BrB : Mum is here for a visit

Mum is around and I'm a little tied up eating her food! and cooking her some food! stay tuned

Chocolate Cheesecake - Goal!!!

I enjoy playing football(some may refer to it as soccer,but NO it's football) quite a fair bit, ok ok "ALOT" is more like it. I love the excitement, the creativity and of course the feeling of content when a goal is scored. As of recent I'm beginning to enjoy baking a fair bit too, somehow I find the the excitement quite similar to football... especially when the the cake comes out right

So, I decided to try and bake a cheese cake for the first time.

I used lite cream cheese, and later realised it was too healthy for me.

and , out came the melted chocolate to even the playing field.

Tasting time... and GOAL!!! - Bended it like David Beckham

Ingredients

• 1 x 250g pkt biscuits
• 140g butter, melted
• 2 x 250g pkts cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 x 300g ctn sour cream
• 155g (3/4 cup) caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 tsp vanilla essence

Extras

chocolate to taste and cream/or milk ( mixed in a bowl over slow boiling water)

How

1. Place the biscuits in the bowl or a food processor and process until finely crushed( I used a pestle and mortar). Add the butter and process until well combined. Transfer to the lined pan. Use the back of a spoon or a straight-sided glass to spread and press the biscuit mixture firmly over the base and side of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.

2. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 160°C. Place the cream cheese, sour cream and sugar in the clean bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add the eggs and vanilla, and process until well combined.

3. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the prepared pan. Bake in oven for 1 hour or until just set in the centre. Turn oven off. Leave the cheesecake in the oven, with the door slightly ajar, until cooled completely (this will prevent the cake from cracking). Let It cool down for an hour or so. 4.Remove the cheesecake from the pan, and pour the chocolate mix on the cake

Hanoi - More of the Old Quarters

Hanoi is an old rustic looking town, we went there at the end of 2010 which coincided with the town's 1ooo (one thousand) year anniversary. Walking around this city , I felt as though I was transported back into time... seeing and walking though temples, buildings and streets that has been there for centuries was surreal.

Hanoi also many lakes as well, most famous is probably the "Hoan Kiem Lake" . The wonderful sceneries around Hanoi, could "ALMOST" make one forget the constant honking of the motorbikes and cars.

After the wonderful sightseeing, the wonderful feast came in true Vietnamese colours.

Tomato based fried Fish

Herbal pork stew, cooked in coconut

Crabmeat fried with sugarcane shoots

Prawn Rolls

Caramelized Banana and Pineapple

We ate like Kings again, thanks to our guide. Although the meal was gorgeous... the funny thing was the plain white rice was the last dish to arrive ... after we ate all the dishes(including desert) except for two leafs of vegetables. I guess they must have forgot about the rice or the rice was actually the desert ,but no complains... it the whole meal pretty good.

Anything funny happened to you lately?

Buta Kakuni - Success!

Living away from my parents ain't that bad but it has it's cons. Besides missing them, the other major con is that if I get hungry I can't just go "MUM! is there any food?", furthermore I'm in Australia... not in Malaysia, where there are food stalls everywhere , running most of the time... so I can't just run out and get some food and except for McDonalds( There is only so much McWhatever one can take).

When I moved out, missing both the street stalls and mom's cooking... I had to do something about it. Like a true addict, I started sourcing other means of food... I found a restaurant and began purchasing food. Unfortunately at that time, I was a poor student, so by the 2nd day or so I felt the pinch, then I tried Baked beans and that didn't really cut it as well...

Pork Cracking - Crunch!

So I began to cooking quite a fair bit... trying new things...experimenting and trying to imitate or replicate some of the dishes I loved. There were days, where the dishes I put up just looked like what I wanted it to be but tasted real bad... and times where it tasted and looked bad too... but when the moons are lined and the winds blow in the right direction... Success happens...

Success like this "Buta kakuni" or braised pork. ( punches fist in the air)

Ingredients

most important - Pork belly strips

sliced thick ginger & sliced thin spring onion,2 cloves of garlic crushed,water1/4 cup of mirin,1 tablespoon sugar or to taste,2 tablespoon sake,1/4 cup soy sauce & kombu ( seaweed stock) (if available)

How

Fry pork belly on each of the sides. If you wish, you could cut out the skin to make some cracking. In another pot, boil all the other ingredients. Once the pork belly turns golden. Place it in the pot, make sure the water covers most of the meat. Boil for 2 hours, but make sure you keep an eye on the water level. Let it rest in the pot for 10-15 minutes for the flavors to sip in. All ready to serve...

What is your recent cooking success?