Simple Beef Stew

Recipe:

Ingredients:
600 g beef (shin)  cut into 2.5 cm pieces
2 tablespoons plain flour
2 tablespoon cooking oil
1 big onions, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
3 big red tomatoes, coarsely chopped
2  carrots, cut into pieces (about 3 cm)
4 - 5  potatoes, cut each into 4 halves
5 celery sticks, cut into pieces
4 tablespoon tomato sauce
1 teaspoon pepper
*400 ml water
*1 cube chicken stock
125 ml (1/2 cup) red wine
3 dried bay leaves
chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

*note: may replace with beef stock

Method:
1)  Put the beef and flour in a plastic bag and shake to coat the beef with flour. Shake off any excess.
2)  Heat 1 tbsp oil in a deep heavy-based pan over medium heat.  Brown the meat well in batches, then remove the meat and set aside.
3) Add in the  remaining oil to the pan. Cook onions, garlic for few minutes, stirring frequently.  Return the meat and any juices to the pan with the tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, tomato sauce, water, chicken stock cube,, bay leaves, and red wine. Stir well, then cover and simmer over very low heat for 1.1/2 hours until meat softens . Season with salt and sugar if needed and serve garnished with parsley.

NOTE: if you prefer your sauce to be a little thicker, cook uncovered over high heat till the sauce thickens.

Creative Steamed Cupcake - 彩绘可爱蒸蛋糕

This is the latest  book written by a well-known Japan food blogger.  Ms. Junko-' Deco Steam Cake'. I am very inspired by how the Japanese present their food in such a beautiful manner.

Recipe: (Heart shape cupcake)
Ingredients:
100 g pancake mix flour (薄饼预拌粉)
1 medium size egg
30 g Castor sugar
30 g plain yoghurt
30 ml  fresh milk
15 g unsalted butter (melted)

1 teaspoon plain flour
edible red food colouring

Method:
1) Put sugar and egg in a mixing bowl, mix well with egg whisk.
2) Add in yoghurt and milk, mix well after each addition.
3) pour pancake flour, mix and blend well, then add in melted butter, mix until mixture is well combined
4) Take 2 teaspoon mixture from (3) into a small bowl, add in 1 teaspoon of  plain flour, a drop of red colouring, and mix well..Pour the batter into a small piping bag.
5) Pour the plain cupcake batter into muffin cups with cupcake liner until 70% full. Pipe the desired pattern you like on top of each cupcakes. Tap 3 -4 times  the bottom of the muffin cup to expel the air.
6)  Steam over medium low heat for 12- 15 minutes or until cooked.

Crispy Shao-bao ( Chinese baked bun) 酥皮烧包

Recipe:

Water dough ingredients:(outer dough)

 300 g plain flour

150 g cold water (4 oz)

75 g shortening (Crisco)

35 g fine sugar

Oil dough ingredients:(inner dough)

150 g plain flour

110 g shortening (Crisco)

Filling:

150 g minced pork

150 g small prawns (shelled and removed veins)

110 g Chinese BBQ meat (char shao) - diced

3 dried mushrooms (soaked till soft, drained and diced)

20 g ham  diced

1 big onion -diced 

3 tablespoons green pea

Seasoning:

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons light soy sauce

1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1 teaspoon sesame oil

3 teaspoon fine sugar

1 tablespoon char shao sauce (optional - if you make your own char shao)

2 tablespoon corn flour

To make filling:

1.  Saute diced onion with 1 tablespoon of oil in a hot wok until fragrant, dish up. Mix all the filling ingredients together. Chill in the fridge for an hour or two  before use.

To make pastry:

 1) Outer pastry: mix all the ingredient, knead to form a smooth dough. Leave aside for 10 minutes.

2) Inner dough:  Mix all ingredients to  form a dough.

3)  Divide outer dough and inner dough into 30 equal portions respectively. 

4)  Use outer pastry to wrap inner pastry.  Make sure the seams and corners  are sealed by outer pastry.

5)  The roll pastry into long flat oblong strips and in turn roll up. Roll into long flat oblong strips again and roll up.

6)  Repeat the rest of the pastry.

7)  Finally, roll-out the rolled-up dough into a thin, round sheet, wrap with filling, form into "shao-bao" shape.

      Repeat  the rest.

8) Line baking tray with greased proof paper, place shao bao onto the tray, brush each surface with beaten egg yolk and sprinkle a little sesame seeds on top.

9) Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree C for 15- 20 minutes.

Butter Raisin Buns

 

Have been missing in action for a long time... and all because of Candy Crush Saga! I have been so addicted and cannot stop playing whenever I have the free time... in the car, every morning, before I sleep, after lunch etc...  But today my fingers were itchy and here I am back with this simple and delicious bun to post .

