Vivian Pang Kitchen

Stir Fried King Oyster Mushroom with Tofu in 3 cups Chicken（三杯雞) Style

2013-05-17T15:49:00.003+08:00

Three cups chicken is actually famous dish in Taiwan. "Three cups" derives its name from the three cups of sauces required. For each chicken, a cup each of soy sauce, rice wine and sesame oil are added. Some are added sugar, ginger and basil too. Being inspired by this dish I used oyster mushroom and tofu instead of chicken.

I'm using my 1st harvest basil leaves for this dish. This is all I have. Hoping my basil plant can stay healthy and more productive in future :D

It is quite a small portion as I cook mainly for one person. My hubby not appreciate the taste of basil :P

Stir Fried Oyster Mushroom with Tofu in 3 cups Chicken（三杯雞) Style

Ingredients:
(A)
1 firm tofu
1 egg
1 king oyster mushroom (杏鲍菇）
Few stalks basil

(B)
1 teaspoon sesame oil
3 garlics
3 slices ginger
3 dried chilies (can replace with fresh big chilies)

(C)
1 tablespoon light soya sauce
tablespoon rice wine
75g water
1 teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
Dash of pepper

Methods:

~Preparation
1. Slice firm tofu into 4 equal strips.
2. Slice oyster mushroom diagonally into slices.
3. Wash basil leaves. Remove hard stem and keep the leaves.
4. Crushed garlic with knife. Roughly cut.
5. Cut dried chilies into half and remove seeds.

~Cooking
1. Add in 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Gently arrange tofu slices (with chopsticks) in the hot oil. Fry at high heat till one side turn golden brown. By that time it should be easily turned without sticking on the wok surface. Fry till golden brown. Remove from hot oil and set aside.

2. For fragrant fried egg; Crack an egg into a bowl. Beat well with fork/ chopsticks. Heat up the remaining oil in wok with high heat. Slowly pour in beaten egg into hot wok and stir vigorously. Once beaten egg mixture finish continue cook till brown and fragrant. Dish out.

3. Heat up wok again on high heat. Without adding any oil, add in mushroom slices in wok. Cook till slightly brown and fragrant. Remove and set aside.

*this will enhance the mushroom flavour.

4. Add sesame oil into wok. Stir fry garlic, ginger and dried chilies till fragrant.

5. Add in soya sauce, wine and water. Follow by sugar, salt and fried tofu. Cook till most of sauces being absorbed. Taste and adjust accordingly.

6. Add in cooked oyster mushroom, fried egg and basil leaves. Quick stir for few seconds. Finish off with dash of pepper. Serve!

I'm linking this post to Little Thumbs Up event, organized by Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids and Doreen for my little favourite D.I.Y., and hosted by Joyce, kitchen flavours.

Spicy Crabs Songkhla Style

2013-05-15T06:21:00.001+08:00

When I was kids my mum used to cook sweet sour crab. And I love it! I can finish big bowl of rice with the eggy gravy. If you prefer hot and spicy crabs I recommend this spicy crab Songkhla style (Songkhla, is a city in the Songkhla Province of southern Thailand). I have been cooking it for many times and still love it! Ooo…thinking of cooking it again… :D

Adapted and slightly modified from SAMBAL cookbook
Spicy Crabs Songkhla Style

Ingredients:
(A)
3 flower crabs

Some corn flour for coating

(B)

5 shallots
3 pieces bird chilies (cili padi)

3 pieces big red chilies
2 stalks lemongrass
3cm ginger

(C)

1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon chili paste
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon chili sauce

(D)
1 tablespoon tamarind paste (asam jawa)

*pour in 50ml hot water, mix and set aside for few minutes before squeezing the juice)
250ml water

*you might need less if you prefer less sauce

Salt and sugar to taste

1 egg, lightly beaten

Methods:

~Preparation

1. Clean and wash the crabs. Cut each crab into 6 pieces. Coat the cut surface with some cornflour (only coat when about to fry).

2. Mill ingredients (B) till fine paste.

~Cooking

1. Heat wok, add in 2-3 tablespoons cooking oil. Arrange crab pieces in wok (facing the coated surface directly in hot oil). Fry till turn golden brown. Dish up and set aside.

*Instead of deep fry in hot oil (which used a lot of oil!), we can choose pan fry to seal the meat.

Coat the exposed surface with cornflour

Facing the coated surface directly in hot oil

Browned and the meat is sealed!

2. Add 1 tablespoon oil in wok. Together with the remaining oil in wok sauté the milled ingredients on medium heat until the oil separate. Follow by ingredients (C) and continue sauté until fragrant.

3. Add tamarind juice together with water. Taste the seasoning.

4. Return crab pieces into wok. Toss well, cover with lid and cook for few minutes (the shell will change orangey) till cooked. Add in beaten egg. Once the sauce thicken dish up and serve while hot. Enjoy!

Strawberry Hokkaido Chiffon Cupcakes/草莓北海道牛奶蛋糕

2013-05-11T15:52:00.000+08:00

First of all I like to wish Happy Birthday to Bake-Along! It has been fun and great to bake along with baking ‘kaki’:D Thanks to Lena, Joyce and Zoe and the other bakers for making this event get going. Here come my cupcakes to celebrate for the special day :)

I choose Strawberry Hokkaido Cupcakes because I have some frozen strawberries and strawberry (red) piping jelly which I wanted to clear. This time I added some baking powder to minimize shrinkage. I also take extra step by turning my baked cupcakes upside down after removing from oven. I would say it helps.

Recipe adapted with changes from Nasi Lemak Lover

*Make 11 cupcakes

Strawberry Hokkaido chiffon cupcakes 草莓北海道牛奶蛋糕
Ingredients:
~Chiffon cake

(A)
4 egg yolks (use egg weight about 58g each)
20g sugar

35g corn oil
60g milk

25g strawberry (red) piping jelly (or fresh strawberry puree)

(B)
70g cake flour

15g rice flour

¼ teaspoon baking powder

*sift and set aside

(C)

4 egg whites
30g sugar

¼ teaspoon white vinegar (or lemon juice)

Methods:
1. Whisk yolks and sugar till well combine. Add in oil, milk and piping jelly. Mix well.

2. Add in the sifted flour and whisk to combine.

3. In other bowl beat the whites till foamy. Add in ½ the sugar and vinegar. Continue beat till glossy. Add in the rest of castor sugar and beat till soft peak.

4. Spoon 1/3 of the whites into yolks batter. Fold to combine. Pour the yolk mixture into the remaining whites bowl. Fold till well combine.

5. Scoop batter into paper liners to slightly more than ¾ cup full. Bake in preheated oven 170C for about 20- 25 minutes (depending on the size).

6. When done, remove from the baking tray. Turn upside down and cool on wire rack.

*the cake will shrink a bit after being removed from the oven.

~Strawberry Cream
100g dairy whipping cream
30g red piping jelly (or replace with sugar)

60g fresh strawberry puree
*The cream is more than I need. Next time shall reduce to 80g of whipping cream.

Some icing sugar, for dusting

Some cherry for deco

Methods:
1. Beat whipping cream with sugar till firm and stiff.

2. Add in strawberry puree and fold till well mixed.

3. Pipe strawberry cream into cool cupcakes. Decorate with cherry and dust with icing sugar. Refrigerated before consume.

