Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Hor Fun



Ingredients...
- 300g or usually 1 packet of hor fun (flat noodles)
- 10g chopped garlic
- marinated meat or seafood
- 4 stalks chye sim (cut into 6cm length)

Sauce...
- 1 egg lightly beaten
- 500ml stock (or a mixture of stock and water)
- 1 or 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- salt and pepper to tase

Thickening Glaze...
Mix 3 tbsp corn flour with 4 tbsp water. some would use tapioca flour instead.



How to...

1. Heat up a wok and add 1 1/2 tablespoon of cooking oil. Toss in the noodles and do a quick stir. Add 1/2 tablespoon of soy souce and 1/2 tablespoon of kecap manis and continue to stir until the soy sauce and kecap manis are well blended with the vermicelli. Continue to stir until lightly burned or charred.
Dish up and set aside.

2. Add some oil in a wok and stir-fry the minced garlic until fragrant Do a quick stir of the meat or seafood.

3. Pour in stock, add seasoning and bring it to boil. Add in the starch mixture then egg mixture, to thicken the gravy.



YUMMY YUMMY!!

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Steamed Chicken with Lup Cheong & Chinese Mushroom


Ingredients:

- 1 lb of chicken, cut into small pieces - I used chicken wings (flat)
- 4 or 5 dried shitake mushrooms
- 1 pair of Chinese sausage

Marinade:

- 1 tbsp ginger, minced
- 1 tbsp green onions, minced
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tsp of sugar
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp of sesame oil
- 1/2 tsp of ground white pepper



How to...

1.Soak the mushrooms in a bowl of boiling water until soft. Cut off the hard stem, slice the mushrooms and set aside.

2. Strain the soaking water into a bowl. Slice the mushrooms and sausage diagonally.

3. Marinate the chicken with the ingredients except the cornstarch for 15 to 30 minutes.

4. Put the cornstarch in a small bowl and pour a bit of the mushroom soaking water to make a thin paste.

5. Mix well with the marinated chicken wings.

6.Put the chicken wings in a glass or ceramic pie plate or similar type of dish.

7. Spread the mushrooms and pieces of sausage on top. Put a steamer rack in the wok, add water to cover the rack and place the dish on the rack. Cover wok and steam on high heat for about 15 minutes. Check the water hasn't boiled dry. Check that the chicken is cooked. If not, steam another 5 minutes.

8. Splash a bit of sesame oil on top of the meat once cooked.


you can reduce the chinese sausage to 1 stick for a slightly "healthier" version.

bring the usual lazy me, i marinated the meat overnight for more flaovur and added in the cornstarch together as well.
i steamed the vegetables in the same plate as it can also absorb the sauce at the same time.
(actually is less pots/pans to wash!)

Monday, September 12, 2011

中秋节: Baked Mooncake with Sesame & Almond Lotus Filling

Today is 中秋节!
Also known as Mid-Autumn Festival, and sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival.

The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is in September or early October in the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the autumnal equinox of the solar calendar, when the moon is at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.



Traditionally on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomelos under the moon together.



so what are your plans for tonight?
=)

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

Cinnamon Sugar Pull-Apart Bread


as you can see, bread "fell apart" cause i didn't proof it in the correct tin.
=p

http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/03/cinnamon-sugar-pull-apart-bread/

For the Dough:

- 344g plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (56g) granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 57g unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1/4 cup water
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the Filling:

- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
- 56.7g unsalted butter, melted until browned



How to...

1. In a large mixing bowl (I used just the bowl of my stand mixer) whisk together 2 cups flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Set aside.

2. Whisk together eggs and set aside.

3. In a small saucepan, melt together milk and butter until butter has just melted. Remove from the heat and add water and vanilla extract. Let mixture stand for a minute or two.

4. Pour the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a spatula.
Add the eggs and stir the mixture until the eggs are incorporated into the batter. The eggs will feel soupy and it’ll seem like the dough and the eggs are never going to come together. Keep stirring.
Add the remaining 3/4 cup of flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky. That’s just right.

5. Place the dough is a large, greased bowl.
Cover with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel. Place in a warm space and allow to rest until doubled in size, about 1 hour. *The dough can be risen until doubled in size, then refrigerated overnight for use in the morning. If you’re using this method, just let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before following the roll-out directions below.

6. While the dough rises, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the filling. Set aside.
Melt 2 ounces of butter until browned. Set aside.
Grease and flour a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan. Set that aside too.

7. Deflate the risen dough and knead about 2 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 5 minutes.
On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out. The dough should be 12-inches tall and about 20-inches long. If you can’t get the dough to 20-inches long… that’s okay. Just roll it as large as the dough will go.
Use a pastry brush to spread melted butter across all of the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture. It might seem like a lot of sugar. Seriously? Just go for it.

8. Slice the dough vertically, into six equal-sized strips.
Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack into six equal slices once again. You’ll have six stacks of six squares.
Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book. Place a kitchen towel over the loaf pan and allow in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes or until almost doubled in size.

9. Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 170-180 degrees C. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the top is very golden brown. The top may be lightly browned, but the center may still be raw. A nice, dark, golden brown will ensure that the center is cooked as well.

10. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 20 to 30 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the bread and invert onto a clean board. Place a cake stand or cake plate on top of the upside down loaf, and carefully invert so it’s right side up.


definately not the prettiest.
looks messy(& unappetising) eh?


but makes eating super convenient!
just pull and a slice will tear out easily!!

Tuesday, September 06, 2011

Sour Cream Marble Cake with Chocolate Chips

i always mess up the kitchen real bad on every single occasion i bake.

this time, while trying to cream butter and sugar, all the sugar crystals flew out when i switch on the mixer!!!

AAARRGGGHGHHHH!!!

tiny bits of butter-sugar lumps and sugar crystal were all over the floor, work top and well basically ALL OVER THE PLACE LAAAAA!!!

then i forgot to put back the sour cream into the fridge after measurements. when it went into the mixer, i think it curdle.

*bbbaaaahhhhhhh*

was supposed to be a marble cake, but after all the cleaning up i have done while preparing the batter, lazy me just dump the whole chocolate paste in and stir it up.

hope my next 猫王 cake wont have so much mopping and wiping.


=========================================================================



Ingredients...

Chocolate Paste:
- 3 tbsp cocoa powder
- 3 tbsp hot water

Cake Batter:
- 250g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 350g caster sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 210g sour cream
- 420g all purpose flour
- 2 & 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 100g miniature chocolate chips



How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. The generously grease a 12 cup bundt pan.
In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and the hot water together to make a smooth paste.

2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together till light and fluffy. Blend in the eggs and then vanilla. Then add in the sour cream, and scraping the bottom of the mixing bowl to make sure it is evenly combined.

3. Fold in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and blend well. Lastly, mix in the chocolate chips or chopped chocolate chunks into the batter and mix well.
Remove 1/3 of the batter and mix in the chocolate paste in to it.
Spoon in big scoops of vanilla batter into the bundt pan and alternating with some spoons on chocolate batter as well to create the marble effect. Repeat till all the batter has been put in.

4. Place in the oven to bake for 40 to 50 minutes, depending on your oven. Bake till golden brown and the tester comes out clean. If the top of the cake browns too quickly, cover with foil first until done.

Once baked, remove from oven and let cool on rack for 15 minutes, then remove from pan and let cool completely.

it's sooooo soft and fluffy and crumbly! the top was slightly crispy and yet not burnt!
in fact i might consider this as my basic cupcake recipe!!