Noodle Isle - Spicy Fried Bihun

I made this fried bihun (or rice vermicelli or rice noodle) this morning for breakfast.

It is a simple dish to be made in the morning. I took me about 1hour in total. That is not bad at all for me since I am a slow cooker. But I made it a bit too spicy! Too much chillies... And should have add in some meat - chicken or beef... 

Nevertheless, it is quiet nice and most important of all - quick! Only use very little ingredients :) I pretty much just use whatever it is that I have in my fridge. 

Spicy Fried Bihun

Ingredients 

500gr vermicelli 

3 eggs - lightly beat

1 bunch of snake bean 

10 chillies (I mixed about 4 big chillies and 6 small very hot chillies)

5 cloves garlic

10 cloves shallot

cooking oil

soy sauce

ground white pepper

you can adjust the ingredients according to your preference

Methods

1. Soaked the vermicelli in water (the packaging suggests to use cold water so I did. The result is a bit of a hard noodle. If you prefer a softer noodle, I think soaking in hot water or lukewarm will be better)
2. Chopped snake beans to small pieces (about 1 cm)
3. Blend all chillies, garlic and shallot (you can chopped or minced them manually. I am just lazy, so I used my lovely hand blender :) )
4. Heat up the wok and add cooking oil.
5. Put in the beaten eggs, stir occasionally. After it is golden, set the eggs aside.
6. Add oil into the wok. After the oil is hot, put in the blended ingredients. 
7. Once they are aromatic, put the fried eggs and chopped beans. Mixed them well.
8. Then put in the vermicelli. Stirred until everything is combined.
9. Add soy sauce and ground white pepper to taste. 
10. And there you have it... a simple fried vermicelli! 

Result

 

Muffin Isle - Cheese Muffins

Originally I wanted to try making Japanese cheesecake. Since it is tricky and I have some cheddar in my fridge, I go for an easier option - Cheddar Cheese Muffin. 


I searched a few websites for Cheese Muffins... Quite a few websites use paprika, which I don't have at home. So I browsed Joy of Baking website - Muffin section. There is no cheese muffins recipe, but I did found a chocolate chips muffins. I used that recipe, with some adjustment, and baked cheese muffins! 


Cheese Muffins (Using Cheddar)
(adapted from Joy of Baking)


Ingredients
113 grams unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
240 ml milk
1/2 teaspoons vanilla crystal
260 grams all-purpose flour
50 grams granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
90 grams cheddar
make 12 muffins

Methods

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Position rack in center of oven. Butter, or line with paper liners, 12 - 2 3/4 x 1 1/2 inch muffin cups.
2. In a large measuring cup or bowl whisk together the eggs and milk - wet ingredients. 
3. In another large bowl whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, vanilla crystal and salt. Stir in the cheddar, left some for toppings. With a rubber spatula fold the wet ingredients, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients and stir only until the ingredients are combined. Do not over mix the batter or tough muffins will result. 
4. Evenly fill the muffin cups with the batter, fill about 2/3 of the cup. Then sprinkle a some leftover cheddar on each muffin. Place in the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 18 - 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from pan. 

Result

My tester, i.e. husband, commented that it was a bit dry and not soft. I am guessing I over-mixed the batter and probably over-baked. Well, at least he loved the cheese (I used kraft cheddar). 


We are going to have it for breakfast tomorrow :) 

Bread Isle - Banana Bread

Hello! This is my first blog. 


I am not sure what to start this with. So I figured, I will just blogged what I made yesterday - Banana Bread :)


I did not plan to make this bread until Monday afternoon, when I received a bunch of bananas! I don't think my husband and I can finished all before they are spoilt so baking them is the solution to get rid of half. 


I baked banana bread before and I loved it. Since my recipe books are not with me, I search the net and found this recipe.


Banana Bread Recipe
(Source: Joy of Baking)


Ingredients


1 cup (115 grams) walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)  (I omitted this because I don't have any at home)
1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar (I reduced this to 100grams + 30grams of brown sugar --> my husband is not a big fan of sweet stuffs)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda (I substituted this with 1/2 tsp of baking powder)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I omitted this because I don't have any at home)
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup (113 grams) unsalted butter, melted and cooled (I used about 80grams of unsalted butter + 25grams of margarine)
3 ripe large bananas (approximately 1 pound or 454 grams), mashed well (about 1-1/2 cups) (I used 4 since the bananas I have are quite small)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I omitted this because I don't have any at home)


Methods 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place oven rack to middle position. Butter and flour (or spray with a non stick vegetable/flour spray) the bottom and sides of a 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pan. Set aside.
2. Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted. Let cool and then chop coarsely.  
3. In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nuts. Set aside.
4. In a medium-sized bowl combine the mashed bananas, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla. With a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, lightly fold the wet ingredients (banana mixture) into the dry ingredients just until combined and the batter is thick and chunky. (The important thing is not to over mix the batter. You do not want it smooth. Over mixing the batter will yield tough, rubbery bread). Scrape batter into prepared pan. Bake until bread is golden brown and a  toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes (Mine took about 50mins, I think it is because I have a longer pan then the one suggested). Place on a wire rack to cool and then remove the bread from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature. This bread can be frozen.

Result

Well, I like it! It is simple yet delicious even with some ingredients missing and substituted. Although my husband mentioned, it is a bit too "sticky". I am guessing that is because of the margarine. I should stick with butter and some walnuts next time! 


I am not sure if I should put this into Afternoon snacks Isle or Breakfast Isle (since I did have this for breakfast)... but I think "Bread" should have a special attention! So this is going into my Bread Isle category.