Piggy's Cooking Journal

TWD: Thumbprints For Us Big Guys

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:06:00 +0000

Over the past weekend, hubby and I went to an IT mall looking for voltage converter and we managed to find one that is suitable for our needs. Even though the converter is not very big but it's darn heavy! So we left the mall right after the purchase, and as we were walking towards the train station, we chanced upon a farmers market. I was very excited and pulled hubby along, but he was in no mood to walk around because of the converter. So I told him to wait outside while I dashed into the market, made a quick tour and in 15 minutes time, I managed to grab a 2kg free range chicken from Taitung, 2 bottles of honey from Taoyuan and some fish snacks! I found out from one of the vendors that it is a weekend market and so I made a mental note that I will pay the market a visit again one of these days!

Anyway, with the voltage converter, my mixer is finally working and I was able to make these yummy thumbprint cookies for TWD this week. I toasted the hazelnuts before grinding them and it sure made the cookies very nutty and tasty. The cookies are great on its own and in fact, I find that it's a tad too sweet with the jam. So I prepared a few pieces for photo taking and ate the rest without the jam! The cookies are so yummy that this recipe is now in the list of my top 5 favourite TWD recipes!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Mike's blog!

TWD: Toasted-Coconut Custard Tart

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:05:00 +0000

Since I arrived in Taipei last Tuesday, I've been busy exploring the city as well as tidying up the house. Apart from that, I managed to find a baking supply shop near where I stay and my kitchen is now fully stocked with ingredients and that makes me very happy. ;-)

For TWD this week, Beryl of Cinemon Girl has chosen toasted-coconut custard tart. I was not able to get shredded sweetened coconut and so I used dessicated coconut instead. I made 1/6 of the recipe but I miscalculated the quantity of cornstarch and as a result, the custard was thicker than usual. Nevertheless, I still think that the tart is yummy!

For recipe, head over to Beryl's blog!

TWD: Honey-Wheat Cookies

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:48:00 +0000

The past few weeks had been quite hectic for me. Most of my time was consumed by preparing for the move to Taiwan for both myself and the dog, and also trying to clear my pantry by cooking/ baking as much as possible. On top of that, I had to put everything behind, went back to Penang, Malaysia and spent a week there celebrating Chinese New Year with my father. So you can imagine the mad rush I had to go through to make sure that everything's done before I leave Singapore!

Anyway, I can finally heave a sigh of relief, as the dog had already been sent to Taiwan yesterday and I'll also be leaving Singapore in a few hours time. The next 1-2 years will be exciting for me, I'm sure of that! I can't wait to explore Taiwan and try out all the local foods!

I'm glad that I managed to bake these honey-wheat cookies even though I was very busy last week. It is a recipe chosen by Michelle of Flourchild for TWD this week. The cookies are chewy and I like the combination of honey and lemon. It's a tad too sweet for my liking though, but I will definitely bake these cookies again!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Michelle's blog!

TWD: My Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:17:00 +0000

For TWD this week, Kaitlin of Kait’s Plate has chosen my best chocolate chip cookies from page 68 of the book. This is the third chocolaty recipe for the month but I'm not complaining. The cookies are really yummy and this is the BEST chocolate chip cookies recipe that I've tried out so far!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Kaitlin's blog!

TWD: Rick Katz’s Brownies for Julia

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 23:30:00 +0000

I'll be leaving Singapore by the end of this month. So I have to clear my pantry again like what I did before I left Saudi Arabia. Because of that, I can only make a portion of Rick Katz’s brownies for Julia, using the last bit of Valhona chocolate that I have in my fridge.

This brownie is a recipe chosen by Tanya of Chocolatechic for TWD this week. It was easy to put together and it tasted really great when eaten warm, but again, it's too rich for my liking. I'm glad that I managed to complete two chocolaty recipes for TWD this month, one more to go!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Tanya's blog!

TWD: Milk Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 00:20:00 +0000

For TWD this week, Kristin of I’m Right About Everything has chosen milk chocolate mini bundt cakes. I made half a batch, using a muffin tin and I got 5 cupcake size cakes. They are soft and moist, and I like the chopped walnuts in between the cakes. I'm sure that I will get chocolate overdose this month as there are two more chocolate desserts coming up in the following weeks. So I only had one cake and gave the rest to a friend. Hope that she likes it!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Kristin's blog!

