Cook: How to make chewy Mee Hoon Kueh’s dough

My version of dry Mee Hoon Kueh

Mee Hoon Kueh is one of my favourite dish especially on a cold night like this. Imagine gobbling down a bowl of it. I like it both soupy and dry. For the dry version, I usually cook a cooling soup to goes with it and I had mine with winter melon soup for tonight.

I am sure everyone knows how to cook mee hoon kueh and the trickiest part is probably the dough. I like mine chewy and I am sure everyone has their own preferences. 

The secret lies behind the egg to flour ratio. The higher the ratio of egg to flour, the more chewy. The usual ratio is 1 egg to 250-500g of flour. Hence, 1 egg to 250g flour is more chewy than 1 egg to 500g of flour.

My recipe will have a range for water as well, cause different flour might need a different amount of water. Just knead them until it forms a dough and does not stick to your hand, adding water or flour as needed.

And here comes my chewy mee hoon kueh's dough recipe:

INGREDIENTS (makes dough that serves 4):

Ingredients needed

1. 500g of plain flour

2. 2 eggs, lightly beaten

3. 160-200ml of water 

4. 2 tablespoon of oil 

5. 1 teaspoon of salt 

METHODS:

1. Add the eggs to the flour.

2. Mix them with hands.

3. Slowly add the water and mix evenly.

4. Then add the oil and salt and knead into a dough.

TIPS: During the process, may add water or flour to the dough until the dough is smooth (as shown) as does not stick to the hand when knead. When hand pulled, the dough should be elastic but does not break, then it is ready.

Dough is ready

I wanted to try out using shape so that the kids will be happy eating them... so I used this star shaped mould to cut out the dough.

My star shaped mould

Added some flour to prevent them from sticking together....

Hoping my kids will like it

And I place a wet damp cloth on it when I am done shaping, waiting to cook in an hour time when kids wakes up from their nap...

Star for kids and normal dough for adults

But..............

When I wanna cook.... the dough all sticks to one another *cry*...

I did check to make sure that they are separable after I make them ... very sad when they all stick together....

So kiddy didn't get their star shaped mee hoon kueh this time round.... *sob, sob*

Was so looking forward for them to gobble down the star mee hoon kueh happily.... :(

Anyway, enough with my sob story... I served mine with fried anchovies and onions... with some vegetable and mushroom...

Fried mini anchovies and onions

And top with a fried egg....

My version of dry Mee Hoon Kueh

Yum yum... love the egg yolk :)

Enjoy!

Cook: Kid's Friendly Simple Stir Fry Portobello

The two kids at my house loves mushroom. From button mushroom, to dried mushroom to Japanese mushroom, they love all kind of the "shroom".

A simple stir fry portobello as filling to their bun will make them very happy and it is very easy to make! Plus, they get their portion of onions too!

INGREDIENTS:

1. Portobello mushroom (cut into small pieces)

2. Onions (cut into small pieces)

Two simple ingredients

METHOD:

1. Heat up a small teaspoon of olive oil.

2. Stir fry onion until it turns transparent.

3. Add portobello mushroom, stir fry until soft.

4. Add a pinch of salt/black pepper (optional)

5. Serve as a side dish or as a filling to burger/hotdog bun etc.

I serve with a ikea hotdog and a bun!

They are super happy with this as lunch.

Cook: Healthier Choice Breakfast-Overnight Oats

Healthy Overnight Oats

I know I am totally out-of-date. The "hype" on overnight oats has died down and now here I am, starting to get addicted to it. I must say this is really a brilliant idea (whoever that thought of it). It is healthy and definitely fill the stomach better than usual breakfast. I could have a hearty breakfast (bread, sausages, egg) but doesn't retain the "fullness" as much as the oats. Definitely a good choice for diabetic patient as energy is released slowly rather in a short burst...

It is rather easy to make, just need to spend 15 minutes the night before and you can just take them out from the fridge and enjoy them in the morning. Nowadays, I make this as breakfast every 2-3 days and indeed is satisfying. Add in your favourite fruits, dried fruits or nuts and make a variety.

