Melon Seed Cookies 瓜子饼

This is the second year we bake Mooncake. My sincere gratitude goes to my best friend at “yong-hobby.blogspot.com” for sharing her recipe and provide invaluable guide.

The very first two items that I baked last August, two months after delivered my second child, were Mooncake and Melon Seed Cookies. She is 15months old this month and loved my homemade mooncake and cookies… I have my sister helping me this time around and it makes my baking tasks much easier and smooth.

Ingredients:
750g Low protein flour
450g Golden syrup
250g Peanut oil
1 Tbsp Alkaline water
¼ tsp Salt
250g Lotus paste
150g Melon seed (lightly roasted)
25g White sesame seed (lightly roasted)
25g Black sesame seed (lightly roasted)
150g Meat floss 鸡丝 (optional)

Methods:
1. Mixed 200g flour, golden syrup, peanut oil, alkaline water, and salt evenly and leave it overnight or at least 6 hours.

2. Then use finger tips to rub lotus paste into fine particles and mixed well with the balance flour (550g).
3. Add in roasted melon seed, white and black sesame seed and meat floss (optional). Mixed well.
4. Lastly pour in “Step 1” mixture. Mixed all ingredients into dough.
5. Weight dough into 25g/piece. Roll and lightly press.
6. Brush eggwash on surface before baking.
7. Bake for about 20 minutes or the desired color (lightly brown) at 160ºC.
8. Best to eat 5-7 days after baking. Do not store in the airtight container, as humidity in the air is needed to moisten the cookies.

Nacho with Cheese and Meat Sauce

“Nacho” is one of my husband’s favorite, be it plain (the chips itself), with cheese sauce, meat sauce, guacamole, avocado cream or sour cream. For gathering this evening, he wanted to share with his buddies.
… decided to prepare Meat and Cheese Sauce this round.
Ingredient:
Meat Sauce
500g Minced Meat
1pkt (~28g) Taco seasoning mixed
125ml Water

Cheese Sauce
50g Butter
2Tbsp Multi-purpose flour
250ml Milk
200g Cheddar Cheese

Others
2 Ripe Tomato (cut into cubes)
1pkt Nacho Chips

Methods:
(Meat Sauce)
1. Pan fried minced meat until lightly brown.
2. Add Taco seasoning mixed. Mixed well.
3. Then add in water and simmer until minced meat is flavored with seasoning.

(Cheese Sauce)
1. In a source pan, melt butter.
2. Then stir in flour. Mixed well.
3. Gradually pour in milk and bring to boil.
4. Lastly add in cheese and cook until all cheese melted.

In a bowl, place a layer of Nacho chips follow by meat sauce, then cheese sauce. Sprinkle cube tomatoes on top. Best to eat when the cheese sauce is still warm.

Kerabu Mango / Mango Salad

A few big and muscular young mangoes were given by my babysitter few days ago and without further thought – Kerabu Mango is the answer!
This is my popular dish during the Chinese New Year gathering at my parents’ dinner table. It is appetizing, stimulate the gastric juice and it really balance up the other much more heavy food served during the festival.

Ingredients:

(Cut into Julienne)
Young mangoes (skin removed)
Cucumber (skin removed)
Red chilies
Pineapple

(Thinly sliced)
Shallot
Bunga kantan / Ginger flower

Dried shrimp (lightly toast till fragrance)
Peppermint leaves
Toasted ground peanuts (optional)

Seasoning (to taste):
Fish sauce
Lime juice
Sugar

Methods:
Mixed all ingredients together with seasoning just before serve.

Sweet Peanut Soup Served with "youtiao" 油条

Simple & authentic! This is one of the popular hot sweet soup to serve for breakfast in local homes. Serve with “youtiao” 油条 (deep fried dough) is a perfect match!...“youtiao” 油条 makes the soup riches in taste, but my mum loves it plain…

It is so simple to prepare, especially if cooked in the slow cooker. I would wake-up by the aroma if cooked overnight. The most enjoyable breakfast time for me is to be able to drink a bowl of hot sweet peanut soup when raining as it keeps me warm.


Ingredients:

150 – 200g Peanut (skin removed)
2 – 2½ liters Water
2 (large) Pandan leaves
¾ - 1 cup Sugar (or to taste)
Salt (trace, optional)
“youtiao” 油条

Methods:

1. Wash the peanut and transfer into slow cooker.
2. Add pandan leaves.
3. Then, pour hot water into slow cooker. Switch to “Auto” mode.
4. Let it cook for 6 – 8 hours in the slow cooker or until peanut is soft.
5. Add sugar. Taste the peanut before sugar is added.
6. Serve it hot with “youtiao” 油条.

