Fried Bihun

Bihun (vermicelli) goes in the list of one of Malaysian's breakfast item. It is also popular for lunch and dinners... I like my bihun spicy, with eggs, sprinkled with
fried shallots and also with the usual hot cut chilis in light soy sauce.

Though we often see fried bihun pastes sold in the supermarkets, somehow, I feel like they're not as tasty as you make your own. It's all fairly simple - chili paste, light and dark soy sauce, tomato sauce, etc.

:: Fried Bihun ::
Serves 2

Half pack of dried bihun, soak in normal temp. water for 20 mins
200gm fresh prawns, shelled
1 cup bean sprouts
1 cup of Sawi (Chinese Mustard green/Gai Choy), chopped 1 inch lengths
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 tablespoon chili paste
1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
dash of white pepper
salt to taste

For garnishing
1 egg omelette, thinly sliced
fried shallots
Chinese celery, chopped
Cut chilis with lemon juice or light soy sauce

Heat up a wok with some vegetable oil. Fry the onions and garlic until soften, throw in the prawns and stir. When it start changing colour, add in the chili paste, soy sauce, tomato sauce, salt and pepper. Stir to combine, and add in the vegetables and bihun.

Stir to combine all, lower the heat a little. Add sprinkles of water if the noodles are too dry and continue stirring, until noodles soften. Serve in a flat plate, garnish the bihun starting with the omelette, shallots (optional) and chopped Chinese celery. Don't forget the cut chilis, as they really add flavour to the fried bihun!

Note: Instead of cut chilis, some sambal will taste good with bihun as well! :-)

Desssert: Instant Panna Cotta

It looks messy because I poured the raspberry sauce unevenly and perhaps I was too hungry to bother making it look nice. Not to mention the first time trial of this pack of 'Classic Panna Cotta'.

Never can compare this to the real Italian panna cotta.. after having tasted this, well, I can say that it is ok and not too bad. The sauce was not really sufficient to pour over the supposedly 6 pieces of panna cotta that you're supposed to get from that one pack. Better make your own raspberry sauce. However, just for a quick dessert do that you may need for what so ever reason - cravings, curious, hunger, guests... - this is OK.
Basically the instruction given was simple to understand except I had to make some research on what type of cream is to be used. Boy, they must think everyone knows the type of cream tp be used... I almost cream cheese for this. Or, if I was sleep walking, could have bought sour cream.

The truth is, this Penang-born lady does not use cream everyday in her life, santan yes, maybe. Yogurt being the most used item for me. But creams... I've no idea what cream is used for what... Since I had to trust my instincts, I chose to buy a bottle of this Bulla thickened cream... and well, my panna cotta turned out good. Perfect texture, creamy taste. That was all that mattered for that time.

I enjoyed the opportunity to test this product and hopefully will learn to make my own one from scratch one day... but now I must learn more about gelatines as it is used for making this delicious dessert! :-P

Swiss Roll with Custard and Jelly

This would be one of those cooling desserts I would make when it is blistering hot out there. Jellies are so nice to eat, and my favourite flavour is none other than strawberry. Mango, Raspberry and Grape taste nice too :-)
When I said I'd make some dessert for a BBQ event last Sunday, I had in mind Panna Cotta - but didn't get there due to some events I had to attend to. Swiss rolls are easily found at bakeries, and so I decided to make this instead. They're cheap, soft, with a little bit of cream - it tastes nice with some jelly.

It's easy to prepare this, and the only time you need to be patient, is when you refrigerate the dessert to let the jelly set!
:: Swiss Roll with Custard and Jelly Recipe ::
serves about 6

1 packet Strawberry Jelly mixture
2 tablespoon custard powder
about 500ml milk
2 tablespoon sugar
1 Strawberry flavoured Swiss roll (or Apricot, Raspberry)
1 large bowl for serving or 6 small glasses (individual serving)

Cut the Swiss roll to about 1 inch and place them on the bottom of the bowl/glass, just 1 layer of the cake is sufficient.

Cook the custard according to the label/instructions. Basically, just mix the custard powder with sugar and about 1/2 cup of the milk. Mix well. Heat up the remaining milk in a pot over medium heat, and when almost boiling, pour in the custard mixture and stir, while cooking until thickens.

Pour the custard over the layer of cake, about 1 cm of custard layer and spread well, covering all the cake. Refrigerate this while you prepare the jelly. The custard will be set after about 20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the layer. We do this so that when you add the hot jelly mixture, the jelly and custard will not mix and become cloudy.

Cook the jelly according to instructions, and when ready, pour slowly over the layer of custard and refrigerate to set it, about 1 hour or more.

Serve cold, fresh from the fridge.

Spicy Thai Beef Salad

Still on my Thai food mood, really. Tab tim grob was fabulous! I ate so much, that I gained weight from the coconut milk - despite the low fat version of it. I am so so glad to be off on a beautiful Monday, had time to work out at the gym ( which I have been giving myself tonnes of reason for not going) and a very relaxing, rejuvenating time at the sauna as well.

