Potato Salad

Dearest Whimsical Readers,

Need a quick munch and yet gives you a full and happy stomach? Potato Salad never disappoints me. You can either treat this as an entree for your dinner, or a simple meal for your lunch. Here's how it goes:

Ingredients:
2 Russet Potato (US) (preferably medium sized)
1 Green Apple (I like the sour taste to it)
2 Shallots
10 Cherry Tomato (slide into half)
2 Eggs (boiled)
4 Rashers of Streaky Bacon
Salt and Pepper
Mayonnaise (preferably KRAFT)

Method:
(Preparation)
1. Chop the potatoes into cubes and boil them (takes about 15-20 minutes)
2. Boiled the eggs (takes about 10-15 minutes)
3. While your potatoes and eggs are boiling it's way, slice your cherry tomatoes into half, put them into the chiller.
4. I prefer not to remove apple's skin, I love the skin! Chop them into cubes and place them into the chiller
5. Slice the shallots into thin slices.
6. Fry the Bacon till crispy, chop them into chunks.
7. When the potatoes and eggs are ready, drain them, leave it to cool *slice the eggs into quarters*
8. Add all of the ingredients into a nice salad serving bowl, Potatoes, Tomatoes, Eggs, Apple, Bacon, Shallots and finally the Mayonnaise. Salt and Pepper to taste.

Note: This dish you will get to taste, salty, sour and sweet. Enjoy!


Your truly,
Whimsical Buddies

Fried Rice #2 with Fried Dace

Fried Rice with Fried Dace

Dear Whimsical Readers,

F~ This is another version of chinese fried rice, as we all know, fried rice is very simple and can be made with all sorts of ingredients depending on your creativity. This version is from my dear mommy and I love it! So I'd like to share it with everyone, the special ingredient here is Fried Dace with Salted Black Beans, its not the prettiest thing in a can if you're not familiar with Chinese Cuisine. But I assure you, it taste really good. It can also easily go with plain white rice as a dish itself. I've also heard you can cook it with Bak Choy or Bitter Gourd, interesting even for me. Be sure you will see these recipes as soon as I try them! But now, I will show you Fried Rice with Fried Dace, here we go!

Ingredients: Serves 4

4 Cups Overnight Rice

1/2 Can Fried Dace with Salted Black Beans (thinly shredded)

1 Small Chinese Cabbage (thinly sliced)

1 Egg

1 Clove Garlic (finely chopped)

1 Medium Yellow Onion (thinly chopped)

1 Tbsp Ginger (finely sliced)

1 Tbsp Cooking Oil

2 Tbsp Light Soy Sauce

1 Tbsp Dark Soy Sauce

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Fried Dace with Salted Black Bean

Method:

1. In a heated Pan/ Wok, add in 1-2 Tbsp Oil from the can of Fried Dace with Salted Black Beans. Fry the Fried Dace, to give it a crunchy texture for the fried rice. Dish out and keep aside.
2. In the same Pan/ Wok, now with Cooking Oil, lightly brown the Garlic, Ginger and Onion. Followed by the Chinese Cabbage and let it cook for 2 minutes.

3. Next, add in the Rice to the mix and continue to cook the mix for another 5 minutes.

4. Then, crack the Egg and mix it well as you cook it. (the Egg binds everything together, so a good mix is crucial) 

5. At this point, add in both Soy Sauce for colour and again mix well.

6. Bringing back the Fried Dace with Salted Black Beans and mixing it well and adding Oil from the can if needed at any point. Taste and adjust to your preference.

7. Dish out and serve hot.

Note:

To enhance the fragrance and flavour of the Fried Rice, use the Oil from the can of Fried Dace with Salted Black Beans instead.

Enjoy!

Your Truly,

The Whimsical Buddies

Tofu with Woodear "Mu Er"

Tofu with "Mu Er"

Hello Whimsical Readers,

F~ A couple weeks ago, you had some Cold Tofu from my partner in crime J~ and this week I thought of sharing with you another one of my Tofu recipe. It is a hot dish cooked with chicken and a type of mushroom that is very commonly used in many Asian cuisine called Cloud Ear Fungus always more commonly known as Wood Ear from the direct Chinese translation "木耳" pronounced as mù ěr.

I like this mushroom because even after it is cooked, it still retains its crunchy texture. It might look somewhat unappealing because of it's brown and slight translucent appearance but I assure it is really tasty when you get it right. Sometimes this fungus comes in a dried form and has to be soaked in water for awhile before you can cook but the fresh ones should also be easily available if you know where to look. ;)

For those who are skeptical of Tofu as well as strange Asian fungus, worry not, this recipe should change open your mind about it. Still not convinced? Try it with a friend or a loved one, make an "Experiment Night" and if you really don't like it, I guess there's always McD's or Pizza. But you have to try it before you can hate it so here it goes!

