being Del.icious

cat, baby, husband, art, food and trying to maintain a sense of humour through a 3AM diaper change.

[being-del-icious]

Pot Cookies Recipe: Heat roughly cut buds for 30-40mins on a low 115C heat in the over. Shake every 10mins to ensure even cooking. Hand grind buds. Heat water and butter in a heavy saucepan. When the butter begins to melt, add the same amount of pot. Let its simmer for 2-3 hours on a low heat, about 70C not exceeding 90C, and stirring occasionally. Squeeze mixture through a cheese cloth into a container and allow to cool and set. Cookies: Ingredients - 1/4 cup melted pot butter 1/2 cup melted butter 1/2 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 egg yolk 1 tbs vanilla extract 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips Method- Preheat oven to 165C Cream pot butter, regular butter, white and brown sugar together until well blended. Mid in egg, egg yolk and vanilla until light and creamy. In another bowl, sift flour, baking soda and salt. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet until just blended. Gently stir in the choc chips. Grease baking trays and roll the dough into small balls. Set very well spaced out (no pun!) on the cookie tray and press down gently with back of measuring cup until it’s nicely flat. Bake for 15-17 mins and allow to cool on a wire rack. Voila!

[being-del-icious]

Butter Chicken Me Up Baby

Okay so no pictures with this one cos it was just too damn good and I ate it all after the biggest cycle of my life.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 in ginger, minced

2 onions, roughly chopped

1 can peeled tomatoes or 3 fresh tomatoes, roughly chopped

Approx  100-200 ml water

2 red/green chillies, deseeded

2 tsp tomato paste

1 chicken stock cube

1/4 cup of cashews

1/4 tsp tumeric

1/4 tsp garam masala

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cumin

1/2 cup cream

Method:

Melt butter in a large pan, and add the onions. Saute until fragrant, and add fresh/canned tomatoes, chillies and cashew nuts. Cook for 3 mins and add the garlic, ginger, tomato paste, water, stock cube and spices and simmer on low heat uncovered for 10 mins. 

Once thickened slight, blend into a puree and return to saucepan. Turn heat up to medium and bring to a gentle bubble.

At this stage you can add whatever protein you would like - prawns or fish or chicken.. Make sure that the protein has already been cooked.

Add cream and stir in, and add an additional knob of butter to make creamy. Garnish as desired with parsley or cashews and serve. 

[being-del-icious]

Yakisobar recipe (serves 3-4) - Ingredients: 1 packet Hokkien/egg noodles (about 400g) 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 onion, sliced 1 carrot, julienned 2 cups sugar snap peas, tips removed & chopped 200g fresh/frozen shrimp (or any protein u like!) 1 firm tofu, diced 1 egg (optional) 2tbsp oil For sauce: 8 tbsp yakisoba sauce OR 4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 4 tsp oyster sauce 4 tsp ketchup 2 tsp soy sauce 2 tsp sugar Method: Add 1 tbsp of oil to a wok and add prawn, or the protein of your choice. Cook until reached the desired done-ness, season and remove onto a plate Add another 1 tbsp of oil to the wok and add garlic and onion and fry for 1 minute on Med heat till fragrant Add veggies and tofu and cook an additional 5 minutes. Combine all sauce items to make yakisoba sauce; or use one from a packet. Pour in 4 tbsp of sauce into the wok and stir with tongs to combine. Meanwhile cook noodles according to packet instructions. Drain and add a tsp of oil and mix to keep from sticking. Add noodles and remainder sauce. Toss with tongs until well combined and cook for another 3-4 minutes. If you would like to add an egg - make a well in the centre and crack open an egg. Swish it with the Tongs to break the egg and let it cook for 1/2 a minute, then cover with noodles and leave it for another minute. Toss noodles again to mix the egg thoroughly Serve with seaweed and pickled ginger garnish.

