Ai Lien ^-^ Cook for Happiness

Braised Pork Spareribs with Sugar and Vinegar (糖醋排骨)

2011-04-03T13:39:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

400 g pork spareribs, cut into bite size

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp Chinese black rice vinegar

1 stalk spring onion, segmented

2 cup water

9 tbsp Chinese black rice vinegar

6 tbsp light soy sauce

9 slices ginger

6 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp oil

Method:

Marinate ribs with salt, pepper, sugar and vinegar for at least 30 min; set aside.

In a sauce pan or wok, melt sugar with oil over low heat till golden brown and caramelized.

Add-in ginger and stir-fry over high heat until fragrant and golden brown.

Add-in ribs and stir-fry for 3-5 min or until shrink and golden.

Add-in soy sauce, vinegar and water (add enough water to cover ribs fully).

Leave simmer covered until gravy reduced to half.

Reduce heat and continue simmer to thicken the gravy and tender the ribs (Stir occasionally for even cooking.Note: to accelerate the cooking time, the marinated ribs can be pre-deep fried until golden brown before use).

Once sticky gravy form with lot of entrapped air bubbles, sprinkle-on spring onion and dish-up.

Best serve warm with steamed rice.

Chinese Meat Balls (貢丸)

2011-04-01T13:41:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

500 g pork + 5 tbsp water

100 g Chinese mushroom

Seasoning A

2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine

2 tbsp fish sauce

1½ tsp salt

1/4 tsp sugar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tbsp oil

1 tsp baking powder

2 tbsp cornflour (last)

Seasoning B

1/2 tsp white pepper

2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tsp ginger powder

1 whisked stiff egg white

Method:

With food processor/blender, process pork and mushroom with water to form paste.

Add-in all the seasoning A and stir well until sticky texture.

Leave in refrigerator for 30 min.

Add-in seasoning B and stir-generously.

Bring a pot of water to boil then remove from heat.

Pick desired amount of paste and form into ball with wet hands.

Drop them into the warm water.

Reheat the water that contain a layer of meat balls over low heat to just enough to simmer without boiling.

Once meat balls are floated, allow to simmer for another few more seconds before transfer them into ice-cold water.

Drain-well and store in fridge with air-tight container till next use.

Custard Cream

2011-03-28T14:59:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 tsp plain flour
1 tbsp corn flour

4 tbsp sugar

1 egg

200 mL milk

1 tbsp butter, soften

Chocolate Sponge (scaled up)

Method:

In a small pot, mix together flours, sugar and 2 tbsp milk till smooth.

Whisk-in egg till homogeneous.

Pour-in milk and stir over low-heat to thicken.

Once reach a spreadable consistency, remove from heat.

Stir-in butter to a smooth cream.

Keep in refrigerator till use.

Chocolate Paste

2011-03-02T12:58:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

2⅓ tbsp plain flour

40 mL sugar

1 egg white

80 mL milk, warmed

1½ tbsp cocoa power

10 g butter soften

2 tbsp Nutella/grounded nut (optional)

Plain Sponge (scaled up and eliminated the cocoa powder)

Method:

In a small pot, mix together flour, sugar and egg white till smooth.

Mix-in milk and cocoa powder.

Over low-heat, stir the mixture to thicken.

Once reach a spreadable consistency, remove from heat.

Stir-in butter and Nutella to yield a smooth paste.

Keep in refrigerator till use.

Banana - Chocolate Zebra Cake

2011-02-23T14:17:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Banana Batter

2 eggs
110 g sugar
25 g milk
85 g banana (1 banana), pureed
110 g oil
150 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Chocolate Batter

2 eggs
110 g sugar
110 g milk
110 g oil
2 tbsp coco powder
150 g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Method:

To prepare the banana batter:

In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs with sugar till creamy, pale and glossy.

Pour-in banana puree, milk and oil, whisk for a short while to form homogeneous batter.

