Pandan Cake

Delicious aromatic exotic and super simple cake that looks like a slice of Shrek and tastes like heaven
Source:Singapore Shiok!

Taste: 5 (out of 5)
Difficulty: 1 (out of 5)

Ingredients:
- 1 tsp pandan essence
- 1/2 tsp pandan paste
- 160 ml water
- 4 eggs (280 cal)
- 160 g sugar (620 g)
- 1/3 tsp salt
- 400 ml coconut milk (750 cal)
- 140 g all purpose flour (510 cal)
Total: 20 servings, 2160 cal, 110 cal/serving

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 325F and grease with butter a 7"x10" baking pan.
2. Dissolve pandan essence and paste in water and mix well.
3. Combine eggs, sugar and salt in a large mixing bowl and stir with a whisk until well combined and sugar has dissolved. Don't overbeat or the batter will rise in the oven and then sink and form a depression in the middle.
4. Stir in the coconut milk and pandan mixture. Gently whisk in the flour in two or three lots. Again, don't overbeat.
5. If you get lumps of flour in the batter, strain it when pouring into the baking pan.
6. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until set.
7. Remove from oven and cool before slicing into rectangles, squares or diamonds or cutting shapes with a cookie cutter.

Afterthoughts:
- Delicious! It's like a Malaysian clafoutis: gooey, soft, custardy and smells like pandan. And it's so easy to make!
- Note that this cake does not have any butter or oil, only coconut milk, which is supposed to be healthier than other sources of fat. Right? Or at lease I would like to believe that.
- If you are lucky enough to have fresh pandan leaves, check out the original recipe on Singapore Shiok!. It also has some facts about this cake and deep aesthetic discussion on its resemblance to eraser ;-). And even if you don't have pandan or pandan essence, you should still head on to Singapore Shiok! for much prettier photos of the same cake as well as lots of other amazing recipes. Denise, the encyclopedia behind the blog, seems to know absolutely everything about food in Singapore, which is only limited to Malaysian, Chinese, Indian, Indonesian, and probably a dozen more cuisines. So whether you are interested in food or food for thought, her blog is a must read. And then you can also buy Denise's latest cook book "Mum's Not Cooking. Favourite Singaporean Recipes for the Near Clueless or Plain Lazy." Looks like this book was written especially for the likes of me, the lazy and the clueless ;-).

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Edamame and Carrot Thai salad

An easy side for an Asian dinner
Source: Adapted from Inquiring Chef blog

Difficulty: 1 (out of 5)
Taste: 5 (out of 5)

Ingredients

Ingredients
For the Dressing (150 cal):
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice (5 cal)
- 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tsp honey (15 cal)
- 1 tsp peanut butter (5 cal)
- 1 tbsp olive oil (120 cal)
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard (5 cal)
- salt, to taste
For the Salad (1370 cal):
- 1 tbsp olive oil (120 cal)
- 2 chopped green onions (5 cal)
- 2 medium carrot, cut into matchsticks (50 cal)
- 2 cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed (440 cal)
- 1 cup crushed cashews (755 cal)
Total: 4 servings,1520 cal, 380 cal/serving

Directions:
- Make the dressing. Whisk together all of the dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside
- Toss the salad. Combine chicken, green onion, carrot, and edamame in a large bowl. Drizzle vinaigrette over salad; toss gently to coat. Just before serving, sprinkle peanuts over the salad. Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.

Afterthoughts:
- Delicious simple Thai salad!
- The original recipe had chicken, but I used the salad as a side and skipped the meat. I will be making this recipe in its original version too, as a light lunch or dinner. Also, the original recipe called for peanuts, but I did not have them and used cashews instead.
- I made small modifications to the dressing. The biggest deviation was adding peanut butter. I am not a fan of peanut butter in baking, but I love adding it to Thai sauces.
- Inquiring Chef is a wonderful blog. Jess, the author, currently lives in Thailand and has a lot of Thai recipes, among many others. And her photos are absolutely professional and mouthwatering. If you have not been to her blog you are missing out :-)

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Red Curry Salmon with Coconut Brown Rice

A quick and simple weekday dinner
Source: Inquiring Chef blog

Difficulty: 2 (out of 5)
Taste: 4 (out of 5)

Ingredients
For the Rice (1140 cal):
- 1 cup brown rice (685 cal)
- 1 cup light coconut milk (445 cal)
- 1.5 cups water
- 4 green onions, thinly sliced (10 cal)
For the salmon (1140):
- 4 5-ounce salmon filets (1040 cal)
- 1 tsp Thai red curry paste (10 cal)
- 2 tsp light brown sugar (30 cal)
- 1 tsp soy sauce (5 cal)
- 1 tsp olive oil (40 cal)
- 1 lime, cut into quarters (15 cal)
Total: 4 servings, 2280 cal, 570 cal/serving

Directions:
1. Combine the brown rice, coconut milk, and water in a large, heavy-bottomed pot. Over high heat, bring the mixture to a boil. As soon as it begins to boil, reduce the heat to a very low simmer. Put the lid on the pot and allow to simmer for 40-45 minutes, or until all of the liquid is absorbed. Remove the pot from the heat and allow to rest, covered, for at least 5 minutes, or until you are ready to serve. Just before serving, stir in the sliced scallions.
2. Turn on the oven’s broiler. Place a wire rack on top of a foil-lined baking sheet, skin side up, if not using skinless filets. Brush the wire rack with olive oil to prevent the salmon from sticking. Place the salmon filets about 3 inches apart on the wire rack. Sprinkle the salmon with salt and pepper. Put the salmon filets under the broiler for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the red curry paste, light brown sugar, soy sauce, and olive oil. Remove the partially-cooked salmon filets from the oven and brush the red curry mixture evenly over the top of each. Return the filets to the broiler and continue broiling until the tops turn brown and the salmon is cooked through, 2-4 minutes more.
3. Serve each salmon filet over about 3/4 cup brown rice. Squeeze juice of 1/4 lime over each filet.

Afterthoughts:
- This was a really nice meal. I loved the sweet and spicy glaze over salmon.
- The original recipe was asking for 3 times more red curry paste, but knowing the curry paste that is available in our local grocery stores, I had to cut it significantly.
- I loved the idea of broiling the fish and was happy to experiment. But I have left it to cook longer than the recipe directed and my fish ended up on the dry side. It's my fault, not the recipe's. I normally make fish in a skillet and it's so fast and easy to see when it is done. I wanted to experiment with a new method, but I think I will stick to my skillet in the future.
- This post was my SRC assignment for January. Just in case you don't know yet, SRC, or the Secret Recipe Club is a group of over a hundred food bloggers, who are assigned a "secret" blog each months. Then they choose a recipe from that blog, make it and post it on their own blog on a given reveal day. Then there is a big party, where you hop from one blog to another and check what everyone's been cooking. Lots of fun! And terrible for your diet ;-) I want to thank Amanda, Jane and April for making it all possible!
- I am so happy that I got Inquiring Chef as my assignment. It is a wonderful blog with delicious looking recipes and beautiful photos. The recipes are very well organized, which I cannot say about my blog, unfortunately. So it was a real pleasure choosing a recipe for my assignment. In fact, I chose 2 recipes: I also made a Thai salad, which made a great addition to the meal. I will definitely be visiting the Inquiring Chef blog frequently, and so should you :-)

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