Cooking with Ben Yeo: Happiness is a warm pancake

SINGAPORE — When a guy offers to cook for you, you don’t say no. Especially not when that guy is Ben Yeo. So, when the popular variety show host, eatery proprietor and Singapore Hotel and Tourism Education Centre (SHATEC) graduate volunteered to don an apron and flip some woks for us, we jumped at the chance to have someone cater (get it?) to our every gastronomical whim and fancy.

This being the new year and all, we decided to get him to whip up four interesting recipes for us to try at home. True to form, the multi-talented Yeo put on his chef’s hat and came up with thoughtful creations for our every craving.

This time round, we said: I’m feeling blue. Please make me something that will cheer me up.

BEN’S DISH: Berry Happy Pancakes With Banana Ice

Emotional eating – we’re all guilty of it. Sometimes, there’s a gaping hole inside you that only a fat slice of chocolate cake can fill. If you ask us, there’s nothing our ears crave hearing more than these three little words: All-day breakfast.

“Everyone loves pancakes – men, women; kids, adults. And sweet things always make people happy,” Ben said. For example, “I feel relaxed when I have HotCakes from McDonald’s.”

This pancake dish, he said, is “very colourful, and looking at fresh fruits makes you happy. It’s very easy to prepare. And you’ll feel very healthy.”

What other foods make Ben happy? “I’m a very simple person, so home cooked food always makes me happy – whenever my mum cooks, or even my wife. The taste is not as important as the feeling you get,” he said. Cake also makes him happy. “I have a sweet tooth. I always have to end my meals with something sweet, even if it’s just a piece of chocolate or a cup of hot tea. It makes the meal complete.”

Because even if you’re not feeling particularly blue, a good meal perks you up like nothing else can – and it’s even more satisfying if you can justify it as being chock-full of fibre and anti-oxidants, too.

BERRY HAPPY PANCAKES WITH BANANA ICE (Serves 2)

INGREDIENTS

Instant pancake mix

1 banana

Raspberries

Blueberries

Strawberries

Chopped kiwi

Whipping cream

Chocolate sauce

METHOD

Peel the banana, place it in a Ziplock bag and freeze for at least an hour.

Add water to pancake mix and stir until smooth.

Heat a non-stick pan.

Pour one tablespoon of batter onto the pan for each pancake.

Flip the pancakes when they start to bubble.

Whip the cream until soft peaks form.

Stack the pancakes, top them with whipped cream and chocolate sauce, and plate them with the fruits.

Grate the frozen banana over the pancakes. Serve.

Special thanks to The Providore Cooking Studio and Electrolux.