Fold-in flours mixture and stir to incorporate well, set aside.

To prepare the chocolate batter:

In a bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs with sugar till creamy, pale and glossy.

Pour-in milk and oil, whisk for a short while to form homogeneous batter.

Stir-in coco powder, whisk for a short while to mix thoroughly.

Fold-in flours mixture and stir to incorporate well, set aside.

Preheat oven to 170 °C.

To assemble:

Gradually, scoop a ladle of banana batter into the center of the lined 22cm pan, follow by another ladle of cocoa batter onto the middle of plain batter.

Alternate the two batters topping and layering till finish.

Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean.

Remove cake from oven, let cake cool in pan for 10 minutes.

Run a thin flexible knife or spatula around the pan to loosen the cake, transfer cake onto a plate for serving.

Banana Chiffon Cake II

2011-02-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

4 egg whites
70 g sugar
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

4 egg yolks
30 g sugar
1/4 tsp salt
40 mL (37-40g) oil

150 g banana (from 2 banana), mashed
75 g plain flour (added 2 tbsp corn flour to make up 75g flour)
1/4 tsp baking soda

Method:

Preheat oven to 170 °C.

In a bowl, combine together flours and baking soda; set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar till frothy; gradually add-in sugar and continue whisking till stiff peaks form (I always whisk egg whites first because I use the same whisk for egg yolks mixture later without washing); set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk egg yolks, sugar and salt till pale, thick and glossy.

Add-in mashed banana and oil, continue whisking till butter is fully incorporated.

Fold-in flours mixtures, stir-well to form homogeneous batter.

Gradually and gently, fold the egg whites mixture into the egg yolks batter.

Pour batter into ungreased chiffon pan (22cm) and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven and immediately invert the chiffon pan on a lifted wire rack.

Leave to stand until the cake is cool (I left about 2 hours).

With a flexible thin knife or spatula, loose cake from pan and transfer it onto a serving plate.

Baked Peach Yogurt Cheesecake with Cornflakes Crust

2011-01-25T04:25:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Cornflakes Crust:

1 cup cornflakes, crushed
100 g cream cracker, crushed
80 g butter

Cheesecake Filling:

250 g cream cheese
2½ tbsp (25 g) icing sugar
25 g butter
2½ tbsp plain flour + 1/2 tbsp cornflour or 3 tbsp (25 g) flour
1 egg
2 eggs, yolks and whites separated
3 tbsp (35 g) icing sugar
pinch salt
75 g yogurt
3 halves peaches, sliced thin

Method:

To prepare the crust or base:

Base a 18 cm springform cake pan with parchment paper, set aside.

In a bowl, mix together cornflakes and cracker.

Gradually, add-in butter and mix until the mixture begin to clump together.

Pat crumbs into the bottom of the prepared cake pan.

Keep in refrigerator while preparing cheesecake filling.

To prepare the cheesecake filling:

Preheat oven to 160 °C.

In a large bowl, whisk 2 egg whites with 3 tbsp sugar and salt till soft peak form, set aside.

In a separate large bowl, cream together cheese, butter and 2½ tbsp sugar till pale, light and fluffy.

Fold-in flours mixture, and mix to blend.

Stir-in egg and egg yolks, whisk till smooth.

Pour-in yogurt and mix thoroughly to combine.

Gently, fold-in stiff egg whites and mix to homogeneous batter.

Pour batter into the prepared crust.

Put a tray of shallow hot boiling water into the bottom rack of preheated oven, and bake batter for 1 hour or till puffy, golden brown on surface and center is just slightly jiggly/wobbly.

Turn-off oven and leave the cake cool completely inside the oven for at least 3 hours.

Remove from oven and refrigerate overnight or till ready to serve.

