Tuesday 30 April 2013

Orange Paper Cupcakes by Vanessa Tay

Orange Paper Cupcakes

 



Ingredients:

5 egg yolks
100g cake flour
50g corn oil or melted butter (I used melted butter)
60g orange juice
rind of 1 orange


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


Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Line the moulds with parchment paper. You may use muffin trays. I used paper cups instead, by lining the paper cups with the parchment paper and then placed the cups in the holes of the muffin tray.

2. Melt butter in a microwave oven or heat over boiling water in a bowl. Lightly beat egg yolks with fork.

3. Grate rind of 1 orange and add into orange juice. Add this to the melted butter.

4.. Sift in cake flour to the orange juice mixture in  a few additions, alternating with egg yolk and flour. Start and end with flour.

5.. Use an electrical mixer to beat egg whites for 3 minutes, then add cream of tartar and blend again. Pour sugar in the egg whites and blend until very stiff peaks form. Fold egg whites into the flour mixture gently with a rubber spatula just until all ingredients are incorporated. Do not stir or beat. For a better result, fold in egg whites with small amount at a time for 3 times.

6. Pour batter into cup cake molds that are already lined with baking paper. Bake at 180C for 25 to 30 minutes. Check with a toothpick to see if the cakes are done. If the toothpick comes out of the cake clean, then they’re ready. Allow the cakes to cool for a minute or two in the pan, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.


Note:

1. I don't have that kind of tall mould, so I used paper cups instead.  I cut the parchment paper into square and try to fit it in the paper cup. I wrap the paper around the other cup, bottom up, then insert this wrapped cup into another, and remove the cup on top. After that, the lined paper cups are placed in the muffin tray holes as a support to prevent the cups from toppling over.


Friday 26 April 2013

Mango Sago Pudding by Vanessa Tay

Mango Sago Pudding






Adopted from: http://biteonit.com/2012/11/19/mango-sago-pudding/

Ingredients:
(depending on the size of your ramekins/cups, I made around 8.)

1 can mango in syrup (I used the 425g can)
100g sago
200ml water
50g caster sugar
130ml coconut milk/cream
1 fresh mango (half for puree and half for garnish)
yellow food colouring (optional)

Method:

1. Drain the mango slices from the can. Keep the syrup. Blend the mango slices and half from the fresh mango into puree. Set aside.

2. Rinse the sago under running water and drain.

3. Combine the mango syrup, water, sago and sugar in a medium pot and bring to boil over medium fire, stirring frequently.

4. Reduce the heat and simmer + stirring until all the sago turned translucent and the mixture is thick and sticky. This will at least takes 20min or so.

5. Add in the coconut milk, stir and simmer for another 5-6min and remove from heat.

6. Mix in the pureed mango and stir till well combined. Add yellow colouring if you prefer.

7. Spoon into ramekins (or any preferred cups), covered and chilled. Serve with cubed fresh mango.

Ham & Cheese with Mixed Herbs Loaf by Vanessa Tay

Ham & Cheese with Mixed Herbs Loaf





Ingredients:

370g bread flour
65g caster sugar
12g milk powder
6g instant dry yeast
120g tangzhong (pls refer to http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2010/03/japanese-style-bacon-and-cheese-bread.html#.UIfPU2_MhRE on how to prepare tangzhong)
1 egg yolk
200ml milk (original recipe is 125g milk + 75ml whipping cream)
5g salt
35g unsalted butter, softened

(A)
75g chopped ham (do not cut into too small pieces as the kneading in the breadmaker will make the ham pieces smaller)
75g chopped cheddar cheese (do not cut into too small pieces as the kneading in the breadmaker will make the ham pieces smaller)
1 tbsp mixed herbs

Method:

Add the wet ingredients into the BM (breadmaker) pan, i.e. milk, egg yolk and tangzhong. Follow by the dry ingredients. I do by the following sequence: bread flour, caster sugar (at the sides of the pan), milk powder. Dig a small well in the middle of the flour heap and pour in the yeast, making sure the yeast is not wet.

Start the BM (I am using Kenwood BM450). Select weight = 750g, crust = medium, function 1.

When the mixture is being combined (around 2-5 minutes later), add in the salt and the softened butter. Do not switch off the BM. Around 20 minutes later, when the BM beeped (not sure if other BM has the same function), you may add in the ham, cheese and the mixed herbs. Basically, add these in when the dough is being formed in the BM.

You may omit this step. I like to remove the kneader/paddle when the kneading completes, before the first proofing start. This should be at around 2.48 timing on the BM (Kenwood BM). Use a chopstick to gently lift the dough and take out the kneader.

Let BM continues and completes the whole baking process.

Note:
- You may like to add some shredded cheese as toppings. This should be done after the 2nd proofing before the baking starts.
- The above recipe for the dough is what being commonly called as paibao recipe or tangzhong recipe. It is adopted from en.christinesrecipes.com
- With the basic dough recipe, you may feel free to substitute (A) ham/cheese/mixed herbs with other preferred ingredients, such as cranberries and walnuts, bak kwa, chocolate chips. The paibao recipe is good to eat on its own too.
- As paibao recipe yields very soft bread, be extra careful when removing the loaf from the pan.



