Roast Rib Eye with Pan-Fried Potatoes and Sauteed Peas

Our visas arrived in the mail today. Yippie! One less thing to worry about. So far, things are going to plan. To be honest, this constant organising and planning is getting quite exhausting. I think I might call it a night after I post this blog. Also, I am so glad we have a long weekend coming up due to Easter.

Some days I crave a juicy piece of steak (especially when I'm tired), and tonight was one of those days. It must be my body telling me I'm anaemic. As though the steak wasn't enough, I added spinach to my peas to maximise the iron intake. I used a small rib eye roast, which had two points, just enough for 2.

Roast Rib Eye with Pan-Fried Potatoes and Sauteed Peas Recipe

800g rib eye
2 sprigs rosemary, stem removed, chopped finely
salt and pepper
handful peas
handful frozen spinach (you can use fresh if you like)
one clove garlic, chopped
2 desiree potatoes, peeled and sliced thickly
small knob butter

red wine sauce, optional (see Herbed Crusted Lamb for recipe)

Preheat oven to 220 degrees.
Pat dry beef with absorbent paper. Season generously with salt and pepper. Roll the beef with finely chopped rosemary until coated. Drizzle with a little olive oil.
Place in oven for 15 mins. Reduce heat to 200 degrees and roast for further 35 mins for medium rare.
In the meantime, parboil the potatoes in boiling water for 5 mins. Drain.
Add butter to pan, add potatoes to pan fry. Remove from pan when potatoes are cooked through and brown on the edges.
In the same pan add al little more butter. Add the garlic to pan. When slightly brown, add peas and spinach. Stir until combined and wilted (roughly 2 mins).
Place potatoes and veg on a plate. Top with sliced roast.
Serve with red wine sauce (optional).

Hint: Rest beef for 10 mins after it is out of the oven.

Matsumoto

Caught up with an ex-colleague/girlfriend the other night for a casual dinner.  Everyone is so busy nowadays, and it is always so hard to organise catch up especially if you are in the medical field because of weird hours and rosters.

Matsumoto Japanese Restaurant is in Brunswick, and I have been to this place since it was open, which was when I was halfway through uni. I use to live around the corner from this restaurant, so that was very handy. Matsumoto has a sister restaurant in Fairfield called Matsuya (I think).

I have my suspicions that Matsumoto is run by Chinese people, but I'm not so sure. Anyway, the food is pretty decent, but over the last year, the prices have gone up by a fair bit, but still reasonable.

There is nothing too out-there or cutting-edge, the menu is relatively safe, but it is done quite well. We had a deluxe sushi sashimi boat and little entrees  to share. This place is quite popular now, seeing that it is pretty packed for a Monday night.

Okonomiyaki (Japanese Seafood and Vegetable Pancake served with a sweet sauce and mayonaise, topped with bonito flakes

Gyutan (grilled ox tongue) a must-try!

Ika Geso Age (tempura battered squid tentacles with sweet chili)

Gyoza (pan-fried pork and cabbage dumplings)

Black sesame ice-cream, not the best I've had.

Melbourne Food and Wine Festival

Yay! Found an apartment, which is a converted brewhouse on the Thames river. So I'm pretty tired from staying up quite late. The problem with doing this all before bedtime is that the overactive mind does not settle very well to sleep. My mind anyway, cos I think hubby was out like a light the moment the deal was done. I, on the otherhand was tossing and turning, and I was having all sorts of weird dreams including getting a call telling me that a mistake has been made and the property has been let! No such thing occured when I woke up. Checked my email, and the confirmation was still there. Phew!

Anyway, a bunch of us went up to the Yarra Valley Conference Centre on the weekend to have lunch. This is part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival and this event was was held by 4 different wineries in the region, each featuring 3 of their wines. Prior to this event, we have been drinking Dixons Creek Quatrain (4 types of Bordeaux style grapes- can't remember which one! G- could you please put it in the comment box?) on quite a regular basis, and Dixon Creek was one of the wineries involved in this event.

Overall it was quite a pleasant afternoon. We were served canapes of goat cheese and leek tart and mushroom nori rolls. Entree was a grilled salmon with baked semolina gnocchi with butter and caviar sauce ( which, in my opinion, the best dish of the day). Main was an alternate of a veal ragu pie and crusted lamb with mash. Dessert was a platter of cheese and dried fruit. It contain a Yarra Valley Chevre, Cheddar and and a Blue Vein. The chevre was really nice, which is one that I would be looking out for on my next trip to the deli.

