Sour Cream Coffee Cake

The motive to make this cake was to use up the sour cream before it expire...

Ingredient:

125g (4oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (250g/8oz) caster sugar - I reduce to 200g
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp vanilla essence
1tbsp instant coffee powder
¾ cup (90g/3oz) plain flour
½ cup (60g/2oz) self-raising flour
1/3 cup (90g/3oz) sour cream

Method:

1. Preheat over to warm 160ºC (315 deg F/ Gas 2-3). Lightly grease a 7inch square cake tin and line with baking paper.

2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition. Dissolve the vanilla and coffee powder in 1 tablespoon warm water and beat into the mixture until well combined. Fold in sifted flours alternately with the sour cream. Stir until the mixture is just combined and almost smooth.

3. Spoon mixture into the tin and smooth the surface. Bake for 30-40minutes, or until skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the cake. Leave the cake in the tin for 5 min before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Char Siew Pau

My first attempt on char siew pau...haha...looks ugly, taste was ok. Need to practise more on pleating the pau in order to get a much nicer similing pau. Next time will attempt to make the dough starter version.

Ingredients:
Dough
A.
4g yeast
160g water

B.
280g Hong Kong flour
120g corn flour
80g sugar
40g shortening

C.
10g baking powder

Filling
A.
200g Char Siew
1 tbsp oyster sauce

B.
½ tsp salt
1tbsp sugar
1tbsp dark soy sauce
1tbsp sesame oil
1/2cup water

C.
1tbsp corn flour
2-3tbsp water

Method:
1. Mix the dough ingredient A together till dissolve, add into dough ingredient B and mix till well combined, form into a smooth and elastic dough, place in a bowl cover with a piece of wet cloth and let it rest for about 1 – 1 ½ hour.

2. Add dough ingredient C into the proved dough and mix till well combined, let the dough rest for 15min.

3. Cut the char siew into small cubes; mix in the filling ingredient C into corn flour solution and set aside.

4. Add a little oil into wok, add in char siew pork cubes and oyster sauce and fry till fragrant, add in the filling ingredient B and let it bring to boil, stir in the corn flour solution, remove from wok into a plate and set aside and let it cool.

5. Divide the dough of step 2 into 30g smaller dough, roll into a disk shape, wrap the char siew filling, wrap it up and place it on a piece of paper.

6. Place the char siew pau in a steamer, steam over medium high heat for about 10-12min.

Tau You Bak Chor (Braised Minced Pork with Soy Sauce)

I used to see my MIL cook this dish quite often, didn't learn this dish as I thought it was a simple dish, till Kenny asked me to cook this dish for lunch when we finally have our own place then I realise its not as simple as it seems, it took me a few tries to get the right taste.

I didn't use garlic cos Kenny and the kids don't like the taste of garlic with the pork, sometimes I add potato cubes or tau kua (bean curd) when braising the meat just to have a little twist from the usual dish. The dish goes very well with porriage.

Ingredient:
200g mince pork
3 shallots

Marinate:
1 tbsp cooking wine
Dash of pepper
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
½ tbsp corn flour

Seasoning:
1tbsp shallot oil
1tbsp oyster sauce
1tsp premium dark soy sauce
¾ cup of water

Method:
1.Marinade the mince pork with marinate ingredient for about ½ hour.

2.Peel the skin of shallot and slice thinly.

3.Add 2 tbsp of oil in wok, add in shallot and fry till fragrant. Add in mince pork and stir fry till pork are fully cook and stir till the pork break into smaller pieces.

4. Add in seasoning and boil for at least 10min at low heat. Serve with rice or porriage.

Strawberry Chiffon Cake

Bought some strawberries on friday, can't finish all so use some to made a chiffon cake. The strawberry colour is not obvious even after adding 1/2 tsp of strawberry emulco...

This recipe uses 20cm tube pan. (I bake it in 22cm tube pan)

Ingredients:

A)

5 Egg yolk

50gm castor sugar

B)

120gm Strawberries

80gm corn oil

15cc rum

C)

120gm cake flour

3g baking powder

D)

6 egg white

70gm castor sugar

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

Method:

1)Preheat oven at 170 deg C.

2)Mix A) till well blend then add oil and mix till well blend.

3)Use a fork to mash the strawberries into puree form.

4)Mix the strawberry puree into 1)

5)Beat egg white till bubble then add in cream of tartar, beat till white form then add in sugar in 3 times, beat till stiff peak form.

6)Sift C) for 2-3 times.

7)Mix the C) into egg yolk mixture. Then mix half the egg white mixture to the egg yolk mixture and mix well, then pour the egg yolk mix to the half of the egg white mixture.

8)Pour mixture into tube pan and bake for 45min or until well done. Remove from oven and invert the pan to let it cool before removing the cake from cake pan.

Golden Crispy Oat Pork

Cook this simple dish on Mother's day...recipe from the book 'Quick and Easy Hawker fair'.