I am submitting my cupcakes to celebrate Bake-Along 2nd Anniversary hosted by Lena, Joyce and Zoe.

Roselle No-Bake Cheesecake

2013-05-08T11:21:00.000+08:00

I always wanted to make a no-bake cheesecake. After looking at Anncoo Journal Sakura Cheesecake I know I going to adapt her recipe in my 1^st no-bake cheesecake. Being inspired by Carol Roselle Yogurt Mousse Cake I used my homemade Pickled Roselle and Roselle Jam for the flavour.

If you wanted to make cheesecake without any baking involve do give this cheesecake a try! It is pretty simple as only creaming and mixing. If you don’t have Roselle jam just replace with the jam you have. Make sure you use kind of real jam which has high fruits content as it going to affect the taste and texture of your cheesecake. Mothers’ Day is approaching hoping this no-bake cheesecake can provide you another options to make your own cake ^^

Recipe adapted with changes from Anncoo Journal

Inspired by Carol Roselle Yogurt Mousse Cake
Roselle No-Bake Cheesecake

Ingredients:
~Base
95g cream cracker(about 10pcs)

*I prefer fine crumbs so I crushed with blender.
50g melted butter

~Filling

(A)
1 tablespoon gelatin powder
2 tablespoons water

(B)

250g Cream Cheese, at room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar

60ml whipping cream (can replace with milk)
100g Roselle Jam (recipe here)

(C)

250ml non-dairy whipping cream

Methods:

1. Line the base and side of 7’ round pan (with removable base). Set aside.

2. Combine crushed biscuit and melted butter together in a mixing bowl. Press the biscuit crumbs onto the base of the prepared pan and put it in the refrigerator for later use.

3. Soak gelatin with 2 tablespoons of water. Set aside to allow the gelatin to swell (lightly stir to get even soaking) before setting the bowl over a pot of simmering hot water. Stir with a spoon and once the gelatin melts, remove the bowl from the pot to cool slightly before used.

4. In a mixing bowl, at medium speed beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth, then gradually add in whipping cream until combined. Add in Roselle jam, mix to combine and add melted gelatin, mix well.

5. In another mixing bowl, whip the non-dairy whipping cream until peak form (not too stiff) and fold into the cream cheese mixture with a hand whisk and mix well.

6. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the prepared cake pan. Smooth the surface and refrigerate at least 4 hours or until set.

* I pour into 7’ round pan and 3 small 7cm square moulds.

I forget to make the base for my mini square moulds. It tastes better with the crumbs base as it gives texture contrasts to the soft cheesecake.

~ Topping

Ingredients:

(A)

6g gelatine powder

2 tablespoons water

(B)

100g roselle syrup-from pickled roselle (recipe here)

10g sugar

50g water

Methods:

1. Soak gelatin with 2 tablespoons of water(lightly stir for even soaking). Set aside to allow the gelatin to swell (about two minutes) before setting the bowl over a pot of simmering hot water. Stir with a spoon and once the gelatin melts, it is ready to be used.

2. Add Roselle syrup, sugar and water in a small pot. Stir till sugar dissolved at medium heat. Add in gelatin and stir till combined. Cool down the liquid a little and gently pour on top of cheesecake. Chill cheesecake before serve.

*I used the jelly topping for my 7' round cheesecake and 3 small square moulds.

*For the syrup you can make with 5-6 fresh Roselle +150g water. Simmer about 5-6 minutes then add extra 20g sugar.

I am submitting this post to

~See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

~Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv

Roselle Cheesecake

2013-05-03T23:16:00.000+08:00

The process of making this cheesecake is similar with Japanese Cotton Cheesecake. It requires melting the cream cheese instead of creaming. After seeing this recipe from 茄子,袅袅烘焙香 remind me of not baking cheesecake with this method for quite sometimes. It yields finer cake texture compare with creaming method. Whoever likes Japanese Cotton Cheesecake you going to love this one too ^^

Ever since I make pickled roselle and roselle jam I wanted to use in decorate cheesecake. Being inspired by Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover here come my Roselle Cheesecake.

Cheesecake recipe reference from 茄子,袅袅烘焙香

Cake deco inspired by Nasi Lemak Lover

Roselle Cheesecake
Ingredients:
~cheesecake
(A)
300g cream cheese
200g whipping cream(dairy)
40g corn flour(shifted)
4 egg yolks

(B)
4 egg white
80g sugar

½ teaspoon white vinegar (or lemon juice)

Methods:
~Cheesecake

1. Line the bottom and side of 7" round baking pan. Set aside.

2.Double-boil cream cheese and whipping cream until smooth. Remove from heat.

3. After a minute off the heat add in yolks. Whisk to combine.
*Make sure the cheese mixture is not too hot. Hot cream will COOK the yolks. If the bowl not hot to touch, the temperature should be right.

4. Then add in sifted flour and whisk to combine. Set aside.

5. In another clean bowl beat egg whites until foamy. Divide the sugar into 2 equal portions. Add in 1^st portion and beat till no longer foamy. Add in vinegar and 2^nd portion of sugar. Continue beat until it reaches soft peak form. (soft peak is reached when the beaters are pulled out of the whites and the peaks that form droop)

6. Scoop 1/3 of the egg whites into cream mixture. Use hand whisk to mix it evenly into cheese batter.

7. Next pour the cheese mixture into remaining whites. Whisk to combine. Once most of whites incorporate switch to spatula. Scraping remaining whites at the sides bowl and gently fold till well combined.

8. Pour batter into lined pan. Steam baked in preheated oven at 120C for about 1 hour 10 minutes.
* Do adjust your oven accordingly.
* I used steam baked method. I place the hot water pan in the lower rack and the pan at the middle rack. Therefore not need to worry about the water sipping inside my cake. Save wrapping too. Do find out here how I place my pan.

9. After the baking time is over, slightly open the oven door and let the cake cool completely inside the oven. Once cool. Keep in fridge for several hours or overnight.

~Assemble
(A) Roselle filling
80g Roselle jam, recipe here
50g water
1 teaspoon cornflour
*A bit runny. Next time will increase to 2 teaspoons

Mix cornflour and water in a saucepan. Add in roselle jam and mix well. Cook over low heat and stir occasionally till thicken. Set aside to cool.

(B) Pistachio nuts
*Place in plastic bag and crush with rolling pin

(C)Pickled Roselle, recipe here

(D) Whipped cream

Methods:
1. Spread Roselle filling on top of the cake.

2. Then frost the sides of the cake with whipped cream.

3. Pat the sides with crushed pistachio nuts.

4. Arrange pickled Roselle on top.

Why not bake this Roselle Cheesecake for the coming Mothers' Day? I'm sure mothers will happy to receive this edible flower cake :)

I am submitting this post to

~See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

~Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv

Homemade Roselle Jam (洛神花酱)

2013-05-01T20:29:00.000+08:00

I had been making roselle jam for several times. For the previous batches I didn't blend roselle calyx which end up course roselle jam. I don't mind having bits of calyx in my jam but not my son. In order to please him I blend the calyx into fine purée before cook. And the end results not only make my son happy, me too! It has spreadable consistency texture which like commercial jam. The amount of sugar I used in this recipe just right. It is not overly sweet with tangy taste.

