Salted Fish Fried Rice

Where has the time gone to? (I ask that question a lot in my life. :D) A couple of weeks ago, we bought 4 yards of mulch (basically a HUGE mound) for our flower/herb gardens and Keith and I have been weeding and mulching every chance we have and we’re still not done. Aaargh…I almost, almost wish we have grass only in our yard but I know that when the flowers are in full bloom and the butterflies stop by for a visit, when we relax and dine in our lush, fragrant yard on a warm summer evening, amidst the glowing light of fireflies…it would all be worth it (I can be kinda poetic on occasions *grin*). Thankfully, the weather has been seasonable (translated: not too hot) and we’ve managed to make quite a dent on that huge mound. Hopefully, in another week or two, we will finally be done.

Now, on to food - salted fish fried rice is one of my favorite dishes but unfortunately, I rarely make it because of how “fragrant” the salted fish is. I swear flies from two blocks away could smell the fish (when they are being cooked) and find their way into the house thorugh holes/spaces you don’t even know exist to get to the fish. Because of this, I save the making of this dish until the dead of winter, where there is not a single bug outside, lol. Although winter is over (I think), I took the opportunity to cook this dish recently when we had a short cold spell, and the temp dipped into the 30s. It does take a little effort to prep the salted fish but all that effort will pay off times 20. The resulting fried rice is salty, savory, and super-delicious, so much so that Keith and I finished all of it in one sitting (boy, were we piggies). Now, we’ll just have to comfort ourselves with the memory of it until next time. Enjoy!

To prep the salted fish:

¼ vegetable oil

1 (350g) container salted mackerel in oil

Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add mackerel (discard oil in the container) and fry until cooked, gently flipping the fish halfway through. Some pieces of fish may fall apart as they cook…that’s okay (just handle the fish as gently as you can). Once fish are cooked, remove to a plate. Do not discard cooking oil – set aside until needed. Cool fish and then, crumble into tiny pieces, discarding bones.

To make the fried rice:

3 tablespoons salted fish oil (from cooking the fish in the previous step)

1 large shallot, sliced thin

3 cloves garlic, minced or sliced thin

2 extra-large eggs

5 cups cooked and cooled jasmine rice, large clumps broken up

½ cup frozen peas

2 cups bean sprouts

½ cup crumbled salted fish

1½ tablespoons light soy sauce

⅓ cup finely chopped fresh chives

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet or pot (occasionally, I use a dutch oven but note that the rice will stick to the bottom of the dutch oven) over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add shallot and garlic, and cook until fragrant and lightly browned. Push the shallot and garlic slightly to the side, add the eggs and cook, stirring constantly until the eggs are almost fully scrambled. Stir in the rice, peas, bean sprouts, salted fish and soy sauce, stirring constantly until everything is heated through. Turn off the heat and stir in the chives. Serve.

French Toast Bread Pudding

Since early March, we have been on a maple syrup and french toast kick and the end is nowhere in sight…yet. :D The downside (besides the weight-gaining, of course) is that our super-delicious local maple syrup stash is decreasing at a faster rate than we had initially expected…in fact, it’s almost gone! Then, I found out that there is a maple festival going on this weekend, which means we will have plenty of opportunity to stock up again, yay! (Suddenly, the world is right again, LOL)

Last weekend, instead of making our usual french toast, I decided to try Ina Garten’s french toast bread pudding recipe which can be found in the Barefoot Contessa How Easy Is That? cookbook or on the Food Network website). That was what the whole wheat challah bread was for…so taking into account that I actually used whole wheat bread for this dish, and that I served it topped with fresh fruit, can I call it healthy and balanced despite the huge amount of eggs and dairy used? Hmmmm… The bread pudding has definitely been an indulgence - it was super-rich but oh so delicious, dense but tender, moist but not mushy and sliced like a dream. We have been enjoying it for breakfast this whole week…what a treat! :D I could definitely see making this again, but not too often though…maybe when we have guests over so we could share the sin. :D

Note though that I didn’t bake the bread pudding in a water bath as the recipe called for. Instead, I baked it directly in the 9″ x 13″ baking dish (greased with unsalted butter) but at a lower temperature (325°F). I covered it with nonstick foil with holes to allow steam to escape for the first 45 minutes, and then removed the foil for the remaining 45 minutes. The bread turned out great and I didn’t have another huge pan to wash (an extremely important point when it comes to cleaning up *grin*).

