Durian Butter Cake

CakeI have been having these durian cravings for over 2 weeks now. And until Friday after throwing a huge tantrum did hubby go get me my durians. Hahhahahahah....I know...I know...I am been an utter bitch. I'm sorry, dear for been such an utter pain.

Anyway, back to the durians, since I had lots of durians in the fridge.....I decided to make Durian Butter Cake and came across this simple recipe which will not drive anyone insane. It's pretty idiot proof.

Here's the cake right from the oven.

Caitlin who was just too anxious to have the cake. She loves cake just like her mummy.

So, since it looks like it's the durian season and if you are into anything besides just plain durian, do give this recipe a shot! Here goes the recipe.....

Ingredients: - 

- 250g butter
- 170g caster sugar
- 4 eggs
- 250g durian flesh
- 230g self raising flour
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1. Grease a baking mould. Preheat oven to 170C.
2. Beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add in eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
3. Stir in durian flesh. Fold in sifted flour, baking powder and soda. Mix until well blended.
4. Spoon batter into prepared mould. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes or until cooked.

See???!!! It isn't that difficult, isn't it??? For those of you who has baked butter cakes before, all you need to do is use the same butter cake recipe but add an additional 250g to 300g of durian flesh into your flour mixture.

Here's a slice. Looks like any ordinary Butter Cake but it's yummilicious with durian.

Here's Caitlin telling you all that the Durian Butter Cake is AWESOME!! Kids don't lie.......

Have fun!!!!

Tomato Seafood Rice

An easy, easy recipe and yummy too! Hope you will like this recipe....Feel free to add additional seafood ingredients of your preference.

Ingredients: -

- 5 tbsps oil
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 4 tbsps tomato paste
- 500g cooked rice
- 2 tsps salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 6 cloves garlic, chopped
- 200g-300g prawns, deveined
- 200g-300g fish fillet, cut into cubes
- 200g-300g of crabstick, cut into cubes
- 4 stalks spring onions, sliced finely

1. Heat 3 tbsps oil and scramble egg and move to the side.
2. Add another 1 tbsp of oil and fry tomato paste. Then, mix with egg. Add rice, salt and pepper. Mix well and remove from frying pan.
3. Using the same pan, heat 1 tbsp oil and stir-fry garlic, prawns, fish and crabsticks for about 1 min.
4. Add back the rice and spring onions. Serve.

Voila!!! A simple and quick dish. Pretty hassle free....

Curry Kapitan

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I made this dish once and it was a turn off because I added too much lime...hehhehehehe....My darling hubby wanted to eat curry today for dinner and you can imagine my utter panic rising from the pit of my tummy! Hubby is the expert for making curry, not me!!! Anyway, I still gave it a shot and it turned out well!

Even my beloved Caitlin had it for dinner despite its spiciness....hahahahhaha....she is one tough little cookie.

Here's the recipe. I hope you have as much fun cooking this as much as I did!

Ingredients: -
- 1.2kg chicken cut into bite-sized pieces.
- 3-4 medium sized potatoes, cut into reasonable bite-size
- 2tsps salt
- 4-5 tbsps cooking oil
- 4 stalk lemongrass, bruised
- 200ml thick coconut milk
- 400ml water
- 1/4 cup lime or lemon juice (juice and not the purely squeezed ones or else you will need to use lesser)
- salt to taste

Blended Ingredients: - (Blend all these ingredients together)
- 12 dried chillies (please empty the chilli seeds)
- 4 fresh red chillies (please empty the chilli seeds)
- 12 shallots
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3cm knob ginger
- 2cm piece shrimp paste or belacan


1. Season chicken with salt and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large pot. Stir-fry the blended ingredients for 1min, add lemongrass and 2 tbsps thick coconut milk and cook for another 2 mins.
3. Add chicken and stir-fry for 4mins until chicken is coated with the blended ingredients.
4. Add water and potatoes, stirring to mix well.
5. Cover the pot and turn the fire low to simmer for about 25mins. Stir every now and then.
6. Once the potatoes are soft, add remaining coconut milk and bring to boil.
7. Once boiling, stir in lime juice and salt to taste. Turn off fire and allow to rest before serving.

Voila!!! Curry Kapitan for you!

Fragrant Rice with Barbeque Chicken

Ok...I've not really been cooking lately. Just been enjoying my life and busy with everything and everyone around me. But, I came across this recipe and decided to give it a shot! Turned out awesome and it's simple to boot to cook!