Tips:
* Taste the texture of peanut before sugar is added. As once sugar is added, the texture of peanut would be remained.
* Some loves it with trace of salt added to the soup.

Monkey Beach Excursion

Monkey beach (Teluk Buyung) located in Penang National Park is a place that brings fond memories during my teenage years especially when I spent time camping on the beach with my schoolmates.

The surrounding hasn’t changed much except the park is now managed by the Forestry Department and there is a visitor center before entering the park.

The new attraction in the park besides the rich flora and fauna is the canopy walkway but it’s closed for renovation.

Being the smallest national park in Malaysia, the Penang National Park is another tourist’s attraction available in Penang. Several other noticeable changes includes amenities provided such as rest areas, toilets, signage and litter bins. The path that led to Monkey beach is narrow and steep at certain stretch as the path were laid along the steep land parallel to the coast line that formed part of the park’s boundary .

Yesterday morning, I joined my students to hike to Monkey Beach starting from the entrance and passed through Aling Bay (Teluk Aling), where the USM Marine Science and Coastal Studies Research Center located.

It took us about 1 ½ hours to reach the destination. The white sandy beach and several dilapidated bungalows and broken huts along the beach were just the same when I was there during the 80’s. No amenities available in Monkey Beach as it is situated on private land but local tour operators has set-up huts and barbeque stove and camping ground for tourists and visitors.

Nearby, is the Muka Head light house built in 1883 and is still in operation. It was fun and enjoyable day as I had lunch on the beach and watched students playing games.

Besides the students, foreign tourists were seen coming to the beach by speed boat to swim, fishing and sun bathing. As in any other tourist’s spots in Malaysia, the cleanliness is the prime issue. I can see rubbish strewed on the stretch of the beach.

After resting for an hour, it’s time to return. All my students choose to take speed boat when returning but I decided to hike back to where we started and it took me an hour. I met many friendly tourists along the hiking trail.

Minestrone Soup

Preparing and serving Minestrone Soup to my two kids is a whole lot of wonderful experience. I would bring them to shop for ingredients. My eldest would definitely ask to help in the kitchen, and I enjoy working with her in the kitchen though she could only wash (and play with) the vegetables and drained the kidney beans. She has her apron on and has to stand on the stool to reach the sink comfortably…

To us, Minestrone Soup tastes even better the next day! We love the melted cheese in the soup. It really enhanced the taste. It is certainly a complete meal for my kids!

Serving: 6

Ingredients:

2Tbsp Olive Oil
1 (large) Onion (diced)
2 cloves Garlic
100g Bacon (diced)
200g Leeks (finely sliced)
200g Carrots (diced)
200g Celery (diced)
2 – 3 liters Stock
375g Tomato Paste
1g Basil
1-2 Cloves (optional)
200g Potatoes (diced)
200g Tomatoes (diced)
420g Can red kidney beans (drained)
1/2cup Dry macaroni or spaghetti (broken into pieces)
2 tsp Salt (or to taste)

Grind black pepper

Shaved parmesan cheese (for serving)

Parsley leaves (for serving)

Methods:

1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Sauté onion, garlic, bacon and leeks until lightly browned.
2. Add carrots and celery, and continue sauté.
3. Add stock and tomato paste. Bring to boil and simmer covered for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
4. Stir in basil, cloves, potatoes, tomatoes, kidney beans and pasta. Simmer for 20 – 30 minutes.
5. Adjust seasoning of the soup with salt and grind black pepper.
6. Garnished with shaved parmesan cheese and parsley before serving.

Spicy Onion Prawn / Sambal Udang

In my memory, this is one of the few spicy dishes that I start to take when I was young. I love the natural sweetness of the onion and juicy prawn. Whenever my mum prepared it, I would go for second helping of rice. Just add a few slices of freshly cut cucumber together with hot steamed rice make a perfect match of a complete meal for me!



Ingredients:
600g Prawn (medium, shell removed)
200g Onion (sliced)
½ cup Oil
70g Tamarind Pulp
1 cup Water (for tamarind juice)
1 tsp Salt (or taste)
1 tsp Sugar (or taste)

Curry Paste (Pounded)
50g Dried Chilies (seed removed)
200g Shallot (peeled)
3 cloves Garlic
2 stalks (large) Lemongrass
1 Tbsp Turmeric Powder

Methods:
1. Heat up oil, sauté curry paste at medium heat until lightly brown and fragrant.
2. Add sliced onion. Stir fry until soft.
3. Then add prawn, stir fry until well mixed with curry paste and aromatic.
3. Add tamarind juice and mix well with the prawn and curry paste.
4. Lastly add sugar and salt to taste and continue simmer to reduce curry to desired texture.
5. Serve well with hot steamed rice and slices of freshly cut cucumber.