Mapo Tofu (麻婆豆腐)

2011-01-25T01:34:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

500 g soft tofu, cubed

250 g ground meat (pork or beef or mix)

3 tbsp chili bean paste

1½ tbsp fermented black bean - garlic sauce (or pure fermented black bean sauce)

1½ tsp sichuan peppercorn

3 slices fresh ginger

2 glove garlic

1½ tbsp light soy sauce

1½ tsp vinegar

1/2 tsp white pepper powder

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup water/stock

2 tbsp oil

1 tbsp cornstarch in 2 tbsp water

Chopped spring onion for sprinkling

Method:

In a wok or deep pan, heat oil over medium high heat.

Saute peppercorn till fragrant, remove the peppercorn and reserve the oil.

Add-in garlic and ginger, saute till fragrant and golden brown.

Add-in meat, chili paste and black bean sauce, stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or still meat is seared.

Add-in tofu and gently mix for short while or until the tofu is charred.

Pour-in water, bring to boil and seasoning with soy sauce, vinegar, pepper, sugar and salt.

Reduce heat and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the tofu is cooked thoroughly with occasional stirring.

Add-in starch solution and gently stir to thicken the gravy (adjust taste accordingly)

Sprinkle-on green onion before dish-up.

Best serve hot immediately with steamed rice.

Curry Spring Roll

2010-12-16T21:29:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

100 g meat, coarsely chopped
1/2 big onion, thinly sliced
2 handful glass noodles
1 tbsp cornstarch in 1 tbsp water
1 handful coriander leaves, chopped
1 tbsp oil

Seasoning

2 tbsp curry powder
2 tbsp rice wine
1 tbsp ketcup
1/2 tsp sugar
1/3 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper powder

enough medium size spring roll wrappers (thawed)
1/4 whisked egg
oil for deep-frying

Method:

Soak noodle in cold water until soften (about 30 minutes) and drain well; set aside.

Heat oil in a wok, pot or non-stick deep pan, saute onion till fragrant and softened.

Add meat and seasoning, stir-fry until meat shrink and half cooked.

Add noodles and keep stirring until noodles are well distributed.

Adjust taste with sugar and salt, add more curry powder if strong taste is desired.

Pour-in cornstarch solution and stir to thicken.

Dish-up and stir-in coriander leaves; set aside to cool completely.

To assemble spring rolls:

Place a sheet of spring roll wrapper on a clean working surface.

Locate enough filling on one corner of the wrapper.

Spread the filling lengthwise along the wrapper by using chopstick or fork (reserve some spaces at all edges for sealing).

Fold-up left and right sides of wrapper over filling.

Lift-up the filling side egde and roll upward to the other end.

Seal roll end by brushing-on some egg solution on all opening.

Deep fry spring rolls under hot oil till golden brown and crispy.

Remove from oil and drain well on absorbent papers.

Serve spring rolls warm with Thai sweet chili sauce or any favorite homemade dipping sauce (chopped fresh chili in 1/3 cup plum sauce and 3 tbsp light soy sauce).

Fish Sauce Gavy Chicken

2010-12-16T20:25:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

1 kg chicken, cut to bite sizes
2/3 cup cornstarch/rice flour
enough oil for deep-frying

Marinate

4 glove garlic, mashed
1/4 cup fish sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp pepper powder

Seasoning

1 tbsp chili garlic sauce
1 tbsp chopped scallion
1 tbsp black soy sauce
3 tbsp water

Method:

In a container, mix all the marinate ingredient until the sugars are dissolved.

Add-in chicken and marinade overnight in fridge covered.

Spoon flour onto a plate; set aside.

In a wok, deep pan or pot, heat enough oil over medium high heat.

Pick up chicken from the marinate (reserve the marinate), coat with flour on plate, shake-off excess and deep fry chicken for 15 minutes or till crispy and brown.

Remove from oil and set aside on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

In a clean deep pan, heat the reserved marinate over medium high heat with all the seasoning ingredient.

Bring to boil (add some water if appear dried out) and adjust taste if more spicy is desired.

Return the chicken into the pan, stir to mix and thicken.