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2)

1. 8 tablespoons of instant oats (I used Quaker brand, any brand should do as long as the instant type)

2. 8 tablespoons of plain yogurt

3. Half a cup of fresh milk (or any amount to reach desired consistency)

4. 2-3 types of cut fruits (favourite fruits preferably the juicy type-orange, kiwi, blueberry, raspberry, strawberry, passion fruits, banana, mango)

5. Dried fruits (raisins, cranberry) or nuts or chocolate or a mixture of those (as desired)

METHODS:

1. Prepare the cut fruits into bite size

2. Mix the oats, yogurts and fresh milk

Mixing Oats with yogurt and fruits

Add fresh milk to reach desired consistency

3. Add in some of the cut fruits (mini sizes-eg: passion fruits, mashed kiwi etc) and mix well

4. Add a layer of bite-size fruits at the bottom. Top with a layer of oats mixture, then another layer of another type of bite-size fruits and a layer of oat mixture.

5. Finally, top with dried fruits or nuts or chocolate or a mixture of those.

6. Keep in fridge overnight.

7. The next morning, give the whole thing a good mix using spoon and serve :)

8. Enjoy!

Cook: Pumpkin Yam Stick

Pumpkin Yam Stick

Crispy and yum!

Inspired by one of my casual meal at a hawker stall sometime back. Cant really remember where though, I just remembered they had this fried shredded yam which tasted good! I improvise and added pumpkin as well ... deep fried them and it is yummy!  Great as a side dish or just to munch.. :)

INGREDIENTS:

(Makes 20-25 pieces)

1. 300g of yam (cut into long, thin stick)

2. 250g of pumpkin* (cut into long, thin stick) 

3. An egg

4. Half a cup of plain flour

5. A pinch of salt (optional)

*For pumpkin, I uses butternut squash (those from Australia as they have less seed, thus easier to cut into long stick)

Pumpkin Yam Stick (before frying)

METHODS:

1. Peel off skin of the yam and pumpkin. Cut them into long and thin stick.

2. Add salt, egg and plain flour. Give them a good mix with hand.

3. In a non-stick pan, heat up oil.

4. Deep fried until the pumpkin yam stick turns golden.

5. Drip off excess oil and serve hot.

6. Enjoy!

Ready :)

Delicious!

Cook: Sautéed Portobello Mushroom on Toast

Sauteed Portobello Mushroom on Toast

Got this idea from a starter served by North Border Bar and Grill, so decided to give it a try for breakfast as I have some portobello mushroom in my fridge.

This sautéed mushroom is quite easy to make, takes about 15 mins including preparation (cutting etc). 

Can serve them on toast, or as a side dish to a main course or as an accompaniment for kid's porridge.

Kiddy's share

Serve with porridge for kiddos!

INGREDIENTS:

(Serve 2-3 people on toast or as side dish)

1. 200g portobello mushroom

2. Half bulb of garlic (minced)

3. A pinch of salt, ground black pepper and oregano flakes

4. Olive oil for cooking

METHODS:

1. Cut the mushroom into small pieces.

Mushroom washed and cut

2. Heat up a non-stick pan.

3. Add 1-2 teaspoon of olive oil

4. After the oil is heated, add the minced garlic and stir fry until fragrant.

5. Add the mushroom and sautéed.

Into the frying pan

6. Sprinkle salt, ground black pepper and oregano flakes onto the mushroom.
7. After a few minutes, water will start coming out from the mushroom. Continue to sautéed under medium heat.

Water from the mushroom

8. Once the water dry out, mushroom is almost ready.

Water drying up

7. Once mushroom is soft, it is ready to be served.

8. Enjoy!

Cook: Potatoes Patties with Cauliflower and Spring Onions

My potatoes patties

Soft inside, crispy outside

Made some simple and yummy potatoes patties today to go with plain porridge. Great way to hide "vegetable"... my kids love them especially my daughter who kept praising me, saying that the dishes i cook is very nice.. well, as long as they eat happily then i cook happily. 

Aunt and SIL also came over for dinner and commented that these potatoes patties are nice too.. they love it :)

I like the texture too, it is crispy outside and soft inside... enjoy!

