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5 favourite ways Malaysians eat their cornflakes

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Malaysians love cornflakes. However, the weird thing is that we do not necessarily enjoy them as breakfast cereal with milk poured on top, but have (improved?) upon this Western breakfast staple with local stylings.

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Here are five favourite ways Malaysians eat their cornflakes:

1.Cookies

Even if Malaysian households do not buy cornflakes on a daily basis, they most probably buy it during the festive season.

Malaysians love to make cookies out of cornflakes. The most common one is Honey Cornflakes.

The recipe is quite easy; melt some butter with honey (some even add sugar), once the mixture is melted, mix in the cornflakes. Then, divide the cornflakes into small paper cups. Bake it until it is golden brown.

Other cookies recipe include cornflake cookies, milky cornflake cookies and nestum cornflake cookies.

The easiest way to make a cookie out of cornflakes? You only need cooking chocolate. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler, pour in the cornflakes and mix it until the cereal is well coated. After that, divide the chocolate into small paper cups. Finally, let the cookies set inside the fridge. Easy right?

Watch how to make chocolate cornflake here.

2.As a snack with fried peanuts and anchovies

Who doesn’t love to munch on snacks? Another favourite Malaysian spin is Spicy Cornflakes with fried peanut and ikan bilis (small anchovies).

The key ingredient of this snack is sambal.

Fry the sambal with oil first before putting other ingredients such as fried peanuts, fried anchovies and of course corn flakes. Make sure every ingredient is well-covered in sambal and crispy before you turn off the stove.

3.Salted egg cornflakes

Salted egg flavouring truly reigned supreme in 2019-2020 and cornflakes were no exception. Malaysians love to flavour this corn cereal and the latest trend was with salted egg powder.

The basic ingredients are 150gm butter, 500gm corn flakes and 100gm salted egg powder. For a little bit of spiciness and flavour, add in dried chilies and curry leaves.

Firstly, melt the butter and pour in the chilies and curry leaves. Then, add in the salted egg powder. Once the mixture is well-mixed, pour in the cereal.

The final step is optional which is to bake the cornflakes at 160 degrees for eight minutes.

Trust us, this snack is so addictive that it is hard for you to stop once you start munching.

Watch how to make it here.

4.Ice-cream toppings

Forget colourful sprinkles or crushed nuts, cornflakes are the perfect way to top your ice-cream.

Its bland taste and crunchy texture is the much needed oomph for your cold dessert.

5.Add some crispiness to your breaded meat dishes instead

Again, forget about panko or breadcrumbs, coat your meat dishes with blended corn flakes the next time you fry your protein.

One of our favourite Malaysian dishes is crispy butter prawn. We love it so much that we have different variations of it. From butter chicken/pork to butter nestum prawn/chicken/pork and of course we have the cereal version using corn flakes instead.

Regardless of the version of this dish, each of them would not be complete without- drum roll please – curry leaves. Don’t you agree?

What is your favourite variation of this famous breakfast cereal?

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How Korean dramas introduced the world to ‘chimaek’

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Photo by Unsplash.

If you are a K-drama fan, you must know about ‘chimaek’. It is a Korean slang word which mashes up chikin (fried chicken) and maekju (beer).

For Sarawakians, the last thing you would imagine to pair your beer with is fried chicken. However, South Korean have introduced the world that the pairing of Korean fried chicken and draft beer is actually a match made in heaven.

The history of ‘chimaek’

The origin story of ‘chimaek’ can be traced back to the time when South Koreans were introduced to fried chicken.

For that, the Koreans had to thank the Americans. It is believed that US troops during the Korean War stationed in South Korea introduced to the country the concept of frying chicken.

Before that, it was healthy food with the Koreans mainly cooking their chicken in broth and soup.

When cooking oil was introduced in South Korea in 1971, there was a rise of fried chicken consumption.

To chomp down the fried chicken, the Koreans opted for refreshing, cold beer. More stalls and restaurants started to sell beer alongside fried chicken.

While the world saw the rise of disco in the 70s, South Korea saw the birth of ‘chimaek’.

‘Chimaek’ from K-drama and beyond

The craze over ‘chimaek’ among Korean drama fans all started from the romantic comedy My Love from The Star.

Cheon Song-yi (Jun Ji-hyun), the heroine in the drama, casually commented, “A snowy day is just perfect for our chimaek time”.

From there, fans went nuts over the pairing of fried chicken and beer.

Striking while the iron is hot, Korea’s major fried chicken restaurant Pelicana opened its first restaurant in Guangzhou barely months after the airing of My Love from the Star.

Chinese consumers were reportedly waiting an average of three hours in front of a Korean-brand chicken shop just to have their chicken fix.

If you are not a Korean drama fan, you might not understand the fuss. It was a just a scene from a drama of a beautiful actress craving for fried chicken and beer.

These fans nonetheless, contributed to their country’s economy.

