Wake Up and Smell the Cake

 This is so yummy! Also a good cookie, as the name suggests, the best chewy brown butter chocolate chip cookie. Also nailed the baking timing cos the cookie doesn't harden upon cooling. This shall be the go-to for chewy chocolate chip cookies from now on. 140g butter 215g all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon baking soda ¼ teaspoon salt 145g packed light brown sugar 65g granulated sugar 5ml vanilla essence 1 large egg at room temperature 15ml milk Semisweet chocolate chips Brown the butter. Once it bubbles and milk solids form, take note not to wait too long. Once it browns slightly, take it off the heat. Too long and the butter will burn. I weighed the dough (without chocolate chips) at 40g each, and then added choc chips. Bake at 190 degrees Celsius for 9 minutes.

I failed the first time I made sushi bake, so I was kinda apprehensive about this. Added surimi or imitation crab meat since the kids may not want a fully tuna sushi bake, plus it gives a smoother texture.  The recipe uses full tuna and avocado, so I used this recipe lightly to tweak to my own. Tuna Sushi Bake 1 1/2 cups sushi rice Sushi vinegar as per the bottle's instructions 3 chunky tuna cans (Ayam brand) 1 packet of imitation crab meat, boiled and shredded 5 tbsp Japanese mayo 1 tbsp sriracha sauce 3 tbsp mentaiko mayo Teriyaki Chicken Sushi Bake 1 1/2 cups sushi rice Sushi vinegar as per the bottle's instructions 500g chicken boneless thigh, cut into small pieces 1 inch ginger, pound Teriyaki sauce for marinate and for frying Season the top with furikake, sliced seaweed, Japanese mayo and mentaiko mayo. These are a must. Broil or grill for about 8 minutes. These turn out yummy! All the Japanese ingredients were bought on Shopee, from a Malaysian provider.

Husband wanted Swedish meatballs cos we were going Ikea, so meatballs for dinner it is. Bought the jam from Ikea though cos there's no way I'm making that from scratch. These turned out super soft and yummy! The sauce and the mashed potatoes though, required more tweaking cos honestly, I didn't follow the recipe properly. Swedish Meatballs 1 yellow onion, grated 600g ground beef (mince) 3 tbsp breadcrumbs 1 egg 1/4 tsp cumin powder 1/4 tsp coriander powder 1/4 tsp black pepper 3/4 tsp salt 1 tbsp oil Gravy (by right la) 40g / 3 tbsp butter , unsalted 3 tbsp flour 2 cups chicken broth/stock (salt reduced) 1/2 cup heavy / thickened cream The onions should be grated, but it was such a hassle to hold and it also irritated my eyes so I put it in the chopper. I probably put too much butter, then too much flour and it all became so thick.  Also, no proper pictures cos I didn't try to take one.

 This is a mix and match of recipes, partly to use whatever I have in the pantry. Butter chicken recipe is loosely adapted from here , and cheese naan is from here .  Was an okay first attempt, but could do better. I marinated the chicken the night before using whatever spices there was, especially the chicken spice mix from Istanbul and since that smelt somewhat like tandoori, just adding lemon juice, chili powder, salt and yoghurt did the trick. Pan fried them until the sauce was dry, and then make the butter chicken sauce before adding the chicken in. For the butter chicken, I used the following: 2 tbsp butter 1 cinnamon stick 4 cloves 4 cardamoms 1 tbsp garlic paste 1 tbsp ginger paste 1 tbsp garam masala 1 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cumin powder 1 tbsp chili powder Blended ingredients: 1 tomato, 1 cup tomato pesto, 24 cashews 1/2 cup heavy cream Was supposed to use tomato puree or real tomatoes and cook it down, or tomato paste, but I had tomato pesto to finish and only 1...

Got this off Instagram and I've made it before but didn't post here. Recording the recipe for future reference! Chicken 1kg boneless thigh skinless  (I increased to 1.5kg it's fine) 1/2 cup yoghurt 1/4 cup olive oil 4 cloves garlic minced Juice of 1 lemon 1 tsp cumin powder 1 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp chili powder (I added) 1 tbsp salt (Recipe calls for 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp cardamom, 1 ground tumeric and 1 tsp all spices but I didn't have those so I omitted. Still sedap) Garlic Sauce 1/2 cup yoghurt 1/4 cup mayonnaise 2 cloves garlic pounded 1 tbsp lemon juice Pinch of smoked paprika Salt and pepper to taste Yellow Rice 3 cups jasmine rice 3 cups chicken stock (i.e. 2 cubes chicken stock?) 2 tbsp oil 2 tbsp butter 1 tsp tumeric 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/2 tsp coriander powder 1 tsp cumin Marinate chicken for at least 3 hours. Bake the chicken at 220 deg Celsius for 20 to 30 min depending on chicken size. Serve with salad greens and...

TikTok (and the husband) made me do this, and I love it. So so good to pair with aglio olio or butter chili oil spaghetti (I tried with both!). Recipe from here . Creamy Mushroom Chicken 500g boneless thigh chicken Salt & pepper to season Cornstarch 2 tbsp butter 1 onion, chopped 4 cloves garlic, minced 200g sliced shitake mushrooms 1/2 cup heavy cream 1/2 cube chicken stock 1/3 cup pasta water 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated 1 tsp Italian seasoning 1/2 tsp dill 1 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp parsley Season the chicken with salt and pepper and coat with cornstarch (shake off excess). Pan fry the chicken until cooked and golden brown. Remove chicken but not the oils. Add butter. Fry in onion until cooked, then add garlic and mushrooms. Add heavy cream, chicken stock and pasta water. Once mixed, add chicken and all the spices and cheese.

All in one pot cooking, what's not to love!  Got this off tiktok, but I figured the chicken and mushroom in the recipe isn't enough. Wasn't really one pot cooking cos I cooked half of the chicken on a pan then added it later after the rice cooker was done. Rice Cooker Claypot Chicken marinade: 600g boneless thigh, cut into cubes 6 garlic, pound 2 inch ginger, pound 6 tbsp soy sauce 2 tbsp oyster sauce 4 tbsp sweet soy sauce Rice: Half of the chicken marinade above 2 1/2 cups rice 2 1/2 cups water 3 tbsp sesame oil 2 tbsp soy sauce 1 1/2 chicken cube (maybe 2 also can) 300g shitake mushrooms Coriander leaves, cut Spring onions, cut Marinate the chicken and leave it for about 30 min. Wash the rice. Add half the chicken marinade and all other ingredients into the rice cooker and mix well Cook using rice cooker. I cooked the remaining chicken over the stove and added the chicken, juices and all, into the rice cooker when it was just about done and needed a few minutes to set. M...

This is the result of being extra, searching for a recipe when you already have a simple curry using curry powder and ready made beef balls at hand. But nope. You decide to search for Indian meatball curry from scratch, and that includes making your own meatballs. The outcome was unexpected, it was like one of those curries you have at a north Indian restaurant. Not too much heat. It is creamy, tangy and full of flavour. The only downside to this is how to make the meatballs soft. I probably mixed it too much, or boiled too long. The family loves it! Big win when my kids say it's yummy. Cos these fellas are not generous with their compliments. I got the recipe here , with simple spices you'd already have in your pantry.  Indian Meatball Curry For the meatballs: 500g minced beef 1 tsp grated garlic (I think I added a bit more) 1 tsp grated ginger 1/2 tsp garam masala 1/4 tsp smoked paprika 1/4 tsp tumeric powder 1 tsp coriander powder 1/2 tsp cumin powder 2 tbsp breadcrumbs 1 eg...