Category: Homemade Recipes

Sweet Princess Beef Recipe (hot, sweet and sour dry beef curry)

I have a confession.

I can’t do Asian food. I don’t know why, but I just can’t get my head around it. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Asian food but I can’t seem to be able to achieve that delicate balance of flavours that the cuisine is known for. Lets not even begin on some of the techniques and skills involved with preparing Asian food…

And that’s why I decided to buy a cook book by Chef Wan, Malaysia’s answer to Jamie Oliver. It’s called “Simply Sedap!” and it contains apparently all of Chef Wan’s favourite recipes. The recipes, are not all local, but there are enough of them of which I would love to learn how to cook.

While flipping through the book, I realised that I have yet to acquire a lot of spices needed for some of the recipes. There I was…stupidly thinking that I had an awesome spice collection, but yet, I still did not have in my possession spices like fennel powder, cumin powder, candlenuts, mustard seeds and garam masala.

I believe there will be more to come. I can actually think of one more now…coriander powder! Arghh!

I believe I need more spice jars.

I’m hyperventilating!

Oh gawd, stop me!

I need help!

/give myself a good slap to the side of the head/

Anyway, the first recipe that I tried from Chef Wan’s book is called “Daging Puteri Manis” in Malay or Sweet Princess Beef in English. Don’t ask me why Chef Wan named the dish as such, but you got to admit…it’s a pretty catchy name.

# – “Daging Puteri Manis” or Sweet Princess Beef.

It was STUPENDOUS. Yeah, sorry I really do use words like that in my household. Sometimes, ‘delicious’ just doesn’t cut it, you know. The thick sauce was a perfect balance of sweet, sour and spicy. The knuckle steak was surprisingly tender thanks to an hour long of simmering.

The ingredients:

  • 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges then fried
  • 3 cardamom pods
  • 4 cloves
  • 3 sprigs of curry leaves
  • 2 inches of cinnamon stick
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely diced
  • 10 shallots, finely diced (actually I used only 1 large red onion cause that’s all I had :P)
  • 1/2 inch of ginger, finely diced
  • 3 tablespoons of chilli paste (original recipe called for 4 but I think mine was quite spicy, so go easy…you can add more if you want later)
  • 1 tablespoon of coriander powder (I used the seeds cause I didn’t have powder)
  • 2 teaspoons of cumin powder
  • 1 teaspoon of fennel powder
  • 500 grams of cubed beef (I used knuckle steak)
  • 250 ml of water (if you’re only cooking for 30 minutes, I did add a dash more later on to prevent drying as I cooked for 60 minutes)
  • 60 ml of tamarind juice (derived from 60ml of water + 2 tablespoon of tamarind paste)
  • 2 tablespoons of sugar
  • 2 large tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • 1 onion, peeled and sliced into rings

There are loads of ingredients but the steps are really simple so it helps to prepare all the ingredients beforehand to avoid confusion.

# – First, you heat up enough oil to cover the bottom of the saucepan.

# – Chuck in the potato wedges to brown (I’ve already nuked them in the microwave to ensure they cooked through, you can boil or steam them first if you like)

# – When potatoes are browned, set aside.

# – With the same saucepan and leftover oil, throw in the cinnamon sticks, curry leaves, cardamom pods and cloves and stir around till fragrant.

# – Then, throw in the finely diced garlic, ginger and shallots.

# – When the shallots have turned translucent, throw in 2 teaspoons of cumin powder.

# – Followed by a teaspoon of fennel powder.

# – And a tablespoon of coriander seeds (original recipe called for powdered coriander seeds but I had none).

# – Next, 3 tablespoons of chili paste. Stir to combine.

# – Now, throw in the beef!

# – Then the water.

# – Stir and let it simmer uncovered for 30-60 minutes (I did 60 minutes, beef got more tender!)

# – 5 minutes before serving, pour in the tamarind juice.

# – Followed by 3 tablespoons of sugar.

# – And not to forget, a sprinkling of salt.

# – Almost done now….stir in the sliced onion.

# – As well as the tomatoes.

# – Most importantly, the divine potatoes prepared earlier. Stir till everything’s covered in the awesomesauce.

# – Then cover and simmer for a further 5 minutes.

# – 5 minutes later, Sweet Princess Beef, DONE!

# – Serve with piping hot rice for a STUPENDOUS dinner. Sorry, I did it again..

We cleared it.

Just short of licking the saucepan.

# – Only because I couldn’t fit my head inside :(

Have fun cooking!

Spicy tuna and French bean tagliatelle recipe.

This dish was made by the BF. I was having the blues so he decided to cook dinner, which is a great thing because my food does reflect my emotions. When I’m feeling iffy, trust me whatever I cook would taste freaking iffy too :P

# – Spicy tuna and French bean tagliatelle.

The pasta was a superb comfort food! Thanks Boobehs! Al-dente pasta coated evenly with a perfectly flavoursome sauce. Hrmmm, my mouth waters at the thought of the dish.