For instance, Xinhua reported that China’s poultry industry which was weakened after the H7N9 avian flu pandemic was revived in 2014 following the chimaek trend.

The rave over ‘chimaek’ back then also caught the attention of politicians.

During the annual China-South Korea business forum in 2015, South Korean the president Park Geun-hye noted that the Chinese taste for fried chicken and beer-stemming from the airing of Korean drama, was a sign of cultural and economic integration between the two countries.

Since My Love from the Star, other dramas such as Crash Landing on You and The King: Eternal Monarch also featured salivating chimaek session in their plots.

The obsession over chimaek

Unlike the American fried chicken, Korean fried chicken is fried twice. Hence, they are crispier.

Additionally, there are all kinds of different sauces and toppings of Korean fried chicken. Each Korean fried chicken food chain even has its own signature taste and flavour.

According to CNN Travel, chimaek fanatics call themselves “chideokhu”. It is a combination of the words “chicken” and “deokhu,” which means “maniac.”

Meanwhile, connoisseurs who can differentiate fried chicken between brands without consulting the delivery box are chimmeliers, a mishmash of “chimaek” and “sommelier.”

There is even a chicken-specific hallelujah: chillelujah!

It doesn’t matter if you are a Korean drama fan or not, if you love beer, a ‘chimaek’ session is definitely worth a try.

If you have given it a try, chillelujah!

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Draft beer goes really well with these tender and crispy fried chicken.

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What you should know about French cake, madeleine

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Madeleine, also known as petite madeleine, is a traditional cake from France.

It is known for its distinctive shell-like shape. There are just four main ingredients in a basic madeleine recipe; eggs, sugar, flour and unsalted butter.

As for the flavouring, some recipes include ground almonds for the nutty taste or lemon zest for the lemony taste.

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Even though the ingredients are simple, the different ratios, technique and process can result in different result.

If you love this small sponge cake, this is what you should know about madeleine:

1.The history of madeleine

Like many famous recipes out there, the origin story of madeleine is a subject of dispute.

Larousse Gastronomique is an encyclopedia of gastronomy which was published in Paris in 1938.

It states that the madeleine was invented by a pastry chef named Jean Avice who is known to be the master of choux pastry.

He used to work for Prince Talleyrand (1754-1838), a French clergyman and diplomat.

Reportedly, Avice invented the madeleine in the 19th century by baking small cakes in aspic molds.

Another origin story is contributed to 17th-century cardinal and rebel Paul de Gondi. He owned a castle in Commercy in northeastern France which is also known to be the origin place of madeleine.

Others believed the cake was named after its inventor. The most famous assumed inventor is Madeleine Paulmier. She is believed to be a cook for Stanislaus I, duke of Lorraine and the exiled King of Poland.

The duke fell ill one day and asked his cook to make small cakes. Madeleine made them and when the duke asked for the name of the cake, she said she did not have a name for it yet. Hence, the duke decided to name it after the cook.

Legend has it that Stanislaus I’s son in-law, Louis XV loved it so much that him and his family introduced it his royal court in Versailles. It is believed that was when the cake became a hit among the French.

Lastly, some historians say that a convent of Catholic nuns in Commercy invented the recipe. They baked and sold them to support their abbey which was named Marie-Madeleine.

2.How to make the perfect madeleines

Many have come up with fool-proof recipes in making the perfect madeleines. The New York Times pointed out in their 2019 article that the key to obtaining a sublime sponge is patience and precision since madeleines are essentially spongecakes.

“It’s most important that none of the ingredients be cold; the eggs must be room temperature and the butter-honey mixture and the milk must be warm. The fact that the butter is stirred into the batter at the end is unusual but vital,” New York Times writes.

Meanwhile, The Guardian in 2015 went into great details on how to make the perfect madeleine.

For example, the traditional madeleines of Commercy are made with beurre noisette which is butter that has been browned to give it a nutty flavour.

Another tip is to brush pan with thin layer of soft butter then place the tin in the freezer for less than 20 minutes. This will avoid the case of sticking madeleines. Remember not to use any flour dusting. The additional flour will affect of your madeleines.

It is advisable to give the batter a rest before baking. The resting time varies from minimum 30 minutes to overnight. The idea here is to thicken the batter and give the cakes their little ‘bumps’.

This step is similar with Malaysian cake, kuih penyaram. It is best to leave the batter for kuih penyaram overnight in the fridge in order to give its signature hat-like shape.

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Do you know any more tips to make the perfect madelines? Photo by Pixabay.

3.Other cakes that are almost similar to madeleines

Speaking of Malaysian cakes, the most similar to madeleines found in the country is kuih bahulu, which is most commonly made in star shapes.

However, unlike madeleine, kuih bahulu does not contain butter.

In the meantime, madeleine shares some similarities with another French cake called financier.

It is small almond cake made with egg whites, flour and powdered sugar and flavoured with beurre noisette.

