Tummy Journey

Almond Biscotti

2013-02-04T14:56:00.000+10:00

I was watching Karen Martini last week at Better Homes and Gardens TV and she was making this lovely almond biscotti that really looks soooo yummy and easy to make. I told myself that I would try doing those biscottis in the next few days or so and I did!

They're crunchy, yummy and really easy to make and best of all the ingredients are not that difficult to get.

You can watch her making the biscotti at http://au.lifestyle.yahoo.com/better-homes-gardens/tv-and-video/video/watch/6928a23d-f5b5-362b-9943-2ca42c16da21/cooking-with-karen-almond-biscotti/aulifestyle-better-homes-and-garden-cooking-with-karen/

A comment or two will be appreciated...

Pork Tonkatsu

2013-02-04T14:24:00.003+10:00

My husband and I would always be on the look out for bento stalls whenever we go somewhere. We've found this great bento stall in Myer's building at Brisbane CBD. They sell the best tonkatsu so far in my opinion and of course according to mine and my husband's taste buds. I have always wanted to cook this dish at home but I really don't know where to get the panko breadcrumbs! Good thing we were able to bring in a kilo of this magic breadcrumbs from the Philippines. Since it is a commercial product, it was allowed to be brought in to Australia.

The sound of the dish says it all. It is a Japanese dish of course. It originated in Japan in the 19th century and usually served as a single dish or as a sandwich filling. Originally it is a beef dish but in 1889 in Tokyo, Japanese started using pork cutlets. (wikipedia.org)

This dish is meat fillet dredged in flour, egg and panko breadcrumbs and deep fried and serve with tonkatsu sauce. Tonkatsu sauce is so easy to make and if you have mayonnaise in your fridge, then off you go.

As I do not really follow a recipe en toto, I always end up doing my own. You have the option to follow mine or adjust it to yourliking.

Pork Tonkatsu Ingredients
2 pcs pork cutlets
salt and pepper
1 egg (beaten)
1/2 c plain flou
panko breadcrumbs
oil for frying

Procedure
Remove bones, skin and fat from the pork chops or cutlets.
Pound with a meat mallet until it gets thinner (to your liking)
Season with salt and pepper.
Dredge onto the flour. Remove excess flour.
Dip into the beaten egg.
Dredge onto the breadcrumbs.
Deep fry.

Tonkatsu Sauce
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 tsp kikkoman soy sauce

Mix well with a fork. Put on top of the tonkatsu.

Beef Stir Fry w/ Hokkien Noodles

2013-02-03T21:05:00.000+10:00

One thing I love about stir fry recipes is the simplicity and quickness of cooking them. The richness of the flavor and great smell from the kitchen while cooking are enough to make someone drool.

A friend of ours gave us a big chunk of beef round so I told my hubby that maybe I should make some stir fry for dinner. Usually an asian stir fry would ask for hoisin sauce but gee I didn't realize that I've ran out of it so I had to whip up some other ingredients to cook it.

I really didn't use any measurement in this stir fry recipe so I had to remember at least how much I put in...goodness! Well anyway, just use the rule of tasting to suit your preference.

Ingredients
1/2 k beef round (cut into paper thin size)
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ginger powder
salt and pepper to taste
300 g Hokkien noodles
6 pcs bok choi (or pechay)
1 green or red capcicum (strips)
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 medium onions (wedges)
peanut oil

Procedure
Mix soy sauce, oyster sauce, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sugar, ginger, a bit of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat up the peanut oil in a wok. Sautee onions and garlic.
Add in the beef and stir. Cook for at least 2 minutes.
Put in the bok choi and capcicum. Stir for another 2 minutes.
Pour in the mixed sauce. Stir.
Add in the noodles. Stir for 2 minutes and then remove from wok.
Serve hot.

***Soak the noodles in a warm water while stir frying all the other ingredients.

A comment or two will be appreciated...

Pinoy Pork Menudo

2012-09-20T11:21:00.004+10:00

Normally I use beef in Menudo but this time I decided to use pork for a change. I remember when we I was still in High School, Menudo is one of the best seller of the small canteen across the then Sun Theatre in Hagonoy. It was operated by my classmate's cousin. Both students from the boys' school and the girls' school would always go there for lunch or hang-out just before they go home in the afternoon after eating saba con yelo.