Ingredients:
300g pork, cut into strips
½ cup of oil for deep frying
Marinade:
½ egg
1 tsp salt
½ tsp sugar
Dash of sesame oil and pepper
1 tbsp corn flour
½ tbsp plain flour

A:
200ml oil
1 egg beaten
3 tbsp chopped garlic
1tbsp chopped chilli padi
3 tbsp oat

Method:
1) Combine pork strips with marinade and marinate for 30min. Deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Dish and drain.

2) Heat up 200ml oil, add in beaten egg and stir well. Add in chopped garlic, chilli padi and stir fry at low heat until golden brown and crispy. Dish and drain.

3) Stir-fry oat in a clean wolk until fragrant. Add in crispy pork strips and (2) mixture, stir fry until well mix and dish up.

Mango puree with sago dessert

Bought some mangoes on Friday intended to make 楊枝甘露 on Saturday but did not get any pamelo that night, so change the name of the dessert. Took reference from oriental cuisine's recipe...




Ingredients:
20g sago
3 mangos – the flesh weighs about 900g in total
5tbsp icing sugar
200ml coconut milk
200ml cream
4tbsp water

Method:
1. Boil sago till transparent, rinse under tap water.
2. Cut 300g mango flesh into cubes; mix the remaining 600g mango flesh with coconut milk, cream, icing sugar and water, blend until fine.
3. Mix the mango mixture with sago. Chilled the mixture.
4. Pour the mixture in a serving glass or bowl, sprinkle some mango cube and serve.

Oreo Baked Cheese Cake

Made this cake a few weeks ago with the intention to use up all the cream cheese before it expire. I took reference and mix both Alex Goh and Phoon Huat's recipe...


Oreo Biscuit Base:
200g Oreo Biscuit, finely crushed
100g Butter –melted
1tbsp Honey

1. Mix the biscuits with melted butter and honey. Press the biscuit crumbs into 20cm spring form baking tray.
2. Chill slightly before use. Or place in freezer for 15 min before use.

Cheese filling:
500g cream cheese
85gm caster sugar
3 eggs
1 lemon juice+skin
35gm corn flour
140g whipping cream
¼ tsp vanilla flavour

15 oreo cookies – break into smaller pieces

Method:
1. Beat cream cheese and sugar till creamy.
2. Add in eggs, lemon juice + skin.
3. Lastly mix in corn flour, whipping cream and vanilla flavour. Mix in oreo cookies pieces.
4. Pour in ready oreo biscuit base and steam bake at 150-160°C for 50min or until set.
5. Put in fridge overnight or in freezer 4-6 hour.

Banana Muffins

Recipe from...
http://jenskitchendiary.blogspot.com/2006/11/muffin.html

Stir fry Shanghai nian gao

SIL gave us two packet of nian gao during CNY, wanted to cook something simple and can fill the tummy besides sushi for Saturday's lunch.

My MIL told me must soak the nian gao overnite before cooking it, the ingredients include some mince garlic, mince pork, mushrooms and chinese cabbage.

Just saute the garlic, pork and mushrooms, then add in chinese cabbage follow by nian gao, toss and mix the ingredients evenly with some oyster sauce, add about 1-2tbsp of water and cover for a while then uncover and toss a while till nian gao is cooked.

Soury Lemon Chicken Wings

Wanted to cook some simple dish for Saturday's dinner, recipe from the book Soury Cuisine..

Soury Lemon Chicken Wings

Ingredients:
10 chicken wing mid joint, 4 sliced lemon,
4 fresh ginger slices, 2 stalks spring onion (sectioned),
3 shallots (flatten)

Marinade:
½ tsp salt, ½ tsp light soy sauce,
½ tbsp chopped ginger,
½ tbsp chopped spring onion (white part only)
½ tbsp cornstarch

Sauce:
2 tbsp tomato sauce, 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice,
1 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp plum sauce,
300ml water

Method:

1. Rinse the chicken wings, season with marinade and marinate for 1 hour. Pan fry until aromatic and golden browned. Dish out and set aside. (Instead of deep frying the wings which is mention in the original recipe, I prefer to pan fry it)

2. Add 2 tbsp oil in the preheated wok to sauté shallots, ginger slices and sectioned spring onions till fragrant. Pour in sauce mixture and bring to boil.

3. Add in prefried chicken wings, toss well, cover and simmer over medium heat for 5 min. Lastly, add in lemon slices, stir fry briskly for a while, continue simmer with covered for further 10min until the sauce thicken. Dish up and serve hot.

--if taste is too sour can add 2 tsp of sugar while simmer the wings.

Char Siew

Have been trying different char siew recipes but its just taste not close to those selling in the market. Attempt the recipe from kuali last weekend, the taste was quite close to my expectation...

link to recipe: http://kuali.com/recipes/viewrecipe.asp?r=2696