Cook: Grandma's Glutinous Rice Dumpling Recipe (by Mummy)

Duan Wu Jie (Rice Dumpling Festival/Dragon Boat Festival) is just around the corner and I have been blessed with a great mummy who makes me super good rice dumpling whether or not during the festive season. Whenever I crave for it, she will make time to prepare them for me.

Mummy's recipe is hand down from Grandma and Grandpa who used to sell dumpling. I still remember the big huge pot they used to boil the dumpling and sell them near their flat in the past. 

This is definitely one of my favourite traditional food and I can eat TWO at one time! Fill my stomach to the MAX cause it is really super yummy!

Most of the amount of ingredients is agak agak as mummy and grandma, they don't really measure...I will try my best to quantify as much as possible but it is down to individual taste.

For assembling part, I did include a link to other blog as I did not manage to take any photos and I really sucks at tying the dumpling.

So credit for this recipe will be to My Mummy! Thanks for sharing!

Dumpling made by my mum

INGREDIENTS:

(Makes 20 dumplings)

RICE

1. 1 kg of glutinous rice

2. 1 tablespoon of red onion oil (fry red onion and keep the oil-red onion to use with mushroom later)

3. 1/3 teaspoon sugar

4. 1/3 cup fish sauce

5. 1/3 teaspoon ground white pepper

6. 1/3 teaspoon fennel seed powder * This is an important ingredient as I feel this is what makes my grandma's recipe special-do not omit*

7. 1 cup of water from soaking mushroom 

MEAT

1. 500g-1kg depending how much meat you like to put

2. 1-2 tablespoon of sesame oil

3. 1/2 teaspoon of five spices powder

4. A pinch of ground white pepper 

5. One tablespoon of sweet dark soy sauce

DRIED MUSHROOM

1. 20 mushrooms (cut into half-2 pieces in each dumpling)

2. Red onion (fried)

3. 1 tablespoon fish sauce

OTHERS

1. 20 pieces of dried chestnut ( 1 each- if you like this, you can add more, dumpling is all about individualisation and what ingredients you like)

2. Salted duck egg yolk (only use egg yolk, egg white can be kept for other recipe)

3. Chilli dried shrimp (homemade usually- I don't have any recipe for this at the moment- found this recipe online- can try out http://messywitchen.com/recipe/condiment/grandmas-dried-shrimp-sambal/)

METHODS:

RICE

1. Soak for at least 3 hours or overnight

2. Drain the water.

3. Fry the rice with sugar, fish sauce, pepper and ground fennel seed powder.

4. Add mushroom water slowly while constantly frying the rice.

5. When the water all dried up, it is ready. Set aside.

MEAT

1. Marinate with sesame oil, five spices powder, ground white pepper and dark soy sauce.

2. Set aside.

DRIED MUSHROOM

1. Soak until soft.

2. Stir fry with red onion and fish sauce for about 5 minutes.

OTHERS

1. Boil dried chestnut in a water with a pinch of salt

2. For salted egg, separate egg yolk from egg white and set aside

Assemble the ingredients together in a bamboo leaves. Add rice first, followed by meat (1-2 pieces), Mushroom (2 pieces), dried chestnut (1), egg yolk (1) and some chilli dried shrimp. Top with more rice and wrap together using rafia string. 

Found this step-by-step assembling with picture. Check out http://annieliciousfood.blogspot.sg/2012/06/my-mamas-savoury-rice-dumplings.html

When it is all done. boil the dumpling in water for 2 hours. And it is ready.

You can eat all you want and keep the rest in freezer. Just steam them straight from freezer for 30 mins and ready to eat!

Yum!!!

Cook: Quick fix lasagna using Instant Lasagna Sheets

Sorry that I haven't  been posting my cooking recipe for the longest time. The past 2 months has been quite busy for me as I had quite a bit of travelling, mostly accompanying my parents and in-laws for holiday. Actually was pretty tiring travelling back to back despite my previous belief that travelling is more fun than tiring. 

Quick fix lasagna

Am back for a week and will be going on school holiday trip with the kiddos in 3 days time. Found a chance to do a quick fix lasagna as I had ran out of ideas of simple quick thing to cook besides fried rice, porridge etc. So, this will be my quick easy lasagna using Instant Lasagna Oven Ready Lasagna Sheets. 

Instant Lasagna Sheets

Bought these instant lasagna sheets quite some time back and decided to make full use of it before it expired. Recipe is adapted from the recommended recipe at the back of the box.

It turns out to be quite nice actually and I enjoyed my home cook meal :)

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2-3 adults)

1. 100g Instant Lasagna Sheets

2. 2 tablespoon cooking oil ( I use olive oil)

3. 1 onion, finely chopped ( I omitted as I didnt have any in my fridge)

4. 1 carrot (finely chopped)

4. 3 cloves of garlic, minced

5. 500g of minced beef ( I bought slices of beef and minced on my own-figure will be less fat)

6.  680g Prego Italian Sauce (tomato based)- This is pasta based actually-can use other brand as well- I just took whatever is in the fridge

7. Salt and black pepper to taste

8. 2 tablespoon of butter

9. 2 tablespoon of plain flour

10. 2 cups milk

11. 125g mozzarella cheese

METHODS:

1. Heat oil in pan. Add onion, carrots and garlic. 

2. Stir fry until carrot is slightly soft.

3. Add minced beef and stir fry until cooked.

Stir fry carrots and minced beef

4. Add Prego Italian Sauce, salt and pepper. 

5. Simmer for 10-20 minutes until the sauce is thicken as shown.

Sauce thickens

6. Meanwhile, prepare the cheese sauce. 

7. In another saucepan, melt the butter and add in plain flour.

8. Stir well to mix. Add milk, salt and pepper. 

9. Simmer under medium heat until sauce thickens - about 10-15 minutes.

10. Remove from heat. Add in mozzarella cheese and combine until the cheese melted. The cheese sauce is now ready.

Cheese sauce ready

11. Preheat the oven to 180 degree Celsius. 

12. Assemble the lasagna. Add a layer of meat sauce at the bottom of the baking dish.

13. Alternate layer of lasagna sheets, meat sauce and cheese sauce until the top of the baking dish.

14. The last layer should be the cheese sauce.

15. Finish with sprinkle of mozzarella cheese to cover the sauce.

16. Bake for 20-30 minutes until the cheese melted and browned.

Bake in oven. 

17. Remove from oven. Let it stand for 5 minutes.

18. Serves hot!

Dig in!!!