Originally made by the Visitandine order of nuns during the Middle Ages, the cake is light and moist with a crisp exterior. Thanks to its outer appearance which many described as egg-like, financier can be easily be stored in the pocket without being damaged.

Today, there are many variations of madeleines such as earl grey madeleines, orange and thyme madeleines as well as gingerbread madelelines.

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Chocolate madelines. Photo by Pixabay.

If you are looking for traditional madeleine recipes, here are ones from Allrecipes, Entertaining with Beth and Sallys Baking Addiction.

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5 things you need to know about Korean dish buldak

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Have you had buldak before? Buldak, or literally translated to “fire chicken” (bul means fire and dak translates as chicken) is a heavily spiced, barbecued chicken dish.

Unlike other Korean dishes like kimbap whose history can be traced back a hundred years, buldak is relatively new in the Korean cuisine.

Famous Korean food blogger Maangchi only came across it a few years ago when she found a truck on the street selling barbecued chicken.

The owner set up a homemade grill and barbecued huge chunks of chicken covered in a thick, spicy paste. Next to his truck, he put up a banner that said “buldak” and that was the first time Maangchi heard of the name.

So what is so interesting about buldak? Here are five things you should know about this Korean chicken dish.

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Buldak topped with cheese.

1.It was a stress reliever during the economic downturn

Buldak became popular in South Korea reportedly during 2004. At that time, the country was going through long-term recession and economic downturn.

The people started to seek out spicy food in order to release their stress.

Since then, the dish gained in popularity and the country saw a rise in buldak franchise restaurants.

But is it true? Does spicy food helps to relieve stress? Apparently true. Spicy food boosts production of feel-good hormones such as serotonin. This can help to reduce stress and anger.

2.The patent dispute over the name

In April 2001, a company called Buwon Food filed a patent on ‘buldak’ claiming copyright to the name.

However, many opposed the move claiming the term is a general noun.

On Apr 30, 2008, the Korean patent court declared the term buldak is free for public use.

3.The ingredients

The general ingredients to make buldak are bite-sized chicken meat, gochujang (Korean chilli paste), gochutgaru (chili powder), soy sauce, jocheong (Korean starch syrup), garlic and ginger.

Maangchi suggested to use corn syrup, sugar or honey if there was no jocheong.

Other additional ingredients that can be added are sliced rice cake, mozzarella cheese and green onion.

4.It is the inspiration behind the famous buldak-inspired Korean ramen

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Hot Chicken Flavour Ramen

The dish is the inspiration behind one of the most famous Korean instant noodles or ramyeon, Hot Chicken Flavour Ramen (buldak-bokkeum-myeon).

In 2014, the noodle became instantly viral when the main host of YouTube Channel “Korean Englishman”, Josh Carrott challenged his friends in the UK on who could finish the noodles. And they had to do it as fast as possible without drinking any water or beverages to fight the spiciness.

After that, many YouTubers took up the challenge, posting their videos attempting it in what mostly became known as The Fire Noodle Challenge.

The noodle is also became a hit among Muslim consumers after it obtained a halal certificate from the Korea Muslim Federation Halal Committee.

According to Korea Times in 2019, China is the biggest exporter of buldak ramyeon, accounting up to 50 per cent. This is followed by Southeast Asia, which accounts for about 35 per cent of the overseas market.

5.There is a buldak-inspired make up and toothpaste?

As this spicy ramyeon is inspired by buldak, this spicy ramyeon then inspired more unconventional products.

In 2018, South Korean cosmetic company Tonymoly launched a limited edition makeup line. And it was inspired by the famous ramyeon!

In collaboration with Samyang Food’s Buldak Spicy Chicken Ramen, the makeup line is based on the instant noodle’s packaging and the character.

The line includes the Hot Coverdak Cushion, a cushion-compact foundation that comes with a refill made to look like a sauce packet. A blusher called Noodle Blusher, which comes in a bright red called Bad Red and a super-pale pink called Carbolighter. Then, a lip balm called the Lip Care Stick as well as Lip Sauce Tint, which comes in Spicy Red and Cheese Red.

Everyone has to give it up to Samyang Food as they know how to constantly reinvent their products. Besides a makeup line, the company also released toothpaste and chewing gum inspired by their buldak ramyeon.

Watch where KajoMag team had their buldak in Kuching:

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Breaking down the different ingredients of a Malaysian nasi lemak

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Malaysians can get defensive when comes to their food. When a foreigner mocks Malaysian food, Malaysians react as if their parents were insulted.

An example is when a British journalist tweeted on Jan 15, 2020 about the nasi lemak served to her on a British Airways flight.

Along with a vomiting emoji, Katie Morley tweeted, “Chicken curry served with anaemic boiled egg, topped with smelly, slimey anchovies. ANCHOVIES. I quite like plane food usually, and this was a 0/10.”

While some Malaysians condemned her harshly over her tweet, some suggested she try the real Nasi Lemak.

