Sesame balls and fried taro balls

Sesame balls and fried taro balls. These are among the many Mauritian delicacies and are usually eaten during the Chinese new year. The sesame ball is made up of rice and glutinous flour, mixed with some sweet potato mash, and sugar. It is filled with red bean paste or lotus paste, rolled in sesame seeds and then deep fried.  As for the taro ball, it's a sweet mixture of grated taro, deep fried. Both taste really delicious. Honestly, I have never made them. Yes, I'm not a big deep fried cooking, and eating (since recently), but I would not say no to one or two of these, anytime. My mum cooked them and they are truly yummy. Both are crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside.

 

 

Matcha (green tea) cookies

My third time using matcha powder. I decided to make some cookies. These cookies consist of almond meal, white chocolate and chopped almonds. I think they make a great combination together with the green tea powder, and the cookies are real crunchy, not only from the chocolate and almonds, but the texture itself.

 

 

 

Mini cheesecake

Time for a new post. I made those mini cheesecake about two weeks ago. These are really simple to make, require few ingredients, and more importantly are delicious. A mini sweet treat.

MINI CHEESECAKE RECIPE
Makes 24 mini cheesecake

Ingredients:
Filling-
250g cream cheese, room temperature
1 egg
1/4 cup caster sugar
Juice of half lemon
1 tsp vanilla extract

Base-
100g cornflakes (or biscuits), crushed
25g melted butter

Method
1. Mix cornflakes and butter.
2. Spoon over mini muffins pan

Preheat oven 160 degrees (fan forced)
1. Cream cheese with sugar.
2. Add lemon juice and vanilla extract.
3. Incorporate egg and mix until combined.
4. Spoon mixture over muffin pan.
5. Bake for 20 -25 minutes.
Serve with jam, fruit coulis or fresh berries.

 

 

 

 

Dinner at Ko Sing

We had dinner at a Ko Sing (a chinese restaurant) to celebrate my graduation. I really like the food there, definitely my favourite restaurant so far. I think, unlike other restaurants, their dishes are tastier (neither too salty/ sweet/ oily - just the perfect balance), generous, fresh and so delicious. On this occasion we ordered several plates. I loved all the dishes, they looked amazingly and tasted just like you'd imagine (even better, much better).

First, we had honey chicken (enjoyed the crispiness of the batter and sweetness of the sauce- the right balance),  the special fried rice (I think this was the only so-so dish), sizzling beef (the beef was tender- what you'd expect from this dish), peking pork (this was absolutely the dish of the night, was so unbelievably good, crispy on the outside, soft meat and the sauce- so wonderful), the japanese tofu ( it was alright) , seafood tofu claypot (really like this one as well- the 'healthy' dish of the night), soft noodles (was good), and mapa tofu (it's a sort of mixed fried tofu and meat combo with some sauce and veggies on the side- tried it for the first time and thought it tastes alright  or maybe I was too full already). Anyway, I enjoyed each mouthful on my plate.

By the way, I took the photos with my new camera, a nikon one :) Now I spot the difference.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homemade pizza

Homemade pizza. Yes I finally made my own pizza and by this I essentially mean making the dough (which is super easy I might add). My fillings include capsicum, button mushrooms, bacon, sundried tomatoes and obviously cheese. The base was slightly crunchy the way it's meant to be and all the ingredients matched perfectly together. Making your own pizza at home is really worth it, not only you control your toppings but you can make it healthier. Use fresh ingredients and season to your liking.

 

Graduation day !

Just thought that I ought to post something today because it is indeed a big day- sort of. So congratzzz to me and congratulation to all graduates. Well done :)

Fudge brownie (with almond and white chocolate)

Mmmmmmmm brownie. This must be the best dessert ever :chocolatey, sweet, smooth, crumbly, crunchy.  What to ask for more? Maybe a lil scoop ice cream on the side. It is definitely a guilty treat.

 

Purchase of the day

I bought these 3 items today. A strainer, duster and teaspoon measuring set: three cheap but so useful tools in the kitchen. I have been looking for these utensils for a long time and finally managed to get hold of them. I especially like the teaspoons set, it's like a doll-ish one, with the cute designs. I can't wait to use them. True, just can't have enough of kitchen tools :)