Chinese New Years Goodies

Chinese New Year is this coming Sunday so yesterday managed to spend almost the whole day making some cookies. The 1st one of top is the Mixed Fruits Butter Cookies which is in the form of Leaf Shapes. It's pretty easy to make and it's great with those dried fruits and butter favour.

Ingredients:
125g Butter
100g Caster Sugar
1 Egg
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
1 Tablespoon Apricot Jam
100g Dried Mixed Fruit
250g Plain Flour, sifted

For Glazing:
1 Egg(lightly beaten)
Some Caster Sugar

Methods:
1. Cream the butter and caster sugar for 1 minute, then add in egg and essence and cream for another 1 minute.
2. Fold in Apricot Jam, Dried Mixed Fruit and Plain Flour then knead into a soft dough.
3. Wrap with clingflim and refrigerate for at least 1 hour to rest it.
4. Roll the dough between sheets of baking paper till 1/2 cm thick. Stamp out cookies with a leaf-shaped cutter.
5. Use a small knife to create lines resembling the leaf's veins. Glaze cookies and coast with caster sugar.
6. Place on lined baking trays and baked ina preheated oven at 170 degree for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Cool on wire racks before storage.


Next on the list are the Honey Cornflakes with Almond Nuts and Pumpkin Seeds. These two are Reyon's favourite cos they both contain nuts and there are very crunchy and tasty because of the golden syrup. This was the most easiest cookies of all just need to boil, stir and bake.

Ingredients:
25g Unsalted Butter
1.5 Tablespoons Sugar
1.5 Tablespoons Golden Syrup
1.5 Cups Cornflakes
1/2 Cup Chopped Nuts/Pumpkins Seeds/Mixed Fruits

Methods:
1. On the stove, melt the butter in a pot using low heat.
2. Add in sugar and golden syrup and stir until sugar dissolve or mixture almost come to boil.
3. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Crushed the cornflake and slowly add it into the butter mixture together with the nuts or etc then stir till everything are evenly coated.
5. Spoon the mixture into some small paper cups, sprinkle some colourful bits and baked at a preheat oven of 180 degree for about 10 minutes.
6. Remove and set aside to cool.

Quick & Easy Banana Cake

I am always a fan of Banana Cakes or Muffins. I love it's sweetness and wonderful aroma while baking the cake. This Banana Cake recipe is from one of the members of the mum's website. It's very easy and you can have your very own banana cake within an hour. Give it a try and I am sure everyone is the family will sure come back for 2nd helping......

Ingredients:
125g Butter
125g Sugar
1 Cup Flour
1 Tablespoon Baking Powder
2 Large Eggs
40ml Milk
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Essence
2 Large Mashed Bananas
1 Extra Banana, for topping

Method:
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 degree and prepare two 7" x 3.5" paper loaf tray.
2. Cream butter & sugar until light and creamy.
3. Add eggs(one at a time) and beat until well combined.
4. Next stir in milk, mashed bananas & vanilla essence.
5. Then follow by the sifted flour & baking powder.
6. Mix well then pour into the baking tin or paper loaf tray and bake for 30 -40 mins or till golden brown.

Notes: You must used very ripe banana to achieve a better taste and texture.

Baked Salmon With Lemon Butter Sauce

Get the inspiration of this dish from one of my friend's blog where she grills her salmon. It's a very simple dish and delicious dish, all you need to do is wash and pat dry the salmon fillet then lightly season it with some olive oil, salt and black pepper. After that you baked it in an oven or toaster then drizzle with some lemon butter sauce or wasabe.


Ingredients:
1 Medium Piece of Salmon Fillet
A few Slices of Lemon
1 Teaspoon Of Olive Oil
Dash Of Black Pepper and Salt

Methods:
1. Wash and pat dry the salmon fillet then lay it in the middle of the foil and season it with oil, pepper and salt then top of a few slices of lemon.
2. Wrap it up and baked in the toaster for around 10 minutes then unwrapped and baked for another 10-15 minutes depending on the thickness.

Lemon Butter Sauce:
100ml Whipped Cream/Pure Cream
1 Tablespoon Lemon Juice
70g Butter. cubes
Some Finely Grated Lemon Rinds

Methods:
1. Pour the cream, lemon rinds and juice in a small pan then bring it to almost boil then simmer for about 10 minutes until the sauce reduce to half.
2. Stir on and off to prevent it from getting burnt.
3. When the sauce is thicken and reduced to half, off the heat and remove the pan away from the stove and whisk it the butter in a few batches.
4. If the sauce get too cold for the butter to melt, return to the stove again.
5. Stir until all the butter and cream is well combined then drizzle on the baked salmon or served as dipping sauce.

Stuffed Chicken Wings

Actually there are a few version of this chicken dish. The Thai Style one will be stuffing some pork mince with water chestnut and etc.... while some will stuffed with Prawn mince..... This one that i am doing is using Steam Glutinous Rice stuffing. It's a rather easy to prepare dish but you need to spend sometime steaming the glutinous rice, stuffing the debone chicken wings then deep-fry them.....


Ingredients:
12 Chicken Wings, wings part and debone
1/2 - 3/4 Cup of Glutinous Rice, soak for at least 3 hrs
2 Mushroom, soak and finely diced
1/4 Carrot, finely diced
1 - 2 Shallots, finely diced
1 Stalk Spring Onion, finely diced

Seasoning:
1.5 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1/2 Teaspoon Five Spices Powder
Pepper
Dash Of Sesame Oil
70 - 100ml Water, used the water from the mushroom

Methods:
1. Heat up the pan with some oil, stir-fry the shallots until fragrant then add in the mushroom then fry for a minute then pour in the glutinous rice and carrots.
2. Give it a quick stir for half a minute then add in the seasoning except the sesame oil.
3. Stir for another minute until the seasonings is well mix thru then dish up onto the plate or bamboo basket then steam for about 40 minutes or until the rice is soft and tender.
4. When the rice is done, dish up and stir in the spring onion, sesame oil, some extra pepper and light soy sauce to taste.
5. When the filling is slightly cool, stuff it into the chicken wing pocket then coat with some beaten egg and corn flour then deep-fry until golden brown and served.

Steps To Dedone Chicken Wings:
1. Debone the chicken wings by bending backwards the joint between the drumstick and wing to loosen the tendons.
2. Then cut a ring around the top part of the drumstick and using a sharp knife, slowly scrape down against the bone to loosen the meat from the drumstick.
3. Always pushing back the skin as you scrape.
4. Now proceed to do that for the wing by first cutting off the bone of the drumstick and continue scraping down to the second joint, pushing back the skin and meat as you go.
5. Then carefully cut off the two bones of the wing and discard them.
6. Be careful not to pierce the chicken skin.
7. Repeat this for all the wings.
8. Now the chicken wings are ready for stuffing.

Notes: Marinated the chicken wing with some cornflour, pepper and light soy sauce for at least 30 minutes before stuffing in the glutinous rice.