Prawn Capsicum and Chilli Pizza

Pizza is an oven-baked, flat and usually disc-shaped bread typically topped with tomato sauce, shredded cheese and various toppings such as seafood, beef, chicken, capsicum, ham, olive and etc. Here we made a rectangle shape lemon scented pizza base top with succulent juicy shrimps, grated mozzarella cheese and lovely chopped fresh basil.

PRAWN CAPSICUM AND CHILLI PIZZA

Since these few days we are experiencing cold rainy evenings we decided to make something simple and yet hearty to fill our hungry stomach. So together with my boy we made this Prawn, Capsicum and Chilli Pizza using our homemade pizza dough. And in order to make a tangy pizza base to enhance the flavour of the shrimps, I have added some lemon zest and juice to make the pizza dough.

(serves: 2-4 | Preparation: 90 minutes | Cooking: 15 - 18 minutes)

Basic Pizza Dough: make 2 (30cm) base
7g Instant Active Dry Yeast
190ml Lukewarm Water
1 Teaspoon Caster Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 1/2 Cups Plain Flour
1/4 Cup Olive Oil
Zest of 1 Lemon
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice, optional

Method:-

1. Combine yeast, sugar, salt and lukewarm water in a measuring cup/bowl. Stand in a warm place for 10 minutes or until mixture is foamy.

2. Place flour in a large mixing bowl together with lemon zest. Make a well in centre, add in yeast mixture and stir until dough comes together.

3. Next stir in olive oil and lemon juice till it form a dough. Knead dough on a lightly-floured surface for 5 - 7 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

4. Place dough in a large, oiled bowl. Cover and set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size.

5. Using your fist, punch down centre of dough and knead for another 30 seconds and divide the dough into half.

Ingredients For Pizza:
1 Portion of Pizza Base, see recipe above
1/4 Cup Tomato Paste Sauce
1/4 Cup Grated Tasty Cheese
1/4 Cup Grated Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 Red and Green Capsicum, thinly sliced
8 Medium Prawns, shell removed
1/4 Teaspoon Dried Chilli Flakes
Some Shredded Fresh Basil Leaves
*Polenta(cornmeal), optional

Method:-

1.Roll dough flat to 30 cm round pizza base or 9" x 7" rectangle and place base on greased baking tray. (I greased the baking tray with olive oil and dust with some polenta(cornmeal) to give the pizza base an extra crunchy texture)

2. Spread base with tomato pasta sauce and top with half the cheese mixture.

3. Next evenly scatter the capsicum, prawns, basil, chilli and remaining cheese on top.

4. Bake in preheated 200 Degree Celsius oven for 15 - 18 minutes or until base is crisp and cheese melted. Serve.

If you have no time to prepare the fresh pizza dough you could also replace it with those ready-made pizza dough, baguette or tortilla to act your desire base. I am sure you and your family would enjoy this quick and easy pizza with some fresh salad greens or hot pipping soup(some western cream soup recipe HERE). Till then have a great weekend ahead.

Read More...

{Halloween Special} Jack O' Lantern, Black Cat Pumpkin Soup, Eyeballs Fettuccine And Death By Chocolate

Halloween is the celebration typically held on 31st October each year where this date marked the end of the summer and beginning of the cold winter which was often a time of death. As usually this year you could also join in some Halloween event at some of the tourist attraction such as Universality Studios Singapore, Halloween Horror Nights(here), Sentosa Spooktacular (here), FrightFest@Singapore Flyer (here) and etc.

This is the second year (read last year post, here) I cooked Halloween theme dishes despite that we don't actually celebrate this festival. Same as last year I have cooked a creamy pumpkin soup but with fusion of Asian and Western ingredients. And for this year we have a set Dinner Menu that comes with salad, soup, pasta and dessert with Halloween theme decorated. 

JACK O' LANTERN GARDEN SALAD

To start off the Halloween Feast, you can serve your usual salad using these "Orange Cups" that are carved to resemble mini version of Jack O' Lanterns. And as for the stuffing you could choose any of your desire salad green but here I feel "mesclun" look better with their curl leaves and colours for this spooky theme. 

