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