Cooking made Easy with Philips!
It’s not rocket science… cooking that is. It’s just that with everyone’s busy schedule these days, its hard to cook especially if they are working. I completely understand as I myself have a full time job and only reach home late in the evening. Though as much as I love to cook, it’s the thought of buying, preparing, cooking and cleaning up that sets me back. With this said, I do want to find alternative ways to assist me in making a home cook meal simply because I know what I am putting into my body. In addition, nothing beats home cook food anyway…
A quick briefing by April from Ogilvy
A recent invite to the Philips Smart Kitchen Cooking Workshop has certainly opened up my eyes to the brilliance of technology in making cooking much simpler. The workshop is tended for anyone who loves a good home cook meal, even if you love to cook or can’t cook. All you need is some technology to assist you in preparing your daily meal. With Philip’s list of gadgets, we set on our mission to whip up a full course meal in the workshop with special guest Puan Marina Mustafa.
Puan Marina Mustafa is a writer of three cookbooks and has co-hosted ‘Dari Dapur Marina Musafa’ on Astro Awani. The lady wears many hats in many sections of the food industry.
In this workshop, Philips has showcase 3 of their latest kitchen gadgets, Philips Electric Pressure Cooker, Philips Soy Milk Maker and Philips Airfryer. I was amazed at how easy cooking was that day. Here is the journey of the workshop which I partnered with my long-time buddy Sid.
Basically, the summary of making all the recipes is as easy as ABC!
A to prepare the ingredients by measuring and slicing or chopping
B to put all the ingredients into the Philips kitchen gadget
C to press the appropriate function for the dish
First up, ingredients were prepared and laid out. As soon as the workshop began, we went through the recipe booklet and with the guidance of Puan Marina, we began chopping, dicing and slicing to make our first recipe of Nasi Beriyani Gam Johor. I was curious, using the Philips Electric Pressure Cooker to cook rice. I never knew a pressure cooker can be used to cook rice. This kitchen gadget really changed my mind!
Pictures speak a thousand words… here are the steps through my lens:
A Ingredients are washed, measured, sliced & diced
B Put in the ingredients one at a time
The photo here is a compilation of each ingredient being put into the Philips Electric Pressure Cooker. Give the final mix a quick stir.
C Close the lid of the Philips Electric Pressure Cooker
Set the dial to lock up the valve locks to iniate the pressure. Press the functions for RICE and START
A little yellow food coloring is added for color & contrast
Philips Electric Pressure Cooker is smart enough to calculate the cooking time of the ingredients. Wait for 14 minutes for the pressure cooker to finish cooking. Stand back and release the pressure valve to release the pressure before opening up the lid to serve up the rice. It’s that simple!
Beriani Gam Johor Rice Recipe
Ingredients
2 cups Basmathi rice, washed and drained
1 1/2 cups water
1 medium-sized onions, sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1/2 cup ginger (2inch ginger blended with 1/2 cup of water: Drain. Keep the ginger juice)
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup evaporated milk mixed with 2 tsp lime juice, (to make thairu/yoghurt)
1 stick cinnamon stick
1 star anise
5 cloves
5 cardamoms
2 pandan leafs, torn and tied into knots
1 pinch saffron, rubbed with 1/4 tsp sugar and soaked in 2 tbsp. rose water
1 stalk fresh coriander leafs, cut in 2
I handful sultanas
1 handful cashew nuts
1 handful crispy fried shallots
Method
1. Put the Basmathi rice, shallot, ginger, garlic, water, olive oil, thairu and salt into the Philips pressure cooker pot. Stir gently to mix the flavors in.
2. Top with cinnamon stick, star anise, cloves, cardamoms, pandan leafs and saffron mixed with rose water.
3. Close the Philips pressure cooker lid properly.
4. Press Rice and the Start button.
5. In 14 minutes, the Beraini Rice should be ready.
6. Create a hole in the centre of the beraini and put the cooked beraini chicken and eggs in the hole. Let it rest a while.
7. Sprinkle with cashew nuts, sultanas and crispy fried shallots when serving.
Next up, a sumptuous Kuzi Ayam/Kambing also cooked in the Philips Electric Pressure Cooker. Normally, a good curry needs time to braise all the spices and ingredients together. Here, one just puts in every ingredient again and set it to cook. Cooking time is also lessen drastically with the pressure cooker and in 20 minutes, the curry is ready!