I wanted to serve the bread pudding with maple syrup and berries (and I went to three different stores to look for fresh berries) but I couldn’t find any that were acceptable. First, there were either no berries, or there were some but they looked (for the lack of a better descriptive word) crappy, or they were too expensive and I wasn’t that desperate…okay, I was but I still wasn’t going to pay that exorbitant price. So what’s a gal to do? I ended up making an orange and cranberry topping, the two ingredients I already had on hand anyway and they went really well (not surprisingly) with the orange-flavored bread pudding. :D Yum!

For the topping:

6 large navel oranges

½ cup dried cranberries

 

To segment the oranges for the topping, slice off the ends of each orange. Then, cut away the remaining peel (including the white pith). Hold the orange over your dish, use a paring knife to cut the sections of fruit cleanly out of the membrane. Before discarding the leftover membrane, squeeze it for extra juice. Click here to watch a video on how to segment any citrus fruit (courtesy of saveur.com). After you finish prepping the oranges, stir in the dried cranberries and let the mixture sit in the fridge for an hour or two (if you can wait that long) to plump up the cranberries. Serve with the bread pudding (drizzled with maple syrup if desired). Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Challah

I can’t (surprisingly) find challah bread where I live…so out came my trusty bread machine to help me whip up one. :D This recipe can be found in the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook (a favorite of mine) or on the King Arthur Flour website. The bread turned out absolutely beautiful, tender, and delicious. Instead of eating the bread as is with spreads or using it for sandwiches, I had another grand plan for it…stay tuned for what I did with it. :D

Note the the slight changes I made:

 

½ cup lukewarm water
6 tablespoons vegetable oil

¼ cup honey
2 extra-large eggs
2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup hi-gluten whole wheat flour (bought it at my local Whole Foods) plus more if needed
1½ teaspoons salt
2½ teaspoons instant yeast

I used the dough setting on my bread machine and as it was kneading, I added more of the hi-gluten whole wheat flour as needed (in my case, an additional 3 tablespoons) to help the dough come together smoothly. My dough cycle completes in 1 hour 30 minutes but I actually let the dough rest/rise in the bread machine for another 30 minutes. After that, I proceeded according to the KAF instructions.

Curry Chex Mix

Yikes! I guess it has been almost three weeks since my last post. Easter was lovely but it came and went in a blink – my in-laws were here for a quick visit then. We made broiled salmon (with Tony Chachere’s More Spice Seasoning…yum!) and whole wheat couscous with asparagus and red pepper…double yum!), as well as Malaysian Laksa (sorry folks, no photos or recipes as I decided to take a short, much-needed break). I will do my best to take some photos the next time I make them. :D

I have to say that time has been quite lacking lately on my end, and I’ve resorted to making only things that are fast and easy to put together. Here’s a delicious curry-flavored snack for instance, so easy to make and full of bold, fiery flavor…perfect to keep you warm on a cool spring day and especially awesome when you are in a super spicy mood. Enjoy!

1 cup Corn Chex cereal

1 cup Rice Chex cereal

1 cup Wheat Chex cereal

1 cup salted roasted peanuts

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon curry powder

¾ teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon red pepper sauce

 

In a large microwavable bowl, mix cereals and peanuts; set aside. In a small bowl, combine oil and all the seasonings, and microwave uncovered on high for 20 seconds or until fragrant. Then, pour over cereal mixture and stir until evenly coated. Microwave cereal mixture uncovered on high for 4 minutes, stirring thoroughly every minute for the first 3 minutes, and every 30 seconds for the last minute. Spread on baking sheet or plate lined with paper towels and cool. Store in an airtight container. 

