Super Easy Fruit Sorbet - Nova Gelato Maker

How to make super easy fruit sorbet at home without an ice cream maker or manually "churning" for hours? I'm so glad I've found Nova gelato maker!

(This is not an advert, Nova does not sponsor this post nor gave me any free product hehehe).

So easy to make icy fruity dessert that's perfect for summer, healthier, and fun for OB to make!

To make, simply freeze cut up fruits. We made strawberries, lychee & blueberries.

Aren't they gorgeous?

The possibility is limitless. You can use mango, pineapple, banana, yoghurt, add crushed oreos for texture, shaved chocolate, and even booze! Uh huh!

To start making, simply thaw the frozen fruits for 15 minutes & dump them into the chute.

OB loves helping out!

And you have lovely fresh gelato, sorbet, icy fruit, or whatever you wanna call it. 

The machine doesn't take so much space & easy to clean too!

It's HK$880 if bought from their website, price could be cheaper in some other shops (I bought from Patisserie Corner for HK$700).

Here's their official website: en.nova-greenliving.com

How To Make Easy No Bake Chocolate Pots de Creme with Fresh Berries And Fruit Compote

A super duper easy dessert to make. Totally right up my alley.

Luscious chocolate, a kick of tartness from the compote and fresh summer berries.

Perfect.
Recipe
(adapted from May's recipes Chocolate Pot De Creme)
Serves 6 (but I made this into 4 bigger portions)
The chocolate
- 100g dark chocolate
- 1/2 tsp instant coffee
- 250 ml cream
- 30g white sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 tsp whiskey (omit if making for kids)
- a pinch of sea salt

Chop chocolate, place into mixing bowl.
Put cream and sugar into saucepan, add vanilla and salt. Bring to almost boil.
Pour into chopped chocolate, add instant coffee & whiskey. Set for 1 minute, beat until smooth and shiny.
Pour into ramekins, let cool, chill for at least 5 hours.

The fruit compote (optional)
- a handful of berries (I used 3 strawberries and 7 blueberries)
- a tbsp of water
- 1 tsp sugar
Chop berries, place in sauce pan, cook using low heat. Keep cooking until fruit became softened and produced some liquid. Add a bit of water if needed. Add sugar bit by bit until you achieve balance between tartness and sweetness. Let cool, add into chocolate pot de creme with fresh fruits...

...or eat with toasts, or croissants, or bacon... the sky is the limit really.

Now... dig into that luscious pot of chocolatey fruity goodness.

Happy summer!

Hong Kong Farmers Market - Crossroads Foundation - Tuen Mun - Part 1

A farmers market in Hong Kong? Really? Seriously?
Uh huh!
Here are some pictures from that super fun day.

Produce, glorious produce <3



Lovely people.




So cute!


Teeny tiny melon! I bought this :)


I bought dry and fresh rosella too!


My favorite veggie, tong ho!




Colorful chillies. So pretty!


Handmade noodles.


Next time we should bring a portable hotpot.


My two boys had so much fun there.


There's a lovely cafe and a charming shop selling arts and crafts.
Part 2 photos coming up, stay tuned :)

To find out more about Crossroads foundation, check out their website.

Rujak Serut - Indonesian Shredded Fruit Salad

The perfect little salad for summer. Ultra refreshing, very appetizing, full of textures and flavors. I love this as an appetizer, side dish, snack or even dessert. Making this does require quite a bit of work shredding the fruits, but the result's totally worth it.

The fruits

These super cute and adorable rose apples. I love the bit of crunch and spongy texture, its sweetness with a bit of tang, and its adorable shade of pink!


These green mangoes have deep yellow interior. The texture's firmer than the yellow ripe mango, it's very fragrant, it almost has coconutty/floral scent, and it is very sweet. I pretty much gnaw on the thin and small seed to clean up the part of the flesh which I could not shred. The cook's prerogative!


Jicama is a must in many Indonesian fruit salads. It gives the combo a nice crunch, with fresh yet earthy flavor.

I've also used fresh ripe pineapple, which I didn't photograph because I am forgetful. But I am sure everyone has seen pineapples before. Golden deliciousness!

Peel and shred all the fruit into matchsticks (except the rose apples, simple remove the core and chop away). I just used half a jicama, 1 mango, 2 rose apples and half a pineapple.

