Stir Fried Long Beans with Garlic ?????

I know this is an easy dish that many people will know how to do...

And I also know that many people do not cook long beans this way..

I just want to share with you that long beans are extremely fragrant when cooked this way..

and this method can be applied to other leafy vege dishes in order to achieve that 'wok smell' (wok hei) that we can only get in restaurants.

Ingredients

2 cloves of garlic, smashed with the side of a cleaver(even if u want to chop it, u must smash it first. If not the fragrance will be different)

200 gm long beans (washed n cut into long slants)

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 Tbsp oil

1 Tbsp water (if u want it slightly softer)

Method

1. Heat wok until hot.

2. Put in salt, stir a bit and wait for them to be jumping around.

3. Put in oil (at this point, the wok will be smoky)

4. Put in garlic and stir.. be careful, it'll burn easily at this point

5. Put in long beans (should be slightly damp at this point) and toss well for 1 minute.

6. Pour water around the wok, not onto the beans. The steam will soften the beans a bit.

7. Dish up.

Warning: If u cannot stand the "green smell" of vege, you may find this too raw for ur liking. Adding more water to further cook it will spoil the original intended texture & smell. But in the end, u're still the one that'll eat ur own stuff... Up to u then.

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Native Cooking in 21st Century

Aztec Shrimp Stew (Tlaxtihuilli)

12 pcs dried chilacate ancho, guajillo or; cascabel chiles
4 pcs dried chiles de �rbol
4 cup hot water
4 cloves large garlic; peeled
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/3 cup olive oil or vegetable oil
salt -- to taste
2/3 cup fresh masa (corn) dough
11 cup hot water or fish stock -- divided; use
2 lbs shrimp; peeled and deveined
1/3 cup dried shrimp lightly toasted on dry; skillet, ground
limes -- for garnish
hot corn tortillas -- for serving

Preheat comal or heavy skillet while you clean, seed and devein chilacate (or other) chiles. Turn on exhaust fan while you toast these chiles lightly, pressing them with the back of a large spoon. Do the same with the chiles de �rbol. Rinse chiles; cover with 4 cups hot water. Soak 1 hour, then
pur�e soaked chiles with small amount of soaking water, garlic and cumin seed until a smooth paste forms. Heat oil in a deep casserole, add chile paste and simmer, uncovered, over medium heat until thick. Season to taste with salt.
In a deep bowl, place masa and moisten with about 11/2 cups hot water or broth until the mixture is of a medium-thick consistency. Strain; add liquefied masa to chile paste and continue simmering until paste thickens, about 10 minutes. Add shrimp and toasted shrimp powder and cook 5 minutes. Add remaining hot water and cook 10 minutes. Correct seasoning. Serve stew
in deep bowls with limes on the side and fresh corn tortillas.
Notes: San Antonio Express-News November, 2007 "Cuisine of the Natives"
Yield: serves 8 makes

Bacon Bison Burger

6 slices smoked bacon (about 6 ounces)
1 pc medium yellow onion; thinly sliced
2 pcs medium jalape�os, seeded; thinly sliced longwise
3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
2 cloves medium garlic; peeled, minced (1 tbl)
1 pc large egg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds ground bison meat
6 swiss cheese; thin slices( 3 1/4 oz)
6 pcs toasted burger buns
1/2 pc medium hass avocado; sliced at serving

Savory bison patties are broiled then topped with a mess of saut�ed jalape�os and onions, slices of avocado, and bacon. It�s a commitment of a meal wimpy eaters need not apply. Total Time: 35 mins
1. Heat the broiler to high and arrange the rack in the middle. Place a cooling rack inside a baking sheet and set aside.
2. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add bacon and cook until browned and crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove bacon to a paper-towel-lined plate and set aside; do not discard bacon fat (you should have about 2 tablespoons). Return the pan to medium heat, add onion and jalape�o, and cook in reserved bacon fat until soft and starting to color, about 4 minutes; set aside.
3. Mix together Worcestershire, garlic, egg, salt, and pepper in a large bowl until egg is broken up. Add bison meat and mix until thoroughly combined.
4. Shape meat mixture into 6 (3/4-cup) patties and place on the rack inside the baking sheet. Broil until browned and springy to the touch, about 10 minutes for medium. Place cheese on top of patties, and cook until cheese melts, about 1 minute.
5. To serve, place cheeseburgers on buns and top with bacon, avocado
slices, and saut�ed onion mixture.
Yield: makes: 6 burger Preparation Time: 35 mi

Banaha (Indian Bread)

2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon salt
corn shucks (boil about 10 minutes; before using)

1.Mix dry ingredients. Add water. Mixture should be sti) enough to handle
easily. Form into oblong balls.
2. Wrap in corn shucks. Tie in the middle with corn shuck string. Drop into
a deep pot of boiling water. Cover and cook for 40 minutes. Serve hot.
Notes: Choctaw Nation

Blue Cornmeal Bread

1/2 cup butter; melted
2 cups blue cornmeal
1 tsp salt
1 cup water; boiling
1/2 cup milk
2 pcs large eggs
1 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 425. Melt butter in an 8-inch round cake pan in the oven. Put cornmeal, melted butter & salt in large bowl & blend with hand mixer. Pour in boiling water, mix some more to make a smooth batter. In a measuring cup, stir milk, eggs & baking powder with a fork. Slowly add to other mixture, blend thoroughly. Final batter will be quite thin. Pour into prepared cake pan & bake in 425 oven (in upper 1/3 of oven) for 30 minutes.
For variation, add chopped green chiles, cayenne pepper or sprinkle cheese on top of batter before baking.

