Papaya Peach Gum sweet soup 木瓜桃胶糖水

Am so blessed that my papaya tree has been giving us a regular supply of fruits.

Add this to our regular dose of peach gum and for now, I super liked this Papaya Peach Gum sweet soup 木瓜桃胶糖水.

Learnings: Do not over cook the papaya if not, it will become too mushy.

I used slow cooker because I don't have to watch over it.

What you need:

1 small papaya
50g peach gum (please see previous post on how to prepare this)
Rock sugar (to taste)

Method:

Skin and remove seeds from papaya.  Cut into chunks.

Using a slow crockpot, let the peach gum cook for 2 hours.

Add papaya and continue to cook for another 1/2 hour.

Add rock sugar to taste.

Either eat hot or cold.

Note:  Do not boil with the papaya too long, if not it will become way too soft and mushy.

If using direct heat, steam the peach gum for half hour and then combine with papaya and boil for 15 mins.

Enjoy!

Moringa Egg Roll

Was down at my friend's nearly complete house the other day.   She has this moringa tree that grew outside her gate and due to the construction, they actually hard prune the tree.  I was amazed that under such harsh condition, the tree actually flourish.

To this, it reminded me to harvest the moringa from my garden.  The last harvest, I had done a delicious Moringa Soup but did not have a chance to document nor take a photo.

This plant was a heart pain for me, as it was sick and I had tried many ways to save it.  The trunk was in bad shape and I did not expect it to grow but surprisingly, it gave us two good harvest before I called it quits because I was afraid that it will "infest" the rest of the plants.

Anyway, for this round of harvest, I shall attempt Moringa Egg Roll.

You can read more about the benefits of this green from here.

Since I am not a fan of processed food, I rather take my nutrients direct.

Findings: This is really good to get your kid to eat their greens.  Especially one that is full of nutrients.

Need to work on my rolling to get a more compact egg roll.

Overall, I am glad that my family likes it.

Adapted

What you need:

6 eggs

1 tbsp plain flour

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

¼ cup of cheddar cheese

60g moringa leaves, remove stem

Butter for cooking

Method:

Heat a tsp of oil in a wok, add the moringa leaves and stir fry with a little salt until leaves turn bright green and start to wilt.  Stir fry until the dish is a little dry.  Remove from heat and leaves to cool.

Whisk eggs with flour, salt and pepper. 

Pour enough to cover a preheat well oiled frying pan.  Spread the moringa leaves and top if off with cheddar cheese.

Cover and let it cook on low heat until cheese melts.

Remove and carefully roll it into a roll.

Cut and serve.

Enjoy!

Marshmallow Biscuit 雪Q餅 (2)

The last Marshmallow Biscuit that I done was really addictive.  So today I shall attempt another flavour.

Now, let's enjoy this Marshmallow Biscuit 雪Q餅 (2).

What you need:

60g unsalted butter

200g marshmallow, cut small

50g milk powder

200g marie biscuit, chopped roughly

60g dried fruits

80g almond, toasted and chopped roughly

Method:

In a non stick pan, melt butter and marshmallow.

Add in milk powder and stir to combine.  Remove from heat.

Add in biscuit, nuts and fruits.  Stir thoroughly and quickly to ensure all is blended well.

Pour onto silicone mat and quickly work into a rectangle with ½” thick.

Cut with a chopper into bite size once cool completely.

Enjoy!

Sesame Paste Sweet Soup 芝麻糊

Not too long ago, I tried a Sesame Walnut Paste Sweet Soup 芝麻合桃糊 and so today, I shall attempt Sesame Paste Sweet Soup 芝麻糊 (2).

Recently, hub went for his body check up and found that he has high cholesterol.  So I am in the quest for identifying all food that can lower his cholesterol.

One of them is sesame seeds.  It rank highest in cholesterol-lowering phytosterols of nearly all nuts, seeds, legumes and grains.

It also helps to balance the hormones which now I am experiencing the imbalance.

With age comes greying hair and sesame seed oil stimulates hair growth by nourishing, conditioning, and promoting a healthy scalp. The regular massage with warm sesame oil penetrates your scalp, thus increasing the blood circulation.