Morley then gave the real deal a try at a restaurant in central London. She later tweeted thanking Malaysians who suggested her to try the real nasi lemak. She stated, “You are right, it’s delicious!”

Who doesn’t love this rice cooked in coconut milk with pandan leaf and served with sambal, anchovies, cucumber and various side dishes?

Historian Ahmad Najib Ariffin – who is also the founder of Nusantara Academy of Development, Geocultures & Ethnolinguistics – gave an insight to the history of nasi lemak.

He told the Star in 2014 that nasi lemak seemed to come from the west coast of peninsular Malaysia.

“The east coast, which is the most culturally conservative part of the country, has its own signature traditional rice dishes with prominent, distinct fish flavours such as nasi dagang and nasi kerabu.

“Farmers needed a hearty meal in the morning, so eating nasi lemak kept them full because you have all have the food groups covered – carbohydrates from the rice, oils from the sambal and protein from the anchovies.”

Here at KajoMag, look into the different components that make up a traditional Malaysian nasi lemak:

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A Malaysian nasi lemak with rendang.

1.The rice

Did you know that rice cooked in coconut milk is actually common in Indonesia? Nasi uduk, nasi gurih and nasi liwet are all Indonesian dishes comprise of rice cooked in coconut milk.

However for nasi lemak, the taste is more fragrant because of the Pandan leaves.

The rice can be cooked with fresh or canned coconut milk.

Other spices used in the rice are ginger and lemon grass to enhance its fragrance.

There is a folklore behind how coconut milk was added into the rice. Long time ago, there was a widow Mak Kuntum and her daughter, Seri.

While cooking a pot of rice, Seri accidentally spilled coconut milk into it. Mak Kuntum returned home, smelling the fragrant rice, asking her daughter what it was. To this, Seri replied, “Nasi le, mak! (It is rice, Mum!).

The earliest mention of nasi lemak can be found in The Circumstances of Malay Life, written by Sir Richard Olaf Winstedt.

He did not state nasi lemak directly but rather explained how the Malay people during the early 1900s cooked their rice.

Winstedt wrote, “To an epicure well cooked rice is the alpha, just as well-spiced condiments are the omega, of good curry. Unfortunately for European taste, at marriages and festivals the Malay cook will try to improve on perfection. He will boil the rice along with such spices as carraway seeds, cloves, mace, nutmeg and ginger and garlic, in dripping or coconut oil, or he will boil it in coconut milk instead of water, or he will gild the lily with turmeric, using glutinous rice.”

2.The sambal

A sambal is basically a sauce or paste made from chilli pepper with other secondary ingredients.

The secondary ingredients usually comprise of shrimp paste, garlic, ginger, shallot, palm sugar, lime juice, scallion and tamarind pulp.

There are so many types of sambal out there.

When it comes to nasi lemak, the sambal is the one which seals the deal when deciding if it is a good nasi lemak.

The key to making perfect sambal for nasi lemak is to stir-fry it after crushing or blending the ingredients together.

As for its basic ingredients, those commonly used are garlic, shallots, white onion, dried chilli, red chilli salt and sugar to taste as well as cooking oil.

There are many tips and tricks to make a good sambal. If the blended the ingredients are too dry, add a little oil into the mixture.

If you stir-fry the blended ingredients in a hot wok, it tends to splatter oil while frying.

One trick is to a sprinkle a bit of salt in the hot oil when it starts to bubble. It will help absorb moisture and prevent splashing.

If you are using crushed anchovies in your sambal, do not blend the anchovies with the rest of ingredients. Fry the blended anchovies first before putting in the other mixture. This tip can also prevent the oil from splashing.

Some Chinese are famous for making their own sambal. Theirs are usually less spicy and combined with minced pork as an additional ingredient.

3.The cucumber slices

The basic vegetable to compliment a Malaysian nasi lemak is the cucumber slices. However, sometimes we do see nasi lemak which comes with other vegetable such as kangkung.

A fresh, crunchy cucumber is always good addition to the dish while stale cucumber slices are always a major turn off for nasi lemak.

4.The small anchovies

If Morley’s claim was true, it was sacrilege for British Airways to be serving smelly and slimey anchovies.

The real Nasi Lemak anchovies should be crunchy.

These small anchovies give extra texture and saltiness to the whole dish.

5.The roasted peanuts

Speaking of crunchiness, here is another ingredient which adds extra texture to the whole dish, the roasted peanuts.

Together with the fried anchovies, there should be roasted peanuts, making it immediately recognisable as a nasi lemak dish.

6.The eggs

Malaysian nasi lemak commonly uses a hard boiled egg as part of the dish. If the nasi lemak is selling at a cheaper price, then the hard boiled egg is cut into half or even a quarter.

Sometimes, it is also served with a fried egg.

Regardless, the egg is an essential source of protein for the dish.

