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Make Your Own Yee Sang This CNY!

Learn to make easy Peanut Cookies this Chinese New Year!

Cakes for CNY!

More recipes below!

Sharing some easy and some so-worth-the-extra-effort recipes you can pull off in your kitchen.

From pasta sauces and easy bakes to simple curries and rice dishes I hope to inspire some new cooks to get busy in the kitchen.

thesuddencook

In Malaysia 🇲🇾. Hi, I’m Hema 👋.
Writer ✍️ @makchic
Also creator of www.thesuddencook.com
Click ⬇️ below for recipes.

I’ve been neglecting my third child😢. The one

I’ve been neglecting my third child😢. The one who is patient and never tires of me. I showed it some 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞though this month as I made it a point to rekindle the connection before 2024 is up. So up went a new post. 🎉The latest recipe on thesuddencook.com - Macaroni Goreng got its inspiration from an 𝐮𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐲 of places. It has become a favourite with the kids. Cooked pasta coated in a sauce made up of pantry staples combined with bite-sized chicken and veg of choice.Back to the third child. It never talks back, always listens and doesn’t whine. I clearly have a favourite. 🤩 www.thesuddencook.com - your siblings drive me nutso sometimes but you, you - stay behaved. Latest recipe here:➡️https://thesuddencook.com/macaroni-goreng/#dinner #recipe #pasta #goreng #macaroni #macaronigoreng #pastagoreng

My first real teacher when it came to cooking was

My first real teacher when it came to cooking was definitely my 💁‍♀️sister. I only discovered the cooking passion ‘suddenly’ at 28 and by this time it was an open secret that she was a great cook. I would ask her very basic questions because I truly was a beginner in every sense of the word. My next teacher taught me to think out of the box. Now a bit more apt at cooking, I was introduced to her during the pandemic. She taught me that it’s ok to include soya sauce and oyster sauce to a pasta dish (!) with 🧈butter and 🧄garlic and have it taste absolutely delicious. She taught me how (though it sounded odd to me), adding 🥬kale into chicken soup is acceptable and turns out delish. And last night she taught me how to make 🥚Egg Foo Yong. Using minced pork and 🍤prawns with a little side sauce that brought the dish together. It was well enjoyed. So thank you @mariongrasby. You’ve made cooking a nice, pleasant adventure for me since 2020. #mariongrasby #marionskitchen #recipe #beginner #cooking

I remember thinking vividly that baking with not o

I remember thinking vividly that baking with not one, but two toddlers was just too.much.work. 😢And I was absolutely right. ✅When they were younger I would try. I would try to make it work by inviting them to bake with me. My son would insist the flour be strewn on the counter top as a sort of track for his small little cars 🚘. My daughter would insist I add a whole tub of chocolate chips into the batter. I would insist they leave my kitchen. Some sort of crying would be taking place by this time😭 (most of the time by me). My patience wore thin and it was the absolute worst. Times have changed. One has gone on to be a great little helper 😍. Here’s a Chocolate Cupcake recipe the kids love. ➡️https://thesuddencook.com/moist-chocolate-cupcakes/#baking #recipes #chocolate #cupcakes #chocolatecupcakes

Delish Baked Butter Chicken by @recipe_tin. Are yo

Delish Baked Butter Chicken by @recipe_tin. Are you a butter chicken fan? This recipe is super straightforward. No marinating ahead of time needed. No stove cooking. 🎉Marinate the chicken thighs with salt, Garam masala, cumin etc. Then in a baking dish add ingredients for the sauce like passata, ghee and cream. Add chicken to said baking dish. Bake. Enjoy with rice and a veg or roti if you prefer. The sauce comes out with a lovely red hue combined with a smooth, silky, creamy texture. Chicken is nice and tender. It was the ease of making this dish on a busy weeknight which I totally appreciate. Most ingredients are on hand. Passata is something I use when making bolognese too. On the hunt for more busy weeknight recipes please. For the full recipe head to:https://www.recipetineats.com/one-pan-baked-butter-chicken/#recipetineats #dinner #butterchicken #butterchickenrecipe

🍗Roast Chicken the only way I know how. Using

🍗Roast Chicken the only way I know how. Using a dry rub made up of spices like ✨paprika, salt, cinnamon, cumin, turmeric + some crushed 🧄Add in some olive oil and create a paste. Rub all over butterflied chicken. Allow to marinate. Pop into oven. We ❤️ the chicken roasted with a slight char on the skin. Tender and moist, juicy flesh. For the recipe and tips head to:➡️https://thesuddencook.com/how-to-roast-chicken#roastchicken #recipe #dinner #chicken