Dish-out and best serve hot with steamed rice.

Creamy Broccoli Soup with Croutons

2010-11-16T18:56:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

Croutons

6 cup Baguette/hard bread, cubed
4 clove garlic, mashed
pinch of salt
2 tbsp chopped/dried parsley
1/3 cup olive oil

Soup

1 large head broccoli, washed, stem removed & roughly cut
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, roughly sliced
2 cup water/stock
1½ tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
150 ml heavy cream
150 ml milk

Garnish

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 handful broccoli
some water for sprinkling
pinch salt
dash black pepper

Method:

To prepare the croutons:

Preheat oven to 200 °C.

In a large mixing bowl, mix bread cubes with all the ingredients and stir well to coat homogeneously.

Spoon onto a baking tray and spread out evenly into single layer.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes and stir occasionally about two times during baking.

Remove from oven and set aside.

To prepare the soup:

In a pot, melt butter in 1 tbsp of oil over medium high heat, saute onion until softened with occasional stirring.

Add-in half of broccoli, and stir for short while.

Pour-in stock and bring to boil.

Reduce heat, cover and let simmer until broccoli is tender.

Add-in the remaining broccoli, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and blend it into smooth puree in several batches (depending on the size of your blender).

Transfer into saucepan/pot, season with salt, pepper and garlic powder, then stir in cream and milk over low heat right before serving.

Garnish with sauteed broccoli and serve with croutons.

To prepare the garnish:

In a saucepan, heat oil over moderate high heat and stir-fry broccoli for shot while.

Sprinkle-on some water, reduce heat and seasoning with salt and pepper.

Cook the broccoli accordingly with occasional stirring.

Coffee-Coconut Cupcakes

2010-11-16T06:03:00.000-08:00

Ingredients:

150 mL sugar
1 egg
75 g (80 mL) cooking oil
2 tsp baking power
2½ tbsp plain flour
125 mL coconut milk
1½ tbsp soluble coffee powder
2 tbsp dessicated coconut powder

Topping

25 g dark chocolate, melted on double boiler
Some chocolate rice
Some dessicated coconut powder

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 °C.

Line 8 foil cupcake molds with a paper mold each; set aside.

Dissolve coffee powder in coconut milk; set aside.

In a deep bowl, beat egg with sugar till thick, pale and fluffy.

Pour-in oil, beat to incorporate.

Sprinkle-on flour and baking powder and fold into homogenous batter.

Stir-in coffee flavored coconut milk and whisk thoroughly to mix.

Stir-in dessicated coconut powder.

Pour batter evenly into the prepared molds, place on baking tray, bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean.

Remove from oven.

Pour-on pre-melted chocolate on top of each cupcake the sprinkles-on immediately with chocolate rice and coconut powder.

Serves 8.

Summer Pasta Salad

2010-10-17T04:06:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

250g pasta of your choice (bow ties)

1 tsp salt

1/2 green/orange/yellow bell-pepper, cubed

1/2 cup cherry tomatoes

100g mozzarella cheese, cubed

few fresh basil leave

Dressing

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tbsp oregano powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Method

In a pot, boil enough water with 1 tsp of salt and cook pasta according to the written instruction on package, stir occasionally.

Drain the cooked pasta and transfer into a big salad bowl.

Mix-in the remaining vegetables and cheese.

Pour-in olive oil and lemon juice then sprinkles-on oregano powder.

Stir well and adjust taste with salt and pepper.

Thai 3 Flavours Fish (Plalat)

2010-10-16T01:53:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 Fish (about 450g)
1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp sugar

oil for deep frying

Sprinkles

1 shallot, sliced

Some coriander/spring onion, chopped

2 tbsp lime juice

Gravy

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 tbsp Thai chili pepper, sliced (I replaced with dried red chili)

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp brown sugar

2 tbsp stock (fish/chicken)

2 tbsp oil

Method:

Clean fish, score both sides of the fish deeply (each about 3 cm apart), pat dry on kitchen towel; set aside.

