Japanese Style Eryngii Mushroom Fajita

There are some tortillas left after our last fajitas meal and we wished to have some light lunch. Suddenly a light bulb lit up above my head! Eryingii mushrooms! I want to use this meaty and juicy mushroom to create a fried chicken alike flavour which might work well with the mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce. I used the simplest seasoning and lightly floured the mushrooms and used the least oil to fry it. The tangy okonomiyaki sauce works perfectly well with the mayonnaise, mushroom and tortillas. The seaweed is an extra bonus to the flavour. We love it to the bits and wished to make again when there is a chance!

Ingredients: (makes 3 fajita wraps)

3 Tortillas

3 medium Eryngii mushroom/ king oyster mushroom

1/2tsp salt

some freshly cracked black pepper

1tbsp Plain flour

1tbsp Vegetable oil

1 slice Roasted sushi seaweed (cut into 0.5m x 10mm strips)

Some Japanese Mayonnaise

Some Okonomiyaki sauce

Steps:

1. Wash and slightly trim off the ends of Eryngii musrooms.

2. Slice the mushroom into small chunks about 3cm long x 1cm thick (I cut them into long strips at first but found it hard to bite off so I cut them into smaller pieces at the end).

3. In a bowl, add the mushroom chunks, salt, black pepper and plain flour. Toss and press the mushrooms to make sure they are evenly coated with the seasoning and flour.

4. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat and add vegetable oil, add the floured mushroom chunks. Turn the mushrooms with chopsticks when one side turns golden brown. 

5. Turn to lower medium heat when every side is golden, put the lid on and wait for about 1 minute. This will soften the mushroom and it is fully cooked. Set aside.

6. In another pan over medium low heat, heat a slice of tortilla for 30 seconds and turn to the other side and heat for another 30 seconds. Remove the tortilla from the pan and lay it on a plate. Add some fried mushrooms, squeeze some mayonnaise and okonomiyaki sauce and topped with some sliced seaweed. 

7. Roll the tortilla with the ingredients and fold in the ends, cut the fajita in the middle and ready to serve! Enjoy!

Quick 'BBQ' Pork Fajita

It was a lazy evening and we could not be bothered to go out for dinner so I looked in the fridge to find something I can make for dinner. We were lucky there was a small piece of pork belly in the freezer, some tortillas and red pepper! I came up with this mix and match of the recipes in my head and it turned out really nice. The flavours of the caramelised onion, pan fried pepper and the honey coated pork strips just bond together very well. The honey coated pork strips give a marvellous fragrant and it tasted fairly close to Chinese BBQ pork (char siew)!.The sweet and juicy pan fried red pepper added a twist to the whole thing and we could not really bothered to add any dressing or sauce to it. Very simple, very quick (like 20 minutes from scratch), and taste good. Nevertheless, I would eat this than a greasy takeaway.

Ingredients: (makes 3 fajitas)
150g Pork belly (cut into 3-4 strips)
1 Red pepper (sliced)
1 Onion (sliced)
3 Tortillas/ corn wrap
1tbsp Sake/ cooking wine
1tbsp Light soy sauce
1tsp Honey
1tbsp Vegetable oil

Marinade
1/2 inch Ginger (grated and juiced)
1tsp Light soy sauce
a pinch of salt
a dash of white pepper




Steps:
1. Marinate the pork strips with the ginger juice, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Set aside. Heat a non-stick pan at medium heat, add the cooking oil and stir fry the onion for 1 minute until fragrant.
2,3. Add the red pepper and stir fry together with the onion until the onion becomes caramelised and the pepper is soften (this may take 4-5 minutes). Transfer onto a plate and set aside.
4. In the same pan (do not add any oil) at medium heat, add the pork strips and fry both sides until golden.
5. Pour sake (or wine) from sides, stir the meat until the wine is evaporated and disappeared.
6. Pour the light soy sauce from sides, stir to let the meat coated with soy sauce.
7. Off heat, add the honey over the meat and stir quickly to let the meat coated with the honey. Set aside.

8. Heat a clean non-stick pan at low heat, add a slice of tortilla and count 20 seconds. Flip the tortilla over and heat the other side for 20 seconds (this helps in making the wrapping becomes easier and taste better), remove from heat.
9,10,11. Add some caramelised onion, pepper and a strip (or two) of the 'BBQ' pork in the middle, and wrap it up and your fajita is ready to serve! Alternatively, wrap up both ends and cut it in the middle to make two portions, now you can share it!

Tips:

• At step 5, wait until the wine is all dried up before adding soy sauce to avoid the bitter taste of alcohol.
• The burnt parts of the pork is created in step 6 when the light soy sauce meet the dry hot pan but do not allow too much burnt signs on your pork it will taste bitter and not a healthy option at all.
• Step 7 has to be done fairly quickly and the meat has to be transferred off heat as soon as possible to avoid the heat of the pan burn the honey and create bitterness. 

