the long and short of it

I must have moaned on countless occasions - both verbally and on paper how I simply cannot find fresh noodles in Prague. Well, that moaning has continued well into my pregnancy and there doesn't seem to be an end in sight.

Action usually speaks louder than words (in my case moaning) so I finally pulled my finger out and made some fresh noodles last weekend, rather than complain about the lack of them.

The recipe was nicked from a very good friend of mine, who also has her own food blog. She's a great cook and always makes us really delicious food whenever we go over to her place. Unfortunately, there's been a temporary suspension in the supply of her delicious cooking, because 1. we moved away to Prague and 2. she moved back home to Sydney. 

You can find her recipe for hand made noodles on her blog - Taiwanese Recipes along with some other scrumptious recipes.

I tried my best to recreate her hand made noodles - not bad for a first attempt.

serves: 2

nuts about you

With a little one on board, I know I need to consciously eat healthier, but healthy foods aren't always the tastiest foods. Instead of eating honey roasted cashews, I know I should really be eating raw cashews - the sugar content in those cashews aren't exactly that great for my blood sugar levels, but my argument is that honey is good for you - isn't it??

So I bought a small packet of raw almonds the other day in the attempt to snack "healthy" but couldn't bring myself to eat those bland little things. Instead, I remembered back to when my sister once made spiced nuts for a cocktail party she threw. This is my version of spiced nuts as I can't for the life of me remember what she stuck in hers, but they did taste good...

You can use any nut really for this mixture or if you can't decide, then try using a host of various nuts like pistachio, walnuts, hazelnuts etc. I prefer almonds in most cases.

You can store these nuts for a few days in an air tight container, but mine never really last past the day they are made. 

spiced almonds
created: 15 November 2012

[ingredients]:

• 1 egg white
• 150g of raw or blanched almonds
• 1/4 tsp of paprika
• 1/2 tsp of chilli powder (if you prefer them spicier, you could probably add another 1/4 tsp more)
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• pinch of sea salt

[method]: 

• preheat oven to 160C degrees (fan forced)
• line a baking tray with baking paper
• whisk the egg white until foamy
• add the paprika, chilli powder and cumin and mix well
• add the almonds and ensure each nut is well coated 
• there should not be any residual egg white, however if there is, drain away the excess egg white
• spread the nut mixture onto baking tray and sprinkle a pinch of sea salt over the nuts
• bake at 160C degrees for 10 minutes
• take the nuts out after 10 minutes and toss well to break up the nuts (if stuck together)
• place it back in the oven with grill function at 160C degrees for another 10 minutes (watch them closely in case your oven is not accurate and they end up burning!)
• allow to cool completely on a wire rack (nuts will crisp up once completely cooled)

black or white?

I know I have been M.I.A for some time now but I actually have a very good reason for that. 

Mr GluttonousGoat really did it this time and now I'm up the duff! Exciting times ahead as we are really looking forward to welcoming the new addition in spring (autumn if you are down under) next year. In the meantime, its been weeks of nausea and lack of appetite. I'm totally turned off meat and am seriously afraid it may become a permanent fixture after I have LittleGluttonousGoat. So you see, my reasons for being M.I.A are well and truly justified. I have lost my appetite and the list of food items that you CANNOT eat whilst pregnant is almost as long as The Great Wall of China - enough said.

Anyways, friends have asked if I have been craving anything of sorts now that I am expecting. Surprisingly, I have not, except that I now have an unhealthy (or healthy as the case may be) addiction to fresh fruit. I can eat the stuff by the bucketload and right now I'm going through a pomelo phase. I can eat one a day and luckily for me, my local supermarket stocks the stuff along with a whole host of other fruits I enjoy. Mr GluttonousGoat knows that he needs to feed me fruit every night, otherwise I get extremely cranky and remind him that he is the reason why I need my daily dose of vitamin C - ladies, the guilt trip really does work!

Enough about fruit...as I have now become a part-time vegetarian by default, I've become a bit lazy in the cooking department as well. I've also had to think about more veggie friendly recipes for lunch/dinner to cater to my new appetite.

Fried radish cake is an old childhood favourite of mine. I've never made it, but am well versed with eating tons of it - my mother especially, makes a very good one with dried shrimp and chinese sausage but I chose to make a vegetarian version one night, sans meat/seafood. You can have a "white" version or a "black" version and both are equally popular as a breakfast food in Singapore and Malaysia. I personally prefer the black version which is just simply the white version with the addition of thick sweet sauce.

raw radish mixture

steamed radish cake

the finished product - yum!

This dish is comprised of two steps - 1. making the steamed radish cake and 2. frying the radish cake. Ideally, you should try to prepare the radish cake a day in advance or early in the morning you wish to fry it as it will need time to cool down and set.

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. Have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner!



fried radish cake (black) 
(adapted from a recipe found on rasamalaysia)
created: 30 October 2012


making the steamed radish cake

[ingredients]:

• 1 large white radish (daikon/mooli) approx. 700-800grams, grated
• 75ml of water (for steaming the radish)
• 200g of rice flour
• 250ml water (for the rice flour mixture)
• pinch of salt

[method]: 

• Place the grated radish in a pyrex dish about 20cm in length along with 75ml of water and steam on medium to high heat for approximately 30 minutes or until the radish has cooked through
• Combine the rice flour, salt and 250ml of water using a whisk to ensure there are no lumps. Set aside
• Allow the steamed grated radish to cool before adding the flour/water mixture into the pyrex dish and gently stir to evenly distribute the mixture. The consistency should be as per picture 1 above.
• On a medium to high heat, steam the radish cake mixture for around 45minutes and allow to cool for several hours or overnight. It should be firm to the touch when fully cool and set.

frying the radish cake

[ingredients]:

• half a portion of the steamed radish cake (cubed into small 2cm pieces)
• 1-2 tbsps of chai poh (preserved turnip)
• 3 tbsps of vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs or 3 small ones (lightly beaten)
• 2 tbsps of fish sauce
• 2-3 cloves of crushed/minced garlice
• 2 tbsps of thick sweet sauce
• pinch of white pepper
• 2 stalks of chopped spring onions
• chilli sauce (optional and to taste)
• coriander leaves (optional and for garnishing)

[method]: 

• Cut up half a portion of radish cake (prepared earlier) into 2cm cubes. The smaller the better as it means the outer edges will crisp up during the initial frying process
• Heat up the vegetable oil on medium to high heat and add the radish cake to the pan and fry until the edges and surfaces start to brown and crisp up
• Add the garlic and preserved turnip to the pan and keep frying until golden brown
• Add the fish sauce, pepper and thick sweet sauce and gently fry until all pieces are coated. At this stage, you can also add the chilli sauce for heat if you wish
• Add the eggs and allow the eggs to lightly set before flipping to cook the other sides
• Finally, add the spring onions just before cooking finishes and garnish with coriander leaves (optional)

serves: 2-3