#8 Sheperd's Pie

Helllo! It has been a while since I cooked.. Been pretty busy lately, or I'm just tired, that's all. So yesterday I was on vacation leave to attend my boyfriend's graduation ceremony. After the ceremony I decided to make some sheperd's pie. It was a pretty simple dish actually and I thank my boyfriend for the help. Here goes.

Ingredients:
1 Onion (finely shopped)
2 cloved of Garlic (finely chopped as well)
300g of minced beef
salt
pepper
6 big potatoes (peeled)
About 50g of butter
Half a packet of beef curry powder
6 small aluminium trays (like the cupcakes one)
3 slices of cheddar cheese

Instructions:
First step would be to cut the peeled into quarters. Don't need to be perfect coz you are going to mash these babies up soon. Boil the potatoes in salt water for about 20 minutes. To check, poke a fork into the potatoes. If it easily goes through then you are good to go.

While waiting for the potatoes to cook, you prepare the meat. I wanted to use some carrots but my boyfriend's family does not eat vegetables. Saute the onion and garlic with some oil. Mix the curry powder with a little water like 3 spoonsful, just to make the curry powder like a very thick paste. Then add into the wok. Just keep stirring that, make sure that every bit of the curry is cooked, or else your dish would be spicy. Then, add in the beef. If you have diced carrots, you can include that in as well at this point. Stir the beef, make sure it mixes well with the curry paste, so that every bit of the beef has flavour. Add in a pinch of salt and pepper to taste. Let the beef cook, and dry up a little. Make sure it isn't too dry coz it would suck.

By then your potatoes should be done. Mash the potatoes up with like 2 tablespoon of butter. Taste it. If it's bland, put in some salt and pepper to taste.

This part now is very easy. Add the beef as the first layer in the aluminium tray, take half of the cheese slice, and you tear it into small pieces to cover the beef. And then cover with a layer of the mashes potatoes. Do this for the rest of the trays. Place these in a pre-heated over at 180 degrees celcius and bake for about 30 to 40 minutes. For the last 10 minutes baking, change the heat to just the top oven to cook the potato until it becomes light brown. Once you hear the oven *ting*, you're good to go! You can eat with chilli sauce if you want. Bon Apetite!

Happy Trying!

#7 Hot Hot Chix

This is my boyfriend's all time favourite. We love to eat this at BBQ Chicken but now the shop has closed down, thus need to create this dish myself. Hehe.

 

Ingredients

 

Part A:
Chicken (I used 4 wings, and 3 drumsticks for this recipe)
Fried chicken seasoning flour
Corn flour
2 eggs

 

Part B:
5 chilli padi (finely chopped)
2 cloves of garlic ( finely chopped )
About 1 cup of chilli sauce
About half a cup of tomato sauce
3 spoonful of honey
1 spoonful of apple cider
1 spoonful of oil
A dash of pepper

 

Instructions

First you cut the wings into 2 parts so that it would cook easily. Next slice your chicken drumstick, also for the same reason. Clean the chicken afterwards. Get 3 plates. Pour the seasoning flour, corn flour and 2 eggs (beaten) in the respective plates. First you place the chicken (one by one) in the corn flour. Next, the eggs and then you cover it with the seasoning flour. Repeat this process for all the chicken and then fry the chicken for about 10 minutes or until golden brown on medium heat to slowly cook the inside of the chicken. Once done, put that aside and let the chicken cool down.

 

Now for the sauce. Add some oil to a different pan, put in your finely chopped chilli padi and garlic. Then your apple cider and honey. After that you add in your tomato sauce and chilli sauce. I prefer more chilli sauce so it would be spicier. This sauce is up to individual. More spicy then get a spicy brand chilli sauce.  The one I am using isn't spicy so I had to put in more. After mixing the ingredients well, put in all your chicken at once. Stir them up until all your chicken is covered with the sauce. Served while hot and best served with mashed potatoes. I bought my mashed potatoes at 7 Eleven haha. There you go! Your hot hot chix is complete!

Happy trying! :) ♡

Dab the chicken in corn flour, and then egg, and then the fried chicken batter.

Fry the chciken until it becomes golden brown on medium heat

Ingredients needed for the sauce

Hot Hot Chix with Mashed Potatoes

#6 Potato Au Gratin

I thought I have updated my blog about the potato au gratin recipe but I guess not. So here goes. I have another recipe as well which I cooked today, which will be in the next post.