Wednesday 24 April 2013

Raspberry, Lemon & Almond Friands by Vanessa Tay

Raspberry, Lemon & Almond Friands

 



Makes 10-12
Ingredients:

75g plain flour (Sifted)
225g icing sugar (I reduced to 200g), plus some for dusting (I omitted)
100g ground almond
pinch of salt
5 large egg whites
135g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
grated zest of 1 1/2 lemon
200g raspberries (I used the frozen ones bought at PH. Also I think can reduce slightly to 12x5 = 60 berries)
50g flaked almonds (Can reduce to 30g)


Method:

Preheat the oven to 180 deg cel. Grease the inside of the friand or muffin tins and dust with a little plain flour, tappi8ng out the excess. I could not find friand tin and since I used muffin cases, I did not grease the tin.

Pour the flour, icing sugar, ground almond and salt in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre. In another bowl, lightly whisk the egg whites until foamy and just holding soft peaks. Tip the egg whites and melted butter into the dry ingredients with the grated lemon zest and fold the mixture together until combined, using a large metal spoon (I used a spatula)

Divide the mixture between the prepared muffin tins, filling them 3/4 full. Drop 4 or 5 raspberries onto each cake and scatter the almond flakes on top.

Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for about 15 minutes (I baked for 20 minutes), or until well risen and golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave to rest in the tin for 2 minutes before carefully turning out to cool on a rack.

Dust lightly with icing sugar before packaging (I omitted this step).

*Above largely adopted from Cute Cupcakes - 50 Easy and Indulgent Recipes

Tuesday 23 April 2013

Pumpkin Donuts by Lim Yen Li

Pumpkin Donuts





Ingredients:
140g Bread flour
10g milk powder
1/2 tsp yeast
40g steamed n mashed pumpkin
20g sugar
15g butter
30g egg
30g water


Method:
1.Mix well all ingredients except butter. 2.Add butter and knead till smooth.
3.Proof for 30 min.
4.Shape into desirable shapes and final proof for 10min.
5.Fry till golden brown. Coat with sugar while warm.

Notes:
1. I used 130g bread flour. 10g wholemeal flour and added about 15g more of water coz my dough was dry. You may need to adjust the amount of water accordingly coz the amount of water content differs for different pumpkins.
2. I proof for 30 min for the final proof.
3. I used small to medium fire to fry the donuts as they turned brown very fast.

Recipe from : Qi Qi in the house.

Strawberry Jelly Hearts Cheesecake by Karen Yee

Strawberry Jelly Hearts Cheese Cake








(Recipe adapted from Bing Cooks with changes made to the jelly)

INGREDIENTS

For the crust -
300g digestive biscuits
150g melted butter

For the cheesecake layer -
500g cream cheese (placed in room temperature for 2 to 3 hours to soften)
1 & 1/2 tablespoons gelatin powder
1 & 1/4 cups boiling water
2/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
About 10 to 12 strawberries

For the jelly layer -
1 box of strawberry OR Raspberry flavoured Tortally jelly (this brand gives a very nice shade of red)
1 1/2 tsp of Bake King gelatin (OR Redman brand)
250ml of boiling water
150ml of cold water (COLD water from the fridge)

DIRECTION

Grease a 13 X 10 X 2 inch glass tray with butter, lay a sheet of baking paper over and grease the baking paper once through.

Pour the crushed digestive biscuits (I used a food processor) and butter over the tray, mix them well till it resembles wet sand. Spread it evenly over teh tray and press firmly to create the crust layer.

Cover and put in the fridge while you prepare the cream cheese layer.

Pour the boiling water over the gelatine and mix till everything is dissolved. Set aside.

In a bowl, cream the cheese and sugar till creamy and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and mix well. Pour the gelatine mixture into the cheese mixture and beat well. It should resemble milkshake.

Bring the tray out and poke some holes all over the crust with a fork. Pour the mixture on top of the crust. Leave it in the fridge for about 15 mins.

Meantime, cut the strawberries into little heart shapes. Then gently place them on the cheese mixture. Put into the fridge and let it set for at least 4 hours.

Prepare the Jelly layer by pouring the boiling water over the jelly powder and gelatine. Mix till everything is dissolved.

Pour the COLD water into the mixture and stir well.Set aside till it is completely cool. The pour over the Cheese layer slowly.

Pop into the fridge and let it set for another 4 hours.

**You may also make them into individual cups.


Monday 22 April 2013

Onion Rings by Gwen Chow





Ingredients:

3 large yellow onions
1/2 cup plain flour
1/4 cup corn flour
2 TBsp instant mashed potato powder (from Phoon Huat)
1 tsp salt
1 cup soda water
Breadcrumbs for coating

Method:

1.  Wash and cut onions into 1/4 inch thickness, separate them into rings. 
2.  In a bowl, mix together plain flour, corn flour, mashed potato powder and salt.
3.  Add soda water and mix into batter.
4.  Dip rings into batter then into bread crumbs.
5.  Deep fry in hot oil till golden brown.
6.  Drain on kitchen paper and serve.







