Quick Cooking : Homemade Basil Pesto (ala my own version)

The finished product. Spinach Fettuccine tossed in basil pesto with poached egg and chicken. 

Wow. I can't remember the last time I blog about my cooking.

Well, I've been having "mental cooking blocks" for the last few months. Just couldn't get inspired.

So just the other day I was at Ben's Supermarket and I saw a pack of Thai Sweet Basil Leaves that I decided to make homemade basil pesto for my pasta dressing. And just like that, I grabbed a few key ingredients, went home and started whacking the pesto out; even though it was very late at night.

Basil pesto is usually used as a sauce/dressing for pastas and a great vegetarian dish for vegans and for the health conscious. I've made this pesto before but I've changed a few ingredients to make it my own. One of the ingredients is Tahini but it's incredibly pricey here; so I used a bit of sesame oil instead and added walnuts for more chunky, creamy texture.


So basically, here are ingredients I used for my own version of Basil Pesto.

Do take note, that I don't exactly measure my ingredients as I go by feel most of the time.

1. 100mg Fresh Thai Sweet Basil Leaves (Any variant of basil will do. Thai has a bit more of an aroma kick)
2. Few cloves of garlic (About a good 5-7)
3. A handful of toasted pine nuts
4. A handful of walnuts (or more if you prefer a more creamy texture)
5. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (accordingly)
6. Sesame Oil (alternative to tahini. About 1-2 table spoons)
7. Dash of grated cheese (optional)
8. Salt & Pepper to taste




Making this dish is practically easy and you just need a food processor. I use a manual hand-wind food processor as I have a bit more control over the texture consistency of the pesto.

Make sure your basil leaves are washed, cleaned and spin-dried with minimal water residue.

Next up, blend up the garlic, walnuts and toasted pine nuts first until you get .......

to a somewhat chunky mix like so.

Then add on the basil leaves into the mix with the sesame oil and olive oil and blend. Gradually add the leaves and olive oil periodically after every spin.

The result would be something like this. You can go "creamier" by adding in the cheese, more walnuts and oilve oil to get a semi smooth texture of the pesto which I did. I always prefer to have a bit more bite to my pasta dressing.

The result would be something more golden in colour compared to the very green pesto you see in the supermarkets. Once done, keep the pesto refrigerated and it would last no more than a week. 

As you can see, I used my pesto to go with my favourite Spinach Fettuccine and topped it over with a poached egg and chicken. An excellent healthy choice for those "lazy" to cook like me or just couldn't find time to whip out something too grandeur. 

And now, this blogger is now attempting to venture into some baking. That is if he still has the "balls" to take out the oven that is still sitting inside the box!

Quick Cooking : Spinach Fettuccine in Vegemite Sauce

Brooks HM is just around the corner. Have you done your proper carbo load yet?

More often than not, I'm often hit with what I'm gonna carbo load with. Most of the time, I'll just make pasta to eat. Lately I've been trying this recipe from Nigella Lawson about the use of Marmite. Nigella once got a fan mail asking her to whip out something using marmite as the main ingredient. She just quickly made a rich marmite sauce with butter and chopped garlics and poured it over a beautiful bowl of pasta. It looks delicious just viewing it on TV.

So I've decided to make a spin on Nigella's recipe with a few additional tweaks. 

First of all, I used Vegemite as opposed to Marmite. I also used olive oil instead of butter (health reasons of course). As for the pasta, I used a wholewheat spinach fettuccine; which I love!

The main ingredients.

 I made this version vegetarian, so I mainly used chopped onions and roughly chopped garlic only. Tossed them onto the pan with olive oil. I've used some dry basil herbs, pepper, salt and a dash of cinnamon thrown into it. Fry them to almost brown.

Onions, garlic and herb mix.

 Next tossed in the cooked pasta. Mixed it up with some vegemite and some water and slowly cook the sauce down till it almost thickens.

Slowly simmer till sauce thickens.

 Once done, serve it immediately while still hot. For additional flavour and texture profiling, top with grated cheese to serve or use a raw egg and mix up the pasta to give it a more thicker consistency.

Ready to serve and eat.

That was good for my carb load last night and Bon Appetite! :)

Trying Korean Cooking : Tteokbokki in sweet & spicy sauce

My version of Tteokbokki (Korean Rice Cakes in Sweet & Spicy Sauce)

Of late, I've really been bitten by the Korean/Hallyu bug. First it started with a few innocent and curious views of Korean movies. Then it slowly moved into interesting Korean Variety shows; mainly Running Man. Then Korean K-Pop music. And finally this odd crave of Korean food. And the one thing that I was craving the most was Tteokbokki. 

I've heard of this rice cake dish before but have not seen it until it's repeated introduction/promotion on the Running Man TV show. A popular Korean snack food that is just mainly rice cakes cooked in gochuchang sauce along with fish cakes. So far I've tried twice locally from 2 different Korean chefs and I loved it!

