Easy Peasy Potato Salad

I'm back!

So here's a really simple recipe, inspired by a good friend.

Easy Peasy Potato Salad

What you need:

1 can of whole mushrooms
Light sour cream
A couple of russet potatoes

What to do:

1. Clean potatoes and chop them into cubes, leaving the skin on.

2. Sprinkle some salt on the potatoes, mix them up and chuck them into a steamer. Steam for 10-15 minutes or until just cooked.

3. Once cooked, leave potatoes to cool. Put into fridge.

4. Open the can of mushrooms and slice them thinly. Take potatoes out and mix mushrooms in.

5. Add 2-3 tablespoons of light sour cream. Add some salt and pepper to the mixture and mix well. Return salad to fridge until it is ready to be served.

Tadah!

Beer battered onion rings

After three months of traveling and fieldwork, it feels good to be able to be at home long enough to cook - and my first creation for the year is a sinful beer-battered onion rings. Remarkably easy to make with simple ingredients - and of course, you can beer-batter just about anything else: shrimp, fish, cheese...

Beer-battered onion rings
2 large onions, cut into rings 1-2 cm in diameter
1 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1 bottle beer, chilled.
Oil for frying

1. Set aside 1/4 cup of flour and dredge onion rings in flour
2. Mix salt with remaining 3/4 cup of flour and slowly pour in beer to make a batter.
3. Heat oil for frying. Shake off excess flour and dip onions in batter. Cook for one minute in medium-high (200) and the in medium (160) for another minute. Drain and serve immediately.
4. Remember, a colder batter will make for a crisper crust so stuff the mixing bowl in the fridge if you have to.

The Really Simple Coleslaw

I must admit: when it comes to culinary vegetation, I'm not particularly imaginative. Steamed broccoli tossed in oyster sauce goes with rice, scalded choy sum goes with noodles, and raw green salad goes with everything else. So today, I decided to try something different: coleslaw - and we're not talking about the mass-produced shite from kay-eff-see. This recipe uses only cabbage and onion and you can add sliced carrots as well (I was too lazy, hence the omission) during the salting.

(sorry, no picture this time - too lazy to take one)

The really simple coleslaw
1/4 head of cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup white vinegar
6 tbsp sugar
Pepper
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp salt

1. Using your hands, rub salt into the cabbage and onions. Mix well, and then drain in a colander using a weight. Squeeze dry for at least 45 min.

2. In a saucepan, heat vinegar over low heat and dissolve sugar. Once all the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and whisk in pepper and oil. set aside to cool.

3. Discard drained liquid from vegetables. Wash free from salt and squeeze dry again.

4. Place vegetables in a non-reactive container and pour vinegar solution over. Leave in fridge for at 6 hours, stirring every two hours.

5. After that, drain excess liquid and enjoy! Makes about 4-5 servings.

Cost Breakdown
Total Cost: RM3.35++
Cost per serving: RM0.70++
Cabbage RM2
Onion RM0.35
Vinegar RM1 (RM5 for the whole bottle)

Tags: Coleslaw

Refreshing Tuna

Why do I call this the Refreshing Tuna? Because unlike normal tuna sandwich fillings, this one doesn't use any mayo or creamy base but a citrus juice instead. It's a super easy recipe, and the result is a light sandwich filling that brings out the natural flavour of the fish. It also has the added advantage of being low-fat. =D


Refreshing Tuna (sandwich filling)
1 can of tuna in mineral water
1 tsp fresh crushed black pepper
Juice of half a lime
Dash of tabasco sauce (optional)

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl and fluff with a fork. (See? I told you it was super easy.)

Tags: tuna sandwich filling budget recipe

Quick Rosti

Ah, the ubiquitous potato. What's one to do when one needs the carbs but is bored with rice? The trusty potato comes to the rescue. I was wondering what kind of carb to pack for my lunch meals this week, and instead of going for the mash, I decided to whip up a quick* rosti instead.

* err, that's quick if you have a large grater. And I only spent 20 min preparing the whole dish, so that's pretty quick - I have a policy of not spending more than half an hour preparing my pack meals every night.

