Easy peasy once you get the hang of it. I don't use any specific measurement for the ingredients, just estimate, throw in, mix it, and cook. Particularly useful for my stay here in Vietnam since good bakeries are scarce and not within the neighbourhood...additionally the breads and buns are expensive too!

I had been making pancakes a few times since we came here, with a big packet of 2.26kg of stone ground whole wheat flour bought from a specialty shop, Annam Gourmet. So on days when we ran out of bread, this is what I will whip up.


The pancakes can be eaten on its own, but taste spectacular with butter as well!

This is a nice filling meal for one of those lazy Sunday nights at home. Just be sure that you have one packet of those ready made tortillas that could be obtained easily from any major supermarts, some basic ingredients, some cheese and you're ready to go!

This is the first time I bought ready made tortillas (garlic flavour) and they tasted quite nice. A bit like roti canai minus the oil and of course, very much thinner. Just spread a couple tablespoons of ketchup on the oil, sprinkle on some thinly sliced sausages, onion rings and handful of frozen mixed vege. You might also consider other toppings like tomatoes and mushroom; just make sure all the ingredients are thinly sliced and not too much as your pizza base is really thin and kinda fragile.

Top it off generously with mozarella and/or cheddar cheese, pop it into a preheated 220 deg Celcius and bake until the cheese turns golden brown. Cut into quarters with a pair of kitchen scissors and serve while the cheese is still all gooey and warm!

What you need:

For the filling:

• 6 shrimps, shelled, deveined, and chopped into small pieces
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 mengkuang, shredded
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 6 long beans, chopped
• Salt, sugar and white pepper powder to taste
• A dash of soy sauce
• 25-30 frozen (or fresh) spring roll skins
• Oil for deep frying

Sealing paste:

• 2 tbsp corn starch
• 5 tbsp of water

The filling

Directions:

1. Heat some extra virgin olive oil and stir fry the garlic and onion until aromatic.
2. Add in the chopped shrimps, and stir for half a minute.
3. Add in the shredded jicama, shredded carrot and long beans.
4. Season with salt, pepper, sugar and cook for 10 minutes over medium heat.
5. To assemble, lay a popiah skin on a clean cutting board. Put some filling in the middle.
6. Fold in the two sides and roll up the wrapper tightly. Seal with the paste and deep dry over medium heat until golden brown.
7. Drain on paper towels and serve immediately with Thai chili sauce!
   
   
   
   

Yeah, my first attempt in waffle making which turned out to be 67.952% satisfactory I would say. Couldn't resist not making this since I have the waffle making plate in the 4-in-1 Snack Maker Machine from Cosway. I googled for "crispy waffle" and this was the first result I got.

I followed the exact recipe but you might want to reduce the yeast a little since I found the smell was pretty overpowering.

What you need:

• 1 tsp. instant yeast (Not to be confused with active dry yeast. Make sure it says "Instant")
• 2-1/4 cups flour
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 stick (that's 2 oz. or 113.5g to be exact) butter, melted, then cooled
• 2 cups warm whole milk
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 2 eggs, separated

Directions:

1. Stir together the dry ingredients: flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Stir the melted butter into the dry ingredients. Stir in the warm milk and vanilla until combined.
2. Cover with plastic wrap. Leave overnight out on the counter.
3. The next morning, the batter should look frothy. Heat and grease waffle iron.
4. Add the egg yolks to the batter. Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and fold carefully into the batter. This batter will rise a little more than usual, so test out a waffle or two before you really get started.

Note: For really crispy waffle, don't pour too much batter into the iron and serve immediately with whatever trimmings that you fancy!

This is a no-brainer yet delicious cookies that you can make with small children! Just melt 250g dark cooking chocolate in a microwave oven or double boiler (with 50g butter if you prefer your cookies less chocolatey and more buttery), then stir in enough cornflakes to coat.

Guaranteed yummy and foolproof! You can also try other variations with white chocolate or strawberry chocolate (available at baking specialty shops)/.

This is an excellent recipe adapted from Flavours magazine issue September-October 2004. The result tastes absolutely professional even for first-timer!

What you need:

Taro dough:

• 600g taro, peeled and sliced
• 1/4 tsp five spice powder
• 4 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp pepper
• 90 g wheat or tapioca starch
• 110g vegetable shortening

Filling:

• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 300g chicken or pork meat, cubed and mixed with 1 tbsp cornflour and a pinch of pepper
• 100g prawns, chopped coarsely
• 1 big onion, cubed
• 2 tbsp canned green peas

Seasonings:

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tbsp sugar, or to taste
• A pinch of pepper
• A pinch of five spice powder
• 500ml oil for deep frying

Directions:

To prepare the taro dough:

Steam taro for 15 minutes until soft. Combine the taro, five spice powder, sugar, salt and pepper. Mash well. Work in the wheat/tapioca starch and shortening to form a dough. Chill for 30 minutes.

To prepare filling:

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a wok to saute the garlic until fragrant. Add chicken/pork and chopped prawns. Mix in seasonings and saute until the meat is cooked before adding the onion cubes and green peas. Turn off heat and aside to cool.

To shape puffs:

Divide dough to form balls about the size of golf balls. Flatten dough slightly and place a heaped tbsp of filling in the centre. Wrap the dough around the filling. Roll into oblong shape, chill.

Heat the oil in a wok until very hot. When it starts to smoke, lower several taro puffs into the oil . The puff will fluff up if the oil hot enough. Lower heat and deep fry until golden brown. Drain on paper towels and serve warm.