Prawn Otak Otak

A simple recipe when you are in a hurry – whether to eat with hot rice or bread. I do enjoy an otak sandwich.

If hot rice is your choice, then you can cook a portion of rice in the deeper pot and steam the otak otak in the shallow pan stacked in the ELB.

Ingredients
*5 medium sized prawns, coarsely chopped
*1 tablesp chopped Kaffir lime leaf, tear off the leaf vein to 4 pieces and sliced thinly
*2 tabsp coconut cream
*1 tabsp chilli paste (I use Mae Pranom brand. You can add more chili if you prefer spicier or omit)
*2 small sized egg
*quarter tsp salt

Method
1. Oil the shallow pan and line the base of the ELB with grease-proof paper and set aside.

2. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and add in chilli paste, keffir lime leaf, salt and coconut cream. Mix ingredients well then pour into the prepared pan.

3. Distribute the prawns evenly in the otak otak mixture.

4. Put a quarter cup water into the ELB, carefully lower the tray into the ELB and steam for 15 min. Turn off ELB and leave in the ELB for another 10 min to set.

5. Serve Prawn Otak Otak warm with rice or as sandwich filling. I ate with homemade Mee Goreng.

Drunken Chicken Roll

I love drunken chicken and this recipe is made with boneless chicken leg meat. In some restaurants, this dish can cost an arm and a leg. Let me show you how easy it is to make drunken chicken roll which is a delightful chilled appetizer.

While most would use Chinese cooking rice wine, I prefer brandy for its bolder taste and flavour. You can replace brandy with Shaoxing wine or sweet Mirin.

Ingredients
*1 pc chicken leg, deboned
*half tsp salt
*white pepper
*aluminum foil to wrap

Drunken Sauce
*4 tabsp brandy
*2 tabsp light soy sauce
*quarter cup water
*2 slices ginger
*1 tsp brown sugar

Method
1. Place chicken leg meat skin side down and marinate with salt and pepper.

2. Cut a piece of aluminum large enough to tightly wrap chicken roll.

3. Roll chicken skin side down and wrap tightly in aluminum foil.

4. Fill ELB with a quarter cup water. Put rolled chicken onto the shallow tray and place in ELB to steam for 15 minutes. Turn off the ELB and continue to let the chicken sit in the ELB for another 15 minutes.

5. Remove chicken from ELB and plunge in ice cold water for 20 minutes.

6. Make drunken sauce – in a saucepan, heat water, soy sauce, sugar and ginger slices over low fire for five minutes. Turn off fire then add brandy/shaoxing wine. Allow to cool.

7. Remove chicken from cold water, unwrap and place chicken roll into a zip lock bag.

8. Pour in the drunken sauce and let chicken roll rest in the fridge for at least 12 hours or more.

9. To serve, remove chicken roll from drunken sauce (save the sauce), slice chicken and arrange on serving plate. Spoon drunken sauce over the chicken pieces. Garnish with spring onions. This dish should be eaten cold.

Steamed Brussels Sprouts with Truffle Butter Garlic Sauce

I arrived home, frazzled after being stuck in traffic from what should have been a 15 minute cab ride, took an hour.

Tired and hungry and not wanting to cook up a storm in the kitchen, (I had cooked Prawn Tom Yum Goong from scratch the previous day), I wanted a simpler option.

In 20 minutes, I was eating Brussels Sprouts and a Grilled Portobello. Cleaning up was a breeze too.

Ingredients
*5-6 Brussels Sprouts, washed and halved. Cut a third or quartered if larger
*1 tabsp salted butter
*1 tsp minced garlic
*1 tsp truffle oil
*salt to taste

Method

1. Fill ELB with quarter cup water (this is about 10-15 min cooking time) place Brussels Sprouts in the shallower tray and into ELB.

2. Steam cook until cooking light indicator goes off.

3. While Brussels Sprouts are cooking, prepare sauce in a small pan over the stove. Put in salted butter and minced garlic in the pan, turn off the heat after garlic is softened and fragrant. Add truffle oil.

4. Pour sauce over the Brussels Sprouts and serve.

Nasi Lemak Basmati

I had an urge for Nasi Lemak but have since stopped buying regular Jasmine rice. Desiring a low GI healthy rice option, I chose basmati. Although this choice will bump my rice budget by near three times more, I will still pay the difference for health-sake. Plus after learning how to cook basmati rice the right way, my son who loves his carbs, seem to not mind the change.

I have learnt the water to rice proportions from an Indian man when I met him at a volunteers’ luncheon a few months ago. This friendly man from Chennai told me that I needed to add more water than regular rice and he was absolutely right.

This is my healthier Nasi Lemak Basmati recipe, low GI and lower calories –

Ingredients
* 2 cups basmati rice, washed
* 2 cups water
* 65ml coconut cream, mix into the 2 cups water. This yields about 2.5 cups liquid
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 1 blade pandan leaf, knotted

Method
Cook in ELB.
https://electriclunchbox.wordpress.com/2017/03/16/elb-nasi-lemak/

Should you decide to use a regular rice cooker then normal rice setting will do the trick.

