggs
8. 150 ml rice oil or canola oil or corn oil
9. 220 grams grated carrots
10. 1 1/2 oranges - rind the orange then juice the orange
11. 60 grams walnuts finely chopped (optional)

Topping

1. 250 grams cream cheese at room temperature
2. 1/2 orange - rind first then juice it
3. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence
4. 2 1/2 tablespoon icing sugar

Garnishing (Decoration)

1.  Rind of one large orange
2. Rind of one lemon

Methods :

1. Line 12 holes muffin tin with baking paper cups or patty cups.
2. Preheat oven to 175ºC for fan forced oven.
3. Put first 6 dry ingredients into a large food processor or a large mixing bowl fitted with a beater. 
4. Add eggs, oil, carrots, orange juice, orange rind and blend gently until almost smooth.Continue blend gently.
5. Stir in walnuts if you have chosen to have walnut in it.
6. Pour mixture into the muffin tin.
7. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until cooked through, firm and golden.
8. Cool cakes on wire rack.
9. For the topping - blend cream cheese, orange juice, orange rind, vanilla essence and sugar until smooth.
10. Spread the icing over top of the cake. 
11. Swirl the topping with a spoon to create a pattern.
12. Decorate with the orange and lemon rinds.

Double Choc Chip Muffin - Very Easy version

This is a very simple and easy Double Choc Chip Muffin. It does not look appealing but the children will sure ask for more. Tested and proven with my own children and their friends!

Make 12 muffins

Ingredients

(A)

1. 90gram melted butter
2. 2 1/2 cups self raising flour
3. 1/2 cup Baking Cocoa
4. 3/4 cup Caster sugar
5. 1 egg
6. 1 1/3 Cups of milk

(B)

1. 1 1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Methods

1. Preheat oven to 190ºC fan forced oven for at least 15 minutes.
2. Mix (A) ingredients. 
3. Stir in (B) into the mixture.
4. Line 12 hole muffins tin with baking paper patty pans also known as baking paper cups.
5. Pour the mixture into the muffin tin, only 3/4 full.
6. Bake for 25 minutes.
7. Take it out and cool it on a wire rack. 

Ma Lai Ko (Market version) also known as steam caramel sponge cake

This is the Market version Ma Lai Ko where it is not as spongy as the Yum Cha one. However it is still very soft and spongy in it's own way. It is very delicious and tasty.

Serve 10 pcs
(A)

1. 220 gm. brown sugar
2. 5 eggs

(B)

1. 120 gm. canola oil or corn oil
2. 130 gm. fresh milk

(C)

1. 305 gm. plain flour 
2. 2 tsp. baking powder
3. 1/2 tsp. bicarbonate of Soda

Method:

(1) Whisk (A) till sugar dissolves then add in (B) and mix till smooth. Add in (C) and mix well. Rest for 25 to 30 mins.
(2) Pour batter into any plastic moulds and steam at high heat for 15 mins. or until cooked.
Remove ma lai koh immediately while it is still hot.

Ricotta Cheesecake with Orange (Gluten Free Baked Cheesecake & Low Fat)

Serves 12 cup cakes

Crust

1. 50gram butter, melted, plus extra to grease
2. 200gram rice cookies, in Australia you can get Arnotts Rice Cookies. 
3. 1 medium egg white, lightly beaten

Orange candied

1. 3 cups of water
2. 3 cups of sugar
3. 2 oranges, 1/4 inch of top and bottom cut off

Ricotta Filling

1. 500g Ricotta Cheese
2. 250g Cream Cheese
3. 150g Caster Sugar
4. 1 tbsp Cornflour
5. 3 large eggs
6. Finely grated zest of 1 orange
7. Coarsely chopped of the candied orange rinds
8. 2-3 tbsp Grand Marnier or Cointreau or any type of orange liquer, to taste
9. 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Oranges in Syrup (Optional)

1. 4 large navel oranges
2. 50gram caster sugar
3. 60ml Grand Marnier or Cointreau or any type of orange liquer

 Method

Make the Orange Candied first , it can be prepared the day before.

