Steamed Glutinous Rice With Chicken (Lor Mai Kai)

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Summer
Forecast :
Chance of Rain
Temp : 30°C | 13°C
Current :
Mostly Clear 
Temp : 17°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

I remembered when I was still in SG, I used to stock up the freezer with frozen lor mai kai bought from NTUC.  The portion were small and I will usually heat up 2 pieces at a time in the microwave.  Add heaps of white pepper and enjoy them while they were still pipping hot...yummmy ;)

For fresh dumplings and baos, I usually just head to the 7/11 stores to buy them.  A few times when I went there the food warmers were empty but when they were filled I will definitely buy the bbq chicken baos, prawn siew mais & LMK made by HongKong DimSums as I simply luv them.  Its been awhile now that I last indulged in those yummy dumplings....booo hooo 

Anyway, I'm so used to the frozen LMK whereby the glutinous rice is white and not black.  Yesterday, I googled for the recipe and was disappointed when all the recipes I stumbled upon features the black glutinous rice.  Nonetheless, I decided to give this recipe a try.  I followed the recipe for the chicken marinade and omitted mushrooms bcos I simply hate them and adjusted the glutinous rice seasoning ingredients so that the glutinous rice remains white.  I'm glad this recipe produces yummy LMK.....really satisfy my cravings of LMK!! yummmmmzzz ;pppppp 

Recipe adapted from Seasaltwithfood. Recipe below has been amended by me.  This recipe produces 8 bowls for me.  I had 2, Jannah had 1 and I froze the rest ;)

Steamed Glutinous Rice With Chicken

Ingredients For Glutinous Rice :

2 Cups Glutinous Rice, soaked overnight and drained
1 1/2 Tbsp Peanut Oil
8 Small Ramekins or 4 stainless steel bowls (5” diameter)
Seasoning
2 tsp Salt
½ tsp Sesame Oil
2 tsp Sugar
A few dashes of White Pepper

Marinate For Chicken :

1 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
2 tsp Soy Sauce
2 tsp Dark Soy Sauce
½ tsp Minced Ginger
2 tsp Sugar
½ tsp Sesame Oil
1 tsp Corn Flour
A few dashes of White Pepper

300 g Chicken Thigh, boneless and skinless
150 g Chicken Breast, boneless and skinless


Method

Cut the chicken into small bite-size pieces and marinate for at least 30 minutes.

Place the soaked glutinous rice in a large tray and steam for 20 minutes. Remove the rice from the steamer and mix well with the seasoning. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, add 1 ½ tbsp oil and cook the chicken on medium heat. Stir the chicken pieces for about 5 minutes and remove from the heat.

Lightly oil the ramekins or bowls and divide the chicken evenly. Then top with glutinous rice and press firmly. Cover the bowls with aluminum foil and steam on high heat for about 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

Back to watching Korean dramas now, bye bye everyone...


Me Te Aroha...With Love,
Anie ;)

Chinese Rojak

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Chance of Rain
Temp : 29°C | 17°C
Current :
Partly Cloudy After Midnight
Temp : 20°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

I executed what I planned yesterday that is to turn the Chinese crullers into Chinese rojak today.  To keep the crullers till today then grilled them in the oven was a bad idea...booo hooo.  Take note kids, do not try this at home...hahahaz.  You want to know why??  Hmmmzzz they almost, almost turned into croutons, yikesss.  Anyway, after the crullers soaked up the rojak sauce, all went well....they turned soggy like they should do ;)

A few weeks back I was trying to look for 'petis' aka shrimp paste.  A very dark, pungent yet taste oh so yummy black shrimp paste in a bottle at a few Asian shops here but I couldn't find any.  I asked a few friends on FB how to make the rojak sauce and am very thankful that they were willing to share the recipes.  I wasn't given the exact amount on how much to put things only given the ingredients.  So, I just added any amount I like to the given ingredients list.  Do I sound confusing?  Nyehahahaz.....

PS.  I thought I could enjoy this rojak peacefully...but the other half Asian girl start picking the other bamboo skewer and start poking on the ingredients that I didn't add any rojak sauce.  She started with apples, then mangoes, then she ate the tau pok and said 'sedapkan daging'?  Hahahaz whatever lah girl as long as you are happy....she ate everything except the blanched bean sprouts.

Source : Zuwati's Pocket ;) hehehez & my own 'rojak' estimation.

Ingredients For Rojak Sauce

• 2 cups water
• 1/2 cup tamarind juice
• 4 red chillies - pounded (Add more if u like it fiery)
• 2 tsp toasted shrimp powder aka belacan
• 3 tblsp tomato sauce
• 1 tblsp chilli sauce
• 4 tblsp sweet soy sauce
• Coconut sugar aka gula melaka to taste
• A handful of toasted peanut - pounded
• Salt if required.

Method :

• Put all the ingredients in a pot and simmer on low to medium heat until it thickens.  You can adjust the amount of the ingredients according to your own taste bud. 
• The end product should be thick like brown gravy, sweet, sourish, spicy and punget....hahahaz ;)

My Rojak Ingredients

• Tau Pok (Deep fried tofu) - grill in the oven till crispy
• Chinese Crullers - grill in the oven till crispy
• Mangoes
• Braeburn Apples
• Blanched Bean Sprouts
• Toasted Peanuts - pounded

I didn't add cucumber bcos I don't like them and Chinese turnip is unavailable here.  The other thing that is missing is the grilled cuttlefish....hmmmzzz

Method :

• Cut all the above ingredients into desired sizes.
• Toss the ingredients with some of the rojak sauce.
• Sprinkle toasted peanuts before serving.

