Saturday, April 30, 2011

Madeleine!

I'll upload photos first, will write after I came back from running.

Iffah loves this so much! She ate almost all. 

Sedap makan madeleine sambil minum kopi.

Just got back from running. Hubby said we're going back to Terengganu today. Sesuka hati je decide nak balik. Ingat kalau balik tu just sumbat baju dalam plastic bag, pastu boleh balik? Eeeee... geram!! I'm so tired. Balik dari running tadi, terus masuk dapur, buatkan wholemeal bread for him, then masak Huevos Rancheros again coz I still have 2 tortilla bread left in the fridge. Now, tengah thawing the mutton, nak masak mutton to go with the wholemeal bread nanti. I'm so tired!!!

Mula2 semalam, takmau dah masak madeleine. Tapi sebab pan madeleine tu dah ada kat rumah (Thank you Ju sebab bagi pinjam pan tu), godaan untuk buat madeleine tu takleh nak tepis. Ishk! I should blame Ju for that! hehe.. sorry ye Ju. Anyway, petang semalam, aku buat 1 batch, using the recipe from joyofbaking. Iffah loves it so much. Sekejap je dia dah habiskan 3/4 of the madeleines. Bila masuk dapur lagi sekali, tengok, dah habis. Lerrr... baru ingat nak bagi Ju and K.Yani.

Maka, terpaksa la aku buat another 2 batches of madeleine. Bila baca the instruction, rupanya, dough tu kena peram dalam peti for at least 1/2 hour. At 1am, I started baking it. By 2am, baru siap baking. I made 45 pieces of madeleine semalam. Tido, badan bau madeleine.. hampeh sungguh. Hubby loves the madeleine too. He ate 6 of them!! Then he blamed me for making such delicious cookies malam2, pastu menyebabkan dia takleh nak resist makan. Bengkek je aku.. 

Friday, April 29, 2011

Two Nieces

Niece no. 1

 She's going to be 1 soon. Both her parents baru je habis buat Pharmacy degree kat UIA. They are graduating soon. Beautiful Sofea Imani. (Iman was like.. why Imani?? kan dah sama nama dengan Iman)


Niece no. 2
The michelin baby, bigger and heavier than her brother, Shariff. Shafia Raina.

Last nite, I was watching Rio with the girls and hubby. Blu, the bird said "I hate Samba!!". Iffah terus tanya "Samba tu siapa mama?". We couldnt stop laughing.. Sorry adik, I think it was really funny. :D

The opening song from Rio

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Red Velvet Cake for K.Mini

It doesnt sit well with me when I have to bake to fulfill someone's order. Rasa tak sedap hati sebab takut kek tak sedap, dahla orang dah bayar, and hopeful that the cake lawa and sedap. Dah ler takleh rasa kan. Ye la, kalau dah buat untuk orang, potong untuk rasa, dah tak jadi whole cake. Alhamdulillah, K.Mini loves it to bits and she loves the frosting too! Dia kata, normally, makan sepotong kek pun tak habis, especially the frosting part. But, my red velvet tu, dia rasa macam nak makan sebijik sorang2.

Yeah! I think the red velvet is irresistable coz I gobbled 2 pieces last nite.. huwaaaaaaaaaa... rosak diet. Err.. the 2 pieces came from the one that I baked extra. *sigh*.. It's too tempting.


Thank you K.Mini for the trust and Happy Birthday Che Zul! I'm an amateurish baker.. thus, the not pretty at all deco.

The recipe for the red velvet can be found here

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 ounces butter, at room temperature
4 ounces mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cups powdered sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Using the whisk attachment, whip the butter, mascarpone cheese and cream cheese on high speed for about 5 minutes, scraping the bowl down as necessary. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the powdered sugar until all is incorporated. Add the vanilla and mix to combine. Increase the speed to medium high and whip for a few minutes until the frosting is light and fluffy, scraping the bowl as necessary.

Wednesday, April 27, 2011

Wordless Wednesday? Not!

I wanted to write about Iman's birthday celebration yesterday but I was too tired. Ye la, mana tak penat, dari pagi lagi aku baking. Bangun pukul 6.30am, terus buat Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread. Patutnya, aku buat sausage rolls. Tapi bila pikir balik that I have to bersengkang mata untuk bakar 50 pcs of bread, terus aku cancel. Then Iman requested the cinnamon bread. Ok la! for birthday girl.

Bila dah bakar the bread baru aku realised that I missed out one crucial ingredients, water! Duh! Macam mana la aku boleh missed out water tu? Nasib baik jadi cinnamon bread aku cuma not as lembut as always. Tapi tak kesah la sebabnya, letak je depan budak2 dalam kelas Iman, kejap je dah licin. I brought 50 Chocolate cupcakes and 2 loaves of Cinnamon bread. Balik dari sekolah Iman, terus aku bake 2 batches of Chocolate Banana Bottom Square.  Letih giler! Huwaaa... rasa nak nangis pun ada.

Lepas hantar the girls to KAFA petang semalam, aku pegi Cold Storage. I went to buy Mascarpone cheese. I bought 1 tub for you too Rina. Semalam, K.Mini, x-schoolmate aku, ordered red velvet cake. Adoi! Risau jugak nak buat the RVC, takut tak jadi. K.Mini wanted to pick up the cake today sebab today is her hubby's birthday. The cake is sitting in the fridge now. Kejap lagi I'll need to make the cheese frosting. I hope K.Mini will like her cake.