7.The extra dish

Now comes the fun part, the extra dish. There are endless possibilities when comes to the extra dishes for a nasi lemak.

The common ones are, of course, rendang, curry and fried chicken. The curry can be chicken curry, fish curry or lamb curry.

Although nasi lemak is a dish of Malay origin, other races have added their own twist and made it as their own. For example, a non-halal nasi lemak is served with pork which is either served as barbecued or fried.

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A Malaysian Nasi Lemak with cripy pork slices.

If you cannot have enough of sambal, there are plenty of dishes cooked in sambal and served with a nasi lemak. This include sambal sotong (squid) and sambal udang (prawn).

With this extra dish of protein, nasi lemak has come a long way from being a comfort food for farmers.

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KajoTries: Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Chip Cookies

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This time we tried making Nigella Lawson’s chocolate chip cookies.

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Nigella Lawson’s chocolate chip cookies
The history of the chocolate chip cookie

An American chef Ruth Graves Wakefield (1903-1977) is best known as the inventor of Toll House cookies, the first chocolate chip cookie together with Sue Brides.

She invented it around 1938. She added chopped up bits from a semi-sweet chocolate bar into a cookie.

Most reports stated that the invention was an accident and that Wakefield expected the chocolate chunks to melt.

However, Wakefield clarified that she deliberately invented the cookie. She said, “We had been serving a thin butterscotch nut cookie with ice cream. Everybody seemed to love it but I was trying to give them something different.”

Wakefield used a Nestle chocolate bar for the cookie. When she gave Nestle the recipe for her cookies, in return the food company gave her a lifetime supply of chocolate.

The nationwide craze for the chocolate chip cookie started during World War II (WWII). Soldiers who were writing home asking their families to send them some Toll House cookies.

Soon, Wakefield was bombarded with letters from around the world asking for her recipe.

From there, the craze for chocolate chip cookies even spread to the United Kingdom.

The original chocolate chip cookie recipe

Sue Brides’ daughter shared the original chip cookie recipe in 2017. It comprises of these ingredients:

​1 1⁄2 cups (350 mL) shortening
​1 1⁄8 cups (265 mL) sugar
​1 1⁄8 cups (265 mL) brown sugar
3 eggs
​1 1⁄2 teaspoon (7.5 g) salt
​3 1⁄8 cups (750 mL) of flour
​1 1⁄2 teaspoon (7.5 g) hot water
​1 1⁄2 teaspoon (7.5 g) baking soda
​1 1⁄2 teaspoon (7.5 g) vanilla
chocolate chips

Besides this, other variation of the recipe may add additional ingredients such as nuts or oatmeal. Moreover, vegans often substitute the ingredients using vegan chocolate chips, vegan margarine and so on.

KajoMag tried out Nigella Lawson’s chocolate chip cookie recipe
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Preparing the ingredients.

On her website, celebrity chef Nigella Lawson shared “It seems strange that I’ve managed to write seven books without one plain chocolate chop cookie (by which I mean a plain cookie with chocolate chips in it).

“For here’s the thing: you’d think a plain cookie with a few chocolate chips folded into the mixture would be a simple matter. It’s not. It’s never difficult to make, just difficult to get right. I may be picky, but to my mind, or my mouth, a cookie that’s too crisp feels dry and disappointing and a cookie that’s too chewy tastes like dough. I want a bit of tender, fudgy chewiness but an edge of crisp bite, too.”

After giving the recipe a try, it amazingly turned out the way Lawson describes it.

It was a bit tender, fudgy and chewy but a little bit crisp on the edges.

Would we change anything from her recipe in the future? Maybe a little bit. Instead of using a semi-sweet chocolate chips, we would replace them with dark chocolate chips. This would give a slight bitterness to it which is more to our liking.

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Fresh from the oven.

Click here for Nigella Lawson’s chocolate chip cookies.

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KajoTries: How to make an easy, egg-less banana cake

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Did you know there was a difference between banana cake and banana bread? Compared to the dense banana bread, banana cake has a lighter texture.

Besides bananas being the main ingredient, other typical ingredients in a banana cake are flour, sugar, eggs, baking soda and butter. Some people prefer to use margarine or cooking oil to replace butter.

The most common way to prepare it is by baking. However, you can find steamed banana cake in Chinese, Malaysian, Indonesian and Vietnamese cuisine.

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You can easily mash the banana using a fork.

How to make an easy, egg-less banana cake only using five ingredients

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A simple egg-less banana cake.

If you are looking for an easy-to-make, no fuss recipe for a banana cake, look no further than this.

Shared anonymously by a user on Facebook, this recipe only uses five ingredients.

Moreover, it does not even need butter or egg.

The ingredients are two cups of flour, two cups of mashed bananas, one cup of white sugar, one cup of cooking oil and two teaspoons of soda bicarbonate.

The instructions are easy-peasy too; just whisk everything together in a bowl. Pour it into a baking tray and then bake it in the oven at 170oc for 45 minutes.

