Raw Sugar Meringues

These delectable little confections seem like they're made of air and sugar - sugary air, if you like. They are excellent treats for those with a sweet tooth, as they are super sweet and crunchy and don't fill you up all that much. (I do know someone - who shall remain nameless - who ate so many meringues that the person felt quite sick after that. This is really not advisable. no matter how much you like sweet things :P) Although the actual recipe is really quite simple, meringues can be quite tricky to make properly. I'll give you a few tips, but before that:

What you need:
3/4 cup raw sugar
1/4 cup water
1 egg white
1 teaspoon white vinegar
2 teaspoons cornflour

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 120 C.
2. Combine sugar and water in small pan, stir over medium heat, without boiling, until sugar is dissolved. Do not evaporate liquid during this process. Bring to boil, remove from heat.
3. Beat egg white in small bowl with an electric mixer until stiff peaks form. With motor operating, add vinegar and cornflour, then gradually pour hot syrup into egg white in thin stream.
4. Beat mixture for about 5 minutes, or until it holds its shape.
5. Spoon meringue mixture into piping bag (or syringe) fitted with a fluted tube. Pipe small meringue shapes (circles, stars, etc) about 3 cm apart on baking paper-covered oven trays.
6. Bake in oven for about 1 hour or until meringues are dry to touch. Turn oven off, leave meringues to cool in oven with door ajar.

First thing is, its better to have at least two people working on this. One person can handle the sugar solution, the other person handles the egg white. Unfortunately, the thing about meringues is that they are either a success, or they aren't. Only very rarely do you get mediocre meringues.

Make sure that the egg you use is fresh, otherwise the egg white won't rise properly. When beating the egg, make sure its stiff enough by turning the bowl upside down (carefully). If the egg white starts to slide, you haven't beaten it enough. Beat it again. ;)

All the utensils you use to beat the egg white - the bowl, the whisks - should all be completely clean and dry. Like melting chocolate, the whole process can be completely ruined by a single drop of water. The egg should also be at room temperature when you use it.

Adding the syrup to the egg white can be tricky. You can't pour it in too fast, otherwise you'll just end up with what looks like very thick white paint. Like it says above, add it in a THIN stream. If the mixture starts looking a bit watery, stop adding the syrup and beat for awhile before continuing. Don't wait too long however, as the sugar solution has to be hot. Likewise, don't wait too long before baking the meringues, otherwise the egg white will just collapse.

Cooked meringues should be crisp both outside and inside. Make sure the oven is hot enough before you put the tray in. If the temperature is too low, the meringues won't cook properly, but if it is too high (or baked for too long), they'll burn to a crisp (with a gooey inside still). So oven temperature is also important. Because of Brunei's humid climate, make sure to keep meringues in an air-tight container. Otherwise, they get sticky really easily.

If you don't know where to get raw sugar (though it should be available in most supermarkets) just use normal granulated sugar. I've used this, to no ill effects. Raw sugar does add a little flavour, I admit.

And there you have it! It might be a bit tricky at first, but eventually, you'll get the hang of it. This is a big favorite with our house during Hari Raya. It was so popular, that once, we made loads and loads and gave a container each to all our relatives. Now that was exhausting... -_-;;

PS My meringues this time round look, a bit... well, strange. I am really out of practice -_- Ideally, they should hold their piped shape while they are baking. I don't know why my meringues expanded in the oven instead. Too much hot air, maybe :P But don't worry about the cracks, these are completely normal. Theough they really shouldn't be all that big -_- Oh well...

So yeah.... good luck in making these. Make them often enough, and you'll be a pro in no time at all. Just watch out for people on a sugar high ;)

Sushi Tei

I'm sure most everyone in Brunei knows about this restuarant, since their posters have been up everywhere for ages. They just opened a couple of days ago (in fact, I think it was yesterday!) so we thought we'd go and check it out.

First impression of the place was quite good. There was definitely a Japanese feel to it (although Azriana said that the hanging leaves made her feel like she was in someone's house???) although I still prefer the atmosphere of Kaizen Sushi. We made a major booboo though, and didn't call in to reserve so we had to wait for AGES before we were finally able to get a table. Most other people had left since they didn't to wait, but we were dedicated enough (or maybe just stupid...) to stick it through.