Vegetarian Peanut Tofu with Shimeji Mushroom (素花生鸿禧菇豆腐）

We all knows that adding more vegetables in your diet is good for your health like the governments had been introducing the 5 a day diet for decades but it is always easier said than done. The main reason behind I could have imagined is the meat eating habit that you have been adopting since you were young. Quit eating meat is definitely one of the hardest thing in the world but no one is asking you to quit. We shall start with reducing meat in our meals and discover the heaven taste of green vegetables, fungus, mushrooms, soy food etc. They do not taste like grass or bird food I promise if you know the right way to bring out their wonderful flavour through cooking. 

This tofu with peanut sauce is inspired by the common minced meat tofu that is famous in every household. The crushed peanuts represent the minced meat and added a thick creamy favour to the gravy. It was an experiment and the ingredients combined with each other wonderfully. The shimeji mushroom just added a hint of natural sweetness and crunchy texture to the dish. The gravy is so rich that you can hardly resist and it is very easy to make. 

Ingredients:

400g Japanese pressed tofu (or any soft white tofu) 

100g Shimeji mushrooms (wash and remove the dried bottoms of the stems. Shower with hot water and drain)

10-15g Raw peanut

1 tbsp All purpose flour

1 tbsp Cooking Oil

200ml Water

1 tbsp Light soy sauce

1 tbsp Mirin (can substitute this with 1/4tsp of sugar)

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

a dash of white pepper 

1 tbsp Corn flour

2tbsp water

some chopped green onions for garnish

1. Heat a frying pan at medium heat. Add the peanuts in and stir frequently until the skins are browned and cracked. 

2. Transfer the roasted peanuts onto a plate and let it cool down for a minute or two. (Freshly roasted peanuts are so hot and could burn your skin!)

3. Remove the skins and transfer the peanuts into a clean plastic bag (or freezer bag).

4,5. Roll a rolling pin (or bottle) over the peanuts in the bag until they are crushed but not powdered.

6. Add the crushed peanuts into a sauce pan and add the 200ml of water. Bring to a boil and let it simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes .

7,8. Unpack the tofu, cut it into half and place it on a plate that is lined with 2 layers of kitchen towel. Set aside for 5 minutes to remove excessive water in the tofu.

9,10. Lightly flour the tofu surfaces and lightly brown the surfaces in a frying pan with the cooking oil over medium heat. Transfer the tofu onto a deep plate.

11. The peanuts should be softened and the sauce is slightly reduced by now. Add soy sauce, mirin, salt and pepper into the sauce. Turn to high heat and bring to a boil. 

12. Add the shimeji mushrooms and bring to a boil again. 

13. Mix the corn flour and 2 tablespoon of water in a bowl and pour the mixture into the sauce from sides. Bring it to a boil, turn off the heat when the gravy reaches the desired thickness. Pour the gravy onto the tofu in the plate. Garnish with some chopped green onions and it is ready to be served.

Happy Trying! ^^

Traditional Red Bean Ice Cream - without egg (Ais Krim Potong) 红豆雪条 - 无蛋版

Ice cream potong is one of the most popular local snacks. Our parents ate them when they were young, they bought us it when we were young, we got them in the school canteen, we buy them for kids, etc. I guess everyone love ice cream potong. They come in many flavours including red bean, sweet corn, chocolate, durian etc. My favourite (influenced by my dad) is of course red bean. We can hardly see ice cream potong at stores now but we would definitely buy some if we see it. I made red bean ice cream the other day using egg yolks (I do not really like that recipe because I do not like to waste the egg whites :() but cannot help myself when I found this recipe which I could imagine the childhood taste of memory straight away. 

I found the ingredients in no time and made it using the very 'Malaysian' recipe but I have modified the ingredients a little. It turned out really nice and soft. The ice cream melts in your mouth and you can feel  the flavour of coconut milk and red bean dancing together. They are sooooo good! 

Ingredients:

140g Caster Sugar

4tbsp Milk powder

200ml Water

2tbsp Corn Flour

30ml Water

200ml Coconut Milk

250g Red bean paste (lightly sweetened)

Steps:

1. In a pot, add sugar, milk powder, 200ml of water and cook over medium heat. Keep stirring until the sugar is dissolved. (Do not boil the mixture.)

2. Add the corn flour and 30ml of water into the pot and stir well to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium heat, stir constantly while boiling. 

3. Red bean paste and coconut milk can now be added into the mixture and whisk to combine everything together. Heat it over medium heat until it boils.