Buffalo Corn Bread Casserole

1 pound ground buffalo
1 pc small onion; chopped
2-3 pcs jalapeno peppers; seeded and chopped*
2 packages corn bread/muffin mix (8-1/2 oz)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 can cream-style corn, (14-3/4 oz)
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 pcs eggs; beaten
3 cups cheddar cheese; shredded, divided

Bake: 40 min. In a large skillet, cook the buffalo, onion and peppers over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain and set aside. In a small bowl, combine the corn bread mix, salt, baking soda, corn, milk, oil and eggs. Pour half in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Layer with half of the cheese and all of the buffalo mixture. Top with remaining cheese. Carefully spread remaining batter over top. Bake, uncovered, at 350� for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Notes: Burning Tree Native Grill

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Lydia's Birthday

My daughter will be having her Cow One soon... kekeke.... Wot's that??

In cantonese, 'ngau yat' is a nickname for birthday.. and it's her
1st birthday!!!!!

She's going to have 3 parties! One this Sunday, the next on next Saturday and the next on next, next Sunday. 3 parties over 3 weekends. The actual date is Aug 28.

Why so many?? Just take it as, she's loved by too many people!

I'll be cooking for the first and last party.

Menu for 1st party: (few kiddies in mind)
Lasagna, Stock Fried Rice Vermicelli, Chicken Ham Sandwiches, Honey Chicken Wings, Pink Dragon Fruit Jelly, Tuna Patties, Caesar salad, Flower Pot Cakes, and Ribena

Menu for 3rd party: (all adults, except Lydia)
Kerabu Bihun, Spaghetti Bolognese, Garlic Baked Potatoes, Coleslaw, Mango pudding, Honey Chicken Wings and lime juice, and of course, birthday cake! No exact plan yet on what cake to bake..





This was taken when she was just 15 days

I will be posting abt her parties...

Btw.... I still dunno the gender of the bun in my oven.. it's 21 weeks now

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Pearl Balls ( ??? )

It's been years since I last made these... and I mean... 15 years at least..
The last time I made these were when I was 15... that long ago..so, u can guess how old I am now.. kekekeke..

I got this recipe from my mother's only cookbook.. haha.

The recipe is almost the same... but this time I added in prawn meat and discarded the ginger..

Pearl balls look like dimsum.. very nice for breakfast or as snacks.

This amount of ingredients yield about 50 balls

Ingredients:

500 gm minced pork (lean+fatty pork)

60 gm minced prawn meat

3 Tbsp finely chopped water chestnut

2 Tbsp finely chopped green onion

1 Tbsp corn starch

1 tsp sesame oil

1 egg white

3/4 tsp salt

good dash of white pepper

1 cup glutinous rice (soaked for at least 1 hour, better 3 hours, it'll expand to abt 1.5 cups)

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients together except rice

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Maggi Goreng (?Maggi ?)

In Malaysia, many brand names have turned to become generic names..

Diapers ... Pampers

Correction fluid... Liquid Paper

Photostat.... Xerox

Plastic containers.... Tupperware

and instant noodles are called Maggi noodles.. Maggi Meen in Cantonese, and very curly hair is called Maggi hair

So, if one is ordering maggi goreng (fried instant noodles) at the mamak(Indian Muslim) eateries, sometimes, it may be noodles of some other brand... well, no need to be at mamak... even at home.. Maggi Meen la!!!

Different mamak shops will have different versions of maggi goreng.. and I fell in love with the first version I came across from a mamak shop called Mubaruk in Kampar. My friends and I used to go to this shop after our Girls' Brigade meetings on saturday mornings.. so, this noodle dish sort of reminds me of the good old times. I watched the mamak guy cook it..so I copied it.. hehehe

Ingredients

1 packet of instant noodles (curry flavour)

1 Tbsp sliced onion

2 Tbsp sliced tomato

1 stalk choy sum (cut short lengths)

1 egg

2 Tbsp oil

1. Boil a saucepan of water and cook noodles until just soft (it'll still retain it's square shape). Cut noodle cake in half.

2. Heat wok and put in oil.

3. Fry onion until softened, put in tomato, fry until fragrant (it'll turn mushy)

4. Put in choy sum and stir.

5. Put in cooked noodles and stir well.

6. Sprinkle in seasoning from noodle pack. Stir well.

7. Push noodles to the side of wok and break in an egg. Stir and push noodles back onto egg.

8. Stir and toss for 1-2 minutes, until noodle becomes very fragrant.

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Wintermelon Tea ???

Days are hot...

Wintermelon tea is a nice drink to cool down a bit

There's this Malaysian brand of drinks called Yeo's and to me, they make the best asian beverages (in packaged form, of course)

And they do have Wintermelon Tea as well... rather pricey.. About RM4 (depends on where u buy) for half a dozen of 250ml packs.

Well, I decided to try and make mine... all for less than RM8 for 4L of Wintermelon tea or more.

To make a less sweet version, just wash (or even soak in cold water) the dried wintermelon pieces to get rid some of the sugar.. if u prefer sweeter, just leave them as they are. Don't cut on on the wintermelon if u want it less sweet, that way, u'll cut on the aroma too...

Ingredients:

3 cups dried wintermelon pieces (washed and sliced thinly to release flavour)

1/2 cup dried longan

5 L water (the dired wintermelon will soak up a lot, and you'll be left with about 4L

Method:

Bring water to a boil and put in dried longan and wintermelon slices. Simmer for 1 hour.

Strain the beverage and leave to cool before chilling in the fridge.

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