Guess where i just came back from? The next post will be a review about this mystery place! Stay tuned!
Thursday, 28 February 2013
Guess where?
Teh:
Guess where i just came back from? The next post will be a review about this mystery place! Stay tuned!
Guess where i just came back from? The next post will be a review about this mystery place! Stay tuned!
Wednesday, 13 February 2013
Happy Chinese New Year!
Teh:
Lim and I would like to wish all readers a very HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! May the year of the snake bring you joy and happiness!
Speaking of chinese new year, Lim, where is my ang bao?
Lim and I would like to wish all readers a very HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! May the year of the snake bring you joy and happiness!
Speaking of chinese new year, Lim, where is my ang bao?
Friday, 1 February 2013
Arrowroot Chips
Teh:
I also made Arrowroot Chips for Chinese New Year. It's too good to be missed! The ones outside are selling at ridiculously high price! You might as well spend some time to make fresh ones for your family and friends. Although it is easy to make, the deep frying part is kind of tricky. I'll explain it below.
Ingredients:
Arrowroot (as many as you want)
Oil for deep frying
You will need a mandoline. I don't see a way around it at the moment.
Method:
1. Remove the skin of the arrowroot with a peeler. Leave the top of the root (with the new shoot is) so that you can hold onto it while slicing the arrowroot against the mandoline. Be sure to peel away the bottom of the arrowroot to make it smooth. (sorry no pictures)
2. Slice the arrowroot with a mandoline.
3. Wash all sliced arrowroots in a pot of water. Try to remove as much starch from the arrowroot as possible by gently rubbing the surface area with water. The water will turn chalky. Repeat this as many times as it takes until the water is much clearer. This step is crucial as it will prevent the arrowroot from sticking together when they are being fried. Drain away the water as thoroughly as possible.
4. Deep fry the arrowroots in a shallow wide surface area pan. It it important not to overcrowd the pan with arrowroots as it will cause them to curl and fold due to the limited space. I put them into the oil slice by slice (in quick succession) to ensure they have enough space and to prevent them from sticking together.
5. Turn each piece of arrowroot while frying to ensure they are cooked evenly.
6. Remove the chips when they are light yellow in colour. Drain the chips on kitchen towels to remove excessive oil.
7. Taste the chips! If its not completely crispy, it means you should try them longer. If they start to turn brown, it is burnt! Becareful! Repeat step 4 - 6 until you are done.
8. Enjoy the fruits of your labour.
I also made Arrowroot Chips for Chinese New Year. It's too good to be missed! The ones outside are selling at ridiculously high price! You might as well spend some time to make fresh ones for your family and friends. Although it is easy to make, the deep frying part is kind of tricky. I'll explain it below.
 |
| Arrowroot chips |
Ingredients:
Arrowroot (as many as you want)
Oil for deep frying
You will need a mandoline. I don't see a way around it at the moment.
Method:
1. Remove the skin of the arrowroot with a peeler. Leave the top of the root (with the new shoot is) so that you can hold onto it while slicing the arrowroot against the mandoline. Be sure to peel away the bottom of the arrowroot to make it smooth. (sorry no pictures)
2. Slice the arrowroot with a mandoline.
3. Wash all sliced arrowroots in a pot of water. Try to remove as much starch from the arrowroot as possible by gently rubbing the surface area with water. The water will turn chalky. Repeat this as many times as it takes until the water is much clearer. This step is crucial as it will prevent the arrowroot from sticking together when they are being fried. Drain away the water as thoroughly as possible.
4. Deep fry the arrowroots in a shallow wide surface area pan. It it important not to overcrowd the pan with arrowroots as it will cause them to curl and fold due to the limited space. I put them into the oil slice by slice (in quick succession) to ensure they have enough space and to prevent them from sticking together.