4. Remove from heat and set aside for 10 minutes. Pour the mixture into ice cream moulds and let it cool to room temperature. Send it into the freezer and freeze for at least 8 hours. (I found it they taste better after they are completely frozen after about 24 hours.) Enjoy!

Tips:

• You can use canned red bean paste instead of home made but they are normally heavily sweetened so better taste it before using and reduce the sugar in the recipe accordingly.
• You can substitute the coconut milk with milk if you want to or mix half amount of the coconut milk with milk. They are all fine.

Happy Trying!

Homemade Red Bean Ice Cream - with egg yolks （红豆雪糕 - 蛋黄版）

Red bean ice cream is one of the most popular flavour in Malaysia and daddy used to buy me it from the ice cream man on a bike or from the snacks shop when I was young. Do not think I have seen this in Europe but red bean is surely one of the most popular ingredients for desserts in Asia.

I made some extra red bean paste the other day and found this recipe so decided to give it a try. I have doubled the amount of red bean paste compared to the recipe and it ended up with a very strong red bean flavour. Love it! You can eat it with vanilla ice cream as well which I think will be amazing!

Ingredients:

150ml Milk

3 Egg yolk

50g Castor sugar

500g Red bean paste

200ml Whipping cream

Steps:

1. In a bowl, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until well combined and becomes light and fluffy. Set aside.

2. Simmer the milk in a sauce pan until it is hot but not boiled.

3. Remove the milk from heat and let it cool down a little. Pour the warm milk into the egg yolk mixture little by little while whisking the mixture with a whisk.

4. Pour the mixture into a sauce pan and heat it over low heat. Keep stirring with a spoon until the mixture becomes thicker and remove from heat. (Do not bring to the boil!)

5. Set the mixture aside and let it cool down to room temperature for about 1 hour and refrigerate for about 2hours. (Do not freeze yet!)

6. In a large bowl, add the whipping cream and red bean paste into the egg mixture, whisk to combine everything together.

7. Pour the ice cream mixture into a freezer safe container and cover it with a lid. Send it into the freezer for about 40 minutes. 

8. Get it out of the freezer and stir well using a fork. Even the surface and send it back to the freezer and freeze for 6hours or above. 

Happy Trying!

Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Egg (咸蛋蒸肉饼)

This is a very simple dish but it is more than a common family dish because everyone likes it even kids. I think this is the simplest thing you can teach your kids when they first learn to cook instead of frying an egg because this involved no oil splashing that puts off so many beginners from cooking. Very simple, goes very well with steamed rice or porridge/congee, full of flavour and yes you can hardly find this in the restaurants!

Lets make it at home and if you have just upgraded to become a wife or mum, this is one of the dishes that you must learn up to impress your loved ones. Also if you are in the middle of planning for today's meal this could be one of it. ^^

Ingredients: (serves 2)

100g Minced Pork

2 Eggs

1 Salted egg

1/2tsp Light soy sauce

a pinch of salt

a dash of white pepper

Steps:

1. Wash away the clay that covers the salted egg. Crack the salted egg and separate the yolk and white in separate bowls.

2. In a bowl, add in minced pork, crack the 2 eggs in together with salted egg white, soy sauce, salt and pepper. Stir with a fork until combined.

3. Lightly oil a stainless steel plate, pour the meat mixture into the plate and place the salted egg yolk in the centre.

4. Prepare your steamer and bring the water to the boil. Steam the meat mixture in the steamer at medium high heat for 16-18 minutes. Check with inserting a chopstick or skewer at the thickest part. If the skewer comes out clean and no pink juices come out from the hole, it's cooked. Otherwise steam it for another good 2-3 minutes. Serve hot!

Tips:

• Use a wide plate so that the meat can be cooked evenly
• If you want to make a bigger portion just double the ingredients and steam for 22-25 minutes. Check using the skewer as mentioned in step 4.
• You can use ceramic plate but it takes 2-3 more minutes of steaming.
• You can also make this using a rice cooker. Place it on the steaming tray above your rice cooker when the rice is rinsed and ready to be cooked. Put on the lid, switch the cooker on and it should be ready when the rice is cooked. 

新古毛美食 - 潮记饭店 (Kuala Kubu Bharu Food - Kedai Makanan Teo Kee)

还记得小时候（约十岁以前）的星期天，常常会跟随爸妈到一个叫大树头的小摊吃午饭。那时候小摊就坐落在Jalan Abdul Hamid 一间印度Rojak店的后面，一排木板和白铁屋顶搭成的小店（记得还有传统猪肠粉和杂饭店在左右）约二十年前就被夷平成现在的小型停车场了。