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 4 adults as one of the dishes)

1. 5 medium sized potatoes, cut into thin slices

2. Cauliflower ( i use an estimate, roughly cauliflower to potatoes ratio is 1:2)

3. A bunch of spring onions (about 10), cut into 3-4cm long

4. 1 egg

5. Breadcrumbs (enough to coat the patties)

6. Sea salt and ground black pepper (to taste)

METHODS:

1. Steam the potatoes and cauliflower until soft. Set aside until it is not too hot to handle with hand.

2. Mash the potatoes and cauliflower using fork.

3. Add egg, spring onions, salt and black pepper. Mix well.

4. Scoop a spoonful of the mixture, pat them into a circle in your hand (the mixture is quite soft and slightly runny at this point)

5. Using the other hand, take a handful of breadcrumbs and cover the patties.

6. Turn to the other side and cover them as well.

7. Slowly place the patties into your frying pan, they can be quite fragile.

8. Deep fried until golden brown.

9. Enjoy!

Cook: Mini Milk Cookies- Great as Snack For Kiddos

Mini Milk Cookies

Second attempt: Yummy three flavours mini milk cookies

Made some little cookies for the kiddos to munch today. These cookies are more of the crunchy type (not melt in the mouth type) so would be more suitable for kids 1 year old and above or at least those with teeth already, good for them to learn munching :)

It is nice to roll them into little ball shape, but after a while i get kinda frustrated cause the dough kinda dry up very quickly so it is hard to form the round little shape plus my 20 months boy keep messing around. Even my 3 years old who was helping me roll starts to get tired, so we decided to just cut them into small pieces without rolling. IT WORKS as well, although not as pretty.. well, depends how patient you are.. haha! 

For the icing sugar, you can omit if you want to, but i didn't cause it is minimal amount compare to the potato starch and i didn't want the cookies to taste too bland. I ate quite a few pieces of the biscuit myself and it is not sweet with the addition of the 30g sugar, you can reduce or omit as required.

My kiddos love them and keep requesting for more... yum! Great as snack for them to munch away....

UPDATED: We finish them in 5 days so definitely good for at least 5 days, may be able to last longer but we wouldn't know cause it is all in our stomach already :p

Second attempt: Made a three flavour second batch of the cookies by adding matcha powder and cocoa powder into the dough....

INGREDIENTS:

(Made about 120 mini biscuits, fits into one medium sized tupperware)

1. 200g of potato starch

2. 55g of milk powder ( I use the kiddo's formula milk powder)

3. 30g of icing sugar (can omit if doesn't want your kids to take any sugar)

4. 1 medium sized egg (at room temperature)

5. 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder

METHODS:

1. In a clean mixing bowl, beat the egg and the icing sugar until well combine using a mixer, it takes about 1-2 minutes.

2. Then add the milk powder and baking powder into the mixture. Combine with a spatula.

3. Slowly sieve in the potato starch into the mixture and combine using a spatula until it forms a workable dough. (Dont take the potato starch out from its packaging ahead of time cause it tends to stick to form a lump the longer it stays outside)

Lumpy potato starch

Workable dough-original flavour

Second attempt: Three flavours: Original, Green Tea and Chocolate

4. On a clean surface, take some dough and roll them into a cylinder shape, and cut into small pieces using a plastic knife (as shown).

Cut into small pieces

5. At this point, either roll them into mini ball or just place the little pieces onto a baking sheet. 

6. After a while, the dough will starts to get a little dry, making it hard to roll. Add a bit of water to the dough and continue to work on them.

Ready to go into oven

Second attempt: Ready to bake

7. Bake in preheated oven at 170 degree celcius for 12-15 minutes or until the cookies is slightly brown.
8. Take it out from the oven and let it cool down for 10-15 minutes and keep in airtight container.

9. Enjoy!

Out from the oven, can smell the milk-y 

Enjoy!

Cook: Kid's Version Spaghetti- Using Fresh Milk and Cheese Based Sauce

Sharing one of a pasta sauce variation for kids using fresh milk, cheese and shitake mushroom as sauce. It is more healthy than store bought pre packed pasta sauce and the ingredients are readily available.

If shitake mushroom is not available, it can be substituted with brown mushroom or button mushroom.