5. Turn each piece of arrowroot while frying to ensure they are cooked evenly.
6. Remove the chips when they are light yellow in colour. Drain the chips on kitchen towels to remove excessive oil.
7. Taste the chips! If its not completely crispy, it means you should try them longer. If they start to turn brown, it is burnt! Becareful! Repeat step 4 - 6 until you are done.
8. Enjoy the fruits of your labour.
年糕 - Nian Gao
Teh:
Look what i learned at my Chinese New Year goodies cooking class! This 年糕 (nian gao) is surprisingly easy to do but it is a little time consuming.
This is what i got for Wikipedia about 年糕 (nian gao) - "A food prepared from glutinous rice and consumed in Chinese cuisine. It is available in Asian supermarkets and from health food stores. While it can be eaten all year round, traditionally it is most popular during Chinese New Year. It is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time, because "nian gao" is a homonym for "higher year." The Chinese word 粘 (nián), meaning "sticky", is identical in sound to 年, meaning "year", and the word 糕 (gāo), meaning "cake" is identical in sound to 高, meaning "high or tall". As such, eating nian gao has the symbolism of raising oneself taller in each coming year (年年高升 niánnián gāoshēng). Also known as rice cake. This sticky sweet snack was believed to be an offering to the Kitchen God, with the aim that his mouth will be stuck with the sticky cake, so that he can't badmouth the human's family to the God of all Gods (Yu Huang Da Di)."
Without further do, let's look at the ingredients and method to make this!
Ingredients (make 2 medium size ones):
600g glutinous rice flour
700ml water
600g brown candy in pieces (see below for picture)
some pandan leaves
1 tbsp oil
banana leaves or plastic wrap
Method:
1. Boil the water, pandan leaves and brown candy until the candy is totally dissolved. Leave it to cool down.
2. Mix the sugar syrup with the glutinous rice flour until all the lumps are gone. Using a whisk helps alot.
3. Add 1 tbsp of oil to the mixture. Mix well.
4. Sieve the mixture to remove lumps.
5. Pour the mixture into the moulds you desire. Fill only 3/4 of the mould as the mixture will expand when cooked. You can line the moulds with banana leaves or the plastic wrap (can be bought at Phoon Huat). To sure to use extra banana leaves to line the mould to prevent leakage. (Yes mine leaked abit!)
6. Use a heat resistance cling wrap (those microwavable type) to cover the the mould. This will prevent water from landing on top of the 年糕 (nian gao). One of mine got water on top. See what happens below!
7. Steam on high for 20 minutes. Turn down the heat and continue steaming for at least 2 hours. I steamed mine for 4 hours. The longer you steam, the darker the colour. The colour will continue to darken over the next 2 days too!
Look what i learned at my Chinese New Year goodies cooking class! This 年糕 (nian gao) is surprisingly easy to do but it is a little time consuming.
This is what i got for Wikipedia about 年糕 (nian gao) - "A food prepared from glutinous rice and consumed in Chinese cuisine. It is available in Asian supermarkets and from health food stores. While it can be eaten all year round, traditionally it is most popular during Chinese New Year. It is considered good luck to eat nian gao during this time, because "nian gao" is a homonym for "higher year." The Chinese word 粘 (nián), meaning "sticky", is identical in sound to 年, meaning "year", and the word 糕 (gāo), meaning "cake" is identical in sound to 高, meaning "high or tall". As such, eating nian gao has the symbolism of raising oneself taller in each coming year (年年高升 niánnián gāoshēng). Also known as rice cake. This sticky sweet snack was believed to be an offering to the Kitchen God, with the aim that his mouth will be stuck with the sticky cake, so that he can't badmouth the human's family to the God of all Gods (Yu Huang Da Di)."
Without further do, let's look at the ingredients and method to make this!