Cream Cheese Chiffon by Gwen Chow




Ingredients:

50g cream cheese
20g butter
50ml milk
65g cake flour
2TBsp caster sugar
4 egg yolks
1/4 tsp salt

4 egg whites
1/4tsp cream of tartar
3 TBsp caster sugar

Method:

1.  Place cream cheese and butter in a small saucepan over a larger pan of boiling water.
2.  Melt cream cheese and butter and set aside. (note: cream cheese will be lumpy)
3.  Once cooled, stir in milk and mix with a whisk till mixture is creamy.
3.  Place sifted flour, sugar and salt in a bowl and make a well in the centre.
4.  Pour egg yolks and cream cheese mixture into the well and whisk till smooth n creamy.
5.  In another bowl, whisk egg whites with cream of tartar and sugar till soft peaks.
6.  Fold in 1/3 of egg whites into batter.
7.  Fold the remaining egg whites into the batter gently till well combined.
8.  Pour into 18cm chiffon pan and bake at 150 degrees for 60mins.
9.  Remove from oven and invert chiffon tin to cool completely before removing from the tin.


Note: I multiplied this recipe by 1.5 times to make it a 6 egg recipe and baked in a 22cm tin.

Apple-Topped Almond Loaf Cake by Vanessa Tay

Apple-Topped Almond Loaf Cake







Ingredients:

150g unsalted butter, melted
150g caster sugar (I reduced to 125g)
2 eggs, beaten
150g ground almond
50g plain flour (I sifted the flour with baking powder)
1 tsp baking powder
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
100ml whole milk
2 red apples, halved, cored and thinly sliced
icing sugar, to dust (I omitted this)

a 450g  loaf tin, greased and base-lined with baking paper (I used silicon tray, hence did not grease)

Method:

Preheat oven to 150 deg cel.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large bowl with an electric whisk till smooth, light and fluffy. Add the eggs, a little at a time, stirring well between each addition.

Stir in the almonds, flour and baking powder, then stir in the lemon zest and milk. Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin and level the surface. Arrange the apple slices evenly over the top.

Bake in the pre-heated oven for about 45minutes, until the cake has risen and is golden and springy to the touch. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 min, then  turn out onto a wire rack, peel off the lining paper and leave to cool completely.

Dust liberally with icing sugar (I omitted this step) and cut into slices to serve. Store in an airtight container in a cool cupboard or the refrigerator and eat within 2 days.

*Source: Cakes & Bakes from My Mother's Kitchen

Saturday 20 April 2013

Braised Beehoon with bittergourd, sliced fish and fermented black beans by Rita Choo


Ingredients (2 servings)
250g fish fillets (any type of fish you prefer)
soy sauce
dash of pepper (optional)
some cornflour
100g beehoon
100g bitter gourd
½ red chilli, sliced
½ tsp garlic, minced
2 slices of ginger
1 cup of water

Seasoning
1/2 tbsp fermented black bean
soy sauce to taste
1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 tbsp cornflour (mix with some water)

Method
1. Wash and wipe dry fillets then marinate them with soy sauce, pepper and some cornflour. Leave them in the fridge for 30 mins before cooking.
2. Soak beehoon in hot water until soft and drain.
3. Rinse bitter gourd and slice into pieces.
4. Rinse fermented beans and set aside.
5. Pan fry the fish fillets in hot oil until slightly golden. Remove and set aside.
6. Heat oil in the pan, saute minced garlic and ginger until fragrant.
7. Add fermented black beans, sliced chilli and bittergourd, stir-fry over high heat for 2 minutes.
8. Add water and season to taste with soy sauce and oyster sauce and bring to simmer till bittergourd softens.
9. Add beehoon and let it braise until soft in medium fire. Add cornstarch solution to thicken the gravy.
10. Add the fried fish and mix well. Serve hot.

Pumpkin Kaya Jam by Kymn Lee


Ingredients
Pumpkin 170g
Coconut milk 90g
Gula Melaka 40g
4-5 pieces of Pandan leaves

Method
1. Steam the pumpkin 170g and mash them.
2. Cook with coconut milk(90g), gula Melaka (40g) and pandan leaves ( 4-5 pieces) on low fire .
3. It is done once the sugar melts and become smooth in about 15 mins.
4. Store in sterlised glass container and keep in fridge.
*Recipe courtesy of Angelin Goh

Rum & Raison Chiffon Cake by Diana Ho




Ingredients
6 egg yolk
30g caster sugar
¼ tsp salt
80g veg.or sunflower oil
90g Havana Rum
30g water
150g cake flour
½ tsp baking powder

6 egg white
100g caster sugar
¼ tsp cream of tartar
100g raisins (mix with some flour and sift away excess flour)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160C.

2. Sift flour and baking powder, set aside.

3. Measure rum and water into a cup and set aside

4. With a hand whisk, whisk egg yolk, salt and sugar together.

5. Add oil, rum and water mixture to batter. Whisk briefly until it’s combined.

6. Sift flour and baking powder into the egg yolk batter.

7. Whisk until well combined.

8. Use a mixer, whisk the egg whites till frothy.

9. Gradually add in sugar and whisk till gentle peaks form

10.Add cream of tartar and continue beating till stiff peaks.