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 2 kids , 3 years old and 21 months)

1. 50g spaghetti, break into small pieces

2. 8 shitake mushroom, cut to small pieces

3. A handful of chop broccoli and carrot (or other vegetable)

4. 3 cloves of garlic, minced

5. 2 slices of cheddar cheese

6. 200ml of fresh milk (full cream)

7. 3/4 tablespoon of butter (no need to be exact)

8. 1 tablespoon of flour

9. A pinch of ground black pepper (optional)

Chop ingredients

METHODS:

1. Boil a pot of salt water and cook the spaghetti until cooked.

2. Drain and run the cooked spaghetti under cold water, set aside.

3. Add butter into a heated pan, after butter is melt, add garlic, fry for 1 minute.

4. Add mushroom, fry for 1-2 minutes and add flour. Toss to coat the mushroom with flour.

5. Add fresh milk, bring to boil and add vegetables.

6. Let the sauce thickens and add the cheddar cheese and spaghetti. Stir well until combine.

7. Add a pinch of ground black pepper if required.

8. Serve hot.

Cook: Shepherd's Pie (Chicken Version)

Chicky Shepherd's Pie

Kid's version

Difficulty: 3/5

Made Shepherd's Pie last Friday for the kiddos. I had quite a fair amount of potatoes lying in my fridge for quite sometime so decided to make something to use them up. Chance upon a Shepherd's Pie recipe online (Shepherd's Pie Recipe) so decided to give it a try. 

I made some adjusted based on the ingredients that i have.. it turns out to be a super success!!! My 21 months old son had 3 servings and my 3 years old daughter had 1 1/2 servings (she prefer the fruit salad more, haha, she is more of a fruits and dessert person). When i bring back to my in-law house, my MIL and BIL all give thumbs up!! 

My mashed potato ration to meat is about 50:50. For those who doesn't want so much potatoes, can cut down the amount of mashed potato portion accordingly!

INGREDIENTS:

(Serves 3)

Fits into a 22cm X 11cm baking tray

Mashed potato layer

1. 400g of potatoes, peel off skin and cut into small cubes

2. 1/4 cup of fresh milk

3. 25g of butter

4. 1/2 teaspoon of salt

5. 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper

6. 1 egg yolk

Meat layer

1. 2 tablespoon of olive oil

2. 1 small onion, peel skin and minced

3. 50g carrot, peel skin and cut into small cubes

4. 2 cloves of garlic, minced

5. 350g of chicken breast, minced

6. 1/2 teaspoon of salt

7. 1/4 teaspoon of ground black pepper

8. 1 tablespoon of all purpose flour

9. 2 tablespoon of tomato sauce

10. 1 cup of chicken broth (for healthier version, you can substitute this with home cook chicken or vegetable soup)

11. A handful of frozen corn

12. 1 tomatoes, remove seeds and cut into small cube

Ingredients for the meat layer

METHODS:

1. Steam the potatoes till soft, mashed using fork and set aside.

Little chef at work-helping to mash potatoes

Little chef at work-helping to mash potatoes

2. Heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pan, add onions, carrots, corns and garlic. Stir fry for 2-3 minutes.

3. Put them at the side of the pan, then add 1 tablespoon of olive oil in the middle of the pan.

4. When the oil is heated up, add chicken, salt and black pepper. Stir fry until the meat is cooked on the outside (turn white), it will take about 2-3 minutes.

5. Sprinkle the all purpose flour on the meat, toss to coat and cook for 1 minute. Then mix the meat with the carrot mixture earlier. 

6. Add in tomatoes, tomato sauce and chicken broth. Stir to combine and bring to boil.

Combine all the ingredients and bring to boil.

7. Once boiled, reduce the heat to low and shimmer for 10 minutes until the sauce thickens (as shown in picture). Do not cover the pan with cover at this step. Taste the mixture and see if the taste suits your taste bud, if not add in seasonings as required.

Sauce thickens

8. Spread the meat mixture into a baking tray. 

Meat mixture in baking tray

9. In a clean pan, heat up milk and butter until well combine. 

10. Add mashed potatoes, salt and pepper and stir well until combine.

11. Add in egg yolk and the mixture should looks smooth as shown in picture.

Smooth mixture

12. Top the meat layer with the mashed potatoes, spread them evenly and cover the sides of the pan using a spoon.

Smoothen up the sides so that the meat doesn't come up during baking

13. Bake in preheated oven at 200 degree celcius for 25 minutes or until potatoes has browned (as shown)
14. Remove from oven and let is cool down for 10 minutes before serving.

Done :)