The combination of fruits is not fixed. Feel free to use anything which are available in your area.

The palm sugar dressing

The majority of the dressing is palm sugar, for its deep, sweet, coconutty, almost caramel-ish flavor; then salt to balance the sweetness; tamarind paste and lime for the sourness; a touch of shrimp paste for that extra savory umami-ness; and bird's eye chillies for the hot slap on the face.

I didn't exactly measure when I made the dressing, I started with a few chunks of palm sugar pieces, a tsp of sea salt, a tiny drop of shrimp paste, 1 tsp tamarind paste, 1 chilli, juice of 1 lime and a bit of hot water. I mix them together and keep adjusting the flavors to achieve the perfect balance of everything. The paste would be thick in the beginning, you can dissolve it by adding more hot water until you reach a thin-ish syrupy consistency (I should be killed for my very unclear "description", I know) and keep adjusting the flavors as you're thinning the dressing.

This is the kind of salad that needs quite a bit of dressing. All the fruits should be able to get just submerged in the dressing to let all the flavors marry.

Pour dressing over all the shredded fruits and refrigerate. The already multi-faceted flavors of the dressing will be combined with all the different juices from the fruits, you can imagine how complex it is, but yet...perfectly balanced. Just before serving, squeeze a bit of lime juice for that final punch.


Serve cold, of you can even add ice. If you wish, top with a bit of roasted nuts for more crunch.

Enjoy...and happy Friday!

Another Favorite Summer Snack - Cold Fresh Longans

Another favorite refreshing snack for summer, cold fresh longans.


I haven't found a way to work with longan as I found it best as is.
Have you done something with longan in sweet or savory dishes?
Do share your ideas.


Baby M, curious as always...

My Bastardized Sangria

I could really use some of this right now.
Red wine, diced strawberries, peaches, pears, sprite and ice.
Cheers!

Canned Food Party

Celebrating our love for canned food, a few close friends and I decided to have a canned food party, or was it actually my excuse for serving my guests with bad food? Ahem ahem ;)

Here are the easy breezy food I served that day...
Canned Fruit Salad

- 1 can of mandarin oranges, drained
- 1 can of peaches, drained
- 1 can of grapes, drained
Dressed with mango yoghurt, a bit of condensed milk, lemon zest and lemon juice.
Easy peasy. PS. You can also use a mixed fruit cocktail.

Corn Kernels with Bacon and Coriander

- 1 can of corn kernels, drained
- a few slices of bacon, cut into small pieces
- a sprig of coriander, chopped
- lemon juice, black pepper
Cook bacon pieces in a hot pan until they're browned and most of the fat has been rendered, add corn, let brown, add coriander at the end, add black pepper and squirt some lemon juice.
Done and done.

Indonesian Home Style Sop Ayam (Clear Chicken Soup)

- 1 small chicken, remove excess fat and most of skin
- 3 cloves of shallot, cut into sections
- 2 carrots, peeled and cut into 3mm thick chunks
- 1 small potato, cut into cubes
- a handful of macaroni (since I don't have them, I used fusili)
- half a can of hot dogs (cut into chunks)
- half a can of spam (cut into cubes)
- olive oil, ground nutmeg, hot water, salt, pepper, crispy shallot, spring onion/Indonesian celery/coriander

Saute shallot in hot olive oil, add chicken, add carrot and potato chunks, add hot water, bring to boil, cook until you have a nice chicken stock and the carrot and potato chunks are tender, add hot dog and spam chunks, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, garnish with crispy shallot and greens, serve.

Since back home we serve sop with perkedel (Indonesian potato cakes), I tried to make my own perkedels (again, after failing many times)...

