Apple Yeasted Sugar Tart

When I have completed baking this, I wasn't really satisfied with the outcome.  Why?  I made a blunder on it as I didn't whipped the cream till it rise to soft peaks!   But anyway, this apple tart is delicious indeed when eaten when it is still warm!

Recipe adapted from Technicolor  and Table for 2.... or more

Great source of recipes from both of them.

Apple Yeasted Sugar Tart
245g all purpose flour, sifted
a pinch of salt
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp instant yeast
1 egg (at room temperature)
120ml warm whole milk
28g softened unsalted butter
2-3 Granny's Smith apples
67g demerara sugar
some ground cinnamon
120ml whipping cream

1) Place flour, salt, sugar and yeast into a bowl; make a well in the centre.  Meanwhile whisk egg with
    warm milk and pour into the centre of the flour mixture.  Using a spoon first to mix all well combined.
2)  Mix in the butter and knead to a smooth, thick batter.
3)  Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rise in a draught-free place for 30 minutes.
4)  Knock back dough, then press it into a 22cm buttered pie pan or loose-bottomed flan pan, cover with
     plastic and allow to recover for 30 minutes.
5)  Preheat oven to 200°C with fan assisted.
6)  Peel apples, cored them and cut into eighths. Press apple slices into the dough, and sprinkle with the
     demerara sugar and ground cinnamon on top.

7)  Put pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 180°C.
8)  Spoon cream over apples and bake for 20 minutes.
9)  Serve slice tart warm.

"Chai Choy" (Mixed Vegetables in fermented red beancurd)

Usually on the first day of Chinese New Year, we go for a day if not half a day for vegetarian food and dishes.  Cooking this "Chai Choy" is easy. 

This big pot of Chai Choy dish I have adapted from here and here with some slight adjustment myself.

500g Chinese cabbage
1 carrot, sliced thin
4 cubes fermented red beancurd (nam yu)
3-4 dried mushroom, soaked and sliced thin
10 florets cloud ear fungus
a handful of lily bulbs
small bundle of glass noodle (tung fun)
2 tbsp oil
2 tsp sugar
2 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
1 tbsp soya sauce
3-5 cups water

1.  Fry the red beancurd in oil till fragrant.
2.  Add in the cabbage and carrot and stir fry till its soft.
3.  Add in the sliced mushroom, cloud ear fungus and fry for about 1 minute and add in the water (about 1/2
     inch above the vegetables).
4.  Add in the sugar, oyster and soya sauce and bring to a boil.  Turn down the heat and let is slow simmer
     for about half an hour or till cabbage is limp.

Honey & Ginger Roast Chicken

If you want a fuss free of preparing what to cook for dinner, roast chicken is the easy way.  And, less plate and utensils to wash up after preparing the dish! 


Here it is Honey & Ginger Roast Chicken..........

Recipe adapted from here.

50gm fresh ginger, slice thinly
1 medium lemon (about 140g)
55g (1/4 cup firmly packed) brown sugar
1/3 cup (120g) honey
60ml water
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 fresh green chilli, chopped (optional)
3 or 4 (about 350g each) chicken drumsticks

1.  Cut ginger slices into thin strips.  Remove lemon rind thinly either using a zester or a peeler.  Cut rind
     into thin strips.
2.  Stir sugar, honey and water in medium saucepan over medium heat until sugar dissolved; bring to a
     boil.  Add ginger and simmer for 5 minutes till the ginger is tender.  Transfer to a larger bowl and stir
     in the garlic, lemon rind and chilli.
3.  Cut deep slashes through the thick part of the chicken flesh at 2cm intervals; put into the honey ginger
     mixture.  Cover the marinade/refrigerate 3 hours or overnight turning chicken occasionally.

4.  Preheat oven to 180C.  Place chicken in single layer and roast uncovered for about 40 minutes or till
      chicken is browned and cooked.
5.  Top chicken with green onions and served with steamed rice.

I have put in 2 medium size potatoes (cut into big chunks) and 3 tomatoes in to bake together with the chicken.  Sprinkle some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper on top of it.

Delicious!!  Only bones left..............