Quick Rosti

2 large potatoes, grated in long strips
1/2 inch knob of butter
1 tbsp plain flour
Pepper
1/2 tsp Tumeric
1/2 tsp chili powder

1. In a shallow pan, melt butter and reserve half for later.
2. Mixed grated potatoes with flour and spices.
3. Heat pan with melted butter on medium-low heat. When the butter bubbles, lay potato mixture on pan, spread and flatten.
4. After two or three minutes, use a metal spatula to scrape the bottom of the potato pancake to separate it from the pan. Fry until crispy. (Or smells a little burnt. heh.)
5. Pour the remaining butter on the uncooked side of the rosti. Flip over and fry until crispy.


Note: Two large potatoes for me work nicely with my 12" pan. You might want to experiment the amount of potatoes with your pan. Also, tumeric isn't part of the traditional rosti recipe, but I added it in the keep the pancake a nice yellow colour.

Tags: potato rosti budget recipe

Sweet & Spicy Meat Balls

This is my housemate, Kevin's recipe. I usually never like meatballs but these are the only ones I'll touch.

Sweet & Spicy Meat Balls

500g beef sausage mince
Sultanas
Fresh Parsley
Chilli flakes

1. Empty the beef sausage mince in a large bowl.

2. Throw in a generous handful of sultanas, some fresh parsley and chilli flakes into the beef sausage mince (there are no exact measurements for this recipe: If you like sultanas, be generous; if you love chilli, go wild. Just estimate.).

3. This is the fun part: Start mixing everything up with your hands. Hands are the way to go. It's the best way to make sure everything's mixed in.

4. Create some rough-looking balls (no need for perfect rounds). Not too big, about half the size of a tablespoon. 500g of beef sausage mince should give you about 20 balls.

5. Heat a generous amount of oil in a frying pan.

6. Fry up meatballs until the inside is cooked. Set aside on paper towels.

7. Voila!

This is a perfect snack because you can keep it for a few days and you don't need to heat it up before eating.

Big yum. Seriously addictive.

* Courtesy from Kevin *


Tags: meatballs sweet spicy budget recipe

Dim Sum Style Chee Chong Fun!

recipe from Imperial Kitchen Forum

Ingredients :
150g Rice Flour
1 ½ Tbsp Wheat starch flour
2 Tbsp Corn flour
1 Tbsp Oil
2 cups Water
½ tsp Salt

Method :
1. Sift the 3 types of flours together.
2. Slowly add the water, mixing as you add.
3. Add the oil and salt and mix thoroughly. Set batter aside for at least an hour.
4. Prepare your steamer. Grease a swiss roll pan or any aluminium tray with oil
and pour the batter directly on the pan and steam for 5 mins.
5. After steaming, using a plastic scrapper roll the ccf up. If you are using
ingredients like char siew or prawns, you can sprinkle it over the steamed ccf
and then proceed to roll it up.
6. Place in a plate brushed with a little oil. Continue with the rest of the
batter.


Sauce:
Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
2 tbsp sugar
a few slices of ginger
½ cup water
4 tbsp mushroom flavoured soy sauce or normal light soy sauce
½ to 1 tbsp dark soy sauce

method:

1. Place ginger with oil and sugar in a pot. Cook over small fire until sugar
turns brown.
2. When sugar is brown, add in the rest of the ingredients. Cook over medium
fire for about 5 mins. Taste the sauce and adjust taste accordingly. If you
find the sauce too sweet, you can add in a bit of salt.

Modifications: I added sliced chinese shitake mushrooms in the sauce too. (To prep: Soak in hot water with 1 tsp of sugar for 20 mins). For filling, we added crabsticks, the mushrooms, spring onions.

Comments: HEAVEN!!!! It's really the thin and soft type ccf...very yummy!!! Quite time consuming though....Qin and I took nearly 1 hour 15 mins to make 6 rolls....eat and make, eat and make...so by the end of it, we were both very full cos the meal took so long!!! hahaa...

Tags: chee chong fun stuffed rice noodles dim sum budget recipe

Chap Goh Meh away from home..

The Chinese New Year celebration commonly goes on for 15 whole days. The 15th day is known as "Chap Goh Meh" which means in English: The 15th day of the first month.

I had to return to Sydney as classes began half way through the new year celebration. A bunch of us homesick Malaysians decided to have a pot-luck "chap goh meh" get-together for lunch last Sunday. Owen was real nice to volunteer his living room for the day. It was a small group of about 15...but it felt nice to be around friends.Prior to Sunday; I heard that there would be lots of "chicken" that afternoon. I decided fried prawns and a beef dish would be a safe idea. Pinky made her famous fish curry too!
Cooking wasn't too much of a hassle, although I must admit; it was my first go at making stir-fried beef with black bean sauce.
Our Chinese New Year buffet spread turned out a little more 'culturally diversed' than what we had expected! *laughs* We had a range of Japanese, Korean, Western, Indian, Malay cuisine on the table. Apparently; I was the only person cooking anything 'fairly' Chinese! *sigh*I guessed it didn't matter...we had more than just Chinese people with us to celebrate and the food turned out real good~
Here's the recipe for the prawns if anyone's interested.

