Messy Witchen - Food, Recipe, Dining Blog

Pan-Fried Ang Ku Kueh

Are you a fan of ang ku kueh? I certainly am a BIG fan. The thing is when I was young, I disliked eating the outer skin as it can be tough to chew, so I only went for the oh-so-yummy and fragrant mung bean paste filling. Don’t worry, I eat everything now. 😛 Do you know that besides eating ang ku kueh as is and steaming it, you can also pan-fry the ang ku? If you have not tried it before, then you must give it a go!

Growing up, whenever we have leftover ang ku, my late grandma would pan-fry ang ku kueh for us. Yes, I ate everything when she cooks it this way. However, due to old age, she stopped making it. I kept saying to myself “Soon, one day I will make it for grandma and family.”, “One day!”, “One day ya!”. That one day was during our first CNY without grandma. I was too late! Nevertheless, I just knew I must continue this tradition.

These pan-fried ang ku kuehs may look blistered and ugly but wait until you try one! 😍🥰🤤

April 26, 2021
3,081 views

Chinese, Pork, Quick & Easy

Lap Cheong Seaweed Rice Soup

Here I am with another lap cheong recipe. It’s definitely 🌧️ raining lap cheong over at my household. Using the leftover of the lap cheong claypot rice 臘腸煲仔飯, I was able to create a new dish from it called lap cheong seaweed rice soup (sorta like Korean 국밥 gukbap). And, if I reduce the water proportion, it became thick like porridge. Granted the rice is whole and not broken which I think can easily be remedied.

Lap cheong seaweed rice soup. This version has less water hence it looks like porridge. It’s absolutely delicious!

March 9, 2021
2,396 views

Chinese, Pork, Quick & Easy

Lap Cheong Claypot Rice 臘腸煲仔飯

To those of you who are celebrating Chinese New Year, I hope you’re having a fabulous time so far. I wanted to make lap mei fan 臘味飯 although I’m not celebrating because it’s so delicious plus I didn’t have any last year. Unfortunately due to the SOP, I wasn’t able to travel further than 10km to get the lap mei ingredients (which hails from Hong Kong). Thankfully, I was able to get homemade lap cheong (臘腸 Chinese preserved sausage) and yun cheong (膶腸 Chinese preserved duck liver sausage) from an online seller. And thus, this dish is born!

When I first ate this lap cheong claypot rice, I was immediately reminded of lap mei fan. It’s like I’m eating lap mei fan but without the lap yuk, lap ngap hoong, etc. I didn’t miss lap mei fan after this. Oklah a ~~lot~~ bit. 😛 Lap cheong claypot rice is called lap cheong po chai fan/bou zai fan in Cantonese. It’s so good that the claypot dish doesn’t need anything else except good quality lap cheong and rice. I don’t add any seasonings or garnish (no greens at all).

I’ve been making and eating this lap cheong claypot rice many times since the end of January. It’s a quick and easy meal especially when you’re so busy but want something comforting in half an hour. And when you’re sick of Chinese New Year food or you only have lap cheong on your hand, remember to try this.

Lap cheong claypot rice is so simple to cook and it rewards you with flavor bombs that tease your palate! I highly recommend this dish.

February 15, 2021
4,377 views

Brownies

Rich Dark Bitter Brownies

Hello, 2021! I’m starting this year’s recipe with a sweet treat.

Are you a brownie lover? I sure am. Frankly speaking, I’ve never heard of anyone disliking brownies. But, what about dark bitter brownies? Between the dark, regular and milk chocolate of any kind, I always go for dark. The darker the chocolate, the bitter it is and the more cells in my body light up. Haha Personally, I can go up to +80% cacao. Anything above 90% is just TOO BITTER!

For this recipe, I used Lindt Excellence 85% cacao. Please use good quality dark chocolate of the same percentage. That way the brownies will turn out like how it’s made in this recipe. By the way if you’re looking for gluten-free and dairy-free brownies, checkout my adaptation of Rachel Allen brownies.

Rich dark bitter brownies… Mmmmmmm! ❤️😍

January 26, 2021
2,079 views

Talk Food

D’ Amazing Mekong Kumquat 68% Tiền Giang Single Origin Plus Chocolate Bar

First of all, thank you for hanging out here with me while I blogged everything Hanoi, Vietnam for the whole year. This may or may not be my last post about this beautiful country. Meanwhile, I would like to wish everyone an advance Happy New Year 2021! Let’s keep on doing our magic 🪄 in the kitchen.

If you’ve read: Chocolatey Goodness @ Maison Marou Hanoi, then you would know why I’m writing this post.

Yep, I’m dedicating this post for the outrageously awesome Mekong Kumquat 68% Tiền Giang single origin plus chocolate bar. It’s so amazing that it earns a blog post from me.

When I was at Maison Marou Hanoi in Vietnam late last year, of all the chocolate bars there, I went and bought only one that is the Mekong Kumquat 68% Tiền Giang as a souvenir for myself. I’m not a fan of citrus in chocolate and would avoid it at all cost but I choose this bar because it had just received a Silver award at the Northwest Chocolate Festival Awards right before my trip. My curiosity was piqued.

Behold! The amazing Vietnamese chocolate bar that is Mekong Kumquat 68% Tiền Giang. I love the packaging design and color combo.

December 30, 2020
1,685 views

Talk Food

Lạc Rang Húng Lìu (Vietnamese Spiced Roasted Peanuts)

Fancy some roasted peanuts? What about lạc rang húng lìu which hails from Hanoi? Lạc rang húng lìu or spiced roasted peanuts is a delicious snack that can be enjoyed by all ages (well, as long as you have good teeth 😜). It’s awesome with a cup of tea, wine or beer. I reckon it’ll be awesome in ice-cream, pastry or salad. Lạc rang means roasted peanuts while húng lìu is a spice seasoning powder comprises of four or five ingredients such as cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, cloves and sometimes sweet basil.

Húng lìu is the Vietnamese version of Chinese’s five-spice powder though they are quite different in flavors. Besides roasted peanuts, húng lìu is also used in meat marinating especially pork, beef, duck and seafood. The meat is usually roasted, grilled or stewed. The flavor of húng lìu may differ slightly depending on the proportion of the spices used and mixing method. Btw, húng lìu means sweet basil. Surprise! Surprise!

Bảo Hương lạc rang húng lìu. Notice that the peanuts are quite similar in size. It’s an important aspect of lạc rang húng lìu.

November 30, 2020
2,403 views

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