Golden Syrup

Ingredients

600g Sugar

450ml water

4 slices lemon (as in the picture below)

Method

Place everything in to a pot, over high heat desolve the sugar with out stirring(if it is stirred crystals would form and would not have a great result). bring it to a boil and then simmer for 50 min(soft ball stage, 120C)

Set it a side to cool, then pour it in to a bottle and it is ready to be used the next day.

*yes the sugar has to be made the day before (can be kept for a yr plus(for next yr)) making your moon cake or other recipes that require it:)

*yes i know i put only 2 slices of lemon i did only half recipe :)

My New Toy

As you can see this is my new toy in the kitchen!!!

My trusty hand mixer beater broke after 3 yrs of putting up with me:)

As my Grandfather always tell us, "if the old one don't go the new one won't come:)

now you will see more of it in my pictures:) oh i can do more with it too:)

quick drunken chicken with mien sien (for one)

um where to start....

1/2 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, sliced

1 tsp ginger, crushed

4-5 chinese spoon chinese rice wine

100-200 g chicken breast, diced and seasoned with salt and pepper

1-2 serves mien sien

some pak choi

200-250mil chicken stock/ water

Method

Put on a pot of boiling water. In another heated pot add a table spoon of oil and add in the onion, garlic and ginger. Fry till fragrant, then add in the chicken to seal. then add in the rice wine, let it reduce slightly and add in the chicken stock and bring up to boil and simmer.

By this time the pot of water would be boiling drop in the mien sien and stir till cook strain. refresh with cold water and then strain of the cold water and in to the simmering drunken chicken soup add in the pak choi and it is ready to eat:)

orange and poppy seed cake

250g Butter, room temperature

300g Sugar

3 Egg

300g Flour, sifted

2 Orange juice

2 Orange rind

2 tbspBlue Poppy Seeds

100mlMilk

3 tsp Baking powder

Method

Cream butter and sugar till white, roughly 4-5 minutes on medium speed. while waiting for the butter, sift flour and baking powder. then add in eggs one by one to the creamed butter. add in the poppy seed, rind and juice of orange and the sifted flour. mix on low speed(fold in), then add in milk and fold.

Pour in to a baking vessel, bake in a pre-heated oven of 160C and bake for 45min or until its cooked. To check if its done, use the skewer method where by the bamboo skewer is stuck in to the middle of the cake and comes out clean.

yes it didn't rise at the sides my oven was a bit too hot.

Happy trying:)

Bread pudding

Ingredients

1lit milk

8 eggs

2 egg yolks

150g sugar

Left over Bread*

Butter

20-50g sugar, just for coating

Method

Butter the baking dish that your using and coat it with the sugar. Cut bread in to cubes and place in to buttered dish

Place the eggs in to a bowl and in another pot bring the milk and sugar to the boil. Then whisk the eggs and add a ladle of the milk mixture and mix well, now pour in the milk in a long thin stream while whisking the mixture together. then pour the mixture in to the buttered dish with the bread, and soak for at least 1 hr.

Bake in a pre-heated oven of 150-140C for 30-45 min or till cooked. To test if its cook give it a little shake if its still jelly like in the middle it not done or you could use a small knife to poke in the middle and see if there is still liquid that has not set.

To be served warm. with a side of ice cream/ berry compote/ vanilla custard

Have A wonderful Day!!

Drunken chicken my style

2 bottles Shau xing rice wine

200g chicken feet, cleaned and nails cut

10-15 dried mushroom, soaked in hot water till soft, remove stems

1 bulb garlic

1 thumb size ginger, smashed with a cleaver

3-4 small onions, peeled and halved

1 whole Chicken, cut up

2 tbsp chinese wolfberries

water just enough to cover the chicken

Salt and pepper

Method

Put everything in to a pot and bring to boil. then simmer for 1.5-2 hrs or till chicken feet falls off the bone.

Serve with a bowl of rice or freshly cooked mien sien(chinese noodle)

This dish/soup goes well with hard boil egg:)

* a chinese spoon of Rice wine can be added to the bowl of soup just before serving to give it an extra boost

Hope you enjoy what i enjoyed.

Lamb with home made mint sauce

Mint sauce

Lamb chops

Garlic, crushed

Salt

Pepper

Desire Potatoes(any potatoes will do), cut in to bite size

Oil

Dried mix herbs

Fresh/ frozen vegetable of your choice

Butter

Marinade the lamb in the mint sauce, garlic, salt and pepper for 2 hrs or over night.

In a bowl mix potato, oil, a bit of garlic, mix herbs, salt and pepper. place in a baking tray and roast for 20-35 min or till cook in a pre-heated oven of 180C.

For the Lamb heat a pan with a little oil till smoking point is reached, place lamb in to the pan and cook it 2 min on each side. set a side to rest. while its resting, blanch the vegetable in hot water (you can boil water in the kettle and pour it in to a pot). then transfer the vegetables to the pan, over high heat toss the vegetables with some butter and season to taste:)

Plate the food up, eat it while its hot:)

Enjoy:)