Yam paste snow skin moon cake

Ingredients
Yam - 1.5 kg
Salt - 1 tsp
Sugar - 150gm
Coconut milk - 120 gm ( fresh packing type)

Method
Steam yam for 20 mins
Half way add in salt, sugar & coconut milk.
Put aside , after 20 mins , mash & mix well. Leave to cool.

For the skin paste - ingredient
Shortening - 100gm
Water (ice cold water) - 210 gm. Can put in drop of food coloring if you want to have other favor of skin (eg yam, pandan, orange etc).
Kou fen - 220 gm (can buy from poon huat)
Icing sugar - 220 gm

Method
Mix altogether and knead to form a dough.
Knead for awhile to give qq texture.

For mini mould is about 20 gm skin n 20 gm paste

Wrap yam paste with the snow skin and sieve some koi fen on the mould . Press down the mound to eject the moon cake from the mould. Can consume at room temperature or put in fridge to chill.

Kala's Version Homemade Curry Chicken

1 whole Chicken (washed & cut into pieces)
Curry paste:
Ingredient A For frying
	6 dried red chilli
	1 tsp black peppercorn
	1 tsp fennel
	1 tsp cumin
	2 bulb onion (Peeled n cut into pieces)
	Ginger 1 finger length  approx 7 cm(peeled n slice into pieces)
	1.5 - 2 bulb Garlic (Peeled)
	1 small cinnammon stick
	1/2 - 1/4 cup water
	4 Tbsp Oil for frying
Ingredients B
	2 tbsp meat curry powder
	1.5 tbsp chilli powder
	1 big onion (sliced)
	1 small packet premix  spice(1 bay leaves + 1 star alis + 1.5 stick cinnamon stick + 1 cardamon + 5 cloves)
	1 tomatoe (sliced)
	2 potatoes (cubed) * optional to precook or raw
	1 stalk curry leaves
	1 pc pandan leaf
	1 lemongrass stalk (smashed)
	1/2 cup water
	3 tbsp oil
	1/2 tbsp salt
Method  for Curry paste
1	) Heat up wok
	2) Add in Oil to stir fry dried Chilli, once colour changed removed from wok
3	)Add all the remainder Ingredient A to fry
4)	Once Onion turned brownish removed from wok
5	) Blend fried Ingredient A with 1/2 - 1/4 cup water
Curry making Method
1)	Place oil in pot
2	) Stir fry premix spice, till the Cinnamon stick give out fragrant
3	3) Add curry leaf, onion, lemongrass stalk & pandan leaf and fry till onion turn brownish
4	4) Add in Chicken, water, blended curry paste, curry powders, chilli powders, potatoes & tomatoes
	(add hot water to own preference for gravy texture)
5	) finally add salt to taste and cook for 20 - 25 mins using medium fire
6	) Once cooked ready to serve with rice or bread
	Happy Cooking !

炸蝦餅

This recipe was good for those people who likes the texture crispy on the outside and soft inside.

As for the filling is really up to you what you like to pull in. Personally I love chive or green spring onion.

For Batter

Self raising flour

Rice flour (to produce crispness)

Water

Salt

Slash of Pepper

Sugar

Ingredients

Prawns

Green spring onion 

Method

Mix all items in batter. The consistency of batter should not be too liquid but  lumpy.

I made three round fritters with four tablespoon of self raising flour, 1 teaspoon of rice flour, less than half teaspoon of salt/sugar, pepper and water to mix to lumpy consistency of batter.

Put in the chopped green spring onion and mix well.

On the wok, heat the oil. Coup two tablespoon of batter on to heated metal spatula. Place two prawns on top of the batter. Lift the metal spatula down to heated oil. Left it on until fritterself release from spatula. Let the fritter cook until lightly brown and turn to the other side until brown.

Christmas Dinner at Home

Is always a headache when come to Christmas Eve dinner. What to buy or cook to share with the family.

Gonna to try something new after going thru' various places on selection of festive goodies bundle available. I decide to cook the food ourselves this Christmas. And instead of doing it on Christmas Eve, we are having it on Christmas Day to allowed ample time for food preparation.

Hmm, here come the list of food.

Roast lamb leg, Salad (honey cherry tomato, romaine lettuce, green seedless grape, Japanese cucumber, longan rambutan, carrot & apple), Salted Egg Sauce Prawn, Grilled Chicken Wing). And not forgetting our Chocolate Mousse 500gm log cake from Amara Hotels.

Yummy Yummy !

!