Do u prefer tau pok?

Or Mango? ;)

Oh me, oh my its already New Year's Eve tomorrow.  How time flies :(

Me Te Aroha, With Love,

Anie ;)

Chinese Cruller / You Tiao / Cakoi

Weather for Te Awamutu today

Season :
Spring
Forecast :
Chance of Rain
Temp : 25°C | 17°C
Current :
Clear Skies
Temp : 17°C

Salam, Kia Ora...

I've been wanting to eat Chinese rojak since last week.  Everytime I think about rojak, my memories will take me to this yummy rojak stall in Singapore, situated at Clementi.  The stall is owned by 2 very simple yet friendly brothers.  If I am not wrong, their stall was featured in some newspaper which I couldn't remember which one.  I heard that they are very successful now and have opened a few branches in Singapore. (Please do open a branch in NZ, Tan Brothers.....hahahaz :D)

Everytime when I'm at Clementi area, I will never fail to visit this rojak store despite having to wait in a very long queue. During Ramadhan, the queue can be worse than, when Hello Kitty hit McDonad's queue (pls don't believe me, I'm just exaggerating hehehez).  Not only the stench of the grilled cuttlefish drew me to the rojak store but the very friendly greetings of the brothers makes me want to queue up for my dose of rojak...hehehez.  They always thought that I'm Chinese and will greet me in Mandarin and call me 'Báixuě gōngzhǔ' meaning Snow White....hahahahaz wwwweeeeiiiii *flutters* even though I look no where near like Snow White.  Perhaps, I look more like the evil stepmother/witch.....ROFL!!!

Anyway, I tried making these you tiaos today.  They are not as good as the real mccoy :( maybe bcos I didn't add alum powder.  They tasted like fried bread instead of tasting they way the should be that is crispy and hollow.  Even though they didnt turn out the way they should be, they do taste yummy...hehehez.  I will turn them to rojak tomorrow, insyaAllah...God willing ;)



Some were skinny, some were fat, some were short, some were long and some were burnt.....hahahaz.

Source :  Lydia Teh's My Kitchen.  You can take a peep at Lydia's blog for the detailed step by step on making these cruller.

Ingredients (makes 10, 6"): (I only made half of this recipe)

1 cup water
2 cups bread flour
¼ tsp instant yeast
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp alum (I did not use this)
½ tsp ammonia/nutre powder (I did not use this)
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil

*Oil for deep-fry
Directions:
- Put all ingredients into the bread maker. Select dough mode and turn in on.
- Once the kneading is completed, turn the dough out on a floured surface. This dough is stickier than bread dough so remember to dust lot of four on the working table.
- Divide dough into two portions and shape each one into a 40cm long rod. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let raise for 45 minutes.
- Lightly flatten the dough (approx. 1cm thick and 5cm wide) and cut into 2cm strips. - - Let stand for 10-15 minutes
- Heat oil in a medium pot or wok. Dip the skewer in water and wet the middle of dough as shown.
- Place another piece of dough on the top and press in the middle with a skewer. Hold both ends and pull the dough until 20cm long. Then carefully put it into the hot oil straight away. Stir rapidly as soon as the dough is surfaced, and deep fry until golden brown

Resepi cakoi dalam bahasa Melayu ;)
Sumber : SkyBlue, My Resipi.

 

Bahan-bahan ( 10 biji [15cm] )

1 cawan air
2 cawan tepung roti
¼ sudu kecil instant yeast
1 sudu kecil gula
1 sudu kecil garam
¾ sudu kecil tawas (alum) -Saya tak taruk
½ sudu kecil baking soda
½ sudu kecil ammonia atau Nutre Powder (utk menghasilkan cakoi yg lebih ranggup, takde pun takpe... susah nak cari ammonia for cooking) - Saya tak taruk
1 sudu besar minyak
Minyak utk menggoreng

-  Masukkan semua bahan2 ke dalam breadmaker, pilih menu buat doh dan ON kan. Bila dah siap uli, keluarkan doh dari breadmaker.

Taburkan tepung ke atas papan canai. Bahagikan doh kepada 2, buatkan bentuk panjang (40cm) setiap satu. Tutup doh dgn kain atau plastic wrap, biar naik dlm suhu bilik selama 45 minit.
- Ratakan doh dgn tangan, biar jadi 1cm tinggi dan 5-6cm tebal. Potong 2-2.5cm seperti dlm gambar, biar rehat selama 10-15 minit lagi.
- Panaskan minyak utk menggoreng (deep-fry) dgn api kecil. Ambil sekeping doh, bubuh sedikit air dgn mengunakan lidi sate seperti dlm gambar
- Letak sekeping doh diatas doh tadi, tekan di tengah2 dgn lidi sate.
- Pegang kedua-dua hunjung dan tarik pelahan-lahan, biar jadi 15-20cm panjang dan terus masuk ke dalam minyak panas. Kacau sikit apabila dia dah timbul kat permukaan minyak supaya dia jadi lebih kembang. Goreng sehingga perang keemasan.

Nota dari SkyBlue :
Doh ni agak lembut, kena taburkan tepung banyak.
Doh yg betul2 naik, senang nak ditarik.
Boleh buat saiz besar sikit jika guna kuali yg besar. Saiz yg i buat ni agak kecil sbb i guna periuk kecil utk menggoreng.


Me Te Aroha...With Love,

Anie ;)