Pork and Prawn Dumplings (Siew Mai)

On weekends we would have lunch with our grandparents and most times we would have dim sum or yum cha. A nice tradition that we still uphold till this day. Dim sum is a great way to try many things in small portions and accommodate picky eaters. However, siew mai has always been a childhood favourite of mine and the first thing we would order at a dim sum place when the steamer carts stroll by. 

Basically, siew mai is minced pork and prawn wrapped up with wanton wrappers into small flower like dumpling that you can easily pop into your mouth. Since it was my first attempt at making siew mai, I watched a few videos to find the best way to make them. I found a few that I liked and tweaked them to my liking. I was surprised at how easy it was to make these delicious little morsels. Recipe is down below! If you're having trouble folding the dumplings, I suggest youtubing it to have a feel.

P.S.: If you have extra, you could freeze them and steam them another day as a snack. But take note that it might take a little longer to cook.

Blackberry and Apple Crumble

I had never tried blackberries before. Maybe in candy or jams but never fresh. When I was strolling in the market and spotted some fresh blackberries with a sign that said "very sweet", I instantly knew I had to try them. So I excitedly bought 2 boxes of these beautiful delicate berries. Eager to find out how fresh blackberries tasted like, I hurried home, washed it under the tap and tasted one. Little did I know, I was in for a rude awakening. They tasted so sour, it was as if I was eating a lemon wedge! Darn that deceitful sign!

Even after my disappointment, I knew I didn't want to let these berries go to waste, so I decided on a crumble. Something that didn't take much time to make. Luckily, I had some apples lying around to give it some texture and body.

When I cooked the filling, the berries bled which dyed each piece of apple with a beautiful deep purple colour. It looked so luxurious, much like a piece of purple velvet. The crumble was buttery and nutty with the addition of the toasted almonds. I devoured it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to cut the extra tang from the blackberries. Hot crumble and cold vanilla ice cream, need I say more?

Although I had this sour experience with the blackberries, I definitely didn't regret buying them. Or else I'd never try this recipe and share it with you guys. But I'll learn from this experience and be more cautious when a sign says "very sweet".

Pickled Vegetables

After a long day at uni or work, why not make your meal a little bit more tangy. I've made these a few times before and it's definitely an easy way to brighten up what I'm cooking. It goes great as a condiment to accompany pork buns, salads or burgers. Plus, it makes your food look more appetizing with its bright colours.

This is a fast version which takes no time at all to put together. I always make it right before I start cooking my main meal and the pickles are ready when I'm done! You could try this recipe with some radishes or maybe add some chillies to give it an extra kick if you're a spice lover. Or you could make this recipe your own by tweaking it to your own preferences. 

Sunday Brunch

One of our personal favourite Sunday activities is brunch. It's the meal that's in between breakfast and lunch, so you can still catch up on some zzz's and enjoy satisfying breakkie meals! It has to be heavy enough to sustain you till dinner (or tea), but light enough that you don't walk out feeling like a stuffed potato. Usually we would head out for brunch but today we decided to eat in and keep it simple. So, we headed to the Queen Victoria Market on this sunny Sunday and picked up a few sausages from the meat section, fresh ciabatta from the delicatessen and some chives to accompany our scrambled eggs. 

I watched this video a while back by none other than the great Gordon Ramsay and have always used his technique ever since!  It's an easy step by step video that teaches you how to make your very own scrambled eggs. Definitely worth a try. So, maybe next weekend, which happens to be Easter, you could impress a certain someone by cooking them a simple brunch. Have a great Sunday!

Tuna Melt

Tuna melt, a childhood favourite. A great snack for breakfast before and after school. The creamy tuna and melted cheese, boy does it bring back memories! An oldie that's just so simple to make. Plus, you could always alter the recipe and add other ingredients such as gherkins or whatever you feel like on that day to make it a little more interesting. Improvisation is key when you're in the kitchen!

Ingredients:

• 200g tuna in olive oil
• 2 tbsp of mayonnaise
• spring onion finely chopped
• salt and white pepper
• olive oil from the canned tuna
• cheese
• bread

Steps:

1. Mix the tuna, mayonnaise, spring onion, olive oil, salt and pepper. If the mixture is a little dry, add more olive oil.
2. Spread the mixture on to some bread and top it off with cheese.
3. Put under a broiler or toaster oven till the cheese has melted and the bread has crisped slightly.