11. Fold in 1/3 of the meringue into the egg yolk mixture until combined.

12. Pour egg yolk mixture from above step into the remaining 2/3 meringue and fold gently till combined.

13. Lastly fold in the raisins.

14. Pour batter into a 23cm tube pan, smooth the surface. Holding the tube down firmly, tap the pan on the counter top to release the larger air bubbles from the batter.

15. Place pan into a preheated oven and bake for 50mins - 60mins depending on your oven. (Mine is done at 50mins)

16. Check with cake tester, when ready, remove from oven and invert cake onto table top to cool.

17. Remove cake from pan and serve.

Thursday 18 April 2013

Thai-style Lemongrass Chicken Wings (Air-fried) by Vanessa Tay

Thai-style Lemongrass Chicken Wings (Air-fried)




Ingredients:

Chicken wings - 1 kg

(A)
White pepper - 1 tbsp
Coriander roots (chopped) - 2 tbsp
Garlic (chopped) - 10 cloves
Lemongrass - 3 stalks

(B)
Knorr Chicken powder - 1 tbsp
Light Soya Sauce - 3 tbsp
Fish sauce - 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Mix A altogether and pound them. Rub them on the chicken wings and set aside to prepare seasoning from B.
2. Marinate the chicken wings with B and keep in the fridge for overnight.
3. Air-fry (or grill) the chicken wings at 200 deg cel for 10 min on each side.

* Recipe courtesy of Sharron Seow

Rose with French Vanilla Cookies by Vanessa Tay

Rose with French Vanilla Cookies






Makes about 60 cookies

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups (256g) all purpose flour
  • 2 tbsp finely ground tea (tea can be ground in a spice grinder or mini food processor)  (I used Dilmah brand - Rose with French Vanilla tea bags. The leaves are already very fine.)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup (227g) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/2 cup (64g) icing sugar

Method:
  1. In a small bowl mix the flour, tea and salt together. Set aside.
  2. In a large bowl, beat the butter and icing sugar together with an electric mixer until the butter is light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the flour, mixing until well combined.
  3. Split the dough in half and create two round logs, 1 1/4 inches in diameter, wrap them with parchment paper and refrigerate for 1 hour. To keep the bottoms of the logs from flattening out you can slide the logs into paper towel tubes before refrigerating.
  4. Preheat the oven to 350. Line two cookie sheets with parchment, set aside.
  5. Cut the logs into 1/4 inch slices, place the slices on the baking sheets about 1 inch apart. Bake for 13 to 16 minutes until the bottoms are just golden. Let the cookies cool on a wire rack before serving.
* Modified from http://whatsheshaving.com/2011/11/21/earl-grey-tea-cookies-take-two/

Liu Sha Bao by Vanessa Tay

Liu Sha Bao (广式流沙包)







Ingredients:
Salted egg yolks 3
Butter 75g
Icing sugar 45g
Milk powder 20g
Custard powder 30g

Method:
Boil the salted eggs. Take the yolks and mashed them. Add in the icing sugar, custard powder and milk powder. Lastly add in the softened butter.  Mix well and place in the freezer till hardened.

Ingredients:
Cake Flour 250g (I used Hong Kong flour)
Milk 125g
Yeast 5g
Sugar 20g
Custard Powder 30g

Method:
1. Knead all the ingredients into a smooth dough and let it proof till double the size.
2. Roll the proofed dough into long rod and divide into 10 equal portions. Flatten each portion using your palm.
3. Take out the frozened filling and divide into 10 portions. Roll each portion into a ball and wrap it in the middle of the dough. Close the opening properly. With the closing part facing down and place the buns into the steamer.
4. Start the steamer and steam for approximately 10min.

Wednesday 17 April 2013

Scones With Currants by Cecilia Tan

Scones With Currants






(Recipe from Canadian Living's Country Cooking by Elizabeth Baird)

Ingredients:

2 1/4  cup (288g) all purpose flour (I use self-raising flour)
2 tbsps granulated sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup (113g) cold butter (cut into cubes)
1/2 cup currants
1 cup buttermilki (I only used 3/4 cup)
1 egg (lightly beaten)

Method:

In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salk. Mix well.

Using pastry blender or 2 knives, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in currants.

Add buttermilk all at once, stirring with fork to make soft and slightly sticky dough.

With lightly floured hands, press dough into ball. On lightly floured surface, knead gently 10 times.

Pat out dough into 3/4 inch (2cm) thick round.

Using 2 1/2 inch (6cm) floured cutter, cut out round. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Gather up scraps and repat dough once, cut out more rounds.

Brush tops of scones with egg. Bake in 220 deg cel oven for 12 to 15min or until golden. Make about 12 scones.

