Rempeyek Kacang (Crispy Peanuts Fritters) 【炸花生饼】

I always buy this fritter as a snack from Kopitiam (Coffee shop) near my house when I was young. I remembered paying 5 cents apiece years back, I loved the taste of spices and the crunchiness of it. 

Rempeyek is normally made in round shape using a special metal mould back home. Since I do not have a mould here , I used the Javanese method to make it, which is to flow the batter by the side of hot wok and later push it down into hot oil using a turning spade to deep fry.

小时候很喜欢这款炸花生饼，是每次去咖啡店都要买的一款小点心。我还记得多年前一块炸花生饼是5分钱。不晓得现在一块多少钱呢？

炸花生饼在马来西亚一般是圆形的，用一种类似勺子的平底模子铺上米糊和花生炸酥。我手上没有模子，所以就做了印尼款的花生饼，把米糊淋在锅边定型后再铲到热油里炸酥。

Blue Chai (Blue Pea Flower Tea) 【蓝花茶】

When I made Nyonya dumplings not long ago, many friends asked me about the blue coloring I used to dye the rice. It is from blue pea flower/butterfly pea flower, it is a natural food coloring with a lot of health benefits.

According to Wikipedia:

Clitoria ternatea, common names including butterfly pea, blue pea, Aprajita, Cordofan pea and Asian pigeonwings, is a plant species belonging to the Fabaceae family.

......Names in other languages include bunga telang (Malay), อัญชัน `anchan (Thai), đậu biếc (Vietnamese), अपराजिता Aparajita in Hindi and 蝶豆 dié dòu (Mandarin Chinese), 'Sankhu Poolu/Sankham Poolu' in Telugu, "Shankupushpam" in Malayalam language and অপরাজিতা (Aparajita) in Bengali.

In Thailand, a syrupy blue drink is made called nam dok anchan (น้ำดอกอัญชัน), it is sometimes consumed with a drop of sweet lime juice to increase acidity and turn the juice into pink-purple.

前阵子做娘惹粽 的时候好些朋友问我娘惹粽漂亮的蓝色是怎么来的。它是用天然色素蝶豆花染的，出来的效果非常好。蝶豆花是个健康保健的好东西、有抗氧化、提升脑力、护发、提高抵抗力的效果。

在泰国，人们会把蝶豆花泡热水做成蓝色的饮料，有消暑养生的效果。

 夏天来一杯蓝花茶，不仅消暑，是不是还很梦幻呢！

Thai basil chicken recipe (pad kra pao gai ผัดกระเพราไก่) 【泰式打抛鸡丁】

I had previously made Pad Ka Prao using minced Chicken, Turkey and Pork, all turned out very nice and tasty.

This time I have used diced chicken and added some long bean, it allows us to have more vegetables and hubby loved it so much, he had 2 plateful!

我之前用肉末做过好吃的泰式打抛肉，今天用了鸡丁加上豇豆。能够多吃蔬菜，味道很好，俊爹吃了两大盘还不够呢！

Jaljeera 【孜然饮料】

Jaljeera is the Indian way to deal with lost of appetite and indigestion on hot summer days. The taste is so rich and flavourful that it almost instantly brighten your mood! Try it out if you haven't already!

夏天总有胃口不开，消化不良的感觉。在印度的时候，那里的夏天是超乎想像的热，当地人就会做些开胃而且帮助消化的冷饮喝。这个Jaljeera就是其中一款。

Banana Chocolate Chips Cake 【香蕉巧克力蛋糕】

My husband have this obsession of bananas that it's almost absurd, he has to bring a bunch of banana back whenever he goes to the grocery store. Needless to say, he goes to the store a little too many times this month, and I was left with a bunch of overripe bananas again.

So I made this cake with the help of my son A yesterday night and had it for breakfast today, the chocolate chips really kick the taste up a notch!