Steamed Lady’s Fingers/Okra

I invited friends over for dinner and realized that I could do with another vegetable dish.

Although lady’s fingers/okra is an acquired taste, my guests happened to like this vegetable. This humble vegetable is full of goodness as well. https://www.healthtipsever.com/health-benefits-of-okra/

However, it is important to buy the lady’s fingers when it is young and fresh, about 8cm/3″ in length, no blemish, bright green. Any larger and you may run the risk of the lady’s fingers being fibrous and will only be fit for the curry pot.

Verdict : My guests enjoyed the steamed lady’s finger. Not a finger was left.

Ingredients

* 2 bags young lady’s fingers, washed

* 2 tabsp crispy prawn chili/haebi hiam, store bought

Method

1. Steam lady’s fingers for about 10 minutes till just tender. Stop the cooking by plunging in cold water. Drain and arrange onto serving plate.

2. Spoon out the crispy prawn chili to top on the steamed lady’s finger.One of my favourite brands of crispy prawn chili. There are many brands available in the supermarkets.

The great part about this recipe is that it’s really up to you whether you want more ladies fingers, more crispy prawn chili or less.

Pumpkin Rice

You may be wondering why I haven’t been posting new recipes. Well I have a new toy – my new little electric rice cooker. Rice cookers now come in cute little sizes that are great for 1-3 persons. I bought a Tefal that cooks rice and more.

I decided to make pumpkin rice and it did a marvelous job. Besides, this recipe is so forgiving – so if you want to put more nutritious pumpkin or keep the meats out, why not?

My guess is that this recipe could be cooked in the electric lunch box as well. But don’t forget to add the half cup water in the box. Do let me know too, how it turns out for those who are using your electric lunch box to make pumpkin rice.

For 3-4 persons

Ingredients
*1.5 cups rice, washed, drained and set aside
*1 tabsp minced garlic
*1 Chinese sausages/lup cheong, cut in 1 cm cubes
*2 cups pumpkin, skinned and chopped in 1.5 cm cubes
*1/2 cup thinly sliced belly pork/diced chicken
*3 Chinese mushrooms, soaked and trimmed, sliced thinly
*1 tabsp dried shrimps
*2 tabsp light soy sauce
*2 tabsp abalone sauce
*white pepper powder
*1.5 cups water
*oil for frying

Garnish
*Fried shallots
*coriander leaves

Method
1. Marinate sliced mushrooms and pork/chicken slices with one tabsp soy sauce each. Add a dash of pepper.
2. Heat frying pan and add oil, lightly fry lup cheong, then add minced garlic and fry till fragrant.
3. Put in seasoned meat and sliced mushrooms, stir fry for 2 minutes then add dried shrimps and pumpkin pieces. Stir fry till pumpkin pieces are partially cooked/softened. Add rice and abalone sauce, stir fry for 2 minutes.
4. Transfer all ingredients into electric rice cooker, pour in 1.5 cups of water then continue to cook contents in rice cooker.
5. Serve rice hot, garnish with fried shallots and topped with coriander leaves.

ELB Nasi Lemak

Nasi Lemak is great for breakfast or lunch. I recently met a friendly Malay couple and our conversation centred around home-cooking. The husband was singing praises to his wife’s cooking especially her Nasi Lemak.  (A long time ago, I tried to make the nasi/rice, it failed and I was left with a pot of half-cooked rice.  Feeling so defeated, I didn’t try again).  This dear Kakak taught me how to make the rice, the outcome was a success. Thanks to Kakak.

I recently invited my friend over for a Nasi Lemak breakfast and whipped this meal in under 2 hours, complete with sambal terong, egg omelet, oven baked chicken drumlets and sliced cucumbers.  Nasi Lemak goes with just about anything – sambal prawns, beef rendang, fried fish, sambal petai …

Ingredients
*1 cup rice
*1/4 cup coconut cream/santan (I use Kara 65ml pack coconut cream)
*3/4 cup water
*1/4 tsp salt
*1 pandan leaf, bruised and tied in a knot
(1/2 cup water for ELB)

Method
1. Wash rice in pot and drain off water.
2. In bowl, mix water, coconut cream and salt. Pour liquid into the pot of rice.
3. Lay the pandan leaf into the rice mixture.
4. Put 1/2 cup water into ELB then place pot of rice into ELB to cook for about 25 min or until indicator light goes off.
5. Open and stir to fluff the rice, then close pot to allow rice to thoroughly cook for another 10 min.
6. Serve rice warm or cooled with egg omelet, cucumber slices, sambal egg plant, chicken wings, etc

See recipe for chicken drumlets https://kussemangat.wordpress.com/2016/09/16/crispy-oven-baked-chicken-drumlets/

DATE PUDDING WITH GULA MELAKA CARAMEL SAUCE

My son took me to PS Café to try a similar dessert.  I decided to tweak the recipe and come up with a healthier version using gula Melaka caramel.  I know, I know, you might be saying, “sugar is sugar”.