[being-del-icious]

Lemony Slaw & Banging Burgers Serves 4 Ingredients: (Coleslaw) 12 leaves Chinese cabbage, finely sliced 2 spring onions, sliced 3 tbsp a chopped coriander 1/4 cup mayonnaise 1/4 cup Greek yoghurt 1 tbsp sugar 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper Zest of one lemon 2 tbsp lemon juice (Burger) 500-600g beef mince 1 large egg 1/2 cup onions, minced 1/4 cup panko or breadcrumbs 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce 2 cloves garlic, minced 4 hamburger buns, buttered 8 slices tomatoes 4 slices of your favorite cheese (raclette) Method: (Coleslaw) Combine mayo, yoghurt, sugar, salt, pepper, lemon zest, and lemon juice in a large bowl until smooth. Add cabbage, spring onion and cilantro and stir till evenly mixed. (Burgers) Mix onion, garlic, egg, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, breadcrumbs and mince in a large bowl until well combined. Divide the mixture in 4 and shape into patties. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan on high heat. Add patties and cook for 5 mins on each side. Turn the heat down to med-low and cover. Cook for an additional 5-10 mins until inside is no longer pink. Grill burger buns for a couple of mins until toasted and cheese has melted. Stack the base bun with tomatoes, patty and coleslaw and serve with fries or popcorn. Voila!

[being-del-icious]

Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice Recipe (serves 3-4) Ingredient: (Chicken and soup) 500g chicken breast 3 cloves garlic, minced 4 slices of ginger 1 green onion, chopped 2 tbsp vegetable oil 3 tbsp sesame oil Salt to taste (Rice) 1/2 inch ginger, peeled and finely chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 tbsp sesame oil 1 shallot, finely chopped 2 cups of chicken stock 1.5 cups of short-grained rice *NOTE: if using different rice, adjust amount of chicken stock to suit rice cooking requirements (Chili sauce) 3 chili padi, remove seeds 1 shallot 2 cloves of garlic 1/2 inch of ginger peeled 1/2 tsp salt 1/3 cup fresh lime juice (approx 1 lime) (Garnish) 2 tomatoes, sliced 1 cucumber, sliced Handful of fresh cilantro Method: Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and 1tbsp of sesame oil in large saucepan. Add ginger, garlic and green onion and fry on med - high heat, until fragrant. Add chicken breast and sear both sides - approx 5mins each side. Add water to cover chicken (800ml-1L) and add 1 cup of chicken stock. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1/2 hour. Remove chicken from soup, and rinse under cold water. Allow it to dry and rub the remaining 1 tbsp of sesame oil onto the breast. Chop and set aside To cook rice, gently fry ginger, shallots and garlic in sesame oil. Add the rice and stir to coat thoroughly Pour in the chicken stock and bring to a rolling boil, then turn heat down and simmer until rice is cooked (approx 20mins) To make chili sauce, simply blend all ingredients (or finely chop and mix together if you do not have a little blender). Garnish the rice and chicken with tomato and cucumber slices. Garnish the soup with cilantro and serve everything with the chili sauce and some soy sauce and DIG IN! :)

[being-del-icious]

Best Whatever-You-Want Muffins Ever! Makes 12 Ingredients: 2 cups all-purpose flour 3 tbsps baking powder 1 tsp salt 3/4 cup white sugar 1 egg, beaten 1 cup milk 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 cup toppings :) Method: Preheat the oven to 180C and grease muffin trays Stir together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a medium bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and add the (already beaten) egg, milk and oil. Mix quickly and lightly with a fork to combine but do NOT beat. Batter may be lumpy but that's ok. You can add anything you would like! Try 1 cup of dates or blueberries, or a couple of smashed bananas and a sprinkle of cinnamon. For savory variations, try 1 cup of cheese or 1/4 cup spring onions and 1/4 cup cooked bacon bits. *NOTE: If you would like to make a savory muffin, adjust the recipe by increasing the salt to 2 tsps and reducing the sugar to 1/4 cup* Bake for 25-30 mins, or until a toothpick comes out clean. The trick to great muffins is to make sure that you lightly combine the wet and dry ingredients. Do not beat or mix aggressively. Try and fold it in together as minimally as possible, for maximum fluffiness!