In a bowl, mix together salt, sugar and pepper powder; set this seasoning mixture aside.

Rub fish well with the prepared seasoning mixture (externally, internally and inside the scores too), set aside to marinade for at about 30 minutes.

Heat oil in wok or deep frying pan over medium high heat, deep-fry fish until both sides skin are crispy and golden brown.

Drained fish on paper towel.

Transfer fish onto a serving plate, sprinkle-on shallot and coriander leaves; set aside.

To prepare the gravy, heat oil in a pan over medium high heat, saute garlic till fragrant and starting to be golden brown.

Add-in chili, stir-fry till aroma.

Add-in the remaining ingredients, reduce heat to low and let simmer to thicken the gravy.

Remove from heat and pour the gravy onto the fish.

Sprinkle-on lime juice and adjust the taste accordingly.

Serve hot with rice.

Steamed Chinese Sponge Cake with Palm Sugar-Coconut Filling

2010-09-29T13:40:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Sponge

160 ml (3) eggs
80 ml sugar
drop of green food coloring
drop of pandan essence
enough flour

Filling

1/4 cup palm or molasses sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup dessicated coconut

Method:

To prepare filling:

In a small pot, bring water to boil.

Add-in sugar and stir to dissolve.

Add-in dessicated coconut, stir continuously till water almost dried out.

Remove from heat and set aside.

To prepare sponge:

Lightly grease enough muffin tins (about 6); set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk eggs with sugar-coloring-essence till pale, light and fluffy.

Gently fold-in flour one spoon at a time till batter level sinks to 80% of total height.

Spoon enough batter (about 1 ½ tbsp) into the prepared tins and steam over high heat covered for about 5 minutes.

Remove cover and spread on a layer of prepared filling in the middle of cake.

Spoon-on another layer of batter all over on top of filling surface and steam covered again for another 10-15 minutes.

Remove from heat and run a thin flexible knife or spatula around the tins to loosen the cakes.

Remove cakes from tins by inverting on palm and transfer onto serving plate.

Spread the remaining filling on top of each cakes and ready to serve.

Pan-Fried Stuffed Buns (水煎包)

2010-09-19T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Dough

150 g all purpose flour
80 ml water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 tbsp oil

Filling (in excess)

300-400 g minced meat
10 shrimps, shell removed, cleaned & chopped
1 ½ tbsp grated ginger
1 tbsp white pepper powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1tbsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 ½ tbsp cooking wine
1/2 tbsp cornstach
1/2 cup chopped cabbage
1 stalk scallion, chopped

Method:

To prepare dough:

In a large bowl, combine all dough ingredients, knead till soft and smooth.

Lightly greased a container, place-in the dough, cover and let proof till doubled in size (about 1.5 hours).

To prepare filling:

In another large mixing bowl, combine all the filling ingredients except cabbage and scallion.

Stir thoroughly to give sticky texture.

Lastly add-in cabbage and scallion, stir to homogeneously incorporate.

Adjust taste accordingly with salt.

To assembly:

Over a lightly floured surface, punch down the dough and knead again for another 3 minutes.

With floured knife, cut dough into small pieces according to preference sizes.

Sprinkle-on some flour, flatten each small dough and roll out thin into rough sheet.

Place a spoonful filling onto the center of pastry, twist to seal the top and flatten lightly.

Place the filled buns on heavy floured plate with seal side down, cover with kitchen towel and leave to rise for about 20-30 minutes.

Lightly grease a non-stick pan, pan-fry buns to brown one side for about 1-2 minutes.

Flip over buns, sprinkles-on about 1 tbsp water around each bun, cover and steam for about 3-4 minutes to brown the another side and cooked thoroughly.

Once water just dried out, flip over buns, and cook the previous side for about 1 minutes covered again.