By the way, get the one that is not toasted for this usage.  This oil was introduced to me by a doctor who does massage for my girl when she was experiencing back pain when she was young.

So from now on, sesame will be part of our diet.

Findings: This is a really nice recipe.  The creme turned out really well and tasty.

A friend who tried making it also gave a thumb's up for this.

Definitely a recipe keeper!

Source

What you need:

550g water
10g white sesame seeds, toasted
40g black sesame seeds, toasted
50g cooked rice
30g cashew nuts, toasted
40g sugar

Method:

Rinse black and white sesame seeds, and in an oil free wok, toasted the sesame seeds until the white sesame turn light brown.  Remove.

Combine sesame seeds, water, cooked rice, cashew nuts and sugar.  Puree 2 min/Sp10.

Add in water and let it boil for 7 min/100°C/Sp 1.

Blitz for 2 mins/sp 10.

Serve hot or chilled


Enjoy!

Homemade Luncheon Meat

My kids love luncheon meat, but I try to minimize the intake as much as I can but there are certain days, you just can't refuse it.

Anyway, I am trying out this Homemade Luncheon Meat that was shared in the TM group.

Not too sure whether it will be closed to the canned form though but nevertheless, I went ahead to try because I like the idea that I don't have to add other flavouring such as chicken powder seasoning to it.

Findings: Family's feedback is that it will be nicer if I increased the salt level as well as the fats percent.

I just need to add perhaps 5-10% of pork fats to it and I think I will nailed it.

Also, I need to improve on compacting the meat as there are still air pockets in it.

In term of flavour, it is pretty close to what you get in the canned form.

Overall, a recipe keeper! 

What you need:

1kg minced pork  (will incorporate 10% fats)

1 tsp red yeast rice powder (红菊米粉)

1000g water

3 tbsp cornflour

2 tsp salt (to adjust to 2.5 tsp salt)

1½ tbsp sugar

1 tsp mixed spice

½ tsp white pepper powder

2 egg whites

2 tbsp light soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

Meethod:

Grease a loaf pan (21.5X11.5cm) with oil.

Mix red yeast rice powder with 1 tbsp water.  Set aside.

In the TM bowl, combine minced pork, corn flour, salt, sugar, mixed spice, white pepper powder, egg whites, light soy sauce, sesame oil and red yeast mixture.  Mix 10 sec/sp 5.  Knead 3mins.
(In a big bowl, combine all ingredients and using one direction stirring, stir until gluten develops).

Transer ¼ portion of minced pork mixture into prepared tin, using a spatula, compact the meat by pressing down and even out.

Add in another ¼ of pork mixture and repeat the pressing process until all meat mixture is used up.

Brush oil onto the minced pork mixture and flatten further. 

Cover tightly with a parchment paper, wrap with cling film and steam in the Varoma dish.

Place 1000g water into the TM bowl.  Set Varoma and steam for 45 min/Varoma/Sp1.
(Bring a pot of water to a boil and steam for 45 mins).

Allow to cool completely before cutting.

 Enjoy!

Cream Cheese Japanese Rice Sponge Buns

I saw this really interesting bread recipe and decided to give it go.  I have tried incorporating potatoes in bread before and it was good.  So I wonder whether incorporating rice into bread will yield a good texture like the potato and that was what draw me to this one.

So today, my experiment will be Cream Cheese Japanese Rice Sponge Bun.

Since I have some cream cheese in the fridge that I need to clear off, I added it as a filling and so here is my Cream Cheese Japanese Rice Sponge Bun for our tea break today.

Findings: Wow I am blown away by this softness.  It was fluffy and yummy.  I gave some to my neighbour and she said it was very good too.

On the second day, the bun is still soft but I find the texture a little coarse. 

If you are looking for texture like Asian commercial bread, then these buns got to be eaten fresh from the oven.  If you don't mind an artisan bread texture, then these buns will be okay on the 2nd day.

I also like the combination of this cream cheese filling with the bun.  Lesson learnt is that I must make sure it is properly sealed!