(serves: 4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking:  none)

Ingredients: 
4 Big Oranges
1 Packet of Mesclun Salad Leaves
2 Tablespoons Salad Dressing of Your Choice

Method:-

1. Cut 1/4 off from the top of the orange, carefully remove pulp and try not to puncture the bottoms of orange

2. Next use a fruit knife, slowly cut out the eyes, nose and mouth of the "Jack O' Lantern" from the orange. Set side and continue with the rest.

3. Toss Mesclun salad leaves with desire dressing before stuffing them into the prepared orange cups and serve as starter.

CURRY PUMPKIN SOUP
with Black Cat and Bat Cheese Toppings

This hearty and savoury soup is a perfect starter to fill your hungry as well as to calm you down after a night of fright. For your information pumpkin is a nutrient rich food in Vitamin A and E which is good for your eyes and skin too.

(serves: 2 - 3 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking:  15 minutes)

Ingredients: 
500g Pumpkin, skin removed and cubes
1 Medium Brown Onion, chopped
1 Golden Delicious Apples, peeled, cored and chopped
20g Unsalted Butter
1/2 Teaspoon minced Fresh Ginger
1 Tablespoon Curry Powder
1 Teaspoon Chilli Powder, optional
1 Tablespoon Plain Flour
1 Can(399 ml) Swanson Clear Chicken Broth
60ml Coconut Milk
Salt And Pepper
Plain yogurt/Coconut Milk for serving, optional

Method:-

1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat, add onion, apples and ginger and saute until tender for about 5 minutes.

2. Sprinkle flour and curry powder over onion mixture and stir for 1 minute (stir till well mixed).

3. Next gradually whisk in chicken broth and bring it to boil before adding in the pumpkin cubes.

4. When the mixture boils again, reduce heat and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes till pumpkin soften.

5. Remove pan from heat, slowly stir in the coconut milk till well combined and set the mixture aside to cool slightly.

6. Working in two or three batches, pour soup into blender and blend until smooth (about 10 seconds).

7. Return soup to pot to rewarm and serve hot with yogurt/coconut milk and decorate it with black cat and bat cheese toppings. (place black egg sheet/seaweed cat/bat cutout on sandwich cheese before using a toothpick to trace the outline to cut the desire shape)

Surprisingly this soup taste great with hint of spices from the curry powder and slightly sweet in flavour due to the type of pumpkin(I used Australia “blue” pumpkin which is a golden flesh with fine-textured meat) use and adding of apple. Also for this creamy soup we have a swap of using Asian coconut milk instead of pouring cream to enhance the flavour.

EYEBALLS FETTUCCINE
(Spinach Fettuccine with Meatballs in Tomato Sauce)

As for Main Course we wanted something quick and yet spooky. So after some brainstorm sessions we decided to settle for this Spinach Fettuccine with Cheesy Meatballs that served with ready-made Traditional Tomato Pasta Sauce. 

(serves: 4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking:  20 minutes)

Ingredients: 
4 Servings of Spinach Fettuccine Pasta, about 375g
16 Cheesy Meatballs
1 Bottle(397g) Prego Traditional Tomato Pasta Sauce
1 Packet Baby Asparagus
Some Red Capsicum
4 Hard Boiled Egg, half
Some Black Olive, cut into rings

Method:-

1. Cook pasta in large saucepan of boiling water until tender, drain and divide among serving plates.

2. Bring some water (lightly season it with some olive oil and salt) to boil in a pan, blanch asparagus in boiling water for 10 seconds then refresh it in cold water.

3. Drain well and decorate it with some red capsicum cubes to resemble "green fingers with red nails". Arrange them into the cooked fettuccine. Set aside.

3. Meanwhile, fry meatballs in a frying pan with some olive oil until slightly brown in colour.

4. Stir in tomato paste sauce and simmer over low heat for about 3 minutes. Turning the meatballs occasionally to coat the sauce.

5. When done, spoon mixture over pasta and assemble the hard-boiled egg on top to form the gruesome eyeballs.

The purpose of using "spinach" fettuccine instead of plain is to create the effect of a green hair monster to accompany the gruesome eyeballs. And in order to make it more colourful and spooky, I added some blanched asparagus decorated with red capsicum to act as the "monster fingers".   