Remove buns from heat and best serve warm.

Cantonese Sweet & Sour Ribs (京都骨)

2010-09-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

600 g pork spareribs, cut to bite sizes
enough oil for deep-frying

Marinate

1 tbsp light soy sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp Chinese five spices powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp ground pepper powder
1/2 tsp ginger powder
1 tbsp cooking wine

Sauce

1/2 cup ketchup
3 tbsp black rice vinegar
2 tbsp cooking wine
4 tbsp sugar
3 tsp light soy sauce
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt or to taste

1 cup sliced bell pepper
1 onion, wedged
2 clove garlic, chopped
1 knob ginger, sliced
1 tbsp oil

Method:

In a bowl, marinade ribs with all the marinate ingredient for at least 30 minutes or overnight covered in fridge.

In another bowl, combine all sauce ingredients; set aside.

In a wok, deep pan or pot, heat enough oil over medium high heat and deep fry marinated ribs for 15 minutes or till brown.

Remove from oil and set aside on paper towels to absorb excess oil.

Remove excess oil from wok or pan.

Reheat 1-2 tbsp oil in the wok or pan, sautes garlic and ginger till fragrant.

Add-in onion and bell-pepper, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, remove from heat and set aside.

Pour sauce mixture into saucepan, bring to boil and let simmer for 10 minutes (add water if appear dried out).

Return the ribs and precooked garnish into saucepan, stir to mix and thicken.

Dish-out and best serve hot with steamed rice.

Shanghainese Crispy Noodle-Pancake (兩面黃)

2010-08-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

120 g (4 small coils) dried egg noodles
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp light soy sauce
1 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 cup finely stripped pork
1 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tsp light soy sauce
drops of sesame oil
1/4 tsp pepper powder

2 clove garlic, chopped
1/2 carrot, cut to thin strips
2 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked and thinly sliced
2 spring onion, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tbsp cooking oil

Method:

Bring a pot of water to boil, branch noodle till soft and cooked.

Drain well and seasoning with oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce and sesame oil; set aside.

In a bowl, marinade pork with its following 4 ingredients; set aside.

In a flat non-stick saute pan, heat oil and saute garlic till fragrant.

Add-in marinated pork, stir-fry for few minutes or till almost cooked through.

Add-in carrot and mushroom, stir-fry to soften carrot and cooked thoroughly.

Remove from heat and stir-in spring onion; set aside.

Over medium heat with lightly greased saute pan, spread-on half of the cooked noodle evenly onto the pan as base layer.

Spread-on half of the precooked filling at center as another layer and top with the remaining noodles as final layer.

Pan-fry noodle pancake till bottom side turn brown and crispy.

Carefully inverse the noodle pancake and continue brown the other side till crispy (add some oil to avoid burning).

Pour egg all over the edge of noodle pancake and leave to stand till cooked through.

Transfer noodle pancake onto a flat plate and spread-on the remaining filling to serve.

Lemon Gateau

2010-08-14T13:54:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Crust

1 ½ cup biscuit crumbs
1/4 cup cornflakes crumbs
1/2 cup peanut crumbs
3 tbsp sugar
90 g butter

Sponge

3 egg whites
3 egg yolks
80 ml sugar
2 tbsp zest of 1 lemon
7 tbsp sugar
30 ml ground almond
45 ml fine semolina flour
45ml cake flour
25 ml lemon juice

Lemon Custard

Zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
110 g sugar
60 g butter
1 tsp cornstarch

Method:

To prepare the crust:

Base a 18 cm springform cake pan with parchment paper, set aside.

In a bowl, mix together all dry crust ingredients.

Gradually, add-in butter and mix until the mixture begin to clump together.

Pat crumbs into the bottom of the prepared cake pan.

Keep covered in refrigerator while preparing cake filling.

To prepare the sponge:

Preheat oven to 180 °C.

In a large bowl, whisk egg whites till stiff peaks form; set aside.