Ingredients: Serves 2-3
2 tubes Egg Tofu (1 inch slices) Be very gently as the Tofu can be very delicate*
60 grams Wood Ear (2x2 slices or thinly sliced)
60 grams Chicken (small pieces)
3 Tbsp Cooking Oil
2 Tsp Sesame Oil (optional)
3-5 Tbsp Soy Sauce
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Method:
1. In a heated pan/ wok, add 1 Tbsp of Cooking Oil, fry the Egg Tofu until the surface is slightly browned or when the smoothness because somewhat rough (approx 2 minutes). Then, take it out and leave it aside.
2. With the same pan/ wok, add the remaining Cooking Oil to cook the Wood Ear for 2-3 minutes, followed by the Chicken for another 5 minutes.
3. At this point, bring the Egg Tofu back into the pan/ wok as well as adding in the Soy Sauce, Salt and Pepper. Then under a medium flame, close the lid for 2 minutes.
4. Just before dishing out to serve, add some Sesame Oil to enhance the fragrance if you like.

Enjoy!


Yours Truly,
The Whimsical Buddies

Aubergine Belacan (Spicy)

Hello Whimsical Readers,

F~ Hello, hello, did you notice the date today (10/10/10) is supposedly a very auspicious date? Not sure whether about where you're from, but where I'm from, it's for sure that there will be many couples getting married on this day. However we're not here to talk about people getting married, we're here for something more important which is FOOD. Haha. So let's get cracking..

However, let me first introduce to you a crucial ingredients that is very popular is the Southeast Asian regions from countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Philippines. It is called Sambal Belacan. Sambal itself is a Malaysian/ Indonesian word for chili based sauce. Belacan is grounded shrimp that has been fermented, sun-dried after which cut into small blocks prior to cooking. Sambal belacan together means the shrimp paste is mixed and cooked with grounded chili, making this ingredient very spicy.

So now that you know one of the secret to spicy curries, let me show you another way to use Sambal Belacan. Without further ado, I present to you Aubergine Sambal Belacan. It is a mixture from the Malay and Chinese cuisine of Malaysia.

Aubergine Sambal Belacan

Ingredients: Serve 4
1 medium-sized Aubergine (sliced)
3 small Shallots (finely chopped)
70 grams Chicken (thinly sliced)
30 grams Dried Shrimp
2-4 Tsp Sambal Belacan (depending on your Spice Tolerance Level)
3 Tbsp Cooking Oil
1-2 Tbsp Soy Sauce
250 ml Water
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Method:
1. After heating up your Cooking Oil in a pan/wok, add the Shallots and fry them for about 2 minutes.
2. Then add the Dried Shrimp and let it cook for a minute or so before adding the Chicken and again letting it cook for 2 minutes.
3. Next, add in the Aubergine and pour in 150 ml Water and close the lid for 3-5 minutes. (stirring it occasionally)
4. Turn the flame to a medium high before adding the Sambal Belacan, Salt & Pepper, Soy Sauce and the remaining Water to the mix.
5. Let it simmer for 2 minutes before serving.

Enjoy, and don't burn your tongue. =P


Yours Truly,
The Whimsical Buddies

Beef Stragonoff

Dear Whimsical Readers,

F~ So today is my birthday!! Yeah! Happy Birthday to me! I'm not really a big-party person, I just don't like the idea of having a big party and not being able to interact with everyone, I prefer a something smaller where everyone one has the opportunity to talk to each other. Although come to think about it, I haven't had a party for myself since I was 12. Every other party for me is either small with my various groups of friends and big ones I host are usually for someone else.

Turning 22, its not so significant as 21 but I was on an island waiting for the storm to pass with a group of campers so we can kayak our way back to the mainland, plus the fact I was camping the whole month so basically means I was cut off from the world, doesn't really make it a typical 21st birthday. Nonetheless, it is memorable for me because I was doing what I love, out in the "wilderness"! Some of you would think I'm crazy but I absolutely love the outdoors and camping. And since this year I am within civilization, I decided to have a small dinner party of 8.

This is actually the first time I've made dinner for 8 people all by myself and  have to say, I'm really proud of my accomplishment, next step Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner for 25! Wow..haha. Back to my birthday dinner, I made Beef Stroganoff with a side of pasta. It is easy enough to make and you can cook it a little earlier in advance and let it simmer to perfection as you entertain your guest. And making a larger portion is no a problem either.