Well anyway, I've found out that this dish is a traditional Mexican soup made from beef tripe or twalya in Tagalog. This dish has also served as a means for social interaction where the members of the family or neighbors participate in preparing and cooking Menudo. Since the Philippines has been under the rule of the Spanish conquistadores for such a long time thru the Spanish Viceroy in Mexico plus the fact that the Philippines participated then with the Galleon Trade which basically a trade between the two countries. This could be the reason why the dish reached the Philippines.

In my growing up years, there was not a time when I did not see Menudo in a dining table in any Filipino celebration. The Filipinos thru the years though has modified this dish to suit their palate and their pockets so to speak.

Ingredients
1/2 k pork cubes
1/4 k beef liver
1 juice of lemon
1/4 c vinegar
1/3 c soy sauce
2 pcs bay leaves
1 medium onion, diced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 capcicum, diced
1/2 c chickpeas
2 medium potatoes, cubed
2 medium carrots, cubed
1 tsp paprika
1 reno liver spread
4 tomatoes, chopped (very small)
1/2 c raisins
3 hotdogs, sliced diagonally
1/2 c tomato sauce
1 beef cube
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Marinate pork with soy sauce, vinegar and lemon juice for 10 minutes.
In the meantime, fry the potatoes and carrots just until a bit brown. Set aside.
Sear the pork. Set aside.
Sautee onions, garlic and tomatoes. Wait until the tomatoes get really cooked.
Put in the pork. Stir.
Add in the veggies. Stir.
Pour in a cup of water. Boil.
Add everything onto the wok. Simmer.

Yummy Churros

2012-09-19T10:06:00.002+10:00

I remember eating churros in Miriam College Grade School on one school fair. The churros were put in paper cups and drizzled with chocolate dip. They're quite yummy but a bit pricey though.

Churros are long pastry dough that are deep fried. Two countries claim for this pastry's origin - Spain and Portugal. One story said that originally the Portuguese got this dough recipe from China but did not actually learned the Chinese's art of pulling the dough so instead they started using a star - shaped nozzle. For the rest of the story you can go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Churro.
One interesting note too, during that time, it was considered a big crime if a Chinese shares knowledge with foreigners.

Anyway, I tried making churros this time after watching Nigella Lawson's interview at Sunday Night at 7. I remember that I saw her making churros once before in her show. I tried to remember how she made them and hopefully I did justice. According to my taste testers -- hubby and kids, I reall did well and the churros were quite yummy.

I just found it a bit difficult though piping out the pastry dough so next time I would probably try the Chinese way of pulling the dough our make a pretzel shape churros.

Ingredients
Churros
1/2 c self raising flour
1/2 c plain flour
a pinch of salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 c boiling water

sugar - cinnamon mixture (1/3 c caster sugar + 2 tbsp cinnamon powder) -- set aside

sunflower oil - for frying

chocolate dip sauce

Procedure
Sift the two flours together in a flour.
Add the salt.
Make a well and pour in the water and oil.
Mix with a fork until the dough is free from lumps.
Set aside for at least 5-10 minutes.
Place the dough in a piping bag w/ a star nozzle.
Pipe out the dough and cut with scissors according the lenght you like and deep fry in a pot half-filled with boiling oil.
Roll the churros ontot he cinnamon sugar mixture.
Dip in a hot chocolate dip sauce.

A comment or two will be appreciated...

Easy to Make Chocolate Dip

2012-09-19T10:04:00.005+10:00

Ingredients
300 g chocolate chips
1 c heavy cream

Procedure
Melt the chocolates together with the cream in a double boiler.

A comment or two will be appreciated...

My Baked Macaroni Experiment

2012-09-12T10:18:00.002+10:00

Baked macaroni is just so lovely! It's my husband's first taste of it and he certainly loved it so I might have to bake this again sometime.