Fermented Black Bean Pork Ribs by Karen Yee

Fermented Black Bean Pork Ribs


  
Ingredients:
- about 600g of pork ribs
- 2 inches of minced ginger (mince till paste is best)
- 7 cloves of minced garlic (mince till paste is best)
- 1 to 1.5 tbsp of black bean paste (rinse first and then grind to paste. If the beans comes with salt in the packaging, be sure to rinse off)
- 2 red chilli – diced
- spring onions diced
- 1/2 tsp of dark soya sauce


The vinegrette for the sauce:
- 2 tsp of oyster sauce
- 1 tsp of dark vinegar
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 2 tbsp of rice wine
- 1/2 tbsp of sesame oil
** Mix well


Marinate the pork with:
- 1.5 tbsp of light soya sauce
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 1 tbsp of rice wine
- 1/2 tbsp Corn starch
** Marinate for at least 20 to 30 mins


Prep and Cooking Instructions:

- Saute the garlic and ginger mince with some oil till fragrant – medium heat.
- Add the black bean paste (taste your paste first, to determine how much more or less you prefer). Stir fry for about a minute.
- Add the pork ribs and make sure you toss the paste around it till all coated.
- Add the chilli and spring onions (leave some spring onions for garnishing)
- Pour in the vinegrette and coat the pork ribs with it.
- Add some water to make sure the ribs are just half covered so that it can simmer in the sauce.
- Add dark soya sauce for a slightly darker colour to the dish. Taste to see if you need abit more sweetness at this point. If so, add some sugar.
- Simmer for about 15 mins on low heat.Transfer to a plate and steam it for about 1 hr or till the meat is really tender.
- Garnish with some spring onion before serving.

Chicken Shepherd's Pie by Karen Yee

Chicken Shepherd’s Pie






Ingredients:

Chicken Filling

2 to 3 de-bone chicken thigh cut into small bite size pieces
1/2 cup Mix carrots, corn and peas (amount to your liking)
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves of garlic bruised
1 bay leave
1 tsp of dried Italian spice
½ of garlic pepper (or black pepper)
1 tsp of Dijourn Mustard
¼ cup of white wine
1 tbsp of cooking cream (or whip cream)
Corn starch with some water to thicken the sauce
1 knob of butter
Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Heat up some olive oil. Stir fry the onions and garlic till fragrant.
Add the chicken and stir fry for a minute. Add the mix vegetables.
Add Italian spice, garlic pepper, bay leaf and butter and continue to stir fry.
Add white wine and dijourn mustard stir and simmer for 2 mins.
Add the cooking cream followed by corn starch mixture to thicken the cream.
Add salt to taste. Set aside to cool.

Ingredients:

Potato topping
4 medium potatoes
1 knob of butter
1 egg beaten
A pinch of salt
1to 2 tbsp of milk or cream (depending on the consistency you prefer)
Dried Parsley for garnishing


DIRECTIONS:

Skin the potatoes, cut them into chunks and boil them till they are tender. Add some salt to the water for boiling.
Drain the water, mash them well with a potatoes masher or even blender. Add the butter, egg, salt and mix well. Add milk to achieve a preferred consistency o that it is easy for spreading.
Divide the chicken filling into the baking bowls then top each with the mashed potatoes. Bake till the top turns golden and slightly brown.

Monday 15 April 2013

Suan Pan Zi by Charlynn Gwee



Ingredients
500g taro (peel, slice, steam & mash)
200g tapioca starch
Pinch of salt

-Handful of dried shrimps
-2 cloves Garlic
-3 Shallot
- 250g Big black fungus
-10-15 Dried mushroom (depending on preference)
-500g Minced pork, marinate with shaoxing wine & soy sauce)
-Oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt& pepper to taste
-Parsley & shallots to garnish

Method
(1) Steam sliced taro until soft. 25 mins
(2) Mash & add in starch & salt
(3) Knead to form dough
(4) Shape into disc
(5) Cook dough in boiling water until it floats. Remove & run under tap (6) Heat oil in pan, add dried prawn, garlic & shallots till fragrant
(6) Add in mushroom n fungus, followed by minced pork.
(7) Add in yam disc, stir to combine and season according to preference 

Roasted Pork by Charlynn Gwee


Ingredients
2 kg pork belly, with skin on
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

Marinate pork with:
2 tablespoons salt (to be applied on the skin)
1 tablespoon sugar
2 big cubes of fermented bean curd, white or red
(or 1 tablespoon teaspoons of tauchu, i.e. preserved soybean paste)
1 tablespoon five spice powder
1 tablespoon chopped garlic

Method
1. Wash and dry meat.
2. Mix all marinate together excluding salt. Slit or poke holes on the pork [excluding skin] and marinate it. (I marinated overnight, couple of hours is fine too)
3. Stab pork skin and rub salt on it.
4. Leave it uncover in the fridge.
5. Remove from fridge 1 hour before baking.
6. Bake at 200 degree for 20 mins on top n bottom heat, then apply vinegar on the skin, continue baking on grill mode for 1 hour or more depending on size of slab.

NOTE: I depended on my meat thermometer to tell if the pork is cooked! 