Hot Cross Buns

All those fingers and toes crossed did not really help with the house-hunting. Our friend, who kindly viewed the property for us, stated that the flat was OK but it was a converted housing commission flat and was in a pretty dodgy area. So I guess I'll be on Globrix and RightMove again tonight, and calling London. While waiting for our friend to Skype us with the above info, I decided to make some hot cross buns, since Easter is around the corner.

Hot Cross Buns Recipe

2 tsp/7 g dry yeast
1 tbsp caster sugar
1/2 cup warm milk
300g plain flour
1 tsp cinnamon powder
30g butter
1 egg yolk
60g dried raisins (can substitute with choc chips/mixed peel)
1 tbsp warm apricot jam

Flour paste
2 tbsp plain flour
2tbsp water
1 tsp sugar

Combine yeast, sugar and milk in a small bowl. Whisk until yeast is dissolved. Cover bowl, stand in warm place for 10mins until frothy.
Sift flour and cinnamon in large bowl. Rub in butter. Stir in yeast mixture, egg yolk, water and fruit. Mix well and knead for 5 mins until smooth and elastic.
Place in greased bowl, cover and keep in warm place for 1 hr until doubled in size.
Knock the dough, divide into 9 rounds. Place buns into a greased pan (about 1-2cm apart), stand in a warm place for 20 mins until dough has risen and is touching  on the sides.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
Make flour paste by mixing the flour water and sugar. Pipe crosses on the buns.
Bake in oven for 10 mins, Reduce oven temp to 180 degrees, bake for another 10 mins.
Remove from pan and brush with warm jam.

Hints:
Do not over heat your milk, otherwise the yeast will not activate. It should be warm enough, that you can still touch it without scalding. If the milk is too cold, it will also not activate. If your mixture does not become frothy, the yeast may be dead because it is too old.
When keeping dough in a warm place to rise, I cover the bowl with a tea towel. My warm place is usually a preheated oven to 50 degrees. Switch off the oven for 10mins before using it to proof your dough.
Also, you can also double the recipe, which is recommendable actually, as half were eaten once it came out of the oven!

Assam Laksa

Keeping all fingers and toes crossed (plus praying ++), a flat near the London Bridge will hopefully be our permanent residence for the year. A very kind friend in London offered to check the place out for us today, so I will know by 11pm tonight. I have spent the last 5 nights calling different estate agencies in London to enquire about flats, only to be told that they have already been let! It was very stressful and disappointing, and does nothing for my fragile obsessive compulsive personality. They should really just take it off the advertising sites once it has been let. What a waste of my time.

Anyway, laksas are very popular in Malaysia. But every state has its own signature style.  I was born in Kuching, the capital city of Sarawak, Malaysia on the island of Borneo. Kuching laksa has a prawn and coconut based soup served with thin rice noodles, which is typically a popular breakast dish. Curry laksa, a thick curry base served with chicken and Hokkien noodles is popular in Kuala Lumpur. Har Mee is another type of laksa, which is a thin soup with a mix of Hokkien Noodles and rice noodles.

Assam Laksa, however, originated from Penang, the hometown of my husband's family. I would say that Assam Laksa has the most distinct (acquired) taste out of all the laksas. I wonder if it was influenced by Thai cooking, considering Penang is bordering Thailand. It is the only laksa that uses daun kesum which is mint leaves and also is garnished with pineapple pieces. Assam which means tamarind is what makes the broth sweet and sour. I think the fish used is normally mackerel, but I just use canned sardines in tomato sauce.

Anyway, if you like to try some laksas in Melbourne, Straits Cafe in Doncaster does a decent Assam Laksa and Har Mee. This is my version of Assam Laksa.

Assam Laksa Recipe

1 packet Assam Laksa Powder Hup Loong Brand
1 can ( I think it is 375g ??)  Ayam Brand Sardines in tomato sauce, mashed in a bowl
5 large onions, peeled and pureed in a blender
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp tamarind paste
2 tbsp sugar
salt to taste
1 packet dry fat rice noodles (also known as Lai Fun), soaked in water and boiled in hot water until soft.