Recipe: Sauce from Malaysia Chef Alan Ooi (Famous Cuisin  no. 55,03/04/ 2009)

Ingredients:

(A)

300 g Bread flour

4g salt

40g castor sugar

5g instant dry yeast (1 tsp + 1/4 tsp)

(B)

170 ml cold fresh milk

50g orange jam (I replaced with passion fruit jam)

(C)

40 g butter (room temperature)

(D)

50g raisin

Filling:

80g butter

40g castor sugar

Decoration:

30g almond flakes

Method:

1) Combine ingredients (A) in a mixing bowl. Gradually add in ingredients (B) and beat with electric beater (hook shape) till a dough is formed (about 3 -4 minutes).

2) Put in butter and beat for 8 -10 minutes until the dough is elastic. Add in raisin, mix well.

3) Remove the dough, round up and put into a greased container, cover with damp towel and put in a warm place for 40 minutes. Then keep it in the fridge for further 20  minutes.

4) Place the dough on table, roll dough into 1cm thick  rectangular sheet, spread butter and sprinkle sugar. 

Roll up like swiss roll. Cut into sections of about 2 -3 cm wide, place in a greased round cake tin. Proof for 1 hour until dough is double in size.

5) Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with almond flakes.  Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree C for 20 -25 minutes until cooked and golden brown.

Verdict: soft, fluffy, moist and fragrant.

Stuffed Squids

Saw these small and very fresh squids at the market I used to frequent. I stood  in front of the stall and stared  earnestly at the squids, I was fighting an internal struggle. While I have high cholesterol and also under medication, I have not eaten squids or sotong for very long time! But today I decided to give it a go. I calculated in this manner - 500 grams for 4 pax will equate to 125 grams each, I think it is still acceptable. Besides, we also hardly have this food prepared at home.

ABC Sambal Terasi sauce - highly recommended! ^_^

Recipe:

500g small squids

150g fish paste (available from the market)

75 g minced pork

1 big onion , sliced

2 - 3 tablespoons of ABC brand sambal terasi

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 tablespoon assam paste and 100 c.c. water - mix  and strain

Pepper

Method:

1)   Peel off skin membrane from squid, clean and wash cavity of squid.

2)  Combine minced pork and fish paste with a dash of pepper. (fish paste is salty enough so I did not add salt)

3)  Put (2) into a piping bag, squeeze into squid until 3/4 full. Skew squid tentacles with toothpick. 

4)  Heat up wok with 2 tablespoon of cooking oil, saute big onions until fragrant, pour in ABC sambal terasi stir-fry for few minutes, add  in assam water. Allow to cook until just boil.

5)  Add squids into (4), cover lid and cook for 8 - 10 minutes. Add sugar to taste. Serve while hot with rice.

And here's the trick to stuff the paste into the squids and prepare them for cooking!

Colourful Tang Yuan

Hi Happy Yuan Xiao, dear bloggers and friends! Hope you all have enjoyed the tang yuan today. As much as I can, I make it a point to have tang yuan with my family every 15th day of the Lunar New Year. The Chinese believe that eating tang yuan is symbolic of a closely knitted family, 甜甜蜜蜜，圆圆满满. Tang yuan is made of glutinuous rice flour wich is no good for those who have indigestion problem, I advise not to eat too much.

Ingredients:

240g glutinous rice flour
20g rice flour
120g hot water
80g room temperature water  or coconout milk
2 teaspoon fine sugar
red, yellow, green and blue food edible colouring
pandan leaves

Coating ingredients: Mix toghether
roasted peanuts (diced/chopped)
roasted sesame seeds
fine sugar

Brown sugar sweet soup or rock sugar sweet soup: Boil together until sugar dissolves. Set aside.
4 bowls water
1 thumb size ginger
2 pcs pandan leaves
sugar to taste

Method:
1) Mix rice flour, glutinous rice flour, sugar and water together.  Knead  into smooth dough. Divide dough into  3 to 4 portions, and add each different   colour to each portion respectively, and roll into small balls.

2) Put dumplings into boiling water, cook until they are afloat, dish out and serve with peanut mixture or brown sugar sweet soup.

Fun with small sponge cakes

Hi dear friends how are you doing?  Are you enjoying your CNY?  I have been missing for quite sometime.   I have just waken up from hibernation. haha......hehe....

I had just made some beautiful steamed sponge cakes.  Please be patient, recipe will be posted later.

A few days before CNY, I went to the market to do my last errand. While passing by a Malay stall, I saw very colourful and cute steamed cakes on sale. Their designs were eye-catching, such as Angry Birds, lady bird, polka dots and many other patterns and cartoons characters...... I was really inspired by them.

I managed to get the similar recipe from here. Due to my handicap at drawing, I only could do simple patterns. With more inspiration and encouragement, I will try to do a master piece in my next attempt...

Thank you MamaFami and Hana for the recipe.