Butter Cake by Hazel Lee


Recipe modified from: http://wendyinkk.blogspot.sg/2012/05/mrs-ngsks-butter-cake-butter-cake-3.html

Ingredients
250g butter soften at room temperature =
5 small eggs ; 50 gram each with shell
200g self raising flour (sifted)
50g for egg white + 150g sugar for creaming
60ml full cream milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method
1. Cream the butter and 150g sugar till pale and fluffy
2. Add in the vanilla extract and beat well
3. Add 1 egg at a time and mix well
4. Add 1/2 of the flour and mix well, follow by milk in 2 portions and finally balance 1/2 of the flour ~Mix well for each of the step in no 4.
5. Beat the egg whites till foamy and add in the 50g sugar and beat till stiff peak
6. Scope half of the egg whites and beat with the batter.
7. Fold in the other half of the egg whites till well mix
8. Grease the aluminum foil.
9. Pour the batter in. [I make total 3 of the above]
10. Bake in preheat oven at 180 degrees for 45 mins or till cooked.

3 ingredient Nutella Muffin


Ingredients
for 7-10 mini muffins or 4-5 regular-size muffins
285g Nutella
62g cake flour
2 eggs

Method
 1. Whisk all ingredients till smooth, & pour into muffin cases & bake at 180C for 15-20 mins (until toothpick comes out in gooey crumbs) for mini muffins. For regular-size muffins, you'll have to bake longer, likely 25-30min depending on your oven heat. Be careful not to overbake as it'll get dry.
2. It'll be gooey crumbs in the centre & will be ok after it's cooled. Remove from muffin tray after 5 mins to cool on the rack.

Brococoli, Potato & Sausage Baked Rice by Elektra Chan


Broccoli, Potato & Sausage Baked Rice

Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked rice, washed
- Water to cook rice
- butter
- 3 garlic cloves
- 2 washed potato, peeled and sliced
- Organic Broccoli
- 5 gourmet cheese chicken sausages sliced and 2 slices of mushroom luncheon ham(I use those that go by weight at cold storage and not frozen de)
- corn kernels (I bought a can from daiso. Very sweet!)
- Cream of mushroom and chicken (undiluted) (Campbell)
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese and cheddar cheese
- Salt & Pepper for the butter fried rice mixture
- Masterfood Parsley flakes (for garnishing)

Method
Wash and rinse uncooked rice. Heat up the saucepan or wok, melt the butter.
Add in the rice, salt and black pepper. Mix and stir well.
Transfer to a rice cooker. Add the garlic cloves. Add water to cook rice – adjust the water amount according to your cooker.
I use the upper rack of my rice cooker to place broccoli florets and sliced potatoes. If you don’t have an upper rack, you can steam them separately. Cook the rice together with the upper rack of vegetables in the rice cooker.
When the rice is cooked, remove the garlic cloves, den mashed up the steamed broccoli and mix it into the rice. Add in all the cut sausages and cut luncheon ham and corn kernels. Mix all up well.
Portion out the rice in baking dish until slightly more than half of the dish. Smear some mushroom chicken soup sauce on top of the rice (or you can mix it earlier with the rice with all the other ingredients. Then arrange and pile the steamed slice potatos on top of it. Top with a layer of shredded cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. Baked in a pre-heated oven at 200C for about 20 minutes, or until u see that all the cheese has melted and is very slightly browned. After its done, garnish with the parsley flakes. U can use fresh de too if you want.

Lemon Meringue Pie by Stephanie Ng


NOTE: Ingredients are for a pie using an approximately 30cm x 20cm tray

Ingredients
Pie crust
450g flour
250g unsalted butter
(Add 1 egg yolk for not so crumbly crust)
2 tbsp cold water

 Lemon Custard Filling
8 egg yolks
12 tsp cornflour
3 cups Milk
1. 5 cups water
1 &1/3 cups Sugar
Juice of 3 large lemons
Zest of 2 lemons
1 tsp vanilla extract

Meringue layer
8 cold egg whites
1 cup sugar
1.5 tsp Cream of Tartar

Method
Pie Crust
1. Using hands, mix butter & flour till completed mixed.
2. Roll out the crust on tabletop to the size of the tray including the height of the tray.
3. Then place crust into tray. Press the crust against & up along the circumference of tray.
4. Bake at 210C for 10 mins & leave crust in the oven for another 5 mins.

Lemon Custard Filling
5. Pour milk & water into a saucepan slowly simmer. (Add 1 tsp gelatin melted in hot water, into the milk, if u prefer stiffer custard).
6. Separately whisk yolks & sugar & corn flour.
7. Scoop 2-3 ladles of warm milk/water mixture from the saucepan & stir after each ladle is added into the yolk mixture so that the yolks don't get cooked.
8. Stir the yolk mixture slowly into the finger-tolerant-temp simmering milk till completely mixed.
9. Add lemon juice, vanilla extract & lemon zest & stir till it thickens on medium fire. Be careful not to burn the custard. 

Meringue layer

10. Add 3 tbsp sugar to egg whites & cream of tartar then beat at speed 3 while slowly adding sugar 1 tbsp at a time until all sugar is used. Increase speed to 4 & beat till stiff peaks are formed. 

