Acar ( vegetable pickle )

Ingredients A
1 pineapple (small size, cut into pieces )
1 cucumber (medium size, cut into strips of 1" length )
1 carrot (medium size, cut into strips of 1" length )
150g cabbage ( cut into pieces )
6 pcs red chilli

Pounded ingredients
25g ginger
25g turmeric
150g shallots

Ingredients for pickle mixture
1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sesame oil
125g sugar

some salt
some oil
30g sesame (optional)
100g groundnut (roasted and coarsely pounded)

Preparation
1. Add 1 tsp salt to the ingredients A and leave aside for 15 minutes.
2. Wash to remove excess salt and drain dry.
3. Heat some oil in kuali and stir fry pounded ingredients for about 10 minutes or until fragrant.
4. Add this pounded ingredients to the pickle mixture and bring to boil.
5. Leave mixture to cool.
6. Put all the ingredients A into the pickle mixture and leave for 1-2 days.
7. Mix with some sesame (optional) and sprinkle some groundnut on top before serving.

Stir-fried pumpkin

Ingredients
500g pumpkins ( cut into medium size pcs)
2 pcs shallots ( cut into slices)
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soya sauce
some oil




Preparation
1. Heat enough oil in saucepan to deep fry the pumpkin for 7 minutes. Make sure the pumpkin is semi-cooked only.
2. Dish out the pumpkin. Remove excess oil and leave about 2tbsp oil in saucepan.




3. Stir fry the shallots until fragrant.
4. Add the pumpkin, light soya sauce and oyster sauce and stir-fry to mix well.
5. Cover to cooked over slow fire for 5 minutes.
6. Dish out when the pumpkin is soft and cooked.

Chocolate muffins

Ingredients
200g cooking chocolate
50g butter
200g fine sugar
250g self-rising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla essence
3 eggs

Preparation
1. Preheat oven at 200C for 5 minutes.
2. Melt chocolate and butter together over medium fire.
3. Remove from heat and stir in sugar and leave to cool slightly.
4. Sieve the flour and baking powder.
5. Beat the eggs and add the eggs to mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
6. Fold in the flour to form a smooth batter.
7. Add vanilla essence and mix lightly.
8. Scoop the batter to fill the muffin tins ( make sure it's 2/3 full only).
9. Bake at 200C for 20 minutes.

Chinese rice dumplings

Ingredients A:
500g pork belly ( cut into rectangular pieces)
150g chinese mushroom ( soaked and cut into quarters)
25 pcs dried oyster ( soaked)
15 pcs chestnuts ( soaked and halved)
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tsp salt
dash of pepper
2 tsp five spice powder
5 shallots (sliced thinly)
1 tbsp chopped garlic
some oil

Ingredients B:
l kg glutinous rice
4 tbsp oil
2 tbsp soya sauce
2 tbsp dark soya sauce
1 tbsp salt
5 shallots (sliced thinly)

50 pcs bamboo leaves ( soaked, washed and drained dry)
some strings

Preparation
1. Heat 6 tbsp oil in kuali and fry the shallot and garlic till fragrant.
2. Add in the meat, mushroom, oyster, chestnut and stir-fry.
3. Add in the salt, soya sauce, oyster sauce, dark soya sauce, pepper and five spice powder and fry till meat is cooked.
4. Taste and add more salt or soya sauce if necessary.
5. Dish up and leave aside.

6. Heat about 4 tbsp oil in kuali and fry shallot until fragrant.
7. Add in the rice, soya sauce, dark soya sauce and salt.
8. Stir-fry over low fire to mix well.
9. Dish up into a pot.






10. Take 2 pcs of bamboo leaves (with rough surfaces facing each other) and fold into a cone shape.

11. Put in 2 tbsp rice, followed by the fillings(meat,mushroom,oyster and chesnut) and then top with another 2 tbsp rice.

12. Wrap and tie the rice dumpling as follows.
13. Put the rice dumplings in a big pot of boiling water (fully immersed) and boil for 4 1/2 to 5 hours.

14. Hang the dumplings up to drain dry.

15. Cool for 5 minutes and serve.

Lynn's Pineapple tarts

Lynn makes pineapple tarts for us every Chinese New Year. Her pineapple tarts really taste fantastic!

Ingredients
For Pastry:
250g butter
380g plain flour

60g icing sugar

2 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla essence

For pineapple jam filling (or 400g pineapple-tart jam):
2 pineapples, grated
200g sugar
2 cloves
3cm cinnamon stick
1 tbsp lime juice

1 egg, beaten for glazing

Preparation
1. Put all ingredients for pineapple jam into a pot and bring to boil.
2. Stir and cook over low fire untill almost dry.
3. Leave to cool.






4. Put butter, icing sugar and egg yolk into a mixing bowl. Mix well till creamy.
5. Fold in the flour to form a dough.







6. Put pastry into the mould.
7. Press the pastry out from the mould to form lengthy strips.









8. Take some pineapple jam and form into a small ball. Place it at one end of the pastry strip and roll up.









9. Glaze with beaten egg and bake at 180C for 15minutes till golden brown.
10. Cool before storing in a container.

Simple blueberry muffin

Ingredients
200g fine sugar
240g self-rising flour
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 tbsp canned blueberries

Preparation
1. Preheat oven at 220C for 5 minutes.
2. Sieve the flour and baking powder.
3. Beat the eggs.
4. Drain the blueberries.
5. Mix all the ingredients (except flour) together. Fold in flour to form a smooth batter.
6. Scoop the batter to fill the muffin tins ( make sure it's 2/3 full only).
7. Bake at 220C for 15 to 20 minutes.

( This recipe is from my sister and the muffins turned out very nice. )