Maybe you might thinking trouble of making own jam as you might need to stir the jam frequently as you cook. From my few batches of roselle jam making experience I found roselle jam is much easier compare with other jam (from what I read using other fruits in jam making). Roselle jam does not require much attention, only stir occasionally. With the amount of roselle calyx and water I used I can get the jam done within 30 minutes (cooking time). During the cooking process I put the lid on and check about every 5-10 minutes. If you like sweet, tangy jam, try roselle jam! Mostly you will love it! From now on I will stick to this recipe.

Homemade Roselle Jam (洛神花酱)

yield about 400g jam

Ingredients :

4 cups fresh roselle calyx, about 200g (after separate from the central seedpod. Refer here on how to remove the seedpod)

½ cup of water

1½ cups sugar

There are 2 types of roselle flowers. For making pickled roselle, I prefer the one with long calyx. Prettier ^^

4 cups of fresh calyx (without seedpod) cost RM2. After the cooking give me about 400g homemade jam. Economy right?

Methods :

1. Wash the red fleshy calyx till clean. Tear into small size. Blend roselle together with water till fine.

* I work in 2 batches.

2. Pour the blended roselle into wok/ pot. Add in sugar and cook at medium low heat till roselle mixture become thick.

*Stir occasionally especially during end of process.

*It tooks about 25 minutes for it to thicken

Add roselle purree and sugar in wok/pot

Stir the mixture to combine

Mixture start boiling. Small bubbles seen.

Half way cooking, start thicken.

Almost done. 'Volcano' kind of bubbles seen.

Check by 'drawing' a line in the center. The 'line' can stay for few seconds before disappear. Looks a bit runny as jam but it will thicken further after chilled.

Add the hot jam into jar. Turn jar upside down till cool. This can help proper sealing.

Spread generously on bread and enjoy!

I am submitting this post to

~See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

~Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv

Eggless Matcha Red Bean Tiramisu

2013-04-29T11:32:00.000+08:00

One of my FB readers asking for Matcha (Green Tea) Tiramisu recipe. Actually I have no idea how and what is used in making Tiramisu. After consult Mr Google this is what I found. Tiramisu is an Italian dessert. It is made of ladyfingers dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of egg yolks and mascarpone cheese, and flavoured with Marsala wine and cocoa. The recipe has been adapted into many varieties of puddings, cakes and other desserts. Therefore Tiramisu not only flavoured with coffee, Matcha is commonly used too.

Since is my 1^st time working with mascarpone cheese I choose this easy eggless Matcha Tiramisu. No cooking involve just whipped the cheese and cream. Then assemble by layering the sponge cake (ladyfingers), red beans and cream.

In this recipe I bake my sponge cake. And I have difficulties in piping the shape I want. So end up breaking the cake to suit my moulds :P Nevertheless the cake taste good. In order to save time you can use store bought ladyfingers. If you really want to bake your own do check the recipe from Sonia aka Nasi Lemak Lover and Wendy aka Table for 2 or more. They have great recipe on the sponge cake.

Try not to skip the red beans filling as it really lifts up the taste of this Matcha Tiramisu. Without the red beans you only taste cake with cream and it is a bit bland. Anyway it is not hard to prepare filling. Cook red bean soup as usual, weight 1-1 ½ cups(depend how much you want) cooked red beans (beans without liquid). While the beans is hot add in sugar (a bit sweeter as this going to bring sweetness to the Tiramisu) till melt. Slightly mash the beans as you mix. This will give you course red bean paste. Chill until needed.

After assemble Tiramisu make sure it is chilled at least overnight before served. The flavours will develop as you chilled. In order to impress your guest just sprinkle some matcha powder on top. However go easy on it as too much is bitter (lesson learnt after taste the tiramisu that you saw in photo :P). If serving to kids better to omit the topping.

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #30: It's Tea Time! (April 2013) hosted by Food Playground.

Reference from Carol Easy Tiramisu

Yield 4 servings in 7cm square mould with 3.5cm height

Eggless Matcha Red Bean Tiramisu

Ingredients:

(A) Matcha liquid

50g hot water

½ tablespoon matcha powder

*mix well and chill.

(B)

125g whipping cream(dairy)

125g mascarpone cheese (out from fridge about 15 minutes before used)

20g icing sugar

2 teaspoons matcha liquid from (A)

(C)

Homemade sponge cake/ sponge fingers (savoiardi)

1½ cups sweetened cooked red beans (slightly mash into course paste)

Methods:

1. With electric mixer cream the whipping cream till soft peak. Keep in fridge to chill until needed.

*Do not over beat. Stop once the cream reach custard consistency or obvious lines seen.

2. In a separate bowl, add in mascarpone cheese, icing sugar and matcha liquid. With a spatula, mix the mixture until soft and smooth.

3. Remove whipped cream from fridge. Gently fold, or whisk, the whipped cream into the mascarpone until smooth. Keep in fridge until needed.

~Assemble

1. Cut sponge cake/ladyfingers according to your mould size. 2 layers of sponge cake each mould.

2. Dip the sponge cake into Matcha liquid and place into mould. Spread an even layer of red beans filling over sponge cake. Then spread some mascarpone mixture over.

3. Repeat, ending with a layer of mascarpone, smooth the top.

4. Fridge for at least 4 hours or even overnight before serve. Dust some Matcha powder on top as garnish (optional).

Cream Corn Sausage Loaf Bread/ 17hrs Pre-fermented Sponge Dough

2013-04-27T14:32:00.001+08:00

Have you try baking bread with 17hrs pre-fermented dough method? If not I suggest you to try at least once! Because you are going to love it! The bread texture is soft, fluffy and can last for longer time. Do check out in my previous posts Cream Cheese Buns and Wholemeal Bread.

Don’t be scared by the 17hours as the yeast is the one doing the job for you :D Just prepare the sponge dough (less than 5 minutes effort!) and store in fridge after an hour rise at room temperature. Proceed with the bread making method as usual. Sounds easy right?

Since I’m going to bake with corn I used cream corn as the liquid portion. I baked into a plain loaf and a sausage cheese loaf. You can choose to bake in any form you like.

Ingredients:
~17 hours pre-fermented sponge dough(yield about 300g)
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
150g water
150g bread flour

Add yeast, water and flour in sequence into a container (same container for storage as well). Mix with spatula till well combine. Cover and leave at room temperature for an hour. Keep inside refrigerator at least 16 hours before used.

~Main dough (yield about 890g dough which enough for two 450g sandwich loaf tins)
50g sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ egg (lightly beaten. Keep the other 1/2 for egg wash)
150ml cream corn (canned)
350g bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast

30g butter

~ Filling

40g shredded cheddar cheese

2 sausages (diced)

1 onion (diced)

*Mix together and set aside

Methods:
1. Put all pre-fermented sponge dough into mixing bowl. Follow by the rest of ingredients for main dough except butter. Knead till form dough. Then add in butter and knead till form smooth and elastic. Cover and leave to rest for 1 hour 15 minutes.

2. De-gas dough and transfer on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 portions.

a) Loaf bread

-Shape one of the portions into round and set aside to rest for 10 minutes. Roll out the dough into rectangle shape with rolling pin. Then, roll up like swiss roll. Place into lined or lightly oiled baking tin (I’m using L21 cm x W10 cm x H11 cm sandwich tin).

b) Sausage loaf (refer here for steps)

-Divide the other portion into 4 (about 110g each). Shape into round and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Roll out into round and wrap ¼ of the sausage cheese filling into ball. Repeat the same for the rest.