Ingredients (Fragrant Rice): -
- 2 cups fragrant rice, washed
- 3 cups water

- 2 tbsps chicken stock concentrate or 2 chicken stock cubes

- 1 tbsp sesame oil

- 3 cm ginger, crushed

Ingredients: -

- 1/2 cup chopped spring onions

- 1 tsp salt

- 6 pieces of chicken (drumsticks, chicken ribs, chicken wings or chicken breast)

- 4 tbsps barbeque sauce

1. Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Line baking tray with foil and grease with some oil.

2. Put rice ingredients in a rice cooker to cook. Add chopped spring onions to rice and mix well. Cook as normal.

3. Rub salt over chicken, then coat with barbeque sauce.

4. Place the chickens onto prepared baking tray and bake for 40 mins or until sauce is sticky and chicken is cooked through.

5. Spoon rice into serving bowls or plates. Top each bowl/plate with chicken and some vegetables.

Doesn't it look absolutely delightful??? A healthy meal for the family......

Hot Fried Prawns

It's been a while since I made this dish and gave it a shot tonight. Another easy recipe and pretty fuss free with an exception of having to devein the prawns which I absolutely hate doing. Hehehehehheheh....

Ingredients:-

- 625g large prawns (cleansed, trimmed & deveined without shelling the body)
- 4 tbsps cooking oil
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tsps chopped ginger
- 2 spring onion stalks, chopped
- parsley for garnishing (optional)
- 1 tbsp cooking wine / rice wine

Seasonings:- (Mixed)

- 3 tsps chilli sauce
- 2 tbsps tomato sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- pinch of salt
- 3 tbsps water

1. Heat 3 tbsps oil in pan. Pan-fry prawns on both sides till colour changes.
2. Remove prawns and leave aside.
3. Heat remaining oil in pan. Saute garlic, ginger and spring onion till fragrant.
4. Add seasoning mixture and allow to simmer for 1 minute.
5. Return prawns and stir-fry till quite dry.
6. Mix in cooking wine and dish up. Garnish with parsley and serve.

Looks and sounds yummy, right???

Loh Shee Fun with Mince Meat

My all-time favourite. I have been making this dish for yongs now but never seem to get to blogging about it. Either I had no camera with me to photograph the food or by the time I started eating; I would then only remember of wanting to take a picture. Sigh......

Anyway, here it is. Literally an idiot proof recipe and so very, very easy to make and one of Caitlin's favourite meals.

Ingredients: -

- 2 tbsps cooking oil
- 2 packets of Loh Shee Fun (you can get it from wet markets or Chinese sundry shops)
- 300-500g of mince meat (depending on how many people you want to feed)
- 1/2 onion, diced
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, diced
- 1 1/2 tbsps soy sauce
- 1-2 tbsps thick soy sauce (depends how dark/black you want your sauce to be)
- 300-500ml hot water
- 2 tsps sugar
- salt & pepper to taste
- some green leafy vegetable of your choice
- spring onion for garnishing

1. Heat oil in a pot.
2. Add onion and garlic and fry for 1 minute.
3. Add mince meat and continue to fry until cooked.
4. Add soy sauce and thick sauce sauce and stir fry for 30 seconds.
5. Add hot water and simmer for about 5 mins, whilst adding sugar, salt and pepper.
6. Remove from fire after the meat mixture thickens slightly.
7. Meanwhile, with boiling water; blanch the Loh Shee Fun and then the vegetables.
8. Garnish with spring onions and serve as shown.

Voila!!!!

Japanese Curry Rice or Chicken Curry Katsu Don

This is an All-Time Favourite of the household; even my my little precious Caitlin. A simple do which even Yuli my helper has mastered!!!

Ingredients:-

- 300g Chicken or Pork (cut into cubes)
- 1 large onion (cut into pieces)
- 1 carrot (cut into about 2x2 cm cube)
- 3 medium potatoes (cut into 2x2 cm cube)
- 750ml hot water
- 2 sticks of celery (cut into cubes)
- oil for frying
- Kokumaro Curry Sauce Mix (sold at Japanese stores or Cold Storage)

1. Use a medium-size pot.
2. Heat oil in pot and fry the meat for about 1 minute.
3. Pour int the onions, carrot and potatoes; and stir fry for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add hot water and boil.
5. Then, simmer for about 10 minutes or until potatoes and carrots are soft.
6. Add the Kokumaro Curry Sauce Mix. The box comes in 2 separate packets. 1 packet serve for 5 people.
7. Cook until sauce thickens. But if you do find it a bit too thick for your liking; please add another 100-200ml of hot water.
8. Add the celery last and simmer for a while so that celery will still be crunchy.

