Blog

January 2015

Viewing posts from January , 2015

Weekend Cooking: English-Style Fish and Chips

Rudy and I love our red meat, but we do love a good fish with chips.  The places we went to for fish and chips don’t always get it right, so I decided to make my own, in search for the perfect recipe.   Unfortunately for me, many “perfect” recipes call for beer, but I finally found one without.  My verdict: the batter was indeed crispy, however my fries browned too fast and were not crisp; I suspect they were not dry enough when frying.  The malt vinegar and tartar sauce are great accompaniments for the fish.  The search continues!

Based on the recipe by Tyler Florence.

Read More

Weekend Cooking: Korean Dumplings (Mandu) In Soup

Kak’mbang really loves her Korean TV shows, just like a large population of the world today.  Every now and then she sees people on TV eating dumplings in broth, and the dish does look really yummy.  So, recently she asked me to make our own pork-free version, and I based it on a great recipe by Maangchi.  Trust me these dumplings are delicious, and having them in soup is just perfect for cold, rainy evenings.  Do be warned that this recipe makes a huge batch, and is quite time consuming, but they are worth your while.  Pan-fry or steam the rest; they make great snacks.  Good luck!

Updated on Mar 17 with new pictures.  I usually make my own filling but use store-bought skins nowadays, because it saves me so much time. I usually get suikow wrappers, which are bigger and well-suited for boiled dumplings.

Updated on 1 Feb 2020 using dried seafood instead of fish stock cubes. I was fortunate to have gotten a small pack of iriko and konbu from the Kuromon Market in Osaka a few weeks before, and used it in this recipe. The difference in flavor was staggering; such delicateness, yet rich in umami. I will always try my best to get my hands on these ingredients whenever I can from now on, in order to be able to keep making this dish this way.

Read More

Weekend Cooking: Crispy Curry Puff Pastry

I discovered that I had some frozen leftover Kentang Bol filling, so I decided to throw together a quick afternoon snack, and made some (not-so-curry) curry puffs.  This is the recipe for just the pastry, which is really light and crispy; you can use whatever filling you like, actually (empanadas, anyone?).  Next time I’m thinking of subbing the white pepper with cinnamon, and make apple turnovers.  Yum!

Based on a recipe by ResipiAnakBapak.  Enjoy!

Updated on 21 Jun 2020 with refreshed photos and some tweaks to the recipe.

Read More

Weekend Cooking: Baked Chicken Alfredo Pasta

I had some leftover alfredo sauce in the fridge, and decided to make something simple for dinner.  I remembered that I had shared a recipe by Gimme Some Oven on Facebook a few weeks back, and it became my inspiration for dinner tonight.  Yummy and light yet very easy to make, this comfort dish is perfect for lazy weekends like today.

I used store-bought alfredo sauce to cut down prep time, but I might try making it from scratch next time.

Read More