Ingredients (make 2 medium size ones):
600g glutinous rice flour
700ml water
600g brown candy in pieces (see below for picture)
some pandan leaves
1 tbsp oil
banana leaves or plastic wrap
Method:
1. Boil the water, pandan leaves and brown candy until the candy is totally dissolved. Leave it to cool down.
2. Mix the sugar syrup with the glutinous rice flour until all the lumps are gone. Using a whisk helps alot.
3. Add 1 tbsp of oil to the mixture. Mix well.
4. Sieve the mixture to remove lumps.
5. Pour the mixture into the moulds you desire. Fill only 3/4 of the mould as the mixture will expand when cooked. You can line the moulds with banana leaves or the plastic wrap (can be bought at Phoon Huat). To sure to use extra banana leaves to line the mould to prevent leakage. (Yes mine leaked abit!)
6. Use a heat resistance cling wrap (those microwavable type) to cover the the mould. This will prevent water from landing on top of the 年糕 (nian gao). One of mine got water on top. See what happens below!
7. Steam on high for 20 minutes. Turn down the heat and continue steaming for at least 2 hours. I steamed mine for 4 hours. The longer you steam, the darker the colour. The colour will continue to darken over the next 2 days too!
 |
| Brown Candy in pieces |
 |
| 年糕 (nian gao) The one on the left did not have a smooth top due to water droplets landing on it! The one on the right is absolutely beautiful! |
Friday, 18 January 2013
Steamed Buns - Bao (Vegetarian Char Siu)
Teh:
I had some leftover Hong Kong Flour from making the Guo Tie (Potstickers) so i decided to look for a bao recipe to make some bao. This is my first attempt. I thought it turned out quite well. My knead techniques has nothing to be desired! But i forged ahead anyway. For those with a dough hook, i envy you. I'm definitely going to get one this year! It's a year where dreams come true after all ;)
Ingredients: Makes 12 baos
1 1/2 tsps instant yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup fine sugar
1 cup Hong Kong Flour
1/2 cup self-raising flour
3 tsps of melted butter
Method:
1. Mix the yeast with 2 tbsps warm water, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp of Hong Kong flour and set aside in a warm place until bubbly. About 5 to 10 minutes. If any of you have any doubts if your yeast still works, this is a good method to try. If it doesn't bubble up, change the yeast. It should look like this -
3. Here comes the tricky part. THE KNEAD! Dust your working area with flour. Turn out the soft dough and start kneading with your hands until smooth and elastic, this should take at least 10 minutes or more for novices like me. Dust with extra Hong Kong flour as needed. But please resist all attempts to dust the dough at least for the first 5 minutes. You'll think by dusting the dough, it won't stick so much to the table. But you'll overdo it and end up with a hard dough! Resisting is the key. Nevermind if it sticks to everything, just work it until the gluten in the flour is developed and elastic. Or you know what is simpler? Yup, throw the dough into the cake mixer with the dough hook attached and go sip your coffee while the mixer does your work. It should not be too sticky at the end -
4. Put the dough into an oiled bowl. Cover with a damp towel and proof for at least 1 hour or until doubled. Do not over-proof it though. As soon as it doubles in size it is done!
5. Punch down the dough to remove air. Prepare a floured working surface. Knead the dough briefly for about 5 minutes and divide them into 12 portions with the help of the weighing machine.
I had some leftover Hong Kong Flour from making the Guo Tie (Potstickers) so i decided to look for a bao recipe to make some bao. This is my first attempt. I thought it turned out quite well. My knead techniques has nothing to be desired! But i forged ahead anyway. For those with a dough hook, i envy you. I'm definitely going to get one this year! It's a year where dreams come true after all ;)
 |
| Vegetarian Char Siu Bao |
Ingredients: Makes 12 baos
1 1/2 tsps instant yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup fine sugar
1 cup Hong Kong Flour
1/2 cup self-raising flour
3 tsps of melted butter
Method:
1. Mix the yeast with 2 tbsps warm water, 1 tsp sugar and 1 tsp of Hong Kong flour and set aside in a warm place until bubbly. About 5 to 10 minutes. If any of you have any doubts if your yeast still works, this is a good method to try. If it doesn't bubble up, change the yeast. It should look like this -
 |
| The yeast is alive! |
2. Sift the remaining all-purpose flour and self-raising
flour. Add in the rest of the sugar, the yeast mixture, the warm water
and melted butter (if you forgot to take the butter out of the fridge to melt before hand, you can dump the butter into the warm water to dissolve! But make sure your water is slightly warmer than warm because the cold butter will lower it's temperature). Mix everything into a soft dough.
