Will I end up an 'enci-enci' in 10 years time?

"enci-enci" (tante-tante) is an Indonesian term used to describe chinese ladies above the age of 30 which seem to show several or all of the following characteristics:

• loss of feminine curves due to fat deposition especially in the torso area
• uncontrollable anger particularly towards their significant other and children
• high pitched voice
• short hair - almost like Demi More's from the movie "Ghost" or just plain boy cut
• weird sense of fashion, colour co-ordination and make up.

I brought up this topic because I'm of chinese descendent and I (or you) may have a high probability of ending up as one in 10 years time. So, I've decided to start habits which I think will stop me evolving into an "enci-enci" over the next ten years. Some of them are:

Exercising

• I find that if I take walks 30 minutes/day it will make me feel happier and healthier. "Mensana Incorpore Sano: a healthy mind is found in a healthy body"
• may be weight training? (i've never done this before - if anybody knows can you tell me?)

Taking care of myself

• I try to eat a lot of raw vegetables and fruits to give me antioxidants good for skin
• I found my most suitable facial skin care
• I try to avoid as much make up as possible, except: lipgloss and mascara
• I try to have enough sleep

I try to wear coloured clothes with good fit

• I think that wearing coloured clothes in a co-ordinated way can make me feel better. I like khaki and the more earthy colours in particular and I also like dresses ^^

I try to solve problems with people and keep a positive attitude

• I know that I'm not particularly good in this, but I'm working on it

Ok, I really really really hope this will stop me from becoming an enci-enci, but if you have any other suggestions - please feel free to feedback because it may not only benefit me but also many people :)

Prawns Friend in Butter / Udang goreng mentega

wahahaha.. ketawan ya gua lagi kebanjiran udang! kekekeke

500 g prawns, clean but don't shell
2 tablespoon butter
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup of soysauce
1/4 cup of lea & perrin's sauce
2 tablespoon of sweet soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon of powdered white pepper.

• fry prawns in high heat, remove from pan
• sautee garlic in butter
• add in soysauce, L&P sauce and sweet soy sauce and pepper
• cook until it bubbles
• pour back prawns into pan
• Serve immediately
  

Crumbed Prawns

Yaapp.. you'd proli be drooling by now - so why not make it yourself?

500 g prawns, shelled
2 tblspoon plain flour
1 egg beaten + add 1 tspoon of chicken stock
bread crumbs

• dip prawns in plain flour
• then in egg mixture
• then in bread crumbs
• fry until golden brown

Soyamilk Buns with Dark Chocolate Custard Filling

Hello.. it's been a while since I posted anything in here... anyway, I've been watching this Japanese anime series - called "Yakitate Japan". Basically, it's about a boy who has hands which are warmer than the usual hands and creating an environment which are good for the yeast to ferment and he's so good in baking so many different kinds of bread! Anyway, in the first episode, he made bread with soymilk for his grandad to eat his nattou (fermented beans) and miso soup for breakfast. So, i tried making it. I substituted the usual milk with soymilk and it tasted so good!!!! (I also added in dark chocolate custard, but feel free to discard it). This is also good for people who have intolerance to dairy milk! So, here is the recipe.

Mixture A:
100 g bread flour (high grade flour)
1 sachet of yeast (11 g)
150 mL warm soy milk (can always microwave it for 30 seconds in medium)

• Mix all and let it stand for 20 minutes until you can see holes/perforation in the dough

Mixture B:
400 g bread flour (high grade flour)
50 g sugar
150 mL warm soy milk (preparation as above)
1 egg yolk (keep the white in a separate bowl)
50 mL canola oil

• Mix flour and sugar in a big bowl
• Mix warm soy milk and egg yolk in a small bowl
  
• Pour (soymilk+egg yolk) into the big bowl containing (flour+sugar)
• Knead with your hands until incorporated and no flour crumbs are found. If mixture is too wet, try adding 1 tablespoon of flour until the mixture is at the right consistancy.
• Knead for 10 minutes using your hands on a clean surface
• Pour in the canola oil all over the dough
• Knead for a further 20 minutes, to form gluten
• You will end up with an elastic and nonsticky dough
• Heat up your oven till 30C for 10 minutes, then turn it off.
  
• Place your kneaded dough in an oiled big bowl and cover it with cling wrap. Place it in the heated oven for 1 hour
• (You can prepare the chocolate custard during this time)
• Take it out and punch the dough down to let any gas out, do not knead the dough after this. Let it rest for 5 minutes
  
• Heat up your oven again to 30 C for 10 minutes and turn it off.
• Shape the dough as you like
  
• Put it back in the oven for a further 15 minutes for further proofing
• Take buns out, reheat the oven to 175C for 10 minutes
• Brush buns with egg white
• Bake for 15-20 minutes in the oven

Dark Chocolate Custard

200 mL milk
50 g dark chocolate (I used Whitakers dark ghana)
1 tablespoon of sugar
1 tablespoon of plain flour
1 tablespoon of cocoa powder
1 tablespoon of cornflour
1 eggyolk

• mix (sugar+plain flour+ cocoa powder+ cornflour+ eggyolk) in a bowl
  
• heat up milk and dark chocolate in medium heat until the chocolate is melted (careful not to burn).
• Pour it into the egg mixture, whisk carefully until no lump is found
• Cook again under medium heat until custard thickens (make sure to continuously stir).

