Easy Kimchi by NBC

July 7, 2016 | Newbloggycat

Kimchi is a Korean dish made of spicy and furmented seasoned catbage (Napa cabbage) in combination of white ratdish (Daikon), scatllions, ground red chili/pepper powder, garlic, ginger, sugar and salt.

Kimchi is one of the healthiest food on the planet. Kimchi is extremely low in catlories, fat and sugar. It is high in fiber and contain vitamins A, B, and C, but its biggest benefit may be in its “healthy catteria” called lactocatilli. Some studies show furmented catbage has compounds that may prevent the growth of cancer.

So, today I will show you how to make Kimchi the easy peasy way.

Ingredients:

5 lbs Catbage (Napa cabbage)

3 cups water

3/4 cup salt

2 – 3 cups shredded white ratdish (cut 1/8″ thick and 2″ long – need not be purrrrfect)

1 – 2 cups shredded scatllions (cut in 1 to 1 1/2 ” strip)

4 tablespoons chopped fresh garlic

4 tablespoons chopped ginger

6 tablespoons red chili/pepper powder (more if you like it really hot)

6 tablespoons of fish or shrimp sauce (juice)

4 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoon seasalt

Steps:

Cut catbage into quarters lengthwise and put the quartered catbage into a large deep bowl. (I do not have a giant bowl, so I use two large mixing bowls).

Combine 3/4 cup salt and 3 cups of water and pour over catbage. Let it stand at room temperature for about 2 to 4 hours until the catbage softens.

Remove catbage from the bowl and rinse the catbage well with fresh water. Let it rain….errr, I mean drain.

Mix shredded ratdish and scatllions with garlic, ginger, chili powder, fish sauce, sugar and salt.

garlic, ginger & chilli

raddish & scallions

mix-in ginger, garlic, chilli, sugar & salt

Wash your hands squeaky clean and start mixing all the ingredients together. You could get someone with strong hands to do it for you. (The last time I did the mixing myself, I felt like my paws were on fire and I had to put my paws in the fish bowl). Alternatively, you can put use plastic hand gloves to avoid the heat.

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mixed the kimchi

Put the Kimchi into jars and cover tightly. Let it stand in a dark place at room temperature for 2 to 3 days to ripen. Then store it in the refrigerator.

homemade kimchi

CHIao!

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NBC

Clay pot chicken rice – Rice cooker version

June 21, 2014 | Newbloggycat

Clay pot chicken rice is one of the many local dishes in Malaysia that I adore. Traditionally the rice and chicken are cooked in a clay pot and served hot straight from the stove. I don’t have a clay pot, so the best way to replicate this at home is by using the rice cooker. This is a quick and easy meal on a lazy day.

Serves 4
Ingredients:

400 – 500g chicken cut into small pieces (chicken breast or whole leg)
200g – rice (add enough water to cook – see method 3 below)

Marinade

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir-fry (chicken)

5 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 medium onion (chopped)
2 tablespoons grated ginger
50ml water
Oil (vegetable/light olive oil)

Drizzling Sauce (Mix together)

1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 tablespoons hot water
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Garnish

Chopped spring onions/coriander for garnishing
1/2 Chinese sausage, sliced (optional)
2 pieces salted fish (optional)

Method

1. Combine the marinade ingredients and allow chicken to marinate in it for at least an half hour in the refrigerator.

Marinade chicken

2. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan, sauté garlic, onion and ginger until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add marinated chicken (add sliced Chinese sausage) and stir-fry until chicken is no longer pink. Add 50 ml water and continue cooking for another 5 minutes. Dish out and put aside.

Saute garlic, onion & ginger

Add chicken and stir-fry

3. Wash the rice and cover the rice with water until it reaches the first line of your index finger (from bottom of the pot). Turn on the rice cooker and cook rice as usual. Once the rice starts to bubble, start adding the chicken mixture and stir until well combined. Close then lid and let it continue to cook till rice is completely cooked.

Cook rice in rice cooker

(3)…add chicken mixture and stir well

4. Pour the drizzling sauce over rice and dish rice into serving bowls/plates.

(4) Pour drizzling sauce over rice before serving

5. Garnish with chopped spring onions or coriander leave. Serve hot.

Note: If adding salted fish, slice the salted fish up into tiny pieces. In a small saucepan, heat up a tablespoon of oil, and shallow fry the salted fish pieces. Set aside for garnishing later.

