Almond Nestum Cookies/Nestum杏仁曲奇饼

Making cookies is one of the easiest in baking. And making these Almond Nestum Cookies is even easier. You don't even need a mixer or a food processor. The whole process is forgiving whereby you could shape the cookies into any shapes that you fancy and it does not burn easily. When I was making this cookie, immediately I thought of my Muslim counterparts who are fasting in this Ramadhan month. This is an ideal snack since it is so effortless to make. It also makes perfect gift.

Easy Turmeric Rice/Nasi Kunyit 黃薑飯 (Rice Cooker Method)

My mother told me today that she would be cooking chicken curry. Immediately I thought of cooking a small portion of nasi kunyit or turmeric rice to go with it. But how?

The traditional nasi kunyit requires us to pre-soak the rice for hours in turmeric and then steam. It also requires us to add coconut milk in 2 to 3 intervals, mixing in every intervals. Frankly saying, the amount of work for such small amount of yellow rice is often a put off, what more when I am in a hurry to cook some? So I improvised. I used the rice cooker. Yes, it can be done.

Black Pepper Beef 黑椒牛肉

What was meant to be a post on doughnuts became a typical Chinese stir-fried. Yes, I screwed up again. My doughnuts looked like biscuit, unworthy of mention. But all for the better because this black pepper beef is so good I ate a good portion of it.

Many Chinese dishes are stir-fried and mostly in high temperature to get it fragrant. The Chinese call this "wok hei" or breath of wok, very important in Chinese cooking. The high heat fittingly brings out that peppery fragrant with a slight sting to the tongue. Do be careful though as this dish is very "heaty" in nature. So make sure you drink a lot of water or herbal tea or you might just risk getting ulcer or falling sick (the Chinese believe that too much of the "yang" element would upset the balance in the body and hence, making you sick) .