Stir-fried Minced Beef

Ingredients/Prep(For a 3.5yr old)
50-60g Lean Minced Beef/Marinate for about 30minutes with 0.5tsp salt, 0.5tsp sugar, 3-4tbs clean tap water, 0.5tsp corn flour, dashes of white ground pepper, 2tsp sesame oil.

1 Small Sweet Potato/Remove skin and cut into chunks.

20g Garden Peas/Rinse and dry.

1 Small Shallot/Remove skin and cut into small bits.

1 Garlic/Remove skin and mince.

1tbs Canola or Grapeseed Oil

25g Unsalted Butter

100-150ml Clean Tap Water(I used water instead of stock is because the beef and sweet potato are already very flavorful)

Cook
1. In a wok using medium heat, add 1tbs of oil(Canola or Grapeseed) then add 25g unsalted butter.

2. Once the butter melted, fry the garlic and shallot until golden brown then add the minced beef. Using a spatula, pat the beef down to sizzle.

3. Once the beef starts to get fried, add the peas and the sweet potato chunks. Continue to stir fry for 1-2minutes.

4. Add water bit by bit, stir-fry while doing it. (For adult's consumption, add 2tbs of oyster or abalone sauce for added flavor)

5. Once all the water has been added, allow to simmer using low heat for about 20-25minutes.

6. Serve warm with white fluffy rice.

French Toast

Sorry for the lack of posts... Work, traveling and new maid have taken a toll in my daily life lately..

I haven't been able to wok up anything much for A simply because she's eating mostly what we adults are eating now. But there's this breakfast that I, myself and everyone at home have been enjoying. And best of all? It only takes me a few minutes to make it..

That Golden French Toast..
Ingredients
4 Slices of Thick White Bread (at least 2cm, the thicker the better)

1 Egg

2 Tsps of Sugar

60ml Fresh Full Cream Milk

A few dashes of Cinnamon Powder(can be omitted)

30-40g Unsalted Butter



Cook
1. In a bowl, beat the egg together with the sugar, milk and cinnamon powder.

2. Cut the bread into half and into triangles or quarters. Soak the bread into the egg mixture for about 2-3minutes.

3. Using a flat pan and SMALL fire, once the pan is SLIGHTLY warm, add butter. (The trick to good french toast is suitable heat, if too hot, the bread blacks easily)

4. Gently place the soaked bread into the pan, fry each side for about 1-2 minutes or until golden brown.

5. Place the fried bread onto kitchen paper towel. Sink your teeth into them while it's hot. YUMMY!

Mini Sponge with Chocolate Dripping All Over!

I'm back and it's nice to be home. Especially with a new fridge and a new OVEN!! heehee :)

And the first bake out of my spanking new oven is this..
and I attempted to make them look Xmassy.

Ingredients
120g Self-raising Flour/Sifted
100g Unsalted Butter/Softened
80g Caster Sugar
2 Eggs/Gently whisked
2tsps Vanilla Extract

Bake
1. Preheat oven to 180degC and line 12-muffin tray with paper cases.
2. Using an electric mixer, whisk the butter and sugar together until white and fluffy.
3. Add the gently whisked egg bit by bit, continue to whisk.
4. Add the vanilla extract, continue to whisk until everything is well mixed.
5. Stop the mixer and using a spatula, fold the flour in batch by batch. DO NOT attempt to mix the batter well, just fold in and ignore the lumps or uneven mixture.
6. Spoon the batter into the lined paper cases, half filled.
7. Bake the cakes at 180degC for 13-15minutes. Use a toothpick to poke through the cakes and when it comes out clean, means the cakes are baked.

Toppings
100g Dark Chocolates
50g Icing Sugar
30g Unsalted Butter
Silver Balls and Snow Powder(Edible, sold at Phoon Huat)

8. Meanwhile melt the dark chocolates, butter and icing sugar together in a bowl over a pot of boiling water, whisking with a fork. Leave aside to cool down.

9. Remove the cakes from the cases in order to cool faster. Place the cakes on a wire rack.

10. When the cakes are completely cooled down, using a teaspoon, spoon the cooled down chocolate mixture on the top of each cakes, allowing the chocolate to drip down on the sides.

11. Add the silver balls and using a small sift, sift the snow powder over the cakes for a xmassy effect! (can be replaced with nuts or dried fruits)

STAY TUNED for more xmassy goodies!

110th Recipes Blogged!

I don't know why but I have never counted the number of recipes I have in this blog. And since I can't sleep so I gave it a count tonight.

It's a whopping 110!

a hundred and ten recipes blogged!

Ok, I must admit I am one lazy and an IT un-savvy person. I do not know the simplest, most effective way to book-keep these recipes or have them archived (err.. except for the food pics). If anyone out there happens to have been doing this (for me, hiak! :P), will you be kind enough to give me a copy? Or any kind soul will do that for me?! hahaha :P Ok I know. I was just testing my luck.

Anyway, happy reading and thanks for all the wonderful encouragement in keeping my soul massaged, ego boosted so that I could keep my blog pulsating!