Gougeres

Learn this from the ¬In Love with French Pastisserie 1 Workshop ¬ (Global Cultures Series) organised by OnePA).










Ingredients (40 - 50 pieces)

125 ml water
125 ml milk
120 gm unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1 tsp of coarse salt
250 gm all-purpose flour
4 large eggs (about 60 gm/egg)
250 gm shredded Gruyere cheese, plus more for sprinkling
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200° c.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
3. In a medium saucepan, combine the water, milk, butter and salt and bring it to about to boil.
4. Remove from stove, add the flour and stir it in with a wooden spoon until a smooth dough forms.
5. Stir over low heat until it dries out (not stick to the pan) and pulls away from the pan, about 2 minutes.
6. Scrape the dough into a bowl.
7. Let cool fro 1 minute.
8. Beat the eggs into the dough, 1 at a time, beating thoroughly between each one.
9. Add the cheese and pepper and nutmeg.
10. Transfer the dough to a pastry bag fitted with a 1/2 inch round tip and pipe tablespoon size mounds onto the baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
11. On a bowl, beat a whole egg for brushing.
12. Brush the egg wash on, sprinkle with cheese.
13. Bake for 10 min and turn the tray and continue for another 5 min or until puffed and golden brown.
14. Serve hot, or let cool and refrigerate or freeze.
15. Reheat in a 175° c oven until piping hot and serve immediately.

You can stuff in cream, tuna or other seafood spread. It taste nice when eaten without any spread too.

Notes

When making the choux pastry, it is important to be sure that each egg is fully incorporated into the batter before adding the next. Don't worry if the batter separates and looks curdled at first, keep beating, and it will come together nicely.

Think the Gougeres baked by the trainer taste crispier. Gonna to do a few more rounds.

Rice Dumpling (粽子 - 端午节)

Duan Wu Jie is a widely celebrated festival amongst the Chinese。 Qu Yuan was an important minister back in Chu Kingdom in ancient China. He had been known for his loyalty for the emperor of Chu, and loved his country greatly. However, His Majesty had not taken Qu Yuan's advice seriously, and he eventually got himself trapped and captured in a foreign land by his enemies, which then lead to his own death.

Sad and angry at the corrupted, dying Kingdom, Qu Yuan tied himself to a big rock and threw himself into the River of Puo Luo. The people then made rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves and threw them into the river. They believed this would stop the fish from eating Qu Yuan's body. Some would even row down stream in a boat, beating drums and shouting out loud in the hope to scare the fish away (it was believed that it is how the Dragon Boat event is related to the festival.

Since then, the 5th day of the 5th month in the Chinese calendar has been set as Duan Wu Festival to remember the patriotic poet, Qu Yuan.

I like Rice Dumpling, especially when you eat it straight from the bamboo leaf. One could smell the fragrant of the leaf within each bite of the rice dumpling

Dumpling Rice Ingredients (make 18 pcs)

Ingredients A

2 cloves garlic (chopped)

2 tbsp cooking oil

20 gm fine salt

20 gm coarse sugar

1 kg glutinous rice (wash and soak at least 4 hours and drain away the water)

1 tsp Five spice powder

1 tbsp dark soya sauce
2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground pepper

Ingredients B

100 gm of dried chestnut (washed and soak overnight)

1 tsp of sugar

Ingredients C

500 gm of pork belly (washed, cut into 18 pcs and marinate overnight with seasonings)

Seasonings

2 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp dark soya sauce

1/2 tsp ground pepper

1 tbsp five spice powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tbsp sugar

4 clove of garlic (chopped)

Ingredients D

18 pcs of dried mushrooms (soak to soften, drained and cut into half)

Ingredients E

40 gm dried shrimps (washed, soak to soften and drained)

2 clove of garlic (chopped)

Wrapping

36 pcs bamboo leaves (soaked overnight, washed and use a cloth to dry it).

18 raffia strands or Nylon strings

Method

1. Soak the mushroom till soft.
2. Soak the chestnut and remove the skin. Add two tsp of sugar and put to steam for half an hour
3. Season the pork belly with the pork seasoning overnight (put in the fridge). Heat up the cooking oil, stir-fry the garlic till fragrant and mix well .
4. Heat up the cooking oil, stir-fry the garlic till fragrant, add in rice and dumpling rice seasoning to season, stir-fry till fragrant. set aside
5. Soak the dried prawn for 15 mins. Heat up the cooking oil, pour in the dried prawn and stir-fry till fragrant. remove and set aside for use.
6. Use 2 pcs of bamboo leaves to fold into a cone. Place in 2 tbsp pre-fried glutinous rice. Dig a well in the centre, add in fillings and cover with two tbsp glutinous rice. Wrap us and tie with the strings.
7. Bring a pot of water to boil, drop in pre-wrapped dumplings, cover and simmer over low flame for 2 hours till well cooked, dish and drained.

