No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake

No-bake Cheesecake can be whipped up by anyone, as it doesn’t need the conventional oven to prepare. I just made the cheescake over the weekend. I cannot believe how thorough and easy the recipe was. I bought all the ingredients and follow the instructions. The cake tastes like ice cream, therefore it need to be stored in the freezer to prevent melting. I really like this recipe given by my generous girl friend.... Even my husband that doesn't really like cheesecake ate plenty :)

Ingredients:

Biscuit Base:

15 pieces Oreo cookies (remove fillings)

70g butter (melted)

Cheese Topping:

250g cream cheese

100g castor sugar

2-3 pieces oreo biscuits (remove fillings)

150ml whipping cream

80ml full cream milk

1 1/2 tbsps gelatin powder

Methods:

1. Base: Crush Oreo biscuits with a rolling pin or you can use a food processor to do it. Mix evenly with melted butter. Press firmly over the baking tin. Put in the freezer while preparing the topping.

2. Add gelatin to the full cream milk. Melt them over the boiling water. Let cool.

3. Blend cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add in cooled gelatin + milk mixture, blend. Add in the whipping cream. When it is well mixed, add in crushed biscuits continue blend for 2 minutes.

4. Pour mixture onto the biscuit base and let it set in the freezer for 3-4 hours.

Braised Peanuts

When we eat at a restaurant, we are sometime served with some peanuts to nibble on while waiting for the main dish to come. Those peanuts do not taste salty but are quite aromatic and has a tinge of sweetness from the rock sugar. As the raya breaks is just around the corner, I had in mind I must try this recipe that I adapted from 'KUALI'.

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients
200g peanuts (use the bigger type), preferably soaked overnight
3g tong kwai
2g liquorice stick (kam chou)
1g mandarin peel
1 star anise
3cm cinnamon stick
3g chuen koong
1 tsp chopped garlic

Seasoning
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp Premium oyster sauce
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp thick soy sauce
1/8 tsp pepper
60g cane rock sugar

Method

Rinse soaked peanuts and drain well in a colander. Combine tong kwai, liquorice stick, chuen koong, mandarin peel, star anise, cinnamon stick, garlic and water in a saucepan. Bring to boil for 10 minutes. Add in peanuts and seasoning. Continue to boil for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours or until peanuts are soft and tasty. Serve peanuts as an appetizer before a meal or even as a snack.

Note: The peanuts will cook faster and softer if pressure-cooked for 30 minutes.

Chicken In Hoisin Sauce

The cooking method is the same as my previous post `Pork Leg In Hoisin Sauce', of course the ingredient amount need to be adjusted accordingly. In addition, I added hard boiled eggs. This dish is as good as `pak lor' chicken/pork.

Stewed Pork leg In Hoisin Sauce

My husband and I LOVE these fatty pork. The gravy gives the pork the sweet and slightly spicy flavour. It is a definite appetite wetter! I also bought some chinese steam buns so that we can eat it with either bun or just rice. Whichever way, he said it's nice :) It's a nice change from the usually braised pig's trotter with just soy sauce and mushrooms.

Ingredients:
1 whole pork leg (cut into chunky pieces with skin intact) appx. 1kg RM16
3 cloves garlic (chopped finely)

1 whole head of garlic bulb

5 pieces dried chilli (soaked to soften, say for 2 hours)

10 dried chinese mushroom (soaked and washed)
Large pot of water to boil
1500ml Warm water
1 tablespoon cooking oil

Seasoning (combine into a bowl)
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
4 pieces salted plum
2 tablespoon dark soya sauce
2 tablespoon shao shing wine

2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt

Method
1. Bring water in large pot to boil. Add pork and allow it to cook in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove pork leg from water and drain.

2. Heat up oil in wok on medium heat, saute garlic till aromatic. Add in pork leg, mushrooms and dried chilli. Turn up heat to high and add in the combined seasoning, stir well to coat the pork leg.

3. Then, add in the whole garlic bulb and fill up water to just cover the pork leg. Let it stew on medium low heat for at least 1 hour. Allow gravy to reduce to your prefered thickness.

Note: You can transfer the pork to the slow cooker to produce meltingly tender pork stew.

Fried Bee Hoon (Rice Vermicelli) with Stewed Pork

One of the convenient meals for the weekends!

Ingredients:

1 packet bee hoon/vermicelli

4 eggs, lightly beaten

1 carrot

1 chinese cabbage (small)

4 dried mushrooms

1 can stewed pork

1 cup water

1 tbsp salt

1 tbsp chicken powder

3 tbsps light soy sauce

some minced garlic

dash of pepper

Method:
1. Soak bee hoon in cold water for 30 minutes or until it turns soft.

2. Soak mushrooms, peel carrot and rinse cabbage. Cut them into shreds
3. Fry eggs till done. Cut into shreds and set aside.
4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok saute garlic. Add shredded mushroom, carrot and cabbage stir fry till soft. Add in stewed pork together with the sauce, stir in salt, soy sauce and 1 cup of water. Bring to boil.
5. Add in drained bee hoon. Toss and stir gently till sauce is fully absorbed by the bee hoon. Serve garnished with egg shreds.

Pigs In A Blanket

Last Sunday, after the church service I brought my mum to the supermarket for grocery shopping. The sausages were on sales, we bought a few packs. I stocked the sausages in the freezer until yesterday when I finally decided what to do with it. Yes, I decided to make some "Pigs In A Blanket".

My first attempt working with yeast and making bread. As I don't have a bread machine...hand kneading was the only choice, it was no fun at all (tiring @_@) but the later part was great watching the dough proving and double its volume. Shaping the bread was fun and easy too.

Does my freshly baked buns look yummy? :p

Baked Crispy BBQ Buns 烧包

I get very excited each time I make something new and this is my first attempt of BBQ Bun \(^_^)/ Successful!!!

Ingredients for oil dough:
120g flour
60g shortening

Ingredients for water dough:
120g flour
30g icing sugar
30g shortening
60ml water

Egg wash:
1 egg yolk-beaten

1. Mix all the ingredients for oil dough together and knead till you get a soft dough. Set aside to rest for 30 minutes.
2. Mix all the ingredients for water dough together and knead till you get a soft dough. Set aside to rest for 30 minutes.

3. Divide both dough into 18-20 equal pieces. Wrap the oil dough into the water dough and flatten it.

4. Roll the dought out into a longish flat pieces. Roll it up like a swiss roll.
5. Turn 90deg, and roll out again and roll it up like a swiss roll.
6. Press dough with palm and lightly roll out into a circle.
7. Spoon filling in the center, wrap and pleat into a bun shape. Place on a greaseproof paper.

8. Brush Bun with egg wash and bake at 200deg for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Ingredients for Fillings:
200g BBQ pork meat - cut into small cubes (bought from the stall for RM8)
1/2 tbsp thick black soy sauce
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 big onion (dice small)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup water

For thickening:
1 tsp cornstarch + 3 tbsp water

1. Heat about 1 tbsp of oil. Saute onions for 1-2 minutes. Add in BBQ meat and the rest of the filling ingredients. Stir fry for 1-2 mins. Add in the thickening and simmer till the gravy has thickened. Dish out and let it cool. Set aside for use later.