DEATH BY CHOCOLATE
(Chocolate Trifle with Mixed Berry Yoghurt)

Finally after a hearty and delicious meal with salad, soup and pasta, here comes the dessert of the day. If you are a weight-watcher who loves chocolate, this will be a great dessert with different layers of texture starting from the crunchy biscuit crumbs base, soft and moist chocolate roll in between two layers of smooth and fragrant mixed berry yoghurt. And to make it more attractive for the Halloween theme, we have add on some crushed oreo to act as the soil together with herb and grummy worms.

(serves: 4 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking:  none)

Ingredients: 
300g Mixed Berry Yogurt
8 Oreo Cookies, cream removed and finely crushed
4 Slices of Chocolate Sweet Roll
8 Piece of Digestive Biscuits
Some Grummy Worms
20g Dark Chocolate, melt and cool

Method:-

1. Using melt chocolate, pipe the word "RIP" on 4 pieces of Digestive Biscuit and keep them in the fridge till ready to use.

2. Roughly crushed the remaining digestive biscuit and divide the crumbs into 4 serving glass.

3. Next top with 1 layer of chocolate roll follow by some mixed berry yogurt.

4. Repeat with 2nd layer of chocolate roll, yogurt and sprinkle the top layer evenly with fine Oreo crumbs. Keep in the fridge.

5. Before serving, top with the decorated digestive biscuit together with some grummy worms and edible flower/herbs.

This is a very flexible dessert as you can use any type of biscuit crumbs available in your pantry as well as your desire flavour of yoghurt to suit your family or guests. Here I hope with these 4 quick and easy "Tricks" on preparing the Halloween Feast you would be able to have some ideas to start off with your own Halloween "Treats" to surprise your family or guests. And if you have some interesting ideas on Halloween dishes/bakes and etc on your blog, do leave your blog link in the comment box to share it with us too!

Read More...

{Giveaway plus Review} Easy Thai Cooking by Robert Danhi

Last month while lasing Bee's Easy Chinese Recipes cookbook giveaway with Tuttle Publishing, Margaret from the team suggest if I would like to review Chef Robert Danhi's cookbook on Easy Thai Cooking. (more information at www.chefdanhi.com). I was thrilled and accepted immediately because my family (especially my mum) simply loves Thai cuisines which are full of flavour and aroma.

In this post I would be sharing 3 dishes (with a complimentary recipe) which I have tried a few days back from Chef Robert's Easy Thai Cooking cookbook. From the step-by-step photos and sample recipe you can also see how easy it is to prepare some Thai-style family dishes with the help of this wonderful cookbook on hand.

GREEN MANGO AND CASHEW SALAD

Mango Salad is one of the "Must" have dish whenever we visit a Thai restaurant as it is a very appetizing salad dish that burst with tones of flavour. And while flipping through this Easy Thai Cooking cookbook, my eyes immediately set on this Green Mango and Cashew Salad.

Each bite is packed with explosions of sweet, salty and spicy taste from the herbs together with mango and roasted cashew nut that infused with hint of aromatic fresh lime juice. And not to mention you would also be delighted with the unique fragrant of the Kaffri lime leaves lingering between each bite. If mango is not available you can replace this salad with green apples, unripe papaya or even pineapples with minimum adjustment on the seasoning to match the fruits.

RED CURRY SHRIMP CAKES
Recipe from Easy Thai Cooking cookbook by Robert Danhi

Thai shrimp cake is a perfect appertizer to serve as a finger food during party or as a snack. It's very tasty and easy to prepare with many variations of similar recipes in Thailand. Here I am sharing with you Chef Robert's recipe on how to make these delicious shrimp cakes in less than 20 minutes.