俊爹有很奇怪的香蕉情意结，他每次去超市非得带一梳香蕉回来不可，这两周我比较忙，日常购物就让他去得比较多。单看我家香蕉的数量，大概就可以知道最近是谁在购物了。

香蕉一过熟，我们家就没人肯吃了。昨晚带着俊宝把熟透的香蕉都用来做了这款蛋糕，加入巧克力豆真是个精明的选择，让这款蛋糕好吃得不行哦！

Bamboo Shoots Rice【竹笋焖饭】

When mom was here in the States, she loves to buy fresh bamboo shoots from The Asian market, she will stir fry it with tofu or made stew with pork belly.

She told me about this rice dish that she used to eat as a kid couple of weeks back. When I saw fresh bamboo shoots in the market, I brought home some and made this rice dish and shared with a few friends. 

My friends loved it so much that one of them even brought me more bamboo shoots days later and request me to make it again!

我妈很喜欢吃鲜笋做的菜，她在美国的时候只要看见鲜笋就会买几只回来炒豆腐干或炖肉。

几个星期前妈妈跟我提起鲜笋焖饭，是她小时候很爱吃的美味咸饭，我问了做法后，到亚洲超市买了鲜笋，处理好后留起一大半来做菜，一小半做了这个焖饭。

做好的焖饭送给几个朋友吃，大家都好喜欢。一个好友还在几天后买来一大包的鲜笋，让我再做一次！

Soy Sauce Seared Pork 【酱油煎肉】

Long/summer holidays were mostly spent playing with cousins at grandpa and grandma's house when I was young. Having meals with my beloved cousins was one of the fondest memories I have.

This Seared sliced pork is one of our favourite dishes made by grandma, I could eat so much rice with it, it has been years, so I am making it for lunch today!

小时候的长假基本是和表妹们在外婆家过的，外婆家在马来西亚南部的一个华人新村里，小小的村落有我们满满的记忆。

和弟弟妹妹们一起热热闹闹地吃饭是儿时一个很温馨的记忆。外婆经常做这道酱油煎肉，是一道很下饭好吃的快手菜。小朋友们有了这道菜，都能吃好些米饭呢！

Seafood Tomyum （Tomyum Thale）ต้มยำทะเล 【海鲜东炎汤】

I planted lemongrass and kaffir lime tree this year and have been waiting for it to be ready for a good pot of homemade tom yum soup. Thanks to a good amount of rain and sunshine lately, my kaffir lime tree is thriving well.

I woke up to pouring rain today and immediately decided it's time for a good hot bowl of tom yum soup, I ran to my garden, cut two stalks of lemongrass in the rain and quickly snipped a few Kaffir lime leaves. 

Off  I go to work on my seafood tom yum soup !

我一直很想做一次传统的东炎汤(冬荫汤)。今年种了香茅，还从朋友处得了一棵疯柑树，终于等到两棵植物都可以收成了，买齐了材料。

今天一早起来就是阴阴沉沉的雨天。冒着雨出去割下两根香茅，剪下几片疯柑叶。

回家做一碗香辣清爽的海鲜东炎汤，喝下去暖暖的，很舒服喔！

Bak Tong Gou (Steamed Sweet Rice Cake) 白糖糕

One of my mom's childhood friend sells Kuih/cakes at the morning market. Her White Sugar Sponge Cake is exceptional, very crunchy, sweet with a touch of sourness.

I have to thank my sweet friend Bobo selflessly shared her recipe with me, this Bak Tong Gou (白糖糕）turned out exactly like I remembered.

Note: The original recipe was written in February 2011, updated with new photographs.

我妈有个朋友是在早市卖糕点的，她做的白糖糕特别好吃，口感爽脆，甜味合适，加上白糖糕特有的微酸，常常让人欲罢不能。

昨天跟好友Bobo聊到了白糖糕的做法，她无私的跟我分享了她的食谱，我马上就动手了。今天早饭吃的就是这个。一入口，就感动得想哭。就是这个味道和口感。。。。真的很谢谢Bobo呢！！

注：原食谱写于2011年2月10日.