 

Pandan Chiffon Cake Made With Homemade Pandan Paste

The ultimate test for the homemade pandan paste is of course, the Pandan Chiffon Cake. This cake with its light and tender texture, as well as its tall and regal state, in addition to its delicious, traditional pairing of pandan and coconut flavors is truly a Malaysian classic.

Using homemade pandan paste to make this family favorite was a total success – I had wished it wouldn’t be because then, I could continue using the (very) convenient bottled paste. :D Although I’m sure I’ll still use the store-bought paste on many future occasions (as I can’t consistently find “fresh” frozen pandan leaves), I would definitely expend some energy to make homemade pandan paste when possible. The resulting cake tasted like the ones my mum used to make, using freshly-squeezed pandan juice…..I had almost (but not quite) forgotten what the real thing tastes like…so super delicious! I mean I think using the store-bought paste already produces a delicious cake but it is even more so with the homemade pandan paste. Another special perk of using homemade pandan paste is that the cake’s signature green color turns out to be an extremely pleasing light green shade (and it’s all natural!)…perfect for St. Patrick’s Day or even the upcoming Easter (it’s not too late to make one). Enjoy!

For the recipe, click here (it’s in my previous Pandan Chiffon Cake post). Happy Baking!

Homemade Pandan Paste

When baking with pandan, I would normally use store-bought pandan paste instead of freshly-squeezed pandan juice. This is because fresh pandan leaves are not available here and often times, the frozen pandan leaves that can be found in most Asian stores are of such subpar quality that they are just not worth using. Once in a blue moon however, I might be able to get decent frozen pandan leaves (ones that haven’t sat on the freezer shelf for months on end) and what I mean by “decent” is that the leaves are actually still fragrant (and yes, I can actually smell the floral pandan fragrance through the air holes of the package even though the leaves are still frozen, and that’s how I know the leaves are “fresh”).

Anyways, I actually managed to get a couple packages of these super “fresh” frozen pandan leaves a couple of weeks ago and decided to try making pandan paste with them. Although I find store-bought, bottled pandan paste to be an acceptable substitute (beggars can’t be choosers) and extremely convenient, I would (if given a choice) prefer not to consume the artificial coloring that can be found in the bottled paste. The process to extract the paste isn’t complicated but it does take some time and effort. So is it worth it? I only managed to get about 3 measly teaspoons of pandan paste out of a package of pandan leaves. However, I have to say that it is so TOTALLY worth it! The flavor is exactly like if you use freshly-squeezed pandan juice, but using the paste instead of the juice allows you use it in your recipe without having to adjust the liquid content. And the important thing is that whatever you make with it, the item will be naturally flavored and colored…and that is always a good thing! :D (Stay tuned for my next post if you’re interested to see the result of using homemade pandan paste in my Pandan Chiffon Cake recipe and for more info on pandan, read about it in my Whole Grain Pandan Butter Cupcakes post.).

Frozen pandan leaves

Trim off the roots, white and light green parts, as well as the thorny tips

Use only the dark green leaves

Cut the leaves into smaller pieces

Blend with water until finely minced

Pour mixture through a sieve and squeeze the finely minced leaves to extract the juice

Filter the juice

The water will drain away and what’s left is the fragrant pandan paste

Note: I first read about this process in the Table For 2….. or More blog

1 (7-ounce) package frozen pandan leaves

3 cups water

 

Defrost pandan leaves (just leave the package on the counter for an hour or so). Then, trim off the roots, white and light green parts, as well as the thorny tips. Rinse the leftover dark green leaves and cut them into small pieces (about 1″). Combine the leaves and 1 cup water in a blender, and blend on high speed until mixture is combined and leaves are finely minced. Pour mixture through a sieve set over a jar or bowl, and squeeze the finely minced leaves to extract the juice. Place the pulp back in the blender and repeat the process with the remaining 2 cups water, one cup at a time. Once you have collected all the juice, line a large sieve with one basket-style coffee filter and set it over a large bowl. Pour the juice into the sieve, cover tightly with a plastic wrap, and refrigerate until the water from the juice has drained away and only a paste-like pandan residue is left. Gently scrape the paste off the filter with a spoon and store it in a covered container in the fridge for about 1 to 2 weeks. Use in place of store-bought paste.