In another large bowl, whisk egg yolk with sugar and lemon zest till pale and glossy.

Stir-in lemon juice till batter is fully incorporated.

Fold-in all the remaining dry ingredients, stir to form homogeneous batter.

Gradually and gently, fold the egg whites mixture into the egg yolks batter.

Pour batter onto the prepared crust base and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean and golden.

Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

To prepare the lemon custard:

Mix all the custard ingredients into a small pot and heat over medium heat with stirring for 10 minutes or till sugar dissolved.

Reduce heat and let simmer to thicken the custard into a spreadable consistency.

Pour the custard all over the surface of the prepared cake and chill to set or till serve.

To serve:

With a flexible thin knife or spatula, loose gateau from side pan and release springform side.

Carefully transfer it onto a serving plate.

Stir-Fry Brussels Sprout

2010-07-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 medium bowl Brussels sprout, halved
1 handful sliced meat/chicken
2 inch carrot, skin removed & stripped
1 tbsp oil
1 clove garlic
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp fish sauce or to taste
1 tsp sesame oil
pinch white pepper powder
pinch sugar

Method:

In a wok, deep pan or pot, heat oil over medium high heat.

Sautes garlic till fragrant.

Add-in carrot and meat, stir-fry till almost cooked.

Add-in Brussels sprout, stir-fry for short while.

Pour-in oyster sauce and fish sauce, stir-fry for another short while.

Pour-in water and simmer covered over reduced heat for few minutes (3-5 minutes).

Sprinkle with sesame oil, pepper and sugar, stir to incorporate (adjust taste accordingly).

Dish-up for serving.

Steamed Chicken Wings with Ginger & Sesame Oil

2010-07-14T13:42:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

400-500 g chicken wings, cut into pieces

Marinate

2 dried chilli, soaked to soften & sliced
2 stalks spring onion
2 inch ginger, peeled & strips
1 tsp Chinese cooking wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp white pepper powder

1 tsp cornstach + 1 ½ tsp cornstarch-2 tbsp water
1/2 tbsp light soy sauce or to taste
1 tsp sesame oil

Method:

In a container, marinade chicken with all the marinate ingredient for at least 30 minutes or overnight covered in fridge.

Add-in 1 tsp cornstarch and stir to incorporate fully.

Steam over boiling water with high heat for 20 minutes, drain and reserve stock.

Transfer chicken onto a serving plate.

Bring stock to boil and season with the remaining light soy sauce and sesame oil.

Thicken gravy with cornstarch solution.

Pour the hot gravy over chicken right before serving.

Marbled Butter Cake

2010-07-07T14:00:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 ⅓ cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/3 tsp baking powder
150 g (3/4 cup) butter
110 g (3/4 cup) sugar
1/3 tsp salt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 eggs

3 tbsp milk or (3 tbsp milk powder + 4 tbsp water)
3 tbsp Milo powder + 4 tbsp water or (10 g coco powder + 5 g icing sugar + 2 tbsp milk)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 °C.

Lightly grease a loaf pan, dust bottom and side of pan with bread crumbs (or flour) and tapping out excess; set aside.

In a bowl, combine flour, cornstarch and baking powder; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter together with sugar and salt till light and fluffy.

Beat-in oil and egg by egg, then continue beating till pale and fluffy.

Fold-in the dry ingredients.

Divide batter into 2 portions.

One mix with fair milk solution and the other with dark chocolate milk solution.

Spoon-in both batters alternately into the prepared loaf pan and run one bamboo screwer across the batter in zig-zag motion.

Bake batter in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of cake comes out clean.

Remove cake from oven, let cake cool in pan for at least 10 minutes (allow cake to shrink from cake pan).

Run a thin flexible knife or spatula around the pan to loosen the cake.

Transfer cake onto a serving plate and slice to serve.