Once we finally got a table though, the waiting didn't end. No one served us, we had to wait for almost 10 minutes before we were finally able to place our orders. The menu was nice enough, though it had a cheap feel to it. Prices were in Excapades Sushi's range, so it was ok, I guess. The variety of foods being offered was quite limited though, although maybe that's because they just opened?

Azriana was the only one who ordered sushi (California Maki and Salmon Hand Rolled Sushi - yey! I remember the names!), while Hadi and I opted for Salmon Teriyaki don and Chicken Teriyaki don. Food didn't take all that long to come, which was a nice surprise. The food was a surprise as well - though quite a bad one.

Hadi said that the California maki looked mal nourished. True enough, there was hardly any crab pieces in it, and it looked kind of deformed. He was also mad that they didn't have salmon don (raw salmon on rice) and only had salmon teriyaki don. My chicken teriyaki on the other hand was slightly undercooked in some places (salmonella, anyone? :P) and tasted a bit like smoky ayam kicap. AND THEY CHARGED US A DOLLAR EACH FOR OUR WATER. (I think they only had green tea and water for drinks - no drinks were in the menu)

So yeah, I am quite disappointed with Sushi Tei. And I forgot to bring my camera as well, so I apologise for the really bad photos, since those were taken with a mobile phone. Final verdict is - I won't go there again anytime soon, I think. Not until they improve the menu and food a little. One thing that appeased us was that we got free fancy chopsticks. Yey? :P

PS I've deleted the original photos, and can't seem to retrieve the ones I uploaded to Friendster. So you're stuck with those tiny thumbnails, sorry. But its no big loss :P

Chicken Pie

Actually, now that I think of it, my house does have quite a number of specialty dishes. It was just that we didn't have time to make them during our last barbecue. Our house chicken pie is not the wimpy bite-sized "pies" that you sometimes get during weddings and various functions. Our pie is big, with loads and loads of juicy chicken filling, even with cheese, all locked in a delicious shortcrust pastry! Here's what you need to do:

What you need:
Crust:
Plain flour (225g)
Salt (1/4 teaspoon)
Butter, chilled and diced (115g)
Iced water (3-4 tablespoon)
Filling:
Chicken - any piece
French fries, unfried
Chicken stock
Cornflour

Salt and Pepper, for seasoning

What you do:

1. To make the filling, first boil the chicken until cooked. If using chicken with bones, boil until the meat falls off. Collect the chicken meat and drain, reserve the boiling water. Mince the chicken, either shredding finely by hand, or with a electrical grinder. Or, you can just be lazy and use pre-minced chicken, but the results are not as nice (in my humble opinion, anyway)
2. Return the minced chicken into the pot, add chopped uncooked french fries and more water, if necassary. Add seasonings - chicken stock, salt and black pepper. Simmer until very water is left. Add in cornflour mixed in with a little water to thicken it. Make sure its still moist, or your filling will be too dry.
3. To make the crust, rub the butter, flour and salt until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Sprinkle some water into it. Combine gently with your fingers. If its too dry, add some more water. Don't make it too moist either.
4. Shape the dough into an oval and wrap in cling wrap. Chill in the fridge at least 30 minutes before using.
5. To assemble the pie, roll out the pie crust dough with a rolling pin, and place it in a pie tin. Bake it empty at 190 C for 5 - 10 minutes (weighed down with an oven proof dish or baking beans. Remove weights and bake for another 10 minutes.
6. Fill the dish with the chicken filling. Place slices of cheese over the filling before covering the pie with more crust dough. Bake for another 20 minutes at 190 C. Alternatively, you can also cover with foil and store in the fridge for not more than a week.