Kuzi Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
Blend together
20 bulbs shallots
8 cloves garlic
2 inches ginger
Other ingredients
2 kg chicken/mutton cut into 16 pieces
4 eggs, oiled
4 tbsp beriani spice
1/2 cup tomato puree
1 stick carrot, skinned & cut into finger sized lengths
2 tomatoes, quartered into wedges
4 tbsp honey
1 stick cinnamon
2 star anise
6 cardamoms
6 cloves
1 cup water
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 sprig coriander roots, cut into 1 inch lengths
1 sprig spring onions, cut into 1 inch lengths
1 sprig Chinese celery, cut into 1 inch lengths
1 big handful of plucked mint leafs
Method
1. Put all the ingredients above, except the last 4 ingredients into the Philips electric pressure cooker.
2. Mix everything in together.
3. Press CHICKEN button and then START button.
4. In 20minutes the Kuzi chicken/mutton should be ready.
5. Remove the Philips pressure cooker lid and sprinkle with the coriander roots, spring onions, Chinese celery and the mint leafs.
6. Serve over the Beriani Rice when ready
Andy Soh from Philips was available to give us a few pointers on how to release the pressure from the Philips pressure cooker before opening the lid.
Philips Electric Pressure Cooker works like a charm! It’s smart enough to cook the food by its own estimation. It’s fast, cutting down cooking time like a breeze. It even keeps food warm for 12 hours. Easy to use, its user friendly with most having a two-step functions. Made safe for cooking, the gadget locks up under high pressure and there is an auto pressure release device to ensure safety during cooking. One can do wonders with this pressure cooker and it even has a bake function!
I want one… or maybe even two…
My first time meeting the Philips Soy Milk Maker and this one comes in the form of a kettle jug with an attached twin boomerang-shaped blade. One can make fresh soy milk, five grains soy milk, rice paste, fruit/veggie drink and pureed soups in this gadget. We were to make a sweet dessert broth with this gadget and the steps remain the same. Dump in all the ingredients and set the gadget in motion!
Kacang Hijau Dessert
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup of green beans (soaked for 4 hours)
1/2 cup of palm sugar
1/4 caster sugar
1 cup of water
1/4 cup pandan juice
1 slice ginger
1 1/4 cups coconut milk
Method
1. Place the soaked green beans, palm sugar, warm water, coconut milk and pandan juice into the Philips Soyamilk Maker.
2. Select the five-grain mode and press the Start button.
3. After 25 minutes, the Green Bean dessert should be done.
The Philips Soy Milk Maker has the technology to boil and cook the ingredients before pureeing the ingredients to a smooth texture. Depending on what dish one needs, there are five functions for various dishs. There is an Easy Clean function that starts preliminary cleaning by heating up and stirring the water, allowing for easy cleaning at one’s convenience with less effort. I can already see me whipping up soups and sweet desserts on daily basis!
Our final recipe of the day is dessert! Showcasing the Philips Airfryer, one can now enjoy tasty food and snacks without the oil. I am very familiar with this one since I won one at the recent Simplot Food Blogger Competition here. A technology using rapid air circulation for healthy frying, the Philips Airfryer is easy to use. The recipe here is to mix all the ingredients, packed it into a case and baked it in the airfryer.
Coconut Fudge Slice Recipe
Ingredients
1 cup plain flour
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 cup desiccated coconut
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
3/4 cup butter (melted)
1/2 tsp vanilla
Method
1. Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl. Mix well.
2. Pour the melted butter and vanilla over the dry ingredients. Combine it all together.
3. Spread the coconut mixture in a greased tin. Press the mixture until firm and compact.
4. Bake in a preheated 170C preheated Philips Airfryer oven for 20minutes.
5. Once cool, pour icing evenly over the slice.
6. Sprinkle with desiccated coconut and cut into slices once the icing is set.
For the Chocolate Icing
Ingredients
1/2 cup icing sugar, sieved
2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tbsp butter
1/2 tbsp. hot water
1/4 cup desiccated coconut
Method
1. In a large bowl, put in the icing sugar and cocoa powder.
2. Put in the butter and pour the hot water, Stir till well mixed.
3. Pour over the slice and sprinkle with desiccated coconut.
The Philips Airfryer is great for parties and any occasions for a fry-up. Its easy to use as one simply sets the temperature and timer. Food is cooked with very little or no oil. The best part is food cooked in the airfryer has a crispy outer layer with a tender inside.
At the end of the workshop, we had a presentation competition of the dishes we prepared and two winning teams walked home with a Philips Electric Pressure Cooker and Philips Soy Milk Maker each.
Me & Sid is one of the winning team and here are our dishes…
* photo from Philips
We enjoyed the fruits of our labor that day to end the workshop. What I took home was priceless, the experience of how Philips Smart Kitchen Cooking Workshop made cooking so much easier and faster, its quite amazing!
Imagine coming home, prepare ingredients and dumping it all into Philips gadget, shower and dinner is ready... best part of all? Little clean up!!
I am dreaming of owning a Philips Electric Pressure Cooker now to add to my family of Philips kitchen gadgets…
* photo from Philips
For more information, check out the Philips Home Living at their Facebook & Website.
*Psst, there is contest going on at their Facebook and one can win Philips products. Find out more here.
