Afghan Cookies, again.....

Seriously, I don't remember when I made these Afghan Cookies... The only thing I remember is that the recipe is the same as the one I used in April. Loved these cookies a lot... if you are a chocoholic, I would highly recommend you bake them!

Afghan Cookies
Recipe from Australian/New Zealand Food About.com.

Ingredients:
200g butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup castor sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used top flour.)
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Valrhona.)
1 1/2 cups unsweetened corn flakes
icing sugar - for dusting

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350F (180C). Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Sift together the flour and cocoa powder and mix into butter mixture with a wooden spoon. Fold in cornflakes. 
4. Roll or press 1 1/2 teaspoonfuls of the dough into balls and flatten them slightly. Place them about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.
5. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. 
6. Dust icing sugar & store in airtight container.

I'm submitting this post to the Aspiring Bakers No 36: Choc-a-Cookie (October 2013) event, hosted by Genie of Honeybee916 Food.

Chewy Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies

I'm busy as a bee as there are so many tight datelines to meet at work. Thank God my youngest son's exams are over... that's a relief, at least for a while, until I get to see the report book...  Anyway, tonight, I'm posting 2 recipes of cookies because I'm trying to meet the dateline for Aspiring Bakers event on chocolate cookies. 

These Chewy Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies  were actually made by my son for his practice session in preparation for his year-end Home Economics  practical assessment. He searched for the recipe himself... my role was to get the ingredients ready, demonstrate, supervise & advise... He actually made 2 batches, just to be sure that he could bake them without any hiccups. He said the cookies turned out well during the exam except that they were quite fragile. I suspect they were undercooked because of the oven temperature. Anyway, it was not a problem at all since his classmates helped to finish up all the cookies..... thank you boys!

Chewy Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Source: Confessions of a Foodie Bride.

Ingredients:
1 stick (125g) butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla essence
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 deg F (190 deg C) and line a baking sheet with parchment or a baking mat.
2. Cream the butter and peanut butter on medium high for 1 minute.
3. Add sugars and beat at med-high for another minute. Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.
4. Add flour, baking soda and salt on low speed until thoroughly combined. Mix in chocolate chips (the dough will be quite soft).
5. Chill dough for 15-20 minutes.
6. Drop the dough by the small scoopfuls onto a lined baking sheet.
7. Bake for 10-12 minutes until edges are golden brown. For a crispier cookie, allow the entire cookie to brown. Let cookies cool on baking sheet for 10 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool completely.

I'm submitting this post to the Aspiring Bakers No 36: Choc-a-Cookie (October 2013) event, hosted by Genie of Honeybee916 Food.

Mee Siam Mamak

Lunch on Friday was Mee Siam Mamak. This Indian Muslim version of Mee Siam is not as commonly available as the Malay version. Naturally, it's usually served by the Indian hawkers, usually those selling Indian Rojak. 

I decided to cook this dish to use up the leftover chives in the fridge. It is quite similar to the Malay Mee Siam except it's richer  because of the coconut milk added. Another difference is in the way the beehoon is prepared. While the Malay version requires that the beehoon be fried with some spices, the Mamak version just needs the beehoon to be cooked in boiling water mixed with turmeric. That's so much simpler!

Mee Siam Mamak 
Recipe by Mdm Gayah Samon.
Source: EATS by Hedy Khoo,  The New Paper On Sunday (7 October 2012)

Ingredients:
400g dried beehoon ( I used brown rice beehoon.)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp salt (I added.)

100g raw peanuts
200ml coconut cream
3 pieces asam keping/gelugur
85g sugar
2 litres water (I used only 1.5 litres.)
salt to taste (You may not need this since the tau cheo is already quite salty.)
6 tbsp cooking oil

Spicy mix:
10 dried chilies
3 purple onions
6 garlic cloves
120g udang geragau kering (dried shrimp)
120g tau cheo (fermented soya bean), rinsed

Garnish:
5 limes, halved
5 hardboiled eggs. halved
6 stalks koo chye (garlic chives) - cut into small pieces (about 1cm long)
5 pieces tau pok (fried beancurd puffs), toasted & cut into 1-cm squares

Method:

1. Heat 2 tbsp oil & fry peanuts over low heat for 10 minutes or until cooked. Grind coarsely & set aside. (You may set aside some before grinding for garnishing.)
2. Grind the ingredients for the spice mix into a smooth paste. (I didn't grind the tau cheo. Instead, I just mashed it coarsely.)
3. Heat remaining oil & fry the spice paste until fragrant & the oil surfaces.
4. Add the ground peanuts & fry a little more.
5. Add the two litres (I used 1.5 l.) of water. Stir & bring to a boil.
6. Lower the heat & stir in the coconut cream. Allow the mixture to simmer for another five minutes.
7. Now prepare the beehoon. Fill a pot with enough water to cover the beehoon. Bring to boil & add half a tsp of turmeric powder & salt. Add in the beehoon & boil for two or three minutes until soft.  (I soaked the beehoon in cold water first. When it's already soft, I boiled a pot of water & added the turmeric & salt, then I blanched the beehoon.) Strain & set aside.
8. To serve, put some of the boiled heehoon in a bowl, add the mee siam gravy. Garnish with a halved hardboiled egg, some tau pok pieces, halved lime, garlic chives & some ground peanuts.

Cornflake Choc-chip Cookies

These cookies were actually baked for Hari Raya Puasa 2 months ago. I took the pictures & edited them & they've been in my folder for a month or so..... Since this month's Aspiring Bakers theme is chocolate cookies, I thought it's high time I post it here. 