 

Ingredients

6 potatoes (peeled and sliced thinly)
2 cloves if garlic (chopped finely)
4 slice of chicken picnic ham (shredded)
1 packet of sliced cheedar cheese (torn into small pieces) *you can also use the normal cheddar and grate it
1 bombay onion (sliced)
2 cups of milk
3 spoonful flour
1 spoon butter
Salt
Pepper
Italian herbs

 

Instructions

Slice the onion and the potatoes thinly about the same size. Put that aside. Heat a pan, put in the butter, and then fry the flour on low heat. When you get a mixture, make sure it doesn't clump. And then pour in your milk bit by but until mixture thickens. Once it looks thick enough you put in some salt and pepper to taste abd also a dash of italian herbs. Then add in your cheese. I suggest you use a whisk for this process. Then you will get a gorgeous thick cream cheese sauce for your potato au gratin.

 

Butter your baking tray, place the potatoes to cover the base of the tray, next the onions, after you separate the onions like rings, and then the shredded ham. Put a pinch of salt and pepper, and then pour in some of your cream sauce. Repeat the process with the top most layer with potatoes and sprinkle some salt and pepper again. Pour the remaining cream sauce on top and then I put some ham, and like 4 rings of onion for decoration. I slow baked the potato au gratin in a preheated oven at 180°C for about 1 and a half hours. And you are done! It is a super simple dish to make and also superr delicious! 

 

Happy trying!!

The final result

Part of the ingredients needed

How to layer your ingreidents. And how the Potato Au Gratin looks after baking.

Ideaaa

Don't know if I should call it idea or simply another craving of mine. So today I intend to make creamy potato au gratin. It's potato in cheesy cream sauce. It would be my second time making it but it has been a while since I last did.  

Anyway, there are various recipes online on this, but me being me, I would add a personal touch to it. Typical Rin. Hehe. It's a simple version. No thyme, nutmeg and such. Just a simple and yummy potato gratin. I shall post about it later on as I have yet to buy the ingredients for now... stay tuned!

#5 Spicy Fried Rice

I know it has been a while, coz I was busy over last weekend, thus did not whip anything up. I cooked something simple tonight though since I am not a fan of duck rendang. I cooked spicy fried rice... and also to satisfy my cravings.
 

Ingredients:
2 spoons of sambal belacan
1 small onion thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic chopped finely
About a handful of dried anchovies
Rice (up to you how much. I used about 2 plates)
Salt
Sweet soya sauce
2 eggs
2 cili padi
 

Instructions:
Saute the onion, garlic and anchovies together until you see the anchovies is cooked. Put in the 2 spoons of sambal belacan and then add in the rice. Mix these ingredients until the sambal covers up the rice evenly. Add like 2 spoons of sweet soya sauce, mix the fried rice again, and then add in some salt to taste. I added in some water (about 4 spoons) as it was a little difficult to get the rice to be evenly distributed with the sambal. When the water is almost dried up, add in 2 eggs, scramble it up and mix with the rice. Cut the 2 cili padi into tiny pieces for the spiciness! And then you're done!

It is really that easy. Have fun trying!
 

#4 Beef & Cheese Bread Lasagne

Ingredients

1 onion (diced into small pieces)
2 cloves if garlic (chopped finely)
3 medium sized potatoes (diced into small pieces)
300g of minced beef
About 3 cm ginger (chopped finely)
1 stalk of corriander
1 carrot (diced into small pieces as well)
Salt
1 loaf of bread
1/2 a packet of Meat Curry Powder
About 20 cheese slices
Butter to oil the baking tray
Some oil to fry the fillings
Water
3 eggs

 

Instructions

First, sauté the onion, garlic and ginger together. Once you realise the colour is changing to yellowish, add in the curry powder about jalf a packet and fry it. Make sure there is enough oil or your curry powder will burn and taste gross.

 

Once you realise that the mixture thickens, add in the beef, potato and carrots. Add in half a cup or water, mix it up a little and let the ingredients cook as potato will take some time to be cooked. Stir it a little every now and then at low heat. About 15 minutes later, or until it is almost dry, add in some corriander to have that nice aroma in you dish but this is optional really. Once done, turn off the heat.

Oil the baking tray with butter. And then cut the sides of the bread before placing them into the tray.

 

1st layer would be the bread, then u add cheese, and then the filling you cooked earlier. Take 3 eggs and beat them. This would act as a glue. Pour some of the egg on top of the filling and then sprinkle some spring onions on, which is again, optional. Then I took 2 cheese, tore them apart and scatter them all about the baking tray. Then I put the bread again, and repeat the process to the 2nd layer of spring onions. But this time instead of tearing the cheese apart I just cover the fillings with the square sliced cheese since I need to make sure my lasagne doesn't fall apart when I bake it. Lastly cover with another layer of bread. Put in the oven for about 15 minute at 150°C. And you are done!

