Sweet Chilli Fried Chicken with French Beans

It wasn't until I came to Sydney that I was introduced to Thai sweet chilli sauce, which is widely used not only as a dipping sauce but for seasoning and various stir-fries. I hardly recall using or coming across sweet chilli sauce in Singapore or Malaysia, probably because we prefer our chillies to be hot rather than sweet. However, it does make a very delicious coating for deep-fried chicken. Of course, you could just dip the fried chicken in the sauce separately, but tossing everything together allows time for the sauce to absorb into the crunchy batter on the chicken. The french beans in the dish are also lovely with that sweet chilli sauce and adds a bit of texture to the dish.

Cheesecake Flan

If there's any dessert that should be on the world's "must-try" list, cheesecake flan is one of them. It was through my friend Simran's blog, A Little Yumminess, that I first learnt about this famous dessert served at Cafe Habana in New York. It was the most decadent, rich, creamy and luscious thing I had ever had as far as I could remember. I would describe it as a creme caramel flavoured cheesecake, and it is one that should be enjoyed quietly, and not shared, if possible, with no distractions so as to appreciate each bite that coats the entire palette and leaves you feeling almost euphoric. No kidding.

No-Bake Lime Cheesecake with Raspberry Jelly

My kids love to eat jelly, and sometimes I grab a few boxes if they happen to be on sale. I managed to find a couple of boxes stashed right at the back of the larder, and one of them was lime flavour. I love lime flavoured desserts, although the kids don't particularly like anything that's citrusy. So, I decided to make a simple no-bake cheesecake incorporating the lime jelly in the cheese, and top that with a layer of raspberry-flavoured jelly. As I happened to have a punnet of raspberries in the fridge, I "studded" the cheesecake with a few plump and juicy raspberries.

Kakiage Don (Mixed Tempura on Rice)

Kakiage Don (drizzled with kabayaki sauce)

 

Kakiage is a type of tempura where a mixture of vegetables (often onions, carrot and burdock) are cut into thin strips and tossed together in a light tempura batter, then deep-fried to form a loose cluster of vegetable fritters. I haven't had kakiage in a long time and was thrilled when I saw that my friend Nami had posted a recipe for it on her website, Just One Cookbook.

Mackerel Miso-ni (Poached Mackerel with Miso)

When I was browsing through a few Japanese cookbooks, I realised that the commonly used ingredients for seasoning are soy, mirin, sake, miso, rice vinegar and dashi. If you have these in your pantry, you can cook up quite a number of Japanese dishes, and I find them quite indispensable. I am no expert at Japanese cuisine, but reading all about the different cooking styles and preparation methods is an enjoyable learning experience for me.