Kueh Rose/Kueh Goyang Delicious Recipes

Our Chinese New Year will not be complete without this snack. We will all gather together on the weekend before Chinese New Year to make this . Everyone will help out. One will be frying, one will be dipping and another one will be keeping the Kueh Rose away in the Milo can. So this year my younger sisters wanted to make this again and they asked me to post my recipe here. I made this a few days ago all by myself and is not a very good idea. To make this it is better to have someone to help out. I only had one mould and it takes me more than 3 hours just to fried everything up. Anyway, first few batches turn out too dark but the rest turn out pretty good.

Ingredients :

250 grms of rice flour
4 tbsp of flour
3 egg
225 grm of sugar
450 ml coconut milk
a drop of pandan paste
a pinch of salt

1) Combine coconut milk, eggs, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl. Stir until sugar dissolves.
2) Add in flour and rice flour to the mixture. Mixed the batter really well and sieve it to prevent lumps.
3) Heat oil in a wok/deep fryer put moulds in the hot oil. (the moulds have to be hot enough for batter to cling on them)
4) When the oil is hot enough, dip mould into batter. Make sure batter coats only the bottom and sides of mould.
5) Place coated mould in hot oil. Shake to release from moulds. If required, use wooden chopsticks to help releasing. Fry until golden brown.
6) Keep away in the air-tight container when is cool.

Shanghai Siew Mai Delicious Recipes

The first time I ate this siew mai was at a Taiwanese Restaurant. I remember ordering a plate of siew mai thinking that is like any other meat siew mai commonly served at dim sum places but I was wrong. This one came with glutinous rice wrap in wanton wrappers. After seeing Belachan siew mai it kind of reminds me of this.

Ingredients :

1 cup of glutinous rice
1 cup of water
4 dried shiitake mushroom - soak and finely diced
1/2 cup of diced roast meat/ Chinese sausage
3 tbsp of dried shrimp - soak
2 green onions - finely diced
1 clove of garlic - finely chopped
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tsp of soy sauce
some white pepper
25 wanton wrappers - cut round
Some green peas for garnish

1) Rinse and drain glutinious rice, add water and steam for 30 minutes.
2) Heat a bit of oil in a frying pan stir-fry meat, dried shrimp and mushroom until lightly brown. Add in garlic, oyster sauce, soy sauce and pepper for another few second. Lastly add in the spring onions.
3) Remove from heat and stir into the steam rice. Mix well. If the rice is too dry add in about 2-3 tbsp of water to loosen up the mixture. Set aside to cool.
4) To make siew mai, add a tablespoon of rice in the middle of the wrapper. Gather up the side and squeeze lightly. While holding the siew mai, use the back of the spoon the push the filling in and flatten the bottom.
5) Garnish the top with green peas and steam on high heat for 7-10 minutes. Serve warm.

Loh Pak Koh/Radish Cake/Daikon Cake Delicious Recipes

I was blog hopping the other day and came across this very talent young chef blog and she made Loh Pak Koh. And I since I had a daikon in my fridge I decided to make some. This is the delicious savory cake served in most dim sum places and sometime during New Year's Day as a symbol of prosperity and rising fortunes. Turnip cake is made with Chinese turnip or Loh Pak which is a type of daikon radish. The cakes are first steamed, then pan fried giving each slice a crispy exterior.

Ingredients :

2 1/2 to 3 C coarsely shredded daikon (around 1 1/2 to 2 lbs)
1 red carrot - shredded
2 Chinese sausage - finely diced
3 dried shiitake mushrooms - soak in hot water and finely diced
3 Tbsp small dried shrimp - soak in water and finely chopped
2 shallots - thinly sliced
2 green onion - thinly sliced
2 cup rice flour (do not use glutinous rice flour)
1 3/4 cup water
salt and white pepper to taste


1) Mix rice flour with 1 cup of water.
2) Heat 2 tsp of oil in a skillet or wok and stir fry shallots, Chinese sausage,mushroom, shrimp, and green onion for 2 to 3 minutes. Add daikon, 3/4 cup of water, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and then add in the rice flour mixture.
3) Continue to stir until mixture thicken. Remove from heat.
4) Pour mixture into a well greased square or round pan and steam over high heat for 45 minutes.
5) Cool or chill overnight. After cooling, cut the cake into 1/4 in slices and pan fry until both sides are golden brown.
6) Serve with chili sauce.

Kueh Talam Ubi Kayu/Cassava Cake Delicious Recipes

Ingredients :

For the bottom layer :

500 grms of grated tapioca/cassava - squeezed out all the water
1 cup of sugar/palm sugar
4 tbsp of tapioca flour
1 1/4 cups of coconut milk (enough to cover the cassava)
1 few drop of pandan paste (optional)

For the top layer :

2 cups of coconut milk
5 tbsp of rice flour
3 tbsp of cornstarch
1 tsp of salt


1) Mixed all the ingredients of the bottom layer. Pour into a greased pan and steam for 25 min.
2) In a mixing bowl mixed all top layer ingredients and cook over low heat until thicken.
3) Scratch the surface of the bottom layer with fork and then pour in the top layer.
4) Steam over high heat for another 20 minutes.
5) Cool completely before cutting into it.