3. Here comes the tricky part. THE KNEAD! Dust your working area with flour. Turn out the soft dough and start kneading with your hands until smooth and elastic, this should take at least 10 minutes or more for novices like me. Dust with extra Hong Kong flour as needed. But please resist all attempts to dust the dough at least for the first 5 minutes. You'll think by dusting the dough, it won't stick so much to the table. But you'll overdo it and end up with a hard dough! Resisting is the key. Nevermind if it sticks to everything, just work it until the gluten in the flour is developed and elastic. Or you know what is simpler? Yup, throw the dough into the cake mixer with the dough hook attached and go sip your coffee while the mixer does your work. It should not be too sticky at the end -
4. Put the dough into an oiled bowl. Cover with a damp towel and proof for at least 1 hour or until doubled. Do not over-proof it though. As soon as it doubles in size it is done!
5. Punch down the dough to remove air. Prepare a floured working surface. Knead the dough briefly for about 5 minutes and divide them into 12 portions with the help of the weighing machine.
6. I'll leave it to this youtube video to teach you how to roll out the dough and pleat the bao. The video is in japanese but a picture paints a thousand words! I watched it without any audio. The steps are surprisingly easy! Ok my baos are not amazingly beautiful but still good for first attempt. I almost forgot to mention you can put any ingredients you like into your bao. If you want to put meat, it doesn't have to be cooked first. If you want to put vegetables, please cook it first. I put vegetarian char siu and hard boiled egg in mine. Yummy!
 |
| Bao (before steaming) |
7. Heat up your steamer. Cut some baking paper to put the bao on. The water should be boiling rapidly. You can turn the fire down to make it easier for you to put the bao inside the steamer. Cover the steamer, turn up the fire as soon as you are done. Steam for 15 minutes. More if you are using raw meat. The bao will expand almost 2x it's size! Don't put them too close together.
 |
| Bao (after steaming) |
Have fun!
Monday, 7 January 2013
Potstickers - Guo Tie (with the Happy Call Pan)
Teh:
This is an amazingly simple recipe for the Potstickers (Guo Tie) skin. The result is quite similar to those sold outside! It's totally worth the effort. For the ingredients, you can put anything you like inside. Bear in mind for vegetables, they need to be cooked first before wrapping. For meat, you can use raw ones since the steaming process when you cook the potstickers will also cook the meat. Most importantly, the ingredients need to be dry. Best if there is no seeping liquid.
Ingredients (to make 15 pot stickers):
150g of Hong Kong Flour
100ml of warm water
A pinch of salt and sugar
Method:
Mix all ingredients into a soft dough. It is ok if the dough sticks to your hand. Let it rest for 15 - 30 minutes before kneading it on the table (remember to dust the table with flour first!). Divide the dough into portions and roll it out as thin as you can manage. Cut the dough with a round cutter. Or in my case, i just used a small bowl to cut the shape.
I suggest rolling out the dough and wrapping it concurrently for best results. If you wait until you cut out all the skin, they may end up sticking together despite being dusted with flour. It'll be great if you can rope in a helper! One to roll the dough and one to wrap. Teamwork!
Once you put the ingredients onto the skin, close it up by pinching the sides. Pan fry them with some oil in the Happy Call Pan. When they are a little brown at the bottom, add water to the pan (to cover about 1/4 height of the pan) and cover it. This will steam the skin and cook the meat (if any). When all the water has evaporated and the skin of the potstickers is soft, continue to pan fry them until the bottom is of golden brown in colour. That's when they are done! Dip them into vinegar with ginger strips. Viola! Yummy potstickers.
