Handmade Noodle (Ban Mian)

Last weekend, I felt like cooking noodle or something else for a change instead of the usual porriage for lunch. So I attempt made some noodles with my new toy--noodle maker which my friend S bought for me sometime ago, the noodle texture is softer than the usual ban mian that's selling outside.

Ingredients:
Noodles:

500g plain flour
1tsp salt
1tbsp oil
240g water

Other ingredients:

Ikan billis

Mince meat - marinate with sesame oil, soy sauce, oyster sauce, pepper, corn flour

fish ball

carrot (slice)

Vegetables

2-2.5L stock

Method:
1. Mix plain flour with salt in mixer with dough hook, add in water and mix a while, add in oil and mix till the mixture becomes a smooth dough.

2. Rest the dough in a covered bowl for 1 hour. Use noodle maker and roll the dough into thin sheets first (no.7 and no. 5 on noodle maker) , then roll it into broad noodles. Dust with flour in between the process.

3. Boil stock with ikan billis, add in slice carrot and boil for a while, add in marinated mince pork, boil till pork floats, add in adequate amount of noodles and bring to boil, stir the noodle with chopstick to prevent it from sticking together, lastly add in fish ball boil till it floats and vegetables. Server immediately.

Crispy Butter Prawns

Tried this recipe from Quick & Easy Hawkers’ Fair, I used normal chilli as I give the outcome benefit of the doubt that it will turn out less spicy so that kids can ate it too, lucky its not spicy at all.

Ingredients:
1 kg medium size prawns
8 cups oil for deep frying
50g salted butter
½ bowl curry leaves
1 tsp chopped chilli padi (I use 1 normal big chilli)

Batter:
3tbsp plain flour
2tbsp corn flour
1 egg
½ tsp sugar
½ tsp salt
100ml water

Seasoning:
1tsp sugar

Method:
1. Trim prawns, wash and drain.

2. Heat oil for deep-frying, coat prawns with batter and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown & cooked. Dish and drain.

3. Melt butter in a wok, sauté curry leaves and chilli padi until fragrant. Add in seasoning, prawns and stir fry until well mixed. Dish up and serve.

Cheese Chiffon Cake

Attempt this recipe from the book 戚风蛋糕零失败 couple of weeks back, the side of the cake shrunk while cooling down so I thought fault was at the oil I used, so last week tried again with japanese salad oil as its lighter compare to other type of oil besides butter, but the side of the cake still shrunk and the cake looks like mushroom...

The cake taste more like japanese cheese cake than chiffon cake as its more wet and dense..

Ingredients:

A: 150g cream cheese
5 egg yolks
50g castor sugar

B: 30cc lemon juice (2tbsp)
Lemon zest of 1 lemon
50g yogurt
80cc salad oil (1/3 cup)

C. 6 egg white
80g castor sugar
1/8 tsp cream of tartar

D: 105g cake flour } sift twice
3g baking powder }

Method:

1. Place cream cheese at room temperature till it turn soft. Place in in mixing bowl, stir with

whisk till smooth paste.

2. Add in egg yolk one at a time, mix well on each addition.

3. Add sugar in A and mix till well combined, smooth and pale yellow colour.

4. Place B over hot water till its warm. Add B into cheese mixture.

5. Add in D & mix till well combined.

6. In another bowl, beat C till stiff peak.

7. Scope 1/3 potion of egg white into cheese mixture, mix lightly till combined. Pour cheese

mixture into remaining egg white, mix lightly till well combined.

Valerie's Apple Crumble Pie

Attended Ms Valerie's Apple Crumble Pie class last week, thanks to my friend S for recommending this class, lucky that I manage to sign up at the last minute. Although Valerie gave each student a big tasting portion, Randal asked for more after tasting it, so I made 1 batch for Sunday's breakfast. The part on making the crumble is rather tricky, so ask Trenyce to help me did it. The crumble is very crispy, even after a few hours, the crispiness still stays, we love this recipe.
...camera ran out of battery, so didn't get to take the interior of the pie...

Black Pepper Crab

Wanted to cook black pepper crab that I learned at chef yong's class weeks ago, but couldn't find soft shell crab last weekend, so bought some crab to cook chilli crab but forgot to buy the main ingredient dried chilli or chilli paste, so used chef yong's black pepper sauce recipe and cook black pepper crab instead...

Braised Duck with Sea Cucumber

The sea cucumbers that my mum gave me during CNY are sleeping in the freezer, so I tell myself better cook it while I have the mood and the time, for this dish I didn't really follow any recipe, just come up with my own version. I used claypot to cook this dish as I felt it will gave the dish a better flavour and taste.

Ingredients A:
½ duck – chopped into small pieces
6 dried Chinese mushrooms – soaked
2 medium sea cucumber – pre-soaked in water
4 slice old ginger

Ingredient B:
3 cloves
1pc cinnamon bark
1 star anises
1 tsp salt
3 clove garlic
600ml water

Seasoning:
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
¼ tsp pepper
1 tbsp cooking wine

Method:
1. Rinse duck. Cut mushrooms into half. Cut sea cucumber into large pieces.

2. Heat up 1tbsp oil in wok, fry ginger for awhile, add in sea cucumber and fry for 1-2min, add in duck meat and fry till all sides of meat looks cooked, add in mushroom and mix well.

3. Pour in seasonings and ingredient B. Cover and bring to boil, let it simmer over small fire for 50min or till duck is cook and soften. Serve.

Kuih Dadar

After tasting the delicious kuih dadar selling at the company's canteen, I tell myself must try this recipe. I did consult the aunty who made the kuih on the recipe, and she shares it generously but there were no exact measurement of the ingredients use, only manage to see her fried the pancake and how the texture of the batter looks like. And I did an experiment last weekend...the texture turn out a little more springy than aunty's kuih, hmm...think maybe more water will be better...for filling I picked an existing recipe and adjust a little.

Ingredients:
240g plain flour
50g tapioca starch
1/2 tsp salt
450ml pandan juice – cut 10 pandan leaves into thin strips and blend it with 450ml water

Filling:
200g palm sugar, roughly chopped
100ml water
2 pandan leaf, knotted
250g grated coconut


Method:
1. Sift flour, tapioca starch and salt into mixing bowl. Pour in the pandan juice. Using a balloon wisk, gradually incorporate the flour into the liquid, making a smooth batter free from lumps. Cover the bowl and allow the batter to stand for 20-30 minutes.

2. To make filling, cook palm sugar and water in a pan and cook until sugar dissolves. Simmer for 10min until liquid start to thicken and become syrupy. Add the pandan leaf and grated coconut and continue cooking over low heat for 10-15 mins until the coconut fillings is thick and glossy. Most of the liquid should be evaporated. Remove and set aside to let it cool.

3. To fry pancakes, heat a small frying pan (preferably one with a non-stick surface) over medium heat. Dip kitchen towel with a little oil and brush the pan with it. Ensure the pan is sufficiently hot.

4. Stir batter. Pour a larder of it into the pan and immediately rotate the pan so that the batter covers the base in a thin layer. Allow batter to set and cooked.

5. Turn the pancake out onto a plate or tray. Continue making the pancakes till batter is finish, you might need to thin down with a table spoon or two of water as you go.

6. Place a spoonful of filling in the center of the pancake, fold both sides towards the middle and roll the pancake away from you, neatly enclosing the filling and creating a parcel.