A little bit of trivia --- I didn't know that there's a legend that Marco Polo found this macaroni in China and brought it to Europe! but then again, it's just a legend...if you want to read more about it and some macaroni info, you can go to this http://www.cliffordawright.com/caw/food/entries/display.php/id/50/

Ingredients
500 g elbow macaroni (cooked according to package instruction)
1 c grated cheese
1 tin tomato sauce
1 tin whole tomatoes w/ sauce
1/2 k lean minced beef
6 pcs hotdogs, sliced diagonally
100 g bacon pieces
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp sweet basil
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 tsp sugar
1 large onions, minced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 red capcicum, chopped
1 carron, cut into little cubes
1 1/2 c beef broth
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Sautee onions, garlic and capcicum.
Add in the minced beef. Just before it gets cooked add in the hotdogs and bacon.
Add in carrots.
Put in the seasonings and herbs. Stir well.
Pour in the tomato sauces and the beef broth.
Simmer until thick.

Pour into the pasta (large baking dish) and mix well.
Top w/ bechamel sauce and grated cheese.
Cover the dish w/ foil.
Bake in a 200C preheated oven for 1 hour or until the top turns a little brown. (Remove foil just 10 minutes before the baking time is over)

A comment or two will be appreciated...

Easy Bechamel Sauce

2012-09-11T08:10:00.000+10:00

I thought making bechamel sauce would be a big job but it was not as difficult as I thought it would be. Most recipes don't usually ask you to add salt and pepper but I'd rather add these things so that the sauce would have more flavour in it.

Bechamel is actually white sauce and it is said to be the mother of all sauces in French Cuisine and is used in Italian recipes. It was named after "marquis de Bechamel" who was a financier and held the title of chief steward to Louix XIV(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%A9chamel_sauce).

Ingredients
4 c fresh milk
1/3 c plain flour
40 g butter
1/2 c grated cheese (cheddar or parmesan)
a pinch of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Mix milk and plain flour in a bowl.
Melt butter in a non stick pot.
Put the fire on low.
Pour the milk-flour mixture onto the pot.
Continue mixing.
Add salt and pepper.
Remove from fire when it is thick.
Mix in nutmeg and cheese.
Pour on top of your pasta.
A comment or two will be appreciated...

Fried Squid w/ Onions and Tomatoes and Herbs

2012-08-27T12:32:00.000+10:00

One of my favorites that I would always love to eat. We always do this in Sagrada when we were still there. This time I just made a little twist to it and add more herbs to make it more yummy. The result is such amazing taste. Try it for yourself.

Ingredients
4 large squid (insides cleaned)
3 large tomatoes, chopped
2 large onions, chopped
1 tsp basil
1 tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Mix all the ingredients except squid in a bowl.
Divide into 4.
Insert the mixture into the squids.
Seal with a toothpick.
Deep fry until cooked. ( Make sure that you don't overcooked since squids tend to get a bit chewy when too much cooked)

A comment or two will be appreciated...

The Ever Fudgy Chocolate Carrot Cake w/ Honey Cream Cheese Frosting

2012-08-27T12:18:00.004+10:00

One excuse to eat chocolate cakes is to add carrots! My daughters love carrots so everytime I cook something for them, I would always make sure as much as it can possibly done, to add carrots to it. Carrots. I am happy that they can get lots of nutrients from eating the carrots.

I was reading an article last night about carrots and I've realized that eating them has so many benefits. If you are interested in reading this just go to http://carrotmuseum.co.uk/nutrition2.html

Anyways, you can bake this yummy cake anytime you want and get adventurous with your toppings. You can even get your little ones to help you with it. Just that I did not ask my girls to help me out or we won't be able to finish decorating because the girls will feast on it.

Ingredients
1 c plain flour
1/2 c cocoa powder (cadbury)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1/2 c granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c canola or vegetable oil
1 1/2 c grated carrots
1 c chocolate chips

Procedure
Sift the dry ingredients in a bowl (except sugar). Mix well and set aside.
Beat eggs until pale.
Add in Sugar and vanilla.
Pour in the oil.
Continue mixing while adding the dry ingredients in batches. Mix well.
Pour half of the batter into a lightly greased springform pan.
Scatter the chocolate chips on top of the batter.
Cover them with the remaining half of the batter.
Bake for 30 minutes in a 180C preheated oven.
Cool in a rack.
Spread the honey-cream cheese frosting and decorate w/ chocolate chips and/or sprinklers.

