Kopitiam Buns With Curry Chicken & Potato

Eversince Sonia posted her Kopitiam Milk Buns I been seeing alot of bloggers baking along with this Milk Buns.  In fact, I can say that this Milk Buns is so easy to make and it stay soft till the next day too.

Sonia has indicated that the Overnight Sponge Dough can be made and keep it in the fridge upto one week and you can use it whenever you feel like baking the buns.  

I made this Curry Chicken & Potato buns the other day thinking that I wanted to give this a miss of posting it to my blog, but I wanted it to share to my sister in Auckland so that she can give this delicious buns a try too.  

Chicken & Potatoes Curry Milk Buns

recipe source from Sonia of NasiLemakLover
*makes 11 buns

Chicken & Potatoes Curry

3 potatoes, small cubed
200g chicken breast, small cubed
2 sprig curry leaves

½ onion, chopped finely

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely
3 shallots, chopped finely

Mix to form a paste

1 and 1/2tbsp curry powder (meat type)
1/2 tbsp red chili powder (I didn't add this)
1 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
4 tbsp water

Method

Heat oil in a wok, sauté onion, garlic and shallots till aroma.

Add in curry paste & curry leaves, stir till fragrance. Add in chicken and potatoes, mix well.

Add in enough water to cover the chicken and potatoes, cook over low medium heat till potatoes tendered. Set aside to cool.

To prepare Chicken & Potatoes Curry buns

Overnight sponge dough

215g high protein flour
125g full cream milk (cold)
2g instant yeast (1/2 tsp)

Method

Mix all ingredients till a rough dough, cover with cling film and store in the fridge for overnight.

To prepare basic dough

1 quantity of above overnight sponge dough
90g high protein flour
30g egg (1/2 large egg)
4g instant yeast (1 tsp)
3g fine salt (1/2 tsp)
60g sugar
45g butter (room temperature)
1 tbsp milk (cold)

Pandan leaves

Curry leaves
Toothpicks
Egg wash – balance half egg (from the basic dough) + 1tbsp milk

Method

Tear the overnight sponge dough into pieces and add all ingredients except butter in a mixing bowl, knead till smooth dough.

Add in the butter and knead until dough is smooth, shinning and elastic.

Cover with cling film and set aside to proof till double in size.

Punch down the dough to expel air, divide into 50g portions and mould into round balls, rest for 10mins.

Flatten the dough ball into a round disc, spoon filling in the middle, wrap and seal. Roll in ball shape and gently press to form a disc shape. Place on a baking tray. Let it proof for another 45mins.

Wrap each bun with pandan leaf that secured with toothpick. Egg wash the top of the buns, and place a piece of curry leaf on top.

Bake at pre-heated oven at 180C for 15mins.

                            This bun is one day old ~ it still stay soft in texture!  And I can still smell

                            the pandan aroma too....

        

                             Wonder what I should make filling next time round?  

Kampar Claypot Chicken Rice

I was borne in Kampar Perak.  And if you might have known of this small town Kampar, though it is just a small tiny town, but it has many many famous and well known food and delicacies.  

When I am still a little girl, my grandma and mum used to buy those yummy food at the stalls at the wet market.  To name a few of these goodies food that I used to indulge in are "Lou See Fun", "Fun Jai" (never had this eversince my family and I left Kampar in the 80's), "Chee Cheong Fun in curry sauce" (oh, this is my favourite....  and I remember the first time my Johorean brother-in-law had this, he is so stunned that chee cheong fun drizzle with curry sauce!"), Claypot Chicken Rice, Chicken Biscuits, "See Hum Dan Fun",  oh....there are so many and even the desserts like agar agar and cakes like "Kai Dan Koh" are so yummy!  (Apologise that I had to mentioned all these food in Cantonese).

Many years ago, I remember there was a time I was craving to eat Claypot Chicken Rice, and I had this for 3 consecutive nights.  Oh, that was the time I bought it at the food stalls. 