If you prefer the Chicken Curry Katsu Don style whereby the chicken is fried with breadcrumbs; please go to my Breaded Chicken Chop in Mushroom Sauce recipe to get the recipe on breaded chicken chop. Once deep fried; slice the chicken chop and serve on a plate of hot rice and pour the curry sauce over.

Of course, whilst cooking using breaded chicken chop; you can omit the meat in the curry sauce mix.

Hope you will like this recipe as much as my family do.

Tuna Bake

I have made this dish a couple of times but not for a year now. So, since it's a public holiday today and I have time on my hands; decided to venture into this recipe. Hehehehehehe....and I must say; it tasted good.

Here's the recipe.....

Ingredients:-

- 200g short curly pasta
- 4 hard boiled eggs, roughly chopped
- 4 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh dill (you may use the bottled ones)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 110g butter
- 3 tsps madras curry powder (any curry powder may do)
- 50g plain flour
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) milk
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) cream
- 170g mayonaise
- 3 x 210g cans tuna, drained
- 2 cup (160g) fresh white breadcrumbs
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 2 tbsps grated Parmesan

1. Preheat the oven to moderate 180 degree Celsius.
2. Cook the pasta in a large saucepan of rapidly boiling water until al dente. Drain well. Lightly grease the ovenproof dish.
3. Combine the egg, spring onion, dill and lemon juice and season in a separate bowl.
4. Melt 60g butter in a saucepan, add the curry powder and cook for 30 seconds. Stirr in the plain flour and cook for 1 min, or until foaming.
5. Remove from the heat, gradually stir in the milk and cream, then return to low heat and stir constantly until the sauce boils and thickens. Reduce to a simmer for 1-2 mins, then stir in the mayonaise.
6. Combine the sauce, cooked pasta, tuna and egg mixture and spoon in the prepared dish.
7. Melt the remianing butter in a frying oan, add the breadcrumbs and garlic, and cook stirring for 1 min or until the crumbs are golden and coated in butter.
8. Stir in the parsley and grated Parmesan, and sprinkle over the tuna mixture.
9. Bake for 15-20 mins, or until golden and heated through.

The recipe may look complicated but it actually isn't. You just need to work on one thing at a time. First sort out the eggs, then work on making the cream and then making the breadcrumbs.....

Here's the side of the tuna bake.....


Let me know how you like it!!

Curried Chicken and Rice

Here's a recipe which I found pretty easy to tackle. It's been a while since I've updated any recipe because I've just been so darn busy and whatever I've been cooking are the ones that I'm already pretty familiar with. Anyway, this is not spicy and it's ok for kids to eat it because Caitlin had this for dinner.

Ingredients:-
- 60ml/4 tbsps vegetable oil
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 chicken (about 1.5kg/3-3.5 lbs) or chicken pieces, skinned and boned and cut into bitesize pieces
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 450g jasmine rice, rinsed and drained
- 2 tsps salt
- 1 litre/ 4 cups chicken stock
- small bunch of fresh coriander, chopped to garnish

1. Heat the oil in a wok or flameproof casserole, which has a lid. Add garlic and cook over a low to medium heat until golden brown. Add the chicken, increase the heat and brown the pieces on all sides. (You may want to cook in batches)
2. Add the garam masala, stir well to coat the chicken all over in the spice, then tip in the drained rice. Add the salt and stir to mix.
3. Pour in the stock. stir well, then cover the wok or casserole and bring to the boil . Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes until the rice is cooked and tender.
4. Lift the wok or casserole of the heat, leaving the lid on and leave for another 10 minutes. Fluff up the rice grains with a fork and spoon on to a platter. Sprinkle with the coriander and serve immediately.

Try this recipe. It tasted pretty good in my opinion.....

Corn Flake Cookie

A very simple recipe and who can resist Corn Flake Cookies.

Ingredients A:-
- 100 g butter
- 80g caster sugar

Ingrdients B:-
- 1 egg (Grade A)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla essence

Ingredients C:-
- 150g plain flour
- 15g custard powder
- 30g cereals
- 50g almond nibs

***You will need about 80 to 100 small paper cups and 150g corn flakes for decorations***

1. Place ingredients (A) in a mixer. Beat until fluffy, add in ingredients (B). Mix well, fold in ingredients (C) to form a dough.
2. Divide dough and roll into small balls and coat with the cornflakes. Leave in the paper cup. Repeat process and arrange the cups on lined baking trays like below.

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 170 degrees for about 15-20 mins. Cool and store in airtight containers.

An easy recipe and a healthy snack.....