Assembly
11. Cool whole pot of custard in a pool of water; stirring the custard to even & smooth the custard.
12. Pour cooled custard into the pie crust & level with spatula to fill the baked pie crust.
13. Using the spatula, pour meringue onto the custard to even cover the custard layer. Using spatula, touch the meringue & pull peaks on the meringue layer.
14. Put pie into oven & bake at 180C at a lower level in the oven, for approx 10 mins. Leave it in the oven for another 10 mins if peaks are still white; using remaining oven heat.
15. Serve hot from the oven or store in the fridge and serve cold.

Durian Cheese Tart by Amanda Tay


Ingredients

1 Portion Sweet Tart Pastry
(A)
250g butter (unsalted)
80g icing sugar
(B)
1 egg
½ tsp vanilla essence
(C)
450g plain flour

Durian Cheese Filling
(A)
250g cream cheese
35g icing sugar
10g custard powder
(B)
110g durian puree
3 egg yolks
(C)
2 egg white
20g caster sugar

Method
Sweet Tart Pastry
1. Mix (A) until fluffy, add (B) and mix well. Lastly add (C) and mix well
2. Press pastry into tart mould. Bake in oven at 175C for 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove and set aside.

Filling
1. Beat (A) until white and creamy. Add (B), mix well. Set aside.
2. Beat C till firm and stiff peaks formed. Add 1/3 of the egg white into the batter and fold in. Pour the batter into the remaining egg white and fold in.
3. Spoon the filling into the baked tarts. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for 12 minutes.

Chocolate Marble Chiffon Cake by Sharron Wee


Chocolate Marble Chiffon Recipe
modified from Cooking Crave

Ingredients
(A)
5 egg yolks
25g caster sugar
(B)
80g veg oil
60g Kahlua + 20g fresh milk
(C)
95g cake flour
(D)
10g cocoa powder
10g cake flour
(E)
5 egg whites
100 caster sugar
1tsp cream of tar tar

Method

1. Cream ingredient (A) with hand whisk till sugar dissolved.
2. Add in ingredient (B) in respective order and mix well before adding the next item.
3. Fold in ingredient (C) and mix till no lumps.
4. Divide the egg yolks mixture into two equal portion in two separate mixing bowl.
5. Mix 10g flour into one of the egg yolks mixture and 10g cocoa powder into the other bowl of egg yolks mixture respectively. Mix well till no lumps.
6. Beat egg whites till bubbles and add cream of tar tar, in a clean large bowl until soft foam. Gradually add in sugar, one tablespoon at a time and Mix well.
7. The egg whites mixture should be peak foam, smooth and shiny.
8. Gently fold in half of the egg whites mixture into the cocoa egg yolk mixture and plain mixture accordingly until well combined (Note: Make sure the egg whites are well combined with the egg yolks mixture, do it slowly and gently without breaking the egg whites)
9. To assemble the marble effect: Spoon in the plain batter to three or four different corner of the 18 cm chiffon mould , then continue to cover the plain batter with cocoa batter. Layer by layer till the end. Bake at preheated oven at 150c for 60 minutes.

Hokkaido Bread Recipe by Nina Resis


NOTE: I ratio it to 300g flour to fit my Pullman tin

Ingredients 
Hokkaido milk 204ml (1 small pack)
Bread flour 300g
Sugar 25g
Instant yeast 3g
Salt 6g
Unsalted Butter 15g

Method
1. Following my Zoji Breadmaker’s procedures, Add milk, flour, sugar, yeast and salt, let machine knead for the first 8 min then add butter and restart machine to knead for another 8 min.
2. Knead by hand for a further 5min or so to achieve the ‘window pane’ stage.
3. Oil bowl with butter, let dough proof for 60 min in a warm environment.
4. ‘Belly-Button Test’ to ascertain dough has obtained optimal proofing.
5. Weigh and divide into 3 balls, let rest for 10 min, covered.
6. Shape into ‘Swiss-roll’ balls and place into Pullman tin for 2nd proof.
7. Proof dough for another 60 min or 80% filled.
8. Bake at 200 degree Celsius for 40 min with lid.
9. Unmold and let bread loaf cool completely before slicing and store.

Beancurd Ball by Eleanor Lim


BeanCurd Ball Recipe

Ingredients

200g Firm BeanCurd (I use egg tofu)
200g Shrimps (shelled and chopped)
100g Minced Pork
1 tbsp Chopped Spring Onion (can omit)
1 tbsp Chopped Shitake Mushroom
1 tbsp potato flour
salt and pepper (to taste)
oil for deep frying

Sauce
1/2 cup fish maw (cut into small strips) (Can replace with shredded crabmeat)
1/4 shitake mushroom (shredded)
1 cup chicken stock (no stock can use water)
1 tbsp potato flour (mixed with 2 tbsp water for thickening)
1 egg white (beaten)
salt and pepper

Method
1. Mash beancurd in a big bowl and add in all ingredients except potato flour, mix well.
2. Shape mixture into balls and coat evenly with potato flour before deep-frying till golden brown.
Drain and put on a serving plate.
3. Heat up 1 tbsp of oil in a wok and stir-fry the mushrooms.
4. Pour in chicken stock and fish maw strips and stir well. Thicken sauce with potato flour mixture.
Stir in egg white, pepper and salt (to taste), and mix well.
Pour the sauce over bean curd balls and serve while hot.