[being-del-icious]

Slow-Roasted Pork Belly with Crispy Crackling and Brussel Sprouts:

Serves 4

Ingredients - 1kg pork belly 2 apples, peeled, cored and cut in half 1 onions peeled 4 tsp sea salt 5 tbsp oil

3 to 4 cups brussel sprouts 6 cloves garlic, minced ¼ cup butter ¼ cup chicken stock

(Sauce) - optional 1/3 cup sugar ¼ cup balsamic vinegar ¼ cup wine ¼ cup fresh orange juice 3 slices orange peel 1 cinnamon stick 2 star anise 1 cup chicken stock Pan juices

Method - Preheat oven to 220C and place tinfoil on a baking tray Slice onion lengthwise 4 times to create large onion rings. Place on tinfoil and put apples on top. Score pork rind diagonally with a sharp knife to create a diamond pattern. Pat skin dry with a paper towel to absorb moisture, for the perfect crackling. Mix salt and oil and rub all over the pork belly including the rind and in the scores. Place pork belly, skin (rind) side up on top of the apples. Gather up all the tinfoil so that it surrounds the pork, but leaves the top rind exposed. Cool in oven for ½ hour, then turn temperature down to 180C for 1.5 hours. Remove and pour out pan drippings - set aside for sauce or gravy. Put pork back in the over under the grill for 5-10 minutes to crisp up skin. If you don’t have a grill you may turn the oven up to 240C to achieve crisping. But in either case, watch the pork carefully so it does not burn. Remove and cool.

Wash Brussel sprouts, trim base and cut in half. Melt butter in pan on med heat and add minced garlic. Sauté approx 1-2 mins. Place sprouts flat side down and cook for 5-7 mins. Flip over and add chicken stock to deglaze pan. Cook for an additional 2-3 mins and season to taste

For sauce, mix 1/3 cup sugar, ¼ balsamic vinegar, ¼ cup wine, cinnamon, star anise and pan drippings. Bring to a boil and simmer until syrupy. Add orange peel, ¼ cup OJ and 1 cup chicken stock. Bring to a boil and simmer until it reduces Season to taste and remove spices before serving

*NOTE: If you would like the sauce less oily, take a couple of slices of bread and drag them along the surface of the pan dripping before adding it to the sauce. The bread acts as a sponge and soaks up excess oil*

Plate up and serve hot!

[being-del-icious]

Prawn and roasted mushroom fusilli with a creamy whisky sauce

Ingredients: Any pasta, cooked as per packet 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 3 tbsp olive oil Zest from one lemon 500 g prawns, de-veined, shell on Handful parsley, chopped 1 pack of button mushroom, washed and stems removed Pinch of thyme ½ can chopped tomatoes ¼ cup cream 1 large shot of whisky

Method: Heat oven to 220 degrees with tray on middle rack Place prawn, garlic, zest, parsley and olive oil in bowl. Coat and let sit for 1 hr Cut mushrooms into quarters and place on a baking tray, evenly spaced Drizzle with olive oil, season and sprinkle with a pinch of thyme Roast for 10-12 mins, turning once (just give the tray a good shake)

Cook pasta as per packet directions

Heat pan and put in prawn mixture Cook for 2-4 mins until pink Pour in shot of whisky and flame if you feel adventurous. Let the alcohol evaporate (1-2mins) Add tomatoes and stir for 2 mins Add cream and stir in, another 2 mins Season to taste and serve over hot pasta.

(Serves 4)

Voilà!

[being-del-icious]

The perfect dinner for one. Baked potato and panko-crusted baked drumlets :) beYOND amazing! #cleaneats #proteinup #myculinarywizadry

[being-del-icious]

Super Succulent Chicken Secret

Okay, so this is my go to for chicken. It's a foolproof method for getting the juiciest chicken, every time, without fail. I can't really take credit for the method since I found it trawling the Internet. But man, is it GOOD! Take any kind of chicken breast in any kinda marinade or rub and place in a hot pan (med-high heat) with some olive oil. (if there is no oil in the marinade..) Brown chicken, 5 mins on each side approx. Then (here's the trick), turn the heat down LOW and COVER the pan, and LEAVE it for 10 mins. I mean totally leave it. Do not be tempted to remove the cover - just don't touch it for 10 entire minutes. I personally use this interlude to have a well-deserved glass of wine! Uncover and voilà!