Kim Chi, Pre-made Gochuchang sauce and Rice Cakes. Korean Grocery shopping damages.

So when I discovered the Korean supermarkets at Sri Hartamas, I told myself I gotta try making them myself. Honestly, I went ballistic with the groceries and giving my best asking for advise in my broken Korean language. Fortunately, the Korean store owners were very helpful and we basically understood each other with limited Korean and English combined. 

Basically the most important thing you need is the rice cakes itself. A good moderate size of 20 pieces is good enough to serve for 2. Though they are many shapes and sizes for rice cakes, a moderate size one is usually the one to go for; as it's easier and faster to cook.

Throw the rice cakes into the pan of boiling water and bring it to boil. Not much water is needed as it will later be used to reduced into the sauce. No salt is required. I added sliced mushroom for the little extra and a little olive oil. While boiling, constantly stir the rice cakes so it wouldn't stick onto the pan.

Then add on chopped onions and garlic into the mix. The next most important ingredient is the gochuchang sauce itself. I've bought the ready-made sweet & spicy mix and added a bit of my own flavour by adding in Thai Chili sauce and dried herbs. 

Just heat up the stove a bit more, constantly stir it and cooked until the sauce is reduced to own liking.

Tteokbokki is served best immediately and hot. Sprinkle it with toasted sesame seeds for the finishing touch. I also added in the kim chi for the extra Korean finishing. Save to say, I made a pretty close Tteokbokki resemblances from the ones I tried from real Korean chefs. Perhaps next round I should try experimenting with my own version of sauces or further study the use of pure gochuchang sauce.

Bon Appetit!

The finish product. 

Quick Microwave Fix : Salmon Bone with Brown Rice

My life as a bachelor, I've learn a lot from being independent. When I was studying in college, all I had was a rice cooker. There wasn't a stove or fridge at the student house I was staying, so I had to improvise with what I have. My rice cooker was my only tool to boiling pastas, rice, porridge, maggi mee and etc. It was really my "One-Pot-Wonder". Mind you, it was my mom's old National brand rice cooker; as old as me. So you could imagine how durable it was. 

Nowadays with the advancement of technology, we have access to tools that can cook with just using the microwave. Gone are the days when microwave are just used to heat up food.

Cooking for one person can be quite a hassle to fire up the pan and waste cooking gas. So sometimes I would resort to the alternative. I've always been experimenting with what sort "real meals" I could conjure up with microwave cooking; besides the usual instant noodles. So this is one of them.

Salmon bones. Pre cut from the supermarket.

The other day I was experimenting with one of my own dishes of Salmon bones cooked with brown rice. A simple dish that is easy to make and probably good for carbo loading (as long as keeping the high fat condiments in check)

Salmon is one of my favourite fish to cook. But usually a block of salmon is quite pricey. Recently I've discovered from Ben's Supermarket that they sell the Salmon bones; basically remanence cut off from the fish. Usually used for deep frying or making fish stock, I was wondering what else I could make out of it. I've picked a pack that has a good balance of fish meat, bone and fat content.  I will throw them in the freezer until I find the time I need them.

Brown Rice soaked overnight.

The preparation is fairly simple. One cup of brown rice is needed; enough to make 2 bowls. I love brown rice since it has a lower GI content. Soaking it overnight is preferable. Skipping this step is fine but takes a little longer to cook and may not have that fluffiness outcome at the end. For this, I soaked them in the morning before I go to work. When I return home to cook, I will wash out the soaked rice and prep it.

Here in a nutshell the ingredients:
1. One cup of Brown Rice (soaked overnight) - equivalent to 2 bowls of rice after.
2. 2-3 cups of water
3. Salmon bones (with a good balance of meat, bones & fat) ; roughly cut about 1-2 inches block size.
4. Salt & Pepper
5. 1 teaspoon of olive oil. (not too much as you will get some good fat content from the fish)
6. Dry herbs (Parsley used)

All the ingredients in microwaveable bowl. 

 Basically that's it. Throw all the ingredients into a microwaveable bowl and cover. Heat at Medium/High for first 15 minutes. Then remove it, give it a stir and check the consistency. I prefer mine to be a bit wet and sticky, so I add in a bit more water. Back into the microwave for another 15 minutes.

The results.

 Immediately serve while still hot. I carefully separated out the fish and added a bit of Japanese soy sauce (basically Kikoman). To finish off, topped the rice with some sesame seeds and a side of spicy fermented beancurd.

The finished product. Ready to serve. 

There you have it. A bachelor meal for one on a cold, rainy night. Enough to fill a hungry tummy.

The Love of Cooking & Homemade Beef Patty Summer Wrap

Friends who has known me long enough knows that I LOVE eating and I LOVE cooking. Most of the time, most would comment that moi would be constantly have his mouth chewing on something or asking when is eating time. It's true. I constantly have an appetite for food. 

Sometimes when I feel stressed after work, I will hide myself in a supermarket!

