Bake Pumpkin With Rice Stuffing

A Pumpkin is a squash fruit, most commonly orange in colour when ripe, that grows as a fruit. When ripe, the pumpkin can be boiled, baked and roasted, or made into various kinds of pie, alone or mixed with other fruit; while small and green it may be eaten in the same way as the vegetable marrow. They are a good source of essential fatty acids, potassium and magnesium.

Brown rice = whole grain rice. Many rice varieties come as either brown rice or white rice. Brown rice isn't milled as much as white, so it retains the bran and germ that makes brown rice more fiber-rich, nutritious, and chewy.


Usually stuffing rice in pumpkin is an a very western dish that they usually had during Halloween. But I had come across this dish from a children TV program and after souring for a suitable recipe for this dish. I invented something new which called Bake Pumpkin With Rice Stuffing using Brown Rice Mixture which is more Nutritious for my family.

Ingredients:(serves 2-3)
1 Small Pumpkin, around 1 - 1.2 kg
2 Cups Cooked Brown Rice Mixture/White Rice
2 Tablespoons Frozen Mix Vegetables
3 Tablespoons Finely Dice Taiwan Sausage
6 Fresh Chestnuts
1 Tablespoons Golden Raisin
1 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
1 Teaspoon Minced Ginger

Seasoning:
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper
1 Teaspoon Cooking Wine

Methods:
1. Boil chestnuts in a small saucepan over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes until tender.
2. Drain and remove any shell or skin then chopped in pieces.
3. Cook 1 cup of brown rice mixture or white rice accordingly and let it cool to room temperature to obtain about 2 cups of cooked rice.
4. Wash and cut a lid from the top of the pumpkin, remove seeds and fibers from it then drizzle 1/2 Tablespoon of olive oil in it and coat evenly.(remember to coat the lid as well)
5. Preheat a non-stick pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, saute the diced sausage for a few seconds then add in the mix vegetables, chestnut, raisin, ginger and garlic.
6. Stir-fry the above mixture until fragrant then add in the rice and stir through quickly.
7. At the meantime, add in seasonings(can adjust more or less according to individual taste) and stir till well mixed.
8. Scoop the fried rice into the pumpkin and press it tightly until the rice is firm then cover with the lid.
9. Place the pumpkin in a small baking dish that is slightly grease with olive oil.
10. Bake in a preheat 200 degree oven for about 30 - 45 minutes(depending on the size of the pumpkin) until cooked and tender when tested with a skewer.
11. Turn off the oven, let the pumpkin stand in the oven for another 15 minutes.
12. To serve, remove lid and cut pumpkin into wedges with some salad.(if there is still extra rice left from stuffing the pumpkin, you can also serve it beside the pumpkin wedges.)

Notes:
For the fried rice, you can also used those pre-mix fried rice seasoning.
I suggest to use Brown Rice mixture instead of White Rice for it's fragrant and chewy texture.

Thai-Style Mango Chicken

I love any dish that had mango in it... I always order the Thai Style Crispy Fish Or Chicken whenever we eat out at the coffee shop near our area. I love their mango salad within the dish, as it's so appetizing. Although you need a few ingredients more to prepare this dish, but itÂ’s really worth the time and effect. I got a few recipe versions on this dish so I decided to mix and match some of the ingredients. But overall, thanks Hugbear(Lily) for sharing her recipe in her blog.

For my Salad I add in extra carrot, cucumber, lime juice and rind to give an extra boost to the favour and fragrant. I love the taste of the lime juice and rind, it really enhance the favour of the salad. Below is the recipe of this Thai-Style Mango Chicken for those who is interested.


Ingredients:(serves 3-4)
1 Chicken Breast Fillet, skin removed
1 Chicken Drumstick Fillet, skin removed
1 Teaspoon Of Grated Garlic
1 Teaspoon Of Grated Young Ginger
1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
1 Egg, lightly beaten
Some Potato Flour/Corn Flour

Methods:
1. Wash and remove the skin of the chicken then cut into large pieces.
2. Marinate chicken with garlic, oyster sauce and ginger for at least 2 hours or more in a fridge.
3. Before deep-frying, add in the egg and mix well.
4. Dust chicken with flour and leave it aside for about 10-15 minutes before deep-frying until golden brown and drain well.
5. Chopped chicken pieces into serving size and set aside.

Sauce:
2 Tablespoons Oil
1 Teaspoon Grated Garlic
3 Shallots, thinly sliced
1 Tablespoons Lemon Grass, thinly sliced
2 Tablespoons Lime Juice
5-6 Tablespoons Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

Methods:
1. Mix the chili sauce with lime juice and set aside.
2. Heat up the oil in a pan, saute garlic, lemon grass and onion till fragrant, then add in the chilisaucee mixture.
3. Bring to boil and add in the chicken pieces and stir through high heat until every pieces are well coated.
4. Remove and place ontop of some mango salad in a plate then top with the rest of the mango salad.