Polo Buns (菠萝包)

2010-06-17T12:55:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

Bread Dough

240 ml plain flour
1/4 tsp salt
30 ml sugar
1 tbsp beaten egg
1 tsp dried instant yeast
70 ml milk
1 tbsp butter

Polo Pastry

2 tbsp butter
25 ml powdered sugar
pinch of salt
1 tbsp beaten egg
95 ml plain flour

Filling (optional)

2 ½ tbsp butter
1 ¾ tbsp sugar
pinch of salt

Method:

To prepare the bread dough:

In a large mixing bowl, add-in all the dough ingredients and mix with fingertips to combine and detach from side wall of bowl.

Knead generously for about 15-20 minutes or till form smooth and soft skin dough.

Set aside covered with wet kitchen towel to proof for 1 ½ hours or till double in size.

Punch down proofed dough to release entrapped gas, divide dough into 4 portions and set aside to rest for 15 minutes or till use.

To prepare the polo pastry:

In a bowl, beat butter, sugar and salt still pale and fluffy.

Beat-in egg till fully incorporated and grassy.

Fold-in flour and mix well with fingertips.

Divide into 4 portions and set aside till use.

To prepare the filing:

In another bowl, beat butter, sugar and salt till incorporated fully.

Chill in fridge till firm then divide into 4 portions and chill in fridge again till use.

To assembly:

Flatten one portion of bread dough and fill-in a portion of filling.

Wrap up, twist edges firmly to seal and ground the sealing tip onto the dough.

With both hands, shape the dough into proper dough ball, set aside.

Flatten one portion of polo pastry.

Gently lift up the flattened pastry and transfer onto the center of hand palm.

Place-on a filled dough and press the dough toward pastry till all the side walls of the dough being covered by the pastry (filling seal side down).

With both hands, shape the entire bun into ball.

With sharp knife, draw chequer pattern on the pastry surface and set aside to proof for about 1 hour or till double in size.

Brush-on egg wash and bake in a preheated oven at 180 °C for 15 minutes or till golden.

Best serves fresh or reheat it in oven for few minutes on the next day before serving.

Jam/Nutella Crostata (Baked Dessert Tart)

2010-06-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

300 g all purpose flour
150 g butter, chopped
100 - 120 g sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract or lemon zest (optional)
150 - 200 g of fruit Jam or Nutella chocolate

Method:

Preheat oven to 190 °C.

Lightly grease a 22 cm cake pan, dust bottom and side of pan with flour and tapping out excess; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking power, salt and butter pieces.

Mix with fingertip to form crumbs.

Add-in egg yolks and knead lightly into combined dough.

Flatten the dough into disc, cover with plastic wrap and chill for 30 minutes.

With fingertips, press 2/3 of the dough into the prepared pan with slightly height on all edges as wall.

Spread-on enough Jam and fill-in all over the curved surface.

Roll the remaining dough into 1 cm wide strips and arranges them in a crisscross pattern or any of your preference pattern over the Jam.

Bake the crostata for about 40 minutes or until fragrant and golden.

Rich Chocolate Brownies

2010-05-28T15:48:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

300 g dark chocolate, chopped
150 g butter
1 ½ cup brown sugar
1 cup plain flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 °C.

Lightly grease a 20 or 22 cm square pan, dust bottom and side of pan with flour and tapping out excess; set aside.

With double boiler, melt chocolate (I used 200 g of 70% dark chocolate and 100 g of standard dark chocolate) over low heat till smooth (about 10 minutes).

Add-in butter, stir to form smooth batter.

Remove from heat and stir-in sugar till dissolves fully; set aside.

In a bowl, mix together flour with baking powder, cocoa powder and salt.

Add the dry ingredients into the chocolate batter, stir well to mix thoroughly.

Beat-in eggs solution till the batter become thick and glossy.

Pour batter in the prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 - 30 minutes (not to over bake, toothpick inserts into the middle of brownies NEVER comes out clean).

Yield 28 squares.