Tau fu Fa

Never thought that we could be savouring Tau Fu Fah here in Perth... This product, which we could get from Asian Grocer, was introduced to us by a friend of a friend during one of those Pot-Luck Dinners. She even taught us how to do it right...





Buy the packet as shown above, doubled the amount of water required.... follow the instruction ...voila ~ you have Tau fu Fa.

For syrup : just boil brown sugar with daun pandan until thickened.

Off Track #2 ~Back from Holiday....

Yes... I am back from my 2 weeks holiday in Malaysia.

We (minus Mr H) had a fabulous time with family and friends... and good food. Dare not go on the weighing scale just yet.....

with grandparents

with fabulous friends...

childhood buddies

Alor Setar Pekan Rabu.... lots of goodies...yum!!!

These are some photos of mouth-watering food....

Sambal Belacan with buah kuinin ... by mom

Fish Curry .... by Kak La (my sister)

kerabu perut... by mom

Pan Mee ... by Pete

Yong Taufu ~ Malay version ... by Abang Ayob(brother-in-law)

Lemony Kitchen Goes on Holiday.....

I'll be away.....so there will be no postings from 10th April to the end of April.

See you soon ....

Have a nice Easter Holiday......

God Bless & Take Care

Vietnamese Lemongrass Chicken

This is a typical Vietnamese dish...lots of lemongrass, fish sauce...One pot dish is what I like best... meat and vegetables - all in one...

• 3 chicken breasts - dice into bite size (or beef)
• 2 stalks lemongrass - blend into paste
• 2 dried chilli
• fish sauce
• salt and sugar to taste
• carrots, onion, sweet peas
• coriander sprigs

Add 1 tbspn of cooking oil into a wok or saucepan. Cook the chicken meat in batches for about 3 minutes - to seal the juice. Put it a side. Saute onion until translucent. Add lemongrass, and dried chilli. Add the chicken, fish sauce and sugar (to have that 'tinge of sweetness'). Lastly add vegetables (pre-cooked the carrots in the microwave).

Trivial Triffle

I chanced upon this recipe from Better Homes and Garden magazine... about 3 years ago, while waiting for Mr H Jr to finish his violin lesson...This triffle is a bit different from the triffle that I used to make, all back to basic...using fresh ingredients for the custards...

For the jelly base:

• 1 packet of red jelly crystal (use aeroplane jelly or Nona jelly crystal), follow instruction on the packet.
• 1 sponge cake (sponge fingers or 'bahulu')
• 6 tbspn orange juice
• option: 6 tbspn red jam or fresh strawberry or berries

Arrange the sponge cake or fingers in a clear bowl. Pour orange juice onto the cake. Spoon over the jam or spread the berries. Pour in the jelly mixture. Let it cool and place it in the fridge.

For the custards:

• 5 egg yolks
• 5 tbspn sugar
• 1 teaspn vanilla essence
• 3 tbspn plain flour
• 600 ml milk

Whisk the egg yolk and sugar in a mixing bowl. Add vanilla essence, flour and mix well. Heat milk in a saucepan until almost boiling. Pour the hot milk into the egg mixture and stir with a whisk. Pour the custard mixture back into the saucepan. Keep stirring over low heat until its thickened. Sieve the mixture and let it cool. Pour the cooled custard over the set jelly and refrigerate.

Final layer: Whisk double cream until set and spread it over the custard. decorate it with whatever takes your fancy... with fresh fruit or '100s and 1000s'...

Alternative for the custards: Mix about 3 tbspn of custard powder with 1/2 cup of milk. Mix it well. Heat 400ml of milk in a saucepan until about to boil. Pour in the custard mixture, sugar (4 tbspn or more depending on your liking) and stir well until thickened... Leave it to cool and pour over the jelly.

880 days and still counting.....

Yes... that's approximately the number days,the kids started schooling here in Perth. And its the same number of days that they have been bringing my 'packed' lunches to school... Sometimes sandwiches, leftover or rolls. So far so good... no major drama.

...came across this sandwich about two years ago... can't recall which website... its nutritious and yummy too!!

• 1 chicken breast - cooked and shred
• 1 avocado - mashed
• a little bit of lemon juice - 1 tbspn
• approximately 3 inches of the celery stalk - finely chopped
• salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients... and spread it over bread slices or baby turkish bread or tortilla...and top up with fresh salad.

Masak Manis Tembikai

My mum used to cook this dish, whenever watermelon was in season. She called this ~ Masak Manis Tembikai.

Coming from a large family, with so many mouths to feed and with my dad's meagre income, we'll most likely ended up with this meal everytime my dad brought home watermelon. As a young child.... oohhh!!! I disliked it very... very... much... but dared not voice out...my mum was 'garang' in her younger days ... I'd quietly ate my plain rice with kicap manis...

But now...its a different story... We (Mr H and I) love this... and ironically... as the Malay proverb goes - 'Kuah tumpah ke Nasi'.. my kids would make a ruckus ...'Oh No! not again' and would prefer to eat their rice with kicap manis too!!! (lucky them! their mom is not that garang!!)

• watermelon skin - discard the outer skin
• dried shrimps
• 1 tbspn belacan (Maggi granules)
• 1 chilli
• 3 shallots

Pound dried shrimp and shallots. Bring water in a saucepan to a boil. Add the pounded shrimp and shallots. Continue boiling until aromatic for about 10-15 minutes. Add white peppercorn. Add watermelon skin and chilli. Bring to boil....Season with salt...

Fig- sation....

Ever tried fresh figs? There are many varieties of figs could be found here in summer. They are so sweet and juicy but be careful of the little wriggly creature...