Beef Stroganoff is originally a Russian dish which included sour cream in the recipe and instead of pasta, rice was served with it. The recipe varied as it travelled to Europe, North America, Australia, South Africa, Brazil etc. This version of beef stroganoff is more towards the european styled cuisine with cream sauce.

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients: Serves 4
600 grams Beef Tenderloin (pounded flat, sliced, lightly coated with Flour)
375 grams Fettucini Pasta
300 grams Mushroom (preferably fresh, thinly sliced)
1 Medium Yellow Onion (finely chopped)
300 grams Cream
60 grams Butter
30 grams Flour
60 ml Red Wine
1 Tbsp Tomato Pureè
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
Basil Leaves (garnish, optional)

Method:
1. In a boiling Pot of water, add some Oil (so the Pasta doesn't stick to each other) and Salt (for minimal flavour) before adding in the Pasta. Cook it accordingly and drain it, then keeping it warm, aside
2. Meanwhile, in another heated Pan/ Wok, melt 40 grams of Butter before putting in the Onion and letting it glaze for about 2 minutes.
3. Followed by the Beef, letting it cook for 5 minutes. Dish out the Beef and Onion and put it aside, keeping it warm.
4. Add the remainder Butter into the same heated Pan/ Wok, then toss in the Mushroom for about 3 minutes. Cook them until they start to turn into a nice brown.
5. Once the Mushroom starts to brown, add in Tomato Pureè and Red Wine and continue cooking for another 2 minutes or until the liquid begins to thicken.
6. Now bringing back the Beef and Onion into the Pan/ Wok, then mix in the Cream under a low to medium flame, thickening the Cream. (approx 1-2 minutes). Also not forgetting the Salt and Pepper to taste.
7. Dish out a generous portion of both beef and pasta and serve hot. Garnish with a couple Basil leaves.

Note:
- A good tip how to properly cook your mushroom (which I learnt from movie: Julie & Julia) is not to crowd your mushrooms. fanning them out thus giving them enough space to cook and brown nicely.
- For those of you who prefer more sauce like me, what you can do, it add a little more Cream (100 grams) as well as Water (65 ml). However keep note that once the cream sauce cools down, the tendency of the sauce to reduce is very likely.

Enjoy!


Yours Truly,
The Whimsical Buddies

Help! The Weather is Killing Me!

Dear Whimsical Readers,

J~ Air conditioner already on full blast but the weather is so hot that all you want to do is just hide yourself in the house!? The humidity is so high that it feels like you got punched into your face!? Ho Right! You came to the right place! This is the dish that can solve the problem for you! It's super fast and east and I guarantee this is a cold dish to remember for life!

Cold Tofu

Ingredients:
A box/ 300 gram Silken Tofu
Spring onion to garnish (finely chopped)
3 Shallots
3 Tbs Oil

Sauce:
2 Tbs Light Soy Sauce
1 Tbs Oyster Sauce

Method:
1. Remove the tofu gently from the box, place the tofu on a plate, add in all the sauces on the tofu, and let it chill in the refrigerator.
2.  Heat up the oil in low heat, add in the shallots, fry till it turns golden brown.
3. Take out the tofu, while the oil is still bubbling it's way, and immediately pour all the oil on top of the tofu
4. Garnish with spring onions and serve.


Yours Truly,
The Whimsical Buddies

Thai Panang Fish Curry (Spicy)

Panang Fish Curry

Hello Whimsical Readers,

F~ To those of you who loves curries, raise your hand..Wohoo! I absolutely love curries even though my tongue has a limited spice tolerance. The good thing is, overtime your tongue learns to get use to the spiciness but don't eat things that are too spicy too often as they can destroy your tastebuds.

So, this week I'm making Panang/ Phanaeng Curry, it is a dry type of curry and it's something from my neighbour, Thailand. Home to some seriously spicy mini chilies, you don't want to mess with these guys, its the small chilies that are the killer. But not to worry, i can't handle that much either so this recipe isn't gonna make to running for water. Chicken, beef and fish are the more suitable meats for these types of curries which contains coconut milk in it. Although beef is more popularly used for this curry, I would really recommend trying fish for this dish. It's GOOD.