I like using the mortar and pestle to 🔨pound in

I like using the mortar and pestle to 🔨pound ingredients. It’s like a nice step to release some antsy 🤪energy. Also it’s the first day of school holidays. But of course there is no connection between that and said antsy energy…ahem. This version of 🍗ayam goreng berempah using the air fryer requires me to pound some lemongrass, 🫚ginger and 🧄garlic into a rough paste. That with some meat curry powder, salt + turmeric powder create some kind of ✨magic paste. Let the chicken marinate for a while for good results. Pop into air fryer. There is also something about bruising (another good stress reliever, whacking the end of a long stem of lemongrass with the 🔪knife) (again nothing to do with school holidays) lemongrass so it releases its 🎉magic. Full recipe:➡️ https://thesuddencook.com/air-fryer-ayam-goreng-berempah/#dinner #recipe #airfryer #airfryerrecipes #ayamgorengberempah

𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙗 #46

𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙘𝙡𝙪𝙗 #46 𝙩𝙤𝙙𝙖𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙. 🎵You’ve been faithful through my story, You are worthy of all glory🎵We sing this in church every Sunday. I feel like it was written for me. From having two children in my late 30s to back to being gainfully employed in my mid 40s, He has been faithful. I am blessed with a work tribe a girl could only dream of. I get to write and create again. Most of all, I continue to enjoy cooking and the therapy it brings. He has been faithful. Grateful for all that I have, prayerful for all I continue to need. Glad to be on this journey of being The Sudden Cook with you. 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉#46 #grateful #thankful #foodblog #recipes

Pasta carbonara for dinner tonight. I’ve used an

Pasta carbonara for dinner tonight. I’ve used angel hair pasta (my least 😳 favourite) as it’s what my daughter chose on our last trip grocery shopping. In a bid to fake encourage her to choose what pasta she wanted, she chose my least favourite one 😭. I’ve got a couple of pasta dishes on rotation here. Some paired with 🍤 prawns, some with chicken and like tonight’s one with 🥓bacon. Some use short pasta (spirals are a favourite). White sauce versus red. I personally prefer the lighter sauces like the cherry 🍅tomato pasta sauce I do occasionally. Pesto (using sweet basil 🌿)is a favourite too. Basil plants are easy to grow unless you neglect them then they die. Just ask my garden. 🪴 Some nights are pasta nights. Recipes:➡️https://thesuddencook.com/pasta/#pasta #pesto #bolognese #carbonara #alfredo #cherrytomato #recipe

When it 🌧️ rains I make it a point not to @gr

When it 🌧️ rains I make it a point not to @grabfoodmy , because my order will be ‘in the kitchen’ then ‘in the kitchen’ then ‘in the kitchen’ then ‘sorry your order is cancelled’. 20 mins of my life I will never get back. And so understandable as less riders also 🏍️. So as it rained tonight, I decided to crank out the sardine tins and make a simple sardine sambal with hot white rice. 🍚But the greens that accompanied. Oh the @boomgrow freshly harvested green Tatsoi, Japanese Kailan and Red Pak Choy that sat in the bowl with the rice and sardine sambal, held its own. Stalks were still crunchy with a hit of that oyster sauce and sliced garlic 🧄 while the leaves were flavoured and not too wilted. So fresh. Sardine sambal- so good on a rainy night with hot white rice. Recipe:➡️https://thesuddencook.com/sardine-sambal#dinner #sardine #sardinesambal #kailan #pakchoy #tatsoi #boomgrow

Pesto pasta with meatballs. Little N loves her s

Pesto pasta with meatballs. Little N loves her some 🌿pesto. Pesto involves putting stuff into a food processor or blender and well, blending while a thin stream of olive oil is poured in to help. It makes a great 🍕pizza base too. Goes well on top of protein like chicken or fish. Nicely spread on toasted 🍞sliced sourdough with a sunny side up 🍳maybe. We just use it as a pasta sauce. I use pumpkin seeds (instead of pine nuts) and chuck in together with basil leaves, shredded 🧀parmesan and 🧄garlic cloves, season with salt and pour in good quality olive oil while blending. Little N is happy clappy. Then I told her to empty out clothes from the dryer then not so happy.🤔Pesto recipe➡️https://thesuddencook.com/pesto-as-a-pasta-sauce/Air fried meatballs➡️https://thesuddencook.com/juicy-air-fryer-meatballs/#dinner #pesto #pasta #meatballs #recipe