(Makes: 20 pieces | Preparation: 7 minutes + chilling time | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:-

250g peeled and deveined raw shrimp, roughly chopped
2 Tablespoon Red Curry Paste
1 Large Egg
2 Teaspoon Fish Sauce
1 Tablespoon Sugar
2 Tablespoons Coconut Milk
25g Chopped Long Bean/Green Beans
2 Tablespoons Roughly Chopped Thai Basil Leaves
2 Tablespoons Oil

This sauce has a combination of sweet, savory, sour and spicy taste which is great to serve as a dipping sauce for spring roll or grilled meat. It is a very simple sauce that takes only a few minutes to combine all the ingredients together. Here I used those bottled Thai Chilli sauce to mix with the rest of the ingredients to make a quick sauce instead of follow the "Thai Sweet Chilli Sauce" recipe in the cookbook.

Sweet Cilantro Sauce:
65ml Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
1 Tablespoon Fresh Lime Juice
2 Teaspoon Chopped Coriander Leaves(cilantro)
1 Teaspoon Minced Ginger

Using a food processor to make these shrimp cakes takes just a few minutes to prepare and the results are spectacular. Chef Robert also suggest to serve these shrimp cakes on a bed of lettuce leaves and fresh Thai herbs like coriander and basil in way similar like a lettuce wrap.

Method:-

1. Prepare the Sweet Cilantro Sauce by whisking all the ingredients together in a small bowl and then set aside.

2. Spread the shrimp on a plate and chill the shrimp in the freezer for 15 minutes(this can ensures the springy texture of the shrimp cakes). Meanwhile get all your other ingredients ready.

3. Combine the chilled shrimp, red curry paste, egg, fish sauce, sugar and coconut milk in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl. Mix in the green beans and basil.

4. Because different brands of curry pastes have differing amounts of salt you'll want to make a sample shrimp cake first by saute 1 tablespoon of the mixture in a skillet(frying pan). Taste, and if necessary, adjust the seasoning with fish sauce and salt.

5. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. First use 1 tablespoon of the oil to coat the skillet, use a measuring spoon to drop 1 tablespoon of the paste into the skillet.

6. With a damp finger, flatten the paste slightly to about 1/2" thick. Make about 10 of these shrimp patties in the skillet.

7. Cook the cakes until they are golden brown on each side and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel, make more patties from the remaining paste and cook the same way.

8. Serve with a side bowl of the Sweet Cilantro Sauce.

We all love this Spicy and flavorsome Red Curry Shrimp Cakes which is infused with a light scent of Thai bail leaving you craving for more after each bite. This is definitely a great appetizer to be served during any party or gathering with chilled beer or cocktails while catching up with some conversations. 

GRILLED LEMONGRASS CHICKEN

In the cookbook, Chef Robert mentioned that in the rural roads of the northeast Issan region of Thailand, this Grilled Lemongrass Chicken is a very common street food that can be easily found along the streets. And here he recreate this traditional dish using our modern oven/grill at home.

If you are looking for new seasoning/marinade on poultry for a BBQ gathering, this can be a NEW flavour that you won't want to miss out. The combination of Lemongrass, Coriander stems and white peppercorns will definitely sparks a new "love" for your poultry dish. And if this for party food wise you can replace the chicken thighs with chicken wing mid-joints/drumlets.

COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY

Chef Robert Danhi has spent over twenty years traveling in Thailand and wants to share everything he’s learned about Thai food. And with complimentary from Tuttle Publishing,  Cuisine Paradise is giving away a copy of this Easy Thai Cooking cookbook by Chef Robert Danhi  to 1 Lucky reader. This cookbook is selling at a retail price of S$22.00 (before GST) with 75 Family-style Dishes You can Prepare at Home in Minutes. So if you want to impressive your family or guests with these easy Thai dishes, do grab a copy of this cookbook at any of the major bookstores in Singapore or order online HERE.

To enter the draw, leave a comment on what is your favourite Thai's cuisine together with a valid email address(for easy contact if you are the winner) on the comment form and the lucky winner will be randomly chosen. And in order to increase your extra chances on winning you can also choose either 1 or ALL of the bonus below:-

~ Share this post on Tweeter. Leave 1 extra comment for this.

~ Share this post on your Facebook. Leave 1 extra comment for this.

~ Like Cuisine Paradise on Facebook. Leave 1 extra comment for this.


Closing Date for the above Giveaway will be on Friday, 21 October 2011(Noon). Result will be announce on 24 October 2011. Good luck everyone!!!! Have fun!