Garnish:
Mint leaves (came from the garden!)
pineapple pieces (I just use canned pineapples)
1 onion thinly sliced
1 cucumber, cut into thin strips using a mandolin

Place the assam laksa powder, onion, sardines and 2 litres of water in a large pot. Bring to boil and simmer for 40 mins. Add sugar, tamarind and tomato paste. Add salt to taste. (Make sure you taste it, add more sugar/tamarind to get the right sweet and sour consistency. Also, add more tomato paste if the colour is a bit dull).
Place cooked noodles in bowls. Pour hot soup on top of noodles and serve with the garnishes.

Note: All above ingredients easily available at Chinese groceries

Barrio

When do friends become family? There are two people that my hubby and I are 'catching up' with so regularly that we might as well move in together. I think I have mentioned this bromance relationship that my husband is having. It is with someone he met years ago at work, bonded so well, despite him living abroad for two years. And just in case you were wondering (as I would if I was reading this), this is a very platonic heterosexual relationship. I am very secure in my position as the wife :)

But I do want to play the devil's advocate and suggest that is this the honeymoon stage of the relationship? Could you really define this as a relationship considering the short time frame? What about the fact that you have not had an argument? Besides, it has been a long distance realtionship anyway and it will stay that way for another year, since it is our turn to live abroad!

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is interesting that you could meet people later in life and have so many things in common or get along so well with that we feel like we've known each other forever. I think feel that my hubby has met another lifetime partner, a brother he never had. I hope this friend doesn't go cheating behind my hubby's back while we are away!

Anyway, back to food! After house hunting with the above-mentioned couple, we went for a quick meal, which would be a local haunt if they end up getting the place (fingers crossed). Barrio is an excellent restaurant, great for after work drinks or for a great tucker! After having the lovely pasta which I think is made in-house, I'm itching to make my own pasta from scratch.

What did we have? A meditteranean platter and calamari to share. I think my main was the yummiest (although  I didn't get a taste of the pork). It was a tagiatelle of quail, pancetta and caramelised shallot. It was sublime. We also ordered seafood spagettini, steak (for my hubby- BORING!) and pork belly.  Definitely come here often if I were to live around the corner! :) But sadly, I don't!

Beer-Battered Fish and Chips

I have not blogged for a couple of days because I have been busy trying to find suitable accomodation in London. The time difference and the inability to view properties in person also does not help the situation. Thank God for street views and Google maps! Also, I'm starting to appreciate our current home a little bit more considering all the places we can afford are no bigger than a shoebox.

We have bought our air tickets yesterday which were one way tickets. That had been a pretty confronting event. Up to this point, this trip of ours seemed surreal even though we talked about it almost everyday. Now that it is actually happening, I'm grappling with a lot of mixed emotions, mainly of excitement and daunt.

I've still been cooking though.... which is always a therapeutic process for me during times of stress. Nothing like cooking to channel excess energy into a productive nature.

Fish and chips - supposedly very English, but some might say very Aussie as well. Almost every strip of shops in Melbourne would have a fish and chip place. But once you've made your own, I don't think you'll venture back into those shops anytime soon. Why would you? When you make it at home, you use better quality fish, unsaturated oil for frying etc. But most importantly, it would taste so much better- this recipe is great because the batter is so light and crunchy!

Fish and Chip Recipe

4-5 large flat head tails, cut into two pieces each
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 bottle chilled beer
salt and pepper
plain flour for dusting
veg oil for deep-frying


In a large bowl, place flour and baking powder, mix well. Slowly add chilled beer until you get a pouring cream consistent. ( Hubby polished off what was left in the bottle) Don't worry if there are lumps, it does not have to be smooth. Try to keep the batter cool.

Season fish with salt and pepper, then dust lightly with flour. Dip the fillets one at a time into the batter and fry in hot oil until golden. Place on absorbent paper.

Serve with salad and chips. I just bake some frozen Bird's Eye Brand chips in the oven, saves me from frying them!

Baby-Zucchini Tempura with Garlic Aioli

This is my second attempt with the tempura batter (see previous Tempura blog). I was given some beautiful baby zucchinis that I thought would be yummy deep-fried coated in a light batter, and the tempura batter turned out great this time! (Note to self: read recipe closely and measure, DuH!) I am very pleased with the outcome.... Yay!