A. Ingredients
* 2 small eggs
* 80g unsalted butter
* 3/4 cup all purpose plain flour
* 1/2 cup brown sugar
* 60g seeded dates (sliced thickly)
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

* 1 Bundt Pan (6 cup capacity that fits into my ELB)

Method
1. Cream butter with sugar. Add eggs. Mix thoroughly. Put in vanilla extract.
2. Mix baking soda and baking powder into flour.
3. Spoon flour into egg mixture and combine.
4. Add dates into flour mixture. Mix evenly.
5. Oil Bundt pan and carefully spoon cake mixture into tin. Gently tap Bundt pan to even out mixture.
6. Put 3/4 cup water into ELB.
7. Put cake pan into ELB and steam/cook for 45 min.
8. Leave cake for another 15 min after cooking before turning it out on serving plate

B. Ingredients for Gula Melaka Caramel Sauce
90g salted butter
100g Gula Melaka (chopped)
120ml / 1/2cup cream
1 tabsp water

Method
1. Dissolve Gula Melaka with 1 tabsp water in pan over low heat be careful not to burn.
2. Keep stirring till Gula Melaka is dissolved then add butter and mix together.
3. Drizzle in cream and stir. The sauce will thicken. Boil for about a minute.
3. Set aside to cool and ready to serve. Excess sauce can be kept in fridge in air tight container.

To Serve –
1. Pour enough caramel sauce on plate. (If in fridge, take one tablespoon sauce and reheat in microwave oven for 10 secs)
2. Cut out a chunk of date pudding and put a large dollop of vanilla ice-cream.
3. Garnish with a mint leaf and serve immediately.

Alternatively, serve this cake whole by putting caramel sauce onto large serving plate. Put the cake whole onto a generous amount of caramel sauce. Fill a generous amount of vanilla ice cream in the centre. A great dessert to share.

Note:
– Using brown sugar will give a light brown colour to the cake.
– A Bundt pan gives cake a different shape and is visually interesting. It’s so adorable!
– Nordic Ware is available at Tang Plaza
– You can use ELB pot instead

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APRICOTS & BLUEBERRIES CAKE

This recipe uses dried fruits and made in the ELB. You may reduce the sugar or increase to adjust the sweetness.  However, using brown sugar will add to the colour of the cake without adding any artificial colouring.

Ingredients
* 2 small eggs
* 80g unsalted butter
* 3/4 cup all purpose plain flour
* 3/4 cup Brown sugar
* 20g dried Blue Berries (or raisins, cranberries)
* 20g dried Apricots (chopped to smaller pieces)
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 1/2 tsp baking powder
* 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

* 1 Bundt Pan (I bought a Nordic Ware, the sweetest little 6 cup size that fits perfectly into my PlayBear.

Method
1. Cream butter with sugar. Add eggs. Mix thoroughly. Put in vanilla extract.
2. Mix baking soda and baking powder into flour.
3. Spoon flour into egg mixture and combine.
4. Toss dried fruits in flour and add into flour mixture. Mix evenly.
5. Oil Bundt pan and carefully spoon cake mixture into tin.
6. Pour 3/4 cup water into the ELB.
7. Put cake pan into ELB and steam/cook for 45 min.
8. Leave cake for another 15 min after cooking before turning it out on serving plate

Note:
– Using brown sugar will give a light brown colour to the cake. You can cut sugar to half cup.
– You can use other types of dried fruits and berries.
– A Bundt pan gives cake a different shape and is visually interesting. It’s so adorable!
– Nordic Ware is available at Tang Plaza
– You can use ELB pot instead.

STEAMED COD

My friend, Elsie, bought an ELB and asked me for the recipe for Steamed Cod.

So here it is-

Steaming tips –
# Be mindful of the size of the slice of fish as there are limitations in the size of the ELB dish.

# I always have ginger and spring onions available in my fridge and it seems to go so well with steamed fish.

# The finishing sauce is a simple – soy sauce and sesame oil. Do use good quality light soy sauce.

Method
1. Put half cup water into the ELB.
2. Put prepared rice into the deeper pot and stack fish in the shallower plate with a slice of ginger and a dash of white pepper. Cooking will take about 20 minutes. (To cook rice – 1 cup rice to 1 cup water.)
3. After cooking is complete, remove fish and pour out residue liquid from the fish, so that seasoning will not be diluted. (I don’t usually consume the liquid from the fish as it tastes too “fishy” but I guess it’s nutritious since it is the essence of fish)
5. Garnish with trimmed spring onions and drizzle half a tsp of sesame oil and 1 tabsp soy sauce.