Steamed Fish With Garlic/Ginger Paste

Again fresh fish from my hubby's fishing trip.  Two garoupa fish that weighs about 500-600 gm in  total.  Since it is so fresh, the best way to cook is by steaming with the least ingredients.  So I used garlic/ginger paste and some greens to bring out the natural sweetness of the fish.

Ingredients

Garoupa fish [about 500-600 gm] - scaled and cleaned

Gravy and Seasoning

50 gm ginger - finely chopped

5-6 cloves garlic - finely chopped

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tsp sugar to taste

1/2 tsp pepper

1 tbsp cooking wine 

1 tbsp Mei Kwai Lo [Rose Wine]

1 tbsp sesame oil

Garnish

some shredded carrot, young ginger

some spring onion and coriander - sectioned

1. Either chopped garlic and ginger finely or blended.  Mix with the rest of the seasoning ingredients in a small bowl.
2. Pat dry cleaned fish and place on a heatproof dish.  Spread the gravy and seasoning mix all over the fish.
3. Steam over high heat for 12-15 minutes [depending on the size of fish] or until fish is just cooked through.
4. Garnish with the rest of ingredients before serving.

Honey Chiffon Cake

A simple chiffon cake, using honey.  The texture is soft and chewy.  Simple ingredients and easy to prepare.

Ingredients for Egg Yolk Mixture

3 egg yolks [used large eggs]

4 tbsp honey

3 tbsp oil

3 tbsp milk

• Whisk egg yolks with honey till creamy, then drizzle in oil.  Continue whisking for awhile then drizzle in milk.   Fold in flour until well combined.  Set aside while you whisk the egg white.  Preheat oven at 160 degrees.

125 gm cake flour - sifted

Ingredients for Egg White Mixture

3 egg white

3 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cream of tartar

1. Whisk egg white until frothy, add in cream of tartar.  Continue whisking, when foamy, gradually add in sugar in 2-3 batches.  Whisk until soft peaks formed.
2. Fold in 1/3 portion of meringue into egg yolk mixture till well combined.  Then fold mixture into rest of meringue till well incorporated.  
3. Pour batter into 7" chiffon pan.  Knock a few times on tabletop to release trapped air.   Bake in lower rack of preheated oven at 160 degrees for 40-45 minutes. 
4. Invert pan immediately after baking to cool cake before removing from pan.

Plain and Spinach Loaf Bread [Straight Dough Method]

Seen this bread recipe from  somewhere but can't recall.  So I use the Sweet Potato Loaf Bread recipe from Cathy's blog to bake this bread with some adjustment to suit the ingredients I have. I used plain yoghurt instead of whipping cream.

This loaf bread is soft and moist but quite time consuming to make.  I wouldn't bake this bread if there is time constraint because you need to knead the dough separately.  The quantity here is to make 2 loaves and 1 loaf [qty in red].

Ingredients - Plain Dough 

[makes 2 loaves]

280 gm bread flour [140 gm]

30 gm wholemeal flour [15 gm]

2 tbsp castor sugar [1 tbsp]

1/4 tsp salt [1/8 tsp]

1 tsp instant yeast [1/2 tsp]

140 gm whipping cream [70 gm]

20 gm shortening [10 gm]

Ingredients - Spinach Dough 

[makes 2 loaves]

300 gm bread flour [150 gm]

40 gm wholemeal flour [20 gm]

100 gm spinach puree [50 gm]

2 tbsp castor sugar [1 tbsp]

1/4 tsp salt [1/8 tsp]

1 tsp instant yeast [1/2 tsp]

140 gm whipping cream [70 gm]

20 gm shortening [10 gm]

1. Knead the dough separately until smooth [may need to add a little water - about 30 ml] and add in shortening.  Continue to knead until soft, smooth and elastic [window pane stage].  Shape both  into round balls and cover to proof for 1 hour.
2. Punch down both dough and fold into thirds.  Then roll each dough into 1" thickness.  Stack the 2 flattened dough together  and roll up tightly to form a roulade.
3. Place in baking tin [Pullman's tin],  sprinkle some oats on bread.  Leave in the oven to proof for 1 hour.
4. Remove dough from oven to preheat oven to 160 degrees C for 10 minutes.  
5. Baked bread for 45 minutes.  Remove from tin immediately to cool on rack before storing.