Voila! Simple, quick and easy!

English Muffin Burger

I don't know about you, but the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about english muffins is unfortunately, the mega fast food chain McDonalds. Egg McMuffin, sausage McMuffin, sausage egg McMuffin.. It was always these McDonalds breakfast meal burgers that I truly enjoyed, hashbrown included! Perhaps because we would usually get them early in the morning before we started on our long car rides as a family. 

Whatever the association, it was all on an english muffin; it's chewy, grainy texture. So here's our take on an english muffin burger compromising of your friendly breakfast ingredients. Why not have it on an english muffin instead of a plain ol' bun! There's nothing better than a homemade burger!

Ingredients (Makes 5 burgers)

• 2 cloves of Garlic
• 2 large onions, caramelized
• 5 eggs
• 1 large tomato
• Bacon
• Lea and Perins sauce
• 200 grams minced beef
• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Olive oil
• 5 english muffins

Steps

1. Finely chop garlic, onions. Add into bowl of minced beef. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper as well as a tablespoon of Lea and Perins sauce. (We don't usually crack an egg for the patty because it manages to hold up just fine.)
2. With clean hands, mix everything up well. Divide and mould into 5 circular shapes about 2cm thick with a concave middle. Drizzle some olive oil onto the patties.
3. Fry bacon and onions and egg. 
4. Preheat a nonstick pan on high heat for about 3 minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and place the patties on the pan concave surface facing upwards. 
5. Slice tomatoes.
6. Half the english muffins and toast in an oven for a short while, just enough to melt cheese on top.
7. Put burger together and enjoy!

Tomato Salad with Basil and Bocconcini

I love it when the market sells boxes of fresh baby tomatoes! Personally, I dislike eating tomatoes all on it's own unless it's dressed in something or if they've been roasted. Tomatoes are high in lycopene which is believed to prevent cancer. Of course, I'd want to be healthy and have my tomatoes but I can't eat them alone unless it's drenched in fatty thousand island sauce! Well, I enjoyed this salad which definitely didn't need the unhealthy accompaniment. A salad that's colourful, delicious and oh so healthy? Win. 

Here we married a few simple ingredients like basil, balsamic vinegar and bocconcini cheese! You can definitely try this salad with different coloured tomatoes, green, orange, red, the more colour the better! 

Ingredients: 

• 400-500g of cherry tomatoes
• 6 bocconcini cheese (we used mini bocconcini)
• Basil leaves
• Balsamic vinegar
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Sugar

Steps:

1. Cut the tomatoes into half, quarters or different shapes depending on the size.
2. Put them into a sieve and salt them to draw some of the water out. 
3. Let them sit for a while. While waiting, you can make the dressing, which is just a simple balsamic dressing. The ratio of oil to vinegar is 2 to 1. Add a pinch of salt and sugar to balance the flavours. 
4. Mix vigorously and there you have it, your dressing is done. Or you could put that all in a jar and just shake till it's done. 
5. Now drain your tomatoes and put them into a bowl. Tear the basil leaves or thinly slice them into slivers if you prefer a more subtle basil flavour. Tear the bocconcini which gives it a more rustic look. Finally, drizzle dressing on top.
6. Serve with some crutons and toss lightly.

Some toasted bread works well in soaking up the juices at the bottom of the bowl. Or it could be a vehicle to get the delicious fresh salad from the bowl to your tummy!

Fresh Pomelo Salad

During the Chinese New Year, one of my favourite restaurants Oriental Cravings had a special pomello salad available on their menu, similar to what the chinese call the "lou sang" to toss during the new year for prosperity. Sweet, sour and ultimately, extremely refreshing. I loved how the different flavours, elements and textures tie together and not forgetting the beautiful colours. 

Naturally, I identified the ingredients and decided to recreate this at home! I've already had a few requests for this as soon as I posted it on my twitter and facebook page. Fret not, this is an extremely simple salad that makes you look like a champion in the kitchen. Basically, it's all fresh ingredients which requires little work. Scroll down for the ingredients and instructions.