-Slightly flatten the ball with hand. Brush some oil on surface. Cover the oiled dough with the other flatten ball. Repeat the same for the other balls. It will give you 2 sets of stacking dough.

-Roll out the stacked dough into rectangle shape (the length should be about length of baking pan). Brush the rectangle surface with oil, roll up like a swiss roll. Repeat the same for the other dough.

-With a scraper, cut each roll into 6 equal triangles as shown. Then transfer into lined/ oiled baking pan. Make sure the sealing side is facing down.

3. Leave to prove for about 45 minutes or until double in size. Apply egg wash. Bake in preheated oven at 170C for 30 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil if the colour brown too fast.

* Do adjust according to your oven temperature.

4. Remove the bread immediately from baking tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. While is hot brush the surface with some butter. This will give you shine looking bread and yield soft crust.

I'm sharing this bread recipe at :

~ Yeastspotting

~ Little Thumbs up organised by Zoe ,Bake for Happy Kids and Mui Mui, My Little Favourite DIY and hosted by Esther, Copycake Kitchen.

Avocado Coffee Milkshake

2013-04-23T16:46:00.000+08:00

I love avocado milkshake. However it is expensive here, it costs around RM8 each! Sometimes and rarely can get one about RM5, which is smaller in size. Therefore only can enjoy this creamy milkshake occasionally. Have you ever think of serving avocado milkshake with coffee? Not until I read about it in one of cookbook recipe, Zesty Southeast Asian Treats under Indonesian Cuisine. Do try and you will love it!

Inspired by Zesty Southeast Asian Treats Cookbook

Avocado Coffee Milkshake

Ingredients:

(A)

100g water

30g palm sugar (gula Melaka)

10g sugar

½ teaspoon instant Nescafe powder

(B)

1 big ripe avocado

130g milk

15g sweeten condensed milk

About 20 pieces ice cubes

Some cocoa powder for sprinkle on top

Methods:

1. In a saucepan, fill in water. Add in brown sugar, sugar and coffee powder. Bring to boil and simmer till sugar melt. Drain to remove any impurities. Set aside to cool and chill.

2. Cut avocado into two. Remove the seed. Scoop flesh out with spoon and put into blender.

3. Together with avocado add in the rest of ingredients (B). Pulse and blend till all combine and texture turn smooth. Pour into serving cup.

4. Pour some chilled coffee syrup on top. Lastly sprinkle with some cocoa powder. Serve immediately. Enjoy!

I am sharing this post at

~See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

~Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv

Kuzi Ayam (Curry Chicken)- MFF Kelantan

2013-04-20T15:32:00.000+08:00

Looking at the curry gravy, you might wonder how much chilies inside this curry? Surprisingly this Kelantan style curry chicken not using any chilies! Tomato purée and tomato sauce are the main ingredients that give this dish 'curry' looks! Besides few spices lots of onion are used which make this curry chicken taste so great! The onions are first fried then grind before used. Those browned onion not only help thicken the gravy it also make this curry delicious!

I prepared this Kelantan style curry chicken for lunch during weekend. I served with blue rice (colour from blue pea flowers/bunga telang), cracker (keropok) which is inspired by Kelantan Nasi Kerabu. Since my hubby and kids can't accept Nasi Kerabu I'm sure they have no problem of having blue rice with this flavourful curry chicken. Another family favourite dish discovered- Kuzi Ayam! Thanks Phong Hong for the recipe!

Adapted from Phong Hong Bakes
Kuzi Ayam (Kelantan Style Curry Chicken)
Ingredients :
(A) Dry Spice Mix
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground fennel
1 teaspoon ground cumin
*I grind above spices from the seeds

½ teaspoon ground white pepper
½ teaspoon ground ginger (grate from fresh ginger)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

(B)
800g chicken, cut into pieces (used 2 chicken Maryland)
3 cloves garlic, finely pounded or grated
1 teaspoon salt

(C)
3 tablespoons ghee (omit)
3 tablespoons cooking oil
250g onions, thinly sliced (I used big onions and shallots)
30g almonds, blanched and halved (omit)
80g California golden raisins
80ml tomato puree
80ml tomato ketchup
400ml water (adjust according to your preference)
100 ml evaporated milk (replace with coconut milk)
*only add coconut milk at the end of cooking time

Methods :
1. Combine dry spices in a small bowl and set aside.

2. Marinate chicken pieces with ground garlic and salt. Set aside for 10 minutes.

3. Heat ghee (if using) and oil in a wok or large saucepan. Fry sliced shallots until crisp and golden brown and onion till soft, lightly brown.

*I fry separately for shallots and onions.
4. Drain fried shallots on paper towels. Grind shallots and onions till fine. Set aside.

5. With the same oil, fry the almonds (if using) over low heat until lightly coloured before adding the raisins. Cook under 1 minute to plump up the raisins. Drain almonds and raisins on a paper towel.

6. In the same wok, add the chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned around the edges. Some oil will release from the chicken.

7. Add ground spices, tomato puree, tomato ketchup, milk (if using), ground fried onions and water.

8. When it comes to a boil, reduce heat and cover the lid. Cook on low heat for about 20 minutes until the chicken is cooked and tender. Check from time to time to prevent base form burning (due to thick gravy).

9. The gravy should be fairly thick but if the mixture is too dry, thin down with a little hot water. Add coconut milk, raisins and almonds and cook for another 1 minute. Taste and adjust seasoning.

10. Serve with rice and enjoy!

Note: I used leftover curry chicken gravy as sauce for my family dinner meal- Curry spaghetti ! Simply delicious!

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest, Kelantan Month hosted by Gertrude of My Kitchen Snippets

Variety of Bread (Spinach,Chocolate and Goji)/ Straight Dough Method

2013-04-18T10:42:00.000+08:00

With Alex Goh straight dough bread recipe I modify by vary the liquid used to bake different flavour of bread. Here are some flavours I have try. The quantity and type of flour used are same. The different are on the amount of liquid, instant yeast and type of liquid used. I’m glad still turn out great (at least stay soft the 2^nd day).

Spinach Sausage Loaf Bread

Spinach Sausage Loaf Bread

Adapted and modified from The World of Bread, Alex Goh cookbook

(yield 2 loafs)

Spinach Sausage Loaf Bread

Ingredients:

(A)

320g bread flour

80g all-purpose flour

20g sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1½ teaspoons instant yeast

(B)

1 egg

90g spinach puree

150ml water

(C)

30g butter (replace with vegetable oil)

(D) Sausage cheese filling

2 sausages (diced)

1 onion (finely diced)

25g shredded cheddar cheese

*mix together and set aside

1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil for brushing

1 egg for egg wash

Methods:

1. Place all ingredients (A) into mixing bowl. Follow by (B) and knead to form dough.

2. Add butter/oil into the dough and continue knead till can be stretched to form a "window panel". Shape the dough into round and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and rest for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until double in size.

3. De-gas dough and transfer on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 portions.

a) Loaf bread

b) Sausage loaf (refer here for steps)

-Divide the other portion into 4 (about 90g each). Shape into round and leave to rest for 10 minutes. Roll out into round and wrap ¼ of the sausage cheese filling into ball. Repeat the same for the rest.