Easy 🍒 cherry 🍅 tomato pasta sauce with 🍤

Easy 🍒 cherry 🍅 tomato pasta sauce with 🍤 prawns. So good!✅Minimal prep. I make it then chuck in the prawns at the end. This sauce got me continuously thinking how less ingredients and a little hack can go a long way. 🎉The main friends are olive oil, garlic 🧄 and 🍅cherry tomatoes. I do add basil 🌿 if on hand. The little hack is the baking soda to cut the tartness of the tomatoes. I like. Together with salt and sugar that’s all the ingredients needed 👌- we’ve had it with prawns and also meatballs. ➡️Recipe: https://thesuddencook.com/easy-cherry-tomato-pasta/#dinner #recipe #cherrytomatoes #pasta #pastasauce #prawns

Char Kway Teow is a great big favourite of the two

Fried penne with minced chicken and carrots 📣

Fried penne with minced chicken and carrots 📣Today the pasta sauce was almost non existent. It was just a slight savoury coating onto the pasta but full of flavour. 💡The ‘sauce’ is made up of tomato sauce, sugar, salt, pepper and some chicken stock. You can use whatever short pasta and whichever minced meat you have. Veggies? Also up to you. I’ve used diced carrots and a handful of cherry tomatoes. 🍅 ✅While pasta is boiling, get a saucepan heated with some oil. In go some sliced 🧄 garlic. I added the 🥕carrots next and a splash of water 💦 to let it steam and cook thru. After a bit, add in the cherry tomatoes and minced chicken. Let chicken sear at bottom then toss and combine. 🥫I then added 4tbs tomato sauce, 1/2 tsp each salt and sugar, pinch of pepper and 1/2 tsp sesame oil. I crumbled in half a chicken stock cube and added about 120ml water. Mix. Add in cooked pasta and it will absorb this fake sauce. Toss and serve right away. 🍽️It was a good way of using up one packet of mince and some veggies I had. You can also garnish with chopped spring onions. #pasta #friedpasta #mincedchicken #carrots #tomatosauce #dinner #recipe

I let my 🧒 girl win some mealtime🥘 battles f

I let my 🧒 girl win some mealtime🥘 battles for the betterment of everyone’s peace. For example she doesn’t like 🥬leafy greens such as spinach. It still gets served, but she nicely puts it away on the side, like some unwanted ❌ rejected part of the meal. Example #2 - she doesn’t like 🍇grapes. Of all fruits, the easy one. The no need to peel just wash me and I’m good to go fruit. Nope she says. Nevermind. She also doesn’t take to onions 🧅. I’m sorry did she think I was going to omit onions from my cooking!? In that cute little mind, did she think I would not use the mother of all ingredients in my future cooks 😳. I said “I will never not use onions in my cooking.” I didn’t make eye contact. She fell silent. She ate. At least she knows she can’t win all the time. Pictured here are two dishes with onions somewhere in between. A chicken noodle soup and a salmon egg donburi. Both her favourites also 🤔. #dinner #salmon #egg #donburi #noodle #noodlesoup #chickennoodlesoup

Bak Kut Teh is something we all enjoy. Growing up

Bak Kut Teh is something we all enjoy. Growing up my mum didn’t cook🙅‍♀️ pork at all so it was my dad who exposed us to many pork dishes from restaurants including firm favourite BKT. I essentially chuck in the store bought BKT sachets into clay pots once the water is boiling together with some garlic 🧄 and let it be for a bit before chucking in the pork ribs. Let that cook till meat is tender. Remove sachets and add a tablespoon of light soya sauce. 😋Taste. We have this with Yau Char Kwai and some tofu pok (tho I’m not a great big fan). Oh and that cut 🌶️cili padi is mandatory. Soup is tasty, ribs are tender and dunk that yau char kwai into the soup till it soaks up all that goodness. And don’t forget the garlic oiled rice to go with. Not just plain white rice but flavoured with garlic oil and salt. Trust me it makes such a difference. #bakkutteh #pork #porkribs #dinner #bkt