Ingredients: Serves 4
100 gram Panang Curry Paste
600 ml Coconut Milk/ Santan
500 gram Pangasuis Fish (approx. 2x2 inch pieces)
2 Tbsp Fish Sauce
2 Tsp Palm Sugar
1-2 Fresh Chili (sliced)
5 medium Kaffir Lime Leaves
1 Lemongrass (cut into half or 3-thirds)
Basil Leaves (garnish)
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
100 ml Water

Panang Curry Paste

Method:
1. As soon as your Vegetable Oil is heated, add the Panang Curry Paste into the pan/ wok under low to medium flame for a minute or so.
2. Pour in your Coconut Milk making sure you give it a good shake before. Let it cook for another couple minutes whilst stirring under medium high flame..
3. Add in the Fish or your meat of choice and cook it until it is almost done.
4. Lowering the flame to medium again, add the Fish Sauce, Palm Sugar, Lemongrass and the Water to the mix. Let it simmer for 10 minutes with the lid on.
5. If you prefer some sauce instead of a dry curry, you can add some more water (but not too much otherwise you will dilute the flavour and spiciness of the curry) Also add the Kaffir Leaves and the Chili.
6. Garnish with Basil Leaves and serve with steamed white rice.

Wow, typing this is making me hungry again, and I just ate not too long ago..Haha. So, enjoy this recipe.


Yours Truly,
The Whimsical Buddies

Rice Going To Waste?

Hello Whimsical Readers,

J~ Good day! Ever scratching over your head for rice going to the waste? It's very wasteful to throw all the left over rice away, especially when it's A LOT! Not to worry, I'm here to help you with the left over rice =) The best way to make use of the left over rice is to use for cooking FRIED RICE! Yes! Left over rice are the perfect for making Fried Rice!

I like to keep my fried rice as "fresh" as possible. That's why I would rather use fresh vegetables instead of frozen vegetables like the ones easily available in the supermarket. The freshness of the vegetables definitely makes a lot of different to the dish's taste and attractiveness in terms colour. Presentation is important. Although it is ironic, since the most suitable rice to make this dish is left over rice.

Ok the dish I am going to share it's really simple typical chinese dish, it's suitable for lunch and even for dinner! This is how it goes..

Ingredients: Serve 2 (Depending on how much you have left over from the night before) Ingredients below are for 2 Cups of rice)

Left Over Rice
1 Tomato (chop into quarters) (for additional sweetness)
1 Fresh Carrot (diced)
2 Tbs Oil
2 Shallots (finely sliced)
2 Cloves of Garlic (finely chopped)
2 Slices of Chinese Cabbage (optional)
2 Eggs (beaten)
4 Long Beans (1cm length)
4 Rashers of Streaky Bacon (if you are bored of bacon, you can always replace bacon with spam, luncheon meat or even chicken)
1 Tbs Chinese ShaoXin Wine
2 Tbs Light Soy Sauce
Sesame Oil
Salt and Pepper (to taste)

Method:
1. Fry the Bacon till tender, take them out and chop them into chunks.
2. Heat Oil in wok, pop in the Garlics and Shallots together till fragrant.
3. Add the tomatoes, fry till it goes a little dry then add in the Egg, fry it turns into omelets like.
4. Mix in the Bacon, Cabbages, Carrots and Long Beans together. Stir fry for about 2 minutes.
5. Finally add in the rice, stir fry, add in all the sauces one by one and add salt and pepper to taste.

Told you it was easy! Cooking time takes approximately 20 minutes. Preparation time about 10 minutes. Enjoy this delicious, simple and easy lunch/dinner.


Yours Truly,
The Whimsical Buddies

Mapo Tofu 麻婆豆腐 (Spicy)

Mapo Tofu

Hello Whimsical Readers,

F~ This week's dish is Tofu! Okay, I know what you're thinking..a block of white gelatin thingy that can substitute meat..yuck*. The thing with Tofu is, its very misunderstood. Its originates mainly from the East and Southeast Asian countries such as China, Japan, Korean, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia etc. Tofu are coagulated soy milk which have been pressed together and voilà! Tofu. To coagulate is to add edible acidic substance for example lemon juice but commercial Tofu producers use mainly salt and acids. So now you know some facts about Tofu.

My inspiration to make a Tofu dish happened in class. We were talking somewhere along the lines of housewives being an "occupation" and suddenly Tofu. Don't ask. The respond my class had about Tofu were like yumm from myself and an asian classmate of mine then yuck, err and "how do you eat that??" I don't blame them since their food knowledge of Tofu is under the exotic asian cuisine. Funny but very true.

Back to Tofu, so tonight I made Mapo Tofu. This is one of the Szechuan specialities, a spicy tofu dish. The secret to an authentic Mapo dish should consists of 7 descriptions; numbing 麻 "Má" , spicy 辣 "là", temperature hot 烫 "tàng", fresh 鲜 "xiān" , soft and tender 嫩 "nèn", aromatic 香 "xiāng" and flaky 酥 "sū". But be warned, the authentic one is seriously spicy. I remembered tearing like Niagara Falls but as we say it "Siok ar!"