Today I like to share with you one of my favourite dish from my hometown and that is Kampar Claypot Chicken Rice.

Kampar Claypot Chicken Rice 
Recipe adapted from "Scrumptious Rice & Porridge"

Ingredients A

210g raw rice

1 tsp olive oil

260g water

¼ pc chicken

1 piece Chinese Sausage (washed with hot water and slice it slant)

Chicken marinade

30g ginger (Scraped and chopped)

1/8 tsp salt

¼ tsp sugar

1 tsp oyster sauce

A dash dark soy sauce

½ tbsp Shao-Xing wine

A dash pepper powder

1 tsp starch

A dash sesame oil

Seasonings

½ tbsp fried onion oil 

1 to 2 tbsp Fragrant Cooked Soy Sauce (see below for ingredients)

 A dash rice wine

Some chopped spring onion

Fragrant Cooked Soy Sauce  (Do this sauce first)

Ingredients

40g oil

½ pc big onion (cut to 3 portions)

2 stalks white part spring onion (pat)

40g ginger (pat)

1 tbsp Shao Xing Wine

1 tbsp oyster sauce

120g water

½ tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

1 tbsp light soy sauce

3 tsp dark soy sauce

½ tsp pepper powder

20g sesame oil

Method to do the Fragrant Cooked Soy Sauce

Heat 40g oil in wok, add big onion, white part of spring onion, ginger and fry till fragrant, sizzle Shao xine wine, oyster sauce and fry for a moment.  Add water and remaining Seasonings, bring to boil.

Reduce to low heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.

Preparation

Wash rice, soak in water for 60 minutes.  (I didn’t do this part).  Drain thoroughly.  Mix with olive oil.  Put aside at least 1 hour.  (I didn’t do this part too.)

Clean and cut chicken into bite size pieces.  Season with Chicken marinade for 30 minutes.

Method

Put rice and 260g of water into claypot, cover with lid and cook over high heat until boiling when water almost dried up and small holes start appearing.

Open lid, arrange chicken pieces and sausage on the rice,  cover with lid and cook over low heat for 12 minutes.  Turn off heat, keep warm for 5 to 10 minutes.  Turn claypot every few minutes while it simmers at low heat.

Add Seasonings accordingly to your taste before serving, mix thorough and serve with chopped spring onion.

                         This is the Special Fragrant Soy Sauce..... to drizzle to the Claypot rice

Would you agree that one pot dish is so convenient and less pot and plates to wash up?

I am submitting this post Malaysian Food Fest Perak month hosted by 
WendyinKK of Table for Two....or more 

Plain Milky Buns (Kopitiam Milk Buns)

I guess most of you all would agree with me that given a choice you would prefer to make your own bread and buns at home.  Nowadays store bought bread and buns are too commercialized.  You can taste the difference in their texture and you will notice too that the bread that kept at room temperature for more than a week and they don't get moulded at all. 

Well, while I'm in Auckland that few months, there are so many choices of bread to choose from at the supermarket shelves.  And that, I called is real bread, even it is store bought but the texture is so different and they taste so wonderfully good!

Saw this at Sonia's post and thought of give it a try.  No doubt about it, it is such indeed soft in texture.  

Plain Milky Buns / Kopitiam Milk Buns

Recipe sourced from Sonia's

*makes 9 buns

Overnight sponge dough

215g high protein flour
125g milk (cold)
2g instant yeast (1/2 tsp)

Method

Add all ingredients in a mixing bowl, combine all ingredients to a rough dough by hands , the dough is dry and rough and don't need to knead till pass window pane. Cover tightly with cling film and immediately store in the fridge for overnight (at least 12 hours).

To prepare milk buns

1 quantity of above overnight sponge dough
90g high protein flour
30g egg (1/2 large egg)
4g instant yeast (1tsp)
3g fine salt (1/2tsp)
60g sugar (I used only 50g)
45g butter (room temperature)
1 tbsp milk (cold)

Method

Tear the overnight sponge dough into pieces and add all ingredients except butter in a mixing bowl, knead till smooth dough.