Green Mango & Vegetables Salad:
1 Green Mango, shredded
1 Small Red Apple, shredded
1 Japanese Cucumber, shredded
1/2 Carrot, shredded
1/2 Red Onion, shredded
2 Pieces Chili Padi, remove seeds and cut into small pieces
2 Sprigs Coriander Leaves, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
1 Lime Rind, finely grated
1/2 Teaspoon Sugar

Methods:
1. Put all the above ingredients in a large mixing bowl then stir thru well using a chopstick and set aside in the fridge until used.

Notes: Buy the slightly green mango which more firm and suitable for making this salad.

Lemon Yoghurt Cake

Lemon is one of the most highly alkalinizing foods that are native to tropical Asia. The best lemons have skin of an oily, fine texture and are heavy for their size. This type is more apt to be full of juice, with a minimum of seeds and waste fibers. Choose lemons of a deep yellow color for ripeness and juice. They should be firm, but not hard, to the touch. Fresh lemon juice is an outstanding source of vitamin C.

So for today's afternoon tea we will be having something that is light and fragrant. How was a mouth watering Lemon Yoghurt Cake. It's very moist and soft to taste especially with it lemon fragrant that make you feel fresh together with a cup of tea.

Ingredients:
150g Butter
1 Cup Caster Sugar
2 Medium Size Eggs
1/2 Cup Fresh Milk
1/2 Cup Thick Plain Yoghurt
4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
1 1/2 Tablespoons Grated Lemon Rind
2 1/2 Cup Self-Raising Flour
1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

Lemon Syrup:
1/3 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup Water
4 Tablespoons Lemon Juice
Rind Of 1 Lemon Cut into thin strips

Methods:
1. Sift flour and baking soda in a big mixing bowl and set aside for later use.
2. Place butter and sugar in a bowl and beat on medium speed until light and creamy.
3. Add eggs one at a time and beat until well combined.
4. Stir in yoghurt, lemon juice, lemon rind, flour mixture and milk into the butter mixture slowly till combined.
5. Spoon mixture into a greased 9" cake tine and bake in a preheated 180 degree oven for 45 minutes or until cake is cooked when tested with a skewer.
6. To make the lemon syrup, place all the ingredients in a small saucepan, stirring over low heat until sugar dissolved.
7. Allow to simmer for 4-5 minutes, then immediately pour syrup over the cake which is just out from the oven and still in the cake tin.
8. Let the cake stand in the tin for 5 minutes then cut and serve it with extra yoghurt and fresh fruits.

Note: You can replace the yoghurt with fresh milk for a smooth and moist texture of cake. Or you can replace the 1/2 cup of milk with yoghurt instead.

Mango Kaffir Lime Sorbet

This is the Kaffir Lime Leave that most Thai Food used. If you remember well, I had used this leave for one of poultry dish called "Kaffir Lime Leave Chicken" which infused a very special fragrant to the dish. You can get it from most supermarket or those Malay vegetable stalls in the local wet market.

This time, instead of using this leave for cooking, we are actually using it's fragrant to make a sugar syrup for the sobert. You may wonder... Err... is it nice? I can tell you, it is..... and indeed it's a very fragrant and refreshing dessert.....

The process of making a sorbet is rather easy but time consuming.. Because you need to break the ice from time to time in order for it to be smooth. Sobert is a frozen dessert made from iced fruit puree and other ingredients. The term "sherbet" is derived from the Turkish word for "sorbet". Sorbet is a form of gelato that contains no milk, unlike ice cream. Sorbets may contain alcohol (which lowers the freezing temperature, resulting in a softer sorbet). Sorbets are traditionally served between the starter course and main course in order to cleanse the palate before the main course.

These Mango Kaffir Lime Sorbet tastes fantastic when you sever it with some extra freshly cubes mango, laychee and drizzle over some Kaffir Lime Syrup......... And again... thanks Tracy for introducing me this wonderful and easy to make dessert.

Ingredients:
100g Caster Sugar
1 .5 Cup Water
6 - 8 Single Kaffir Lime Leaves
2 Mangoes, skinned and cut into slices

Methods:
1. Wash the kaffir lime leaves and tear into small pieces and put everything together in a pot with the sugar and 1.5 cups of water.
2. Bring to boil and stir till all the sugar dissolves then cool and chill overnight in the fridge before use. (Discard the leaves before chill)
3. Reserved 1/2 Cup of the chilled syrup and mix the rest with the mango slices and blend in a food processor until well mixed.
4. Pour the mango puree into a shallow tub or baking tin.
5. Leave it in the freezer for a couple of hours until ice begins to form around the edges.
6. Remove from freezer and use a folk or handheld mixer, whisk thoroughly to break up the ice-crystals.
7. Do this two to three times more at hourly intervals, then transfer the mixture to an air-tight container and allow to freeze solid.
8. Just before serving, scoop the mango sobert to a cup and top with extra diced mango, some fresh lychee and drizzle with some extra kaffir lime syrup.