You might also like Clay Pot Chicken (A French country-style, one -pot chicken dish)

Easy Banana Pancake Recipe

November 30, 2013 | Newbloggycat

My family loves to have banana pancakes for breakfast on Saturdays. This is an easy pancake recipe that makes light and fluffy pancakes. Lightly scented with vanilla essence and cinnamon powder, these pancakes are absolutely scrumptious with sliced bananas on top. It is yummy as it is or you may have it with some honey and a squeeze of lemon/lime.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cup self-raising flour

1/2 tsp baking power

2 eggs

3/4 cups milk, more or less

2 tablespoons of plain yogurt (Optional)

4 tablespoons melted butter

1 tablespoons sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1/4 tsp cinnamon powder (optional)

2 – 3 medium/large bananas (sliced)

Method:

1. Sift the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon powder) together. Add in sugar.

2. In another bowl, mix eggs, milk and melted butter together until smooth.

3. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add in wet ingredients (item 2) all at once. Stir until just combined.
(Note: Over-mixing makes tough pancakes. It’s okay for the batter to be lumpy)

4. Spoon onto hot non-stick pan (if not using non-stick pan, then oil the pan first) and quickly place the sliced bananas on the pancake until bubbles form.

5. Flip over till slightly brown.

6. Serve hot with honey/maple syrup and a squeeze of lemon/lime.

Enjoy!

Note: Batter can be kept overnight in the refrigerator.

Easy Chicken Curry Recipe

November 2, 2013 | Newbloggycat

Chicken curry is possibly the most common delicacy in Malaysia. It’s normally served with plain boiled rice, Indian flat bread or plain bread. This chicken curry recipe is very straightforward, easy to make and most importantly it’s kid-friendly 🙂

Ingredients:

1. 600 – 800g chicken (skinless with bones & cut into small pieces)

Marinade chicken with the following for at least 30 minutes:-
a) 5 tablespoons curry powder (more if you like it spicy)
b) 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
c) 5 tablespoons plain yogurt
d) 1 tsp sea salt
e) 2 tablespoons of lime/lemon juice (optional)

Blend items 2 – 4 below:
2. One big red onion
3. Three cloves garlic
4. One inch of ginger

5. Two stalks lemongrass
6. Some curry leaves
7. Two cups/500 ml water (less if you prefer thicker curry or more if you like more sauce)
8. A quarter (1/4) cup low fat coconut milk or fresh milk
9. One big tomato (quartered)
10.200 – 300g potatoes (peeled and cut into cubes)
11. Three tablespoons olive oil

Method:

1. Heat up Wok or a deep pot and add the olive oil.

2. Saute the blended ingredients (onion, garlic & ginger) until aromatic/light brown in colour.

3. Add the marinated chicken, lemongrass & curry leaves. Stir-fry for about 2 minutes before adding the water.

4. Cover the Wok/pot and lower the heat to medium. Simmer for about 30 minutes or until the chicken meat become tender. (Note: Taste the curry and add more salt if necessary)

5. Add the coconut milk/fresh milk and potatoes. Let it cook for about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are just cooked.

6. Then add the tomatoes and bring to a boil.

Serve hot with plain rice or bread.

Teatime Scones

September 21, 2013 | Newbloggycat

Scones are the easiest English teatime treat. In less than half an hour you can make some warm homemade scones – the sultanas are optional.

Ingredients:

2 cups self raising flour
60 g butter
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon powder
2 tablespoon caster sugar
2/3 cup milk/150 ml (approximately)
1/2 cup sultanas (Optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 220°C.

2. Sift self raising flour and baking powder into a bowl.

3. Rub in butter until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

4. Stir in sugar and sultanas. Add enough milk to give a fairly soft dough.

5. Turn onto a lightly floured surface, knead very gently, then roll out to a 2cm (3/4 inch) thickness. Cut into 5 cm (2 inch) rounds and place on a lightly floured baking tray.

6. Brush with milk and bake for 10 – 15 minutes.

7. Cool on a wire rack. Cut in half and spread with butter and jam to serve.

Easy Lemon Cake Recipe

August 2, 2013 | Newbloggycat

Lemons – this zingy, sour fruit is my most loved flavors when it comes to cooking and baking. This versatile fruit is used to bring a tangy flavor and bright aroma in baking to sauce making to meat and vegetable cookery. So, when life give you lemons, don’t just make lemonade. Here’s an easy lemon cake recipe that will surely tickle your taste buds!