Ingredients:

• Mint leaves
• Coriander leaves
• Kaffir lime leaves
• Pomelo
• 3 medium sized limes
• Shallots
• Banana flower
• Nuts (cashew/peanuts)
• Dried prawns
• Salt

Steps:

1. Cut and peal the pomelo. Keep refrigerated. You don't have to break them into extremely small pieces as the tossing will break the pomelo up (and allow the pomelo juice to marry all the flavours together)
2. Fry the dried prawns in a wok/pan of oil. Then, chop the fried dried prawns into fairly small sizes as they are salty. (Wouldn't want to bite on a huge salty prawn).
3. Break up the peanuts into bits of pieces and simply toast them in a dry pan.
4. Slice the shallots, banana flower and kaffir lime leaves finely. Pluck corriander leaves and mint leaves and keep refrigerated in a bowl of cold water.
5. Finally, place all ingredients on a large plate and squeeze the juice of 3 limes over the ingredients. Sprinkle a dash of salt over to balance the flavours. Toss gently (Chinese tradition is to toss it as a group with chopsticks) and enjoy this refreshing dish!

Quesadillas- The Perfect TV Snack

Quesadillas. Bite into the crispy tortilla and sink your teeth in gooey oh so good melted cheese that goes stringy as you part your mouth from the quesadillas. It's one of those things you can't seem to stop eating, the perfect TV snack. For an extremely simple quesadillas for your nights in to cuddle with your favourite TV show, here's how! All you need is four main ingredients and don't forget to be generous with the cheese!

Ingredients:

• Tortillas
• Mozarella/Cheddar Cheese
• Tomatoes
• Minced meat
• Salt and Pepper

Steps: 

1. Cook your minced meat with some salt, pepper and Hp sauce. Once cooked, leave aside. 
2. Make some salsa (Diced tomatoes, finely chopped coriander, onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper). Leave aside. 
3. Start by heating up one tortilla on a clean pan. Put some cheese on the face of the tortilla before putting anything else for it to hold all the ingredients together. Don't put too much as you will be adding more after.
4. Once the cheese is almost fully melted, add the meat and salsa, and MORE cheese after. 
5. Put another tortilla on top and flip it over allowing the cheese on the other side to melt. 
6. When the tortillas have got a golden brown colour and the cheese is all melted, it's ready to serve! 
7. Cut them into wedges and you can serve it with the salsa or some guacamole! 

Beef Burger

I love burgers. I don't think that needs any further explanation. Lately in Kuala Lumpur there has been a big craze over burgers and burger places seem to be popping up just about everywhere! We're all looking for that good burger, juicy and just the right size to hold in your hands to devour. The best for me would be on a sesame seed bun, a juicy patty, good ol' bacon and with just enough vege to give it that freshness. Here's Tummy Thrills' take on a simple Beef Burger.

'
Hamburger buns.

Mayo and Butter.

Ingredients

• Hamburger buns
• Mayonaise
• Butter
• Minced Beef
• Bacon
• HP Sauce
• Onions
• Lettuce
• Bacon
• Rosemary
• Oil, Pepper, Salt, sugar

Steps

1. Place minced beef in a bowl. Add 2tbsp of HP Sauce or Worcestershire sauce. Add a some black pepper, a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar. Mix well. Leave to marinade for at least 30 minutes.
2. Fry the bacon until crisp. 
3. After taking the bacon off the pan, use the bacon oil to sauté the onions. Place sautéed onions into a bowl.
4. Using your hands, take the minced meat and shape them into patties with the middle lower than the sides to ensure that after cooking you will have a leveled patty.
5. Add some more oil to the pan and place a stick of rosemary into the pan to flavour the oil. Once pan is hot, place meat patties onto the pan. Do not press the patties down as this will cause the patty to lose its juices and become dry.
6. After about 3-5 minutes, the patty should be cooked. You can check this by poking the patty a little to see if it is still soft. Personally prefer my patties medium-well.
7. Add a slice of cheese over the patty to melt. 
8. Butter the buns and toast in the oven.  Spread some mayonaise onto the bun.
9. Assemble your burger and enjoy!