Cheers to everyone and yes, festive is around the corner and I will be leaving town again for holidays so blogging will be lagged.

Merry Merry Merry Xmas to everyone. May your table be filled with all the tasty yummy treats this Xmas! I know mine will be as I will be wokking for about 30 people this time!

Pan Fried Salmon with Noodle Soup

This is quite a 3 minute dish to wok up. And especially if you don't like the smell of salmon as much as me, pan-frying it before adding into soup or porridge is actually crafty method to reduce that fish odor.

Ingredients/Prep for a toddler
1 slice of Salmon(about 70g, 1cm thick)/Rinse, pat dry then pan fry each side for about 2 minutes without oil as the fish itself has lots of oil. Pat the fried fish on a kitchen paper towel to remove excess oil then use a fork to flake it.

0.5 packet of Egg Noodles

A handful of Leafy Veg

1 small Potato/Cut into small cubes, soak in clean tap water. Drain just before cooking.

300ml Chicken Stock(Or any other soup stock)

Cook
1. Boil the chicken stock. Once the stock starts to simmer, add in the potato cubes.
2. Add in the noodles, use a fork to stir while the noodles get softened.
3. Add in the salmon flakes and the leafy veg.
4. Cook for about 2 minutes using medium to high heat. Add a dash of pepper. For adults, add a teaspoon of soya sauce to add more flavor.
5. Remove from stove and serve when it's warm.

Remarks
For another toddler's version, add 2 tablespoons of tomato ketchup
For another adult's version, add Garlic Chilli sauce! my favorite!

Promo: FUN KITCHEN ware

I've always like using silicone ware. They're very durable and helpful in the kitchen. But they don't come cheap.

However, I found an inexpensive option, whereby the products are as effective! And from now till end of the year (31st Dec 2009), all Littlegastronomy readers will get a 5% discount. Just type in 'Littlegastronomy' in the 'Alternative' field provided in the online order form at the website.

I find these 2 items very helpful:
Table Mat (after discount S$7.60ea)
This is super effective. Not only you can use it as a mat for hot pots and there'll be no more flying saucers in the house!


Spatula (after discount S$10.26ea)
You can use this as a mixer or for wok frying. Easy to wash and helps to scoop up every bit of gravy in the pot.


Go to Bulk Bazaar (under Kitchen) for more info. You'll need to register as a member before you can make your purchases (= Happy shopping!

Creamy Mashed Potato

Mashed potato; such a simple, easy to prepare food yet every mouthful delivers immense comfort. I love indulging in it when the day is rainy or when I have no appetite at all. My Arianne happens to love it as much as I do.

And the secret lies in the ingredients. Got to be a good quality fat(got to be creamy french butter) and russet potato; these 2 main characters cannot be compromised.

Ingredients/Prep for a toddler
1 Big-sized Russet Potato/Remove skin, cut into big chunks and boil in water until softened. Drain the water and leave the cooked potatoes in the pot.

30-50g Unsalted Butter(I use President)

100-200ml Full Cream Milk(I use Pura. Adjust the amount accordingly)

Salt & Pepper (Amount as desired)

To Make
1. Right after the potatoes are softened, drain the water and quickly add in the butter, milk, salt & pepper(as desired) and use a fork or masher to combine everything in a smooth paste.

2. Serve when it's piping hot.

Remarks
: Add oven-roasted bacon bits for a different texture or cheese for added flavour(then skip salt totally). I've got a cheese mashed potato recipe for reference.

: For a different variation, use sweet potatoes instead.

: Try with Chicken Gravy.

Mee Goreng

Ingredients/Prep
0.5 rice bowl of Dried Egg Noodle/Soak in hot water to soften then drain.

1 slice Chicken Fillet/Boil the fillet in 300ml of water for a few minutes to cook then shred with a fork or simply cut into cubes.

Hard Bean Curd(Tao Gua)/Cut into dice.

60g Leafy Veggies/Pluck into 1.5-2cm lengthwise.

1 small Tomato/Remove seeds, cut into cubes and mash with a chinese soup spoon or with pestle and mortar.

1 clove of Garlic/Remove skin and dice.

Seasoning:
3-4tbs Tomato Ketchup
0.5tsp Dark Soya Sauce
2tsps Thai Fish Sauce(Can be omitted for children below 24months old)
Dashes of Ground White Pepper

Cook
1. In a wok, using medium heat, add about 2tbs Canola or Grapeseed oil.
2. Add the diced dried bean curd to fry.
3. Once brown, using the spatula move the bean curd aside in the wok then add the diced garlic.
4. Once the garlic is fragrant, add the veggies and shredded chicken and combine the bean curd too. Stir fry for about 2 minutes or until the veggies turn darker green.
5. Add the mashed tomatoes and all the seasonings. Continue to stir fry.
6. Turn heat down to low and add the softened noodles to mix well with the sauce in the wok.
7. Serve warm.

Remarks:
Add a bit of cooled boiled water at step 6, just before dishing it up if the dish seems to dry for your child.
For Optional: Add a sunny side up egg for some side kicks!
For adults consumption, use sweet chilli sauce instead of tomato ketchup.