Selalunya, bila birthday the girls, I'll write an entry just for them. Previous entry on Iman can be read here and here. And her aunt pun ada blog about it kat sini. I heart you kakak, more than you can ever imagine.

Eh! baru teringat, I wanna blog about my forever argument with Iman. Last Saturday aku terasa hati dengan dia. Well I guess, bila anak meningkat remaja ni, with the raging hormone inside them, pastu dengan mak yang kurang sabar macam aku, makes it worse. To cut the story short, I cried buckets because of that. But, alhamdulillah, after seeing me crying macam tu (mama Iman jenis macho, nak nangis 3-4 tahun sekali pun susah, tu yang bila mama nangis, Iman and Iffah terus panic giler!), she has changed. Aku bersyukur sangat2. Thank you to friends yang bagi comments membina when I blab about it on facebook. Terima kasih Allah atas kawan2 yang supportive dan changes in Iman. Guess what she wrote on her status update dalam facebook on that day?

Tengku Nur Iman 
Perang Badar Dengan Mama. As Always Mama Menang coz' I love Her Very MUch. 


I love you too kakak! 









Monday, April 25, 2011

Apple Crisp

Granny Smith berlambak2 dalam peti. Ni la akibatnya bila asyik membeli je, tapi tak makan. Whenever I go to Jusco AU2, I'll go to the "reduced to clear" section kat their wet market. Pastu start membeli apple hijau. Some apples, dah a bit soggy, so the kids takmau makan. In the end, I have many soggy apples dalam peti. Semalam, I decided to make Apple Crisp. At least the girls makan jugak and habis jugak the Apple Crisp tu.

 Yummy!

 I doubled the crumbs

Dunno why, but I like this picture. Nampak bokeh kat belakang tu. eh! betul ke?

I love this version of Apple Crumble/Apple Crisp. I made this few times. Kat sini pun ada.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Apple-Crisp-II/Detail.aspx

INGREDIENTS
* 10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced
* 1/4 cup white sugar (I reduced the sugar)
* 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

* 2 cup quick-cooking oats
* 2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1 cup packed brown sugar (I didnt double the sugar)
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1 cup butter, melted
DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. 
3. Combine the oats,  flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes. 

I'm off now.. exercising.. Upper body today.. huhuhuhu

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Books & Buns!

Aku rasa aku dah mabuk roti. Hari-hari rasa nak buat roti. Tomorrow I wanna make wholemeal buns but maybe letak inti lamb coz hubby loves anything kambing. Today I made some sausage buns for the girls's lunch boxes tomorrow. Now, baking in the oven are cuppies for Iman's birthday on Tuesday. The chocolate cake cuppies kena kept in the fridge for at least 1 day. So, kiranya ok la aku buat 2 days in advance.

I was super busy today. Pagi2 lagi aku dah bawak the girls including Zuleika (she sleptover here last nite coz her parents were busy) pegi swimming. Lepas swimming, aku terus pegi Bagus to buy some baking stuff. Then balik rumah, terus buat hotdog buns for the girls and Apple Crisp (I'll upload the photo tomorrow). Lepas Zohor, aku pegi ambik my cousin, Wan, kat rumah dia and terus ke Amcorp Mall.

Going to Amcorp Mall was a mistake coz it made me poorer by few hundred ringgit. No.. No.. I didnt buy any handbags or shoes! I bought books! lots of it kat BookXcess!! huhuhu.. Tengah mereka script ni nak bagitau hubby kejap lagi the damage done to his Maybank account. Me and books, ibarat mee siam with kuah, or laksa kuoh meroh with hubby, tak dapat dipisahkan. *sigh*..

Anyway, masa bayar parking kat Amcorp Mall tadi, Achi attendant parking tu bagitau, few minutes before aku bayar parking tu, bumbung kat booth bayar parking runtuh, kena another car yang tengah queue nak bayar parking. which resulted in the windscreen pecah berderai. Masa tu hujan lebat. Phew! alhamdulillah tak terjadi pada aku. Sayang weh nak tukar windscreen kete aku. Mau susah nak dapat original windscreen macam yang aku guna.

Lepas balik from Amcorp Mall, aku pegi ke PWTC pulak. Hajat hati nak singgah kat Pesta Buku. Nasib baik la takde parking, kalau tak, mau rabak lagi poket aku. Tapi, tadi my eldest sister called. Dia datang KL, ada rombongan budak2 sekolah dia from Kluang. She's coming with her son, Muaz. She wants to have lunch dengan aku esok.. Erm.. should I or should I not? Kang habis lagi few hundreds... :(

Now, back to my wholemeal buns. I used happyflour recipe still, but I tweak the recipe a bit.The result is a soft and delicious wholemeal buns! Lepas ni memang takmau dah beli wholemeal bread kat kedai mamak.

 I love the grainy looks :D


Nampak tak how beautiful the texture is?

Ingredients
(Basic Sweet Buns Dough)
200g wholemeal bread flour
100g plain flour
6g instant yeast
55g sugar (I used 2 tbs of sugar)
140ml luke warm milk ( I added 160ml instead of 140ml of milk)
1 egg (I omitted the egg coz terlupa.. duh!)
1/2tsp salt
45g butter
1/2 tsp of bread improver (optional)

Steps:
1. Combine all ingredients in a mixer.
2. Beat at medium speed until it form a dough.
3. Continue to beat until it form a smooth and elastic dough.
4. Cover the dough and let it prove for 45-60mins.
5. Flatten the dough on a lightly floured surface.
6. Divide dough into about 55g each portion and rest for another 10mins.
7. Shape into round ball, add tuna mayo and arrange it on a greased tray.
8. Cover and leave to prove for 45mins until it doubled in size.
9. Preheat oven to 190C.
10.Brush surface with milk and bake in a preheated oven for 10mins until buns is brown.
11.Remove buns from tin, brush surface with butter and cool on a wire rack.

Note: You can use this basic sweet buns dough to make any types of buns of your choice. If you prefer a softer buns, just add 1/2tsp of bread improver or softener.

Super Duper Busy!!

I'm super busy! I'll blab later..

Saturday, April 23, 2011

One Bowl Chocolate Cake

Iman wanted chocolate cake cuppies for her birthday (K.Min, nasib baik Iman tak mintak pavlova macam Alya). Sakit jugak kepala nak cari good chocolate cake recipe. Dah banyak chocolate cake recipes that I've tried and tested, tapi so far takde lagi yang berkenan dihati. Dunno why, I think chocolate cake la yang paling susah nak buat yang betul2 sedap.

K.Yani and Ju suggested Devil's Food Chocolate Cake. Tapi aku cari2 dalam blog K.Yani, tak jumpa pulak. Ju ada bagi link, tapi rasa macam nak buat something different. Kalau tak jadi, boleh ambik je recipe dari blog Ju.. hehehe.. Anyway, setelah menggoogle, maka, jumpa la recipe dalam allrecipes.com. Ada few chocolate cake recipes yang dapat good reviews. Ada satu tu, nama dia Black Magic Cake, which is actually chocolate cake but ada letak coffee. Since aku nak bagi budak2 sekolah makan, takleh la yang ada caffeine kan. So, I chose One Bowl Choc Cake.

I keep this cake refrigerated for 1 nite. It taste superb!

I made few changes to the original recipe.



One Bowl Chocolate Cake
Adapted from One Bowl Chocolate Cake III

Ingredients
2 cups white sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I used 1 cup of buttermilk)
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used 1/2 cup of softened butter)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two nine inch round pans. (I used 10 inches square pan)

In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs & vanilla, beat for 1 minute. Add flour and milk alternately and beat for another 2 minutes on medium. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. (In my case, aku bakar for 1 hour, 160 degree celcius).

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Adapted from Makcik Martha

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 cup egg whites (about 6 large)
  • 1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
  • 250gm dark chocolate, melted and cooled slightly

Directions

  1. Place sugar and egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer set over (but not touching) a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until mixture is heated and sugar is dissolved. Attach bowl to an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment and continue whisking until cooled and stiff peaks form, about 7 minutes.
  2. With the mixer running, add butter, one piece at a time, until completely incorporated. Continue whisking until a light, fluffy cream has formed. Stir in chocolate until well combined.


The verdict? The girls absolutely love it! It's  soft but not too dense. Rasanya so far, this is the best chocolate cake I've ever made minus the steamed chocolate cake yg penah aku buat dulu. One more thing, this cake tak crack. Rasanya sebab it's moist. So, for the first time, aku dapat chocolate cake yang permukaannya tak macam bulan.. hehe

Friday, April 22, 2011

Sweet and crispy chicken / 닭강정 / Dakkangjung (or dak kang jung)

This is of course something that I should not cook during weekdays when I have to really watch what I eat. Tapikan, hari ni rasa a bit blue. Ya, my blues comes on Friday which is kindda weird. Normally, it's Monday blues not Friday blues. Anyway, I think I'm feeling a bit down coz hubby is hardly around this week. Kindda sad..

Oleh kerana itu, maka, aku buat this sweet and crispy chicken. Sedap wa cakap lu! It's sweet, sour and salty. Ala2 rasa sweet sour but better! Tapikan, aku rasa, aku will only cook this once in a blue moon je sebab aku taknak kira the calorie yang ada pada setiap pieces ayam tu. Mau pengsan aku lari atas treadmill kalau aku kira the calorie. I've been a very good girl for the past few days except on the day that I made Hoddeok, so I think I should reward myself with this sweet chicken. kan? huhuhuhuhu..

As always, when it comes to Korean recipes, aku suka ambik from maangchi.com. Eh! maangchi posted my Japchae photo.. hehehe.. glamer jap rasa. This recipe calls for starch powder which aku rasa is tepung kanji. But, mana la aku nak cari tepung kanji. Aku cuma ada corn flour. As I mentioned many times before, when it comes to cooking, aku just make do with whatever ingredients that I have in my pantry. Cooking should be easy. Well, K.Jud (kakak my friend Dila) cakap, when she read my blog, dia rasa memasak tu sangat senang. That's what I want. Cooking IS easy.. jangan susahkan diri sendiri, make do with what you have. It will turn fabulous. The secret ingredient is LOVE! :D

 I didnt add sesame seed sebab the girls tak suka sesame seed.

The chicken is so sinful!

Dakkangjung
Source : Maangchi

Ingredients:
40 pieces of chicken wings
2 tsp salt
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup starch powder (I used corn flour)
2 eggs
1 tsp ground pepper
vegetable oil for deep frying

Sauce
1 cup of sliced ginger
2 tbs soy sauce 
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup corn syrup (mulyeot) 
1/4 cup vinegar
1 cup peanuts
1/2 cup sesame seeds (I omitted this)
dried and crushed red hot chili pepper.

Bread and Deep fry:
  1. Prepare 40 chicken wings or chunks of chicken, rinse them off in cold water and drain them.
  2. Transfer the chicken into a big bowl.
  3. Add 2 ts of salt, 1 ts of ground pepper, 2 eggs, and the mixture of ½ cup of flour and ½ cup of starch powder. Mix it by hand.
  4. Deep fry the chicken wings in vegetable oil 2 times at about 350-380 degrees (F).
Sauce for coating:
  1. Prepare a big wok or pan.
  2. Place 1 cup of water in the wok and heat it up.
  3. Slice 1 cup of ginger thinly after peeling the skin off and washing, and add it into the boiling water.
  4. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 1 cup of brown sugar, ¼ cup of vinegar and boil it over medium heat.
  5. 5 minutes after, add 1 cup of corn syrup and keep boiling over low medium heat about 30 minutes.
  6. Raise a spoon of the sizzling sauce above the wok in the air and drop it until the sauce begins stopping halfway. Then turn off the stove.
Mix it up:
  1. Reheat the sauce.
  2. Add the deep fried chicken, 1 cup of peanuts (or any kind of nuts), 1/2 tbs dried red hot chili pepper, and ½ cup of toasted sesame seeds into the sizzling sauce and mix it with a spatula. The amount of sticky sauce will decrease while you are stirring. Then turn off the heat and you are done!
Tip: Before the chicken cools down, you may have to separate each piece of chicken wings to prevent them from sticking to each other.
For spicy food lover:
You can sprinkle 2 tbs of dried and crushed red chili pepper instead of 1/2 tbs.
For vegetarians:
Just make the sauce following the recipe above, and then add whatever dried ingredients you like and make candy! You can use sliced ginger, nuts (almond, walnuts, pine nuts, and peanuts), or sesame seeds.
  1. Place plastic wrap on your cuttingboard
  2. After mixing all the dried ingredients with the sticky sauce, spread it on the plastic wrapper on your cuttingboard. Wait a few minutes for it to harden.
  3. Cut it into bite size pieces and enjoy!

Post from Campbell's

When I saw a friend "like" Campbell's page on facebook, I was curious. I checked it out and it's so happen that masa tu, Campbell's was having a promotion, Campbell's instant mushroom soup up for grab for the first 2000 people that "like" them. The contest was so easy, but I didnt get to be the 1st 2000 people that like them. huhuhu.. sedih giler. Then tiba2, they had another promotion.


Apa lagi! Laju je aku enter the contest. Pastu tengahari semalam, aku dapat the reward. Iman and Iffah were estatic. Walaupun harga sekotak Campbell's instant mushroom soup tu cuma RM3.90 (sometimes Jusco buat promotion RM2.90), tapi, sebab dapat free kan, excited la dia orang. Padahalnya, mama dia orang, sekali belikan Campbell's instant soup tu, more than 10 kotak sebulan. Still tak puas2 jugak makan. Ishk budak2 ni.. Risau jugak aku sebenarnya nak bagi makan instant soup tu banyak2 sebab takut salt content is too high. 

Anyway, pada sesapa yang nak like Campbell's page tu, boleh la pegi to their facebook page kat sini. Err... ni bukan iklan berbayar ye. Aku cuma share sebab seronok dapat mushroom soup free.. hahaha.. cheapskate me. Teruk betul kan? 

 Ingatkan pakcik posmen antar bag LV, rupanya Campbell's instant soup.

 Siap wrap dalam bubbles lagi

Kebetulan pulak, dapat the kids' favourite! Mushroom Cheese with Croutons.

Thursday, April 21, 2011

Sushi King Craze

Last week Sushi King ada promotion, RM2 for all plates atas the belt. I love Sushi King! So, bila dia orang ada promotion macam tu, aku pun apa lagi, awal2 lagi dah terpacak kat depan Sushi King tu. But pagi tu, takde la pagi sangat. I went there at 11am which is ok la sebab by then, the belt dah penuh dengan macam2 sushi. Kalau pegi awal sangat, tak banyak choice pulak.

Oleh kerana the girls sekolah pagi, and hubby had to go to the office early, maka, aku terpaksa la pegi sendiri. Huhuhu.. sedih bila kena makan sorang2 ni. Tapi, nasib baik masa tu, my youngest sister yg study kat USM, Ayu, balik for her study week. Awal2 lagi aku dah kejutkan dia, untuk siap2. Tau la, bila study week ni, tido lambat, bangun pun lambat. Dia pun memang suka Sushi King. Unagi kat Sushi King takleh makan ye, tak halal coz ada alcohol dalam tu.

 Ayu buat muka ala2 cute gitu :P

 Nampak tak the plates yg tersusun kat sebelah kiri tu? tu je kita org makan. Penat je pegi awal2, takleh makan banyak pun sebab kenyang sangat2. Makan 10 plate je! huhuhuhu.. orang lain makan 30-50 plates.

 Prawn Tempura

Soft shelled crabs. Sedap!!

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Hoddeok & I'm BACK!!!

Weeeeeeeeeeee.... sukanya hati aku!! Hubby balik from johor pagi tadi. Maknanya I can browse the internet using laptop! Yang paling aku suka, aku boleh berblogging baalik. Rindunya nak berblogging. Dah beberapa hari tak berblog rasa macam ada benda tak kena je.. ..

Bila takleh nak bloghop malam2 buta, mood masak pun gone with the wind. Seksa nak bloghop or browse the net using ipod. Kecik! plus aku kena jegilkan bijik mata untuk baca. Tapikan, sempat jugak aku buat hoddeok semalam and give some to Ju for her iftar. I wanna bring some to K.Yani masa pegi rumah dia semalam but my hoddeok dah habis by then. Tak sangka hoddeok aku mendapat sambutan yang hebat dari anak2. It's so simple but delicious. Err.. aku pun makan gak. Hancus diet aku semalam.. huhuhu.. Takpe la, I need the sugar boost from hoddeok tu.

This week, Iman and Iffah ada latihan sukan. But aku malas sangat2 nak hantar dia org sekolah sebab tak belajar and the students kena duduk tepi padang dari pagi sampai la tengahari. Cikgu pun tak masuk kelas. Dah la this week asyik hujan je, kasut yg putih, jadi merah bila dia org balik dari sekolah. Err.. sebenarnya, I'm trying to justify why I didnt send them to school today.. hahahahha.. I'm just too tired.

Back to Hoddeok.

 Stack it! Can you see the melted brown sugar mix that's about to ooze from the hoddeok?

 Spread it on the plate

The ipod yang banyak berjasa for the past few days.. huhuhu..

Hoddeok recipe
Source : Maangchi

Ingredients:


2 cups of flour
1 cup of luke warmwater
2 tsp dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbs vegetable oil
2 tbs sugar

Filling
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbs chopped walnuts
1 tsp cinnamon powder

1.Place  water into a mixing bowl.
2.Add white sugar, yeast, salt, vegetable oil, and stir it well.
3.Add flour and mix it with a rice scoop, or by hand.
4.Let the dough rise. It should sit with the lid closed at room temperature for 1 hour.
5.After an hour the dough will rise to double its size. Knead it to remove the gas bubbles in the dough.
6.Let it rise for another 10-20 minutes.

Make filling (for 8 hoddeok):

Making hoddeok.
1.Knead the dough again to remove the gas bubbles.

2.Place and spread about ½ cup flour on your cutting board.

3.Put the dough on your cutting board and knead it. Make it into a lump, and cut it into 8 equal-sized balls.
4.Take 1 dough ball, flatten it, put some filling in the center of the dough, and then seal it to make a ball.

5.Repeat this 8 times to make 8 stuffed balls.

*tip: Use some flour from the cutting board to prevent your fingers from sticking to the dough

6.Heat up your non-stick pan over medium heat and add some vegetable oil.

7.Place 1 ball on the pan and let it cook for 30 seconds.

8.When the bottom of the dough ball is light golden brown, turn it over and press the dough with a spatula to make a thin and wide circle (about the size of a CD).
9.Let it cook about 1 minute until the bottom is golden brown.

10.Turn it over again and turn down the heat very low.

11.Place the lid on the pan and cook 1 more minute. The brown sugar filling mixture will be melted to syrup!
Serve hot!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Rancangan tergendala

I wanna update my blog, but it's extremely difficult using the iPod. pc and laptop is still out of service until hubby balik from Johore. For the past 2 nites, pukul 10pm je, aku dah terlelap sebab I got nothing to do!! Huwaaaaaa.... Sedih giler ni. Kalau Ada pc or laptop, boleh jugak bloghopped malam2 buta.

Semalam, my cousin came over to my house belajar buat Japchae. Anak2 dia cakap sedap! Happy aunty Shidah dengar. Ju was supposed to come too but she was super duper busy. Thank you ju for the cake and polenta? Betul ke? Jamie's version of bengkang

Saturday, April 16, 2011

Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread - Step By Step

Seksa sekarang nak masuk internet sebab my unifi is not in service, thus, kena guna broadband to login. My PC pulak, monitor kaput, my laptop, the charger kaput. I'm left with hubby's laptop, which by this afternoon will be gone coz he's going to Johor until Wednesday.

Tension!! Dah la microwave rosak, rice cooker pun rosak. Besides that, everything seems to be working fine. In a way, aku bersyukur that takde big equipments yang rosak. That's the price that I've to pay for the short circuit on Thursday. Sakit jiwa jugak coz rumah aku seems to be the favourite sport utk kena petir bila hujan ribut kat melawati ni.

Anyway, semalam aku buat the Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread lagi sekali. It's quite mouthful nak sebut. Lenguh mulut.. Why la the name is so long. I'm sorry for the poor quality of the picture coz I was in a hurry plus I was the one taking the photo and making the bread at the same time, seksa weh.

The Recipe
Joy the Baker

For the Dough (in BM)

2 3/4 cups plus 2 tbs tepung
1/4 cup gula kasar
2 1/4 sudu kecik yeast
1/2 sudu kecik garam
4 tbs butter
1/3 cup susu penuh krim
1/4 cup air
2 biji telur (size A)
1 sudu kecil Vanilla extract

For the Filling
1 cup gula kasar
2 sudu kecil serbuk kayu manis (cinnamon)
1/2 sudu kecil serbuk buah pala (nutmeg)
4 tbs butter - dicairkan sehingga menjadi brown

Dalam mangkuk yang besar, campurkan 2 cups tepung, sugar, yeast, and salt. Ketepikan

Pukul telur, ketepikan

Dalam small saucepan, campurkan susu dan mentega, panaskan sehingga mentega cair. Ketepikan dan masukkan air dan vanilla extract. Biarkan seketika sehingga mixture menjadi suam2 kuku.

Tuangkan mixture susu dan mentega tadi kedalam bahan kering, kacau dengan senduk. Masukkan telur dan kacau lagi. Add 3/4 cup tepung, dan uli sehingga sebati. The dough will be sticky. Masukkan dough kedalam mangkuk besar yang telah di gris dengan butter/minyak. Tutup dengan kain atau cling wrap, biarkan sehingga dough naik 2 kali ganda.

note : dough yang the naik, boleh disimpan di dalam peti semalaman, dan diguna keesokan hari. (I skipped this)


Sementara menunggu dough naik, campurkan gula, serbuk kayu manis dan serbuk buah pala di dalam mangkuk. Langkah seterusnya, boleh ikut the pictures below.





Setelah dough dipotong dalam step 8, boleh susun dalam loaf pan seperti dibawah. Gris the pan dengan butter dan tepung.


Bila dough dah naik 2 kali ganda, bolehla dimasukkan kedalam oven yang telah dipanaskan.

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw. A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.


Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board. Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up. Serve warm with coffee or tea.
Voila! Enjoy!!

Friday, April 15, 2011

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread & Blackout!

Yesterday, Melawati satu hari panas. Dari pagi, sampai la ke petang. Iffah tak pegi sekolah KAFA because dia ada latihan sukan, she's in the acara padang team ie lumba lari. Mula2 Iffah cakap dia masuk lumba lari, I was shocked!! Mama dia tak penah masuk lumba lari.

So, kiranya, dalam our family, memang takde ahli sukan. Maybe Iffah ikut her Pak Anjang (my youngest brother) yang keje dia mengumpul pingat both in curriculum activities and in academic. Hopefully Iffah will also excel macam Pak Anjang. Latihan sukan semalam habis at 6pm. Lepas ambik Iffah from school, I went to picked up Iman kat KAFA.

Elok je ambik Iman, hujan pun start turun. Mula2 ingatkan hujan renyai2 je macam selalu. Rupanya tak. It was raining cats and dogs semalam. The problem with my house is (rumah yang dah almost 40 tahun usia), bila hujan je, mesti blackout. Semalam was really bad. Bukan takat blackout je, but fuse terbakar, maka, the whole house bergelap. Even when I tried to on the main switch, still tak boleh. Kena tunggu Chan (electrician) datang to fix it today. So, last nite, aku tido rumah mok with the girls. Hubby came home late, pagi tadi pukul 6am baru balik. Bengkek je aku coz I had to wake up and opened pintu rumah mok for him..

Lately ni, mood memasak memang sentiasa ada. Maybe sebab aku ada kawan yang sama2 bersemangat untuk masak, my x-roomate masa kat Tasmania dulu, Mate (nama dia Dila, kita org panggil Mate). Everyday, ada je idea nak masak. Selalunya malam sebelum tido, aku akan bloghop and bagi idea what to cook dalam facebook. Once we agreed, masing2 akan keluar cari barang dan masak dan upload dalam facebook. Best!! Rindu betul aku kat Mate. Since aku pegi her wedding about 8 years ago, aku tak jumpa lagi dia. She lives in Singapore now with her hubby.

What did we cook yesterday? It's Cinnamon Sugar Pull Apart Bread. Err.. takde leftovers sebab Iffah makan 1 loaf roti tu. I made it into 2 loaves sebab my loaf pans kecik je.

I wanted to upload more photos but takde letrik kat rumah. Ni pun pinjam laptop adik aku Mas kat rumah mok. This photo I took from my facebook. This bread is PERFECT!! Dah makan, takleh stop.

The Recipe
Joy the Baker

For the Dough

2 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup water
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted until browned

In a large mixing bowl (I used just the bowl of my stand mixer) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.Set aside

Whisk together eggs and set aside

In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract.  Let mixture stand for a minute or two, or until the mixture registers 115 to 125 degrees F

Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula. Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together. Keep stirring. Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky. That’s just right.

Place the dough is a large, greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning. If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below

While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling. Set aside. Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned. Set aside. Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Set that aside too

Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long. If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay. Just roll it as large as the dough will go. Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture. It might seem like a lot of sugar. Seriously? Just go for it

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw. A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board. Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up. Serve warm with coffee or tea.

I think this bread is best served the day it’s made, but it can also we wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Roti - The Recipe

Ok! Back from the gym. Before that kan, aku nak cerita kejadian semalam. I went to Jusco to buy barang2 untuk buat Japchae coz I promised hubby that I'll make lamb Japchae for him this Saturday. Plus, aku dah janji dengan Ju that aku akan bagi Japchae kat dia. So, off I went to Jusco, beli barang, then terus pegi ambik the girls from school. I was a bit early, pukul 12.40pm aku dah park kereta tepi sekolah the girls. I called K.Siti, ingatkan dia dah sampai sekolah, tapi semalam dia lambat pulak.

Aku pun turun dari kereta, tunggu the girls depan sekolah. It was scorching hot yesterday, pastu drizzle pulak tengah2 panas tu. Aku lupa nak bawak payung, maka, berdiri la aku kat tepi pagar sekolah under matahari yg sangat panas dan hujan renyai2. Tiba-tiba, datang seorang yang aku kenal, tapi dia selalu buat2 tak kenal aku kalau his wife is around, bukak his payung and payungkan aku. I was like.. WT$%^#^%$^$&@!~. Depan bini, punya la, senyum pun tak, tapi bila bini takde, so charmy dengan aku. Huh! Kalau ikutkan, memang malas aku nak duduk bawah payung dengan dia, but it was too hot, maka, terpaksa la jugak. Pastu, bila dia nampak anak dia keluar, terus dia buat2 tak kenal aku, boleh? Maybe takut anak2 cakap kat bini dia kot. Lain kali malas aku nak cakap dengan dia. Buat aku menyampah je.

Anyway, petang semalam, oleh kerana aku sempat berdiri beberapa minit bawah matahari yg panas tu, before dipayungkan oleh lelaki hypochrite tu, aku kena heatstroke. It was pretty bad. Muka rasa panas semacam. Dah la semalam aku teramat busy. Aku yang jarang2 tido petang, unless I'm sick, boleh terlelap lepas asar. Dah nak dekat pukul 8pm, baru terjaga. Letihnya..

Ok! Now, the recipe. For Roti Isi Abon, aku guna this recipe.


Recipe Dough 1 ( I love this recipe but it's super sticky, thus a bit difficult to play with)
Source : Mummy Nana. As seen on Rina's blog

Recipe:

500g All purpose Flour (aka plain flour)
1 Packt Mauripan 
2 Tbspn Susu Tepung
1/2 cup sugar (reduce it to 1/4 cup)
1/4 c honey
1/4 c butter - melted
1 egg
250ml warm water
1 tspn salt
optional - 1/2 tspn bread softener , 1/2 tspn bread improver

Method:
1. Dissolve yeast with water + 1 tbspn sugar - let it stand for about 10 minutes.
2. Mix the dry ingredients, flour, sugar, salt, bread improver.
3. Make a whole in the middle of the flour mix, pour egg, yeast mixture, bread softener and mix until smooth. Continue mixing thoroughly the sticky dough forms a ball. Note : the dough is STICKY!
4. Take dough out of bowl and place on a flat clean dry surface which was sprinkled with flour. Knead dough with hands for about 15 minutes or so. Dough should be soft & sticky and feel light to touch.
TIP: to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands a lot, rub vegetable oil on them or take a piece of margarine and rub into your hands then continue knead dough. Do not add flour, it'll make you bread dough too heavy if you do.
5. Place dough in a bowl and place a light towel over it and let dough rise until doubled.
6.  Then punch it, and take about a size of golf ball of dough in your hand, roll into a ball, add chicken floss & mayo mixture (5tbs mayo +5 tbs milk) and place it on greased tray. let rise until buns are double in size.
7.  Gliss permukaan roti dengan telur yg dicampur madu dan susu, bake for 190' for about 20 minutes or until it turns out golden brown.
8. Masa bun masih panas, terus sapukan butter ke atas permukaannya.

Recipe Dough 2
Source : Happy Flour. As seen on Rina's blog.

Recipe (This recipe is perfect! but I reduced the sugar)

Ingredients
(Basic Sweet Buns Dough)
200g bread flour
100g plain flour
6g instant yeast
55g sugar
140g milk
1 egg
1/2tsp salt
45g butter

100g raisins } soak for 5mins
1tsp water } then squeeze out liquid

Steps:
1. Combine all ingredients in a mixer, except butter and rasins.
2. Beat at medium speed until it form a dough and add in the butter.
3. Continue to beat until it form a smooth and elastic dough.
4. Cover the dough and let it prove for 45-60mins.
5. Flatten the dough on a lightly floured surface and knead in the raisins.
6. Divide dough into about 55g each portion and rest for another 10mins.
7. Shape into round ball and arrange it on a greased tray.
8. Cover and leave to prove for 45mins until it doubled in size.
9. Preheat oven to 190C.
10.Brush surface with milk and bake in a preheated oven for 10mins until buns is brown.
11.Remove buns from tin, brush surface with butter and cool on a wire rack.

Note: You can use this basic sweet buns dough to make any types of buns of your choice. If you prefer a softer buns, just add 1/2tsp of bread improver or softener.

Minggu Membuat Roti..

Tak tau hantu apa pulak yang dah merasuk aku, tiba2 aku jadi rajin nak buat roti this week. Thx to Rina, aku dah jadi addicted to membuat roti. Actually, jap lagi pun nak uli roti, but after I run on the treadmill kat gym. Semalam kan wordless Wednesday, ramai yang tertanya-tanya, inti apa roti gebus tu semua. Roti tu inti chicken floss. Adapted from Citra's Roti Isi Abon, but using different dough recipe, which I got from Rina's blog.

Today, I'll post two different dough recipes, both from Rina's blog.

Roti Isi Abon

Mini Pizza buns

Alamak! I'm running late. Jap ye, I'll continue in a short while.

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

How To Make Jap Chae

Mula-mula, takmau cerita pasal Japchae lagi coz it's making me hungry. Ni baru lepas lari kat gym, kena allow 1 jam before boleh makan. Semalam the girls balik rumah from school, bagitau result exam. Iffah dapat no. 12 and Iman dapat no. 36. Erm.. patutkah aku menjadi mak harimau sekarang and be very strict with them when it comes to studying? Teringat masa kecik2 dulu, mok and abah tak penah paksa study but still kita orang semua doing ok.

But tengok parents sekarang yang tersangat la kiasu nya, rasa takut pulak. Takut that they wont be able to compete nanti kalau aku biar je dia org study sendiri or just study masa buat homework je. Should I also be a kiasu mom? Ada among my friends yg antar anak pegi tuition as early as 5 years old. Iman is going to be 11 soon, and Iffah is going to be 10 soon. So, Iman ada 2 tahun je lagi to play and be a kid. Bila dah masuk 13 tahun, orang akan expect dia to act macam orang dewasa.. *sigh*.. dilema sungguh..

Anyway, back to japchae. When my korean SIL first served me Japchae, I fall in love with it. Tapi tak penah buat sebab rasa macam susah je nak buat. Pastu bahan2 pun macam susah je nak cari. Ok, aku cakap "macam" ye. The truth is, it's so easy to make. Semalam, aku memberanikan diri untuk mencuba. Bear in mind, I've tasted it before, so it's easy for me to tweak the taste to rasa macam japchae yang penah aku makan. For those yg tak penah rasa, japchae ni rasa a bit sweet and salty. Sedap!!

 Sekali tengok, macam meehoon pun ada gak

Bila tengok dekat2, macam suun gemuk.

Japchae ni actually Korean glass noodles yang dibuat dari sweet potato. Aku beli the glass noodles from Jusco. Kat sana ada jual. But aku lupa la pulak nak ambik gambar. 

Gambar the noodles yang kering which I took from here.Thank you owner.

Yang ni pulak banyak jual kat korean mart. Mana2 pun sama, as long as it's glass noodles. 

Recipe for Japchae

Ingredients:
  • Starch noodles (“dangmyun”)
  • 150 grams of beef
  • 1 bunch of spinach
  • 1 medium size carrot
  • 1 medium size onion
  • mushrooms (5 dried shiitake and 1 package of white mushrooms)
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 7-8 green onions
  • soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, pepper, and sesame seeds (I ran out of light soy sauce, aku guna kicap manis je)
Makes 4 servings.
How to prepare your ingredients before stir frying:
  1. Soak 5 dried shitake mushrooms in warm water for a few hours until they become soft. Squeeze the water out of them and slice thinly.
  2. Slice a package of white mushrooms (2 cups’ worth).
  3. Cut a carrot into thin matchstick-shaped pieces 5 cm long.
  4. Cut 7 -8 green onions into 7 cm long pieces.
  5. Slice one onion thinly.
  6. Slice 150 grams of beef into thin strips.
Now let’s start!
  1. Boil 2 bunches of noodles in boiling water in a big pot for about 3 minutes. When the noodles are soft, drain them and put in a large bowl.
  2. Cut the noodles several times by using scissors and add 1 tbs of soy sauce and 1 tbs of sesame oil. Mix it up and set aside.
    *tip: Take one sample and taste it to see whether or not it’s cooked properly. If it feels soft, it’s finished.
  3. In the boiling water, add a bunch of spinach and stir it gently for 1 minute. Then take it out and rinse it in cold water 3 times. Remove any grit or dead leaves thoroughly while rinsing. Squeeze it gently to get the water out, then cut it into 5 cm pieces.
  4. Add ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sesame oil and mix it and place it onto the large bowl.
    *tip: When you drain the hot water from the pot, don’t discard the hot water. Put it back into the pot so you can cook your spinach quickly.
  5. On a heated pan, put a few drops of olive oil and your carrot strips and stir it with a spatula for 30 seconds. Put it into the large bowl (don’t burn it!).
  6. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your sliced onion. Stir it until the onion looks translucent. Put it into the large bowl with your carrots.
  7. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add the sliced white mushrooms. Stir it for a bit and then put it in the large bowl.
  8. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your green onions. Stir for 1 minute and put it into the large bowl.
  9. Place a few drops of olive oil on the pan and add your beef strips and your sliced shitake mushrooms. Stir it until it’s cooked well, then add 3 cloves of minced garlic, ½ tbs soy sauce and ½ tbs sugar. Stir for another 30 seconds and then put it into the large bowl.
  10. Add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 3 tbs of sugar, 2 tbs of sesame oil, and 1 ts of ground pepper to the large bowl. Mix all ingredients, then sprinkle 1 tbs of toasted sesame seeds on the top.
  11. Serve with rice and Kimchi, or as a side dish.
The video


Those who wanna cook this but tak tau mana nak cari the noodles, boleh email aku. Nanti aku tolong belikan :D

Jap Chae for Dinner

My dinner last nite. 

I'm off now, going to the gym, as usual. It's my cardio day. Will continue once I'm back!