Our homecook for this week, Hui Chin. She’s such an inspiration! You might have heard of Big Mama’s Pastries and might have even tasted some of her wonderful bakes. We are happy to bring you Hui Chin’s interview here today!
Aloha everyone! This is Hui Chin. I’m currently working as a freelance Graphic Designer, a Mum to two girls, one age 5 and the younger one 1 year plus. I started having interest in cooking only during my Poly days. My Mum has always been the one cooking in the house, who knows after getting married I slowly developed a love to cook! I started out by using my basic-sized HappyCall Pan to bake cupcakes and it was a breeze.
So earlier in January this 2014, with my hubby’s encouragement, I decided to take my bakes to the next level. I launched my small home-business, named Big Mama’s Pastries. I rolled out by taking orders for Chinese New Year. I must say it was really over-whelming! It is definitely a new learning experience for me and boy it was really satisfying. Share the love through my food!
1. What inspires you when it comes to food?
Beautiful food photos. Sometimes it’s when I see friends who post photos of yummy food and nice Halal Chinese food is hard to come by (I’m a Chinese Muslim Convert) so I would always be inspired to cook them myself instead 
2. What do you enjoy about cooking or baking?
Cooking & baking has a therapeutic effect on me. Especially late night baking! And of course when the food is completed I’ll quick plate them and take photos to share on Facebook. It’s such a visual satisfaction for me
3. Where do most of your recipes come from?
I would say majority comes from online researches and some are self-created. There are a lot of times where I can’t get halal version of certain food outside and I will try out to cook in on my own. And of course, foodgawker! It’s a daily dose for me to look through once a day with the app in my iPad for inspirations.
4. What is your favourite kind of food to make?
One-pot meals! Super easy to prepare and save lots of time!
5. Do you plan a weekly menu? If so, what inspires your menu?
Not really. I usually will ask my hubby what he feels like having or sometimes I’ll ‘propose’ to him a few dishes too. And of course when I see some food blogs posts and sometimes TV shows it will send ‘signals’ to my brain and here comes my cravings/ideas!
6. What is your favourite recipe posted on your blog/website?
That would be my all-time favourite Mee Soto!
Check out the recipe here (click on link)
I haven’t been very active in blogging recently so please bear with me until I’m back yea
7. What is your favourite kitchen tool/appliance?
I have to choose two. First would be my new Bosch Oven! I can bake both savoury and sweet stuff with it. Love it! Next will be my HappyCall Pots. They really make my cooking much easier and faster.
8. What is your best tip for getting dinner on the table?
Planning and being organised! Whatever I am cooking, I will plan ahead and 1st thing is to check if I have all the needed ingredients. Then next thing it will be a happy trip down to the Pasar (wet market)! Shopping for fresh ingredients really excites me and lightens me up! Anyone feels like me too? Hope it’s not the ‘Auntie’ in me calling. Wahaha.
9. What kind of food did you eat growing up? Do you cook the same kinds of things today?
Lotsa soup and mostly Chinese dishes. Yes I do still cook my Mum’s chicken soup and curry chicken but it’s my own modified recipe now.
10. Will you show us your kitchen? What is your favourite thing about your kitchen?
The handle-less drawers and the colour scheme! It has a much cleaner look to it after the reno done on our 15 year-old kitchen and storage has been a lot neater now.
11. What was the first dish you’ve ever cooked?
I think it was stir-fried spaghetti. It was hilarious as I remember I didn’t know how to gauge the amount and it ended up like a whole mountain wok of it! My hubby used to laugh at me for ending up ‘cooking for a whole village’. LOL.
12. Which are your favourite food blogs/ websites?
Sweetapolita
Noobcook
Table for 2
Ann Coo
Maameemoomoo
Cuisine Paradise
A recipe to share with Munch Ministry’s readers:
Stir-fried Hay Bee Hiam a.k.a Sambal Dried Shrimps French Beans
What you need
- A handful of french beans (cut into about 5cm-strips ‘diagonally’)
- 2 pcs of fishcake (sliced)
- 6 tbsps of onion (grinded)
- 2 tbsps of garlic (grinded)
- 4-5 tbsps of dried shrimps – Hay-bee (grinded)
- 3 tbsps of dried chilli (grinded into paste)
For the Seasoning
- Salt
- Sugar
- Kicap manis
Method
- Heat some cooking oil in the frying pan and sauté the garlic for 3 mins
- Add in the onion and cook for another 3mins
- Add in the grinded dried shrimps and cook for 10 mins or till almost dry
- Add in the chilli paste and add a pinch of salt & 1-2 tsps of sugar for taste and continue to stir-fry till the chilli paste darkens and becomes drier
- Add in a dash of kicap manis
- Add in the French beans & fish cake and mix evenly
Serve with hot steamed rice
Blog / Website
Facebook Page
Instagram
Checkout on Instagram #bigmamaspastries for my business bakes and #chineliciouskitchen for my usual cooking + bakes as well