Baby-Zucchini Tempura with Garlic Aioli Recipe

handful baby zucchinis (or just zucchinis sliced 3 mm thick), coated lightly with plain flour
1/2 cup iced water
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp potato flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

Oil for deep frying

Sieve both flours, salt and baking powder together. Pour water into a bowl. Add the sieved ingredients to the water and just give a few light strokes with a pair of chopsticks to loosely combine. There should be flour around the edges and the batter should be lumpy.
Dip your ingredients with the batter and deep fry in hot oil until golden. Seve with garlic aioli
 
Garlic aioli Recipe
 
3 tbsp mayonaise
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 clove garlic chopped finely
salt to taste
 
Mix all the above in a bowl. Serve with zucchini fritters.

Oyster Shooters

I was trying to be creative and thought I'd use the beautiful home made passata (see home made passata blog) with some oysters. It turned out alright but next time I might add some redwine vinegar or lemon juice and maybe some vodka to give it a bit more zing....

Oyster Shooters

1 dozen oysters
3/4 cup chilled passata/tomato juice
1 tbsp Worcheister sauce
few basil leaves finely chopped
1/2 a tomato, seeds removed, finely diced
a wedge cucumber finely diced

1 tsp red wine vinegar/ lemon juice (optional) or
1 tbsp vodka (optional)

Mix the tomato juice, Worcheister sauce, basil and vinegar/lemon juice (plus vodka if using) in a small bowl. Spoon 2-3 tsp mixture into shot glasses. Tip an oyster into each shot glass and top with diced cucumber and tomato. Chill for 30mins.

Tao's

Tao's restaurant in Bulleen is a fusion Asian place. I use to drive by the place thinking it was just another Chinese Restaurant. After reading  a write up of this restaurant on gluttonygluttony@blogspot.com , I was very happy when our close friends organised dinner there. The restaurant was beautifully decorated, with wooden walls and partitions of soft curtains to provide some private space. Chinese urns lined another side of the wall.

The menu was pretty much a set course, which was quite good value. For $50 per person, you can choose an entree, followed by a chawan mushi (Japanese egg custard), a choice of soup, a main with rice and a dessert each.

The entrees we ordered were two portions of sashimi, beef tataki and a seafood salad. My beef tataki was coated in a toasted sesame crust and was accompanied by a shallot  and ponzu dressing. I really liked it because it was really refreshing. Also, it is nice to see an Asian place take pride in food presentation (which is not often the case).By the end of the entrees, everyone was looking forward to the next couple of courses.

The chawan mushi came next. It had a crab claw sticking out above the custard, which was calling out for me to use my fingers to pull it out and sink my teeth into the end which had the fleshy bit, which was what I did. It had all the subtle flavours that a chawan mushi should have and yet packed a punch. The seafood, the dashi broth and the just-set eggs all blended beautifully together.

The next course was the soup. The boys had a bonito broth each and the girls settled on the ginseng herbal broth. The ginseng broth triggered a fond memory of my mum cooking this dish for my husband when he was studying for his exams last year. We had it almost every second day. I think the Chinese believe that ginseng gives you vitality and improves concentration. Needless to say, hubby passed and did really well during the exam.

The ginseng broth was good, but was not as good as my mum's, which I have yet mastered! The bonito broth was served in  teapot and the soup is poured into a teacup (which has a lemon wedge in it). Also, we realised only later that there were actually some mussels sitting in the teapot! Very interesting.

The mains that we ordered were sizzling steak on hot stone ( which I thought was the best dish), two serves of Confit duck with Mushroom, and the Rock Ling with a cream sauce. All main were served with a flavoured rice which was cooked with dried shrimp and garlic.

For dessert, we had two serves of creme brulee, a panna cotta and a serve of home made ice-cream which was a rockmelon flavoured. Yummo! The melon ice-cream reminded me of all the Yubari melon ice-cream that we had in Hokkaido, Japan. Hhhmmm.... I really want to go to Japan again! I think that Japan will have be a pit stop on our return to Melbourne next year.

Overall, dinner was very satisfying and this is definitely a place worth going again. We then went to watch The Blind Side (the movie) which is the best movie I've seen in awhile... even better than Julie and Julia! So go watch it....:) And Sandra Bullock was great it in, although we were wondering if she had a facelift ??