WINNER OF THE COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY
(updated on Monday, 24th October 2011)

Congratulations to "Yeohkristen" for winning this fabulous cookbook and thanks everyone for your participation too! Have a great week ahead everyone!

p/s: Result for the Cookbook Giveaway is out.

Read More...

{Quick Version} French Apple Tart

I have some extra Green Apples left in the fridge after making the "Pork Schnitzel And Apple Salad" so after gathering a few related ingredients from the pantry I decided to make this quick and simple French Apple Tart for afternoon tea snack. And in order to shorten the preparation time I decided to use our favourite frozen puff pastry(i always keep a pack in the freezer) as we love that buttery flaky base.

Most of the French Apple Tart use two different layers of fillings such as cooked apple cubes top with apple slices. But since this is a quick version I have omitted the cooking process and replaced it by layers sliced apple.

FRENCH APPLE TART

(serves: 4-6 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 20 minutes)

Ingredients: 
1 Sheet frozen Butter Puff Pastry, partially thawed
Knot of Butter, to grease
1/4 Cup Ground Almond Meal
2 Tablespoons Caster Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
1 Egg White, lightly beaten
2 Granny Smith Apples, halved, cored, thinly sliced
1/2 Tablespoon Brown Sugar, optional
2 Tablespoons Apricot Jam/Marmalade

Method:-

1. Preheat oven to 220 Degree Celsius. Lightly grease a baking tray with butter and place pastry sheet onto greased tray.

2. Using the tip of a sharp knife, score pastry by only cutting half way through, 2cm from edge.

3. Combine almond meal, sugar, cinnamon and egg white together. Spread over pastry within the inner border.

4. Top with apples, overlapping slightly, sprinkle some brown sugar evenly on the apples and bake in preheated oven for about 18 - 20 minutes or until apples are tender and pastry is golden.

5. Mix jam with 2 tablespoon boiling water in a small bowl until spreadable. Brush over cooked tart, cut into pieces and serve. (you can serve it plain with pair with vanilla ice-cream or custard)

The end result was great and addicting as you can have different layers of texture range from moist fragrant apple, cinnamon and flake spread on top of those flaky buttery base. This is definitely a quick and easy tea snack with a cup of decent tea with a couples of friends.

To make your tart look more attractive with that shinning outlook you can also glazed it with some apricot preserves that is dilute with hot water and in a way it also enhance the apples with a moist texture too.

Read More...

Chilli Jam Chicken

When it comes to prepare dishes for our daily meals I am always on the move in searching or creating quick and easy dish that can be served within an hour. With a kid at home as well as busying with work and household chores sometime I would also need some help from those instant sauce to add flavour to the dishes. Like example; today I am using the "Dancing Chef - Special Sauce" which is a closer version in term of taste to the western "chilli jam". And this sauce actually goes well either meat and seafood too.

CHILLI JAM CHICKEN

(serves: 2 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:-

4 Chicken Thigh Fillets
1 Bunch Bok Choy
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1 Pack of Dancing Chef Special Sauce

Method:-

1. Tim fat off from the chicken thighs, lightly marinated them with 1/2 tablespoon of cooking wine and corn flour.

2. Heat Oil in a frying pan on high heat. Cook chicken for 2 minutes each side or until golden.

3. Transfer chicken fillets into baking dish (or you can use disposal aluminum foil tray), spread dancing chef special sauce evenly on top of the chicken fillets.

4. Bake in oven toaster for about 10 minutes or until cooked through. (you can also pop them into preheated 200 Degree Celsius oven for 5 minutes)

5. Steamed or blanched bok choy in lightly salted water with oil until wilted. Serve at the side together with the chicken. (for a better taste, you can drizzle some sesame oil on the cooked bok choy)

If you cannot find any "Dancing Chef - Special Sauce" in your area/country you can always replaced it with any brand(or homemade) "Chilli Jam" that you can get from the supermarkets.There are pretty easy to follow recipes on making chilli jam which you might be keen to take a look too :-

1. Chilli Jam from Taste.com.au

2. Sweet Chilli Jam from BBC Good Food

3. Chilli Jam (Asian style) from inSing.com

Read More...