Frozen/fresh prawns shelled (tail left on)
Marinade: chili flakes, lemon juice, chopped coriander leaves, salt to taste
Fresh egg noodles (available at asian grocery stores)

Marinade prawns for at least 20-30 minutes. Gently shake and pat dry gently before wrapping in strands of egg noodles.
Deep fry in hot canola/peanut oil in small batches. Scoop out when prawn tails turn pink and noodle is crisp and golden. Drain excess oil on a kitchen towelette and serve immediately with sweet chili dressing.

Try serving them right away. I had a couple piping hot and crisp before we made our way to Owen's place; and they were YUM!!! After having been left exposed for more than 30 minutes; the noodles turned a tiny bit soft, but they still turned out tasting alright I guess.

On the 15th day of the lunar calendar; the moon is said to be at its fullest.
A couple of lunatics took a walk to the beach to check it out. *grin* Being in the cold that night was probably what made me sick. *SnEEzE!!* *sniffle sniffle* *Sigh*

Tags: deep fried prawns noodles budget recipe

Japanese Chilled Udon

Hello everyone from the long breakkkk...

In the event of a 30-degree-day in Melbourne, I made myself a delicious Japanese-style dish which is super easy and cheap to make. (You can find more background story of why-so here.)

Serves one!

Ingredients:

1. 1 Pack of Udon
2. 1/2 cup of diluted Tempura sauce/Japanese chilled noodle sauce (Can be purchased at Asian Groceries, please dilute as instructed on the package. Tip: if what you are using is tempura sauce, add a little bit more water then instructed - e.g. if it is the ratio is 1:3, try 1:3.5 or 1:4 instead.)
3. Nori, thinly chopped (optional)
4. Wasabi (optional)
   

Steps:

1. Cook the Udon in water - as instructed in the package, but you can leave out all the seasonings if it is advised on the package.
2. While you are waiting for the udon to be cooked, dilute the tempura/chilled noodle sauce as instructed and then pop it into the freezer for cooling.
   
3. Drain the udon's cooking water, splash and soak it with cold water until it's cold like water temperature.
4. Put the udon into the freezer for several minute to speed up the cooling process.
5. Five minutes later, serve the udon and sauce in separated bowl/dish.
6. Dip the udon into the sauce when eating it.

Ta-da!

Tags: japanese chilled udon budget recipe

Hush Puppies

Monthly food magazines often spark creative ideas in my kitchen. They bring to my attention what's fresh, in season, matching herbs/ingredients and educates this little amateur cook about storage, food handling tips and a wide range of various food cultures. This month, the GoodTaste magazine introduced Creole cuisine. I was thrilled!! "Creole" was a new term for me..but as I flipped through the pages I recognized it's native dishes such as the Jambalaya, Cos Chef salad and crab cakes! I've had them before...just never knew where they came from!
A strange learning habit I have is to "Google-it" whenever I craved more information...
I google everything..... i mean...EVERYTHING! LOL
Wikipedia is probably one of my favourites too.
Here are snippets of what they had to say about Creole culture, background, cuisine and its origins.

The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings. Those terms are almost always used in the general area of present or former European colonies in other continents, and originally referred to locally-born people with European ancestry. However, this original meaning has often changed over the last five centuries, and in many cases the term has come to designate some distinct local ethnic group — often, but not always, of mixed European and native ancestry.

In Spanish-speaking Latin America, the word criollo (cognate and closest equivalent of English Creole) generally refers to people of unmixed European (typically Spanish) descent born in the New World. According to the Spanish caste system, people with European and indigenous origin who possessed 1/8th or less of Amerindian ancestry, were also considered criollos (unlike people with mainly European and some black African ancestry, who were deemed to be mulatto or mixed-raced regardless of their percentage of white ancestry). In any case, the expression Spanish American criollo is only applicable to people born in the New World. Throughout the colonial period, a caste system was effectively in force, where the local-born criollos ranked strictly lower than governing peninsulares ("born in the Iberian Peninsula"), despite both being of European ancestry. By the 19th century, this discrimination eventually led the criollo to rebel against the Spanish rule. With the support of the even lower classes — castizos, mestizos, cholos, mulattos, amerindians, zambos, and ultimately blacks — they engaged Spain in the Mexican War of Independence (1810–1821) and the South American Wars of Independence (1810–1826), which ended with the break-up of former Spanish Empire in America into a number of independent republics.