You can also steam it for the same period of time.

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Just combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk it.

KajoMag’s review of this egg-less banana cake recipe

This recipe had been tried and tested by KajoMag and our thoughts? It turned out delicious, sweet, and above all, moist.

We baked it for 45 minutes but the skewer did not come out clean when we poked it right in the center of the cake. So, we left it for another 10 minutes in the oven and increased the temperature to 180oc.

The recipe originally stated it can be topped or garnished with sliced bananas but we were too eager to try what we baked for that extra step.

If we were to make this egg-less banana cake again using the same recipe, we would tweak it a bit, more out of personal preference.

The first thing we would add is some nuts like walnuts or macadamias to add some nutty flavour and different texture into the cake.

Another thing would be to reduce the amount of sugar. For the sweet tooths out there, this recipe has a decent amount of sweetness. Just for the sake of keeping our sugar levels in check, reducing the amount of sugar to one cup or one and a half cup might not be a bad idea.

Some banana cake enthusiasts might be particular on what type of banana to use for their cake. Honestly, we could not differentiate between the variation of bananas so we just threw in fruit we knew with full assurance, were bananas.

Here is the full recipe for the easy, egg-less banana cake:

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This recipe makes a sweet and moist banana cake.

Ingredients:
2 cups of flour
2 cups of mashed bananas
1 cup of white sugar
1 cup of cooking oil
2 teaspoons of soda bicarbonate

Instruction:

Combine all ingredients into a bowl and mix it using a mixer. Pour the batter into a baking tray then bake it in 170oc oven for 45 minutes. You can also steam it for at least 45 minutes or until the skewer comes out clean after inserting it into the center of the cake.

Have you tried this egg-less banana cake recipe? Let us know in the comment box. What type of banana do you think is best used in banana cakes? Leave a comment!

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Whip up Michelin-star dishes with these recipes from Jing Yaa Tang

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With people staying homebound in the fight against Covid-19, social distancing measures have given rise to plenty of stay-at-home chefs who are utilising their time indoors to master new skills in the kitchen.

Located at The Opposite House – a striking hotel in the heart of Beijing, Jing Yaa Tang restaurant is ready to spill the beans on two of their recipes during this pandemic.

Renowned for its selection of dishes inspired by the famous Beijing roast duck, one-Michelin star restaurant Jing Yaa Tang uses only the finest ingredients to produce authentic Chinese cuisine at its best.

Now, the celebrated restaurant divulges two of its favourite recipes – the fragrant Kung Pao Chicken, and the saccharine Cherry Tomatoes marinated in plum sauce.

Since you cannot travel to Jing Yaa Tang in Beijing to try these Michelin-star dishes, why not make them on your own?

Kung Pao Chicken

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Kung Pao Chicken by Jing Yaa Tang.

Main ingredients:

Chicken thigh (20g)
Diced green onion (50g)
Cooked peanuts (25g)
Cooked cashew nuts (25g)
Sliced garlic (5g)
Sliced ginger (5g)
Dried chilli (5g)

Ingredients:

A.Salt (2g), rice wine (5g), sugar (1g), egg (1/3), corn flour (6g)

B.B. Sugar (30g), salt (3g), rice vinegar (50g), corn flour (10g)

Method:

1.Mix and pickle the diced chicken thigh with seasoning (ingredients A).
2.Heat the oil in a heated wok first, and fry the pickled chicken and diced green onion until the chicken is cooked.
3.Cook the sliced garlic and ginger, dry the red chilli segment first, add the cooked chicken and onion, and then stir-fry the cooked peanuts, cashew nuts and ingredients B.

Tips:

1. Cook the fried chicken and diced onion for one minute to elevate the taste.
2.Turn off the fire when adding the peanuts and cashew nuts to keep them crispy.

Cherry tomatoes marinated in plum sauce

Jing Yaa TangCherry tomatoes marinated in plum sauce
Cherry tomatoes marinated in plum sauce by Jing Yaa Tang

Main ingredients:

Water (300g)
Sugar (80g)
Preserved prune slice (1 pc)
Concentrated orange juice (10g)
White vinegar (50ml)
Cherry tomatoes (200g)

Method:

1.Remove the root of the cherry tomatoes and peel with boiling water.
2.Boil the preserved prune in water, and then add other seasonings after three minutes. Turn off the fire when sugar melts completely.
3.Soak the cherry tomatoes into the sauce for 8 hours after they have cooled.

Tips:

1.Keep frozen after soaking
2.The length of time soaked will influence the tasty

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10 ingredients to spice up your baked chicken breast

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If you are looking for a quick, delicious and less guilty source of protein to make for your dinner, look no further than baked chicken breast.

Chicken breast is a great source of lean protein. It is perfect for those who are looking to build their muscle mass since it contains low fat.

Additionally, it is easy to cook, especially if you buy it skinless and boneless from the supermarket.