The Sudden Cook was born out of my 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 little family going thru a high bout of uncertainty a few years ago, coupled with a global pandemic otherwise known as the year 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟬. 🙎‍♂️My spouse was going thru a particularly challenging time and stress was our friend. Determined to channel my energy somewhere useful, I bought the domain for thesuddencook using WordPress and re-started sharing my recipes. 🌟I dug up knowledge I acquired working with designers and programmers over the years and somehow managed to build something decent. ✅Today, Google felt it was worthy enough and decided to reward me with a 100USD pay check. The progress was slow but with passion it’s nice to persevere. 🎉This is a shoutout to the website. The recipes in there are recipes I use day to day. Born out of uncertainty and what felt like gloom and doom on some days, it has somewhat (slowly) progressed. It’s not shouty or glam, but it has somerecipes which some of you have tried and either DM-ed, pm-ed, commented about or what’s app-ed me about. Thank you! I hope they help. 🙏So grateful for that bout of uncertainty. Safely said 3+ years later. 😅 Thank you for allowing me to be on this journey of TSC with you. 💕 💡thesuddencook.com #recipes #foodblog #sharingrecipes #foodblogger

Fish curry after a while. I had it with rice 🍚

Fish curry after a while. I had it with rice 🍚 while my people had it with leftover roti canai. Backstory: This is the first year my kids made themselves useful and helped wrapped presents. However they just had to do it while I was cooking said curry. So there I was dashing between the kitchen and living room, half dropping in some ikan tenggiri into the curry, half cutting paper and giving a crash course on gift wrapping 🎁. Thankfully both presents and fish curry turned out ✅. ➡️You can search ‘fish curry’ for a simple recipe on thesuddencook.com#dinner #fishcurry #fish #curry #tenggiri

Made this cherry 🍅 tomato sauce pasta today and

Made this cherry 🍅 tomato sauce pasta today and included 🦐 prawns. It made for a tasty dinner. After making the sauce, I used the same pan to pan fry the prawns and added in the pasta. Mix it all up. Also I did some kitchen math today. ✅It takes me 5 minutes to cook spaghettini but 25 minutes to ask my son to bath before it happens. ✅It takes me 10 minutes to make this sauce but 15 minutes of wondering if my son used soap in said bath. ✅Also 2 mins of taking photos of food but 20 minutes of ‘when is dad coming home’, ‘is dad on the way’, ‘has dad left’, ‘do you think there is traffic jam from dad’s office’’ ETC. ➡️Full recipe here:https://thesuddencook.com/easy-cherry-tomato-pasta/#pasta #prawns #cherrytomatoes #cherrytomatosauce #dinner

I had to use up some 🫑 capsicum and some lettuc

I had to use up some 🫑 capsicum and some lettuce, so I put together this pasta salad. No sautéing, no baking, no frying, no big time prep. Just chop chop a little and mix mix the dressing. Of course boil the pasta. For the dressing:☀️Half cup mayo👩‍🌾2 tablespoons mustard (I used whole grain mustard)🍋 1 tablespoon lemon juice Season with 🧂+pepper Tιρ:Cut the veggies 𝓉𝒽𝒾𝓃𝓁𝓎. You can also throw in celery and spring onions. Optional: Add hard boiled 🥚. Paired this with salt and pepper air fried chicken wings. Just rinse the wings, pat dry and nicely season with salt and black pepper. Pop into preheated air fryer for 15 mins at 180C. My daughter ‘suddenly’ decided she disliked mayo this year. So I put the dressing on the side with her pasta instead of mixing it together. She was happy. A bit too happy. Almost excited. 🤔 #pasta #salad #pastasalad #capsicum #chickenwings #airfryer #airfryerrecipes #chicken

✅A golden trifecta right here for me - dhall, lu

✅A golden trifecta right here for me - dhall, luncheon meat masala and air fried crispy ikan bilis. 🎉I’ve forgotten how easy and convenient it is to air fry ikan bilis. Rinse, then pat dry, coat in oil and into the pre-heated air fryer. Five minutes or add on a minute or two for extra crunch. Leave to cool and it will crisp up further. Store well. 🤔Ikan bilis to me is so underrated. It is not particularly alluring to look at, it smells of the sea and it has such a boring colour but the minute you fry them and they come out a golden brown - oh it packs such a punch! 🤗Luncheon meat masala - canned food which transforms into a quick enjoyable ultra processed protein combined with 🍚white rice, crispy ikan bilis and a creamy dhall to bring it all together. Search ‘air fried ikan bilis’ and ‘luncheon meat masala’ in thesuddencook.com for recipes and tips. #ikanbilis #airfried #airfriedikanbilis #luncheonmeat #dhall

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