That was quite hard to write out -_-;; It may sound a bit complicated, but its really quite easy. I can't quite make the shortcrust pastry myself though. Ibu usually handles that, and she doesn't usually use specific amounts. So the recipe I gave to you up there is from a book. I've never tried it though, sorry :P Should be fine, though... I think... :P

Anyway, if you want, you can season the pastry dough with other things, other than salt. Feel free to add in things like pepper, garlic powder, various herbs, maybe even Parmesan cheese? Should be quite yummy, I think. :D

But even without those additions, a well-made pastry is delicious. I would not be exaggerating when I say that the quality of the pastry of the pie would determine at least half of its yumminess factor. I can't quite make it all that well yet, but apparently, the pastry I made last time in UK was way better than the one that I had bought ready-made. So stay clear of those. Though I don't really know whether you can find them in Brunei.

Our pie tin is big enough so that you can cut yourself a nice big slice, as you can see from the picture. (No, I have no idea why the filling looks pink. Must be the light). But, we also have a pie maker (which is years and years old) which is quite funky, hehe. You just place the pastry in it, fill it up with filling and cover it, and you'll get a nicely shaped pie, like so. The first round is fine, but once the machine gets hot, its quite fiddly to use. Oh well, I still like it anyway :P

Sesame Chicken

Right now, I've been designated the "chef" (ahem.) for most of my house's lunches as well as some dinners, so I have been cooking quite a bit, but I've mostly been repeating dishes from UK. This is another one of the rare new recipes that I've tried since coming back to Brunei. Here's how to do it:

What you need:
Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into small strips
Cornflour
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
4 spring onions, sliced diagonally
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted
Vegetable or peanut oil, for frying
Stirfry sauce:
4 tablespoons teriyaki marinade (or light soy sauce)
4 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoon water
4 teaspoons cornflour

What you do:

1. To make the stirfry sauce, combine the hoisin and teriyaki sauces, cornflour and water in a small bowl. Set aside until needed.
2. Coat the chicken strips in cornflour and deepfry (or shallow fry, if you wish) until golden and crispy.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil and sesame oil in a wok. Add the spring onion, garlic and ginger, and stirfry for about a minute.
4. Add the fried chicken into the wok, add the stirfry sauce and stir until the sauce thickens and everything is combines. Toss in the sesame seeds, then serve immediately with steamed rice.

I must say, this dish looks really good. I love the sesame seeds, hehe, and the spring onions add a nice splash of green (which I hardly get in my dishes :P) The original recipe actually asked for additional vegetables, 2 carrots (julienned) and 200g snake beans (sliced). Add this into the wok after step 3 and stirfry until they are almost cooked (about 3 minutes) if you want to add them in.

The dish also tastes quite nice. The addition of the teriyaki sauce counterbalances the strong taste of the hoisin sauce (although hoisin was still the main flavour). Even my brother who isn't a fan of hoisin sauce ate this, so it really isn't all that strong. Or maybe he was just hungry :P Although I do have to admit that my sister didn't like this one all that much, she did still eat it anyway.

I think the main problem is the hoisin sauce. You either like it, or you don't. I don't quite like it, although I will still eat it (after having it for dinner several times in UK -_-;). One funny thing about hoisin sauce though. Hadi says the one in UK tasted better, even though we bought the same brand. The only difference was that the jar in UK was opened for several months, even though the label said we were supposed to consume it within 3 weeks. So it was basically expired....but Hadi liked it better, said it had a stronger taste. I don't know what to say -_- To me, both of them tasted quite similar... but Hadi is a huge fan of hoisin sauce, so I suppose he would know?

Beef Lasagne

Lasagna is one of the calorific foods there is. All the beef, the creamy white sauce, the cheese... Unfortunately, the things that make it so bad is what makes it taste so good! Lasagna is a very rich food, it has to be. Otherwise, it can't be considered lasagna ;) Here's how to make your own:

What you need:
Lasagna sheets
Cheese: I use Cheddar, Mozzarella and Parmesan
Salt and pepper, for seasoning

Meat Sauce:
Minced beef
Pasta sauce
Tomato sauce
Onions, sliced thinly
Garlic, chopped into small pieces

White sauce:
Butter
Flour
Milk

What you do:

