2021 - my first nonya dumpling wrapping

This is something I wanted to do for the longest time!! As the preparation works is very tedious, so had been thinking and procrastinating for the longest time!!  Finally, come 2021, where am working from home (WFH) most of the time, decided to go ahead & try.  I had learned how to wrap from my grandma times when she would wrap lots of dumplings yearly, and so far, only I managed to learn the wrapping from her.

Since my kids preferred nonya dumplings (cos they do not like those fatty fatty layers of the pork belly, they always preferred the minced meat in nonya dumplings!) and I always only like the sweet dumplings compared to the savory bak zhang!! 

I need to prepare about a week for this, soaking & washing of the dumpling leaves.  Cut & cook the minced meat a day ahead and soaking of the glutinous rice the night before the production!  Alot of cutting & chopping for nonya dumplings, but I think it's worth the afford!

Comes wrapping the next day!!  I like my BLUE rice, the colour must be very dark, so after cooking, the blue will be obvious!  ** pardon my messy kitchen! **

My finished product!! If you can see my digital clock at the back, it took me about 1.5 hours for about 20 dumplings!! This was my first wrapping session, following this, I did 2 more wrappings! Hahaha...  getting so addicted, but since we know the sequence of preparing and wrapping them, it became easier!

After 2-3 hours of cooking, my dumplings are ready to eat!

I can still see my BLUE rice after cooking for 2-3 hours!!  Can see my dumpling is really full with meat! Hahaha... very nice!!  Am very happy with my first dumpling wrapping, tasty & easy!

** For 2022, I had wanted to wrap again, BUT, seriously, I forgot about the dates & had missed it! Hahaha... maybe I should do when AM FREE, huh?? LOL... When I mentioned to my helper, she said, she also thought we will be making it this year, but why still don't see my getting the ingredients for it! Ahahaha... BLUR SOTONG ME!! **

My cooking journey for 2019

** This was a post saved as draft dated 10 Sept 2019 & only realised it today, 22 Feb 2022!!! 2.5 years later!! WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING????  I DO NOT KNOW! Hahahaha... **

Ok, I think this post is something I wanted to post back then, tracing what I had been doing for the year 2019!! 

So, this Ondeh Ondeh cake was my first attempt to bake... nice, but did not bake another time, cos I think abit too sweet for all of us!  But nice try! Hahaha...

This was a good Butter dinner rolls which I tried, actually I baked these a few times in the year (2019) and has not been baking this these 2 years (covid years!))

This should be a Japanese Cheese cake!! I really cannot remember which recipe did I follow.. hahaha...

Another noodle attempt in using my noodle maker machine, if am not wrong, I was doing the mee-kia for my wanton noodles, with my homemade char siew!!  Can't recall if the wantons were homemade too! Hahahaha...

This is the sous vide equipment hubby got me... Had tried a few things, but only took photo of this apple sauce pork loin which I tried, not too bad though... the thing I find troubling me is the ziplock bag which I need to find to use this equipment, it must be able to withstand the heat of the water bath and food safe!!  I find it difficult to find in Singapore, so end up I got some silicone bags for use in sous vide.

This is another breakfast dish I had finally mastered after 2 years of making, fried carrot cakes in black & white!!  We can always finished them all for weekend breakfast, so save us going to hawkers or coffee shops to buy back and my taste just as good!! Hahaha...  *abit of self praised*

I believe this baked pasta was created by me after learning to cook our own tomato pasta sauce from the TV program, Ah Gong can cook, and it's been our Tomato paste recipe which I only used now.  My niece & nephew only like my baked pasta now, nothing they had tried outside could make them happy!! Now am a happy chef!!!  Hahaha... But my kids had been quite 'sick' of this baked pasta...

My noodle machine aka 2019 valentine's pressie

I have got a new kitchen gadget again as present! I really thinks it's very easy to buy me presents as I enjoy 'playing' with food and enjoy making them when I see my family enjoying the food I churn out, sometimes out of curiosity on how good the recipe is or when I just want to experience cooking food with new ingredients or new cooking methods!  Hubby had been buying me kitchen gadgets once in a while..  to name a few, airfryer, a big SS baking tray and accessories (sad to say, cannot fit in to my convention even!), slow fruit juicer (which I bought it online myself and he paid for it) and this new addition noodles maker!!

In fact, I saw this machine a few years back thinking how would I buy one which just produces noodles for a few hundred dollars??!!  But hubby thought otherwise cos our 3 kids love noodles more than anything! Hahaha...

 So, my first task on the first weekend was to give it a try!!!  And we often paid about $15-$20 for a bowl of decent ramen at ramen shops, so having gone thru the recipe book a c some online recipes, here's my first homemade ramen!!!

This is the first time I made everything myself..  ok lah, some short cut, for thr miso soup base, I did not cook the porkbone from scratch..  i was using those packet pork bone soup... other than this, the ramen eggs, cha siew and noodles were all from scratch!

My decent looking ramen!!! All of us was impressed when all I did was just putting bread flour and water into the machine and about 7mins later, ramen is out!!

My toppings for ramen!

My cha siew!!! Very tasty and delicious but I think not soft enough to achieve those melt-in-the-mouth effect.. but good try!!

Ta-da!!! My homemade bowl of Ramen!!! Its really yummy and we can have tons of seaweed without having to pay for $2 for 5 pcs!!!  Very happy that everyone enjoyed it!!! I will make more ramen with different soup base soon!!! 

After about 2 weeks later, I decided to try making penne!!!  Which the kids say its yummy and taste  better then those dried ones.. as it's chewy compared to off the shelf ones...