I baked the Cornflake Choc-chip Cookies using the recipe I got during one of the weekend baking classes I attended a few years ago. I like them a lot because of the chocolate flavour & the crunchiness. Just don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients.... I used all the ingredients, except the bubble rice which I replaced with cocoa crunch, because I happened to have all of them at home when I wanted to bake the cookies.  Just read on for my suggestions on how you can cut down the list.  I really want you to try this recipe. It's really a good recipe!

Notes & suggestions:

1. The dough is supposed to be slightly dry, so don't add more liquid or butter.
2. The recipe uses both plain flour & top flour, but if you don't have both of them, you can just use 240g of either one of them. Of course, using top flour would be better for making cookies as it contains less protein & so produces crunchier cookies. 
3. There are also two types of milk used, I think you can use 50g of either the condensed milk or milk powder & adjust the sugar accordingly. 
4. And if you don't want to buy the rice bubbles or cocoa crunch just because you need 50g of it, then just do away with them or replace them with cornflakes. 

Cornflake Choc-chip Cookies
Adapted from recipe by Nurul Imah.

Ingredients:
250g butter (softened)
150g brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt (I didn't use.)
20g egg yolk (from 1 or 2 eggs.)
20g (1tbsp) sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla paste (I added.)
*100g plain flour
*140g top flour
*30g full-cream milk powder
*20g cocoa powder (I used Valrhona.)
*1/4 tsp baking powder
*(combined & sifted)
50g chocolate bubble rice or white bubble rice - crushed (I used cocoa crunch.)
300g cornflakes - crushed
300g mini chocolate chips

Method:

1. Combine butter & sugar in a mixing bowl & mix thoroughly.
2. Add in salt, egg yolk, condensed milk & vanilla paste & continue mixing until well blended.
3. Add in sifted flour. Mix well.
4. Add in bubble rice, cornflakes & chocolate chips & mix well.
5. Take some dough (I weighed about 8g.) & form into a ball. Then place on a lined baking pan. Do this until finish. Leave dough to rest for about 1 hour.
6. Then bake in a preheated oven at 140 deg C for about 40-50 minutes or until the cookies are cooked.

I'm submitting this post to the Aspiring Bakers No 36: Choc-a-Cookie (October 2013) event, hosted by Genie of Honeybee916 Food.

Lemak Pedas Ikan

Lemak Pedas Ikan is often cooked using tuna fish but you may also replace it with mackerel. I used the latter. It's  a rich dish as coconut milk is added. So you may want to go easy with the gravy when eating it with the rich Nasi Dagang.

Lemak Pedas Ikan (Fish in Spicy Coconut Milk)
Recipe by Hjh Babyah Mahmood from Goodness Gracious Absolutely Delicious... by Asmah Laili.

Ingredients:
1 whole fish (tuna or mackerel), about 1 kg - I used mackerel.
salt & turmeric powder to coat fish
1/2 a white coconut, grated
2 pieces tamarind slices
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
1/2 a thumb-sized galangal, bruised
oil for frying

Ground ingredients:
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp cumin
10 stalks dried chilies
1/2 tsp black pepper
10 shallots
4 cloves garlic
salt & pepper to taste

Method:

1. Take 1 tbsp grated white coconut, grind it finely & put aside. Squeeze the rest to render 1 bowl of coconut milk. Cut the cleaned fish into pieces. Rub with a little salt & turmeric powder & fry shortly.
2. Heat a little oil,  sauté ground ingredients until done. Add in lemongrass, galangal, ground coconut, coconut milk, tamarind slices & slat to taste. Boil until almost dry & then add in the fish & a little sugar. Simmer until fish is cooked. Check & correct seasonings. Turn off heat.

I'm linking this post to the Cook-Your-Books No 5 event organised by Joyce @ Kitchen Flavours.

Nasi Dagang

Hi everyone. It's already the 17th day of October & this is my first post for the month..... not looking good.. The year-end madness at work is compelling me to devote more time on my school work even when I'm at home. Besides that, I also need to attend to my ten-year-old son whose exam is also around the corner....

Last Tuesday was Hari Raya Haji & I cooked nasi dagang, a traditional rice from Trengganu & Kelantan states of Malaysia. It's something like nasi lemak except that it's more flavourful with the added ginger, garlic, shallots & fenugreek. The authentic nasi dagang uses a kind of rice specially for cooking the rice but since it's not readily available in the southern part, it's often replaced with long grain Thai  & glutinous rice. The accompanying dish is often spicy & coconut-based chicken or fish (often tuna). I cooked Lemak Pedas Ikan  to serve with the rice.

Nasi Dagang
Recipe by Hjh Babyah Mahmood from Goodness Gracious Absolutely Delicious... by Asmah Laili.

Ingredients:
1 kg best Thai rice
300 g glutinous rice
1 tsp fenugreek, washed & strained
1 thumb-size young ginger
10 shallots
 cloves garlic
2 cups thick coconut milk squeezed from 1 white grated coconut
a little salt & sugar
6 pandanus leaves
banana leaves

Method:

1. Combine the two types of rice & soak for 6 hours. 
2. Slice ginger, shallots & garlic finely & set aside.
3. Place coconut milk, salt & sugar in a pan & allow to boil only once (stir continuously to prevent curdling).
4. Line base of steamer with banana leaves. Drain both the combined rice, place on the banana leaves & steam until cooked. Remove cooke rice into a large bowl. Then pour in the coconut milk, mix evenly & at the same time sprinkle fenugreek & sliced shallots, garlic & ginger.
5. Pour the mixed rice back into the steamer & steam until rice is soft & tender. Spoon a little rice onto a piece of banana leaf, arrange the accompanying dishes & then wrap it up.

I'm linking this post to the Cook-Your-Books No 5 event organised by Joyce @ Kitchen Flavours.