In our healthy promoting diet, black bean is an exceptionally great legume with its unique and solid nutritional profile. They are an excellent source of molybdenum, fat-free high quality protein, dietary fiber, flavonoid anti-oxidants (anthocyanins), vitamins (B1) and minerals (folate, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and iron). It also contains a small amount of omega-3 fatty acids which is about 3...

  Two year ago, when I was just starting to cook for my family, a friend of mine made a strong recommendation that I visit Rasa Malaysia’s food blog for its recipes and cooking ideas. When I browsed thru her blog, I was very amazed by her stunning shots and high level of professionalism in food presentation, not to mention her cooking and baking skills. Since then, I had been following her blog closely...

It has been a while since I featured the step-by-step instructions on “how to make a smooth & springy fish paste”, and only recently have I found the time to make them again. With a few batches of fish paste stored in my freezer, I started browsing thru my collection of cookbooks to look for new fish paste recipes. Among them is a recipe I had tried that ended up with the most satisfying results.   It...

  During Chinese New Year, the most popular dish in Cantonese’s cooking is braised dried oyster/ ho si (蚝豉) with black moss/ fat choy (发菜). Both of these ingredients sound auspicious in Cantonese’s pronunciation. Ho si means good business（好市）whereas fat choy means prosperous (发财). Besides braising, dried oysters can also be used in porridge and soup.   Today, I will share with...

As compared to siu kao (boiled dumplings), making siew mai (steamed dumplings) is more challenging to me. I had failed several times until my hubby teased me that he needs to ta pao (take-away) some siew mai from the hawker stall for me to “review my mistakes”. After doing a lot of “researches” from the internet and cookbooks, I had finally found a GREAT recipe from “The Essence of Good Cooking”...

As a Penangite (born and raised in Penang), this dish is my all-time favourite. My mother used to make this dish whenever there was a special occasion like Chinese New Year or family gathering. Because of my personal craving, I had tried out this dish based on the recipe from Special Quick & Delicious Vegetable Cookbook with some slight modifications. Ingredients: 500g yambean/ sengkuang 沙葛 (peeled...

These patties are made using the following: a) 50% of the remaining ingredients from this stuffed tofu poks b) 1 egg (lightly beaten) c) Dash of sugar and pepper Methods: a) Heat up a non-stick pan with 1 tbsp oil. Use a piece of kitchen to wipe the pan so that the oil will be spread evenly on the pan. b) When hot, use a laddle to scoop up the mixture and make small batters on the frying pan. Make a few batches....

This recipe is adapted and modified based on Stuffed Glutten Balls from Quick & Easy Hawkers’ Fair. Instead of using gluten balls, I use tofu poks. I had just bought 10 tofu poks and eventually only utilised 50% of the ingredients. Guess what did I do with the rest of the ingredients? The answer is here. Ingredients: 25 tofu poks 100g minced meat 100g minced prawn paste 100g fish paste 2 water chessnut...

Ingredients: 135g long beans (small cubes) 50g red capsicum (small cubes) (it can be substituted with 1 red chilly) ½ red onion (approx 30g) 150g tau gua/ dried beancurd (cut into small cubes and pat dry) 70g minced meat (marinated with light soya sauce, sugar and cornflour) 38g pickled lettuce (chopped) Seasonings: 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp soya sauce Pinch of sugar Dash of pepper and sesame oil Half rice...

Ingredients: 125g minced meat – marinated with light soya sauce, sugar and cornflour 125g mixed vegetable 1 large brinjal (about 360g) – diced and soaked in salt water (to discard the bitter taste) 1 red onion (about 70g) – chopped Seasonings: 1 tbsp oyster sauce 1 tbsp light soya sauce ½ tsp sugar ¼ tsp salt 1 tsp sesame oil Dash of pepper ¾ rice bowl of water 1 tsp cornflour (mixed with...