Mix Vegetable Tempura

Saw this recipe in one of the Yum Yum magazine while looking for another recipe, while mixing the batter realise that the water content in the recipe(original was 200ml) is not enough, so I added more water but never measure, so I just list an estimated amount, this is not my first time doing such batter so I know that the batter should be smooth and not lumpy. The vegetables are quite bland, best to eat it with the japanese tempura sauce, but forgot to buy the sauce so substitute with the normal light soya sauce, and also better to eat it while warm....



Batter:
150g plain flour
30g custard powder
1tsp baking powder
1tbsp corn flour
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
250-300ml water,
1tbsp oil

Ingredients:
1 medium sweet potatotes peel and shredded
1 egg plant cut into pieces
5 ladyfinger, remove stem and cut into 2 pieces
1 small capcicum, shredded

Method:
1. Put all ingredients of batter(except oil) into a mixing bowl and mix well. Add in oil and stir until well combined.
2. Coat ingredients with batter and deep-fry in hot oil until golden brown cooked. Dish and drain.
3. Arrange tempura onto a serving plate, serve with your own flavour sauce.

Crepes

This have been in my to do list for a long time, saw it again in a book just bought from popular. So attempt the recipe for Sunday breakfast, it was easier to do than I thought, but the sides was a bit dry but the kids like it very much, only manage to keep 1 piece for the picture taking. Thinking that crepes are very versatile so I didn't do the syrup from the recipe, we just ate it with maple syrup and nutella. There's even request to make this more often, looks like they prefer this to pancake...LOL.

125g(4oz) plain flour
pinch of salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
300ml milk
vegetable oil or butter for greasing the pan

1. To make the pancakes, put the flour and salt into a bowl and mke a well in the centre. Pour the the egg and a little of the milk into the well. Whisk the liquid, gradually incorporating the flour to make a smooth paste. Whisk in the remaining milk, then pour the batter into a jug. Allow to rest, if liked.

2. Dip a paper towel with oil and grease the frying pan, heat the pan until it starts to smoke. Pour a ladle of batter into pan, tilting the pan until the base is coated in a thin layer. Cook the pancake for 1-2 min until the underside is turning golden.

3. Flip the pancake with a palette knife and cook for a further 30-45 seconds until it is golden on the second side. Slide the pancake out of the pan and make the remaining pancakes, oiling the pan as necessary. Set the pan cake aside.

Double Chocolate Chip Muffins

Have not made muffins for quite sometime already, so try this recipe. Thought that just cocoa powder alone will be a bit bland for the muffin, so I added some chocolate droplets to create abit moisture to the muffins. The picture looks abit different from the actual thing but most important is that it was well received by all.






Ingredients:
2 ½ cups (310g/10oz) self-raising flour
1/3 cup (40g/ ½ oz) cocoa powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
2/3 cup(180g/6oz) caster sugar
1 ½ cups (375ml/12fl oz) buttermilk
2 egg
150g (5oz) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
85g each of white chocolate chips and semi sweet chocolate chips

Methods:
1. Preheat the oven to moderately hot 200°C (400°F/Gas6). Lightly grease regular muffin tray. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl and add the sugar. Make a well in the centre.

2. In another bowl, whisk the buttermilk and eggs together and pour into the well. Add the butter, chocolate chips and fold gently with a metal spoon until just combined. Do not overmix-the mixture should still be lumpy.

3. Fill each hole about thee-quarter full. Bake for 20-25minutes, or until the muffins are risen and come away from the sides of the tin. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tuna Cucumber Salad

Last weekend saw an easy tuna salad recipe on TV, I twisted the recipe a little by using what's available in the fridge, and serve it with toasted baguette for breakfast...

Ingredients:

1 can of tuna

2 tomatoes - diced

200g cucumber - diced

Seasoning:

Olive oil

Dash of salt and ground black pepper

Juice from half lemon

some chopped parsley

Method:

- In a big bowl, add in the tuna, cucumber, tomato. Add in olive oil (I use sesame oil thats available at home), salt, pepper, lemon juice, then add in chopped parsley(I use dried parsley which is available at home), toss the content in the bowl and serve with toasted baguette.

