Dumplings on the Barbie

Choy kuek

2009-05-10T02:07:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
- 1 roast pork bone/hock - chopped
- 6 dried chillies - washed
- 1/2 cup tamarind - washed
- pork stock cube (contain MSG)
- 6 bunch of mustard green - washed and torn to 3 inch long pieces
- 1/2 pickled mustard (kiam chye) - finely chopped
- salt

Steps
1. Boil 1/2 pot of water. Add roast pork bones/hock
2. Add pickled mustard, dried chillies, tamarind, pickled mustard, stock cube, salt. Boil for 1/2 hour. Taste
3. When soup is tasty, add mustard green. Boil until mustard green is soft. Serve.

This is comfort food for me. In Malaysia, you can get them in barbeque shops as the stock is made from barbeque/roast bones. It is also one of my aunt's fav and I have fond memories of getting take away from a barbeque shop in Canning Garden with her. One of my fondest memories of home is tucking into this together.

Mum's Malaysian curry

2009-05-10T01:39:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
- 1 leg of lamb - cut into 1.5 inch pieces, roll in curry powder, marinate overnight
- 2 leeks - finely chopped
- 2 lemongrass - bruised
- curry powder
- 2 chicken stock cube (contains MSG)
- peanut oil
- salt and pepper

Steps
1. Heat pot. Add oil. Once heated add leek. Brown leek
2. Add lemon grass. Add a pinch of curry powder
3. Add lamb. Brown lamb
4. Add water to 3/4 submerged lamb
5. Simmer for 2 hours

What a weekend. Was supposed to be chockers but plans changed. So, had a great night just hanging out with B at Kuletos, pretending I was young again. Another a surprise catch up with my ex flatmate, near Newtown again. And a quiet Sunday, trying to work on a paper.

Lamb shanks stew

2009-04-09T06:59:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
- 2 lamb shanks
- 1 leek - chopped
- 1 carrots - chopped
- 3 potatoes - quartered
- 4 cloves garlic - sliced
- 1 chicken stock cube
- salt and pepper
- 6 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup olive oil

Steps
1. Heat pot. Add olive oil. Season lamb shanks with salt and pepper. Brown lamb shanks and remove from pot
2. Add leeks and carrots. Cook until soft. Add garlic
3. Return lamb shanks to pot. Add stock cube, bay leaves and water
4. Cook at low heat for 2 hours

Bread, banana and butter pudding

2009-04-09T06:12:00.000-07:00

Ingredients
- half a loaf of bread - cut into triangles and buttered with unsalted butter
- 1 x 2 tbsp caster sugar
- 1.5 cup milk
- 3 egg
- 3 ripe bananas
- 0.5 x 2 tsp cinnamon powder
- unsalted butter

Steps
1. Grease oven-safe dish
2. Butter bread and arrange on the bottom of the dish
3. Mash banana onto bread, sprinkle with 1 tbsp sugar followed by 0.5 tsp cinnamon
4. Layer with a second layer of buttered bread
5. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp sugar folled by 0.5 tsp cinnamon
6. Beat 3 eggs with 1.5 cup of milk and pour onto bread evenly
7. Let the bread soak in egg+milk mixture for 20 minutes
8. Bake at 160 C for 45 minutes
9. Rest for 10 minutes

At $6.50 a loaf , I was not going to throw out this bread. And since it has been getting cooler, seems like a great time to make bread pudding. My memory of this from college has been quite nasty actually. But, always eating dinner around 7pm when dinner was served from 5pm, didn't help.

The pudding was pretty good. The smell of banana was wonderful. B quite enjoyed it too. But, he was too engrossed with his new PS3 to give me some decent comments.

Also made another dish. Am in cooking mood.

Pigs in Bowtie Drenched in Wine

2009-04-06T04:43:00.000-07:00

= Farfalle in Creamy Bacon Sauce

Ingredients:
- 2/3 box of Farfalle No.65
- 250 g bacon - chopped
- 1 leek - chopped finely
- 4 cloves garlic - crushed
- 1/2 cup Semillion
- 1/2 cup thick cream
- Italian reggiano - grated
- salt and black pepper to taste

Steps:
1. Pan: Heat
2. Pot: Boil water. Add salt
3. Pan: Add bacon to the heated pan. Cook. When bacon is just cooked, add garlic
4. Pot: When water is boiling, add farfalle
5. Pan: While farfalle is cooking, add leek to bacon+garlic in pan. Cook until leek is soft
6. Pot: Check on farfelle. Cook until al dente and drain
7. Pan: Add white wine. Cook until wine is reduced by 2/3
8. Pan: Lower heat, pour in cream
9. Pan: Add drained farfalle to sauce. Mix
10. Served with shaved reggiano and chopped parsley

Finished work around 8.30pm. Quick dinner tonight.
This recipe is from one of my fav cook. My godma sits next to Gordon Ramsay in my list. Same efficiency. Better language.
I dont mind Hells Kitchen though. Cant see what the fuss in about. After awhile, all the "F" just get tuned out.