Stir Fry Cloud Ear Fungus with Egg

This dish is something quite similar to Esther's Wood Ear Fungus Omelette, which I had bookmarked to try.   Since I have lots of cloud ear fungus [bok nee], I used it to replace wood ear fungus.  After a much high cholesterol diet while on holiday, I hope this dish can help to cut down my cholesterol level, hehehe!.  Black fungus helps to lower blood cholesterol.

Verdict - easy, simple yet fragrant and tasty dish for a meal with rice.  The black fungus is not as crunchy as wood ear fungus.

Ingredients

A handful of cloud ear fungus - soaked and cut shreds
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1 large egg or 2 medium size eggs
1 tbsp cooking oil
1 tsp sesame oil
pepper, salt and msg to taste
Dash of soy sauce
1 red chilli - cut shreds

1. Combine beaten egg with sesame oil, salt, msg and pepper with some water.
2. Heat oil in wok, fry chopped ginger and garlic until fragrant.
3. Add in black fungus, stir fry for a minute,  pour in the egg mixture, let it cook for several seconds, then stir well to combine the ingredients.
4. Add in red chilli, stir fry to mix well.
5. Dish up to serve with rice.
   
    
    
    
    
    

Alex Goh's Celery Bread

 

I was attracted to Joyce's [Kitchen Flavours] post on this bread.   Since I have in hand some leftover celery and ham, seem to be a good way to clear them off before I clean my fridge.  Getting ready for a 9 day vegetarian diet which begins from 24 September.

Verdict - fragrant bread loaves that does not need any spread and go well with a cup of hot beverage.

Recipe Source - Alex Goh's Recipe from 'Magic Bread' adapted from [Kitchen Flavours] - slight modification to method.
Ingredients
[makes 2 loaf tins]

For the gelatinized dough
100 gm bread flour
70 gm boiling water

• To prepare the gelatinized dough, pour boiling water onto the flour, mix into a dough.  Cover and set aside to cool, then refrigerate for 12 hours [I only leave the dough for about 1 hour].
  

Ingredients for bread dough

325 gm bread flour

75 gm plain flour

15 gm milk powder [I used 1 tbsp]

50 gm sugar

8 gm salt [I used 1 tsp]

8 gm instant yeast [I used 2 1/2 tsp]

130 gm celery + 60 ml water - blend till fine

90 gm cold water [may need less, add gradually]

30 gm cold egg [1 small egg]

40 gm butter

50 gm diced celery

50 gm diced ham

 

 

1. Blend the celery with 60 ml water until pureed [a thin puree]. 
2. In a mixing bowl, mix together bread flour, plain flour,  milk powder, sugar, salt and instant yeast.  Add in celery puree and egg, knead and gradually add in water [may need less water] until well blended. 
3. Knead to form rough dough and add in butter.  Knead to form elastic dough. Lastly, add in the diced celery and diced ham.   Knead gently until the ingredients are evenly incorporated into the dough. 
4. Place dough in a large oiled bowl, turn dough so that the oiled side is facing up. Cover and let it proof for 40 minutes or until doubled in size. 
5. Punch down dough and divide into 2 equal portions and  shape each piece into a ball.
6. Working with one piece of round dough at a time, flatten and spread out the dough with your hands, roughly to the length of the baking pan, roll it up tightly like a swiss roll. Press the seams to seal, neaten the two sides by tucking a little of the two sides under the dough and press the seams to seal. 
7. Place dough in greased baking pan, cover loosely with greased cling wrap and leave to proof for 50 minutes or until dough is nearly doubled in size. 
8. Bake in preheated the oven at 190 degrees C for about 30 minutes or until golden brown.
9. Remove loaves from pan and cool completely on cooling rack.
   

Stir Fry Celery with Bacon

Easy and tasty stir fry celery with yummy streaky bacon.

This is a last minute vegetable dish to add for dinner.  Ingredients easily available at the hypermarts.

Ingredients

[serve 3-4]

3-4 stalks of celery - peeled and cut slantwise

3-4 pieces streaky bacon - cut 1 inch pieces 

3-4 pips garlic - lightly crushed

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp oil

some water and cooking wine

1. Heat wok, saute bacon until brown and fragrant.  Add in garlic.
2. Add in celery, stir fry to mix well.  Add in some water, cooking wine and seasoning.
3. Cover wok to cook celery for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through.
4. Serve with rice.
   
   
   
   

Pandan Ondeh-Ondeh

 

Saw many colourful kuihs on sale at the market places of Thailand cities and towns.  So colourful and I wonder where the colours came from.  I still prefer home-cooked from my kitchen as the sweetness is more acceptable.
My favourite kuih muih - Ondeh-ondeh.  This time simple pandan flavour with gula melaka filling.  Just as good as my previous post on Pumpkin Ondeh-ondeh.

Verdict - soft, chewy dough and not too sweet gula melaka filling coated with fresh grated white coconut seasoned with some salt.

As usual, you can get quite a lot from one portion of the recipe.  I made 1 and 1/2 portion, managed to get about 80 to share with neighbours.

 

Recipe Source - Yum Yum Magazine No. 78 - modified

Ingredients 

[makes 50-60 pieces]

250 gm glutinous rice flour

5 blades of pandan leaves blended with 250 ml water to extract 250 ml pandan juice [may need more or less]

1 tbsp sugar

1 tbsp oil

some gula melaka - chopped

250 gm white grated coconut mixed with 1 tsp salt and steam for 5 minutes, cool for coating

 

1. Skin - combine flour with water then add in sugar and oil.
2. Knead into a smooth dough.  Rest for 10 minutes.
3. Divide into small portions [about size of kuih ee].
4. Roll into ball, flatten and wrap up some filling.  Seal and roll into balls.
5. Bring a pot of water to boil, drop prepared glutinous rice balls into water,  cook until rice balls floats up.
6. Dish out with a serrated ladle.  Drop cooked rice balls into steamed grated coconut.  Coat well.
7. Serve.

 

 

I'm submitting this post to Cook Your Books Event #18 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours

Dried Longan Pineapple Soup

I'm back from holiday in Thailand.  Tried so much of their desserts, noodles and soup.  All on the very sweet side to my taste-buds.  This dessert is incomparable at all with Thais sweet desserts.  I cooked this before going on holiday.  Now I appreciate this dessert even more.  Our pineapples are good and cheap cos' I came across a stall in Chiangmai selling one whole cut local small pineapple for 100 bahts.
Chance upon this recipe in Y3K Magazine No. 69.  Looks delicious before I noticed the additional information about its properties.

Before I go on with the recipe, it's better I share the health properties of this dessert first.

Herbal Properties

tranquilizes the mind

improves blood production and pressure

good for insomnia

warming tonic for weak bodies

Dosage: Taken once a day for 1 week on a trial basis

Verdict- very nice dessert served warm or chilled with simple ingredients.

Ingredients

200 gm pineapple flesh - cut and soaked in 200 ml water with a pinch of salt for 10 minutes, then drained

100 gm dried longan flesh - rinsed

100 gm red dates - rinsed and seeded

1500 ml water

3 tbsp brown sugar to taste

1. Bring water to boil, add in pineapples and red dates to cook for 1/2 an hour.
2. Add in dried longan and continue to simmer for about 1/2 an hour or until water has reduced to about 1 litre.
3. Add sugar to taste and serve.
   
    
    
    
    

I'm submitting this post to Cook Your Books Event #18 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours