Pure Vanilla Chiffon Cake 香草戚风

I have been wanting to make a basic chiffon cake using pure vanilla bean and same time can try out a new chiffon pan (a slim and tall chiffon tube pan ) that I bought since last year. I "die die" also baked two mini vanilla chiffon yesterday, even I was very busy, hehehe..Also in this post, I am also sharing the basic techniques (even I am not that expert ^__^) on how to handle chiffon making for benefiting to new home bakers..

A chiffon using pure vanilla bean is so fragrance and nice!!

Nasi Kerabu Biru Kelantan



Actually I prepared this post since this afternoon till now (in between I have to prepare dinner) ^_^, because i have to write the long recipe...
I brought some keropok ikan (fish crackers) from the recent Kelantan trip, so it is the best time for me to prepare nasi kerabu and i prefer blue nasi kerabu as it look so outstanding and beautiful.
I was so impressed with my friend Gertrude (My Kitchen Snippets) prepared her nasi kerabu with so many side dishes. I was thinking to do like her. But the end i have to gave it up because i realized that it is too time consuming because have to deep fry crackers, boil salted eggs, pounded the spice ingredients, cook rice, tumis sambal, deep fry fish, cutting salad & etc..
 I have to drop the idea of prepare roast meat and Ayam Percik (special roast chicken). In fact, i spent the whole afternoon just to prepare this nasi kerabu. Anyway, we were really enjoyed this home cooked nasi kerabu !! And i was impressed how tasty the Kuah tumis and sambal kelapa that i adapted from Azie kitchen, Thanks Kak Azie !!

Stir fried green beans and eggplant with Chinese preserved olive vegetable 清炒橄榄菜青豆茄子粒

I was introduced to Chinese preserved olive vegetables 橄榄菜 when we ordered a plate of stir fried green beans with Chinese olive vegetables in a Chinese restaurant the other day. Since then, I will order this dish whenever we taking meal in outside Chinese restaurant, because my kids simply like this dish a lot. And I also quite often cook this dish at home.
This time, I was using the same ingredients but make a new twist by adding eggplants, it taste good too.

Steamed rice sponge cake (Apam Tepung Beras aka Apam Salju) 蒸米糕



Nowadays every 'Qing Ming' festival (visit to grave yard to pay respect to ancestors), I prefer to prepare homemade cake or kuih to bring over to graveyard.
This time I made a new rice cake, that using cooked rice, and it taste quite similar to Chinese steamed white rice cake ( 白糖糕）, very nice rice aroma, soft and has slight QQ texture !! Thanks to Zila for kind sharing.

What are the differences between Daun Kaduk and Daun Sirih

When I posted Kuih Daun Kaduk and Fried Daun Kaduk, few of my blogger friends were confuse and they thought that I was using  槟榔叶 or 栳叶 or Daun Sirih in Malay. Then I myself started to get confused with these types of leaves too . I wondered if I was eating daun kaduk or daun sirih ^_^ !!. This morning I got a chance to get a leaf of daun Sirih from an Indian lady who is selling daun sirih & fresh flowers in the morning market. I quickly compare the taste between daun kaduk from my backyard and daun Sirih. Finally , I have confirmed that  the plant in in my backyard is  Daun Kaduk, Yahoo !!! (sorry, I am a bit mabuk (drunk and dizzy) and high now because consumed this daun sirih , hehehe)

Here are my comparison :-

Daun Kaduk- Shape-round, shinning, soft and smooth surface , taste a bit lemony then followed by bitter taste, but surprised after cooked, it taste so nice.

Daun Sirih- Shape-same shape like daun Kaduk but longer, dull and a bit rough surface, taste mint aroma, followed by bitter and hot, numb the tongue.

You may find out more from these link here:-
1. Daun Kaduk by Delicious Malaysia
2. Daun Sirih
3. Miang Kam uses Bai Cha Plu NOT Betel Leaf (Bai Plu)

Deep fried Daun kaduk ( Wild Betel Leaf)

Deep fry Daun Kaduk (Wild Betel leaves) can be tasted so aromatic, and dip it with this Tomato & Shallots dipping sauce, they are just so perfect. My kids who are not fancy on eating leaf ^_^ also eaten until non-stop.

Crispy batter for deep frying

This is my version of crispy batter. This batter is suitable for thin coating especially for deep frying vegetables. I guess this batter is good for Japanese Tempura too.

Corns and Pumpkin Savory Pancakes 玉米南瓜煎饼



The other day I made this simple and tasty savoury pancake for lunch..Basically I just modified from the earlier Japanese savoury pancake Okonomiyaki recipe.

Kuih Daun Kaduk 萎葉茶粿 (Wild Betel Leaf Ang Ku Kuih (steamed glutinous rice cake)

After I tasted with deep fried daun kaduk (recipe coming soon), and I realized that daun kaduk (betel leaf) can be tasted so nice, no raw or bitter taste but very fragrance instead. Since then, I starting to figure out new ideas to using daun kaduk to make into sweet kuih-muih (local cakes & snacks). I never came across local peoples using daun kaduk making into kuih-muih but usually they made into savoury dishes. I always admire Japanese peoples on their creativity, why they can use sakura leaves to make into various sweet and snacks e.g sakura mochi..So today I proof that our local herbs can be using to make nice kuih too..

As I know, daun kaduk is not 槟榔叶 (mostly consume by Indian community) even though they are come from the same family. From what I found here,  Chinese name should be called as 萎葉 (see link here) ..correct me if I am wrong..

Baked Tomato Pasta with Cheese



Actually I am not intend to make any post today. Mui Mui -My Little Favourite DIY yesterday message me that her Tomato event will only end by 4th Apr, ask me whether anymore tomato post to submit..So as to support her, I post this baked pasta with cheese which I encore from my previous post..My kids very often request me to make this pasta for them as they love the baked cheese on top..