You can reduce the oil in your cooking by making baked chicken breast with simple seasoning such as salt, pepper and olive oil.

But what if you get bored with your own cooking, especially if you are not even close to Gordan Ramsay’s skills?

Here are 10 ingredients to put some varieties in your usual baked chicken breast:

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How do you like your baked chicken breast? Credits: Pixabay

1.Pesto sauce

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Pesto sauce

Do you know that pesto is the past participle of the verb ‘pesta’ which means ‘to pound’ or ‘to crush’ in the Genoese dialect in northern Italy?

This term refers to the original method of making a pesto whereby the ingredients are crushed or ground in a mortar.

Traditionally, it consists of garlic, European pine nuts, coarse salt, basil leaves, hard cheese such as Parmesan cheese and blended with olive oil.

While it is commonly used on pasta, pesto is also good with baked chicken breasts.

There are plenty of cooking blogs publishing 2-ingredient or 4-ingredient pesto chicken recipes.

Basically, these recipes are all the same. It is made with skinless and boneless chicken breast fillets covered with pesto sauce as well as salt and pepper to taste.

The dish is then baked in the oven for at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, Tasty of Buzzfeed upgrades their version of pesto chicken by topping them with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

2.Barbecue sauce

Besides pesto sauce, you can also make baked chicken breast with barbecue sauce.

Just cover your chicken with your favourite BBQ sauce along with a little salt, pepper and oil then oven-bake it.

However, if you want to grill the chicken, do not brush it with barbecue sauce. Instead, grill the chicken on greased grill over medium heat for seven to eight minutes on each side. Then turn and brush the chicken on both side with the sauce for the last few minutes.

Check out this recipe!

3.Teriyaki sauce

The four main components of a teriyaki sauce are soy sauce, sake or mirin, sugar and ginger.

To use it for you cooking, soak the meat, vegetables, fish or tofu for at least half an hour before cooking.

If you want to make baked chicken breast in teriyaki sauce, you can start by arranging your chicken breasts on a lightly greased baking dish.

Cover your chicken with teriyaki sauce before covering the baking dish with foil. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated or until the chicken is cooked.

Once it is cooked, do not waste any excess liquid. Drain the pan and pour the remaining teriyaki sauce over the chicken before serving.

4.Mustard

Have you ever wondered why there are different colours of mustard out there?

This condiment is basically made from the seeds of a mustard plant. Then, these seeds are either ground, cracked or bruised before mixing them with water, vinegar, lemon juice and salts.

The colour ranges from bright yellow to dark brown depending on the added flavourings or spices such as turmeric or green juice of unripe grapes.

The most common ingredient that goes along with mustard when preparing baked chicken breast is honey.

Other common ingredients are olive oil, apple cider vinegar and of course salt and pepper to taste.

Since there are many types of mustard out there from dijon mustard to French mustard, you can always try which type suits your taste the best.

5.Honey

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Honey

Speaking of honey, a honey garlic baked chicken breast is another common dish. The marinade is made by whisking together soy sauce, honey, garlic, lime juice, Sriracha, sesame oil and cornstarch.

If you are not a fan of garlic, The Spruce Eats has a recipe for honey baked chicken breast.

The ingredients are honey, brown sugar, red wine, light soy sauce, flour, salt, dried leaf thyme, paprika, ground black pepper, butter and canola oil.

6.Italian dressing

If you have a bottle of Italian dressing in your fridge, you can opt not to just use it on your salad but also to marinate your chicken breast too.

Commonly found in American and Canadian cuisine, Italian dressing is a vinaigrette-type consisting of water, vinegar or lemon juice, vegetable oil, chopped bell peppers, usually sugar or corn syrup.

The best part of making baked chicken breast using this ingredient is that you do not need any other ingredient – not even salt and pepper.

All Recipes came up with a recipe by combining six skinless, boneless chicken breast with one bottle of Italian-style salad dressing.

Seal them in a zip lock bag and place it in the refrigerator for one hour, or even overnight.

Then bake the chicken in an oven for at least one hour.

You can check out the recipe here.

7.Yogurt

To make yogurt baked chicken breast, you need at least two other ingredients; garlic and panko bread crumbs.

Firstly, marinate your chicken with plain yogurt, crushed garlic for one to six hours.

Then transfer the chicken to a baking pan. Sprinkle the bread crumbs over the chicken before baking.

If you need that extra taste of herbs, add in thyme in your yogurt mixture.

8.Gochujang

If you are not familiar with gochujang, it is basically Korean red chilli paste. It is a fermented condiment made from chilli powder, glutinous rice, fermented soybean powder, barley malt powder and salt.

Gochujang is an essential ingredient in making Korean cuisine such as Korean braised chicken.

Korean food blogger Jin Joo from Kimchimari reinvented Korean spicy chicken by oven baking them.

