Food For My Belly

I've never really considered myself much of a baker but nowadays, I enjoy making desserts as much as I love cooking. A while ago, whenever I attempted to bake something, it would always fail miserably but these days, they can be quite successful and taste darn good (even if I say so myself :P). One of the things that I enjoy making on a regular basis besides cupcakes are brownies. Yes, I have a slight obsession with making brownies when I am bored in the kitchen whilst prepping dinner. This chocolate brownie recipe is quick and simple, all you need to do is put all the ingredients into a bowl and mix everything together...it's that easy and it's so delicious! (I have a few friends that can vouch for this) If you like your brownies to be fudgy and gooey, you don't want to miss out on this recipe :)

The very first time I made brownies, it was an absolute success and it tasted so so good. My friend, Yin-Kik and I weren’t even patient enough to let the brownies cool completely before attacking them. Some people prefer pure chocolate brownies with nothing added to them because they believe brownies should be left alone to be just chocolate and nothing else. On the other hand, I have a slight obsession with adding banana to my brownies (it doesn’t help that bananas are so cheap at the moment). The bananas make the brownies smells amazingly fragrant and also, because it’s a fruit, I feel less guilty indulging in them. In the past few months, I have lost count of the number of times that I have made chocolate chip banana brownies and thought I should experiment with other flavours. I tried looking up a recipe that combines matcha, white chocolate and banana but couldn’t find any at all so, I had some fun in the kitchen. With it being my first time making these brownies, it was ...

Ingredients 6 eggs, lightly beaten 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 4 tbsp vegetable oil 1 cup coconut flour 1/2 baking powder 1/2 bi-carb soda Pinch of salt 1/2 – 1 tbsp matcha powder 1 cup coconut milk *a bit more if needed* Oil for brushing/spraying the waffle maker Instructions Mix the eggs, sugars and oil until combine. Then, gradually add the coconut flour followed by the baking powder, bi-carb soda, pinch of salt and matcha powder and mix well. Lastly, add the coconut milk (add more coconut milk if the batter is too thick) and mix until the texture is smooth. Preheat the waffle maker, brush/spray with oil and pour in a healthy scoop of batter into the waffle maker once it's hot enough. Close the lid and wait until the waffle is cooked to your liking, lift the lid carefully and remove the waffle. Repeat step 3 until you've used up all the batter. Toppings *You can use whatever toppings you like. The few times that I made the mat...

It's been nearly 8 months since I last blogged, I can't believe so much time has passed! >_< Yes, I have been a bit slack but this matcha banana bread recipe is going to totally make up for it. In the past month, I have made several versions of The Baker Chick's banana bread  and the general consensus at home was that the matcha version of it is the best one and I absolutely agree. Being me, I couldn't help but deviate from the recipe as usual but it's all good coz there are no complaints at home and my matcha banana bread is always demolished in under 24-48 hours (depending how many batches I make). Keep reading to find out how to make this delicious recipe :)

I call them "Green with Asian Envy" a.k.a Pandan Coconut Cupcakes with a suprise kaya filling topped with pandan cream cheese frosting and toasted shredded coconut. The reason for the name is because these cupcakes are probably the most Asian of cupcakes that I have ever made and eaten. What's there not to love about pandan or kaya (coconut jam)? Combine the both of them together and the flavours bring me back to my childhood days of eating kaya on bread. Most non-Asian kids would have been brought up on nutella or peanut butter on bread but I was brought up on kaya. Below is the recipe for "Green With Asian Envy" which I have adapted from Cupcake Central 's red velvet cupcake recipe. If you have not gotten your hands on their "Hatch That Dream" cookbook, you are missing out! So...what are you waiting for? If you love asian flavours and are a sweet tooth, do give this recipe a go! :)

This has to be one of my favourite go to quick dishes for dinner. It's so simple to make and oh so tasty. In my garden, we have a rosemary bush and a lemon tree and and in the fridge, a container that is always full of diced garlic that is ready to be used. So, here is one of my favourite recipes :)

When it's summer time, the one thing I love to eat and always overdose on is figs. That's because we have a fig tree in our garden and when its a good season, the figs are plentiful. We do not want to waste any of the fruit as it's ridiculously expensive in the groceries stores hence the overdosing on them. By the end of summer, I am already sick of figs but now, I am really looking forward to summer coz I am craving them (hopefully, it will be a good season for it). I love eating fresh figs but thought I could do something more with them. Whilst having a conversation with a colleague from Sydney, she suggested that I try stuffing the figs with goat's cheese, wrap them up in prosciutto and drizzle over them with honey and then, grill it in the oven till the prosciutto starts to sizzle. It is an amazing combination and I got addicted to making them. If you can get your hand on some fresh figs during summer, try making them :) Here is the recipe for it...

