Roti John

As requested by the bestie, here's my recipe for Roti John.

Roti John is basically a baguette sliced in two. Each half partially-submerged into a mixture of eggs, meat and onions and is pan-grilled mixture-laden side down til crispy and served with cucumber and chilli sauce. Some choose to add a layer of cheese between the halves and press them tightly together to melt the cheese before serving.

Ingredients:

1 large baguette sliced into two and halved
2 large eggs
1 onion - diced thinly
1/2kg of ground meat (chicken or beef)
Pepper to taste (black / white / ground)
Salt to taste
Oil for grilling

Instructions:

1. Wash the meat til clean and no blood runs through. Stir fry the meat in a non-stick pan. Do not add in any oil. Add in some ground white and black pepper to taste. Remove from pan and set aside.
2. In a mixing bowl, crack eggs and beat well. Add in chopped onion, a pinch of salt and a pinch of coarse ground pepper.
3. Pour in the cooked ground meat and mix well.
4. Take one portion of the baguette and spoon the mixture over the sliced side of the bread. Make sure you cover the bread.
5. Add a tablespoon of oil into the pan over medium heat. Press the baguette mixture side down quickly into the pan, over the oil and press down with a spatula. The egg mixture should sizzle and 'sputter'. Continue pressing down evenly. Once the mixture has browned, turn the baguette over and press into the oil. This makes the crust crispy.
6. Once you get your desired crisp, remove from pan and set aside. Repeat step 4 an 5 for the rest of the baguette.
7. If you would like to add in cheese, add a layer of cheese on one half of the grilled baguette. Place the top half over the cheese and press together tightly, letting the cheese melt.
8. To serve, cut the baguette into strips, and serve with cucumber and chilli sauce.
   

I'll try to get some pictures up soon!

Easy Roast Chicken

Recipe was given to me by a colleague at work. She's great at coming up with recipes that don't take much time to cook. She told me this could be done in 30 mins - both preparation and cooking included.

This is one of those recipes where you don't have exact measurements but throw in any amount to your liking.

Ingredients:
1kg of chicken
Ginger Paste to taste
Garlic Paste to taste
Sweet Soya Sauce
Ground Black Pepper

Instructions:

1. Cut chicken into portions and place into a large mixing bowl.
2. Add in some ginger paste and garlic paste. I used about 2 tbsp of each. Rub the paste evenly over the chicken.
3. Pour in the sweet soya sauce. I used about 4 cups of soya sauce. You can add more if you want the chicken to be moist. Or less, if you want it to be dry. Marinate the chicken evenly with the sauce.
4. Add in the ground black pepper and mix evenly.
5. Place the chicken in a roasting dish and pour the remainder of the liquid over the chicken.
6. Turn up the over to full temperature and bake for 20-25minutes. In my case, it's 275 degrees celcius.
   

Remember to turn the chicken halfway through cooking to ensure the chicken's cooked on both sides.

Rice Bubble Cake

Rice Bubble Cake (Bars)

Ingredients:
100g butter
6 tbsp sugar
4 tsp honey
5 cupsRice Bubbles

Method:

1. Melt butter along with sugar and honey in a pot over medium-low heat. Make sure the pot in big enough to contain the rice bubbles later.
2. Allow the mixture to boil. Let it turn over for about 4 mins til it turns brown and almost caramel-like in consistency.
3. Remove from heat and pour in the Rice Bubbles. Mix well.
4. Pour mixture into a lightly greased pan and press the mixture down to make it compact.
5. Let the mixture cool slightly before cutting into bars. Allow the mixture to then cool completely.

An alternative to bars would be to scoop spoonfuls of the mixture into paper cups. Ideal for celebrations and parties.

Memories of Grandma's Kitchen

Eversince I started working regular office-hour days, I've been reflecting a lot on my childhood. Not so much of the song and games, but more of the kind of experience I had with food.

I was lucky, growing up. My mom's an only child and my grandparents stayed with us. Grandpa used to be a hawker and grandma stayed home to look after us kids while my parents worked. Grandma was a great cook. I didn't know it then, though. I only realised it when I was pregnant with my first child and had insatiable cravings for her sambal chilli. The kind you ate with nasi lemak. Mum tried and tried, but it never tastes the same.

Back to Grandma. She used to make desserts every afternoon, ranging from sweet to savoury. Meals were always different, and we were never bored. Practically everything was homemade, including noodles sometimes. I used to sit in the kitchen with grandma and watch her prepare the necessary for cooking. Cooking was another matter. Everything had to be done the traditional way to preserve the essence and taste of the dish. One important aspect Grandma taught me about cooking was never to stinge on ingredients.

Now, many years on, with 2 kids of my own, it pains me to see that often my kids often eat the same food. There isn't much variety simply because there is no time for variety. At least, that was the excuse I gave to myself. Hubby and I made the decision to move in with my parents so that my dad could help watch over the children as the helper looked after them. Mum's still working and I'm a full-time working mum. I used to work shifts, and the rotating shifts tire me out so much that I seldom cooked. I'd rather bring the kids out, and sometimes, we end up at McDonalds. That's the only fast-food joint my son likes. Other than that, my mum would be the one cooking at home as I watch the kids when we come home from work.

But, as soon as I accepted the opportunity to switch to regular hours, I made a promise to myself that I'd try to cook as much as I could for the family. I want the children to have the same kinds of memories of their mum's kitchen as I have of Grandma's.

Now, I salute all you stay-at-home mums for being able to juggle kids, chores and cooking. I'm a terrible juggler. But I'm still learning. So, how nice it was that as my hands were itching to cook, the country declared a long public holiday for everyone.

Thus, I cooked.

Don't get me wrong. The food turned out great. It's not like i can't cook. But it was more of me taking sometimes 4 hours to whip up a dish that could actually just take 30 minutes to be ready. Blame it on procrastination.

BUT, this time round, I broke my record. 2 dishes, and a dessert in 2 hours! That was yesterday.

Today, I woke up and succumbed to my craving for something with honey.

What did i end up whipping up?

Rice Bubble Cake - Kiwi-style!

Stay tuned for the recipe.