Spinach Buns With Meat Floss

A rather unique bun recipe using spinach [pui ling chye] and plain flour.  Easy to handle dough which is not sticky or  has a raw vegetable smell.  I read this recipe from 100% Baking Corner in one of the Chinese magazines but I made some changes.  Instead of baking it as plain buns, I used meat floss and seaweed [nori] as savoury filling.  

The buns are soft, moist and nice even on the second day.  [If you still have the buns by the third day, then you can reheat in the oven for 5-10 minutes @ 100 degrees C or steamed it for 5 minutes.  It will be soft again].

Spinach Buns Bread Dough

[makes 12 buns] 
300 gm plain flour

1 tbsp skimmed milk powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1 small egg

100 gm spinach - washed and drain in colander [blend with 70 ml water] - should get about 170ml

2 tsp yeast

1 tbsp butter

1. Knead all dough ingredients [except butter] on slow speed to combine.   Then  continue kneading on medium speed until dough is soft and smooth [about 7-10 minutes].
2. Add in butter and continue kneading on low speed from the start then turn to medium speed when butter and dough has combined.  Knead for about 5-7 minutes to get to window pane stage or dough is not sticky.
3. Form dough into a ball.  Place in a bowl covered to rest for 1 hour or double in size.
4. Punch down rested dough.  Divide into 4 equal portion.  Round up into a ball. Roll each portion into a rectangle.  Brush lightly with some soft butter, then sprinkle filling.  Roll up like swiss roll and seal the edges well.  Roll into a long thin roll and cut into 9 pieces.  Place 3 pieces inverted on a greased paper casing.  Do the same for the rest of dough.
5. Proof until double in size [about 1 hour].  Glaze with beaten egg [I used milk] and sprinkle sesame seeds.
6. Bake in preheated oven at 190 degrees C for 15 minutes.  Remove and cool on wire rack.  If prefered, brush lightly with some melted butter.

Meat Floss, Seaweed and Sesame Seed Bun Filling

some store bought meat floss

some seaweed [nori] - break into small pieces

some toasted sesame seeds

• mix the ingredients together and use as filling for buns.

Spinach Loaf Bread [Straight Dough Method]

Was wondering how blended spinach [aka pui ling chye in Hokkien or poi choi in Cantonese] turn out to be in bread.  Will it change colour or does it have a raw vegetable smell.  The answer is NO.  No vegetable smell, the colour was natural an beautiful.


The texture is soft but firm and compact.  I believed it is because plain flour is used instead of bread flour.  Has anyone tried this kind of bread before?  Perhaps, you would like to share some info or views on this kind of bread.

Spinach [Pui LingChye/Poi Choi]

Spinach Bread Dough

300 gm plain flour

1 tbsp skimmed milk powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp sugar

1 small egg

100 gm spinach - washed and drain in colander [blend with 70 ml water] - should get about 170ml

2 tsp yeast

1 tbsp butter

1. Knead all dough ingredients [except butter] on slow speed to combine.   Then  continue kneading on medium speed until dough is soft and smooth [about 7-10 minutes].
2. Add in butter and continue kneading on low speed from the start then turn to medium speed when butter and dough has combined.  Knead for about 5-7 minutes to get to window pane stage or dough is not sticky.
3. Form dough into a ball.  Place in a bowl covered to rest for 1 hour or double in size.
4. Punch down rested dough.  Divide into 3 equal portions.  Round up into a ball.  Fold into thirds then roll each portion into a rectangle.   Roll up like swiss roll and seal the edges well.  Place the 3 small loaves in greased Pullman's tin.
5. Leave in oven to proof until double in size [about 1 hour].  
6. Bake in preheated oven at 170 degrees C for 30 minutes.  Remove and cool on wire rack.  