Steamed Rice with Salted Fish and Minced Pork

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 07:14:00 +0000

I went for a 4-hour walk with a friend at MacRitchie Reservoir yesterday. Due to lack of regular exercise, my body was aching very badly when I woke up this morning. I felt like lying on my bed all day long but of course it's impossible to do so as I still have tonnes of chores to do at home. So for my lunch, I prepared a simple one-pot dish, steamed rice with salted fish and minced pork. It is similar to the another steamed rice with chicken dish that I cooked before and it's equally yummy and satisfying!

Steamed Rice with Salted Fish and Minced Pork Recipe
Recipe adapted from Flavored Cooked Rice (有味饭)

Ingredients A:
Rice, enough for two persons
1 tbs fried shallots
1 tbs chopped spring onion
1 egg (optional)

Ingredients B:
200g minced pork
1 piece of salted fish, about 1X3cm, chopped
2 pcs dry mushroom, soaked until soft and chopped into small pieces
1 tbs chopped ginger
1 tsp fried shallot oil
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp light soy sauce
Pepper, to taste

Sauce:
1 tbs oyster sauce
1/2 tbs light soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp shaoxing wine
2 tbs boiling water

Method:
1) Combine minced pork with remaining Ingredient B. Stir with a spoon until the mixture is slightly sticky. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
2) Rinse rice. Put the rice in a heat proof bowl, add water. As the cooked rice would absorb gravy from the pork mixture, the amount of water added should be less than what you would normally use to prevent the rice from turning mushy.
3) Place the bowl in a preheated steamer and steam for about 20 minutes, or until the water is almost absorbed by the rice. Spread minced pork mixture on the rice and let it steam for another 15 minutes.
4) In the mean time, prepare the sauce by mixing all ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
5) Pour sauce over the rice with minced pork. Crack an egg on it, continue to steam until the egg is almost cooked. The egg yolk should be slightly wobbly.
6) Turn off heat, remove the bowl from the steamer. Sprinkle fried shallot and chopped spring onion on it, serve hot.

TWD: Cocoa-Nana Bread

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 09:54:00 +0000

Cocoa-nana bread is a recipe chosen by Steph of Obsessed with Baking for TWD this week. While I'm not that crazy over chocolate desserts in general, I can't resist anything with chocolate and banana combo. This bread (tastes more like cake to me though) actually works for me. Moist, chocolaty and with a subtle hint of banana flavour, it would be a perfect breakfast treat!

For recipe, head over to Steph's blog!

TWD: Mrs. Vogel’s Scherben

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 07:33:00 +0000

Teanna's pick for TWD this week could not have come at a better time. As Chinese New Year is only one month away, I'm currently looking for recipes to bake as gifts for my relatives. So when I saw Mrs. Vogel’s Scherben, I knew immediately that this cookies would be perfect for the occassion!

To test the recipe out, I only made half a batch of the dough, and I also added some black sesame to give it an Asian twist. The cookies certainly did not disappoint, it's easy to prepare and extremely yummy too!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Teanna's blog!

Fried Rice with Chicken and Ikan Bilis

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 05:34:00 +0000

Fried Rice with Chicken and Ikan Bilis Recipe

Ingredients:
Cooked rice for two persons, keep in the fridge overnight
2 sprigs curry leaves (use only the leaves)
1 chicken breast, remove the skin, rinse and cut into cubes
3 chili padi, chopped
2 tablespoons ikan bilis (anchovies), soak until soft, pat dry with kitchen paper towel
2 tablespoons shallot oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Marinade for chicken:
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:
1) In a small bowl, mix chicken pieces with marinade. Marinate for at least 15 minutes.
2) Heat up shallot oil in a wok. Add ikan bilis and chicken, saute until the chicken is half cooked. Add chili padi and curry leaves, saute until it is fragrant.
3) Add rice, do a few quick stirs. Dish up, sprinkle with fried shallot and serve hot.

