Keema Curry / Minced Meat Curry 【肉末咖喱】

This Keema Curry is a Pakistani dish that I learnt from a friend, it is less spicy compared to most of the other type of curries, suitable for those who likes curries and can't take too much spiciness.

It is normally made with minced beef or mutton, I used minced turkey in my recipe and it still taste stunning! You just gotta try it!

肉末咖喱是印度以北/巴基斯坦的一道家常菜，是咖喱菜里比较少见的一个做法。一般用的是牛肉或羊肉末，我用了火鸡肉末来做这道菜味道也很好吃。

这道菜盖饭非常好吃，香料充分和肉末融合了，也不会太辣，喜欢咖喱菜的朋友可以试试看。

【芙蓉烧包】Seremban Baked Pau

芙蓉（Seremban）是马来西亚森美兰州（Negeri Sembilan)的首府，这个烧包是一开始在芙蓉开始生产的，比较有名的是拉杭区的奇美烧包。后来渐渐地全马来西亚各地都买得到这个烧包了。

我从前出远门的时候喜欢买一盒烧包，摆在车子里，是个很方便好吃的小点。

一直很想自己在家做一次这个烧包，趁这个长周末，就做一次吧！

Seremban is the capital of the state of Negeri Sembilan in Malaysia, this Baked Pau was initially made famous in an area name Rahang in Seremban, and eventually became the favorite pastry/snacks  for all Malaysian.

I used to buy a box of this famous pastry whenever I have to travel long distance, it’s a very convenient snack and does not require heating. I have been wanting to make this pastry once at home since I can't get this anywhere in the States... So I did!

Calamansi Juice/ Air Limau

Calamansi/Limau Kasturi Juice was a very refreshing beverage found only in the south east asia.


This particular citrus fruit is a very useful ingredient in the house. It could be use in cooking, season for soup, make into dipping sauce, salad dressing, beverage，cocktail,it is also a natural cleanser/deodorizer, we use this to clean our hand after cutting/cleaning fish!


Beside all that, I simply just love the smell and taste of it!I found not just Pandan leaves in Arizona this time, I also found this fresh Calamansi that I missed so much...

Since it's Mooncake festival today, and I had way too many Mooncake... its time to have this refreshing drink to help digest!

Gobi Manchurian 印式中餐【印度酸甜花菜】

During my years in India, I often encountered a question that I could not answer until much later. The question goes : "Can you teach me how to make Gobi Manchurian, the CHINESE FOOD ?"

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Oh yes, you heard it right, a Chinese dish that no Chinese ever heard forget eating back home in China. It is a dish that surely show up on the menu of any Chinese restaurant in India. A dish took me a long time to figure out what it is. Longer time to explain to my Indian friends that Gobi Manchurian is NOT a Chinese dish, and Manchu is NOT a state in China, it refers to the tri-states area up north in China in ancient time, the term Manchu is no longer in use geographically nowadays, Manchurian now refers to one ethnic group in China, and we find no trace of this dish in the Manchu's recipes...."

I could only imagine now that this delicious Indian-Chinese dish was created long back by some well-wished Chinese chef try to make a dish that suits the local taste buds with some local ingredients. It probably is a derivation from the the famous sweet and sour pork dish name guobaorou "锅包肉” from the northern part of China, Just a vegetarian version, with quite a number of modifications!

这道菜的名字直译就是“满洲花菜”，是印度的“中国餐厅”必有的菜式，也是印度人很喜欢的一个“中国菜”。

在印度的时候我经常会遇见印度朋友问到：“你能不能教我做满洲花菜呀？”。让我非常啼笑皆非！后来再遇见这样的问题，我就会说：“满洲花菜不是中国菜！不过，却是最接近中国口味的印度菜！”

我常想，这道菜可能是当年中国人移居印度，受当地食材和当地人口味的影响，由糖醋的做法演变而来的。而事实上是如何？就不得而知了。

Pandan Barley Water 【香兰薏米水】

Barley water is well known for its cooling property, it is used especially in the Southeast Asia, where the tropical climate brings with it the heat and humidity, this particular beverage could help to prevent dehydration and cool down the body.