Spicy Nasi Ulam [Mixed Herbal Rice]

This herbal rice looks difficult to prepare with some many ingredients but it is not so when you have some home grown herbs such as daun kaduk, cekur leaves, tumeric leaves, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass in your garden.  Lucky me, I have all these and a visit to the vegetable stall, I managed to get the rest.... You can also prepare this dish in smaller quantity.

If you like these herbs and don't mind slowly chewing the mixed rice, you will enjoy the aroma and freshness of the herbs.  Delicious and healthy food. 

Ingredients 

[serves 7-8]

3 mackerel [ikan kembung] - pan fried, bones removed and flaked

2 tbsp dried shrimps - rinsed, chopped coarsely and pan fried without oil

2-3 tbsp grated white coconut - pan fried until golden and crispy [kerisik]

2 1/2 cups rice - cooked in rice cooker, cooled and fluff up

Herbs [slice finely]

6 shallots

1 small piece fresh tumeric

30 gm young ginger

1 wild ginger bud

2 lemon grass

6 kaffir lime leaves

6 cekur leaves

1 tumeric leaf

4 stalks daun kesum [polygonum leaves only]

4 stalks basil [leaves only]

10 daun kaduk leaves [wild betel nut]

Seasoning [Mix together]

3 tbsp sambal belacan

1/2 - 3/4 tsp salt 

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp sugar or to taste

2 tbsp sesame oil

1. Combine seasoning ingredients in a large mixing bowl.  Add in the cooked rice.  Toss well to combine.
2. Mix in all the finely cut vegetables, dried prawns, fish and dessicated coconut.  Stir to mix well and serve immediately with extra sambal belacan if preferred.

Note

• Can replace fried mackerel flakes with fried salted fish meat [chopped small pieces].
• Can add more herbs, if you have it, it's alright.

I'm submitting this post to Muhibbah Malaysian Monday hosted byShannon of Just As Delish

Soft Buns With Cheddar Cheese/Raisins

I made these buns with the basic recipe from Cathy's blog 'Trying out new toy'.  The buns turned out lovely and soft.  But I added some cheddar cheese and raisins as filling for the buns.  You can omit the filling if you are making plain buns.

Here's the recipe for these lovely buns which remains soft for 2 days.

Ingredients - Straight Dough Method

[makes 9-12 buns]

200 gm bread flour

50 gm wholemeal flour

30 gm  shortening [I used 20 gm]

8 gm milk powder [I used 1 tbsp]

45 gm sugar [I used 2 tbsp]

1/4 tsp salt

1 egg 

7 gm dry yeast [I used 2 tsp]

120 ml water [I used milk]

egg glaze or milk  - optional [my opinion is to use milk]

Oats for toppings - optional
cheddar cheese and raisins - optional

1. Knead all the ingredients (except shortening) together with a dough hook until a soft dough is formed.
2. Add in shortening and continue kneading until the dough is soft, smooth and elastic or window pane stage [I knead until the dough leaves the bowl clean and does not stick to the fingers when touched]. 
3. Shape into a ball and cover to proof for 1 hour or double in size.
4. Punch out air from the dough and divide into 9 - 12 equal portions.  Shape into balls. Wrap a small piece of cheddar cheese and some plump up raisins with each piece of dough.   Seal the edges and shape into a round ball.  Place dough seam side down on paper casing.  Repeat the same for the others.   
5. Proof for 1 hour.  Brush buns with egg glaze or milk.  Sprinkle oats.
6. Bake in a preheated oven @ 190°C for 10 - 15 minutes.  Remove to cool on wire rack.

Notes

I prepared the dough until Step 2, wrap the dough in a thick plastic bag.  Tied up with a rubber band and kept it in the fridge a day before baking these buns. Just thaw the dough to room temperature before shaping.   In this way, I can have my soft buns ready for late breakfast around 9.00 - 10.00 am the next day.

