Stir-fry Mani Cai Wth Egg - 马尼菜炒蛋

During my childhood time my granny used to prepare this Stir-fry Vegetable at least once in alternate week. But ever since she passed away, this dish seems to be vanished in our menu list. Last weekend while doing my usual weekly groceries, I spotted  a few bundles of these Mani Cai (马尼菜) (also known as sweet leaves) at one of the vegetable stalls in the market.

Before consuming these Mani Cai, there is an interesting preparation step that you have to take note before you can turn these bitter leaves into edibile leaves. From some of the information that I gather from the facebook readers suggestions(here), these leaves has to be removed from the stalks then rubbed with salt to sweat out those bitter juices. And if without this treatment these leaves will taste bitter instead of sweet.

Ingredients:
1 Bunch of Mani Cai(马尼菜) , about 350g
3 Tablespoons Cooking Oil
3 Garlic Cloves, finely minced
1 Teaspoon Chicken Stock Powder
1 Egg
2 Tablespoons Water
Some Wolfberries, optional

Method:-

1. Remove all the edible leaves from the mani cai stalks which should yield about 200g.

2. Discard stems. Rinse and wash leaves, drained well.

3. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of salt on the drained mani cai leaves, mix it thoroughly and rubbed it with fingers till sweat.

4. Squeeze dry the juice, rinse thoroughly then squeeze dry again.

5. Preheat the frying pan, add 3 tablespoons of oil and heat till heat up. Add minced garlic and saute till golden brown then add in the leaves.

6. Stir till the mani cai leaves wilted, add in chicken stock powder and mixed well.

7. Add water and stir till water evaporates then break in the egg and stir it through the leaves till cooked.

8. Lastly toss in some wolfberries. Turn off heat and dish up on serving plate.


There are still many different ways of preparing this Mani Cai, some people loves to add it into soup together with noodles while others loves to stir-fry it with Sambal Chili too. Do share with us your cooking tips/methods in preparing this vegetables too.

Spongy Banana Cake

This is one of the most simplest Banana Cake recipe which I have come across using quick sponge cake method without any egg separation. And furthermore you do not need to incur extra washing on those mixing bowls and utensils. All you need is to put all the necessary ingredients into a big mixing bowl and beat till stiff/ribbon stage before folding in the flour mixture and oil.

As you can notice from the photo above, this Banana Cake is very light, spongy and fluffy. And mine was so soft that it crumbles quite while I am trying to cut it into slices. You can also take a look at some other bloggers who tried this recipe such as "Nasi Lemak Lover" and "袅袅烘焙香" on their lovely bakes.

(Recipe adapted from Wen's Delight, original recipe by Richard Goh)
Ingredients: 
3 Medium Eggs
130g Sugar
200g Banana, lightly mashed
150g Cake Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking powder
1/4 Teaspoon Baking soda
100g Corn Oil
1/4 Teaspoon RUM

Method:-

1. Preheat oven to 160 degree C. Grease baking tin and line with baking paper. (I omitted this step as I used disposal baking tray)

2. Sieve flour, baking powder and baking soda together at least twice, set aside.

3. Using electric beater whisk eggs, sugar and banana at maximum speed till stiff/ribbon stage.

4. Fold in flour mixture using spatula and mix well.

5. Slowly swirl in oil and mix till batter is shiny and flowing.

6. Bake for 40 - 45 minutes. (I baked it for around 35 minutes using 3 disposal tray)

Since this is a Mother's Day gift that I made for my mum and aunt, I have also decorated it with some banana slices and pumpkin seeds. And both family who tried this agreed that this recipe is indeed a keeper. And I would use it to make some chocolate banana cake for my boy and bestie soon.

Aprons Giveaway
by My Kitchen Snippets

If you love to cook/bake, perhaps you will be interested to win one of these lovely Apron from My Kitchen Snippets Giveaway event. Closing date is on 17th May 2011 at 6.00pm (Eastern Time). So wait no more,  quickly hope over to participate and stand a chance to win. (Link HERE)

Japanese Steamed Matcha Cake

Follow up from my last post on the "Japanese Steamed Sweetcorn Bun(Mushipan)", here is another swapping of ingredient from Sweetcorn to Roasted Chestnut together with some extra dose of premium Matcha powder that you can get in most supermarket under the Japanese foodstuffs section.

In this recipe, I used Top Flour instead of cake flour stated on the previous recipe because I wanted to test out using different type flour to achieve the texture of the steamed cake that I prefer.

Ingredients: (makes 4)
90g Top/Cake Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoon Matcha Powder
1 Teaspoon of Baking Powder
30g Caster Sugar
1 Large Egg, 60g
70ml Water
5 - 6 Roasted Chestnut, break into pieces
1 1/2 Tablespoon of Vegetable/Corn Oil
*Extra Roasted Chestnut For Toppings

As you can see from the photo above, the texture of this steamed cake is rather more dense like steamed bun texture compared to the sweetcorn version. Perhaps it might be due to the type of flour(top flour) or the addition of matcha powder.

Method:-

1. Sift flour, matcha and baking powder in a bowl. Set aside. At the same time, preheat a steamer/wok filled with water till boiling point.

2. Using a balloon whisk beat egg and sugar together till foamy and pale in colour before adding in oil and stir till combined.

3. Next divide the sifted flour into two batches, stir in alternately with water to form a smooth batter.

4. Toss in the roasted chestnuts pieces and gently stir through the mixture till combined..

5. Spoon the cake batter evenly into 4 prepared foil/ramekins cups that are lined with paper liners.

6. Place the cups in the steamer/wok(with boiling water in it), cover and steam over high heat for about 12 - 15 minutes(depending on the size) or until a skewer inserted into one of the buns comes out clean.

Winner of the BK SHOTS Burger Giveaway plus Voting of BK Ladies’ Night

Follow by the current BK SHOTS Burgers campaign on “What Women Want, Women Get”, Burger King(BK) also hope to engage consumers in a more personal way by organizing their first public event targeted towards women. BK Ladies’ Night is a upcoming event where ladies get to enjoy the promotion of their choice, interact with hunks as well as decide where they would like to house the session. So wait no more, starting fom 06 May 2011 onwards, simply visiting their official voting site at www.bkladiesnight.com to cast your vote on the poll and decide on the preferred promotion and location for the session.

Voting ends at 17 May 2011, 2359 hours and the most-voted location and promotion will be revealed at 2.00pm, 18 May 2011 on the website. Further all ladies who pre‐registered will also receive an eDM invite to the first‐ever BK Ladies’ Night held on 24 May 2011.

For more information regarding this campaign you can refer to either one of the following links:-
Official Voting Sites: www.bkladiesnight.com
Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/BurgerKingSingapore
Youtube Video: www.youtube.com/BurgerKingSg

GIVEAWAY RESULTS
For the BK SHOTS Burger Vouchers!!!!!