Pan Fried Drunkard Prawn

Saw this recipe in Yum Yum magazine and thought that it an easy dish to do for dinner...


Ingredients:
500g sea prawns, trimmed and slit on the back
1 tbsp sesame oil
2 tbsp shredded ginger

Seasoning (mixed):
3 tbsp shaoxing wine (original recipe uses 4tbsp yellow wine and 2tbsp shaoxing wine)
½ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
½ tbsp light soya sauce
½ tsp corn flour

Method:
1. Heat up a dry wok, pan fry sea prawns until both sides are golden brown. Add in sesame oil, shredded ginger and stir fry until aromatic.

2. Add in seasoning, stir fry at high heat until well mixed and dried. Dish up and serve.

Apple Strudel

Tried doing something different last weekend, the filo pastry in the freezer is expiring so took the opportunity to practice making this recipe as its quite easy also can have a feel how the filo pastry is like. I read from another blog that to prevent the filo pastry from drying, its better to cover it with a towel on another tray while applying the butter on each sheet of filo pastry. Kenny and Randal likes it very much, next round will try the renaldo version. Recipe from Kevin Chai's A Touch of Classic Baking Book.

Ingredients:
10pcs filo pastry (thawed)
80g butter (melted)

Filling
8 green apples (peeled, seeded, cubed)
180g caster sugar
½ tsp salt
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
60g raisins
60g butter (melted)

Method
1. To make filling, combine all ingredients. Put onto baking tray lined with aluminium foil. Bake in oven at 220°C for 15 min. Leave to cool.

2. Brush some melted butter on 1 sheet of filo pastry. Continue layering with another sheet of filo pastry until finished.

3. Spoon baked apples along 1 long side of filo rectangle of edge. From apple side, roll up like swiss roll.

4. Place on baking tray, seam side down. Bake in preheated oven at 190°C for 30min.

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

Made this cake for Kenny's colleague for thanking him of buying something for me from US and bring it here to me, and he refuse payment, didn't know what type of cake but thought that cheese cake should be ok, luckily he like the cake...


Ingredients A:

250g softened unsalted butter
160g caster sugar
¼ tsp salt

Ingredients B:
2 eggs
1 egg yolk

Ingredients C:
(sifted together)

120g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
¼ tsp double action baking powder

Cheese batter
(mixed well):
250g softened cream cheese
80g sugar
1tsp lemon juice
1 egg

Method:
1. Beat ingredients A until creamy. Add in eggs one at a time and mix well. Slowly fold in C.

2. Line a 8”/20cm square tin with greaseproof paper. Spoon cocoa batter and cheese batter alternatively onto tin and swirl through with a small knife for marble effect.

3. Bake at 180°C for 45 min or until cooked.

Braised Sea cucumber with Ribs

My mum gave me a few sea cucumber during CNY, have cook a few and left 2 in the freezer. Heard that it may spoilt after prolong freezing, so cooked it with some mushrooms and pork ribs, this round I cooked it in claypot for longer duration, taste was better.

Recipe is from my old post except didn't add bamboo shoots.

Mantou

Last sunday I feel like eating mantou, so use my bluesky breadmaker and made this plain mantou, within 1 hour I have hot mantou for breakfast...





Ingredients:

500g plain flour
50g caster sugar
5g instant yeast
8g baking powder
220g water

Method:

1. Add the ingredients into bread maker. Set to Dough function, when the machine stops moving means the dough has gone to proving stage, use another timer and set it to 15min.
2. When the dough has proof to 15min, remove dough from bread maker. Roll the dough into thin retangular shape. Roll it up into a swiss roll.
3. Cut the dough into about 30g per portion, place it on plate and let it rest for 15min.Steam dough for 8-10min. Serve warm.

Pineapple Enzyme

About a month ago, I tried making pineapple enzyme, suppose to harvest it after 2 weeks but was too busy with the vegetable carving that I forgot about it that I kept it another week, the taste was more like wine can't taste much of pineapple probably because I didn't add enough pineapple...

For this enzyme I use 1 unripe pineapple, 1 lemon and about 150g brown rock sugar.

At the beginning...

After 3 weeks...