Dumpling Festival 2012

According to Chinese traditional beliefs, it is said that when someone passed away in the family, within a year, many things cannot be done such as making rice dumplings [tang yuen], steamed sweet glutinous rice [thnee kuih] and wrapping of dumplings [bak chang etc].

So since my Pa passed away, we were advised not to do any of these for a year.  As it is a traditional practice, for the past few days, many of our friends, relatives and neighbours have been bringing to us the dumplings that they made.

Here are some of the dumplings which we received.  I wish to thank them for their kind thoughts and of course their delicious DUMPLINGS of various fillings and shapes. Interesting, isn't it?  I appreciate the BOND between us.

Each have their own flavours and tasted good with all their love and care.   I'll share mine next dumpling festival, hehehe!

Lor Mai Kai in Lotus Leaf

For this year's Dumpling 'Chang' Festival, my family won't be making any dumplings.   Since the family [especially the teenage kids] loved savoury glutinous rice so much, I decided to make Lor Mai Kai to satisfy their cravings.

The recipe is actually Lor Mai Kai [Steamed Savoury Glutinous Rice] but instead of the usual steaming in  bowls, I wrapped them with lotus leaf after checking with dear Sonia when I saw her posting on LMK. Apart from the LMK flavours, it also has the fragrance of the lotus leaf.  I should say it is Yum Yum [better than store bought].

My first intention was to follow 3 different recipes shared by Sonia, [Nasi Lemak Lover], Ah Tze [Awayofmind] and Happy Flour [LMK].  On second thought, I think I can't handle 3 different recipes in one go, so I decided to use a recipe that I have which makes enough to give to my mum and her grandchildren.  To my dear friends, I will try each of yours when I am preparing less of it.

Here are the ingredients and method.  I actually made 9 LMK with lotus leaf and 3 in bowls.

Ingredients

[makes 12 bundles]

600 gm glutinous rice - washed and soaked in water for at least 4 hours or overnight

Seasoning for glutinous rice [mix together in a big mixing bowl]

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp each of sugar, Ajinomoto, pepper

1 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp sesame oil

3 tbsp oil

• Drain glutinous rice and steam for 45 minutes or until rice is thoroughly cooked.  Remove and add to seasoning.  Mix seasoning and rice well.  Roughly divide into 12 equal portions.

3 chicken thighs - deboned - each cut into 4 pieces

12 small dried mushrooms -  soaked and keep whole

2 Chinese sausages - skin removed and sliced slantly to get 12 pieces

100 gm char siew - store bought [cut 12 slices]

150 gm pork, cut into slices [I omit]

Seasoning for meat and mushrooms

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp Ajinomoto

1/4 tsp pepper

2 tsp light soy sauce

1/2 tsp dark soy sauce

1 tbsp each of oyster sauce, sesame oil, cooking oil

2 tsp wine

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp cornflour

1 stalk spring onion and a piece of ginger - lightly mashed [optional]

• Season chicken, pork and mushrooms with the seasoning for meat for at least an hour.

3 pieces of lotus leaf

• Blanched in hot water until soft.  Remove and rinse to clean.  Using a scissor, cut each leaf into 4 pieces.  Drain on colander to drip dry the leave.

To Wrap LMK in lotus leaf

• Take a piece of lotus leaf.  Place a piece of each ingredient about 2-3 inches from the edge of the broad side of the leaf.  Top up with 1 portion of the steamed glutinous rice.  Fold the leaf to cover the rice and wrap up like a parcel.  Tuck in the end to seal well.
• Place parcel on a steaming tray.  Do the same for the rest of the ingredients.
• Steam LMK over boiling water on high heat for 30-40 minutes.
• Serve hot.

Steamed LMK in bowls

The LMK rice is soft, QQ and taste is just nice.  The meat and mushrooms have the fragrant smell  and flavours of spring onions and ginger.

