Spicy Eggplant (Yu Xiang Qie Zi)

Does anyone have a good recipe for this dish? I haven't found one yet, for the moment, I use Yeo's pre-mix which is pretty tasty with extra minced garlic and dried shrimps. I like to add a bunch of glass noodles sometimes for a heavier meal.

My "Lazy" Hot Dish

This is what I cook when I am feeling really really lazy... Taiwanese Sausage Omelette. Or when I am out of ideas. It's done in 2 minutes!

Century Eggs (Pei Dan) - An Acquired Taste

So I finally got my long-awaited Pei Dan from Hong Kong! I hated this stuff when I was a kid but grew to love it, especially its pungent soft moist yolk. I immediately brewed a pot of porridge, threw in 2 Pei Dan's, some green onions, salt, pepper and sesame oil and walloped it all! Yummmmmmm! My cholesterol level will probably go through the roof this week though, oh well...

I think I am going to get some of mes amis francais to try this stuff and enjoy the look on their faces. (lol)

Yum Woon Sen (Thai Glass Noodle Salad)

One of my favourite Thai dishes... love the refreshing lime dressing. Quite a bit of work involved though (lots of chopping and boiling) so it is not often that I make it.

Yum Woon Sen

60g (2 oz) glass noodles, soaked in warm water till soft
Cooked prawns, minced pork, dried shrimps.
5 Tbsp kaffir lime juice
Lime rind to taste, finely grated
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp sugar
2 chillies, finely minced
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
4 stalks spring onions, finely chopped
1/4C cilantro, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2T roasted peanuts, crushed (for topping)
Mint leaves for garnish

Beer Bread Revisited

Remember my post on the Oh-So-Good Beer Bread a while back? That was the first time I tried the recipe and I have to say it has become my staple ever since I discovered it, for many reasons:

1. It takes 3 minutes to prepare the batter and I am not exagerating! That's quicker than running out to the nearest boulangerie 200m down the road!

2. It is such a forgiving recipe that I could add whatever I fancy to it - dried fruits, nuts and seeds, ground almonds, whole wheat flour etc - and it will still turn out great. My personal favorite is to crowd it with raisins :0)

3. It is really yummy... with salted butter and jam, with cheese, or in a sandwich.

I have not bought another loaf of bread since!

My Favourite Fudgy Brownies

I love dense heavy cakes and brownies (no sponges for moi!). This recipe is the best one I have encountered to date and I am keeping it.

Fudgy Brownies

200g dark baking chocolate

200g unsalted butter

150g sugar

4 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 heaping tablespoon flour

nuts, bananas (optional toppings)

Melt chocolate and butter together. Mix into mixture sugar till well combined, then vanilla extract and eggs one at a time. Do not overmix. Stir in flour. Bake in a lined 9-inch pan at 200 deg C for 25 minutes.

Pear Crumble Au Caramel

I am not usually a fan of fruit-based desserts but this one is an exception due to the rich caramel and crumble. Layer pear slices in pan, sprinkle a generous amount of butter and brown sugar and top with crumble (recipe as follows). Bake for approximately 45 minutes. Serve warm with double cream.

Crumble

150g butter, cold and diced
150g wholemeal or granary flour (or plain white)
80g brown sugar
40g caster sugar
100g pack walnuts