1. To make the meat sauce, saute the onions and garlic until softened. Add the minced beef and cook until browned. Add the pasta and tomato sauce, season well with salt and pepper. Simmer until the beef is cooked.
2. To make the white sauce, melt the butter (or margarine) over a low heat. Add the flour and stir to form a smooth paste (The butter is in a larger proportion compared to the flour). Add the milk gradually, stirring constantly. Stir over medium heat until the sauce is nice and thick. Season with salt and pepper (and even cheese, if you want)
3. To assemble the lasagna, place a layer of the meat sauce at the bottom of a large oven-proof dish. Place sheets of lasagna over it and top with white sauce. Sprinkle with some cheese if you want, over the white sauce. Place more sheets of lasagna over this, and spread another layer of the meat sauce.
4. Repeat step 3, until the dish is full. End with at least 2 layers of white sauce, if possible. Sprinkle lots and lots of cheese over the top of the lasagna.
5. Bake at 180 C for about half an hour, until the cheese is nice and bubbly and golden. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before enjoying!

And there you have it! Lasagna looks impressive, yet is quite simple to make. The nice thing about it is that you can modify it to suit your taste. Feel free to add veggies (such as carrots or celery) into the meat sauce. You can even season both sauces with various herbs, perhaps oregano and basil for the meat sauce, and parsley for the white sauce? Up to you :D Feel free to modify the flavourings of the meat sauce as well. Some people are not fond of the tomato taste :P Oh, and don't be tempted to buy the red and white sauces for lasagna of various brands, sold in supermarkets. I tried this once, made my lasagna taste like rubber, which was moderately disgusting. The white sauce, especially, was not so yummy...

This was my first time making lasagna myself (well, with a tiny bit of help from Hanisah, the cheese sprinkler :P) since I usually have Ibu or Ka Anum to help - or rather I just help them. But for a first time effort, it really wasn't all that bad. In fact, it was quite delicious, if I do say so myself, ehehe.

Lasagna has always been popular in my house (one of our specialty dishes, I guess ;)) Our neighbour/cousins also happened to be over when I served this, so they had a taste as well. People said it was "different" from our usual lasagna, but was still very yummy. Three of them managed to finish 3/4 of one dish, and another three managed to finish almost all of the other dish. And these are fairly large dishes, mind you. The only complaint I got was because I added sausages into the meat sauce, and apparently, this doesn't go very well with the whole thing. Oh well...live and learn :D

Chicken with Cheese and Pepperoni

This is one of my few 'hantam' recipes, or should we say... an Ihsan original ;) My brothers wanted a dish with chicken and cheese, so I *tried* to give them what they wanted. So here we go!

What you need:
Boneless skinless chicken breasts
Slices of chicken ... things, pastrami was it?
Cheddar cheese, grated
Beef pepperoni
Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper

What you do:

1. Pound the chicken breasts to about 1/4 of an inch of thickness with a mallet or a mortar. Season liberally with salt and pepper.
2. Place one of the chicken pastrami slices on the flattened chicken breast, and sprinkle some cheddar cheese on it. Roll it up tightly (but carefully) to for a chicken...roll :P (man, my instructions are just SO clear!)
3. Place some of the pepperoni on the chicken roll, and sprinkle both cheddar and parmesan cheeses on top.
4. Bake in an oven at 180 C for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked.

And here's how it looked like. The photo doesn't do it justice, unfortunately. They looked very pretty :P As for the taste, people quite liked it. Though there was the usual complaint of not enough seasonings.. Oh well... The cheese taste came out quite well. I actually wanted to use a cheese that one of my uncles had brought back from Holland, but I couldn't seem to find it. Oh well... Cheeses from Holland...now *they* are something different! They have so many different flavours! And the cheese specialty shops are fascinating!

Anyway, back to the point: I'm not sure what you can eat this with, actually. Probably potatoes, Hadi tried it with rice and apparently, it doesn't work so well. He also suggested using thigh fillets instead of breasts (as usual) since chicken thighs are much juicier than chicken breasts. It might be a bit hard to flatten the thigh enough without splattering it in all directions though. Oh well, worth a try, maybe.

The chicken was actually a bit too overdone. I was too involved in basketball at that point in time than in my cooking, and didn't pay it enough attention. Oh well, it turned out more or less ok in the end. Though...I had NO idea that pepperoni was so spicy! o.0