The word Creole may refer to

• a person of Spanish (or French or Portuguese) ancestry but born in one of the Spanish (or French) colonies, as opposed to a Spaniard (or Frenchman or Portuguese) born in Spain (or France or Portugal)any of the Creole peoples,
• a number of distinct ethnic groups in various countriesa creole language
• casual reference to mean "pertaining to New Orleans" or aspects of its culture

What I love about Creole cuisine is its fusion of tantalizing flavours from French, Spanish and African influences. It reminds me of food-from-home (Malaysia) where it's a jumbled combination of Malay, Chinese and Indian flavours. The cultures, food preparation techniques and eating etiquettes are so different, but yet the different flavours have been carefully and creatively harmonized to create a separate cuisine type of its own. According to the magazine, Creole food originated from New Orleans. A huge pat on the back for the creative geniuses whove finally came up with something made from Polenta that I LOVE! ....seriously...like WOW... Those who have been following my torturous attempts of learning to enjoy polenta through the many months will probably understand. TRY THIS RECIPE! ....I'm not kidding.....I was blown away.... *wink*

HUSH PUPPIES

2/3 cup fine grain polenta
1/3 cup plain flour
1 tbs cornflour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 green shallots finely chopped
1 tbsp dried chilli flakes
1 egg
1/3 cup buttermilk
Vegetable oil to deep fry.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Add egg, milk and beat lightly with a balloon whisk to combine. Heat oil in a deep saucepan on medium heat. Dash in 2-3 grains of salt to check for a fizzle when the oil is hot enough. Reduce your stove flames a little and carefully drop spoonfuls of batter into the oil 3-4 at a time (Don't overcrowd your pan). Flip them gently in the oil till theyre golden and crisp. Should take less than 5 minutes each turn. Soak excess oil on a paper towel. Serve piping hot!

....and if you're eating with Malaysian students...drench the pile in maggi chilli sauce *MMmMmmmmm* HAha! ... this household is hopelessly Malaysian to the core. *blush*

Tags: polenta puffs budget recipe

Zucchini Slice

I finally got this recipe right!

Ingredients

Olive Oil
2 Zucchinis
150g Mozarella Cheese
1 Onion
300g Streaky Bacon
3 Eggs
2 Large Tomatoes
1 cup (150g) Self Raising Flour

What to do

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.

2. Get hold a large and fairly deep baking dish. Brush the sides and base with olive oil.

3. Grate the zucchini and mozarella. Place in a large bowl.

4. Chop the onion and bacon as finely as possible. Place both in the bowl with the zucchini and mozarella.

5. Add the flour to the bowl.

6. Whisk the eggs then add to the bowl. Add the eggs to the mixture then season with salt and pepper. Go easy on the salt because the bacon already makes it quite salty.

7. Mix everything together. It's a bit of a pain at this point in time because of the flour but don't give up. If you get a bit pissy (i.e. me), use your hands. It always works. Your mixture should look like this:


8. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish.

9. Chop up the tomatoes then lay the sliced tomatoes on top of the mixture. Drizzle some olive oil over the top.

10. Place the mixture in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until the top is evenly brown.

Top Tips:

Never, NEVER compromise on the bacon. Streaky bacon (bacon with streaks of fat) is the way to go because it will make your zucchini slice really tasty. But if you're still waist-conscious, just put in 150g of streaky bacon.

Enjoy and don't share with your friends if you love it too much.





Tags: zucchini slice budget recipe

Spicy Tuna Rice Paper rolls

I was in a hurry to dash out for a couple of errands this afternoon and didn't have much time to map out lunch for us at home. I opted for a 'no-cook' meal of quick healthy rice paper roll ups for my 'babies' before running off. I call them my babies because I love them to PIECES and I'm the self-proclaimed 'mommy' of the house.*laughs* Rice paper rolls are so quick to make; and they didn't take me much effort at all....*sigh* an ingenious culinary discovery by the Vietnamese!
I dug around the pantry and refrigerator for loose bits of vegetables and came up with a delicious "tuna-combo" which had our taste buds tingling with satisfaction.