Add in the butter and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Cover with cling film and set aside to proof till double in size.

Punch down the dough to expel air, equal divide the dough to 9 portions, shape into round balls. Place dough in a square pan. Let it proof for another 30-45mins.

Bake at pre-heated oven at 170C for 20mins.

As advised by Sonia, I have kept the left over in an air-tight container!  Thank you!

Fallen Almond Pound Cake

Hot! Hot! Hot!  Yes the weather is getting terribly unbearable HOT to me!  From 4Celcius to 36Celcius and how's that?  And yes, I am back home sweet home and I am still on jet lag.  I wakes up at 3am every morning and feeling not knowing how to spend the wee hours away, so I thought of baking away and make use of my new 12 hole bundt pan.  

I have been eyeing this 12 hole bundt pan for so long and when this pan caught my eye while shopping in Auckland, it was way too expensive to own.  So my sister and I waited till for the next offer/discount and yes.....finally it was buy one free one.

I have previously used this bundt pan while I'm still in NZ, but it was used to make agar agar......  And now I am using it for baking pound cake instead.

Fallen Almond Pound Cake 

Recipe from sophistimom

Ingredients

225g unsalted butter, softened

225g package of cream cheese, softened slightly
285g cups sugar (I added only 220g)
4 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
250g unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons kosher salt

sliced almonds, for garnish
confectioners’ sugar for dusting
2 cups sour cherries (or another kind of berry)

1. Preheat oven to 165 degrees celsius. Butter 2 8 inch cake pans, and line with a round of parchment paper.  (I used 12 hole mini bundt pan and 1 small loaf pan)

2. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and cream cheese. Pour in sugar and mix until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well until each is incorporated.

3. While ingredients are mixing, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl. Slowly add flour mixture to the wet ingredients.

4. Distribute batter evenly between the pans and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.  Let cool and cut into slices. Sprinkle with almonds and dust with confectioners’ sugar. Toss cherries or other berries with about a tablespoon of sugar (depending on the sweetness of the fruit), and spoon over the top of the cake. Wrap any extras tightly in plastic wrap and freeze for up to one month.

  Using mini bundt pan usually shorten the time of baking.

 

Just love this mini bundt pan so much......isn't it sweet to make Agar Agar in it too?

Kueh Bengka Beras (aka "Fei Chee Yoke")

I know I have been MIA from updating my blog, thousand apologies!

Kueh Bengka Beras is one of my family's favourite kuih.  I remember I had this when I am still staying in my hometown, Kampar and after I left, this kueh has totally been forgotten.

Kuih Bengka Beras
Recipe sourced from Lily's Wai Sek Hong

Ingredients
100g green bean flour blend with 200 ml water and soak for 30 minutes
2 x 400ml cans of coconut milk mixed with enough water to obtain 1050ml

   (* you may use less coconut milk here but as long as you mix it with water to obtain 1050ml)
1/4 tsp salt
150g rice flour
1 tbsp cornflour/tapioca flour


For the syrup
325g castor sugar  (I've used only 280g)
300ml water
3–4 pandan leaves,

For Glazing
2 tbsp of thick coconut cream

Method:
To prepare the syrup

In a pot, combine sugar, water and pandan leaves . Bring to a boil to dissolve the sugar and cool the syrup then discard the pandan leaves.

Put sifted flour into a large mixing bowl. Stir in coconut milk into soaked green bean flour mixture and sifted rice flour. Add the cooled syrup and salt and mix into a batter.

Strain batter into a large microwable bowl and cook on high 1 minute at a time until it thickens and bubbles. Stir with a whisk after every minute.

Pour cooked custard into a 8 inch square tin lined with softened banana leaf.

Spread and smooth the surface with a spatula.