Crispy Fried Fish with Chilli sauce

 I have fish almost everyday, if not, at least 5 times in a week.  One thing I dreaded of cooking fish is frying the fish.  No matter how I pat dry the fish before putting in the frying pan, it still splatter at me!  There was a time I was watching a cooking TV show, Kylie Kwong, and you know what, when she was about to put the whole fish into the wok to deep fried it, she will have one big scarf wrapped around the whole hand till near her finger first and only she put the fish in!  Should I follow her step like that?  Or should I just head on to Ikea to get the oil splatter utensils which is more convenient?

This dish looks a lot spicy but it is not, it is the ginger that makes it hot.  The taste overall is hot, sweet and sour.  Quite appetising for a change. 

Ingredients
1 whole fish (Red snapper or black pomfret or fish fillets)
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tbsp minced ginger
2 fresh red chillis, finely chopped
2 spring onions, chopped
1 tbsp rice wine
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/3 cup coriander leaves, roughly chopped (for garnishing)
1 small carrot, shredded (for garnishing)
Oil for deep frying

Method

1) Pat dry the fish with paper towels. Cut a few slits on both sides and season the fish with sea salt.
2) Heat a wok full of oil. Deep-fried the fish until it's crispy, golden browned and cooked. Remove the fish
    and drain on paper towel.
3) Heat a small saucepan with 1 tbsp of oil, fry the ginger, garlic, spring onions and chilli until fragrant.
4) Add soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, fish sauce, rice wine and white pepper. Bring to a boil and turn off the
    heat.
5) Place the fish on the serving plate. Scatter half of the coriander leaves and shredded carrot over the fish.
6) Pour over the hot sauce and scatter the remaining half of the coriander and carrot.
7) Serve with steamed rice.

 I run out of carrot and coriander leaves, so no garnishing on top.......... just shredded some green leaves vegetable on top.

Osmanthus Jelly 桂花糕

Ah....... dessert again!  Whenever I watch ancient Chinese series, this dessert seems to be served out to the emperor or shown and eaten by the high class people only.  So I thought what is so special about this Osmanthus Jelly 桂花糕 ?    And out of curiosity and the taste of it, I try it out.

The Osmanthus Flower does bring out the fragrant to this jelly.   But unfortunate, I think I didn't cook it till it thicken up and the overall still wobbly!  A little disappointment. 

Osmanthus Flower

115gm chestnut powder
250ml water
120gm sugar
500ml water
1 Tbsp osmanthus
2 waterchestnut (cut into fine small cubes)

1. Mix water chestnut powder with water until no lumps are seen.
2. Bring 500ml water and sugar to a boil. Turn off the heat and put in osmanthus flowers to infuse for 2
    minutes.
3. Pour osmanthus infusion into (1). Return flour mixture to saucepan/pot and cook until it thickens.
4. Pour into a lightly oiled 7 inch pan. Steam over high heat for 10 minutes and medium heat for another 10
    minutes.
5. Cool down totally before slicing.

Spongy Banana Cake

Thought of baking some light and easy cake to bring it over to my dad and sister.  When the cake is done baking, the whole house is smell of banana smell! The texture is so soft; like eating cotton!  Definitely will bake this again.  Really yummy!


Recipe adapted from here
3 Eggs (medium)
130g sugar
200g Banana (Ripe & cut into small pcs)
150g cake flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Baking soda
100g Corn oil (or any vegetable oil, canola or sunflower oil)
1/8 tsp vanilla Rum, optional

1. Preheat oven to 160 degree C.
2. Grease & line a 8" round tin pan or loaf pan with paper .
3. Sieve flour, baking powder & soda together. Sieve twice and set aside.
4. Whisk eggs, sugar , rum & banana at maximum speed in a mixer till stiff/ribbon stage.
5. Fold in flour and mix well.  (You may use a spatula to mix it).
6. Add in corn oil and mix well till batter is shiny and flowing.
7. Bake for about 40 - 45mins till the skewer comes out clean.

Rice Pudding

What to do with left over rice?  Feel like doing something else instead of the regular fried rice?  What about going for a change of Rice Pudding?

Rice Puddings
3 cups cooked white rice
3 cups milk
2/3 cups sugar
2 tbsp butter
1/2 cup raisins
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 grated grated lemon zest
1 tsp cinnamon,  (divided to half)

1.  Combine cooked rice, milk, sugar and butter in a medium saucepan.  Add raisins and vanilla extract.
2.  Cook for 25 minutes till most of the liquid is absorbed.
3.  Mix in lemon zest and half of the cinnamon.
4.  Spoon pudding into a serving dessert bowl and dust with remaining cinnamon on top.
5.  May serve chilled or at room temperature.