The key step in making this recipe is to make gochujang marinade. She combines chopped garlic, grated ginger, soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, sesame oil, Korean red chilli pepper, black pepper and not forgetting gochujang.

Then she marinates the chicken breasts overnight in the fridge.

Finally, she bakes the breasts in the oven for 17 to 18 minutes. Jin Joo also suggests broiling the chicken for one extra minute to caramelise it.

9.Alfredo sauce

If you have Alfredo sauce laying around the house, you can use it to bake your chicken breast. Or you can make one from scratch if you don’t have one.

Add cream and butter to a saucepan over medium heat and bring it to simmer. Then whisk in the garlic and simmer for 30 seconds.

Turn off the heat and whisk in the Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. To make the sauce smooth and creamy, continue to whisk it until the cheese has fully melted.

As for your baked chicken breast with Alfredo sauce, spread a layer of the sauce on the baking dish. Place the chicken breast over sauce before season the meat with salt and pepper.

Add some chopped broccoli over the chicken. Before the chicken make it to the oven, pour the remaining sauce over the chicken and broccoli.

You can top it with Parmesan cheese if you want to. Finally, bake it for 40 minutes.

10.Balsamic vinegar

Here is another ingredient from Italy that makes the list. Balsamic vinegar is a very dark, intensely flavoured vinegar, made wholly or partially from grape must.

It is used sparingly to enhance the flavour of steaks, eggs or fish.

Make a marinade using balsamic vinegar, then you can make another version baked chicken breast.

Mix together balsamic vinegar, olive oil and other flavouring such as salt, black pepper and garlic to make the marinade.

Remember, you can always tenderise your chicken breast before baking using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Check out baked balsamic chicken recipe here.

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KajoAsks: Pops and Pints, your not-so-typical everyday ice-cream

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Instead of vanilla or strawberry, would you try Terung Dayak flavoured ice-cream or even a sago smoothie if you had the choice?

While this may sound a bit far-fetched for you, for Sabah-based ice-cream creator, Pops and Pints, they thrive on creating a list of intriguing and bizarre flavours.

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Image source: Pops and Pints

For Pops and Pints, conventional flavoured ice-cream like vanilla and chocolate weren’t interesting enough, they chose to infuse their ice creams with local flavours instead.

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Image source: Pops and Pints

And that is why dessert enthusiasts will enjoy their exciting new flavours.

Based in Kota Kinabalu, Pops and Pints was co-founded by siblings Yapp Khin Enn and Yapp Shin Enn and their friend Jude Limus in 2017.

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Image source: Pops and Pints

The idea of Pops and Pints first started when Kihn Enn was previously studying in Australia when she began experimenting with cooking different food.

For Khin Enn there were so many things that she wanted to eat, but it was too expensive to eat out and so she started experimenting and making her own food.

And when she got back home, the weather was so hot that she tried turning all those ideas into cold food.

As of now, Pops and Pints specialiseS in providing delivery of their products to events and local shops.

For the love of quirky food, KajoMag managed to get in touch with Pops and Pints to ask about their creative confections.

Q: How many flavours has Pops and Pints created and could you give us some examples?

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The Asian Flush – strawberry and bunga kantan with ginger biscuit crumbles

We have about 40-50 flavours to date. Some of the famous ones are Asian Flush (strawberries with bunga kantan), Asam Laksa (this needs no explanation and is very familiar to Malaysians), Culture Shock (yoghurt with granola), just to name a few.

Q: What was the initial reaction when you first came up with the idea of launching Pops and Pints? Were people sceptical or open to the idea of unconventional ice-cream flavours?

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The M.O.B. – Mango on Berries

There was a mix of reactions. Generally, people know ice cream as something sweet, so when we introduced flavours less known to the public, some were sceptical but some were adventurous. Some enjoyed, some gave it a try, some did not like it. It’s fine because everyone has their own preference.

Q: What is the most peculiar ice-cream flavour that you has come up with and how would you describe the taste?

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Asam laksa flavour ice-cream

Asam Laksa is definitely one of them. It’s an eye catcher. Sweet, savoury and a little spicy.

Q: What is the most memorable comment that anybody has made about your ice-cream flavours?

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The Smokehouse, topped with beef brisket, infused with French ice cream

The genuine reaction of people who tried some of our more interesting flavours and really liking them. Especially the flavours that they never thought they’d see in the form of ice cream.

Q: Will we ever get to see Pops and Pints in Sarawak?

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Surprise Paradise – pineapple with Sichuan pepper and Uinah Ginger Beer

Hopefully.

Q: If you have the chance to open a Pops and Pints in Sarawak, what flavours would you consider creating for local customers?

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Bambangan coconut ice cream with tuhau serunding sprinkled over

We would definitely love to work with local ingredients that are familiar to the locals. For instance, we made a Bambangan flavoured ice cream, which we believe is called asam embang/ buah mawang in Sarawak, and that drew some attention with the locals here.

To know more, check out their Facebook and Instagram page.

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