Makes 8:

8-9 Rice paper sheets
2 cans of spicy tuna
1/4 iceberg lettuce leaves shredded
1/2 cucumber sliced into thin strips
1 carrot grated
1 red chilly sliced
2 stalks fresh mint leaves (roughly diced)
fried crispy shallots ( available at asian supermarkets)
Sauce: 1 tbsp sweet chili sauce+2 tbsp light soy sauce+ 1 tsp fish sauce + 1/2 red chilly sliced+ 1 inch cube ginger sliced thinly+ 1 garlic clove crushed and roughly chopped+ 1 tsp sugar

Stir sauce ingredients in a small container till well incorporated and set aside.
Soak 1 sheet of paper in a shallow bowl filled with water for approximately 30 seconds. Gently remove and lay on a flat work space. Arrange filling ingredients in the center horizontally, sprinkle mint leaves+ fried shallots and fold the left and right corners in by 1-2 inches. Gently roll up the rice paper roll into a long cyclindrical shape. Repeat with the rest of the rolls. Serve with spicy chilly+ ginger sauce!
The rolls may turn out a little messy in the beginning but keep in mind that practice makes perfect. Try not to soak the paper for too long or it may tear too easily. Throw out the torn ones...start over with a new sheet...unless you want to end up with rice paper rolls leaking like a worn-out faucet.

Tags: tuna rice paper rolls budget recipe

pommes de terre mousseline

that's just french for creamy mashed potatoes . recently , i've been browsing in borders trying to diversify my cooking . i peeked into a delicate blue book that provided this simple recipe to start off my re-appearance here . i know it's a common dish...but i dare guarantee that this is the richest one i've ever tasted :

what you need ar ?

1 kg potatoes (er...ya...i made this in bulk...adjust accordingly hor)
200 g unsalted butter
300 ml whipped cream
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

fresh green herbs ( e.g. parsley , chives )

how liao ?

boil the potatoes until soft . cool sufficiently . the skin should peel off easily by now . mash the potatoes and set them aside ( i realise everyone has their own ways of mashing...from efforting a spoon to classy kitchen utensils...so i leave it up to you lar hor )

heat the butter in a pot / pan (depending on how much you're making lor) and chuck in the mashed potatoes . mix thoroughly .

fold in the whipped cream .

finish off with the ground nutmeg , salt and pepper (optional) and garnish with freshly chopped chives and a hint of parsley .



voila...pommes de terre mousseline.

Tags: mashed potatoes budget recipe

Checking up on our waistlines ;)

As vanity takes it's course, us 3 Malaysian girls are feasting-"healthy" in preparation for the expensive,stylish and extravagant annual Malaysian ADnD event (Annual dinner and dance). I'm not usually present at such ball/prom-ish occasions; and I blame pure laziness. I hate fussing over getting dressed up fancy, etc. I love having a "dress-up" session with my girlfriends for a fun night out in town but my wardrobe isn't exactly "dainty, formal and elegant" -friendly. This year, the ADnD will be organized by a couple of very special friends of mine..and I couldn't possibly miss the chance to cheer my very pretty ex-housemate "Jia" dancing on stage! *gets excited*
The dinner is this friday.. and considering how I only have 1-2 "formal"-ish outfits...I'll have to make sure I squeeze in cozy and snug *wink*
hehe...
Cheers to delicious oil-free stir fried vege's!
For those who are sick and tired of soy sauce or stereotypical Chinese flavored stirfried dishes. Try this combo.Its fairly unorthodox, but lemon juice, lemon grass, chilies, fish tofu and greens are a lipsmacking medley. I used green beans, watercress stalks, carrots and lettuce in this sweet and sour stir-fry combo.

1 tbsp thick chilli sauce
1/2 tsp lemon juice (freshly squeezed)
1 tsp brown sugar
1 inch lemon grass stalk sliced
1 red chilli sliced
salt and pepper to taste

"Fish tofu?!" you say...
Another one of those great diet-days freezer-friendly items! They are golden cube nuggets of fish paste mixed with soy bean (tofu). Healthy and a perfect substitute for fat laden mince meat. They can be grilled, steamed, pan fried...skewered....ample options for what to cook them with!