Pork Schnitzel And Apple Salad

Pin It

Salad isn't just some mixture of vegetables, mixed fruits, pasta and etc with dressings. Sometime it can be consider as a Main Meal with additions of meat and seafood to make it more nutritious and family meal. Here we have Pork Schnitzel to go with some salad green and crunchy apples for combination of textures and flavour. And for me I find this is also a good way to get kids to eat vegetables and fruits with that extra slices of yummy pork schnitzel that goes with it.

PORK SCHNITZEL AND APPLE SALAD 

(serves: 4 | Preparation: 20 minutes | Cooking: 5 minutes)

Ingredients: 
4 Pork Sirloin Steaks, fat trimmed
1/2 Tablespoon Cornflour
1/2 Tablespoon Cooking Wine 
1 Egg, lightly beaten
1 Cup breadcrumbs or Panko
1/3 Cup Olive Oil
2 Green Apple, cored, halved and thinly sliced
1 Packet Ready-to-serve Salad Green with dressing

Mustard Dressing:
Some Mayonnaise
Some Wholegrain/Creamy Mustard Sauce

Method:-

1. Using a meat mallet, pound pork slices evenly to 5mm thick. Marinate it with cornflour, cooking wine and lightly beaten egg for about 3 - 5 minutes.

2. Coat marinated pork slices evenly with breadcrumbs by pressing the meat down against the crumbs.

3. Heat oil in a frying pan on medium heat, cook pork schnitzel for 3 minutes on each side or until golden and cooked through. Drain well on paper towels.

4. Meanwhile, toss the pre-packed salad with accompany dressing before transferring them to a serving plate and top with apple slices. (you can soak apple slices with some lightly salted water to prevent it from oxidized and turns brown)

5. Next thickly slice pork and arrange on salad and drizzle mustard dressing over pork and serve.

Overall this can be a very flexible dish as you can use different types of salad green as well as changing the Pork Schnitzel to Chicken or Fish fillet depending on what is available in your pantry. And if you find it is a trouble to prepare Pork Schnitzel you can also purchase those ready-made(frozen type) and oven baked them according to the packet instructions.

Read More...

{Guest Post} Gulai Cancang (Beef Curry) by Lia, Bentolicious

Today I have invited Lia from  Bentolicious whom is a very talented mummy of 2. She has never failed to excite her readers with her beautiful and creative bento(s)(read more HERE) which reflects her love and passion for her kids. Each time whenever I visit her blog I will be amazed with her ideas and skills in assembling those gorgeous bento.

I get to know Lia since a few years back while leaving comments in some of our favourite bento sites. And recently Lia has started "Bloglicious" where she shared her homecook dishes, bakes as well as some food reviews. For this Guest Post, I am so happy that Lia is here to share with us one of her Indonesia curry dish known as "Gulai Cancang". Without delay, let's take a look at this delicious dish and it's recipe.

GULAI CANCANG

I am a reader of Cuisine Paradise for quite sometimes now. I always admire Ellena’s cooking and baking skills, showed on her delicious blog. She is one of the passionate foodie bloggers from Singapore. She also prepares bento for her son, perhaps that the reason we knew each other in the blogging world. Last week, she asked me whether I could make a guest post for her blog. I was excited and nervous at the same time. After reviewing some choices about Indonesian foods that I wanted to post, I chose ‘Gulai Cancang’ or Beef Curry from West Sumatra. I believe that some of you from the South East Asia region, especially from Singapore and Malaysia are familiar with Padangnese foods. Indonesia is very rich with its culinary heritage, each region has its different culinary that sometimes I don’t know or never taste it before.

Padangnese foods are one of my favorite because they are so tasty that surely will make you eat more than 1 portion of rice. Gulai Cancang usually uses beef or lamb. But since I don’t eat lamb, I choose beef to cook this curry.