Have fun trying!

 

Part of the ingredients needed

This is how the process of cooking the fillings should look like

The layering instructions. Step 1 to 8.

Beef and cheese bread lasagne

This recipe is proudly brought to you by my colleague, Makiah, with guidance and tips by my mum, Fauziah. It's delicious as everrr! Not including margarine, corriander, egg,cili padi and salt coz these are like the basic necessities that are readily available in my house, I spent $14 to make this dish. But it is totally worth it coz everyone loved it. :)

Next recipe

Hi everyone. I tasted something new at work today. One of my colleague brought along this bread beef pie she said... it was like a bread and butter pudding.. but in this case, it is not a dessert.

It was so delicious.. the texture was there... the taste was there... so I asked for the recipe and ahe gave me a brief recipe of it. So this shall be my next dish! Look forward guys coz it really tastes awesome!

#3 Fried Tom Yam Bee Hoon

Aren't you sick of eating the same old white fried bee hoon A.K.A 'mee party'? Well I am. Well this is a simple recipe yet again. Of coz I cheated using instant noodles. But fret not health concerned people, this is not maggie but rice vermicelli. In this case I am making a serving for 3 people. There are 2 brands.. one is PAPA, and one is mama? No la just kidding. The other one is myojo, which is the one I have been using all these while... I prefer this coz it's cheaper actually... by alot. Anyway here is the recipe!

 

Ingredients:

1 onion (just a small one.. not as small as a shallot though & thinly slice it)
1 clove of garlic (finely chopped)
Some oil
3 packets of Myojo Tom Yam Vermicelli
Water
A small stalk of coriander leaves
Otah fishcake (or you can use anything you want as the topping)
Chilli padi (up to you how many you want, I just used 1 in case others can't handle the heat)

 

Instructions:

First of all, you boil the 3 packets of rice vermicelli as it is. Not until it is soggy, just until you realise it isn't as stiff anymore. Then you just pour out the water and set that aside.

 

Next you sauté your onion and garlic until you realise the onion starts to caramelised.  After which you add in your rice vermicelli. Then you put in all 3 packets of the chilli paste provided in the packaging. Then you stir them up until even. It is quite tedious so add in like half a cup of water. Then add in only two of the seasoning provided in the packaging. (3 and you will end up with high blood pressure coz it is too salty.) And again, stir until even. Once even, add in the otah fish cake. You will realise the water has yet to be absorbed by the rice vermicelli,  which is good... let the thing dry and at the same time cook your fishcake.

 

Just keep tossing and stirring the noodle until it is almost completely dried up, add in 1 chilli padi, snipped into small pieces, and same goes for the corriander, snipped into small pieces. With that done, turn off your fire. And you're done!

 

You realise that I have something else that is green in my pan.. that is just long beans. I just added 1 of that for colour so it would look more appealing. Yeah exactly.. since when there's long beans in tom yam... but if you're the chef, even if you wanna add a banana in it would be possible. Nah just kidding hehe.

 

Happy trying!

 

Breakfast with Naan

Good morning! 

So on this beautiful morning, I have decided to eat Garlic butter naan with the dish I made yesterday. No, I am not such a pro to make naan from scratch. Hehe. Courtesy of my boyfriend for baking the naan.

The garlic butter naan can be found at NTUC. 4 pieces of naan for $4+, and that is very cheap actually coz it would be quite costly to buy a naan meal outside. To make it nicer, you can add butter before baking the naan to avoid it from being too dry, and then add some more chopped garlic (coz you can't really taste the garlic when you eat it as it is from the packet). Then just follow the instructions at the back of the packet to bake how long. Am not too sure since I wasn't the one baking it. Hehe.

And of coz it would be splendid to eat with rendang, masak kuali or tandoori... Go check it out at your nearest NTUC. Doesn't the picture look tempting? :)

Happy trying! :)

Satisfaction

As gross as it seems, this is a forwarded image of what my boyfriend took at home after eating my Ayam Masak Kuali with rice. Satisfaction guaranteed. The best thing about cooking is really all about seeing that person eating your dish smiling as they are delightfully full :)

#2 Daging Kurma

Next recipe shall be this daging masak kurma. When I made it, my whole family was overseas. You can't simply expect me to eat maggie noodles all the way right? Thus, I decided to cook this. All on my own with no instruction from mum. Alright enough with the talking. This is a really simple dish by way.