This is an amazingly simple recipe for the Potstickers (Guo Tie) skin. The result is quite similar to those sold outside! It's totally worth the effort. For the ingredients, you can put anything you like inside. Bear in mind for vegetables, they need to be cooked first before wrapping. For meat, you can use raw ones since the steaming process when you cook the potstickers will also cook the meat. Most importantly, the ingredients need to be dry. Best if there is no seeping liquid.
Ingredients (to make 15 pot stickers):
150g of Hong Kong Flour
100ml of warm water
A pinch of salt and sugar
Method:
Mix all ingredients into a soft dough. It is ok if the dough sticks to your hand. Let it rest for 15 - 30 minutes before kneading it on the table (remember to dust the table with flour first!). Divide the dough into portions and roll it out as thin as you can manage. Cut the dough with a round cutter. Or in my case, i just used a small bowl to cut the shape.
I suggest rolling out the dough and wrapping it concurrently for best results. If you wait until you cut out all the skin, they may end up sticking together despite being dusted with flour. It'll be great if you can rope in a helper! One to roll the dough and one to wrap. Teamwork!
Once you put the ingredients onto the skin, close it up by pinching the sides. Pan fry them with some oil in the Happy Call Pan. When they are a little brown at the bottom, add water to the pan (to cover about 1/4 height of the pan) and cover it. This will steam the skin and cook the meat (if any). When all the water has evaporated and the skin of the potstickers is soft, continue to pan fry them until the bottom is of golden brown in colour. That's when they are done! Dip them into vinegar with ginger strips. Viola! Yummy potstickers.
 |
| Potstickers - Guo Tie |
Thursday, 27 December 2012
Happy New Year 2013!
Teh:
Dear readers (yes all 5 of you!),
we are coming to the end of 2012. Time flew by very quickly when you look back and reflect. Around the same time last year, i made some resolutions. Let's take a look at them and see if i managed any!
2012 Resolutions:
1. To get 1000 hits at our blog (go spam bots!) before 2013 - I'm proud to say we are at 4000+ hits now!
2. To weigh 54kg by 29 Feb 2012 - 54kg never happened =(
3. To go _ _ _ _ _ _ _ this year - Neither did this =(
Ok so i got one out of 3. Not too bad!
Just the other day i had a revelation. I felt very strongly that 2013 is going to be a year where DREAMS COME TRUE! Without further ado, these are my 2013 New Year Resolutions:
1. To get 10,000 hits at our blog (spam bots and readers, combine and double your efforts!) before 2014.
2. To weigh 56 kg by 28 Feb 2013 (yeah let's be more realistic this time around!)
3. Get attached and stay attached for happily ever after!
Happy New Year to everyone!
Dear readers (yes all 5 of you!),
we are coming to the end of 2012. Time flew by very quickly when you look back and reflect. Around the same time last year, i made some resolutions. Let's take a look at them and see if i managed any!
2012 Resolutions:
1. To get 1000 hits at our blog (go spam bots!) before 2013 - I'm proud to say we are at 4000+ hits now!
2. To weigh 54kg by 29 Feb 2012 - 54kg never happened =(
3. To go _ _ _ _ _ _ _ this year - Neither did this =(
Ok so i got one out of 3. Not too bad!
Just the other day i had a revelation. I felt very strongly that 2013 is going to be a year where DREAMS COME TRUE! Without further ado, these are my 2013 New Year Resolutions:
1. To get 10,000 hits at our blog (spam bots and readers, combine and double your efforts!) before 2014.
2. To weigh 56 kg by 28 Feb 2013 (yeah let's be more realistic this time around!)
3. Get attached and stay attached for happily ever after!
Happy New Year to everyone!
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