Monday 16 April 2012

Angry Birds Mugs Exclusively from 7-Eleven

For those Angry Birds fans from Singapore, I am sure most of you are aware of this Angry Birds Mugs promotion from 7-Eleven outlets(island wide) starting from 28 March till 05 June 2012(while stocks last). With a minimum spend of S$3.00 at any 7-11 outlets you would  received a similar stamp(s) shown below.

And for your information items purchase excludes cigarettes, parking coupons, bill payments, top-up services, telco top-up cards, cash card, EZ-Link card, lottery sales, Angry birds mug purchase and fuel purchases at 7-Eleven @ Shell.

Friday 13 April 2012

Japchae - 잡채


Japchae(잡채) is a Korean dish cook with cellophane noodles(glass noodles) which is made from sweet potato starch(dangmyeon) mixed with sesame oil, soy sauce and a variety of vegetables or like the above with some meat such as "beef". In the past, this noodle is usually served at special occasions like weddings, birthdays and parties but now it is often served as a side dish(also known as "banchan") at some Korean restaurants.

Friendly speaking I am not a fan of Japchae/Glass Noodles and I remember I did not even pay much attention to it my Korea trip. But lately this Korean-style noodles kept flashing in my mind even since I watched the Korean drama known as "City Hunter(시티헌터 )" cast by Lee Min Ho(李民浩 ) and Park Min Young(樸敏英) where both of them loves to eat this dish in some of the scenes shown.


JAPCHAE
(잡채)


Indeed this Korean Stir-fry Glass Noodles is quite similar to our Asian Stir-fry Cellophane noodles(炒东粉) but in a while Korean noodles are a bit thin in texture compared to ours. Personally I love their  sweet and fragrant Japchae sauce which is mainly consists of light soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil and minced garlic.


(Serves: 2-3 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 10 minutes)

Ingredients:
1 Packet CJ Brand Japchae(韩式炒粉丝)
100g Beef Fillet, cut into 2" long sticks
1 Medium Brown Onion, thinly sliced
1 Medium Carrot, shred into 2" long
4 Medium Fresh Shiitake Mushroom, sliced
2 Stalks Spring Onion, cut into section
2 Garlic Cloves(minced), optional
1/2 Tablespoon Sesame Oil
1 Teaspoon Roasted Sesame Seeds
Some Chopped Spring Onion
100g Spinach(optional), cut into sections

Method:-
1. Boil glass noodle in boiling water for about 3 minutes, till soften. Rinse with water, drained well and put in a large bowl.

2. Heat sesame oil in a frying pan, saute minced garlic, brown onion and spring onion till fragrant, stir in shiitake mushrooms and marinated beef strips with 1 Tablespoon of Japache sauce (mix 1 teaspoon of roasted sesame seeds with the pre-mixed Japache sauce included in the pack) and give it a quick toss.

3. Next add in the shredded carrot, cooked noodles and Japache sauce into the pan and cook on low heat, stirring frequently until all the sauce is mixed well.

4. Drizzle some extra sesame oil and mix well before serving.


For those who can't get hold of this CJ Brand Japchae(韩式炒粉丝) that comes with pre-mixed Japchae sauce, you can use any other brand of Glass Noodle/Dangmyeon (about 30 - 35g) for this recipe. And as for sauce you can use this mixture shown below:-

Ingredients:
2.5 Tablespoons Light Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Sesame oil
2 Teaspoon Minced Garlic
1.5 Teaspoons Roasted Sesame Seeds

Method:-
1. Mix all the ingredients together until sugar dissolved.


KOREAN RICE CAKES WITH RAMEN NOODLES
Rabokki(라볶이)


Stay tune for my next Korean dish which is known as "Rabokki(라볶이)", or "Korean Rice Cakes with Ramen Noodles". Kamsahamnida(감사합니다, 좋은 주말 되세요)!

{Photo Friday} Red Velvet Cupcakes Using Beetroot Powder & Puree

A Red Velvet Cake is a popular cake with it's unique colour varies from dark red, bright red or red-brown depending on the ingredients used. It is usually baked and topped with a creamy vanilla icing or the popular cream cheese icing. This reddish-brown color cake was originally from a reaction of the cocoa powder with an acidic ingredient such as buttermilk but however, "red food coloring"(as much as 2 tablespoon or more) is often added to achieve that unique "red colour effect".