老板是潮州人，每天都精心地准备一大锅的潮州卤，主要有猪肉、梅菜、蛋、豆腐、猪肠等等。我爸爸跟老板很熟，经常一见到老板就大声地叫“美美”！其实到现在我还不知道"美美“在潮州话是什么意思，小时候总觉得爸爸是刻意用女孩子的名字跟老板开玩笑的。之后发现认识老板的人都这么称呼他，就习惯了。因为以前没有招牌，很多人都管他叫大树头，我们则习惯了叫”美美“（偷笑！）。那时候吃午餐还真的是“热辣辣”! 因为地方狭小拥挤，虽然在大树下但很多时候还是会晒着太阳把碗里美味的食物吃完。虽然没有舒适的环境，但是总是吃得津津有味，独一无二的场景至今仍历历在目，怀念非常。

这种独特的传统美味，我们常常都祈祷希望它不要像其他行业般经过岁月的摧残，没有继承人的情况下消失。庆幸的是老板搬迁到现在邮政局对面的时候，还改了名字叫潮记饭店。老板的儿子有不时地帮忙，现在已经可以和老板平起平坐撑起整个厨房了。这店在好几年前上过电视节目，再经过三零八补选媒体们的报道，加上阿贤的到访，名气已经是镇上第一名！以前吃午饭我们都会提早约十二点半去以避开人龙，现在很多外坡人都在周末涌进，我们得十一点之前就到了！不过话说回来，不论多忙，老板都没有把厨房交给外人，用心地焖煮每一道招牌菜。虽然有时要等很久，但是不变的美味是让客人们衷心于它的重要因素。

以下除了咸鱼蒸猪肉外都是我们一家光顾潮记一定要点的小菜。店家还每天准备了冰冷的凉茶让顾客们消暑。 以前在大树头的时候，老板娘都把凉茶装在用过的烈酒瓶（如XO, Hennessey 等等）里，所以现在我们还是会逗趣地在点完菜后跟老板娘或帮忙的大姐要一瓶XO (虽然现在已改用汽水瓶了) ^^ 很多顾客到这里也会点绵密的白粥，大热天气吃白粥好下咽、很舒服。 要吃白粥要趁早，不然会扑了个空哦！其实老板很够味的菜肴配白饭也很棒，我们通常都要白饭。

招牌便菜(Teo Chew Braised Mix with pork, pickled vegetable, eggs and fried bean curd) - 三十年不变的潮州卤肉、梅菜、蛋和豆腐。最近好像都没有卖卤猪肠了。味道不用我多说，单点这一道配白粥或饭都很好吃。只要告诉老板或老板娘几个人吃老板就会计算分量了。如果想说不要蛋、豆腐或肉，别害羞，跟老板交代就好。

招牌豆腐鱼(Signature Fish with Tofu) - 可以说它是一道糖醋鱼但是没那么甜。煎得香香的鱼肉配上豆腐、辣椒、姜和特制酱汁焖煮出来的浓郁味道，加上鱼肉的鲜甜，非常好下饭或粥的一道小菜。几乎每一桌客人都点哦！

焖辣茄子(Spicy Fried Aubergine/Eggplant) - 简单焖得很软的茄子，老板用了少许猪肉片和虾子提鲜，小辣，非常好下饭。如果你跟我一样重口味，可以跟店家要一些马来盏辣椒酱（虾米虾酱熬成的辣椒酱）加少许酱油，一口茄子加少许辣椒酱，不骗你真的让这道菜加分不少。

煎芙蓉蛋(Special Omelette) - 就是一般煎得香香的芙蓉蛋。但是如果你有点焖辣茄子这蛋是一定要点的，因为一匙茄子，一匙芙蓉蛋加少许辣椒酱，他们是绝配！不要相信我，吃一次就知道啦！^^

咸鱼蒸猪肉(Steamed Pork with Salted Fish) - 咸鱼蒸猪肉每个人在做，这里不一样的是，它的酱汁不是一般酱油或料酒制造出来的味道。 每一口肉都有浓浓的咸香味，就连我那吃遍各地咸鱼蒸猪肉的老公都说正点！有点这一道菜的话，准备多添两碗白饭吧！

丝瓜蛋花汤 （点菜时用广东话叫“胜瓜汤”就行了）(Loofah Soup) - 汤底用猪肉、虾子和番茄增加鲜味。喝起来非常清甜暖胃，一定要试一试哦！

其实有很多人只是路经新古毛想到潮记来吃一下。可是有时候晚了些遇到招牌菜卖完了别失望，店家煮了几十年还是有两把刷子的。随便叫个苦瓜焖鸡，福建面也一定不会让你失望的。

店名：潮记饭店（大树头）Kedai Makanan Teo Kee
地址：8, Jalan Merdeka, Kuala Kubu Bharu, Ulu Selangor (Jalan Abdul Hamid 邮政局对面）
GPS: Teo Kee stall (N 03 33 751, E 101 39 516)
营业时间：9.00am - 3.00pm (逢星期二休息）