Cooking Tips

During the process of simmering/cooking dumplings, when more water is needed, remember to use boiling water only.

Nian Gao (大中国年糕)

Nian Gao sound common and easy to get when close to Chinese New Year time. I use to think that’s no big deal for such common stuff and didn’t know how to appreciate it very much. To me when I see my mum wait for it to be moldy, slice it into bite pieces, sun it and store it in the fridge every year, it just another superstitious act during Chinese New Year.

In Chinese belief, Nian Gao must keep until moldy. It symbolize ‘windfall’ (发财) and ‘Promotion’ (年年高升) to those who are employ.

There are many ways in eating the Nian Gao.

• Dip in egg flour batter and pan fried
• Steam it hot and dip in coconut strip
• Wrap with dumpling skin and pan fried
• Using slice of Nian Gao with slice of sweet potato or yam and pan fried
• Cook with Tang Yuan

During harvest, using the rice grain to make Nian Gao is to bear in mind the hard effort of the farmer.

As years goes, I start to compare the different brand of Nian Gao available in the market. Not for commercial gain, I favour 大中国年糕. You can taste the different when comparing to other brand. It gives a unique aroma smell when you bite into the Nian Gao. Oh for healthy reason, it is less sweet too.

If you like it to be crispy thin crust, use one beaten egg. Dip one slice of Nian Gao into the mixture and rolled over plain flour for both side. Heat the wok with 1 to 2 tablespoon of oil and pan fried both side until golden brown and serve.

Alternatively, if you want it to be slightly puffy, beat one egg with 80gm of self rising flour. Dip the Nian Gao with the batter and pan fried.

　

Using my new addtion of long chopstick to pan fried the Nian Gao

You may pan fried all your Nian Gao and keep it covered with sling wrap in the fridge. Toast it for a min or two when you wants to consume.

La Gourmet Thermal Wonder Cooker

I have been eyeing to own a Thermal Wonder Cooker. Saw one demo in the wet market which is made locally. Cost about S$200+, think is on the high side.

Come across this promotion at Robinson under La Gourmet brand. Buy one 7L La Gourmet Thermal Wonder Cooker, get one 1.5L Thermal Wonder Cooker free at S$129.00. A great deal for me.




1.5L Thermal Wonder Cooker




7L Thermal Wonder Cooker

1.5 L Thermal Wonder Cooker (available in this green or the above light brown col)

What so special about this cooker ?

It reduce cooking time

It save gas, energy or electricity

It is convenience

It is hassle free

How ?

Simply cook soup, stew the normal way for 20 - 30 mins. Remove from stove and place the inner pot into the thermal wonder cooker. Leave it to cook w/o any power connection. Food stay hot, soft and tender after 7 - 8 hours. So if you're on the go, you may just carry it along with you while you on the road and your food is still cooking in the wonder cooker. Cool meh !

Seaman's Scarf Knitting Pattern

Yin Yin's Auntie daughter-in-law have left behind 6 - 8 rolls of brand new wool after she headed back to HK.

She gives these wool materials to me. With that I start to look for suitable design and think knitting a scarf will be the right choice.

This is the website that I obtain the pattern. I did some modification to the no of sts for width and length differential.

http://knittingonthenet.com/patterns/scarfseaman.htm

Seaman's Scarf Knitting Pattern
Designed by Knit Picks Design Team
Ribbing around the neck hugs the scarf close, keeping the cold wind out. This makes an exceptionally warm scarf.

Instructions

Loosely CO 64 sts using cable cast on.
Knit 4 rows in garter stitch.

Establish cable base with 3 stitch garter stitch border:
Row 1 (RS): Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2, *P2, K6; rep from *, ending P2, K3
Row 2: Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2, *K2, P2; rep from *, ending K5
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 three more times.

8 Row Cable Sequence with 3 stitch garter stitch border:
Row 1 of Cable Sequence (RS): Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2, *P2, slip next 6 stitches off left needle, use left needle to pick up the 2 far right stitches leaving the other four stitches in the front, use the right needle to place the middle 2 stitches on the left needle, finally use the right needle to place the far left 2 stitches onto the left needle, k6; rep from *, ending P2, K3.
Row 2 of Cable Sequence: Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2, *K2, P2; rep from *, ending K5
Row 3 (RS): Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2 *P2, K6; rep from *, ending P2, K3
Row 4: Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2, *K2, P2; rep from *, ending K5
Repeat Rows 3 and 4 two more times.
Repeat Cable Sequence 10 times ending with Row 1, preparing to flow into neck ribbing.