• 
  
  Cut peel on each orange into 4 vertical segments. Remove each segment (including white pith) in 1 piece. Cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Cook in large pot of boiling water 15 minutes; drain, rinse, and drain again.
• 
  
  Bring 3 cups sugar and 3 cups water to boil in medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Add peel. Return to boil. Reduce heat; simmer until peel is very soft, about 45 minutes. Drain.
• 
  
  Transfer to sheet of foil. Let stand until is dry, 1 to 2 days. DO AHEAD Wrap and freeze up to 2 months.

Baking the cup cakes

1. Heat the oven to 150° C./Gas 2. Lightly butter 12 holes cup cake / muffin tin.
2. For the crust, break up the biscuits and whiz in a food processor to fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse until the mixture comes together. Tip into the prepared tin and press down firmly with the back of a spoon to create a neat crust.
3. Bake the crust for 10-12 minutes until lightly browned. As you remove it from the oven, brush the crust with the egg white. Leave to cool slightly. Clean the processor.
4. For the ricotta filling, whiz all the ingredients except the orange candied rind in a food processor until well blended. You may need to stop the machine to scrape down the sides once or twice. Then stir in the orange candied rind into the mixture. Pour the filling over the crust and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until it has just set around the edges but is still quite runny in the middle.
5. Turn off the heat but leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool slowly; the filling will continue to set as it cools. Leave until completely cooled, preferably overnight.
6. To prepare the oranges if serving, cut away the peel and pith, then slice into rounds and place in a bowl. Heat a heavy-based frying pan until hot, add the sugar and let it caramelise over a high heat. Protecting your hand (as the mixture will splutter), add the liqueur and a small splash of water. The caramel may harden, but it will soften and return to a syrup as you stir over a low heat. Pour over the orange slices and toss to coat.
7. To serve, run a knife around the cheesecake and unmould onto a plate. Serve with the oranges in syrup if desired.

Passion for Baking and Cooking

I am a Malaysian and currently residing in Melbourne Australia. I have to cook as I have to say that in Melbourne you could not have many food like in Malaysia. Hence that is where stir my interest and give me the opportunity to be competent in cooking and baking as one way of continuing enjoying those food that I was brought up with. I also want to pass these type of food down to my children hence I have to do it. In saying so, I also learn a lot of my cooking western cuisine as my husband being a German Maltese. As I also need to entertain his family and also my Ozzie friends. Hence I will say now I am competent in Chinese cuisine and Western cuisine. In my cooking I preserve the old but enhance with the new twist.

In my house, we have (eat) various types of cuisines in a week, from Chinese to Westerner to Korean to Vietnamese. I will also always have something yummy and delicious in my children lunch box that is a treat i.e. cup cakes, muffins, cookies as they are all home made. I love to bake and cook as you can tell from that. This blog is specially dedicated to those busy working mums that wanted to have yummy and delicious food with min. time required for the cooking. However I will also post some delicious and tempting recipe that might require more time for baking or cooking. All the recipes here had tested and tasted by my loved ones and myself. So 99.9% the recipes here are quality one and not just any recipes.

My style of cooking is not fixed to one. I normally cook and bake anything that is tasty and that will make my loved ones and myself keep asking for more. I am into quite a bit of one pot cooking, Chinese cuisine, Malaysian cuisine and various types of desserts. Recently my exploration in my cooking was the Malaysian version of Loh Mai Kai, Tai Pau and also Choy Pau. I was also busy baking various type of cup cakes. So today my children and husband had a delicious Loh Mai Kai and it was so funny when my both children trying to say it in Chinese as the accent was just way too out! *Smiling* I will be baking Cotton Cheesecake this weekend. Let see how it will go ..........

Proverb for the day ........ "To eat is necessity but to eat intelligently is an art" by La Rochefoucauld