What more way to give my tummy a break from fatty, oily food after gym?! Ofcourse, I had Chicken Panini instead of what is shown in this blog post, but writing about salad - especially my favourite salad, is bliss...

Who would like to eat dry salad without any dressing? Some dressing claims they're fat free or 99% fat free, but... you can't run away from those hidden calories. Lemon juice is good, but some people, may not be able to take it on its own...

I came up with my own version of Thai Beef Salad, with lots of fresh coriander, crunchy cucumber, hint of onions, and, bird's eye chilis added to spice the salad up and perk you up instantly!
The star of this salad has got to be the thai dressing itself. It is simple and quick to make. Very tasty, fresh, smells great, and makes the greens really appetixing to eat even if you don't normally like salads.

Some people add spring onions, but I personally prefer coriander only to make this salad. I stick to the basic greens and add a little tomato, onions, and capsicum sometimes. It goes very well wih grilled beef, but you can't go wrong with chicken either.

Serve as an appetizer, or wih your main course, or if you're eating light, you can just eat it on its own, still tastes great!

:: Spicy Thai Beef Salad Recipe :
for 2

1/2 Iceberg lettuce or Roman Lettuce
4 Cherry Tomatoes, halved (normal tomato is good too)
1/2 green capsicum (bell pepper), thinly sliced
1/4 small green onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon freshly chopped Coriander

200gm beef strips, grilled with a dash of pepper

For Salad dressing
1 small bird's eye chili, finely chopped (optional)
1/2 teaspoon dried red chili flakes
juice of 1 lemon or lime
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon fish sauce
a dash of olive oil (optional)

Firsly, grill the beef and place aside. Prepare salad in a bowl but don't add the beef as yet. The beef would still be warm if you had just cooked it, and wouldn't want to wilt the greens too much.

For salad dresing, add all ingredients together and stir to combine. Preferably, start with the lemon juice, fish sauce, sugar, and lastly flaked chilis. The dressing should be ready when the sugar has melted with the lemon juice. Add little by little the flaked chilis, less thean half a teaspoon for less spiciness, and more for you daring spicy food lovers out there. I took half a teaspoon only. Remember there's also freshly chopped bird's eye chili (optional).

Arrange the grilled beef on the salad, nicely on top of the greens. When ready to be served, pour the salad dressing all over the Thai Beef Salad and now, quickly grab a fork and eat away! Enjoy! :-)

Tab Tim Grob (Rubies in Coconut Milk)

The first time I had tab tim grob was about 3 years ago. Back then, it was at a Thai restaurant. They served this dessert in a small (really small) bowl, with a few thinly sliced nangka (jack fruit).

The special thing about tab tim grob is it's bright ruby colour - that resembles just like rubies. It is made from water chestnuts - hence once you eat it, it is lightly chewy on the outside, but light and crunchy inside. Then mixed with the sweetened coconut milk and ice - is a taste you will just melt with in the hot hot summer weather.

I didn't know what the dessert was made of initially, but now I know. I bought a small bag of water chestnuts and used some for making wantan last week. Such a waste it will be if I don't use the rest.. and suddenly tab tim grob came to my mind! I made some research on how to make it. Since this is my first time making this, it was a bit tedious for me. I had to learn step by step from scratch but it turned out to be really simple. Even a little kiddo can help you along the way!
:: Tab Tim Grob (Rubies in Coconut Milk) Recipe ::
Serves 2

8 pieces fresh water chestnuts
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup tapioca flour
1/3 cup sugar
few drops red food coloring
1/3 cup coconut milk (I used low fat)
pinch of salt
ice cubes, for serving
Before anything, trim off the water chestnut skin and clean the w.chestnuts. Cut them to cmall cubes, about less than 1cm cubes.

In a separate bowl, place the red colouring drops and add 2 tablespoon of water. Pour the w.chestnut cubes in and mix well. You can also make some in greens or whatever colour you wish. A healthier choice would be to use beet juice or other natural colouring. Strain the water away. Now you have rubies.

In another separate bowl, pour the tapioca flour and throw in the 'rubies'. Using your fingers, gently coat each of the rubies with a light layer of flour, dust off any excess flour before you cook them in a pot of boiling water. Place the tapioca flour coated rubies, one by one, into the boiling water (on low heat). The rubies will float once it is cooked (about 2-3 minutes) and scoop them up and put in a bowl of ice water until ready for serving.

Make sugar syrup by heating up sugar in some water. Let cool.
In a small serving bowl or glass, place 1/2 cup coconut milk, add a pinch of salt and about 1 tablespoon of sugar syrup. Pour in about 3 heaped tablespoon of the cooked rubies, and place some ice cubes (or shaved ice) and serve immediately. Best for desserts anytime of the day.