This was what we had this evening!

Thai BBQ chicken with Sweet Chili dipping sauce (rec. has been posted.)

Stir-fried Water convulvous
I bought a bunch of water convulous in a Vietnamese shop on Sat. Though this is supposed to be a summer vegetable, we can still find it around town here in Melbourne. I was told it’s flown from Queensland. This vegetable needs to be washed and snipped into small section before you can cook it. One bunch usually looks like a whole lot, but it will clasp lafter cooked like spinach.

I heated the pan to high until slightly smoky Added 2 T. vegetable oil. Threw in 3 cloves chopped garlic, 2 chopped bird’s eye chilies and 1 small slice of crumbed balachan (dry shrimp paste). ** The dry shrimp paste has a very pungent smell (not very pleasant) before it’s cooked. But it’s a vital ingredient in South East Asian cooking.

The above dishes were served with a bed of boiled Jasmine rice.

The dessert was an easy coffee cake with Kahlua icing
(I can’t remember from which cookbook I obtained this rec.?)

Coffee cake:
125g unsalted butter
3/4 cup caster sugar
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 t. vanilla essence
2 cup SR flour
1/4 cup + 1T. milk
1/4 cup freshly brewed (cooled) strong expresso coffee (I used Lavazza coffee.)
Kahlua Icing:
1 cup icing sugar
15 g unsalted butter, melted
4 t. Kahlua Liqueur

Preheat oven to 180 C. Brush a deep 8 inch round cake tin with melted butter; line the base and side with paper, grease paper. Using electric beaters, beat butter and sugar in a small mixing bowl until light and creamy. Add the eggs gradually, beating thoroughly after each addition. Add vanilla; beat until combined.

Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl. Using a metal spoon, fold in the sifted flour alternately with the milk and coffee. Stir until just combined and the mixture is almost smooth. Spoon mixture into the prepared tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Leave the cake in tin for 10 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely before adding the icing.

To make the Kahlua icing:
Combine sifted icing sugar, melted butter and liqueur in a small bowl to form a firm paste. Stand bowl in a pan of simmering water, stirring until icing is smooth and glossy; do not over heat or the icing will be dull and grainy. Remove from heat. Spread icing over cake using a flat-bladed knife.

Note: Since this is a REALLY "ugly" and "down-to-earth" cake by itself, I cut off the center with the largest cookie cutter. Made some rum truffles (rec. has been psoted.) out of that piece and piled them in that "hole" after icing the cake. And I also sprinkled some chopped, roasted hazel nuts on the icing.

PS: It is still not too pretty!