Note : Please leave out the pandan paste if you are using palm sugar.

Savory Scones Delicious Recipes

This is a very simple savory scones recipe. They are wonderful served hot, spread with a little butter and eaten alongside of a steam bowl of hot soup.

Ingredients :
2 cups of flour
2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
3 tbsp of butter
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
2 slices of ham - roughly chopped (optional)
1/4 cup of oil packed sundries tomatoes - finely chopped
1 egg - beaten
3/4 cup of half and half or milk (more or less) + 2 tbsp of glazing
2 tbsp of sesame seeds

1) Heat oven to 375 degree F. Lightly greased a baking sheet.
2) In a mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
3) Rub in butter lightly into the flour with finger tips until mixtures resembles coarse breadcrumbs.
4) Stir in cheese, ham and sundries tomatoes. Make a well in the centre of the flour and add in egg and then the milk slowly. Just enough for the mixture to come together.
5) Gently mix until just combined. Turn the mixture out on a lightly flour counter top and knead lightly and briefly. Be careful not to overwork the dough.
6) Press the dough to form 1" thickness. Cut the dough with a round cookie cutter.
7) Place in the baking sheet and brush the top with some milk and sprinkle with some sesame seeds.
8) Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until lightly brown. Serve warm.

Note : It is important not to over handle these scones, as they will be heavy and tough. You can add some freshly chopped parsley or spring onions to the scones too.

Lotus Root with Vegetables Delicious Recipes

Lotus roots is really a versatile vegetable. Is not only for making soup but you can use it for stir-fry, pickle, stew, make chips and even eat it raw as a salad. One of my favorite way of cooking it is a quick stir-frying with some vegetables. I like the sweet crunchy taste if it.

Ingredients :

1 small piece of lotus root - sliced thinly
half a carrot - sliced
1 red pepper - cut into chunks
a handful of french beans - cut into 1 1/2"
10 shrimps
2 cloves of garlic - finely chopped

Seasoning :

2 tbsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1/2 cup of stock or water - more or less
Salt & pepper to taste
some cornstarch solutions - for thickening

1) Heat up some oil in frying pan and stir fry garlic until lightly brown.
2) Add in sliced carrots and lotus root. Stir fry for a minutes and add in the shrimp, french beans and red pepper. Continue stir frying it.
3) Add in seasoning and stock and stir fry it for additional 2 min.
4) Add in cornstarch solutions and stir fry till then sauce thicken.
5) Serve warm.

Note : I didn't add any salt to this dish.

Stewed Duck/Lor Ark Delicious Recipes

This is what I had simmering away on the stove when I locked myself out of the house the other day. Check out the story here I really like duck but I never learn how to cook it. I remember my mom and grandmother used to cook this for us when we were young and we get to eat this only during festive season. My mom said it takes too long to cook and is not easy cleaning their feathers either. Yes, we used to raise our own chickens and ducks a long time ago.

I bought a duck last week when I went to Philly Chinatown and decided to cook half of it. My favorite way of cooking duck is to stew it or us Hokkien called it 'Lor Ark'. Here is the recipe for cooking the whole duck.

Ingredients :

1 whole duck - around 3 pounds
2" of galangal (I replaced it with ginger since I don't have it)
6 shallots
5 cloves of garlic
3 tsp of 5 spice powder
3 pieces of star anise
3 tbsp of thick dark soy sauce
some rock sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
enough water for simmering

1) Clean duck throughly and pat dry. Rub the 5 spices powder all over the duck.
2) Slice galangal thinly, clean and peel the shallots,garlic and leave them whole.
3) Heat up some oil and stir fry the galangal, shallots and garlic until lightly brown.
4) Put in the duck and pan fried it until the duck shrink and lightly brown on both side. Add in dark soy sauce, star anise, salt, pepper and sugar.
5) Add in enough water to cover half the duck and bring to boil. Lower down the heat and let is simmer.
6) Check and turn the duck every 15 min for at least an hour or until tender. Add more water if the gravy dries out.
7) Remove the duck and let it cool. Skim off the oil from the gravy and if the gravy is too thin increased the heat and let it reduce until gravy thicken.
8) Cut the duck and drizzle the gravy on top. Serve warm.

Fried Tofu Fingers Delicious Recipes

I tried this dish in a restaurant back home and I find it really tasty. I remember seeing the recipe in one of the blog I frequent but I forgot who it was. So I have to recreates it based on the ingredients I remember in my kitchen. Actually this dish turns out better than I expected. I hope you will give it a try as is not that difficult to make.

Ingredients :

3 pieces of firm tofu- mashed finely
1 cup of shrimp - finely chopped
Half carrot - finely chopped
2 spring onions - finely chopped
a small bunch of cilantro/coriander - finely chopped
1 red chili - finely chopped
2 tbsp of corn flour
1 egg
1/2 tsp of sesame oil
1 tbsp of oyster sauce
2 tbsp of soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste

1) Oil a square baking pan and mixed all the above ingredients really well. Put the mixture into the pan and press it firmly.
2) Steam for 20 min, set aside to cool completely and then chill it in the fridge for a couple of hours before cutting into it.