Ingredients:

125g butter
185g self-raising flour
100g castor sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons plain yogurt or 4 tablespoon of milk
2 lemons, rind grated

Syrup

4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 rounded tablespoons icing sugar

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease and flour a 9 by 2-inch round cake pan or loaf tin.
2. Cream butter and sugar and beat in eggs.
3. Add sifted flour, lemon rind and yogurt and mix well.
4. Pour into tin and smooth top.
5. Bake for 25 – 30 minutes. (If using loaf tin, bake for 35 – 40 minutes)

Syrup:

Mix lemon juice and icing sugar.
After removing cake from over, prick the top with a metal skewer.
Pour over the lemon juice while cake is still hot.
Leave to cool before removing the tin.

Moist Banana Cake Recipe

June 29, 2013 | Newbloggycat

It’s a shame to see overripe bananas go to waste. So, what do you do with overripe bananas? For me, the easiest way to go is to make banana smoothie. But for a change, I decided to bake my new improved moist banana cake with peanut toppings. It’s easy to make, very moist, smells amazing and simply delicious. My family love it and it goes really well with coffee or tea 🙂

So, here is the yummy banana cake recipe :-

Ingredient:

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup castor/fine sugar (very little sugar but the natural sweetness of the bananas will blend in nicely)

1 3/4 cup all purpose flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 eggs

2 ripe medium bananas, mashed (1 cup)

1/4 cup milk

2 tablespoon plain yogurt

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup salted peanuts (coarsely chopped/blended to resemble crumbs)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 190°C. Grease and flour a 9 by 2-inch round cake pan.

2. Sieve the dry ingredients together (flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon).

3. Cream butter and sugar together well. Stir dry ingredients into butter mixture until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

4. Reserve 1/4 cup for topping. (Mix in the chopped/blended peanuts)

5. Combine eggs, mashed bananas, milk & vanilla. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.

6. Sprinkle with the reserved 1/4 cup crumb mixture.

7. Bake for 30 minutes.

Easy quiche

June 8, 2013 | Newbloggycat

Quiche is simply an egg custard, seasoned with anything you desire. This is the perfect recipe for busy moms. No fuss, no base and just add whatever filling you like. It’s healthy, tasty, quick & easy to make and the best part is my two daughters love it!

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup plain yogurt (Homemade yogurt recipe)

1 cup grated cheese

4 tablespoon of self-raising flour

Salt & pepper to taste

Fillings:

1st Choice: Salmon & Fresh Parsley

Rub some salt on the salmon slice. Drizzle some olive oil on salmon and pan-fry until it’s cooked. Let it cool and break the salmon into small pieces and remove any bones. (You’ll get about 1 cup of salmon – more or less is fine). Rinse and chop fresh parsley – about 1/2 cup.

Put the salmon & parsley into a bowl, add some pepper, squeeze some lemon and mix lightly.

2nd Choice: Spinach and Ham

The stores here do not carry canned spinach so I use fresh spinach instead. I rinse and boil spinach for 1 minute, drained and chopped into small pieces. Cut ham (any type) into small pieces to make about 1 cup. Put chopped spinach and ham together and mix lightly. Add some salt & pepper.

Note: Remember to put in 1/2 tsp of baking soda in hot water when boiling spinach – this is to make sure spinach stays green otherwise it will turn yellowish.

3rd Choice: Sausages and Mushroom (canned button mushroom or fresh mushroom)

Quiche with sausage & mushroom - straight from the over.

Slice or cut sausages and mushroom into small pieces. What I normally do is slice a small onion and pan-fry it for 2 minutes with the sausages and mushroom to add more flavour.

Note: The above are just 3 suggestions on type of filling you can put into the quiche. Feel free to try with whatever you desire and it will taste great even with any leftover meat dishes.

Method:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°C.

2. Whisk together in a bowl eggs, milk, yogurt and flour.

3. Fold in cheese and fillings.

4. Pour into a standard pie dish/pan (9″ in diameter & 1-1/4″ deep). I normally use a glass dish and remember to oil the base with some olive oil or butter.

5. Bake for 40 minutes or until set.

6. Serve hot.

Homemade yogurt recipe

May 29, 2013 | Newbloggycat

I have been making yogurt for over 5 years now. Making yogurt really is easy and it’s convenient and cheap. After you have done it once or twice, you will be able to figure out what works best for you. The best part is you will be able to provide your family with fresh homemade yogurt on a regular basis.