Where to get a bag?: Most Asian marts, frozen aisle

Tags: fish tofu budget recipe

yakitori

And now, the first recipe using the white meatballs! Yakitori is a Japanese kebab, a kind of informal snack that one goes to enjoy after a long day's work. You can also use other types of meat, although I'm quite partial to the chicken meatball version you see here. And yes, ideally a *real* yakitori should be skewered and cooked over hot coals, but we're on a budget, yes?

Yakitori
White meatballs
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp dark soy
4 tbsp light soy
6 tbsp mirin, or chinese rice wine

1. Create the sauce dip by mixing everything (except the meatballs) together and heat in a pan until sugar is melted. Pour into a bowl.

2. Using a little oil, brown desired amount of meatballs.

3. Once browned, dip each meatball into sauce dip and continue frying. Take care to keep the meatballs rolling because the sauce browns easily. Repeat the process as many times as you like.

Oh well, if you really want the atmosphere, you can skewer them and serve...

Tags: chicken pork yakitori Japanese meatball skewers budget recipe

White meatballs

Ok, before you think this post is something vulgar - it's meatballs made with white meat. As in chicken and pork. (Shame on you and you should go wash your brain with soap!) Now that we've got that out of the way...



This is what I'd like to call a Base recipe - it forms the base of other recipes that i'll whip up for my packed lunches throughout the week (more on that later). Of course, the meatballs are good enough to eat by themselves! I've based it a little on Swedish meatballs, and of course, the choice of spices here are purely optional. I just raided whatever I had in my spice rack at the time (tarragon and chilli powder) and you can opt to put in what you like.

White meatballs
500 gm minced chicken
250 gm minced pork
1 cup breadcrumbs
milk
Spices - 1 tbsp black pepper, 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tbsp tarragon

1. First, the breadcrumb mix. Put 1 cup of breadcrumbs into a bowl and pour just enough milk to soak the mix. At this point, add in your spices. The breadcrumbs serve as a binding agent to keep the shape together.

2. The basic proportion for chicken to pork to breadcrumbs is 2:1:1. If you'd lke to use only one type of meat (like say, for Muslim readers who cannot eat pork) then the proportion of meat to breadcrumbs is 3:1.

3. Form into meatballs and cook in boiling water. When fully cooked, the meatballs should turn white and float to the surface of the water. Because milk is an ingredient in the binding mix, you should cook all the meatballs and not leave them for later. Store in fridge or freezer until required.

Tune in later in the week to see what I have in mind for the meatballs!

Tags: chicken pork meatball skewersbudget recipe

Veggie Dumplings

I like dumplings, the Chinese kind (guo tie), a la Shanghai dumplings when I was in Melbourne. Of course, they're oily as hell, but it's one of those party foods that a few friends could get together and share while having their meals on their own.

I was planning my packed lunches for the week when I thought about making Shanghai dumplings as part of my menu. I didn't feel like having any meat, so I made it a full vegetarian dish. Be warned though, this isn't the kind of dish that you can whip up in half and hour - you've gotta make the dough, then make the dumplings and cook them how you want it. If you want it as straight dumplings, just boil and enjoy. If you want the guo tie/potsticker style, then add a further step of pan frying after boiling. In both cases, enjoy with black vinegar and ginger.

Veggie Dumplings

The dough:
200 gm plain flour
Pinch of salt
1 tbsp oil
Warm water

The filling:
1 package frozen spinach
Equal amount of chives
1 tbsp light soy
1 tbsp chinese wine



1. Make the dough! Add small amounts of warm water to form a dough. It's as easy as that. And yes, that means you've got to get your hands dirty. We're aiming for a consistency that is not too hard to mould and too soft that it breaks apart easily. After a good amount of kneading, cover with a damp cloth and leave for a few hours in the fridge.

2. For the filling mixture, drain and squeeze dry the spinach and chop it coarsely. Add chopped chives and season with soy sauce and chinese wine.

3. The magic number to this dish's serving size is 16. So split the dough in two parts, and then split each part in two, and then split in two again. With each serve, roll out on a floured surface and make a flattened disc. Seal the edges and pinch the sides to secure it.

4. Cook the dumplings in boiling water until skin is translucent. If you want it potsticker style, pan fry the dumplings until skin is golden brown. Enjoy!