PS: In the photo, I also added in crabsticks (my kids' fav), so it's up to you to create your own extra ingredients.

Saturday 13 April 2013

Pandan Kaya Cake by Vanessa Tay

Pandan Kaya Cake
(Pandan Fudge Cake)


 



Ingredients:

A
Egg yolks 7
Hong Kong Flour 250g
Optima Flour 250g
Olive Oil 150ml
Fresh Milk 150ml
Pandan Water (water bolied with pandan leaves) 50ml (I blended the leaves with water for the juice instead)
Bicarbonate of Soda 1/2 tsp
Green Food Colouring 2 tsp

B
Egg Whites 7
Sugar 150g (I reduced to 125g. Can further reduce, I think, to 100g)
Cream of Tartar 1/2 tsp

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 deg cel.
2. Place ingredients A in a bowl and stir well, using a hand whisk (I use mixer)
3. Place ingredients B in a mixer and beat at high speed for 2-3 minutes.
4. Pour mixture A into bowl of mixture B. Fold in well.
5. Pour mixture into 2 baking trays 11" x 11" x 2" and bake at 180 deg cel for 30-35min. (I don't have such big trays, so I baked in one 9" tin as I also wanted a high cake to slice into 3 layers.)

Fudge Topping:

A
Coconut milk (from 3 fresh coconuts) 800ml (I used package coconut milk)
Pandan Water (water bolied with pandan leaves) 400ml
Sugar 225g (I reduced to 200g but would further reduce for next baking)
Instant jelly 1 tbsp

B
Custard powder 75g
Water 400ml
Green food colouring 1 tsp
Lemon Yellow Food Colouring 1 tsp
Salt 1/4tsp

Method:

1. Mix ingredients B together and stir well.
2. Mix ingredients A in a pot and place over the stive. Stir till it boils.
3. Pour in the mixed ingredients B and cook till it thickens.
4. Pour the topping on top of the cooled cake and decorate as desired. (I made into a 3-layer cake and used dessicated coconut to decorate the sides of the cake.)

Source: Bake King Recipe Book

* Please feel free to use own sponge cake recipe. This is the first time using Optima flour after hearing so much about it. You may use other sponge cake mix. Personally I prefer to bake sponge cakes from scratch.
* You may want to consider halving the recipe to fit into 8 inch tin as this yields a very big cake.


Wednesday 10 April 2013

Churros by Gwen Chow


Ingredients
1 cup water
1 cup flour
45g butter
1TBsp vegetable oil ( I used canola)
3 to 4 eggs
1 TBsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt (omit if using salted butter)
1 tsp vanilla essence

1/2 cup sugar + 1 TBsp ground cinnamon

Method
1.  Add water, butter, vegetable oil, sugar and salt in a large saucepan and bring to boil.
2.  Remove from heat and quickly stir in flour till it forms a dough.
3.  Return the saucepan to the fire and cook the dough for about 1 min stirring constantly.
4.  Place cooked dough in a large bowl and allow to cool slightly.
5.  Add egg, one at a time and mix well.
6.  Spoon dough into piping bag with a large star tip.
7.  Heat up some oil and pipe the batter into the hot oil and fry till golden brown.
8.  Dish up and drain on paper towels.
9.  Coat with sugar and cinammon.




Lor Mai Kai (Steamed Glutinous Chicken Rice) by Gwen Chow



Ingredients
1 chicken leg (thigh + drum, deboned)
4 chinese mushrooms
1 chinese sausage
3 cups glutinous rice

Seasoning for chcken
minced garlic
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp oyster sauce
some cornstarch

Seasoning for rice
1 TBsp oyster sauce
1 TBsp light soya sauce
1/2 TBsp sesame oil
1 tsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp five spice powder
1 cup water (I used water that I soaked mushrooms with and top up to 1 cup)
Mince garlic

Method (for chicken)
1.  Debone chicken leg and cut into pieces.
2.  Soak chinese mushrooms with some water and cut up (do not throw away the water)
3.  Slice chinese sausage.
4.  Marinate chicken with seasoning above for at least an hour,

Method (for rice)
1.  Soak glutinous rice for 6hrs or overnight.
2.  Mix seasoning for rice together with water. Stir well.
3.  Heat some oil in wok and fry garlic till fragrant.
4.  Add rice into wok and stir fry with garlic.
5.  Add water with seasoning into wok and mix well with rice.
6.  Keep frying till water dries up. Remove from heat.


Assembling
1.  Place some chicken, mushrooms and chinese sausage at the bottom of a bowl.
2.  Top with rice till 3/4 full.
3.  Place in wok and steam for 30 mins or until cooked.
4.  Run a butter knife around the bowl and invert onto plate. Serve while hot.