 Yum! Yum!

Sago Pudding With Coconut Milk & Palm Sugar syrup

I started learning making this sago dessert back in 1996 when we have our family's Korean BBQ Restaurant business.  And so, being in the food business, I have to make this everyday and thus, this have become my specialty of making it.

I remember when I moved to NZ, my mum continue to make this almost every alternate days until we have to stop her from making it whenever we have family get together.  Well, it has been ages I have sago pudding and here it is....... Sago Pudding with Coconut milk and palm sugar syrup! 

Ingredients

2 liters Water
200g Pearl Sago
200g  Palm Sugar (Gula Melaka), roughly chopped
150 ml Water
250 ml Coconut Milk

Method

1.  Bring the water to a boil in a big pan. Pour in the sago into the hot water and keep stirring the sago
     to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
2.  Cook sago for 15 - 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover pan and set aside for 10 minutes. By then,
     the sago should be translucent, indicating that it is cooked.
3.  Pour the sago into a colander and run cold water to rinse off the starchiness.  At this point, you may add
     in any food colouring as you like.
4.  Pour the sago into jelly molds or small dessert bowl and chill well.
5.  Combine palm sugar and water in a small pan and simmer until sugar dissolves. Cool.
6.  To serve, turn the sago out and spoon on some coconut milk and palm sugar syrup.

Pink or white?  Which want you prefer?

Quail Egg Sambal

The look at this sambal dish seems to be very hot and spicy, isn't it?  I have opted out the dish bird's eye chillies which the original recipe called for.  And the verdict; just mild hot and the right to my taste!   

Ingredients
24 hard-boiled quail eggs
4 fresh red chilli, deseeded and roughly chopped
3 dried chilli, soaked till it turn soft, cut into pieces
8 shallots
3 garlic
1/2 tbsp shrimp paste, (belacan)
2 candlenuts or macadamia nuts
4 tbsp oil
1 tbsp tamarind paste + 1/2 cup water
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 small brown onion, thinly sliced

1.  Deep fry the quail eggs in hot oil until golden brown and crisp.
2.  Mix the tamarind paste with water. Set aside.
3.  Combine fresh red chilli, dried chilli, shallots, garlic, shrimp paste and candlenuts together in a
     food process and process until it forms a fine paste.
4.  Heat oil in a wok, add the paste and fry under low heat until it's aromatic, about 8-10 minutes.
5.  Add the tamarind juice to the paste together with sugar and salt. Stir and mix well.
6.  Add brown onion and continue to stir fry until the onion has soften a little but still have slight texture,
     around 2-3 minutes.
7.  Add the deep-fried quail eggs and give it a good stir.
8.  Serve hot with steamed rice.

Soya Sauce Fish

When I was preparing and cooking this dish, I wasn't prepared to post this dish up but after dishing up on a plate, I have always feel quite satisfied with this Soya Sauce Fish.  Why?  Because I loves the sweet and sour taste of it.  So I quickly get my camera and take a nice shot of it.  Luckily it turn out well as it was already late evening and I thought the quality shot would not be cleared.

I loves any dish with tomatoes in it.  I remember when I was staying in NZ few years back, I was so craving to have tomatoes, looking everywhere in the supermarkets and the Chinese grocery stores for it.  And as it was not in season at that time so when I found some selling it, it was $7.00 per kilo!!  My oh my.........

The ingredients goes for this dish are ........

1 medium size black pomfret  (marinated with some salt & pepper)
2 medium size onions (sliced in ring)
2 tomatoes (cut in wedges)
1 red chillies (sliced thinly)
1 green chillies
some oil for pan frying

Sauce
125ml water
1 tbsp dark soya sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
juice from 2 kalamansi/lime juice
salt to taste
Spring onions & coriander leaves for garnishing

1.  Heat oil, pan fry fish turning over once.
2.  Remove fish from frying pan, leaving about 2 tbsp oil in the pan, saute the sliced onions for 30 seconds,
     add in tomatoes, red and green chillies stirring for about 1 minute.
3.  Add in the sauce ingredients and the fish.  Simmer until the fish is thoroughly cooked.
4.  Add in salt to taste.
5.  Dish up and garnish with spring onions and coriander leaves.