Maple Sugaring and Easy French Toast

A couple of weeks ago, we went maple sugaring at Lake Farmpark. We experienced various hands-on activities and sampled freshly made maple products. Yum! Will definitely consider going back next year. :D

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Easy French Toast

 

5 extra-large eggs

½ cup half & half

A pinch of salt

1 french baguette, sliced 1″ thick

1½ tablespoons unsalted butter and more if needed

1½ tablespoons vegetable oil and more if needed

Fresh fruit(s)

Maple syrup

 

In a pie plate or baking dish, whisk together the eggs, half & half, and salt. Place several slices of bread in the egg mixture, soaking each side for about a minute. In a large skillet, heat butter and oil over medium-high heat until the butter is melted and foamy. Cook the slices of bread, a few pieces at a time until golden brown on both sides. Repeat until all the bread is used up. Serve with fresh fruit(s) and maple syrup. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Stir-Fried Green Beans with Crispy Anchovies

I’m trying to recall how this dish came about but it has been over 20 years, so the memory is a little hazy. I remember cooking this dish for the very first time when I was a teenager and I think it came about from my love for the salty, crispy anchovies. :D I don’t recall seeing my mum, or my grandmother making this particular dish before I did but at the same time, I can’t remember what was going through my head when I decided to add the anchovies to the green beans. I do remember though that I cooked this dish for my grandmother once, and she commented on how delicious it was cooking the green beans this way (and let me tell you, it’s not an easy feat to get a praise from my grandmother). :D That’s as much history as I can remember, and since I’ve never outgrown my love for anchovies, this is still one of my favorite veggie dishes to make. Enjoy!

¼ cup vegetable oil

2 ounces dried anchovies*

1 small shallot, sliced thin or minced

2 cloves garlic, sliced thin or minced

1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut on the bias**

2 to 3 tablespoons water

Salt and white pepper to taste

 

*Back in the days, we used to clean the anchovies (i.e. remove the heads and guts) before using them. However, I don’t do that anymore simply because it is such a pain to perform that tedious task. Besides, they all taste crunchy to me after they are fried. :D But if it really bothers you and if you have a choice at your Asian store, buy the ones that are super-tiny or ones that have already been cleaned. For the really tiny ones, you would hardly be able to make out the heads or the guts, so just use them whole. The important thing is to make sure that you get anchovies that have been salted (so remember to check the ingredients).

**I prep my green beans by snapping off the stem end and pulling it down either side to remove the “string” if there’s any. Then, I cut them into bite-size pieces – either straight or for a fancier look, on a bias (i.e. french cut).

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the anchovies and fry until deep golden-brown and crispy, stirring constantly. Remove to a plate, draining and leaving the oil in the skillet (I would recommend removing the skillet from the heat as you’re doing this since the anchovies burn easily at this point). Anchovies may not seem too crispy while they are still hot but don’t worry, they’ll crisp up as they cool. Set aside until needed.

Leave about one teaspoon oil in the skillet (discard the rest if you have extra) and add the shallot and garlic. Cook on medium heat until fragrant and lightly golden brown. Add green beans, turn heat up to medium-high, and stir-fry for about a minute. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons water (more if necessary) and continue to stir-fry until green beans are cooked (we like ours tender but still crisp). Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Turn off the heat and stir in the anchovies. Plate and serve immediately.

The anchovies I bought came in a 4-ounce package. If you ended up having extra and are not sure what to do with the rest, fry them up like you would in the green bean recipe and while they are still warm, season them with white pepper to taste. Then, mix the crispy anchovies with an equal amount of roasted peanuts for a delicious and addictive snack (this is one of my favorite Chinese New Year treats). Yum! :D

Avocado Bacon and Eggs

Saw this on FB and decided to make it last Sunday for breakfast. One word….Mmmmm (okay, that may not be an actual word but you get the idea). :D

Source: THE VIEW FROM IN HERE

 

1 avocado

2 eggs (I would recommend large size or smaller)

2 strips cooked bacon, crumbled

 

Cut the avocado in half and remove the pit. Scoop out the avocado to make a hole that’s about the size of your egg. Prop the avocado halves upright using the side of your pan. Crack an egg into each half. Bake in an oven at 425ºF for about 15 minutes, or until the eggs are cooked to your liking (I actually baked ours in a toaster oven). Season with salt and pepper to taste and top with the crumbled bacon. (Yum! We’re having it again tonight.) Enjoy! :D

Banana-Nut Bread

Just came out of the oven – isn’t it beautiful?