[being-del-icious]

Creamy Chicken & Leek (serves 4): Ingredients - 500g chicken breast +salt, pepper, pinch of dried thyme, drizzle of olive oil 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 1 1/2 cups white wine 1 cup creme fraiche/sour cream 2 tbsps mustard (any kind) 1 leek, sliced Method - Mix salt, pepper, thyme and olive oil in a bowl and add chicken breast. Coat chicken and let sit for 15 mins while you prep. Thoroughly wash sliced leeks to separate and remove dirt, strain and set aside. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsps of olive oil on med heat. Brown chicken on both sides - approx 5 mins each side. Remove chicken. Add garlic to skillet and fry gently for 1 min, then add 1/2 a cup of white wine until it's bubbling. Return chicken to the pan, and pour in remaining wine. Turn heat down low and cover. Leave it for 30 mins to 1 hr. The longer you leave it, the more tender the chicken! Uncover and break up the chicken in the pan - it's should cut easily with a fork. Add 2 tbsps of mustard and the creme fraiche and mix well. Turn up heat (low-med) and bring it to a simmer. Add sliced leeks on top of the chicken and cover for 15 mins to steam leeks. Uncover and mix well - serve with pasta/rice/potatoes/broccoli, anything really! Voilà

[being-del-icious]

Heavenly Chicken Pot Pie (serves 4): Ingredients - 500g chicken breast 1 large onion, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 2-3 celery stalks, chopped 1 handful of frozen peas 1/3 cup butter 1/3 cup flour 2 1/2 cups chicken stock 2/3 cup of milk 1 pack of puff pastry Method - Preheat the oven to 200 degrees {Filling} Season chicken and pan fry or boil until cooked (for the secret to juicy chicken, see my "juicy chicken secret method") Set aside and chop Heat 1/3 cup butter in a large pan on med heat. Add onions and gently fry until soft, 2-3 mins. Add carrots, celery and peas and continue to cook until soft (approx 10mins). Season well. Meanwhile, heat chicken stock until boiling in a pot. Sprinkle 1/3 cup of flour over vegetables and mix in - it should be crumbly and thick. Slowly add a 1/2 cup at a time of chicken stock, and stir until absorbed. Continue adding stock until the desired sauce consistency is reached. Add 2/3 cups of milk and stir in. {Pie Crust} I choose to use puff pastry for an amazingly fluffy pie crust and base. Making a pie base is entirely optional.. If u decide on a base, I would recommend blind baking it-- cover the uncooked pie base with foil, pressed into the dish, and bake for 10mins until base is a yellow tint. Remove pie base from oven and pour in filling. Cover with more puff pastry and cut small slits in the centre for steam to escape. Whisk an egg and brush it over the pie crust to give it a golden brown color (optional) Bake for 30-35 mins, until crust is golden. Remove and rest for 10 mins before serving.

[being-del-icious]

Ketam Masak Lemak (Crab in Coconut Milk) Recipe: Ingredients 7 crabs, cleaned and cut in half 1.5 cans coconut milk (600ml) 2 small red onions 3 cloves garlic 1 red chilli 4 tsp turmeric 1 tbsp tamarind paste (or 1 tbsp lemon juice + 1 tsp sugar) 1 tsp salt 2 stalk lemongrass Put the garlic, onion, tamarind paste, turmeric, salt and chilli into a blender and whizz until smooth. Heat coconut milk in a big pot on medium heat Smash lemongrass bulbs and put in pot Add blended ingredients and bring to a boil. Once softly bubbling, add in crab and cook for 5-10 mins, until crab shell is pink and meat is white. Serve with rice. Voilà

[being-del-icious]

Morrocan Rub: 1 tsp paprika 1/2 tsp cumin 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp ginger 1/4 tsp salt 1/4 tsp pepper 1 tbsp olive oil Combine all ingredients and coat chicken. Marinade for 2 hours. Roasted Veggies: 1 green pepper 1 red pepper 1 yellow pepper 1 large onion 1 eggplant 1 zuchinni 6 tbsp olive oil 3 tbsp balsamic vinegar Dice all the vegetable and place all except eggplant in baking tray. Place eggplants in a separate tray and grill approx 10 mins until soft. Set aside. Add olive oil and balsamic vinegar to vegetables and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Bake at 180 degrees for approx 45 mins until soft, turning once. Add eggplant and increase the heat to 220 degrees, cook for another 7-10 mins until vegetable have caramelized.

[being-del-icious]

Baked lemon thyme salmon with asparagus, broccoli and cherry tomatoes.

[being-del-icious]

U can take the girl outta Asia, but... Homemade Ba Ku Teh goodness!!! #cravings #myculinarywizardy #bakuteh

[being-del-icious]

This hard-boiled bunch make for eggshellent friends. #wolfpack #superherofoods #eggyokes #desperatehousewife #myculinarywizardy