TWD: Tarte Tatin

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:13:00 +0000

TWD celebrates its second anniversary by offering two choices for the participants this week! As mentioned many times before (and I hope you haven't gotten sick of it yet) that I'm not a fan of chocolate dessert/ pastry, so it goes without saying that I chose tarte tatin over cocoa-buttermilk birthday cake. ;-)

Most of the tarte tatin recipes that I've come across call for puff pastry to be used but in this particular recipe, we are allowed to use pie or tart dough as well. I opted for the easiest way out by using the leftover sweet tart dough that I kept in the fridge. The rest of the steps are quite easy. Just cooked the apple slices, butter and sugar until caramelized, then arranged the apples on a baking pan, poured caramel over it, and lastly, covered the mixture with a piece of tart dough. The only tricky part is to flip the tarte tatin out of the baking pan but I'm glad that I managed to get it done! The tart is really yummy and I love its rustic look too!

Laurie is the lovely lady who started TWD and she's also the host this week, so head over to her blog for tarte tatin and cocoa-buttermilk birthday cake recipes!

Banana Chocolate Cake

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:41:00 +0000

Happy new year to all my readers!

Did you have a good time celebrating the new year? As for me, I still find it hard to believe that 10 years have passed since we ushered in the new millennium. I still remember that on 31st December of 1999, my friends and I were out partying the whole night. And when I finally reached home in the wee hours of the morning, I was completely exhausted but instead of going straight to bed, I stayed up the whole day watching how the rest of the world celebrated the new millennium on TV. The memory is so vivid that it almost feels like time has never passed!

Well, reminiscing the good old days is a sign of aging, I know. So I shall end the post here with a recipe of banana chocolate cake. :-)

Banana Chocolate Cake Recipe
Recipe adapted from スクエア型ひとつでざっくり作るケーキ

Ingredients:
3 or 4 bananas (cut into length of 4cm, you will need 9 pieces of cut bananas)
60g brown sugar
1 tbs rum

For the cake:
100g unsalted butter
80g brown sugar
2 eggs
4 tbs cocoa powder, sifted
100g self-raising flour, sifted

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 180 deg C. Grease a 18cm square baking pan, line with baking paper.
2) Mix bananas, brown sugar and rum in a bowl. Set aside.
3) In a medium bowl, whip butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat the eggs into the batter one at a time, follow by cocoa powder and flour. Mix until just combine.
4) Scrape the batter into the pan. Place the bananas into the batter, let them stand vertically.
5) Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.
6) Transfer the pan to a rack and let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes. Lift the cake out of the pan by holding on to the baking paper and let it cool completely on the rack before cutting into 9 squares.

**Note: In the original recipe, square pan is used to bake the cake. But I used a rectangular pan instead.

TWD: Low and Lush Chocolate Cheesecake

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 06:16:00 +0000

Tealady of Tea and Scones has chosen low and lush chocolate cheesecake for TWD this week. As you can see from the photo, I made my chocolate cheesecake in a ramekin because I only prepared 1/3 of the batter and I do not have my small springform pans with me at the moment. After filling the ramekin with cheesecake batter, I still have some leftover and so I baked them in a few muffin liners instead.

As expected, the cheesecake is too rich for my liking. However, I will definitely make this cheesecake again if I have guests coming over, as this is a quick and easy recipe that can be prepared ahead, and I'm sure that chocolate lovers would enjoy this cheesecake too.

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Tealady's blog!

TWD: My Favorite Pecan Pie

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 22 Dec 2009 07:16:00 +0000

I spent the past week touring and eating in Taipei, Taiwan with my hubby who had taken a few days off from his work. The nice and cool weather in Taipei is a stark contrast to what we are experiencing in Singapore at the moment. It usually rains very often in December but for some reasons, the weather is still very hot and humid, and I had a hard time making the pie dough yesterday because the butter melted so fast! I had to put the dough back to the fridge twice before I could start working on it again. Anyway, I managed to get dough done and made a few mini pecan pies, which is a recipe chosen by Beth of Someone’s in the Kitchen with Brina for TWD this week.

I thought the pecan pie was just alright and I would like it better if there isn't any chocolate in it. But I'm sure that chocolate lovers would enjoy the pie more that I did. So if you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Beth's blog!

TWD: Cafe Volcano Cookies

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:22:00 +0000

MacDuff of The Lonely Sidecar has chosen cafe volcano cookies for TWD this week. These cookies are very yummy and incredibly easy to prepare too. All you need to do is to stir nuts, sugar, egg whites and coffee powder together and the batter is ready for baking.

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to MacDuff's blog!