Neck Ribbing:
Row 1 (WS after Row 1 of Cable Sequence): Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, *P2, K2; rep from *, ending P2, K1
Row 2: Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, *K2, P2; rep from *, ending K3.
Repeat these two ribbing rows until ribbing rows measure to desire length. End by purling across last row (WS row).

8 Row Cable Sequence with 3 stitch garter stitch border:
Row 1 of Cable Sequence (RS): Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2, *P2, slip next 6 stitches off left needle, use left needle to pick up the 2 far right stitches leaving the other four stitches in the front, use the right needle to place the middle 2 stitches on the left needle, finally use the right needle to place the far left 2 stitches onto the left needle, k6; rep from *, ending P2, K3.
Row 2 of Cable Sequence: Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2, *K2, P2; rep from *, ending K5
Row 3 (RS): Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2 *P2, K6; rep from *, ending P2, K3
Row 4: Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2, *K2, P2; rep from *, ending K5
Repeat Rows 3 and 4 two more times.
Repeat Cable Sequence 10 times ending with Row 1

Row 1 (RS): Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2, *P2, K6; rep from *, ending P2, K3
Row 2: Slip 1 as if to purl with yarn in front, K2, *K2, P2; rep from *, ending K5
Repeat Rows 1 and 2 three more times.

Bind off

Here's the finishing scarf

Pan Fried Bao (生煎包)

Saw this from one of the TV food program and would like to have my hand on in making for the family to try.

With the courtesy from Florence, I proceed using her recipe

http://wlteef.blogspot.com/2009/06/pan-fried-baos.html

Here's the finished product and it was well received by the family member. You too can give it a try.

Christmas Eve at home 2009

Last year this time, I was at Harbin for holiday and have attended a wonderful Christmas Party on Eve of Christmas.

Consecutive for two years, office is having shut-down during this period. Like it or not, you’re asked to go on leave, one of the cost cutting measure and also due to seasonal off for most of the industry.

Some preparation done for the family gets together. I have order a Dinner Deal Feast $39.90 consists of Turkey Ham, Roasted Pork Knuckle, and Jumbo Chicken Bratwurst. If you’re within the first 500 customers, it comes with an early bird gift of Chocolate Log Cake. Quite a steal.







I have also pre-ordered a Christmas party pack from Coffee Bean.



Think the family member don't like the taste of the assorted cake. They prefers the free Chocolate Log Cake, I will stop ordering it next year .

We ate the Turkey Ham, Roasted Pork Knuckle and Jumbo Chicken Bratwurst going along with grape sparkling juice.

Merry Christmas and may all of us be happy and stays healthy. Cheer!

Winter Solstice 冬至 2009

Is another year of Winter Solstice 冬至 .

Same as last year, I have home made Glutinous Rice Ball. This time I put in three different type of filing. Peanut, Red Bean Paste and Gula Melaka (coconut sugar).

Oops, one mistake! I didn't have the red food colouring available. I used cherry paste as substitute. And guess what, the glutinous rice ball have a unpleasant taste.

What a pity!

Christmas Potluck 2009

This year we have Christmas Pot Luck on 15 Dec which is the best timing to suit almost everyone in our department.

Look, here are the food prepared/ordered by my fellow colleagues.

933 Golden Pillow Curry Chicken Bread/Mee Siam (Ching Harn/Janet)



Satay - beef, mutton & chicken (AY)




Turkey (Kirk)



Tidbits (Henry)



Sparking Juice (Teen Teen)

Otah (Kala)

Mushrooms salad (Cindy)

Hashbrown Bacon Chedder Cheese Puff (Yin Yin)

Cream Puff (Anthea)



Chocolate Fondue (Yanti/Juliah/Nuraini)

Cranberry Pear Cake (Ai See)




Cheesy Macaroni (Ai See)



Brownie (Yin Yin)

Ice-Cream topping (Charmaine)



Mixed Vegetable Smoked Salmon Salad (Yen Yen)



Tuna spread w cracker (Cheryl)

Chicken Pie (SP)

Christmas Tree filled with "the wish" tag for gift exchange

The "biggest" size gift exchange wish being fulfilled to kk , so envy her.



Not forgetting our "Little Guest of Honour"