Black Pepper Bread

Bread making again. This is another successful attempt at Meng Lao Shi's recipe. Having gone through trial and error, I have gained more confidence in bread making now, and the result is better than the previous.

I have a feed back to this bread's filling. The filling is too little (insufficient) for the bread, and the seasoning taste very mild. So, I suggest to double the amount of the original recipe and the seasoning should be stronger by adding 1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce or oyster sauce. Despite the taste, the bread still taste good.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

(A)

250 g bread flour

25 g fine sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 g milk powder

3 g (1/2 tsp. +1/4 tsp) instant dry yeast

15 g whole egg

140 g plain water

(B) 20 g unsalted butter, 1 teaspoon black pepper

(C) Filling:

minced pork, 40 g

chopped onion 30 g

salt, black pepper 1/8 teaspoon each

(D) 1 tablespoon black sesame seed

Method:

~~1)Mix (A) almost a smooth dough.

~~2) Add in butter, with medium speed to beat the dough until smooth and it can be stretched to a thin layer without breaking apart.

~~3)) Add in black pepper, knead and mix well.

~~4) Place the dough into a big bowl, cover with clingwrap. Leave to prove for 80 minutes.

~~5) Filling: Stir fry minced pork for a while, add onion and stir fry until fragrant. Turn off fire, add in salt and pepper to your desired taste. Leave to cool.

~~6) Divide dough into 6 equal portions. Roll into balls, and leave to rest for 5 to 10 minutes, wrap in filling, and place them into a greased 8" round cake tin. Cover with clingwrap and let it prove for 50 minutes.

~~7) Brush with egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds.

~~8) Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degree C for 28 minutes.

Pan Fried Minced Pork Omelette

My husband is a pure Cantonese. . I am not very sure whether this is a authentic Cantonese dish or not. But I know when he was a little boy, his mother used to cook this dish for his family. The ingredients are very simple and easy to prepare. if you prefer, you can add a little bit of onion or shallot or spring onion.

Today the reason I post this recipe here is so that my children can refer to in future. They like this egg omelette very much especially my youngest son, he can have it everyday.

A delicious dish does not mean it must comprise of expensive ingredients. This hand-me-down recipe only needs humble eggs and minced meat that you can easily get from your neighbourhood supermarket.

Recipe:

Ingredients:

200 g minced meat (pork)

2 large eggs

salt

light soy sauce

pepper (optional)

corn flour/tapioca flour (1/2 tsp)

Method:

~~1) Heat up wok, add 1 tablespoon oil, stir fry minced meat (add salt to taste) until just cook. Dish out.

~~2)Beat eggs with salt, light soy sauce to taste and corn flour, beat until well mix.

~~3) Add 1 into egg mixture, mix well.

~~4) Pour enough oil into wok, fry egg/meat mixture with medium heat, fry until the egg batter almost firm, then fold into half and continue to fry until crispy and light brown on both sides .

Mango Pudding 芒果布丁

I have not made mango pudding for a long time. This mango pudding is awesome. I purposely use big chunks of fresh mango as fillings so as to enhance the taste when you devour the pudding. Best serve chilled。

Recipe: (Makes 16)

Ingredients:

24 g gelatine powder

100 g Carnation evaporated milk

110 g fine sugar

100 g whipping cream

225 g ice cubes

225 hot water

3 ripe mangoes (Half cut into cubes and half blend into puree)

Method:

~~1) Mix sugar and gelatine powder well.

~~2) Add boiling water to No.1, using a whisk to stir constantly until mixture dissolves. (OR you can boil them)

~~3) Add milk to No.2 . Stir well.

~~4) Then add whipping cream and stir till well mixed..

~~5) Add mango puree, Stir well.

~~6) Add mango cubes to the mixture. Mix well.

~~7) Add the small ice cubes into the mixture, gently stir with whisk till ice is all melted and mixture is smooth.

~~8) Pour into moulds and leave to set in refrigerator over night.

Enjoy!

Spicy, Sweet and Sour Trotter

In my family of five, only my daughter and my youngest son do not eat trotter and fatty meat. So whenever I cook trotter I have to (actually is a must) buy lean meat or the muscle to add into the dish.