But for this recipe that I am sharing with you today, my friend Celes did not used any "red colouring", instead she replaced the colouring with healthy ingredients such as "Organic Beetroot Powder" and "Fresh Beetroot Puree" to achieve it's natural red colour texture.


RED VELVET CUPCAKES
using Beetroot Powder And Beetroot Puree


From the photo above, you will notice that the texture of the cupcake is moist with a bit tender crumb due to the adding of buttermilk and when you have your first bite you would also experience a mild beetroot aftertaste in between the cocoa flavour cake.


Recipe adapted from Celes of Celestial Delish, HERE.

(Make: 12 medium cupcakes | Preparation: 15 minutes |    Baking: 20 - 25 minutes)

Ingredients:
260g All-purpose Plain Flour
4 Tablespoons Beetroot Powder
1 Teaspoon Salt
3 Tablespoons Natural Cocoa Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
250g Caster Sugar
1.5 Cups(300ml) Vegetable Oil
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
2 Large Eggs, room temperature
1 Teaspoon White Distilled Vinegar
1 Cup(200ml) Buttermilk, room temperature
1/2 Cup Beetroot Puree, blend from 1 medium beetroot

Method:-
~ You can refer the steps on making the above red velvet cupcakes plus cream cheese frosting over at Celes's post HERE.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
250g Cream Cheese, room temperature
113g Unsalted Butter, room temperature
215g icing sugar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Method:-
~ Steps on making the cream cheese frosting can be found HERE.

Overall I have learnt something new while making this Red Velvet Cupcakes as I have never tried whisking oil and sugar together with eggs in a cake batter before folding in the dry flour ingredients. And Celes told me this method is a good way to achieve soft and yummy cupcakes too but most important steps is not to over mixed the batter or else the cupcakes texture will be dense.

Tuesday 10 April 2012

{Korean Cooking Project} Kimchi Tofu Soup - 김치순두부찌개


Kimchi Stew (김치 찌개) is one the Korean's favourite soup which is available all year round at their dinning table. It is sometime known as either "Kimchi Soup, Kimchi Stew or Kimi Jjigae " which is all referring to a pot of piping red hot soup made with Kimchi, Tofu and Meat or Seafood.

Although I have being to Korea about 2 years ago during our winter trip (read more HERE),  I have never come across my mind to learn how to prepare Korean dishes at home. As friendly speaking I am not a fan of their well-known appetizer; Kimchi(김치) or Korean Rice Cake (Tteok - 떡) which can be used to cook soup, stewed or noodles. (stay tune for my upcoming Korean Rice Cake with Ramen - Rabokki)


KIMCHI TOFU SOUP
(김치순두부찌개)


Recently I am into watching Korean drama craze whereby it makes it curious and keen to learn some of their basic homecook dishes shown in the drama such as Kimchi Stew(김치 찌개), Spicy Korean Instant Ramen, and Japchae(잡채) and etc. So without hesitate I loot back quite a number of Korean Ingredients(read more HERE) to start this Korean Cooking Project.


(Serves: 2 | Preparation: 10 minutes | Cooking: 15 minutes)

Ingredients:
150g of Kimchi(김치)
200g of Chicken Fillet, cut into strips
150 - 200g Napa Cabbage(大白菜), cut into thick sections
1 Box Silken Tofu, cut into thick section
2 Stalks of Spring Onion, cut into sections
1 Medium Brown Onion, sliced
3 Garlic Cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons of Gochujang(고추장)
600ml Of Boiling Water
Salt and Pepper


Method:-
1. Place a hot pot or pan on the stove, saute minced garlic with some 1 teaspoon of sesame/cooking oil till fragrant. Add in chicken fillet and cook till it changes colour to almost white.

2. Add onion, spring onion, kimchi and gochujuang and give it a quick stir till combine before adding water and bring to boil.

3. Add in napa cabbage and simmer over the mixture over medium low heat for about 10 minutes.

4. Lastly add in tofu and simmer for about another 5 - 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste, garnish with extra spring onion or cut chilli.

5. Serve hot with steamed rice.

For the first dish of my Korean Cooking Project, I would like to share with you this simple "Kimchi Tofu Soup ( 김치순두부찌개)" which could be prepared in about 15 minutes time.  And this is definitely a perfect soup for cold weather such as rainy days to go with a bowl of hot steamed rice or ramen.


JAPCHAE(잡채)
(Preview)


Stay tune for my next Korean dish which is known as "Japchae(잡채)", or also known as "Korean Stir-fry Noodles with Beef and Vegetables". 

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