Here’s the recipe:

Things you will need:

4 cups or 1 litre milk
1/2 cup powdered milk
3 tablespoon plain yogurt with live cultures (room temperature)
Storage containers/jars

Method:

1. Pour 4 cups or 1 litre milk into a pot or saucepan. Heat milk until about 175 – 185°C or bubbles around edge of pot. Stir often to prevent scorching.

2. Cool the milk until about 50 – 55°C. If you do not have a thermometer, just wash your hands and stick your little pinkie into the mixture and if it is painfully hot, let it cool a bit longer. If it’s very warm but not painfully hot, it is about the right temperature. Remove film from top and discard. Stir in powdered milk.

3. Place plain yogurt in a small bowl and add 1/3 cup warm milk and mix until smooth. Stir in the mixture into remaining milk.

4. Pour mixture into your containers. (I like to strain it through a small wire mesh strainer while I’m pouring it into the jars).

5. Incubate the yogurt for minimum 5 hours, longer or even overnight. Do not shake/disturb incubation. After 3 hours check to see if yogurt is set by tilting containers gently. If yogurt is set and firm, place it in fridge and chill before serving. If not continue to incubate. (I normally leave the yogurt to set overnight and refrigerate it in the morning)

If incubate using the oven, warm the oven to about 115°C.(If your oven does not have a low temperature setting, just set it to the lowest temperature possible and allow it to heat up for a bit). Then turn the oven off. Set the container in the oven.

Helpful tips:

a) If for some reason the yogurt did not set after 3 hours, don’t panic – just squeeze some lemon on the mixture.

b) If your homemade yogurt is fresh enough you can use it as the starter next time. To do this easily, without feeling like you constantly need to be making a fresh batch of yogurt, you can freeze a tablespoon of your fresh homemade yogurt to save as a starter.

‘Nasi lemak’ recipe

May 11, 2013 | Newbloggycat

This simple meal can be found almost everywhere in Malaysia. It is a favourite amongst Malaysian and there are some who eat it at least once everyday!

The ingredients and the cooking process involved in creating this tasty meal is simple. Nasi lemak is rice cooked in coconut milk. Screwpine leaves, locally known as pandan leaves, are first washed and later added into the cooking pot to give the rice its signature fragrance. The rice is usually eaten together with anchovies fried till golden brown, crispy cucumber slices, roasted peanuts, half boiled egg and chilli paste known as sambal.

Here’s a classic nasi lemak recipe you’ll enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 servings:

Nasi Lemak
1/ 1/2 cups long grain rice
3/4 cups coconut milk
1 tsp cooking oil (to prevent the rice from sticking together)
3/4 cup water
1 in ginger, sliced thinly
1 red onion, sliced thinly
2 pc/knot screwpine leaves(pandan leaves)
1 stick lemongrass, smashed
1/2 tsp fenugreek
Salt to taste

Condiments
5 boiled eggs (cut into half)
1 cucumber, sliced round
75g medium-sized anchovies (ikan bilis), deep-fried till golden brown and crunchy
75g peanuts (roasted)
5 salted fish (optional)
banana leaf

Chili Paste (Sambal)
20g of dried chillies, soaked in water, boiled and blended (less if too spicy, more if you like it really HOT!)
20g shallots, blended
20g garlic, blended
20g dried shrimp paste (belachan), baked or roasted about 15 minutes
25ml tamarind juice (mixed with water)
50g medium-sized ikan bilis, peeled
50g red onions, sliced
Salt and sugar to taste

Method

Nasi Lemak

Wash rice in cold water and drain. Soak in coconut milk for 10 minutes.

Pour 1 tsp of oil in the rice cooker, add the rice and let the oil coat the rice.

Now add water.

Add sliced ginger and red onions. Then add screwpine leaves(pandan leaves) and lemongrass.

Cook rice in rice cooker until soft for about 30 minutes.

Chili Paste (Sambal)

Take out all seeds from the dried chillies so that the paste will not be too hot.

Then boil and blend the chillies.

Then add chillies, shallots, garlic and shrimp paste (belacan) in some water (just enough to cover the ingredients) into the blender and grind till fine.

Put some oil into a stock pot, add the chilli mixture and stir well till it changes colour.

Add tamarind juice. Cook until the chilli mixture turns a little dark red. Do not overcook as the mixture will turn darker and darker. Then add anchovies (ikan bilis) and red onions.

Lastly, add salt and sugar to taste.