Friends also have been complaining that I'm always cooking for myself and posting pictures of my culinary "masterpieces"online but not a single invitation for "food tasting".

To be honest, I'm SHY.

Me and so many others, are more or less self-taught "chefs". I've learned mostly from my grandma and mom during my young age. First experience, tumbuk chili paste with a mortar and pestle. I grew up watching Wok with Yan & Kuali too and I was seriously hooked.

I see my cooking style as a little bit of everything; but mostly rustic. I DO have an unorthodox method of food preparation and I do sometime put in certain ingredients that doesn't belong. That is why sometimes I'm afraid to share in fear that I would be "criticized" by foodies.

But after much pestering, I think I shall post out something a little "safe". Taking inspiration from Tri Stupe's recipe of Homemade Burger; but with a few tweaks of my own. 

First of all, the main thing to get is minced beef. 

Fresh Australian minced beef. The main ingredient. 

 Fresh Australian minced beef is not cheap. The pack I got was about 450 grams and it cost at about RM17++. That's the thing about shopping at Ben's where everything is quite pricey.

Vegemite & Blackstrap Molasses.

The next main ingredients are Vegemite and Blackstrap molasses.The molasses idea came from Tri Stupe and I've been experimenting with this ingredient for a few dishes. A brilliant alternative/substitute for sugar or honey.  Love the taste of it. It has a slight after taste of sweetness on a beef patty through it's cooked juices. The Vegemite is an additional ingredient of mine since I love the taste of it. Brings a little earthiness taste to the meat.

All the ingredients put in a bowl. 

 In a nutshell, here are the ingredients thrown into the mix.

1. Australian Minced beef (450g). A bit of oily fat from the meat is preferable. Good enough to make 12-13 patties.
2. One tablespoon of Blackstrap Molasses. (previous experiment used 3 tablespoons; too much and "burned" out colour)
3. One tablespoon of Vegemite. (personal preference - just love the earthy taste)
4. Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
5. Half of a large yellow onion. Bronoise (meaning chopped) into dice. Too add a bit of bite and crunch to the patty.
6. Homegrown Dry Basil. (Yes, I specially ordered Homegrown dry basil from mother's friend who grows, dry and pound her own dry herbs.)
7. Salt and pepper to taste
8. Balsamic Vinegar ( A few dashes)
9. Sesame seeds.
10. An egg. As a binding agent to bind the ingredients together and give it a more thicker consistency. 2 egg whites can be used too if concern about yolk. You can use a bit a flour but I prefer eggs instead.

Adding in sesame seeds last into the mix.

The patty all mixed and ready to be rested.

All the ingredients are all mixed in a large bowl and let it sit for a few hours.  

Meat patty quenelle into a football shape with 2 spoons.

 Once ready to cook, set non-stick pan on low heat. In the meantime, prepare you patty "shapes". You can always do the traditional flat shape but I always preferred the small football shape; almost like a cutlet. Use 2 tablespoons to scoop the patty and quenelle the patty into a football size shape. This method is usually used for sorbets and ice cream but works well with anything with this sort of consistency.

Pan fry low with NO oil.

 Place each patty on the pan and NO oil is required. Just make sure the pan is a non-stick coating one. Oil from the fat and olive oil will secrete from the patty. Make sure both sides are cooked but not to overcooked it till dry.

Insides of cooked patty.

 The other reason why I cooked them in this shape is to have a slight crispy burned outer skin but also have the insides cooked with it's own juices. The outcome is a luscious burst of sweet, earthy flavours from within. Great accompanied with red wine or spicy relish.

Pan fried Onions (julienned) and sear some fresh tomatoes. 

 Once all the patties are done, the pan will leave some residue of burned up molasses and oil. Do not let it go to waste and continue to fry it with the remaining balance of the half chopped onion (julienned it) and sear some fresh tomatoes with it.

A nice sunny side up to be added to the plate.

And now, all is pretty much done. For serving, I've decided to do a summer wrap by using huge Iceberg lettuce leave that I've found. Just another alternative besides sandwiching it with bread.

Spread the green over a plate flat and douse with a sprinkle of olive oil & Malt vinegar (balsamic is alright too). Lay the cooked patty together with a sunny side up egg, the julienned onions, seared tomatoes and topped with a spicy cranberry relish and sesame seeds.

Spicy cranberry relish. Bought from a supermarket. A bit pricey but very delicious.

The final product!

Finally, time to eat! You can use the lettuce to warp everything up. I prefer to serve and eat it by means of "deconstruction". Meaning to eat and taste it as separate components but still able to make out the final outcome of taste. 

Meat dipped into the runny egg and relish. 

 I love runny eggs as well. The meat dipped into the egg with some relish is just delicious! Told you I was unorthodox.

So there you have it. My first recipe/ cooking experiment posted online. Crossing fingers the scrutiny wouldn't be terrible. I'm still learning. ;)