The ingredients:

  • 3 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • 1 onion, sliced
  • 1 can of plum tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 can of tuna chunks in brine, drained
  • 3 tablespoons of tomato puree
  • A handful of french beans, chopped
  • 3 fresh tomatoes, cut into wedges
  • 1 tablespoon of brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon of Italian Herbs or Herb de Provence
  • 2 teaspoons of ground black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons of Tabasco sauce
  • Tagliatelle for two people

# – First, sauteed some garlic slices in a pan till fragrant.

# – Then, throw in the sliced onions.

# – Followed by 3 tablespoons of tomato puree. Stir to mix.

# – Don’t forget a couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce.

# – Now, empty a an of drained tuna chunks into the pan.

# – Then, chuck in the french beans.

# – Some black pepper……..

# – As well as Tabasco sauce if you like a stronger kick…

# – Then, empty a can of chopped plum tomatoes.

# – Season with one tablespoon of brown sugar to offset the tartness a bit.

# – A few dashes of Italian Herbs or Herb de Provence for more depth of flavour. Let the mixture simmer while you cook the pasta.

# – Cook the tagliatelle according to instructions on the pack.

# – A minute before the pasta should finish cooking, throw in fresh tomatoes into the sauce mixture.

# – Pour in the drained pasta immediately. Mix till pasta are properly coated with the sauce.

# – Spicy tuna and French bean tagliatelle, DONE!

The BF really has a knack for conjuring up wonderful flavours, a skill that I have yet to master. Hopefully in the near future I’ll be able to simply throw some ingredients together and it can taste as good as this spicy tuna and French bean tagliatelle, hehe.

Strawberry chocolate sponge roll recipe.

One of our best friends, M is a frequent traveller, a bonafide jetsetter. We hardly get to see him so when he’s back in town recently and called us up for dinner at his place, I decided to make a jam sponge roll to bring over as dessert.

The recipe has not an ounce of fat in it so it’s perfect for fitness nut M as well as my BF and myself, whose habits of overindulging are starting to take its toll on our physiques…

# – Strawberry chocolate sponge roll.

I couldn’t help but sneak in some dark chocolates though for a bit of a crunch but hey it’s dark chocolates so they’re healthy! ;)

For the sponge:

  • 120 ml of flour
  • 100 ml of granulated sugar, divided into half
  • 5 eggs, whites and yolks separated
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla essence
  • 2 tablespoons of icing sugar

For the filling:

  • 100grams of good quality strawberry jam
  • 20 grams of dark chocolate, broken into small pieces

Tools required:

  • Baking tray (around the size of 9.5″ x 14″)
  • Clean tea towel (same size with baking tray or more)
  • Waxed/Non stick baking paper

# – First, whip up the egg whites till double in size then gradually add half of the granulated sugar (tablespoon by tablespoon) and continue whipping.

# – Till the egg whites turn fluffy and glossy like this. Set aside.

# – In another bowl, pour the rest of the sugar into egg yolks, then add a teaspoon of vanilla essence.

# – Beat the mixture at high speed.

# – After 5-8 minutes, you will notice that the colour has changed from bright orange to a really pale yellow, like this.

# – Now, turn the beater to the slowest and dump in all the flour. The mixture will get instantly thicker. Make sure all flour and egg yolk mixture are thoroughly combined.

# – Next, pour in the egg yolk + flour mixture into the beaten egg whites prepared earlier.

# – With a spatula, very gently mix everything till combined. Do not over-mix. As long as there’s no obvious streaks of white or beige colour is fine.

# – By now you should have a greased a baking tray and then lined it with waxed paper. Mine is 9.5″ x 14″. Pour the mixture in and spread evenly.

# – Till it looks like this.

# – Stick it in a preheated oven for 180 degrees celcius for 15 minutes.

# – While the sponge is baking in the oven, prepare a clean tea towel that is the size of your sponge or more. Dust icing sugar all over it.

# – After 15 minutes, take the sponge out of the oven. It should be evenly browned at the top.

# – Use a spatula and run it along the side to loosen the sponge from the waxed paper.

# – Then, carefully turn the entire sponge onto the tea towel, the crust facing downwards.

# – Carefully peel off the waxed paper and you will find a beautiful golden yellow sponge :)

# – Now, roll the towel together with the sponge. Please do this step, as it ensures the roll will not crack later.

# – It will look like this from the side. Now you know why you need a clean towel.

# – Leave the rolled up sponge & towel on a wire rack to cool down completely.

# – After about 30 minutes, unroll the sponge and towel. You will see it has developed a natural curve which is a good thing.

# – Now just dump the jam over the sponge and spread evenly with a spatula.

# – Put broken dark chocolate pieces at the bottom of the sponge. This step is not necessary but it does give the roll a nice chocolatey crunch ;)

# – And then you roll it up again, WITHOUT the towel!

# – Strawberry chocolate sponge roll, DONE!

# – Slice it up before serving.

The sponge is not too sweet as well as fluffy and soft. It’s important to use high quality vanilla essence, jam and chocolates otherwise it might have that unpleasant artificial taste.

It’s the first time I made sponge roll and I’m so glad it did not crack on the surface at all. It’s a basic sponge roll recipe so you can make it with different fillings. I even plan to use it as trifle sponge, teeheehee.

Now that I know this recipe is reliable, next time, I’m going to use cream cheese and dried fruits as a filling. I can’t wait!!! :D