Pete and I were invited to a friend's place for dinner. They were cooking the main and I had the choice of picking between entrée and dessert. I chose entrée. As most of you already know by now, I am not a keen baker and my baked good are never quite right so dessert was not really an option for me. I wanted to make something easy which did not require much cooking so I browsed through the coles magazines that I had in my room and found this recipe. INGREDIENTS 200g rice vermicelli noodles 2 small carrots 1 lebanese cucumber 1 red capsicum 500g cooked peeled prawns 1/3 cup basil leaves 1/3 cup mint leaves 1/2 cup coriander leaves 1 cup bean shoots, tails trimmed 1/3 unsalted roasted cashews DRESSING 1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar 1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce 1/4 cup lime juice 1 small red chilli, finely chopped 1 small garlic clove, crushed Place noodles in a large heatproof bowl and cover with boiling water. Stand for 5 mins, then drain into a colander...

Century egg is something that I rarely eat not because I don't like it, it's just that I don't really cook with it. The only time that I have it is in porridge or when I am back in Malaysia eating steamboat by the side of the streets. I was looking through one of my cookbooks and came across this dish and thought I would give it a try since I had century eggs in the fridge. This dish is extremely simple and I must say, it has become one of my favourites. The dish calls for lean pork but I used pork belly instead because it was what I had in the fridge. For those of you who would like to try this recipe at home, here is the recipe...

The boyfriend and I have been watching a lot of Luke Nguyen in the past couple of weeks and after every episode, it made us hungry. It also made me want to cook the dishes he made on his show.  So...two Fridays ago, I made one of his dishes. Surprisingly, it turned out better than I expected, it was very fresh and the green papaya was crisp combined with all the different herbs made it oh so much healthier to eat :) One downside was that we underestimated how spicy my garden chillies were and was suffering for a bit. INGREDIENTS 1 green papaya (180g), peeled & finely julienne 200g cooked pork belly, finely sliced 200g cooked medium tiger prawns, peeled, de-veined and sliced in half lengthways 5 green mint leaves, finely sliced 5 Asian basil leaves, finely sliced 5 perilla leaves, finely sliced 5 coriander leaves, finely sliced 1 tablespoon fried red Asian shallots 1 tablespoon crushed roasted peanuts 1/2 teaspoon fried garlic chips 1 chilli, chopped 3 tables...

One of the many Korean dishes that I thoroughly enjoy :) I have made this dish quite a number of times at home using a Korean cookbook that I have at home. However, this kimchi jjigae is my take on Marc's (norecipe.com) recipe...of course, it comes with a bit of tweaking. I was only suppose to make this dish for myself to satisfy my cravings but mum gave me the excuse of "oh I am only cooking two dishes so make enough to feed the rest". As we have homestay students, I had to make a massive pot of kimchi soup to feed 8 people. Here is Marc's recipe...(this recipe should feed 2-4 people)

Mango is in season! Sticky rice with mango, who would've thought but this is definitely a great combination and it always makes me want to go back for seconds :) I have eaten this dessert many times before but actually making it myself? Never. So here goes my first attempt at doing so and guess what? It was alright. I could definitely do a bit more tweaking to the sticky rice but besides that it was pretty good. Mango with Sticky Rice topped with coconut cream and palm sugar shavings

Definitely running out of ideas of what to cook but here are three of my fail-proof dishes that everyone enjoys :) Question: Is it weird that I like my own cooking? Friday's menu consisted of:- Stir-fried minced chicken with enoki mushroom in oyster sauce Garlic and pepper pork belly Chinese Broccoli topped with garlic and onion oil     The garlic and onion oil is probably the easiest thing to make, all you need is oil garlic onion and the microwave First, pour the oil into a bowl and heat it up in the microwave for 2 minutes. Then add equal amounts of garlic and onion or whichever you like more. Put it back into the microwave and heat it for another 2 minutes. If the garlic and onion has not brown enough to your liking, put it in for another minute at a time till it's brown and crispy to your liking :)

This is one of my favourite dishes to cook; lots of preparation but it's simple, quick, healthy, and tasty...and the best of all, everyone always enjoys it :) It's Vietnamese rice paper rolls!  Since I have home stay students living with me (most of them mainly from China), I always try to make sure they experience things/foods that they don't normally get back in their hometown. And rice paper rolls are always a good way of getting everyone to have a bit of fun in making their rolls :) The bunch that is eagerly waiting to start eating :) The spread; herbs, carrots, cucumber, iceberg lettuce, prawn, beef, and my special homemade dipping sauce :) When we have rice paper rolls for dinner, I stick to the above ingredients as it's simple enough and healthy. Yes, there are a lot of different herbs on either side of the photo but I absolutely love them and they're good for you!  The special sauce that I make consist of mixing shredded pineapple, hoisin sauce...

