#427 ; Sambal manga@ Malay ripe mango salad : recipe #231

I have been eating this since I was very young. Whenever mango was in season, My grandma will made a lot of this "sambal". The sweet-sour taste of this salad is perfect for the third dish of a typical Malay lunch/dinner.

What I used:
3 apple sized ripe mango: peeled and cut into small pieces or "cancang" in Brunei Malay.
1/2 bulb red onion - sliced
1 large red chili -sliced ; can be replaced with the hot bird's eye chili
garlic sized prawn paste@belacan- toasted and break into small pieces
soya sauce
sugar- optional

step:
mix all the ingredients together , adjust the seasoning, leave aside for at least 15 minutes before serving.

#426: Cucumber Coriander salad : recipe #230

Another variation of the salad I made using egg. The ingredients complement each other well.

Ingredients:
A medium size cucumber - skin partially peeled and sliced thinly
A handful coriander leaves-chopped
1 large green chili- sliced
1/2 red onion -sliced thinly
3 tbsp coconut milk- add more if necessary
1 dsp lemon juice
salt and sugar to taste.

steps:
Add the ingredients together, adjust the seasoning , let the salad "sit" for about 15 minutes before serving.

#425 : Bean sprout and Tofu soup : recipe #229

My hubby is currently into tofu. So I made a very simple soup for him

What I used:

3 cups water
1 handful bean sprouts
I tube egg tofu- cut into pieces
onion- cut into pieces
garlic-chopped
Spring onion
green chilies

seasoning:
chicken stock powder
sesame oil
white pepper and salt
anchovies ( 1/2 handful)

How I prepare it:
1. boil the anchovies for 5 minutes in water, remove them.
2. to the stock add in the other ingredients except the bean sprouts.
3. Let the soup boil for a minute, add in the bean sprouts, adjust the seasoning and dish up.

#424 Halo-Halo

Halo-Halo is a Popular Philippines dessert consisting of shaved ice and milk to which are added various beans and fruits . It's very similar to ABC, but I much prefer this. I love the taste of Yam in this desert!This afternoon, we went to buy the Halo-Halo for ourselves, Oreo and Milo shakes for the kids. My pick would be the Halo-Halo from stall no 81 of the Sumbangsih complex at Beribi. To accompany these drinks, I made toasted foccacia bread topped with chicken and Mozzarella cheese.

#423 : Another lazy morning :)

Another awesome morning. Lazying around for me is a luxury, as a working mom with no maid at home, everyday is a struggle. During school days, I wake up as early as 4.00 a.m. preparing breakfast, set off from home at 6.15 a.m. sending Darwish off to school then arrived at work at about 7.15 a.m. I usually go home at 1.30 p.m, if I don't have any classes/ any CCAs in the afternoon, but most of the time I'll stay until 4.00 p.m or if there are meetings, until 5.30 p.m. More chores waiting for me at home when I returned from work.

This morning for breakfast I made Portuguese egg tarts , I made these before and the recipe is also featured in the 1st Brunei blogger recipe book. This morning, I purposely shorten the baking time, but increase the temperature during baking, as a result I created a lava Portuguese egg tart. Yummy!
To pass my time, I read a Malay novel. I have not read Malay novel for a looooong time, I did find them "cheesy" and "cliche". Somehow the other day, while browsing for reading materials in one of the book shop, this book caught my eyes. I bought it and was amazed at myself for buying it. After reading a few pages, I couldn't stop reading . It has 884 pages and I was able to finish it within a day. That's one page turner, with the climaxes beautifully executed. A very good read.summary:
It's a life journey of an undergrad by the name of Amilia and her friends. The novel portray the difficulties faced by these undergrads plus their journey to find their soul mates. In the end, Amilia did find hers, but he is a Leaukaemia patient. Did her wait worth it?

This novel is written by a young, talented female writer; Wan Noraini Wan Nordin. more about this writer here

salam :)

#422: Bamboo Charcoal bread anyone?

Another lazy weekday. It's a blessing to have a long school holiday to recuperate myself. We went for a family outing yesterday, bringing the kids out to buy some stuffs. I bought myself a thick novel to read. I have not been reading seriously for a while as my time was taken over by either office or house chores. We went to Yayasan Building and since we were there, I took the opportunity to buy the Charcoal bamboo bread from the Loft, a small bakery shop at the basement level, Yayasan complex.

Japanese has been using charcoal as food for detox purposes as it can absorb the toxic materials from the digestive system. They add them into their breads, cakes, cookies etc. The usage of Bamboo charcoal is fully approved by the Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation, MOH , Japan.

I made a sandwich from the charcoal bamboo bread with mozzarella and red pepper pickle filling, and grilled them and I am ready to continue my day.

#421 : Cucur Bubok : recipe #228

My hubby's favourite. I only ate these "seriously" after we were married, when I lived at my dad's place, I often wondered why my folks love them so much. Bubok shares the same genus as krill and in Peninsula Malaysia and Singapore they are known as "Udang geragau".

When in season, a kilogram of "Bubok" costs between B$2.00 to B$3.00. People usually make them into "belacan" or the shrimp paste which become one of the important ingredients in Brunei cooking. Other use of bubok would be the making of "cincalok" ( fermented bubok), which is also popular in the Philippines. Bubok can be eaten fresh or dried and "cucur bubok" or the "bubok" fritters is one of the popular dish in which the main ingredient is the fresh "bubok".