Perkedel Kornet (Indonesian Potato Cakes with Corned Beef)
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- 2 large potatoes, peeled and sliced (about 2-3 mm thick)
- 3-4 tablespoon canned corned beef
- crispy shallot
- 1 egg, beaten
- ground nutmeg, salt, pepper, olive oil for frying and baking
I microwaved sliced potatoes on high for about 10 minutes, or until softened. They get a little watery after microwaving, thus, I drizzled a bit of olive oil and bake them in 200C oven until most of the liquid is gone (this way, it takes shorter time compared to baking the potatoes soft, and less greasy compared to deep frying the potatoes prior to mashing). Mash while the potato chunks are still warm (it's ok to leave a bit of chunks), add corned beef, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, crush some fried shallot into the mix (optional), and mix well. Roll about 1 tbsp of potato mix into a ball and flatten slightly. I refrigerated mine overnight, but if the potato balls are firm and dry enough, it is not necessary (I just couldn't risk another failure). Heat up oil for frying (medium heat), dip each potato cake into beaten egg and fry until golden brown. I've tried baking them, coating them in panko breadcrumbs etc, but nothing's as good as the authentic deep fried version ;)

My first successful perkedels! Yeahhhh~ it's a day to remember!

Baked Spam and Pineapple in Teriyaki Sauce

I've made this before...I liked it so much, I made it again! The recipe can be found here.

For dessert...I didn't wanna bake anything...I served a very summery Indonesian classic...
Iced Canned Fruit Mix

- 1 can of longan
- 1 can of lychee
- 1 can of rambutan
- ice, iced water
Mix the canned fruit with some of its syrup, add iced water and ice cubes until you achieve the desired level of sweetness, and serve ;)
Very very refreshing!

Could the above food (plus rice) serve 5 big eaters? Of course not! We also ordered 9 pieces of chicken from KFC with waffle fries ;) ...and we taught our Hong Kong friend to eat like a true Indonesian, i.e. plate instead of bowl, rice + corn + perkedel (carb+carb+carb), eat with your bare hand, shape rice and stuff into a small mountain, shove into mouth with your thumb...and don't forget...one leg up on the chair.

Too bad I didn't get a picture of that as my hand was dirty with food. The scene was priceless!

How High Will You Go? Pricey Fruits from Japan

I fancy myself as someone who lives to eat.
But I wonder, how far and how high exactly I would go for food?

Would I be willing to climb high mountains, swim across wild rivers, walk through fires, work my ass off, sell my soul, sell my cousin's soul, betray my best friend, or kill a raging dragon...for the best of foods?
OK, although reality is often weirder than fiction, but that's too much exaggeration.

Let's get real.
Would I be willing to shell out HK$275 (around USD35) for a melon? A beautiful Hokkaido King Ruby Melon that it was?...

...or HKD330 (USD42) for a pack of Kyoho grapes?

Turned out....
My cheap-ass self thought, if I liked the HKD17.90 melon and HK$10/lb grapes just fine, why should I go for the expensive versions?

However,
My curious-wanna-try-everything self wonder, are they really as good as their price tags?
I guess I should try them at least once.
Will I still be able to love el-cheapo melons and grapes after trying these supremes?
This worries me.

Have you tried any of them, guys?

Get 'em from City Super

Easy Mixed Fruit Crumble - Kitchen "Hand Jobs" - Yay or Nay?

"If it ain't broke, don't fix it". Errr....really? Not exactly my philosophy. I'd try improving stuff which didn't need improving...normally up to the point where I just ruined them completely. Because life without failures is boring. Wow! That's so going to my book of lame unquotable quotes.

So, when I hauled these beautiful freebie fruits from the office, I just had to do something with them instead of feasting on their sweet freshness.

Easy Mixed Fruit Crumble

I grabbed a pear, a fuji apple and a star fruit for this treat, see how gorgeous they are sprinkled with tiny bit of sugar and ground cinnamon....all pale yellow, loveliest shade of pink and pale green. I wish I could wear them!
You can leave the skin of the fruits, simply cut them into bite sized chunks and toss them into an oven proof pan (I used a rectangular loaf pan), sprinkle with a bit of sugar (or not at all) and ground cinnamon.

Crumble Topping
Recipe
(adapted from here)
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar (or caster sugar)
- 1/2 cup firm butter (cut into cubes)
- dashes of cinnamon

Mix everything in a mixing bowl, mix them about with your hands, spread the dough on top of the fruit, dump the whole thing into a preheated oven (200C) and bake until golden brown (mine took about 15 minutes).


Now, now, now. What's up with the "hand job" thing?

Ehm, when I was working on the crumble topping with my hands, the feeling of touching the cold and satiny butter...the stickiness of the whole concoction...it sent me back to the moment when I was back in Indonesia, learning how to cook for the very first time.