Bake in preheated oven at 200C for 30 minutes until the topping is lightly brown.

Glaze with coconut cream and broil/grill until top is brown.

Cool thoroughly before cutting

Chocolate Cream Roll

Hello my friends,

I am so sad to know the past few weeks, the air quality in Singapore and Malaysia has turned very bad as the haze has started again!  And I understand two days ago the rain has finally 'arrive and clean up the air' and hopefully clear sky will brighten up the Malaysians again and no more haze polluted the air.

And whereas where I am now...... temperature has down to 4 Celcius and weather has been wet the past few days.  Sometimes I just don't feel like doing anything at all; so spending time either surfing the net or browsing some cookbooks.  Here we can borrow 30 books at one go at the Library!   And they can reserve the books they want to borrow online first. How lucky the Kiwis!

Caught one recipe in one of the cookbook "Popular Bread In Hong Kong" that using the horn mould and since my sister and I still having the fun of using the horn mould recently, thought of giving it a try.

This time is using bread dough instead of the puff pastry.

CHOCOLATE CREAM ROLLS

Ingredients

450g bread flour

¾ cup warm water

112g sugar

1 egg (approx. 50g)

7g yeast

¼ cup milk

42g butter

4g bread improver (optional)

Whipping Cream

1 cup whipping cream

3-4 tbsp icing sugar

 Egg wash

½ cup to 1 cup melted chocolate (topping)

Method

 Mix all ingredients in bowl well.  Knead on table, until smooth elastic and not sticky

(I used a mixer to mix the ingredients)

Put dough in bowl covered with cling wrap, and let it rise for about 30 minutes.

Take it out and press lightly for several times, then rest for another 30 minutes.

Divide dough into 16 pieces.  Rub into long shape, roll along crescent/horn mould to form into cone shape.  Put onto greased baking tray to rise for 30 minutes until size in double.

Brush with egg wash and bake at 200Celcius for 10-12 minutes.

 

Let cool, pipe in the whipped cream and top or drizzle the melted chocolate on the buns.

                            When rolling the dough to the mould, try not to leave any space.

                               As I have only 12 moulds, the balance of dough I pleated it.

                                              Easily removed out from the mould.

Piped in the whipping cream.  (Actually the actual recipe called for custard cream but I was just lazy to make the custard cream).

Using a spoon, drizzle the melted chocolate onto the rolls for completion.

                                      Place onto the tray to serve.................

Cream Horns

Hi everyone,

Good day to you!

The other day went for my grocery shopping and as usual, I will usually pop in to the Value Shop (shop that sell all sort of cheap item stuffs; kitchen utensils, laundry, stationery, gifts, etc. etc. that is at cheap cheap prices).  

As I was browsing around, suddenly my eyes caught one baking item and oh my, the Cream Horn Mould and it is so cheap.  Selling at NZ$2.50 for 6 pieces.  Bought two packs and immediately I made Cream Horns today.

CREAM HORNS

Ingredients
Cream Horns 
1 store bought ready to roll puff pastry
Caster sugar  (for sprinkling on the puff pastry)
1 large egg yolk (for egg wash)
1 tablespoons water 

Cream

1 cup whipped cream
2-3 tbsp icing sugar
Some raspberries or strawberries

Method

Cream Horns 
Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Use a pizza cutter to cut thawed pastry sheets into 2cm x 40cm. 
Wrap each of the strip around the cream horn mould, overlapping a little bit with each round. Place the mould, end of the strip side down.

Lightly whisk the egg yolk and the water together.
Brush each cream horn with egg yolk mixture. Sprinkle or roll in the caster sugar. 
Transfer to parchment paper and bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway through baking.  Allow the shells to cool and thereafter remove out.

Make Filling 
Whipped the whipping cream with icing sugar.
Fill the whipped cream into the piping bag with a star nozzle and fill each cream horn half way and insert one raspberry or half strawberry in and fill the remaining cream to the top. Decorate with another raspberry.
Serve immediate, or chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve

Wrap each of the strip around the cream horn mould, overlapping a little bit with each round. 