Esposito

I  have been to Esposito on many occasions, and whether it was with a large group or an intimate dinner for two, the restaurant always produces a consistent standard.

 This Italian restaurant in Carlton is known for its fresh seafood and quality ingredients. A couple of days ago, I received an email newsletter about their Snow Crab Ravioli. It wasn't on the menu when we got there, but we were served sample portions each. It was really fresh tasting, but everyone agreed that it should come with a light sauce. Anyway, Esposito will not be placing this dish on the menu as Snow Crabs are hard to find. I'm glad that I had a chance to sample it.

For starters, we also had oysters two way. Kumamoto oysters, which were very small (maybe the size of a 20 cent coin) served with a vinegar dressing and large oysters in tempura batter and a wasabi mayo.

For entrees, the boys had the crayfish tortellini with a crayfish broth each, while the girls shared a main size seafood spagettini (which is one of my favourite dishes at Esposito). The broth tasted amazing, but I could not really tell it was crayfish in the tortellini. I enjoyed the spagettini as always.

For mains, I could not go past the duck, which had a pan fried breast with a confit duck leg, served with roasted baby beets. The duck confit was really yummy as it just melted in your mouth. I'm not a fan of baby beetroot as it tasted a bit earthy. For once, hubby did not order the steak, but instead had the nori wrapped salmon served with shitake mushrooms and zucchini flower. The salmon was cooked to perfection eventhough it seemed like a really thick cut.

Our guest had the porterhouse steak with a red wine reduction and wild mushrooms served with mash, and the fish special which was grilled wild barramundi with a green olive tapenade and artichoke puree. The steak has been on the menu a long time and I can see why because it never fails to satisfy. The barra was very fresh and the green olive tapenade went surprisingly well with it.

By the end of dinner and two bottles of wine, we were really full. The dessert menu did not really have anything that was to our liking (nothing with chocolate! ARrrrGgggHHhh!) so we decided to head home and have some fruits instead. We also played some Wii and I have to say I am better at Mario Kart when I've got alcohol on board. Oh ya, we also had some KFC krushers for dessert, which is Golden Gaytime Ice Cream blended! A little bit random but was really good!

Tempura

So much for not having fried stuff... but we did have this with a side of stir fried vegies!!

I've always wanted to make tempura at home. This recipe is not bad, but it is not as crunchy and the colour is not as golden as the tempura that you get in a restaurant. Maybe egg yolk in the batter or yellow food colouring? Or has anyone tried using premade tempura flour? Let me know if you have a good recipe please...

OoohhHhh... I just realise  that I might have just used too much potato flour in my batter. No wonder it was quite sticky! You can use any  firm vegetables (eg sweet potato, eggplant, carrots) or seafood that you like. I only had a zucchini in the fridge. Dust all your ingredients lightly with plain flour before dipping in the batter. Also, don't think I will attempt with scallops again, too much water content. I think I'll have to try this recipe again guys... the second time with the right measures of flour!

Tempura batter Recipe

1/4 cup potato starch
1 cup plus 1 tbsp plain flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cup iced water

Pour water into a bowl. Add the all the other ingredients at once and just give a few light strokes with a pair of chopsticks to loosely combine. There should be flour around the edges and the batter should be lumpy.
Dip your ingredients with the batter and deep fry in hot oil until golden.Serve with dipping sauce

Dipping sauce

1 1/4 cup dashi (1/4 tsp dashi granules mixed with hot water)
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup light soy Kikkoman brand

Combine all the above in a saucepan. Heat and keep warm until ready to use.

Century Egg Congee

The bad thing about this blog is that I can no longer be in denial of what we have been eating. It is actual proof, and browsing through my recent recipes, we have been eating a lot of fried stuff (thanks to someone who keeps requesting churros!). Surprisingly, we haven't put on any weight (yet).

So I thought we should detox last tonight by having congee. I'm not sure if century eggs are all that healthy either... but I love them too much! Century eggs are duck eggs cured by soaking the eggs in a brine of salt, calcium hydroxide, and sodium carbonate for 10 days followed by several weeks of ageing while wrapped in plastic. I was told that it was made by soaking in horse urine but Wikipedia has dismissed this as a myth. Don't know what life was like pre-Wikipedia....

