Homemade Ginger Powder (Bentong)

Ginger is a very popular ingredient in cooking especially during the confinement month. Normally the new mother under confinement would consume food or drinks made from ginger to get the wind and pain out of the body. The older generations always use it when we get cold or flu. Boil the sliced ginger and add in some sugar for sweetness (optional) and drink it while it's still warm. 

I prefer to make my own ginger powder because it is selling at a damn high price in the market now! But actually, the ginger that I bought is expensive too at 1kg for RM25. Besides that I don't really believe it when they claim that their ginger powder is 'pure' and not mixed with other cheaper powders.  Actually ginger powder is very easy to make it. So ladies, make your own powder!

Homemade Bentong Ginger Powder

Recipe source from : Fiona Low

What you need :-

-1kg of Bentong Ginger

-40g of Rock Sugar (optional)

Method :-

1) Firstly, wash the ginger by using a brush to clean it. Rinse with the running tap water until clean

2) With the skin on, slice the ginger into a very thin slice. Place them on the dehydration machine and set 12 hrs at 40 C (if you do not have the dehydration machine, dry them under the hot sun, maybe it will take 2 to 3 days)

3) Make sure it is dry enough, blend them into fine powder together with the rock sugar

Here you go. Now you can easily make your own ginger drink at home or anywhere without the need to boil it. Take a tea spoon of ginger powder and pour it into 350ml of hot water. Add 5 pcs of rock sugar or 1 tbsp of honey if you prefer a sweeter taste. I personally prefer to add in some honey. You can smell the heavenly ginger taste. The smell always makes me feel good!

Ginger is not my favorite cooking ingredient or drink until I made my own powder! I do not even eat or drink this during my first and second confinement. I really regretted not making this powder a few years ago. But anyhow, it's not too late to start drinking this now ~ haha

Make sure you buy pure Bentong ginger~Happy ginger~ing 

Homemade Pineapple Jam

I never make my pineapple jam until I bought my TM. As I know we need to keep stiring the jam to prevent burn. This will build a lot of muscles on my hand which i dont want haha... but I really don't want to stand at the stove for an hour just for this jam. So after I bought my TM, I started to make it. Only need around 30 minutes and it is done!

You can use any kind of pineapple as long as it is ripe. Mostly people will use Josapine or Morris pineapple for the jam (for pineapple tart). Me? I will use any of them and mostly from my after prayer hahaha. Normally, one month we have 2 times prayer 初一 and 十五. Sometime I will buy banana, sometime I will buy pineapple. 

Of course when come to ordering, I will buy those Josapine pineapple to make it. So above is the Josapine pineapple for your reference. Let's start my pineapple jam.

Homemade Pineapple Jam

Recipe source from : Fiona Low

What you need:
-3 pcs of Josapine Pineapple (make sure its ripe) ~ cut small
-200g of gula melaka (adjust according to your taste)
-1 pc star anise
-1 pc cinnamon
-3 cloves

Method:

1) Place the pineapple into the TM bowl. Turn to turbo function and 2 second x2
2) Remove half of the pineapple juice (u can drink it) and remained the half in the bowl. Add in the gula melaka, star anise, cinnamon and clove to cook for 20mins, Varoma, Speed 2 or until its dry up
3) Cool it down and keep in the clean tupperware and freeze it.

You can roll them up first and keep in the freezer. Each roll is around 15g. It can last for a few months. 

Deep fried bitter gourd

Bitter gourd? Deep fried bitter gourd? Where can you get fried bitter gourd? Normally you will get it when you dine in an Indian restaurant. They are very famous in making fried bitter gourd. This time I would like to try my own style of fried bitter gourd, since hubby always likes to eat it at Indian restaurant.

Deep Fried Bitter Gourd
Recipe source from : Fiona Low

What you need :
- One large bitter gourd (sliced)
-1/2 cup rice flour
-1/2 cup all purpose flour
-1/2 cup breadcrumbs
-1 tsp homemade garlic powder
-1 tsp homemade chicken powder
-a dash of pepper
-a pinch of salt

Method :
1) Mix all the dry ingredients in a large plate.
2) Heat up the oil for frying. Make sure the oil is enough to cover the bitter gourd later.
3) Coat the slice bitter gourd carefully and deep fried until golden brown
4) Put them in the kitchen towel to absorb the oil

 

 I never knew it was so easy to make. My hubby loves it so much. The texture of the bitter gourd is crispy, crunchy and it still maintains the natural bitter taste!

What do you think about it? You want to try it? haha, get up and start to go to pasar and get the fresh big bitter gourd back!

Cooked one for hubby's snack and another one dish for our dinner. My job is done by satisfying my hubby's cravings. Hope you like it too...

Homemade Sambal Belacan

Fuyooh......

Hello~everyone! Long time no news from me right? haha.. Yes, so sorry to keep you all waiting and I found out my last blog post was on July 2016. In these 2 years I was very busy with my personal life and it was a very long story. So, forget about the story and let me start with my Homemade Sambal Belacan.

I was always impressed by my Malay friends that are very clever in making sambal. Many years ago, when I started to enter my kitchen I told my self one day I will make my own Sambal Belacan and cook my own Nasi Lemak.

Initially, I thought that you need to be keep stirring the Sambal while standing over the stove for a few hours with all the thick red oil splashing everywhere. OMG! I would really give up. But hor.... now with my TM helper, hai~ya anytime, anywhere also I can cook it with no fuss.

The recipe of the Sambal was always in my 'to do list' so finally I can show it off now. Sounds great right haha~ Come and let me show you..

(Note : Technically, Sambal recipes are mostly using the same ingredients, what stands out is just the amount of  each ingredient is different)

Homemade Sambal Belacan
Recipe source from 'here and there'

What you need :-
Ingredients A
- 60g Dried Chillies (soaked)
- 6 cili padi
- 40g Belacan (pan fried for a while)
- 400g shallots (I used 'siam')
- 200g oil (I used fried shallot oil)

Ingredients B
- 350g big onion (sliced)
- 100g toasted anchovies
- 40g Asam Jawa juice
- 60g Sugar (using gula melaka would taste nicer)
- 10g sea salt

Method to cook with TM :-
1) Put in all Ingredients (A) into TM bowl to blend at 20sec at speed 10
2) Scrape everything downwards in the bowl and saute it till fragrant at 20mins/120c at speed 2
3) Add in Ingredients (B) to saute for another 5 mins/120c/reversed spoon

Deng Deng Deng... everything was done in just 25 mins! Believe me or not it's up to you haha...

Here is my homemade Sambal Belacan. Looks great right. Let's try~~

Wow~spicy!!! Nice~~ delicious! OMG, I cannot believe I can made my own Sambal Belacan with my own hands. Am I dreaming now??

All right! Here are my few dishes using my homemade Sambal Belacan. I promise I will update more dishes using my Sambal. Enjoy~~