Homemade Chilli Flakes

I was half a mind on doing this post. Since this recipe is so simple, I wasn't sure to just post a short recipe on my instagram or make an official recipe on Yummy~licious. After a long thought, I choose the latter because it would be easier for my daughter or son to search for it in the future. (You see, one of my wish for this blog is that this blog will be a place where my children would come to for their mommy's recipes.)

As I was saying, this recipe is so simple and straight-forward that you almost do not need a recipe to do it. It only need one ingredient, which is dried red chillies. You can easily get dried red chillies from supermarket, and if it is not available on the shelf, you may dried your own red chillies.

If you are drying your own chillies, you have the flexibility to choose the types of chillies used, hence controlling the spiciness. For a spicy tone, you can use red cayenne pepper with habenero or bird's eyes chillies; or if you want super spicy, you can sneak in a ghost pepper. And if you prefer a milder hot, you can use red cayenne pepper with chipotle. Of course, these are just suggestion of combinations. You may use whatever chillies you wanted.

These chili flakes are good to go on anything - pizza, pasta, Asian style fried noodles, chicken dishes and basically anything that you needed an extra kick!

HOMEMADE CHILLI FLAKES

Prep Time  : 10 mins
Cook Time : 15 mins
Total Time : 25 mins
Makes       : 20g chilli flakes/ approx. 1/3 cup

Ingredients:
25g dried red chillies

Directions:
1. In a pan, using low heat, dry roast chillies until they turned slightly brown/ dark red. Let them cool completely.

2. Blitz the roasted chillies for few seconds to get a coarse texture or to a texture that you prefer. Don't over do it, or else you will end up with chilli powder.

3. Store in a jar and keep refrigerated for upto 6 months.


Notes:
● The roasted chillies will further crisp up after you've cooled them down. Be careful not to over-roast your chillies. Best is you try it after cooling them down. If they break easily, means they are ready for next step. If they do not break easily/ bend, dry roast again on pan for a few more minutes.

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Make this recipe? Don't forget to snap a photo of it and tag #msyummyliciousrecipe on social media! I would love to see them! Enjoy my recipe!

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Grandma's Golden Syrup

Many years ago (around 5 - 6 years ago), my hubby's grandma taught me how to make traditional mooncake. Unlike commercialized mooncake, traditional mooncake has a pastry skin that is moist, cakey and has a hint of fragrant caramelized smell. You can right away spot a traditional mooncake by these charateristics. All these because of one main ingredient - the GOLDEN SYRUP.

Golden syrup or light treacle is a thick, amber-coloured form of inverted sugar syrup made in the process of refining sugar cane or sugar beet juice into sugar, or by treatment of a sugar solution with acid.

It has an appearance similar to honey and is often used as a substitute where honey is unavailable or prohibitively expensive.

Molasses, or dark treacle, has a richer colour than golden syrup, and a strong, distinctive flavour.

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_syrup

Because of its amber-colored, the golden syrup gives the mooncake a very nice brownish skin without overbaking it. Back then, I thought that the golden syrup is only to be used in making mooncakes. I didn't know that it was sold in bakery supplies shop. (Pardon me for my shallow knowledge!)

It is only recently when I googled for gingerbread man recipe that I learn golden syrup is called . And later when I googled more about it, I found out that it is also used in making desserts and other yummylicious baking goods. (sou desu ne/そうですね。- Oh I see!)*

And today, I am making this syrup in preparation for my Christmas baked goodies. Are you ready for Christmas? Let's start!

GRANDMA'S GOLDEN SYRUP

Prep Time  : 2 mins
Cook Time : 40 mins
Total Time : 42 mins
Makes       : approx. 1 1/2 cup

Ingredients:
2 cups castor sugar
1 cup water
3 calamansi limes (halves and desseded)

Directions:
1. Combine castor sugar and water in a thick-bottomed pot. On medium high heat, boil the mixture. Lightly swirl the pot a few times as the sugar begins to melt, combining the sugar with the water. Leave to let it simmer.

2. Once it has reached boiling point, add in the calamansi limes and turn down the heat to medium low. Continue to let it simmer, for approx. 30-40 mins, until it turned amber color. If you are unsure whether is it time to off the heat, then try to scoop out a spoonful of syrup and let it cool under the fan. Check the consistency. If it is sticky and feels like honey, then it is done.

3. Let it cool but not completely before pouring to a jar.

Notes:
● If you find that your syrup is too thick after cooling down, you can add hot water to dilute it, and cook again. Likewise, if the syrup is too runny, you can cook again until it reach the consistency of honey.

● If the jar is pre-sterilized, you can keep the golden syrup for as long as one year. The longer it is kept, the more fragrant your baked goodies will be.

● The syrup may look watery when it is hot. It will become thicker as it cools. That is why I prefer to pour the syrup into the jar when it is still at its runny state.

#msyummyliciousrecipe
Make this recipe? Don't forget to snap a photo of it and tag #msyummyliciousrecipe on social media! I would love to see them! Enjoy my recipe!

Note: *Yes, I do use a few japanese words in my daily conversation, eg; Hontōni?/本当に? - Really?, Chotto Matte/ちょっとまって - Wait a moment, Doumo/どうも - Thanks.

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