A comment or two will be appreciated...

Honey - Creamcheese Frosting

2012-08-27T12:04:00.002+10:00

Ingredients
1/2 c creamcheese
2 tbsp honey
1/4 c icing sugar

Procedure
Beat with an electric mixer until smooth and a little bit stiff.
Pour or spread on top of your cake or muffin.

A comment or two will be appreciated...

Eggless Fudgy Cake with Almonds and Dates

2012-08-14T09:48:00.001+10:00

For this yummy cake, I used the recipe for the other Fudgy Chocolate cake I baked which you can also find in my Foodblog. Just click this Fudgy Chocolate Cake. Then follow the recipe below for the Part 2 to finish the prep process.

Ingredients

Toasted Almond Flakes (just enough to cover the top.
1 c chocolate chips
1/2 chopped dates

Procedure
After the fudgy chocolate batter is prepared. Fold in the chopped dates and choco chips.
Pour the batter onto a springform pan. Make sure that you lined it with baking paper but if you're using the non stick pan (like I do) just lightly grease the pan.
Top with toasted almonds.
Bake in a 180C preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the cake springs back or just use the toothpick method.
A comment or two will be appreciated...

Ginataang Hipon w/ a Twist (Prawns cooked in coconut milk)

2012-08-04T12:55:00.001+10:00

This is really a different kind of dish that I am sure you will be happy with when you try it. Bicolanos are known for dishes cooked with coconut milk/cream and lots of chillis. This ginataang hipon is somewhat similar to the ones they cook except that I try to balance the hotness with the sweetness of the pinapple and zuchinni. Instead of using the usual small red chilli peppers or labuyo, I used the chilli flakes that you can buy in shops (mckormick) so I can more or less gauge the hotness of the dish.

Ingredients
12 big king prawns
1 medium onions, minced
1 tbsp garlic, minced
1 c coconut milk
1 small tin pinapple pieces in heavy syrup
2 zuchinnis, cubed
olive oil
1 tsp chilli flakes
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Fry the zucchini in olive oil until a bit brown. Set aside
Sautee onions and garlic. Put in the chilli flakes.
Add in prawns. Stir.
Put in zuchinni cubes and pineapple pieces and stir.
Pour in the pineapple juice and coconut cream.
Add salt and pepper.
Simmer until thick and creamy.

A comment or two will be appreciated...

My Yummy Garlic Buttered Prawns

2012-07-31T09:11:00.005+10:00

I guess this one is one of my hubby's favourite dish because he ate a lot of rice with it and it took a bit of time for him to finish eating. I would have to agree with him because even I, loved this dish so much that I could not stop eating.

Try it and enjoy.

Ingredients
14 king prawns
1 c lemonade
1/2 c butter (125 g)
2 tbsp garlic, minced
1 medium onions, minced
1 tsp parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Procedure
Marinate the prawns in lemonade with a dash of salt and pepper for at least 30 minutes.
Heat the butter in a non - stick pan.
Sautee onions and garlic.
Add in the prawns. Stir.
Pour the lemonade marinade and add more salt and pepper.
Add in the parsley.
Simmer until the sauce evaporates.
Remove from fire when the sauce is thick and well absorbed by the prawns.
A comment or two will be appreciated...

Mocha Cake with Dulce de Leche Frosting

2012-07-29T14:23:00.001+10:00

This is a basic cake recipe I have been using eversince I can remember. I got this from my Maya Kitchen Cake and Pastries Cookbook. If you know this recipe by heart, you can go a looong way. Just use your creativity and experiment with adding different flavours to it.

In this particular cake recipe, I would just add coffee since I want a mocha cake to match my Dulce de Leche frosting. The result was really good! I think we finished the cake in 24 hours. That's how yummy it is.

Basic Cake Recipe
1 c + 2 tbsp cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup oil
1 piece eggyolk
6 tablespoons water
4 pieces eggwhites
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
6 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tsp coffee powder or granulated ***

Creamy Icing
1 350 ml heavy cream
4 tbsp caster sugar
chocolate chips (for twirl topping)
Sift the first 4 ingredients together in a bowl.
Add in the cocoa and coffee
Make a well at the center; blend oil, eggyolk, and water.
Mix until smooth. Set a side.
Beat eggwhites with cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually and continue beating until stiff but not dry.
Fold in eggyolk mixture into beaten eggwhites.
Bake for 20 - 25 minutes in a 175C preheated oven.