Do you remember the first time you had to work with raw ingredients? The first time you had to touch a chunk of raw meat?

Growing up in Indonesia, dealing with food using my bare hands should have not been something strange for me. I enjoy eating the most when I could wrestle the food with my bare hands.

But raw ingredients, especially meat and fish....for me, it was all ew ew ew ew ew EW! It was all soft, springy and slippery...it smelt weird (not good weird)...it was nothing like the end products, which I love very much! Again, ew!

But once I got used to it, I kinda love working in the kitchen with my bare hands (except when touching the hot oven/pot/pans)...I get to feel my ingredients and learn to see if they are good or bad, seeing how they evolve from one form to another, from fresh to fabulous.

Back to my easy crumble...well, I think anything would taste fantastic with sweet and crunchy crumble topping, and these fruits were no exception.

I wondered if the star fruit would work for this, and it did. The refreshing sweetness with a touch of tang made the fruit perfect for this....and the pretty shape made it the star of the dish.

If you'd excuse me, I have another "hand job" to do....
Dish washing.
Ew.

Honey Pork and Grapes with Chinese Soup - What Does Your Mug Say about You?

Hungry no more, people! This food scavenger found another treat after a dig. Gosh, there are so many hideous food photographs I found in my hard disk, they made me cringe...with happiness, knowing how far I've come...although I also know how far I still need to go. You can check out my earlier posts to see how hideous my photos were.

Back to food, you know how we love combining sweet, sour and savoury, right? This is one of those combos that worked.
Honey Pork and Grapes Stir Fry

Recipe
- 0.7 lb of pork neck meat, sliced thinly
- half an onion, cut into big chunks
- 1 cup of green seedless grapes, halved
- honey, fish sauce, white pepper, olive oil

Saute onion in olive oil until fragrant and slightly caramelized, add pork neck meat, cook until the meat pieces as done, add fish sauce, add honey, add grapes and cook until the grapes are slightly caramelised. Serve with steamed rice and wash it down with...

Pork Bone and Hairy Melon Soup

Recipe
- 1 lb pork bone (you can use ribs)
- 2 hairy melons, peel, cut into big chunks
- hot water, salt, pepper
I used pressure cooker, so it was quick, but you can cook this in any pot. Throw pork bones into boiling water, cook for minimum 1.5 hours (for non pressure cooker). With pressure cooker, you just need 20-25 minutes. Add pieces of melons, cook until softened, season with salt and pepper, serve. Light, clear, and refreshing.

What Does Your Mug Say about You?
Now, an exhibitionist that I am, I love doing or using everything that reflects me. Home decor, clothings, food, you name it. So, I love these mugs from Indigo, Prince's Building, Central. Choose one that reflects who you are: Toy Boy? high maintenance? daddy cool? yum mum? cheeky monkey?

For myself, this time of the month, I think I'd have to custom order Raging Bitch.

Easy Spicy Pineapple Minced Beef with Green Peas

I am keeping it simple this time.

I love the four S(es) in food: Spicy. Sweet. Sour. Savoury.

Spicy = tiny bits of red chilli
Sweet = ripe pineapple, onion and green peas
Sour = still from the pineapple
Savoury = garlic and minced beef

This was done when sous chef was still in low iodine diet. I was amazed how little seasoning I had to add to make this dish flavorful. For your information, sous chef is now like a culinary prisoner on the loose, ravishing everything he was not allowed to eat. Ehm. That can't be good.

Easy Spicy Pineapple Minced Beef with Green Peas

Recipe
- 1 small ripe pineapple (you can replace it with canned pineapple, but it is best if you can get fresh, ripe pineapple), cut into bite sized chunks
- 3 chilli, chopped (adjust to match your heat tolerance)
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 lb minced beef
- 3/4 cup green peas
- olive oil, salt, pepper, sugar

Saute garlic, chilli, onion in hot oil until fragrant, throw in minced beef, you will see it change color, add pineapple chunks, add green peas, season, done.

You can also incorporate rice/noodles/pasta into this dish. Ah, it's more than just 4 S, it's SSSH! H for healthy ^_^ (oh man, can someone stop her from being so cheesy?).

My telephatical-mind readerish radar sensed that sous chef is sick of my cooking and will want KFC for tonight's dinner. Yum! Oh, maybe that's just me.