His Grandma's Old Recipe - American Chili

I love old recipe cards in a box. Any recipe that had made its way to a recipe card and be kept in a box for years, you know it must be good. You can also tell which recipe was frequently used just by looking at the cards. Some cards are nice and clean while others are filled with tiny spots of grease or patches of caked up flour. My husband's (a.k.a. Mr. P.T.T.) late grandma had kept such a box. It was filled with old recipe cards that she had hand-written in old, cursive writing. After she passed away in the 1970's, her recipe box was being passed down to my father-in-law. I was very fortune to have the chance to look at the recipe cards years ago. And out of the few recipes that I have tried, Mr. P.T.T. loves this American Chili the most.

American Chili

Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 Medium onion (finely chopped)
• 1 can 15 oz Red kidney beans (Mr. P.T.T. likes thicker chili, so he always drains half of the liquid from the can)
• 1 can 14.5 oz diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato soup
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. Brown ground beef and onion in a large pot. Add salt and pepper to taste. Using the back of a wooden spoon or potato masher, break and beef up into small pieces while it cooks and browns, about 4 to 5 minutes.
2. When the beef is browned, drain excess grease and stir in diced tomatoes, tomato soup, red kidney beans and chili powder.
   
3. Cover and simmer on medium - low heat for 30 to 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
   

Chinese Prosperity Cake - Huat Kueh

Smiley, happy, prosperous…what more can you ask of a cake? Chinese prosperity cake, also known as Huat Kueh (Hokkien), Fatt Koh (Cantonese) and Fa Gao (Mandarin) is one of the most well-loved food items that Southern Chinese make (and eat, of course) during important festivals. As Chinese New Year is less than a month away and it is my favorite festival, I have decided to give it a try in making these sweet steamed cakes. Traditional Huat Kuehs are made with simple ingredients like regular flour, rice flour, water, yeast and sugar. Orange sweet potatoes (also known as yams in the United States) are sometimes added to make the cakes more flavorful. Chinese in South East Asian countries such as Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand also like to add coconut milk and pandan juice extract to the cake batters.

As I did not have any yeast in my pantry, I have chosen 2 simple “yeast free” recipes. Before making the Huat Kuehs, I told myself it would be fine if the cakes did not rise or split open like they should. I mean, cakes are cakes, no hard feelings. However, I found myself standing and waiting impatiently by the stove after I placed cups of cake batter into the steam pot. I also kept peeping through the glass lid to check how my “fortune” is going to be for the coming year. Well, my fortune should be good as the Huat Kuehs did rise and they tasted pretty good too!

Recipe I
(for the darker looking Huat Kuehs, adapted from fenyingrecipe.blogspot.com)

Makes about 10-12 small cakes.

Ingredients:

- 250 grams Self-rising flour (sifted)
- 200 grams Dark brown sugar
- 220 grams Coconut milk

Method:

1. In large bowl, combine self-rising flour and dark brown sugar.
2. Stir in coconut milk and mix until all ingredients are well-combined.
3. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with batter to about 90% full.
4. Cover and steam at high heat for 15 minute or until cooked.

Notes:

• If the batter is too dry, stir in more coconut milk.
• When steaming the Huat Kuehs, do not open the lid during the first 12 minutes. Opening the lid will draw cold air into the pot and affect the rising process of the cakes.
• Beside silicone and aluminum muffin cups, porcelain cups can also be used for steaming Huat Kuehs. Just pre-heat porcelain cups in the steam pot for a few minutes before pouring in the batter.

Recipe II
(adapted from mami的魔法廚房, tw.myblog.yahoo.com/mami-sophia)

Makes 10-12 small cakes.

Ingredients:

For the brown sugar honey syrup

- 100 grams Okinawa brown sugar (or regular browh sugar)
- 290 grams water
- 1 tablespoon Honey

For the cake batter

- 1 ¼ teaspoons Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- 15 grams Corn flour
- 100 grams Rice flour
- 150 grams Cake flour

Method:

1. Mix brown sugar and water in a pot.
2. Cook at low heat until sugar melts.
3. Stir in honey and let mixture cook for another 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and cool completely.
5. Combine and sift all the dry ingredient into a big mixing bowl.
6. Stir in the brown sugar honey syrup until well combined.
7. Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups with batter to about 90% full.
8. Steam at high heat for 15 minutes.

**I would like to thank Violet Fen Ying and Mami-Sophia for their wonderful recipes!