As the name of the dish suggests, the trotters are a mixture of sweet, sour and spicy flavours that make it a very appetizing dish that goes well with plain rice. Make sure you cook extra rice for the day. The sourness and spiciness are just right but I find it a bit too sweet for my taste buds. This dish is something different from what I used to cook my pork trotter with dark soy sauce and sweet dark vinegar （猪脚醋）。It is very delicious and unique - I recommend u to give it a try if you like strong tastes.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
~~ 1 pig trotter (cut onto pieces)
~~ 100 g ginger (sliced)
~~ 10 pcs chilli padi
~~ 6 big red chillies
~~ 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
~~ 50 ml Chines rice vinegar (I put 100 ml)
~~ 1 litre water

Seasoning:
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon dark soy sauce (I put 1 tbsp)
4 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon chicken stock granule

Method:
~~1) Wash and drain pig trotter.

~~2) Heat up enough oil in the hot work, saute chopped garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add in trotter, stir- fry briskly until the meat changes the colour.

~~3) Add in water, rice vinegar and seasoning, bring to a boil. Put in chilli padi and big red chillies, cover and simmer at low heat for 35-40 minutes until trotters are tender and the gravy has been absorbed by the meat. Dish and serve hot.

Recipe reference: Hawker Secret Recipes (part 1)

Steamed Banana Cake 蒸香蕉蛋糕

In one of my earlier post (banana chiffon cake) I mentioned that my husband brought a lot of banana from Malaysia. Today I have finally finished up all the banana by making this cake which needs 500 g of banana..

I bake cakes most of the time. But today I would like to share with you my steamed banana cake recipe. This cake is really full of banana fragrant ( make sure you use much ripen banana), it is so delicious to eat with a cup of hot coffee or tea on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
A)
~~500 g very ripen banana
~~ 2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

B)
~~5 whole eggs
~~250 g fine sugar
~~250 g plain flour
~~2 teaspoon baking powder
~~1/2 teaspoon salt

C)
100 ml corn oil

Method:
~~1) Peel and mash banana, add bicarbonate of soda , mix well and leave to ferment for an hour at room temperature.

~~2) Add ingredients B into 1) above, mix well and leave to 2nd fermentation for an hour at room temperature.

~~3) Add oil , stir and mix well , rest for 5 minutes.

~~4) Pour batter into a greased 8" x 8" (20cm) square baking tin . Steam over high heat for 35 minutes or until cooked (when the skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean ).

材料∶

甲）500克 香蕉
~~~~2 茶匙 小苏打粉

乙）
5个蛋
250克细糖
250克普通面粉
2 茶匙发粉
1/2小匙盐

丙）∶
100 毫升玉米油

做法∶
1）将香蕉压碎和苏打粉拌均，待发1小时。
2）加进 乙, 搅拌均匀，再待发1小时。
3）加进油休息5分钟。
4）倒进1个8寸四方烘烤盘（用少许油涂在盘底和四边）以大火蒸35分钟至熟即可。

Healthy Oatmeal Apple Muffin

My daughter asked ""mum, can you think of one healthy muffin or cup cake recipe? I want to give it to one of my friends, because she is a very healthy conscious person."

Here I would like to share with you this recipe which I classified as a healthy muffins which contains healthy ingredients such as apple, walnuts and instant oat.

Verdict: Texture of the cake is spongy, soft and light, and the sweetness is just right . It is best to eat after a day old.

Recipe:

Ingredients: (makes 8 - 9 small muffins)
80 g plain flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/16 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
2 tablespoon instant oatmeal
1 whole egg
60 g brown sugar
60 g apple (cut into strips or cut into small cubes)
50 ml fresh milk
4 tablespoon corn oil (I reduced to 3 tablespoon)
2 tablespoon raisins
2 tablespoon toasted walnuts (chopped)

Method:

~~1) Preheat oven to 180 degree C.

~~2) Place sifted flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and instant oat into a mixing bowl. Leave aside.

~~3) Whisk egg with sugar until foamy, add apple strips, corn oil and fresh milk mix until mixture is incorporated.

~~4) Mixture 3) add into mixture 2) mix well until there is no lumps. Add raisins and walnuts, mix well.

~~5) Spoon batter into muffin cups and sprinkle some instant oat on top. Bake for 15 - 18 minutes until golden brown.


Recipe reference: 忽然一周

Banana Chiffon Cake

Last week my husband went to Malaysia to visit his sisters and brother. He brought back banana, passion fruit and longan . Some were planted by his brother and some were given by friends. The banana is of a species we have never taken before. it has a distinct taste and is the sweetest banana we have ever eaten. I used some of the very ripen banana to bake chiffon cake and I also made steamed banana cake. Of course my family can't finish all, I gave some to my friends.

This chiffon cake is very soft and light, is an ideal breakfast and tea break for the elderly because the cake is not oily and banana is one of the most nutritious fruit you can get.

For recipe click here. (This recipe makes 2 mini 5" chiffon cakes)