-Slightly flatten the ball with hand. Brush some oil on surface. Cover the oiled dough with the other flatten ball. Repeat the same for the other balls. It will give you 2 sets of stacking dough.

-With a scraper, cut each roll into 6 equal triangles as shown. Then transfer into lined/ oiled baking pan. Make sure the sealing side is facing down.

4. Leave to prove for about 45 minutes or until double in size. Apply egg wash. Bake in preheated oven at 170C for 30 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil if the colour brown too fast.

* Do adjust according to your oven temperature.

5. Remove the bread immediately from baking tin and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. While is hot brush the surface with some butter. This will give you shine looking bread and yield soft crust.

Whole Meal Chocolate Chips Loaf Bread

Whole Meal Chocolate Chips Loaf Bread

(yield 2 loafs)

Ingredients:

(A)

320g bread flour

80g all-purpose flour

20g whole meal

10g cocoa powder

50g sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons instant yeast

(B)

220ml water

1 egg

(C)

30g butter (replace with vegetable oil)

(D)

Handful of chocolate chips for filling

1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil for brushing

Methods refer to above.

Wolfberry or Goji (枸杞) Buns

The colour more on orangey

Desiccated coconut as filling

Wolfberry or Goji (枸杞) Buns

Ingredients:

(A)

320g bread flour

80g all-purpose flour

20g sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1½ teaspoons instant yeast

(B)

15g wolfberry or goji (枸杞)

200ml water

*Leave dried goji inside water for about 5 minutes to soften. Blend together till fine.

1 egg

(C)

30g butter (replace with vegetable oil)

(D)

Desiccated coconut for filling

1 egg for egg wash

Methods refer to above. But this one is making into buns instead of loaf bread.

Sausage Loaf Bread/ Straight Dough Method

2013-04-17T11:01:00.001+08:00

I owned the cookbook 'The World of Bread' by Alex Goh, local pastry chef. I have tried several recipes and all works well. Among the recipes this straight dough method has been my favourite. I have been using it for quite sometimes. Now I still love it! Of course it yields soft and fluffy bread. I used this as my master straight dough recipe whenever I want to add flavour. Instead of having plain, I replace liquid with spinach purée, wolfberry or goji (枸杞) purée etc, which I going to share in other post.

Adapted and slightly modified from The World of Bread, Alex Goh

Using stand mixer and this recipe yield about 720g dough. Baked into one sandwich loaf and sausage loaf.

Ingredients:

(A)

320g bread flour

80g all-purpose flour

20g sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon instant yeast

(B)

1 egg

220ml water

(C)

30g butter (replace with vegetable oil)

(D) Sausage cheese filling

2 sausages (diced)

45g shredded cheddar cheese

*mix together and set aside

1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil for brushing

1 egg (lightly beaten) for egg wash

Methods:

1. Place all ingredients (A) into mixing bowl. Follow by (B) and knead to form dough.

2. Add butter (oil) into the dough and continue knead till can be stretched to form a "window panel". Shape the dough into round and place into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover and rest for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until double in size.

3. De-gas dough and transfer on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 2 portions.

a) Sandwich Loaf bread

For sausage loaf

b) Sausage loaf (in L23 cm x W13 cm x H8 cm cake mould)

-Slightly flatten the ball with hand. Brush some oil on surface. Cover the oiled dough with the other flatten ball. Repeat the same for the other balls. It gives you 2 sets of stacking dough.

-With a scraper, cut each roll into 6 equal triangles as shown. Then transfer into lined/ oiled baking pan. Make sure the sealing side is facing down.

4. Leave to prove for about 45 minutes or until double in size. Apply egg wash. Bake in preheated oven at 170C for 30 minutes. Cover with aluminium foil if the colour brown too fast.

* Do adjust according to your oven temperature.

Like sweet loaf? Just replace the filling with chocolate chips!

I'm sharing this post at Yeastspotting

Somtam (Papaya Salad)- MFF Kelantan

2013-04-15T16:05:00.000+08:00

Thailand is close neighbour with Kelantan state. Therefore some of the cuisine has Thai influence such as this Somtam. Somtam is a spicy green papaya salad. It is made with shredded unripe papaya, chili, bean and lime. It is prepared by pounding the vegetables together in a mortar. By doing so it helps release the flavours and juices.

I saw this recipe from Kakna, Cubarecipebaru which I believe is more on Kelantanese style. Since no sugar is added this papaya salad is more on salty side and of course spicy (quite a lot chili used, I reduce to 4 instead of 10 pieces). I love the overall taste and texture, crunch and flavourful. With all these humble ingredients it creates big flavour in a plate! If I made again I will add some palm sugar/ sugar and reduce or omit the long bean. Quite odd having it raw :P

Adapted and slightly modified from Cubarecipebaru

Somtam (Papaya Salad)
Ingredients:
¼ unripe papaya (mine is small, about ½), shredded
¼ carrot, shredded
½ tomato. thinly sliced

4 shallots, cut into half
4 bird chilies (more if prefer more heat)
2 tablespoons dried shrimps, washed and toast on pan without oil
4 tablespoons roasted peanut
2 long beans, cut about 1½ cm long

2 limau kasturi, cut into half
1½ tablespoons fish sauce

Methods:
1. Place shredded papaya, carrot and tomato in a mixing bowl. Set aside.

2. Place shallots, chillies, dried shrimps, peanuts and long beans in a mortar. Crush lightly.
*Randomly pick some from each and crush lightly to release flavour. I do it in batches.

3. Combine lime juice and fish sauce. Toss all ingredients together in mixing bowl evenly. Serve!

I am submitting this post to Malaysian Food Fest, Kelantan Month hosted by Gertrude of My KitchenSnippets

Ayam Percik (Grilled Chicken) -MFF Kelantan

2013-04-12T15:44:00.000+08:00

I have been eyeing on Ayam Percik recipe for quite long. Ever since I saw Ayam Percik of Lena aka Frozen Wings during MFF Terengganu I knew I going to cook. But at last I can't make it. So this time not going to miss Kelantan version of Ayam Percik :D

Whenever I visit my MIL in Seremban I will buy Ayam Percik from AYAMAS (no branch in Kuching). Love the spices on the grilled chicken. However during my last visit I found that the quality of their chicken is not as good as few years back. The chicken meat is dry and not so fragrant.

Since I love Ayam Percik I should cook it and eat anytime I want. After looking at Kelly Siew Kelantan version Ayam Percik, I notice that it is easy and less preparation compare to Terengganu version. Without much delay I gather the ingredients and cook it for my family lunch. Wow! The coconut milk and spices used indeed make this grilled chicken very flavourful! My hubby and myself enjoy it very much! How I wish my kids can have it too (they can't take any heat :D). I shall try out Terengganu version one day. And no more take away from AYAMAS in future :D

Serve Ayam Percik with rice, fragrant coconut gravy from grilled chicken and coriander as salad by the side. Since the heat is mild, 'Siok' with added chili padi in the gravy. Can’t wait to cook again!