So this version of the Mapo Tofu is very tone-downed, you should survive it..Haha

Ingredients: Serves 2 (as maincourse) Serves 4 (as side-dish)
1 Box/ 300 grams Silken Tofu (small to medium cubed)
60 grams Chicken/ Pork (minced)
1-2 fresh Chili (finely chopped)
1 Tsp Garlic (finely chopped)
1 Tbsp Spring Onion (finely chopped)
2 Tbsp Cooking Oil
2 Tsp Sesame Oil (for fragrance)
3-4 Tbsp Laoganma Chilli Bean Sauce (be warn this sauce can be quite spicy, start with 2 Tbsp and adjust to your spice tolerance)
100ml Water
Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Laoganma Chilli Bean Sauce

Method:
1. Once your Cooking Oil is heated in your pan/wok, add the Garlic and let it fry until fragrant.
2. Put in the minced Chicken/ Pork and Chili. Let it cook for about 2 minutes.
3. Now add the Tofu and let the mix cook for about 3-5 minutes. Stirring it gently as you do not want to destroy your nicely cubed Tofu.
4. Turn the flame to a medium, then add Water and the Laoganma Chilli Bean Sauce. Close the lid for another 2-3 minutes for the sauce to cook. Here you can opt to add a couple Tsp of Flour if you prefer your sauce to be slightly ticker.
5. Add Salt & Pepper to your liking, just before you serve the Tofu, add the Sesame Oil and Spring Onions and give it a good gently mix to enhance the fragrance.
6. Serve hot and best accompanied with steamed white rice and probably a glass of water at the ready.

Note: I wouldn't recommend using beef because they have a distinct smell which can alter the taste of the dish. (Luckily my mom told me that otherwise mine would have gone wrong since I conveniently had minced beef in the fridge..Haha)

Enjoy!


Yours Truly,
The Whimsical Buddies

Carbonara

Hello there Whimsical Readers,

I'm the other half of the Whimsical Buddies! J~ This is my first time blogging! So do excuse my English.

I have been traveling around for the past two months from Melbourne City to ChristChurch. New Zealand definitely is a new experience for me, I got there right after the earthquake. Isn't it exciting? I stayed over at the Brownie's house, Lyttelton. Uncle Martin is a British Man, and his beloved wife, Kim is from Malaysia. Uncle Martin was kind enough to cook english breakfast for me every morning, british lunch and sometimes Mediterranean Dinner. Not to worry, I jotted down most of the recipes!

When I was in Melbourne, everyone was crazy about Master Chef (season 2), I was curious why is it a hit in Australia? So I watched it myself, and indeed the show was truly inspiring! I was so inspired by the contestants, especially Alvin from Malaysia! Do visit the website (www.masterchef.com.au) they are screening Master Chef (junior) in Australia right now. My brother Angus and I will never miss the show. We'll grab our food ready and wait right in front of the TV before the show starts.

Ok back to business, I would like to share one my favorite italian dish to the whimsical readers today, and that would be the famous Fettucini Carbonara. It's simple and easy.

Carbonara Fettucini

Ingredients: Serves 2
Fettucini
100gm Salted Butter
1/2 Cup of Full Cream
10 Fresh Cherry Tomatoes (slice into half)
4 Rashers of Streaky Bacon
70gm of Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Lemon
Salt and Pepper
50gm Broccoli

Method:
1. Heat up the sauce pan in medium heat, add the Butter, once the Butter is melted, pour in the Full Cream immediately, before the butter evaporates.
2. Cut the Lemon into half and squeeze it all into the sauce pan. Give it a stir for about 10 minutes.
3. Slice all Cherry Tomatoes into half (optional), personally I like it that way because of the sweet taste coming out from the seeds. Pop everything into the sauce pan.
4. Add the Parmesan Cheese into the sauce pan and give it a stir for about 5 minutes, season with Salt and Pepper to taste. Leave it to simmer low heat.
5. Meanwhile, cook the Pasta in a pot of boiling water, add some Olive Oil if you wish, as soon as the Pasta is tender, drain it.
6. Repeat the same thing with the Broccoli; cook in boiling water but for only 1-2 minutes and then drain it.
7. Fry the bacons in low heat till it is brown and crispy or leave it soft and tender, however you want your Bacon to be. Chop them into chunks.
8. Add in the Fettucini onto a warm plate, followed by the sauce, then the Bacons, sprinkle some Parmesan Cheese, and lastly garnish with Broccoli.

Hope you enjoy the Carbonara. By the way, it goes perfect with a glass of white wine.


Yours Truly,
The Whimsical Buddies