This is probably one of my favourite dishes to make coz it's simple, quick and tasty. And it's always good on a cold and rainy night :) Soup Noodles with Beef Balls, Fish Cake and Choy Sum The soup:- Bring a pot of water to boil Add chicken bones (sounds evil saying carcass) and Ikan Bilis stock granules The best is to let the soup slowly boil for a while so you get as much flavour as you can from the chicken bones and the ikan bilis stock granules. During this time, you prepare the other ingredients which are:- Fish cake Beef balls Choy Sum (Asian veggie) Chives Noodles (Vermicelli and Flat Rice Noodles) Chilli Wash the beef balls and set aside. Then slice the fish cake into thin pieces and set aside.  Chop up the choy sum, wash and then drain it.  Wash the chives and then chop it up, set aside as this is to be added as a topping for the dish. For the noodles, you can use whatever noodles that you like...my preference is always a mix of vermicelli a...

Adam calls it pearl pudding in his book but I have always known it just as sago with gula melaka (though there is coconut cream involved), its more of a mouthful but it's what I am use to and it is so for a lot of Malaysians out there. Up until now, I haven't shared any of Adam's recipe coz I think everyone should get his cookbook but I will for this one because it's a Malaysian classic and an all time favourite. Mine looks nothing like Adam's as I did not have the moulds but it taste just as good :) Serves: 8 Preparation: 30 minutes Cooking: 50 minutes + 2 hours setting  INGREDIENTS 250g dried sago or tapioca pearls Palm sugar syrup 200g palm sugar, grated or chopped 40g dark brown sugar 3 pandan leaves, roughly chopped 20g ginger, sliced Salted coconut cream 400ml thick coconut cream 1/4 tsp fine salt METHOD Lightly oil eight dariole moulds. Bring 1.25 litres of water to the boil in a large pot and add the sago. Cook over medium-low heat, ...

I was afraid the first time I made this jelly as I have only ever eaten it whenever my mum made it but now, I'm a pro at it. This is probably one of the simplest jellies that you can make, not that I know...this is the only jelly I make :P INGREDIENTS 1 pack of konnyaku jelly power 1250ml of water (you can push it to 1300ml; 300ml of longan juice and 1000ml of water) any type of fruit that you like (I like the combination of golden kiwi, longan (canned), and strawberries) *Note: If you are wondering where to get the konnyaku jelly powder, you should be able to find it at your local asian grocery story. They come in different flavours, I have only tried mango and lychee flavour :) METHOD Place fruits in the jelly moulds. Make sure the fruit bits are not too chunky, if the fruit bits are too big, the jelly won't set as nicely and your fruit pieces will fall out. After the hard part is done, pour 1 packet of konnyaku jelly powder into a pot. Add the 1300ml of liq...

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is not a common item in most kitchens, certainly not mine but I have eaten a fair share of it from the fine foods cafe across from work and also had the chance to cook it recently. I must say, first time cooking an ingredient that is foreign to me has turned out better than expected and absolutely delicious! A bit more info on quinoa; it's an amino acid-rich (protein) seed that has a fluffy, creamy, slightly crunchy texture and a somewhat nutty flavor when cooked. Pea and Mint Quinoa Salad INGREDIENTS 1 cup of quinoa peas goat's cheese fresh mint DRESSING olive oil salt and pepper apple cider vinegar coriander a bit of dijon mustard garlic *Note: I got this recipe online and it had no measurements at all except the 1 cup of quinoa so put in as much or as little depending on feel :) METHOD Cook the quinoa according to the instructions on the packet. Drain well after cooking for a few minutes. Cover...

I must say that when Mr A and I cooked this dish, I was really looking forward to cracking my poached egg onto the risotto...I mean, who doesn't like runny yolk on their food? Yummy! smoked salmon risotto with poached eggs INGREDIENTS 2 tbsp (40ml) white-wine vinegar 4 eggs 300ml milk 1 bay leaf 250 smoked salmon (you can use trout or cod) 50g unsalted butter 1 tbsp (20ml) olive oil 1 large leek, white part only, washed, thinly sliced 2 garlic cloves, crushed 250g arborio rice 150ml white wine 350ml fish or vegetable stock 1 cup (120g) frozen peas cracked black pepper 2 tbsp chopped chives, to garnish Bring a shallow pan of water to the boil, add the vinegar, then turn the heat down to medium-low. Break the eggs into the simmering water and poach for 5 minutes, until the white is cooked through but the yolk is still soft. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside on a plate. (I recommend doing this last so your egg will still be warm and real runny) Put the...

I am sure a lot of you would've eaten beef tartar before but maybe not like this....this one has caviar :) Beef Tartar Peter the Great Yes, it does have an interesting name to it but it taste as good as it sounds. I stumbled across this recipe when I was flipping through a book I bought at Camberwell Market for $3. The book is called Meal for Males, A Guide to Hearty Food and Drink by John J. Poister. The only reason I attempted this dish was because I still had some leftover home-made trout caviar and I thought, why not :) Here is the recipe, hope you enjoy it as much as I did...