Cool a bit and turn upside down into a cooling rack.
Let it cool and turn upside down again into a cake board or plate.
Divide the cake into two (like a sandwich).
Pour in the custard cream on top of the bottom slice.
Place the half of the cake on top of the custard cream.
(You can make a custard cream by clicking this.)
Pour in the Dulce de Leche frosting.
Pipe out in twirls the creamy icing.
Top each twirl with chocolate chips.
Refrigerate before serving.

***Creamy Icing
Mix the cream and add caster sugar 1 tbsp at a time.
Continue mixing until smooth and stiff.
Put the icing in a piping bag with a star tip.
Squeeze out icing on the edge of the cake in a twirling motion.
Top with chocolate chips.
A comment or two will be appreciated...

Dulce de Leche

2012-07-29T13:49:00.002+10:00

I have always wonder what dulce de leche is or why is it called such name. I've found out that the term means "caramelised milk" and has its origin in Spain which means, it is one of the dishes that Filipinos learned during the time of the Spanish conquistadores. As the name suggests, the process is to caramelise milk --- condensed milk to be particular, until it becomes really sticky and thick and a bit brown in colour. The consistency should be really thick if you want to use it as a spread to your bread or a little less thicker to make it pourable when you want to use it as frosting to your cake.

There are 3 ways to caramelise condensed milk.

Microwave
Pour the condensed milk in a microwave heated proof glass.
Caramelise the condensed milk in medium high heat level until it becomes thick.
Make sure that you always check and stir the milk (every 3 minutes).
**It's a little difficult to caramelise milk in this method. I've found it more exhausting than doing it over the stove. You would not get the brownish colour in this way. You have to be very careful in this method since microwaves of different brands don't really have the same level of heat produced. I also hate finding the milk overflowing in the microwave. Needless to say, I don't recommend this one.

Stove Top - Pot Method
If you have done the sugar caramelisation before, this process is similar to that. Only this time, there is no water and sugar involved but just condensed milk.
Pour the milk in a non stick heavy pot.
Use low fire in carameling milk. Stir continuously using a wooden spoon until the milk becomes thick and brownish in colour.
***You really have to stir this non - stop from prevent the milk from sticking to the bottom and to prevent from making curdles.

Stove Top - Boiling Method
Make two small holes across each other on the top of the tin milk. Remove any milk that's coming out on the tin top.
Put the tin in the middle of a heavy pot. Pour in water in the pot just until 1 inch of the tin is above it.
Boil for 4 - 6 hours on medium fire.
***Make sure that you remove the paper label of the tin milk before you do this method. Add a bit of water when some of it have evaporated. If you hate the rattling sound of the tin in the pot like I do, put a small tea towel or face towel under the tin.
Scoop out the milk that's coming out.

A comment or two will be appreciated...

Eggless Fudgy Chocolate Cake

2012-07-28T12:19:00.002+10:00

This is one cake recipe for those who have egg allergy. The one doing the job for the eggs here is the vinegar. When I baked this for my family in Australia, they were so surprised when my hubby told them that there's no egg in the cake but there's vinegar in it. They said there's no vinegar taste in the cake...as in none at all! The cake is quite fudgy because I added a cup of chocolate chips and this made the cake even more lovely.

Ingredients
1 1/2 plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 c cocoa powder (cadbury)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c white sugar
1 tbsp vanilla
1 c milk
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 1/2 tbsp vinegar
1 c chocolate chips

Procedure
Mix all the dry ingredients except the chocolate chips in a bowl and make a well in the center.
Mix all the wet ingredients in a smaller bowl and then pour onto the well in the dry ingredients.
Mix well with whisk. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Grease an 8 inch baking pan.
Bake for 25 minutes in a 180C preheated oven.

A comment or two will be appreciated...