Adapted and slightly modified from Kelly Siew Cooks
Ayam Percik Kelantan

Ingredients:
(A)

2 chicken maryland (thighs with drumsticks)
200ml coconut milk
3 cardamoms
3 cloves
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised

1 tablespoon tamarind paste
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon potato starch mixed with water(omit)

(B) Spice paste
3 cloves garlic
1 thumb sized ginger
3 shallots
3-4 dried chili, soaked and drained
1 stalk lemongrass

½ cup water

Methods:

1. Preparing spice paste by adding ingredients (B) into blender. Grind till fine paste. Adding into wok/pot together with chicken maryland and marinate for at least ½ hour.

*Using the same wok/pot for marinating and cooking as well. Less cleaning :P

2. Pour half the coconut milk over marinated chicken. Add cardamom, cloves and lemongrass. Cook over medium heat until chicken is partly cooked, about 20 minutes. Season with tamarind paste, salt, pepper and sugar halfway through.

3. Remove the chicken, reserving the coconut milk gravy in the wok/pot. Discard the cardamom and cloves from the gravy. Add the rest of coconut milk and the potato starch mix (if using). Simmer until thick. Taste for seasoning. Turn off the heat and leave aside.

4. Place the chicken (skin facing up) on lined baking tray. Ladle 2-3 spoons of gravy on chicken. Cook under oven grill (broiler) at medium heat for 7-8 minutes. Again ladle gravy on chicken and continue grill till chicken is golden brown and cooked well. Serve!

I am submitting this post to

~Malaysian Food Fest, Kelantan Month hosted by Gertrude of My KitchenSnippets

~See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

~Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv

Deep Chocolate Pound Cake

2013-04-09T15:10:00.001+08:00

I'm sure most of us are excited when knowing Deep Chocolate Pound Cake is this month Bake-along#42 theme. In this chocolate cake recipe, honey is used as part of sweetness. Some bakers reviewed that the honey is a bit overwhelming and lack of chocolate flavour. Since this is my first chocolate cake using honey I stick with the quantity of honey used in the recipe. I cut down the sugar to reduce overall sweetness. In order to get the cocoa powder mix easily I take extra effort heating the honey water mixture.

I baked batter into loaf and few muffins. And I’m serving my muffins with cream cheese frosting :) On the first day I’m not really enjoying this cake. The honey flavour is indeed strong. Surprisingly this cake taste better the next day. Cocoa flavour has developed and honey taste is milder. However I still prefer the one with frosting. Taste great in that way. Next time if happen to bake will reduce the honey. Overall is a great chocolate pound cake. Do bake and find out!

Recipe from bon appetit Desserts with modication

Deep Chocolate Pound Cake

Ingredients:

(A)

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon coarse kosher salt (I used ½ teaspoon)
¼ teaspoon baking soda

½ cup sour cream (replace with yogurt)
½ cup whole milk

(B)
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ cup honey
2 tablespoons boiling water

(C)
¾ cup sugar (reduced to 1/3 cup)
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

Methods:
1. Whisk flour, baking powder, coarse salt, and baking soda in medium bowl. Whisk sour cream (replace with yogurt) and milk in small bowl.

2. Add honey and water in a heatproof pan. Cook and stir as heating the mixture. Once combine, off the heat (no need reach boiling point). Add in cocoa powder and mix until smooth. Cool completely.

3. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl.

4. Beat in vanilla. Add cocoa mixture; stir until smooth, occasionally scraping down bowl.

5. Fold in flour mixture alternately with sour cream (yogurt) mixture in 2 additions each until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips.

6. Pour batter into lined baking pan or muffins mould. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for about 45 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean.
*muffins took about 20 minutes.

7. Remove cake from pan and cool on wire rack.

I'm submitting this post to

~We Should Cocoa April challenge, chocolate with honey organised by Chocolate Teapot and Chocolate Log Blog

~Bake Along #42 organised by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids

Butter Cake with Pickled Roselle

2013-04-05T14:42:00.000+08:00

I love using pickled roselle as dried fruits in my favourite cake-butter cake! Sweet sourish taste of the pickled roselle really goes well with rich buttery cake. I had been using it many times in my cake.

For this recipe I had try using self-raising flour and low protein flour. I noticed the one with self-raising flour yield softer texture! I guess the store bought self-raising flour has special ingredient that give better result :D

Butter Cake with Pickled Roselle

Ingredients:
(A)
100g
70g sugar
2 eggs

(B)

150g self-raising flour

Pinch of salt

* sift together and set aside

40ml water (can replace with milk)

(C)

40g homemade pickled roselle

* cut into smaller pieces

2-3 tablespoons roselle syrup (from pickled roselle)

Methods:
1. Cream butter and sugar till soft and fluffy. Add in one egg at a time, mix well.

2. Add in the sifted flour. Gradually add in the water and fold to combine.

3. Pour few tablespoons batter into cake pan, scatter some pickled roselle on it. Cover with batter and repeat this process till batter finish.

*Do not add and fold/mix pickled roselle directly into batter. The colour won’t be bright red, it turns dark purple instead.

4. Bake in preheated oven at 180C for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven. While the cake is hot poke several holes with cake tester. Pour and brush the roselle syrup around the hot cake.

5. Leave the cake in pan for about 10 minutes before unmould and cool on rack.

I am submitting this post to

~See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

~Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv

Roselle Konnyaku Jelly

2013-04-03T10:38:00.000+08:00

As I mentioned in early post I’m going to share on how I used my 1^st bottle of pickled roselle. Well the easier way to enjoy it is making konnyaku! Of course you can make similar dessert like agar-agar which taste great too.

Recipe from konnyaku jelly powder packet instructions

Roselle Konnyaku Jelly
Ingredients:

10g konnyaku jelly powder (1 packet)
130g sugar

900ml water
50ml pickled roselle syrup(recipe here)

2-3 tablespoon pickled roselle

Some pickled roselle as filling

Methods:
1. Put the konnyaku jelly powder and sugar in a bowl. Mix till well combined. Set aside.

2. In a pot, mix in water, roselle syrup and pickled. Bring to boil. Slowly add in mixture of sugar konnyaku jelly powder mixture. Whisk as you add until all konnyaku jelly powder dissolve.

3. Fill the mould with some of pickled roselle. Spoon the konnyaku batter into the mould. Leave to cool for about 10-15 minutes.

4. Keep inside fridge for an hour or until set. Enjoy!

Pickled Roselle(洛神蜜餞)

2013-04-01T21:09:00.000+08:00

Roselle is one of Hibiscus family. In Malay we called asam belanda and 洛神花 (Luo Shen Hua) in Chinese. Fresh roselle has high content of Vitamin C along with vitamin D, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, and vitamin B2 Complex, Vitamin A, Niacin and Calcium. Refer here for more info.

I know about roselle from my MIL. She has many roselle plants in her Orchid Nursery. The fresh roselle is commonly use in preparing drinks. I am amazed with the bright red colour and taste. It tastes similar to Ribena.

Do you know that fresh roselle can make into pickle too? It only involves blanching and storing! A lot easy than making into jam! You might wonder what to do with pickled roselle? According to Carol (recipe source) it can be eaten as snack. Surprisingly this pickled roselle has crunch texture as you munch! I can't eat more than one as too sweet :P Besides munching the roselle syrup from the pickled is great in preparing drinks. Just dilute the syrup in water and is ready to go! For bakers like me definitely not forget using it in making desserts.

