Japanese Rice Pillows

Went to Plaza Singapura for dinner with the family yesterday. After dinner, we went to Daiso and was amazed at the variety of Japanese things they carry. Bought 20 over items! All at $2 each!

What made me very excited was the mould I bought for Japanese rice. The shape was like a little pillow, or rather bolster. I thought this would be an excellent snack to prepare for the church refreshments--something which the youths would like.

After browsing through the kitchen section, I went to the food section of Daiso. Was thoroughly thrilled to find Japanese seasonings, furikake (to be sprinkled on the rice--see picture), crackers and so on. So you can imagine how much stuff I bought!

Tried out the mould and it worked very well. Just need to season the rice with the furikake--I added more black and white toasted sesame seeds. Use 1 packet of furikake for 4 cups of rice. Then put the rice on the mould, put on the cover and give it a tight squeeze. Remove the cover and push out the rice pillows. It is that simple! The kids love it and ate a lot! Maybe I shouldn't prepare this too often lest they overeat.

Chocolate Cake

Have been wanting to try out this recipe that I saw on the internet. I made some modifications as I felt that the cake might turn out to be too sweet. So I cut down the sugar by half and also reduced the amount of butter stated. The cake turned out to be soft and moist. Will certainly bake it again. The kids love it too.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cup plain flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda

2 tbsp hot water
1 sachet instant coffee

1/2 cup sugar
125 g butter
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla essence

2/3 cup water (inclusive of hot water for coffee)

Method:

1. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

2. Dissolve the coffee with hot water. Set aside.

3. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well. Beat in the vanilla essence. Gently fold in the flour mixture alternating with coffee mixed with water. End with the flour mixture.

4. Pour the batter into a muffin pan lined with paper cups. Bake at 175° C for 30 minutes.

Pizza

G was off from school last Thu and Fri--marking days. Since she was so free, I asked to try out the pizza dough recipe which I got from the Betty Crocker cookbook. It turned out very well! After baking it blind (kosong--with nothing on it) for 10 minutes, she took out the pizza and put tomato paste, onions, sausages, mushrooms capsicum and cheese. It was baked for another 10 minutes at 220 degrees or until cheese browns.

Grilled Portobello and Sausage

LH and KM came over for dinner last week to discuss the final preparations for their wedding. Congrats to the both them as they tie the knot this Saturday 13 Oct 2007!
Prepared a no-stove-cooking dinner. Everything is grilled or boiled. The chipolatas are grilled together with the portobello mushrooms. The mushrooms are topped with shredded cheddar and mozarella cheese. Put under the grill for 10 minutes and everything is done! As for the vegetable, cut the corn and brocolli and boil. Alternatively, put microwave on high for about 5 minutes with a little water.
I also prepared shepherd's pie which is also baked in the oven. Just love my new oven!

Mango Sago with Pomelo

After reading the Sunday Times Lifestyle, I was inspired to do the mango sago. It is one of my favourite desserts. When visiting CL in Hong Kong, we love to try out their desserts. Mango sago tastes great with vanilla ice cream too!

I had a tub of mango pudding in the fridge. So I decided to use some of that for the dessert.

3 mangoes--peeled and seeded
3 stalks of pandan leaves
4 Tbsp brown sugar
3/4 cup pearl sago
1 tub mango pudding
1 cup of peeled pomelo

1. Boil pandan leaves with 3 cups of water. Add sugar.
2. Puree the flesh of 2 mangoes and 1/2 tub of mango pudding with the boiled sugar solution. May not need all the water--depends on the consistency you want.
3. Cut 1 mango and 1/2 tub mango pudding into cubes.
4. Put sago pearls in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain and wash under running water.
4. Arrange mango puree, sago, mango cubes and pudding, and pomelo in a dessert glass.
5. Chill before serving.

Potato Rosti

My kids love the rosti at Marche or Vilage. I love anything to do with potatoes too. The rosti at March is fried plain, and served with sausages. I added bacon bits to my version, and it can be eaten on its own.

4 russet potatoes--shredded roughly
4 slices back bacon--chopped
2 cloves garlic--chopped
1 onion--chopped
salt and black pepper to taste

1. Microwave the shredded potatoes on high for 2 minutes.
2. Season with a little salt and pepper.
3. Fry garlic and bacon until crispy.
4. Add to the potato mixture.
5. Using a flat non-stick pan, put small rounds of potato mixture and fry with a little oil until crispy.

Pasta Aglio

Instead of the usual tomato based or cream based pasta that my kids like, decided to go simple for tonight's dinner.

300g Angel's Hair
3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup garlic--chopped
300g sausages--sliced
1/2 yellow capsicum--sliced
200g fresh button mushrooms
2 tomatoes--diced
1 red chilli--sliced
salt and pepper

1. Boil angel's hair for 2 minutes and drain.
2. Saute garlic in olive oil until fragrant.
3. Add in sausage and mushrooms and fry till almost cooked.
4. Add in tomatoes, chilli and capsicum.
5. Season with salt and pepper.

Glutinous Rice

As the youths in Church were having the Christmas Outreach Musical rehearsal after service, we decided to provide dinner for them. Margaret has kindly offered to cook fried rice. To supplement that, I decided to try cooking glutinous rice for the first time. Turned out to be alright.

I called my aunt to find out how to cook. She told me over the phone how to do it.

1 kg glutinous rice --soaked for half an hour
3/4 cup dried shrimps --soaked
2 cups dried mushrooms--soaked then sliced
600g belly pork
6 rice bowls of water
1 cup shallots
1/2 cup garlic

1. Season pork with sesame oil, oyster sauce, black sauce, light sauce, pepper.
2. Fry shallots until crispy. Set aside.
3. Use shallot oil to fry garlic until fragrant.
4. Add in dried shrimps, then belly pork and mushrooms.
5. Add in rice and fry together with ingredients.
6. Season with light sauce, dark sauce, pepper and a little cooking wine.
7. Put everything in a large tray to steam--about 40 minutes.

Crostinis and Dips

It was my turn to prepare refreshments again yesterday in church. Am running out of ideas now. Was doing grocery shopping last Friday and I chanced upon some baguettes. I bought 2 without knowing what to do with them. At the most we can have them for breakfast. As I mulled over what to prepare for the refreshments, I thought why don't I use the baguette to make crostinis. Crostinis are mini crispy toasts. Had lunch with Hubby at Il Lido Restaurant at Sentosa some time ago, and remembered that they served crostinis as a starter. It was first drizzled with olive oil and then baked. I used garlic butter with herbs. After slicing the baguette, I let the slices air in the open so that they will dry out. After that, put on the spread and put in the oven to bake at 200 degrees for about 15 minutes.

To go with the crispy toasts, I made an otak dip (the orangey one). At church, some people thought it looked like mustard, and dared not try it. Some thought it was a cheese dip. Msot were surprised that it was an otak dip and they have never tried it before. They were even more surprised when I told them I put silken tofu to blend with the otak, so that the dip will be smooth. A little mayonnaise was added as well. For the egg dip, it was quite standard. Use hard boiled eggs, mayo, a little butter and herbs.