Chinese Pear & White Fungus Dessert

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 02:09:00 +0000

Chinese Pear & White Fungus Dessert Recipe

Ingredients:
2 Chinese pears
100g white fungus, soaked
10g wolfberry, soaked
4 blades pandan leaf (knotted)
80g rock sugar
40g dried longan
1000ml water

Method:
1) Cut 1/4 portion of the top part of pear. Scoop out the flesh into ball shapes and reserve the pear basket.
2) Place pear balls, white fungus, wolfberries, pandan leaves, rock sugar and dried longan into a sauce pan, add water and bring to boil, cook in medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat.
3) Spoon the pear mixture and juice into the pear baskets. Cover it with aluminium foil. Steam in preheated steamer over low heat for 1 hour. Serve hot.

TWD: Sablés

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:50:00 +0000

Barbara of Bungalow Barbara has chosen sablés for TWD this week. I had a love-hate relationship with sablés. I love this buttery and crumbly cookies but at the same time, it was frustrating that all my past attempts had ended up with the wrong texture. Fortunately, I got it right this time round and Ms. Greenspan's tips in page 124 certainly helped a lot!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to Barbara's blog! She has also included the tips for baking shortbread and sablés, so make sure that you've read through it before attempting the recipe.

Biscotti with Pistachios, Dried Cranberries and Candied Kumquat

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 05:33:00 +0000

Since last week, I've been staying at home and study for a test that will take place this coming Sunday. Needless to say, I'm almost bored to death by staring at my textbooks everyday. So I baked a batch of biscotti to nibble while I study.

The biscotti recipe is taken from Dorie Greenspan's Baking: from My Home to Yours, which is also something that I've baked before. But this time round, I tweaked the recipe slightly by replacing cornmeal with ground almond and also added loads of dried cranberries, candied kumquat, pistachios and almond slices.

This is a versatile recipe, in the sense that you can add almost anything in the dough. And as mentioned by Ms. Greenspan, just look into your cupboards for ideas and you will be able to come up with your own version of biscotti. ;-)

Original recipe can be found here.

TWD: Rosy Poached Pear and Pistachio Tart

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 06:40:00 +0000

Lauren of I'll Eat You has chosen rosy poached pear and pistachio tart for TWD this week. The tart is made up of 4 components - crust, nut based pastry cream, poached pears in red wine and caramelised pistachios. This is a lengthy recipe and I almost spent whole night preparing the tart. But I'm glad that I gave the recipe a try as the tart was SO yummy that I almost licked the plate clean!

Don't just take my words for it, give the recipe a try and I'm sure that you'll like the tart as much as I do! Recipe can be found here.

TWD: Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:03:00 +0000

For TWD this week, Pamela of Cookies with Boys has chosen sugar-topped molasses spice cookies. I find the recipe interesting as this is my first time baking with molasses. But the dough was harder to manage than I thought it would be. It turned into a gooey mess when I tried to shape it into small balls. So I decided not to follow the instruction and baked the cookies without shaping and flattening the dough.

The cookies should be crispy but mine turned out to be soft and chewy. I don't mind the texture but I would like it better if it's not too sweet. I'd certainly reduce the amount of sugar if I were to bake these cookies again.

Head over to Pamela's blog if you want to give the recipe a try!

TWD: All in One Holiday Bundt Cake

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 07:34:00 +0000

For TWD this week, I opted for all in one holiday bundt cake which is a recipe chosen by Britin of The Nitty Britty. As my round bundt pan has been shipped to Taiwan (I will move there in a couple of months time), I have to bake the cake with the only pan that I have at the moment, which is a 9X4-in rectangular pan. I made a full batch, divided the batter into two and baked two loafs of cakes which I brought to my hubby's family gathering.

This recipe is definitely a keeper! Moist, spicy and chock full of fruits (pumpkin puree, apples and cranberries) and nuts, the cake is absolutely delicious!

As mentioned last week, we are allowed to post our entries for November in the order we prefer, so Britin may not post the recipe until the last week of the month. In the mean time, head over to TWD site and check out other TWDers' entries!

Steamed Rice with Ginger Chicken

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:59:00 +0000

I bought a ceramic bowl with lid a few days ago and I intend to use it for cooking rice dishes with ingredients on top. It is similar to claypot rice but the rice dishes would be steamed instead of getting cooked directly with fire.