Ingredients:

1/2 a packet of Kurma powder by Adabi

3 onions (1 cut into 4 pc and the other 2, finely chopped)

2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

About 4 cm of ginger (just whack it hard once)

1 box of coconut milk

A little water

1 stick of cinnamon

2 pieces of Star Anise

2 seeds of cardamom

4 pieces of cloves

Chicken/beef/mutton (up to you but in this recipe I used thinly sliced beef which was actually meant for stir fry recipes.)

5 potatoes (optional)

salt to taste

Instructions:

First and foremost, you cut the onions and garlic as I have mentioned in the ingredients section, and also don't forget to peel those potatoes. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 4 sections. Also, whack your ginger to the extent that the aroma from it just escapes. Put aside these 4 ingredients. Add some water to the Kurma powder and keep adding until it becomes a thick Kurma paste.

Turn on the fire, heat up some oil. Sauté the finely chopped onions together with the garlic. Once the aroma rises, pour in the Kurma paste you just made earlier. It will look like in the picture above. Then put in your ginger, and the 4 spices mentioned. Once you see the oil separating from the paste, that is when you pour in your coconut milk. Stir until the color becomes uniform throughout the wok. Put in your potatoes and your beef slices. And then you just add about half a cup of water, and turn the heat to medium heat. And then you just wait for about 15 minutes or so, to let it cook your potatoes and beef to perfection.

It would be faster without the potatoes and if you use chicken instead. Coz if I cook the beef for just a short while, the meat would not be tender. Before turning off that fire, don't forget to add some salt to taste. And for final touch, just put in some red chilli and coriander leaves for decoration and some color to it before turning off the flame. Viola! As easy as ABC. For a start, just try this dish since it is rather simple! There is a recipe behind the Adabi Kurma packaging But that is more for big servings. This is just nice for 5 people at most.

happy trying! :) 

#1 Ayam Masak Kuali

So this is a rather simple dish.
It's called Ayam Masak Kuali... Recipe courtesy of my mum as usual.

So the ingredients are....

Part A

Chicken (any amount you want, and can be substituted with other meat)
Some turmeric powder
Salt

Part B

2 whole onions
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 a packet of grinded chilli (chilli boh)
About 4 cm of ginger
*a little water for blending

Part C

1 box of coconut milk
About 6 cm of Galangal
1 stalk of lemongrass
4 lime leaves
1 turmeric leaf
Potato (optional, up to individual)
1 stick of cinnamon
2 pieces of Star Anise
2 seeds of cardamom
4 pieces of cloves
(In Malay, Kayu manis, Kayu cengkih,
Buah pelaga and bunga lawang)
Salt (according to your taste buds)

Instructions:

First and foremost, part A of the recipe, wash the chicken. Then just coat it lightly with some turmeric powder and a pinch of salt. Massage that chicken babe! So once the chicken gets 'jaundiced', nah just kidding, okay so now your chicken is covered in turmeric and salt, you fry it, but only half way cook, not fully. So that your chicken would take a shorter cooking time and also reduce the chance of it being raw.

Now move on to part b. Blend them all! Of coz you don't simply put the whole onion in that blender! Cut them up into smaller pieces first ok! Add a little water. Half the level of the ingredients you've put in. Like NOT HALF THE BLENDER OKAY! Once that is done, you use up the same oil you used for frying the chicken and now put all the blended ingredients in there. Let it cook for a bit until it starts to sizzle. Take the lemongrass and galangal and whack it once, whack it hard. *BOOM!* Put in the Part C ingredients, with the coconut milk first, followed by the galangal and lemongrass. Then put it the rest of it.

Once you realize that the oil and the orange paste has separated, it's chicken time! Just put in your pre-fried chicken in there, with some salt to taste and since I wanted some sweetness to it, I added  some sugar as well, like a spoonful. Don't forget to taste it! Leave the thing to cook about 15 minutes on low heat. Then turn the heat off. Viola! You are done! Serve with rice or naan! Will fill up at least 4 empty stomachs.

Happy trying!

Introduction

Hi! My name is Kirin as we all know it. I have a few blogs... To rant... To cry.. To show off... And soon, a wedding blog to come. But as for now, knowing how forgetful I may be, and also to keep my mum's recipes so that I can be as good cook as she is one day, I decided to create a new blog called 100 Recipes to Survive.

Why 100? Simply coz I think 100 dishes is quite a lot and that would be enough to satisfy my big tummy and of course for my Mr. Right.

Though I admit that I am not the best chef... But I also have to say that you can't go anywhere if you don't start walking. So since I was 21 years old, I figure that it is about time I start to familiarize myself in the kitchen. Though not on weekdays coz by the time I am home, my mum has already cooked.

This blog won't just be on main course dishes but also on some starters and desserts. Also some tidbits. So... Here we go!