My Family Homemade Pizza

2012-07-27T10:17:00.002+10:00

Ordering pizza is a great and easy way to have a quick meal without all the fuss of prep and baking. On the other hand, making you own homemade pizza with your family is fun! Here is a very easy pizza prep that you and your family can do together.

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

2 c plain flour
1 sachet of dry yeast
1 tsp caster sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 c warm water

My homemade pizza sauce
1 c tomato sauce
2 tsp oregano
1 tsp caster sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Toppings
1 c mozzarella cheese (grated)
1 medium onion, sliced into rings
ham, chopped
pepperoni
pinapple pieces

Procedure

Dough
Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl.
Make a well at the center and add in the olive oil and warm water.
Mix well using your hands.
Knead until everything is incorporated.
Throw the dough onto the benchtop or wherever you are doing your kneading. Do this every 3 minutes. Knead for 10 minutes.
Form into a ball and put in a lightly greased bowl. Let rise for 30 - 40 minutes. Cover with clingwrap.
When risen, punch the dough about 2x and knead for a couple of minutes.
Roll out the dough and form a circle (9 inches) and the thickness that you want.
Lightly grease and flour a 9 inch diameter baking pan and place your pizza dough in it.
Top with your favourite toppings.

Pizza Sauce
Mix all the ingredients in a bowl.
Spread onto the pizza dough.
Add your fave toppings.

Bake in a 200C preheated oven for 20 minutes or until the dough is a bit brown on the edges and the cheese has melted.

A comment or two will be appreciated...

Pinoy Crispy Chicken Adobo Flakes

2012-07-25T10:21:00.002+10:00

Adobo is considered to be the national dish of the Philippines. I believe that all Filipinos have their own versions of this wonderful and very versatile dish. This time, I tried cooking Crispy Chicken Adobo Flakes. This recipe is one of my Adobo Series that I could say that I am really proud of not only because my husband loved it but also because it is really yummy to the max! It could be eaten as is or you can add sliced tomatoes...eat it with rice or garlic rice or even put it in your bread.

I remember that a dear friend and a former colleague of mine used to bring to school her famous adobo flakes each time there would be a celebration. Everyone would really have fun eating her delicious adobo flakes and in a flash it's all gone. I think it was their secret family recipe...may be that's the reason why I was not able to get its recipe hehehe.

Well anyway, I suddenly found myself craving for adobo flakes so I did cook one nice adobo flakes dish that I would certainly cook again and again.

Ingredients
1 k chicken breast w/o the skin
1 c water
1/2 c white vinegar
1/2 c kikkoman soy sauce
4 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 medium size onions, diced
salt and pepper to taste
2 pcs bay leaf

Procedure
Mix everything in a measuring glass.
Place the chicken pieces in a bowl.
Pour the mixture onto the chicken.
Set aside for 30 minutes.
Boil everything together in a medium fire until the chicken pieces absorbed the flavour.
Simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove from fire.
Remove the chicken from the pot.
Let it cool a bit.
Shred the pieces of chicken using forks or using your fingers.
Put the shredded chicken in a big plate and drizzle with half of the juice of the adobo.
Let it sit for at least 15 minutes.
Heat oil in a pan and deep fry the shredded chicken until they are crispy and brown.
Place the fried adobo flakes in a plate and drizzle again with the remaining half of the adobo juice. Top with garlic granules (mcormick) and sliced tomatoes.
Serve with rice or bread.
A comment or two will be appreciated...

Braided Coconut Bread

2012-07-12T09:27:00.000+10:00

This bread has somewhat similar taste with the pan de coco that we are used to. This time I just mix together dessicated coconut, butter and caster sugar.