Tags: spinach chives chinese dumplings potstickers gyozabudget recipe

thai-style sausages and hash

Yup, folks, this is a make-it-yourself sausage recipe. Actually, I was rather surprised how easy it was to make your own sausages. Skinless, of course - I couldn't be arsed to get intestines to stuff sausages in anyway, and the sausage mix is good enough to make meatballs or meatloaf. I was toying around with the idea of sausages because well, i felt like it. Sausages get a bad name because sometimes they're made up of all the crud that one doesn't normally eat. But if you can control the composition of the sausage meat, then you've got one truly satisfying sausage. This Thai-style sausage was made with ingredients I had lying around in the spice racks and in the pantry. I call it thai-style primarily because of the lemongrass and the fresh chillis that I used to spice up the mix. Believe me, the end result isn't even remotely spicy.

Thai-style sausages

2 big red chilli
1 stalk of lemongrass, cleaned and sliced finely
2 cloves of garlic
2 tbsp of onion powder
1 tsp of garlic powder
Olive oil
1/2 kg minced pork
1 cup of breadcrumbs (I used Japanese breadcrumbs, but only because they're the only ones i have in the pantry right now)


1. Blend everything except the minced pork and the breadcrumbs until it becomes a fine paste. Use olive oil to help with achieve paste-y consistency and make sure the lemongrass is chopped finely or you'll end up with strands.
2. In a mixing bowl, mix the the spice paste, pork and breadcrumbs together. Best to mix with wet hands so that it doesn't stick. Once mixed through and through, cover with cling wrap and leave in the fridge for an hour or so.
3. Shape sausage mix into, well, sausages. Or meatballs. or patties. Pan fry on each side until golden brown. Makes many many sausages. About 15 - 30 sausages, depending on the size you want them to be.


Hash

To go with the sausages (it was lunch time), I decided to make a quick and easy hash using thre two basic ingredients, potatoes and onions. Everything else was improvised and you can stir in your choice of spices.


1 large potato, cut in 1-cm cubes
1 onion, chopping in 1-cm pieces
1 clove garlic, mashed
Salt
Oil or butter for frying
Olive oil
Spices: I used oregano, chilli powder and black pepper

1. Heat a little oil or butter on low heat and toss in potatoes and onions. Sprinkle with salt. When onion becomes translucent, toss in garlic and continue cooking.
2. Cook for 20 min, stirring occasionally. When whole mix is soft, turn off heat, sprinkle with spices and let cook without direct heat.
3. Drizzle with olive oil, stir and serve. Generally 1 potato and onion per person.

Tags: Thai lemongrass pork sausages homemade hash budget recipe

happiness is...

a hot serve of chili dogs, especially after your friend tuahs you for dinner.

For the longest time, like, since I was a kid, I was always facinated by the Americanese version of chili. For starters, they weren't chillis. As in the hot pepper,but more like a thick beef stew that used to garnish the tops of hot dogs. I loved them the moment I saw them on TV. I loved them even more when I first ate them as A&W's coney dog. Then only recently I discovered how easy it was to make it... and the rest is history. The best part is, it's really made up of the simplest of ingredients!

Noel's Chili

One small onion, chopped finely
Two red chillis, seeded and chopped*
Two tomatoes, chopped*
200 - 300 gm of minced beef
1 tbsp butter
5 tsp cumin
2 tsp chilli powder
1 cup beef stock

1. On medium heat, fry onions in butter. When softened, add beef.
2. Once beef is browned all over, add red chillis, cumin and chilli powder. Mix well, unti fragrant.
3. Add chopped tomatoes, including liquids, and stir in beef stock. Bring to a boil and let simmer until desired thickness.
4. Eat with hot dogs! or nachos and guacamole!

* For better consistency, try running the red chillis and tomatoes through a blender. Just an idea. Haven't tried it out myself.

Tags: beef chili con carne budget recipe

leftover pockets

So after having graduated, i'm technically not a student anymore. But i'm still on a budget! Particularly since i haven't found a job yet which means i'm officially "unemployed".

No one's put up anything festive over the holidays, so i decided to do mine. It's kind of a budget recipe, since it's made with leftovers. Except for puff pastry. That's not the kind of thing you expect to have lying around in the fridge.

Leftover pockets

A handful of spinach, sliced
An equal amount of shredded cheese
1 tbsp olive oil
Pepper to taste

Leftover chicken/turkey/meat/uncooked white fish
Puff pastry sheet

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees celsius, fan forced.

2. Mix the first four ingredients together in a bowl. Place mixture on the centre of a puff pastry sheet.

3. Lay meat over spinach mixture, wrap up in a neat package

4. Lay on greased baking sheet and tray and bake for 25 minutes

Tags: leftovers puff pastry budget recipe