It does taste better and fuller! Hahaha..  I guess it taste better cos i had added an egg to the flour mix .. I hope I can make more noodles for the kids soon... as my son had been complaining... why with a noodle maker at home, we are still having rice for dinner daily??? OMG!!!

Red yeast chicken dumpling

This year, I decided to have a hand on wrapping dumplings!!! But not making the traditional with pork and black in color... decided to make dumplings with the red yeast wine I made!!! Cos last year, hubby went to order some from Good Wood Park hotel, the Chinese restaurant, it was really expensive!!! So I thought to give it a try this year... 

The ingredients were pretty easy, glutinous rice pre fried, chicken cooked in red yeast wine residue, pre fried chinese mushrooms and hubby asked to put in quail eggs!

Here's my set up... hahaha... 

Finished products before 3 hours cooking in water...

Medium fire boiling process so as the dumplings will not open up!

Ta-da... my finished product ready for trying!!!  And am really disappointed!!! Not very tasty and the chicken was really tasteless!!! No taste of the red yeast at all... And the rice was bland... though well cooked! Haha... good try but I guess will need lots of adjusting of the ingredients and cooking method!!!

My homemade pork floss

I had been pretty adventurous recently and decided to make many new dishes or snacks which I can now google on...

First, I had tried making bak kwa, and the result was... ehm, still room for improvement a and guess this would not be an item I would make or baked during CNY to give to my parents or parents in law for... as the taste is far from the commercial seller, which left me puzzled when I recipe I had Google for say it's close to the popular ones in Singapore...  so, I shall stop at my experimental stage for now and bbq it just for the fun of it!!

Second, I tried on this homemade pork floss I had google and goodness, the smell and taste is good!!! My kids were busy asking to try teaspoon after teaspoon!!!  And ask sure I would make it again if they ask for it next time!!!

And I must give the credit to this page, which I had Google on and follow closely on...

http://taglicious.blogspot.sg/2014/05/crispy-pork-floss.html?m=1

Do give it a try if you have the time and it's worth the effort when yr family members like them!!!

My chicken mushroom baked rice

I had tried cooking this baked rice once for the family and it was pretty simple. And my Adwin had been asking for it since, am happy to cook for them if they really enjoy it!!!  Guess this is always how a mummy feels... No matter how tough or tiring she is, so long her loved ones ask for it, she'll put in all effort so they can enjoy it!!

Cooked rice with white button mushrooms and chicken!

With cream of mushroom on top...

Overload of mozzarella and cheddar cheese!!! Super yummy but sinful...

Baking in process...

All ready to eat!!!

My homemade thunder tea rice (擂茶)

This is my first time blogging an entry which happened on the same day!! Haha... Super rare!!

Ok, I managed to make this thunder tea rice for dinner today and am sooooo proud of it!! Because I had never thought I can make it and especially when WL even commented its nice!! So that made me happier!! Haha.... Another reason for me bogging it down, so I can refer when I need to cook again!! :p am getting really forgetful after having 3 kids!! Just an excuse? Lol...

The ingredients needed to make, I must say, is truly a lot and some are hard to get, so all the more I find it challenging!! It's a simple and healthy meal, but abit troublesome...

Here's the ingredient for the tea paste...
3 cups basil leaves
2 cups Coriander
1 cup Mint leaves
1 cup roasted peanuts
2 tbsp sesame seed
2 tbsp fried Ikan Bilis
1 tbsp green tea powder (if dun have, can substitute w Chinese tea leaves)
Some salt for taste
1 to 1-1/2 cup of water for blending

You just need to blend all ingredients together! Ehhhh, for the next round, I will omit light frying the basil leaves and the coriander! Somehow the soup is not really rich, the smell and taste is there, but when mixed with hot water, the paste will somehow get settled down on its own, and not fully 'dissolved' with the water!

Making of 红槽

This had been something I had wanted to learn since I tasted the 红槽鸡面线 cooked by my Mother-in-law!! It's really tasty & I guess the older I gets, the more I preferred traditional dishes! Haha...

As I will be doing my 3rd confinement from mid december this year, I thought of making some  红槽 so I can get my Confinement Lady to cook for me!  And I had heard from my Mother-in-law how tedious it was in the making but still I had the thought to give it a try from the instructions from her! :p

I must say, it's not really tough, just that it takes some time to cook the 2kg of glutinous rice! Haha... As I had a small rice cooker, so it took me 3 rounds to finish cooking the 2kg of glutinous rice!!  But it's all worth the effort!! :D

Here's the ingredients (Just in case I forgot how to make 红槽 again! :p):
- 2 kg of Glutinous Rice (should have soaked in water for 2 hours prior to cooking, this is according to my grandfather-in-law)
- 2 pcs of 酒饼 (should not use the sweet ones)
- 1 pack of 红曲
The last 2 items can be bought from medical halls, but I got all the ingredients from my Mother-in-law as my Grandfather-in-law had bought them and request my Mother-in-law to make 红槽 since the chinese ghost festival is over!  Actually there are many 'rules' in the making and should not be in the process of making if it's raining, if the lady is having her period, if the lady is pregnant (**am in 25 weeks pregnant when I was making this! hahaha.... let's see HOW true are these sayings... :p) & no making in the month of Hungry Ghost festival...

Anyway, here's some photos taken by WL while am busy getting ready to mix up the ingredients:

After mixing the ingredients and all ready to be transferred to the ceramic pot I had prepared! :p

 

And here's the final product before I sealed up the pot for my 红槽 to be ready in 100 days!!! Yippee!! :)