Source 

What you need:

150g cooked rice

210g milk

7g instant yeast

40g unsalted butter

330g bread flour

6g salt

mix together and chill

240g cream cheese

150g Icing Sugar

Method:

Cream Cheese and icing sugar until smooth and chill.

Combine cooked rice and milk and loosen rice with a saptula 80°C .

Remove.

Weigh the rice mixture to 360g (top up with water).  Set aside to cool to 35°C.

Add in yeast and mix to combine.  Set aside for 10 mins.

In a mixing bowl, combine bread flour and rice mixture.  Knead until smooth dough on low speed (about 2 mins).

Add in salt and continue to knead for 2 mins on low speed 2.

Add in butter and knead on low speed until fully incorporated.

Increase speed to med and knead for 9 mins. (finger poke test)

Remove dough and shaped into a ball and let it rest in an oiled bowl. Cover and proof for 1 hr or until double in size.

Remove dough and punch down to degas.

Divide dough into 12 pcs (approx 61g).

Shape into ball.

Cover and let it rest for 15 mins.

Roll into a oblong and roll up and then shape into a ball.

Wrap cream cheese fillings.  Seal well. And place on baking sheet with 0.5cm gap.

Cover and let it proof for 45-60 mins.

Preheat oven to 180°C and bake on middle tray and bake for 22 mins.

Rest it rest on tray for 10 mins before transferring to cooling rack.

Enjoy!

Cloudy Skies Chiffon Cake

I have not baked a chiffon for a while and since I have missed out the hurricane event in Bake Along, I wanted to join in the fun this time.

Even though I have Susanne's book that was a gift from my sister, I have yet to attempt any of her recipes.  So I am kind of nervous attempting this Cloudy Skies Chiffon Cake. 

I am trying not to put colourings into the cake so I made the blue pea extract stronger.  Hope this will work.

Findings: As I am not confident in using a big pan for this.  I divide it into two cake pans.

I am not sure whether using a bigger pan will make it easier on those clouds but I find it difficult to "make" those little clouds in the smaller pan.  Initially I was using the spoon to scoop the white batter onto the pan but subsequently, I transfer the batter to a piping bag and it was much easier.

I noticed that I get air bubbles in between the layers.  I think if I ever attempt this again, I will pipe the clouds, lined the clouds and fill in the layer, tap out the air bubbles and repeat process.   By this, I hope that I will be able to get rid of most of the air bubbles.

Only thing is that I find the cake after cooled is very sticky to touch.  I even tried baking it a little longer but this issue did not go away.

Nevertheless, I must say that this cake texture is good and fluffy.  Not too sweet as well.

I also intensified the blue pea colour as I do not want to add any artificial colouring to the cake.

Overall, this recipe is a keeper.

Source

What you need:

1 egg (60g)

27g castor sugar

53g grape seed oil

51g + 2g water

7g vanilla paste

90g cake flour, sifted

8g blue pea flower extract *

195g egg whites

¼ tsp cream of tartar

60g castor sugar

Method:

*Blue Pea Flower extract:

Quickly rinse 4g dried blue pea flower and pour in 10g of hot water.  Let it sit for 15 – 30mins and strained.

Preheat oven to 160°C.  Prepare a 7” chiffon pan.

Whisk egg yolks with sugar until light and fluffy. 

Whisk in oil and 51g water and vanilla extract.  Mix until incorporated.

Whisk in cake flour until well blended. 

Remove ¼ of the batter and add in 2g water.  Mix well.  Set aside.

Add blue pea flower extract to the ¾ batter and mix well (if colour is not strong, add a little light blue food gel).  Set aside.

In a clean bowl, whisk egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. 

While whisking, slowly drizzle in the sugar and whisk until firm peak formed.

Remove ¼ of the meringue.

Fold the ¾ meringue gently into the ¾ egg batter.

Fold the ¼ meringue gently into the ¼ egg batter.

Using a spoon, form little clouds from the ¼ batter onto the pan.

Scoop the blue batter around the white and filled the rest with the a little blue batter (layering).  Repeat until both batters are used up.

Place a tray of water at the bottom and steam bake it at 140°C for 1 hour until cooked.

Invert pan immediately and let it cool completely before dismould.



Enjoy!