The egg is actually grey to black in colour and has an anmonia smell to it. I must say that it is an acquired taste. You can also eat it on its own or with a few slivers of preserved ginger.

Century Egg Congee Recipe

1 cup rice
300g roast pork or chicken, shreded
couple of spring onions, thinly sliced, some left for garnishing
1 century egg, shell peeled, cut into quarters ad roughly chopped, reserve one quarter for garnishing
salt and pepper to taste
fried shallots for garnishing

Place rice in a pot and add water. (Congee requires alot of water. I never measure, cause I find that I'm constantly topping it up with water anyway). Bring to boil and simmer gently until rice is cooked and broth thickens. Make sure you stir constantly.
Add the egg, meat and spring onions. stir to combine. Continue to simmer for 5 mins (add water if required). Season with salt and pepper.
Serve with fried shallots, extra chopped eggs and spring onions.

Curry-Spiced Fish Cutlets

Whenever I see King Salmon cutlets being sold at the fish market, I would definitely buy some because they are not always readily available. Unlike the farmed Tasmanian Salmon, which has a pink flesh, the King Salmon has a firm white flesh, and it is not farmed. It is found in warmer waters of North Queensland and the Northern Territory.

If you cannot find this fish, any other white flesh cutlets such as blue eye or snapper can also be used.

Curry -Spiced Fish Cutlets Recipe

2 king salmon cutlets
2 wedge lemons
3 tbsp potato flour
1 tbsp curry powder
salt and pepper to season
oil for shallow frying

Mix the flour and curry powder on a plate.
Dry the cutlets with absorbent paper. Season fish with salt and pepper. Coat the cutlets on both side until all areas are covered.
Heat about 1cm thick ot oil in a frying pan. Gently lower the cutlets and cook for 5-8 mins on each side, or until golden. Drain on absorbent paper.
Serve with lemon wedges and steam rice.

Crispy Pork with Apple Slaw

Bill Granger is a well known celebrity chef in Australia and I recall myself salivating at the TV when he was cooking his Crispy Pork Recipe on a morning show called 9am with David and Kim. So I found his recipe online and decided to give it a go.
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Instead of cooking the pork belly his style, I just used my own Crispy Pork Belly recipe. I omitted marinating the meat with five spice powder. Instead, I seasoned it with salt and pepper and added some chopped garlic to the underside of the meat.

The apple slaw idea came from a restaurant called Red Spice Road that serves a really yummy fried pork belly with an apple salad.

Crispy Pork with Caramel Vinegar (adapted from Bill Granger's recipe)

A slab of Crispy Pork (see Siew Yuok Recipe)
-sliced

Caramel vinegar
115g (1/2 cup) brown sugar
80ml (1/3 cup) red wine vinegar
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
250ml (1 cup) chicken stock
Juice of 1 orange and 4 wide strips of orange peel
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Apple slaw:
one green apple, cored and sliced thinly
a few mint leaves, sliced thinly
a few kaffir lime leaves, stem removed, sliced thinly
one chili, seeds removed and sliced thinly
(mix all the above, add a few tbsp of sauce as a dressing)

Put the sugar, vinegar, star anise and cinnamon in a small saucepan and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, or until syrupy.
Stir in the chicken stock and simmer for another 5 minutes, or until slightly reduced. Add the orange juice and peel, reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until thick and syrupy. Season to taste.

Place meat on a serving dish. Drizzle with sauce just before serving. Top with apple slaw

Greek Almond Cookies (Kourabiethes)

Easter is coming up and I've been told that Easter is way bigger than Christmas to the Greeks. So I've decided to make these cookies to celebrate Easter.

Try getting some ouzo (aniseed liquor) because it makes it taste so much better. Also, I make mine smaller (and dainter) in size to the ones you get in the shops. Great with coffee!

Kourabiethes Recipe
makes 60

250g butter
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
90 g icing sugar, sifted
1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 tbsp ouzo (optional)
100g slivered almonds, ground to a medium-fine texture
4 tbsp ground almonds
icing sugar, extra, to dust

In a bowl, sift flour and baking powder together.
Using electric beaters, beat butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the icing sugar and combine well. Add the egg yolk, vanilla and ouzo and beat until just combined. Fold in the flour, the ground slivered almonds and the ground almonds.