I have to admit that ever since I’ve made our new favorite banana bread last fall, I’ve not been too motivated to try any new banana bread recipe. :D However, I’ve recently decided to participate in an on-going Bake-Along event that is co-organized by Zoe (of Bake for Happy Kids), and their current Bake-Along recipe just happened to be…banana bread! (I love it when I’m given a reason to bake). I’ve just recently met Zoe (through another blog) and have come to enjoy her various baking styles - check out her blog if you get a chance for constant inspiration and mouth-watering recipes.

A lot of banana bread recipes call for using very ripe bananas (as in heavily speckled or even black bananas) to get a really strong banana flavor. However, I personally prefer a less overipe banana taste (I don’t purposely mean to be contrary). Therefore, I like to use bananas that have just started to speckle - they are ripe, soft enough to mash easily but they do not yet have that overipe, super-sweet smell.

For the current Bake-Along, we’re using a Williams-Sonoma’s recipe. I had never tried this particular recipe before and the first thing I noted was that it has consistently great reviews, which is always a good sign. Normally, the first thing I would eliminate in a baking recipe is any fragrant spices (it’s just a personal preference) but I decided to keep the nutmeg to see if and how it would affect the taste of the banana bread. I figured if I don’t like it, I know Keith will eat it anyway – that man of mine will eat anything! :D Although my goal was to retain the originality of the flavor, I couldn’t help but make a few changes. The main ones are the substitution of the granulated sugar with light brown sugar and part of the flour with whole wheat flour. From past experiences, I’ve found that I tend not to like the one-dimensional flavor that comes from using just plain white sugar – I feel that switching to light or dark brown sugar (in combination with the whole wheat flour) helps adds depth to the overall taste. Besides that, we’re also trying to eat a little bit more healthily by including more whole grain ingredients and reducing the sugar intake in our diet, which can be tricky and hard to incorporate in certain baking recipes.

Alex (although he was not feeling well) wanted to help me bake – here he was, grating the nutmeg. :D

Alex loves to measure dry ingredients, so I delegated those tasks to him.

Ready to go in the oven

Well, the bread turned out gorgeous-looking and delicious. You can’t actually taste the nutmeg but Keith and I feel that it does add to the complexity of the overall flavor. I mean we can sense there is something slightly different with this bread as compared to your average banana bread but you can’t really tell what it is – we think it’s actually the nutmeg (and I would include possibly the brown sugar and the whole wheat flour as well). Now, do we think this is better than our Chocolate-Cherry Banana Bread or our second favorite, Banana-Raisin Whole Wheat Bread? I personally can’t decide…I can say for sure that this recipe is really good as well and I would definitely bake it again as a variation from the other two (yeah, we all know that was a cop out answer). :D

The bread was a beautiful golden brown but the edges were on the drier side

The inside was moist and tender – the bread was delicious!

Slightly adapted from Williams-Sonoma’s recipe

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
6 tablespoons (¾ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
¾ cup packed light brown sugar
1½ cups coarsely mashed ripe bananas (about 3 bananas)
2 extra-large eggs
½ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and lightly flour a 9×5-inch loaf pan. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, nutmeg, salt and nuts. Set aside until needed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the flat beater, beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add the bananas and eggs and beat until smooth. Add the sour cream and beat just until combined. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture and beat just until combined. The batter should be slightly lumpy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until the loaf is dark golden brown and dry to the touch and the edges pull away from the sides of the pan, 55 to 60 minutes. A toothpick/skewer inserted into the center should come out clean. Let the bread rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn the loaf out onto a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut into thick slices to serve.