Ingredients:-

1kg Beef Brisket
1.5 Litres – 2 Litres water
400ml Thick Coconut Milk / 150ml Coconut Cream
2 Star Anise
1 Teaspoon White Peppercorn
1 Tablespoon Curry Powder
2 Asam Kandis
2 Stalks Lemongrass, bruised
4 Indonesian Bay Leaves
3 Kaffir Lime Leaves
1 Turmeric Leave, knotted
2 Teaspoon Salt or to taste
3 Tablespoons Cooking Oil

Spices Paste:
75 gr Shallot
40 gr Garlic
40 gr Ginger
40 gr Galangal
120 gr Big Red Chilli

Directions:-

1. Boil the water in a pot and cook the beef brisket until tender. I use electric press cooker to speed up the process.

2. Meanwhile, grind shallot, garlic, ginger, galangal and chilli to fine paste with mortar & pestle or electric blender.

3. When the meat is already tender, remove it from the pot, but leave the beef stock inside the pot.

4. Diced the beef brisket about 2 x 2cm.

5. Heat cooking oil in a large pan.

6. Stir fry the spices paste, star anise, white peppercorn, curry powder, asam kandis, lemongrass, Indonesian bay leave, kaffir lime leave, and turmeric leave until aromatic over medium heat.

7. Add 1.5L beef stock. Add salt.

8. Stir well together for few minutes.

9. Add the diced beef brisket. Add coconut milk / coconut cream, keep stiring.

10. Cook until the liquid become slightly thicken. Serve it warm with rice.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Once again, thanks Lia for this wonderful Guest Post and if you wish to find out more about Lia's  Bento creations/tips or her homecooked dishes. Do head over to her blog at Bentolicious. (p/s: photos and recipe shown here all copyright and credited to Bentolicious)

Read More...

{Guest Post} Fruity Jelly by Anncoo Journal

For the month of October I am so excited to line-up a few wonder Guest Posts from different culinary aspect to share with you people. First let's us welcome Ann from "Anncoo Journal" with her gorgeous "Fruity Jelly" which would come in perfectly as a after meal dessert to delight your family or guests.

I get to know more about Ann's blog through Aspiring Bakers since 2010 where everyone of us get together to share (blog about) what we made through a monthly assigned theme. To me, Ann possess a great passion in both her culinary and photographing skill which reflect through her posts. Example:- just recently, she has created some lovely baked "piglets"(read more HERE) for this Mid-Autumn festival which you would definitely be amazed by her crafty fingers.

Now let's us take a look at her new creation for this guest post.

FRUITY JELLY

I've been a silent reader of Cuisine Paradise by Ellena before I started my own blog and I was thrilled when she approached me to do a dessert guest post on her blog. Thank you very much Ellena for giving me an opportunity to be a guest over at Cuisine Paradise.

Fruits have many benefits to our health and Singaporeans are very fortunate to get to taste various types of fresh fruits imported from all over the world at an affordable price. So today, I'm using blueberry from USA, golden kiwi from New Zealand and strawberry from Australia to make a simple Fruity Jelly with agar agar powder as dessert.

Here is the recipe....

Ingredients (A):

1 packet (13g) Agar agar powder
600ml Water
400ml Fresh milk
170g Sugar
2-3 pcs Pandan leaves, rinse and clean well, tie leaves into knots

Ingredients (B):
1 packet (13g) Agar agar powder
1000ml water 170g Sugar
2-3 pcs Pandan leaves, rinse and clean well,tie leaves into knots
Cut some fresh fruits(blueberries, golden kiwi and strawberries)

Method:-
Ingredients (A) 
1. Boil water, sugar and pandan leaves together for 5 minutes, keep stirring constantly at medium heat.

2.Off heat and pour in fresh milk and continue to stir the liquid for another 2 minutes.

3. Discard pandan leaves and pour liquid into serving glass until half full. Leave to set in fridge for about 10 minutes.

Ingredients (B) 
4. Rinse and set aside the cut fruits. (blueberries, diced golden kiwi and strawberries)

5. Boil water, sugar and pandan leaves together for 5 minutes, keep stirring constantly at medium heat.

6. Off heat and continue to stir the liquid for another 2 minutes. Discard pandan leaves.

7. Place fresh fruits into prepared glasses and pour (B) liquid into it.

8. Chill fruity jelly in fridge for few hours before serve.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks Ann for this wonderful Fruity Jelly post. If you want to read more about Ann's other recipes on making Jelly. You can refer to the link HERE.

Read More...