Banana Chiffon Cake

This morning, a neighbour gave me these home-grown bananas.  They are from her colleague's village home where they grow many, many types of fruits [bananas, jackfruit, rambutans, roselle etc.], herbs and tubers.  Most times she will pass these to me whenever she gets them.  I have received from her wild ginger flowers, jackfruits, yam, sweet potatoes, rambutans, roselle and this time bananas.   

Since I have a Banana Chiffon cake recipe from  Happy Home Baking pending for sometime, I might as well bake and share it with this thoughful neighbour.   I adjusted some of the ingredients.   The cake bakes well and tasted good.    It does not shrink and no liquid is needed.   A point to note is that this cake should be finished fast as it does not keep for long unless you refrigerate it because of bananas used.

Ingredients

3 egg yolks [used large eggs]                           

1-2 tbsp castor sugar

1/8 tsp salt

3 tbsp corn oil

80 gm mashed bananas [about 2-3 medium size bananas] + 2 tsp lemon juice [or 1 tbsp]

50 gm plain flour - sifted with 1/8 tsp baking powder

3 egg whites

1/4 tsp cream of tartar

2 tbsp castor sugar

1. Beat together egg yolks and sugar in a mixing bowl with a hand whisk until blended.  Slowly add in oil and  continue whisking until well combined.  Add in mashed bananas.  Mix well to combine.   Fold in sifted plain flour.  Set aside.  Preheat oven at 170C while you prepare the meringue.
2. Put egg white in cake mixer bowl [make sure bowl is clean and ungreased].  Whisk egg whites until a little frothy, add in cream of tartar, continue whisking until foamy and add in sugar in 3 batches.  Keep whisking egg white mixture till soft peaks formed.
3. Fold in 1/3 of meringue to egg yolk mixture. Mix evenly till well combined. Then pour into rest of the meringue.  Fold till evenly combined.  Pour batter into 7 inch ungreased chiffon pan.  Smooth the top with a spatula.  Tap pan on table top a few times to release trapped air bubbles.
4. Baked in preheated oven [lower rack] for 35 - 40 minutes. 
5. Remove and invert baked cake immediately to cool completely before removing from pan.

Savoury Yam Cake

This Savoury Yam Cake recipe is from Ah Tze [Awayofmind Bakery House] which I bookmarked to try.  Slightly different from my earlier posting Steamed Yam Cake.  I realised the quantity is small and lots of yam too.  Also wondering how this cake taste like with 5 spice powder added.

Anyway,  ...I like this recipe, the yam cake is soft and the yam and 5 spice powder matched well...I served it with my homecooked chilli sauce.

Sorry Ah Tze, I added some extra ingredients because this Yam Cake is for my mum, so must have more 'liao' otherwise she may think I am stingy with the dried prawns, hehehe....

Ingredients
400g yam, peeled and cut into cube
4 shallots, diced
2 tbsp dried prawns, soaked [slightly pounded]
1/2 tsp each of salt, 5 spice powder
1/4 tsp white pepper
100g rice flour
3 tbsp tapioca starch or corn starch
1 tsp salt
550 ml water  

Garnishes

3 tbsp of dried prawns - washed and slightly pounded - fry with a little oil until fragrant

3 tbsp crispy fried shallots

3 tbsp thinly sliced spring onion

1 red chilli - diced

1. Steam the yam cubes for 20 mins. Set aside. 
2. Heat the oil in a non-stick wok to  fry the shallots until browned.   Add dried prawns, stir fry for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the steamed yam cubes.  Stir fry for another 2 mins.   Add salt, five spice powder and pepper, mix and remove from heat.
3. Combine rice flour, tapioca flour, salt and water in a pan. Mix until mixture is smooth and free of lumps. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring continuously with  a wooden spoon until it thickens. Remove pan from heat, add yam cubes and mix well.
4. Transfer the yam cake mixture to a oiled steaming tray.  Cover and steam for 25~30 mins. Allow to cool completely before cutting.
5. Garnish before serving.