Shape half tablespoon of mixture into crescents, place on baking trays and bake for 12 mins, or until lightly coloured. Remove from oven, and dust liberally with icing sugar when cooled.

Sar Hor Fun

Just spent a really wonderful weekend with family in Warnambool. It was fun packed,  playing with the children (seven in total), going to the beach, fishing, horse riding and even had a close encounter with a couple of baby koalas. Needless to say, I was happily exhausted after the trip.

So definitely something simple for dinner. I had half a packet of flat rice noodles left, and a few assorted vegies. Great dish to use your lefteovers (e.g roast chicken, asian greens etc)

Sar Hor Fun Recipe

500g fresh flat rice noodles, seperated
few leaves chinese cabbage sliced (any other vegetables are also ok)
handful of spring onions, chopped into batons
a couple of prawns, shelled
shredded roast chicken, or chicken pieces
4-5 scallops (which was what I had in the freezer)
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 tbsp light soy
fried shallot, for garnishing
olive oil

Can also use calamari, beef or pork slices (whatever takes your fancy)

Sauce

1 tbsp yellow soy bean paste
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 cup water mixed with 1/2 tbsp cornflour
1 egg, lightly whipped (optional)
pepper to taste

Heat a wok, place one tbsp of oil. Place half the rice noodles in the hot wok. Add half the noodles with 1 tbsp of light soy and stir until noodles are soft. Set aside on a serving plate. Repeat above with the rest of the noodles.

Heat some oil in the wok. Add garlic, fry until fragrant. Add meat and seafood, followed by vegies and spring onions. Once the proteins are cooked, add the soys, bean paste and water mixture. Bring to boil and when sauce thickens, add the egg in a circular motion. Let the egg set before stirring.
Pour sauce onto the noodles. Top with fried shallot. Serve hot.

Herb Crusted Lamb Racks

"It would be good if there was a cookbook for life. Then all you need to do is follow a set instruction."  That line was from a movie called No Reservations with Catherine Zeta Jones. In the movie, she plays a neurotic head chef who has to look after her niece when her sister died in a car accident. The restaurant hired a sous chef in her brief abscence, who has a different work ethic to her, and lo and behold, the hatred turned into hollywood style love. Anyhow, it was light hearted and I enjoyed this chic flick.

If there was a cookbook for life, I do not think it would be as simple as following the recipe instructions. Evidently from Masterchef (the reality series), the contestants all produced  dishes that are different despite being given the same recipe and ingredient. There are too many factors in cooking (and in life) that could possibly alter the outcome. And God knows how many times I have tweaked a recipe because I am missing a certain ingredient, or because I am looking for a shortcut! I guess life can be like trying a recipe a few times until you get it just right, the way you like it.

What has this got to do with my next recipe? Nothing really, I'm just digressing. Anyway, I made Herb Crusted Lamb Racks for dinner. I served it with mash potatoes and a red wine reduction. When a recipe calls for breadcrumbs, I always use Japanese Panko breadcumbs. It is just so much better, and produces a lighter crunch.

Herb Crusted Lamb Racks with Mash and Red wine Reduction
(serves 4)

4 racks of lamb (fat removed, 4-5 points per serve)
2 tsp dijon mustard
handful of parsley chopped
grated rind of one lemon
1 cup panko breadcrumb
2 cloves garlic chopped
olive oil

Mash:
4-5 large floury potatoes
3/4 cup warm milk
2 tbsp butter

Red wine reduction:
2 shallots chopped finely
150mls red wine
150mls beef stock
small knob butter
olive oil

Make the mash. Peel potatoes and put in cold water, potatoes submerged. Bring to boil and cook until potatoes are tender. Remove from water and let dry for a few minutes. Mash the potatoes and add butter and milk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside, keep warm.

Mix breadcrumb, parsley, lemon rind and garlic in a bowl. Add a tbsp of olive oil. Set aside.
Lightly oil the lamb racks, season with salt and pepper. Brown racks in a hot pan. Remove from heat and slightly cool. Spread half a teaspoon of mustard on the topside of each rack. Press the rack onto the herb mixture. Place in oven (preheated to 200 degrees) and bake for 15-20mins, or the crust is slightly golden.