Before I sharing recipes on using pickled roselle let see how to prepare it. Got to be patient as it needs 3 days for the pickled to mature.

Adapted and slightly modified from Carol

Pickled Roselle

Ingredients :

250g fresh roselle (after separate from the central seedpod)

40ml lemon juice, from 1 lemon

300g sugar (divide into 2 portions, 150g each)

Methods :

1. Make a cut (about 3cm) at bottom of seedpod. Push seed out and keep the red fleshy calyx (try keep whole calyx).

2. Wash the red fleshy calyx till clean.

3. Bring a pot of water to boil. Add in clean red fleshy calyx and blanch for about 5-6 seconds. Remove and drain. Leave aside to cool.

*Important not to blanch too long as it will lost the crunchiness of the pickled roselle.

4. In a mixing bowl, add in cool calyx together with lemon juice and half portion of sugar (150g). Mix gently to combine.

5. Prepare a clean jar. Add in mixture of calyx. At the top, add in the remaining portion of sugar (150g).

6. Close the lid and leave the jar at room temperature for 3 days before refrigerate.

*turn over the jar each day to ensure all the calyx is fully covered with sugar syrup.

I am submitting this post to

~See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

~Made with Love Mondays hosted by Javelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv

Hakka Lo See Fun with Minced Meat (客家肉碎老鼠粉)

2013-03-29T15:51:00.001+08:00

I read this Hakka Lo See Fun in one of my favourite cookbook by Agnes Chang. Since it has been very long time not having lo see fun I decide to cook it and serve my family on weekend. This is very simple and yet satisfy meal especially have it together with hot chili dipping sauce :)

Adapted and slightly from Delightful Snacks & Dim Sum cookbook by Agnes Chang
Hakka Lo See Fun with Minced Meat (客家肉碎老鼠粉)

Ingredients:
(A) Minced meat

3 tablespoons oil

1 tablespoon chopped shallots and garlic

250 minced pork

(B) Seasoning

1 tablespoon fish sauce (replace with soya sauce)

1 tablespoon light soya sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon dark soya sauce

4 tablespoon water (use 1 cup water as kids prefer saucy noodles)

500g rice pin noodles (lo see fun)

1 tablespoon fried shallot oil, for mixing lo see fun

200g bean sprouts

2 stalks spring onion, diced

2 tablespoons fried shallots

2 red chilies, sliced, mixed with 2 tablespoons light soya sauce

Methods:
1. Heat the oil in wok on medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and fry till fragrant. Add the minced pork and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Add in seasoning. Bring to boil and taste. Dish up and set aside.

2. Blanch bean sprout until just cooked. Drain and set aside.

3. Blanch lo see fun until hot. Drain, add in shallot oil and mix to combine.

4. Place the lo see fun, bean sprout onto serving bowl. Top with minced pork, spring onion and fried shallots. Serve hot with sliced red chilies.

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #29：Heirloom and Local Dialect Recipes 家传菜/籍贯菜(March 2013 ) hosted by FHL of Faith Hope Love

Tuna Turnover with Quick & Easy Flaky Pastry (Delia Smith)

2013-03-27T15:34:00.000+08:00

Turnover is Bake-Along #41 theme. Actually I'm not intend to bake any as not sure what is Turnover :P After looking at apple turnover from Alice, I Love. I Cook. I Bake. with Delia Smith easy pastry, me tempting to bake some! Why not? One stone kills two birds at the same time! :D

From Wiki I understand turnover is a type of pastry made by placing a filling on a piece of dough, folding the dough over, and sealing it. The filling can be sweet or savory. Shortcrust pastry or puff pastry dough is commonly used. They can be baked and fried.

Since I serving this turnover as lunch I bake savory type with canned tuna. I mix tuna with some breadcrumbs to minimize the moisture of filling. I learnt this great tip from Zoe, Bake for Happy Kids. Yes it works very well! Thanks Zoe!

The flaky pastry is indeed quick to prepare and have to work quickly too as it gets soften easily in our hot climate. Just after done shaping, my dough starts 'sweating'! Luckily I manage transfer them to baking pan without much tearing. I keep them in fridge while preheating oven. When the oven is ready then only remove out from fridge, apply egg wash and bake. Although the pastry is not as flaky as store bought puff pastry it consider good with the little effort. The pastry is fragrant and crisp. Love it! I definitely will make it again.

Tuna Turnover with Quick & Easy Flaky Pastry (Delia Smith)

Ingredients:
~ Pastry
110g butter
175g all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons cold water

~ Filling

4 tablespoons canned tuna(tuna in mayonnaise)

2-3 tablespoons breadcrumbs

*mix together and set aside

~Egg wash
½ egg, lightly beaten
Some white sesame seeds for topping

Methods:
1. Keep butter wrapped in a plastic, and freeze for at least 45 minutes.

2. Sift flour and salt in a large bowl, grate frozen butter on top of the flour. Use butter knife to mix evenly (do not use hands).

3. Sprinkle water with hands all over and mix again with butter knife for a few seconds, then you may finish off with hands. Dough should be moist, combine altogether, and leave the bowl fairly clean, no need to knead the dough. Wrap it up and rest in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

4. Bring the dough out from the fridge (once can be rolled out is good to go! about 5 minutes). Place the dough in between cling wrap, flatten the dough with rolling pin. Shape according to preference (I made about 5-6 rectangles).

*if dough is soft and sticky to handle, do chill before add filling

5. Place the filling on half side and fold up over the filling. Transfer to baking sheet then seal the edges with fork.

6. Brush the top with egg wash and sprinkle with some sesame seeds. Bake in preheated oven 200C for about 20 minutes (depending on the size) until browned and puffed. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I'm submitting this post to

~See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

~ Bake Along hosted by Joyce from Kitchen Flavours, Lena from Frozen Wings and Zoe from Bake For Happy Kids

~ Cook Like A Star hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Baby Sumo from Eat your heart out and Mich from Piece of Cake

Hakka Stuffed Tofu (客家酿豆腐）

2013-03-26T20:38:00.000+08:00

Stuffed tofu is a very common in Hakka dishes. Me as Hakka used to eat since I was little. Besides tofu my mum used to stuff the pork filling into brinjal (her favourite!) and chilies. Sometimes I use ladies fingers and bittergout too. At first the stuffed tofu or vegetable are being fried. Then cook and braise in sauce for more flavour.

Normally I use oyster sauce and sugar in braising sauce. But in 快乐厨房magazine, authentic Hakka stuffed tofu only use soya sauce as seasoning. So I tried its version. Hope you like this humble Hakka stuffed tofu dish.

Reference from 快乐厨房magazine

Hakka stuffed tofu
Ingredients:
2-3 firm tofu (豆干）

Some corn flour for dusting

~Filling
100g minced pork
1 teaspoon grated ginger
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon soya sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon corn flour

~Braising sauce
1 teaspoon soya sauce
150ml water

Methods:

~Preparation

1. Cut firm tofu into 4 equal squares. Cut a square in center (but not cut through) with a knife. Use a small spoon scoop out tofu to make a square hole for stuffing. Keep the tofu pieces and use as part of filling.

