White and Dark Chocolate Jaffa Swirl Cake

Ever since I went back to work, I hardly have any time to bake cakes, and this is probably my first cake for 2012! It was the picture of the lovely yellow and brown swirls in the cake that caught my attention when I was browsing through Belinda Jeffery's cookbook called "Mix & Bake". It has a wonderful collection of recipes for baking and my decision to try out this recipe was partially because I happened to have all the necessary ingredients on hand. Moreover, you can't go wrong with orange and chocolate.

Chicken Katsu Don (Deep-fried Chicken Cutlet Rice Bowl)

In my previous post, I made Curry Soba topped with chicken katsu (which is essentially buckwheat noodles in Japanese curry, served with deep-fried crumbed chicken cutlet).I thought I'd follow through by posting the recipe for Katsudon, since I also made katsudon on that same night specifically for the kids who have not acquired a taste for curry yet. Katsudon is a Japanese rice bowl dish, comprising a bowl of rice topped with deep-fried chicken or pork cutlet, eggs and onions in a dashi-based sauce. It's so easy to make these Japanese rice bowls at home that I hardly order them at Japanese restaurants anymore.

Chicken Katsu Curry Soba

The first time I tried curry soba was many many years ago at a tiny little Japanese eatery called Kura located in Sydney's Chinatown. My favourite was the one served with prawn and vegetable tempura. I would sit at the counter and observe how the kitchen staff took this bowl of soba with dashi stock in it, and scoop some thick Japanese curry over it. That was when I decided to attempt making curry soba using the same method, and this was some time last year (click here for the earlier recipe). Tempura + Curry = Yum!

Twice-cooked Braised Pork Belly (Kong Bak)

My mum was here just a few months ago and I was thinking that finally, I could ask her to show me how to make Kong Bak, one of my favourite versions of braised pork belly. She did make it once when she was here, but I was not home at the time, and so I wasn't involved in the cooking process. I asked her for the recipe, and as you would know it, she couldn't tell me the exact measurements (her measurements are usually "just a little bit", "eyeball it" or "quite a lot"). So, after she left, I decided to have a go at making this dish.

Sundubu Jjigae

I know that the photo above doesn't look very appetizing, and doesn't do justice to the recipe for this delicious soup. It was already quite tricky getting the hot pot from the stove to the table as it was almost full to the brim. I didn't attempt to try moving it next to the window for a little more light, and even if I did, I doubt it would have made much of a difference as there wasn't much sunlight coming in anyway especially late in the evening. These days, I'm too busy to even bother using a tripod, which is presently tucked away somewhere at the back of the closet.