It is normally made with screw pine leaves/Pandan leaves to give a sweet distinctive smell to the already very nice and creamy flavor  of barley.

It is very hard to find fresh screw pine leaves here in the States. Last week when I was traveling for work in Arizona, I paid a visit to a close friend, she show me around and I saw fresh Pandan leaves sold in the Asian supermarket. I was elated and waste no time to bring one packet home!

The Chinese traditional herb and medicine also believed that barley could help to reduce weight, cure water retention, is a good source of fibre, and could help to whiten skin tone. If used for long term, could also help to prevent freckles and wrinkles! Talking about home-made skincare huh!

东南亚天气炎热，很容易上火，所以那里的人都习惯喝点凉茶或者可以清热祛湿的饮料。这个香兰薏米水就是其中一种，香浓的薏米加上班/香兰叶的甜香，是一种让人不会忘怀的味道！

百度百科说：薏米是常用的中药．又是普遍、常吃的食物，性味甘淡微寒，有利水消肿、健脾去湿、舒筋除痹、清热排脓等功效，为常用的利水渗湿药。薏仁又是一种美容食品，常食可以保持人体皮肤光泽细腻，消除粉刺、斑雀、老年斑、妊娠斑、蝴蝶斑，对脱屑、痤疮、皲裂、皮肤粗糙等都有良好疗效。

上个星期出差亚利桑那，承蒙老友Linda收留，在她家住了几天。某天跟着她去亚洲超市买菜，可爱的Linda刚刚才跟我投诉说亚利桑那买不到新鲜的香兰叶一边就拿着一大包的新鲜香兰叶问我说：“盈盈这个是不是新鲜的粽叶啊？”我拿过来一闻，马上睁大眼说：“这不就是新鲜的香兰叶吗？”

谢谢Linda热情的款待，也谢谢她送我的新鲜香兰叶，让好久没机会喝新鲜香兰叶做的薏米水的我得以一尝久违的味道。

【糖酥饼】Beijing Traditional Pastry -- Sugar Puff

有一天看见网友『糖排』根据他姥姥传下来的做法做了这个糖酥饼。我很喜欢传统家常的食谱，觉得它们都有着浓浓的乡土味。而且这个小点是素食的，很适合做了请我的素食朋友们。

于是我就把食谱量化，做了好吃的糖酥饼。传统的做法和食谱要把它传下去喔！

A friend of mine posted his grand mother's recipe of this traditional Beijing pastry in a forum that I visited. Though I never have this pastry before and have absolutely no idea how it (should) taste. I decided to give it a try.

For I have this heartfelt feeling for anything traditional, especially those inherited from our fore-parents, those passes on to generations only by word of mouth...

The original recipe posted by my friend was without precise measurement, like his grandmother, he too goes by his gut feeling. So I decided to come up with my version of measurements for record sake.

I did send a few of this pastry to two of my Beijing friends to try, their comments? 

Superb! Just like how it should taste like back home... So I guess this is a safe recipe ehh...

Pressed Tofu Knot and Pork Belly Stew 【百叶结烤肉】

My favorite author Yi Su wrote about this dish several times in her books and I often wondered how will it taste. Not until much later that I finally had a chance to try this typical Shanghainese dish in my Shanghai friend's house.

The Asian supermarkets here sell this pressed tofu knot (百叶结) fresh,  it is so much easier to make this dish here than in Shanghai I guess.

The Shanghainese used to cut the pressed tofu and tie it into knots just to make this dish!

以前看亦舒的小说，总看到她写的这道江南菜百叶结烤肉，就一直在想，百叶结到底怎么去烤肉呢？

一直到在一位上海朋友家吃过这道菜，我才恍然大悟。原来百叶结“烤”肉是百叶结烧肉的意思啊！

我很喜欢百叶结的口感，这里超市也买得到新鲜的百叶结，就做了一次百叶结烤肉，很香，很下饭喔！

Spicy Roasted Chicken

I have tried a few Roast chicken recipes, they are all good. Somehow I always felt something is missing, so I decided to come up with my own recipe.

I did, and loving the result! Its spicy, its juicy!!