2. For filling, put tofu pieces, minced pork and all the seasoning into mixing bowl. Stir till well combine. Set aside.

3. Before stuffing, sprinkle some corn flour inside tofu. Get some minced pork mixture and fill the hole as stuffing. Repeat till all finish. By doing this the stuffing will stick well and not fall apart.

*I shape the extra minced pork mixture into meat balls.

~Cooking

1. Heat up wok, add in vegetable oil (about half way cover tofu square). Once oil is hot, gently put in stuffed tofu. Fry till golden brown in all side. Remove and set aside.

*turn tofu squares to get all sides evenly brown.

2. Pour out all oil. Prepare sauce by adding water and soya sauce into wok. Bring to boil. Return fried stuffed tofu back into wok. Cook till all the sauce absorbed by tofu. Serve!

I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #29：Heirloom and Local Dialect Recipes 家传菜/ 籍贯菜 (March 2013 ) hosted by FHL of Faith Hope Love

Tomato Black Bean Salad

2013-03-22T19:57:00.000+08:00

I love black beans. I used to cook more and keep in freezer for later used. I can have it as snack. So why not using it in salad? Here comes the easy black bean salad pair with tomatoes.

From Vivian Pang Kitchen

Tomato Black Bean Salad

Ingredients:
150g cooked black beans
2 tomatoes, cut into small cubes
2 shallots, thinly sliced
1 big chili, thinly sliced
2 bird chilies, thinly sliced
Handful of coriander, cut

~dressing
Juice from 2 limau kasturi
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 teaspoon soya sauce

Methods:
1. Mix the dressing till sugar dissolve. Set aside.

2. Mix all salad ingredients into mixing bowl. Pour in dressing and toss to combine. Serve!

~Note
I use dried black beans and cook with pressure cooker. Here what I did.
1. Rinse black beans to clean. Then soak dried beans in salt water overnight.
* add ½ to 1 teaspoon salt in water

2. The next day, pour away salt water. Rinse 1-2 times to get rid of salt.
- Put into pressure cooker. Add enough water to cover the beans and cook for about 20 minutes or till soft.

*adjust the time according to your pressure cooker

I am submiting this post to

~Little Thumbs Up event organised by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY with ‘Tomato’ as March theme

Crispy Skin Roasted Chicken Thighs

2013-03-20T16:29:00.000+08:00

This recipe I have posted before but with whole chicken. One of my FB readers asking whether can be done with only drumsticks instead of whole bird. Actually I seldom bake whole chicken because we can’t finish in one meal. Unless I want to keep certain parts especially the chicken breast for salad. The most I bake is with chicken thighs. Therefore I really keen to try and find out.

It seems the same recipe with whole chicken works pretty well for thighs too (more crispy skin with thigh instead of drumstick). However I made mistake. I baked the thighs by placing the skin facing down first and turning over during the baking process. It ends up some parts not crispy. The skin might be crispy more evenly if I bake only with the skin up throughout the baking process.

Ingredients:
4 pieces chicken thighs

1 ½ cups water
1 tablespoon maltose (麦芽糖）
½ tablespoon vinegar

~Seasoning
Salt and pepper to taste

Methods:

1. Combine water, maltose and vinegar in a wok/a large pot and bring it to boil. Turn off the heat.

2. Clean the chicken and pat dry. Put the chicken into hot water mixture. Turn several times for well coating.

3. Arrange the chicken on wire rack as shown and sun dried for an hour.

5. Turn the thighs with skin side down. Rubbing salt and pepper around chicken. Do not rub mixture over the outer skin! Once done, turn over and bake with skin side up.

*Mine bake with skin side down first and turn during the baking process. The result is not that good.

6. Bake in preheated oven 190'C for about 30 minutes or until the skin is brown and crispy.

I am submitting this post to

~ Recipe Box#39 hosted by Bizzy Bakes

~See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

~Made with Love Mondays hosted byJavelin Warrior's Cookin w/Luv

Malay Red Cooked Chicken / Ayam Masak Merah (Kids version)

2013-03-18T11:25:00.003+08:00

I never think that I can cook Malay Red Cooked Chicken for kids until I read it from My Little Favourite DIY. I omit chili totally as my kids can’t take any heat. Yes this dish is well received by them. But for me I prefer to go with some hot chili sauce :D Next time will cook it and serve with pasta as main course.

Adapted and slightly modified from My Little Favourite DIY

Malay Red Cooked Chicken / Ayam Masak Merah

Ingredients:

(A)
6 chicken wings (used the drumlet and middle joint, about 600g)
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Dash of pepper

(B)
2 shallots
½ cm ginger
2 cloves of garlic

1 inch cinnamon stick
2 cloves (bunga cengkih)
3 cardamoms (buah pelaga)
1 red onion sliced

(C)
½ cup tomato ketchup
½ cup evaporated milk (or coconut milk)
½ cup water
½ teaspoon salt
1-2 tablespoon sugar to taste

Methods:

1. Marinate chicken with salt, turmeric and pepper for at least 30 minutes.

2. Mill shallots, ginger and garlic.

3. Heat wok, add in 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Arrange chicken parts and pan fry till the skin turns brown. Dish up.

*It’s ok if the chicken is not cooked thoroughly and still oozes some blood.

4. Add in 1-2 tablespoons oil, sauté the milled ingredients on medium heat until it looks glossy, put in dry spices and sliced onion and continue to sauté until the onions looks translucent and wilts.

5. Put in the ingredients (C), return chicken into the wok and cook until the gravy reduces to preferred amount. Serve!

I like to link this post to

~ Recipe Box#38 hosted by Bizzy Bakes

~ See Ya In The Gumbo hosted by Ms. enPlace

~Little Thumbs Up event organised by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids and My Little Favourite DIY with ‘Tomato’ as March theme

Steamed Nian Gao (年糕) Kueh

2013-03-14T11:09:00.000+08:00

I like to eat Nian Gao especially sandwich in between sweet potato and yam. But I don't feel like making Nian Gao fritter. So the other way of enjoying is to steam and then coat with desiccated coconut! Instead of having only Nian Gao why not invite its' best buddy, sweet potato and yam as well!

Like fritter I used Nian Gao as filling, steam together with sweet potato and yam. Here come the steamed Nian Gao Kueh :D The best to enjoy is serving it as soon as come out from steamer. Can you see the Nian Gao oozing out? Let see how I make it.

Steamed Nian Gao Kueh (年糕)

Ingredients:

(A) sweet potato layer

150g sweet potato

15g rice flour

15g glutinous rice flour

(B) yam layer

150g yam

15g rice flour

15g glutinous rice flour
some water (only if too dry)

(C)

150g Nian Gao (年糕) for filling

250g desiccated coconut

Pinch of salt

*steam 10 minutes

Methods:

1. Remove skin, cut sweet potato/ yam into cubes. Arrange in steamer and steam till soft.

2. While sweet potato/ yam still hot, mashed. Add in the rest ingredients and knead to combine form soft dough.

3. Cut Nian Gao into thin slices. Set aside.

4. Lightly grease 8' round pan. Assemble by scatter yam dough around pan. Lightly press to get even surface. Arrange Nian Gao slices. Then top with sweet potato dough. Cover with cling wrap (heat proof type) and now ready to steam.

5. Bring water to boil, place the pan in steamer and steam at medium heat for 10 minutes.

6. Serve with steamed desiccated coconut while is hot! Enjoy!