Light and fluffy Ricotta Cheesecake (with homemade ricotta)

I made ricotta cheese. Did you not know you could do that, with only 3 ingredients in less than 10 minutes! And all with curds and whey, I felt like Little Miss Muffet now waiting for a spider to pounce at me. So why make ricotta? Apparently, homemade ricotta gives the cheesecake a fluffier texture, and it did turn out to be light, fluffy and creamy, with a subtle taste of ricotta. I used a gingernut biscuit base just to add some flavour and texture, although you can omit that to make a crustless version.

Ebi Fry Curry Don (Fried Shrimp with Curry on Rice)

I posted a recipe for Ebi Fry back in February last year (has it been that long??) and I mentioned something about serving the shrimp (or prawn, depending on which country you're from) with thick Japanese curry. Well, it sort of slipped my mind because I was busy trying out other recipes at the time. One year and a bit later, here's the post, and it's still one of my favourite comfort foods, especially now that we're in the middle of winter (Down Under). Crispy and golden panko-crumbed prawns, coated in a thick curry sauce and served with rice, how can anyone resist?

Yurinchi (Deep fried chicken with sweet and sour sauce)

When I was little, I used to follow my mum to the Malaysian "wet" market in the mornings, where fresh meat and produce were sold. I have vague memories of those adventures, particularly how "smelly" the place was and I had to hold my breath every time we walked past the chicken section. There must have been hundreds of hens cooped up in their tiny plastic cages, clucking away noisily, awaiting their fate. I would cup my hand over my mouth to "filter" the air so that I didn't inhale any bits of chicken feathers floating around. I was relieved once mum finished her marketing and we could move on to the real purpose of the trip - which was to buy breakfast! There were street vendors outside the market who sold "yu tiao" (deep-fried dough fritters) and "muah chee" (glutinous rice balls with crushed peanuts and sugar) and getting to eat them always made the trip so worth it!

Simmered Pork Belly with Daikon

Most women [generally] get excited when they walk past a shoe shop or designer clothing store, especially when the word "Sale" is flashing everywhere. I don't think I fall in the "most women" category. I do believe in retail therapy as a form of stress relief or pick-me-up when things are looking down, but not when that designer jacket staring at you through the window has more zeroes than you'll ever see on your weekly paycheck. The only time my eyes light up with excitement while shopping is when I walk past the butcher (no, of course I'm not excited AT the butcher!), and then I'd stop to admire the different cuts of meats on display. That's my idea of window shopping. I enjoy browsing through the supermarket aisles or checking out the seasonal produce at the fruit and vegetable market.