Dough
Choose among the different basic dough recipes in my foodblog. Click view.
You can also opt to use the dough recipe I used for the cinnamon

Filling
1/2 c dessicated coconut
1/4 c butter or margarine, softened
1/2 c caster sugar

Procedure
Mix the filling ingredients in a bowl.
Set aside.
Divide the dough into 6 to 8 pcs depending on how big you want your bread to be.
Roll out each dough into a 8 - 10 inch rectangle or oblong.
Place a tbsp of filling and spread it in the surface of the dough.
Fold the dough towards the other end making a smaller rectangle or oblong.
Press together so the filling will get stuck in between the folded dough.
Now imagine that you are doing a braid of your hair. Leave half an inch of the dough still together and then cut from this toward the other end. Make 2 or 3 cuts.
Braid the dough like you are braiding your hair.
Pinch the edge on the other end (the edge that got separated because of the cuts) to seal it.
Place in a baking sheet or pan lined with baking paper.
Make sure that there's one inch of space in between each dough.
Cover with clingwrap and let rise for at least 30 minutes in a warm and dry place.
Brush with beaten egg.
Bake for 15 minutes in a 180C preheated oven or until shiny and golden brown.
A comment or two will be appreciated...

Yummy Custard Bun

2012-07-11T15:21:00.001+10:00

I had first had a taste of custard bread in Bread Top, a Chinese bakeshope which has quite a number of branch here in Australia. They offer freshly baked pastries, bread and cakes at reasonable prices. Unfortunately, although I have been here for a number of years, I only go to a branch in Brisbane CBD at Myers Building. I wonder where are the other 11 branches here in QLD.

I wanted to try if I could at least copy the same bread and filling and turned out ok and now, I bake them every 3 days experimenting with different fillings.

Ingredients

Dough
Choose among the different basic dough recipes in my foodblog. Click view.
You can also opt to use the dough recipe I used for the cinnamon rolls.

Filling
Custard
Ingredients:
1 C milk
4 egg yolks
1 C thickened cream
1 tsp vanilla
3 tbsp cornflour
1/3 C confectioners sugar

Procedure:
In a saucepan, mix milk, cream, and vanilla. Stir until hot enough but not boiling. Remove from fire and set aside.
Beat egg yolks, cornflour and sugar in a bowl until mixed evenly. Pour hot milk mixture to the egg mixture while whisking continuously.
Place the mixture back into the saucepan and cook in avery low heat for 15 minutes or until custard form. Set aside and let it cool.

Note:
One thing difficult about making custard is that you need to make sure that you have the right amount of heat to cook it and that you have to whisk it non-stop until you reach your desired consistency. There is always the danger of curdling the mixture so it is very very important to follow the procedure by heart.

Assembly
Divide the dough into balls (golf ball size). Roll out each dough ball. Roll away from the centre. Make sure that the centre is thicker than the edge as you would gather the edge together to seal the bun. Don't worry if the shape is not a perfect circle.
Place a tbsp of custard in the centre.
Gather the edges by pinching them together making sure that the edge does not touch the filling because if it does, it would be difficult to seal the bun. Seal the edge together by pinching.
Place each bun (with the sealed side at the bottom) in a baking sheet or shallow baking pan lined with baking paper.
Make sure that each bun has at least an inch of space between them.
Cover the buns and let rise for an hour in a warm and dry place.
Beat an egg and brush each bun with this.
Put the remaining custard in a piping bag and pipe out in a circular motion the top of each bun.

Baking
Bake the buns for 15 minutes ina 180C preheated oven or until the top is shiny and golden brown.
Bake
A comment or two will be appreciated...

Strawberry & Rosewater Gateau

2012-07-07T11:42:00.003+10:00

This recipe is from one of the cookbook series that my husband subscribed for me. We went to IGA to buy some supplies and I saw fresh strawberries and I remember that I had a recipe asking for them so I ended up buying them too.

Ingredients
175 g butter, softened
175 g caster sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
175 g self-raising flour
3 tbsp Rosewater
150 ml cream
225 g strawberries
icing sugar to dust

Procedure
Cream butter and sugar until soft and fluffy.
Gradually beat in eggs.
Fold in the flour iwht a metal spoon.
Add in 2 tbsp rosewater
Divide the cake batter between two 8 inch baking pan (which were lightly greased)
Bake for 20 minutes in a 190C preheated oven.
Whip cream until it holds its shape. Fold in the remaining tablespoon of rosewater.
Slice strawberries in half.
Spoon the cream onto one sponge and arrange some strawberries around the edge. Top with the second sponge and press down lightly. Decorate with more strawberries and a few mint leaves or leaves of the strawberries.
Dust with icing sugar.
A comment or two will be appreciated...