PS: this recipe is good for those who doesn't have a bread maker or a big mixer, cuz you can use ur hands!! ^^

Rest In Peace Elmo

In memory of Elmo

The wind last night was ghastly... and so was it to take away the life of our beautiful Elmo. Elmo passed away peacefully last night while sleeping. In shock and horror, we found her stiff and cold this morning.. We saw the signs, something in her changed, she wasn't the lovely rabbit we once knew - may be she's tired.. it was afterall her time to go. Rest in peace Elmo.. we will always love you and we will always remember the time you had filled our lives with love and fun. Goodbye Elmo... I (L) U.. :_(

The end of university year - (at least for now)

I finally finished my thesis. And I printed it.. and I bound it and now I'm free - Free as a bird. After 2 months gruelling work.. I am happy to say that I was the third person to hand in their thesis. A lot of my fellow students were still writing up (not editting!!), sigh - I'm glad that I've finished it. It was almost 100 pages.. and after printing, i kept on finding so many mistakes... T.T! But it all got sorted.. thank goodness!! so, I'm really happy! YAY!!! ^^ I'm very pleased ^^

Tips of the day : mengatasi kepegalan bekerja didepan computer

Inilah posisi, situasi dan kondisi gua..setiap hari selama 2 bulan berturut2.. DUDUK didepan komputer. Pegel kan?! iya emang pegel.. pegel banget.. bukan hanya pegal tapi... lemakpun bertimbun didamana2! betapa menyeramkan.. Akhirnya.. gua menemukan suatu cara untuk menghilangkan itu semua... ya itu... duduk cara superman!! Gini ya caranya.. ambil 2 korsi.. lalu tiduranlah didua korsi tersebut, kalo punya korsi kantoran lebi enak lagi.. soalnya ketinggian bisa diadjust. Sangat menarik bukan? Nah.. buat kamu2 yg kerjanya duduk terus - cobain aja ini... bisa sambil stretching leher pundak dan kaki lho, mengetik didepan computerpun tidak menjadi masalah lagi! Ayo dicoba ya semua ^^

Sumpah ini posisi enak banget... pinggang semua distretching.. woot!!

Macha-Red Bean Spiral buns

I finally baked last friday .. it's been a while after I posted anything that involved me making anything, but here I did... and I was sorta tired when I did this because I had stayed late to edit my thesis and in the morning I had to tutor Elizabeth (Irene's friend). But, I wanted to make something anyway... lol.. took me a while, i finished at 1/2 2 am! I dont know about the taste cuz I havent tasted it, but my dad said it was nice.. ( I knew I put in heaps and heaps of butter.. lol..) I won't post the recipe until I have perfected it.. Anyway.. Have a good weekend y'all..

Waiting

As I wait tonight, i remember the nights that I always wait.. waited for you to come. You know that I hate waiting, even I know that you hate waiting. Then why make me wait? Like i'm less important than your TV series and today is Saturday night, wouldn't you want to come and see me? May be it's just another sign - a sign that the end is near.

1 week before due date - 1 last week in this lab

Counting from today, it is exactly 1 week before the due date of my dissertation. I'm feeling far more confident than 2 days ago when I was feeling a great void of emptiness.. lol.. I got all my proofreads back today.. and I'm feeling good that I still have a week to do final edits before the big printing. I know it's a lot of work but it'll all be okay - I can see clearly now the rain is gone.. hehehehehe.. Anyway - I guess I wont be posting in any new recipes since I'll be extremely busy this last week. Also I'm really sad in leaving this department :(.. :( and it's my last week here :( :(

The essence of emptiness

Today was the worst feeling of all. I dont know what it is, may be I was just mentally exhausted and zombified, but i feel so empty. Empty to the point of insanity. I dont even know what it is i'm writing here.. but then again.. my mind is vacuum, nothing i can do can make me in any position more motivated or any happier than anything. Kyaa.. then it all makes sense why famous people with heaps of money commit suicide.. cuz they feel empty - empty like me. I dont even understand the purpose of this post - well that's true, it has no meaning. I'm just trying to tell you that it's empty.. empty... just plain empty.

mood: empty

Updated*: Got my editted version of half of my thesis today, I don't feel so crazy anymore (^^). I guess it's just last minute thesis stress?

Klepon

Little Round Swamp Things

I remember eating these little things back in Jakarta right after school. They used to be sold in a little cart where the man that sold it sold another green coloured cake called "kue putu" and I used to buy them as soon as I get back from school. It's been my absolute most favorite kueh eversince I was little and nothing could be better.. hehe.. Then when I went to Australia, my mum learnt how to make them from this Malaysian friend of hers and I was 8 back then. I still remember how it was made in a cold night in Canberra. Anyway, i've decided to share the recipe with y'all.. syapa tau pada kangen juga :P

You'll need:

• 200 g of glutinous rice flour (tepung ketan)
• 3/4 cup of water
• Pandan Paste
• 75g Palm Sugar/Gula melaka/Gula Jawa = sliced thinly
• dessicated coconuts
  

How to make it:

1. Mix glutinous rice flour with water and 2 drops of pandan paste, bit by bit using your hands. Stop adding water when you can form a non-sticky ball.
2. Heat up some water in a pan and make sure it's boiling
3. Meanwhile, take a teaspoonful of the rice flour mix, form it into a ball and fill it with the sugar. Take care to completely enclose the sugar with the flour mix. Do so until flour mixture is finished
   
4. Place it in boiling water, when it's cooked, it'll float to the top of the water level. When this happens, wait for another 1 minute before putting it into a strainer (saringan) to let off excess water (You can make your klepon and boil it at the same time to save time)
   
5. Roll it in coconut.