Ingredients:
1 bowl( medium-size) of fresh "bubok" ~ these need to be thoroughly cleaned as they tend to have a lot of sand, I usually soaked them first and rinse thoroughly 2/3 times.
1/2 bowl of all purpose flour
1 egg~ beaten
1 red chili ~ sliced
1 tsp baking powder
1 small size bombay onion~diced
2 pips garlic~diced
1 plant spring onion~ sliced finely
salt and lots of white pepper powder
a little water to bind the ingredients
lots of oil to deep fry the "cucur"

steps:
1. mix all the ingredients except oil. The batter should be in thick consistency. Adjust the salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in pan, deep fry the batter by putting them into the "not so hot" oil, put them a spoon at a time until you are done. Once the batter floats, turn the upper side down into the oil and once they are golden brown on both sides, take them out from the oil and drain them on kitchen tissue.

note: Best if serve warm with your favourite chili sauce. Alternatively you can eat these with your favourite salsa.

#411: Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins : recipe #226

One word: Yummy !

A
13/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar

B
1/2 cup sour cream
1 egg
1/2 cup sunflower oil
2 large, very ripe bananas( mashed)

C
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips.

1. Mix A together in a bowl, B in another bowl
2. Add B to A, without over mixing
3. lastly fold C to the mixture.
4. Bake in muffins tray till done... about 15-20 minutes at 170 degrees in a preheated oven.

#407: Carrot cuppies

#405 : 2009, DAY 1

#404 : Savoury Carrot and Feta cheese muffins

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cup grated carrots
2 and 1/2 cup all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/4 cup sun flower oil
8 oz feta cheese , cut into small cubes
1 cup yogurt

steps:
Preheat the oven to 180 degree
grease 12 cup muffin pan
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl
beat the eggs , yogurt and oil in a bowl until smooth.
gradually add in the dry ingredients until just combined
stir in the carrots and feta
spoon the batter into the prepared pans.
Bake until well risen and springy to the touch
Let cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack

#403: Today's new cuppies

#402: grilled coriander stuffed prawns: recipe #224

This is very yummy. A must try for all prawn lovers :)

Ingredients:
10 large prawns- intestine removed, the backsides are cut to form slits for stuffing.
oil
sea-salt
cracked black pepper

stuffing:
coriander leaves-chopped
tamarind paste
fish sauce
dried chili paste
chicken stock powder.

steps:
1. fill in the slits with the prepared stuffing. keep aside for at least 5 minutes
2. mix the prawns carefully with salt and black pepper.
3. Heat oil in a grilling pan
4. When oil is hot, arrange the prawns in the pan, cooked for about 3 minutes on either side of the prawns. When the prawns are cooked dish up .

#401: Yam cake ( Wu Tow Ko): recipe #223

Ingredients:
250gm yam, diced
1 cup water

(A)Mix together:
1/2 cup rice flour
4 tsp tapioca flour
1 cup water
1/4 tsp alkaline water

seasoning- (adjust to your taste)
chicken stock powder
salt to taste
white pepper
1/4 tsp sugar

other Ingredients : ( can be used for garnishing, I mixed them with my batter)
4 tbsp dried prawns, soaked and chopped coarsely
4 shallots, sliced
1 chicken sausage, diced

Method:
heat oil in wok and fry shallots till crisp. remove from wok
Fry the dried prawns, saute till fragrant, remove and set aside.
Add in the diced sausage,remove.
Add yam and stir, fry well. Add water and bring to a boil.
Add in (A) and seasoning till batter is fairly thick. Add in the shallots, prawns and sausage.
Adjust the taste.
Pour thick batter into a well-greased tray.

steam till "kuih" is set and cooked through. Leave aside to cool before cutting it.
serve with chili sauce

#400 : "Lemak manis" fruit

I bought this interesting fruit at Kundasang fruit and vegetable market. The taste is similar to that of Japanese sweet potatoes. If I were at home, I would use it to make muffins :)

#399 : Cute cuppies :)

My dad loves to eat local fruits . One of his fave is "Tibadak". I made these before I went off to KK the other day using this recipe, and iced them with butter cream icing .

#398: I am back!!! :)

I love December! I enjoyed my action packed December so far and I still have 3 more days to enjoy. There are a lot of stuffs to write about. I have not blog about my recipes for quite sometime now, I think I will do that later.. :) . For now I just want to share some of the "balasan" that I've prepared for my sis-in law's wedding.

#397 : Action packed December ....

December is a busy month for my family and I . I started my leave on the 10th and then was busy helping out with the preparation of my sis-in-law's wedding. I am in-charged of the "balasan" and also baking cup cakes for the guests during her Solemnization day. During the occasions, My hubby and I were in-charged of the photography amongst other things. It was a relief that everything is over and now I am really looking forward to enjoy the rest of my hols especially that this year we planned to explore the national parks of Sabah.

Here are pics of the couples... more in my facebook :)

CONGRATULATIONS TO THEM : FAUZIAH AND HUSAINI, ON THEIR WEDDING DAY : 12-14TH DEC 2008

#396 GOOGLE IMAGE QUIZ......I was tagged ~ by Ciliqueen :) Thanks there

Why do I blog?

The age of my next birthday is.....

A place I like to travel

A favourite place

A favourite thing

A favourite colour

The city I live in

A nick name I had

College major

I am fascinated by this

A bad habit

hobbies

Current wish list

If you like this quiz, considered yourself tagged :)

#395 What happen since I last blog?

Meragang outing 2 ~22nd November 2008

CCA awarding ceremony ~ 26th November 2008

My Hubby's cycling marathon ~ 23rd November 2008

Maizatul Kok's "doa selamat"~ 22nd November 2008 ; CONGRATULATION ON THE BIRTH OF YOUR DAUGHTER; Alyssa

Returning of textbooks 22nd November 2008

Staff Annual dinner 16th November

A lot more events coming soon in my "action pack" December.
Adios :)