For frying :

1 egg - beaten
some corn flour for dredging
2 tbsp of sesame seeds
a few pieces of nori sheets - cut into 1" strips

1) Cut the tofu into 1" x 2" pieces. Wrap the nori sheet around the middle of the tofu pieces.
2) Mixed the sesame seeds with corn flour.
3) Dip the tofu pieces into the beaten egg, then coat it with the corn flour and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown.
4) Serve with sweet chili sauce

Note : You can replace the carrot with water chestnuts.

Honey Chicken With 5 Spice Powder Delicious Recipes

This is a very simple dish to cook and goes really well with warm rice.

Ingredients :

1 pound of chicken meat- thinly slice
1 clove of garlic - chopped
4 shallots - sliced
2" of ginger - sliced thinly
3 small chillies - chopped
5 dried chillies - soak and cut about 1/2"

Marinate :

1 tsp of 5 spice powder
2 tbsp of honey
2 tsp of oyster sauce
1 tbsp of black soy sauce
2 tbsp of light soy sauce
1 tbsp of cooking wine (optional)

1) Cut chicken meat into bite size pieces and marinate the chicken for at least an hour.
2) Heat up wok with some oil stir fry garlic, shallots, ginger and chillies for a minute.
3) Add in marinated chicken and stir fry for a few second. Cover it and simmer and stir occasionally till the dish dries up and chicken it cook.
4) Dish out and serve with warm rice.

Note : You might need to add a bit of water if the dish gets too dry before the chicken is cook.

Seafood Parcels Delicious Recipes

I am a huge fan of Thai food especially using the aromatic ingredients like lemongrass, kaffir lime leaf, coriander and galangal. Here is one of my favorite way of cooking Thai dish.

Ingredients :

1/2 pound of shrimps - peeled and deveined
1/2 pound of fish fillets - cut to bite size pieces
1 tbsp of fish sauce
1 tsp of lime juice
1 tsp of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

8 pieces of 7" x 7" square banana leaves

Blended Ingredients :

1" of ginger
2 small red chillies
3 spring onions
2 steams of lemongrass - white part only
a small bunch of coriander
4 tbsp of thick coconut milk


1) Blend the above ingredients to forms into a paste. Transfer to a bowl, stir in sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, salt and pepper.
2) Add in fish and shrimps and mix well. Cover, refrigerate and marinate for an hour.
3) Soak banana leaves in boiling water for 3 min to soften. Pat dry.
4) Place a portion of fish and shrimps on each banana leaf, fold the leaf up and to enclose the mixture and then secure the parcels using a toothpick or skewer.
5) Bake in a preheated 400 degree F oven for 20 min or until the parcels fillings is cooked.
6) Serve with warm rice.


Note : You can steam this for 10-12 min. If banana leaves are not available you can wrapped in aluminium foil or baking paper. The paste is good with chicken fillets too but it will need longer period of time to cook.

Seafood Pockets/Bundles Delicious Recipes

I made this cute little bundles for Christmas. You can put any kind of fillings to it. It can be vegetarian, meat or seafood. This appetizers can be make ahead and bake them just before serving. They're a perfect combo of crunchy pastry with rich and creamy filling.

Ingredients :

1 packet of small spring roll wrappers
1 egg - beaten

Filling :

1 cups of cooked shrimp - chopped
1/2 cup of crab stick - chopped
1/2 cup of celery - chopped
1/2 cup of low fat cream cheese
1/2 cup of low fat ricotta cheese
1 tsp of garlic - chopped finely
3 spring onions - chopped finely
1 tsp of mustard
1/2 tsp of chili powder (optional)
1 tsp of curry powder
1/2 tsp of sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Using spring roll wrappers
1) Combine all the filling ingredients and mix well. Set aside
2) Trim the spring roll wrappers into round shape.
3) Place a tablespoon of filling in the center of the spring roll wrapper. Brush some egg around the filling and pinch the wrapper together just above the filling to seal the bundle.
4) Arrange in a lightly greased baking sheet and bake in a pre-heat 350 degree F oven for 10-12 min or until lightly brown.

Using Phyllo dough


Note : You can use phyllo dough for this appetizer.

Berries Muffins Delicious Recipes

I had some leftover berries from my fruit tarts so I decided to make some muffins for breakfast. This recipe is taken from 'Joy Of Cooking' but a modified it a bit to suit my taste.

Ingredients :

2 cups of flour
1 tbsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of baking soda
1/2 tsp of salt
2 large eggs
1 cup of low fat yogurt (I used strawberry yogurt)
2/3 cup of sugar (I used raw sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
6 tbsp of melted butter
1 1/2 of blueberries or any kind of berries

1) Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and set aside.
2) In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, yogurt, sugar, vanilla and melted butter.
3) Add in the dry ingredients and stir until just incorporated. Do not over-mix.
4) Fold in the berries and spoon batter into muffin cups.
5) Bake in a pre-heated 350 F oven for 15-18 min or until golden brown.