Easy Pan de Coco

2012-07-05T12:18:00.000+10:00

Pan de Coco has always been a favourite of many Filipinos. It brings back a lot of memories to most people. It's like going back to childhood when you were walking to your school and stop at a small store to buy your baon which would usually be a pan de coco or a simple monay. Either one would make your tummy filled up just until it's time for you to go home again to eat lunch.

Ingredients
Choose any of the recipe for dough.
beaten egg for glazing
Filling
dessicated coconut
coco jam (Lily's)

Procedure
Divide the dough into balls ( to the size that you prefer). Roll each ball making sure that the center is thicker than the edges.
Sprinkle the center with dessicated coconut.
Top the coconut with 1 tsp of coco jam.
Sprinkle the coco jam with dessicated coconut.
Gather the edges of the dough and seal together by pinching.
Place them in a lightly greased pan with the sealed side at the bottom.
Make some holes using fork.
Let them rest for 1 hour.
Glaze with beaten egg.
Bake for 15 minutes in a 180C preheated oven. The length of baking time would depend on the size of your pan de coco. Remove from oven when they become shiny golden brown on top.

A comment or two will be appreciated...

Pinoy Polvoron

2012-07-02T09:05:00.001+10:00

Who would not love eating polvoron? When I was still in the Primary School, I would always buy them in a store near the school. They were always wrapped in colorful plastics. Flavours could be pinipig and peanuts. Today, you can even buy them commercially at Goldilocks with flavours like oreos and cashews. Polvoron is of Spanish origin (wikipedia). Polvo (pulbo) is a Spanish term for powder. The original Spanish polvoron is a flaky, soft, rich, shortbread-type cookie made with flour, lard or vegetable shortening, powdered sugar and cinnamon. The mixture is molded into oval or round shapes with a polvorera (a special mold which allows the formed sweets to be discharged easily without crumbling). Once molded, polvoron is wrapped in cellophane or Japanese paper. Like I said, the ones that we have in the Philippines has so many variations-- thanks to the creative Filipinos!

Ingredients
1 1/2 c powder milk
1 c plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 c butter, melted
1/2 c peanuts or any nuts that you like or you can add crashed oreos (just remove the cream first)

Procedure
Toast the flour in a wok until it becomes light in color. Keep on stiring so as not to have a burnt flour.
Remove the flour from fire.
While waiting for the flour to cool a bit, sift powder, salt and salt in a big bowl.
Melt the butter in the microwave.
Mix the all the dry ingredients together (including the flour and nuts or oreos).
Put in the butter.
Use your hands in mixing them well.
Use a polvoron molder in molding the polvoron. If you do not have one, just use your muffin pan or cookie cutter (just make sure that the polvoron is well compact and solid).
Wrap with individual plastics or japanese paper. You can also just keep them in an airtight container even without wrapping them.
Refrigerate before eating.

A comment or two will be appreciated...

Easy and Simple Corned Beef Spaghetti

2012-06-30T10:55:00.001+10:00

When my husband asked me what's for tea tonight, I told him ---Spaghetti honey! Then he replied, "the sweet pinoy spaghetti?" I said, "nope, just a bit of this and that kind of spaghetti" hehehhehe. Although, he eats pinoy style spaghetti, I know he finds it sweet to his liking so this time I tried a different approach. I had tins that I can use for the sauce...although no hotdogs. He certainly fell in love with this simple and easy recipe that I made and even said I should do it again.

Ingredients
1/2 tin hamper or hormel tin corned beef
1/2 tin hamper or hormel tin ham (cubed)
1 medium onion (minced)
1 tsp garlic (minced)
1 carrot (minced)
1 tin mushroom (sliced)
1/2 c cream
1/2 c tomato sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
1/3 c water
2 tsp italian seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 K spaghetti noodles (cooked according to packet instructions)

Procedure
Sautee onions and garlic.
Stir in the carrots and mushrooms.
Add in the corned beef and ham.
Pour in water.
Add in the tomato sauce and paste.
Add the Italian seasoning.
Put in the salt and pepper.
Simmer.
Switch off the stove.
Pour in the cream and stir.
Serve with the noodles.
A comment or two will be appreciated...