                                     Once done, let cool before removing from the mould.

                                                 The mould can be easily removed!

 

                                          Dust some icing sugar for final touch!

Yummy and delicious.......I love the crunch with the added sanding sugar on the puff!

Well if you are lazy to make the whipped cream, you can always scoop in the ice cream in!

"Almost" Famous Amos Chocolate Chips Cookies

Hi everyone, how have you all been doing?  I'm sorry for not updating my blog for so long...... I have been lazy to sit in front of the computer to do posting eventhough I have been busy cooking and baking yummy good food for my family here in Auckland.

Lately it has been raining almost everyday here; and instead I just stay at home reading and browsing cookbooks.

Today post is Chocolate Chips Cookies.  I have wanted to bake this back at home this "Almost" Famous Amos Chocolate Chips Cookies for so long but I was afraid that I couldn't finish this cookies all by myself as I am not a big fan of chocolate chips cookies.  So since I am here and my niece is always pestering for chocolate chips cookies, so I grab this opportunities to make it for her.

I wanted to make half of the recipe and I am glad I didn't.  This chocolate chips cookies are SO GOOD and crunchy.  I LOVE IT and in fact I can say I am in love this chocolate cookies!  I am going to make this again and again........

"Almost" Famous Amos Chocolate Chip Cookies
Recipe sourced & adapted from BisousAtoi 

Ingredients
250g salted butter, softened
200g light brown sugar  (I only used 150g and I still find a little too sweet)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coffee oil (this is the one that gives the cookie its distinctive fragrance)
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup oats, processed to bits in a chopper
1/4 cup ground almond
1/2 cup of your favourite nuts, chopped finely (optional, here I used walnuts)
1 pack of Nestle Tollhouse semi-sweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks (I used abt 250g)
300g self-raising flour 

Method
At least 2 hours or the night before, beat egg with vanilla & coffee oil to infuse. If done the night before, refrigerate & then bring it to room temperature before mixing. 

Preheat oven to 160C. 

Beat butter, sugar & salt to combine. Beat in egg and stir in the processed oats, ground almond, chopped nuts (if used) and the chocolate chips / chunks. Sift flour and fold it in. 

For small cookies, place half tsp dough, spaced slightly apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 9 to 10 minutes. For large cookies, place rounded tbsp of the dough spaced apart on the cookie sheet and bake for 20 to 22 minutes. (I placed 10g dough for each cookie & baked for about 20 minutes.) 

Cool completely before serving.  To allow the flavour and fragrance to develop further, store cookies in an airtight container overnight before serving.

   

I've asked my niece how she like the cookies?  And her reply is......."SO YUMMY and DELICIOUS!"

So crunchy....... and I have become a chocolate chips cookies addict now!  

Auckland City, Queen Street

Last week the weather was good and sunny and we decided to make a trip down to the City.  Instead of driving to the city (as it will be difficult to find parking space in the city), we took the ferry down from Half Moon Bay (near Bucklands Beach).

The ferry trip to the City from Half Moon Bay took just 30 minutes only.

 

You can purchase the tickets in the ferry itself.  Return tickets for two adults and (max.) four children for family package is NZ$36.00 and the other ticket Super Gold is usually for Senior Citizen which is free!

Transport Centre - train and bus to other state.

Queen Street - long walk with lots of shops on left and right.
 

at one junction, you will see SkyTower!  A must go for the first timer.  Casino, bungee jump,

                       Daiso in Auckland City!
 

On our ferry return ride, we saw this ferry going to Waiheke Island.  
Waiheke Island - a place to those who loves wines, places to visit vineyards and wineries. 
(Ha..Alvin of Chef&Sommelier, if you are reading this, Waiheke Island is the place you might like to visit).
 

You know what is this?  For towing the boat.