In the meantime, make the red wine reduction. Use the same pan that was used to brown the meat. Pour a tbsp of olive oil in the pan, sweat the shallots. Add the red wine, simmer to reduce by half. Add the stock, again reduce by half. Leave to cool slightly. Add the butter to thicken the sauce.

To serve, place some mash in the middle of the plate. Slice the lamb in between the ribs. Place on top of mash. Drizzle some sauce around the plate. Serve with salad or wilted greens.

Wealth Garden

Do you like a good Siew Ngap (Roast Duck)? You would have to try the duck at Wealth Garden (which was previously known as New Panda) in Doncaster. After a tiring day of baking and bowling :), we decided that someone else cooking for us would be a good idea. I'm glad I made a booking (at literally the last minute) because when we arrived, the parking was full and we were redirected to a nearby underground parking of a recently built complex. Wealth Garden has recently been refurbished and is under new management.

The host that greeted us looked familiar, and with enquring, we realised that he previously worked at Taipan. We were informed that the head chef from Taipan is now running the kitchen at Wealth Garden. Sounds promising already. I also read a review on another blog (gluttonygluttony@blogspot.com) regarding the restaurant. It gave it a 9.5/10 score and said that the pork in orange sauce was a must.

So that was one of the dishes that we ordered. To be honest, the dish paled in comparison to the other dishes that we had. We also ordered a steamed coral trout (1.5 kg for 4 people and we finished it!) which was fabulous. Firm white flesh meat that melted in your mouth. The beancurd and vegie hot pot was decent but ordinary.

The duck was definitely the highlight of our meal. Initially, we wanted to get a sizzling beef. Looking around at all the other tables, everyone seemed to have a plate of roast duck. We did not regret changing our order, for the duck was pretty tasty. Went really well with the pinot noir that the wine expert in our group brought. Yes, it has BYO service too.

The service was pretty good considering the place was full. One particularly waiter was quite rude though. When we asked for some chili sauce, He just said "Lataaaa...!" (translated as "Later!" ), walked off pointing to a bottle of wine he was carrying, I guess trying to indicate he was too busy. The chili sauce never came and we had to ask someone else. Our second encounter with the same waiter was when we needed another pair of chopsticks. He came around and practically chucked it on the table. I was surprise he did not try poking our eyes out with it. I guess he was having a bad day.

Despite that happening, we still enjoyed our meal. It was decent food and once again, the company was excellent. Makes me wonder how we are going to cope being away from such good friends.

Pineapple Cookies

Pineapple cookies are always associated with Chinese New Year in Malaysia. Weeks prior to this festive season, you will start seeing plastic jars of pineapple cookies on the shelves in the shops. But good pineapples cookies are hard to find. There are two kinds, open ones (pineapple jam exposed) and closed ones. This recipe came from my Mum and it's the latter. In Malaysia, we would make the jam from scratch (peeling 20 pineapples is no fun!).

But you should know by now, I like shortcuts. Also, pineapples are not always readily available in Australia (unless you live in Queensland) and they are very expensive. I waited eagerly until the next relative came to Melbourne to bring over some premade pineapple jam (see photo). So all I need to do now is make the pastry!
Yesterday,  my 3 year old nephew and friends with their children came over to give me a hand with these cookies. We were done in no time and the children were very helpful indeed. More than half were eaten when the trays came out of the oven! It was such a fun day, we all went bowling after the baking too. Aaahhhh.... long weekends should be made permanent!

Pastry Recipe

250g butter, softened
50g milk powder
50g caster sugar
1 egg
350g flour, sifted
300g premade jam, rolled into small balls
One yolk, for brushing

Beat butter and sugar until pale. Add egg and beat until incorporated. Fold in milk powder and flour, knead with hands until it all comes together. Form a shape of ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for 1/2 hr.
Divide the pastry into 50g balls. Each ball should then be divided into 10 smaller pieces. Wrap the jam ball in the pastry and roll into a ball. Then, press the pattern with a fork or if you have a serrated rolling pin, roll the cookie in your palm.
Place it on a greased oven tray. Repeat the process until tray is full. Brush cookies with egg yolk.
Bake in preheated oven at 180 degrees for 15 mins or until golden in colour. (Place tray in oven one at a time)