First recipe that I tried out was a ginger chicken on rice dish and I have to say that it tasted really GOOD! The best part about the dish is that, the rice absorbed the gravy from the chicken and it was so flavorful that I've completely forgotten about my low-carb diet. I love it so much that I cooked the same dish again for the next 2 days!

Steamed Rice with Ginger Chicken Recipe
Recipe adapted from Flavored Cooked Rice (有味饭)

Ingredients A:
1/4 kampung chicken (or 2 pcs of chicken drumsticks with thighs), chopped
1 pack of enoki mushroom
1 tablespoon fried shallot
Rice, enough for two persons

Ingredients B:
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
2 stalks of spring onions, chopped
2 stalks of coriander, chopped
1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon fried shallot oil
1/2 tablespoon shaoxing wine
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Pepper, to taste

Method:
1) Rinse chicken pieces and enoki mushroom. Marinate with Ingredient B for at least 20 minutes.
2) Rinse rice. Put the rice in a heat proof bowl, add water. As the cooked rice would absorb gravy from the chicken pieces, the amount of water added should be less than what you would normally use to prevent the rice from turning mushy.
3) Place the bowl in a preheated steamer and steam for about 20 minutes, or until the water is almost absorbed by the rice. Arrange chicken pieces and enoki mushroom on top of the rice and pour the marinade on it. Steam for another 30 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
4) Turn off heat, remove the bowl from the steamer. Sprinkle fried shallot on it, serve hot.

TWD: Cran-Apple Crisps

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:53:00 +0000

The TWDers who are taking part in TWD for the month of November are allowed to post our entries in the sequence we prefer. This is a relief for me, otherwise, just like the cherry-fudge brownie torte chosen for last week, I may have to skip TWD again because the recipe selected for the first week of November is another chocolate cake and if you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know how I feel about chocolatey desserts. ;-)

Looking at the remaining three recipes, cran-apple crisps seems to be the easiest one of all, and so I decided to bake this today. I tweaked the recipe slightly by adding some almond flakes in the topping and used only dried cranberry and apples in the filling. My photo does not do justice to the cran-apple crisps at all because it's really delicious!

If you want to give the recipe a try, head over to The Repressed Pastry Chef, but please note that Em may not post the recipe until next week.

Pan-fried Tofu topped with Minced Pork

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:59:00 +0000

Pan-fried Tofu topped with Minced Pork Recipe

Ingredients:
3 blocks of dry tofu (tau kua/ 豆干)
150g minced pork
3 dried mushrooms (soaked until soft, chopped)
2 tablespoons dried shrimps (soaked until soft, chopped)
2 tablespoons chopped spring onion

Seasoning:
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp L&P sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt & pepper, to taste
A dash of Shaoxing wine

Method:
1) Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok. Pan fry the tofu until the sides are golden brown. Dish up and set aside.
2) Leave 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok, saute mushrooms and dried shrimps with sugar until fragrant. Add minced pork and saute until it's cooked.
3) Add the remaining seasoning, stir quickly until well combined.
4) Dish up and divide into three portions. Place the minced pork mixture on the tofu, sprinkle with some chopped spring onions. Serve.

Coconut Sandwich Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling

grace_choo03@hotmail.com (Piggy) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:00:00 +0000

Coconut Sandwich Cookies with Cream Cheese Filling Recipe
Recipe from ちっちゃなチーズケーキのレシピブック

Ingredients:
130g self-raising flour
60g unsalted butter
60g icing sugar
1 egg yolk
20g dessicated coconut
egg yolk for brushing

Cream cheese filling:
100g cream cheese, at room temperature
30g unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 tbs icing sugar

Method:
1) In a medium bowl, whip butter and sugar with a mixer, follow by egg yolk. Sift flour over the batter. Using a rubber spatula, mix until just combined.
2) Add dessicated coconut to the batter, mix until just combine. Gather the dough into a ball shape, wrap it with cling wrap and keep in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
3) Pre-heat the oven to 180 deg C.
4) Using a 3-cm square cookie cutter, cut out pieces of cookies dough, brush one side with egg yolk.
5) Bake in preheated oven for 10 mins.
6) Let the cookies cool on wire rack while you prepare the cream cheese filling.
7) Place cream cheese and butter in a bowl, whip until combine. Sift icing sugar on it, stir until combine.
8) Spread the filling in between two pieces of cookies. Repeat with remaining cookies, serve.