Simple Cooking Ideas

Jelly in dessert or eat it with fruit are just wonderful to the children. Jelly can be prepared and add fruits, colour and flavouring to taste better. The hot days without rain are just the right time to make more jellies to cool their bodies.

Ingredients:

1 packet agar-agar powder
1 can longan, discard the syrup and cut each longan into 4 pieces
400 gm brown sugar
3 liters water
2 pandan leaves

Method:

Boil agar agar in a sauce pan, adding water, pandan leaves and sugar. Bring to the boil and stirring till the ingredients dissolve. Discard the pandan leaves. Mix in the longan fruit and stir evenly. Pour the contents into trays and let cool before putting into the fridge. Cut into diamond shapes and serve.

Kids love smothie very much. You can prepare smoothie at home in your spare time. When you do your weekend shopping, stock up some packets of low fat milk and yoghurt. Fruits of various types such as green apples, oranges, mangoes, grapes and bananas to name a few, they can keep for somtime. Enjoy preparing this nourishing drink!.

Ingredients:

1 green apple, clean and cut into wedges
1 orange, cut of the skin and cut into wedges
2 bananas (pisang mas or berangan), peeled skin
100 ml low fat milk
50 ml natural yoghurt
Some ice cubes, can break it smaller

Method:

Put all the ingredients in the blender and mix evenly and smooth. Pour into glasses and serve immediately.

Burgers are a favourite among the old and the young., especially my grandchildren like to eat so much that they even eat burgers for lunch or dinner. There are several ways to cook a burger. you can grill it or fry it on a frying pan. For this recipe I use the frying method.

Ingredients:

2 chicken breasts, minced.
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tablespoon cornflour
2 tablespoon chopped onions
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Tomatoes slices,lettuce
Mayonnaise. tomato sauce and mustard

Method:

Mix the ingredients evenly together and marinate for 20 minutes in the fridge. Divide equally into 8 portions. Gently flatten them with your hands until you get a familiar burger shape. Then heat a frying pan on low heat. Drizzle the frying pan with oil or butter and cook the patties for about 8 minutes. To serve, add tomatoes pieces, pickles, onion slices,lettuce and cheese; top with mayonnaise, tomato sauce and mustard of your choice.

Coming home from work, exhausted and still have to cook for the family? Well do not fret, here is a dish of steamed prawns done and prepared all in about 20 minutes. But make sure you defrost the prawns earlier. You can accompany with 2 other dishes like a bowl of mamite soup and blanched vegetable dish with soya sauce and onion oil.

Ingredients:

10 big tiger prawns, slit and deveined, cut off feelers
2 tablespoon minced young fresh ginger
2 tablespoon ginger wine
salt and pepper to taste
a few dash of sesame oil
chopped parsley

Method:

Put the cleaned prawns on a stainless steel plate. Add the chopped ginger, wine, salt and pepper to taste. Put in a wok of boiling water and steam for 10 minutes. Add some chopped parsley and sesame oil. Serve with rice.

Loofah can be bought in super markets. It depends on its size. Choose one loofah for two persons. Over grown loofah is tough, so take care to choose the young one. Here is a simple dish to prepare in a hurry.

Ingredients:

1 loofah, cut into wedge-shaped
1 big onion, cut into wedges
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon cooking oil
1 egg

Method:

Heat oil in a wok and saute the galic. Add in the loofah and big onion and stir-fry for a minute. Then add soya sauce and oyster sauce. Sprinkle a little water and mix well. Break an egg in the bowl and beat a second, then add in the loofah. Scramble it until gravy thickens. Season with salt and pepper. Dish out and serve.

Here is a dish that is simple to prepare for the busy mothers. For a family of four, two teeage children and the parents, a medium-size chicken is more than enough for dinner. A dish of blanched green vegetable or salad to accompany the chicken.

Ingredients:

1 medium ‘kampong’ chicken, cleaned
4 pips garlic
2 slices ginger
3 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon salt

Method:

Mince garlic and ginger. Add salt and honey and mix evenly. Rub all over chicken. Place chicken in a roasting pan. Put in the moderate oven for 2 hours or until tender. Slice or cut into pieces with a scissor. Serve while is still hot with salad and chilly sauce.

Nowadays yee sang is one of the most popular dish to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Fortune., happiness, properity and success fill the table with dishes like Braised Abalone with Fatt choy, Steamed Chicken and Sharkfin to name a few. Do try this home-made yee sang.

Ingredients:

100 gm fresh fish (salmon, carp, or abalone)

Shred finely:

900 gm white radish, sliced and squeeze dry
1 carrot
300 gm yam
30 gm jelly fish
30 gm pickled papaya
5 stalks spring onions
2 stalks coriander leaves
2 red chillies
3 -inch young ginger
2 tablespoon shredded pickledyoung ginger
5 pickled onions
2 kaffir lime leaves
2 stalk serai
2 slices pomelo, seperate the flesh evenly
1 large lime

For the sauce:

120 gm plum sauce
100 gm oil
sugar and salt to taste
1 teaspoon 5-spiced powder

Garnishes;

2 packets chrunchies ( available at supermarkets)
50 gm sesame seeds (lightly fried till fragrant

Method:

Slice the fish thinly and and put aside in the fridge. Arrange shredded ingredients on a large flat plate, radish in the middle, top with carrot and lime leaves. arrange other ingredients around the plate. To serve, add a little lime on the fish or you can add 2 tablespoon brandy on the fish and put on top of ingedients. Pour the plum sauce on the ingredients follow by 5-spiced powder and pepper, sugar and salt to taste. Serve by tossing the ingredients high for good fortune and properity with chopsticks.